Tagged: IDW

“Welcome to Hoxford” Preview

“Welcome to Hoxford” Preview

Newsarama recently posted a first-issue preview of Welcome to Hoxford, the latest series by writer/artist Ben Templesmith. He’s one of the best there is these days when it comes to crafting scary stories that not only tell a tale, but make you feel it, too. Feel free to check out a few issues of Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse if you’re a doubter.

Here’s how IDW describes the series:

PREVIEW INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES — IDW has provided Newsarama with an exclusive preview of this month’s Welcome to Hoxford #1 – Ben Templesmith (writer & artist & covers) – Acclaimed writer/artist Ben Templesmith (Wormwood Gentleman Corpse) creates his newest horrific comic book right here! In the debut issue of Welcome to Hoxford, Raymond Delgado isn’t welcome at all. Rather, he’s the newest inmate at the Hoxford Correctional Facility and Mental Institution. He has no hope of release, parole, rehabilitation, or decent conversation. On a good day, he’ll tell you he’s Zeus and only bite your arm off. Literally. On a bad day, you won’t have time to scream to the prison guard for help. But Dr Jessica Ainley, his doctor for five years, wants to help Ray and can’t understand why the newly privatized, corporately run prison, won’t give her access to her patients. And why are people always transferred into Hoxford, but no records show anyone ever transferring back out…? Full Color · 32 pages · $3.99 * AUGUST 2008

As the solicit text indicates, the series is fairly graphic (and so are the preview pages) — so consider yourself warned.

The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 30

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  • August 1, 2008

A pretty slow week in comics, as everyone’s still gasping for breath post Comic-Con (including me, even though I stayed at home this year). Not even a dozen books worth reading this week, and I somehow missed the JSA annual. Still, some interesting stuff, with a strong DC showing.

Book of the Week: Blue Beetle #29 — This was a really strong debut issue from Matthew Sturges, which makes it all the more unfortunate that the finished cover (not the same as the image at right) lists the writer as "Rogers," meaning the departed writer, I imagine.

There’s also a bizarre bit of text added that says: "No trespassing: Violators will be Prosecuted." Except the last word is crossed out and "Persecuted" is written over it. Meaningless fluff that distracts from an attractive bit of art.

Like I said, though, the issue is good stuff aside from a few minor awkwardnesses as Sturges warms up to the series. Jaime keeps on adventuring, though he’s falling into a big mess involving Intergang and smugglers.

Sturges uses that to create a nice dynamic, as Jaime is forced to take a side in the immigration debate. This is a really good jumping-on point, if you’ve been thinking of giving the series a try.

Runners Up:

Green Lantern #33 — Geoff Johns keeps working his magic, digging through the unexplored patches of DC lore for this tale of Hal and Sinestro’s first teamup. It’s a very Obi and Anakin scenario, except if Obi was the one who turned evil.

Johns uses subtlety in examining the reasons Sinestro went mad with power, and the prophecy of the Blackest Night finally is starting to be revealed.

Thor #10 — Not a lot to say here, just another issue that somehow makes believable the idea of Valhalla appearing over the U.S. Reality and myth mingle, and the seduction of Balder deepens. Great stuff.

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Thoughts on IDW, Comic-Con and Publishers’ Presence at Conventions

Thoughts on IDW, Comic-Con and Publishers’ Presence at Conventions

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  • August 1, 2008

Yesterday I linked to Tom Spurgeon’s interview with Ted Adams, president of IDW Publishing, about Adams’ recent announcement that this year’s show might be IDW’s last. Today, Spurgeon posted some thoughts from various figures in and around the comics industry about IDW’s decision, what it says about Comic-Con International and the convention scene, and how it all ties together with the changing face of the comics scene.

At Spurgeon’s request, I offered up my own reaction to the interview (you can find it down at the end of the post), and was joined by noted representatives of the publishing industry and comics media.

Here are some of the thoughts contributed by Fantagraphics’ Eric Reynolds on the issue:

I feel very strongly myself that sometimes the amount of effort and money expended on cons like Comicon and BEA is fairly absurd and might be simply better spent elsewhere. But no one wants to blink, including us. If everyone in publishing agreed to take a year off of a Comicon or BEA and simply not hold it, would the industry suffer? I doubt it. So I admire Ted’s take on it.

We don’t have any plans to not attend, and it really is an amazing show in most respects, but when you really sit down and add up all of the expenses of time and money at the end of the show, it’s absurd. We spend so much money to potentially make a very little bit of money when it’s all said and done.

Head over to The Comics Reporter for more on the IDW/Comic-Con debate.

Onion: ‘Al Gore Places Infant Son in Rocket’

Onion: ‘Al Gore Places Infant Son in Rocket’

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

From the Onion:

EARTH—Former vice president Al Gore—who for the past three decades has unsuccessfully attempted to warn humanity of the coming destruction of our planet, only to be mocked and derided by the very people he has tried to save—launched his infant son into space Monday in the faint hope that his only child would reach the safety of another world.

"I tried to warn them, but the Elders of this planet would not listen," said Gore, who in 2000 was nearly banished to a featureless realm of nonexistence for promoting his unpopular message. "They called me foolish and laughed at my predictions. Yet even now, the Midwest is flooded, the ice caps are melting, and the cities are rocked with tremors, just as I foretold. Fools! Why didn’t they heed me before it was too late?"

Al Gore—or, as he is known in his own language, Gore-Al—placed his son, Kal-Al, gently in the one-passenger rocket ship, his brow furrowed by the great weight he carried in preserving the sole survivor of humanity’s hubristic folly.

"There is nothing left now but to ensure that my infant son does not meet the same fate as the rest of my doomed race," Gore said. "I will send him to a new planet, where he will, I hope, be raised by simple but kindly country folk and grow up to be a hero and protector to his adopted home."

Read the rest right here.

IDW Says “No More Comic-Con?”

IDW Says “No More Comic-Con?”

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  • July 31, 2008

There’s been no shortage of discussion, complaints and analysis to be found around the ‘Net the last few months with regard to the changing focus of San Diego’s Comic-Con International, but the recent suggestion that this year’s show could be the last for publisher IDW still created quite a stir. Tom Spurgeon recently spoke with IDW’s president, Ted Adams, about his buzz-worthy proclamation, and the interview is must-read material for anyone interested in the evolution of comics’ place in both Comic-Con and the convention scene as a whole.

 

SPURGEON: How much has the way the show’s transformed itself the last half-decade had an impact on your decision?

ADAMS: It’s part of it.

I should make a point of saying that the people that put on San Diego Comic-Con are pretty extraordinary. This show, what they do every year is I think is flat-out unbelievable. You couldn’t pay me enough money to take on any of their jobs. They’ve done nothing but treat us with respect. The decisions I’m weighing have nothing to do with the way we’ve been treated by San Diego or really this sort of perceived — I see these things on-line about the perception that Comic-Con is getting away from comics and becoming an entertainment show, and there’s no question that’s true. But I don’t have the angst over those things. I think we’re just seeing the free market at work here with San Diego Comic-Con. The market is saying "We want to see Hugh Jackman." [laughter] I don’t know how Comic-Con could make that not be. What are you going to do, go to Fox and say, "You can’t have Hugh Jackman here"? [Spurgeon laughs] You’re going to disappoint the tens of thousands of people that want to see that.

 

Head over to The Comics Reporter for the rest of the interview.

ComicMix Radio: Obama and McCain in Four Color

ComicMix Radio: Obama and McCain in Four Color

 It had to happen. The Presidential Battle spills over into the comic shops with a one-of-a-kind new set of graphic novels from IDW, plus:

  • "Superboy" and The Legion on TV
  • Doctor Solar and Magnus back again
  • Make room for a stack of interesting titles from Ape Entertainment

 Press the Button – it’s just like casting your vote,  but without the tax increases.
 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via iTunes - ComicMix or RSS!

SDCC: Dark Horse News

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  • July 31, 2008

Dark Horse was nice enough to compile a full list of the publisher’s announcements out of San Diego (including a new Martha Washington — at right — book).

That’s very appreciated, as the lunacy of Comic-Con made it impossible last week to keep up with everything every publisher was doing — though our ComicMix team did their best to bring you as much news as possible.

Any publishers who want to send over similar news dispatches can hit us up through the usual channels.

After the jump is Dark Horse’s complete news breakdown, listed by day.

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Foster Children, by Elayne Riggs

Foster Children, by Elayne Riggs

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  • July 30, 2008

It’s finally official. On Saturday in San Diego, IDW announced a new project based on Peter David’s Sir Apropos of Nothing series of novels, to be written by Peter with art by Robin Riggs. “Art” as in pencils, inks and colors — or, as those wacky Brits say, “colours.” Don’t ask me why, they have enough trouble pronouncing words correctly without trying to spell them right as well. Anyway, Robin and I are both pretty excited about this miniseries, and not only because the offer came at the same time as my current job offer so it means we both get to celebrate employment at the same time.

First of all, it’s Peter, whom we’ve both known for a long while and who’s an absolute delight even though he’s never introduced us to his equally-famous friends like Harlan Ellison and Billy Mumy. Secondly, I love the character of Apropos… well, not exactly “love,” he’s kind of a despicable rogue, but I love his adventures, and I love the conceit of a character who’s supposed to be secondary and an afterthought suddenly being the protagonist of his own stories. It’s kind of like if women were lead characters in their own right instead of love interests and fridge fodder! What a concept!

Anyway, the other reason I’m loving the idea of Robin doing a Sir Apropos comic book series is, even though it’s going to be parodying bits of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, art-wise Robin wants to bring to it a sort of Hal Foster Prince Valiant vibe. I think the first story Rob and I ever did together, a 2-pager called Sailor’s Wife, had this sort of feel to it, and the whole medieval atmosphere worked really well with his penciling style.

So Rob has been immersed in Foster these past few weeks, going over all his Prince Valiant collections, studying them for inspiration and visual ideas. He even taped together a number of 11 x 17 sheets to make a page (see photo) the size at which Hal Foster originally worked. It’s easy to see how much more illustrative you can get when you’re working 30 x 40. But it takes a true master to know how to draw so that no detail is entirely lost in the reproduction.

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SDCC: Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe Explained

SDCC: Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe Explained

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  • July 29, 2008

The biggest North American comic convention wraps up another show. The hall is closed and the lights are off. But the videos from the show floor live on. 

Way back when Mortal Kombat Versus DC Universe was first announced fans worried that Superman would be a horribly unbalanced character. A veteran reader of many Silver Banshee attacks Superman storylines, I speculated that since the Mortal Kombat universe was steeped in magic, this would explain how Sub-Zero could freeze Superman or Scorpion could set him on fire. Turns out I was right.

 

Midway has released the video shown (seen below) at San Diego Comic-Con where creator Ed Boon explained to fans how his guys can beat up their guys. And it looks amazing! The video also explains new in-fight mechanics: close combat and free fall combat. Also in the video were fights featuring Batman, Flash, and Catwoman.

 

No word yet if the villain from the Superman Returns movie shows up: A rock. A really big rock.

 


SDCC: IDW and ‘Ghostbusters’

  • News
  • July 27, 2008

Going into Comic-Con, we all knew IDW would be talking about their plans with the recently acquired G.I. Joe franchise. But another ’80s reboot came as a little more of a surprise.

In October, the publisher will trot out a four-issue Ghostbusters miniseries, by writer Keith Champagne and artist Dustin Nguyen. Newsarama caught up with Champagne in San Diego, who had an interesting take on the property:

Is Ghostbusters a successful franchise? It’s definitely generated a lot of revenue in different formats so I guess one could consider it successful in a bottom line kind of way, but creatively, I think it’s been hit or miss. Granted, I’m not the target audience for the cartoon stuff so maybe I’m wrong.

I think the greatness of the first movie has more or less born the weight of the entire franchise over the years. None of the other iterations has seemed to come close although I’m hearing that the upcoming video game is really good, basically a third movie in itself. And hey, there’s no shame in shooting for the stars and falling a little short. Let’s face it: guys like Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis and Bill Murray firing on all cyclinders, that’s a tough act to follow for us mere mortals.

Also, no Slimer, which is sure to please some and annoy others.

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