Secret Identity--What's New?

Preview--Cow Boy: A Boy And His Horse (Archaia)

5/31/2012

Nate Cosby and Chis Eliopoulos' eagerly anticiapted Cow Boy collected hardcover edition is in stores this week, and we've got a nice preview for those are not familair with this awesome book yet.

For those that don't know, Cow Boy is the the story of a young bounty hunter determined to send his entire outlaw family to jail. He travels the Old West on a horse that ain’t his, and won’t stop ’til every one’a his kin’s in the clink.

The original tale was posted for free as a webcomic, and this collected volume also includes short stories by Roger Langridge (The Muppet Show comic book), Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener (Atomic Robo), and Mike Maihack (Cleopatra in Space) & Colleen Coover (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller).

Check out the awesome preview below (just click a pic to enlarge), and then head over to www.archaia.com to get a copy if your local comic shop is out of them, which they will be if you didn't preorder.

Joe Caramagna... Novelist!

5/30/2012

Awesome news!!!

The busiest man in all of comics, Joe Caramagna has another title to add to his resume; novelist!

Hitting store shelves tomorrow is 'Spider - Man - Behind The Mask'! This 96 page book is aimed at younger readers and will retail for $6.99!

"Not only is Joe a great friend to Brian and I," Matman said, "but he is an amazing talent! So not only are his beloved New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup finals, but he is one step away from a Pulitzer!"

'Spider - Man - Behind The Mask' is also available at fine sites like Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

The Summer Projects Start June 11th!

5/29/2012

The time is almost upon us!

We will begin our Summer Reading and Watching Projects the week of June 11th.

In the first show of the week on 6/11, we'll have our first segment on the Summer Reading Project, The Infinity Gauntlet. Those participating should read the first issue of the series by then.

On the Friday 6/15 show, we'll be discussing the first episode of Brisco County, Jr.

From that point on, we'll do one issue and one episode each week until we're done.

For those that have not gotten their hands on the materials yet, Amazon had The Infinity Gauntlet for $17, and they also have the entire Brisco County series for $23. So, for $40, you are set for the summer!

On a side note, now that we have the ability to do some video segments via Google Hangouts on Air, we may schedule a few roundtable discussions on the Summer Projects as we make our way through them. Stay tuned!

Remembering Those Who Served

5/28/2012

By Matman

Today in the United States we celebrate Memorial Day! On this day we remember who served and died while defending our freedoms. No matter what your political party or how you feel about certain issues or policies, you must always defend and support those who have chosen to defend those ideals.

In the world of comic books, we have had some great men and women that have fought, bled and died fighting wrongs and defending our freedom.Here is my list of the best who served!

1. Sgt. Rock and Easy Co. - When you think war comics, you have to think Sgt. Rock! From Joe Kubert and Russ Heath to Frank Redondo and Billy Tucci, Sgt. Rock is everything a good soldier should be.

2. The Unknown Soldier - He can be anyone and has been everywhere. In the DCU, he killed Hitler in his bunker in Germany and that counts for something.

3. The Invaders - Captain America, Bucky, Human Torch, Toro and Sub Mariner put aside their differences and fought the Axis; super powered or not!

4. Sgt Fury - Not the most realistic war character, but certainly entertaining! For those who don't know, Nick Fury fought in World War Two. Go find some comics and check out the fun!

5. The Haunted Tank - One of the first war comics I ever got into. A tank that is haunted by a Confederate Civil War General so how can you go wrong!

The cover above is for Charlton's Fightin' Marines # 122. The first war comic i ever bought!

So that is my top 5! Obviously i couldn't list everything; The Losers, Gravedigger, Enemy Ace, the Weird War skeleton host, so i ask you... what is your favorite war or history related comic?

The Folks At Retcon Punch Will Get You All Caught Up On All-Star Western

5/27/2012

We often talk about "jump on" issues for books and how it's difficult to get into a series that you may have missed the beginning of. That sense of confusion often comes up with crossover events, as you are ususaly picking up an odd issue of a book that you don't normally read.

With Batman's Night of the Owls event, every bat book is in the mix, as well as a few books that are part of the extended bat family. All-Star Western fits into this grop, as it's been exploring the history of Gotham. Issue #9 is a tie-in to the Night of the Owls event.

If you haven't been following All-Star Western so far, fear not. The folks over at the very vool site Retcon Punch have put together a YouTube video that will catch you up on everything that's happened in All-Star Western so far. It's a great recap, and I am happy to say they've done several more as well, which you can find over at www.retcon-punch.com.

Check out the All-Star Western video below.

Getting 'Cute' With Chris!

5/26/2012

Press Release

Last month, Image Comics announced that Chris Giarrusso (G-MAN) would be creating special "cute" versions of the covers of classic Image titles, the first of which was YOUNGBLOOD, issued as a special limited-run variants cover of YOUNGBLOOD #71. Now, Image is unveiling the next cover in this series, a re-creation of SPAWN #1 by Todd McFarlane.

The colorful and friendly (two adjectives not normally associated with SPAWN) Giarrusso cover is one of seven variants produced for SPAWN #220 that commemorate the series' twentieth anniversary. The variants include two homages to classic Image series, drawn by McFarlane —“Savage Spawn,” referencing the first issue of SAVAGE DRAGON by Erik Larsen (Cover B - APR120410) and "Youngblood Spawn," after the first issue of Rob Liefeld's YOUNGBLOOD (Cover C - APR120411).

McFarlane returns to writing his iconic comics series with SPAWN #220, with art by Szymon Kudranski, in which twenty years of SPAWN twists and turns will begin to coalesce as Jim Downing embraces the full might of his horrific hell-born powers to piece together a mystery that has ties to the very core of the Spawn universe.

SPAWN #220 will be in stores on June 6 and can be pre-ordered from the April issue of PREVIEWS. Giarrusso's limited variant cover can be ordered with the code MAR128274.

Palmiotti And Gray Bring The Arcade To The Comic Page With Rapid Thunder

5/25/2012

by Brian LeTendre

I have fond memories of the game Rolling Thunder from when I was a kid. I spent a lot of time in arcades, and one of the first games I looked for whenever heading into a new arcade was Rolling Thunder. There were plenty of side-scrolling action games out there in the mid-80s, but this one was different. To me, it was the perfect blend of james Bond meets GI Joe. You took on the role of Agent Albatross, member of the World Crime Police Organization, who was tasked with saving fellow agent leila Blitz from a Cobra-like organization called Geldra. As you battled your way through each level, you faced off against "Maskers," hooded henchmen that had different attacks based on their colors and uniforms (they reminded me of the different varieties of Cobra troops). The game was very difficult, and despite the money I poured into the game, I never did rescue Agent Blitz and find out what happened at the end of the game.

As luck would have it, that mystery doesn't need to go unsolved any longer. As part of Namco's new webcomics initiative ShiftyLook, Rolling Thunder's story is continuing, and comic veterans Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are writing it. Retitled Rapid Thunder, the twice-weekly comic follows the exploits of Agents Albatross and Blitz, as they keep the world safe from terrorists. The first story arc sees them going up against a mysterious philanthropist named Mabu (who was the leader of Geldra in the video game), as the WPCO thinks Mabu's good deeds may be a cover for more nefarious activities.

The feel of the comic is very much in the vein of James Bond meets Archer, and anyone familiar with Palmiotti and Gray will feel right at home. Juan Santacruz's art is a great fit for the action-packed story, which builds on the premise of the game without being beholden to it.

Rapid Thunder is off to a great start so far. You can catch up and then keep up with new pages over at shiftylook.com/comics/rapidthunder.

You can see a video from the old arcade game below.

DC Introduces Gay Character In June

5/24/2012

By Matman

The big news floating around the comic book world is that in June, one of DC’s iconic characters will reveal they are gay! DC is being ‘hush hush’ about who it will be, but this has not stopped fans in guessing who or guessing why. My guess why is to sell more books!

When DC reintroduced ‘Batwoman’ a few years back, the entire ad campaign revolved on Kate Kane’s sexuality and nothing else. When I read the story I was not impressed at all because there was no substance at all. Since the relaunch she has become a compelling and entertaining character since that is not the only thing about her.

So with that all said, who do I think will be coming out of the DC closet? Here are my choices…

Superman – his book needs something to make people read it. Or just bring back John Byrne!

Plastic Man – no comment because it seems too easy.

Alan Scott – the Earth 2 Green Lantern is back and well…. it could be him for no reason at all.

Jimmy Olsen – not just because he wears a bowtie! I have a good friend who wears one

Darkseid – if you wanna make a big splash, go big… and mean… and bad!

In the 1970’s the big thing was black characters like the Falcon, Black Lightning, Power Man and Black Panther. In the early days of those characters the focus was on the ‘black’ and not much else, and the stories suffered. Falcon is so much cooler now that his ‘jive turkey’ days as Captain America’s sidekick because the focus is on the man and nothing else.

I will buy a comic because it has great art, a cool story and really draws me in--nothing else!

Irredeemable--Final Issue Preview

5/23/2012

Today, the final issue of Mark Waid's Irredeemable hits the shelves, and we've got a preview of the first five pages for you right here!

Way back in 2009, Waid and BOOM! launched Irredeemable, which explored the question of what would happen if the world's most powerful superhero went bad.

The series has been a flagship title for BOOM! over the past few years, and has been nominated for several Eisners.

Enjoy the five-page preview, and then go grab the last issue of a truly unique book!

Here's the solicit from BOOM!:

THE FINAL ISSUE OF MARK WAID’S SEMINAL SUPERHERO SERIES! Can the Plutonian, seemingly IRREDEEMABLE, find his salvation? What is the true definition of a hero? And can a world, ravaged by loss and carnage, ever believe in such an idea again? The stunning, breathtaking conclusion to Mark Waid’s Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated superhero saga. DO NOT MISS THIS FINAL ISSUE OF A MASTER WRITER’S TOUR DE FORCE!

Matman Remembers Robin Gibb

5/22/2012

When a singer passes away, my first thought is the fact that we will never hear that voice again. Robin Gibb may not have been the ‘recognizable’ voice of the Bee Gees, but his vibrato was instrumental in the sound that was the Bee Gees.

Sadly Robin Gibb passes away Sunday at the age of 62. Robin has recovered from a coma a few weeks back only to succumb to cancer.

Among his amazing musical career, Robin as well as his brothers (Barry and Robin’s twin Maurice) were members of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame and a Commander of the order of the British Empire.

In the 1960’s, the Bee Gees were a pop band very influenced by the beatles. Robin sang lead on some of their early big hits like ‘I Started A Joke’. In the 1970’s when the Bee Gees were at the forefront of the disco movement, Robin’s role was to vocally hold down the song’s middle as Barry’s falsetto soared over the top and gave them their distinct sound.

I remember watching an interview with Alice Cooper and he said the Bee gees were one of the greatest songwriters and ‘Saturday Night Fever’ is one of the best albums ever.

I hated the Bee Gees when they were popular around the time of ‘Saturday Night Fever’. But in the 80’s I began to appreciate them as true geniuses in songwriting and production. Songs like ‘More Than a Woman’, ‘Too Much Heaven’ and ‘Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)’ rank among some of my all time favorite songs. When I was writing songs, I would nick stuff from the Bee Gees all the time. Their music to me is a perfect blend of harmony, soul and passion.

Thank you Robin for the music you gave me.

<<Previous

Preview--Cow Boy: A Boy And His Horse (Archaia)

Joe Caramagna... Novelist!

The Summer Projects Start June 11th!

Remembering Those Who Served

The Folks At Retcon Punch Will Get You All Caught Up On All-Star Western

Getting 'Cute' With Chris!

Palmiotti And Gray Bring The Arcade To The Comic Page With Rapid Thunder

DC Introduces Gay Character In June

Irredeemable--Final Issue Preview

Matman Remembers Robin Gibb

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