Strobe Edge: Ninako the Cheerleader?

I read Strobe Edge, Vol. 8

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

"The Sakai Project" Celebrates Character, Benefits Creator

DARK HORSE ANNOUNCES THE SAKAI PROJECT

Artists Celebrate Thirty Years of Usagi Yojimbo

The most amazing artists in the world have come together to celebrate thirty years of Stan Sakai’s marvelous samurai rabbit saga, Usagi Yojimbo, in a new oversized hardcover benefit book: The Sakai Project: Artists Celebrate Thirty Years of “Usagi Yojimbo”.

“It has been an absolute pleasure publishing Stan’s work over the years, and recently collaborating with him directly on 47 Ronin,” said Dark Horse’s president and founder, Mike Richardson. “With the thirtieth anniversary of his most beloved creation, Usagi, and in a time of need for Stan and his family, we are honored to publish this tribute to Stan and his work. We are donating all of the proceeds to Stan and his wife, Sharon. We hope you will join us in honoring one of the comics industry’s shining lights.”

The participating artists bring their own interpretations and their own styles to the subject, making this book a one-of-a-kind treasure.

The Sakai Project is produced in association with the Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS). All proceeds from this book will go to Stan and Sharon Sakai.

ADAM HUGHES | ALAIN MAURICET | ALEX MALEEV | ALLISON SOHN | ANDY GRENEN | ARTHUR ADAMS | BATTON LASH | BILL MORRISON | BRIAN CHING & MICHAEL ATIYEH | BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS | CARLOS D’ANDA & GABE ELTAEB | CHRIS SCALF | DAN PANOSIAN | DAVE GIBBONS | DAVID MACK | DOUG WHEATLEY | EDGAR DELGADO | ERIC POWELL | GABRIEL HARDMAN | GEOF DARROW | HOWARD CHAYKIN | JAN DUURSEMA | JEFF SMITH | JOYCE CHIN | MARK CRILLEY | MATT GROENING | MATT WAGNER | MICHAEL ALLRED | MICHAEL AVON OEMING | MICHAEL GOLDEN | MIKE KUNKEL | MIKE MIGNOLA | OSCAR MARTIN | PAUL GULACY | PAUL RENAUD | PHIL YEH | RICHARD CORBEN | SCOTT SHAW | SERGIO ARAGONÉS | STEPHANIE GLADDEN | TIM SALE | TOM MANDRAKE | TOM RICHMOND | WALTER SIMONSON | WILLIAM STOUT | & MORE!

Industry professionals, Dark Horse encourages your participation! The deadline for art submissions is February 20, 2014. For technical specifications and other information, e-mail Dark Horse at sakaiproject@darkhorse.com.

The Sakai Project will be released on July 23. Pre-order with your local comics retailer.

About Dark Horse
Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, 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, such as Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Brian Wood, Gerard Way, Felicia Day, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Neal Adams, and Jim Steranko, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Its successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Mass Effect, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, EVE Online, Halo, Serenity, Game of Thrones, 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 both creator-owned content and licensed comics material.

Natsume's Book of Friends: Different Eyes

I read Natsume's Book of Friends , Vol. 15

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

I Reads You Review: THE ROCKETEER/THE SPIRIT: Pulp Friction #4

THE ROCKETEER/THE SPIRIT: PULP FRICTION #4
IDW PUBLISHING with DC Entertainment – @IDWPublishing and @DCComics

WRITER:  Mark Waid
ART: J Bone
COLORS: Rom Fajardo
LETTERS: Tom B. Long
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
COVER: J Bone
SUBSCRIPTION VARIANT COVER: Chris Samnee with Jordie Bellaire
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2013)

Two classic characters unite in the four-issue comic book miniseries, The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction.  The Rocketeer is a modern-day comic book character whose adventures are set in the era known as the “Golden Age” of comics.  The Spirit is a comic book character that actually appeared in that Golden Age.

Published by IDW Publishing (in association with DC Comics), The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction is written by Mark Waid and drawn by Paul Smith (#1), Loston Wallace (#2), and J Bone (#3 and #4).  Pulp Friction unites the two heroes, as they try to solve a peculiar murder case.

First appearing in the 1980s, The Rocketeer was created by artist and illustrator, Dave Stevens (who died in March of 2008).  Stunt pilot Cliff Secord discovers a mysterious jet pack, which he straps to his back.  Adding a helmet, Secord becomes “The Rocketeer,” and begins a series of adventures set mainly in and around Los Angeles and beginning in the year 1938.

The Spirit was created by legendary cartoonist Will Eisner (who died in January 2005) and first appeared on June 2, 1940 in a 16-page, Sunday newspaper supplement (or insert) called “the Spirit section.”  Once known as Detective Denny Colt (believed by some to be dead), The Spirit is a masked vigilante who fights crime in Central City.

After the corpse of Alderman Tommy Cunningham, a Central City politician, is found in Los Angeles, The Spirit travels to LA. to investigate, as it is physically impossible for Cunningham to have been in the city when he was.  Meanwhile, longtime Spirit nemesis, The Octopus, joins Hollywood “producer,” Benedict Trask, in a plot to use the new medium of television to launch a worldwide criminal enterprise

The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction #4 opens in Central City.  The Spirit finds himself imperiled by Cliff’s girlfriend and actress, Betty, who is under the thrall of the Octopus.  Trask, feeling assured of victory, prepares to “fire a bullet that will draw blood from the world.”  The Rocketeer and The Spirit have been at odds of late.  Can they come together in time to save the world?  They can with the help of a very special leader.

The Rocketeer/The Spirit: Pulp Friction #4 is the best issue of what has been an entertaining series and a welcomed union of two special comic book characters.  Comic books like Pulp Friction remind me of the fun I had reading comic books as a child, flipping pages as fast as I could read them.  Sometimes, I had to go back and reread a comic (several times) because my rapid reading was causing me to miss things.

In this final issue, writer Mark Waid brings everything together:  all the themes, conflicts, personality clashes, and subplots.  Waid cleverly constructs a scene that explains why The Spirit and The Rocketeer might clash that makes perfect sense in the context of the story that Waid is telling.  Also, the surprise way in which he turns a famous historical figure into a kind of action hero makes me glad that I read this series.  And there are many reasons to read this comic book.

Although he did not draw the opening chapters, J Bone made Pulp Friction his own.  His art has an old-timey quality that captures the… ahem… spirit of Will Eisner’s art in terms of mood, graphic design, and pacing, which is appropriate here.  The Central City side of this story arc should resemble classic Eisner, as the L.A. side of the story recalls classic Dave Stevens Rocketeer.  When it comes to comic books, this is the good stuff.

Once again:  more Mark Waid Rocketeer, please, Mr. Dunbier.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: DRAGON BALL FULL COLOR Saiyan Arc Volume 1

DRAGON BALL FULL COLOR SAIYAN ARC VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Akira Toriyama
TRANSLATION: Mari Morimoto
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Gerard Jones
LETTERS: John Clark
COVER:  Akira Toriyama with Shawn Carrico
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6592-7; paperback (February 2014); Rated “A” for “All Ages”
248pp, Color, $19.99 US, $22.99 CAN, £12.99 UK

Originally published in Weekly Shonen Jump, Dragon Ball is a long-running Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama.  Serialized from 1984 to 1995, Dragon Ball is comprised of 519 individual chapters, and focuses on the hero, Son Goku, beginning with his childhood.

VIZ Media is Dragon Ball’s North American publisher, and it has been publishing the series is various formats for some time.  VIZ Media’s latest Dragon Ball publishing project is Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc.

Basically the “Saiyan arc” begins with Chapter 195 of the original Dragon Ball.  If I have figured this out correctly, VIZ Media published 42 volumes (graphic novels) of Dragon Ball.  Beginning with Vol. 17, VIZ Media changed the title to Dragon Ball Z.  Chapter 195 opens Dragon Ball Z Volume 17.

Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc, Vol. 1 opens with the arrival of an alien warrior, named Raditz, on Earth.  He is a Saiyan, a warrior race that exterminates native inhabitants of planets.  Raditz claims that Son Goku is not only a Saiyan warrior, but is also his brother.

Raditz first battles Goku’s nemesis, Piccolo, and then, Goku.  The alien is more than a match for Piccolo and Goku, even after the two enemies unite.  There is a surprising result of the battle between Raditz and the Goku-Piccolo team.  Soon, both Goku and his four-year-old son, Son Gohan, are training on two different worlds, as they prepare for the arrival of more of Goku’s Saiyan brothers.

I am a new reader of Dragon Ball manga, but I have admired other Akira Toriyama manga for several years now – thanks to the Toriyama manga that VIZ Media has sent me.  VIZ gave me a copy of Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc Volume 1 for review a few weeks ago.

I must admit that I prefer seeing Toriyama’s work in black and white, especially Dragon Ball.  However, the more I read this first volume of Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc, the more I liked it.  As I’ve said before, Toriyama blends the best of Carl Barks, Jack Kirby, and Peyo into one super-cartoonist.  Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc Volume 1 is like one of Jack Kirby’s classic superhero comic books without being a superhero comic book.

It is comedy on a big scale, and, thanks to the battles, it is an unabashed fight comic.  The color simply heightens the fantastic nature of the story.  The format of Dragon Ball Full Color Saiyan Arc Volume 1 makes it look like a kind of archival book for serious manga fans and collectors.  However, I think it can also serve as a big-old picture book for young readers.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 5 2014

DC COMICS

DEC130243 ACTION COMICS #28 $3.99
DEC130288 BATMAN BLACK & WHITE #6 $4.99
DEC130265 BATMAN JOKERS DAUGHTER #1 $4.99
DEC130256 BATWING #28 (GOTHTOPIA) $2.99
DEC130314 DC COMICS PRESENTS HARLEY QUINN #1 $7.99
NOV130231 DEATHSTROKE TP VOL 02 LOBO HUNT (N52) $19.99
DEC130253 DETECTIVE COMICS #28 (GOTHTOPIA) $3.99
DEC130255 DETECTIVE COMICS #28 COMBO PACK $4.99
NOV130228 DIAL H TP VOL 02 EXCHANGE (N52) $16.99
SEP130306 DMZ DELUXE EDITION HC BOOK 01 (MR) $29.99
DEC130233 EARTH 2 #20 $2.99
OCT130286 FABLES DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 08 (MR) $29.99
DEC130343 FAIREST #23 (MR) $2.99
NOV130229 FLASH TP VOL 02 ROGUES REVOLUTION (N52) $16.99
NOV130118 FOREVER EVIL #5 $3.99
NOV130122 FOREVER EVIL #5 COMBO PACK $4.99
DEC130210 FOREVER EVIL ARKHAM WAR #5 $2.99
DEC130224 GREEN ARROW #28 $2.99
DEC130272 GREEN LANTERN RED LANTERNS #28 $2.99
DEC130273 GREEN LANTERN RED LANTERNS #28 COMBO PACK $3.99
DEC130337 HINTERKIND #5 (MR) $2.99
NOV130242 JLA TP VOL 04 $24.99
DEC130326 LOONEY TUNES #217 $2.99
DEC130281 MOVEMENT #9 $2.99
NOV130233 RAVAGERS TP VOL 02 HEAVENLY DESTRUCTION (N52) $14.99
DEC130282 STORMWATCH #28 $2.99
NOV130276 STRANGE ADVENTURES TP (MR) $14.99
OCT130269 SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES TP VOL 02 $12.99
DEC130283 SWAMP THING #28 $2.99
NOV130278 TRILLIUM #6 (MR) $2.99
DEC130214 TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #16 (EVIL) $2.99
DEC130295 VAMPIRE DIARIES #2 $3.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

AUG130363 DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS BATGIRL STATUE $124.95

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 5 2014

MARVEL COMICS

DEC130699 ALL NEW INVADERS #2 ANMN $3.99
DEC130686 AVENGERS AI #9 ANMN $2.99
DEC130684 BLACK WIDOW #3 ANMN $3.99
DEC130643 CAPTAIN AMERICA #16.NOW ANMN $3.99
NOV130728 CAPTAIN AMERICA TP LIVING LEGEND $15.99
NOV130731 CASTLE TP RICHARD CASTLES STORM SEASON $14.99
SEP130796 DEADPOOL BY POSEHN AND DUGGAN HC VOL 01 $34.99
NOV130707 INFINITY HC $75.00
NOV130708 INFINITY TP HEIST HUNT $24.99
DEC130740 IRON MAN #21 $3.99
DEC130663 LOKI AGENT OF ASGARD #1 ANMN $2.99
DEC130730 MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #5 $3.99
DEC130719 MIGHTY AVENGERS #6 $3.99
DEC130623 MS MARVEL #1 ANMN $2.99
NOV130651 NEW AVENGERS #14 $3.99
DEC130757 PAINKILLER JANE PRICE OF FREEDOM #4 (MR) $2.99
DEC130627 PUNISHER #1 ANMN $3.99
NOV130717 SAVAGE WOLVERINE PREM HC VOL 02 HANDS ON DEAD BODY $24.99
DEC130736 STAR LORD ANNIHILATION CONQUEST $7.99
DEC130734 SUPERIOR CARNAGE ANNUAL #1 $4.99
NOV130664 SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #8 $2.99
DEC130609 WOLVERINE #1 ANMN $3.99
DEC130670 X-MEN #10.NOW ANMN $3.99
SEP130792 X-MEN HC PHALANX COVENANT $75.00