Ben Templesmith
Ben Templesmith covers Warren Ellis’ ‘Dead Pig Collector’
Warren Ellis has a new ebook debuting June 15 called Dead Pig Collector, and Sunday, via his Machine Vision email list, he revealed the book’s cover, by his Fell collaborator Ben Templesmith.
Dead Pig Collector, Ellis says, is “a love story. It is also about killing people and effectively disposing of their bodies.” Check out the complete cover after the jump.
What Are You Reading? with ‘Task Force Rad Squad’
Task Force Rad Squad
Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading?, our look at what comics and other things we’ve been perusing lately. Today our special guests are Caleb Goellner, Buster Moody and Ryan Hill, the creative team of Task Force Rad Squad, the hot new comic find of 2013. Especially if you were ever a Power Rangers fan. Or even if you weren’t, as Moody and Hill’s art is just kind of wonderful on its own. Our old friend and former colleague Graeme says it “pretty much does for Power Rangers what Jeffrey Brown’s Incredible Change-Bots does for Transformers,” and that’s a very apt description. You can download it yourself here, and pay whatever you think is fair.
And to see what Task Force Rad Squad + the Robot 6 Irregulars are reading, click below …
How did ‘Caped Brewsader’ beat out ‘Fin Fang Foam’?
There’s something ingenious about a comics convention having a signature beer. If a wedding reception or cocktail party can have a signature drink then, hey, why not?
Last year, Denver Comic Con teamed with Breckendridge Brewery to create Fantastic Pour, an American-style wheat beer that was served during the event and at several area establishments. This year, the two collaborated on a Belgian Wit brewed with Buddha’s hand fruit, and then launched a contest for fans to come up with a name to rival last year’s.
The winner, the Denver Post reports, is “The Caped Brewsader,” submitted by Nathan Bowker. For his effort, he wins a year’s supply of beer, four collector-edition Denver Comic Con Brewsader pint glasses, a Breckenridge beer-tap handle of the Brewsader, and some other swag.Bowker’s entry somehow beat out Joshua Bray’s “Kal Ale” — yes, that’s a Superman reference — which rightfully won the fan vote, and “Fin Fang Foam,” which should have won everything. Seriously: Fin Fang Foam!Ben Templesmith will design the label, pint glass and tap-handle art for The Caped Brewsader. Denver Comic Con will be held May 31-June 2.
Watch the trailer for Ghostface Killah’s ‘Twelve Reasons to Die’
Halo 8 Entertainment has released a trailer for Ghostface Killah’s Twelve Reasons to Die, the upcoming comic series from the rapper and his fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, who’s serving as producer.
Debuting May 29 from Black Mask Studios, following the release of the album by the same name, Twelve Reasons to Die blends horror and crime for “a brutal tale of gangsters, betrayal and one vengeful soul hunting the 12 most powerful crimelords in the world.”
What’s impressive, though, is the lineup of cover and interior artists: Tim Seeley (Revival, Hack/Slash), Paolo Rivera (Daredevil), Francesco Francavilla (Black Beetle, Detective Comics), Ramon Perez (Tale of Sand), Ben Templesmith (30 Days Of Night), Riley Rossmo (Bedlam), Garry Brown (The Massive), Jim Mahfood (Tank Girl), Kyle Strahm (Haunt), Toby Cypress (Blue Estate), Tyler Crook (B.P.R.D.), Joe Infurnari (Mush!), Breno Tamura (Pigs), Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole), Gus Storms (Space Creep), Chris Mitten (30 Days of Night) and Ron Wimberly (Prince of Cats).
Twelve Reasons to Die was co-created by Ghostface Killer and Adrian Younge, and written by Matthew Rosenberg and Patrick Kindlon.
Watch the trailer for Straczynski and Templesmith’s ‘Ten Grand’
J. Michael Straczynski’s Joe’s Comics imprint has released a trailer for the first issue Ten Grand, the supernatural crime thriller that teams the writer with artist Ben Templesmith.
Debuting May 1 from Image Comics, Ten Grand follows Joe Fitzgerald, a mob enforcer who, after being fatally wounded during that one last job, is given an opportunity by an angelic force to be reunited with the woman he loves. However, there’s a significant catch. You can see a 10-page preview of the first issue on Comic Book Resources.
Comics A.M. | JMS on ‘Ten Grand’ and the return of Joe’s Comics
Ten Grand
Publishing | J. Michael Straczynski discusses the revival of Joe’s Comics, which returns in May with the Image Comics release of Ten Grand, illustrated by Ben Templesmith. Top Cow was home to the imprint from 1999 to 2004, publishing such series as Delicate Creatures, Midnight Nation and Rising Stars. A preview of Ten Grant will be available in April at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. [MTV Geek]
Creators | Ryan North, creator of Dinosaur Comics and the writer for the Adventure Time comic, talks about his work habits. [Lifehacker]
Creators | Penny Arcade co-creator Mike Krahulik talks about Strip Search, the reality TV-style webseries they will launch on Friday. [IGN]
Kickstart My Art | Bad Karma
Creators Alex Grecian, Jeremy Haun, B. Clay Moore and Seth Peck have launched a Kickstarter campaign forBad Karma, a 200-page anthology featuring comic-book stories, prose and illustrations by those four and their collaborators.
The assembled talent is impressive indeed, working on five main stories: “Middleton” by Grecian and Phil Hester; “Chaos Agent” by Haun and Mike Tisserand; “Old Dog” by Moore and Christopher Mitten; “Hellbent” by Peck and Tigh Walker; and “The Ninth Life of Solomon Gunn” written by Grecian, Haun, Moore and Peck, and illustrated by Haun. These strips, all stylistically different and set in various time periods, all threaten to coalesce into a larger narrative: “Each of these concepts is separate from one another, designed to stand on their own, but there are subtle threads that run through each. One of these threads is the presence of the Kraken Corporation, a mysterious organization whose activities play a part (whether large or small) in each story.”
Food or Comics? | Duck or Doctor Who
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a splurge item.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.
Doctor Who #1
Chris Arrant
If I had $15, I’d catch up on Joe Keatinge and Andre Szymanowicz’ Hell Yeah with the first trade, Vol. 1: Last Days On Earth (Image, $9.99). I admit to dropping off after the second issue, but it’s always something I wanted to get back to; and reading Keatinge’s interviews on the more recent issues has pushed me over the top. If nothing else, $9.99 for five issues is a good deal. After that I’d get Avengers Vs. X-Men #12 (Marvel, $4.99). Of all the group-written issues, Jason Aaron’s seems to have been the most organized and engaging, so I’m glad they opted to have him do the finale. Seeing Adam Kubert on this is surprising, as his previous issues of Avengers Vs. X-Men felt rushed – but previews of this issue show him more measured and confident, like his Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine work, also with Aaron.
If I had $30, I’d double back and gleefully grab Thomas Herpich’s White Clay (AdHouse, $4.95). When I first heard about this the onus of Adventure Time was heavy given the cartoonist works on that show, but after seeing the previews and hearing Chris Pitzer talk about this book I’m in for it. I’d also get the debut issue of Andy Diggle’s Doctor Who #1 (IDW, $3.99) with artist Mark Buckingham. Bucky’s a real treat here, and I’m interested to see what he does with Diggle’s words – and what exactly Diggle does. I’m okay if it’s not Lenny Zero – but that would be nice too. Finally, I’d get Uncanny X-Force #32 (Marvel, $3.99). At one time this was my favorite book coming from the Big Two, but it seems to have grown long in the tooth; I’m not confident enough to say Rick and crew are doing something wrong, as maybe it’s just me. But the first 18 issues had a special kind of magic, and that doesn’t seem to remain here in these issues. But still, I’m in ’til the end.
If I could splurge, I’d get The Nao of Brown (SelfMadeHero, $24.95) by Glyn Dillon. I admit I already received an advance review copy of this book, but if I didn’t I’d surely have it on pre-order. A read a review where they compared to this to Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese, but I think that’s a mere surface examination. After reading this (and flipping through it a dozen times since), this is just a pure coming-of-age story that reminds me more of Hope Larson or a very chatty Adrian Tomine. Very great, very great.
Ben Templesmith paints with Guinness at Comic-Con
Talk about your Comic-Con exclusives. While walking around the show last weekend I found Bens Templesmith and McCool at Templesmith’s table, where they were putting the finishing touches on a set of very limited-edition prints. Templesmith’s known for using odd media in his work — things like toilet seat covers and casts of women’s breasts — but these 25 prints of McCool raising a pint were completed with actual Guinness beer. While Templesmith did most of them, McCool had a try as well, and the man has some serious talent in the alcohol medium.
Threadless debuts Gaiman tees by Cassaday, Templesmith & more
Nearly lost in the hustle and bustle of Comic-Con International was the release of the sixth installment of Threadless’ Comics-On Tees, which features Neil Gaiman’s poem “The Day the Saucers Came” as interpreted in four T-shirt designs by John Cassaday, Brandon Graham, Ben Templesmith, and Estudio Verso (the winner of the website’s Comic Book Legal Defense Fund challenge). A quarter of the sales generated from Estudio Verso’s design all four designs will be donated to the CBLDF.
You can check out all four designs below.
Ben Templesmith draws on breasts for cancer awareness
Signing and drawing on body parts isn’t unheard of at comic conventions (breasts being one of the most popular parts), but Ben Templesmith has joined artists from many different fields to draw, paint and sculpt on breasts (or casts of them, anyway) for an excellent cause.
To launch its branch in Japan, the Keep a Breast Foundation breast cancer awareness group is hosting The Tokyo Love Show, an exhibit that brings together the largest collection so far of the foundation’s breast casts. Templesmith and more than 100 other artists from around the world have decorated the casts, with “love” as a unifying theme. The castees are also an international group, illustrating the need for global awareness about breast cancer.
Templesmith’s project is above (cast from a woman named Starina Johnson) and is priced at $1,100. You can see the entire gallery at the Tokyo Love Show page.
DC’s digital-first Batman comic launches Thursday
Legends of the Dark Knight, by Ethan Van Sciver
On the eve of the debut of its digital-first Batman comic, DC Comics has revealed the line-up for the first six chapters of Legends of the Dark Knight, along with art from Ethan Van Sciver.
Announced in April at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo as part of an expansion of the publisher’s digital-first slate — Ame-Comi Girls launched May 28 — the out-of-continuity series features standalone stories by different creative teams chronicling some of Batman’s cases.
The first chapter, by Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof and Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Animal Man), premieres Thursday and takes place early in the Dark Knight’s career when, as Lindelof recently told Comic Book Resources, Batman is “still working out the kinks, as it were.” “One of the things that I really like about Jeff’s writing that not a lot of people are doing right now in the industry is that it’s funny. It’s fun,” he said. “It’s not funny like a wink outside the panel where it’s broad humor. There is just a sense of amusement about everything.”
Boston Comic Con | Highlights of the Creator-Owned Comics Panel
From left: Brian LeTendre, Ben Templesmith, Becky Cloonan, Joe Benitez, Geof Darrow, Jeremy Bastian
The Creator-Owned Comics panel at Boston Comic-Con drew together five creators with a range of experiences to discuss the fine points of making and marketing their own comics. The panelists were Ben Templesmith (Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse), Becky Cloonan (Wolves), Joe Benitez (Lady Mechanika), Geof Darrow (Shaolin Cowboy), and Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl). The moderator was Brian LeTendre of the Secret Identity podcast.
The panel began with a discussion of how the comics landscape has changed over the years. “It’s changed completely,” said Ben Templesmith. “Every small publisher in the comics media, they have all now pretty much been swallowed up by bigger fish. Everyone in the main media is getting involved in comics and buying up small publishers.”
Cloonan, on the other hand, doesn’t see much difference in the way she sells her self-published comics. ” When I first started doing mini-comics, it was almost exactly the way I do them now,” she said. “I go to conventions and I bring my suitcase filled with comics; I just sell more. It’s funny how much social media and the industry has changed, but I still handle it and approach it much the same way I did in college.”
First look at Ben Templesmith’s Batman for DC digital-first series
Ben Templesmith tweeted this sneak peek of his version of Batman featured in DC Comics’ digital-first Batman anthology series. B Clay Moore is writing the story. Now you’ll have to excuse me so I can go buy an iPad.
C2E2 2012 | Saturday Photodiary
Typically, I’ll spend most of Saturday in panels, but the first one I was interested in wasn’t until later in the morning, so I killed time taking in some of the more offbeat exhibitors, like Ben the Bubble Guy, a businessman who hires himself out for birthday parties, corporate events, funerals. Okay, maybe not funerals.
When it was time, I headed up to the fourth floor for the AV Club‘s panel on the Future of Superheroes.