"There Is No End. There Is No Beginning. There Is Only The Passion of Life"

It's with some reluctance that I've decided to take a break from posting at Escape from Tomorrow - the break may be for a few days, a couple of weeks, or longer: I'm just not sure at the moment.

Why? Well, I was discussing my decision with a friend earlier today and I explained that on top of increased work and family commitments I've finally run out of patience with the way a couple of the larger publishers have been treating their readers - of which I am one - over the past year or so ... so I'm voting with my wallet and cutting their books from my pull list.

Yes, I know, there are still loads of really good comics being published every month - and I'm still buying many of these titles, just not writing about them ... for a while at least.

Escape from Tomorrow will return, there is no end ...

Image and Top Cow Solicitations: January 2012 Highlights

As I've come to expect, the new months solicitations from Image and Top Cow promise a number of highlights and I'm looking forward to picking up a couple of trade paperbacks this month, particularly the 160-page, oversized collected edition of Fractured Fables featuring the work of Terry Moore, Ben Templesmith and Nick Spencer amongst many others!

More details from Image Comics, Top Cow Productions and CBR.

FRACTURED FABLES TP
story VARIOUS
art VARIOUS
January 18, 160 pages, FC, T, OVERSIZED, $19.99
Some of comic’s most celebrated creators (including MIKE ALLRED, JILL THOMPSON, TERRY MOORE, SHANNON WHEELER, WHILCE PORTACIO, PETER DAVID, BEN TEMPLESMITH, NICK SPENCER and over 40 more) turn familiar fairy tales on their ear! This critically acclaimed, super-star anthology will thrill old and young alike. Now, for the first time in an oversized trade paperback edition!


FATALE #1
story ED BRUBAKER
art & cover SEAN PHILLIPS
colors DAVE STEWART
January 4, 32 pages, FC, M, $3.50
GUNS! SEX! SECRET CULTS! AND MONSTERS!
Nothing the BEST-SELLING and AWARD-WINNING creators of SLEEPER, CRIMINAL and INCOGNITO have done so far will prepare you for the explosive debut of FATALE!
A reporter in 2012 stumbles on a secret that leads him down the darkest path imaginable… to a seductive woman who’s been on the run since 1935, a mobster who may be an immortal demon monster, and the stories of all the doomed men who’ve been caught in their decades-long struggle.
FATALE blends noir and horror to tell a riveting epic unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Issue #1 ships with “Beauty” and “Beast” variant covers.

WHISPERS #1
story JOSHUA LUNA
art & cover JOSHUA LUNA
January 11, 32 pages, FC, T+, $2.99
A mentally troubled man is suddenly empowered with the ability to leave his physical body in “ghost” form and manipulate people in strange and disturbing ways. With this incredible power, will he control his demons...or discover even more?
JOSHUA LUNA of the Luna Brothers (ULTRA, GIRLS, THE SWORD) makes a solo debut with a dark, supernatural thriller that questions free will and explores the obsessions, addictions and urges we all have and may not have control of at all.

THE BULLETPROOF COFFIN: DISINTERRED #1 (of 6)
story DAVID HINE
art & cover SHAKY KANE
January 25, 32 pages, FC, M, $3.99
“KILLER INSIDE” - THE ORIGIN OF THE SHIELD OF JUSTICE
Back from the grave! The cult hit of 2011 returns with a tale of treachery, murder and unrequited lust. When headless corpses start to appear on the first night of the full moon, ace detective Johnny P. Sartre smells a rat…
Contains profanity, nudity, violence and the graphic depiction of alcohol abuse.

MONDO #1 (of 3)
story, art & cover TED McKEEVER
January 4, 48 pages, BW, M, GOLDEN-AGE FORMAT, $4.99
Catfish's daily grind of "enhancing" poultry comes to a halt when he is accidentally tripped up by a loose chicken, causing him to fall victim to his own process. What proportions of his that were once human are now beyond anything normal. Add villainous corporate and military big wigs, a roller-skating weapon-toting chick named Kitten Kaboodle, a gang of tattooed babies, and there's still that enormous beach monster…
And what you have is MONDO, in all its raging glory!

NANCY IN HELL (ON EARTH) #1 (of 4)
story EL TORRES
art ENRIQUE LOPEZ LORENZANA
color FRAN GAMBOA
January 25, 32 pages, FC, M, $3.99
The unlikely couple of Nancy and Lucifer are back! After escaping from Hell, the chainsaw-wielding hottie finds that the Gates of Hades remained open, and all kind of demons are pouring out on Earth. Our world is the newest infernal region, and nobody will help the humans... not even the angels from Heaven!

THE DARKNESS ACCURSED, VOL. 6 TP
story PHIL HESTER
art SHELDON MITCHELL
cover MICHAEL BROUSSARD
January 11, 160 pages, FC, M, STANDARD SIZE, $19.99
OUTER DARKNESS!
In one of the most explosive THE DARKNESS arcs yet, longtime writer PHIL HESTER (WONDER WOMAN, GODZILLA) and artist SHELDON MITCHELL (PILOT SEASON: STEALTH) push Jackie Estacado, current bearer of the Darkness, to the brink. Having defeated his enemy, The Sovereign, Estacado had hoped to settle into a quiet, peaceful life in Chicago. But a series of attempts on his life, set him on a path that reunites him with old friends, allies and enemies. However, Jackie soon finds that the most dangerous enemies don’t come from outside, but rather, from within…
Collects THE DARKNESS #90-#95

RED SPIKE, VOL. 1 TP
story JEFF CAHN
artist MARK TEXEIRA & SALVADOR NAVARRO
cover MARK TEXEIRA
January 11, 144 pages, FC, T, $12.99
70 years ago, the world began its race to create the first Super Soldier. In 2011, the United States succeeded... twice. Project Red Spike discovered that through the manipulation and regulation of the adrenal glands the super soldier was no longer just a dream. Matt Cutler and Greg Dane, the first to survive the process, have been proven on the field to be everything that was wanting in the program. Unfortunately, an upgrade to Greg’s implant goes array and now it’s up to Matt to chase down his friend before he hurts himself, the city and the tax payers who funded their creation. But as the friends begin their very public battle in heart of Washington D.C., twisted and sinister secrets begin to emerge from within the Red Spike program. Can both soldiers survive or are their deaths a necessary measure to secure the program's secrecy?
Collects RED SPIKE #1-5

THE VAULT, VOL. 1 TP
story SAM SARKAR
art & cover GARRIE GASTONNY
January 1, 96 pages, FC, T, $9.99
A small team of treasure hunters struggles to excavate a dangerous and legendary treasure pit before a massive storm hits Sable Island, the Graveyard of the North Atlantic. Equipped with all the latest technology, the scientists believe they are prepared against all of nature's fury, but nothing can prepare them for what they are about to unleash from the vault.
Collects THE VAULT #1-3

THE DARKNESS #99
story PHIL HESTER
art ROMANO MOLENAAR
cover A JEREMY HAUN
cover B SHELDON MITCHELL
January 18, 32 pages, FC, M, $2.9
CELEBRATE THE FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY!
The Darkness has mustered its considerable defenses in its home dimension to crush its prodigal son and current bearer, Jackie Estacado. Long time writer PHIL HESTER (WONDER WOMAN, THE GREEN HORNET) and ROMANO MOLENAAR (THE DARKNESS II: CONFESSION) build to the crescendo that will be landmark THE DARKNESS #100 when Jackie will come face-to-face with the source of his power and misery.

Batman Solicitations - January 2012

The Source have this week released the Batman solicitations for January 2012 and while I've only so far read a few of the first and second issues that I'd ordered I'm (on the whole!) enjoying what I'm reading.

The first issues of Batman, Nightwing, Batwoman, Batman and Robin and particularly Detective Comics all connected with me so I'm particularly looking forward to seeing how these stories develop over the coming months.

For more details, including cover previews, head over to The Source.

DETECTIVE COMICS #5
Written by TONY S. DANIEL
Art by TONY S. DANIEL and SANDU FLOREA
Cover by TONY S. DANIEL
1:25 Variant cover by TONY S. DANIEL
On sale January 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
There’s been a seriers of assassinations in the criminal underworld – and The Penguin is among Batman’s first suspects! But when seemingly ordinary women become part of the killings, Batman discovers a common denominator that leads him on the trail of a vicious killer who is spiraling down a path of destruction. Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend, investigative reporter Charlotte Rivers, ends up on the killer’s hit list. And with her missing, can Batman uncover the layers of lies and deception within the underworld in time to save her?

BATMAN AND ROBIN #5
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art and cover by PATRICK GLEASON and MICK GRAY
On sale January 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
There’s a devil on Robin’s shoulder – and his name is Nobody! Batman and Robin’s relationship gets pushed to the breaking point as Nobody insinuates himself into Damian’s life and tries to make him see that Bruce’s plan to battle crime is hopeless – and only by teaming up and tapping into Damian’s killer instinct can they ever hope to rid Gotham City of its evil roots.


BATMAN #5
Written by SCOTT SNYDER
Art by GREG CAPULLO and JONATHAN GLAPION
Cover by GREG CAPULLO • Variant cover by ANDY KUBERT
1:200 B&W variant cover by GREG CAPULLO
On sale January 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Combo pack edition: $3.99 US
Deep beneath Gotham City lies the Court of Owls’ deadliest trap – and Batman has fallen right into it! Can he escape, or will he perish in a maze of nightmare? Enter the labyrinth, Batman – if you dare!
This issue is also offered as a special combo pack edition, polybagged with a redemption code for a digital download of the issue.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #5
Written by PAUL JENKINS
Art and cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
1:25 Variant cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
On sale January 25 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
When a madman attacks Batman with a new and powerful fear toxin, The Dark Knight visits the coldest and most distant part of his soul. And as his deepest fears resurface, he must rely on old friends to help quell the terrible effects, and to remind him of his true mission as a hero. But what Batman discovers hidden in a moment of courage may change his life forever… for a dark figure from his past has returned – the one adversary The Dark Knight truly fears.

BATWING #5
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art by BEN OLIVER
Cover by KEN LASHLEY
On sale January 4 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
The mystery of the Kingdom, Africa’s first and last Super Hero team, continues. When their former headquarters is opened to the public, its American benefactor, Bruce Wayne, is on hand. Will the villainous Massacre, who’s been murdering the lost heroes, stop by for the grand opening? If he does, it will be up to Batman and Batwing to stop him. It’s a battle of the bats!

BIRDS OF PREY #5
Written by DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI
Art by JESUS SAIZ and JAVIER PINA
Cover by DAVID FINCH
On sale January 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
After [REDACTED] in issue #4, the team agrees to take 24 hours to take stock of what just happened. But there’s no such thing as R&R for the Birds of Prey, as Black Canary realizes that Gotham City is still in grave danger. And the key to unmasking the villain known as “Choke” may lie in the mystery of a man who one day just walked out on his family and life…and into a world of mind-control and murder.

BATWOMAN #5
Written by J.H. WILLIAMS III and W. HADEN BLACKMAN
Art and cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III
1:25 Variant cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III
On sale January 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
“Hydrology,” the first arc of the critically acclaimed new BATWOMAN series, reaches its powerful conclusion! After the horrors Batwoman has faced, she has a final showdown with The Weeping Woman – a specter with the power to dredge up Kate’s deepest pain. Can she finally forgive herself so she can dispel this evil? And how will she respond when Chase and the DEO tighten their grip, forcing Kate to make an impossible decision?

BATGIRL #5
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art by ARDIAN SYAF and VICENTE CIFUENTES
Cover by ADAM HUGHES
On sale January 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Still reeling from the shocking return of a major figure with secrets from her past, Batgirl goes on the hunt for the terrifying killer Gretel, whose eerie and violent power over the men of Gotham City leaves no one safe – not even guest star Bruce Wayne!

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #5
Written by SCOTT LOBDELL
Art and cover by KENNETH ROCAFORT
On sale January 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
With Jason going one-on-one with the ancient evil known as the Untitled and Koriand’r barely able to crawl to his side, it’s up to Roy to stand alone against the monstrous threat known as Crux!

CATWOMAN #5
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and cover by GUILLEM MARCH
On sale January 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T+
Catwoman is flying solo and finding plenty of turbulence! She has her paws full when a simple smash and grab turns into a hit and pummeled, as she faces an adversary who is more than a match for Selina. She calls herself Reach, and she doesn’t pull any punches. Can our favorite Feline Fatale land on her feet?

NIGHTWING #5
Written by KYLE HIGGINS
Art by EDDY BARROWS and PAULO SIQUERIA
Cover by EDDY BARROWS
On sale January 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
With winter closing in, Haly’s Circus hits New Orleans! But as Dick Grayson gets closer in his search for answers about the mystery of the circus, it’s not just the temperature that heats up. And just how does a voodoo ritual gone bad factor in? Find out as Nightwing takes the Big Easy!

Out Today: 30 Days of Night #1 - A New Ongoing Series from IDW

My highlight from this weeks new releases is the first issue of a new 30 Days of Night ongoing series written by Steve Niles and featuring art by Sam Kieth.

30 Days Of Night #1
Written by Steve Niles with art by Sam Kieth
Fright-master Steve Niles returns to the creation that launched his career for an all-new 30 DAYS OF NIGHT ongoing series, with warped genius Sam Kieth (creator of THE MAXX) joining in the bloodletting! A letter from Barrow, Alaska, carries a cryptic warning to a young, curious woman, which leads her down the rabbit hole and face-to-face with her desire… and likely her demise. Elsewhere in Los Angeles, a vampire resurrection ignites, which could threaten the very way of life of all mankind. Features an all-new cast characters being introduced to the world of 30 DAYS OF NIGHT for the first time!
32 pages, colour, $3.99


Publisher IDW has offered io9.com a preview of the first issue and it looks absolutely fantastic: there are a number of variant covers - I think cover c is my personal favourite - and Sam Kieth's interior art looks amazing.

Head over to io9.com to check out the preview pages of the first issue and to the IDW Publishing website for more information about the 30 Days of Night series.

Fatale from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

As you might know I'm a huge fan of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' Criminal and Incognito series so you can imagine just how excited I was to hear news from the "Creator-Owned Comics with Robert Kirkman" panel at New York Comic Con last week that the pair will be launching a brand new series through Image Comics.

The new series will be entitled Fatale and through an article/interview with CBR Ed Brubaker revealed that unlike Criminal and Incognito it's set in a much darker, kind of supernatural, fictional world.

Brubaker talks at length about his influences for the book, his relationship with artist Sean Phillips and future plans for established favourites Criminal and Incognito.

This morning Sean Phillips posted a video trailer for Fatale over on his blog.



Fatale will be published in January 2012 - head over to CBR to read the article in full.

Trailers Released for "Marvel's The Avengers" and "The Raven"

A couple of film trailers caught my eye yesterday: of course the first official trailer for The Avengers has been posted everywhere - and why should I be any different? - and it really does look fantastic doesn't it.



Marvel Studios presents "Marvel's The Avengers" - the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon, "Marvel's The Avengers" is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series "The Avengers" first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when "Marvel's The Avengers" assemble in summer 2012.

[Synopsis source]


Released with less of a fanfare - but no less eye-catching - was the extended trailer for The Raven staring one of my favourite actors, John Cusack, as Edgar Allan Poe.



In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack, Being John Malkovich) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans, Immortals) to hunt down a mad serial killer who's using Poe's own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin), the film also stars Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges) and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Faster). When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper--part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story. Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe's writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author's help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer's next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it's too late.

[Synopsis source]


Both films will be in cinemas next year.

Pilot Season: City of Refuge from Top Cow

Top Cow's Pilot Season is underway and Newsarama have an exclusive preview of one of this years titles - City of Refuge.

PILOT SEASON RETURNS! TAKE CONTROL!
Over a decade after Terminal, the residents of San Francisco live a peaceful and prosperous existence thanks to the Program. Every resident of the city is hand-selected and implanted with the chip Secura, which removes the human capacity for violence to maintain the greater good. Only the city's security forces are allowed a brief reprieve from Secura through use of the drug Freestone in order to do their jobs. Now, rumors of Freestone getting out into the open market threaten to upset the delicate balance keeping humanity from extinction.
Screenwriter MORGAN DAVIS FOEHL and artist DENNIS CALERO (X-Men: Noir) deliver a twist on the classic dystopian future in City of Refuge!

I've been a huge fan of Top Cow's Pilot Season over recent years and this years 'contestants' look like raising the bar once again. City of Refuge sounds like a fantastic concept and the cover and interior art looks stunning.

Pilot Season: City of Refuge #1, written by Morgan Davis Foehl with art and cover by Dennis Calero, is in shops tomorrow.

Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness #3

reviewed by Simon Breeze

I'm going to say this now: There Be Spoilers Ahead - you have been warned!

The previous issue of Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness finished with Sydney Savage of the Danger Girls - my favorite Danger Girl if you're curious - leaving the team on a solo mission to 'help' Ash get out of jail.

We pick up this issue as Sydney stands on a roof-top opposite the building where Ash is being held by the authorities and is about to swing into action by James Bond/Batman style zip-lining between buildings and stealthily laser-cutting her way through a window before smoke bombing and kung-fuing her way through the guards.

At this point we are treated to a bit of back story for the character of Sydney, starting from when she was a young girl and she broke into an aquarium to swim with the octopus, through to her teenage years of sneaking into rock concerts, and then to finally going to military school and being recruited by Deuce into the Danger Girl team. We even get to find out why she wears a vintage black leather cat suit. You didn't even get that bit of information in the original Danger Girl comics!

We now get to meet Doctor Lauren Alia, I would just like to add that if my Doctor looked like Dr. Alia I would be permanently ill. Lauren is tasked with analyzing a new detainee called John Doe (Ash) who suffers form severe paranoid hallucinations. It is not long before Sydney has knocked the good doctor out, stripped her out of her uniform and disguised herself as her.

Oddly, Ash has similar plans for one of the prison guards who he tricks into his cell, knocks him unconscious, steals his uniform and makes his way out of the prison. That is until he encounters his doctor.

After a bit of a scuffle, Dr. Alia (Sydney) and the prison guard (Ash) realise that they are both after the same thing, the Necronomicon!

The story now shifts to North Africa to catch up with the guys who are currently in possession of the deadly book as they plan how to get the book to the buyer. All is not well in the camp though as one of the henchmen is acting a little strange ... and when he is confronted by one of the other henchmen about his behavior he is quickly uncovered as a spy: none other than Agent Zero!

If you have never read Danger Girl this last page reveal will mean very little to you. If like me you are a fan of Danger Girl you will have wee'd in your underpants more than a little when you turned to that last page! [Oh dear - Zaius] To then be teased even further with the solicitation for the next issue stating '... But when Agent Zero crosses paths with an old adversary from the former Hammer Empire, will his thirst for revenge put Abby in the middle of the crossfire ...?'

Now, me, I squealed like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert: The Hammer Empire! Revenge! Old adversary! - Queue squeal!

What an amazing issue this is. No, scrub that. What a fantastic mini series this is turning out to be!

I haven't had this much fun and excitement reading a Danger Girl comic in years. So-much-so I'm even planning to go back and re-read my collection of the earlier Danger Girl stories once this mini series has finished its run. Andy Hartnell's so on the ball with his writing in this series he is falling nothing short of genius. Throw in the brilliant artwork of Chris Bolson and Adriano Lucas and I think my head may just very well explode in a joygasm!

I give this issue a five out of five boomsticks!

Danger Girl and the Army of Darkness #3
Written by Andy Hartnell, art by Chris Bolson, colours by Adriano Lucas, letters by Marshall Dillon, covers by Paul Renaud (50%) and Nick Bradshaw (50%)
Published by Dynamite & IDW


Many thanks to Simon for his thoughts - after his earlier reviews I've started reading some of the original Danger Girl stories and I must say I'm loving them: they have a real sense of tongue-in-check adventure that I'm finding very enjoyable.

Image Comics: Graphicly to Provide Digital Comics on all Platforms

As someone who buys a LOT of Image Comics titles I was very interested to read the publisher's announcement that it had teamed-up with Graphicly to digitally supply and share their entire publishing catalogue - with new titles being released in print and digital formats on the same day.

Now I've always maintained that, for me at least, the digital format would never replace the printed comic but I have to say my buying/reading habits have been changing over the past eighteen months or so. I still get most of my comics in printed form but I've shifted some titles that I pick up over to trades rather than single issues ... and I've started buying one or two digitally.

'Same day' release has been an important factor in deciding what titles I've picked up digitally but, for me, the most important factor has been the price point: if a publisher offers me a print version and a digital version at the same price I'll still always go for the print version. It's the same with my music buying habits - if I can pick up a CD for the same price, or even just a little more, as a digital download I'm more than happy to wait a couple of days for the CD to arrive.

However, if the digital download - comic book or musical recording - offers a significant saving then I'm on board: for a comic with a $2.99 cover price I'm looking to pay no more than $1.99, even if that means setting aside the 'same day' selling point and waiting for a couple of weeks to make my purchase.

GRAPHICLY TO PROVIDE DIGITAL COMICS ON ALL PLATFORMS INCLUDING FACEBOOK

Berkeley, CA – October 3, 2011 – Graphicly, a social networking and digital distribution platform for the visual entertainment industry, announced today a partnership with Image Comics, the third largest comic book publisher in the US and the number one creator owned content publisher, to digitally supply and share their entire publishing catalog, including such hits as Walking Dead, Invincible, Savage Dragon, Chew and many more, to be released same day as print on Graphicly.

Working with Graphicly, Image Comics will be expanding their reach on all iOS and Android platforms including Barnes & Noble’s NOOKcolor and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. As the only comic book application on Facebook, Graphicly will be making the world of Image Comics available to this growing social audience. Image’s Facebook page will become a browseable comic store where potential readers can preview and purchase the wares while never having to leave the page. Fans can now like a new comic and share it on a friend’s wall!

"20 years ago, Image Comics changed the comic book industry and we’re excited that they’ve chosen Graphicly to help them innovate comics in the digital age." said Micah Baldwin, CEO of Graphicly. "Image's focus on creator owned content , making them THE cutting edge publisher for creator owned titles, is perfectly aligned with Graphicly's philosophy of putting the creator first. We are excited to join them in becoming the leading cutting edge digital solution for creators."

“For years, print comics have been dependent on a single distribution network, so it's interesting to be a position to utilize a variety of different digital platforms,” said Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson. “As digital comics continue to become a greater concern, it's important to embrace as many different options as possible.”

Graphicly is bringing the content to the communities rather forcing the people to come to them and is dedicated to providing visual entertainment for the communities that love stories. Image Comics is a venue where creators can publish their material while maintaining creative control and the rights to the stories and characters they create, as creator-owned properties. Together Graphicly and Image are spreading the idea of the importance of good stories by world class creators.

ABOUT GRAPHICLY
Graphicly is a cutting-edge entertainment digital content delivery system and community platform, providing an immersive solution to tell, share and collaborate around story. With more than 300 publishers and over 4,000 creators from major publishers such as Marvel Comics, Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Top Cow and IDW Publishing to indie creators from around the globe, Graphicly is the leading story-telling and sharing platform online. The Graphicly Network includes dozens of leading websites and blogs, mobile applications including the iPhone, iPad and Android; A desktop AIR application, and an industry leading HTML5 web app. For more information, please visit www.graphicly.com

More details from both Image Comics and Graphicly.

Cardiff International Comic & Animation Expo 'IN FIRST' Ticket Offer

Great news from the team at Fantasy Events UK for all those readers who attended this years Cardiff International Comic Expo - until the end of this month ticket prices for next years event are being frozen at this years prices!

The 2012 Cardiff International Comic & Animation Expo takes place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 February at the Holland House Mercure Hotel and features Guest of Honour Mike Ploog and very special guests including John Higgins and John M. Burns.

More details will be revealed shortly when the event website goes live - in the meantime, as I say, tickets are now on sale here: adult weekend tickets are just £9 while a single day ticket will cost just £5 (with generous discounts for children including free entry for under 11's when accompanied by an adult ticket holder).

Action Comics #1

reviewed by Simon Breeze

Here we are, the new DC Universe not-reboot of 52 of their ongoing titles ... or whatever you call it. The not-reboot of the DC comic line presented me, and most likely many others, with an opportunity to spring-clean my monthly comic pull list. To lose a tired title or two and to pick up a few new ones.

One of the new titles that I added to my pull list is the relaunched, but not-rebooted (I know, I'll stop that now) Action Comics.

Action Comics main focus is on the character of Superman. Yep, there is also a Superman comic too, but the same also goes for Batman of course - Detective Comics is a Batman title along with the monthly Batman comic. What's the difference between the two then?

For the Superman title and Action Comics, Superman is set a little later in Superman's story where he is a full fledged hero and seems more in synch with the rest of the new DC title relaunch whereas for Action Comics it is set very early on in Superman's life as a Superhero, starting only six months after he has arrived in Metropolis and therefore is somewhat behind the rest of the new DC Universe as time lines go. For me? Well I simply liked the look of one over the other. That was good enough at this point to swing it for me.

It may sound a bit of a whimsical way to decide which one to invest in and therein lies the key behind my choice. I used to pick up from my local comic shop just about every title that Superman was in that came out, Superman, Man of Steel, Superboy, Supergirl, Justice League of America. They were great times! They all crossed over from one to the other, in fact just to keep up I also picked up the other various titles such as Batman, or Wonder Woman. Each month I would leave the comic shop weighed down with books and a big smile on my face (oddly the comic shop owner would have a smile on his face too).

Then I got fed up with it and many years before DC caught on to what messy continuity they were creating I dropped the lot. Every single DC title I was getting! I kept up with things through some new fan-dangled thing called the internet and occasional purchasing of trade paperbacks and graphic novels. If the truth be known, I have spent many happy years with this relationship. That was until DC slapped me with a re-launch.

I love Superman. He is without a doubt in my top three bestest super heroes. However, I'm jaded against buying monthly titles of DC (and Marvel) super hero characters. There just seemed to me, when I have thought about picking up some monthly titles, to be no jumping on point in the continuity heavy universes. If I am honest, this is just an excuse and not a reason. I'm not sure what the real reason was however, the re-launch has given me the kick in the pants I needed to readdress this. I wanted to play it safe though and I'm not sure what it was about Action Comics that did it, it felt like the safer bet.

Okay, on with the comic.

Wow, controversial from the very front cover. Superman in jeans, work boots, a t-shirt with a tea towel for a cape? Hmmm... Maybe I should have gone with the Superman title?

I kid!

All my worries started to melt away with the first two pages and by the time I got to the two-page spread on pages four and five they had evaporated completely.

The comic begins with Superman inviting himself along to a meeting between some crooked businessmen and telling them that he '...is their worst nightmare' before he cleans the floor with their goons. Dust from the very short fight settled, the police turn up to arrest Superman as he stands on the edge of a balcony many floors up with one of the businessmen held one-handed above his head saying that he will only let him go once the bad guy has made a full confession. To this the businessman screams 'Somebody! Save me!' (which queued the Smallville TV show theme in my head, and I must admit throw me out of the story for a few moments).

From here Superman forces a confession from the businessman by jumping off the building and landing with bone-jellying force on the streets below. As to Superman's plan: the terrified businessman confesses (not sure how that is going to stand up in a court of law) and he tosses him over to the waiting police officers. The police officers don't seem to bothered though as they are there for one purpose: to arrest Superman.

Superman is unimpressed, so much so he even challenges them to open fire on him so he can show how powerful he is and that they are no threat to him and are wasting their time before he runs off at blinding speed across the city (he still can't fly yet). The police give chase, and so do the military!

The military, under the leadership of Lex Luthor as a hired consultant, are employing what has to be said is almost a 'Wile E Coyote' type plan if it wasn't so sinister to capture the Man of Steel. Through the rest of the comic this not only introduces a fight with a wrecking ball, several tanks and soldiers, but also affords time to meet Superman's alternate ego, Clark Kent. Not only that we also get a brief introduction to Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen on a news story (for a rival newspaper to the one Clark works for?) and to finally see the fruition of Lex Luthor's plans as Superman is splatted against a wall by a speeding train.

Next issue: Superman in Chains!!

Hmm ...

That was one fast-paced comic that without a shadow of doubt lived up to the 'Action' part of the title. Much more and I think my head would have been spinning by the time I put it down. The story, what there was of it, was good. I must admit I am struggling with it. Not the 'story' but how it portrays Superman. He is just so violent! He beats up the bad guys goons so badly that you can only assume a beating like that would kill someone. To then force a confession out of their leader by throwing him off of a building until they can't take any more and are forced to confess to their crimes. To then taunting the police to shoot at him, fighting with tanks and soldiers in a residential area, to then discovering that Superman has also randomly thrown some guy who lives across the street from Clark out of a window, breaking his hips and several ribs because he believes that he was beating his wife! This with all of the other mad action that takes place, I'm not sure this is the Superman I know and love ...

... Sure, Superman has always been about the physical action, especially in his early days. Though I can't remember when he had such a disregard for human safety. Taunting the police to open fire on him in a busy street just to prove a point, but to mostly show-off? Fighting with the army in a heavily populated residential part of the city? I know that was the point and was part of Lex Luthor's plan, but still, I'm sure the Superman I know knowing that he was the cause would have allowed himself to be captured rather than endanger so many lives in a frivolous fight. Grant Morrison is taking the character of Superman and his world in an interesting direction with this first comic. Only time will tell if it is the right one or not.

As for the art, it is fantastic! It complements the writing perfectly and I couldn't help getting all excited when I had a quick flick through the pages before I sat down for the big read. The transformation from Superman to Clark Kent is brilliant, they do appear to look as two different people. The action is breathtaking and dazzlingly rendered and the two page splash of Superman holding the bad guy above his head while he stands on the edge of a balcony is awe-inspiring: a real classic Superman moment.

In summary, I have many mixed feelings about this first issue of Action Comics and the 'new' Superman. I think it is tricky jumping on point for both new and old readers of Superman alike. For the old it is trying to get your head around the odd changes in a character you have known and loved for a very long time. For the new it is going to be tricky because there is a big air of assumption within this first issue. I can't help but get a 'Marvel Ultimate Universe' vibe from it as it presents (to me) like it is written for those already familiar with the Superman character and universe. If you knew nothing about Superman, which I know is highly unlikely but still, you could not pick this comic up as a first issue and not walk away scratching your head in confusion.

Next to no time is spent explaining anything about this new universe and take on the new vision of the Superman character. Yet this all said, it does also leave a very big opportunity to expand, offering a lot of potential for future story development and telling. I am very much on the fence with this first issue of Action Comics, not a place I assume DC wanted their readers to be. This leaves me torn between giving Action Comics #1 a three out of five, or a four out of five.

In the end I decided to give Action Comics #1 a 'benefit of the doubt' four out of five. I am going to be picking up the next issue and I guess see how it goes from there.

Action Comics #1
Written by Grant Morrison, pencils by Rags Morales, inks by Richard Bryant, cover by Rags Morales
Published by DC Comics


As always my sincere thanks to Simon for another enjoyable and thought-provoking review - I hadn't planned on picking up Action Comics but I think I'll give it a go after reading his thoughts. If you want to read more from Simon you can visit his work/personal blog and bookmark his weekly webcomic JessieKane where readers are currently being teased that "The Count Down to the Apocalypse Begins ...".

Image and Top Cow Solicitations: December Highlights

As always, there are a number of new, eye-catching titles coming from Image and Top Cow during December - none more so than The Last Battle, from Tito Faraci and Dan Brereton, an 80-page one-shot telling the story of retired Roman General Caius Rodius and his return to war in service of Julius Caesar.

Elsewhere, there's a Witch Doctor one-shot - The Resuscitation - from Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner, what looks like being a beautiful hardcover volume The Art of Carbon Grey, the first trade paperback of Shinku from Ron Marz and, "for the first time in print" The Li'l Depressed Boy volume zero featuring never before seen artwork and an exclusive all-new story drawn by Sina Grace.

Full details from Image Comics, Top Cow Productions and Comic Book Resources.

THE LAST BATTLE (ONE-SHOT)
story TITO FARACI
art, cover DAN BRERETON
December 21, 80 pages, FC, T+, $7.99
In 52 BCE, General Caius Rodius, retired hero of Caesar’s Legions, is called back to war. In nearby Gaul, Rome’s combined armies lay siege to the Gallic stronghold of Alesia in a conflict fated to shape history. A third barbarian horde prepares to attack the Romans from without, led by the rebel Cammius, who once fought for Rome. Rising star Julius Caesar dispatches Rodius to track through the wilderness and bring back the rebel’s head. Who better to hunt Cammius than the man who taught him the very skills he now uses to defy Rome? Rodius must choose between duty to Rome and Caesar or the barbarian he raised as his own son.
Story by international comics legend TITO FARACI (Diabolik, Spider-Man: The Secret of Glass, Daredevil and Captain America), art by award winning, multiple Eisner nominee DAN BRERETON (NOCTURNALS, Punisher, Marvel Ultimate Team,-Up, God-Sized Thor, Red Sonja).

THE ART OF CARBON GREY HC
art, wraparound cover HOANG NGUYEN, KHARI EVANS & KINSUN LOH
December 7, 128 pages, 9" x 12", FC, T+, $29.99
The art secrets of Image Comic’s masterpiece are revealed in THE ART OF CARBON GREY. Learn how three talented artists united to create a uniquely beautiful and kinetic visual style. Follow their working processes and trace the evolution of the characters and worlds that made CARBON GREY the most explosive comic of the year.

MADMAN 20th ANNIVERSARY MONSTER! HC
story, ART, COVER MICHAEL ALLRED & VARIOUS
December 14, 264 pages, FC, T, Oversized, $100
FRAZETTA! KIRBY! TOTH! MOEBIUS! KUBERT! MILLER! STEVENS! The BIG one! Literally: This gigantic 11 x 17 hardcover is the coffee table book of the Millennium! Nearly every great artist to ever work in comics is in this book which includes new stories from PETER BAGGE, KYLE BAKER, PHILIP BOND & PETER MILLIGAN, DARWYN COOKE, DAVE COOPER, DEAN HASPIEL, LOS BROS HERNANDEZ, ERIK LARSEN, DAVID MACK, PAT McKEOWN, BERNIE MIREAULT, MICHAEL AVON OEMING, PAUL POPE, ERIC POWELL, FRANK QUITELY, STEVEN T. SEAGLE & TEDDY KRISTIANSEN, JEFF SMITH, JAY STEPHENS, CRAIG THOMPSON, MATT WAGNER, JOE QUINONES & MARIS WICKS. Also MICHAEL ALLRED’s latest – and most epic ever – MADMAN story! PLUS almost every Madman illustration collected over the past 20 years from all the greats. Surprises galore!

THE ACTIVITY #1
story NATHAN EDMONDSON
art, cover MITCH GERADS
December 21, 32 pages, FC, T+, $3.50
The evolution of global warfare necessitates the evolution of special forces to rise and meet the call. The U.S Army has therefore looked to its last secret special operations tribe, the INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT ACTIVITY, or Gray Fox. Within Gray Fox is a team of elite men and women whose mission is flexible, whose technology is bleeding edge, and whose execution is precise and lethal. They are Team Omaha, and they serve THE ACTIVITY.

WITCH DOCTOR: THE RESUSCITATION (ONE-SHOT)
story BRANDON SEIFERT
art, cover LUKAS KETNER
December 14, 32 pages/ FC, T+, $2.99
You wake up in a bathtub of ice with a surgical incision on your side… but the hospital says you’ve still got two kidneys! Where do you go for a second opinion? Where else but Dr. Vincent Morrow, the Witch Doctor! Summer’s medical horror smash hit returns with a tale of black magic and organ-swapping. And it’s a great jumping-on point for new readers, so don’t miss out — ask your retailer to preorder a copy for you!
“If you’re not checking out WITCH DOCTOR, you need to do so, STAT!” - Ain’t It Cool News

THE INFINITE, VOL. 1 TP
story ROBERT KIRKMAN
art, cover ROB LIEFELD
December 7, 120 pages, FC, T, $9.99
Freedom fighter, Bowen has lost everything in the war against The Infinite. His only hope, travel back in time to prevent their world domination before it starts! Bowen can’t do this alone, he must turn to the only ally he knows he can trust: HIMSELF. Now a man in his 40s, damaged by the horrors of war, must team-up with his younger, reckless and optimistic 20 year-old self in order to SAVE THE WORLD!
Collects THE INFINITE #1-4

THE LI'L DEPRESSED BOY, VOL. 0 TP
story S. STEVEN STRUBLE
art VARIOUS
cover LINDSAY JANE
December 7, 96 pages, FC, T, $9.99
“LONELY HEART BLUES”
For the first time in print: Before disastrous road trips. Before style-points. Before Jazmin. Join LDB as he takes his first steps on his search for love. Told in shades of blue with artwork by SAM KIETH, JIM MAHFOOD, JIM VALENTINO and many more. Including never before seen artwork and an exclusive all-new story drawn by SINA GRACE.

SHINKU, VOL. 1 TP
story RON MARZ
art, cover LEE MODER, MATTHEW WAITE & MICHAEL ATIYEH
December 7, 160 pages, FC, M, $14.99
Bloody horror meets martial-arts mayhem in the first collection from the sold-out series by RON MARZ (WITCHBLADE, ARTIFACTS) and LEE MODER (WONDER WOMAN). The last surviving member of a samurai family wages a one-woman war against a clan of vampires in modern-day Tokyo in the first story arc from the acclaimed new series. If you like your vampires to sparkle, look elsewhere! Also contains a cover gallery, sketchbook, pin-ups and the rare black, white and red ashcan edition.
Collects SHINKU #1-5

TALES FROM BEYOND SCIENCE HC
story MARK MILLAR, ALAN MCKENZIE & JOHN SMITH
art, cover RIAN HUGHES
December 21, 88 pages, FC, T, 8.5” X 11”, $16.99
Follow your host Hilary Tremayne on eight surreal journeys into the unknown. Discover the truth behind the mysteries of spontaneous human combustion, the Bermuda Triangle, the lost 13th month, and the real reason men have nipples.
Drawn by RIAN HUGHES and written by a Rogue’s Gallery of Britain’s finest comic writers that includes MARK MILLAR (KICK ASS, WANTED), ALAN MCKENZIE (THE HARRISON FORD STORY) and JOHN SMITH (DEVIN WAUGH), this hardcover volume collects the complete series.

WITCH DOCTOR, VOL. 1: UNDER THE KNIFE TP
story BRANDON SEIFERT
art, cover LUKAS KETNER
December 14, 112 pages/ FC/ T+, $12.99
“A glimpse into the future of horror comics” — Bloody Disgusting.
Meet Dr. Vincent Morrow, the Witch Doctor, in the smash hit debut title from Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Originals line! Dr. Morrow’s looking for a vaccine — for the apocalypse — and in his quest to understand the biology of the supernatural, he faces vampires, demonic possession, faeries and more.
“Arguably the most accomplished debut by a pair of new creators in recent memory.” — Broken Frontier
COLLECTS WITCH DOCTOR #1-4

THE DARKNESS #98
story PHIL HESTER
art ROMANO MOLENAAR
cover JEREMY HAUN
December 21, 32 pages, FC, M, $2.99
CELEBRATE THE FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY!
Fighting his way further into the Darkness dimension itself, Jackie Estacado will need be forced to decide what he is willing to sacrifice in order to confront and destroy the Darkness itself. Long time writer PHIL HESTER (Wonder Woman, Green Hornet) and ROMANO MOLENAAR (THE DARKNESS II: CONFESSION) barrel towards the landmark issue #100!

ELEPHANTMEN #38
story RICHARD STARKINGS
art AXEL MEDELLIN
cover BOO COOK
December 7, 40 pages, FC, M, $3.99
“THE KILLING SEASON,” Part Three
RAZORBACK versus BLACKTHORNE.... one lives, one dies!

HACK/SLASH #11
story TIM SEELEY
art DANIEL LEISTER
cover A TIM SEELEY & CARLOS BADILLA
cover B EMILIO LAISO
December 14, 32 pages, FC, T+, $3.50
“INTERDIMENSIONAL WOMEN'S PRISON BREAKOUT,” Part Three
Vlad is dying! Samhain is in the clutches of the highly evil, Bomb Queen, missing a limb or two! And a lone Cassie has to take out one really psychotic mime! Things are getting ugly up in here, in the conclusion to INTERDIMENSIONAL WOMEN'S PRISON BREAKOUT.

MORIARTY #7
story DANIEL COREY
art MIKE VOSBURG & ANTHONY DIECIDUE
cover ANTHONY DIECIDUE
December 7, 32 pages, FC, T, $2.99
“THE LAZARUS TREE,” Part Three
Veteran artist MIKE VOSBURG joins the creative team for this link in the Lazarus Tree mystery, which finds Moriarty reflecting on a case in 1880's Kingston, Jamaica. Answers are revealed to present-day questions, including the identity of the sniper that has been murdering residents of Kyauktada and stoking the fires of rebellion.

WITCHBLADE #153
story TIM SEELEY
art DIEGO BERNARD & FRED BENES
cover A JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
cover B DIEGO BERNARD & FRED BENES
December 21, 32 pages, FC, T+, $2.99
The new creative team of TIM SEELEY (HACK/SLASH) and DIEGO BERNARD (The Man With No Name) smash occult and biker culture together as Sara is dragged deeper into the supernatural underbelly of Chicago by a coven of biker witches!