[WEB] COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 8/27/12 – BATTLEPUG

I read so many comics now, both on traditional paper and now digitally via ComiXology on my iPad (more on that in a future post); I don’t have time to keep up with all the fantastic web comics that have been cropping up the past several years. Thanks to the podcaster Stephanie Cooke at TALKING COMICS!, I relented to her continued support of Mike Norton’s web comic Battlepug and read the first few storylines. It was well worth the time it took to read it!

 

According to Mike, “Battlepug: The Web Comic was born out of desperate scramble to appease iFanboy. They contacted Mike to create a signature t-shirt for a new line of merch. However, Mike had been working exclusively with DC Comics for 4 years and had no original properties that he could reveal to the world yet. He drew the image you see above and had Allen color it. And lo, a BATTLEPUG was born!”

 

In case you’re like me and are unfamiliar with writer/artist Mike Norton, his web comic blub describes him thus:

Mike Norton has been working in comics for over 10 years now, gaining recognition for projects such as The Waiting Place and Jason and the Argobots. He’s made a name for himself working on books like Queen and Country, Gravity, Runaways, All-New Atom and Green Arrow/Black Canary, Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam, and Young Justice. He is currently drawing Marvel’s Fear Itself: Youth in Revolt, and his own weekly webcomic, Battlepug. He is also very, very tall.

 

Battlepug starts out with Moll and her dogs Mingo and Colfax, as she narrates the tale of "The Warrior and the Battlepug”. The saga is a tale of a fearless barbarian, his trusty and freakishly large pug, and his adventures as he battles a giant seal and many other assorted giant creatures! The story begins with the barbarian as a young child and his village is attacked, wiping out everyone. He is captured by the Kinmundy Northern Elves and forced to work as their slave until he grows into a man. The giant seal that killed his family years before attacks the Kinmundy and our hero is given his freedom after saving their village. To say more would spoil the surprises that await you on the web pages of Battlepug!

 

Read the preview pages below and you’ll see how Mike Norton’s cartoonish style is able to not only convey the unique humor of the story, but also the human drama and quirky pathos of the characters.

 

 

For more information – or to start reading Battlepug right away – go to: http://battlepug.com/

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 7/18/12 – STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION/DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMILATION2 #3

 

"If you are a fan of either Doctor Who or Star Trek: The Next Generation, I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy this series!"

 

 

This Comic Book of the Week post should more accurately be named Comic Book of the Month, because despite the fact that I’m reading more comic books every week than ever, I just can’t seem to find the time to write about my favorites. Be that as it may, I just had to share my excitement for this fantastic new eight issue mini-series being published by IDW - Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation².

I have been reading the monthly Star Trek comic which IDW began publishing in September of 2011, which is a new ongoing Star Trek series set in the continuity of the 2009 film. The artwork by Stephen Molnar, which so accurately depicts the actors from the new film, while also finely detailing the ships and other tech of this revamped Star Trek universe really pulled me in. The stories written by Mike Johnson, while serviceable, have not impressed me as much. One problem is that the first two stories were retellings of the classic Star Trek TV episodes and I already knew how they’d turn out, so they weren’t very suspenseful or interesting. The more recent issues have finally begun new stories dealing with the new Trek universe, so I’ve begun to enjoy it more.

I have not been reading the IDW Doctor Who comics, for the simple reason that the artists change constantly on the monthly book; many times right in the middle of storylines. Also most of the time the artwork is either too cartoony or just plain inappropriate for a sci-fi series like Doctor Who.

On May 30, IDW published the first issue of Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation² and I picked it up on the basis of the beautiful full-painted artwork by J.K. Woodward alone. Fortunately, the story by Scott and David Tipton is also a lot of fun. The story teams up Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise and Doctor Who and his companions Amy and Rory in an epic adventure in which the entire galaxy is threatened by an unholy alliance between their respective greatest nemeses, the Borg and the Cybermen. This third issue is the best yet as it features a flash-back to the fourth Doctor’s meeting with the crew of the classic Enterprise. It is done in a more tradition ink drawing style, but is equally well rendered by The Sharp Brothers. If you are a fan of either Doctor Who or Star Trek: The Next Generation, I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy this series! While IDW comics are a little pricey at $3.99, you do get excellent reproduction on quality paper of fantastically detailed artwork. Check out the preview below.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 4/30/12 – THE SHADOW #1

“I really liked this first issue of The Shadow and I only hope that both Ennis and Campbell remain on this book long enough to tell a nice long story arch. I recommend The Shadow to anyone with an interest in pulp characters or period set stories.”

I had every intention of writing a weekly Comic Book of the Week post, but several things got in the way. One is that even though I consistently read two or three comics every single week, I don’t always read a comic on certain weeks that I enjoy enough to inspire me to write an entire post on it. Also, it is a simple matter of time. Because I promised myself that this year I would write a post of every single genre film that I watch this year – good or bad – I have a limited amount of time to write non-movie review posts. Still, I have always used Guardians of the Genre to promote things of many different mediums that get me excited and I will – time permitting – write a periodic Comic Book of the Week post.

The Shadow has a long and complex history, as both a character and as a multimedia property.

The Shadow initially appeared on July 31, 1930, as an enigmatic narrator of the Street and Smith radio program Detective Story Hour. The Shadow became so popular with listeners, that circulation manager Henry William Ralston of Street & Smith commissioned Walter B. Gibson to write stories for The Shadow Magazine, which debuted on April 1, 1931. The Shadow Magazine was published until 1949, and Gibson wrote 282 out of 325 stories: a novel-length story twice a month (1st and 15th). The mysterious narrator briefly disappeared from the airwaves in 1935, but was replaced in 1937 in a new series written by Gibson and scriptwriter Edward Hale Bierstadt, starring as Lamont Cranston, a "wealthy young man about town." This program did not leave the air until December 26, 1954.

The Shadow has been seen in comics many times. His first appearance was in 1940 as a syndicated daily newspaper comic strip, written by Walter B. Gibson and illustrated by Vernon Greene, but only lasted two years. The first comic book featuring The Shadow was published by Street & Smith and ran for 101 issues, from March 194 to September 1949. Archie Comics published an eight-issue series, The Shadow from August 1964 to September 1965. Probably the best known comics adaptation of the character was published by DC Comics in the mid-1970s, by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Michael Kaluta in a 12-issue series. Artist and writer Howard Chaykin created a four issue mini-series for DC in 1986 that featured a modernized Shadow in New York. A similar take on The Shadow was continued the following year in 1987, as a monthly DC comics series by writer Andy Helfer and artists Bill Sienkiewicz and Kyle Baker. Marvel Comics published a beautiful graphic novel in 1988, reteaming O’Neil and Kaluta entitled: The Shadow 1941: Hitler's Astrologer. DC published a new Shadow series from 1989 to 1992 titled The Shadow Strikes. This series, which was set in the 1930s, was written by Gerard Jones and drawn by Eduardo Barreto and ran for 31 issues. During the early-to-mid-1990s, Dark Horse Comics published the Shadow 4-issue miniseries “In The Coils of Leviathan” and 3-issue miniseries Hell's Heat Wave. Both mini-series were written by Joel Goss and Michael Kaluta and drawn by Gary Gianni.

The Shadow has also appeared in films several times. The Shadow Strikes appeared in 1937 and a sequel, International Crime was released 1938 by Grand National Pictures. The Shadow was a 15-chapter serial produced by Columbia Studios and premiered in 1940. A trio of low-budget motion pictures produced by Monogram in 1946 were: The Shadow Returns, Behind the Mask and The Missing Lady. The Shadow didn’t return to the silver screen until 1994 in the form of the big budget The Shadow starring Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston and Penelope Ann Miller as Margo Lane.

Dynamite Entertainment has licensed the Shadow from Conde Nast and debuted The Shadow #1 on April 19, 2012. Dynamite Entertainment describes The Shadow thus:

1938: The Shadow returns in a tale of blazing action and deadly intrigue, as a night of carnage on the New York waterfront plunges the mysterious vigilante into a conspiracy involving the fate of the world itself. As storm clouds gather across the globe, American Military Intelligence meets with a certain Lamont Cranston, determined to beat a host of spies and assassins to the greatest prize of all... but what that might be, only the Shadow know.

The Shadow is written by Garth Ennis. Ennis is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon and his successful nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise. My only experience is with his writing is the 60 issues of the Vertigo series Transmetropolitan, which chronicles the battles of Spider Jerusalem, a notorious renegade journalist in a dystopian future.

The Shadow is penciled and inked by artist Aaron Campbell. I have only seen Campbell’s art on the 5-issue mini-series The Trial of Sherlock Holmes - also published by Dynamite Entertainment. I thought it was competently illustrative, but a trifle un-dynamic. I could see how his style would lend itself to a period story and it did give me hope for The Shadow.

The first issue of The Shadow nicely establishes the setting in pre-world war two by juxtaposing the atrocities of the Japanese army with the criminals of New York City. Within a few pages, The Shadow brutally murders nearly a dozen armed criminals; yet lets one man he deems “a mere hireling” go free. The artwork tells most of this scene with minimal dialogue and The Shadow’s command voice is nicely rendered in black word-balloons with white lettering.

The story cuts to a scene of Lamont Cranston – The Shadow’s alter ego – at a posh hotel, meeting with a Mister Landers, an associate of his with Washington connections. Lamont warns Landers of the Japanese involvement with gun shipping in New York and the dialogue implies that Cranston/Shadow may be working for the U. S. government.

The final scene of this issue is a nice rooftop exchange between Margo Lane and Lamont. With dialog and clever body language in the artwork, Ennis and Campbell imply that not only are Lamont and Margo sleeping together, but their long-term relationship is in turmoil, due in no small part of Margo’s knowledge of Lamont being The Shadow. This revelation so early in the series demonstrates that these adventures of The Shadow take place well into his long career as a crime fighter.

I really liked this first issue of The Shadow and I only hope that both Ennis and Campbell remain on this book long enough to tell a nice long story arch. I recommend The Shadow to anyone with an interest in pulp characters or period set stories. Dynamite has a great series here and I might just try their next pulp-inspired series: The Spider by writer David Liss with art by Colton Worley!

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 4/1/12 – SAUCER COUNTRY #1

I was not familiar with either the work of writer Paul Cornell or the artist Ryan Kelly when I saw the advanced previews for Saucer Country. However, the concept was just different enough from most sci-fi comics currently being published, that I knew I just had to give it a try. Still, I did do a little more research before purchasing the first issue and was excited by what I did find out.

The writer Paul Cornell has a vast and diverse backlog of writing. He got his start by writing screenplays for British Television. He has written episodes for Doctor Who, Robin Hood and Primeval. He has also written several Doctor Who novels, as well as two original science fiction novels. He has written many British and American comics stories, and was the writer on DC Comics' Demon Knights and Stormwatch. This is his first foray into a creator-owned title and will be published monthly by DC Comics' Vertigo line.

Artist Ryan Kelly is best known for working with writer Brian Wood: penciling and inking the entire twelve issue run of the Oni Press comics series Local and a story arc ("The Cross + the Hammer") for Northlanders. I haven’t read either these, but as the preview pages below demonstrate, Kelly has the ability to render unique and believable characters, which should serve him well on Saucer Country.

 

Vertigo describes Saucer Country thus:

Arcadia Alvarado, the leading Democratic candidate for President of the United States, says she was "abducted by aliens."As the Mexican-American Governor of New Mexico, she's dealing with immigration, budget cuts and an alcoholic ex. She's about to toss her hat into the ring as a candidate for President in the most volatile political climate ever. But then…a lonely road and a nightmarish encounter have left her with terrible, half-glimpsed memories. And now she has to become President. To expose the truth – and maybe, to save the world. With the help of her quirky staff, Arcadia will pursue the truth of her abduction into danger, mystery and awe. SAUCER COUNTRY is a dark thriller that blends UFO lore and alien abduction with political intrigue, all set in the hauntingly beautiful Southwest.

All of this is beautifully conveyed in the first issue. We see Arcadia in a dream sequence being abducted by aliens. Then we accompany her on her final meeting with her staff. We then see her at a rally where she announces her run for President of the United States. We see all of these important aspects her story from her point of view and we’re not led to any direct conclusions as to what happened to Arcadia is true or not.

I think the blend of politics and Ufology makes this a fascinating comic series. I’m not completely sure where the story is headed, but I’m very interested in finding out. If you have any interest in politics, UFO mythology or just real characters put into unreal situations, then I definitely recommend you give Saucer Country a try.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! 3/25/12 - SAGA #1

I’ve decided that I should try to share some of the many comics that I read each and every week. In my Comic Book of the Week feature, I’ll select my favorite comic from the week that I read it and not necessarily the week that the comic was released – although I will try to pick comics that are recent enough to be available at your local comics shop.

I have a small confession to make. Every Sunday morning – when most people are either going to church or nursing hangovers; or in some cases doing both – I am relaxing in bed with a cup of my favorite coffee and reading comic books. I buy on average twelve to eighteen comics every six weeks, which I pick up from my subscription service at New England Comics (Hi, Doreen and Tom!). I then read two or three of these comics every Sunday morning. Because I gave up reading superhero comics published by Marvel, DC or any other company, I read a lot of horror, science fiction and fantasy comics that have nothing to do with men-in-tights. I’m always looking for something new and exciting, so that means I buy a lot of new comics series. My latest new series that I’m trying out is Saga.

COMIC BOOK OF THE WEEK! SAGA #1

Saga is a continuing series published by Image Comics that the company describes as a “Star Wars-style action collides with Game of Thrones-esque drama in this original sci-fi/fantasy epic for mature readers.” It is written by Brian K. Vaughan, whose best known for his sci-fi Vertigo series Y: The Last Man, a post-apocalyptic science fiction series about the only man to survive the apparent simultaneous death of every male mammal on Earth. Saga is drawn by Fiona Staples, who previously worked on The Secret History of the Authority: Hawksmoor with writer Mike Costa for Wildstorm and Mystery Society with writer Steve Niles for IDW Publishing. I have never read any Vaugugh’s books, except for his four issue stint on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight for Dark Horse comics, so I had no idea what to expect stylistically from him. My only exposure to Fiona Staples’ artwork was her work on The Mystery Society for IDW that ran as a five issue miniseries, which I did thoroughly enjoy. The combination of the concept and the art was enough for me to give Saga a read.

Saga #1 is a real bargain, as it is forty-two pages of full-color comic story with no advertisements for just $2.99! It tells everything you need to know about the main characters and the galactic-wide world that they inhabit. The story centers on Marko and Alana, who are a man and woman that are on opposite sides of an interstellar war that find each other and end up having a child together. This causes them no end of trouble and they end up being chased by both warring factions. These factions are the supporters of the planet Landfall and its opposing side the supporters of its satellite Wreath. Now a mercenary has been hired after Marko and Alana’s initial escape, to hunt them down and kill them, but take their child back to the Wreath. Meanwhile, the Robot Kingdom’s King has sent a prince to find and kill Marko and Alana as well. In the midst of all this, Marko and Alana are given a map that discloses a location that may or may not lead to their freedom… or something more!

WARNING: Explicit language on this page of SAGA #1!

I absolutely loved Saga! Vaughan has done something incredibly difficult: he has merged the hardware of science fiction and the magical elements of fantasy and combined them into an epic space opera adventure series! In this first issue alone we see robot-head people, winged people, horned people, a giant “lying cat” and a vast assortment of other fantastical creatures and people. All these things are wonderfully realized by the art of Fiona Staples. Her work is somewhat reminiscent of the more realistic Manga artists, but her loose brushed line work and dynamic cell-style coloring make it very much her own unique style. A word of caution for people who assume comics are for readers of all ages: Saga is rated by Image M for Mature. If Saga was a movie, it would definitely be rated R. Saga uses explicit language, features graphic violence, complete nudity and even open sexual scenes. As an older reader, these elements did not bother me and in many ways contributed the reality of fantastic elements in the story. However, if you are sensitive to these adult depictions and situations, then Saga is probably not for you.

If you like something that combines the best qualities of science fiction and fantasy, give Saga #1 a read!