The fine folks at Wowio are giving away the first issue of Radical Publishing’s Time Bomb from Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Paul Gulacy. It’s WWII, time travelling action, it looks great and you can download it for free from their Facebook page.
A Bunch of Broken Frontier Stuff
There’s a few things up at Broken Frontier now with my name on them, including my review of an Aussie anthology, my interview with Lions, Tigers and Bears and The Phantom writer Mike Bullock and finally the latest issue of The Frontiersman.
The Mighty Thor by Fraction and Coipel
Thor is the man of the hour, or the year, and now has a new title. At least this series has promise, thanks to its creative team though. Here’s the skinny, and the two covers including a film focused one and an even better variant from artist Travis Charest. Artist Oliver Coipel helped relaunch Thor back in 2007 with a new series with writer J. Michael Straczynski, and Matt Fraction has been writing the current Thor series for a while. However that series will now be renamed Journey into Mystery, (by Kieron Gillen and Doug Braithwaite) the series that debuted Thor decades ago. Poor Thor. He’s getting shuffled around all over the place, just to make the most of becoming a movie star. Fair enough really. Find out more here.
Marvel Announces THE MIGHTY THOR By Fraction & Coipel
Prepare yourselves for a new Asgardian age with The Mighty Thor #1! In this all new ongoing series, from the superstar creative team of Matt Fraction and Olivier Coipel, Thor must defend his homeworld of Asgard from Galactus! When Thor and Sif retrieve an artifact from deep within the World Tree, nobody expected the Silver Surfer to show up. And where the Sentinel of the Spaceways travels, Galactus is sure to follow! It’s the World Eater vs. Asgard in the explosive opening arc that’s great for new readers! No fan can miss this monumental new series that will redefine what it means to be the Odinson!
“The God of Thunder ain’t never been mightier than now!” exclaims writer Matt Fraction. “Everything is going beyond-epic in The Mighty Thor and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Olivier onboard for the book’s maiden voyage. Look up – think big – fight hard!”
“It’s a really exciting time to be working on Thor. A lot of things that have been developing over the last few months are about to come to fruition in a big way—and in a way that’s going to affect not only all of Asgard, but all of the Marvel U,” said Marvel Editor Charlie Beckerman. “With the release of Marvel Studios’ Thor this May, we wanted to be sure that we pulled out all the big guns. And I’m talking talent—Matt, Olivier, Mark and Laura—and I’m talking characters: I can’t say exactly who’s going to show up, but I will say that it will knock your socks clear off.”
The fate of the golden city of Asgard, the wonder of the nine realms, hangs in the balance and only Thor can ensure the survival of the Asgardians! What does the World Eater seek and what terrible outcome awaits the Mighty Avenger? Discover the answers you seek as Fraction and Coipel pull out all the stops in The Mighty Thor!
THE MIGHTY THOR #1
Written by MATT FRACTION
Pencils & Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
Variant Cover by TRAVIS CHAREST
Variant Cover by WALT SIMONSON
Blank Variant Cover also available
Thor Movie Variant also available
Rated T+ …$3.99
ON SALE IN APRIL!
Great Supergirl Gallery
Supergirl has had perhaps more incarnations than any other comics character, all with different visual interpretations. Abduzeedo have a nifty post on the character with pics from different artists, centred on the current incarnation of the classic superheroine – Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin.
MAR on Hulu For Free
Press release below from Viz Media about the debut of new anime, MAR on Viz’s site and Hulu.com. On a related note, YALSA (that’s the Young Adult Library Services Association) has selected its 2011 Great Graphic Novels For Teens and Viz Media is well represented, with a few of their books making the cut such as Biomega, not simple, Saturn Apartments and more.
An Ordinary Boy Becomes A Hero In The Land Of His Dreams In This Spectacular Adventure
VIZ Media announces the launch of MÄR (rated ‘T’ for Teens) available on VIZAnime.com, the company’s premier website for anime, as well as the streaming content provider HULU, starting on Monday January 17th.
VIZAnime.com and HULU will stream for FREE episodes 1-5 of MÄR (subtitled). Two additional FREE new episodes will launch each Monday.
MÄR is based on the hit manga series by Nobuyuki Anzai (creator also of FLAME OF RECCA), published in North America by VIZ Media. An ordinary middle-school boy with an overactive imagination, Ginta Toramizu dreams about fairy tales and make-believe lands. One day at school, a gate appears and he enters the World of MÄR, the world of his dreams. Within the World of MÄR exist ÄRM: accessories with unique powers. Soon, Ginta stumbles upon Babbo, an ÄRM that can speak, and learns that he has been summoned to this mythical world to stop the Chess Pieces, a group of rogue soldiers, from destroying the World of MÄR. Now part of Team MÄR, Ginta and Babbo fight in War Games against the Chess Pieces to save the MÄR World. But will Ginta’s mission be compromised by his ally’s secrets?
To learn more about MÄR anime and manga series, please visit VIZAnime.com or ShonenSunday.com (free Chapter 1 manga preview available).
Infinite Vacation #1 Review
Image Comics is on a roll lately, with some stand out new series that have flown off shelves and garnered much interest even before their release. Of their recent string of successes, I’ve only read Chew #1 but liked it, it did take me a while to warm up to the charms of Skullkickers, 27 was an interesting idea but not enough of one to keep me coming back, and Who Is Jake Ellis? was a clear fave. Infinite Vacation from Nick Spencer (writer of another popular Image series Morning Glories) and artist Christian Ward (Olympus) is the latest title to generate buzz.
It’s apparent why that would be the case, with its central concept being so attractive. The notion of alternate universes has been a popular one in sci-fi and comics for a long time, and to take that idea and put it in the hands of today’s techno loving populace is a grand one. For the most part, it works here.
Basically, red headed Mark makes the most of this possibility, like 97% of the population, to buy and sell alternate versions of their own lives. After recounting a few horror stories where his other lives didn’t end up like he’d hoped, Mark remarks that whatever life he chooses, it always ends the same, with a dead-end job, failed relationship and boredom. As an everyman hoping for more from life and craving it like an obsessive, Mark’s a good central character, though in this first issue he primarily serves as the personification of exposition. It’s understandable that Spencer would want to make the protagonist’s life relatable, but so far he seems more like an alt-universe junkie than a well rounded, sympathetic figure.
Early in this issue there’s a 4 page sequence using photographs that shows a sleazy salesman pitching the Infinite Vacation application. It looks good and is a novel visual idea, but it’s in a comic that is already filled with such, thanks to Ward’s dazzling art, which renders this photo explanation unnecessary.
Those who’ve read Olympus, or checked out Ward’s site know what he’s capable of and his work stands out in a welcome way. This is the kind of trippy story filled with potential that allows an artist of Ward’s loose layouts and experimentation with design to take this comic and make it even better, in much the same way J.H Williams III and Jonathan Hickman (the artist) do.
The concept of all the alternate Marks slowly dying and “our” Mark’s investigation into why makes what could’ve been a flat, easily throw-away idea into something well rounded and filled with intrigue. Ideas such as other Marks being his own therapist and technical support consultant are just awesome, as is one scene where Mark is bidding on a world in which a lovely lady at a cafe stays a little longer for a chat. It’s a shame the script and the lettering is out of synch on the exact price though, but that’s a minor detail.
In what could well be the deserved next big thing, Infinite Vacation is off to a pretty good start, but to keep the momentum, deeper issues about the interaction between technology, fate and responsibility will have to be addressed.
Superheroes at Relevant
At Relevant Magazine’s site is a great article entitled, Why Do We Love Superheroes?, examining today’s comics from a Christian standpoint. Check it out here.
WAI-CON In Perth
On the 29th and 30th of January is the next annual anime convention to be held at the Perth Convention Centre. You can get your tickets here and they’re also looking for volunteers to help on that weekend. There’s different panels on both days, such as Cosplay, Astro Boy, webcomics, fanfiction, talks by voice actor Spike Spencer and heaps more. There’ll be goodies to buy of course and it’ll just be a great time to get together with other anime lovers.
Superhero Movies By The Numbers
Cinema Blend has an interesting infographic on the performance of superheroes on the big screen. Check it out here. It’s broken down into various categories like female superheroes, Marvel vs DC and more. Here’s a mere taste.
ThreeA Toys Videos
The Septagon Studios blog has a great post on a recent competition to create a 3D motion graphic video for Ashley Wood’s designer toy company, ThreeA. See the winner plus 4 other impressive videos on their site.
X-Men: Legacy #245 Preview
The first chapter of the new epic, Age of X appears in February’s issue of X-Men: Legacy. Text-free preview below.
Your First Look at AGE OF X: CHAPTER ONE!
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at X-Men: Legacy #245, from writer Mike Carey and artist Clay Mann! Slam headlong into the landmark first chapter of Age of X! Mutantkind has been purged from the very face of the earth and its eradication wasn’t an accident…it was government policy. But just who are the unlikely survivors of this grim future…and do they dare announce their existence to a world that fears and hates them? The pulse-pounding X-saga kicks off this February, only in X-Men: Legacy #245!
X-MEN: LEGACY #245 (DEC100623)
X-MEN: LEGACY #245 FF ANNIVERSARY VARIANT (DEC100541)
Written by MIKE CAREY
Pencils by CLAY MANN
Cover by LEINIL YU
Fantastic Four Anniversary Variant by PAOLO RIVERA
Rated A…..$2.99
FOC – 2/1/11, On-Sale 2/23/11
Episode 23-Star Wars, Alan Moore and Stuff
59 mins. Our most rambling episode yet in which we hardly yak about comics, but do talk about all the different versions of Star Wars, and the good years of The Simpsons, plus wearing scarves, Johnny Mnemonic, Cheers, crying at Spock’s death, Liz Hurley and more ramblonic nonsense.
LISTEN TO IT BELOW, DOWNLOAD HERE, OR ON ITUNES OR MIXCLOUD
1:45 NEWS
Star Wars on Blu-Ray in September, writer Neil Gaiman as himself on The Simpsons, the Batman teen toon that could’ve been in Gotham High, casting truth for Judge Dredd and casting rumours for Dark Knight Rises.
23:15 WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING
Steel #1, zombies in the Wild West series Rotten, and the classic run on Swamp Thing from Alan Moore and Stephen Bissette.
41:50 FEATURE DISCUSSION
It’s the battle of the beards as writer Alan Moore vs writer Jason Aaron. Actually they don’t fight as such, but Aaron talks about a recent Moore interview and then we dissect it as only geeks can.
We finish by talking about Star Wars games and podcaster vanity.
Cap and Spidey Movie Pics
Two photos and the internet goes ablaze. Not surprising really. Captain America starring Chris Evans, and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull opens on July 22. Below is the first good pic of Evans in costume from the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. I like it. Like The Ultimates version, plus the more realistic versions that Marvel have been showing in their WWII era comics in the last couple of years, with the wings gone and more pouches. He looks like a patriotic soldier.
Also released today was the first official pic of next year’s Spider-Man reboot. Sure it’s 18 months early, but it’s a good way to start the buzz now. Here’s what I think about the new Spidey costume, as seen worn by actor Andrew Garfield (The Social Network).
1. It has to distance itself from the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire films. Sony don’t want people thinking this is Spider-Man 4, seeing as it will be released only 5 years after Spider-Man 3.
2. Gone is the raised silver webbing. I never understood that. I suppose perhaps it made sense from a lighting point of view, and on Venom in Spidey 3, but Peter Parker was supposed to have made the costume himself. In reality, each suit cost $100, 000. On the DVD of the first Spider-Man film from 2002 is a brief clip of some CGI test footage of Spidey climbing a wall. There’s no silver webbing on the costume, and it looks great. Why they dismissed that approach is due to Hollywood logic, but if you see the alternate Green Goblin costumes and wonder why they chose the laughable final version, it’s fitting I guess.
3. It distances itself from the Turn Off The Dark musical costume, which wisely Sony don’t want to be associated with.
4. It’s a subtle redesign from the original, and still used (mostly) comics one. Of course we don’t know what the mask looks like yet (or the boots), but at least this is sleeker and thus more given to acrobatic manoeuvres (especially as it’ll be in 3D). It has simple lines, almost motocross-styled gloves, slightly darker colours and spider emblem legs that go all the way through to his waist. Minor alterations and still recognisably Spidey.
5. Sony execs will surely be watching the internettery light up with comments, but it may be too late to change anything even if they wanted to.
6. Web shooters! Possibly, as shown here, there’s gold, metallic elements under his wrists. That is awesome. I never liked Raimi’s change from web shooters, made from Parker’s scientific skills, into the organic variety.
Four Infinite Vacation Teaser Images
For the last week Image Comics have been releasing a series of images promoting Infinite Vacation, the first issue of which is out now, from writer Nick Spencer and artist Christian Ward. Below are all 4 of those teaser images. If that’s not enough, go here for a 15 page preview.
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