Motorcycles, guns and demons. We've been officially repossessed.

JM Ringuet's "graphich novel in 4 chapters" follows on the hot trail of Joe, Clay and Martha - 3 hitmen (and woman) for hire who specialise in demon exorcism. Think Supernatural meets Sons of Anarchy.

By possession we're not talking that whole demon child who's head can turn 360 degrees, no no, the possessed can be anyone - a friend, neighbor, shopkeeper, anyone who seems to have suddenly started acting weird. Someone who has suddenly gone from listening to Radiohead to Celine Dion, that kinda weird.

Within a few pages we already get a glimpse of our first possession/excorcism, and we can see that Ringuet isn't playing around. They demons are all kinds of big, mean, ugly and shameless (possessing a Priest goddamit!). We also get to see that our main characters know their stuff, and there's definitely more to them than meets the eye.

So why is this working for us so far:

1. 'Supernatural' supersized
   It's pretty much this, and then some. Who doesn't love a good demon slaying for a bit of extra dollar. And these demons are biiigg, like fill a double page spread big, and that's what we like to see!
2. So pretty...
   Definitely the highlight of the issue. Ringuet's colours are beautifl, flawless even. The tones are able to convey a whole firey hell vibe, but at the same time give off a really chilled out there should be fun in the sun kinda thing. 

But as we know, with great power comes great responsibility, and as a one man team, Ringuet has a lot to live up to...

All in all we're feeling pretty positive about this so...

What Would Doom Do
He'd could rate this bad boy in amulets and give it a holy 4! Or something like that.

Our Generation?: Gen¹³

Picking up from where Jim Lee and Brandon Choi left off, meet Wildstorm's next generation of Gen-active teens - superpowered humans as a result of the Gen-Factor.

Sooooo what the hell is Gen 13. Well sum it up in 3 digestible points:

Now fast forward to September 2002 and we meet the freshest batch of little Gen-actives; Ethan, Gwen, Hamza and Ja'Nelle, all with their own fun, fiery powers, and coming together to discover how and why they got these powers, and to become rulers of their own destiny.
It's all pretty standard 'New teen heroes 101' but with a nice spin on their powers, especially Ja'Nelle- whose gone from 5 ft nothing and pudgy, to a 7 ft Amazonian with telepathy. Very fun indeed.

Ale Garza's artwork is also a massive draw for us. We love his style, it's fun and vibrant, and very reminiscent of Georges Jeanty (Buffy Season 8), and Chris Claremont's writing is funny - laced with moral message, although at times a tad dated (although this works well with the dialogue between Ethan and his twin Dylan).

This series spanned across 2 years (#16 was released in 2004) and we've rested or curiosity at #6 (the end of the first arc 'September Song'), and we're very tempted to keep reading. The Gen¹³ legacy is a long one which has had cross overs in both the Marvel and DC universe. So it's nice to have a solid starting point with this re-booted team.

So it you're looking for some good old fashioned teen superhero fun, with twins, mysterious villains named Herod (similar to the baddie from Supernatural's season 1-2) and a stellar tag line of 'You Will Be Judged' then this is pretty much an interesting read for you. It's nice to juxtapose this to the teen hero teams that we see emerging now (but that's a wholllee different post)

The new Prince of Image : Mara #1

Kicking off 2013 with a slamming game of Volleyball?

Another release fresh out the Image back door, Brian Wood and Ming Doyle's 'Mara' is the story of a dystopian society ravaged by poverty and war but has now become united by sports as a means of distraction.
Well what makes this different from any other dystopian story such as Battle Royale, Brave New World and The Running Man, where the sport is revered I hear you say? Ha, well Wood has been very smart here as we don't see a typical world now ruled by violence, corruption and dictatorship. It's all seems pretty bloodless at the moment, which means we get to focus on other things! Such as who the hell is Mara?

Mara Prince is a 17 year old highly skilled athlete, a household name, and the best in the world at Volleyball. She is perfect in every way, women wanna be her, men wanna sleep with her (although she appears to prefer her own team), this bitch is just too good to be true. Or is she?

By the end of #1 we see this mask beginning to slip, and live on air it all seems to be crashing round around her. We begin to see the build up of Mara's story as we are exposed to her life and all those around her. Really loving the work of Doyle so far, as she really brings this story to life, especially with the graceful yet swiftness of the sports scenes. But to be honest our key area of interest here is gonna be Wood. We're interested to see where he will take this story and what themes will begin to emerge.

What would Doom do?
Time to get comfy in his fave throne, crack open a beer, drink it from one of those funny hats, flick over to sky sports and get to learning some of his best vollyball lingo. SPIKE!

Holiday helpers: Image Comics

Easily our top publishers of 2012, and the perfect holiday companions, Image Comics just keeps coughing up the goods.

Saga #8
We will continue to sing the praises of this series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, and today is no exception! #7 left us knee deep in Marko's parents and hilariously gross intergalactic genitalia, and with #8 it is definitely more of the same.

Finally, and albeit unexpectedly, we get a glimpse into Alana's 'forbidden book' (these scenes are hilarious) but also how Alana and Marko first met. The setting of this first encounter is to be expected, considering their 'occupations', but it's obvious that Vaughan will be doing something more with this, as it's quite clear that it definitely wasn't love at first sight - although Staples panel would have you believe otherwise.

If we're completely honest, this issue seemed like a bit of a filler, we didn't really learn anything new, and even Marko and Alana's first meeting didn't seem like much of a big bang. But Vaughan and Staples can even make filler awesome, and one again they bring the boom at the end, and we finally get an answer to "who the fuck is Gwendolyn?!", and yes, this reveal is definitely worth the wait.

This series is full of serious awesomeness, and the women are really stealing the show. Alana, The Stalk and Marko's mother are some pretty dominant ladies, and by the looks of it, Gwendolyn will also be a major player. Issue #9 please.




Nowhere Men #2
Stephenson and Bellegarde have pretty much struck gold with Nowhere Men as #2 kicks it up a notch.

This series is still a big ball of mystery, with only a few more clues being offered. So what do we know now?

- World Corp now only consists of Emerson Strange
- Emerson Strange (and maybe Dade & Simon?) commissioned the building of a space station that is unknown to the rest of the world, and they are aware that the crew are sick.
- Apparently Dade is ill and now awake?! (had to do a double take on this and make sure this really was issue 2...)
- Simon is planning revenge (due to being ousted from WC?)

Stephenson is completely on point with this issue, and begins to build a really tense story. He is definitely doing an amazing job of keeping readers hanging on (but hopefully not for too long). Although the only pitfall with this issue is the disconnect from #1. Whilst the space-station scenes have continuity, i'm feeling pretty lost with our friendly scientists. How much time has passed since we were first introduced to them? What about the Evangelion looking monster? I'm sure these will all be answered, but at the moment it's a bit confusing.

Bellegarde is killing it with the artwork and colours. He really is dictating these pages and the flow of #2. The pages aren't too busy or messy - which can sometimes happen with lots of characters in a shot - you really can follow the sequences, and the tension flows effortlessly across the panels right to the end. It's almost as if Bellegarde is able to depict various chemical reactions through the characters - a slow build up of kinetic energy resulting in a 'big bang'.

Image Comics own 2012.

What would doom do?
Trade in all his finest Marvel autobiographies, throw in a few dark horses and comics with Superman in them, so he can stock up on a whole bunch of Image.

Change #1

This week my good friends over at Image Comics released #1 of a 4 issue mini-series 'Change'. All I can say is 'Huh?'. Check out Image's description of the series:

"A foul-mouthed struggling screenwriter who moonlights as a car thief. An obscenely wealthy rapper completely disconnected from the real world. A dying cosmonaut on his way back to Earth.

Los Angeles is being toyed with by destructive forces that repeatedly find the city through time and swallow it whole, and those three are the only people able to save it - if they survive the fanatics who live in the hills, National Security Agency agents, and the horrors that lurk in the Pacific Ocean"

So back to my earlier comment...Huh? It's safe to say that 'Change' is fairly confusing. The main characters - rapper turned film producer Wallace (W-2) and a foul-mouthed screenwriter Sonia are presented instantaneously, and we already see that they have some sort of relationship (to what extent is still unclear). Then there's the unknown astronaut returning from a mission to Jupiter, and this opens to doors for a whole lot of possibilities. And what started off as a not so simple story about fame begins to develop into an even more confusing story of space and fantasy.

It takes a couple of pages to discern the tone of voice and who the hell is narrating. I'm still unsure as to whether or not the reader is meant to keep guessing, or if the story itself is a story of a story as written by a 'real life' screen writer. I can kinda of see what they're trying to do with this comic - taking a more creative edge, with elements of a 'love story' somewhere in there through a series of ambiguous dialogue. But I also detected a hint of Bret Easton Ellis, with what I read as the criticisms of 'celebrity' and 'fame' and even a couple of cameos (Chris Brown and Jack Nicholson...not in person)

As you can probably tell, I found it quite tricky to follow Ales Kot's dialogue and train of thought. But I did warm to the way in which Kot's has his characters deal with the horrible situations they find themselves in, and you can see that there is more to Sonia and W-2 than meets the eye, and that these aren't your typical writer, rapper stereotypes.

I quite like the artwork of Morgan Jeske as its a nice departure from the more defined works of the Marvel, Dark Horse, DC and Image comics that i'm currently reading. But it's definitely an acquired taste, but it's not distracting me too much from the story...to be honest it's the only thing that makes sense for me at the moment. Although it does get a bit confusing and jumbled towards the end of the issue, and I can see what effect they were going for, but to be honest it's one that you can only really get away with on the big screen. And what in the hell are those things on Sonia's face?!

Although i'm pretty damn confused about where the hell this is heading, I am pretty intrigued to see whats coming next. It's only a mini-series so there isn't much to lose. Change #1 definitely stands out from the crowd, and has the potential to be something bigger.

What would doom do?
He'd try and finish this joke... "A screenwriter, a rapper and an astronaut walk into a bar..."

Science is definitely the new Rock 'n' Roll

Nowhere Men #1

We've been waiting for this bad boy pretty much since it's announcement, why? Not only does it combine 3 of my ultimate favourite things - Art, Comics AND Science, but writer Eric Stephenson has really dominated my comic world this year with all the Ah-mazing releases comin straight outta Image Comics (Saga, Mind the Gap...). But also, the artist- Nate Bellegarde is a comic art babe.

So what the hell is 'Nowhere Men'? As it stands, it is the story of 4 scientists - Simon Grimshaw, Emerson Strange, Dade Allis and Thomas Walker, who are the nations most well regarded sweethearts.They band together to create the ultimate science alliance - World Corp. Whilst this has created some amazing changes, there have definitely been some negative effects.

Simple, unassuming, yet awesome.

In the first half of the story Stephenson and Bellegarde waste no time presenting you with the 4 main characters younger and at the height of their fame, and they work well to present each of their personalities through a simple head shot and some very clever wording. Any more info is displayed perfectly in the first double spread as a faux newspaper article and after that we know pretty much everything we need to know about who these men are on the surface - Simon: the stone cold businessman, Emerson: the calm, chillaxed intellectual, Dade: the uptight but artistic do-gooder, and Simon: the troubled genius stoner.

Fast forward a few years, the guys are older and it's obvious that somewhere down the line it all went wrong and the early pages are just fantastic. Bellegardes work says everything it needs to and these pages work brilliantly without the dialogue.

The second half of the story presents further troubles on the horizon - with the random and un-explainable illness of a team of crew members. Again, I pretty much loved these pages. Seriously, Stephenson is really good at illustrating a persons personality and potential role within the bigger picture in only a few words, but yet retains the perfect element of mystery.

And just went you thought that was over, the final section returns to the faux newspaper article style, but this time it covers an interview with only one of the scientists - Thomas Walker, who we now know has departed from the group, although we're not really sure when and why, all we know is that he's pretty nuts.

None of these sections really seem to make sense yet in regards to how they will fit together. But I feel like all the wheels have been set in motion and that its only a matter of time before all their paths cross and we can start to build the full story. Whatever it is, we're pretty sure it's gonna be awesome, and we're definitely sticking along for the ride

What would doom do?
He'd cower in the corner ruing the day he ever called himself a real scientist with these geeked up Beatles running around. It's time he sat back to see how it's really done.

I Kill Giants

The story of Barbara; a young high school girl who is struggling to accept a tragedy in her family.

Barbara is sarcastic, bombastic, headstrong, hates school, loves D&D, isn’t interested in friends or dumb people, and oh yeh, she’s obsessed with giants – finding them, hunting them and killing them.

Saying that what writer Joe Kelly has produced is a work of genius probably doesn’t give IKG enough credit, but if you’re anything like me and have suffered a personal loss at a young age then this book definitely is as good as it gets. I bought the whole volume so I feel like I was lucky enough to take this in all at once and ‘feel the emotion’ all in one sitting – as opposed to waiting each month.

From the opening pages, Kelly sets the scene – a busy town, people going about their day to day life, and right in the middle of them, amongst them there’s Barb. Right from the get go with the manga-esque style, Barb’s appearance and the sci-fi-ish title it’s so easy to fall into the “this is just another fantasy book” trap - but IKG definitely isn’t that. This is a story about the real world, and real people. IKG wears a similar deceptive mask to those that are grieving or in pain.

This is a story about grief and loss. Kelly tells the story of Barbara and her relationships in such a deep and beautiful way that I was so thrown. It had such a strong impact on me as I felt I could identify with Barbara, and if you’ve ever been in a similar position, you know how comforting and helpful these mental retreats can be. Kelly brings so much emotion to this story as Barb battles her own demons. Her fear and turmoil slowly creeps through the pages and it culminates in an outlandish fantasy sequence in the penultimate chapter where she faces off with a Titan. It pretty much gets blurry at that point on account of all my sobbing.

Kelly manages to tell a difficult story that provides a simple but beautiful message about courage, hope and facing your fears. Even till the very end there’s no clear explanation as to whether these giants exists or not, and whilst it appears that they don’t, the penultimate chapter suggests otherwise. But when it comes to fear and adversity, don’t we all face our own giants?

Kelly’s work is only made more amazing by the pencils of Ken Niimura. What can I say about Niirmura’s work - it’s swift, graceful, beautiful and emotive. Some of the most perfect scenes of IKG are definitely the faces of the characters. The scenes which depict Barb finally confronting ‘the room’ are both heart-breaking and terrifying.

Niimura says everything he needs to in black and white. Even the small details such as Barb and her bunny ears mean so much. They are so random yet so her. The fact that on-one mentions a thing about them further displays her ‘oddness’ and that these have become the norm. Either that or maybe no-one really is paying attention.

I Kill Giants is amazing. Kelly and Niimura tell a heart-wrenching story through a metaphor of fantasy and art that transcends mere entertainment and displays the complexities of such raw emotion. It really goes on to fully illustrate Kelly’s words:

“To those fighting their own giants, you're stronger than you think”.

It definitely holds a strong place in my heart.

Beginning to fill in the gaps: Mind the Gap #6

Issue 6 has arrived and McCann has up'ed the tension and mystery to this classic 'who done' it comic thriller. The last time we saw our ethereal Elle, she was about to hop into the body of a cute lil 10 year old (not as creepy as it sounds)...and with that starts the new arc 'Wish You Were Here' and MORE MYSTERY!

This is such a complex idea, and McCann pulls it off perfectly. The story of Kate is pretty heartbreaking and cold all at once. Kate and Elle's stories overlap so well, and it leaves you wondering if in the end they will pretty much align. But hey...i'm more than keen to find out.

I love the way that McCann has addressed the ideas of death, the afterlife and bodily possession. This is such an unusual take on a thriller, but this is what makes it work so well.

What would Doom do?
He'd crank the tension on this bad boy up to 10, turn out the lights, whack out the popcorn and silently wait until next month for the next body hop.

The Saga Continues...

Image Comics strikes again as Brian K. Vaughan returns from his ‘Lost’ adventures to bring fantasy, mystery and comedy to his latest masterpiece (and yes I mean masterpiece).

Only 7 issue in, and ‘Saga’ is a VERY clever take on forbidden love, parenthood, and the trials of adversity/discrimination in a sci-fi setting.
This story is told in the form of a space opera of long warring extra-terrestrial races with their very own Romeo and Juliet – Alana and Marko (both former warriors themselves), as they flee the authorities (because of their ‘forbidden’ love - obviously) and take to the galaxy in search of a safe haven for themselves and their newborn Hazel.
Along for the ride so far are spider-shaped bounty hunters, TV-headed humanoid royalty and a babysitting teenage torso. Confused? Read it and it’ll all fall into place.

I absolutely love Saga. It’s the best thing I've read in a long time, and Vaughan’s partner in crime Fiona Staples is also a very big draw to the story.

Pretty much like everything else I read, I wasn't familiar with Staples’ work, and my first glimpse was at last year’s LSCC before the release of #1. Since then cover art pretty much plagued me until I gave up and bought it.

Staples is able to capture the ideas, tensions and situations of the story perfectly, whilst remaining cool and chillaxed. The pages are swimming with colour and I just love the little hints of detail that really make the characters stand out – like the green streak in Alana’s hair, and those damn Lana Del Ray lips on The Stalk. Speaking of women, the ladies of Saga are great, and Staples’ style empowers them with a sassy “pfft”, “who fucking cares” attitude that seems to be lost on many of the female protagonists I've seen recently.

Vaughan and Staples are the ultimate dream team. It’s one of the only things I’m reading at the moment where there is the element of surprise at every corner. Just when you think they won’t kill that character, or show those genitals, bam, there it is. And at times it’s grim, very grim. There are some uncomfortable scenes, but only because it’s the last thing you expected.

Saga is a bubbling cesspool (dramatic much) of creativity, visual stimulation and spacey-wacey stuff that doesn't disappoint. It stands out effortlessly against its competition…but obviously you won’t know that until you read it (hint).

So what would doom do? Buy it. Simple, yet effective.

Mind the Gap: The power of cover art

So last week I rambled on about cover art and variants, and this week I was definitely a slave to its various shiny fun ways.

I'm a very visual person - i'll always remember a face and location but never a name and destination. I leave notes for myself in doodle form. My attention sways far too quickly from words if there is no imagery present...so basically i'm a child.
I'm one of those people who will invest solely in a comic or book if it has striking cover art, and Jim McCann's 'Mind the Gap' is definitely no exception to this.

When I came across Volume 1 (containing issues 1-5), I was sold hook line and sinker. But before loving up the the artwork, first, the story. Without delving too deep into it, MTG is a modern day 'who done it' thriller tailing Elle Peterssen who is attacked on a Manhattan subway platform and left comatose.  The sci-fi shiz kicks in when the only key to finding out her attacker can be found within her own subconscious- where she drifts in a purgatory like world.
5 issue's in and whilst it has some predictable elements (like most 'who done it's), there are still plenty of twists and turns and a whole lot of "huh?", and i'm pretty sure McCann has a lot left to offer.

Now back to the art. Penciled by Rodin Esquejo I was definitely captured by the sense of realism. The cover art for #1 (and volume 1) is just amazing. The pencils of Esquejo and colours by Sonia Oback practically breath life into the story. I really feel that Esquejo and Oback take what is already a strong story and amplify it. They are consistent throughout, precise and awesome at capturing the different locations, atmospheres and states (reality, flashbacks and Elle's 'purgatory'). Oback is great at adding elements of beauty and intrigue to a tale of danger and sadness.

The only downside is that i'm pretty gutted that I haven't been collecting it issue by issue! The cover art and variants are bloody awesome, and each artist is so good at depicting the same idea in different ways through their own voice. Yay for Mind the Gap!

#3 variant by Skottie Young

#4 variant by Lynell Ingram

So what would doom do? He'd take off that mask of his so he could open his eyes a little wider and wake and see the awesomeness of good cover art.

Hardcore is as Hardcore Does

Once again, thanks go out to Orbital Comics as I've been able to pick up a whole new range of titles to read that I didn't know even existed before due to my staggering ignorance when it comes to comics. So expect a whole slew of posts to be coming your way about what I think are the most amazing new things but you have all read years ago and no longer care about.

But first up we have Hardcore issue one, brought to us courtesy of Kirkman, Silvestri, Stelfreeze and Image. Even though it was solicited two years ago as a part of Top Cow's pilot season it has only just arrived on the shelves, and not even all shelves, so get it if you see it.

But what is it I hear you ask, well, its bound to be compared with The Matrix and Avatar due to the idea of taking your mind and putting it in another body, but its done in an ever so slightly more realistic fashion, just about. The do attempt to explain some of the science, which I always appreciate, helps make the believing easy if you have some funky made up science to go with it. And the story? Maybe not the most original or deep, but still fun. 

We have a man trapped inside a body that isn't his own while his real body is surrounded by traitors that are itching to kill him, and he knows it, yet he cant return without help. Oh and he only has 72 hours until the connection breaks down and he dies anyway. So I imagine its going to be a fairly fast paced story, no mopping about being all whiny, he's gotta get moving.

Now, since this is a comic, that means there is art. ow it took me a little while to get to like it since everyone appears to have been horribly disfigured, but once you get past that style issue it actually really works. Its the sort of angular sharp art that the story needs, lots of harshness and fast movement. It may not be to every ones taste, but just give it a go, its actually rather good.

And What Would Doom Do? He would read, enjoy and patiently wait for issue two while making a list of all the people he would like to be able to take over the bodies of for a day, and its surprisingly unperverted.

They beat the crap out of Robin?!

Well obviously my first reaction was "Who the hell bitch slapped Robin?!"...and oddly enough that was all it took for me to buy Danger Club #4.

I'm pretty new to the work of Landry Walker and Eric Jones, but if this series is anything to go by then I am more than happy to get well acquainted. Without giving too much away (it REALLY is something you need to read for yourself!) This series pretty much takes Kick Ass and Lord Of The Flies, throws them in a big pot and stirs it up until it's over flowing with awesomeness.

It is dark right from the premise, set 3 months after the earth's mightiest heroes have all disappeared (presumed dead) in search of an intergalactic threat, leaving behind only their teenage sidekicks to defend the earth. But like all teenage-run societies, it is pretty much hell. Instead of banding together they are against each other, with the most powerful among them declaring himself their savoir and demanding loyalty.

Issue 1 kicks off with a small group of renegades plotting to overthrow the mini dictator and that's when it gets pretty fucking awesome. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the pages...the gruesomeness of it all is almost unbelievable! Not that gruesome bothers me, but the fact that these are all teenagers, kids who are so lost, and sad, that killing each other without any thought is one of the only releases. But this aspect is definitely my favourite if I'm honest and crude.

In every issue so far the double page spreads are the centrepiece to amazing scenes, and not just fighting, there's some cosmic shiz in there too that really doesn't disappoint. I can honestly say that by the end of each issue I constantly find myself saying "Huh? but that's not meant to happen?! What comes next?!". There have only been 4 issues so far and I really am thinking that a fairy tale ending seems impossible for these teenagers - especially the main protagonist Kid Vigilante. 

I can't express how exciting this series is already, and the first issue is definitely one of my favourite opening titles since the Young Avengers (I'm noticing a theme here...) It's smart writing, violent, awesome art and a humorous homage to superheroes past and present (we've even got ourselves a teenage Nick Fury and a withered Captain America!)

But what I particularly love is the detail of story telling by Walker and Jones. They work perfectly together to narrate and visualise harmony and disharmony simultaneously...which is rather..odd.
At the beginning of each issue we are presented with (an old comic style) opening page, and everything that Walker and Jones are attempting to tell us can be seen right here.We see a world that was once colourful, and full of heroes and friends who once helped each other, now turning on one another. This contrasts greatly with the story that lays ahead, and even more amazingly with the cover art and I bloody love it.

Danger Club is one of a few awesome titles comin' straight otta Image Comics at the moment - including Saga (Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples) and i'm very excited for  Eric Stephenson and Nate Bellegarde's forthcoming title Nowhere Men Nov. 2012). I'm very happy to say that my head is well and truly out of the Marvel/DC arse.

Saga

Nowhere Men

So, what would doom do? he'd start investing in some Latveria shares...how else will he fund this serious Image Comics habit that's about to take hold.