Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 29, 2007 in
Comic Books 
It’s a trick of the trade, you see it all the time: You have an amazing cover, but then you get the olde “bait and switch” and the interior of your comic book looks like it was the intern’s lucky day. Well what I love about Archibald Saves Christmas #1 is that the interior panels look even better than the cover art! I also love the originality of both the concept and look of this book, the plot reminds me a bit of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the artwork looks like RAW Magazine from the 80s kitbashed with a black-and-white Max Fleischer cartoon. It’s nice to see Image Comics doing something innovative, and the illustrator Grant Bond and the writer Dwight L. MacPherson are worth adding to your check list.
Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 28, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Back in the day (the era of Robotech) if I wanted to buy a manga I had to travel all the way into Manhattan from the burbs and hunt down one of the two or three Japanese bookstores in town. But I’m so happy to see that American publishers like DC Comics are not only bringing in manga, but shojo manga at that! Shown above is the cover for Go Go Heaven!! Vol. 5 by Keiko Yamada. I love the soft water color quality of the illustration, it’s a nice change of pace from the typical superhero stuff.
DC Comics Preview for February 2008.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 28, 2007 in
Comic Books 
I first met Griffin Waldau and Ava Savitsky at a MoCCA event earlier this year. Their initial work got my attention right away as it’s inspired by Williamsburg, Brooklyn (a subject very close to my heart). Well they’ve now launched their full website The Love Bound Train, and what I love about it is that they’ve taken a true multi-medium approach to what they’re doing by creating graphic novels, designer toys, and cute related knick-knacks at the same time:
“This project started with an idea to create a set of collectible dolls to capture the personalities, sites, and sounds of a rapidly gentrifying brooklyn neighborhood complete with the less-than-reliable mass transportation that we must all deal with to get us to and from our homes, works, and playscapes. The Love Train itself is of course a reflection of the vehicle of choice in our neighborhood. The experiences and characters seen within have all been observed during the frequent ventures into the dark underbelly of this city.”
…check out their blarg blog too!
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 27, 2007 in
Comic Books 
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Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 27, 2007 in
Comic Books 
I love how this cover for Moon Knight #15 by Arthur Suydam is paying tribute to Norman Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portait from 1960.
Marvel Comics Preview for February 2008.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 26, 2007 in
Comic Books 
The New York Times has a great profile of Gail Simone who’s now editing Wonder Woman, and got her start blogging for Comic Book Resources:
Wonder Woman Gets a New Voice, and It’s Female
“Ms. Simone was talking about her rise from hairstylist to online commentator to professional comic-book author. This month she added a new title. With the publication of issue No. 14 of Wonder Woman, which hit stores two weeks ago, Ms. Simone has become the regular writer of that amazing Amazon’s super-adventures, published by DC Comics. She is the first woman to serve as “ongoing writer” (to use the industry’s term) in the character’s 66-year history. It’s an assignment that will only increase Ms. Simone’s profile. It’s also the latest move by DC Comics to push Wonder Woman, the company’s third-ranked hero, behind Superman and Batman, into the spotlight.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 26, 2007 in
Comic Books 
It will set you back about $100, but this variant cover by Marko Djurdjevic for Howard The Duck Omnibus looks great to me (I love the use of color and the painting technique). The Omnibus sports over 800 oversized pages featuring the complete comic adventures of Howard.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 25, 2007 in
Comic Books 
But Noooooo! It’s my cover!!! This superhero cat-fight reminds me a bit of the relationship between Betty and Veronica ala Archie Comics rather than what you’d think you’d see on a typical DC Comics cover featuring Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl. This cover was illustrated by Sanford Greene and Nathan Massengill and for me the energy found in the composition more than makes up the coloring which feels a bit flat and faint to my eye. My favorite little touch is the snarl on Wonder Woman’s face, simply priceless…
DC Comics Preview for February 2008.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 23, 2007 in
Comic Books 
This cover by Dustin Nguyen for Detective Comics #841 reminds me a bit of Vargas with the lady in red in the center of the illustration, although I also like the health dose cartoonish chaos that brings a sense of humor to the cheesecake. It’s not what you’d expect for a typical Batman cover from DC Comics and I find that quite refreshing.
DC Comics Preview for February 2008.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 22, 2007 in
Comic Books 
I think this cover from the December 1965 issue of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories does a nice job of illustrating a fanboy themed Thanksgiving. The interior of the issue featured a reprint of a comic by Carl Barks who saw a bit of himself in his artwork:
“I always felt myself to be an unlucky person like Donald, who is a victim of so many circumstances. But there isn’t a person in the United States who couldn’t identify with him. He is everything, he is everybody; he makes the same mistakes that we all make”.
About Donald Duck. Interview by Donald Ault and Thomas Andrae,
4 August 1975. Carl Barks Library, page 8C-597.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 21, 2007 in
Comic Books 
My favorite touch in this cover for Tiny Titans by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani is the cute little bee girl character in the upper left. This book is part of a new line of DC comics aimed at younger kids which should appeal to overgrown fanboy and fangurl parents.
DC Comics Preview for February 2008.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 19, 2007 in
Comic Books 
A nice, simple mission for She-Hulk has gone horribly wrong as, deafened and reeling, she finds herself facing the combined might of the Absorbing Man and Titania! Maybe her trusty sidekick Aloe Vera can help?
Cover by Mike Deodato.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 15, 2007 in
Comic Books 
At long last! For weeks I’d keep looking at lackluster comic book previews, but nothing was catching my eye, but I’m happy to report that Killing Girl #4 by Image Comics has cracked my boredom streak. In this latest issue the plot seems to involve Sara and her family, in the panel shown above Sara is dealing with both her Mom AND mob hitmen.
The artwork is wonderfully fluid, as is also the storytelling and sense of humor. I love Killing Girl because different than the typical superhero stuff you still see all over the place, yet it’s action packed and entertaining. Shown below is a good example of this, in which Sara needs to talk her Mom into giving her the cellphone:
Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 13, 2007 in
Comic Books 
If you’re lucky enough to be in New York City this Thursday here’s your chance to get to meet illustrator, designer and typographer Rian Hughes who has had quite an impact on the British comics industry (check out his portfolio here):
Veer Presents: Rian Hughes Design, Tea and Biscuits
Thursday, November 15, 2007 | 6:30-9:30 PM | Admission $15
ADC Gallery, 106 West 29th Street, NYC
“Join us for an evening of genteel design discussion and civilized refreshment with British illustrator, graphic designer, comics artist and typographer Rian Hughes. For over 20 years, Rian Hughes has been fusing visual design with pop aesthetics. His distinctive panel art revolutionized the British comic industry, and his modernist graphic design and illustration style have been widely copied. Since 1996, Rian has released an astoundingly diverse range of display and text typefaces under the Device Fonts moniker.”
Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 12, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Shown above is an “improved detail” from an eye catching cover for Spider-Man/Red Sonja #4 by Michael Turner. For me it’s not so much the ongoing struggle of good verses evil, but rather the more mundane battle of alcoholism verses halitosis.
Here’s the description of the real storyline from this issue:
“Continuing the time-tossed team-up between the web-slinger and the She-Devil with a Sword! Okay, if Spider-Man and Red Sonja aren’t enough for you, what about Hyborean versions of the Scorpion, the Lizard and Hobgoblin? Still not enough? Then howzabout Kulan Gath and Venom…combined? Yeah, we thought that would do it.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 11, 2007 in
Comic Books 
I’m a picky eater when it comes to featuring cover art and the like here at fanboy.com. Every month I look through all the covers and interiors from Marvel, DC, and friends in an attempt to find something of joy to share with you. But alas the last few weeks I haven’t seen one darn cover that makes me say “that’s sweeeeeeet!”
So when I came across the above artwork by Joe Madureira and Christian Lichtner my first thoughts were “that’s nice on a technical level, but it has so many clichés going on!” But then I realized “don’t blame the artist, some where a writer had to come up with the description of buxom blond battles black monster!” So I decided to improve the scene by adding some text to flip the context so you’re rooting for the monster (unless you hate Greenpeace). By the way did you notice that the monster has time to brush his teeth? Oral hygiene is important in the Marvel universe…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 6, 2007 in
Comic Books 
ComicMix is very much worth checking out if you’re a comic book fanboy, the site features free issues of full comic books that you can read online. I was quite impressed with the ease-of-use of the interface with the site (a sample of which is shown above) which allows you to navigate a comic without having to open Adobe Acrobat. I also liked the fact that the first wave of comic books that they’re showing are quite diverse in subject matter and style, a good example of this is Munden’s Bar #2 which featured some nice artwork by Marc Hempel. Also their comic book news coverage is worth checking out too…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 24, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Shown above is a monster cut-out trading card drawn by Perogatt (Carlo Peroni) from the back cover of the first issue of the italian comic magazine Psyco, 1970. Image found thanks to Señor Tonto from Pordenone, Italy (check out his Flickr page too).
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 20, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Skott Young does it again! Every month I see the latest batch of cover art coming out and every month it seems I spot more great Skott art. This cover features a Roy Lichtenstein dot technique with a very cute drawing of the Fantastic Four hanging out with Spiderman.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 17, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Shown above is a cover sketch by Brian Wood for DMZ: Random Fire. I love the graphic look of Wood’s work, I always follow his work on Flickr.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 16, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Shown above are a few panels from Killing Girl #3 by Toby Cypress. While I see tons of comics that are so uptight about getting the inking just so, I love the animated expressionistic approach that Cypress uses on the interiors of this book.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Shown above is a sketch for the cover of Madame Mirage #6 illustrated by Kenneth Rocafort. Rocafort’s drawing has a wonderful art nouveau feeling to it, every line is packed with nice twists and turns.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 9, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Good grief Charlie Brown! Who would have thought that a biography of Charles M. Schulz would be causing controversy:
Biography of ‘Peanuts’ Creator Stirs Family
“David Michaelis first contacted the family of Charles M. Schulz seven years ago about writing a biography of Schulz, the creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip. It turned out that Schulz had read Mr. Michaelis’s biography of N. C. Wyeth, and that Schulz’s son Monte also liked the writer’s work. He ended up helping persuade the rest of the Schulz clan to cooperate with Mr. Michaelis, granted full access to his father’s papers and put aside his own novel writing to help him.
But Monte Schulz said that when he read Mr. Michaelis’s manuscript in December, members of the family were shocked by the portrayal of a depressed, cold and bitter man who was constantly going after different women. “It’s not true,” Monte said. “It’s preposterous.” His sister Amy Schulz Johnson felt the same. “The whole thing is completely wrong,” she said from her home in Utah. “I think he wanted to write a book a certain way, and so he used our family”.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 5, 2007 in
Comic Books 
Shown above is the slick new teaser poster for the upcoming Iron Man film from Marvel Entertainment.
Found via FirstShowing.net.
