Arata: The Legend - Ameeno's Campaign

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 22

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Itsuwaribito: Ryubi's Cause

I read Itsuwaribito , Vol. 14

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Arata: The Legend - Stop and Smell the... Cause You Have No Choice

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 21

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D.Gray-man: By Your Side

I read D.Gray-man, Vol. 24

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Arata: The Legend - Demon Tree

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 20

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Arata: The Legend - Betrayal

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 19

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Itsuwaribito: Village Village

I read Itsuwaribito , Vol. 12

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Arata: The Legend - Written Word

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 18

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Arata: The Legend - Demonization

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 17

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Itsuwaribito: It's MY Kaiten Party

I read Itsuwaribito , Vol. 11

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New Orleans Comic Con Has Neal Adams "Miracleman #2" Variant

Marvel Comics & Wizard World Reveal 'Miracleman 2' Exclusive Variant Interlocking Cover By Neal Adams For New Orleans Comic Con

Marvel Will Offer Exclusive Books At All 16 Wizard World Shows Including 'Miracleman #2' At New Orleans Comic Con, February 7-9; VIP Attendees Receive Free Color Version; B&W Limited Edition Available For Purchase

NEW YORK, January 2, 2014 – Marvel Comics and Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) have announced a program by which VIP attendees at each of the 16 scheduled 2014 Wizard World Comic Con pop culture conventions will receive exclusive variant covers of the best Marvel titles, continuing with Miracleman #2 at New Orleans Comic Con (Feb. 7-9). The limited-edition book, with cover illustrated by comics legend and Eisner Award Hall of Famer Neal Adams, features an interlocking cover with Adams' Miracleman #1 from Portland Comic Con (Jan. 24-26), and will be available in both color and black & white sketch editions.

The colored version of Miracleman #2 will be limited to 3,000 copies and provided free at registration to all Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con VIP attendees, including any celebrity VIP packages. The Black & White sketch version is limited to just 2,500 copies and will be available for sale at the Wizard World Store on the convention floor. Quantities per purchase may be limited.

Adams is scheduled to be on site at the event to sign copies (autograph fees may apply). Leading professional comic grader CGC will also be on hand to accept books for grading and Signature Series.

Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. A first-class lineup of topical programming takes place at each event, with celebrity Q&A's, comics-themed sessions, costume contest, movie screenings, evening parties and more. Sunday is also Kids Day, with an array of activities and programming specially designed for the younger Wizard World fans.

Wizard World Comic Con is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor, often stopping by the Show Stage, the ideal place to see and be seen.

For more on the 2014 Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, go to http://www.wizardworld.com/home-neworleans.html.

About Wizard World:
Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests.

About Marvel Entertainment, LLC
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information, visit marvel.com.

The full event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.

Wizard World 2014 Schedule

January 24-26 – Wizard World Portland Comic Con

February 7-9 – Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con

March 7-9 – Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con

March 28-30 – Wizard World Louisville Comic Con

April 4-6 – Wizard World St. Louis Comic Con

May 2-4 – Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con

May 30-June 1 – Wizard World Atlanta Comic Con

June 19-22 – Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con

August 1-3 – Wizard World San Antonio Comic Con

August 21-24 – Wizard World Chicago Comic Con

September 12-14 – Wizard World Richmond Comic Con

September 26-28 – Wizard World Nashville Comic Con

October 2-4 – Wizard World Austin Comic Con

October 31-November 2 – Wizard World Ohio Comic Con

November 7-9 – Wizard World Tulsa Comic Con

November 21-23 – Wizard World Reno Comic Con


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Arata: The Legend - Into Tsuguchi

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 16

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Itsuwaribito: Onihime – Demon Princess

I read Itsuwaribito , Vol. 10

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Arata the Legend: Ama No Iwakura

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 15

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Arata the Legend: Ghosts of Muroya

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 14

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Itsuwaribito: Kuroshiro the Black Castle

I read Itsuwaribito , Vol. 8

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Arata: The Legend - Kannagi vs. Akachi

I read Arata: The Legend, Vol. 13

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D.Gray-man: Searching for Allen Walker

I read D.Gray-man, Vol. 23

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Leroy Douresseaux Reviews: MARKSMEN Volume 1

MARKSMEN VOLUME 1
IMAGE COMICS/BENAROYA PUBLISHING

CREATORS: Michael Benaroya, David Baxter, and Dave Elliot
STORY: David Baxter and Dave Elliot
SCRIPT: David Baxter
PENCILS: Javier Aranda
FINISHES: Gary Leach
COLORS: Jessica Kholinne and Benny Maulana
LETTERS: Bebe Giraffe
ADDITIONAL ART: Tomm Coker (series cover); Nam Kim and Matthew Dalton (end papers)
COVER: Javier Aranda and Gary Leach with Jessica Kholinne
ISBN: 978-1-60706-486-2; paperback
192pp, Color, $15.99 U.S.

Produced by Benaroya Publishing, Marksmen is a six-issue miniseries set in a post-apocalyptic America. It presents a world where everything seems to have gone wrong: a financial meltdown with a global domino effect, civil war, mass riots, looting on a large scale, opportunistic vigilantism, exodus from the cities, starvation, and even cannibalism.

Image Comics just released Marksmen Volume 1, a trade paperback collecting all six issues of the series with additional material. That includes “The Future in Our Sights,” an essay about the world of Marksmen and also two-pages of character designs. Hugo Award-winning science fiction author, Vernor Vinge (A Fire Upon the Deep, 1992) provides an afterword.

Created by Michael Benaroya, David Baxter, and Dave Elliot, Marksmen is dystopian science fiction. It is set 60 years after a global financial meltdown led to a civil war that splintered the United States into warring fiefdoms. Most of the action takes place in and around New San Diego (NSD), a technocratic utopia that offers the last bastion of peace and prosperity for those that live within its walls. Sgt. Drake McCoy, NSD’s best protector, is one of a select group known as the Marksmen, a defensive force descended from the Navy SEALs. The Marksmen defend the city from the numerous human threats that exist in the wasteland outside New San Diego’s walls.

Now, there is a new threat. The oil rich Lone Star State is sending a powerful army to steal New San Diego’s technological secrets. Arriving ahead of them is a renegade group of former Lone Star State denizens. One of them is Joe Percival, a former NSD with ties to Drake’s father, Admiral Leo McCoy, and his mother, Dr. Sharon Heston, the NSD’s head scientist. Will Percival and his son, Sean, have anything that can help Drake and the NSD stop the Lone Star Rangers? Or are the Rangers’ charismatic leader, The Duke, and resident religious fanatic, Deacon Glenn, really unstoppable?

There is not much to say about Marksmen other than to say that it is a damn good read. On Monday, May 14, I received a review copy from Benaroya Publishing. I read the first two chapters on Tuesday, May 15. On Wednesday, May 16, I practically devoured Chapters 3 to 6 and I wanted more. Marksmen is like Black Hawk Down meets Mad Max, but Marksmen’s villains are scarier than the bad guys in either of those movies.

This is a well-thought out future scenario. Writer David Baxter offers some sharp commentary on the real world social, political, and financial situations happening right now that could lead to a situation similar to the one presented in Marksmen. Then, Baxter turns it into a breathtaking science fiction and military action thriller. It is more popcorn fun than most Hollywood heavy hitter action flicks, and it is scarier because this story’s basis is grounded in the current disquieting reality.

On the storytelling end, the art by Javier Aranda (pencils) and Gary Leach (finishes) is good, but Aranda’s pencils don’t display the polished quality of a veteran artist. Composition and the layout of some of the panel interiors is a little off. However, Aranda has the ability to create drama and tension that grabs the reader, and he has a knack for visualizing both physical and non-physical conflict. This is why Marksmen keeps hitting the mark.

Readers looking for credible comic book action thrillers will want Marksmen Volume 1 for repeated readings.

A-