Monday, November 30, 2015

ALL STAR RECOMMENDS FOR DECEMBER 1ST


Breaking News: Christmas comes late this year. Get ready to change your plans as Humanoids has moved the holiday to mid-January with the release of their Tipping Point anthology. An assemblage of work by the most loaded artistic roster of any single anthology possibly ever (no, really), Tipping Point features Eddie Campbell, Frederik Peeters, Naoki Urasawa, Atsushi Kaneko (finally in English! I can shut up about that now!), Paul Pope, Taiyo Matsumoto, John Cassaday, Keiichi Koike, Bob Fingerman, Emmanuel Lepage, Boulet, Katsuya Terada, Bastien Vives and a cover by Enki Bilal. Top that. The only brief to creators was to create a story where there is “a clear-cut split…a mutation, a personal revolt or a large scale revolution…”

Although the antho has already been quite justly criticised for being a total sausage-fest, the top-shelf quality of the work of these international sausage-havers is utterly indisputable. That line up is insane, with six of the artists previously mentioned at some point in this column (with more to come) and four of them having put out some of my absolute favourite books of this year alone. With Humanoids releasing the project simultaneously in English, French and Japanese, Tipping Point feels very much like a real celebration of the medium as a global whole. Whether you choose to call it comics, bandes dessinee or manga, this project will have you covered. The “slightly oversized” format is a bit of head-scratcher for a project that seems tailor made for full blown Humanoids enormousness, so if anyone has the scratch to buy me one of the 100 mammoth limited editions, I’ll be your best pal.



COMIC OF THE WEEK : COPPERHEAD 
By Jay Faerber & Scott Godlewski
Published By Image Comics

As potential Gateway Comics go, there’s probably nothing speedier, sleeker or easily metabolised as writer Jay Faerber and Scott Godlewski’s Copperhead. It’s a comic packed with character development but yet somehow moves so quickly that such fleshed out, 3D beings shouldn’t be able populate it and continue to grow as they do. Narrative captions are verboten, dialogue is short and punchy, scenes are edited of any potential bloat and its sense of fun and adventure is constantly dialled up to maximum. It’s pretty much like what would happen if the late, great Elmore Leonard wrote a space western. I would hand it to a reader new to comics in a heartbeat.

Clara Bronson is the new Sherriff of Copperhead, a seedy mining town on the arid planet of Jasper. Some sort of interplanetary war has put humans in charge of Jasper, leading to much post-colonial resentment from the large marsupial-like natives, one of whom, Budroxifinicus (or “Boo”), is now Sherriff Bronson’s deputy. Immediately thrust into the chaos of Copperhead, Clara faces a family of feuding cyclopean hillbilly aliens, must navigate the overtures of industrialist Benjamin Hickory, enlist the services of an alcoholic doctor, survive all manner of criminals and monstrosities in the desert, put aside her mistrust of artificial humans created as soldiers during the war and be a dependable mother to her young son Zeke. All the while, her angry, imprisoned ex plots both escape and revenge.

Populating his cast with SF versions of all manner of Western genre archetypes, Faerber eliminates cliché through his use of not only humour but surprising plot twists, giving even the characters with the least amount of potential (one would think) a much fuller role than initially expected. Story develops outwards through character interaction and action sequences and Clara, eager to stamp her authority on Copperhead, constantly pushes everything forward – interpersonal relationships and confrontation alike. Tactical but spontaneous, brave, capable and highly trained, she’s the complete opposite of The Marquis of Anaon (discussed last week), whose constant fear and lack of ability to handle the unknown and the deadly will likely see him dead one day.

In many ways, however, Copperhead is the Godlewski show. Faerber, stripping things back as much as possible, shows great selflessness in allowing his artist to create such cinematically clean and open pages, showcasing his dynamic and modern character design, his flashy action sequences, his flowing, always clear layouts. As at home in a bar as he is in a desert-set machine gun fight with alien critters, Godlewski’s versatility is impressive, his multitude of unique characters all able to express a very wide and clear range of emotions.

At the back of Volume One is Faerber’s plot for the second issue. Running just two pages, this sequence/page breakdown is a beautiful reminder to those of us who overwrite (*raises hand*). Clear and concise, containing every story beat it needs for Godlewski to begin work, the energy of this book’s creation begins with nothing more than a two page document. In many ways, it’s the perfect summation for Copperhead’s straight-ahead, no nonsense, unfiltered good-time comics vibe. You’ll burn through your first reading of it, but far from being disposable, Copperhead offers a virtual clinic on creating high octane comics energy without sacrificing the personality and substance of your characters.


WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK : HOW I TOLD MY GRANDMA I’M TRANSGENDER
By Dylan Edwards

Well, this is great. Dylan Edwards tells his Grandmother he’s trans, lists positive and negative role models/examples of transgendered characters onscreen and off and reinforces the power of art – in all its forms – to help solve issues of identity in this biographical and educational webcomic. “Find what speaks to you” is its ultimate message and perhaps create it too, for you never know just who your creation might help.




COUNTDOWN TO MOZ METAL: HEAVY METAL SEPTEMBER 1978 

Looking through my notes on this the September ’78 issue of Heavy Metal, I’m wondering if I had a bad day when I scrawled them all down. For a magazine containing Moebius, Druillet, Corben, Claveloux, Voss and more you think I’d be pretty satisfied with the results. Apparently not. I suspect the sameness of the periodical set in, which is really unfair when you think about it, it’s like complaining that you’ve been served your absolute favourite food for meal after meal after meal. It’s not your favourite food’s fault you maybe want a toasted sandwich instead…

This issue opens with an editorial that practically begs its readers to cease sending in unsolicited submissions (how very 2015 of them) in a typically brilliant way, citing the poor condition of the long-suffering submissions editor whose mind is “reeling under the impact of yet another tale of interspecies sex aboard an orbiting time machine.” Terrific.

There’s a lot of content in this issue, mainly short strips, many of them not so hot. However, Lone Sloane goes full frontal nude in this chapter of “Gail” making me wonder if last issue’s call for decency was just some bored editor trolling. “Airtight Garage” meanders along beautifully and sumptuously. Zha and Claveloux’s “Off-Season” continues, as does “New Tales of the Arabian Nights” by Corben and Strnad but literally nothing happens in this chapter of the latter. Legendary letterer John Workman provides a three panel curiosity, “Smadakcaj Tree,” of note only because it’s clear Workman has kept some serious artistic chops up his sleeve. Orion very nearly suckles poison from a traitorous lover’s breast in the latest chapter of his titular (see what I did there?) adventure that’s so full of lovely, curvaceous, bathing nudes that I felt a little uncomfortable reading it in the lunchroom lest I be deemed a total perv. Heilman awakens, more glam rock than ever, in yet another dimension, beats up some cultish hippies and saves a mysterious Queen from sacrifice in a most swashbuckling manner. Stephen Bissette stops by with his one pager, “Urban Renewal,” which is about flying insects fighting each other…I think. It’s actually kind of tough to make out what’s going on which is a bummer.

Brocal Remohi’s “The Horror of G’zalth” is a pretty amateurish strip by a clearly accomplished artist reminiscent of Jean-Claude Gal and Ernie Chan who’s fond of cutting oddly between scenes and filling his hero’s thought balloons with things like, “A woman…why are they chasing her?” as a mysterious woman on horseback is clearly shown being chased by a veritable army of mysterious foes. Lovely to look at, this thing is narratively and structurally pretty bad. A quick check of Remohi, who I must admit I know nothing about, reveals a venerated Spanish artist who did a lot of work for the Spanish version of Creepy amongst other things, so he clearly has the last laugh here.

“Croatoan” is Tom Sutton, Alfredo Alcala and Stephen Oliff’s adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s controversial 1975 story about a man who descends into the sewers to retrieve the most recent of many late-term abortions he “fathered” then flushed down the toilet. Discovering a hidden world of bulbous-headed mutant babies riding similarly flushed alligators (now fully-grown), our awful protagonist will soon learnt that there are some sins that will not be forgotten nor forgiven. It’s a striking adaptation of Ellison’s controversial, oddball story, told much like Moench and Nino’s work on Theodore Sturgeon’s “More Than Human” adaptation, with big blocks of text functioning as captions around the panels. Moench and Nino make this work far more successfully than Sutton and friends, but “Croatoan” is a worthy experiment and any time more Sutton and Alcala art can be viewed is a good time.

The more I think about this issue, there’s actually quite a lot to like. Perhaps it’s not the meal itself, rather the poor choice of substantial garnishing that made it initially just not to my taste.



COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK : CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR – TRAILER WORLD PREMIERE 

An absolute no-brainer for inclusion this week is the trailer for the third (and final?) Captain America movie, the cinematic version of the Civil War storyline.

Three words: Black Panther, yay. 




See you next week. Love your comics.


Cameron Ashley spends a lot of time writing comics and other things you’ll likely never read. He’s the chief editor and co-publisher of Crime Factory (www.thecrimefactory.com). You can reach him @cjamesashley on Twitter.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

New Comics For Wednesday 2nd of December



Hoping folks enjoyed our VIP Christmas Shopping Day and now it's the mad dash to the finish line of Xmas and the end of the year. Before that however there is the little issue of this week's comics!

A BIG week for All Different Marvel #1's. We have a new DD written by actual lawyer, Charles Soule with DAREDEVIL #1. Planet Hulk scribe Greg Pak returns to a very different jade giant in TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #1 with the help of Frank Cho. Marvel's Western universe continues along from the 1872 series with RED WOLF #1. Who makes the list in HARLEY'S LITTLE BLACK BOOK #1 for this new team up series? Has there ever been a sidekick's role more coveted than that of Batman's Robin? With so many different versions of the title floating around the DCU there needs to be a ROBIN WAR #1 to sort out who deserves it most! Middle Eastern "cop" drama unfolds in the new Vertigo series, SHERIFF OF BABYLON #1. Cullen Bunn, manages more unsettling, supernatural small town scares in the collection of his HARROW COUNTY TP VOL 01 COUNTLESS HAINTS. Double down on the Brian K. Vaughan locks of the week with PAPER GIRLS #3 and the super stunning hardcover, previously only available as a webcomic, PRIVATE EYE DLX ED HCOn the subject of stunning books, the collected works of James Jean in PAREIDOLIA TP is surely going to be too much beauty to bear. It's finally time to get schwifty with RICK & MORTY TP VOL 01. Following one great sci-fi series with another, albeit more 70's space fantasy in the indie hit, SPACE RIDERS TP VOL 01 VENGEFUL UNIVERSE. Find out for yourself want all the hype and excitement is about with the first collection of SPIDER-GWEN TP VOL 00 MOST WANTED. Spend some time with the Turtles favourite couple in TMNT CASEY AND APRIL TP. The next thrilling chapter in the day to day life of Marvel's nicest hero is also in with UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL TP VOL 02 SQUIRREL YOU

It's a pretty incredible line up this week and if there is anything else we need to add for you, just let us know!


MARVEL
ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS #2
ALL NEW INHUMANS #1
ALL NEW X-MEN #1
DAREDEVIL #1
DOCTOR STRANGE #3
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #3
GUARDIANS OF INFINITY #1
HOWARD THE DUCK #2
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #4
MIRACLEMAN BY GAIMAN AND BUCKINGHAM #5 (MR)
NOVA #2
RED WOLF #1
SPIDEY #1
STAR WARS #13 VDWN
TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #1
VISION #2

DC COMICS
ACTION COMICS #47
ALL STAR SECTION 8 #6 (OF 6)
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #9
BATMAN ARKHAM KNIGHT #11
BATMAN BEYOND #7
CYBORG #5 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
GOTHAM ACADEMY #12
GOTHAM BY MIDNIGHT #11
GREEN LANTERN #47
HARLEYS LITTLE BLACK BOOK #1
LOBO #13
MIDNIGHTER #7
PREZ #6 (OF 6)
ROBIN WAR #1 (OF 2)
SECRET SIX #8
SENSATION COMICS FEATURING WONDER WOMAN #17
TEEN TITANS #14 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED

VERTIGO
SHERIFF OF BABYLON #1 (OF 8)
SURVIVORS CLUB #3
UNFOLLOW #2

BOOM
ADVENTURE TIME #46
ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE CARD WARS #5 (OF 6)
JIM HENSONS STORYTELLER DRAGONS #1
JOHN FLOOD #5
ROWANS RUIN #3
TOIL & TROUBLE #4 (OF 6)
WOODS #18

DARK HORSE
ANGEL AND FAITH SEASON 10 #21
BARB WIRE #6
CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS III #2 (OF 6)
DEAD VENGEANCE #3 (OF 4)
JOE GOLEM OCCULT DETECTIVE #2
LARA CROFT FROZEN OMEN #3 (OF 5)
MYSTERY GIRL #1
PLANTS VS ZOMBIES ONGOING #6 GROWN SWEET HOME
THIS DAMNED BAND #5 (OF 6)

DYNAMITE
ALIENS VAMPIRELLA #4 (OF 6)
BOBS BURGERS ONGOING #6
CAGE HERO #2 (OF 4)
JAMES BOND #2
SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT #1 (OF 4)
TRAIN CALLED LOVE #3 (OF 10)

IDW
ATOMIC ROBO & THE RING OF FIRE #4 (OF 5)
D4VE2 #4 (OF 4)
DONALD DUCK #8
INSUFFERABLE #8
MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDS FOREVER #23
OCTOBER FACTION #11
SKYLANDERS SUPERCHARGERS #2
TMNT AMAZING ADVENTURES #4
TMNT COLOR CLASSICS SERIES 3 #12
TRANSFORMERS #48
X-FILES SEASON 11 #5
ZOMBIES VS ROBOTS #10

IMAGE
BLACK JACK KETCHUM #1 (OF 4)
BLACK SCIENCE #18
CITIZEN JACK #2
DARK CORRIDOR #5
EAST OF WEST #22
HUMANS #10
IXTH GENERATION #7
NAILBITER #18
PAPER GIRLS #3
PLUTONA #3
REVIVAL #35
ROCKET GIRL #7
SAVAGE DRAGON #209
THEYRE NOT LIKE US #10
WHERE IS JAKE ELLIS #5 (OF 5)

ONI
AUTEUR SISTER BAMBI #5 (OF 5)

VALIANT
X-O MANOWAR COMMANDER TRILL #0

MISC
BIGFOOT SWORD OF THE EARTHMAN #1 (OF 6)
CARVER PARIS STORY #1
DOCTOR WHO 10TH YEAR TWO #3
DOCTOR WHO 12TH #14
DOCTOR WHO 9TH #5 (OF 5)
FUTURAMA COMICS #77
GRANT MORRISONS 18 DAYS #6
JOHNNY RED #2 (OF 8)
MAGIC WHISTLE VOL 3 #1
PACIFIC RIM TALES FROM THE DRIFT #2
REPLICA #1
WE CAN NEVER GO HOME #5 (OF 5)

TRADES
21ST CENTURY TANK GIRL HC
ABADDON GN
ABSOLUTE BATMAN THE COURT OF OWLS HC
ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 06 MASKED MAYHEM
ALL NEW X-MEN HC VOL 03
ALPHA HC (KNOCKABOUT)
BATMAN 66 HC VOL 04
BATMAN 66 TP VOL 03
BATMAN VS SUPERMAN TP
BIG MAN PLANS TP
BUTTER AND BLOOD GN
CHEW OMNIVORE ED HC VOL 05
DAREDEVIL TP VOL 04 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MATT MURDOCK
DEADPOOL BY POSEHN AND DUGGAN HC VOL 04
DEADPOOL VS THANOS TP
DISNEY ROSA DUCK LIBRARY HC VOL 04 LAST CLAN MCDUC
DMZ DELUXE EDITION HC BOOK 05
DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP OMNIBUS TP
DOCTOR WHO 11TH HC VOL 03 CONVERSION
DONALD DUCK DIABOLICAL DUCK AVENGER TP
EARTH 2 WORLDS END TP VOL 02
GHOSTBUSTERS GET REAL TP
GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS TP VOL 03
GRANT MORRISONS 18 DAYS TP VOL 01 WAR BEGINS
GRAPHIC INK THE DC COMICS ART OF IVAN REIS HC
HARROW COUNTY TP VOL 01 COUNTLESS HAINTS
IZOMBIE OMNIBUS HC (MR)
LOEG NEMO TRILOGY HC SLIPCASE ED
MARVEL 1872 TP
MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDS FOREVER TP VOL 05
NINJAK TP VOL 02 SHADOW WARS
PAREIDOLIA TP
POKEMON XY GN VOL 05
PRIVATE EYE DLX ED HC
RAT QUEENS DLX HC VOL 01
RICK & MORTY TP VOL 01
SPACE RIDERS TP VOL 01 VENGEFUL UNIVERSE
SPIDER-GWEN TP VOL 00 MOST WANTED
SPIDER-VERSE WARZONES TP
STAR-LORD AND KITTY PRYDE TP
STRAIN TP VOL 06 NIGHT ETERNAL
STRAY BULLETS TP VOL 04 DARK DAYS
TMNT CASEY AND APRIL TP
TMNT HC KEVIN EASTMAN COVERS 2011 - 2015
TMNT TP BOX SET VOL 01
UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL TP VOL 02 SQUIRREL YOU
UNCANNY X-MEN PREM HC VOL 06 STORYVILLE
WALKING DEAD OMNIBUS HC VOL 06
WOLVERINE EPIC COLLECTION TP DYING GAME
WOLVERINE OLD MAN LOGAN TP VOL 00 WARZONES
WORLDS FINEST TP VOL 06 SECRET HISTORY
X-MEN YEARS OF FUTURE PAST TP

MERCH
DC COMICS BATGIRL STATUE
DC COMICS COVER GIRLS CATWOMAN STATUE
FLASH TV STATUE
VINYL IDOLZ BATMAN 1966 BATGIRL VINYL FIG
VINYL IDOLZ BATMAN 1966 JOKER VINYL FIG
VINYL IDOLZ BATMAN 1966 ROBIN VINYL FIG

BACK IN STOCK

SANDMAN OVERTURE DELUXE ED HC

Monday, November 23, 2015

ALL STAR RECOMMENDS FOR NOVEMBER 24TH


Another brisk one this week, as various deadlines for other things click together to form some kind of evil Voltron of deadline. Oh! And Jessica Jones! I’ve seen two of them as of this particular deadline. So good, eh??


 COMIC OF THE WEEK : THE MARQUIS OF ANAON: THE BLACK VIRGIN
By Fabien Vehlmann & Matthieu Bonhomme
Published By Cinebook

When last we saw Jean-Baptiste Poulain he was sailing away from The Isle of Brac, having had some supernatural experiences and almost unwittingly catching a murderer. The locals of Brac dubbed Poulain “The Marquis of Anaon” – “Anaon” meaning “Lost Souls,” and in Poulain’s second adventure, “The Black Virgin,” he’s accepted his role as a kind of ghost detective/debunker, travelling from place to place to solve crimes of potentially supernatural origin.

For the past two years, at Christmas, women have been horribly murdered near the Shrine of The Black Virgin in rural Puy Marie.  The shrine is of special significance to local gypsies, so of course suspicions are cast their way and in particular toward a lovely fortune teller. Poulain, struggling to ingratiate himself with the locals, is not wanted by either the travelling gypsies or the townsfolk. The superstitions of both sides swell and when another body is found, Poulain begins to doubt his ability to uncover the murderer.

The wonderful thing about the Anaon books is just how bumbling Poulain actually is as out slightly mystical, know it all crime solver. Even here, having realised some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy by owning the “role” of The Marquis of Anaon, he’s still far from becoming a brave and heroic crusader. He screams when he’s frightened, vomits when he finds a mutilated chicken placed in his bed as warning, can’t keep his pistol from quivering when pointed at a potential threat. Getting by on an aura of near mysticism that’s completely self-created, Poulain is in many ways as much of a fraud as the charlatans he encounters as he digs deeper into the mystery. However, all of these foibles actually make Poulain a far more human character and in many ways even more relatable. His intent is good and just, his open-mindedness in an era of bible-thumping and belief in curses is commendable, his bumbling attempts at bravery made somehow even braver by the fact that he can’t fight and scares easily. He pushes ever onward with minimal help, into grave dangers he’s in no way ready to handle.

Bonhomme’s art is as gorgeous as ever. His bleak woods of winter-dead trees, his snowfalls, his gypsy camps and frosted stonework impeccable and atmospheric.  Fond of framing longshots with spindly branches and Mignola-esque trees in the foreground as characters meet in the mid-ground, his staging is perfect, his layouts direct. Vehlmann’s script is brisk, yet punctuated by entire pages of quiet moments, allowing his artist to shine and his characters a moment to breathe.

Presented in oversize album format, “The Black Virgin” is a beautiful comics package that foreshadows further development and even eventual disaster for our fledgling hero. Cinebook touts itself as “The 9th Art Publisher” and with comics as cinematic, compelling and visually lovely as The Marquis of Anaon series, they’re backing up the boast.



WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK : AGAINST THE FLOW
By Nick Sousanis

I’m halfway through Nick Sousanis’ Unflattening and unless he totally screws up the back end it’s poised to be the most important example of the medium produced this year. Described as “an insurrection against the fixed viewpoint,” Sousanis masterfully utilises all the strengths of our beloved artform to maximum effect in breaking down not only comics, but the very nature of perception (and thus reality) in a blend of art, science and philosophy. It’s a special book, one that will make your synapses crackle as you turn the pages. Sadly, as Harvard University Press publishes it, Unflattening is not available through Diamond Distributors meaning All Star can’t get it for you. This sucks. Thankfully, however, you can get a taste of what Sousanis is all about (his intricate, thoughtful utilisation of comics space, his gift of transmuting scientific and philosophical thought into visual art) in “Against The Flow,” a one-page webcomic found at the Boston Globe.



COUNTDOWN TO MOZ METAL: HEAVY METAL AUGUST 1978

What? This can’t be right! Censorship hits the offices of Heavy Metal! So many letters from concerned moralists have been received that overt (male) nudity and copulation is to be toned down as of this August ’78 issue. No more will the swinging dicks of Corben’s heroes be seen and letterer extraordinaire John Workman has been told to shuffle word balloons around to cover up some of the more risqué sexual activity.

A moment of silence, please.

…..
…..
…..
…..

Okay.

Anewly shackled Corben still belts out a typically lavish chapter of “New Tales of the Arabian Nights” with Sindbad having to deal with a (loincloth-wearing) demon who has made a vow not to harm Sindbad himself, but has set his sights on Sindbad’s wife instead. Slightly clichéd heroics from Strnad’s script here, but hey, at least there’s heroics. After last chapter I was practically rooting for the demon…

Zha and Nicole Claveloux’s “Off-Season” debuts, a surreal strip about two private detectives aboard an experimental train that unexpectedly dissolves around them before they reach their seaside destination. Finally meeting their client, a reedy young woman who does not reveal the nature of her business with our detectives by chapter’s end, Claveloux’s fine black and white cartooning with it’s odd, expressive characters and thoughtfully curved architecture make for some perfectly dreamy atmospherics.

Moebius’ “Airtight Garage” continues on in all its oddness and beauty, as does Gray Morrow’s “Orion,” Moench and Nino’s adaptation of “More Than Human” and Druillet’s “Gail.”Chapter Three of Voss’ “Heilman” brings to mind a lustier, even more unhinged version of Jim Starlin’s Warlock run in it’s distortions of time and space, with Heilman resuming once more the “eternal cycle of life and death” and coming up against a vessel that sucks in the souls of the dead which he has to orgasm his way out of.

Finally, “Planet of Terror” by Caza and Paul Montellierre deserves a special mention for its far-out, sensory overload graphics and love-filled climax.  A man presses a strange button in his elevator and is subsequently blasted into the cosmos. Finding himself a prisoner in an alien zoo, he is made to live in an apartment, wear a suit, eat cereal and watch his “masters” on TV with their “disgusting voices hollowingly babble vile incantations” (sic). Thankfully, respite from this drudgery and banal horror comes in the form of love when our narrator encounters a beautiful woman. This being a French comic, love and sex are the answer to everything and in their union, man and woman are transported to a psychedelic utopia of their very own. Kind of trite and obvious in a Slaughterhouse Five goes The Fifth Element way, but, man, “Planet of Terror” is just so beautiful to look at that it boosted my Hippy levels up 20% just reading it.





COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK: ORBITAL COMICS PRESENTS: SOUTHERN BASTARDS DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY WITH JASON AARON & JASON LATOUR

Oh, this is fun.

London’s Orbital Comics are back with another of their in-store Director’s Commentaries (last linked to in this column when Becky Cloonan stopped by Orbital to discuss Gotham Academy). This time it’s the Jasons, Aaron and Latour, hilariously and yet informatively and educationally pulling Southern Bastards first story arc apart with the breezy chatter of two very good friends.




See you next week. Love your comics.


Cameron Ashley spends a lot of time writing comics and other things you’ll likely never read. He’s the chief editor and co-publisher of Crime Factory (www.thecrimefactory.com). You can reach him @cjamesashley on Twitter.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

New Comics For Wednesday 25th of November


After a serious binge viewing of Netflix Jessica Jones on the weekend, we are ready to get back to some comics reading. Here's a little (actually loooong) lists of things happening in and around the store to look forward to this week.


First up we'll be having a little VIP Christmas Shopping day on Saturday the 28th with festive fun to officially kick off the holiday season...more details to come. Also on that day you could stand to head to Squishface Studio and check out Ben Hutchings latest work from Milk Shadow Books with the Iron Bard Ballisto Launch. Then there is the next All Star Women's Comic Book Club November Meet featuring the first Black Widow trade paperback, being hosted HERE in the store on Sunday the 29th from 5pm. Following that is the The Melbourne LGBT Comic Book Group November Meeting is taking place on Monday the 30th at the Hare and Hyenas from 6:30pm, chatting about Young Avengers Volume 1 among other comic things. Both groups are always keen to see new folks come along, so be sure to look into them if you are interested. And finally the massive news of Tom Taylor and James Brouwer's graphic novels from Gestalt Publishing are coming to life with THE DEEP ANIMATED SERIES starting Monday the 30th, at 7:30AM on 7Two! Be sure not to miss it!


And then....COMICS!

The return of Frank Miller (if only in plots) to DC and one of his great legacies, Dark Knight in DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #1 is no doubt filling people with equal amounts of anticipation and trepidation. With Azzerallo and Kubert involved as well, it should still rate high on your interest meter.  the Only a few new issue #1's this week for Marvel BUT they are some winners, with titles like MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #1 and VENOM SPACE KNIGHT #1, how can we go wrong?! JACKED #1 from Vertigo gives us superpowers through pill popping and the nasty lows people hit looking for their next superpowered hit. RINGSIDE #1 throws us into the darker side and shady dealings of professional wrestling, perfect for those looking for a hero redemption story. As popular as the FLASH is right now it is surprisingly hard to find collections of anything pre-Flashpoint, thankfully now fixed with the release of  FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS TP BOOK 01. Enjoy Bryan Lee O'Malleys latest books Seconds? Compliment that book with the behind the scenes serving of SECONDS HELPING DRAWING ASST MEMOIR ONE SHOT. Plus the latest wave from the excellent BATMAN ANIMATED FIGURE line is due! Compliment a weekend of Jessica Jones with catching the original comics and the new printing of JESSICA JONES TP ALIAS VOL 03. And to round the week out December's Previews for new comics and goodies coming out in Feb next year will also be available for you to look through.

Anything you need help securing just let us know!


MARVEL
ALL NEW WOLVERINE #2
ANGELA QUEEN OF HEL #2
AVENGERS VS INFINITY #1
CARNAGE #2
CHEWBACCA #4 (OF 5)
DARTH VADER #13 VDWN
GROOT #6
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #2
GUIDE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNI INCREDIBLE HULK IRON MAN #2
HAIL HYDRA #4 SWA
HOWLING COMMANDOS OF SHIELD #2
MARVEL UNIVERSE ULT SPIDER-MAN SPIDER-VERSE #1 (OF 4)
MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #1
SHIELD #12
SILK #1
SILVER SURFER #15 SWA
UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #2
VENOM SPACE KNIGHT #1

DC COMICS
AQUAMAN #46 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #8
BATMAN ARKHAM KNIGHT ROBIN SPECIAL #1
BATMAN ENDGAME DIRECTORS CUT #1
DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #1 (OF 8)
DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS #5
DEATHSTROKE #12 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
FLASH #46 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
GRAYSON #14 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
HE MAN THE ETERNITY WAR #12
JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001 #6
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
OMEGA MEN #6
ROBIN SON OF BATMAN #6 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
SINESTRO #17 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
SUPERMAN #46 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
SUPERMAN LOIS AND CLARK #2
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN #23 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
WE ARE ROBIN #6
WONDER WOMAN #46 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED

VERTIGO
AMERICAN VAMPIRE SECOND CYCLE #11
ART OPS #2
JACKED #1 (OF 6)

BOOM
MUNCHKIN #11
POWER UP #5 (OF 6)
WILDS END ENEMY WITHIN #3 (OF 4)

DARK HORSE
ADAM.3 #4 (OF 5)
COLDER TOSS THE BONES #3 (OF 5)
CONAN THE AVENGER #20
ELFQUEST FINAL QUEST #12
EMPOWERED SPECIAL #7 PEW PEW PEW B&W
FIGHT CLUB 2 #7
GROO FRIENDS AND FOES #11
HALO ESCALATION #24
HELLBOY BPRD 1953 WITCH TREE RAWHEAD BLOODY BONES
ITTY BITTY HELLBOY SEARCH FOR THE WERE-JAGUAR #1
TOMORROWS #5 (OF 6)

DYNAMITE
PS BLACKCROSS #6 (OF 6)

IDW
DANGER GIRL RENEGADE #3 (OF 4)
FISTFUL OF BLOOD #2 (OF 4)
GHOSTBUSTERS ANNUAL 2015
STAR TREK ONGOING #51
TMNT ONGOING #52
TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE #47
TRANSFORMERS SINS OF WRECKERS #1 (OF 5)
UNCLE SCROOGE #8
WALT DISNEY COMICS & STORIES #725

IMAGE
BLACK MAGICK #2
CHEW #52
FADE OUT #11
FUSE #16
INVISIBLE REPUBLIC #7
JUPITERS CIRCLE VOL 2 #1
KAPTARA #5
OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #13
POSTAL #8
RINGSIDE #1
RUMBLE #9
SAGA #31
SPAWN #258
SWITCH #2

ONI
BLOOD FEUD #2 (OF 5)
STRINGERS #4 (OF 5)

VALIANT
BLOODSHOT REBORN #8
IVAR TIMEWALKER #11
X-O MANOWAR #42

MISC
ARCHIE #4
BART SIMPSON COMICS #99
CAPTAIN CANUCK 2015 ONGOING #5
JUGHEAD #2
PROVIDENCE #6 (OF 12)
SECONDS HELPING DRAWING ASST MEMOIR ONE SHOT

MAGAZINES
MARVEL PREVIEWS DECEMBER 2015 EXTRAS
PREVIEWS #327 DECEMBER 2015

TRADES
ART OF TOMB RAIDER OFF ART BOOK HC
ASSASSINS CREED GN VOL 06 LEILA
BATMAN 66 MEETS THE GREEN HORNET TP
CAPTAIN CANUCK UNHOLY WAR TP
CROGAN ADVENTURES COLOR GN VOL 02 LAST OF THE LEGION
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES TP VOL 01
DEADPOOL CLASSIC TP VOL 14 SUICIDE KINGS
EARTH 2 HC VOL 06 COLLISION
EARTH 2 TP VOL 05 THE KRYPTONIAN
ETERNAUT HC
FLASH BY GEOFF JOHNS TP BOOK 01
FRANKENSTEIN UNDERGROUND TP
GLANCE BACKWARD HC
HOPELESS SAVAGES BREAK GN
J SCOTT CAMPBELL TIME CAPSULE HC
JAMES BOND OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 NEW PTG
JESSICA JONES TP ALIAS VOL 03
JUNJI ITOS CAT DIARY YON & MU GN VOL 01
KABUKI LIBRARY HC VOL 02
KITCHEN TP
LEGENDERRY RED SONJA TP
MARVEL 1872 TP
MILES MORALES ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ULT COLL TP BOOK 03
MY LITTLE PONY ART IS MAGIC TP
SIXTH GUN DUST TO DEATH TP
SONS OF THE DEVIL TP VOL 01
SPAWN RESURRECTION TP VOL 01
SPREAD TP VOL 02 CHILDRENS CRUSADE
THE VALIANT DLX HC
TOMB RAIDER TP VOL 03 QUEEN OF SERPENTS
UNITY TP VOL 06 THE WAR MONGER
USAGI YOJIMBO SAGA TP VOL 05

MERCH
ARROW TV ARSENAL AF
BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES BANE AF
BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES MAD HATTER AF
BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES NIGHTWING AF
BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES SCARECROW AF
DC COMICS SUPER PETS STREAKY PLUSH FIGURE
THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES BATGIRL BENDABLE FIGURE
THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES HARLEY QUINN BENDABLE FIGURE
THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES ROBIN BENDABLE FIGURE

BACK IN STOCK
BACK TO THE FUTURE #2 (OF 4)
BLACK MAGICK #1
GRUMPY CAT #1 (OF 3)
GRUMPY CAT #2 (OF 3)
PAPER GIRLS #1
SANDMAN OVERTURE DELUXE ED HC
TWILIGHT CHILDREN #2 (OF 4)

Monday, November 16, 2015

ALL STAR RECOMMENDS FOR NOVEMBER 17TH


My what fine comics readers you all are, ordering Philippe Druillet’s Lone Sloane: Delirius in such quantities that it hit the top end of All Star’s weekly “Most Ordered” chart last week. With that news goes all guilt I feel over relentlessly gushing over Druillet every week here in my Heavy Metal recaps. Just as well – he has two stories in this week’s issue…

If you have no idea what I’m on about here once again, is the full Delirius comic, in video form, for you to sample.


COMIC OF THE WEEK : DARK AGES
By Dan Abnett & I.N.J. Culbard
Published By Dark Horse Comics

It’s 1333 a mercenary named Hawkherst leads a small team of roughneck, coin-hungry mercenaries across Europe. “There is talk of a war coming,” Hawkherst muses, I ‘ope it lasts for a hundred years.”
Hawkherst prays to God only for war, but his atheistic second, “Lucifer” Galvin, prays not at all. Lucifer finds himself in charge after a creature of seemingly demonic origin attacks the company and Hawkherst is gravely wounded in the battle. The only place of refuge for the company, as more and more demons appear and the corpses of the dead comrades begin to reanimate themselves and join this macabre army, turns out to be a monastery full of monks who have taken a vow of silence but also happen to have a great secret buried inside their walls.

As demons and zombies swarm the monastery, Lucifer is forced to not only plan for war, but also re-examine the nature of his beliefs in the face of what first appear to be “servants of the counter Christ.” The creatures, of course, are not demons, but alien visitors bent on conquest (this is no spoiler, don’t worry). Fortunately, it will take man of Lucifer’s atheistic leanings and lack of theological superstition to comprehend the true nature of what it is he and his men face as the complexities of both the known and unknown universes are revealed to him.

Packed full of surprises, Dark Ages is a superb blending of historical fantasy, horror and weird SF. The prolific Culbard, a real favourite of mine, provides both the creepy atmospherics and startling creature design of his stellar Lovecraft adaptations and proves to be just as at home in the early 14th century as he does literally everywhere else. His huge, climactic battle has the feel of epic cinema about it as his heroes swing sharpened steel at sprawling enemies without and clandestine enemies within. His aliens arrive in perfectly ominous cosmic portends of upended, midnight-black obelisks and distant geometric starburst formations. Special mention must be made of both the heathen Lucifer, whose eyes gaze with icy intelligence and whose furrowed brow initially forms an ironic cross on the centre of his forehead and Captain Hawkherst who is, right down to his posture, the consummate vision of epic fantasy heroics.

Abnett keeps the tension high, the pace breakneck, the battles bloody, his characters bristling and brave and distinctively voiced. There’s a real chemistry with this creative team – also responsible for The New Deadwardians and Wild’s End – who are clearly fond of pushing themselves into ever differing narrative turf with each subsequent project. With Dark Ages, Abnett and Culbard deliver a superbly crafted comic that you’ll likely blaze through, as I did, in a single sitting.


WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK : JOANN SFAR’S INSTAGRAM STATEMENT ABOUT VIOLENCE IN PARIS

I found this at Tom Spurgeon’s Comics Reporter. I don’t really have much to add other than I think that the glib hashtagging of anything this truly, shockingly awful, however well intentioned, is slightly distasteful.





COUNTDOWN TO MOZ METAL: HEAVY METAL JULY 1978

We hit the middle of 1978 as Corben and Strnad’s “New Tales of the Arabian Nights” continues with an ageing Sindbad recounting that time he got drunk and horny, stalked a prostitute through back alleys and ended up being accused of murder by a demonic Jinn. Hard to know exactly who to root for here, but that’s okay, because the story continues onwards next issue and, man, does it look great.

Enki Bilal (The Niktopol Trilogy – another of 2016’s reprints to watch for. I’ll cover that closer to re-release) is up next with “The Death of Orloan.” Arriving on some “unknown planet” like a drunken space pirate is the blood-drinking Orloan who’s come looking for his stash of “mauve gold.” Unfortunately, so have many other versions of his very own self who arrive, somehow, to thwart him from various dimensions, parallel universes or perhaps from the depths of his own mind. With each version of Orloan believing the gold is his to claim, our original Orloan fights and claws his way through them in a gorgeous fit of Moebius-like detail, grandly murdering many with his space Tommy gun.

Alain Voss’ “Heilman” is back for its second chapter, as our hero, now dead for seven days after repelling that demon with naught but his mighty riffing, awakens in an Escher-esque afterlife, beats up an “oppressively authoritative” creature (a strange complaint for a Nazi glam rocker to make), and challenges his long-dead childhood guitar hero to a guitar-duel of such intensity that bystanders are maimed by the pure, sonic, riffage of it all. Crucified on a giant guitar, Heilman is then visited by Elvis Presley who celebrates the destruction of Heilman’s “material guise” as naked groupies cavort. To be continued.

Heilman: where have you been all my life?

As hinted at in this week’s intro, Druillet’s “Gail,” a Lone Sloane adventure, returns with its second part a year after it debuted. As usual, Druillet’s scratchy cosmic evil and ridiculously intricate double-page spreads prove to be a show stealer even if very littler happens – antagonists of demonic intent are introduced and the transport ship carrying Sloane and hundreds of other prisoners arrives at space prison Holy Mary Mother of the Angels. That’s it for the plot, but these pages are designed to overload with their sense of scale, not the fastidiousness of their story.

Both “Barbarella” and “1996” sadly wrap their Heavy Metal runs, with the latter remaining a most deserved contender for Strange Series Most In Need of Reprinting. But no time for lamentation -- Druillet’s not done this issue and he’s brought some back up for “The Story of the Acrylic Magus and His Vibratory Perturbations.”

Scripted by Druillet and astonishingly drawn by Serge Bihannic, “Acrylic Magus” is a typically freaked-out Druillet number, featuring a nameless protagonist, frequently mumbling to himself, making his way across a barren landscape only to stumble upon the lair of the Acrylic Magus, a magician conjuring forth cosmic horrors from the beyond simply by painting them. This magus, clearly driven mad by gazing into the maw of the beyond for so long, illustrates canvases of swirling faraway galaxies with a paintbrush in each hand. Ending on a cliffhanger with the promise of more, let’s hope that unlike “Gail” it’s not a year before we see the continuation of this one. Bihhannic’s Lovecraftian horrors are almost impossibly detailed in pen and ink, birthed from the Magus’ void in a mass of multiple heads, fleshy tendrils and thorny spikes, creatures that seem to have no beginning and no end, existing as simply a mass presence.

Another solid issue, rounded out by more “Orion” and “More Than Human,” the second half of 1978 promises to be as wild as the first.


COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK : WORLD PREMIERE TRAILER: PREACHER

Yes, you’ve probably all seen this by now, but it had to be included for the simple fact that since this trailer for AMC’s upcoming adaptation debuted, Mrs Ashley has wanted to do nothing but read Preacher. She’s got it in her hands constantly, refusing to look away from the pages and giving me a cursory “uh huh” or “sure” as I try and talk to her, followed up with a laugh or a curse as she interacts with Jesse Custer and Co. instead of me. I suspect my relationship might not be the only one being ruined by the insidious follow-on effect of the trailer as Bleeding Cool reported that Preacher smashed its way back into the Graphic Novel Top 10 and Amazon stocks were at a ridiculous low level.

Watch with your partner at your own peril:




See you next week. Love your comics.


Cameron Ashley spends a lot of time writing comics and other things you’ll likely never read. He’s the chief editor and co-publisher of Crime Factory (www.thecrimefactory.com). You can reach him @cjamesashley on Twitter.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

New Comics For Wednesday 18th of November



Rolling on through November, the ALL STAR XMAS WISH LIST GIFT REGISTRY is in full swing. If you are interested to find out more about that and your chance to win a Christmas present from us as part of THE ALL STAR 25 DAYS OF X-MAS, just ask at the counters. Also take a moment to look up old mate, Radioactive Lounge Podcast's Lucas Testro and his latest creative endeavour with his new Indiegogo funded short film, CAPES about a Superhero doing his best to find a new sidekick. Now how about some comics?!

Marvel magic in the next slot of All New All Different issue #1's with BLACK KNIGHT #1 making a come back and continuing awesome adventures of the new god of Thunder in Aaron's MIGHTY THOR #1STAR WARS VADER DOWN #1 starts the first crossover story in the new Star Wars comics and it sounds incredible with Vader crash landing on a Rebel planet and having to fight his way feel...this could be Knightfall for Vader! Everyone needs a break from their surroundings and that goes for the Caped Crusader as well as we find out in BATMAN EUROPA #1, with Azzarello and Jim Lee finishing layout from Giuseppe Camuncoli it's bound to be a great trip! Scottish mythological legends are released into the modern world in Vertigo's new series, RED THORN #1. Millar's heartwarming small town hero tale, HUCK #1 with American Vampire's Albuquerque on art is well worth the look in. After a long break Kelly Sue and Emma Rios return to their mythic Western tale with PRETTY DEADLY #6. The prelude to the ongoing series of the all female Avengers team from the minds behind Ms Marvel is collected in A-FORCE TP WARZONES VOL 00. Nicely timed because in the same week we are seeing the next chapter of Kamala's adventures with MS MARVEL TP VOL 04 LAST DAYS and the start of the new ongoing with MS MARVEL #1. A stand out addition to the Marvel Zombies catalogue with a wonderfully dark story featuring the greatly underused Elsa Bloodstone and stunning art from Kev Walker in Secret Wars, MARVEL ZOMBIES TP BATTLEWORLD. Prep your peepers for Force Awakens with the collection of Rucka's STAR WARS TP JOURNEY TO SW FORCE AWAKENS SHATTER EMPIRE. 20-something University angst has never been more fun to read or look at in BOOM's collection of GIANT DAYS TP VOL 01. Bleak yet stunning underwater survival continues in Remender's LOW TP VOL 02 BEFORE THE DAWN BURNS US. Hellboy fans rejoice, with an extra Mignola story featured in DARK HORSE PRESENTS 2014 #16. And the first of DC's new Deluxe Action Figures arrive!

Find anything else you need us to stash for you just let us know and we'll catch you for the latest issues soon!


MARVEL
ASTONISHING ANT-MAN #2
BLACK KNIGHT #1
CAPTAIN AMERICA SAM WILSON #3
DARK TOWER DRAWING OF THREE LADY OF SHADOWS #3 (OF 5)
DEADPOOL #2
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #2
KANAN #8
MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS ASSEMBLE SEASON TWO #13
MIGHTY THOR #1
MS MARVEL #1
NEW AVENGERS #3
SECRET WARS TOO #1
SPIDER-WOMAN #1
STAR WARS #12
STAR WARS VADER DOWN #1 VDWN
STAR-LORD #1
UNCANNY AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
UNCANNY INHUMANS #2

DC COMICS
ACTION COMICS #46 LOONEY TUNES  VAR ED
BATMAN 66 #29
BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL #7
BATMAN ARKHAM KNIGHT GENESIS #4 (OF 6)
BATMAN EUROPA #1 (OF 4)
BIZARRO #6 (OF 6)
DOCTOR FATE #6
DOOMED #6
EARTH 2 SOCIETY #6
GREEN LANTERN THE LOST ARMY #6
HARLEY QUINN #22 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
MARTIAN MANHUNTER #6
NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #14 LOONEY TUNES VAR ED
SECRET SIX #8
TELOS #2
TITANS HUNT #2 (OF 12)

VERTIGO
ASTRO CITY #29
CLEAN ROOM #2
RED THORN #1

BOOM
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA #18
COGNETIC #2
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK #12
GIANT DAYS #8 (OF 12)
HACKTIVIST VOL 2 #5 (OF 6)
LUMBERJANES #20
REGULAR SHOW #29
SIX GUN GORILLA PEN INK #1
UFOLOGY #6 (OF 6)
WELCOME BACK #3

DARK HORSE
BPRD HELL ON EARTH #137
BTVS SEASON 10 #21
DARK HORSE PRESENTS 2014 #16
EVE VALKYRIE #2 (OF 4)
MULAN REVELATIONS #4 (OF 4)
PAYBACKS #3
PLANTS VS ZOMBIES GARDEN WARFARE #1 (OF 3)
POWER CUBED #3 (OF 4)
ROOK #2
STEAM MAN #2 (OF 5)
USAGI YOJIMBO #150

DYNAMITE
VAMPIRELLA #1969
VOLTRON FROM THE ASHES #3 (OF 6)

IDW
BOY-1 #4 (OF 4)
DIRK GENTLYS HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY #5 (OF 5)
GODZILLA IN HELL #5 (OF 5)
JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS #9
MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #36
ONYX #3 (OF 4)
ORPHAN BLACK HELSINKI #1 (OF 5)
STAR TREK GREEN LANTERN #5 (OF 6)
TRANSFORMERS #47

IMAGE
BEAUTY #4
HUCK #1
I HATE FAIRYLAND #2
INVINCIBLE #125
PHONOGRAM THE IMMATERIAL GIRL #4 (OF 6)
PRETTY DEADLY #6
RAT QUEENS #13
REYN #10
SAVIOR #8
SHUTTER #17
TOKYO GHOST #3
WAYWARD #11

VALIANT
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #1

MISC
COPS FOR CRIMINALS #1
FUTURAMA COMICS #77
HERO HOURLY #1 (OF 3)
PUBLIC RELATIONS #3 (OF 5)
RACHEL RISING #37
TOMBOY #1

TRADES
A-FORCE TP WARZONES VOL 00
ALL NEW X-MEN TP VOL 06 ULTIMATE ADVENTURE
ANDRE THE GIANT GN CLOSER TO HEAVEN
ART CAMILLA DERRICO HC VOL 02 HELMETGIRLS
ASTRO CITY LOVERS QUARREL HC
BATMAN & ROBIN HC VOL 07 ROBIN RISES
BATMAN & ROBIN TP VOL 06 THE HUNT FOR ROBIN
CAPTAIN MARVEL AND CAROL CORPS TP
CATWOMAN A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS HC
CHRONICLES OF CONAN TP VOL 30 DEATH OF CONAN
GIANT DAYS TP VOL 01
GUARDIANS OF GALAXY TP VOL 04 ORIGINAL SIN
GUARDIANS OF KNOWHERE TP
INFINITE LOOP TP
JUNCTION TRUE GN
KORVAC SAGA TP WARZONES
LADY MECHANIKA TP VOL 01 MYSTERY OF MECHANICAL COR
LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 05
LOW TP VOL 02 BEFORE THE DAWN BURNS US
LUMBERJANES TO MAX ED HC VOL 01
MARQUIS OF ANAON GN VOL 02 BLACK VIRGIN
MARVEL ZOMBIES TP BATTLEWORLD
MS MARVEL TP VOL 04 LAST DAYS
MY LITTLE PONY ADVENTURES IN FRIENDSHIP HC VOL 04
MY LITTLE PONY ART IS MAGIC TP
OUR EXPANDING UNIVERSE TP
PLANTS VS ZOMBIES HC BULLY FOR YOU
QUIT YOUR JOB AND OTHER STORIES GN
RAGNAROK HC VOL 01 LAST GOD STANDING
SAVAGE DRAGON ARCHIVES TP VOL 05
SECRET WARS 2099 TP
SILVER SURFER EPIC COLLECTION TP FREEDOM
STAR WARS TP JOURNEY TO SW FORCE AWAKENS SHATTER EMPIRE
SUNBEAM ASTRONAUT GN
SUPERMAN EARTH ONE TP VOL 03
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN HC VOL 03 CASUALTIES OF WAR
SUPERMAN WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 02 WAR AND PEACE
SWAMP THING DARKER GENESIS TP
SWORDS OF GLASS DLX HC
TOKYO GHOUL GN VOL 01
TOKYO GHOUL GN VOL 03
WITCHBLADE 20TH ANNIVERSARY HC

MERCH
DC COMICS SUPER PETS DEX STARR PLUSH FIGURE
DC ICONS BATMAN LAST RIGHTS AF
DC ICONS DEADMAN BRIGHTEST DAY AF
DC ICONS GREEN ARROW LONGOBOW HUNTERS AF
DC ICONS MISTER MIRACLE EARTH 2 AF
POP RIDES AGENTS OF SHIELD LOLA W/COULSON VIN FIG

BACK IN STOCK
UNCANNY X-MEN #600

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

ALL STAR RECOMMENDS FOR NOVEMBER 10TH


Hello fine people,

A shortish one this week (by my rambling standards) as I literally had a tooth pulled an hour ago. It looks like some sort of fungus found the X-O Manowar armour. Call me, Valiant Comics.


COMIC OF THE WEEK : THE HUMANS: HUMANS FOR LIFE
By Tom Neely & Keenan Marshall Keller
Published by Image Comics

It’s 1971. Simians rule the planet and we Homo sapiens are ‘skins’- their dumb, drooling gardeners, fuel pumpers, lab rats, blood sport combatants and, in certain cases, sex slaves. Gangs of wild bikers roam, feuding and forming tenuous allegiances with one another as the Vietnam War rages ever on overseas with US troops fighting against the Viet Kong. Yep. As Charlton Heston once famously screamed, “It’s a madhouse! A madhoooouuuusee!”

To compare Keenan Marshall Keller and Tom Neely’s The Humans with Planet of the Apes is pretty lazy reviewing but I’m going to do it anyway…briefly. The two stories share the surface conceit – apes are our masters and we humans/skins are most definitely the lower animal on the evolutionary scale, about as evolved as cavemen, slightly animalistic in appearance and cognitive abilities. This is where the similarities between the two stories stop, however. Planet...functioned largely as an allegory for both cold war concerns of nuclear disaster and race relations but The Humans, with its fighting, partying and rampant same-species and inter-species...errr...relations has no time for such highfalutin concerns unless you really want to draw a long bow and argue that it’s all about how horrible we became post-Altamont. Nope. Although I bet it’s crossed some minds…

Supercharged with the spirit of the grindhouse cinema and underground comix of the time, Marshall and Neely put a great deal of energy into the aesthetic of The Humans – I cannot imagine reading it digitally. Volume One, “Humans For Life,” with its faux yellowed pages, scrawly hand-lettering, denim vests and flares outfits, acid-dropping apes and rebellious rock and roll bands, looks like a decades-lost small press book made by some long dead, deviant, LSD-addled savant who watched Russ Meyer’s Motopsycho on an endless loop and obsessed over the comics of Spain Rodriguez. It has the feel of an artifact and that is possibly the highest compliment I can give it.

The Humans may be a comics engine designed to deliver dirty four colour thrills via Monkey Bikers existing post-Summer of Love, but there’s still a surprising amount actually going on. Ex-Human Johnny returns from the war with horrible flashbacks and a hatred of his country for what it made him do. He quickly hooks back up with his old crew, led by his brother, Bobby, but nagging doubts over the whereabouts of his recently disappeared girlfriend, Peg, continue to bother him as he adjusts back to “regular” life and battles fits of bleak nihilism and PTSD. The Humans are developing a new drug (tested of course on some unfortunate skins ) called “Spazm,” a hallucinogen combined with an amphetamine that causes its user to enter a kind of berserker state. The Humans intend to cut ties with their drug distributor, Abe Simian’s Flex Trucking Company, and peddle their own homemade wares – a move sure to shift the balance of power in their favour. And add to all this the biker feuds, leadership tensions and drug runs and you’ve got some standard biker gang storylines reanimated like the whole sub-genre got shot up with a cocktail of Spazm and chimp DNA.

Plot just seems to creep into The Humans, almost unexpectedly, as their desire to become ever more powerful will surely lead them into conflict with the crime syndicate they’re allied with and the mystery of Johnny’s girlfriend’s disappearance is given some ominous hints.

Neely’s kaleidoscopic double page spreads at once parody and celebrate psychedelic art, his various biker gangs are distinctively costumed and armed with a multitude of rubbery facial expressions and his fight scenes are both kinetic and hilarious. Tonally, Keller’s script is pitch perfect, with dialogue feeling ripped right from your favourite ‘70s exploitation film and perfectly paced world building.

Oh, and we can’t forget the bands with names like Smelly Tongues and their acid rock proto-punk and lyrics like:

Acid dreams of Vietnam
Fascist piggy meet King-Kong 
Chasing speed and cheatin’ death
Chrome banana motor breath!!!

All in all, The Humans is anthropomorphism at its most degenerate. It’s gross, gleefully exploitative and runs even hotter and faster than the bikes our anti-heroes ride. It’s the perfect antidote to the seriousness of much of mainstream comics and the raunchy, punk rock answer to those cynics wondering if Image has just become the place Big Timers go when they get tired of writing capes.

Keller and Neely are working very, very hard on this book – take a peek at Neely’s twitter feed once in a while for proof of that -- and their efforts are paying off. We’ve only scraped the surface of this world and with Johnny, Bobby, Marra, Karns and co. as our guides, I look forward to riding along as things get heavier, weirder and even more distinctly freaked out. As the gang’s motto goes, “Humans for life, Humans till Deth!” If you’re not sold yet, scroll on down to this week’s video for the collected edition’s official trailer.


(PS: if the creators somehow end up reading this, I beg them – please include some bosozoku in a future arc, it would be so perfect).



WEBCOMIC OF THE WEEK : VIVISECTIONARY
By Kate Lacour

Medical curiosities are cut, spliced and modified to make a part-gag strip, part-surrealist artwork in Kate Lacour’s excellent Vivisectionary. With more chapters forthcoming monthly, here’s yet another unique webcomic for your bookmarking pleasure.




COUNTDOWN TO MOZ METAL: JUNE 1978

The mighty team of Corben and Strnad kick off their “New Tales of the Arabian Nights,” in this the June 1978 issue of Heavy Metal, putting their fittingly epic and bawdy spin on the Literary classic. In keeping with the book itself, the team creates a framing device for their stories, directly inspired by the original text – Sharazad is the latest “virgin bride” given to a King who has decided that no women can be trusted. Having decreed that he will find a new virgin bride nightly, execute her in the morning before she can break her vows and then send his advisers out to find yet another for the next night, Sharazad has become the latest young woman caught up in this murderous cycle and, well aware of her fate, she begins to weave epic tales that enthral the King, prolonging her stay of execution until she has no more story to tell. Corben’s colours pop as always and , already filled with grotesque Ifrits, intrigue and Sharazad’s “Stories of A Thousand Nights and a Night,” this opener is a beautiful teaser of what’s to come.

A preview of “Sabre” by Don McGregor and Paul Gulacy (really at the peak of his powers here) follows and it is bonkers. Sabre, a swashbuckling Jimi Hendrix, and Melissa Siren, a woman born from a test tube, team to battle mercenary Blackstar Blood amid ecological apocalypse and crowded narrative captions from the always overly keen mind of McGregor: “Imitation South Sea palm trees sway in the ventilator shaft created midnight winds as the painted stars disappear under the majestic sails and rising prow that devour the horizon!” Pretty Groovy. Sabre would go on to be published a few months later as not only one of the first graphic novels ever, but also one of the first ventures from the newly formed Eclipse Comics. McGregor, for those unaware, wrote one of the seminal runs of Marvel’s Black Panther and Killraven, proving himself to be one of true workhorses of ‘70s Marvel.

A true issue of beginnings, Alex Nino’s bold adaptation of Theordore Sturgeon’s classic ‘50s SF novel, More Than Human also starts in June ‘78. Nino packs Sturgeon’s text around his panels, creating a kind of hybrid of straight comics, novel and spot illustration that’s more effective than that sounds, thanks to Nino’s striking lines, colours and command of layout.

The debuts keep on rolling! Alain Voss’s “Heilman” also begins this issue. The tale of a Nazi glam rock star whose cosmic riffing accidentally summons a demon that eats all in attendance at his concert, Heilman returns home to ponder his next move. Refusing a massage from his personal eunuch, Heilman gets it on with The Wild Girl - his captive cat-woman hybrid creature - and decides that only he can remove the demon from this plane of existence through, you guessed it, the power of his Nazi rock guitar. Collapsing in the climactic effort amidst the biggest concert ever, this particular reader wants more please, as will Heilman pull himself together James Brown-style and finish the show? Thankfully more is indeed promised so we will find out shortly. Heil Voss.



COMICS VIDEO OF THE WEEK : THE HUMANS VOL 1: COMIC BOOK TRAILER

Watch on as Neely’s lurid images of grotesque biker apes, coloured in lysergic bursts by Kristina Collantes, come at you like the acid flashback you never knew you wanted. It’s literally 35 seconds, so what have you got to lose?



See you next week. Love your comics.


Cameron Ashley spends a lot of time writing comics and other things you’ll likely never read. He’s the chief editor and co-publisher of Crime Factory (www.thecrimefactory.com). You can reach him @cjamesashley on Twitter.