[Review] The New Iron Man Anime Series

I discovered the Iron Man anime by pure chance and had to watch it. There are plenty of reasons why the Iron Man character is perfect for a Japanese anime adaptation. For starters, Japanese excel at stories about people mounting various mechanical suits or machines that later on transform into humanoids. Let's think of Gundam, Voltron and the Mighty Morphing Rangers [though that example is a bit of pushing-my-luck]. On the same techno wave there is Megaman and Astro boy.

It's a definite that Japanese animators know their mecha and they don't waste their time. In the first episode, Tony Stark engages in a beautiful aerial scene and then into heavy combat with a suit gone rogue and then an alien-looking mechanical beast. The quality of is beyond all my expectations and the anime is stunning to watch. You can see for yourself. Here is the opening sequence, which pretty much sets the tone for the series:



On a different level, I don't think this anime will work for Westerners. Tony Stark loves his women, his liquor and a good boast. I haven't read enough of the comic series that feature him as a lead [I'm generally not interested in him as a character], but Stark's everything that the Japanese aren't. Most of their anime and manga production feature a lead, who wants to achieve something morally good and has no dark flaws such as alcoholism. Perhaps the lead will be too nice, too shy or too modest aka character traits that Tony Stark is far from. And this shows... His flirts are almost innocent. He's passive and well it's like watching Stark, but on sleeping pills. However, I don't want to sound like a mad fanboy [considering that I'm not] and do think that it will be interesting to see how the Japanese will re-invent Stark.

[ART] The Everchanging Iron Man

Iron Man is one of the comic book icons I am not particularly fond of. You know, no superpowers and the whole red on yellow is not very appealing to my aesthetics. Now if it was green and silver, this would be a whole other story. Nevertheless, Stark has charisma, alcohol problems and he is a womanizer. Sounds like Californication, but with Robert Downey Jr. [who, by the way, awakened my interest for the character in the first place. Perfect role.] As a treat I am giving you some very interesting make-overs of Iron Man. There are many more on Comics Alliance [also way bigger than here; Blogger always shrinks the sizes, grr]. I just stole all the pretty ones.

[Review] 'Popgun vol.4'

Title: Popgun vol. 4
Editors: D.J. Kirkbride, Anthony Wu, Adam P. Knave
Pages: 512
Genre: Comic Book
Standalone/Series: Mix-Tape Anthology
Publisher: Image

POPGUN - THE ULTIMATE GRAPHIC MIXTAPE RETURNS! The original, critically acclaimed graphic mixtape returns in a new volume, once again mashing up the next generation of cartoonists with the some of the medium's finest in stories covering nearly every genre and style imaginable!

Initially, my plans for ‘Popgun’ vol.4 included a detailed review in parts with interviews with the contributors, but I had already embarked on an epic lineup as it was, so my greedy little hands took hold of this book in February. I am grateful to one of the editors, D.J. Kirkbride, who provided my review copy, which although digital was a blast to read. Image have, in the past, gifted me with quite a few hours of pure enjoyment and to review an officially provided title is a geek moment.

That being said, ‘Popgun’ is a thick book with 512 pages, 91 contributors and 55 featured pieces. I had high hopes to muster my incredible sense of humor, whip some hip/artistic word choices and receive a public encore, because ‘Popgun vol. 4’ deserves that bang of attention. However, it is all there. As advertised every genre, story-wise and in artistic capabilities, is represented in one way or the other and the self-labeled GRAPHIC MIXTAPE fits perfectly this massive composition.

The title is self-explanatory as well. ‘Popgun’ is a Technicolor toy in the hands of hyperactive children. It pops. It surprises you in a fraction of a second. You are covered in confetti and find yourself in a kaleidoscopic sugar trip through regions of the comics medium, I’m positive you have never suspected existed. At least this is how I experienced this book. Comics are a medium that is a mystery to me and I have had limited experience with what it had to offer in length, story, concept, narrative and art. There are one-shots, mini-series and long running series, but there are also the strips and the self contained ten or so pagers. If the volume and the graphic novel are an equal to a standard novel and a comic book series equals a standard book series, then this mixtape with its strips is an equivalent of the anthology with short stories and novellas.

The ‘Popgun’ volumes give a thorough insight into the diversity that comics are. There are not just action, horror or super hero comics, though this I have to remind myself all the time. There is humor, there is satire, there is absurdity [nurtured in wild, chaotic imaginations] and there is also food for thought. An overall swipe through the titles reveals a tendency towards the funny, surreal and out-of-this world. The small injections of raw imagination in the shape of vignettes that capture bright vistas in untamed lands provide a pleasant jolt that contrasts the usually grey daily life. Some of the pieces have a plot that the readers can follow and enjoy for the adventure and adrenaline. Some pieces leave the readers figure out what they have just read and whether there is a sense to it or if these pieces are creative brain farts. Other pieces will make you reflect on life and make you feel, while a fourth group will grab you with the art. Four solid categories and I will present my favorites in each.

In the plot lot, I picked ‘Family Reunion’ by David Brenion & Joe Flood, which is also the longest piece in the mixtape with an absurd setting, absurd plot and absurd characters. We follow the rescue attempts by a girl in yellow overalls with a crowbar [I think] and a duck humanoid with a massive arsenal of weapons, who want to free their friend Frankie aka Frankenstein from the clutches of an evil scientist. From page one I had my lower jaw open, because this was wicked to read. There is nothing conventional here and I can compare it to the Bizarro movement in literature.

‘Agents of WTF’ by D.J. Kirkbride, Adam P. Knave, Matteo Scalera and so many more is an absurd tale [though in this book it is not uncommon]. The reader is introduced to Dervish, a 300 year old wizard in the body of a small boy, who carries magic bagpipes, a kilt and a dirty sense of humor, and the magic warrior Indian princess Anpaytoo, who face an evil overlord, who has a theme. The standoff is hilarious to watch unfold, especially, when the Blender of Souls is thrown in the mix. It’s one of those stories that makes you say ‘well, that’s one I haven’t seen before.’

However, real WTF moments come from the disturbingly colorful, cheery and bloody ‘Sasquatch’ by Nick Edwards, which reminded me so much of Happy Tree Friends. If cheeky bubblegum colors and gore is not your things, then the way drugged ‘Harshing the Mellow’ by Derek McCulloch & Anthony Peruzzo will be your WTF thing. We have a bong as this story’s narrator and a weed-head, who is stuck in a room, after the door, mysteriously, shrinks away. I am not sure exactly what happened in that one. I imagine it as a stagnation of the individual, after a long term addiction to weed, which kills of the mind and stops the natural desire for self-development, thus the physical isolation from the world in most literal sense here.

More on the serious side, I offer you ‘Jacket’ by Amanda Becker & Janet Kim, which gives a glimpse in the unhappy life of little Jenna, who is hurt at home as well as hurt at school. She has little to be happy about and her situation is synonymous to many others in the real world. However, the strip ends on a positive note with hope and a promise of a positive resolution behind the scenes. Another serious one is ‘Hamburgers for One’ by Frank Stockton, which explores the dimensions of the lonely heart. I was literally holding my breath with this one, because it was so well executed, both story and art. The atmosphere was intense and the whole rather uncomfortable to experience, because as social beings fear of loneliness is one that cripples the spirit entirely.

As far as art goes, I have been exposed to so many art styles that I had no clue about. I had a positive experience with some, others were okay-ish, while I had problems with others. In the end I fell completely in love with Jonathan’s Silvestre’s 8 bit technique in ‘Kill the Legend’, which brought memories from my first Nintendo video game back in the mid 90s. I also was enthralled by Jason Ibarra’s geometrical compositions in ‘The Black Decahedron’. To me it resembled frescos from crystals and prisms.

Verdict: [B+] ‘Popgun’ vol.4 is a must-have for the already converted and an experiment for those that think comics are only about capes and super strength. As with every anthology, there are pieces I loved and some that I hated, but overall the editors offer me a finished concept with a distinguished identity that is unique [and bizarre].

Popgun vol. 4

For all the comic book maniacs this is the book that you must have. Popgun vol. 4 is a hefty 500 pages long treat with all comic book genres and art styles.

You want an electrifying taste of what the comic book world has to offer? Then this is the book to pick up. I will read and review this closer to its publication aka February, but you can stop by the official website HERE, marvel the cover art and see previous to get a taste of what you can expect.

Zombie Week: "The Walking Dead"

There is much debate on what the best the zombie genre can offer is and what you must read in order to call yourself a respected zombie fan. Each person defines their own zombie Bible so to say and for me that position is filled by “The Walking Dead”, a monthly released comic book series that has persisted and managed to hit past the 60 issue mark since it started back in the year 2003.

There are three key features, which keep this story alive and progressing issue by issue to garner more fans. First is the amazing artistic talent of cover artist Tony Moore and penciller Charlie Adlard, who successfully scared the sanity right of my eye sockets with their black and white nightmare collages of haunting cadavers and raw human drama and emotions. I claim second to be the excellent, logic and realistic depiction of the survival horror genre as well as bringing credibility to the whole zombie apocalypse scenario. I blame writer Robert Kirkman for this as well as writing a comic book series that is about zombies, but not really about the zombies, but the human side.

Now to expand on my points. Charlie Adlard resembles Mike Mignola in his portrayal of the undead as he melds them into the darkness, disproportions and mask them in murky blotches, disfigures them with edgy lines and melds them into one formless mass. However when the zombies come into the foreground frightening details reveal themselves one after the other and to be honest I do believe that the black and white format only enhances the contrast and amplifies the horror. However grounding in reality is the work dedicated on the cast, which although large and ever changing is memorable for their realism. Each survivor is unique in age, body type, sex and posture, which speaks tons on behalf of Adlard’s artistic capabilities.

These images set into motion with Kirkman’s vision and winding storytelling that promises no end in near sight create an atmosphere, where the impossible is transferred accurately in reality. No problem is every solved the easy way. There are no lucky finds the first minute and usually somebody dies. One crisis is solved only for another to arise and no place is safe no matter how many barriers you may build. Army weapons and food that are conveniently supplied in other stories are luxury items that are hard to come across and come in possession after countless trials and wandering.

Although this is survival horror, the zombies aren’t the point. They may be the menace, the horror, but they are also the stage on which the human soul of the series is showcased. In this day and time you can create your own microcosm and interact with the people you chose to, do the things that you want to and most importantly isolate yourself from the things that annoy you and rely on technology to supply for you. This leads to apathy, often displayed in our society as well as the disruption of traditional relationships in society and leniency of human survival skills and their diversity.

Using zombies as that catalyst to force the human to connect, reach out and rely on people, strangers and those that he doesn’t like, letting actions rather than words do the introductions the readers are introduced to the depths of pain, of love, grief, loyalty, trust and friendship. “The Walking Dead” also try to draw the line between what is necessary to be done and what turns you into a monster, even worse than a zombie…

Zombie Week: "Marvel Zombies" Volume 4

“Marvel Zombies” is the perfect zombie read for me, because it combines the two greatest myths that touched me early on in my adolescence: zombies at the age of 8 and superheroes at the age of 10. To be honest I thought with great despair that the series would end, because the whole Earth was devoured in the first and second mini-series, but thanks to Marvel and their handy multi-verse we get different scenarios.

Volume 4 tops my favorite list by far combining zombies, super heroes and magic, which is always a handful in Marvel titles. To me this is the ultimate un-holy trinity especially when blood and gore is involved. The four issues follow the Midnight Sons, super hero team formed by A.R.M.OR. composed out of C and D-listers like Morbius, Werewolf by Night, Hellstorm and Jennifer Kale, who track down escaped from a zombie infested dimension Simon Garth aka the Zombie and zombified Deadpool, though just his head is carried around. Their mission leads them to the island of Taino in the Caribbean Sea to villain Black Talon, who wishes to use the zombie virus as weapon and sell it to the Hood, kind-of the new Kingpin in that universe. The Midnight Sons have to battle out zombie Fish Men and a super villain team called the Night Shift before the day is saved for good or is it?

Each issue opens with a final video and testament of one of the Midnight Sons, where the writer Fred Van Lente cleverly inserts information about the reality of this Earth, the virus and its nature as well as shading the character’s past and personality. The Marvel universe is a rich and potent place to create new superheroes and see those pushed behind by front runners such as the X-Men and the Avengers ascend to the spotlight for their own fifteen minutes of fame. While the first two volumes concentrate on the gore factor and enjoying a good zombie apocalypse, where beloved characters die off and come as flesh eating dicks, volume four returns to the more typical outbreak and survival horror traditions, from which the greatest zombie stories stem. The scientific look on the zombie virus and the creation of a vaccine that can kill it as well as its evolution into ‘superbug’ status kill the hellish atmosphere, but never diminish the horror.

Artist Kev Walker has done an impressive job at delivering decomposition and rot on the human anatomy with enough detail to stay in the realm of super hero art style, while scary enough to drop a stone in your stomach. My preferences lie within the flashy magical aspects of any story, so the climax of this story with one major aerobe cloud that can resurrect and sew together corpses and a possessed by Dormamu Jennifer Kale battle it out to save this Earth completely won me over. Among the action there is also the human angle such as greed and human drama as well as comic relief in the face of the zombie Deadpool, also referred to as Z-pool, who never fails to make me laugh with such lines as:

‘Do not be alarmed! We do not, we repeat, we do not want to eat you! That is an ugly stereotype! ’

It’s a must-read for zombie fans.

Wolverine Origins: Comic Book Series

“Wolverine: Origins” is quite a needed project headed by writer Daniel Way, who is responsible for the first 18 issues of “Venom” and the second volume of Deadpool as well as several issues tracking Wolverine. Considering how many alternative Earths Marvel has, which results in some misconceptions about the nature of some of the most iconic characters, readers needed a comic book series that would answer most mysteries about the shadiest super hero of them all, Wolverine.

Issue #1 was published back in 2006 and right now the series spans over 37 issues and has been answering two major questions: Who the fuck is this Wolverine and where did he come from? As well as being a series devoted to hardcore fans, who want to scavenge for even the smallest details about Logan, it also pieces together an excellent timeline for the average comic book reader to use as a reference and for pure enjoyment alike.
Skipping the plot arcs and areas of Logan’s past, which can be found in Wikipedia fairly easily, I shall focus mainly on mechanics, story telling and effect on the reader, judging by my own experience. I have come across on opinions on forums, which mark this particular series as untrue to the character, hinting that perhaps they are too uneventful. I would like to point out however that 1) this is a sort of documentary in motion that covers several decades and involve many players and 2) most of the recollections involve violence.

The beauty behind this series can be described with one word: balance. And I think I would fall in repetition to point out how well Mister Way captured the measures, of how much story and solid writing should go with action, how these elements would fit issue for issue and progress thereafter. Flashbacks are common and serve mostly as a tool to show the reader the blocked memories that resurfaced and help Logan on his way to deal with the loose ends in his life and memory. However the loose ends that can spare more information on why Wolverine was a subject to experimentation and mind defragmentation bring more trouble than closure. One of the strongest points in terms of writing is creating a very believable and intelligent narrator out of Wolverine as well as keeping his edge. Dialogue has been top notch so far, considering how easy it is for writers to make characters bicker and speak in one-liners and punch line jokes. This quality from Daniel Way engrosses the reader in the world of Marvel and made me at least spend a sleepless night plowing through all issues in one breath.

One answered question leads Logan on yet another dizzying chase with his life on the line. Dark characters emerge from his past and deliver a grizzly and violent performance in the series such as Logan’s own son, Daken. X-Men and even the Hellfire Club make a several issue worth of appearances with risks for the whole world involved as usual. Rated A+, “Wolverine: Origins” makes an extensive use of the color red and fans of gore and violence will find enough professionally drawn fights to the death in great details, such as Wolverine versus Daken, versus Deadpool and even Captain America.

Finally I would like to discuss the art crew, working on Origins from issue one up till now. First we have pencils by Steve Dillon, the artist behind the gruesome “Preacher” and “Hellblazer”. For me he does a formidable job to create a very sober and stark world, which suits the overall tone of the series, even though I think his style didn’t allow him to depict Logan’s features. If I didn’t knew I was reading about Wolverine, I would have never recognized his face. Nevertheless it is something to get used to and doesn’t detract much from the experience. Next in line though even for a short time was Mike Deodato Jr., who I find most enjoyable for his character anatomy, dynamic compositions and his attention to detail and shading. He created a genuinely gritty atmosphere that somewhat bordered a little on the noir side, if you would pay attention to the covers he has produced. Doug Braithwaite is the current inker right now and though I can’t exactly define what he does and what captures my eye in particular, I can cement the opinion that he is well suited to be on the art team for a long time to come. Since it would take me a lot of time to list everybody from colorist to letter artists and even individual cover artists, I am settling for the more general commentary that each and every member to be included in this project hasn’t let me down as a reader and an admirer of modern visual arts.

It’s a safe bet that “Wolverine: Origins” for me was an exceptional read.

Wolverine: Illfated Movie Production

Sure comic books are not the smartest form of entertainment, especially the ever popular super hero genre that is the synonym for the comic book insustry as it is, but with shows like Big Brother and bestsellers like the Twilight saga, one is really not in position to judge the intelectual quality of whatever we read or watch. That being said I knew that Wolverine was a movie with very little merit or historical value to leave a major mark on the movie landscape. It's purpose was to be awesome and give us a CGI representation of all the battle scenes with super powers that fans read about and played off in their heads. I am not sure how Hollywood managed to screw up with that simple concept.

Fact is, Wolverine sucked big time and no matter how good and fitted for the role Hugh Jackman is, the man couldn't save this movie from ultimately failing to arouse any positive reactions. To those, who are not Marvel geeks, the movie has a very unsatisfying plot. To those, who are Marvel geeks, the movie more or less will cause mild suicide tendencies and distrust to every future comic book adaptation in the making. I am not a particular expert in the Marvel timeline, so Wolverine is a pretty shady picture, but I know enough to spot major clashes with his origins. It feels like the movie studios simply decided to rewrite the character and the Marvel mutants so that they can fit everything in a very easy way that is really lame.

I call this death by bad writing. Wolverine and Sabertooth were never really that close to begin with in the Marvel universe and the whole brother thing is as unlikely as a black hole and matter to be on friendly basis. Either way even if they did have a strong connection and boy in the movie they made it through so many wars, that connection can't really be cut so fast with both feeling no remnants of brotherly affection towards each other. Illogical as hell, if you ask me. Then we have Wolverine's keen senses that somehow are left out in the whole movie. It is known that he can smell it out when you lie and can pick up life signs in a very near dead person, so neither will Silver Fox's fake death or Starks' lies pass, if that aspect of Logan's powers was acknowledged and it was, but when Silver Fox confessed her true love. Then he smelled truth, but only as a device so that the movie can have a dramatic ending.

Gambit was really bad written character, whose main function was only to interrupt wolvies and tooths battle, so that the movie can continue. Emma Frost shouldn't have been there, since at the time she was a teen she lived in a mega mansion and thought family politics and was a weak telepath. Diamond skin came way later only after she was through with the Hellfire club or somewhere during her involvement with it. Scott Summers didn't have the ruby glasses, until he met professor X and that supposedly [hinted by the final scenes] happened only after he was involved in the whole mutant experimentation scheme.

As you see I am nitpicking everything to the smallest detail, not because it's fun to point out mistakes to people, but because to us, partial to Marvel's creations, these are just hard core facts that spring in our mind like basic mathematics. And we pay the movie industry to entertain us with something we love, which is then twisted and stripped bare of all that made us love it. Just to milk money. If you don't believe notice how nobody spills blood and wolvie's claws are unstained after gutting people. All for the sake of PG-13 ranking.

DC Animated Productions

Initially I wanted to review these two movies separately, but since I do have a lot of ground to cover as it is, I will join them together. The other reason is because despite being animated both DC productions are so close to each other. I usually connect Superman with Wonder Woman via the JLA comic books and the Unlimited animated series, which I adored and well a recent 2009 production, I guess DC follows Marvel.

“Wonder Woman” was the first I watched chronologically and was positively surprised, simply because I never found Wonder Woman exciting as a character or any number of DC super heroes, simply because they are too moral, too noble and thus go into the category human ideal of inner perfection, while Marvel are more adept at giving the anti hero, but I am not here to discuss this. With this production I was convinced that DC are to be further looked into. Starting from the artwork, which was solid and sharp and the storyline of how Diana grows from Amazon princess to Wonder Woman and here I actually understood the whole mystery behind her costume. In my mind it made no logic to come from an isolated island and wear the US flag on your breasts, though in her case it’s not that tacky. Now back to the movie. There is carnage, there is magic, there is Greek mayhem and an almost all out war between the US military and magically empowered Amazons and sadly Lincoln Memorial goes down again. I also need to mention that Diana is voiced by Kerri Russell, the fuzzy girl from “Felicity” and “Bedtime Stories” to name a few, and her love interest the brave pilot Steve is voiced by Nathan Fillion, from “Firefly”, “Two Guys, One Girl and a Pizza Place” and also known as Captain Hammer from “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”.

“Superman: Doomsday” features Adam Baldwin as Kal-El; Anne Hechi as Lois Lane and James Marsters as Lex Luthor. I actually felt so exalted the first twenty minutes, because Superman died and I am not in love with the guy. He is one of those too good for their own good people and I wanna see him getting pounded. Of course DC would never kill their beloved character, never in a million years and they did involve a misguided clone and a very interesting concept about his alien vitals falling so low the big man would seem dead, when in fact he is just healing. That was a downer on my account, but I loved the fight scenes. Super strength and fragile buildings always go hand in hand. As a result time flies so fast you can’t feel it at all. Best was Lex Luthor, who has a breakdown, when Superman dies from an alien and not from one of his devious plans. Talk about a man with issues and James outdid himself in the lunatic department. In the originality department I can’t say there is much improvement. As far as I can remember even the short series of Superman I watched as a child had the same plot: threat comes along, Superman gets pummeled, then he gets up and kicks ass and get Lois. Now the only difference is that DC made it a big bigger.

Artist Corner: Maeva

This weeks "Artist Corner" proudly presents another French artist, who draws inspiration from and expresses herself with the widely popular anime manga genre. I was left spellbound by her traditional pieces and intrigued by her digital work, so I had to take her interview as soon as possible. So here goes; here is Maeva... *cheers*

Harry Markov: Hello and welcome to my virtual chair. I hope you have a good time. So once again thank you for accepting my invitation. I don’t recall talking to a manga and comic book artist before, so it is a pleasure, but before we go explore the world of art, let’s start with the mandatory ice breaker. What was your first encounter with art for you to make the decision to become an artist?

Maeva: I don’t recall I ever asked the question myself. I came to it naturally. When I was young, I watched cartoons on tv, and I reproduced all I saw there. I’ve always loved it and the desire to make a living of it came to me very early.

HM: Will you be as kind as to share a bit about yourself? Who is Maevachan and what meaning does this handle carry, when you created your DA profile?

M: For the pseudo (maevachan), my first account on DA was composed of my first and my last name, but I don’t liked to use my last name and I always sign my drawings with my first name. “Maeva” was already used by someone else, and at the time, a friend of mine used to call me “Maeva-chan” all the time, and so I chose to use it as my pseudo.

HM: I rummaged through your website and found out that you have managed to publish two volumes of original comic book material in your country France. Can you tell about your comic book?

M: These are one-shots. The first one “Les Elfes de Miloria” was published in 2007, and the second one “Fleurs de fées” will be out in april 2nd of this very year. Both stories were written by my friend Ylric. I did the drawings and the color of the first comic and the drawings only for the second one (lack of time, I have a part time job in the same time ). I know I still have a bunch of things to practice on my artworks, a ton of things to learn but I’m so glad I was able to publish these 2 stories.

HM: Even though you have two publications I have to wonder how art fits in your life. Do you have a day job or manage as a freelance artist and independent comic book artist?

M: I can’t live correctly with my art and comic so yes, I have a part time job too. Being a freelance artist is a wonderful experience but sometimes it can be really hard. You always have to work on future comic projects and find a publisher who have faith in your work. So when you have no comic contract for some months, you need to have another job that pays your bills!

HM: Who are the artists that shaped your work and made your artwork what it is today?

M: A lot of japanese illustrators like Nobuteru Yuki (Lodoss, Escaflowne …) and Inomata Mutsumi (she is working on some design on the “Tales of” game serie) when I was younger. Now my personal art goddess is Ayami Kojima ~ She is the character designer of the “Castlevania” games published by Konami. I just love her style, gothic, horrific, bloody and graceful in the same time. She is doing lots of illustrations for various magazines too. I also like Eiichiro Oda who draw One piece, for the way he puts his comic on page, it’s so creative and dynamic, a real genius. Well… There are plenty of authors I like, and a long list would be painful to write ^^

HM: It is completely obvious to me that there is a strong Japanese influenced vibe in what you do. How did it happen? How were you hooked to try this direction in art and adopt it as your own?

M: I never asked myself the question. As I already said it earlier, when I was a child, I spent a lot time watching japanese anime on my tv. We had a really popular tv show in France at the time and I discovered a ton of different cartoons. I was so happy to make fanarts, creating my own characters and all. I found in this “japanese style” a way to feel and express myself I never found in another style. For the rest, you draw again and again and again, you practice a lot, you learn new things, you find new authors you really like and finally, after many years, you come to develop your own personal artstyle. It’s all about hard work and passion !

HM: This may be a trade secret, but I will ask nonetheless. To me manga and anime look easy enough to be used to practice as a rookie artist. Of course the simplest things sometimes are hardest. What is the one thing a person should know about manga and anime art?

M: Well… Manga may look simpler than other styles, but as with every style, you have to work hard on it, understanding proportions, etc… I never chose this style for its so-called “simplicity”. Well, the only advice I can give is : WORK HARD !!! ; )

HM: The only connection between all the artists I interview is their love for the fantastical and magical. What is fantasy for you and with what did it attract you?

M: Fantasy for me is related to all the magical creatures, of course. And if I had to pick the creatures I like most, it would be vampires. I love dark atmosphere, horny characters and organic deformations when I can add them on my artworks… and melancholy. I’m really emotional, maybe a bit tortured too in my poor little head, and these kind of dark subjects are those I really like to work on. I also like Elves, because they are graceful creatures. And Dragons. God, I love them but strangely, it’s rare for me to draw them. I know I need to practice a lot with those creatures.

HM: Where do you search for ideas for new projects? For that matter what other art forms inspire your work: literature, music, dance, etc?

M: Music first. I can’t draw without music. It helps me concentrate and have a special “feeling” with the picture I’m drawing or painting. I’m usually listening original soundtracks from movies, video games and anime. I also like to watch a lot of movies. I think they help me to understand how to create a good composition on my artworks in general and more specifically, on my comic books.

HM: After seeing your gallery I come to the conclusion that you jump from digital to traditional art for different projects. Which one is easier to do?

M: I like both and my skills are totally different depending on what materials I use. I think I will answer watercolors because I’ve been practicing it for many years now and it’s the best way to put my feelings in my pictures. I’m not sure I’m really clear here, but I always try to infuse each and every artwork I draw with a special feeling, and it seems people feel this best when I use my watercolors.

HM: In the same line of thought countless people have argued which one is better, digital or traditional. What do you think? Is either of them superior?

M: I think it’s pointless fighting about which is better, the only good way to color is the way you like. Personally I’m a watercolor artist from the start. I wasn’t very attracted by painting digital pictures. But finally I tried and I found a lot of nice ways to color my art with my computer. Now I’m really happy because I’m able to work with 2 different methods.

HM: You are a part of a comic book team and are in charge of art. How does it feel to be working in a team and having to take into account the opinions of others? How does the writer, colorist, artist and all the other work together? Can you share some experience?

M: Well first you need to know that Ylric (the writter of my comic’s stories) is a good and old friend of mine. We like the same things (anime, games etc…) so we have many references in common. It was simple to work together on our comic project. He is the one who starts the project, he thinks about a world, a plot, about the characters too and he lets me know. If I have some ideas I tell him. After, he has to work on the main story, and to put all of this in 46 pages (European comic format). I can work on the pages only when he is done with them (and when the publisher agrees, of course). For “Fleur de fées”, I had to work with a colorist too, so, fist, I explained to her how I saw the colors on my pages. I tried to let her do her job as freely as possible. I gave her indications and tones I wanted her to put here and there but if she had a better idea, I was totally opened to what she had to say. I think it was a great experience for both of us. In the end, my art and her colors worked really well together !

HM: To continue my thoughts, I am curious about forming the sheets and boxes in a page. To a reader putting a story in drawn boxes is the easiest thing in the world. I once thought so too, but you have had experience with it. What’s the science behind successful portrayal of the story in boxes?

M: I’m not sure. I never thought it was hard to do. I mean, when I read Ylric’s stories, I see each case in my head and the way I will draw them. Maybe it’s because I’m reading a lot of manga but the construction of a page comes naturally to me. And thanks to Ylric, I’m free to build the pages the way I want. He only tells me what’s inside each page (+ dialogues) and after, the organization is all mine. The main thing is that you need to cut your sequences and images in a logical way and make good transitions between them, so the reader won’t be lost.

HM: I also have to wonder what your current projects are. What can we expect?

M: I hope I will be able to work on a new comic project soon and I would love to publish an artbook too (to tell you the truth, I have more the spirit of an illustrator than a comic artist). I would love to work as a video games designer too but, let’s face it, this part is going to be the most difficult to accomplish!

Thank you.

And with these final hopeful words another installment of "Artist Corner" ends. Stay tuned for next edition...

The Sandman: The Dream Hunters

Human society has this little kink to pick up people, put them on a pedestal and worship them as private gods. Business entrepreneurs wet themselves when they hear Donald Trump; young gadget pioneers kiss the picture of Bill Gates and so as you can see every social sphere has its own pantheon. I personally bow down in front several geniuses in literature as every writer in the making does. The Pantheon of Fantasy has names, which have built either the foundations or elevated the quality and reputation to a Nirvana for all readers, but there is one name, which can be spelled as magic. Neil Gaiman.

I know him to be a genius and yet I haven’t read anything, even though I posses some of his works. Now I spent the most enchanting afternoon in my life with his adapted four issue mini-series “The Sandman: The Dream Hunters”. So far I hadn’t had the chance to read anything from the Sandman world and I am not disappointed. An opinion is a subjective material and more often than not I have been disappointed from hefty praise. Neil Gaiman deserves his praise.

In the Dream Hunters we are introduced to an authentic Japanese tale with its shapeshifting animal spirits with mischievous behavior, but good hearts, the demons of the night, the countless gods and entities and a platonic love tragedy. Through manga, anime and even some prose experience I have a certain feel for all that is Japanese and I could have been fooled into believing that Gaiman is in fact native to the spirit of the land.

Originally an illustrated novella, “The Dream Hunters” tells about the love of a kitsune, a shapeshifting fox spirit, for a young monk at a small temple. When a powerful onmyoji, a Japanese mystic with diverse skills, seeks a way to chase away his own nameless fear and wishes to kill the monk in his dreams, the fox begs Morpheus for help and sacrifices her own life in order for the monk to live out of love. However the monk also shares secret devotion after seeing the fox in her human shape and dies so that she could live. Slain by anguish the kitsune seeks revenge and through trickery ruins the onmyoji and afterwards the reader is offered alternative endings to how the story can end. Will the monk and fox be together in the afterlife or not? It is up for the reader to decide.

I can definitely call this a comic book for intellectuals as it carries the distinct Japanese art of applying wisdom to any given situation with great quintessential thoughts that can be applied in our own daily life. Gaiman is a genius and P. Craig Russell adapted the novella in comic book format in quite the captivating way. I can only imagine how hard it must have been to ease a work from one medium into another and still make it work. Plus the art work is beyond words. I am not an expert in line work and color work, but from my point of view as a reader, who is on the receiving end I am with my jaw at my knees and loving it. I am probably repeating myself, but I can describe it as old style Japanese print art with its sense of tranquility.

If I have the opportunity, I will buy the novella and be swept away by the magic of it all. This is something not to be missed.

Wonderland: If it is innocent, desecrate it…

I am starting with fairy tales, even though I am fully aware that “Alice in Wonderland” is in fact a novel. So, fairy tales charm with their innocent magic, naïve and friendly demeanor and though with droplets of sadness and fear are generally the indestructible pink sun glasses that make the world so much better. Who can forget Snow white, the Ugly Duckling, Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast and all those happy endings….

After a while though when the modern generation of horror movies, vampire clans and gothic devotion grew up to drinking age or even before that realized that the Grimm Fairy Tales were in fact the first horror stories [trust me in Cinderella there is much mutilation going on and I read it in German] and so we have seen Snow white dying after a dose of apple heroin and Little Red Riding Hood slaughter people with a chainsaw and Alice in Wonderland get down with a butcher knife in a video game [at least I have seen]. But the comic book industry couldn’t keep their hands to themselves and Alice had to be desecrated again.

Zenescope’s 6 issue mini-series “Return to Wonderland”, the ongoing sequel “Beyond Wonderland” and the three one shots “Tales from Wonderland” take the innocent, magical and illogical Wonderland with its cast and harvests its twisted potential. Alice Liddle, the original Alice, is a grown woman, married with children, but suffers mentally from her trip to Wonderland and attempts suicide after Wonderland attempts to claim her back. After her death Wonderland sets its eyes on her children Calie and her brother, who becomes the second Mad Hatter. With a black stripper version of the classic blue dress Alice spurted, Calie sets out on a survival mission in a Wonderland, which is simply another word for Limbo aka Hell.

Everything you held dear has been twisted… The white rabbit is a zombie. The Cheshire Cat is a lycanthropic monster. The Catterpillar strikes like a distant cousin of the Alien and the Mad Hatter is quite mad. Only the Queen of Hearts is more like herself. She wants heads to keep rolling, but is not afraid to do it herself. Calie, who is Alice version 2.0, looks like a wet dream material and can if needed revert to violence. The plot is simplistic to keep true to the survival horror atmosphere. Calie has to deal with being chased by monsters in the real world and in Wonderland, deal with the guilt of sending her brother through the mirror to limbo and try and keep her sanity.

What I found most interesting however was the total psycho-murderous horror make over in the exterior and the mechanics behind Wonderland and its inhabitants. Writer Raven Gregory is one sick puppy and I love him for his work on the series, which is gaining popularity among its targeted audience. Art tandem Daniel Leister [illustrator] and Nei Ruffino [colorist] create high class crystal clear vision, aesthetical gore and a sultry underlining eroticism, which is quite noticeable though not profane or tasteless. All in all what horror should feel like. I suggest people that like their stories dark and bloody get it now.

WATCHMEN - Awesome....

In light of the new movie coming out in May 2009 I decided to do a bit of reading and get acquainted with the “Watchmen” miniseries. To be honest it was a long slow read, but in retrospect I had the best time with a serialized graphic novel in my entire life. No wonder people keep repeating “most celebrated of all times”, plus I almost regret having to read it from my computer screen.

I and “Watchmen” started on the wrong foot. Being from a generation, where comic book heroes look like Wonder Woman or Colossus. Seeing heroes represented as simple masked vigilantes with no inkling of powers and already middle-aged and disbanded and looking so ordinary doesn’t feel so good. But issue after issue I liked seeing behind the smoke and mirror tricks the public sees and get behind the scenes so to say. The team Moore, Higgins and Gibbons break the cliché and pretty much create a different brand of comic book hero genre. Another aspect to pay attention to is the name Moore, which you might have heard even though you can’t connect in an instant. It has its own gravitational field you can’t ignore and then again there is the artwork. I have to be truthful to my tastes that I never got used to it. Fat lines and more flat colors, grim and kind of noir look doesn’t appeal to me, but yet it had a powerful effect on reading experience and when art and story collaborate great things happen.

And then again “Watchmen” is not about the story itself, but rather a lesson or exercise in the art of storytelling. The comic book format though treated lightly and with some sort of sarcasm by mainstreamers has the best capacity to accommodate a surprising quantity of symbols both visual and in content and the structure itself. I had to do some reading to check whether what I thought I found out has relevance. There is nothing worse than a dimwit know-it-all mess up a beloved classic. I confirmed my ideas, helped me develop them and got more than what I bargained for.

“Watchmen” is the sort of work that has to be reread with extra care, patience and fervor to be decoded and grasped fully. I for one don’t have the habit, so I missed some elements, but what I learned was fantastic and most satisfying. Moore poses the question whether in a world where super heroes are realistic and ask ourselves whether we would be better off without them. The Watchmen are almost all past their prime, retired, share a nihilistic viewpoint and are more are less self centered, swallowed in their own problems. As Moore said it himself he simply deconstructs the super hero myth so that readers can reflect upon its significance.

What engaged me more in the series happened to be the small touches like the yellow smiley face with the spot of blood above the eye, which is the most recognizable symbol in the whole series. I view it as the downfall of masked vigilantes in the large sense. Another interesting touch happens to be the motif of having a story within the story. “Tales of the Black Freighter” is a fictional comic book pirate series and one of its stories “Marooned” is being read by a black teen in “Watchmen”. This is a genius move to underline the main story in “Watchmen”, when Ozymandias attempts to save the world from a full out nuclear war on the back of thousands of dead people including his former teammates, the same way the young mariner in “Marooned” uses the corpses of his fellow shipmates to escape his island prison and in the process goes insane. The world and back story are also provided in the end of every issue apart from the last one with excerpts from books, letters and notes written by the characters or for them.

There is far more going on in “Watchmen” that meets the eye and in any case I would recommend this to everyone or anyone. It has this quality of awesomeness, the ultimate conspiracy and the most tension filled exposition.

Artist Corner: Marcio Takara

To keep true to my New Year’s promise of a new project to start on my precious “Temple Library Reviews” I am starting my very own ~Artist Corner~ feature that will air every Friday from now on until I run out of artists to annoy. The interrogation…uhm, I mean art discussions can be read on “Temple Library Reviews”, but since I am generous Theresa over at “Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin’ Blog” will get them too. First to be snatched and interrogated is Marcio Takara, a comic book artist with a wide collection of pin-ups and also a man of few words, but well spoken and to the point.

Harry Markov: First of all thank you very much for agreeing to this interview. I find your art exceptionally interesting for the content and characters. But shall we begin right from the start. What attracted you to art? What can you say was the first encounter with the art form to inspire you to become an artist?

Marcio Takara: It was always comics for me. I started buying out of nowhere when I was 10 or 12 I don’t know… since then I was always drawing for fun :) good times…

HM: Which artist so far has had an exceptional influence on your work?

MT: Jim Lee, Mike Mignola, Scott Campbell, Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, Ryan Ottley, Chris Bachalo, Cheeks, Stuar Immonen… so many of them… probably more…

HM: I tried to do a little research about the person behind the art, but found no traces about him. It is almost like there is this talent that possesses drawing materials and finishes the pieces with magic. Can you reveal the mystery behind Marcio Takara, the man, which has left the Internet mute? Are you a freelance artist or maybe you have a day job or perhaps work for a comic company?

MT: I live in Toronto, Canada. But I am Brazilian. I am a freelance artist yes :) No mystery there see?

HM: After expecting your profile on DA I noticed the fascination with superheroes. Which was the first superhero that hooked you into drawing pinup, the one that defined your path as an artist so to say?

MT: Superman. Right when I saw the first movie. Best movie ever for me.

HM: Another interesting moment for me is the definition of your style. As far as I understand you do pinup art, but for the sake of people, who don’t know anything about art, but would like to, how does one explain pinup to people?

MT: Uh, now that’s a tricky one… I just call it pinup to name the kind of stuff I do. I’m pretty sure some of the things I call pinup aren’t real pinups :) Whenever I think about it I remember those 50’s pinup girls… there was usually something going on in one image, which sometimes is not the case on my “pinups”. I should start calling it something else…

HM: To continue the trail of thoughts what are the tools of the trade that you most frequently use and can you describe the process and the time it takes to complete a pinup?

MT: I sketch with a mech pencil, HB 0.5… then I send it for approvals… after that I ink it with pens and brushes… scan it… and use some Photoshop magic :)

HM: Which are the super hero characters you like most to draw? There has to be a top 10 rank list somewhere and with so many pieces completed, haven’t you had some ideas for original characters?

MT: Ok. My top 10 characters :) Supergirl, Batgirl, Rogue, Dazzler, Powergirl, Back Cat, Firestorm, Phoenix, WonderWoman, Aquaman :)

And yes, I have plans to create my own stuff. Just have to find some time to work on that.

HM: Now I am curious, when it comes to using already created and copyrighted characters as sources of income. Are there any legal issues or regulations one must take in account with the creators before?

MT: Yes. If you start a whole company with existing characters you’re in trouble. But as far as I am concerned, creators can sell one or too sketches or prints at the comic conventions…

HM: I also have to wonder what your current projects are. On your DA profile there is this huge wallpaper with small comic book characters and I definitely want the story behind that as well whether you have anything else in the makings.

MT: I’m working on “The Incredibles” comicbook, for Boom! Studios, with writer Mark Waid. I just wrapped the first issue. Pencils and inks. Not coloring it. Should be out in March 2009. I’m doing 4 books for them at least.

Those tiny characters were just for fun in between work. I’ve been sending them with my sketchbooks to whoever buys them…

HM: Since comic book heroes are all about the awesome superpowers [I know that people here would usually argue that it’s spandex] and superpowers are an element of fantasy haven’t you been tempted to try your hand at any another categories of fantasy?

MT: Yes. I could definitely work on other genres. But like you said, superheroes is my thing :)

HM: For that matter do you have ideas to try a different art style, technique, and tool or simply jump into another medium altogether such as animation perhaps?

MT: I’ve been trying to improve my inking. Using a little bit more brushes… so this is my main goal for now. But no, animation is out of the question. Unless it’s character designs for animation which I did a few in the past… animation is a different monster…

HM: I understand that you also do commission work. Do you get a lot of requests and how do you decide whether or not to take up a job? What are your criteria?

MT: As long as it’s not porn or something really weird I can do it.

HM: Last but not least I would like to talk about that sketchbook of yours. The Internet is pretty silent about that one too. Is it a self published product and what does it feature? Can you tell us more about how it came into being, the basic story behind it?

MT: It is self-published. I printed 50 of them and they are almost completely gone. That was my first attempt and I want to print one every year. It’ s a nice way for people to get some of my work for a fair price. I tried to put some of the art I post on the web and some other stuff with the sketch stage of them all, so it should be interesting for people to see. At least I like to see the whole process from the artist I like.

Cool? Thanks a lot for this. Keep drawing! And happy 09 everyone!

So there you have it. This has been the ~Artist Corner~ with your irreplaceable host me and as it seems I need to practice my interrogation techniques some more. Over and out.

© All the artwork is copyrighted. Please do not use the images without the permission of the artist or owner. The artwork in this post has been used according to the rules listed by the artist herself or at least I think I have.

"Take a Chance" ~ Comic Book Premiere

October proved to be an exciting month for the urban fantasy fans that enjoy comic books to fill in the gaps between book installments. As it turned out and spread like forest fire C.E Murphy, one of the more industrious and prolific authors on the urban fantasy scene, has joined forces with Dabel Brothers Publishing to set a new comic book project into motion called “Take a Chance”. I am using December, the actual release month, to remind people to go out and buy their issues as fast as possible.

The creative team behind “Take a Chance” involves artist Ardian Syaf (”The Dresden Files”), colorist Jason Embury (”Hero By Night”, “Shadowhawk”), letterer Melissa S. Kaercher (”Dr. Blink, Superhero Shrink”), cover artist Scott Clark (”X-Men”, “Stormwatch”), and yes of course writer C.E. Murphy (”The Walker Papers”, “The Negotiator Trilogy”). It is also worth mentioning that the series is creator-owned and available for pre-order. The first volume consists from five mini issues.

The premise sounds interesting enough to give it a shot and grow to love it. I couldn’t have formulated it any better in my own words, so I am quoting the press release:

“Five years ago, Frankie Kemp’s four-year old son was shot and killed in the crossfire of gang warfare. Desperate to do something to protect other children, Frankie became “Chance”, a masked vigilante in a world without superheroes.

However, that all changed when a genetically engineered virus escaped North Korean scientists and spread world-wide. Intended to create a super-soldier program, the virus improved on the basic human template--when it didn't sicken or kill. Now the world is suddenly littered with super-powered beings, and Chance must rediscover her place in the changing world around her.”

For C.E Murphy this has been a five-year road to walk, drive by in a coach pulled by unicorns or to fly on the back on a dragon; depends on how fantastical you want the metaphor to be. She deserves the congratulations for making yet another dream come true. Here is was the happy writer shares with the public.

"Take A Chance has been a years-long pet project, built on the shoulders of my insanely talented artist and colorist, Ardian Syaf and Jason Embury. We've been on a long road, but I was convinced that patience would bring me to the right publisher, and working with the Dabel Brothers has proved me right,” says C.E. Murphy. “They're as excited about the comic as I am, which is saying quite a lot--finally seeing it come to fruition is just amazing.”

And what wonderful fruition this project promises. Apart from the sheer joy of reading a fresh new title set in a new world, the reader will also contribute to the art form that has conquered the modern world. C.E Murphy has solemnly promised that after paying her team she will give out 50% of the proceedings from her first issue to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. If there are people, who don’t know what this Fund does, it preserve the First Amendment rights of comic book shop owners, artists, writers, publishers, and most recently readers from spurious prosecution.

The remaining money will be turned back over into producing further issues of the comic book. When the first five are collected into trade format, 10% of the proceeds on that will also go to the Fund, which means at the end of the day, C.E Murphy rests with not a single dime in her pocket. That is why it is important to be active, when the series debuts. Readers will not only leave with a new world in their hands, but will contribute to the growth and stability of the much beloved comic book industry.

Cheers!

Comic Book Week: "Runaways"

For the last post in the Comic Book Week I have prepared a review on an ongoing series by Marvel called “The Runaways”, which have been launched since 2003, amount to 30 issues until the end of volume two and have won multiple awards. Volume three has launched since August 27th 2008.

Due to the spanning story arcs in these thirty issues, I will keep the content to bare minimum, bringing only the essence of the story and why it deserves all excess attention. As genre, “The Runaways” is teen drama with superpowers. A group of six teens find out on a meeting of their families that their parents are villains called the Pride, who wish to bring down the apocalypse upon Earth and rebuilt it with the power of ancient Biblical giants. Volume one deals with the teens forming a group called the Runaways and fight their parents, ultimately leading to the deaths of the Pride and their leader Alex Wilder, who in the end has betrayed his team.

What grabs from volume one is the diversity between the six members of the Runaways and the six families in the Pride. Niko Minoru is the daughter of dark wizards and possesses the Staff of One, which can cast spells with a trigger command. Molly Hayes is a twelve year old mutant with super strength and invulnerability and is daughter to telepaths. Gertrude York has a telepathic link to a dinosaur brought from the future by her time traveling parents. Chase Stein is the son of evil scientists inventors and operates their gadgets and is the team’s getaway guy, while Alex Wilder leads the team and has no superpowers. The last member Karolina Dean is a solar power alien being, who can create force blasts and fields, can float and is glowing like a kaleidoscope.

The series overall is humor laced, the call of the Runaways being “Don’t Die” and puns and funny references popping every page, while all the characters learn to work together and get likewise in funny and dramatic situations. Every super team that travels with a leaping mechanical frog, reside in a fallen underground manor is one people must read about. Immediately after the Pride has been killed and exposed, Captain America has the team split and spread to social services, foster homes and camps for mutant children. Volume two marks the reunion of the team as the fight with the new villains of L.A of plunging the city in chaos, the one thing the Pride did well. Along the way new team members join the group like Victor Mancha, the son of Ultron, Xavin, a super skrull in training, and Klara Prast a chlorokinetic like Poison Ivy from 1907. Usually the acquirement of new members comes at the death of another to keep the number, which has grown drastically by the end of volume two.

Untypical of most super hero teams, the Runaways break most of the clichés connected with the myth. First of all there is no spandex and hidden identities involved, although volume one featured the group adopting alias, which they later dropped. The ratio between males in females is also switched the majority of the hitting force being female, something untypical in most popular superhero teams. The story lines are toned down and don’t all involve saving the world on regular basis, but more like taking one villain at a time and resolving the issues between team members. The characters themselves bicker, fight argue and resemble nothing to the well trained fighting machines out there.

Fresh angles involve the lesbian tendencies of Karolina, who ultimately involves with Xavin, her betrothed fiancé, who changes his gender to her liking. Homosexualism hasn’t been dealt with in many comic books before and definitely serves to make the characters more complex. Another interesting moment to note is that most function of the characters are unfitting of their personality. Niko is the most emotionally involved and needy of everyone, but still manages to lead the team usually alive out of a mission, while a twelve year old girl is the brawn of the group. I can go on and on about what makes the series, so great, but you have to read all the stories of writers Brian Vaughn for most of the series, Joss Whedon from issue 24 to 30 and now Terry Moor for volume three and artists Adrian Alphona, Michael Ryan and Humberto Ramos, for volume three.

Comic Book Week: "X-Men: PhoenixWarsong"

“X-Men: Phoenix Warsong” is a five issue limited series released 2006 to follow the ever successful Phoenix saga. Chronologically it follows the Endong miniseries, where the Phoenix force resurrects Jean Grey again and hunts down Cyclops led by Grey’s feelings. However this time Jean Grey is not the target, Emma Frost has to face a painful truth and more about the Weapon X program is revealed. Due to the complexity of the storyline this review will definitely have major spoiler moments.

The series begins with fragments of the Phoenix force making contact with the Stepford Cuckoos, which have been reduced from quintuplets to triplets. At first they develop the power to levitate, which was viewed as a normal secondary mutation, but when the girls burst out in flames and speak of being life and death itself, things go downhill. The mystery over the girls suddenly increases as the two deceased sisters Sophie and Esme raise from the dead. Emma discovers that her ovary has been used by Doctor Sublime to create a thousand clones of herself, all identical, five of which were the Cuckoos. On the other hand it is revealed the Cuckoos have metal in their bones and communicate with some sort of a binary code, thus processing heavy loads of information.

A team of X-men is dispatched at Sublime’s secret laboratory after tracking the sisters with Cerebra. In the meantime Celeste becomes the dominant mind and thus the host of the whole Phoenix fragment, while her sisters have been trapped into machine that wires them to all of their sisters, thus activating them. Doctor Sublime informs the X-Men that the Cuckoos were designed as the perfect weapons to erase all mutants from the earth and an army of Cuckoos called the Thousand-in-One. But Celeste still maintaining her individuality works with the X-men to short circuit all of the girls. The crisis overcome, the Phoenix is split between the three original sisters and encased in their hearts, now made of diamonds.

To tell the truth, I was torn between “Endsong”, featuring the resurrection story of Jean Grey, and “Warsong” series, since Jean Grey is one of my personal favorite characters, but considering the fresh angle of the latter and the sheer volume encompassed in just five issues I knew this was the winner. The Phoenix saga has spanned for quite awhile now Jean Grey being the white phoenix, the good phoenix, the dark phoenix, dying and coming back. In the end Marvel decided to freshen up the story line by adding new elements to the mix. After Emma Frost experiences the host relationship with the Phoenix, we see new hosts. The Cuckoo sisters are relatively new characters and people haven’t seen much of them and this is so to say their first apocalyptic major story line.

This series has five major strengths. 1) Tyler Kirkham’s (Also Here)artwork is one of the most exceptional and detailed example of why I love comic books and how I usually visualize stories, either from novels or for writing. 2) The new hosts have been very unlikely, but a very pleasant choice for the readers can experience the hivemind communication and relatiosn between the three sisters. Having such power and switching it before settling for a dominant mind has been interesting. 3) The Cuckoos’ origins as Weapon XIV. Honestly as far as the Weapon X program goes its highest achievements have been Wolverine and Sabertooth and X-23, although she is meant as a clone of Wolverine. 4) Having Emma Frost as their DNA mother, which leads to the finale where they develop the same secondary mutation to change into a diamond shape and encasing the Phoenix force. 5) The awesome reference to the Stepford Wives by Ira Levin and the fight for individuality, which is being lost. Although the sisters have always wanted to be understood and escape their visage as ice queens, in the ultimate end, when they turn their hearts to diamonds they became hollow and soulless, obedient and emotionless, the perfect humans in any way, the perfect machines as well. Obedient and detached. Thank you writer Greg Pack.

Comic Book Week: "Fray" {Buffy in the Future}

Comic books run on ideas from a lot of mediums from computer games such as the Lara Croft series and World of Warcraft, from books like the Dresden Files is and the new trend in acquiring ideas is to use TV shows. The earliest example to really pick up is “Fray” by Dark Horse. This eight issue limited series published 2002 is based on the Buffy verse. Creative team of Joss Whedon, Andy Owens and Karl Moline spin some mojo on what the Slayer might be in the far future.

In a nutshell, “Fray” poses the question “What if Buffy was meant to awaken several hundred years in the future?” The Slayer in this case is Melaka Fray a 19-year old chosen as the new slayer, centuries after Buffy had done her job and all of the magic and demons have disappeared. However she hasn’t had the physical link with her ancestors and to push her education and fight the new rise of the vampires, a trainer is called, but this time not from the Watchers, but from the demons. Urkonn looks like a Diablo in miniature. I doubted that eight issues were enough to cover the whole ordeal, which was season one of the show aka Fray getting into the mechanics of her new destiny, train, face her first fears, overcome them and then stop the world from going on a trip to hell. Mister Whedon did it snappy and although it made sense, I would have wished the final battle not to be as easily fought and with a heavier outcome.

Of course every hard core Buffy fan knows that not so much plot is the strength as the mythology and mainly the action scenes. I think “Fray” offered Whedon a totally new frontier to explore his own universe. First off, the world as a setting is every bit dystopian and futuristic as one can expect with radiation having hit humanity hard. Looks do not fear people anymore since most have many deformities anyways. Vampires are reduced to lurks, thought by society as defected blood junkies, and people with extraordinary strength are a fact due to steroids. On this background Fray’s heightened strength, dexterity, healing factor and speed are nothing to be admired and don’t cause much of a ruckus. There’s no magic and pretty much any known information about the past is unknown for the lower circles, to which Fray belongs.

Another very interesting moment is the fact that the slayer has a twin. Now this may be a great spoiler alert for anyone to enjoy the evil scheming and the plot, so I will be very vague about it. In her essence a slayer is the strength of thousand bodies, at least my definition, and the strength of the experience of all the rest before her. One without the other doesn’t do well on their own, so what Whedon does is cut the link and give a piece to each of the twins. For me it was an interesting and gratifying experience to see this theme integrated, so I will refrain from spoiling it too.

I couldn’t find much on the artists, which is a shame really, but as far as my opinion goes “Fray” exudes a vibrant and electric feel of colors to present this cyberpunk story. This is a Buffy spin-off and as far as the show goes it’s more like a funny fantasy show with horror elements and the comic book carries the spirit. As a conclusion this is interesting to read, not bad and certainly a different side from the slayer universe.

Comic Book Week: "Hack/Slash"

To continue with the morbid presence of horror in the comic book industry I have chosen a Devil Due Publishing title for this post. “Hack/Slash” is an ongoing series, which started out with tie-ins with other titles in the publishers and one shot test drives until the fans demanded more and from May 2007 “Hack/Slash” has become a series with 15 issues so far. I personally have had the opportunity to read up until issue 12.

As the title suggest violence is not far away and if you don’t mind movies like the Saw series, then this is just up your alley. The heroine is Cassandra “Cassie” Hack and she is a slasher of slashers. If you wonder what a slasher is, here is my definition: impulsive, insane and therefore totally twisted serial killers, who are into the pain of their victims. Having been raised by the Lunch Lady, a slasher with an affinity into butchering people that annoy her to meat products, it’s safe to say that Cassie is not on the bright and sunny side of the world. Armed with a club, a loud mouth and an attitude she takes on to kill all the other psychos out there. On her mission, assistance comes in the face of Vlad, the Meat Man, who is a deformed hulk wearing a gas mask and two former slasher victims saved by Cassie.

The series are too early to string the clues from every issue into a bigger plot, although questions about Cassandra’s missing father pop up and how he is connected with the government. Along the way though we get a lot of blood and some pretty original ideas incorporated into Cassie’s missions. True to the horror genre to involve the paranormal Cassandra Hack faces demonic rockers, who have sold their souls for fandom and offer virgin sacrifices to the old ones to fornicate. Attempt at tentacle porn ensues as well as Elvis and a talking demon dog trying to finish Cassie off. In further issues we have a zombie Ms. America involved in a hot tub club with lesbian college girls imitating Elizabeth Bathory, who bathed in blood.

The creative mesh of such popular elements is definitely refreshing, as the popular comic book crossovers have shown the formula as profitable. Literature, TV and comic books have shown the necessity of a very strong woman, because men like hot women with weapons to do martial arts and be violent. Ms. Hack is the wrestler version of that ideal and simply watching her handle men, women, alien Cthulhu gods and even children with a baseball bat is a treat like no other. Cassandra puts pretty much every other power house heroine to shame and even Buffy, yes even her. High tolerance for pain, having a mother as serial killer, possibly asexual or a lesbian and she has homicidal dreams about armed dairy products.

Tim Seely is the man behind the gruesome idea of the whole twisted Beauty and the Beast killing duo series and to think this man started as a children books’ illustrator. His hobby does involve watching slasher movies and compiling his ideas for the story. The artists totally evade me, but as it would seem every issue has a new face. Some of the names are Emily Stone, Stefano Caselli and Fernando Pinto, but although the crew shifts, the grungy kill-them-all-in-explicit detail remains, which is the heart of the story. Be sure to check it out.