Total Recall – Now In Comics

Seeing the cover below in the latest Previews catalogue brought back memories from the classic Arnie film in my youth. Great special effects for its day and witty dialogue like, “You’ve got a lot of nerve showing your afce around here.” Plus, Arnie as a woman, with an exploding head and a robot taxi driver. Oh, and an acrobatic Sharon Stone. Classic! Now Dynamite are continuing the film’s story. I guess they didn’t want the rights to the original Philip K. Dick novel, but that makes sense as the film’s probably more well known. I wonder if any of this will be seen in the upcoming remake, starring Colin Farrell.

Text-free preview pages of the debut issue below, which is out in May but can be ordered now.

CONTINUING WHERE THE MOVIE LEFT OFF, TOTAL RECALL #1 HITS STORES THIS MAY!

Shipping this May, Dynamite Comics, inspired by the hit 1990 science fiction movie TOTAL RECALL starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, presents the story of what happens next in its new comic series: TOTAL RECALL.

The series begins with the death of the Mars mining colony chief, Cohaagen, and the creation of an atmosphere for the planet. Douglas Quaid, the undercover agent known as Hauser, and the man responsible for releasing the colony from the grips of Cohaagen, simply wants to live happily ever after with Melina the woman of his dreams.  But with Mars in chaos, new enemies invading the red planet, and a mysterious stranger in their midst, will Quaid have his happily ever after? Check out issue TOTAL RECALL #1 to find out!

“Being given the opportunity to create a sequel to one of the coolest action films of the 1990s was too great pass up,” says first time comics writer Vincent S. Moore.  “Resonating with one of the themes of the original movie, this is a dream come true and a great benefit for me.  In order to fulfill my dream, I simply had to turn around and make the happy ending for Douglas Quaid on Mars into a new nightmare and show him to be the hero once again.  It was easy and tons of fun.  I threw everything I could think at Quaid, keeping with the flavor of the movie.  I hope all of the readers enjoy the ride. My thanks to the folks at Dynamite for giving me this chance.  And to all those fans of the original film, I hope you like what we came up with enough to give it a shot.  Just remember: get your asses to Mars!”

Total Recall is an original Sci-Fi Carolco Pictures thriller, released in 1990.  The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone and is based on the Philip K. Dick short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.” Directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Ronald Shusett, Dan O’Bannon, Jon Povill, and Gary Goldman, TOTAL RECALL won a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. The Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack earned the BMI Film Music Award. The rights to publish a TOTAL RECALL comic book series were obtained from StudioCanal S.A. under a licensing agreement negotiated by The Licensing Group Ltd.

The story line is centered on an unsophisticated construction worker, Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger), and the aftermath of his visit to REKALL, a company offering vacations for the mind. The Rekall vacation triggers a mind plant in Quaid’s brain, leading him to discover that he is a freedom fighter from Mars who has been relocated to Earth. Quaid attempts to restore order, and reverse the corrupt influence of commercial powers, despite multiple challenges, not the least of which are his wife’s multiple attempts to kill him, attacks from thugs who want him dead; and his own confusion as to who he really is. Quaid conquers the corrupt hold of the Mars based mining company restoring order to the Mars community.

To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbook

For art and more information, please visit:

www.dynamite.net

The New TCJ

Details below about the relaunch of highly regarded comics site/magazine, The Comics Journal.
A WHOLE NEW TCJ.COM

The Comics Journal is proud to announce the relaunch ofTCJ.com with new editorial oversight.
The editorial team that is taking over are Dan Nadel and Tim Hodler. Together they co-founded the Eisner-nominated magazine and blog Comics Comics with cartoonist Frank Santoro in 2006. They published four print issues and the web edition quickly grew into one of the most vital forums for critical and historical discussion of comics, marked by contributions from some of the leading cartoonists and writers in the field.
The Comics Journal print magazine has chronicled the comics medium since it’s first publication in 1976.  It has been a leading force of journalism exploring both the facets of the comics industry and the artistic value of the books. Releasing over 300 issues, The Journal is changing face as well with an over 600-page tome of criticism and interviews for issue 301.
The new TCJ.com will continue this tradition by offering an online magazine for interviews, criticism, history and ideas in a concise, beautifully designed format.  The site will feature multiple book reviews every week, making it a clearinghouse for the latest critical responses to comics and graphic novels from all over the spectrum.
There is a myriad of contributing writers offering a wide a to the new TCJ.com, all bringing together leading voices from literary critics, to pop culture journalists, to comics reviewers.  Expect to see writing from Richard Gehr, Nicole Rudick, Jesse Pearson, Andrew Leland, Frank Santoro, Jeet Heer, Ken Parille, R. Fiore, Joe McCulloch, Chris Mautner, Ryan Holmberg, Gary Groth, and many others.
Along with featuring long form articles on all aspects of the medium from leading contemporary writers, TCJ.com will also host a monthly diary feature, in which an artist (or other comics figure) takes us through a week of their life in prose, pictures or cartoons, one day at a time. This column is kicking off with Vanessa Davis, followed by Brandon Graham, then Joyce Farmer, with many more to come.
The new TCJ.com is focused on bringing the magazine’s archive to a new online readership. With holdings including hundreds of interviews with the leading cartoonists of the 20th century and serve as a living record of the development of the comics medium. Beginning March 1, and rolling out over several months, each issue of The Comics Journal will be made available in its entirety to subscribers. Non-subscribers will have the opportunity to sample highlights from many of the issues as well.
Dan Nadel is the publisher of the acclaimed PictureBox Inc, which has released graphic novels, art books, and novels by the likes Gary Panter, Charles Willeford, Yuichi Yokoyama, and Wilco. He has also written two of the most vital recent books on comics history: Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries, 1900-1969 and Art in Time: Unknown Comic Book Adventures, 1940-1980. Nadel won a Grammy Award for his art direction of Wilco’s A Ghost is Born album package, and currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.
Tim is a writer and editor who has been published in BookforumDetailsNew York Magazine, and the Ganzfeld, among other places.