Here’s a cool press release from Robert Luedke’s Head Press Publishing. I met the creator at Comic-Con last year as he had his Eye Witness books on display. They’ve been getting lots of attention, such as this recent article/interview at the Houston Chronicle. Now, he’s taking his wares to the digital domain.
Beginning on Sunday May 10th, Head Press Publishing went live with their first “digital only” offering…a fully remastered and revised edition of the first book in the award-winning Eye Witness series, A Fictional Tale of Absolute Truth.
“This is our first attempt at creating something specifically for digital distribution,” stated series creator, Robert Luedke. “The original book in the series was very experimental, production wise, and I was dying to go back and remaster the colors and revise certain parts of the narrative while cleaning up the editorial missteps.” Initially, the revised edition of Eye Witness Book One will exclusively be available through the Head Press Publishing website, but HPP is currently in negotiations to make it available through other select comic and Christian venues in the future.
“I think this is a very important step in making Eye Witness available to more people, both inside and outside of North America,” according to Luedke. Eye Witness has had some wonderful reviews by people in other parts of the world, but according the emails we’d received that created frustration for many potential fans because the books just weren’t available to them. Now virtually anyone with a computer and PDF viewer, can purchase and read the first book at a very reasonable price.
Luedke created the Eye Witness series, as a way to share the spiritual, historical and dramatic nature of the Bible, in a way that is both attractive and entertaining…especially to teen and young adult readers, who may not attend church or read the Bible, but love reading comics, manga and graphic novels. His unique combination of a Biblical adaptation with a modern day action-thriller has proven successful not only in comic outlets, but also with mainstream and Christian booksellers.
To date this unique series has won several books awards, including: The 2008 Best Book Awards, (sponsored by USAbooknews.com); the 2007Hollywood Book Festival (in the category of comics/graphic novels); and a silver medal at the 2007 Independent Publisher Awards (in the category of Dramatic Graphic Novels). In addition the series has been a two time finalist in FOREWORD MAGAZINE’S Book of the Year Awards, in 2007 & 2009.
The fourth and final book in the Eye Witness tetralogy, (Eye Witness:Unknown God), is currently in production and tentatively scheduled for a summer 2010 release.
Not that Mark Waid needs to prove himself anymore. Long ago he elevated himself into superstar status but since leaving The Big Two, and taking up residency with BOOM! Studios, the writer has varied his output considerably. Moving away from his mastery of superheroes (though he still has something to say on the topic, as can be seen in the astonishing Irredeemable), he seems to be embracing every genre he can get his hands on, from crime in Potter’s Field, to kid-friendly adventure in The Incredibles and now to the mysteries of science in his latest series.
As promised, I have given this series another shot. I’m glad I did. This issue is slightly better than last month’s debut. Unfortunately one of the areas DC falls down compared to Marvel, is their lack of an introduction page. So, if you haven’t read Dead Romeo #1, this won’t mean much of anything to you. However, here’s the skinny: Romeo is a vampire recently revived from far too long in hell. He’s now trying to avoid going back there,which means avoiding satisfying his bloodlust. The white haired hero meets a sassy virgin, Whisper and falls head over heels for her far too quickly, though he does wonder why at least. Romeo’s old gang also return from the grave and they’re a motley crew of nasties. They want Whisper too. Now Romeo must make a choice -kill her and save himself, or save her and kill himself. Last issue we were introduced to the man characters, while this issue is effectively a 22 page run and fight feature, bringing him closer to a fateful decision.
When I saw the first X-Men film, way back in 2000, 2 Canadian girls sitting next to me audibly gasped upon seeing the bare chested Wolverine debut. And with good reason. Hugh Jackman cuts a menacing figure, and he’s only been getting buffer in every film. I say that from a strictly heterosexual point of view, by the way. So as the X-Men films continued to be released, offering increasingly spectacular action, and Marvel cameos, it was only a matter of time until Logan received the honour of his own flick. It’s no surprise that Wolvie is the most popular X-Man, even headlining the recent (and excellent) animated series. He’s a bad boy.
This really is bland action film, with no concern for Logan’s love life and no complete understanding of his motivations. The special effects are okay, Liev Scrieber as a lunging Sabretooth rocks and the ending makes sense to those who wondered upon seeing the trailer how Wolverine met Cyclops and Sabretooth, yet forgot them in the first X-Men film. At times, Logan’s claws are very fake looking and the character is really only referred to as Jim or Logan prior to his adamantium lacing procedure, rather than James Howlett as he was in the comics. There’s also no sense of a proper time-frame, though it should be set in the 1980s primarily. At least he acknowledges his Canadian heritage though. Origins should’ve been better. Fanboys won’t be pleased and film fans won’t have any satisfactory answers. If you want more Wolverine in your diet, go to your local comic shop, or wait for the DVD of this film and the obligatory, but welcome doco on the history of the character.
Sure, the first two issues of this excellent series from BOOM! Studios have sold out, but second printings will be available very soon. I heaped my praise on the first issue (as did many others) and will do so again now.
Marvel Comics has teamed up with Eminem and XXL magazine to celebrate his anticipated upcoming album Relapse with an all-new story featuring the renowned rapper and Marvel’s notorious vigilante, The Punisher, in Eminem/Punisher: Kill You.
The publisher once known as ASP or Archaia Studios Press are back! After being away for far too long, their new titles hit with full force in June. With it also comes a new logo and a new name – 
“In addition, books like Robotika, Killing Pickman and Titanium Rain, which had just started toward the middle and end of last year, will be relaunched in double-sized formats, with 48 to 64 pages of art for only a $4.99 cover price,” exclaimed Smylie. 
Now this is a press release I can get excited about. The comics website, Broken Frontier has just received a classy facelift. BF has been around since 2002 and why there may be many comics sites out there, the Frontier has always given coverage to the spandex clan as well as indie gems. And why am I excited about that, you ask? Becuase I write for them! Yay for me. I’ve got heaps of stuff on the new site now, including reviews for 
There are almost 50 different free comics being offered around the world as part of FCBD. Here’s the best.
Resurrection. Oni Press’ series centered on the world after an alien invasion has gained many fans. Now you can see why. There’s also a mildly humorous Tek Jansen preview. #1 pick for alien lovers.
Savage Dragon. This reprint of SD #148 by creator Erik Larsen and Image features almost forgotten hero, Daredevil (the red and blue hero from Project Superpowers, not Matt Murdock). Also included is a history of Daredevil and a recap of the finned one’s journey thus far. #1 pick for Larsen loyalists.
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