Moon Lake Graphic Novel No Placid Swim
September 3rd, 2010 by Gregg Senko
It’s safe to say that this is one of the most successful periods for comic books. Not only are there multiple storylines of the same character all taking place at once, but they’re selling out all at once, calling on the writing and artist talent out there to deliver more. Such success has allowed smaller press companies to get their foot in the door and get their high quality titles out to vendors. One such example is the horror-filled Moon Lake from Archaia Black Label. Continue reading ‘Moon Lake Graphic Novel No Placid Swim’
Here’s something I totally forgot to pick up while out at Comic-Con this year. Now I may have another chance! HBO and IDW Publishing have announced a second printing for the True Blood comic book series. Obviously, the first printing sold out instantly. The second printing will be available in stores everywhere on August 25th. I’m going to have to mark that on my calendar. Check out the full press release below for all you need to know. 
Radical Publishing may be a small player in the comic book market, but they produce some of the highest quality works out there. With titles like the supernatural thriller Hotwire and the newly released Driver for the Dead, Radical is making their play to become a bigger force in the industry and it’s safe to say they’re gaining some serious momentum. 
It’s come that time to wrap up the last of my 2010 Comic-Con articles. It proved to be yet another grand weekend of stars, starlets, ink, film and fun in San Diego this year. On Wednesday’s preview night, I took a moment to focus more on the ink than anything else, spending some time at the Image Comics booth. ‘Booth’, however, is an understatement, as the Image area covers some significant square footage and is dotted with a variety of company talent. 
Yep…you read it correctly. Machete the film will have its own comic book. September 2010 will go down in history as the month of the Machete. The film hits theaters September 3rd. The Machete comic book will be released two weeks later on September 15th. This special #0 comic will serve as the Machete prologue to the film. It’s also expected that Machete will have a short series run of five issues 1-5 at some point in December. 
Another Comic-Con is in the history books as Sunday saw the big event wind down and come to a close. Before the staff of Why So Blu packed their bags and were on their way, there was still time to gather last minute pieces of information. For all you Spider-Man readers out there, I have some interesting news that will fill the pages of Marvel’s most heralded title come this fall. 
One of the greatest things about attending Comic-Con is the sneak peak attendees have access to; from everything like movies to publications, the grand event houses several of these opportunities. During a recent discussion panel with Image’s Robert Kirkman, the creative force introduced the new comic book label, Skybound, which falls under the realm of Image Comics. One of the first titles under this fresh new imprint is a very unique story titled Witch Doctor. 
Of all the storylines that have taken place in the comic book industry recently, Blackest Night is arguably the most profound. Nekron and the Black Hand had almost successfully wiped out the DC universe in the eight-part series that kept buyers of the title on the edge of their seats. As I write that, I can hear a reader saying, “You didn’t really think DC would let that happen, did you?” Well, from a business standpoint, no, but it sure as heck looked like the last candle in the world was about to be snuffed out. 
The Marvel universe has seen some tumultuous times in recent years, which have spurned book sales to atmospheric levels. Our heroes have been revealed, kidnapped, and nearly killed. The Siege was ground-breaking, literally, and has come to a monumental conclusion. With Norman Osborne falling from his plateau of power and the (Dark) Avengers rounded up, a team of old is about to begin anew. 
I thought this was a pretty cool article/press release I received from my friends over at Spike TV and I thought it would fit in nicely here on the site and maybe…just maybe…it would even provoke a little bit of conversation/debate on the subject. Who needs another Hollywood super hero sequel when there are so many superheroes out there who deserve a chance on the big screen? Check out Geoff Shakespeare’s entertaining article below. I hope you have fun with it. I did! 
I found out about this HBO and IDW Publishing title about a month ago and I could not be more excited about it. Yep, that’s right folks…the True Blood comic book series! I don’t think I even need any fancy schmancy introduction to tell you how excited fans of the show must be over this news. The six-issue series kicks off in July. It debuts at the San Diego Comic-Con. Yeah! Check out the first issue cover art and small press release below. 
Rob Zombie… oh were do thou find the time? We reported on this not so long ago, but since we are nearing the release date I wanted to drop a little plug for Zombie’s upcoming comic book debut of Baron Von Shock hitting retail shelves everywhere on May 26th. This may be the first comic book I’m ever excited for in a very long time. Can you tell I’m not a regular comic reader? Is it really that obvious? LOL. The Zombster has taken to the blog boards recent providing his fans with some preview pages of the upcoming comic. 
What if, one day, someone like Superman did a one-eighty, totally dissatisfied with society and those whom he thought were friends? What if he became so disillusioned with humanity and their bouts of ungratefulness that he abandoned his cause for the better of man? Boom! Studios did exactly that with their release of Irredeemable; a story about a super-human being known as the Plutonian whose initial intentions lie in the heroic, but fall to the demented. 
The time is ticking down as we approach yet another national Free Comic Book Day. What is it, you might ask? Exactly what the name states. Well, let’s clarify that. You don’t get to walk off with just anything off the shelf. Publishers from the big players such as Marvel and DC all the way through the smaller press release a barrage of titles specifically meant for the first Saturday in May. 
Oni. Rakshasa. Yautjas. The highly intelligent alien race that has been visiting our planet for eons is known best as the Predator. Ever since their film debut alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987, the space-travelling bipeds have achieved success in film, novels and comic books. I’ve made no secret that Dark Horse’s Predator storylines are what drew me into comic book collecting back in the early 1990’s. It was Predator: Race War that became my first exposure into the print foray of the dreaded hunters. 
Back in the early 90’s, several comic book companies were trying to secure their foothold in the industry. Comics were selling, but not necessarily at the volume they are today. The aggressive onslaught of comic book movies has only helped this surge in book sales, but twenty years ago, Marvel, Dark Horse, and DC didn’t have this luxury. Okay, so there were your Superman movies and the Tim Burton Batman movies (followed by the atrocious Joel Schumacher versions) but these tended to stray from what made the characters successful on paper. 
Whenever I get a chance to write about Rob Zombie I jump right on the first opportunity to do so. The man has done so much over the past 20+ years and his legacy continues. Word cannot even describe how much his career, music, films and other passions mean to me. He provides me the much needed motivation to live strong every day. But wait…his legacy just doesn’t end with music and movies…he’s also been heavily involved in the world of comics and he’s making his return known this May with the title Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock? 
Newcomers and avid readers of the Robert Kirkman/Todd McFarlane-created series Haunt can breathe a little easier…a collection is on its way. Image Comics will be releasing Haunt Volume 1 later this month. The book will come only in paperback form and will encompass the first five issues of the supernatural series. The recently released issue 5 concluded the title’s first story arc, so it only makes sense for Image to start assembling collective releases now. 
Marvel has woven quite the tale this time. Siege is the latest all-encompassing mini-series that Marvel has unleashed upon the public. It is spawned from the Dark Reign storyline which enveloped just about every title under the Marvel sun. This was in turn birthed from the Secret Invasion series and we can even go further back to Avengers Disassembled when one of the most popular hero teams in all of Marvel was brought down in a hurry. 
Sometimes a good book comes along that laid low on the publicity front. For whatever reason, usually money, these publications don’t receive a great deal of advertising flare and as a result, take on stealth-like characteristics on store shelves. These tend to rely solely on word of mouth, and if the word is mum, there is the unfortunate occurrence that a good story can fall into obscurity. Just before Christmas, I passed on one such hardcover called Giant Monster. 
