Special thanks to Edward Phillip Bola on colors and Oscar Saavedra's logo!
No shit like this in comics!
I promise you.
Story by Mercedez Gully
Art by O.M.G
Back on April 12th, I reported that Mario Gully
(OMG) had decided on his new comic Bugg. Many have come forward and stated that
it looked exactly like Ant which is now owned by Erik Larsen. There was a
recent spat between the two creators over the direction of ANT due to some racy
art pages drawn by OMG. However, they seemed to have ended the fight rather
easily. Recently OMG has been asking for investors to invest in a new
property of his, and then the following week this comic cover was release as the new
comic property he would be doing with
his daughter.
I had wondered if Larsen would react to this. Well he has
already spoken, and this is what he said over twitter.
Back in 2012 O.M.G sold his beloved ANT to Erik Larsen, and
the two had decided that they would conclude the series with one final issue
that would tie up the dangling plot lines from the previous series. After that
Erik Larsen would reboot the series, and go his own direction with the
character.
So O.M.G would get a script along with breakdowns from Erik
Larsen, and O.M.G being the creator felt he knew his character best would
follow Erik’s script, but made small tweaks that he felt would show his flavor
and ultimately give his character a proper sendoff.
The changes had ANT in a deadly match against a villain where
she got her foe into a leg strangulation with her legs and the bad guy has his
tongue come out licking her vagina. Here is the image below.
Here is the page that steered the hornets nest? What do you think?
Erik Larsen was not quite as thrilled about the scene and
almost worried that he could get sued, along with retailers which I felt was a
odd response considering that Image Comics had published Howard Chaykin’s Black
Kiss II that had very explicit sex scenes, erect penises left and right,
hardcore sex scenes, blowjobs and crotch shots.
Here is what Erik said:
Erik
Larsen I like Mario's work--make no mistake--and this is sexy as all
shit--but panel two would mean this book would be on the porn shelf. Retailers
would hit the roof if this showed up without having been told about it. I'm not
saying the book needs to be suitable for a six-year old--but I don't want
retailers being sued for selling adult material to minors either. It can be
sexy--WitchBlade is sexy--but it can't be obscene and panel two with a tongue
out at her crotch and panel three with a dripping cooch is asking for trouble.
Then he shows what his scripted breakdown page looked like,
and what he expected O.M.G to draw, and didn’t want any deviations of the
completed page. He felt that the page was awkward.
Here's the page Erik had laid out and wanted O.M.G to follow. You decide?
Mario felt that he was censored but Erik argued it was the
other way around.
Erik
Larsen This isn't a case of me "censoring Mario"--it's a
case of him not following the script. If you're writing a story and ask for a
shot of a character kicking a bad guy and you get back a shot of the bad guy
licking her crotch--it's unreasonable for the guy who made the change to argue
censorship. He's censoring me--not the other way around.
Mario charged back.
Mario Gully: I'm a keep this shit real. Erik, first off..I
was helping you out. My storytelling isn't flawed, its that you don't know Ant
at all. First.. Ant is bulletproof. Her Suit is her SKIN harden to armor. She
is bulletproof to small and heavy gunfire bro. She blocks bullets because she
can. I'ts fun for her. So, Having her use a "human shield" is cute
but I decided to put some stank on it. For your info.. she jumped on his
shoulders/ blocked bullets and broke his neck... and yes his tongue slobbered
on her Pussy. That's ANT bro. Are you serious? In the following panel.. where
she is running...Ant don't run bra. She fought a whole army remember? Issue 5?
I guess you guys-- think I was just bullshitting huh? Why would she run from a
few guys with gun?? Instead, I appealed to your ego and made her get a better
position. I don't run from fights. She don't either. Now about the Pussy
licking? Who in here don't eat pussy? Honestly..RAISE YOUR HANDS IF YOU EAT
PUSSY!! We all do. If you don't either are a lie or pussyless. I hate
censorship and this is a sad example how far Image has fallen. I not changing
your book. BTW didn't even get my imput on it which in itself is dumb. You
don't know Ant better then I do. Just like that time you drew a tumbnail of Ant
and Spawn cover#3. I drew it flawed for me to not correct my idol and drew a
bad ass ANT IN SPAWNS LAP!! Same thing happening here ..yeah, And it's funny
how a few post ago how that very cover was posted here!
My last point. I think people are tired of seeing the same old shit. I KNOW i'm
tired of looking at it. I also tired of be underestimated. I think nobody can
draw Ant better then I can. Because Ant has soul. I've had letters from
ministers and from single parents that got her. I don't think you get it Erik
and that's cool. You will find out like the rest. Now. Respectfully I would
like very much to draw this book and end with Image with a conclusion and teaming
up with you will be nice. But I'm O.M.G man...Mario been gone for some time. So
if I draw Ant..your story of not, I got to do
my thang. Breaking a neck instead of shooting a guy is still killing him. If
you think that I'm really going left then we do have a problem. I got to play
my way. Shit, if I can't keep it real then comics are doomed. None of ya is a
real as I am and one of these days you will appreciate it. Erik you can make
Ant like a all ages Spiderman if you want to. But I know the bitch! People
remember when in Ant unleashed her roomate sucking dick. If you turn Ant into a
billiondollar girl it will forever trickle down to O.M.G. and I'm raw and uncut
so...yeah. They want to see that shit. What gets me the most is everyone passed
on Ant and thought it was a bad idea. You even said that " Ant was
"too urban" and "Ant was the worst book at Image"! After me
proving everyone wrong a million...lets say Thousands times over you guys still
think you are right? I hope you are. I hope you can make a sucessful ANT
without me. Nobody else did. It's you who should ask me how to make an Ant
book. Not the other way around. You'd fuck it up.
Then Erik said.
Erik
Larsen This is a free country. If Mario doesn't want to draw my story
he can absolutely choose not to that.
Erik
Larsen Hell, I encouraged Mario to do his own stuff. I wasn't twisting
his arm to do this story.
Ultimately O.M.G relented and just let the topic go.
Mario Gully Honestly
I'm over it. Especially now. I'm a do my own books my own way and see how it
goes. Tongues?? Shit it gets way worst then that!?! I'm way beyond all this.
Erik do Ant the best you can and I wish you the best.
O.M.G
Erik
Larsen Thanks, man. Sorry it went down this way.
Erik
Larsen I do think folks deserve something of an explanation: Mario
sold the character Ant to me last year. The book hasn't been published in
years. Mario was NOT going to continue working on the book. He was done. He was
going elsewhere to start something new. I was going to restart the book
fresh--and do a new series that I would write and draw.
Mario offered to do a last issue of his series to tie up the loose ends. I'd
already laid out a bunch of pages for an issue #12 some years back and he
agreed to work from those.
So--this wasn't a situation where it would have been an ongoing book with Mario
back onboard. He was moving on. All this would have done is a single issue.
We'd finish off the old series and honestly--it was an odd fit--an odd
publishing choice on our part. It really didn't make a lot of sense to do a
final issue of a series that had been discontinued long ago just to give it
closure and then restart it. But I hate dangling plots and Mario seemed willing
to do it so off we went.
But the book was a general audience title and the book will be a general
audience title and it makes even LESS sense to do an isolated mature readers
issue to cap off a book that ended a few years ago.
In any case--it is what it is. I'm not going to force Mario to draw my story and
he's not going to force me to change my story so that's the end of that. As far
as I know Mario's drawn just the one page so it's hardly the end of the world.
So that’s with the main thrust of the conversation between
both Erik Larsen and OMG aka Mario Gully?
What do you think? Were the images to racy?
In my personal opinion, sure the images were racy, but Ant had
always been a racy book, especially the later books. Furthermore, we all know
that Image comics do publish comics that have hardcore sexual themes, but to
suddenly have Erik Larsen be this squeamish is almost too odd. However, he owning the character now does give
him certain rights. Yet do you think he is being too squeamish? It''s a shame we will never see another Ant by Mario. What could have been. Seeing as he is walking away from the title to pursue new future projects. Let me know
what you think.
Last Night, Ron Marz (@ronmarz , writer of various comics including current writer of Artifacts after a long run on Witchblade & papa to Kyle Rayner) started a discussion and gave a how to write comics. As his tweets went along, he was soon joined by other creators, such as Erik Larsen (@ErikJLarsen)& more.
Here is a transcript of the Tweets in semi paragraph form & take notes hopeful writers. I KNOW I DID.
RON MARZ:
First, I write 1-20 (or however many pages) down the side of a piece of notebook paper. I pace out what happens on each page in.....just a few words or a sentence. You make sure your story fits into the allotted space in this way. Then on notebook paper I break down each page into panels, figuring out the visual storytelling. No specific number of panels per page......is right or wrong. It's about what each page needs. But remember, somebody has to DRAW this. Don't overload the page with too much.But also be aware that each page is precious, and should add another building block to the overall story. Every page must have a purpose. I'll include dialogue notes to myself in the page breakdowns, so I know there's room to convey information and characterization.You should have a page-turn/cliffhanger moment at the end of every page; metaphorically, you ask a question at the end of every page......"what will happen next, who is casting that shadow, who said that from off panel?" etc. Make reader turn the page to get the answer. Page-turn moments are more important at the end of odd-numbered pages (which are actual page turns). Once I'm happy with the breakdowns -- and stuff gets moved around at this stage -- I type up the breakdowns and dialogue notes in MS Word. I don't use Final Draft or any screenplay software, because your script is NOT a screenplay. Your script is a long letter to the artist......so he/she knows what to draw. Writer's job is to give artist all info they need to draw the page, and then LET ARTIST DRAW THE PAGE. Artist will interpret and often improve the picture in your head. Add panels, combine panels, change angles, etc. That's the artist's job. The artist is more than likely BETTER at it than you are. So don't expect artists to be art monkeys obeying your whims. Collaborate. Once I have breakdowns and dialogue notes typed up, I go through and write a more complete take on first-draft dialogue. First-draft dialogue is wretched, but conveys what will be said, in what order, and how much balloon room needs to be left. When that's done, off the script goes to the editor and artist. Include color notes if you have them, since colorist should get a copy too. As they art comes back in, I write the final dialogue, so it's matched to what's on the page. Adjust your script to fit the art. It's easier and more time effective to rewrite dialogue than redraw pages. Adjust what you do to what the artist does. Remember: 5 or 6 people in the world will read the script (editor or two, artist, letterer, colorist). Your script is NOT the final product.The comic is the final product. All parts of process should be working together to make a great comic, not to give any one part precedence. Also be aware that different types of scripts work better or worse for different artists: more detail, less choreography, etc. If I can't see the page in my head, I do not have the right to hand it to the artist and say "draw this." But ... I fully expect the artist to come back with something different than what's in my head. That's where the creative magic is. Things to know: how much visual info fits on page; how much visual info fits in panel; how much lettering fits in a balloon and in a panel. Another thing to know: characters CANNOT perform multiple actions in a panel. Can't park a car, get out and walk into building in one panel.When you write stuff like that, artists curse you soundly, laugh at you behind your back, and then tell other artists about it.Starlin explained it to me like this, at start of my career: each panel is a frozen moment in time. The job is to show the right moments.So that's what I know. Now I gotta go write some comics.
And that was what Ron Marz stated. He was then asked questions that he answered like:
The choice between breakdowns and full scripts, Marz answered:
Depends on the artist. Many are used to full script, because plot style has become much less common. I'll work whatever way artist is comfortable, and yields best book. Sometimes I have specific thing that needs full script.
And Marz reiterated the importance of the Artist:
As I said earlier, writer gives the artist everything needed to draw the page, then artist decides how to do it.
And shortly after he sparked this fire, other creators sounded off. One of the most vocal is comic icon and veteran Erik Larsen added his own advice:
First things rookie writers need to understand is that they're not writing a movie. Characters can't do multiple tasks in one panel. Second--is to understand that a reader sees every panel of a spread at once. Surprises don't work in panel three on a right-handed page.
And Erik went on to give answers to hopefuls on twitter which hold wisdom such as:
When dealing with ads: generally writer contend themselves with single page bites and having each end on a mini-cliffhanger.
Also:
If you can cut a panel without harming the story--cut it. Keep only panels that add something. writing comics is a totally different discipline. You need to be succinct. Every kind of writing has its rules. The important thing is to use them.
A lot of sound advice here. Hopefully, any one who wants to create comics get's something out of this.
Supreme #64 Written by Erik Larsen Art by Erik Larsen & Cory Hamscher Image Comics
Review by Frankie Rodriguez
INTRODUCTION
Supreme, for all intents, purposes, started out as an allegory and even older copy of Superman. Under Rob Liefield's Extreme Studios, Supreme became something far different than the Man of Steel ever did. He had all the powers. He had a kind of weakness similar. But Supreme was kinda of .. .well, a douchebag at first. He was arrogant. He was very blunt. And he had no problems proving how powerful he was. And then things changed. Supreme had gotten younger some how. And then ... Alan Moore arrived. And he turned the Superman allegory on its ear.
Moore's legendary run was cut short by one ... ONE issue ... until now. Extreme Studios is back with a vengeance as they brought back Prophet, Bloodstrike, Glory and more in their relaunch. And one of the things they did was bring back Supreme with Erik Larsen and Cory Hamscher doing art for the now FINAL Alan Moore issue. Now, we start with Erik Larsen's reign with the character. And with dozens of Supremes out there ... what will he do now?
FLIPPING THROUGH:
So yeah. This issue starts with Supreme ... multitudes of them ... being attacked by multitudes of his arch nemesis, Darius Dax. And this is pretty insane. Kind of working as an allegory for continuity while fixing it, we find that the Supreme's are getting slaughtered by the Darius Dax's; with the original Darius Dax leading the charge. And while a LOT is happening this issue, the ending ties up things extremely well . .. with the return of the ORIGINAL Supreme that we have not seen in years!
With the Original Supreme's return, he takes care of most of the Daxes and even the other Supremes (oh, I am sooooooooo not spoiling that). And we see everything ... different kinds of Daxes ... including a duck Dax to a Mouse and Lion Supremes.
WRITING:
I have to applaud Erik Larsen. He inherited one heck of a big, convoluted mess. A very, very big mess. And yet, he was able to keep the readers engaged on the Supreme Al Moore established long enough to give him a proper send off while bringing us another Supreme with a cleaner slate. Larsen, in his first issue of Supreme, actually respected enough of the writer's work before to spend the issue closing out that danging plotline and bring it to a satisfying conclusion; while opening up possibilities for a brand new beginning. THAT is GREAT writing.
It was great seeing how the different Daxes were different yet similar in their own way. The fact that Diana had an evil alternate was also interesting and how they were both utilized. Still, Larsen made the issue work, no matter how chaotic the issue looked. That seems to be the downside of this issue. While it is chaotic, brand new readers might be scratching their head if they did not pick up the previous issue.Still, Strong characterizations while honoring what was past and setting up a new beginning in one issue. Very well done Mr. Larsen.
ART:
Larsen and Cory Hamscher did a great job illustrating this issue. While the style is more classic cartoony with some finishes, it still worked well. It was appealing cause it was a style you don't see too often in the Big Two anymore. Yet, with the multitudes of kinds of characters and the carnage that ensued (Seriously, someone got their head punched off and another person was blasted through their chest) these two made it work and work well..
There was enough detail to make the characters feel threatening when they needed to be but funny when they were supposed to be funny . The inking and finishes were nice and clean. The colors helped the issue out well. And while some panels may seem lazy due to background panels, all those panels without backgrounds actually let's you focus on the event that is happening. Good move by Larsen and Hamscher.
OVERALL IMPRESSION:
The only thing that really hurts this issue is the lack of knowledge about Supreme but that all changes by the end of it thanks to Larsen. It is brutal yet fun. And That is something that I find that I enjoy about comics like this and Invincible. That they are brutal, make statements about comics or things in life yet still be entertaining.
As gruesome and gory as this issue was at times, there was definitely that signaling that this was an end to an era and a beginning of a whole new one. A clean slate for Larsen to build on. That fact that he took the time to do this was great and shows respect. The over all chaos might put off readers but I would still suggest getting this issue cause it closes out Moore's run nicely while opening up what Larsen can (and will) do next.
Supreme # 64 gets a 4 out of 5. Very strong issue. Fun. Might be a little confusing if you are new but still a fun time to be had by all.
Savage Dragon/Hellboy Crossover: Attack of Gorilla Hitler
Written & Art by Erik Larsen
Savage Dragon created by Erik Larsen
Hellboy created by Mike Mignola
Review by Hector Ramirez
Hey Clashers, Hector here, reviewing a crossover from the 90’s that probably should have stayed there. I’m talking about the 2 part Savage Dragon/Hellboy crossover from Dark Horse and Image. This is going to be a bumpy ride folks so strap in and hold on tight.
Our story starts in 1945 Romania where Hellboy is fighting what appears to be a big Nazi robot, but then he knocks the head piece off to reveal Adolf Hitler who had been believed to have committed suicide years before. Amidst the battle Red hit’s the robot suit in its chest causing it to explode with Hitler inside leaving nothing but his head. A masked Nazi takes the head in hopes of salvaging Hitler’s brain. Fast forward to the 90’s where a pissed off gorilla, with a brain in a bowl on his head, named BrainApe, is chained up being told if he wished to be free he would have to serve the new leader of the sinister circle. BrainApe is sent to kill Savage Dragon and grudgingly agrees. BrainApe finds Dragon at a train yard helping Hellboy in a fight. Upon seeing Red, memories of….wait for it…..Hitler’s life come rushing back to BrainApe and his hatred for our demon friend puts him in a frenzy. He uses his telekinetic powers(yes Hitler Gorilla is telekinetic) to turn Dragon and Hellboy against each other hoping they will kill each other getting his revenge and completing his task in one shot. Dragon overpowers Red easily and takes the fight out of BrainApe’s telekinetic range giving him the chance to fight the gorillas hold. Dragon then knocked Hitler’s brain off of the gorilla but the brain…..I cant believe I’m about to type these words….the brain grew legs and started to run away. Dragon throws a knife at it killing Hitler’s brain for good.
So yeah. Hitler’s brain on an ape. um….WTF!?!?!?! What in God’s name was the writer thinking?! That being said, it wasn’t that bad of a story. It wasn’t overbearing or forced, like some crossovers are it just kind of worked. The art was pretty good; I had no complaints. I’ve come to expect that with my experience with Image comics. So all in all, the story telling was good, art was good. It is just elements were just out of left field insane. That being said, I give this crossover a Red Robin. Until next time friends, keep clashing.
Welcome to this special Thanksgiving edition of CBC News Edition. We got a lot of new news. Let's get to it.
MARVEL KILLS BLACK PANTHER, GHOST RIDER, X-23 & MORE TITLES.
By Frankie Rodriguez
Marvel is continuing a very, very frightening trend with their books. Two weeks ago, we reported at least 5 titles getting cancelled or scrubbed completely from Marvel. And it seems that there is a lot more to come. And brace yourselves cause these will not be pretty:
Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive will see it's final issue in February with #529. It will feature a final show down between T'Challa and the Kingpin by acclaimed writer David Liss.
Ghost Rider, the second title written by Rob Williams, who was also writing Iron Man 2.0 which is also getting cancelled; is being cancelled in February as well with issue #8. Yet, rumors are already abuzz about a relaunch of the title after the new Ghost Rider movie.
Punisher:MAX by Jason Aaron & Garth Ennis will come to it's blood stained conclusion in February issue #22, although Aaron states in his twitter that Aaron always intended on ending the title on this issue.
X-23 by writer Marjorie Liu, and the ONLY CURRENT FEMALE LEAD TITLE IN MARVEL, is getting cancelled with January's issue #20. Yet, don't fear as X-23 will joining the main cast of Avengers Academy.
And Surprisingly, announced this morning by Marvel EIC, Axel Alonso, Daken: Dark Wolverine, the third title that is being cancelled from writer Rob Williams, will eventually be ending.
David Liss said on his Twitter:
Sadly the news is true. Our Black Panther run ends in February with #529. But keep reading until the end. It's going to be a wild ride!
With all this and the titles reported to be ending 2 weeks ago, that makes 2 miniseries cancelled before they were released, 1 title going from miniseries to ongoing then back to miniseries, 1 series ending as planned and 6 titles that are going to be cancelled due to low sales. Yet, with all these, Marvel is not printing less issues in February. On the contrary, they will be printing MORE issues with at least 17 titles getting 2 issues in February (All the X-titles but Astonishing, The Avengers family & others), Amazing Spiderman getting 3 issues in February and Venom getting 4, yes 4 issues for February, as reported from The Bleeding Cool. Will this biweekly trend of higher selling issues continue to make up for lost profits to DC and their relaunch? No one knows for sure but this definitely seems to be a very frightening trend. And what happens when other titles do the same numbers but their bottom line changes? We'll been keeping an eye on Marvel in 2012 for more of their changes and tactics to come.
IMAGE CELEBRATES COMIC INDEPENDENCE WITH IMAGE EXPO
The Following is the official press release from Image Comics:
IMAGE EXPO is coming! Experience the creativity of the men and women making the best creator owned comics in America at this one-of-a-kind celebration commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Image Comics!
IMAGE EXPO is a three-day celebration of creator-owned comics happening at the Oakland Convention Center. Image partners Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino, will be the guests of honor, appearing throughout the weekend for signings, panels, and special events. Other special guests include Image founders Rob Liefeld, and Whilce Portacio, plus the creators of today's best creator-owned comics, including: Joe Casey, Jay Faerber, Jonathan Hickman, Ryan Ottley, Richard Starkings, Fiona Staples, and Brian K. Vaughan.
IMAGE EXPO is Northern California's premiere comic con experience in 2012. The three-day event takes place at the Oakland Convention Center in the heart of the bustling nightlife and restaurant center of downtown Oakland, CA on February 24-25-26.
IMAGE EXPO isn't just about Image Comics, it's a celebration of independent creativity in comics. The exhibit floor is open to anyone who makes creator-owned comics. We're also going to be hosting unique programming for fans, aspiring creators, and library professionals. We'll be continuing our tradition of supporting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund's important work to protect creators and retailers by hosting special events including a massive benefit auction.
Get in on the ground floor and sign up for your exhibitor or artist alley space today! Contact info@ImageComicExpo.com for more information about the show and how to sign up to exhibit.
This can be seen as perfect timing for the leading independent comic book company. Image is allowing as many indy artist come. So this is truly a celebration of independent comics and its creators, who have seemed to gotten a good grip of readers now. More of this landmark event and celebration as information becomes available.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
A Preview of Issue # 4 of Static Shock, the final issue written by John Rozum. Trailer by Static Shock artist & co-writer Scott McDaniel.
DC & AMAZON'S BIG DIGITAL DEAL
by Frankie Rodriguez
Last month, it was announced by DC that they would release over 100 graphic novels and trades exclusively for Amazon's Kindle Fire. The exclusive agreement was met with a warm reception . . . more like a hot round of hatred with Barnes & Noble cutting most of DC's books from their racks and counting it with an exclusive deal with Marvel Comics and their new Nook releasing hundreds of digital content for it. Well, now full details of the deal between DC and Amazon have been released and it can very well be a very large push for the company in the digital comic book market. This past Tuesday, DC and Amazon opened a dedicated storefront of DC on Amazon.com, making it the first comic book company to digitally sell their stuff on the internet in such a manner. Books, trades and graphic novels are all available digitally for the new storefront. This only adds to the power and appear of the new Kindle Fire which will be directly connected to the DC storefront when sold. DC's Senior VP of Digital Hank Kanalz stated the pricing of the graphic novels and trades were based on the content, the print price and how old the content was. The new storefront will have the DC products in your choice of digital or print. Yes. You can get single issues, trades, graphic novels and more in the new DC Store front on Amazon.com. Kanalz also stated that those 100 graphic novels will be expanded more and more as time passes. The DC Storefront in Amazon.com is on the site now.
Well, to everyone out there, Thank you for your support. Happy Birthday!!
This week's news edition breaks down the news we've heard this past weekend at the NYCC. And boy there are some BIG announcements.
EXTREME STUDIOS COMEBACK IN 2012 WITH SEELEY, MCLAUGHLIN & MOORE (& MORE)
Rob Liefield mentioned this some time ago: that Extreme Studios was going to come back to Image. Yet, there were little to no details as to which titles and who would be attached. Well, this past weekend at the New York Comic Con, we got those answers . . . in spades. Extreme Studios will be bringing back a slew of their old titles; not only bring them back with new creative teams and stories but actually continuing on with their original numbering. Liefield went on about how excited he is about Extreme Studios coming back alongside Image mainstay, Eric Stephenson as they gave a slew of titles to hit sleeves in early 2012, just in time for Image's 20th Birthday. The following are the titles that will be surfacing next year with their creative teams and boy . . . the star power with these titles will ASTOUND you.
Prophet will return this January with issue #21, being the first title brought back from Extreme Studios. Yet, it will be written by Brandon Graham, the creator and writer for hit King City. Art duties will be handled by Simon Roy. Liefield went on to say that this series will be the one with the biggest change, saying that John Prophet has now woken up to a harsher new reality.
Glory is next as the female powerhouse gets new life in with a tweaked origin and will be written by Joe Keantinge, known for his work in the anthology "Popgun" with art by Ross Campbell.
Bloodstrike gets back to its glorious, goriest duties when the team returns compliments of fan favorite writer Tim Seeley and art by Franchesco Gaston. And Seeley will be making sure this team is as dangerous as ever.
Youngblood, the flagship title of Image & Extreme Studios back in the 90s, returns with a vengeance with Youngblood #71. Why #71? According to Liefield, the previous Youngblood minis will now count as one volume instead of Volume 2 and so forth and Liefield promises that the 75th issue of Youngblood will be full of excitement and surprises. Yet, what fans will really drop their mouths at are the creative team for Youngblood . . . art by Jon Malin (whose done work with Liefield before in NitroGen & worked on New Warriors and Cable/Deadpoo) and writer John McLaughlin (Writer of the Academy Award Winning movie Black Swan!). Liefield stated that McLaughlin has returned Youngblood to a more serious government group yet filled with new ideas and concepts including . . . a sex change for Proton?!
And Finally, Supreme, the ultimate super man of Extreme Studios, will return with issue #57.And for the ride .. . we have artist and Image founding member Erik Larsen and written by the legendary Alan Moore. Yes, the final scripts of Alan Moore during his landmark run with his character will finally reach its conclusion as Liefield, Stephenson and Kirkman were able to convince Larsen to work on finish the work that Alan Moore began. And once those scripts are done, Larsen will stay on as writer and will have art by Cory Hamscher; and Larsen will tie up the visions of the arrogant superman that first appeared alongside Moore's retro version once they are done the Moore Scripts.
Extreme Studios seems to be aggressively coming back into the comic world. Let's see how the fans will respond. We will find out as Extreme Studios returns starting this January.
DARK HORSE BRINGS BACK SHAOLIN COWBOY
Geof Darrow's original Shaolin Cowboy featured the main character in a world of violence of his own making in a world where yesterday, today and tomorrow collide. And it was under an independent press which had printed it 5 years ago. Now Dark Horse and Darrow bring back Shaolin Cowboy for new adventures in 2012.
SECRET AVENGERS' FACE LIFT AS REMENDER & HARDMAN ENTER
Rick Remender has become one of the go to guys in Marvel when it comes to writing covert ops groups within the Marvel Universe. Holding such acclaim with his work on Venom and Uncanny X-Force, he will now embark in a new adventure; as he and artist Gabriel Hardman (known for his recent work on the Hulk) will unite to take the reigns of Secret Avengers after Ellis's run is done. Remender comes in with issue 21.1 issue, with art by Patrick Zicher, as Captain America Steve Rogers has a talk with Hawkeye. And that starts the many changes with the group as Hawkeye becomes the new leader of the Secret Avengers, personally passed command from Cap. Remender comments on Hawkeye's entrance to the group:
"I think what you've got in Hawkeye, because of his childhood, is somebody who is roguish and a little unpredictable. He's got a real sense of responsibility and a solid ethical compass, but he's also willing to go to lengths that maybe Steve Rogers isn't. That's one of the reasons that Steve chose and one of the reasons that we chose him for this book. Now they're operating with a no kill rule, but we're going to put that to the test. For me there needs to be a difference between 'X-Force' and 'Secret Avengers.' This is the brighter, shinier covert operations team whereas I think 'X-Force' is a little dirtier. The fun of it is that you've got to cook up threats of such a grand scale that haven't yet boiled over and must be dealt with before they do. They're dealing with dire straits and something that they're potentially in over their heads with, but on top of that they must maintain their anonymity. They can't be seen so the team is still a secret to the villains of the world.
And Hawkeye isn't the only new edition as the team goes through a line up change. While Beast, Black Widow and Valkyrie are all staying, the team gets other new members such as Giant Man Hank Pym; who is also running the Avengers Academy . . .and first time Avenger, UK hero Captain Britian. Remender promises that Hawkeye will be dealing with issue with the UK hero as their personalities and backgrounds will clash. And promises that many of the fixtures in Captain Britain's life, such as Otherworld, Jamie Braddock and his twin sister Psylocke (who Remender writes in Uncanny X-Force) and connecting them into storylines for Secret Avengers while dealing with what its like being an Avenger.
And while Remender is well versed in Brain Braddock and his mythology, artist Gabriel Hardman is entering new territory as he commented:
Captain Britain is almost entirely new to me. I may have read a couple issues of 'Excalibur' in the '80s, but I don't think I've ever drawn him. It will be a challenge to find an angle on this character."
And Captain Britain as a character will not only be explored but Otherworld, the dimension Brian Braddock rules will also have major storyline implications in Secret Avengers. And thus having Captain Britain on the team will open unlimited possibities for stories for the covert team remarked Remender. Remender says that he is also picking up the plot line dropped from Uncanny X-Force 5.1, where Lady Deathstrike downloaded herself and how that connects to the first threat the new team faces, the mechanical beings known as the Descendants. After that, the team will face the emergence of an all new Masters of Evil and how they are connected to the Shadow Council.
Adding new concepts and visuals are just one of many reasons why Remender and Hardman are happy to be working together again; as Hardman states:
"I had a great time doing flashback sequences on the late lamented 'Doctor Voodoo' and working with Rick again was a big factor in me deciding to take this book. Anyone who's read his work knows he's full of huge, inventive ideas and his 'Secret Avengers' scripts are no exception."
With two jump on points, #21.1 or #22 of Secret Avengers is a perfect time to get a taste of the where this new Secret Avengers team is going and work from Remender and Hardman. Secret Avengers #21.1 will hit stores in January while Secret Avengers #22 hits stores in February.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK:
Premiered this past weekend during NYCC . . . the upcoming DC Animated movie: Justice League DOOM.
HINE & HAUN TAKE OVER THE DARKNESS
The Darkness seems to be enjoying a new surge of popularity again with the new game to be released and his roles in the Top Cow Universe. And as of issue #101, there will be a new creative coming in and taking on Jackie Estacado in the forms of writer David Hine and Jeremy Haun. The new creative team jumps in to bring The Darkness more in touch with both his horror and mobster roots. Hine commented on how the powers of The Darkness are mixed between that of Spawn and Green Lantern and will be testing those powers through out the story while testing visuals for Haun to render for the reader. Hine also commented on how he is using of the events of recent issues of The Darkness and Artifacts that will help him set up his new direction that starts in #101. Hine hinted at what he plans on doing:
"There are some fiendish twists coming, but I don't want to give any of them away, which leaves me with very little I can say specifically, except to say that I'll be taking Jackie in a very different direction to what has gone before. I think readers will be pleasantly surprised -- no scratch that -- there's nothing pleasant about what we have planned. In fact, I've been giving myself nightmares. I had one last week that had me waking up in a cold sweat and gave me the opening scene to the third issue of my first arc. It involves cats, and I apologize in advance to all the cat lovers out there. Honestly, I love cats. I have two of my own. But when a scene comes to you in a dream, you just have to go with it."
Hine also hinted that an Eastern European Mob are trying to move in on Jackie's turf during his first arc; where Jackie is back to being a gangster himself running his own mob. And all this will be rendered by Haun as Hine stated that he wanted to make sure that a horror element was very much a part of the book. So, it will be a mix of mob crime dramas and horror in which Hine will drive the Darkness during his run; picking up on elements that current scribe, Phil Heister, will produce during the issues leading to #100.
The Darkness #101, written by David Hine with art by Jeremy Haun will hit stores in March 2012. .
JOHNS & FRANK ADD A CURSE OF SHAZAM TO JUSTICE LEAGUE
The convention has definitely been filled with surprises and exciting announcements. This one is no different. Starting with January's Justice League #5, there will be a back up story that will run through the ongoing dealing with Captain Marvel. Curse of Shazam will beginning its backup run on the Justice League book, running along side the Steel back up on Action Comics. Justice League scribe Geoff Johns works with Gary Frank again to give us a brand new rendition of Captain Marvel in this DCnU. Johns and Frank come with a fresh, new perspective as they give Captain Marvel and many of his long time characters a modern update . .. including a new costume.
Frank commented on the look of Shazam:
"Both Geoff and I were keen that our costume should look different to the rest of the Justice League's costumes since it comes from a different place. We're still ironing it out but, whereas the other costumes feel very modern and cool, ours needs to feel timeless and, hopefully, cool. We are dealing with magic rather than tailoring, so this has to be in there somehow."
Another change that may stick is that the hero may longer be referred to as Captain Marvel . . . but as Shazam as many fans already use that name Shazam to differentiate him from Marvel's Captain Marvel; let alone the legal ramifications. Yet, we will not find out for sure till the back up premieres. And note, this project was finished after the recently finished but yet to be printed Batman: Earth One graphic novel, which will also hit stores in 2012 which Frank stated:
"I enjoy working with Geoff so much that he was always going to be my first choice as a collaborative partner. When I first suggested finding another project, it was in response to the fact that there was going to be such a long time before Batman[: Earth One] hit the shelves. I wanted to get another project going so that I would have something out there."
Justice League # 5 written by Geoff Johns with art by Jim Lee with the Curse of Shazam backup also written by Johns with art by Gary Frank will hit stores January 18th, 2011.
ASPEN'S FIRST ONGOING SERIES
Aspen has been notorious for several things: books that seem to have a very dubious, sporadic schedule; a wide variety of books in their line; multiple miniseries starring their properties like Fathom and Soulfire; and finally, the founder being the late Michael Turner. Well, things are about to change in Aspen as it announced its first ongoing series this past weekend. With the success of their weekly, summer crossover event known as Hit List Agenda, Aspen fixed their scheduling conflicts. And now, they will unleash their popular property, Executive Assistant: Assassins, created by David Z. Wohl, in 2012. Executive Assistant: Assassins deals with women who take up roles as Assistants, Bodyguards and Assassins for their high-powered Chinese superiors. Oddly enough, it is not Wohl but Aspen EIC Vince Hernandez himself who will be scripting the ongoing comic. When asked to why this title being the first given ongoing status:
The Executive Assistant property has been great for us. David Wohl, Brad Foxhoven and Michael Turner created not only a wonderful first two volumes containing a rich storyline and a diverse cast of personalities, but also an entire world filled with possibilities for future stories and new characters. We felt it was time to tap into that and explore different takes on the concept.
Executive Assistant: Assassins will allow for that with the ongoing format and the open-ended nature of it. For instance, there are several fan-favorite characters from the first two volumes and the crossover that didn’t get as much time in the sun as the primary cast, and this will be an opportunity for fans to see them in more expanded tales and adventures.
The choice to do this particular title at the point is really just a matter of timing in our production schedule. We’ve discussed the ongoing format plenty of times before for different properties, and actually, there will be more upcoming announcements involving the ongoing format with our other popular titles that I think people are gonna get really excited about.
Hernandez also stated that the books will have clear arcs to follow with a beginning and an ending; and to note that there will be cast changes to follow other EX:As depending on the arcs. Many characters that we did see before, who are still alive anyway, will return during the ongoing. The first arc will be 3 issues entitled "Life After Death", featuring volume one veteran, Iris. After that, there is a 2 part arc with another EX:A.
The espionage, action pack femme fatale fest will begin in 2012.
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THIS WEEKEND IS TAKII: AN ANIME CONVENTION IN PHILADELPHIA
AND AT THE CONVENTION IS . . ..EVE OF CHAMPIONS
On Sunday, October 23rd, J1 Studios in conjunction with The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational will be hosting the Eve of Champions tournament!!! Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is the game, $10 to enter, and there's prizes in store for everyone.
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And that is it for this week. More news next week. See ya then.
