Mag-tastic!

Arcana Comics is Canada’s biggest comic book publisher, and the giver of  a great opportunity I’m blessed to be a part of, with my creative cohort Dave. If you haven’t seen the trail of breadcrumbs I’ve been laying over the last few months, I’m co-cretaing a new quarterly comics mag, entitled Arcana, which is released on January 27. The latest Arcana Comics newsletter went out today and here’s the mention of the mag, plus a mention of Dave and I by Sean O’Reilly,(interviewed by his VP Mark Poulton) the guy who founded Arcana Comics. Wow, it’s pretty easy to pat yourself on the back and type simultaneously!

Arcana Launches Comics & Pop Culture Magazine!

Arcana Studios, an award winning comic book publisher and transmedia producer, is proud to announce the launch of Arcana Magazine. Debuting on January 27th, 2010, and solicited in the current November Previews (Diamond Code: NOV09 0599) is the new quarterly magazine simply entitled Arcana, the re-designed print version of the on-line comics based magazine Extra Sequential. The first issue features interviews with Star Wars: Invasion writer Tom Taylor, artist Josh Medors, Singaporean writer Edmund Shern, Surrogates creator Robert Venditti, and ground breaking artist David Mack. Also included are previews from upcoming comics and features such as a look back at the Death of Superman event, a talk with pro cyclist/comics fan Dave Zabriskie, a brief chat with the legendary Marv Wolfman, and an article of the current love affair between musicians and comics, including an interview with Coheed & Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez. There’s also a look at just how to market comics today, a breakdown of popular comic book terms and more. Arcana #1, a 96 page full color magazine goes on sale January 27th, 2010.

http://www.arcanaquarterly.com

MP: Arcana has a new pop culture/comic magazine due out in January. What sets it apart from other magazines and what can fans expect?

SO:  Our key people, Kris Bather and David Lapsley, are creating a magazine that is like no other.  It’s focus is art…it’s Wizard meets Maxim with a strong artistic direction.  I really am excited about this magazine as it will open up new doors for our publishing arm.

December 9, 2009
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

My 800th Post!

Well actually the 800th post was yesterday, but now I’ve passed that impressive number. Now it may not sound like  a lot but it brings me joy to say it. Here’s some other numbers now that I’m in the mood for patting myself on the back.

9, 599 – total number the 3 issues of Extra Sequential have been read on Scribd

17, 438 – total number of ES subscribers on Scribd

69, 549 – total number of ES page views on Issuu

350 – number of U.S cents Arcana #1 (upcoming print version of ES) will cost

72 – number of days until Arcana #1 hits shelves. Oh, what a happy day that will be!

On a less self-congratulatory note, thanks to everyone who’s read, commented and liked my nerdy ramblings over the last 16 months. It’s all very much appreciated, and I have much more nerdiness to explore, dissect and promote in the future. Hope you stay!

November 16, 2009
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: 2 Comments

Arcana Mag Synopsis

Yes, yes, I know I keep talking about this new magazine venture of mine, but I’m so very proud and can’t wait to unleash it on the public. Our first issue is in the current Previews catalogue (page 184) but my synopsis had to be cut short due to space constraints, so below is what it looks like in November’s Previews, plus my original description of its awesome contents.

Arcana Mag In Previews

Synopsis: From the folks behind the on-line magazine experiment, Extra Sequential, comes Arcana. Arcana is a bold new endeavor focused on the very best of sequential art and the people behind it. A quarterly magazine that encapsulates all the wonders that only comic books can contain, Arcana’s mission is to appeal to both fans and newbies. Every full color installment is packed with interviews, articles, reviews and art to make your eyes bleed. In our first issue we chat with Tom Taylor, the Australian playwright behind Star Wars: Invasion, Edmund Shern, creator of Radical’s Freedom Formula, and Robert Venditti, writer of The Surrogates. We also have an in-depth discussion with the multi-talented David Mack (Kabuki, Daredevil), ask BOOM! Studios’ PR guy Chip Mosher what it takes to sell comics these days, offer a brief history of Archangel, and examine the ongoing love affair between music and comic books. Besides almost 2 dozen pages of juicy comic previews, there’s also the obligatory, “much more.” Every page of Arcana is a guaranteed mind bender. Please feel free to drool on the pages.

November 2, 2009
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Arcana Magazine Only $2.10!

Yep, as if $3.50 wasn’t already a bargain! Now you can get the premiere issue of our new full colour quarterly mag, with 96 pages of goodness for only $2.10. Go here to order it from Badger Comics.

ARCANA #1 Draft Cover

October 30, 2009
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Comic-Con Thursday

2009AnnualFinalCoverI must be the easiest sell the self publishers at the Con floor have ever seen. I filled up 3 bags of goodies today. I also lost count of how many of my cards I handed out, but I have a soft spot for self publishers. It takes guts to put your time and money into putting your own heartfelt art out there for the world to see. I respect that, and there’s some real talent to be seen. Most of the creators were people I was unfamiliar with and they were all willing to have a chat with this man with the strange accent. A few people were familiar with Broken Frontier, which was great and I even got invited to a few press parties and got freebies for review. Ah, percs of the ‘job.’

I visited a few panels today as well. The guys from Tripwire Magazine were up first with their free danishes and witty banter. On the panel were Kody Chamberlain, U.S editor Andy Grossberg, UK Editor-In-Chief Joel Meadows and everybody’s favourite comics columnist Rich Johnson, formerly of CBR and now of Bleeding Cool. It was a casual and somewhat meandering discussion which included, but was not limited to how Twitter is killing English, companies clothing the homeless as sponsors, the merits of facing graphic novels face out or spine out on the shelf and how monthly comics are similar to singles, while TPBs are albums. It’s obvious that the guys from Tripwire love comics and are glad to see Hollywood making non-superhero films, and gaining credibility as an art form. They see being dropped by Diamond as a hurdle not a disaster and are focused on spotlighting the diversity of sequential art. Their 2009 Annual is available at the Con and you can see a preview here.

the surrogatesNext up was the Top Shelf panel. These guys put out some seriosuly good stuff, and I was glad to discover that I wasn’t the only one who discovered the wonders of spandex free stories via one of their books. After the obligatory technical difficulties publisher Chris Staros gave a visual rundown of the company’s 12 year history. Fun Fact: Top Shelf was originally the name of an early anthology series. Moderated by PR guy Leigh Walton, the guests included Robert Venditti, writer of The Surrogates, Far Arden creator Kevin Cannon and Nate Powell of Swallow Me Whole fame. Staros mentioned that although they are known for their high-end mature books such as From Hell and Blankets, their all-ages line is turning heads too, thanks to series like Owly, Korgi and James Kochalka’s stuff.

Things became more interesting when the creators revealed their artistic backgrounds. It’s well known that Venditti started in Top Shelf’s mail room (according to Leigh, he’s “a demon with a tape gun”) and now his first book is a movie starring Bruce Willis! Surrogates comes out on September 25, and the great trailer was shown.

Powell mentioned that he’d been self publishing since 1992 and back then had made a list of 25 people in the biz who he admired. Staros and co-publisher Brett Warnock were pretty much the only ones who responded and critiqued his work. Powell also mentioned that although he does have an autistic older brother, Swallow Me Whole was more influenced by his own grandmother, who after being diagnosed with cancer began painting and then in the last few months of her life experienced delusions. Powell lifted a lot of her dialogue in his book from those experiences.

Staros mentioned that although many of the Shelf’s creators’ works are very literary that they could give most fanboys a run for their money in a superhero quiz. He also seems genuinely inspired by Top Shelf’s success and critical praise and revealed that at Christmas time their orders go up, as fans buy their fave books as presents for others, which is always a good sign.

My final panel was the one focused on The Clockwork Girl, Arcana’s widely praised all-ages OGN, in which a trailer for the CG film was shown,which is in the works now. It looks very impressive.

Tomorrow’s another busy day. So much to see and buy.

Ghostbusters_0723

Batman BandB Toys-0723

July 24, 2009
Categories: News . Tags: , , , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

Gearhead Film

Following on from the news of a cinematic adaptation of Arcana’s awesome Clockwork Girl, Gearhead will be the next adaptation. Official press release below.

hurd_gearheadGale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Motion Pictures has closed a deal for the film rights to produce the graphic novel GEARHEAD which Hurd will produce.  GEARHEAD was created by Dennis Hopeless and Kevin Mellon and published by Arcana Comics.

In GEARHEAD, a young woman teams up with a group of rebels to fight the corrupt superheroes who govern the United States.  She must rise to the challenge of her destiny and become GEARHEAD.

“We are excited to bring GEARHEAD to life.  It’s a terrific character-driven story set in a unique and compelling world,” said Hurd.

“To work with Gale on Gearhead is simply fantastic.  We couldn’t have found a better partner.”, Arcana Studio’s Sean O’Reilly commented.

Gale Anne Hurd and Valhalla Motion Pictures most recently produced the blockbuster feature The Incredible Hulk for Marvel Studios which was released by Universal Pictures this summer.  Valhalla is continually developing a broad range of projects, including Marvel’s Punisher:  War Zone for Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Entertainment which stars Ray Stevenson and is being released on December 5, 2008.  Hurd has produced more than two dozen feature films that have generated billions of dollars of revenue.  Her other credits include The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon, Aeon Flux, The Punisher, Terminator 2:  Judgment Day and Terminator 3:  Rise of The Machines among others.

Arcana Comics has published over 150 original comics and books and is a division of Arcana, an award winning transmedia company founded by CEO and owner Sean O’Reilly.  Arcana establishes new brands and intellectual properties with engaging storytelling and compelling visuals through comic books, graphic novels, animation, short-form live-action, video games, toys and now, feature length films. Arcana has created original brands they control such as The Clockwork Girl and Kade, and have further developed existing brands for Disney, Sony, Capcom, HBO and more.

November 19, 2008
Categories: Comics, News . Tags: , . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment

  • Calendar

    • December 2025
      M T W T F S S
      1234567
      891011121314
      15161718192021
      22232425262728
      293031  

  • Search