I Reads You Juniors October 2017 - Update #59

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From BleedingCool:  Tim Sale, known for his Batman work, especially "Batman: The Long Halloween," is talking about returning to Batman and is eyeing two projects.

From BleedingCool:  Liam Sharp is drawing an ongoing Batman/Wonder Woman comic book.

From DailyJSTOR:  An article about Ezra Jack Keats, the man whose "Snowy Day" book helped diversify children's books.

From BleedingCool:  Bryan Talbot's new graphic novel, "Grandville: Force Majeure," uses anti-spoiler technology.

From PREVIEWSWorld:  Grant Morrison talks about his BOOM! Studios comic book, Klaus and The Cris in Xmasville #1.

From Crunchyroll:  Shinobu Ohtaka's manga, "Magi," is nearing its end.

From TheNational:  Japan's manga sector gets a tech makeover.

From CBR:  Writer Matthew Rosenberg talks about why "The Punisher" is moving into the "Marvel Legacy" era as "War Machine."

From BleedingCool:  Rick Remender really wants you to read his comic book, "Black Science" (Image Comics).

From MangaTokyo:  "Fullmetal Alchemist" creator finally made her first TV appearance.

From ComicBook:  The surprising comic book origins of "Playboy."

From NewPressNow:  A local poet laureate produces a graphic novel.

From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #140 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #140 in French.

From BleedingCool:  Liam Sharp has a new comic book coming out in February 2018.  It's a mystery.

From IndianapolisRecorder:  Tyeesha Bradley is creating comics. [Beautiful art. - Leroy]

From BleedingCool:  Rob Liefeld vs. Diamond Comic Distributors.

From CBR:  Was "The Walking Dead" comic book going to feature aliens?

From FocusTaiwan:  The government of Taiwan plans on spending the equivalent of $33 million US over the next four years to develop its manga sector.

From TheHypedGeek:  "Saint Seiya: Next Dimension" returns next spring.

From BleedingCool:  Avatar Press announces January 2018 solicitations.

From Crunchyroll:  The "One Piece" manga has sold 430 million copies worldwide.

From BedfordandBowery:  "The Unquotable Trump" puts President Trump's words in the mouth of actual comic book villains.

From Mainichi:  The "Lost Manga" of Edo period artist Katsushika Hokusai is published.

From BleedingCool:  Lion Forge Comics announces its January 2018 comic book solicitations.

From BleedingCool:  Raina Telgemeirer's new graphic novel, "Drama," has been banned by an entire educational district in Texas.

From ComicBookBin:  Johnny Bullet episode #139 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  Johnny Bullet episode #139 in French.

From CBR:  Three characters from the hit "Wonder Woman" film join the Wonder Woman comic book.

From BleedingCool:  Warp Graphics of Richard and Wendy Pini and "Elfquest" fame has applied for a trademark for the name, "Futurequest," similar to DC Comics' "Future Quest."

From GizmodoUK:  The horror manga of Junji Ito will become an anime anthology called, "Collection."

From BleedingCool:  [One of my favorite writers - Leroy] Jim Zub answers a loaded questions about how he broke into Marvel Comics as a writer with class and perfection.

From TheVillageVoice:  The 41 freakiest cosplayers of New York Comic Con 2017 - according to the Voice.

From Philly.com:  Ta-Nehisi Coates ("Black Panther") is joining artist Jen Bartel to produce a new comic book starring the X-Men's "Storm."

From BlackEnterprise:  The business of Black comic books, comics produced by creators of color.

From ABC2News:  From Annapolis, Maryland, a profile of local boy Rodney Barnes who is writing Marvel Comics' "Falcon."

From PawhuskaJournal:  Nonprofit promotes literacy through comic books.

From CBRBlog:  The death of one character in "The Walking Dead" comic book will be used for another character on the "The Walking Dead" TV series.

From KARE11:  Students use comic books to teach cyber bulling awareness.

From WordBallon:  The blog features a podcast interview in which NBA legend and Hall of Fame basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, talks about being a lifelong comic book fan.

From BleedingCool:  So Spider-Man was Jack Kirby's idea, so says Mark Evanier.

From Previews:  Dynamite Entertainment has gained a license to produced comic books based on the 1988 horror film, "Pumpkinhead."

From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #138 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #138 in French.

From BleedingCool:  There has been a fire at the Charles Schulz Museum.

From FlickeringMyth:  Titan Comics will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic British TV series, "The Prisoner," with a new comic book.

From ComicBook:  VIZ Media announces two new Pokemon manga.

From BleedingCool:  TOKYOPOP announces that it will produce original comics based on Walt Disney properties and will release English editions of Japanese manga based on Disney properties.

From RollingStone:  Square Enix turning manga in VR comics.

From BleedingCool:  Robert Kirkman and Lorenzo De Felici announce a new comic book from Image Comics, "Oblivion Song."

From WeGotThisCovered:  Marvel Comics announces "Old Man Hawkeye."

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics will feature to longtime writer/editor Len Wein in the comic books on sale today, Wed. Oct. 4th.

From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #137 in English.
From ComicBookBin:  New Johnny Bullet episode #137 in French.

From BleedingCool:  Nnedi Okorafor and Andre Lima Araujo will launch a Black Panther digital comic book, "Black Panther: Long Live the King."  It will be available on comiXology and Kindle beginning December 13th.

From ComicBook:  The live-action play based on the manga, "Blue Exorcist" releases its first visual.

From JakartaPost:  Hiro Mashima looks back on his recently ended epic fantasy manga, "Fairy Tail."

From MangaTokyo:  A Tokyo airbnb features a house with 2500 volumes of manga.

From BleedingCool:  At the upcoming 2017 New York Comic Con, you can have lunch with comic book artist J. Scott Campbell for the price of $455 or $1495.

From ComicsBeat:  Kwanza Osayjefo, the co-creator of the comic book series, "Black," talks about that comic book and its past, present, and future.

From SyFyWire:  A thief was arrested trying to sell vintage copies of Amazing Spider-Man #1 and X-Men #1 that he stole.

From DiversionsoftheGroovyKind:  An essay about Gil Kane and Murphy Anderson's Batgirl and Robin splash pages from the late 1960s.

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 9, 2017

DARK HORSE COMICS

APR170046    ALIEN VS PREDATOR LIFE AND DEATH TP (MR)    $19.99
APR170086    ANGEL SEASON 11 TP VOL 01 OUT OF PAST    $17.99
APR170108    DRIFTERS TP VOL 04 (MR)    $13.99
APR170081    EC ARCHIVES INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FICTION HC    $49.99
JUN170107    GROO PLAY OF GODS #2    $3.99
JUN170025    HELLBOY AND THE BPRD 1955 SECRET NATURE ONE SHOT    $3.99
APR170104    NGE SHINJI IKARI RAISING PROJECT OMNIBUS TP VOL 04    $19.99
JUN170032    SHADOWS ON THE GRAVE #7 (OF 8)    $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 12, 2017

DARK HORSE COMICS

FEB170075    ART OF CAMILLA DERRICO HC VOL 01 FEMINA & FAUNA (2ND ED)    $24.99
FEB170015    ART OF SPLATOON HC    $39.99
MAY170030    BRIGGS LAND LONE WOLVES #2    $3.99
MAY170031    BRIGGS LAND LONE WOLVES #2 STAPLES VAR    $3.99
MAY170022    DRAGON AGE KNIGHT ERRANT #3    $3.99
MAY170050    GROO PLAY OF GODS #1    $3.99
MAR170037    LEAD POISONING PENCIL ART OF GEOF DARROW HC    $34.99
MAR170062    LEGEND OF KORRA COLORING BOOK TP    $14.99
MAR170050    MANARA LIBRARY TP VOL 02 EL GAUCHO & OTHER STORIES (MR)    $29.99
MAY170017    NEIL GAIMAN AMERICAN GODS SHADOWS #5 (MR)    $3.99
MAY170018    NEIL GAIMAN AMERICAN GODS SHADOWS #5 MACK VAR (MR)    $3.99
MAY170071    SHADOWS ON THE GRAVE #6 (OF 8)    $3.99

Review: DNAgents #1

DNAGENTS No. 1
ECLIPSE COMICS

[This review first appeared on Patreon.]

WRITER: Mark Evanier
PENCILS: Will Meugniot
INKS: Al Gordon
COLORS: Janice Cohen
LETTERS: Carrie McCarthy
COVER: Will Meugniot and Al Gordon
32pp, Color, $1.50 U.S., $1.75 CAN (March 1983)

DNAgents was a comic book series created by writer Mark Evanier and artist Will Meugniot.  For most of its run, DNAgents was published by Eclipse Comics, beginning in 1983 with the first issue.  DNAgents follows a team of superheroes comprised of a five young people that were created by a corporation using genetic engineering.

DNAgents #1 (“Born Orphans”) opens in the bowels of the Matrix Corporation.  There, we meet five individuals who are not quite people and are not human.  They began as “hundreds of beakers of chemicals waiting to interact.”

When they are freed from their stasis chambers, we are introduced to a new team of superheroes, who have code names instead of birth names.  Rainbow is a young woman who is a powerful telepath and an illusionist.  Amber projects disks of electromagnetic energy that she can use as shields and weapons, or as platforms upon which she can fly.  The beefy Tank is super-strong and wears heavy body armor to regulate and augment his strength.  A conceited young man, Surge can fire blasts of lighting.  A little guy, Sham is a shapeshifter with training as a commando.

The DNAgents are immediately sent on a mission, but things are not as the youngsters are told they would be.  Can they survive in a world that they only know by the information their corporate overseers programmed into them?

It has been ages since I read DNAgents, but for some reason, the series never left my memory.  I have always remembered it fondly, so during a Mile High Comics sale, I bought a copy of DNAgents #1.  I promptly lost track of the comic book, and when I found it, I decided to read it... and to write a short review of it.

DNAgents #1 is a comic book of its time.  It's quasi-science slash fictional science is not presented in a complex or detailed manner.  Writer Mark Evanier focuses on creating the dynamics of a team and on the relationships within the team and on their relationships with other people.  Evanier (pronounced Ev-a-near) emphasizes character relationships, as he also delves into the politics within the Matrix Corporation.  Evanier's script offers plenty of action, but also has a wry sense of humor.  It would not be a stretch to say that Evanier uses Chris Claremont's storytelling on Uncanny X-Men as a template.

Artist Will Meugniot (pronounced Mineo) is good at storytelling, and his page layouts are imaginative, tending towards dynamism.  His art is not highly polished, and is somewhat awkward, in the way one might expect of an artist that has not illustrated many comic books.  There are, however, many moments when Meugniot shows that he has strong drawing skills.

Looking over DNAgents #1 before I read it, I did not think that I would read more than this first issue.  Now, that I have read it, I want to read at least a few more issues.  I also think that this series has potential.  There are a number of writers currently working in comic books that can reboot, re-imagine, or even restart DNAgents in new and interesting ways.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 21, 2015

DARK HORSE COMICS

NOV140050     1 FOR $1 ELFQUEST     $1.00
SEP140095     ABE SAPIEN TP VOL 05 SACRED PLACES     $19.99
NOV140038     BPRD HELL ON EARTH #127     $3.50
SEP140094     BPRD PLAGUE OF FROGS TP VOL 02     $24.99
NOV140027     BTVS SEASON 10 #11 MAIN CVR     $3.50
NOV140057     DARK HORSE PRESENTS 2014 #6     $4.99
SEP140027     DREAM THIEF TP VOL 02 ESCAPE     $17.99
JUL140083     GHOST TP VOL 03 AGAINST WILDERNESS (MR)     $14.99
NOV140084     GROO FRIENDS AND FOES #1     $3.99
SEP140083     KING CONAN TP VOL 04 CONQUEROR     $19.99
SEP140051     LEGEND OF KORRA ART ANIMATED SERIES HC BOOK 03 CHANGE     $34.99
SEP140033     MICHAEL AVON OEMINGS VICTORIES TP VOL 04 META HUMAN     $17.99
SEP140084     ROBERT E HOWARDS SAVAGE SWORD TP VOL 02     $17.99
NOV140042     STRAIN NIGHT ETERNAL #5 (MR)     $3.99

I Reads You Review: GROO VS. CONAN #1

GROO VS. CONAN #1 (OF 4)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier
ART:  Sergio Aragonés and Thomas Yeates
COLORS: Tom Luth
LETTERS: Richard Starkings and Comicraft
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S. (July 2014)

I don't remember when or where I first encountered Groo the Wanderer, the classic 1980s independent comics character created by cartoonist Sergio Aragonés.  Groo first appeared in Destroyer Duck #1 in 1982 (which I believe I owned at one time).  I really got into the character during the long-running comic book series,  Groo the Wanderer, which was published by Marvel Comics' imprint, Epic, for 10 years from 1985 to 1994.   Aragonés plotted and drew Groo comic books and co-conspirator, Mark Evanier, provided the characters' dialogue.

Groo apparently began as a parody of the Conan the Barbarian comic books that Marvel Comics began publishing in the early 1970s.  Groo lives in a world that resembles Medieval Europe (with some anachronisms), although he has traveled to lands that resemble Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East, among others.  Groo is a large-nosed buffoon/oafish type; is probably the most stupid person of his time; and is clueless about his environment and surroundings.  However, this accident-prone fool is an almost supernaturally-skilled swordsman, which is why he tries to work as a mercenary, among other jobs.  He has a pet dog, Rufferto, that accompanies him.

I stopped reading Groo comic books sometime around the turn of the century (still sounds weird to me to say that).  However, when I discovered that the long-planned, crossover comic book featuring Groo and Conan the Barbarian was finally about to be published, I knew that it was time to return to Groo.

Groo vs. Conan #1 opens with Conan the Cimmerian in battle against a typical all-powerful and evil wizard.  Conan's appearance is no coincidence, because the story switches to the “real world” (or a cartoon version of it); there Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier are talking about bringing Groo and Conan together.  Sergio is not crazy about the idea; then, fate changes things.  And a king known as Murcia is about to give Conan a reason to join the story.

I started off excited to read Groo vs. Conan #1.  Then, I began to be annoyed by its meta-fiction quality and comic-within-a-comic story structure.  Then, I started to understand where the story was going (or where I thought it was going), and I enjoyed it, feeling disappointed when I came to the last page.  I must say that I like having Thomas Yeates drawing the Conan segments of the story and Sergio drawing the Groo parts of the story, as well as the scenes featuring himself and Mark Evanier.

Groo vs. Conan #1 promises that this four-issue issue miniseries will be unique both in terms of graphics and art and also in terms of the plot and narrative.  Unique is good, and if the creative team can come close to their best work, Groo vs. Conan will also be a great read.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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