Review: The Tick - Pilot

Amazon Pilot Season is here! What does that mean and why the hell should I care? It appears to be Amazon’s slightly weasely means of getting out of putting its weight and money behind a variety of shows catering to different interests by backing the pilot episodes of three different shows and letting the public decide which show is worth the most money. In my opinion, the other two shows look just awful, so The Tick gets my vote for simply being the most immediately clever and colorful show. For perspective’s sake, I liked the old cartoon show, did not like the old live-action show, and I never read the comics. The Tick, as a character, is best not when engaging in visual gags like his contemporaries Freakazoid! or Earthworm Jim, characters known for their engaging encounters with their villains but in exchanging wacky, almost-mundane dialogue with his sidekick Arthur. This is probably the reason that the original live-action show seemed like a solid idea. Which it was. I just take extremely petty issue with their execution.

So how’s the pilot to the new Tick? God help me I have no idea. I understand what a risky thing this is to say for a reviewer, but hear me out.

The Tick, again, in contrast to Freakazoid, The Mask, or Earthworm Jim, has always been a parody: every aspect of it is ingrained in being a twist on the conventional formula. The Tick himself being an idiot is a joke on both the ridiculous degrees of heroism displayed by normal superheroes and something of a performance gag based on his ludicrously muscular appearance. The Terror being geriatric is a gag based on the concept of the elder space-villain, and his age having an effect on his performance as a villain is consistently funny. Arthur being both a mockery and kind of a dweeb is a play on the sidekick’s usual resignation to "the brains" to the hero’s "brawn." Freakazoid’s a freak because being a freak is funny, but the joke doesn’t rely on pre-established knowledge like The Tick does.

That being established, I cannot tell, for the life of me, how much of this new Tick is a joke. A shocking amount of time is given to the character of Arthur and his tragic backstory: spaceship lands on his father and the superheroes inside are blinded by space-syphilis and shot to death. Attempting to play that angle straight to any degree seems like a joke in itself, but lo and behold, characters take genuine pity on him and his sister takes a deeply personal interest in making sure that her brother is healthy. These scenes are played with equal parts silence and somber music. The degree to which it appears to be sincere is difficult to explain because explaining it sounds like the show is trying to be funny about it.

I’m not convinced that it is trying to be funny about it, though. It’s as if this show is literally trying to make my job harder on me.

The Tick himself takes up about 30% of the screen-time in this pilot and what I can say is that his presence is a genuine delight. Save for the dodgy CGI that surrounds his scenes and a suit that’s not totally visually appealing; The Tick is written as masterfully as he ever was and Peter Serafinowicz is a phenomenal actor, doing an amazing job with the part. The Tick's pilot would have been served much better by not focusing on Arthur's development before becoming a superhero but rather his development as a superhero. I understand this to be a pilot, and its efforts are in making sure everything is in place, but this pilot is also trying to sell the show as a whole to both its producers and audience. Spending so much time away from the show's main draw was always going to be risky, and I don't think it paid off this time.

This review is tough because while 30% of the show is funny and compelling, I can't tell how much the other 70% of the show is. If it isn't kidding, then the makers aren't phenomenal at character building and can only advise that they spend as much time on The Tick as possible, whether in or out of his suit a la Deadpool. If it is, I advise they spend more of their time on better, funnier jokes in the future.

This is assuming The Tick has a future. I will say I genuinely hope it does if nothing but to see what little character development we are given pay off and to see "average" fulfill its promises of being "good."

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The Tick - Pilot Director: Wally Pfister Writer: Ben Edlund Studio: Amazon Studios

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Review: Wonder Woman #5

I wonder if I am alone in not always understanding the rules of superhero comics. What would be, in any other story something worth noting or explaining often seem taken for granted as un-noteworthy trappings of the genre?  These details often obscure which elements of the story are supposed to actually be mysterious, robbing them of their impact and leaving the reader frankly mystified. Take Wonder Woman #5 as an example. I take it that the main mystery is supposed to be Wonder Woman's muddled memory and lack of access to her home. But I am also confused by her friend Cheetah whose origin I don't understand, the villain whose relationship with some sort of deity confuses me, and the presence of hundreds of animal men which goes unremarked. Add to this the reinventions of Etta Candy and Steve Trevor and you have a rather confusing third issue in this storyline. There's a lot of successful stuff happening, but a little clarity would go a long way. The issue opens up with Etta Candy, apparently now a government wonk, meeting with her boss to discuss the missing military team headed by Steve Trevor. The scene reveals that despite seeming jaded paranoid, Etta believes in Wonder Woman and trusts her to rescues the team. Meanwhile, the military despot Cadulo recognizes Trevor as having some relationship to the gods and decides he'll serve as some sort of religious avatar (as one does). Meanwhile, Diana discusses her fractured memories with Cheetah, before attempting a rescue mission. That's a lot for a single issue, and as I said, it doesn't all tie together well just yet. I would imagine all these plotlines will eventually come together to form some sort of meaningful whole, but I can't tell quite how.

The lead problem here is that, as with many Rucka superhero books, the interesting material is the characters themselves and not the ongoing action. I would like to spend more time exploring Steve and Diana's relationship which is fleshed out a little here in some small but interesting ways (when Cadulo ask's Steve who Diana is to him, he answers simply "Wonder Woman"). Similarly, when she's not posturing about mythos and heroics, Diana remains a great mix of regal princess and sincere, cheerful young woman. There's a moment near the end of the issue where Diana sees some old friends and gives an unexpected, charming grin that immediately humanizes her in a way few Wonder Woman authors think to.

I continue to go back and forth about how I feel Liam Sharp's pencils serve the story. On the one hand, the characters sometimes look a little warped and contorted in a manner reminiscent of the Dynamite house style. But at the same time, there's a subtlety to the characters faces that makes his work stand out from the pack. That humanizing moment I mentioned before would not work without his ability to make Wonder Woman look a little silly without it being a joke. And Sharp's level of detail on the jungle and action scenes are still extremely beautiful by just about any standard.

The problem with reviewing an issue of a comic is that, in the context of a series, a single issue means almost nothing. I do think this is a fairly weak 22 page read, but at the same time, Wonder Woman is still the title that's been the strongest out of the entire DC Rebirth line. So to anyone who has, as I often do, skimmed to the end of this review to get the overall takeaway, I'd put it like this: it's a bad issue, that somehow doesn't by any means make me less excited for the next one.

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Wonder Woman #5 Writers: Greg Rucka Artist:  Liam Sharp Publisher:  DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Ongoing/Bi-Weekly; Print/Digital

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Review: Conan the Slayer #2

I was originally going to frame this issue as another solid comic, a good pick for fans of the sword and sorcery genre and Conan lovers. But something about that treatment didn’t seem right to me. So I reread it a few times and then I went back and took a look at issue #1 of this series. That was when it hit me. This isn’t just a good comic; it’s a stepping-stone. I read the first issue of Conan the Slayer the old-fashioned way. It was before I was working here on the site, so I went to a shop and bought a copy. In the first few pages, I noticed something wrong. In Conan’s first dramatic panel, the narrator describes his attack as silent, making a point to say that a lesser man would have screamed as he turned to engage his pursuers. On the same page the art depicts Conan jumping out from behind a boulder, eyes wide and mouth open, clearly screaming. I bring this up because that panel is a great summary of the comic. It felt off-balance, like Cullen Bunn and Sergio Davila hadn’t found their groove yet. This issue, on the other hand, feels like they’ve found their flow.

Davila’s style is great for this genre. Kinetic and full of energy, Davila has a talent for connecting action. The layouts are simple but efficient, mirroring the barbarian’s ability to slice through his enemies. There are a few great bloody splash pages, a staple of the Conan series. His monsters are also creepy and well detailed. A huge improvement over the last issue, I think Davila is just starting to get a feel for the series, I’m hoping for more great panels to come.

As for the plot, Bunn isn’t playing any games. The story is straightforward for most of the issue, ending with a twist that is surprising but not out of left field. He does an excellent job of hinting at his intent to surprise. This issue revolves around the family of a tribe leader Conan has befriended. The leader of the tribe and his sons are not the deepest of characters, but each has a clear motivation. As for Conan, he’s a little bit older in this series, cynical but at this point in his life it’s a hard-earned cynicism. We’re still early in the story, but given the twist at the end of this issue, the ending is still open-ended.

My only real critique of this issue revolves around character design. I don’t know if it was a collaborative process or strictly Davila or Bunn’s doing, but the tribe’s leader, Mykylo, and his two sons, Taraslan and Kyrylo, do not make any kind of design sense. First, Mykylo the father, is a white guy with a light brown Mohawk and mustache, leading a group of people who look nothing like him. Both his sons as well as every other tribe member in the community have very different facial features and black hair (everyone pretty much has the same body builder tan). It really doesn’t make any sense and I hope there is some kind of explanation later in the book. At least that way he would make some kind of sense in the narrative. The bigger problem with him is that once again the creators have put a white guy in charge. There is really no reason to do that. It makes the story harder to tell because now you have an audience wondering why there is a white guy running the show. If the creators had stated that the tribe was a multicultural one, it would be fine, but according to the younger brother Kyrylo, they see themselves as an individual ethnic group.

Speaking of sons, their character design also presents a confusing problem. The oldest son, Taraslan, is set to become the next leader of the tribe, but when compared to his younger brother Kyrylo, he appears years younger. It is as if Davila has intentionally made him look less mature than his younger brother. It’s a small problem, but it does take me out of the story a bit when I have to remind myself that the older brother isn’t the one with the stronger features and mustache. The older one is the baby-faced guy with the little tuff of hair. Can we at least give the Taraslan a decent man-bun?! Or have his hair be at an impressive length? This could be intentional; it is possible the creators are trying to emphasize Taraslan naïve personality by giving him a younger feel. I can understand their effort, but when you have characters this early in the series, and they are pretty much solely defined by their position to the leader, this type of design does more harm than good.

These are small problems. And in some case, my critiques can still be fixed through storytelling. Overall this issue is a dramatic improvement from the last issue. I feel as though the team is working their way up. The pacing is there, and the art feels strong enough to deliver. It’s problems still bring it down to the ranking of “good”, but it’s a “good” that has the potential for more.

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Conan the Slayer Writer: Cullen Bunn Artist: Sergio Davila Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Review: The Hellblazer #1

Here we are, another new Rebirth #1 from DC Comics. This time around, we’re looking at The Hellblazer. Now, this is the first version of John Constantine I’ve read since they cancelled the original Hellblazer series over at Vertigo… which still stings to this day. I completely missed the Constantine series DC did (I was still too pissed off at the Hellblazer cancellation to read it), and I read a preview of the last series, and that was as far as it went. So, this is pretty much my first proper taste of a DC flavoured John Constantine…

The issue is a pretty bad to the series… You’re supposed to be selling what’s going to make this a great series from the get-go, but we’re not diving head first into the magic/supernatural elements or much else for that matter. We get some passable writing from Simon Oliver, and it’s looking pretty healthy at the beginning, but then there're things littered throughout it that I found irksome... I’m not getting John’s Scouse accent in my head when I’m reading this. These skulls where a character swears/curses are getting on my tits already (slap parental advisory on the front and let’s get some fucking naughty words up in here, DC) and there’s some bizarre references in this issue that I’m sure only the odd, old British person will get (people outside of the UK, without googling, tell me who Ronnie Corbett or Paul Daniels is in the comments section. Or at least have a guess.) We do get some Swamp Thing in this issue, though. It’s not all doom and gloom… But I wouldn’t have minded a bit of doom and gloom in the storytelling to be fair. It’s a bland start from this creative team.

Moritat’s art in this issue isn’t that bad. I’m talking about the line art when I say that, because, my god… The coloring over the top is absolutely abysmal. It looks half-finished, almost like the flatting has been done and left until it was too late to do anything about it. I don’t even know who to point the finger at for that because Moritat and Andre Szymanowicz are both credited for the coloring. Either way, it’s bad. It’s too damn bright, too. I’d like to see a different colorist brought in to try and make the artwork better. Someone like John Rauch would be great on this book, give him a call.

To wind it up, I will be giving this series until the end of the first arc to try and hook me. I’m a sadist like that. It’s going to take something really special to keep me on-board, which is sad because I really like the character and the world which he inhabited in the Vertigo series. It should never have moved from Vertigo, and until they move it back, you aren’t going to get another decent Hellblazer series. If you’re buying this book, prepare to be spoon fed a PG-rated, not really John Constantine, John Constantine.

Look at the facts, mate… Hellblazer ran for 300 issues under Vertigo. John’s on his third series under DC. He’s had a TV series fail miserably, which could have been great if they’d gone darker because that’s what Hellblazer is: It’s dark. And it needs to be. You can’t fluff up magic, demons and all things that pertain to occultism. That sort of shit needs to be vile and dark and in your face.

You aren’t going to get that from DC, and if you’re holding back the more mature elements to try and sell more comics to the kiddies, you need your fuckin’ heads checked, lads.

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The Hellblazer #1 Writer: Simon Oliver Artist: Moritat Colorist: Andre Szymanowicz and Moritat Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Deer Editor: Hack Heads To Kickstarter on August 30th

DEER EDITOR by Sami [CHUM] Kivelä and Ryan K [NEGATIVE SPACE] Lindsay is back to Kickstarter for a third and final issue this September to promote #antlernoir in the finest tablet view format believable. After 2 hugely successful campaigns for the debut issue and the follow-up FEARLESS issue, the team comes back with HACK, a story of a rescue and a road trip that suddenly becomes a campaign of vengeance and closure for the editor of the crime beat at The Truth.

With a 48 page story you can buy as a $1 pdf, the team is also assembling a slate of other pledges you can check out in order to elevate your enjoyment and the creative team's profit margin.

The team have set a $2,000 goal in this 'digital-only' campaign which is peppered with a lot of reasons to back it, beyond just the fact you love the character and concept and want to see how certain plot elements tie up.

Let's jump to the rapid-fire rundown!

• 1^st day backers on Launch Day [August 30] who hit up the $3 pledge or above will automatically be gifted a pdf of CHUM #1, the surf noir miniseries through ComixTribe from this creative team.
• The $3 pledge also means you are buying the deluxe pdf of DEER EDITOR: HACK – which includes pin-ups, process materials, the full script, as well as the basic pdf files for the first 2 issues.
• Sami Kivelä will be making available some art in $90 Deer Editor themed pin-ups, as well as some $140 pin-ups of whatever character you want..
• Ryan is preparing a third Volume of his Script pdf for the $7 pledge, in which you can see scripts for his Dark Horse book NEGATIVE SPACE, his IDW book HEADSPACE, and other short miscellanea.
• Thank You Downloads – backers from previous campaigns will know that when you back DEER EDITOR you don't just get the antlers, you usually end the campaign with many other downloads from other comics, magazines, ebooks, pitch material, and more. At 100% on this campaign, all backers will receive an ebook of THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS: EXAMINING MATT MURDOCK AND DAREDEVIL – a book of essays about Marvel's Daredevil by Ryan. He also has some ideas for what to offer in future stretch goals – which he will announce when funded.
• Okay, you can have a tease at some Stretch Goals: a 4 page Deer Editor short by Sami and Ryan will be added to the deluxe pdf, and you won't want to miss this one, trust us, it's got a great guest star. The last campaign offered a chance for backers to write 'six-page antler noir stories' and have them published in the deluxe format, and something very similar will happen for this campaign.
• When we hit 100 Backer increments, one person will be selected to receive signed copies of the very rare print versions of all 3 issues of DEER EDITOR in the mail.

We are really excited to run the campaign for a month, we hope you get excited with us, as it's meant to be a festival atmosphere and we aim to please.

Rin-chan Goes Solo In Her Own Trade

Dark Horse is proud to announce a trade series of Hatsune Miku: Rin-chan Now! This series was inspired by the 2011 music video “Rin-chan Now!” The video’s creators, writer Sezu and illustrator Hiro Tamura, collaborated with Dark Horse to publish the series. The four-volume series will be published in 2017. Volume 1 (of four) follows Vocaloid Kagamine Rin, Hatsune Miku’s sassy blond friend, as she takes center stage. Fans will be treated to Kagamine’s daily life as she performs onstage, practices in the studio, and relaxes at home.

Volume 1 of Hatsune Miku: Rin-chan Now! goes on sale February 15, 2017.

Review: Ozmafia!! E.04

The female albeit masculine sounding Don (top mafioso) of Famiglia Adelheid, Heidi (another Ozmafia in-game character) takes centre stage this episode as the cafeteria lady of Oz Academy. In the original plot line, Heidi runs her own dairy farm with cheese as her best-selling product and acts like a sister to the heroine (whose name is malleable). Heidi, in this episode, is undeniably an identical copy of her in-game persona. She is loud and overbearing, not to mention overflowing with boundless confidence that borderlines arrogance. Despite her umm minor character faults, she's not one to withhold help from someone who is in need of it. This is particularly apparent when we see her give Scarlet back the money he forgot, presumably after paying for his lunch. That small gesture and her words of caution “to be careful” depicts Heidi as a caring sister figure. Until her attention is quickly stolen by So-kyon?

But the curtain does not fall there, because next up to make another appearance is the ever so tsundere, Caeser. After Heidi says her goodbyes, Scarlet finds an empty seat, which just so happens to face Caeser, in the dining hall. Almost immediately Scarlet (also known as Little Red; check out the Ozmafia game to find out what I mean) begins to back away while apologising to Caeser (also known as Ookami or the wolf) but is stopped midway by Caeser who gives him permission to sit with him.

Heidi interrupts Scarlet's lunch with Caeser by telling Caeser off for not eating his vegetables. She argues that he is disrespecting her as the "big sister" of the cafeteria, to which Caeser responds with "Big sister? Don't make me laugh, you hag."

Hahaha, charming Caeser.

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Ozmafia!! E.04 Official Site

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Review: Ozmafia!! E.02

Admittedly, I'm rarely the type to watch spin-offs of anime shows, games, or short anime episodes in general (especially those that last for the duration of 5 minutes) but shockingly enough (I can't believe I'm actually saying this) I can now say that I've had a change of heart. Recently, I've been watching more of these short spin-offs of popular otome titles (last week I watched Hakuouki), and I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised at how funny they are. Naturally, when I first found out about the upcoming short anime adaption of Ozmafia, I was a bit... okay, EXTREMELY startled. I've played the game, which is unique and interesting in itself. But an anime... Let's just say I was skeptical, particularly because of talks about how it would veer off slightly from the original plot line. However, it turned out that my concerns were unwarranted, as the characters in this adaption are exact replicas (except for the changes in occupation) of their game personas. The story centres around the protagonist Scarlet - a member of Famiglia Grimm in the otome title - who joins Oz Academy, where he meets Kyrie, Caramia, Axel (his teacher) and Caeser (who is a security guard).

Although an entire episode lasts for only four minutes, the time does not fly by as expected. I felt as if I had watched a full-length episode. The anime features the same soundtrack like the one in the game, and the artwork is cute yet simple. The artwork is very similar to that of the chibi variety, except that instead of being drawn as overly cute miniature copies, the characters have been drawn with softer features.

In episode 2, Scarlet receives his marks from a quiz and is given the title "useless little transfer student" (ouch) from Kyrie, who shamelessly uses scare tactics to persuade him to join his "club" in order to "remedy" his poor grades. Unfortunately, Caramia's attempts to thwart Kyrie's "suggestions" for how to improve Scarlet's marks, fail, and as a result Scarlet ends up joining Kyrie's Remedial Class.

The humour is pretty unoriginal, but it's funny nonetheless.

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Ozmafia!! E.02 Official Site

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Get Your Copy of Nix Comics Quarterly #9 on Kickstarter

Issue #9 of Nix Comics Quarterly, The garage punk themed comic horror anthology is ready to go to press, and I would like you to help get the book to print in time for Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) in October by pre-ordering a copy through Kickstarter. REWARDS:

• $4  for pick up at Cartoon Crossroads Columbus in October
• $4 plus shipping to have the latest issue mailed to you
• $16 plus shipping for the latest issue and a poster by Mark Rudolph
• $25 plus shipping for the comic and a Pat Redding Scanlon designed T-Shirt 
• $40 for all nine issue if Nix Comics Quarterly

• Original Mark Rudolph art rewards starting at only $100

Cover by Stephen Blickenstaff:  This issue's cover was created by the artist/musician responsible for one of the most iconic album covers of all time! (The Cramps: Bad Music for Bad People)  What a thrill to have him on board for this issue!

Stories:

The Vicar: Whispers From The Alley by Ken Eppstein and Michael NenoThe monster huntin' garage rockin' preacher faces off against a werewolf But that's just the beginning of the story as his right-hand man, Alberto, has a conversation with... A dog in the alley?

Illustration by Michael Neno

Butcher Baby by Ken Eppstein and Gideon Kendall Verna thinks there is something wrong with her roommate Sally's creepy new additions to her Beatles collection.  It's a frightening foursome to be sure!

Illustration by Gideon Kendall

Hellhounds On My Trail by Ken Eppstein and Pat Redding Scanlon 

Ana Satura, Introduced in the Vicar Story in issue #7 and fresh off a starring role in Nix Comics summer Tee-Shirt sale, gets her own story!  It's all guitars, hot rod cars and karate chops as we get a little insight into who Ana is!

Illustration by Pat Redding Scanlon

The Shoplift Horror by Christian Hoffer and Andy Bennett 

The owner of the last record store on earth has to deal with post-apocalyptic Lovecraftian horrors on a daily basis.... So exactly is what is so horrifying about a simple shoplifter??

Illustrated by Andy Bennett

Did It Really Happen? Thor Meets Stan Lee by Ken Eppstein and Mark Rudolph 

What happened when Canadian rocker and bodybuilder Jon Mikl Thor met Marvel's Stan Lee?  Well, it was more than a little cloudburst! 'Nuff Said.

Illustration by Mark Rudolph

Bus Stop Ned has a good day by Ken Eppstein and Matt Wyatt  and Bus Stop Ned has a recipe by Matt Miner and Jude Vigants

Two new stories featuring everybody's (least) favorite commuter!  Dialog taken from actual real bus stop "horror stories"

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye - First Graphic Novel to win the Singapore Literature Prize

Described by NPR Fresh Air as “a startlingly brilliant tour de force”, Sonny Liew’s The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye became the first graphic novel to win the Singapore Literature Prize for English Fiction on July 14, 2016. The Art of Charlie Chan, which also won the Book of the Year accolade at the Singapore Book Awards, is a masterpiece that weaves together a dizzying array of styles and forms to construct a moving portrait of a fictional comics artist while examining the narratives behind the Singapore Story.

It was thrust into the spotlight after Singapore’s National Arts Council withdrew its grant for the book just before it was launched, claiming that it breached funding guidelines through its “retelling of Singapore’s history (which) potentially undermines the authority or legitimacy of the Government.”

Published in the United States by Pantheon Books, it was a New York Times Bestseller, and is due for release in France by Urban Comics and in Italy by BAO Publishing.

SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL Home Media Debut Arrives From VIZ Media

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, thrills anime fans and legions of aspiring interstellar guardians with the home media release of SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL SET 1. SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL SET 1 is available as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack as well as a multi-disc Standard Edition DVD Set and Standard Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack. The SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL SET 1 Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack carries an MSRP of $79.99 U.S. / $99.99 CAN (Standard Edition $69.99 U.S. / $81.99 CAN); the Standard Edition DVD carries an MSRP of $39.99 U.S. / $51.99 CAN.

With these new home media releases, audiences can enjoy the action of the first 14 episodes of the acclaimed reboot of the classic anime series based on Naoko Takeuchi's originalSailor Moon manga series along with a host of notable bonus features.

SailorMoonCrystal-Set01-LimitedEditionComboPack-3D

The SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL SET 1 Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack contains a deluxe, 4-disc collection (two DVDs & two Blu-rays), packaged with an exclusive chipboard box with specialty printing. The LE Combo Pack also contains seven full-color collectible art cards and a premium 88-page full-color art booklet featuring episode summaries,exclusive interviews, character settings and more. Blu-ray bonus content includes series trailers, a digital art gallery and a special “Introduction to SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL” featurette with the English voice actors. Blu-ray episodes are presented in 1080p HD video format from the Japanese home video masters.

The SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL SET 1 Standard DVD Set features four discs with beautifully illustrated variant O-card packaging and specialty foil printing. Episodes will be presented in 480p standard video format.

“The saga of Sailor Moon and her band of legendary interstellar guardians is wonderfully updated for a new generation of fans in SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL and we are proud to deliver the first home media release for the new series,” says Charlene Ingram, Senior Marketing Manager, Animation. “We know many new viewers along with fans of the original series have anticipated this release and they will be delighted with the crisp HD presentation and the many extra features we also included.”

Naoko Takeuchi’s landmark series, Sailor Moon, returns for a new generation! SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL tells the story of Usagi Tsukino, an awkward teenage girl whose life is turned upside-down when she becomes Sailor Moon, guardian of justice and the Legendary Silver Crystal. With Tokyo under constant threat from the dark forces of Queen Metalia, Usagi’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time. And luckily, she won’t have to do it alone! Other Sailor Guardians are awakening to join in the fight and help Usagi answer the biggest question of all: What power does the Legendary Silver Crystal hold?

Fans are also invited to enjoy the original, classic SAILOR MOON anime series available from VIZ Media as Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs as well as a multi-disc Standard Edition DVD Sets.

For more information on SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL or other award-winning anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

Sequart’s Book on the BRITISH INVASION’s Big Three is Now Available

Sequart Organization is proud to announce the publication of The British Invasion: Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, and the Invention of the Modern Comic Book Writer, by Greg Carpenter. Moore. Gaiman. Morrison.

They came from Northampton, West Sussex, and Glasgow, and even though they spoke with different dialects, they gave American comics a new voice – one loud and clear enough to speak to the Postmodern world. Like a triple-helix strand of some advanced form of DNA, their careers have remained irrevocably intertwined. They go together, like Diz, Bird, and Monk… or like Kerouac, Burroughs, and Ginsberg… or like the Beatles, the Stones, and the Who.

Taken individually, their professional histories provide an incomplete picture of comics’ British Invasion, but together they redefined the concept of what it means to be a comic book writer. Collectively, their story is arguably the most important one of the modern comics era.

The British Invasion: Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, and the Invention of the Modern Comic Book Writer runs 492 pages, making it the longest book Sequart has published. It features an interview with the legendary Karen Berger (who spearheaded the British Invasion at DC Comics), and it sports a fun “Meet the Beatles!”-esque cover by Kevin Colden.

The British Invasion is available in print and on Kindle. (Just a reminder: you don’t need a Kindle device to read Kindle-formatted books; you can download a free Kindle reader for most computers, phones, and tablets.) Find out more on the book’s official page.

Dark Horse to Publish "The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts" in 2017

Following the fantastic success of The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse and Nintendo® are excited to announce the next installment in a legendary partnership and the first in a new line of The Legend of Zelda literature. On February 21, 2017, Dark Horse will releaseThe Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts. Fans of The Legend of Zelda are in for a treat with The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts. Readers can peruse over four hundred pages of fully realized artistic masterpieces, exclusive interviews with the design team behind the beloved video game franchise, the official pixel art of the early series, and rare promotional art never before published in this format. The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts offers fans a sneak peek at art from the newest game in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, prior to its official release. This breathtaking volume is essential for any true Zelda fan!

Covers Revealed - Hard Case Crime's Peepland & Triggerman #2

Hard Case Crime is the leading publisher of hardboiled crime novels, publishing the giants in the genre: Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Lawrence Block, Mickey Spillane, Ed McBain, Donald E. Westlake, James M. Cain and Max Allan Collins, whose best-selling Quarry series is destined for TV in the highly anticipated adaptation for Cinemax in September. Starting this fall, Titan will bring Hard Case Crime’s gritty, sexy, violent world to life. The first shots fired out of the Hard Case Crime comics line will be Prohibition epic Triggerman by the legendary director of The Warriors, Walter Hill, and punky neo-noir Peepland from celebrated crime authors Christa Faust and Gary Phillips.

Both Peepland #2 and Triggerman #2 are available to order from the upcoming September PREVIEWS.

ABOUT PEEPLAND #2

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WRITER: Christa Faust & Gary Phillips

ARTIST: Andrea Camerini

FC - 32pp - $3.99 - On Sale: Nov 23

With the evidence in hand, Nick and Roxy begin piece together movements of the Central Park slayer, but the NYC police department have another suspect in mind.  Meanwhile, the real killer steps up the search for the missing videotape.

COVER A – Chris Wahl

COVER B – Will Conrad

COVER C – Alex Shibao

ABOUT TRIGGERMAN #2 

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WRITER: Walter Hill, Matz

ARTIST: Jef

FC - 32pp - $3.99 - On Sale: Nov 9

Fresh out of the slammer and tasked with tracking down a missing half-mil, Roy Nash's latest assignment takes him to the City of Angels where a trip to a back alley speakeasy might spell more trouble than it's worth.

COVER A – Alex Ronald

COVER B – Steve Scott

COVER C – Dennis Calero

Grand Passion Arrives At Dynamite

One of the comic industry's finest - James Robinson (Squadron Supreme, Scarlet Witch, Starman) - delivers the surprising, funny, violent, and sexy tale of romance that fans have been clamoring for: Grand Passion! Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce that Robinson's highly-anticipated series will launch with its first issue on Wednesday, November 16th, and welcomes Tom Feister (the Eisner Award-nominated inker of Ex Machina) as the interior artist, and John Cassaday (Star Wars, Uncanny Avengers) as the cover artist. Doc's a cop. Mabel's a crook. They're two wayward souls, fated to fall in love at first sight... even as Mabel swears to kill Doc if it's the last thing she does. A tale as only James Robinson could deliver, marrying elements of a Harlequin romance and hard-boiled crime.

"Something I've noticed lacking in a lot of comics is unbridled romance," says writer James Robinson. "The crazy kind when it's all life and death and love at first sight, so combining that with the hard-boiled crime milieu was something that really appealed to me. This is my attempt at doing something equal parts crazy love and crazy violent."

"I've been a fan of James Robinson since I picked up the ashcan Zero issue of Starman," says series artist Tom Feister. "The opportunity to tell one of his stories on my first time out as an interior artist has been wonderfully terrifying."

"It's been a life-long dream of mine to work with James Robinson. All of us here at Dynamite are giant fans of his writing. His run on Starman with Tony Harris is one of the best storylines ever told with the character. He reinvented the character and added new dimensions to the tapestry that, in my opinion, no other writer could have, and he's continued that quality of writing to this date," says Dynamite CEO and Publisher, Nick Barrucci. "Grand Passion builds upon the previous works of the likes of Garth Ennis and Andy Diggle to further establish Dynamite as the premier publisher of crime comics. Tom Feister's art perfectly fits the tone, and John Cassaday's covers round out the perfect package!"

James Robinson is a multiple Eisner-winning writer perhaps best known for the 1994 reimagining of DC's Starman, taking the character out of the background to find a new widespread audience and take home an Eisner for Best Serialized Series. An expert at revitalizing classic concepts with a fresh new look and perspective, Robinson has also had celebrated runs on Justice Society of America, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Hawkman, and more. His creator-owned series Leave It to Chance for Image Comics won two more Eisner Awards in 1997, for both Best New Series and Best Title for Younger Readers. Additionally, he was nominated for an Eisner Award for Justice League: Cry for Justice, and also wrote the screenplay for the 2003 theatrical version of Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Tom Feister has an extensive history working at Marvel, DC, and IDW as a penciller, inker, and cover artist. He was nominated with Tony Harris in 2007 for the Best Penciller/Inker Team Eisner Award for their work on Ex Machina. His other notable works include Avengers, Artifacts, G.I. Joe, and Fantastic Four.

Grand Passion #1 features a cover by the one and only John Cassaday, and will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors' September 2016 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in November. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of Grand Passion with their local comic book retailers. Grand Passion will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.

Spawn Kills Everyone Fast-Tracked To Second Printing

Todd McFarlane, President of Image Comics and creator of SPAWN took the industry by storm with the envelope-pushing parody one-shot SPAWN KILLS EVERYONE! written by McFarlane himself with art by J.J. Kirby. In order to keep up with increased customer demand, Image Comics has fast-tracked SPAWN KILLS EVERYONE! to a second printing.  In SPAWN KILLS EVERYONE! Spawn kills, well... everyone. In this laugh-out-loud satire, Spawn heads to Comic Con and nobody escapes his wrath.

SPAWN KILLS EVERYONE!, 2nd printing (Diamond Code JUL168317) will be available in stores on Wednesday, September 14th. The final order cutoff date for retailers is Monday, August 22nd.

SPAWN #265 (Diamond Code APR160779) hits stores on Wednesday, August 31st.

Zeb Larson's Interview with Greg Pak

The Western is one of the iconic genres of American fiction, both in print and on the screen. It is so iconic at this point that there has been a counter-wave of films and stories that change, subvert, or even parody the tropes of the western. Blazing Saddles might be the most famous of those, both for its brilliance and its outrageousness, but it sits alongside Spaghetti Westerns and films set in Mexico during the revolution. With all of this in mind, Zeb Larson talks to Greg Pak about his new series Kingsway West and the ways in which it embraces and subverts westerns. ZEB LARSON: Were you much of a western fan prior to this story? I saw that you’re from Texas, so it was probably kind of hard to get away from that western mythos. What kind of bearing did that have on your writing?

GREG PAK: I had a kind of classic outdoor American childhood in suburban North Dallas, camping and hiking with the Boy Scouts and riding bikes around with friends, exploring the woods, hunting cottonmouths in creeks, all that good stuff. So I always loved Westerns and other kinds of outdoor adventure stories like Kurosawa samurai movies and Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons.

Follow-up: Which westerns were you thinking about when you wrote this story?

GP: Some of my favorite Westerns include those classic Anthony Mann/Jimmy Stewart pictures like Naked Spur, Arthur Penn's Little Big Man, Zinnemann's High Noon, and George Stevens' Shane. Shane and High Noon blew my mind when I was young and kind of cemented in my mind that archetype of the stoic Western hero who does what needs to be done for a community that may or may not have a place for him in the end. Naked Spur was an amazing example of how a small, deeply personal story can work as a Western adventure. And Little Big Man thrilled me with its humor and tragedy and embrace of a much more multicultural vision of the Old West. I didn't model Kingsway West directly on any of these stories, but all of those movies opened my head up in beautiful ways about what a Western could do.

ZL: I have to ask: how much did role-playing games have an impact on how you wrote this story? I was reading it and thinking of Deadlands, but obviously, D&D could be a big thing too.

GP: I never played Deadlands, alas. But yes, I was a big D&D nerd as a kid, and that kind of adventure and world-building has definitely inspired me over the years. I got a kick out of seeing Ta-Nehisi Coates cite D&D as a big inspiration the other day on Twitter. I think that's probably true of a lot of us speculative fiction and fantasy writers.

ZL: In the traditional American cowboy story, Mexicans are usually bandits and any Chinese characters are running a laundry or the like. How much of this story is a conscious attempt to shatter that mold?

GP: Breaking stereotypes is a huge thing for me in general, and it definitely is a big part of what inspired me from the beginning with this project. I was a biracial Korean American kid growing up in Texas who loved Westerns. So when I learned about the actual history of Chinese immigrants in the Old West, I was so thrilled and inspired. I've wanted to tell a story about a Chinese gunslinger in the Old West for over two decades now. Almost hard to believe it's actually finally coming out!

ZL: It’s interesting that the central conflict (at least in the first issue) is between a Mexican faction and a Chinese faction. There are also little culturally specific nuggets: Jackalopes for the Americans, and dragons for the Chinese, for example. Is this an east-meets-west kind of story, or is their interaction more complicated than that?

GP: That's a great question. I honestly just think of it as an American story. The actual Old West was stunningly diverse, as was pretty much every era in American history. This book is just shining a light on folks that many Westerns don't tend to feature. I'm also finding myself thinking about the fact that horses went extinct in America in prehistoric times -- they were only reintroduced in the 15th and 16th Centuries. So horses, one of the most iconic symbols of the American West, are imports. So the dragons and jackalopes and bearfeet and antelopes and everything else in Kingsway West are all parts of a multicultural mythology that feels entirely American to me.

ZL: Americans in the nineteenth century (and today) genuinely believed in Manifest Destiny. I would have to think that having both a strong Mexican Republic and Chinese empire on their borders would shatter so many of those ideas…or make them even harder-edged. Will that be looked at all in this story?

GP: Oh, yeah. On the last page of issue #1, we introduce some elements that indicate the world is much bigger and complex than you might have otherwise known, with other communities involved in key ways. Keep on reading, friends!

ZL: The time period, the 1860s, couldn’t help but jump out at me because of the American Civil War. Yet the Civil War wasn’t fought with Red Gold. Is there going to be any discussion of whether and how far our timelines diverged?

GP: Yep, we'll touch on that in issue #2 and beyond. Everything's shifted a bit, in various interesting ways.

ZL: One of the things that struck me about this book is that for all of the fantasy, it shows California before it was totally anglicized by the U.S. Is there some kind of nostalgia (if you can feel nostalgia for a thing you weren’t alive for) for this lost time and place?

GP: That's a great question. Westerns often are an exercise in nostalgia, aren't they? Maybe on some level, I'm trying to create a mythology for the past the way it was instead of the way it's traditionally been depicted. I mean, this is fantasy, alternate history, so it's not historically accurate. But it reflects the actual diversity of the era and explores the actual conflicts of the era through a different lens.

ZL: I know you’ve just started this new series, but are there any other simmering stories you’ve been wanting to get on the page?

GP: You bet! Right now Kingsway West is a four issue miniseries. But if it does well enough, we'll have a shot at a second volume -- and heck, maybe a third! I've absolutely got more tales to tell in this world, so if you enjoy the book, please ask your local retailer to order issues #2 to #4 for you -- or pre-order through KingswayWest.com!

And I've definitely got some more new projects up my sleeve, including a comic series I've wanted to do for about ten years now. I hope to have more news about all that soon -- stay tuned!

CBMFP 248: So You Could Stop Ripping Off His Shit

We've got a special treat for you today, Justin Wood! That's right those other two dudes couldn't be here this week, but join Dustin and Justin (ustin's in the house!) as they tackle the new Tick show on Amazon! Moving over to some Spider-Man world news including the casting of MJ, though we saw no controversy with it and completely missed the fact that of course, the internet was shitting their pants over it.  Runaways the TV show heading to Hulu of all places and some video game news about the next Metal Gear game... it sounds pleasant. Books reviewed on this episode:

• Warship Jolly Roger
• Revolution: Prelude #0
• Who Needs The Moon?

Previously on the CBMFP...

Super S with Cherry Blossom Girl, Hikikomori & The Heir to the Dojo – E.09

Has it been two weeks already? Of course, it has! We're back with another jam-packed episode of Super-S! The question of the week is a doozy! What is the most overrated anime's that have was recommended to you? We've got our answers, but feel free to let us know yours in the comments below! Here's a breakdown of reviews on this episode:

Robert:

• Kuroko's Basketball
• 91 Days
• Comical Psychosomatic Medicine

Lindsay:

• Sailor Moon Crystal - Season 3
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Dustin:

• Mob Psycho 100
• Hatsukoi Monster

Previously on Super S!