That Astonishing X-Men sure is one pretty series. The final issue of its Ghost Boxes story arc by writer Warren Ellis and awesome artist Simone Bianchi hits shelves on June 24. Below are a few random pages.
City Cyclops
I just ran in to the rather humorous comic strip below on Dark Horse’s site. There’s plenty more at creator Jon Adams’ site. That’s the joy of the internet for ya. There’s so many hidden gems that it’s like Christmas every day.
Obama vs Monkey
That Barack fella just shows up all over the place these days. He’s the biggest hit in comics since the zombie craze. He’s shown up with Spidey, Youngblood and has had a few biographical stories from various publishers too. Even his dog is showing up in Marvel’s Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers. Now he’s got his very own children’s book. This 207 page book written and drawn by T.S Lee comes to a hapless world from Korean publisher Dasan Studios, and their new U.S imprint, Joyful Stories Press. It’s titled The Obama Story: The Boy with the Biggest Dream! and is the first in a series of manga biographies.
See below and cringe, or be inspired to make your own dream come true. Or perhaps ponder what the next page will be as “Barry” fights a wild monkey. Now that’s entertainment.
The Aliens of Olympus
I’ve been working my way through the excellent 8 disc Alien Quadrilogy box set as of late. Every film in the franchise is so distinct yet it manages to tie-in to an overall story structure, which is impressive. This year is the 30th anniversary of the first Alien film by Ridley Scott and to celebrate, long-time holders of the franchise in comics form, Dark Horse are releasing a new Aliens series. Written by John Arcudi (who also launches next month’s new Predator series), with art by newcomer Zach Howard, I was impressed by this premiere. It wasn’t until the last page that I realised, very little of the aliens were shown, yet I didn’t care. Arcudi creatively introduces us to a new crew and in a shock that made me laugh with its audacity, dispatched them all in a swift bloodbath. With its references to the events on the planet LV-426, where the first two films were set, it may very well become more closely linked with the mythos. It looks great, and as always in any Aliens story, the humans are the main players and there’s a scientific/military conspiracy at play, but this is only set up here.
Howard’s art is is clean, yet murky and dark when it needs to be. I suspect this tale may read better in completed Trade form as the plot appears disembodied at this point. Not being a huge fan of licensed properties in comics however, this bold entry made an impression. Go here for a neato preview of this issue.
Olypmus is a new 4 ish mini from Image. Written by Nathan Edmondson with art supplied by Christian Ward, it’s focused on two brothers who are now eternal, thanks to the greek god Zeus. It reminded me of another new series by Image, the great Viking. That series also has two brothers coming to grips with the warring world around them and is daring in its visual approach. Whereas that tale is gritty and medieval, Olympus is light and sleekly modern. Some may be turned off by Ward’s art, which is kind of like Tommy Lee Edwards (who supplies the variant cover) in it’s sparseness, but it works well within the rambling, yet coherent, nature of the story.
It starts brilliantly with Pollux and Castor casually shooting each other at a New Year’s celebration, before flashing back to the pair chasing the winged Hermes and his staff through the city streets. Most of the dialogue is centred on leaving Olympus, what immortality really means and defying the gods, but it never appears as high-falutin’ exposition. The brothers aren’t really immortal apparently, but they do get a free vacation every year in the underworld, ie, where you and I reside. This is a refreshing take on Greek mythology and the crazy shenanigans that go with it. It’s the pared down concept of Blade Runner with a healthy does of mythology, and the extra pages consisting of Ward’s sketches and a well written prose piece assumedly by Edmondson complete this ably crafted adventure. This series is off to a grand and rollicking start.
Preview of this issue here.
Archaia Returns
They used to be known as ASP or Archaia Studios Press. Now it’s just Archaia. They’ve been out of regular comics production for over a year, but are now back, with new and resumed series, such as The Engineer and Robotika, and that’s good news. Right now, on Broken Frontier, there’s a couple of cool Archaia updates. I reviewed David Petersen’s Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 #6. It’s the first issue I’ve read and I was quite impressed. It’s beautiful to look at. There’s also an in-depth roundtable interview with 3 of the guys behind the revamped Archaia, which offers some good (and rare) insights into the decisions behind an indie publisher.
Impaler #3 Review
At Broken Frontier is my review for this week’s Impaler #3 from the fine folks at Image. What’s it all about you ask? Basically, Vlad the Impaler comes to our century to help the overwhelmed military kill as many vampires as possible. This has been a great series so far, and certainly not one for the kids. Blood and profanity flow freely, and it looks superbly gothic thanks to artist Matt Timson. This is the kind of comic you read while listening to Metallica, if you’re into that sort of thing. Here’s a peek at my review.
Vlad’s stoic resolve seem to project an aura of confidence, but never arrogance. Harms writes him as the only man to rely upon to escape the bloody mess and his old school, low-tech existence doesn’t jar at all with the gung-ho military boys. His inclusion is more than a gimmick, but as he’s connected so deeply to the menace attacking his new home, he’s essentially the subtle driving force behind this series. Vlad appears very little, considering it’s his name on the cover, yet when he does appear it’s always at just the right moment.
Perty Pics For You
For your ocular pleasure, below are a few of this week’s new release covers from Marvel, as well as the variant cover for Image’s Olympus #2 out late next month, which is by new Batman and Robin artist, Frank Quitely.
James Jean Art Book Preview
From AdHouse books (purveyors of fine looking arty books) comes another impressive product. Arriving in July is The Hallowed Seam PR Vol. 3. If you’ve seen James Jean’s delicious Fables covers for DC/Vertigo or his other PR (Process Recess) books, then you’ll drool over this. 284 pages of sketches, experimental paintings and more. I’m a sucker for these kind of journal/sketchpad/creative process books.
See a few pages below and you may understand why. Perhaps it’s my fascination with the creative process or my fond memories of art school. Either way, I like the look of it. There’s also a limited edition (of 200) available, with more details to come.
The Darkness #77 Preview
On sale this week is The Darkness #77 by writer Phil Hester and artist Michael Broussard. According to Top Cow, the issue is described thusly, ” An ageless beauty with red ribbon in her hair and her silent enforcer are determined to wipe out another Darkness bearer. Can Jackie break the curse? Meanwhile the mysterious Foreigner reveals new information to Jackie, which shakes him to his core.”
Perty pictures below.
Why Revamp?
There’s an interesting (and well researched) article on Comic Book Resources by Greg Hatcher. Inspired by the new Star Trek revamp, or relaunch, or reboot, or whatever you want to call it, Hatcher examines all the major revamps that Green Lantern has had, beginning in the 1940s. It assumes some GL knowledge, so mostly readers familiar with the DCU over the years will get a kick out of it, and it is littered with covers from the different eras. If you’re curious as to why characters in comics get a fresh new approach so very often, you’ll want to read the article. Here’s a snippet.
Why do people keep tweaking a perfectly good concept? Why mess with a good thing?
The best I can do is a guess, and here it is: times change and audiences get bored. Sooner or later, even the most popular series runs out of gas. So the only reason to do any kind of a revamp or a relaunch is because you think you can get a bigger audience. The only reason.
However, and here’s the part that drives us all a little nuts — unlike other entertainment franchises, superhero comics are aimed at an audience of hobbyists who regard these stories not so much as light entertainment, but rather as historical dispatches from an alternate universe. What I see when I look at the history of all these different versions of Green Lantern is this — the common factor to all of them is writers laboring under the lunatic misconception that this fictional entertainment really is history.
In July the new animated GL film, focused on Hal Jordan’s origin debuts, and the Martin Campbell directed live action feature is underway too. It’s also the 50th anniversary of Hal Jordan’s debut, plus the Blackest Night epic, penned by Geoff Johns is just around the corner. It’s a good time to be a Lantern fan.
The New Batman
So, Dick Grayson is the new Batman, and Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian is the new Robin. Though you couldn’t really tell from reading this week’s Battle for the Cowl conclusion. The current Robin, Tim Drake and former (dead) Robin Jason Todd were running around in different Batman costumes while various classic Batman foes watched as Gotham descended into more hellish chaos. And just so you know Batman, AKA Bruce Wayne is not exactly dead. Rather he was sent way back in time thanks to Darkseid’s Omega Sanction eye beams. You can read all about it in Final Crisis if you don’t mind a migraine. However, as a sum up, here’s my latest Broken Frontier article, The Battle for Batman.
There’s also an interview at Newsarama with the writer/artist of the 3 ish mini, Battle for the Cowl, Tony Daniel. For those who are unsure as to the precise identity of the new cowl wearer, as it is rather ambiguous in the final pages of BOC #3, this excerpt from the interview should make it clear.
NRAMA: What can you tell us about how these last couple pages were designed? Why didn’t the readers see the face of the person putting on the cowl? The words from Dick make it pretty clear he is wearing the cowl, so does the lack of a face have another meaning? And anything you want to share about the design of the pages? They’re pretty cool-looking…
TD: Thanks – well, I wanted us to view what Dick was viewing, be Dick, for that moment. Going through the mansion, down to the cave. Putting up the cowl. Yes, his hair is shorter. But it’s been Dick’s captions all the way through issue #3, so I thought it was pretty self-explanatory.
Okay then. Here’s a few pages from Cowl #3 for your perusal.
Impaler #3 Preview
Top Cow’s gorgeously gruesome vampire chiller, Impaler continues its blood letting, with issue 3 out on May 28.
It’s written by William Harms, with beautifully moody art by Matt Timson, and focuses on a snow covered Washington being overrun by vamps, with an ancient hero, Vlad the Impaler and an overpowered military as America’s last chance for survival.
In the third issue Vlad’s brother, Mircea shows up, and he ain’t friendly.
Preview pages can be seen below and my interview with Harms can be found here.
Zombie Tales 2061 Collected
BOOM! Studios anthology, Zombie Tales, proved that there’s still some life left in the ever popular zombie stories hovering around pop culture like flies on a resurrected corpse. Writer Kim Krizan’s three short stories about a zombie infested future earth were often the highlight. They were both darkly funny and frightening at the same time. Now they’ve been collected into one volume, for release in July. Press release below.
The living dead walk among us! Zombies have taken over the planet! Humans only exist as novelty attractions… or worse. But today is the day of revolution and soon the tide will turn on undead supremacy! Enter the world of ZOMBIE TALES 2061. From Academy Award-nomintated writer Kim Krizan (BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET) comes an epic saga ripped from the pages of the critically acclaimed ZOMBIE TALES anthology and collected in one volume for the first time!
Best known for writing the generation definining romance movies BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET, Krizan jumped into the horror genre with both feet, delivering a unique new vision of the zombie apocalypse for Zombie Tales: The Series #1. Originally planned as just an 8 pager and slotted between stories from more seasoned horror vets Steve Niles and Joe R. Lansdale, critics and fans spotlighted Krizan’s freshman horror venture and clamored for a sequel. Krizan immediately expanded her Zombie universe into a triptych, finally collected in one easy reading volume with ZOMBIE TALES 2061.
“When horror tastemaker RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE begs for a sequel, you know you have a hit on your hands,” said Publisher Ross Richie. “I really don’t think people have seen as an original take on Zombies since Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. That is how blown away I was by this book.”
“It was great fun for me to write ‘2061’ and it’s an honor to have it collected,” said ZOMBIE TALES writer Kim Krizan. “Though it seemed on the surface to be a light, fun project, it really gets to the heart of what I believe about our species. For me, zombie dominance is now!”
Outside garnering an Academy Award nomination for BEFORE SUNSET, Krizan also acted in the cult films SLACKER, DAZED AND CONFUSED and WAKING LIFE. Her turn as high school teacher Ginny Stroud in DAZED AND CONFUSED led her to speak the immortal lines “…this summer when you’re being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don’t forget what you’re celebrating, and that’s the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.”
When asked about the rumor of a Zombified follow-up to the BEFORE SUNRISE franchise, Krizan had no comment.
ZOMBIE TALES 2061 features 24 pages of interior art by newcomer Jon Reed and a cover by Patrick McEvoy. SRP: $3.99, Diamond Order Code: MAY090726.
We Kill Monsters #1 Review
This new series was previewed in Red 5’s recent Free Comic Book Day offering, but if you didn’t pick it up – fear not! It’s available here, and it’s still free.
This six issue mini-series is off to a good start. From Red 5, the fine folks who have given us Atomic Robo and Neozoic, We Kill Monsters tells the story of two brothers and their extracurricular activities, as summed up in the title.
Jake and Drew are mechanics at the Basher Bros. Auto Repair and Body Shop. After another day fixing cars, they head to their usual haunt for a few drinks. The brothers lives are soon interrupted by more than Vanessa, the pretty barmaid however. After calling it a night, the somewhat sullen Drew is faced with two horrors – Vanessa’s new boyfriend and a terrifying beast leaping from the shadows. Thankfully, his bro’s got his back, and with a shovel to the face and some blood loss on both sides, the brothers emerge victorious, but not unchanged. They drag the horned corpse to their shop after seeing another creature following them and soon realize that their problems are just beginning.
I wasn’t expecting much from this book. It’s not a revolutionary concept or anything. However, I liked what I read. The cartoony art may be too jarring for some, considering its forlorn characters and such, but Brian Churilla (The Engineer from Archaia) conveys the inner feelings of the characters well, considering the few lines he uses. Christopher Leone’s script moves things along at a brisk pace, but it never feels like its rushing to get all the talking out of the way until the monster shows his face. He shows the awkward concern that the brothers have for one another, and how that affects the relationships around them. I expect a war between Drew and Jake on one side, with their handy skills and new abilities and knowledge and a horde of ugly creatures on the other, but six issues is a long tale to tell, so there may yet be further surprises in store. Hopefully they’ll come from the brothers and how they interact with each other while battling baddies. I think that a family drama in the midst of invading evil will set this series apart from just another ‘average guy saves world from aliens’ type adventure. Hopefully I’m right.
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