Friday, August 31, 2007

The Nightmare Factory - Reviews & Exclusives

On Monday we previewed a grip of exclusive pages over at IGN.com, and today (Friday) we're gonna blow it up even more with a big MySpace premiere! Keep watching this space for more details; I'll let you know when it's posted!

We're also starting to see some nice early reviews for The Nightmare Factory, in bookstores everywhere next week! Here's a good one:

"The horror scene in comics keeps getting better and better all the time and if Fox Comics and continue to put out fantastic titles like “The Nightmare Factory” they will be a force to be reckoned with…"
- mania.com (grade A- review)

Nice. More to follow!

Later

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

New Comics Day

In case you missed it, yesterday the fine folks over at IGN.com debuted a few exclusive interior pages from our upcoming graphic novel The Nightmare Factory. Head on over to http://comics.ign.com to check them out, or click over to our ‘pics’ if you happen to be on the Fox Atomic Comics MySpace profile (myspace.com/foxatomiccomics). Words can’t really express how happy I am with this book; the adaptations of Thomas Ligotti’s stories by Stuart Moore and Joe Harris are spot on, and the art by Colleen Doran, Ben Templesmith, Ted McKeever, and Michael Gaydos is nothing short of stunning. Check out those pages, and hang tight for more exclusive MySpace goodness at the end of the week!

My oh my – it’s New Comics Day once again! Seems like the weeks are falling like rain as of late. My picks for this week are below, but first here’re a few of the books that I enjoyed from last week’s pull list: BATMAN #668, BATMAN / LOBO DEADLY SERIOUS #1 (love that Sam Keith art, althou it all does end up looking like The Maxx), GREEN LANTERN CORPS #15 (still loving the Sinestro Corps arc), SUPERMAN #666 (this book was just… odd… but in such a good way), and HALO UPRISING #1 (granted, I am a Halo nut… let’s see a Bioshock comic now!)

And here’s what I will be grabbing at Comics Ink this eve:
CONAN #43
52 AFTERMATH THE FOUR HORSEMEN #1
ACTION COMICS #855
AMERICAN VIRGIN #18
BATMAN ANNUAL #26 HEAD OF THE DEMON (the origin of Ra’s!)
COUNTDOWN 35
COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE #1
EX MACHINA MASQUERADE SPECIAL
HELLBLAZER #234 (loving the current arc)
OUTSIDERS FIVE OF A KIND WEEK 5
TEEN TITANS #50
AMORY WARS #3
BRIT #1
MICE TEMPLAR #1
WALKING DEAD #41 (why are they suddenly spitting out these books every two weeks? Seems odd. Series is still boring me; I may drop it soon. GET THEM OUT OF THE DAMN PRISON! (please))
BLACK PANTHER #30
30 DAYS OF NIGHT EBEN & STELLA #4 (gotta say, the 30 days movie is looking sweet)
LOCAL #10 (love this series)

Later

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

The Nightmare Factory – IGN Exclusive Pages!

The fine folks over at the IGN.com Comics page have posted a few exclusive interior pages from our upcoming graphic novel The Nightmare Factory! If you’re visiting on Tuesday, head over to http://comics.ign.com to check ‘em out – you can’t miss the link! Let us know what you think of the pages, and more Nightmare Factory goodness to follow this week, including a bit more info on that horror movie we shot last week…

I’m also re-posting this from yesterday, mainly because I think it’s really damn cool. BLOODY-DISGUSTING.COM has posted a review of the 28 Weeks Later DVD, on which you can find animated versions of two of the stories from 28 Days Later: The Aftermath! I’m a big fan of these animatic animations that we’ve produced for our books… you may even see one for The Nightmare Factory!

From the BLOODY DISGUSTING review:
“The most intriguing features are two bonus short films. Essentially a Anamatic interpretations of the Fox Atomic’s 28 DAYS LATER Graphic Novels, the first, STAGE 1: DEVELOPMENT, is a 7-minute look at the history of the creation of the rage virus by Cambridge University scientists. The second, STAGE 3: DECIMATION is a much shorter look at a vigilante solider fighting a one-man war against the infected on the streets of London. The artwork, in a sometimes slick, sometimes sketched, comic book style along with the voice over narration provides for a very cool supplement and easily the best feature this DVD has to offer—aside from the film of course. These final two extras typify what great bonus materials should be—an extension of the film that enhances the viewing experience. I really hope we see more of this type of thing on future releases.”

Later

Monday, August 27, 2007

Coming Soon - The Nightmare Factory!

It’s a bit hard to believe, but our third graphic novel, The Nightmare Factory, releases next week! We’ll be pumping this book all throughout October (up until Halloween, naturally), and we kick things off with an EXCLUSIVE premiere this evening and through tomorrow on the main Comics page over at IGN.COM! I am quite pumped about this book, both as a company hack and a comics fan. Check out the art and let us know what you think! More goodies and reviews to follow later this week…

Also, those fine folks over at BLOODY-DISGUSTING.COM posted a review of the 28 Weeks Later DVD, on which you can find animated versions of two of the stories from 28 Days Later: The Aftermath! I’m a big fan of these animatic animations that we’ve produced for our books… you may even see one for The Nightmare Factory!

From the BLOODY DISGUSTING review:
“The most intriguing features are two bonus short films. Essentially a Anamatic interpretations of the Fox Atomic’s 28 DAYS LATER Graphic Novels, the first, STAGE 1: DEVELOPMENT, is a 7-minute look at the history of the creation of the rage virus by Cambridge University scientists. The second, STAGE 3: DECIMATION is a much shorter look at a vigilante solider fighting a one-man war against the infected on the streets of London. The artwork, in a sometimes slick, sometimes sketched, comic book style along with the voice over narration provides for a very cool supplement and easily the best feature this DVD has to offer—aside from the film of course. These final two extras typify what great bonus materials should be—an extension of the film that enhances the viewing experience. I really hope we see more of this type of thing on future releases.”

Anyone reading the Oni book "Mulptile Warheads"? I love it!

Later

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

New Comics Day – The Nightmare Factory Edition

Hello boys & girls – I have to make today’s entry a quick one since I’m shooting a horror short film tonight… but more on that later. We’re currently counting down the days until the release of The Nightmare Factory, our third graphic novel! We’ll be debuting a nice bit of the (incredible) art shortly, but to help familiarize you with the book here’s a bit of press release-goodness for you to chew on:

“In July 2006, Fox Atomic created a partnership with their sister company HarperCollins to publish and distribute branded graphic novels from Fox Atomic Comics. THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY (Harper Paperbacks/Fox Atomic Comics; $17.99; TP; ISBN 13: 9780061243530; on-sale: September 4, 2007), the third book to be released as part of this joint venture, is based on the work of Thomas Ligotti, a horror master for whom the New York Times coined the phrase “philosophical horror” to describe his groundbreaking work. With THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY, four of Ligotti’s most terrifying stories are adapted by four distinct writer/artist teams.

“In “The Last Feast of Harlequin,” writer Stuart Moore and artist Colleen Doran tell of an anthropologist’s journey into a surreal winter carnival, where he witnesses an ancient rite of human sacrifice to grotesque worm-like creatures. Ben Templesmith’s art accompanies Stuart Moore’s adaptation of “Dream of a Mannikin,” the story of a patient and psychiatrist bound together in a horrific dream. In “Doctor Locrian’s Asylum,” writer Joe Harris teams with artist Ted McKeever to bring to life a small town living in the shadow of a looming asylum with a monstrous past. And in the final story, Joe Harris and artist Michael Gaydos team up to adapt a strange urban legend that robs artists of their desire to create art when they’re confronted with horrible revelations. Each story is more terrifying than the next, and the talent assembled brings a new dimension to a legendary horror writer’s most chilling work.”

Man, I want to BUY that book! Oh wait… yea, I still wanna buy it.

Also, as you know Wednesday = New Comics Day, and my picks for this week are below. Of my pics from last week, I particularly enjoyed Booster Gold #1 (BUY IT NOW!), Hellblazer #235, Highwaymen #3, and the aforementioned Doktor Sleepless. So, without further ado, here’re this weeks pics:

BATMAN #668
BATMAN LOBO DEADLY SERIOUS #1
COUNTDOWN 36
GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE #4
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #15 (LOVE THE SINESTRO CORPS ARC)
JSA CLASSIFIED #29
OUTSIDERS FIVE OF A KIND WEEK 4
SUPERMAN #666 (NICE)
INVINCIBLE #45
REPO #3 (OF 5)
WALKING DEAD #40 (MUST ADMIT… THE SERIES IS STARTING TO BORE ME ZZZZZ)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #543
ASTONISHING X-MEN #22
CABLE DEADPOOL #44
HALO UPRISING #1
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #8
IRON MAN #21
THE ORDER #2
THUNDERBOLTS #116
WOLVERINE #56
X-MEN #202
GAMEKEEPER #4
NEXUS #99 SPACE OPERA
TANK GIRL THE GIFTING #3

Later

Monday, August 20, 2007

Monday Malaise Redux

Here we are again ­ another Monday. Another glorious day at Fox Atomic. A day at Fox Atomic is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! (Yes, I was watching Aliens this weekend, why do you ask?)

This past weekend was indeed a good one. And why is that, you wonder? For one simple reason: I didn¹t do squat except p0wning a few brats in Gears of War and got caught up on my reading.

One book really stood out in this weekend¹s read ­ Warren Ellis¹ new series Doktor Sleepless. I am admittedly a huge Ellis fan (do pick up his first novel, Crooked Little Vein), but Doktor Sleepless truly reminds me of my favorite Ellis series ever, Transmetropolitan. Granted the art in Doktor is far inferior to Transmet, but the overt sci-fi / real world hybrid setting coupled with a smartass lead both hearken back to the exploits of one Spider Jerusalem. Be sure to check it out!

Also, keep an eye out for more goodness from our next graphic novel, The Nightmare Factory, coming soon!

Later

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

New Comics Day!

Seriously, the week is flying by. Most people complain about ‘hump day’ (a phrase that always makes me twitter, primarily because my sense of humor is that of a middle school-age boy), but not I. Nay, New Comics Day is almost as good as Friday, and no Wednesday would be complete without a list of the books that I will be picking up this week!

Before I launch into the picks, however, I wanted to send a special shout-out to both Geoff Johns and Jeff Katz on the debut of Booster Gold #1! From what I’ve heard this book promises to be a fun ride that ties into DC continuity (and rewards the hardcore fans who really know their stuff), all anchored by, IMHO, one of the strongest characters in the uni/multiverse. Congrats you two! Go buy this book!

Also, on the Fox Atomic front, keep your eyes peeled for more info and art from our next graphic novel, The Nightmare Factory, which drops September 4th!

And now, without further ado, here's what I will be picking up this evening at that comics place over by the Sony lot (man, I'm bad with names):

ACTION COMICS #854
ARMY @ LOVE #6 (MR)
BOOSTER GOLD #1 (naturally)
CHECKMATE #17
COUNTDOWN 37
FLASH #231
HELLBLAZER #235 (read this book!)
HIGHWAYMEN #3 (I’m digging this book too… lotsa fun)
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12
OUTSIDERS FIVE OF A KIND WEEK 3
SPAWN #170 (I’ve said it before… Spawn is good again!)
SUPERMAN BATMAN #39
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #23 (final ish before things get... interesting... hmmm....)
NEW X-MEN #41
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #112
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #16 (love me that Steve Dillon art)

That's it for now. I'm off to the races.

Later

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Tuesday Malaise

So it’s Tuesday. I’m currently sitting in my geeked-out office, blasting a little Bloc Party (Weekend in the City)… much to the chagrin of my Atomic neighbors I’m sure… and trying to come up with a proper blog topic for today. Let’s poke around the stuff lying on my desk shall we? You should see my desk, by the by – ‘Lieb’s Law of Physics’ states that any horizontal surface is soon piled up, so it always looks like Dresden during WWII…

Here we go…

Hmm…

- New Tank Girl series from IDW rocks (love that Ashley Wood – he did the cover for our upcoming Nightmare Factory graphic novel, by the by. I can’t resist the chance to pimp!)
- Faker from Vertigo… haven’t read yet, but love that Jock art
- Immortal Iron Fist #8 – that Matt Fraction is a good egg
- Runaways… I f-ing LOVE Runaways
- A NextWave: Agents of Hate TPB. Perhaps my favorite Ellis series since TransMet
- Punisher #50 – perhaps my favorite Tim Bradstreet cover in a long time, and that’s saying a lot since everything he does is pure gold
- Paul Pope’s THB: Comics from Mars #1. Here we go – Paul Pope. If you are unfamiliar with this gentleman, go pick up the 100% and Heavy Liquid trades RIGHT NOW. I often prefer black and white to color finishes, and suffice to say that Paul’s art SHINES in black and white.

That’ll do it for now. I’ve got some calls to make so I can jet out at a half decent hour. Also my crappy computer is about to crash anyway… there’s a reason I bring in my Macbook to work ;)

Later skaters

Monday, August 13, 2007

Countdown…

I’m not talking about the DC Countdown (which I am really digging, by the by) – nay, I refer to the countdown to Fox Atomic’s third graphic novel, The Nightmare Factory! It’s our first ‘original’ book, and having gotten the VERY first printed copy today I can attest that it kicks all sorts of butt. The art is beautiful, with some amazing work by Ben Templesmith, Ted McKeever, Colleen Doran, and Michael Gaydos. The Nightmare Factory releases in early September (timed to Halloween, naturally), so be sure to pick one or ten up for those horror freaks in your life. More info, reviews, and other goodness to follow!

Also, if you haven’t been reading Andy Diggle’s current run on Hellblazer I HIGHLY recommend that you correct that oversight post haste.

Later

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

New Comics Day - Post Comic-Con Edition!

I tell you what, digging out from under the pile of work that was waiting for me post Comic-Con has been rather daunting, to say the least. I walked into my office after having been in San Diego for a week and I swear the tower of papers in my inbox had clouds floating by at the top. The pile also suspiciously resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but sadly it collapsed before I could snap a picture. Three interns were killed.

Anyway, I digress. I will be back to regular postings shortly, but as we all know today is that glorious day known as New Comics Day! If I get out of the office at a decent hour here’s what I will be picking up this week:

ALSO – be sure to pick up the eagerly-awaited BAD PLANET #2 today, from those fine folks at RAW:

BATMAN #667
BLACK ADAM THE DARK AGE #1
COUNTDOWN 38 (I’M STICKING WITH COUNTDOWN… FOR NOW…)
DMZ #22
FABLES #64
GEN 13 #11
GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE #3 (LOVE ME THAT JOCK ART)
GREEN LANTERN #22
JACK OF FABLES #13
JLA CLASSIFIED #41
UN-MEN #1
BAD PLANET #2
CASANOVA #8
CRIMINAL #8
DAREDEVIL
ESSENTIAL DAZZLER (I AM NOT PICKING THIS UP… WTF?!?!)
EXILES #97
NEW AVENGERS #33
OMEGA FLIGHT #5
POWERS #25
X-FACTOR #22
AMERICAN WASTELAND BLOOD & DIESEL #2
BLACK METAL VOL 1

Later

Friday, August 3, 2007

Comic-Con in the Rear View

What a show. It feels as if I have been muttering those words ever since Monday. What a show. Between the set-up for our booth, running the bloody booth, meetings, reunions, seeing old friends, meeting new friends, the parties, the parties, the parties, tear down for said booth, ad infinitum, needless to say it was a week for the ages. Then again, it's Comic-Con.

We had a great time at the show, and also hosted some really fun signings at our booth featuring the likes of Kevin Bacon, Saw director James Wan, Steve Niles, Tim Bradstreet, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, Henry Rollins, Ben Templesmith, Futurama voice talent, and more. We captured a number of these signings on video and streamed them live over the Intraweb; if you missed the live stream be sure to check out the archived videos in the player below.

Also, to see more pics from the show check out our Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxatomic/

More next week once my brain returns.

Later