Comic Nation
Alabaster: Wolves in Dark Horse Presents #9
By Chuck Suffel
International Horror Guild Award-winning author Caitlín R. Kiernan brings one of her most enduring and popular creations to comics! Dancy Flammarion, the albino girl and monster hunter who first appeared in Kiernan’s 2001 novel, Threshold. From Dark Horse: “For nearly as long as she can remember, Dancy Flammarion has fought monsters, cutting a bloody swath through the demons and dark things of the world, aimed like a weapon by forces beyond her control or questioning.”
Caitlin R. Kiernan & Steve Lieber are launching their new series Alabaster in April. The first story, however, appears in Dark Horse Presents #9 out Feb 22nd. I got a sneak peek at that story. First stories can be tricky, especially when the character is established in another medium. Do you do an origin story? Do you set the scene? Page of exposition perhaps? No. Eight pages of story. Toss us right in let us try to swim with the current.
It. Worked. Perfectly. The premise isn’t groundbreaking there’s a girl who fights evil, monsters are real but trust me that’s where the similarities to other series end. I’d never heard of Darcy Flammarion before but it didn’t matter. I didn’t fall in love with her, something better happened, somehow for eight pages I was mesmerized. She’s tough, focused, believes in what she’s doing. She’s also weird and more than a little crazy. We aren’t given a clear picture of the world she lives in but suffice to say it’s bad and she’s trying to make it better. Allusions are made to some kind of event that caused the world to change though we aren’t told what it was or how long ago it happened. I won’t spoil what does take place in the story but I will say it was one of the tensest stories I’ve read in a long time. I was totally wrapped up in it. When I hit the end I realized I had been holding my breath the whole time.
The art is by Steve Lieber and it’s great, he’s known for such amazing work as Whiteout with Greg Ruka, Underground with Jeff Parker and this is right on par with his best stuff. If Dark Horse puts out any preview images you can be sure I’ll post them right here!
I hope the series, due out in April, packs the same feeling that little eight pager did. I’ll tell you one thing I’ll be there to read it. And I’ll let you know what I think.
Don’t forget February 22nd!
Dark Horse Presents #9
Writer: Paul Pope, Neal Adams, Brian Wood, Mike Mignola, M. J. Butler, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Steve Horton, Andrew Vachss, Tony Puryear
Artist: Paul Pope, Neal Adams, Michael Dialynas, Kristian Donaldson, Joe Querio, Mark Wheatley, Thomas Yeates, Steve Lieber, Geof Darrow, Tony Puryear
Cover Artist: Mike Mignola
Genre: Short Stories / Anthologies
Publication Date: February 22, 2012
Format: FC, 80 pages
Price: $7.99
UPC: 7 61568 17843 2 00911
Followed April 11th by!
Alabaster: Wolves #1
Writer: Caitlín R. Kiernan
Artist: Steve Lieber
Cover Artist: Greg Ruth
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Publication Date: April 11, 2012
Format: FC, 32 pages
Price: $3.50
UPC: 7 61568 20295 3 00111
preview-BROKEN PIECES #2
Mark Roslan – Writer / Micah Kaneshiro – Art
What is lost in life is found in…death!
Aspen Comic’s newest original series, BROKEN PIECES, continues!
Dr. Richard Adams’ life has been torn apart by a horrible discovery made by his wife Gabriella. However, the astounding breakthrough they made in the
science of bio-rejuvenation has left Richard with a small shred of humanity to cling to, as everything else crumbles around him. With the odds of
survival diminishing by the second—Richard will be forced to make the most consequential decision of his life, one which will effect the future of
mankind itself!
Written and created by Aspen’s own Mark Roslan and featuring stunning artwork by newcomer and series artist Micah Kaneshiro, BROKEN PIECES will
keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish! In stores February 22nd!
Aspen Comics Now Available on Nook Courtesy of Graphicly
Aspen is now going to be available on Barnes and Noble’s Nook
Aspen Comics is expanding its accessibility in the digital comics marketplace by now offering their titles through Barnes and Noble’s popular Nook devices and apps, courtesy of their digital distribution partner, Graphicly. The move marks another platform fans of the publisher can seek to purchase Aspen titles while also presenting them to a new audience through Barnes and Noble’s massive online bookstore. Aspen Editor-in-Chief states:
“We’re excited to work alongside Graphicly to deliver our wonderful library of Aspen titles to a new audience and platform on the Nook. In addition to our launch collections, we will be working quickly to add to the number of books available, so fans can look forward to seeing even more new collected series on the horizon shortly.”
Aspen titles included in the initial launch on the Nook include: The Aspen Extended Edition, Executive Assistant: Iris Volume One, Fathom Volume One, Fathom: Cannon Hawke, Fathom: Dawn of War, Fathom: Kiani Volume One, Shrugged Volume One, and Soulfire: Volume One.
The initial launch titles will be offered as complete collected editions only and prices may vary. For more information on purchasing Aspen titles for the Nook please check www.barnesandnoble.com. For more information on Graphicly please check www.graphicly.com and for more information on Aspen Comics please check www.aspencomics.com
Review-King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel TPB
By Alex Vazquez
King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel TPB collects all four issues of the masterful adaption of Robert E. Howard’s short story. Once again Tomas Giorello, Timothy Truman, and Jose Villarrubia combine their talents to bring us a comic for the ages.
Truman once again takes REH’s original story and expands upon it beautifully. Any self respecting Conan fan will tell you that the original story was narrated by some unknown, omniscient character. (I think of actor Mako’s voice, thanks to the 80’s flick). This time around the tale is told in the first person, by the Cimmerian himself. Truman’s bold take on the story works, and serves to add another dimension to the events.
The artwork is perfection. Tomas Giorello can do no wrong with the world of Hyboria. I find his detailed and kinetic style perfectly suited for REH’s pseudo-historical tales. I especially love Giroello’s pale inks, which gives the pages a ‘pulpy’ look. Oh, and the splash pages are exquisite and poster worthy.
I’ve stated before that the drawings in these books work perfectly well in black and white. That being said, Villarrubia comes along and makes me happy that they’re not. His tones are vibrant in the right spots but appropriately drab all around, complementing the faded inks.
We’re also treated to a few ‘special features’ in this TPB, such as: chapter divider pages featuring artwork from Derrick Robertson, an art gallery, and an insightful introduction from Timothy Truman (which pays off at the end of the story).
This is a great package that should be in any Conan fan’s collection. Read, enjoy, and dream of the days of high adventure.
Follow Alex on Twitter @Net_Lex
Marvel’s The Avengers Superbowl 2012 – Official Extended Clip
Preview of SOULFIRE (vol 3) #7
J.T. Krul – Writer / Jason Fabok – Art / John Starr – Colors
The magic has returned! But, this time…the light has grown dark.
While all-out war rages on in the Everlands, Onyx hopes to call it something else – genocide! If she has her way, Grace and the rest of the Rahtumi will be massacred. Luckily, Malikai arrives just in time to help, but will he save the day or ensure doom comes to all?
New adversaries, exotic locations, and a fresh cast of exciting characters, including some from the Soulfire Universe’s long forgotten past, reign supreme in this epic third
SOULFIRE volume! 25 SOULFIRE (VOL 3) #7 is in stores February 15th , 2012!
covers by Jason Fabok and Francisco.
Review:Grimm Fairy Tales: Alice In Wonderland #2
Wonderland created by Raven Gregory, Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco Written By Raven Gregory Pencils by Robert Gill colors by Jason Embury
Letters by Jim Campbell Edited by Ralph Tedesco
Okay we’ve all seen Grimm’s Fairy Tales titles on the shelf at the comic shop, the cover art tends to be very adult which always led me to believe that this book was fairy tale porn (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). I’ll admit that being the father of a five year old daughter this probably wasn’t going to be a book she’d see me buy. Now that I’m reviewing comics there are some that land in front of me that I probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise, good thing or I would’ve missed out on this book.
True every woman in the book is overly endowed and scantily clad but let’s move past that for a moment and focus on the story. Alice in Wonderland is a very old book, written in 1865 by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carrol, (though I believe this comic is based on the 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There) it’s the story of the girl Alice who falls down a rabbit hole and has adventures with anthropomorphic creatures. It has been covered, parodied, retold, and re-imagined by countless authors, directors, artists and in countless mediums. So why would you read this one?
It’s pretty damn scary and really well done! Alice has just escaped from the clutches of The Jabberwocky, who is wonderfully freaky looking, and is continuing her journey through wonderland. But wonderland isn’t an easy place to travel, she immediately falls afoul of some of it’s denizens and is forced to fight for her life! In the meantime we see that there are forces at work trying to guide Alice’s journey, though the reasons have yet to be revealed!
All in all this book has strong characters which are beautifully, frighteningly, rendered. While the takes on the characters aren’t totally new, we’ve seen evil in wonderland before, they do have their own horrible twists. Two of my favorite Wonderlandians (that is SO totally a word!) in this version are The White Rabbit with his sick little red eyes and mottled fur and a very very sick evil looking Cheshire Cat.
My only knock has to be Alice’s outfit, it just doesn’t seem necessary to be wearing what amounts to the “Sexy Alice” costume you see every Halloween at Party City. As I read the issue I kept trying to figure out why she was wearing so little? Was there a costume orgy like thing going on where she found the rabbit hole? Does the Jabberwocky have some kinky wardrobe closet he was making her dress from? Maybe issue one explains it… Yea maybe I’ll go back and read issue one. Just for the sake of research of course….
Follow Chuck on Twitter @Chuck_Suffel and hit up his site at http://chucksuffel.wordpress.com/
The Caption Box Podcast 20: DC and Al Rio
Rob Base talks with Juan C Pineda and Edward Gambichler as they talk DC comics and Oni Press new logo designs, Neil Gaiman sues Todd McFarlane and the Passing of Al Rio.
[podcast]http://media.alternativemindz.com/mp3/CaptionBox/20_caption_box_podcast_DC_And_Al_Rio_02032012.mp3[/podcast]
MURDER AND MUSIC ON THE BAYOU! DÍAZ CANALES AND GUARNIDO’S BLACKSAD IS BACK!
Eisner and Harvey Award–winning duo Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido are back with another incredible tale to shock and awe crime-fiction fans and comics-art aficionados alike!
Detective John Blacksad returns, with a new case that takes him to a 1950s New Orleans filled with hot jazz and cold-blooded murder! Hired to discover the fate of a celebrated pianist, Blacksad finds his most dangerous mystery yet in the midst of drugs, voodoo, the rollicking atmosphere of Mardi Gras, and the dark underbelly that it hides!
Dark Horse’s Blacksad collection is already in its fourth printing, with 20,000 copies sold. Artist Juanjo Guarnido was voted the winner of the 2011 Eisner Award for Best Painter, and Blacksad Volume 1 won the Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material.
“A lovingly crafted homage to the Hammett-Chandler chestnuts of old . . . and Guarnido’s watercolor panels feel like the unearthed film-noir storyboards of a master…A.”—Entertainment Weekly
Blacksad: A Silent Hell features an extensive making-of section, with tons of prelim sketches and watercolor studies, written by artist Juanjo Guarnido! This volume also includes two never-before-collected Blacksad short stories!
Blacksad: A Silent Hell is on sale July 11, 2012.
