It's Monday, and I'm a little groggy, so let's do some hype while everything seems so off. Heyyeah.
First off, the Web Version of Issue 2 of "SDF" has wrapped up. You can check it out at http://www.torcpress.com/sdf2-16.html. The strip will be on break for two weeks and will resume on 8/20/12. In the meantime, "Pulp Horrorshow: DirTown", will continue to publish on Wednesdays.
Other than that, we'll be on the road in a couple of weeks. Wizard World Chicago is on August 9-12, and we'll be doing that show. So there's that.
Woooooo. 5am is too early for a Monday.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Sunday, July 29, 2012
7-29-12 Comics Reviews
Before we begin today, a couple of quick notes. Last week's episode of "Adventure Time" entitled "Sons of Mars" has officially replaced "What Was Missing" as my favorite episode of the show so far. Also, this week's episode of "Regular Show" entitled "Diary" was also an instant classic. Lovely, lovely stuff.
In further addition, "The Dark Knight Rises" is excellent. No, it's not as good as "The Dark Knight", but is an incredible addition to an incredible series, and a worthy capstone to the trilogy.
Now, comics...
"Lincoln Washington: Free Man"- Traditional Comics- Benjamin Marra- The story of a freed slave who tries to claim legally acquired land in the dirty south in the barely post-Civil War Era. Bad, bad things happen. Chock full of hardcore sex and violence, Lincoln Washington is a pretty cool book about the indomitable nature of the human spirit. And killing Klansmen.
"Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar's Remedy" #2- Dark Horse Comics- Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Ben Stenbeck- First off, I somehow missed Issue One, so I was kinda flying blind on this one. Long story short, Lord Baltimore, the ever resilient vampire hunter, discovers that the Cure for Vampirism may be worse than the disease. Lots of awesome monsters, lots of blood, and giant crabs. So, yes. Probably my favorite Lord Baltimore comic to date. Must dig up Issue One.
"The Secret History of D. B. Cooper" #5- Oni Press- Brian Churilla- It's a mad dash to wrap things up in this concluding issue of this nice, fairly trippy series. There's a nice twist, lots of violence, and crazy monsters. Plus, now that it's over I've got some more space to try out other comics.
"Snarked" #10- Kaboom!- Roger Langridge- The Gryphon continues his pursuit of our heroes, the Mad Pirates return (woo-hoo!), and there's some great character moments. Again, this is fine, brilliant cartooning. People should take notes.
"Haunt" #25- Image- Joe Casey, Robbi Rodriguez, Nathan Fox- Our heroes investigate a Giant Bug Corpse. In the meantime, we get a whole flashback properly introducing a new, bug based villain. Crazy, wild, violent stuff. Very nice. A continual surprise.
"BPRD: Hell on Earth: The Devil's Engine" #3- Dark Horse- Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Tyler Crook- It's the big wrap up as our heroes desperately try to survive an all out assault from a trio of demonic monsters. I still don't care about our two protagonists, but I will say that the tension and suspense of this issue was palpable. Solid finish.
"Fatima: The Blood Spinners" #2- Dark Horse- Gilbert Hernandez- The origin of Spin, the Zombie Drug, and how it relates to Fatima. You can never, ever predict what's gonna happen in a Gilbert Hernandez book. I love that.
"Adventure Time" #6- Kaboom!- Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb, and Anthony Clark- Hahaha! Princess Bubblegum invents time machine. Jake gets his hand on time machine. Hilarity ensues. Back up story also funny. This book is a must read.
"Frankenstien: Agent of SHADE" #11- DC- Matt Kindt, Alberto Ponticelli- Welp, we've got a new writer, and, honestly, this issue was a little confusing and hard to follow. BUT, there's also a giant sea beast, and a surprisingly deep conversation between Frank and the Fish girl about the nature of what Franky is. That was cool. As long as this book continues to be crazy, I'm in. If it slows down too much, I'm out.
"Glory" #28- Image/Extreme- Joe Keatinge, Ross Campbell- Ahem. Giant, flying cat with Laser Eyes. If you can read those words and not be at least a little interested in the awesomeness that is Glory, then you probably are reading the wrong blog. Also, Glory fights naked, a new character is introduced, and there's lots of monster fighting. I'm in. In like Flynn.
"Wonder Woman" #11- DC- Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang- Hera hires Apollo and Artemis to deal with the chick carrying Zeus's bastard child. Smashing ensues. This series continues to be just phenomenal, unexpected, and exciting. I'm living in a weird world when I get excited every month for Wonder Woman. Seriously.
"Saga" #5- Image- Brian K. Vaughn, Fionna Staples- Huh. Robotman on a toilet. That's odd. Anyway, our heroes continue their desperate struggle for survival (seriously, at the rate these two are going, I'll be surprised to see them make it past Issue 10... maybe not even that long). In the meantime, the two mercenaries, The Will and The Stalk, have their own problems. Bad problems. There's no end to the wondrous novelty of this series. Just great.
"Prophet" #27- Image/Extreme- Brandon Graham, Giannis Milonogiannis, and Simon Roy- So, take a second to appreciate how amazing the list of books I picked up are. I mean, I truly enjoyed everything I picked up. Glory, Wonder Woman, and Saga are books that would easily top my list of favorite comics on any given year. Prophet is better than all of those books...as early as Page Three. Take a moment to appreciate that. I mean. Every page has something insane and brilliant and wonderful on it. Also, Die Hard makes a cameo. This is just... just the best thing out there right now.
"The Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred" #6- Image- David Hine, Shaky Kane- ... ... ... This is weird. Again, let's take a moment to truly appreciate that statement. I, Joseph Morris, declare this comic to be truly weird. I honestly don't even know what to make of this particular issue. It's dark and horrifying and colorful and strangestrangestrange. I think I need to reread this issue, and reread the whole series. Maybe a couple of times. Or more. Overall, this mini-series (which wraps up this issue), has been the second best new thing I've read this year (Prophet being on top).
Oh, and I really liked this Comment from Erik Larsen in one of those "Experience Creativity" Ads from Image Comics: "If you're not Writing or Drawing your Favorite Comic Book, You're Doing It Wrong." Amen, brother.
In further addition, "The Dark Knight Rises" is excellent. No, it's not as good as "The Dark Knight", but is an incredible addition to an incredible series, and a worthy capstone to the trilogy.
Now, comics...
"Lincoln Washington: Free Man"- Traditional Comics- Benjamin Marra- The story of a freed slave who tries to claim legally acquired land in the dirty south in the barely post-Civil War Era. Bad, bad things happen. Chock full of hardcore sex and violence, Lincoln Washington is a pretty cool book about the indomitable nature of the human spirit. And killing Klansmen.
"Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar's Remedy" #2- Dark Horse Comics- Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, Ben Stenbeck- First off, I somehow missed Issue One, so I was kinda flying blind on this one. Long story short, Lord Baltimore, the ever resilient vampire hunter, discovers that the Cure for Vampirism may be worse than the disease. Lots of awesome monsters, lots of blood, and giant crabs. So, yes. Probably my favorite Lord Baltimore comic to date. Must dig up Issue One.
"The Secret History of D. B. Cooper" #5- Oni Press- Brian Churilla- It's a mad dash to wrap things up in this concluding issue of this nice, fairly trippy series. There's a nice twist, lots of violence, and crazy monsters. Plus, now that it's over I've got some more space to try out other comics.
"Snarked" #10- Kaboom!- Roger Langridge- The Gryphon continues his pursuit of our heroes, the Mad Pirates return (woo-hoo!), and there's some great character moments. Again, this is fine, brilliant cartooning. People should take notes.
"Haunt" #25- Image- Joe Casey, Robbi Rodriguez, Nathan Fox- Our heroes investigate a Giant Bug Corpse. In the meantime, we get a whole flashback properly introducing a new, bug based villain. Crazy, wild, violent stuff. Very nice. A continual surprise.
"BPRD: Hell on Earth: The Devil's Engine" #3- Dark Horse- Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Tyler Crook- It's the big wrap up as our heroes desperately try to survive an all out assault from a trio of demonic monsters. I still don't care about our two protagonists, but I will say that the tension and suspense of this issue was palpable. Solid finish.
"Fatima: The Blood Spinners" #2- Dark Horse- Gilbert Hernandez- The origin of Spin, the Zombie Drug, and how it relates to Fatima. You can never, ever predict what's gonna happen in a Gilbert Hernandez book. I love that.
"Adventure Time" #6- Kaboom!- Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb, and Anthony Clark- Hahaha! Princess Bubblegum invents time machine. Jake gets his hand on time machine. Hilarity ensues. Back up story also funny. This book is a must read.
"Frankenstien: Agent of SHADE" #11- DC- Matt Kindt, Alberto Ponticelli- Welp, we've got a new writer, and, honestly, this issue was a little confusing and hard to follow. BUT, there's also a giant sea beast, and a surprisingly deep conversation between Frank and the Fish girl about the nature of what Franky is. That was cool. As long as this book continues to be crazy, I'm in. If it slows down too much, I'm out.
"Glory" #28- Image/Extreme- Joe Keatinge, Ross Campbell- Ahem. Giant, flying cat with Laser Eyes. If you can read those words and not be at least a little interested in the awesomeness that is Glory, then you probably are reading the wrong blog. Also, Glory fights naked, a new character is introduced, and there's lots of monster fighting. I'm in. In like Flynn.
"Wonder Woman" #11- DC- Brian Azzarello, Cliff Chiang- Hera hires Apollo and Artemis to deal with the chick carrying Zeus's bastard child. Smashing ensues. This series continues to be just phenomenal, unexpected, and exciting. I'm living in a weird world when I get excited every month for Wonder Woman. Seriously.
"Saga" #5- Image- Brian K. Vaughn, Fionna Staples- Huh. Robotman on a toilet. That's odd. Anyway, our heroes continue their desperate struggle for survival (seriously, at the rate these two are going, I'll be surprised to see them make it past Issue 10... maybe not even that long). In the meantime, the two mercenaries, The Will and The Stalk, have their own problems. Bad problems. There's no end to the wondrous novelty of this series. Just great.
"Prophet" #27- Image/Extreme- Brandon Graham, Giannis Milonogiannis, and Simon Roy- So, take a second to appreciate how amazing the list of books I picked up are. I mean, I truly enjoyed everything I picked up. Glory, Wonder Woman, and Saga are books that would easily top my list of favorite comics on any given year. Prophet is better than all of those books...as early as Page Three. Take a moment to appreciate that. I mean. Every page has something insane and brilliant and wonderful on it. Also, Die Hard makes a cameo. This is just... just the best thing out there right now.
"The Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred" #6- Image- David Hine, Shaky Kane- ... ... ... This is weird. Again, let's take a moment to truly appreciate that statement. I, Joseph Morris, declare this comic to be truly weird. I honestly don't even know what to make of this particular issue. It's dark and horrifying and colorful and strangestrangestrange. I think I need to reread this issue, and reread the whole series. Maybe a couple of times. Or more. Overall, this mini-series (which wraps up this issue), has been the second best new thing I've read this year (Prophet being on top).
Oh, and I really liked this Comment from Erik Larsen in one of those "Experience Creativity" Ads from Image Comics: "If you're not Writing or Drawing your Favorite Comic Book, You're Doing It Wrong." Amen, brother.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Pulp Horrorshow v.3 #1 Now Available!
Hey there, cats and kittens. We've got a new comic out! Pulp Horrorshow v. 3 #1 is now available from TORC Press. You can either pick it up in the store at http://www.torcpress.com/store.html, or you can send $1.50 plus $1.50 S&H to TORC Press, c/o Joseph Morris, 330 S 5th St SW, Clay City, IL 62824.
What? You're not gonna just buy it? You want to know stuff about it? Well, okay.
Pulp Horrorshow v3.1 is a 24 page Black & White Comic. The main story ran over the main site, and you can still check it out in PH Archive. Here be link: http://www.torcpress.com/ph1archive.html.
Wait! You're not gonna buy cause you can read for free online? Well, that's unfortunate, cause if you read it online you'll miss out on two neato stories that are exclusive to the Print Edition of Pulp Horrorshow. Here's what's inside.
aliceislost-Book One-Chapter Two- A Pool of Tears: The continuation of the aliceislost epic that started in "SDF" #1, in this 6 page story alice finds herself adrift in a sea of tears, under attack by giant, rabid mice. The art is really good on this one. You'll like it.
Dr. Dream- In this 6 page back up story, the bizarre Dr. Dream is introduced. This one is trippy and strange and fun. I like that kinda stuff. If you do as well, buy the book.
Oh! And speaking of Pulp Horrorshow, Issue 2 is 3 pages in. Check it out at: http://www.torcpress.com/phcenter.html.
Ah, hype. I loves it, even if I bad at it.
What? You're not gonna just buy it? You want to know stuff about it? Well, okay.
Pulp Horrorshow v3.1 is a 24 page Black & White Comic. The main story ran over the main site, and you can still check it out in PH Archive. Here be link: http://www.torcpress.com/ph1archive.html.
Wait! You're not gonna buy cause you can read for free online? Well, that's unfortunate, cause if you read it online you'll miss out on two neato stories that are exclusive to the Print Edition of Pulp Horrorshow. Here's what's inside.
aliceislost-Book One-Chapter Two- A Pool of Tears: The continuation of the aliceislost epic that started in "SDF" #1, in this 6 page story alice finds herself adrift in a sea of tears, under attack by giant, rabid mice. The art is really good on this one. You'll like it.
Dr. Dream- In this 6 page back up story, the bizarre Dr. Dream is introduced. This one is trippy and strange and fun. I like that kinda stuff. If you do as well, buy the book.
Oh! And speaking of Pulp Horrorshow, Issue 2 is 3 pages in. Check it out at: http://www.torcpress.com/phcenter.html.
Ah, hype. I loves it, even if I bad at it.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
7/15/12 Comics Reviews
Hey! I got to the comic shop in two weeks in a row! Who knew? Anyway, review time!
The Secret History of D. B. Cooper #3-4- Oni Press- Brian Churilla- More secrets of who D.B. Cooper is and what his abilities consist of are revealed, and there's the usual politic intrigue and backstabbing and whatnot. Honestly, I'm mostly just reading this book for the strange dreamscapes and stranger monsters. The plot and characters, let alone the supposed historical whatnots do nothing for me. I think this series will be wrapping up soon, which is nice. Again, I gotta clear some space out.
Haunt #24- Image- Joe Casey, Nathan Fox- Haunt fights a giant fire monster. That's pretty much it. It's a cool fight scene, and the art is great. Conversely, the storytelling is hard to follow at times (a problem with the Paul Pope influenced art styles). Still, Nice overall.
Batman #11- DC- Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo- First off, let's congratulate Gregg Capullo on being one of the few (possibly only) DC Artists to make it all of the way through the entire first story arc of a newly relaunched series. Applause all around! Seriously, people, a guy making deadlines and providing quality artwork for almost an entire year is cause celebre in modern comics. Anyway, Batman has a big, fat epic conflict with ...we'll just call him the Anti-Batman. That makes this Brawl Comic #2. Unlike Haunt, there's a little bit of post-fight Plot Resolution. This has been a good, solid, Batman story arc. We get something new, and Batman got pushed to his absolute limit. Quite good.
Swamp Thing #11- DC- Scott Snyder, Marco Rudy- Aaaaand it's time for Brawl Comic #3! Swamp Thing fights Anton Arcane. The Avatar of the Green vs. the Avatar of the Rot. Grisly, gruesome, grungy, and hard hitting. Cool.
Youngblood #72- Image/Extreme- John McLaughlin, Jon Malin- The US Government decides to throw a big party to celebrate Die Hard's years of government service. Chaos ensues. After reading three Brawl Comics in a row, it's almost jaw dropping that Youngblood, of all things, is the most well balanced comic I picked up this week. Great story, great action, clever dialogue (the scene where Vogue and Cougar heckle Die Hard during his speech was fun), interesting revelations, and a ton of intrigue... This is a really good book. You can now throw me out of the Comic Book Club.
Berserk vols 1-2- Dark Horse/DMP- Kentaro Miura- I don't read much manga nowadays, but I heard about this one and decided to check it out. Basically, Guts the Black Swordsman is a bad ass with a giant sword who wanders around a quasi-medieval landscape fighting demons and evil spirits. Sounds simple enough, but the key to this series is the constantly mutating Cronenbergian monsters, the blood soaked fight scenes, and the no-holds-barred approach to storytelling. For example, there's one scene where a vicious demon drinks the blood of a young boy who's been cut in half and impaled on his spear. Not for the faint of heart, but quite loverly nonetheless.
The Secret History of D. B. Cooper #3-4- Oni Press- Brian Churilla- More secrets of who D.B. Cooper is and what his abilities consist of are revealed, and there's the usual politic intrigue and backstabbing and whatnot. Honestly, I'm mostly just reading this book for the strange dreamscapes and stranger monsters. The plot and characters, let alone the supposed historical whatnots do nothing for me. I think this series will be wrapping up soon, which is nice. Again, I gotta clear some space out.
Haunt #24- Image- Joe Casey, Nathan Fox- Haunt fights a giant fire monster. That's pretty much it. It's a cool fight scene, and the art is great. Conversely, the storytelling is hard to follow at times (a problem with the Paul Pope influenced art styles). Still, Nice overall.
Batman #11- DC- Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo- First off, let's congratulate Gregg Capullo on being one of the few (possibly only) DC Artists to make it all of the way through the entire first story arc of a newly relaunched series. Applause all around! Seriously, people, a guy making deadlines and providing quality artwork for almost an entire year is cause celebre in modern comics. Anyway, Batman has a big, fat epic conflict with ...we'll just call him the Anti-Batman. That makes this Brawl Comic #2. Unlike Haunt, there's a little bit of post-fight Plot Resolution. This has been a good, solid, Batman story arc. We get something new, and Batman got pushed to his absolute limit. Quite good.
Swamp Thing #11- DC- Scott Snyder, Marco Rudy- Aaaaand it's time for Brawl Comic #3! Swamp Thing fights Anton Arcane. The Avatar of the Green vs. the Avatar of the Rot. Grisly, gruesome, grungy, and hard hitting. Cool.
Youngblood #72- Image/Extreme- John McLaughlin, Jon Malin- The US Government decides to throw a big party to celebrate Die Hard's years of government service. Chaos ensues. After reading three Brawl Comics in a row, it's almost jaw dropping that Youngblood, of all things, is the most well balanced comic I picked up this week. Great story, great action, clever dialogue (the scene where Vogue and Cougar heckle Die Hard during his speech was fun), interesting revelations, and a ton of intrigue... This is a really good book. You can now throw me out of the Comic Book Club.
Berserk vols 1-2- Dark Horse/DMP- Kentaro Miura- I don't read much manga nowadays, but I heard about this one and decided to check it out. Basically, Guts the Black Swordsman is a bad ass with a giant sword who wanders around a quasi-medieval landscape fighting demons and evil spirits. Sounds simple enough, but the key to this series is the constantly mutating Cronenbergian monsters, the blood soaked fight scenes, and the no-holds-barred approach to storytelling. For example, there's one scene where a vicious demon drinks the blood of a young boy who's been cut in half and impaled on his spear. Not for the faint of heart, but quite loverly nonetheless.
Monday, July 9, 2012
COMICS! REVIEWS! COMICS!
Before we start the reviews, lemme just remind you folks that my webcomic, SDF has a new page up, featuring the terrifying Dr. Strangler. Check it at: http://www.torcpress.com/sdf2-13.html . Enough about my stuff, let's get some reviews going.
Ragemoor #4- Dark Horse- Jan Strnad and Richard Corben- This peculiar series wraps up, as the last mysteries of Living Castle Ragemoor are revealed, and there is some gross, gross stuff that happens. Corben is a brilliant artist, and the story continues to be full of bizarre and interesting ideas. Still, kinda glad this is wrapping up. I need to clear some space in my haul.
Snarked #9- Kaboom!- Roger Langridge- Our heroes finally find Snark Island, and the King. But as usual, strange and unexpected things continue to happen, and even more bizarre characters are introduced. Probably the strongest issue of this series to date, everything clicks in this issue, from the dialogue to the plot to the brilliant characterizations. This is Pure Cartooning at its Best.
The Shadow #3- Dynamite- Garth Ennis, Aaron Campbell- It's WWII, and a couple of Japanese dudes are chasing a mysterious Death Ray, and the Shadow's chasing those guys. After three issues, I've decided the only the thing I like about this series is when the Shadow shows up and shoots a buncha people in the face. Otherwise, the Political Intrigue bores me, and the characters range from lame to boring to insipid to nasty. The only interesting character is Lamont Cranston himself, and he's a raging jerkwad. So, yeah, I'm done with this one.
Dial H for Hero #2-3- DC- China Mieville, Mateus Santolouco- This is such an odd, odd series. It's like someone took a bunch of Grant Morrison's old notebooks and combined them with a pitch for a Ben 10 series set in Hell. The less I understand about this series, the more I like it. Having said that, I'd like to see some more of some of the bizarre heroes that make cameos in issue two. This isn't a must read comic, but it's too intriguing for me not to read it. The second this comic becomes even remotely boring I'm out. Also, Iron Snail. Iron Snail.
iZombie #27- DC/Vertigo- Chris Roberson, Michael Allred- This series is just about over, which, on the one hand is good, cause it'll clear up space for me. On the other hand, it's bad, because this is a lovely little series. As the Apocalypse sets in, Allred gets to cut loose as an artist, and it's quite a treat. I really have no idea how this series is gonna turn out. I like that.
BPRD: Hell on Earth: Exorcism #1- Mike Mignola, Cameron Stewart, Dave Stewart- I was a little disappointed with the last BPRD mini-mini-series, "The Pickens County Horror", so I was a little worried about this one. So, I was pleasantly surprised that this one got off to a strong start. It's all about Exorcisms, Demons, and grizzly old dudes. Which is all stuff I like. Throw in a plucky young heroine, and you've got a pretty good start. Curious to see how this one will wrap up next issue.
BPRD: Hell on Earth: The Devil's Engine #2- Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Tyler Crook, Dave Stewart- I didn't like the first issue of this mini-series. I don't like either of the lead characters (that BPRD guy is a whiny bitch, and that redhead chick is annoying), and nothing really happened except an earthquake. Still, being a BPRD addict, I picked up Issue 2 anyway. This issue we get our heroes being chased by monsters. So I'm happy.
Adventure Time! #5- Kaboom!- Ryan North, Mike Holmes/Paul Pope/Georgia & Chris Roberson, Lucy Knisley- Okay, before we start, look at the credit line above. PAUL POPE HAS A BACK UP STORY IN THIS ISSUE! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? As great as the utterly surreal Paul Pope back up story is, the highlight is the lead story, which features Finn and Jake engaging in a "Walk in a Straight Line" contest in order to acquire a Cupcake. Believe me, it may not sound like it, but it's a Hoot. This is a great comic and a great series. I'd say it's underrated, but considering how quickly this book sells out, I don't think you can even remotely call this book underrated. So, what was I talking about? Oh yeah. Great comic.
Action Comics #11- DC- Grant Morrison, Rags Morales- Hmmm. I'm honestly not entirely sure what happens in this book. I gotta admit, this series has been really Hit or Miss. The issues that Hit are KILLER. The issues that Miss...kinda suck. This issue kinda missed for me. Maybe if I reread it. I dunno. I think Morrison needs to go do creator owned books for a little while. Take a break from superheroes, y'know?
Glory #27- Image/Extreme- Joe Keatinge, Ross Campbell- Twists, turns, Crazy Demons, Death, and Beautiful, beautiful artwork. Like many of the comics on this list, I have no idea where this book is going, and I like it.
Supreme #65- Image/Extreme- Erik Larsen, Cory Hamscher- Kind of an odd issue. Bad Ass Supreme goes on a rampage and damn near kills Erik Larsen's own SuperPatriot. Meanwhile, the remaining de-powered Supremes are mostly just confused and/or scared. Kind of a so-so issue, but the last page reveal was hilarious. Curious to see where this one is going.
Fatima: The Blood Spinners #1- Dark Horse- Gilbert Hernandez- Beto does a crazy zombie/cop/drug story. So, yeah, I'm in. Give me more Gilbert Grindhouse Goodness.
Animal Man #11- DC- Jeff Lemire, Alberto Ponticelli- Buddy Baker gets a new, more powerful body, just in time to save his son from his old, dead, rotten zombie body. I really just love this comic. It's weird and dark and strange and ugly and beautiful and hopeful and imaginative all at the same time. There's been a few issues that have stumbled (that crummy movie issue...), but overall, this is one of DC's best series right now.
Wonder Woman #10- DC- Brian Azzarello, Kano (really? His name is Kano? really?), Tony Akins- Speaking of DC's Best, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the brilliance that is Wonder Woman. This issue, Wonder Woman fights Hell. Read this comic. Just do it.
Batman Inc. #2- DC- Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham- This issue is the story of Talia al Ghul and her rise to power. I suppose it's important in the grander scheme of things, but still... kinda skippable. Damn, this is the most unkind I've ever been to Grant Morrison. I feel kinda bad about it.
Saga #4- Image- Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples- Wow. Our heroes continue to try to survive. Meanwhile, we get to hang out with The Will as he goes to an outer space whorehouse. Graphic sex, horrible violence, and some of the most bizarre visuals I've ever seen, ever (which is saying something, considering some of the crap I've drawn in my time). This book is an ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE. If you're not reading Saga, you're missing out.
Prophet #26- Image/Extreme- Brandon Graham/back up by Emma Rios- This list is full of brilliant, brilliant comics. Glory, Animal Man, Wonder Woman, and Saga are all just utterly brilliant, awesome comics. Prophet is better than all of them. Brandon Graham finally provides both Story AND Art for this issue, and it's just 20 pages of Phantasmagoric Wonderment that just dropped my jaw from one end to another. Plus, there's a neat little back up story featuring a Giant Spider. This comic is what I want out of comics.
One Piece v. 63- Shonen Jump- Eichiro Oda- And y'know what's even better than Prophet? One Piece. The latest volume features the Straw Hats continuing their adventure on Fishman Island. Of course, the Straw Hats accidentally wreck well-intentioned havoc while at the same time a massive uprising occurs as the New Fishman Pirates attempt a coup. In the midst of this chaos, we get some flashbacks that give us a bunch of history on lots of stuff, including Fishman Island, Jimbei, and Fisher Tiger. What I love about Oda is how he can combine Kinetic Action and Bizarre Humor, while still creating characters that you legitimately care about. That Oda actually manages to slip in a surprisingly salient treatise on racism in the midst of all the silliness and chaos is a testament to Oda's talent. Again, I am flabbergasted at how underrated and underappreciated this series is in America. Best comic being published anywhere right now. Period.
Ragemoor #4- Dark Horse- Jan Strnad and Richard Corben- This peculiar series wraps up, as the last mysteries of Living Castle Ragemoor are revealed, and there is some gross, gross stuff that happens. Corben is a brilliant artist, and the story continues to be full of bizarre and interesting ideas. Still, kinda glad this is wrapping up. I need to clear some space in my haul.
Snarked #9- Kaboom!- Roger Langridge- Our heroes finally find Snark Island, and the King. But as usual, strange and unexpected things continue to happen, and even more bizarre characters are introduced. Probably the strongest issue of this series to date, everything clicks in this issue, from the dialogue to the plot to the brilliant characterizations. This is Pure Cartooning at its Best.
The Shadow #3- Dynamite- Garth Ennis, Aaron Campbell- It's WWII, and a couple of Japanese dudes are chasing a mysterious Death Ray, and the Shadow's chasing those guys. After three issues, I've decided the only the thing I like about this series is when the Shadow shows up and shoots a buncha people in the face. Otherwise, the Political Intrigue bores me, and the characters range from lame to boring to insipid to nasty. The only interesting character is Lamont Cranston himself, and he's a raging jerkwad. So, yeah, I'm done with this one.
Dial H for Hero #2-3- DC- China Mieville, Mateus Santolouco- This is such an odd, odd series. It's like someone took a bunch of Grant Morrison's old notebooks and combined them with a pitch for a Ben 10 series set in Hell. The less I understand about this series, the more I like it. Having said that, I'd like to see some more of some of the bizarre heroes that make cameos in issue two. This isn't a must read comic, but it's too intriguing for me not to read it. The second this comic becomes even remotely boring I'm out. Also, Iron Snail. Iron Snail.
iZombie #27- DC/Vertigo- Chris Roberson, Michael Allred- This series is just about over, which, on the one hand is good, cause it'll clear up space for me. On the other hand, it's bad, because this is a lovely little series. As the Apocalypse sets in, Allred gets to cut loose as an artist, and it's quite a treat. I really have no idea how this series is gonna turn out. I like that.
BPRD: Hell on Earth: Exorcism #1- Mike Mignola, Cameron Stewart, Dave Stewart- I was a little disappointed with the last BPRD mini-mini-series, "The Pickens County Horror", so I was a little worried about this one. So, I was pleasantly surprised that this one got off to a strong start. It's all about Exorcisms, Demons, and grizzly old dudes. Which is all stuff I like. Throw in a plucky young heroine, and you've got a pretty good start. Curious to see how this one will wrap up next issue.
BPRD: Hell on Earth: The Devil's Engine #2- Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Tyler Crook, Dave Stewart- I didn't like the first issue of this mini-series. I don't like either of the lead characters (that BPRD guy is a whiny bitch, and that redhead chick is annoying), and nothing really happened except an earthquake. Still, being a BPRD addict, I picked up Issue 2 anyway. This issue we get our heroes being chased by monsters. So I'm happy.
Adventure Time! #5- Kaboom!- Ryan North, Mike Holmes/Paul Pope/Georgia & Chris Roberson, Lucy Knisley- Okay, before we start, look at the credit line above. PAUL POPE HAS A BACK UP STORY IN THIS ISSUE! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? As great as the utterly surreal Paul Pope back up story is, the highlight is the lead story, which features Finn and Jake engaging in a "Walk in a Straight Line" contest in order to acquire a Cupcake. Believe me, it may not sound like it, but it's a Hoot. This is a great comic and a great series. I'd say it's underrated, but considering how quickly this book sells out, I don't think you can even remotely call this book underrated. So, what was I talking about? Oh yeah. Great comic.
Action Comics #11- DC- Grant Morrison, Rags Morales- Hmmm. I'm honestly not entirely sure what happens in this book. I gotta admit, this series has been really Hit or Miss. The issues that Hit are KILLER. The issues that Miss...kinda suck. This issue kinda missed for me. Maybe if I reread it. I dunno. I think Morrison needs to go do creator owned books for a little while. Take a break from superheroes, y'know?
Glory #27- Image/Extreme- Joe Keatinge, Ross Campbell- Twists, turns, Crazy Demons, Death, and Beautiful, beautiful artwork. Like many of the comics on this list, I have no idea where this book is going, and I like it.
Supreme #65- Image/Extreme- Erik Larsen, Cory Hamscher- Kind of an odd issue. Bad Ass Supreme goes on a rampage and damn near kills Erik Larsen's own SuperPatriot. Meanwhile, the remaining de-powered Supremes are mostly just confused and/or scared. Kind of a so-so issue, but the last page reveal was hilarious. Curious to see where this one is going.
Fatima: The Blood Spinners #1- Dark Horse- Gilbert Hernandez- Beto does a crazy zombie/cop/drug story. So, yeah, I'm in. Give me more Gilbert Grindhouse Goodness.
Animal Man #11- DC- Jeff Lemire, Alberto Ponticelli- Buddy Baker gets a new, more powerful body, just in time to save his son from his old, dead, rotten zombie body. I really just love this comic. It's weird and dark and strange and ugly and beautiful and hopeful and imaginative all at the same time. There's been a few issues that have stumbled (that crummy movie issue...), but overall, this is one of DC's best series right now.
Wonder Woman #10- DC- Brian Azzarello, Kano (really? His name is Kano? really?), Tony Akins- Speaking of DC's Best, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the brilliance that is Wonder Woman. This issue, Wonder Woman fights Hell. Read this comic. Just do it.
Batman Inc. #2- DC- Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham- This issue is the story of Talia al Ghul and her rise to power. I suppose it's important in the grander scheme of things, but still... kinda skippable. Damn, this is the most unkind I've ever been to Grant Morrison. I feel kinda bad about it.
Saga #4- Image- Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples- Wow. Our heroes continue to try to survive. Meanwhile, we get to hang out with The Will as he goes to an outer space whorehouse. Graphic sex, horrible violence, and some of the most bizarre visuals I've ever seen, ever (which is saying something, considering some of the crap I've drawn in my time). This book is an ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE. If you're not reading Saga, you're missing out.
Prophet #26- Image/Extreme- Brandon Graham/back up by Emma Rios- This list is full of brilliant, brilliant comics. Glory, Animal Man, Wonder Woman, and Saga are all just utterly brilliant, awesome comics. Prophet is better than all of them. Brandon Graham finally provides both Story AND Art for this issue, and it's just 20 pages of Phantasmagoric Wonderment that just dropped my jaw from one end to another. Plus, there's a neat little back up story featuring a Giant Spider. This comic is what I want out of comics.
One Piece v. 63- Shonen Jump- Eichiro Oda- And y'know what's even better than Prophet? One Piece. The latest volume features the Straw Hats continuing their adventure on Fishman Island. Of course, the Straw Hats accidentally wreck well-intentioned havoc while at the same time a massive uprising occurs as the New Fishman Pirates attempt a coup. In the midst of this chaos, we get some flashbacks that give us a bunch of history on lots of stuff, including Fishman Island, Jimbei, and Fisher Tiger. What I love about Oda is how he can combine Kinetic Action and Bizarre Humor, while still creating characters that you legitimately care about. That Oda actually manages to slip in a surprisingly salient treatise on racism in the midst of all the silliness and chaos is a testament to Oda's talent. Again, I am flabbergasted at how underrated and underappreciated this series is in America. Best comic being published anywhere right now. Period.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
You Know What this Looks Like?
First off, let's drop some Hype-age. If you haven't been there yet, head on over to the Main Site at www.torcpress.com. I've redesigned the site, slapping up new artwork to go with the Links. One of the latest Links is the new Cast Section. There's listings for Octopus Jones and the Puzzelor, which contains new artwork and a brief listing of basic stats. Eventually I will add a section for Powers/Abilities and a section with Appearances. But I'll do that later. If you want a better view of the artwork for Octopus Jones and the Puzzelor, check out my TUMBLR at http://torcpress.tumblr.com/. Other than that, we'll have a new page of SDF on Monday, and a new page of Pulp Horrorshow: DirTown on Wednesday. Now, on with today's column.
People like familiarity. We're afraid of that which is alien to us. When we encounter something new, we often times come up with some sort of comparison to something else. Guess we find it comforting. I do it myself. When I see a new artist, I oftentimes ask myself, what does this remind me of? I've seen a lot of artists lately that appear to be heavily influenced by Paul Pope, an artist who, in turn, has been influenced by dozens of artists from America, Japan, and Europe. Now, me, I got me a weird style. Like everything I do, it's kinda mainstream and kinda not. There's bits and pieces of all sorts of stuff floating around in my work, from comic strip style art (Peanuts, Bloom County, and Calvin & Hobbes are probably the biggest influences) to 60s comics art (Kirby, Kirby, and more Kirby) to 80s art (Frank Miller, and I have to have been influenced by Ron Lim, considering how much Silver Surfer I read) to 90s art (Liefeld and McFarlane) to Underground art (R. Crumb and Gilbert Hernandez) to Japanese Manga (Akira Toriyama and Eichiro Oda). But even though all of this informs my work, I feel like the end product is ultimately just...Joseph Morris. Still, I've showed my work to hundreds of people by now, and I've gotten some interesting comparisons. Here's a few:
Jack Kirby/Mike Allred- This was one of the nicest compliments I've received, from Comic Quest Owner Jim Jones no less. I'm nowhere near the level of either of those greats, but it was still nice.
Superjail!- I've gotten this comparison A LOT lately. Given that my work predates the debut of Superjail by several years, I'm not sure I get the comparison, but whatever. On the bright side, I am a big fan of Superjail, so it's not such a bad comparison.
Brian Chippendale- A gal in Chicago (she was cute, too) thought my work reminded her of Brian Chippendale. Again, I don't really see the comparison, but considering how much I love Chippendale's work, I'm not complaining.
Skeleton Jelly- A fellow artist thought my work reminded him of a comic called Skeleton Jelly. After some research, I discovered this was a reference to one of Chippendale's contemporaries, Matt Brinkman. Again, having read a bit of Brinkman's work, I don't really see the resemblance, but I like Brinkman's work, so it's not so bad.
What do you think, anonymous computer reader? What does my work look like to you?
People like familiarity. We're afraid of that which is alien to us. When we encounter something new, we often times come up with some sort of comparison to something else. Guess we find it comforting. I do it myself. When I see a new artist, I oftentimes ask myself, what does this remind me of? I've seen a lot of artists lately that appear to be heavily influenced by Paul Pope, an artist who, in turn, has been influenced by dozens of artists from America, Japan, and Europe. Now, me, I got me a weird style. Like everything I do, it's kinda mainstream and kinda not. There's bits and pieces of all sorts of stuff floating around in my work, from comic strip style art (Peanuts, Bloom County, and Calvin & Hobbes are probably the biggest influences) to 60s comics art (Kirby, Kirby, and more Kirby) to 80s art (Frank Miller, and I have to have been influenced by Ron Lim, considering how much Silver Surfer I read) to 90s art (Liefeld and McFarlane) to Underground art (R. Crumb and Gilbert Hernandez) to Japanese Manga (Akira Toriyama and Eichiro Oda). But even though all of this informs my work, I feel like the end product is ultimately just...Joseph Morris. Still, I've showed my work to hundreds of people by now, and I've gotten some interesting comparisons. Here's a few:
Jack Kirby/Mike Allred- This was one of the nicest compliments I've received, from Comic Quest Owner Jim Jones no less. I'm nowhere near the level of either of those greats, but it was still nice.
Superjail!- I've gotten this comparison A LOT lately. Given that my work predates the debut of Superjail by several years, I'm not sure I get the comparison, but whatever. On the bright side, I am a big fan of Superjail, so it's not such a bad comparison.
Brian Chippendale- A gal in Chicago (she was cute, too) thought my work reminded her of Brian Chippendale. Again, I don't really see the comparison, but considering how much I love Chippendale's work, I'm not complaining.
Skeleton Jelly- A fellow artist thought my work reminded him of a comic called Skeleton Jelly. After some research, I discovered this was a reference to one of Chippendale's contemporaries, Matt Brinkman. Again, having read a bit of Brinkman's work, I don't really see the resemblance, but I like Brinkman's work, so it's not so bad.
What do you think, anonymous computer reader? What does my work look like to you?
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
It's the TORC of July!
Where do I even start?
Alrighty, first off, I've made some severe adjustments to the look of the main site, http://www.torcpress.com/. It's a lot prettier looking, while still containing most of the same content as before. If you check out the site, you'll notice that we've finally got the Print Edition of SDF #1 available for Sale. It's 24 Pages in FULL COLOR for $4.00 plus $2.00 S&H (yep, I've raised my Shipping rate. Sorry) and contains not only the first issue of SDF in its entirety, as well as an EXCLUSIVE 8 Page aliceislost story. It's a great book. Check it out.
Next up, Pulp Horrorshow: DirTown is back! The first issue was nasty ugly looking. This issue is gonna be a little bit cleaner and more refined. But still ugly. The first page can be viewed either on my TUMBLR at http://torcpress.tumblr.com/ or you can view it at the Main Site at http://www.torcpress.com/phcenter.html. It features a closer look at the creature that pops up at the end of Issue 1. I have one word for you: GOAT!
Other than that, I'm working on a new video for my brother's band, the Dr. Orphyus Project, wrapping up the Print Edition of Pulp Horrorshow v.3 #1, and I'm trying to see if I can finish Clown & Penguin #2 before Wizard World Chicago. I plan on finishing the last two books of Era 3, "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #17 and "Cosmic Love" #5, sometime, but I'm pretty busy with all of my projects right now. Hopefully I can finish those before the end of the year.
I'd also like to do more with this Blog. I've mostly just been using this thing to hype stuff, but I'd like to get back to writing about Comix and whatnot. Hopefully I can put some new, non-hype content on this site once a week. Hopefully.
Alrighty, first off, I've made some severe adjustments to the look of the main site, http://www.torcpress.com/. It's a lot prettier looking, while still containing most of the same content as before. If you check out the site, you'll notice that we've finally got the Print Edition of SDF #1 available for Sale. It's 24 Pages in FULL COLOR for $4.00 plus $2.00 S&H (yep, I've raised my Shipping rate. Sorry) and contains not only the first issue of SDF in its entirety, as well as an EXCLUSIVE 8 Page aliceislost story. It's a great book. Check it out.
Next up, Pulp Horrorshow: DirTown is back! The first issue was nasty ugly looking. This issue is gonna be a little bit cleaner and more refined. But still ugly. The first page can be viewed either on my TUMBLR at http://torcpress.tumblr.com/ or you can view it at the Main Site at http://www.torcpress.com/phcenter.html. It features a closer look at the creature that pops up at the end of Issue 1. I have one word for you: GOAT!
Other than that, I'm working on a new video for my brother's band, the Dr. Orphyus Project, wrapping up the Print Edition of Pulp Horrorshow v.3 #1, and I'm trying to see if I can finish Clown & Penguin #2 before Wizard World Chicago. I plan on finishing the last two books of Era 3, "The Hot Fudge Sundae Adventure Club" #17 and "Cosmic Love" #5, sometime, but I'm pretty busy with all of my projects right now. Hopefully I can finish those before the end of the year.
I'd also like to do more with this Blog. I've mostly just been using this thing to hype stuff, but I'd like to get back to writing about Comix and whatnot. Hopefully I can put some new, non-hype content on this site once a week. Hopefully.
Monday, July 2, 2012
New SDF and Too Hot
Alrighty, a new page of SDF, featuring a brief glimpse into the nightmarish Clinic organization, is up and running at: http://www.torcpress.com/sdf2-12.html. In additional addition, I should have the first page of issue 2 of Pulp Horrorshow (v.3) up by Wednesday.
I'm currently slogging my way through an attempt at Rotoscoping for the latest Dr. Orphyus Project video. If I get some time, I'll blog about that more thoroughly some time this week.
But first I have to go off and work in over 100 Degree temperatures in a Sawmill for most of the week. Feel free to envy my life.
I'm currently slogging my way through an attempt at Rotoscoping for the latest Dr. Orphyus Project video. If I get some time, I'll blog about that more thoroughly some time this week.
But first I have to go off and work in over 100 Degree temperatures in a Sawmill for most of the week. Feel free to envy my life.
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