2013 YEAR IN REVIEW: TOP 10 EARTH PRIME TIME INTERVIEWS

Taking a look at last year’s list proves that there are no shortage of favorites here, in fact there were some great columns like my Man of Steel review I didn’t get to include. One thing is for sure, it really was an honor to speak with and hang out with some of my childhood heroes for DigBoston’s Earth Prime Time this year.

1. EARTH PRIME TIME: BABYLON CONFIDENTIAL WITH CLAUDIA CHRISTIAN (PARTS 1and 2)
Babylon 5 Actress Claudia Christian talks JMS, getting Clean and Sober and her tales in Hollywood as a young actress.

2. EARTH PRIME TIME: G.I. JOE #1 WITH FRED VAN LENTE Fred Van Lente talks his run onG.I. Joe – the most important comic book being published today!

3. EARTH PRIME TIME: BOSTON COMIC CON WITH NICK KANIEFF (PARTS 1 and 2)
A major terrorist attack stuns and locks down the City of Boston. Nick and Boston Comic Con proved everything will be OK with a change in date and venue combined with an outpouring of supportfrom creators and fans from across the country.

4. EARTH PRIME TIME: INTERVIEW WITH PETER BAGGE (PARTS 1 and 2)
Peter Bagge of Hate takes on the biography of one of history’s greatest controversial feminists. And I got to grab a burger with the guy.

Robin Hood – Outlaw of 21st Century – Variant by Clay N. Ferno and colors by Stacey B. Rizoli

5. EARTH PRIME TIME: ROBIN HOOD: OUTLAW OF THE 21ST CENTURY WITH MATT DURSIN 
The bandleader of LeaguePodcast, Matt Dursin launches a Kickstarter and gets it funded. ThinkSherlock (BBC) for Robin Hood. His concept predates Sherlock, so “Patent Pending!” Thanks to him!

6. EARTH PRIME TIME: PRIMATES INTERVIEW WITH MARIS WICKS & JIM OTTAVIANI 
Maris Wicks and Jim Ottoviani educate, preen and eat bananas in the jungle with this great First Second book.

7. EARTH PRIME TIME: MOTH CITY INTERVIEW WITH TIM GIBSON 
New Zealander Tim Gibson creates a tablet ready comic that is “genre spanning… an instinctual approach to digital-native comics”.

8. EARTH PRIME TIME: MARA INTERVIEW WITH MING DOYLE 
Mara was one of the most praised mini-series of the year from Image Comics. Local comic superstar Ming Doyle gave us a preview of this strong female sports super hero.

9. EARTH PRIME TIME: MIRIAM KATIN ON ‘LETTING IT GO’ AT BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH 3.19.13 
Miriam was so sweet at Brookline Booksmith, I thought I’d cry. Thanks Miriam! This is a story about New York and visiting the home country as well as relationships with your family. A great book or gift for family this year.

10. EARTH PRIME TIME: NATHAN EDMONDSON OF THE ACTIVITY AND WHERE IS JAKE ELLIS?
Two great spy-fi books covered in this interview from Nathan Edmondson, writer of the upcomingPunisher and Black Widow series for Marvel.

Have a Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks again for checking in with us at EPT!

[READ MORE at DIGBOSTON.COM]

Dan Goldman Discusses 'RED LIGHT PROPERTIES' on The Cosmic Treadmill at FORCES OF GEE

Last week it was announced that IDW Publishing would be printing Dan Goldman’s cult web-comic Red Light Properties.

The weird Floridian paranormal real estate agents will be unleashed in a remastered print edition in January.

Forces of Geek’s Clay N. Ferno put on his fanny pack and asked Dan some questions about the upcoming release and early digital native comics storytelling!

FOG!: Thanks for joining us to talk Red Light Properties, Dan!

Dan Goldman: Well, thank you for having me over, Clay! I promise not to spill my Slurpee on this nice rug. 

IDW is publishing Red Light Properties in January, but the series was started digitally. What’s new about the ‘remastered’ version we’ll see in print? Were the revisions all yours?

Aside from the 20+ pages the world has never seen before, I’ve recolored and re-lettered literally the entire book as well as redrawn many panels, swapped out early 3D modeling work for updated models, clarified some initially sloppy storytelling and tweaked a good deal of the dialogue. Lettering is normally my final pass at my own scripts, so this was, as they say, another chance to get it right.

I worked with editor Joan Hilty as the book came into its final shape, and having her eagle eyes were invaluable as I’ve been deep into RLP for years now, but ultimately all the revisions made were my decisions to make.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

Francesco Francavilla's 'THE BLACK BEETLE' Takes a Walk on The Cosmic Treadmill AT FORCES OF GEEK

Can a review come out in December and not be a gift suggestion?

Probably not! We do the cool down lap on the Cosmic Treadmill this year with our favorite short run series of the year, Francesco Francavilla’s breakout pulp hit Black Beetle Volume 1:No Way Out from Dark Horse Comics.

Francavilla’s composition, colors, and ink brush line work complement his own script—drawing influences from noir film to The Shadow and Batman.

Our hero looks cool, has steampunk weapons and is 100% creator owned and original. The hardcover version serves as a great gift, even for yourself as a sort of ‘reward’ for how generous you have been this season!


The book starts out with the long out of print One Shot - Black Beetle: Night Shift. I read this volume first in issues as No Way Out #1-4, kicking myself for missing a hard copy of the one-shot and issue #1 when I heard the buzz. The precursor to the main series hits hard with Nazis seeking a lizard amulet, a strong female doctor in a museum and hiding in a sarcophagus. It was clear to me that this was the beginning of a larger world with exciting consequences as we enter Colt City — the home base of the mysterious Black Beetle.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

BOOK REVIEW: IPAD: THE MISSING MANUAL, 6TH EDITION

Just in time for gifting purposes, O’Reilly Media delivers this new edition of the popular iPad:The Missing Manual. The timing’s ideal for non-holiday reasons too, as it’s only been a matter of months since the last major iOS 7 upgrade and release of new iPad models. As usual, this guide is an entirely useful companion, in paperback or even better via Kindle or iBooks. For those looking for a short version, the answer is yes–it’s worth buying for a loved one. Or yourself.

Turn your mom into a tablet ninja.

For the first time ever, I’m gently tapping through this review on the sleek glass surface of a new 64gb iPad Air with a rocket-fast A7 chip. An exclusive iPhone user for years, The Missing Manual has been essential reading in my getting intimate with this new tablet or, as I like to call it, my “comic book delivery device.”

As it were, 2013 also saw the release of the long-awaited Retina iPad Mini, which one can assume is inspiring innumerable consumers to choose an Apple tablet for the first time. In those cases, problems they might encounter include: Having little experience with iOS; Trying to replace their computer with an iPad (don’t do it!); not being tech savvy at all. The latter is a phrase I loathe, but what else better describes the “Facebook won’t let me do this or that” worrywarts who are always asking for us, the resident nerds, to help them post in their knitting groups?

Enter The Missing Manual.

Since 2000, the O’Reilly imprint has conquered the difficult task of communicating computing basics and essentials, and they’ve done it better than the For Dummies series (much respect to the helpers there, but it’s nice to not be insulted right in the title).

[READ MORE at DIGBOSTON.COM]

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DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for December 18, 2013

COMICS


Happy Holidays, Mr. J! Treat Yo’ Self to the namesake of Kevin Smith’s daughter, Harley Quinn #1 from Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Connor and Chad Hardin! You might get fishnet burn as she takes on the Roller Derby! … Remender returns to wacky sci-fi pulp space adventures in Black Science #2 from Image. … We absolutely have to honor and mention the last issue of Locke and Key (Alpha #2) comes out today. Joe Hill (Stephen King’s Son! & Gabriel Rodriguez) redefined mystery, supernatural and horror comics with this long run. Sad to see it go! … Mistletoe this week from LeaguePodcast!

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Triple Shot With a Digital Chaser: UNITY #2, G.I. JOE #11, BRAIN BOY #0 plus CODE MONKEY SAVE WORLD #2 at FORCES OF GEEK

Christmas comes a little early this year with some amazing comics this week!

In fact, paring this list down to four was hard for the first time in a while.

The Valiant Universe crossover continues in Unity #2, our friend Fred Van Lente takes two spots with his last G.I. Joe #11 and an early adventure in Brain Boy #0.

On ComiXology, Code Monkey get pants and more in his origin, Code Monkey Save World #2. 

UNITY #2
WRITER: Matt Kindt
ARTIST: Doug Braithwaite
Publication Date: December 11, 2013
Price: $3.99
Publisher: Valiant Comics
UPC: 85899200312300211
Buy it HERE

The struggle against X-O Manowar continues this week in the Valiant crossover Unity #2.

Toyo Harada’s first wave of infiltrators, a team of Harbingers was largely unsuccessful, and Ninjak got himself captured by the Visigoth and is now trapped in the Vine ship in Romania.

Does none of that make sense to you?

Don’t worry, with only two issues in, you can start from the beginning and get a sense of story.

Valiant, by design, is making their second wave of comics great jumping on points for new readers, and are attracting more with consistent five-star reviews for this Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT) written crossover limited series.

In issue #2, Livewire, Eternal Warrior and Harada infiltrate the ship and tap into the virtual controls, in attempt to rescue Ninjak and save the planet from Aric’s invasion. 

The virtual reality fight scenes drawn by Doug Braithwaite ramp the action up to eleven, making for a true page turner.

I’m telling you, drop event comics from the big two and hop on Unity. Valiant is doing it right.

Explosive action with real consequences to characters you’ve just met makes for the best kind of comics.

Not sure quite yet? Wait for the reasonably priced trade in a few months.

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]

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MIGHTY Q&A: DARICK ROBERTSON AT 13TH DIMENSION

Artist Darick Robertson of Transmetropolitan, The Boys, and Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker joins the punk rock Occupy Comics crew at Black Mask Studios for his talking-gun tale in Ballistic. This week also sees the deluxe hardcover release of Happy! from Image Comics, a hard-boiled Christmas story about an imaginary horse friend, written by Grant Morrison. Darick joins us today for the Mighty Q&A.

By CLAY N. FERNO

Clay N. Ferno: Hi Darick! We’re just though with reading Ballistic #3 from you and Adam Egypt Mortimer. As bonus fodder there are some script notes in the back about odd science and weird history. Are you at home working in this hyper-future? Butch and Spider might be related somehow, right?

Darick Robertson: Well, world building is something I’m familiar with, but Spider and Butch wouldn’t really exist together. Transmetropolitan is a future where the world we live in now just kept expanding and expanding, and we built upon and into what exists to maintain an ever-growing population and city life. Butch inhabits a world where it’s utopia by technology. The West as we know it is a crumbled, environmentally destroyed memory and the entire truly surviving civilization is inhabiting a continent born of bio-formed trash and manipulated DNA that rests upon terraformed rock, twice the size of Texas. Where Spider Jerusalem’s Government was ridiculous, it was still a government. Repo City State is run by a cabal of glorified gangsters.

[READ MORE AT 13th DIMENSION]

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EARTH PRIME TIME: NECESSARY EVIL: SUPER-VILLAINS OF DC COMICS

DC Comics released Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics, a sleeper study of the anatomy of a villain, on DVD/Blu-Ray and Digital Video in October. Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics features everyone from Andrea Romano and Neal Adams to Zack Snyder and Len Wein as the ensemble cast of interviews and video clips going deep into the minds of Luthor, Riddler, Bane, and Reverse Flash. If you still have a comics fan on your holiday gift list this is a great pick. Dracula Christopher Lee narrates.
 

The New 52 was taken over by the baddies in September in a company-wide event called Villain’s Month, coinciding with the limited series Forever Evil storyline written by DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. The comics, with special lenticular (plastic, 3D) varied in quality and interrupted the flow of the monthly titles, but as an experiment was not all bad. Joker took over Batman #23.1, written by Andy Kubert and drawn by Andy Clarke.

Count Vertigo – Green Arrow 23.1 – Cover by: Andrea Sorrentino

Pointing the spotlight on the villains, in what seem to be increasingly darker themes in our entertainment these days (see our Man of Steel review) makes sense.

Besides, aren’t we all rooting for the bad guy in the movies? I mean, how cool was Bane?

This four-color exploration into what makes a villain want to subvert our favorite heroes gets into the armchair psychology of the thing with interviews from new and classic Batman writers, top DC executives, and even Zack Snyder—director of this year’s aforementioned Zod movie!

Some extreme fans like myself like to hear ’70s Batman artist Neal Adams go on about Ra’s al Ghul and get the latest from the mouths and twitter feeds of Aquaman’s Geoff Johns and current Batman writer Scott Snyder. For the more casual fan this video takes a look at scoundrels of all kinds, and at points clinical psychology researcher Andrea Letamendi, PhD. offers her expert opinions as to how singular events (like being dropped into a vat at ACE Chemical) can or would affect someone’s development.

[READ MORE AT DIGBOSTON.COM]

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DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for December 11, 2013

COMICS

Harada’s team has 8-bit simulated taking down X-O Manowar in the digital prelude, but issue #1 got Ninjak locked up on Aric’s ship! The crossover event continues as The Eternal Warrior, Livewire and Harada go to rescue him in Valiant’s Unity #2! … Fred Van Lente’s time on G.I. Joe is almost over, but he gets to tell the cajun spiced gumbo origin of Roadblock in G.I. Joe #11. … Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMDatteis take the Justice League into the future in Justice League 3000 #1! Super cool future Trinity art by Howard Porter. … Picks from LeaguePodcast.com!

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MIGHTY Q&A: TIM GIBSON AND MOTH CITY - DEBUT AT 13TH DIMENSION

New Site! New Column! Same Great Comics Coverage!

Really stoked to be writing for these guys! Thanks for checking it out. - Clay

Tim Gibson’s murder mystery Moth City is a genre-spanning digital comic that draws from the Western, Kung Fu, zombies and historical fiction. The slippery ink line work and muted palette is combined with an instinctual approach to digital-native comics creation, made of hundreds of swipes per issue, animating and exposing sections of the page. The New Zealander, whose tale is based in a place similar to 1930s Hong Kong, joins us today to preview his latest issue.

Clay N. Ferno: Hi, Tim. Moth City returns to ComiXology today. When we last spoke in June, you said you wrote this first as a narrative piece. Issue #6 is bringing all of the story lines to a head. Is the pacing on point to end at issue #8?

Tim Gibson: Yes, the story is definitely ramping up. A lot of the characters are reaching breaking point, having already made some decisions that they can’t come back from. The last few pages of Issue #6 imply that the characters are going to be coming back together again. Last time they were in close proximity, a man got his throat cut. This time there’s a heck of a lot more teetering on the edge. Issues 7 and 8 are going to play that out, and not many characters are going to be happy with the result (evil grin).

Going through the issues, almost each added a new twist or an entirely new genre to the book. Can we expect genre exploration in the home stretch?

We’ve had mystery and crime/detective, a bit of thriller, some horror, this issue has some Western tones with the showdown on the roof, so yeah, it’s a nice little gumbo. The story dictates a lot of conflict and drama to wrap it all up so the remaining issues are moving towards all-in action. Which is great because previously we’ve only had moments interspersed here and there.

[READ MORE at 13th DIMENSION.COM]

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DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for December 4, 2013

 


COMICS

Get ready for a new chapter in Jack Boniface’s afterlife as Peter Milligan (Shade the Changing Man, Justice League Dark) takes over Shadowman at Issue #13. Looking to rid himself of the Shadowman Loa, he seeks the ‘Punk Mambo’ in a swamp. But the loa is not easy to get rid of. Points for the Babaloo (JP’s punk mambo band) reference! … Quantum and Woody #6 puts the boys on a suicide mission. Art by DigBoston pal Ming Doyle! … Glen Brunswick’s Reality Check comes to a close this week with Issue #4 - what happens when you superhero comes to life an asks for advice! Picks from LeaguePodcast.com!

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FOTOBOM: EARTH PRIME TIME @ SUPER MEGAFEST 2013

Yo Joe! Getting throttled by the drill Sergent of my childhood, Sgt. Slaughter, just minutes after meeting fellow Arashikage Clan Member Snake-Eyes Ray Park so that we can team up with Scarlett to take on the Baroness and some Cobra troopers before hoping in the TARDIS to escape the Daleks was not another pumpkin coffee induced daydream.

This happened IRL this past weekend at Supermega Fest in Framingham. As Con Season draws to a close and we will soon stop buying expensive variant action figures for ourselves so we treated ourselves to one last nerdout with cosplayers, comic and toy vendors, TV stars, Ron Jeremy, Christopher Lloyd and so much more at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel this past weekend. As a firstimer to Supermega, I recommend the trip next year to not just comic fans, but pop culture fans in general.

First impressions are that this is slightly more schizophrenic show than the previous cons we have attended this year, and less of a comic book focus. Also, the format seems to be crammed into the Sheraton in Framingham, leaving vendors to set up in hallways off of the main ballroom and signing area. Not that that is a complaint, it makes for more creative ways to adhere to the Prime Directive:

Keep Moving, And Get Out Of The Way.

Comic artists were there, including our friend Jamal Igle, who is hard at work telling everyone about his all ages young heroine, Molly Danger.

[READ MORE AT DIGBOSTON.COM]

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Cosmic Treadmill: 'GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE' (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

Marathoning shows, or binging, has become part of the parlance, and my most recent binge for television was the CW’s popular Arrow.

You might want to say the book was an influence on the series.

The story is written by Andy Diggle (Daredevil, The Losers) with art by Jock (Detective Comics) and serves as a great companion to the show—and great holiday gift for your Arrow fan.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for November 27, 2013

COMICS + TRIFECTA EDITIONS MASSHOLE PRINT GIVEAWAY

Celebrate the Doctor’s 50th this week with Vol. 3 #15 as the Doctor(s) and Clara visit Deadwood! … Jamal Igle and Chuck Dixon take Bildocker & Dial tone on G.I.Joe Special Missions #9! … Art & Franco take Itty Bitty Hellboy to heaven in Ish #4, Aw Yeah, Heckboy! … Inspired by geologic illustrations, David Buckley Borden’s clever Masshole print celebrates growing up in Massachusetts. What kind of rock is Plymouth Rock? Email us or sign up for the Trifecta Editions mailing list for a chance to win a limited edition poster and postcard pack from new local studio Trifecta Editions.

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"We Could Be..." THE ROYALS: MASTERS OF WAR - DC COMICS [ART PREVIEW]

Courtesy of

Pamela Mullin Horvath, DC Entertainment

Today, Vertigo announced THE ROYALS: MASTERS OF WAR, a new 6 issue limited comic book series written by Brit Rob Williams (ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, Low Life, Judge Dredd: Trifecta) and illustrated by Simon Colby (The Authority, Judge Dredd: Year One and Trifecta).

The year is 1940. As the War heats up and the Blitz destroys London and kills thousands, the Royal Family looks on. But in this reality, the Royalty of the day have special abilities and the purer the bloodline, the greater those abilities are—and history is about to be transformed when England’s Prince Henry decides to intervene.

“Imagine Downton Abbey crossed with the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan and you’re getting somewhere close to what THE ROYALS: MASTERS OF WAR offers,” says Williams. While Colby describes it as “an everyday tale of everyday squabbles, amongst everyday folk. Except the everyday folk are super-powered royalty, and their squabbles take place against the backdrop of the biggest conflict the world has ever seen.”

THE ROYALS: MASTERS OF WAR arrives in February 2014.

http://www.vertigocomics.com/blog/2013/11/22/the-royals-masters-of-war-art-reveal

    

KICKSTARTER KORNER: 'Phileas Reid Knows We Are Not Alone' with Scott Fogg

Awoooogah! 

Sound that alarm kids and stop the Word-Presses!  

*Klanging noises *

We’re blowing that Fogg Horn today for our latest Kickstarter Korner to help out our new friend Scott Fogg with his all ages 60’s science family adventure bookeeking toward its campaign goal for December 1st.

Share the story, delight in its majesty, donate what you can but most importantly listen to what Scott has to say about Phileas Reid Knows We Are Not Alone  because he has insights into the future you cannot predict!

Forces of Geek!: Hi Scott! Thanks for joining us for our second Kickstarter Korner. We like to put the focus on some cool comics campaigns that might be ending soon with only a minimal amount of awesome alliteration! First off, tell us who you are and who else is working on Phileas Reid Knows We Are Not Alone? 

Scott Fogg: Thanks so much for having me! I’m Scott Fogg and I’m a writer based out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Joining me on this project are Marc Thomas, Dean Trippe, and Vito Delsante. 

Have you worked with any of these talented gentlemen before? Vito was the inspiration for our very first Kickstarter Korner! And the art is amazing. We saw the first pages today!

That’s really cool, I didn’t know about that. Sounds like we have a lot in common. Vito is really the one responsible for Phileas Reid existing in this form and medium. We met at Heroes Con and I was telling him about this story I was wrestling with. “I’m having trouble finding my narrative voice,” I said. “I know the story and I know how it looks, but I’m struggling with how to tell this story.”

“You can’t force it,” he said simply. “If it’s a visual story, you need to tell it visually. Make it a comic book.” I had originally thought of this story as a graphic novel but since I can’t draw and don’t have the money to pay an artist, I didn’t think it was possible. I was in the middle of my second draft of Phileas Reid: The Prose Novelwhen Vito assured me, “we can make it happen.”

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

    

EARTH PRIME TIME TIME: GENE LEUN YANG [INTERVIEW]

This Thursday at the Brattle Theatre, Gene Luen Yang discusses Boxers and Saints, his latest two-volume work from First Second Books. Joining him for the discussion is author M.T. Anderson. The two books tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion from the different perspectives of Bao and Four-Girl. Boxers and Saints illustrates how how Eastern and Western spirits can color the experience of those growing up and getting involved in a conflict of different cultures. Gene was kind enough to tell us a bit about the book, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Green Turtle, and what we can expect on Thursday.

DIGBOSTON: Hi Gene! Thanks for joining us today to talk about Boxers & Saints. Why revisit The Boxer Rebellion in comic book form?
Gene Luen Yang: The Boxer Rebellion is a war fought on Chinese soil just over a hundred years ago, in the year 1900. It was the first global conflict involving both Western and Eastern nations. Many historians believe it to be a harbinger of the World Wars that followed.

It was also the first military conflict in the age of mass media, the first conflict that people all over the world followed through their newspapers.

On one side of the conflict were European and Japanese soldiers, Europeans missionaries, and Chinese Christians. On the other was an army of poor, uneducated young people from the Chinese farmlands. These Boxers, as they came to be known, believed that they could call the Chinese gods down from the heavens by performing a mystical ritual. The gods would possess their bodies and give them superpowers. Given the fact that superheroes have been the dominant genre in American comic books for decades, the Boxer Rebellion and comics are a great fit. To me as a comics fan, the Boxers seemed like a Chinese version of Shazam!

[READ MORE at DIGBOSTON.COM]

Gene Luen Yang

GENE LUEN YANG DISCUSSES BOXERS & SAINTS
IN CONVERSATION WITH M.T. ANDERSON

THURSDAY 11.21.13
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Cosmic Treadmill: 'Calamitous Black Devils' Questions with Joseph Schmalke at FORCES OF GEEK

Forces of Geek caught up with some amazing creators at the recent Rhode Island Comic Con, and one of our favorite books from ComiXology Submit was there!

Today we talk with Joseph Schmalke about Kickstarter secrets, his classic influences and the many reasons you should check out Calamitous Black Devils on ComiXology or wait for the trade in May of next year.

Forces of Geek!: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. How was your Rhode Island Comic Con?

Joseph Schmalke: Rhode Island was a lot fun it had a great crowd.  Also Rhode Island was one of the better set up conventions I had been to this year.  I’m definitely going back. 

Your book Calamitous Black Devils, issues #1 and # 2 are out now. There’s a ton going on in the book from war to zombies, magic and zombies! How can you describe the book to new readers?

It’s a World War II story where an elite brigade of army operatives go behind enemy lines to stop the Nazis from opening a doorway to another world where an ancient god lives that can raise an army of the dead.  They succeed in stopping the doorway from opening but get sucked into it and find themselves scattered about a planet at the center of the universe.  Now they have to find each other to get home but first they have to battle through hordes of the undead, aliens, mutants, and ancient gods.

Plus it’s got plant human hybrids, space vampires, werewolves, and Nazi zombies.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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DigBoston and LeaguePodcast Comic Book Picks of the Week for November 20, 2013

COMICS

What do band managers do? Nothing! Just kidding! Read about Brian Epstein’s role in making The Beatles the world’s most influential Rock and Roll band! Dark Horse is proud to present The Fifth Beatle, the story of a man facing homophobia, Anti-Semitism and a someone who died all too young. … The countdown to issue #200 continues as Savage Dragon is strapped to the electric chair and is begging for the end! Savage Dragon #172 today!… Feel bad for poor Aric of Dacia because Unity is on his ass? Venditti & Nord return for X-O Manowar #19, a great jumping on point for new readers at the start of the huge Valiant Universe Unity Event as X-O defends his legacy, the land of the Visigoths aka Romania! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com!

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Triple Shot With a Digital Chaser: BATMAN #25, BATGIRL #25, VALIANT: UNITY #1 plus VALIANT 8-BIT ADVENTURE: UNITY #1

Alright, its time again for Triple Shot Plus and we’re sticking with a theme this week!

There were so many comics to sort through, but in the end Batbooks and Unitycaught our eye.  Zero Year continues in Batman #25 and Batgirl #25 and Harada assembles his best to defeat X-O Manowar in Valiant’s Unity #1 with a prequel of sorts only on ComiXology, Valiant 8-Bit Adventure: Unity! written by Ben McCool!

BATMAN #25
WRITER: Scott Snyder
ART: Greg Capullo
Publication Date: November 13, 2013
Price: $4.99
Publisher: DC Comics
UPC: 76194130640702511
Buy it HERE

We’ve been excited to see these pages hit the shelves since NYCC this year and of course the debut of The New 52 Gotham City Police Department Blimp.

There is even a history to the dirigibles, Bruce Wayne donated them to G.C.P.D. during the blackout! 

Riddler’s blacked out the city and all hell is breaking loose.

$4.99 is the price of admission for this thrill ride (last issue was $6.99, curiouser and curiouser) but worth every giant penny once again as Snyder and Capullo create an award winning modern origin for The Batman.

On the surface we are treated to a new PT Cruiser-like Batmobile (Mach I) that has a special ability never seen before, a tease that Jim Gordon was there the night Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered, as well as the return of 1939 villain Doctor Death. There’s also Lucius Fox, proto-Poison Ivy and to be determined desert military action in Nigeria. Perhaps the 2004 version of Doctor Death from Batgirl is responsible for the Central African conflict. Stay tuned for more!

If you aren’t reading New 52 Batman, get to it. There’s no excuse at this point. Start with Court of Owls and work your way up. Seriously. Or start at issue #21 and see the origin of Batman like no one has ever imagined!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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