At Broken Frontier you can check out my review of next week’s art book for the popular Mass Effect games.
Review here, and preview below.
The Sixth Gun Sale
Until Thursday you can get issues 2 to 17 of the hugely popular supernatural western series, The Sixth Gun for only 99c each from ComiXology. Plus, the first issue of the Oni Press series is free, so for newbies to the title, now’s the time to see what all the fuss is about.
Extra Sequential Podcast #76-Creative Differences
38 mins. Yes, it’s a short one, but it’s jam packed with writer/ artist teams that for various reasons have fallen out with one another and no longer work together. On the flip side, we also yak about great collaborative partnerships that work splendidly and just show is the Michael Bay of comics.
LISTEN TO IT HERE
You can email us at kris (at)extrasequential(dot)com and befriend us on the NEW ES Facebook page.
2: 15 THEME – CREATIVE DIFFERENCES
The increase in public disputes these days, such as recent examples including Rob Liefeld and Robert Kirkman falling out over The Infinite, and writer John Rozum’s problems with the making of Static Shock.
Good creative unions and frequent collaborators:
Mark Millar and his usual team of artists
Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Creative splits:
Alan Moore and Steve Bissette on 1963, and Dave Gibbons after Watchmen
Mark Waid and Alex Ross after Kingdom Come
The Image Comics founders
Mark Millar and Grant Morrison
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
Teams we want to see reunited:
Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle
Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan
Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove
Added bonus:
Megatokyo webcomic
Batman Pics
Here’s come cool Caped Crusader-centric fan art.
Filip Acovic’s Dark Knight Returns piece.
A nice, quotable piece from Pawel Durczok
and finally, some cool superhero silhouettes.
Batman and Star Wars Fan Films
Batman seems to get more fan films than any other comics character. Here’s the latest one. It’s called Death Wish (no, Charles Bronson isn’t in it) and is just over 12 minutes long. It’s not too bad and stars Batman and Robin (both in their Batman Forever costumes), Nightwing (the adult former Robin), Oracle (the former Batgirl), the Cassandra Cain Batgirl and a host of baddies.
Star Wars Uncut is an ambitious project that has now been finalised after years of work. Basically as part of its crowdsourcing venture, people across the globe remade Episode IV in 15 second segments, and here is the diverse, final, 2 hour result.
Avengers Art Appreciation Variant Covers
If you like superheroes and art history, Marvel has you covered. Literally. My fave is the second one, by Mike Del Mundo.
Marvel Unveils AVENGERS ART APPRECIATION VARIANTS!
Ever imagine what the Avengers would look like if they existed throughout the ages? Well here’s your chance as Marvel is proud to unveil Avengers Art Appreciation Variants available throughout all of April! With everyone on the edge of their seats for Marvel Studio’s The Avengers, fans will have the opportunity to see their favorite super hero team in the styles of the world’s greatest artists like Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Monet, Pollock, Schielle and more! No fan can miss their favorite Marvel artists like Alex Maleev, Michael Kaluta, Gabriele Dell’otto, Greg Horn, Gerald Parel and more put their spin on these surefire classic covers. So be on the look-out True Believers, because in April – these Avengers Art Appreciation Variants are sure to go fast!
AGE OF APOCALPSE #2
Variant Cover by CHRISTIAN NAUCK
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #683
Variant Cover by MIKE DEL MUNDO
AVENGERS #25
Variant Cover by GABRIELE DELL’OTTO
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #2
Variant Cover by STEPHANIE HANS
DAREDEVIL #11
Variant Cover by STEFFI SCHUTZEE
FANTASTIC FOUR #605
Variant Cover by MICHAEL KALUTA
INCREDIBLE HULK #7
Variant Cover by CHARLES PAUL WILSON III
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #515
Variant Cover by GREG HORN
SECRET AVENGERS #26
Variant Cover by JOE QUINONES
UNCANNY X-FORCE #24
Variant Cover by JULIAN TOTINO
UNCANNY X-MEN #11
Variant Cover by GREG HORN
WINTER SOLDIER #4
Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
WOLVERINE #304
Variant Cover by Gurihiru
WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #9
Variant Cover by ALEX MALEEV
X-MEN #27
Variant Cover by KHOI PHAM
Steed and Mrs Peel #1 Review
Back in 1990 Grant Morrison wrote this series for Eclipse Comics based on the classic spy TV series, The Avengers. Thanks to BOOM! Studios it’s back in print and here’s my review of the first issue.
Preview below.
Three Free First Issues
At Newsarama you can read three debut issues from Image Comics and Top Cow. There’s the ever popular zombie series Walking Dead #1, sci-fi Red Spike #1 and crime drama Last Mortal #1.
Check them all out right here.
Remember Last Action Hero?
It should’ve been awesome. It wasn’t. Now free online is this great article about the troubled Arnie actioner/parody of 1993. It recently appeared in an issue of Empire, my favourite magazine and now you can read about the whole mess behind the film’s production.
Die Hard’s director. Lethal Weapon’s writer. And The Terminator himself. Last Action Hero should have been bulletproof. Instead, it brought a studio to its knees, sent its cast and crew insane and proved, really quite conclusively, that some movies are not… too big to fail.
Here’s the trailer to refresh your memory.
Extra Sequential Podcast #75-Young Romance Review
46 mins. Legendary creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby effectively created the romance comics genre which was surprisingly dominant during the 1940s and 50s. We look at Fantagraphics’ entertaining new collection of some of their work. Also, the awesomeness of The Golden Girls. Yes, you heard me.
LISTEN TO IT HERE
You can email us at kris (at)extrasequential(dot)com and befriend us on the NEW ES Facebook page.
2: 40 NEWS
SOPA bill
Dc Comics cancellations and new titles
David Wohl resigns as Radical EiC
CW orders Green Arrow TV pilot
12:44 YOUNG ROMANCE FEATURE REVIEW
We focus on Young Romance, Fantagraphics’ excellent collection of 21 romance comics from Simon and Kirby from the 1940s and 50s. We discuss this unique era in the history of comics, the roles of men and women at the time, the very entertaining and surprising nature of the mature storytelling, the pre and post Comics Code stories, and the extras of this book, including notes on the time consuming restoration and the labour of love behind this project. Highly recommended for comics history enthusiasts and those who appreciate dramatic stories.
Read the short stories Fraulein Sweetheart, and Shame right here for free.
Two Different Videos
Both are comics related though.
First up is a trailer for Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole) great new OGN, Any Empire.
Now here’s something a lot of us can relate to.
2011 Broken Frontier Awards
The comics site I sometimes write for, Broken Frontier has been doing its own industry awards for a few years now, and the winners for 2011 including Best Writer, Publisher, etc can now be seen right here.
Marksmen TPB in March
Here’s another acclaimed mini-series that I missed out on that I may need to look at. Thankfully the collection of the 6 ish min is out in March.
BENAROYA AND IMAGE TAKE AIM WITH MARKSMEN
Image Comics Collects The 6-Issue Sci-Fi Miniseries
Image Comics is proud to announce the March release of MARKSMEN VOL. 1 TP, written by David Baxter, illustrated by Javier Aranda (Star Trek: The Next Generation: Ghosts) and Garry Leach (Judge Dredd, Marvelman), co-created and edited by Dave Elliott and produced by Benaroya Publishing. MARKSMEN VOL. 1 TP collects issues #1-6 of the sold out miniseries and will include a never-before-seen 4-page illustrated introduction to the world of MARKSMEN, an epilogue from 5 time Hugo Award winning science fiction novelist Vernor Vinge and extras such as a gallery page of covers by acclaimed artist Tomm Coker (Daredevil:Noir, Undying Love).
Based on real life economic hardships, MARKSMEN takes place in dystopian world just one step removed from our own. After a massive recession, the United States government collapsed and a civil war erupted between the cities and states to keep any last resources to themselves. This destroyed our country’s infrastructure and most of its population…the Big Collapse.
Out of the ashes rose New San Diego, one a few cities that survived by cutting itself off from the outside world. Rebuilt by a group of top scientists and protected by the Navy Seals stationed at the Coronado Navel Base, NSD became a technological utopia. After sixty years war threatens to break out again when another state attempts to occupy the city, seizing their resources.Their only hope for survive rests with the ancestors of the Navy Seals who protect the city as… MARKSMEN.
Rave reviews for MARKSMEN include:
“9.0 out of 10” – Impulse Gamer
“The action is solid, and the story adds layers to the already interesting original concept as it progresses.“ – Geeks of Doom
“A home run.” – Comic Buzz
“David Baxter is mashing together two distinct genres – science fiction and westerns – and does a great job of blending them together.” – First Comic News
“Javier Aranda’s art with Garry Leach’s inks work well for this book. They do an excellent job in making the story move.” – My Comic Network
“The dialog is snappy, the action is poppin’, and things are looking grim all over.“ – Sequential Tart
“The characters are full of life and they will draw you into this story.” – Jazma Online
MARKSMEN VOL. 1 TP (JAN120525, ISBN: 978-1-60706-486-2), a 192-page full-color trade paperback, will be on sale in stores March 14th, 2012 for $15.99 and is available to order in the January 2012 edition of Previews. For more information, please visitwww.benaroyapublishing.com.
Randomveus Volume 1 Review
From talented Aussie artist Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz, comes this wild and whacky OGN, the first from publisher Udon Studios. Udon are mainly known for their many Street Fighter comics, of which Cruz is a regular artist. Here he works his mad visual skills and co-writes with Leonard Bermingham.
Firstly, this is a beautifully presented book, and I don’t just mean Cruz’s art. Under the Hard Cover, with a glossy picture of the 3 protagonists are 144 pages of drool worthy visual variety, including some tasty extras. The first one of which is a character gallery, showcasing Cruz’s designs for 29 different inhabitants of Randomveus, ranging from Brownz (a dollop of faecal matter with a smiling face) to The Loop (a large chocolate doughnut) to Deepfreeze (a heroic fridge). The fact that the majority of these characters don’t appear within this tale means that the Volume 1 on the cover indicates Cruz has more stories to tell. Following that one page gallery is an 18 page black and white story centred on Henshin Hero, a fictional hero within Randomveus. There are also chapter breaks and pin-ups by other artists.
The main tale is free flowing, kinetic and madcap. It’s like the best parts of a Saturday morning cartoon of the ’80s, combined with anime and a healthy dose of non-stop, sugar induced shenanigans. The main character is Raimundo. After a hectic delivery to a customer inside a giant Footsnake (what it sounds like), we learn that Raimundo had a bunch of part-time jobs on Earth before getting sucked into a portaloo on a film set and landing in Randomveus. He also landed on a poor creature, which meant he had to take his job. That’s how he came to work for the One Dimensional Couriers and ended up working with Bloob, a blob who holds all manner of things inside his gelatinous body from anvils to packages, and Melody. The rest of the story makes about as much sense as any Monty Python episode, with a bounty of Raimundo’s head, an escape from pirates who “can’t turn left,” and a sax playing crime boss. Really, this is a book that embraces nonsense and adventure with gusto. It’s not a hilarious book, but the turns it takes are unpredictable. It’s easy to follow, although future volumes may explain more of the “rules” of this universe Cruz has created, though the creators seem intent on not allowing logic to get in the way of a fun story.
It’s also a book that needs to be looked at more than once and it’s great to see Cruz unleashed with such spectacular results. The few random preview pages below don’t do it justice. Randomveus is populated with characters ranging from the cute to the bizarre and the multitude of characters that show up is impressive. It’s certainly a busy and action driven book, but is never distracting. The colour palette is extensive, and the page layouts are diverse.
Randomveus is an entertaining, carefree OGN that wholeheartedly embraces the storytelling and artistic possibilities of the comics medium, kind of like Scott Pilgrim and much like that series, is also newbie friendly.
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