Slam Dunk Unstoppable

I read Slam Dunk, Vol. 13

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

Leroy Douresseaux on Abattoir #2

ABATTOIR #2 (OF 6)

RADICAL PUBLISHING

CREATOR: Darren Lynn Bousman

CONCEPT: Michael Peterson
WRITERS: Rob Levin and Troy Peteri
ARTIST: Bing Cansino and Rodell Noora
COLORS: Andrei Pervukhin and Drazenka Kimpel
LETTERS: Troy Peteri
COVER: Tae Young Choi
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

Like quite a few Radical Publishing titles, the new horror comic book miniseries, Abattoir, is the creation of someone involved in the filmmaking industry.  Abattoir is the creation of screenwriter and movie director, Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II-IV).

Set in the late 1980s, Abbatoir takes place in a sunny Middle America that is also home to hidden darkness and brutal murder.  The lead character is cop turned real estate agent, Richard Ashwalt. Struggling to sell the Mitchell house where a brutal massacre took place, Richard meets a very strange old man, Jebediah Crone, who wants to buy the house before even before it is finished being cleaned. Richard’s problems mount when he learns that he is the subject of a homicide investigation.

In Abattoir #2, Jebediah Crone continues to push Richard into selling him the Mitchell house by visiting Richard’s own home for dinner. Richard also learns that he is definitely tied to a brutal murder by physical evidence. He comes to believe that Crone is the reason for the strange turn his life has taken and begins an investigation of the old man.

Although it is as ghoulish, if not as brutal, as Bousman’s Saw films, Abattoir is turning out to be an exceptional horror comic book. As the American comic book market needs some diversity in genre, Abattoir is perfect for readers looking for something different in comic books. Gothic, macabre, and mysterious, Abattoir, with this issue, slowly creeps into Lovecraft territory, with its ghastly dreamscapes and a sense of an overwhelming, but mysterious supernatural.

While the writers get all the genre bits right, they don’t seem to be as committed to the characters, all of whom are either shallow or just types. Still, the writers and artists have come together as one twisted creative unit and have presented a horror mystery that is a dark and tasty spin on the whodunit while staying true to the scary.

It seems from the get-go that Abattoir is determined to give its characters and readers scary story fun. Fans of horror comics will love this kind of hell.  I like this second issue more than I liked the first, and I'm certainly looking forward to the next issue, which is scheduled to ship in February.

B+

Todd McFarlane to Celebrate Spawn #200 at Golden Apple Comics

TODD McFARLANE CELEBRATES SPAWN #200 AT GOLDEN APPLE

 

SPAWN creator signs at the store that helped launch the hit series in 1992

 

In 1992, Todd McFarlane co-founded the world's greatest creator-owned comics company, Image Comics, and released his own best-selling comic book, SPAWN. On January 12, 2011, SPAWN becomes only the second independent series in history to reach the 200-issue mark!

To celebrate, McFarlane will be signing at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles, the same store where McFarlane launched the first issue of the groundbreaking SPAWN series.

"On June 2nd, 1992 I sat in a store called Golden Apple Comics and launched the first issue of my new series, SPAWN." says McFarlane. "That day literally set the stage for all the success this book has had since. To honor that monumental beginning, I'll be returning to my roots, so to speak, with the release of the 200th issue of SPAWN, almost 18 years later."

Fans of SPAWN and McFarlane's work can meet him on January 12, 2011, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Golden Apple Comics, 7018 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. The signing will be limited to two items per person. The signing will also feature an array of special surprise guests!

Golden Apple Comics Manager Ryan Liebowitz adds, "I am so excited to have Todd back at Golden Apple, 18 years after we hosted the premier event for issue #1. This will truly be a historic day for the comic industry!"

Grammy-and Emmy-winning producer/director Todd McFarlane, creator of SPAWN, is the force behind McFarlane Toys, one of America's top action figure manufacturers. McFarlane became a true comic book superstar in the 1980s as a result of his work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man franchise. With the 1992 launch of SPAWN, McFarlane created one of the most popular heroes of the 1990s. The title's hugely popular debut sold an amazing 1.7 million copies -- an unprecedented feat in independent comics.

The comic became an Emmy Award-winning animated series on HBO and a live-action feature film from New Line Cinema that grossed $100 million. A whirlwind of growth and expansion followed: more comics, action figures, and award-winning entertainment projects.

The breadth of McFarlane's awards span from two Emmy Awards, a pair of MTV Video Music Awards, and a Grammy Award, to hundreds of international awards for his work in the arts and action figure industry. Todd McFarlane Entertainment continues to develop projects in the video game, film, television and music industries.

Golden Apple has been the premier comic book and pop culture store in Los Angeles since 1979. For over 30 years, the shop has been featured in nearly every local and national media outlet including print, television and the Internet. In addition, this world famous store boasts celebrity clientele, high-profile events and is a hub for entertainment and comic industry professionals alike. Always cutting edge and proactive in the community, the two generations of owners have strived to keep their finger on the pulse and a firm grasp on the marketplace.

Don't miss Todd McFarlane and special guests, signing the landmark 200th issue of SPAWN at Golden Apple Comics (7018 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90038; 323-658-6047) on January 12, 2011, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.


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/.

I Reads You Review: VANILLA, VOL. 1 (YAOI)

Creator: Riyu Yamakami (cartoonist); Sachiko Sato (translation)

Publishing Information: Juné Manga/DMP, paperback, 192 pages, $12.95 (US)

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-56970-754-8 (ISBN-13); 1-56970-754-5 (ISBN-10)

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

Vanilla is a yaoi graphic novel from creator Riyu Yamakami. Originally published in the late 1990s, Vanilla was published in two trade paperbacks by Digital Manga Publishing under its Juné Manga imprint a few years ago. The story focuses on a high school student just starting to accept his gay inclinations when he falls deeply in love with a teacher who does not believe in confessions of love.

Vanilla, Vol. 1 introduces high school student, 17-year-old Ichiro Morio, who is just one of the boys, except that he really isn’t. Morio’s friends are always talking about the girls they would like to “get with.” Morio is not really crazy about dating girls. He has his eyes on the new chemistry teacher, the cold and callous Yoshitaka Saeki.

Morio notices that Saeki is also indifferent towards the girls who throw themselves at him. Saeki, however, is not into romance and sentiment, so can the romantic Morio melt his teacher’s cool apathy?

Readers who prefer their boys’ love to be deeply romantic will love Vanilla. The lead character, Ichiro Morio, is old-fashioned in that he believes that romantic love must absolutely come before physical intimacy. He is practically scandalized by one-night stands and recreational sex in general. Thus, Riyu Yamakami gives the readers page after page of Morio thinking about love, his schoolmates’ lusts, and, of course, his aloof teacher. This is romance-shojo masquerading as yaoi because it is about young love more than it is about hot sex.

While this volume only has brief graphic depictions of sex between male lovers, the passion and yearning slowly simmers, constantly building up anticipation. In fact, whenever the characters share some physical contact, the narrative seems to explode with a burst of energy. I look forward to the next volume.

A-

http://www.junemanga.com/

Happy New Year and a Brave New I Reads You Frontier

Welcome to I Reads You, my blog about the things I read (mostly comic books, comics, and related books) and about the things I come across worth reading (mostly about comic books, politics, and entertainment). Sometimes I’ll comment on “real” books and the mass media.

I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I have another blog: http://www.negromancer.com/. I also write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps).

We just finished our first calendar year, and we look forward to another one - thanks to you, dear reader.

All images appearing on this blog are copyright © and/or trademark their respective owners.

I Reads You Review: MILESTONE FOREVER #1

MILESTONE FOREVER No. 1

DC COMICS

WRITER: Dwayne McDuffie

PENCILS/INKS: John Paul Leon (framing sequence)
PENCILS: Mark D. Bright
INKS: Romeo Tanghal
LETTERS: Sal Cipriano
COLORS: Snakebite
COVER: Admira
48pp, Color, $5.99

Milestone was a comics imprint published through DC Comics’ from 1993 through 1997. The brainchild of Milestone Media, a collective of African-American comic book creators, the imprint produced comic books featuring minority characters, specifically African-American characters and superheroes. The imprint published several titles including Hardware, Icon, and Blood Syndicate. One of them, Static, gave birth to an Emmy Award winning animated series, Static Shock.

Except for sporadic appearances in DC Comics series, Milestone’s characters mostly disappeared. In the summer of the 2008, Milestone Media co-founder Dwayne McDuffie announced that the Milestone characters would be merged into the DC Universe. Milestone’s universe was known as the “Dakotaverse,” named for the fictional Midwestern city, Dakota, where most of the early stories were set. Published earlier this year, Milestone Forever is the event comic book miniseries that chronicled the events leading to that merger.

Milestone Forever #1 stars the core Milestone characters, but opens with a framing sequence focusing on a character named Dharma. He initiated the “Big Bang,” the event gave characters like Static their superpowers. Now, Dharma needs those same superheroes to save the universe. Meanwhile, the Dakotaverse heroes are having their own issues. They are caught in a struggle begun by Holocaust between the old and new versions of the Blood Syndicate.

Thanks to the pencil art of Mark D. Bright, Milestone Forever #1 has a thoroughly 1980s vibe. Bright’s page design often emphasizes large panels, half-splash pages, and sometimes full splash pages – the better to capture superhero combat. The style recalls John Byrne’s art on his short run on the Hulk in the mid-80s and John Romita, Jr.’s art on Cable and Uncanny X-Men in the early 1990s. This is old school superhero comics (in a good way), but with colorist Snakebite’s fiery hues to give the art a modern touch.

I like Milestone, more now than I did in its original incarnation, but I don’t know if Dwayne McDuffie’s script offers anything new that would attract readers who ignored Milestone a decade-and-half ago. For Milestone fans, this is a nice goodbye that looks like the way it used to be.

B+

[This issue has pin-up pages, including a Hardware illustration by J.H. Williams.]

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"Lorna, Relic Hunter" Has Darwyn Cooke Cover

ARCHEOLOGICAL GIRL FIGHT

 

Lorna, Relic Wrangler faces off against the forces of evil in March release from Image Comics

 

Fun fact: Washington D.C.'s occult architecture was configured to roll out the red carpet for an extra-dimensional Dark Lord. And only one woman can rescue mankind from certain doom!

In March, Image Comics will tell the tale of mankind's savior in LORNA, RELIC WRANGLER, a one-shot adventure written by Micah S. Harris (HEAVEN'S WAR) and illustrated by Loston Wallace (Elvira Mistress of the Dark, Batman Animated Series), Michael Youngblood, and Olli Hihnala. Eisner-award winning artist Darwyn Cooke (DC: The New Frontier, Richard Stark's Parker) provides the gorgeous cover, while Dean Yeagle supplies a pin-up worthy variant cover.

"Lorna's passions were never those of your typical southern belle," Harris says. "Now, from her trailer park HQ, she tracks the uncanny on a global scale."

"Lorna is Mary Ann and Ginger combined with a mint julep twist of Laura Croft," Wallace adds. "Sexy, funny, and devilishly smart, Lorna fearlessly faces down supernatural dangers wearing cut-off jeans shorts. What's not to like?!"

To defeat a nefarious evil entity, Lorna, Relic Wrangler, must pilfer a mysterious artifact from a Memorial in the heart of our nation's capitol. What she doesn't know is that she's offering herself up as a sacrificial party favor in the process! Lorna also has to face down her high school nemesis -- now a cat-suited villainess -- in a girl fight for the ages!

LORNA, RELIC WRANGLER, a 32-page, full-color one-shot from Image Comics, will be in stores March 23, 2011, for $3.99.


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/.