Comic Nation

DANIEL JOHNSTON’S SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS FROM BOOM! TOWN IN APRIL

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BOOM! Town and Wieden + Kennedy Entertainment bring world-famous underground musician and artist Daniel Johnston to comics this April with his new graphic novel SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS.

A celebrated musician and recording artist with a 30-year career that includes over 20 albums — including covers by Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips, Tom Waits, Beck, and TV on the Radio — Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” which won the Sundance Film Festival Director’s Award. His drawings and paintings have hung in art galleries and museums across the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art. Johnston rocketed to global notoriety in the early 1990s when album artwork from his “Hi, How Are You?” record was featured on a t-shirt worn by Kurt Cobain at the height of Nirvana’s exploding popularity.

SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS is Johnston’s debut graphic novel. Johnston, a long-time and dedicated fan of comic books, realizes his life-long dream of being a comic book artist with this release.

SPACE DUCKS is more than just a graphic novel, it’s a one-of-a-kind interactive comic book experience, complimented by the Space Ducks album and iOS App. The companion app will virtually take readers through Daniel’s Outer-Space world of Ducks and Devils, with games to play, surprising voices from different talents, animations and videos from the comic book, links to exciting new Space Ducks merchandise, and a slew of Easter eggs, including contributions from some of the critically-acclaimed musicians who number amongst Daniel’s biggest fans. The app will also debut Daniel Johnston’s first new album since 2009.

On March 13th, in Austin Texas, SPACE DUCKS launches at SXSW with a show and invite-only, launch party, including headliners Built to Spill, along with Daniel Johnston and many more.

“This is another instance of bringing it all back home for me personally because I’m a native of San Antonio and went to school in Austin,” says Ross Richie, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BOOM! Studios. “Daniel is a fixture of the central Texas music scene and an international symbol of the unique creativity the region offers. Getting a chance to work with a seminal voice like Daniel is exactly why I got into publishing in the first place.”

SPACE DUCKS follows a banner first year of publishing for BOOM! Studios’ lit comix imprint, BOOM! Town, which saw Shannon Wheeler win an Eisner Award for his work I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE FUNNIER. BOOM! Studios is enjoying back-to-back “Best Publisher” awards from Diamond Comic Distributors for 2009 and 2010.

SPACE DUCKS: AN INFINITE COMIC BOOK OF MUSICAL GREATNESS, written and drawn by Daniel Johnston, will ship this April. This title features 96 pages of story and carries a price point of $19.99 and a Diamond code of FEB120868.

The Caption Box Podcast 22: Artist Alley’s Sky Is Falling

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Rob Base and Juan C Pineda are joined by Comic book artists Reilly Brown, Simon Fraser and Jamal Igle as they talk about the affect Gary Friedrich’s lawsuit against Marvel has on the current artist scenes.

[podcast]http://media.alternativemindz.com/mp3/CaptionBox/22_caption_box_podcast_Artist_Alleys_Sky_Is_Falling_02242012.mp3[/podcast]

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Review-Usagi Yojimbo # 144

Rob 2 Comments

By Alex Vazquez

Usagi Yojimbo # 144 presents the satisfying conclusion to the ‘Shoyu’ two-parter. As predicted, the action ramps up and the katanas fly.

As a new reader of this series I find Stan Sakai’s art endearing — it’s like Charles M. Shulz meets Goseki Kojima (Lone Wolf and Cub). There is a lot of swordplay, as one would expect from a series about a Ronin (masterless Samurai). However, don’t expect to see any blood in this kid-friendly series. With that said, Usagi still eff’s up his enemy’s with extreme prejudice.

Mr. Sakai also wraps up the story nicely; the villain gets his comeuppance and Usagi is there to give a fitting one-liner. While this story follows the tropes of a jidaigeki (Japanese historical drama) to a tee, it does so with style and class.

I’m looking forward to what trouble Usagi-san gets into next issue. Until then, pour that soy sauce and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Alex on Twitter @Net_Lex

Review-Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago Volume 5 TPB

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By Robert Greenwood

From Dark Horse Comics:

The classic-era Star Wars adventures conclude in this fifth and final volume of Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago. . . .All your favorite characters are here-Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewie, the droids, and more! With nearly six hundred pages of material, this massive omnibus collects Marvel Comics’ Star Wars #86-#107, their final US-published issues! * Stories from the classic era of the original Star Wars films! Giant 568-page omnibus!

http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/300/18/18750.jpg

 

Star Wars Omnibus: A long Time Ago Volume 5 collection finishes up the remainder of the “Marvel” comics run on the Star Wars franchise. It collects issues
86 -107 as if these traded collections of one of the worlds greatest franchises needed to be sold on. First off, to get your tastes buds going, this set houses what some fans would argue as unique in the Star Wars Mythology characters (that would never have existed outside the realm of comics) are all here. The lover affair of Han and Leia continue and we even get Lando acting as cool as the other side of the pillow. Boba Fett and many of the films back characters are also very well represented.

If there is a negative, it would be these collected issues were published in the early 80s and sometimes the art doesn’t resemble the actors themselves. But if that’s a complaint then there’s truly no reason to fret. If you are a die hard Star Wars fan, then you need this trade. If your just finding out about Star Wars, go and grab all the trades and read them with simple enjoyment. On a scale of Alderaan and Death Star this is 7 energy beam blasts out of 10. (and Boom goes Alderaan)

Detail specs:  Writer: Various Artist: Various Genre: Star Wars, Science-Fiction, Action/Adventure Publication Date: February 08, 2012 Format: FC, 568 pages, TPB, 6″ x 9″

Price: $24.99 Age range: 12 ISBN-10: 1-59582-801-X ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-801-9
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AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER—THE PROMISE PART 1 TOPS BOOKSCAN AT #1!

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In an amazing show of demand for Dark Horse’s newest graphic novel, Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 1 soared to the top of the Bookscan charts last week!

Written by Gene Luen Yang, author of the National Book Award-nominated American Born Chinese, Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part 1 marks the continuation of Airbender and the link to its upcoming sequel, Legend of Korra!

Ever since the conclusion of Avatar: The Last Airbender, its millions of fans have been hungry for more–and it’s finally here!  This series rejoins Aang and friends for exciting new adventures, beginning with a faceoff against the Fire Nation that threatens to throw the world into another war, testing all of Aang’s powers and ingenuity!

Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 1 is a must-have for any Airbender fan! This is the latest release in an ongoing partnership between Nickelodeon and Dark Horse to bring you the very best in Airbender books.

Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 1 is on sale now!

Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Promise Part 2 is on sale May 30th

BOOM! STUDIOS LAUNCHES FANBOYS VS ZOMBIES THIS APRIL

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ALL-NEW ORIGINAL ONGOING SERIES
FULL FIRST ISSUE
ONLY $1
CGC-graded HUMBERTO RAMOS 9.8 variant
only available 1-in-200!

When there is no more room in Hell, the undead shall take over Comic-Con! It’s every zombie fan’s wish fulfillment in comic book form this April in the epic new title from BOOM! Studios — FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES #1 written by indie sensation Sam Humphries (OUR LOVE IS REAL, SACRIFICE) with art by hot newcomer Jerry Gaylord! BOOM! Studios offers the first full 22-page issue of this brand new horror-comedy ongoing series for only $1!

A crew of feuding best friends find themselves trapped inside America’s largest comic convention transformed into a seething cauldron of zombies. Is a horde of starving brain-eaters any match against reflexes battle-hardened by video games, nerves tested by horror flicks, and courage crystallized by comic books? Find out as an unlikely band of nerds use their genre savvy to survive in Fanboys vs. Zombies!

“FVZ is the UFC of nerd battles,” says writer Sam Humphries. “Hall H is going to be turned into an action/horror/comedy abattoir. I’ve been going to San Diego Comic Con for ten years. Plenty of time to formulate a zombie apocalypse getaway AND a plan for total Comic Con devastation. It is going to be so on.”

“This is the real ‘Revenge of The Nerds’,” says BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon.  “It’s a fun story where nerds really do get to save the day. All the skills these characters have honed in the geek world finally get to be used in real life.”

“With the full first issue priced at only $1, you better grab your zombie escape plan and get down to your local comic shop!,” says BOOM! Studios Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ross Richie. “This is a book for everyone in the tradition of great zombie fiction like SHAUN OF THE DEAD!” Title ships in April with main covers in a 30/30/30/10 split by Humberto Ramos (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN), Alé Garza (FATHOM), Khary Randolph (NEW MUTANTS, SPAWN), and Matteo Scalera (DEADPOOL), a 1-in-25 wrap around “Where’s the zombie?” incentive by Ulises Farinas, a 1-in-50 sketch incentive by Humberto Ramos, and a 1-in-75 sketch incentive by Alé Garza.

A special 1-in 200 CGC 9.8 Near Mint variant by MARVEL ZOMBIES artist and Zombie King Arthur Suydam functions as an homage to the cover of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #7.

FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES launches this April with a Diamond Order Code of FEB120828.

FANBOYS VS. ZOMBIES is created by Jimmy Fox and Ben Silverma