Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 20 2011

DARK HORSE COMICS

JAN118119 BERSERK TP VOL 17 NEW PTG (MR) $14.99

MAY110025 CONAN ISLAND OF NO RETURN #2 $3.50

MAY110024 CONAN THE BARBARIAN MASK OF ACHERON $6.99

MAY110036 CRIMINAL MACABRE GOON WHEN FREAKS COLLIDE $3.99

MAR110040 DAMNED HIGHWAY FEAR & LOATHING IN ARKHAM $14.99

MAY110023 RAGE #2 (OF 3) $3.50

MAR110017 STAR WARS CLONE WARS YR TV TP VOL 06 STARCRUSHER TRAP $7.99

MAY110020 STAR WARS JEDI DARK SIDE #3 $2.99

MAY110019 STAR WARS OLD REPUBLIC #2 (OF 5) LOST SUNS $3.50

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 20 2011

IMAGE COMICS

MAY110495 ALL NIGHTER #2 (OF 5) $2.99

MAY110432 AVENGELYNE #1 CVR A LIEFELD $2.99

MAY110433 AVENGELYNE #1 CVR B GIENI $2.99

MAY110434 AVENGELYNE #1 CVR C BENITEZ $2.99

JAN110656 DARKNESS #92 (MR) $2.99

MAY110505 DEADLANDS MASSACRE AT RED WING ONE SHOT $2.99

APR110502 ELEPHANTMEN #33 (MR) $3.99

MAY110511 HACK SLASH #6 CVR A LIESTER & ROSENBERG (MR) $3.50

MAY110512 HACK SLASH #6 CVR B BELLEGARDE (MR) $3.50

MAR110589 MARINEMAN #6 (NOTE PRICE) $4.99

MAY110435 MARKSMAN #1 (OF 6) $1.00

MAY110438 REAPER #2 (MR) $4.99

MAY110440 REPULSE ONE SHOT (MR) $6.99

MAY110469 SPAWN NEW BEGINNINGS TP VOL 01 $14.99

MAY110479 TURF HC (MR) $39.99

MAY110534 WALKING DEAD #87 $2.99

MAY110538 WALKING DEAD WEEKLY #29 (MR) $2.99

MAY110542 WITCH DOCTOR #2 (OF 4) $2.99

Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for July 20 2011

COMICS

MAY111182 ABATTOIR #6 (OF 6) (MR) $3.50

MAY110912 AMORY WARS SECRETS OF SILENT EARTH 3 TP VOL 03 $14.99

MAY110824 ARCHIE & FRIENDS DOUBLE DIGEST #7 $3.99

MAY110823 ARCHIES WEIRD MYSTERIES TP $9.95

MAY111122 ARISA GN VOL 03 $10.99

MAR111009 ART OF LADY DEATH SGN HC VOL 01 $49.99

APR101107 BIG ADVENTURES OF MAJOKO GN VOL 05 (OF 5) $7.99

MAY111272 BLACK BUTLER TP VOL 06 $11.99

FEB110730 BLEEDOUT HC (MR) $14.95

MAY110974 BOYS BUTCHER BAKER CANDLESTICKMAKER #1 $3.99

MAR110856 CYCLOPS #5 (MR) $3.95

MAY110944 DARKWING DUCK #14 $3.99

JAN111192 DF VENOM #1 REMENDER SGN ED $29.99

APR111016 DF WARLORD OF MARS DEJAH THORIS #4 ADAMS BONUS (MR) $19.99

MAY110946 DISNEY TREASURY DONALD DUCK TP VOL 02 $14.99

MAY110851 EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT LOTUS #1 (OF 3) CVR A NOME $2.99

MAY110852 EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT LOTUS #1 (OF 3) CVR B FRANCISCO $2.99

MAY111125 FAIRY TAIL GN VOL 14 $10.99

MAY110896 FEMALE FORCE MARTHA STEWART $3.99

FEB110733 FRAGGLE ROCK HC VOL 02 $19.95

APR110761 GOLD DIGGER PLATINUM TP VOL 02 $14.99

APR111267 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #61 A CVR YANG (MR) $2.99

APR111268 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #61 B CVR CACAU $2.99

MAY110842 HAUNTED CITY #0 CVR A RYAN $2.50

MAY110843 HAUNTED CITY #0 CVR B GUNNELL $2.50

MAY111044 KIM HARRISON HOLLOWS GN VOL 01 BLOOD WORK $23.00

APR111072 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #176 (NOTE PRICE) $5.99

APR111230 LA QUINTA CAMERA GN VOL 01 $12.99

MAY111277 LAON GN VOL 06 $11.99

APR110850 LOGANS RUN AFTERMATH #3 (RES) $3.99

MAY110929 MALIGNANT MAN #4 (OF 4) $3.99

MAY110899 MISADVENTURES OF ADAM WEST #1 $3.99

MAY111278 NABARI NO OU TP VOL 07 (MR) $11.99

JAN111312 NEPTUNE GN $14.00

MAY111127 NINJA GIRLS GN VOL 06 (MR) $10.99

APR110780 OLD CITY BLUES HC $14.95

APR111123 ONE SOUL HC GN $24.99

APR111236 OOKU INNER CHAMBERS GN VOL 06 (MR) $12.99

MAY111279 PANDORA HEARTS GN VOL 06 $11.99

JAN110930 POCKET GOD TP VOL 01 $14.95

MAY110902 RAIN #1 (MR) $3.99

APR110979 RED SONJA REVENGE O/T GODS #5 (OF 5) $3.99

MAY110909 SERGIO ARAGONES FUNNIES #1 $3.50

MAY111128 SHUGO CHARA GN VOL 11 $10.99

MAY110911 SIMPSONS COMICS #180 $2.99

MAY110834 SONIC UNIVERSE #30 $2.99

MAY111170 SONS OF LIBERTY GN VOL 02 $12.99

MAY111171 SONS OF LIBERTY HC VOL 02 $18.99

MAY110964 SPACE RACE CAMPFIRE GN $9.99

MAY110933 STAN LEE SOLDIER ZERO #10 $3.99

MAY111280 TIME AND AGAIN GN VOL 06 $11.99

APR111090 TINTIN YOUNG READERS ED GN CIGARS OF THE PHARAOH $8.99

MAR111053 WARLORD OF MARS #8 $3.99

MAR110823 ZEKE DEADWOOD ZOMBIE LAWMAN #2 HAMMER IN MY HAND $3.50

MAGAZINES
FEB111304 007 MAGAZINE ARCHIVE DR NO #1 $18.00
APR111288 COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #1680 $5.99
MAR111405 DR WHO MAGAZINE #435 $8.99
FEB111301 HOBBY JAPAN MAY 2011 $24.25
MAY111309 JUXTAPOZ #127 AUG 2011 $5.99
MAR111441 SFX SPECIAL #50 ANIME $17.99

Leroy Douresseaux on SAMURAI’S BLOOD #2

SAMURAI’S BLOOD #2 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/BENAROYA PUBLISHING

CREATORS: Michael Benaroya and Owen Wiseman
SCRIPT: Owen Wiseman
PENCILS: Nan Kim
INKS: Matthew Dalton
COLORS: Sakti Yuwono of Imaginary Friends Studios
LETTERS: John Aitken
COVER: Jo Chen (Variant cover by Nan Kim and Matthew Dalton with Jessica Kholinne)
28pp, Color, $2.99

Benaroya Publishing is a recently launched entertainment company that publishes comic books through Image Comics. Samurai’s Blood is a historical drama set in Japan from Benaroya Publishing.

Created by Michael Benaroya and Owen Wiseman, Samurai’s Blood is a six-issue miniseries that follows three young samurai from the destroyed Sanjo Clan. The trio follows an elaborate plan to get revenge on the men responsible for betraying their clan.

As Samurai’s Blood #2 begins, Jun cautions patience in their quest for revenge. Kajiro is mightily impatient, especially after Jun’s sister, his bethrothed, Mayuko is kidnapped. Jun and Kajiro takes on new identities, and they meet Horitomo, a sensei who trains Kajiro to be a better fighter.

One of the things that immediately stood out to me was how dense and layered the storytelling in this second issue of Samurai’s Blood was. Between the dialogue, captions, and philosophical exposition about the way of the samurai, this issue reads like a 56-page comic book instead of a 28-page one. Via his script and story, Owen Wiseman is determined to immerse his readers in this world, and if he fails, it won’t be for lack of information.

Artist Nam Kim is a good storyteller, and Matthew Dalton’s inking polishes some of the awkward aspects of Kim’s figure drawing. That aside, this composition and design capture the look of an authentic jidaigeki. I look forward to more.

B+

Tim Seeley to Write Dark Horse Comics' "The Occultist"

THE OCCULTIST ACQUIRES NEW POWER!

TIM SEELEY PENS MIKE RICHARDSON’S NEXT CLASSIC!

Dark Horse Comics is pleased to announce that Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash) is bringing his rare mix of humor, horror, and heroes to the latest creation from company founder Mike Richardson!

The Occultist returns this fall, following its hugely successful one-shot released last year!

When a mysterious book of powerful spells binds itself to him, the fact that Rob’s life has been falling apart doesn’t seem like such a big deal. What do his girlfriend leaving him or his mountain of debt matter when mystics and demons are overrunning the town in search of the book—and him? To survive, Rob must learn to control the book’s unpredictable magic, while his life slips even further out of control . . .

Now, while harnessing his new powers as the Occultist, college student Rob Bailey must defend himself and those around him from a series of hired hit mages with unique magical abilities and a serpentine demon known as the Swordbreaker, all determined to kill him and to possess the powerful spell book known as the Sword!

Cover art by Steve Morris and variant cover art by Jenny Frison!

The Occultist is a comic you should be checking out . . . If you want more of a magically fun and yet grounded character tale then put your money in to support this.”—Comic Book Resources

On sale November 9, 2011!


About Dark Horse Comics
Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

Leroy Douresseaux on Vertigo Crime's COWBOYS (OGN)

COWBOYS
DC COMICS/VERTIGO

WRITER: Gary Phillips
ARTIST: Brian Hurtt
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Lee Bermejo
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1534-7; hardcover
192pp, B&W, $19.99 U.S., $22.99 CAN

If my count is correct, Cowboys, by writer Gary Phillips and artist Brian Hurtt, is sixth (and the latest) Vertigo Crime graphic novel. Vertigo Crime is the banner under which Vertigo (a DC Comics imprint) publishes crime fiction in comics form.

Cowboys is set in a large, Los Angeles-like city and focuses on law dogs who work at the street level. First, there is Deke Kotto, an African-American(!) street cop with an eye for the ladies, a bad marriage, and a tragic event that changed his family. Then, there is the straight-laced Tim Brady, an FBI agent with a good marriage.

However, both serve demanding bosses. Captain Warren Tsong has his eye on being the next police chief, so he goads the versatile Deke, who can work both the gritty streets and the white collar suites, to deliver on big cases. Brady serves Special Agent-in-Charge Penmore, a racist fat ass who targets Muslims.

Tsong inserts Deke into the world of corporate espionage and white collar crime in order to snare Ian Scarpagio. Scarpagio runs Windscape Limited, a venture capital firm with some shady investors. If Deke, undercover as David Cates, can turn Scarpagio into a big arrest, Tsong believes his own big future is made.

Penmore has targeted Imam Aziz, whom he believes to be a radicalized American convert to Islam. Aziz is related to Mig Coles, a record mogul who may be using his Jamm Joint Records for dirty business. Penmore would love to bring down these two successful Black men, and sends Brady in undercover to infiltrate Mig’s empire as a Jewish wannabe player named Dan Roth.

Deke and Brady don’t know each other. So they don’t know that their separate assignments are actually connected. But is that connection tenuous or is it strong enough to strangle both men?

One could describe Cowboys as having an embarrassment of riches. There are too many characters, too many subplots, and too many settings. You can practically see artist Brian Hurtt’s (Hard Time, The Sixth Gun) struggles to squeeze all the elements visually and graphically into the story. It seems as if some of the panels are near bursting from story elements packed in so tightly. There is enough material here to create an ongoing Vertigo comic book series or AMC television crime series.

I’m not criticizing it, though. Cowboys, for all its crowded narrative, is a rock-solid page-turner. There aren’t many comic book writers who can offer both scenes of hardboiled crime action and moments of nuance and subtlety that tell a story within the main story, as Gary Phillips does. A good storyteller with a sturdy compositional sense, artist Brian Hurtt has the style and chops to dominate the crime comics genre.

Cowboys is simply a good read. It is a crime and character drama with lots of twists and turns, but best of all, it captures in a most surprising way the cynicism of our age. A justice system used as a personal fiefdom, innocent lives wrecked for naked ambition, and unabashed greed: one would think that Phillips and Hurtt were trying to write the great American novel. I’ll settle for a really good American graphic novel.

Fans of crime comics and Vertigo Crime must have Cowboys.

A-

Leroy Douresseaux on STAR WARS: INVASION - Revelations #1

STAR WARS: INVASION – REVELATIONS #1 (Series #12)
DARK HORSE BOOKS

[Visit the "Star Wars Central" review page.]

SCRIPT: Tom Taylor
ART: Colin Wilson
COLORS: Wes Dzioba
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Chris Scalf (alternate cover by Dave Dorman)
32pp, Color, $3.50

I remember Vector Prime, the 1999 Star Wars novel written by R.A. Salvatore that was the first installment of the New Jedi Order. In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the New Jedi Order is an era that begins 25 years after the Battle of Yavin (or 25 BBY). This was the climatic battle in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope in which Luke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star. The novel also introduced an alien race, the Yuuzhan Vong, which I didn’t care for then, nor do I now. Anyway…

Star Wars: Invasion is a Star Wars comic book set in the New Jedi Order era. Star Wars: Invasion depicts the events of the Yuuzhan Vong War, in which an alien race from another galaxy, the Yuuzhan Vong, invades the Star Wars galaxy and wages war against the New Republic.

As Star Wars: Invasion – Revelations #1 begins, Luke Skywalker and a handful of Jedi battle the Yuuzhan Vong on Dantooine. Princess Kaye Galfridian and her mother, Nina, find themselves racing to the Empire’s territory, with refugees in tow. Meanwhile, Finn Galfridian, under the guidance of the mysterious Jedi Master Dray, infiltrates Coruscant to stop a plot against New Republic Chief of State Borsk Fey’Lya, but he discovers startling revelations about the leaders of the New Republic.

This first issue of Star Wars: Invasion – Revelations (which is the 12th in the Star Wars: Invasion series) directly depicts three storylines and indirectly a fourth. That’s quite a bit of material to follow, and I wasn’t really enjoying the issue… that is until I focused on one storyline.

Finn Galfridian’s story is interesting and gripping because it deals with so many engaging elements: his internal conflicts, his somewhat contentious relationship with Master Dray, and the Yuuzhan Vong plot against Borsk Fey’Lya, who isn’t that great a guy. Finn’s story has melodrama, soul-searching, intrigue, tension, and conflict – much of it played on the razor’s edge. This is the reason to buy into this storyline.

B+

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

La Quinta Camera Welcomes the New

I read La Quinta Camera: The Fifth Room

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

Dark Horse Comics 2011 Comic-Con International Schedule

DARK HORSE ANNOUNCES SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2011 SCHEDULE!

SIGNINGS, PANELS, AND GREEN SCREENS, OH MY!

July 13, MILWAUKIE, OR—It’s here! San Diego Comic-Con 2011 is upon us, and Dark Horse Comics is telling you all the goods ahead of time! Plan accordingly!

SIGNINGS
Wednesday, July 20

7:30 p.m.—Preview Night Reveal

Thursday, July 21
11 a.m.— Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá

11 a.m.—Tara McPherson (The Art of Tara McPherson)

12:30 p.m.—Eric Powell (The Goon)

2 p.m.—Bruce Campbell (My Name Is Bruce) *Ticketed by Lottery

3 p.m.—Morgan Spurlock (Supersized)

3:30 p.m.—Jerry Robinson (Jet Scott)

4:30 p.m.—Jill Thompson (Beasts of Burden)

Friday, July 22
10 a.m.—Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo)

10 a.m.—Rebecca Guay (The Last Dragon)

11 a.m.—Menton3 and Patric Reynolds (The Thing)

11:30 a.m.—Dark Horse Presents Signing: Jim Steranko (Red Tide) and Neal Adams (Blood) *Ticketed by Lottery

12 p.m.—Stephan Martiniere and Michael Heisler (Rage)

1 p.m.—Gerard Way (The Umbrella Academy) *Ticketed by Lottery

3:30 p.m.—Star Wars Signing: Mick Harrison (Dark Times); John Jackson Miller and Michael Heisler (Knight Errant); Scott Allie (Jedi: The Dark Side); Rob Chestney (The Old Republic: Threat of Peace); Alexander Freed (The Old Republic: The Lost Suns); Jeremy Barlow (The Clone Wars)

5 p.m.—Falling Skies Signing: Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Colin Cunningham, Sarah Carter, Mark Verheiden *Ticketed by Lottery

Saturday, July 23
10 a.m.—Mac Walters and John Jackson Miller, Michael Heisler (Mass Effect)

11 a.m.—Mike Mignola (Hellboy)

11 a.m.—Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo)

12 p.m.—Whedonverse Signing: Zack Whedon, Andrew Chambliss, Georges Jeanty, Jo Chen *Ticketed by Lottery

12 p.m.—Adam Warren (Empowered)

1 p.m.—Jon Schnepp, Eric Powell, Jeremy Barlow (Dethklok) *Ticketed by Lottery

1 p.m.—Robert E. Howard Signing: Stuart Moore, Paul Sammon, Tomás Giorello

2 p.m.—Conan the Barbarian Signing: Rose McGowan *Ticketed by Lottery

2 p.m.—Dark Horse Presents (Carla Speed McNeil, Sanford Greene, Ricardo Delgado)

3:30 p.m.—Tsuneo Goda (Domo) *Ticketed by Lottery

3:30 p.m.—Mink (Shinjuku)

5 p.m.—Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) *Ticketed by Lottery

Sunday, July 24
10:30 a.m.—Rob Hughes and Thomas Yeates (The Outlaw Prince)

11 a.m.—Rob Reger and Buzz Parker (Emily the Strange)

12 p.m.—Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino (Avatar: The Last Airbender) *Ticketed by Lottery

12 p.m.—Ethan and Malachai Nicolle (Axe Cop)

1 p.m.—Larry Marder – Beanworld

2:30 p.m.—Doug Sneyd – The Art of Doug Sneyd

3 p.m.—Mike Mignola (Hellboy)

PANELS
Thursday, July 21
12 p.m.–1 p.m. Dark Horse: Fall Publishing Highlights! Room 32AB
Super-secret surprise guests!

5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m. Creepy and Eerie: Comics That Can Still Scare You! Room 24ABC
Including: Jason Shawn Alexander (Abe Sapien), J. C. Vaughn (Doctor Solar), and Nathan Fox (Haunt)
Special Guests: Ken Kelly (Creepy/Eerie) and Bruce Jones (Checkmate)
Moderated by Dan Braun (Creepy) and Josh Braun (A History of Violence)
Friday, July 22
11 a.m.–12 p.m. Mike Mignola: Worlds at War Room 4
Special Guests: Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Tyler Crook (B.P.R.D.), and Scott Allie (editor)

1 p.m.–2 p.m. Dark Horse Comics: 20 Years of Star Wars Room 7AB
Including: Randy Stradley (editor), Mick Harrison (Dark Times—first public appearance!), Dave Marshall (editor), Scott Allie and Stéphane Roux (Jedi: The Dark Side), John Jackson Miller (Knight Errant), Dave Filoni and the Fillbach brothers (The Clone Wars), Leland Y. Chee (Keeper of the Holocron’s Blog), Timothy Zahn (Choices of One), Shelly Shapiro (Del Rey editor), and more!

2 p.m.–3 p.m. Dark Horse Presents: The Panel Room 25ABC
Including: Mike Richardson (Dark Horse president), Eric Powell (The Goon), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Sanford Greene (Deadpool), and many more!

Saturday, July 23
3 p.m.–4 p.m. Dark Horse: Joss Whedon Room: Indigo

4 p.m.–5 p.m. Dark Horse and BioWare: A Comic and Video-Game Partnership
Room 23ABC
Including: Alexander Freed (Star Wars: The Old Republic), Mac Walters (Mass Effect 3), John Jackson Miller (Mass Effect), and Dave Marshall (editor)

GREEN SCREEN
Thursday, July 21
9 a.m.–11 a.m.: Hellboy
11 a.m.–2 p.m.: The Goon
2 p.m.–4 p.m.: Mass Effect
4 p.m.–7 p.m.: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel & Faith

Friday, July 22
9 a.m.–12 p.m.: Star Wars
12 p.m.–3 p.m.: Falling Skies
3 p.m.–7 p.m.: Mass Effect

Saturday, July 23
9 a.m.–11 a.m.: Hellboy
11 a.m.–2 p.m.: Dylan Dog
2 p.m.–5 p.m.: Conan
5 p.m.–7 p.m.: Buffy / Angel & Faith

Sunday, July 24
9 a.m.–11 a.m.: The Goon
11 a.m.–1 p.m.: Star Wars
1 p.m.–3 p.m.: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel & Faith
3 p.m.–5 p.m.: Hellboy

Comic-Con International Dark Horse Panel Friday, July 22

DARK HORSE PRESENTS: THE SDCC 2011 PANEL

THE ONLY PANEL YOU NEED TO SEE!

July 13, MILWAUKIE, OR—At 2 p.m., Friday, July 22, stop by room 25ABC for a powerhouse panel featuring the creative minds behind Dark Horse Presents!

As Dark Horse celebrates its twenty-fifth year of publishing, we are proud to reintroduce the title that started it all: the game-changing anthology Dark Horse Presents. Known for featuring the industry’s top talent and launching some of the most successful titles in comics history, Dark Horse Presents was, is, and will continue to be a highly fertile breeding ground for new characters, concepts, and more!

Join us for a look at what makes this book so important to the comics medium with Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson, as well as a cast of top talent past and present, including . . .

Jim Steranko (Red Tide)

Eric Powell (The Goon)

Carla Speed McNeil (Finder)

Sanford Greene (Deadpool)

And more!

Attendees can expect a fun and interactive experience, as well as live drawing, Q&A teasers, and more! Also, panel attendees will receive a Dave Gibbons minicomic exclusive to San Diego Comic-Con!

Friday, July 22, at 2 p.m. Room 25ABC. Be there.


About Dark Horse Comics
Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

Melody Moore in San Francisco Opera's "Heart of a Soldier"

Tickets are now on sale for the San Francisco Opera's World Premiere production, Heart of a Soldier. This opera, which will honor and commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the tragedy of September 11th, is based on the book by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist James B. Stewart.

The opera will tell the real life story of Rick Rescorla, from his time as a boy in Cornwall, England, through several military conflicts, including the Vietnam War, to his role as Vice President of Security for Morgan Stanley in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Soprano Melody Moore will be playing the role of Rick's wife, Susan Rescorla.

Performance dates are this September 10th, 13th, 18th, 21th, 24th, 27th and 30th. Please click on this link www.sfopera.com/offer and enter the code: HOSFAF to receive a 20% friends and family discount (for Ms. Moore) on your ticket purchase.

http://www.melodymooresoprano.com/
 
 

Dark Horse Comics to Collect Evan Dorkin's "Milk and Cheese"

COMICS THAT NEVER SPOIL WITH AGE!

MILK AND CHEESE TO BE COLLECTED IN A DELUXE HARDCOVER!

JULY 12, MILWAUKIE, OR—The rumors are true! Milk and Cheese, Evan Dorkin’s “Dairy Products Gone Bad,” will be collected in an all-new hardcover from Dark Horse!

A carton of hate. A wedge of spite. A comic book of idiotic genius. Dating all the way back to an appearance in Greed magazine in 1988, these gin-fueled lactic loose cannons have delighted and horrified comics fans the world over!

The Eisner Award–winning dairy duo returns in this deluxe hardcover collecting every single, stupid Milk and Cheese comic ever made from 1989 to 2010, along with a sh*t-ton of supplemental awesomeness. This has everything you need! Don’t judge it—love it! Or else!

“Not a lot of people know that I’ve been working with Dark Horse Comics since 1991, on everything from Predator to The Mask to Beasts of Burden,” said creator Evan Dorkin. “I’ve always held DH and my relationship with them in high regard—despite what they say about me—so I’m super proud as well as super stoked to have Milk and Cheese crashing the house of Hellboy, Usagi Yojimbo, and The Goon. Of course, everyone knows they can take those wimps with one beer behind their back.”

Retailers, don’t delay! Order multiple copies of this slab of comics history today! Fans, make sure your local retailer has ordered your copy of Milk and Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad, arriving on shelves and in stockings on December 21!

Leroy Douresseaux on HELLBOY: THE FURY #2

HELLBOY: THE FURY #2 (OF 3)
DARK HORSE COMICS

STORY: Mike Mignola
ART: Duncan Fegredo
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Mike Mignola with Dave Stewart
32pp, Color, $2.99

I have not read Hellboy since Hellboy: Conqueror Worm (2001). I loved Hellboy and still do, but I just seemed to drift away from finding and buying Hellboy comics.

If I understand correctly, the new three-issue Hellboy miniseries, Hellboy: The Fury, is the conclusion the union of Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and artist Duncan Fegredo. Apparently, The Fury brings an end to the story arc that began in Hellboy: Darkness Calls (2008) and continued in The Wild Hunt (2008-2009) and The Storm (2010).

In Hellboy: The Fury, Hellboy leads the undead army of England against the Queen of Blood, Nimue (also Queen of Witches), and her army of the damned. Hellboy: The Fury #2 opens with Alice Monaghan in England. She witness a raging battle between the forces of good and evil, as the battlefield fills with dead monsters and knights. Meanwhile, Hellboy has a battle royale with the Queen of Blood’s champion.

The moody, imaginative storytelling that comes most to mind when I think of Hellboy is absent from Hellboy: The Fury. Mignola’s mind has conjured a story full of gigantic, kinetic action sequences that are right out of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films.

Comics tell their stories in words, pictures, and graphics, and artist Duncan Fegredo unleashes and transforms Mignola’s arcane, eccentric storytelling with both vigor and imagination. From the first panel to the next and the next after that, Fegredo portrays Armageddon and monster throw downs with surprising beauty and inventive design. Fegredo has riffed on Mignola’s style since he has taken the Hellboy creator’s place in drawing Hellboy to life, which makes sense. Still, Fegredo is true Hellboy, while managing to be true to himself by producing both beauty and good storytelling. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have the masterful coloring of Dave Stewart.

Anyway, I’m trying to catch up on Hellboy because I’ve missed a lot, but that isn’t stopping me from loving The Fury.

A

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 13 2011

DC COMICS

MAY110269 ALL NEW BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #9 $2.99

MAY110285 AMERICAN VAMPIRE SURVIVAL OT FITTEST #2 (OF 5) (MR) $2.99

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Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 13 2011

MARVEL COMICS
 
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IDW Publishing for Diamond Distributors for July 13 2011

IDW PUBLISHING

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MAY110406 TEAM ANGEL 100 PAGE SPECTACULAR $7.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 13 2011

DARK HORSE COMICS

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Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 13 2011

IMAGE COMICS

MAR110546 BREED COL VOL 01 BOOK OF GENESIS S&N LTD ED HC (MR) $59.99

MAY110502 BREED III #3 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99

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MAY110481 TWISTED SAVAGE DRAGON FUNNIES TP $18.99

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JAN110657 WITCHBLADE #139 LBCC VAR CVR $10.00

FEB110496 WITCHBLADE #146 $3.99

Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for July 13 2011

COMICS

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APR110787 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #220 $3.99

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Leroy Douresseaux on B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH: MONSTERS #1

B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH: MONSTERS #1 OF 2 (Series #80)
DARK HORSE COMICS

STORY: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
ART: Tyler Crook
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Ryan Sook with Dave Stewart (Variant cover by Francesco Francavilla)
32pp, Color, $3.50

Welcome, Tyler Crook!

Crook is the artist on B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Monsters, a new two-issue B.P.R.D. miniseries. The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense is the organization charged with protecting America and the rest of the world from the occult, paranormal and supernatural in the world of Hellboy, the long-running comic book universe created by Mike Mignola.

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Monsters #1 finds Liz Sherman (Hellboy’s #1 female) ensconced in a trailer park and living in a trailer with Jeb and Todd (apparently while the Bureau’s off fighting giant bat-eared beasts in Texas). Liz is kicking hillbilly ass in that trailer park, but the darkness from which she’s trying to hide has also taking a liking to the white trash life.

I have never read a B.P.R.D. comic book, not a single one, although I’ve been putting off doing so for years. I started off with a good one in Hell on Earth: Monsters, although it didn’t start off that way. After the first few pages, I was bored and thinking, “This is not real B.P.R.D. or Hellboy.”

The art by newcomer Tyler Crook captures the sense of impending boom and doom weaved by writers Mike Mignola and John Arcudi. Crook’s drawing style, which has similarities to the styles of Kevin Huizenga and David Mazzuchelli, establishes Hell on Earth: Monsters as a story that takes place in a world like our own – earthy and even down and dirty, in which the supernatural is invading. I like the fact that this seems more like Hellblazer dark fantasy than there’s-magic-around-every-corner fantasy. This first issue also has a killer last act.

A-

Cross Game: Mizuki Asami

I read Cross Game, Vol. 4

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

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Yusei Fudo, Turbo Duelist!!

I read Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Vol. 1 (Yu-Gi-Oh! (Graphic Novels))

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

I Reads You Review: WOLVERINE and BLACK CAT: CLAWS 2 #1

WOLVERINE & BLACK CAT: CLAWS 2 #1 (OF 3)
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray
ART: Joseph Michael Linsner
COLORS: Dan Brown and Nick Filardi with Ian Hannin
LETTERS: Jeff Eckleberry
COVER: Joseph Michael Linsner
32pp, Color, $3.99

Chapter 1: “Back and Forth”

I have to be honest. I only bought the first issue of Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws 2 for the art by Joseph Michael Linsner. I’m not a big fan of Lisner’s work, but I like it enough to look at it when I get a chance. Apparently, there was a first Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws miniseries (3 issues, 2006) that I ignored.

Wolverine (A.K.A. Logan) is practically everyone’s favorite member of the X-Men (though mine is Storm). Black Cat (A.K.A. Felicia Hardy) is a cat burglar extraordinaire and Spider-Man femme fatale. Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws 2 #1 takes place after the events of the first series and finds Wolverine and Black Cat back in New York City. They’re enjoying an evening of food and romance at a swanky eatery. Meanwhile, their adversaries from the first miniseries, Arcade and his partner White Rabbit, have also found their way back to NYC to give Logan and Felicia a dose of revenge.

The prolific writing team of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray can deliver on an action premise (see Radical Publishing’s Time Bomb). Claws 2 is a simple superhero fight comic book with no pretensions to be a character drama or landmark miniseries. There’s violence, humor, and the threat of Wolverine engaging in sexual intercourse. Claws 2 proves that even the team that delivered on the nail-biting Time Bomb can deliver a tepid, mildly humorous, X-Men product.

The art and graphical storytelling by Joseph Michael Linsner look as if they belong in a Marvel comic book from the 1970s or 1980s. Linsner’s drawing style is like a new version of Dave Cockrum’s drawing style with touches of Wally Wood and Eric Stanton. Marvel’s EiC-turned-CCO once referred to a comic book artist friend of mine’s drawing style as passé. Considering that statement, I’m surprised that Linsner’s “old school” graphical approach has anyplace at Marvel, especially in the industrial part of this publisher/trademark maintenance firm that cranks out Wolverine comic books every hour on the hour.

Still, there is an innate charm to Linsner’s work, and his compositions and page designs yield results that really do look like genuine comic book graphics and visuals instead of looking like paintings trying to be comics. His storytelling has a sense of humor and imagination.

I would say that readers looking for something different in Wolverine should give Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws 2 a try. That difference is Linsner.

B

[This comic book features a five-page preview of The Punisher #1, a new series from writer Greg Rucka, artist Marco Checchetto, and colorist Matt Hollingsworth with covers by Bryan Hitch.]

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

Leroy Douresseaux on ROCKETEER ADVENTURES #2

ROCKETEER ADVENTURES #2
IDW PUBLISHING

WRITERS: Mark Waid, Darwyn Cooke, Lowell Francis
ARTISTS: Chris Weston, Darwyn Cooke, Gene Ha
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Chris Mowry, Darwyn Cooke
PIN-UP: Geof Darrow with Dave Stewart
COVER: Alex Ross (alternate cover by Dave Stevens with Laura Martin)
32pp, Color, $3.99

Long live The Rocketeer!

The Rocketeer is a superhero created by the late writer/illustrator Dave Stevens that first appeared in 1982. The character’s style and the mode of his adventures are also an homage to the Saturday matinee heroes of the 1930s and 1940s and to adventure movie serials like Republic Picture’s King of the Rocket Men. The Rocketeer’s exploits are mainly set in Los Angeles in and after the year 1938. The Rocketeer made it onto the big screen in a 1991 film from Walt Disney Pictures.

The Rocketeer is Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jet pack that allows him to fly. Secord’s girlfriend, Bettie Page, is based upon real life, 1950s pin-up and fetish model, Bettie Page.

The Rocketeer has made infrequent comic book appearances in several publications from several publishers. The Rocketeer’s first comic book appearances were in 1982, as backup features in Starslayer, a comic book series by Mike Grell from the now-defunct Pacific Comics. Two more installments of The Rocketeer appeared in Pacific's anthology comic book, Pacific Presents.

The character appeared at Eclipse Comics in Rocketeer Special Edition and in a single-volume graphic novel entitled, The Rocketeer, which concluded the story begun in Starslayer. The character appeared in Rocketeer Adventure Magazine from the now-defunct Comico Comics and also finally at Dark Horse Comics

The Rocketeer returns in Rocketeer Adventures, a new anthology series from IDW Publishing. Edited by Scott Dunbier, Rocketeer Adventures features Rocketeer short stories (about 7 or 8 pages in length) from some of the premiere creators in comic books. Rocketeer Adventures #2 has stories by the teams of Mark Waid and Chris Weston and also Lowell Francis and Gene Ha, with a short story by Darwyn Cooke and a centerfold pin-up from artist Geof Darrow and colorist supreme, Dave Stewart.

I must say that, at a cover price of $3.99, Rocketeer Adventures is a bargain. The art is exceptional, even if most of the stories are, for the most part, mere trifles, though entertaining. Anytime we get to see Dave Stewart’s magnificent comic book coloring, we are in for a treat.

Mark Waid and Chris Weston’s “It Ain’t the Fall that Kills Ya…” features some gorgeous Dave Stevens-inspired art from the talented Weston, a master of composition and a superb draftsman. For Waid’s part, the story is either ironic or is simply unintentionally hypocritical. Lowell Francis and Gene Ha’s “TKO” is clever-lite, a play of mixing an aerial battle with a boxing match. Ha’s execution in the graphical storytelling of “TKO” is skillful. As for the Geof Darrow pin-up – YAWN – been there, seen that.

Leave it to genius Darwyn Cooke to offer this issue’s best story, a slam-bang piece, entitled “Betty Saves the Day.” It is only seven-pages long, but it reads like a great stand-alone, 22-page comic book. An Eisner Award nomination (at least) for best short story is a must.

A-

Kurozakuro: Secret Pity

I read Kurozakuro, Vol. 5

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

Leroy Douresseaux on SOLOMON KANE: RED SHADOWS #4

SOLOMON KANE: RED SHADOWS #4 (OF 4)
DARK HORSE COMICS

WRITER: Bruce Jones
ART: Rahsan Ekedal
COLORS: Dan Jackson
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
PIN-UP: Jim and Ruth Keegan
COVER: Guy Davis with Dave Stewart (Variant cover by Gregory Manchess with Dave Stewart)
32pp, Color, $3.50

I’ve just read my first Solomon Kane comic book in quite awhile (well over decade, for sure). I’m looking forward to more.

Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by author and pulp fiction writer, Robert E. Howard, who also created Conan. Kane is a Puritan who operated in the late 16th and early 17th century as a destroyer of evil in all its forms – human, inhuman, and supernatural. Kane first appeared in the short story, “Red Shadows,” which was published in the legendary pulp magazine, Weird Tales (August 1928).

Solomon Kane also appeared in several comic books and comic magazines published by Marvel Comics, from 1973 to the mid-1980s. There was even a miniseries, The Sword of Solomon Kane, which reprinted earlier Marvel Solomon Kane comics with some new stories. Dark Horse Comics returned the character to comics a few years ago.

Solomon Kane: Red Shadows is a four-issue comic book miniseries which adapts the short story of the same name. Seeking to avenge the death of a young girl in France, Kane travels to Africa to find her killer, Le Loup, a feared swordsman. Kane discovers that Le Loup has fallen in with Songa, a powerful leader of an African village. Kane finds an ally in N’Longa, a frail, ancient magic man, whose authority Songa usurped.

As Solomon Kane: Red Shadows #4 opens, Le Loup makes his move to kill Kane, but the shaman N’Longa has a few surprises still in store. Soon, it’s just Kane and Le Loup, left to settle their dispute like gentlemen – sword to sword.

While a comic book miniseries is a good format in which to adapt a short story, some individual issues of a miniseries may seem less like a chapter from a story and more like a brief collection of a few scenes. The fourth issue of Solomon Kane: Red Shadows reads as if it were mere leftovers from the foregone conclusion that is the end of this story.

Luckily (for the readers), scripter Bruce Jones delivers a fistful of violence in this last issue that gives the story some pungency and potency. By the end of the Kane/Le Loup duel, many readers will feel a little twinge of regret that it is all over so soon. Jones captures the madness, violence, and crazy magic that infuse Robert E. Howard’s work. Artist Rahsan Ekedal and colorist Dan Jackson transform Jones’ active script into gripping visual and storytelling.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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

Little Black Bird

I read Black Bird, Vol. 9

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