Review: I Was the Cat

Writer: Paul Tobin
Art/colors: Benjamin Dewey
Review: Will Dubbeld

I'm a cat person.
My family is cat people.
Nothing really against dogs, I just prefer cats. They're like a semi-ambulatory appliance or a piece of furniture.
A hassock, probably . . .

Anyway, cat people have a tendency to habitually anthropomorphize their pets, accrediting them with spades more intelligence than should be allotted.
Myself, not so much. My cats are generally as smart as a sack full of doorknobs.
Paul Tobin's fictional talking cat, Burma, on the other hand, is taking over the world with his intelligence.

I Was the Cat spins the story of Burma, the titular cat, and his nine lives. Lives he's spent attempting to conquer the globe. From ancient Egypt to the trenches of WW1 and into the modern era, Burma has been pulling strings and manipulating players like Napoleon Bonaparte and Mary, Queen of Scots in his bid for domination. Chronicling his exploits for a memoir is Allison Breaking, a gutsy reporter in the tradition of gutsy women journalists. Allison is accompanied by her plucky friend Reggie, who treads water dangerously close to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, but nevertheless serve as an engaging foil to Allison as the pair record Burma's exploits whilst slowly uncovering his plans for ruling the world.

Paul Tobin and artist Benjamin Dewey spin an engaging and incredibly entertaining tale in the pages of I Was the Cat. Certainly not pretentious or full of itself, and somewhat tongue-in-cheek at points, the books 186 pages (plus a couple of extras) are a quick, enjoyable read made all the better by Dewey's art which is detail minded but careful not to overcrowd the panels. The cover is especially engaging and well done, and it certainly is what drew my attention at the time of solicit. The inks and colors are a hair thick and muddy (respectively) at times, but certainly not enough to detract enjoyment from the almost watercolor look of the book. The color palette in daylight scenes is especially pleasing and contrast well with Burma's flashbacks which are primarily monotone in color.

I Was the Cat is a smaller (6"x9", roughly), beautifully bound hardcover available from Oni Press. The price point may give some readers pause at $24.99, USD, but it's well worth the price of admission.
Trim a few books from the Big 2 you'd otherwise buy this month and pick up I Was the Cat instead.

Let's be honest. You don't really care about "Futures End" or the "Death of Wolverine" anyway . . .

REVIEW: Copperhead #1

Writer: Jay Faerber
Artist: Scott Godlewski
Colors: Ron Riley
Letterer: Thomas Mauer
Review: Cody "Madman" Miller

There it is! That 'holy shit' moment where you lose control of your bladder and most of your motor functions . . . where you’re like, "F me, I’m sitting here feeling like I bathed in Novocain and a tiny bit of my own urine but you know what? It’s perfectly fine because that was a Gottdamn great comic".

Reading Copperhead is like touching boobs for the first time . . . Mind-blowing. Bags of sand.

Seriously though I’m not even kidding. Not even a little bit. Zero, kids.
I’d go as far as to say right now, one review into the HCB’s new calendar year, that Copperhead is the comic of the year. I know its only the first issue but that doesn’t matter to me because it’s that good.
I’ve been a Jay Faerber fan ever since I read his Near Death, another great book. To be totally honest I kind of forgot about the chap until I picked up Copperhead. It won’t happen again.

So let’s talk turkey. We’re thrown into the dirty alien streets of Copperhead, a corrupt mining town on some far-off planet. We’ve got various alien characters running by, from bright pink hammerhead shark-looking dudes to multi-limbed bright green Jabba the Hutt- lookin hillbilly white trash. It’s like Chalmun's Cantina on Mos Eisley minus all the Jawas kinda vibe.
Copperhead is in need of a new Sheriff ( with two f’s ) and Clara Bronson is just the badass chick for the job. Not to say we get a lot of info in regards to Clara except she has a son named Zeke and, like I said before, she’s a badass.
I can see fans of Firefly getting into this one. It’s the wild west in space . . . with aliens and stuff.

Jay Faerber isn’t the only one holding all aces here either. Godlewski and Riley have the purdy scribbles covered. I couldn’t find fault here if I tried. Ron Riley has worked with Jay Faerber on other works, including Near Death. Riley does a real damn good job of adding the western desert feel to Scott’s artwork with his fantastic colors and texturing.
This is going to be the longest month of my life, waiting for the second issue.
Comic of the year.

Zero, kids. Remember when you didn’t buy the first issue of TWD?

Don’t be an idiot twice.

The 2014 Hammy Awards

Ladies and Gentlemen, girls and boys, neckbeards and gamergirls, tentacled other-beings and pin-up models, gather 'round!
Herein lies the 2nd Annual Hammy Awards, brought to you for the low, low price of free (donations accepted) by myself and the rest of the staff at the Hammond Comics Blog.
Without further ado, if you dare, step right up and see the freaks of nature that the Good Lord has seen fit to grace us with the 2014 Hammy Awards!

Art Bee's picks:

The last year has been a mostly decent year in comics. DC had their major villains push while all of our DC heroes took a short vacation, but at least we got Joker’s Daughter out of the deal. The issue that introduced her with the 3D cover was a great comic book (I even considered it for Comic of the Year).
Marvel has been doing some very interesting things since the reboot, such as breaking time, killing the Watcher, bringing us the offspring of Wolverine and Mystique, and the return of an old favorite, Peter Parker.
Image has done a great job at giving many creators the chance to be published, and this year we have seen the main stream birth of several good series. Of course we have also seen some crap come out with them. Now let’s look at some of the best and worst comics of the year with the Second Annual Hammy Awards.

Comic of the Year:
Assailant Comics recently published one of the greatest comic books I have ever read. Open Tree, Legends and Tall Tales #1 contains the touching and captivating story "Freedom Run". The writer, Chris Charlton, crafted this story in one issue without making the reader feel like the story is rushed or missing something. In addition to the writing, the artwork is superb. The artist, Brian Latimer, and the colorist, Vasco Sobral, really round this comic book off with their talent.

Best Cover Art:
Earlier this year I caught the variant cover of one of my favorite series, Uncanny from Dynamite. Uncanny #6 Panosian Variant by Dan Panosian features the main character on the cover with his back to us and on one shoulder is an evil, winged demon woman with an angelic lady on the other. Granted this cover is not elaborate, but it looks good and is very effective.

Best New Comic:
Image has done a radical job in the last year with presenting us with a great array of new comic series. My vote for "Best New Comic" is split. I have had such a hard time trying to decide between two fantastic products. The first is a comic that has brought us a group of four great and hilarious women in Rat Queens. The second series is an awesome spin on history that follows the voyage of Lewis and Clark in Manifest Destiny. Both of these comics are wonderful stories with exceptional artwork.

Most Overrated:
When I started seeing advertisements for Pretty Deadly from Image, I got really excited. The first issue came out. I bought it. I started reading it. It blew so much I could not even finish it. The story sucked so bad I could not make heads or tails as to what the story was supposed to be about. I tried to give it away and no one would take it. That says a lot.

Most Underrated:
Towards the end of the year last year, Dynamite turned out a good series called Uncanny. This series turned out six issues and stopped. I have not been able to find any information whether this series will be continued. The main character has the ability to gain all of the skills and knowledge from any one person he touches. He only retains this information for a short time, but the potential for so many different concepts and scenarios.

Most Disappointing Comic:
Frank Miller’s original screenplay for Robocop was used for the miniseries, Robocop: Last Stand. For those of us Robocop fans, this was a crap stain on paper. It is hard for me to believe that Frank Miller’s original screenplay was that shitty. I really gave it a shot, but I could not get past the third issue. This series had me very depressed.

Most likely to be sent down under in the event of a toilet paper shortage:
The worst comic book I have seen this year was Image’s Umbral. The first issue of this comic was gross. Sorry to sound so juvenile about it, but it fits. Antony Johnston, the writer, needs several lessons on writing including what a plot is and how to introduce a story. The artwork done by Christopher Mitten was horrible. It was unclear exactly what he was trying to portray in his work.

Best Miniseries:
Deadpool vs. Carnage was by far the best miniseries of the last year. This story was exciting! The action was smooth and constant. I really enjoyed Deadpool’s wise-ass comments aggravating Carnage, while Carnage was trying so hard to kill . . . rip Deadpool apart. The whole miniseries was very entertaining and the artwork was phenomenal. If you don’t have this in your collection, get the trade. You will not be sorry.

Worst Miniseries:
Hit List from Zenescope was by far the worst miniseries I encountered over the last year. This series had its high points on artwork, but most of the art wasn’t the greatest. The story was really hard to follow due to the lack of a plot.

Writer of the Year:
I had a really hard time with this category. Considering the different series and amount of comics I get and enjoy. The choice started to come through clearly. Assailant Comics’ Chris Charlton is my choice for Writer of the Year for his hard and great work in Binary Gray, Black of Heart, and “Freedom Run” (Open Tree, Legends and Tall Tales #1). His writing style is solid and flows very well through his stories.

Artist of the Year:
Manifest Destiny’s Matthew Roberts is my choice for artist of the year. The artwork within the pages of Manifest Destiny is just the best I see each month.


Cody 'Madman' Miller's picks:

Comic of the Year​:
This probably won’t come as shock to anyone who follows the HCB, but I’m giving the big one to Dan Slott and his Superior Spider-Man. This happens to be the exact book I gave the top spot to last year. I loved it last year and it only got better building to the grand finale. I’ve been a Spidey fan for ages and this run in my opinion is as good as it has ever been.

Best cover art:
I’m giving this one to DC and their Forever Evil villainous 3D covers. You might call it cheese but I call them badass across the board. My favorites were Sandman, the Riddler, and the Joker.

Best new comic:
Manifest Destiny hands down no question. Take relevant history and drown it in fantasy . . . sold. Well done, Mr. Dingess, well done. Aces up every sleeve.

Most Overrated:
I kept coming up empty trying to figure this one out. I’m going to side with Art Bee on this one and give it to Pretty Deadly. Everything I had seen prior to this books release had me super pumped for the first issue, unfortunately I didn’t get it taken off my pull list in time and became the not so lucky owner of the 2nd issue as well.

Most underrated:
How come no one I know but me reads Dynamite’s Pathfinder books? It’s the best of both worlds for a gamer/comic geek like myself. They put out a few different mini series over the past year and I think I read them all. I truly enjoyed each and every one of them, Goblins being my stand out favorite. But wait there’s more! Each and every issue has a pot of gold on the last couple pages, I’m talking maps, npcs, monsters, adventure hooks and anything else you could possibly need to bring a little what-have-you to your adventures.

Most Disappointing Comic:
I was hoping this was the year for me to get my Superman on. I’ve never been into the Man of Steel personally. I just cant get over the fact that unless you have kryptonite on your Batbelt there is zero chance of you messing up that jerrycurl. I made it to issue #3 but I could’ve stopped after the first issue. I don’t know why I didn’t , I’m just an idiot like that. Superman Unchained = Major disappointment and only reinforced my distaste for DC’s poster boy.

Most likely to make you throw up in your mouth:
Superman Unchained. See above. Absolutely horrible. Epic Fail. Even Superman fans know it’s crap.

Best Miniseries:
Helheim for the win. This was one of those random impulse buys that actually paid off for me for once. Cullen Bunn was probably taking a big dump one day and a thought occurred to him…"I know, I’ll turn Frankenstein’s monster into a raging undead axe wielding death machine…" Yeah, I know that sounds badass and it was. The art was amazing and my top scribbles of the year.

Worst Miniseries:
Robocop: Last Stand. I think I actually got pissed off after reading the first two issues. For shame!

Writer of the Year:
Dan Slott, take your freaking trophy.

Artist of the Year:
I’m going with the dynamic duo of Joelle Jones’s pencils and Nick Filardi’s colors. Helheim, I’m telling you.


William R. Davis Jr.'s picks:

Comic of the Year:
Saga. Comic of the decade? Century? Saga is a must read treasure that everyone should have on their pull list.

Best Cover Art:
Francisco Francavilla-Silver Surfer #1. As a lifelong Surfer fan I couldn’t be more disappointed by the series. I don’t think I’ve ever received more backlash than I did for that review. However, the variant cover for the first issue was absolutely perfect. It captures the essence of the Silver Surfer with simplicity and grace.

Best New Comic:
Rat Queens. Hilarious. Great Art. Amazing characters. Rat Queens never fails to entertain.

Most Overrated:
I hate to beat a dead horse, but The Walking Dead wins this one for a second year in a row. It used to be so good, full of characters I cared about. When they died, it mattered. When the tiger died, I cheered. Then I read cherry picked letters from outraged fans pissed about the tiger dying. That is when I realized that the world is full of idiots.

Most Underrated:
Manhattan Projects- This comic never fails to impress, and while it’s not overly underrated, it should get way more love.

Most Disappointing Comic:
The Wake - You had me and then you lost me. Although most other fanboys I talk with loved this one, it fell way short and I lost interest around issue four. Sean Murphy doesn’t need a writer, especially Scott Snyder.

Most Likely to sent down under in the event of a toilet paper shortage:
Marvel and DC- The tandem of endless gimmicks and the cancellation of quality titles finally broke me this year. I no longer read any monthlies from the Big Two.

Best Miniseries:
Shaolin Cowboy - One of the most creative miniseries I have ever read, great use of the medium, both spellbinding and highly recommended.

Worst Miniseries:
Superior Venom - I’m fudging this category a bit, because I had to sound off about this arc in Superior Spider-Man. Never been a Spiderfan but I loved Superior. Superior Venom was some of the hands down stupidest stuff I have ever read and cemented my leaving the pages of the Big Two forever.

Writer of the Year:
BKV. While the art in this book is incredible, the true strength of Saga is the neverending litany of well developed characters and the Saga universe itself.

Artist of the Year:
Fiona Staples- I’m obsessed with the art in Saga, as is everyone else who knows their way around a comic shop. The difference is that the hype is real. Saga may very well end up becoming the greatest comic ever created.




Will Dubbeld's picks:

Best Cover Art:
Manifest Destiny. Man, oh man, Matthew Roberts and Co. have been absolutely killing it with these covers. Hyper detailed, beautiful inks and colors, kudos all around

Best New Comic:
Magneto. Cullen Bunn and Co. are bringing back my favorite Magneto. You know, the one that sinks Russian subs, the one that EMPs the planet, the brutal, ruthless Master of Magnetism that takes no guff from you Flatscans. Thank you, Mr. Bunn, for giving back my favorite X-baddie back his stones.


Most Overrated:
Batman (Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo). I know these two are DCs Golden Children right now, but I could not disagree more with the choice. All of Snyder's arcs start out interestingly enough, but they fall the fuck apart in the third act. I was even enjoying The Wake, until about issue 7, when Snyder Loeb-dicked the last act. He even tried to out-Frank Miller Frank Miller with his Year Zero arc, and nope. I've already read about Batman starting out in Gotham, and it was spades better than Year Zero.
As far as Mr. Capullo goes, he is a fine artist as far as his previous work on Spawn and The Haunt go. He's hyper-attentive to detail, and not a square centimeter of page is left un-crammed with pencils. It's fine work, but sometimes less is more.
Also, I don't like the way he draws noses.
And he talks about working out and Black Label Society waaaayyy too much on the Internets, but that's really not relevant...

Most Underrated:
East of West. I fully admit that I've no idea what's going on in this book a good 40% of the time. It started out going one direction, changed horses in the middle of the stream, went another direction and then blindsided me with an entirely new crop of characters and subplots.
Perhaps my tiny simian brain cannot comprehend Jonathan Hickman's wheels-within-wheels writing, but I'm more likely to believe that everything will fall into place after 20 some-odd issues of setup, plot threads, and pitfalls, as Jonathan Hickman's are wont to do. Nick Dragotta's art is great, simple line art that makes use of space in the best way and is supported fully by Frank Martin's vibrant colors. Top notch, fellas.

Most Disappointing Comic:
Guardians of the Galaxy (Brian Michael Bendis).
Bendis, Bendis, Bendis...
Well hey, anything's gotta be better than Age of Ultron, right? A meteoric rise to fame this year for the GotG nets them a mediocre comic book. Uninspired, and seemingly a vehicle to shoehorn Angela into the Marvel U and Venom into space. If you're into the Guardians, read the Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon solo books. They are far superior. Granted, Bendis had big shoes to fill after Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's AMAZING run at the Cosmic Marvel, but still, I shouldn't have the urge to crumple my comic and yell, "BE BETTER!!!" at the cover in impotent nerd-rage.

Most likely to sent down under in the event of a toilet paper shortage:
Kick Ass 3. Well, thank Christ this mess is finally done and over with...

Best Miniseries:
Rover Red Charlie.
Garth Ennis writing a comic about three best friend dogs at the end of the world.
What could go wrong?
Certainly Garth Ennis couldn't tear your heart out and jump up and down on it with that set up...
This miniseries is amazing. Reading it you'll think, "yep, that's what a dog would do" and "yep, if dogs spoke, they'd say that".
And I'm a cat person.
Buy it. Read it. Be afraid that Garth Ennis is writing about 3 cute dogs and has no leash, so to speak.

Worst Miniseries:
Battle Scars. Boy, did this piss me off. I really liked this series with the spy vs. supercriminal vibe, but then the end of the series revealed it was just a backdoor way to introduce Agent Coulson and Sam Jackson's Nick Fury into the Marvel U. Fuck you and your bait and switch, Marvel.

Writer of the Year:
Jason Aaron. Between Thor, Southern Bastards, and whatever else he's managed to squeak out, Aaron takes home the gold.
Runners up: Dan Slott and Ed Brubaker. Read Superior Spider-Man. Then read Fatale and Velvet. I'd even recommend Dan Slott's Dr. Who fan-fic, Silver Surfer.

Artist of the Year:
Roc Upchurch (Rat Queens). This was a toughie, but I've gotta give it to Rat Queens. Upchurch has a masterly understanding of expressions, background, linear action, and the female protagonists aren't put together like spandex superheroines. Top notch.


Well, there ya have it, folks. The 2014 Hammy Awards. They run from SDCC to SDCC (roughly) and will return next year.
No refunds, kids.
You get what you pay for.

Interview: Jeffrey Morris from FutureDude Entertainment

Interviewer: Art Bee

About a month ago, I was presented with a preview copy of the new Sci-Fi comic book Brainstorm from FutureDude Entertainment. I was thoroughly impressed with the story setup and began finding out more about the company. This led me to contact the FutureDude, Jeffrey Morris, to present him with Another Seven Questions.

1) Hammond Comics Blog: FutureDude Entertainment is a fairly new company. Please tell us the story of how FutureDude came into existence and its vision for the future.

Jeffery Morris: I am really interested in three major areas: science (exploration), entertainment, and education. I founded FutureDude in 2010 as a way of unifying those unique disciplines. I grew up with an avid interest in space exploration, oceanography, and meteorology. My company reflects these interests by wrapping them in nearly two-dozen intellectual properties. These IPs are all sci-fi and cover a range of topics that have influenced and inspired me—from parallel universes to weather manipulation. We are building upon these ideas to create comic books, mobile device games, feature films, and television projects. I also hope to expand into related merchandise like toys! I miss the days of cool futuristic toys!

2) HCB: Mr. Morris, who are you? In other words, what makes you the FutureDude . . . of FutureDude?

JM: I’m an artist and entrepreneur. But most importantly, I am a dreamer. I have always looked forward instead of backward. I grew up believing in the promise of stories like Star Trek and Space: 1999. I imagined a futuristic world populated by smart people doing amazing things. Pushing the envelope and expanding horizons. The gender and racial diversity reflected in 60s and 70s science fiction gave me hope as a child for a better tomorrow than the one I faced as a sometimes-bullied kid growing up in the suburbs of Phoenix. I have worked hard to create connections between scientists, educators and the public through my work with NASA/JPL and individuals like astronaut Buzz Aldrin. I have worked with kids to create curricula about the future while sharing visions of science and tomorrow. I try to infuse everything I do with sleek, believable design and forward-minded art direction.

3) HCB: What would you say separates FutureDude’s science fiction apart from the rest of the sci-fi genre?

JM: Big ideas mixed with real human stories. Spectacular production design and art direction—all created to serve a specified brand experience. We also try to focus on realism and plausibility. Starting from a basis in fact makes for some interesting storytelling. Very few stories in popular science fiction focus on a reality based approach. Aside from 2001 and a handful of other stories, movies are more about fantasy with a number of made up elements. We do occasionally stretch concepts. For example, in Brainstorm, we pushed the existing Fujita and Saffir-Simpson scales up by an additional number. This was done on purpose. We are completely aware the current limitations, however, we wanted to say that storms get so severe in the future that the scales have to be expanded. Science evolves. So should our perception of it — as long as there is a reasonable explanation for why and how it all changes. In many of our stories, we try to stay are real as possible, while perhaps breaking a few rules to maintain the fun factor

4) HCB: On futuredude.com, it states that it is “changing the face of science fiction in 2014”. It looks like this campaign will be starting in August with the release of Brainstorm. Please tell our readers in your own words why they should order this mini-series.

JM: Brainstorm is at its core, a human drama. It is interspersed with cool technology and a rip-roaring disaster film-style adventure. If you like your science fiction tinged with humanity, I think you will definitely enjoy it. It has fun twists and turns and a ton of surprises. The story also features a gay protagonist, something that is not typical in today’s marketplace and something that readers searching for diversity are clamoring for.

5) HCB: I am a huge fan of multidimensional thinking, so the premise of Parallel Man (Oct. 2014) is very exciting. In the series Agent Nick Morgan fights against the evil Ascendancy across the multiverse. How is the multiverse handled and traveled in the series?

JM: There are multiple concepts regarding how and why a multiverse might exist. I decided to look at quantum state as our basis. The Ascendency has developed “skipping” a technique that basically changes the “tune” of objects light changing a radio dial. The effect is visually spectacular and it extends beyond moving objects to actual weaponry in the story. We have everything from “skip bombs to skip pistols” — all of which alter quantum state and send objects between universes.
In the Parallel Man story, we have a hierarchy of universes that are conquered and explored. Alpha worlds are controlled by The Ascendancy. They have used their technology to control twelve worlds. Ours is next. Beta Worlds are ripe for exploitation with potential slave labor and resources. Gamma worlds are deadly and unfit for annexation by the Ascendancy. We visit all three in the story.

6) HCB: Next year FutureDude has planned on publishing a series called Oceanus. The series features survival at the bottom of the ocean after an asteroid collides with Earth ending life on land. Is there anything else you can tell us about the series?

JM: As of right now, we are focusing on producing a film project as opposed to a comic book series. I am directing it and it will be shot in Hollywood this Fall by an amazing team. I have assembled veterans who worked on films like The Abyss and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. My goal is to revitalize the underwater sci-fi genre. I will have more info on that project soon, including cast announcements.

7) HCB: If you were able to instantaneously receive one piece of futuristic technology, what would you get and why?

JM: My immediate inclination would be to have a transporter or replicator, but I would have to go with a Spinner—the flying car from Blade Runner. It would look extremely cool while allowing me to experience the dream of flight in a very fun and practical way on a day-to-day basis!

All of us at The Hammond Comics Blog would like to thank Jeffrey Morris for his time and awesome answers to our Seven Questions. It looks like Science Fiction fans will have a lot to expect from FutureDude. Be sure to check out Brainstorm and keep your eyes out for Parallel Man as well.

PREVIEW: Binary Gray #8

Publisher: Assailant Comics
Writer: Chris Charlton
Artist: Rowel Roque
Colors: Anthonie Wilson
Cover: David Hollenbach
Review: Art Bee

During my review of Binary Gray #7, I described it as the eye of a hurricane. The calmness after the fallout of Issue #6 made it a good analogy. What I was not aware of was exactly how good of an analogy it was. Now that the calm eye of the storm has passed, we are hit with winds from the opposite direction. If you are reading this series (and you should be if you are interested in comics at all), Issue #8 is going to hit you like you are standing in someones back swing. Once you come to, you will be saying, “Wow!” rather than “Ow!”

The past several issues have been more about The Virtue and the Agency. They have been at each others throats trying to either protect or capture Alex Gray and his unusual powers. Issue #8 is primarily focused on Alex and his current situation. The cover of this issue should give you a pretty good clue as to what is about to happen.
The issue is entitled “Karma Police” and starts off with a huge piece of Alex Gray’s background. This first portion is centered on his father back in 1972. Even though this is a huge piece of the puzzle that is Alex Gray’s past, it raises more questions than it answers. Chris Charlton is doing a superb presentation of the story line and backstory. The last few issues have been ending in cliffhangers. When you reach the end of “Karma Police”, you will need to remind yourself to close your mouth. The ending will leave you in disbelief.

Now that I have mentioned the cover, David Hollenbach deserves some cheers for his unbelievable work on this cover. As I have mentioned before, David H.’s style and technique is very unique and gorgeous, and this cover featuring Alex Gray’s face is no exception. On September 19th the Cincinnati Comic Expo begins, and Chris Charlton has informed me that Hollenbach is supposed to be in attendance. It will be a great honor to finally meet this gentleman and talk to him, so be looking for a possible interview in the near future.

Rowel Roque and Anthonie Wilson have gotten back on the same page in this issue. In Issue #7 the coloring was off and looked very bland. Fortunately this is not the case in Issue #8. The coloring looks great. Shading and line look really clean and well done. My favorite panel in the issue is on page 8, the long panel on the right, where Alex Gray extends his finger and thumb causing an electric blue image to form at the end of the finger. The blue in this panel really sets of the image and the rest of the work on the page. The electric image looks to be really glowing blue.

Again I would love to provide spoilers and talk on and on about what occurs in the issue, but then why would you pick it to read it? That would not be very fair to Chris Charlton and Assailant Comics. Binary Gray #8 will be available in about two weeks. Preorder yours today at AssailantComics.com. While you are there you can download the first two issues of Binary Gray for free straight from the company. This series is getting really juicy. I am just waiting for a “Luke, I am your father” moment to spring forward in any issue in the near future.

REVIEW: Alien Legion, Uncivil War #1

Alien Legion: Uncivil War #1

Story: Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Larry Stroman
Inks: Carl Potts
Review: Will Dubbeld

Fans of obscure 1980s military science fiction comics rejoice! Alien Legion has returned!

First appearing as part of Marvel Comics Epic line, Alien Legion was described as the French Foreign Legion in space and told the tale of Force Nomad, composed of, “Footsloggers and soldiers of fortune, priests, poets, killers and cads—they fight for a future Galarchy, for cash, for a cause, for the thrill of adventure. Culled from the forgotten and unwanted of three galaxies, they are trained to be the most elite, and expendable, of fighting forces. Sometimes peacekeepers, sometimes shock troops, the Legion is sent into the Galarchy’s most desperate internal and external conflicts. Legionnaires live rough and they die hard, tough as tungsten and loyal to the dirty end.”

If that doesn't get yer blood pumpin' for some sci-fi action, go read Distinguished Competition's far inferior Legion comic . . .

Alien Legion was a staple of my youth, as back issues were plentiful in the quarter bin of my old comic shop. The art was phenomenal, the scripts were visceral and packed a punch, and any character (with a few exceptions) could die at any time. An almost revolving door of cast members attested to their mortality and as a youth I was glued to this book.
Riveted, even.

Hearing the news that Titan Comics was dragging the Legion through the mud again after years of inactivity brought a smile to my face.
Ear to ear, ladies and gentleman.
The fact that series originals and favorites Chuck Dixon, Larry Stroman and Carl Potts were back on board iced that cake. I promptly preordered and eagerly awaited.

Issue 1 arrived.
Page 1 was a full page spread of gunfire.
This was like slipping into your favorite comfy shoes after losing them in the closet for a decade.
Uncivil War's premise revolves around the Legion's age old enemies, the Harkilons, who are currently embroiled in a civil war. Harkilons are a race of reptilian...insect...
I dunno. They're bad guy aliens and the elite leaders can change shape. In any case, these evil aliens are having a civil war because without that deus ex machina we wouldn't have a comic book. Refugees from this civil war are fleeing Harkilon space and the Legion must serve as a border patrol for all intents and purposes.

Uncivil War #1 lays a bit of groundwork for the story, but serves mostly as a shoot 'em up on the ground and in space both. Readers familiar with the series see the returning staple characters; Sarigar, a serpent-tailed stoic warrior who serves as Force Nomads commanding officer, Torie Montroc, a nobles son who volunteered for the Legion, and fan favorite Jugger Grimrod, a cutthroat, hardened criminal.

The action is nearly nonstop, I fear because Uncivil War is a miniseries and that leaves no time for foreplay. Fans familiar with the Alien Legion universe will be able to plug right back in and go but I fear new readers may be at a bit of a loss, bombarded with strange terminology and stranger characters. Dixon and Co. have tempered that a bit, as the issue is bookended with a few pages of character bios and a glossary of Alien Legion lingo.

Larry Stroman and Carl Potts are on point with the art, giving us clean, detailed panels with a very poppy color palette. I've always been a fan of Stroman's art due to its otherworldly style, which has mustered a few complaints from folks I've talked to who've read his more mainstream work (i.e. X-Factor). It's never bothered me in the least, but I could see the point of view. No such issue could be argued in his Alien Legion work as it's composed of bizarre extraterrestrials and technology. His unique vision is applied perfectly, and I couldn't be happier to see him back in familiar territory.

Alien Legion might be a tough sell for new readers but I'd highly recommend the book to fans of science fiction, especially fans of settings not bogged down with hyper-sterilized Utopianism. This isn't a neatly dry-cleaned and pressed Star Trek sci-fi book, this is dirty sci-fi, a used, lived in sci-fi with grit in its teeth like Blade Runner, Alien, or the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

It's difficult to give an unbiased opinion of this book as I've been enamored with the material for nearly 25 years, but I'm not a bit ashamed to unabashedly support Alien Legion and I'd suggest the lot of you ladies and gentlemen do the same. Scour through some longboxes for back issues of the original series while you're at it. You'll be pleased with what you find, just don't get overly attached to some of those early characters . . .
My only complaint about Alien Legion: Uncivil War is the fact that I believe it's only a four-issue miniseries and not an ongoing one.

Perhaps this is the last we'll see of the Alien Legion, perhaps not. In any case, kudos to Titan Comics for bringing the series back and Long Live the Legion!

PREVIEW: Binary Gray #7

Publisher: Assailant Comics
Writer: Chris Charlton
Artist: Rowel Roque
Colors: Anthonie Wilson
Cover: David Hollenbach
Review: Art Bee

This issue of Binary Gray resembles the calmness of the eye of a hurricane. Issue 6 delivered an action packed issue with all of the grand excitement we all love to see from super hero battles. Issue 7, “Take Me Home”, presents us with the fallout of the events up to this point and also sets us up for another big clash with the Agency, the organization that is after Alex Gray. For the entire series, I have had great things to say about each issue, and this one is no exception.

The cover of Binary Gray #7 is another winner from David H. The cover shows the fight between Dash, from the group Virtue, and Optimo, a new villain, fighting high above the city. The image looks like it uses a photo of an aerial view of a city as the background, and the characters are drawn or painted onto the background. The look on Dash’s face is what really sets the image off, and my eyes were just drawn to it.

“Take Me Home” continues the saga of Alex Gray. In the aftermath of the battle with the Agency, Alex Gray is feeling a lot of guilt over the injuries suffered by Chris, the retired Cross. His guilt leads him to leave the Virtue’s headquarters against popular opinion while the rest of the group splits in two other tangents. Meanwhile we get another piece of the puzzle of Alex’s past.

Now I have read many comic books where an issue has left me with a huge cliffhanger, and usually the next issue resolves it. Charlton has done something totally surprising with this technique; he has extended it with issue 7. In essence, he left us standing on a cliff then handed us beer goggles. It’s great. Binary Gray #8 is going to be huge by my prediction, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for our hero.

I have become a fan of Chris Charlton’s writing over the last year. His writing and editing is remarkable, but there is a problem with Binary Gray #7. If this is the first issue of the series someone reads, they are going to have a problem with knowing the names of two of the major characters. The Moth is not identified at all and has several panels of dialog. The Cross is only identified with his real first name, Ken. This does not affect the story at all but could leave a new reader wondering.

From the start of the series, the artwork of Binary Gray has been really good. Rowel Roque and Antonie Wilson have been a great combination. In this issue, they seem to be out of sync. My first read of the issue left me completely feeling that Roque was losing his touch. After my second read I compared issue 7 to the last two issues and found that the coloring was not as intricate. The shading and shadowing quality has faltered in this issue. My hope is this is just a fluke.

Binary Gray has been one of my favorite comics for the last year, and I feel very fortunate to be allowed the opportunities to preview the issues. Binary Gray #7 is due for release on July 30th. The issues will be available for $3.99 (hard copy) and $0.99 (digital) at Assailant Comics’ website. Some great news is the release of issue 8 is just around the corner. I have said this before and I am saying it again, if you enjoy reading super hero comics, you should give this series a try. It is a great read and an original idea. You can get FREE digital copies of issues 1 and 2 directly from Assailant Comics right here. Everyone loves free stuff, so go get yours.