In a few days the No Media Kings 5th anniversary edition of Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask will be back from the printer. Click the icon for a juicy desktop-suitable preview of the new colour scheme, masterminded as usual by Terry Lau at Beehive Design.

My first book has been out of print for the last few years. The idea of pumping money into an old project wasn’t nearly as exciting as realizing a new one, so even though I got the rights back from HarperCollins I held off for a while. But fans of the book and booksellers alike kept asking about how they could get a copy–and they almost always wanted one with the Canadian cover, so I couldn’t just tell them to buy the still-in-print US edition.

So thanks to everyone who enthused this book back into print. “It’d make a great movie!” is something people say flatteringly often, and so I got the idea of promoting the re-release with movie-style trailers for the book. Two groups of indie filmmakers were into the idea and they did a great job, producing very different but intriguing adaptations. I’ve posted the Vancouver version this month, continue reading to check it out for yourself!

 
 Flyboy Vancouver [1:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Trailer made by John Redpath.

You can watch the Toronto version here.

But I couldn’t just do a straight-up reprint–so there’s also a 30 page preview of my new book dropping September 2004 An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil. And while I’m not touring with Flyboy, Flyboy is going on the road with Emily Pohl-Weary’s Girls Who Bite Back. This team-supreme is touring the west coast in April, and the east coast in May:

Victoria: Thurs. Apr. 22, 8pm, Solstice Caf?
San Francisco: Sat. Apr. 24, 7:30pm. Modern Times
Los Angeles: Sun. Apr. 25, 7pm. Flor y Canto
San Jose: Tues. Apr. 27, 8pm. Anno Domini
Portland: Wed. Apr. 28, 7pm. Reading Frenzy
Seattle: Thurs. Apr. 29, 7pm. Confounded Books
Bellingham: Fri. Apr. 30, 8pm. Stuart’s Coffee House
Vancouver: Sun. May 2, 6 pm. The Railway Club
Calgary: Mon. May 3, 7:30 pm. McNally-Robinson
Toronto: Thurs. May 20th, 6pm. Cameron House
Ottawa: Fri. May 21, 9:30pm. Zibibbo
Montreal: Sat. May 22, 7:30pm. Zeke’s Gallery
Brooklyn: Sun. May 23, 7pm. The Lucky Cat
Cleveland: Mon. May 24, 7pm. Mac’s Backs
Cincinnati: Tues. May 25, 8:30pm. Sunflower Coffeehouse
Chicago: Thurs. May 27, 8pm. Quimby’s

See here for more details.
In between their superhero makeovers and other acts, the movie-style trailers will be screened, and copies of Flyboy will be available for purchase.

You can read the back cover and buy it online here.