Tagged: Warren Ellis

Review: ‘The Dead Boy Detectives’ by Bryan Talbot and Ed Brubaker

By my count, there are four good reasons to buy [[[The Sandman Presents: The Dead Boy Detectives]]], now out from Vertigo.

First, it’s cheap, at a slight $12.99 for some 100 pages of comics.

Second, it’s a heckuva good mystery yarn with plenty of occult elements.

Third, it’s part of The Sandman world, and there are plenty of readers who snap up anything associated with Neil Gaiman’s creation.

But the last — and, for me, best — reason to pick up the book is that it further illustrates Ed Brubaker’s dexterity as a writer. I’ve long said that the thing that makes him so talented is that if his name wasn’t on the cover of his comics, you wouldn’t be able to recognize him as the author (also, his books are all quite good).

Unlike a Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis or Brian Michael Bendis, Brubaker writes comics without stamping his voice all over them. And, in [[[The Dead Boy Detectives]]], he shows off a wholly new voice, slipping seamlessly into the world of the ghostly boy sleuths and their London setting.

Like all great P.I. stories, this one begins with a girl, then gets all weird with shriveled dead bodies, witches and immortal creeps. It’s not quite unpredictable yet manages to be surprising.

But, mostly, the great characterization of ghosts Charles and Edwin and their childish interplay is what makes this one a winner. Well, that and the other reasons listed above.

Van Jensen is a former crime reporter turned comic book journalist. Every Wednesday, he braves Atlanta traffic to visit Oxford Comics, where he reads a whole mess of books for his weekly Reviews. Van’s blog can be found at graphicfiction.wordpress.com.

Publishers who would like their books to be reviewed at ComicMix should contact ComicMix through the usual channels or email Van Jensen directly at van (dot) jensen (at) comicmix (dot) com.

“FreakAngels: Book One” Concludes, Collection Teased

“FreakAngels: Book One” Concludes, Collection Teased

  • News
  • August 15, 2008

Fan-favorite writer Warren Ellis and artist Paul Duffield concluded the first chapter of their grand experiment in the webcomics world today, posting the final six pages of FreakAngels: Book One were earlier this morning. Ellis and Duffield aren’t wasting any time, either, as Book Two of the series begins next week.

In addition to posting the final pages of the first chapter of FreakAngels, Ellis also pointed readers of his "Bad Signal" mailing list to some new images and information related to the upcoming FreakAngels collection due out in November 2008 from Avatar Press. Here’s a quick roundup of where to find out more about what’s planned for the FreakAngels project:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warren Ellis on ‘G.I. Joe’ Cartoon

Warren Ellis on ‘G.I. Joe’ Cartoon

Warren Ellis seems to have been everywhere in this week’s news, with a barrage of headlines related to his appearance at last weekend’s Wizard World Chicago as the Guest of Honor and, of course, my recent interview with Ellis about his FreakAngels webcomic. Well, chalk up another one for "Internet Jesus," as news broke recently about a series of five, 10-minute "Webisodes" the British author scripted starring the cast of the "G.I. Joe" toy line and collectively titled G.I. Joe: Resolute.

According to ICv2:

Each episode is self-contained, but there is also an overall story arc. These short cartoons, which are targeted at adults, have a distinctly Vertigo flavor since they were written by veteran comic writer Warren Ellis and based on character designs by 100 Bullets cover artist Dave Johnson. In this series, which is rated "PG-13," the guns shoot bullets, not lasers and there are real consequences. Although there isn’t a lot of blood there is lots violence and a hint that major “characters may die.”

Hasbro plans to debut the Webisodes on its website early next year, wit the hope that Cartoon Network will broadcast the series at some point. Of course, there’s also a toy line based on the Webisodes in the works, too.

You can find more info at G.I. Joe fansite, HISSTank.com.

 

Interview: Warren Ellis on FreakAngels, Webcomics and Doctor Who

For anyone familiar with the online presence of award-winning writer Warren Ellis, it came as no surprise when the author announced at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con that he would be scripting an original, ongoing webcomic hosted by Avatar Press and titled FreakAngels. The concept, the preview art and even the name of the series all seemed quite, well… Warren Ellis.

What has been surprising, however, is the ease at which the longtime print author has adapted to the online medium and managed to create a compelling, unique series with very few blips in the weekly schedule he set for himself and FreakAngels artist Paul Duffield. At a time when top-tier print titles are failing to meet monthly schedules time and time again, Ellis and Duffield have managed to create a consistently compelling, unique series worthy of mentioning in the same breath as many of the more established webcomics out there. The fact that the series also has Ellis’ considerable online savvy and the resources of an up-and-coming publisher like Avatar behind it only makes the entire package even more intriguing to anyone with an interest in the digital evolution of the medium.

Avatar afforded me a few minutes to speak with Ellis during the recent Wizard World Chicago convention (where he was the event’s Guest of Honor), and I was glad to have the opportunity to ask him about FreakAngels, his thoughts on the online publishing scene, and how it all relates to traditional British storytelling.

COMICMIX: Coming from the print side of the industry, did your creative process change much for FreakAngels, Warren? How did the new medium affect your routine?

WARREN ELLIS: The only thing that has really been affected is the length of the episode. But even then, I’m not really writing with six pages in mind so much as I’m writing with 144 pages in mind. I’m writing FreakAngels in 144-page blocks, so I’m really keeping my eye on the bigger picture as opposed to keeping an eye on the ending of page six. So really there’s been no change at all.

I’ve kind of refused to change. [Laughs]

(more…)

Happy Birthday: Garry Leach

Happy Birthday: Garry Leach

Born in 1957, Garry Leach studied Graphic Design at St. Martin’s School of Art. His first work in comics was on 2000 A.D., but he quickly became known for his art on the series The VCs.

In 1981, Leach joined Quality Communications as art director. He was also the first artist on Alan Moore’s revival of Marvelman (better known in the U.S. as Miracleman). Leach and Moore then created Warpsmith. In 1988 Leach and Dave Elliot set up Atomeka Press—the first title was the anthology AI, which included another Moore/Leach Warpsmith story.

Leach left comics briefly in the mid-’90s after Atomeka closed but returned to ink Hitman a few years later. He also drew the first issue of Warren Ellis’ Global Frequency and contributed more work to 2000 A.D.

In 2004, Leach and Elliot restarted Atomeka Press.

Brian Bendis, Warren Ellis and Other Creators Reveal the Comic That ‘Hooked Them’

Brian Bendis, Warren Ellis and Other Creators Reveal the Comic That ‘Hooked Them’

  • News
  • April 10, 2008

As a reader of comics, there’s probably one book in particular that got you hooked in the first place and kept you reading. Whether it was Superman, Batman, Fantastic Four or, like it was for me, Captain America, you always remember fondly that first one. Successful comic book creators such as Brian Bendis, Warren Ellis and Jim Lee also have a first one that inspired them and over at Entertainment Weekly, they share which comic book was "The One That Hooked Me!"

Among the comics that inspired these creators are Fantastic Four #1 for Brian Bendis, Tarzan for Jim Lee and Countdown, a british comic series, for Warren Ellis. Some of the other artists and writers who detail their first comic book experiences include Robert Kirkman, who counts Amazing Spider Man #314 as the one that "hooked" him and Matt Fraction, who finds it interesting that his first comic book was Batman #316.

If you do read comic books — and lets’s face it, if you’re here at ComicMix, you probably do — what was the comic book that first "hooked" you?

ComicMix Radio: Playing it Straight on April Fools Day

ComicMix Radio: Playing it Straight on April Fools Day

Looking back at the stories we’ve covered over the last year, it would be hard to make anything up that actually — in comics — couldn’t be true!  Instead, we leave the whoopee cushions to others and deliver our dead-serious list of new comics & DVD releases for the week, plus:

— More on Warren Ellis’ exit from Thunderbolts

— Devil’s Due Publishing brings their comics to your cellphone

— Jae Lee awaits words from the fans on Dark Tower sequel

—  And, no joke, another  exclusive Graham Crackers Comics variant could be in the mail to you — if you win by e-mailing us at: podcast [at] comicmix.com

Just  press the button and nothing bad will happen!

 

 

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

 

Warren Ellis Leaving ‘Thunderbolts’

Warren Ellis Leaving ‘Thunderbolts’

  • News
  • March 31, 2008

Newsarama reports that Warren Ellis will be leaving Marvel’s Thunderbolts with issue #121.

Ellis spoke about his decision to leave the title on his Whitechapel message board:

It’s as simple as this — if I don’t own it, I’m not going to spend my life on it. Joe Quesada and Dan Buckley know that, they’re fine with that, and they hire me on that understanding.

Or, if you like: you can only paint someone else’s house for so long before you start thinking that it might be nice to own your own house one day.

I’m okay with painting other people’s houses for short periods, because I’m good at it and it pays well and on nice days it’s fun. But I never ever confuse painting a house for owning that house. And if I spent every waking hour painting other people’s houses, I wouldn’t be able to build houses of my own.

The more creators who only took on housepainting as a part-time gig, the healthier this medium would be.

Christos Gage will take over writing duties on the title with #122, beginning a four-part tie-in to Secret Invasion.

 

Interview: Jacen Burrows on Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis and ‘Crossed’

Interview: Jacen Burrows on Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis and ‘Crossed’

  • News
  • March 17, 2008

Artist Jacen Burrows has already had an impressive career in a relatively short amount of time. His talent, bold visual style and penchant for the darker, more sinister aspects of life have already earned him a place collaborating with some of the most popular and successful writers working in comics today.

Some of these writers include Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis and Alan Moore on projects such as Dark Blue, Scars, The Courtyard and 303. More recently, he’s worked on Chronicles of Wormwood with Ennis.

And, just yesterday at Wizard World in LA, it was announced that he’s doing a brand-new project with Ennis called Crossed — described by Avatar Press’ William Christensen as "a story about the worst people can possibly be, as a group of good people attempt to survive in a world of pure evil."

ComicMix caught up with Burrows at Wizard World LA to get some more details on Crossed, his other work with writers like Warren Ellis, what artists he admires and much more.

COMICMIX: Jason, thanks for taking the time to talk with me. Let’s get right into it with a little background. When did you first start drawing?

JACEN BURROWS: I’ve been drawing from the beginning. Three years old I was doing more drawing than anything else. And I think everyone does that. All kids draw but it was just the thing I happened to stick with because everyone would tell me I was good at it so I never stopped. When other kids were outside doing things I was inside working on my drawing. So, its kinda my curse.

CMix: Your parents encouraged you?

JB: Oh yeah, they were like "do what you want" and let me do my thing. Early on I had a tendency to draw the things that were fun to me, like war scenes with tanks and dead bodies.

Teachers would freak out and my mom would come in and tell them I was just being creative. Later, when I had art teachers, they would say it’s all perfectly normal.

CMix: You liked that kind of thing? Monsters, severed heads, etc?

JB: Yeah, I had a nice healthy obsession with drawing monsters, werewolves and things like that. It’s the fun stuff.

(more…)

Warren Ellis on Transmetropolitan: The Movie?

Warren Ellis on Transmetropolitan: The Movie?

  • News
  • January 29, 2008

During a recent appearance in the Something Awful forums, writer Warren Ellis fielded some questions from members about the possibility of a film based on one of his most most popular series, Transmetropolitan.

The forums require a paid subscription, but the crew at Comics2Film has posted some of the highlights of the discussion, including the identity of the actor both Ellis and Transmet artist Darick Robertson would like to see don the red-and-green glasses of the series’ main character.

Q: More generally, who do you have in mind doing Spider so that it gets "done right"?

A: Darick and I both favour the idea of Tim Roth playing Spider.

Ellis also dismisses the rumor that Patrick Stewart, a fan of the series, will play the role of Spider in any form whatsoever.

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