Donate to the Maui Food Bank and get a signed copy of the second printing of MECH CADETS #1

I posted this on social media a while back but realized I hadn’t put it up here, so here you go!

If you donate at least $30 to the Maui Food Bank, I’ll send you a signed copy of the second printing of MECH CADETS #1. I can ship to US addresses only, thanks. Send proof of your donation and your mailing address to helpinghands at gregpak dot com and we’ll hook you up! Offer good while supplies last. Thank you!

MECH CADETS hits the Top Ten list on Netflix!

Netflix graphic showing a big number 5 alongside a promo image from the MECH CADETS animated show showing Stanford touching the face of his robo. Netflix graphic showing a big number 5 alongside a promo image from the MECH CADETS animated show showing Stanford touching the face of his robo.

A little over a week ago, MECH CADETS debuted on Netflix and promptly hit the Top Ten list of the service’s most viewed television shows in the US. I’m blown away and grateful and have a lot of people to thank!

MECH CADETS is a Netflix animated television series based on the MECH CADET YU comics, written by yours truly with line art by Takeshi Miyazawa.

Huge love to the MECH CADET YU comics team, including Tak Miyazawa, Triona Farrell, Jessica Kholinne, Raúl Angulo, Simon Bowland, Cameron Chittock, Eric Harburn, Filip Sablik, and Matt Gagnon. And huge love to the new MECH CADETS sequel comics team, including Tak, Simon, Eric, Ian Herring, and Shantel LaRoque.

And huge congrats to Jane Lee and company at Netflix; Jack Liang, Patrick Awa and company at Polygon; Stephen Christy, Mette Nørkjær and company at BOOM; and the incredible MECH CADETS writers room of Aaron Lam, Ashley Eakin, David Shayne, and Mercedes Valle.

Massive high five to all of the voice actors who worked on the show, including Daniel Dae Kim, Ming-Na Wen, Brandon Soo Hoo, Victoria Grace, Josh Sundquist, Anairis Quinones, Debra Wilson, and so many more. And enormous thanks to all of the animators, designers, musicians, and other creative folks who worked on the show so hard for all these years.

Many thanks to so many people at BOOM! publishing, past and present, who worked so incredibly hard to promote MECH CADET YU and now its sequel book MECH CADETS every step of the way, including Stephen Christy, Arune Singh, Steph Hocutt, Morgan Perry, Mel Caylo, Ross Richie, Ryan Matsunaga, Harley Salbacka, Josh Hayes, Anthony Mauro, and so many others!

And a giant thank you to Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, Keith Chow, and Jerry Ma, the editors of the SHATTERED Asian American comics anthology, where the original LOS ROBOS story that eventually became MECH CADET YU first appeared.

Finally, I’m hugely grateful to every reader, reviewer, and retailer who ever said kind things about the books, and to everyone who’s tuned in to make the television show a hit. Please do keep spreading the word, watching the show, and reading the new comic book series!

You are all my favorite.

2023-08-16 – DARTH VADER #37 in comic book shops

Darth Vader #37 cover by Leinil Yu and Sunny Gho featuring Vader in the foreground blocking blasts with his light saber while big images of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan loom over him.

DARTH VADER #37 hits comic book shops today! Script by yours truly, line art by Raffaele Ienco, colors by Federico Blee, letters by Joe Caramagna, cover by Leinil Yu and Sunny Gho, editing by Mark Paniccia, Mikey Basso, and Danny Khazem.

Realized that with issue #37, I’ve now written more issues of DARTH VADER in sequence than any other comic book series I’ve worked on. I might have written more Hulk and Hercules comics over the years, but those were broken up into different runs. Also realized that means I may have written more Darth Vader comics than anyone else on the planet at this point, whew! Hugely grateful to all of the readers, reviewers, and retailers who have supported the book and made this all possible!

Here’s the official solicit:

• KILLER DROIDS have taken over DARTH VADER’S flagship Super Star Destroyer, the EXECUTOR!
• Will the lessons of JEDI MASTERS QUI-GON and OBI-WAN save him from the SCOURGE – or make him a tool for its galactic conquest?

Check out the lettered preview here and ask your local comics shop to hold a copy for you today!

2023-08-19 – Greg Pak to deliver keynote at the Bronx Library Center Comic Con

Bronx Library Center Comic Con 2023 graphic - says doors open at 10 am

I’m very excited to report that this Saturday I’ll be delivering the keynote address at the Bronx Library Center Comic Con! The event is at 310 East Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10458, and free to the public. Come see, come see!

Here’s the whole schedule of the con:

AUDITORIUM

10:00 AM – Doors open

11:00 – 11:15 AM – Introduction with Jennifer Watson

11:15 – 12:00 – Keynote Address with Greg Pak

12:00 – 1:00 PM – Panel 1: What Goes Into Making Comics

1:00 – 2:00 PM – Panel 2: POC in Comics (A Bronx Fantastic Event)

2:30 – 4:30 PM – Film Screening: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

4:30 – 5:45 PM – Cosplay Contest

5:45 – 6:00 PM – Closing Remarks

C LEVEL

12:00 – 5:00 PM – Vender Exhibition Artist Alley

ROOM C121

12:00 – 5:00 PM – Library Arcade

ROOM C21

1:00 – 2:00 PM – Graphic Novel Book Discussion

2:30 – 4:00 PM – Cosmic Draw (A Bronx Fantastic Event) (Drawing Workshop)

4:00 – 5:00 PM – The Real Deal (A Bronx Fantastic Event) (Workshop)

ROOM 307

12:00 – 3:00 PM – Gu-pit Gu-pit: Once Piece Paker Sculptures (Space limited. Register at nypl/blc)

ROOM 303

1:00 – 5:00 PM – Upcycling Costumes and Props/Collage

 

2023.08.09 – MECH CADETS #1 hits comic book shops – check out the preview and first review!

MECH CADETS #1 cover by Takeshi Miyazawa and Ian Herring. Featuring the heroes of the MECH CADET YU series posed before the Hero Force 2 robo against a starry sky.

I’m thrilled to report that MECH CADETS #1 hits comic book shops this Wednesday, August 9! The series is the sequel to the original MECH CADET YU series and is drawn by Takeshi Miyazawa with colors by Ian Herring, letters by Simon Bowland, and script by yours truly.

Check out this excerpt from the first advance review from Comic Book Revolution:

Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa once again team-up to deliver a can’t miss comic book in Mech Cadets #1. The characters continue to progress as they deal with what it means to be heroes in a world where they have rules they’re told to follow. The depth in the story along with a strong artistic presentation taps into everything that makes Gundam and other mech genre franchises great.

And check out a lettered preview at Graphic Policy!

Panel from MECH CADETS #1 showing Oliva Park on the verge of tears. The word balloon says ">sniff<."

I’m hugely proud of this book and I love that we’ve shifted our emphasis to focus on Olivia Park, the antagonist of the last series, as she grapples with her relationship with her father and her new status quo as the most powerful person on the planet. Big action, big heart. Please do feel free to ask your local comics shop to hold a copy for you today!

2023.08.01 – CITY BOY #3 in stores today – co-starring Superman!

City Boy #3 cover by Minkyu Jung, colored by Sunny Gho, featuring Superman descending toward City Boy, who's tipping his hat as he disappears into the shadows in the street

If you’re a Superman fan, dontcha dare miss CITY BOY #3, written by yours truly with line art by the great Minkyu Jung, colors by Sunny Gho, letters by Wes Abbott, and edited by Jessica Chen!

This is my first time writing Superman since my ACTION COMICS run ended back in 2016. Absolutely loved it. One of my favorite comic book characters of all time. Hope to get another shot at a run with Clark one of these days.

Check out the lettered preview here and ask your local comics shop to hold a copy for you today!

Panel from CITY BOY #4 showing Superman flying towards us with a determined but calm look on his face, saying "There's ALWAYS another way."

 

2023.08.16 – MARVEL’S VOICES X-MEN #1 with a Pak/Bayliss Jubilee story!

Three panels from Marvel Voices X-Men #1 featuring line art by Daniel Bayliss and colors by Marcelo Costa. Panels show Jubilee and Lady Deathstrike hiding behind a column as androids fire at them, Jubilee making a comic pleading face (to Lady D), and then Jubilee happily plunging into battle with the androids.
 

Very happy to report that Marvel.com has posted details about the MARVEL’S VOICES X-MEN anthology book that hits comic book shops on August 16.  Here’s the blurb about the story I worked on:

“HOLLYWOOD ENDING” Starring Jubilee and Lady Deathstrike

Written by GREG PAK
Art by DANIEL BAYLISS
Colors by MARCELO COSTA

Superstar writer Greg Pak, known for modern mutant masterpieces like PHOENIX: ENDSONGSTORM, and MAGNETO: TESTAMENT, returns to the X-Men with newcomer Daniel Bayliss for an unexpected team-up story starring Jubilee and Lady Deathstrike!

Please feel free to ask your local comic shop to order a copy for you today!

2023-07-12 – DARTH VADER #36 hits comic shops – check out the preview!

DARTH VADER #36 cover by Leinil Yu and Sunny Gho featuring Vader holding a jagged shield and electro staff, with Doctor Aphra standing beside him and the evil droids Triple Zero and Beetee-One in the background.

DARTH VADER #36 hits comic book shops on Wednesday, July 7, and you can  check out the lettered preview at Comic Book Dispatch!

The book was written by Greg Pak (hey, that’s me!) with line art by Raffaele Ienco, colors by Federico Blee, letters by Joe Caramagna, and a cover by Leinil Yu and Sunny Gho. Here’s the official solicit:

DEATH BY DROID! With his Force powers still out of control, Darth Vader’s more powerful and vulnerable than ever before… Which makes this the perfect time for him to be BETRAYED by one of his most trusted associates (and astoundingly, it’s not APHRA or OCHI)! Featuring the return of TRIPLE-ZERO and BEE TEE – and the deadliest team up of droids Vader has ever faced!

This was a fun issue to write in part because I did something unusual for me — cutting back and forth in time to show a plan being hatched and executed at the same time. I think I generally write in a pretty direct manner, avoiding too much fooling around with time jumps (with the exception of evocative flashbacks, especially in the VADER book). But with this issue, we’re seeing a group of droids planning an attack on Vader, and somehow playing with time was the most efficient and fun way to move the story forward with maximum surprises and payoffs.

Panel from DARTH VADER #36 showing the Droid Crush leader pointing at Gee-Ninety, saying "How about you, big guy?" Gee-Ninety responds saying "Ha ha! Me? I'm Gee-Ninety! I worked for Vader--until he betrayed my team and cut me in half!" Other silhouetted droids in the background listen.

I’ve been writing comics for 19 years now (and writing fiction for about 48!), but there are always new (to me) things to try and muscles to flex.

Please do ask your local comic shop to hold a copy of the book for you. Hope you enjoy!

Writer of over 500 comic books, including PLANET HULK, MECH CADET YU, FIREFLY, and DARTH VADER