Posts Tagged ‘comics’

When it was time to bring Drusilla into the highly successful Angel comics by IDW, who better to write her than… herself?

Angel issues #24 and 25 were written by Juliet Landau and Brian Lynch with art by Franco Urru, and Drusilla's in rare form. She's also in an asylum, but they don't seem quite up to the task of containing her. Assuming that's the plan, anyway…

Reportedly Landau provided a great deal of input and reference material for the artwork, and it shows. Urru captured her graceful unearthy movements beautifully, which of course makes her all the more horrifying.

And now Juliet Landau is offering autographed versions of both comics, in any of the four variant covers done for each. $30 each, and you can even specify a personalized message (up to 200 characters). Click here to check 'em out.

(If you just want the comics, try TFAW.com)

10 years. 10 years to get out 27 issues of a comic. Taking your time, people?

OK, granted, Planetary creators Warren Ellis, John Cassaday and Laura Martin were interrupted several times by illness and other projects. And OK, out of 26 previous issues every one was a hit. And OK, they never promised a regular schedule and then went back on it, they were always upfront about delays and hiatuses. And OK, I can't exactly bitch since my own webcomic went on two hiatuses in a year…

The thing is, is it worth the wait? 3 years since the last one?

Haven't read it, beyond the preview pages at the Wildstorm blog. But I'll be buying it the day it comes out, and so should you. And if you haven't read the rest of them, go get them. I'll wait.

If you were living in a world full of superpowered people, how would you find out what they've been doing? Especially if they didn't want you to know? You build a group like Planetary; three archeologists uncovering 100 years of secret superhero activity.

The three have their own abilities — Jakita Wagner is strong, fast and tough, The Drummer can detect and manipulate information streams, new recruit Elijah Snow can extract heat from nearby substances at will — and there is a hidden Fourth Man running the show as they search for clues to what really happened in the last century. It's fast, subversive, thought-provoking, and often hilarious (the DC crossover special where they encounter every version of Batman that's been seen, from the original to the Dark Knight to the 70's hero to Adam West must not be missed) and features barely concealed and not-very-flattering references to almost every other iconic hero like Superman, Captain Marvel, Sherlock Holmes, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Nick Fury, Godzilla, the Justice League, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk.

The art by John Cassaday is breathtakingly believable, and Laura Martin's colors ground it even further into reality. Also, Warren Ellis is a sick, sick man.

With any luck the release of this will trigger a new edition of the whole series, but for now we'll make do with the collections. Planetary #27 will be an oversized issue, with a 3-piece wraparound gatefold cover drawn by Cassaday, coming out sometime in October.

New World War Hulks series, major Hulk character to die, yadda yadda. New Dethlok series, new Spider-Man webcomics, new Lizard series, maybe a new Alpha Flight series, yadda yadda.

Marvel bought the rights to "Miracleman."

Yadd.. wait, what?

Fans of the original "Marvelman" series by Alan Moore and its continuation by Neil Gaiman (known as "Miracleman" on this side of the pond) were stonkered by the announcement made at the San Diego Comic-Con's "Cup o' Joe" panel. This series,  a seminal work that takes the existence of superheroes to its extremes long before it became vogue (and frankly still stands head and shoulders above most subsequent attempts; it still has the most chilling images yet of what happens when someone with Superman-level powers goes on a rampage) has been in legal dispute for decades and fans assumed it would stay there. Apparently not:

(Marvel publisher Dan) Buckley stated that Marvel was talking with several creators who did Marvelman stories in the ’80s and ’90s. Both Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman are among those creators, but nothing has been announced beyond the acquisition.

So, no idea if the existing comics will be reprinted or remastered, or if previous characters will show up again, or if this means a movie deal is coming that Alan Moore will have to quickly distance himself from. But I'm excited to see what happens.

Terry Moore has signed a deal with "Watchmen" producer Lloyd Levin to make an "Echo" movie.

This doesn't mean there'll be one, of course. Movie deals are delicate, frail things that fall apart for all sorts of reasons. But I'm really hoping to see it (assuming it's done right) and I'm glad to see Moore,  getting the recognition (and the six-figure option amount).

Of course, I'd rather see a well-done "Strangers in Paradise" movie…

"Echo" tells the story of a photographer who is preoccupied with her personal problems until she gets doused by liquid metal from a military experiment gone awry. She discovers she can now harness the power of a nuclear bomb, and soon the military wants its walking weapon.

If you're not reading it, you really should be. Check out the first collection, "Moon Lake", at Amazon.

Good news: Strangers in Paradise, the long-running, award-winning comic by Terry Moore, is finally being collected in one massive , two-book hardcover collection.

Better news: there's also a third book to the set, containing the artwork for all the covers.

Even better news: Moore has tweaked the stories so that everything runs in unbroken order, typos have been fixed, words have been uncensored, and the artwork has been checked page by page. This is the finest edition of these stories available.

Way cool news: The Omnibus is on sale now, although it will debut at the San Diego Comic-Con. You can pre-order it from the Strangers in Paradise site and pick it up at the con (in a cool Omnibus canvas bag to haul it around) or have it shipped afterward.

Limited edition news: Only 1250 of these will be printed; after that the 1st two books (but not the covers book) will come out in paperback. Copies are available through your local comic store, but don't dawdle to preorder, they're going fast.

Extremely limited edition news: a lettered edition, only 26 copies, has been created to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. This is the rarest Strangers in Paradise collectible imaginable and it comes with an original drawing by Terry Moore and a bottle of "Parker Lily," a fragrance based on Terry Moore's beloved epic created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, strictly limited to 26 bottles. And right now the CBLDF is offering the rarest SiP item of all on eBay — Letter A of this limited edition set, plus a bottle each of the two prototypes of Parker Lily, the same ones sent to Terry Moore for approval. Short of auctioning off Terry Moore himself, it doesn't get better than this.

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OK, I really need to stop browsing the Prop Store of London, because I keep finding things I have no chance of affording but desperately need nonetheless even though I didn't know it was possible to buy them seconds previously. Like this.

Freakin' Tank Girl's costume.

This is Tank Girl's Costume from the 1995 movie Tank Girl which was Based on the British cult comic-strip. Tank Girl (Lori Petty)our heroine fights a mega-corporation, which controls the world's water supply and this costume is featured in the final battle scenes. The outfit is comprised of two sock elbow pads, chaps, custom vest, bulls-eye t-shirt, choker, and red shorts. All of the items are tailored to fit the petite 5'8"(173cm) actress. The pieces are all in good condition.

Huge fan of this comic, the movie, and Lori Petty. The only thing better would be a costume with two big missle-head bra cones on it, but one must be prepared to settle for what's available.

Which is freakin' Tank Girl's costume. Tank (presumably) not included.

If you're not following @drhorrible on Twitter, you're missing some good stuff and sneaky updates like this one. Just sayin'.

Tomorrow is Joss' birthday, and there's lots of ways to celebrate! Many of us will be gathering at various Can't Stop the Serenity events around the world (check here for the list and schedule), some of us will be holding quiet ceremonies in front of our home Joss shrines, and some of us can boost the economy in his name. Which is now easier, because TFAW.com is holding a Joss' Birthday Sale!

This means you'll save 30% off cool stuff like Buffy Season 8, Serenity apparel, Angel variants, and even Joss' runs on Astonishing X-Men and Runaways. This is the perfect time for you to proclaim your allegiance to all things Whedon and complete your collection. Feels more like your birthday, doesn't it?

Our Happy Birthday Joss Whedon Sale starts now and ends at 11:59 p.m. on June 23, 2009, so make sure to visit our Joss Whedon Theme Page now to take advantage of some excellent deals. But be quick–your fellow Whedon fans are already there!

That was pretty much my reaction just now. Even though I write about geek issues I don't read all the trades, and somehow I completely failed to find out ahead of time that Ultimate Spider-Man #133 was the last one in the series, to be followed by two one-shot comics this summer and then a new relaunch into Ultimate Comics Spider-Man.

Usually, avoiding spoilers works in my favor. I can be surprised, the dramatic and comedic beats hit as they're supposed to without any anticipation from me so their impact is all the harder. In this case, it was a loud "WTF?!?" followed by some frantic Googling to discover what, indeed, was the F.

Major spoilers coming. If you'd rather skip that, here's the short version: I was disappointed in every way imaginable, and I have to assume that Brian Michael Bendis had a gun held to his head.

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If the DVDs and  soundtrack isn't enough – and it isn't – go check out the free Dr. Horrible comics at Dark Horse Presents. First up is "Captain Hammer: Be Like Me," written by Zack Whedon, drawn by Eric Canete and colored by Dave Stewart. Excellent look at Captain Hammer's life before the events of the show, and hilarious all by itself. Read it here.

Then there's "Moist: Humidity Rising," Dr. Horrible's sidekick's awesome origin! Well, kind of awesome. Well, not really. I wasn't as impressed with this one, even though Zack penned it as well (art by Farel Dalrymple and Dan Jackson). It hits all the points – got his powers, met Billy, dreamed henchmen dreams – without any memorable lines or interesting twists or much plot at all. It's just… there. Which, come to think of it, also describes Moist, so maybe it works after all. Read it here.

And out this week, "Penny: Keep Your Head Up," by Zack Whedon and Jim Rugg, a sweet tale of her activist beginnings.