Tag Archives: Pop Culture

July 17, 2015 · 12:22 pm

Review: ISLAND #1, published by Image Comics

ISLAND is a whipsmart comics anthology brought to you by Image Comics. In the first issue, Brandon Graham provides a brief intro and we’re off and running. Work here is intro art by Marian Churchland, ongoing comic by Emma Rios, story by Kelly Sue DeConnick, ongoing comic by Brandon Graham, and ongoing comic by Ludroe.

Emma Rios presents a sci-fi thriller entitled, “I.D.” I love the clean linear quality to her artwork. Everyone looks hungry and jumpy. And that’s understandable considering a terrorist attack has just occurred in outer space. We open with a scene in a coffee shop. Just as you would expect, once a crisis has been declared by the media, hot-blooded youth feel compelled to do something. One outraged young man declares, “The streets should be burning these days!” To this remark, a woman gives him the most vicious of eye rolls. Anyway, that crisis is in the background. The focus is on the characters and some of them are desperate to change their bodies. Nice opener.

Kelly Sue DeConnick’s “Railbirds” is a poignant memoir that pays tribute to her friend, the poet, Maggie Estep. It is prose with illustrations by Emma Rios. We follow Kelly on a road to recovery from addiction and growing as a writer. You learn all about the “railbirds,” those overeager participants at the race track, in this moving story.

Brandon Graham’s “Ghost Town” is a tour de force adventure with his favorite couple, Nikoli and Sexica. This this chapter, the two try to enjoy brunch at a café that specializes in whale. A few other oddball things happen. No one gets blown up. Always excellent work.

And finally, there is Ludroe and his ongoing piece, “Dagger Proof Mummy,” which proves to be quite a revelation. I see a few touches of Graham’s influence in what is a very refreshing skater fantasy tale. Reno smokes a little too much weed. Dirk is a superstar skater. Will they ever be a cool couple like Nikoli and Sexica? Maybe not. Whatever the case, Dirk appears to have supernatural powers and presently he has made himself completely vanish during a mid-air daredevil jump.

ISLAND is published by Image Comics, priced at $7.99. It is brought to you by Pretty Deadly artist Emma Rios and King City writer/artist Brandon Graham. Each ongoing issue of this comics magazine runs 20 to 30 pages, ad free, with issue length chapters of new work from around the globe. The first issue is available as of June 15.

For more details, visit our friends at Image Comics right here.

2 Comments

Filed under Anthologies, Brandon Graham, Comics, Comics Reviews, Image Comics

Tagged as comic books, comics, Comics Reviews, Entertainment, graphic novels, Image Comics, Pop Culture, Publishing

July 17, 2015 · 12:10 am

Review: Discovery Channel’s TREASURE QUEST: SNAKE ISLAND

There’s a disturbing scene in the new treasure hunt series from Discovery Channel. And it’s not about a shark attack or a snake attack. It’s during a meeting with the crew and the expedition leader, Cork Graham, is making a case for going to Snake Island to find a buried treasure of Incan gold. The island is crazy dangerous for many reasons. As final proof that they’re on the right track, Graham takes an overlay from a legendary map said to hold the treasure and places it directly over a map of modern day Snake Island, off the south eastern coast of Brazil. He keeps it there for all to see. But it’s not a match. It’s sort of a match. But not quite. And that symbolizes the leap of faith everyone is taking.

Herpetologist Bryan Fry and the Golden Lancehead pit viper.

But it was never just about the gold, was it? No, it was never that simple. Look, we can go down the line. Take Graham, he’s as much in it to prove a youthful hunch from years ago. Then there’s ole Cappy, the boat captain. He’s in it for the glory. Mehgan, the expedition dive master, seems most interested with the historical significance of what they may find. Jeremy, the ship’s mechanic, seems most into the adventure and then with the possible big payday. And Bryan, the ship’s herpetologist, or snake expert, is in it for the snakes! Yeah, he is most eager to match wits with the legendary and dangerous golden lancehead pit viper. Sounds like a crew out of the pages of “Moby Dick” or “Jaws.” Surely, this is a cut above your typical reality TV show.

The more details you get about this expedition, the more of a mystery it becomes. So, yeah, maybe there is hidden Incan gold somewhere on Snake Island. Maybe all the theories add up. But, even if they did, how will this modern day crew do better than other missions going back hundreds of years? To add to the challenge, as the show makes clear, our crew may be made up of seasoned professionals but they’re also pretty much fish out of water. And, to their dismay and possible horror, they weren’t counting on modern day pirates. They thought about them in theory. But no so much in reality. And they’re very real. All in all, this is a story that should keep you hooked to the very end.

The six part series premieres on Friday, July 17 at 10 PM ET/PT on the Discovery Channel. For more details, visit our friends at Discovery right here.

77 Comments

Filed under Discovery Channel, Reality TV, Television

Tagged as Adventure, Discovery Channel, Entertainment, Gold, Lifestyle, Pop Culture, Reality TV, Snakes, Television, Thrills, Treasure Hunting

July 16, 2015 · 8:52 am

Review: ‘Marilyn: The Story of a Woman’ by Kathryn Hyatt

“Marilyn: The Story of a Woman” is a graphic novel originally published in 1996 by Seven Stories Press. It caught my eye on my last visit on the last day of business at Seattle’s Cinema Books. Funny how we find our comics sometimes. A perfectly compelling work was just sitting on a shelf waiting for me to finally take notice. Kathryn Hyatt proves to be a devoted and thoughtful fan of all things to do with Marilyn Monroe, one of the most celebrated and misunderstood of Hollywood stars.

Stars burn bright and then they burn out. While this holds true for the career of Marilyn Monroe, that is only the briefest of descriptions. What Hyatt does is pay tribute to the human being and the artist. A mountain of books have been written about Marilyn Monroe but her unique life and work forever fascinate generating more and more stories. Hyatt carves out a path in search of some clarity.

Marilyn Monroe was the committed innocent artist. She was innocent in the sense that she was uncompromising in her pursuit of purity of purpose as she saw it. She had to overcome many obstacles none the least of which were her own feelings of low self-esteem. Even when she seemed to have a control over her own sexuality and image, she was still haunted by misgivings. Hyatt lovingly brings us into that world. For instance, the photo shoot that would lead to the iconic centerfold in Playboy was bittersweet. Hyatt evokes the scene with great empathy. Monroe may be thrilled by the attention upon her beautiful body but, at the same time, she only agrees to pose in order to get her car back from being repossessed. And she continues to replay harsh criticism from earlier years that she is “unphotogenic.”

Hyatt has a nice feel for capturing the mannerisms and movement of Monroe. It’s a mixture of a crunchy underground vibe and a more smooth and polished approach. The zest for pursuing her narrative is clearly there. What I’ve come to find in comics biographies is that the cartoonist’s depiction of the subject is akin to an actor’s portrayal. The best versions aren’t direct impersonations but are the creator’s unique interpretation. Hyatt mapped out in her mind the quintessential Monroe and everything that came before and after. She also had to map out what to focus on in the larger-than-life world of Monroe. And that process is akin to a novelist’s work. The overall result is quite stunning.

Monroe’s sexuality was, and remains for us in her work, the undeniable focal point. There are a number of well-chosen scenes where Hyatt addresses this key issue. There are a certain number of depictions of Monroe nude which Hyatt handles with grace. Those depictions wouldn’t work if they were simply meant to titillate. If Hyatt had felt a need to really get provocative, she could have taken a lewd turn but, instead, she is interested in humanizing. In that regard, Hyatt includes a scene of Norma Jeane as a little girl appearing naked before her family. It’s an interesting harbinger. We come to see that Marilyn doesn’t have a problem with her own skin but that will not prove to be as simple out in the world.

Much in the same way that the Kennedy dynasty will forever fascinate, the life of Marilyn Monroe will always have something to say on a personal and a universal level. The theme of Hyatt’s book is a close look at a particular woman who managed, by sheer determination, to place herself in the forefront of public discourse. We see Norma Jeane’s struggle to become Marilyn Monroe. It happens gradually, by fits and starts, as she navigates casting couches and fickle to malicious critics. Through the process, she fully appreciated the status she achieved and gave back as much as she could. However, the misgivings would never go away. She was an innocent artist and that is the deeper layer that sustains her legacy.

“Marilyn: The Story of a Woman” can be found at Amazon right here.

5 Comments

Filed under Biography, Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, History, Hollywood, Kathryn Hyatt, Marilyn Monroe, Sex, Sexual Politics, Sexuality

Tagged as Acting, Actors, Art, arts, Biography, comics, drama, Entertainment, Fame, graphic novels, History, Hollywood, Kathryn Hyatt, Marilyn Monroe, Media, Pop Culture, Sex, Sexuality, Stardom, Theater

July 15, 2015 · 8:50 am

It Happened in Seattle

Photo by Julia E. Light

Editor’s Note: Above photo is by Julia E. Light. Find her work here.

I moved to Seattle many years ago and, while I still like to travel, I find it to make a good home base. It used to be thought that Seattle was, despite the media scrutiny, the best kept secret. I moved in 1993. Grunge was in full tilt, Microsoft was on the rise, and Starbucks and Amazon were well on their way. The gray skies were oddly reassuring. The mellow weather was a welcome relief from the humid burden of Houston. And, just like Elvis, I swaggered my way onto the scene. I painted. I drew. I photographed. I wrote. Little by little, it happened in Seattle.

Today, I continue to paint, draw, photograph, and write. And I blog.

Many years ago, I set out to create meaningful work. In the end, I wanted things to add up to something that could be called art. I never stopped believing. And I never will.

Over time, I developed a specific working method. I write in notebooks that eventually make their way onto a laptop and so on. I sketch in a sketchbook. I draw and photograph something every day. Over the years, along with prose and drawings, I have created a number of comics. One of my earliest creations was a full length comic book entitled, MAN (sic). The title alone cracked me up but the content wasn’t particularly humorous. It was a collection of stories, some based on dreams and some just poetic observations. I believe that was around 1996. It was fun and underground. It came and went.

Today, I have much to be grateful for and look forward to. I have created more than enough work in comics to easily fill more than one collection. For now, I have the book of collected work, A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories. At some point, it’s important to gather up one’s work, organize it, scrutinize it, and get it published one way or another. Only then, can you feel like you can move on to something else. And I am definitely working on that.

In the future, I want to show my art more, get more work published, and keep on writing. I consider posting to this blog a very important part of my writing. Some posts are only meant to be lighthearted and others run deeper. The activity of blogging is useful in so many ways. It’s one of those habits that I’m more than happy to continue to indulge indefinitely in one way or another.

Times will continue to change. Lives will continue to change. You do well to hold on to as much consistency as possible. Whether as a state of mind, or as an everyday ritual, it has happened, continues to happen, for me in Seattle.

Denny’s Brings You The SLAMTASTIC 4 Menu: Superhero Grub!

Denny’s Slamtastic menu: Human Torch Skillet, Fantastic Four-Cheese Omelette, Invisible Woman Slam, and The Thing Burger

FANTASTIC FOUR arrives in theaters on August 7th and Denny’s is part of the action. Comics Grinder heard the call and went over to try out Denny’s new “Slamtastic 4” menu. For a limited time, you have these superhero-inspired items to choose from:

Human Torch Skillet
A hearty breakfast sausage with seasoned red-skinned potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, fire-roasted bell peppers and onions, jalapeños and freshly made pico de gallo served on a sizzlin’ hot skillet. Topped with new spicy five pepper sauce, Pepper Jack queso and two eggs cooked to order.

Fantastic Four-Cheese Omelette
Delicious omelette stuffed with melted Cheddar, Swiss, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, fresh spinach, diced bacon, onions and mushrooms tossed in a blend of sun-dried tomatoes and herbs. Topped with diced tomatoes and served with hash browns and your choice of bread.

Invisible Woman Slam
Two buttermilk pancakes cooked with blueberries, topped with fresh strawberries, banana slices and drizzled with a clear citrus glaze. Served with two eggs cooked to order, two bacon strips or two sausage links and hash browns.

The Thing Burger
Hand-pressed beef patty topped with crispy hash browns, an egg cooked to order, Cheddar cheese, two crispy bacon strips and punch-packing Thing sauce. Served on a Cheddar bun with a side of wavy-cut French fries.

Denny’s in Seattle’s SoDo District

I decided to test out a couple of these items: Invisible Woman Slam and The Thing Burger. I chose the Denny’s in Seattle’s SoDo District. This proved to be an excellent choice. My waitress was gracious and attentive. The whole place has a perfect vintage charm to it. I got a booth and contemplated the view. Sure, this is an industrial district so it’s a pretty pared-down scene but it has a nice blue collar vibe. People were enjoying conversation. The pace was quick and upbeat.

My drawing while at Denny’s of The Thing about to devour The Thing Burger

So, it all began on a beautiful morning with thoughts of the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. As the official synopsis states, we’ve got “four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways.” Looks like we’re going for an in-depth origin story. Perfect daydreaming for a cartoonist such as myself in a diner I admire. So, I kicked back for a few minutes, mind relaxed, and drew The Thing about to devour The Thing Burger.

The Thing Burger

With a pleasing dining experience to savor, ah, we can conquer the world. The Thing Burger! Yes, a lot would depend upon the “punch-packing Thing sauce” and it delivered! It proved to be a great complement to the tasty hand-pressed beef patty.

Invisible Woman Slam

And the Invisible Woman Slam was utterly delightful. Truly good pancakes, nice and hot off the grill. Who doesn’t enjoy a classic breakfast, am I right? Hash browns, eggs, bacon, sausage! Well, Denny’s is indeed America’s diner. I had a great time and look forward to my next visit, and the one after that. It’s also easy to get to thanks to Seattle’s light rail system so I have no complaints at all.

Be sure to visit Denny’s whenever the mood strikes you and check out their current featured Slamtastic 4 menu. For more details, visit our friends at Denny’s right here.

Comic-Con 2015 Movie Review: ‘Vintage Tomorrows’

Historian James Carrott poses with Cherie Priest. Photo by Ben Z. Mund

“Vintage Tomorrows” has got to be the best title you could give a documentary on the steampunk movement and it lives up to it. This is a much-needed comprehensive look, both informative and quite a lot of fun. The documentary made its world premiere at the Comic-Con Int’l Independent Film Festival this last weekend.

Produced and directed by Byrd McDonald, this documentary is based on the book, “Vintage Tomorrows,” by James Carrott and Brian David Johnson. They’re in the doc and so are many other notable figures. Interviews and appearances include authors William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (The Difference Engine), Cherie Priest (Boneshaker), China Miéville (Perdido Street Station), Cory Doctorow (Makers), Gail Carriger (The Parasol Protectorate series), Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett (Boilerplate: History’s Mechanical Marvel), Ann and Jeff VanderMeer (Steampunk, The Steampunk Bible), Nisi Shawl (Everfair) and Phil and Kaja Foglio (Girl Genius), and founder of Steampunk Magazine Margaret ‘Magpie’ Killjoy.

What’s all the fuss about, you ask? The story of steampunk, followers will tell you, is for everyone. To give a sense of the many voices and answers to the question, “What is steampunk?” we begin with a whirlwind of responses from many of the participants. Initial segments are sliced together with one person seeming to complete another’s sentence. “Steampunk is…” leads to answers such as “based upon science fiction of the 19th century” and on down to line to rallying cries such as, “you show up in a top hat and spats and you’re there to cause a riot!”

For an ostensibly literary movement, you would expect a rather low-key and subtle vibe running throughout. And, darn it, that is basically what you have and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, what people who are involved with steampunk would have you know is that there’s a strong sense of wonder, adventure, and excitement attached as well. And things are evolving. What may have begun as a quirky meeting of minds, circa 2005, has found formidable and creative leaders in the last ten years.

Steampunk today takes itself more seriously. The irreverence has been tempered a bit with a higher level of self-scrutiny. For instance, as the documentary explains, in order to be more inclusive, steampunk needed to confront the Victorian era’s colonialism and elitism. While history is what it is, attempts are made to address the past. For instance, you hear one participant say she no longer wears a pith helmet, an obvious symbol to her of colonialism.

Attempts to bring the Victorian era into the 21st century are likely to always be weird but that is part of steampunk. Enthusiasts will tell you that a big method to the madness is an attempt to get back to something tactile and real. While a steampunk follower may own an iPhone or iPad, that doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t do it grudgingly. A recurring battle cry is that we’ve lost something vital with today’s technology. There is no steampunk smart phone or laptop. However, we have each other. We have community. Steampunk encourages you to not be afraid to look backward as you find your way forward.

Be sure to visit the official Vintage Tomorrows website right here.

7 Comments

Filed under Comic-Con, Documentaries, pop culture, Steampunk

Tagged as Comic-Con, Documentaries, Entertainment, Geeks, Lifestyle, Pop Culture, steampunk, Tech, Technology

July 11, 2015 · 10:00 am

Farewell to Seattle’s Cinema Books

Cinema Books, 4753 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle

We say farewell to a true Seattle landmark, the shop that’s catered to a movie lover’s needs since 1977, Cinema Books. It used to be that a sizable part of a fun date in the U-District could take place all on one block. On the corner of Roosevelt and 50th, housed within a structure that looks like it was an old Victorian house at one time, you would have dinner at Ristorante Doria, see a cool indie movie at Seven Gables, and lose yourself amid the stacks of movie memorabilia at Cinema Books.

Cinema Books is shutting its doors. This is its last weekend of sales. The final day is July 15th. I’ve been a Seattle native since 1993 and I would stop by now and then and browse the shelves. I was never a regular visitor but I valued every occasion. I found the owner, Stephanie Ogle, to be quite gracious. And, I suppose, I just took it for granted that the place would always be around. Well, of course, the fate of independent bookstores has become decidedly precarious.

There is simply no other place like Cinema Books in Seattle and nothing on the horizon to fill the void. The amount of material on view is quite staggering. Lately, my schedule has allowed me to stop by and check in on Cinema Books in its last days. It sort of pained me as I watched collectors and enthusiasts pile in and take advantage of the marked-down prices. Here were all these people who had never set foot in the store before and now, like culture vultures, they were leaving with armfuls of books. I could see an uptick in activity with each new visit. Quite frankly, I found myself buying one item and then another and another.

Gwili Andre, “America’s Most Beautiful Model,” 1932

One curious gem led to another. How about a postcard of Gwili Andre? She was known as “America’s Most Beautiful Model” when David O. Selznick brought her to Hollywood in 1932. Alas, after ten films, RKO was unable to turn her into a star. Who Knew? Who will know? Yes, it’s all supposed to be on the internet but you still need to know where to look.

“Screening the Novel: Rediscovered American Fiction in Film” by Gabriel Miller

It is only in such a place as Cinema Books that each new visit is rewarded in unexpected ways. It saddens me that we’re losing this little haven. A haven that offers something precious. Hard-to-find and rare items are simply what they are. There are only so many out-of-print books. And they’re not all on Amazon. For instance, you won’t readily find a book I just bought from Cinema Books. How many places do we still have where you can stumble upon a treat in real time, hold it, examine it, maybe even discuss it a bit with real people in real time? Less and less.

How must Ms. Ogle feel about all of this? I’m sure she was experiencing a sense of loss that she was still processing. And yet, as far as I could tell, she was taking it all in stride.

Judy Garland, “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939

Observing Ms. Ogle with her patrons, it looked like it was business as usual in that moment. For these remaining moments, the show must go on. Judy Garland. Mae West. Marlene Dietrich. German Expressionism. Steven Spielberg. The Bowery Boys. Fatty Arbuckle. Hedda Hopper. Hitchcock. Tarantino. All of Hollywood, all of filmmaking, was still in play in that little store, that little magic shop. You’re looking for an anthology of Hollywood crime stories? Yes, we’ve got it. How about the definitive guide to film from 1946? Yes, it’s still here. All the memories. All the ghosts. Everything still swirling about, still dancing, for the moment.

“Charly,” directed by Ralph Nelson, 1968

One of my purchases was an original movie poster for the 1968 film, “Charly,” starring Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom. I gravitated to the iconic image. I had taken it down from where it was pinned and was about to roll it up when Ms. Ogle quickly said, “No!” I waited for her next move. “You want to fold it up at the creases. That’s how the studios used to send posters to the theaters. It will keep best that way. Once you’re ready to hang it up, then you can smooth out the creases.” I gratefully followed her advice. Another treasure safely made its way out the door.

Perhaps the sense of loss was outweighed by a sense of freedom. All those items, all that clutter, would soon be gone. It brings to mind the recent collective sigh from the media at the sight of the entire set to “Late Show with David Letterman” in a dumpster. Heck, where was it supposed to go? Well, in the heat of the moment, no one had planned for that. Things change. Things need to go. Decisions need to be made. Either someone walks away with it or it needs to be demolished. We move on.

6 Comments

Filed under Cinema Books, film, Hollywood, movies, Seattle

Tagged as Art, arts, Books, Cinema, Cinema Books, Entertainment, Film, Gwili Andre, Hedda Hopper, Hollywood, Judy Garland, Media, Movies, Pop Culture, Seattle, Stephanie Ogle, Travel, Vintage

July 10, 2015 · 8:00 am

French Comics Invasion: Reviews for Latest Titles from Delcourt Group Debuts In English on ComiXology

Imagine that you are in Paris and you stroll into a local comics shop in search of comics, or “bande dessinée.” There are plenty of BD shops to choose from and, moreover, plenty of comics. Now, imagine that a massive selection of French comics is available to you right from wherever you happen to be. ComiXology presents to you what they like to call their own “French Invasion.” This week, comiXology unveiled its first line of titles from Delcourt Group, the leading independent comic book publisher in France.

We begin with five lead monthly titles and one lead graphic novel. Among the monthlies is “The Curse of The Wendigo” by Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard and writer Mathieu Missoffe. The lead graphic novel is “Come Prima” by Alfred, the Winner of the Prix du Meilleur Album at the 2014 Angoulême International Comics Festival. You can find them all by visiting our friends at comiXology right here.

Below you’ll find my reviews for all six of these titles. There are more than 150 Delcourt Group titles to be released exclusively by comiXology. This is truly a French comics invasion!

The Curse of the Wendigo written by Mathieu Missoffe and illustrated by Charlie Adlard.
To be published in two monthly installments, beginning July 6.
What creature is dangerous enough to unite the French and German troops in July of 1917? Only one man knows: Wohati, one of the 12,000 Native Americans in the U.S. Army. Wohati must lead two warring sides to solve the mystery of the Wendigo, for he alone understands the horror of what’s out there waiting for them.

This is what comics are all about: a story that takes you to some very trippy and scary places with a masterful sense of horror mixed with biting satire. You get great character studies here as we go back and forth between French and German trench warfare. But there’s a common enemy that will compel both sides to lay down their arms against each other. And, emerging from the background, as he’s not much of a talker, is the Native American warrior, Wohati. With his help, these two mighty forces can find the bogey man they seek and then resume blowing each other’s heads off.

Iron Squad co-created and written by Jean-Luc Sala and illustrated by Ronan Toulhoat.
comiXology exclusive cover for issue 1 by Matteo Scalera (Secret Avengers)
To be published in ongoing monthly installments, beginning July 6.
What if new technology in 1944 turned the course of World War II and led the Germans to victory?

What would a batch of BD be without a good World War II tale? Ah, and this one takes the cake. It will be sure to please many a reader of many levels. Having just read Philip K. Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle,” I was in just the right mood to check out “Iron Squad,” an alternate history story with quite a kick. Filled with all the details that make for a good war story and sci-fi story, you will lose yourself in the spectacle of it all.

Josephine created, written and illustrated by Pénélope Bagieu
To be published in ongoing monthly installments, beginning July 6.
Cartoonist and blogger Pénélope Bagieu tells the story of Josephine, featuring professional relationships gone awry, a series of faux pas, and many a failed romance.

“Josephine” is a perfect example of quirky light humor. Just as you may expect, we follow our heroine on a series of misadventures. She’s the cute girl who marches to the beat of a different drummer. This is a collection of webcomics that grows on you as you take it all in. I would be surprised to find this collection on the laptop of one of the characters from “Girls” but it would fit right in.

Prométhée created, written and illustrated by Chrisopher Bec
To be published in ongoing monthly installments, beginning July 6.
Preface by bestselling writer Mark Waid (Insufferable)
comiXology exclusive cover for issue 2 by Andrea Sorentino (Old Man Logan)
What happened on September 21, 2019 at 1:13 PM can never be explained. And then, for 13 consecutive days, another unexplainable phenomenon occurs&hellip every day at exactly 1:13 PM. Prométhée is a mind-bending science fiction story written and drawn by Chrisopher Bec that recalls Lost and the very best science fiction.

This sort of heroic over-the-top story is a prime example of solid adventure BD. Full of larger-than-life characters tasked to save planet Earth, you better fasten your seat belt before you blast off. This is quite a treat as we follow a story full of mystery involving alien technology and a fateful Space Shuttle mission set in the not so distant future.

Spin Angels co-created and written by Jean-Luc Sala and illustrated by Pierre-Mony Chan
To be published in ongoing monthly installments, beginning July 6.
The bestselling, action-filled Spin Angels series features a Catholic Church Cardinal who runs a black-ops group of spies, and the mafia godfather who puts his very best hitman in service of the Vatican in order to settle a debt.

You’ve got to have at least one adrenaline-fueled adventure involving the Knights Templar! Turns out there’s a strong lead indicating holy relics, long since thought part of Templar myth, are to be found in present day Nova Scotia. Of course, it will take nothing less than an A-team commando squad to fight off all the interested parties. If you’re looking for a fantasy-laden madcap BD adventure, then this is for you.

Come Prima created, written and drawn by Alfred
To be published on July 6.
With his award winning graphic novel Come Prima, Alfred (Why I Killed Peter) has created a poignant homage to Italian cinema and a surprising story about two brothers who hit the road following their father’s death.

The master cartoonist Alfred brings to life a most vivid world with a crisp and economical style. More cartoonists would do well to learn from him. We begin with a yell, “Fabio!” This leads us to bold and muscular scenery: a French cityscape, a boxing match, a boxing poster. It is circa 1958. Giovanni has come for his brother, Fabio, who seems to always find a way to escape responsibility.

It appears that Giovanni offers a path to redemption. Fabio, we can tell early on, is distant and yet vulnerable. He resists the call back home to Italy up until he sees that his brother is holding an urn with his father’s ashes. That is too much, and so begins a journey.

Alfred offers up a poignant story with plenty of twists and turns. We find that Giovanni is not so much the saintly son. And Fabio is not entirely the brute. But they can dig their heels in too and conflict is always around the corner.

Ultimately, we cheer them on and wish them as safe a journey as is possible. Quite a realistic story of two stubborn men coming to terms with life, mortality, and something greater than themselves.

And so there’s reviews for the first round of titles from Delcourt. You can find all these titles by visiting our friends at comiXology right here.

Comic-Con 2015: THE PEANUTS MOVIE release date: November 6, 2015 (USA)

The ultimate Peanuts movie is on its way!

If you’re at Comic-Con, then you’ll want to make your way to Petco Park, at 100 Park Blvd, for a very special look inside Snoopy’s dog house. Explore within the walls of a giant inflatable Snoopy doghouse. The kids will love snuggling with beagles, snapping selfies with Snoopy, exclusive giveaways and lots more. July 9-July 12, from 9:00AM-6:00PM /PST.

From the imagination of Charles M. Schulz and the creators of the ICE AGE films, THE PEANUTS MOVIE will prove that every underdog has his day.

If you enjoyed the recent animated feature, “Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” (my review here) then you’re also going to want to see “The Peanuts Movie.” Presented by Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox, this is sure to please those of us who have loyally followed the Peanuts gang over the years all the way down to the newest of viewers.

The synopsis: Flying ace Snoopy (Bill Melendez) takes to the skies to chase his nemesis, the Red Baron, while best friend Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) embarks on his own epic quest.

The release date for The Peanuts Movie is November 6, 2015 (USA). Be sure to visit the official website right here. For even more about Peanuts, you’ll also want to visit the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. To be sure, they are celebrating this latest Peanuts venture. Find them here.

6 Comments

Filed under animation, Charles M. Schulz, Charlie Brown, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2015, Comic-Con International, Comics, movies, pop culture

Tagged as 20th Century Fox, Animation, Art, arts, Bill Melendez, Blue Sky Studios, cartoons, Charlie Brown, Comic-Con, comics, Entertainment, Media, Movies, Peanuts, Pop Culture, Snoopy, The Peanuts Movie

July 8, 2015 · 7:46 pm

Review: REAL WORK by Christopher Green

Reviewing comics, particularly independent comics, is a labor of love that will thank you with sore eyes, a sore back, and a profound understanding of the road less travelled or some such malarkey. But find a good mini-comic, a really good one by some glorious weirdo, and all is forgiven and you’re good to go for another batch of reviews. And so it was said and so it was done. Christopher Green is one of those glorious weirdos. His mini-comic, “Real Work,” is a fine example of that.

Oh so many cartoonists of a certain ilk are toiling away with thoughts of perhaps making some sort of impact. They don’t dare to dream to be the next R. Crumb, or at least they tell their friends that. But, hey, some don’t have to dare to dream and just do it. Just doing it. Sounds so easy, doesn’t it?

There’s an effortless quality to what I see in this comic. Maybe it took him hours upon hours to create and then he redid the whole sucker all over again for good measure. Or maybe he cranked it out at one go. There are a number of choices that needed to be made, “problem-solving” tasks, if you will, that Green gets right, one way or another.

Green’s 12-page collection of comics is loopy auto-bio, fantasy, and artful silliness. We begin with observations on the surface to body mass ratio regarding a squirrel’s crash landing. A few more pages in, and we’re in the thick of a war between Alaska and Canada. This also involves the teleporting of souls.

Green has the confidence and skill to pull this zany stuff off. It may seem simple but he’s actually putting his surface to body mass calculations to good use. Adroit placement of objects, thoughtful composition, pleasing contrast, it all adds up nicely. Take, for instance, his two boys on a whimsical crime spree. They may be relatively crude little figures, but they’re well-defined, distinct, and full of life. Katzenjammer Kids underground comix style!

Consider one last example above: a page on exploring pagan rituals. On just one page, Green evokes a doomed relationship, a universal struggle, and then gives it all a tidy absurdist ending with a hilarious grace note to boot.

Christopher Green’s “Real Work” mini-comic was printed at the Sequential Artists Workshop, or SAW, in Gainesville, Florida. This is a vital center for learning the art of comics founded and led by cartoonists Tom Hart and Leela Corman. It is, no doubt, thanks to the great care to craft at SAW that Christopher’s color cover, with gold no less, looks as nice as it does. Be sure to visit SAW right here. Be sure to visit Christopher Green right here. And visit his store, Wall of Balloons, right here.