DARK MATTER RISES FROM DARK HORSE!

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NEW SERIES FROM STARGATE CREATORS!

Fresh off their long tenure on Stargate, one of television’s most successful science-fiction epics, series writers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie flex their comic-book storytelling muscles to create a thrilling new science-fiction universe for Dark Horse Comics! Mallozzi and Mullie, best known for their work on the Stargate franchise series (Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe), give you: Dark Matter A derelict ship floating in space. Its troubled crew awakened from stasis with no memories of who they are or how they got onboard.

Their search for answers triggering the vessel’s deadly security system, awakening a relentless android bent on their destruction. Facing threats at every turn, they will have to work together to survive a dangerous voyage charged with vengeance, redemption, betrayals, and, ultimately, hidden secrets best left unknown. Science fiction by science-fiction veterans is sci-fi action at its best! Dark Matter #1, the first in a four-issue miniseries with kinetic artwork by exciting newcomer Garry Brown, is on sale January 11, 2012.

Hellboy : House of the living dead review

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By Chuck Suffel

Writer & Cover Artist: Mike Mignola

Artist: Richard Corben

Colorist:Dave Stewart

This book is a real treat for Hellboy fans, coming right on the heels of Halloween we’ve got a classic monster story! Mr. Mignola dedicates this tome to Boris Karloff (the mad scientist), Glenn Strange (the monster), John Carradine (the skinny Dracula), and Lon Chaney Jr. (the always-sad Wolf Man) so you can see where his head was when crafting this tale.

We go back to Mexico in 1956 where on an investigation Hellboy meets three wrestlers, brothers, who had a vision of the Virgin in which they were told to quit wrestling be ready fight monsters. After teaming up with them Hellboy went missing for 5 months, this is that story.

Interestingly he doesn’t spend all that much time on Hellboys adventures with the brothers instead he shows us Red drunk brooding and pissed grieving over the loss of a good friend. With a wonderful use of flashbacks we see what Hellboy can’t forget, Esteban wasn’t just killed by the vampires he was turned and sent to battle Hellboy. I immediately thought this comic was heading towards a showdown with the big bad who did this to Esteban. Instead we see Hellboy in an alcohol fueled spiral, drinking and wrestling and trying to forget. Then Red gets propositioned (mind out of the gutter people), he gets offered money to participate in a private wrestling match and what a match it is!

With cameos from the three classic Universal monsters this book strikes just the right cord for a Hellboy fan. No B.P.R.D., no big world ending monsters or conspiracies just Red doing what he does, getting in to deep and fighting his way out! As to the art? Corben does an amazing job (as usual) in depicting Hellboy but also his take on the classic monsters was great. He didn’t abandon his style but kept the characters recognizable to those who know them. It’s hard to review a book like this, it’s more of the same wonderful stuff we’ve come to expect from Mr. Mignola and crew. And I can’t wait for more.

Publication Date: November 02, 2011 Format: FC, 56 pages, HC, 7″ x 10″ Price: $14.99 Age range: 16 ISBN-10: 1-59582-757-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-757-9

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Dollhouse: Epitaphs #5

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By Juan C Pineda

Dollhouse: Epitaphs #5

Writer:Andrew Chambliss, Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon
Penciller: Cliff Richards
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Michelle Madsen

Another Whedonverse property has been given the comic book treatment, Dollhouse. If you were young and foolish, you probably are not aware of the TV show this comic book is based on because it aired Friday nights at 9pm on FOX. If for some reason you were home on Friday nights then you might have blinked and missed it, it aired from February 13, 2009 until January 29, 2010 for a total of 27 episodes.
Let’s say you are like me and you just got some fancy new DVR technology and decided to watch a few episodes because: a) it spawned from the mind of Joss Whedon b) it stars Whedon stalwart and nerd goddess Eliza Dushku c) Eliza Dushku d) see b and c So for the benefit of those who aren’t like me and actually had a life on a Friday night or didn’t waste precious hard drive space on a DVR, let me sum up the premise of Dollhouse. The Rossum Corporation runs several establishments called Dollhouses. Inside a dollhouse are “dolls”, people who have temporary personalities and skills imprinted into their brains for hire. Wealthy clients would go to Rossum to hire a doll for different purposes…from what you would automatically assume would be the first thing you would do to a doll that looked like Eliza Dushku to other nefarious purposes. When dolls are not on the job, their minds are wiped cleand and they live in the Dollhouse as a blank slate, just wandering around like a little child until the next gig comes along.

People volunteer to become Dolls for five years in exchange for money and other incentives while their original personalities are stored on hard drives. Dushku’s character is named Echo, prior to being made into a Doll she was Caroline Ferrell. She uncovers Rossum Corporation’s shenanigans and tries to bring down Rossum until she was captured and made into a Doll. Echo then becomes their most popular Doll. However, since she is the hero of the show, she develops self-awareness and is able to retain skills and memories after supposedly being wiped clean. She then tries to bring down the evil Rossum Corporation and their Dollhouse operations around the world. I didn’t stick with the series long enough; I just wasn’t hooked on the premise. I thought that if our hero is trying to bring down the evil corporation and would be successful then how long can these shows last? If there is no more Dollhouse, then no more Dolls and no more show, right?

So when I got the chance to review Dollhouse: Epitaphs #5, I was really lost. I had to read it twice. The first time to just read it…then realize I don’t know what the heck was going on or who half these characters were…then the second time after doing some research and refreshing my memory on the characters and plotlines on the show. I was still lost though. Dark Horse’s Dollhouse: Epitaphs comic book series bridges events between the main tv series and two TV episodes; “Epitaph One,” an
unaired episode that was released only on the Season One DVD and “Epitaph Two: Return” which served as the series finale. It turns out that Rossum’s imprinting technology led to the Apocalypse. In the year 2020 the technology has gone viral, turning everyone into mindless killers. The fifth and final issue of the series opens with Wash and Trevor finding Echo. Wash was the main villain of the TV series but now he is a good guy, as he explains to Echo. Trevor is a little kid that Wash implanted with technology to block any imprint attempts. Meanwhile in Hollywood, another group is trying to bring down the broadcast tower that is behind the Hollywood sign. It really isn’t fair for me to comment on the writing team because I came in so late. It would be like criticizing a movie based on the last 20 minutes. The dialogue was natural even though I had no idea what they were talking about. The artwork however I can comment on. Cliff Richards can draw Eliza Dushku as Echo, sometimes Alan Tudyk as Wash and Felicia Day as Mag but it really seems like he is copying their likenesses from headshots. Sometimes it doesn’t quite hit the mark on a medium or long shot. There isn’t any real distinction between male characters on a long shot, they all look generic unless in a close up. A couple of panels, I couldn’t distinguish between Wash and Paul Ballard even when close up. But then again…I’m lost because of being unfamiliar with these guys.

The art team is tasked to draw a post apocalyptic world, but their backgrounds don’t have much weight or substance to them. It looks like they are running around in an Ed Wood movie with cardboard cut outs for scenery. I was surprised where Whedon (Jed, not Joss) and wife Maurissa and Andrew took the premise of Dollhouse. If I had known they were going towards an apocalyptic disaster, maybe I would have stuck with the TV show until the end. Dollhouse had decent ratings, averaged about 4 million viewers the first season, 2 million the second season, which is way more than most comic books so there has to be a market for this series out there. So there has to be a Dollhouse fan out there that doesn’t know that there are further adventures in comic book form. I think they would totally love to see what happens. If you know of any, give them a heads up. Fair warning though, from what I gathered Echo doesn’t appear until the last couple of issues of “Dollhouse: Epitaphs” so they might be disappointed. If you’ve watched the entirety of Dollhouse but didn’t know about the Dark Horse series, pick it up and
the back issues, I think you will dig it. And feel free to email me any smacks upside the head for missing out on it. However, if you were like me, a casual Dollhouse TV show watcher but a hard drive full of Eliza Dushku pics, you may skip this series. Otherwise you’re going to be wandering around the wasteland with a blank slate like I was.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #3 “Firefall Part III” review

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By Juan C Pineda

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine #3 “Firefall Part III”
Script: Andrew Chambliss
Pencils: Georges Jeanty
Inks: Dexter Vines
Colors: Michelle Madsen

I like Joss Whedon’s work. I may even consider myself  a Joss Whedon fan…wait, is there a name for Whedon fans? Whedoners? Whedonites? Whedonoes? Either way, I would faithfully run home to watch “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” on Mondays and then Tuesdays nights on the WB and loyally jumped to the UPN when Buffy switched networks. Life was difficult before DVRs, my friend. But when the series ended after seven seasons in 2003, I didn’t keep up with the Scoobies in comic book form, despite the fact Dark Horse had been publishing BtVS comics since 1998. Fortunately for ardcore…Whedonists…Dark Horse continued the TV show in a comic book series they called “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight”, providing the further adventures of Buffy, Dawn, Xander, Willow and others. It picked up where the TV show ended in stories that can be considered canon, because fans love it when things are officially canon.
But somehow I missed all 40 issues. I am not making a strong case for myself as a…Whedonologist.
Lucky for me, Dark Horse is still creating Buffy comics in a new series called “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine” and now I can find out what has happened to my favorite slayer family since the end
of the TV series. Let’s see what I can gather from reading “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine” #3 “Firefall, Part III”…magic is gone from the world because Buffy destroyed something called the Seed in Season 8, therefore Willow is powerless as are all the other slayers and they all hate Buffy. Xander and Dawn are now romantically together. Buffy is continuing to slay vampires but this attracts the attention of the San Francisco Police and now she is a wanted fugitive and no one is willing to hide her. Wait! What? Xander and Dawn are now together? Ew. I missed a lot. So Buffy has to slay vampires in a world where vampires are cool (thanks Twilight!) and people are volunteering to become fanged. But
with the lack of magic, the newly sired vampires are more vicious, so Buffy calls a Scooby Gang meeting to figure out how to deal with the consequences of her actions from Season Eight. Although Buffy may now be alone, she may get help from Severin an enigmatic dude with seemingly magical powers.
Oh and look, Spike is here too. He hears that someone is going after Buffy…really Spike? That shouldn’t be news to you.
BtVS:S9 #3 did a good job of bringing me up to speed on the status of the Buffyverse, color me intrigued. The story, despite it being part 3 of a 4 part storyline, is a good jumping on point for those familiar
with the TV show. The dialogue could have easily been filled with exposition but it flows. Sometimes it reaches for that familiar Whedon trademark of quick quips and witty banter, however writer Andrew
Chambliss (Dollhouse, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Vampire Diaries) keeps his own voice and is able to keep a good rhythm throughout the issue.

Handpicked by Joss Whedon, Artist Georges Jeanty has been working on Buffy since Season Eight, so his likenesses of the characters are spot on to their TV counterparts. This is especially important to a licensed property and it added to my enjoyment of reading the series. This particular issue didn’t have any fight scenes so I can’t comment on how he handles those but for a story where it’s mostly people
talking, Georges did an excellent job of storytelling.
So for me, a Whedontot and a Buffy fan, I was intrigued and entertained to see how Buffy had been doing (not so good actually, life is rough for her, as usual) Season Nine is set to run 25 issues so get in on it while it’s still early. I recommend picking this up if you are a Buffy fan, it still maintains the feeling of the show. If you’re not familiar with Buffy, give it a try. She still is a strong character, fleshed out and re-boot free. Although I would probably recommend one of the trades from Season Eight so you can read a complete story arc. However if you are expecting some gratuitous T & A, move on folks…nothing to see here. So get it, read it and pass it on, if you have a friend who is a big Buffy fan but they never read Buffy comics, or comics in general, this would be a great way to introduce them to the medium.

Defenders #1 Review

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Defenders #1

By Rob Base

Even the D-team can become the A-team!

One comic series that I was always a huge fan of was The Defenders mainly because of Dr. Strange, the master of black magic. I’ve always felt that when reading a comic series like The Defenders that you were different. Who would read a comic series with a list of basically unknowns? With the exceptions of The Incredible hulk and Namor, The Defenders’ lineup was pretty minimal with the likes of Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, Gargoyle, Beast, Daimon Hellstrom and Power Man taking up the remainder of the team slots. This never bothered me. In fact, it made the comic book seems so unusual. The strength of this title has always been on “how do you run a superhero group without guys like Captain America or Ironman?”

Marvel’s newest incarnation of the group redefines what we once understood. So, what makes this book ready to read? First, it is written by Matt Fraction (The Invincible Iron Man, The Immortal Iron Fist Casanova, Uncanny X-Men) and drawn by Terry Dodson (Harley Quinn, Uncanny X-Men, Wonder Woman, vol. 3). This, to me, is a perfect matchup on its own. What was said about the new book is that Doctor Strange, Red She-Hulk, Namor, Hulk, the Silver Surfer and Iron Fist join forces with a number of other Marvel heroes on a globe-trotting, dimension-hopping adventure to stop an ancient conspiracy that threatens the unimaginable.

Does that explanation set up what we read in the first issue?

The first few pages show some messed up imagery and story that can only be said as “what if nightmares come true?” This sets the stage very quickly, wasting little to no time re-establishing the characters and getting right to the blunt of it. Doctor Strange is in bed after having a “Barney Stinson one wild-night stand!” These pages show Strange in a different light, seemingly complaisant and maybe even a little lost in his life. He, then, is approached by the Incredible Hulk, who comes to the aid of his former Defender allies. With this, Strange sets out to get his group together. This group brings back The Sub Mariner: Prince Namor and a very “Doctor Manhattan like” Silver Surfer. The rest of the group is filled with first timer Red She Hulk, and no group would be complete without Iron Fist. Even though it seems as if Iron Fist is being used for the super cool jet, he is in as the team heads off to Europe in search of Wundargore Mountain.

Issue #1 really brings back the old fashion team book. The premise of “we need to hook up, help stop the ghost of the Hulk” or something like that, and BAM superhero action a plenty. If I can be negative about anything is that the comic’s pacing seems a bit rushed, but is made up for by sheer wonderful dialogue and good ol’ non-stop action.

This book is a must buy. Comic book teams tend to be so convoluted nowadays that the Defenders seems like a breath of fresh air! Any book that has Doctor Strange as the leader of the group is a book that will always be on my buy list.

Masters of the Universe Chronicles: Episode #35 Crossover Part 2

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http://popculturenetwork.com/images/library/Image/vintoman.jpg

Hello all and welcome back to another edition of the Masters of the Universe Chronicles.  Yes that’s right, this is part 2 of the comics crossover….but Chris, where is part 1?  Well fear not, it’s on Rob Base’s page dealing with comics which is www.comicnationtv.com.  Head on over there and listen to the first installment before you hear what the guys talk about! Here is the direct link – http://popculturenetwork.com/article.php?story=2011110413532372

Before the main discussion takes part, it wouldn’t be fitting to talk about comics without James Sawyer being involved.  James talks about “The King of Castle Grayskull” comic.  James has a lot of comic stuff on his site so if you are a fan head over to www.motucfigures.com!

Rob Base, Ryan Porter and Jukka Issakainen join Chris to talk about the MVC comics which came out around 2002, the icons of evil and also talk about the new mini comics which we will be getting with Thunder Punch He-Man and some other quartely variants.  Chris is the comic noob here so enjoy the other 3 guys talking at length about the comics and just how terrificly knowledable they are.
If you are a fan of comics, why not bookmark The Comics Corner where you can normally find Ryan Porter and his brilliant comic book coverage and you can do that by clicking here – http://popculturenetwork.com/index.php?topic=vgl_comicrev

Jukka does some very indepth and fantastic videos based on the Masters of the Universe characters in his MOTU profile and also covers comics as well.  Follow Jukka’s great work by going to http://www.scrollsofeternia.com/ or it is posted on www.popculturenetwork.com.  Follow Jukka on Twitter – toonjukka
Lastly Mr Rob Base has a lot of stuff on Popculturenetwork.com whether it being From Earth to Cybertron, Not Mint in box or in fact Comic Nation stuff.  All the buttons for Robs work are on the right hand side of www.popculturenetwork.com or head to Rob’s site which is www.alternativemindz.com. Follow Rob on Twitter – Altmindz

Of course make sure you are following Masters of the Universe Chronicles on Twitter by following MOTUChronicles or Chris’ own personal one which is Vinto316.  Join the facebook page which is www.facebook.com/mastersoftheuniversechronicles and of course head to www.popculturenetwork.com, browse the store, watch/listen to the awesome content and join the fantastic forums!  What is your favourite comic?  did we discuss it? post in the forums and let me know!

 

MOTUC Comic Crossover podcast

Milk and Cheese – Dairy Products Gone Bad Hardcover Review

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By Chuck Suffel

Milk and Cheese – Dairy Products Gone Bad Hardcover by Evan Dorkin

From the Dark Horse site: “A carton of hate. A wedge of spite. A comic book of idiotic genius. The Eisner Award-winning dairy duo returns in this deluxe hardcover collecting every single stupid Milk and Cheese comic ever made from 1989 to 2010, along with a sh*t-ton of supplemental awesomeness. This has everything you need! Don’t judge it–love it! Or else!”

This is another one of those books I’d heard of but never got my hands on, so getting the chance to review the new hard cover from Dark Horse was ideal. I’d love to be able to give some sort of parallel with another humor book or strip but Evan Dorkin really has created something unique. Milk and Cheese have been around since 1989, the two anthropomorphic dairy products gone bad are rude, offensive, angry, violent and more than a little deranged. It’s one of the strangest books I’veever read, the humor is rough, the visuals are intensely violent. They attack and destroy everything they hate and they seem to hate everything. There’s a ton of social commentary here but it is really hidden well within the stupid jokes and violent outbursts. If you’re already a fan of Milk and Cheese this book is a must, it’s 240 pages of madness! You’ll want to leave this beautiful hardcover on
your coffee table to amuse your friends and annoy your family.
A small word of warning though, if you’ve never experienced Milk and Cheese before, if you aren’t familiar with their signature style of eye gouging brick throwing blunt object wielding lunacy proceed with caution, and be prepared to witness something the likes of which you’ve never seen before.

They are Milk & Cheese!

“We bust up a lot of stuff and accomplish nothing.” “It is swell” (Milk and Cheese “War on Drugs” copyright 1989)

Evan Dorkin is a comic book writer best known for “Milk and Cheese” and Dork. He has also written for animation called Welcomd To Eltingville on Adult Swim check him out on Twitter @evandorkin, His Blog http://evandorkin.livejournal.com/ or the website he shares with his wife Sarah Dyer http://www.houseoffun.com/

Just for you fans here is Welcome To Eltingville Pilot

Publication Date: November 23, 2011 Format: B&W w/ 24 color pages, 240 pages, HC, 7″ x 10″ Price: $19.99
Age range: 12 ISBN-10: 1-59582-805-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-805-7

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Transformers:More than meets the pixels

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Over the past 27 years, we have been privy to many tie-in media for the Transformers. Unfortunately, in the area of the video game, this franchise seemed to fall short of the mark.

The Commodore 64: a platform / shoot ’em up game.

It was written by Denton Designs and released by Ocean Software for the Sinclair Spectrum and Commodore 64 home computers in 1986.

The object of the game is to navigate through a blue highway, dodge enemies, and collect pieces of Energon.

Next came Activision

It was the first Transformers game by Activision, which subsequently published more games for the franchise over two decades later.

A few side-notes about the game: for reasons unknown, Rodimus Prime and Hot Rod appear in the game as separate characters, despite the fact that they are the same character.  This was also one of the few Transformers games to not include Optimus Prime.

The next big jump into video games came on the Famicom system (when I say “jump”, I mean jumping the shark).

Transformers: Mystery of Convoy or as it’s real title is called, Fight! Super Robot Life Form Transformers: Mystery of Convoy (戦え! 超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー コンボイの謎(ナゾ)

So what is the premise of the game? Well, if you remember, I talked about the fact that the movie wasn’t released in Japan till 1990. This story is the journey of  Ultra Magnus as he goes on a solo mission through various Decepticon strongholds to find out exactly what happened to Optimus Prime.  Hence, Mystery of Convoy!

A second game followed called, Transformers: The Headmasters

This takes place after the Mystery of Convoy as you jump from Earth, Cybertron, Master, and Jail.

Over the course of time, we got other Transformer games from Beast Wars: Transformers by Hasbro Interactive. Takara published Transformers: Tatakai,(not real title just fan named) a PlayStation 2 action-RPG. Atari released Transformers (aka Transformers: Armada–Prelude to Energon) and we also got War for Cybertron.

gameinformer has published their latest exclusive Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

“Transformers: Resurrecting The Dinobots”. <–not sure if this is in the right place…

If you are a fan of the Transformers you will love the idea of having them in this new video game. Check out the images below courtesy of Game Informer.

http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/uploads/1319225460_Grimlock_insecticon_big%20image.jpg

Image

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Hit up the PCN forums and thanks for reading.

 

“Till all are one”

DARK HORSE COMICS AND GAMERS DIGITAL RESURRECT GHOST

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Ghost Will Be Available in Early 2012 For PC, MAC and iOS Platforms

 

CITY, STATE– October 13, 2011– Dark Horse Comics, in collaboration with Gamers Digital, is proud to revive the popular paranormal intellectual property Ghost, the comic book series that centers on Elisa Cameron who must solve her own murder. Ghost is a digitally downloadable first person mystery (FPM) game that will be available early 2012 for PC, Mac and iOS platforms.

“Fans of the Dark Horse Comic’s Ghost will enjoy the game and its story arc. Ghost fits perfectly within the comic book’spantheon and provides fans with a satisfying experience from beginning to end. For gamers new to the intellectual property, Ghost will provide a mysteriously engaging storyline mixed with detective elements that any super sleuth would love to solve,” said Scott Zerby, president of Gamers Digital.

Ghost tells the otherworldly story of journalist Elisa Cameron who wakes in the alternative reality of Arcadia. Playing through the spectral eyes of Elisa, fans quickly discover that Elisa inhabits a realm between the living and the dead and that she is fully aware of herself and her surroundings. Even more surprising, her sister Margo can sense her. They both of them set off on an adventure to unlock the mystery of her murder.

 

Developed by Gamers Digital as a FPD game, Ghost features an immersive and entertaining experience for wannabe detectives. Players must carefully navigate through the city of Arcadia completing challenging quests, solving mini-games, collecting items in order to solve the mystery and possibly save the world in the process.

For more information, please go to www.GamersDigital.com.