by: Jason Vaughn
Space… the final frontier… well, actually, for sci-fi comics, it’s more like the first, best, and only frontier. When I was a kid, outer space TV shows like “Buck Rogers” and “Star Trek” rocketed me light speed toward a geosynchronous orbit around syndicated fun and excitement. (Ok, “Star Trek” was due mostly to my dad’s “Ming the Merciless”-like despotic control over the remote control. I grew up to be a “Star Wars” kid, go figure.) Even though I’m referring to the reruns of the seventies and eighties, space cowboys and adventurers have been astonishing and scaring the crap out of the little kid in all of us since almost a decade before Superman ever lifted his first car on the cover of Action Comics. So let’s take a look at two current books and one upcoming title with stories from a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Rescues #3 – Dark Horse (On sale now!)
Like I said above, I’ve been a “Star Wars” fan ever since I can remember. (However, the prequels did make me question the sanity of that devotion each time I left the theater.) The horrendous Jar Jar movies aside, in recent years I’ve found myself running to the arms of a different pusher by the name of Dark Horse in order to acquire my “Star Wars” fix. I thoroughly enjoyed “Knights of the Old Republic” and duly look forward to John Jackson Miller’s new title “Star Wars: Knight Errant.” Let’s not forget “Dark Times” which has its moments as a character driven piece that follows ex-Jedi-in-hiding Dass Jennir as he copes with life in a galaxy ruled by the newly founded Empire. Unlike these other titles, “Star Wars: Rescues” features the original crew of Luke Skywalker and company, although several years in the future. In this part of the “Star Wars” timeline, Luke has rebuilt the Jedi with a small band of knights; Han and Leia have twins (Jaina and Jacen) who are also under Luke’s tutelage as future Jedi; and a new, yet strange threat with unusual technology is invading the fragile Republic from parts unknown, the Yuuzhan Vong. Not having read the “New Jedi Order” books (I stopped right after the second Timothy Zahn trilogy), I’m thrilled Dark Horse decided to do this series. My only issue is this - get on with it already! “Rescues” suffers from the same fatal flaw “Legacy” did – it was ungodly slow for a sci-fi action comic. Granted, “Legacy” took some set up due to its placement in the time line, but “Rescues,” and “Invasion” before it, has no such excuse yet suffers from the same plod-along pacing. We know the “sandbox” by now. Enough with the set up and let’s actually get to a major beat point already. There are plenty of books in this series, so I’m not sure I see the need in dragging out the story to the point where Ambien-like sleep kicks in while I’m reading it. As a fan, I’m on board for a few more issues because I do think the use of the Vong as the antagonist is a surprising change from the stand-by, overly used “Sith,” and also in hopes they’ll pick up the pacing a bit.
MGM Drive-In: “It! The Terror From Beyond Space” #1- IDW (On sale now!)
This book is the first of three special series updating classic sci-fi flicks. This new title by IDW harkens back to the days of midnight B movie marathons when you had to keep the volume low out of fear you’d wake up your parents. You know the type, a flick that Tom Servo, Crow and Joel would’ve made fun of on MST3K. The story begins with the hastily assembled crew of the Challenge 142 en route to Mars on a rescue mission where they discover that the one lone survivor of the Challenge 141 may have killed the rest of his crew for the remaining rations. Or at least that’s the way it appears until the survivor reveals they’re not alone on the red planet. I love the retro-pulp feel of this title. For example, how the book refers to their technology as “atomic engines” and the nod and wink to old school 50’s Hollywood with members of the crew smoking in an oxygen enriched environment. I guess no one told the Captain Kirk-lite that offering a cigarette to an alien just after sex might blow up his cabin. This book is cheeky, smarmy, and just cheesy enough to be considered a guilty pleasure.
Farscape: Scorpius #4 – Boom (Drops this Wednesday!)
There’s a growing trend these days for popular TV and movie properties to find renewed life in the world of graphic novels and comic books long after they’ve left the screen. Obvious examples are “Buffy,” “The Green Hornet,” “Die Hard,” “Charmed,” “Blade Runner” (“Andriods…”), and “Farscape.” “Farscape” was one of those shows that flew under my radar when it first debuted. However, my introduction to this show is a day I’ll not likely ever forget. In an effort not to make this column all morbid, I’ll just quickly say that if you ask someone from a previous generation where they were when JFK was shot, most would be able to tell you exactly the place, and could probably recall the following few days afterwards as well. I had a similar experience on the day I first learned what a “translator microbe,” a “Luxan,” and a “Hynerian” were on September 12, 2001. I vividly remember that day as I was walking to a friend’s house, thinking how odd it was not to see any con-trails in the sky from the neighboring airport. Living in Atlanta at the time, which is close to one of, if not the, busiest airports in the world, it was an extremely unusual sight not to see a single plane in the sky. After I arrived, my friend would soon put on a recorded episode of “Farscape” while looking at me in awe uttering “what, are you kidding me? You haven’t seen it!? This show is like ‘The Muppets’ on acid.” From that day forward, I was on board with John Crighton, the ultimate fish out of water, and his desperate attempt to get home to Earth while trying to relate to these creatures he’s been forced to live with while on the run from the authorities. If you were ever a fan of the show, I can tell you that you won’t be disappointed with this series. Issue #4 in the “Farscape: Scorpius” prelude to “The War for the Uncharted Territories” is a great read. The tone and feel of this arc is so reminiscent of the show, I feel like its Friday night and I’m watching TV when SyFy was still Sci-Fi (and didn’t have to steal their story ideas from hard-working filmmakers, but I digress… *cough* Drones! *cough*.) And it should have that sense of nostalgia since one of the writers is none other than series creator Rockne O’Bannon. Along with fellow writer Alan Mack and art by Mike Ruiz, O’Bannon has managed to catch the heart of the series with a story following the twisted machinations of John Crichton’s arch nemesis Scorpius. Up to his old tricks, Scorpius deceives, intimidates and manipulates his way into command of an invading armada from the “grey space” who have their sights set on destroying the Peacekeepers and setting up camp in “Scorpy’s” backyard. For a prelude, this story has a smooth set-up and great jumping on point for any longtime fans who haven’t yet read the comics, or for the newbie who’s just dying to learn what “farbot” means.
Follow us on twitter: Jason -@GoTodash; Stacey – TVStaceyLevin
By: Jason Vaughn
Hello once again to all of you comic book connoisseurs out there in cyberspace. It’s about that time for another random genre selection as we reach our hand into the musty cob-web covered Meltdown Genius Pull box. Here’s an excerpt from the previous mix for anyone who might have missed it (and exactly why did you miss the last one, hmm?) and may not be sure how this works.
“Every iTunes library now contains a playlist called “Genius Mixes.” It’s a rather intuitive program that cycles through your library and pulls together multiple mixes from the different genre types in your music collection. So this got me to thinking? What if you could do the same thing to your comic collection and pull list? Just *click* and you have a selection of crime dramas, *click* a mix of superhero stories, *click* and there’s a handful of your favorite horror books to lull you into a blubbering nightmare-filled sleep before bed. So until the major publishers catch on and start doing something similar on their own websites, every so often I’ll be highlighting a random genre pull of current upcoming books and compare them to some back issue favorites. (By the way, I take full credit for the idea, guys! You can send the royalty checks to Jason Vaughn courtesy of… oh, who am I kidding.) This way, you don’t have to go digging around in that closet where you hide all of your comics from your girlfriend. And guys, don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Continue reading »
Let’s Hear it for the New Kids on the Block!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
The right stuff!
Gotcha! Just kidding! I’m not actually talking about 80’s boy band New Kids on the Block… although being the cheesy chick I am, I can see how you mighthave thought that’s who I was referring to. Nope, even I’m not that
bad. By “new kids,” I am referring to IDW’s recent launch of new titles that either introduce all new characters or use tried and true literary and mythology characters in a unique and clever way. In an age where we see the never-ending progression of classic characters from both Marvel and DC, it’s nice to see a smaller imprint publisher take a chance with completely original fare. Not that there’s anything wrong with the likes of Superman, Green Lantern, Wolverine, Spiderman and the list goes on and on. I love me some Captain America, but come on, Jean Grey has been reborn, like, a million times. I’m just sayin’…
IDW’s new titles are all very different in tone and offer a little something for everyone depending on your taste. Let’s review, shall we?
- “Kill Shakespeare” (writers: Conor McCreery, Anthony del Col, artist: Andy Belanger) is a dark interpretation of what would happen
if the bard’s best known characters were pitted against each other while on a quest to kill their creator, the most famous poet of all time. To start this tale, Richard III sends Hamlet on a mission to kill Shakespeare – a daunting task that can only be accomplished by stealing his quill. Sounds kinda easy, right? Nope, cause the oops-I-made-a-mistake-Prince is about to meet up with some pretty interesting peeps along the way in the form of Iago, Puck, Romeo, Juliet and other Shakespearean classics. This book is fun and made me feel much smarter than usual because I started remembering storylines from all of the Shakespeare I studied in college. And anything that makes me all intellectual but is still a comic is all right in my book. Two issues in and I’m ready for more… too bad we have to wait until July for the third (insert pouty face here), but for those of you who haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet, go catch up now.
- “Pantheon” (writers: Michael Chiklis, Marc Andreyko artist: Stephen Molnar) – yes, that’s the same Michael Chiklis of “The Shield” fame. And if you weren’t sure, just take a look at the cool cover art.
“Pantheon” is the story of a crazy scenario – what if Zeus and the Greek Gods returned to Earth because man has nearly destroyed the planet by ravaging it to almost nothing? Hmm, that actually doesn’t sound too far-fetched these days. Well, the Earth part at least. But yeah, they’d be so pissed. And in “Pantheon,” Zeus is way pissed, people. The dude is hopping mad as black-market treasure hunter Hamilton Finch figures out when he runs into Zeus in Old Miami, a destroyed version of the Florida city in the not-too-distant future. “Pantheon” does a great job of setting the stage for things we sadly can all envision happening one day – mankind has almost ruined every resource on Earth when oil is discovered in Greece. On the day of the ground-breaking, a terrorist bomb detonates and a crisis has begun. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, thieving artifact dealers are preparing to steal relics from Old Miami until Zeus steps in and introduces himself. I love the use of Greek mythological characters and look forward to seeing how the story develops. This too made me feel all smart and literary, so I’m in.
- “Wire Hangers” (writer and artist: Alan Robert) is a creepy, gory tale underscored with the infinite sadness of its lead character. Written and
illustrated by rocker Alan Robert of Life of Agony, “Wire Hangers” is IDW’s latest foray into the horror genre. The story begins when ballsy news reporter Anna Davis goes undercover to investigate a series of abductions in New York City in which the perpetrator leaves a disturbing calling card. Just when she thinks she’s gotten an exclusive like no other, things take an incredibly bad turn for the worse. As Anna fights for her life, a scary, disfigured man descends upon the scene and she soon finds herself thrown into a dark world of government conspiracy, corrupt law enforcement, and grotesque murder. Um, gulp. Maybe she’s re-thinking that balls-out undercover thing she just did. Well, too late now, honey. Blood, and corruption and nightmares, oh my! I’m so there. Tell me more…. But if I could make one suggestion, it would be this – with only two issues into the series, I’m already starting to find it hard to keep the story straight and tell the difference between all of the characters. It might be time to take a breather, not cram so much story into each issue and use the opportunity to allow the art to really distinguish the look of all of the main peeps. Not a criticism, but just a thought so readers like myself don’t get lost on the journey and can really commit to the story.
- “The Pilgrim” (writer: Mark Ryan, artist: Mike Grell.) What’s cool about “The Pilgrim” is its use of history to tell a story and make it relevant to current issues. Writer Mark Ryan has been noodling on the idea for over fifteen years when he first read about psychic experiments
conducted by the Nazis and Brits back in World War II. In “The Pilgrim,” modern day military peeps have gone back to the same type of experimentation where they use clairvoyants to help them identify war criminals from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I’m still a little unclear as to what or who “The Pilgrim” actually is within the story, but I’m intrigued enough to keep reading because the first issue had a vaguely reminiscent callback to the underlying story in Stephen King’s “Firestarter,” a book and movie I still love till this day. And wouldn’t it be cool if we could just round up a few psychics, throw them in a machine and use them to help us find that rascally Osama bin Laden? Think of how much easier that would be! Dare to dream, folks, and maybe “The Pilgrim” will fill that fantasy void for us. I’m staying tuned for now.
So there you have it, four new titles that are definitely worth checking out. As avid comic readers, I hope all of you give at least one book a chance. Let’s give a big round of applause to IDW for taking a chance on some newbies and let’s support them in their endeavor. Taking a chance on originality should always be rewarded. Cause if you don’t, I might have to start playing some actual NKOTB. And no one wants to hear that.
(P.S. Fellow comic peeps, follow Stacey and Jason on twitter @TVStaceyLevin and @GoTodash!)
A Day with Felicia pt.2
Photo By: Angie Riemersma
Q: Will there be another run of the comics? A prequel perhaps?
A: I don’t know yet because I don’t know how this first issue has done. Hopefully people have bought it. I was on the set of “Red” [the made for SyFy movie Felicia just wrapped] when the first issue came out, and nobody on the set really knew about it before, but the make-up and hair ladies got more excited about the comic than if I had done a blockbuster movie. They started calling every comic shop in a two hundred mile radius of our set in Ontario. They would get off the phone saying: ‘You’re sold out! You’re sold out!’ and I was like, ‘Ladies, they might have only ordered one copy.’ And they’d say, ‘That doesn’t matter, you’re sold out!’
Photo By: Angie Riemersma
Q: Based on your experience creating “The Guild” comic, is there any chance you’ll do more in comics beyond “The Guild”?
Photo By: Angie Riemersma
I love fantasy novels and I know of some novels that come to mind that I think would be great in graphic novel format. If I get time, I would actually really love to do another graphic novel of a different non-Guild property once I find something I want to tell in this format specifically. Just collaborating with an artist is such a pure expression, even more than a novel because you are connecting with an audience on such a visual level and collaborating with an artist to create a world. Especially if I want to do a sci-fi or fantasy idea, unless I want to go and try to do a big budget movie that will never get made or get made completely different than what I envisioned it, the only way to do it is in comic form.
Q: Did Dark Horse pick it up right away or did you have to meet with a bunch of different publishers?
A: Oh no, Dark Horse picked it up – it was Scott’s [Allie; editor of “The Guild”] idea to do a Guild comic. I just said no for a whole year because I couldn’t figure out how to do it and I didn’t want to do anything that was like half-assed. I haven’t talked to Dark Horse because I’ve been so busy, but I’ll have to check in with them to see if they are interested in doing more. And see how the fans are reacting. I hope they’re enjoying it.
Q: What other comics are you currently reading?
A: I read anything that’s kind of fantasy based. I have a whole stack that I haven’t gotten through yet. I just finished Joss’ [Whedon] run on “The Runaways” and when I was in Canada, I read “Sandman” – I bought all of Neil Gaiman’s work. Why haven’t I read them before? No real reason – guess ‘cause I’m an asshole. I’m reading “Walking Dead” - I love that comic. I’m definitely drawn towards more women stories. To me, I feel with some comics, I’m only there for character. Some comics are a little thin on character and very high on action, and those don’t draw me in as much. I’m sorry, but Spiderman is hot because of him and Mary Jane. I know I’m a stupid girl for saying that, but that’s what attracts me to it. Anything that’s kind of female centric… oh, and I love “Scott Pilgrim,” too! “Love and Rockets” – I read that before I got started which is kind of old school.
Courtesy of: Jedi Chefs
Q: Lastly, what are you favorite characters to play in World of Warcraft, and what other games do you happen to play?
A: In WoW, I play a gnome and a dwarf. I generally like to play the little people. I usually play elves, the tinier races. In “Dragon Age,” I play an elf. “Dragon Age” I’ve been playing obsessively, and “Mass Effect” I’ve been playing obsessively. Any RPG – I like stealing things. Any time I can go into a virtual world and open someone’s chest and steal something from them, I will do it. I really like taking things from people when I play. I also like blowing them up with spells. I never play warriors – I always play a magic user or a thief. My whole life, going all the way back to “Ultimo,” I wanted to take things from you. In “Ultimo,” you can open someone’s dresser draws and just take some bananas. It gives me satisfaction just looting other people’s stuff. God help us if there’s a revolution, you’ll see me at Best Buy.
Unfortunately, this brings us to the end of our interview with the industrious Felicia Day. A true entrepreneur of modern day Hollywood, this town could stand to deal with a few more people who think like Felicia: “Unless you do stuff that scares you, then you’re not pushing your limits and you’re not going to learn how to do new things.” From webseries to graphic novels (don’t forget to pick up the first two issues of “The Guild” on sale now at Meltdown!) to television and movies to who knows what next, Ms. Day is sure to be a permanent fixture in the entertainment landscape for many years to come. Just be sure to watch out where you hide your bananas because we all know “that’s how Felicia operates.”
As we promised last week, we’ll be holding a trivia drawing for a signed copy of “The Guild” #1! Here’s all you have to do to win: this Wednesday 5/12 through Wednesday 5/19 come in to Meltdown and with any purchase receive an entry slip for the contest. On the slip, write your name, email address and the answer to the following question. The winner will be chosen at random and announced here on our blog. So good luck, and we’ll see you all at Meltdown for the Wednesday pulls.
Trivia Question:
In “The Guild” webseries, what specific product is Finn modeling that got him caught?
It’s Good to be The King
by Stacey Levin
In Marvel’s “N,” which is based on SK’s short story and written by the talented film and television writer Marc Guggenheim, The King tells a chilling tale about living in a personal
hell of paranoia and obsession when his lead character descends into the dark world of mental illness. A lead character with a mental illness is not new territory for S.K. Some of his most famous creations were really just batsh*t crazy folks. (Hello, Annie Wilkes! How ya doin’, Jack Torrance?) But what’s different about Dr. John Bousaint in “N” is that he starts out sane. Actually, he’s a psychiatrist who is literally driven crazy by the mysterious circumstances that surround the death of one his patients known only as Patient N. Patient N committed suicide – pushed to the ultimate limit by hanging out at an odd geological formation of rocks in a barren field. Wait, what? The rocks made him kill himself? No, that can’t be and it sounds illogical. Well, that’s what the good Doc thought, too, until he went to investigate the place and soon found himself catching the same kind of madness that Patient N suffered from. So you’d think people would stay away from the weird rocks, right? Not in a horror comic, peeps. That’s just the beginning. From there, The King’s story and Guggenheim’s expert scripting literally describe every pain staking moment of what it must be like to slowly go insane… to know it’s happening to you, but be helpless to stop it. I can’t think of too many things more frightening than that. Artfully drawn by the accomplished artist Alex Maleev, the imagery in “N” makes you feel as if you too might be catch the insanity if you read too much. Effing brilliant.
With Vertigo’s “American Vampire,” The King takes on the overused area of vampiressszzzzzzz. Continue reading »