Comic Book Writer.

#1 Amazon Best-Selling and three-time Ringo Award nominated graphic novel writer. Hat/Scarf not real.

[dirkmanning]

This weekend the "20 Years of Terror" tour (and by third appearance in three weeks!) takes me to @therealanimarathon at @bowlinggreenstate! I have a lot of love for this Saturday and Sunday anime and manga themed show, and always value and appreciate them bringing me back as a guest to the university campus where I spent so much time in my youth honing my craft as a writer! I'll have copies of several of my new TPBs from @sourcepointpress as well as a limited amount of the Dirk Manning figures from @knuckleheadzltd... so come see me as soon as you can to guarantee you'll get what you want, friends! See you soon! #dirkmanning #animarathon #bgsu #falconpride #lifeontheroad #20YearsOfTerror #makecomics https://www.instagram.com/p/CqBex3kvSDe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

Huge heartfelt thanks and praise to @nwoteenbookfest, @gatheringvolumes, and everyone else who helped do so much to promote teen and youth literacy yesterday along with me, THE ADVENTURES OF CTHULHU JR. AND FRIENDS co-creator @scootcomics, and so many other incredible, talented, and passionate authors! Encouraging and supporting a love and appreciation of reading and writing takes a lot of sustained effort, and to see so many people willing to dedicate a weekend to doing so fills my heart with joy and pride. To those of you out there who love reading, writing, literature, and/or comics, I encourage you to find ways to pay it forward and help spread your love of it all however you can, as it all matters and it all helps! As for me, I'll be doing so when the "20 Years of Terror" tour continues over the next few weeks at @therealanimarathon next weekend, @c2e2 the weekend after that, and then @munciecomiccon in April! I hope to see you on the road spreading a love of comics soon! #dirkmanning #nwoteenbookfest #scootmcmahon #cthulhujr #lifeontheroad #20YearsOfTerror https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp-bfYusg7K/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

Promoting youth and teen literacy is a cause near and dear to my heart, which is why I'm exceptionally excited and honored to be one of the featured authors at @nwoteenbookfest this Saturday! This FREE event is packed with numerous creative professionals all also dedicated to this cause, including THE ADVENTURES OF CTHULHU JR. AND FRIENDS co-creator @scootcomics, making this out first official signing event together in celebration of the publication of the book by @sourcepointpress! If you can make it out, c'mon out and join us! #dirkmanning #cthulhujr #lifeontheroad #nwoteenbookfest #teenliteracy #makecomics #20YearsOfTerror https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp0OcG5L-8N/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

Upon discovering an evil rock band plans on summoning Cthulhu during their concert, supernatural troubleshooter Mr. Rhee realizes he needs help from both demon-hunters and demons alike to thwart the threat! TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5: "Rock Star Paranoia" is a perfect jumping-on point for new readers looking for a great new horror series packed with complex characters in dynamic situations and settings... and there's only six days left to order it at your local comic shop or book store to get it day off release! Artist @flyingcar_pictures (BLAZE YA DEAD HOMIE), colorist @iniko_beats (TWIZTID HAUNTED HIGH-ONS), and @editor_drenajo (BUTTS IN SEATS) joined me for this latest installment of the series, which may be my favorite to date! And did I mention that gorgeous cover by @tentaclesandteeth and the introduction by @pops_and_vintage of @officialtwiztid too? If you're a completist and want to start at the beginning, though, you can also prefer the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE which collects the first four volumes in one beautiful TPB edition containing 500+ pages of full color horror noir, also from @sourcepointpress! Celebrate horror all year round and treat yo'self, friends! #talesofmrrhee #dirkmanning #austinmckinley #inikobeats #editordrenajo #horrorcomics #cthulhunoir #lovecraft https://www.instagram.com/p/CpxlkU_MA5I/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

HOLY TOLEDO! As always, @fantasticonshow Toledo proved to be yet another whirlwind of amazing time people, chats, and sales of both books and the new Dirk Manning figures from @knuckleheadzltd! Many, many thanks to all whole came out to for the festivities and to support the work of both me and @travisthebeard of @sourcepointpress as well as @messbucketcomics with @realdarrenmccarty. Extra special love goes out to my forever homie @purplehash for dropping off my team's copies of the @majikninjaentertainment exclusive hardcover edition of HAUNTED HIGH-ONS Volume 2: "The Curse of the Green Book" as well as my brothers @johnboyzart, @gutimax75, and @tony_miello for coming in for a dinner of both business and laughs. My heart is full. Thank you, all! Next stops: @nwoteenbookfest this weekend, @therealanimarathon next week, the mighty @c2e2 after that to round-out the month! #dirkmanning #lifeontheroad #makecomics #fantasticon #toledo #20YearsOfTerror https://www.instagram.com/p/CpvCtrvsn-c/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

FILE UNDER: "It Begins..." #dirkmanning #fantasticon #toledo #lifeontheroad #makecomics #20YearsOfTerror (at Glass City Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpp27gPM76B/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

Back in 2012 @blackboxtv discovered my work through NIGHTMARE WORLD and hired me to write a short film for their @youtube series. The end result was "The Hunger" directed by @drewdaywalt and co-starring @bonnieaarons1 as the creature of the feature. Although I spoke to Bonnie a few times after the film released, we never met in person, with me staying busy writing not comics and Bonnie's star continued to rise with THE CONJURING and THE NUN. Well, this weekend thanks to @theastronomicon we were finally in the same room for the first time, and I was able to present her with a photo of her character from the film and tell her the story of how I so desperately I lobbied for her character to be credited as "The Momster." While they didn't credit her as such in the film, after I told her this story she signed the photo as "The Momster" making the name canonical a mere decade after the fact! Thanks Bonnie! You are a gem of a human being, I appreciate your friendship and kinship so much, and I look forward to us continuing to plan on working together again soon! #dirkmanning #bonnieaarons #blackboxtv #thehunger #astronomicon #lifeontheroad #20YearsOfTerror https://www.instagram.com/p/CpjcGPFMXQ7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

As you head to your local comic shop this week, don't forget to make sure that they're ordering you both HOPE Volume 2 #1 by me, @tallnose, @dave.does.comics, and @editor_drenajo as well as NIGHTMARE WORLD: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION which assembles all four volumes (and 52 stories) of this epic horror story and additional bonus content into a whopping 550+ page TPB collection for the first time! Both these books are being offered by @sourcepointpress, and specifically asking your local comic shop to order them is the best way to make sure you'll get them! #dirkmanning #hopecomic #sallyscottart #davelentz #editordrenajo #nightmareworld #cthulhu #cthulhumythos #horrorcomics #horroranthology #sourcepointpress #20YearsOfTerror https://www.instagram.com/p/CpiSdPULnyB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

Whoever said you can't go home again was sadly mistaken, as this Saturday and Sunday I return to my roots for @fantasticonshow Toledo at the @glasscitycenter! This show is always packed wall-to-wall with amazing creators, vendors, guests, and attendees -- which isn't a surprise given that Toledo is historically the host to at least four comic shops at any given time! C'mon out and see me this weekend to pick-up some books, get one of the limited edition Dirk Manning @knuckleheadzltd figures, and continue to celebrate "20 Years of Terror" at this amazing comic con! #dirkmanning #fantasticon #toledo #holytoledo #unholytoledo #glasscitycenter #lifeontheroad #20YearsOfTerror https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpgs3mCsDlE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

I couldn't possibly let the day pass without recognizing that today is the 20th anniversary of the debut of NIGHTMARE WORLD and the launch of my career as a published comic creator. Back on March 6, 2003 there weren't too many (if any?) fully realized comics being serialized online, making NIGHTMARE WORLD and everyone who joined me in the development of this series pioneers in the field of webcomics/online comics. Shown here are snippets of the first two pages of the original version of "Momma's Boy," written by me and fully illustrated by Ray Dillon of Golden Goat Studios as they were self-published online. As discussed in much more detail in WRITE OR WRONG: A WRITER'S GUIDE TO CREATING COMICS (which is getting a new printing coming VERY soon -- honest!), the model of NIGHTMARE WORLD was releasing two new story pages every Thursday, resulting in a new eight-page story every month. We continued this format for a total of fifty-two stories over the course of the original run, later going back and "remastering" some of the earlier stories when NIGHTMARE WORLD went into syndication through other websites, including the online comics hub of @imagecomics/Shadowline. When I was given the opportunity to take the series to print via a quartet of graphic novels, some of the original stories were replaced with newer ones, resulting in a limited edition hardcover omnibus that set a crowdfunding record for @devilsduecomics. Now, years later, I'm delighted to announce that @sourcepointpress is releasing NIGHTMARE WORLD: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION and that it's now available for preorder wherever you purchase comics and graphic novels. Whether you've been reading the series since its launch or are new to the series, I hope you'll consider making sure they're preordering a copy of this TPB for you so you can have it in your hands day of release May 31st. Thank you to all of you who've made this journey possible, friends! #nightmareworld #dirkmanning #sourcepointpress #20YearsOfTerror https://www.instagram.com/p/CpeSpClMqvH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

A small, small, taste of the amazingness that was @theastronomicon this weekend, including Killer Karaoke, dear friends, amazing readers, the debut of the Dirk Manning figure from @knuckleheadzltd, and the start of the "20 Years of Terror" tour that was even better than I could have imagined! I'll be posting more photos in the coming days, but for now, THANK YOU to all of you who made this such a fantastic convention experience! #dirkmanning #astronomicon #lifeontheroad #makecomics #20YearsOfTerror https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpde4aXvaNh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

Prepping for 6:30 AM television news appearance for @theastronomicon. Who needs sleep? #dirkmanning #lifeontheroad #makecomics #astronomicon #20YearsOfTerror (at Astronomicon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpaBfebOzn8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

FILE UNDER: "It Begins..." #dirkmanning #astronomicon #lifeontheroad #20YearsOfTerror (at Astronomicon) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpX3rsRL_ju/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

Pregaming for day one of @theastronomicon and the official beginning of the "20 Years of Terror" tour at the always amazing @vinsettagarage with these always amazing friends and collaborators. Let's do this! #dirkmanning #20YearsOfTerror #astronomicon #goodpeople https://www.instagram.com/p/CpV0dUavT1-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

FILE UNDER: "There Are No Words..." #dirkmanning #20YearsOfTerror #knuckleheadz #actionfiguresofinstagram #astronomicon https://www.instagram.com/p/CpTVaF9P_tE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

It's @ringoawards nominations season, friends, and I'm most sincerely hoping you'll join me in helping see good horror represented on the final ballot this year via TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5: "Rock Star Paranoia" from @sourcepointpress! We'd most sincerely appreciate it if you'd take a moment to pop over to www.RingoAwards.com and nominate TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5 as "Best Original Graphic Novel" and our aligned team members nominated in their respective categories listed here! We're all exceptionally proud of this book, and, honestly, it's among my favorites that I've written in my career to date, so please take a moment and let's help it make the final ballot and ensure good horror is represented this year! Thanks everyone! I appreciate you! #talesofmrrhee #ringoawards #dirkmanning #austinmckinley #inikobeats #sourcepointpress https://www.instagram.com/p/CpLTlQevf5X/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[dirkmanning]

PURE... METAL... BLISS. Last night I took a trip to @themachineshop in Flint, Michigan to see KINGS OF THRASH (the new band featuring Dave Ellefson and Jeff Young, formerly of MEGADETH) perform "So Far, So Good... So What!" in its entirety, as it's in my "Top Five" albums of all time. Not only did the band crush every damn song, but as an added surprise bonus, original album drummer Chuck Behler was also at the show and joined them onstage for a pair of songs in a reunion 35 years in the making! Attending this show was a no-brainer for me even though I knew it meant I'd have to miss @greatlakescon (a show I have a lot of love for), but by the time the concert was over I found myself standing there, so damn happy I went, pondering that it may have been among the two best live shows I've ever attended in my life. Then, literally at that very moment, despite seeing at least a thousand live music performances in my life, I had a first-time concert experience: Guitarist Jeff Young -- again, mind you -- the lead guitarist on one of my favorite (and most listened to) metal albums of all time tossed a guitar pick right into the palm of my hand. Flint Coneys with a chocolate milkshake. An incredible music venue. A great opening act in HATRIOT (who'll get their own post later). Seeing every song from one of my favorite albums of all time performed live, including two (including my favorite song from the album) by 3/4ths of the original line-up. PURE... METAL... BLISS. For me, this was the unofficial kick-off to my "20 Years of Terror" signing tour... and if this is any indicator, well, let's f**king rock together, friends! #kingsofthrash #megadeth #themachineshop #flintmichigan #dirkmanning #puremetalbliss #sofarsogoodsowhat #lifeontheroad https://www.instagram.com/p/CpFriAwr8Ah/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=