The American release this week of The Avengers DVD/Blu-Ray means they get something who we in Australia, and other countries who got an earlier release, didn’t get – a Joss Whedon commentary. Thankfully, there’s a rundown of all the tidbits from the director here.
I just discovered Screen Junkies thanks to their rather honest Avengers trailer, but it looks like they’ve given such hilarious treatment to many other films.
Check out their Avengers trailer below. It’s obvious they loved the film, but could see its flaws too.
Last week I saw Resident Evil: Retribution, the latest film in the franchise, and it was one of the worst films I’ve ever seen. A bunch of characters with no backstories, and a series of fight scenes does not make a good action film. I suggest writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson looks to The Expendables for inspiration because at least those films have great fun and zest with the genre.
Well, this trailer for Resident Evil 6 looks much better than the film. The game is out next week.
And the express train of new talent and fresh ideas from Image Comics continues. Here’s the official skinny on I Love Trouble, which lands on shelves in December.
SUPERPOWERS LEAD TO SUPER PROBLEMS IN I LOVE TROUBLE
New Image Comics series debuts in December
Felicia Castro, the protagonist of the new Image Comics series I LOVE TROUBLE by Kel Symons andMark Robinson, debuting in December, doesn’t have much going for her. A New Orleans grifter on the run from a mobster, Felicia has to flee the Big Easy to hide out in the Midwest. Then her plane crashes.
Instead of it being the end for the Felicia, the crash turns out to be a new beginning. Felicia discovers she has the ability to teleport, a power she thinks will be an easy fix to all of her problems. But Felicia is someone who follows trouble, and her power opens up a whole new world of crime and exploitation.
“I imagine her as someone who was always on the run from one thing or another in her life — came from a broken home, had terrible experiences with relationships — and when things got bad she just picked up and left,” said writer Symons. “So the idea of teleportation fed into that.”
The premise of Felicia’s power being tied with her personality was what artist Robinson said won him over. “Kel’s ideas were crisp and sharp,” said Robinson. “The book is supposed to be more about the person than the power. Kel’s scripts leave me a lot of room to do my thing visually, which I am grateful for.”
The breathing room has allowed Robinson to shine, said Symons. “There’s a uniqueness to what Mark’s doing — you can just see he’s working on another level, that he takes what’s in a script and finds something you didn’t even realize was there and runs with it.”
Robinson names Will Eisner as one of his primary influences in drawing I LOVE TROUBLE. “It’s not a superhero story, yet it needs to capture the same excitement and sense of the fantastic that Eisner puts into his work,” he said. “I want people to see the characters do things in this book that puts them right in the middle of a scene from their own life.”
Symons was a producer of The Dungeon Masters, a documentary about Dungeons and Dragons players, and also produced and directed the documentary Excavating the 2000-Year-Old Man. He was involved, as a development executive, in the film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan noveI The Sum of All Fears. He also developed the feature films Sahara and Invictus. I LOVE TROUBLE is his first comic book series.
Robinson has been drawing comics professionally since 2001 and is best known for his work on the IDW series Storm Shadow and the Marvel series Hulk and Skrull Kill Krew.
I LOVE TROUBLE is a full-color, ongoing comic book series. Its first issue will be in stores on December 5 and is available for pre-order in the December issue of Previews.
It’s been far too long since I’ve written a short story. So, here’s one. I was inspired at the start of the month by popular science/pop culture site i09 and their weekly Concept Art Writing Prompt features. They choose a cool pic and encourage site readers to create a story based on the image. My entry needs some editing but I wrote it in about 20 minutes.
Below is the story, and original pic, and here’s the post from 109.
“They’re not beetles though are they?”
“What?”
“Look at the legs. They’re spiders. Obviously.”
“I was just trying to be funny. You know – VW Beetle, because they’re half car and half insect.”
“More like a third car, really.”
Davis rolled his blue eyes and sighed; a familiar response to his younger sister’s annoying habit of never laughing at his witty observations.
Molly was a genius though, and despite being a typical pre-pubescent girl in some ways, she was more like Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking in many more. Underneath her freckles and pigtails was a brain that defied expectations. She purposely wore pink dresses and shirts with unicorns and rainbows on them to surprise people. She loved being the smartest person in the world, even more than she loved her hippy parents on the commune. Molly figured that she was either adopted, or a freak of nature; more a product of a daring genetic experiment than two unschooled hicks from the American backwoods.
“Here will do,” ordered Molly in her usual fashion.
Davis stopped peddling his rusty bike by the side of the only road to their sprawling farm complex and scratched his scrawny legs. Molly hopped out of the large basket on the front.
“They’ve stopped.”
“Of course they have Davis. They’re hungry.”
Davis took off his NY Mets baseball cap and ran his hand through his messy hair, looking around the silent brown and greens of their environment. “But there’s nothing here. They’ve eaten all the cows,” he said. “What else can we give them? Everyone at home already hates you for taking away most of their food.”
“That won’t be a problem for much longer Davis.”
Davis squinted and looked into her sister’s eyes, oblivious to the harsh calculations being made behind them.
“I don’t know why you made them like animals anyway. You should’ve just left them as sculptures or something,” moaned Davis.
“It was an accident. Sort of. A happy accident,” replied Molly with a feint yet crooked smile.
The so-called accident that created the pair of automobile monstrosities was a success in Molly’s eyes. After experimenting with toy cars and parts from a dishwasher, she found she was able to create life with parts of abandoned military hardware from the recently destroyed army bunker just outside of town. Finding two abandoned Volkswagens in Mr. Harris’ field, her and Davis dragged the struts of a fallen water tower, for the arachnids’ appendages.
As the two mechanical monsters lumbered towards the siblings, Davis noticed they were increasing their speed.
“Weird.”
“What is?” Molly asked with a knowing grin.
“Usually they stop when they see us. I thought they were scared of us.”
Davis looked behind him, awaiting Molly’s response, but she was at the bike, taking something from the basket.
“They’re changing, Davis,” Molly said as she walked towards him, carrying something heavy behind her.
Davis turned to look at the moving beasts. “Huh. Cool.”
“Indeed,” replied Molly as she put her hand on her brother’s shoulder and raised the greasy wrench as high as she could.
“Cool.” Molly brought down the grey weapon on to her brother’s skull three times, with increasing force. Davis collapsed, face first in to the bitumen, as his blood mingled with the grass.
Molly took a few steps back as the cars paused.
“Lunch time,” she said, fully aware that her creations couldn’t understand her. “See you tomorrow.”
So, a very fashionable and talented friend of mine has just started a blog. You can find her wonderful writing about fashion-y things at Live.Life.Style. I recommend that you do, and not just because the photos on her last post were taken by yours truly!
This indie comic is a recent reprint, but is still worth your time. Here’s my review.
The second trailer (the first one was way back in December) of Peter Jackson’s first entry in the new prequel Lord of the Rings trilogy has arrived. The Hobbit opens in December, and today is also the 75th anniversary of J.R.R Tolkien’s novel.
There is such a thing? Yep! It sounds like Read Comics In Public Day, which is held in August every year, but this event is obviously focused on George Lucas’ greatest creation. You can find more details right here.
Find a Star Wars Reads Day Event Near You
On October 6th, 2012, fans will come together to celebrate reading and Star Wars. Join in the fun by finding an event near you in the map provided below. All events will have giveaways and a raffle. Select events will have authors and/or costumed characters on hand from the 501st Legion, the Rebel Legion, the Mandalorian Mercs and the R2 Builders Club.
Seizure is a relatively new Australian magazine, and they’ve just started a comics competition. Here’s the official lowdown.
So Seizure’s arty director and printer both love comics, and when they put their heads together David and Andrew came up with this competition.
One of the first stumbling blocks for would-be comic makers, just starting out, is getting your comic printed. Why? Because it costs serious moolah which not many of us have. Once you’ve got it printed, then you can start showing it around, take it to zine fairs, give one to your mum.
That’s why we’ve started this prize where the winners get their work printed and a little cash on the side.
So if you’ve got 24 pages ready to go, or can pull it together before the deadline, simply submit a PDF via this link and you will be in the running for one of our three prizes.
First Prize: 100 printed copies and $150 AUD (Total value $1000 AUD)
Art prize: 50 printed copies and $75.00 AUD (Total value $775 AUD)
Story prize: 50 printed copies and $75.00 AUD (Total value $775 AUD)
All prizes are courtesy of specialist comic printers OMNE www.omne.com.au
Open for submissions now via Submittable: Submit to OMNE Comic Comp
Closing 2 February 2013. Winners will be announced by 1 March 2013.
Get printed people!
Marvel have doen their usual thing and spoiled a huge plot point in an upcoming storyline to a mass media outlet. All the details below. It seems rather daring that Marvel would show the actual pages in question too, but here’s an interesting chat with writer Brian Michael Bendis about the ish.
Professor Xavier Makes The Ultimate Sacrifice in Avengers VS. X-Men #11, On-Sale Now!
In the move that shocked and saddened comic book fans worldwide, beloved super hero Professor Charles Xavier meets his demise today in Avengers VS. X-Men #11. In the penultimate chapter of the biggest comic book story in 2012, superstar creators Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel rally the forces of the Marvel Universe against the final two members of the seemingly all-powerful Phoenix Five—Cyclops and Emma Frost. But as this epic battle rages, Cyclops makes a decision that not only takes the life of the man who formed the X-Men and raised him like a son, but that also may damn both the Avengers and the X-Men!
“When we first crafted Avengers VS. X-Men, we didn’t set out to kill any characters but as the story progressed it became obvious that this had to be the last stand of Charles Xavier”, said Axel Alonso, Editor in Chief, Marvel Entertainment. “He’s one of my favorite characters and while like all fans I’m sad to see him perish, both Brian and Olivier deliver a powerful, dramatic conclusion to his story. Rest assured his death will reverberate across the Marvel Universe, leading into major launches like Uncanny Avengers and All-New X-Men this fall.”
Then, on October 3rd, the dramatic conclusion to the series arrives in Avengers VS X-Men #12, as the remaining Marvel super heroes launch their final assault on the Phoenix Five and the force that threatens to consume all of reality. Once this battle ends, nothing with be the same for the Avengers, the X-Men or anyone else in the Marvel Universe.
Plus, Join the Marvel ReEvolution as Marvel brings fans even more value to their comics reading experience. Every issue of Avengers VS. X-Men comes packaged with a code for a FREE digital copy on the Marvel Comics app and with exclusive, behind the scenes extras via the Marvel AR app powered by Aurasma.
Don’t forget to get your copy of Avengers VS. X-Men #11, the comic everyone’s talking about, on sale now in comic shops everywhere, on the Marvel Comics app, and the all-new Marvel Comics Webstore!
For more on Avengers VS. X-Men, please visit http://avx.marvel.com
AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #11 (JUL120528)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Penciled by OLIVIER COIPEL
Cover by JIM CHEUNG
ON SALE NOW
AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #12 (JUL120535)
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by ADAM KUBERT
Cover by JIM CHEUNG
ON SALE – 10/3/12
Top Shelf is one of the best indie comics publishers around, and they also have regular sales, which is great. Here’s their latest one, including a bunch of $3 and $1 goodies. Yay!
For the next two weeks — thru Friday September 28th — Top Shelf is having its annual $3 web sale. Check out the list below, and you’ll find 170 graphic novels and comics on sale — with over 100 titles marked down to just $3 & $1! Shipping & handling is a flat fee regardless of how much you order, so load up and save big!
Each year we use these funds to help clear the decks on our current amazing releases, and “kick start” a full rollout for next year. So, thank you in advance for your support, as we wouldn’t be here without you!
But here are a few sample sale items:
— Slashed Prices: The Underwater Welder, Lost Dogs, League 2009/1969, and more!
— Slashed Prices: From Hell, Blankets (HC&SC), Carnet de Voyage, and more!
— Slashed Prices: Wizzywig, Lovely Horrible Stuff, Any Empire, Clumsy, and more!
— Slashed Prices: Chester 5000, SuperF*ckers, Moving Pictures, and more!
— Slashed Prices: Alec, American Elf, The Ticking, Far Arden, and more!
— Slashed Prices: Owly, Korgi, Johnny Boo, Dragon Puncher, and more!
— $3 Titles: Ax, Lucille, Undeleted Scenes, and more!
— $3 Titles: Gingerbread Girl, The Homeland Directive, Liar’s Kiss, and more!
— $3 Titles: Incredible Change-Bots, Night Animals, Underwire, and more!
— $3 Titles: Voice of the Fire, The Playwright, Fingerprints, and more!
— $3 Titles: BB Wolf, Three Fingers, The Surrogates (V1&V2), and more!
— $3 Titles: Pirate Penguin, Okie Dokie Donuts, Pinky & Stinky, Yam, and more!
— $1 Titles: Sulk (Vols 1, 2, & 3), SuperF*ckers #1-#4, and more!
— $1 Titles: The Surrogates #1-#5, The Sketchbook Diaries #1-#4, and more!
— $1 Titles: Lower Regions, Feeble Attempts, Conversations #1 & #2, and more!
— $1 Titles: Comic Diorama, The Man Who Loved Breasts, Doublecross, and more!
— $1 Titles: Tales/Great Unspoken, Black Ghost Apple Factory, Dang!, and more!
— $1 Titles: Mephisto & The Empty Box, Hey Mister, Yearbook Stores, and more!
**Please note that Top Shelf accepts PayPal (as well as Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover — all secure), and that this sale is good for retailers as well (and comic book shops will get their wholesale discount on top of these sale prices).
At Broken Frontier you can find my review of the second issue of Dynamite’s new series, Thun’da, which is based on a classic series about a soldier who loses his memory but finds himself in a dangerous new world.
This mini-series that looks at the final days of blind lawyer/superhero Daredevil has been in the works for ages now and it’s almost upon us, and with a star studded roster of creative talent to boot! Text-free preview of next month’s debut issue below.
Your First Look At DAREDEVIL: END OF DAYS #1
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Daredevil: End of Days #1, from the creative tour de force of Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Klaus Janson, Bill Sienkiewicz and Alex Maleev! When Matt Murdock’s greatest secret remains a mystery – there is only one man who can uncover it, investigative reporter Ben Urich! Witness the end of the Man Without Fear this October inDaredevil: End Of Days #1!
DAREDEVIL: END OF DAYS #1 (AUG120637)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS & DAVID MACK
Art by KLAUS JANSON, DAVID MACK, ALEX MALEEV & BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Cover by ALEX MALEEV
FOC – 9/17/12, ON-SALE 10/10/12
comicbookjesus 