FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
9/22/04
John Victory is on a quest for anything. Following in the footsteps of Poe, Wilde and Hemingway, he's set out to become one of the great writer/drinkers of all time. Cocopiazo, the new comic book series from SLG Publishing, follows him -- at times in bizarre fantasy worlds; at others, in the all-too-mundane world of dive bars and writing workshops. All the while, John must ask himself just how much he can invent himself, how important creativity is and, perhaps most daunting of all, how to get it right with women.
While admitting that he has some lofty thematic goals, Daniel Warner, who both writes and draws Cocopiazo, admits an ambition that is less about literary legacy and more about personal fulfillment: "Cocopiazo is really just an excuse for me to have my way with a private universe," said Warner. "The overriding goal of the series is to create a rich fantasy that will totally absorb me and the reader."
This simultaneously literary-minded, self-indulgent and reader-friendly perspective is one of the qualities that made Cocopiazo so attractive, said SLG's editor-in-chief Jennifer de Guzman. "Cocopiazo, as a creative work about creativity, has a certain postmodern edge to it, but it isn't impenetrable or pompous. The amount of thought he's put into Cocopiazo is impressive, but what's more impressive is how he pulls all of what he's thought about together into an entertaining, compelling story. And the hip, clean art just brings it all together."
Warner's been mulling over, writing and drawing Cocopiazo for five years. He began making mini-comics in 1999 and eventually landed a Xeric Foundation grant in 2001, enabling him to publish the Cocopiazo short story "A Bright Sunny Day." The one-shot was named one of the top ten comics of 2001 in Wizard. Warner felt, however, that an expanded format would allow him the room to fully explore his world and character and developed the series that will see publication with SLG Publishing beginning in October 2004. Issue one is slated to be in stores on October 6.
The publication of Cocopiazo is another important moment in Warner's relationship with the comic book form. Even before creating the Cocopiazo mini-comics, he turned in a comic book as his final project at the Massachusetts College of Art, where he earned his BFA in 1996. "Comics at their best are about being transported for a short time into a world that enriches your life in some way," he said. "A successful comic book leaves readers feeling rewarded rather than temporarily distracted. So that's what I'm trying to do."
Issue one of Cocopiazo is scheduled for release in October 2004 and will be published quarterly. A preview of Cocopiazo is available at the SLG Publishing website, www.slavelabor.com.
Established in 1986, SLG Publishing is a San Jose, CA-based publisher of comics books and graphic novels. Operating under its imprints Slave Labor Graphics and Amaze Ink, SLG Publishing has distributed the work of such notable cartoonists as Jhonen Vasquez, Evan Dorkin and Andi Watson. More information about the company can be found at its website at www.slavelabor.com.
