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Over 1000 brushes and tones! This app has everything you need to make art MediBang Paint is the...
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated The Wild Storm, Vol. 2 in Books
Nov 30, 2020
I am old enough to remember when Jean Grey became Dark Phoenix. I am also old enough to remember reading all the Image Comics titles in the 90's, because they were cool! Not all of them (*cough* Rob Liefeld's YOUNGBLOOD and assorted other titles he helmed) were good, but some, like WILDC.A.T.s and WETWORKS, were a little cooler and better other than the aforementioned titles. Those "cooler" books split off and became a separate publishing imprint, Wildstorm. Unfortunately, some things, not unlike THE A-TEAM or THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO, don't hold up as well, but they will always hold a "special spot" in our nerdy, li'l hearts!
In the late 90's, a writer came onboard looking to revamp one of the so-so books, STORMWATCH. That writer was Warren Ellis, and the series that spun out of the revamped STORMWATCH was THE AUTHORITY. With that book, Ellis made one hell of an impression with a lot of people, myself included, earning him, and THE AUTHORITY, a very high spot on the Nerd Chart.
I skipped out when, in 2017 (I think), DC Comics absorbed the Wildstorm characters/books, making them "exist" in the same comics universe as Superman and Batman!
Jump ahead to 2018. Warren Ellis approaches DC, offering THE WILD STORM, a massive (24 issues!) reboot of the Wildstorm universe. They greenlight it. And, what a ride!
Forget everything about the 90s WILDC.A.T.s, Grifter, even THE AUTHORITY. This is a blank slate, with so much potential!
Volume 2, reprinting issues 7-12, is just.. words elude me. It's not mind-numbing like a lot of what Marvel and DC are churning out of late, but it certainly makes my brain itch. Watching familiar faces being reworked and presented in a totally different way is fun and interesting at the same time. It's also equally entertaining to see equally familiar plots and sub-plots taken apart and put back together in an uniquely satisfying way.
The series is not TOO wordy, yet wordy enough that the story gives us much to chew on and reflect long after this volume, or any of the individual issues themselves, are read. My hat goes off to Warren Ellis, for he has clear outdone himself, something I did not think could be done!
However, as much as I was taken in by Ellis' writing, it is also worth noting Jon Davis-Hunt's art. At times, he reminded me of Keith Giffen's LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES work (back when Tom and Mary Bierbaum were writing it), simple, at first viewing, but further study shows so much more in each panel. I felt his art suits the angle that Ellis is shooting for, and for that, I am glad that he seems to be invested in the art until the 24th, and final, issue of the series is completed.
Look, plain and simple. Go read Volume, because you will most certainly want to read this volume, and then, Volume 3, when it comes out in March. This is a smart series, and if you are old enough to remember the 90s Wildstorm characters (like me), you'll be sorry if you don't check it out! 'Nuff said!
In the late 90's, a writer came onboard looking to revamp one of the so-so books, STORMWATCH. That writer was Warren Ellis, and the series that spun out of the revamped STORMWATCH was THE AUTHORITY. With that book, Ellis made one hell of an impression with a lot of people, myself included, earning him, and THE AUTHORITY, a very high spot on the Nerd Chart.
I skipped out when, in 2017 (I think), DC Comics absorbed the Wildstorm characters/books, making them "exist" in the same comics universe as Superman and Batman!
Jump ahead to 2018. Warren Ellis approaches DC, offering THE WILD STORM, a massive (24 issues!) reboot of the Wildstorm universe. They greenlight it. And, what a ride!
Forget everything about the 90s WILDC.A.T.s, Grifter, even THE AUTHORITY. This is a blank slate, with so much potential!
Volume 2, reprinting issues 7-12, is just.. words elude me. It's not mind-numbing like a lot of what Marvel and DC are churning out of late, but it certainly makes my brain itch. Watching familiar faces being reworked and presented in a totally different way is fun and interesting at the same time. It's also equally entertaining to see equally familiar plots and sub-plots taken apart and put back together in an uniquely satisfying way.
The series is not TOO wordy, yet wordy enough that the story gives us much to chew on and reflect long after this volume, or any of the individual issues themselves, are read. My hat goes off to Warren Ellis, for he has clear outdone himself, something I did not think could be done!
However, as much as I was taken in by Ellis' writing, it is also worth noting Jon Davis-Hunt's art. At times, he reminded me of Keith Giffen's LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES work (back when Tom and Mary Bierbaum were writing it), simple, at first viewing, but further study shows so much more in each panel. I felt his art suits the angle that Ellis is shooting for, and for that, I am glad that he seems to be invested in the art until the 24th, and final, issue of the series is completed.
Look, plain and simple. Go read Volume, because you will most certainly want to read this volume, and then, Volume 3, when it comes out in March. This is a smart series, and if you are old enough to remember the 90s Wildstorm characters (like me), you'll be sorry if you don't check it out! 'Nuff said!
Force: Dynamic Figure Drawing for Animators
Book
Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators Capture the force in your life drawing subjects with this...
The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature
S.J. Chambers and Jeff VanderMeer
Book
Over the past fifteen years, Steampunk - a mash-up of Victorian and sci-fi aesthetics with a splash...
Louise (64 KP) rated Izombie: Volume 1: Dead to the World in Books
Jul 2, 2018
I first heard about this book from Elena reads books and was instantly intrigued!This book sounded fun, I haven’t read much about zombies and also just wanted to read more comics/graphic novels. It was totally fascinating from the start and definitely different.
Gwen appears to be you average everyday person at the start, other than working as a gravedigger she is normal, except she’s not! She is a zombie! but not your stereotypical zombie – she doesn’t walk around groaning, her face and body are not decaying. As long as she eats one brain per month she will not turn full zombie. However eating brains comes at a cost, first of all the brain has to be pretty fresh (hence being a gravedigger), she obviously can’t get caught, they taste bad….oh and she gets stuck with the deceased’s memories for a period of time. The last brain she ate was from a young family man who was killed by a serial killer. Gwen takes it upon herself to investigate why the man was murdered. Also there are a group of female vampires who don’t kill their victims they just feed little and often from men that attend paint balling in the woods. However there is always one that can’t play by the rules and is starting to attract attention from these ancient monster hunters.
There were so many different types of character/monsters in this book, we had zombies (obvs)Ghosts, Vampires and even a WereTerrier which I thought was kind of cute. This is a more of a fluffy zombie book and totally different from the walking dead. I liked all the individual characters but there wasn’t a lot of development and I think this was because there was too much trying to happen in one volume. We had the story of Gwen, it would then jump to the Vampires and then to the hunters, which made the plot line a bit disjointed. Some of the characters….Mainly Dixie was portrayed as being self-centred, all she thinks about is herself and Gwen is unable to rely on her even though she is her best friend. All the females in the book all seemed to have perfect bodies… I wish they just made some females different shapes and sizes. I really liked the art style and colours that were used to set the tone of the book. This was a great introduction to the story and I will be continuing on with the second volume.
Also there is a series on Netflix adaptation that is loosely based on the comic, I might start watching it as my partner has watched it and said it’s alright. Have you watched izombie? whats your thoughts on it?
Overall I rated this 3.75 out of 5 stars
Gwen appears to be you average everyday person at the start, other than working as a gravedigger she is normal, except she’s not! She is a zombie! but not your stereotypical zombie – she doesn’t walk around groaning, her face and body are not decaying. As long as she eats one brain per month she will not turn full zombie. However eating brains comes at a cost, first of all the brain has to be pretty fresh (hence being a gravedigger), she obviously can’t get caught, they taste bad….oh and she gets stuck with the deceased’s memories for a period of time. The last brain she ate was from a young family man who was killed by a serial killer. Gwen takes it upon herself to investigate why the man was murdered. Also there are a group of female vampires who don’t kill their victims they just feed little and often from men that attend paint balling in the woods. However there is always one that can’t play by the rules and is starting to attract attention from these ancient monster hunters.
There were so many different types of character/monsters in this book, we had zombies (obvs)Ghosts, Vampires and even a WereTerrier which I thought was kind of cute. This is a more of a fluffy zombie book and totally different from the walking dead. I liked all the individual characters but there wasn’t a lot of development and I think this was because there was too much trying to happen in one volume. We had the story of Gwen, it would then jump to the Vampires and then to the hunters, which made the plot line a bit disjointed. Some of the characters….Mainly Dixie was portrayed as being self-centred, all she thinks about is herself and Gwen is unable to rely on her even though she is her best friend. All the females in the book all seemed to have perfect bodies… I wish they just made some females different shapes and sizes. I really liked the art style and colours that were used to set the tone of the book. This was a great introduction to the story and I will be continuing on with the second volume.
Also there is a series on Netflix adaptation that is loosely based on the comic, I might start watching it as my partner has watched it and said it’s alright. Have you watched izombie? whats your thoughts on it?
Overall I rated this 3.75 out of 5 stars
Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated American Vampire, Vol. 6 in Books
Jul 21, 2019 (Updated Jul 21, 2019)
Not all the art works (for me) (1 more)
Adult content.... but if you made it this far in the series, that's not a surprise
Filler Anthology, but still fun...
Note: this review is transposted from my personal review blog, and so was originally written several years ago.
So, it has come to this. The sixth and latest collection of American Vampire comics. Now it’s not just my library’s slow acquisition policies holding me back, but the fact that there haven’t been any more published yet! Apparently the creators put the book on hiatus for a while, but they’ve at least started publishing again. I just have to wait for it to hit the collections….This particular collection is a couple of one-shots they put out in the meantime to keep our appetites whetted–one from the main American Vampire team, one with them letting a whole bunch of other comics creators play in their sandbox. Obviously, this review could spoil events from the previous collections.
First off, we have THE LONG ROAD TO HELL. Snyder and Albuquerque set out the story for this one together, with Albuquerque taking over to script and draw the story. Billy Bob and Jo are the Bonnie and Clyde of petty thieves, picking pockets by night to add to their stash. They’re hoping to have enough soon to cover the cost of renting a chapel, but one fateful encounter with a vampire coven recruitment team and everything changes…not for the better, I’m afraid. Jasper Miller is a young orphan, favorite target of a group of bullies. It seems that young Jasper is a very insightful young man, and some of what he knows makes these bullies very nervous, and he decides that the open road would be safer for him than the old orphanage. Vampire hunter Travis Kidd we’ve already met back in Vol. IV, and it’s good to see that he survived the ambush he willingly dove into at the end of that book. Seems to have picked up a katana somewhere in the interim too, which is always cool. Fate has these four on a collision course, and blood will be spilled by the time they reach the end of the road….
Moving on to the American Vampire Anthology, we open with the frame story by Snyder and Albuquerque. THE MAN COMES AROUND is set in 1967 as Skinner Sweet hides out in the middle of nowhere, hoping to avoid the major events he can sense just over the horizon. Seems there’s always someone trying to kill him, though…. Jason Aaron and Declan Shalvey then enlighten us as to what really happened on Roanoke Island in THE LOST COLONY. Here’s a hint, vampires were involved. We then move on to BLEEDING KANSAS, where Albuquerque puts down his pencil and takes a shot at writing the story, leaving the art to Ivo Milazzo. Set against that tumultuous time and place, Albuquerque and Milazzo set down for us a tale of what I can only assume are Henry Jones’ grandparents. Next up, Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes serve up a tale of terror in the frozen north with CANADIAN VAMPIRE as ex-Mountie-turned-bounty-hunter Jack Warhammer is hired to find out what happened to a German fur trading expedition missing in the wild. Becky Cloonan handles both the writing and art for GREED, starring Skinner Sweet and featuring his first encounter with those crazy folks who hail from a place called “Hollywood….” Francesco Francavilla then pulls the same trick for THE PRODUCERS, detailing the birth of a star as he makes a shady deal in exchange for fame and fortune. Gail Simone and Tula Lotay treat us to Hattie Hargrove’s origin story in ESSENCE OF LIFE, showing us just what happened to her that made her willing to screw over her best friend in the world. Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon share both the writing and artist credits for LAST NIGHT, as a lounge singer describes to a reporter the events leading up to the previous evening’s massacre at the club. Finally, Greg Rucka and JP Leon tell the tale of a dying drunk and the lowlifes who try and shanghai him in PORTLAND, 1940.
On the whole, I really enjoyed this as per the usual for this series. The writing was stellar, and the anthology format really served well for the world being depicted. As with any comics anthology, there’s a wide variety of artistic styles represented, and some of those styles I’m not really a fan of, but that’s largely a matter of taste. I could sit here and tell you that I really wasn’t a fan of Ivo Milazzo’s art on BLEEDING KANSAS (which is true), but the next guy might have loved it. I could laud Tula Lotay’s work on ESSENCE OF LIFE (also true), but the next guy may not have been a fan. That’s kind of how it works–peoples’ tastes are pretty subjective. I did enjoy getting into Hattie’s head a bit more than we were able to back when she was introduced, and Skinner Sweet’s adventures are always fun–I’ve mentioned before my weakness for antiheroes. As a historian, Roanoke’s lost colony is always a fascinating topic, and a number of the plot twists contained here were very satisfying if not always surprising. I really can’t wait for the next volume to come out so I can see the payoff to some of the plot threads being set up both here and in the teaser from the end of volume V….
CONTENT: R-rated language. Brutal, bloody vampire violence–these aren’t sparkly, angst-ridden pretty boys, these are monsters through and through. Some explicit and implicit sexual content, including what more or less constitutes a rape. No real occult content, as there isn’t a spiritual element to this version of vampirism.
Original review link: https://jordanbinkerd.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/review-american-vampire-volume-vi-by-scott-snyder-rafael-albuquerque/
So, it has come to this. The sixth and latest collection of American Vampire comics. Now it’s not just my library’s slow acquisition policies holding me back, but the fact that there haven’t been any more published yet! Apparently the creators put the book on hiatus for a while, but they’ve at least started publishing again. I just have to wait for it to hit the collections….This particular collection is a couple of one-shots they put out in the meantime to keep our appetites whetted–one from the main American Vampire team, one with them letting a whole bunch of other comics creators play in their sandbox. Obviously, this review could spoil events from the previous collections.
First off, we have THE LONG ROAD TO HELL. Snyder and Albuquerque set out the story for this one together, with Albuquerque taking over to script and draw the story. Billy Bob and Jo are the Bonnie and Clyde of petty thieves, picking pockets by night to add to their stash. They’re hoping to have enough soon to cover the cost of renting a chapel, but one fateful encounter with a vampire coven recruitment team and everything changes…not for the better, I’m afraid. Jasper Miller is a young orphan, favorite target of a group of bullies. It seems that young Jasper is a very insightful young man, and some of what he knows makes these bullies very nervous, and he decides that the open road would be safer for him than the old orphanage. Vampire hunter Travis Kidd we’ve already met back in Vol. IV, and it’s good to see that he survived the ambush he willingly dove into at the end of that book. Seems to have picked up a katana somewhere in the interim too, which is always cool. Fate has these four on a collision course, and blood will be spilled by the time they reach the end of the road….
Moving on to the American Vampire Anthology, we open with the frame story by Snyder and Albuquerque. THE MAN COMES AROUND is set in 1967 as Skinner Sweet hides out in the middle of nowhere, hoping to avoid the major events he can sense just over the horizon. Seems there’s always someone trying to kill him, though…. Jason Aaron and Declan Shalvey then enlighten us as to what really happened on Roanoke Island in THE LOST COLONY. Here’s a hint, vampires were involved. We then move on to BLEEDING KANSAS, where Albuquerque puts down his pencil and takes a shot at writing the story, leaving the art to Ivo Milazzo. Set against that tumultuous time and place, Albuquerque and Milazzo set down for us a tale of what I can only assume are Henry Jones’ grandparents. Next up, Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes serve up a tale of terror in the frozen north with CANADIAN VAMPIRE as ex-Mountie-turned-bounty-hunter Jack Warhammer is hired to find out what happened to a German fur trading expedition missing in the wild. Becky Cloonan handles both the writing and art for GREED, starring Skinner Sweet and featuring his first encounter with those crazy folks who hail from a place called “Hollywood….” Francesco Francavilla then pulls the same trick for THE PRODUCERS, detailing the birth of a star as he makes a shady deal in exchange for fame and fortune. Gail Simone and Tula Lotay treat us to Hattie Hargrove’s origin story in ESSENCE OF LIFE, showing us just what happened to her that made her willing to screw over her best friend in the world. Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon share both the writing and artist credits for LAST NIGHT, as a lounge singer describes to a reporter the events leading up to the previous evening’s massacre at the club. Finally, Greg Rucka and JP Leon tell the tale of a dying drunk and the lowlifes who try and shanghai him in PORTLAND, 1940.
On the whole, I really enjoyed this as per the usual for this series. The writing was stellar, and the anthology format really served well for the world being depicted. As with any comics anthology, there’s a wide variety of artistic styles represented, and some of those styles I’m not really a fan of, but that’s largely a matter of taste. I could sit here and tell you that I really wasn’t a fan of Ivo Milazzo’s art on BLEEDING KANSAS (which is true), but the next guy might have loved it. I could laud Tula Lotay’s work on ESSENCE OF LIFE (also true), but the next guy may not have been a fan. That’s kind of how it works–peoples’ tastes are pretty subjective. I did enjoy getting into Hattie’s head a bit more than we were able to back when she was introduced, and Skinner Sweet’s adventures are always fun–I’ve mentioned before my weakness for antiheroes. As a historian, Roanoke’s lost colony is always a fascinating topic, and a number of the plot twists contained here were very satisfying if not always surprising. I really can’t wait for the next volume to come out so I can see the payoff to some of the plot threads being set up both here and in the teaser from the end of volume V….
CONTENT: R-rated language. Brutal, bloody vampire violence–these aren’t sparkly, angst-ridden pretty boys, these are monsters through and through. Some explicit and implicit sexual content, including what more or less constitutes a rape. No real occult content, as there isn’t a spiritual element to this version of vampirism.
Original review link: https://jordanbinkerd.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/review-american-vampire-volume-vi-by-scott-snyder-rafael-albuquerque/
Les Cigares du Pharaon (Cigars of the Pharaoh) (Tintin #4)
8.5
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Book
Herge's classic comic book creation Tintin is one of the most iconic characters in children's books....
Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge (Red Rackham's Treasure) (Tintin #12)
8.0
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Book
Herge's classic comic book creation Tintin is one of the most iconic characters in children's books....