Under the cover images you’ll find the complete list of Marvel releases this week, and what awesome covers they are! A hairy assassin with opposable thumbs, superhero laundry and Darkness (of the X-Men and Tower variety). That’s what I call variety!
Legends: The Enchanted #0 Review
I was at one of my two local comic shops this week for my usual swag of goodies, when I noticed one of the guys bagging up the new releases. What caught my eye was Radical’s Aladdin: Legacy of the Lost #1. Amongst all the Big Two offerings, it stood out like a Twilight fan at Comic-Con. It’s painted cardstock cover and general handsome presentation means that it should (as it deserves to) swivel heads looking amongst the latest floppies.
That’s indicative of pretty much all of Radical’s output though, and this year looks set to be the best yet from the relatively new company. Aladdin, BTW is definitely another book you should read. It’s swashbuckling in all the right ways. And now on to Enchanted.
The perceptive would’ve seen the Legends: The Enchanted OGN in this month’s Previews. That 128 page “deluxe hardcover” book arrives in April, and this zero ish acts as a primer. Comparing the premise to Fables and the works of Zenescope is the first description that comes to mind, but like most of Radical’s books it’s set just enough apart from anything else that it’s easily its own beast. They have a brief, yet solid history of dressing up great concepts with killer looks and Legends is no different.
It begins with Jack the Giant-Killer doing what his title implies, with Conan-like machismo, simultaneously saving and destroying the humble town of Krakenfield in the process, before riding off on a mean bike. Then we’re whisked away to Pinocchio, who is fully grown and is being tortured. It seems that not everyone in this fantastic world likes these “enchanted” folk and their powerful abilities, including the handy, but painful “healing charm.” We then see Red Riding Hood slicing up some wolves in the dark woods, and then meet some ugly folk (including one wearing a shirt with the Radical logo on it) in a tavern looking to stir up trouble, but who do not go unnoticed.
Creator Nick Percival does a superb job of teasing the world he’s created. The OGN will show us darker versions of Hansel, Gretel, Goldilocks and Humpty Dumpty amongst others, and this #0 issue is a great introduction -and it’s only $1! This is a grisly world filled with bionics and mechanics as much as grotesque creatures and medieval brutality. Sure, not a lot happens here, but Radical are obviously confident that Legends will find a greater readership and if nothing else Percival’s tale is the mark of a future talent to keep your eyes upon. There’s a richness to his painting style that Radical readers would be familiar with and a boldness to the way he approaches each page. He lets each scene breathe, and though it’s obvious he’s bursting at the seams with mad ideas, he’s in no rush to tell a complete story here. There will be plenty of time for that come April, and I for one am looking to visit this crazy world then.
The Week In Pictures Feb 7 2010
There are so many press releases, previews and great snippets of upcoming comics products flooding the net daily, that it’s difficult to whack them all up on this humble blog. So, I thought I’d give a new (hopefully regular) feature a go and boil down all the juicy bits of recent nerd goodness to a hearty visual stew.
Top Cow’s 4th installment in their Pilot Season series of one-shots (and potential series) is called Stellar. Written by Image partners Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri, with art by Bernard Chang, Stellar arrives in April and is described thusly:
In Pilot Season: Stellar #1, Kirkman explores the story of Stellar, one of five genetically-enhanced super-humans created by the government. For Stellar, the process used on her has made her toxic to other humans driving four volunteers insane. Banished from Earth, Stellar roams the cosmos trying to use her powers for good, haunted by the fact that she can never return home – and all too aware that her fellow super-humans are out there, eager to strike at any moment.
Halo Legends premieres in san Francisco on Feb 10. Press will be there of course, and maybe you, if you’re quick, and lucky. If not, you can see it with the rest of us on Feb 16.
A limited number of free tickets are available for the general public. Fans wishing to receive free tickets to the event should RSVP via email to halolegends@ign.com. Tickets will be distributed on a “first come, first served” basis. Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor will be available for media interviews from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and will also discuss the film in an informal, in-theatre Q&A following the screening.
Halo Legends is an all-new, CG and traditional anime PG-13 experience that presents enthralling new stories from one of the world’s most popular video game franchises. The seven-story anthology explores the origin and historical events of the Halo universe and its intriguing characters. The individual episodes fall within Halo’s 26th Century mythology as the battle between humanity and aliens rages on in an attempt to protect Earth and mankind’s expansive number of space colonies.
Andy Kubert’s covers for the first 2 issues of DC’s mini-series, The Return of Bruce Wayne are out. Written by the man who killed him, Grant Morrison, the series will feature Bruce returning to the land of the living (and the present) via a few stopovers throughout past centuries. Yes, we get Pirate Batman and Caveman Batman and all manner of awesome-ness. Batman with an actual costume made of bats while beating primitives with a low-tech axe? I am so there.
Staying with whacky Bats news, is the crazily enjoyable Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoon series. This new episode features the origin of Firetsorm (cleverly combining the former and present identities), Booster Gold, The Riddler and a bunch of villan’s from Batman’s “zany bad guy” period.
Frozen
Looking for a good film for this weekend? Then check this out. Frozen from writer/director Adam Green is similar in approach to the great Open Water from a few years ago, in that it’s an indie film with few characters as they unravel while facing possible death. It stars Shawn Ashmore (Iceman from the X-Men films) and the poster and trailer are below. It’s been quite widely praised and you can see if it’s playing near you (if you live in the States) by checking out the official site.
The Viltrumite War
Just in case you were under the allusion that superhero comics aren’t bloody, check out this teaser image for Invincible #71 from Image in which the titular hero fights his long absent father.
If you’re still hungry for blood, go here to check out the ‘ripping’ death of an Avenger in this week’s Siege #2 from Marvel. I feel sorry for the guy. Superheroing is dangerous business.
Man-Machine
OK, I’ll be honest, I haven’t read much of this new webcomic from Martin Hekker and Mike Angstadt, entitled Man-Machine. The first chapter, Praepisitio and the second, The Name of the Father plays with themes of capitalism, God and technology. It deserves a more in-depth read and a wider audience, and comes with a great soundtrack and visuals that lay somewhere in the Phil Noto spectrum, but not quite. The reading interface is seamless too. Instead of flipping pages, there’s the pulling of arrows. It works so well. The two books have such distinct and separate colour palettes that the pics from Book 1 below really don’t do them justice. Go here to see what I mean. It’s always a nice surprise to discover the work of talented individuals willing to create something new and daring.
Crisis On Two Earths Clip 2
Coming on Feb 23 is DC’s latest animated film, and here’s another clip from it, along with the press release below. Since it’s not up on YouTube yet, you’ll have to see it embedded on CBR. It is worth it though, as the good Lex Luthor appeals to ‘our’ JLA for help against his world’s destroyers. All signs point to this being the best DC animated film yet.
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is an original story from award-winning animation/comics writer Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League) rooted in DC Comics’ popular canon of “Crisis” stories depicting parallel worlds with uniquely similar super heroes and villains. Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday, Green Lantern) is executive producer. Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern) and Sam Liu (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies) are co-directors.
The full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def , as well as single disc DVD, On Demand and Download.
Live In L.A As A Comics Journo
One of the top comics related websites is offering a rare employment opportunity. If you’re tech savvy, live in/near Los Angeles and can edit well, this could be your big chance. This is what you’ll need:
Applicant must be highly motivated, have flexible hours, be available for occasional weekend convention coverage and other work, and possess the following requirements:
- Strong grasp of language with respect to interviews and news articles.
- Basic understanding of HTML (Dreamweaver skills are a plus, advanced HTML skills are a plus+).
- Beginner/Intermediate level experience working with Adobe Photoshop (advanced level experience is a plus+).
- A current and reliable computer.
- Broad knowledge of published comics, genre film and television, video games, etc.
- Great interpersonal skills.
All the details can be seen here. Be quick. Fanboys everywhere will be jumping on this!
NBM Sale
NBM Publishing have another great sale on. Woo hoo! When they had their most recent one last year, I picked up quite a few bargains, such as The Acme Novelty Library, Missouri Boy and more. Check it out for a bunch of $3 comics!
Also coming from NBM in April is Brooke A Allen’s 208 pager A Home For Mr. Easter, which is described as a, “crazy energetic book by a refreshing new talent! Tesana has never really fit into anything before but her daydreams. But when making an attempt to connect to her peers by joining in a pep rally planning committee she suddenly discovers a little white rabbit that lays brightly colored eggs. Realizing that she may have found the real life Easter bunny, Tesana embarks on an epic quest in an effort to get him back to his natural habitat and into safe hands. However as she progresses on her fanciful journey she gains more and more undesired attention until the quest becomes an increasingly madcap race to stay ahead of greedy pursuers and find a safe place for her new friend…wherever that place may be. It’s Tesana against the world!”
Here’s a peek at the art, and you can see more at Brooke’s blog here.
Toy Story #1 Review
Following on from the first part of this story as seen in the recent Toy Story #0 from BOOM! Studios, The Return of Buzz Lightyear, Part Two is presented here in another charming instalment of this widely adored franchise. Jesse Blaze Snider again impresses with his considerable writing skills. There’s a lot to live up to whenever you stamp a Pixar property boldly on the cover, but BOOM! can afford to be confident. Jumping from the dark vampire romance of Dead Romeo to this kid friendly series with ease, Snider manages to erase any doubt as to his storytelling diversity. The guy is funny. Like the previous issue, I enjoyed this more than I thought. Snider knows what Toy Story fans expect, ie, humour, emotion and light hearted fun and with the 3rd film set for a June release, now is the time to dive in and get reintroduced to these characters. Setting the comic between Toy Story 2 and 3 is a wise move, as it gives Snider more characters to…play with and creates a familiarity for fans of the films.
Following on from the #0 issue in which Buzz was returned to the toy store, and replaced by a brand new version in Andy’s room, the adventure continues with great aplomb. Woody rounds up the troops to rescue his gallant friend from the shelves, and tries to convince the newer Buzz and fellow Space Ranger Booster to go along with the plan. One daring flight down the squeaky stairs later (with a quick diversion for Andy’s dog Buster) and the rescue attempt in miniature form begins.
Wordplay including a karaoke machine named Mike and dialogue such as, “Allright girls and toys!” makes this the kind of tale that parents can enjoy just as much as their kids. It’s obvious that Snider is enjoying himself here. When Woody and co. steal Andy’s mum’s car to get to the toy store, and get pulled over by a bewildered cop – genius. When they arrive at their destination to find an angry swarm of Buzz Lightyears dressed as a samurai, ninja and other assorted varities – genius-er!
Artist Nathan Watson matches Snider every step of the way. The key to making comics funny is down to two visual cues – timing and facial expressions. Watson nails both. His loose style is closer to the Buzz Lightyear animated TV series than anything resembling drool inducing CGI wizardry, but it works well. All of the characters from Slinky to dinosaur Rex to piggy bank Hamm are portrayed with such skill that there’s no question that these are the same characters from the films. Thankfully this is an ongoing series, so there’s a few more issues to catch up with Woody and Buzz before Toy Story 3 arrives.
20th Century Boys 2 DVD
Press release below from Viz regarding this month’s sequel adaptation to a very popular manga.
VIZ PICTURES TO RELEASE 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE ON DVD
Special Theatrical Screening Also Planned For Live-Action Sci-Fi Film –The Second In A Trilogy Based On Popular Manga Series By Naoki Urasawa
VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, will release the science fiction feature 20th CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE on DVD on February 16th in North America through its distributor, VIZ Media. 20th CENTURY BOYS will carry a MSRP of $24.92 US / $35.99 CAN.
The 20th CENTURY BOYS saga is based on Naoki Urasawa’s manga series, 20th CENTURY BOYS (published in the US by VIZ Media), which has become a national phenomenon in Japan, selling over 20 million copies of the 24 volumes. Urasawa is the creator of many famous works such as the hit manga series, MONSTER and PLUTO also published in the US by VIZ Media.
The film is directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, who began directing commercials and music videos at Nihon Television. One of his most recent films includes Happily Ever After (2007) is also released by VIZ Pictures and distributed by VIZ Media. Both Naoki Urasawa and Music Director Ryomei Shirai are fans of the 1970’s rock music scene and chose “20th Century Boy” by T.REX (Imperial Records) as the main theme song.
The story began in 1969 when a young boy named Kenji and his friends write “The Book of Prophecy” in which they write about a future where they fight against an evil organization trying to takeover the world and bring about doomsday. Years later in 1997, a mysterious cult being led by a man only known as “Friend” emerges and begins to gain strong influence over society. A series of catastrophic events begin to occur mirroring the prophecies made up by the young Kenji and the greatest fear is the climax of “The Book” becoming a reality; December 31st, 2000, a terrifying giant virus-spreading robot will attack the entire city of Tokyo leading to the end of mankind. The only people who know about “The Book” are Kenji and his childhood friends. Who is “Friend”? Will Kenji and his friends be able to save mankind and live to see the 21st Century?
In 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE it is 2015, and “Friend” rules a disturbing new world. Kenji has been missing since the Bloody New Year’s Eve of 2000, and his niece Kanna is now in high school. Her history textbook contains a fabricated story about Kenji and his friends being the terrorists behind the horrific events of 2000. Kanna, knowing the truth, openly resents this, and as a result she is marked as a problem child by her teacher and sent to the Friend Land program because of her anti-Friend behavior. Friend Land is a facility where people with rebellious behavior are re-educated. As the program begins, Kanna and her classmate Kyoko Koizumi achieve high marks and are sent to the advanced program called the Bonus Stage, where they find themselves in a virtual reconstruction of 1971, when Kenji and his friends were kids. There, each of the girls learns crucial secrets about “Friend.”
The surviving secret base members have been separated since Bloody New Year’s Eve but each has spent the last 15 years in various activities opposing Friend and his regime. As Kenji’s friends all try to find out the truth about Friend, they discover the shocking existence of The New Book of Prophecy, the sequel to The Book of Prophecy. The New Book describes an event: In 2015, at a church in Shinjuku, a savior will rise to uphold justice but will be assassinated. Who is the savior? Once again, Doomsday looms near…
To celebrate this DVD release, VIZ Pictures will be holding a special screening event at VIZ Cinema in San Francisco on February 9th at 7:30PM. Ticket for admission is $25.00, which will include a ticket for the screening, a copy of the 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE DVD, poster, and pin! Additionally, VIZ Pictures is raffling off 20th Century Boys T-shirts before the show so come watch the film for a chance to win! Tickets are available at the box office or online at www.vizcinema.com. For more information about this event, please visit www.vizcinema.com or www.viz-pictures.com.
“20th CENTURY BOYS has been a mega hit since it mesmerized audiences with it’s U.S. theatrical premiere of 20th CENTURY BOYS 1: BEGINNING OF THE END in the summer of 2009, and we are excited to announce the U.S. debut of 20th CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE,” says Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “We also hope fans in the San Francisco Bay Area can join us for the one night only special screening at VIZ Cinema to experience 20th CENTURY BOYS on the Big Screen.”
For more information on 20th CENTURY BOYS or other VIZ Pictures titles, please visit www.viz-pictures.com.
Captain America is an Avenger
Marvel is reuniting the original Avengers trio of Captain America, Iron Man and Thor! This is a teaser image of the current Cap (ie, the man once known as Bucky) rather than the recently resurrected original Cap, Steve Rogers with the declaration of his Avengers status. This pic reveals a glimpse of May’s Brian Michael Bendis/John Romita Jr Avengers #1.
