On August 8, 2012, the ComicBookBin celebrates its 10th birthday. I actually didn't start writing for the comic book and pop culture website and web magazine until the summer of 2003.
In celebration, the @ComicBookBin's owner and boss editor-in-chief, Herve St. Louis, is writing a series about the Bin's writers. Here is the one he wrote about me: http://www.comicbookbin.com/Leroy_Douresseaux001.html
I blushed...
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Valiant Comics Offers 5 Releases in October 2012
VALIANT Solicitations For OCTOBER 2012
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #3
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
Fnord!
Those email forwards Grandma sends you? ALL TRUE. Every lurid cover of every supermarket tabloid? ALL TRUE. That impossible-to-read GeoCities site rambling on about truthers, birthers and black ops alien greys working for the U.N.? ALL TRUE. The Sect has dragged a curtain of confusion across the inner workings of your world, but fear not, the conspiracy-busters Archer & Armstrong are here to deliver Truth in the form of ass-kicking! (And ass-kicking in the form of ass-kicking.) Our heroes' newfound friendship will face its greatest test as they battle The Sisters of Perpetual Darkness – the Nunjas ("ninja" + "nun") who guard Rome’s blasphemous secrets. Obadiah Archer thought he had been betrayed by his family before, but nothing can prepare him for this!
Also: the existence of God will be proven for all time. Or disproven. One of the two.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 10th
--
BLOODSHOT #4
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art by MANUEL GARCIA
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
They call you Project Bloodshot, but you had a real name once.
You were born, raised, maybe even loved. And at some point, some evil bastards filled your head with dozens of false memories to motivate you, restrain you, control you. And oh, what they made you do in the name of national security… But what if one of those memories wasn’t false? What if you had a real wife and a child somewhere in the world who thought you were dead? Wouldn’t you go through seven kinds of violent hell to find them? Congrats. Your wish is about to be granted…
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 10th
--
HARBINGER #5
Written by JOSH DYSART
Art by KHARI EVANS
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
Toyo Harada and Peter Stanchek. Master and apprentice. Creator and destroyer. Alpha and omega.
Humanity’s most powerful psionic, Pete Stanchek, has been run to ground. His few friends and family are gone. He is loved is by no one. At the nadir of his brief, 18-year existence, he has been drugged, deceived and deluded by a corporate master. But now he’s finally had enough. Tonight, the human race will find out exactly how powerful he is. Tonight, the boy who has nothing will go to war against the man who has everything. And soon the Valiant Universe will discover that anything can end – even the world.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 17th
--
X-O MANOWAR #6
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by LEE GARBETT
Cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Variant Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Character Design Cover by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Ninjak vs. X-O Manowar: Round II!
Aric of Dacia has bonded with the most powerful weapon in the universe, but his command of the sentient X-O Manowar armor will lead him to cross swords with Ninjak, the world’s most skilled weapons specialist. Hired by members of The Vine hidden deep within Earth’s governments, Ninjak has been sent to bring back the Manowar armor at any cost. It’s raw power versus stealth and cunning in the second installment of the espionage-edged thriller that pits two of Valiant’s most popular heroes against each other – to the death.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 17th
--
VALIANT MASTERS: BLOODSHOT VOL. 1 HC
BLOOD OF THE MACHINE
Written by Kevin VanHook
Art by Don Perlin, Andrew Wendel and Ted Halsted
Cover by Barry Windsor-Smith
The first in an all-new library of Valiant classics!
Collected for the first time anywhere, the best-selling title of the 90s is back! Re-presenting the first arc of his original adventures in the VH1 Valiant Universe, Bloodshot comes armed to the teeth with bullets, nanites – and questions. With all of New York as his battlefield, Bloodshot wages a one-man war for the secrets to his past. But with the whole of New York’s mafia underground hot on his tail, he’ll soon realize that some questions are better left unanswered! With appearances from Ninjak, Eternal Warrior, Rai and more, no fan can miss this essential piece of Valiant history! Collecting BLOODSHOT (1994) #1-8 and featuring AN ALL-NEW, NEVER–BEFORE-SEEN STORY by the original creative team of Kevin VanHook and Don Perlin.
$24.99/Rated T+/200 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 24th
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #3
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
Fnord!
Those email forwards Grandma sends you? ALL TRUE. Every lurid cover of every supermarket tabloid? ALL TRUE. That impossible-to-read GeoCities site rambling on about truthers, birthers and black ops alien greys working for the U.N.? ALL TRUE. The Sect has dragged a curtain of confusion across the inner workings of your world, but fear not, the conspiracy-busters Archer & Armstrong are here to deliver Truth in the form of ass-kicking! (And ass-kicking in the form of ass-kicking.) Our heroes' newfound friendship will face its greatest test as they battle The Sisters of Perpetual Darkness – the Nunjas ("ninja" + "nun") who guard Rome’s blasphemous secrets. Obadiah Archer thought he had been betrayed by his family before, but nothing can prepare him for this!
Also: the existence of God will be proven for all time. Or disproven. One of the two.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 10th
--
BLOODSHOT #4
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art by MANUEL GARCIA
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
They call you Project Bloodshot, but you had a real name once.
You were born, raised, maybe even loved. And at some point, some evil bastards filled your head with dozens of false memories to motivate you, restrain you, control you. And oh, what they made you do in the name of national security… But what if one of those memories wasn’t false? What if you had a real wife and a child somewhere in the world who thought you were dead? Wouldn’t you go through seven kinds of violent hell to find them? Congrats. Your wish is about to be granted…
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 10th
--
HARBINGER #5
Written by JOSH DYSART
Art by KHARI EVANS
Cover by MICO SUAYAN
Character Design Cover by DAVID AJA
Toyo Harada and Peter Stanchek. Master and apprentice. Creator and destroyer. Alpha and omega.
Humanity’s most powerful psionic, Pete Stanchek, has been run to ground. His few friends and family are gone. He is loved is by no one. At the nadir of his brief, 18-year existence, he has been drugged, deceived and deluded by a corporate master. But now he’s finally had enough. Tonight, the human race will find out exactly how powerful he is. Tonight, the boy who has nothing will go to war against the man who has everything. And soon the Valiant Universe will discover that anything can end – even the world.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 17th
--
X-O MANOWAR #6
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by LEE GARBETT
Cover by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Variant Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Character Design Cover by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Ninjak vs. X-O Manowar: Round II!
Aric of Dacia has bonded with the most powerful weapon in the universe, but his command of the sentient X-O Manowar armor will lead him to cross swords with Ninjak, the world’s most skilled weapons specialist. Hired by members of The Vine hidden deep within Earth’s governments, Ninjak has been sent to bring back the Manowar armor at any cost. It’s raw power versus stealth and cunning in the second installment of the espionage-edged thriller that pits two of Valiant’s most popular heroes against each other – to the death.
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 17th
--
VALIANT MASTERS: BLOODSHOT VOL. 1 HC
BLOOD OF THE MACHINE
Written by Kevin VanHook
Art by Don Perlin, Andrew Wendel and Ted Halsted
Cover by Barry Windsor-Smith
The first in an all-new library of Valiant classics!
Collected for the first time anywhere, the best-selling title of the 90s is back! Re-presenting the first arc of his original adventures in the VH1 Valiant Universe, Bloodshot comes armed to the teeth with bullets, nanites – and questions. With all of New York as his battlefield, Bloodshot wages a one-man war for the secrets to his past. But with the whole of New York’s mafia underground hot on his tail, he’ll soon realize that some questions are better left unanswered! With appearances from Ninjak, Eternal Warrior, Rai and more, no fan can miss this essential piece of Valiant history! Collecting BLOODSHOT (1994) #1-8 and featuring AN ALL-NEW, NEVER–BEFORE-SEEN STORY by the original creative team of Kevin VanHook and Don Perlin.
$24.99/Rated T+/200 pgs.
ON SALE OCTOBER 24th
Friday, July 27, 2012
Review: Karen Marie Moning's Fever Moon
BALLANTINE BOOKS/DEL REY
STORY/CREATOR: Karen Marie Moning
ADAPTATION/SCRIPT: David Lawrence
PENCILS: Al Rio, Cliff Richards
INKS: Julia Pinto, Joe Pimentel, and Dan Borgones
COLORS: Katrina Mae Hao and Rainier Beredo
LETTERS: Zachary R. Matheny
COVER: Al Rio with Stephen Youll and Mae Hao
ISBN: 978-0-345-52548-2; hardcover
192pp, Color, $25.00 U.S., $29.95 CAN
Karen Marie Moning is a New York Times bestselling author and has won the RITA Award from the Romance Writers of America. Moning is the author of a popular series of urban fantasy novels known as the “Fever Series.” Moning makes her first foray into the world of comic books with Fever Moon, an original graphic novel. Fever Dream corresponds with the events depicted in Moning’s novel, Shadowfever (January 2011).
Moning wrote a new story specifically for this graphic novel, which David Lawrence turned into a script for a comic book. Lawrence is known for his work adapting novels into comic books, having adapted the works of fantasy novelist Patricia Briggs into comic book for Del Rey. Al Rio provided most of the pencil art for this graphic novel before his death; fellow Brazilian artist, Cliff Richards, finished penciling the Fever Moon.
As in the “Fever” novels, the star of Fever Moon is MacKayla Lane, who was a normal 20-something, small town, Georgia girl before tragedy struck. She travels to Ireland to investigate the murder of her sister, where she learns that the Celtic folklore concerning fairies is true. The “Fae” are split into the Light (Seelie) and Dark (Unseelie) and their war has spilled over into the human world. MacKayla becomes a “sidhe-ser,” a person who can see the Fae for who and what they are, even when they use glamour to hide their true appearances.
Now, MacKayla is facing an eerie, dangerous being that steals parts of people faces – an ear here, an eye there, a random mouth, etc. Appearing as a tall, gaunt, faceless man nattily dressed in tailcoat and spats, he is terrorizing Dublin and leaving his victims in a coma. MacKayla not only has to discover what kind of creature the attacker is; she must also find a way to stop him. And time is not on MacKayla’s side.
I must admit that it was not until I received a review copy of Fever Moon with press materials from Del Rey that I learned that Al Rio had died. I had become a fan of his work in recent years because his art style was a funky kind of ersatz J. Scott Campbell. Rio did his Campbell thing on Fever Moon; in fact, MacKayla Lane looks like she came out of Campbell’s infrequently published comic book property, Danger Girl. The art here is such a Danger Girl knockoff that I often found it off-putting. Rio’s style is so prominent that it is hard not to notice the change when Cliff Richards takes over as pencil artist. Richard’ style, at least the one here, is non-descript.
Perhaps, the easy thing to do is to say that the art, regardless of style, works from a storytelling point of view; there is a functional quality to it. Combined with the captions and word balloons, the reader can easily figure out what’s going on in the story because of the clear graphical storytelling. Like the art, the story is also efficient. Lawrence translates Moning’s story and the world of “Fever” in such a way that he quickly gets the reader into the story, lest that reader become frustrated and leave, which you won’t.
Lawrence makes sure you understand the characters, settings, and over-arching plot, and “Fever,” at least as far as Fever Moon is concerned, is a fun place to be. Whatever the novels may be, Fever Moon works as a comic book. It has a weird, pulp-inspired quality that made me think that Fever Moon exists outside of any book series. It is genuinely a comic book, so the people behind this graphic novel succeeded. They created an independent urban fantasy comic book, and a good one, at that.
B+
Thursday, July 26, 2012
I Reads You Review: Bad Medicine #2
BAD MEDICINE #2
ONI PRESS
WRITERS: Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
ART: Christopher Mitten
COLORS: Bill Crabtree
LETTERS: Douglas E. Sherwood
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.
Published by Oni Press, Bad Medicine is a new kind of crime comic book series from the husband and wife writing team of Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir and artist Christopher Mitten (Wasteland). In an interview with the website, Comic Book Resources, Weir described Bad Medicine as “a sci-fi/horror medical procedural” that focuses on a team put together by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to “investigate strange diseases and outbreaks that science can't explain.”
The series opened with the discovery of a corpse without a head, but it turned out that the head was still attached to the body. The head was just invisible. The body belonged to a lab assistant named Matt Dalton, and his superior, Dr. Charles Keefer, is the lead suspect or “person of interest.” Disgraced physician Dr. Randal Horne has been traveling the world studying different alternative medicines and non-western views of science. He returns to New York City to help NYPD Detective Joely Huffman unravel this strange, possible homicide case.
As Bad Medicine #2 (“Unseen” Part 2 of 2) opens, Dr. Keefer, now an invisible man, strikes. How can Horne and Huffman bring in someone they cannot see? Also, surprising decisions from the CDC only complicate matters.
I can happily say that the first issue of Bad Medicine was not a fluke. The opening story arc offers a nice, new take on the crazy invisible man tale, but what has made this series already a success is the excellent character writing. It isn’t the sci-fi gimmick/trope that drives this narrative; the intriguing players are the drivers. I must say, however, that this issue’s epilogue that acts as a prologue to the third issue does offer a killer genre hook.
Readers looking for something different and something good in crime comics will go to Drs. DeFilippis and Weir for a prescription of Bad Medicine.
A
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Saw "The Dark Knight Rises;" Found it Bloated and Self-Important
I forgot to post this link: http://www.negromancer.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-rises.html from my movie review blog, Negromancer. I rushed to the local theatre for the earliest show of The Dark Knight Rises, and I knew I was not going to like the movie from the opening air plane hijack set piece. I don't know if Nolan was desperate to start the film off with a bang or if he just doesn't have an overkill filter. And Hans Zimmer needs a muzzle.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 25 2012
DC COMICS
MAY120263 ALL STAR WESTERN #11 $3.99
MAY120320 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #29 (MR) $2.99
MAY120201 AQUAMAN #11 $2.99
MAY120220 BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 $2.99 (release reportedly suspended)
MAY120223 BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 COMBO PACK $3.99 (release reportedly suspended)
MAY120231 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #11 $2.99
MAY120188 BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #2 (MR) $3.99
MAY120190 BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #2 COMBO PACK (MR) $4.99
MAY120307 DC COMICS PRESENTS WONDER WOMAN ADVENTURES #1 $7.99
MAY120207 FLASH #11 $2.99
MAY120209 FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MEN #11 $2.99
APR120253 GREEN ARROW TP VOL 01 INTO THE WOODS $14.99
MAY120242 GREEN LANTERN #11 $2.99
MAY120244 GREEN LANTERN #11 COMBO PACK $3.99
MAY120246 GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #11 $2.99
APR120248 GRIFTER TP VOL 01 MOST WANTED $16.99
MAY120254 I VAMPIRE #11 $2.99
MAY120252 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #11 $2.99
MAY120311 MAD PRESENTS BATMAN #1 $5.99
MAY120271 NATIONAL COMICS ETERNITY #1 $3.99
MAY120329 NEW DEADWARDIANS #5 (MR) $2.99
MAY120211 SAVAGE HAWKMAN #11 $2.99
APR120293 SCALPED TP VOL 09 KNUCKLE UP (MR) $14.99
MAY120328 SPACEMAN #8 (MR) $2.99
MAY120216 SUPERMAN #11 $2.99
MAY120305 SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES #3 $2.99
MAY120266 TEEN TITANS #11 $2.99
MAY120262 VOODOO #11 $2.99
APR120258 WONDER WOMAN ODYSSEY TP VOL 01 $14.99
DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES
APR120305 DC COMICS THE NEW 52 CYBORG BUST $69.95
APR120309 JUST US LEAGUE SER 1 AQUAMAN AF (RES) PI
APR120311 JUST US LEAGUE SER 1 GREEN ARROW AF (RES) PI
APR120313 JUST US LEAGUE SER 1 SUPERMAN AF (RES) PI
MAY128125 JUSTICE LEAGUE AQUAMAN AF WAVE 1 PI
MAY128124 JUSTICE LEAGUE GREEN LANTERN AF WAVE 1 PI
MAY120263 ALL STAR WESTERN #11 $3.99
MAY120320 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #29 (MR) $2.99
MAY120201 AQUAMAN #11 $2.99
MAY120220 BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 $2.99 (release reportedly suspended)
MAY120223 BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 COMBO PACK $3.99 (release reportedly suspended)
MAY120231 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #11 $2.99
MAY120188 BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #2 (MR) $3.99
MAY120190 BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #2 COMBO PACK (MR) $4.99
MAY120307 DC COMICS PRESENTS WONDER WOMAN ADVENTURES #1 $7.99
MAY120207 FLASH #11 $2.99
MAY120209 FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MEN #11 $2.99
APR120253 GREEN ARROW TP VOL 01 INTO THE WOODS $14.99
MAY120242 GREEN LANTERN #11 $2.99
MAY120244 GREEN LANTERN #11 COMBO PACK $3.99
MAY120246 GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #11 $2.99
APR120248 GRIFTER TP VOL 01 MOST WANTED $16.99
MAY120254 I VAMPIRE #11 $2.99
MAY120252 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #11 $2.99
MAY120311 MAD PRESENTS BATMAN #1 $5.99
MAY120271 NATIONAL COMICS ETERNITY #1 $3.99
MAY120329 NEW DEADWARDIANS #5 (MR) $2.99
MAY120211 SAVAGE HAWKMAN #11 $2.99
APR120293 SCALPED TP VOL 09 KNUCKLE UP (MR) $14.99
MAY120328 SPACEMAN #8 (MR) $2.99
MAY120216 SUPERMAN #11 $2.99
MAY120305 SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES #3 $2.99
MAY120266 TEEN TITANS #11 $2.99
MAY120262 VOODOO #11 $2.99
APR120258 WONDER WOMAN ODYSSEY TP VOL 01 $14.99
DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES
APR120305 DC COMICS THE NEW 52 CYBORG BUST $69.95
APR120309 JUST US LEAGUE SER 1 AQUAMAN AF (RES) PI
APR120311 JUST US LEAGUE SER 1 GREEN ARROW AF (RES) PI
APR120313 JUST US LEAGUE SER 1 SUPERMAN AF (RES) PI
MAY128125 JUSTICE LEAGUE AQUAMAN AF WAVE 1 PI
MAY128124 JUSTICE LEAGUE GREEN LANTERN AF WAVE 1 PI
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