Richard Corben’s RAT GOD #1 Preview: The Squeamish Reader Gets The Quease…

Posted on January 17, 2015 by geelw

Well, there’s a face only a mother could love, huh? Dark Horse Comics is going to be publishing Richard Corben‘s latest work, RAT GOD in February. Here’s a sneak peek of the first five pages plus the cover to issue #2 of this three issue limited series. Corben’s ink work has grown a lot more uniquely stylized over time, but still works excellently in conveying his storytelling skill. The story is Lovecraft inspired with a Native American twist and from the teaser below, seems on par with some of Corben’s older work for assorted Warren magazines back in the 70’s.

A little synopsis for you if you’re now curiouser:

There’s something in the woods… Eisner Award Hall of Famer Richard Corben is set to deliver an original backwoods tale of terror inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.

Terrible things stalk the forests outside Arkham in this chilling series from comics master Richard Corben! An arrogant city slicker on a quest to uncover the background of a young woman from the backwoods finds horrors beyond imagining, combining Lovecraftian mutations with Native American legends.

And since you’ve been good, take a peek at the cover to issue 3 (if you dare!). Now that you’re hooked in, each issue will be available at your nearest comic emporium for $3.99. Issue one should be in stores February 4, 2015 with March and April ship dates for the remaining issues.

READS: Kirby’s Kamandi Gets The IDW Artist’s Edition Treatment

Posted on January 9, 2015 by geelw

This may, IDW Publishing will be rolling out another Jack Kirby Artist’s Edition, this time featuring his classic post-apocalytic Last Boy on Earth, Kamandi. The 160-page book will measure 12 x 17 inches and feature issues 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9, along with additional covers and other bonus material. Fans of the King’s artwork will get to see it published in actual size from color scans that show every detail and correction. A close look at that cover shows a great example of composite art, with a photostat of the titular hero placed on top of that Statue of Liberty background. That’s how it was done in the pre-computer art age, kids! Anyway, pricing on this book is TBA, but if previous Artist’s Editions are any indication, expect to pay somewhere between $125 and $150 for this one.

READS: Kirby’s Mister Miracle Gets The Artist’s Edition Treatment

Posted on November 5, 2014 by geelw

Jack Kirby’s post-Marvel career was prolific and in some ways, even busier than his time at the House of Ideas. Unfettered by much of what annoyed him while at Marvel, the King got to create new characters and worlds that he had more complete control over and even picked up a lousy-selling book and made it a showcase for his wild ideas.

One of his more unusual books in his four-comic Fourth World series was Mister Miracle, which lasted a mere 18 issues, but was pack to the gills with Kirby’s super-stylized artwork (for much of the run) and powerful plots packed with panache. Wait, I’m kind of sounding like Stan the Man there for a minute, huh?

Anyway, once again it’s IDW Publishing to the rescue with another lovely hardcover Artist’s Edition that collects seven issues of Kirby’s run on the series (#2, #3, and #5-9) in the premium 12″ x 17″ Artist’s Edition format color scanned from the original art. The book isn’t set to be in stores or online until January 2015, but it’s a must for Kirby fans as well as comic art fans who want to see Jack’s art at full size and in glorious black and white. Pricing should be around $139.99 or less, depending where you shop.

Image courtesy previewsworld.com

I kind of like this cover better than the top image, but that’s just me. That and I wonder how well a Mister Miracle movie would go over if it combined Kirby’s Fourth World wildness with the “hiding in plain sight in surburia” from the 1987 one-shot and 1989 series revival. Hmmm… it’s too bad I can’t write up a script treatment, as I have a ton of ideas now floating in my head.

READS: The Art of Living Dead Dolls

Posted on November 3, 2014 by geelw

The first thing that struck me about Mezco Press’ The Art of Living Dead Dolls ($20.00) was that the great Basil Gogos is still among the living. The 78-page magazine-sized trade paperback has an energetic intro from the master monster painter himself to kick things off before the parade of awesome pro and fan art to follow. Granted, it would have been really great to see a Gogos version of a Living Dead Doll here. But just knowing the man is still around made me smile and reminisce about some of his stellar horror covers for Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine back in the 60’s.

The assorted art ranges from surprisingly cute to genuinely disturbing and you’ll see pieces from illustrators such as Joshua Hoffine, Angus Oblong, Dan Brereton, Yuki Abiko, Emily Yishizawa, Michael Pasquale, Rotten Orange, Stephen Blickenstaff, Shelby Vogal, and others. The different interpretations of dolls from the Guinness Book of World Records-holding lineup shows how they’ve inspired each artist in creating their memorable works. My personal favorite doll is knife-wielding Sadie, with her odd eyes and simple black dress. She’s very well represented here in a number of nice drawings and paintings, but I’m betting fans will find their favorites here among the pages of this coffee table tome. Or is that coffin table? Mua-ha-ha-haaaaa!

After the eyeful that is the pro gallery, there’s a few pages of nice fan art, again in many different styles. The book closes out with some great tattoo work fans have photographed and sent in to be immortalized in print forever like the images on their skin. As this is more of an artistic celebration, the book isn’t exactly text-heavy brain food at all. Those who want an entire history of the doll line will want to also pop on over to the official Living Dead Dolls site to discover more about these creepy collectibles and see how the lineup has changed over the years. Longtime to recent LDD fans will eat this book up and yes, it makes a great gift if you’re giving someone one of the dolls this year (or whenever) and need a nice bonus to add to that horror-themed holiday/birthday/other occassion gift box.

IDW’s Marvel Covers Artist’s Edition: The Next (& Least Expensive) Best Thing To Owning The Originals

Posted on October 3, 2014 by geelw

If you owned just one of the pieces of cover art found in this latest must-buy Artist’s Edition, you’d probably be able to buy up every copy of the book directly from IDW and hand them out as really awesome holiday or other surprise gifts. Thankfully, you don’t own any of this artwork or it wouldn’t have made it into the book at all, right? Anyway, this excellent 144-page tome of Marvel Comics history (scanned and printed full size) will only set you back $100, which is a STEAL if you love comic art and want to see plenty of key covers from the 60’s onward. If you happen to want to buy me a copy of this tome o’ joy, I wouldn’t stop you at all either, you know. Just don’t tell me you’re doing that, though – I like surprises on occasion…

IDW’s John Buscema’s Artist’s Edition: This October Surprise Is A Must-Buy For Silver Age Fans

Posted on September 2, 2014 by geelw

Three words: Oh Hell Yeah. This 12 x 17 Artist’s Edition is a MUST for anyone into John Buscema’s art at its best (at least in my opinion). This collection isn’t the COMPLETE run of his on The Silver Surfer, just issues 5, 6 and 8 for your perusal. Nevertheless, this scanned and printed actual-size from the original art limited edition should sell out quickly at comic shops and online retailers that carry it. Sure, these over-sized collections are expensive, but this one’s WELL worth the price, folks. Buy two if you can and make sure one has my name on it when you’re wrapping up that gift!

Yeah, I Want To Get Into Ditko’s Shorts, Too!

Posted on August 25, 2014 by geelw

Yeah, I want IN, dammit. Some of Steve Ditko’s horror work used to scare the crap out of me as a kid, so getting the chance to see a bunch of it (along with other genre quickies) in one collection is a great thing for me. And YOU, if you’re also a fan of the man’s work. No, I’m NOT scared of it now, but it’s that brushwork I want to ogle until my eyeballs pop out.

Thanks to Yoe! Books and IDW Publishing, you can grab your own copy of Ditko’s Shorts soon online or from your favorite comics emporium. Buy a second copy and surprise someone with it why don’tcha? Yeah, it’s a SHORT post, too. Ha!

READS: Super Graphic Is A Must For Comics Fans AND Statistics Hounds

Posted on May 21, 2014 by geelw

Writer/editor/designer Tim Leong is a genius, packing all 192 pages of his VERY informative (and a lot more hilarious) new book Super Graphic with graphs and charts and statistics on a wide range of comic book trivia. Ever want to know how much leg Wonder Woman has shown over 70 years? Or how many places in the world (and off it) Tintin has been? How about the difference between cosplay and crossplay? Maybe you’re really curious about How many times the letter “V” was used in each volume of V for Vendetta? Don’t guess, now – buy this book instead!

These and many more answers await in this amazingly cool book which doesn’t use a single illustration from any comic out there. Instead, it’s all an amusing collection of stylized lists and artwork that never fail to entertain, educate and inform with a fine sense of humor throughout.

The book is chock full of serious info as well, but it’s the humor that ties everything together. If you don’t laugh upon seeing the Gotham City Police Department’s Utility Bill (page 154) or the two pages on Why Guys Like The Invisible Woman and Why Guys Like Spider-Man (pages 84 and 85), you may need to go to Doctor Strange and get your head shrunk for a spell. Oh, and that Venn diagram with Stan Lee’s Nicknames for the Marvel Bullpen (pages 68 and 69)? Priceless. Disney and other comic and comic strip characters, manga, anime, animated movies and indie comics also get covered here as well as lots of non-comic, but related info. So if you’re not a member of the Merry Marvel Marching Society or a junior member of the Justice League, you’ll still find a great deal of interesting stuff here to pore over. Pick this up for $18.95 over at the Chronicle Books website.

IDW Brings Cerebus: High Society Into The 21st Century As A Digital A/V Experience

Posted on May 19, 2014 by geelw

“Cerebus means so many things to so many readers, it really is a monumental work of our times,” said Justin Eisinger, IDW’s Senior Editor Books. “Having the opportunity to work with Dave and his team to bring this High Society set to life—and in this form—is a special experience that we’ll never forget. The creator PERFORMING the story?! It’s a hell of a thing.”

One of the more impressive graphic novel runs of the 20th century, Dave Sim’s 300-issue Cerebus may have ended ten years ago, but the assorted “phone book’ reissues have been in demand and the best of them, High Society, is still in the process of getting a major restoration job for what’s looking to be the ultimate version of that critically acclaimed story arc. While you’re waiting, IDW comics and Cerebus author/illustrator Dave Sim have a nifty surprise for you to spend some money on this August. According to the press release:

The Cerebus: High Society Digital Audio/Visual Experience has Dave Sim reading every issue in character—complete with accompanying music and sound effects—while motion effects applied to the story art present the material like you’ve never seen it before. Each issue also includes a section of full Editorial Comments from Sim, giving fans a virtual guided tour of this masterpiece.

Well, wow. And here I thought we were just getting the book in a new edition when I opened that email. Here’s what the inside of that package looks like:

If you’re new to Cerebus, this is where the book hit its stride, as Sim’s formerly mostly comic take on sword and sorcery got serious as it added even more political and social thematic elements into the story as the aardvark ended up at The Regency, a hotel filled with intrigue, secrets and many tales that expanded the character and his supporting cast into the limelight and became a must read when each issue hit the shelves. Interestingly enough, this project started life as a Kickstarter and got fully funded (I missed that boat, by the way), so it seems that Sim and his best known creation are getting both old fans and a whole new generation of them into the series in a grand manner.

Pricing is TBA, but I’m gathering it’ll be somewhat affordable, as Sim hopefully wasn’t being paid by the character for doing all those voices! More on this one in a bit…

Dark Horse Presents Returns In August With Some Killer Tales…

Posted on April 28, 2014 by geelw

Let’s see now: All NEW stories featuring Geof Darrow and Frank Miller’s Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse’s Resident Alien, Brendan McCarthy’s Dream Gang, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Andy Kuhn’s Wrestling with Demons, Damon Gentry and Aaron Conley’s Sabertooth Swordsman, and the return of David Mack’s Kabuki? Yup. 48 pages, five bucks. At a comic shop near you and most likely on Dark Horse Digital, too. Nice.