Chris Arrant
Kickstart My Art | Logan Giannini and George Kambadais’ Soulless
People say that when you’re dead it can’t get any worse. But in the upcoming comic series Soulless the lead character Neill finds that not to be the case.
Written by Logan Giannini and drawn by George Kambadais, this six-issue series has turned to Kickstarter to drum up funds for the first issue. It’s an interesting-looking project that falls out of the action-oriented superhero mainstream that’s an easy sell to publisher, but I think it deserves a look.
Soulless starts when Neill wakes up in a drawer at his local morgue with a cannonball-sized hole through his chest. With no memory of how he got into that deathly predicament, he dusts himself off and re-enters a world that thought him dead. From dealing with his mourning girlfriend to his vampire buddy Bradley, a ghost girl tagging along, and even the real life worries of why his TV was repossessed while he was dead, Neill’s got a lot of catching up to do. Here’s three sample pages from the book:
- April 30, 2012 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Check out an inventive Swan Lake comic from Ping Zhu
Comics have been home to stories from various mediums, but this might be a new one.
The ambitiously creative UK publisher Nobrow has recently released a a comic take of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet by artist Ping Zhu. In this impressively inventive fold out comic, the cartoonist shows the performance on one side of the accordion-style book, while on the other Zhu shows the backstage antics. Here’s picture of the book, provided by the publisher:
- April 25, 2012 @ 03:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Rafael Alburquerque goes creator-owned in Brazil with Tune 8
Artist Rafael Albuquerque is wowing people with his work on American Vampire, as well as preparing for upcoming stints on Batman and Wolverine. But if you’re only familiar with his American work, you’re only getting half the story on this talent. In Brazil, Albuquerque has been publishing a series of creator-owned comics that he draws and writes. Back in 2010, Oni Press collected one of those, Mondo Urbano, but there’s another more recent one that hasn’t yet made its way to the States at all.
Titled Tune 8, this story follows a time traveler named Joshua who gets lost in a strange and inhospitable place. His only lifeline, if any, is a disembodied female voice that guides him through it. Tune 8 has been serialized on the Brazilian website Ig.com.br, and the cartoonist has been selling a print edition of Tune 8 at conventions. Unfortunately for non-Portuguese speaking fans, Tune 8 hasn’t been translated yet, but the cartoonist reportedly has plans to do that in the near future.
But if you’re an ardent fan and want to appreciate it for the art alone, you can view the strip on IG.com.br and through the portal Albuquerque has set up. Here’s three pages to wet those taste buds:
- April 25, 2012 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Steve Murray takes a look at the weapons of The Avengers
We’re in the middle of a massive build-up to the May 4 opening of Marvel’s The Avengers, and The National Post‘s resident cartoonist Steve Murray has focused his trained eye on the tools of the hero trade. Published earlier this week, his illustration catalogs the weapons of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with nerd acumen intact and not without some humor.
From his description of Thor’s hammer: “Forged from the core of a dying star, Mjolnir is Thor’s very multi-purpose hammer. It can control the weather, open inter-dimensional portals and turn Thor into a weak human by tapping its handle on the ground. When this happens the hammer turns into a pretty boring stick. Also, the hammer returns to you when you throw it, like a Home Depot boomerang. Only people who are worthy may lift the hammer, which is a great way to test out a blind date.”
Click on the image at the right to see the entire infographic.
Murray, who sometimes goes by the nom de guerre of Chip Zdarsky, is a cartoonist with an uncommonly sharp wit. In addition to his gig as columnist/cartoonist/illustrator for The National Post, he’s also created some comics worth tracking down, like the print series Prison Funnies and the very-much-missed Zdarskyverse webcomic he did for Act-I-Vate which is now archived on his website.
- April 25, 2012 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Kickstart My Art | Palmiotti, Gray & Fernandez infect with Retrovirus
The fundraising website Kickstarter is fast becoming a vital conduit for creators (and some publishers) to secure funding to publish comics. And comics vet Jimmy Palmiotti has taken to this new paradigm with aplomb, using it last year to fund his Image graphic novel Queen Crab with artist Artiz Eiguren. And now the Marvel Knights co-founder is returning with an even more ambitious project: a graphic novel titled Retrovirus with longtime co-writer Justin Gray and artist Norberto Fernandez.
In my mind, Retrovirus is Encino Man meets Jurassic Park – dredge out the humor and fill it in with drama, intrigue and horror. The book follows a young viralogist named Zoe who takes a job at a research facility in Antarctica. Her new employers have found a neanderthal, perfectly frozen in ice and waiting for research to begin. Zoe’s brought in for her specialty in extinct virus, and her subject turns out to be a treasure trove but also a trap door into a dangerous future where a long extinct virus breaks fee into an unsuspecting modern population.
The Retrovirus team set a goal of $11,600 to fund the production of 58-page graphic novella, and with 25 days to go they’ve already accumulated over 80 percent of that goal. The lowest donation earns you a PDF copy of the book, with the premium pledge, $400, earning a character named after you. Nearly 200 people have backed the project at this point, including a number of comic professionals like Andy Lanning, Paul Mounts, Andy Smith and Alex de Campi.
- April 25, 2012 @ 10:00 AM by Chris Arrant
’90s Image artist Dan Fraga re-emerges as director of The Ricky Gervais Show
In the comics boom of the mid-’90s, a number of new creators burst onto the scene. Dan Fraga was hired fresh out of high school in 1991 to draw for Rob Liefeld’s line of comics at the then-newly launched Image Comics. He disappeared from the comic shelves around the turn of the century, but now he’s popping up in the most unlikely of places: directing a television show for comedian Ricky Gervais.
To jog your memory, Fraga made his comics debut in the pages of Youngblood, and went on to do his own creator-owned work like Black Flag and Gear Station as well as work for the Big Two on everything from What If? to Superman. But in 2000 Fraga segued out of comics to become a storyboard artist for films like Transporter 2 and the second Fantastic Four movie. In 2010 a gig doing storyboards for an MTV series called The Hard Times of RJ Berger led to the producers expanding his role to direct animated scenes for the show. That in turn got him the offer to direct Ricky Gervais’ self-titled animated show based on his pre-recorded podcasts.
“While the show is from preexisting podcasts, Ricky worked with us to make sure that what we did coincided with what he wanted for the show,” Fraga said in an interview with Examiner.com. “He was a fun guy to work with and had great notes.”
In addition to directing this show, Fraga says that he’s working on a pilot for Adult Swim as well as a novel. You can catch up to Fraga and his work over at his blog, FragaBoom!
- April 20, 2012 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Warren Ellis launches new mailing list, ‘Machine Vision’
An email newsletter might seem old-fashioned in the era of social networking, but all it takes is someone with the right approach to show you how potent it can be. This week, writer Warren Ellis announced he is launching a new email newsletter titled Machine Vision to give people a look inside his head and his upcoming work. In recent years Ellis has scaled back his mainstream comics work in favor of creator-owned comics, prose novels, outside media projects and the occasional guest-stint on various books. With 2012 shaping up to be a big year for Ellis with his second prose novel Gun Machine coming out as well as the return of the comic series Fell, this new email newsletter looks to be leading the way.
Ellis has a long history of using online resources for promotion and direct interaction with readers. Originally intended to replace the need to attend conventions, Ellis’ online efforts created the template for how comic creators handle themselves online. In addition to email newsletters, Ellis has hosted a number of active forums over the years and has written about comics and writing prolifically in a series of columns for The Pulse, Bleeding Cool, Art Bomb, Reuters, Wired and even CBR. Over the years, both Avatar Press and AiT/PlanetLar have collected a number of his musings on comics in several trade paperbacks that are highly recommended.
This new e-mail newselleter is underwritten by Ellis’ prose publisher Mulholland Books, and can be signed up for at this link.
- April 20, 2012 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
From Lebanon comes the diverse comics anthology Samandal
If you’re reading Robot 6, you’re probably more than just a casual comics fan. But even reading all the various comics news sites out there you’re bound to miss out on some interesting work. Take for instance the Lebanese comics anthology Samandal. Published by a comics collective of the same name, this flourishing publication isn’t new — it’s published 11 issues in just three years — but could be new to you.
Launched in 2008, the Samandal comics collective publishes a self-titled quarterly anthology in French, English and Lebanese that bills itself as “the first trilingual, amphibious comics magazine open to submissions issued in the Middle East.” Described in its subtitle as “pictures stories from here and there,” Samandal uses a creative comic on their website to describe their ambitions .
“[Samandal] aims to lift the stature of comics to that of a mature art form capable of tackling more than superheroes and their baffling hairdos,” the collective says in the comic strip.
Thriving between the humorously referenced high brow and “the raised brow, Samandal‘s contributors might be unknown to most Robot 6 readers but after flipping through theirr online versions of the magazine you’ll gain new respect — and possibly new comic creators to discover.
And for our readers who are comic creators, they’re looking for submissions.
- April 19, 2012 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Controversial comic creator Micah Ian Wright plots his return to comics
Comics are truly a medium to tell countless stories, but as any longtime fan can tell you sometimes the most controversial stories are about the comic creators themselves.
In 2004, DC/Wildstorm’s Stormwatch: Team Achilles writer Micah Ian Wright was revealed to have lied about serving in the military. Although that might seem unconnected to any comics work, his military service was a key part in the promotion of his work both in comics and with his successful art books collecting remixed versions of military propaganda posters. At first denying it, Wright admitted the truth and withdrew from comics. For its part, DC cancelled Wright’s Stormwatch: Team Achilles one issue prior to its original ending and cancelled a planned Vigilante series he was going to write.
The controversy brought up the question of judging the creator of the work and the work itself, and if the actions of an author could change the standalone measure of the works he or she creates. Some comics readers chose to dismiss Wright and his work entirely, while others had a conflicted mind about their appreciation for his work even in light of the controversy surrounding him. But now, after over six years on the sidelines, Wright is returning to comics.
Announced via his Facebook page, Wright is working with his longtime writing partner Jay Lender a graphic novel titled Duster. Set in the waning days of World War II, it follows an errant band of Nazi war criminals who crash land near a small Texas farm where a war widow and her teenage daughter live. Illustrated by Diego “Jok” Coglitore and Cristian Mallea, Duster is set to be released in December 2013, but no publisher has been announced.
- April 19, 2012 @ 08:00 AM by Chris Arrant
The Kubert School holding an open house April 21
Lauded as premiere school for aspiring comic artists for decades, the Kubert School has mentored dozens of today’s top comic creators and now it’s opening its doors for the next generation. On April 21, the Kubert School is hosting an open house at its Dover, New Jersey location from 1 to 4 p.m. Among the promised features are guided tours of the school and facility, demonstrations by its teachers, and one-on-one time with founder Joe Kubert and his two sons Andy and Adam Kubert. If that wasn’t enough, there’s refreshments, raffles and giveaways.
For decades, the Kubert School has taught legions of comic creators, and even comic fans might remember the school’s fun advertisements in the backs of comics over the years. In addition to offering full college-like daily courses, the school also does correspondence courses and weekend sessions for those who can’t attend full time.
This open house is an ideal opportunity for any would-be comics creator, or even just an overzealous comics fan like myself, to get an inside look at what it takes to make comics. I hear they’ll even admit robots!
- April 19, 2012 @ 06:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Art book retailer Bud Plant is back in business, with son joining operation
Last year Robot 6 reported that the longtime retailer Bud Plant was retiring, with plans to sell off his mail-order business Bud’s Art Books. But after months of unsuccessfully trying to find a buyer, Plant has relented and re-engaged in his business with new energy and new blood–namely, his son.
“We convinced a lot of people that we were going out of business, which I say with some regret now that we have changed our plans,” Plant said in a blog post. “We’ve downsized, but we are carrying on in our 43rd year, with my son coming on board and my renewed interest in digging up cool and unusual books for your approval.”
Bud Plant is a legendary name in the comics community, being one of the biggest proponents of underground comix and also one of the pioneers in comics distribution. The one-time owner of one of the largest comic shop chains in the United States, he sold his warehouses to Diamond in 1988, which helped that then-fledgling company become a national distributor.
With a renewed focus in retailing, Bud’s Art Books plans to transition from being a mail-order business by catalog to embracing the internet with a weekly email catalog to customers. You can sign up to receive it over on their website.
- April 11, 2012 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Taggers vs. Bikers vs. the 1% in Monster Myths
Graffiti. Gangs. Gentrification. An unlikely group, but the recently announced Monster Myths OGN from Com.X is an unlikely book.
Like some sort of urban Tale of Two Cities, this book shows an enterprising group of graffiti taggers trying to instigate a war between their fellow working-class residents and the greedy, corporate land barons eager to turn their disheveled homes into dollar signs. At the center of it is a convict named Alfredo, who is trying to find a way to make a life for himself and ends up being the face of a working-class revolution.
Monster Myths’ creator John Lupo Avanti is barreling into the world of comics on a unique trajectory. Hailing from the world of animation, Avanti has reoriented to doing freelance illustration from fine arts to murals, tattoos and, as you guessed, comics.
Avanti’s Monster Myths is the latest in a line of books the British publishing house Com.X. has brought forth into the world. Although it struggled with growing pains in its first years, Com.X re-emerged in the past two years as a more regimented and mature outlet for unique voices in comics.
Monster Myths is scheduled for a June 2012 release, and is currently available for pre-order in the current issue of Diamond’s Previews catalog.
- April 11, 2012 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Time travel + revenge sex = Joe Infurnari’s new comic for Trip City
There comes a time when every person has to stand up for themselves… but young Salvatore Ghesboro does it in a most unusual way.
Launched yesterday at Trip City, Joe Infurnari‘s comic series Time Fucker shows the story of how Salvatore (“Sally” to his mother) looks to get revenge on all the bullies, friends and family members that have caused him anguish by “Time Fucking” them before they were born.
That’s right, time travel for revenge sex.
Using a cast-off time machine invented by Thomas Edison, Sal’s goal is to travel back in time and preemptively have sex with the mothers of his adversaries, with the goal of impregnating them and cancelling out his foes, or subverting them to be more like him. His first target? His half-brother, Dick.
Featuring cameos by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and an inventive use of Tony Atlas ads, Time Fucker is a surprising return for the Eisner-nominated Infurnari, but I’m not complaining because it’s rowdy and excellent. Infurnari’s already posted the first 10 pages of the story, with future installments planned for every Thursday this month.
- April 6, 2012 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Fiction punches reality in the face in Fictionauts
What if the fictional stories you grew up reading could come to life? Sure, it’d be fun to meet Sherlock Holmes… but what if everything both good and evil came to life? In the upcoming graphic novel Fictionauts from Studio 407, a group of scientists-turned-adventurers is tasked with fighting off the threats from our fiction bookshelves before they make it to our world. Created by Mauro Mantella and Leandro Rizzo, this mixes the fiction-is-real concept from comics like The Unwritten with classic sci-fi-turned-superhero books like Challengers of the Unknown into a raucous looking, punching-Moby-Dick-In-His-Blowhole kind of story.
“[Fictionauts] combines over-the-top pulp action, humor, and high-concept science-fiction with some of the most famous literary characters of all time,” says Studio 407′s Ivan Salazar in a press release. “It’s the lovechild of Grant Morrison and Herman Melville that comic fans never knew they wanted, but won’t be able to live without!”
The titular team at the center of this patrols the metaphysical space between fiction and reality, hoping to prevent these fantastical creations from bleeding over into our reality. In the past they’ve faced off with the aforementioned Moby Dick and traded barbs with greats like Charles Dickens, but when a mysteriously named Agent X attempts to break down the walls completely between fiction and reality the team is pushed to see if they can stop the world from being inadvertently destroyed by the imagination of our most creative prose novelists of all time.
- April 6, 2012 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Tony Moore and Katie Cook team up with surprising results
One of the unique parts of a comic convention is the chance to get sketches and fully-rendered art commissions from some of the medium’s top artists. They could draw the characters they’re known for best, or even something off-the-wall like the Swedish Chef that colorist Justin Ponsor did for me once. But a recent posting on artist Tony Moore’s blog shows just how crazy things can get when you get two artists to collaborate, or ‘jam,’ on a single piece
Behold Moore’s rendition of a My Little Pony being ridden by a zombie drawn by Katie Cook, as done during last weekend’s Emerald City Comicon in Seattle.
- April 5, 2012 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Arrant