Eye Witness Wins

A huge congrats to writer/artist Robert Luedke for his well deserved win for his great Eye Witness series of OGNs. Details below.

HPP logo
Graphic Novel Series Takes Home Reader’s Choice Award

Head Press Publishing received notification this week that author/illustrator, Robert James Luedke’s, Collected Eye Witness Slipcase Set, was chosen as the winner in the catagory of comics & graphic novels in Family Fiction Magazine’s, 2011 Reader’s Choice Awards!  The awards, given in multiple genres of publishing and the media, were announced in the May/June issue of the publication (available for online viewing).

The Eye Witness series has attracted a tremendous amount of media and reader attention over the years due to it’s unique combination of a modern day action thriller with a Biblical adaptation (spanning from Jesus’ Passion story through the Book of Acts).  Unlike most graphic novels, the series not only sells well in comic specialty and secular book stores, but also has done well in Christian bookstores and church libraries.

Since it’s premier in 2004Luedke’s Eye Witness series has been honored with five indy book awards and been named a finalist in four others.  “The project started out as my answering a calling to create a single graphic novel that could do a bit more than just entertain,” explains Luedke, “and it ended up becoming a mission that basically consumed the better part of a decade of my life!”

Top Shelf Kids Club

It seems every publisher has been getting in on the all-ages comics act lately, but Top Shelf have been ahead of the curve for a while. If you, or your kids, would like to be in the know on their upcoming releases, like Owly, Johnny Boo, Korgi and more, then sign up here and get a free poster too!

Young Justice on DVD in July

We have yet to see DC’s new Young Justice cartoon here in Oz, but from what I’ve seen it looks right up my alley. Now the first DVD collection is on its way in July. Official info below.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF DC UNIVERSE SUPER HEROES PUT THEIR TRAINING TO THE TEST AS WARNER HOME VIDEO RELEASES YOUNG JUSTICE SEASON 1 VOLUME 1 ON DVD JULY 19, 2011 

One Disc Featuring Four Fantastic Episodes of the Brand-New Cartoon Network Show from Warner Bros. Animation

The newest Warner Bros. Animation–produced hit series on Cartoon Network finally arrives on DVD as Warner Home Video (WHV) unleashes its secret weapon with Young Justice Season 1 Volume 1. These DC Universe teenage super heroes have quickly proven to be a hit as the favorite show among boys 9-14. With non-stop action, Young Justice Season 1 Volume 1 comes to DVD for the first time on July 19, 2011.

In Young Justice, being a teenager means proving yourself over and over — to peers, parents, teachers, mentors and, ultimately, to yourself. But what if you’re not just a normal teenager? What if you’re a teenage super hero? How much harder will it be to prove yourself in a world of super powers, super villains and super secrets? Are you ready to come of age in such a world? Are you ready for life or death rites of passage? Are you ready to join the ranks of the great heroes and prove you’re worthy of the Justice League? That’s exactly what the members of Young Justice — Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis — will find out: whether they have what it takes to be a proven hero.

These teenage heroes collectively become the Justice League’s secret weapon against the forces of evil. The young protégés must put their super hero education to the test and band together to covertly fight the evildoers that exist on Earth-16. Utilizing The Cave as their home base, the teen heroes will take on under-the-radar missions that would be impossible for the league’s famous and identifiable elders to handle secretly.

While the team works to take on more super hero responsibilities, they are in constant training by the Justice League to eventually take their place alongside the great heroes. Red Tornado is their supervisor; Black Canary is in charge of their training; and Batman determines and directs their assignments. Of course, in true teenage fashion, the members of the team push the limits of their missions, often turning a simple assignment from Batman into something significantly larger.

“DC fans have been vocal about their love for Young Justice, so I am particularly pleased to announce our first DVD release,” said Sam Register, Executive Vice President Creative Affairs, Warner Bros. Animation.

“We are thrilled to bring the newest and youngest members of the DC Universe to homes with the release of Young Justice Season 1 Volume 1,” said Mary Ellen Thomas, WHV Executive Director of Family and Animation Marketing.  “As a brand new series, Young Justice is already a favorite and will continue to excite fans with its group of crime-fighting teenage super heroes.”

Young Justice Season 1 Volume 1 is executive produced by Sam Register and produced by Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman. The voice cast includes Jesse McCartney as Robin, Khary Payton as Aqualad, Jason Spisak as Kid Flash, Nolan North as Superboy, Danica McKellar as Miss Martian, Stephanie Lemelin as Artemis and Bruce Greenwood as Batman.

Episodes:

Young Justice Season 1 Volume 1

  1. Independence Day, Part 1
  2. Independence Day, Part 2
  3. Welcome to Happy Harbor
  4. Drop Zone

Captain America #1 Preview

As is Marvel’s usual strategy to tie in with a cinematic adaptation, here comes another series relaunch and yes, Steve Rogers is back in his Captain America guise. Covers and text-free preview pages below.

Your First Look At CAPTAIN AMERICA #1!

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at the blockbuster Captain America #1 from the superstar creative team of Ed Brubaker and Steve McNiven. This July, the original Sentinel of Liberty springs back into action for a high octane adventure that no Captain America fan can miss. When a mysterious figure from Steve Rogers’ past returns, deadly secrets surface that put Captain America back in-between crosshairs. The next big chapter in the life of Steve Rogers begins this summer in an action packed adventure throughout the Marvel Universe, only in Captain America #1!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 (MAY110617)

Written by ED BRUBAKER

Pencils & Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN

Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN

Variant Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL

Variant Cover by NEAL ADAMS

Variant Cover by JOHN ROMITA SR.

Movie variant available

Blank cover also available

Rated T+ …$3.99

FOC – 6/20/11, On Sale – 7/13/11

                                                                            

The Art of Mike Deodato Preview

Getting his mainstream start in comics with Wonder Woman for DC in the ’90s, artist Mike Deodato Jr. has been a Marvel man for most of the last few years. In July the publisher will give him his own art book. I have similar books for Joe Quesada and was actually looking at Marko Djurdjevic’s one last weekend. If Deodato’s is similarly filled with insightful comments to go along with his awesome art, this should be one worthy of the bookshelf. I interviewed the man himself for the Extra Sequential magazine here (on pages 8 – 13).

Your First Look At THE ART OF MIKE DEODATO HC

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at The Art Of Mike Deodato HC, a stunning chronicle of the Marvel Architect’s life and work for the House of Ideas! Since breaking into the industry in the early 1990s, Mike Deodato has established himself as one of comics’ most celebrated superstar artists. Now, in one oversized tome, follow Deodato’s artistic evolution from his iconic early work on Avengers and Thor through his now legendary successes on Amazing Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, Thunderbolts, Dark Avengers, and much, much more.

“Since I was a kid, I’d loved art books collecting my favorite artists. More recently, I’ve been thrilled to see works of comic book artists taken more seriously,” said Deodato. “To be featured among talents such as Joe Quesada and Marko Djurdjevic in a book like this makes me awfully happy. My dad, who bought me all my early Frazetta hardcovers, was beaming with pride when I told him Marvel was doing one about me. I feel honored.”

Also catch rare insights in the creative process from many of Deodato’s collaborators, including writers Mike Benson, Charlie Huston and Marvel Editor In Chief Axel Alonso! From Thor’s clash with the World Engine to the fall of Norman Osborn, relive the greatest artistic triumphs of this superstar artist, only in The Art Of Mike Deodato HC!

THE MARVEL ART OF MIKE DEODATO HC (FEB110649)

Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS

Pencils & Cover by MIKE DEODATO

On-Sale 7/6/11


The Outlaw Prince

I’m usually not a fan of fantasy comics, but this has some impressive creators behind it. Plus, it’s from the mind of the man who gave the world Tarzan. Details below and more preview pages here. The Outlaw Prince OGN is available now. The Regular Edition is 80 pages for $13 and the 112 page Deluxe Limited Edition is $50 and is signed.

A riveting tale of historic fiction in the classic Burroughs’ style! Writer Rob Hughes and renowned illustrators Thomas Yeates and Michael Wm. Kaluta present in fully painted format the medieval masterpiece The Outlaw of Torn, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs a century ago. This timeless tale unfolds during the tumultuous Second Baron’s War as a young and innocent Prince is ruthlessly abducted from his royal family, taken into the remote and rugged mountainous regions of Derbyshire to be brainwashed to forget his very heritage and relentlessly trained to become the greatest swordsman the world has ever known—and ultimately, the most dreaded name in all of Britain. With civil war looming upon the horizon, the fate of the Kingdom of England may very well rest in his hands.

The ancient archive of his remarkable life had been lost for more than 700 years, shrouded by the mists of time…until now!

Brilliant storytelling and the beautiful artwork of two industry titans combine to bring to life the origin of Norman of Torn — The Outlaw Prince!

Writer: Rob Hughes
Penciller: Thomas Yeates, Michael Wm. Kaluta
Inker: Thomas Yeates
Colorist: Thomas Yeates, Lori Almeida, Steve Oliff and Gloria Vasquez
Cover Artist: Esad Ribic
Deluxe Edition Cover Artist: Alan Lathwell
Genre: Action/Adventure, Classic

This timeless tale unfolds during the tumultuous Second Baron’s War, when a young prince is ruthlessly abducted from his royal family, taken into the rugged mountains of Derbyshire, and brainwashed to forget his very heritage. He’s trained to become the greatest swordsman the world has ever known–and grows to be the most dreaded name in all of Britain! With civil war looming upon the horizon, the fate of the kingdom of England may very well rest in his hands!

  • Presenting a medieval adventure based on The Outlaw of Torn, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
  • A classic Edgar Rice Burroughs novel–adapted for a modern audience!
  • This deluxe limited edition features an introduction by Burroughs expert Frank Westwood, a feature-length article by Rod Jackson exploring the history behind the story and a painted cover by artist Alan Lathwell!


Space Warped #1 Preview

From BOOM! Studios’ new all-ages imprint Kaboom! comes Star Wars parody Space Warped. Most sci-fi parodies are for mature audiences (except Space Balls I guess), so way to go BOOM! Below is a hefty 10 page preview. Love the fantasy interpretations of the characters. Yes, even Princess Leia’s unibrow. Click on the pages to see them bigger, and y’know, actually read the text.

SPACE WARPED #1 COMES TO KABOOM! THIS JUNE!

AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW
THROUGH DIAMOND: APR110907

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK WITH THIS 10-PAGE PREVIEW!

Far away, in a land long ago…there was an orphaned farm kid with daddy issues trying to rescue an orphaned princess unaware of her daddy issues! In the tradition of ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS and SPACEBALLS comes a loving, affectionate parody of the greatest science fiction franchise of all time! The first of a two-issue mini-series, this is a fan-pleasing romp that skewers one of the greatest adventure stories ever!

SPACE WARPED #1 debuts this June written by Hervé Bourhis witih hilarious art by Rudy Spiessert. This title ships with a price point of $3.99 and a Diamond Code of APR110907.

While I’m on the topic of Star Wars parodies, there’s this:

Marvel and Dark Horse Digital Comics

The brave new frontier of comics being digitally available is a great opportunity for techno-centric fans. Here’s the latest from Marvel (who have offered digital options for a while) plus the impressive offerings from the new Dark Horse Digital.

Experience FEAR ITSELF: THE WORTHY On The Marvel Comics App

Hey there True Believers, here’s your official list of comic books, hitting the Marvel Comics app on April 27, 2011. Now fans can experience their favorite Marvel heroes bursting into action on your iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch! Today, be the first to discover the secrets behind the summer’s hottest comics event in Fear Itself: The Worthy #1 – an all-new, story from acclaimed creators Christos Gage and Elia Bonetti! The first of eight weekly tales to come,Fear Itself: The Worthy #1 details the catastrophic rise to power of the Red Skull’s daughter, Sin, and her plans for the whole of the Marvel Universe now that she wields the mysterious of hammer of Skadi! And, best of all, the entire story is available for free on the Marvel app! Now’s the time to find out why Fear Itself has fans and critics raving!

And that’s not all! With a wide array of titles already available there is something for everyone! Stay tuned each week for a brand new list of Marvel releases so that you’ll never miss your favorite heroes in action.

To download the Marvel Comics app, visit: http://www.marvel.com/marvelcomicsapp

Here’s your official list of comic books, hitting the Marvel Comics app today!

Digital Comics On-Sale Today:

5 RONIN #5

ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST – QUASAR

(Annihilation: Conquest Prologue #1, Annihilation: Conquest – Quasar #1-4)

CAPTAIN AMERICA: HAIL HYDRA #4

FEAR ITSELF: THE WORTHY #1

MARVEL BACKLIST CHRONOLOGY

MARVEL ZOMBIES 4

(Marvel Zombies 4 #1-4)

SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS

(Secret Invasion: Inhumans #1-4)

SPIDER-MAN: THE GAUNTLET VOL. 4 – JUGGERNAUT

(Amazing Spider-Man #626-629)

THOR BY WALT SIMONSON VOL. 1

(Thor #337-348)

ULTIMATE VISION

(Ultimate Vision #0-6)

WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS VOL. 2 – TO RUSSIA, WITH LOVE

(Wolverine: First Class #5-8)

FREE This Week On The App:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #445

CAPTAIN AMERICA: FIRST VENGEANCE #1

CAPTAIN AMERICA: A LITTLE HELP #1

FEAR ITSELF SKETCHBOOK

SPIDER-MAN: A MEAL TO DIE FOR #1

SPIDER-MAN: YOU’RE HIRED #1

ULTIMATE SIX#1

VENOM: LETHAL PROTECTOR #1

DARK HORSE LAUNCHES DIGTIAL COMICS PROGRAM!

OVERWHELMING DEMAND CRASHES SERVERS!

Earlier today, Dark Horse’s iOS app and digital store went online and opened for business! Even after extensive load testing, demand for Dark Horse digital comics was still too high for our servers!  Thousands of fans rushed to download our digital comics, resulting in intermittent service outages.

The Dark Horse Comics iOS digital app is now available for free download in the iTunes store and comes loaded with the first full issue of Hellboy: Seed of Destruction. While we are still working on a native Android app, any device with a modern web browser can be used to read Dark Horse comics at Digital.DarkHorse.com.

Thanks to fans who signed up for our Dark Horse Digital newsletter, full first issues of Criminal MacabreAbe Sapien: The DrowningThe Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse SuiteMass Effect: Redemption, and Joss Whedon’s Fray are available in the digital store for free.

Other free comics available today include:

Beasts of Burden #1

Conan #0: Conan the Legend

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom/Magnus, Robot Fighter (FCBD 2010)

Dungeon Siege III #1

Falling Skies #1, #2, and #3

Grendel: Behold the Devil #1

Kull: The Shadow Kingdom #1

Solomon Kane #1

Solomon Kane: Death’s Black Riders #1

The Terminator: Death Valley #0 and #1

The Terminator: 2029 #1

The Umbrella Academy #0

New Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Images

The next DC animated film is an anthology centering on six different ring bearers in the Green Lantern Corps and is called Emerald Knights. It is released on June 7, just before the film starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Martin Campbell and has a great voice cast including Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) as Hal Jordan, Henry Rollins as Kilowog, Jason Isaacs as Sinestro, Arnold Vosloo (the bad guy in The Mummy) as Abin Sur, and former wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper as Bolphunga. Yep, the Green Lantern names are almost as cool as those in Star Wars.

See more images here and below is a lost of the extras included on the Blu-Ray.

– Featurette:“Only the Bravest: Tales of The Green Lantern Corps”
– Featurette: “Why Green Lantern Matters: The Talent of Geoff Johns”
– Feature Film Commentary with Dan DiDio and Geoff Johns
– Pod: “From Comic Book to Screen: Abin Sur”
– Pod: “From Comic Book to Screen: Laira Omoto“
This short pod will take a peek into Geoff John’s Green Lantern: Secret Origin book, which for the first time, showed fans what really happened to Abin Sur before he crashed landed on Earth, and passed on his ring to Hal Jordan.
– Bruce Timm’s Picks: Excerpt from “The Siege of Starro! Part One” from Batman: The Brave and The Bold, “Revenge of The Reach!” from Batman: The Brave and The Bold
– Digital Comic: Green Lantern
– Sneak Peek at upcoming DC Universe animated movie
– Sneak Peek at All-Star Superman

Write This Star Wars Panel

Dark Horse’s blog is running an online caption contest for U.S residents to write some text for this panel from the upcoming Star Wars: Crimson Empire III issue, as seen in last week’s preview in the relaunched Dark Horse Presents #1. Write you masterful text here. There will be 2 winners. The actual comic will be printed with the winning entry, so I can only assume the runner up will receive a bunch of Star Wars goodies.

Extra Sequential Podcast #36-Rombies and Peanuts

54 mins. Some DC reviews and a discussion about Rombies #1 and the new Peanuts OGN. Also Joss Whedon’s apparent foot fetish, Snoopy’s cousins and Mladen plays Kris’ former sidekick. It’ll make sense once you listen to the ep.

LISTEN TO IT BELOW, DOWNLOAD IT HERE OR ON ITUNES

1:50 NEWS

Green Lantern’s toes (yes, you read that correctly).

Batman Live World Arena Tour has a press day with costumes and video. And confetti.

Michael Shannon cast as General Zod.

Tokyopop closes.

14: 44 WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING

Brightest Day #23. Swamp Thing returns to the DC Universe and a few characters get turned into elementals.

Fear Itself #7. The Red Skull’s daughter Sin picks up a Norse hammer and brings madness upon the earth!

Batman: Arkham City game.

Tron Legacy: Reconfigured soundtrack.

28:05 The return of Panel Plays (because we demanded it!)

30: 40 FEATURE REVIEWS

Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown. A Peanuts OGN from BOOM! Studios. We both liked it and found it rather funny, with a consistent visual style. Peanuts purists and newbies will enjoy its charms.

Rombies #1, an awesome new series from Tom Taylor, Skye Ogden and Gestalt Publishing. Zombies in Old Testament times. A father’s love brings death. This promising start to the new series is a great looking and highly entertaining comic.

Green Lantern’s Toes

Could Warner Bros. have undone all the progress they made with those awesome 4 minutes of Green Lantern film footage shown at Wondercon? Quite possibly, and here’s how – 3 full body looks at Ryan Reynolds’ CGI costume. Will people ignore the fact that we can see his individual toes or will the lack of proper footwear be this millenium’s Bat nipples (as seen in Joel Schumacher’s late ’90s Batman films)?

The domino mask still looks wonky but I can understand why the film makers chose the approach of making the GL suit like a ring constructed body glove, rather than thousands of superhero costumes on different alien races, as it puts the film more in the sci-fi category rather than the superhero category, but it’s still not quite right.

On a positive note, Warner Bros. have chosen their new big screen General Zod wisely, as actor Michael Shannon (TV’s Boardwalk Empire) will portray the Kryptonian villain. From the few films I’ve seen him in, he exudes a confidence and creepiness rather well. The film is now officially called Man of Steel and will be released in December 2012.

Gladstone’s School For World Conquerors

I saw this is the monthly Previews catalogue last month and it looks pretty interesting. If you’re not sick of all-ages tales where the villains are the main characters, such as Despicable Me and Megamind, then this could be for you. I doubt it will be another sell out like the recent wave of Image titles, as they are mostly for mature audiences. However, I could very well be wrong. If you didn’t see the sneak peek in March’s Previews, go here to see 4 pages from the fun comic.

GLADSTONE’S SCHOOL IS NOW IN SESSION

Writer Mark Andrew Smith and Artist Armand Villavert Give Readers an Education in Villainy This May

Veteran Image scribe Mark Andrew Smith (AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS, the Eisner-winning POPGUN anthology, and the two-time Harvey nominated THE NEW BRIGHTON ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY) has teamed up with the clean, crisp lines of Armand Villavert to present a brand new title, GLADSTONE’S SCHOOL FOR WORLD CONQUERORS. This series offers a new perspective on the villain training process and a fun new story for kids of all ages to enjoy.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled about GLADSTONE’S SCHOOL FOR WORLD CONQUERORS! Creating the story and the characters has been a truly exciting experience,” Smith exclaimed. “We’re building an entire universe here with GLADSTONE’S and hope the characters will become recognizable icons in the future. GLADSTONE’S has taken on a life of its own. There are so many facets of the GLADSTONE’S universe that we look forward to exploring. Readers are going to fall in love with the universe we’re creating!”

Artist Armand Villavert said, “GLADSTONE’S has been a labor of love for more than 4 years now. I’ve enjoyed drawing GLADSTONE’S every step of the way, mostly because the characters have a great amount of emotion and fun to them. I love drawing and expressing facial expressions and really conveying to the readers what the character is thinking. I hope those readers will have as much fun reading it as I’ve had drawing it. GLADSTONE’S is funny, action packed, and dramatic and I hope I continue to work on it for years to come.”

GLADSTONE’S SCHOOL FOR WORLD CONQUERORS #1 takes place at a top secret academy where many children of the world’s greatest super villains go to learn the family trade. Kid Nefarious, Mummy Girl, Martian Jones, Ghost Girl, and the infamous Skull brothers must navigate the trials of Gladstone’s as they unearth the school’s and their parents’ hidden past. In this action-packed but lighthearted romp, the students find themselves at a time when they must deal with both the problems of growing up as a child of infamous lineage as well as just plain growing up in general.

GLADSTONES SCHOOL FOR WORLD CONQUERORS #1, a 40 page full-color all-ages super villain/adventure comic book, is in stores soon on May 4, 2011 for $2.99.

Extra Sequential Podcast #35-Comic Parodies

59 mins. We chat about some of our fave comic book parodies, including poking fun at superheroes. Also the Star Wars episode of That ’70s Show, the beauty of modern video games and Scream 4.

LISTEN TO IT BELOW, DOWNLOAD IT HERE OR ON ITUNES


1:00 NEWS

Swancon and Natcon convention in Perth

Next DC animated film based on Tower of Babel JLA storyline

DC’s Retro-Active series of one-shots

Supernatural: The Anime Series to be released in July

The 4 minutes of the Green Lantern film that have been officially released

13:43 WHAT WE’VE BEEN READING

Kris – Action Comics #899 filled with Lex vs Braniac and madcap action

Who Is Jake Ellis? #3 by Nathan Edmondson and Tonci Zonjic

Undying Love #1 by Tomm Coker and Daniel Freedman. Another winner from Image Comics about a human in love with a Chinese vampire.

Mladen – Crossing Midnight Volume 1 from Mike Carey and Jim Fern about twins born just before and just after midnight. Strange abilities, greedy demons and more ensue.

Digested #4 by Bobby N.

27: 27 FEATURE TOPIC-PARODIES

Red 5’s Abyss mini-series

The classic Justice league International

Ape Entertainment’s Super Human Resources by Ken Marcus and Justin Bleep

Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen

Tank Girl: The Odyssey by Peter Milligan and Jamie Hewlett

James Turner’s Rex Libris

Plus, as an added extra, we answer some fanmail!