Comic Nation

New COBRA COMMANDER Revealed

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After the bloody COBRA Civil War, a new commander is crowned.

COBRA will never be the same.
IDW Publishing’s COBRA CIVIL WAR end today when the new COBRA COMMANDER is crowned in G.I. JOE: #8, and the stunning aftermath will infect all three intertwined G.I. JOE series—G.I. JOE, COBRA, and SNAKE EYES. This December and under license from Hasbro, IDW’s G.I. JOE universe will never be the same, and each issue reveals a piece of this brand-new direction.

In stores December 7th, G.I. JOE: #8 features writing by Chuck Dixon (Batman, Superman), art by Will Rosado (Green Arrow, Robin) and a cover by Tom Feister (Iron Man, Green Lantern). After months of COBRA CIVIL WAR, the kills have been tallied and it’s time to name the all-new COBRA COMMANDER. Marking this once-in-a-lifetime event, G.I. JOE: #8 will feature a special scratch-off lottery cover, revealing the identity of the new COBRA COMMANDER.

The action and aftermath continue on December 14th in SNAKE EYES #8, written by Dixon with art by Casey Maloney (Star Trek, Children of the Grave), as the ninja commando attempts to rescue his teammate, DUKE, who’s been infected by a lethal virus that’s diving him violently mad. If SNAKE EYES cannot save him in time, DUKE could be the last casualty of the COBRA CIVIL WAR.

In COBRA #8, available on December 21st from writer Mike Costa (Blackhawks, Smoke & Mirrors) and artists Antonio Fuso (Wolverine: Origins, G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds) and Werther dell’Edera (X-Force, Punisher), the reign of the new COBRA COMMANDER begins—leading to January’s status-quo shattering COBRA COMMAND crossover series. An unstoppable series of events is set in motion, the world is about to learn what COBRA already knows: this is a very different kind of COBRA COMMANDER.

All three issues are part of IDW’s photo-cover month, each sporting a variant action cover featuring classic G.I. JOE toys.

Also available on December 7th, G.I. JOE: COBRA: COBRA CIVIL WAR, VOL. 1 takes fans back to the beginning of the COBRA CIVIL WAR, with the first four issues of the COBRA series plus the 10-page prologue from G.I. JOE #0, including origins of the Cobra candidates who aspired to be the next COBRA COMMANDER. Readers can relive the early battles of this unprecedented war.

“Mike Costa has delivered readers with what could well be one of the best BARONESS stories to ever show up in a comic.” – TheTerrordrome.com

The plague is coming and we want to know how you will survive.

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Win a chance to get killed in the 2nd Story Arc of The Strain!

We’re making preparations for the coming infestation, storing food, comics and weapons. The Strain #1 is on its way, infecting comic shops on Dec. 14th. And here’s a little contest to get you excited for the comics from Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan, David Lapham and Mike Huddleston. 

We want to hear how you will survive the vampire plague. In the comments below give us at least a 200 word description of how you plan to survive the coming epidemic. What supplies will you need? Where would you go to hide? Who would be with you? What weapons would you need? Give us all the details, we need help figuring out how we’d survive.
Official Rules:
1. Post a comment of at least 200 words on the Dark Horse Blog (http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/741/strain-survive-plague-contest) by 11:59p.m. PT on Sunday Dec. 4th, 2011 and describe how you plan to survive the coming plague.
2. Come back next week as we post the top 5 Survival Tales, once per day through Dec. 9th. 
3. Starting Dec. 9th. come back to the blog and Vote for the best Survival Plan Through Dec. 13th. 
***We’ll post the winner on Dec. 14th, the release date of The Strain #1
The Winner of this contest will have their likeness drawn into one of The Strain arc two comics to be killed by a Vampire. We will finalize details with the winner individually.
The fine print: No purchase necessary. One online entry per person (one e-mail address per person/address). You must be eighteen years of age or older to enter. Contest entries only accepted if they are submitted by 11:59p.m. (PDT), Dec. 4th, 2011, to be eligible. Winner will be selected based upon the quality of submitted comments (as determined at Dark Horse’s sole discretion) from all applicable entries and will be notified by Dec. 13th, 2011. Entry becomes the property of Dark Horse upon receipt. Entry constitutes agreement by winners to be publicized and permission to use each winner’s name for the purposes of promotion of the Contest without further compensation. Contest void where prohibited. Odds of winning dependent on number of entrants.

EVAN DORKIN INVITES YOU TO HOUSE OF FUN!

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With Dark Horse Presents continually adding new and awesome stories to the lineup, Evan Dorkin wants to tell you about House of Fun!

“While we were working on the Milk and Cheese collection with Scott Allie and Daniel Chabon, I pitched the idea to do new material for Dark Horse so I could revive some of my old characters. This dovetailed nicely with the revival of Dark Horse Presents, since most of my humor comics originally ran in various anthologies including several from DHC like Instant Piano, Deadline USA, and the first run of Dark Horse Presents.

“The idea was to bring back as many of my old characters and concepts from Milk and Cheese and Dork as possible, grouping it all under the new House of Fun name. I decided not to use Dork as a catchall title for these comics. I got sick of the name a long time ago and this relaunch felt a good opportunity to finally retire it.

“So, what I’m doing is twenty-four pages of comics to be spread over three issues of DHP, with each eight-page anchored by a new Milk and Cheese strip. The other features will include a new Murder Family episode; several pages of Fun gag strips, as well as the return of The Eltingville Comic Book, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Role-Playing Club. If all goes according to plan I’ll also be doing a one-page Fisher-Price Theater adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 and a short Devil Puppet story.

“Also, the comics will all be colored by my longtime collaborator and long-suffering wife, Sarah Dyer.

“This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now. The last issue of Dork came out in 2006 and it’s been even longer since I worked on an Eltingville or Murder Family strip. I’m excited to be working on my own stuff again, I’m having a lot of fun making these comics, and I hope folks will have fun reading them. If not they can go suck an egg.”

House of Fun will premiere in Dark Horse Presents #10, on sale March 21, 2011.

DARK HORSE DELIVERS COMICS DIGITALLY AND IN PRINT SAME DAY

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STARTING DECEMBER 14! 

Dark Horse’s digital evolution continues after seeing huge success with digital sales. Dark Horse Comics will now make their comics available digitally the same day they are on sale in comic shops.

Beginning December 14, all titles from Dark Horse Comics will be on sale the same day in both print and digital format, allowing new-technology readers to access their favorite comics at the same time as their print-oriented counterparts.

Dark Horse Digital launched its standalone comic-reader app earlier this year and received incredible support from the continuously growing digital-comics fan base, a new type of comics fan eager to adapt to new technologies.

Since then, Dark Horse Digital has grown significantly in numbers and readership with the additions of several key titles to the digital roster, including Star Wars, Buffy, Angel & Faith, and Dollhouse. Dark Horse Digital also provides weekly sales and discounts to its readers, currently offers over eight hundred comics, and continues to increase the digital availability of the Dark Horse back catalog.

IDW and Barnes & Noble Partner to Bring Graphic Novels to NOOK®

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Major comics publisher launches graphic novel catalog on new NOOK Tablet™

Continuing to lead the charge of digital comics, IDW Publishing proudly debuted a collection of graphic novels for the new Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet, the company’s fastest and lightest tablet with the best in HD entertainment. IDW’s initial NOOK entrée features over thirty complete graphic novels, including award-winning books and works by bestselling authors.

“We’re excited to partner with Barnes & Noble to bring IDW graphic novels line to NOOK,” stated Jeff Webber, IDW’s director of ePublishing. “With the NOOK Tablet, Barnes & Noble has developed a stunning display that works perfectly for viewing comics and graphic novels. Our digital graphic novels include all the special features and content found in the print versions also available through Barnes & Noble.”

IDW’s rich graphic novel catalog of top prose authors and comics creators is especially suited for eReaders. Fans of IDW writers such as Joe Hill, Anne Rice, Max Brooks, Peter S. Beagle, Steve Niles, or James Patterson can now find those graphic novels right next to their respective prose stories. Award-winning creators like Darwyn Cooke and his acclaimed adaptations of Richard Stark’s Parker books and the first installment of the BLOOM COUNTY: THE COMPLETE LIBRARY are also included in IDW’s diverse NOOK line.

IDW’s NOOK launch offers something for readers of all ages, from classics like Eric Shanower’s OZ series for younger audiences and Joe Hill’s best-selling LOCKE & KEY series for mature readers.

“Barnes & Noble is excited to offer IDW Publishing’s graphic novels on NOOK Tablet,” said Theresa Horner, vice president of Content and Digital Products for Barnes & Noble.  “With the launch of NOOK Tablet, we now offer a vast collection of full-color comics, graphic novels and kids’ comics in high resolution that makes the action virtually jump off the page.  IDW’s graphic novels are a great addition.”

NOOK devices are the perfect choice for anyone who wants access to their favorite reads anywhere they go.  NOOK Tablet is the company’s fastest and lightest tablet with the best in HD entertainment. NOOK Tablet offers access to popular movies, TV shows, music and more through the top entertainment services, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora and others, plus a collection of high-quality apps, fast Web browsing and e-mail. NOOK Tablet features Barnes & Noble’s award-winning color reading experience, with access to the world’s largest digital bookstore via Wi-Fi®.

Review-Green River Killer – A True Detective Story

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By Chuck Suffel

Writer – Jeff Jensen Artist – Jonathan Case

This graphic novel from Dark Horse tells the story of the Green River Killer, the 48 murders which took place in the Seattle area in the 1980’s that were attributed to him and the twenty year manhunt that led to his capture and conviction.

But its more than just a true crime book, it was written by the son of Detective Tom Jensen, you see Jeff’s father is one of the only detectives to work the case from start to finish. Even in his retirement as a consultant. His father spent almost his whole career tracking this killer and after finally catching him he spent 180 days interviewing him and documenting his story. Jeff has said he wrote this to gain a better understanding of his father and to express his love for him. The writing of this must have been no easy feat as he shows us through out the story that his father didn’t speak much to his family about the case. One can only imagine the sessions father and son had getting all this on paper.

The author gives us a good look at the detectives, some of the victims families and the killer. He takes his time with the story really letting us feel the frustration the task force felt as well as the misery the victims families endured. He also let’s us see the toll it took on his father. The art is good, Jonathan Case’s pencils tell the story well giving life to the characters in a very natural way. The only thing I can take away from this book is that the nonlinear story-telling can be a little confusing, we get to see how the case was solved and subsequent interviews with the killer all at once and I will admit to being a little lost now and again.

The facts of the case are public record and several TV movies and documentaries have been made so what does this graphic novel add to all that? It adds the insights of a son into his fathers world, a view he graciously shares with us.

Genre: Non-Fiction, Crime Publication Date: August 31, 2011 Format: B&W, 240 pages, HC, 6″ x 9″ Price: $24.99
Age range: 16 ISBN-10: 1-59582-560-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-560-5

Come see me @ http://charlessuffel.com

DARK HORSE UNLEASHES MIKE MIGNOLA’S YEAR OF MONSTERS!

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PUBLISHING SCHEDULE REVEALED FOR YEARLONG VARIANT-COVER PROGRAM, LAUNCHING IN JANUARY 

Following up on an announcement made at this year’s New York Comic Con, Dark Horse unveils the schedule for Mike Mignola’s 2012 Year of Monsters program.

The program kicks off in January with a highly anticipated Lobster Johnson miniseries, The Burning Hand. Following up on the critically acclaimed 2007 series The Iron Prometheus, this new story pits the 1930s vigilante against one of the more terrible villains of the twentiethcentury.

These special variant covers will be available to any retailer who orders five or more copies of the standard cover. These are sure to be sought-after items with a broad appeal to fans of Mike Mignola’s work, as well as monster fetishists of all types!

“Mike Mignola got into the comics business with the simple goal of drawing monsters for a living,” said Dark Horse managing editor Scott Allie. “Mike celebrates 2012 by pitting his greatest characters against his favorite monsters on these special covers, unrelated to the stories inside.”

The schedule for the first half of the year can be found below. Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1 arrives in stores on January 11, 2012.

DARK HORSE ANNOUNCES THE BIGGEST FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EVER!

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FOUR GREAT STORIES, TWO AMAZING BOOKS,

ONE HECK OF A SATURDAY!

 

Dark Horse rolls out the announcement of all four titles that will be featured in two different comics to be given away to thousands of fans on May 5, 2012.

First comes a special flip book featuring both Felicia Day’s gaming web series turned comic, The Guild, and Dark Horse’s best-selling comics continuation of Joss Whedon’s iconic television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Buffy has never needed a vacation as badly as she does now, with the world overrun with zompires and other fallout from Season 8. After an old friend suggests a relaxing getaway from all things that go bump in the night, it turns out to be harder than she could ever expect for a Slayer to get a day off!

Felicia Day, creator of The Guild, continues to bring on the funny with high jinks from her diverse group of gamers when the Guildies struggle to find a meeting place they can all agree on. A little in-game battle becomes the deciding factor, and the circle follows the decree of the winner: the beach?!

Next up is one of the biggest flip books we’ve ever published, when Zack Whedon brings you tales of the coolest guy in the galaxy and the most charming rebel in the ’verse! That’s right; we’ve paired Star Wars with Joss Whedon’s Serenity! 

Han Solo and Chewbacca have a falling-out after a deal with their slickest—and shadiest—customer goes bad. But when the client gets designs on the Millennium Falcon, Han and Chewie present a united front that can’t be beat!

Meanwhile, Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds is no stranger to jobs gone wrong himself. But when the chips are down, he’s able to rely on the amazing, odd, and diversely talented crew of Serenity.

Dark Horse Free Comic Book Day 2012: Four great stories for the price of, well, none!

AXE COP RETURNS WITH VOLUME 3!

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LET THE CHAOS RESUME!  

Axe Cop returns with a collection of exciting and unpredictable stories written by the endlessly inventive six-year-old Malachai Nicolle and drawn by his Eisner Award–nominated thirty-year-old brother, Ethan Nicolle!

This stellar volume collects eight Axe Cop stories previously published online and features “Stolen Pizza, Stolen Lives,” a crossover special with fellow webcomics superstar Dr. McNinja! It also contains the Halloween story “The Night Monster” and a special Christmas episode, “The Power of Christmas”! Axe Cop joins his comrades Uni-baby, Bat Warthog Man, and Dinosaur Soldier to fight bad guys and restore justice for kids—and grownups—everywhere!

Upon its debut as a webcomic in December of 2009, Axe Cop was instantly hailed by the entertainment press as a hit! Axe Cop Volume 1 has sold over 12,000 copies to date!

“Fun with a Capital F.”—Ain’t It Cool News

Axe Cop Volume 3 is on sale March 28, 2012.