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Sunday Snippets Issue 1

February 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!

John Romita Sr’s artwork for The Death of Gwen Stacy issue of Amazing Spiderman has hit close to 300K in bids – there’s an interesting paragraph on Stan Lee’s blindspot with blondes and comic plotting.

Sad news of Scott Clark suddenly passing away at the age of 43

Issue #3 of the UK street press comics magazine Off Life is available for free right here. Some very nice work in it that’s worth checking out.

The London Super Comic Convention is on this weekend – it’ll be interesting to see what announcements come out of it.

If you like old Marvel comic art, it’s hard to go past this little blog.

Filed Under: Industry News Tagged With:

Review: Yi Soon Shin, Warrior and Defender

February 21, 2013 by

Yi Soon Shin ReviewIt’s easy to get jaded in comics, as like any medium there’s only so many variants on a theme, particularly in action-based comics. So when I received a review copy of Yi Soon Shin, Warrior and Defender, I was expecting more of the same. I’m pleased to say I was very much proven wrong, with this trade of the first four issues of the series a solid and engaging read.

The scope of the story is nothing short of an outright war between Korea and Japan in the late 16th Century, and it starts out with one of the great naval battles that occurred. It sets the scene nicely for the political and military intrigues that follow. You’ll want to spend some time reading through the beautifully illustrated and notated background information, to fully appreciate the scope of the events being illustrated.

Onrie Kompan’s writing shows the research he’s put into the topic and really does showcase what a rich part of history he’s drawing from. The dialogue is far from dry and although there are some infrequent parts where the dialogue is a little jarring given the setting, (“Because you fucks are gonna help me murder that son of a bitch” is one example), it doesn’t happen enough to undermine what is a well-written story.

Art-wise, Giovanni Timpano’s work is exemplary – from the more detailed discussions that occur through to the splash pages, it’s quality form start to finish – Adriana De Los Santos’ colours definitely help out in a big way here, with some great work across the board. I struggle to comment much on letterers a great deal of the time, but even Joel Saavedra’s work here helps the book along.

Overall, this is a very high quality, independently produced piece of work that deserves some attention. Stan Lee provides a foreword (I’d love to know the story of how Onrie Kompan pulled that off) and although Stan can tend toward hyperbole (there’s an understatement), the praise he provides for this book is well deserved.

Whether you’re a student of history, a jaded comics reader looking for something meaty or just someone who likes a good story, Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender is definitely worth a look. You can find out more at the book’s website. If you want a more in-depth review, it’s hard to go past Jeff Ritter’s one here as well.

Score: 9/10

 

Filed Under: Graphic Novels, Independents Tagged With: ,

Non-Canonical’s 150 Milestone Event

February 16, 2013 by

noncanoncial150It’s a regular wish of mine to live in Melbourne – for a whole range of reasons, one of which is it has one hell of an active comics community.

One very prominent example are the guys who run the Non-Canonical Comics Podcast (here’s a piece I wrote over at Bleeding Cool on them).

They’re about to hit their 150th episode and to coincide there’s a live event planned. The podcast will be recorded live of course, but there’s also a bunch of other stuff going on:

To celebrate our 150th episode, NonCanonical will be recorded LIVE at the John Curtin Hotel on Sunday 24th February.

2:30 pm. $5 entry.

For details about the show or our previously recorded episodes, visit noncanonical.com or facebook.com/noncanonical.

GIVEAWAYS. SPECIAL GUESTS. GAME SHOWS. SINGING.

LIVE.

They’ve announced that there’ll be a live Skype interview with Becky Cloonan, as well as prominent local creators on hand.

So if you live in the Melbourne area – this could be a damn good way to spend five bucks. And congrats to the guys on 150 episodes. I’ve only been listening since around episode 75 but it remains a great weekly listen.

Filed Under: Industry News Tagged With:

New X-Men Movie: It’s Dinklage Time

February 15, 2013 by

dinklage-wolverineIn case you didn’t know, the next X-Men movie is Days of Future Past, likely covering the iconic issues 141 and 142 of Uncanny X-Men.

The film’s director Bryan Singer has tweeted that Peter Dinklage is on board as a cast member, without saying which character he will be playing. Like a lot of people my money’s on Alpha Flight’s Puck, although that character isn’t a mutant – not that that’s a deal breaker by any stretch.

Others are saying Modok – that seems a bigger stretch to me as there’s no significant link with the X-Men, let alone the Days of Future Past storyline.

Whoever Dinklage is playing, it’s going to be a memorable character. Hell, even if his appearance is no longer that a Stan Lee cameo, it’ll still be a worthwhile addition to the movie. Just get the damn thing made ok!

Jump into comments on the announcement and which character he’ll play. I’m off to dig up my #141 and #142 copies to refresh myself on the story.

[Pic via Robot Mutant]

Filed Under: Marvel, Movies

Review: Faction Anthology #1 – Various Creators

February 14, 2013 by

faction1There’s no shortage of crowd funded comics projects around, but I love seeing the quality finished products, particularly local ones.

Faction is such a beast – edited by New Zealanders Damon Keen and Amie Maxwell, its a collection of work by a range of New Zealand comic creators. An independent anthology can be a mixed bag and Faction is certainly that – the whole gamut of art and story styles is covered, mostly successfully. A couple of the shorter pieces have jarring or non-resolving endings, and a couple of the others I struggled with art-wise, but that’s always an individual thing.

Faction AnthologyBookish by Jonathan King and One Giant Leap from Damon Keen are the two big standouts for me – King’s concept could easily be developed into a longer story arc and Keen’s sense of humour would work in a big way as a regular strip. Aside from those two, there’s lots of good work in the book to enjoy. It’s obvious a huge amount of effort has gone into creating a quality product and hopefully there’s going to be a lot more issues of this down the track.

If you want to submit your own work for a future issue, read the first issue online for free or order a hard copy, it’s all available here. Kudos to those who funded the book and to the team that saw it to fruition.

Score: 8/10

Filed Under: Independents, Review Tagged With: ,

Review: Daredevil End of Days – Bendis/Janson et al

February 13, 2013 by

Review: Daredevil End of DaysI’m late, so late. It was only because I had the opportunity to actually turn up in person to my comic shop of choice (I’m a mail order customer), that I stumbled across the Daredevil: End of Days mini-series. Slated for eight issues, four were already in store and the cover artwork had me picking them up right away. Sure, I’m a Daredevil completionist, so I would have grabbed them anyway, but after consuming the first issue it became apparent that this was going to be one of the best Daredevil story arcs in a lot of years. Even taking into account the recent superb Mark Waid run on the monthly title.

I’ll get onto why I so rapt, but be aware there are spoilers, so stop reading here if that’s a concern and get out and buy these issues while they’re still on the shelves.

So why is it so good?

1. Sentimentality: if you lived through Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s famous Daredevil run, the return of Elektra, The Kingpin and Bullseye to name three, is a hook hard to avoid. Add in to that the fact that Klaus Janson is doing pencils on End of Days and it becomes a no-brainer. Oh, and there’s also Typhoid Mary, Echo and The Punisher by end of issue #4.

2. Story: sometimes it seems that Brian Michael Bendis can do no wrong, and this series’ effort alongside David Mack is not going to  dispel that perception at all. Using the veteran reporter Ben Urich as the narrator works superbly and the persona of an aging man in an ever-changing society is captured perfectly. Daredevil is dead a few pages into the first issue, so a good story becomes even more critical and it’s delivered in spades.

3. Art: aside from the sentimental aspect of Klaus Janson penciling this book, the whole art team have pulled off a supreme effort. It’s dark, gritty and engaging work. Bill Sienkiewicz’s finished art is of the quality I’d happily pay out big bucks for in a poster format. Take note please Marvel.

Overall, Daredevil: End of Days is one of the best Marvel stories I’ve read in the past three years. If work of this quality was done across the board, there’d be a hell of a lot more people reading comics across the board. If you live near a comic shop, get your arse in there and see if they have the first bunch of issues. If not, buy them digitally or start the countdown to the trade – I think I might buy it to hand around to a few people to get them back into comics.

Score: 9.5/10

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

Review: Fearless Defenders #1 – Bunn, Sliney and Gandini

February 9, 2013 by

Review: Fearless Defenders #1The Defenders: I doubt there’s ever been a superhero team that’s had more ups and downs, both story-wise and industry-wise. Even so, I count myself in the camp of those who like them a lot. Which is why when I saw Fearless Defenders announced, I knew I’d pick it up – even though the link with the original Defenders is pretty tenuous.

The team in full is going to be revealed over time – the first issue reveals Valkyrie and Misty Knight, with the very mortal Dr Annabelle Riggs along for the ride. As you’d expect, this is pretty much a scene setting issue, but even so there’s enough here to maintain interest as a standalone book.

fearless-defenders1Will Sliney’s art is top notch – it’s always great to get to an end of issue and not have a jarring experience of poorly rendered anatomy. Cullen Bunn’s writing is solid and balances the humour between the team very nicely and there’s even some sexual tension thrown in for good measure. Veronica Gandini’s colours are interesting as well – there’s a real emphasis on greens/aquas throughout, but it works well in the context of the issue.

Previous Defenders books have heavily relied on the concept of outsiders thrown together reluctantly and Fearless Defenders is very much shaping up the same way. Bunn’s interview with Marvel.com makes it clear we’re in for a long story arc and I for one will be continuing to follow it for at least a few more issues to come.

Score: 8/10

Filed Under: Marvel, Review Tagged With:

2013 Eisner Hall Of Fame Awards: Voting Now Open

February 8, 2013 by

2013 Eisner Hall Of Fame AwardsIn case you’re lucky enough to be in a position to do so,voting is open for the 2013 Eisner Hall Of Fame Awards. Here’s who gets to vote:

Online voting is now open! To vote, you must be a professional working in the comics or related industries as a creator (writer, artist, cartoonist, colorist, letterer), a publisher or editor, a retailer (comics store owner or manager), a graphic novels librarian, or a comics historian/educator. Eligible voters can visit www.eisnervote.com to register and then select up to four picks in the Hall of Fame category. The deadline for voting is March 4. Further eligibility information is provided on the EisnerVote.com site

For the rest of us, take a look at the 2013 nominees. They’re all extremely notable and worthy, but I have a soft spot for ‘local’, Lee Falk. He may have been from the US, but Frew publications’ local 65 year run of The Phantom makes him an Australian icon. Hell, I was well into my twenties before I realised it wasn’t an Australian creation – so I know who I’ll be voting for. Actually, I won’t be voting, but you know what I mean.

Over to you: if you can/could cast a vote – who gets the nod from you?

Filed Under: Industry News, Other Companies Tagged With: ,

Who The Hell Wins This Race?

February 7, 2013 by

JP Cuison does some great art, and here’s a superhero match-up with a difference that he’s done:

Flash vs Sonic vs Road Runner vs Speedy Gonzales

For my money, Road Runner looks like he has the most energy left in the tank….

Filed Under: Humour Tagged With: , ,

No One Is Safe by Katherine Wirick

February 6, 2013 by

wirick-noonesafeWhilst doing some Twitter lurking this evening I came across a tweet from Tom Spurgeon over at Comics Reporter, commenting on how he was surprised a piece of work hadn’t been picked up by one of the majors. I clicked through and he’s so right.

No One Is Safe is an incredible piece of work by Katherine Wirick, documenting a piece of her father’s life. Originally created as something for public display, it’s had a limited print run direct Wirick. Seems to me it deserves a hell of a bigger run that that.

Have a look for yourself – do you agree?

Filed Under: Independents Tagged With:
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