FLIGHT 3 ROUNDTABLE
7 Questions + 11 Artists = The Flight 3 Roundtable

Art By Catia Chien

Introduction
Interview Roundtable
Interview - Kazu & Kean
Interview - Michel & Tony
Interview - Azad & Reagan
Interview – Dave & Joey
Interview - Neil & Bannister & Ben

Flight 3 Cover
By Kazu Kibuishi
1) Tell us about your story and what inspired it.

Kazu: My story, "The Iron Gate", is about two boys that grow up with opposing views on war, only to find themselves in the same boat when the reality of war hits them both. It came about a long time ago when I began drawing the story of a soldier fighting a tank with nothing more than a rifle and his desire to survive. After leaving it unfinished, I set it aside for a couple of years. When I was going through my sketchbooks to develop ideas for Flight 3, I saw the sketches again and felt there was a good story in there somewhere. The tank idea then fused with a lot of the themes that I was playing with in my Copper comics and it became this story.

Kean: The story that I contributed ("The Tea Party") features the characters from my Jellaby series. Two kids and a monster sit down to have a nice little tea party, but things don't go quite the way they plan.

Most of the story was actually written and drawn in the week after last year's San Diego Comic-Con. The idea for the story came to me on the flight over from Toronto, and as I was hanging out in the LA area with Kazu and some of the Flight crew for a week, they certainly influenced and helped me tighten up my story as I was working on it. I had a lot of fun trying out new things and bouncing ideas off of them as I was working on the story. It was definitely the first comic I wrote and drew while I was 'on the road,' so that was pretty interesting.

Neil: The story is told as a journal of a slightly fictionalized version of myself. It's inspired by having graduated and moved across the country to a place where I didn't initially feel like I belonged, and the mix of feelings of regret and isolation, and then moving beyond that. But I prefer to just let it speak for itself!

Joey: My story is titled "The Lumbering Beast." It's about a girl who gets captured by a sasquatch-esque beast in the forest. However he's just desperate to have friends, and he's quite a mess. The story has microwavable 'Possum Pockets', fly swatting, and all sorts of calamity.

It's pretty much about me and my girlfriend, ha ha. I often feel guilty about having dragged her into my lifestyle... however, it's not just negative like that. It's also about how she helps me, and about how the best friendships are two-sided.

Michel: For my work in Flight, I'm taking a character I created in 1998 (which was featured in a book called A Search for Meaning: The Story of Rex) on a wild adventure. I've always wanted to make a big graphic novel featuring "Rex" and Flight has become the venue for it.

"Snow Cap"
By Matthew Armstrong

The new chapter featured in Volume 3 (each volume features a chapter of the planned graphic novel) shows the main character intervening in a sacrificial ceremony. It deals with courage, fear, spiritual belief, death and reincarnation.

I have a tendency to build my stories using a cause and effect philosophy. As I go, I try to interconnect the elements and give meaning to the overall story. For me, art is about the process, so there's a strong element of improvisation in what I do. I like to discover as I go. That process of discovery is what I enjoy most. If I had a tight script to work with, I'd have no fun producing the story. I'm anxious to know where my story is going as I progress. The challenge is to make sure that it all make sense in the end and for that, I trust my instinct.

If I'm successful, when all the chapters of my big story are completed, every piece will fit perfectly in the overall puzzle. I already have some cool ideas for Flight 5 that will give additional meaning to every main event that's happened in each of the previous chapters. In a way, I feel like I'm making a "Rubik's Cube".

Dave: My story, "The Great Bunny Migration," is about a far-off planet where rabbits work in factories producing milkshakes, until a swarm of birds invades the city, stealing all the rabbits' natural resources (like milk pigs). The economy and the city go into a great depression, but at the darkest hour, a lone star in the sky convinces the rabbits to seek out a new home.

I just wanted to write a fun story that combined lots of things that made me happy, like milkshakes, bunnies, videogames, and storybook logic. Some elements of the story could be seen as a pre-history to my Astronaut Elementary web comic series, but only if you choose to connect the subtle dots!

Tony: I had been struggling to develop a different story for Flight 3. Despite a lot of assistance from the members of the Flight Crew, though, it just wasn't coming together. It was kind of dull, and secretly I didn't feel it was really Flight "material".

Then one afternoon I was out for a family lunch. My grandmother started to talk about her youth, and at one point mentioned that she used to write little letters to the fairies who apparently lived in the woods near her childhood home. I'm pretty sure I immediately thought of Flight. And I really wanted to realize it as a nice thing to do for gran'ma - sort of a tribute, I suppose. So I sketched some characters up, picked gran'ma's brain a little more, developed it into a bit of a story, and with not a small amount of help from the lovely Flight Crew, ended up with "Old Oak Trees"

Reagan: My story is a short little episode about two characters, Wyit and Sidna, who are part of a much, much larger story which has been kind of a project of mine over the last few years. Wyit is a young fox servant/squire to Sidna, a knight girl. In this particular episode Sidna sends Wyit off to find some tea roots, which leads him into a bit of trouble. I guess what inspired this story was how I kept originally trying to do completely different stories that I was less interested in. I was always trying to do something that would "fit in" with Flight, so I kept burning myself out on all these ideas that I thought other people might like, but had no interest at all in myself, which made it hard to stay motivated.

Then while sitting at the Flight table at Comic-Con and voicing my story troubles, Kazu, Rad and some other guys said "Why don't you just do a story with that fox character of yours?" At first I was surprised, since I thought the story I had going with Wyit and Sidna would be too dark or grim for Flight. But since the characters and story are something I'm really passionate about and have a lot of personal resources and imagination invested in, it was really easy for me to just jump in and start making a comic for Flight 3.

"Wurmler Of The West"
By Paul Harmon
Bannister: Well, err... It's a story about two people that "meet" in the bus. Something's happening between them, like "good feeling" or "good vibes". They know they could have been lovers maybe, but they're already engaged on they're own with someone else. So this is just about this instant, this little emotion, when you feel your life could have been different from this point.

Concerning inspiration, well, I guess everybody took the bus once and kinda felt this way at least once in their lifetime. Honestly I don't know, it just came like this in my head... "pop!".

Ben: My story this time around is about two young men, one a believer in myths and legends and the other an eternal skeptic and debunker. In the woods near their town they find what seems to be the edge of the world, and they meet the cranky old hermit who lives there.

I wanted to tell a story with these characters, Tom and Felix, the doubter and the believer, because they represent the competing voices inside all of us. So I hoped it would be fun to watch them interact.

Azad: My story (titled "Polaris") is about a little girl with a gift who wants nothing more than to be "normal". When her wish finally comes true, her gift becomes her curse.

2) For those making their FLIGHT debut with this volume, how did you get involved with the book?

Joey: Well, I finally made myself a website (Tragic Planet.com) a year or two ago. And after that I was like, "Okay... got this now... how do I get people to look at it?" So, I was looking into forums and stuff, and the FLIGHT board was maybe the nicest place on the internet. There were all sorts of constructive critiques, and an all around friendly attitude there. So, I started posting art and comics there more and more frequently. After a while Kazu contacted me and gave me an invitation to contribute to the book!

Dave: I first discovered Kazu's work at the Alternative Press Expo a few years back, when he was selling prints of his Copper comic strips. When I asked if he had done a mini-comic, he explained that it was a web comic only, so I started checking out his website pretty regularly. We ended up doing some projects together for Nickelodeon Magazine and had lots of mutual friends within cartooning circles. So I ended up being fairly active on the Flight message board, had seen a lot of the book as it was developing, and was obviously really excited by the time it was released for San Diego Comic Con. Kazu invited me to a big celebratory dinner for all the Flight contributors, and there was lots of encouragement for me to do something. But it took me a while to overcome my own self-doubts as an artist before I finally posted the story ideas I had been developing!

Tony: I think I bumped into Kazu "hanging out" on the Shane Glines webforum. I don't know exactly how it played out... at one point I did this drawing as a bit of a tribute to Kazu's Daisy Kutter. I exchanged emails with Kazu about comics and stuff, I think. Probably very fanboyish. Then, somehow, I got invited to join the Flight community, and it was basically, "do up a story and we'll put it in the book". Volume One was put out, and it was amazing. Then Two followed, and it just became a matter of finding time to be a part of the book and developing a story that didn't suck.

"One Little Miracle
For A Hungry Swarm"
By Alex Fuentes
Reagan: I knew a little bit about Flight before I joined it, but not much. My first encounter with it was at Comic-Con 2004 when I was walking around with fellow artist Matt Rhodes, who said we had to check this Flight Comics booth out. I liked what I saw and met a couple of the people there, so a few months later I dropped by the forums and posted some art. I wasn't expecting anything other than some good art chat, so I was really pleasantly surprised when Kazu tapped me on the shoulder asking if I'd like to make a story for Flight. Utterly blew my socks off.

Azad: Johane Matte and I were sharing a table at San Diego Comic con in 2004, and she had been involved with Volume 2. Through her, I met Kazu and he was gracious enough to invite me to participate. Plus I slipped him $5.

3) Did FLIGHT's movement to Ballantine Books affect how you approached your contribution?

Kazu: I will have to admit that thinking about how Ballantine produced a lot of harder-edged pulp material made it easier for me to draw a slightly edgier story.

Kean: I don't think I was consciously thinking about it, although after having stories in the last two books, I was definitely more aware of the fact that I needed to keep pushing myself in order to raise the quality of my own work.

Neil: The change in publishers didn't influence how I approached creating the story, because the book is still aimed at the same target audience (everyone). It may have helped me in an incidental way because we had a little extra time, so it's done in a more detailed style than my previous stories.

Joey: Not really. I was hardly involved with FLIGHT while it was at Image. But I think I was already working on my story by the time that the Ballantine news came through. I was just excited at the chance to work on a longer story, and one in colour... the publishing news was just an added bonus!

Michel: No, that didn't change anything for me.

Dave: I think the potential for Flight to have an even bigger life outside the comic book marketplace was, and still is, really exciting to me. But it didn't affect my actual storytelling, since I had worked out most of the script long before I knew about the change in publishers. And there was already tons of pressure to do my best, just because of the insane level of talent that would be in the book and the expectations based on the first two volumes.

Tony: I wouldn't say so. I think I started my story before that deal actually came through. I'm just happy to be a part of this project, however it gets published.

Reagan: Not a whole lot, really. I must confess I wouldn't know how being published by Image or Ballantine Books would've affected my story. Though since Ballantine apparently is getting us wider publishing, I'm pretty dang excited about that!

Bannister: Absolutely not. I'm still free to do what I want the way I want to do it. So it's no problem for me. On the contrary, if it gives Flight more places on the shelves and more audience, it's good. But I won't change my way of approaching my stories because of a new company.

"Conquest"
By Becky Cloonan
Ben: It did add some excitement.

Azad: My story was written and pencilled half a year before the move, so it didn't affect the story. It did give me a heck of a morale boost when I went into production though. Knowing that we cracked the book market is an amazing accomplishment.

4) How do you feel your piece contributes to the overall quality and diversity of this book?

Kazu: I'm glad I took a different approach to my piece this time. I think it helps provide some balance. I love the approach that many are taking on the book right now, that of the storybook/fairy tale variety, but I also want to remind contributors that it's okay to experiment outside what one could consider a Flight "genre".

Neil: "In Due Time" is a stream-of-memory, mostly non-fiction piece, so it's a bit different in terms of genre and storytelling; it's not really a fable or a fantasy. Hopefully it balances with the other stories and increases the variety and appeal of the book as a whole, rather than appearing out of place!

Joey: My piece is comedic and sincere. I don't know that my piece will be one that really "Wows 'em" with visuals, but the story and the heart of the characters will hopefully communicate with readers.

Michel: Well, I'm hoping that my work adds flavour to the overall. I'm incredibly honoured to have the opening story in the book so that puts pressure on me to do my best. I'm working hard to keep up with all these young artists that are so talented. Hopefully I'm succeeding.

Dave: Well, my story probably has the least amount of background detail!

Many artists in Flight excel in reflecting nature with beautiful landscapes and a dramatic sense of atmosphere. My story bucks that trend, by just being cute enough to get away with a blatant lack of draftsmanship. Hopefully people will read it, think it's funny, and not notice anything missing!

Tony: It detracts from the diversity in a very significant way. Somehow, I ended up doing a story that I feel is quite similar to Joey's (at least when you sum it up like, "little girl in the forest plus threatening creatures"). I swear I didn't steal his idea, heck, my story isn't even MY idea, really. When you read them, though, I think they come off different enough. Outside that, I just tried my best to uphold Flight's reputation for beautiful, naturalistic visuals and tight, honest storytelling.

Reagan: I think pretty much everyone involved plays a hugely important part in making Flight the diverse thing it is, so I don't think any one story was more 'important' than others, especially mine. Though since this was my first time ever doing comics, I think I added a bit of a raw experimentation element into my contribution. I normally like to paint in a sort of widescreen cinema style of composition, which I incorporated into a lot of panels in my story. Lots of use of negative space, whites, and flat blacks.

Bannister: Well, I don't know. With this story I tried to bring a bit more emotion than I did with the previous one. Some stories are very fantasy, action, or arty, beautifully illustrated. My point on this one was to focus on an emotion, and I hope it is a good complement to the others stories.

Ben: I just cross my fingers and hope that it does! Really, I think as long as an artist puts forth a solid effort to tell a story that comes from his own thoughts and experiences, and doesn't fall into the trap of trying to make his story fit into some mold or resemble another artist's work, then everything will turn out all right.

"Voodo"
By Matthew Forsythe

When you're aiming for honest storytelling it's hard not to come up with something unique!

Azad: I'm not the one to judge my story's place. I can only hope it holds up against the high standards and quality of the rest of the pieces included.

As for diversity, Flight has been, from its inception, a venue for artists to have their voice heard unfiltered. By its very nature, it's a showcase for unique and sincere work.

5) One of the noticeable evolutions of FLIGHT seems to be the move from a more animation influenced look to that of a storybook style. Did anything or anyone have a particular influence on you work for FLIGHT, whether personally or artistically?

Kazu: The shift to a more storybook feel for Flight 3 seems to be a reflection of a certain nostalgia and innocence on the part of the creators, and as Kean said, Tony Cliff did set a strong example with his story.

Kean: For me personally, it really felt like Tony Cliff's story ("Old Oak Trees") set the tone as we were starting out this time round. Seeing his first couple of inked pages as they came in really gave me that much-needed kick in the pants for me to get working on my own story. And although I don't know how much influence each of us had on one other's work, there were certainly some common threads running throughout a number of stories in the book. Maybe it was a subconscious thing?

Neil: I have done cartoony and storybook-like material before, but not for Flight. My own pieces in the books have been more influenced by literary fiction and certain obscure movies that I find transcendently great. Lately though, I've been realizing that the best way to go about writing and drawing my own fiction is to scale back and tell simple, effective, robust stories and work my way up, and I've realized that all those great storytellers I admire did the same thing. So while my tastes are still the same, I guess I've been rethinking how they influence me. I hope this isn't too vague! Yet, we really have some common influences. The Miyazaki love is right there on the cover.

Joey: Besides my usual subconscious influences, no, I don't think so. I actually try not to over-think my methods. The way I see it, I should just tell the stories I want, and do my best, and the quality and style of whatever sort will be there or it won't. Thankfully, I think the quality was definitely there with my FLIGHT story. Like I said, I was pretty excited about the chance to tell a longer story in print...

Michel: Well, my work is definitely "animation style". I've got over 20 years of animation experience and that's bound to show. I established a certain style when I created the first chapter for Volume 2 and now I have to stick to it until I finish the whole story.

Dave: "The Great Bunny Migration" was definitely influenced by storybooks, mostly because I'm still an avid reader of children's literature, even more so than comic books. I love kid's books that balance seemingly simple art with whimsical humour. The best examples being, Dav Pilkey (Captain Underpants), J.Otto Seibold (Mr. Lunch, Olive the Other Reindeer), Lane Smith (Stinky Cheeseman), and Rodney Greenblat (Slombo the Gross). My story is also an intentional tribute to stuff I digested heavily as a kid, like Super Mario Bros and Care Bears, where clouds and stars have cute faces and personalities.

"Ad Astra"
By Chuck BB
Tony: Personally, I felt a more "storybook" style would be suitable for my story - I looked at a lot of different things, from the Wind in the Willows book I grew up with to those little phone-number journals decorated with fairy pictures. Not that it did me much good, though - I think I ended up just using the style that's most comfortable for me (which should be "animation-style"). Mostly this was due to the necessity for speed, but it was also a bit of discovery, finding out how I draw things if I just go ahead and do it. You're probably seeing a lot of that throughout the Flight series - everyone's just using a style that's natural for them, and so any shifting style is due simply to the different people involved in the book. And that's one of the excellent things about Flight - all the different styles, and they're all excellent!

Reagan: I don't think this change really affected my contribution that much, nah. Although a few people did have huge influence on my story, mainly when I was taking my first awkward steps at composing comic pages and doing the sketching stage of things. Kazu, Kean and several others gave such incredibly valuable advice and pointers. So it was a different kind of influence. It didn't necessarily make me change my work to a different style so much as find better ways to execute it and tell it in a manner which I found more satisfying.

Bannister: I have a lot of influences from everywhere in the comics, animation, illustration, movies industries. But I couldn't tell about a particular influence from the outside. Especially these days, where I'm a bit disappointed about the lack of quality and imagination in most of these media.

Ben: I think my comics still lean more toward animation than illustration. As for influences, I'm always blown away by Jake Parker's draftsmanship, the sequential expertise of Phil Craven, the charm of Kazu's storytelling, the natural ease of Vera Brosgol's characters, the zeal of Kean Soo's work, and the sheer drawing skill of Rodolphe Guenoden. I wish every Flight artist had a book of his own, if only so that I could fill my shelves with them and bask in the creativity.

And outside of Flight the influences are in the hundreds.

Azad: I had done storyboarding for animation and film for years, but never really enjoyed it. It wasn't until I went back read some Shel Silverstein books and Edward Gorey that things started falling into place visually for my story.

6) One of the strongest things the Flight anthology has going for it is its sense of community in drawing so many creative people from different walks of life all under one banner. How has this implication of convergence influenced you or affected your work?

Kazu: I've found that being open and honest about the work I do makes it far stronger than I could ever have imagined. My involvement in Flight is reflective of that. I'm honoured that all of these fantastic, talented people want to be a part of this.

Kean: It's really taught me the value of hard work. Knowing that a large majority of the artists on Flight these days are balancing day jobs and families, and are still managing to find the time to produce these great stories really made [me] realize how much of a slacker I can be sometimes. I mean, Michel Gagné's work ethic is insane!

"Message In A Bottle"
By Rodolphe Guenoden
Neil: I am definitely one of those people from a different "walk of life." I've never had formal art education or industry experience, so Flight was finally my way of connecting with a community of people who care about art and storytelling, and are very good at it. So, it's of course been an immense influence on me. It's certainly challenged me to do better and actually think more critically about my own work, and a lot of that has started to gel in my mind only in the last few months. I can say I'm definitely better because of Flight. It's surprisingly analogous to a great formal education. It's also really cool to have some of your biggest heroes as friends and acquaintances.

Joey: All the other anthologies that I've been published in were a lot more "hands-off." There would just be a book, and you'd do your piece and send it off, and if they liked it, you were in. If not... better luck next time. Since FLIGHT is put together on a forum like this, it's much more like a classroom environment, where everyone contributes to critiques. You can get a lot of different perspectives, and instead of simply writing a story that gets in or not, you work together to perfect the piece. My piece went through several drafts. The original story and stuff is all there, but little things have been tweaked here and there to make it stronger.

Michel: I love the Picollo Factory forum where we put the book together. The flight crew is so nice to me. They keep throwing me flowers every time I post something new on the board. I think they take it easy on me because I' m older.

Dave: It's constantly inspiring and a real kick in the pants to be able to see what everyone else is working on. Nothing is more motivating than seeing development sketches posted on the Flight Forum. Every few days my jaw drops to the floor, I freak out, then take a deep breath and head back to the drawing board. I'm such a huge fan of all the other creators, I want to make sure I don't embarrass myself with what I draw!

Tony: Like Michel said, it's all about the Picollo Factory. Without the support of all the awesome storytellers involved in Flight, my story would have been a lot weaker. It's such an excellent community, and everyone's so constructive... really, we're spoiled to be able to work in this way.

Reagan: I remember when I was rushing to get in before the deadline, staying up until 6am each night, blasting music into my head and watching things develop over the forum. Seeing all these other people going through the same feelings of anxiety, insomnia, enthusiasm, excitement and a general "It's tough, but we can do it!" spirit was so unbelievably motivating. If I were trying to do it all by myself with little or no contact with the people I was going to be sharing pages with, I think I would've been a lot less interested in the project. Being up at an insane hour, staring at your half-done page in Photoshop, and knowing that somewhere there's maybe one or two other people in Flight doing the same thing at that very moment is a really incredible feeling. I guess that's what it must be like to be an ant or Zergling. Really wonderful feeling of community.

Bannister: The influence I got from these guys, is they pushed me to work on my own stories, to do it by myself. I'm not much a writer and it's always painful to come up with a good idea and try to structure it.

Ben: Frankly, being part of the Flight community is, artistically, one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I am a mostly self-taught artist and before Flight I rarely had the chance to share my art, stories and creations with other artists.

"Earl D"
By Yoko Tanaka

Through sharing my work in such an open, friendly talented and creative environment, I've been able to improve a hundred times over. I really owe a great debt to all the Flight artists and particularly those who were instrumental in making the first book and the forum a reality.

Azad: There's a freshness to having non-comic artists doing comics. I find the industry has, for the past few years, lacked a certain enthusiasm because it was feeding on itself. Everyone was inspired by the same 5 people, and ended up doing variations of the same 5 stories.

Having some new blood come in kick the industry in the rear is just what it needed.

7) What's next for you following FLIGHT?

Kazu: Well, I imagine I'll be doing FLIGHT books for quite a while. I want to do my best to keep it afloat for as long as the artists want to keep creating stories for it. Aside from Flight, I'm working on a graphic novel series called Amulet for Scholastic, and continuing to update the Copper comics on my website.

Kean: Well, I'm now working on finishing out my Jellaby graphic novel, which was just picked up by Hyperion Books to be published as a two book series. It's pretty exciting actually, as I'm moving away from the day job so that I can work on comics full-time! It's something I never thought would actually happen.

Neil: I did a short for another anthology, You Aint No Dancer #2, from New Reliable Press. The book has not been released yet, but you can read my story online here. I'm continuing to post comics to my website, and I'm also illustrating a "Li'l Mell and Sergio" story written by Shaenon Garrity, which is running now on Girlamatic.com. I've written and thumbnailed my story for Flight 4, and happy with that so far. I'm slowly working on a book of my own, but I don't have a publisher or anything for that yet. I'm hoping that people will like it, and that I'll be able to make a lot more.

Joey: Well, I'm finishing up my first graphic novel, The Ride Home. That's pretty much my top priority. I unfortunately had to opt out of FLIGHT 4 because of it. I'm serializing TRH online at Tragic Planet.com/The Ride Home/Chapters and update with 3 new pages every Wednesday at Tragic Planet.com/The Ride Home!

This summer I'll also be in More Strange Eggs, from Slave Labor Graphics. It's a sequel to Strange Eggs, which I had a piece in.

After The Ride Home, I'm going to work on some short comics, including my next FLIGHT contribution. It'll be refreshing to do some short stuff after completing a 150+ page book!

Michel: I always have lots of projects in the pipeline. I'm currently working on the XEKO trading card game. The first set of 116 cards was released in April and it's showing lots of promises. I'm currently working on the second set. You can check out some of the work I did for the first set here.

Issue 7 of my comic series ZED is coming out in June. I'll get going on issue 8 after the San Diego Comic-Con.

I also have a couple of new hardcover books in the works. One of them is called My Insane Childhood. It's been in the making for the past three years. I'm hoping to wrap it up in the next few months.

Dave: A teen detective/horror series called Agnes Quill, coming out from Slave Labor Graphics in October. It will also feature art by Raina Telgemeier, Jason Ho, Jeff Zornow and Jen Wang.

I'm writing the final story arc for what will be the 3rd Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden trade paperback from AiT/Planet Lar.

A page a week for my web comic, Astronaut Elementary. Continuing to edit comics for Nickelodeon Magazine. Working on my story for Flight 4!

Tony: A continued involvement in the animation industry up here in Vancouver. Over the next couple months I'll be finishing up my stint as a Lead Animator on the Pucca animated series, which should air in the fall.

I hope to contribute to Flight 4, though currently a lack of both time and ideas is hampering that goal. I would also like to try taking up Parkour, though a lack of both stamina and physical agility is hampering that goal.

"Hunter"
By Johane Matte
Reagan: Well, right now I'm trying to get into art school for like the fourth time. We'll see how that goes. But otherwise I'll most likely be doing sketches and advertising concepts for Armor Holdings Inc., who has been my steady employer for the past year or so. Really fun people to work for. I basically get to come up with ideas to help market - and occasionally develop prototype ideas - tactical armor for military and law enforcement.

Aside from that, I'll definitely be working on my next Flight piece for a future volume, again with Wyit and Sidna. I'm hoping to really take off with this story in the future.

Bannister: In Flight 4 I'll have 2 stories, one in collaboration with the talented Joel Carroll, for a story called "Tripod" based on the well known H.G. Wells book, and one I did by myself, where I tell my first skydiving jump. It's gonna be a very fun story (I hope).

I'm also finishing my first book in France called les Enfants d'ailleurs who's the first volume of a (long) series of fantasy books for children (in stores in January 2007).

I've got some other projects here and there, in France and in the US.

Ben: Well, I just recently turned in my story for Flight 4, which will be the print debut of my character Zita the Spacegirl (who has a small, rarely updated webcomic at Zita Space Girl.com).

Right now I'm working on painting and sculpture near Florence. When I return to the states in November I hope to be able to start designing and decorating churches in addition to taking on book and comics projects. I'm chronicling my progress at House Hatke.com.

Azad: Aside from another Flight story for Volume 4, I'm working on some more online material for my site Guerilla Comics.com, and a project with B.Clay Moore (Hawaiian Dick) is slowly brewing. I hope to do some more Sammy material over the year and I've started working on some scripts to some OGNs I've been picking at for years.

Be sure to check the links to the side to read more about the individual artists and see even more preview art from FLIGHT Volume 3.

Introduction
Interview Roundtable
Interview - Kazu & Kean
Interview - Michel & Tony
Interview - Azad & Reagan
Interview – Dave & Joey
Interview - Neil & Bannister & Ben

Interviews Conducted by Co-Editor in Chief, Jonathan Ellis. E-mail Us To Comment On This Article.

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UNTIL YOUR HEART STOPS v14.3
by: Brian Domingos

The End of an Era

June 28th, 2006

This week, we come to the end of a major chapter of my life. I've been writing this column, weekly, in the same spot, with the same view, for the last two and a half years. After today, it's all going to be different.

I mentioned a while back that I'm getting hitched and that's finally coming to a close on Saturday. It's been a short yet stressful process (how people plan these things for two years, I'll never know) and it's almost done. So when you hear from me after the July 4th holiday weekend, I'll be officially off the market. Sorry, ladies.

And then there's a week of homelessness and the week after that I'll be coming to you from my new, permanent digs. I'm a soon to be home-owner. It's exciting and scary as hell all at once.

This probably won't change all this business. I'll still be hitting you up with the monthly PREVIEWS stuff and telling you what the Must Haves of the week are – I'll just be looking at it all through different eyes.

Yikes.

For this week, I said I'd do some more reviews. Well, packing/moving/job interviewing has sucked up most of my free time, but I've got room for one review. It is here to sit along side last week's review of the first issue of the new WONDER WOMAN.

THE FLASH: The Fastest Man Alive #1

Writer: Danny Bilson & Paul DeMeo
Artists: Ken Lashley (p); KWL Studios, Norm Rapmund, Marlo Alquiza, Jay Leisten (i)
Colors: Carrie Strachan
Letters: Pat Brosseau
DC Comics
$2.99

Where Allan Heinberg and The Dodson's WONDER WOMAN was the perfect starting point for the new series, the new revamp of THE FLASH was the exact opposite. I'm not entirely sure what the thought process was behind the whole thing but it turned into a gigantic mess from start to finish.

The Flash Legacy is understandably complex. We're dealing with four generations and thousands of years, so obviously it's going to take some time to clear everything up. The narrations attempted to lead the reader into the life of the characters, being purposefully obtuse regarding the identity of the Flash, with red herring plot lines. The flaw here is that even I had trouble following the Flash context and I've been reading THE FLASH almost regularly for a decade now. The narration was clunky and confusing and seemed to be missing whole parts. It seemed to try to do the complex "less is more" style that Grant Morrison utilizes, but it didn't really come together that way.

We have Bart Allen (grand-son of the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen) seemingly retired from superheroics in the post-Infinite Crisis world, working as a scab in a Keystone City automotive plant and living in a dorm. The dorm thing is a little weird since he doesn’t go to school but we'll move on. Bart and his "edgy" roommate cross the picket lines every day and in the process stick it to the union worker, which doesn't make a lot of sense as it seems to go against everything that Wally West, the former, most prominent Flash of the last twenty years believed in. It doesn't help that it's not handled terribly well.

Then there's a spunky scientist at S.T.A.R. labs who wants to know the why and how of Bart's quick aging. If you read INFINITE CRISIS, you know that Bart and the Flashes attempted to contain the rogue Superboy-Prime in the Speed Force for a short time, a relative couple of years, and he returned older than when he left. For some reason, he just won't tell them how it happened, at the very least to stop them from calling. So she toughs her way in trying to get some answers and it comes off as forced and over dramatic.

The artwork by Ken Lashley and a legion of inkers isn't very good either. I've seen much better from him and I was expecting more, to be honest. This is a First Issue! Pull out all the stops! Lashley delivers shaky anatomy and weak storytelling, which makes the script issues even more apparent.

Above all – all that stuff aside – this just wasn't a very interesting issue. Between the convoluted script, the rickety artwork, the unoriginal characters and the forced dialogue, there's not a lot for a new reader to hold on to here. I'm a FLASH fan but even I'm not interested in a second try.

Now a look at this week:

Upcoming…
Books and items shipping today, June 28th, 2006

APR060204 52 WEEK #8
DC Comics
$2.50

Oddly enough, considering the abysmal issue of THE FLASH, Ken Lashley's artwork was not so bad in issue #7 of 52. The Booster Gold ride is over and we headed back to space for some… tense moments. Then there's a lot of Montoya stuff and we meet Kathy Kane (the new Batwoman) for the first time. It wasn't so bad – I kind of liked her. This issue, number 8: Steel!

MAR063253 A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #36 (A) $4.99

APR060190 ACTION COMICS #840
DC Comics
$2.99

Last issue had a hell of an ending. Lex And Superman face to face and all alone. "Up, Up, and Away" is exactly what DC needed to do to get readers excited about Superman again. This is the end of the arc with new creative teams next week.

MAR063353 ALAN MOORE: COMPLETE FUTURE SHOCK TPB
2000 A.D./Rebellion
$23.99

I always have room on my shelf for more obscure Alan Moore work.

APR062013 ALL NEW OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z #6 $3.99
APR062002 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #533 CW $2.99
APR060272 AMERICAN WAY #5 (OF 8) $2.99
APR062010 ANNIHILATION RONAN #3 (OF 4) $2.99
APR061781 ANT #6 (RES) $2.99
APR062932 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #171 $3.69
APR062014 AVENGERS & POWER PACK ASSEMBLE #3 (OF 4) $2.99
FEB063030 BABEL #2 (MR) $7.95
APR063019 BART SIMPSON COMICS #30 $2.99

APR060175 BATMAN #654
DC Comics
$2.99

I nearly missed this, which isn't a good thing. James Robinson's return to Batman was my most anticipated "One Year Later" book, but it's been a mixed bag of enjoyment. I liked the first issue a lot and I love the Jason Bard subplot, but the over all arc, the fall of Harvey Dent hasn't blown me away. Hopefully the final part will do it for me. It's not a bad story, but it's not hitting all the notes I'd've liked.

APR063378 BATTLE CLUB VOL 2 GN (OF 3) (MR) $9.99
APR062933 BETTY #157 $2.25
APR062015 BLACK PANTHER #17 $2.99
APR060206 BLUE BEETLE #4 $2.99
MAY063309 BLUESMAN VOL 1 GN NEW PTG (O/A) $8.95
APR063377 BTX VOL 11 GN (OF 16) $9.99
APR060252 CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #22 $2.25
APR060176 CATWOMAN #56 $2.99
APR062819 CIVIL WAR #1 MCNIVEN CVR CGC 9.8 PI
APR062020 CIVIL WAR FRONT LINE #2 (OF 10) $2.99
APR063109 CLAN OF NAKAGAMIS GN (MR) $12.95
APR060013 CONAN AND THE DEMONS OF KHITAI TP (MR) $12.95
NOV050102 CONAN THOTH AMON BUST $49.99
MAR063060 COWBOY BEBOP FILM MANGA VOL 1 GN $10.99

APR060200 CRISIS AFTERMATH: THE SPECTRE #2 (OF 3)
DC Comics
$2.99

The first issue of this was… okay, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't all that gripping either. There's a lot of meandering and the issue ends with not much being accomplished – this isn't the best way to start a three issue mini series. The good news is that Cliff Chiang's artwork is fantastic.

MAY061759 CYBERFORCE WWLA TOP COW STORE EXC ED #1 PI
APR062028 DAREDEVIL #86 $2.99
MAY061760 DARKNESS VAMPIRELLA TOP COW STORE EXC ED PI

DEC050363 DC NEW FRONTIER SER 1 GREEN ARROW AF PI
DEC050360 DC NEW FRONTIER SER 1 GREEN LANTERN AF PI
DEC050358 DC NEW FRONTIER SER 1 INNER CASE PI
DEC050359 DC NEW FRONTIER SER 1 MASTER CASE PI
DEC050361 DC NEW FRONTIER SER 1 SUPERMAN AF PI
DEC050362 DC NEW FRONTIER SER 1 WONDER WOMAN AF PI

These toys are going to be gorgeous. I might actually pick some up – I don't usually buy toys. The Superman or Wonder Woman ones, most likely.

APR060209 DCU: BRAVE NEW WORLD #1
DC Comics
$1.00

The 80 page book for a buck worked with DC COUNTDOWN, so it will be interesting to see how this works on the other side. I don't think it will be as well received – as it is a grouping of previews of new books, rather than a cohesive story – but the opportunity will be there. To be honest, I'm only slightly interested in one or two of these books.

APR063379 DEARS VOL 7 GN (OF 7) $9.99
APR062088 DECIMATION GENERATION M TP $13.99
APR063330 DESTINYS HAND VOL 1 GN $10.99

APR061822 DOWN/WARREN ELLIS TPB
Top Cow/Image Comics
$15.99

I liked Warren Ellis' DOWN. Sure, it took nearly have a decade to actually come out, and even then it was with two artists but I liked it. The story felt like it was gutted – it was reduced from six issues to four – with some tremendous leaps of logic – but it was a good story to tell. Tony Harris and Cully Hamner did some nice artwork through out the whole thing. All in all it's good stuff. Also collected is a couple of Ellis' WITCHBLADE issues. As if anyone cares.

APR063380 DRAGON HEAD VOL 3 GN (OF 10) (MR) $9.99
APR062910 DRAGONPRO #0 PACK W/ SKETCH $35.00
MAR063084 DREAMERS THREE BOOK SET (O/A) PI
MAY063311 DUNGEON VOL 1 TP (O/A) $14.95
MAR062160 EARTH X TP NEW PTG $29.99
MAR063165 EDU MANGA ANN FRANK GN $9.95
APR063363 ELEMENTAL GELADE VOL 1 (OF 9) GN $9.99
MAR063085 ELRIC / CADILLACS & DINOSAURS TWO BOOK SET (O/A) PI
APR063044 ELVIRA #158 $2.50

APR062078 ETERNALS BY JACK KIRBY HC
Marvel Comics
$75.00

For some reason, I'm dying to read this. I don't know why – I think it's just all of the raw, insane Kirby.

APR062062 EXILES #83 $2.99
APR062027 FANTASTIC FOUR #538 CW $2.99
APR062091 FANTASTIC FOUR J MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI VOL 1 TP $14.99
FEB062866 FATHOM #9 $2.99
APR063362 FOOLS GOLD VOL 1 GN $9.99
APR063099 FORGOTTEN REALMS DARK ELF SOJOURN CVR B #3 (OF 3) $8.95
APR063098 FORGOTTEN REALMS DARK ELF SOJOURN SEELEY CVR A #3 (OF 3) $4.95
APR063381 GATCHA GACHA VOL 2 GN (OF 5) $9.99
APR062079 GHOST RIDER ROAD TO DAMNATION PREMIERE HC $19.99
APR063091 GI JOE VS TRANSFORMERS VOL 3 ART OF WAR CVR A #4 (OF 5) $2.95
APR063092 GI JOE VS TRANSFORMERS VOL 3 ART OF WAR CVR B #4 (OF 5) $2.95
APR062911 GOLD DIGGER TANGENT #1 $2.99
APR062912 GOLD DIGGER THRONE OF SHADOWS #2 (OF 4) $2.99
FEB068183 HALO POSTER $6.99
APR060220 HAWKGIRL #53 $2.99
MAY063192 HEAVENLY EXECUTIONER CHIWOO VOL 2 GN (RES) $10.95
APR063153 HOAX #4 (MR) $3.95
MAY063265 HUSK GN (MR) $16.95
MAY063319 IN A METAL WEB GN (O/A) (A) $11.95
FEB061782 INVINCIBLE #33 $2.99
APR060221 ION #3 (OF 12) $2.99
MAY063254 JACKIE AND THE SHADOW SNATCHER HC $15.95
MAR060042 JACKSON 500 VOL 2 HC $14.95
APR063108 JAZZ VOL 2 GN (MR) $12.95
MAR060327 JLA CLASSIFIED #23 $2.99
APR062936 JUGHEAD #174 $2.25
FEB063277 KAT & MOUSE VOL 1 GN (OF 3) $5.99
APR063459 KIKIS DELIVERY SERVICE FILM COMICS VOL 4 TP $9.99
APR063365 KINGDOM HEARTS VOL 4 GN (OF 4) $5.99
MAR062952 KONI WAVES #2 (OF 3) (MR) $3.00
APR063106 LA ESPERANCA VOL 3 GN (MR) $12.95
MAR060019 LADY SNOWBLOOD VOL 4 TP RETRIBUTION PART 2 TP (MR) $14.95
APR061790 LAST CHRISTMAS #2 (OF 6) $2.99
APR063382 LAST FANTASY VOL 2 GN (OF 5) $9.99

APR063291 LEADING MAN #1 (OF 5)
Oni Press
$3.50

I enjoyed previous B. Clay Moore and Jeremy Haun books, so I'm looking forward to LEADING MAN. The concept of an A-List actor/super spy is pretty cool. It's also the first full color mini series from our friends at Oni Press.

JAN062787 LIBERALITY FOR ALL #3 (OF 8) $2.99
APR061777 LIBERTY MEADOWS VOL 2 TP NEW PRTG $14.99
APR063383 LIGHTS OUT VOL 4 GN (OF 9) $9.99
APR063396 LOVE MODE VOL 3 GN (OF 11) (MR) $9.99
APR063293 LOVE THE WAY YOU LOVE #1 (MR) $5.95
APR060294 LOVELESS #8 (MR) $2.99

APR060292 LUCIFER #75
Vertigo/DC Comics
$3.99

The end of LUCIFER has arrived. I almost didn't think this day would ever arrive. Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Ryan Kelly, Dean Ormston, Scott Hampton and all the rest did an amazing job all the way through this series. I honestly like it more than SANDMAN; the book is spun out of all those years ago. Carey has made Lucifer one of my all-time favorite characters. I will miss this dearly.

APR063384 LUPIN III WORLDS MOST WANTED VOL 7 GN (OF 17) (MR) $9.99
MAR063398 MAIL ORDER NINJA VOL 1 GN (OF 3) $5.99
APR062042 MARVEL MILESTONES RAWHIDE KID & TWO GUN KID $3.99
APR062046 MARVEL SPOTLIGHT NEIL GAIMAN SALVADOR LARROCA $2.99
MAR063004 MEDIEVAL LADY DEATH WAR OF THE WINDS #3 (OF 8) $3.99
MAR063006 MEDIEVAL LADY DEATH WAR OF THE WINDS PREM CVR #3 (OF 8) $9.99
MAR063005 MEDIEVAL LADY DEATH WAR OF THE WINDS WRAP CVR #3 (OF 8) $3.99
APR063171 MICKEY MOUSE ADVENTURES VOL 10 TP $7.95
APR062048 MOON KNIGHT #3 $2.99
APR068124 MOON KNIGHT DIRECTORS CUT #1 $3.99
DEC051814 NECROMANCER #6 $2.99
APR061792 NEGATIVE BURN #2 $5.99
APR063385 NEVER GIVE UP VOL 2 GN (OF 13) $9.99
APR062051 NEW AVENGERS #21 CW $2.99
APR062052 NEXTWAVE AGENTS OF HATE #6 $2.99
SEP052788 NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST PARANOID #3 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
SEP052791 NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST PARANOID GORE CVR #3 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
SEP052790 NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST PARANOID TERROR CVR #3 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
SEP052789 NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST PARANOID WRAPAROUND CVR #3 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
APR063105 OUR KINGDOM VOL 3 GN (MR) $12.95
MAR060355 OYAYUBIHIME INFINITY VOL 1 $9.99
APR062917 OZ THE MANGA POCKET MANGA VOL 1 $14.95
APR063197 PATCHWORK VOL 1 GN (A) $19.95
MAR060017 PATH OF THE ASSASSIN VOL 1 SERVING IN THE DARK TP (MR) $9.95
APR063375 PEPPERMINT VOL 1 GN $9.99
MAR063313 PHANTOM #11 $3.50
MAY063579 PIN-UP ART OF ARCHIE DICKENS VOL 2 (O/A) (MR) $14.95
APR063395 PIRATES O/T CARIBBEAN CINEMANGA VOL 1 GN DEAD MANS CHEST $5.99
APR063386 PITA TEN OFFICIAL FAN BOOK VOL 3 GN $9.99
APR063341 POISON ELVES LOST TALES #5 $2.95
FEB063207 POLLY & THE PIRATES #6 (OF 6) (MR) $2.99

MAY060005 PREVIEWS ADULT VOL XVI #7 PI
MAY060006 PREVIEWS CATALOG PACK EXTRAS VOL XVI #7 PI
MAY060001 PREVIEWS VOL XVI #7 PI
MAY060003 PREVIEWS VOL XVI CONSUMER ORDER FORM #7 PI
MAY060004 PREVIEWS VOL XVI CONSUMER ORDER FORM EXTRAS #7 PI
MAY060008 PREVIEWS VOL XVI RETAILER ORDER FORM EXTRAS #7 PI
MAY060002 MARVEL PREVIEWS JULY 2006 EXTRAS PI

Ugh. It's a new PREVIEWS week. That means I actually have to hoof it to a shop this week… as if I have time. Plus side? Meaghan has a MARVEL PREVIEWS for the ride home!

APR061795 PVP #27 $2.99
APR063374 REDRUM 327 VOL 1 GN $9.99
APR063388 RG VEDA VOL 6 GN (OF 10) $9.99
APR063366 RIDING SHOTGUN VOL 1 GN $9.99
APR063389 RISING STARS OF MANGA VOL 6 GN (OF 6) $9.99
APR062053 RUNAWAYS #17 $2.99
MAY063187 S CLAY WILSONS PORK #1 (O/A) (A) $5.95
APR061800 SAVAGE DRAGON #127 $2.99
MAR060025 SCHOOL ZONE VOL 2 TP $12.95
APR061799 SEA OF RED #11 (RES) (MR) $2.99
MAR060358 SEIMADEN VOL 5 $9.99
APR063390 SGT FROG VOL 11 GN (OF 11) $9.99
APR063437 SHONEN JUMP AUG 06 #44 $4.99
APR061766 SIDEKICK #1 (OF 5) $3.50
APR060232 SOLO #11 $4.99
APR063391 SOMEDAYS DREAMERS VOL 2 GN (OF 2) $9.99
APR062941 SONIC X #10 $2.25
MAR063819 SOUTHLAND TALES BK 1 TWO ROADS DIVERGE $12.95
MAY063188 SPAINS ZODIAC MINDWARP #1 (O/A) (A) $5.95
FEB061790 SPAWN #157 $2.95
APR062008 SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #7 $2.99
APR060060 STAR WARS KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #6 $2.99
APR062067 STORM #5 (OF 6) $2.99
APR063376 STRAWBERRY MARSHMALLOW ICHIGO MASHIMARO VOL 1 GN $9.99
FEB063049 SUPER TABOO XXX #2 (A) $3.95
APR060233 SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #19 $2.99
MAR060401 SUPERMAN RETURNS KRYPTONITE PROP REPLICA $195.00
APR060187 SUPERMAN RETURNS LOIS LANE $3.99
APR062096 SUPREME POWER NIGHTHAWK TP $16.99
APR063262 TALES OF TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #24 $3.25
APR063028 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE VOL 4 TP (MR) $24.99
MAR060044 TARZAN THE JOE KUBERT YEARS VOL 3 HC $49.95
APR060249 TEEN TITANS GO #32 $2.25
MAR063067 TEENAGE MURDER BAIT ONE SHOT $2.95
APR063263 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #28 $2.95
APR063392 TELEPATHIC WANDERERS VOL 3 GN (MR) $9.99
MAR060356 TENJHO TENGE VOL 8 $9.99
AUG052758 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE GRIND #2 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
AUG052761 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE GRIND GORE CVR #2 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
AUG052760 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE GRIND TERROR CVR #2 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
AUG052759 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE GRIND WRAPAROUND CVR #2 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
APR060281 THUNDERBOLT JAXON #5 (OF 5) $2.99
MAY063331 TICK DAYS OF DRAMA #1 $4.95
MAY063258 TINTIN IN THE CONGO HC NEW PTG $24.95
MAY063259 TINTIN IN THE LAND OF THE SOVIETS NEW PTG $24.95
MAR063086 TORPEDO 1936 THREE BOOK SET (O/A) (MR) PI
APR063368 TRASH GN (MR) $9.99
MAR061866 TRUTH JUSTIN & AMERICAN WAY #3 (OF 5) $2.99
MAY063189 UG3K (O/A) (A) $19.95
APR062041 ULTIMATE MARVEL FLIP MAGAZINE #14 $4.99
APR061998 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #96 $2.99
APR062040 ULTIMATE TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #14 $4.99
APR063393 ULTRA CUTE VOL 3 GN (OF 9) $9.99
APR060029 USAGI YOJIMBO #94 $2.99
MAR062932 VAMPIRELLA REVELATIONS BOOK 2 PROTOTYPE ED #1 $4.95
MAR063472 VILLAINS #2 (OF 4) (MR) $3.25
APR063394 VISITOR VOL 4 GN (OF 5) $9.99
APR060240 WARLORD #5 $2.99

APR063295 WET MOON: UNSEEN FEET, VOL. 2 OGN
Oni Press
$14.95

I sort of blew off the first volume of WET MOON for a while. I liked Ross Campbell's artwork enough, but I never went further than the cover. At SPX last year I bucked up and bought volume one from the Oni Press booth and it's a little Goth and verging on cliché, but it's strong in all the right places. The story has a "sad but true" atmosphere to it, with the feeling that this is someone's real life. Campbell's artwork is slick and expressive giving life to his strange characters. So this time, I was thinking I'll probably give the new one a look. There's, too, his OEL manga THE ABANDONED which is creepier than any zombie movie I've ever seen. If "Unseen Feet" is half as good as ABANDONED, we're all in for a treat.

APR063015 WITCHBLADE VOL 1 TP (BANDAI) $9.99
MAY062753 WIZARD ACE EDITIONS PACK PI
MAY062743 WIZARD COMICS MAGAZINE JLA TURNER CVR #178 $5.99
MAY062742 WIZARD COMICS MAGAZINE SUPERMAN PHOTO CVR #178 $5.99
APR062071 WOLVERINE #43 CW $2.99
APR068202 WTP PEEK A POOH SER 7 GACHA CAPSULE PI
APR062074 X-FACTOR #8 CW $2.99
APR062075 X-MEN #187 $2.99
MAR063163 YELLOW BOX SET (MR) $17.95
MAR063162 YELLOW VOL 4 GN (MR) $12.95
APR062059 YOUNG AVENGERS #12 $2.99
APR063371 ZAPT VOL 1 GN $5.99

Okay folks, I'm going to try my damnedest to get a new PREVIEWS column done for next week. Chances are it might not happen but there's some good stuff on the horizon so I'm hopeful.

And don't forget this week:

SUPERMAN RETURNS.

That's going to be excellent. Look for free tickets in the new Superman-related DVDs that have come out lately. The new not-Timm BRAINIAC direct-to-DVD has one for sure – and I think JUSTICE LEAGUE Season Two has one, too. How could you not buy Season Two?

Brian Domingos is the Columns Editor at Popimage.com. Questions? Comments? Love Notes? Email him via brian@popimage.com.

PopImage Forum - Discuss this message at the PopImage forum.

The Mostly Fabulous Interview of Eric Orner
Interview conducted by Jay Laird
illustration by Chris Cerrato

AUTHOR NOTE: I wasn’t able to interview Eric Orner in person, so I gave him the choice of any “virtual location” for our cyber-encounter. He wrote back with a list of choices, one of which was “watching the volcano from a friend’s veranda on Ecovia” (the setting of one of my videogames). Thus, the interview that follows is real, but there’s been some, erm, license taken with the circumstances. Careful what you wish for, Eric!

Eric Orner and I met while vacationing on the coast of Ecovia. I was checking out the volcano, and who should I see in the distance, barely outrunning the lava flow? With a great leap, he clambered up to the lowest balcony and then up to mine. If nothing else, the man knows how to make an entrance.

With the streets sizzling from Ecovia’s latest eruption and the premiere of Eric’s movie “The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green” only weeks away, I suggested that we pass the time chatting over a glass of wine (it was too hot for coffee that day) out on the veranda. And, since I happen to write for PopImage, the conversation naturally turned to discussing his thoughts on making the jump from the printed page to the big screen.

How has taking Ethan Green from the printed page to the live-action world affected your storytelling?

Squashing 15 years worth of comic strip into an hour and a half's worth of feature film basically means you're creating a different animal entirely. David Vernon (the film's screenwriter) and George Bamber (the director) convinced me early on in the five-year process that they'd treat my characters and storylines with a lot of care in adapting my stuff for film. I think they did that.

Visually, many of the shots in the film are based closely on frames in the strip, which was very gratifying.

Did you originally conceive of doing Ethan Green as a full-length animated picture, or did you always think the story should go live-action?

Creating a live action Ethan Green project appealed to me artistically in the sense that it was exciting to work with artists in what was to me a foreign media. To me it was akin to, say, when prose is adapted for a dance project. That different.

Doing the live action movie didn't end my ambition to create an animated TV series, which is a medium I've always felt is much closer in character to a newspaper comic strip: Obviously the need to tie the whole thing down after 90 minutes disappears. And animation allows for the sort of magical realism-flights of fancy that were a staple of my cartoon, but which I think can seem embarrassing when attempted in live-action.

For example, in the strip, Ethan sometimes astral projects in his yoga class. The instructor asks the yoga students to take their mind to a place of harmony, causing Ethan not to wind up on the shore of a tranquil lake but instead at a cruise bar on Mars, where he strikes up a fuck-buddy-ship with a conceited Martian named Queelix. We didn't attempt that sort of thing in the film. I'd still like to in animation.

Any characters you're particularly proud of that didn't make the cut from 15 years of storyline to 90 minutes of movie?

A lot of them. Mostly the sort of "character actors" in Ethan's melodrama: Madame Zolna, Ethan's fortune teller and psuedo therapist; Etienne, the Bastard Chef from Montreal; Lyle the mean hair stylist ("Style by Lyle"); Activo and Pasivo, the tempermental Venezuelan identical twin porn stars (who fight over Ethan in his fantasies)…

What do you think about the trend of turning comics into live-action box-office blockbusters in general?

I guess its good for cartoonists. Though to tell you the truth, I haven't seen a lot of these movies that I truly loved. And I disliked a lot of them. Remember Dick Tracy way back when? Jeez. Spiderman I liked.

Early Ethan Green seemed very Boston-based. How has living in LA affected your worldview, and the world of the comic?

The early strips were kind of heavy on Boston streetscapes, but the strip was never about Boston (though the graphic novel I am currently working on is). In the mid-90s, Ethan was [being]published in close to a 100 small gay and alt weekly newspapers. That's a lot of localities to keep happy - and its not easy to keep publishing in Dallas if the folks down there think you're only interested in goings on at Harvard. So, I sprinkled my strip with lots of local references. Ethan tricked in the Russian River as well as in P-Town. He had this nasty involvement with Etienne Le Bastard Chef au Montreal, which caused Canadians to think the strip was about up there.

I've lived all over the country and have affection and interest in a lot of places. I like to think that came through in my work.

What inspired you to start drawing comics?

Mad Magazine. I like wiseguy stuff.

What inspired you to start drawing Ethan Green?

My day job right out of college was working for a daily newspaper in New Hampshire drawing political cartoons. At night and on weekends I'd find my way to gay dives where I'd receive an eyeful (sometimes more). I guess I wanted to record (or make fun of) it, but obviously I didn't really have an appropriate outlet for in the pages of the Concord Daily Monitor.

So I started to draw these cartoons about life in the bars, mostly for myself, just to be stuffed in a notebook. That the cartoon originated as reporting from bars and clubs (and baths and back rooms and bushes and rest stops) is evident in its title "The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life..." Ethan definitely wasn't about work or family or even romance… to begin with, anyway.

How did the Hat Sisters make their way into your comic, anyway?

Same reason. When I was discovering what used to be called "The Sub Culture" (but is now called, I guess, I dunno, "Will and Grace?") one of the first and most exotic species I encountered was drag queens.

I was taken to P-Town by a difficult and controlling first boyfriend (he always wanted me to part my hair the wrong way). I was at the legendary Boat Slip "T-dance" when these enormous creatures, really the size of Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloons (if those balloons wore Vera Wang) floated my way and planted a kiss on the top of my head. I drew my own version of these guys into a strip and they quickly became Ethan's "Aunties": the sort of older gay guys who invite him over for dinner and do a lot of pinching his cheek. Real fairy godmothers.

From your blog, it sounds like you have a pretty fabulous social life now (or at least a great lover). Do people still assume that you ARE Ethan Green? And are you, secretly? Come on, you can tell me.

Look, what could be more oppressive and uninteresting than sitting around listening to someone go on about their blissful union. So I don't. I tell stories about dating disasters and ruined romance and love sickness and unfaithful bastards and conceited pricks and... well you get the idea.

Ethan is mostly single. I'm not. In that essential way, we are pretty different.

Speaking of which, you still look a bit scalded from the lava flow. Would you care to borrow my shower?

Heh, I guess I am a bit stinky from outrunning that eruption. I’ll be back in five.

Eric excuses himself to take a shower, giving me the chance to try to come up with some more insightful questions. Unfortunately I’m too distracted by the thought of a cute man who isn’t my boyfriend in the shower, and by his humming “This Guy’s in Love with You” and more of the Burt Bachrach songbook than one man should really know 20 minutes later, he emerges, wearing a couple of towels, and we continue the conversation, shifting the topic to more general geekery.

How was it moving from drawing and lettering Ethan Green by hand to doing so much of it on the computer? Do you feel like you've lost/gained anything by the transition?

I've never been a great purist about lettering. I hand letter when for whatever reason I think whatever I'm working on needs a certain look. I use digital font when I don't think it matters. It matters to me if the perspective is fucked up, or if the hand is drawn badly, or if the expression is blank because I haven't figured out how to express an emotion visually with lips and eyes and a tilt of the head. I've got less of a… my mom would say “bugaboo”, which I guess means stick up my ass… about lettering than about those other things.

You mention in your blog that you insisted on learning how to do everything for your web site yourself. How did that go for you? Any secret aspirations to leave comics for the fabulous world of web design?

Not web design, though I do like knowing as much as I can about it. Over the past 6 years I have worked a lot more in animation -- and it's those skills -- 2d and now just a bit of 3d, that interest me and that I continue to learn.

Who's your favorite X-Men character?

Wolverine, I guess. But really, my comics taste runs more to Sergio Aragoines and Al Jaffee.

It was a trick question, really. Let's say Marvel or DC wanted to create an Ethan Green universe crossover: Who'd be your dream guest artist?

What would his super power be? He might change in to a suit and become "Passive Aggressive Man” or maybe “Gossip Guy”. For an artist, I'd like Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, the guys that did Love and Rockets.

Any particular media figures (fictitious or otherwise) that you'd like to see come out of the closet?

Not really. Sometimes I can think of a few gay celebrities that I wouldn't mind seeing go back in to the closet.

Anything else you’d like to add? It looks like they’ve started to clear a path through the lava if you want to get back to your villa.

Eric leans over the balcony to check out the state of the streets, but a gust of hot wind from the volcano blows his towel up and off, sending him running for it and, alas, cutting short our time together.

Jay Laird is Lead Game Designer for Metaversal Studios and is the writer of SHEEPOCALYPSE, which appears weekly right here at PopImage.

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Ethan Green.com
Ethan Green: The Movie

EDITORIAL: Ninth Art - Good night, and good luck.
Ed Mathews

Ninth Art has ceased publication. For anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to read Ninth Art, please do so and see exactly what will be missed. As comics journalism sites go, you gentlemen were among the best. It certainly didn't hurt that a number of you are actually trained in the field of journalism. You brought much needed class to the comics journalism field.

Jonathan recently sent you boys a note and I'm not sure if my response got through, but allow me to echo the sentiments he expressed in that you will be missed.

Also allow me to expand upon them. You gentlemen ran a fantastic site and I never fully apologized for committing to a piece for you when I was clearly overextended in my personal life, but I have a horrible problem with saying no, especially to friends who ask several times. Fact of the matter was, I was completely honoured that you'd consider me worth it in the first place.

Andrew, your interest in asking me to do a piece for you, and a simple previews reviews type piece at that, came at a time when I was just prepared to call it a day myself due to other obligations and about a half a year of not dealing with mainstream print comics; it did however renew my interest in print comics and for that I thank you. In any event, I submitted a horrible piece which has more backstory involved in the first draft that was submitted than I care to elaborate about at this time. Hopefully, someday we can talk about that, but regardless, while it was ultimately my fault, it was not initially my doing, but I had no time to undo it at the time. Regardless, I dropped the ball and you were a good man and a friend for giving me not one, but two opportunities to undo my mess, Andrew. Thank you for that and if there is one person I didn't want to disappoint at the time, it was you and I know that I did. I am sorry for causing a mess that week, Andrew Wheeler.

Antony, I wish you nothing but the greatest success, as you are truly gifted and I look forward to each new piece I can read from you. Rosemary's Backpack is still one of those books that I will continue to recommend no matter where it gets published. I somehow doubt that with the end of Ninth Art that this is the last time the name Antony Johnston will appear to readers.

Alasdair, thank you for your creativity and your taste in books. If it wasn't for you, I don't think the PIComics section here would have taken off and we are very grateful. You'd be surprised how many e-mails still ask about you, Mr. Watson.

Most of all, thank you guys for keeping us honest. I almost gave in; must have been the Catholic guilt factor that worked.

Others have said that this is lights out for Ninth Art; I hope that is not entirely the case. I hope this ending brings new and successful beginnings for all of you.

Thank you, Ninth Art. Good night, and good luck.

Ed Mathews

One sentiment I conveyed to the NinthArt crew, that should come as no surprise to those reading, is that they’ll always have a home at PopImage for as long as we’re here.

I personally haven’t visited a comics news site in quite a while, weeks perhaps, but I glared over each line of NinthArt’s final update. I personally urge everyone to read the Triple A: The Last Word Article, many of the points brought up ring synonymous with my own thoughts and feelings.

We here at PopImage have been ‘in the game’ since 1999 and a lot has changed since then, in the medium, in the technology of how we communicate, and us. The writers, readers, fans who care so deeply about this medium that even now I’m putting off sleeping just to write these few words. The NinthArt crew have done the same, devoting immense amounts of time for the simple love of an artform.

One thing I’ll truly miss is seeing the NinthArt Lighthouse award logo proudly adorned on an exceptional book.

The Ninth Art crew have proven themselves to be a highly passionate, intelligent and thoughtful crew of people and to them we all owe thanks.

Cheers,
Jonathan Ellis

Ed Mathews and Jonathan Ellis are the Co-Editors in Chief of PopImage.

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Ninth Art

POPPREVIEW: TOMMYROT
The Art of Ben Templesmith

TOMMYROT: THE ART OF BEN TEMPLESMITH
By Ben Templesmith
$19.99 U.S. - 96 pages
8.5" x 11"
IDW Publishing
Diamond Order Code: APR063201
ISBN: 1600100058

Tommyrot: (tom•my•rot) -n. "Utter foolishness and nonsense." Welcome to one of the more beautifully horrific collections of foolishness and nonsense you'll ever see. This special over-sized edition collects many of the major images and covers from artist Ben Templesmith, as well as many never before seen unpublished paintings and personal work, including looks behind the scenes into the artistic process he uses, including pencils to final coloured image progressions.

The following is a collection of preview images from creator Ben Templesmith, co-creator of 30 DAYS OF NIGHT and FELL, creator of SINGULARITY 7, WORMWOOD: THE GENTLEMAN CORPSE, artist of SHADOWPLAY, HATTER M: THE LOOKING GLASS WARS, and much more.

If you like what you see be sure to pick up TOMMYROT: THE ART OF BEN TEMPLESMITH, in Stores TODAY!

For more on Ben be sure to check out Templesmith.com.

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IDW Publishing.com - Publishers of TOMMYROT

UNTIL YOUR HEART STOPS v14.2
by: Brian Domingos

I Will Follow You into the Dark

June 21st, 2006

Things are of course as busy as possible. Meaghan had an awesome wedding shower on Saturday (thanks to all attendants) and we got some really cool stuff (Ipod! vacuum! knives! cash!).

I've been talking about doing some reviews and time hasn't exactly been on my side but I've decided that enough is enough and I should do at least one. So here's one with more on the way next week. I'm shooting for two. Don't go too crazy.

WONDER WOMAN #1

Writer: Allan Heinberg
Artists: Terry Dodson (p), Rachel Dodson (i)
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Rob Leigh
DC Comics
$2.99/Monthly

I’ve been reading some negative press about the new WONDER WOMAN revamp and I wanted to formally add my two cents. Many fans read the issue and were rubbed the wrong way. They either didn’t like the new direction of the book or they had trouble following the story.

I found Allan Heinberg’s script to be fun, exciting and above all other things – clear. It quickly catches new readers up with the current status quo. We’re told from the start who Wonder Woman is, the backstory of the Who and the Why and then we’re off to the actual plot. Wonder Woman heads to the Museum of Natural History for a hostage situation. The kidnappers want Diana-Wonder Woman and unfortunately for them, all we have is the Donna Troy variety. That’s right – Donna Troy is the new Wonder Woman. It’s a logical choice – way more so than Artemis was – and Donna does pretty well, I think. She arrives to rescue Steve Trevor – Diana’s former flame – and then fights a new humanoid Cheetah (no longer a cat woman) a supped up Giganta and the ever-so-creepy Dr. Psycho. Heinberg expertly introduces these classic Wonder Woman characters. He throws in quick and easy captions that say enough and let the artwork say the rest.

The artwork is perfect for WONDER WOMAN. The Dodsons display Donna’s strength and power while keeping her feminine angles. They know how to direct her across the page as well as when to let the dialogue breathe and when to come in with the striking images. The most important thing for this kind of introductory issue is the storytelling. It’s easy to follow with clear-cut pacing and flawless direction. It’s a glorious portrayal of the icon, no matter who’s in the armor.

You can tell that Heinberg loves the character and its legacy and the Dodsons should do nothing but Wonder Woman stories for the rest of their collective career. The cliffhanger of this issue sealed in the need to at least finish the arc. Please check out this issue and any additional installments. I highly recommend picking up the next issue, which I think is due in two weeks. At the very least, check out the trade paperback, which is probably due in early 2007. You won’t be disappointed.

And now a weekly look:

Upcoming...
Books and items of note shipping Wednesday, June 21st, 2006

MAR063447 110 PER CENT OGN
Top Shelf
$12.95

I don't know anything about 110PER¢ but last week Ed said: Tony Consiglio's 110PER¢ is about a middle-aged woman and her obsession with a boy band. It's 134 pages long, and is just like Top Shelf's BLANKETS, only shorter, a lot funnier, and not boring. They both have a sex scene, but this one is with consenting adults. Ok, so it's nothing like BLANKETS. Pick it up and make the comparison yourself. I didn't like BLANKETS either, so I might have to check this out.

APR060203 52 WEEK #7
DC Comics
$2.50

52 Week #6 introduced the new Chinese superhumans that were spotlighted in that national newspaper a few weeks ago, along with a few new plot lines. The good thing about the weekly format is that there’s a ton of material to cover, but the bad thing is that I find that I’m missing stuff week to week. I want more Ralph Dibny and Steel. And what about The Question & Montoya? Or the guys in space? There’s a lot to cover. The Booster stuff was interesting this time around. Meaghan thought it was kind of scummy what he did with Manthrax, but no one got hurt, right? I did LOVE the Rip Hunter stuff. That must have been a major blow to Booster’s ego. So I say, “bring it on” to the rest of 52.

MAR060295 ALL STAR SUPERMAN #4
DC Comics
$2.99

This really isn’t that late. Not really. Just like a month. That’s not too bad. And you know, it’s totally worth it. Issue three had some totally excellent old-school Silver Age moments. And this time is Superman Vs. Jimmy Olson? Yes please.

APR061769 AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS VOL 2 TP $12.99
APR063219 ANGEL OLD FRIENDS TP $19.99
APR063215 ANGEL SCRIPTBOOK #4 $3.99
APR062009 ANNIHILATION NOVA #3 (OF 4) $2.99
APR062931 ARCHIE #567 $2.25
FEB062968 ARMY OF DARKNESS #8 $2.99
FEB062969 ARMY OF DARKNESS ALT CVR INCENTIVE #8 $2.99
FEB063499 ART OF BARON VON LIND SC (MR) (C: 0-1-2) $14.95
APR062063 ASTONISHING X-MEN #15 $2.99
MAR060291 BATMAN DYNAMIC DUO ARCHIVES VOL 2 HC $49.99
APR062081 BEST OF SPIDER-MAN VOL 5 HC $29.99
APR060207 BIRDS OF PREY #95 $2.99

APR060286 BITE CLUB: VAMPIRE CRIME UNIT #3 (OF 5)
Vertigo/DC Comics
$2.99

I really think that BITE CLUB: VCU is just one big joke by Howard Chaykin to Vertigo. It’s the sickest, most vile thing he’s written in a ling time. (I just read BLACK KISS a few weeks ago, so I know what I’m talking about.) That’s not to say I don’t love it. It’s a great book. David Hahn needs to get Brian Miller to be his permanent colorist. He never looks better than when Miller’s doing the coloring and in this sort of story, if the artwork falters, it doesn’t work.

MAR063320 BLUFF #2 (OF 3) $3.49
APR062016 CAPTAIN AMERICA #19 $2.99

APR061763 CASANOVA #1
Image Comics
$1.99

It’s like everything Matt Fraction has done up until this point was a practice for CASANOVA. And Gabriel Bá? Forget about it. It barely gets better than this. Sexy super-spies and interdimensional law-enforcement agencies happen to be right up my alley. I feel like I’ve been waiting for his book for my whole life.

APR062089 CHAMPIONS CLASSIC VOL 1 TP $19.99
APR062842 CHRONO CRUSADE MANGA VOL 8 TP $9.99
MAY061779 CITY OF HEROES #14 $2.99
APR060278 CLAW THE UNCONQUERED #1 $2.99
MAY062991 COMIC BOOK HOLOCAUST GN (MR) $9.95
APR063487 COMICS BUYERS GUIDE SEPT 2006 #1620 (C: 0-1-2) $5.99
APR060011 CONAN #29 (MR) $2.99
APR060012 CONAN BOOK OF THOTH #4 (OF 4) $4.99
FEB060059 CONAN VOL 3 TOWER OF THE ELEPHANT & STORIES TP (C: $15.95

APR062846 CONTINUITY OGN
AiT/Planet Lar
$12.95

I don’t remember when the last AiT/Planet Lar Original Graphic Novel came out. I think it was Rob Osborne’s SUNSET CITY. So this is a new book from Jason McNarama and Tony Talbert - two guys that Larry Young trusts. That’s enough for me.

MAR060046 CRIMINAL MACABRE: FEAT OF CLAY
Dark Horse
$2.99

I really like Steve Niles’ character Cal McDonald. I’m not crazy about some of his work but the Cal stuff always works. I love the short stories. Kyle Hotz is joining Niles on the art this time and that's exciting itself. Give it a look.

MAR063171 DIGITAL WEBBING PRESENTS #29 $3.99
MAR063174 DORK TOWER #34 $3.49
MAR063175 DR BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK #3 (RES) $3.49
MAY062841 EIKEN VOL 4 GN (MR) $9.99
APR062022 ETERNALS #1 (OF 6) $3.99
APR068106 ETERNALS COIPEL VARIANT LTD ED #1 (OF 6) $3.99
APR062023 ETERNALS ROMITA JR VARIANT #1 (OF 6) $3.99
APR060276 EX MACHINA #21 (MR) $2.99
MAR063718 FACETTES ART OF HUBERT DE LARTIGUE TP (MR) (C: 0-1 $32.99
APR063221 FALLEN ANGEL IDW #6 $3.99

APR061774 FEAR AGENT: RE-IGNITION, VOL. 1 TPB
Image Comics
$9.99

I only read the first issue of FEAR AGENT but I was sold on the hopeful trade. Rick Remender created a cool character here and the little universe is fun. Tony Moore’s artwork is nice, too. It’s nice to read this and not have to see exploding cockroaches. “Re-Ignition” is the first four issues for ten bucks. The best deal of the week.

APR060211 FLASH THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE VARIANT EDITION #1 PI
APR060210 FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #1
DC Comics
$2.99

I don’t know how I feel about the new FLASH series. I loved Geoff Johns’ stuff and these two new writers (from the FLASH TV show) scare me a bit. And then there’s the artwork by Ken Lashley. I’ve seen some blurry artwork online but I’ve liked his stuff in the past (WETWORKS with Steven Grant!) so It gets a look.

APR062879 GARGOYLES #1 $3.50
APR062030 GIANT SIZE HULK #1 $4.99
APR061787 GIRLS #14 (MR) $2.99
APR063313 GIRLY VOL 1 TP $11.95
MAR063508 GOLGO 13 VOL 3 GN (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99

MAR060318 GREEN LANTERN CORPS: RECHARGE TPB
DC Comics
$12.99

I read a couple issues of this mini series and I like the idea of Green Lanterns needing partners. That’s a pretty good idea. And I liked Patrick Gleason’s artwork, too. He’s a solid artist who’s work is a lot like Doug Mahnke, which I of course like. This isn’t a “must” but it is an eventual buy.

APR062077 HAUNT OF HORROR EDGAR ALLAN POE #2 (OF 3) (MR) $3.99
MAR063501 HANA KIMI VOL 12 GN (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR060289 HELLBLAZER #221 (MR) $2.99
APR063490 HOGANS ALLEY #14 (C: 0-1-2) $6.95
APR062921 HORRORWOOD #2 (OF 4) (MR) $3.50
MAR063502 HOT GIMMICK VOL 11 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR063154 HOW TO SELF PUBLISH COMICS #4 (OF 4) $4.95
NOV053452 HTDM COMPUTONES VOL 4 PORTRAYING COUPLES TP (C: 0- $22.99
JAN063604 HTDM COMPUTONES VOL 5 AIMING FOR ACTION TP VOL 40 $22.99
MAY063130 I LOVE LED ZEPPLIN SC $19.95

NOV051715 INVINCIBLE: DIFFERENT WORLD, VOL. 6 TPB
Image Comics
$14.99

God, it’s been so long since the last INVINCIBLE tpb that I don’t even remember what happened with the last one. I wish Kirkman didn’t need all the Marvel gigs to feed his family so I could get a regular dose of INVINCIBLE. And really, how hard is it to get the collection of a book out on time? I realize that the monthly book was late, but this is still two months passed when it should have been out.

MAR063492 INU YASHA ANI MANGA VOL 15 GN (C: 1-0-0) $11.99
APR062029 IRON MAN #9 $2.99
MAY063620 JAPANESE COMICKERS VOL 2 TP (C: 0-1-2) $24.95
FEB063179 JENNA AND NINJA HIGH SCHOOL #3 (OF 3) $3.49
APR060224 JSA CLASSIFIED #13 $2.99
MAR063354 JUDGE DREDD THE ART OF KENNY WHO? TP (C: 0-1-2) $30.99
APR060218 JUSTICE #6 (OF 12) $3.50
MAR063568 JUXTAPOZ JUNE 2006 VOL 14 #6 (C: 0-1-2) $4.99

APR063231 THE KEEP TPB
IDW Publishing
$19.99

I don’t know a thing about this but I like Matt Smith’s artwork so I’ll give it a shot.

MAR063312 LAI WAN #1 (RES) (MR) $3.99
MAR060357 LAND OF THE BLINDFOLDED VOL 8 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR062006 LAST PLANET STANDING #4 (OF 5) $2.99
APR062881 LITTLE SCROWLIE #14 $2.95
MAY063266 LOVE AND CAPES #1 $3.95
DEC053140 LOVE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE #5 (MR) $5.95
APR060179 MAN-BAT #3 (OF 5) $2.99
APR060227 MANHUNTER #23 $2.99
APR062033 MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #2 $2.99
APR062086 MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL 3 DOOM WITH VIEW $6.99
APR062082 MARVEL MASTERWORKS RAWHIDE KID VOL 1 NEW ED HC $49.99
APR062045 MARVEL WESTERNS OUTLAW FILES $3.99
APR060259 MEGATOKYO VOL 4 $9.99
APR063156 MOME VOL 4 GN $14.95
MAR060359 MOON CHILD VOL 3 (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
JAN063016 MY MOST SECRET DESIRE 10TH ANNIVERSARY ED HC (MR) $19.95
MAR063509 NAOKI URASAWAS MONSTER VOL 3 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR062050 NEW AVENGERS #20 $2.99
APR062065 NEW EXCALIBUR #8 $2.99
APR063495 NEWTYPE ENG ED W/ DVD JULY 2006 (C: 0-1-2) $12.98
APR061793 NOBLE CAUSES #21 $3.50
APR063120 NODWICK #33 $2.99
MAR060024 OCTOPUS GIRL VOL 2 TP (MR) (C: 1-1-2) $12.95
MAR063394 PLATINUM GARDEN VOL 1 GN (OF 10) $9.99
APR060250 PRINCESS NATASHA #1 (OF 4) $2.25
MAR063120 RED SONJA #11 $2.99
MAR063122 RED SONJA LEE SNEAK PEEK ED INCENTIVE #11 $2.99
MAR063121 RED SONJA LEE VIRGIN ED INCENTIVE #11 $2.99
MAR063116 REVENGE OF COUNT SKARBEK VOL 2 HEART OF BRONZE GN $19.99
APR061820 RISING STARS UNTOUCHABLE #5 (OF 5) $2.99

APR060178 ROBIN #151
DC Comics
$2.99

Adam Beechen and Freddie Williams, II are doing a helluva job on ROBIN. Really stellar stuff.

APR060256 SCOOBY DOO #109 $2.25
MAY062960 SERENITY VOL 3 BASKET CASE TP $7.97
MAY062961 SERENITY VOL 4 RAVE N RANT TP $7.97
MAY062962 SERENITY VOL 5 SNOW BIZ TP $7.97
APR060235 SGT ROCK THE PROPHECY #6 (OF 6) $2.99
APR061801 SHADOWHAWK #13 $3.50
APR060231 SHADOWPACT #2 $2.99
FEB063373 SHOJO BEAT JULY 06 VOL 2 #7 (C: 1-0-2) $5.99
MAR060299 SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN VOL 2 TP $16.99
FEB061765 SIGHT UNSEEN TP $19.99
APR063020 SIMPSONS COMICS #119 $2.99
MAR063091 SINGAPORES GREATEST COMICS $19.95
MAY063576 SPACE 1026 PULLING TEETH HC (C: 0-1-2) $24.95
JAN063453 SPOOKY A WARREN FANZINE #5 (C: 0-1-2) $4.95
APR060059 STAR WARS LEGACY #1 (C: 1-0-0) $2.99
APR060061 STAR WARS REBELLION #3 (C: 1-0-0) $2.99

MAR063075 STARDUST KID #4 (OF 5)
Boom! Studios
$3.50

Being issue four of five, I’m a bit lost. That said, it doesn’t seem like the kind of story for me. I tried J. M. DeMatteis & Mike Ploog’s ABADAZAD books but they’re not my thing. This is more of the same. It looks like a strange and fun children’s story, though, so I’m not writing it off. It’s just not tops of my list.

MAR063309 STARSHIP TROOPERS #3 (OF 4) $3.50
MAR060302 SUPERGIRL POWER TP $14.99
APR060191 SUPERMAN BATMAN #27 (RES) $2.99
MAY060147 SUPERMAN BATMAN COLLECTOR SET $29.99
APR060188 SUPERMAN RETURNS LEX LUTHOR $3.99
APR060295 SWAMP THING #28 (MR) $2.99
APR063261 TALES OF LEONARDO BLIND SIGHT #1 (OF 4) $3.25
FEB063080 TALES OF THE CHAMPIONS #4 (NOTE PRICE) $3.25
APR060297 TESTAMENT #7 (MR) $2.99
APR063201 TOMMYROT ART OF BEN TEMPLESMITH $19.99
FEB061989 ULTIMATES 2 #11 $2.99
APR062068 UNCANNY X-MEN #474 $2.99
APR062069 UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #1 $3.99
APR062087 UNCANNY X-MEN THE NEW AGE VOL 4 END OF GREYS TP $14.99
APR063172 UNCLE SCROOGE #355 $6.95
MAR063511 VAGABOND VOL 21 TP (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.95
APR063173 WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #670 $6.95
MAY062944 WARREN ELLIS BLACK GAS AUXILIARY ED #2 (NOTE PRICE $3.99
APR061821 WITCHBLADE #99 $2.99
MAR063247 WITCHGIRLS INC #4 $3.25
APR062809 WIZARD ANIME INSIDER NARUTO CVR #34 $5.99
MAR060339 WONDER WOMAN VOL 4 DESTINY CALLING TP $19.99

MAR063073 X ISLE #1 (OF 5)
Boom! Studios
$2.99

I hate to say this about new comics… but it seems like the point of this whole series to sell a movie. We get Sam Jackson making yet another comic appearance, Philip S. Hoffman as a quirky scientist with water wings, The Rock as trusty sidekick and middle aged actor #1 (Clooney?) as the lead. It’s about a marine biologist/professor who – with his team – is investigating a brand new biological find. They’re on a research vessel and Marine Biologist’s daughter has arrived just in time for a horrible boat-sinking storm. The crew, ex-Navy SEAL captain included – land on a strange island and the stars are all different! Then the monsters arrive. I had high hopes for this because I like Greg Scott’s work quite a bit but it doesn’t salvage the Sci-Fi Original Movie feel to the whole thing. Pass.

APR062072 X-MEN FAIRY TALES #2 (OF 4) $2.99
MAR063473 YOULL HAVE THAT VOL 1 TP $4.95
MAR063494 ZATCH BELL VOL 7 GN (C: 1-0-0) $9.99

See? I got you a formal review. Maybe more next week. Thanks.

Brian Domingos is the Columns Editor at Popimage.com. Questions? Comments? Love Notes? Email him via brian@popimage.com.

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MoCCA Art Fest 2006: Part II
Ed Mathews

Attendance at the 5^th Annual MoCCA Art Festival was lighter on Sunday than on Saturday afternoon, which some attributed to the Puerto Rican Pride parade. MoCCA will be dealing with pride parades forever if the festival stays in June, so they should either move the date or resign themselves to that fact and send out PR to ahwtever community newspapers they will be sharing the weekend with. One year, MoCCA was held on Gay Pride weekend and Sunday traffic was also smaller than Saturday traffic that year. A little advertising to the local gay press could have made that a different story, however.

Back to the books. Keith Knight has a style that's got that underground comix vibe, complete with political commentary and biting satire. THE PASSION OF THE KEEF is Keith's most recent collection didn't pull any punches tackling, well, everything. Voting troubles in Louisiana, the war in Iraq, and race relations. Pick up a collection today.

MAULED is a series anothology that focuses on stories where people get, well, mauled. Brian Musikoff is editor and contributor to the anthology published by Manual Comics. It's 100% Hoboken art and the central theme allows the contributors to tell stories in a manner they might not explore in other anothologies.

Then, and what really makes these festivals a joy, are the minicomics. Minicomics really allow new faces to try just about anything in the name of art or in an attempt to grab your attention and sometimes a little bit of both. BERNIE: The Wackiest Jewlipino on Earth! by Cheryl Gladstone is an 8-page mini comic on card stock that opens the door for the reader on just about as personal a journey as one can take with a cartoonist: we see the story of a Jewish/Filipino mom with her lesbian daughter dealing with topics from body hair to interracial dating. While short, I just can't get that woman's "voice" out of my head, making this minicomic a success!

THE ANATOMY OF US by Karla Krupala is more of an academic excercise and is practically described as such on the front page. As a work in progress, it asks for the reader's feedback. Here's some of it. I love the paper used for the cover as it has a gunmetal gray with shiny bits in it. This is a sketchbook. It's a nice sketchbook, but I'd like to see more sequential storytelling.

ELSEWHERE by Gary Sullivan is a fun piece to read through. It's a series of disconnected images and stream of consciousness which makes sense after you realize what is going on. It's certainly a modern image on Coney Island and as a full piece, it works for me.

MACHINE VISION #1: Becoming.Machine, Becoming.Organic, Becoming.Abstract. by Jerel does just what the title indicates. It is an interesting mix of styles and I am interested in reading #2 to see where this is going, because it is not really told in a linear fashion. In any case, just looking at the variety of styles Jarel is capable of makes this a minicomic worth looking at.

MAN ENOUGH: a queer romance is a minicomic by Young Bottoms in Love contributor Bill Roundy. Mr. Roundy recently debuted his minicomic at another MoCCA function and the stroy is that of a date between a gay man and a female-to-male transexual. It's a fun little romp, and the back-up story is one familiar to YBIL fans: My Life in Gay Porn is retold from the pages of YBIL here in full color.

Saturday: Part III - More photos and Saturday night's musical performances by cartoonists!

Ed Mathews is Co-Editor in Chief of PopImage.

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MoCCA
Part I
Part III

MoCCA Art Fest 2006: Part I
Ed Mathews

On June 10, 2006 at 11:00am, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art kicked off the 5^th Annual MoCCA Art Festival. The festival has the distinction of being held at the Puck Building in SoHo, NYC, a location that can generate an unusual amount of casual foot traffic from people who might just happen to be passing by. While it appeared that this was less the case earlier in the day on Saturday during this two day festival, foot traffic was noticeably heavier from 3pm till the closing of the doors at 6pm. While there was a line outside the door before 11am, the volunteer staff handled it in a professional manner, allowing current cardholding members of MoCCA first entry.

One of the more charming aspects of the festival is something common at events like SPX; these are artists and publishers from the indy comics community, but MoCCA is not so stuffy that they can't have an exhibit at the main museum for Todd MacFarlane and then follow it up with an exhibit entitled "SHE DRAWS COMICS: 100 Years of America's Women Cartoonists." In that vein, MoCCA Art Festival holds panels with topics ranging from political cartooning to a Q&A with Jessica Abel (La Perdida, Artbabe).

Meeting with artists and picking up books is the main reason for coming to one of these festivals, and this year I was pleased by the output. Abby Denson's Tough Love: High School Confidential topped my list of books worth noting. It's a teen coming out story and has a list of resources for teens struggling with similar issues in the book.

Tony Consilglio's 110PER¢ is about a middle-aged woman and her obsession with a boy band. It's 134 pages long, and is just like TOP SHELF's Blankets, only shorter, a lot funnier, and not boring. They both have a sex scene, but this one is with consenting adults. Ok, so it's nothing like Blankets. Pick it up and make the comparison yourself.

Neil Kleid hooked me up with a copy of Ursa Minors! #1, which lives up to its claim of being smarter than the average comicbook. The Rabbi Ninja backup story may be worth it alone.

Chip Zdarsky collects his Monster Cops stories into an aptly named single issue. Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman are guardians of good as police officers. Oh, just read it. It's fun. There's an authorized Vampirella crossover. Seriously.

Hope Larson's Gray Horses is stunning. Visually graceful, the use of English and French is done in a natural flow that language becomes visual poetry. The choice of using one colour works well with the piece.

Friday: Part II - More on the audience, more books, and more photos. Also, Saturday night's musical performances by cartoonists!

Ed Mathews is Co-Editor in Chief of PopImage.

PopImage Forum - Discuss this message at the PopImage forum.
MoCCA
Part II
Part III

UNTIL YOUR HEART STOPS v14.1
by: Brian Domingos

A Brief Pause

June 14th, 2006

It's a busy week for me (as they all have been lately...) and it's my birthday today so I'm taking it very easy this week.

I'm working the script to my second OGN at the moment. We're looking at 20 finished pages and 30+ outlined pages, so I think it's going well. The pacing is tighter than it was on the first one - I'm learning, slowly, from trial & error.

I'm also doing some edits to the mini comic script that I wrote last week. That's something just for me and I think will be fun. I'll put some more info about that here once it's done.

I also joined the The Comics Review Creator Community over the weekend and am starting to do some networking. It's a little bit like Friendster/MySpace meets Digital Webbing/Penciljack. I also responded to some DW ads this week. Hopefully something good will come out of it.

And now this week's listings.

Upcoming...
Books and Items shipping Wednesday, June 14th, 2006

APR060285 100 BULLETS #73 (MR) $2.99

APR060202 52 WEEK #6
DC Comics
$2.50

I really loved the Space Scenes from last issue. That was the best stuff yet. I liked the Ellen (Mrs. Animal Man) Baker bit a lot, too. I've missed her. This week is Green Lantern and the Chinese superheroes. Let the bitching begin!

DEC050023 ALIENS PREDATOR PANEL TO PANEL TP (C: 0-1-2) $19.95

APR060284 AMERICAN VIRGIN #4
Vertigo/DC Comics
$2.99

Steve Seagle continues to ruin Adam Chamberlain's life. I'm not entirely sure where this can go but I want to see where Seagle and Becky Cloonan take it.

MAR063497 ANGEL SANCTUARY VOL 14 GN (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR063213 ANGEL SPOTLIGHT WESLEY ONE SHOT $3.99
APR062843 ANNE FREAKS MANGA VOL 2 TP (MR) $9.99
APR062012 ANNIHILATION SUPER SKRULL #3 (OF 4) $2.99
MAR062954 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #101 $2.25
JAN063523 ART OF MAXX MARSHALL TP (MR) (C: 0-1-2) $9.95
MAR063498 BANANA FISH VOL 14 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR063499 BASARA VOL 18 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99

APR060180 BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #207
DC Comics
$2.99

The last arc of “Legends of the Dark Knight” left me hanging for more and now we're at a new arc by Bruce Jones and Ariel Olivetti. I love Olivetti's work so that's the main draw for me. There's, then, Jones who's hit a bad patch lately: NIGHTWING is near-offensive and word is that WARLORD's been canceled. I loved Jones' Batman mini series last year with Sean Murphy – the BATMAN/SCARECROW: YEAR ONE. He does a good Batman, I think, and there's enough room in the LotDK arena to make a real dent in the character.

APR060247 BATMAN STRIKES #22 $2.25
MAR063485 BATTLE ANGEL ALITA LAST ORDER VOL 7 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
FEB061774 BATTLE POPE #8 (RES) (MR) $3.50
MAR063486 BEYBLADE VOL 11 TP (C: 1-0-0) $7.99
APR060053 BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #114 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $2.99
MAR063500 BOYS OVER FLOWERS VOL 18 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR062060 CABLE DEADPOOL #29 $2.99

MAR060378 CANT GET NO SC
Vertigo/DC Comics
$19.99

I didn't preorder Rick Veitch's 9/11 epic CAN'T GET NO because at the moment I couldn't get myself into it. At this point, I'm a more interested and looking to pick it up. Veitch is generally a good read.

APR060275 CAPTAIN ATOM: ARMAGEDDON #9 (OF 9)
Wildstorm/DC Comics
$2.99

The End of CAPTAIN ATOM: Armageddon – finally. Will Pfieffer just about ruined the Wildstorm Universe for me. He was basically supposed to keep Captain Atom around the WSU for nine issues and the padding was a'plenty. Capt. Atom bummed his way around and got in fights with various WS characters. It seemed that the whole purpose of the series was to show how different the WS Universe is from the proper DC universe - but they aren't all that different. Pfeiffer wrote these characters as violent bags of scum and it's not the correct approach to take. It just turned into Capt. Atom covering his shiny face in fear of the 'monsters' that he found. To be honest, I had a similar look on my face but that was due to the gross mis-characterizations of these characters that I know and love. Capt. Atom showed up back in the DC Universe in the middle of INFINITE CRISIS, so I'm guessing he makes it out. And after all this, we just get a WSU restart, but more of that in the PREVIEWS column in a few weeks.

APR060251 CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK #2 $2.25
MAR060351 CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY VOL 3 CAN YOU DIG IT $6.99
MAR060352 CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY VOL 4 BLAST OFF $6.99

APR060212 CHECKMATE #3
DC Comics
$2.99

The first issue of CHECKMATE seemed like a hesitation but the second was full steam ahead. We get a nice balance of the political and military aspects of the group – the public face and the black ops underbelly. Everything is clicking here from the strong scripts to the great artwork. Rucka introduces the strong interpersonal relationships and shows us the current political climate of the DC Universe and thankfully it's less DC's S.H.I.E.L.D. and more their QUEEN & COUNTRY. I should mention that Cliff Richards is doing a fill-in this issue. His fill-ins worked on THE OMAC PROJECT so I expect similar results here.

APR063236 CHICANOS #8 $3.99
APR062017 CIVIL WAR #2 (OF 7) $2.99
APR062018 CIVIL WAR TURNER VARIANT #2 (OF 7) $2.99
APR063476 COMIC BOOK NERD #1 (C: 0-1-2) $8.95
APR060199 CRISIS AFTERMATH THE BATTLE FOR BLUDHAVEN #5 (OF 6 $2.99
MAR060018 CRYING FREEMAN VOL 2 TP (MR) (C: 1-1-2) $14.95
APR062084 DAREDEVIL VOL 5 HC $29.99

APR060287 DMZ #8
Vertigo/DC Comics
$2.99

The last issue raised some interesting points and showed just how much control the US government has over the DMZ. “Body of a Journalist” really is as good as Brian Wood said it was going to be.

APR063169 DONALD DUCK AND FRIENDS #341 $2.95
FEB060075 DREADFUL ED HC (C: 0-1-2) $12.95
APR060246 ELRIC MAKING OF A SORCERER #3 (OF 4) (RES) $5.99
MAR060367 EX MACHINA SPECIAL #2 (OF 2) (MR) $2.99
APR062061 EXILES #82 $2.99
APR060291 FABLES #50 (MR) (NOTE PRICE) $3.99
MAR061848 FEAR AGENT #5 (RES) $2.99
MAR063487 FIREFIGHTER DAIGO OF FIRE COMPANY M VOL 15 TP (C: $9.95

APR060213 FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN #26
DC Comics
$2.99

I picked up the last few issues of FIRESTORM – the “One Year Later” stuff – and I liked them quite a bit. I haven't picked up a new issue, one fresh off the shelf, so we'll see how it goes.

MAR063488 FLAME OF RECCA VOL 18 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
FEB061770 FLAMING CARROT VOL 6 FIRST IMAGE SERIES VOL TP $14.99
FEB063079 FLARE #34 $3.25
MAR062103 FOUR #30 $2.99
MAR063248 FUN HOME GN (C: 0-1-2) $19.95
APR063090 GI JOE AMERICAS ELITE #12 $2.95
APR063552 GIANT ROBOT #42 (C: 0-1-2) $4.99
APR063142 GRAPHIC CLASSICS VOL 1 EDGAR ALLAN POE 3RD PTG $11.95
APR060214 GREEN ARROW #63 $2.99
APR060216 GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1 $2.99
MAR060020 HARLEQUIN PINK THE BACHELOR PRINCE TP (C: 1-1-2) $9.95
MAR060021 HARLEQUIN VIOLET BLIND DATE TP (C: 1-1-2) $9.95

FEB061768 HELLSPAWN: THE ASHLEY WOOD COLLECTION TPB
Image Comics
$24.95

I'm not terribly interested in HELLSPAWN but I like Ashley Wood and these are written by Bendis so there could be some fun. I seem to remember a little bit of this stuff from back in the day but I didn't read it regularly. HELLSPAWN was always better than that SPAWN: DARK AGES stuff.

APR062095 INFINITY GAUNTLET TP NEW PTG $24.99
MAR060326 JLA CLASSIFIED #22 $2.99

MAR060324 JLA: CLASSIFIED NEW MAPS OF HELL TPB
DC Comics
$12.99

Warren Ellis' JLA: Classified arc, “Maps of Hell” is a strange story. It's a vaguely interesting plot with some nice Kick'Splode! Moments and not a whole lot else. The problem comes from Butch Guice's artwork. It's some sort of horrible. Every page has a figure breaking a panel or just clunky acting. And the covers are some of the worst pieces of 'art' I've seen in a long time. I'd prefer Greg Land over this stuff (Yeah, I said it.) So it's a mid-level story at best. There are some really cool parts but the artwork tends to eat up the enthusiasm.

MAR063503 KARE FIRST LOVE VOL 8 TP (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR063496 KIKIS DELIVERY SERVICE FILM COMICS VOL 3 TP (C: 1- $9.99
MAR063495 KIKIS DELIVERY SERVICE PICTURE BOOK (C: 1-0-0) $14.99
MAR063295 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #115 $4.99
APR061776 LIBERTY MEADOWS VOL 1 TP NEW PRTG $14.99
MAR060034 LITTLE LULU VOL 10 ALL DRESSED TP $9.95
APR063110 LOST BOYS GN (MR) $12.95
APR060257 MAD MAGAZINE #467 $3.99
MAR061831 MAGE VOL 2 HERO DEFINED TP $24.99
APR062032 MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #13 $2.99
APR062043 MARVEL ROMANCE REDUX LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD $2.99
APR062093 MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL 3 LEAGUE OF LOSERS TP $13.99
APR062047 MARVEL WESTERNS TWO GUN KID $3.99
APR063170 MICKEY MOUSE AND FRIENDS #290 $2.95
MAR063493 MIDORI DAYS VOL 6 GN (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
MAR060360 MONSTER COLLECTION VOL 6 (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
APR063230 MONSTER HOUSE ONE SHOT $7.99
APR062049 MS MARVEL #4 $2.99
FEB060053 NEXUS ARCHIVES VOL 3 HC (C: 0-1-2) $49.95
APR060177 NIGHTWING #121 $2.99
FEB062991 NIGHTWOLF #0 $0.99
MAR063510 PHOENIX VOL 7 TP (C: 1-0-0) $15.99
APR061794 PORTENT #3 (OF 4) $2.99
APR062899 PUBLIC ENEMY #0 $2.99
APR060277 RED SONJA CLAW DEVILS HANDS #4 (OF 4) $2.99
MAR060028 REIKO THE ZOMBIE SHOP VOL 3 TP (C: 0-1-2) $12.95
APR061797 ROCKETO JOURNEY TO THE HIDDEN SEA #9 $3.99
APR063111 SAME CELL ORGANISM GN (MR) $12.95
APR062004 SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #27 $2.99
MAR063504 SENSUAL PHRASE VOL 14 TP (MR) (C: 1-0-0) $9.99
FEB063233 SHANDA THE PANDA #45 (MR) $4.99

APR062092 SHE-HULK: TIME TRIALS, VOL. 3 TPB
Marvel Comics
$14.99

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the first SHE-HULK collection. A huge part of that is the artwork because the second one didn't have the strongest legs. Now we're at volume 3, the first collection of the second SHE-HULK book. Very confusing, I know. After all of that GLA/“Pull my THING” nonsense, I'm a little bit Dan Slott-ed out. I think I'm done. But we'll see how this looks.

APR062952 SHRUGGED #1 $2.99
MAR062968 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #163 $2.25
APR062007 SPIDER-GIRL #99 $2.99
APR062057 SQUADRON SUPREME #4 $2.99
JAN063043 SQUIRREL MOTHER GN $16.95
APR060063 STAR WARS OMNIBUS X-WING ROGUE SQUADRON VOL 1 TP ( $24.95
MAR061833 STUPID COMICS COLL TP $12.99
APR063412 SUPER F$$$$$S #3 (MR) $5.00
APR060189 SUPERMAN #653 $2.99
APR060186 SUPERMAN RETURNS MA KENT $3.99
FEB060251 SUPERMAN VERSUS LEX LUTHOR TP $19.99

MAR063282 SUPERMARKET #3 (OF 4)
IDW Publishing
$3.99

I missed SUPERMARKET #2. I'm looking forward to the collection, whenever that comes out. Brian Wood does his good humor/satire work and Kristian Donaldson is a fantastic artist. I can't wait for his DMZ issue.

DEC052992 SUPERNATURAL LAW #1 WITH A SILVER BULLET $3.50

MAR063076 TAG #1 (OF 3)
Boom! Studios
$3.99

Keith Giffen's new mini series from Boom! Studios is TAG with artist Kody Chamberlain. I've always liked Chamberlain's artwork and Giffen's stuff works for me from time to time. The plot here is about a sort of hyper-infectious zombie disease. A person is infected and it is passed on along through touch. Mitch is having a dispute with his girlfriend, he's 'tagged' and his body slowly starts to shut down. The next two issues deal with him having to find the next person to pass it on to. The high concept is pretty interesting and the artwork is nice. Give this a look if you see it.

APR063411 TALES OF WOODMAN PETE GN $7.00
APR061773 THE DROWNERS TP $14.99
APR062058 THUNDERBOLTS #103 $2.99
APR062808 TOYFARE PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN CVR #108 (C: 0-1- $4.99
APR063205 TRANSFORMERS GENERATIONS (IDW) #4 (NOTE PRICE) $2.49
APR062001 ULTIMATE X-MEN #71 $2.99
APR061767 UMBRA #1 (OF 3) $5.99
APR062884 URSA MINORS #1 $2.95
MAR062971 VERONICA #171 $2.25
APR062070 WOLVERINE ORIGINS #3 $2.99
APR063606 WRITING FOR COMICS WITH PETER DAVID SC (C: 0-1-2) $19.99
DEC050025 YOSHITAKA AMANO FAIRIES HC (C: 0-1-2) $24.95
APR063115 ZOMBIE HIGHWAY #1 (MR) $3.99

That's about it for this week. I'm tapped. I've got a ton of stuff to read, though, so I'll be talking about them – for sure – next week. No lie.

Brian Domingos is the Columns Editor at Popimage.com. Questions? Comments? Love Notes? Email him via brian@popimage.com.

PopImage Forum - Discuss this message at the PopImage forum.

INTERVIEW: Neil Kleid
Interview Conducted by Ed Mathews

Big Daddy Neil - Circa 2005

Xeric Award-winning cartoonist Neil Kleid authored NINETY CANDLES, a graphic novella about life, death, fatherhood and comic books. He moved to New York from his hometown of Oak Park, Michigan in 1999 and wrote BROWNSVILLE, a graphic novel about Murder Inc., with Jake Allen for NBM Publishing. He's currently writing URSA MINORS! for Slave Labor Graphics and has written for Puffin Graphics, Marvel, Image and Alternative Comics. Neil has created minicomics and cartoons for anthologies and magazines including 9-11: EMERGENCY RELIEF, HOUSE OF TWELVE and KITCHEN SINK and is currently writing/drawing MIGDAL DAVID, a cartoon memoir for Seraphic Press. In his day job as a graphic designer, Neil has worked on campaigns for Comedy Central and Miramax Films and his work has appeared in Variety and the New York Times.

Ed Mathews spoke with Neil about minicomics, BROWNSVILLE and robotic bears in the forthcoming URSA MINORS! A new series which Neil Describes as "The touching story of three men who bond via fabulous form-fitting suits of armor that happen to resemble big, giant bears. It's the tale of three idiots, full of sound and fury, in the end signifying nothing.

It's "Seinfeld," but with Bear Suits. And ninjas. And cussing."

Watch for URSA MINORS #1, shipping to comic book and specialty stores on Wednesday, June 14th from Slave Labor Graphics.

You have done some work on the stage. Do you find that has helped you in your ability to write a comic book script and how?

Yes and no - the basic formats between stage, screen and comic scripts are somewhat similar, but I've always found that you need to be a lot more careful in terms of the types of scenes you write when it comes to the stage. On stage, there's a limit as far as what you can do and show - it's tough to have a window breaking scene on stage every night for a two week run because you have to keep replacing that window; in comics, however, you can write an entire phalanx of jet-powered robotic soldiers blasting across the Northern Hemisphere while a squadron of elephant gunships bring up the rear (well, your artist might kill you - but that's another story!).

How has writing for the stage helped my comic writing? Stage plays are dialogue-heavy, I've found... writing for the theatre helps you master how people speak to one another smoothly and believably. The intricacies of a person to person conversation helps you focus on how people talk to, relate to and react to other people and as a writer who creates a great deal of character based stories, that strength is ultra important.

Many of the elements in AMERICAN CEASAR could easily be translated into an original graphic novel. Do you have any interest in doing something of this nature?

Actually it's already done. CAESAR was adapted into graphic novel format last year and is on deck for eventual illustration as soon as I get through THE BIG KAHN with Scott Chantler for NBM Publishing and DEAD RONIN, the next book Jake Allen and I are collaborating on. Adapting CAESAR from stage to book was actually beneficial because it allowed me to expand the cast, timing, pacing and reinsert elements that had to be taken out of the stage play due to costs and technical impossibilities (i.e., turning the Ghost of Caesar into unknown
Instant Messages).

Your previous published works have been focused on people. Why the switch to bears? Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report has a healthy fear of bears and has brought a great deal of attention to the media's bear conspiracy. Wouldn't a bearsuit robot superteam turn on the very people they claim to protect? Aren't bears dangerous? Why robots? Aren't robots dangerous? Did you not see I-Robot? Robot bear suits seem very dangerous to me.

I'd like to take the third part last.

First of all... I DID see I, ROBOT and between that grim, robotic future, TERMINATOR and VOLTRON let me just say this, Ed: Did you ever see the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" episode where Will burned down the kitchen? Hellafunny.

In terms of robotic bears, Señor Mathews, I believe the time is ripe. Nay, the time is RIGHT for the masses to be given a funny animal comic that a) is funny, b) tentatively circles - tentatively, mind you - the furry fanbase while patting them awkwardly on the shoulder and c) kicks ninja ass all over the time/space continuum while stopping to smell the flowers and discuss Gobots along the way.

And if it does it while dressed as a big robot grizzly bear then what's it to you, Nosy McInternet?

I would also like to say to Mister Colbert, if that's YOUR REAL NAME, SIR that there is no bear-media conspiracy. There are no secret bears running a worldwide monopoly with paws in every honeypot, controlling the world's entertainment community like its own seductive pic-a-nic basket. The Bear Media Conspiracy does not exist. Bears are not controlling entertainment.

Now, Jews? No comment.

All legal entanglement and obvious financial benefit issues aside, if URSA MINORS could cross over with one other comic book character or team in any genre, what book would you choose and why?

The one that helps me score more of the sweet, sweet Tall Comics Dollars and yet is tastefully "indie".

So, I don't know? URSA MINORS meets SPIDER-HAM? Or perhaps Joe Matt's POOR BASTARD?

Actually, now that I stop to ponder it and really give the question some thought, I could use a cold beer.

Two words: Ambush Bug. Think about it.

Two words: Contract, DC?

Back to people. You've done an original graphic novel with Jake Allen about the Jewish Mafia in 1930s Brooklyn called BROWNSVILLE. What made you choose this topic? Do you find period pieces easier to wrote or harder due to the research involved?

Harder, for sure. There's a ton of background research involved anytime you tackle actual historical events to craft a story. BROWNSVILLE involved a year's research on my end and Jake spent several months gathering photo reference (with my help, natch). We're in the middle of our next big historical book, the tale of a fugitive samurai that flees 1909 Japan for gang-controlled San Francisco, and I again spend eight to nine months digging into the history of both turn-of-the-century Japan and San Francisco as well as immersing myself into samurai codes and dress along with the American political mood regarding Asian-Americans at the time.

Why BROWNSVILLE? Big mafia buff here. I've always wanted to tell a mob story and devoured any and all mob movie, book or article I could get my hands on. But when it came time for me to begin, I realized that I wanted to focus on real mobster[s] rather than create my own. I wanted to explore the true crime history involved instead of writing another GODFATHER, GOODFELLAS or SOPRANOS.

My Dad had been trying to get me to watch Sergio Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA for years but you know, if my Dad likes it... Anyway, I finally watched it one day and LOVED it. It made me realize that while I knew a lot about the history of the Mafia, I hadn't learned much about the Jewish mob. So I read books and articles and watched Tony Curtis in LEPKE, Richard Dreyfuss in LANSKY. I went on to explore the history of Jewish gangsters. The most prominent names were those like Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Lepke, but as my research progressed I read about some lesser-known figures like Abe Reles, Allie Tannenbaum, Longy Zwillman and the like... little-known gunmen and gangsters hiding in the background. These smaller stories really inspired me to find out more and more and with a little pulling here and there I ended up with the grand tapestry that is BROWNSVILLE.

Did BROWNSVILLE start off as a minicomic? How do you feel the form of minicomics affects your larger works?

BROWNSVILLE has always been a graphic novel. There's so much history... so much... "denseness" to this story that I constantly fought the suggestions to break it down into short chapters and release it serially. Don't get me wrong - I love the minicomic format. I started in the minicomics, assembling 16-24 page hand copied booklets and still do time to time. But BROWNSVIL