Leroy Douresseaux on STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC – The Lost Suns #3

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC – THE LOST SUNS #3 (OF 5)
DARK HORSE BOOKS

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Alexander Freed
PENCILS: David Daza
INKS: Mark McKenna
COLORS: Michael Atiyeh
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Benjamin Carré
32pp, Color, $3.50

The new Star Wars comic book, Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns, is based upon the LucasArts online game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Set over 3600 years before the events depicted in the first film, Star Wars (1977), this series takes place after a great war between the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire. Although the war ended with a Republic victory, the Sith gained control of seven star systems.

Agent Theron Shan, a spy working for the Republic’s Strategic Information Service (S.I.S.), reunites with the long-missing Jedi Ngani Zho. Zho trained Theron’s mother, Satele Shan, and was once Theron’s guardian. Zho and Teff’ith, a female Twi’lek Theron captured, join the young S.I.S. agent on a mission to discover the secrets of Darth Mekhis, an old enemy of Satele’s.

As Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns #3 opens, the three, by hook and crook, enter Imperial space. They gain entry into the Vesla star system and set up S.I.S. spy rays and telescopes. What Theron discovers is beyond anything he expected.

Because this third issue of Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Lost Suns focuses on infiltration and espionage, it is the most tension-filled issue to date. Also, the narrative grows more suspenseful as it draws the reader into the secrets of Ngani Zho’s past. The last few pages race towards an exciting cliffhanger. This was the put-up or shut up issue for The Lost Suns; it put up.

This is one of the better Star Wars comic books, so fans of Star Wars Expanded Universe will certainly want to give it a try.

A-

"Blue Estate" Trade Paperback Arrives in September

BLUE ESTATE IS LOCKED AND LOADED

Image Comics Collects Mobsters, Strippers and Mayhem in Blue Estate Vol. 1

BLUE ESTATE takes place on the mean streets of Los Angeles, where an alcoholic hit man and a desperate starlet dodge Russian mobsters, Italian gangsters, ninjas, hippies and the L.A.P.D. in a scheme to steal millions from a psychotic action movie hero.

This September, Image Comics will proudly present the first collection of BLUE ESTATE, written by Viktor Kalvachev (PHERONE, DMZ, The Incredibles) and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Andrew Osborne with artwork from a variety of artists, including Viktor Kalvachev, Nathan Fox (Fluorecent Black, Invincible Iron Man, Pigeons From Hell), Toby Cypress (RODD RACER, Batman/Nightwing) and Robert Valley (Massive Swerve, Gorillaz, Tron TV series).

BLUE ESTATE deals with a low-rent private eye trying (and failing) to escape the long shadow of his respected cop father. But a chance encounter with a B-list action star drags the wannabe gumshoe into a world of strippers, mobsters… and the wildest (and only!) case of his career! See who lives, who dies, and who gets the Tiger Blood knocked outta them in the first four issues of the fast, funny smash hit new crime series from Image Comics.

BLUE ESTATE has already garnered rave attention from retailers, reviewers and fans:

“BLUE ESTATE takes the best of Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino but remains unabashedly original.” - USA Today

"BLUE ESTATE is a slice of absurd depravity that’ll tickle your ribs, but probably with a loaded weapon.” 4 out of 5 stars - Comic Book Resources

“For those that enjoy a good pulp-filled crime story with a healthy dose of pop culture humor…” - IGN

“BLUE ESTATE contains everything you could want in an exciting story.“ - Comic Vine

“In summation – BLUE ESTATE: buy it, read it, love it, cherish it.” 10 out of 10 - Comic Buzz

“One of the best new series this year!” - PopMatters

“A very cool, hip and fun entry in into the detective/crime/mob genre with very stylish art.Worth a read!” - Weekly Comic Book Review

“All in all, BLUE ESTATE delivers the B-12 shot of energy the comic book industry needs every now and again.” - The Outhouse

BLUE ESTATE, VOL. 1 TP will also feature several never-before-seen extras, including a special “Making of a Page” chapter, a "Creating a Character" section of sketches and development phases for key characters, a clay sculpture character gallery and a special introduction from Blue Estate’s very own star, Bruce Maddox!

BLUE ESTATE, VOL. 1 TP, a 120-page full color paperback, will be on sale in stores September 14th for $12.99 and is available to order in the July 2011 edition of Diamond Previews (JUL110455, ISBN: 978-1-60706-429-9). For more information, please visit www.BlueEstateComic.com or www.facebook.com/BlueEstate.


ABOUT VIKTOR KALVACHEV
With art and design credits ranging from DMZ, The Nocturnals and Penthouse to video games like The Incredibles: Escape from Nomanisan Island, Viktor is also the creative force behind the graphic novel Pherone and the massively multiplayer online virtual world, VIE.

ABOUT ANDREW OSBORNE
An Emmy-award winning screenwriter with credits including the Sundance premiere On_Line, his own feature debut Apocalypse Bop and the Discovery Channel game show Cash Cab, Andrew has also written film, comic and interactive scripts for Warner Bros., MTV, HBO, Orion, MPCA, Platinum Studios and enVie Interactive, among others. He enjoys being part of the BLUE ESTATE team, and would like to thank our readers for their fresh, minty breath.

ABOUT TOBY CYPRESS
Raised in New Jersey on early morning Thundarr the Barbarian cartoons, and late night Frankenstein movies. Graduated from art school to create and illustrate comics like Rodd Racer, The Tourist, Kursk and Batman/Nightwing “Bloodborne”. Got married for a year before his wife got bored, now single again to create comics in peace.

ABOUT NATHAN FOX
An early addiction to cartoons, commercials and video games led Nathan to work as an artist on projects including Dogs of War, the story Fluorescent Black for Heavy Metal, Zodiac (Marvel), Pigeons from Hell (Dark Horse), DMZ (Vertigo), Harley Quinn (DC), and will soon be the regular artist for Todd McFarlane’s HAUNT series.He's also worked as an illustrator for Wired, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine and ESPN Magazine, among others.

ABOUT ROBERT VALLEY
In addition to directing his own short film Massive Swerve and illustrating the story Boy Zero for Heavy Metal, Robert has worked as a storyboard artist on Firebreather, a character designer for the Tron TV series, a cinematics animation director for Dance Central and an animation director for Beatles Rock Band and Gorillaz.

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
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/.

Kekkaishi: Zero

I read Kekkaishi, Vol. 27 and posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

Leroy Douresseaux on BALTIMORE: THE CURSE BELLS #1

BALTIMORE: THE CURSE BELLS #1 (OF 5)
DARK HORSE COMICS

STORY: Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
ART: Ben Stenbeck
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Mike Mignola with Dave Stewart (Variant cover by Francesco Francavilla)
32pp, Color, $3.50

Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire is a 2007 illustrated novel from Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and novelist Christopher Golden. Baltimore: The Curse Bells is the second comic book miniseries adapted from the novel.

The novel follows Captain Lord Henry Baltimore, an American military commander during World War I. After a ferocious battle, Baltimore discovers giant bat creatures feeding on his dead men. Baltimore slashes one, which in turn grievously wounds him, causing Baltimore to lose his leg. Baltimore has unknowingly wounded a great vampire, Haigus, who unleashes a vampire plague across Europe and goes after Baltimore’s family.

As Baltimore: The Curse Bells #1 begins, it is October 1916. Monsters are overrunning Europe, and Baltimore is the only one who can put an end to these horrors by finding and killing Haigus, the vampire responsible for this chaos. Baltimore is in Lucerne, Switzerland tracking Haigus, but all he finds is carnage and the monstrous and demonic creations the vampire has left in his wake. Baltimore tracks Haigus to Bludeschtag, Austria, the home of a strange convent and its silent bells.

When I first heard of Baltimore the novel a few years ago, I dismissed it as not worth my time. I still haven’t read it, so maybe it isn’t worth my precious time. The comic book, on the other hand, is worth my attention. I really enjoyed this. As I read Baltimore: The Curse Bells, I thought of Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley and Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker because I was reminded of the thoughts and feelings I had while reading both those books.

I am familiar with Mignola, and I have been a fan of his work for over two decades. I’m not that familiar with Christopher Golden, but like his work. In this case, both creators deliver. The biggest surprise for me is Ben Stenbeck, whose art reminds me of Joe Matt’s. Stenbeck’s cartoony alt-comix style works quite well for this series because he can draw fantastic creatures and settings. His compositions are solid and the storytelling hits all the right notes for the fright fest that is this series.

A-

FINDER: Target in the Viewfinder and Fixer

I read Finder Volume1: Target in the View Finder (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.

Leroy Douresseaux on B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH: Monsters #2

B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH: MONSTERS #2 OF 2 (Series #81)
DARK HORSE COMICS

STORY: Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
ART: Tyler Crook
COLORS: Dave Stewart
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Ryan Sook with Dave Stewart
32pp, Color, $3.50

B.P.R.D. is a long-running comic book series starring the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (the B.P.R.D. or BPRD). This is the organization that fights the occult, paranormal, and supernatural in the world of Hellboy, the long-running comic book series and related books created by Mike Mignola. Each story arc is presented as a miniseries, with the latest being B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth, a two-issue storyline.

B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: Monsters #2 finds Liz Sherman (Hellboy’s #1 female) ensconced in a weird trailer park full of hillbilly cult fanatics. Dumb as they are, the denizens of the trailer park have managed to make escape difficult for Liz. However, she has only two of the rednecks who aren’t cultists to help her.

My first reading experiences with a B.P.R.D. comic book turned out to be good ones. A trailer park full of black magic cultists is such a good idea, it’s a wonder it hasn’t appeared in film. Hell on Earth: Monsters offers art by promising newcomer Tyler Crook, an added bonus to the weirdness writers Mike Mignola and John Arcudi weave. Crook turns out to be just right for this story. I have to say it: Hell on Earth: Monsters is a hella good read.

A-

Dark Horse Announces Sell-Out of New "Avatar: The Last Airbender" Comic

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER—THE LOST ADVENTURES SELLS OUT!

August 9, MILWAUKIE, OR—In an amazing show of demand for Dark Horse comics, Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Lost Adventures has completely sold out of its entire first printing.

For three years, millions of eager fans tuned in to watch new episodes of Nickelodeon’s hit animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Ever since, fans have been hungry for more—and now their wait is finally over.

This volume collects the long-out-of-print, fan-favorite comics previously published in Nickelodeon Magazine and with the Airbender DVDs, over seventy brand-new comics pages, and bonus content. That’s twenty-six stories set in Airbender continuity, by a host of top-notch talent, many of whom worked on the original animated series.

Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Lost Adventures is a must-have for any Airbender fan! This is the latest release in an ongoing partnership between Nickelodeon and Dark Horse to bring you the very best in Airbender books.

While a second printing is in the works, hurry now to your local comics retailer and grab a copy from the first print run before they’re gone for good!


About Dark Horse Comics
Since 1986, 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 like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, 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 licensed comics material.