Review: The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch Omnibus Vol. 1

THE ADVENTURES OF NIKKI HARRIS THE CYBERMATION WITCH OMNIBUS VOL. 1
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics – @candlelightpres

CARTOONIST: Carter Allen
ISBN:  978-0-9895371-0-0; paperback (June 21, 2013)
160pp, Color, $14.95 U.S.

Carter Allen, prolific cartoonist, comic book artist, and graphic novelist, presents the first trade collection of his comic book series, The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch.  Nikki Harris is a comic book character who has made annual appearances in her own comic book series for the last seven years.

The latest Nikki Harris publication is The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch Omnibus Vol. 1.  This full color paperback book reprints The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch 2.0 #1-2, and The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch #3-5.  This includes five stories, several pages of pin-up art, and some character profiles.

In these five comic books, Nikki faces a sci-fi rogue’s gallery of weirdo adversaries.  First, Nikki battles an old Voyd war machine (#1).  Then, she faces Lady Opulent Red in Old Europe (#2).  In the ersatz, Disney World-like Candy Citadel, she smacks sweets with Citizen Cane (#3).  Nikki returns to her alma mater, Grantham Academy, and gets grief from both the bitchy Headmistress and the “mirror image” or a villain from her first issue (#4).  Finally, on the planet, Qua, the “Love Boat” becomes “Die Hard-on-a-boat” when Nikki faces Nautilie (#5).

As a fan of Nikki Harris comic books, I am happy for The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch Omnibus Vol. 1.  It is the best way to read the series, which is still ongoing.  One handy edition, this omnibus captures the graphical, visual, and storytelling elements that make Nikki Harris’ adventures a unique comic book reading experience.

From the exotic quality of the presentation to the quirky, but sparkling sci-fi, Nikki Harris is an ode to the joy of reading a comic book.  This series is the traditional fashioned with the tools of a new medium.  Nikki’s brash personality and cowboy-hero persona are now in one volume, which may (or may not) be enough to hold Nikki fans between issues.

A

www.candlelightpress.com
www.nikkithewitch.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch #5

THE ADVENTURES OF NIKKI HARRIS THE CYBERMATION WITCH #5

CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics – @candlelightpres
CARTOONIST: Carter Allen
24pp, Color, $2.99 US (2013)

Let’s all go on a sea cruise, right?

She can match up with just about any space opera heroine, and she’s back. Nikki Harris, the Cybermation Witch, makes her annual comic book appearance in The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch #5, entitled “Hell on the High Seas.” This time around, Nikki is on a working vacation, but the work turns out to be a bit tougher than she expected.

Nikki Harris has traveled to the planet, Qua. This water world is a “pleasure planet of the colonial worlds,” and is apparently a popular destination with tourists the universe over. Among Qua’s most popular attractions are the hydrocruisers, which are ocean-going party vessels. Nikki has booked passage on one of them, the Pontoppidan.

However, Nikki isn’t onboard just to par-tay. She’s tracking another passenger, Dr. Elias DuHarm, who could lead her to a cabal that supports the Voyd, the alien horde that has invaded Earth. Vacation turns to terror, however, and it’s “Die Hard on a boat,” when Nautilie attacks.

The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch is a digitally-produced comic book series. Writer/artist Carter Allen renders the images, graphics, and texts using a computer and software. Early on in the series, the Nikki Harris comics, visually and graphically, seemed as stiff as early computer-produced comic book efforts (remember Shatter from First Comics?).

The most recent Nikki Harris color comic books are different. The art pops off the page, and even Allen’s compositions, with their Spartan production and design values, occasionally take on an exotic quality. Nikki’s brash personality and cowboy-hero persona come at the reader like one of her combat moves. This quirky, but sparkling sci-fi, super-chick series will grow on you, and you’ll be waiting for next issue.

A

www.candlelightpress.com

www.nikkithewitch.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Graphic Novel Review: LOST IN THE WASH

LOST IN THE WASH OGN
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS – @candlelightpres

WRITER: John Ira Thomas
ARTIST: Will Grant
ISBN: 978-0-9766053-9-3; paperback (February 2013)
214pp, B&W and Color, $19.95 U.S.

About six years ago, writer John Ira Thomas (Zoo Force) and artist Will Grant (The Scrounge Was Here!) first presented Lost in the Wash, a graphic novel in progress. The duo had been publishing Lost in the Wash in chapters and segments in various single-issue editions since 2007. Some of the Lost in the Wash publications were also released as convention exclusives. Now, the gothic horror tale is complete.

Candle Light Press recently released Lost in the Wash as a complete, paperback original graphic novel. In the end, the story, spread out over 189 pages, comes together as an epic of fever dreams and surreal visions. Lost in the Wash is one of the best comic books of the year 2013, and it is also a most uncommon comic book. Readers are unlikely to have seen anything similar to it.

Lost in the Wash is set in the town of Francisco, Colorado, a name the residents changed to “Isco,” in order to remove the suggestion of “France” from the town’s name. As its lead character, Lost in the Wash offers Darin Miles, a down and out loser type who retuned to Isco, the site of hardship and tragedy for his family, looking for a new start. Darin works at his Uncle Sal Miles’ “Laundromat,” which Darin calls “Laundroma” because the light on the letter “t” has gone out. Sal Miles lives in an ominous castle just up the road from the Laundromat. The castle is like a Winchester House construction project onto which Sal keeps building.

Not only does Darin have to deal with his uncle (an unpleasant man, gleefully proud of his offensiveness), but he also has to put up with jerky customers. Then, one day, something wet, wicked, and monstrous pops out of a washer and devours a contrary customer. Darin wonders if this monster in the washers is a good thing, especially if it will rid him of rude customers.

Meanwhile, there are two people, watching from the sidelines. Terisa Salazar, owner of the Asp Motel (formerly Aspen Motel), has a past with Darin. What are her feelings for him, now? Walter “Walt” Arganbright owns the Phoenix and frightens tourists with his scary stories. What does he want and what does he know? It all heads for a showdown at the event called Gothic Colorado.

From the first time I read Lost in the Wash, I found that it reminded me of the horror comics published by Warren Publishing and, especially, by EC Comics. I could see John Ira Thomas and Will Grant as a 21st century iteration of a Harvey Kurtzman-Graham Ingels team-up. If EC Comics had published graphic novels, I think that they were more likely to look like Lost in the Wash than pretty much any horror or dark fantasy titles from Vertigo or IDW.

Thomas transports us into the mind of Darin Miles, an unreliable narrator (of sorts) and then, also makes the point of view of either of three other characters: Sal Miles, Terisa Salazar and Walt Arganbright just as important. However, Thomas doesn’t cheat the reader by confusingly focusing equally on four characters. Just the opposite, he challenges and engages the readers with necessary alternate perspectives of the situation and action and of all characters.

Will Grant, who is an unknown comic book creator, proves that he deserves to be known. In Lost in the Wash, Grant’s art is a testament to the fact that a comic book artist must understand design and page layout just as much as he needs to know how to draw figures and objects. Grant’s M.C. Escher-like graphics and “Ghastly” Ingels-like compositions are a series of mosaics that will challenge your mind into vertigo. However, it is worth the effort to find what’s what in this beautiful comic book art.

Obviously, I like this book… a lot. I’m somewhat mixed about the ending, because I think this graphic novel should only be the end of a chapter, not of the entire story. Lost in the Wash is the beginning of a beautiful fictional world.

I am surprised that neither Thomas nor Grant is producing comic books for DC Comics or Marvel or even the mid-majors like Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and IDW Publishing. Perhaps, neither Thomas nor Grant is interested, or neither has been approached. Still, Lost in the Wash is the calling card; Thomas and Grant are ready, Mr. DeMille, for their close-ups.

A

www.candlelightpress.com

http://candlelightpress.com/litw.html

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: DUB TRUB: “Our World is in Danger Now!”

DUB TRUB: “OUR WORLD IS IN DANGER NOW!”
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics – @candlelightpres

CARTOONIST: Carter Allen
ISBN: 978-0-9766053-7-9; paperback
PIN-UP: Jeremy Smith
108pp, Color, $10.95 U.S.

Dub Trub: “Our World is in Danger Now!” is a 2003 graphic novel from comic book creator, Carter Allen. Allen is a writer/artist and graphic novelist who has produced several comic book series and graphic novels. “Our World is in Danger Now!” is the first in a sci-fi adventure and comic space opera series that follows a pair of enhanced, female super-soldiers, who lead the fight against an extraterrestrial invasion of Earth.

Originally published in black and white, Dub Trub: “Our World is in Danger Now!” returns in a 2012 color edition. The book looks good, because, as I said years ago, Dub Trub should be in color.

The title characters of Dub Trub are Special Agent Red and Special Agent Black. Red is a brunette who wears red sunglasses, and Black is red-haired hellion who wears black shades. Like a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the X-Men’s Rogue, this duo is at the forefront of the fight against the Voyd, an extraterrestrial horde invading Earth. The Voyd essentially leads an interstellar Axis of alien races fighting on their side, such as the Khan’Leb, a mercenary race hired by the Voyd to help with human subjugation. Over land, air, and sea, with visits to the moon, New York City, and Moscow, Red and Black lead the charge in the fight to save Earth and humanity.

Not only have I previously read Dub Trub: “Our World is in Danger Now!,” I have also read the other Dub Trub graphic novels. Reading this color edition of “Our World is in Danger Now!,” however, I feel as if I’ve read it for the first time. The color makes the art pop off the page, and it also makes more obvious how Dub Trub relates to other science fiction, fantasy, and comic book works.

With the debut of new versions of such characters as Flash (1956) and Green Lantern (1959), the DC Comics of what is called the Silver Age of comics had a Space Age quality to it. It was a kind of futuristic, forward-looking attitude that remains with the publisher to this day. In terms of story and art, Dub Trub seems like a neo-Silver Age DC comic book. I can imagine Gil Kane and Julius Schwartz tinkering with this book.

Carter Allen also recalls World War II-era comic books with the Voyd ably stepping in for Nazi Germany and the Axis. In the last of the book’s four chapters, Allen juxtaposes WWII-like propaganda with the story of a lonely and weary foot soldier. I never thought of these things when I first read this book, but color brings out so much more subtext and layers to the story.

If you have not before, here is another chance to read Dub Trub: “Our World is in Danger Now!” It’s certainly prettier than before.

A

www.candlelightpress.com
www.dubtrub.com
www.warningcomics.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: MEGACONTEMPLATIONS: a fragmenta fable

MEGACONTEMPLATIONS: A FRAGMENTA FABLE
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS

WRITER/ARTIST: John Ira Thomas
32pp, (8.4” x 10.9”) Color, $9.00

Writer, editor, and publisher John Ira Thomas has published several graphic novels through Candle Light Press, the small publishing house he owns with a few friends. For the last few years, he has published, Fragmenta, a series of magazines/books (mooks) offering readers a look at his creative process. The fourth Fragmenta, Megacontemplations: a fragmenta fable, is a bit different.

Over three decades ago, young Mr. Thomas was in Sunday school, when he was asked to making a drawing that reflected what he and his classmates had learned that day. What Li’l John Ira drew would be considered blasphemous or rude if drawn by an adult, but from the point of view of a child, the drawing is both cute and startling. [Clink on the link below to get a large-sized view of the original drawing – Page 1].

Years later, he drew a second image, somewhat related to the first, for his frequent collaborator and friend, the superb comic book artist and illustrator, Jeremy Smith. [Clink on the second link below to see a large-sized view of that second drawing.] The new page took the inspiration of the childhood drawing (apparently the Holy Bible – 2 Kings 17:26) and moves the idea in another direction.

At the 2012 MegaCon, Thomas decided to see what else could happen in this story he started over 30 years earlier. So, this is my interpretation. The god of a particular king goes into a lion’s body, but later the lion is redeemed while the god falls (or falls injured). The light emanating from the lion sets in motion the selfish acts of the Grey Kings and thus, begins another journey – to redemption and the healing of a god or to self-induced destruction.

Megacontemplations leaves the readers to their own mental devices. It is like a picture book for adults, but drawn in a faux-crude, childlike style, and it reminds me of a handmade book or comic. It is a fable that reads like micro-sized high fantasy wearing the short pants of children’s literature: Tolkien arm wrestles Lewis on Aesop’s turf.

You might say that Megacontemplations is one of those evil books that “puts ideas in your head.” Reading it sparked my imagination and sent it on flights of fancy. You can’t ask more of that from a book, and if you can, it’s because you don’t like to read.

A-

Visit the CLP store: http://candlelightpress.com/frag4.html
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Review: THE ARTWORK OF CARTER ALLEN, VOL. 2

ALL THESE WORLDS: THE ARTWORK OF CARTER ALLEN, VOL. 2
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/WARNING COMICS

ARTIST: Carter Allen
24pp, Color, $5

Prolific writer/artist, cartoonist, and graphic novelist, Carter Allen, has produced a sequel to his art book, All These Worlds: The Artwork of Carter Allen. It is entitled Galaxy Girls and Hell Hounds: All These Worlds, The Artwork of Carter Allen, Vol. 2.

Galaxy Girls and Hell Hounds is about “nose art.” Nose art is essentially graffiti on airplanes. Nose art is painted on the fuselage of military aircraft, usually near the nose of the craft. The most familiar nose art is probably the art featured on aircraft during World War II. There was pin-up “girlie” art like that on the Memphis Belle and. There was also pin-up art depicting real-life figures like Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.

Dub Trub, a graphic novel series, and The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch, a comic book series, are two titles by Carter Allen which share a universe. In this universe, the Voyd, an alien race, invade Earth. Humanity fights back with countless space fighters leading the charge. Galaxy Girls and Hell Hounds showcases the nose art that adorn fighter craft, which includes heavenly pin-ups, as well as cartoons depicting kick-ass soldier boys and other fighting types.

Of course, Galaxy Girls and Hell Hounds: All These Worlds, The Artwork of Carter Allen, Vol. 2 is a faux art book. While reading any of the Dub Trub graphic novels, I never noticed nose art on fighter craft, but since there are fighter craft, I suppose that the Dub Trub’s pilots would follow our real-world tradition of painting images on the nose of their glorious flying machines.

Like the first volume of All These Worlds, the second volume, Galaxy Girls and Hell Hounds, shows off Allen’s brand and style of good girl art. I’m always surprised how he uses computer art to turn photographic models into shiny vinyl goddesses and ice cream fantasies. My favorite piece is the space craft on the first page, which is as slick and as cool and as the sexy pin-ups.

Galaxy Girls and Hell Hounds: All These Worlds, The Artwork of Carter Allen, Vol. 2 is like the first book. Both are nice primers and entry points into the futuristic and funky world of Carter Allen.

This book is available for sale at http://www.candlelightpress.com/shop.htm

Review: THE ADVENTURES OF NIKKI HARRIS THE CYBERMATION WITCH #4

"Back to School"
THE ADVENTURES OF NIKKI HARRIS THE CYBERMATION WITCH #4
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS/Warning Comics
 
CARTOONIST: Carter Allen
40pp, Color, $5.00 US

The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch is a comic book series published by Candle Light Press. The series is created by illustrator and graphic novelist Carter Allen. Allen has created the Dub Trub series, the Man is Vox series (with writer John Ira Thomas), and produced the graphic novels, Atlanta and And the Sky Turned White…

After nearly two years since her last comic book, Nikki Harris, the Cybermation Witch, returns. The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch #4 (entitled “School Daze”) finds Nikki returning to her alma mater, Grantham Academy. This college is located in New Paris, a city on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons.

Grantham is considered one of the finest schools devoted to the teaching of Cybermation, and Nikki has been invited to be a visiting professor. Nikki is also reunited with Jeanie Carlisle, the younger sister of Annie Carlisle, Nikki’s now-deceased best friend. Not everyone is happy to see Nikki at Grantham, however, as the bitchy Headmistress goes out of her way to antagonize our heroine. There is also something sinister going on at Grantham, and it may be too powerful for even a Cybermation Witch to handle.

Writer/artist Carter Allen produces the images, graphics, and texts that become the art of The Adventures of Nikki Harris comic book digitally. With each issue, I’ve noticed that the production values and quality of the graphics has improved. This fourth issue is an ice cream fantasia of hot pinks and fluffy cotton candy pinks. Black vinyl reflects white in every direction, and red and gold explode to depict energy blasts.

Like previous issues, The Adventures of Nikki Harris the Cybermation Witch #4 is a self-contained, single-issue story. “School Daze” is pretty much like other Nikki Harris tales, but in this latest issue, the dialogue is sharper, and Allen pays a little more attention to detail. For instance, there is a surprising explanation of “Cybermation” that makes as much sense as most explanations for magic and super powers in other comic books.

This is also a larger than usual issue of The Adventures of Nikki Harris (40 pages instead of the usual 24), and it still seemed too short for me. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait another two years before Nikki returns. This quirky, but sparkling sci-fi, super-chick series will grow on you.

Visit the CLP store: http://www.candlelightpress.com/shop.htm

Leroy Douresseaux on FRAGMENTA 3: On the Record

FRAGMENTA 3: ON THE RECORD
CANDLE LIGHT PRESS

WRITER: John Ira Thomas
ARTISTS: Carter Allen, Jeremy Smith
56pp, Color, $7.00

I am a big fan of the comics, graphic novels, and various publications put out by Candle Light Press. Go read Zoo Force/Not Zoo Force.

In recent years, Candle Light Press and its leading man of letters, John Ira Thomas, have published small mooks (magazine/book) collecting odds and ends concerning CLP’s comics, graphic novels, aborted projects, etc. Those include Fragmenta: The Art of the Writer and Fragmenta 2: Cross Nurses & Agile Clothes.

Fragmenta 2, from Thomas and artist Will Beard, focused on stories that never made it all the way to finished form as a comic book or graphic novel. Thomas also shared his aborted attempts to create horror comics that capture the feel of cheap movies, especially horror/exploitation movies. It’s a must have.

Now, comes Fragmenta 3: On the Record. It’s a bit different. Fragmenta 3 is part script book, part history, and part transcripts based on recordings (record LPs). The material inside is based on real creators, real events, and fictional characters from actual comic books and graphic novels. The content of Fragmenta 3, however, is not necessarily based on actual published works.

Readers who are familiar with CLP’s comics and graphic novels will love Fragmenta 3. The opening two pages are a history of and manifesto about comic book creators dealing with Hollywood. It’s fun to read, and makes a lot of good points about staying true to the characters and what that means for creators, fans, and media rights holders. For me, reading the scripts was like experiencing old time radio programs, but since I am a fan of old time radio, perhaps, I’m just projecting my favorite things onto Fragmenta 3.

Like most anything Candle Light Press publishes, Fragmenta 3: On the Record is smart, funny, engaging, and simply a good read.

A-

Visit the CLP store: http://candlelightpress.com/shopper/
http://www.candlelightpress.com/

I Reads You Review: LOST IN THE WASH “THE FIRST HALF”

Creators: John Ira Thomas (writer) and Will Grant (artist)
Publishing Information: Candle Light Press, B&W, paperback, 72pp












Ordering information: http://www.candlelightpress.com/

Lost in the Wash: “The First Half” contains the first two chapters of Lost in the Wash, “Presoak” and “Agitate.” LitW is a graphic novel from writer John Ira Thomas (Zoo Force) and artist Will Grant (The Scrounge Was Here!). I first read and reviewed this book for the Comic Book Bin: (http://www.comicbookbin.com/lostinthewash001.html) back in September 2007. I just read it again in preparation for reading the latest installment, Lost in the Wash: 2010 Lint Trap Edition. Reading it again allowed me to catch some things I missed the first time around, and now, I must admit to liking it even more.

Lost in the Wash is set in the town of Isco (formerly Francisco until “patriotic” locals removed the “France” from the name). The story focuses on Darin, a down and out 20 or 30-something who works at his uncle’s Laundromat. Darin comes across as a loser, but his uncle IS an asshole. The Laundromat’s customers tend to be white trash jerk-offs who give Darin a hard time. Then, one day, something wet, wicked, and monstrous pops out of a washer and devours a tiresome customer. Darin decides that a monster in the washers is a good thing, especially if it will rid him of his main problem – rude customers.

This water, elemental thing isn’t the only thing haunting Darin. Terisa Salazar, a local motel proprietress, operates a haunted tour called, Gothic Colorado, for the tourists/suckers that pass through Isco. Terisa is also a figure from Darin’s past, and meeting her again leads to Darin wanting to know the truth about his parents and about a childhood accident, although he may not like how ugly this truth gets.

Lost in the Wash: “The First Half,” for me at least, recalls the spirit of the horror comics published by EC Comics in the 1950s and by Warren Publishing from the 1960s to the 70s. It’s as if EC artist Graham “Ghastly” Ingels’ tortured spirit inhabits the imagination and drawing hand of Will Grant. Grant can draw horror comic books with the best of ‘em – even those pros drawing for Vertigo, IDW and whatever publishers still doing scary books.

John Ira Thomas’ clever script always keeps the reader guessing, and his dialogue, with its layers and subtexts, adds richness to this raw tale. Thomas, through his narrative, tends to promise more to come with each page, and Lost in the Wash: “The First Half” is promising some good stuff to come.

A-