I’m not one to keep a good deal secret, so here you are: on-line retailer TFAW (Things From Another World) is chopping 20% off their books from great indie publisher Top Shelf for the month of August. I’m always keen to see what the Shelf produce, as they rarely steer me wrong. Blankets, The Surrogates, American Elf, Essex County, Swallow Me Whole and more all come from the diverse team at Top Shelf, so check them out I say!
The Graphic festival continues this weekend at the Sydney Opera House. Sure, they’ve had Neil Gaiman, Kevin Smith, a screening of Akira with live music by Regurgitator and Shaun Tan’s wordless The Arrival also now with music. However, there’s still plenty of good (and free) events left over the coming days, including workshops on comics and publishing. Spaces may have gone by now, but you just may get lucky. More details can be found here.
On a related note the Triple J radio station had a brief feature on Aussie comics yesterday. It goes for just under 5 minutes and you can listen a few fans and creators speak including Maus creator Art Spiegelman and my fellow West Aussie Wolfgang Bylsma from Gestalt Publishing.
Artistically inspiring site Abduzeedo has a new post dedicated to showing the sketchy stylings of exclusive Marvel artist Mitch Breitweiser and his wife Elizabeth. There’s also a short video of him digitally painting a cover (not the one below) compressed to 5 minutes. The cover he’s painting is from last year’s collection of Golden Age goodies entitled Marvel Mystery Handbook: 70th Anniversary Special #1.
Yay! I’ve been writing for Broken Frontier for almost 2 years now, and am pretty pleased that we have a new digital magazine to call our own, which is now available through iTunes. Official lowdown below.
Broken Frontier Launches New iPad App for Digital Comics Magazine The Frontiersman
App Now Includes Back Issue Catalogue, Remains Free
BF has launched a new iPad app for The Frontiersman, the world’s first digital comics magazine for mobile devices. The new app features the entire back catalogue of the magazine, with new issues continuing to be released for free on Tuesdays at a bi-weekly pace.
“Since we launched the magazine in early May, lots of people have inquired about the availability of back issues as The Frontiersman’s popularity continues to increase,” Broken Frontier’s Editor in Chief Frederik Hautain says. “As of today, all previous issues are accessible in our new app. Because the magazine was created specifically for mobile readers, we’re only making our back catalogue available there. Comics fans that don’t own an iPad can continue to download a free PDF copy of each new release on BF.”
The new app for The Frontiersman can be downloaded via iTunes at the following link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-frontiersman/id382206249?mt=8
Currently, there are 8 issues of the magazine available, and the app updates itself whenever a new release becomes available. The Frontiersman #9 is set for release next Tuesday, August 10.
The Frontiersman, Exploring the Comics Universe. Go mobile and download The Frontiersman right now on iTunes or as PDF at http://www.brokenfrontier.com.
About Broken Frontier
Established in the fall of 2002, Broken Frontier (www.brokenfrontier.com) quickly built a solid reputation for its extensive, unique, and critical coverage of the comic book industry. Coverage includes headline news, interviews, articles, reviews, columns and blogs. The website covers every corner of the comic book industry, from mainstream to independent publishers, from print and digital publications to film and tv adaptations. Additionally, Broken Frontier is the publisher of the first digital comic book magazine for mobile devices, The Frontiersman.
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/brokenfrontier
Become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brokenfrontier
Part of Radical Publishing’s new Radical Premiere line of comics (which seems to be mature first issues for only $1) are these 2 great reads, which were included in Radical’s 7 new releases for last week (their most yet I believe).
First up is The Rising. With a name like that it may sound like some dodgy horror film from the ’90s in which some mysterious creature devours hapless townfolk. What it’s really about is more interesting. A brutal sci-fi tale with the kind of profanity and blood that makes me think it’s a lost 2000AD story, The Rising could be something quite entertaining. Could be, but it isn’t there just yet, which is just as well considering this is a teaser for next year’s mini-series.
It does well to present a beautifully painted package from J.P. Targete, who’s working on the upcoming John Carter of Mars film, filled with the kind of sweaty soldiers and creepy aliens to lay a solid foundation for what would make a great video game. The story by E. Max Frye (from HBO’s Band of Brothers) throws out enough concepts loosely familiar to fans of Aliens and Avatar, but also intriguing elements that reveal the future mini-series has a solid ground upon which to build an intriguing universe.
It opens with a squad of rugged sci-fi soldiers desperately fighting some well armed aliens. The sergeant carries a man writhing in pain called Blithe, before the pair of them get hit, and separated, by a lightning strike from a hovering drone. Then an astonishing 7 almost silent pages follow. Yes, 7. At first I thought I thought the text had fallen off these pages or had somehow became invisible. After a second read, it actually made perfect, although unexpected, sense. Basically the mute pages show Blithe discovered by an attractive near naked woman who takes him back to her village, where he gets a beard and a loincloth, heals, watches a tribal dance, cosies up with his rescuer and then, of course, escapes with his life as his newfound forest friends get attacked by those pesky alien intruders.
Cut to future New York, in which we primarily learn there’s a female President (who announces the end of the war with the alien Dracs), and Blithe’s brother is apparently a powerful politician who has no patience for his sibling. Oh, and Blithe is a prisoner in a tough camp who receives a visit from a hypocritical reverend who unleashes a man mountain called Darwin on the rebellious Blithe for a Fight Club of sorts.
The second half is much better. It’s wordier and more happens, and there’s something about a virus which must certainly become more prominent in the mini-series. That, and the mixed feelings about the Drac’s arrival on earth could make for a good tale. So far, it’s not entirely original, but thankfully there’s also hints of its ambition. Plus, every page looks colourful, dazzling and gaze worthy, as any sci-fi comic should. See a preview here.
Ryder on the Storm is another $1 primer, though a more mature offering than The Rising. Writer David Hine and artist Wayne Nichols throw a mix of influences on the page, but they all work splendidly together. It’s kind of like a future as seen through 1930s eyes, or a noir film set in the world of Batman: The Animated Series.
Ryder is a P.I who’s approached by a lady with a mysterious back tattoo, as she’s somehow found herself in a room with her rich dead boyfriend, who killed himself with a power drill. Or so it seems.
Hine introduces several characters with ease and Nichols clean, crisp (even in the bloody parts) artwork may not be as lush as Radical’s usual titles, but it works well here.
With a classic pulp approach (ice queen, “voice-over”, people with secrets) this is a great set up with enough dangling hooks to make the upcoming 3 ish, bi-monthly mini a worthwhile read. See a preview here.
We all know that, in the wake of the Merc With A Mouth making his big screen debut in Wolverine’s solo film last year, Marvel have been going nuts with Deadpool fever. In the new Preview solicits for October, Deadpool appears in 7 books, and 2 TPBs. That’s almost 2 new issues a week for the whole month. However, the new Uncanny X-Force title by Rick Remender and Jerome Opena sounds like it might be great, and the more adult Deadpool Max by Dave Lapham with art by Kyle Baker sounds just whacky enough to hold much promise.
The Dark Knight has him beat though, and how. Counting every book that has a Batman in it, whether that be the returning Bruce Wayne, or former Robin Dick Grayson, there’s a whopping 23 appearances of the Caped Crusader, and that’s assuming he doesn’t show up in Azrael, DC Universe Legacies, Knight & Squire or Red Hood: Lost Days. He’s sure to show up in at least one of those. So on average that’s almost a new Batman comic everyday for October. Phew. What has me excited though is Batman: Hidden Treasures, which is an old unpublished Bernie Wrightson tale, and with the assistance of Ron Marz, Len Wein and Kevin Nowlan, I’m sold.
This is one of those announcements at San Diego Comic Con that I should’ve mentioned, but alas, faced with a barrage of good news, some things slipped through my net. Well, the writers of The Lost Room (a widely praised TV mini-series) will now have a follow-up in the form of a comic mini-series. Christopher Leone and Laura Harkcom’s We Kill Monsters was one of the surprise hits for me in the last few months (and is now available in TPB!) and The Lost Room is one of those shows I must get around to watching as it’s been recommended to me a few times and now might just be the time before Season 2 hits. Official press release below.
WE KILL MONSTERS writers Laura Harkcom & Christopher Leone announced at the Comic Con edition of “The Totally Rad Show” that “The Lost Room: Season II” will be published by Red 5 Comics next year!
The book is a sequel to their original television mini-series “The Lost Room,” which they co-created, co-wrote and co-executive produced for The SyFy Channel and Lionsgate Television. “The Lost Room” starred Peter Krause, Julianna Margulies and Kevin Pollak. The 6-hour series garnered much critical acclaim, with The New York Times calling it “…a jackpot for a mystery series,” and Entertainment Weekly citing it as “…one of the most creative ideas to hit TV in a while.” The show was nominated for two Emmys and a Writers Guild Award.
Since its debut in 2006, “The Lost Room” has continued to increase in awareness and build an ever-growing fan base. In September of 2009, Salon.com featured an article about the show’s rising profile, raving, “Forget the latest from J.J. Abrams… ‘The Lost Room’ is a cult hit waiting to happen.” Ain’t It Cool News said this weekend, “The Lost Room miniseries was, I thought, up there with ‘Battlestar Galactica’ as one of the best Sci-Fi Channel originals ever produced.”
The comic book picks up one year after the events of the miniseries. The story of the Key continues as it falls into the hands of a new protagonist: a hardened criminal who was finally framed for the one crime he didn’t commit. The new Motel Man escapes prison looking for revenge, only to find himself in a new cell: Room 10.
“The Lost Room: Season II” is a 4-issue limited series that will publish monthly. A search is currently underway for artists.
Now I really want a Blu-Ray player. This 6 disc set comes out on October 26. Complete with the 4 films, plus a massive 60 hours (!) of extra features, this will make you drool indeed. Let’s not forget that Ridley Scott is prepping 2 prequels to the original film too, which won’t star Ripley, and will be set about 30 years before Alien. The first prequel should be out in 2011 or 12.
From the writer of Hopeless Savages and Black Lightning: Year One and the artist of Robin: Year One comes this text-free preview of the penultimate ish of the new Black cat mini.
Your First Look At Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Black Cat #3!
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Black Cat #3, from the acclaimed creative team of Jen Van Meter and Javier Pullido! The Kravens have set their sights on the Black Cat! Now, Felicia Hardy must face down the family who has made it their mission to take out Spider-Man and everyone he holds dear! Will the Black Cat luck out or will she fall before the dreaded Kravinoff family? Find out in Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Black Cat #3!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS: BLACK CAT #3 (JUN100547)
Written by JEN VAN METER
Penciled by JAVIER PULIDO
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 8/5/10, On-Sale – 8/25/10
Over 5 minutes long, this is the trailer for the next film in Marvel’s Avengers puzzle. It hasn’t been officially released just yet, but surely will be soon. Combing small town drama and romance with Lord of the Rings grand fantasy and superhero action, it looks pretty good. It’s directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman. Check out the trailer right here.
On a related note, below is the first trailer for the new cartoon series set to air on the Disney XD channel called Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. It looks somewhat bland and set for an audience a lot younger than the film will be, but DC have always had better animated offerings than Marvel, and they don’t use dated theme songs either.
It’s been far too long since I’ve read anything from Top Cow, but I must say, it’s good to be back. Stellar is the latest offering from the Cow’s very smart Pilot Season initiative that sees a bunch of different one-shots compete for a mini-series. This batch is from Image partners Robert Kirkman (writer of The Walking Dead, Invincible) and superstar penciller Marc Silvestri.
Written by Kirkman, with art by Bernard Chang and cover by Silvestri, this is a very good example of how not to judge a book by its cover. At first glance this may appear to be some sort of homage to the kinds of comics that were far too frequent last decade, ie, bad girl/good girl/sexy girl in a tight outfit fighting crime with mysterious poses, gravity defying poses and a basic plot that’s merely an excuse for all of that. However, upon further investigation, Stellar proves itself as a solid read, thanks mainly to the skilled Kirkman.
As he details in a closing page explaining the genesis of this concept, the book has the potential to go anywhere – to exotic planets with wild creatures and more and we get a tantalising glimpse of those concepts here, but based on these pages, I hope Stellar wins.
The premise for the book is an intriguing place to start. We’re not told the main character’s name, but can assume her nickname is Stellar. Essentially, she’s 1 of 5 soldiers who have been genetically enhanced on Earth. The powers are good, but the fact that the radiation within them causes other humans close to them to get sick is not so good. Nor is the fact that Stellar’s fellow volunteers were driven mad (and apparently evil) by the process. Stellar is the only one who desires to be a hero, so uses her powers to wander the universe doing just that, all the while aware she’s truly alone. All of that is a great spring board for an even greater tale, and Kirkman wisely drops hints about all this throughout each page turn. No awkward exposition here!
The issue begins with Stellar fending off a Rhino-Predatorsaurus type creature to find a healing herb for an old friend’s son, while recording in her journal, Captain Kirk-style. After some interesting developments including a possible romance, her feelings of loneliness and a foreboding offer she can’t refuse, Stellar’s world gets dangerous and complicated, and interesting.
Chang’s art is a nice blend of emotional moments and sci-fi splendour. His layouts are dynamic and there’s never a page without a sense of drama or danger. Creatures and characters look real; leaning more towards Star Trek than Wars.
My vote’s on Stellar. Kirkman, as he reveals in his afterword, has a host of ideas for this book and I hope we get to see them. Stellar is but a tasty appetiser to what could be a potential buffet.
The first Days Missing series from Archaia was a bold, time tripping sci-fi tale (get it now in TPB!). The second series follows again follows the mysterious and powerful Steward in his endeavour to erase dark days from our history, while revealing more about him Official details below about the second volume and its impressive array of cover artists.
FIVE SUPERSTAR COVER ARTISTS ANNOUNCED FOR ARCHAIA AND RODDENBERRY’S ‘DAYS MISSING: KESTUS’
ALEX ROSS, DALE KEOWN AND DAVID MACK AMONG THE ARTISTS ILLUSTRATING THE COVERS TO THE SECONG VOLUME OF THIS HIT MINISERIES
At the Archaia: Black Label panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Archaia Entertainment and Roddenberry Productions proudly announced the all-star lineup of cover artists contributing to the second volume of the critically acclaimed comic book series DAYS MISSING.
A different artist will illustrate each of the five upcoming covers of Days Missing: Kestus, which launches in September. As previously announced, Alex Ross (Kingdom Come, Astro City) will be creating the cover for issue #1. Jorge Molina (Marvel Superhero Team-Up, What If? Spiderman: House of M) will design the cover of issue #2, and Ryan Benjamin (Grifter/Midnighter, New Mutants) will lend his talents to the cover of issue #3. David Mack (Daredevil, Atomika) has signed on to draw issue #4’s cover, and Dale Keown (The Darkness, Pitt), who illustrated all of the covers for Days Missing volume 1, will return to illustrate the cover to issue #5.
“Each talented cover artist brings his own perspective of The Steward and Kestus to the series, which creates a richer, deeper understanding of these multi-layered characters,” said Roddenberry Productions Head of Development Trevor Roth.
Artist David Marquez (Syndrome: The Graphic Novel) will illustrate the pages of all five issues of the continuing epic, which fan-favorite and Eisner Award-nominated author Phil Hester (Firebreather, The Darkness, Green Arrow) will write.
Days Missing: Kestus continues the tale of The Steward, a mysterious being who has the ability to literally “fold” days of time, secretly removing critical days from history. At the end of the first series, hints were dropped that The Steward was not alone in his powers. The second series will focus on his relationship with a new being, Kestus, as well as more days for him to “fold.”
Hester and Marquez joined Archaia’s SDCC panel along with Roddenberry Productions’ CEO Rod Roddenberry. Fans were treated to a limited run, complimentary preview book written by Creator Trevor Roth and drawn by David Marquez.
“Archaia and Roddenberry Productions have assembled five of the best cover artists in the industry today to lend their talents to this exciting franchise,” said Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy. “It just goes to show that Days Missing is one of the best science-fiction comics out there, and this new set of issues will not only just add to its popularity, but bring in new fans!”
Days Missing: Kestus will be published under Archaia’s new Black Label line of titles, which specializes in co-developing intellectual properties with prestigious partners who are seeking to flesh out and realize their original ideas through the use of Archaia’s resources.
Issue #1 of Days Missing Vol. 2: Kestus (five-issue miniseries, full color, $3.95, 32 pages, Diamond Order Code JUL10 0764) is set to debut in September wherever comic books are sold.
Future updates on the series, including preview images and other behind-the-scenes material, can be found at www.daysmissing.com.
It looks like this is the first official collaboration between Marvel and Disney since their new merger, and they’ve picked a good film to partner with. Official details below.
Marvel Announces TRON: THE BETRAYAL
Marvel is proud to announce TRON: The Betrayal, a new two-issue limited series serializing the highly anticipated graphic novel from Disney Publishing Worldwide, tying into Walt Disney Pictures’ high-tech adventure TRON: Legacy, which hits U.S. theaters in Disney Digital 3D™ and IMAX 3D® on December 17, 2010. The limited two-issue series arrives in October and serves as a prequel to TRON: Legacy. Each extra-sized issue of TRON: The Betrayal features a new cover by superstar artist Salvador Larroca (Invincible Iron Man). Featuring art and stories by some of the top names in comics today, this all-new story extends upon the mythology of the world of TRON.
The storytelling picks up in the aftermath of Walt Disney Pictures’ first film in its franchise TRON. Kevin Flynn is now in charge of Encom, the world’s largest video game company. Kevin, a break-through game developer, has built the Grid, a digital world filled with living programs. This new virtual world is about to develop a life of its own and, in order to control it, Flynn’s going to need to help of an old friend…named Tron.
“Marvel Publishing is excited to bring Disney Book Group’s first TRON graphic novel to comic book fans in this limited series,” said Ruwan Jayatilleke, Marvel Senior Vice President, Development & Planning, Print, Animation and Digital Media. “So whether you’re new to TRON or a longtime fan, TRON: The Betrayal is an action-packed thrill-ride that will not disappoint!”
This October, experience this must-read story in TRON: The Betrayal #1 before TRON: Legacy lights up the big screen!
TRON: THE BETRAYAL #1 (of 2)
Written by JAI NITZ
Plot courtesy STARLIGHT RUNNER ENTERTAINMENT
Pencils by ANDIE TONG
Cover by SALVADOR LARROCA
Rated A…$3.99
ON SALE IN OCTOBER 2010
Opening March 25 next year is the new film from Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen). Starring Aussie Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens and other pretty young actresses the’50s set films focuses on a girl confined to a mental institution who escapes in a fantasy world. The wild trailer combines dragons, giant robots, burning zeppelins and a bunch of other cool stuff.
comicbookjesus 