Those crazy gents from Ariel Press have released the brand spanking new issue of the awesome crime series, Harker. You can order it as a PDF or hard copy from their website. I interviewed the creators behind the unique British crime title for the second issue of Extra Sequential, starting on page 32. Writer Roger Gibson and artist Vince Danks have really created something special with Harker, as you can see by the text-free pics below. The TPB collecting the first 6 issues is due for release in September.
One of the best regular features on comicbookresources.com was Rich Johnston’s Lying In The Gutters column. Every week for 7 years Rich broke down the latest happenings around the comics biz and it was usually the place to hear things first. Last week was the 
This must be the funniest book I’ve read all year. 
Basically all you need to know about this series is that it is centered on The Plutonian. He used to be a great goodie and he’s turned into an evil baddie. It’s a great and simple premise, but writer Mark Waid has fashioned it into quite the complex tale. As any scribe knows, or is at least told, no-one wakes up in the morning and decides, “I think I’m going to be evil today!” Every well crafted villain, especially in comics is motivated by what they see as a genuine cause. Lex Luthor is motivated by his ego, Magneto is motivated by belief in mutant superiority, and so on.
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 
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. 
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.
Frank Miller is a legend in the comics biz, and rightly so. As writer/artist he re-invigorated Daredevil for Marvel and Batman for DC in the 80s then went on to give the world his own creations such as 300 and Sin City. The film adaptation of the latter is the most faithful comic movie ever made, and Miller used his co-directing credit to launch a career in Hollywood. With The Spirit, it’s Miller’s show all the way, as both writer and director he helms this film. The trailer made it look like Sin City 2, with it’s black and white imagery and over the top action. Sadly, that’s exactly what this film gives you. It’s not individual in its approach, because it’s been done so much better with Sin City. That film is fun, funny and adventurous. The Spirit has none of that. It’s just – dull.
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.
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