Star Wars: Legacy-War #3 cover by Brad Anderson.
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #2 cover by Tsuneo Sanda.
Conan: Road of Kings #3 cover by Doug Wheatley.
*Buy Darth Talon toys at eBay.
Showing posts with label dark horse comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dark horse comics. Show all posts
Best covers: Dark Horse Comics solicitations for February 2011
Dark Horse Comics solicitations for February 2011:
Star Wars: Legacy-War #3 cover by Brad Anderson.
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #2 cover by Tsuneo Sanda.
Conan: Road of Kings #3 cover by Doug Wheatley.
*Buy Darth Talon toys at eBay.
Star Wars: Legacy-War #3 cover by Brad Anderson.
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #2 cover by Tsuneo Sanda.
Conan: Road of Kings #3 cover by Doug Wheatley.
*Buy Darth Talon toys at eBay.
Doctor Solar vs. a Giant Golden Minotaur (and more)
My favorite covers from the Dark Horse solicitations for October, 2010:
Doctor Solar #3 cover by Michael Komarck:
Fear Agent #31 cover by Tony Moore (?).
Hellboy/Beasts of Burden cover by Jill Thompson
Magnus, Robot Fighter Volume 1
Star Wars: Invasion-Rescues #5 cover by Wes Dzioba (?).
Star Wars: The Old Republic #4 cover by Benjamin Carré (?).
*At Toycutter: Valiant Comics custom action action figures.
*Buy KOTOR toys at eBay.
Doctor Solar #3 cover by Michael Komarck:
The dark god Moloch the Devourer pits his demonic hellfire against the thermonuclear fury of Doctor Solar. Whitmore Pickerel, whose power to bring his imagination into existence unleashed the Devourer, conjures the mighty sun-god Surya for protection. But instead, Surya bows before Moloch, and the Man of the Atom faces cosmic-scale war on a second front. With the power of Solar pitted against the god of the sun, can the planet survive?
Fear Agent #31 cover by Tony Moore (?).
Hellboy/Beasts of Burden cover by Jill Thompson
Magnus, Robot Fighter Volume 1
Star Wars: Invasion-Rescues #5 cover by Wes Dzioba (?).
Star Wars: The Old Republic #4 cover by Benjamin Carré (?).
*At Toycutter: Valiant Comics custom action action figures.
*Buy KOTOR toys at eBay.
Here's Magnus (and Solar) in action
I mentioned earlier today that I was hoping to see new comics featuring Magnus, Robot Fighter. Not familiar with Magnus? He's basically a futuristic version of Tarzan - - raised by a robot in the year 4000, he uses his superior martial arts skill to fight robots who would otherwise enslave Eloi-like humans. And he wears a dress, so it takes a lot of work by the artist to preserve his dignity:
Anyway, he and Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom, will star in a flipbook available on Free Comic Book Day. Courtesy of Dark Horse, here's a look:
Also, speaking of Dark Horse, they're currently giving away manga.
*At Toycutter: Valiant Comics custom action figures.
*Buy Magnus, Robot Fighter comics at Amazon.
Anyway, he and Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom, will star in a flipbook available on Free Comic Book Day. Courtesy of Dark Horse, here's a look:
Also, speaking of Dark Horse, they're currently giving away manga.
*At Toycutter: Valiant Comics custom action figures.
*Buy Magnus, Robot Fighter comics at Amazon.
BPRD's success, summarized by John Arcudi
In the afterword to BPRD Volume 8: Killing Ground, John Arcudi nicely summarizes why BPRD is so good, and why the offerings from DC and Marvel so, so stale:
See, [Mike Mignola] didn't bring me on to help him create trademarks that were to be exploited and safeguarded in perpetuity. He didn't want a status quo for the team. He didn't want stagnation. His goal, our goal, was for us to develop characters that would be complex and interesting enough to generate their own stories. And, if we were lucky, the stories would be interesting enough to attract readers.BPRD Volume 8 is tremendous, and 32% off at Amazon.
Guy Davis' monsters
CBR has an interview with Guy Davis about monster design, and the post includes lots and lots of Davis' sketches. I really disliked Davis' art at first, but now I enjoy his BPRD stories more than those drawn by Mignola.
*Previously: Guy Davis draws Robot 6's mascot.
*Buy Hellboy toys at eBay.
Rafael Grampa's Mesmo Delivery
I wish Dark Horse would ensure that its comics featured better covers (see previously Grandville, Goon). Check out this cover for Rafael Grampa's Mesmo Delivery:
There's too much going on, the wings look like a brown smear, and is there anyone who sees the creepy cigarette smoker and thinks, "Yes, I want to know more about him?" You'd buy this comic only in spite of the cover.
But now look at these pages. Terrific, right?
Here's the official description:
There's also a fan art blog.
There's too much going on, the wings look like a brown smear, and is there anyone who sees the creepy cigarette smoker and thinks, "Yes, I want to know more about him?" You'd buy this comic only in spite of the cover.
But now look at these pages. Terrific, right?
Here's the official description:
When the Mesmo Delivery truck rolls into town, a heap of trouble is sure to follow.$10 at Amazon.
Eisner Award-winning artist Rafael Grampá (5, Hellblazer) makes his full-length comics debut with the critically acclaimed graphic novel Mesmo Delivery -- a kinetic, bloody romp starring Rufo, an ex-boxer; Sangrecco, an Elvis impersonator; and a ragtag crew of overly confident drunks who pick the wrong delivery men to mess with.
Mesmo Delivery features an extended sketchbook section from creator Rafael Grampá and pinups from top comics creators Eduardo Risso, Mike Allred, Craig Thompson, and Fabio Moon! Introduction by Brian Azzarello.
There's also a fan art blog.
Michael Chiklis as The Goon (link roundup)
Michael Chiklis as the Goon concept art by Nicholas Collings.
And a few more links:
1. Where the Wild Things Are cake.
2. Star Wars Build-A-Bears. Via.
3. Mark Cuban suggests he'd be willing to offer a prize to people who send him a lot of Twitter followers. (Not that I'd recommend it - - his Twitter feed is exactly the type I hate, inane comments mixed with links to his own blog.)
*Previously: Little Plush Max.
*Buy Where the Wild Things Are toys at eBay.
Bowling cupcakes (link roundup)
Bowling-themed cupcakes by Naomi.
And a few more links:
1. Spaceboy fan art (Umbrella Academy).
2. Found item orrery.
3. Humpty Dumpty Pinewood Derby Racer.
*Previously: Logo for Bowling Thunder.
*Buy Umbrella Academy toys at eBay.
Review roundup
I was beginning to think that I was simply not interested in modern comics anymore. The last few I read were:
-Secret Invasion: I expected a story about subtlety and betrayal. I got eight issues of heroes hitting lookalikes in the face. The Embrace Change ads were good, though.
-Ultimates 3: Were Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira given the task of making a comic so bad that no one would ever look fondly on Millar and Hitch’s Ultimates run again?
-Batman RIP: The kind of comic you immediately put up for resale on Amazon when you finish it. And then you feel guilty when you see someone else has bought it. Devoid of merit, aside from maybe a panel or two featuring Bat-Mite.
-Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader: Fine, I guess, but the same concept was done much better by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday in Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth.
But, it turns out that I’m simply lousy at picking comics for myself. I received a few tremendous Dark Horse Comics to review.
Grandville: This one started with two strikes against it. First, the last Talbot comic I read was Alice in Sunderland, which was a chore to read. Second, wow, what a horrendous cover. It misleadingly makes it look like Grandville is a black and white comic about some stupid looking badger-man. The cover really does a disservice to the comic, which is excellent, and in color. Imagine a steampunk version of 24, where almost all of the characters are anthropomorphic animals. The art is solid, the story is good, and the use of animal-people makes a relatively overused concept feel fresh. This is what the reimagined version of Sherlock Holmes should be (maybe aside from the animal-people). $12 at Amazon.
The Goon in Calamity of Conscience: I’ve never tried a Goon comic before because the main character looked so lame to me. But this was excellent. Sort of like a cross between the absurd world of Beetlejuice and the gritty plots of Sin City. It took me maybe half the book to really get used to it, because the world is so strange, and there’s no introduction or exposition to help new readers get their footing. But once I started to comprehend the rules of the Goon’s universe, and figure out who the characters were, I found that I loved it, and quickly reread the whole thing. Even the introduction was unusually good - - Steve Niles tells of how he befriended Eric Powell when they were both trying to break into comics, and Niles spotted a cybernetic gorilla sketch by Powell on eBay. I’m absolutely going to buy more volumes of Goon. Definitely another example of a comic book betrayed by a weak cover. $10 at Amazon.
3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man: An excellent comic for people who aren’t interested in super heroes. 3 Story is a coming of age tale set during the Cold War, about a boy who grows very, very tall, becomes a spy, and finds love, albeit briefly. Good art, good story. I'd describe it as a melancholy version of Planetary. $13 at Amazon.
Coincidentally, author/artist Matt Kindt recently posted some commissions he had completed, including a propaganda image for the Green Lantern Corps. And Amazon also recently posted a review of 3 Story.
Mister X: Condemned: The kind of comic where a redheaded city planner named “Roark” eats at a restaurant that looks suspiciously like the Nighthawks diner. The plot is about a serial killer loose in a city designed by architect/cultists and built by robots. The various architects subscribe to incompatible ideologies, and as a result, everyone living in the city has developed exotic mental problems. Good enough that I’ll look for more work from Dean Motter in the future, but Mister X is not quite as good as the other comics I’ve mentioned above. The story-telling felt a little rushed. $10 at Amazon.
Finally, I noticed that Motter also has an Alice in Wonderland-themed art book called Through the Glass Darkly on sale at Amazon.
*Previously: American McGee's Alice cosplay.
*Buy Alice in Wonderland toys at eBay.
-Secret Invasion: I expected a story about subtlety and betrayal. I got eight issues of heroes hitting lookalikes in the face. The Embrace Change ads were good, though.
-Ultimates 3: Were Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira given the task of making a comic so bad that no one would ever look fondly on Millar and Hitch’s Ultimates run again?
-Batman RIP: The kind of comic you immediately put up for resale on Amazon when you finish it. And then you feel guilty when you see someone else has bought it. Devoid of merit, aside from maybe a panel or two featuring Bat-Mite.
-Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader: Fine, I guess, but the same concept was done much better by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday in Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth.
But, it turns out that I’m simply lousy at picking comics for myself. I received a few tremendous Dark Horse Comics to review.
Grandville: This one started with two strikes against it. First, the last Talbot comic I read was Alice in Sunderland, which was a chore to read. Second, wow, what a horrendous cover. It misleadingly makes it look like Grandville is a black and white comic about some stupid looking badger-man. The cover really does a disservice to the comic, which is excellent, and in color. Imagine a steampunk version of 24, where almost all of the characters are anthropomorphic animals. The art is solid, the story is good, and the use of animal-people makes a relatively overused concept feel fresh. This is what the reimagined version of Sherlock Holmes should be (maybe aside from the animal-people). $12 at Amazon.
The Goon in Calamity of Conscience: I’ve never tried a Goon comic before because the main character looked so lame to me. But this was excellent. Sort of like a cross between the absurd world of Beetlejuice and the gritty plots of Sin City. It took me maybe half the book to really get used to it, because the world is so strange, and there’s no introduction or exposition to help new readers get their footing. But once I started to comprehend the rules of the Goon’s universe, and figure out who the characters were, I found that I loved it, and quickly reread the whole thing. Even the introduction was unusually good - - Steve Niles tells of how he befriended Eric Powell when they were both trying to break into comics, and Niles spotted a cybernetic gorilla sketch by Powell on eBay. I’m absolutely going to buy more volumes of Goon. Definitely another example of a comic book betrayed by a weak cover. $10 at Amazon.
3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man: An excellent comic for people who aren’t interested in super heroes. 3 Story is a coming of age tale set during the Cold War, about a boy who grows very, very tall, becomes a spy, and finds love, albeit briefly. Good art, good story. I'd describe it as a melancholy version of Planetary. $13 at Amazon.
Coincidentally, author/artist Matt Kindt recently posted some commissions he had completed, including a propaganda image for the Green Lantern Corps. And Amazon also recently posted a review of 3 Story.
Mister X: Condemned: The kind of comic where a redheaded city planner named “Roark” eats at a restaurant that looks suspiciously like the Nighthawks diner. The plot is about a serial killer loose in a city designed by architect/cultists and built by robots. The various architects subscribe to incompatible ideologies, and as a result, everyone living in the city has developed exotic mental problems. Good enough that I’ll look for more work from Dean Motter in the future, but Mister X is not quite as good as the other comics I’ve mentioned above. The story-telling felt a little rushed. $10 at Amazon.
Finally, I noticed that Motter also has an Alice in Wonderland-themed art book called Through the Glass Darkly on sale at Amazon.
*Previously: American McGee's Alice cosplay.
*Buy Alice in Wonderland toys at eBay.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
