Comic News: Tom Strong Returns in Vertigo This July

   Tom Strong has long been a cult favorite with fans. Created by Alan Moore & Chris Sprouse back in 1999 for then America's Best Comics Line, Tom Strong was initially announced to come back in 2011. Yet, now Sprouse, along side Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom creator Peter Hogan and inker Karl Story, bring back Tom Strong for DC's Vertigo Imprint this July with Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril.

   The new miniseries will have Tom Strong powerless as he's on a quest to gain a cure for an illness for his daughter and his unborn grand child. Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril by Chris Sprouse, Karl Story and Peter Hogan from Vertigo will hit stands on July 31st.

Comic News: Promotions In DC Comics For Harris & Kanalz

DC Press Release

"DC Entertainment announced today the promotion and expansion of duties for two of its key executives and a new reporting structure created to enhance and strengthen the company’s three imprints: DC Comics, Vertigo and Mad Magazine.
 
"Bob Harras has been promoted to Senior Vice President – Editor-in-Chief, DC Comics, and will continue to oversee editorial for DC Comics. In over two years at the helm, Harras has helped guide DC Comics to unprecedented heights with the launch of DC’s The New 52 initiative and September’s ZERO MONTH event. The string of successes rolls on, as the Batman books continue to surprise and enthrall readers with the BATMAN: DEATH OF THE FAMILY crossover, Superman and his family of books encounter H’EL ON EARTH and the entire New 52 line heads toward the top-secret TRINITY WAR.
 
“'Bob is a respected and talented editor, manager and leader with a keen eye for talent,' said DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio. 'He’s been integral to making DC – The New 52 the amazing success it is today. 2013 is going to build upon 2012’s huge successes and we continue to be committed to providing fans with the best comics on the stands. Bob and his team have set the bar high for themselves, and we are all excited about what’s next for DC Comics.'
 
"DC Entertainment veteran Hank Kanalz has been named Senior Vice President of Vertigo and Integrated Publishing. In his new role, Kanalz will oversee Vertigo’s publishing efforts. In addition, Kanalz will continue to manage the company’s growing digital businessseeking innovative and integrated publishing opportunities. Under Kanalz’s leadership DC Entertainment became the first comic publisher to offer its entire line on the same day in digital and print formats.  Kanalz has also forged innovative industry partnerships including the recently announced deals to offer DCE graphic novels and monthly comic books Amazon’s Kindle Store, Apple’s iBookstore and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Store.
 
Kanalz’s oversight of Vertigo will further support newly promoted Vertigo Executive Editor Shelly Bond’s vision for the imprint and bring increased awareness to Vertigo’s ever-growing library of characters and properties cross-divisionally.
 
“'Hank’s strong leadership has resulted in triple digit growth among our digital comics business,' stated DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee. 'In this new role he is poised to continue DC Entertainment’s digital momentum, while working even more closely with the print publishing teams, specifically Vertigo.'
 
"Harras, Kanalz and MAD Magazine Vice President and Executive Editor John Ficarra will report to DC Comics Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, representing DC Entertainment’s three imprints."

CoW: Cover of the Week 11/14/12

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
by Darryll B. Carter

I've had the original film version of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo siting in my Netflix queue for as long as I've had the damn thing. I always look at them, intrigued by the film covers and the feelings they evoke; shadows, sex, flames and anarchy. But ultimately I've never managed to make that confirming click of the mouse or push of the 'A' button. Then I found out they were turning the famed film into a graphic novel. I figured that would be easier to sink into, which directly brings us to the cover of the week.

The shadow work on this cover is flawless. It totally captures the mood and her anatomy It's really enticing. I love the smoke too. It was a good creative choice and does more than just look fantastic. It's clearly symbolic; a reflection of her character and similar to a dragon's fire.

I have to say though, the line work is my favorite part of this piece; particularly on the chain and her hand. Especially that hand... those of you who are artist know that hands can be a #$@!. And that one is damn impressive.

Comic News: HELLBLAZER Ends For CONSTANTINE to Begin ...WHAT?!

   Long time Vertigo fans of Hellblazer are saddened at the announcement from DC that the longest running Vertigo book will end in February. With the book only averaging around 9,000 in sales, Vertigo is cancelling the book. The Series finale will be handled by series writer Peter Milligan.

Yet, as that title ends, we will get a brand new solo series called Constantine. Yet, unlike Hellblazer, this new Constantine title will be place in the DCU proper . .. just like JLD, which features Constantine as its leader. The new Constantine series will be written by (X-O Manowar) Robert Venditti and artist Renato Guedes.


Here is what Robert Venditti said to Newsrama:

"I like the idea of him being so layered. There's always machinations going on underneath with Constantine and that's what makes him such an enjoyable character to read and write," said Venditti.


 Hellblazer #300 written by Peter Milligan with art by Stanfano Landini and Giuseppe Camuncoli will hit stores in February. Constantine #1 is written by Robert Vendetti and art by Renato Guedes hits shelves in March. 

NEWS EDITION # 34 - AVENGERS MOVIE BREAKS RECORDS, THE END OF SWEETTOOTH

Welcome to a new  News Edition for the Week of May 9th, 2012. Sit back and enjoy the ride.


AVENGERS ... BREAKS MOVIE RECORDS! 

by Frankie Rodriguez 

       Okay. Months and months and even years of speculation came to an end on May 4th as the Avengers finally hit theaters. And by Primus, civilization lost its collective minds in fanboy & fangirl Nirvana in ways we haven't seen since The Dark Knight. Scratch that, it SURPASSED IT! I am not kidding.

     In less than 24 hours of it's release here in the United States, about 1:00pm on Friday afternoon, myself and CBC staff writer Jeremias de Leon noticed that the movie had already made 18.7 MILLION dollars on its opening night. That is just from possibly 2, maybe 3 screens in the movie in the states cause most theaters had a midnight showing.

   Over the course of the weekend, it had topped Dark Knight's opening weekend with a solid $226.4 million in North America over the weekend. Just this past Monday, the movie made another $18.9 million. THIS IS ON A MONDAY!!! When most people are still in school or work. Internationally, the movie had made 475.8 million during the weekend and overall since the movie opened internationally till now has made over $702.2 million dollars in less than 13 days. It has been confirmed that Avengers now holds the record of the biggest opening weekend of ALL TIME; surpassing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 to become the third highest grossing move of all time. What I would love to see is the movie become the highest grossing movie of all time, beating out James Cameron's Avatar by making more than 2.7 billion dollars. Will this happen ... time will tell but it is pretty adamant that people LOVE this movie. We'll be keeping a closer eye on this as time moves on.

   More on this and more Avengers related stuff all this month here on CBC. It's Avengers Month so remember: AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!!!!


LEMIRE NO LONGER CRAVES SWEET TOOTH

by Frankie Rodriguez 

     After the last few years of readers being on the edge of their seats with the cult hit Sweet Tooth, writer Jeff Lemire has decided that it's time for the book to come to a conclusion. Jeff explains on the Vertigo Blog the whys to the ending of the series and why not to blame DC:


"The decision to end it at #40 is entirely my choice," Lemire said via the Vertigo blog. "Truth is, I always knew what the ending of 'Sweet Tooth' would be.  It was one of the first ideas I came up with when writing the pitch for the book. The beginning and the end of this story were always pretty much written in stone, it was the middle bit that was fluid, and grew and changed as I went along. So, for me it’s incredibly gratifying to finally get to the end of the journey with Gus and Jepperd. Everything I’ve done with the series so far, everything I’ve built month after month, has all been about this, the final story."


    The final arc in Sweet Tooth, "Wild Kingdom" begins with issue #36 and the double-sized final issue, #40 will be released by Lemire and longtime artist Jose Villarrubia this December.

SISTERS BOUND IN BLOOD IN CARBON GREY SEQUEL

from Image Comics Website

"Daughters of Stone" hits stores in June

The dieselpunk world of Hoang Nguyen's CARBON GREY first dazzled comic book readers with its beautiful painted art, intrigue-fueled action, and compelling heroines in August 2011 with the "Sisters at War" story arc. Now, Nguyen has assembled his creative team once more to continue the story of the Sisters Grey with the publication of CARBON GREY VOLUME TWO: DAUGHTERS OF STONE #1 in June.

At the close of volume one, the sisters' relationship was torn apart by the murder of the Kaiser of Mitteleuropa, the man whom they were sworn to protect. Now, with Eva and Giselle in exile and the vicious Anna on the hunt for conspirators, the fourth Grey, Mathilde, is on a quest to discover the truth about the source of her family's power.

A Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of the new volume of CARBON GREY reached its funding goal on April 14. Nguyen explained that both the intensity of the artistic process, with each page meticulously hand-painted, and the depth of research behind the creation of CARBON GREY necessitated the campaign.

"A lot of research goes into every page, whether it's a costume designs or different settings," said Nguyen. "I want to make sure that it's believable. My inspirations comes from looking at fashion, photography, architecture, industrial and set design. I like to go beyond the norm and bring something new and different to my drawings."

CARBON GREY VOLUME TWO: DAUGHTERS OF STONE is a three-issue monthly mini series, co-written by Nguyen, Paul Gardner, and Khari Evans, with art by Nguyen, Evans, and Kinsun Loh. The first issue (APR120424) is available for pre-order in the April issue of Previews and will be in stores on June 6.

The three issues of CARBON GREY VOLUME ONE have sold out, but a trade paperback (ISBN 978-1-60706-448-0) is available. A two-issue mini-series CARBON GREY: ORIGINS, about the childhoods of the Sisters Grey and their family history, wrapped up in March 2012. THE ART OF CARBON GREY (ISBN 978-1-60706-474-9), an oversized hardcover book featuring an array of artwork from the series and a look at the artists' process, was released in February 2012.

NOW AVAILABLE

CBC's very own Jeremias de Leon is not just a writer but an artist and is currently taking commissions:

Go here for his deviant art.  And this is his paypal. 

ON SALE NOW:


Michael Turner Wizard World Hulk # 1 Variant


Iron Man, Ultimate Extinction, Ultimate Origins


Spiderman Books including first Black Costume appearance


AVENGERS ASSEMBLE: Including Avengers (Volume 1) # 16, 1st Wonder Man & More


Action Comics # 1 & 2 SIGNED WITH VARIANTS


Death In Comics SET


Yugioh Lightsworn Cards


X- Saber Cards


Yugioh DESTINY Hero DECK!!!


Wind Up Rabbit Cards






BROUGHT TO YOU BY . . .


COMING THIS MAY!!!!

One of the few Tokusatsu Reviews I know. Great guy with a good set of reviews, a few countdowns and some specials. Tokusatsu is special effects in japanese but it is what the genre of live action stuff like Power Rangers and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight are based off of. Toku Time or Reviewtopia: Toku Time is where you can find him.

Where you can find J1 Studios President, Jason Richson aka Spider Tribble, every single week on the Black Tribbles podcast. 








It's the new, BRAND NEW, Super Mario Dubstep Album. Listen as your favorite music from Super Mario has been transformed into remixes. The album is so addicting, you will feel like you're an addict!


GREEN MUSHROOMS & SUPERSTARS

From J1's own Shinigami (Ray Riley) & Forafire (Forrest Shamlian). FREE TO DOWNLOAD! NOW! 

FREE ALBUM DOWNLOADS

And don't for get the recently released Sonic Remix Album, SPIN DASH AUDIO is also available now. 

RAJIO NIHON . . . the internet Toku Station where they play songs from tokusatsu, anime and give you in depth looks into the world of Tokusatsu. RAJIO NIHON  Take a listen as CBC's Frankie Rodriguez , Jeremias de Leon & Devin Walker go on and give you Tokusatsu News from Japan and around the world on Morphin Bracers.  

And don't forget to catch the Ikaricast from Reviewtopia!! Please look forward to it as CBC's Frankie Rodriguez guest stars in Season 4, Episode 11 & 13. Hosted by Jeremias de Leon aka Xaos. 


Also Don't forget to check out Frankie & Jeremias as they guest on 16 Bit Jeff's 

Episode 6 where they talk about Super Hero fighting games.