Monthly Archives: October 2008

(Here’s another from Erik – Dan)

By Erik Norris

This might seem like a weird introduction, but stick with me. If you’re anything like me, the mere mention of “My Chemical Romance” should send shivers down your spine. It might be a bit harsh, but I kind of see the band as a shiny example of everything bad with today’s current “top 40 monster” music biz. And because he is their front-man, Gerard Way gets a lot of my flack placed squarely on his shoulders. However, I’ve come to discover the man is much more talented, insightful, and creative than his music lead me to believe. A lot more.

So let’s begin by taking your thoughts about My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, and the music industry, crumble them up, and throw them in your mental trash. That crap doesn’t apply here. When it comes to the comic industry (or as I like to call it “The Jungle”) Gerard Way knows his way around four colors and panels.

I’m going to take a second and rewind the clock to the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con when a panel spotlighting Mr. Way and Grant Morrison took place. I remember seeing this and going, “what the hell could these two have in common?” Now I knew Gerard was getting critical acclaim for his series, Umbrella Academy, but I wasn’t buying it. I mean, how could I when I loath everything he does in the music industry? So the Way / Morrison panel came to pass and the transcribed version hit the internet for everyone not lucky enough to attend the convention and I gave it a read. I figured I would at least get amusement out of Grant’s quirky replies. However, I came away more impressed with Way’s remarks about the comics industry and its influence over him.

The quote that hit me like a punch to the man-purse was this; “I don’t really know what a Grammy means anymore, but I know what an Eisner means,” said Way. It was that simple to him and made it that simple for me to connect with him on a fundamental level. Then to see Way being so buddy-buddy with Grant Morrison (a comic god imo) brought a smile to my face. It was like the excuse / vouching for Gerard Way I needed to get up the courage and buy his series, Umbrella Academy.

And hot damn, I’m happy I did. I don’t want to turn this into a plot synopsis because I urge you to check out the first series, Apocalypse Suite, for yourself. Instead, I will say Umbrella Academy falls into that weird / zany territory Way and Morrison thought the industry needed more of, and I think they were 100% right. A splash of X-Men, a dash of Doom Patrol (Way’s biggest influence is Morrison’s run on the title at Vertigo) all while still feeling very much contemporary, exciting, and, above all, new and fresh.

I also failed to mention the other huge aspect of what makes a comic book, the art. Well this should express my feelings for it: it rules. Gabriel Ba has a pitch-perfect style for this type of story which means it’s just as weird as the writing. But that’s completely a complement because it makes everything gel together to flawlessly.

The only downside to all this is because of Way’s commitment to his band (it’s tough being a rock-star), he is hard pressed for time to do his comic work. But he is definitely committed, and Dark Horse is doing a great job of making sure that his projects are nearly in the can before soliciting them as to not run into any delays. So what we get is on-time, mini-series telling the Umbrella Academy’s saga.

You can now find Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite in a paperback edition that collects the series’ six issues along with some great supplemental material. But the real reason I bring this all up now is because the second mini, Dallas, is launching in mid-November and I want everyone along for the ride. And I guarantee, it’s going to be one hell of a ride. So go out, buy Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite via trade paperback or back issues and find out what won Way an Eisner to begin with.

(Erik’s ALSO doing some writing for us, which I’ll ALSO be posting until we get him HI blog access – Dan)

By Erik Norris

Are you reading Green Lantern? If you are, this isn’t directed towards you, if you aren’t, why the hell not?

Currently one of the best super-hero comics hitting shelves, Green Lantern has been nothing but stellar since Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver kick started the title with their Green Lantern: Rebirth, but even with reaffirming Hal Jordan’s spot back in DC proper, these two creators, along with some friends, haven’t let up on the gas to sit back and let the fans flock and drop money just for their favorite character’s return. Oh no, Johns & co. brought more fans in by delivering some huge stories that have built upon each other to make one hell of an epic run on the title.

“The Sinestro Corps War” hit stands like a freight train and delivered an “event” that actually stood up against its own hype. But as we saw in that story’s finale, the fear inducing Sinestro Corps are the least of the Green Lantern Corps’ worries. There are now six other corps entering the fray, one of which are the Red Lanterns who are the focus of Johns’ next big story, giving an introduction to these misfits like we’ve never seen. The “Sinestro Corps War” is behind us, it’s now time to head into “Blackest Night” and this is the train’s first stop.

As I mentioned before, we’ve seen the breadcrumbs begin to fall with the finale of the “Sinestro Corps War” in issue #25 of Green Lantern. There, Ethan Van Sciver gave us a double page spread that will forever be etched into our minds depicting seven corps battling in the stars for control / protection of the universe. While this particular issue didn’t delve deep into the mythology of the Red Lanterns, it gave us enough hints and nudges to show they are not your typical Lantern Corps. Firstly, their rage flows straight from their mouths instead of their rings. Pretty vicious looking I must say. Secondly, as discovered in the “Secret Origin” arc of Green Lantern, is the Red Lantern’s vendetta, lead by Atrocious (more on him in a sec), is directed right at the Guardians of the Universe and Sinestro. This is because to their knowledge, Sinestro is still the guiding light of the Corps since they have been kept out of the information loop since their imprisonment and exile to the planet Ysmault.

See, Atrocious wants blood because the Guardians are responsible for the “massacre of sector 666” where he, along with a bunch of other aliens, lived happily. Back in the day, the Manhunters patrolled the universe under the Guardians leering eyes and kept order without involving emotion. Well, things backfired and the emotionless Manhunters slaughtered anyone in their way without remorse in the name of justice. Long story short, the Guardians had a problem with this and decommissioned the Manhunter to be replaced by sentient beings who are the Green Lanterns we now know and love. Obviously by the title “massacre of sector 666” the Manhunters took this emotionless way of judging to sector 666 and it’s the reason for Atrocious’ angry and his blood boiling for revenge.

Atrocious is also special because as the recent “Secret Origin” story-arc proved, he has ties to Sinestro and Hal Jordan dating back to their first meeting. Call him a prophet, but along with his cronies, they were able to fooled Abin Sur into traveling with a spaceship by pumping fear into his heart, telling him his ring would fail him when he most needed it. So Abin started using a spaceship to travel and in a truly ironic death, his spacecraft fails and kills him. He also had a prisoner onboard and I’m sure you can guess who… wait for it… that’s right, Atrocious. The ship crashes on Earth, Hal gets the ring, Sinestro, who was Abin’s best friend, comes to investigate and it’s the start of a budding relationship between Sinestro and Jordan. However, after inadvertently giving William Hand the power over blackness (not important for Rage of the Red Lanterns….VERY important for Blackest Night down the road), Atrocious was about to plant the seeds of doubt in even the strongest willed Green Lantern, Sinestro. This lead to the eventual dispute of Hal labeling Sinestro a tyrant/ dictator of his planet, Korugar, and getting him expelled from the Corps. So when I say Atrocious is pretty damn important, you better believe me. His back-story stems back to the most vital aspect of the Hal Jordan / Green Lantern mythos. It also goes to show you how intricate and detailed Johns is getting with his Green Lantern work, everything means something and no plot thread is left untouched or ignored. This is grand story-telling on a massive scale, perfectly fitting the epic scope of the property.

So now that I’ve gotten you pumped for Rage of the Red Lanterns, where do you start? Well this might be off-putting for a lot of readers but the first chapter of the story begins with a special titled Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns. Before mass pandemonium takes hold of you, do note that this special has NOTHING to do with Final Crisis. Besides a time stamp on the first page’s introduction stating the events of this book take place between Final Crisis #1 and #2, the trade dress on the cover is simply a marketing ploy by DC. A two fold plan to A) get readers only interested in Final Crisis to try a Green Lantern book by prying on their obsessive nature to collect everything for an event and B) Having a special with that ”#1” tag so readers who might be interested won’t feel out in the cold because they don’t have to read “x” amount of back issues to catch up.

I hope this little hype article / general plot synopsis has been helpful and I urge you to try out Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns whether you’ve been reading Green Lantern books for fifteen years, or have never picked one up in your life. The drums of war are beginning to beat once again and blood will surely spill. You don’t want to be the one standing around the water cooler, when everyone is chatting up Green Lantern (in a perfect world this would happen) with nothing to talk about, do you?

Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns’ Checklist:

Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns #1 Special

Green Lantern #36 (Part 2 of RoTRL)

Green Lantern #37 (Part 3 of RoTRL)

Green Lantern #38 (Part 4 of RoTRL)

(Joey’s doing some writing for us, which I’ll be posting until we get him HI blog access – Dan)

By Joey Davidson.

The New Krypton event… well, if you haven’t heard of this bad boy by now allow me to take some time out and lay some facts down for your uninformed self. Three Super titles will be merging into one story line. Action Comics, Superman and Supergirl are joining together for an event helmed by an epic creative team. Geoff Johns on Action, James Robinson on Superman and DC newcomer Sterling Gates is on Supergirl. Each writer is going to take on one part of the New Krypton story within his series, so nearly every week fans are going to be treated with another installment in this event. They’ll also be teaming up on the Superman: New Krypton Special #1 lead-in.

It goes like this, and I’ll keep the spoiling to a nonexistent level here in this little summary, events with Brainiac lead Superman to letting loose an entire city of Kryptonians on the planet Earth. While we haven’t been shown where this is going to head as of yet, one can be certain that there will be those that want only to co-exist with mankind, and those that will seek to rule them. This is a chance for readers to catch a different take on Kryptonian culture and the way Superman, Supergirl and Earth will react to it. It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for months now.

Intrigued? I bet. Here’s what DC says you’ll need on their checklist:

October

Part 1 – Superman: New Krypton Special #1

Part 2 – Superman #681

November

Part 3 – Adventure Comics Special featuring The Guardian #1

Part 4 – Action Comics #871

Part 5 – Supergirl #35

Part 6 – Superman #682

December

Part 7 – Action Comics #872

Part 8 – Supergirl #36

Part 9 – Superman #683

January

Part 10 – Action Comics #873

That’s all they include. But hey, listen, if you’re anything like me then this list just won’t do it. I’m the type of person that wants to sit down, pick up a book and just know everything that’s been going on. I don’t want to come into an event with only a semblance of the knowledge needed to be in on all the little things. Not knowing is a huge part of why I’m not enjoying Final Crisis (more on that in another article entirely). If I’m dropping the cabbage on a story, I want to be in the know. So, DC leaves out a few reads that I’ll label as essential. And the good thing here is that these next few arcs and the one shot I’m about to list are damn good. Some of the best Superman stuff around today; not counting Johns Legion arc in Action.

You’ll need the four part Atlas arc in Robinson’s Superman (#677-680), the five part Brainiac arc in Johns’ Action Comics (#866-870) and the one-shot Superman’s Pal: Jimmy Olson #1. Three stories that lead perfectly into New Krypton. Make sure you read the one about Jimmy Olson last and you’ll be good to go. You’re also going to encounter an exceptional moment with Krypto here, so fans like me can enter the new era of the Kryptonians with a huge smile on our faces.

As of writing this we’ve already been through the first part of the story and I can safely say that this thing is going to be huge. Superman’s past is going to be ripped apart and I’m glad that task has been left to a creative team with Johns on board. Robinson has shown excellent craft in the Superman arc he’s completed, and Gates has managed to win me over to Supergirl with only one issue under his belt. Yes, this is the series that may have you buying Supergirl if you’re one of those that has seen her as unworthy of her own book. If there was going to be a team out there that could make her due for some recognition, this is it.

My hopes are set extremely high for New Krypton, and I’m banking on a smooth delivery. As a Super-nerd, I’m going to recommend this to anyone looking spend time with the man and his red cape. The best thing about all of this is that it is going to be coming out in quick succession. You’ll be reading parts from the story nearly every single week, so the only downside I can see emerging from this is that we’ll all be going into Super-withdrawal when it’s done. Looking forward to that!

Been reading these books already? Sound off about them in the comments below.

Creepy, cooky, mysterious, spooky, altogether ooky—that’s the order of the day as we all eagerly await Halloween.

In the spirit of the scary, here’s a bit more about Carnival Comics’ The Funhouse of Horrors, the kind of book that you might want to curl up with in front of the fireplace…IF YOU DARE.

In 50 words or less, what’s the gist of your project? The Funhouse Of Horrors is a classic tale of fun and adventure mixed in with just the right amount of Vincent Price. The story takes place on a day trip to the countryside. When Jacob and his family stop off at a roadside fruit market for a bite to eat, they get a whole lot more. Jacob discovers a haunted house and the tales of horror that lie inside. Once you step inside this House Of Horrors, you’ll never see the world the same way again.

Who’s your lead character, and what’s his/her take on the world? The lead character is Jacob Stone. He’s a kid who finds a haunted house and is given a book of horrors by the man running it. He chooses to read the book and opens Pandora’s box. All the horror stories and characters in it are unleashed to torment this poor soul. His take on the world is fear. It becomes all he sees and hears. Does he have a choice? You tell me. It’s hard to look for the rainbows when ghosts are nipping on your heels.

How did this concept develop? What was the original germ of the idea? This story was to be the original Gene Simmons House Of Horrors. It was listed in the 2006 Diamond Previews and had quite a bit of buzz surrounding it. But as fate would have it, it did not see the light of day until now. I drew the concept from my own childhood experiences of going to roadside fruit stands with my grandparents while heading to Long Island over the holidays. Also, my brother and my friends would find abandoned houses in Virginia where I grew up while playing in the woods.

What are your major creative influences, both within comics and otherwise? One of my biggest influences would have to be my mother reading Agatha Christie novels to me. She was an English teacher and librarian and her love of books has rubbed off on me. Also Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, and C. S. Lewis.

From a visual perspective, what can readers expect from this project? In your face scary fun. I don’t like blood and guts for the sake of blood and guts. Tim Burton does it best. It should be fun and light. You want real horror, look at the news. The world is better than that. At least the one I see.

Wrap this up with your most hardcore, intense, precise pitch. Why should we buy your comic??? I was very concerned as to whether or not to release this book. Rumor has it that all those who read these tales of horror have been haunted by the wicked stories and some have claimed to have seen the living impaired. So I can not recommend you read this book, I would not wish that fate on anyone. But if you’re feeling brave enough, enter if you dare… into Jazan Wild’s Funhouse Of Horrors!!

It’s getting to be that time of year again…October has arrived, fall is in th air, and that means…CHRISTMAS SEASON!

Naw, just foolin’. Although if you spend any time at big dumb department stores, you probably think it’s about December 24, what with all the holiday crap already flooding the aisles.

Let us not forget that there’s a little something called HALLOWEEN coming before Santa even thinks about hopping on a sleigh. A night for ghouls, goblins, and things that go bump, then stab you through your eye socket repeatedly.

Studio 407 is a new publisher with a slate of horror-tinged books coming out throughout the fall. Night & Fog is just one of them, and we’ll be featuring them all over the next couple months. Here, editor Chad Jones and co-writers Alex Leung and Matt Bradford fill us in on their “monster mash-up.”

In 50 words or less, what’s the gist of your project? Linked to a terrible secret from the past, an accident in a government lab turns a nearby village’s inhabitants into creatures that seem impossible to kill. A small group of survivors must hold out for the night until a special rescue team can arrive and save them from these unstoppable monsters that have not only been made real, but also made to perfection.

Who’s your lead character, and what’s his/her take on the world? Lt. Christopher is the lead character, who is a man with a singular mind and driven with “getting the job done” at all costs. He is not the kind of person that subscribes to ideas such as “fate,” and believes people should take responsibility for their actions and the consequences that result from them. Christopher is a single father loyal to two masters: the US military and his children. He’s determined not only to uphold his sworn military duty to protect the base’s deadly secret, but also to save his children, who are stuck in the heart of the spreading terror.

How did this concept develop? What was the original germ of the idea? This developed from wanting to do a story like Aliens that mixed horror and hard core action. The germ of the idea was doing a modern take on the four classic/gothic horror stories: Dracula, Frankenstien, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Invisibile Man, and doing a monster mash but with only one monster.

More of a “monster mash-up!” Four-in-one. Just as the heroes figure out how to deal with one breed of monster (through some sort of scientific means that reflects the classic means of slaying that creature), their enemy mutates into the next.

What are your major creative influences, both within comics and otherwise? From Alex Leung, co-writer: I have a lot of influnces both comics wise and literary, so it really depends on the particular story or genre I’m working in. For Night and Fog, without a doubt it was the classic Eerie and Creepy comics of the 70’s, Stephen King, Hammer horror films and without a doubt the classic John Carpenter films of the 70’s and 80’s.

From Matt Bradford, co-writer: My biggest influences on Night & Fog were the 60s and 70s Hammer movie incarnations of the classic monsters we’re reinventing. I listened to James Bernard Hammer soundtracks constantly while writing. I loved the idea of blending them into an Aliens brand of modern sci-fi action, but there’s a lot of Jurassic Park in there too. The book is a classic, and the movie stands up so well fifteen years later! That was a big influence both on the tone of the story and on the somewhat believable, pseudo-scientific explanations we came up with for these creatures.

From a visual perspective, what can readers expect from this project? This has a slightly retro-horror look to it, like the classic Bernie Wrigtson horror books, which is why we chose Roberto Castro to work with us. We also specifically went for a 70’s horror feel that you saw in a lot of the classic Marvel horror of the 70’s and the Eerie and Creepy books. Put it together with the JM “the prince of darkness” Ringuet’s atmospheric digital painting, and I think you have a look that successfully blends both past and present styles and fits the story perfectly.

Wrap this up with your most hardcore, intense, precise pitch. Why should we buy your comic??? If you love classic monsters, and want to be terrified anew by them, this is the book for you. The action is intense, the bodycount is high, and horror doesn’t let up. Just as the characters think they know how to slay one breed of creature, it evolves into another more terrifying one. Utter dread sets in as they realize there may be no way to defeat these things…