ACTIONOPOLIS Launches Sixteen Brand New Series in eBook Format
The Highly Anticipated New Actionopolis Books– In eStores Now
Komikwerks, LLC announced an expansion of the Actionopolis line of critically-acclaimed, action-packed novels for young readers. The new books stand by the same philosophy the line was founded on: that action and adventure should be driven by strong concepts, fully developed characters, and great stories.
Sixteen new books are now available through the Amazon Kindle™ platform. The all-new books are written by such distinguished creative voices as Louise Simonson, David Odell, Annette Duffy, John Helfers, Tim Waggoner, Alan Grant, William Messner-Loebs, Jake Bell, and Barbara Randall Kesel. Those are just a few names among an incredible array of award-winning creators, all of whom have professional backgrounds in a variety of media including comics, animation, film, television, video games, and publishing.
New titles in the line include Children Of Olympus, Dragonblood, Last of the Lycans, Master of Voodoo, Nightmare Expeditions, and many more!
Being on the Kindle™ means the new books are available not only to owners of the Kindle™ reader, but to anyone with an iPad, iPhone, PC, Mac, Blackberry, or Android device.
Initially launched in 2006, Actionopolis books featured seven titles which were greeted with high praise from reviewers at the School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Comics Buyers' Guide, to name a few.
More details to follow in individual press releases! Visit http://www.actionopolis.com for complete details on the new books!
ACTIONOPOLIS: When Adventure Is Your Destination!
About Actionopolis
Actionopolis is the brainchild of publisher Shannon Eric Denton, who has years of experience with companies such as Cartoon Network, Warner Brothers, Disney, Sony, ToyBiz, Marvel Entertainment, FoxKids, DC Comics, and Nickelodeon. He and his Komikwerks co-founder Patrick Coyle have been publishing comics online and in print through their publishing company KOMIKWERKS since 2000.
About Komikwerks
Komikwerks is a leader in digital publishing of comics online. Komikwerks has been partnered with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment to publish a line of premiere Internet comics called Stan Lee's Sunday Comics on Komikwerks.com. Komikwerks also provided exclusive content to the AOL: RED website. Komikwerks also publishes ebook versions of creator owned graphic novels and has published a variety of projects in print and digital formats featuring Joe Kubert, Ray Bradbury, Bernie Wrightson, Keith Giffen, Raymond Chandler, Dave Gibbons, Mike Mignola, Michael Lark, P. Craig Russell, and many more. Komikwerks has been featured in many news and entertainment periodicals including Variety, USA Today, and Wizard Magazine.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Marvel Star Wars 1 to 27
I read Star Wars Omnibus: A Long Time Ago . . . . Volume 1
I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin. This reprints issues 1-27 of the old Star Wars comic book series Marvel Comics Groups published from 1977 to 1986.
I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin. This reprints issues 1-27 of the old Star Wars comic book series Marvel Comics Groups published from 1977 to 1986.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Top Shelf Begins its Annual $3 Sale
Press release:
THE 2010 TOP SHELF MASSIVE $3 SALE
For the next ten days -- thru Friday September 24th -- Top Shelf is having a giant $3 graphic novel web sale. When you visit the site, you'll find over 100 graphic novels and comics on sale -- with over 70 titles marked down to just $3 & $1!
To go directly to the list of items on sale at the Top Shelf website, just click here:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals
But here are a few sample sale items:
-- Slashed Prices: Lost Girls, Alec: The Years Have Pants, and more!
-- Slashed Prices: Essex County, Moving Pictures, BB Wolf, and more!
-- Slashed Prices: Owly Hardcovers and Plushy, Undeleted Scenes, and more!
-- Slashed Prices: Dodgem Logic, The Surrogates Owner’s Manual, and more!
-- Slashed Prices: The 120 Days of Simon, Far Arden, The Ticking, and more!
-- $3 Titles: Voice of the Fire, The Surrogates (Vols 1 & 2), and more!
-- $3 Titles: Sulk (Vols 1, 2, & 3), I Am Going To Be Small, and more!
-- $3 Titles: SuperF*ckers #1-#4, Lower Regions, Please Release, and more!
-- $3 Titles: Regards from Serbia, Comic Book Artist, Delayed Replays, and more!
-- $1 Titles: The Surrogates #1-#5, Black Ghost Apple Factory, Dang!, and more!
-- $1 Titles:The Man Who Loved Breasts, Comic Diorama, 24x2, and more!
-- $1 Titles:Jack’s Luck Runs Out, Tales of the Great Unspoken, and more!
Please note that Top Shelf accepts PayPal (as well as Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover -- all secure), and that this sale is good for retailers as well (and comic book shops will get their wholesale discount on top of these sale prices).
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals
THE 2010 TOP SHELF MASSIVE $3 SALE
For the next ten days -- thru Friday September 24th -- Top Shelf is having a giant $3 graphic novel web sale. When you visit the site, you'll find over 100 graphic novels and comics on sale -- with over 70 titles marked down to just $3 & $1!
To go directly to the list of items on sale at the Top Shelf website, just click here:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals
But here are a few sample sale items:
-- Slashed Prices: Lost Girls, Alec: The Years Have Pants, and more!
-- Slashed Prices: Essex County, Moving Pictures, BB Wolf, and more!
-- Slashed Prices: Owly Hardcovers and Plushy, Undeleted Scenes, and more!
-- Slashed Prices: Dodgem Logic, The Surrogates Owner’s Manual, and more!
-- Slashed Prices: The 120 Days of Simon, Far Arden, The Ticking, and more!
-- $3 Titles: Voice of the Fire, The Surrogates (Vols 1 & 2), and more!
-- $3 Titles: Sulk (Vols 1, 2, & 3), I Am Going To Be Small, and more!
-- $3 Titles: SuperF*ckers #1-#4, Lower Regions, Please Release, and more!
-- $3 Titles: Regards from Serbia, Comic Book Artist, Delayed Replays, and more!
-- $1 Titles: The Surrogates #1-#5, Black Ghost Apple Factory, Dang!, and more!
-- $1 Titles:The Man Who Loved Breasts, Comic Diorama, 24x2, and more!
-- $1 Titles:Jack’s Luck Runs Out, Tales of the Great Unspoken, and more!
Please note that Top Shelf accepts PayPal (as well as Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover -- all secure), and that this sale is good for retailers as well (and comic book shops will get their wholesale discount on top of these sale prices).
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/specialdeals
"Halcyon" is New Title for Marc Guggenheim's Utopian
Marc Guggenheim's new ongoing series from Image Comics now titled HALCYON
What happens when the never-ending battle for truth and justice ends? Marc Guggenheim (Amazing Spider-Man, Resurrection) answers this question and more in HALCYON -- titled Utopian when announced during Comic-Con International and in the September PREVIEWS -- a new series from Image Comics.
A seasoned comic book writer, Guggenheim has also worked on high-profile projects such as the upcoming Green Lantern movie and No Ordinary Family, a new ABC series that stars Michael Chiklis. Created in collaboration with Tara Butters (TV's Reaper), artist Ryan Bodenheim (RED MASS FOR MARS), and Collider Entertainment's Alisa Tager (Serenity), the revolutionary first issue of HALCYON will be in stores this November.
"We've been immensely gratified by all the buzz around, and interest in, this project after we announced it as Utopian at San Diego Comic-Con," says Guggenheim, "and I'm hopeful people will be just as excited about the new title."
From Image Comics and Collider Entertainment comes the next quantum leap forward in superheroes: HALCYON. The groundbreaking new series dares to ask: What happens when the superheroes win? What happens once there is no crime, no war? The heroes of HALCYON achieve their final victory only to face their greatest challenge ever.
HALCYON #1 (SEPT100433), a full-color 32-page comic book for $2.99, will be in stores November 10, 2010.
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/.
Detroit Metal City and the Krauser War
I read Detroit Metal City, Vol. 6
I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phone apps).
I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phone apps).
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I Reads You Review: MATA HARI #0
CREATOR/WRITER: Rich Wilkes
ART: Roy Allan Martinez
BACKGROUND ART: Arnaud Valette
COLORS: Drazenka Kimpel
LETTERS: Todd Klein
COVER: Támás Gáspár
20pp, Color, $1.00
Next year, Radical Publishing will release the full color, hardcover graphic novel, Mata Hari. It is created and written by Rich Wilkes (the creator of the xXx film franchise) and drawn by Roy Allen Martinez (the artist of Radical’s FVZA comic book). Radical recently released Mata Hari #0, a $1-priced “Racial Premiere,” which presents 20 pages from the upcoming graphic novel.
The story opens in Litmov, Russia in 1953. The narrator is Antonia Maslov, a young Russian girl who recounts the exploits of her uncle, Lt. Vadim Maslov. Vadim was a photographer who worked with the French during World War I. Vadim is destined to be part of a love triangle with French General Robert Nivelle and the notorious Mata Hari.
Reputedly a German double agent, Mata Hari would be blamed for the deaths of 50,000 French soldiers and was executed after a sensational trial shocked Europe. The question is was she really a betrayer of countless lovers or merely a scapegoat.
After reading Mata Hari #0, I’m curious about the rest of the story, but I wish the title character would have made an actual, first person appearance in this preview. Truthfully, writer Rich Wilkes’ article at the end of this issue, “Mata Hari: A Proposition,” is a more interesting read than the comic book portion, although the comic book portion does intrigue.
B+
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Fantagraphics Books to Publish Lost William Burroughs
Press release:
FANTAGRAPHICS ACQUIRES LOST ‘GRAPHIC NOVEL’ BY WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS & ARTIST MALCOLM McNEILL
Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce the acquisition of the only graphic novel written by — and possibly the last unseen work of his to be published — the innovative Beat writer and Naked Lunch author, William S. Burroughs. This lost masterpiece, Ah Pook Is Here, created in collaboration with artist Malcolm McNeill in the 1970s, will be published in the summer of 2011 as a spectacularly packaged two-volume, hinged set, along with Observed While Falling, McNeill’s memoir documenting his collaboration with one of America’s most iconic authors.
Ah Pook Is Here first appeared in 1970 under the title The Unspeakable Mr. Hart as a monthly comic strip written by Burroughs and drawn by the British cartoonist and painter Malcolm McNeil in the English magazine Cyclops. When the publication folded, Burroughs and McNeill decided to develop the project into a full-length, Word/Image novel (the term ‘graphic novel’ had not yet been coined). Burroughs was 56 at the time, McNeill 23.
The book was conceived as a single painting in which text and images were combined in whatever form seemed appropriate to the narrative. It was conceived as 120 continuous pages that would ‘fold out.’ Such a book was, at the time, unprecedented, and no publisher was willing to take a chance and publish a ‘graphic novel.’ Burroughs and McNeill finally abandoned the project after collaborating on it for 7 years.
“It is singularly appropriate that after championing literate comics and the graphic novel form for over 30 years, Fantagraphics Books should bring a literary collaboration between one of America’s most distinctive writers and his exemplary hand-chosen artist to light,” says Fantagraphics Publisher and acquiring editor Gary Groth.
Ah Pook Is Here is a consideration of time with respect to the differing perceptions of the ancient Maya and that of the current Western mindset. It was Burroughs’ contention that both of these views result in systems of control in which the elite perpetuate its agendas at the expense of the people. They make time for themselves and through increasing measures of Control attempt to prolong the process indefinitely.
John Stanley Hart is the “Ugly American” or “Instrument of Control” — a billionaire newspaper tycoon obsessed with discovering the means for achieving immortality. Based on the formulae contained in rediscovered Mayan books he attempts to create a Media Control Machine using the images of Fear and Death. By increasing Control, however, he devalues time and invokes an implacable enemy: Ah Pook, the Mayan Death God. Young mutant heroes using the same Mayan formulae travel through time bringing biologic plagues from the remote past to destroy Hart and his Judeo/Christian temporal reality.
Ah Pook Is Here was an experiment, not just in terms of the form in which the idea was expressed but the possible effects the form might produce. Burroughs was preoccupied throughout his career with the fundamental nature of words and images, particularly with regard to their ability to transcend time. In the case of Ah Pook Is Here, the rapport between artist and writer produced results that confirmed that contention. Ah Pook is the kind of extrapolative, futuristic feat of imagination that a reader would expect from the author of Nova Express and The Ticket That Exploded — a mind-boggling tour de force, dramatizing outré theories with a science fiction patina.
The second book in the set is Observed While Falling, written by Malcolm McNeill, an account of the personal and creative interaction that defined the collaboration between the writer and the artist, the events surrounding it, and the reasons for its ultimate demise. McNeill describes his growing friendship with Burroughs and how their personal relationship affected their creative partnership. The book is written with insight and humor, and liberally sprinkled with the kind of the hilarious anecdotes one would expect working with a writer as original and eccentric as William S. Burroughs. It confirms the prescience of Ah Pook Is Here with respect to the contemporary graphic novel; Burroughs' exploration of the artistic potential of combining words and images was a revelation to the artist. The book offers new insights into Burroughs’ working methods as well as how the two explored the possibilities of words and images working together to form the ambitious literary hybrid that they didn’t know, at the time, was a harbinger of the 21st century’s “graphic novel.”
“Fantagraphics is honored to bring this major work into print and to publish what is quite possibly the last great work from one of America’s most original prose stylists,” added Groth. “Burroughs once said that ‘The purpose of writing is to make it happen.’ We are proud to make Ah Pook Is Here finally happen.”
Fantagraphics Books (http://www.fantagraphics.com/) has been the world’s leading publisher of comics and graphic novels since 1976, with titles by R. Crumb, Charles Schulz, Joe Sacco, Daniel Clowes and many others. In 2007, the company launched its prose division, which books by Alexander Theroux (Laura Warholic), Monte Shultz (This Side of Jordan), and Stephen Dixon (What Is All This?).
FANTAGRAPHICS ACQUIRES LOST ‘GRAPHIC NOVEL’ BY WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS & ARTIST MALCOLM McNEILL
Fantagraphics Books is proud to announce the acquisition of the only graphic novel written by — and possibly the last unseen work of his to be published — the innovative Beat writer and Naked Lunch author, William S. Burroughs. This lost masterpiece, Ah Pook Is Here, created in collaboration with artist Malcolm McNeill in the 1970s, will be published in the summer of 2011 as a spectacularly packaged two-volume, hinged set, along with Observed While Falling, McNeill’s memoir documenting his collaboration with one of America’s most iconic authors.
Ah Pook Is Here first appeared in 1970 under the title The Unspeakable Mr. Hart as a monthly comic strip written by Burroughs and drawn by the British cartoonist and painter Malcolm McNeil in the English magazine Cyclops. When the publication folded, Burroughs and McNeill decided to develop the project into a full-length, Word/Image novel (the term ‘graphic novel’ had not yet been coined). Burroughs was 56 at the time, McNeill 23.
The book was conceived as a single painting in which text and images were combined in whatever form seemed appropriate to the narrative. It was conceived as 120 continuous pages that would ‘fold out.’ Such a book was, at the time, unprecedented, and no publisher was willing to take a chance and publish a ‘graphic novel.’ Burroughs and McNeill finally abandoned the project after collaborating on it for 7 years.
“It is singularly appropriate that after championing literate comics and the graphic novel form for over 30 years, Fantagraphics Books should bring a literary collaboration between one of America’s most distinctive writers and his exemplary hand-chosen artist to light,” says Fantagraphics Publisher and acquiring editor Gary Groth.
Ah Pook Is Here is a consideration of time with respect to the differing perceptions of the ancient Maya and that of the current Western mindset. It was Burroughs’ contention that both of these views result in systems of control in which the elite perpetuate its agendas at the expense of the people. They make time for themselves and through increasing measures of Control attempt to prolong the process indefinitely.
John Stanley Hart is the “Ugly American” or “Instrument of Control” — a billionaire newspaper tycoon obsessed with discovering the means for achieving immortality. Based on the formulae contained in rediscovered Mayan books he attempts to create a Media Control Machine using the images of Fear and Death. By increasing Control, however, he devalues time and invokes an implacable enemy: Ah Pook, the Mayan Death God. Young mutant heroes using the same Mayan formulae travel through time bringing biologic plagues from the remote past to destroy Hart and his Judeo/Christian temporal reality.
Ah Pook Is Here was an experiment, not just in terms of the form in which the idea was expressed but the possible effects the form might produce. Burroughs was preoccupied throughout his career with the fundamental nature of words and images, particularly with regard to their ability to transcend time. In the case of Ah Pook Is Here, the rapport between artist and writer produced results that confirmed that contention. Ah Pook is the kind of extrapolative, futuristic feat of imagination that a reader would expect from the author of Nova Express and The Ticket That Exploded — a mind-boggling tour de force, dramatizing outré theories with a science fiction patina.
The second book in the set is Observed While Falling, written by Malcolm McNeill, an account of the personal and creative interaction that defined the collaboration between the writer and the artist, the events surrounding it, and the reasons for its ultimate demise. McNeill describes his growing friendship with Burroughs and how their personal relationship affected their creative partnership. The book is written with insight and humor, and liberally sprinkled with the kind of the hilarious anecdotes one would expect working with a writer as original and eccentric as William S. Burroughs. It confirms the prescience of Ah Pook Is Here with respect to the contemporary graphic novel; Burroughs' exploration of the artistic potential of combining words and images was a revelation to the artist. The book offers new insights into Burroughs’ working methods as well as how the two explored the possibilities of words and images working together to form the ambitious literary hybrid that they didn’t know, at the time, was a harbinger of the 21st century’s “graphic novel.”
“Fantagraphics is honored to bring this major work into print and to publish what is quite possibly the last great work from one of America’s most original prose stylists,” added Groth. “Burroughs once said that ‘The purpose of writing is to make it happen.’ We are proud to make Ah Pook Is Here finally happen.”
Fantagraphics Books (http://www.fantagraphics.com/) has been the world’s leading publisher of comics and graphic novels since 1976, with titles by R. Crumb, Charles Schulz, Joe Sacco, Daniel Clowes and many others. In 2007, the company launched its prose division, which books by Alexander Theroux (Laura Warholic), Monte Shultz (This Side of Jordan), and Stephen Dixon (What Is All This?).
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