ANOTHER CASTLE Creative Team Andrew Wheeler & Paulina Ganucheau Jump on The Cosmic Treadmill! at FORCES OF GEEK

Oni Press snuck this one past us like oh so many Koopa shells gliding along on the bricks of life. Another Castle is a limited series that puts the princess in a power position, gives her agency against her captors and ensures that she doesn’t need someone to fight her battles for her.

While the title references a familiar plumbing video game, what is happening in Another Castle is much more than a retreading or adaptation of a video game story. This fun and positive fantasy adventure is as much about solving problems as it is about empowerment. 

The creative team of Andrew Wheeler (ComicsAlliance.com) and Paulina Ganucheau (Zodiac Starforce) took some table time away from commerce at Emerald City Comic Con to tell us what to expect in the coming issues as well as entice some new readers into Another Castle!


FOG!: Another Castle has been a great adventure story so far. We have some video game influence, D&D and scary monsters and bosses! What’s a quick pitch to get people into the book?

Andrew Wheeler: A fan at Emerald City Comicon this past weekend described it as “Lara Croft as a princess”, which is a pretty cool description! I’d call it a damsel-in-distress story where the damsel can save herself, but she’s determined to save everyone else as well.

Paulina Ganucheau: Whoa I love that description! So cool and accurate.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

Ash & Hitler Jump on The COSMIC TREADMILL With Ian Edginton and Larry Watts at FORCES OF GEEK

The name ‘Deadite Adolph Hitler’ is thrown around all too often these days. Luckily the folks at Space Goat (a real thing) have decided to clear the air and pit Ash against this very, very bad man.

The creative team behind EVIL DEAD 2: Revenge of Hitler, Ian Edginton and Larry Watts, took time out of their busy schedule to join us to talk this special ONE AND DONE™ (Stories so good…we don’t need 2!) comic!

From the trenches of Berlin to a trench mouth in Texas, here is everything you need to know about our groovy hero taking on a man so evil that he can’t be named, except that he can, and that name is Hitler.


FOG!: So…from reading your comic and watching a couple documentaries, this Hitler was kind of a jerk, right?

Larry Watts: A bit.

Ian Edginton: Actually, the scary thing is, is that he wasn’t. You don’t get to rally a nation behind you by playing the fool. It may seem that way, I mean take Donald Trump—that guy should be wearing clown shoes—but he tells people what they want to hear. He plays on their fears and insecurities. On their need to find easy scapegoats and solutions for larger, more complex issues of politics and policy. 

You look at Donald Trump and you see a toupee wearing braggart and bully. You look at Hitler and you see a shouty little man with a dumb mustache that even Charlie Chaplin had the good sense to take off at the end of the day. But don’t be fooled, they were and are master manipulators.  

Wow, that got serious fast!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Discusses INDOCTRINATION With Matt Battaglia & Michael Moreci at FORCES OF GEEK

Z2 Comics keeps it coming with Indoctrination, an apocalyptic political thriller in the vein of the first season of True Detective mixed with the scary realization that people are coerced into believing what groups are capable of.

Writer Michael Moreci (Roche Limit, Hoax Hunters, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and artist Matt Battaglia (Roche Limit) join us for a spin on the Cosmic Treadmill in advance of the June launch.

The book is already getting major attention from some True Detective fan sites, but as the following interview will reveal, there is more to Indoctrination, as our heroes face a far more sinister force.

Between death cults and sleeper cells, Indoctrination tackles fear, at a time when the world is growing tired of threats from inside and outside forces.

FOG!: What can readers expect from Indoctrination?

Matt Battaglia: Readers can expect a thoughtful thriller in the vein of classic 70s cinema, but wrestling with the potent issues of our times.

Michael Moreci: What Matt said. I think the series reminds me a lot of Hannibal, in that it’s slow, methodical, and the underlying developments are so unsettling that it makes everything else all the more frightening. 

We want to make a book that gets readers at their core with intense, thought-provoking, and chilling horror and crime. It’s very unique in a lot of ways, in a lot of GOOD ways, and there’s never been a better time for it to hit—in regard to the current political climate and the comics climate.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With STEVE LIEBER About His New Series About Awful People, THE FIX! at FORCES OF GEEK

Hands down, one of the funniest comics from the House of Ideas to come out in this new age of Marvel NOW! was the often overlooked but still celebrated-among-thieves Superior Foes of Spider-Man. You know what? I’m not even sure his holy Web-Head even showed up for more than a few panels in the book. That’s some next level genius marketing there.

From the twisted minds of Steve Lieber (Hawkeye, Hawkman, Whiteout) and Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, Captain America, Astonishing Ant-Man) with team mates (accomplices?) Ryan Hill (colors) and Nic J Shaw (lettering and design) comes their latest Image Comics creation: The Fix. 

This creator owned book is already turning heads for it’s colorful language and comedy the toes the line between violence and the absurdity of real life. It turns out The Fix is about awful people. Who knows if these guys turned the mirror on themselves to get inspiration?

Heck, at least they were nice enough to return my emails! Artist and co-creator Steve Lieber joins us today to previewThe Fix, conveniently just in the nick of time for you to ‘convince’ your shop to order it from Diamond. 

We must warn you moms out there, Steve and I get a little blue in the interview. Earmuffs!

FOG!: You guys have gone and done it again. The question is…why? How did The Fix come about?

Steve Lieber: A collaboration this great doesn’t come around every day. Nick writes characters that I love to draw! Our tastes in what’s funny on the comics page dovetail beautifully. So after we finished Superior Foes, we were eager to work with each other again. Nick had three ideas for our next project. One of them grew into The Fix.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With THE ONLY LIVING BOY Writer/ Co-Creator David Gallaher! at FORCES OF GEEK

Harvey-Award winning comic creators David Gallaher (High Moon, Convergence: Green Lantern Corps) and Steve Ellis (High Moon, Hulk, Breaking Bad) have dubbed their studio Bottled Lighting and judging by the success of the comics they produce this is an appropriate name! 

David joins us today to talk about The Only Living Boy: Volume One which is coming to bookstores everywhere fromPapercutz. 

The Only Living Boy started as a webcomic and was previously printed in a Kickstarter campaign before being collected in the upcoming edition.

David took the time to talk with us today to tell us the origin of this comic and more below as how Bottled Lightning came to be!

FOG!: I’ve just finished the first volume of The Only Living Boy and I can’t believe what I’ve been missing! How has the community support from Kickstarter to the webcomics helped you guys get the book to the people?

David Gallaher: First of all, thank you. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. 

Technology has enabled us to reach everybody who has an internet connection and we love the digital community that has helped bring The Only Living Boy to the forefront. 

We’ve been able to offer the series through so many different platforms — Kickstarter, Tapastic, Noisetrade, Tumblr, comiXology, Humble Bundle — and the response has been extraordinary. We’ve have over 200,000 readers across platforms and that’s been really special to us. 

Our passionate fans are the reason we are here.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With JIMMY PALMIOTTI To Hype, HYPE, His Latest Kickstarter! at FORCES OF GEEK

Jimmy Palmiotti joins FOG! to push Hype, his latest book with Justin Gray, which just surpassed it’s Kickstarter goal with just under two days left of it’s crowdfunding campaign.

For the uninitiated, Jimmy currently writes Harley Quinn for DC Comics with his wife, Amanda Conner, as well as All-Star Western (and formerly Jonah Hex) with Justin, and started the Marvel Knights Imprint with Joe Quesada; as well as many television and movie credits to his name including Painkiller Jane.

When it comes to creator-owned comics, Jimmy gives us good reason for fans to support the books they love from creators they care about, so read on to learn about Hype, a new superhero that only limited time to get his mission accomplished—much like the target goal on his new Kickstarter!

If you are in the area, be sure to catch up with Jimmy at the Long Beach Comic Expo this weekend! LBCE is one of the most creator-friendly conventions in the country that celebrates comic books and pop culture and diversity.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

Cartoonist CHRISTINE LARSEN Unleashes ORCS! on The Cosmic Treadmill! at FORCES OF GEEK

Christine Larsen has worked on some of your favorite properties over at DC, Boom!, IDW and more. Alongside that, she is a new mom and college professor. Christine is here to join us today on the Cosmic Treadmill to tell us about her self published comic, Orcs! #1, that grew out of an obsession with the monstrous creatures and demanded their story be told.

FOG!: Thanks for joining us to talk about Orcs! #1. How long have you been obsessed with orcs?

Christine Larsen: I’m not sure I would say obsessed… Well, okay, maybe obsessed is fair.

Since I read The Hobbit as a kid, and subsequently The Lord of the Rings. My notion of orcs in terms of temperament and character fall most in line with Tolkien orcs, so I guess they are equal parts goblin in their design and characterization. They are my favorite kind of monster, because they have strong roots in folklore, but also have a strong showing in contemporary fantasy.

We have seen some of your work elsewhere — can you tell us what are the challenges of putting this book out yourself? 

Do you mean instead of bringing it to a publisher I’ve worked with? I actually feel like there are more bonuses. Yes, I have to deal with finding a printer and shipping and press packages and submitting to Comixology for the digital version… but I also can set my own schedule and write whatever I want for it, so it’s really very freeing.

Are issues of Orcs! on a limited print run?

No. I found a very reliable small run printer, so when this issue runs out, I’ll probably order up more. But not right away. I’ll probably wait until the next book is out, since there will be a digital copy on Comixology.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With Will Tracy and Gabe Koplowitz About ALLEN: SON OF HELLCOCK at FORCES OF GEEK

I was at first skeptical to read yet another brightly colored Conan-sword-tale. With space lasers the fashion this week, this seemed like a step backward back in time to a place I didn’t need to revisit.

And the creators are comedians, and we all know how those people are.

This all came to a climax when Z2 Comics forced me at dagger point to read issue one of their Allen: Son of Hellcock to prepare for an interview with their famous funny people Will Tracy (HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Onion) and Gabe Koplowitz (VH1).

I finally relented. Mead in hand, I had some questions for these guys because I was only two pages in when I realized this might be the funniest book of the year.

Will and Gabe joined us to answer our questions about the new publisher and disappointing the person that brought you into this world. Allen: Son of Hellcock debuts today in stores and digital comic shops.

FOG!: Will and Gabe — thanks for joining us today, what’s going on these days with Allen: Son of Hellcock? How did this come about? Where do you guys know each other from? Do you even know each other?

Will Tracy: I just met Gabe for the first time literally 15 minutes ago, and I can already tell I’m going to hate him. I think it’s his face, voice, and personality that make him hateable. Also his clothes and his smell and his glasses. And his stupid feet and hands. 

However, on a professional level, we wrote Allen: Son of Hellcock together about, oh, seven or eight years back. And we could not be more thrilled or proud to see it finally unleashed upon the world this Wednesday, December 16th!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With Master of The Millarverse MARK MILLAR! at FORCES OF GEEK

Superstar writer and undisputed Hollywood hitmaker Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Wanted, Kingsman: Secret Service) took some time to talk with us about the continuation of his multigenerational superhero team Jupiter’s Legacy and the prequelJupiter’s Circle. 

Jupiter’s Circle Volume 2 debuts later this month on November 25th, just as fans are reeling from his his Millarworld 2016 creative team announcements. Frank Quietly rejoins Mark for Jupiter’s Legacy Volume 2 next year.

Chris Sprouse (Tom Strong) will takes over on Circle next year, and details of books with both Greg Capello and Jae Lee have yet to be announced. We’ll also see more volumes of Chrononauts and Hit-Girl. 2016 will be another great year for one of the most genuine fan and creator of super-hero comics we’ve ever spoken too.

That’s a lot to keep up with, so follow #millarworld2016 on Twitter for more info, but join as we orbit Jupiter right now!

FOG!: We’ve just finished the last issue of Book One of Jupiter’s Circle. Did you always know you were going to do the two books together, Jupiter’s Circle when you came up with Jupiter’s Legacy?

Mark Millar: Not really, actually, no. For about two months before I started writing Jupiter’s Legacy, I stood in my office and I had all of these yellow post-it notes working out all the history of all the characters in the series because I was building like the Star Wars universe or the Lord of the Rings universe. It was a working body that needed to have everything connecting properly. 

I just made a point of making sure I knew all of the back histories of everything. So I was like a crazy guy, I actually had all of these stories that no one would ever read as crazy as that sounds. I had yellow post-its in my office and even into the dining room and I worked out all the back stories for the parents and how everybody felt about each other.

Then what I did was I connected it all and my agent said to me when Frank Quitely was taking a while for Volume Two, where we were stockpiling it, “Why don’t you write that story you have up on your wall”? 

I said, “Yeah, I love that story”! And I had always wanted to do a period super-hero thing, something set in my favorite American era which is that Mad Men era, I feel its the beginning of the DC or Marvel Universe, the Silver Age. I just started putting it together.

I think its the most fun I’ve ever had writing anything, it’s been so easy, I think because I’m so passionate about it. It’s everything I wanted to say about super-heroes.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With Writer MARJORIE LIU About MONSTRESS! at FORCES OF GEEK

With signings in Boston and New York this weekend for the highly anticipated Image Comic book Monstress, Marjorie Liu took some time to tell us about her latest comics work with artist Sana Takeda. Announced at Image Expo back in January, issue #1 of the art-deco Kaiju monster fantasy book comes in at an impressive 70 pages and fans and professionals are already singing its praises.

Following in the tradition of such high profile creator owned projects at Image like Saga, Sex Criminals, Bitch Planet andInvisible Republic, Monstress is ready to take the comics world by storm. Set in an alternate history of Japan in the early 1900s, Liu and Takeda are ready to transport you there.

Marjorie joins us today to reveal her Godzilla origins for the book and how these books can encourage young people to use their unique voice in the world creatively.


FOG!: Monstress is the story of a relationship between our hero and a monster. How is Maika connected to this beast?

Marjorie Liu: Monstress is about a young woman, a former slave and the survivor of a cataclysmic war, who is fighting to put her life back together. The problem is that she thinks she’s losing her mind, that she’s becoming a monster. And she is, actually — because there’s an actual monster inside of her. A creature bonded to her soul that is slowly waking and taking over her mind and body.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Takes In The HUMAN BODY THEATER With MARIS WICKS! AT FORCES OF GEEK

New York Times best selling graphic novelist (for Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas), amazing artist and science nerd Maris Wicks chats with us about the inner workings of our inner workings in her new book, Human Body Theater.

From Abdomen to X-Ray, Maris takes us through the mysterious workings of the human body with a cute skeleton narrator and more than one smiley-faced platelet.

This is all ages science comics with a purpose! 

FOG!: Human Body Theater is absolutely brilliant. Why take us through Innerspace in comic book form?

Maris Wicks: Thank you! Well, I selfishly wanted to make this book because I just think the human body is AWESOME. I chose the form of comics because it’s the most efficient way for me to communicate information.

As far as I know, there hasn’t been a comic book dedicated to the human body (until now). Side note: I would totally take a remake of Innerspace. Just saying.

For Primates, and you were the artist on that book, this time you are the writer and artist for what needs to be a scientifically accurate book. How crazy did you go with your research?

My research for Human Body Theater unknowingly started way back in 2002 when I got certified to be an EMT. Before that, I always had a love for all things anatomical, whether it was purely for artistic inspiration, or if it was the topic of a book I was reading. When Human Body Theater got green-lit, I read every book for kids I could find about the human body (and some geared towards adults too).

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With Writer JUSTIN JORDAN About His Sleepless Creation, JOHN FLOOD! at FORCES OF GEEK

Some nights I fall asleep reading comics until the iPad glass hits me in the face.

Man, I really hate going to bed. 

Imagine what might happen if the government removed your ability to sleep? What nightmares await you when the brain can’t rest? Will it unlock a power you didn’t know you had?

The third issue of sleeper hit (pun intended) John Flood hits shelves this week from the waking mind of Justin Jordan (The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, Shadowman, Deep State). Justin took a few minutes away from his busy work and convention schedule to give us the skinny on his sleep deprived detective comic book over at BOOM!, available at your local store and digitally today.

FOG!: Thanks for taking the time today between cons and your busy schedule. Your new book John Flood from BOOM! is keeping me up at night! What’s the skinny on this night owl? Is this your first book at BOOM!? What attracted you to this publisher for John Flood?

Justin Jordan: John Flood is actually my second book at BOOM!, Deep State, with Ariela Kristantina and Ben Wilsonham, was the first. 

As to why BOOM! for John Flood?

Well, it’s a weird book.

So much so that I didn’t like the odds of us being able to successfully do it at Image. Successfully, here, meaning that everyone gets paid.

 But beyond making sure Jorge and Tamra weren’t working for nothing, this is also such a weird and complex book that I really needed editorial support to make the book I wanted to make, which I got at BOOM!.

This would have been a different and, I think, not as good book elsewhere.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With CHRIS HUNT About CARVER: A PARIS STORY From Z2 Comics

Paul Pope’s protege Chris Hunt has a new comic from Z2, Carver: A Paris Story hitting shelves November 11. 

Chris joins us today to tease the red wine and whiskey soaked black and white noir mystery comic and the short film that serves as a prequel to the story.

FOG!: Chris, thanks so much for joining us today. What brought the Carver story to life for you? 

Chris Hunt: Carver started as something of an experiment for me about 5 years ago, when I was applying for Paul Pope’s residency at The Atlantic Center For The Arts. I did a short story about this old school, mustachioed adventurer having to fight off a man-eating lion. 

It was very straightforward, and the main character didn’t have any back story. I kind of just started playing around with what his background would be, how he may have become this old school bad ass. 

I found that I really enjoyed the idea of building a world around this pseudo-Hemingway archetype and I just started playing around with different concepts. I had actually been in Paris with an ex-girlfriend when I came up with the idea for the original story and concept for the character. 

I thought it would be an interesting place to start the saga, so to speak. The backbone of the story is my personal experience when I was there, but it spiraled out into something much bigger as the story was developed.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

FOG! Chats With IAN McGINTY, Creator of WELCOME TO SHOWSIDE at FORCES OF GEEK

Ian McGinty is familiar name to Bravest Warriors, Hello Kitty and Adventure Time comics fans, drawing countless issues for the weirdo all ages bubble pop space adventures contained therein.

Z2 Comics (formerly Zip Comics) recently tapped Ian for a new creator owned title that even caught the attention of spoken word artist and punk rock singer Henry Rollins.

Today Ian talks to us about his new book for Z2, Welcome to Showside, Hank’s roll in voicing the pilot for Showside and introduces the heart attack-inducing Mallo-Butter-Waffles. 

Who said bubble-gum pop with a hint of punk edge should be relegated to the turntable?

Looks like we have a sticky cotton candy comic book in the world of Welcome to Showside hitting shelves in October.


FOG!: Ian, thanks for joining us today! We know you are probably super busy! Are you working on a ton of books at the moment or just concentrating on Welcome to Showside?

Ian McGinty: Absolutely, my pleasure. At the moment I’m working on six different licensed properties that include comics, animation, card games and video games.

Some I can’t talk about right now, but the ones I can include Steven Universe, Munchkin, FLUXX and, of course, Bravest Warriors. 

Added on to that is my own book, Welcome to Showside, so it’s been quite a month, to say the least, but wow, what a rad month.

Thankfully, I’m someone who thrives on being busy and I love juggling all the different characters/storylines.

It’s weirdly invigorating to switch from having to be strictly on-model for some projects and then getting to go crazy with my own stuff, so I’m having a blast, and I’m definitely most excited about Welcome to Showside coming out soon.

I just love drawing and creating, so it’s been extremely fun overall.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

‘NUFF SAID: THE LEGENDARY STAN LEE ON ANT-MAN, BOSTON, AND CAMEOS AT DIGBOSTON (EARTH PRIME TIME)

‘NUFF SAID: THE LEGENDARY STAN LEE ON ANT-MAN, BOSTON, AND CAMEOS

July 26, 2015 By CLAY FERNALD

92 years young, Stanley Martin Lieber never did quite get to write that Great American Novel.

He did something far more impactful to generations of people: After changing his name to Stan Lee, he created the Marvel Universe. All praise its name.

Before I could make out the letters, I could understand fantastic cars whizzing through the sky in the comic books he’s been behind since the Marvel Universe big-banged its way into my life and the lives of countless other fans.

The Generalissimo himself continues to reign supreme in Hollywood thanks to the blockbusters emerging from his canon of work, and he still teaches online courses, writes and creates brand new comic characters, maintains his role as chairman and chief creative officer of POW! Entertainment, Inc, and of course remains chairman emeritus of Marvel Comics. On top of that, he is a certified movie star (just don’t call them cameos anymore).

Since the man behind Spider-Man and Thor and all the rest is coming to Boston Comic Con 2015, I had roughly 10 minutes to keep a tidal wave of geek freak out in check and chat with him over the phone.

So, how are you doing?

I guess that depends on how you treat me! I’m feeling fine and looking forward to coming to Boston and meeting my friend Ken. [Ed note: Ken Bold is Guinness World Records title holder of the world’s oldest comic artist, born Aug 1, 1920, and is celebrating a birthday at Comic Con].

What, if any, are some of your memories of Boston?

When were we in Boston last? Two years ago. I have great memories of it; we went to a convention and had a wonderful time. People were terrific.

How did you feel Ant-Man went? Was it great to see it come alive on the screen?

Ant-Man was terrific: The critics loved it, the fans loved it.

THIS IS AN EXCERPT!
Read the rest at the Dig Site, please.

Share with this link:

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NOTE: Thanks for all of your support & kind words!

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FOG! Chats With MIDNIGHTER Writer STEVE ORLANDO #DCYOU - AT FORCES OF GEEK

Today launches the New #DCYou continuity and one of the books debuting is Midnighter.

Midnighter was created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch in 1998 as part of Stormwatch. He’s been featured in The Authority as well as a short lived mini Grifter & Midnighter and his own series before being a part of the DC’s New 52Stormwatch and Grayson books.

Steve Orlando (Undertow, Image Comics) reintroduces Lucas Trent and his alter-ego in the latest from DC Comics and is here to tell us about what it means to have an openly gay male superhero hit the shelves!

FOG!: Fans of The Authority and Stormwatch might know Midnighter, and of course we’ve seen him in Graysonrecently fighting Spyral. But really, Who is this guy?

Steve Orlando: He’s a fighter! Midnighter has been engineered to be the greatest, and he’s a weapon, a sword. That’s part of his core. But he’s found a way to make it into a positive, and he fights for those that don’t have anyone to listen to them, or fight for them. 

Midnighter is a community character, on the street, connecting with the people he helps and making himself available to even more people. When he saves you, you can become part of his Network, bringing situations to his attention, and helping him bring the Midnighter experience to even more people.

He’s the clenched fist that’s on your side when maybe no one else will hear you. Midnighter’s past was stolen, and in its place he was programmed to be a fighting machine.  And he doesn’t want anyone else to go what he went through. He’s fighting to make sure no one else has to become another Midnighter.

Midnighter is the guy that is puts the fear into the fear mongers.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

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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.

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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. 

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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!

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