One of my absolute favorite creators going right now is Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Writer/Artist of the INCREDIBLY AWESOME Scott Pilgrim series by Oni Press, he’s been a major influence for me lately as a writer.  It’s effects really haven’t been seen in Dead of Summer, but his work has been a primary influence on one of those…other comics we hinted about during our panels this weekend at Balticon.  If you were at the “What’s New in Comics” panel on Saturday, you may also remember me pimping Scott Pilgrim rather hard there, too.

In any case, the 4th volume (of 6?)  of Scott Pilgrim is set for release this September.  Titled Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together,  I’m all KINDS of excited for it…  And to keep fanboys like myself drooling, O’Malley just released the art for the cover, seen below.

If you’ve yet to read the other 3 volumes (Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, and Scott Pilgrim And The Infinite Sadness), I highly recommend them as quality summer reading.  The books are a sly, action packed kick to the face, full of pop culture humor with a deep heart.  A manga fused with the heart of the US indie comic scene, it’s totally worth reading.

Now…do I start slipping open the curtains on one of the new comics and share some of the early designs? (We’re talking like…last summer) Maybe. If Nick lets me.