Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1952 TPB (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1952 TPB

Written by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi

Art by Alex Maleev

Colored by Dave Stewart

Cover by Mike Mignola

Published by Dark Horse Comics

Cover Price: $19.99

Diamond ID:APR150064

ISBN: 978-1-61655-660-0

Published: August 12, 2015

Buy it HERE

Hellboy embarks on his first mission with the B.P.R.D. Team and wouldn’t you know it, there are demon monkeys, drunken priests and someone out to get the Big Red One.

Returning to Hellboy for the first time since 2003 is frequent Bendis collaborator Alex Maleev for art duties on this Mike Mignola & John Arcudi penned tale set in 1952.

Of course, regular Hellboy colorist Dave Stewart joins the fun on this fantastic adventure.

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: 1952 is part mystery, part adventure story and explores some growth and development to how Hellboy came up in our world.

The 5 issue series is collected in one volume to hit shelves next week. This is a highly recommended addition to your Hellboy collection and also a great introduction this world as it focuses on a younger Hellboy and Maleev’s art fits the world of the B.P.R.D. so well.

Hellboy fanatics have likely grabbed these issues in floppy form, or perhaps are waiting until this trade drops to line up the spines perfectly with their other Hellboy volumes. However you end up consuming this (Dark Horse is finally onComiXology, FYI), be prepared for some familiar faces as well as some creepy introductions.

Mignola admits to being a bit of a control freak when it comes to other artists drawing his stories. What evolved from tweaking camera angles on Alex’s initial sketches eventually became Mike sending his own thumbnails to the artist. I’m sure the two got along fine, however. The pages and storytelling have the patina of classic Mignola Hellboy tales or old vampiric horror movies. You know how you feel when you read Hellboy Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction? You feel the same here.

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JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS AND MONSTERS (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

Doomed planet. 

Desperate scientists. 

Last hope. 

Kindly couple. 

Superman.

— Grant Morrison, All-Star Superman

Grant Morrison is most certainly capable of distilling Superman down into a few words, especially when introducing what has since become considered one of the greatest stories of all time of the iconic character.

Another master of the DC Universe  is Bruce Timm, the mastermind behind Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League and Batman Beyond (to name a few).

Timm is back in with his latest project,  an alternate reality version of Justice League with Justice League: Gods and Monsters, which debuted on Machinima last month with three shorts and has been released this week as a feature length animated movie.

These new interpretations include Superman / Hernan Guerra (Benjamin Bratt, 24, Modern Family), the spawn of General Zod and Lara Lor Van’s DNA (in vitro, you pervs) raised by a Mexican farming family.

Batman is the creature of the night we know in our world as Man-Bat, Kurt Langstrom (Michael C. Hall, Dexter).

Rounding out the un-holy trinity is Bekka, granddaughter of Highfather from New Genesis aka Wonder Woman (Tamara Taylor, Bones, Lost).

With a reimagined DC Universe including dozens of Easter Eggs and a President Amanda Waller calling the shots, Alan Burnett (Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Batman Beyond) and Timm’s PG-13 alternate reality gets a little racier thanThe Animated Series ever could. A member of the new guard for DCAU Sam Liu (Batman: Year One, All-Star Superman) directs.

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FOG! Speaks With DEAN HASPIEL About THE FOX! at FORCES OF GEEK

Distilling comics to their ultimate essence and having fun, Silver Age superhero stories is happening regularly today at one of the most unlikely publishers.

Writer and artist Dean Haspiel joins us this week to talk The Fox from Dark Circle Comics. Last summer we reviewed The Fox: Freak Magnet and the exploits of Paul Patton Jr. and family, so it was a pleasure to get with Dean about the new direction he is taking this classic Archie Comics owned superhero under the Dark Circle imprint.

Dean, who writes and draws the book, collaborates with Mark Waid on the writing and that relationship is explained here as well as some of the new heroes popping up in The Fox world.

The most recent chapter of the latest story arc, Fox Hunt, can be found in The Fox #4, out today wherever comics are sold, and that most certainly includes the device you are reading this freaky interview on!


FOG!: Thanks for joining us, Dean! After the success of Freak Magnet were you eager to get working on your next arc for The Fox?

Dean Haspiel: Thanks, Clay! I originally proposed a different idea for the Freak Magnet sequel that involved an ex-girlfriend who was a therapist for disturbed superheroes, the power of fossil fuel and the resurrection of a Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur buried underneath the center of Impact City, and a zombie-version of The Jaguar.

But, my then editor, Paul Kaminski suggested we do something called Fox Hunt, and I wrote a different idea.

Things are a little more violent and bloody this time around, while maintaining true to The Fox as we saw in the last volume. How is it for you to get to write and draw some of the more visceral scenes?

My favorite genre is horror. So, turning up the gross factor in Fox Hunt wasn’t hard for me to do. I just wanted to keep some of the zany, Silver-Age superhero tone I established in Freak Magnet, while decorating some of the scenes with terrifying tentacles, exploding heads, and puddles of viscera.

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BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA V. 1: THE HELL OF THE MIDNIGHT ROAD & THE GHOSTS OF STORMS (review) AT FORCES OF GEEK

Big Trouble In Little China V. 1:

The Hell of The Midnight Road & The Ghosts of Storms

Story by John Carpenter and Eric Powell

Written by Eric Powell

Art by Brian Churilla

Colored by Michael Garland

Lettered by Ed Dukeshire

Cover by Eric Powell

Published by BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: June 03, 2015
UPC 978160886716551499
Buy it HERE
Available on Comixology

John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China returned last year in comic book form thanks to Carpenter himself (story) and The Goon’s Eric Powell with Brian Churilla (The Sixth Gun) on art.

BOOM! Studios released the first volume of continuing adventures of The Pork Chop Express last month. Jack is back, baby and he’s born ready to rock!

Let him regale you with tales of his ex-wives as he deals with a pet demon named Pete takes on the evil Wing Kong with his pal Egg Shen.

Issue #12 is out today but to get the party started, check out Volume 1 collecting issues 1—4.

“Have ya paid your dues, Jack?”

“Yessir, the check is in the mail”.

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THE COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS (book review) at FORCE OF GEEK

The Comic Book History of Comics

By: Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey

Type: Graphic Novels

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Pub. Date: May 23, 2012

UPC: 978161377197652199

BUY ON AMAZON OR KINDLE

Pencils down, True Believers!

As the The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact On Pop Culture edX course winds down, my extra curricular activities have not stagnated.

In fact, I’ve dusted off a few academic books about comics to further my station (in an audited class—I was never one for impressing actual teachers).

A few weeks ago we talked The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics.  This week, I completed Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey’s illustrated Comic Book History of Comics and am still processing what they’ve done.

By breaking down the history of comics in the selfsame sequential art medium, they have achieved nerd nirvana.

Not since Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics have I felt such a connection with the books I love so much.

I was lucky enough to speak with the ‘Evil Twin Studios’ artist Ryan back in 2013 for the debut of Action Presidents #1(George Washington).

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

DC COMICS GUIDE TO WRITING COMICS By Dennis O'Neil (book review) at FORCES OF GEEK

I’ve been fascinated by the credits pages of comics for longer than I can remember, and the all important “Writer” title is the one I have aspired to.

Fortunately for you, dear readers, this eventually shifted to the comics critique and ‘reporting’ steadfastly disappointing you here each and every week! 

Writing is hard. Scripting is hard. You guessed it, making comics is hard work. Drawing comics is probably much harder than it looks.

As much as I thought my dogeared copy of How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way (1978) by Stan Lee and John Buscema would have me at the drawing board for 8 hours a day like an Extreme Studios understudy, that was not my path in life either.

I’m always up for a good challenge, though.

Upon urging from my colleague Matt Dursin (an actual published comics writer!) I have audited The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact On Pop Culture MOOC with Stan Lee’s and Michael Uslan course of study. 


In preparation, I dusted off 2001’s The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics by industry giant, and writer of my favorite Batman tales, Dennis (Denny) O’Neil.

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BATMAN: EARTH ONE Vol. 1 & 2 (review) AT FORCES OF GEEK

Shortly before The Dark Knight Rises closed the chapter on director Christopher Nolans’ cinematic take on Batman, DC Comics released the hardcover original graphic novel Batman: Earth One (2012) written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Gary Frank. 

Johns, protege to Superman: The Movie’s Richard Donner, became famous for his Green Lantern, JSA and The Flash runs before becoming DC Comics’ Chief Creative Officer. The Blackest Night scribe also is the link between comics and movies across the lot at Warner Bros., consulting on everything from Green Lantern to Batman v. Superman and down to the successful Flash and Arrow programs on CW. 

Gary Frank, artist for Batman: Earth One drew an uncanny Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent/Superman in 2009’s pre-Flashpoint Superman: Secret Origin. While many artists have taken on the iconic DC heroes, Frank’s style rises to the top as a modern master. 

Batman: Earth One Volume 2 featuring the same creative team was released earlier this month.

Batman: Earth One Volumes 1 & 2 are out of the current DC continuities as we know it, are perhaps meant as chain bookstore (mass market) sellers but the two great hardcovers make great gifts for Batman fans of varied interest levels. Everyone from the enthusiastic FOG! crowd to your more causal The Dark Knight Trilogy or Gotham tv series fans will get lost in this version of the Caped Crusader.

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ADAM EGYPT MORTIMER Goes BALLISTIC on The Cosmic Treadmill at FORCES OF GEEK

Adam Egypt Mortimer is a filmmaker, author and co-creator of Black Mack Studio’s Ballistic with Transmetropolitan’sDarick Robertson. Black Mask just reloaded a clip in the form of a beautiful looking trade with the first arc featuring repairman Butch and his sentient Gun.

Adam hops aboard the Cosmic Treadmill today to talk about garbage island that is our dystopian Repo City State and how it might feel to have an addictive personality lodged into your gun as you battle the cities fiercest gangsters.

FOG!: Thanks for Joining us today, Adam! Black Mask Studios just released the trade for Ballistic by you and The legendary Darick Robertson (The Boys, Transmetropolitan, Happy). How did you guys meet?

Adam Egypt Mortimer: I met him at San Diego Comic-Con! We were both drinking late at night at the Hyatt bar — this was years ago when they still had an outdoor patio, before the eventual death crush of overcrowding forced them to shut down that whole scene. Darick and I wound up chatting, he introduced himself — this was back when he and I both still lived in New York. He was in Williamsburg at the time and I made fun of him for it. 

Somehow that brought us together and we started hanging out a lot in New York, hanging in bars together, talking life, the universe, and comics. Many years later — at another Comic-Con — I pitched him the idea of Ballistic and he fell in love with the bat-winged cars.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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FOG! Chats With DES TAYLOR About SCARLETT COUTURE, Comics' High Fashion Super-Spy at FORCES OF GEEK

You might recognize the work of British artist Des Taylor from Titan Comic’s Doctor Who covers and his unique Despop illustrative style found also in Cosmopolitan, FHM and many more high end clients.

His full-length comics include leading ladies The Infamous Katie Rogers and The Vesha Valentine Story.  He continues the tradition of sexy and deadly femme fatales with his latest Titan book, Scarlett Couture. 

Des joins us to take a ride on the Cosmic Treadmill to tell us skinny on his latest lady spy mini-series!

FOG!: Thanks for joining us today, Des! We’ve been enjoying your Titan Doctor Who covers. Tell us how Scarlett came to be!

Des Taylor: I explored the world of fashion with Katie Rogers (my first book) and gradually started to get a feel for Scarlett’s world.  Around then the show Alias was running and I was hugely inspired. 

Later that year at a party for Cosmo, the character and all the other elements fell into place when I saw a group of girls walking past security and into the VIP area to get to a celebrity football player. I thought to myself,“What if that was some sort of Billionaire Criminal… and the CIA needed to gain access to him to plant a bug? What better way than a group of supermodels that can placate his ego… and at the same time plant the device on him?” 

I went home that night and penciled the character that night.

I needed a better name though. Something that combined fashion and action. I started with the name Suzy Fortune (named after a friend from college) but it was only after I watched the Devil Wears Prada and a scene that mentioned the “Couture collection” that light bulbs started off in my head. 

I always wanted to name my daughter Scarlett after the beautiful actress Scarlett O’Hara.

Thus, Scarlett Couture was born back in 2005.

In 2012, I had a daughter which we named Scarlett.

Stylistically, this book is a bit different. How do you achieve the look of the book with computer illustration, yet with a natural feel to the action?

I literally work like an animator putting every element on separate layers in the PSD file. That way I can be more versatile and move layers around, create depth of field and add effects. Steve White (Editor in Chief) once said it looks like animation stills put together to tell a story, which is the desired effect.

Scarlett is a second generation spy, will we hear more of her parent’s origin?

The way I’ve set up this first book is to introduce the main characters to the reading audience and set up the scenario for a future story. In Series One of Scarlett Couture I just wanted to touch on certain elements that will make the story more engrossing down the line. Scarlett’s mother’s past is one of the main stories that will test Scarlett’s psyche, resolve and trust.

It is hard not to fall in love with Scarlett, but yet she is tough and has a lot of skills. Do you think it is a challenge for people to write female action heroes? My favorite characters on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are Agents May, Skye and Bobbi because they are smart and kick-ass.

It is hard to write female action heroes because most action writers and artists are male.

I remember a friend of mine asking me if I was watching 24 one year. I told him no, I was too into Alias. I showed him a scene of Sydney Bristow fighting a bad guy and he laughed his head off when she took a kick to the face. “No woman would stand after that kick” he remarked. I later asked him “ Wouldn’t you be proud to have a woman that could fight like that?”

He answered “Are you crazy? No man wants a woman that can kick his ass!” 

Maybe he was right. What woman (apart from Gina Carano or Ronda Rousey of course) would stand there and trade blows with some muscle-bound meathead ?

Why can’t she be a thinker? Instead of Kickboxing and Tae Kwon Do, why can’t she use close quarter martial arts like Wing Chun and Aikido? Or learn to fight and run with Ninjutsu?

Those two moments stuck with me and helped when defining Scarlett’s character. 

I also remember a conversation with a film producer at SDCC back in 2009. When I asked him why aren’t there more female action stars or female lead action blockbusters like Die Hard and Bourne.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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MATT WAGNER TALKS About WILL EISNER'S THE SPIRIT! - COSMIC TREADMILL AT FORCES OF GEEK

FOG! Chats With MATT WAGNER About WILL EISNER’S THE SPIRIT!

Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) is this week and Dynamite Entertainment gave us an inside scoop about some upcoming announcements.

At the top of the stack is today’s solicitation for the complete creative team for the July’s new ongoing Will Eisner’s The Spirit written by Matt Wagner and drawn by Dan Schkade (San Hannibal). Also, notably, keep on the lookout for some amazing covers by Alex Ross, The Goon’s Eric Powell and so many more.

Of course Matt is most well known for such classics as Grendel, Mage, Sandman Mystery Theatre and a number of memorable Batman stories — my favorite being Batman: Faces (Legends of the Dark Knight). 

Recently at Dynamite he has taken on Green Hornet, Zorro and The Shadow—so no one was surprised at Matt being assigned to scribe Eisner’s The Spirit.

Well, maybe Matt was, and he is here to join us and tell us about it!

FOG!: Matt, thanks for joining us today! The Spirit ongoing is exciting news, and we’re excited you are the one to take it on, though you’ve mentioned that even for you this is intimidating! What made you relent to the requests to take on Denny Colt?

Matt Wagner: Well, I’ve been a big fan of both Eisner and The Spirit for many, many years. As a result of my reverence for both the creator and the property, I at first said, “No” when Dynamite offered me the chance to write an all-new relaunch in honor of the character’s 75th anniversary. 

But both Dynamite publisher Nick Barrucci and their Editor-in-Chief Joe Rybandt were both persistent in getting me on board; “We think you’re perfect for this gig!” Eventually, they broke through my resistance and now I’m happy they did.

When did you first get inspired by Eisner or The Spirit?

I first discovered The Spirit via the over-sized, B&W reprints from Warren Publications in the mid 70s. 

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK ]

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FOG! Discusses THE ORDER OF THE FORGE With Writer VICTOR GISCHLER! at FORCES OF GEEK

The Revolution with be immortalized in The Order of The Forge coming from Dark Horse later this month.

In the tradition of super-sizing some of our past presidents with powers of the dark arts (see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), crime author Victor Gischler (Ink Mage, Spike, Angel and Faith, Sally of the Wasteland) joins us to talk about our founding fathers in a new way.

Starring a pre-Revolution Geo. Washington with pals Paul Revere and “Baudy” Ben Franklin — The Order of the Forge is coming at you by land and sea!

FOG!: Thanks for joining us, Victor! You’ve got a new take on a founding father with The Order of The Forge at Dark Horse. How did you come aboard on Donn D. Berdahl’s original concept?

Victor Gischler: Well, I guess they needed a writer to implement this great idea they had, and Dark Horse editor Dan Chabon suggested I might fit the bill. They wanted to take their story in a pulpy, irreverent direction, and a lot of my work suggest I’m the sort of fellow who can do that. I was just lucky that I’d worked with Dan on a couple of previous projects, so he knew what my strengths were.

I’m a big fan of alternate history. Would you like to go back and hang with George, Paul and Ben?

Not really. It turns out they didn’t have air conditioning back then. Also the toilet paper was not the best. Also, my guess is that the guys I depict in the comic are a lot more colorful than our actual founding fathers — although I’ve heard Ben Franklin was something of a party animal.

I suppose I couldn’t really say no to a time travel adventure if I had the chance. Although whenever I watch a time travel movie that shit NEVER goes right.

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DAREDEVIL: YELLOW: Preparation For The Netflix Premiere at FORCES OF GEEK

Digital comics retailer Comixology anticipated my heightened amplitude and heard my heartbeat though my chest in anticipation of Marvel’s Daredevil next week.

Comixology had a Daredevil sale and I revisited Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Daredevil: Yellow (2001). The all-star creative team was finished off by Matt Hollingsworth on colors and Richard Starkings with Wes Abbott on letters. Ask your LCS for a hard copy.

In preparation to mainline 12 hours of television next week (over a couple of days, I’m not entirely nuts!) I pulled Yellow and some other books off of the virtual shelf to get ready for Marvel’s first binge-worthy endeavor.

And until ‘binge-worthy’ is decreed out of the lexicon for being cringe-worthy, I’ll continue to use the word. Order in the court! Sustained!

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FOG! Chats With CULLEN BUNN about THE SIXTH GUN: DUST TO DUST - Forces of Geek

Interview conducted by Clay N Ferno
The Sixth Gun is headed toward its final issues but the legacy of the Western will live on.

Before the close of the final The Sixth Gun ongoing series at issue #50, Cullen Bunn explores the story of one of the more important and favored characters of the book, Billjohn O’Henry in the latest mini-series The Sixth Gun: Dust to Dust from Oni Press.

You’re Darn Tootin’ we were able to wrangle some precious time from the very busy Cullen (Hellbreak, Empty Man, Magneto, Brides of Helheim to name a few!) to tell us about Dust To Dust with art by Tyler Crookm as well as another upcoming project.

The Sixth Gun: Dust to Dust can be best described as Lovecraft meets the Spaghetti Western. Issue #2 comes out April 15, so don’t forget to tell your LCS to order some more of this three issue mini and the trades while you are at it!

FOG!: Cullen, thanks for joining us today! Issue #1 of The Sixth Gun: Dust to Dust is out, starring favorite bounty hunter Billjohn O’Henry. Why go back to this, the story of Billjohn?

Cullen Bunn: Thanks for talking with me! Billjohn O’Henry, the star of The Sixth Gun: Dust to Dust, is near and dear to me, so I love talking about the book! Billjohn is my favorite character in the series, but we’ve seen so little of his life before his adventure with Drake Sinclair began. I thought it might be nice to take a look at the man before he got himself turned into a mud golem!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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FOG! Chats With Cartoonist SCOTT McCLOUD About 'THE SCULPTOR' (interview PART 2)

Interview conducted by Clay N Ferno

In 1984, Scott McCloud established a name for himself with his creator owned series, Zot!, receiving a number of Harvey and Eisner award nominations.  He brought Zot! to an end in 1990, after 36 issues.

McCloud returned to comics in 1993 with his book, Understanding Comics, which established him as a comics theorist, presenting a definition, history, vocabulary, and methods of the medium of comics in the form of a graphic novel.  He went on to write two additional books on theory including Reinventing Comics and Making Comics, as writing several Superman Stories and a graphic novel, The New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln.

Last month, Sony Pictures acquired the movie rights to Scott McCloud’s newest creation The Sculptor, his first full length graphic novel.

The Sculptor tells the story of artist David Smith, who makes a deal with Death to sculpt anything he can imagine with his bare hands.  After learning that he only has 200 days to live, and suddenly discovering the love of his life makes the decision of what to create harder than he thought.

The comic book scholar and auteur, McCloud, took some time with us to talk the comic creation process beyond his books in the Understanding Comics and his creator owned Zot! series.

Scott also questions the carbon date of The Golden Age of comics. Was that in the past or are we living it today?

FOG!: Thank you so much for joining us to talk about your book. Your books have formed my college years and were part of my curriculum and really helped me understand the language of comics and even more-so, the possibilities of what comics can be. Thanks for giving us the tools and the language to talk about comics like that.

Scott McCloud: That’s encouraging to hear because it has always been about potential.

Even since I was very young, about what comics can do. That has loomed a lot larger for me than what they have done.

I have always hoped that we had greater things in the future than in the past.

A lot of people are very nostalgic about comics, for them it is about celebrating the wondrous Golden Age — I don’t know, I think The Golden Age is now.


It is always good to be looking at the present and to the future for sure. Did you grow up here (Boston, MA)?

I was born in the area, Lexington, MA. I lived there for the first eighteen years of my life. My family had that house for six years when I was born and had it for another 6 or 7 after I left.

How did you get into comics? Were they always part of your life when you were growing up as a kid and that fostered you into wanting to be a creator?

I was a real snooty little kid. I read real books and I turned down my nose at comics.

People are going to be surprised at that!

At the age of 12 or so, I thought I was too old for comics. I had seen some superhero comics at friend’s houses and it just didn’t do it for me. I was sitting there reading Arthur C. Clarke or Tolkien. I was into Ben Bova at one point, Asimov. Stuff like comics seemed to be crudely drawn. I just wasn’t into that stuff.

But I was friends with a guy named Kurt Busiek in middle school. Kurt and I played chess and billiards. He would come over after school to escape his father who kept giving him pointless jobs to do.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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Cosmic Treadmill: Black Mask Studios' CRITICAL HIT #1-4 (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

Matt Miner (Toe Tag Riot) follows up his animal activist comic Liberator from Black Mask Studios with a spin-off starring Jeanette and Sarah on their own adventures.

Pre-orders for the collected edition are being sorted for the May release of Volume 1, so Earth Crisis and pit bull fans should get the word to the LCS.

Black Mask Studios recently launched a new YouTube channel for ‘tubecomics’ — motion comics versions of your favorites, including a prequel for Critical Hit with Liberator - tubecomic episode 1.1.

Jeanette and Sarah’s adventures aren’t always legal and they definitely aren’t safe, and this first volume of Critical Hit exposes the real risks and dangers of sticking it to the man!

Issue #1 starts out with our protagonists going hard on an ‘action’, smashing vehicles and invading cabins in the woods. The cabins are for deer hunters in the area, and Jeanette and Sarah do their best to destroy the camp with a firestorm.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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Cosmic Treadmill: JAY PISCOPO Chats About The Return of CAPT'N ELI and SEA GHOST Action Figure Launch at FORCES OF GEEK

Back in 2012, I interviewed Maine comic book artist and creator Jay Piscopo about his take on Captain Midnight, and his Kirby/Toth sendup Sea Ghost.

Sea Ghost is just one of the many characters starring in the Capt’n Eli ‘Nemoverse’ that heads into its third volume of all ages friendly comic book fare.

Jay will warn you this isn’t for kids, and I agree—this is just great comic book storytelling. And the fact that he draws like the aforementioned masters doesn’t make me want to turn away.

Jay joins us on the Cosmic Treadmill this week to plumb to the depths of The Undersea Adventures of Capt’n Eli Vol. 3 as well as his awesome action figure for Sea Ghost — sure to be a hit with Mego collectors!

FOG!: Thanks for joining us, Jay! It has been a while. There are all new adventures in Capt’n Eli Vol. 3. What can the readers expect this time around?

Jay Piscopo: Thanks Clay! Good to talk to you again! Yes, Capt’n Eli is back!

Book 3 is another installment in Eli’s never ending story. At the end of Book 2, Capt’n Eli and Commander X saved Princess Coral of the undersea kingdom of Aquaria but the ramifications are huge.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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Cosmic Treadmill: LEGO JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. BIZARRO JUSTICE LEAGUE (review) AT FORCES OF GEEK

What is this, Bizarro World?” clearly is one of my favorite The Simpsons quotes from Comic Book Guy from the running tape in my brain because something is usually going against my will or better judgement in my surroundings.

To which I might now answer, “NO, this isn’t Bizarro World, its better - LEGO Bizarro world!

Yes, I’ll admit me am hungry for more LEGO movie action since last year’s blockbuster so when I got my hands on this sweet LEGO Justice League vs. Bizarro Justice League set, complete with Batzarro minifig, my hunger was sated … for now!

The Two-Disc set includes the typical DCU talking head making of documentary but also another adventure with our Super Friends at the brick Hall of Justice in DC Comics Super Heroes: Batman: Be-leaguered.

It may be no surprise to anyone that I really enjoyed this one!

Especially with two episodes thrown in and the mini-fig, this is a great deal.

Specifically with the packaging, the Blu-Ray + DVD + Ultraviolet copy makes it easy to share but also looks great on my big screen TV (a recent purchase and I always prefer a physical disc for HD media).

Batman is voiced by Troy Baker this go-around (LEGO Batman 3, Arkham franchise as various) but carries on a bit of that swagger and darkness that Will Arnett flavored The LEGO Movie with “More Darkness!”.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

KEL SYMONS Speaks With FOG! About His Comics REYN and THE MERCENARY SEA! - FORCES OF GEEK

Kel Symons is a producer and director and now at the helm of two great Image Comics books! Last year’s acclaimed The Mercenary Sea took at look at The Pacific Theatre in the days before the Big One, and this year’s Reyn (next issue, #2 hits shelves Wednesday, February 18) is a swashbuckling D&D fantasy affair with a hero who’s not going to be easy to root for.



Kel takes a ride on the Cosmic Treadmill to get to the depths of the sea and over yonder valley, sword in hand!


FOG!: So much to cover, Kel! Thanks for joining us! Let’s start with The Mercenary Sea. First of all, your pre-WWII sea adventure book got some great feedback last year. Not many stories take place on a submarine. How did you get to placing this story in an historical context and in a cool undersea boat?

KEL SYMONS: Yeah, I was surprised as anyone that readers seemed to dive right into it (pun sorta intended…). As for how the idea came about, I think mostly I missed my space-friends from Firefly, and also wanted to relive the thrills of my childhood with Raiders of the Lost Ark. The two came together rather seamlessly to form The Mercenary Sea.

A motley crew of adventurers and mercenaries trying to carve out an existence in the wild frontier of the South Seas against a backdrop of war.

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JEFF LEMIRE Chats With FOG! About 'DESCENDER' on the Cosmic Treadmill at FORCES OF GEEK

That escalated quickly! Before our tape machine was cold with a hot interview with one of the most in-demand writers in the business Jeff Lemire (All-New Hawkeye, Green Arrow, Sweet Tooth, Trillium, Swamp Thing) about his scorching hot new book with Dustin Nguyen (Lil’ Gotham, Detective Comics), Sony acquired the feature film rights to Descender!


Published by Image Comics, Descender is a new science fiction comic appearing on shelves in March, and Jeff was kind enough to take the time to tell us about TIM-21, working with Dustin and creating a whole new universe.

FOG!: Thanks for joining us, Jeff! We’re here to talk about Descender with Dustin Nguyen. What is an overview of the book for our readers out there?

JEFF LEMIRE: Descender is a new monthly science fiction series for Image Comics that I am writing and Dustin Nguyen is drawing and painting.

The high concept is that it centers on a young boy, a robot named TIM-21 in a universe that has outlawed all robots and androids. There is something very special about TIM that everyone seems to want a piece of.

This is TIM’s adventure and quest to discover his own origin and the mystery surrounding his origin in a universe that hates and fears him, slowly building new friendships and companions as he jumps from planet to planet and gets closer to discovering the truth of who he is.

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STARLIGHT TPB (Image Comics, by Mark Millar - review) - at FORCES OF GEEK

Starlight
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Goran Parlov
Colors by Ive Svorcina
Cover by John Cassaday
Published by Image Comics
ISBN 978-1-63215-017-2
Diamond Comic order code DEC140693
Available via Comic Stores 2/11; Bookstores 2/24


Some creators, musicians and authors have a knack for cranking out hits. Stephen King, Tom Petty, you get the idea.

And like those gentlemen, Mark Millar’s work is often imitated but never surpassed. An upstanding member of a Bill and Ted-esque order of chivalry—Most Excellent Order of the British Empire—the Scotsman’s latest trade paperback is Starlight, another gold record to put on the wall.

With Goran Parlov (Punisher MAX) on art, this sendup to pulp heroes, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, John Carter and Adam Strange is a pop-art celebration of comics, serials and retired superheroes.

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