Author: Rick Marshall

It’s been a busy month for Y: The Last Man artist Pia Guerra. Wait, scratch that… It’s been a busy five years.

Now that The Last Man has concluded and Guerra has solidified her reputation as one of the industry’s most popular (and dedicated) modern-day artists, she can finally have some breathing room. Or can she?

In this feature at CBR, Guerra takes readers through a tour of her Vancouver studio, showing off all of the little bits and pieces of her workspace that have contributed to her success.

The whole area is like the Block of Requirement: there’s an artist’s supply store, a comic shop, mailbox outlet, coffee shop, a fabulous bistro, and even an MP’s office just downstairs. The caretaker is the coolest guy in the universe, he’s okay with us being there after hours (our usual work times) and from time to time he brings over fruit to share from his trips to the small market down the street. I really don’t know how we lucked out so well. It’s a great place to work.

Oh, and apparently she’s somewhat of a Doctor Who aficianado.

Whether your interests lie in the Old Republic or the New Jedi Order, it’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan. With the kickoff of Star Wars: Vector, Dark Horse Comics’ big Star Wars crossover event, the good times might be getting even better.

The crew at IGN Comics are jumping into the Star Wars mix with this interview of one of the Vector writers, John Jackson Miller. In the interview, Miller provides some explanation as to how the event will touch each of the four Star Wars series in the Dark Horse line, from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic to Star Wars: Legacy – especially without the use of time travel:

It’s been the subject of many, many different theories out in fandom. But I can say this: There is no time travel in the Star Wars universe — not in most of the conventional science-fiction senses — and that remains the case even in light of "Vector." You won’t see Luke hopping in the Tardis to go visit the Old Republic!

Well, I guess that answers my question about the potential for a Doctor Who/Star Wars crossover. sigh

With 4,100 years separating KotOR and Legacy, it looks to be an interesting storyline. As I can personally attest, these series are a great read for even the least Star Wars-savvy comics fan. Here’s hoping The Force is strong with Vector.

Criminal, the award-winning series by Captain America writer Ed Brubaker and Sleeper artist Sean Phillips, will be the focus of a weeklong promotion on MySpace, according to a recent Marvel Comics press release.

Here are the details:

During each day of this event, at http://www.myspace.com/comicbooks, readers will be treated to excerpts from the first two Criminal trade paperbacks and previews of the new Criminal Vol.2 #1 (arriving in stores this February. But that’s not all—look for behind the scenes extras that include a Criminal noir art talk interview between Eisner-winners Sean Phillips and fan-favorite Daredevil artist Michael Lark, a “Week in the Life” writer’s diary by Ed Brubaker; and a special Artist-to-Artist video featuring Ed Brubaker and Bill Hader (Superbad, Saturday Night Live).

And, of course, the obligatory statement by Brubaker:

“The chance to reach the vast network of MySpace Comic Books readers presented us with such a great opportunity, to not just promote Criminal, but to peel back the curtain a bit in a sort of DVD extras kind of way, which is something I think a lot of people will enjoy,” said Brubaker. “The fact that Bill Hader was willing to help us do this was completely overwhelming, too, and is something that I think will make an even more memorable event.”

Issue #1 of the second volume of Criminal hits shelves at the end of February.

Readers of DC’s villain-centric series Salvation Run received a bit of a suprise when issue #3 hit shelves earlier this month and series writer Bill Willingham was suddenly replaced by his frequent collaborator, Matthew Sturges.

Luckily, ComicBookResources has interviews with both Sturges and Willingham, discussing the reasons why they pulled the ol’ switcheroo. Willingham says the decision to leave Salvation Run was made under doctor’s orders, but hints at a far more sinister, unspoken explanation:

There’s a longer version with more nuance, many more details, some interesting subplots, a few surprise dramatic twists and even a musical interlude or two, but in the interest of discretion and decorum we’ll stick with the short version.

Willingham goes on to assure readers that neither Fables nor Jack of Fables (which he co-writes with Sturges) were even considered for dismissal.

On the other side of things, Sturges said his main concern is keeping the story flowing without interruption, and cited Willingham’s characterization of the Joker as something he hopes to seamlessly work into his own scripting. He also hinted at some intriguing events to come for the series:

[There will be] giant gorillas, fighting tooth and nail, to the death. If that’s not enough to hook you, nothing else I could possibly add would entice you more.

‘Nuff said.

Hercules. By most comics fans’ standards, he’s not the biggest draw in the longbox OR on the shelves. So what is he doing with his own series?

More accurately, what’s he doing on the cover of one of Marvel’s most popular characters’ series?

Over at IGN, the Incredible Herc creative team of Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente do their best to address that very question.

Greg Pak: And it’s worth noting that [the success of the series thus far] ain’t all just due to our puny mortal efforts — our lead happens to be one of the most loved characters in human history. That’s one of the real joys of working on Marvel’s Hercules — he’s not just some strong dude who calls himself Hercules — he’s the mangod himself, the son of Zeus, the Lion of Olympus, the slayer of the Hydra, the scourer of the stables! Which means that the Hercules we’re writing is the same hero who was driven mad by Hera and slew his own wife and children, who atoned through the Twelve Labors, who was burned by the blood of Nessus and ascended to Olympus as a god. He’s an incredible combination of scoundrel and hero, of folktale and myth, of comedy and tragedy, of the profane and the divine. And he’s right here in the Marvel Universe — and we got him, baby!

Okay, so I’ll give Pak some credit for building the character up pretty well. (Mental Note: Remind me to ask Greg Pak to write up my professional bio.) But can Herc carry a book on his own?

Van Lente: It’s a buddy book with Herc in the lead and Amadeus [Cho, his teenage partner] in the main supporting role. Amadeus is pretty headstrong and arrogant, and he could learn a lot from Herc — and Herc is very much seeking his purpose in the modern world, and maybe this is it. Of course, he’s also everyone’s leading candidate for World’s Worst Mentor Hero, but hey, therein lies drama…

Check out the interview for a veritable cornucopia of art, as well as more questions and answers about Herc, his friends and enemies, how long the team expects him to hold up the "Incredible" banner and, of course, Skrulls!