Is it just me, or is Image pumping out a ridiculous amount of quality as of late? It seems like every time I try one of their new series, it hits the spot. Most recently I’ve had Infinite Vacation, Intrepids, Undying Love and Nonplayer. Add that on top of Chew, Proof, Halcyon and of course Walking Dead? Truly wonderful books are being published. Well today that book was Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors by Mark A. Smith.
It takes a lot of work to be a super villain, right? There’s got to be a lot of planning involved. You can’t just build a death ray by ‘winging it’. You’ve got to have a strong background in science and molecular biology and public speaking. Yeah. Public speaking. Have you ever seen a timid villain unable to deliver his master plan or demands to his nemeses? Of course not. What’s the key? Education. Naturally. Enter: Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors. It’s like Xavier Institute but for Evil Gifted Youngsters. Their curriculum includes (but is not limited to): Explosives 101, Harnessing Your Evil Potential, Your Henchmen and You, History of Villainy, and P.E. Dodgeball (the most sinister of all physical activities).
This issue serves as the introduction to our school and its purpose in the superhero/super villain community. Started by a low-grade villain, the private institute trains and encourages their young pupils to become the leading harborers of evil. We meet Kid Nefarious and his “friend” Martian Jones, Mummy Girl, Ghost Girl, Albino Boy, The Skull Brothers and a few other students. Most are decedents of famous villains and are doing their best to learn the trade and become just like their predecessors. However, it may turn out that the outside world does not work the way they thought. Read the rest of this entry »
I may have waited a couple of weeks so that I could just bombard you with Green Lantern promo stuffs all at once. May have.
Irregardless (yes, I’m bringing that word back, thank you), I rounded up a ton of character posters and banners, as well as some trailers. I officially banish the first trailer from existence, as that was kind of shit. The wondercon footage – watch it again here – made me pull a complete about-face on this one; I’m now seriously excited for this. Read the rest of this entry »
You know how events come and go and nothing changes? Okay, not nothing. There might be a costume change. A new spin-off title. Maybe somebody dies (but will certainly come back during the next event). And you know what? That’s fine. We fear change. We the readers are a bunch of hypocrites. We want something different but we get all upset when Robin gets beat with a crowbar or when Wonder Woman throws on some new threads and dishes out some street justice. We want the story to turn the world on its ear and then fall right back into line.
I present to you Justice League: Generation Lost by Judd Winick. This title has been one of the strongest on my pull list for quite some time now. I couldn’t wait to read each installment. After the events of Blackest Night, The Justice League International sort of got the band back together. Maxwell Lord came back from the dead and Jedi mind tricked the majority of the population into thinking he didn’t exist. The old team remembers him though. Max wants to kill Wonder Woman for killing him. Wonder Woman is wearing pants and nobody really remembers her either. It’s like raaaaaaain on your wedding day… Read the rest of this entry »
It’s Wednesday. I’m supposed to be reviewing something, right? Well tragically, my comic book reading has fallen by the wayside recently and I am horribly behind on a lot of titles. But who am I to deny you the eloquent words of wisdom that flow from my fingertips? No one. That’s who.
I recently attended a small comic convention here in town. It was my very first small convention. Maybe if I had started small and advanced to larger cons, I would have a greater appreciation for what each had to offer. As it stands, I started with San Diego Comic Con and regressed to a hotel ballroom.
I’m not a fool. I realize I’m not going to see the big names in comics and entertainment at one of these things. Quite honestly, I didn’t even want big names. I wanted to be introduced to the work of local talent. I wanted to see what comic-related things were going on in my state. I wanted information. What I got was a bunch of surly dudes at tables and cramped rooms filled with uninterested adults and the occasional cosplayer.
What. The. Hell. Where were my clubs? My meetups? My LCBS presence? Where was my community, damnit?! It was a sickening drive home when I realized it may not exist. I hear about all these great cities where writers and artists seem to live in one big glorious commune of creativity. Hot spots in the world of comic books. Places that nurture the creative process. But wait. Do those communities nurture the comic world or has the comic world just flocked together and created a community? Does culture beget talent or does talent beget culture? Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re no stranger to these parts then you know that we at GKS have a big ol’ soft-spot for The Intergalactic Nemesis (our very own Auburn reviewed the first issue of the print series here). To be frank, we think Nemesis is the total tits. And why do we think that? Well it’s simple: it is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. The Intergalactic Nemesis transcends comics; weaving sound, imagery and performance into a truly immersive theater experience. Imagine an orgy with your favorite comic book, a sassy little radio show and an eye-punching Saturday morning cartoon. The “live-action graphic novel” is a novel idea (athankya), and the bar has been set pretty high right out of the gate. This fall they’re even taking the show, The Intergalactic Nemesis Book One: Target Earth, on the road, hitting 25 cities. And impregnating each one.
Speaking of making babies, the whole point of this article is to enlist you, dear reader, in making the sequel happen. That’s right, a !@#$%ng sequel! Book Two: Robot Planet Rising is already in development, and Team Nemesis wants to put on the best, most innovative show possible. Cue the part where you give money to them. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s that time of the year. The calm before the storm. We’re one hundred and four days away from the biggest, most exciting convention on the planet, the San Diego Comic-Con. As well as being the place to be for all things comic and entertainment related, the holy grounds of the convention center also sets the stage for the Eisner Awards, the highest form of recognition in the comics industry. It’s the Oscars of comics, though to be honest, I would give ten of the shiny men for just one shot at the Eisner globe. Read the rest of this entry »
Daddy issues. Nothing will screw you up faster. It’s what puts the desperation in crazy, it’s the catalyst in the majority of tearful breakdowns on the therapist’s couch, and it affects everyone regardless of sex, race, creed, or economic standing. That’s why it’s so damn useful in storytelling. From Shakespeare to Disney, everyone can have a paternal-related problem.
Why the hell should comics be any different? My dad was shot outside of a theater. My dad was replaced by an uncle that died. My dad was a superhero and I’m trying to live up to his name. My dad was abusive. My dad is from the future. My dad is a god. My dad was a crazy Nazi. It goes on and on. I can’t think of a better premise to build an event off of. Can you?
Neither could Marvel. Yea through Fear Itself go we. Read the rest of this entry »
Hey, hey, hey! Con Season is in full swing, kids. Take a deep breath. Smell that? It’s the smell of freshly printed promo comics, plastic con exclusives and cosplay nerd sweat. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, gang.
So with that, I bring back my personal project Con Artist. My rejection of reality and adulthood where I piss off my coworkers in taking multiple summer vacations in attempt to attend the best of the Comic/Entertainment conventions. My first of 2011: WonderCon.
Few things you might want to know going into this: Ratings are on a scale of 5 fanboys. I don’t rent a car, so most things are done within walking distance. I don’t particularly care to eat AT the convention; I typically eat at surrounding restaurants. I’m usually with my brother, so most of what I do is good for two people. We’re panel people, I don’t really understand autographs and I like to buy toys and statues. Keep that in mind when you read these write-ups; since there’s a bunch of ways to do a con. Read the rest of this entry »
(image from BleedingCool.com)
The short:
Comic conventions are awesome for all involved. For fans, it’s a great place to geek out, spend some money on unusual merch, meet people they’ve never met, and most importantly, bump elbows with their idols. Many lucky fans can even commission their favorite artists for a sketch or drawing, and even buy some original artwork, like paintings or comic book pages. It’s an invaluable part of the geek life-cycle, and an extra bonus income for artists. Quite simply, cons are something to be celebrated and treated with respect and rapture.
The long:
There is a man, by the name of Rob Granito, who chooses to spit on – and subsequently ass-fuck, in the most metaphorical sense – the con tradition. An article at Bleeding Cool on Rob Granito started the online cogs a turnin’, and now a fair amount of sites, message boards and tweets are picking up Rob’s story.
Since as early as 2001, Granito has been appearing -as an artist – at conventions, selling his prints and paintings and other pieces of art, for what we can assume is at least a decent amount of cash. The thing is, Rob ain’t no artist, and the work he’s selling and claiming is his own, really isn’t. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re a comic fan on twitter then you no doubt came across one of Boom! Studios’ many tweets for their new ongoing series, Hellraiser. With mastermind himself Clive Barker writing (with Christopher Monfette), marking his return to the iconic franchise, and Leonardo Manco handling art duty on this one, you can see why Boom! wants to push this. So they did something that I think is pretty smart: they released an 8 page preview – in digital .pdf format – free for everyone and encouraged to share. It’s pretty wild how fast things spread; searching #hellraiserprelude on the tweet machine brings up pages upon pages of fans spreading the bird.
And rightfully so: the prelude is good. Violent. It feels like a Hellraiser comic should feel, and Pinhead’s voice resonates in the way that only Barker can make it. There are no bartender cenobites in this one, I can safely tell you. I hope. I’m not a single-issue guy, I made the move to trades about a year and change ago, but being a massive horror and comics fan, I think a pit-stop at my local shoppe is in order.
Thanks to Boom! Studios and their ever-kind encouragement to share this here prelude, GKS is able to provide you with such a link. So sit back, relax and enjoy a free comic. It would be in poor taste to not encourage you to pick up the book too, so do that, then tell us what you think.
(Right -click as ‘Save As’ unless you want to potentially kill your browser)
“There are no small roles, only small actors.” That’s what they tell the under-talented in theater. I think it’s supposed to give us hope that our one line will somehow be the one line people in the audience remember. It’s false hope. Complete bullshit. There are small roles. There is a “Girl in Restaurant #4″ or a “Bearded Man”. No one cares anything about them and without them, the play would go on as planned.
But what if those characters had spin-off plays? Entire three-act durations about their lives. How did that girl wind up in the restaurant with 3 other girls? How did that man grow such a delectable beard? It could be atrocious. But then again, it could be better than the original. Like The Jeffersons were to All in the Family. Yeah, I said it.
How about this: “There are no bad characters, only lazy and uninspired writers.” Everyone has a story. That A.I.M. agent’s got a mistress. That ninja in The Hand saw his puppy die when he was a child. Batroc The Leaper is more than a mustachioed man in a snazzy get-up. He’s an sportsman, he’s an artist. He’s a free-runner. And he wears a mustache.
You can’t magically wave a wand and make a character ‘not-ridiculous’. It’s history; and in the annals of comic book lore, there are a lot of characters made specifically to be cannon fodder and to be terrible. So as a writer, what do you do? You can analyze their self-awareness. Does Batroc know that he’s a joke? Sort of. But he doesn’t care. He doesn’t have visions of grandeur. He just wants enough money to pay for his hookers and have the chance to battle Captain America once again. Read the rest of this entry »
It was a pretty big week for comic book movies, with things being strewn about the internet at lightning pace. The blogosphere couldn’t keep up. I decided to let it all happen; you’d read about it there and get the gist, and then I’d post a recap with some commentary. After all, that’s why you come here, no?
So, in rapid fire succession, here’s my thoughts on the comic-related movie news this week:
Darren Aronofsky quits The Wolverine – I took this one kind of hard. I actually slumped in my seat a little bit and let out a urggh. The official statement from Fox and Aronofsky is that the director was uncomfortable with the long overseas shoot, specifically being away from his family for so long, and therefore passed on the project. I can understand that. Other sources are claiming that Aronofsky simply couldn’t get the full control he requires when making a movie. That I can understand a little more; Fox doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to letting the creators do their thing. Either way, The Wolverine – which is slated to take Jackman’s character to Japan – will still most likely go ahead. One can deduce, however, that with the ongoing tragedy in Japan, the next installment of a big-screen Logan isn’t in a rush to begin. As of now, no names have come up for a replacement director, but I’m sure fanboys everywhere have their fingers crossed for one name: Bryan Singer. Don’t get your hopes up though, he’s hard at work on Jack the Giant Killer. Read the rest of this entry »
Once upon a time, there was a comic book company named CrossGen. The people that worked for this company had big ideas. Innovative ideas. They loved adventure and fantasy and the stories they told were all bound within a single universe. They made books that cohesively lived together in magical harmony. But all wasn’t perfect in the company of CrossGen. They were cursed. Cursed by poor business skills and shady finances. Allies deserted the company and their readers died off one by one. Tragedy struck and CrossGen finally disbanded in a pit of bankruptcy. Elsewhere in the world, enormous giants roamed the publishing world scouring through intellectual properties for great stories that would produce lots of money. One day a giant named Disney noticed the remains of CrossGen and thought, “It may be lifeless now, but lifeless means it’s cheap. Maybe someday I can use this to make money.” And the giant tucked CrossGen away in its intellectual property bag. Many years later, the giant Disney became great friends with a large story-telling company named Marvel. They knew they could share so many things. 
They would tell the best of stories and they would make a lot of money doing so! Soon, Marvel was sad because they wanted to tell a new story but didn’t want to pay someone to come up with one. The great giant Disney said, “Don’t worry, Buddy! I’ve got just the thing in my intellectual property bag! Could you use the remains of these old stories?” “Gosh, I sure could, Disney! You’re the bestest friend anyone could ask for! Let’s go make some money!” And so the old stories got brought back to life and the story-teller and the giant made money.
They made money off of me. And I don’t really mind. Marvel is not just reprinting the old issues. How would they make money off of the people that already read the CrossGen stories? No, they’re slapping a fresh coat of paint on those ideas and spinning them into what the people want to read. Modern high school tales. That’s what they’re doing with Sigil anyway. Read the rest of this entry »
Before I begin, let me quell the riff-raff right away; yes, I know I just posted a letter in which I claimed GKS is going all comics. There will be times here and there, where we dance close to our old stomping grounds; specifically in cases like this, with comic book films. But, like I said before, we won’t simply regurgitate the headlines that have already splattered your screens. We’re not here to win any races. But we are here to share some insight and hopefully something unique. And as this relates heavily to comics – in this case, a much smaller comic book fan-base – let me fire away.
If you hadn’t heard already, Marvel/Disney has begun early development on a feature-film based on The Inhumans. What, or whom, are these Inhumans, you ask? Google, motherfucker, do you use it?
Now, I dig The Inhumans. They’re kinda wacky, but I dig them. The leader of the group, Black Bolt, doesn’t talk and they have a giant talking bulldog named Lockjaw. Of all the Marvel characters and properties, however, I never expected The Inhumans to make it to the big screen, especially before more grounded staples like Luke Cage or Iron Fist. There isn’t an ounce of elitism in me when I say that The Inhumans are about the farthest from accessible to a mainstream audience. Read the rest of this entry »
I never really wanted an iPad. Not that having one wouldn’t be cool, but to me it just seemed that I wouldn’t use it much. Of course, this is entirely a cost thing. If the device cost $200, you bet your sweet ass I would have had the thing on day one. But it isn’t $200. I think it just came down to around $9,000 for the base model. But anyways, I never poo-pooed anyone for wanting or buying one; they are a cool device and I know there’s a huge number of people that bought it, use it daily, and even a percentage of them that replaced their home computer with it. So I never really paid it much heed, as my Macbook Pro is practically tethered to my body every second I’m in my house.
Then I received an iPad for Christmas back in December. I know, pretty good gift, right? Well I tell you, I fell in love that day, and haven’t gone a day since without using the iPad for at least an hour. I’ve read five books on it since Christmas, and I’ve probably watched a dozen films on it. It is a fantastic mobile media station, and I’d be lost – in bed before turning the lights out, where it’s mostly used – without it. But you know what I was really curious about, long before I even laid hands on the cold, slightly heavy device? Comics. I had this grand vision of having my own local comic book shoppe right in my hands. Vibrant colors and intense kapows delivered to my eyeballs every Wednesday, ready to be consumed by my fingertips and stored in thin air, leaving me more room in my house for statues and toys instead of unsightly (yet still prideful) white long-boxes. I could lay in bed every night with a digital KILBY from Ikea bookshelf, just full of trades and issues and one-shots just gagging to be fingered and peeped. But it never happened. At least not right away. It took a while, but eventually the big two managed to put their hesitance and investments at ease and get on board the digital train thanks to comic shoppe apps through Comixology (which pretty much has a monopoly on the comic app market, with exception to a couple of smaller vendors). Read the rest of this entry »
