Wizard World New Orleans Programming Schedule

James Marsters Concert, “Buffyfest,” Billy Dee Williams, “Batman” Panels, Lou Gossett Jr. Spotlight, Live Art Show/After Party Highlight New Orleans Comic Con Programming

Julie Benz, Ray Park, “Walking Dead” Q&A's, Artist Schools Also On Tap This Weekend

NEW ORLEANS, January 19, 2011 – Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con today announced its diverse programming schedule, featuring a James Marsters concert, unique celebrity Q&A's, artist schools, costume contests and more for the event, set for Saturday and Sunday at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Some of the highlights include:

A live concert featuring singer-songwriter-actor James Marsters

“Wizard Spotlight” with legendary actor Louis Gossett Jr.

Rare Q&A panels with Marsters, Julie Benz and Ray Park, as well as popular Comic Con guests Billy Dee Williams, Walter Koenig, Adam West and Burt Ward

Two “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer” panels, featuring twins Nicholas Brendon and Kelly Donovon, and Clare Kramer and James Charles Leary

‘Walking Dead’ Q&A with stars Chandler Riggs, Keisha Tillis and Adrian Kali Turner

Wizard Art School and Q&A's featuring leading artists like David Mack, Bill Sinkiewicz, Cameron Stewart, Kevin Maguire, Yanick Paquette, Phil Jimenez and others

Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con Live Art Show and After Party with Kody Chamberlain and Rob Guillory at Hey! Cafe (4332 Magazine St.)

The popular adult costume contest and fun kids costume contest with great prizes

Standard New Orleans Comic Con programming will take place in Room A and Room B at Hall H of the Morial Convention Center. All programming is included with admission to the event, with the exception of the James Marsters Concert, which requires an additional ticket. Seating for panels is strictly limited and available on a first come first serve basis and each room will be cleared between panels. The full schedule is below:

Saturday

11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
WHO WANTS TO BE ON A REALITY SHOW? W/ JARRETT CRIPPEN ‘THE DEFUSER’
Have you ever wanted to be on a reality show? Are you curious as to what the producers are looking for? Come get inside tips about reality shows and what it takes to win from the winner of Stan Lee’s “Who Wants to be a Superhero?” Season II. The Defuser (Jarrett Crippen) will talk about and answer questions regarding the audition process, competition, living conditions and other topics related to his show and reality shows in general. (Room B)

12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
JAMES MARSTERS Q&A
Best known for his role as Spike, the platinum blonde vampire on hit shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” James Marsters answers questions about everything from his evolution from acting to music and back, and the projects he plans to conquer in the next few years. (Room A)

WIZARD ART SCHOOL W/ DAVID MACK AND BILL SIENKIEWICZ
Legendary artists and long-time friends David Mack (Kabuki) and Bill Sienkiewicz (Batman: The Widening Gyre covers) unite for this insider look at their art processes, and give advice and their personal dos and don’ts of the trade to new creators interested in sequential storytelling. (Room B)

1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS Q&A
Lando lands at New Orleans Comic Con, as the coolest man in Star Wars history sits down to take fan questions. (Room A)

THE ART OF ‘CHEW’ AND ‘SWEETS’
Indie art sensations Kody Chamberlain (Sweets) and Rob Guillory (Chew) join the Wizard World Comic Con Tour and discuss their breakout Image hits. (Room B)

2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
BUFFYFEST Q&A W/ NICHOLAS BRENDON AND KELLY DONOVAN
Buffy’s “Xander Harris” sits down with his sinister twin brother to take fan questions about life during and after the pop culture phenomenon. (Room A)

WIZARD ART SCHOOL W/ CAMERON STEWART, KEVIN MAGUIRE AND YANICK PAQUETTE
Three of comics most renowned storytellers—Cameron Stewart (Batman & Robin), Kevin Maguire (Justice League International) and Yanick Paquette (Batman, Inc.)—discuss art, storytelling and working with collaborators in the digital age. (Room B)

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
BUFFYFEST Q&A W/ CLARE KRAMER AND JAMES CHARLES LEARY
Join “Buffy” stars Clare Kramer (Glory) and James Charles Leary (Clem) as the duo discuss the behind the scenes shenanigans and fun of shooting one of pop culture’s biggest hits. (Room A)

VICTOR GISCHLER Q&A
Famed novelist (Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse) and comic book scribe Victor Gischler (X-Men: Curse of the Mutants) talks about his recent runs on X-Men and Deadpool as well as his novel background and his rise in comics. (Room B)

4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
BATMAN AND ROBIN Q&A W/ ADAM WEST AND BURT WARD
The original ’60s “Dynamic Duo” re-teams for this one-of-a-kind Q&A, where Batman and Robin drop their masks and talk about their lady co-stars, the villains they faced and the wild nights after the show! (Room A)

SUPERSTARS OF WRESTLING
W/ KEVIN NASH
Professional grappler Kevin Nash pile drives and body slams your questions into the mat! (Room B)

5:00 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
AARON DOUGLAS Q&A
Best known for his role on “Battlestar Galactica” as Chief Galen Tyrol, Aaron Douglas can now be seen on “Hellcats” on The CW, and here he answers all your questions during this exclusive Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con session. (Room A)

THE SOUND OF MUSICAL INTERLUDE W/ ETHAN VAN SCIVER
The halls are alive with the sound of…“music.” Ethan Van Sciver (Flash: Rebirth) invites you to spend the hour trapped in a small room discussing cannibalism, Wolverine, deviancy and all manner of filth and disease through the art of song. Not since Liberace has anyone tickled the ivories with such aplomb. Well, Richard Marx was good. But Ethan is good, too! Come and see! (Room 3)

6:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
KIDS’ COSTUME CONTEST
Bring any kids 10 and under for this special event with great prizes just for families and the youngsters. (Room A)

6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
ADULT COSTUME CONTEST
Get your best costume together and come on down to the Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con costume contest for huge prizes and some of the craziest outfits you’ll see this weekend. (Room A)

9:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m.
JAMES MARSTERS CONCERT
After enjoying sell-out crowds across the nation, singer/songwriter James Marsters performs a rare and intimate concert up close and personal with Wizard World fans. NOTE: ADDITIONAL TICKET REQUIRED. (Room A)

9:00 p.m.
THE WIZARD WORLD NEW ORLEANS COMIC CON LIVE ART SHOW AND AFTER PARTY W/ KODY CHAMBERLAIN AND ROB GUILLORY
Music by DJ Rüs with Jeff Hebert on drums Join us for this special after-hours event hosted by Kody Chamberlain (Sweets, 30 Days of Night) and Rob Guillory (Chew), and watch some of your favorite comic artists create original work from start to finish right before your eyes. This is a rare opportunity to hang out, network, and get to know some of the top artists in the business. Who knows, you may even get to own an original masterpiece! This is a free event; must be 18 to enter.
LOCATION: Hey! Café, 4332 Magazine St. (Corner of Magazine & Napoleon Ave.)

Sunday
11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
JULIE BENZ Q&A
The star of hit shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Dexter” and “No Ordinary Family,” Julie Benz talks to fans about her extensive career, ups and downs in the industry and her thoughts on the new generation of sci-fi and fantasy on television. (Room A)

TERRY MOORE Q&A
The Strangers in Paradise and Echo creator takes fan questions on his plethora of critically acclaimed and fan-favorite comics as well as talks about his upcoming plans. (Room B)

12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
CLAUDIA CHRISTIAN Q&A PANEL W/ ‘LOOK’ PREVIEW
“Babylon 5” beauty Claudia Christian shares the secrets to her multi-faceted success, and previews a sneak peek of her new Showtime series “Look.” (Room A)

WIZARD ART SCHOOL W/ PHIL JIMENEZ AND JASON PEARSON
Superstar artists Phil Jimenez (Adventure Comics) and Jason Pearson (upcoming Astonishing X-Men) assemble to give out their tips on refining your art, pitching to Marvel and DC, and any other sound advice they can think of about working in comics (Room B)

1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
RAY PARK Q&A
The “X-Men” and “Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace” star engages fans in this one-of-a-kind Q&A, where he discusses his extensive film biography and his evolution to genre icon. (Room A)

STORYTELLING W/ MICHAEL GOLDEN
No matter if you’re a writer, artist or a reader of comics, come for this sit-down with one of the most renowned storytellers in the business, Michael Golden, as he tells you a few tricks of the trade that will help you no matter what type of story you tell or enjoy, in whatever medium. It’s a rare opportunity to talk with the co-creator of X-Men’s Rogue, and groundbreaking penciler on such projects as Bucky O’Hare, The ‘Nam, Micronauts, G.I. Joe, and much more. (Room B)

2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
WIZARD SPOTLIGHT: LOUIS GOSSETT JR.
Screen legend and Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. (“Officer and a Gentleman,” “The Punisher,” “Iron Eagle,” “Enemy Mine”) joins the Wizard World Comic Con Tour and sits down for this exciting Q&A, telling the behind-the-scenes stories from the set and answering the questions you’ve always wanted to ask. (Room A)

MIKE GRELL AND MARK RYAN
The legendary comics icon behind classic Legion of Super-Heroes Tales and Warlord, Mike Grell, teams up with Transformers voice actor Mark Ryan (the voice of Bumblebee) to answer fan questions. (Room B)

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
WALTER KOENIG Q&A
The original “Star Trek” series’ Pavel Chekov, Walter Koenig beams into this Q&A, where he’ll answer any and all questions from the elite Trek fans at New Orleans Comic Con. (Room A)

JAMES O’BARR Q&A
The Crow creator talks about his dark creation, new comics and the plans for a new Crow franchise in the movies. (Room B)

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
‘WALKING DEAD’ Q&A W/ CHANDLER RIGGS, KEISHA TILLIS AND ADRIAN KALI TURNER
AMC’s ambitious horror series, based on Robert Kirkman’s ultra-hot zombie series from Image, now comes to life from director Frank Darabont (“The Green Mile”)! Check out amazing behind-the-scenes footage and extended clips along with a Q&A with stars from AMC’s show. (Room A)


The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is located at 900 Convention Center Blvd. in New Orleans. New Orleans Comic Con is the first stop on Wizard’s 2011 North American tour, which to date has 13 events scheduled. Hours are Saturday, Jan. 29, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Jan. 30, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.. Tickets are available in advance or by calling 1-866-882-5860 and online at www.wizardworld.com/neworleans.html at up to a 15% savings over tickets purchased at the door. Advance adult single-day tickets are $25 ($30 on site); two-day weekend tickets are $40 ($45 on site), and tickets are free for children age 10 and under when accompanied by a paid adult (limit two children per adult). VIP packages with special entry and exclusive items are also available.

The freshly renovated New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is an essential component of what makes the city's major business events so successful. With 1.1 million square feet of contiguous exhibit space, the Convention Center is the sixth largest convention facility in the nation, and it consistently ranks in the country's top ten of facilities that hold the most conventions and trade shows annually.


About Wizard Entertainment:
Gareb Shamus founded Wizard Entertainment in 1991. Today, Shamus publishes consumer magazines Wizard, ToyFare, FunFare and numerous books about pop-culture’s top talent, comic books and toys. Shamus also produces a North American Comic Con tour. Wizard World Comic Con – The Pop-Culture Capital of the World!

For the most recent event information please visit www.wizardworld.com and become a New Orleans Comic Con Fan on Facebook.

"Mistress Fortune" from Arina Tanemura Due in February

A TEENAGE PSYCHIC MIXES ON-THE-JOB ROMANCE WTH INVADING ALIENS IN ARINA TANEMURA’S MISTRESS FORTUNE MANGA FROM VIZ MEDIA

New Shojo Beat Title Is The Latest From The Creator Of FULL MOON And THE GENTLEMEN’S ALLIANCE†

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will delight shojo manga (graphic novel) fans with the release of Arina Tanemura’s MISTRESS FORTUNE on February 1st. The new single-volume story will be published under the company’s Shojo Beat imprint, is rated ‘T’ for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Fourteen-year-old Kisaki Tachibana has psychic powers. She works for PSI, a secret government agency that fights aliens. She's in love with her partner Giniro, but PSI won't allow operatives to get involved. Just when Kisaki thinks she may be getting closer to Giniro, she finds out she's going to be transferred to California!

“We’re exited to release MISTRESS FORTUNE for current and new fans alike,” says Nancy Thistlethwaite, Editor. “Arina Tanemura pulled from her experience of visiting San Francisco, the home of VIZ Media, as well as San Diego Comic-Con for this manga. Her huge following of readers here will have fun with this story that takes place in both Japan and the United States.”

Arina Tanemura began her manga career in 1996 when her short stories debuted in RIBON magazine. She gained fame with the 1997 publication of I•O•N, and ever since her debut, Tanemura has remained a major force in shojo manga with popular series TIME STRANGER KYOKO, FULL MOON, and THE GENTLEMEN’S ALLIANCE † (all published by VIZ Media). FULL MOON and another Tanemura manga, KAMIKAZE KAITO JEANNE, have also been adapted into animated TV series.

For more information on MISTRESS FORTUNE, please visit http://www.shojobeat.com/.

I Reads You Review: GREAT PLACE HIGH SCHOOL (YAOI)

Creator: Naduki Koujima (cartoonist); Sachiko Sato (translation)

Publishing Information: Juné Manga/DMP, paperback, B&W with some color, 164 pages, $12.95 (US)

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-56970-747-0 (ISBN-13); 1-56970-747-2 (ISBN-10)

Drama/Romance; Rated “M” for “Mature 18+”

Great Place High School is a manga from Naduki Koujima, the creator of the manga series, Our Kingdom. The story takes place at a high school full of rambunctious boys and has elements of boys’ love (both shounen-ai and yaoi), bishounen, and high school comedy.

Great Place High School may be like most high schools, with a student body comprised of jocks and geeks and popular girls and not-so-popular girls. The focus, however, is the computer club known as the Information Management Club. There, control freak Ryouichi Tsuruga has to keep things in order, which is made difficult because he has to fend of the machinations of his ultra-vain twin brother, Naruhito.

The arrival of a new member, Minami Wakamatsu, a cute kid with a tendency to destroy electronic gadgets, only complicates matters. Naruhito has a cuteness fetish, and he begins to both harass and hit on Minami. But why should Ryouichi care, unless he also has strong feelings for Minami, whom the Tsuruga brothers feed and dote on as if he were a small pet.

Meanwhile, two other comic melodramas ensue. We learn the history between Student Council President Rin Amanohara and Vice-President Eichi Shidou who have been together since childhood. Also, people think Kotone Kimura and Suzune Kimura are identical twins. They are really first cousins whose mothers are sisters. One thinks they are rivals, but the other cousin thinks they should be romantic.

One of my favorite manga artists is Naduki Koujima because of her gorgeous art. She cartoons the human face with such skill that her characters are beautiful (or pretty like a girl) whether she’s drawing them straight or super-deforming them. I could make viewing Koujima’s comic book art a daily exercise in uplifting my spirits.

Great Place High School, however, is not a great manga, but it is offers light entertainment. It is a collection of short, short stories and several pages of four-panel, vertical gag strips. The Rin-Eichi stories are yaoi as they feature graphic depictions of sex between a male lovers. The Kimura stories are light-hearted shounen-ai boys’ love. The rest of this book is boys’ love comedy – more comedy than BL.

Most of Great Place High School is feel-good and cozy. One might even think of it as BL comfort food. Those who like me enjoy the eye-candy art of Naduki Koujima will want this comfort food.

B

Bomb Queen's Girl Fight

BOMBS AWAY

 

Bomb Queen gets catty with the ladies in early 2011 release

 

She's currently fighting President Obama in the pages of BOMB QUEEN, Vol. VI, but in 2011, Bomb Queen will take girl fights to a whole new level when she takes on HACK/SLASH's Cassie Hack and the Queen of England!

In March, Robinson's BOMB QUEEN ALL-GIRL SPECIAL #1 will see Bomb Queen waging war against the wider world when she travels to London to kill the Queen of England. But Bomb Queen better not underestimate Her Majesty, who has a few tricks of her own that may spell doom for Bomb Queen. There can be only one Queen!

"Barack Obama is a wuss compared to Cassie Hack and Queen Elizabeth," says Robinson. "Bomb Queen has a real fight on her hands this time around!"

BOMB QUEEN ALL-GIRL SPECIAL #1 (JAN110559), a 32-page full-color comic book from Shadowline and Image Comics, will be in stores March 9, 2011, for $3.50.


Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit http://www.imagecomics.com/.

John Cory's "A Liberal Dose or Reality"

I want to share this perspective/essay written by John Cory and published at the independent political website Reader Supported News.  Here is the link to the original post.

A Liberal Dose of Reality
By John Cory, Reader Supported News
16 January 11

Reader Supported News Perspective

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." - Samuel Adams

So far there is no direct factual connection between the violence in Tucson and the toxic GOP and its subsidiary Tea Party screaming mobs, or the despicable daily spewing of hate-radio or the crazy chalkboard diagrams of the coming end times.

The false equivalency by the right wing and corporate media that the left does it too is merely a deflection intended to distract and shift focus away from them and their tactics. You can't connect the dots, they say.

A drop of ink on porous paper slowly seeps across the sheet. Multiple drops in multiple locations eventually bleed together without any external help. No one has to connect the dots; they connect themselves.

Thirty years ago Ronald Reagan said, "... government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem."

Plop.

Over the next three decades, vilification of government became a self-replicating meme. Big government fed the cash-driven paranoia machines. Politics got religion with the Moral Majority, which was neither, and Jerry Falwell made a devilish new BFF in Ronald Reagan. The Christian Right was born.

Plop. Plop.

Bogus welfare queens were created from thin air. The dismantling of Unions and the Fairness Doctrine turned news into a product for the corporations, who insisted that they owned the airwaves, not the public. The public good was tossed aside in favor of free-market profiteering without protective regulation.

Money is free speech and some of us have more freedom than others.

Plop. Plop. Plop.

With all this madness came Iran-Contra, the Savings and Loan crisis, HUD grant-fixing scandal, the Lobbyist scandals, EPA scandals and more. An estimated 130 Reagan officials were indicted and/or convicted or investigated for misconduct and/or criminal violations. But Reagan was the best president ever says the GOP.

Big government is bad. Small government, small enough to fit in a President's zipper is good. God be praised.

Boom.

The Great Microphone of Anti-Democracy was created and funded under Reagan and allowed to grow and smear at will over the following decades.

Politics became reality television. The profits of fear made millionaires of the new hate-media puppets, supported extremist think tanks and generated a publishing industry dedicated to the propaganda of self-appointed "real" America; all in the name of the corporate owners of America.

And where has our liberal progressive movement been?

Pointing out their victimhood at the hands of the GOP and how the GOP is mean. Ignoring the elimination of investigative journalism. Scrambling for consultants and pundits to appear on the TV to provide "balance" while agreeing that both sides do it. Gently promoting "objective" media in a world rewarding biased punditry and outright lies.

Woe, is us! It is so unfair. Whatever can we do?

We need to get off our ass and quit pretending the bastardization of corporate media is something new, or that the hateful politics of the right wing cannot be defeated. We need to face reality and stop looking to billionaires and millionaires to fund us or rent us a megaphone to speak to the people.

We also need to disabuse ourselves of the illusion that the Democrats are on our side, or that they represent liberals and progressives let alone the concept that they represent everyday citizens. Modern Democrats are Mugwumps straddling the fence between self-enriching celebrity and GOP corporate compromise.

All of this is obviously more complicated than my simplistic presentation. But I'm a simple guy that believes in the KISS principle. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

And if we think MSBC is the anti-Fox or that it is the liberal platform needed today, then we are just dumb. Snark and shouting and satirical lists are not news reporting or analysis, just tribal entertainment for the converted and like-minded.

No, we need to walk our talk. The other side will call us names no matter what we do, so let us embrace their hatred, as FDR said. Let us be proud radicals and fierce promoters of the common good.

Unions and organizations like the NAACP and La Razza have money that could be used to invest in a non-profit internet/newspaper/broadcast network instead of being spent on lobbying politicians.

Think of it, our own news outlet that conducts investigative reporting and covers real issues. Public subscriptions for print editions and sales of apps for iPad and other devices would provide support money too. Media of, by, and for the people!

Think of putting Robert Parry, Chris Hedges, Sy Hersh, Amy Goodman, Laura Flanders, Glen Greenwald and so many other wonderful voices together in one powerful force of messaging.

We pick a half dozen or so prime issues to promote - issues that overlap compatible areas so as to serve multi-functional roles. Here's a short list off the top of my head:

1. End the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. War creates graves, not jobs.

2. Universal Healthcare - explain why the US spends $7500 per person on healthcare while most other countries spend $3500. Is it American exceptionalism, or just plain greed?

3. Promote government spending on infrastructure like roads, parks, schools and bridges and playgrounds. Immigrants can earn a living and progress toward citizenship by repairing and building infrastructure and paying taxes including Social Security taxes. Jobs, immigration and saving Social Security all rolled into one.

4. Taxes - progressive and enforceable on all persons including corporate persons. Taxes are not evil or onerous, they are the investment in America that sustains all of us.

5. Financial Reform regulation to protect the people. To paraphrase George Carlin, if we're concerned about street crime - that means Wall Street too.

6. Labor must be protected. The right to a living wage. The right to collective bargaining to protect the powerless from the powerful. Labor is not a product - it is not enslavement for corporate enrichment.

7. Bring back the Draft with some modifications that expand the age groups, limit exceptions, and include private contractors being converted to active duty and subject to military pay scales. Government contracts must be severely restricted. To profit from death and bombs cannot be a government function. Conservatives should love this because it is patriotic and confirms their mantra that government does not create any jobs. Right?

8. Support Marriage Equality. "If you're against Gay marriage - don't marry one!" (I saw that on a button.)

Impossible? Why?

In an interview on Democracy Now! Slavoj Zizek pointed out, "Did you notice how strange the word 'impossible' functions today? When you talk about private pleasures and technology, everything is possible. But the moment you go to social changes ... practically everything that disturbs the market is impossible ... we will live forever ... whatever you want ... we will travel to the moon - that's all possible. But a small social change of more healthcare is not possible."

Corporations don't see "impossible." Conservatives did not see "impossible." Fox News and talk-radio were not built in a day, but over years.

If we don't unite and combine our forces, progressives and liberals will drown in the coming corporate GOP takeover of democracy.

In the Pennsylvania coal strikes of 1902, miners wanted to cut their work week from 7 to 6 days and cut their work day from 10-12 hours a day to 9 hours a day and raise wages.

George Baer, president of Reading Railroad, spoke for the owners in what became known as the "divine right" letter when he wrote: "... the rights and interests of the laboring man will be protected and cared for - not by the labor agitators, but by the Christian men to whom God in His infinite wisdom has given the control of the property interests of the country."

When the letter became public, support shifted to the miners as the public saw what was headed their way. An informed citizenry is the greatest fear of every corporate driven government.

It took progressives years and years to bring change and enlightenment to workers and politicians alike. People like Ida Tarbell, Eugene Debs, Emma Goldman, Sinclair Lewis, W.E.B. DuBois and so many others all fought and organized and published their cause and the cause of the everyman and the poor and the sick. And it worked; not always in big events, but in small continuous determined steps.

To quote Edward R. Murrow: "We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late."

An ink drop on porous paper slowly seeps across the sheet. Add another and then another, until at last they bleed together to forge their own image and shape.

"Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts." - Edward R. Murrow

-PEACE-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.

I Reads You Review: DREAD AND ALIVE #4

DREAD & ALIVE #4

ZOOLOOK, LLC

CREATOR/WRITER/STORYBOARDS: Nicholas Da Silva

ARTIST: Allan Jefferson
COLORS: Giovanna Guimaraes
TRANSLATOR: Ryan Fraser
COVER: Rodney Buchemi
24pp, Color

Dread & Alive is the first superhero comic book with a Jamaican as the protagonist. This new comic book series is created and written by Nicholas Da Silva. The other thing that is unusual about Dread & Alive is that each issue of the series comes with a music compilation. Essentially a soundtrack to a comic book, the music is meant to accompany the reading of the comic book. Readers can listen to tracks from reggae stars such as Lady Saw, Bunny Ruggs, and I Octane.

The hero of Dread & Alive is Drew McIntosh, the roaring Lion – half man/half animal and protector of the animal world (an eco-warrior, of sorts). Drew’s powers come from the Maroon Medallion, a sacred amulet created by the Jamaican Maroons (a group of runaway slaves and their descendants). Drew’s stomping ground is San Francisco, particular the Haight-Ashbury district where he makes his home.

In Dread & Alive #4, Drew and his love interest, Brandy Savage, get the lowdown on international animal poaching from Casey Forrester, an investigative reporter who focuses on environmental issues. Forrester has been targeted by Gryphon, a world renowned hunter and poacher, for assassination. In fact, Drew, as the roaring Lion, saved Casey from one of those attempts.

That battle between Drew and Gryphon captured the attention of the San Francisco PD. Now, two officers, Paz and Williams, are investigating San Fran’s new vigilante and getting closer to Drew. Meanwhile, the powerful shape shifter and Obeah man, ShadowCatcher, is stalking Brandy.

Dread & Alive reminds me of 1970s Marvel Comics titles like Marvel Chillers (featuring Tigra) and Vampire Tales (with Blade) – dark, moody, character-driven soap operas. Even as the writer, creator Nicholas Da Silva is quite visual in his storytelling. His attention to detail concerning motivations – all the characters’ motivations – can slow the story down a bit, but that will make the reader pay attention. If every character matters, the reader cannot dismiss anyone because he will never know from where the next surprise is coming.

Allan Jefferson (who is apparently replacing former series artist, Rodney Buchemi) has good storytelling skills, and his design style is from the Neal Adams school. I think he will serve Dread & Alive quite well. There is room for improvement on all fronts, but this is already a good comic book.

You can find a good overview of the series at Comic Vine.

Purchase CD and Comic Books here.

Dread and Alive #4 music compilation album on iTunes.

Album on Amazon.com.

Mistress Fortune in Love

I read Mistress Fortune

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).  This is an Arina Tanemura manga.

Spawn #200 Second Printing Coming in February

GREAT VALUE, INSTANT SELLOUT

Landmark SPAWN #200 sells out at distribution day of release, second printing on the way

It's an issue too large to contain -- and an issue too hot to keep on shelves! SPAWN #200, the landmark issue of the top-selling independent comic of all time, has sold out at the distribution level!

Image Comics is rushing comics' best value in years back to the presses. The second printing of SPAWN #200 will be in stores February 9, so mark your calendars if you missed the first printing!

"Obviously, it's great to have any book you create sell out," says creator Todd McFarlane, "but given the high initial orders of the first printing of SPAWN #200, combined with the fact that this is our big bicentennial issue, it only makes the sellout that much more rewarding. I'd like to thank both the fans and the store owners for making this possible."

SPAWN celebrates its 200th issue in high fashion, with an all-star lineup: Greg Capullo (HAUNT, THE CREECH), David Finch (CYBERFORCE, Batman), Michael Golden (The 'Nam, Micronauts) Jim Lee (All-Star Batman and Robin, Batman: Hush), Rob Liefeld (YOUNGBLOOD, Deadpool), Marc Silvestri (THE DARKNESS, CYBERFORCE), Danny Miki (SPAWN, Avengers) and Ashley Wood (HELLSPAWN, Zombies vs. Robots) all contributed to the issue. Robert Kirkman (THE WALKING DEAD, HAUNT) even wrote and penciled an origin story for Omega Spawn!

In this landmark issue, the most ruthless villain in the Spawn universe returns. Can Jim Downing survive a face-to-face confrontation? Downing will battle his most fearsome opponent yet and get answers from an astonishing source, as two fan-favorite characters make a glorious return in this double-sized issue.

SPAWN #200 Second Printing (DEC108009), a 56-page full-color comic book for only $3.99, will be in stores February 9, 2011.

Further, 2011 will be a big year for SPAWN: New series artist Szymon Kudranski and writer Will Carlton are already several issues ahead. Issues 201-205 will be coming out bi-weekly, to build on the momentum of the 200th issue. SPAWN 201 (JAN100417) will be in stores January 26; SPAWN 202 (FEB100348) will be in stores February 9; SPAWN 203 (NOV100471) will be in stores February 23; SPAWN 204 (DEC100493) will be in stores March 9; and SPAWN 205 (JAN110621) will be in stores March 23.


Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit http://www.imagecomics.com/.

Sarah DeLaine New PR Maven at Image Comics

IMAGE CONTINUES TO EVOLVE

Image Comics Introduced New PR & Marketing Coordinator, Sarah DeLaine

Image Comics has announced that Sarah deLaine, a long-time Image staff member and former employee of the visionary comic book store Comic Relief, will replace Betsy Gomez as the company's PR & Marketing Coordinator.

Since moving to the Bay Area in 2004, deLaine has been a dedicated part of the Berkeley comics community, first at Berkeley's Comic Relief, where she worked with the preeminent comics retail team of Rory Root and Todd Martinez, then as Image Comics' administrative assistant. Martinez became Image's Sales & Licensing Coordinator in May 2010, furthering the working relationship he and deLaine developed during their retail days.

“I'm thrilled to be taking over as Image Comics' new PR & Marketing Coordinator," said deLaine. "I couldn’t think of a better situation than the one we’re looking at now at Image: We have a fantastic, dedicated staff here, and some of the new books we’ll be introducing this year are going to blow everyone away. I want nothing more than to help comics be the best they can be, and I believe Image is the place to do that.”

deLaine will be taking over as PR & Marketing Coordinator effective immediately, and while Publisher Eric Stephenson is disappointed to be losing Gomez, he is excited to have deLaine fill her post.

"I've known Sarah since she worked for Rory Root at Comic Relief, and she's a highly personable individual with a lot of ideas that she can't wait to put to use marketing our titles," stated Image Publisher Eric Stephenson. "I couldn't be more happy to have Sarah take on a greater role as part of the Image team and we're all looking forward to working with her over the months to come as she helps us continue to raise awareness of all the great work creators are doing at Image."

Sales & Licensing Coordinator Todd Martinez added, “I’m confident that Sarah and I will make an excellent team for the future of Image Comics.”

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit http://www.imagecomics.com/.

New Titles Available for VIZ Manga App

VIZ MEDIA LAUNCHES CAPTIVE HEARTS, CLAYMORE, D.GRAY-MAN AND TORIKO MANGA DOWNLOADS FOR THE VIZ MANGA APP FOR iPad

Four Acclaimed New Series Join The Latest Updates Of More Than Ten Other Titles

VIZ Media continues to rapidly expand its digital library of manga (graphic novel) titles available for the VIZ MANGA APP on the Apple® iPad™ mobile device. Just launched is the dark, armored action of CLAYMORE and the supernatural adventure D.GRAY-MAN, and set to launch on Tuesday, January 25th is the shojo fantasy of CAPTIVE HEARTS and the zany culinary adventure of TORIKO. The latest updates also features new additions to more than ten other popular VIZ Media manga series already available to iPad users.

The VIZ MANGA APP is available for free through the iTunes Store and all manga volumes are available for purchase and download in the U.S. and Canada within the application for $4.99 (U.S. / CAN) per volume.

CAPTIVE HEARTS, Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T’ for Teens · Available January 25th
Carefree Megumi Kuroishi was living a life of luxury until the day a girl named Suzuka Kogami walked into his life. All of a sudden, Megumi finds himself kneeling at Suzuka's feet and prostrating himself like a servant! What Megumi doesn't know (until that very moment anyway) is that his family is cursed to follow the orders of the Kogami family.

CLAYMORE, Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens · Available Now!
In a world where monsters called Yoma prey on humans and live among them in disguise, humanity's only hope is a new breed of warrior known as Claymores. Half human, half monster, these silver-eyed slayers possess supernatural strength but are condemned to fight their savage impulses or lose their humanity completely.

D.GRAY-MAN, Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens · Available Now!
Set in a fictional 19th century England, D.Gray-man is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma.

TORIKO, Vol. 1 · Rated ‘T’ for Teens · Available January 25th
In a savage world ruled by the pursuit of the most delicious foods, it's either eat or be eaten! While searching for the tastiest foods imaginable, Gourmet Hunter Toriko travels the world with his bottomless stomach, facing every beast in his way.

Additional new manga volumes available by the end of the month include:

BAKUMAN｡ Vol. 2
BLEACH Vol. 6
D. GRAY MAN, Vol. 2
DEATH NOTE Vol. 5
DRAGON BALL Vol. 9
NARUTO Vol. 10
ONE PIECE Vol. 10
OTOMEN Vol. 2
OURON HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB Vol. 2
RUROUNI KENSHIN Vol. 5
VAMPIRE KNIGHT Vol. 2

The recently launched VIZ MANGA APP is the leading application to read Japanese manga on the iPad, with a downloadable library of the most popular manga series in the world. Readers are encouraged to check the app regularly, as new additions to the store and free Chapter 1 previews of other forthcoming manga series for the iPad are featured.

For more information on the VIZ MANGA APP, please visit www.VIZ.com/apps/.

Bomb Queen and Hack/Slash Do Valentine's Day

BOMBS AWAY

 

Bomb Queen gets catty with the ladies in early 2011 release

She's currently fighting President Obama in the pages of BOMB QUEEN, Vol. VI, but in 2011, Bomb Queen will take girl fights to a whole new level when she takes on HACK/SLASH's Cassie Hack and the Queen of England!

BOMB QUEEN VS. HACK/SLASH VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL, a one-shot from Bomb Queen creator Jimmie Robinson, hits shelves in February. In it, Tim Seeley's HACK/SLASH heroine Cassie Hack must face down a horde of perverted slashers who have been released from Bomb Queen's evil dimension into her unsuspecting world. Among those evil individuals? Bomb Queen herself!

"Barack Obama is a wuss compared to Cassie Hack and Queen Elizabeth," says Robinson. "Bomb Queen has a real fight on her hands this time around!"

BOMB QUEEN VS. HACK SLASH VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL (DEC100437), a 32-page full-color one-shot from Shadowline and Image Comics, will be in stores February 9, 2011, for $3.50.


Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit http://www.imagecomics.com/.

Shaman King A Song Someday

I read Shaman King, Vol. 32 (Shaman King (Graphic Novels))

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 19 2011

DC COMICS

NOV100166 BATMAN #706 $2.99

NOV100172 BATMAN STREETS OF GOTHAM #19 $2.99

NOV100156 BRIGHTEST DAY #18 $2.99

NOV100223 DC COMICS PRESENTS THE ATOM #1 $7.99

NOV100271 DMZ #61 (MR) $2.99

NOV100190 GREEN LANTERN CORPS #56 (BRIGHTEST DAY) $2.99

NOV100273 HELLBLAZER #275 (MR) (NOTE PRICE) $4.99

OCT100325 HOUSE OF MYSTERY TP VOL 05 UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT (MR) $14.99

NOV100256 IDES OF BLOOD #6 $2.99

OCT100269 JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL TP VOL 05 $19.99

NOV100198 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #53 $2.99

NOV100206 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #9 $2.99

NOV100275 NORTHLANDERS #36 (MR) $2.99

NOV100212 POWER GIRL #20 $2.99

SEP100300 RAT CATCHER HC (MR) $19.99

NOV100259 RATCHET AND CLANK #5 $2.99

OCT100272 SECRET SIX CATS IN THE CRADLE TP $14.99

NOV100214 SPIRIT #10 $2.99

SEP100254 STARMAN OMNIBUS HC VOL 06 $49.99

NOV100182 SUPERGIRL #60 $2.99

NOV100185 SUPERMAN BATMAN #80 $2.99

NOV100250 TINY TITANS #36 $2.99

NOV100246 YOUNG JUSTICE #0 $2.99

DC COMICS/DC DIRECT

JAN100399 BATMAN THE DARK CRUSADER MINI STATUE $79.99

FEB100314 DRAGON AGE SER 1 DUNCAN AF PI

FEB100315 DRAGON AGE SER 1 GENLOCK AF PI

FEB100316 DRAGON AGE SER 1 LOGHAIN AF PI

FEB100317 DRAGON AGE SER 1 MORRIGAN AF PI

JAN100376 FABLES BIGBY WOLF BUST $60.00

JAN100375 FABLES SNOW WHITE BUST $60.00

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 19 2011

MARVEL COMICS

NOV100560 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #652 BIG $3.99

NOV100531 AVENGERS ACADEMY #8 $2.99

NOV100534 AVENGERS VS PET AVENGERS #4 $2.99

NOV100659 CAPTAIN AMERICA MAN & WOLF TP $14.99

NOV100675 DEADPOOL CLASSIC TP VOL 04 $29.99

NOV100622 DEADPOOLMAX #4 (MR) $3.99

NOV100679 ESSENTIAL IRON MAN TP VOL 03 NEW ED $19.99

NOV100552 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500 $4.99

NOV100664 MIGHTY MARVEL WOMEN OF MARVEL TP $24.99

NOV100625 SCARLET #4 (MR) $3.95

NOV100647 SECRET AVENGERS PREM HC MISSION TO MARS VOL 01 $24.99

NOV100668 SIEGE MIGHTY AVENGERS TP $15.99

NOV100670 SPIDER-MAN COMPLETE CLONE SAGA EPIC TP BOOK 05 $39.99

NOV100649 STEVE ROGERS PREM HC SUPER-SOLDIER $19.99

NOV100628 SUPERIOR #4 (MR) $2.99

NOV100545 THOR #619 $3.99

NOV100548 THOR FIRST THUNDER #5 $3.99

NOV100671 THOR RAGNAROK TP $14.99

NOV100681 ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA BY RON GARNEY POSTER $8.99

NOV100599 WOLVERINE #5 $3.99

NOV100608 WOLVERINE & JUBILEE #1 $2.99

NOV100619 X-FACTOR #214 $2.99

NOV100602 X-MEN LEGACY #244 $2.99

IDW from Diamond Distributors for January 19 2011

IDW PUBLISHING

NOV100336 DOCTOR WHO VOL 2 #1 $3.99

NOV100343 DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS #3 $3.99

NOV100373 GEORGE RR MARTINS DOORWAYS #3 $3.99

NOV100346 GI JOE COBRA II #12 $3.99

NOV100378 JURASSIC PARK THE DEVILS IN THE DESERT #1 $3.99

NOV100380 JURASSIC PARK TP VOL 01 REDEMPTION $19.99

NOV100371 LOCKE & KEY KEYS TO THE KINGDOM #4 $3.99

OCT100427 SILENT HILL PAST LIFE #3 $3.99

NOV100368 TRANSFORMERS PRIME #3 $3.99

NOV100356 TRANSFORMERS SECTOR 7 #5 $3.99

Dark Horse from Diamond Distributors for January 19 2011

DARK HORSE COMICS

OCT100040 AGE OF REPTILES OMNIBUS VOL 01 $24.99

OCT100016 BPRD PLAGUE OF FROGS HC VOL 01 $34.99

NOV100026 BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 LAST GLEAMING PT 5 CHEN CVR $2.99

NOV100027 BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 LAST GLEAMING PT 5 JEANTY CV $2.99

OCT100022 GOON TP VOL 10 DEATHS GREEDY COMEUPPANCE $16.99

NOV100039 MASS EFFECT EVOLUTION #1 JOE QUINONES CVR $3.50

NOV100038 MASS EFFECT EVOLUTION #1 MASSIMO CARNEVALE CVR $3.50

OCT100063 MYSPACE DARK HORSE PRESENTS TP VOL 06 $19.99

SEP100125 REELART FRAZETTA DRACULA MEETS THE WOLFMAN STATUE $285.00

OCT100037 STAR WARS LONG TIME AGO OMNIBUS TP VOL 03 $24.99

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 19 2011

IMAGE COMICS

OCT108111 27 (TWENTY SEVEN) #1 VAR CVR 2ND PTG $3.99

SEP100445 ASTOUNDING WOLF MAN TP VOL 04 $16.99

AUG100445 DARK IVORY TP $14.99

NOV100432 LOVEBUNNY & MR HELL TP VOL 01 (MR) $14.99

NOV100409 MEMOIR #1 $3.50

NOV100466 MORNING GLORIES #6 $3.50

NOV100433 NANCY IN HELL TP $12.99

NOV100434 SPAWN ENDGAME COLLECTION TP $24.99

NOV100435 SPAWN ORIGINS TP VOL 09 $14.99

OCT100485 TANK GIRL WE HATE TANK GIRL TP (MR) $9.99

NOV100412 WALKING DEAD WEEKLY #3 (MR) $2.99

JUL100495 WITCHBLADE #141 $2.99

Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for January 19 2011

WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT
NOV100683 TOYFARE #163 $4.99

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
NOV100801 28 DAYS LATER #19 $3.99

OCT101181 AFTERSCHOOL CHARISMA TP VOL 02 $12.99

NOV100725 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #151 $2.99

NOV100728 ARCHIE & FRIENDS TP VOL 08 ARCHIES & JOSIE AND PUSSYCATS $9.95

NOV100729 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #215 $3.99

NOV101012 ASTERIX TP VOL 01 ASTERIX THE GAUL $9.95

NOV100860 BOYS #50 (MR) $3.99

NOV100820 CARS TP VOL 05 RUST BUCKET DERBY $9.99

AUG101244 CHARMED #5 A CVR SEIDMAN $3.50

AUG101245 CHARMED #5 B CVR PHOTO $3.50

OCT101080 CLASSICS ILLUS DLX HC VOL 05 TREASURE ISLAND $17.99

DEC101048 CLINT #1 2ND PTG PX CVR (MR) $6.99

JUN100746 CRITICAL MILLENNIUM #3 (MR) $3.95

OCT100767 CYCLOPS #2 (MR) $3.95

NOV100827 DARKWING DUCK #8 $3.99

NOV100969 DAWN NOT TO TOUCH EARTH VIRGIN VAR CVR (MR) $15.00

AUG100879 DENIS KITCHEN CHIPBOARD SKETCHBOOK HC (MR) $19.95

SEP101006 DF PUNISHER BLOOD #1 REMENDER SGN ED $29.99

SEP101009 DF THUNDERBOLTS #150 PARKER SGN ED $29.99

OCT101075 DISNEY FAIRIES GN VOL 04 TINKER BELL TO THE RESCUE $7.99

SEP100873 DO ANDROIDS DREAM DUST TO DUST #8 $3.99

OCT101182 DOROHEDORO GN VOL 03 (MR) $12.99

NOV100805 DRACULA THE COMPANY OF MONSTERS TP VOL 01 $12.99

OCT100884 DRAWING COMICS IS EASY EXCEPT WHEN ITS HARD HC $19.95

NOV100806 FARSCAPE ONGOING #15 $3.99

NOV100808 FARSCAPE UNCHARTED TALES TP VOL 02 DARGOS TRIAL $12.99

OCT100766 FEEDING GROUND #3 $3.95

SEP100777 FRAGGLE ROCK VOL 2 #1 $3.95

OCT101184 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST TP VOL 24 $9.99

NOV100897 GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS TP VOL 06 MOTHERLAND $12.99

NOV101087 GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #1 A CVR CAMPBELL $2.99

NOV101088 GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #1 B CVR BASULDUA $2.99

NOV101089 GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #1 C CVR DEBALFO $2.99

AUG101036 GORE #1 (MR) $2.99

NOV108168 GULLIVERS TRAVELS CAMPFIRE GN $9.99

NOV100838 JULES VERNE 20000 LEAGUES UNDER SEA CAMPFIRE GN $9.99

NOV100837 JULES VERNE JOURNEY CENTER OF EARTH CAMPFIRE GN $9.99

JUL101008 KERRY AND SCARY THINGS HC SKETCH ED $150.00

NOV108166 LADY MECHANIKA #1 CVR E 2ND PRINTING $2.99

AUG100765 LUCID #3 $3.95

OCT101185 MARDOCK SCRAMBLE VOL 01 $17.99

AUG101037 MEDITERRANEA #2 $2.99

NOV100830 MICKEY MOUSE #304 $3.99

NOV100903 MY NEW YORK DIARY GN (NEW PTG) $16.95

OCT101076 NANCY DREW NEW CASE FILES VOL 02 VAMPIRE SLAYER PART TWO $6.99

APR101014 PHANTOM CAPTAIN ACTION LTD HC $29.99

AUG100947 QUEEN SONJA #13 $3.99

JUL100771 SECRET HISTORY BOOK 14 (MR) $5.95

OCT100735 SHERLOCK HOLMES PAINFUL PREDICAMENT ALICE FAULKNER GN $11.99

NOV100800 SIMPSONS COMICS #174 $2.99

NOV100985 SMURFS GN VOL 04 SMURFETTE $5.99

OCT101078 SMURFS HC VOL 01 PURPLE SMURFS $10.99

OCT101079 SMURFS HC VOL 02 THE SMURFS AND MAGIC FLUTE $10.99

NOV100986 SMURFS HC VOL 04 SMURFETTE $10.99

NOV100737 SONIC UNIVERSE #24 $2.99

NOV100814 STAN LEE SOLDIER ZERO #4 $3.99

AUG100742 STEAMPUNK PALIN ONE-SHOT $3.99

SEP100758 TIME LINCOLN APOCALYPSE MAO ONE-SHOT $3.99

MAGAZINES
OCT101217 CLASSIC MARVEL FIG COLL MAG #138 BATROC $12.00
OCT101218 CLASSIC MARVEL FIG COLL MAG #139 SCARLET SPIDER $12.00
OCT101220 CLASSIC MARVEL FIG COLL MAG SPECIAL OMEGA RED $24.00
NOV101125 COMIC SHOP NEWS #1231 PI
OCT101229 DC SUPERHERO FIG COLL MAG #72 PLASTIC MAN $14.00
OCT101230 DC SUPERHERO FIG COLL MAG #73 WILDCAT $14.00
OCT101232 DC SUPERHERO FIG COLL MAG SPECIAL TRIGON $38.00
OCT101243 HORRORHOUND #27 $6.99
NOV101109 JUXTAPOZ #121 FEB 2011 $5.99
AUG101328 MEGAMI NOV 2010 $17.99
AUG101329 NEWTYPE NOV 2010 $13.99
NOV101167 SUPERNATURAL MAGAZINE #22 SPECIAL NEWSSTAND ED $9.99
NOV101168 SUPERNATURAL MAGAZINE #22 SPECIAL PX ED $9.99
OCT101237 TORCHWOOD MAGAZINE #25 SPECIAL $9.99

BOOKS
NOV101113 1000 INDIE POSTERS $40.00
NOV101148 CREATING COMICS 47 MASTERS REVEAL TECHNIQUES SC $30.00
APR101209 CREATORS OF THE SUPERHEROES DLX SC $39.99
AUG101010 TEXEIRA NIGHTMARES DAYDREAMS HC SGN ED $39.99
AUG101011 TEXEIRA NIGHTMARES DAYDREAMS HC SKETCH ED $150.00
NOV101177 WEIRD ADV OF BLOND ADDER SC VOL 01 $29.95

#IReadsYou Review: CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #11

CHAOS CAMPUS SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES No. 11

APPROBATION COMICS

WRITER/LETTERS: B. Alex Thompson

ARTIST: Kewber Baal
COLORS: Schimerys Baal
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: S.W.O.L. Unlimited
COVER: Quinton Bedwell
28pp, Color, $4.99

“The Learning Curve”

Created by B. Alex Thompson, Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is a comic book series from Approbation Comics. Chaos Campus is a horror comedy that follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY): ass-kickin’ Jaime Schaeffer, brainy Paige Patton, and easy-on-the-eyes Brittany Miller.

On the night of the volleyball tournament between EAZY and its partner, Alpha Zeta Zeta, zombies invade the EAZY sorority house. Jamie, Paige, and Brittany escape only to discover that zombies have taken over The City. This buxom trio is probably humanity’s only hope of ending a zombie apocalypse. Since their escape from the sorority, the girls have been on a series of crazy adventures that strangely resemble classic horror movie scenarios.

After escaping, muscular slasher Kurtis Kasey (created by Phantom Avri) and the feral human/zombie hybrid, Patient X, Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #11 reveals that the girls really haven’t escaped them. Now, they are separated, and Paige finds herself in the clutches of Violet Grimm a.k.a. Dogwitch. This Dogwitch may not be an adversary, however, because she has some things to teach Paige.

Referencing lots of pop culture, from The Matrix to The Bangles this time, Chaos Campus #11 is, as usual, a fun read. What makes it a little better are the revelations this issue offers into Paige Helena Patton and her unique powers and history. There is even a funny reference to an old NBC public service ad.

This issue also allows readers the chance to see more of Kewber Baal, whose penciling and inking skills continue to grow. There are some surprisingly, skillful compositions on several pages. The figure drawing, character design, and costumes are drawn at a level that is as good as what is in some Marvel and DC Comics titles.

A-

http://www.approbationcomics.com/

----------------------

Steve Scott at Wizard World New Orleans with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Prints

Artist Steve Scott "Slays" Wizard New Orleans! And You Can Own a Part of It!

New Orleans, LA-- The Big Easy is gearing up for the first ever Wizard World New Orleans show, and as part of the celebration, Eva Ink Artist Group is proud to announce that artist Steve Scott has been tapped to produce exclusive "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" prints for the event--as part of "BuffyFest," in the city that helped make vampires famous, no less!

Featuring major characters from the television show, the prints are offered in 3 verisons: blue tinted pencils, inks, and full color, and will be available for purchase at Steve's table in Artist Alley. Also note that the actors gracing Steve's prints will also be at the show in the flesh! So what a perfect opportunity to not only get the artist to sign your print, but get the actors to sign it as well!

Here's a look at all three prints and quantities offered:

http://www.wizardworld.com/buneworcocon.html
(Limited to 50 copies for the pencils print)

http://www.wizardworld.com/buneworcocon1.html
(Limited to 150 copies for the inks print)

http://www.wizardworld.com/buneworcocon2.html
(Limited to 250 copies for the full color print)
As for Mr. Scott, well this is not his first foray into likenesses! Steve's work has been featured on "Indiana Jones" at Dark Horse, on production art used onscreen for the "Smallville" telelvision show, not to mention that Steve was also the only artist tapped to do any sequential art for "Dark Knight," for the Tostino promotional campaign in conjunction with DC Comics.

More of Steve's recent sequential work includes "X-Men Forever," an exclusive Green Lantern project with DC Comics and Con Edison, and the highly touted "Batman Confidential."

Wizard World New Orleans takes place January 29th and 30th at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center. Guests from the world's of comic, film and television joining the line-up with artist Steve Scott at the show include: Michael Golden, Mark Texeira, Adam West, Phil Jiminez, Mike Grell, Bill Sienkiewcz, Arthur Suydam, Cameron Stewart, David Mack, Yanick Paquette, Rob Liefeld, Peter Tork, Tommy Castillo, Kevin Stokes, Billy Dee Williams, Renee Witterstaetter, and many more.

Again, the three versions of Steve's print are limited and available only at his table in artist alley, so come out and enjoy this perfect print in the most vampire (and Buffy) friendly city we know.

For more information on Wizard New Orleans, go to: http://www.wizardworld.com/

For more information on Steve Scott, his work, commissions and assignments contact Renee at: evaink@aol.com

Follow all Eva Ink news at: http://witterstaetterwrites.blogspot.com/

Dorohedor and Fire-Flushing Toilet

I read Dorohedoro, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

42nd Image Awards Literature Nominations

The nominees for the 42nd NAACP Image Awards were recently announced.  Because of the length of the press release, I broke it up over several posts on my other website Negromancer (http://www.negromancer.com/).  I'm posting the book award nominations here.  The Image Awards show will be broadcast live Friday, March 4, on FOX.

LITERATURE

Outstanding Literary Work -Fiction
• "A Taste of Honey" - Jabari Asim (Broadway Books)
• "Getting to Happy" - Terry McMillan (Penguin Group)
• "Glorious" - Bernice L. McFadden (Akashic Books)
• "Till You Hear From Me" - Pearl Cleage (Ballantine Books/One World)
• "Wench" - Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Amistad)

Outstanding Literary Work -Non-Fiction
• "Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority" - Tom Burrell (SmileyBooks)
• "Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts of Women in SNCC" - Editors: Faith S. Holsaert, Judy Richardson, Martha Prescod Norman Noonan, Betty Garman Robinson, Jean Smith Young, Dorothy M. Zellner (University of Illinois Press)
• "Surviving and Thriving 365 Days in Black Economic History" - Dr. Julianne Malveaux (Last Word Productions, Inc.)
• "The History of White People" - Nell Irvin Painter (W.W. Norton & Company)
• "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" - Michelle Alexander (The New Press)

Outstanding Literary Work -Debut Author
• "Wench" - Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Amistad)
• "The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" - Heidi Durrow (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill)
• "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" - Isabel Wilkerson (Random House)
• "Beneath the Lion's Gaze" - Maaza Mengiste (W.W. Norton & Company)
• "Forest Gate" - Peter Akinti (Free Press/Simon & Schuster)

Outstanding Literary Work -Biography/Auto-Biography
• "Conversations with Myself" - Ruth Hobday, Nelson Mandela (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• "Decoded" - Jay-Z (Spiegel & Gran, a division of Random House)
• "Extraordinary, Ordinary People - Condoleezza Rice (Crown Archetype)
• "I'm Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen - My Journey Home" - Shoshana Johnson (Touchstone, An Imprint of Simon & Schuster)
• "You Don't Know Me: Reflections of My Father, Ray Charles" - Ray Charles Robinson, Jr. (Crown)

Outstanding Literary Work -Instructional
• "A Boy Should Know How to Tie a Tie: And Other Lessons for Succeeding in Life" - Antwone Fisher (Touchstone, An Imprint of Simon & Schuster)
• "Diet-Free for Life: A Revolutionary Food, Fitness and Mindset Makeover to Maximize Fat Loss" - Robert Ferguson (Penguin Group USA, Perigee Hardcover)
• "If it Takes a Village, Build One: How I Found Meaning Through a Life of Service and 100+ Ways You Can Too" - Malaak Compton-Rock (Crown Archetype)
• "The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms" - Kirk Franklin (Gotham Books)
• "The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women" - Elaine Meryl Brown, Rhonda McLean, Marsha Haygood (Ballantine Books/One World)

Outstanding Literary Work -Poetry
• "100 Best African-American Poems" - Nikki Giovanni (Sourcebooks MediaFusion)
• "Hard Times Require Furious Dancing" - Alice Walker (Author), Shiloh McCloud (Illustrator) (New World Library)
• "Holding Company" - Major Jackson (W.W. Norton & Company)
• "Suck on the Marrow" - Camille T. Dungy (Red Hen Press)
• "White Egrets" - Derek Walcott (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Outstanding Literary Work -Children
• "Grandma's Gift" - Eric Velasquez (Bloomsbury USA Children's Books)
• "Mama Miti: Wangai Maathai and the Tree of Kenya" - Donna Jo Napoli (Author), Kadir Nelson (Illustrator) (Paula Wiseman Books, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing)
• "My Brother Charlie" - Holly Robinson Peete, Ryan Elizabeth Peete (Scholastic Press)
• "Side by Side/Lado a Lado: The Story of Delores Huerta and Cesar Chavez" - Monica Brown (Author), Joe Cepeda (Illustrator) (Harper Collins Children's Books)
• "The Great Migration: Journey to the North" - Eloise Greenfield (Author), Jan Pivey Gilchrist (Illustrator) (Harper Collins Children's Books)

Outstanding Literary Work -Youth/Teens
• "Condoleezza Rice A Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me" - Condoleezza Rice (Random House Children's Books)
• "Lockdown" - Walter Dean Myers (Harper Collins Children's Books)
• "Malcolm X: I Believe in the Brotherhood of Man, All Men" - Jeff Burlingame (Enslow Publishers, Inc.)
• "Out of My Mind" - Sharon Draper (Atheneum Young Reader)
• "One Crazy Summer" - Rita Williams-Garcia (Harper Collins Children's Books)

I Reads You Review: DREAD & ALIVE #3

DREAD & ALIVE #3

ZOOLOOK, LLC

CREATOR/WRITER/STORYBOARDS: Nicholas Da Silva

PENCILS: Rodney Buchemi
INKS: Eber Ferriera
COLORS: Giovanna Guimaraes and Mike Kelleher
TRANSLATOR: Ryan Fraser

According to the creator and publisher, Dread & Alive is the first superhero comic book with a Jamaican as the protagonist. This new comic book series is created and written by Nicholas Da Silva. There is something else unusual about Dread & Alive besides the Jamaican hero. Each issue of the series comes with a music compilation, essentially a soundtrack. This is a “musical journey” that is meant to accompany the reading of the comic book. Readers can listen to tracks from reggae stars such as Lady Saw, Bunny Ruggs, and I Octane.

The hero of Dread & Alive is Drew McIntosh, the roaring Lion – half man/half animal and protector of the animal world (an eco-warrior, of sorts). Drew derives his powers from a sacred amulet, the Maroon Medallion, created by the Jamaican Maroons (a group of runaway slaves and their descendants). His stomping ground is San Francisco, particular the Haight-Ashbury district, where he makes his home.

In Dread & Alive #3, two adversaries join forces. Hugo Harley, a major player in the black market for exotic animals, and ShadowCatcher, a powerful shape shifter, cautiously feel each other out about their mutual problems. Meanwhile, the San Francisco PD continues its investigation into Drew’s activities, although they know nothing about Drew specifically. Drew’s mentor, Cudjoe, warns him against underestimating ShadowCatcher.

Before I could really get into this comic book, I had to do some research to learn more about the characters and the story up to this point (as I hadn’t read the first two issues). Still, I enjoyed Dread & Alive #3 because I recognized some elements and also enjoyed the newness and novelty of it. It reminds me of Marvel superhero comic books of the 1970s and early 80s, more urban, earthy, and soap opera than colorful and fantastic like earlier Silver Age comic books. What makes this different (the novelty and the newness) is that the superhero is a strapping black guy wearing Dreadlocks, and he doesn’t have a superhero name (yet).

The problem that I see with the series, concerning the pacing of the story, is that it reads like a chapter in a larger graphic novel. The story seems more decompressed that it needs to be. Personally, I’d like to see more self-contained issues this early in a new comic book, especially in an indie title trying to get readers’ attentions. Still Dread & Alive is different, without seeming contrived. There is an air of mystery about it, indeed, something magical that will make me come back to it again.

You can find a good overview of the series at Comic Vine.

You can purchase CD and Comic Books at the following link.

The Dread and Alive #3 Music Compilation is available at iTunes via the following link.

The album is available at Amazon.com through this link.

"Pokemon: Arceus" Get Simultaneous DVD and Manga Release

THE STRUGGLE FOR TIME AND SPACE CONTINUES IN POKÉMON: ARCEUS AND THE JEWEL OF LIFE, ON DVD AND IN ADAPTED MANGA FROM VIZ MEDIA

The Latest POKÉMON Feature Film Delivers Another Action-Packed Adventure With Ash And His Friends!

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, is proud to announce the release of POKÉMON™: ARCEUS AND THE JEWEL OF LIFE on DVD and in a manga adaption on February 1st (both under the VIZ Kids imprint). The feature film DVD is rated ‘A’ for All Ages with a MSRP of $19.97 U.S. / $28.99 CAN; the manga adaptation is rated ‘A’ for All Ages, with a MSRP of $7.99 U.S. / $9.99 CAN.

Long ago, Arceus created the Jewel of Life from fragments of its awesome power. Humans used the Jewel of Life to turn Michina Town from a barren wasteland to a lush and thriving city. But when it was time for the Jewel of Life to be returned, Arceus was betrayed, and vowed to one day get revenge.

Now Arceus has returned– enraged, vengeful, and seemingly unstoppable! Not even the combined might of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina can stop Arceus from devastating the land.

But there’s hope. Ash, Pikachu and their new friend Sheena may have discovered the only way to make things right. Their journey will be both dangerous and uncertain: will there be time to return the Jewel of Life before Arceus enacts vengeance on the world?

“POKÉMON is a timeless favorite that continues to capture the imagination of fans of all ages,” says Brian Ige, Senior Director, Animation. “This latest adventure concludes the struggle between Dialga, Palkia and Giratina for the balance between time, space, and beyond. With a dynamic blend of action, emotional themes, new characters and familiar faces, POKÉMON: ARCEUS AND THE JEWEL OF LIFE movie and manga are sure to become hits!”

For more information on POKÉMON: ARCEUS AND THE JEWEL OF LIFE, please visit www.PokemonArceus.com. For more information on VIZ Media’s POKÉMON manga and anime titles, please visit www.VIZ.com/Pokemon/.

Leroy Douresseaux on Earp: Saints for Sinners #1

EARP: SAINTS FOR SINNERS #1

RADICAL PUBLISHING

CREATORS: Matt Cirulnick and David Manpearl

WRITERS: M. Zachary Sherman and Matt Cirulnick
LAYOUTS: Joe Benitez, Rod Pereira, and J.K. Woodward
ARTISTS: Mack Chater, Martin Montiel, and Colin Lorimer
COLORS: Kyushik Shin
LETTERS: Rus Wooton
COVER: Alex Maleev
72pp, Color, $5.99

Created by Hollywood types, Matt Cirulnick and David Manpearl, Earp: Saints for Sinners is a modern-day re-imagining of a classic Western hero, Wyatt Earp. This new Earp story is set in a new future where an event called “Black Thirty” sets off a second Great Depression.

Out of the chaos rises the celebrity bank robber, a kind of Robin Hood meets John Dillinger. There was, however, one man who brought them in to justice and shot down the ones he didn’t bring in, and that was Wyatt Earp. Earp collared more most-wanted men than anyone in history, but after a violent assignment claimed the life of his brother, Virgil Earp, Wyatt became a businessman in the only boomtown left in America, Las Vegas.

In Earp: Saints for Sinners #1, Wyatt’s younger, brother, Morgan Earp, shows up bloodied and beaten. That sets off Wyatt’s memories of the last several years, recounting how he went from NYPD to the U.S. Marshals. Now, Morgan is wanted by the only law that matters in Las Vegas, the Pinkertons, and their leader, Allan Pinkerton will use this opportunity to get rid of the Earps, once and for all. Will Doc Holliday arrive in time?

If you don’t get confused by the constant use of flashback in this first issue, you will love this shoot ‘em up as comic book, Earp: Saints for Sinners. It is a bit longish, and the characters seem as if they’re not quite out of the development stage. The art with shimmering, watercolor-like colors is perfect for the series lovely violence. Not only does the color make the violence pulsate, but it also makes the various cities and locales seem exotic. This comic, however, owes more to modern crime films (like Heat) than it does Western cinema.

I’d like to read more of this.

B