Monthly Archive: July 2013

Mini-Komix unleashes Deadly Dames and Ghastly Gals!

Atlanta-based publisher, Mini-Komix has released new titles featuring classic pulpy comic book tales from yesteryear.

Press Release:

Ghastly Gals:
Ghastly Gals is our new Daring Dames spinoff comic. It is a collection of horror stories from the Golden Age of comics featuring some monstrous maidens and evil enchantresses. There’s not one but two vampire tales, there’s also murderous mermaids, wicked witches, snake goddesses, satanic brides, and women of the web. Crypt cuties and horror hotties get theirs in their graveyard groove on in this terror-filled romp.

Learn more about Ghastly Gals, along with ordering information, here.

Daring Dames: Distressed Damsels:
Even though the vaults of comics from the Golden Age are filled with heroines, there’s an equal amount of “damsels in distress”. Those sexy but still feisty females who have a knack for getting captured by the resident villains, only to be rescued by the dashing hero. Here are a trio of tales of four of those hot little hostages. There’s the twin Slave Princesses as they put up for auction by evil slave traders, the jungle queen Pha who needs the aid of her savage lord Thun’da, and the plucky reporter Foggy Gibbons that ends up needing the help of her partner Ace of the Newsreels. Real pulp fiction fun and adventure in this troika of titillating intrigue! You can find this at Drive Thru Comics and Lulu.

Learn more about Daring Dames: Distressed Damsels here.

Deadly Dames: Evil Enchantresses:
Another collection of bad girls with Deadly Dames: Evil Enchantresses. Some of the most evil of enchantresses work their wiles on the world to get what they want, no matter the cost. We’re introduced to the Cold War secret agent, the Devil in Petticoats, who spies on gullible American men. Then, the hard-nosed reporter Ray Hale crosses gets on the case of the sexy murder suspect, Pamela Morrison. Finally, the heroic Wonder Boy suspects the blonde bombshell and starlet Tess Labelle is involved in a Hollywood mystery. These seductive sirens want your money or your life, and don’t care which one they get first! This new color special is ready to read at Drive Thru Comics and Lulu.

Learn more about Daring Dames: Evil Enchantresses here.

Deadly Dames: Vile Villainesses:
We’ve got a new digital spinoff to Daring Dames titled Deadly Dames, with its first title, Vile Villainesses. Here, some of the sexiest bad girls from comic’s Golden Age are back to terrorize you. A collection of torrid tales, with two in color! There’s the devil-dealing Aurora Karine, spider-woman Countess Arachni, alluring Kissing Bandit, and the Tiger Queen of the jungle. These ladies will prove that the female is the deadlier of the species! It’s now available for download at Drive Thru Comics and Lulu.

Learn more about Daring Dames: Vile Villainesses here.

Daring Dames: Comely Catwomen (In Color):
We’ve got a new digital color special you can check out. This latest DD issue features two of the finest felines from the Golden Age of comics. It has got the secret origin story of Black Fury, also known as Miss Fury. Plus, not one but two tales of the original Black Cat fighting crime in Hollywood. You can get it at Drive Thru Comics and Lulu.

Learn more about Daring Dames: Comely Catwomen here.

Daring Dames: Cosmic Cuties:
ake off to the stars with our new Daring Dames comic ready for download! Cosmic Cuties is where some of the finest femmes of time and space take off in stellar adventures. There’s Mysta of the Moon, Tara, Sorceress of Zoom, and the Space Sirens. This is available at Drive Thru Comics and Lulu.

Learn more about Daring Dames: Cosmic Cuties here.

Daring Dames: Feral Fatales:
We’ve got another Daring Dames one-shot special online, Feral Fatales (In Color). More jungle jives with some saucy savage queens. We’ve got Camilla, Pha, Princess Mo-Ra in three awesome technicolor tales. Check it out also at Drive Thru Comics and Lulu.

Learn more about Daring Dames: Feral Fatales here.

Daring Dames: Harem Honeys:
Straight out of the Arabian Nights comes three tales featuring hot harem girls! Our new Daring Dames’ digital comic is in color, and has the heroic Son on Sinbad rescuing some gorgeous women of the Golden Age. He helps the Caliph’s dancer Kina, which leads him to the sexy sorceress Rachil. The son of the famous sailor also protects the perilous Princess Zenia of Pirate Cove, and the saucy slave girl Erene. This is available for download at Drive Thru Comics and Lulu.

Learn more about Daring Dames: Harem Honeys here.

Find all of these titles and more at Mini-Komix.

Mini-Komix: mini-comics publishers.
“Size matters not!”
http://www.minikomix.com

Mindy Newell: The Problem With Diana

Newell Art 130708Over at www.geekmom.com, Corinna Lawson’s June 21st Cliffs of Insanity column once again wondered why Wonder Woman doesn’t get any respect; this was instigated by the news that DC is producing a new comic, Superman’s Girlfriend Wonder Woman – the title is mine – which will “focus on the relationship between the characters.” (Apparently a DC editor considers Lois Lane nothing but a “trophy wife.”) This is occurring, as Corinna rightly points out, “in an environment where women are still fighting for some basic rights, even to the point of having to listen to politicians talk about ‘legitimate rape.’” And, may I add, in which Texas, North Carolina, and ten other states, along with the House of Representatives, have ignored Roe vs. Wade and declared abortion illegal past 20 weeks and making the procedure not only incredibly difficult to obtain, but incredibly denigrating to the individual woman who seeks it.

On June 28th, Shoshana Kessock of www.Tor.com focused on “The Problem with Wonder Woman” in Hollywood, while noting that the Themiscrya Tigress “has recently been dubbed the 20th greatest comic book character by Empire Magazine, and ranked fifth in IGN’s 2011 Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time…[standing] as one of the icons of the comic book world, and has been featured in dozens of comic titles since her debut in 1941. The character has also found success in other media, appearing in a popular live-action television series in the 70s, as well as several animated series (including Super Friends and Justice League).”

Why does Diana not getting her due bother me so much? I guess it’s because I have a personal history with her. Not only was Wonder Woman my first assignment as sole writer, but also I had no clue at the time that I was the first woman to be asked to write her – the only female cornerstone hero of the DC universe.

As I told Gail Simone when she interviewed me for her Five Questions webpage:

“I first worked on Wonder Woman in 1984 or thereabouts – back in the day, I was one of Karen Berger’s ‘fillies’ in her stable of writers in the New Talent Program. I honestly don’t know who suggested it – it sure wasn’t me. I think it was Karen, or perhaps it was Paul Levitz. Maybe it was Marv Wolfman or Len Wein. Anyway, it was about this time when plans were hatching for the [superb, imho] relaunch of Wonder Woman by the absolutely wonderful, nobody-can-touch-his-talent, charming and amazing George Pérez. So the then-current Wonder Woman series was running down – I think there were only about three or four issues le”ft – and I got a call from the editor, Alan Gold, asking me to come in and talk about finishing up the book.

Wonder Woman? Me? Frankly, I was amazed. Also very excited. And flattered.

I didn’t know it was going to turn into such a downer. You see, I didn’t really get a chance to write what I wanted to write. Alan told me – no, decided – what I was to write. He was big into Mayan civilization, theology and myths, and that’s the story he wanted to tell. I think he liked the idea of two great “pagan” civilizations clashing, as Wonder Woman represented the Hellenic Period. But I had no interest in Mayan culture at the time – or was it Aztec? (I still don’t have much of an interest in either of them, except that I know about the Mayan calendar, which ended in November 2012, so we’re all dead – or didn’t you know that?)

But this was my first chance at writing a regular series, plus I was a “nice Jewish girl” who hadn’t grown up yet, so I tried to go along with him – after all, he was the editor, right? But it was a disaster. I was trying, but my heart wasn’t in it, and when a writer’s heart isn’t in, then craft is supposed to take over. Only I was still learning my craft. And I couldn’t spell the goddamn name of the god who was the antagonist, and back then I wrote on a manual typewriter which meant a lot of erasing and White-Out and a lot of putting a fresh piece of paper into the typewriter when the original became too smudgy and too thick with the White-Out stuff.

It got to the point where I not only didn’t give a fuck about spelling the name of the god who was the antagonist of the story, but where I didn’t give a god damn about the whole story. I hated writing Steve Trevor because he lacked the right stuff: he was a nebbish, the perfect pisher, a humiliation in uniform, and a disgrace to the Air Force. I hated writing Etta Candy because she was a stupid fat girl who let men push her around and drowned her inner strength in chocolate.

And as for Diana…

I hated her.

TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten

TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Michael Davis

 

John Ostrander: Story Teller

South Park tnDespite my thirty odd (sometimes very odd) years as a professional writer in comics, I wouldn’t describe myself first and foremost as a writer. I consider myself primarily a storyteller. You don’t have to be a writer to be a storyteller; in fact, all of us are storytellers. Phillip Wilson, the former rector at the church I attended when I lived in New Jersey, used to describe story as the atoms of our social interactions.

Think of how we use storytelling every day – all of us. When someone asks you how your day has been, you don’t tell them each and every thing you’ve done (hopefully). You select this moment, that moment, and arrange it some sort of sequence. That’s a story. We use story to relay experience to one another.

Denny O’Neil and I were once talking about a particular story on which I was working (Batman: Seduction of the Gun to be specific) and he told me that in comics you can make any point that you want but first you have to tell a story. That’s what gives you the right to make your point. If you want to preach, get a pulpit.

Speaking of preaching – the Bible, itself a fascinating collection of stories, talks about the Great Storyteller, Jesus, this way. Matt 13: 34 “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.” (See? Even an agnostic can cite scripture to his purpose.) What is a parable but another form of story?

Taking the verse at face value, why did Jesus speak to them only in parables? Well, the author of Matthew claims it was to fulfill a prophecy but, simply, it was a way to communicate to the masses in a way that would be remembered. It also invites the listener to participate. They have to listen to the story and filter it through their own experiences. It becomes the listener’s story as well as the storyteller’s story.

The lessons that Jesus taught were also less specific and, I think, more applicable to a wider set of circumstances. His Dad had them etched in tablets of stone; very clear and very precise. (Although there’s a lot of later clarification; “Thou shalt not kill” seems pretty clear but evidently you can read between the lines and find exceptions: except in time of war, or self-defense, or a state approved execution and so on and so forth.) The Parable of the Prodigal Son, for example: One Son demands his inheritance and goes off on a bender and blows it while the other son stays at home and does all that is helpful and good for the family. Wastrel finally heads home and Daddy throws a big party for him which he didn’t do for the son who played it straight.

What the hell? How’s that fair?

Again, there’s lot of interps about what Jesus meant with that story but none come from JC himself. Different “authorities” will tell you the official line but, so far as I’m concerned, it’s a story and you’re free to decide for yourself what it means. If you decide it means, “Hey, who said life was fair?” then I think you’re perfectly justified.

That’s the point. There is a bond between storyteller and audience, a one on one situation. We each bring who we are to the equation and what you bring is as important to the story as my contribution.

Like life, story is experienced differently by each one of us and that’s what makes it endlessly fascinating.

(Note: This was supposed to go up this morning. The editor blames this on WordPress Gremlins combined with the indisputable fact that Fin Fang Foom has taken residence in the author’s sewer pipe. I think you had to be there.)

MONDAY MORNING: Mindy Newell

TUESDAY MORNING: Emily S. Whitten

 

REVIEW: Robot Chicken DC Comics Special

RobotChicken_DCComicsSpecial_BLURobot Chicken has had some fun with the DC Universe ever since the series premiered on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. As a result, a DC-centric special was inevitable and it aired back in the winter. Now out on DVD from Warner Home Video, the Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is a fast-paced laugh riot for comic book fans.

The RC crew, headed by cocreators Seth Green and Brecken Mayer are on hand, aided, abetted, and egged on by DC’s Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. Interestingly, Zeb Wells, who normally writes for Marvel, never for DC, is ion hand to direct the special. On the surface, they cleverly make this appealing to mainstream viewers by basing the look, feel, and sound to mimic the Super Friends animated series, using sound effects from other animated projects. But once the special gets underway, you glimpse tons of characters only comic readers would know, and that’s fun, because you don’t need to know the arcane details. Still, one of the funniest bits involves the foe Mr. Banjo, voiced by Alfred Molina, who admits it was his favorite part on the special.

And the voices help sell this. Molina is joined by Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Megan Fox, Abe Benrubi, Tara Strong, Clare Grant, and the hilarious, foul-mouthed Alex Borstein.

The 23 minutes zip by, tied together by the usual ribbing Aquaman gets but this time, he gets so frustrated he turns to the Legion of Doom and offers his help in taking down the JLA. Another running gag, that never gets old, is the sudden arrival of Bane, who picks up Batman, breaks his back and departs.

Given how short the running time, it’s pretty impressive the disc comes with two hours’ worth of extras, notably funny writer commentaries and slightly less funny actor commentaries. There’s also The Making of Robot Chicken DC Comics Special that runs nearly as long as the show itself and gives you a good idea of what goes into making one of these episodes. There are some outtakes as the actors flub lines and deleted sketches, that get introduced and you learn why they didn’t make the cut. These, at least, got turned into animatics before being cut and one, the heroes needing the bathroom after eating Green Arrow’s chili, was borderline offensive while Booster Gold debating time traveling to kill Hitler with the JSA felt inappropriate (I guess you still shouldn’t make fun of the Holocaust).

Another extra takes you on an incomplete, mildly incoherent tour of DC Entertainment’s new Burbank offices, which makes it look like a fun place to work. The disc is rounded out with Robot Chicken DC Comics Special’s Aquaman Origin Story, Chicken Nuggets, Stoopid Alter Egos, and 5.2 Questions.

Marc Alan Fishman: Kirk Vs. Picard – I’m Ready to Choose

Fishman Art 130706A few months back, I declared that I found a love for Star Trek. Not just a passing affair mind you, but a legit love of the original series. As if all my tendencies towards being a CGI snob who once laughed-out-loud at the low-tech original FX suddenly melted away. And why? One man. Captain James Tiberious Kirk. The lightbulb went off. I got it. Beyond the ethics lessons, morality plays, and hilarious fight scenes… this was a show where the Captain didn’t just chew the scenery; this was a show that banked on Kirk to cook with it too.

This is in direct opposition to the mission statement of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I should note whilst laid up in my house this past weekend (with still-not-cured tendonitis) I consumed a great deal of TNG episodes. Thank you, BBC America. And thanks to the crash-course reminder, it became clear just how different a beast TNG really was from its elder counterpart. Take away the CGI, beautiful sets, and truly amazing make-up work? You get a show near devoid of the pulpy roots of TOS. You still get the ethics and moral dilemmas. So too, do you get occasional hilarious fights. But TNG’s Captain Du Jour chews not even the seat where he sits. And because of it, I see how many a Trekkie sets their allegiance to a thespian who lends gravitas to a role once dominated by the clinical definition of over-acting.

After making my way through roughly half the original series, I find myself ready to make the ultimate choice. Given that I’ve seen about the same amount of The Next Generation, I think it’s time to choose my captain. It’s only fair though (and a great way to waste column inches…) to come up with some categories to compare and contract Johnny Loo to Jimmy Tibby.

Obviously these are my opinions. Based on not watching every televised piece of either show. Nor all the movies. Nor the licensed books, comics, etc. This is strictly my gut opinions.

Space Fighting: Let’s face it. The first and foremost thing a captain should be able to do is use his ship in a fight. Kirk’s Enterprise didn’t come with an onboard android, or Klingon weapon expert. Just a sassy Vulcan, and a fencing Japanese dude. Picard always seems ready for diplomacy. Kirk seems almost to beg for a fight. And let’s not forget he beat the unbeatable training sim. Phaser to my head? Kirk wins.

Space Talking: Before a photon torpedo is sent a-wassailing into the nearest Warbird, sometimes you have to get your debate on. In Star Trek, all-too-often (and rightfully so) the issues of the day were best solved with smart repartee rather than fisticuffs and rabble-rousing. Kirk knows his way around the diplomacy manual all well and good, but Picard was a born talker. And let’s face facts: If you’re facing a dude ready to blow up a planet because it’s in your way? Who would you send in to talk him down? Unless he responds…. only… to… rhythmic…talking… then you know who has your back. Picard for the win.

Dealing With The Ladies: OK. Seriously. Is this even a competition here? Now, first, let me ensure you if this were a Janeway Vs. Other Male Captain fight, I’d be an equal opportunity chauvinist here. Fact is, sometimes a captain needs to show some cajones, and make the space oceans move. Because the final frontier totally means green alien wicky-wicky. The winner? No duh: Kirky Kirk Kirk.

Crew Relations: In between all the alien issues, wacky hijinks, and ship malfunctions… A captain and his crew must be a tight community all working towards the same ends. The best captains know how to delegate tasks, keep conflicts down, and ultimately keep the space-peace preserved on what amounts to a star-faring cruise ship with lasers and missles. Kirk and Spock have a friendship and bromance like very few do. Picard and Riker have always held more of a teacher / student vibe. That in and of itself lends to how I feel TNG’s Enterprise views their highest in command. Picard is the teacher, mentor, and solid voice of the ship. Kirk feels more blue collar in contrast. In between making out with various crew members, debating hard choices with his number one and ship doctor, and threatening to blow up the ship at any chance he can get? Kirk always gives me the impression of the “lead by example” school of thought. Not that Picard won’t get his hands dirty… but frankly he rarely needs to given the loyalty of his crew. Choices, choices, choices. I’m gonna give it to Picard.

The X Factor: Frankly there could be whole weeks worth of columns in this debate. Certainly the internet was built in part to link Trekkies together to squabble over the finer points. Beyond the broad strokes, every good captain needs that special something that makes you want to follow them. Makes you believe in them. It’s why (beyond crappy politiking) we choose our own leaders; we want to put ourselves behind a person we believe has our backs and best concerns in mind. Someone who doesn’t lose sight of the big picture when the little picture threatens to wipe it away. Kirk is a fearless fighter with a glint in his eye, and a permanent smirk. In the face of adversity he is apt to ball a fist, scream to the heavens, and then win the day by any means necessary. Picard is no less brave mind you. He is apt to think through all the scenarios. He’ll consult his android for logic, his counselor for emotional insight, and his magic bar-tender for conscience. And then? He’ll do what he was going to do all along because damnit… He’s Picard. When the chips are down, and I need one man to get me out of a pickle? Well, I have to give it to the man who doesn’t waste time making a choice. Kirk takes it.

So, there you have it, kiddos. I’m a Kirk man. Kirkman. Uh-oh. Crap. No! I don’t like Kirkman that much! He’s ok at doing homage, but he’s mostly just spinning his wheels these days. KHAAAAAAAAAAN! Ahem. Seriously though, while I love both Captains near equally, it boils down to Kirk’s brash and boldness. His pulp roots have broken me down such that I can’t not root for him. Case in point? The real reason I’m gonna choose Kirk? “Requiem For Methuselah.” In the episode, Kirk is introduced to a very pretty little thing. He looks at her, and basically it’s enough to make her break free from her genetic encoding (she turned out to be a robot or clone or clonebot or something). Facts are facts: Kirk is so awesome, his gaze alone causes space panties to fly.

And frankly? That’s boldly going where we all want to go.

SUNDAY: John Ostrander

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

 

Pulp Fiction Reviews El Mosaico

  • Uncategorized
  • July 5, 2013

New Pulp Author Ron Fortier returns with another Pulp Fiction Review. This time out Ron takes a look at EL MOSAICO (Scarred Souls) by New Pulp Author Michael Panush.

EL MOSAICO
(Scarred Souls)
By Michael Panush
Curiosity Quills
201 pages

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but Michael Panush is rapidly becoming one of my favorite New Pulp writers.  Having discovered him via “Dinosaur Jazz,” a book we nominated for Best Pulp Novel of 2012, we then discovered his “Stein & Candle Detective Agency” series about two post-World War II occult detectives.  As if that isn’t enough to keep this prolific writer busy, now he’s launched as yet another series which can best be described as Frankenstein done western style.

During the Civil War, a Confederate doctor/occultist has the brilliant idea of stitching together body parts from dead soldiers and then animating them using black magic. His plan is to fill the rapidly diminishing ranks of Southern companies with these reanimated corpse soldiers.  He manages to create one such patchwork man before being killed by Union bombardment.  That one and only success is Clayton Cane.

Cane is a bounty hunter traveling the untamed west of the late 1860s and because his very nature is always encountering one fantastic monster after another in this first collection of adventures; there are eight total and each is a gem.

In “Bayou Bloodshed,” Cane is hired to find a black girl who has run off to a secluded island in the middle of the swamps.  The island is populated with two desperate clans; one of gatormen and the other of werewolves.  Needless to say, Cane’s mission is not an easy one.

Then Panush offers up “Red Blades of Whitechapel,” whereby his jigsaw hero end up in London to hunt down a serial killer with a royal pedigree.  Considering this story’s open-ended climax, the main villain could well return for a future encounter.

With “Dead Man’s Band,” Cane captures an outlaw alchemist named Black who leads a band of dead outlaws.  When these deceased desperados attack the hotel Cane is hold up in the pitched battle appears to be El Mosaico’s last stand.

“Monster Men of Malchite Falls” has the bizarre bounty hunter infiltrating a weird fortress laboratory in the middle of the dessert to rescue a little boy. What he discovers is another mad scientist much like the man who put him together.

In “Tomb of Kings” Clayton Cane is one again employed by the British Government to act as security for an archeological dig in Egypt. When the leader of the expedition unearths and revives the Nameless Pharaoh, Cane must ally himself with Arab dessert warriors to defeat an ancient army of monsters.

Back in the U.S. the man-made gunslinger is next hired by the cavalry to help down an old Indian shaman who may be unleashing an army of ghost braves to defend their land in the moving “Ghost Dances.”

In the seventh story, Cane travels south of the border hunting a gang of vicious stage coach robbers and teams up with a wily Mexican bandito named “Tarantula.”

Lastly Cane is hired by a foreign professor to help him track down the whereabouts of the Ragnorak Hammer before it can be used to destroy the world. When their hunt takes into a brutal Minnesota blizzard, they received unexpected aid from an immortal Viking legend.

“El Mosaico – Scarred Souls” is the epitome of New Pulp fun and originality.  It’s a dandy mash up of cowboys and creatures and the wise reader should saddle up and join Clayton Cane.  The ahead looks to be truly fantastic.

Zone 4 Targets the Green Hornet

The Zone 4 podcast crew returns in full to celebrate the holiday and catch up with each other’s recent goings on. After congratulating a buddy, the guys dive into some headlines. A couple of sidetracks later, Brant Fowler, John Wilson, Ron Fortier, and Gordon Dymowski look at the latest issue of Mark Waid’s Green Hornet, which doesn’t illicit as much fervor and excitement as previous issues for most of the crew. Plus, Facebook Shout-Outs, plugs and more!

Listen to Zone 4 – Episode #224: Mark Waid is… Incorrect? at http://www.zone4podcast.com/zone-4-episode-224-mark-waid-is-incorrect/

This Week’s Links and Topics:
The Mighty Enlil – Pedro Cruz
J.J. Abrams to Develop Rod Serling Script

Lazarus #1 Sells Out
Article about Lazarus #1
Titan Comics Launches, Rolls Out New Line at SDCC
The Sandman: Overture
ComiXwriter
Mark Waid’s Green Hornet #3
Pulpfest 2013
Redbud Studio Facebook Page
Mike Luoma’s Red Hot #1
John’s Steampunk Originals Interview
HeroesCon 2013 Hub
Derby City Comic Con 2013 Hub

Dark Avenger INC

Look for new episodes of Zone 4 on Fridays.

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