Gail Simone Leaves Wonder Woman

In a wonderfully touching farewell letter, writer Gail Simone says her goodbyes and thank yous to all the faithful readers, and new fans who have joined her in her adventures with Princess Diana since she began in 2007. Simone will work on July’s landmark Wonder Woman #600 and will then make way for a new, as-yet-unnamed writer, who Simone is very excited about. She’ll also continue working on her excellent Secret Six series, and the relaunching Birds of Prey, which debuts on May 19, as well as a Welcome to Tranquility mini for DC/Wildstorm. So, she’ll be busy then.

Simone has always been a classy writer and though I haven’t read  a lot of her WW issues, I know her love for the character, and close relationships with the fans has helped to bring the title a credibility it hasn’t had in a long time. Her last issue as writer will be WW # 44 out on May 26.

March 6, 2010
Categories: News . Tags: , , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Purge + Audit Blog

My mate Mladen has finally started a blog. The long haired man with a stranger name than me certainly has some eclectic interests and his awareness of quirky sci-fi films, classic novels and music I’ve never heard of is most impressive. He unleashed his blog, The Drowning Machine last month. Check it out now. He’s always been a good writer and it’s encouraging to see him put it to good use. Right now, you’ll see a deleted scene from Terminator 3, a review of Crime and Punishment and some dazzling videos. Yep, eclectic. You can also check some of his own music out right here. Yes, he’s a musician and a writer. Thankfully, he can’t dance and this keeps him humble.

March 3, 2010
Categories: Art, Movies, Music, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Top Shelf’s New Website

The title says it all, but here’s some random attractions to entice you to visit it right here. Top Shelf are one of my favourite indie publishers and unlike others, their site has always been just as interesting as their unique books. Now it’s even better!

March 2, 2010
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Red 5’s Box 13

Press release below regarding Red 5’s latest project.

“BOX 13” ARRIVES AS GRAPHIC NOVEL THIS MAY FROM ZUDA AND HARVEY-WINNING TEAM OF GALLAHER AND ELLIS FEATURED IN RED 5 COMICS FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2010 ISSUE

The Harvey Award-winning creative team behind the smash hit “High Moon” are set to once again leap story-telling magic from pixels to print in their latest adventure, “Box 13”. The graphic novel trade paperback will be available this May from Red 5 Comics and ComiXology, the creators of Comics — the #1 iPhone application for downloading comics. Created by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis, the first Zuda.com contest winners, Box 13 is a reimagining of the popular radio serial of the same name. It follows investigative author Dan Holiday who has spent the last several years of his life researching the secrets behind the MKULTRA project.

His latest book has brought him a degree of notoriety, but a mysterious numbered box left on his book signing table is too much to resist. Once opened, the box sends him spinning on a harrowing journey of self-discovery and driving mystery… what is in Box 13?

While inspired by the noir-serial of the 1940s, the reimagining blends in the disorienting action mysteries of the 1960s like “The Manchurian Candidate”, “The Prisoner” and “Modesty Blaise” wrapped in a modern tale in a digital medium. “There is gunplay, conspiracy, romance, psychological drama, train chases, motorcycle chases, and danger!” author David Gallaher told CBR. “But, at its heart it’s a story about rediscovering your place in the world after everything in your life changes forever.”

Originally commissioned by ComiXology and released exclusively on the iPhone, the series was created from start-to-finish with print-ready layouts. “Who better than this beloved award-winning team to help demonstrate to the world the potential synergies of comics content in digital and print?”, posed ComiXology president David Steinberger. “Over a hundred thousand people have discovered the series on their screens, and are now clamoring for the printed graphic novel to complete the experience. At the end of the day, it’s all about telling a great story that people want to read.”

Not only will the generation of digital comic readers come looking for Box 13, but the title will be exposed to comic shop masses on May 1’s Free Comic Book Day. The entire 8-page first chapter of Box 13 is included in Red 5 Comics third-annual Atomic Robo FCBD issue — one of the most anticipated regular releases of the event.

The release of the Box 13 graphic novel on May 19 will complete the page-turning appetite for just $13. Pre-order your copy in March 2010 using Diamond Comics code MAR101130. (And ensure your copy of Red 5 Comics Free Comic Book Day 2010 edition featuring Atomic Robo, Box 13 and Neozoic using code JAN100030)

March 2, 2010
Categories: Comic Art, New To Comics?, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

This Week’s Marvel Art

The latest round of teaser images began this week, with hints relating to X-Men, and the post-Siege Avengers team, which Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen will unleash in June. Also, here’s a few covers from this week’s Marvel releases. See the full list, (including the first entry in March’s $1 issues, The Invincible Iron Man #1) here.

March 2, 2010
Categories: Comic Art, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Blade Runner Keeps Running

BOOM! Studios surprised everyone last year when they announced their ambitious plans to publish a 2 year long series devoted to faithfully bringing Philip K. Dick’s seminal novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? to comics. It’s working, and the diverse cover art has been splendid throughout the run so far (8 issues and counting). Below are a few of my faves.

Inspired by 1982’s Blade Runner  film starring Harrison Ford, rather than the novel that inspired it, was a recent Singaporean art exhibition covering a wide range of disciplines, with pieces also going on sale. Cool.

February 26, 2010
Categories: Comic Art, New To Comics?, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

From Green to Yellow to White

And of course, who could forget his blue threads? Sinestro (he with the evil wispy moustache and former mentor of Hal Jordan) has a new colour in his wardrobe it seems.

Unfortunately, living in the world’s most isolated city means that occasionally I miss my weekly comics shipment (and so do all the other fanboys and girls who call Perth home). This week was such a week. Thanks to a delay in Singapore this week’s goodies (of which there were a lot) will most likely arrive 2 days late, ie, Saturday. Blackest Night #7 was one I was looking forward to picking up, and apparently it has quite the ending, but I think I can piece together Geoff Johns’ surprise from the just released cover image for Green Lantern #52. Sinestro as a White Lantern? I’m not sure how I feel about that. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see it in context in the page of Blackest Night’s penultimate issue, which will then launch in to the Brightest Day mini-series.

February 25, 2010
Categories: Comic Art, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Kirby Krackle Strike Again

Nerdcore band Kirby Krackle (who I interviewed at Broken Frontier last year) have just released the first single from their upcoming second album, E For Everyone. The duo, consisting of Kyle Stevens and Jim Demonakos, specialise in writing songs that make fanboys and girls tap their toes and smile wryly at all the witty references. Their first album gained many fans in the comics community, and surely more will follow. The single, On and On centres on a day in the life of Wolverine and you can here it at their site right now.

I also suggest checking out the lyrics to On and On and the songs from their debut album. E For Everyone will be released via their site on March 9 and is able to be pre-ordered now. Below is the groovy cover art from comics artist Jim Mahfood, with colours by Justin Stewart. Yes, that’s a gree lantern generated guitar. Awesome.

February 23, 2010
Categories: Music, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

5 Years of Gestalt in One Sweaty Pub

On Thursday night I decided to curb my notoriously unsocial ways and venture into a place of strangers, uncertainty and unhealthy food. Yes, I went to a pub. There was even beer involved (well, a middy at least) and a taxi ride home. The motivation for getting me out of the house was certainly cause for celebration though, as Perth publisher Gestalt celebrated 5 years in “the biz.” They have an impressive library of books, as one glance at their table at Clancy’s Fish Pub for the night would attest, and it looks like they have bold plans for the future, with greater international distribution and more OGNs spinning out from Rombies. The eery trailer for Justin Randall’s April-releasing Changing Ways left everyone impressed and the wait for signatures from Randall, and Rombies creative team of Tom Taylor and Skye Ogden was also impressive.

Grant Stone, host of long running radio show Faster Than Light officially kicked things off and enthusiastically praised Gestalt (and urged us to buy their books at the end of the evening – for the sake of our children!). Gestalt’s Managing Director Wolfgang Bylsma was up next and thanked all the attendees for their support, and also mentioned that Clancy’s was where he and Ogden (Gestalt’s Art Director) decided to form their own comics company half a decade ago. Ogden was third, and spoke a few words in Japanese (as he resides in the country) with Tom Taylor translating, with the aid of a laptop.

Taylor (writer of Star Wars: Invasion and now The Authority) rocked the mic like a rapper at a beat box competition (in enthusiasm, if not vocal gymnastics, though I’m sure the ex-juggler can probably sing too). The Melbourne scribe’s praise for Gestalt continued, and his jokes and volume had everyone’s attention, including bewildered patrons at the pub who were only there for a quiet night and were probably perplexed about what all these geeks were up to.

It was an unusual place for such an event, as the assembled comics fans had to avoid the sweaty environment and the speedy waitresses carrying paper cones filled with wedges, but it served to remind me what a fairly close knit community it is.  A few of the people I already knew, and some I knew of but had never actually met, such as Taylor and Ogden. It really was a fun night, and it’s very encouraging to see the roster of local talent in supply in our humble city, and thankfully, a vessel through which those same creatives can share their skill with the world.

Mladen and Dave (two of my mates, but I do have more).

Wolfgang Bylsma

Skye Ogden

Lean On Me: Tom Taylor and Skye Ogden

Some of Gestalt's goodies

February 20, 2010
Categories: News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: 1 Comment

Muscle March

It appears that the Japanese games are as crazy as The Simpsons would have us believe, as anyone who’s seen their most amusing Human Tetris show can attest. Now, in a similar vein, here’s Muscle March on the Wii. Try and make sense of the madness below.

February 19, 2010
Categories: News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

New York Toy Fair’s Best

Yes I know action figures have an even geekier rep than comic books, but you gotta admire the craftsmanship in the wealth of pop culture figures, sculptures and busts produced these days. The New York Toy Fair has been running this week, with some great looking figures being unveiled. Here’s a few of my faves. Of course, Star Wars has a huge collection, including a massive 24 inch AT-AT.

Also of interest are the bevy of products from Marvel including Iron Man 2 figures. Who could resist an Iron Man version of Mr Potato Head, entitled Tony Starch? Also available are new Marvel Universe additions, and a few cute playthings for the kids as part of their Super Hero Squad line, which surprisingly includes an armed Captain America. Never too young to learn about the dangers of firearms (and motorcycles) I guess.

DC Comics put their best poseable foot forward too, with the fanboy mash-up of DC Universe and Masters of the Universe, even more Justice League Unlimited figures (4 years after the toon ended) and some awesome figures that look just like Gary Frank’s artwork from the New Krypton mini-series, with Superman’s Earth replacement Mon-El, Supes in his Kryptonian duds, the new Superwoman and Braniac looking his baddest yet. These figures won’t be available until October.

February 17, 2010
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Tom Taylor on The Authority

I’ll meet Tom Taylor for the first time tomorrow night (at a pub of all places, which is a very unusual destination for me) but it’s been great to see his rise amongst the ranks of new comics scribes getting their due, especially as he’s a rare Aussie writing big-time American comics. From Star Wars: Invasion to his just announced job as new writer on The Authority from DC/Wildstorm. I didn’t see that one coming, but it makes perfect sense. As Tom tells it, following Star Wars with The Authority is like “thinking you’re getting your first car and, instead, being handed the keys to a flying battleship that runs on the fury and the sex drive of one hundred caged dragons.”

Here’s the official solicitation info for his first, May releasing ish of The Authority.

THE AUTHORITY #22
On sale MAY 5
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by TOM TAYLOR
Art by MIKE MILLER
Cover by PETE WOODS

Acclaimed writer Tom Taylor (Star Wars: Invasion) takes the helm for a 4-issue arc. The Authority’s journey through space on The Carrier’s unknown mission continues. Their mysterious voyage takes an even more terrifying twist than anything they’ve experienced so far when they discover stowaways of the worst possible kind. Facing a hideous mutiny by overwhelming odds, only one person can possibly save them. But will this reluctant hero break his own vow and return to action?

February 17, 2010
Categories: Comics, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Tom Taylor Signing

If you don’t manage to catch Star Wars: Invasion writer Tom Taylor at Thursday’s celebration of 5 years of Gestalt, then you can catch him on Saturday at Comic Zone. Man, that’s an awkward sentence. Basically, Saturday Feb 20 (the day after my birthday!) Taylor will be signing Invasion, Star Wars Adventures, and his Gestalt books, such as Flinch and the new Rombies. Rombies artist Skye Ogden will be there too, signing his great silent book, Vowels (also from Gestalt). Comic Zone is at 572 Hay Street, Perth and Taylor will be there from 11am. His new DC/Wildstorm project should be public by then too, so we can watch him try to avoid our fanboy questions. Should be fun!

February 16, 2010
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: , , , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

DC Universe: Last Sons

Now this seems like a good team-up – three sole survivors of their respective alien races banding together for a grand adventure. Last Sons is based on a 336 page novel of the same name released in 2006, and written by comics scribe Alan Grant (2000AD, Detective Comics). The so-called Graphic Audio  is out on March 1 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon now. Here’s the official description:

Metahumans, aliens, magical entities, or mortals driven by iron wills. Super heroes, renegades, or villains out for justice, vengeance, or cash. Whether legendary, infamous, or little known, these extraordinary beings are the true champions of the…DC UNIVERSE.

SUPERMAN. MARTIAN MANHUNTER. LOBO. Interplanetary bounty hunter Lobo is a notorious maverick. Happily wreaking havoc as he brings in his prey, he cares little who his clients or targets are even when his latest quarry is J onn J onnzz, Martian Manhunter of the Justice League. Suddenly Lobo finds himself confronting…Superman. Cogs in the machinations of a powerful artificial life-form, these three aliens, the sole survivors of the planets Krypton, Mars, and Czarnia, have only one thing in common they are the last of their kind…LAST SONS

I’ve bought a few of these audio dramas recently, just to satisfy my fanboy need for entertainment. I’m currently listening to BBC’s Batman: The Complete Knightfall Saga, and recently finished Superman Lives! They’re both entertaining in their own way, though most hardcore fans will find them rather cheesy (especially Lex’s Aussie accent, and Superboy who sounds like a stoner Keanu Reeves, in SL!). However, fitting these epics into less than 3 hours is impressive and the soundtrack and voice cast usually works well.

Last Sons is an impressive 7 hours long. You can find more DC GraphicAudio CDs here.

February 15, 2010
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: 1 Comment

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