by Brian LeTendre
Mark Waid's digital comics platform Thrillbent continues to be a home for creative and unique series that reflect the diversity of comic readers. This Friday sees the debut of a new series called Everstar, from the creative team of Becky Tinker and Joie Brown. It's a sci-fi series aimed at younger readers. Here's how Thrillbent describes Everstar: When Ainslie Wickett accidentally sends an intergalactic SOS signal into outer space, she's picked up by a rogue spaceship and embarks on the adventure of a lifetime -- complete with pirates, malfunctioning robots, and space battles galore. Everstar premieres Friday and the first installment will be free on both Thrillbent.com and the Thrillbent comics app. The Humble BOOM! Bundle Lets You Pay What You Want For Some Amazing Comics And Help The CBLDF8/7/2014
Press Release
Award-winning comic book and graphic novel publisher BOOM! Studios is proud to announce the launch today of the Humble BOOM! Bundle, a two-week initiative that will allow fans to pay what they want to download DRM-free digital copies of BOOM! titles while supporting the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form. http://bit.ly/HumbleBOOMBundle Customers can name their price and receive the following titles: Curse #1-4 Written by Tim Daniel and Michael Moreci Illustrated by Colin Lorimer and Riley Rossmo To pay for his son’s medical treatment, a man sets out to earn the bounty on a killer who has been terrorizing his small town, only to discover the murderer is a werewolf. Day Men #1-3 Written by Matt Gagnon and Michael Alan Nelson Illustrated by Brian Stelfreeze To protect their vampire employers during the daytime, a select group of humans are trained to serve as their fixers, problem-solvers, and protectors. Dead Letters #1-4 Written by Christopher Sebela Illustrated by Chris Visions A man wakes up with no memory how of he got where he is and will have to use every trick from his forgotten repertoire to outrun and outsmart his way through a hardboiled wonderland of gang wars, femme fatales, and big secrets. Evil Empire #1-3 Written by Max Bemis Illustrated by Ransom Getty and Andrea Mutti Say Anything frontman Max Bemis’ gripping story explores a scenario in which we watch modern society gradually evolve (or is it devolve?) into an evil empire. Hit #1-4 Written by Bryce Carlson Illustrated by Vanesa R. Del Rey In 1955 Los Angeles, while infamous gangster Mickey Cohen rots in a prison cell, clandestine groups of LAPD detectives moonlight as sanctioned hitmen knows as “Hit Squads.” Imagine Agents #1-4 Written by Brian Joines Illustrated by Bachan An agency responsible for keeping kids’ imaginary friends in line is confronted by a plot by an evil faction to become real. RoboCop: Last Stand Part 1 TP (4 issues) Written by Frank Miller and Steven Grant Illustrated by Korkut Öztekin Based on Frank Miller’s unused screenplay for the RoboCop 3 film, RoboCop takes a last stand against OCP to protect the citizens of Detroit. RoboCop (2014) #1-2 Written by Joshua Williamson Illustrated by Carlos Magno Picking up right after the end of the first film, a deadly and charismatic criminal is released from jail and instantly targets RoboCop for destruction. Sons of Anarchy #1-11 Written by Christopher Golden and Ed Brisson Illustrated by Damian Couceiro Based on the hit FX Network TV show. The only people standing between the daughter of an old SAMCRO member and certain death are the Sons of Anarchy. Those who pay more than the average price will also receive: Hacktivist #1-4 Created by Alyssa Milano Written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing Illustrated by Marcus To and Ian Herring The owners of the largest social media company in the world moonlight as do-gooder hackers, but are compromised when the US government moves in. Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #1-6 Written by David Petersen Illustrated by David Petersen This is the third collected volume in the continuing saga of the Eisner Award-winning and critically acclaimed fantasy comic series about an elite group of warriors charged with protecting the mouse territories. Planet of the Apes Vols. 1-4 (16 issues) Written by Daryl Gregory Illustrated by Carlos Magno Find out what happens 1,300 years before the arrival of Colonel George Taylor from the original 1968 Planet of the Apes movie! Ape and Human societies have reached a new golden age, but peace never lasts for long. Six-Gun Gorilla TP (6 issues) Written by Simon Spurrier Illustrated by Jeff Stokely On another world in the 22nd century, a rogue gorilla gunslinger and his companion wander across a wilderness in the grips of a civil war, encountering lawlessness, natives, and perversions of civilization in a world at the crossroads between the past and the future. Translucid #1-3 Written by Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert Illustrated by Daniel Bayliss From the mind of Coheed and Cambria’s Claudio Sanchez and his wife/writing partner Chondra Echert, this is the superhero story you’ve wanted but never thought you’d see, exploring the thin line between heroes and villains, and the space between childhood hope and loss. The Woods #1-3 Written by James Tynion IV Illustrated by Michael Dialynas An entire high school is transported to a strange, primordial wilderness and confronted with trying to survive. Readers who pay $15 or more will receive all of the above, plus: Bee and PuppyCat #1-2 Written by Natasha Allegri and Garrett Jackson Illustrated by Natasha Allegri Based on the popular web series, it’s a quirky new take on the magical girl genre with Bee, the forever unemployed main character who can’t seem to figure out life, and the mysterious PuppyCat, a stray...whatever it is…that she stumbled across who has a powerful secret. Bravest Warriors Vol. 1 (4 issues) Written by Joey Comeau Illustrated by Mike Holmes Based on the hit animated series! Join Chris, Wallow, Beth and Danny—four 16-year-old heroes-for-hire—as they warp from galaxy to galaxy, saving alien races with the power of their...emotions. Lumberjanes #1-4 Written by Grace Ellis and Noelle Stevenson Illustrated by Brooke Allen Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five best pals determined to have an awesome summer together...and they’re not gonna let any insane quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The Midas Flesh #1-8 Written by Ryan North Illustrated by Braden Lamb and Shelli Paroline The space crew of Joey, Fatima, and Cooper have decided to return to Earth—a planet completely sectioned off, abandoned, and covered in gold—to find out exactly what happened to this once thriving planet and see if they can use that knowledge against the evil empire that’s tracking them down. As luck would have it, they just landed the most powerful weapon in the universe: some ancient dead guy's body. “As a corporate member, we are extremely proud to partner with Humble Bundle to help support one of our favorite charities, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund,” said President of Publishing and Marketing Filip Sablik. “Plus, this is a great, inexpensive way for people new to BOOM! Studios to try out some of our great titles, from our authentic licensed works to our innovative original stories. No matter what you like to read, there’s something in here for everyone.” As with all Humble Bundles, customers can choose how their purchase dollars are allocated between the publisher, Humble Bundle, and the determined charity (CBLDF). The Humble BOOM! Bundle runs for two weeks and ends Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at 11 a.m. Pacific time. by Matman We are now just a few days away from Boston Comic Con 2014 and the excitement is beginning to mount! This shows incredible guest list features some of the most amazing talent assembled under one roof! If classic creators is your game, you will not be disappointed with the likes of George Perez and Neil Adams. If you want stimulating conversations then Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Connor, Stan Sakai, Gail Simone and Mark Waid will show you why our hobby is the best! Batman fans? Yup... you're covered! How about Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder? How about friends of Secret Identity like George O'Connor, Aaron Wood, Griffin Es, the guys from Kiss Forever? yup, yup, yup and yup! And of course Brian and I will be there as well ALL weekend! We can be found somewhere near C818. We were initially assigned to section D, but moved to help out our pals at Comix Tribe! I will also be moderating the DC Comics panel on Saturday at 5PM featuring Gail Simone, Chris Burnham and Pop Mhan. For the Doctor Who fans out there I will be having a huge Boston Comic Con Deal!!! For thirty bucks you can get a softcover book, a pack of cards featuring all the Doctors and a piece of gum and a print of your favorite Doctor or alien for only $30.00. Sadly i don't have a ton of books but I will be debuting the Unofficial Doctor Who Companion hardcover for $40.00 with a free print and collector card! For more info, head over to www.bostoncomiccon.com. by Brian LeTendre
As of this week, you can now listen to the Secret Identity podcast on Stitcher Radio! For those that don't know, Stitcher is a free audio streaming service that's available on the web, as well as iOS and Android. Stitcher has over 20,000 shows available through its service, and we are happy to be counted among them now. Our page over on Stitcher is here. You can listen to the latest episode of Secret Identity at the link above, or you can download the Android or iOS app and stream all of our available episodes whenever you want. Thanks for listening! by Matman
Adding to the fun of this weekends Boston Comic Con will be the two stars of 'Torchwood'! 'Torchwood' started as a more adult spin off to Doctor Who but withing a few episodes turned into an amazing show on its own. If you have never seen 'Torchwood', you need to watch the Children of Earth mini series that in my opinion is some of the most emotional and terrifying TV ever produced. Appearing on Saturday and Sunday will be actors John Barrowman and Eve Myles who were the lead characters from this amazing series. John played the Doctor Who spin off character Jack Harkness and currently plays the baddie 'The Dark Archer' on the CW's 'Arrow'! Eve portrayed the tough but loving Gwen Cooper on the series and currnetly can be seen on BBC's 'Frankie'. Check the website for signing times and panel information and (fingers crossed), the two will appear on an upcoming episode of Secret Identity! www.bostoncomiccon.com Why The Marvel Cosmic Universe Probably Won't Be The Next 'Star Wars'--At Least Not Right Now8/3/2014
by Brian LeTendre Given the blockbuster success of Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend, it will be very interesting to see how Guardians and the rest of the Marvel cosmic universe are handled moving forward. Guardians of the Galaxy is an amazing, sci-fi, swashbuckling adventure that showcases some of the great characters, worlds and storylines the Marvel cosmic universe has to offer. One could make the argument that in its totality, the Marvel cosmic universe should be considered in the same conversation as Star Wars. Or at least, it could be, if Disney wanted it to be. All the pieces are there. But I don’t think we’ll ever see the Marvel cosmic universe as fully realized as it could be. Because the same company that owns Marvel also owns the Star Wars universe. And from a business standpoint, making the Marvel cosmic universe as big as it could be would mean bringing it into direct competition with Star Wars. Despite many fans’ reaction to the prequel trilogies, there’s no denying that Star Wars is still a cultural phenomenon, and a household name. It’s also clear that Disney has big plans for Star Wars, from the new movies, to the new animated series, to the Marvel comics that were just announced at SDCC a couple weeks ago. Don’t get me wrong--this is a very good problem for Disney to have. But as a Marvel fan, I think it will result in the relegation of the Marvel cosmic universe to just another corner of the Marvel cinematic universe. Because it it’s just one part of the Marvel U, then it doesn't have the potential to negatively impact the success of future Star Wars endeavors. We'll get our Guardians sequel in 2017, and they'll finish out the Thanos arc and then move on to Civil War. The cosmic universe will fade to the background as Civil War is not a cosmic tale.
In this situation, it might actually be better if Disney didn't own Star Wars. Because you can bet your bottom dollar they’d be pushing to make the Marvel cosmic universe their Star Wars universe. At the end of the day, I’m so happy that Guardians of the Galaxy exits, and that it was this good, that I would be fine if that’s all we ever got. But it’s hard not to think about the potential of that universe when the glimpse of it we just got is so darn great. I mean, think about the Annihilation series, and how epic those stories are. You could do seven or eight movies off of the first Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest alone. Of course, there is that small problem of Fox having the rights to Silver Surfer and Galactus, but that could be worked around. Now, in the almost 0% chance that the next few Star Wars movies don’t do so well, or the brand suddenly dips in popularity, Disney can at least rest assured they have the Marvel cosmic universe waiting in the wings. And of course, since they own both universe, they could just decide to connect them together, right? Right? I mean, stranger things have happened. Press Release “On a sunlit day in September 2013, 500 people attended a double funeral in the small alpine ski resort village of Peio, northern Italy. The bodies were those of two Austrian males, aged 17 and 18 years old. They weren’t, however, holiday-makers who had fallen victim to a tragic ski accident. Both had bullet-holes in their skulls and had been frozen in the snow and ice of the Presana glacier for almost 100 years. They were First World War soldiers who had fought in a relatively obscure part of that conflict, now known as the White War.” –From the introduction to WHITE DEATH Image Comics is pleased to announce the September release of WHITE DEATH, a hardcover graphic novel by Robbie Morrison (2000 AD) and Charlie Adlard (THE WALKING DEAD). Set in the Trentino mountain range, WHITE DEATH follows Pietro Aquasanta, who, as a rifleman in the Italian army, returns to what was a realm of wonder adventure in his childhood during World War I, but has now become a sterile world of death and despair. “‘White Death’ is a slang term used to describe avalanches in French and Italian Alpine regions,” wrote Morrison in his introduction, “and in my head, the avalanche became a metaphor for war — a terrifying, irresistible force that remorselessly consumes and destroys everything in its path.” Heightening the tone of isolation and destruction is Adlard’s art — smudged and scratchy black charcoal and white chalk on a stark gray background that depicts the horrors of trench warfare and hand-to-hand combat. WHITE DEATH pre-dates Adlard’s arrival on the comics phenomenon THE WALKING DEAD, but his work on it informed the direction of his career. “I could do my OWN thing,” Adlard wrote in his introduction. “This, to me at the time, was a revelation. I hadn't been aware very much of the concept of creator-owned comics and, yet, here I was, doing just that. White Death eventually formulated my world view and opinions on where I wanted my career to go after this.” WHITE DEATH is a 104-page black-and-white hardcover graphic novel. It will be in comic book stores on September 3 and bookstores on September 16. by Brian LeTendre With the fourth issue of ASM, It’s Spidey’s turn to get sucked into Marvel’s Original Sin event. Instead of a needless tie-in however, we get a story that actually adds to the Spider-Man universe. For those that haven’t been following Original Sin, here’s the deal--the Watcher has been murdered, and all of the secrets he witnessed over the years have been unleashed. In the case of Peter, he learns that on the day he was bitten by a radioactive spider, someone else was too. A young woman named Cindy Moon, who has been kept isolated from the rest of the world since first displaying her powers. Humberto Ramos’ art is great as always, and he introduces Cindy and her powers in a dynamic way, contrasting her to Peter and his abilities. Dan Slott does a nice job of juggling several plot lines at once in this issue, and the addition of Cindy is not only linked to Peter’s origin, but to Ezekiel, who you may remember from The Other.
This is a pretty huge addition to the origin story of Spider-Man, but one that I think could be interesting. The more I read of the Original Sin event, the more I feel like it’s the reboot of the Marvel Universe that’s been rumored for some time. I’m looking forward to seeing how Cindy Moon (aka Silk) finds her place in the Marvel Universe, and what other secrets Original Sin still holds. 4 out of 5 Moons Over Marvel |
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