Category Archives: Paul Tobin

April 1, 2015 · 10:30 am

Review: THE WITCHER: FOX CHILDREN #1

The team of writer Paul Tobin and artist Joe Querio have created some more magic with their reuniting for another Witcher adventure. Does Witcher go on adventures? He’s such a low-key guy. He did end up on a misadventure last time.

That’s what Witcher does: sort of ends up on misadventures. For this one, he has a trusty dwarf. He’s rather tall for a dwarf and quite pudgy but he’s a feisty guy. The two of them stumble upon a bad idea that just keeps getting worse. Let’s say you were a wandering warlock/poet and you just happened upon a mighty ship heading to your favorite port. But it’s teeming with suspicious characters. You wouldn’t just jump on board and take your chances, would you? Well, Witcher does. And thus begins our tale.

You just got to love Tobin’s droll sense of humor and understated style. A Witcher tale can start any time and any place The dude is up for anything. But he can get quite adamant when he sees danger up ahead. Danger is a bad thing one should avoid. As a rule, Witcher doesn’t take foolish risks. Maybe a calculated risk here and there, mind you. But what was Witcher thinking this time? His overly cautious sense of danger was completely out to lunch. He really is on a ship of fools! One by one, we learn just how foolish and stupid these men are. And stupid is a bad thing, just as bad as danger.

It’s gets spookier from here on out. It is definitely a fine example of the Dark Horse danse macabre: gloom and doom, spiked with a touch of whimsy. Lucky for us, Joe Querio draws the hell out of this story, complimented by wicked earthy colors by Carlos Badilla. The opening scenes set the stage for all that is to follow. You’ve got Geralt, aka The Witcher, having to placate, Dwarf, his rotund assistant’s ranting. Out of nowhere, a huge wild boar nearly mauls Dwarf. Witcher instantly kills, and roasts, the boar, to Dwarf’s delight. No sooner has Dwarf set his sights on a boar snack than he confronts a rival for his meal. This creature mirrors the size and shape of the boar and is fives times bigger. It’s all a wonderful mash-up of the Brothers Grimm and Game of Thrones.

And what about the fox children? Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.

“The Witcher: Fox Children #1” is available as of April 1. For more details, visit our friends at Dark Horse Comics right here.

Review: PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE #1

From PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra

The expanded fictional universe of Alien and Predator kicks off with the first issue of the Dark Horse Comics massive crossover series, “Prometheus: Fire and Stone,” continuing after the events of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. The combined talent of writer Paul Tobin and artist Juan Ferreyra provide an immersive and cinematic experience throughout this comic. We begin with a perfect plot device: Clara, one of the crew members, is in charge of a video documentary that provides us with various introductions.

This is the new crew sent out to see what happened to the old crew that went out to explore a most lonely and mysterious moon known as LV-223. It is definitely known to be mineral-rich so there’s one motivation to seek it out. But it could very well hold the key to unlocking the secrets of all creation. A relatively esoteric notion and quite possibly a deadly one.

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Comic-Con 2014 Interview: Paul Tobin on THE WITCHER and PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE

Paul Tobin is a comic book writer who is known for his work with Marvel Comics, among a full roster of other works. With Dark Horse Comics, Tobin has worked, with his wife, Colleen Coover, on BANDETTE; with Joe Querio on THE WITCHER; and with Juan Ferreyra on COLDER as welll as PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE. For this interview, we focus on the writing in The Witcher and chat a bit about the Aliens Predator Prometheus crossover event.

From THE WITCHER by Paul Tobin and Joe Querio

Based on the popular book series of the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is an action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt RED and published by Atari, Inc. Selling millions of copies, the short stories by Sapkowski feature a fantasy world inspired by Polish folklore with supernatural themes. The next game release is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, set for February 24, 2015, and it will make the perfect companion to the trade paperback release of The Witcher graphic novel.

Look for the trade paperback of The Witcher Volume 1 to come out on September 24, 2014. For more details, visit our friends at Dark Horse Comics right here.

As Tobin explains, he breaks everything down by panel while making sure not to crowd the artist. Panel by panel breakdown is essential in many ways, not to mention continuity. We take a close look at some panels that set up an important plot point: the introduction of the character, Marta, hovering in the distance, who Jakob is inextricably linked to.

From PROMETHEUS: FIRE AND STONE by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra

And we talk about Tobin’s Prometheus: Fire and Stone. It was Editor-in-Chief Scott Allie’s brilliant idea to bring together all the writers on the crossover event. While each writer had a separate stand-alone book to work on, getting together allowed them to share ideas and actually make each other’s work better.

Tobin acknowledged that he’s a very private writer but he loved this format with ideas flowing back and forth in a supportive environment. It will make reading all the books that much smoother. This blockbuster crossover event begins with Tobin’s Prometheus: Fire and Stone.

Look for the first issue of Prometheus: Fire and Stone out on September 10, 2014. For more details, visit our friends at Dark Horse Comics right here.

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Filed under Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2014, Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Paul Tobin

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January 2, 2012 · 12:24 am

GINGERBREAD GIRL Review

“GINGERBREAD GIRL” is one of those very satisfying graphic novels that Top Shelf Productions does so well. The talents of artist Colleen Coover and writer Paul Tobin create this delightful exploration into the life of a mysterious young woman, Annah Billips, as she struggles with issues of self and inner self.

Coover’s art is so inviting that the characters will have you at hello. With such delicate yet confident lines, Coover brings to life Annah, a spitfire who may stumble but who gets what she wants whether it is a boy or a girl or all the sympathy in the world from everyone she encounters whether it be a convenience store clerk, a small time magician, a pigeon or a bulldog. And, throughout, we get a taste of Portland, Oregon. PDX is as much a character as any other here. There’s the hipster world to contend with, like the latest penis art at the local gallery as well as relaxing walks through familiar parks and streets.

Chili Brandals is the young woman in love with Annah Billips. She let her hair grow into an afro all for the sake of Annah, who loves afros. She doesn’t really know where she stands with Annah but she’s happy to keep trying. “Throw bread crumbs at pigeons and they’ll flock to you in droves. Throw a bread loaf at them and they’ll scatter.” This is part of Chili’s explanation for why she doesn’t push Annah on answers to questions that Annah probably couldn’t answer anyway. Chili dismisses her analogy on keeping some mystery in a relationship. It’s actually quite nice. Paul Tobin has worked his magic with his writing and tapped into the bittersweet of young love.

As with many a young romance, Chili and Annah take a long time in establishing their relationship only to find that it is most likely doomed to end. So, despite all the searching for Annah’s secret twin, the story is essentially about Chili and Annah. Will they make it in the long run? Will Chili at least help Annah through her current crisis? Well, they’ll always have Portland and the silly magician and that year they searched for the Gingerbread Girl.

You can read this comic over at the Top Shelf site and you can totally own the book too. It’s a very nice fancy bound trade, 112 pages, for only $12.95, or get your own handy digital copy. Check it out!