[interviewed by Curt Pires}
Joe, 2012 is looking to be a big year for you. You’ve got two projects (GLORY, HELL YEAH) coming out in the next couple of months here. For viewers who maybe aren’t up to date, Tell us a bit about these projects. Why should we be excited?
You’ve mentioned before, that Hell Yeah is sort of this idea in your head that has been percolating for about 20 years now, tell us a bit about that. What is the Untold history of HELL YEAH?
I don’t remember how I started reading comics. There’s pictures of me two years old with comics around. They were just always there. However, once Image came along I got inspired to make them not just something I did as a reader, but as a creator. I drew in sketchbooks constantly, making my own comics with my own superheroes who were largely versions of Image heroes. The main character started off as an awful parody of the Maxx, called Faxx, and over time it turned into this superhero doing every day stuff. I got really fascinated by the idea of superheroes doing more than just saving cats out of trees, as the Image characters didn’t adhere to any of the same rules the Marvel and DC guys did. Eventually over time it gave me the idea to do this series, then called Zero Crisis, which eventually turned into a one-act play I wrote, director & co-starred while in college. Then eventually I started actually working in comics, which lead to working at Image, which lead to Erik Larsen & Eric Stephenson really pushing me to write, which lead to me trying to do Hell Yeah with another artist, which was a pretty horrible failure, which lead to me thinking it was dead, which lead to me working on PopGun, which lead to me meeting Andre, which lead to me seeing he was pretty much the perfect person on Earth to collaborate with in terms of style and what comics he dug. All this brought us here and now. Read the rest of this entry »
Hey, you! You looking all sad and morose in the corner! Do you want to have fun? Do you say to yourself, “Man, my life would be infinitely better if there were more monsters in it.” Do you? Are your reading habits confined to the big name superheroes? Have you felt the desire to branch out into the fringe characters that offer a change of pace? Well, do I have the comic for you!
Marvel’s Legion of Monsters by Dennis Hopeless with art by Juan Doe. Before I continue, can we take a moment to admire THESE names? I mean, they aren’t nearly as fun to say as Tradd Moore but hell, they’re poetic. Okay-serious business now: Read the rest of this entry »
GLORY 23
Joe Keatinge , Ross Campbell
‘ONCE AND FUTURE,’ Part One
EXTREME’S ORIGINAL WARRIOR GODDESS RETURNS! After missing for almost a decade, Glory’s whereabouts are uncovered by a lone reporter, but the globe-spanning conspiracy keeping her hidden from humanity could make her return more dangerous than anyone ever anticipated! This first issue of an brand-new saga written by Eisner & Harvey-award winner JOE KEATINGE and illustrated by Wet Moon and Shadoweyes creator ROSS CAMPBELL sets up Glory’s future by expanding on her past in a way promising to shock long-time fans and excite all-new readers!
[Reviewed by Curt Pires] Glory tells the story of Gloriana Demeter. A child of two worlds, she finds herself torn between her mother’s people and her father’s, who are at war. If you’ve seen the few preview pages of the issue floating around you’ve no doubt been clued into this element of the story.
What you are probably not aware of is the awesome direction that Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell take this story after these initial pages. I don’t want to spoil this for any potential readers, but suffice to say : you are in for a treat. The story takes a tone ,particularly in the second half of the issue that owes more to Stieg Larsons’ “ The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” than to any particular brand of the capes and tights variety. Keatinge and Campbell manage to set up a mystery here that not only pulls the reader in, but sets the stage for the foreseeable future.
In a manner not only do the creators serve to not only build up Glory as a character, and the extreme universe as a viable one, but they shatter the very notion of it only pages later. This is a book that takes your expectations and your prejudices about what a Rob Liefield created character is, what an Extreme book is, and forces you to toss them out the window in the best possible way.
On the writing side of things Joe Keatinge turns in a strong script , with solid pacing, believable dialogue , and control over pacing that serves to draw the reader in and effectively convey the story. This is a book that is definitely substantial in content, but never overwhelming. Simply put, you get your moneys worth of content. As well as being a great jumping on point for new readers the story remains respectful and tuned into fans of the earlier run of this character, referencing the characters past stories , and also featuring a cameo by Extreme staple SUPREME.
Artistically, Ross Campbell delivers a refreshing take on the character of Glory and her world . Ross actually has a really interesting European sensibility to his work that lovers of art will appreciate. Characters have distinct facial features, mass, and shape , which in an age of bodacious carbon copy women and steroid abusing hero’s is much appreciated.
If the goal of The Extreme relaunch is (as Imagine it is) to bring in new readers , tell interesting stories that can stand on their own , and push creative boundaries, you can chalk this one in the win column. Glory 23 is a fun ,meaty, read. But more importantly a coming out party for the creative talents that are Keatinge and Campbell.
Writing 4.5 , Art 4
Glory 23 hits the shelves Febuary 15th 2012 for the price of 2.99. You can reserve a copy now by using this code : DEC110469 , at your local comic shop.
Curt Pires is a writer based out of Calgary Alberta Canada. When he isn’t contributing to da squid he can be found writing comics, binge drinking coffee, maintaining his stache, or watching COMMUNITY. Connect with him on twitter : @CurtPires
If you want to know the truth, I do these posts completely for my own benefit. I, personally, don’t even read reviews. I read tweets primarily. That’s right, there’s actually someone out there that sees your self-promoting tweets and says, “Yeah, what the hell. I’ll read that.” Then there are podcasts and the scattered sage wisdom of my friends and family. But let’s say that you do actually read reviews before you buy. (You pansy) Let’s say you patrol the blogs to find a good book. If you do that, chances are you’ve already heard about The Strange Talent of Luther Strode. Read the rest of this entry »
I wanted to call this post: Top Books of 2011 That I Wish I Had Kept Up On Instead Of Watching Brad Meltzer’s Decoded. I didn’t. Because…that would be a long title. But that’s essentially what this list is about.
I can’t tell you what the greatest books of 2011 are. You probably have completely different tastes than I do. You may love the books I hate, so even “Worst Of” lists are dumb. So what do I have left? Books that I enjoyed but stopped reading because I get too damned distracted on Wednesday nights when Brad Meltzer is throwing conspiracies in my face over on The History Channel. Brad, you’re doubling my “To Read” pile. Read the rest of this entry »
Everybody’s forever complaining about remakes. Come up with something original. Remakes are just lazy storytelling. You’re ruining the originals. Blah blah blah. You know what I say to them? Psbbbbbbt. That, boys and girls, was the textual interpretation of me blowing a raspberry. (Stop it) You’ve got to remake movies and books and comics and music. You have to, if you want to keep the stories alive.
I know people that won’t watch movies that are in black and white. Even if they’re classics, they won’t do it. Those people are dumb, but the fact is: they exist. Not everyone will search through the back issues of golden/silver/bronze age comics. Some find those stories obsolete. Of course, they’re wrong; but, again, they exist.
Now I must insist that all remakes and reproductions are made out of respect and love for the original/source material. That’s the only way I can support this trend. I don’t want your favorite book or movie or whatever to be bastardized just for the easy generation of funds. Is that what’s happening? Sure. But I’d like there to be some heart behind it. Where can you find such an occurrence? Andy Diggle and Davide Gianfelice’s Six Guns. Read the rest of this entry »
Interviewed by Curt Pires. Read the advanced review of THE ACTIVITY #1 here.
Thanks for taking the time to talk to me today Nathan. First off lets talk about your brand new book that hits the shelves December 21st . THE ACTIVITY. What was the inception of the project ? How did this concept enter your idea space? Having read the first issue, this strikes me as sort of a niche of comic, and style of story telling that isn’t really touched on much: Espionage comics.
First off, for the most part, THE ACTIVITY is not an espionage book. There will be issues that are espionage-like, but on the whole it is an action thriller in the vein of MODERN WARFARE, with some MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE in there. The idea came from reading about the real group INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT ACTIVITY, and realizing that there was nothing like this book–a grounded, realistic action/team/military thriller out there in comics (and has never really been).
Read the rest of this entry »
The Activity #1 (MR)
story NATHAN EDMONDSON, art / cover MITCH GERADS
Price:
$3.50
Diamond ID:
OCT110438
On Sale:
December 21, 2011
[Review by Curt Pires] The evolution of global warfare necessitates the evolution of special forces to rise and meet the call. The U.S Army has therefore looked to its last secret special operations tribe, the INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT ACTIVITY, or Gray Fox. Within Gray Fox is a team of elite men and women whose mission is flexible, whose technology is bleeding edge, and whose execution is precise and lethal. They are Team Omaha, and they serve THE ACTIVITY. Read the rest of this entry »
Hola Lords and Ladies! Byron’s back from the underground with a new editorial for your eye-tubes. Let me preface by saying I love being a nerd, I love nerddom and nearly all facets of this wonderful culture we live in……..(smiley face falls away in 3..2………1)
THAT BEING SAID, there’s a growing problem I’ve been seeing not only on forums, but at a lot of the conventions I’ve been to over the past couple of years. This problem has been festering in the darker corners of fandom and its spreading like a cancer throughout fandom as a whole and that is this growing sense of nerd entitlement that is acting like a festering wound that needs to be treated and healed. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s something that appeals to me when it comes to reading an anti-hero. It might be the believability. I have an easier time coming to terms with a character that is not good all of the time. Great characters have faults. People can be evil even when they aren’t “super villains”. Josh Fialkov’s The Last of the Greats is a phenomenal anti-hero book. Certainly, it’s a very realistic take on the ‘what if’ scenario if superheroes were real.
Let me set you up here:
“Meet mankind’s last hope for survival. He’s called The Last, and he hates out guts.”
We’re living here on Earth like we do and there’s war, hunger, and desperation. One day, a group of super powered beings show up. They fix everything. They give us Utopia. And we hate them for it. We destroy them all…except one. Now we find our planet in danger and there’s only one guy that can help us. Turns out he’ll help us, but at a price. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m going to tell you a little something about my mother. Yep. I write about comics and I’m going to lead in by talking about Mommy Dearest. I think deep down my mother had a deep fear that her children were going to turn out to be idiots. From our very beginnings, she was determined to constantly hold us to higher standards. My brother had it worse; she put him in a bilingual kindergarten class just so he could be exposed to spanish constantly. (She didn’t try that with me. She’s still trying to keep me from eating crayons…) At any rate, she would try to slip in educational material into any source of entertainment. My point: she would have approved of Green Lantern: The Animated Series #0.
This comic is going hand-in-hand with the newest animated series on Cartoon Network. I watched the first hour long special. I read the first comic. Let’s do this. Read the rest of this entry »
I have found myself in a state of confusion. There’s a strange trend happening in the comics industry right now.
This week we received the news that Marvel has cancelled X-23 from its list of ongoings. Now, that was a pretty solid book but that’s not what I want to talk about today. Take a minute and think about all the ongoing titles that Marvel currently offers. Think. Think. Think. How many of those titles have a female title-role? With X-23 gone, my count is at one. ONE. Ghost Rider. And even that’s a bit of a gray area. Still, Alejandra does hold that title since Fear Itself. One book. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? Read the rest of this entry »
Who doesn’t like a good buddy-movie? Buddy-cop, buddy-losers, buddy-criminals…chances are, hijinks are going to ensue. Why should a buddy-comic be any different? It shouldn’t. There are still hijinks and assorted shenanigans.
Witch Doctor by Brandon Seifert with art by Lukas Ketner partners Dr. Marrow, a man specializing in the dark forces and the supernatural, with Eric Gast, a veteran serving as a paramedic assisting Dr. Marrow. They go around as part of the Mystics Without Borders program, finding dangerous monsters and demons and fighting them with magic and science. It sounds awesome, right? It is seriously one of the best books being put out by Image. Read the rest of this entry »
You know what it takes for me to be interested in a new comic book? A name. Maybe two. I have trust in creators. Characters? No. All it takes for a character to go south is one writer with “vision”. Screw them and their “vision”. Pretty soon your favorite character is a whiney addict that never worked out their issues with their father. And all you wanted was to see them kick some ass. But find a creator or creative team that appeals to you and pretty soon you’re introduced to new characters, new stories and all the while enjoying it because it’s coming from talent that speaks to you.
Brian Azzarello is on that list for me. If I need to see the darker side of comics, I can turn to this guy. Add Eduardo Risso into that mix and I’m in great shape. So I see their names attached to Vertigo’s Spaceman and see that it’s selling for $1.00 and…well, you know. I’ve gambled more money on less. Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, with all the excitement in the DC Universe, it’s possible our radars have been slightly skewed. So bear with me as I tell you that in the midst of your issue twos, now is a really great time to be reading X-Men titles.
Ah yes, The X-Men. Seems like just yesterday we were all infected with vampirism. I hate to disappoint you, but we’re done with that. And now…the band’s breaking up….kind of. In the aftermath of Schism, Logan and Scott have decided to go their separate ways and people are picking sides. Now, let’s say that you didn’t read Schism (even though I told you to and you totally should). And let’s say you didn’t read the Regenesis One Shot from last week (totally should). You’re going to be fine. Read the rest of this entry »
