Williams III is Killing It

Despite the unfortunate double-take pushback(s) of masterless JH Williams III Batwoman title-- we can all say that it is sure to be as sensational, at least visually-- to his initial collab of Kate Kane with the equally brilliant Greg Rucka in Detective Comics Elegy.  JHW3 has done what he can in staving off us crazed fans by supplying the creative process of issues #1-3 from thumbnails to the finished cover on his blog.

Only time will tell as to whether this will be a book that is forever hindered by not meeting deadlines but according to Williams the extended release (to what may be after Summer) will only ensure that a better product is delivered to shops and eventually in our hands.  And from an editorial perspective-- it does make sense to have this book coming out after (since it didn't release beforehand) Flashpoint with it's effects on the whole of the DCU-- though Batwoman has been isolated from big events since Final Crisis.

In the meantime, how about DC releasing us a retail-poster version of  those uber-exclusive Batwoman prints that were available at SF's Isotope Lounge?! 

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big O

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Back to the Future Cover O' the Day- Cap & Wolvie

Captain America Annual #8
Marvel Comics, January 1986
Writer: Mark Gruenwald     Artist: Mike Zeck

This is definitely one of the classic iconic images ingrained in my childhood when thinking about comics.

Mike Zeck held it down as one of the most demanded artists from the mid 80s through the 90's.  This was a time when Wolverine was the talk of the town and on the regular-- came in for cameo appearances on top books and practically took over the ish.  Zeck's works that probably come to mind are Captain America, Web of Spider-Man, Punisher, Deathstroke and of course the event of all mega events- Secret War.  Here is a gallery from his ill clip of covers and posters:

Fun Fact:  Zeck and fellow artist Rick Leonardi designed the black and white costume for Spidey during Secret-War.  Dopeness!




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big O

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Van Sciver is Killing It

Straight up, this has to be one of the illest variants-- let alone covers we have seen hit the stands in some time.

I seriously had to cruise to three different shops to scoop this mutha up.  And if this EVS highlight of--Karu-Sil, IMO the baddest of the Sinestro Corps, left of the man himself wasn't enough -- we also get a story centering on her that is not only illustrated but written by Van Sciver!

The Untold Tales of the Blackest Night is released in perfect timing with the return of the Black Lanterns in Brightest Day #12.  In this great collab book you get 5 mini-stories, labeled as the deleted scenes- SICK!  EVS shines not only for his visceral, otherworldly art but by way of compressing in less than 7 pages on this sorely missed, bastard child of the Sinestro Corps.  Johns, Bedard, Tomasi...how about some more Karu-Sil stories huh?!!

Oh silly me...how can I forget to throw up this other fine piece of EVS art that will be helping to commemorate JLA #50 next week??!! 

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big O

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Williams III is Killing It

The long-awaited return of  JH Williams III to the world of comics, or more specifically Batwoman is but months away-- but thanks to Robot6 of CBR we got some snippets to hold us off some.  First off, lets peep some of that glorious JHWIII artwork.



I may not be the biggest fan of writer/artists though I truly appreciate the creative talent in those that can accomplish both and do so in a timely, high quality fashion.  But if there was ever an artist out there, based on experience (worked with all the greats- Moore, Rucka, Morrison) pedigree and pure atmospheric, engrossing visuals that tug at the emotions and fill your mind with the dialogue-- all without the word bubbles and narration-- look above and you get it.

JHWIII was made for this.

Being the pro he is and knowing the stakes are high, Batwoman #0 (released November 24th) will be a collaborative effort with his old pal W. Haden Blackman as co-scribe and up and coming star Amy Reeder as co-artist, the regular series will reunite all three with it's release in February.

To the left is Reeder's 1:10 variant and of course the standard cover, of which both show JHWIII sick, original, graphic-heavy style.  We are so there.

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big O

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SDCC 2010, Ch. 9 - Enter Jock and Voltron hearts Blair Butler

As if my days down at the Con could not get any better. On the next to last day of SDCC, I was lucky enough to meet Mark Simpson aka Jock at the DC booth. I was roaming around DC and noticed that the British comic book artist of The Losers & Lenny Zero fame, was signing/sketching until 4 o'clock. I look at my watch and noticed that the big hand was pointing at 12 o'clock & the short hand was at 4. HOT DINGLEBERRIES ON A PLATTER BATWOMAN!!!


So I make like the Tasmanian Devil, scurry around the booth and I find him. Kudos to the DC worker for letting me be the last fan after the cut-off time. What was even more cooler was Jock himself taking the time to talk with me and draw me a sketch. It was a sincere joy to meet with him as he was a very gracious person and seemed genuinely happy to be at SDCC. Some tidbits of what we talked about: a) he enjoyed the movie version The Losers b) he's currently working on a creator-owned 6-issue mini-series, re-teaming with none other than The Losers writer, Andy Diggle. The tentative title of the series is Switchback and they are currently shopping around for a publisher. Thank you much Mr. Jock for taking the time out of your busy day. Here is the uber*cool sketch he drew.


One of the randomly funny moments walking around the San Diego exhibition hall was catching Voltron getting friendly with geek-girl cutie, Blair Butler of Attack of the Show! & Fresh Ink. Check out the intimate moments they share, reminiscent of a geeky Joannie loves Cha-Chi or a newfound nerdy-power couple version of Branjelina. You heard it here first!!!

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chessie

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SDCC 2010, Ch. 8 - Enter Manapul, Portacio, Choi, Winick, & Lemire

Hey what do you know...who knew that some of my favorite comic book creators would be at Comic-Con. What a qwa-winky-dink. All stupid snarkiness aside, being able to meet & listen to some of my favorite artists / writers were one of the high points of this past week's SDCC. This is the primary reason why I go to SDCC, to get to know the people behind the fabulous work I read & view every Wednesdays. Here are a few of those folks:




Francis Manapul & Whilce Portacio - Besides being of proud Filipino descent, these two are amongst my favorite comic book artists. They were guest speakers at a panel, giving their personal insights of the struggles and joys of being a professional comic book artist. During their session, they shared their techniques & skills to aspiring artists in attendance of how to hone their craft and strive (& survive). One of the more interesting subjects they discussed was how they both deal with the mental & emotional peaks & valleys when they are in the midst of "artist's block" or swiftly approaching a deadline. Whilce told a story of how him & Jim Lee are very competitive and how Whilce once stayed up 33 hours straight to finish a deadline just to beat out Jim Lee's 30 hour insomniac session the night before. After that craziness, they both agreed not to make that kind battle again. Hilarious.



And as for Mr. Manapul, he is currently producing, developing, & starring in an upcoming TV show for the SyFy channel. The name of the show slips my mind but the premise of the show is seeing how mythical creatures would react in real times. Think Myth Busters without the myth but with creatures. Stop making that gas-face on the screen, Francis did a way better job than me of explaining what the show was about. Look for it to come out later on this year on SyFy. Both were a joy to listen to and are both down-to-earth & funny folks. Definite one of my SDCC highlights.

Mike Choi - Down in Artist's Alley. Though I did not have a chance to talk with him (as you can see he was busy doing a sketch), it was cool to see him at what he does best. He is the reason (along with his colorist/fiance Sonia Oback) why X-Force is at the top of my pull list pile.



Judd Winick & Jeff Lemire - At the DC Booth. It was towards the end of their meet and greet and the popular Mr. Winick had a line waiting a mile long. The DC forces that be, cut me off before I had a chance to meet Mr. Lemire but at the very least I was able to see the man behind one of my favorite book's, Sweet Tooth.

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chessie

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Horn is Killing It

Greg Horn is a creator that has honed and retooled his technique blending already fascinating illustrations with new media innovations to create otherwise major time-intensive lighting and mood effects in a flash.



Horn's variant treatment for the upcoming Flash #3 and unreleased work for The Green Lantern Corps (to be printed in the Blackest Night trade) shows that he is not just that guy that really knows how to draw women, which isn't a bad thing-- but whoa look at em go.


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big O

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RIP Frank Frazetta

My childhood memories are filled with my older brother's (tim-chi) love for Conan and fantastical images of scantily-clad women that introduced me to the female anatomy, well- probably earlier than most kids.  The sole source of this was Frank Frazetta.  Along with Boris Vallejo, Frazetta created a roadmap to illustrating for my brother and millions of other fans for the last 5 decades.  Unbelievable.

For these reasons and more it is so tragic to hear of today's passing of Frank Frazetta, due to a stroke at the age of 82.

Frazetta touched nearly every creative medium in his life with an incomparable, gritty, but seductive style whether it be in comics, film, music and so on.  Without Frazetta, we may have never had the masters in paint illustration (focused on women) that we enjoy today in Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, Yoshitaka Amano and Yusuke Nakano. 

Frank Frazetta, Rest in Peace (1928-2010)



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big O

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They Make Good Dwa-rings Brah:January 2010

These artists set off 2010 with a bang. Here's the Top 7 artists for the month of January (Rhyme Tyme Edition):


7. Scott Clark / Justice League:Cry for Justice #6
Scottie hot to trottie, props for making Prometheus a bad-ass and Donna Troy a hottie


6. Gary Frank / Superman, Secret Origin #4
Gary, it's quite amazing with your likeness of Chris Reeve…lemme be frank, Gary - kinda scary


5. Jock / Detective Comics #861
Jock taking over the Dark Knight Family on the Gotham City block. Not at all bad, I ain't sad


4. Salvador Larroca / Invincible Iron Man #22
Your art is so beautiful Mr. Larroca, I kinda wanna choke 'ya


3. Francis Manapul / Adventure Comics #6
Oh Franny, your art's so fine, you art's so find it blows my mind, Franny!!!


2. Roberto De La Torre #504
The gorgeous creations from De La Torre perfectly capturing the dark and gritty Daredevil story




1. Doug Mahnke / Green Lantern #50
Doug taking over the top spot making others shrug, you have a right to be smug

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chessie

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