Tom Taylor Signing

If you don’t manage to catch Star Wars: Invasion writer Tom Taylor at Thursday’s celebration of 5 years of Gestalt, then you can catch him on Saturday at Comic Zone. Man, that’s an awkward sentence. Basically, Saturday Feb 20 (the day after my birthday!) Taylor will be signing Invasion, Star Wars Adventures, and his Gestalt books, such as Flinch and the new Rombies. Rombies artist Skye Ogden will be there too, signing his great silent book, Vowels (also from Gestalt). Comic Zone is at 572 Hay Street, Perth and Taylor will be there from 11am. His new DC/Wildstorm project should be public by then too, so we can watch him try to avoid our fanboy questions. Should be fun!

February 16, 2010
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: , , , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Vertigo Covers

Now at Graphic Content, the official blog for Vertigo are a bunch of cool covers from upcoming issues. I’ve posted my faves below, including Daytripper, Hellblazer, Madame Xanadu and The Unwritten.

February 15, 2010
Categories: Comic Art . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

DC Universe: Last Sons

Now this seems like a good team-up – three sole survivors of their respective alien races banding together for a grand adventure. Last Sons is based on a 336 page novel of the same name released in 2006, and written by comics scribe Alan Grant (2000AD, Detective Comics). The so-called Graphic Audio  is out on March 1 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon now. Here’s the official description:

Metahumans, aliens, magical entities, or mortals driven by iron wills. Super heroes, renegades, or villains out for justice, vengeance, or cash. Whether legendary, infamous, or little known, these extraordinary beings are the true champions of the…DC UNIVERSE.

SUPERMAN. MARTIAN MANHUNTER. LOBO. Interplanetary bounty hunter Lobo is a notorious maverick. Happily wreaking havoc as he brings in his prey, he cares little who his clients or targets are even when his latest quarry is J onn J onnzz, Martian Manhunter of the Justice League. Suddenly Lobo finds himself confronting…Superman. Cogs in the machinations of a powerful artificial life-form, these three aliens, the sole survivors of the planets Krypton, Mars, and Czarnia, have only one thing in common they are the last of their kind…LAST SONS

I’ve bought a few of these audio dramas recently, just to satisfy my fanboy need for entertainment. I’m currently listening to BBC’s Batman: The Complete Knightfall Saga, and recently finished Superman Lives! They’re both entertaining in their own way, though most hardcore fans will find them rather cheesy (especially Lex’s Aussie accent, and Superboy who sounds like a stoner Keanu Reeves, in SL!). However, fitting these epics into less than 3 hours is impressive and the soundtrack and voice cast usually works well.

Last Sons is an impressive 7 hours long. You can find more DC GraphicAudio CDs here.

February 15, 2010
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: 1 Comment

The Week In Pictures Feb 14 2010

Last week I revealed Andy Kubert’s covers for the first two issues of the upcoming Return of Bruce Wayne storyline. Now here’s the remaining 4.

Oh yeah, a time-travelling Batman just screams cool to me. On an unrelated note, Bluewater Productions continue to churn out  bio comics for the curious, as evidenced by their May offerings.

and available (and on sale) from Feb 16 from Mattel on their Matty Collector on-line store are a few updated He-Man figures for those nostalgic Gen Xers, as well as The Dark Knight and Justice League Unlimited figures.

February 14, 2010
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Persian Centurion

Below are 2 new trailers for upcoming (very) old school action films. The Super Bowl teaser for the game adaptation Prince of Persia reveals the grand SFX and a buff Jake Gyllenhaal. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is directed by  Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and written by the character’s creator Jordan Mechner and is out on May 28. Mechner also has an OGN coming out from First Second Books in May, titled Solomon’s Thieves, which looks rather intriguing too.

Centurion is directed by Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent) and is released on April 23 and stars Dominic West (The Wire, Punisher War Zone) and a mute Olga Kurylenko (Hitman, Quantum of Solace). Both films look awesome, I must say.

February 13, 2010
Categories: Movies, News . Tags: , , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Todd McFarlane on Broken Frontier

The famous creator of Spawn and writer/artist on Spider-Man, and so much more is now a regular contributor to comics site Broken Frontier. The Image co-founder speaks about his gig on the Image series Haunt, the absence of long-term creative runs these days, and more in his first column right here. Here’s a snippet that’s sure to cause a stir in fanboy circles:

But for me, I don’t think and never believed you needed to define everything about a character within the first 10 issues or so.  I actually think it’s a detriment at times.  If you give the complete origin and background and motivation to a character in the first three issues, then What are you doing with the next 60 or 70 issues?

This is why Superman was never really that interesting to me.  He came out of the womb perfect, he was perfect, and he kept acting perfect.  Now keep that going for 500 issues.  It’s entertaining to a certain extent, but I would never name him in my top 10 heroes.  There were no flaws, no inconsistencies, and it never seemed like his character ever grew much.  He was prebuilt right from the get go, there was no mystery to him.

That argument is also one of the reasons why Wolverine was so popular in my heyday of collecting: we were screaming for more answers.  “What’s his origin?  Who does he belong to?  Why won’t you ever talk about him instead of Phoenix and Cyclops?!!”  And Marvel kept with that and after a while he became the most popular member of the X-Men because, in part because they were able to make his story engaging for a long time before they actually spilled the beans on him.

I’m hoping that Haunt has that same mystery about him where people don’t get to issue #15 and think they know all the answers. Because then it would devolve into superheroes punching each other for 60 more issues.

February 13, 2010
Categories: Interviews, News . Tags: , , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Star Wars: Knight Errant and New Invasion

Press release from Dark Horse below about a new Star Wars series from writer John Jackson Miller (Knights of the Old Republic), and under that – solicitation info regarding Tom Taylor’s and Colin Wilson’s continuing Invasion series which kicks off in May. Yay!

DARK HORSE ANNOUNCES ALL-NEW STAR WARS™ SERIES, KNIGHT ERRANT!

AS KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC DRAWS TO A CLOSE, WRITER JOHN JACKSON MILLER MOVES TO AN UNCHARTED CORNER OF THE GALAXY!

Coming off the heels of penning the breakout hit Mass Effect: Redemption and the gripping finale of Knights of the Old Republic, writer John Jackson Miller introduces us to Kerra Holt, a young Jedi who’s about to realize that her role in the galaxy is far more important, and vastly different, than she could have ever imagined.

Set one thousand years before Episode I, in a time referred to as the “Dark Age of the Republic,” this story takes place in an era when the Sith were legion and the Republic was strained to the breaking point, leaving large swaths of the galaxy with no one to turn to. This pivotal time in the history of Star Wars has been largely unexplored, until now.

Additionally, for the first time ever, the writer of this new comics series will also be authoring a novel for Del Rey Books, set in the same era and involving the same cast of characters in an all-new adventure. It’s going to be a unique event for Star Wars, and one that will give fans a whole new perspective on the galaxy.

“There’s such wonderful chaos going on in the galaxy in this period,” said writer John Jackson Miller. “More than a generation before Darth Bane introduced the Rule of Two, Sith Lords are colliding not just with the Republic, but with each other. Kerra’s going to find that good intentions just may not be enough in a galaxy gone mad! This is a wide-open area to explore, and I’m thrilled that Dark Horse and Del Rey have given me this opportunity to do so.”

“With John writing both the comics and the novel, Knight Errant will be a Star Wars story on a scale we’ve never undertaken before,” said comic-series editor Dave Marshall. “This will be a first-of-its-kind opportunity to introduce the Expanded Universe of the Dark Horse comics to the fans of the Del Rey novels and vice versa!”

With more news in the coming months, look for Star Wars: Knight Errant to arrive on shelves later this fall!

STAR WARS: INVASION—RESCUES #1 (of 6)
Tom Taylor (W), Colin Wilson (A), Wes Dzioba (C), and Jo Chen (Cover)
On sale May 26
FC, 40 pages
$2.99
Ongoing

The Yuuzhan Vong invasion spreads death and destruction across the galaxy, leaving behind ravaged worlds with little hope of survival . . . Artorias, the homeworld of the Galfridian family lay in the path of the Yuuzhan Vong armada—and now, though separated, Finn, Kaye, Nina, and Caled work to fight the invaders with the hope that one day they will again be together on their peaceful planet.
Finn studies at the Jedi temple with Luke Skywalker and the grown Jedi children of Han Solo and Princess Leia! Kaye and Nina use a Yuuzhan Vong slave ship to attack their former captors! Caled raises forces on Artorias—not knowing the danger from one of his trusted allies!
• A new era in Star Wars comics!
Luke Skywalker’s galaxy under siege!

February 11, 2010
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: , , , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Clash of the Titans Posters

The remake of the 1981 classic opens the day after April Fool’s Day, in the current cinematic fad of 3D. To see all 7 posters go here. When I look at them I can’t help but think this is what a Harry Potter film would look like if they made another one in 10 years after the kids have all grown up. Clash is directed by Frenchman Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2, The Incredible Hulk) and is written by Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi).

February 10, 2010
Categories: Movies, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Clip

Here is the latest glimpse into the Feb 23-releasing animated film from DC Comics and Warner Bros. The more I see of it, the more I like it. Details and clip below.

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 movie features an all-star voice cast led by Mark Harmon (NCIS) as Superman, James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi) as Owlman, Chris Noth (Sex and the City, Law & Order) as Lex Luthor, William Baldwin (Dirty Sexy Money) as Batman, Gina Torres (Serenity, Firefly) as Superwoman and Bruce Davison (X-Men) as the President.

Warner Home Video will distribute the full-length animated Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths on February 23 as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def, as well as single disc DVD, and On Demand and Download.

While we’re on the topic of DC, here’s a look at Series 3 of the JLA Classified Classic action figures. Yes, they all look the same, but you gotta dig those washboard abs! Looks like 6 sticks of butter. That’s courtesy of artist Ed McGuiness and his interpretations of Professor Zoom, Red Superman, Green Lantern Hal Jordan and The Atom.

Finally, it appears as though Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan will help Warner Bros reboot Superman. I remain cautiously optimistic. Just please don’t try and be ‘revolutionary’ WB and make Superman dark and brooding. It does not work.

February 10, 2010
Categories: Movies, New To Comics?, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: 1 Comment

Gestaltapalooza

Some may think there’s not  a lot of fanboy/girl activity in the city in which I dwell. Sure, Perth is the most isolated city in the world, but we have a high percentage of comic book lovers. The new Supanova Pop Culture Exhibition is doing well, with its 3rd year coming in a few months, plus 24 Hour Comic Book Day, and even a few local lads done good (Ben Templesmith, Ashley Wood and Shane McCarthy spring to mind). All this serves as a reminder that creativity and curiosity can flourish anywhere.  Now, local publisher Gestalt has reached its 5th year of operations. That’s an impressive stint and certainly worth celebrating, so they are! February  18th at 7pm at Clancy’s Fish Pub in Applecross, Western Australia is the place to be. I’ll certainly be there (but please come anyway). Gestalt will be launching their new book Rombies, with its creative duo in tow, writer Tom Taylor (Star Wars: Invasion) and artist Skye Ogden (Gestalt’s Vowels).There’ll also be live music and the chance to hobnob it with the creative elite.

Rombies is available now and is such an awesomely simple concept – Roman zombies, with an appropriate tagline, “Friends, Romans, countrymen…lend me your brains!” This is how Gestalt describe the unique one-shot.

Rombies conveys the terrifying sense of claustrophobia in the samnite gladiator’s desperate dash for freedom through the catacombs under the coliseum. Pursued by both undead men and beasts, the samnite has to use all his strength, skill and cunning to escape with the his companions; a thracian gladiator and a young boy who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Staying with Gestalt for a moment longer, their latest project, Justin Randall’s Changing Ways launches in April and you can order it now on page 258 of the February Previews catalogue. It’s moody and beautiful and scary and …well, is described thusly:

Changing Ways conveys the intimacy and heartache of a family struggling to survive in a world that’s falling apart.  Randall was focused on delivering a story that people could relate to from the outset.

“I wanted to create a story that, despite the cataclysmic events going on in the outside world, you could really just focus on the intimate moments of a small family,” he said.

Synopsis:
David Barrot, a retired Corrections Officer, moved to Grey Oaks after the tragic death of his son, Cale.

With wife Lucy and daughter Jessie, the Barrot family bought a farm on the outskirts of town and began their new life, putting aside all the dark events of their past.

Unfortunately for them, the dark just won’t leave David alone.

The first sightings started months ago, igniting rumours of disease and infection. Newspapers reported unusual lesions appearing on livestock and stories of strange side effects spread quickly. Perhaps it was inevitable that the people of Grey Oaks would be next.

These are their Changing Ways.

February 10, 2010
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Marvel On Sale This Week

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!

Continue reading →

February 9, 2010
Categories: Comic Art, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

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.

February 7, 2010
Categories: Comic Art, New To Comics?, Reviews . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

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.

February 6, 2010
Categories: Cartoons, Comic Art, New To Comics?, News . Tags: , , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: 1 Comment

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.

February 4, 2010
Categories: Movies, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

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