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 (http://www.comicbookbin.com/).
All images and text appearing on this blog are copyright © and/or trademark their respective owners.
Let's celebrate reading with
Monday, August 1, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tim Truman and Son Bring "Hawken" to Baltimore Comic-Con
Legendary comics artist and writer Timothy Truman will give East Coast fans an exclusive first look at artwork, covers, and designs for Hawken, his highly-anticipated western horror series, at this year's Baltimore Comic-Con , August 20-21, 2011, at the Baltimore Convention Center , 1 West Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21201.
Co-created with his 28-year-old son, writer Benjamin Truman, the new project tells the tale of ghost-haunted pistolero Kitchell Hawken and his blood-drenched vendetta against the men who scalped and tortured him then left him for dead. The first issue ships in November from IDW Publishing.
Renowned for his work on such titles as hard-hitting action titles as Grimjack, Scout, Wilderness, Hawkworld, Turok, Jonah Hex, and Dark Horse Comics' Conan, Timothy is hardly a stranger to the BCC. "Baltimore is by far my favorite convention every year," Truman says. "I attended my first show several years ago, after I decided to take the day off and check it out as a 'civilian.' I was immediately impressed. Baltimore Comic-Con made me feel like a 'fan' again. I haven't missed a show since." To mark the Baltimore preview, Tim and Ben are preparing limited edition Hawken BCC t-shirts and prints especially for the appearance.
In his featured blog for the pop-culture site The Morton Report, journalist Bill Baker gave readers a taste of what to expect from the new tale:
"Over the course of his long and storied career, writer-artist Timothy Truman has had brushes with all manner of killers and antiheroes. But his latest encounter with the darker side of humanity, in the supernaturally-charged Western miniseries features Hawken, a character that he freely admits is perhaps the worst of the lot.
"According to Truman, the titular character, Kitchell Hawken 'has been many things in his day: Scout, tracker, trader, scalp-hunter, raider, hired gun.... But mostly, he's been a nasty son-of-a-bitch.'
"Each issue of the six-part tale follows the aged Hawken as he wreaks bloody vengeance upon the very men he used to work for, a cartel of corrupt politicians and arms merchants called the Tucson Ring. Along the way readers learn more about Hawken's reason for turning on his former employers and the many horrors that the haunted gunman has committed over the course of a blood-soaked life.
"And just to be clear, 'haunted' literally describes Hawken's situation, as the remorseless killer's accompanied throughout his vendetta by the ghost of every person he's killed, all unwilling companions forced by a curse to assist the gunslinger with his vengeance.
"Truman, who's become known for his ability to portray unlikable loners in convincing manner, freely admits, 'Folks would be hard-pressed to find a character as ruthless as Kit Hawken. He has good reasons for his rampage, and believe me, a rampage it is. For once, the bad guys have truly messed with the wrong man.'
"And while anyone might be hard-pressed to describe the proceedings as family fare, it is, in fact, a family affair. That's because Tim Truman's creative partner on this project is none other than Ben Truman, his son.
"Ben, who's scripting the series, works as a teacher in Tucson, AZ. As he describes it, the character and his sordid tale arose almost by chance during one of his parents' visits to the area last year. The younger Truman recalled that 'while driving through Crater Park I asked Dad if he's ever seen any accounts where a man had survived a scalping. Somehow, that kicked it off.
"'Hawken grew out of the landscapes of each new place we visited: His name in Flagstaff, his past in Bisbee, the curse in Tempe, his vendetta in Tombstone. By the time we left San Xavier Mission, the first issue was plotted.'
"The elder Truman gained widespread notoriety with his first two major efforts, Scout and .Grimjack These comics were some of the most critically lauded independent comics of the '80s, fan-favorites that catapulted Truman and his various creative partners into the upper echelons of the mainstream comics industry."
Each of the six issues of Hawken will cost $3.99 and contain 32 pages printed in antiqued duo-tone. The book joins such popular IDW titles as 30 Days of Night, Hasbro's Transformers and G.I. JOE, Paramount's Star Trek, Toho's Godzilla, HBO's True Blood, and the BBC's Dr. Who.
For more information, visit Tim's website or visit IDWPublishing.com.
This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 21st.
Contact Information
Please use the following e-mail addresses to contact the Baltimore Comic-Con:
press@baltimorecomiccon.com - for any general press inquiries or to be added to our PR distribution
promoter@baltimorecomiccon.com - for requesting exhibitor, publisher, and Artist Alley applications
registrar@baltimorecomiccon.com - for inquiries about submitted registrations
harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com - for communications regarding the Harvey Awards ceremony and banquet
general@baltimorecomiccon.com - for general Baltimore Comic-Con inquiries
About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 12th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com/.
About The Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards. With a history of over 20 years, the last 6 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories. They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.harveyawards.org/.
Dark Horse Comics Celebrates 4 Eisner Award Winners
DARK HORSE COMICS EISNER WINNERS!
CONGRATS TO MIKE MIGNOLA, RICHARD CORBEN, DAVE STEWART & JUANJO GUARNIDO!
July 27, MILWAUKIE, OR— The Eisner Awards took place on Friday night of Comic Con International. These prestigious awards honor the best of the best within the comics world. With the madness of San Diego Comic-Con behind us, Dark Horse Comics looks forward to an amazing fall publishing schedule ahead. But first, we’d like to congratulate our Eisner Award winners!
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior Art): Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad
Best Cover Artist: Mike Mignola, Hellboy, Baltimore: The Plague Ships
Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Hellboy, B.P.R.D., Baltimore, Let Me In (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC); Neil Young’s Greendale, Daytripper, Joe the Barbarian (Vertigo/DC)
The Eisner Awards are part of, and underwritten by, Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.
Well done, boys! Well done!
CONGRATS TO MIKE MIGNOLA, RICHARD CORBEN, DAVE STEWART & JUANJO GUARNIDO!
July 27, MILWAUKIE, OR— The Eisner Awards took place on Friday night of Comic Con International. These prestigious awards honor the best of the best within the comics world. With the madness of San Diego Comic-Con behind us, Dark Horse Comics looks forward to an amazing fall publishing schedule ahead. But first, we’d like to congratulate our Eisner Award winners!
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben
Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior Art): Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad
Best Cover Artist: Mike Mignola, Hellboy, Baltimore: The Plague Ships
Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Hellboy, B.P.R.D., Baltimore, Let Me In (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC); Neil Young’s Greendale, Daytripper, Joe the Barbarian (Vertigo/DC)
The Eisner Awards are part of, and underwritten by, Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.
Well done, boys! Well done!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Leroy Douresseaux on STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC – The Lost Suns #2
STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC – THE LOST SUNS #2 (OF 5)
DARK HORSE BOOKS
["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]
SCRIPT: Alexander Freed
PENCIL ROUGHS: Dave Ross
PENCIL FINISHES: George Freeman
INKS: Mark McKenna
COLORS: Michael Atiyeh
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Benjamin Carré
32pp, Color, $3.50
I’m not really into that part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe known as Star Wars: The Old Republic, but I like the comic book. Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns is a comic book based upon the LucasArts online game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. While Dark Horse has published two previous series set in the Star Wars: The Old Republic time period, this is the first one set concurrent with the game.
In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the Old Republic is the time period 1000 to 25000 years before the Battle of Yavin (abbreviated at BBY). For those that don’t know, the Battle of Yavin is the climactic battle in Stars Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, during which Luke Skywalker destroys the Death Star.
Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns is set in 3632 BBY and focuses on Theron Shan, a spy working for the Republic Strategic Information Service. Theron’s superior sends him on a mission to find Ngani Zho, the great Jedi who may have important information. Theron has strong ties to the long-missing Jedi, as Zho trained Theron’s mother, Satele Shan. Darth Mekhis, an old enemy of Satele’s, also wants Zho.
As Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns #2 opens, Ngani Zho reveals the dark history of the Republic’s war with the Sith and the tragic peace accord. Theron finds Zho, but both his and Zho’s past complicate their mission.
While I’m only vaguely familiar with the whole “Old Republic” universe within a universe, I am enjoying The Lost Suns. The script for the second issue by Alexander Freed, a senior writer on The Old Republic online game, is more streamlined than the one for the first issue. Freed seamlessly weaves back story and the present action to create an engaging, enjoyable read. The art, with its clean compositions and no-frills design, makes it easy to comprehend this story, which is steeped in arcane Star Wars stuff.
B+
Friday, July 29, 2011
Dark Horse Comics Announces $1.00 Comics
DARK HORSE COMICS RELEASES FALL PUBLISHING SCHEDULE PRICING DETAILS!
FIRST ISSUES OF ORCHID, HOUSE OF NIGHT, AND THE STRAIN ARE $1.00!
July 27, MILWAUKIE, OR — Dark Horse Comics announced Preview night at San Diego Comic Con that its fall publishing schedule will include three major heavy hitters in the writing-talent department.
Tom Morello’s Orchid, P. C. Cast’s House of Night, and Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain will be joining the Dark Horse roster. These titles are sure to keep your eyes on the comics.
The first issue of each of these new series will be priced at $1.00 in comic stores, giving every fan something to talk about and a great starting point to begin reading these amazing new stories!
If you’re a comics fan who’s made the jump to digital, every issue of each comic will be available on release date through Dark Horse Digital for $1.99.
With prices like that on titles like these, expect a high demand and expect to read the whole series. They are not to be missed!
Tom Morello’s Orchid is on sale October 12.
P. C. Cast’s House of Night is on sale November 9.
Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain is on sale December 14.
FIRST ISSUES OF ORCHID, HOUSE OF NIGHT, AND THE STRAIN ARE $1.00!
July 27, MILWAUKIE, OR — Dark Horse Comics announced Preview night at San Diego Comic Con that its fall publishing schedule will include three major heavy hitters in the writing-talent department.
Tom Morello’s Orchid, P. C. Cast’s House of Night, and Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain will be joining the Dark Horse roster. These titles are sure to keep your eyes on the comics.
The first issue of each of these new series will be priced at $1.00 in comic stores, giving every fan something to talk about and a great starting point to begin reading these amazing new stories!
If you’re a comics fan who’s made the jump to digital, every issue of each comic will be available on release date through Dark Horse Digital for $1.99.
With prices like that on titles like these, expect a high demand and expect to read the whole series. They are not to be missed!
Tom Morello’s Orchid is on sale October 12.
P. C. Cast’s House of Night is on sale November 9.
Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain is on sale December 14.
Naoki Urasawa Gets Eisner Award - About Damn Time
VIZ MEDIA’S NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS WINS A 2011 EISNER AWARD
Manga Masterpiece Recognized With The Comic Book Industry’s Most Prestigious Award
San Francisco, CA, July 28, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, is proud to announce that NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS was recognized with an Eisner Award in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia category during award ceremonies held at the recent Comic-Con International event in San Diego, CA. NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS is published in North America by VIZ Media’s Signature imprint. Volume 17 of the series will be released in August.
20th CENTURY BOYS is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world. Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns.
For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.
“We’re elated to have NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS recognized by the comic book industry such a prestigious award,” says Andy Nakatani, Editorial Director at VIZ Media and editor for the title. “Urasawa‘s tense and dramatic storylines have firmly established him among the very top echelon of manga creators. With this, and other acclaimed series such as NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER and PLUTO: URASAWA ´ TEZUKA, Naoki Urasawa continues to push the boundaries of the manga genre, and we look forward to this award bringing his work to the attention of many new fans across North America.”
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are considered the "Oscars" of the comic book industry [Utter foolishness - Leroy] and are named for renowned cartoonist Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit and several award-winning graphic novels). The awards are handed out each year in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International in San Diego, the largest and oldest comic book convention in the United States.
Naoki Urasawa's career as a manga artist spans more than twenty years and has firmly established him as one of the true manga masters of Japan. Born in Tokyo in 1960, Urasawa debuted with BETA! in 1983 and hasn't stopped his impressive output since. Well-versed in a variety of genres, Urasawa's oeuvre encompasses a multitude of different subjects, such as a romantic comedy (YAWARA! A FASHIONABLE JUDO GIRL), a suspenseful human drama about a former mercenary (PINEAPPLE ARMY; story by Kazuya Kudo), a captivating psychological suspense story (NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER), a sci-fi adventure manga (NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS), and a modern reinterpretation of the work of the God of Manga, Osamu Tezuka (PLUTO: URASAWA X TEZUKA; co-authored with Takashi Nagasaki, supervised by Macoto Tezka, and with the cooperation of Tezuka Productions). Many of his books have spawned popular animated and live-action TV programs and films, and 2008 saw the theatrical release of the first of three live-action Japanese films based on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS.
No stranger to accolades and awards, Urasawa is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award, a two-time recipient of the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize, and has received the Kodansha Manga Award. Urasawa has also become involved in the world of academia, and in 2008 accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he teaches courses in, of course, manga.
For more information on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS and other VIZ Media manga titles, please visit www.viz.com/manga.
Manga Masterpiece Recognized With The Comic Book Industry’s Most Prestigious Award
San Francisco, CA, July 28, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, is proud to announce that NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS was recognized with an Eisner Award in the Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia category during award ceremonies held at the recent Comic-Con International event in San Diego, CA. NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS is published in North America by VIZ Media’s Signature imprint. Volume 17 of the series will be released in August.
20th CENTURY BOYS is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world. Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns.
For Kenji, a simple convenience store manager who once dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll musician, a host of memories from his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.
“We’re elated to have NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS recognized by the comic book industry such a prestigious award,” says Andy Nakatani, Editorial Director at VIZ Media and editor for the title. “Urasawa‘s tense and dramatic storylines have firmly established him among the very top echelon of manga creators. With this, and other acclaimed series such as NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER and PLUTO: URASAWA ´ TEZUKA, Naoki Urasawa continues to push the boundaries of the manga genre, and we look forward to this award bringing his work to the attention of many new fans across North America.”
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are considered the "Oscars" of the comic book industry [Utter foolishness - Leroy] and are named for renowned cartoonist Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit and several award-winning graphic novels). The awards are handed out each year in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International in San Diego, the largest and oldest comic book convention in the United States.
Naoki Urasawa's career as a manga artist spans more than twenty years and has firmly established him as one of the true manga masters of Japan. Born in Tokyo in 1960, Urasawa debuted with BETA! in 1983 and hasn't stopped his impressive output since. Well-versed in a variety of genres, Urasawa's oeuvre encompasses a multitude of different subjects, such as a romantic comedy (YAWARA! A FASHIONABLE JUDO GIRL), a suspenseful human drama about a former mercenary (PINEAPPLE ARMY; story by Kazuya Kudo), a captivating psychological suspense story (NAOKI URASAWA’S MONSTER), a sci-fi adventure manga (NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS), and a modern reinterpretation of the work of the God of Manga, Osamu Tezuka (PLUTO: URASAWA X TEZUKA; co-authored with Takashi Nagasaki, supervised by Macoto Tezka, and with the cooperation of Tezuka Productions). Many of his books have spawned popular animated and live-action TV programs and films, and 2008 saw the theatrical release of the first of three live-action Japanese films based on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS.
No stranger to accolades and awards, Urasawa is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award, a two-time recipient of the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize, and has received the Kodansha Manga Award. Urasawa has also become involved in the world of academia, and in 2008 accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he teaches courses in, of course, manga.
For more information on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20th CENTURY BOYS and other VIZ Media manga titles, please visit www.viz.com/manga.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Natsume's Friends
I read Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 8
I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).
I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).
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