Here there is talk about all things Spidey as well as a look at Steve's incredible collection of commissions and some of the stories behind how he got them.
All the fun can be had at www.thespiderfiles.com.
Our good friend Steve Barker (Spidey on the message boards or Officer Trouble to hose who did bad) has an incredible website up devoted to one of his favorite subjects... Spider-Man! Here there is talk about all things Spidey as well as a look at Steve's incredible collection of commissions and some of the stories behind how he got them. All the fun can be had at www.thespiderfiles.com. by Brian LeTendre While this new Steve Niles-written Army of Darkness series has gotten off to a good start, the fourth issue is a bit of a letdown. In this installment, Ash and Sheila are on the hunt for the Necronomicon and end up visiting the old graveyard where Ash found the book when he first visited this world. Meanwhile, Arthur and Henry the Red find themselves facing an army of the dead as they anxiously await Ash and Sheila’s return. There’s not a lot going on in this issue, and what is going on feels like a retread of what we’ve already seen in the Army of Darkness movie. While I felt the first three issues expanded upon the world of the movie, this one just rehashes what we’ve all seen before. And to me, Dennis Calero’s art still feels like the wrong fit for this book. He depicts some great still moments, but his action shots feel stiff to me. I think this book will succeed or fail on Niles’ writing, and this issue just wasn’t all that entertaining. The last page gives me hope for the next issue though, and I’m hoping it will be a return to form. 2.5 out of 5 Deja Vus Press Release TwoMorrows Publishing releases the 28th issue of BrickJournal, the magazine for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages. For this issue, editor Joe Meno has gone behind the bricks of The LEGO Movie, to talk to the film's designers about the creation of everything from characters and sets, to vehicles and the movie's "extras." Having already grossed $363 million at box offices worldwide, The LEGO Movie is a runaway hit, with a sequel already planned for 2017. Much of that success has been pinned on the film's endearing new characters, including Emmet (the generic minifigure construction worker who proves to be more than just another face in the LEGO crowd), Wyldstyle (the action-adventuress of the film, and girlfriend of LEGO Batman), and heart-warming fan-favorite Unikitty. The development of the characters is examined in-depth in this issue, with LEGO VP of Design Matthew Ashton, and Senior Designer Michael Fuller. "There are 183 characters in the movie, so there was a lot to keep track of," Ashton recounted. "We had a huge chart on the wall of our design studio to keep a record of who had been approved and who was still work in progress." Many of the figures were designed the same way LEGO does when creating actual toys, being hand-sculpted and 3D-scanned, with accessories created in digital 3D programs, so the movie would look like real LEGO minifigures had come to life. "The regular minifigures were the easier characters to develop, as some were based on existing characters," Ashton recalled of characters like LEGO Batman. For many of the original new characters like Emmet and Wyldstyle, the directors had a very clear vision of what they wanted them to look like—but not always. "Unikitty wasn’t even part of the story to begin with. Cloud Cuckoo Land had been imagined long before her, and was originally ruled over by another character. We felt the team was missing someone who could make you beam with joy and make your heart melt." So Ashton and Fuller worked with the film's directors to come up with what they felt were the "cutest, cuddliest, fluffiest things in the universe." Their top two picks were "kittens and unicorns—we decided to combine the two!" In addition to detailing the character creation process, the issue looks at the creation of real-world versions of the digital sets from the film, including how fans competed to have their LEGO creations featured as "extras" in the film, how one builder had to create the film's colossal "Coliseum" scene for the movie's premiere, and how Warner Brothers commissioned a UK firm to recreate the film's Bricksburg town layout for a touring LEGO Movie venue—in a little over three weeks. BrickJournal #28 also presents an overview of other brickfilms by moviemakers The Brotherhood Workshop, a new column on LEGO Mindstorms building, its regular feature on minifigure customization by expert Jared K. Burks, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions, and other articles for anyone with an interest in LEGO. It ships March 26 directly from TwoMorrows Publishing, and will be available at all LEGO retail stores and Barnes & Noble bookstores in early April. It can also be ordered at any comic book store using Diamond Comic Distributors Order Code: JAN141556 You can check out a digital preview of this issue right now by clicking here! Press Release At this year’s ComicsPRO annual meeting, Dark Horse listened directly to retailer feedback on how to spark interest in monthly series, in hopes of bringing in new and lapsed readers. In June, Dark Horse begins the Starting Points program, a new way to dive into great ongoing series! Each month, Dark Horse will highlight an issue in an ongoing or long-running series that is a great place for readers to try something new! Starting Pointstitles will be noted in Previews with a special logo and incentivized for increased orders. June’s Previews will launch this program with two great ongoing series: Mike Mignola’s Abe Sapien and Captain Midnight, a key title in Dark Horse’s ever-evolving Project Black Sky line of books! In Abe Sapien #13, the amphibious Abe is haunted by guilt over the staggering death toll in Arizona and vows to never let such horrors happen again—until a crazed healer and a frog-possessed teen block his path! If you haven’t been keeping up with Hellboy’s one-time partner, there’s never been a better time to get onboard with this ongoing series cowritten by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie, with art from Sebastián Fiumara! Meanwhile, Captain Midnight #12 kicks off a brand-new arc! Reeling from the death of one friend and the betrayal of another, Captain Midnight throws himself into his work. Disillusioned with why he wears a costume, the time-traveling hero ponders what the world needs more of: the brawn of CaptainMidnight or the brains of his civilian identity, genius inventor Jim Albright. Look for one Starting Points title in the catalog each month, with evolving incentives and promotional support to help retailers bring new readers in to great Dark Horse series! by Matman Considering the first comic book I ever bought way back in the early 1970's was 'Magnus Robot Fighter', so how could I say no to Dynamites relaunch? I couldn't! Magnus has had a long history featuring many creators and publishers, but for me everything for this character begins and ends with the brilliant Russ Manning. Dark Horse came pretty close a few years ago so lets see what Dynamite can do! Part of their Gold Key line (also featuring Turok, Solar and Doctor Spektor), Magnus is a completely different take of the original. I thought (and kinda expected) writer Fred Van Lente did a great job in creating an all new world for Magnus and the robots he will fight. His tragic story, drawn by Cory Smith and colored by Mauricio Wallace unfolds as we turn the pages to find a man who has everything and soon will have nothing. I'm not sure where this story is going, but I'm kinda excited about the ride. Much better than the first issue of Turok, where here all the changes seemed to work much better and were less confusing. If you have any reservations about picking this book up, take a chance and get into a real cool comic. Matman Rating - 4 out of 5 skwwweeeeeees It's that time of year again! Fantasy baseball is upon us, and you can join the Secret Identity All-Stars league now before our draft on March 19th. The season starts with two games on March 22nd, so we need to get rolling.
To sign up, head over to http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/ and then join League ID# 130354 (Secret Identity All-Stars). The league is an auto-draft, so make changes to the player rankings before we set it to draft on March 19th. So go sign up and let's get ready for the season! by Brian LeTendre It's new comic book day, and our friends over at BOOM! Studios gave us a preview of their new series by Jason Starr and Andrea Mutti to share with you. THE RETURNING #1 hits stor shelves today, and here's how BOOM! describes it: In the near future, some people who have had Near-Death Experiences have come back “changed.” They exhibit extreme behavioral changes, becoming increasingly paranoid and violent, and no one knows why. People who have had NDE’s fall immediately under suspicion, and in some cases, are murdered by justice-seeking vigilantes. It is in this world where Beth, a quiet high school student with a bright future, will learn just how quickly friends and family will turn on her when she has the bad luck of surviving the worst night of her life… You can check out the preview below to start the preview, and you can grab THE RETURNING #1 today! Press Release It was March 1994 when struggling artist/writer Billy Tucci’s modern-day samurai fable, “Shi – The Way of the Warrior” #1 first hit the comic shelves and changed the face of self-publishing. Illustrated by Tucci, co-written with Peter Gutierrez, and colored by Barry Orkin, “Way of the Warrior” transcended independent publishing with a unique melding of Japanese mythology, history, and action not seen before in comics and inspired a host of imitators. Now after twenty years and 3 million copies of “Shi” in print, Tucci kicks off an anniversary celebration with a new series and rare exclusives. “Until last July’s San Diego Comic Con, we hadn’t created any convention specials since 1994.” Tucci explained, “ the SDCC exclusives were an immediate sell out and we’ve been getting requests for more books and prints exclusive to the particular conventions I’ll be attending, so here we go!” Shi 20th Anniversary Celebration 2014 Tour kicks off at this weekend’s London Super Comic Con with two LSCC exclusive books, the “Shi – Way of the Warrior #1” LSCC 20th Anniversary edition and the “LSCC Shi – Sketch A Story” Sketchbook. Both books are limited to only 25 editions with each signed and numbered by Billy Tucci. LSCC will also see the debut of the “The Shi – Way of the Warrior #1 20th Anniversary Sketch Cover Edition” and all-new exclusive Shi lithographs. Tucci concluded, “I cannot believe it’s been twenty wonderful years since Shi’s debut on the world stage. Revisiting the book that started it all is the driving inspiration to my all-new Shi series “Hatachi” debuting later this year!” by Brian LeTendre
Our pals over at the Horror News Network have announced a brand new horror convention that will debut this August, right in our own backyard! The Connecticut HorrorFest will be happening on August 23rd at the Courtyard Marriott in Waterbury, CT. They've already announced a slew of great horror guests, including Tony Moran (Halloween), Micah Sloat (Paranormal Activity) and John Zaffis (Haunted Collector). More guests are being announced regularly, as we're still five months away from the show. You don't have to wait to get tickets though, you can get yours right now by heading to the show page. Tickets are $17 in advance and $20 on the day of the show. You can also like the CT HorrorFest Facebook page to keep up on the latest updates. |
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