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.
When the title hero Prophet appeared in Youngblood # 2, he wore a purple suit with a warrior’s face plate along with larger than life pouches and shoulder pads that appeared to weigh a ton. He was a time traveling hero who would go to sleep in a cryogenic stasis chamber. Prophet had awakened, and he was ready to fight off the enemy. Prophet was a creation of Dr. Wells that originally was supposed to be a tool made for Phillip Omen, but Dr. Wells thought otherwise and instilled Prophet to be a hero and to love God.
This made Prophet a proper hero, someone that fought the good fight, and he would combat evil on many different fronts along with his pal and sidekick Kirby.
Prophet made several appearances; he was a primer hero for then Extreme Studios, which was Rob Liefield’s flagship part of Image comics. Of course, Image had an issue eventually with Rob and they kicked him out of the company, which booted Prophet for the most part, and he was not seen again.
Prior to being booted, there was an artist that made Prophet truly famous besides Liefield drawing and creating him in Youngblood. Prophet had his own series and he started with his purple suit, but before long we were introduced to Stephen Platt’s version of Prophet that was larger than life with huge nasty machine guns, and this Prophet had spiky hair and was off the chain.
Stephan Platt drew us a Prophet that took no crap and he was diesel as all can be, and in some cases, he was so muscular it made readers wonder how he could even move his limbs.
No matter what you could say, you knew that Prophet was a Cable reject. He had all the same trappings as Cable, a time displaced hero that would appear at a time of need that took out the bad guys. If it were the future, the past, Prophet was there. He was the ultimate time traveler, and he took no one’s crap.
But as I stated, that all came to an end. Part of me thought Prophet was over; we would never see him again, and he was just a minor footnote in comic history like so many other characters.
Well, flash forward to Jan 2012 when Prophet #21 was released. The world was going to get their Prophet on in a bold new direction.
As in previous appearances, Prophet awakens from his stasis chamber, and when he awakens he is on earth that is very foreign to him. Humans are nowhere to be seen, animals have evolved, and some of the species have mutated due to being mixed with extraterristal life forms. So John Prophet awakens, and his mission is simple. He has to restart the human empire.
You see this bold new direction as Prophet goes from one location to another, killing creatures and eating them, and boy, I must say that this Prophet eats a lot.
The writer, Brandon Graham, has truly created a lush world for this new world we have entered. For instance, there is a Jell city that many of the said aliens live in. They suffer along with Prophet trying to reach the G.O.D Satellite that orbited nearby the Towers of Thauliu Vah, which had an electromagnetic lock onto the Satellite.
Spoilers below.
I must say that the way the story plays out pretty much has you just along for the ride. You aren’t getting fed the story, and it leaves you wondering where this adventure is going to leave you. Before you know it, you are in the heart of the story in issue #23 where Prophet gets onto the G.O.D Satellite, gets into a small melee combat with an alien that had been tracking him for several pages, and finally gets assistance from a hooded figure. When it is all over, Prophet is confronted by many other lookalikes, and he places his hand onto the Control Panel inside the G.O.D Satellite. He activates the Satellite, and he restarts the human empire once more. He really awakens and spreads his knowledge to all the John Prophets across the galaxy. Yes, I said all the John Prophets out there are the human colony to repopulate the cosmos. That tells us that John Prophet is and has been a series of clones since the beginning.
This also leaves a lingering question because, like I said, Brandon Graham has his artist draw a panel where there are skeletal remains of a person on a command-like enterprise chair, and the remains have this spiky-haired guy with huge shoulder pads, with a faceplate, and appears larger than life. What this illustration tells me is that this is the Prophet that we followed in the original Youngblood series; the one that we learned to like in the early to mid-1990s, but who was now dead. That’s how this series has been linked to its past.
I thought it was an intelligent way to tell fans the past did matter, but this was a new day and world for Prophet. We finally got a little sense of closure from the past series, and it also tells us this entire time Prophet wasn’t a time traveler and hadn’t been sleeping. He has just been a clone forever, and he would appear when he had a new mission to complete.
Issue #24 of Prophet starts with another John Prophet awakening, but this time in a spaceship far in the human empire colony. When this Prophet awakens, there is a huge mess on the deck as there are pods of other Prophets that are dead and never had a chance to awaken to try to live their lives.
This Prophet is given a task that he must complete by crossing the ship known as the Sleepingman and come face to face with a creature that looks eerily familiar in appearance. Oh, did I tell you that this version of Prophet has a tail? Yes, I said tail. I loved this series as I saw this new Prophet talk to a small hologram girl that fed him his objective and guided him through the ship that was filled with radiation. As he finally came to the close of this story, he had to fight the creature that looked like someone he knew.
This creature was another version of Prophet that had awakened and tried to reach the end of the Sleepingman but failed as the tailed version of Prophet fought and defeated the mutated, radiated version. Once our tailed Prophet finished his fight, he got out of the ship, and he used Star Skin to travel to the vessel he was trying to reach. When he finally got to his objective, which was the planet below, he was greeted by other Prophet versions with a huge face-like creature that almost appeared to be wearing the old Prophet faceplate. Of course, I am left wondering what is going on here, but I do have to admit that Graham has been captivating, and I am wondering where all of this is going.
I just like the fact that there are many Prophets. This is the end of the human race, and they all carry a similar face and they all awaken for a particular mission. Our hero happens to be a man that may be more than one man. I like this very fresh take, and I love all the sci-fi elements that are being thrown together here. The story never feels forced, and it is a very brisk read.
Jake Estrada
Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website suggestions. I’m always looking to review underground comics, and web comics. Thanks.
Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth. You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-mediaand other fine online stores.
Welcome to the 25th News Edition. Wow . .. 25 already. Well, here's the news!
PULP'S THE SPIDER REEMERGES!! by Frankie Rodriguez
Back in the 1930s, pulp heroes were everywhere. Radio Dramas and other media were filled with pulp heroes like The Phantom or The Shadow. And with the recent launch of The Shadow, The Spider plans to add on to it.
The Spider deals with common tropes in pulp heroes: being a son of a rich industrialist and also a war vet. Now, Dynamite continues their tread of bring new renditions of pulp classic with bring back The Spider, Richard Wentworth. Created by Harry Steeger, The Spider was armed with a fedora, a cape, some guns and took on criminals with a set of novels back in the 1930s. As crime becomes outlandish, with hundreds to thousands being killed, Wentworth suits up as the Spider taking no prisoners against this twisted villains.
Writer for the new series, David Liss, commented on the Spider and bringing him into the 21st Century:
Part of what always made The Spider so cool was the sheer scope of destruction caused by his villains. The Spider's enemies thought nothing of demolishing city blocks, killing thousands, turning countless innocents into mindless slaves. Faced with crime this insane, The Spider had turn himself into a force of equal ferocity, destruction and ruthlessness. He's the most badass and take-no-prisoners of the pulp heroes because he has to be, and it's been absolutely awesome transferring that kind of sentiment from the 1930s to contemporary times. Some things have been updated, but he's still the kind of vigilante that makes the bad guys wet their pants.
Along for the ride with Liss is artist Colton Worley also added his feelings about the new title:
This book has it all. It's got action, pulp, noir, horror, romance...everything you could ever want in a story all in one place. And helping to create the world that David Liss has set up has been a great experience.
The Spider # 1 by David Liss and Colton Worley from Dynamite Entertainment is slated to hit shelves this May.
2 OF THE GREATEST SCI FI PROPERTIES TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
by Frankie Rodriguez
It is no secret that many people all over the world knows of the Star Trek franchise. What is even more insane is the vast amount of the world's population that has been touched by the Doctor Who franchise; including garshing the most downloads of it's previous seasons last year from iTunes as well as getting the highest ratings its ever had in BBC America. And now ... for the very first time, IDW Publishing will bring both properties together as the Time Lord known as the Doctor means the Federation for the very first time in STAR TREK:NEXT GENERATION/DOCTOR WHO: ASSIMILATION2.
Assilimaton2 deals with the effects of time and space as iconic Trek enemies known as the Borg will have an alliance with Doctor Who's old enemies, the Cybermen. The two groups will combined forces in order to wipe out every last vestage of humanity in existence. It is up to the Doctor to join Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew to fend of what could be one of the biggest threat they have ever faced.
The 8 issue miniseries event will be written by Scott & David Tipton alongside longtime Doctor Who writer Tony Lee. On art duties is Fallen Angel artist, J.K. Woodward.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #1, written by Tony Lee, Scott Tipton & David Tipton with art by J.K. Woodward will hit shelves this May for $3.99 by IDW Publishing.
YOUNG JUSTICE MAKES THEIR LEGACY ON GAME SYSTEMS
by Hector Ramirez
Hey Clashers, Hector here and have I got news for you. So as you may or may not know Cartoon Network is on it's second season of the DC annimated series, Young Justice. The show is popular enough; I know I'm a fan. It was enough of a hit to spawn its own comic. So what's the next logical step? A video game of course. WB interactive has teamed with Little Orbit to create a video game that follows a fresh storyline that takes place between season 1 and season 2 written by show producersGreg Weisman and Brandon Vietti.
The TV series is a fantastic combination of compelling writing, witty humor, iconic art, and exciting action sequences. The creators have done an amazing job blending over 180 DC Comics characters into their show filtered through a new, youthful perspective, - Little Orbit CEO Matt Scott said in a statement.
The new video game contains a slew of cool features and a large playable cast of familiar heroes, but our core mission is to create a unique experience that fits seamlessly into the world of the show and offers a new way to interact with these popular DC Comics characters.-comic book resources
The game drops early next year for ps3 and xbox 360.
IMAGE SERIES GETTING SENT BACK TO PRESSES . . .OVER & OVER AGAIN!
by Frankie Rodriguez
Image Comics made waves and headlines in the 90s as it became the 3rd largest comic book company on the planet. Now, some 20 years later, it seems to be doing it again. Multiple books have been selling out from Image:
Fatales #1 from the now legendary team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips; which is now going in to it's FOURTH printing.
Prophet # 21 & 22 are going back for second & third printings of the now beloved relaunch of the Extreme Studios character, now under the team of Brandon Graham and Simon Roy.
Peter Panzerfaust # 1 by Kurtis Wiebe & Tyler Jenkins merges WW II with Peter Pan has struck gold with fans, selling out its first issue and getting its second printing on March 14th, the same day as the second issue of the new ongoing will appear.
Thief of Thieves # 1 by Robert Kirkman, Nick Spencer & Shawn Martinborough has also sold out, getting a second printing on the same day as it's second issue, also March 14th.
Glory # 23, the first issue written by Joe Keatinge with art by Ross Campbell as part of the Extreme Studios, also sold out; making it the second title from the Extreme Studios relaunch to do so. It's reprint is joining its second issue, # 24, with the others to come out March # 14.
6 reprints, some of them multiple times within the first few months of the year. Image is about to have their special Image Expo, which not only celebrates 20 years of the company but celebrates independent comics in general. It seems Image is stepping into the gold mine and fans are excited; so Image, show us what you plan to do next.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Picked by Hector Ramirez
WOW .. . that was just . ..AWESOME!!!
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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.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
