Comic News: Marvel Announces FF#1 - March 2011

FF #1: A Beginning

MARCH 2011

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Comic News: Marvel Announces New E-I-C Axel Alonso

Check out the press release from Marvel:

MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT PROMOTES AXEL ALONSO TO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

New York, NY – January 4, 2011 – Marvel Worldwide, Inc announced today that it has promoted Axel Alonso to Editor-in-Chief, Marvel Entertainment.  In this new role, Mr. Alonso will report to Dan Buckley Publisher & President, Print, Animation & Digital Divisions, Marvel Worldwide Inc. Mr. Alonso will oversee all day to day aspects of Marvel’s Publishing division, including advising on the editorial creative direction, developing new storylines and brainstorming new initiatives. Additionally, Mr. Alonso will work on creative aspects of development of larger corporate initiatives involving Marvel’s popular library of characters. The announcement was made today by Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment.

Mr. Quesada stated, “It’s with tremendous pride that I announce Axel Alonso’s promotion to Editor-In-Chief. For over a decade, Axel’s been instrumental in bringing fresh new voices to Marvel and reinventing our biggest characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men, Wolverine and so many more. He’s fought to create unique imprints like Marvel MAX while also bringing fresh new voices to the Marvel family.”

Working in comics for over 15 years, Mr. Alonso began working at Marvel in 2000 as a Senior Editor and was promoted to Vice President, Executive Editor in 2010. Overseeing acclaimed runs of Amazing Spider-Man and X-Men, in addition to shepherding groundbreaking projects such as X-Statix and Rawhide Kid, Mr. Alonso developed a reputation for bringing readers the unexpected and the electrifying. He also oversaw cross-promotional projects such as the creative collaboration between Marvel Entertainment and ESPN The Magazine on their recent NBA Preview issue, which drew attention across the world from mainstream media for it’s innovation.

“Marvel has a great history of the most dynamic and memorable EiCs in comics history and I’m honored to step into this role,” said Axel Alonso. “I’ve been blessed to work with some of the most creative men and women in the world, bringing to life some of the most compelling stories you’ll find in any medium. This new role provides me with exciting challenges and prospects I’ve never encountered before, but I know one thing—Marvel’s getting even bigger in 2011.”

“Most of you know Axel from his high profile job as Vice President, Executive Editor and the man behind some of our very best and edgiest books,” added Joe Quesada. “Time and time again, Axel has proven that he is one of the very best story editors in the history of our medium and one of the finest people I know.  And, like everyone here at Marvel, he has one single focus, bringing you the best stories with the best characters in all of comicdom.  That’s why I have no doubt that Axel will bring Marvel Comics to greater heights than it’s ever known!”

As part of this strategic initiative, Joe Quesada will focus on his duties as Chief Creative Officer, overseeing Marvel’s creative endeavors in film, television, publishing, digital and more. In his ten-year tenure as Editor-In-Chief, Mr. Quesada was instrumental in Marvel’s rise to prominence as a global entertainment juggernaut and the increased profile of the comic book medium. Mr. Quesada brings his expertise and experience to further strengthen the Marvel brand as a leader in worldwide entertainment.

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Comic News: Marvel Announces the Death of (SPOILER) in Fantastic Four!

Marvel Announced the Death of a beloved hero who first appeared back in 1961! Who dies?

Are you sure you want to know?

SPOILER ALERT! There is no turning back!

 

Last Chance!

SPOILERS!

HERE

WE

GO!

 

 

 

 

 

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Marvel Entertainment Extinguishes The Fantastic Four’s Human Torch

RENOWNED SUPER HERO KILLED IN HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED FANTASTIC FOUR #587 SIZZLING INTO STORES WEDNESDAY

New York, NY – January 25, 2011 – “FLAME OFF!”  In a move sure to shock comic fans worldwide, Marvel unveiled that its ever popular super hero the Human Torch will meet his demise and die heroically in Fantastic Four #587, hitting stores tomorrow (Wednesday, January 26^th). Concluding the “Three” storyline that captivated the mainstream media and industry press alike, this issue and the death of such a renowned character from the First Family of comics signals the beginning of major changes for the Marvel Universe as the Fantastic Four lose one of their founding members.

“Jonathan Hickman [writer of Fantastic Four] came to us two years ago with a vision for evolving the characters and concepts introduced to fans 50 years ago in Fantastic Four #1 – and quite frankly his vision blew us away,” said Tom Brevoort, Marvel Entertainment SVP of Publishing. “The death of the Human Torch is the first major move in this incredibly exciting evolution of the legendary Fantastic Four franchise and a necessary part of the larger story we will be telling featuring the beloved characters moving forward.”

But the story doesn’t end there-- February’s Fantastic Four #588 brings the long running series to a conclusion as the Fantastic Four disband and the surviving characters must discover their new roles in the Marvel Universe. Just what’s next for the surviving members of Marvel’s First Family?

Fantastic Four #1 debuted in 1961, kicking off the “Marvel Age” of comics and dramatically increasing the popularity of super heroes. As the progenitor of Marvel Universe, the Fantastic Four set a new tone for super hero comics with its nuanced characterization, reflection of real world fears and progressive depiction of super heroes. Through the years, the Fantastic Four have been involved in many of comics most important & memorable storylines, from the introduction of Galactus to the chart-topping Civil War and now the upcoming event Fear Itself.

It all begins with the shocking death of the Human Torch in Fantastic Four #587, in comic stores Wednesday, January 26^th, 2011!

 

FANTASTIC FOUR #587 (NOV100584)

Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN

Penciled by STEVE EPTING

Cover by ALAN DAVIS

Rated A…$3.99

On Sale – 1/26/11

 

FANTASTIC FOUR #587 SPOILER VARIANT (NOV100585)

Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN

Penciled by STEVE EPTING

Cover by JOHN CASSADAY

Rated A…$3.99

On Sale – 2/2/11

 

FANTASTIC FOUR #588 (DEC100592)

Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN

Penciled by NICK DRAGOTTA

Cover by ALAN DAVIS

Rated A …$3.99

FOC – 1/31/11, On Sale – 2/23/11

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Flame on Johnny Storm. You will be missed.

 

Stay tuned to http://comicsonline.com for everything geek pop culture!

Comic News: Marvel Unveils I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variants

             

This June and July, celebrate the release of Marvel Studios’ anticipated summer blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger with the I Am Captain America series of variant covers! Featuring all-new artwork from a superstar cast of comics’ greatest creators – including Marvel’s own Chief Creative Officer, Joe Quesada, Marko Djurdjevic, Alex Maleev, Skottie Young, and Ed McGuiness! These I Am Captain America variant covers honor real world American heroes of every creed and calling that would be sure to make Steve Rogers himself proud.
 
Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on these hotly anticipated variant covers as Captain America continues to generate major mainstream interest in the months to come. No fan will want to miss the chance to see the First Avenger in a whole new light when Marvel shouts “I Am Captain America” this June!
 
CAPTAIN AMERICA #619 (APR110577)
CAPTAIN AMERICA #619 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (APR110578)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils by BUTCH GUICE & CHRIS SAMNEE
Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by GERALD PAREL
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 5/30/11, On-Sale – 6/22/11
 
DEADPOOL #39 (APR110634)
DEADPOOL #39 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (APR110635)
Written by DANIEL WAY
Penciled by BONG DAZO
Covers by DAVE JOHNSON
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Parental Advisory …$2.99
FOC – 5/30/11, On-Sale – 6/22/11
 
FF #5 (APR110612)
FF #5 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (APR110613)
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Penciled by BARRY KITSON
Cover by MARK BAGLEY
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by SKOTTIE YOUNG
Rated A …$2.99
FOC – 5/30/11, On-Sale – 6/22/11
 
         

SECRET AVENGERS #14 (APR110549)
SECRET AVENGERS #14 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (APR110550)
Written by NICK SPENCER
Penciled by SCOT EATON
Cover by ADI GRANOV
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by MIKE PERKINS
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 5/30/11, On-Sale – 6/22/11

 
THE MIGHTY THOR #3 (APR110584)
THE MIGHTY THOR #3 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (APR110585)
Written by MATT FRACTION
Pencils & Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by ALEX MALEEV
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 5/30/11, On-Sale – 6/22/11
 
VENOM #4 (APR110600)
VENOM #4 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (APR110601)
Written by RICK REMENDER
Pencils by TONY MOORE
Cover by MIKE McKONE
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by MIKE DEL MUNDO
Rated T+ …$2.99
FOC – 5/30/11, On-Sale – 6/22/11
 
UNCANNY X-MEN #539 (APR110637)
UNCANNY X-MEN #539 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (APR110638)
Written by KIERON GILLEN
Penciled by IBRAIM ROBERSON
Cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by DAVE JOHNSON
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 6/6/11, On-Sale – 6/29/11

          
 
WOLVERINE:THE BEST THERE IS #7 (APR110647)
WOLVERINE:THE BEST THERE IS #7 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (APR110648)
Written by CHARLIE HUSTON
Penciled by JUAN JOSE RYP
Cover by BRYAN HITCH
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by MICHAEL KALUTA
Parental Advisory …$3.99
FOC – 6/6/11, On-Sale – 6/29/11
 
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #665 (MAY110628)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #665 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110629)
Written by DAN SLOTT
Penciled by RYAN STEGMAN & GIUSEPPE CAMMUNCOLLI
Cover by Paolo Rivera
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by MICHAEL LARK
Rated A …$3.99
FOC – 6/13/11, On-Sale – 7/6/11
 
HULK #36 (MAY110645)
HULK #36 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110646)Written by JEFF PARKER
Pencils & Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by DAVID MACK
Rated T+ …$2.99
FOC – 6/13/11, On-Sale – 7/6/11
 
MOON KNIGHT #3 (MAY110670)
MOON KNIGHT #3 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110671)Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by ALEX MALEEV
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by COLIN WILSON
Parental Advisory …$3.99
FOC – 6/13/11, On-Sale – 7/6/11
 
X-MEN #14 (MAY110694)X-MEN #14 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110696)Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST
Penciled by PACO MEDINA & DALIBOR TALIJIC
Covers by ED McGUINESS
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant BY GREG HORN
Rated T+ …$3.99FOC – 6/13/11, On-Sale – 7/6/11
 
INCREDIBLE HULKS #632 (MAY110641)
INCREDIBLE HULKS #632 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110642)Written by GREG PAK
Pencils & Covers by PAUL PELLETIER
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by BOBBY RUBIO
Rated A …$2.99
FOC – 6/20/11, On-Sale – 7/13/11
 
IRON MAN 2.0 #7 (MAY110585)
IRON MAN 2.0 #7 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110586)Written by NICK SPENCER
Art & Cover by ARIEL OLIVETTI
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by RODIN ESQUEJO
Rated T+ …$2.99
FOC – 6/20/11, On-Sale – 7/13/11
 
NEW MUTANTS #27 (MAY110688)
NEW MUTANTS #27 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110689)Written by DAN ABNETT & ANDY LANNING
Pencils by LEO FERNANDEZ
Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by AUSTIN MADISON
Rated T+ …$2.99
FOC – 6/20/11, On-Sale – 7/13/11
 
WOLVERINE #12 (MAY110682)
WOLVERINE #12 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110683)Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by RENATO GUEDES
Cover by JAE LEE
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by JOE QUESADA
Parental Advisory …$3.99FOC – 6/20/11, On-Sale – 7/13/11
 
X-FACTOR #222 (MAY110699)
X-FACTOR #222 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110700)Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by EMANUELA LUPACCHINO
Cover by DAVID YARDIN
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by LARRY STROMAN
Rated T+ …$2.99FOC – 6/20/11, On-Sale – 7/13/11
 
ASTONISHING X-MEN #40 (MAY110673)
ASTONISHING X-MEN #40 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110674)Written by CHRISTOS GAGE
Penciled by JUAN BOBILLO
Cover by SALVADOR LARROCA
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by ED McGUINNESS
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 7/4/11, On-Sale – 7/27/11
 
SECRET WARRIORS #28 (MAY110666)
SECRET WARRIORS #28 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110667)Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Penciled by ALESSANDRO VITTI
Cover by PAUL RENAUD
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Rated T+ …$2.99
FOC – 7/4/11, On-Sale – 7/27/11
 
UNCANNY X-FORCE #12 (MAY110691)
UNCANNY X-FORCE #12 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT (MAY110693)Written by RICK REMENDER
Penciled by MARK BROOKS
Cover by ESAD RIBIC
I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA Variant by CHRIS STEVENS
Parental Advisory …$3.99
FOC – 7/4/11, On-Sale – 7/27/11

 

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com\ 

Comic News: Mecha-Nation (Exclusive Interview with Greg Guler)

Mecha-Nation follows five young high school students who find that they have amazing new abilities and can transform into a new robotic fighing force for good. This team consists of Kevin (Stealth), Susie (Fahrenheit), Zahra (Charge), Ray (Tank) and Marcus (Blast).

This brand new series is distributed by Ape Entertainment and is a collaboration between Victor Cook, Greg Weisman and Greg Guler.

We had a chance to speak with Greg Guler about the project:

CO: What has been your main influence or inspiration for this series?

GG: Well, I think like Vic Cook and Greg Weisman, I was highly influenced by the superhero groups that I read about in the comics for years. Comics such as the Justice League and others really had a great impact about how group dynamics and diverse characters could create compelling stories with creative and edgy graphic appeal. I was greatly influenced as an artist by artists like Will Eisner, Neal Adams and Jack Kirby and I would have to say that all of these great artists came into the development of Mecha-Nation.  I think the combination of the cartoony and dramatic styles of Eisner and Kirby really had a lot to do with the ultimate look of Mecha-Nation. Vic and I agreed  that we wanted the look to be something that would easily be used in a number of medias with a simple and graphic look. I always thought the tone of the thing was a bit like X-Files, with it's dark tone and intricate story line, and I wanted a style that could be one thing on the surface but could easily turn darker if necessary.

CO: Everyone had a group that they associated closely with while in high-school. Which of these characters do you think you associate with?

GG: I guess it would have to be Marcus, the comic book geek. I can't really associate much with the new kid, the cheerleader, the goth or the rocker. Sadly, I wasn't as smart as Marcus is, but I was, and still am interested in comics, science fiction and movies. It was my big ambition to draw comics professionally, which I eventually did for a number of companies.

CO: What has been your biggest challenge with developing these characters?

GG: The biggest challenge on a new project is to do your best to make it unique and as original as you can. You want to give the audience something that it has never seen before-something fresh and exciting, with a style all it's own. As far as the look of Mecha-Nation goes, Vic and I tried to to do something that was innovative yet with a sense of the familiar so that the audience could get on board with the stories we wanted to tell. We tried to keep the characters simple, but stylized, making then easier to animate and draw but giving them a bold graphic look. It's always a challenge not to be a me-too product and we thought that a unique look would help with that.  As development went on I came up with little bits of design that supported the concept of the project. One of the main plot points in Mecha-Nation is that out main characters are slowly being transformed against their will into unfeeling robots and so I used the idea that they should have an indication of circuits on their bodies when they have transformed into their "metaled out" forms. The idea that as they continue to transform the circuitry would become more pronounced until they have been completely changed into robots, a bit like a disease effecting them. Stealth being able to open like a Swiss Army knife was also an idea that I used to graphically show the audience the kind of being he was turning into and how dangerous he could truly be.. Each of the characters have these kind of elements to telegraph what may lead down the road for them, and that it might not be pretty. Each character needed their niche, and we wanted to insure their individuality in how they looked as well as how they how they are written. Greg Weisman really brought a lot to the table with the "freaks and geeks" concept which really helped in my thinking about these concepts. The biggest challenge for the comic version was to create designs for what we call the "First Wavers", who are an earlier generation of Mecha-sapiens than our kids...Time, which always seen to be an issue in projects like these, was short and it was important to make the look of these new characters connect with out kids and still be unique. In a very short period of time I designed these "First wavers", as well as almost all of the new incidental characters for the comic book version of Mecha-Nation.

CO: What has been your personal highlight on this project?

GG: Although Greg, Vic and I have worked together over the years on various animation projects, this is the first we have done together that was an original idea. It's a lot of fun to brain storm on a project like this where you feel you can throw out any idea and have it considered. That kind of freedom really can lead to great things from a creative stand point. Thats not to say we don't give each other a bit of grief if the idea is really bad, but even a bad idea can be worked around to a really great one. It's fun to be involved from the ground up in developing an entire project- from early concepts to published work, and it's satisfying to have something turn out the way you personally envision it and to have other people appreciate it.  I'm really looking forward to the comic book series coming out published by Ape Entertainment and what people will think of Mecha-Nation.

Mecha-Nation will be available in stores in July.

Stay tuned to ComicsOnline for more news on Mecha-Nation!
 

Comics News: Allstar Webcomix launches EVERYWHERE - A Horror Comics Anthology

Allstar Webcomix Collective ACT-I-VATE.com celebrates its 5th Anniversary on 2/1/11 by launching

EVERYWHERE
A Tongue-in-Cheek Horror Comics Anthology, Written by Chris Miskiewicz, 
illustrated by a dozen artists including Rodney Ramos, Dennis Calero, Rick Parker and more

"Five years ago, eight independent cartoonists allied and presented personal signature works, online for free, and ACT-I-VATE was born," says Dean Haspiel, creator of Billy Dogma, and co-founder of ACT-I-VATE. “Five years later, ACT-I-VATE expanded its roster, created a PRIMER graphic novel, and helped confirm publishing options between print and web. A bold example of how a curated destination point for new stories and ideas can sustain, ACT-I-VATE continues to break ground as the industry transitions to the Digital Age.”

Comics News: Marvel "Age of X" Promo

Check out this new promo image from the upcoming X-Men story "Age of X"!

 

 

AGE OF X: ALPHA #1 (NOV100514) AGE OF X: ALPHA #1 COIPEL VARIANT (NOV100515) Written by MIKE CAREY Pencils by PAUL DAVIDSON & MORE Cover by CHRIS BACHALO Variant Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL Rated A …$3.99 FOC – 1/3/11, On-Sale – 1/26/11 . To find a comic shop near you, call 1-888-comicbook or visit www.comicshoplocator.com Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com

Stay tuned to ComicsOnline for everything geek pop culture!

Comics News: New Teaser Trailer for BKgtH Available!

Check out the new comic trailer for Bad Kids go to Hell!  Whether you're already a fan of the series or looking for a more badass version of The Breakfast Club, you won't be disappointed!





For more information, head on over to the official website.

Keep comin' back to ComicsOnline for more comics news and everything geek pop culture!

 

WonderCon 2011: DC Universe Panel

Here are some of the highlights from the DC Universe panel at WonderCon 2011:

-Everything you think you know about the Whitle Lantern… yeah... not right. PLOT TWIST!

-You will see Barry and Bruce’s relationship change a lot in Flashpoint.  After all, shouldn’t the World’s Greatest Detective hang out with a forensic scientist?

-Flashpoint will be for Barry what Blackest Night was for Hal.  Also, there’s a motorcycle powered by the speed force!

-Booster Gold and Blue Beetle will be in the upcoming episode of Smallville, which was written by Geoff Johns.

-First chance to see Flashpoint will be in the pages of the Green Lantern Free Comic Book Day special edition

-Green Arrow having a big self-realization in near future, dealing with his demons.

-Return of Jason Todd is coming up in a three issue arc in Batman and Robin

-Boomerang is integral in the final pages of Brightest Day

-The most important aspect of comic book heroes to emphasize to young readers is a sense that being a hero just means standing up for yourself, and looking out for other people.  For example, all the bullying stuff going on lately, a hero is a person who would stand up and get involved and work to improve the situation.  Don’t give up.

Stay tuned to ComicsOnline for more WonderCon 2011 news and for everything geek pop culture!

WonderCon 2011: Dark Horse Panel

Here are some of the highlights from the Dark Horse panel at WonderCon 2011:

-On the Dark Horse panel this year were Jeremy Atkins, Sierra Hahn, and Scott Allie, who shared some interesting developments in the world of Dark Horse world. 

-Among them was the revelation that Dark Horse has acquired all the Joss Whedon franchises under one Dark Horse roof!

-IDW is wrapping up all current titles before Dark Horse "takes over", so to speak.  

-Sierra Hahn, editor of the new Dollhouse mini-series to be released in July, offered up some tidbits about the series: it's an expansion of the already released one-shot, and is based on the "Epitaph" episodes of the series. 

-Phil Ando will be doing the covers, with one alternate cover to be done by rotating artists.  As far as Buffy- Season Nine, Joss Whedon himself will be writing issue one of the series and collaborating on the rest, and a new Angel series called "Angel and Faith", with Rebecca Isaacs as the artist and Steve Morris doing the covers, will launch in August.

-In other Dark Horse news, new artist Tyler Crook will be taking over the artwork for B.P.R.D: Hell on Earth. 

-It's interesting to note that Dark Horse discovered Crook at Long Beach Comic Con (he got friended on Facebook!), which goes to show that there's always hope for you aspiring comic book artists out there.

Stay tuned to ComicsOnline for more WonderCon 2011 news and for everything geek pop culture!

WonderCon 2011: Green Lantern Comics Panel

Here are some of the highlights from the Green Lantern Comics Panel at WonderCon 2011:

-Reveal of the White Lantern is next week in issue #23.

-*Joking?* Atrocious will have a Valentines day special at some point in the future (and Dexstar will fight with Krypto.)

-The embodiments of the cores are holed up in the Guardians right now, and will be for the near future.

-The Guardian that Larfleeze ‘owns’ is on a special mission for him right now, and we will see her again.

-We’ll learn more about the Indigo tribe later on, including getting a little more understanding of their language. They may be the reason why the ring interactions didn’t happen in Blackest Night – so no blue charging green and de-charging yellow, for example.

-“Will you sign my Orange Lantern tatoo?” Geoff ‘Sure!’ “Don’t you want to know where it is first?”

-Inspiration behind the entities – emotions are so powerful, and when they cant be quantified that can be represented by this tangible creature, who embodies/represents the collected energy.

-Had lots of input on the Six Flags rides, they did good work. Waiting in line will be theme for the Corp.

-Geoff spent several days on an Air Force base with test pilots to get a feel for it.

Stay tuned to ComicsOnline for WonderCon 2011 news and everything geek pop culture!

Comic Review: Blood Factory

The Blood Factory

While cruising the dealers’ floor at Comic Con, I came across several exhibits of interest. I want to review what was probably the most unusual booth I saw at the convention – The Blood Factory. The first thing you notice is the prop where a person gets in this table with their upper bodies visible, their lower bodies hidden behind a fleshless, dismembered lower body. This was a popular stop and always had a line of patrons waiting to imitate a victim. But there is more to The Blood Factory then a fun effect and pretty lab assistants.

The Blood Factory is a dual media project spearheaded by Danny DeVito. On the Internet front, The Blood Factory (http://www.thebloodfactory.com/) is a series of short horror films directed by Danny DeVito and written by John Albo.  Several minutes in length, these are in-your-face scares. There’s no build up, no character development and no frills. And that’s what makes these shorts scary, the fact that you don’t expect the horror to start so soon.  And the subject matter is disturbing; delusions, fanaticism, incest, and cannibalism to name a few.
 

The other medium is a comic book, also called The Blood Factory, that illustrates the short movies in beautifully painted panel form. The artist, Nicholas Bonamy, has hand-painted both volumes and a third is in the works as I write this. I enjoyed these comics and to me are similar to the old 50’s EC horror anthologies. Disturbing, yet reminiscent of the classic horror comic.

I found the whole concept extremely well done, and the mix of two mediums works well to complement each other. I questioned Danny Devito’s involvement with the project; after all, he’s a comedian isn’t he? But Nicholas pointed out that he was also involved in some dark projects, such as Throw Mama from the Train, War of the Roses, and, in my opinion, a pretty good Penguin. The Blood Factory is a unique project that is loaded with talent and potential in their short bursts of horror. The Blood Factory will not be for everyone, but it’s for me.

ComicsOnline.com gives The Blood Factory 4 mixed media projects out of 5.

Keep ComicsOnline.com at the top of your favorites for more news and reviews.

Comic Review: IDW's Crawl To Me

by Karl Madsen, Media Editor, Horror

In the comic world, much like all other forms of entertainment, we are constantly being offered the next big thing, event, story, character, or genre. Recently we were offered the next big horror series from Alan Robert, creator of Wire Hangers, and lead singer for New York punk band Life of Agony, as well as creator, writer, illustrator, and letterer of his newest scare fest. This new series is from San Diego’s own IDW Publishing and is a new horror offering titled Crawl to Me.

Issue #1 has Ryan Shelby and family dog, Max, waiting for the delivery of the furniture for their new home, when a shoot out occurs between an old pedophile, who Ryan somehow knows, and the police. When Ryan goes to investigate, everyone disappears into thin air. Issue #1 ends with hallucinations and medications. This horror seems to start with insanity as its appetizer.

As important as the story in a comic book is the art, which can make or break a book. As we know there is basically four types of art; good art, bad art, appropriate art, and inappropriate art. Bad art is just that-bad, and good art in the wrong project would be inappropriate. And the art for Crawl to Me is good art, used in an appropriate genre. You can tell who is who and what is what, but it conveys a deep feeling of unease, a stark reality that could collapse around us at any time, for any reason. Now that’s good art for a horror comic.

So, when IDW Publishing announced that Crawl to Me was the next big horror comic, so far it seems they are right. The story starts with an interesting, and inconclusive premise, with artwork that creeps me out. And while I’m not horrorified yet, I have high hopes for issue # 2.

ComicOnline gives Crawl to Me 4 ½ massacre hallucinations out of 5.

Comic Review: Justice League of America #41

Justice League of America 41
Penciled by Mark Bagley and Written by James Robinson

I have to say that Justice League of America has been such a disappointment to me for a year or more. They started this series out with so much power and promise. Brad Meltzer wrote an incredibly too short run on this book and Dwayne McDuffie tried to keep it going, but it just wasn't the same. Len Wein's story involving Amos Fortune and Roulette was really a snooze.

To be fair, some of this might be attributed to the availability (or lack thereof) the "big shots". Batman is "dead", Superman is stationed on New Krypton and The Flash is - well - complicated right now, since DC is rebirthing him and I doubt they want to commit him to the team until that's complete. Also, Green Lantern is fighting the Blackest Night throughout almost every book in the DC comics line.

That left us with Vixen, Dr. Light, Zatana, Plastic Man, Firestorm and whoever DC decided they could borrow from the Milestone books to fill the gaps.

Blackest Night seems to have done enough to take Zatana, Plastic Man and Firestorm out of the picture.

(Sarcastically) Thank goodness James Robinson has been writing another Justice League book with it's own team of heroes committed to Justice.

Now, let me pause to tell you I loved James Robinson's The Golden Age Starman and I have even enjoyed his Justice League story with its diverse line up.

Issue 41 seems to want to reunite the Robinson offshoot team with the remaining members while also recruiting the current stand-ins for Batman and Superman, aka Mon-el, Dick Grayson and a few adult titans for good measure.

Does this seem a bit wacky? Dr. Light, Congorilla, a Starman, Green Lantern Hal, Green Arrow Ollie, Starfire, Cyborg, Batman, Donna Troy and Mon-el.

Well, the entire issue is a recruitment issue.

I like Mark Bagley's art but I just don't feel it fits Justice League.

Overall, I feel the entire issue was blah. Decent art, introduction story with a few too many whiny characters and not enough to compell me.

The book needed Gleek the Monkey. I'm kidding, I think.

ComicsOnline gives Justice League of America #41 2 out of 5 Blue Guffawing Monkeys in yellow and purple spandex.

Comic Review: The Crazies series 1-4

It's about to get a little... crazy.
 

The recent release of the new zombie horror flick The Crazies has spawned a series of side-story comics based on the universe created by the hit film.   Published by American Original and Top Cow Comics, each issue offers a unique story from the point of view of one of the secondary characters featured in the film.  Each comic is named after one of the connecting waterways that provide Ogden Marsh’s water supply as well as deliver the toxin “Trixie” that changes the citizens into The Crazies.

Issue one, called “Hopman Bog” is penciled by Jon Buran with a cover by Jeffrey Apokes and written by Ivan Brandon.  It provides a brief description of how the toxin enters the area of Ogden Marsh and begins affecting the residents.  It primarily focuses on the pig farmer Rory, but also introduces the hunters Nathan, Jesse and Red who also show up later in the series.  It’s a good introduction to the series but doesn’t dive very deep into the Crazies universe or show how Rory’s story ends.

Issue two is written by Brian Reed and drawn by Hugo Petrus with a cover by Tom Feister. It’s called “Dwyer Creek” and follows Bill Farnum, a cow farmer living in Ogden Marsh.  He gets the toxin from one of his cows and his slow descent into madness is truly frightening.  What he does to his family in the end is unimaginable and it makes this issue a must read above the others in this series.  Read and witness it, but be warned, it’s borderline sickening.

Issue three, called “Black Pond” is written by Marc Andreyko and drawn by Vincent Spencer with a cover by Frazier Irving.  It focuses entirely on Charlie Finly, the town’s mortician, as he begins to inspect the increasing number of bodies that show up due to the toxin.  He slips on a stitch and pierces his finger with the needle and becomes infected.  I felt that the art and story in this issue was the worst in the series.  I didn’t like the thick lined drawings and there was a lot less detail in the characters present.  The story felt like a copy of the themes present in issue two, but with less bite.  

The last issue, “Ogden Marsh,” is written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and drawn by Rahsan Ekedal with the cover drawn by Ben Templesmith.  It follows the same hunters from issue one, Nathan, Jesse and Red, as they unleash the fury on the horde of infected in Ogden Marsh.  The hunters begin to attack more than the infected and begin to collect the dead as trophies.   There’s a nice twist in the end that really makes this one of the better issues.  The issue also features a heavier amount of action throughout which is a welcome departure from the rest of the series. 

Overall

The Crazies comic series is a great addition to the film.  Each of the minor characters shown here really flesh out further details of the how the toxin affects the citizens in the film.  As a separate entity, the comics are good, but as a supplement to the movie, they’re great. 

ComicsOnline gives The Crazies comic series one-four 4 out of 5 bites from a pig.
 

Keep it here at ComicsOnline.com for more comic reviews and everything geek pop culture.
 

Comic Review: Ultimate Enemy #1

Ultimate Enemy 1
Pencils by Rafael Sandoval Written by Brian Michael Bendis

BMB just can't stop writing huge ensemble cast crossover epic stories. If only he could do so consistently well.

I really loved Ultimate Spiderman and I really loved his work on Daredevil.  These were groundbreaking, redefining runs on books that sucked you in and made you want to stick with the books.  I have enjoyed most of his run on New Avengers, and kind of thought of that as his clinic book that he should use to improve upon ensemble cast narrative and characterization.  Sometimes, Wolverine doesn't seem like himself and sometimes Spidey whipping his mask off with only slight arm twisting goes in the face of everything that had been done over on the main Amazing Spiderman book.

Ultimate Enemy was a bit empty for me.  Art is fine and consistent with what's been going on in Ultimate Spiderman with floppy hair Pete and his flop house of super friends.

The story mostly follows Ultimate Spiderwoman, a female clone of Peter.  The story doesn't really do much to entice you into anything deeper.  I was disappointed - for a book that supposedly wants to get you in the door for not only this series, but two additional ones ("Ultimate Mystery" and "Ultimate Doom"), I just didn't feel the appeal.  It lacked that "grab me by the brain and hook me" quality.

What I did like, however, was seeing something BMB spoke about years ago in a Wizard Magazine article.  He said the Ultimate Universe was gearing toward the exploration of a conspiracy within the Marvel Universe where we find ourselves looking at a universe of characters who we have long thought of as the products of accidents and incidents who were, in most cases, planned all along.  Behind the scenes of all of this would be the military and the corporations of the Ultimate Marvel universe - companies like Stark, Stane, Roxxon, Rand, Hammer and more all vying to create super soldiers and weapons.

This storyline was visible in early Ultimates and Ultimate Spiderman stories.  The Oz formula (Green Goblim serum), which created Ultimate Goblin - and to some degree, Spiderman - and inadvertently played a part in Ultimate Doctor Octopus who had been committing sabatoge or spying for long time Stark competitor Justin Hammer who seemingly created Ultimate Sandman. We know Roxxon went on to become involved with Ultimate Beetle, Ultimate Shocker and more.

Considering the narrative of Jessica Drew (Pete's female clone), this seemed to be the direction the book would go. 

The art's good - the story is a bit slow for me, but I'll give it another issue to develop.

You'll notice I haven't had that much to say about the story or dialogue.  It's because there really wasn't much story to talk about.  If this were a homework assignment, I'd probably have to grade it as incomplete.  Story opens, disaster occurs, we see various characters caught up in the event but nothing really happens, except that we see two characters have an awkward moment; one of those characters appears to be undergoing some physical change - oh, and someone inpersonated an old man and violates copyrights to mission impossible.  Call Ethan Hunt immediately.  Oh and hey, Great-Faceless-Energy-Spewing-Figure wants to confront Nick Fury. Next!!!  That was the entire story, not counting the formless mess that is the threat throughout most of the issue. Leave threatening, shapeless, monstrous creations to JJ Abrams on cursed islands, please.

Comics Online gives Ultimate Enemy #1 2 out of 5 Ultimate Stars .

Comics Review: Superman #706

Superman #706 - A Grounded Interlude

Five issues into "Grounded" and it doesn't focus on Supes, yet again.  It's an INTERLUDE!!! Not written by JMS, but by G. Willow Wilson.  And she delivers.  A few issues ago, we had the issue that was Lois-centric visiting her old friend and his seemingly "perfect" family, wishing her and Clark's SPOILER ALERT (aka Superman) END SPOILERS relationship was more like theirs, and realizing she had something special, with the boy in blue showing up at the end of the issue, again, we have an issue focusing on characters we really haven't heard much from in later years.  In the Golden/Silver Age, we had whole comics devoted to these supporting characters!  Jimmy Olsen had more super-powers than Dial H for Hero (yeah, I know my shit).  Lois had monthly comics dealing with.... BAD HAIR!!!!  But now... we have to follow continuity and  Superman is flying off to a new crisis every other week.  This week?  He has time to walk.  That's what "Grounded" is all about.  Superman taking a breather.  With Batman creepily popping in and spying on him and some freaky New Krypton debris powered hobo attacking him and blowing up a town, making him rethink his vacation.

But this week?  This week it's all about someone who is more important to the Superman mythos than most characters.  A man who gave a mild-mannered college grad his job... without this man we wouldn't have a mild mannered reporter.  This issue is all about Perry White.  At first, you think, wow, Perry, you racist old blowhard, unwilling to get with the times, calling a kid trying to get into photography (with a degree no less... Olsen just did it with a set of steel testicles!) names and pushing him around.  But, in typical Perry fashion, he's worried.  He's hiding it and taking it out on his workers that aren't performing up to par.  Insert a blogger with dirt on the Planet and some issues with why the Planet has missing funds, the most exclusive with Supes and some risque photos with Lois, and BOOM, it gets interesting.  Especially for Perry, the captain of this ship.  Even after a visit from Superman himself, Perry still has his doubts and tells the man confident to wear his underwear outside his clothes to take care of himself. 

Perry is afraid.  New technology, like the one right here, is threatening print media!  GWW, is this a clever barb at digital media instead of print media????  I dunno... something smells a bit fishy here.  But, back to the story, Perry pulls some classic White moves, shakes his fists, gets the blogger and... well.. I don't want to spoil it for you.  But if you are a fan of hardcore, old school, hard ass Perry White, the one who would yell at Clark, who had the hard candy shell but delicious milk chocolate inside?  You won't be disappointed.  It was a nice break and it does move the story, as a whole, ahead.  It could have been a back up somewhere else.  But... it's worth it if you are a fan of The Planet and the old stories that were told, when you first got into comics.  So far, "Grounded" (even the Interludes!!) is doing a good job, the art was better this issue, in my opinion and Amilcar Pinna (funny... they were a previously announced team on this run?  That was publicized as a JMS piece??).  In any way.  This issue.  Buy it.

Graphic Novel Review: Hatter M, Volume 2

Hatter M, Volume 2: Mad With Wonder, as the title suggests, is the 2^nd part of Frank Beddor’s story of Hatter Madigan, royal bodyguard of the missing Princess Alyss, the only hope for his beloved Wonderland. Hatter, separated from his princess during their escape through the Pool of Tears, has been searching all of Europe for Alyss, chasing down leads, following the Glow, and encountering a full cast of exotic and often demented characters along the way.
This second installment features a change in the creative team, with Sami Makkonen taking over Ben Templesmith’s role as illustrator. In keeping with my typical behavior of not reading comics cover to cover, I first cracked open this handsome hardbound graphic novel and, after soaking in the menacing (and familiar…I had previously read the Looking Glass Wars novel) figure on the cover bristling with both blades and potential violence, I skipped around through the length, sampling the art and style of the frames. I immediately remarked on the similarities to Templesmith’s art. Following that I delved into the story, skipping over the introduction. Later to my chagrin I discovered, upon reading said introduction, the matter of the change in artists. Suddenly all was clear. Amazing what one can learn after taking the time to read info provided by the author.
On the art itself, is infinitely appropriate for the subject story: dark and moody. In the words of the Doors, “people are strange, when you’re a stranger”. Hatter Madigan is certainly a stranger in Victorian England and post-colonial America, and the denizens he encounters are most certainly strange. Characters are often rather ugly, even mal-proportioned, but this merely heightens the sense of bizarre “like” yet “not like” the protagonist must feel as he moves through his encounters. Makkonen’s use of a muted color palate and stark surroundings keep the reader’s attention fixed on the most important features, the characters.
The narrative, while subtle, is easy enough to follow, and keeps pace with the frame sequence of the art, speeding up in moments of action as needed and slowly appreciably to lay down storyboard.
Mad With Wonder transitions almost seamlessly from novel to graphic novel, making me aware I need to pick up a copy of Volume 1 of Hatter M. Beddor’s prose blends with Makkonen’s art to tell a compelling tale of the relentless bodyguard’s search for his princess.
ComicsOnline gives Hatter M, Volume 2: Mad With Wonder 5 out of 5 whirling blades of Wonderland forged steel.
 

A Tribute to May Parker aka Spider-Girl

Today, a very special Marvel series will come to an end (again). The current series, starring May "Mayday" Parker, ends an amazing run because Marvel has canceled Spider-Girl's current series Amazing Spider-Girl #30. This will conclude the stand alone adventures of our favorite Alternate Reality heroine. Spider-Girl is the longest running series with a female lead that Marvel has ever published!

The character will live on in Spider-Man Amazing Family release, but honestly, who knows how long that will last for. For a character that started off as a What If story, I think she has come a long way. Her first appearance was in What If Volume 2 #105 released in 1998. For those of us who picked up that book when it hit the shelf, we knew right away that there was something different about this character. No one could have predicted that this character would have lasted for more than ten years after her initial appearance.

During the 90's there was this thing called "The Clone Saga" where Marvel tried to convince us that Peter was a clone and that a clone was really Spider-Man. While this story was playing out we also learned that MJ was pregnant with a baby girl...who didn't quite make it through the story. Peter and MJ were denied a daughter (and eventually their marriage). The House of Ideas then pitched the idea "What If they had their daughter and what if she grew up to have her father's powers??!?!?" and with that May Parker became the Amazing Spider-Girl. May's first adventure had her face the newest heir to the Green Goblin Legacy, Little Normie Osborn! Normie is all grown up and not happy to learn that Spider-Man was responsible for his dad and grandfather's deaths. He sets out on a quest for revenge and May and the Parkers get caught in the crossfire. Normie eventually reforms and becomes one of May's supporting cast along with Phil Urich (the 3rd Green Goblin), Felicity Hardy (daughter of Felicia Hardy and Flash Thompson), Jack Jameson (you can figure this one out), Kaine, and many more!

Now you might be asking yourself, "what happened to Peter?" and "why isn't Peter Spider-Man anymore?" During his final battle with the original Goblin, Peter becomes injured and looses his leg during the fight. Peter has dedicated his life to his family and has determined that he will "never" sling webs again (yeah that doesn't last too long...)

This original Spider-Girl issue was such a successful issue for that Marvel decided to create an entire Universe for the character called MC2. This new branding lead to the creation and eventual individual comic book releases of other future versions of classic teams and characters including A-Next (The Next Generation of the Avengers), the Fantastic Five, J2 (The Son of the Juggernaut) and others.

The Amazing Spider-Girl is the second volume of May's stories, as she concluded an incredible run of 100 issues in Volume 1! The series was slated for the chopping block not once, not twice, but atleast three different times. By the time issue Volume 1, issue 60 came around and everyone thought that the book was over. They even did an issue rapping up stories just incase this was May's final bow. Well issue 61 was a huge surprise and even sported the tagline "Spider-Girl: The Series They Couldn't kill!" and then started a new storyline called "Marked For Death". Nuff Said.

Well Marvel, I just wanted to say that I appreciate the fact that you let us have this character for as long as you did. It has been a great ride. This is coming from someone who bought every single issue of this series and was satisfied with EVERY SINGLE ISSUE of this series. You created such a strong, entertaining, and important female character with May and I am very happy to have spent my money on this book month after month. To Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, I salute you. This couldn't have been any better.

We at ComicsOnline hope that Spider-Girl will be back again in a full comic format, and not just as a backup story. May deserves better than that. If you missed out on any of May's adventures we urge you to go out and find whatever back issues you can. At a time when Spider-Man books were not at their best, this one stood tall and stay consistent issue after issue. Don't miss out on this character...because we haven't seen the last of her.

ComicBookGrrl: DC Comics Cuts Half its Staff

DC Comics cuts 20% of its staff, proving once again that greed isn’t just good…it’s legal.

 

As we sink further into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, many of us have learned a painful lesson: we’re expendable.

If you’re one of the millions working in the middle class, you’re likely overworked, underpaid, and stressed beyond belief about the possibility of being fired (that is, if you’re lucky enough to still have a job).

This is the face of the recession, plain and simple.

Corporations continue to move as much wealth up to the top 2% as possible, and those dollars, of course, comes from the 98% below. Pay cuts and massive layoffs are becoming so commonplace that they’re now thought of as a standard business practice – just another way to increase revenue for the top earners.

On September 21, 2010, DC Comics announced they were releasing a full 20% of their staff (approximately 50 people). At first I was shocked, then confused, and then disappointed. Surely there is a good reason for this – they made this move out of necessity, not purely out of greed…haven’t they?

Eager for more information I began Googling vigorously.

A special word from the President: We’re firing everyone to maximize growth!

Huh?

DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson made a statement about the layoffs, which amounted to a spattering of meaningless business jargon tossed randomly into sentences.

Things like “maximum growth, success and efficiency in the future”, and “we looked at the effects on our people and looked for efficiencies and ways to collaborate” were part of her boiler plate narrative, before asserting “it’s not about cost-cutting”.

Click here to read the entire article. Prepare yourself for boredom and confusion.

Having lost 15 minutes of my life, I continued my unrelenting quest to find an intelligible answer.

Comic book legend Jim Lee gives me some closure. Sort of.

In his statement, Jim Lee spoke of a “soft marketplace” as one of the reasons for the layoffs and restructuring. That’s the closest thing he could offer to an actual explanation, but that one simple sentence spoke volumes.

Of course! The crippling recession! THAT’S why they needed to burn 20% of their staff. If folks don’t buy comics, DC staffers are out of a job. Plain and simple.

Except for one little problem.

The market ain’t that soft.

According to estimates, comic sales were $263M in 2008, and experienced a slight dip in 2009 to $257.88M. This is less than 2%, but of course we also have to take into account that digital comics are selling more than ever before, and are likely picking up some of that slack.

Aside from that, the market for newsstand comics and bookstore TPB sales has increased every year for the last decade. All things considered, the industry looks pretty stable.

In addition to comics and TPBs, people are still buying merchandise, apparel, and going to comic book-inspired movies. But maybe DC isn’t getting their share of this pie? Is this the softness that Jim is speaking of?

Looking at the top 300 comic book sales from last month, it seems like this isn’t the case either.

DC dominates most of the chart, including 4 of the top 10 books sold, and they hold the coveted #1 and #2 spots.

They have everything from animated TV shows, DVDs, video games, t-shirts and action figures. And we haven’t even gotten to the big guns yet.

The Dark Knight, released in 2008, made over a billion dollars worldwide, making it the most successful comic book movie of all time - and that doesn’t take into account Blu-Ray and DVD sales, as well as related merchandise.

The Green Lantern is poised to do big business in early 2011, and several other movies are on the way.

So if the pie is still relatively large (and growing) and DC is getting more than a large chunk of it (over a third, according to many reports) then why was it necessary to cut 20% of their staff?

I want to love DC. I want them to thrive and succeed and do great things, but the big gooey optimist inside me also wants them to be good people while they’re doing it.

The dreamer in me wants a Jim Lee at the top of the DC ladder, making decisions based on his passion for the business, but the realist in me knows that, more likely that not, the show is being run by a Gordon Gekko.

All the best to those who were laid off.

My heart goes out to you.

 

Love you guys,

Comic Book Grrl xo

 

Sorry if I’m bit of a downer this week – I’m usually filled with rainbows and sunshine but I felt that I needed to cover this issue in a timely manner.

Have some time to waste? Check out my witty and often ridiculous observations, compressed to 140 characters or less: http://twitter.com/ComicBookGrrl

The Batman is Dead. Rest in Peace Bruce Wayne...

Today is a tragic day my friends. It is the day the Batman died. Not in a monumental way, but as a gimmick to sell books. He dies in a book where he is only scene for 5 pages total...5. The death of the Dark Knight should have been more massive. I don't think its right that we have to sacrifice Bruce in order to have Barry Allen alive in the comics. Its not a fair trade. At all. RIP Bruce. You will be missed.

But my dad had this to say:

If Jason Todd is not dead, then Bruce Wayne IS NOT DEAD.

If Barry Allen is not dead, then Bruce Wayne IS NOT DEAD.

If the New Gods are not dead, then Bruce Wayne is NOT DEAD.

If Hal Jordan is not dead, then Bruce Wayne is NOT DEAD.

and if Superman is not dead, then Bruce Wayne IS. NOT. DEAD.
 

Comics Interview: Mecha-Nation Exclusive with Victor Cook

 

 

Join the Mecha-Nation!
 

Ape Entertainment presents a new comic series about a team of young robotic heroes.

When a group of Mecha-Sapien villains called "The First Wave" attack the innocent students at Glass Lake High School, there is only one team that can stop them...but they haven't quite figured out a group name yet. Mecha-Nation follows five young high school students who find that they have amazing new abilities and can transform into a new robotic fighing force for good. This team consists of Kevin (Stealth), Susie (Fahrenheit), Zahra (Charge), Ray (Tank) and Marcus (Blast).

This brand new series is a collaboration between Victor Cook (Spectacular Spider-Man's Supervising Producer/Supervising Director), Greg Weisman (Spectacular Spider-Man's Supervising Producer/Story Editor/Writer) and Greg Guler (Phineas and Ferb Character Designer). This series also features cover art from Sean "Cheeks" Galloway (Spectacular Spider-Man's Lead Character Designer) and interior art from Antonio Campo.
 

I had a chance to talk with Victor Cook about this project:

CO: Can you give me some background on how this project came to be?

VC: Mecha-Nation started out as an animated series pitch. Greg Guler, Greg Weisman and I put together a series pitch which included a bible, a season's worth of story ideas, full color character designs and action poses and a DVD pitch reel with music, voice over and mini-action sequence.

I came up with the concept a  while ago, I was remembering that as a rebellious teen I used to think adults were mindless drones, a bunch of robots working slavishly to pay the bills. Then I thought, what if that really LITERALLY happened, that we when we reach adulthood we actually became mindless robots. What would we be in those years in between between being born human and being mechanized as an adult? Not a Robot or Android. Not a Cyborg, but something new entirely: a Mecha-Sapien (the perfect blending of man and machine, intertwined). This stage would be the teen years, still human enough to have free will, robotic enough to have fantastic powers. While it would be very cool to have amazing abilities, there would be dread realizing your humanity would be lost when you grow up. Stopping the transformation from fully completing and retaining your humanity would be fought for. When I decided to pitch it as an animated series, I asked colleagues Greg Guler and Greg Weisman to develop it with me. Greg Weisman insisted the series heroes not start as friends. Between Guler's strong designs and Weisman's masterful storytelling, we built a world with an evil plan taking place, a world being turned into a Mecha-Nation. A couple summers ago, we decided to show our animated series pitch to some investors to help us launch this as a animated web series. During that process, APE publisher David Hedgecock suggested to us putting Mecha-Nation out as a limited comic book series first. We partnered with APE and so far, we are thrilled with the results. The first issue looks great, Antonio Campo is illustrating the book and has captured the look and feel of our animation pitch. Written by Greg Weisman, expect plenty of backstory, relationships, mystery and action. Each issue will have two covers to choose from, Sean Galloway and Greg Guler are doing the covers.

CO: Did your work on Spectacular Spider-Man influence the style of this book?

VC: No. We had the character design style and overall storyline developed years before Spectacular Spider-Man. But Spidey did influence us asking Sean Galloway to draw covers for us. We enjoyed working with Sean on Spidey and wanted see his "Cheeks-ified" take on our characters for the covers.

CO: Can you give a brief overview of the characters?

VC: They are high school students: The New Kid, The Geek, The Rocker, The Art Chick, The Cheerleader. Being from different social clicks they normally wouldn't give each other the time of day, but they have in common being Mecha-Sapiens. Stealth, Blast, Tank, Charge, Fahrenheit. Each designed with a robotic function, specializing in a certain power. They have to band together to find out how to stop humanity from becoming a Mecha-Nation. But they still wont sit with each other during lunch period.

CO: What do you think has been your personal highlight of this series?

VC: There are many highlights. It's a lot of fun to create a bunch of super-beings from scratch. Collaborating with long time friends and colleagues Greg Guler and Greg Weisman.  Expanding our team with David Hedgecock, Antonio Campo and seeing the whole crew at APE share our passion for Mecha-Nation. Of course, a big highlight is seeing our idea come to life in comic book form.

The first issue of Mecha-Nation will arrive at your local comic shop on April 28, 2010.

Stay tuned to ComicsOnline for more information and exclusive interviews with the team from MECHA-NATION!



 

Top Five (03.04.09)

Kevin	Karl	Chelsea
Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Secret Warriors	Buffy the Vampire Slayer #23
Batman: Cacophony	Dark Reign: Fantastic Four	Authority #8
Secret Six #7	New Avengers Reunion	Batman Cacophony #3
Cable	Red Sonja She Devil With A Sword Annual	Secret Six #7
Daredevil	MILF Magnet (Tell me you're not intrigued)	Trinity #40
-Watchmen movie in theaters Friday 03-06-09 Counting down to 12 midnight!	-Wonder Woman DVD	-Seeing Watchmen early, wahoo!
Brennan	Michelle
Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Kabuki HC: Alchemy	Journal Tim Burton Tragic Thoughts Light Up Ed
Wolverine by Claremont and Miller	Fringe
The Boys	Grimm Fairy Tales
Deadpool	Honey and Clover
-Watchmen coming out in theaters!	-Watchmen

Every week, a member or celebrity guest will get invited to be our special guest, and submit their own Top Five plus one non-comic for the world to see. This week it's YOU! send us your picks!

Want to be our guest next week? Just Message us here! Want to let YOUR Top Five picks for this week be known? Just comment this story!

Top Five (12.04.08)

Kevin	Matt	Karl
JSA #21		Jingle Belle/ Santa Claus vs Frankenstein
Astounding Wolf Man		Marvels Eye of the Camera
Immortal Iron Fist		New Avengers
Nyx: No Way Home		She Hulk Comic Collision
X-Infernus #1 of 4		X-Men Noir
+The Spirit TPB vol 1	+	+1000 Record Covers
Chelsea Dee	Sarah	Camille
Authority #5	AUTHORITY #5	BLEACH vol. 25
JSA #21	ENDERS SHADOW BATTLE SCHOOL #1	Gaba Kawa
Terror Titans #3	BOYS CLUB #2	Legend of Zelda Vol 2
Eternals #6	MISKATONIC PROJECT HP LOVECRAFT WHISPERER IN THE DARKNESS	Nora Last Chronicle Of Devildom vol 2
New Exiles #15	CREEPY ARCHIVES VOL 02	Risers vol 1
+The Dark Knight on DVD this Tuesday! FUCK BATMAN COMICS AND GRANT MORRISON!	+FINAL FANTASY XII BALTHIER & FRAN SCULPTURE	+Blank Slate vol 2

Every week, a member or celebrity guest will get invited to be our special guest, and submit their own Top Five plus one non-comic for the world to see. This week, the lucky participant is one of ComicsOnline's newest contributors: Camille Spencer. Thanks, Camille!

Want to be our guest next week? Just Message us here! Want to let YOUR Top Five picks for this week be known? Just comment this story!

Top Five +1 (06.30.10)

The ComicsOnline Top Five +1 Returns! Our Top Five comics weekly post was a fan favorite when we started the site almost ten years ago, and now it's back again! Here are this weeks picks:

Kevin	Elliott	Terrence
Batman Beyond #1	Predators #4	Batman Beyond #1
Green Lantern #55	Superman War of the Supermen Double Feature #2	Flash #3
Invincible #73	Dragon Age #2	Secret Avengers #2
Astonishing X-Men #34	Marvel Zombies 5 #4	Green Lantern #55
Secret Avengers #2	Dante's Inferno	Justice League of America #46
+ Secret Warriors TPB vol 2: God of Fear, God of War	+ Sherlock Holmes HC Vol 2	+ Eaglemoss DC SuperHeroes: Black Canary Lead Figure

 

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