As always, there’s a bunch of new comics coming out from the House of Ideas on Wednesday (in America at least). Here’s a look at but some of them. The ones with the prettiest covers of course. For the full list of releases, see the link below.
Flinch Now
The new 120 page anthology from Perth publisher Gestalt has arrived. It’s described as “a collection of engaging stories by established and emerging creators, all playing on their interpretation of ‘flinch.'” The impressive creators involved include the likes of Shaun Tan, Justin Randall, Skye Ogden and Mel Tregonning. The trailer for Flinch is below and you can see a preview of some of the stories here. Flinch, and Gestalt in general, have been getting some pretty impressive mainstream news coverage as of late, and have some interesting books on the way. It’s great to see such talent coming from my humble home town.
Last week I picked up a couple of self published mini comics that impressed me. A Bird With Crossed Wires by C.S. Markle was completed at the 24 Hour Comics Day in 2007 and features a crazed, car smashing bird who is offered friendship by one of his victims. It’s actually quite delightfully simple and mature with a touch of black comedy. Dead By 30 by Andrei S. Buters is a different affair. Artistically, its more complex and plays with rock, death, magic and friendship to great effect. Both black and white comics are well made and give me hope for the future of my little town. It’s already given the world Ben Templesmith, Ashley Wood and Shane McCarthy and I’m thankful that the two main comic shops in Perth (Quality Comics and Comic Zone) have shelves devoted to the work of local writers and artists.
Pencilling Opportunity
Consider this a community service announcement to all you budding artists out there. Jaran Studios, the company behind Dawn of the Dread Force (who featured on pages 26-31 of Extra Sequential #2) are looking for an artist for a potential new web comic. It doesn’t even have to be mech-related. Details are below and more info can be found at the Dread Force website. This is a great opportunity for artists looking for a break.
We’re currently looking for a talented penciller for a potentially upcoming DREAD FORCE web comic, so if you’ve got too much spare time on your hands and are looking for a very low-paying, but rewarding, job working with us, drop us a link to your sequential samples, and we’ll be in touch. Thanks in advance!
Comic Con-Test
Budding film-makers and fanboys or girl, sit up and pay attention! If you want to be a special correspondent at Comic-Con that is. Press release from Dark Horse below.
Beginning today, G4 and Dark Horse Comics are kicking off a search for the ultimate Comic-Con fan who will receive the opportunity of a lifetime — the chance to appear in G4’s special coverage of the year’s most buzzed about convention. One lucky winner will be selected as a “Special Correspondent” to G4 and join “Attack of the Show” hosts Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira, as well as Comic Book Expert Blair Butler on the show floor. Dark Horse, one of the largest comic book publishers, with titles like Hellboy, Star Wars, Umbrella Academy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Alien will also welcome the winner as their “official guest,” granting access to their special events and more. To enter, fans are encouraged to create a video that demonstrates their pop culture knowledge and on-camera abilities, and submit to the official website. The “Con-Test” kicks off Friday, May 15, 2009, and closes at 11:59PM on June 22, 2009.
Once again, G4 will present special coverage of Comic-Con 2009 direct from the show floor. Last year’s attendance broke all records, topping 160,000 people and solidifying Comic-Con as the one of the biggest pop culture conventions in the world. G4 and Dark Horse Comics will bring one lucky fan to the heart of it all and put them in the spotlight at this massive event devoted to comic books, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, movies, video games, TV and more. G4’s Kevin Pereira and Blair Butler will announce the winner live on “Attack of the Show” on June 29.
“Comic Con International has become the ultimate pop culture gathering for fans of almost any medium,” said Dark Horse President, Mike Richardson. “What better way to reward our fans than with a chance to appear on the ultimate pop culture television show with our creators and top talent. The winner of this contest is sure to have the time of their life!”
“G4 viewers are huge fans of Dark Horse Comics and Comic-Con is the perfect opportunity for us to team up,” said Neal Tiles, President, G4. “Comic-con is a major event for our audience and we are excited to reward the hard and true comic book fans with a chance to experience the phenomenon in person.”
Contest details:
*Fans must submit a video that demonstrates their knowledge and love of pop culture.
* Submission dates: May 15, 2009 – June 22, 2009.
* Winner will receive airfare and accommodations for themselves and 1 guest to Comic Con ’09
Winner will have an opportunity to act as “Special Correspondent” for G4 and appear on air.
* Winner and guest will each receive a Dark Horse grab bag valued at $600.
* Winner and guest will be given special access to all Dark Horse related events and signings.
Contestants will be judged on overall knowledge of all things pop culture, creativity and on-screen charisma demonstrated in their videos. G4 and Dark Horse Comics want to find the ultimate pop culture fanatic and stand-out personality who deserves this special Comic-Con opportunity. Videos must be at least 30 seconds in length and no longer than 10 minutes.
Go here for official contest rules and to submit videos.
Terminator Game
Press release below for gamers on the go.
In celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of The Terminator, Big Head Games and Dark Horse Comics are proud to release this heart-pounding, shoot-everything homage to the movie that started it all. The Terminator for iPhone and iPod Touch is an explosive, top-down, all-action shooter game with an episodic Story Mode and endless Quick Play Mode.
Features:
Bigger and badder weapons, from Gatling guns to bazookas.
Two extreme game modes for a lasting game experience: In Quick Play Mode, rescue fallen soldiers. In Story Mode, play as Kyle Reese taking on challenging missions.
T-800s and Hunter Killer Tanks from the original movie along with an array of new foes.
Multiple control modes and autotargeting options to match game play to every skill level.
Pounding soundtrack and SFX—play this game with headphones for a film-like experience.
Two parts: look out for an imminent update taking you belowground to take on the machines in their home ground.
“From the very beginning, Dark Horse has provided fans with top-notch entertainment experiences, whether in comics, on screen, or, most recently, on the iPhone. We feel our relationship with Big Head Games will do just that for fans of both The Terminator and mobile gaming.”
Big Head’s business director, Dave Vout, states, “We are extremely excited to be bringing one of the world’s top movie and game franchises to the iPhone/iPod Touch. Combining Dark Horse Comics’ extensive catalog of material and our game-development expertise has been a great experience and opportunity that we hope to continue long into the future.”
The Terminator for iPhone and iPod Touch is currently in submission with Apple and on release will be at a sale price of $0.99 for 72 hours.
For even more explosive adventures in the Terminator universe, check out The Terminator: Death Valley, a comic for the iPhone. To celebrate the release of the new game, Dark Horse is making the first issue of Death Valley available for a free download for a limited time. All four issues are available for download now.
Pandorum’s Moon
Here’s a couple of new trailers I’ve stumbled across recently. Moon stars Sam Rockwell and is co-written and directed by cinematic newbie Duncan Jones. When I saw the first few seconds of the trailer I thought it was a quirky comedy. It’s not. Rockwell plays Sam Bell in this unique sci-fi tale. Bell is an employee of a mining company called Lunar, who send him to the moon to save our energy crisis. Kevin Spacey provides the voice of Bell’s on-board computer, Gerty. Apparently Bell’s not alone on the moon however. It opens in June and the trailer seems to indicate a restrained intelligence, like Solaris or Sunshine.
Next up is another sci-fi film, but this one seems more mainstream and replaces Moon’s thriller aspects with some horror. It stars Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster and opens in September. It makes me think of Dead Space, because I’m playing it at the moment, but Event Horizon could fit too. It centres on two crewmen who wake up on a spacecraft with no idea why, or what they’re doing there. That’s the beauty of sci-fi; something for everyone.
Spawn: Endgame TPB
Todd McFarlane’s return to his signature creation appears to have paid off. Press release below.
SPAWN ‘Endgame’ storyline reaches the halfway point with a complete distributor-level sell out!
SPAWN, the long-running superhero saga recently relaunched by series creator Todd McFarlane and fellow Image Founder Whilce Portacio, kicks off the second half of its series altering storyline ‘Endgame’ with a distribution-level sell out making way for the upcoming collection.“Our goal is to slowly build up momentum and the sellout of issue #191 is another indication that we’re accomplishing that goal,” McFarlane said. “With a majority of our single issues out of print, the release of the first Endgame collection couldn’t be more timely.”
SPAWN’s current storyarc, ‘Endgame’, has seen the original Hellspawn, Al Simmons, end his life as the amnesiac Patient 47 awakens with Al’s powers. Soon after, new horrors and allies have come into play with familiar faces, including Al’s widow, Wanda and his worst enemy, The Violator. The next several issues promise to conclude Patient 47’s transformation into SPAWN as the truth about his identity is finally revealed. Readers eager to read the entire first half of ‘Endgame’ can do so in the June-shipping tradepaperback. All fans are advised to check in with their local comic book store to see if copies of SPAWN #191 are still available.
SPAWN #192 (MAR092463), a 32-page full color comic book for $2.95, will be in-stores June 3rd, 2009. SPAWN, VOL. 1: ENDGAME PART 1 (APR090346), a 160-page full color tradepaperback for $14.99, will be in-stores June 24th, 2009.
Two Surrogates Trailers
I actually picked up The Surrogates TPB at the Top Shelf booth at Comic-Con last year. I’d heard good things about its sci-fi tale, with a philosophical bent, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s also a perfect gateway book for comic book newbies. The prequel to the tale, Flesh and Bone from the same talented creators (writer Robert Venditti and artist Brett Weldele) is out in July. One of the great things about the first series was the fact that it totally immersed the reader in its believable world. A world where most people are reliant on living their lives via robotic avatars. Wisely littered throughout the book are realistically crafted adverts for the modern surrogate user. The trailer for the prequel is below.
Coming soon is a film based on the original mini-series. Starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell it opens on September 25 and is directed by Jonathan Mostow (the excellent Breakdown, U-571 and Terminator 3:Rise of the Machines). Below is a brief look at the film’s production.
Comics Writer Detained At LAX
Now this is an interesting piece of news. Writer Mark Sable was detained by airport security because of his latest comic script. It’s both scary and funny at the same time. Poor guy. He took it well though. It reminded me of the time last year when I returned home from Comic-Con and customs went through ALL of my purchases, even my laptop and cameras. That was nowhere near as concerning as this would’ve been though. Of course, this could all be made up. Maybe it never happened at all and is just a clever marketing ploy. Bet it works though.
MARK SABLE DETAINED BY TSA FOR UNTHINKABLE SCRIPT
Ripped-from-the-headlines espionage series causes alarm at LAX
TSA did not understand that comic books could be about anything other than superheroes
“My privacy is a small price to pay for educating the government about the medium.”
Comics writer Mark Sable was detained by TSA security guards at LAX this past weekend when they discovered inflammatory material in a script for Sable’s new BOOM Studios miniseries UNTHINKABLE. The comic series follows members of a government think tank that was tasked with coming up with 9/11-type “unthinkable” terrorist scenarios that now are coming true.
Sable was detained while traveling from LAX to NYC to attend a signing for the premiere of UNTHINKABLE #1 at Jim Hanley’s Universe this Wednesday, May 13th.
Fans and friends were made aware of the TSA detention when Sable “Twittered” about the events at twitter.com/marksable, after he was released.
Sable wrote BOOM! Studios a more in-depth version of the encounter to release to the public:
“Flying from Los Angeles to New York for a signing at Jim Hanley’s Universe Wednesday (May 13th), I was flagged at the gate for ‘extra screening’. I was subjected to not one, but two invasive searches of my person and belongings. TSA agents then “discovered” the script for UNTHINKABLE #3. They sat and read the script while I stood there, without any personal items, identification or ticket, which had all been confiscated.
“The minute I saw the faces of the agents, I knew I was in trouble. The first page of the UNTHINKABLE script mentioned 9/11, terror plots and the fact that the (fictional) world had become a police state. The TSA agents then proceeded to interrogate me, having a hard time understanding that a comic book could be about anything other than superheroes, let alone that anyone actually wrote scripts for comics.
“I cooperated politely and tried to explain to them the irony of the situation. While UNTHINKABLE blurs the line between fiction and reality, the story is based on a real-life government think tank where a writer was tasked to design worst-case terror scenarios. The fictional story of UNTHINKABLE unfolds when the writer’s scenarios come true, and he becomes a suspect in the terrorist attacks.
“In the end, I feel my privacy is a small price to pay for educating the government about the medium.”
Female Bucky Returns?
Another teaser image was released from Marvel yesterday. These images seem to be working, as fanboy tongues get wagging each time. To celebrate the release of Captain America #600 on June 17, this image lays hints as to what’s next. The issue is written by Ed Brubaker, Mark Waid, Roger Stern and Stan Lee. That’s some of the best writers Cap has had over the decades. The art will be supplied by a bunch of people too including Butch Guice, Luke Ross and Howard Chaykin. I knew the character in the promo looked familiar, before I picked it – the female Bucky from the controversial late 1990s Heroes Reborn saga. Perhaps the issue will be an anthology issue with looks at Captain America from different eras, like the current Hulk: Broken Worlds series. Either way, it appears that something big is stirring in Cap’s world, as also evidenced by the 5 issue series entitled Reborn (from Brubaker and Bryan Hitch) that hits in July. That’s all we know for now, as Marvel have only released the white word, “Reborn” on a black background as a teaser for that series. Maybe Steve Rogers will be reborn, or perhaps it an allusion to Heroes Reborn, with the female Bucky teaming up with James Barnes, the original Bucky and current Cap. Who knows?
King City Returns
Image Comics had great success with the new old-timey crime series, Viking in its larger format and are bringing back another series in the same style. Press release below.The Eisner-nominated major debut by cartoonist Brandon Graham, KING CITY, finally continues in an ongoing series presented in the deluxe, oversized format courtesy of TOKYOPOP and Image Comics!
“Continuing KING CITY has been a long time coming and I’m thrilled that TOKYOPOP and Image Comics are bringing it back in the best way possible,” Graham said. “We’re doing it as thirty-two page monthly issues, the first six issues remastering the original series along with as much cool new work as I can fit, in a format akin to Image’s VIKING. Starting with issue 7, the series will consist entirely of all-new material. This is KING CITY looking better than I’d ever hoped- in burly, deluxe oversized serializations.”
KING CITY is solely populated by the weirdest of the weird including Joe, a thief-for-hire with a cat capable of becoming any tool or weapon. Amongst his friends are his co-hort, Pete, who is too busy falling in love with an alien he’s forced to betray to assist in their latest mission and Anna, who can’t help but watch her boyfriend literally turn into the drug he’s addicted to. The ongoing series will consist of remastered and original material, in the same deluxe format as Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein’s VIKING.
Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson said, “Brandon represents a whole new generation of cartoonists coming into comics with a fresh eye for creating original material unlike anything else out there. We’re excited to be working with both Brandon and TOKYOPOP on returning KING CITY to the stands in a way no one has seen before.”
Added Mike Kiley, Senior VP at TOKYOPOP, ““We’’re very happy that Brandon’’s amazing book is going to appear in this deluxe format. I’’m especially looking forward to seeing Earthling J. Catingsworth III in all his over-sized glory.””
KING CITY #1, a 32-page black and white oversized comic book for $2.99, will be in-stores August 19th.
Digital Eye Witness
Here’s a cool press release from Robert Luedke’s Head Press Publishing. I met the creator at Comic-Con last year as he had his Eye Witness books on display. They’ve been getting lots of attention, such as this recent article/interview at the Houston Chronicle. Now, he’s taking his wares to the digital domain.
Beginning on Sunday May 10th, Head Press Publishing went live with their first “digital only” offering…a fully remastered and revised edition of the first book in the award-winning Eye Witness series, A Fictional Tale of Absolute Truth.
“This is our first attempt at creating something specifically for digital distribution,” stated series creator, Robert Luedke. “The original book in the series was very experimental, production wise, and I was dying to go back and remaster the colors and revise certain parts of the narrative while cleaning up the editorial missteps.” Initially, the revised edition of Eye Witness Book One will exclusively be available through the Head Press Publishing website, but HPP is currently in negotiations to make it available through other select comic and Christian venues in the future.
“I think this is a very important step in making Eye Witness available to more people, both inside and outside of North America,” according to Luedke. Eye Witness has had some wonderful reviews by people in other parts of the world, but according the emails we’d received that created frustration for many potential fans because the books just weren’t available to them. Now virtually anyone with a computer and PDF viewer, can purchase and read the first book at a very reasonable price.
Luedke created the Eye Witness series, as a way to share the spiritual, historical and dramatic nature of the Bible, in a way that is both attractive and entertaining…especially to teen and young adult readers, who may not attend church or read the Bible, but love reading comics, manga and graphic novels. His unique combination of a Biblical adaptation with a modern day action-thriller has proven successful not only in comic outlets, but also with mainstream and Christian booksellers.
To date this unique series has won several books awards, including: The 2008 Best Book Awards, (sponsored by USAbooknews.com); the 2007Hollywood Book Festival (in the category of comics/graphic novels); and a silver medal at the 2007 Independent Publisher Awards (in the category of Dramatic Graphic Novels). In addition the series has been a two time finalist in FOREWORD MAGAZINE’S Book of the Year Awards, in 2007 & 2009.
The fourth and final book in the Eye Witness tetralogy, (Eye Witness:Unknown God), is currently in production and tentatively scheduled for a summer 2010 release.
Secret Six #9 Preview
Secret Six is a great series. Sure it helps if you’re somewhat familiar with the villains and rogues of the DC Universe, but it’s splendid entertainment regardless. Next week’s #9 is by the usual team of writer Gail Simone and artist Nicola Scott. It’s like a manic road trip/sit-com/bad guy and girl mash up. The latest ish ties into Battle for the Cowl, with 2 of the 6 setting their sights on the Dark Knight’s cowl, with the creepy stick figure that is Ragdoll aiming to be the replacement Robin. Hilarity and horror ensue.
Punisher and Eminem Team Up
Well if The New Kids on the Block can have their own comic, I guess Eminem can too! And he’s taking The Punisher along for the bullet ridden ride. This new venture is a bold one, but hopefully it brings new fans to comics. Press release below.
EMINEM/PUNISHER: KILL YOU
All-new 16-page story to be featured exclusively in the June issue of XXL magazine and on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited
Marvel Comics has teamed up with Eminem and XXL magazine to celebrate his anticipated upcoming album Relapse with an all-new story featuring the renowned rapper and Marvel’s notorious vigilante, The Punisher, in Eminem/Punisher: Kill You.
Back from a three-year hiatus, Eminem is set to grace two XXL covers posing as The Punisher for the magazine’s June issue on stands May 5, two weeks before his fifth solo album, Relapse, hits stores May 19.
A special collector’s edition, the magazine also includes the first part of an exclusive collaboration between XXL, Shady and Marvel Comics — Eminem/Punisher: Kill You — a special edition Punisher comic book starring Eminem and created by Marvel Comics.
This all new story written by Fred Van Lente (Amazing Spider-Man) with art by Salvador Larroca (Invincible Iron Man) takes place in Detroit after Eminem performs on stage and gets involved in a conflict with The Punisher and his old foe Barracuda. The first half of the story will be featured as a bonus eight page special edition comic printed in the June issue of XXL magazine, with the eight page conclusion available exclusively on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited (www.marvel.com/eminem) for free starting May 5th.
“When we learned that Eminem is a fan and collector of Marvel comics, we could only imagine what would happen if The Punisher and Slim Shady met up in the Marvel Universe,” said Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. “This was a unique partnership and the team had a blast working with Eminem and incorporating the rapper into the Marvel fold.”
For fans of the Punisher, Eminem and those wanting to own a part of the action, visit your local newsstand to purchase the magazine on May 5, 2009 and then be sure to visit www.marvel.com/eminem to experience the second part of the story.
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