Opening on May 7 is this hotly anticipated superhero sequel. The cast and crew have loaded up the film with even more fanboy treats than the original by the looks of things. Apart from War Machine, Whiplash, et al, there’s also what looks like a bunch of Crimson Dynamos and the classic armour-in-a-suitcase from the comics years ago. Awesomeness is only weeks away.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Movies · New To Comics · News
Tagged: Iron Man 2
hanks to Rich Johnston’s Bleeding Cool for this awesome cost saving heads up. It seems now at Amazon you can get your hands on 100 Marvel Trade Paper Backs for around $15 and some great art books, such as Joe Quesada’s and Marko Djurdjevic’s for the same price. Wow. Perhaps Marvel are doing a stocktake or something. Whatever, the reason – strike now! There’s Old Man Logan, War of Kings, a bunch of Omniboo (love that word) such as The Death of Captain America, The Ultimates, The Invincible Iron Man, and more. There’s also a stack of classic runs like Secret Wars, Punisher Max, and unique collections including Criminal, Halo, Dark Tower, and Powers. Go now!
→ Leave a CommentCategories: New To Comics · News
Tagged: cheap comics, Marvel
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 Comicsand ComiXology, the creators of Comics – the #1 iPhone application for downloading comics. Created by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis, the firstZuda.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)
→ Leave a CommentCategories: New To Comics · News
Tagged: Red 5
GearHead TPB
This month, Arcana’s Vice President of Marketing, Jimmy DaSilva interviews Steven Prouse, writer of the original graphic novel, Coin Operated Boy.→ Leave a CommentCategories: New To Comics · News
Tagged: Arcana Comics, Coin Operated Boy
There are so many press releases, previews and great snippets of upcoming comics products flooding the net daily, that it’s difficult to whack them all up on this humble blog. So, I thought I’d give a new (hopefully regular) feature a go and boil down all the juicy bits of recent nerd goodness to a hearty visual stew.
Top Cow’s 4th installment in their Pilot Season series of one-shots (and potential series) is called Stellar. Written by Image partners Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri, with art by Bernard Chang, Stellar arrives in April and is described thusly:
In Pilot Season: Stellar #1, Kirkman explores the story of Stellar, one of five genetically-enhanced super-humans created by the government. For Stellar, the process used on her has made her toxic to other humans driving four volunteers insane. Banished from Earth, Stellar roams the cosmos trying to use her powers for good, haunted by the fact that she can never return home – and all too aware that her fellow super-humans are out there, eager to strike at any moment.
Halo Legends premieres in san Francisco on Feb 10. Press will be there of course, and maybe you, if you’re quick, and lucky. If not, you can see it with the rest of us on Feb 16.
A limited number of free tickets are available for the general public. Fans wishing to receive free tickets to the event should RSVP via email to halolegends@ign.com. Tickets will be distributed on a “first come, first served” basis. Halo franchise development director Frank O’Connor will be available for media interviews from 6:30-7:30 p.m., and will also discuss the film in an informal, in-theatre Q&A following the screening.
Halo Legends is an all-new, CG and traditional anime PG-13 experience that presents enthralling new stories from one of the world’s most popular video game franchises. The seven-story anthology explores the origin and historical events of the Halo universe and its intriguing characters. The individual episodes fall within Halo’s 26th Century mythology as the battle between humanity and aliens rages on in an attempt to protect Earth and mankind’s expansive number of space colonies.
Andy Kubert’s covers for the first 2 issues of DC’s mini-series, The Return of Bruce Wayne are out. Written by the man who killed him, Grant Morrison, the series will feature Bruce returning to the land of the living (and the present) via a few stopovers throughout past centuries. Yes, we get Pirate Batman and Caveman Batman and all manner of awesome-ness. Batman with an actual costume made of bats while beating primitives with a low-tech axe? I am so there.
Staying with whacky Bats news, is the crazily enjoyable Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoon series. This new episode features the origin of Firetsorm (cleverly combining the former and present identities), Booster Gold, The Riddler and a bunch of villan’s from Batman’s “zany bad guy” period.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Art · Behind The Scenes · Cartoons · Movies · News
Tagged: DC, Halo Legends, Top Cow
Bluewater may just be getting more success (besides their never ending bio titles) with this intriguing prospect. Interior pages from April’s debut issue below, plus some groovy concept art can be seen here.
FILMMAKER’S “THE CLAW AND FANG” DEBUTS IN APRIL WITH COVER BY DAN BRERETON
Film maker, Michael Kutcher debuts his first stint into the comic book world this April with “The Claw and Fang.”
Kutcher is new to creating comics, driven by his experience working on two feature films, “Bulletface” directed by Albert Pyun and “Kung Fu Joe” directed by Glen Berry, he wanted to move away from the production process over to the creative side. Matias Basla draws the gritty series “The Claw and The Fang” with covers by Dan Brereton, GMB Chomichuk and Steve Babb.
“The Claw and Fang” is a modern action drama with gothic horror elements. The characters are pulled from many of Kutcher’s real life experiences and that personal relationship adds greatly to the story.
The four-issue story arch begins in the present with Justin, a 21-year old warehouse worker, who has given up on life in the real world choosing to live in a virtual one where he is a natural leader. Other important characters are Noro, a demon summoned back to Earth after being banished to the Darkness for thousands of years; and the Firewoman, the last shaman of the old ways who forces Justin to confront his destiny and save us all.
“The Claw and Fang” will be released as a four book series through Bluewater starting in April 2010.
To learn more about “The Claw and Fang” go to www.theclawandfang.com.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Art · New To Comics
Tagged: Bluewater
Arcana Studios, an award winning comic book publisher and transmedia producer, is proud to announce the upcoming graphic novel, KILLING MACHINE, by screenwriter Scott Milam that is currently in production.
Killing Machine tells the tale of Franklyn J Hurt, an undercover agent for the Global Crime Task Force sent to infiltrate the criminal organization only known as The Syndicate Six. When his cover is blown, his wife taken and daughter murdered before his eyes, Frank wakes up barely a man, a torso with an unrecognizable face, hanging in a warehouse and used as an example for those who betray The Synidicate Six. However, Frank is rescued by Special Forces and taken to a secret installation where in its depths a massive facility of alien technology awaits. There Frank is given the bionic treatment. After rejecting his new duties, Frank seizes an opportunity to escape and go rogue to find his missing wife and seek revenge for the murder of his daughter using a new body that gives him the means to track down and destroy the killers.
Creator Scott Milam is the screenwriter of the upcoming MOTHER’S DAY, directed by SAW 2-4 and REPO THE GENETIC OPERA’S Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Jamie King and Rebecca De Mornay. In addition, Milam is currently adapting Dark Horse’s THE SECRET for Universal and THE WOLFMAN producer, Scott Stuber. Milam originally brought the idea to producer Daniel Alter, who produced 20th Century Fox’s HITMAN and is currently developing the sequel, as well as a JOHNNY QUEST movie at Warner Bros, KANE AND LYNCH at Lions Gate with Bruce Willis attached, and the film adaptation of Devil Due’s popular comic book series HACK/SLASH at Rogue. Milam was originally going to spec the project as a screenplay until Alter had the idea to bring the project to Arcana to “reverse-engineer” it into a comic book property before shopping it as a feature film and video-game project.
Arcana Owner and CEO, Sean O’Reilly said, “Working with Scott has been incredible and it’s simply fascinating to see what his mind comes up with…” Killing Machine is Milam’s first foray into comics. The book is planned as a series of graphic novels illustrated by newcomer Kenneth Loh.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: New To Comics
Tagged: Arcana Comics
Mass Effect: Redemption, the tie-in comic series of the popular game sequel is available next month for your iPhone. See a preview of #1 here and read the details below.
DARK HORSE AND EA ANNOUNCE THE NEW SMASH HIT COMIC, MASS EFFECT: REDEMPTION THE YEAR’S MOST ANTICIPATED NEW COMIC SERIES EXPLODES OFF OF THE PAGE AND ONTO YOUR iPHONE!
Tomorrow, the year’s most anticipated video game Mass Effect 2 is released nationwide. In celebration, Dark Horse and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced that the comic will be released to the iPhone mobile comics platform.
Mass Effect: Redemption tells the exciting back-story that led up to the events of Mass Effect 2, the eagerly anticipated video game developed by the award-winning creative team at BioWare. The game’s lead writer Mac Walters takes up the pen to give fans exclusive insight into the events that unfolded between the conclusion of the original Mass Effect, and the beginning of Mass Effect 2. Scripted by John Jackson Miller (Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, The Invincible Iron Man) and drawn by Omar Francia (Star Wars Legacy), this four-part series explores the exotic and dangerous future Milky Way of Mass Effect, revealing previously unseen locations, aliens, and enemies of this rich science fiction landscape.
The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding a crew of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, stunning space exploration and emotionally engaging characters, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience. Mass Effect 2 is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC on January 26, 2010 in North America and January 29, 2010 in Europe and has been rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB and ‘18+’ by PEGI (please visit www.esrb.org and www.pegi.eu for more information on ratings). For more news from the development team, please follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/masseffect2 or visit the game’s official website at http://masseffect.bioware.com/.
“We’ve been trying to figure out a way to not only profit from these new technologies, but to use them in a way that it would drive customers into the stores of our loyal retailers” said Dark Horse Director of Communications, Dirk Wood. “We came up with the idea of this staggered release in hopes of accomplishing just that.”
Mass Effect: Redemption is the fifth title to arrive in Dark Horse’s ever-growing stable of comics available on the iPhone platform. Other titles available now include Gerard Way’s smash hit Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, Terminator: Death Valley, and multiple titles the critically acclaimed line of Star Wars comics. The first issue will hit iTunes February 3rd, just in time for the release of second issue of the series.
For more information, please visit http://www.darkhorse.com/Features/Mobile.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: New To Comics · News
Tagged: Dark Horse
May 1 is the annual Free Comic Book Day event, to promote the diversity of our beloved medium. For that day only anyone is welcome to garb selected titles from participating FCBD retailers. Asylum Press have now released a preview of their FCBD one-shot right here. You can take a look at Fearless Dawn, Warlash and previews of upcoming books. If you like cheeky humour and horror, it’s definitely for you.
ASYLUM PRESS ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF A PREVIEW OF THEIR FEARLESS DAWN/ASYLUM PRESS SAMPLER FOR FREE COMIC BOOK DAY COMIC
Frank Forte, publisher of Asylum Press, has announced the release of a preview Fearless Dawn/Asylum Sampler FCBD issue.
“I’m excited to be a part of Free Comic Book Day for the first time, “explains Publisher Frank Forte, “readers will get a great sampling of the books we publish. Some of the titles are current and others will be published this fall. It gives retailers and fans a chance to see what’s coming.”
A great way to introduce Asylum Press to retailers and fans. Featuring a sampling on new and upcoming comics. Fearless Dawn By Steve Mannion features our favorite new heroine battling a troop of mutants. Black Powder, a bloody frontier adventure, by Dwayne Harris, can be described as a “Buckskin Apocalypse Now”. Warlash:Origins features a tale of Bladeviper by Royal McGraw and J.C. Wong. Farmhouse is a tale of a drifter who falls in love with an artist undergoing an experimental art therapy regimen, by Elizabeth J. Musgrave and Szymon Kudranski. In Warlash: Zombie Mutant Genesis, our armored hero goes up against a horde of brain eating monsters, by Frank Forte. EEEK! by Jason Paulos, is an anthology of retro style horror tales.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Art · New To Comics · News
Tagged: Asylum Press, free comics
Or should that be Han Sole-o? Anyway, George Lucas has given the thumbs up for use of sound effects from his timeless films, most notable for Family Guy parodies, but this trumps them all. Check out the Adidas ad below with classy Star Wars references. I feel cooler for having seen it. To view more of the collection, including shoes and clothes, go here.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: News
Tagged: Star Wars
Available next week is this pulp influenced tale from Archaia that held the #1 place on Amazon’s Kindle Graphic Novel Bestseller list for 2 months.
Occasionally narrated by main character, private investigator Frank Armstrong, who’s middle-aged and ill of health, the book can be filed proudly under N for noir. Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov with black and white art by Noel Tuazon (the same team behind Elk’s Run) the tumor of the title is inoperable and clings to Frank’s brain. As he sees his own life slipping through his fingers, he also tries to save the life of Evelyn, a drug kingpin’s daughter.
This book is dirty with its jagged visuals, harsh characters (all of whom seem to swear with reckless abandon) and good old-fashioned life and death stakes. It’s like Frank Miller’s Sin City, but far more grounded. Tuazon uses different levels of artistic detail to reveal Frank’s flashbacks and this technique mirrors Frank’s failing memory perfectly. His tenacity and dedication to what could be his last case is admirable and Fialkov never allows the story to become too muddled, or his ageing hero to become unsympathetic.
After reading the first few pages, you’ll certainly want to know how this jagged, frantic tale ends. The 225 pager is available on January 27, and you can also check it out here. There’s also an interesting interview about the history, and great success of the book with Fialkov here.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Art · New To Comics · Reviews
Tagged: Archaia, Joshua Hale Fialkvov, Noel Tuazon
→ Leave a CommentCategories: New To Comics · News
Tagged: Robot 13
We have a great interview with David Mack in Arcana #1 and his next project from Marvel is as writer of Electric Ant, a new adaptation of a Philip K. Dick tale. Below is the press release and some interior art. (Mack provides the variant cover).
Marvel Unveils Philip K Dick’s Electric Ant #1
Marvel and Electric Shepherd Productions are proud to announce that the graphic fiction adaptation of Electric Ant, Philip K Dick’s seminal science fiction short story, arrives in comic shops this April with Philip K Dick’s Electric Ant #1! Acclaimed creators David Mack (Daredevil, Kabuki) and Pascal Alixe (Ultimate X-Men), along with cover artist Paul Pope (Strange Tales) and consulting editor Brian Michael Bendis (Siege, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man), unite for an adaptation of this existential thriller unlike anything you’ve ever imagined. Garson Poole’s life is pretty great, with the job, apartment and sexy assistant of his dreams, but a visit to the hospital uncovers a dark secret about his existence. Revealed as an “Electric Ant,” a type of robot programmed to serve a specific function, Poole ’s life is thrown into a tailspin as he works to discover the truth about his programming…and reality itself!
As one of the most celebrated authors of the last century, Philip K Dick is the winner of both the prestigious the Hugo Award and the John W. Campbell awards, which honor excellence in science fiction. Inducted into the Library of America in 2007, Dick has received unprecedented literary recognition for his contributions to modern literature, specifically in the area of science fiction. His 45 novels and over 210 short stories have been adapted into numerous hit films, including blockbusters Minority Report, Total Recall and Blade Runner.
“Philip K Dick is one of the most groundbreaking sci-fi authors ever and we’re honored to bring his stories to life at Marvel,” said Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer & Editor-in-Chief, Marvel Entertainment. “Electric Ant is an extraordinary interpretation of Philip K. Dick’s classic short story, one that I’, sure all fans will enjoy.”
Laura Leslie, Dick’s daughter and a partner with her sister, Isa Dick Hackett, in Electric Shepherd Productions, added, “As the first original adaptation of our father’s work into this genre, we are thrilled with the creative team and the support of Marvel in the care they have taken to be true to the integrity of this story.”
Combining the unparalleled literary prowess of Philip K Dick with some of the most imaginative creators in comics today, Philip K Dick’s Electric Ant is the sci-fi graphic fiction event of the year!
PHILIP K DICK’S ELECTRIC ANT #1
PHILIP K DICK’S ELECTRIC ANT #1 MACK VARIANT
Written by David Mack
Art by Pascal Alixe
Cover by Paul Pope
Variant Cover by David Mack
Rated T+ …$3.99
ON SALE APRIL
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Art · New To Comics · News
Tagged: David Mack, Marvel, Pascal Alixe
Kris Bather