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Circus: The Graphic Novel – Get Inside The Show!

June 20, 2013 by

There’s so many crowd-funded comic projects out there, but I still love shining the spotlight on local ones as I come across them. Toowoomba’s Will McLaren has a promising graphic novel project on offer over at Pozible. The story sounds appealing and the first six pages are complete of what is intended to be a100-page graphic novel:

The greatest circus on earth becomes the most desperate after its main big top, filled with technological and artistic marvels, burns to the ground. With performers dead, acts cancelled and a world war looming, violence, crime and risqué entertainment are embraced as necessities for the survival of the circus.

What I like about the different pledge levels is the variety in options for you to be featured in the book itself, whether you’re an artist or just someone who’d like to see a character that looks like them.

You can view Will’s pitch for your money right here:

It’s only a day until the pledges close and it’s looking like the project will meet target if a few more people throw their hats in the ring. We’ve happily pledged and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product in January 2014. Go check it out for yourself.

Filed Under: Graphic Novels, Independents Tagged With: , ,

Webcomic Wednesday – PhD Comics

June 19, 2013 by

This week our regular webcomic guru Sean is buried under a pile of non-comic books due to his studies, so it’s my pleasure to step in for the week to cover a webcomic I enjoy: PhD comics:

phd-comics

A disclaimer up front: this is a webcomic devoted to a very specific audience of those working towards achieving a PhD or other research-related degree at a university.

That said, some of the humour is general enough to give anyone some enjoyment, but if you fall into the target audience you’ll enjoy the strips immensely. Created by Jorge Cham and running since October 1997, there’s the whole gamut of life issues covered, usually with humour. Like any humour-driven comic it does fall flat at times but more often than not it’s a fun read.

So whether you’re a PhD student or not, check out the strips!

Have any webcomics you want checked out? Let Sean know on Twitter @Pipes815, or send him a message via our contact form.

Filed Under: Webcomics Tagged With: ,

Win Tickets To Oz Comic Con Melbourne

June 4, 2013 by

ozcomiccon2013We’re really pleased to have our first Comics Herald Giveaway! As we’ve covered already, the Oz Comic Con series of events has started making its way around Australia and it’s hitting Melbourne on the 6th and 7th July.

A lot of people are excited about Mr William Shatner being there, but let’s focus on the comics-related guests you can potentially see:

Ben Hutchings / Dillon Naylor / Ryan K Lindsay / Tom Raney / Phil Jimenez / Colin Wilson / Paul Abstruse / Justin Randall / Bobby. N / Tom Taylor / Christian Read / Andrew Constant / Tristan Jones / Paul Mason / Dean Rankine / David Yardin / Jon Sommariva / Freddie E Williams II / Queenie Chan / Jason Palmer / Nicola Scott / Stew McKenny

Check out the full Oz Comic Con guest list over at their website. But now, onto…

The Competition

Thanks to Oz Comic Con we have two weekend double passes* to give away. That means you and a significant other / friend / person you drag off the street can check out the event on both days. And all you have to do to go into the draw for a double pass is:

1. Tell us why you want to go to Oz Comic Con in Melbourne in 30 words or so. Be funny, innovative, controversial, whatever takes your fancy.

2. You need to post your response on either:

a. our Facebook page (you’ll need to like our page – we only send out one update per day usually so you won’t be bombarded we promise)

b. on our Twitter account: we’d love you to follow us but you don’t have to, just do a public response to @thecomicsherald and it’ll be counted

3. Get your response in by Midnight AEST on Sunday 23rd June.

4. That’s it!

We will draw randomly the two winners from those who’ve posted a response as per rules above and will notify you via Facebook or Twitter on Monday 24th June.

Ticket Details

* The passes are valued at $80 each and allow entry into the event on Saturday and Sunday. As per the website, ticket conditions are: The event floor and panel stages have limited capacity as set by the Fire Marshal. Even though your ticket is needed to get into the event, it does not guarantee you immediate access to any event space or the panel stages if it they have reached capacity. We clear rooms between each panel. Most autograph signings and photograph opportunities are of a limited nature. Your general ticket does not guarantee autographs or photographs at the event.The winners will be able to collect their tickets from the speciality ticket desk which will be located near the main entry.

 

Filed Under: Events, TCH News Tagged With: ,

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Trailer Released

May 13, 2013 by

It’s 30 seconds, it doesn’t give much at all away, but it’s still a lot of fun. Check it out:

It raises a couple of nice questions: how is Agent Coulson alive? Who’s the super-dude in the dressing gown?

Of course, that’s the ABC in the US that it’s going to be screened on – who knows when we’ll see it down here and if it’ll be available legally on a streaming service?

What’s your take – does it appeal?

Filed Under: TV

Review: Myth #2 – Loniewski / Lauer / Dollman

May 10, 2013 by

myth-2A while back I reviewed Issue #1 of Myth. I gave it the big thumbs up then and I’m pleased to say issue #2 is at least as strong as its predecessor. It continues the story of Sam and his silent giant friend as they settle into their existence together. Not content with having changed things for the better in the first issue, Sam’s decided they’ll continue to right wrongs, which is where  things start to get complicated for them.

I like the work Mike Loniewski has done on expanding the scope of the story, to the point I wonder how well it can be wrapped up in a 3-part mini-series. Dan Lauer’s art is fascinating in this issue: his minimalist style appeals to me but to mix things up a bit he changes style a couple of times, including some charcoal sketch work by the look of it, which is lovely. There’s the odd series of panels that seem a little rushed to me but overall I love the feel the art delivers.

As I mentioned last time, all proceeds (the comic is initially free as a preview) from the comic go toward Childhelp.org, with whom the creators have partnered. That alone may be worth spending some money to support but I can tell you that this is a great read and I’m certainly hanging out for the conclusion in issue #3.

Myth #2 hits Comixology on the 29th May so go check it out and help a good cause at the same time.

Filed Under: Independents Tagged With: , , ,

Mini-Reviews: Todd The Ugliest Kid, Hoax Hunters and Judge Dredd

April 26, 2013 by

todd-ugliest-4Ahhh, the best time of the month when my monthly stash of non-digital comics arrives. Here’s my brief thoughts on what I’ve read:

Hoax Hunters #9: I’ve been threatening to stop reading this for a few months now and this flip-book doesn’t do much to convince me otherwise. It’s a ghost hunting story this month so at least it’s easy to follow and I like the flip-book concept (one half shows the TV show version of events, the other what actually goes down). That said, the resolution of the story is lame. I’m done with this title as of issue #10 unless something amazing happens.

Judge Dredd #5 and #6: I was starting to waver on this title but these two stories have me back on the wagon. New stories told in the classic Dredd way. Think of it like a 2000AD Mag in a glossy comic. Speaking of which: who’d like to see IDW do a Rogue Trooper series?

Todd The Ugliest Kid on Earth #4: Three words: strength-to-strength. Now with talking cockroaches.

 

Filed Under: Image, Other Companies

Review: The Golem #1 – Goldstein and Timpano

April 24, 2013 by

Review: The Golem #1One of the things that has amazed me in the months that The Comics Herald has been running, is the level of quality in independent and smaller company comics. My colleague Sean reviewed Hoodlum #1 from Hilary Goldstein back in March, and he’s back with a very different title this time. The Golem #1 is also from Alterna Comics and is a 4-part mini-series launching tomorrow on Comixology.

The story is set in a future Paris and centres around a mother (Danya Ben-El’azar) and her son Jonah. The mother just happens to be a highly trained former covert military type, and her young son works alongside her to form the team know as The Golem. Danya’s a good-hearted vigilante who’s willing to shed some blood where needed, and once her back-story is revealed you can see why she’s in that position.

The back-story itself is efficiently told and holds interest throughout. The overall story arc is interesting and I’m definitely keen to see what happens after the first issue’s cliffhanger. The backdrop of Paris is also well written in and provides some great ambience to the story, plus it’s great to see a story like this set outside of the United States or a fictional city. The dialogue is crisp and moves the story along nicely. I’m actually caring about Danya and her son and I like that their lives are painted starkly, reflecting the ambiguous situation they are in.

Art-wise, I love Giovanni Timpano’s work here – it’s a perfect fit for the story and he does a brilliant job of defining key locations with colour (the purples for the safety of home being the more obvious one). It’s just plain nice to look at throughout and Garry Brown’s cover is worth hanging on a wall.

The Golem is off to a cracking start and I’m hanging out for #2 before #1 even hits Comixology. I also regret I was unaware of the Kickstarter campaign that got this book made – I would have more than happily kicked in for a TPB of this. So do check it out on Comixology tomorrow – it’s a very engaging read indeed.

Filed Under: Independents Tagged With: , ,

Mini-Reviews: Daredevil, Judge Dredd and Todd The Ugliest Kid

March 31, 2013 by

daredevilendofdaysHaving completed reading all my monthly pull list, here’s some brief thoughts on each:

Daredevil End of Days #6: Dreading this series ending in two issues. Is there one good reason you haven’t bought this yet?

Daredevil #24: The current story arc could have lost its way but it’s done far from that and the Foggy health scare storyline is as good as anything else going on in the book.

Todd The Ugliest Kid On Earth #3: Still delivering great art, interesting story and a couple of legit belly laughs an issue – doesn’t get much better than that.

Judge Dredd: Year One #1: New mini-series looking at stories from Dredd’s first year as a Judge. Enjoyable, and love IDW’s print quality on these.

Hoax Hunters #8: Frustrating me more and more as time goes on. It meanders, the story remains hard to pick up each month. Some silly sense of loyalty will keep me going to issue 10 but I’m done after that.

Filed Under: Marvel, Review Tagged With: , , ,

Sunday Snippets Issue 4

March 24, 2013 by

sunday-snippets

A regular roundup of interesting bits and pieces from the comic industry worldwide. If you’ve got an event or other piece of news to share, please drop us a line! You can view previous issues right here.

There’s been an ongoing battle for who ‘owns’ Superman and the latest instalment in that battle is covered very nicely over at CBR. They also have a piece on Neil Gaiman’s return to Marvel, bringing the Angela character with him.

Interested in geners issues and how they are played out through comics? Then have a look at this.

Marvel wants to add dynamic soundtracks to your comics via its Marvel Gamma service, although it sounds like it has some work still to do.

If you like a good historical graphic novel, then this one on the Normandy Landings may interest you

 

 

Filed Under: Industry News Tagged With:

The Comics Herald Needs You!

March 18, 2013 by
The Comics Herald News Desk. We wish.

The Comics Herald News Desk. We wish.

We’re only a few months old here at The Comics Herald and it’s been a hell of a fun ride already. We’re proud of the amount we’ve achieved, the number of comics, webcomics and graphic novels we’ve reviewed.

A team of two can only do so much though, so we’re putting the call out for anyone else with a passion for comics that’d like to throw their hat in the ring.

Here’s who we’re looking for:

1. Someone who reads comics regularly – you don’t need to be hard-core by any means, but a good familiarity with the area is a must. Which comics doesn’t really matter.

2. Someone who writes well – but don’t be TOO hard on yourself here. Your work will be edited for the odd typo or grammatical error, which is fine. All we ask is that you can string sentences together in an engaging way and not require extensive re-writing / correction by your friendly editor.

3. Someone who writes regularly – we’d be looking for people that can contribute a minimum of a 400-600 word article each week ideally. That said, fortnightly gigs will be seriously considered as well, as will guest reviews or opinion pieces if you can’t commit regularly.

4. Someone who has a volunteer sense of spirit: unfortunately we’re a loss-making outfit. If revenue increases beyond costs, you WILL be sharing in that equally with the other writers on the team. In the meantime, expect the odd bit of swag or attendance at a comics-related event representing TCH, if the opportunity arises. And yes, you do have a byline to tout to much richer publications than our humble selves. Finally, you’re welcome to have a link back to your own blog or related web undertaking in each of your articles.

5. We’re definitely after more people to cover the Australian and New Zealand comics scene, but also happy to have anyone apply from other countries.

So if you’d like to express interest, here’s what you do:

1. Use our contact form and provide the following info:
– ideally submit a sample of your writing or at least a pitch on what you’d like to write and why
– tell us a little bit about yourself – similar in vein to the bios on our About page.
– what day and time of the week is best for you to submit your work

2. Wait patiently for us to get back to you – it should only take a day or two.

3. See points 1 and 2.

We’re looking for multiple people, so do have a think about getting involved – and again don’t be too harsh on your writing ability. Leave that to us!

[Image via Right In Your Face]

Filed Under: TCH News
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