Tagged: The Phantom

Eduardo Barreto

Eduardo Barreto: 1954-2011

Eduardo BarretoVeteran comic book artist Luis Eduardo Barreto has passed away from complications of meningitis. He was 57.

Born in Uruguay, Barreto’s work was seen most often in DC Comics titles in the 1980s and early 1990s. He may be widely known for his run on The New Teen Titans, but it was his more noirish work where he truly excelled, bringing a darker touch to Superman: Speeding Bullets, Batman: Scar of the Bat, Batman: Master of the Future, Batman/Daredevil: King of New York, The Shadow Strikes, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, The Phantom, and my personal favorite, Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography.

Later in his career, Barreto took over the long-running newspaper comic strip Judge Parker before being diagnosed with meningitis. Most recently, he drew the Superman Retroactive: 70’s for DC, and he and his son Diego succeeded Peter Krause on Mark Waid’s Irredeemable for BOOM! Studios.

His following was truly international: a skim of Twitter feeds shows as many tributes and remembrances of him in Spanish as in English. He will be missed.

New Pulp’s Table Talk – What’s in a Translation?

After a week away to recharge the batteries, the Table Talk Team returns to New Pulp with a brand new and exciting topic. And they even brought along a couple of friends. This week, Barry Reese, Bobby Nash and Mike Bullock are joined in the conversation by New Pulpers Tommy Hancock and Van Allen Plexico as the guys discuss translating pulp characters into other mediums.

New Pulp’s Table Talk – What’s in a Translation? is now available at http://www.newpulpfiction.com/ or at the direct link: http://www.newpulpfiction.com/2011/11/table-talk-whats-in-translation.html

Join the conversation. Leave us a blog comment at and let us know your thoughts on this topic.

New Pulp’s Table Talk – Which Side of The Control Fence Are You On?

Table Talk Returns at New Pulp! Table Talk is a weekly column where three authors heavily steeped in New Pulp discuss all sorts of random topics (not always) relating to New Pulp. This week Bobby Nash, Mike Bullock, and Barry Reese discuss the pros and cons of self-publishing versus working with traditional publishers and then dig into the two sides of the work-for-hire/creator-owned treasure trove.

New Pulp’s Table Talk – Which Side of The Control Fence Are You On? is now available at http://www.newpulpfiction.com/ or click the title above for a direct link.

Join the conversation. Leave us a blog comment at http://www.newpulpfiction.com/2011/10/table-talk-which-side-of-control-fence.html and let us know your thoughts on this topic.



New York Comic Con’s Pulp Panel

New Pulp Author W. Peter Miller was part of the pulp programming at last weekend’s New York Comic Con.
Reposted from his blog, http://docsavagetales.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-york-comic-con-part-1-pulp-panel.html with permission.

New York Comic Con – Part 1 – Pulp Panel

 
 
Note – It seems I have misidentified some people in the pictures…
This past weekend I joined the masses at the New York Comic Con. Sunday afternoon was the occasion of the Pulp Fiction – Now With Even More Pulp panel that featured a huge all-star panel that included authors Adam Garcia, Mark Halegua, Jim Beard, and Will Murray, artist Tom Gianni, publishers Greg Goldstein (COO of IDW), Joe Rybrant (Dynamite Comics), and Anthony Tollin (Nostalgia Ventures). Ed Catto was the moderator.
With this many panelists and the volume of pulp material being published, the hour flew by quickly and a bunch of fans got to take home some freebies. The panel was introduced and the current and upcoming projects of the panelists discussed. Disappointingly, there was not nearly enough time for a  discussion on the state of pulp fiction today. I think that there is a lot to be discussed about New Pulp and the term didn’t even come up.
 The panel from r-l: Ed Catto, Greg Goldstein?, Will Murray, Anthony Tollin, Tom Gianni, Adam Garcia

The panel cont. r-l: Joe Rybrant, Jim Beard, Mark Halegua
Some of the upcoming projects mentioned were quite exciting. Here are some highlights, or at least what I remember…
Greg Goldstein said that IDW is doing another anthology series with the Rocketeer, featuring new creators and a few returning creators from the first series. That is great news, because those were good stories. The major publishers can’t even get one story in a comic and the Rocketeer Adventures had 3 or 4! I would also like to see a longer adventure featuring Cliff Secord and Betty.
Will Murray wrote the first new official Doc Savage novel released in almost 20 years, The Desert Demons, written from Lester Dent’s notes. That came out this summer, but the next one, Horror in Gold is coming out soon! Audio books of Will’s first 2 Doc novels are out from Radio Archives. Will is also overseeing a line of of pulp audio books with them as well, starting with The Spider.
Anthony Tollin has many things coming including a Shadow movie serial script and a behind the scenes look at the serial and interviews with crew members. The Shadow Scrapbook will be expanded and reprinted, including a 1934 radio script by Walter Gibson.
Tom Gianni has painted a cover for Moonstone’s Avenger Chronicles and is working a Graphic novel of his own called, “Mechanic Anna”, which is hoping to have out next summer. Tom’s beautiful art, can be seen here.
Adam Garcia is making a name for himself with his new Green Lama stories which span the media. His new Green Lama novel, The Crimson Circle should be out early next year, and there will be Green Lama comics and an audio drama, too. Exciting stuff!
Dynamite has a lot going on and Joe Rybrant clearly loves pulp and talked about an upcoming Flash Gordon / Phantom cross over featuring another unnamed pulp character that may be Mandrake of possibly the Green Lama… Dynamite also has another big pulp character coming that will be announced soon.
Mark Halegua has his first story out in Mystery Men & Women Vol 2 from Airship 27. It features his original character, the Red Badge.
With this many creators and this many new books to talk about there wasn’t much talk about the future of pulp, or the New Pulp movement, except for when Adam Garcia talked about bringing more to the table by leaning in a slightly more literary / post-modern vein that some pulp fans don’t seem to care for. I think that there is plenty of room for that and the mainstream publishers are publishing that under the guise of ‘steampunk’ and other names…

The fans swarm the panel for free goodies

Adam Garcia and fellow Green Lama writer W. Peter Miller
Also, New Pulp Author and pulp panelist, Adam Garcia posted two videos of the panel on YourTube for your enjoyment.
 

The Shadow Returns!



After sixteen years, The Shadow will once again be haunting the comic book shops. The classic character who starred in both pulp magazines and his popular radio show will be returning in the hands of Dynamite Entertainment. Dynamite currently publishes pulp-related properties The Green Hornet, The Phantom and John Carter of Mars. Dynamite’s President and Publisher were quoted in a press release, saying “pursuing The Shadow has been a lifetime quest.”

No creative teams have been announced thus far.

Reviews from the 86th Floor: Barry Reese looks at Phantom: Guardian of the Eastern Dark



THE PHANTOM:

GUARDIAN OF THE EASTERN DARK

Written by Mike Bullock

Art by Sivestre Szilagyi and Fernando Peniche

Moonstone Books

ISBN 978-1-933076-81-2

$24.95

This heavy tome collects the entire 12 issue run of Moonstone’s second ongoing Phantom series. All issues are written by Mike Bullock while Silvestre Szilagyi handles the art on what was originally issues 1-3, 5-6 and 8-12. Fernando Peniche is the artist on issues 4 and 7.

If you’re a fan of The Phantom, then you’re probably already aware of Bullock’s contributions to the character. He was the primary writer of The Phantom during the character’s time with Moonstone and he peppered his stories with real-life issues related to Africa. This collection is very much a sequel to Bullock’s work on the first Moonstone Phantom series, as it brings back one of his greatest creations, the villain known as Him. Indeed, the entire 12-issue arc is based around Him’s return and the various ways that he manipulates The Phantom. The stories are fast-paced and action-packed, featuring The Phantom in a number of dramatic situations… he even battles a polar bear towards the end!

The artwork is serviceable — Szilagyi is a good storyteller though his style lacks some of the flair that would help set the stories apart. He seems to come from the lineage of guys like Don Heck: draftsman who know how to clearly lay out a page and can hit all the required notes but there’s not any pages here that scream “Boy, I wish I could get that one as a poster!” Peniche is a far more dramatic artist but has some wonky anatomy and layouts at times.

If I had any criticism of the storyline as a whole, it would be that there’s little downtime for The Phantom. Diana is very much a background figure in the series and Kit and Heloise do show up for a couple of drama-inducing pages but I would have enjoyed seeing an issue somewhere in the run where The Phantom would have spent more time with his family: I think mixing in a “small” story amidst the proceedings would have made the final chapters have more power. As it is, readers are required to already have feelings for the kids and understand The Phantom’s devotion to his family — there’s not really much in the way of explaining that to new readers along the way.

I consider this book well worth the money and it should be of interest to any Phantom fans. I will say that my favorite Bullock storyline is collected in The Phantom: Checkmate and it serves as an excellent lead-in to this volume, since it also features Him. Get ’em both, if you haven’t already.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

MIKE GOLD: Whips and Comics

In this very space a few days ago, John Ostrander said, By this time next year, we may know if we’re still viable or making buggy whips.” He was referring to comics creators, to comics fans, and to the entire comics art medium.

The first person I heard refer to comics with this term was master cartoonist Stan Lynde. In case you’re challenged in matters relating to newspaper comic strips, Stan was the creator and writer/artist of the strips Rick O’Shay and Latigo. He’s a master storyteller, a brilliant humorist and an artist of fantastic prowess. The time was close to 20 years ago, and Mike Grell and I were at a very enjoyable comic book convention at Billings Montana. One of the promoters promised to introduce me to Stan. This was a real fanboy moment for me.

As it turned out Stan and Lynda Lynde were two of the nicest people on the planet, and probably the universe. After dinner (where I consumed the best prime rib ever), they invited Mike and me to their place in the bluffs overlooking Billings. There Mike and I gazed upon acres of Stan’s paintings, original strip art, awards, historical memorabilia, and simply awesome sundry stuff. We talked for several hours and the subject got around to his career. Stan shared all kinds of great stuff – how one of his assistants was Robert Crumb, who, in many respects, was the anti-Stan Lynde. How Little Orphan Annie creator Harold Gray was an egotistical, arrogant bastard – those are my words, not Stan’s. And how, when he was coming to the end of his tenure his signature creation Rick O’Shay, his first wife asked him how long he was going to be making buggy whips.

That phrase impressed me. Were newspaper strips buggy whips? Maybe. Continuity strips certainly were – today, we have Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley, Alley Oop, The Phantom, Mandrake, Judge Parker and barely a handful of others. Tracy’s picked up a few papers since our pal Joe Staton took over the art; on the other hand I know Mandrake is still alive solely because it’s online at King Features Syndicate. But the argument itself stayed with me, and during the past two decades I’ve endured the effluvium of the buggy whip factory as it surrounded the comic book medium.

The fact that the newspaper comic strip form remains alive is due to the Internet: a lot of newspapers run lots and lots of strips on their websites and the major syndicates have very low-cost services which email comics directly to their subscribers.

Not to put words in Brother John’s mouth, but the Internet is the only thing staving comic books off from the buggy whip wing of the American cultural museum. I think John’s right: we should know in about a year if that works. If not, ComicMix will become, oh, I don’t know, either a B&D site with all those whips, or a B&B site where you can score a nice home cooked meal.

As we passed midnight Stan drove us back to our hotel. As we were walking to the door and I said something to the effect of “hot damn.” Brother Grell responded, “You better believe it.” Even then Mike and I were two hardened veterans of the comics racket but we effortlessly allowed ourselves to bathe in the most crystal clear waters of fanboy heaven. We shared a truly inspirational time and we actually leapt up in the air out of our shared enthusiasm.

And that’s why I think comics might just have a future after all.

THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil

Reviews from the 86th Floor: Barry Reese looks at The Last Phantom

Reviews from the 86th Floor: Barry Reese looks at The Last Phantom


THE LAST PHANTOM VOLUME ONE:
GHOSTWALK
Beatty/Ferigato
Dynamite Entertainment
ISBN 1-60690-201-6

Like many hardcore Phantom fans, I was disappointed when Moonstone lost the comics license. They had handled the character very well over the years, managing to both pay respect to his origins while also updating him to the 21st Century. When images began to filter out about the Dynamite version, complete with a new look, a more violent tone and a potentially revised origin, I was not pleased. So now I’ve finally gotten around to reading the first trade… and I have to say, it’s not bad.

In this story, the 22nd Phantom (not the 21st who is seen in most Phantom materials) has decided to retire the family business. He still plans to save the world but he’s doing it through philanthropy, not firearms. But someone close to him has motives that aren’t so pure and they arrange for Kit Walker to die in a plane crash, at the same time as his wife and son are murdered. Kit survives, learning that his family’s legacy of death isn’t one that can easily be broken. The bizarre look featured on the cover and in promotional images is actually a temporary one, used while Kit is recovering his Phantom gear. He does update the suit, using one now that can bend light around it so he appears to be a literal ghost. From the point at which Kit returns to the suit, things are much more traditional, though the violence is still raised a notch over the usual Phantom fare.

The art ranges from great to simply serviceable but for the most part it’s dynamic and tells the story well. The story is good and actually seems like a good way to update The Phantom to a modern audience: it wouldn’t make a bad movie. I hated to see Kit’s wife and son die (it’s so cliche) but it certainly sets the tone and explains the title (though Kit looks young enough that there could be more heirs in his future).

Was this so good that it makes up for losing the Moonstone versions? No… but I do wish we could have somehow had both on the stands. This is a smart updating of the mythos and if it hadn’t been mismarketed to fans at the beginning, I think it would have been embraced more.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

MOONSTONE MONDAY-WHAT’S COMIN’ IN SEPTEMBER!!!

MOONSTONE SEPT ’11 RELEASES
Moonstone Pulp Fiction Magazine #1
Story: CJ Henderson, Mike Bullock
Art: misc
Cover: Doug Klauba
96pgs, grayscale, 8” x 11.5”, $7.99
A “Return of the Originals” MEGA event!
New comic and prose stories, of classic pulp characters like The Spider, The Black Bat, The Phantom Detective, Secret Agent X, G8, and so many more!
*Plus a special new crime fiction prose story of the Green Hornet only available here!
———————————————————————-
Airboy/G8 Limited Edition HC
Story: Chuck Dixon
Art: Ken Hooper
Cover: Tom Grindberg
50pgs, grayscale, 7” x 10”, HC $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-936814-11-4
Join us for this very special “Return of the Originals” event!
A once in a lifetime aerial extravaganza!
Two high-flying ace legends meet for the very first time in a brand new all out adventure by action-master Chuck Dixon!
——————————————————-
Savage Beauty- limited Edition HC
Story: Mike Bullock
Art: Jose Massaroli
Colors: Bob Pedroza
Cover: Paul Gulacy
70pgs, color, 7” x 10”, $29.99
ISBN: 978-1-936814-09-1
Collecting issue #1 and the never-before-published issues #2 and #3!
Ripped from today’s world news comes a re-imagining of the classic jungle girl genre debuting a new hero for the modern age!
Join the Rae sisters, recent UCLA grads, as they travel across modern-day Africa finding their place and making a difference. Guided by the mysterious Mr. Eden, they assume the identity of a mythical goddess and reveal their Savage Beauty.
     Mike (The Phantom) Bullock presents a fresh new spin on the genre, featuring real-world conflicts in Africa and beyond.
———————————————————
Buckaroo BANZAI #2
Story: Earl Mac Rauch/Paul D. Storrie
Art: David Daza
Colors: Patrick Williams
Covers: Malcolm McClinton, Kyle Henry
32pgs, color, $3.99
Rated: PG-13
The man, the marvel, the human achievement, is back!
From the cult movie starring Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, and Jeff Goldblum!
The creators/film makers are telling NEW stories!
Your favorite neurosurgeon/rock star/adventurer returns, along with his Hong Kong Cavaliers, in: TEARS of a CLONE!…where a Death’s Head tank squad lurks in suburbia, talking bouncer-robots attack, expensive love wants to erupt, and Lectroids run with scissors, and then… shotguns! The world may never be the same.
(————————————————————————-
The Spider: Satan’s Seven Swordsmen GN
Story: Norvell W. Page
Art: Gary Carbon
80pgs, 7” x 10”, grayscale, $9.95
ISBN: 978-1-936814-10-7
A Wide-Vision Graphic Novel!
The Spider—cloaked, fanged nightmare in black— delivers swift justice with a pair of .45 automatics! Set against a world at war, this epic adventure is laced with great over-the-top action foreshadowing James Bond!
The Spider battles the sinister Dr. Fuji and his deadly ring of assassins spearheading a large-scale terror attack on  America! 
——————————————————-
The Spider #3/4
Story: Martin Powell, Gary Phillips
Art: Hannibal King, Jay Piscopo
Cover: Dan Brereton
56pgs, grayscale, $5.99
The never-offered issue #3 and #4 together in one brand new book!
The Spider faces a monstrous flesh-eating evil that attacks invisibly from the
filthy shadows, leaving doomed New York City in a panic-stricken state of
hysteria and gruesome sudden death. None are immune to the plague of the
Creeping Hell, not even
Nita Van Sloan, the Spider’s beloved.
PLUS: more Operator5
DOC SAVAGE: Python Isle – Unabridged Audiobook
Written by Will Murray, based on a concept by Lester Dent Narrated by Michael McConnohie Produced and Directed by Roger Rittner Cover Art by Joe DeVito
8 CD’s, $25.98
ISBN: 9781610814010
The greatest pulp fiction hero of the 1930s returns in the first of a new series of audiobooks! Doc Savage, the legendary Man of Bronze, captivated adventure readers of the 1930s and 1940s in his own pulp magazine and in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s in the million-selling paperback series for Bantam Books. In 1990, Will Murray, heir apparent to Doc Savage originator Lester Dent, revived the famous Street & Smith superhero in a new series of exploits based on Dent’s unfinished works. Writing as Kenneth Robeson, Murray brought Doc Savage back with “Python Isle”, a dramatic account of a long-lost pioneer flyer who returns to civilization with an exotic woman who speaks a lost tongue. From his towering skyscraper headquarters in New York, through a dangerous Zeppelin journey to Cape Town, climaxing on a serpent-haunted island in the forbidden reaches of the Indian Ocean, Doc and his iron comrades race to untangle a weird puzzle so deep the only clues can be found in the Bible!
——————————————————-
RES: Honey West #5
Story: Elaine Lee
Art: Ronn Sutton
Colors: Ken Wolak
Covers: Marat Mychaels
32pgs, color, $3.99
The ALL NEW adventures of the first female private eye continue!
Join Vertigo’s (“Vamps”) writer Elaine Lee for the conclusion of “Murder on Mars” as Honey goes undercover on the set of the sci-fi film Amazons of Mars to investigate the mysterious death of Zu Zu Varga, queen of the B-movies. It looks like murder, but who had motive? Was it the scheming ingénue, the down-on-his luck director, the jealous agent, or the ageing teen heartthrob? Robots, aliens and murder in 1960s CA!
————————————————————
RES: KOLCHAK: the Night Stalker Files #3
Story: Chris Mills
Art: Jaime Martinez
Cover: Woodrow Hinton III
32pgs, grayscale, $3.50
New format! Cheaper price!
Deep in the heart of the wild Everglades, a bloodthirsty swamp beast is on
the hunt for human prey. But, when reporter Carl Kolchak sets out with a
U.S. Marshall to find the creature, he learns – the hard way – that not all
monsters are what they seem to be.
————————————————–
RES: Airboy Presents: AIR VIXENS#1
Written by Mike Bullock
Art: Ben Hansen
Colors by: Bob Pedroza
Cover A : Ben Hansen
Cover B, C :Franchesco!
32pgs,grayscale, $3.50
More story pages than ever before!…new format, cheaper price!
From the pages of Air Fighters comes the first issue of Air Vixens starring Black Angel, Bald Eagle and Valkyrie.
     When Der Furher sent Valkyrie to smuggle secret weapons and intelligence across Europe in a zeppelin, he didn’t expect Black Angel and Bald Eagle to crash the party, and neither did they.
     Tune in for the first issue featuring the high flying femme fatales of the Air Fighters in this oversized, bombastic first issue!

Swipe File: Rep. Paul Ryan and Gary “Smiler” Callahan

Swipe File is normally Rich Johnston’s beat, but since he’s not into American politics, he might not catch this one.

On the left is Gary Callahan, a.k.a. The Smiler, from Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s Transmetropolitan. On the right is U.S. Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI), Chairman of the House Budget Committee and who we should note is not Paul Ryan, the comics artist for Fantastic Four, D.P. 7, Quasar, and The Phantom.

One of these individuals has good looks and a certain amount of charisma, but has no empathy for the lower classes of society. He has designs on the presidency, and will cut odious political deals to make that happen, all while being fawned over by right wing pundits and a segment of the voters who are convince that he will save us from “the Beast”.

The other, of course, is a character out of the comic books.

For further comparison, consider this page from Transmetropolitan #41, and remember that this came out over 10 years ago. Sounds like something Ryan could have said last week, when he tried to shut down the U.S. federal government.