brian wood

Triple Shot: THE X-FILES #1, HARBINGER #13, MARA #5 (of 6) at FORCES OF GEEK

We’ve got a peek inside the military industrial complex this week at Triple Shot.

Mara and Harbinger books both show the importance of a best laid plan while we marvel at the return of X-Files: Season 10 and a Pentagon break-in that could doom Mulder and Scully.

THE X-FILES #1
WRITER: Joe Harris
ART: Michael Walsh
COLOR: Jordie Bellaire
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Chris Carter
Publication Date: June 19, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: IDW Publishing
UPC: 82771400475500111
Buy it HERE


What better way to revisit the X-Files than in comic book form?

Do you want to believe in good comics?

IDW has teamed up with Executive Producer Chris Carter to tell new tales of Mulder and Scully set in the present day.

FBI Deputy Director Skinner pays a visit to the home of Mr. and Dr. Blake—the pseudonyms of Mulder and Scully in the Witness Protection Program or new identities formed after they were last seen in X-Files: I Want to Believe. 

Skinner warns the couple that FBI archives and personnel have been compromised, including the X-Files. Scully is concerned about the safety of her son, William, who was put up for adoption in case his records were also compromised. 

Mulder, struggling to work on his memoir gets a call from Skinner’s hotel room, eking out that he is in danger there. Mulder heads to rescue him, leaving Scully vulnerable to a similar attack by hooded mystery men and women. With Scully away from the boys will she also get to make a plea for help, or will she succumb to the attack by the young girl patient she was treating earlier?

This book captures the voice of the show and the actors and is setting us up for a great mystery. Are the people who adopted Scully’s son William responsible for the attacks? Michael Walsh’s art reminds us of Chris Samnee or the work Antonio Fuso is doing on G.I. Joe: Cobra Files, a simplified but sophisticated line with good storytelling.

This book is highly recommended for fans of the show!

HARBINGER #13
WRITER: Joshua Dysart
ART: Khari Evans & Trevor Hairsine
Publication Date: June 19, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Valiant Comics
UPC: 85899200304801321
Buy it HERE


The Harbinger Wars continue in this, the first crossover event for the new Valiant Universe.

Psiot Peter Stanchek leads fellow teenage super powered kids in the fight against master Toyo Harada, head of The Harbinger foundation.

This issue leads the fight to Vegas for big action, as well as a trip down Harada’s past to his first Harbinger War in 1969 at Project Rising Spirit R & D Headquarters in flashbacks.

Peter and his crew lay a well thought out plan to attacking the oncoming Bloodshot and rescue the kids under Bloodshot’s watch. What they don’t plan on is that the kids aren’t exactly looking to be rescued and that Bloodshot is way more powerful than they can imagine. The man/machine has more firepower than the five Harbingers combined, they barely slow him down.

This Harbinger Wars tie-in was action packed and we get to see how all of these teams and powered beings deal interact with each other in the Valiant Universe. While not a fan of huge crossovers in the Big Two books, the clarity of focus for these stories in a much smaller universe makes for compelling storytelling.


MARA #5 (of 6)
WRITER: Brian Wood
ARTIST: Ming Doyle 
COLOR: Jordie Bellaire
Publication Date: June 19, 2013
Price: $2.99
Publisher: Image Comics
Buy it HERE


Mara Prince is the ultimate sports hero, or rather was until her secret superpowers started to manifest themselves in front of a global audience.

She has since rejected moves made on her by the military to be the ultimate weapon.

In the penultimate issue of this acclaimed mini-series the stakes are higher.


The military has her brother detained for the crime of being her brother and is tested with violence to see if he can withstand the same punishment that is superpowered sister can (he cannot, he has not manifested any powers). 

What we see here in this issue is an increasingly used psychological theme in comics with a nigh-invulnerable lead character (powers like Superman for example). Seen in The Mighty(Tomasi/Samnee/Snejbjerg) and Irredemable (Waid/Krause/Barreto) are tales of heroes being callous with their powers or more simply turning from good to bad. It is hinted that Mara’s story could end similarly or that we will be surprised at Mara’s actions in the conclusion of the story.

Wood and Doyle have created a strong female lead here not typical of the genre and we look forward to the end of this story to be able to recommend the trade to our friends. There is no doubt that no matter what the outcome of issue 5 will be, this story will sell well in trade on art alone.

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]

EARTH PRIME TIME: MARA INTERVIEW WITH MING DOYLE

ara Teaser Image by Ming Doyle

Ming Doyle is a Boston-based illustrator and comic book artist whose amazing Mara is now on sale from Image Comics (Issue #2 out today!). Writer Brian Wood (DMZ, Northlanders, Wolverine and the X-Men, Star Wars) pens the tale of a superstar athlete, Mara Prince, and the manifestations of her superpowers to the public eye. Ming is here with us to talk about Mara and her start in comics, that includes milestone contributions to Womanthology, Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four #600, and Marvel’s 2010 Girl Comics.

 

DIGBOSTON: Thanks for joining us to talk today, Ming. Boston has a great community of comic book artists and writers. Congratulations on the success of Mara. Issue #2 is out today. How has the reaction been to your work on this title since issue one came out last month?

MING DOYLE: Thanks so much, and I do agree that the Boston area is lucky enough to be home to a lot of talented people in the comic industry. It’s kind of a fun hidden perk for nerds in the know to discover whenever they go to local events like Comicazi’s Drink ‘n’ Draw or the Boston Comics Roundtable meetings, not to mention shows like MICE (the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo) and Boston Comic Con.

Overall, I think reaction to the story’s been positive! It’s my first miniseries and largest project in mainstream comics so far, but the story is only just beginning so there’s still lots to learn before it wraps up in issue #6.

[READ MORE at DIGBOSTON.COM]

DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for January 30, 2013

 



COMICS

Ming Doyle (Womanthology, FF# 600) and Brian Wood (Star Wars, DMZ) have teamed up for the story of Mara Prince-a super athlete in the future in a society where the only heroes are sports heroes. Issue #2 of the Image series is out today, and so is our interview with Ming about the book at EARTH PRIME TIME: MARA INTERVIEW WITH MING DOYLE. There wouldn’t be DailyDig Comic picks if it were not for Larry Hama’s G.I.Joe #21, The Silent Issue (1984). IDW caps off their run with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow #21 by Chuck Dixon and Cobra Commander artist Robert Atkins. Both creators were mum about the issue for after interview requests, so quietly pick this one up! … Classic Eisner Award winning Silver Surfer tale Parable is reprinted this week, written by Stan “The Man” Lee and drawn by the late great Mœbius featuring an alternate Norrin Radd facing a ravenous Galactus … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

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