Sure, talk is cheap, but the VERTIGO 2012 Preview Sampler is FREE! Head over to your local comics shop in early February for a FREE 32-page preview featuring four new Vertigo monthlies that debut in March. My contribution to the mix is FAIREST, the “sister” series to FABLES, written by Bill Willingham with art by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning and painted covers by the incomparable Adam Hughes. Two things you need to know about FAIREST: 1. Many of our stories predate FABLES. So if you’ve always wanted to read FABLES but felt like issue #113 and/or 16 volumes was a bit late in the game to join the party, fear not! This is the perfect opportunity to break out your formal wear and find out what the fuss is all about. You don’t have to understand FABLES at all/on any level to enjoy FAIREST. But if you’re an ardent fan, you’ve got some seriously satisfying surprises ahead! 2. It rotates. Future arcs will include stories by 2011 Arthur C. Clarke winner and always fashion-forward Lauren Beukes (rhymes with mucus—her words, not mine!) and art star Inaki Miranda. Also on deck is the fab Cinderella team of iZOMBIE’s Chris Roberson and Shawn McManus who bring on another spy story starring Fabletown’s favorite secret agent and noted scribe Sean Williams whose storyarc set in India will really take you places. Keep checking back here for more info on the other new series that make their mark in March — assuming their respective editors are just as shameless about self -promotion. And see you next week for Less talk/More action! --Shelly

Under editor Shelly Bond’s watch, assistant editor Greg Lockard grills J. Bone in the days before he begins working on iZOMBIE issue #21 (on sale 1/4). cover #21 by Mike Allred GL: What was your first thought when you heard you'd be guest-jamming with Roberson and Allred on iZOMBIE? JB: “Awesome!” I've been a fan of Allred's since getting a Madman ashcan in an issue of Heroes magazine. I'm always looking for excuses to work with Mike, having drawn the Mr. Gum one-shot with him and inking him on X-Statix years ago. I like the way Chris and Mike have updated the movie monster clichés in iZOMBIE. And I use the word "clichés" with all the love in the world. As a Universal Movie Monster fan I like seeing the mummy, vampires, wolf-man (in the form of a were-terrier), and the quick glimpse of the Creature from the Black Lagoon (the first mini-story in the second trade). So awesome to be working with Chris and Mike. GL: What was the first comic you worked on? JB: That would be Solar Stella. I did everything on that one - wrote it, drew it, lettered it. There's only the one issue, and I left it on a cliffhanger. That was twelve years ago. It was my first published work and also the only time I've ever been nominated for an Eisner (Talent Deserving Wider Recognition). I didn't win. GL: You will next time! What was the first comic you read? JB: When I was a kid my sister had a subscription to Humpty Dumpty magazine which printed Tintin in black and white. I remember reading those (and then discovering Tintin albums at the library years later). I also remember my dad having a stack of superhero comics and distinctly remember an issue of Batman with Man-Bat flying over a car on the cover. GL: What do you do when you're not scribbling? Hobbies? Crafts? Reading? JB: I love reading. At any one time I've got a few books on the go. Inevitably one book becomes my focus and I dive into it when I take a break (or ride the subway or before bed). Right now I'm reading Arthur & George by Julian Barnes. My friend Cliff recommended A Sense of an Ending by the same author, and I loved his writing so much I sought out his other books. I also crochet. I learned how to crochet and knit (there is a difference) a few years ago so that I could make my own superhero dolls. I made a Doop (can we mention Doop? :)) doll for Mike which he mentioned in an interview for Wizard magazine -- who then featured my crocheted menagerie in a sidebar interview. Very cool. GL: I love Doop, too! I’m not sure we can mention him, but the risk feels sexy. GL: Soundtrack to your iZOMBIE issue? Music you listen to while you draw? Or do you have the TV on? JB: I actually mostly listen to soundtracks and classical music. I love Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer's Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks and pretty much listen to any or all of those every day. That's what I've been listening to as I get started work on the issue of iZOMBIE. Otherwise I've just got the local classical station on in the background or CBC radio's talk radio channel.

Superstar artist Mike Allred admired the vintage wallpaper of a bar he was patronizing one night.

Unable to get the wallpaper out of his mind, he hit the drawing board. Mike imagined creepy things coming out of the paper’s repetitive pattern and was inspired to create the cover of iZombie #19. No copy and pasting here, Mike drew every single one of the scrollwork images by hand!

Check out the sketch and final cover below.

In issue #4 of CINDERELLA: Fables are Forever (on sale Wednesday) Cindy and Ivan are held captive by Anasi. As they are transported to an undisclosed location, Cindy recalls some former assignments which involved her nemesis. And we find out just how Dorothy, a sweet girl from Kansas, turned into a killer for hire.