Tagged: Graphic Novel

FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA’S BLACK BEETLE PREMIERE’S TO RAVE REVIEWS

Art: Francesco Francavilla

Dark Horse Comics has released the above poster as part of a promotional campaign of new “SUPER” titles that are launching in January 2013, including Francesco Francavilla’s Black Beetle.

Look for Black Beetle: No Way Out #1 coming January 2013.

Learn more about The Black Beetle at http://theblackbeetle.blogspot.com.
Dark Horse Press Release
Dark Horse Comics is thrilled to announce a new creator-owned series from Francesco Francavilla, the 2012 Eisner Award winner for Best Cover Artist!
Francavilla’s critically acclaimed The Black Beetle returns in December with The Black Beetle #0, which will collect the three-part story entitled Night Shift that originally appeared in the pages of the Eisner Award–winning Dark Horse Presents. The issue will feature a brand-new cover, twenty-four story pages, and bonus sketch material and art!
January brings The Black Beetle: No Way Out, a four-issue story that marks the first full series for Francavilla’s Black Beetle, continuing from the self-published, limited-edition ashcan comic of the same name—the first appearance of this exciting new pulp hero!
In Night Shift, an ancient artifact known as the Hollow Lizard—a powerful totem of dark magic—shows up at the Colt City Natural History Museum. Hitler sends his fearsome Werwolf Korps to collect the piece in hopes it will help him unlock the secrets of ancient Egypt’s Black Priests. Unfortunately for the führer, Colt City’s protector, the Black Beetle, is on the case!
In No Way Out, Black Beetle’s investigation of two local mob bosses is interrupted when a mysterious explosion murders them and a pub full of gangsters—taking out most of Colt City’s organized crime in one fell swoop. Who could pull off such a coup, and what damage might that murderous bomber inflict upon Colt City and Black Beetle?
Francavilla’s The Black Beetle series will also showcase a letter page so fans have the chance to have their thoughts, comments, and compliments answered by the creator himself! E-mail blackbeetle@darkhorse.com for a chance to see your letter in The Black Beetle: No Way Out!
“Francavilla delivers the pulp noir that suits his style perfectly.”—Comic Book Resources
The Black Beetle #0 hit comic store shelves everywhere December 19, 2012!
The Black Beetle: “No Way Out” #1 in store January 2013!

AN ALL-STAR PULP SNEAK PEEK

Calling Secret Agent X!

Cover: Will Meugniot

Airship 27 Productions publisher, Ron Fortier shared a sneak peek (above) at a page from the New Pulp Publisher’s upcoming second volume of All-Star Pulp Comics in his weekly Flight Log at www.airship27.com.

All Pulp will post more news about All-Star Pulp Comics #2 when it becomes available.

Artist Will Meugniot provides the cover (at left) to All-Star Pulp Comics #2 featuring Ki-Gor’s lady love, Helene teaming up with Derrick Ferguson’s pulp adventurer, Dillon.

DOMINO LADY AND THE SPIDER TEAM UP

Moonstone BooksPhases of the Moon #1 Domino Lady/The Spider trade paperback will ship to comic shops on January 11, 2013. Written by Steven L. Frank, Phases of the Moon #1 Domino Lady/The Spider features art by Remy Mokhtar and Bill McKay.

About Phases of the Moon #1 Domino Lady/The Spider:
A story arc so encompassing, it spans three flip comics, six Moonstone titles and several decades! A serial killer is terrorizing the city, but while The Spider investigates, all clues lead to his involvement and Domino Lady plans to stop him in his tracks. All is not as it seems, as the killer operates with equipment not of this time!

Learn more about Domino Lady here.
Learn more about The Spider here.
Learn more about Phases of the Moon here.

PARTY LIKE IT’S 19XX!

Created by Paul Roman Martinez, The Adventures of the 19XX is a comic series about a secret group trying to prevent WWII from happening in the 1930’s.

Martinez is raising money to reprint the first book in hardcover format via the crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter.

If you’re interested in learning more about The Adventures of the 19XX, please visit Kickstarter here and The 19XX comic book Facebook page here.

KNIGHT WATCHMAN TAKES THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT

Knight watchman: Graveyard Shift (c) 2012 & TM by Big Bang Comics. Published by Pulp 2.0 Press.

New Pulp Publisher, Pulp 2.0 Press has announced and shared the cover to the upcoming 2013 release of the Knight Watchman: Graveyard Shift collecting the 4-issue 1998 mini-series originally published by Big Bang Comics. Pulp 2.0 Press’ resident Mad Pulp Bastard and publisher, Bill Cunningham calls Graveyard Shift “A love letter to the 90’s and a major reinvention of The Knight Watchman.

About Graveyard Shift:
In the wake of a tragedy, a masked hero forced out of retirement to save the city from itself. When a dead body turns up and all the evidence points to the Knight Watchman, Midway City’s former good guy becomes its most wanted criminal unless he can survive long enough to clear his name.

Knight Watchman: Graveyard Shift is by Chris Ecker, Gary Carlson, and Ben Torres and retails for $8.99 plus shipping and handling.

Coming soon from Pulp 2.0 Press.

A SNEAK PEEK AT DYNAMITE’S SHADOW SPECIAL #1

Cover Art: Alex Ross

Dynamite Entertainment has shared a preview of the new ‘The Shadow Special’ #1, which is available in comic shops next week.

About The Shadow Special #1:
The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.  But when Lamont Cranston crosses paths with an old friend–a fellow veteran of “the war to end all wars”–Cranston’s justice serving alter ego must judge a man whose path to villainy began with their friendship!  At the risk of his own secrets being laid bare, Cranston accepts an invitation to join a very exclusive club of adventurers whose dark hearts might be the worst The Shadow has ever encountered!

Writer: Scott Beatty
Artist: Ronan Cliquet
Cover: Alex Ross
Format: 40 pgs., Full-Color
Cover Price: $4.99
Rating: Teen+

Click on images for a larger view.

TARZAN RELIVES THE RUSS MANNING YEARS

Art: Russ Manning

Just in time for Tarzan’s Centennial Celebration, Dark Horse Comics is releasing Tarzan: The Russ Manning Years Volume 1. The hardcover collection will arrive in comic shops on Wednesday, December 12.

Tarzan: The Russ Manning Years Volume 1 features stories by Gaylord DuBois (Writer) and Russ Manning (Artist).

Experience three of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan novels as drawn by Russ Manning, the most beloved comic-book interpreter of the lord of the jungle! Collecting Tarzan #155 – #161, #163, #164, #166, and #167, from the 1960s, this volume is an essential addition to any comics fan’s collection!

Tarzan: The Russ Manning Years Volume 1 is 288 pages and retails for $49.99.

Enjoy this preview.
Click on images for a larger view.

Emily S. Whitten: Sturm und Drang and a Bit of Darkness

Before I get down to today’s main topic, I want to say that I’m thinking of all who may be in difficulties or have suffered damage or loss due to Hurricane Sandy. I know a lot of comics pros (and fans!) live in NYC, which was pretty hard-hit, and I hope that most of you there and everywhere else made it out of the storm with minimal inconvenience.

As it turns out, at least one of our community did not fare so well. NYC-area comics artist J.K. Woodward (of Peter David’s Fallen Angel and more) and his wife Monica lost pretty much everything in the hurricane. Darrell Taylor and J.K. have a weekly podcast called J.K.’s Happy Hour, and this week it’s all about the craziness that J.K. and Monica went through. You should seriously listen to it, because it’s nuts. (I got to, “The couch started lifting up and floating, and we realized we were fucked,” and I just started laughing in horrified disbelief, even though it’s really not funny. It’s just that unbelievably crazy. And J.K. is funny, even in the midst of his loss.)

In the aftermath of that, J.K. and Monica are trying to find a new place to live and to replace basically their whole lives (right down to their clothes! Yikes!), and they could really use some help. To help finance a new home, car, and household items, J.K. is selling original art here. Or, if you’d like to help them out but would prefer to give directly, they also have a PayPal account at jkwoodward1205@gmail.com. Alternatively, if you want to donate clothes (J.K. is an XL in mens’ tees) or household items, through at least December they can be sent to: J.K. Woodward, c/o Reiss Studios, 4301 22nd Street, Studio 206, Long Island City, NY 11101.

You can also keep up with how they are doing and any updates as to what help they might need at J.K.’s blog. It must be terrible to lose everything like that; but hopefully some of us in the community can help them get back on their feet!

And, now, onward to something a little creepy – which is appropriate, as I was reading it right before Halloween. “It” being a review copy of the graphic adaptation of actor Thomas Jane’s movie Dark Country, which is now available in hardback. Both the movie and the graphic novel are based on a twisty little story written by Tab Murphy. The graphic novel is published by RAW Studios, founded by Thomas Jane (The Punisher, The Mist, Hung) and in partnership with Eisner Award nominated illustrator/production designer Tim Bradstreet (The Punisher, Hellblazer, Criminal Macabre) and a crew of talented creators.

I admit I haven’t seen the movie (although now that I’ve read the graphic novel, I may just do so). So this review is all about the new hardback graphic novel, which actually contains three distinct parts: a “silent” scratchboard-style graphic story by Swiss artist Thomas Ott, the original short story by Tab Murphy, and a collection of information and images related to the making of the film.

I haven’t encountered that many silent comics before; although memorably, Frank Tieri’s Deadpool #61 in the “Funeral for a Freak” storyline (appropriately entitled “‘Nuff Said”) is one, and is very well done. But the Dark Country silent comic is very impressive – both in the unique style of art, which is alternately beautiful and ominous or even gruesome; and in the way it’s able to tell the story without a spoken word from any character. Done all in black and white, Ott’s style is pretty interesting (samples can be seen here), being simultaneously very precise and detailed, and diffuse due to the scratchboard technique. The style also contributes to the noir-ish mood of the story and to the impending sense of dread as it unfolds. It’s definitely a striking artistic work and story.

Reading Tab Murphy’s original short story is a slightly different experience, but no less enjoyable if you like suspense and horror. If you haven’t encountered the story before, I won’t spoil it for you; but I will say, it’s an interesting little tale with a weird twist that’s hard to get out of your mind; one of the kind that you want to read through again after you’ve finished it, to see how your own perception of the plot has changed. It starts out with a newly married couple driving from Vegas to Albuquerque through the desert at night, and gets ominous when they encounter a body in the road. I’m not a horror fan in the sense of “blood, guts, and slasher films.” What I do like, though, are psychological thrillers and stories that are terrifying because of their puzzles, twists, or dark mysteries; and this is something along those lines, and certainly worth a read if you enjoy that genre.

The third part of the hardback package is almost fifty pages of materials from the making of the movie, like background, storyboards, production notes, and still photos. Despite not having seen the film, I found this part really interesting. It’s a glimpse into Thomas Jane and Co’s creative process during production, in a detail I haven’t encountered before (being as most of my “behind the scenes” reading about movie production has been done piecemeal and by happenstance while clicking around online). From discussions about the influence comic books had on Jane’s vision to the process of making the film in 3-D to concept art and storyboards, there’s a lot to digest here, and it gives a nice glimpse into the development of a film from concept to screen. Also there are some great bits of art by David Allcock scattered about.

Altogether, the compilation of these things is pretty cool; and if you’re a fan of the movie or of noir, horror, suspense, or some combination of those things, I’d think this would be a neat addition to your collection. Just don’t read it before bedtime, or you might find yourself unable to escape dreaming of the Dark Country.

Wishing you all a sleep free of nightmares, and until next time, Servo Lectio!

E.T.A. And to wrap up on Halloween-themed things, it so happens that I have just entered my Arkham City Harley Quinn costume in a little contest. Winners get cool comics prizes! So if anyone is so inclined, please feel free to vote for me once a day through November 14, and maybe I can win! (In which case, I would most certainly choose the Harley Quinn prize. It’s only fitting). Thanks!!

TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Michael Davis and The Adventures Of Black-Man!

WEDNESDAY MORNING: Why Mike Gold Didn’t Cold-Cock Walter Simonson