The next DC animated film, Batman: Under the Red Hood is out on July 27 and the official website is now up. You can check out the awesome trailer plus 11 pics from the film, including Joker, Ra’s al Ghul, Nightwing and Amazo. Check it out here.
The Frontiersman #3
Broken Frontier’s new, weekly digital mag has just released its third issue. It’s all about The Avengers, and has lots of nifty features. Check it out right here.
Fraggle Rock #1 Sells Out
Much loved and fondly remembered kid’s shows from the past seem to be the flavour of the moment for indie publishers. BOOM! have Mickey Mouse and The Muppets, Ape have Shrek and now Archaia have Fraggle Rock. It seems to be working so far. Details below regarding the sell out of the first issue.
THE JIM HENSON COMPANY’S ‘FRAGGLE ROCK’ #1 BY ARCHAIA HAS SOLD OUT!
SOON-TO-BE-RELEASED ISSUE #2 ALSO NEAR SELLOUT AT DISTRIBUTOR LEVEL
Archaia proudly announced today that copies of Fraggle Rock #1 have sold out at the distributor level. (Copies may still be available at local comic book shops.) Additional copies of issue #1 are being sent to Diamond Comic Distributors now to meet the demand.
“We’ve been overwhelmed with the positive response to Fraggle Rock, and I’m so excited that the first book of the Archaia/Jim Henson Company partnership has flown off the shelves so quickly!” said Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy. “Archaia is focused on long-term, generational brand building, and Fraggle Rock is one such property that allows us to bridge the gap between the generation that grew up with the original TV show and a new generation of kids, some of whom have never read comics before. Working with The Jim Henson Company is a thrill and an honor, and we hope to continue this success with future Henson comic books, including The Dark Crystal.”
Readers are clamoring for the Fraggle Rock comic after Archaia and The Jim Henson Company re-introduced the property as part of the Archaia Free Comic Book Day flip book issue, which also featured the Publisher’s popular all-ages series, Mouse Guard. Adults who grew up watching the classic “Fraggle Rock” TV series are happily introducing the property to their children, as evidenced by the large number of families present at Archaia, Lionsgate and The Jim Henson Company’s Fraggle Rock celebration held at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles during Free Comic Book Day. The original TV show is making its return to the small screen this fall as part of the inaugural lineup of Hasbro’s new children’s network, The Hub, and Lionsgate has recently released new DVD collections of all four seasons of the series.
Copies of issue #2, which go on sale May 26, 2010 in comic book shops, are also near sellout at the distributor level. Issue #3 goes on sale in June, followed by a hardcover collection in August.
Hotwire: Deep Cut
Woo hoo! Writer/artist Steve Pugh’s wild sci-fi series Hotwire is retruning to shelves in July. The gorgeous TPB collecting the first series is now out, and below is all you need to know on the next mini-series starring Alice Hotwire, Detective Exorcist.
HOTWIRE: DEEP CUT #1 NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDER THROUGH DIAMOND PREVIEWS
Detective Exorcist Alice Hotwire is back in a brand new adventure! Radical Publishing is proud to announce that the first issue Hotwire: Deep Cut, follow-up to the acclaimed Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead, is now available for order through Diamond Previews. Written and illustrated by Steve Pugh and co-created by Warren Ellis, Hotwire: Deep Cut delves further into the life and mind of the city’s only supernatural investigator, Alice Hotwire.
Directly following the explosive events of Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead, Alice Hotwire is taking some much needed R&R. But when a ghost from her storied past appears at her door, it sets off a series of events that lead Hotwire and her partner, Mobey, across the city as they try to stop a secret government project from turning the city into a living nightmare. In Hotwire: Deep Cut, Steve Pugh takes readers on a new supernatural adventure that will offer a glimpse into Alice Hotwire’s past, as well as her future, with a host of familiar faces including the unsettling Coroner Love and the rest of the Metro Police.
“Iconic characters like Alice Hotwire deserve to have their stories told,” said Radical President and Publisher Barry Levine. “With Requiem for the Dead just released in trade paperback, we felt it was time to continue the story that Steve and Warren began. This time around, Steve has upped the ante for Alice and I can’t wait to see how the fans react to some of the surprises he has in store.”
Hotwire: Deep Cut #1 is the first of a three-issue miniseries and is listed in the May 2010 edition of Diamond Previews, shipping July 2010. Hotwire: Deep Cut #1 is 32-page comic retailing for $3.50.
Fans are encouraged to visit the Radical Publishing website at www.radicalpublishing.com for more information.
Next DC Art Book
I’m a big fan of coffee table books focused on comic book art, but due to their expense, my collection will never be as impressive as I’d like. However, I do have 2 DC-centric books, in the pages of DC Comics Covergirls (focused on the history of DC’s female characters) and Rough Justice (all about painter Alex Ross). According to DC’s blog, next up (after next month’s book on Adam Hughes, see the cover below) is this whopper of a project, and I want one. Here’s the official details.
DC Comics has joined forces with TASCHEN, the book publisher known for its eye for quality, modern design aesthetic and high-end art books spotlighting every aspect of culture: from art and movies to lifestyle and comics, to produce an ultra-comprehensive, extra large book so impressive, even super heroes may have trouble lifting it.
Clocking in at nearly 15 pounds and with over 650 pages (all details are still to be confirmed), 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking features more than 1,500 images — including covers, interiors, original illustrations, photos, film stills and collectibles — using the latest digital reproduction technology to bring you the characters, stories and the creators that brought them to life as they’ve never been seen before.
And the man behind the story, telling the tales? None other than Paul Levitz, former DC Comics Publisher and upcoming LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES and ADVENTURE COMICS writer. Paul’s in-depth essays trace the history of DC Comics, from its pulpy beginnings to the modern era.
The book also features massive fold-out timelines and an in-depth appendix that includes bios on artists, writers, editors, publishers and actors — what more do you need to know before this gets an automatic spot on your wish list? I was sold before I even started writing this here blog post.
The Frontiersman #2 Out Now
The second issue of the new digital magazine The Frontiersman is out now at Broken Frontier. It’s a 31 pager with a preview of Devil #4 from Dark Horse, a look at Iron Man 2 and Vertigo’s The Unwritten, as well as interviews with Peter Tomasi and David Finch on DC’s Brightest Day event, and my little interview with two of the creators behind Ape Entertainment’s new Shrek series. Read The Frontiersman #2 for free here.
Read The Sixth Gun #1 For Free
From what I’ve seen, this is looking to be a great series. I didn’t get a copy of the full debut issue from Oni Press’ Free Comic Book Day offering, but they’ve kindly put it on-line for free anyway. Thanks Oni! Here you go.
The Phantom From Dynamite
Alex Ross loves his old-time superheroes, as is evidenced by his work on DC’s Justice series with Jim Krueger who he also worked with on Dynamite’s Project Superpowers. Now he’s going back to one of the original superheroes, Lee Falk’s The Phantom. The classic character had a recent (and unsuccessful) stab at re-invention for a TV pilot, but this new series from Dynamite looks a lot more interesting. Scott Beatty scripts the new book with Eduardo Firagto as artist, with Ross offering creative guidance. The Last Phantom debuts in August. Get more details about the series here.
Hawkeye & Mockingbird #1 Preview
Clint Barton is out of his Ronin duds and back in his familiar purple outfit. He’s also re-united with his resurrected lover. Everything’s coming up Barton! Text-free preview of the pair’s new series below.
Your First Look At HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD #1
Marvel is proud to present your first look at Hawkeye & Mockingbird #1, from the fan-favorite New Avengers: The Reunioncreative team of Jim McCann and David Lopez. Hawkeye, the world’s greatest marksman is back—and reunited with the world’s most dangerous super-spy, Mockingbird—as two of the most popular Avengers launch an all-new ongoing series in the Heroic Age!
HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD #1 (APR100588)
Written by JIM MCCANN
Penciled by DAVID LOPEZ
Cover by PAUL RENAUD
Variant Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Women of Marvel Variant Cover by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC—5/13/10, On-Sale—6/3/10
Aladdin: Legacy of the Lost #3 Review
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Radical’s luscious books, as is anyone who looks at them really, and with the good news that a new volume of Steve Pugh’s excellent Hotwire lands in July, I’m a happy man indeed.
And on that note, Aladdin #3 concludes another great, and great looking, entry in Radical’s line up. Written by Ian Edginton with art by Stjepan Sejic, this has been a well crafted tale. It’s the kind of series that doesn’t demand attention, in that it’s not a high concept book (like Radical’s The Last Days of American Crime) and it doesn’t resort to cheap storytelling tricks and ‘mature’ updates of a myth to generate readers. It’s simply an attractive and accessible well structured story and unfortunately that’s all too are these days.
This final issue concludes the previous two (umm..obviously) but its simplicity means that every issue can be dove into without trying to rack your brain regarding what happened in the last installment. However, for those new to this title – Aladdin is a bit of a no hoper and a thief when he discovers a magical ring, meets wise adventurer Sinbad, tries to rescue Princess Soraya from the evil wizard Qassim and finally journeys to the undreground city where he and Sinbad get betrayed by the Mantis Queen. Kind of like Star Wars in the Middle East, but not really.
Edginton has used the familiarity of the legend including the titular hero, and wish granting djinn as the first steps on a grander epic. Throwing in surprises such as the appearance of Sinbad is just a nice bonus. The attack on Sinbad’s ship opens the issue, as Aladdin gets eventual aid from the djinn in his magical ring, who has a connection to the other djinn…the one in the lamp from the first issue, which is now held by Qassim’s greedy fingers.
Where this issue differs from the previous issues is its more hectic (though never harried) pace, the introduction of a few more scary beasts, the greater use of magic and the examples of love, and the heroism or selfishness it brings.
Sejic shines as always, quite literally, with his landscapes and dazzling cities looking like they belong in a Prince of Persia film as if made by Peter Jackson. He’s one of the industry’s brightest and most consistent artists and his sense of design when it comes to characters and layouts, holds immense visual appeal.
The other thing I noticed with this issue was Edginton’s approach to dialogue. With an ancient-set story like this it could easily become a bad mix of Shakesperean talk via the mouth of Thor, but thankfully there’s nothing like that here. It somehow feels old and I don’t mean because there’s no iPhone references. Every character speaks with the kind of purpose and heroism, and villainy, that you’d expect and want from a Middle Eastern epic journey.
Pilot Season: Stealth #1 Preview
Yes, this one-shot from Top Cow’s Pilot Season series was meant to come out at the start of the year, but delays do happen. Now it’s out this week. Official description, and previews pages, below.
Pilot Season: Stealth #1
Robert Kirkman (A) Sheldon Mitchell (Cov) Marc Silvestri
From the creative minds of Image partners Robert Kirkman & Marc Silvestri!
Todd Carey is recovering from a nasty divorce, his daughter is flunking out of college and he’s just learned that his father has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Unable to really take care of himself, Todd has allowed his father to move in with him. What Todd doesn’t know, is that his father is the masked vigilante STEALTH… and has been his entire life. Stealth has many enemies and his erratic behavior could easily get him killed–and all this trouble falls squarely in Todd’s lap.
Full Color 22 pages $2.99 pilot issue
BOOM!’s Best This Week
So, suppose you went to your friendly neighbourhood comic shop on Saturday for Free Comic Book Day, to see what was what, and maybe get your kids or younger relatives into comics for the first time. Well, this week diverse indie publisher BOOM! Studios have something for your every reading requirement to keep you in the (good) habit. The final issue of Muppet King Arthur is out, as is the latest issue (#5) in their wonderfully entertaining and thankfully ongoing The Muppet Show Comic Book and Walt Disney Comics and Stories #706. See previews from these two issues below. For something that will bring the chuckles to both kids and adults, you can’t go wrong with the awesome Toy Story: The Return of Buzz Lightyear TPB, which collects the very amusing 4 issue series from Jesse Blaze Snider and Nathan Watson. Also in collected form are the first 4 issues of Roger Langridge’s The Muppet Show series.
If you’re chasing something a bit more mature, either the Nola TPB (heroine wakes up battered in a New Orleans hospital facing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and revenge on her mind), the Incorruptible TPB by Mark Waid and Jean Diaz, which is a reverse Irredeemable of sorts, following villain turned hero Max Damage, or the latest issues of 28 Days Later (#10), Irredeemable (#13) or Codebreakers (#10). There ya go! Plenty to choose from.
Arcana #1 Now Here
A print offshoot of sorts of the on-line magazine I co-created, Extra Sequential, Arcana has now been released in some comic book shops around the U.S. I got my hands on a few copies this week at my LCS in Perth, Western Australia and was so excited I just had to take a photo of it on the shelves, right next to Archie. It’s not a bad looking product, I must say and from all reports the next issue, which will be in conjunction with the team behind the great SP! Nexus magazine will be even better.
At least now I can finally add “internationally published writer” to my resume!
Inside its 80 pages, there’s interviews with creator of The Surrogates Robert Venditti, writer Marv Wolfman, superb artist David Mack and our cover feature on Aussie Star Wars: Invasion, The Authority writer Tom Taylor. If you see a copy, make sure to grab it!
Resistance Book 1 Review
At Broken Frontier is my review of the OGN, Resistance from First Second Books. It’s a fairly solid drama about a group of kids joining the French Resistance during the dangerous days of WWII. Read my full review here.
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