IDW from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

IDW PUBLISHING

DEC100380 ANGEL #42 $3.99

DEC100389 DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS #4 $3.99

DEC100400 EDGE OF DOOM #4 $3.99

DEC100346 GI JOE COBRA II #13 $3.99

NOV100350 GI JOE SPECIAL MISSIONS TP VOL 03 $19.99

DEC108147 INFESTATION #1 (OF 2) VAR CVR 2ND PTG (PP #956) $3.99

DEC100371 JERICHO SEASON 3 #4 (OF 6) $3.99

DEC100354 KILL SHAKESPEARE #1 100 PENNY PRESS ED $1.00

DEC100424 LONE JUSTICE TP VOL 02 $19.99

DEC100417 PLANE STORY TP $19.99

NOV100387 SILENT HILL PAST LIFE #4 (OF 4) $3.99

DEC100412 THE SUICIDE FOREST #3 (OF 4) $3.99

DEC100340 TRANSFORMERS INFESTATION #2 (OF 2) $3.99

DEC100370 TRUE BLOOD HC VOL 01 ALL TOGETHER NOW (MR) $24.99

Dark Horse from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

DARK HORSE COMICS

OCT100041 FINDER GN VOL 01 VOICE $19.99

SEP100112 HEART TRANSPLANT LTD ED HC $99.99

DEC100063 LET ME IN CROSSROADS #3 (OF 4) SEAN PHILLIPS CVR $3.99

AUG100022 MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER #3 (OF 4) $3.50

DEC100073 MASS EFFECT EVOLUTION #2 (OF 4) MASSIMO CARNEVALE CVR $3.50

DEC100066 MIGHTY SAMSON #2 $3.50

DEC100069 STAR WARS KNIGHT ERRANT #5 (OF 5) AFLAME $2.99

NOV100045 TARZAN THE JESSE MARSH YEARS HC VOL 08 $49.99

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

IMAGE COMICS

DEC100438 CAPTAIN WONDER 3D ONE-SHOT $4.99

DEC108124 INFINITE VACATION #1 (OF 5) 2ND PTG (PP #956) $3.50

SEP100535 MAGDALENA (ONGOING) #5 $3.99

DEC100482 MARINEMAN #3 $3.99

DEC100483 MEMOIR #2 (OF 6) $3.50

DEC100470 MORNING GLORIES VOL 01 FOR A BETTER FUTURE TP $9.99

DEC100488 PROOF ENDANGERED #3 $3.99

DEC100526 TWILIGHT GUARDIAN #2 (OF 4) $3.99

DEC100452 WALKING DEAD WEEKLY #7 (MR) $2.99

Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

COMICS

OCT100837 10TH MUSE VS LEGEND OF ISIS #1 (OF 2) $3.99

DEC100804 28 DAYS LATER #20 $3.99

NOV108215 ALEX TOTH ADVENTURES JON FURY IN JAPAN SPECIAL ED $11.00

DEC100739 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #152 $2.99

NOV100730 ARCHIE NEW LOOK SERIES TP VOL 05 GOODBYE FOREVER $10.95

DEC100742 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #188 $3.99

DEC100869 BOYS #51 (MR) $3.99

DEC090806 BUCK ROGERS HC VOL 01 FUTURE SHOCK BEATTY SGN ED $39.99

DEC100715 CAVEWOMAN HUNT #2 (MR) PI

SEP101220 CHARMED #6 A CVR SEIDMAN $3.50

SEP101221 CHARMED #6 B CVR PHOTO $3.50

DEC100734 CYCLOPS #4 (MR) $3.95

DEC100832 DARKWING DUCK #9 $3.99

NOV100849 DEVILS TRAIL #1 (OF 4) (MR) $3.99

DEC101016 DISNEY FAIRIES GN VOL 01 PRILLAS TALENT (O/A) $7.99

DEC100834 DONALD DUCK #363 $3.99

DEC100930 DORK TOWER COLL TP 04 LIVIN LA VIDA DORKA (NEW PTG) $15.95

DEC100932 DR BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK TP VOL 01 (NEW PTG) (O/A) $14.99

OCT100841 FAME DANICA PATRICK $3.99

MAR100721 FATHOM BLUE DESCENT #2 CVR A SCOTT CLARK $2.99

OCT100842 FEMALE FORCE SARAH PALIN PT 2 $3.99

DEC100864 GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #1 (MR) $3.99

DEC101113 GFT PRESENTS NEVERLAND #7 (OF 7) A CVR QUALANO (RES) $2.99

DEC101114 GFT PRESENTS NEVERLAND #7 (OF 7) B CVR CUMMINGS (RES) $2.99

SEP100943 GREEN HORNET YEAR ONE #8 $3.99

SEP101212 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #55 A CVR EBAS $2.99

SEP101213 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #55 B CVR QUALANO $2.99

NOV101094 GRIMM FAIRY TALES BLOOD BATH COLL $3.99

DEC100836 INCREDIBLES TP VOL 05 TRUTH & CONSEQUENCES $9.99

NOV101001 JOE KUBERT READER TP $25.00

NOV101023 JOHNNY RED HC VOL 01 FALCONS FIRST FLIGHT (RES) $19.95

NOV101100 LAON GN VOL 04 $11.99

DEC100841 MICKEY MOUSE #305 $3.99

AUG100839 NANNY & HANK #3 $3.99

SEP100855 NANNY & HANK #4 $3.99

OCT100811 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) (MR) $3.99

OCT100812 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) GORE CVR (MR) $3.99

OCT100813 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99

NOV100850 PHINEAS & FERB EARLY COMIC READER #4 ITS ABOUT TIME $4.99

SEP100857 POLITICAL POWER BILL O REILLY $3.99

OCT100970 ROBERT JORDAN WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #8 $3.99

OCT100848 ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS DEATHSPORT #2 $3.99

AUG100783 SCOURGE #3 CVR A ERIC BATTLE $2.99

AUG100784 SCOURGE #3 CVR B NICK BRADSHAW $2.99

DEC100983 SEEKERS KALLIKS ADVENTURE GN VOL 01 $6.99

NOV101068 SHONEN JUMP MARCH 2011 $4.99

DEC100800 SIMPSONS COMICS #175 $2.99

DEC100750 SONIC UNIVERSE #25 $2.99

DEC100824 STAN LEE SOLDIER ZERO #5 $3.99

NOV101020 TANK GIRL BAD WIND RISING #2 (OF 4) $3.99

SEP101026 TWILIGHT O/T A-HOLES GN $28.99

DEC100965 UPTIGHT #4 (RES) $3.95

NOV100855 VAMPIRELLA #3 $3.99

OCT100850 VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS #25 (MR) $3.99

MAGAZINES
OCT101253 GOTHIC & LOLITA BIBLE #36 (NOTE PRICE) $33.00
OCT101254 HOBBY JAPAN JAN 2011 (NOTE PRICE) PI
DEC101130 JUXTAPOZ #122 MAR 2011 $5.99
NOV101152 SCI FI & FANTASY MODELLER VOL 20 $26.95
NOV101165 SFX #205 $9.99
DEC101195 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #32 SPECIAL NEWSSTAND ED $9.99
DEC101196 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #32 SPECIAL PX ED $9.99
NOV101153 STEAMPUNK MODELLER VOL 01 $28.95

Leroy Douresseaux on Andy Diggle's RAT CATCHER

RAT CATCHER

DC COMICS/VERTIGO

WRITER: Andy Diggle

ARTIST: Victor Ibañez
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
COVER: Lee Bermejo
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1158-5; hardcover
184pp, B&W, $19.99 U.S., $22.99 CAN

I recently read my first Vertigo Crime graphic novel. Released a few weeks ago, it is entitled Rat Catcher. It’s a graphic novel from writer Andy Diggle (The Losers, Hellblazer) and Spanish artist Victor Ibañez, with black and white art. If my count is right, this is the sixth graphic novel released under the “Vertigo Crime” umbrella – the crime graphic fiction shingle of Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.

Rat Catcher is the first Vertigo Crime comic book that I’ve read, so I can’t say how much it is like the earlier releases. What I can say is that Rat Catcher isn’t crime fiction in that Donald Westlake/Jim Thompson way or even in that Raymond Chandler/Dashiell Hammett way. Rat Catcher is a crime thriller, or more specifically an FBI thriller.

Rat Catcher largely takes place in West Texas, the “badlands of West Texas,” as the story and advertising for the book emphasize. A white supremacist, drug lord named Earl Rawlins rules supreme. Rawlins has just had an informant in his drug distribution system killed, and that killer is someone known as the “Rat Catcher.” The Rat Catcher is sort of like a boogeyman story for FBI agents, a mysterious figure who kills people about to enter the Witness Protection Program after informing on Rawlins.

The chase begins in a burning Federal safe house with a pile of burning bodies inside. Soon two FBI Special Agents, William Lynch and Moses Burdon, are separately on a race to discover the truth. All the players in this game carry secrets, one more deadly than the others.

In a quote for Rat Catcher, Ian Rankin, a novelist who wrote the Vertigo Crime graphic novel, Dark Entries, says that “Moral ambiguities abound.” Not really. In Rat Catcher, murder comes in two flavors: those who got it coming and those who are merely victims. This fast paced narrative focuses on shocking twists and turns and the sudden impact of a bullet, so it doesn’t have time for ambiguity.

Rat Catcher feels like an action movie more than it does crime fiction of the prose or comic book variety. This is not a criticism. Diggle drops his readers into a clever ruse, and then, delivers the action movie thrills better than some action movies do. Although his storytelling is good, artist Victor Ibañez seems almost hard-pressed to keep up with Diggle’s blood-fueled death race with his chunky graphic style. I do feel a bit shitty about saying this: Ibañez isn’t a perfect fit for this story.

I don’t know what other Vertigo Crime comic books are like, but I wonder if they raise hell like Rat Catcher.

B+

Minck Oosterveer Joins Eva Ink Artist Group

Award-Winning "Zombie" Artist, Minck Oosterveer, Signs with Eva Ink Artist Group

New York, NY-- Okay, to say that Minck Oosterveer is a "zombie" aritst is true enough....BUT far from describing this wonderful talent. We just wanted to get your attention. :-)

In fact, the award-winning artist is known world wide for a plethora of comic strips, movie work, and sequential art. Most notably here in the United States for such books as "Zombie Tales" and "The Unknown" with writer Mark Waid!

Throughout his career, Minck pursued an education to become a master of the arts, and has certainly succeeded.

Although he grew up in The Netherlands (Holland) with European comics, he was soon more interested in American comics, especially the newspaper comics of the 1930s-50s. It was the pulp-ish, direct style and the usage of black and white in realistic artwork that attracted him the most. Film Noir as it were.

In fact, Oosterveer's work is strongly influenced by Milton Caniff, Alex Raymond, and Will Eisner. After working for a studio on productions like 'Tom & Jerry', 'Sesame Street', 'Paddington', 'Ovide' and 'Spider-Man', Minck Oosterveer moved more in the direction of another stylistic forte, working with Willem Ritstier on the series "Claudia Brücken" for the Franco-Belgian publishing-house 'les editons Lombard' and Tintin-Magazine .

The collaboration with Ritstier resulted in a daily newspaper comic in an American style, "Jack Pott", published in the Dutch newspaper "Algemeen Dagblad."

Since 1996 Oosterveer worked again with Willem Ritstier on the newspaper comic "Zodiak" for De Telegraaf, and series "Rick Rolluik" for Suske en Wiske-magazine, and "Arachna" for ComicWatch-magazine. He did the art and story for the comic "Excalibur", published by Enigma and artwork for a successful animated movie, '"Mario A".

In 2002, Oosterveer and Ritstier started a new daily comic strip in De Telegraaf, called "Nicky Saxx", one of their most successful comic-series. This was followed by a comic-series entitled "Trunk" (2006), which debuted to critical acclaim. Next they teamed up (2007) as writer (Ritstier) and penciller (Oosterveer) for "Storm", a successful European comic series created by Englishman Don Lawrence, and started a new western-comic, called "Ronson inc." for the legendary Dutch comic-magazine "Eppo"

Minck Oosterveer debuted in US-comics with the aforementioned "Zombie Tales/ Zaambi" written by Cris Morgan and published by BOOM!-studios. Early 2009 until 2010 he collaborated with American writer Mark Waid to draw the mini-series "The Unknown" and "The Unknown: The Devil made flesh" which where published by BOOM!-studios as well.

"From the moment Michael Golden and myself met Minck Oosterveer at a festival in Lille, France, we were struck by his witty sense of humor and his ease as a gentleman. After seeing his portfolio some time later, I also became aware of what an incredibly talented and versatile artist he truly is," commented Renee Witterstaetter of Eva Ink Artist Group. "Minck has that rare ability to find strengths in many art styles-- from Film Noir to cartoon, to American and European sequential styles. The one thing that is never lacking is good storytelling. Is is obvious to me that he is indeed a student of the masters such as Will Eisner and Alex Raymond in that regard. As with any exceptionally good artist, even his covers tell a story. To top that, not only is Minck a consummate professional dealing with deadlines and clients, but he is also the creator of his own intellectual properties.

"All of the above made Minck a more than welcome addition to our company, Eva Ink Artist Group," Renee concluded. "I try to only work with the best, and to me, Mr. Oosterveer is certainly that. My congratulations to him on this much deserved award."

Currently, Minck Oosterveer is scheduled for several European and US shows in 2011, with more to follow.

Look for him at:
De Stripdagen Gorinchem, The Netherlands, March 12-13

Wizard World Philly, June 17-19th

Albuquerque Comic Con, June 24th-26th

FACTS Convention Ghent Belgium, October 22-23rd

For more information on Minck, his commissions, and appearances contact Renee at evaink@aol.com

20th Century Boys Beginning of the End

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 13

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

Ballots for 2011 Harvey Awards Now Available

2011 HARVEY NOMINATION BALLOTS AVAILABLE!

SCOTT KURTZ TO HOST HARVEY AWARDS!

BALTIMORE, MD (February 3, 2011) -- The Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con are proud to present the official Nomination Ballot for this year's Harvey Awards. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry's most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art.

Ballots can be downloaded from HarveyAwards.org and completed forms can be e-mailed to harveyballots@hotmail.com. Ballots are due for submission by Monday, March 28, 2011. In addition to being available on the website, ballots will be sent to all major publishers and distributed at comic conventions. We look forward to your participation and input in this process, and we look forward to seeing you at the Baltimore Comic-Con and the Harvey Awards.

Returning for his third consecutive Harvey Awards, Scott Kurtz will be the Master of Ceremonies for the awards banquet, to be held Saturday, August 20, 2011 as part of the Baltimore Comic-Con. "We are thrilled that Scott agreed to come back to Baltimore and help to make the Harvey Awards ceremony as fun and exciting as the last few years have been!" said Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con.

Scott Kurtz has been creating his own comic strips since he got hooked on Garfield in the 4th grade. In 1998, his comic strip, PvP, debuted on the world wide web (pvponline.com) with 700 daily readers. Over the last 10 years, PvP has grown into a genuine Internet phenomenon, growing in readership to an estimated 150,000 readers per day, a monthly title from Image comics, winning a Harvey Award in 2010 for Best Online Comics Work, and winning the Eisner Award for best digital comic in 2006. Scott co-wrote the book "How To Make Webcomics" and co-founded webcomics.com to help assist others in forging their own creative destinies.

Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators - those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. The Harvey Awards are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals.

This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 20. Additional details about the Harvey Awards and the awards ceremony will be released over the next few months.


About The Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 20 years, the last 6 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. For more information, please visit www.harveyawards.org

About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 12th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

Bokurano 4 of Ours Down

I read Bokurano: Ours, Vol. 3

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

I Reads You Review: LIVES, VOL. 1

Creator: Masayuki Taguchi with Bryce P. Coleman (English adaptation) and Monica Seya Chin (translation)

Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 192 pages, $12.99 (US), $16.99 CAN

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1667-2

 

Action/Fantasy; Rated “M” for “Mature Ages 18+”

 

I enjoy reading manga, and for most of the last eight years, I’ve been exposed to a lot of it. Manga offers high-quality series in so many genres and sub-genres, and there is such diversity that some manga are simply hard to classify. There are also titles that I call “guy comics” because those manga appeal to the action-loving, science fiction/fantasy fan that cannot get enough of kick-ass shonen and seinen manga like Bleach, Naruto, Black Lagoon and Akira. I just discovered a new seinen manga (comics for adult men) that has made me anxious for the next volume.

TOKYOPOP recently published the first volume of their English language release of Lives. Created by Masayuki Taguchi (the artist of the Battle Royale manga), Lives has elements of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and monster comics. It also has a passing resemblance to TOKYOPOP’s World of Warcraft graphic novels.

Lives, Vol. 1 focuses on a group of people who live in the Kanto region of Japan, which is devastated by a freak meteor storm. People caught in the terrific blasts caused by meteors hitting the area are mysteriously transported to a strange world that one of them dubs “Afterworld.” There, the human arrivals transform into monstrous cannibalistic beasts that must fight and sometimes eat each other to survive. Shinma Shingo, a genial martial arts student, leads a small group of survivors. His peaceful and protecting ways, however, are at odds with what seems to be the way to deal with life on Afterworld.

Readers who enjoy battles between behemoths and other super freaks, like those found in teen-oriented, battle manga, will like Lives. The story is a little confusing in places because Taguchi uses a non-linear narrative in which he builds chapters around the back story, arrival, and survival stories of individual characters. Chronologically, Vol. 1’s opening chapter, which his about a girl group singer, actually takes place after the main character’s (Shinma Shingo) story has already taken place. Shingo’s story doesn’t appear until late in the second half of this volume, although it is chronologically the beginning of this story.

Still, Taguchi is very good at telling a story using graphics and the word-and-pictures dynamic of comic books. While his art is beautiful, the beauty is merely an element in what is a spry and expressive visual narrative that is capable of conveying the characters’ thoughts, emotions, and actions. I have to praise Taguchi, though, for his imaginative creature design, which mixes dinosaurs, reptiles, big cats, assorted mammals, and a touch of Cthulhu. Shinma’s beast mode is like a mix of Wolverine and Sabertooth, but with three-foot claws.

If the monsters aren’t enough for potential readers, there is fanservice in the form of crotch shots and tits-and-ass galore. I look forward to more cool monsters.

A-

Top Shelf and Congressman John Lewis Enter Publishing Agreement

Rep. John Lewis and Top Shelf Productions Sign Historic Publishing Agreement

 

February 7, 2010 Atlanta, GA – Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Top Shelf Productions have signed a publishing agreement. Top Shelf Productions has agreed to publish the graphic novel March, coauthored by Rep. John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, tentatively scheduled for release in 2012.

“I am very pleased to be participating in this effort,” said Congressman John Lewis. “This is something I really wanted to do some years ago and there is no better time to do it than now. It is not just a story of struggle; it is a story of involvement. It shows the ups, the downs, the ins and the outs of a movement.

“It is my hope,” said Congressman Lewis, “that this work will be meaningful and helpful to future generations to give many people here in America and around the world the urge, the desire, to seek, to build, their own world, their own future.”

A meditation in the modern age on the distance traveled, both as a nation and as a people, since the days of Jim Crow and segregation, March tells the first hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights.

The publishing agreement is an historic first, both for the U.S. Congress and graphic novel publishing as a whole, marking the first time a sitting Member of Congress has authored a graphic novel. Top Shelf Productions is the first and only graphic novel publisher to be certified by the House Committee on Standards.

“As a proud resident of Georgia, and a long-time fan of the honorable Congressman,” adds publisher Chris Staros, “this is truly a deep honor. To bring, not only his life’s story, but that of the Civil Rights Movement to the comics medium is truly exciting. This will make this historical and timeless message accessible to an entirely new generation of readers.”

An artist has yet to be named for the project though candidates are being actively considered.

***

JOHN LEWIS, is Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District Representative and an American icon widely known for his role in the Civil Rights Movement.

As a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary in 1959, John Lewis organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1961, he volunteered to participate in the Freedom Rides, which challenged segregation at interstate bus terminals across the South. He was beaten severely by angry mobs and arrested by police for challenging the injustice of Jim Crow segregation in the South.

From 1963 to 1966, Lewis was Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As Chairman, John Lewis became a nationally recognized leader. Lewis was dubbed one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and at the age of 23, he was an architect of and a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in August 1963.

In 1964, John Lewis coordinated SNCC efforts to organize voter registration drives and community action programs during the Mississippi Freedom Summer. The following year, Lewis helped spearhead one of the most seminal moments of the Civil Rights Movement. Hosea Williams, another notable Civil Rights leader, and John Lewis led over 600 peaceful, orderly protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. They intended to march from Selma to Montgomery to demonstrate the need for voting rights in the state. The marchers were attacked by Alabama state troopers in a brutal confrontation that became known as "Bloody Sunday." News broadcasts and photographs revealing the senseless cruelty of the segregated South helped hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Despite more than 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, John Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence. After leaving SNCC in 1966, he continued his commitment to the Civil Rights Movement as Associate Director of the Field Foundation and his participation in the Southern Regional Council's voter registration programs. Lewis went on to become the Director of the Voter Education Project (VEP). In 1977, John Lewis was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to direct more than 250,000 volunteers of ACTION, the federal volunteer agency.

In 1981, he was elected to the Atlanta City Council. He was elected to Congress in November 1986 and has served as U.S. Representative of Georgia's Fifth Congressional District since then.

ANDREW AYDIN, an Atlanta native, currently serves in Rep. John Lewis’ Washington, D.C. office handling Telecommunications and Technology policy as well as New Media. Previously, Andrew served as Communications Director and Press Secretary during Rep. Lewis’ 2008 and 2010 re-election campaigns. Andrew is a graduate of the Lovett School in Atlanta and Trinity College in Hartford, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Georgetown University.

TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS is the literary graphic novel and comics publisher best known for its ability to discover and showcase the vanguard of the comics scene. Founded by Co-Publisher Brett Warnock in 1995, and partnered by Co-Publisher Chris Staros in 1997, Top Shelf has produced over two hundred graphic novels and comics that have helped to revitalize interest in comics as a literary art form. Most notably, Alan Moore’s FROM HELL, LOST GIRLS, and THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN; Craig Thompson’s BLANKETS; Andy Runton's OWLY; Robert Venditti & Brett Weldele’s THE SURROGATES, Jeff Lemire’s ESSEX COUNTY, and Jeffrey Brown's CLUMSY & UNLIKELY, all of which have garnered critical accolades from the likes of Time Magazine, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, People Magazine, Publishers Weekly , The New Yorker, and the New York Times Book Review.

IN PHOTO (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT): Chris Staros, Congressman John Lewis & Andrew Aydin

Leroy Douresseaux on Hotwire: Deep Cut #3

HOTWIRE: DEEP CUT #3 (OF 3)

RADICAL PUBLISHING

CREATORS: Steve Pugh and Warren Ellis

WRITER/ARTIST: Steve Pugh
LETTERS: Steve Pugh
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

Hotwire: Deep Cut, the sequel to Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead, comes to an end. Deep Cut is written and drawn by Steve Pugh and released by Radical Publishing.

Hotwire takes place in a future where the dead return as blue-light ghosts. They feed off the electromagnetic waste of billions of wireless devices, but while most drift about harmless and witless, some can take more solid form and become very dangerous. Detective Exorcist Alice Hotwire, a character created by Pugh with Warren Ellis, battles those blue-lights and any persons or entities that would use them for nefarious purposes.

The latest Hotwire miniseries comes to an end in Hotwire: Deep Cut #3. Alice has to stop Thomas Epping, a dead soldier brought back by some exotic technology, before Epping and his ragtag army of blue lights enter the city. Alice and her partner, Detective Peter Mobey, have to save the day before Bertus Rantz, the boss of the private security firm, Bear Claw Security. Rantz and his mercenaries plan to use a proto-type “ghost-killer,” called Soul-Easter, which will make everything worse.

As much as I’ve enjoyed Hotwire: Deep Cut, I kept thinking that it could not maintain its exceptionally high, high quality even throughout its short three-issue run. Of course, it did. Imaginative, inventive, and fun, every exciting page of Deep Cut is a dazzling mix of exotic super tech and science fiction horror. One of the signs of a good comic book is that you immediately miss it as soon as you finish reading it, and I can’t wait for Alice Hotwire to return.

A

http://www.radicalpublishing.com/

Maoh Juvenile Remix Targets

I read Maoh: Juvenile Remix, Vol. 4

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

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 9 2011

DC COMICS

DEC100228 ADVENTURE COMICS #523 $2.99

NOV100267 AIR TP VOL 04 A HISTORY OF THE FUTURE (MR) $14.99

DEC100271 ALL NEW BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #4 $2.99

NOV100255 ASSASSINS CREED THE FALL #3 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99

DEC100204 BATGIRL #18 $2.99

DEC100198 BATMAN AND ROBIN #20 $2.99

DEC100203 BIRDS OF PREY #9 $2.99

JUN100298 BLACKEST NIGHT PORTFOLIO SET #1 $29.99

DEC100294 CINDERELLA FABLES ARE FOREVER #1 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99

FEB100286 COVER GIRLS OF THE DCU POISON IVY STATUE $99.99

DEC100242 DC COMICS PRESENTS GREEN LANTERN FEAR ITSELF #1 $7.99

DEC100243 DC COMICS PRESENTS WONDER WOMAN #1 $7.99

NOV100201 DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #9 (OF 10) $3.99

MAY100310 DC UNIVERSE ONLINE STATUE GREEN LANTERN $80.00

MAY100311 DC UNIVERSE ONLINE STATUE SUPERMAN $80.00

DEC100278 DEUS EX #1 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99

DEC100235 DOC SAVAGE #11 $2.99

OCT100224 FLASH #9 (FLASHPOINT) $2.99

OCT100267 FLASH DASTARDLY DEATH OF THE ROGUES HC $19.99

DEC100182 GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS #7 (WAR OF GL) $2.99

DEC100172 JUSTICE LEAGUE GENERATION LOST #19 (BRIGHTEST DAY) $2.99

DEC100201 KNIGHT & SQUIRE #5 (OF 6) $2.99

DEC100303 NORTHLANDERS #37 (MR) $2.99

DEC100237 REBELS #25 $2.99

DEC100205 RED ROBIN #20 $2.99

NOV108297 STEEL #1 2ND PTG (DOOMSDAY) $2.99

NOV100230 SUICIDE SQUAD TP VOL 01 TRIAL BY FIRE $19.99

DEC100211 SUPERMAN #708 $2.99

NOV100235 SUPERMAN MON EL TP VOL 01 $17.99

NOV100231 TEEN TITANS HUNT FOR RAVEN TP $17.99

DEC100240 THUNDER AGENTS #4 $2.99

DEC100233 TITANS #32 $2.99

DEC100306 UNWRITTEN #22 (MR) $2.99

DEC100284 VICTORIAN UNDEAD II HOLMES VS DRACULA #4 (OF 5) $2.99

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 9 2011

MARVEL COMICS

JUL100660 ACTS OF VENGEANCE OMNIBUS HC DAVIS CVR $99.99

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IDW from Diamond Distributors for February 9 2011

IDW PUBLISHING

NOV100402 CLASSICS MUTILATED DREAD ISLAND CONVENTION EDITION $15.99

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Dark Horse from Diamond Distributors for February 9 2011

DARK HORSE COMICS

MAY100100 60TH ANNIV CLASSIC PEANUTS STATUE #3 LUCY $49.95

DEC100062 BPRD HELL ON EARTH GODS #2 (OF 3) $3.50

MAY100101 CLASSIC UNCLE SCROOGE STATUE VOL 02 #3 CASH N CARRY $49.95

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AUG100062 OH MY GODDESS RTL TP VOL 37 $10.99

NOV100020 STAR WARS OLD REPUBLIC TP VOL 01 BLOOD OF EMPIRE $15.99

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 9 2011

IMAGE COMICS

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DEC100451 WALKING DEAD WEEKLY #6 (MR) $2.99

DEC108021 WHO IS JAKE ELLIS #1 VAR CVR 2ND PTG (PP #955) $2.99

Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for February 9 2011

COMICS

DEC100805 28 DAYS LATER TP VOL 03 HOTZONE $12.99

DEC101041 AMNESIA LABYRINTH GN VOL 01 $10.99

NOV100802 AMORY WARS KEEPING SECRETS OF SILENT EARTH 3 #8 (OF 12) $3.99

NOV101009 ATOMIC ROBO DEADLY ART OF SCIENCE #3 (OF 5) $3.50

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MAGAZINES
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Leroy Douresseaux on Driver for the Dead #3

DRIVER FOR THE DEAD #3

RADICAL PUBLISHING

 

WRITER: John Heffernan

PENCILS/INKS: Leonardo Manco
PAINTS: Kinsun Loh, Jerry Choo
LETTERS: Todd Klein
56pp, Color, $4.99

Radical Comics’ action, voodoo, horror comic book miniseries, Driver for the Dead comes to an exciting, ghoulishly played ending.

Set in the heart of Louisiana, Driver for the Dead is written by John Heffernan (a screenwriter on the film, Snakes on a Plane) and drawn by Leonardo Manco (Hellblazer). The series follows Alabaster Graves, the Driver for the Dead. In his custom-made hearse, Black Betty, Graves handles dangerous (like vampires) or supernaturally-involved corpses (the not-quite-dead).

In Driver for the Dead #3, Graves prepares for his final battle against the centuries-old necromancer, Uriah Fallow. The prize is the enchanted body of beloved New Orleans-based healer, Mose Freeman, and Mose’s great-granddaughter, Marissa Freeman. The true natures of Graves, Fallow, and Marissa are also revealed.

With its wham-bam, thank-you-dead-ma’am ending, Driver for the Dead delivers what its hellishly auspicious beginning promised – a damn good horror comic book story. This mix of Hellblazer’s John Constantine and The Transporter’s Frank Martin is a thrilling read that gives B-movie horror a thumping occult upgrade.

Writer John Heffernan’s script to close out this story is darker, more violent, and certainly creepier in its occult elements. Leonardo Manco’s art, with Kinsun Loh and Jerry Choo’s perfect-for-horror-comics colors, transports readers from shadowy swamps to a cursed plantation and finally to sunny, magical New Orleans. Heffernan and Manco can take comfort in our discomfort; they’ve created ghastly magic with Driver for the Dead.

A

http://www.radicalpublishing.com/

Bakuman Debut and Impatience

I read Bakuman., Vol. 3

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

The Black Eyed Peas Get Bluewater Comics' "Fame" Treatment

BLUEWATER BRINGS THE BLACK EYED PEAS TO THE COMIC PAGES

 

The Black Eyed Peas made history in 2009 when its singles I Gotta Feeling and Boom Boom Pow held the top two spots in the Billboard Hot 100. Only 11 artists, including the Peas, have managed this feat in the Hot 100's history.

The Black Eyed Peas will make history of a different sort this February. That's when Bluewater Productions will ship its latest comic, Fame: The Black Eyed Peas to comic shops and online retailers across the country.

The Peas will become the latest artists to hit the pages of a Bluewater-produced comic. The company's Fame series, which profiles the biggest of celebrities and artists, has already featured biographies of Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, David Beckham and Taylor Swift.

The Black Eyed Peas comic will trace the history of one of the country's most popular bands from its humble roots all the way to its Grammy winning successes. Along the way, readers will discover a variety of previously unknown facts about the talented musicians that make up the Peas.

“It was impossible to get away from the Black Eyed Peas in the last two years,” said Darren Davis, publisher and founder of Bluewater Productions. “This group is exactly the kind of band we want to showcase in our Fame series, one that has captured the attention of the country. This comic does a tremendous job of showcasing the band's rise, and should provide plenty of new information for even the most devoted of its fans.”

M. Zachary Sherman wrote the script for Fame: The Black Eyed Peas, while Kristopher Smith handled the pencils. Smith also contributed one of the books' two covers.

The suggested retail price (SRP) for the comic book is $3.99. To find a comic book store near you go to http://www.comicshoplocator.com/. The comic will also be on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/gbHYHu

Bluewater Productions, one of the country's leading independent comics publishers, has gained its own brand of fame for its series of biography comics, Fame, Female Force and Political Power. The company, though, also produces a line of fiction comics, including such critically acclaimed series as Insane Jane, Nanny & Hank and Styx & Stone. For more information, visit Bluewater online at http://www.bluewaterprod.com/.


About Bluewater Productions
Bluewater Productions Inc. is one of the top independent production studios of comic books, young adult books and graphic novels. Its extensive catalog of titles includes the bestsellers “10th Muse” and “The Legend of Isis” ”Bluewater publishes comic books in partnership with entertainment icon William Shatner (“TekWar Chronicles”), legendary filmmaker Ray Harryhausen (“Wrath of the Titans,” “Sinbad: Rogue of Mars,” “Jason and the Argonauts,” et al) and celebrated actor Vincent Price (“Vincent Price Presents”), Additionally, Bluewater publishes a highly successful line of biographical comics under the titles “Female Force” and “Political Power.”

Bluewater aims to unite cutting-edge art and engaging stories produced by its stable of the publishing industry's top artists and writers.

For more information, visit http://www.bluewaterprod.com/.

TOKYOPOP Announces New Web Documentary Series

TOKYOPOP debuts groundbreaking new series America's Greatest Otaku

Eight-episode documentary series to premiere February 24 on Hulu

TOKYOPOP, the leading manga-lifestyle entertainment company, is pleased to announce that the first episode of its weekly documentary series, America's Greatest Otaku, will debut on Hulu February 24, 2011.

America's Greatest Otaku is a revealing documentary series that searches the United States for the number one American otaku. The term "otaku" refers to any uber-passionate fan of anime, manga, games, and Japanese pop culture in which it is less of a hobby, and more of a lifestyle.

Each of the eight episodes will follow TOKYOPOP founder, entrepreneur, and filmmaker Stu Levy and his apprentices, the Otaku Six (six college students that are self-proclaimed die-hard otaku) as they travel across the country, searching for the one person who personifies what it means to be an otaku. The twenty-city nationwide search covers, in order of travel, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Denver, Dallas, Kansas City, Albuquerque, Phoenix, San Diego, Oklahoma, Nashville, Baltimore, Washington D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Louisville, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Chicago.

America's Greatest Otaku features nineteen "contenders" who compete for the grand prize of a trip to otaku Mecca--Tokyo, Japan. In the season finale, America's Greatest Otaku will be revealed, and the winner's exciting trip to Japan will be spotlighted.

"My goal with America's Greatest Otaku is to pay tribute to an amazing sub-culture that many people may not be aware of," says Levy. " There are otaku living in every city and town, attending conventions of all sizes. These are fans that are entirely devoted to their passion. With this show I hope to prove that otaku are incredibly intelligent and creative fans, who are also themselves true characters."

Contenders will be judged based on six "core qualities"--pride, personality, passion, participation, expertise, and imagination. From cosplay costume designers, to manga artists, to custom anime toy designers, contenders express their otaku love in many fascinating and entertaining ways. In the season finale, four prominent industry judges vote for the winner--but fans will also be able to vote for a "Fan Favorite" winner on www.americasgreatestotaku.com after Episode Seven airs.

During the nationwide search for America's Greatest Otaku contenders, Levy and the Otaku Six visit over thirty "Otaku Spots"--locations that are rich with otaku style and appeal. Included in these Spots are: an innovative "maid café"; a hotel inspired by Japanese pop culture; a recreation of a 17th century Japanese house and garden; a ninja-themed restaurant; a bento box specialty shop; an Alice in Wonderland themed café; and many, many more.

In addition, Levy and the Otaku Six interview notable people influencing otaku culture, such as J-Pop idol Erina Mano, Three Rings games CEO Daniel James, anime voice actor and Director Eric Vale (Fruits Basket, Dragon Ball Z), FUNimation Director of Production Justin Ryan Cook, and Japanese hip-hop band and anime song writers (Bleach, Naruto) Home Made Kazoku.

To watch America's Greatest Otaku, as well as check out show clips, info, and fan favorite voting, be sure to visit the America's Greatest Otaku website: www.americasgreatestotaku.com.

Credits:
Cast
Host: Stu Levy
Otaku Six: Andre Jeanjacques, Diana Hsu, Dominique Kruse, Meera Jogani, Stephan Cho, William Sullivan Brown

Crew:
Executive Producer & Director: Stu Levy
Co-Producer: Daisuke Kinouchi
Director of Photography: Daisuke Kinouchi
Videographers: Daisuke Kinouchi, Stu Levy, Stephan Cho
Editors: Daisuke Kinouchi, Scott Shaver, Kathria Tizon
Junior Editors: Alice Park, Christina Wong
Motion Graphics: Jason Milligan, Raymond Cinemato, Andrew Guiyangco
Sound Designer: Ben Chan
Field Audio Mixers: Diana Hsu, William Sullivan Brown
Production Associates: Kasia Piekarz, Laura Benefiel, Christina Wong
Production Coordinators: Dominique Kruse, Meera Jogani, Stevie Wegrzyn
Production Assistants: Andrew Guiyangco, Erinn Conlon, Kathryn Cwynar, Lily Chau, Tida Jursudakul, Victor Luo, Jordan Julio Acosta
Production Management: John Parker, Marco Pavia
Brand Manager: Troy Lewter


About TOKYOPOP
Founded in 1997 by international media entrepreneur Stu Levy, TOKYOPOP established the market for manga in North America, introducing the term to the English language in the process. Over its history, TOKYOPOP has published over 3000 books, distributed anime and Asian films on home video and television, licensed merchandise to consumer goods companies, created graphic novels of major brands such as Warcraft, Star Trek, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Hannah Montana, and led the way digitally in social media, e-commerce and user-generated content. TOKYOPOP's brand expanded internationally with offices in Europe and Japan and a network of over 160 partners in more than 50 countries and 30 languages. Taking its Manga Revolution beyond the page, TOKYOPOP has begun producing live-action and animated film and television content based on its extensive intellectual property library, including Priest, Van Von Hunter, and another 20 projects currently in development, along with America's Greatest Otaku, an 8-episode reality show filmed during its 2010 summer-long, 28-city national tour. For more information, visit http://www.tokyopop.com/ as well as www.twitter.com/tokyopop and www.facebook.com/tokyopop.

Fantagraphics Bookstore and Bureau of Drawers Present "Lovesick"

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, in association with the Bureau of Drawers, hosts “LOVESICK” Comix Exhibition Opening February 12.

Aaron Renier and Jason Shiga appear on Wednesday, February 23.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery loves local comix! Saturday, February 12 features the opening of “Lovesick,” an exhibition of emerging and established artists from the Bureau of Drawers cartoonist collective. The show includes original art, handmade books and prints by 16 Seattle comix artists and illustrators. Exhibiting artists will be present for a festive reception at Fantagraphics Bookstore on Saturday, February 12 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM – just in time for Valentine’s.

The Bureau of Drawers formed in 2010 as an alliance of independent local alternative cartoonists. They meet weekly for an informal salon at Café Racer in Ravenna and have participated in high profile events at the Seattle Art Museum, Bumbershoot, and Urban Light Studios. The group includes accomplished cartoonists like David Lasky, Tom Dougherty and Scott Faulkner as well as promising young talent like Nikki Burch and Marc Palm. Other participating artists include Breanne Boland, Billis Helg, Tyler Hill, Calamity Jon Morris, Sean Robinson, Mark Stockbridge, Ed Trumbule, Adam Watson, Dalton Webb, and Stevie VanBronkhorst Expect an eclectic mix of topical works on the loose theme of unrequited love.

This event coincides with the 3rd anniversary edition of the colorful Georgetown Second Saturday Art Attack featuring adventurous – and amorous – visual and performing arts events throughout the historic neighborhood. For more information and a participant map visit: www.georgetownartattack.com. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery is located at 1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.) just minutes south of downtown Seattle. Open daily 11:30 to 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM. Phone 206.658.0110.

On Wednesday, February 23 at 6:30 PM, Fantagraphics Bookstore is pleased to present Aaron Renier in conversation with Jason Shiga. Renier will present his new graphic novel, The Unsinkable Walker Bean, on the acclaimed First Second imprint. Renier’s previous book, Spiral Bound (Top Shelf, 2005), was widely heralded as a book that appealed to sophisticated readers of all ages. Jason Shiga’s award-winning books also attract an all ages readership. In addition to self-published comics, his work has appeared in McSweeney’s Quarterly. His next effort, Empire State, is due later this year from Abrams. Renier and Shiga will discuss their unique approach to creating comics, followed by a signing and reception. This event marks the first in a series of “Comics Talks” at Fantagraphics Bookstore featuring discussions with writers, artists, and editors of diverse comics from the Northwest and beyond.

Listing Information:
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery and Bureau of Drawers Present

LOVESICK
Illustration and comix art by: Breanne Boland, Nikki Burch, Tom Dougherty, Scott Faulkner, Billis Helg, Tyler Hill, David Lasky, Calamity Jon Morris, Marc Palm, Sean Robinson, Mark Stockbridge, Ed Trumbule, Adam Watson, Dalton Webb, Stevie VanBronkhorst

Opening reception Saturday, February 12, 6:00 - 9:00 PM

Exhibition continues through March 9, 2011

Fantagraphics Book Club Presents the first in a series of “Comix Talks”

Aaron Renier in conversation with Jason Shiga

Wednesday, February 23, 6:30 PM

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery
1201 S. Vale St. (at Airport Way S.)
Seattle, WA 98108 206.658.0110
Open daily 11:30 – 8:00 PM, Sundays until 5:00 PM
http://www.fantagraphics.com/

Leroy Douresseaux on "Batman vs. The Undead"

BATMAN VS. THE UNDEAD

DC COMICS

 

WRITER: Kevin VanHook

ARTIST: Tom Mandrake
COLORS: David Baron
LETTERS: Steve Wands
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3035-7; paperback
128 Color, $14.99 U.S., $16.99 CAN

I still find comic book back issues in which the credits list the comic book artist as an illustrator. I don’t know if the term illustrator is appropriate because comic book penciller or artist does not provide illustrations for a comic book story. Rather he tells a story using graphics and drawings.

Certainly, some comic book artists employ the techniques of illustrators because they are the best way to tell a comic book story. A recent example would be Tom Mandrake whose pen and ink style art makes the new trade paperback, Batman vs. The Undead a thrilling superhero comic book, but also a throwback to weird pulp tales.

Batman vs. The Undead collects the storyline originally serialized in Batman Confidential #44-48. This story arc finds Bruce Wayne in New Orleans to contribute money for the post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding effort. Batman, on the other hand, is in the Big Easy on the trail of madman, Professor Herbert Combs. Combs was released from Arkham Asylum and is in New Orleans seeking to further his knowledge of the dark art of voodoo.

Batman isn’t the only one tracking Combs, so is the vampire Marius Dimeter and the Polish werewolf, Janko, both victims of Combs’ dark magic. Now, Combs has joined forces with another powerful voodoo practitioner, Mama Ezili, in a plot to raise the zombie army to beat all armies. The task to stop Combs is so big that Batman will not only need the help of Dimeter and Janko, but also the help of Superman.

Ten years from now, readers may not remember Batman vs. The Undead the way they remembered Batman: The Dark Knight Returns a decade after it was first published. Hopefully, new readers will continually discover this Batman Confidential storyline and many of them will remember it as one of the better Batman horror stories. Kevin VanHook and Tom Mandrake are in near-perfect dark harmony in creating this riveting mixture of Batman detective story and weird fiction.

Only a diseased mind or an imaginative comic book scribe could use rotting corpses, plastinated bodies, and moldy mummies as seed to grow one of the Dark Knight’s most challenging cases. Which is Kevin VanHook? I’ll let you decide, dear reader. Seriously, VanHook blends pulpy Robert E. Howard/H.P. Lovecraft horror and Denny O’Neil-style Caped Crusader into a gruesome stew that simmers like a summer potboiler.

Borrowing only a tiny bit from recent Batman artists like Jim Lee and Andy Kubert, Tom Mandrake creates graphics that recall the Batman comic book art of Berni Wrightson and Jim Aparo. When Mandrake weaves ghastly pages of undead action, dank swamps, and creepy graveyards, he conjures, in a way, early 20th century pen and ink illustrators (like Joseph Clement Coll). In the zombie and voodoo pages, Mandrake does award-worthy work that is as good as the best recent horror comic book art.

Batman vs. The Undead is a delight to read, like a good scary movie is to watch. The last chapter sort of stumbles in the last act, but overall, this is fun. I hope VanHook and Mandrake plan on giving us more such dark delights.

A-

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 2 2011

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DEC100208 AZRAEL #17 $2.99

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