Vanesa R. Del Rey is an artist with quite an intriguing sensibility. She loves what she does and leaves us in awe with her dangerous women being all bad and mysterious. BOOM! Studios is showcasing that bewitching talent in the debut issue of an exciting new series, focusing on bright new talent. In “Hit: Pen & Ink,” you’ll get your Del Rey fix and then some.
Details follow:
Filed under Boom! Studios, Comics, Noir, Vanesa R. Del Rey
You drink the wise blood
You’re gonna hear about it
You’ll be taken down brick by brick by brick
Burn the orphanage
You’re gonna pay for it
They will purify block by block by blockFrom “Demons” by Sleigh Bells
“Burn the Orphanage” is a bold and sexy beast of a comic. Created by Daniel Freedman (Undying Love) and Sina Grace (Not My Bag), it gives you lovable dead-enders on their way to hell. Now, that’s entertainment.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Crime Fiction, Daniel Freedman, Image Comics, Noir, Sina Grace
“Frank Miller’s Big Damn Sin City” is just what the doctor ordered, if he has a decidedly dark side. “Take one volume of Sin City and repeat until you have completed the omnibus.” Big Damn Sin City collects Frank Miller and Lynn Varley‘s seven stories: The Hard Goodbye, A Dame to Kill For, The Big Fat Kill, The Yello Bastard, Family Values, Booze, Broads, & Bullets, and Hell and Back. That totals 1,344 pages. All in time for the much anticipated Sin City sequel, “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For,” set for August 22, 2014.
Filed under Comics, Crime Fiction, Dark Horse Comics, Frank Miller, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Noir, Sex, Sin City
“No Clue” is a sly mix of comedy and noir. Comedy is a funny thing, isn’t it? And noir might be an even funnier thing, to get right, that is. So, to mix the two, and be sly about it, is pretty impressive!
Filed under Comedy, Movie Reviews, movies, Noir
There will someday be a colony on Mars. And there will someday be crime on Mars. It might fester in a corner for a while. But, yeah it’s going to happen. Image Comics presents, RED CITY, a new comics series that places noir in a Blade Runner sort of venue. If you’re looking for femme fatales and rival mobs, all with a Martian twist, then this is for you.
RED CITY is due out in June. Details follow:
Filed under Comics, Comics News, Image Comics
“Velvet,” published by Image Comics, is your next spy thriller addiction. It is written by one of the best crime fiction writers that comics has ever known, Ed Brubaker. And he is teamed up with one of the best artists he’s ever worked with, Steve Epting. This new series blasts away from the start. We have the dark and moody color palette that Brubaker favors, provided by colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser. We have the nondescript lettering, as if out of typewriter or teletype machine, provided by letterer Chris Eliopoulos. Yes, this comic is like a good martini, shaken, not stirred.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Crime, Crime Fiction, Ed Brubaker, Image Comics, mystery, Pulp Fiction, Spy Thrillers
It is an honor to get to interview master cartoonist Jeff Smith, creator of the landmark comics series, “Bone.” There are many subjects to cover with such a giant in comics. For this interview, we focus on the recent release of the collected hardcover edition of his sci-fi noir work, “RASL,” (reviewed here) and his role as guest editor of the just released “The Best American Comics 2013,” anthology (reviewed here).
In this interview, we get down to what matters most, those things that cause a spark in childhood and lead the way for a lifetime. The spark I am thinking of is when a 9-year-old Jeff was quite impressed by a animated feature he saw on TV, “The Pogo Special Birthday Special.” Already, the title of such a show hints at something offbeat. It was the only time that Walt Kelly’s “Pogo” was to be animated and that was by yet another legend, Chuck Jones. The very next day, Jeff received a collection of “Pogo” comics from a classmate. That got Jeff to thinking and set him on his life’s path.
We chat about Nikola Tesla, the offbeat superstar of science in many circles today. He figures large in “RASL.”
From “Best American Comics 2013”: Jesse Jacobs’s “The Divine Manifestation of a Singular Impulse,” excerpt from “By This Shall You Know Him”
And we take a quick tour of “The Best American Comics 2013.” To be fair, Jeff did not have his copy with him so we only discuss some highlights to the book. Suffice it to say, what we do cover gives you a sense of what Jeff was looking for as he made his selections. And while he loves each piece in the book, he does speak fondly of Jesse Jacobs. Smith’s art is far more detailed and realistic, in comparison to Jacobs’s, but it’s clear that they share a similar fanciful sensibility.
You can listen to the full interview by clicking just below:
You can visit Jeff Smith here.
“The Best American Comics 2013,” is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and you can get your copy here.
Filed under Best American Comics, Comics, Interviews, Jeff Smith, RASL
An elegant young woman struggles her way out of a horrific accident and finds herself in a strange world. Thus begins the new graphic novel by Frederik Peeters, “Pachyderme,” published by SelfMadeHero. Peeters borrows from David Lynch’s dreamlike narrative style, specifically his landmark film, “Mulholland Drive,” and creates something wholly original and worthy of comparison. It’s not your typical reference. It’s more of a tapping into a similar wavelength or molding from the same clay.
Carice in “Pachyderme” by Frederik Peeters
Laura Harring as Rita in David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive”
In “Pachyderme,” Peeters starts with a similar jumping off point to “Mulholland Drive.” Peteers’s female character is caught in a traffic jam caused by the death of an elephant. Lynch’s female character is in a limo, about to be shot by some mobsters, when some joyriders crash onto the scene.
Peeters plays with the role of the main character by giving it over to this woman while Lynch sets his sights more askew. Peeters has his character, Carice, take over the journey that lays ahead while Lynch has his similar character, Rita, step back and let another character dominate. Peteer’s Carice bears a striking resemblance to Lynch’s Rita and that adds to the sense of everything emerging from a dream.
Carice has far more control over her life than Rita and, as we proceed, we see her will tested to its limits. Carice has a clear goal in mind: to find her husband who is in hospital after suffering an accident of his own. We don’t know exactly what happened to him except that Carice is trying to reach him. Due to the traffic jam caused by the elephant, it takes Carice a while to reach the hospital on foot. And, once there, her nightmare begins. Just recall your last hospital visit and then add noir intrigue and the surreal and you have entered the world of “Pachyderme.”
There is a satisfying bite to this story immersed in the fevered Cold War. Is the man in the little top hat and trench coat, with the penis-shaped nose, to be trusted at all? That is the sort of question that Carice must confront. She must also confront a number of other characters, including herself, all in fear of something yet unformed.
If you gave one hundred cartoonists the assignment of somehow riffing on David Lynch and going on to create their own mesmerizing work, you would get a lot of interesting results, no doubt. Let “Pachyderme” lead the way. This 88-page full color graphic novel is a keeper you’ll enjoy with every new read.
Drawn in a very confident and fluid style, the artwork of Frederik Peeters is a joy to behold. He is truly a remarkable artist/writer. It was a real treat to review his “Sandcastle” recently. You can read that here. And you can visit him here. “Pachyderme” is available starting in October, 2013. Visit our dear friends at SelfMadeHero here.
Filed under Comics, Frederik Peeters, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, SelfMadeHero
It is so great to see Andy Diggle and Jock working together again. “Snapshot #2” (of 4) kicks this noir adventure into high gear. And all in glorious black & white! Yes, if you’re familiar with these guys, you know that b&w is the way to go. The premise: A young man picks up a smartphone in the park and nothing is ever the same again. This isn’t like just calling up the owner and having a million thank-you’s thrown your way. No, this phone is connected to the world finance underground. Once you’ve tapped into that crazy shit, well, you don’t come back.
Now, let me talk to Andy Diggle and Jock fans and, if you’re new, please join in. Okay, so you know why you love Andy Diggle, right? The guy knows how to juggle clues, keep the plot moving, and make you glad you’re not the one running for your life in the pages you’re reading. And, Jock, we love the guy. Talk about a straight edge style so sharp along with a fluid sensibility. This guy loves what he does. He has a signature style that fits just right for that Diggle gritty worldview. If you haven’t gotten a chance, pick up “The Losers” and all this will totally make sense. Think mayhem with style. Andy’s crisp crime writing is in full effect in “The Rat Catcher” so pick that up too. You’ll also want to get Jock’s run on “Detective Comics.”
What a tight story this is. One false move, and our main character, Jake Dobson, a 19-year-old who works in a comics shop, is found accused of murder while being pursued by killers. It seems like he can’t loosen the noose around his neck but, so far, he manages to avoid a number of close calls. He can consider himself lucky but he would much prefer not to need the by-the-skin-your-teeth-you-were-just-about-to-die kind of luck. But he’s not alone. In this issue, he meets a teen girl named, Callie Twain, and she’s much deeper into this mess.
All Callie wants is to find her dad. It’s been a terrible time for Callie. Her mom passed away. She knows her dad loves her and she has always relied upon him. Trouble is, her dad is tied in with some very bigger players in world finance and he somehow stumbled upon some things he shouldn’t know. Now, he’s missing; Callie’s life is in danger; and you already know that Jake’s life is totally in danger too. It is so hanging by a thread that you wonder how he will survive the pages of the next issue.
If you enjoy a story where all hell breaks loose within a thoughtfully crafted story, then “Snapshot” is for you. If you are entertained by dramatic car chases and exquisitely drawn explosions, smashed cars, and all manner of chaos, well, there you go…”Snapshot.”
“Snapshot #2” (of 4) is a March 6 release. Visit our friends at Image Comics.
Filed under Andy Diggle, Comics, Comics Reviews, Crime, Image Comics, Jock, Noir
“Bad Medicine” episode: Director Darin Scott, Actress Christine Donlon, Writer Steve Kriozere
Steve Kriozere is a writer/producer with an impressive resume that includes work on “NCIS,” “Castle,” and “Femme Fatales.” If you have not gotten a chance to try out “Femme Fatales,” it is a show worthy of your consideration. You can leave any preconceived notions at the door, and start out with “Femme Fatales: The Complete First Season,” which is now available and you can purchase here. You can read a recent review of the show here.
The following is an interview with Steve Kriozere where we discuss what “Femme Fatales” is all about from various points of view. We also talk about “Elvis Van Helsing,” (review here) an offbeat horror graphic novel that Steve co-wrote with Mark A. Altman, who is also a writer/producer involved with, among other projects, “Castle” and the co-creator, with Steve, on “Femme Fatales.” We wrap up with a discussion on the writing process and what lies ahead for “Femme Fatales.”
We begin by discussing the tricky position that this show finds itself in. It’s a show on Cinemax. That carries a unique set of issues. For instance, the concept of “less is more” can be a hard one for the network to grasp. The creators and writers on the show must find ways to deliver the goods, the sexual content, in new and creative ways while also building up a show. Here’s the thing, this is, at its heart, a clever show. There are so many things going right with this show, from its charismatic host, Tanit Phoenix, to its exploration of genres and, well, embrace of geekdom. The show, at the end of the day, retains its potential which, by all rights, should remain forever elusive.
The full interview with Steve Kriozere follows and includes the podcast at the end.
Filed under Cinemax, comic books, Comic-Con, Comics, Entertainment, Femme Fatales, HBO, Noir, pop culture, science fiction, Superheroes, Television
