Comic Book Feeds

Title: Faithless # 1
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Story by: Brian Azzarello
Art by: Maria Llovet
Letters by: AndWorldDesign
Cover by: Paul Pope with Colors by Daniel Semanas
Variant Covers by: Tula Lolay, Lee Bermejo, Mirka Andolfo
Price: $ 3.99 US
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Website: www.boom-studios.com
Comments: We do get a peek at several girls and they are interesting. One of the girls a wannabe with meets a new girl. The new girl does have one sexy bra on. Her name is Poppy.
Magic girl and Poppy do bond quickly. Faith the magic girl is there for Poppy to comfort her. These two girls do become incredibly close in a short time.
There is full nudity and sexual situations so this is a mature title. The nude girls are beautifully illustrated showing them both as two sexy women. They are shown having full sex.
The ending of this issue will have you going what is happening and who is Poppy? Faith has just entered a new world and started upon an adventure she has no idea of yet.
This book is presented to grab your attention and have you wanting to know more. You will want to come back for the next issue.
Magic is in the air.

Title: Cold Blood Samurai # 1
Publisher: Action Lab Comics
Story: Massimo Rosi
Pencils: Ludovica Ceregatti
Colors: Renato Stevanato
Lettering: Mattia Gentili
Price: $ 3.99 US
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Website: www.actionlabcomics.com
Comments: This is a strange tale about animals in the role of samurai and all the characters are animals. The story unfolds in a nice smooth manner.
Swollen Cheeks and Short Tail are attacked and this leads to a civil war.
This comic teaches you some about what a samurai is. It also has a Japanese samurai story that is true and is so fantastic. You have to read it for yourself.
The art on these reptiles is well done. The art does give you the sense that these creatures are intelligent and that they could be in the positions they are in for real. Having a frog samurai is different and it does work.
This issue does not have much action and the little it does not show you the actual attack but only afterward.
The characters shown need to be given a stronger presence so you know who they are and remember them.
The short Japanese tale of two swords is something you will want to read.

2019 marks the end of a variety of different fandoms; some we have followed for a decade or more. We can’t help our excitement as we speed ever closer to the end of these stories, knowing that, for good or evil, they will end.

 

Game of Thrones

April 15th Winter has come. With only 6 episodes left in the series, we will finally know who take the Iron Throne.

 

Avengers Endgame

April 26th The Avengers will do whatever it takes to defeat Thanos.

 

Star Wars

December 20, 2019, the force returns with the epic conclusion of their latest trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker.

 

At face value, this feels as if we are coming to the end of an era. Bittersweet as it is, I would argue that there is no better time to be a geek than right now. We have the power to keep our favorite fantasy worlds alive.

The excitement of seeing the culmination of years of word building and character development, has us racing toward the inevitable. The finish line. We’re desperate to know who will survive the Game of Thrones. How will the Avengers triumph over Thanos? Can the Rebels truly defeat the Empire/First Order?

During our adventures into these fantastical worlds, those questions have birthed thousands of video streams, podcasts, etc… Dedicated fans, the geekiest of the fantasy geeks, have used the downtime between movies, episodes, and/or series to dissect those fantasy worlds we all wish we lived in.

All the speculation feeds into our excitement. We, in turn, have become fans of those fans who have taken to social media to debate their theories. The fandom grows even when we are not actively devouring new content from the original creators. We cheer on the theorist and speculators as they work out what they think will be the answer to our burning questions. This further whets our appetites for what comes next.

As the fandom grows, we celebrate together. Comic Conventions are packed with cosplayers and fan groups. We flock to our favorite actors for autographs. We listen to their interviews, follow press junkets, eager to learn some tiny spoiler before the next episode or movie is released. When the moment comes, we watch en masse and cheer our favorite characters on. We console each other as we say goodbye to those characters whose time has come to an end.

The end, however, is never truly the end. As long as we are able to come together and share our love for these fantasy worlds, we keep those characters alive. That is our power. That is our voice. And those creating content for our worlds have heard us.

When fantasy worlds develop such a massive following, our love often opens the doors to new creative ways for those series to be reborn. And we get new adventures, often with different characters, existing within our favorite worlds.

 

It is for this reason that Game of Thrones has been given a new chance, or should I say Westeros.

HBO is working on a prequel series based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series that will take place thousands of years before the Game of Thrones story we know.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a12438310/game-of-thrones-prequel-spin-off-series-news/

We will see the Golden Age of Heroes, learn the mysteries of the White Walkers origins, and maybe witness the Wall being built. I for one cannot wait!!

 

The same applies to the MCU. We may be ending phase 3 of the Avengers story, but we are far from leaving the grander cinematic universe based on the popular comics.  Their stories are far from over, especially now that the Disney–Fox merger means IP’s like the X-Men and Fantastic 4 are fair game again.

 

And, though Star Wars is ending their Skywalker saga, they are far from done with the universe and all the conflict within.

Fans can get excited about Clone Wars animated TV series, (returning in 2019), The Mandalorian, and the Cassian Andor TV series, just to name a few. These will be available on the Disney TV streaming service. You might remember me mentioning it earlier. They’ve finally announced release dates and pricing, just in time to capture those fans needing their Star Wars fix after the close of the Skywalker saga!

 

Our Geekdom is our strength, and it will always live on.

 

Cookie and the Kid #1 (of 5) (miniseries, black & white, 32 pgs., $3.99 U.S.)
Story/Art: Alex Kosakowski
Presenting the first issue of a delightful (and delicious) all-ages adventure!
In a hidden faerie kingdom, Cookie, a young misfit elf, is facing big worries for a wee folk: He just wants to eat his favorite food—cookies from the human world—in peace, but other critters are stealing them, after HE stole them fair and square!  And now this lost human child and her dog have stumbled into his life, sparking an unexpected journey for them both!

 

Exciting Comics Extravaganza #1 (one-shot, full color, 100 pgs., $5.99 U.S.)
Story: David Furr
Art: Dell Barras
Antarctic Press’s Superverse has given new life to classic heroes from the public domain, but where did it all begin?  In this 100-page extravaganza, we go back decades before the events of Exciting Comics #1, to a time when super heroes were nothing more than characters played by talentless actors.  But was it really just an act?  Writer David Furr (Exciting Comics and Mobster Graveyard) and veteran artist Dell Barras (Turnbuckle Titans and Rochelle) bring you the murder mystery that opened the doors to the Superverse!

 

Gold Digger #268 (monthly series, full color, 32 pgs., $3.99 U.S.)
Story/Art: Fred Perry
Penny and Ace have just finished sending invitations for their baby shower, even to all their interdimensional and outer-realm friends, but then Ace notices some unfamiliar names on the guest list, all sharing his wife’s maiden surname.  Yes, Ace is about to meet…the IN-LAWS, the ones Penny’s somehow never mentioned.  There’s her super-secret agent-director mother, her Doctor Moreau-esque scientist father, her rhyming army chef brother, and her weather-controlling sister.  Put them all together, and they might spell “trouble”, and they’re ON THEIR WAY!

 

Horror Comics #2 (monthly series, b&w, 32 pgs. $3.99)
Story: Bradley Golden
Art: Andrey Lunatik & Mickey Clausen
“Cold Blooded, Part 2”
This issue, as we learn the chilling origins of homicidal ice cream man Thomas Wright, Wright is in pursuit of his own stepson, with detective Benjamin Dunne hot on his murderous trail!

 

Planet 9 #2 (of 4) (miniseries, full color, 24 pgs., $3.99)
Story: Matt Spradlin
Art: Tariq Hassan
The four alien ambassadors from Planet Nine offer answers to some far-reaching questions, ones we have asked since humans walked the Earth. However, the team of scientists may not like what is revealed to them.

 

 

Punchline #9 (monthly, full color, 32 pages, $3.99 U.S.)
Story: Bill Williams
Art: Matthew Weldon
Jessie’s parents come to her after seeing Versema on television, wanting to know if she and the costumed hero are one and the same.  Will she lie to them for their own good?  And Mel goes on a secret mission, only to run into the villain named GRIDLOCK!

 

Strong Box: The Big Bad Book of Boon #2 (of 8) (miniseries, full color, 32 pgs., $3.99)
Story: H. Thomas Altman
Art: Sebastian Sala
Trouble is his business.  On the heels of the mysterious bug creature, Frank encounters a mentally disabled man who may provide him clues needed to find his next series of answers in eclectic sci-fi author Rosemarie Palewood.  Meanwhile, the elusive killer targets his second victim, a woman fallen madly in love with Frank!

 

Team MOBILE Vol. 2 #2 (of 3) (miniseries, full color, 24 pgs., $3.99 U.S.)
Story: Matthew Spradlin & Jonathan Kendrick
Art: Larry “Spike” Jarrell
“The Rise and Fall of Team MOBILE, Part 2”
Maisy goes rogue looking for revenge on McCready, which puts her on the opposite side of the new recruits in Team Beta.  Team MOBILE also gets an updated MindMerge tech to contend with a lethal new version of Cybok!

 

William the Last: Shadow of the Crown #1 (miniseries, full color, 24 pgs., $3.99 U.S.)
Story/Art: Brian Shearer
UPC: 61072123043500911
ALL AGES!
As William and company make their way out of the city, he is troubled by imagery in a dream that pushes him down a dangerous path.

The hit series is back with Issue #4 out on May 1st. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all again for choosing to write about and review this book. This book has seen a lot of love and success and that is in no small measure thanks to reviewers and press who have been vocal about it. Much love.

“The shadow of war is cast over the land, where people and promises are broken alike. The smell of blood calls to beasts. Now is the time of monsters. Along these savage shores, where hope is folly, and fortune is the lie of a cruel whim.”

“This is another straight-up winning choice by the increasingly impressive Vault Comics team.  It would have been right at home in mid-period Vertigo, with its classical pacing and fresh tone, and a cliffhanger last panel right out of Brian Vaughan.” _ Warren Ellis

“A startlingly beautiful, strikingly confident Vampire story, completely devoid of post-modern whimsy yet with a deep red vein of novelty.” _ Kieron Gillen (The Wicked + the DIvine)

Guests: Santino, Blue Meanie, Shigehiro Irie, Joey Ryan, Ethan Page, Matt Taven, Paul Turner, Cary Silkin & Joe Koff. It’s ‘Mania weekend and Colt is on 5 shows along with Wrestlecon. Go from show to show with Colt and the other wrestlers on this huge wrestling weekend.

Music:
www.youtube.com/TheUkuleleTeacher
www.superfunyeahyeahrocketship.com

Image Photo:
www.portraitofawrestler.com/

Image Design:
Jimmy Lee

The Gardens Between, City of Brass, Monster Prom Among MomoCon 2019 Indie Game Awards Finalists ATLANTA – April 11, 2019 – The top 20 finalists of the fifth annual MomoCon Indie Game Awards Showcase will exhibit their games at MomoCon 2019, taking place Thursday – Sunday, May 23 – 26, 2018 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Developers will compete on the largest gaming exhibition floor in the southeast United States, hosting more than 38,000 unique attendees. The finalists are:

• Astoria Legends, Studio XV (Windows)
• Blast Zone! Tournament, Victory Lap Games (Windows)
• City of Brass, Uppercut Games Pty Ltd (Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch)
• CrossCode, Radical Fish Games (Windows)
• Eagle Island, Pixelnicks (Windows, Mac, Linux)
• Escape Team, Hemmert (Android, iOS)
• Evolution: The Video Game, North Star Digital Studios (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS)
• FrostRunner, Think Arcade (Windows)
• Headliner: NoviNews, Unbound Creations LLC (Windows, Mac)
• Hexologic, MythicOwl (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Switch)
• Immortal Darkness: Curse of the Pale King, Giant Space Monster (Windows)
• La Rana, Frog Paw Studios (Windows)
• Looking For Heals, Blue Bomber Games (Windows)
• Monster Prom, Beautiful Glitch (Windows, Mac)
• NITE Team 4, Alice and Smith (Windows, Mac)
• Pixel Puzzle Makeout League, Glass Knuckle Games (Windows, Mac)
• Roundguard, Wonderbelly Games (Windows)
• SiNKR 2, Wahler Digital (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux)
• Tech Support: Error Unknown, Dragon Slumber (Windows, Mac, Linux)
• The Gardens Between, The Voxel Agents (Windows, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, Switch)

Five winning entries will be announced at an awards ceremony on Saturday, May 25, 2019. Developers of those titles will receive:

• $1000 Prize
• 10 x 20 Exhibit Space at MomoCon 2020
• Dedicated Panel at MomoCon 2020
• Highlighted placement in a MomoCon newsletter going to tens of thousands of gamers
• Glass Trophy

Three Georgia-made games, which are also general finalists, are eligible for the fourth annual MomoCon Georgia Award with its own $1000 prize:

• SiNKR 2, Wahler Digital (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux)
• Astoria Legends, Studio XV (Windows)
• Looking For Heals, Blue Bomber Games (Windows)

“This year’s submissions join the pantheon of exceptional, creative games that we’re lucky enough to see at the show every year,” says Chris Stuckey, CEO, MomoCon. “Our distinguished judges, including industry luminary Rami Ismail and editors from publications like Destructoid and Kotaku, will have to select five winners among truly special finalists brought to life by their creators’ incredible talent and dedication.” The event will be broadcast live from MomoCon on Saturday, May 25th, at 10PM EST on Twitch. Passes for MomoCon 2019 are on sale now, with four-day and single-day options available.

Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con! returns to the Las Vegas Convention Center from June 14th to 16th 2019 with SHAZAM’s Asher Angel, Disney’s Aladdin and Star Wars: Rogue One’s Alan Tudyk, Deadpool Creator Rob Liefeld and the creators of the Infinity War Saga

 

Wednesday April 10th, 2019 – Las Vegas’s premiere Pop Culture convention, Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con! is returning to the Las Vegas Convention Center June 14th to 16th 2019 with some of the biggest, brightest and most current Architects of Pop Culture, some for the first time and some for the last time. Asher Angel, Billy Batson in DC/WB’s SHAZAM! (currently the number 1 movie in the world!) and Jonah in Disney’s smash hit Andi Mack makes his debut Las Vegas appearance alongside Alan Tudyk (Star Wars: Rogue One, Firefly) who is fresh off Disney’s Aladdin (out May 24th) where he plays Iago; Rob Liefeld (Creator Deadpool, Domino, Cable) who launched his new Marvel collaboration Major X on April 3rd 2019, which sold out its first print run before it was even released; and in their first ever West Coast Appearance together in 29 years, the original writers/creators and artists of The Infinity War Saga Jim Starlin, Ron Lim, George Perez and Joe Rubinstein come together to celebrate Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe films based on their creations that have shattered all box office records over the past year and changed the MCU forever.

 

Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con! will also feature returns from Power Rangers star Jason David Frank, who will be joined (for the first time in Las Vegas!) by original Power Rangers star Amy Jo Johnson (Felicity, Flashpoint, The Space Between), Star Wars Cast members  Daniel Logan (Boba Fett), Matthew Wood (General Grievous) and in their Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con! debuts – cast members from the smash hit Anime, My Hero Academia,  Josh Grelle (“Tokoyami”) and Justin Cook (Kirishima). These exciting guests will feature on not to be missed panels hosted by Collider personalities Steven “Frosty” Weintraub, Perri Nemiroff, Coy Jandreau and More.

 

Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con! prides itself on celebrating the people who created and brought to life the characters that we love and 2019 is no different. Gerry Conway, the creator of MS Marvel/Captain Marvel (which is the highest grossing female led superhero movie in history!) Punisher and many more, makes his Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con! debut. He will be joined by HBO’s Game Of Thrones artist Mog Park, who celebrate Game Of Thrones Epic final season, TMNT creator Kevin Eastman who is bringing his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles together with Batman this summer for an epic Animated movie Batman Vs TMNT, Chad Hardin (Harley Quinn) Gerry Duggan (Conan and the Avengers mash up Savage Avengers due in 2019), Ryan Ottley (Amazing Spiderman) J. Sullivan (Robotech and G.I Joe), Las Vegas local Steven Grant (The Punisher), Andy Kuhn (Batman VS TMNT), Angel Medina(Venom, Spider-Man), Long Vo (Street Fighter and Robotech),  Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz (Street Fighter and Overwatch). Joe Ng (Street Fighter), Marat Mychaels (Do You Pooh?, Deadpool) David Nakayama (Spiderman), Livio Ramondelli (Transformers) and many more.

 

Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con! will also celebrate the illustrious career of George Perez, as he makes his final ever West Coast convention appearance. Fans will be able to get up close and personal with George, whose legacy of work includes the creation of the Infinity Gauntlet Series at Marvel, the creation of DC’s Teen Titans/Deathstroke and whose work on Crisis on Infinite Earths and Wonder Woman made him a fan favorite. A special tribute Panel featuring guest speakers and surprises will be held on Sunday June 16th.

 

Tickets and VIP packages beginning at just $25 are available now at https://www.amazingcomiccon.com/ with children 12 and under FRE

From Mark Waid, Javier Rodriguez, and Alvaro Lopez with covers by Steve McNiven!

 

New York, NY—April 10, 2019—The Marvel Universe is a sprawling, interconnected web of rich history, dating back to its very beginnings…and now, it’s all coming together in a huge new story!

 

This July, Marvel invites readers to join legendary writer Mark Waid (Avengers No Road Home) and Exiles artists Javier Rodriguez and Alvaro Lopez for a brand-new tale in what is destined to become the DEFINITIVE history of the Marvel Universe!

 

HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE will reveal previously unknown secrets and shocking revelations, connecting all threads of the past and present from the Marvel Universe! From the Big Bang to the twilight of existence, this sweeping story covers every significant event and provides fresh looks at the origins of every fan’s favorite Marvel stories!

 

“We’ve seen Marvel histories and Marvel encyclopedias and Marvel handbooks, and I love that stuff. I absorb them like Galactus absorbs planets,” Waid told Marvel. “This is not that. There’s information here, but there’s also a story. The Marvel Universe is a living thing, it is its own story, and we’re trying to approach it with some degree of heart to find the heart in that story so it doesn’t read like 120 pages of Wikipedia.”

 

It’s a story you’ve never seen before…and it all starts this July with HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE!

 

HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #1 (of 6)

Written by MARK WAID

Art by JAVIER RODRIGUEZ

Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN

‘What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ Lands in Movie Theaters Nationwide For One Night Only
on May 13 Documentary Feature by Directors Ira Steven Behr and David Zappone Features Behind-the-Scenes Footage of the Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Interviews with Cast and Creators, and More DENVER – April 9, 2019 – Fans will get a special look into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the new documentary – “What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” – arrives in movie theaters across the country for one night only on May 13, 2019. The film presents a fascinating in-depth look at the past, present and future of a series whose dark, edgy take on Gene Roddenberry’s vision was often misunderstood when it premiered but has grown into a beloved mainstay in the Star Trek franchise. Featuring extensive new interviews with the cast and crew of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as well as newly remastered HD footage from the television series, “What We Left Behind” also focuses on the original writers of the series as they craft a brand-new episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, developing what would be the eighth-season premiere if the show were to return to the air today.


Following the feature presentation, a taped roundtable discussion with directors Ira Steven Behr, David Zappone, and the film’s producers will provide audiences with a comprehensive look at the making of the film, the show’s fans and the series’ ongoing appeal to Trekkers of all ages. Fathom attendees will also receive an exclusive double-sided poster with the theatrical poster art for “What We Left Behind” on one side, and an original illustration from the film on the other. (Quantities limited, while supplies last.)

Tickets for “What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” can be purchased beginning Friday, April 12 at www.FathomEvents.com and participating theater box offices. Fathom Events, Shout! Studios, 455 Films and Tuxedo Productions bring this event to more than 800 movie theaters nationwide on Monday, May 13, at 7:00 p.m. local time, through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network (DBN). A complete list of theater locations will be available April 12 on the Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change). Ira Steven Behr said, “When Dave Zappone asked me if I wanted to make a documentary about Deep Space Nine, my first reaction was, ‘What is there left to say about Deep Space Nine?’ Well, William Faulkner once wrote, ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past.’ The cast, crew and fans have a lot to say about Deep Space Nine. What We Left Behind is their story; it’s my story, too. Turns out William Faulkner was a very wise man.” “A point of pride for Fathom Events is our ability to give fans cinema experiences that enhance their understanding and enjoyment of the original programming they love,” said Fathom Events CEO Ray Nutt. “’What We Left Behind’ will take Trekkers’ passion for the series one step further.”

Shocking Events Turn to Sex, Danger, and Supernatural Delight In May 2019

​

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 10, 2019) – BOOM! Studios today revealed a first look at FAITHLESS #2, from New York Times bestselling writer Brian Azzarello (Batman: Damned) and artist Maria Llovet (Loud), the next chapter in an unforgettable story about a young woman whose exploration of magic and sex takes her into forbidden territory. In short—Faith is bored as hell. And Hell has noticed.

Faith just had the best night of her life but it isn’t over yet. The mysterious and sensuous Poppy is more than Faith could have ever dreamt of, bringing excitement, passion, and that elusive spark of magic into her previously mundane daily life. But not everything is as it seems. While Poppy hands Faith the keys to the underground art scene, drawing her deeper into a world of wild parties and crazy nights, other mysterious figures begin to enter her life, bringing with them more than a hint of danger and the supernatural.

FAITHLESS #2 features an erotic variant cover by acclaimed artist Vanesa R. Del Rey (Redlands), that will be polybagged and not publicly previewed due to sexually explicit material. This issue also features a main cover by artist Paul Pope (Heavy Liquid) and a variant cover by artist Fábio Moon (Casanova: Acedia).

“This issue finds Faith diving straight into Poppy’s world without reservation and little consideration as to the consequences. Her world has rapidly become anything but boring,” said Sierra Hahn, Executive Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Brian and Maria continue to impress with each new page of Faith’s journey. When you think you know where the story is headed, the bottom drops out and everything takes a sideways step into the unknown.”

FAITHLESS is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including Abbott from Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivelä; Bone Parish from Cullen Bunn and Jonas Scharf; Grass Kings from Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins; and Klaus from Grant Morrison and Dan Mora. The imprint is also home to popular licensed properties including Joss Whedon’s Firefly from Greg Pak and Dan McDaid and Buffy The Vampire Slayer from Jordie Bellaire and Dan Mora.

Print copies of FAITHLESS #2 will be available for sale on May 22, 2019 at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and the BOOM! Studios app.

For continuing news on FAITHLESS and more from BOOM! Studios, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.

Gerard Way’s pop-up imprint returns with DOOM PATROL: WEIGHT OF THE WORLDS

Author N.K. Jemisin makes her comic book debut with FAR SECTOR

Mikey Way and Shaun Simon introduce new series COLLAPSER

DC’s Young Animal is returning this July with the next chapter of its flagship title, plus two new, innovative stories. The pop-up imprint curated by My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way will kick things off on July 3 with DOOM PATROL: WEIGHT OF THE WORLDS, followed by COLLAPSER on July 17 and FAR SECTOR in late 2019.

With these new series come new creative teams, with Mikey Way (MCR), Shaun Simon (Neverboy,Killjoys) and acclaimed artist Ilias Kyriazis (G.I. Joe: First Strike) introducing COLLAPSER, and author N.K. Jemisin (The Broken Earth, Inheritance trilogies) making her comic book writing debut with FAR SECTOR, a new and original Green Lantern story, alongside Jamal Campbell, artist of the breakout hit series, NAOMI. The next phase of Gerard Way’s DOOM PATROL will team him up once again with Nick Derington for covers, with interior stories illustrated by a series of amazing artists beginning with James Harvey, followed by Doc Shaner, Nick Pitarra, Becky Cloonan and more.

“We are thrilled to revitalize DOOM PATROL, and to present both COLLAPSER and FAR SECTOR, two books that push the medium of comics and their respective genres through uncharted territory,” says Gerard Way. “Readers can expect everything from high doses of cosmic weirdness and positivity, to deep examinations of anxiety and emotions while wielding immense power, to sci-fi explorations of authority and control and what it means to be a guardian while a world hangs in delicate balance. More fantastic comics outside the norm, as only DC’s Young Animal can do.”

More details about these new series can be found here:

 

DOOM PATROL: WEIGHT OF THE WORLDS
Written by: Gerard Way and Jeremy Lambert
Art by: James Harvey followed by Doc Shaner, Nick Pitarra, Becky Cloonan and more
Series debut: July 3, 2019

Gerard Way and the World’s Strangest Super Heroes return in an all-new series that takes them beyond the borders of time and space! The Doom Patrol will go on an epic road trip around the solar system, facing off against the unusual and bizarre including the fanatical fitness fiends of planet Orbius and the Marathon Eternal. Big changes are coming for these unusual heroes, including Robotman coming to terms with his new life as a human.

 

COLLAPSER
Written by: Mikey Way and Shaun Simon
Art by: Ilias Kyriazis
Series debut: July 17, 2019

Liam James is a wannabe DJ whose life goals are almost completely dashed by his crippling anxiety—until a package arrives in the mail containing a black hole that gives him amazing powers and draws him into a cosmic conflict far beyond anything he’d ever imagined. But Liam will discover that when it comes to life, love, mental health and superhero responsibilities, there’s no such thing as a quick fix, and that power comes with a cost.

 

FAR SECTOR
Written by: N.K. Jemisin
Art by: Jamal Campbell
Series debut: 2019

Newly chosen Green Lantern Sojourner “Jo” Mullein has been protecting the City Enduring, a massive metropolis of 20 billion people, for the past six months. The City has maintained peace for over 500 years by stripping its citizens of their ability to feel. As a result, violent crime is virtually unheard of, and murder is nonexistent.

But that’s all about to change.

This new series introduces a dizzying game of politics and philosophies as Jo discovers a brewing revolution in the City, aided and abetted by some of its most powerful citizens.

DC’s Young Animal continues to stretch the boundaries of creativity with experimental and genre-pushing stories. This next phase of the pop-up imprint solidifies its place as comics for dangerous humans.

Today (April 10, 2019) is a special date for Blade Runner fans — it’s the exact date of rogue Replicant Leon “Let Me Tell You About My Mother” Kowalski’s inception. (Even casual fans remember Leon as the Nexus-6 synthetic human who shoots the Blade Runner giving him a Voight-Kompff empathy test during the film’s opening sequence inside the imposing Tyrell Corporation double pyramid).

To mark the occasion, Titan Comics and Alcon Entertainment are excited to unveil the first covers and further details for Blade Runner 2019 — a brand-new, in canon series set during the exact timeframe of the original Blade Runner film.

In the polluted and rain-drenched neo-noir nightmare that is Los Angeles, 2019, the veteran Blade Runner known as Ash has a new case: a billionaire’s wife and child, both apparently kidnapped by violent Replicants.

The 12-issue series is being written by acclaimed Blade Runner 2049 screenwriter Michael Green (Logan) and veteran collaborator Mike Johnson (Star Trek, Superman/Batman), with interior art by noted artist Andres Guinaldo (Justice League Dark, Captain America).

Blade Runner 2019 will debut July 17, 2019. The first issue—featuring variant covers by Artgerm, Syd Mead, Andres Guinaldo, and John Royle, among others—is available to pre-order through the upcoming May edition (for July shipping) of Diamond PREVIEWS.

The new Blade Runner 2019 comic series is part of a line of original comics and graphic novels by Titan and Alcon, expanding the canon of this celebrated science-fiction world.

Discussion around my last couple of posts got me to thinking about planes and how one might present them. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do it, but I think certain approaches imply certain things more than others.

There  may well be interpretations other than the three I've presented below, but hopefully this will delineate where the key differences lie.

First, here are the traits I'll use to describe them:

• Physical worlds are composed of matter and energy, physics and biology,  and function similarly to our own, though may in some ways be alien. Physical worlds in are generally finite, though they may reside in an infinite substrate (like the astral plane or space of some sort).
• Metaphysical worlds mimic physical worlds in some ways, but aren't really fully natural or "functional." Examples would include pop conceptions of Heaven (a bunch of solids clouds, with some angels and a set of golden gates) and Hell (a cavernous realm of fire). In literary fantasy settings (be they trad fantasy, pulp science fiction, or superheroes), the difference between physical worlds and metaphysical ones may only be discernible by context. Metaphysical worlds may be finite or infinite, but if they are infinite they are likely only notionally so--characters are always tend to show up "where the action is."
• A fixed reality is one where things appear to obey mundane physical laws, with exceptions for magic or special powers. The local laws might differ from the primary world's, but they are still rules that govern most everyone.
• A mutable reality is more dream-like or the power of one or more beings to manipulate its nature is so significant that things can't be taken for granted.

Planets/Worlds/"Alien Sphere": Physical spaces, whatever their actually shape/structure that exist either in the same universe as the primary world of the setting or accessible universes. In fact, they may be the other universe, made up of a number of sub-worlds. The world or universe may be reached or traversed by strictly physical means, but often can only be accessed by some sort of special device or power.
Traits: Generally physical and fixed.
Examples: Marvel's Microverse and Negative Zone; the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of the Nine Realms; perhaps Yag ("Tower of the Elephant") and other mystically described planets in pulp fiction.

Conceptual Realms: Generally supernatural places of supernatural beings, often arranged in levels or perhaps energy states. They are typically reached by magical or esoteric means, but the magical means may be as simple as walking through a seemingly mundane door or gate. Some can't be visited by physical bodies, but only by spirits, astral forms, or the like.
Traits: Metaphysical and (mostly) fixed.
Examples: various after-lifes, places where demons and gods dwell; The Realm of Dream from Sandman; The Matrix and other virtually reality realms are non-supernatural examples.

Gygaxian Esoteric Planes: Places that often bear the names and some of the characteristics of various historical conceptual realms but are more defined in their characteristics. They are inhabited by supernatural beings that tend to behave like mundane beings, the only difference being "power." Geography tends to be more important than in conceptual realms; planes can be mapped to a degree, and travel along associated terrain may be necessary.
Traits: Physical or Metaphysical, mostly fixed but can be mutable.
Examples: The Great Wheel as presented in AD&D or the 4e Cosmology; Marvel Comic's version of the Nine Realms in Thor.

At first blush, one might suggest the Gygaxian Esoteric Planes are just conceptual realms adapted to the requirements of a game, but I don't think this is the case. In the same way old school games are able to support a more mutable, fantastic, mythical underworld, they could also support conceptual realms (indeed, some rpgs already have them as background elements), but for whatever reason, Gygax and his successors chose not to portray most of the Great Wheel that way. Similarly, weird or magical planets were hardly unknown in the source literature D&D was drawn from (and would eventually show up in Planescape and Pathfinder's Golarion Solar System), but this wasn't the path chosen for D&D either.

Whether the rejection of these options was a misstep or an innovation, depends on your point of view.

So I was looking at the classic World of Greyhawk map, and I decided to try my hand at that style, considering all of the cool stuff my new Surface Pro can do.

This turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. It is for the upcoming sandboxy adventure set in the Desert of Despairing Souls (which is going to be my first 'super module', and I'll probably give it some moniker like "S:1-3" or something just to be cute). It's going to be my riff on the Desert of Desolation series... I mean, it has towers, tombs, an oasis, and a sea of glass for goodness' sake.

Get your sunscreen ready.

The second issue of Doc Stalwart's adventures has been published, and it includes a bunch of creatures and rules for underwater adventure. I was planning this before I saw Aquaman, but seeing Aquaman sure helped me to get inspired to finish it... and may have had something to do with a certain heroic underwater hero who gets a write-up in the book.

I'm not saying, but I'm just saying.

Pick up your copy of The Stalwart Age #2 right now.

The good news: I posted a day early!

The bad news: I ended up cutting from 66 to 49 monsters.

My original idea was that the books would be a title page, 6 pages of content, and the OGL. I like that model. I thought I could squeeze 66 monsters into that, but I was wrong. I just barely got 49 in. I could have expanded out two more pages, but I actually like how this feels, and it's sustainable: I can make a few more of these with themes and create 49 monsters each time. I already have the outdoor one (wanderers of the wild or something) started, and I assume there will be an outer-planar one after that. I don't know if 'dwellers in the desert' gives me enough ideas for 49 monsters, although I am thinking of doing a riff on the Desert of Desolation series, and that would either be an appendix to that, or a special release with the monsters that will be used in that particular set of adventures.

I digress. Module B1: 49 Dungeon Denizens is now live. Go get yourself a free copy. If you feel like dropping a tip, that would be great.

Now, I'm off to work on the Stalwart Age #2... going to try and post that this weekend.

I alluded to this yesterday, but I thought I should expand on why I have a bit of trouble with the "Planes as Planets" idea. First, I should say, I think this is fine for a certain sort of "magic is misunderstood science" pulp settings, and it would work wonderfully with a conception of planet something like the ancient idea of the crystal spheres because then the planets basically are planes. (GURPS Cabal by Kenneth Hite sort of takes this approach.)

True, the planes as typically presented are a bit abstract, and any many cases it might not be immediately apparent what adventurers should do with them. On the other hand, "planes as planets" runs the risk of too much mudanity. In a magical setting, I feel like the environments need to be sufficiently strange (and challenging!) to explain why you just don't have them exist on the main setting world (or beneath it).

I think science fiction might offer some suggestions. This can get tough, because adventurers don't usually go around equipped with the sort of gear space explorers have to deal with hostile environments (though it certainly could be available to them). This means sticking a bit more to pulpier sci-fi with more human-friendly environments for inspiration.

Here are two examples from the work of Stanley Weinbaum I think would work:

Weinbaum's Uranus from "Planet of Doubt" is permanently shrouded in green-gray mists (visibility only out to a few feet) and heated not by the too-distant sun, but by volcanism. There are strange, swirling beings (or what appear to be beings) of solidified mists with "the faces of gargoyles or devils, leering, grimacing, grinning in lunatic mirth or seeming to weep in mockery of sorrow. One couldn't see them clearly enough for anything but fleeting impressions—so vague and instantaneous that they had the qualities of an illusion or dream."

Those apparitions are not what they seem, but I won't spoil it for you--and of course, it doesn't really matter to your setting what Weinbaum did with them, anyway.


Then there are giant, tubular beasts resembling a larger, stranger version of the processionary caterpillars of Eath--or when they are forming a "train," Jason Sholtis's googlopede. They are a hazard that can't be defeated by brute force (probably, though multiple fireballs cure a lot of problems!), but rather have to be overcome strategically.

All you need is the addition of some treasure player's might want, and Weinbaum's Uranus is ready to be explored.

Weinbaum's Venus from "Parasite Planet" is even more interesting, though its shear hostility may make it less suitable. It's tidally locked, with a desert hot side and a frigid cold side, and a strip of more hospitable (relatively) twilight zone. That zone is a mostly jungle, hotter than anything on Earth, plagued by mud eruptions that make encampment tricky. It's teeming with life of an unsavory, but gameable, sort:
A thousand different species, but all the same in one respect; each of them was all appetite. In common with most Venusian beings, they had a multiplicity of both legs and mouths; in fact some of them were little more than blobs of skin split into dozens of hungry mouths, and crawling on a hundred spidery legs. All life on Venus is more or less parasitic. Even the plants that draw their nourishment directly from soil and air have also the ability to absorb and digest—and, often enough, to trap—animal food. So fierce is the competition on that humid strip of land between the fire and the ice that one who has never seen it must fail even to imagine it.If that's not enough, the air cannot be safely breathed, except right after a rain, due to the risk of inhaling mold spores that will sprout in the lungs. Food or water left exposed for even a short period of time begins to growth fuzz.


Terrans brave Venus because of its bounty plant-derived substances for pharmaceuticals, predominantly an anti-aging drug. Similar "potion ingredients" might tempt adventures. Venus also as a very D&Dish creature:
...the doughpot is a nauseous creature. It's a mass of white, dough-like protoplasm, ranging in size from a single cell to perhaps twenty tons of mushy filth. It has no fixed form; in fact, it's merely a mass of de Proust cells—in effect, a disembodied, crawling, hungry cancer. It has no organization and no intelligence, nor even any instinct save hunger. It moves in whatever direction food touches its surfaces; when it touches two edible substances, it quietly divides, with the larger portion invariably attacking the greater supply. It's invulnerable to bullets; nothing less than the terrific blast of a flame-pistol will kill it, and then only if the blast destroys every individual cell. It travels over the ground absorbing everything, leaving bare black soil where the ubiquitous molds spring up at once—a noisome, nightmarish creature.Again, something that brute force might not be the best way of countering.

Those are just a couple of examples. Weinbaum's fiction is in the public domain at least in some countries, so visit the internet and read more about them.

"Life on Other Worlds" was a feature that appeared periodically in Planet Comics in the 1940s. Most were drawn by Murphy Anderson, but the writer is unknown. I am not completely sold on the sometimes promulgated "Planes as Planets" idea in regard to D&D's Outer Planes, chiefly because I think it sometimes sells planes and planets a bit short on weirdness, for some reason. Reading some of these "Life on Other Worlds" segments and thinking about them as planes as caused me to rethink that position.

Take Saturn, for instance:


Mercury is more conventional, but still:

In addition to the four releases for Tales of the Splintered Realm, the Stalwart Age continues unabated... here is the cover for issue 2. The book itself should be up for sale by the end of the week.

I am REALLY digging this design for the covers, and look forward to seeing 5 or 10 of these side-by-side to see the whole tapestry of Doc's adventures as they come together...