Tagged: comics

Review: Manga Sutra Volume One – Flirtation

 
It used to be, if you wanted to reach for the comic art form for your sex education you had to send a couple bucks to those want ads in the back of the cheesy magazines for “Comics – the Kind Men Like!” That stuff was a bit distorted; well, in the case of the ones that featured [[[Popeye]]], I’d have to say they were quite a bit distorted.
 
Trust the Japanese to get real. After all, they’ve been using the comic art form to foster all kinds of truly educational venues: business, economics, history, language, and so on. You’d figure sex ed would be a no-brainer. 
 
Be that as it may, doing sex ed comics in the form of a genuine story with a plot and character development is uniquely Manga. And TokyoPop brought the first volume of this series, Katsu Aki’s (Futari H) [[[Manga Sutra]]], to American shores. 
 
Manga Sutra is a sweet and sensitive series that focuses on the psychological aspects of sex as much as – actually, more than – the mechanics. The story is about a young couple, Makoto and Yura, who met through an arranged “marriage meeting.” This is sort of a counseled dating service, but one where the ultimate intent of marriage is upfront. The two 25 year olds dated, liked each other, got married, and only then discovered they were both virgins with a lot of understandable insecurities and a lack of any clue.

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Review: Locke & Key #1

You can understand why Joe Hill waited so long to publicly acknowledge that his father is famed writer Stephen King. For several years, Hill used that shortened version of his name (Joseph Hillstrom King in full) so that he could test himself in the fantasy/horror writing world without the spectre of his father lurking about.

Now jumping into comics for the first time with the new series Locke & Key ($3.99), Hill saw that experience affected by the elder King even before Locke & Key #1 hit shelves. While publisher IDW didn’t promote the famous father angle, it didn’t stop some such as Rich Johnston from playing up that lineage as a bit of comics speculating.

Those who actually read the book and didn’t just seal it away in plastic to put up on eBay at a later date were treated to a very good first issue that succeeds in areas a lot of novelists-cum-comics writers fail. That is, Hill clearly understands the medium. He knows when to rein in the verbiage and let artist Gabriel Rodriguez drive the story. 

The narrative is split in three parts: the teenaged protagonist Ty witnessing his father’s murder, sobbing through the funeral and relocating to a spooky house in the ominously named town of Lovecraft, Mass. Aside from a few awkward transitions, the story runs seamlessly.

First issues, of course, are incredibly difficult to do well, making it all the more surprising that in his first 32 pages of comics, Hill establishes a great deal of depth to his characters and lays out a handful of intriguing plotlines to follow. The last few pages are particularly effective, as Hill takes what was previously a down-to-earth story and shifts to a more supernatural paradigm.

It’s a series to watch, even if you aren’t just looking to make a buck.

The Super-Hero Car, by Dennis O’Neil

  • News
  • February 26, 2008

When we last looked in on our intrepid, tv-watching old guy – that’d be me – he was waiting to treat himself to the premiere of Knight Rider, a remake of an old series.

 
Okay, I watched it.
 
I can’t really compare it to the original, which aired at a time in my life when television had a very low priority. The episode I do remember seeing annoyed me, just a bit, I think, because he talking car seemed to be as much a – brace for a pun – deus ex machina as…oh, say, the shafts in Green Arrow’s quiver or the items in Batman’s tiny utility belt compartments; whatever the hero needs, that’s what’s there. But, as noted, I was never a real Knight Rider watcher.
 
Having made that confession: the show I saw last Sunday didn’t seem to be awfully innovative. The one blatant updating was that one of the good guys was a gay, black woman, a character who probably would not have appeared on network television during the original Knight Rider’s heyday.
 
And that talking car? Pretty nifty, I have to admit – similar to the original, but a bit improved. For example, it changed colors at the twiddle of a dashboard thingy, which brings us to the aforementioned Batman.
 

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ComicMix TV: Toy Fair ’08 – 30 Days of Night, Halo and Marvel Sub Casts

In this first full episode of ComicMix TV, we peek at some of the comics-related products on display at this year’s Toy Fair International event, including toys based on the 30 Days of Night film, Halo figures designed by Todd McFarlane and a line of cartoon-cool Marvel characters.

Missing all of the Toy Fair fun already? You can always look back through our archive of Toy Fair 2008 coverage and experience it all over again.

 

 

 And remember, you can always get more audio and video coverage of your favorite comics news by subscribing to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-3213661 or RSS!

Devil’s Due Pop on ‘Incredible Change-Bots’, ‘Xombie’ Toys

  • News
  • February 24, 2008

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Well, here’s one that has me excited.

Toys based on Jeffrey Brown’s popular Top Shelf comic, The Incredible Change-Bots, as well as Devil’s Due Publishing’s Xombie: Reanimated, were among several products highlighted in a recent announcement of DDP’s new line of pop culture toys, Devil’s Due Pop.

From the official press release:

This March, comic book icons bounce out of the pages of Devil’s Due and into a new line of action packed life accessories called DEVIL’S DUE POP. Beginning with a package of classically retro Golden Age Sheena: Queen of the Jungle stickers, DEVIL’S DUE POP will include an array vinyl toys, personal journals, and usable artwork based on the properties that have made Devil’s Due Publishing one of the ten largest comic book publishers in the U.S.

The Sheena stickers will be followed by products themed around DDP’s licensed horror series, Halloween: Nightdance, and an original "Shawnimals" plush.

The publisher is saving the best for last, though, with the June release of an original vinyl figure based on the main character of one of my favorite under-the-radar titles, Xombie: Reanimated. The print series is a continuation of the animated online series Xombie, created by James Farr, who also writes the DDP title.

DDP also provided a look at the first in a potential line of toys based on Jeffrey Brown’s Incredible Change-Bots, a comic he created for the publisher Top Shelf. The series is a parody of the various transforming robot cartoons, comics and toys many comic readers are familiar with. The first character to get the toy treatment will be Balls, a robot who transforms into a golf cart.

Images from the upcoming line are posted after the jump.

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Five Fistfuls of Justice, by Ric Meyers

  • News
  • February 24, 2008
 
justiceleague-3464763I hope you’ve already read Matt Raub’s advance review of Justice League: The New Frontier  — DC Universe’s Animated Original Movie — which was posted days ago. Naturally, since it’s coming out in stores this coming Tuesday, it’s time, keeping with the comic source material, for my variant review. Matt critiqued the film itself. I, of course, am reviewing the Two Disc Special Edition’s extras.
 
This baby more than makes up for what I felt last week’s He-Man Volume One DVDs lacked: right on the first disc they have a near-full-length (nearly 45 minutes) doc called “Super Heroes United!: The Complete Justice League Story.” It tracks the comic from its inception back in the 1940s ‘til today, using images, clips, and just the talking heads of most of the major comic creators of the era. The information from the likes of Roy Thomas, our own Denny O’Neil, and even Stan Lee was so comprehensive that the doc doesn’t even require a narrator or narration. It does benefit mightily, as do all the featurettes, from the soundtrack music of Kevin Manthei.
 
Then the first disc alone more than makes up for what I thought the Resident Evil: Extinction DVD lacked: their doc sneak-peek of the upcoming animated Animatrix-like Batman: Gotham Knights D2 (“direct to”) DVD shows the lame, cheat sneak peek of Resident Evil: Degeneration how it’s done. There’s plenty of making-of stuff, talking heads, and exciting glimpses of the finished product as opposed to Resident Evil’s peek-a-boo tease. The first disc of Justice League wraps with two audio commentaries – the first a gang approach, with six participants from the production and DC Comics (though not a single person from the pic’s impressive voice cast), and the second with the writer/artist of the source graphic novel, Darwyn Cooke.
 
The second disc kicks off with a slightly shorter but just as interesting history of “The Legion of Doom: Pathology of the Super Villain.” While it contains many of the same talking heads as the “Super Heroes United” doc (Michael Uslan, Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, etc.), it also benefits from a Malcolm McDowell narration. Then, perhaps as compensation for the film’s inability to recreate the delightful style of the original graphic novel (understandably opting for the previously established designs of DC’s  recent Kids-WB Superman and Batman animated TV series), there’s the “Comic Book Commentary: Homage to The New Frontier” featurette, which goes into detail with and on Darwyn Cooke’s original. 
 

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Hellboy II Prequel Comic Preview

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Universal Pictures and Dark Horse Comics are distributing a 16-page Hellboy II: The Golden Army prequel comic to WonderCon attendees, but a five-page preview of the comic has been posted on the film’s official site.

Yes, that’s a preview of a prequel to a sequel, if you’re counting — and it’s written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, based on a story by Hellboy II film director Guillermo del Toro.

Oh, and don’t worry if that last paragraph read like a calculus equation, the comic is far more comprehensible, I assure you.

 

(via SHH)

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Batcave Home Theater

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

Valerie D’Orazio points us to this Gizmodo story about a home theater system company that built their very own Bat-theater.

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While it’s pretty dang cool, it’s not quite as impressive as the comic book professional who converted his basement into his own Batcave, complete with:

  • giant screen TV
  • desk carved in the shape of a bat symbol
  • hidden door to the stairway
  • atomic turbine, and
  • working batpole hidden behind the bookcase that leads from the first floor to the basement office– for when inspiration struck and the stairs were too slow, I guess.

But that’s not the impressive part. It’s that, since he was doing it for his home office, and that he was a comic book professional and it helped him get in the right mindset to create, it was all tax deductible. The only person who could write this off would be Michael Uslan.

 

Eight Comic Books to Read Before You Die

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

Just in time for the opening of WonderCon in San Francisco today, the online arm of the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Gate, has decided to put out its list, a comics "mix tape" as they call it,  of the "Eight Comic Books to Read Before You Die."

Posted by Peter Hartlaub, the list includes many notables in the comics world such as Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman and their works — which are probably considered classic must-reads by most comics fans already.

In addition, the list also features one or two other works traditional comics fans, those who usually confine themselves to one or more Marvel or DC titles featuring spandex-clad heroes, may be less familier with. Books such as Jeff Smith’s Bone and Y:The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan, although successful and well-known to many in the comics community, are perhaps not as well-known to the masses as the X-Men, Spider-Man or Batman.

Here, then, is the list of what the folks at SFGate think you should read, and in the order you should read them, before you die. Hopefully, you’ve already had the pleasure of discovering some of these works. Maybe after reading this list, you can discover a few more.

Y: The Last Man: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Swamp Thing by Alan Moore

Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross

Bone Volume 1: Out From Boneville by Jeff Smith

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

I’m pleased to say that, besides Bone, I’ve read all the books on this list and am a particular fan of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last man. Of course, now that I’ve read this list, I can never, ever read Bone. That is, unless I’m ready to die. 

What comics would be on your list?

Columbia Pictures Snaps Up ‘The Boys’

  • News
  • February 21, 2008

In their continuing quest to find new, exciting and original content, Hollywood studios often turn to the world of comic books and graphic novel as source material for new projects. Today is no exception as Variety is reporting that Columbia Pictures has picked up the rights to Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. The feature film adaptation of the comic book, which is published by Dynamite Entertainment, will be produced by Neil Moritz through his Sony-based Original Film company.

In case you’re not familier with the comic (although you should be) the story follows a CIA squad informally known as "the boys" whose job it is to keep track of the superheroes in town and make sure they don’t do anything wrong or make mistakes that hurt other innocent people. If they do, "the boys" are there to straighten them out or even, in some cases, kill them.

In the Variety article, producer Moritz characterized the comic as an original take on the superhero genre.

"Rather than begin with a romantic idea of superheroes out to save the world, ‘The Boys’ imagines a world in which superheroes really exist, with all of the flaws that real people have," he said. "The boys are there to make sure that people with superhuman powers don’t get out of line."

No word yet on if Ennis himself will be writing the script for the film, any potential casting or a start date. But when there is, we’ll bring it to you.

 

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