Titans – GO!

This announcement made me all geeky today… if they include Nightwing I’ll be one happy camper indeed.

CHECK IT OUT!

Later

New Comics Day

It’s Wednesday… that means it’s New Comics Day. Here’s what I will be picking up this evening:

ACTION COMICS #850
COUNTDOWN 48
DEADMAN #10
GREEN LANTERN #20
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #6
NEGATIVE BURN #11
SPAWN GODSLAYER #1 (Yes, Spawn, I know. Don’t give me any crap)
DAREDEVIL #97
NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #3
NEW EXCALIBUR #20
WOLVERINE #54

What are you gonna pick up? Let me know; leave a comment below.

Later

Two Great Ways to Start the Week

Last Friday I posted a blurb about the big Star Wars Celebration convention that happened this past weekend in Los Angeles. Two of the coolest things I have seen in a long time came out of that con; check the links and geek out a bit. Enjoy.

CLONE WARS TRAILER!
SLAVE GIRL LEIA(S)… drool…

Later

Let Us Bow Our Heads

Thirty years ago TODAY, the original Star Wars was released (I refuse to call it ‘A New Hope’). Wow.

Who’s heading to CELEBRATION in LA this weekend?

Later

A Factory of Nightmares

Forgive the brevity of today’s post, but your fearless EIC is currently immersed in putting the final touches on The Nightmare Factory graphic novel! Let me tell you that I am extremely happy at how this one is coming together; the stories are extremely creepy, and the art is astonishingly beautiful. Head on over to THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY page to learn more, and watch for some final pages very soon…

Later

New Comics Day!

Yes oh yes, dear brothers and sisters, today is that weekly overload of joyousness known as New Comics Day! My picks for this week are as follows:

AMERICAN VIRGIN #15
COUNTDOWN 49
HELLBLAZER #232
SUPERMAN BATMAN #35
CAPTAIN AMERICA #26
CRIMINAL #6
HEROES FOR HIRE #10
NEWUNIVERSAL #6
STAR TREK KLINGONS BLOOD WILL TELL #2

What are you picking up this week? Let me know below!

Later

Runaways

I’m going to use today’s blog to pimp a book that I truly love: Marvel’s Runaways. If you have yet to check out this series I highly recommend that you jump on now, as the series is now two issues into the new arc written by famed creator Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly). In a nutshell, the book began with a group of super-powered teens who discovered their parents were all secretly super-villains, and since then has moved onto the teens forming a group to fight evil. The book was created by one of my fav writers Brian K. Vaughan, and it’s been interesting to watch the series evolve as Joss takes over. I’m always a proponent of good writing and good characters, both of which this book has in spades!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Later

Marvel VS DC

Check out this video; it's a great comics-related/geeky send-up of those (annoying) Mac/PC commericals. Go give it a look - I'll wait here.

CLICK IT

Later

Weekend of Horrors

Today’s post isn’t 100% comics-related, but my geek heart is all a-twitter for this weekend because it’s the annual Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in scenic Burbank! There will be some amazing guests (check out THIS LINK for the full list), and give me a shout if you plan to be in attendance as well (I’ll be there with the crew on Saturday).

Bringing things back full circle, it goes without saying that many of the biggest names in the horror/sci-fi world are comics fans. What I think is cool is how many of these people are actually producing their own comics! From the aforementioned RAW Studios (movie star Thomas Jane), whose titles include Bad Planet and the current Alien Pig Farm (which I love) to rocker/filmmaker Rob Zombie, these talented folks are transcending their respective mediums to produce comics they truly love. Gotta love that passion.

Later

WEEKLY COMIX PICKS

Yesterday was the weekly bacchanal of geekdom known as New Comics Day, and below are my picks for this week. However, before you peruse the list, please allow me to editorialize a bit on two comics that have caught my attention of late: Alien Pig Farm and All Star Batman #5.

Alien Pig Farm is the latest creation from those crazy dastards over at Raw Studios (Thomas Jane, Steve Niles, Tim Bradstreet), written by Todd Farmer (no, not Todd Parker… points to anyone who got the Boogie Nights reference thou). Any comic that begins with, “best throw back some moonshine and kiss yer sister on the mouth” earns my instant love and adoration. Go pick up this book!

All Star Batman, thou, has definitely polarized the comics community. Some people love it, others hate it. I, for one, buck what seems to be the current trend: I LOVE All-Star Batman. Why? Simple: Batman is an insane, child-kidnapping (Robin) reprobate, with nary a thought to his violent actions. This is a Batman that we have never seen before… and if anyone can re-invent Batman, it’s Frank Miller. ‘Nuff said on that subject, onto the picks:

ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER #5
ARMY @ LOVE #3
BATMAN #665 (WONDER WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN IN ISH #666??)
CHECKMATE #14
COUNTDOWN 50 (I AM DIGGING COUNTDOWN)
EX MACHINA #28
FABLES #61
FRANK FRAZETTAS DEATH DEALER #2
ULTIMATES 2 #13 (FINALLY! FEELS LIKE THIS BOOK HAS TAKEN YEARS. LITERALLY.)
30 DAYS OF NIGHT EBEN & STELLA #1
HIGHLANDER #7
LOCAL #9 (AGAIN, FINALLY! I LOVE THIS SERIES)
PAINKILLER JANE #1

Later

PS - If you missed Steve Niles’ interview, then be sure to check out yesterday’s blog!

#1 Horror Movie in America!

Normally today I would give you my comics picks for the week, being that it's Wednesday. I say thee nay! No, in celebration of the #1 horror movie in America, 28 Weeks Later, as well as the 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel, below are a few questions sent in by our intrepid readers that Mr. Steve Niles was kind enough to answer. Enjoy!

1. What was it like working with start-up Fox Atomic Comics and being the first graphic novel to be released by the label?
Submitted by: Miki

>>I had a great experience working with Fox Atomic Comics. I’ve worked with a couple start-ups the last few years and more often then not it ends in disaster due to inexperience or whatever. Fox was totally professional, cool and accommodating and I’m honored to be part of their launch.

2. What do you feel makes 28 Days Later (the movie) so different from the rest of the "zombie genre"? What attracted you to do this story?
Submitted by: Keith

>>Okay, let’s talk about this whole zombie thing. I know a lot of people think of 28 Days Later as a zombie flick, but the one key difference is that the Infected in Days don’t die and then get back up. They get sick and rot until they fall apart. And they don’t eat folks they just beat them relentlessly. Starving to death and violent? Sounds like Naomi Campbell (Boooo! Get off the stage!!) What was the question? Oh yeah…what attracted me. Honestly? The chance to work with Fox and Lieb. Working from the concept created by Danny Boyle was just icing on the cake.

3. What did you set out to accomplish with the graphic novel?
Submitted by: Bob

>>Two things really; I wanted to create something that helped bridge the two films, but I also wanted to make sure I didn’t just regurgitate the original. I really wanted to make sure readers got something new that added to the movie experience and stood on it’s own at the same time.

4. What is your favorite part of the novel?
Submitted by: Jonathan
>>I have one for each artist actually. In Dennis’s, the shot of Warren holding he brain spattered fire extinguisher. In Diego’s I’m torn between the monkey attack and the blood vomit fountain. That sh*t is just so over the top and horrifying you gotta love it. In Nat’s…well I love everything Nat did but those survivor costumes were freakin’ perfect!


5. What are your thoughts on the current state of the comic book/graphic novel publishing industry, and do you (or how do you) see it changing over the next few years with movies based on stories (like Sin City and 300) doing so well in the box office?
Submitted by: No Name

>>The comic industry is struggling a bit. We’ve lost a lot of readers to videogames and a general lack of growth in the medium, but I think there are a lot of great things yet to happen. For as long as comics have been around it feels like people are just now looking beyond men-in-leotards and seeing the true potential and Hollywood’s sudden attention is just proof of that. I love comics so I’m thrilled that it is now being seen as a viable source for material. It certainly makes sense. For years Hollywood shopped only novels and a lot of good novels (Stephen King!) got shredded being filmed. There’s four movies in most novels so people wound up cutting and squeezing. Comics aren’t like that.


6. What are you working on now? What’s next?
Submitted by: Aces

>>30 Days of Night is going to be coming out this October so I’m working with IDW and Bill Sienkiewicz on a new, very different comic series called Beyond Barrow. I am also doing Criminal Macabre with Nick Stakal and City of Others with Bernie Wrightson. Both at Dark Horse. I also have projects coming with Steve Rude, Gris Grimly, Scott Hampton (Simon Dark for DC!), Ben Roman and Ashley Wood. I am extremely sleepy, but having way too much fun to slow down.

There we go! Thanks again to Steve, and be sure to check out 28 Weeks Later (in theaters everywhere NOW) and go buy the 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel.

Later

PS - Yes, Virginia, this is ANOTHER re-post, but I wanted to make sure people see it! Comics pics on the morrow.

Steve Niles Answers Your Questions!

Hey everybody – last week we put the call out for any questions that you had for Mr. Steve Niles, and we got some great ones! So, in honor of the release of the #1 HORROR MOVIE IN AMERICA, 28 Weeks Later, here we go:

1. What was it like working with start-up Fox Atomic Comics and being the first graphic novel to be released by the label?
Submitted by: Miki

>>I had a great experience working with Fox Atomic Comics. I’ve worked with a couple start-ups the last few years and more often then not it ends in disaster due to inexperience or whatever. Fox was totally professional, cool and accommodating and I’m honored to be part of their launch.

2. What do you feel makes 28 Days Later (the movie) so different from the rest of the "zombie genre"? What attracted you to do this story?
Submitted by: Keith

>>Okay, let’s talk about this whole zombie thing. I know a lot of people think of 28 Days Later as a zombie flick, but the one key difference is that the Infected in Days don’t die and then get back up. They get sick and rot until they fall apart. And they don’t eat folks they just beat them relentlessly. Starving to death and violent? Sounds like Naomi Campbell (Boooo! Get off the stage!!) What was the question? Oh yeah…what attracted me. Honestly? The chance to work with Fox and Lieb. Working from the concept created by Danny Boyle was just icing on the cake.

3. What did you set out to accomplish with the graphic novel?
Submitted by: Bob

>>Two things really; I wanted to create something that helped bridge the two films, but I also wanted to make sure I didn’t just regurgitate the original. I really wanted to make sure readers got something new that added to the movie experience and stood on it’s own at the same time.

4. What is your favorite part of the novel?
Submitted by: Jonathan
>>I have one for each artist actually. In Dennis’s, the shot of Warren holding he brain spattered fire extinguisher. In Diego’s I’m torn between the monkey attack and the blood vomit fountain. That sh*t is just so over the top and horrifying you gotta love it. In Nat’s…well I love everything Nat did but those survivor costumes were freakin’ perfect!


5. What are your thoughts on the current state of the comic book/graphic novel publishing industry, and do you (or how do you) see it changing over the next few years with movies based on stories (like Sin City and 300) doing so well in the box office?
Submitted by: No Name

>>The comic industry is struggling a bit. We’ve lost a lot of readers to videogames and a general lack of growth in the medium, but I think there are a lot of great things yet to happen. For as long as comics have been around it feels like people are just now looking beyond men-in-leotards and seeing the true potential and Hollywood’s sudden attention is just proof of that. I love comics so I’m thrilled that it is now being seen as a viable source for material. It certainly makes sense. For years Hollywood shopped only novels and a lot of good novels (Stephen King!) got shredded being filmed. There’s four movies in most novels so people wound up cutting and squeezing. Comics aren’t like that.


6. What are you working on now? What’s next?
Submitted by: Aces

>>30 Days of Night is going to be coming out this October so I’m working with IDW and Bill Sienkiewicz on a new, very different comic series called Beyond Barrow. I am also doing Criminal Macabre with Nick Stakal and City of Others with Bernie Wrightson. Both at Dark Horse. I also have projects coming with Steve Rude, Gris Grimly, Scott Hampton (Simon Dark for DC!), Ben Roman and Ashley Wood. I am extremely sleepy, but having way too much fun to slow down.

There we go! Thanks again to Steve, and be sure to check out 28 Weeks Later (in theaters everywhere NOW) and go buy the 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel.

Later

PS - we had some tech issues yesterday, so yes, Virginia, this is a re-post.

Steve Niles Answers Your Questions!

Hey everybody – last week we put the call out for any questions that you had for Mr. Steve Niles, and we got some great ones! So, in honor of the release of 28 Weeks Later, here we go:

1. What was it like working with start-up Fox Atomic Comics and being the first graphic novel to be released by the label?
Submitted by: Miki

>>I had a great experience working with Fox Atomic Comics. I’ve worked with a couple start-ups the last few years and more often then not it ends in disaster due to inexperience or whatever. Fox was totally professional, cool and accommodating and I’m honored to be part of their launch.

2. What do you feel makes 28 Days Later (the movie) so different from the rest of the "zombie genre"? What attracted you to do this story?
Submitted by: Keith

>>Okay, let’s talk about this whole zombie thing. I know a lot of people think of 28 Days Later as a zombie flick, but the one key difference is that the Infected in Days don’t die and then get back up. They get sick and rot until they fall apart. And they don’t eat folks they just beat them relentlessly. Starving to death and violent? Sounds like Naomi Campbell (Boooo! Get off the stage!!) What was the question? Oh yeah…what attracted me. Honestly? The chance to work with Fox and Lieb. Working from the concept created by Danny Boyle was just icing on the cake.

3. What did you set out to accomplish with the graphic novel?
Submitted by: Bob

>>Two things really; I wanted to create something that helped bridge the two films, but I also wanted to make sure I didn’t just regurgitate the original. I really wanted to make sure readers got something new that added to the movie experience and stood on it’s own at the same time.

4. What is your favorite part of the novel?
Submitted by: Jonathan
>>I have one for each artist actually. In Dennis’s, the shot of Warren holding he brain spattered fire extinguisher. In Diego’s I’m torn between the monkey attack and the blood vomit fountain. That sh*t is just so over the top and horrifying you gotta love it. In Nat’s…well I love everything Nat did but those survivor costumes were freakin’ perfect!


5. What are your thoughts on the current state of the comic book/graphic novel publishing industry, and do you (or how do you) see it changing over the next few years with movies based on stories (like Sin City and 300) doing so well in the box office?
Submitted by: No Name

>>The comic industry is struggling a bit. We’ve lost a lot of readers to videogames and a general lack of growth in the medium, but I think there are a lot of great things yet to happen. For as long as comics have been around it feels like people are just now looking beyond men-in-leotards and seeing the true potential and Hollywood’s sudden attention is just proof of that. I love comics so I’m thrilled that it is now being seen as a viable source for material. It certainly makes sense. For years Hollywood shopped only novels and a lot of good novels (Stephen King!) got shredded being filmed. There’s four movies in most novels so people wound up cutting and squeezing. Comics aren’t like that.


6. What are you working on now? What’s next?
Submitted by: Aces

>>30 Days of Night is going to be coming out this October so I’m working with IDW and Bill Sienkiewicz on a new, very different comic series called Beyond Barrow. I am also doing Criminal Macabre with Nick Stakal and City of Others with Bernie Wrightson. Both at Dark Horse. I also have projects coming with Steve Rude, Gris Grimly, Scott Hampton (Simon Dark for DC!), Ben Roman and Ashley Wood. I am extremely sleepy, but having way too much fun to slow down.

There we go! Thanks again to Steve, and be sure to check out 28 Weeks Later (in theaters everywhere NOW) and go buy the 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel.

Later

Let The Countdown Begin!

And by Countdown, I'm not referring to DC's Countdown (I know there are some geeks out there, like me, who would make that assumption :). No, I refer to the countdown to Friday's release of 28 Weeks Later! I have seen the film no less than six times already, and I can attest (again, as a geek) that the movie really delivers. While you wait, be sure to pick up the 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel!

Speaking of, I spent Saturday (Free Comic Book Day) at an in-store signing with Niles, Bernie Writghtson, and a few other cats at Dark Delicacies in lovely, scenic Burbank. We had a great turnout, and the place looked great! The only downside was the fact that I felt compelled to buy WAY more books then I'm sure I will ever read. Oh well! Pictures of the event to follow, by the by...

Later

PS - Dread Central posted a really fun report from a 28 Weeks Later set visit that I also attended - check it out HERE

Free Comic Book Day & Niles Signing!

If you live in the LA area, Steve Niles will be signing copies of the 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel at horror bookstore extraordinaire Dark Delicacies (4213 W Burbank Blvd, 818-556-6660) THIS Saturday, starting at 2:00 PM! Stop by to meet the man and get your copy personalized (yours truly will be on-hand as well)!

As you may or may not know, Saturday is also the annual bacchanal (of a sort) known as Free Comic Book Day! Head on over to your friendly neighborhood comic book store to get a free comic, and while you’re there be sure to pick one or three copies of the epic 28 Days Later: The Aftermath graphic novel (yes, I am a shameless pimp of all things Fox Atomic).

Oh, and some film called ‘Spider-Man 3’ opens today. I’m not making a big deal out of it because Sony has spent about a gazillion dollars drilling it into your head, and if you didn’t know the film was opening today you probably live in a cave and don’t have access to the Intraweb anyway.

Later

52

SPOILER ALERT (if you care about DC continuity and haven’t read 52, stop now!)

Ok, now that you're here, one more warning: this post is going to be extra nerdy. Still with me? OK, here we go... the Multiverse is back!!! DC’s epic, year-long series ‘52’ wrapped up this week, and I must confess that I am absolutely geeking out over the return of the Multiverse.

Some of you who have meandered over from the Movies page may be asking, “Multiverse? What the HELL is he talking about?!” Allow me to digress for a moment. For those unaware, by the mid-80s the DC Comics universe had become a very confusing place. Due to a number of factors, including storylines from characters such as Superman and Batman that had been ongoing since the 1930s, the acquisition of rival publishing companies such as Fawcett, etc, DC continuity was fractured amongst multiple, parallel-universe versions of Earth (Earth-1, Earth-2, etc). These Earths existed in parallel dimensions (crossover was possible), but you truly had to have an encyclopedic knowledge of DC history to understand everything that was going on. 1985’s landmark ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ undid the Multiverse and merged the entire continuity onto one Earth/universe, killing LOTS of people in the process.

And now, with the conclusion of 52, the Multiverse is back! I’m excited about this because, as a concept, I think the idea of parallel universes is one that lends itself very well to a continuity as rich and historic as DC’s. Since each Earth has it’s own iteration of Batman, Superman, etc (including Earth-3’s EVIL versions of these characters), writers will be free to take more risks and experiment with otherwise staid and stalwart characters. If a new character doesn’t work, just toss him onto one of the loser Earths.

My personal congrats to DC – great job on 52!

New Comics Day!

Those of you who are faithful readers of this blog (hi Momma Lieb!) know that I look forward to each and every Wednesday because this… is… New Comics Day! This particular hump day has me especially excited, as a number of cool releases are on the docket: the final issue of DC’s year-long epic 52, Bernie and Steve’s City of Others #2, Stephen King’s Dark Tower/Gunslinger Born #4, Runaways, the Runaways spin-off Loners, Marvel Zombies / Army of Darkness (GEEK OUT), Alien Pig Farm #1, and many more (my full list is below, as always). I have a lot to read tonight… looks like no Guitar Hero 2 for me!

Here’s what I will be picking up at Hi-De-Ho tonight:

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #3
CITY OF OTHERS #2
100 BULLETS #83
52 WEEK #52
AMERICAN VIRGIN #14
CHECKMATE #13
DETECTIVE COMICS #832
EXTERMINATORS #17
GREEN LANTERN #19
JONAH HEX #19
MIDNIGHTER #7
SUPERMAN #662
ALIEN PIG FARM #1
SPAWN #167 (I can’t believe I’m reading SPAWN again!)
ASTONISHING X-MEN #21
DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN #4
LONERS #2
MARVEL ZOMBIES ARMY OF DARKNESS #3
OMEGA FLIGHT #2
PUNISHER #47
RUNAWAYS #26

Later

Musings - The Game Keeper

In addition to running comics reviews from time to time, I also plan to use this space to muse about comics that pique my interest (as much as I like talking about Fox Atomic / Fox Atomic Comics, one must switch topics of conversation every now and again). Today I would like to muse upon The Game Keeper, a recent release from the nascent Virgin Comics group.

The game keeper pairs filmmaker Guy Ritchie (whose early films I enjoy quite a bit) with comics writer Andy Diggle (who is currently writing one of my favorite books, Hellblazer). This book has a fairly typical set-up: we are introduced to a mysterious Chechen groundskeeper (the titular ‘Game Keeper’) on a Scottish farm run by a wealthy old man that, for some reason, is taking in and training run away children for an unknown purpose. At the end of the story the farm is attacked, and we begin to see that the Grounds Keeper is more than he seems… While I enjoyed the premise as well as the art, what made me laugh was overall the story has a particularly ‘Young Guns in Scotland’ feel (it’s all there; the Terence Stamp character, the ‘runaways’ as the Young Guns, etc etc). Regardless, I’m very curious to see where the story goes from here. The marketing materials are billing this as the ‘anti-Bond’, something that also piques the interest.

Ok, back to Fox Atomic Comics. Be sure to check out these reviews for 28 Days Later: The Aftermath!

AINT IT COOL NEWS REVIEW
FANGORIA REVIEW
JOBLO.COM REVIEW
COMIXTREME.COM REVIEW
DREAD CENTRAL REVIEW
STEVE NILES' GUEST BLOG ON MANIA.COM (NOT A REVIEW, PER SE, BUT A FUN READ NONETHELESS)

Later