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Blog Archives: August 2007
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INTRODUCING: THE LUCHADORES FIVE!
There's been a lot of crossover in comics lately.
No, I'm not talking about the multi-universal catastrophes where every superhero and their brother is duking it over the course of dozens and dozens of issues. Think more along the lines of media crossover.
You're well aware of Hollywood optioning nearly any comic that goes to print these days, but it goes much deeper. Mainstream media superstars such as Rosario Dawson, Seth Green and Claudio Sanchez have taken their respective crafts and applied those influences to comics. One of our all-time best-selling anthologies is PUT THE BOOK BACK ON THE SHELF, was based on the songs of and coordinated with popular Scottish indie band, Belle & Sebastian. The list goes on. Comics are being absorbed into the larger beast of pop culture.
So much so other mediums can't help but take note.
For instance, next week brings the first issue of the bi-monthly LUCHA LIBRE, created by Muttpop, the guys behind the extremely popular designer toy line of the same name. It's commonplace for comics to become toys, but the other way around? It's rare and possibly a first with the ever popular vinyl toy niche.
Maybe niche isn't the right word as designer toy stores have exploded all over the place. I can think of half a dozen in San Francisco alone. So why make the leap to comics?
Why not? Honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner. Most stores such as Giant Robot or Super 7 already contain art books and a smattering of graphic novels. There's not another medium which allows you to put your creations out there with comparative ease.
The Muttpop crew really understand that. When reading LUCHA LIBRE I was happy to see Muttpop wasn't aiming a mere product tie-in. These are actually great comics.
Their first foray into comics was a short in Heavy Metal #13, but Robert Silva and Jerry Frissen, the main masterminds behind the project, weren't content with ending there. They wanted their troop of Lucha Libres - Tequila, El Panda, Red Demon, and Mini Gobi - to have an ongoing presence in the comics world.
Thus far it's worked. Tremendously so. LUCHA LIBRE may be just making its American debut next week, but the series has already been seen worldwide via Humanoids. I can see why, Silva and Frissen have crafted a very interesting, very comic book world within those pages.
LUCHA LIBRE takes place in East Los Angeles, but not the East Los Angeles we know and love. At first, it looks the same, but there's one big difference: there are no gangs! Instead its inhabited by werewolves, tiki warriors, sea monsters, spacemen, ninja cheerleaders, and masked wrestlers. Each group has its own agenda.
The book focuses on the last group, specifically the Luchadores 5. In a very modern superhero twist they consider themselves protects of the area, but they're regularly arrested by the police, ridiculed by the public and chastised by their family and loved ones.
Despite all that they each continue to fight the good fight, regardless of the results.
Each issue is jam-packed at 48-pages and containing no less than five stories a piece, each written by Frissen and illustrated by some of the finest cartoonists from across the globe.
If you're looking for something a little different from your standard comic affair, you'll definitely find it here.
LUCHA LIBRE (JUL071926), a 48-page bi-monthly anthology, will go on sale September 5th.
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BRIT #1: MAKING SUPERHEROES SUPER AGAIN
I love superheroes.
Don't get me wrong. I don't love them exclusively. Some of my all-time favorite comics don't have anything to do with capes and tights. In fact, with some creators I prefer their non-superhero work. For instance, SHADOWHAWK was great when I was younger, but in the long run I'll always prefer Jim's VALENTINO and, more recently, DRAWING FROM LIFE work.
That said, I find that a lot of superheroes don't act so super anymore. There's an awful lot more crying and talking to therapists than I ever remember seeing. I like my superheroes to face new concepts that promise to tear the Earth apart. That's the good stuff you just don't get enough of these days.
Luckily, it seems that Bruce Brown and Cliff Rathburn feel the same way. Next week they're launching the ongoing series BRIT and, man, this is how I like my superheroes.
First page? Brit's running away from a rampaging dinosaur. Why? WHO CARES?! There's no psychological implications here. There's a Tyrannosaurus Rex tearing apart an airport with no one other than Brit and his best friend & android with a big gun, Donald to stop it. That's all you need to know.
The rest of the story keeps up the pace. Brit is, as the book describes, an "invincibility haver" who spent most of his life punching out bad guys for the government. However, his most recent adventures (conveniently collected in BRIT: OLD SOLDIER VOL. 1 - order code NOV061857) put that relationship on the fritz. These days he's reluctantly fighting the good fight strictly when there's no one else to do the job. However, a job comes up only he can handle and then...? That's what you find out next week. It's not a pretty ending.
Don't get the wrong impression, this is far from a mindless fight the entire issue. Bruce, the writer of the series, does a great job of fleshing out Brit and his supporting cast into real, three dimensional people. By the end of the first issue you feel like you know the guy.
One of the other things I love about the series is it's solid connection to INVINCIBLE. It reminds me of the old days, when characters in one book would appear consistently in the background of another. I imagine if a huge event takes place in INVINCIBLE, you'll see ramifications in BRIT and vice versa. Just compare the last third of BRIT with earlier issues of INVINCIBLE. Does that alien invasion look familiar? This issue even has a little mention of Mark Grayson's corner of the universe which hints to Brit's still mysterious early days.
The first issue hits the shelves next week. Once again, you can use a handy Diamond order code - JUN071871 - to ensure there's a copy waiting for you.
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GENTLEMAN QUINN
Hot on the heels of CASANOVA's return to comics racks with an all-new story arc, GQ magazine has put a spotlight on writer Matt Fraction. Considering how Entertainment Weekly also posted a full page article on the series' artists, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, CASANOVA is proving to be a book destined to penetrate mainstream pop culture.
I'm especially excited, because neither article was done to focus on a movie tie-in. These magazines are concentrating solely on the strengths of the comics.
I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise. I especially dig on CASANOVA because it fuses the brilliant, insane potential of comic books with a flavor and style inspired by the best elements of pop art, music, fashion and film. It's rare that any series can flawlessly reference multiversal crossovers and David Bowie in a matter of panels.
Those of you who haven't checked the series out yet are in luck. The entire initial arc, LUXURIA, was recently collected in an European-style oversized hardcover and, as I mentioned earlier, the newest story just started with issue #8, and #9 is set for a September 12 release. An extended version of the article is available online.
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SCRAPS OF MORSE
Like a lot of people I first saw Scott Morse's work in Soulwind.
As I recall, it came out when Image Founder and Shadowline President Jim Valentino made his first major push to diversify Image Comics. His vision for the company went far beyond superheroes and enabled cartoonists of any persuasion to get their creator owned work to the masses.
At the time I was shocked by the book. Before I wouldn't have expected Image to put out an indie-minded painted futuristic pulp sci-fi myth-centric title. Yeah, that's a long winded description, but if you read Soulwind you'll learn it doesn't easily fit into any genre. Having such an odd book for Image work so well opened a lot of doors for future creators. There weren't limitations to what you could do here.
Obviously, that's kept up. The Image of today owes a lot to titles like Soulwind, Age of Bronze and A Distant Soil.
This week Scott looks to continue this legacy of diverse work with his art book, Scrap Mettle.
Image has been putting out a number of art books lately such as Frank Cho: Women and the Eisner award-winning Art of Brian Bolland. Both are wonderful overviews of some of the artist finest complete works in huge oversize volumes. Scott being Scott he's doing something entirely different, yet perfect for his material.
Scrap Mettle is what goes on between drawings -- mainly sketches and paintings that got Scott's creative cogs rolling. The size is short and landscape, a format that goes against the usual look of art books. However, it's perfect for the material contained within. A lot of this is thanks to AdHouse's Chris Pitzer's phenomenal job of designing the book. This truly doesn't look like anything Image has ever done before.
Whether you're in Scott's work or illustration in general this is one book that won't do you wrong.
Scrap Mettle (MAY071855), a 400-page hardcover with a cover price of $39.99, will go on sale on August 22nd.
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Mike Wieringo 1963-2007
When Mike Wieringo started on Sensational Spider-Man he did so with a distinct purpose. At the time a lot books on the stands made superheroes so melodramatically serious they were dead boring, but he strove to do something more fun and imaginative. Luckily, he found a kindred spirit in the series' writer, Todd Dezago. They did amazing work together, but it didn't take long for the restrictions of corporately-owned titles to take their toll. They wanted to work on a book without limitations. One where they could take everything they loved from film, novels and comics and pour it all into one series.
That's when they came to Image with a high fantasy/adventure comic called Tellos.
Tellos was, as the book itself described, "a magikal patchwork world made up of a myriad of different realms, populated by creatures and legend." They strove to make a descriptive cliche true: Anything could happen. The series was filled with tiger-men, dirigibles and D'Jinns in a world where everything fantastic was a reality. The lead, Jarek, discovered this quickly when he was forced with the task of ridding the world of its greatest evil. After ten issues, Mike and Todd were confronted with other obligations and the series came to a temporary end.
Later, Tellos became a series of one-shots and miniseries with Mike in more of a co-plotter/consultant role as other people illustrated the stories he and Todd wanted to tell. In fact, I started working at Image just as the miniseries, Tales of Tellos, was wrapping up.
I'll admit to being initially intimidated by working with creators I'd long admired, but Mike was one of the first to make me feel like I was part of the Image family. So much so that I was a bit shocked. He had drawn some of the industry's biggest titles. You would expect at least some ego.
It wasn't that way with Mike. Not in the slightest. He was probably the most humble artist around.
During my first HeroesCon, I was able to finally shake his hand, talk shop and hang out with the guy. There wasn't anything different about him in person. You can't say that for everybody. He was one of the most genuine people I have ever met, even outside of my life in comics.
I always looked forward to seeing Mike after that. In fact, when I heard he might be at this year's Baltimore show I was ecstatic. One of my final jobs in my previous position here was working with Mike and Todd on making sure the Tellos Colossal edition was perfect. It meant a lot when I heard he was very pleased with the final product. I was hoping to talk with him about the book at the show.
I'll never have that chance.
Work and life both go on, but it's all a little emptier.
We'll miss you, Mike.
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A BOOK WORTH KILLING FOR!
Over a year ago Frank Espinosa made the leap from his long time career in animation to the world of comics with his futuristic high adventure series, ROCKETO. Most comic fans had never even heard of Frank, but he blew readers away with his unique brushwork. In fact, if you ask just about any creator they'll more than likely agree - Frank Espinosa is the definition of an "artist's artist".
After his first series concluded said fans have asked us time and time again when his next book was coming.
I'm sure they'll be happy to know they can finally read it next week as Frank launches the all-new crime drama, KILLING GIRL, in collaboration with EX MACHINA screenwriter, Glen Brunswick.
KILLING GIRL is definitely going to take a lot of his loyal readers by surprise. While there are many similarities to Frank's past style, he's showing sides of him we've not seen. Chester Gould, Jim Steranko and a variety of others are fused with Frank's usual approach to create something new and beautiful. It's much grittier than any of his previous work.
There's also a fantastic story to back up the art. Long ago our titular KILLING GIRL saved herself from a life of prostitution to become the weapon every mafioso longs for. However, during issue one her forgotten past comes back to shatter the life she's made.
Glen does a great job of making it more than just an action book. I've been lucky enough to read future issues and with each subsequent page she becomes a fuller and richer character. As new issues come I'm seeing that there's a lot more to our lead than I ever imagined.
Just so it's clear - the book is a far cry from ROCKETO in just about every way, but I think Frank's older fans will be extremely happy.
Also, you Frank Cho fans should be on the lookout for his rare incentive cover. His rendition of our lead is gorgeous.
Killing Girl #1 (JUN071882), a 32-page comic with a cover price of $2.99, is available for reorder and will go on sale August 15th.
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BONDS OF TALON
Whenever someone asks if a blind submission has turned into a huge hit I give a plethora of examples. For example, I often tell them how Joshua and Jonathan Luna, the siblings behind Ultra, Girls and the upcoming Sword, came out of nowhere to impress the industry with their talents.
However, the truth is they didn't come out of nowhere. Jonathan and Josh had a life of pushing pencils before they made it big. In fact, it's especially not true to say they did it on their own. Like anybody else, they had mentors who formed them into the popular artists they are today.
During Jonathan's time at the Savannah College of Art & Design there was one teacher in particular, Durwin S. Talon, who taught him the basics of sequential art. He had an impact and the two kept in communication even after Jonathan graduated.
Years later, Durwin was looking to do creator owned work and Jonathan pointed him our way.
As I flip through my advance copy of first Image book, BONDS, I can see why SCAD appointed Durwin to teach the sequential artists of tomorrow. It's a beautiful book that takes an a lot of influence from outside the comic book medium while maintaining a storytelling that's deceptively simple.
The book is about a cellist named Faith Warner. Her musical career is on the rise, but everything falls apart as her father is taken out by an assassin. Just when all hope is lost a long dormant magical ability grants her the power to extract revenge. However, such a gift isn't all it's cracked up to be as the more she becomes an instrument of vengeance the more she must sever her bonds of happiness and sacrifice her future.
It's gripping stuff. Human drama is intermixed with the fantastic in a way I haven't seen in a long time. The length of the book - thirty two pages without a single ad - has you glued to the page as Faith's descends into darkness.
Durwin, like his pupil, is a creator to watch out for.
Look for Bonds #1, a 32-page $3.99 book, on sale August 15th.
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WATSON GLISTERS
Ever since I came across Andi Watson's first book, Samurai Jam, I've been thrilled by how versatile he is. In Jam alone he uses art styles that jump all over the place. Some people found this off-putting, but I found it fascinating. It was obvious that he was hungry to push comics to their fullest in any possible way he could. While it could be argued that after his career making book, Skeleton Key, he settled on a set style I still see him consciously evolving his line with every book. Grab a copy of Love Fights and put it next to Little Star. Yeah, there are similarities here and there, but you can tell he's trying something new and different with every title. This guy doesn't get let his work get stagnant.
When word got around the office Andi was doing a book with us, I was extremely excited. This excitement exploded when I found out the book, Glister, would basically be Andi letting his imagination hit the page unfiltered.
That's made possible thanks to our titular lead, Glister Butterworth, and her magnetism for the weird and unusual. Throughout the series she encounters everything from ghost writers back from the dead, upset houses who can change appearance, a Toll Troll in the wishing well, unscrupulous antiquarian ex-wrestlers and a misplaced Sphinx.
The most brilliant part is that Andi's capable of doing this in a style that kids will dig while not being too juvenile for an adult to enjoy. It's one of those rare books you can easily leave on the coffee table without any worry about who picks it up. As a co-worker of mine put it, "It's about time there's a new comic book I can give my niece."
Also, you Skeleton Key fans will be thrilled to know that the first issue also includes an all-new story featuring Tamsin Mary Cates and her friends from the original series.
Look for Glister #1, a 64-page $5.99 book, on sale August 8th.
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THE BIG CON!
While things have been quiet around the Image blog things behind the scenes have never been busier. The world famous San Diego Comic Con International has taken our complete focus and there's a good reason why!
As reported everywhere, including on your television thanks to our friends at G4, Image unleashed a number of gigantic announcements on an unsuspecting public.
The majority of them came from our own Image Comics Show as hosted by Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan! This year's panel was packed to the brim with panels including, but not limited to:
STEVE NILES and BILL SIENKIEWICZ'S THE SINNER: Niles and Sienkiewicz are re-imaging superheroes in their newest collaboration.
YOUNGBLOOD UNDER THE BIG I: Rob Liefeld brings his seminal creations back to the Image universe. Find out all the details of the long awaited hardcover collection and all new series!
THE WALKING DEAD: NO ONE IS SAFE: The cataclysmic countdown to the monumental fiftieth issue promises to wipe out many of our beloved cast. Who will live? Who will die? The answers are guaranteed to shock you.
THE COMING OF THE CIRCLE: The writer behind NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI and SPIDER-WOMAN: ORIGIN brings a tale of espionage and intrigue with video game artistic superstar Ian Hosfeld.
THE KIRBYVERSE RETURNS: Not only are we following up the success of SILVER STAR with collections of both CAPTAIN VICTORY and DESTROYER DUCK, all new stories featuring Jack's creations will be coming next year!
FRANK FRAZETTA'S LINE EXPANDS: Due to the overwhelming demand generated by FRANK FRAZETTA'S DEATH DEALER, Image will be releasing a number of new one-shots and mini-series based off the master's greatest paintings, including, but not limited to DRACULA MEETS THE WOLFMAN, CREATURES, SWAMP DEMON and SILVER WARRIOR.
THE NEXT ISSUE PROJECT IS REVEALED: While announced just before the show, Erik Larsen presented the panel with further details of his next huge undertaking.
Details of our many other Image Comics Show announcements will be coming over the next week or so. Keep an eye out for more on THE RETURN OF FIREBREATHER, THE CONCLUSION OF SCUD, INVINCIBLE'S 50TH ISSUE, COREY LEWIS' PINAPL, GERRY DUGGAN & PHIL NOTO'S INFINITE HORIZON and much, much more.
However, our big news was not limited to the one panel. Image made headlines when their joint panel with TwoMorrows' reunited all seven Image Comics founders. Luckily for you, this historical event is now available online.
In fact, speaking of Image founders, Todd McFarlane made a big splash with his announcement of his all new title, HAUNT. Co-created with Robert Kirkman, HAUNT is a fusion of both creators sensibilities as superhero elements will combine with pure horror. Expect a big announcement regarding the artist and details of the series very soon.
Finally, we would like to thank all the fans who came by the booth. The buzz behind Image was never higher and we know it's because of all of you. We hope all of you had as great of a show as we did.
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