Pigs of the Industry

Thanks to Dark Horse, Western rides again!

2010-07-28T23:26:00.000-05:00

Jim Shooter is bringing them back, Gold Key lives! Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom, the new series from Dark Horse comics is in stores as you read this. Magnus, Robot Fighter, new series is scheduled to begin on August 4. Other Western/Gold Key characters also scheduled to get another run from Dark Horse are Turok, Son of Stone, and the least well known of the lot: Mighty Samson. For a preview before you buy of Doctor Solar go here. Doctor Solar is written by Shooter of course, and drawn by Dennis Calero. Magnus is -of course- written by Shooter and drawn by Bill Reinhold. The blurbs on the Dark Horse led me to believe Turok, Son of Stone will also be coming out this year. One of the coolest features, that pays a appropriate amount of respect to history, is the reprinting of the original first issues of the title in each of the latest series. If you haven't checked out any of the Dark Horse archive editions for these Gold Key/Western characters it's a nice preview of what you've been missing. 48 pages for the new Solar#1, 56 for Magnus, at $3.50 for each title. I went through a flood (really it was some 'Noah get the ark out one one more time' kind of mayhem) to get my free comic book day Doctor Solar/Magnus preview issue. Of course I enjoyed both of Shooter's stories, but the art for Doctor Solar from Dennis Calero was too generic super-hero-ie for me. Calero having X-Men: Noir on your resume isn't much of a credit with me. Calero's Solar has too much of what I would call the Jim Lee/David Finch style fluid super-hero art. Solar shouldn't like the type of hero who would get into a fist fight with the villain. The old Gold Key Solar and some of the Valiant run, had what I would call -stiff super-hero art- which is charming to me and suited the character. If Calero was more of a throwback to the original issues in his style I would have enjoyed it more. I know taste in art is idiosyncratically subjective, but I appreciate frozen moments in time that don't show every character to have the poise of a Kung-Fu master. That should be saved for the straight up ass kickers like Magnus. Context matters, Magnus needs to look like he could jump off the page and punch you, or use his martial arts to scrap rogue robots. Russ Manning's excellent art work for Magnus was the most action filled/fluid super-hero Gold Key ever got, and Reinhold's rendering hearkens back to that perfectly. Shooter is a amazing writer, if it was up to me he would be running Marvel again, so you know I'm a fan happy to read his work again. Magnus was awesome on both fronts, and maybe Dennis Calero's style will grow on me...

Turok, Son of Stone, the next book to be brought back by Dark Horse, is another character that was brought back before at Valiant comics. Turok's comic book run before the upcoming Dark Horse series was cut short (along with so many others) by the abyss of Acclaim's bankruptcy. Turok the video game franchise has continued on, and given him more mainstream exposure than any other Gold Key/Western hero. Jim Shooter's view of the new Dark Horse Turok series:
Turok, Son of Stone tells the story of two Pre-Columbian Native Americans swept away by a force beyond comprehension to a Timeless Land.

Turok is Algonquin, born in what is now Quebec.

In his time, no native of North or Central America has a metal weapon except him—a seax, or Viking long knife, made of Damascus steel, given to Turok by a Norse trader whom he befriended during his sojourn to Newfoundland, where Vikings came to trade and forage, and where Viking settlements once stood. The seax is an heirloom, handed down through generations to the trader from an ancestor who, as a mercenary for the Byzantine Empire journeyed as far as Baghdad. Another gift from the Norse: while in their company, Turok learned the art of making composite bows with bow staves reinforced with sinew and bone or horn that can propel an arrow nearly half a mile, like the legendary bows of the Turks. At closer range, they have devastating power, unrivaled by any wooden stave bow. There is not the like of Turok’s bow in the Americas.

He has traveled far. Along his path, Turok learned much from the shamans he encountered: first, the secret language they share, but more importantly, that most of what they do is trickery and illusion—though some things he has seen he cannot fathom—and most importantly never to fear the unknown or unfamiliar. To do so is to give power to the tricksters or more power to what is real but strange.

To banish fear is to be formidable, almost unconquerable. Now, if he can just keep the young, headstrong Chiricahua Andar out of trouble….

Turok is strong, capable and skilled. Just a man, but what a man. Best of all, he’s smart.

There is a new force in the Timeless Land. A fearless man who will find a way.

[From Jim Shooter interview on ifanboy]

The least known of the new series is Mighty Samson. Mighty Samson had a original 32 issue run between 1964 and 1982, the Dark Horse series is the first time since that the character has been brought back. Mighty Samson Archives from Dark is set to be published October of this year.
Shooter's view of the new Mighty Samson series:
500 years after the end of the world….

Amid the ruins of a once-great city, scourged by mutated monsters, marauders and savage, sub-human predators, the primitive N’yark Tribe, ekes out a meager, fragile existence. But from among them arises a champion, gifted with prodigious strength—a warrior who can strike dead the most fearsome beast and stand one alone against a thousand foes. Named by the Speakers of Ancient Lore, he is called the Mighty Samson—the last great hope of human kind.

Thermonuclear destruction nearly ended life on Earth. No one knows how or why it happened—the answers are lost in antiquity.

At first, the few survivors tried to preserve the shattered remnants of civilization, but soon the struggle to merely maintain existence exist overwhelmed loftier goals. A new Dark Age descended upon the world.

Small bands of survivors gathered. Some united into tribes. One such tribe, called the N’yark, occupied the Island of Broken Towers.

The N’yark Tribe suffered hideously for many generations, preyed upon by monstrosities against which they had no defense, hunted by semi-human carnivores and forced to pay tribute to powerful, marauding tribes from the north and west.

Twenty years ago, Alma, wife of Tranquility, bore a child, an exceptionally large and robust baby boy, who soon began showing signs of unnatural, inhuman strength.

As his mother wished, Samson becomes the champion and defender of his people. He means to help them survive, thrive and lay the foundations of a New World, safe from the horrors of nature perverted, and the brutality of the wicked.

“Upon the Earth walks he who slays behemoths with his fist. Stone and iron yield before the strength of his sinews. A thousand warriors cannot stand against his strength. It is given unto him to deliver his people from the beneath the yoke of their oppressors, and no force under Heaven can stay him from his destiny. He is called the Mighty Samson.” – From the recitations of the Lore-Speakers in the first year of the Age to Come, at the dawn of the Fourth Millennium.

[Jim Shooter ifanboy interview]

My first exposure to most of these Western/Gold Key heroes was the old Whitman comics 3-in-1 bag reprint editions of Turok, Solar, and Mighty Samson. I was lucky enough to come across a old Gold Key Magnus in a pawn shop having a 'going out of business sale' of all things. As long as Shooter was at Valiant it was a pleasure to read Magnus, Solar, and Turok's new adventures, but the quality suffered after his departure. Creators like: Otto Binder, Frank Throne, Jack Sparling, Russ Manning, Robert Shaefer, Eric Friewald, Paul S. Newman, Bob Fujitani, Matt Murphy, and Alberto Giolitti all set a high standard Jim Shooter has already proven he live's up to. If you want to talk about being 'in good hands' the Gold Key/Western characters are in good hands again. I look forward to reading these new titles, and hope plenty of other readers will as well.

[With a thanks to Jim Shelley for giving me the idea to write this]

Dave Sim talks about Mr A, Mr. C- and hey I got a mention!

2010-05-22T07:21:00.001-05:00

On the latest Cerebus TV Dave Sim talks about the history of Steve Ditko's Mr. A. He goes from Mr A's first appearance in witzend to the Mr A #1 being back in print ordering information here. Dave Sim mentions I put in a request for a Cerebus as Mr. A sketch which he called "doing Joseph Stalin as Winston Churchill". Sim currently has up a fantastic piece he did of Mr C- up for sale, depending on the response he may do more. I really enjoy Cerebus, Mr. A, and I love the parody. It's more than just topical in today's times.

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!/ Do you still make it onto a fatwa hit list if you traced it?

2010-05-20T20:45:00.003-05:00

Today's the day, if you haven't heard about it, I don't know where you've been. I'm working on a 6 page comic strip about it, with no artistic ability whatsoever. I can't even trace well truth be told, so you can imagine how the drawing is going... It's not going to be done today for a few reasons:

1. I'm slow, damn slow, plus no drawing abilty.

2. Every time I thought I had a final script, some other damn radical homicidal maniac related event would happen, and I'd have to ask myself: in, or out?

3. I wanted to do a mini-pictorial history of radical Islam out to kill/intimidate the people who say and do things they don't like. Instead of just a long running post like I've done before.

4. I wanted to make sure I said what I wanted to say, the way I wanted to say it. No panel by panel DVD style commentaries breakdown on what I was trying to say with this/that image.

5. Why limit yourself to one day out of the year?

No panel by panel breakdown, but I did want to get in on this day with a little preview of what is forth coming. Various images that all come together like a plan from the A-Team (in my mind at least) to get my point across.

Dave Sim Cerebus Ball Point Head Sketch's On Sale On E-Bay/ Check out my Cerebus as Mr.A sketch!

2010-05-09T19:47:00.002-05:00

Dave Sim is again selling Cerebus head sketches (ball point pen on Aardvark-Vanaheim stationary) on E-Bay. The sketches can be just of Cerebus, or have him decked out as the character of your choice. The price is $25.00 U.S. and it's the second time these types of sketches have gone on sale. I found out about the offer from watching Cerebus TV -new episodes come on Friday's at 9:00 central time. The current episode is a memoriam to the late, great, Dick Giordano, and Dave Sim talking about his Ditkomania cover (also on sale) featuring Steve Ditko's Miss Eerie. I enjoy the Cerebus TV episodes a lot, plenty of interesting comics history gets covered, and you should really check it out. The first Cerebus head sketch I got is:

The above (forgive my poor scanning) is Dave Sim drawing Cerebus as Steve Ditko's Mr. A, which becomes Mr. C-! I'm a big fan of Mr. A and Steve Ditko's most recent work so no surprise that was my request. I'm thrilled with my sketch, really enjoyed the funny spin on Mr. A, and wanted the chance to get a few more. No way do I have the cash to fight it out in a art auction, so this is the next best thing. Lucky for me, by popular demand, the sketch offer was brought back I already put in my new order for Cerebus drawn as Judge Dredd, and Cerebus drawn as the Green Hornet. Eclipso (the 60s' version or the one from his own series), or Nukla were the other options I considered.

If your a fan of Dave Sim's work you still have about a day to purchase a sketch. If you do, you won't be disappointed.

Zuda Review The Adventures of Doc & Shok/ If the synopsis doesn't fit...

2010-03-29T03:44:00.000-05:00

The Adventures of Doc & Shok is another March Zuda comic done by Dustin Evans. Here is the synopsis: Doc is an intelligent minded scientist on a quest. He seeks an answer to his family history that has led to his destiny as a paranormal creature of the night. He keeps his secret locked away and dares not to reveal it to a soul. Shok is a simple minded and lazy fellow, who just happened to answer a help wanted ad in the paper to help fund his addiction to quality ale and jump start his own brewery. Little did he know, he would find himself faced with a true Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for a boss. Shok's daytime job, working for Doc, eventually forges an unlikely friendship between the two. He is faced with quite a dilemma, once he realizes his friend and employer is a creature of the night. The two mismatched pair quest together to find an answer to Doc's dark history in a medieval world filled with modern technologies, danger and horror. Sharika, a haunting and alluring woman claiming to have psychic powers, appears in the village of Tarbon. Her brother was last seen in the village and has since gone missing. She is immediately branded an outcast and finds solace in the company of Doc & Shok. Doc feels drawn to Sharika, but Shok believes there is more to her beauty and charm than she claims. While Doc frantically searches for an answer and cure to his condition, the town's villagers grow increasingly more suspicious of him and his two companions.

I know it's easier to change the synopsis than the story. I also know most people could care less about the synopsis. I do care, so here we go:

There are a lot of directions you can go in with the synopsis, mostly back story, re-cap the events in the comic, mostly a preview of the future. The best which gives you a little back story, tells readers what's going on now, and gives a hint to the future of the story -which matches up well with the comic. In the 8 screens of the comic some of the most interesting parts of the synopsis (and story going forward), don't even make the slightest appearance. Doc, Shok, and the readers meet a monstrous, murderous family that never gets a mention in the synopsis. It probably ties together with Shok finding out Doc is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type, and the start of his quest into his 'dark history'. The comic ends on a 'danger-hook' with the characters and readers about to see more of momma monster than just a tentacle. I guess in the course of escaping/fighting the monster family the Doc would change and the rest of the story would take off following the synopsis lead. Reading that synopsis readers are going to want to see the Jekyll and Hyde transformation, and it would have made for a more impressive ending than the 'danger-hook'. The Sharika character takes up a large portion of the synopsis (and it seems future story) it would have been great to have at least some cut scenes or a one panel cameo. It's only 8 screens a big part of the draw is going to be the Mr. Hyde transformation and seeing that aspect of the character, it would have been even better if it could have showed up without being spelled out so plain in the synopsis. I know creators in past have been able to edit out too many spoilers in the synopsis, I don't know if this is just at the editors invitation, or creators can put in a request. In any case that's too much type in the synopsis not to lead to premature dramatic ejaculation.With 8 screens and the possibility of no more than that if you don't win, end on the best possible dramatic hook with the Jekyll/Hyde transformation in progress. I know 'adventures' is in the title but it's too much Holmes and Dr. Watson-esque without that other good Victorian style twist. You have scary art, a bound to be impressive scene of the Doc's transformation, only 8 screens to grab readers, so why not use it?

What the secret tunnels exploration in the screens did do was allow for some nice dark and moody art, with great use of lighting in the colors. I enjoyed the various lighting effects even as I wondered when Sharika was going to show up. The monster daughter revel was well done, as was the 'there's something behind me isn't there' gag. I enjoyed the art, but it's the coloring done on the comic throughout that made it so impressive. There was some nicely written banter between the two principles, but a little too much of it without the beginning of a Hyde reveal. The letters were all completely readable. Well lit, good dialogue, but it ended on a humor line instead of the start of the Hyde reveal. A victim of screen 9 syndrome, when the story looks to really pick up in the screen you don't see unless the comics wins, or continues on somewhere else. If the interest in the comic does result in getting a first issue published it should do very well in another longer format. Had it been Doc & Shok the first 8 pages of a 22 page comic it would have been great story structure, but it's Zuda and some of the potentially best parts of the tale got left in the synopsis.

Zuda Review Snipe Hunting/ I'm familiar with the southern variant

2010-03-25T23:39:00.001-05:00

Snipe Hunting is another March Zuda comic done by Ian Williams (Mookie Blaylock) and returning Zuda vet JM Ringuet. Here is the synopsis: Snipe Hunting is an Americanized imagining of the infamous Dytalov Pass Incident. After a group of campers are mysteriously found dead, the "haunted" woods surrounding the coastal New England town of Narranghassett are teeming with paranormal investigators, FBI agents, and curious locals - each confident of the underlying cause of the deaths (Aliens, Terrorists, Jesus, Indian Curses...etc). The longer they search for clues in the woods to support their individual theories, the further they descend into the depths of paranoia, hallucinations, and intense mania. Will one theory be proven correct, or is everyone caught in a violent game of snipe hunting?

It's all right to be left holding the bag, just as long as you don't let the cat out of it. Using the snipe hunting tradition/metaphor and mixing in some real life weirdness with the Dyatlov Pass Incident is a great start to build a story from. The story starts off with paperboy Malcolm noticing the headlines talking about mysterious deaths blamed on a compelling force. When then see a benched Malcolm thanks to a coach that either hates him, or is crazy enough to worry about blowing a 18-0 lead in the sixth inning of a little league baseball game. I'm beating on hatred. Screen 2 is also the screen where you get a cuts of pork image in one of the panels, and a inclination Malcolm might not be right in the head. Later, he sneaks out of his house and leaves a 'dear dad' letter that talks about baseball being a red blooded sport and no pink tea. 3 screens in and the story is already getting creepy as hell, which is a good sign in Sci-fi/horror story. It's start's getting surreal on screen 4 where Malcolm stumbles across two-headed men, evil looking clowns, and pumpkin-heads playing baseball, with a baseball that has a face. Malcolm is the star player in the game -of course- and wants to celebrate, which leads the characters he's playing with to make a dark turn and bring forth the horror element. Their appearances change into more gruesome characters and 'they' go on a bloody rampage killing a UFO believer, while Malcolm sobs and hits his inhaler. Screen 8 is a full screen shot that shows a demonic crazy looking Malcolm covered in blood, with the corpse of the UFO believer beside him, and a image of the Dytalov Pass map behind him in the art. The text on screen 8 "since honest men are in the slime" accompanying the shot of Malcolm on his knees in a puddle of blood makes you think maybe the kid isn't a crazy/possessed/mind controlled killer after all. Along the way the possibility of a Indian curse causing the deaths is also worked into the story.

All the slaughterhouse imagery conjured up by the words and shown in the pictures will have you wondering what does the other white meat have to do with it? The ending sequence over the last few screens could be too revealing depending on how the story plays out, if future twists are reminiscent of High Tension, or Blair Witch Project 2. It could also be too much mystery if readers try to follow the clues and the story resolution doesn't match-up. Then again the ending could be left wide open enough that any or all of the above synopsis suspects could be responsible. The story is really a Sci-Fi/horror mystery, all the clues need to add up on the last screen no 'deus ex machina' endings need apply. The 'butcher boy' mind-set Malcolm seems to be operating with is either a red herring, red flag, or a little bit of both. The 8 screens here really set expectations high, but with all the interlocking mystery over what's going on, I'm expecting one hell of a payoff should Snipe Hunting carry on. Regardless of future directions, the 8 screens of various possibilities for whats really going on come together for this submission. I'd particularly like to see more with the locals -maybe- the ones who think it was Jesus, or terrorists.

The writing delivers on the 'freaky shit going down' vibe I'm sure the creators were going for. JM Ringuet is an artist who does excellent work and the excellence continues here. Readers do have to pay attention to catch everything going on in the art, even then it's no sure thing you caught everything. A 8 screen submission with a high re-readability factor -genius! The colors fit the comic well, and all lettering is completely readable. Concerns about how it all plays out aside, It's a great start to a mystery I would enjoy reading on Zuda.

Zuda Review Leon and the Savage Fountain/ The lead character could be straight out of a cannibal exploitation film

2010-03-21T20:20:00.000-05:00

Leon and the Savage Fountain is another March Zuda comic done by WEB99, w.a.r28, and klortho. Heere is the synopsis: Leon and the Savage Fountain is an epic tale of good vs. evil. The story is set on the backdrop of the New World, 1513. Leon has the misfortune of of traveling across the North Atlantic Ocean, with a crew of murderers and thieves, in search of myths and legends. The Fountain of Youth is said to keep old men young and bring life back to the dead. King Ferdinand II of Aragon demands this treasure to be not only the King of Spain but ruler of the world. Ponce de Leon will find this treasure thus making his king immortal and unstoppable. Long Live the King!

Have you ever seen any cannibal films? Yes, this does have something to do with this comic. Cannibal Holocaust, The Mountain of the Cannibal God, basically any one in the genre and you'll get the thematic feel of this comic right away. Noir style stories make an appearance this contest, but this was a surprise which made it a more interesting read. Take out the cannibalism/exotic wildlife snuff film elements and you're left with some unsympathetic in the extreme bastards going 'exploring', pillaging and plundering the native people they encounter all along the way. You can also mix in the tone of Alan Moore's pirate comics EC tribute from Watchmen. It's the classic set-up of showing someone so horrible (in this comics case Ponce de Leon) that however awful their final fate is readers cheer it on. My problem is I don't know if this comics creators meant for Ponce de Leon to be such a villain, or they were intending Ponce to be a 'anti-hero' and got cross of my Wolverine-types hatred. To me a character that has his sick men killed and thrown overboard, shoots a crew member in the head for being afraid of ghosts, and shoots a native child to show he wasn't a demon, lost anti-hero status back at 'has his sick men killed...' I don't mind reading stories where the main character is a villain, but trying to put a anti-hero spin on it would decrease my interest. If the evil is Ponce de Leon, and the good is the native people/ anyone but Leon, then this comic will have a regular reader in me. If Ponce is going to get a little redemption treatment in the storyline they have planned, that would be too much shades gray characterization for me.

Some of the opening text box thought balloons show a military man fanatically devoted to his king and country. In addition to being great writing (art and words in this comic are equally kick ass) it can't help but remind you of the self-justifying excuse of various atrocities committed 'in service to my country'. The story starts off bleak and gets even starker still. In some historical based comics I believe sticking as close as possible to real world history makes for the best story. In Leon and the Savage Fountain I think the story making up it's own history from this point on in 1513 would be the more interesting way to go. The magical element of the fountain of youth is already there, and otherwise Ponce de Leon dies from a poisoned arrow in 1521. Ponce de Leon finding the fountain and making the King of Spain immortal would definitely be a departure from history!

The text and dialogue make Ponce de Leon a memorable character, along with the high quality of art make this a very professional looking submission. The best screen of the comic for me is the splash page on screen 3. The previous screen lead up to it in the dialogue, and then in a well designed screen you see scores of dead bodies sinking in the ocean from a bottom-of-the-sea view. The art reminds me some of Marc Silvestri inked by Art Thibert. The homage studios look is still alive. Various other elements in the art from the George Washington Crossing the Delaware-esque silhouette in the top panel of screen 5, to the Where the Wild Things Are attired native boy shot and crawling back to his people on screen 8. The colors match the story, and all the lettering is readable. My concerns about the future treatment of Ponce de Leon considered, this is a horror comic that can send a legitimate chill down your spine. Not the kind of thing you find competing every month on Zuda, it's a shame it isn't higher ranked.

Zuda Review Aleksander Christov: Assassin/ I thought it was wetworks, 'wet affairs' sounds slightly...

2010-03-19T04:47:00.000-05:00

Aleksander Christov: Assassin is another March Zuda contestant currently ranked first place done by J9Naimoli and kenfrederick. Here is the synopsis: This is the story of a boy named Aleksander, who was raised by an abusive and alcoholic father, in Moratovo, Russia, during the cold war era. When Aleksander is faced with a decision of survival, he is launched into the biggest fight of his life – one that leads him to Leningrad and propels him from boyhood to the life of a skilled mercenary for the KGB’s Department 13, dealing in “wet affairs” such as spying, kidnapping and assassination. It is in this organization that Aleksander's every kill, or decision not to, unknowingly impacts the events of the cold war itself.

The last line of that synopsis portends a bit of 'Forrest Gump style' choice seat for history story-telling. It could make for some sweet narrative twists and turns seeing Aleksander Christov unintended, or intended consequences. Hindsight being 20/20 there are any number of opportunities to work the lead character into the history of the Cold War. The historic aspects of this story is a draw to me because I'm such a history fan. The reason being back in my grade school days it was one of a few classes I was a lock for top marks. I have a appreciation for it only a report card payout of $10.00 an A in my tween years could instill. Should Aleksander Christov: Assassin hold on for a win integrating real world history is one of the draws to keep me coming back for further updates. I hope this comic doesn't rewrite actual history for it's own world, beyond the possibly obligatory who was that masked man on the grassy knoll scene.

Enough about future possibilities, the 8 screens themselves had a surprising 'slice of life' quality to them considering the title implied action/adventure genre. This is owed to some fantastic art, scripting, and colors that fit the story. Letters being legible always a plus on Zuda. With the right amount of research, or actual Russian roots, it would be a fascinating story just to see a 'hard knock life' kid growing up in the U.S.S.R. Add on the promise of KGB skulduggery suspense this could be one of the more impressive titles to win a Zuda contest recently.

The 8 screen introduction to Aleksander shows readers a young teen having to hunt for food, and dealing with an abusive father. It lays all the groundwork for the ironies of life to be introduced later. His father taught him how to kill, wanted to be in the KGB, and ends up dead after a confrontation over a gun in the last screens. Text box thought balloons generally irk the hell out of me, but the ones here were well written, and not too lengthy. The realistic portrayal of domestic booze fueled violence was more griping than many Zuda offerings, right down to young Aleksander trying to escape out of a window, but being unable to. I once wrote in a review "if your going to do a western comic, you need to know how to draw a horse" so I appreciated the well drawn animals in the hunting part of this. The screen layouts don't do anything flashy, but they do tell the story in a straight forward way any reader will enjoy. A classic cliff hanger ending that leaves readers wanting to know what happens next, means it's no surprise this comic is fighting it out for the win.

Caption this/ People that make your skin crawl

2010-03-16T03:32:00.000-05:00

AFTER THE ORGY

Rielle Hunter & friends... on a bed... now say eeeeewwwww in a Jim Varney voice.
Putting Kermit through something like that, GQ should be ashamed of themselves, the bastards.

Zuda Review Night at the Western/ When a nameless narrator doesn't set the mood

2010-03-15T15:20:00.001-05:00

Night at the Western is a March Zuda competitor done by lancebailey, CesarSebastian, and fonografiks. Here is the synopsis: California, winter, the late 1980s: lost on their way to bigger things in Los Angeles, a small-time conman and a thief reluctantly stop over for the night at the run-down Western Motel, in the agricultural hinterland. What should be just a short rest on their way to the big city becomes a wrong turn toward death itself. It is a detour one of them will not survive, and the other will never forget. Nick, the greedy conman, is drawn into what seems like an easy $10,000 scheme by Laura, the pretty night manager of the motel. He figures one quick score on the way to Los Angeles won’t hurt. Our nameless narrator, tired of a thieving life and hoping this will be his last job, follows reluctantly along. As the tension comes to a boiling point, the pair find themselves dragged into a plot that neither of them understands, unwitting players in a high-stakes game with opponents far more desperate than they. Nothing at the Western Motel is as it seems. Before sunrise, more than one person will be dead, and the lives of everyone will be turned upside down by a collision of lust, greed, jealousy and desperation. The plot twists, and twists again. With a full cast of honorable thieves, desperate criminals, disturbed relatives, and a femme fatale whose depths nobody understands, Night at the Western is a crime tale that pays homage to noir classics such as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Detour and Blood Simple..

You have some nice text box narration in this comic starting out, and some nicely design screens in the art. The beginning screen has some sepia-tone 'picture' panels which show the Western back in it's halcyon days of glory along with a modern day (for the story) sign having some busted lights, a nice set-up to seeing just how run down the place is on screen 2. There are some nice uses of shadow throughout the story, and lighting a character by the lights of a vending machine. Letters are all readable, the colors fit the story. It's not all good. This comic goes for too much text box narration to invoke the noir feel and fails to avoid the standard pitfalls of the genre.

For me the biggest deciding factor in whether or not a noir style comic works is how it handles the inner monologue of the lead character. With movie voice-overs and comic text boxes you can't do too much repetitious, or non-sequitur thoughts. Even what -mostly- worked for Frank Miller in Sin City comics got to be too damn much for a movie. It's not prose with pictures (moving or not) you don't need to rely on text box narration to describe a character when readers can just see the character for ourselves. You have something you want readers to know? Show it in the art, or tell it in the words, but don't do both in the same panel. This happens more than once in this comic with the narration description of people readers can see in the comic what they look like. it's not like the various descriptions added any particular insight, for example: Nick's general shiftiness/ reaction to Laura is well established by the art and character dialogue. It's not a bad thing 8 screens into a story to let readers imagine for themselves just how much of a bastard somebody is. Screen 7 has the text box narration describing a kids crazy laugh as: It was the laugh of a lobotomy case, meaningless and loud, and as he laughed, his head nodded up and down like a jack-o-lantern on a stick. It also included some Sfx: HuhhuhhuhHuhHuh HUHHAHAHA! I liked the background didn't change for these three panels and the passage of time was shown by the dancers movements towards then away from the little boy. All that thoughtful descriptive laugh commentary was needless and detracted from the story. Have the letter go crazy with putting that laugh sound effect on the page, with even more/bigger font than what was actually done. Comic fans see a character laughing crazier than the Creeper they can figure out for themselves the kid has problems. It's a comic ease up on the noir tribute speak and play up those kooky cool sound effects. The comic ends with the nameless narrator getting all reflective about his little brother Frankie who was abused by the other kids because of his disabilities. 'Nameless' tracked them down so now they leave Frankie along. It wasn't much of a insight to character, and unless Frankie is going to show up in this comic just more unneeded narration. I get the kid brother 'identify with' tie-in with the crazy laugh kid, but it wasn't much to end on.

Having a nameless narrator doesn't do much for the atmosphere here. The Continental Op had a title, and Clint Eastwood in the 'man with no name' Dollars trilogy had a variety of monikers. If a character has a name (at least a title) that stands out I can identify with the character better. The more I can do that, the more likely you are to get my vote on Zuda because I'll want to see what happens next.

Once again this is a comic that is synopsis snake bit. The synopsis actually did a good job of setting up the mystery, it's a pity the comic didn't hew closer to it. "It is a detour one of them will not survive, and the other will never forget" is a good line that had me wondering while I was reading who was going to get killed. Maybe Nick was going to die, or maybe the creators were going to pull a switch and have the narrator killed off and Nick take over narration duties? My looking forward to being surprised was over by screen 4 when it's revealed Nick dies. You can have suspense where readers wonder who killed one of the main characters. You can have suspense where readers wonder which main character gets killed, and who killed him. Zuda readers which would you find more suspenseful as the story goes along?

Night at the Western isn't a bad comic, it just tried too hard to establish noir cred. Less narration, more leaving things up to readers interpretation of the art, and I'd like to see these creators back again.

Zuda Review Island, Alone/ Cool monsters, kick ass island babe, and a touch of Heart of Darkness

2010-03-15T15:20:00.000-05:00

My vote February in Zuda was for Island, Alone (blog here) which is written by Zuda vet creator Shawn Aldridge, and drawn by Rich Fuscia. Island Alone was in the lead for most of the contest, but lost in the final day. Here is the synopsis: For John Wharton discovering the island Mayda was to be his greatest triumph, but when he finds himself on its shores, not as explorer but as castaway, his greatest triumph may be just surviving the night. Wharton soon realizes, though, that surviving is easier said than done, as the island and its inhabitants are unlike anything he has ever seen. If he has any chance of returning home, he must unlock the secrets of Mayda—secrets it doesn't seem all that willing to give up. The key to its mysteries and to his own survival may lie in the hands of the only other “human” on the island, a girl who seems to have a few secrets of her own.

The jungle adventure/explorer story with it's accompanying damsel in distress has been around a long time. Comics have came a long way from the days of Denny O'Neil thinking it would be empowering to have Wonder Woman lose her powers and learn judo instead. Here in this comic the Buffy the Vampire Slayer tradition is continued of turning that outdated trope up on it's head by having the damsel rescue the endangered guy's ass. I'm jumping ahead to the last few screens, but I loved the ending as a cool cliff-hanger. Island girl shows up and is playfully confident in telling Wharton she is his friend, but the big scary monster behind him isn't with a wag of the finger. She looks like she's ready to kick monster ass on the last screen, he looks scared shit-less -which is probably a good thing. All the words are readable, and the colors suit the story throughout. The creators said they had some unexpected twists and turns in store for the story, so I hope somewhere/someday we get the chance to seem them. All the genre expectations are met, and in the lasts screens I think those unexpected twists started to emerge.

The story starts off with Wharton and his friend Kozlov on a dirigible looking for that fabled island. Well designed monsters making a dramatically timed appearance only adds to my enjoyment of stories like this. A cool looking creature shows up to wreck havoc on the characters and give readers a inclination of what's in store for them. The attack leaves Kozlov presumed dead and Wharton airship wrecked and floating on the sea in a robinsonade manner. The text accompanying him making his way to the island had the tone of a survivor's diary journal from a few hundred years ago, with a hint of Heart of Darkness. It's well written, not too long, text box-less, and invokes a mood that's largely lost today.

My favorite panel in the comic, which shows the artist can do just as fantastic a job with people as with monsters:

All it's needing is some kind of immanent threat to fully invoke those old 'eye injury' panels from the golden oldies of comics which I enjoy. It's also a good depiction of a person's face just before something really bad happens. Screen 1 starts with an establishing shot and ends on this, which is a good way to get you to click to the next screen where the monsters start showing up. Writing for Zuda isn't like doing a submission for other comic companies, readers decide who gets in on reading 8 screens, so you need to get on with the story-telling. Island, Alone made full use of the Zuda parameters with its words and art to get readers to want to see the strip continue. It tells a effective cliff hanger story in 8 screens, no wasted space or wasted screens. Island, Alone had my vote for the previous month. I hope even if this strip doesn't continue (somehow/someway) we will see more work from Shawn Aldridge and Rich Fuscia.

Be The Beat/ Snowflakes team up for Heart Health Month

2010-02-22T22:39:00.025-06:00

We hope to encourage more teens to become the next generation of lifesavers.
-Michael Sayre, M.D., chair of the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee

February is Heart Health Month and the Snowflakes comics crew is working with Be The Beat to get the word out to tweens and teens about cardiac arrest awareness, and to teach young people CPR.The Be The Beat site is aimed at 12-15 year old's, from my little sister I know if you want to get teens and tweens attention you need a interactive web site with games and prizes to hold their interest. With Be The Beat younger people learn about what to do in case of a emergency that could save someone's life, the more involved in the site you get the more prepared you are. The games, quizzes, and comics all combine to help teach kids to save lives, along the way they win points which entitle them to various rewards on site. The more points, the better the prize, the more they explore the site to raise their score, the more they learn. It's a nice bit of synergy for a very good cause. From the press release the goal is: According to the American Heart Association, during a cardiac arrest, the heart suddenly stops beating normally and the victim collapses into unconsciousness. Oxygen-rich blood stops circulating. Without quick action, such as immediate CPR, a victim of cardiac arrest can die within four to six minutes. By increasing the number of people who know how to respond properly to sudden cardiac arrest, Be the Beat will help increase the odds of bystander CPR and AED use and give more cardiac arrest victims a better chance at life.

That is the definition of a good cause, and I love seeing comics used to help spread the word. Snowflakes is actually a very funny comic it's not that easy for a ongoing gag strip to make me laugh, and making readers think at the same time is a real accomplishment. The creators behind Snowflakes are Chris Jones, Zach Weiner, and James Sandlin Ashby. You should give their web site a read as well the American Heart Association/Be The Beat is one storyline/ it is also accompanied by a ongoing Snowflakes storyline featuring the characters Sloan and Wray. Snowflakes is about young kids in a mountain orphanage and the various predicaments children can get themselves involved in. It's smart and FUNNY!

I know Be The Beat is aimed at a younger audience than I normally get, but there is very useful information on the site regardless of age. There is also a link for teachers, parents, and adults to go to. I think it would be worthwhile to pass it along to younger people, your children, or any kid siblings you may have.
Hi Gwen! ;)

Zuda Review NewBot/ Simplicity in storytelling is a virtue

2010-02-18T21:22:00.000-06:00

NewBot was created by Chuck Harrison and finished 2nd in January at Zuda. Here is the synopsis: A new world waits for a small integrated circuit. Superficial visions appear as our NewBot realizes that it’s not alone. There are more. Blockades are breached as communication is achieved. Obstacles materialize in our electronic heroes path. NewBot is a comic on the subject of the creation of a tiny integrated circuit with a metallic exterior and lustrous green eyes. NewBot is a narrative about how something new perceives the world around it. Binary is the only language used. 01010110100010101000101000110101

01001000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 00111111

I was tempted to do this whole review in binary, but I figured that would be madding. The most important thing I got from this comic -besides the awesome robots- was how charming straight forward storytelling can be. The robots speaking in binary was a nice touch, equal parts cool and cute, but for the most part this is a silent comic. Silent comics are harder to do than works with dialogue, whatever story you want to tell has to be easily readable in the art, so any reader can figure whats being said. There is bound to be variations, but a general consensus on what's going down needs to be attainable. Here a new little robot is created, his creator introduces him to his brother robots, the inventor gets too happy/excited and has a heart attack then dies. The other robots are confused about what happened, start to gather around, and ask the NewBot, who tells them their inventor is gone. The old bot's blame NewBot, their eyes turn read, and as the comic ends NewBot seems to be facing a angry mob that irrationally blames them for their creators demise. You can take the story a number of ways depending on your point of view. It can be just a cute little robot facing a hostile world you empathize with, or you can get more serious and see this story as a example of the dangers of a angry mindless mob, unjust persecution, and scapegoating justification. The secret of success of this silent story is the basic plot can be followed, but each reader is going to project their own feelings and experiences onto the lead character. It doesn't just 'work' on any number of levels it works on each individual readers level. If you've ever in your life felt singled out as the fall guy, you can root for NewBot. If you like cute little characters trying to make their way in the big bad world, you can root for NewBot. It's a robot so anyone and everyone can identify and cheer him on.

SIMPLICITY AS A ILLUSION

It's never as easy as it looks, every panel, and the composition there of matters. The only color in this comic is the eyes of the robots and their chest plates. Which came in handy in the depiction of the robots anger later on in the screens, even at the start strong narrative decisions were made. These robots creator's face wasn't seen till screen 3 which was a nice split between NewBot's P.O.V. and the inventor's. You also see physical comedy as NewBot shakes with fear as it is first picked up and doesn't understand what is going on. NewBot's surprise is shown when it is presented before the rest of the robots. NewBot's 'Hi everybody' meeting of the rest of the brood can't help but remind you of the first day of kindergarten when kids begin their school attending odyssey. When the inventor first starts to have chest pains (and presumably drops dead) it's a surprise considering the tenor of the previous pages. Things go from light and fluffy to deadly serious -but the cute art work remains. To do something like that without it being a glaring juxtaposition takes story-telling skills that deserves even more appreciation than a second place finish. By the end of the 8 screens Chuck had got me to care what happens to NewBot next, especially as it is a well done cliffhanger danger ending . Having readers wanting to see what happens next is the most important quality a Zuda creator can hope for, so that even if a competitor doesn't win the contest readers will still want to see the title live on.
If you haven't already checked out the strip, give it a read and see if you don't want to cheer the little robot on!

Zuda Review War Of The Fallen/ If you have pretty young people, and a ancient evil -they'll get together

2010-02-14T01:27:00.000-06:00

War Of The Fallen finished in the 4 spot January on Zuda it was created by Quinton J. Bedwell . Here is the synopsis: Hannah Sephan is a normal girl attending a University in the quaint town of Northwood Hills. Her goals and everyday life is much the same as any young woman her age. When fellow college girls start disappearing she begins having horrific dreams of their mutilated corpses warning her of impending danger. She dismisses the dreams until the disappearances get closer to home and the dreams become more ominous and violent. The FBI's Agent Frank Shepard, is sent in to investigate the disappearances when he discovers that everything leads back to Hannah. Their destinies collide spiraling them both into a web of intense secrecy and suspense. The closer they get to the truth the more they realize that what's going on is infinitely bigger than either could have imagined. There is an ancient evil residing in Northwood Hills that has been patiently waiting and searching for something that could tip the balance in a war that has spanned the ages. Soon, Hannah's simple life of books, friends, and fun is transformed into blood, gore, and war.

GATHERING OF THE HEROES

The first thing I noticed was you couldn't read the font in small screen, and its not that easy to read it full screen. There is a lot of dialogue, most of which is well written, so ease of reading would have been a improvement on something already well done. It starts off with a nicely done establishing shot that moves into Hannah and her friends having a conversation about some missing girls. The dialogue is handled very well reveals useful facts, and the banter moves along characterization. Hanah has the classic 'bumping into each other scene with F.B.I. agent Shepard, and a good use of silhouette with her friends telling her way to get that number. This goes along with the 'kooky old professor type' Professor Locke who's giving a lecture coincidentally enough on the 'fallen'. Hannah falls asleep in clash and has one of those ominous dreams of the missing girl coming back as a monster and repeating "I wanna go home" and "all your fault" over and over again. The lettering style fit the creepy dream, and the whole way the sequence was framed was a nice touch. Screen 4 is the stand out screen here. Half the screen is Hannah's confrontation with the dream monster girl done with all angles askew, the other half of the page being her taken to a hospital depicted in level rectangles. The coloring isn't horrible, but it is 'just good enough to pass' colors are too rich considering the subject matter. Very good dialogue, and great screen design are this comics two strong suits.

EVERY CLICHE IN THE BOOK, BUT DONE WELL

I'm not kidding about that cliche business this comic has every element of the 'supernatural horror/chosen defender' genre shoe horned into these 8 screens. Even with all that it still got a favorite from me because it combined so many horror standards together so well. That's part compliment, and part wish on my part that instead of putting everything but the kitchen sink in this comic, Bedwell had left a few influences out to put more of a original spin on what he had in the title. I'm no comic reading novice, or purist -I know there is nothing new under the sun, and the wheel doesn't get reinvented too many times when it comes to stories. More of a effort can be made to put your own spin on things within the submission so readers can see them, instead of waiting for that fabled 9th screen. Hannah wakes up in the hospital with Shepard by her side in the course of the conversation they mention Locke moving the story along. On screen 6 some mysterious looking men in black arrive and start killing their way towards Hannah. A nice touch on the part of the creator was a Jay Leno monologue included since he was on the TV one of the soon to be dead humans were watching. Screen 7 is a nice suspenseful screen (Bedwell does great layouts) plenty of long shadows, turns out the men in black are monsters, and as Shepard and Hannah hide behind a curtain the two monsters are beheaded with a loud SPLATT! Readers don't actually see them beheaded, just two shadows behind a curtain, then two headless shadows, then a man with a really big sword. The last screen is the reveal of Professor Locke moving aside the curtain holding the sword saying he believed Shepard had some question. Locke is also the one who arranged for Hannah's protection, and spoke Latin just like the monsters. It's a action cliffhanger ending, to set up the characters future struggle. I would like to see this creator back again with a more focused title giving readers more of his take on a genre, instead of making sure all the parts of a horror heroine story get thrown in.

Zuda Review Beyond The Borderlands/ If only the comic had been more like the synopsis

2010-02-09T00:53:00.001-06:00

Beyond The Borderlands was a January Zuda contender finished last in a nine comic race. It was created by Brian McLachlan, here is the synopsis: In a low-fantasy world, heroes wander Beyond the Borderlands of the civilized kingdoms looking for adventure. Tree-man Norn and sword scholar Moriarty Muscletooth find an empty graveyard that leads them to an even creepier empty town. Jellyfish Cove has been cursed by the MerKing with eternal winter. While the town is mostly abandoned, there is one sorceress who has plans to fight back against the fish folk. Meanwhile the wandering heroes uncover threads of a deeper plot afoot.
This is a sword and sorcery story of intrigue and action. The setting is a pseudo-feudal world where people of various skin tones mingle. There is a sense of history with ancient legends, ruins and thriving cities. People commonly take up the wanderer's life when they don't want to be nailed down to their parent's profession. Think of adventurers like musicians in the real world. Some are wannabes, some are DIYs, some are rock stars and some are has beens. It's just the monsters that will kill you, not the heroin.
The Jellyfish Cove story arc follows a group that's beginning their first great tour. Spoiler alert - In the full-length story you will meet parasitic vampires, a werebadger and a beautiful young necromancer with a heart of gold.

BORDERING ON BOREDOM

The synopsis biggest hook was recasting fantasy adventurers as the musicians of our day, but this high (good) concept wasn't realized in the 8 screens. Too many screens were wasted on tip-toeing through the tulips -so to speak- to get to the mausoleum on screen 4. The two lead characters are Norn some kind of fantasy creature -could be a wood sprite- and some other unnamed wizard sort spend the first half walking and engaging in some pointless dialogue. They spot a mausoleum and wander off -slowly- to check it out, arguing between themselves if they should give it a look. Some of the back story of the synopsis is revealed and you see some 'sword scholar' magic on display with the human looking of the two using his powers. None of that adds up to enough reason to spend half the comic on set-up, it's a fantasy comic the characters should have been walking through that door by screen 2. It's only 8 screens in a Zuda contest, you need to hit the ground running in the telling of the story if you want to win. The colors are okay, lettering is legible, the art has moments of showing a Mike Allred influenced style that's not a problem to me. The pace does pick up during the exploring of the mausoleum, turns out a sarcophagus is empty and the cemetery hidden beneath has had all the bodies removed by underground tunnels leading to the surface, which established a nice mystery. The pace immediately gets slowed down again by the comic ending on the adventures following tracks to the abandoned snow-pocalypse town of Jellyfish Cove. I understand the characters following the clues to solve the mystery, but the last screen was so devoid of good layouts/dramatic action it left me wondering why I should care what happens to this comics leads? If your going to end on a abandoned town do something a little atypical in the layout from the rest of the comic to let readers see something screwy is going on. Having 4 itty-bitty squares showing empty beds and abandoned food is less than impressive, it's boring. Nothing about the last screens layout would ever reach out and grab readers, and you want to end on a high note.

A full screen of a creepy looking snowed in town would have had more impact on readers instead of the 'one side of a small Rubik's Cube' style ending McLachlan went with.

IF THEY HAVE THEIR OWN FORM OF SPEAKING IT'LL MAKE MY FANTASY COMIC WORLD MORE REAL RIGHT?

Where things go wrong is Brian McLachlan trying to create his own slang to help add realism/ extra layers to his story - I guess... It's been done before and failed before on Zuda instead of striking a note of originality it just turns off readers who don't get what the characters are talking about. It also isn't needed in only 8 screens save the experimental dialogue for if you win, deliver as good as story as you can without a self imposed handicap of oddball fantasy speak. The classic example in this comic is the line "Help me a hand" which just sounds awful. I used to play D&D, I've read Lord of the Rings, I understand the feeling of wanting to immerse readers into your world by having unique dialogue, but you have to fight it. It just doesn't work on Zuda because of space limitations, it's not that big a draw in these types of stories anyway, and there are always a few who wonder if it was written so clunky in spite of a creators effort instead of on purpose. Having your own terminology for a comic on Zuda doesn't do anything but make it harder for you to win past contests have proved this. The best part of this comic was Norn in the tunnels. The coloring was well done, and his thought balloons made him sound like a regular person. The more fantastical elements included in a story the more 'real earth' your characters should sound as a counter balance. Norn's thoughts in the tunnels were perfect "Many men mine for gems and gold, but bodies...? What creeps within this crypt?" see those lines had the flavor of made-up medieval, but weren't twisted around so much as to make readers think the creator was trying too hard. If the 8 screens had shown more of what was in the synopsis in a dynamic way, less ostentatious dialogue, the comic would have finished higher than it did.

Zuda Review Pavlov's Dream/ Spending eternity in Candyland

2010-02-06T15:08:00.000-06:00

Pavlov's Dream was a January Zuda comic which finished sixth, but is set to continue on off Zuda here. It was created by Shari Chankhamma and Kelsie Yoshida. Here is the synopsis: The afterlife is different things to different people. To some it's a fiery pit of doom and suffering, others envision it as eternal paradise, and some don't believe it exists at all. Brothers Sasha and Micha never gave it much thought until the day a living shadow enters their lives. Of course, no one believes the tall tales of a sentient shadow Sasha spins, not even his elder brother, until it sweeps both boys away to the land of the dead, a place that is everything and nothing like they'd been told.
Once there they must find their way back home with the help of their new friend and a dead pet goldfish with a penchant for blowing bubbles, avoiding the dangers of a world where just about anything can happen, few things are what they seem, and possessing a pulse makes one a tempting target. But that’s just the start of their adventure, because when the afterlife spills into the land of the living, things really start to get messy.
Now it’s up to two young boys, a wayward spirit and a fish to set things right before the whole world unravels around them.

WHEN CUTE AND CREEPY COME TOGETHER

It's not my go-to genre, but I can definitely appreciate the quality work in this comic. It starts out with Sasha doing shadow puppets on the wall, then the shadow comes alive. It was a well designed screen with very well rendered characters. One of the unique aspects about this comic is Sasha starts out speaking in pictographs as he tries to explain the weird happenings to his family. Sasha doesn't actually speak in words until screen 4, and that doesn't happen till Micha sees for himself the shadow boy on the wall. Between the funny pics and character expressions it works to make readers more curious as to what's going on. Seeing that actual words will be used is a sign in and of itself to readers things are moving on to the next beat of the story. Picto-speak isn't that easy to pull off but it works to convey the excitement of this young child in a more expressive way than just a bigger font could pull off. It also fits into the characterization that Sasha can't slow down enough to be really understood by anyone till his bother knows he is telling the truth. A smart bit of narrative there that takes advantage of the medium of comics. The dialogue-dialogue also fit all of the characters and was just as well done.The colors also aid this comic in pulling off the story-book feel, not too harsh, not too light -it just fits the story. You have a nicely done action sequence of the shadow boy turning into a bird and leading the brothers into a bureau that happens to be the gateway to the afterlife.

ALL THE PRETTY COLORS OF PARADISE

The afterlife Sasha and Micha end up in is actually a fairy tale landscape style place with big yellow leaves and mushrooms all around. It's a nice -but not surprising- twist on the standard gloom and doom of the afterlife. I also appreciated the technical details of the story AKA effective use of comic book short hand. The creators have the good sense to leave what's unnecessary in the gutters between the panels. As the brothers and shadow boy make their journey to the portal to the land of living I enjoyed how changing the colorful background conveyed a lot of travel in few panels. The comic ends with the boys crossing paths with the goldfish mentioned in the synopsis and readers get the impression the little band is finally completed and the rest of the story is about to begin. For younger readers, or older readers going for a more up-beat story book read they will probably enjoy this story. The only real failing is it doesn't have that cross over appeal a story like this needs. How many times have you read something and said to yourself 'it isn't normally my kind of thing, but something about this story makes it stand out from it's genre/style confines and grab me as a reader'? That hook that expands creators predictable audience is missing from this comic. If your more into story book tales that skip the grim -then do give this comic a shot over at it's new home.

Zuda Review Phantom Sword/ The amazing technicolor fantasy adventure

2010-02-01T15:43:00.000-06:00

Phantom Sword was a January Zuda competitor done by Nick Edwards which finished in the third spot. This is the synopsis: Henry, a young, adventurous boy and his guardian Gumb take on a quest that could be their greatest yet. They once again run into the notorious demon wizard, Shanks, as he corrupts the forest and turns the once good creatures against them. Through use of Gumb’s book of monsters and the power of Henry’s Phantom Sword they must slay and capture the beasts of the forests. Yet not all the creatures can be defeated so easily. Therefore the duo must take on multiple quests in order to obtain the necessary trinkets, armor and weapons needed to slay or free the beasts. As these events unfold and our heroes get closer to Shanks’ lair we start to discover more about our intrepid adventurers, the mysteries behind the Phantom Sword, the secrets of Henry’s father, Gumb’s origins and Henry’s forced premature jump into adulthood. Phantom Sword mixes epic fantasy, a buddy movie and the smaller more significant accounts of a young boy becoming aware of the world around him.

THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A SID AND MARTY KROFFT TV SHOW

Gumb is a egg shaped fuzzy, wuzzy, with magical powers, Henry is the young errant knight on a acid trip crusade. The thing that stands out most about this comic is the coloring work. The star characters stand out like a neon sign in a already colorful back drop. They're looking for a forest god named Gregory and they find him on screen 3. The character design on Gregory is as tripy as the other characters, it serves to draw you into the story. Turns out Gregory has a translator -who's an owl- who offers our heroes a quest. Henry accepts the quest with a flourish as he pulls the Phantom Sword out of it's scabbard and readers find out some evil forest flower is tainting everything causing the woods and woodland creatures to rot and die. The comic has a good pace that moves right along through the story without wasting screens. Shanks is a demon believed to be responsible for the evil plot and the art works well with the character narration to tell the story. The reward for this quest added some humor to the comic. With a bag of gold, and a bag with badges on it offered, while Gumb wished they had heard what the mission was about before accepting it. The lettering was done in a fun style that stood out on the page. It ends with Henry coming face to face with a huge -fairly scary- monster summoned by Shanks, and Gumb being knocked out cold by a lighting bolt.

WHAT CAN WHIMSICAL FANTASY DO FOR YOU?

The most impressive quality this comic has is how well Nick makes use of the 8 screens you have in a Zuda contest. You have a good bit of story with no drag assing around till you get to the payoff confrontation at the end. It's not my go-to genre, but I do appreciate the effort that went into this comic. It is more of a all ages/younger readers tale in style, and it didn't have enough elements for adult readers to grab me. No lines or jokes that worked on two levels and would be a wink and a nod to grown-up readers. For younger readers I don't think it would be challenging enough. Scary monsters and a powerful sword are nice, but a more complex/convoluted plot line would have helped not hindered this comic. Everything was well put together but more background on the two lead's, lines aimed at older readers, or more expository dialogue would have made me feel there was something here for everyone instead of just younger readers. As it was, this comic either missed my age group -or I'm too old and grumpy to embrace the whimsy.

Zuda Review War Of The Woods/ The winner and latest champion

2010-01-30T20:14:00.000-06:00

War Of The Woods by Matthew Petz is the winner of Zuda January 2010. It got a favorite from me and my vote, here is the synopsis: War Of The Woods is a classic alien invasion story told from an entirely unique point of view, that of the animals of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Father and son otters Nathaniel and Phinneas Waterbrooks will embark on an adventure with close friend, turtle Issac Brownshell. They, along with the rest of the animal kingdom, will not only survive but fight back against the greatest threat the planet has ever known.
Phin is a young Otter who loves reading the forgotten comic books of hikers and campers. Nathaniel, his father, is a fisherman descended from a long line of fisherman. He has cared for Phin alone since the death of his wife. Issac is his good friend and a grandfatherly figure to Phin. Through the eyes of these three we begin to witness the invasion. When UFOs begin descending upon the Earth the lives of all animals will never be the same. War Of The Woods is sprawling saga that will introduce us to the animals and their societies during this crisis. Phin will find himself at the center of a great war, a war that will take our characters all over the world, and a war for the future of the planet.
War of the Woods is an epic adventure along the lines of The Road, Lord of The Rings, and Aliens. It follows the quiet moments of survival and the explosive moments of a planet on the brink. At its core it is about a father and son and the bonds we all share during extraordinary times.

COME DESTROY OUR WILD AMERICA

The synopsis is a bit on the long side, but it does a good job of setting things up, and previewing future events. The lettering is completely readable, and I'm glad the comic is in color, black and white wouldn't have been as impressive to me for this story. The art and story was a perfect fit and this really impressed me. You had big moments in the art like the screen 6 full screen shot of Phin, Nathaniel, and Issac, riding off on Darby the deer, and smaller touches like the spaceship reflections in panel 2, screen 2. With the dialogue you had Phin shouting WhooHoooo! as he rode off using Issac as a helmet, and Phin and Nathaniel worried this would be just like the alien invasion they read about in issue twenty of Super Adventures. All of this adds up to great characterization, and the more readers care about your characters, the more inclined they are to vote for it. That elusively defined 'story-book' feel is what makes it, or breaks it for a story like this, and it looks easier to pull off than it is. Heroic good-guy characters not hit with not too many gray strokes coming together in a fantastical story to face some sort of danger. The use of animals as main characters doesn't just provide a different take on the classic alien invasion story (just what are animals up to with humans are fighting an invasion), but they can also engender a great deal of sympathy, and a quicker connection to readers than human characters. Reading this comic is almost enough to make you want a pet otter, similar to the 'naked mole rat' effect of the Kim Possible cartoon. As the story goes on you're introduced to more denizens of the forest as the animals go from listing to the radio to watching TV. The cliffhanger last screen was well done revealing the alien menace, and showing the animals surprise -which matched my surprise. Those are some scary looking aliens to be going up against!

I WANT TO SEE AN OTTER DRIVING A TANK, MAKE IT HAPPEN MATTHEW

To use technology, or not to use technology? Or, just how human-like to make these animals anyway? I actually enjoyed the idea that most of these animals know how to operate a TV, a radio, and -evidently- read discarded human magazines. I understand it was a question to Matthew about how tech-savvy to make the characters, but I think making them just a little more human in that regard opens up story-telling possibilities. The big hook of this story is seeing what the animals are doing, while the humans fight off the alien invasion. You can guess that the animals will confront the aliens sooner, or later -but how that goes I couldn't guess. The future direction of this strip and possible twists and turns was a big draw in it winning the contest. You just don't really know what's going to happen next? The reason I think it won (besides a get out the vote effort) is how well it managed to make you care about the characters with great characterization in only 8 screens. Just because that doesn't happen often in any given contest doesn't mean it can't be done.

Zuda Review Road Monster/ A road trip with characters who care about life

2010-01-27T13:32:00.000-06:00

Road Monster is another Zuda competitor this month done by Nicolás Raúl Sánchez Brondo and Diego Cortés. Here is the synopsis: Road Monster is a quest, an attempt by father and son to free from a curse. They must travel across a country that is packed with monsters, demons and horrors. They will face terror the best way they can. They will try to help the innocent and pure, seeking to stop the evil they see around them. They follow a legend of an exorcist, who lives on the road and fights the forces of darkness. They will not stop until they find him. Will they survive the madness and horror? Will they escape the curse?

A LITTLE LESS ATMOSPHERE, AND A LOT MORE CONVERSATION?

From screen 1 on that Grindhouse film feel transposed over to the comics medium is alive and kicking. It starts out with two men pulling up to some out of the way hell-hole house in a appropriately dissolute landscape. They look like a pair of bad asses and you just know some violence is going to be going down by screen 8. On screen 3 they pass by a young child begging for help on their way into the house, which was a nice dramatic moment. It was very effective way of revealing character without having to resort to a lot of dialogue. I figured it for a artistic decision, the trouble is that kept things too quiet between the characters, when more of a conversation on later screens would have given this comic more of a chance to standout. Minimalistic dialogue is all well and good, but the more you can establish about what the hell is going on in your story the better you avoid being a generic entry. How dare I call their work generic!!! Two guys ride around in a kick-ass car fighting demons, what does that sound like to you? No the answer isn't the Supernatural T.V. show. If 'two guys ride around in a car fighting demons' was all Eric Kripke had when he made his pitch Supernatural never would have ended up as a show even on the WB network. Originally they were two tabloid reporters, but that got changed to two brothers. Here in Road Monster the two men are father and son, lots of drama can be found there. The problem is if you only read the comic (a lot of Zuda readers don't go near the synopsis) you don't even know they're father and son. If you only read the comic you don't even know they're father and son. Just how hard would it have been to have the younger man say "okay dad" just one time. I automatically care more about a father and son, instead of just two guys, in a story because of all the possibilities that opens up. If something goes wrong will the father be forced to sacrifice himself for his son? Will the son sacrifice himself for the father? How does a family end up in this kind of situation? How does the dad feel about the son tagging along risking his life? These are all questions readers would wonder about, and pay more attention to this comic to see what happens next, if the readers knew they were father and son. Give readers a reason to give a damn about the characters.The coloring of this comic moves from nice and edgy to something more along the lines of Grendel: Black, White, and Red. The transition to so much red and black was jarring, but jarring worked to make the art more impressive. The comic ends with a cool looking demon exploding out of a out-house while taking a shit at the same time.

REINVENTING THE WHEEL, UNDER THE SUN

I've only ever seen one episode of Supernatural (don't like the show), but come on, this comic lends itself to an obvious comparison to that show. The creators probably are going in a different direction from that show, but it doesn't matter. Two brothers riding around fighting demons, a father and son riding around fighting demons. The comparison is going to happen. It happened with past Zuda winner Celadore done by Caanan Grall . It has a young woman who fights vampires, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a young woman who fights vampires -comparisons were made. The two stories are actually nothing alike (I think Caanan even said he never watched the show), but the comparisons were still made. It happened with the original Captain Marvel and Superman, even though besides good guys in capes with vast super-powers in common, the characters are very different. Comparisons are going to happen, it's up to the creators to take things in a different direction than what readers might be expecting. You can't show all that in 8 screens, but a little more conversation could have given a little more insight into the characters.

Zuda Review Iron Sam/ Wonder what the Yojimbo program does?

2010-01-27T13:31:00.001-06:00

Iron Sam is another Zuda competitor this month done by David Dumeer. Here is the synopsis: Iron Sam, a pipe wielding robot-samurai, is found kicking ass in what appears to be a dystopian future, or more specifically, a scrap heap in some sort of dystopian desert future. What Iron Sam has to do with a gang of bikers, a little girl he saved, and a local bordering town has yet to be uncovered. What we do know about Iron Sam is that he doesn't "play nice" when threatened and usually literally carries out whatever taunt is hurled at him. What we'll learn is where he comes from, why he follows his directives so violently, and what the deal is with the local town, in the future adventures of Iron Sam.

NOW THAT'S HOW YOU WRITE A SYNOPSIS!

I'll get to the comic in a minute, but right now I'm just slightly in awe of how well that synopsis is done. It names the major players in the comic, talks about the set-up/world of the story, and previews future events and conflicts. It also doesn't go on forever, but just covers what it needs to cover. Dumeer could run a clinic for synopsis writing, and the way things are looking, he needs to. Most people seem to care less about the synopsis, but I'm one of the people who do care.

GREASY, GRIMY, BIKER GANG GUTS

You had a very well designed first screen that mixed Iron Sam's Robocop style directive screen, with the dark interiors a little girl is hiding in. The art and story mix well with Iron Sam getting some nice action hero style bad-ass lines. It always helps when you have some dialogue to go along with the action scenes. The fight scenes were pretty graphic for a Zuda comic: arms chopped off, people cut in half, those previously mentioned guts hanging out all over the place. Whenever there was some serious blood-letting going on the panels were tinted red, which made for a nice effect. The colors were very well done, and all the lettering was readable. I liked the style of the art in individual panels, but the actions scenes were more gory, than kinetic. So what the hell do I mean by kinetic? Great action scenes in comics do a better job of representing movement, the transition between one fight to the next flows better, and looks smother. Iron Sam here was a little stiff -swing your weapon, strike a poise, kill a bad guy, strike a poise. The other half of the bikers body still standing, then a last spurt before it tips over on screen 5 didn't really work well either. It's fully possible David didn't want to show Iron Sam having any moves besides hack, and then slash as a way of representing he's a tough character against some weak opposition. I think it would have been a more interesting 8 screens if Iron Sam would have had more of a opponent to overcome. Quality not quantity of villains and bloody severe 'kills'. Heroes and villains only look as good as their opposition, it's only a 60 screen contract, no need to beat around the bush too much with nameless henchmen, show us the really impressive things Iron Sam can do.

TIME TO INVOKE LONE WOLF AND CUB AND THE BABY CART MOVIES

A samurai character with a young kid in tow is a nice nod of the head to Lone Wolf and Cub. Flip things around so you have a dystopian, apocalyptic, and mutant filled wasteland with a robot samurai, and you have a whole bunch of action filled genres coming together at one time. One of the really impressive scenes in the comic is when Iron Sam discovers the young girl and pronounces her threat level... minimal. Iron Sam 'rescues' her then rides off into the sunset (literally) with the remnants of the dead bikers in a cart on the back of his bike. The last screen is three panels of the girl being impressed with in the final one some kind of Spider mutant's face coming into view. I was a little surprised Iron Sam would just ride off and leave her, but it must have something to do with his Directive 2. It ends with a danger hook cliffhanger and also a nice bit of mystery. Aside from the stiff fight scenes, it is a fun read with plenty of talent on display from the creator. I'm not that sure this title would be able to grab my interest (not just be action filled fun, but find some way to stand apart from what's gone before) enough to be a must read for a remainder of 52 screens. Iron Sam has everything and the kitchen sink, but you should have left the kitchen sink out of it. Meaning: robots, wastelands, sword fighting, kids in peril, mutants, this comic in 8 screens has everything you could imagine, but doesn't really hint at anything action fans wouldn't expect to see in a amalgamation. Still Iron Sam had some neat moments in dialogue and design, and I hope to see David Dumeer back in Zuda with a even more ambitious entry.

Zuda Review Candy From Strangers/ Nietzsche's abyss is a koi pond

2010-01-27T13:31:00.000-06:00

OUT OF THE DARKNESS AND INTO THE LIGHT

Candy From Strangers is a comic done by Jim Rodgers and Byron Jackson in this month's Zuda competition. The art and story is impressive, it fits the 8 screens on Zuda very well. It starts out at a double murder crime scene as various members of law enforcement try to reconstruct what happened, and help the young traumatized only survivor. The comic reads like crime story with psychological and noir elements included to better grab readers. It's a little dialogue heavy at the start, but better to get the information readers need in characters interacting instead of text box narration. The dialogue is what you would expect characters to say (if you've read/watched any amount of crime stories before coming to this comic) so that's not that impressive. I know the set-up doesn't lend itself well to memorable lines, but nothing the characters utter sounds too clunky, or out of place. What the writer did to rise above standard dialogue was establish the pace of the story. The way the authorities attempt to reconstruct what happened (we see their theory play out in the panels as they talk about it) lends itself well to a Rashomon tribute. You figure the way the little girl, and her brother the shooter, will remember the events that happened will differ. There are a number of reveals as the story goes along, which came at the right moments to build and build up reader interest -a snowballing effect that makes readers want to know what happens next. I credit the writer for using the environment (in this case rain is pouring down) to help establish the mood of the story. Everyone from Peter David to Dave Sim has made the point comics aren't movies, you don't need special effect dollars to have rain, snow, earthquakes, and use the environment to help tell your story. What you do need is a artist who has enough skills to pull off everything that comes up in your story. Weather, structures, and characters who convey emotion in there expressions are all well rendered here. For the most part the various points of view chosen for the panels to show the story was well done. From blood splattered on a framed family photo, to characters reflections in the rain as they talk about the little girl -all nice touches. The coloring of the comic was a fine fit. The lettering is legible, but the balloon placement in the second panel on screen 1 makes it confusing who's talking when. It would be all good except for...

SNAKE BIT BY THE SYNOPSIS, IT FUCKED THE WHOLE WORKS UP

The worst synopsis in the history of Zuda:
Two very troubled young runaways are united in their attempt to evade capture from the law. Separately they couldn't survive--one has only the skills and the other only the means. Together they can make it and they begin their decade long murderous road trip across America. They learn about love and life in their own perverse way as together they become adults. Pursued by a Chechen gang called the Movladi and by a lone, desperate ex-cop tragically affected by their crimes they travel aimlessly from state to state, from thrill to thrill in the ultimate tale of nihilism.

I was amazed at just how horrible the synopsis was, for a variety of reasons I will go into detail about. The creators have expressed some surprise at the negative response to the synopsis and how it affects voters take on the comic. I was just as surprised as the creators by how much the synopsis repelled me. Jim Rodgers asked over on MPD57's blog review comments section just what about it people didn't like. It's a good question that deserves as good a explanation answer as I can give:
Two very troubled young runaways are united in their attempt to evade capture from the law. [The synopsis doesn't tie-in to what we see in the comic well enough. The boy shooter is one of the runaways I guess, but who is the other person? The writer has mentioned various twists planned out for this story to happen later on. Well, if you don't win whatever you have planned in screen 9 and beyond doesn't matter. there is no reason not to give names to who the story is about, that's what I expect from a synopsis. Too vague -I need to know who these future leads are in order to care what happens to them. If you can't show them in the 8 screens because of your set-up and the ghosts of plot twist future, at least name them so I know them when I see them.] Separately they couldn't survive--one has only the skills and the other only the means. [That makes no damn sense at all, just what are you talking about with that line? If you said 'make your best guess' my surmise would be one has 'street smarts' making cops, hot wiring cars, dumpster diving, and the other Starkweather prodigy has the indomitable will to carry on, and blow someone's head off if needs be. I could be totally wrong from the synopsis you just can't tell.] Together they can make it and they begin their decade long murderous road trip across America. [The synopsis makes you think the direction the comic is going is something like Natural Born Killers, or The Doom Generation. I didn't like those films, and have no interest in wandering across the same genre landscape in comics. Nihilistic characters that are unrootable/unredeemable can make for interesting lead characters in a story. To see if they 'get away' with their bad deeds, or get caught gives readers a reason to keep coming back. Nihilistic characters on a 'road trip' is not something I care to read though. Mixing the 'road trip' journey of self discovery contrivance with the 'ironic' twist of characters who live like 'life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value' -gives no meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value to me as a reader. The whole format is a set-up they made me worry the creators here were just going to try too hard (like Oliver Stone) to get the message/meaning of their story across.] They learn about love and life in their own perverse way as together they become adults. Pursued by a Chechen gang called the Movladi and by a lone, desperate ex-cop tragically affected by their crimes [The Chechen gang Movladi should have just been left out completely, we don't see them in the 8 screens so no need for an explanation for them. It seems from the synopsis they're going to be a foil for the other characters so why not save them as a surprise for the readers. I don't think Zuda editorial would have came down on you for not introducing later villains in your synopsis. We see -I guess- the future ex-cop in the first 8 screens so glad that got a mention. Again, do some name dropping in your synopsis.] they travel aimlessly from state to state, from thrill to thrill in the ultimate tale of nihilism. ['from thrill to thrill in the ultimate tale of nihilism' are the words that sealed this comics fate with me.That line is just too hip to be trendy, meaning you seem to be trying so hard for a tag line that's almost poetic -it ends up a farce. Actually using the word 'Nihilism' in the synopsis is a red flag that reminded me of all the pointless debates I suffered through back in the philosophy classes I took in college. It just felt like forget the crime story you read in the 8 screens, this is going to be a comic with unrepentant ass-hole killer twenty-somethings pontificating on the lack of meaning to life, between various violent encounters. I imagine the two runaways would be just eat up with angst that I would care nothing about. The 'ultimate tale' business is just pretentious at worst, or trying too hard to be sincere and ending up a caricature of a good pitch at best.]
The biggest problem with the synopsis is with just about every other Zuda contestant what you like about the first 8 screens you will only get more of should the comic win. With this synopsis it seems to disregard the 8 screens in the contest and say should the comic win things will be going in a different direction. Criminal Minds and Natural Born Killers have a different tone/perspective, being a fan of one doesn't imply your a fan of the other, same here with the 8 screens vs. the synopsis.

WE'RE ALL VAINGLORIOUS BASTERDS NOW

If the disparity is having such an effect as to diminish the reader’s experience then I will admit it as a failure on my part. But, to me, if the work is strong as you admit and the synopsis is accurate as I claim, then is there a problem? [Jim Rodgers, MPD57's review, comments section]

Yeah there is. I don't think the synopsis is that accurate (based on other comments made on another site, and later comments made by the author on the same review), anything that drives away favorites -if not votes- you otherwise would have had based on the 8 screens, should be considered a problem.

More from the same comment section, different post: I’m starting to think that people like it but not enough to win and in order to justify whatever it is within them not sparking up a vote they yearn for a reason. When the reason is intangible the synopsis becomes the foil. The triteness I understand–it shakes confidence in the creator. But if someone needs the synopsis to describe what happens in the 8 quick pages they’re asked to read I can’t help but wonder if they’ve ever called AA to provide a series of indicated maps for their grocer at the end of the street.

Wrong again, in two different ways. The reason isn't intangible, the reason is the synopsis. As a reader you have expectations of what comes next should a Zuda contestant win, the synopsis throws all that away, and leaves readers unsure just what they would be voting for. A synopsis usually comes in one of three flavors, leaving aside gag-a-day strips which are a different kind of creature. 1. yes, you do have synopsis's that repeat what is already in the comic, but they're rare on Zuda, and not what people are looking for anyway. 2. Another type is the back story of how we've gotten to this point, and a little preview of the future synopsis. 3. Is the synopsis that picks up where the comic leaves off, and has a preview of what's to come. The problem with Candy From Strangers is too much of a disconnect between the comic and the synopsis.

The creators did a interview: Robot 6 at CBR:

The overall tone is that of a tongue-in-cheek, modern, pulpy crime tale. The whole story is driven by short gruesome interstitials about two teenagers on the run. The interstitials are sensationalized and unrealistic--the kids are good looking, they drive cool classic cars, fantastic weaponry, each kill is topped by the next one in terms of graphic reward... but the real heart of the story is in the chapters themselves. In the chapters we see the true effects of their actions on the lives of their victims' loved ones and we see the kids for what they are: ugly and objectionable.

Which is a lot like a further comment made on Mike's review by Rodgers:

The road trip/junior killers story will be shown in the interstitials. There is a plot line that that story follows but it is comically grotesque over-the-top violence and mayhem. This kind of story has been done well numerous times before us where we follow the main characters through their violent journey (like Natural Born Killers, Wild At Heart, etc.) but how we want to be different is to tell individual chapters that will all overlap each other that describe violent events in the lives of the tertiary characters. Events that shape or are shaped by the interstitials.
The interstitials will push the boundaries in terms of mayhem but it would be tiring and less impactful to cram 100 pages full of that so we opt to balance that with telling the heart of the story through the eyes of those horribly affected by their senseless violence. I guess that’s the true synopsis! But it’s kind of a boring description and Zuda only gave me something like 1500 characters so I went for the exciting sales pitch.
I don't think [The road trip/junior killers...] is boring, it seems like a more accurate description than what the creators ended up going with. If you add in some character names, cut some fluff, that should have been the 2000 character synopsis, it would have got the comic a favorite from me.

Some 'here we went again' pissed Zuda thoughts from a completely sober Irishman

2010-01-18T20:47:00.001-06:00

A review isn't telling someone there comic is trash.
A review is telling someone why you think there comic is trash.

-RKB21

Yes, it's come to the point I'm quoting myself. I've missed a fair number of Zuda reviews these past few months for a variety of reasons, but no fear, I'll be getting around to the full list this month, if for no other reason than my grand disappointment in most of the line-up. I'm going to be redoing my Zuda review format due to popular request, alas it will be more bullet point like, but on the plus side it will be more to the point. Yeah I know, that from the guy who helped bring about the character count limit over on the Zuda proper comments section, but I hope to surprise even myself.

Let me get back to what I said a long, long time ago -Zuda is a election. Sure you have a buffer here of the Zuda editors who pick out ten would be gems every month, but aside from the instant winners, whoever has the most votes gets the win. The quality of a would be Zuda comic is totally subjective, and everyone knows that. So what matters is how well you can bring in voters for your comic to the site. The only way regular Zuda readers matter is if the election is really close, and we all flock to one title in particular. Maybe that will be this month, maybe not.

I would like to think any new Zuda readers, or creators take some time to read up on previous Zuda comics, (winners and losers) and also check out the comments section. There's some good stuff to be found there concept blogs, fan art, crossovers, praise, encouragement, fairly constructive criticism, and on occasion a fair bit of bullshit.

I'll speak for myself, but as a Zuda reviewer (self-appointed, but damn if I don't have some followers anyway) I just go by what I like the best, that has the best chance of winning, when choosing my vote. This could mean voting for a second place comic, or a ninth place comic depending on the month. If my personal number 3 is in the second spot, and my fav far back in the pack -I vote for the comic I like best, that has the best chance of winning. When writing my reviews -of course- it's purely subjective, it's all about me and what I like. Unless a voter is just showing up for a friend, it's the same for everyone, you vote for what you like. I don't start off with any personal vendetta's against any Zuda creators past, or present -because I don't know any of them. Nobody else in blogs, or comment sections usually has any personal knowledge of a competitor either. I can't and won't say my vote is always just about the quality of the work, if you come off as a total shit in the comments section, or on the message boards, -you won't be getting my vote even if you have the second coming of The Dark Knight Returns going on in 8 screens. Life is too short, and there's only 12 monthly Zuda winners, to waste on a paranoid delusional whack job of a creator -even if you can draw, write, or both really well. You may be thinking 'if I do win, you don't have to read it' That's true. Problem is if you win your taking up space for 60 screens, no doubt more rants in your future, that could have gone to a more even tempered, just as qualified creator with there comic.

I'm sorry, so sorry -apologies always come around later. That's great and expected, but it shouldn't come to that ever. This happens over and over again on Zuda -we should all know better than to drunk post by now shouldn't we? Zuda in May, in September, in January... People do good to care enough to vote never mind the plotting. Now your entry in Zuda might be (and probably is) your baby, your life's work coming true right before your eyes. A chance to get paid, with a check that won't bounce, for making comics -dreams are made of this. Your dream isn't my dream though, or any of the other Zuda voters, we're just in it for the comics -so how well can you entertain us in 60 screens? Remember please Zuda competitors, to the voters it's another month of Zuda comics to chose from, there was a month of comics before, and there will be a month of comics after unless DC pulls the plug. No voters out there in Internet land care enough to plot and scheme some evil conspiracy just to take you down. None of us have the passion to try to take away your dream, that you should have to win that Zuda contract. If you think the criticism you get has merit remember it, if not forget it, but don't have the ego to think complete strangers actually care enough about you to try to take you down.

Even if no one followed/read my blog I'd still carry on, because I enjoy it. If your comic doesn't win you can continue it somewhere else, or start working on a new submission smarter than you were before. It takes enough effort for Zudites just to show up and vote for our favorite comic, never mind a conspiracy against some other title.

THEN CAME ATLAS/SEABOARD Part 4: What have we learned and wrought?

2010-01-18T15:03:00.000-06:00

NO NEED TO WORRY, HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU

Atlas did get the ball rolling on creator rights, higher pay, art work being returned, and exclusive contracts in a Nawyecka Comanche sort of way. Atlas's agreeing to return art work, and higher pay checks was a necessarily in acquiring talent to work for them. They also promised more creative control which never really materialized. DC felt more threatened by them than Marvel, which is way they instituted there 'exclusive' new company benefits: "Carmine Infantino issued a memo on August 13, 1974 (a mere two months after the opening of the Atlas/Seaboard office) in an obvious attempt to counter the appeal of Goodman's largess and stem the flow of defections. After mentioning a new program of bonus checks, rate increases, return of artwork, and reprint fees, the memo stipulates that the added benefits apply "only to artists, colorists, and writers who are currently working for us and who submit their work exclusively to us... effective with issues scheduled to go on sale during October, 1974" [Jon. B. Cooke, Comic Book Artist #16] The figureheads AKA publishers at Marvel and DC today have said exclusive contracts are a good thing, that foster more ole' school bullpen style competition. I think that's all bullshit and a rising tide lifts all boats. More crossover talent with series going on at the same time between companies leads to more crossover fans who show up for a creator, but hopefully take a interest in the other companies various titles.

"What may have been a 'understanding' way back when between Marvel and DC, became stated Company policy with Atlas on it's talent raids. It got ironically worse when Goodman did the 'make it more like Marvel shift: Steve Mitchell, who had quit DC to work as our art director. When Martin set out to Marvelize Atlas, he ordered me to fire Steve because he wanted someone who would make the books look more like Marvel. There is nothing I regret more in my seven months at Atlas than having gone along with that line of crap. John Albano, who worked with me, sans pay, because Martin wanted a humor magazine. We conceptualized the books and worked out the contents of several issues, only to have the project killed solely because a specific Marvel employee wouldn't come over and handle the title. Never mind that John would have made a great editor. Alas, having spent several years at DC, he was the wrong pedigree." [Jeff Rovin, The Comics Journal #114] So the DC guys they had Goodman decided he didn't want, you may be wondering what could make this even more of a cluster-fuck than it already was? well....

"Marvel was gentlemanly, even gracious about Atlas’s entry into the comics field. The staffers and freelancers were close to Larry, and they genuinely wished him and the company well. There was no reason not to: from a practical standpoint, if Atlas survived, it was another outlet for those who became disgruntled with Marvel or DC. Still, most of the freelancers were happy with what they were doing at Marvel, which was one reason Martin’s “raid” on the bullpen was so spectacularly unsuccessful and humiliating.
DC was another story.
When Carmine was in charge of DC, he tended to be very paternal toward his people. I know, because I’d worked for him. He was very defensive and proud of most of his employees, and gave them a lot of support, creatively.
Our first run-in as competitors was when Atlas began publishing house ads with the phrase “The Atlas Line of SuperStars.” At the time, every one of Carmine’s covers bore the words “The Line of DC Superstars,” and he resented the similarity. That was fair enough, and when DC production chief Sol Harrison called to complain in his blustery but good-natured way, I pulled the ad.
Things got a bit nastier, though, when DC’s freelancers started coming up to see us about work. Everyone from Bob Kanigher to Elliot Maggin to Curt Swan paid us a visit; so did Mike Grell who, as it happened, was a catalyst that brought the flow of DC people to an abrupt end.
When Mike came up to see us, he was worried that if DC found out he’d even been to our offices, he’d get the axe. I told Grell not to worry, that if his work at DC were ever restricted or cut off, we’d keep him busy—and at a higher rate than he was making at the time. Naturally, I assured him I’d keep his visit confidential until he’d had a chance to talk to Carmine and make up his mind about what he wanted to do.
Next thing I knew, Grell was grousing that I’d called Carmine and clucked about how we’d “landed his boy Grell,” thus making the artist’s position at DC extremely uncomfortable. I hadn't made any such call, of course; not only did I scrupulously avoid Carmine—he intimidated the shit out of me —but, in all candor, Grell wasn't a “catch” worth hooting about to Carmine or anyone else. I might have crowed to one or two of my discreet colleagues like Bill Dubay or Ernie Colon if we’d signed Joe Kubert or Jack Kirby. But Mike Grell? Uh-uh. While circumstances at Atlas often left me compromised and/or playing the part of an SOB, betraying confidences has never been one of my bad habits.
To this day, I don’t know how Carmine found out literally within minutes that Grell had come to see us. Most likely someone who was just leaving the office or was in with Larry saw Grell enter and spilled the beans. The comics industry is many things bright and wonderful, but tight-lipped it ain’t. (AT&T could learn something about light-speed communications by tapping into the comics industry grapevine. The most impressive such transmission of data in my experience occurred when Neal Adam’s cover for Iron Jaw #1 was stolen. Neal knew about the theft within 10 minutes of our realizing at the office that it was gone—and while the guy has many extraordinary talents, I don’t believe that ESP is one of them.)
Regardless, the Grell-Atlas imbroglio crystallized Carmine’s view that we were a threat to his family, and it didn't take long for a chilling effect to set in. DC freelancers stopped coming by (with the exception of Mike Fleisher who, to his credit, stood beside us), and Carmine hurriedly mustered an offensive of his own: issuing bonus checks to his creative personnel, upping the rates for most freelancers, instituting a policy of returning artwork to artists and colored silverprints to colorists, and establishing a reprint rate of 25 per cent for writers. The catch: with rare exceptions, these perks applied only to people who worked exclusively for DC.
That last part of the deal pissed me off, not only because free enterprise took it on the chin, but because only a fool would go from DC to Atlas under the circumstances. DC’s “magnanimity” cost us a lot of promising and/or heavyweight freelance talent. In retrospect, though, the friction with DC did enable creators’ rights to take a small step forward and, in light of Atlas’ otherwise spare legacy, I take some delight in that." [Jeff Rovin, The Comics Journal #114]

LICENSED CHARACTERS ANYONE?

Comic book adaptations of films and other works can definitely bring in sells and attention. Dark Horse made it's name by adapting and expanding on licensed characters like Aliens, Predator, etc; Marvel had Star Wars and Conan as successes, and DC put out V and some nice one shots (I treasure my copy of Alien Nation: The Movie Adaptation and fuck what the critics say ;) ), but they didn't let that distract from the focus on Super-Heroes. Jeff Rovin was ready to put the focus on making something out of licensed characters back in 1974, but Martin Goodman had other ideas. "While I brought together artists and writers, and new characters were created, also endeavored to give the line some name-value in the marketplace by attempting to license some well-known properties. Among these were the pulp heroes the Avenger and the Spider, Godzilla (for a black-and-white comics magazine in which it was giant monsters and not nuclear war that brought about the fall of civilization and a future in which humanity tried to reclaim the world from dinosaurs), and Richard Matheson’s vampiric chiller I Am Legend." [Jeff Rovin, The Comics Journal #114] I doubt the pulp characters would have been much of a draw -but TV and Movie adaptations... Charlton Heston even sent Jeff Rovin some notes on the Omega Man story, imagine that film adapted by the pre-Third Issue Switch Atlas/Seaboard talent -mad genius!

How this all failed to happen: "Sadly, I was stymied across the board, After we met with Conde Nast’s Paul Booner about the Avenger, DC thundered in and got the rights. The Spider seemed to Martin too overt a red flag to go waving at Marvel’s Spider-Man (even though the two had practically nothing in common), and Martin didn't want to pay Toho’s fee for a Godzilla title (although Walt Simonson did draw a magnificent black-and-white story in which giant monsters Gorgo and Rodan duked it out in Washington D.C.- a spectacular tale that was never published and vanished when Seaboard went under). As for I Am Legend, Martin read Heston’s precis and decided that we should imitate the story rather than buy the rights—hence, the Atlas comic Planet of Vampires. In October, I took one last, hotly argued stab at getting Martin to approve a license when I went after TV’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker. But Martin shot me down because the series was a ratings flop. Which was true, but that didn't alter the fact that the show would still run at least a season, that some 10 million people were aware of the character, and that we could get a license for relatively little money. Alas, Martin failed to be persuaded, and we had to settle for dedicating the first issue of The Cougar to producer Dan Curtis." [Jeff Rovin, The Comics Journal #114]
Which leaves you wondering if Atlas had some fairly big name licensed properties maybe they could have found a foot hold, the way Dark Horse did over a decade later?

I couldn't close out my series on Atlas's history without one last shot at Vicki/Tippy Teen. Well I could but what would be the fun in that? In Jeff Rovin's own words: "Early on, I also implored Chip and Martin to let me buy the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. In fact, I was so confident they’d go along with a reprint/new-material program that I actually put a 64 page T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents book on the schedule. Instead, the Goodmans opted to purchase the rights to Tower’s Tippy Teen title, which we reprinted as Vicki. (I was glad, then, that I hadn't suggested going to Gold Key and taking over Turok, a character which I felt had untapped potential. Had we done so, I do believe that Atlas would have become the new home of Zody, the Mod Rob." [Jeff Rovin, The Comics Journal #114]

Zody, The Mod Rob as written by Michael Fleisher would have kicked all kinds of ass.

THEN CAME ATLAS/SEABOARD! Part 3: Led astray and fighting it every step of the way, Plus who owns the rights to these character's anyway???

2010-01-07T09:50:00.000-06:00

THE McNAMARA PSYCHOSIS COMES TO ATLAS

So what does Robert McNamara have to do with Atlas comics after the fall? It has to do with a common enough mind-set of avoiding taking the blame for failure. Since he is the best performer of that parlor trick McNamara won the right to name it, and claim it. In retrospect, it can't be easy to apologize for whatever mistakes were made by anyone, claim you warned against it before you were for it, and knew it would never work all along! Larry Lieber is a great artist/writer, but he's too shiftless in his chair for me when it comes to Atlas related interviews: "When I went there, Martin put out two kinds of books... color comics and... black-&-white comics like Warren and Marvel. Now, I knew nothing about black-&-white comics, right? My only experience was in the color comics. And Jeff Rovin came from Warren, and he knew nothing about color comics. And Martin unfortunately put Jeff in charge of all the color comics, and put me in charge of the black-&-white books.... It was an unfortunate thing, and basically what happened was that Jeff's books didn't turn out so well." [Larry Lieber interview, Alter Ego Vol. 3, #2] That's some name dropping, I hate to say it style, blame placing going on right there.

It should be noted Lieber handled the anthology titles along with The Destructor, which were just as hit and miss with color comic experience, but didn't break any sales records either. According to Jon B. Cooke's Comic Book Artist column there is no proof Lieber edited any of the black and white Atlas magazines. In keeping with the 'I knew it all along' revisionism Lieber said "I don't know that I ever felt the product was that good. They were different in a sense, but they weren't around that long." [Larry Lieber, CBM interview] Then you have the I did the best I could defense: "But in the end it was just that Martin lost too much money. There was nothing I could do to help out. I wasn't a genius, too much was lost, and so they gave it all up," [Larry Lieber interview, Alter Ego Vol.3, #2] Lieber was one of the first hires at Atlas presumably the books he edited he would have had to sign off on, he didn't come in mid-stream after the dam burst. Martin Goodman in all I have read around the web also doesn't strike me as a hands off kind of guy. If they though the line up was so poorly from the start why did no one try to change direction before the first issues ever went to press? It comes off to me as if they were surprised the people they hired did what they did on the titles, but shouldn't a publisher and a editor pay more attention to what's headed for the newsstands? You could wonder if the attempts at changing direction was a response to poor sales, but according to Jeff Rovin, Martin Goodman made the decision to 'be more Marvel' before any sales figures came in. If your the owner and you want to go in a particular direction, why wait until it's too late to clue your employees in on what your plans are?

CONTEMPLATING THE IF'S OF FANZINE HYPERBOLE

Atlas/Seaboard was here and gone before I was a twinkle in my fathers eye, but I do remember the early, heady days of Image comics. Comic book fans talked about all the great new titles that would come out, better deals for the creators, and speculated Marvel would get it's ass kicked by the new competition. Looking up the history similar sentiments were out in force in anticipation of Atlas's arrival on the scene. From Jim Steranko in Mediascene: "Seaboard Periodicals has unleashed a tidal wave of events on the stunned comics industry. Quicker than you can say, 'Jack the giant killer,' the new publishing company... is establishing itself as a leading contender in the race for comics supremacy" and "Goodman's David and Goliath strategy is insidiously simple and outrageous-possibly even considered dirty tactics by the competition-such as higher page rates, artwork returned to the artist, rights to the creation of an original character, and a certain amount of professional courtesy".

The Comic Reader led the cheers, then turned off the lights: "Goodman will undoubtedly use his contacts with distributors to Seaboard's advantage, so this looks like a comics group that will make it, and big... We know that the line-up will be exciting as well as surprising....", -followed by- "All the Atlas books of the past three months have been delayed from their published release dates by two to three weeks. There's no need to panic, so take heart... if you keep watching the newsstands they'll all come out." -ending with- "What was the major problem with Atlas? Perhaps Neal Adams summed it up best when he said it was an example of 'Too many dollars and too little sense'.. R.I.P. ATLAS COMICS Born: June, 1974 Died: June, 1975".

The haze of hope even made it's way into the main stream in the Philadelphia Daily News, November 8, 1974: "That’s why the forthcoming Atlas line could herald a third Golden Age. Other, smaller comics publishers have tried to challenge the Big Two (notably the Charlton line), but they never had the expertise (and incentive) represented by Atlas. The new company might well be the Marvel of the 1970’s".

It's a damn pity Wizard magazine didn't do a 'remember the would be titian' article way back when, some fan boy hearts might not have been broken. Image could have also learned, without going through the school of hard knocks, it really is better if your books come out on time, and you don't flood the stands.

WHO OWNS THESE RIGHTS???

When any old characters I think many fans tend to wonder these days, is it in the public domain? I came across this column about who owns/doesn't own the Atlas characters from Beau Smith at the Comics Bulletin:

All the time I was at Eclipse I pushed for us to buy the characters from the Goodmans. In 1994 I pushed Eclipse Publisher Dean Mullaney so much that he finally checked into it and talked to Goodman. He also did some research on copyrights and such on his own with the Eclipse lawyers. It seemed that the copyrights had expired and the Goodmans no longer owned those characters. Now don’t hold me to all this because my memory isn’t all that clear, but this is the round about way it went.

Dean wanted to pay the Goodman’s a price he thought the stuff was worth, but the Goodmans wanted much, much more. Dean declined. He also told them that he found out the stuff was free and clear. Needless to say that subject went back and forth with no real winner of the argument.

So Dean gave me the greenlight to develop the characters and update them where they needed to be updated. I came up with a plan and a history for them along with a storyline for a series. We hired a couple of artists to draw up and update some of the characters. We published a few ash cans with these results.

Then Eclipse Comics went out of business.

Those ash cans were lost some where at Eclipse. There was talk that then big time retailer Moondog’s in the Midwest had a few of them. I had my copies. Or I did. Soon after that my office burn to the ground and I lost everything.

So either it's open season, or time to track down the heirs of the Goodman estate.

Note: Yes, there will be a part 4. One main reason is a lack of want to make this blog post any more epic in size, if not scope. Next time I comment on the legacy of Atlas, and stifled intentions due to swiping.

THEN CAME ATLAS/SEABOARD Part 2: Pissing away what made you special

2010-01-06T07:09:00.002-06:00

DEATH KNELL, THE THIRD ISSUE SWITCH

The thing that gets the Atlas/Seaboard line the most talk was it's deciding to abandon it's own push the envelope path set out by Jeff Rovin in favor of being more like Marvel at Goodman's whim. What this actually entailed was as abrupt a change of direction as you could ever find in comics. It's called The Third Issue Switch because that's the issue the change most often went down in. The most obvious loss was the Michael Fleisher quality of anything can happen to anyone -at any time. Reading a Fleisher comic (along with most of the other early writers) you can never be sure a character is safe, even if it's the title character. Well deserving villains didn't die for keeps in Marvel or DC in the 70s, in the early days of Atlas villains were killed, children were killed, it was grist for the more dangerous -therefore more realistic- comic universe of Atlas. Marvel did kill off Gwen Stacy, but Atlas went 'there' and then a few steps beyond.

The classic Atlas style anti-hero was before it's time. In the mid-70s Marvel's Punisher was -at best- a gray villain because he killed the 'bad guys' out right. In Atlas killing the 'bad guys' was the standard operating procedure of the heroes at first, laying waste to some bystanders happened a fair amount of time too. Then the 'Marvelization' started and you had conscience's developing, along with Peter Parker style guilt trips breaking out all over the place.A great example of this is one of my favorite Atlas titles Targitt written by Ric Meyers -with co-writers after issue 1- and drawn by Howard Nostrand. He started off as a cross between Dirty Harry and the Punisher mixed in with a nice dose of bat shit crazy. The differences being Targitt was with the F.B.I. which broadened his base of operations, and in the first issue had no costume. The appeal to me is seeing someone lose everything but there life snap, and get through it by turning to there work with a vengeance. In issue #2 he got a costume, and a new title John Targitt... Man-Stalker. but still shot the bad guys deader than hell. In issue #3 with the other Marvellizer Gerry Conway (ironically the co-creator of the Punisher, and writer of the Gwen Stacey death) as co-writer, Targitt lost the guns for good, got super powers in a convoluted way, and became just another fancy underwear jockey.

BEFORE AND AFTER

The letter pages in third and fouth Atlas issues tell the tale: "...What I object to is not that it was "stolen" from the movies, but that it was so brutal. It seems you have given John Targitt tacit approval to take the law into his own hands. As such, the mag is a paean to lynch law. Really the hero is to be pitied instead of glorified. The worst thing I can say about Targitt is that it is unconstitutional; it is an abuse of the comic art, and goes against all the rules of the comics code." [Larry A. Miller, John Targitt... Man-Stalker #3]

Well, cry me a river of bullshit. If Larry was still reading comics in the 80s and 90s it probably gave him a complex. What got me about that letter was invoking the U.S. constitution and championing the mind-killer censorship of the comics code. I love the First Amendment especially the part about freedom of speech, and freedom of the press, -but I guess neo-fascists book burning types don't go in for that sort of thing. Raising the specter of lynch mobs, never mind all the other vigilantes in comics bouncing around in there underwear... I'm a fairly mellow fellow, but all these decades later Miller's comments and mind-set that is still around today, sicken me.
Atlas's response: "This may come as a complete surprise to you (a pleasant one too we think), but we feel, as Targitt learns this issue, that the gun is not the answer. However, we cannot disregard the events in John Targitt's life, which have shaped his personality. He was burnt once too often by the inhumanity that sometimes plagues government institutions; and by the brutal, vicious deaths of his wife and daughter at the hands of the mob. Because of this, he understandably trusts no one. And so, Targitt had to find the superhero in himself -with a little help from Gerry Conway and ye olde editor, Larry." [Letters page, John Targitt... Man-Stalker]
The only thing it cost the title (along with most of the rest of the Atlas line) was the edge that made Targitt stand apart from all the multitude of other superheroes that had already found themselves.

Not every Atlas title got the Third Issue Switch treatment to purge away the Anti-hero tone of the early issues.The Scorpion suffered the switch for a even more short-sighted and eat up with stupid reason. The Scorpion title is generally hailed as one of the best Atlas put out, but that only goes for the first two issues. Howard Chaykin was the artist/writer/creator of a 1930s era old fashioned pulp style adventurer. This homage to the pulp magazines made the title unique compared to the rest of the Atlas line. There where other pulp characters brought to comics but there treatment seems half-hearted compared to Chaykin's work. Wither it was facing down saboteurs in issue 1, or black magic killings in issue 2, Chaykin made the themes and moods of those old stories work in his title. Most pulp hero types who made it into comics ended up time traveling to modern times, and this title sadly was no exception. Chaykin left because he said he lost creative control (one of those pesky promises Atlas made back at the start) and ending up taking his idea to marvel in the form of Dominic Fortune. Scorpion got turned into a Daredevil rip off in issue 3 who swung around New York like Spider-Man thanks to his grappling hook wrist blasters. The editorial explanation: "Levy and Craig thought a mood piece of the thirties would get monotonous after a few issues." [Letters page, Scorpion #3] Lieber was referring to Gabe Levy and Jim Craig who took over from Chaykin. Being a "mood piece" was what gave the title a spark, but I guess Martin Goodman didn't think a D-list version of Daredevil would get monotonous? Did no one think that if a kid wanted to read Daredevil he/she would buy the actual title from Marvel, instead of the Scorpion?

No surprise, pulling those kind of re-write stunts almost company wide finished off Atlas/Seaboard when people chose to accept no imitation, and go back to buying Marvel.

Note: I had just planned to do a 2 part post on Atlas/Seaboard but I've enjoyed writing about it even more than I thought I would, so get ready for part 3! I also intend to do a review/commentary on each of the comics titles over the months ahead -except Vicki- so please let me know what titles you would like me to take a stab at first. Right now I'm leaning towards Targitt, The Destructor, and Phoenix -but I also take requests! As always I welcome any readers ideas, suggestions, and -if need be- complaints. :)

THEN CAME ATLAS/SEABOARD! Part 1

2009-12-31T05:17:00.000-06:00

Note: There will be plenty of links all over the place in this little missive, which gives greater details about the various people/entities involved. I'm trying to stick more to my views about the history, than a retelling of it. A wealth of information can be found on the Atlas archives site, most especially Jon B. Cooke's article, which was a great help to me in writing this.

A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY ANYWAY

Atlas/Seaboard was a plucky little comics company back in 1974 started by Martin Goodman (founder of Marvel comics) to either make money, get revenge for his son Chip being fired from Marvel, or both -depending on who you believe. The story is before Martin sold out he made the new buyers (Cadence) promise to keep Chip Goodman on as editorial director of the comic books. Supposedly Stan Lee (Goodman's nephew by marriage) did some corporate maneuvering and got Chip kicked out. Having read about some of Stan Lee's golden age era antics as he climbed to the top, I have no trouble believing he could do a better than fair impression of a snake in the grass. Martin Goodman wanted to go head to head against Marvel by offering better deals to the creators, and apparently copying the style at Marvel he helped develop. To assist him in the effort he hired writer/artist Larry Lieber away from Marvel, (allegedly Goodman had always wanted a chance to get him out from under the shadow of his brother Stan Lee) and writer/editor Jeff Rovin away from Warren Publishing. With deals that were supposed to include: higher page rates, return of art work, and shared character ownership Atlas went on a talent raid. Some of the names include: Mike Fleisher, Rich Buckler, Archie Goodwin, Steve Ditko, Wally Wood, Neal Adams, Pablo Marcos, Dick Giordano, Howard Chaykin, Ric Meyers, Ernie Colon, Larry Hama, Gerry Conway, John Albano, and Gary Friedrich. Reading the roll call it's obvious they had talent, but the company was gone from the scene by the middle of 1975. The comics line was losing Goodman money, so he pulled the plug. If you pick up an old Atlas comic today you can read about problems Atlas had with newsstand distribution in there own letter pages: "...But boy, are you guys bad distributors! How do you expect to sell comix, get popular, make money, and become numero uno, if we fans can't find your mags? I absolutely combed Chicago -it's a pretty big city you know- until I found most of your mags. If you don't do anything about this problem, I'll have to go back to the mediocrity of your competitors. Get on the ball!" [Morlock 2001 and the Midnight Men #3] It has to be taken into consideration that comics were already on a down turn in sales in 1975, was culminated in 1995. Atlas/Seaboard also had an erratic publishing schedule that tended to leave fans giving up on there titles, a schedule Image comics would ape in every way when they started up in the 90s. Logistic problems is no small thing, but when the publisher and his editor have radically different intentions, you figure it's not going to end well -and it didn't.

BUGFUCK VS. THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

You can separate Atlas/Seaboard into two distinct periods the time while Jeff Rovin was still at the company, and then afterward when all the reins were turned over to Larry Lieber under the even more watchful eye of Martin Goodman. This goes hand in hand with the switch from Michael Fleisher writing a host of titles: (Brute, Morlock 2001, Grim Ghost, Ironjaw, Weird Suspense) to his being replaced by Gary Friedrich. This resulted in Atlas/Seaboard losing what made it special -if not commercial- to becoming a imitation of Marvel without the fan base acquired from years of publishing. Friedrich also took over the writing job on: Phoenix, Wulf the Barbarian, and the Cougar. Gary Friedrich isn't a bad writer, but Atlas wasn't Marvel and Goodman's folly was to go once again for the swipe, instead of the original. A comment Jim Kelly made on one of my past Zuda reviews sums up the Atlas reading experience: "...those comics were always just a little too close to the edge to have mainstream appeal, with themes or stories that tended to be just a little too edgey for their own good." That wasn't an accidental occurrence, it was the intent of purpose of Jeff Rovin, the man who made Atlas, Atlas. "My own ambition from the start was to do characters that were a bit outré and experimental... somewhat more hardbitten and schizophrenic than the average super-hero." -which led to- "...The Code and I fought over literally every magazine Atlas published, starting with the very first, Ironjaw #1... and I didn't win a single dispute with the Code." [Jeff Rovin, in Jon B. Cooke interview] The comics code was always there to handicap any new innovations in story telling. Despite the code battles, I think Rovin's ambition was realized during his time there, the titles were definitely out there. Poor little blind girls eaten, teenage boy killed, cannibalism from spider people, vigilante killings, raping and pillageing, gooning it up with shakedowns, and that's just what the Atlas herores did! Martin Goodman's reaction to all this:
"Martin became more and more disgruntled as he read more and more of my comics. And what he decided, without having received a single sales report, was that they didn't look and read enough like Marvel Comics.
"'That's right,' I remember telling him with a mixture of disbelief and disappointment. 'Why should they look like Marvels?'
"'Because Marvels sell.'
"'Sure,' I replied, 'but that's because the characters have had 10 years to establish themselves, not to mention the newsstand clout Marvel has developed-'
"'Look,' he snapped, 'I don't want to argue about this. Just do it.' To which Martin established a hefty warchest and told Larry and me to go out and hire away as many Marvel people as we could. Larry seemed disappointed, but I was frankly appalled...." [Jeff Rovin, in Jon B. Cooke interview]
In Januray 1975 Jeff Rovin quit, and the great push to be more like Marvel was begun by Larry Lieber taking over as editor, and Friedrich taking over for Fleisher.
"Larry called me up and said, 'Help.' Well, I flew up to New York and Chip and Martin took me out and wined me and dined me and offered me a bunch of money to save the comics enterprise. I didn't succeed at it but I made a hell of a lot of money at it for a year or so. I just freelanced. I wrote all their titles. I just said, 'Larry, until you find some other writers, I'll write them all,' and I did. We weren't real rich in excellent artists, which probably caused the failure as much as anything, though we kind of got it turned around and put out a line of books that wasn't too bad." [Grary Friedrich, to Comic Book Artist]
Those last few lines sent my bull shit detector into radioactive. Atlas had plenty of excellent artists and writers they just weren't Marvel enough. What Friedrich didn't realize is there was nothing to turn around, unless you mean going from a unique comics line that didn't sell, transforming to a imitation of Marvel -that didn't sell. The abrupt about face in tone and direction at Atlas has came to be known as The Third Issue Switch. Lieber/Friedrich's changes weren't all horrible, in one or two cases it actually added a nice new direction for the title, but for most books it was a One Flew style creative lobotomy.

For more on the titles and personalities in Atlas and the mark they left on comics, be sure to check out the blog for part 2.

Zuda review The House Always Wins/ I'm hoping the house actually does win, would be a nice change...

2009-12-24T05:56:00.000-06:00

December Zuda comic The House Always Wins, is done by Josh Hechinger and John Bivens. It got a favorite from me, here is the synopsis: Season seven of the realty reality show “Fix or Nix” is off to a bad start. In seasons past, the decrepit houses the show takes on have been known to have rats, or roaches, or inexplicably huge piles of junk inside. Fair enough.

This time, the house-in-question appears to harbor a malevolent spectral presence that violently murders anyone who enters it.
To safely solve the mystery in time for sweeps week, the producers have hired “The Hermit Detective” Raleigh Porter, a crime-solving genius who never leaves his house. Assisting Raleigh (re: doing his legwork) are Charlie Albarn (rugby talent turned forensic scientist), Jeff Lovering (black market anatomist), and Jackie Laika (a psychic pretending to be merely uncannily observant).
They’re a team of genuinely gifted crime solvers. They have a track record you could build a house on (no pun intended).
They are hideously out of their depth, and horrible things are going to happen to them.

Whenever I read a haunted house story I think of that song -can't help it

As the story starts off you're immediately hit with the fact the colors do an excellent job of setting the mood. Tying together a home improvement show with a haunted house is also a nifty idea. I really enjoyed the start with a plumber kicking back, and dropping plot points in a more natural way than you expect to find on most Zuda submissions. I have to give credit to some fine writing as the suspense played out across the screens. John Bivens is a Zuda vet who always delivers in the art, Marvel/DC/Dark Horse should get in touch with him already. I was also impressed at the characterization we had for the plumber, from the way it started (forgetting the movies Psycho and Scream) he could have been a main character. We get some humor, find out he's talking to his son he sees on the weekends, ends up with more of a tug at readers when he gets whacked by the end of the comic. Much better treatment than some of the Zuda contestants, where even main characters come across as red shirt card board cut outs, no one cares about.

Readers are led into Screen 2 by a T.V. going on the fritz sound effect which runs the duration of the above screen 2. Great layout, no dialogue, no pointless as hell narration, if you have an artist this good let his work speak for itself. The strange entity coming out of his T.V. screen (I like the Ring riff) frightens him into action in screen 3, by smacking it over the head with a pipe wrench. Much like bringing a gun to a knife fight, you just know it's not going to end well. Screen 4 has a nice 6 panel action sequence of the plumber bashing the hell out of the T.V. I was really impressed with the way it was colored, and how well the artist and writer work together to make the story better. Once the T.V. is good and crunched the plumber lets his guard down, which we now from every horror movie is a sure sign the danger isn't over.

Is it wrong I want the house to kill them all, if for no other reason than a change of pace?

Screen 5 was some more amazing art, in such a well placed story. You just see a gnarled up hand placed on the plumber's shoulders from a bestial figure in shadows in panel 2. Panel 3 is a close up of the pipe wrench dropping out of his hands, it's not hard to figure this is it.Great silent screen, from the look in the plumber's eye you know he's scared shitless, no need for him to have a conversation with himself. Screen 6 features the 'hermit detective's' team (starting with tough guy turned forensics specialist Charlie Alban) going over the scene at the plumber's house. The plumber is sickly green, stiff as a board corpse by these point in screen 7, a fact the anatomist Jeff Lovering attests to. Porter also 'appears' here as a voice telling Lovering to stop shaking. Screen 8 we actually see Raleigh Porter watching three monitors asking the psychic Jackie Laika what she sees. The fact Jackie is: a psychic pretending to be merely uncannily observant, is a nice flip reworking of the Psych T.V. show The comic ends on a appropriately scary moment with a demonic skull superimposed over one of Jackie's eyes as she has a vision. There was maybe one screen too many devoted to the team, but the writing/dialogue, and the art were fantastic. Given a win I doubt it gets, I would enjoy every screen as I followed this comic. Look forward to seeing the creators back in Zuda.

Zuda review Villain/ superheroes and villains on Zuda, -no really that's what it is

2009-12-24T00:22:00.000-06:00

December Zuda comic Villain is done by Gregory Smallwood. This comic got a favorite from me, and my vote. Here is the synopsis: Terry Allen has the ability to manipulate energy. He can absorb it, channel it, or redirect it. It’s a powerful gift but, instead of using it for good, he uses it for profit and destruction. Under the guise of Shockwave, Allen commits high profile crimes and amasses a small fortune. But money and power are not enough to save him from earth’s premier superhero team, The Overmen. Caught during a diamond heist gone awry, Shockwave is given a life sentence on the prison planet, Atticus. Located in a parallel universe, Atticus houses some of the world’s most dangerous super-villains. With no guards and a super-powered prisoner population in the hundreds, it is a dangerous world where only the strongest and most ruthless survive. On Atticus, Shockwave is forced to confront his own nihilism and choose sides in a fight that determines the survival of earth.

I want to see Shockwave come back to earth only to lose again, otherwise it could just end up being a sanitized version of Wanted

In 8 screens this comic doesn't put a new spin on things, but it does make a very entertaining read. Considering some of the other comics this month, that counts for a hell of a lot. The story opens with the lead character fighting this universe's super hero team. Screen 1 is a nice action scene, with text box thought balloons that get into Shockwave's villain logic. Screen 2 is a nice fight scene with this world's Superman stand in and some very well written 'it's all about me' text box though balloons. I also liked the flip put on the classic Spider-Man line in this comic, Shockwave's view: "With great power comes the opportunity to make your own rules". Less is more with the narration, cutting down on some of his 'deep thoughts' might have got the point across even better. The art is very well suited to this comic, and the colors make it even better. The script is a fun read, and the letters are all legible. Screen 3 reveals Shockwave was caught, and is being held at the 'Overmen' headquarters. Shockwave is defiant, but here you find out he is being shipped to the prison world Atticus. Screen 4 finds Shockwave has fallen silent, the 'Major' hero takes time to rub it in, but before he leaves Shockwave vows to come back and beat him up. There are a number of ways this comic could go, should it come back for the win, none of which are really tipped off in the 8 screens.

You are the biggest dick, and not in the 'you have a future in porn' sense of the word

Which gets to the heart of the quandary in a story like this. There's only so many ways for the story to go at this point, course I give the creator credit who knows what twists he might have in mind. You could go the reformed villain route, or a less extreme version of Wanted where he comes back to win. For a surprise Shockwave could actually not get off the prison world. His opponents on this prison world are going to have be even sorrier than he is, to make me want to root for him to survive. There's no history, therefore no need for a villain popularity pissing contest to determine the 'winners' which is what DC's prison planet comic turned out to be. I enjoyed the artwork on screen 5, nice design work on Atticus. Screen 6 is Shockwave's first meeting with the natives, which featured some cool sound effects in panel 2. Shockwave avoids getting blasted by a guy with a cannon for an arm, and his scary looking partner. On screen 7 you find out the guy with the gun is named Arsenal, and the other fellow is a speedster named Speedfreak. They say there the welcoming committe, and Shockwave prepares to fight. In some well done action scenes the speedster starts smacking him around. In screen 8 Shockwave gets some good one liners in, nice dialogue, as the comic ends with him blowing up Arsenal's gun arm accompanied by the screams of "NOOO!" This comic meets all the minimum genre expectations in this story. From the quality of the initial 8 screens I take it on faith Villain will have a number of interesting twists by the time it gets to screen 60, should it win. Great potentil from a cool start, in a area of subject Zuda is short on, won my support. Best of luck Gregory!

Zuda review Daemon's Sphere/ The diminishing returns of finding bigger and better artifacts

2009-12-21T08:58:00.000-06:00

December Zuda review of Daemon's sphere done by Andrew Hartmann and coppervines. Here is the synopsis: Introducing Reginald Daemon: a specialist in tracking and acquiring artifacts of extra terrestrial origin. It is 1957, the height of the cold war, and Daemon’s superiors, in a top secret, unnamed organization within the American government, have given him the task of keeping these artifacts out of Soviet hands. With the help of his friend and partner Steve Ross, a veteran of the Pacific conflict during World War II, he travels the globe, one step ahead (and, in many cases, one step behind) those who would have the artifacts for themselves. This time though, the artifact he seeks is something far more powerful and far more dangerous than any he has sought before. If he fails, it could mean much more than the destruction of the United States...the fate of the entire world could be at stake.

Is everyone in this comic whispering, or are all see through word balloons the start of a bad new trend?

Seriously, I kind of like see through word balloons to stand in for the old style whisper balloon, but not for every single piece of dialogue in the comic. The art has a nice distinctive style, and liked the coloring done on this work. I also really appreciated a 'silent' first screen with no excessive text box narration gumming up the works for pointless prattling. There aren't any words needed for screen 1 because the panel layout does a fine job of letting the reader know what's going on. A group of three obvious adventures parachute in and pull out a map. In screen 2 this merry band climbs up a hill and down to find a abandoned destroyed church. I was impressed with the layout of this screen especially the art in panel 4. In panel 3 Steve Ross makes a Jack Benny reference and then in the last panel you see the story takes place in 1957 at Tunguska, Russia. In screen 3 A Aztec looking symbol is found hidden on a wall which opens up a underground passage way. In a nice little cliff hanger moment the third person in the party pulls a gun on a nervous Ross and Daemon. I enjoyed the fact the comic move things along at an initial good pace for Zuda. The only problem is most times Zuda contestants move things along too slow in there entry, this is one of the few times where by the end events are rolling out too fast. Screen 4 shows a nicely stylized action scene, with Daemon telling the Russian agent he hid his accent well, but forgot something, before knocking him out. Daemon then admits to Ross he actually didn't forget anything, that was just the first thing he could think off. I could have just as well done without the motion blurs for the fight scene, but good panel design -especially with the last panel.

Indiana Jones did adventure stories with great effects in color, Laura Croft supplied the T & A quotient, what does this comic add to the genre to stand out -aliens?

Every story has to face the test of once you fulfill peoples genre expectations, what do you do differently to stand apart from all the others who have gone before you. In this case it seems intended to be a alien tie-in with the flying saucer scare 1950s' backdrop. Screen 5 is another good action scene with Daemon narrowly avoiding falling to his death thanks to Ross. Some great angles and views where chosen for this screen's layout. Daemon figures out where the device, a glow-e-tablet thingy, was hidden and they go to make there escape only to be caught by the Soviet's. Some cool character drawing in the last panel as a annoyed Daemon looks at Ross as he asks the question: "have these guys forgotten anything". Didn't care for the word balloons, but I appreciated the good dialogue all throughout this comic. In screen 7 we cut to the Antarctic ocean and a man and woman on the deck of a ship. She's propositioning him, he's looking trapped, until she see's something shocking you have to click to the next screen to find out what it is. Screen 8's big reveal looks like a ancient ship trapped inside a glacier. This gets into my main problem with this comic moving too fast. I'm sure the Soviet's will take the tablet back, only to have Daemon steal it back from them, that's to be expected. With Daemon finding the tablet so quick, and the introduction of that ship, it seems to be piling on with bigger artifacts equal a broader, and better story. Or, it's going to be a scavenger hunt with one object leading to another, and then another, and another... I'm not attached enough to feel any sense of accomplishment on behalf of the characters for finding the tablet in only 8 screens. It would have been a better cliff hanger to me to end the comic with the heroes about to go into the tomb, or about to go in search of it. I don't know that if this comic won it would change moving on from one strange object to the next, without the page count necessary to really appreciate Daemon's success or failure. I really didn't like the ship being brought in when things were just getting good with Daemon. The two screen closing vignette distracted from what should have been the whole focus with only 8 screens for the story, and led to speeding things up too fast to get to it.

Zuda review Mark Wolfchild/ Oh Joy! Those evil corporations are up to no good again...

2009-12-20T07:32:00.002-06:00

December Zuda review for Mark Wolfchild done by Li Shi Peng and Davidlevack. Here is the synopsis: Chicago in the future is just one city suffering from the woes of the world; Overpopulation, rising water levels, and food shortage. This demands a new breed of detective. Enter Mark Wolfchild, known as a Reconciler. Equipped with a high speed computer capable of analyzing forensic evidence at the scene of a crime and cross referencing data in the blink of an eye implanted into his brain, Wolfchild still has a long way to go before he’s the next Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade. Ever since the Vandenburgh case, he’s gotten by on laurels, good looks and charm. You see, even with all of the clues compiled and given to him on a silver platter, Wolfchild has an unfortunate penchant for putting two and two together and getting six. It's a numbers game before everyone discovers what Mark Wolfchild already knows; he’s made a career out of getting lucky. Chicago's finest are puzzled by a grisly and bizarre multiple homicide on a train which leaves the suspect dead and seems to come back to an average looking ash box. While investigating, the mystery deepens, as things turn horribly wrong for Wolfchild. He's swept up into a nightmare that leaves the police squad hunting him down and forcing him to lay low while looking for answers. He takes to the dark alleys and seedy underbelly of Chicago to avoid detection but his reputation precedes him with the criminal element. It's the toughest case of his life as he battles thugs, the police, debt collectors and inadequacy issues. Even if he manages to come out from under this case, it remains to be seen if he or his career will remain in tact.

The art's real pretty, but then you read the words

The above is the first panel, fantastic artwork accompanied by lame as hell population control/global warming/evil corporations at it again, in a text box narration political screed/ Cyberpunk 2020 RPG adventure comic adaptation. The evil corporations of the future/ alternate time line thing is a common genre, creators want to pull any weight with that you would be better off setting it in the here and now 2009 we know to bring a element of realism. Considering how screwed up things are these days the creators could have wrote a post apocalyptic present almost. "Debt and job loss threw people into a panic, society begin to cannibalize itself, government institutions and conglomerates begin to gorge on each other". You could apply that text to any government today in the here and now instead of in Metropolis. In these times -at least for me- this kind of science fiction has no ability to grab me as a reader. The ice caps melting, population control elements, might make the rowdy boys in Copenhagen rabidly read on, but it repelled me. Lucky enough the comic did get better, the recovery wasn't sufficient to earn a favorite from me, but it ended with a nice Hitchcock suspense vibe. The letters are easy to read, and the colors fit the comic well. Screen 2 is a text box thought balloon intro to the main character Mark Wolfchild. It was a good enough way to introduce him, with a 'meet his girlfriend Madeleine' mini-cliffhanger to click to on the next screen.Screen 3 had some nice panel layouts to go along with the narration which was a checklist of his cybernetic enhanced abilities. The screen ends at the scene of the crime with a police detective bemoaning Wolfchild being called in. Screen 4 is Wolfchild's arrival -cloaked in mist or exhaust fumes- with a little light banter with the cop in charge. The screens with readers and Wolfchild just about to find out what the mystery is.

Things finally get good starting with screen 5 when Hitchcock style suspense begins to arrive

Panel 1 has some nice perspective of 5 dead victims splayed out on a train car, the garbage arranged on the ground leads viewers eyes to take in the whole scene. It is a well done gruesome scene with a nice amount of blood and evident violence which gets readers to wondering what happened? We see Missy the call girl who looks like she was choked to death, Angelo the pimp with one of Missy's high heels stuck in his eye. A couple with bullet wounds who died from aspiration. Lastly is Kevin Ranney, who looks like a mild mannered geek but mysteriously started all of this. Well done screen layout for depicting the carnage, Wolfchild's bionic eye analyzed there deaths but came up with a 'syntax error' on Kevin Ranney's C.O.D., hence the mystery. Screen 6, another great layout, you have a series of panels that show the 'security footage' of what really happened. Kevin opened a stage box, then choked Missy to death, and stabbed Angelo with her shoe. Angelo fired his gun the bullet hit and killed that couple, in through one and out the other. Wolfchild examines the box and finds a little Madeleine doll inside. The close up view of the doll was a nice touch, and the implied threat a good reason to click to the next screen. The doll says "what have you done loverboy" and Wolfchild runs out of the room, meanwhile in a panel with the cop we see the box is really empty, and the doll was just in Wolfchild's mind. Wolfchild is freaking out as he rushes to his car, finding Madeleine's body in the trunk in the same poise as the doll. A 'heart broken' bumper sticker on the car was a nice touch. If Madeleine had actually talked to Wolfchild in the 8 screens and we had seen a little of there relationship, the death would have had more meaning than just a plot point. It's a good plot point for a mystery, but why pass up a chance to get readers to identify at least a little with the character. Any future flashbacks to Madeleine with a pulse (I'm guessing at least a few are predestined), would have been better set up. The cops show up on screen 8 to arrest him, and Wolfchild gains and loses pupils over the course of three panels. In a surprising move, Wolfchild seems to have the ability to shoot one of his arms off to attack the police with. This leads to a misfired ricochet bullet that appears to hit a future S.W.A.T. cop right between the eyes. Nice set up to the Wolfchild on the run sequence should this comic win. Mark Wolfchild would have been better off without the horrible worded start. I also believe the story could have been redone for a better fit on Zuda within the 8 screen limit. Too much text box narration, and not enough focus on the suspenseful weirdness at the end. Screen 5-8 range from very good to great, but the drag from the start was far too much to overcome.

Zuda review SubSuelo/ Everything was going along okay, untill the Lazer Tag rejects showed up

2009-12-18T19:18:00.000-06:00

SubSuelo is another December Zuda comic done by Alfredo Rodríguez and Gabriel Rodríguez. Here is the synopsis: Román’s parents died when he was just a kid. He swore to himself, from that day, to protect Aura, his shy little sister. Today, as never before, his promise will be put on trial. Román stumbles into an adventure that will take him through parallel dimensions, fighting dangers never imagined before.

Haven't all the dangers of parallel dimensions been imagined before by now?

It begins awesome enough, with a nice screen of a little girl and her big brother. The conversation where a young girl repeats all her favorite parts of a movie she has just seen to her much older brother reminds me of some real life conversations with my little sister. Fantastic art and colors throughout this comic, easy to read lettering, and the dialogue was well done. You still need a good hook/reason to vote to end on and grab readers which doesn't happen with this comic. There are definitive amounts of cuteness on this page, you do care what happens to Aura from screen 1, and you get some character development for Román as well. With such a happy start to a Zuda story your just waiting for bad things to happen. I wish that level of engaging suspense with this story could of held up for the entire submission. The suspense held through screen 2 with the text box thought balloons (which weren't over done thankfully) revealing how Román is Aura's guardian and protector. There is too much white all around the panels with the artist not taking full advantage of the layout possibilities, but the art inside the panel managed to convey a lot of emotion in the characters faces. In screens 3 and 4 Aura is worried and afraid talking about how someone is coming after her. The screen ends with Aura pointing at this new menace which is a excellent way to get to get folks to click to the next screen. On screen 3 we see the villain (at least I guess he's the villain) It's a good entrance coming out of the shadows to a extreme close-up with a nicely designed character. The problem of too much white space 'look at all that bare screen there' is again very evident on this page. Screen 4 gives a nice action shot of the villain in panel 3, and Aura wanting Román to get away in panel 1. The last panel for some reason shadows out Román face except for his clinched teeth and angry eyes. I guess it was supposed to show his anger, but instead took away a regular guy's real humanity -channeling Todd McFarlane is not the way to go here- which the comic established back on screen 1. It was a distraction that did the artists who draw emotional on faces so well no favors.

If it would have been more like X-Files meets Without A Trace, and less The Golden Child sans humor with super villains -it would have got a favorite from me

Screen 5 is another screen with too much white space around the screen. The first again has the characters faces covered in shadow. The panel layout was actually good I liked the insert shot of Román face in reaction to the bad guys powers. In the first panel the bad guy creates a portal to get past Román then, appears on the other side grabbing Aura. The bad guy in question looks like the Grifter with War Blade's claws so he's cool all around. He can also shoot force beams which he does at Román in screen 6. It's a good action scene that actually shows Román's face and how worried he is for his sister. The various energy effects and someone bouncing ass over tea kettle were also well done. Screen 7 is where it all goes wrong for me. This story could have been a fairly serious, and kind of rare for Zuda, missing child tale with a regular guy going up against a super powered opposition. Instead in screen 7 we got some kind of spider creature and a babe who both look fresh out of the Lazer tag Academy porting in at the last second. I guess the purpose of screen 7 was to introduce a love interest for Román, and more explosive fight scenes. The potential for a unique story got tossed so the multi-dimensional police could show up. The draw of the art and story isn't big fight scenes with blasters going off in all directions isn't the big selling point in this story. A regular guy who doesn't get inducted into the cause and issued a blaster facing forces overpowering him could have been. There isn't any emotional hook when your working the parallel worlds angle, it becomes just another Sci-fi shoot'em up.It ends with Román hating his failure to protect his sister, and the Lazer Tag 'pardner's' vowing to chase the bad guy down. A smaller scope story focusing on Román's attempts to track down his sister could have been a great thriller. The prospect of "an adventure that will take him through parallel dimensions", isn't something I want to follow along for. A bigger scale doesn't always make it better, and interesting heroes don't always have to save the world.

Zuda review Jason and the Argonauts Redux/ Zuda needs more creator originality like this

2009-12-15T23:59:00.004-06:00

Jason and the Argonauts is a Zuda December competitor done by Barry Keegan which got a favorite from me. Here is the synopsis: This is the story of Jason and the Argonauts, one of the most famous Greek legends retold with a twist. In this version of the classic story we must ask ourselves why is everything robotic, why does everyone think this is natural, and what effects will this have on Greece considering nobody can fully die. Can Jason truly succeed in his quest of finding the Golden Fleece, an item with the power to return the lands of Greece from poverty to prosperity? With Greece's mightiest heroes at his side, Jason must face all manner of challenges to be victorious. Things are so much more different this time around, it is ancient Greece but not as we knew it!

Occasionally I can be blunt instead of pedantic ;), the fact this comic is in 9th place (currently) should be a damn crime

The comic opens with some nice establishing shots, and a voice calling out for Jason. The colors fit the story, and the art is excellent throughout. The only bad thing is the lettering, which isn't even really that bad. It reminds me of a book called Eugenus -which was another excellent comic except for the lettering. The art isn't overly detailed, or too cartoony it strikes a nice balance that excels in telling the story. The screen layouts are easy to follow and it establishes a nice little mystery by screen 2. Jason and his 'father' are stalking some kind of animal, being this is a mythology story it could be anything which adds to the suspense. I see this as the creator taking advantage of some genre story short hand. It could be a fantastic creature, it could be a Bambi look-a-like. Readers just don't know, but the possibilities are endless, this encouraged me to 'keep clicking' to find out just what kind of critter it is. I also liked the dialogue being well written and to the point. . The 'everybody is a robot' reveal at the end didn't thrill some readers. To me bringing in something like that was unexpected, and really made me wonder how this happened/ what it means for the future of the story? It was a great surprise to end on and a real twist to the cliffhanger. The surprise of Jason's 'Dad' being a centaur was tucked away in screen 3, and sealed the deal of my appreciation of this comic. It was a nice little reveal of the centaur telling him to be careful as Jason raced off to confront whatever creature he was after, the creator also had to good sense not to put too much of a finger on it in the panel layout. Neat little moments add up, especially in a month where most of the rest of the competition isn't thrilling me at all. In screen 4 you see the beast he was stalking is a Bambi-look-a-like. The exclamation point over the deer's head I could have done without. Panel 3 showed him leaping down with his sword in a way that didn't jive with how the blow must have fell in panel 4. I did like the spray of blood flying up over Jason, just enough without being too much. Jason's face covered in shadows as he killed the deer was a fitting touch. In action panels having the background color go read was also a good story-telling choice. If you weren't paying attention as you read the comic you might have missed the leopard lurking in that last panel on top of a tree. To me one of the highlight's of Barry Keegan's story telling is he's not heavy handed in making his way through his story. Readers don't get nurse feeding close-up's or extreme close-up's to foreshadow this is what happens next you just read along and enjoy.

Clockwork leopard goes Clank-Clang, but why did Bambi's twin bleed?

In screen 5 the leopard pounces on Jason in a well laid out screen. I enjoyed this action sequence, which again featured a screen 3 with Jason holding his sword that didn't quite match up with the blow that felled the leopard in screen 4. Screen 5 is also the first inclination (most folks don't read the synopsis I know) that something is off by the spray of robot parts instead of blood. Again the action scene was accompanied by the background color going red. Screen 6 shows robo-leopard eviscerated carcass, as his Dad rushes to his aid. Jason also says he only had a flesh wound, but readers can see that Jason too is a robot with his ironic comment "it's only a flesh wound". The plot thickens nicely with this surprise as you wonder what is going on with the automatons, and seemingly normal deer??? Screen 7 has some panel design that helps the telling of the story. I particularly liked the way you could devide the first panel here in two along the lines of Jason's sword, and the robo-entrails of leopard corpse. Consistency that's good consistency isn't the hobgoblin of little minds, it's a well used thematic device. I appreciated the fact shadows darkened the dad's face in panel 3, as a balance to Jason's happiness in panel 2. From the words of the dad reader's also found out that leopard had been wrecking havoc for a while. Jason being no fool realizes that something is wrong in the last panel on this screen, a nice little segue to the conclusion. In the last screen we have the start of the traditional 'recounting of the hero's past' before he seats out on his journey. The dad point's down at a town called Iolcus and tells Jason that is where he was 'born'. This comic ends with Jason asking if this is the day he is told about his family and the dad saying yes it. Very well down father/son dialogue throughout this comic. The ending also holds the promise that readers would get to see how Keegan draws a city environment should the title win. The art and story are fantastic, I was very impressed with the good use this creator put to the 8 screens he had to work with. Not much hope for a rise in the ranks at Zuda, but if Keegan chooses not to continue this comic I hope to see his work again in a future contest.

Zuda review Witch Phase/ A comic book adaptation of a collectible card game that doesn't exist

2009-11-23T00:47:00.001-06:00

Witch Phase is another Zuda November competitor done by Bryan Golden. here is the synopsis: Nestled deep in space is the vast galaxy of Salem-300. Home to the famous space witches, ethereal women gifted with staggering, powers, who explore the twisted corridors of space at light speed on their inter-dimensional broomsticks. We follow Ailith, a naive, newly awakened witch who has a very blurred, distant past, but attracts attention from the rest of the Space Witches due to her unprecedented magical skills. After learning the basics in controlling her powers and receiving her sacred orbs and broomstick,Ailith traverses from planet to planet, frequently running into other space witches in the pursuit of Artifacts, rare, ancient relics and crystals, from days long gone, which bestow new and unique powers and abilities to their holder. With the help of her trusty, loudmouth, artifact detecting computer M.E.O.W, encounters with mysterious strangers, controlling her newly emerging magical abilities, as well as unraveling her indiscernible past, Ailith sets forth on a grand mission to become the greatest witch in all the universe.
Witch Phase takes the original image of a witch and turns it on it's head as we head into space with Ailith and see how magic and science collide, the witches broomsticks are now inter-dimensional devices which with a spell can transform into a spaceship, and their spells can level a planet, not to mention a witches sidekick, a black cat, is now a highly sophisticated computer program capable of sensing danger and analyzing properties.

Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sailor Moon, and a little Hello Kitty homage mixed in -not my go-to genre

The letters are completely readable, colors are nice, the art work (manga-esque) isn't my thing at all. The story is just a undramatic fight scene with some cartoon cleavage to try to get you to pay attention. The first screen is a full screen shot of Ailith wearing her big pointy hat and holding her broomstick/ sickle out in space. There are only 8 screens to a submission and this first screen just seemed like a waste with a weak looking title logo. Screen 2 is another full screen shot which has Ailith finding planet Fino while looking like the woman in the 'leg chair' on Red Eye. You also see the M.E.O.W. icon who looks are in line with the Hello Kitty insignia. There is no reason screen 2 couldn't have been screen 1 in this comic, and the creator would have had a extra screen to work with in making the fight scene more interesting. This submission reads a little like the first 8 screens of a 22 page comic just clipped for a Zuda submission, instead of created to fit the format. Screen 3 Ailith uses her powers to uncover some chamber holding artifacts with a faux-manga panel layout on the screen. The dialogue between Ailith and M.E.O.W. isn't bad, but it doesn't grab you as a reader either. Considering the set-up to this comic the interaction between these two characters needs to be as fine tuned and amusing as a classic vaudeville routine. If there was a good buddy relationship established in some sharp banter it could have been that one thing that made this comic more than just a fight scene. Screen 4 Ailith finds the 'Mercure Chrysalis' artifact. One of the habits of the artist is to draw no facial features on Ailith in long shots in a panel. Having the main character go faceless every time it's not a close-up shot is too disconcerting. There was a nice 'blurry finger' effect in the last panel on screen 4 as Ailith reached out to touch the artifact.

Stray attacks my witch, I play Red Knight Barrier to block, your turn. You attack with laser snort, I dodge then play Spinner's thread to attack. Your turn...

The fight scene with the calling out of named maneuver's really does remind you of a CCG. There are some nifty sound effects throughout, on screen 5 that 'Mercure Chrysalis' sends out a beam that unless the Stray. The Stray looks like a cross between a bull with a tiger only a couple of extra eyes, it's decent creature design. Screen 6 is the start of the "Red Knight Barrier" fight scene with a good panel layout that lends itself to well flowing action. The problem is at no time did the creator make it seem like Ailith was actually in any real danger from the attack. Bryan Golden can draw combat scenes well, but with no real suspense or excitment thinks to the standard genre set-up. Screen 7 is Ailith blasting the Stray with 'Spinner's Thread', while working in some insulting banter. Screen 8 the leggy witch does the Tri Gate Breaker to defeat the Stray, and the comic ends in a close-up on her saying she's going to claim her reward. Calling out the moves Dragon Ball style just turned me off to the whole comic. As far as a Sci-Fi updating of the whole witch mythos -too much bubble gum pop not enough well written humor, or creepy horror with the monster she had to face. If this was adapted into a cartoon on adult swim it would probably find a huge audience, as a comic on Zuda I don't see it going anywhere.

Zuda review Brother of Bronze Hammer/ Goldilocks and the Three Bears on a acid trip

2009-11-20T04:44:00.000-06:00

Brother of Bronze Hammer is a November Zuda comic done by Andrew Alexander. It got a favorite from me, here is the synopsis: Brother of Bronze Hammer: The Three Bears
Gritty Tale of an underdog who beats the odds?
Silver leaves his desert farm home to find his sister who was kidnapped the previous night.
The kidnappers (and murderers) ended the lives of his father and older brother in the process, leaving their bodies as Silver's only means of tracking them. And if that wasn't enough...
Colony One
A crime filled trade city, a resting place for the scum and filth outside of the desert. This is Silver's first destination.
The Six Shadows
A mysterious group of Shades (or Desert Sorcerers) that also have plans for Silver's sister.
Lord Kresster
The king of the desert and all things around it. Is he to blame for Silvers problems?
A world with no boundaries and unexpected twists and turns..
Can a sixteen-year-old boy save the day?

Do people in hell (or a desert) want a drink of ice water?

In this flip reworking the Three Bears are total bastards who kidnapped 'Gold Lock', and Silver sets out to find them. It's a sepia tone comic set in the desert sands so everything is the color of parchment. It did make the comic stand out this month, but it might have been even better with more color added. The art is a minimalist style, or Alexander hates drawing backgrounds, either way it works in the page layout. It stands apart as something different than the expected which helps a lot on Zuda. The first screen of Silver standing there with two little sand dunes/hills in the far background is a good indication of the style of this comic. The font on the letters is one size too small, but the text box thought balloons work for this story. The first two screens are shots of Silver looking severe, and filling readers in on the high points of the synopsis with his thoughts. In between the focus on all the stares there is a close up of a sword Sliver is wearing. All the text is on one panel of screen 2, the 'I'll make the kidnappers pay' style dialogue might of had more meaning superimposed over the sword in the scabbard panel. I enjoy the art style of Alexander otherwise I wouldn't have been able to take all those 'glamor shot' style head shots of Silver. Screen 3 opens with a shot of the entrance to colony 6 nice design on that, and one of the bears is talking about how they got the gold, and Gold Lock is locked up. The character design on all the bears is done very well as they're all memorable looking obviously reprehensible bastards. A part of this comic that really shined is the way Alexander handles the dialogue throughout. On screen 4 two of the bears have this exchange: "Wonder what's so special 'bout her that the six shadows want her?? Maybe we shoulda asked for more money.." to which bear number two responded "Don't overthink it... we're good either way and the jobs done. No looking back.." That's some great hardboiled goon dialogue, all the more enjoyable because you don't expect it to pop up in a fantasy story.

So Silver is Bronze Hammer's brother... right???

With screen 5 we see all three bears including the little pissed off midget bear. The more thoughtful bear in the middle was amazed they could get away with it, which was a obvious foreshadow of a fight scene. The few panels per screen do cut down on the action impact of each screen. Screen 6 had midget bear rambling along, then seeing Sliver show up in the distance hidden in shadow except for his eyes. Screen 7 is a full screen shot of Sliver flying through the air with a sword to attack bear number one. This is a good action screen which sets up an expected cliff hanger. Screen 8 was a good screen layout which got away from some of the stiff head shots earlier in the 8 screens. the first was a neat looking shot of the after effects of bear number one getting sliced and diced. Bear number two said your going to pay for that, and the last screen managed to introduce a new character -a female bounty hunter. If those first screen text box thought balloons had been worked into screen two you could of had more of a fight scene without losing the back story. A sped up pace could have giving readers more story, but the dialogue was excellent throughout. The art you will either enjoy, or not -but you reaction to it won't be meh/ with a shoulder shrug. Plenty of promise enough to get a favorite, but not enough to get my vote. I'd enjoy seeing future comics from Andrew Alexander in the Zuda contest.

Zuda review Children of the Sewer/ Edmond Ratt -that's a Dickens-esque touch in a name for sure

2009-11-12T15:41:00.000-06:00

Children of the Sewer is a comic done by Benito Gallego. It got a favorite from me, and my vote. Here is the synopsis: Edmond Ratt is a serial killer. While stabbing a woman in the middle of the street he is spotted by two Police Patrol Officers and escapes seeking shelter in the city sewers. He immediately feels like home in that dark, wet and stinking place.
After killing the police officer who was chasing him Edmond is captured by two strange and pale men who belong to an unknown race called “The Children of the Sewer”. They are born, live and die in the city sewers and rarely go up to the surface. The two men carry Edmond through tunnels and passages to the lair where more people like them dwell.
Their leader, a hulky man called Shlyder, challenges Edmond to a fight to the death. Edmond defeats Shlyder and is about to kill him but when he hears the shouts of the people of the sewer encouraging him to do it he hesitates: for Edmond killing is a way of gaining satisfaction through an antisocial and contemptible behavior. His aggressivity can’t be expressed in a consenting environment.
Shlyder see his opportunity and tries to strike Edmond from behind but Khela, one of Shlyder's women warns Edmond who instinctively hits him and makes him fall to a waterfall drowning in the filthy residual waters.
Edmond becomes new leader of the Children of the Sewer but has little time to relish. He must face mutant monsters that stalk the hidden pipes and tunnels of the underground and fight the enemies that oppose him to rise an incipient empire in the drains. But the biggest threat will be Forensic Psychologist Zoraidh Cripst. She has come to the sewer and is after him!

Benito writes a synopsis the way I write a review ;)

The art does remind you of John Buscema, and of the old EC comics stable. The lead character being a serial killer who goes underground and meets the sewer's denizens makes the story bride the gap between a Marvel or Atlas/Seaboard bronze age comic, and quality crime comics like Crime SuspenStories/ Crime Does Not Pay. Completely legible font (I hate text box thought balloons, but they're mostly well written), and the colors are something else that make this comic stand out. Having a character that can only 'enjoy the kill' when he gets to proper response is a nice nod to Sin City: That Yellow Bastard, among other works. The story opens with Ratt lying in wait for some poor unsuspecting girl to get closer. Having a first screen give you a reason to click to the next isn't uncommon on Zuda, but having a story that you can follow without the synopsis with almost nothing lost is. Screen 2 is the screen that really stood out to me. The artist/writer creator does not let the words cramp the art. It also helps that Benito is a good enough artist to really convey emotion in his characters faces. Panels 3 and 4 came off as dueling primal screens in depictions that linger on the brain. From the set-up it's obvious there will be a number of action scenes in this title, which Benito handles quite well in fluid figures. The police show just in the nick of time and chase Ratt away down a sewer. The text box thought balloons actually pay off in this sequence as what you see in the panels isn't what's going on in Ratt's mind. The whole thing is a trap for Ratt to get close to the cop and carve him up. Screen 4 is the first time we see this creator's imagining of a sewer and it's a well done background. If your going to set your comic in a sewer you need to be able to draw a scary sewer, which this creator does. I don't even want to know what makes the water green...With the text being short and to the point you get all the insight you need into Ratt's thoughts and motivations.

Having a 'bad guy' as your lead

Screen 5 is the confrontation between Ratt and the cop, which is a nice action scene. Screen 6 is where the sewer people finally make an appearance. As Ratt is standing over the police officer's body in ankle deep sewer water they capture him. The actions scenes are so well done with a easy to follow page layout. The only miss being Ratt's thought balloons "his thorax was wrecked" was a clunky thought to have unless he used to be a doctor. "Make them pain, I'll let them do" stream on consciousness style following along is hit and miss at best. Most of the text on this screen was a miss, we don't always have to read what Ratt is thinking. By now every reader should have a good grasp on the way Ratt 'reacts' pull back on the text and let the art be even more amazing. Benito does some nice design work on the sewer people which you see as they rope Ratt then knock him out with a sewer pipe. The big eyes, pale gray skin, made me wonder just how many times someone had pissed in there gene pool. As you read this comic take time to enjoy the backgrounds (Benito draws a mean sewer), and a little 'old school' panel layout. Screen 7 did a good job in mixing up the close-ups and long shots of the two 'children' carrying off Ratt. Panel 4 was my fav here, Benito can also draw a mean rat. Screen 8 gets to the reveal of the rest of the children of the sewer as well as there slur for normal -looking- folks calling Edmond Ratt "you tanned". It's a cool reveal to end on, and the text box thought balloons here were well written, and gave useful insight into Ratt's future plans. It would have been nice to see at least a panel, or two of Zoraidh Cripst, maybe a cut away to her starting on the case, just to establish Ratt's other major foil. It could help with readers who are looking for a more rootable character to follow along with. In the comments section on this comic there is a question about the reader investment potential of a story with a unsympathetic lead character. It's not a issue with me because I like the villain on the run stories, and seeing a story mainly told from the other perspective from time to time. Readers don't know how this story will end, but the introduction of Zoraidh Cripst tracking him down for justice will change things. Readers can root for Ratt to reform, or hope Zoraidh tracks him done and makes him pay in a showdown. There's always the potential the whole lot could be eaten by a giant sewer gator. Readers just don't know yet how things are going to play out in Children of the Sewer, but will want to find out what happens next.

Robot 13: Colossus! Review/ Looks like a Scooby-Doo villain, kills monsters like nobody's business!

2009-11-05T21:56:00.001-06:00

Robot 13: Colossus! is a new print comic done by Blacklist Studios: Daniel Bradford and Thomas Hall. It's up to issue 2 now and can be ordered at there web site, here is a short synopsis: On the surface, Robot 13 is about a skull headed robot who fights giant monsters from Greek Mythology. From a storytelling standpoint, however, it's somewhat a reworking of Frankenstein meeting Homer's Odyssey- it's the story of a thing created by Science who goes on a Hero's journey of sorts to find out who he really is...

Kill the Kraken, Kill the Kraken, Kill the Kraken

Based on revelations in the second issue it actually has a much deeper theme than just robot vs. monsters, but no need to rush over one of its coolest points. The bulk of Robot 13 #1 is taken up with R 13 getting pulled from the sea, along with a almost instantaneous attack by a Kraken looking sea monster. What members of the crew don't get eaten look on in horror as the fight begins. If your going to draw a western comic you have to be able to draw horses, if your going to draw a comic with robots and monsters you have to be able to make all those critters look cool. looking around in comics shops and online I get a little stunned at how many creators can't pull it off. The creators of this comic didn't just pull it off, they did one of the best action/suspense scenes I've seen in comics lately. In order for readers to take these static images and fill in the blanks between the gutters the art has got to be smooth. You have to be able to draw the figures in conflict from all angles taking advantage of fantastic page composition to wow your audience. I always appreciate it when a character is fighting for there life (or to avoid being crushed into recyclable materials in this case) they don't spend a lot of panels blabbing as they fight. Never mind being realistic, too many word balloons hinder the art, and can slow the action packed pace down to a crawl. In this issue you have a mostly silent fight scene that lets the great art really grab hold of the readers. There are no unnecessary panels everything is done mindful of the 24 page economy to give readers the most bang for there buck and page count. As I said at the start you get more than just an amazing battle sequence. The Robot doesn't know who or what it is, or from whence it came. There are some tantalizing flashbacks that serve to get you wondering about it's origins. A doctor smuggles the robot out on a ship, then casts him adrift in a small boat so he can be free. The robot's confused state, unable to understand human concepts, is well done with the added benefit his confusion about what's going on in the world is one of the most human emotions a character can have. The robot on his little boat promptly gets attacked by a giant lobster that he begins fighting it out with. There is a nice movie like transition shot between the giant lobster in the past to an image of a regular lobster in the here and now being skewered and inspected by the robot. In a nice touch R 13 brings the monsters eye on board and the ships captain says he could make some money showing it off to people.

No worries -R 13 is monster and rust resistant

Issue #2 provides a fight with a phoenix, and more clues to R 13's past and purpose. Whenever you have a unnatural creature fighting it out with monsters there will be a Mike Mignola/Hellboy comparison. The art does show a Mike Mignola influence along with old school newspaper adventure comic strip feel. It's important to remember everybody has influences (including Mignola), and it all probably traces back to a creative arts troglodyte who drew mammoths on cave walls better than anyone else. Everyone wants to take what has gone before, build on it, and go off in there own direction. The art here does just that with a number of standout pages which are perfect in conveying the story. The letters are well done, and the colors fit the story so well -it's just another reason to read it. Once you can see the art is there, the next question is what about the story? What makes Robot 13 stand out is all of the back story and future hinted at in issue #2. R 13 is a monster magnet, this issue it's a phoenix and ends up konked out in a snow bank found by a man and his dog. The dialogue between R 13 and a sailor serve to give a good insight into what the robot is thinking and foreshadowing of the upcoming conflict. It also serves to avoid text box thought balloons which I love. The issue opens with a memory that reveals the possible origin of R 13's creation, and closes with the reveal of its ultimate foe.The comics opens in the ancient world in Crete as the greatest minds in there world plan the creation of a 'man of bronze' champion to defend the people from dark threats. The comics ends with Echidna 'the mother of all monsters' wanting to know where the murder of her children are. A oracle and her teacher are trying to tell her, but in typical oracle fashion the pronouncements are murky. Echidna gets angered and the results are predictably gruesome. Issue 1 was the set up, issue 2 reveals enough you think you know what's going on, but you're not sure, and you still want to read the details. Long ago all the Daedalus types got together to invent a mechanical man to face off against the various man eating monsters in this world. That's just enough of a hint at what's going on, and a peak at the future to make readers want to pick up the next issue to see how it goes. How did we end up with version 13.0 of the metal man? How was this robot created? Ancients embracing technology to protect them from the monsters of their myths can touch are kinds of areas dealing with humanity, or the lack of it. When you have a concept timing is also important. lately there has been a number of special on the History channel and elsewhere, about ancient peoples being more technological advanced then modern people had wanted to give them credit for. Ancient computers, mechanical weapons, clock-work inventions created by people so far ahead of there time it's not even funny. Some of the stories about statues of gods 'coming to life were true', but what the people then didn't know was it wasn't supernatural forces, but engineering smarts that lead them to move. It is rather cool to see a comic making use of these concepts. In Robot 13 the monsters are real, and the technology is even more advanced. Magical vs. science -with belief on both sides- in a showdown makes for a amazing story here. The dialogue and art work together to tell a very entertaining story, which I'm sure is only going to get better as more issues are released. It's a title you should differently check out

Zuda review Fly Me From The Moon/ As Alien was really a horror film, this is really a hardboiled crime story

2009-11-04T00:06:00.005-06:00

Fly Me From The Moon was a October Zuda comic done by Gabriel Bautista it finished with a final rank of 9th. Fly Me got a favorite from me, here is the synopsis: Titus Simirica is a dead man! What else can be said for a man who is being chased by one of Chicago’s premier mob bosses and a group of mysteriously strong men in black?
The year is 2157, and lunar property is a hot commodity! Moon cheese is no longer a cute children’s phrase, but an incredible raw material found deep within the surface of the Moon. It is refined to produce copious amounts of pure energy, and you better believe it’s pricey!
But what happens when there are threats of civil war on the moon colonies? What if you owned a piece of that highly sought after land? Would you get rid of it, or sit on it?
Follow Titus as he does his best to ditch his lunar property on businessman/crime lord Kevin Harrell, and steer clear from the mystery super men that want their land back!
May lady luck be on his side! GOD SPEED TITUS!

A rare Zuda comic where the writing is fantastic and the art -isn't

The reason this comic got a favorite from me is because I enjoyed the story (pace and dialogue) so much. The colors are great, and all the letters are completely legible. What brought this comic down is less than impressive art. It's not horrible but it didn't rise to the level of the story, if this was a first time entrant I wouldn't be typing this at all. However, this is Gabriel Bautista's 4th Zuda comic and I expect to see a progression in the art, not a regression. You expect to see a creator continue to get better, not have his previous art efforts look so much better. The concept and characterization has improved in Fly Me, so why would the art be left behind? Frank Miller seems out to see how 'cartoony' his style can go in a rebellion against photo-realism, and the work in this comic seems along the 'how loose can it be and still tell a story' variety as well. This doesn't grab me as a reader when a well known artist does it, or someone who is making a name for themselves. Talk your time to do the best comic you can. It's a marathon not a sprint. Don't just send something in you think is good enough to get in, spend the time on it to go for a win. MPD57 has had posts to that effect about various Zuda contestants and that's how I feel about this title. After the first panel overhead shot with the ceiling fan it's the dialogue that draws you in. It's instantly just sounds right and has a ring of truth about it. With only one end of a phone conversation being heard it builds suspense as to what they're talking about. As a reader you can guess it sounds a lot like a phone call that might have been overheard in some real world corporation that was headed for a Madoff style melt down. Light coming through the shutters and the coloring job done on this part saved the lead character from just being a slightly defined glob with good lines to say. It was a nice touch to have the secretary peaking in the room on the last panel of screen 1. Once Titus gets outside on screen 2 in come the reds and greens in the color scheme, which again look fantastic. Titus calls to tell his wife get the hell out of there house, then sets up a meeting with that crime lord mentioned in the synopsis. Harrell the crime lord takes the bait on screen 3 and from the dialogue Titus reveals himself as a smooth operator. On screen 4 we see more of Titus's secretary, and some mysterious men silhouettes in fedora's and overcoats trying to see Titus. Using science fiction for a weirder, more memorable, MacGuffin as well as better technology helps the story avoid having a too stereotypical setting or feel.

In a story like this guys showing up in trench coats is always a bad sign

Screen 5 is the first big action screen. The three guys in trench coats punch there way through a door, and leave a message with the secretary they want there land back. It is a good start to the story with more than one opponent for Titus. Screen 6 Titus is eating a hot dog, drinking a soda, and talking on the phone to his brother. He finds out the coup he had been earlier warned about has already happened and one ship had left a hour earlier carrying those men in trench coats that are trying to track him down. Along his way Titus drops his food and reveals his plans to get the hell out of dodge by taking his wife from the moon. He says this in the last panel where we see a close up of his feet and the food he had ealier dropped. I'd say this was a impressive screen layout except for the fact the cup of soda was drawn so -abstract- it can barely pass for a cup. Titus comes back to his wrecked office and his secretary Charlie fills him in on what has happened. It's all leading up to the big reveal on screen 8 and I enjoyed how every screen lead you to click to find out what happens next. There was a coup on a lunar base, the Earth President is destroyed, and Harrell wants to even the score for losing his money by taking Titus's wife. The dialogue on this screen from Harrell was very pulpy, wondering why Titus would want to go to a death trap like the moon, then finding out his wife is still there says: "Titus. You are one sick and demented individual." There is still a mystery as to how this happened readers want to have answered, as well as the classic question: what happens next? The script is tight, the art is too loose, and I think Gabriel Bautista should set his sights on doing a better comic than he has ever done before to go for a instant win.

Zuda review Evil Ain't Easy/ Either I'm dreaming or I've lived through this before...

2009-11-01T02:55:00.001-06:00

Evil Ain't Easy was a October Zuda comic done by Seth Wolfshorndl that finished up ranked number 4. Here is the synopsis: He may have a Destructo Ray that can level small cities, but that doesn’t help this evil genius deal with the mundane annoyances of everyday life. The diminutive Dr. Nimbus must wade through taxes, rent, gas prices, and even poor customer service in his quest to eventually rule the world. Along for the ride is his newly created henchman (which may or may not be a good thing).

Gag-a-day strips are the Kudzu of online comics

There are so many comics online, more than a few on Zuda, you really have to do something different to stand out, and this strip didn't grab me. The art is cool, the story has some funny jokes, but the field is just too crowed. Humor comics are generally not my go to genre, being good wasn't enough for my vote -you got to be great. The artist is very good at making Dr. Nimbus's face very expressive, especially in the last panel on screen 1 with the sigh. A mad scientist who's having problems paying the bills in this economy should be low hanging comedic fruit. You have 2 kinds of comedians: story-tellers, and the ones who tell jokes. Considering the market you can't be Larry The Cable Guy, you have to channel Rodney Dangerfield. Joke, after joke, after joke, every panel you got to hit the readers with something. Better still hit the readers with 2, or 3, or more somethings every panel. Will there be more misses that way, sure but quantity counts, make up the laughs in volume like Wal-mart does sales. There is such a number of 'set up for the last panel punchline' comics out there, it ends up becoming one big haze where nothing stands out. Screen 2 is a good example of Gag-a-day. On the top of the screen we have a high price of gas joke, on the bottom half a fast food ordering joke. Besides throwing in the bits about being a mad scientist you could probably put any character in the same set-up. Screen exploits the mad scientist background for more than a Dr. Drakken style monologue. Dr. Nimbus is out to find himself a henchman with the job interviews not going well do to yuppie slacker monsters. We see part time monsters, benefit package seeking monsters, and disrespectful monsters, leading the Doctor to create his own henchmen. The sound effects and sight gags are very good in the last few panels of screen 4. The lights go out when Dr. Nimbus plugs things in, the coloring effects and sound effects were very well done. Comedy strips have it tougher on Zuda, and you have be able to bring more laughs with the dialogue.

We don't meet the sidekick until screen 5, what's up with that?

Lothar is the green skinned Frankenstein stoner type Dr. Nimbus created to be his henchman. Buddy comedy is always funnier, the gasoline and pickle jokes could have been dropped for more of this. Lothar has no real respect for Dr. Nimbus, and his dim incompetence makes for a nice contrast with the mad scientist. Screen 6 had some nice exchanges between Lothar and Dr. Nimbus, and great choices in the layouts of the panels. I'd like to see Seth Wolfshorndl back in Zuda with a non-humor comic. Screen 7 feature the appearance of a recurring foil in Mrs. Brewster Dr. Nimbus's landlord. He tells her Lothar is his nephew, you know that's a prelude to comedy hi-jinks. All of these events, the buddy, the foil, should have happened earlier on in the story to increase mine and other readers interest. It still would have needed something else to really stand apart from the masses, but the strip would have been more on its way. Screen 8 ends with Mrs. Brewster telling Dr. Nimbus his rent was due last week, and his sad admission he must go out and find a job. Ending up in the top 4 is a good sign, but comedy is a the hardest way to go on Zuda. The art, colors, and letters are all there, but more funnies in the dialogue. The stuff with potential didn't happen until the end, screen 2 could have never been there and the comic would be better for it.

Dexter: Early Cuts/ Happy Halloween everybody!

2009-10-31T21:24:00.001-05:00

Dexter on Showtime happens to be my favorite show on the air now. It's a serial killer who kills other serial killers and tries to keep his loved ones in the dark. I've also read all the Dexter novels by Jeff Lindsay and enjoyed them. Dexter: Early Cuts is a new animated (like an old Captain America/Spider-man cartoon from the 80s) web series written by Lauren Gussis, focusing on how he came to adopt his current methods. The artists for this 3 chapter, 12 episode series are names that will probably be familiar to you: Kyle Baker, Ty Templeton, Andrés Vera Martínez. The first video is a behind the scenes, the other videos are part 1 and 2 of the current chapter. Dexter is in it's 4th season it comes on Showtime Sunday nights at 9:00 ET. Dexter: Early Cuts is also a Sunday night program on the Showtime website.

So far I'm really enjoying the story, so if you haven't already you should check it out.

Zuda review Blitz/ Yeah I can see the Jeff Smith and Walt Kelly Influence...

2009-10-27T21:03:00.000-05:00

Blitz is another October Zuda comic done by Ted Dawson. Here is the Synopsis: In the days of the Old West, a crippled alien transport made an emergency landing near Alamo, Nevada. Thousands of aliens were assimilated into the United States culture, starting life anew in a strange land. The 20th century would never be the same.
Not all Americans were happy with the integration of Alien-Americans. Some sought to profit by the potential influx of cheap labor and technological knowledge. Yet others had more sinister motives...

Reminding me of Alien nation as a comedy in the old west is a good thing , but the alien looks like one of the Bone cousins -he just does

That's what your going to hear over and over again about the lead space alien, because it's so true. That doesn't mean Ted Dawson decided to just do a crib note version of Jeff Smith, but you can't live in a vacuum and not notice what's came before. The Bone resemblance isn't something that's going away, you just have to sell the story with the rest of the cast/plot. Jeff Smith got there first, so the alien's effectiveness as a character is going to be hampered by that. The creator talked about some confusion with the format which shows in the layout of the screens and pace. The alien shows up in a old west saloon (profiting off the technological knowledge leads to cars on the streets with horses and all kinds of humor possibilities) looking for his "Mudah". The locals at the watering hole don't like his kind of people around here, and this results in the little alien getting thrown into a pile of dishes. The title character Blitz is the human dish washer who isn't happy with the alien busting up the dishes he was washing. Then his boss come along, see's what has happened, and fires him because it was Blitz's responsibility to take care of them. The art does a good job throughout this comic, and the slapstick jokes come across well. The alien has a few good lines throughout the comic: like saying "playing Frisbee with a gorilla" before going back for a second round with the bully that gave him a toss. The poor layout formatting was obvious on screen 3, a lot of blank black space on the page, which maybe could have been helped by making the panels bigger. On screen 4 we find out Shorty the alien's nemesis is named Bulldog, and he has a sister/love interest for Blitz named Sissie. The dialogue isn't bad, but nothing about it makes it stand out over all the similar comics that have came before. The aliens coming to the states and being treated as second-class citizens did remind me of the Alien Nation movie and dealing with immigration vs. America first'ers. Dealing with the reaction to aliens landing in a cartoon setting, instead of a dramatic film one does have possibilities. The comic didn't focus in on it's best aspect until it's last screen, which hurt it's ability to grab me as a reader. From the art along there are going to be Walt Kelly comparisons made. Pogo tackled real word issues using cartoons to give kids something to look at, adults something to read. Being written well enough to work on a number of levels without hitting people over the head. If Blitz is just a humor strip that's fine, but if you got the set-up to go into Pogo territory -take it.

Why in the world was this comic not in color?

This strip actually did have that coloring book look to it. Most -if not all- weekday newspaper scripts aren't black and white as a artistic choice. It's a financial cost savings decision along with the limits of a printing press. These days with all kinds of color programs making coloring your comics super easy to do, as well as the fact it's going to be a comic on the web -why go with black and white? It doesn't work that often for me on Zuda and it didn't come off well in this comic. Color -even an outrageously garish job of it- would have made this strip look better to me. On screen 5 Shorty the alien bits Bulldog's arm and gets him to drop the gun. Being the old west everyone starts pulling out their guns, and bullets start flying for a big shootout. In a funny repeat Shorty the alien again gets tossed across a room. Blitz pushes Sissie to safety in a nice prelude to a romance. Again the physical humor is done very well throughout this comic. Bulldog tries to 'rescue' his baby sister by holding Blitz upside down by his leg, and the alien saves him with a nice gag. On the way out the door Blitz tells Sissie he'll call her, as he and the alien make tracks. It is a western comic of sorts, so I was happy to see the creator can draw horses well. I'm not kidding, that's a serious compliment considering some of the comics I've seen on the net. On screen 7 we finally get to the interesting part of the story. The alien is looking for his mother who has disappeared. Blitz informs him of a illegal alien slave trade going on, as Blitz rides off on a horse with the alien holding onto its tail. Bulldog and company let the lead fly while pursuing them in a car. The two escape but the alien finds a paper that says Bulldog is the suspected in the kidnapping of aliens to force them to go to a work camp in Bolivia. Meanwhile Blitz spends the last few panels trying to figure how much Shorty owes him for the broken dishes.No color, and nothing to stand out from so many comics that mine the same territory on the web. Aside from the layout formatting for Zuda issues the art is fine. I hope Ted Dawson gives Zuda another shot with a comic that would stand a better chance of grabbing more Zuda readers.

Zuda review Doc Monster/ With the word 'Doc' in the title, you know it's going to be action packed!

2009-10-25T03:54:00.000-05:00

Doc Monster is another October Zuda comic done by David Flora that got a favorite from me. Here is the synopsis: In 1954, reports flood in of mysterious lights and strange airships that appear and disappear without a trace, sometimes taking animals or people with them! Suspecting some form of advanced, Russian spy initiative, the CIA’s “Counter Insurgency Unit” enlists the aid of super-scientist DOC MONSTER to help. A man of mystery, built like a linebacker with a genius IQ, Doc is tasked with uncovering and capturing the suspected communist vehicle behind the sightings. He is assigned an Agency “keeper” by the name of Carson Clay, whose job is to facilitate any needs Doc Monster may have during the investigation… and to keep an eye on him at all times. With his career as well as his marriage on the rocks, Clay grumblingly follows Doc Monster across the country until one terrifying night when all of Carson’s doubts and concerns are torn away, and the unbelievable truth of the UFO sightings come to surface. They are real. They are here. And their alien power comes to bear down on the free world. As their sinister goals are revealed, the nation cries out for Doc Monster to save them. The question is… will he?

Where Doc Savage style action and commie red scare style Sci-Fi comes together

The color scheme is what Warren magazines would have looked like with color added. A lot of text boxes to read through early, but the narrative is fairly interesting. The lettering is completely legible. The art does a great job of invoking the right mood for the comic, not a surprise if you've read his other work, and the story pace fits Zuda. The first screen starts out at a drive-in showing Creature from the Black Lagoon in Flemingsburg, Kentucky in 1954. The art is great at pulling off a pulp look, and meeting the titular character on screen 1 is a plus. I noticed the Rip Kirby look of Doc, having him smoking a pipe was a nice touch. There is a little problem some comics have when they have a text box announcing time/location, and you read the comic and from the art it could well be taking place in the here and now. The drive-in opening, the classic cars, smoking a freaking pipe, all remind readers this isn't some hybrid of the present day. The searching for 'commies' and flaying saucer craze that really did happen make the point there is a reason the story was set in this time -besides just drawing cool stuff. The worrisome thing about Doc Monster is his red eyes, Clay even 'thinks' about it calling it to readers attention. I hope the red eyes has more to do with a X The Man with X-ray Eyes type of deal than some sort of Faustian bargain. Whatever the score I'm intrigued and wouldn't mind if it's one of those things never 'explained' and just left up to readers. When I write about a comic having a good Zuda pace, I mean the shit starts to GO DOWN in the initial 8 screens, and not the 'somewhat later on' ether should a comic win. On screen 2 we get a nice weird little sound effect that leads into a full screen shot of the shit GOING DOWN on screen 3 with a alien invasion -this IS good Zuda pace. You see alien space ships rising up, lifting cars along with them, and our two leads looking on stunned. It's a very impressive screen well layout with striking colors and art. Clay says: "Holy Shit!" and Doc Monster's comment: "Great Scott!". It made me wonder what kind of more true to life language those old Sci-Fi films might have used if the censors would have let them get away with it. Screen 4 reveals some alien insect type monsters that are attacking the kids at the drive-in. It also ends on another cool sound effect leading you to the next screen, which could become a bit of a signature if this comic continues on.

Destroy the Alien menace!

Clay tries shooting the critter, while someone else runs for the exits behind him. The bullets don't work, but Doc Monster shows off his strength by cutting one of the creatures head off. Screen 6 is a nice action scene showing the Doc making a jump for one of the ships supremely confident in his abilities, why Clay wants to call in reinforcements. With all the alien lights shows on display the coloring job could have went horribly wrong -it didn't thanks to David Flora's talent. Screen 7 features a homage to Action Comics #1, and some nice action art as Doc Monster shows off his power. The text/dialogue tells you what you need to know, and the realistic features on the characters helps cut down on the need for all that many words. If anything there is too much background information given on Clay, I could have done with less of that even making allowances for the genre. I also have a general hatred of text box thought balloons, and preferring to let readers fill the blanks. One complaint: the last panel on screen 7 didn't show Clay looking surprised, or even mildly concerned, which didn't match the text. Screen 8 ends with a real cliff hanger worthy of any old time serial. The ship sinks back into the ground leaving a outline that looks a lot like your typical crop circle. To Clay's horror (the text and facial expressions were a perfect match here) Doc Monster hangs on to the ship and disappears below ground as well. Since the narration was a reminiscence of Clay's he reveals things were about to get much worse. This is a excellent Zuda comic I would follow if it won, but it seems to be stuck in the 3rd spot of this competition. I would like to see David Flora continue on with Doc Monster, and give Zuda another go.
If he doesn't manage to pull off the upset after all.

Zuda review Impure Blood/ Into the Arena... Crush'em! crush'em!

2009-10-21T22:25:00.000-05:00

Impure Blood is another October Zuda contestant done by Nathan Lueth and Nadja Baer. Here is the synopsis: Dubbed the "Abomination" because of his appearance, Roan carries within his human body the Blood of a mystical and nearly extinct race known as the Ancients. Blood, which manifests itself in exceptional strength and physical mutation. Blood that earned him imprisonment in the Veresta Stadium, where pure-blooded humans force him to fight in gladiatorial games.
Nearly broken, Roan jumps at the prospect of freedom when a mysterious girl named Dara appears at his cell. She offers him a chance at a new life in exchange for his help, but refuses to release him until he binds himself to her mission with a sacred oath known only by the Ancients.
Tied to Dara by words as old as his Blood, Roan has no choice but to join her and her cohorts on a quest to track down an Ancient artifact. Dara is desperate to find it, believing that it will unlock the mystery of her own past. Elnor, her bodyguard, is sworn to protect Dara by a contract, but her true desire is to keep herself safe, even at Dara's expense. Caspian is a member of a secret society sworn to conceal the Ancient artifact and keep it out of the hands of those with Ancient Blood.
Roan cares only for his freedom until a new player joins the game and threatens the very existence of humanity. Now Roan must make a choice: Overcome a lifetime of humiliation, repression and rage, and protect the people that imprisoned him, or walk away and allow humanity to suffer the consequences of its mission to suppress the Ancient Blood.

This comic fulfills the 'spilled blood' action quotient

It says it's an action/adventure, and you get an action/adventure from panel 1, screen 1. The first panel is of a guy getting his head busted in, with a suitable amount of blood flying. The font is legible. The colors are well done. It's a fast moving Zuda story that ends with a good cliff hanger. The is a lot of action the artist does a mostly fine job of rendering on the screens. There are no stiff looking combat scenes, all the characters look fluid. Screen one we see Roan the Abomination fighting it out in a gladiatorial contest, with a streak of humor running throughout the comic. I give the creators credit screen one lays the ground work for the tone of the whole comic.On screen one you can read the arena announcements about the abomination: "The Veresta Keepers would like to remind you that all bets are final. Defaulters will be put in the ring to face the abomination next week." The humor lessons the impact of all the blood flying, and makes this more of a adventure story. Screen 2 has a nice layout in the actions scenes as Roan dispatches his opponents. Screen 3 pulls away from the conflict to start establishing the plot. A mysterious benefactor sends his two associate hench-women to go break out Roan, complete with a strange message in a watch: "we know where it is." The suspense isn't enough to rip your spine out, but the story is moving along across the 8 screens. Roan goes up against someone with a robot knife-arm, for the sole purpose of ripping it off and stabbing him with it in a cool action scene. The Manga style action panels do work to make the fight scenes have more impact, with a nice contrast to the standard layout for non-action scenes. The last panel on screen 4 is a nice piece of work showing Roan holding his wounded arm, face hidden in shadow.

Gladiators, Murders, Thieves, Rapists, and ...Lawyers?

On screen 5 in the background there is a plaque that throws in the lawyer joke, along with one of the hench-women ( Elnor) distracting two guards with her allures, while the other (Dara) goes to break out Roan. Roan gets some very good dialogue as at firsts he's amused by this young woman, but then gets drawn into making a deal for his freedom. This scene also brings up one of the problems I have with this comic, Roan just doesn't look scary enough. If he's bashing in skulls, or trying to look stoic in solitude he comes off impressive as a Shriek plushie. Maybe going the Judge Dredd route and giving him a mask so readers can't see his face would have been a better option. It doesn't seem the mix of humor to action is quite right. On screen 6 Dara asks Roan to swear a oath: "To the beginning of the blood..?", and Roan questions how she knows about the sacred oath of his people. Screen 6 does have some impressive panel layouts in how this scene plays out. There is a shot of Roan's hands holding the bars as he thinks over the offer, then his face in shadow again as he swears: "To the begining of the blood." She reveals her name, he tells her her name, and they start to make their escape. The whisper word balloons in this comic are done in pale gray. The backgrounds showing in arean are very well done, and screen 7 had a nice 'puzzle piece' layout. Screen 8 Roan and Dara make it out to find Elnor has drugged both guards. Dara and Roan reveal the only way he can have his freedom is to get past the gates by sunrise. The last panel reveals the trio making a run for it, it was a good cliff hanger. It's a good comic, but I couldn't tell if it was a action/comedy, or a action comic with some light moments. I more bad-ass scary Roan would have also had more of a impact.

Zuda review A Polar Nightmare/ Now this is a really bad Santa

2009-10-19T23:05:00.000-05:00

A Polar Nightmare is another October Zuda comic done by Zuda vet Amancay Nicolas Nahuelpan Bustamante. It got a favorite from me here is the synopsis: Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Willy, who, every year would write to Santa and ask him for that much-desired present he wanted for Christmas. But something went wrong last December 25th. He sent his letter as usual, but he didn't get his present. So in desperation, he decided to go and ask Santa in person why he didn't deliver his gift.
Jimmy and his best friend Willy, set out on a journey of their lives, venturing into the heart of the North Pole to visit Santa Claus! Things don’t go as planned, and after visiting Santa's house; they wished they never left their home. Now, surrounded by trouble, they will have to find out how to survive the Nightmares of the North Pole!

Santa's done horror before, but this time he has sex-pot elves for back up!

Amancy is drawing it, so of course it looks amazing. The letters are legible, and the colors add a very nice element to the story. It has a slower start than previous comics Amancy has done, but I really enjoyed the actually unexpected cliff hanger pay off at the end. If your going to draw a landscape, you need to be able to draw a landscape. Amancy does an excellent job of showing off the north pole, snow covered mountains, and tracking through a winter wasteland. The text boxes are well written, even though they rhyme. Screen 2 sees our introductions to Willy and Jimmy as the classic optimistic/pessimistic duo. The yellow text boxes rhyme the whole way through, and it does convoy the sick childrens book aspect of it. By screen 4 they're knocking on the front door, with some impressive art done on Santa's hideaway. The color scheme really brings across the desolation beyond Santa's shack, all you got is snow. I wouldn't have minded seeing more panels per screen, but I understand building up the anticipation.It could be a quick read if you don't take the time to appreciate the art. The dialogue for the two little kids is spot on. throughout the comic the dialogue doesn't cramp the art, and does a good job of getting the story across.

Uh... What happened to St. Nick?

Screen 5 we get elf babes that could be playmates who also speak in rhyme. This is the first real hint that things are not what they seem, or you would expect. It's also one of my favorite screens with a nice Elf P.O.V. looking down at Willy. His wide-eyed Santa hopes is proof he's too young to appreciate what he sees before him. Screen 6 is another one of my favorite screens where we get a full screen shot of a evil looking Santa. He is hooked into a number of machines, in some interesting places, and explains: "Welcome to my humble house you spoiled brats. Sorry for my appearance... but my kidneys are driving me nuts." It could be one, or both of the elf babes gave him something Ajax couldn't take off, and Penicillin can't cure. Bad Santa does give the standard Ho Ho Ho, but it has more of a Silent Night/Deadly Night feel considering the circumstances. Screen 7 is when things start getting even creepier, which is cool as hell. The art is intense as the panels go from two scared kids to a close up of evil Santa with what looks like cockroaches coming out of his eyes. The lettering job was also very well done with a gray balloon signifying whispers. The lettering job on bad Santa's closing rhyme was also very good. It ends with a black screen extreme close up on Bad Santa's eyes with the bugs coming out of it. He also delivers a threat in rhyme that's some scary shit for Santa to say. The ending makes you concerned for what's going to happen to those kids, and wondering what the hell went wrong at the North Pole. This comic is a original twist on turning Christmas into a nightmare.

LaMorte Sisters/ You got to love a vampire comic with French in the title

2009-10-17T15:51:00.028-05:00

The Dead Sisters is a instant Zuda winner from Tony Trov, John Zito and Christine Larsen. It got a favorite from me, here is the synopsis:"While on a family trip, Maddie and her parents were savagely attacked by a crazed man. Though here [her] parents were not so lucky, Maddie survived due to the intervention of a silent savior who slew her assailant. Dazed and confused, Maddie finds herself on a bus to the LaMorte Home for Lost Girls is a special place that helps wayward young ladies deal with their peculiar condition. Under the watchful eye of these LaMorte Sisters, Maddie will discover the mysteries that lie beneath her imposed, new home."

Do the girls at vampire school have to wear those uniform skirts?

The is not a lot of dialogue, but the pacing over the 8 screens is very suspenseful. Having a school that trains young vampire waifs about their powers is an idea with a lot of possibility. The first thing that really impresses you is the art in this comic. Just the right mix of spooky and cartoony to tell the story well. Screen 1 is a full screen shot of Maddie holding her mothers hand, with some cool 'gasp' lettering effects. On the next screen we see a figure in the distance (her dad) being mauled by a vampire creature both framed by the moon. It's one panel cut into 2 to slow down a readers eye, and bring home the fact Maddie is holding her mothers hand watching her father die. In comics with little dialogue I'm always interested in the script, how much was in the writers descriptions, how much was the artist's initiative. Panel 3 shows the vampires in laMorte Sisters fall into the shark-mouth school of vampire characters. The panel ends with Mr. Scary headed towards defenseless Maddie and mama corpse. The layout of all these screens is extraordinary. Screen 3 shows you the dad face of Maddie's dad as the vampire creature gets closer to Maddie and her mother. It's a classic scene victim frozen in terror, big bad monster getting closer, and a reader's fear for its prey. For the most part this story is 'Zuda paced' just right to build suspense over the characters fate's. Screen 4 has a nice 1st panel with the vampires big red eyes framed by the girls gasping mouth. It wraps her up and starts drinking her blood, as her eyes roll back into her head. With art this good you don't need to cramp up the panels with unnecessary wordage, and to their credit the writers don't.

Not a big fan of BCB, but I am a fan of this

Screen 5 has a extreme close-up of of Maddie's eyes rolling back in her head. Then we see a Joe Kubert style insert panel of a flaming arrow, I didn't think accomplished much beside the homage. I was very impressed with the coloring for this sequence. The way the flaming arrows being stuck in the vampire cast their light on the various characters. Readers also see a nasty looking hole in Maddie's neck. The vampire drops Maddie to turn (flaming arrows still stuck inside him) and face his opponent, who we still can't see yet. In screen 6 the vampire attacks and the unknown figure throws little blades into its stomach. The action scene here looks more than a little off. The panel shapes, and depictions of the characters don't flow well from one panel to the next. Panel 4 was actually done very well, it didn't make the vampire look like a blood drenched, bowlegged scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz. In the foreground we see the unknown stranger start to draw their sword, with the vampire in the background looking ready to charge. Screen 7 we see the unknown stranger standing with it's sword out, and the vampire has burst into flames. The figure drops its sword to look at the bodies in the snow, vampire ashes trailing away, and (probably) her breath still visible. I wouldn't have minded seeing an actual sword swing, but this was still executed fairly well. Screen 8 is The figure checks the pulse on the girl Maddie, then carries her off on her back. Maddie asks if she's going to die and readers get the kicker dialogue the story ends on: "No child... ...you're already dead." It's snowing by now and the last panel is a silhouette of the two figures moving away from the reader, tracks plainly visible in the snow. The way this comic uses the weather to help set the mood of the story is admirable. It's not like a movie where it's a special effect, all it takes is artistic skills on par with what is displayed in this comic. I'm looking forward to new twists and turns from the writers, and hope they will be spared too many knee-jerk comparisons to either Buffy, or 30 Days of Night.

Zuda review Pluck/ How this comic managed to not look like a coloring book

2009-10-15T23:54:00.037-05:00

Pluck is another October Zuda comic done by Gabe White, Matt White, and John Amor. It got a favorite from me, here is the synopsis: Pluck is just a poor boy in a poor kingdom. Born low, sinking lower. Sure, he is always planning something big, but he is never quite able to rise above his station. Until now, that is. Seems he has stumbled across a magical amulet. Apparently, a very important amulet. Spoken of in one of those Ancient Prophecies. All he has to do is bring it back to the king and he'll officially become the Chosen One. Just like that. Savior of the Kingdom, adored by the royals, worshipped by the masses, all that good stuff he desires. Nothing left but a long easy life, getting filthy fat, writing bad poetry, and keeping the courtesans busy. Of course, there are those pesky rumors, whispers about some looming threat. Some primal evil poised to ravage the land, eat the children, skin the men raw and hang their twitching skins from the treetops. Standard stuff, really, nothing but talk. And, besides, Pluck's got more important things on his mind; Courtesans, poetry, waistline. In that order. After all, a boy's got to prioritize.

A black and white comic that actually pulls it off

The problem with most black and white comics on Zuda is they look unfinished. Not that the creators didn't want to have a go without colors, they just didn't bother to put them in. Pluck is the first Zuda entry in a while to avoid this, and the art/story is good too. Too thick a line, too much white, and not enough textural details are the culprits of the coloring book look. In Pluck you get some nice shading done on some dingy walls and dingy clothes right on screen 1 on. This reinforces the absence of color was a choice and not a circumstance. John Amor's art style/inks remind me of some old children's book artist who's name escapes me because back then I only looked at the pictures. Their could also be a bit of manga going on there in the art too. The story starts with Pluck and his female friend Dreda (as narrator) stealing some Gidding dung for the profit in it. She's also talking about taking a bath, and prettying herself up to seduce any Duke (with money, looks didn't matter) in sight. The comic opens with a establishing shot then we move in to see the characters, with well written dialogue/minimum text to accompany it. Screen 2 actually builds on the characterization in screen 1, and adds some more layers to the characters. 2 screens in and I already give a damn what happens to them, is a win. Dreda is telling readers Pluck always has a scheme to get ahead, that usually doesn't work out. The latest scheme is selling dung to rat people who make bricks out of it, then buy 2 chickens... She stops paying attention to him because she sees something shiny in the distance -a heroic knight in armor. The story has your expected fantasy start for two screens, then the whole idea of crusading knights gets turned on it's head. Dreda describes the knight as the 5th most beautiful she has ever seen, then readers see images of the previous 4 who had been ordered hanged by the king. The reason given: "as a rule the king don't care for handsome men" maybe he had a bad experience with a Lancelot type in the past, but it was a very interesting bit to be thrown in. The screen ends with the knight getting knocked off his horse by some troll looking creatures called jack-bats. This story also does a fine job of hitting it's stride for the Zuda pace of 8 screens to work with. The screens all end on a note that makes you want to click on to see what happens next. The various panel layouts are impressive using different views to keep up readers interest. Screen 4 starts and ends with a close-up panel of the Knight fighting the monsters. The second panel shows the knight in silhouette fighting them, pulling back to show Pluck and Dreda watching. The knight talks about previous battles won, and as a jack-bat claws his face claims to be the chosen one.

Hell's yes to more castles!

The good placement of word balloons with a easy to read font worked in it's favor. Knowing when to skip the text and let the pictures speak for themselves was just as important. Screen 5 has a 4 panel combat sequence that ends with the Knight on the ground in a pool of blood saying: "No... This is wrong...". Panel 3 has a nice close-up on spittle clinging to the Knight's teeth, every time I see something like that it reminds me of the old EC artists work. Pluck and Dreda finally go up to the knight who reveals a amulet and claims he is the hero of the prophecy... In 2 man on the ground P.O.V. shots first Pluck looks concerned, then after the knight dies, he smiles. This leads into Pluck's new personal advancement scheme to go to the kings court and claim he's the hero with the amulet for the rewards. Pluck and Dreda finally make it to a check point with a knight who tells them: "You stink like like my drawers, son. Best talk fast." At knife point, I'm thinking one of those likes was a typo. Pluck spins a yarn and the king's guard go to check it out with the King. Screen 8 ends with Dreda concerned about all the waiting they were doing, only to end with a panel of Pluck looking triumphant up at the king -who we actually don't see since it's a king's P.O.V. shot. It's a good ending to the story, almost a done-in-one with all the characterization done in only 8 screens. If this comic goes on to win, I will be following it. It made Black and white on Zuda work, even if it doesn't win that's a stunning accomplishment.

Where Evil's Dare/ With all these monsters what's missing?

2009-10-13T22:11:00.052-05:00

Where Evil's Dare is a October Zuda competitor done by Tony Lee and Stefano Martino. Here is the synopsis: The Dirty Dozen meets Hammer Horror as, during World War II a fearsome group of Allied soldiers fight Hitler’s most monstrous regiment – 666 Platoon – an army consisting of Radio-Controlled Zombies, Werewolves and a unit of Vampires led by Dracule himself! Hitler wants the Spear Of Ra, an occult item of great power and has sent 666 Platoon to retrieve it, but only the Special Occult Squadron, led by Richard Harker, the grandson of Jonathan and Mina Harker can stop them! But to do so they must race across the blood-splattered fields of Romania with only a bitter, injured resistance fighter to assist them while fighting a gauntlet of Frankenstein’s Monster Nazis, Hitler Youth Werewolf ‘dog squads’, Gestapo Vampires – and their own fallen dead! Will their 'sniffer', Renfield, the untrustworthy grandson of Dracule’s servant turn on them? Will Captain Harker finish the job his grandfather started? But more importantly - can they save the world one more time before dawn rises – or will Dracule and Hitler finally win?

The dangers of too many good throw away lines--

--are exposed right off in Dracule's opening monologue. At the start of this story Dracule is going on about Romanian blood being thin and weak, with Aryan blood being stronger and thicker. When the most interesting part of a comic (to me) happens in the first few panels that sets the bar pretty high for the screens to come. In Romania Dracule/Vlad Tepes to this day is seen as a national hero, he's even been honored with commemorative stamps. The interesting opening lines really had me wondering what's going on with Vlad? It can lead to all kinds of possibilities everything from: Dracule got disgusted with his own people's lack of power in the then modern world, Hitler's almost supernatural charm is supernatural and Dracule's under a spell, or the historic Vlad Tepes and the vampire Dracule aren't the same person at all! I would have liked to see Dracule's views explored more instead of so much time spent on Harker's progeny. In a genre story I'm looking for the same but different. A story that fulfills genre expectations, but has something extra to 'hook' readers. Dracule, Von Frankenstein, the 666 platoon filled with German zombies, werewolves, and vampires isn't what makes the story unique/stand out -I've read the 80's version Creature Commandos. Dracule's feelings towards his own people/embracing the Aryan idea is something different, his remarks to Von Frankenstein about "playing God" had what seemed like a contempt you could hear and this is a comic book! Does a little trace of that old 'defender of the faith' mentality still linger? This being further explored could make for a unique story. Screen 2 is a full screen shot of Von Frankenstein commanding his hordes to attack a town containing the Book of Antrioch which is what they're fighting over. The radio controlled zombies with the energy waves coming off of Von Frankenstein along with werewolves and vampires did make for a impressive full screen shot. Screen 3 we see the heroic/doomed forces being besieged by the various monsters. We also got a introduction to a fighter/future love interest Helena who dispatches a werewolf with a silver bullet. Screen 4 we get a run down on the results of the monster raid (3 survivors), and we met the special forces of good lead by Captain Harker, the grandson of Jonathan Harker. It was the expected roll call team shot, but it did a good job of introducing the characters.

Could Dracule wear a Iron Cross?

The staff of the sun god Ra is another one of those interesting plot points that could really go somewhere, and props for not invoking the Spear of Destiny. The Book of Antrioch is what the bad guys and good guys need to activate the Ra staff, the staff just happens to be hanging in Dracule's old castle. That is a good set-up worthy of the war film homage in the title of this comic. As described the Ra staff can blast a hole in a building with it's power, which isn't that impressive considering a tank shell can do the same thing. However, it's a good point to remember just because the characters think thats what it does, doesn't mean it couldn't have more 'power' befitting its supernatural nature. It's a good mystery to look forward to, but it seemed like a lot of dialogue to get the point across. I don't mind wordiness, but the comic would have seemed much more cramped from the balloons if it wasn't for the generally fine placement of them. Screen 6 readers find out Renfield has a grandson too, who Harker thinks is just as balmy, but Renfield is ordered along for the trip anyway. In the dialogue it is explained Renfield is a 'sniffer' who like the rest of his family can sense Dracule's presence. Turns out Renfield the III's origin is a nod to Freddy Kruger. His grandfather forced himself on a woman in a madhouse and this adds to his tortured legacy. Readers also find out Lord Godalming is the one who put this "Special occult squadron" together as he compliments Harker for being like his father and grandfather before him. This brings up one of the most interesting aspects about this comic not to have much light shined on -the lost generation. We know what the grandfathers did, we're reading about the grandson's exploits, but what did the parents of these characters get up to? I hope should the comics win we get flashbacks to Renfield the II's activities, and Quincy Harker. In screen 7 we see the squad preparing to parachute into combat, and a well written panel of Harker reminding them his grandfather slit Dracule's throat with the blade he holds in his hand, and that still didn't finish him. Renfield the III also defends himself saying he's not proud of his family history. The letter balloons went a little overboard in the first panel of this screen, reminding me of the infamous panel from X-Men #1 where you can't even see Magneto's face for the verbiage. The color choice on the other hand was excellent, I loved the red cast on characters being a portend to all the bloody violence to come. Harker says he wants to save the world and then come home for "tea and medals" which is a nice funny line. The comic ends in a full screen shot with Harker speaking some faux-Victorian vowing to kill Dracule. Their are a lot of interesting bits, and possible directions this comic could go. Instead most of the focus was on Harker, who was a undistinguished less interesting 'classic hero' type.Their wasn't enough panel time giving to the really different/unexpected elements in the 8 screens to get a favorite from me.

Zuda review ShockPopTerror!/ If you like Rob Zombie and Ron Embleton you'll love this!

2009-10-12T11:26:00.044-05:00

ShockPopTerror! is another October Zuda comic done by Jean-Michel Ringuet. Here is the synopsis: It’s 1974 and the Bane half-sisters have come to the swamps of Hooper County to find their loot stolen from them. Psycho-killers, monsters and mutants are waiting for them, and an upset gang of cannibal bikers is hot on their heels, but the victims are not the ones you think!

HorrorActionMystery!

The first thing I notice in reading this comic is how much the art reminded me of Ron Embleton. Ron isn't actually a influence on Jean-Michel Ringuet, but other artists of that time and style are. The next thing I noticed is the distressed effects added to the pages. It is a good framing device that's brings home the idea of everything is decaying, rotting to it's core. Screen 1 sets everything up with 1974, the Deep South as a caption, and a run down house in the middle of a swamp. We see some disturbing images to set the mood, then a evil looking character says to his evil looking mother he smells something, she says it's trouble. Readers then meet the Bane sisters Nemesis (blond) and Pandora ( brunette) on screen 2 who your lead to believe are going to do some shit kicking. Screen 3 has the sisters driving up to a confrontation with some local convicts at a gas station. What's more impressive than setting up a fight, is the backgrounds on display. You expect Swamp Thing could pop out any minute, and it just looks like the air could choke you to death from the humidity. Of course the gas station has the 'LIVE BAIT' sign up front and center. I happen to live a 5 minute drive from a similar gas station with a similar sign so it's true to life as far as that goes. Screen 4 had a really impressive panel layout a long shot, along with some close up panels. I enjoyed the dialogue, easy to read letters are always a plus too. I like the occasional Zuda story structure convention of halfway into the comic is set-up, and the rest is getting down to business. No modern day grindhouse/southern gothic/splat-punk story would be complete without a nod to the 'pretty mouth' line. Here it's "Well girl that's a naughty mouth on you and I love me a naughty mouth."Click to next screen for some ass kicking action scenes.

Everything goes better with chainsaws including a few thoughts on the grindhouse genre

Screen 5 delivers as that anticipated action scene with plenty of face bashing and ball busting. Screen 6 has the attack of a swamp mutant, including a caption tipping you off to what it is. Screen 7 has that swamp mutant (amazing monster design by the way) meeting his fate. In a well layered out panel Nemesis cuts his leg off with a chainsaw. Ringuet in the layout of scenes like this establishes a nice consistency of having a central image be the bridge between the build to action, and the explosion of that ultra-violent graphic violence I love so much. The panel only stood out to me because of how well done the rest of the comic is. What impresses me about this comic above all else are the fluid action scenes where art and dialogue work together to make scenes you remember. I've read online comics where all the figures looked stiff and the sequential art of 'ultimate showdowns' came across as paper dolls playing slap and tickle. It's nice to be able to enjoy a action filled comic that delivers on the thrills with room to grow should it win. This submission ends with blood and gasoline both guzzling up in a nice bit of symmetry as a result of the fight with the mutant. The two sisters find out the location of the man they were looking for, and speed off to find him after sparking a huge explosion. The only thing that was a miss for me with this comic is panel 3 on screen 8. It would have had more impact had the goon being questioned looked into the sisters eyes. I liked the "Say hi to Satan for us! Let's go to church, we got a date!" words the comic ended on, and the promise of "Next: quagmire maniacs!!!" Every story is a genre of some type story. You can break it down into sub-sub-genre's or paint with a broad brush and just say horror. No genre necessary has to limit where you can go in a story including grindhouse/exploitative type stories. Neil Gaiman once said comic books thought they were Rock and Roll, and they were really Jazz. Meaning to me: comic fans are already a sub-set of a general audience, not in the masses majority. Their is a difference between trying to sell a film across America, and giving Zuda a try where zombie stories (as a example) of all kinds do so well. I love genre stories that give me 'the same, but different'. Meaning their are enough familiar/expected elements in it the qualify for a genre tag, but it has that something extra hook to it that makes the story stand apart from the rest. With ShockPopTerror! it's having actions done so well (with smart dialogue) you want to pump your fist and cheer the Bane sisters on. The best genre stories pull one more trick and are impressive to readers/viewers who ordinary wouldn't give the story a try. For an example: I hate zombie stories as a general rule. Their are exceptions like Zombieland in film, and Gone Zombie as a example in online comics. Stories that got their base, then went out after the rest of the audience. ShockPopTerror! is my go-to genre so Ringuet has the base, now he just has to go out their and spread the word.

Zuda review Old Cthulhu's On The Rise/ walking in the foot steps of Lovecraft...

2009-10-10T22:42:00.040-05:00

Old Cthulhu's On The Rise is a October Zuda comic created by Daniel Tollin. Here is the synopsis: Sam and Matt are hiking along the English coast when they loose their way and strange sounds start to call out in the night. Something predatory is following them! That’s when they stumble upon Howard, a farmer who warns them of being in the marsh at night and brings them to the town of Old Innsmouth. Old Innsmouth seems at first just a sleepy old town but as Matt’s and Sam’s stay is prolonged due to bad weather they slowly realize that something is not quite right. The townsfolk are overly fond of late night swims in the freezing Atlantic Ocean, and they seem to have more in common with fish or frogs than mammals. However, Everything is not all bad; Beth, the beautiful girl who works in the local pub, has charmed Matt. And though they appear strange, the villagers are friendly. But one night shortly after their arrival, Sam sees something hideous out in the marshes. Something is devouring a poor girl. Scared out of his mind, he races back to the town and tries to convince the villagers that there’s a monster lurking in the marshes.

Believe it or not, werewolves aren't the problem...

This comic started off with a American Werewolf in London tribute as two American backpackers walk down a English road. The balloon font could be bigger, but colors really suit the comic. By screen two you feel Sam's pain at being dumped, and see a quaint Lovecraftian Elder gods star symbol left on a marker. I'm not a big H.P. fan, but I know that symbol is bad news, the two guys just see it as a joke. One of them also makes a Night of the Living Dead reference "They're coming to get you, Barbara!' as a joke. Some good art in the characterizations on these guys faces, it helps a reader 'hear' their words in the right tone. Then they're scared by a odd sound behind them, and this is the impetuous to click to screen 3. With all the reference dropping it certainly brings to mind films like Scream, with the characters aware of all the horror cliches. So much possible foreshadowing is also like having a flash-light shined in your eyes. 2 screens are spent on the two leads running away from the scary sound before they encounter the mysterious stranger. On screen 5 we see the messed up looking human/creature named Howard giving the expected warning about how dangerous it is at nighttime. Unlike with Scream, Old Cthulhu's On The Rise doesn't pull off letting the characters and audience in on the joke. In only 8 screens of a Zuda submissions you don't have that much time to grab readers with a interesting twist, while making genre references and doing the first leg of a Scoby Doo style chase. You have a couple of screens in this comic that seem like they were just in there to set up lines, or try to build suspense. In only 8 screens you don't need to give the ending away, but you do need to move things along. If we had actually seen some of the other towns people I would have been more impressed with the pace.

The Gorton's fisherman freaked a frog-girl in merry old England once -with predictable results

Old Innsmouth is the name of the locale, and a pretty good tie-in with Lovecraft's Innsmouth. The rain throughout this story is a pretty good effect. The wide-open eyes really accentuate the characters fear (Sam and Max), or frogieness (Howard) as the case may be. The art was creepy as hell, and helped the story a great deal. Screen 7 uses see through word balloons to indicate whispering. It just looked weird (not in a cool way) to me, and took me out of the story. Screen 7 has Howard giving Sam, Max, and the readers the low down on Elder signs and Ancient Ones. The second panel on screen 7 had a nice effect keeping the two leads in silhouette as Howard continued on giving them his speech. It made me wish, for once, characters would turn around and go the other way when confronted with a creepy old man leading them to a creepy old town. Screen 8 is a little shot of the town, and a close-up on Howard having some green tentacles coming out of his mouth. It's the typical cliff hanger ending they're just about to go into the town... I figured from the synopsis/first screen the comic would probably end just before the characters get into Old Innsmouth, and I was right. A story that much 'in the mold' isn't going to stand out on Zuda fighting it out with 9 other contestants. I enjoyed the art, but a number of screens seemed wasted on characterization that was accomplished by screen 2. It was too much of a expected cliff hanger, it would have been nicer to see more of the town/its people. If Beth was important enough to mention in the synopsis, it would have been nice to see her in the 8 screens. I hope to see Daniel Tollin back in the contest being more daring in his story's structure.

Keeping the book reading list meme alive

2009-10-09T21:45:00.016-05:00

MPD57 had it on first, Sam Little continued it, and now the book list is here on my blog. [It's like a chain letter that makes you realized how poorly read you are]

If you don't already know the drill:

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Underline the books you LOVE.
3) Italicize those those that you tried to read, but couldn’t finish out of boredom or frustration.
4) Post this list on your own blog and show the world how well read you are (without it having much consequence)

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible – (various)
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugonts

Even books I don't like (more than a few on this list), I finish reading just so I can be informed when I talk shit about them.
Pay it forward.

Green Hornet tie-in post part II

2009-10-06T11:31:00.010-05:00

The Green Hornet theme

The second part of my Green Hornet guest post is up on MPd57's blog here. I talk about Kato, my love for the NOW comics series, and the Hornet's film treatment. The new Green Hornet film is supposed to be out in December 2010. In 1996 their was a Green Hornet short film directed by Aurélien Poitrimoult. Le Frelon Vert is a short french film in English, that does a excellent job of embodying the spirit of the Green Hornet. You can see it below:

Green Hornet tie-in post/ Go check out my guest spot on Mike's Blog

2009-10-05T16:12:00.010-05:00

Hello, today and tomorrow I have a guest blog post on MPD57's blog about the Green Hornet you can read here. Green Hornet has been a radio show, TV show, a series of comic books, film serials, and a new movie on the way. I also have to thank Mike for a link to Crosseyed Cyclops which has some old Hornet comics available for download. For my part, their are a number of sites you can go to hear the old radio show, one of which is here. Part two goes up tomorrow which will cover the Kato years, NOW comics, and the upcoming Green Hornet film staring Seth Rogen (who looks slimmer, or maybe it's just a stunt double) below:

Zuda review My T-Shirt Fairy Tale/ The tie-in merchandising possibilities alone are amazing

2009-09-29T01:30:00.029-05:00

My T-Shirt Fairy Tale was a September Zuda comic done by Adrian Ramos that finished 3rd. Here is the synopsis: U sells t-shirts for a living. Cursed by an evil wizard, the only way to break the spell is to be kissed by the fairest girl. He has settled into a comfortable life as an underpaid and unloved slacker working at his cousin’s t-shirt store, Wits-On-Chest. That’s when he falls for Felix. She is preceded by a reputation of having a fickle heart, breaking young guys’ hearts. They go out, have a great time, and really like each other; possibly even more. There’s a problem, though—she can’t let herself have a happy ending. She too is cursed by an evil witch, doomed to go from one relationship to another. She’ll never be able to find a sweetheart for herself, unless she wants her face to swell up, her skin to breakout and eventually die. Together, they will try to find a way to break the spells that keep them apart, and give this t-shirt fairy tale a happy ending.

Impressive start, but not enough friends to win the vote

My T-Shirt Fairy Tale got off to the early lead, but it couldn't hold on. It also was far more cute than what you would expect to win on Zuda. The art is charming, and fits this type of story well. Having narration sight gags on everyones T-shirt's was also a original touch. All the lettering is legible, and the colors help the art/story. Reading the comic it's told in a style similar to the Teen Titans cartoon. The number of sight gags/backgrounds hi-jinks all work very well. The pace moves along very well for a comic on Zuda, the creator knows he only has 8 screens so no wasting time. The one-two punch of snappy dialogue along with the subtext of a scene being written on the characters shirts was very smart, and funny. You can just enjoy the cuteness, but theirs more to the story if you want to re-read it a few times. Screen 4 is my favorite screen out of the entire comic. You have a eating fries isn't sexy joke, and then panel 5 has a 'sexy lips' panel. You also have to be aware of the various shirts and signs throughout this comic, really read it a couple of times. The way it works the various non-traditional narration don't just apply to the characters, but can also to the readers with 'date tips'. The color scheme also matches what is taken place in the panels.

Win or lose originality, is always welcome on Zuda

You have to love the various narratives, and the way their a part of the story. It doesn't feel forced, and the creator pulls it off too well for it to be gimmicky. At the end of the date U moves in for a kiss from Felix. The timing, and the build up to this were well done, I wanted to click to the next screen to see how bad he would bomb. Theirs a nice visual of U seeing (along with the readers) his life flash before his eyes, because he knows this is a big thing. it ends with 'GAME OVER' wrote in the background as U gets the rejection. All of the different types of lettering, and well done shifts in panel layout does remind me a little of The Spirit. It's not there yet, but give Ramos some years, and it will only get better. Screen 7 serves to remind everyone about the Fairy Tale curse elements of the story, just in case they've gotten lost in all the cuteness. It was a smart thing to have the pages of the book U was reading become part of the larger comic, the colors helped a neat story-telling device give this comic something extra. Screen 8 is some impressive sequential artwork, that sums up Felix's ailment as being allergic to happy endings. U vows to help her, if she'll help him, and that's where the story ends on a good cliff hanger. A very smart, original comic, the subject matter wasn't my thing, but you can't not be impressed Adrian Ramos' work.

Zuda review Incarna/ With all this blood, how could it go so wrong?

2009-09-29T01:28:00.024-05:00

Incarna was another September Zuda comic done by David Gunawan that finished 9th in the voting. Here is the synopsis: In 2013, the Demon Gate, a portal that connects our world with the underworld was opened, all the creatures and the spirits of the dark–realm are now able to cross through the gate, spreading terror and death upon mankind, turning the world into a land of chaos, a hunting ground with all humans as their prey. Now, after 60 years since the gate opened, the world has turned back into the dark age, technologies, cultures, civilization, everything has been swept away. Among the survivors, there are some people with supernatural abilities; some stands for humanity and salvation, and others stand for their own ambition for power, ignoring everything including their own humanity. Between those leagues there is a man who stands alone against the darkness, Gabriel Raves, he has a demonic power in his left hand. The origin of that power is still unknown, even for Gabriel himself. For years he has been wandering alone in search of his forgotten past, until he met Yuki Ishimori, a female-ninja with high level of exorcism skill, in search of her father’s murderer. Their different goal has led them into the same path, the origin of the darkness itself.

The slaying the dragon part of it was cool, everything else looked too Photoshoped

It starts off with a beaten bloody girl [Yuki] showing a suspicious amount of leg, along with a flashback/dream on a ancient warrior, finding a ancient sword, after slaying a dragon. The dragon slaying sequence had a nice gold tone to it, the rest of the colors of this comic were mediocre. When even the blood is bland looking, you need to rethink your color scheme. Yuki awakens and sees someone dead, in a panel that wasn't helped by the fake looking shadows, and bare walls. Screen 2 did have one very nice looking panel sequence, at the top where Yuki is depicted opening her eyes as she dreams/remembers the legend about the sword. On screen 3 you find out the dead guy is Yuki's father, and she runs to cradle him. Panel 3 reminded me of the Dragon Ball Z/Pokemon cartoons when a character is about to start dueling. The whole idea of a girl seeing her father cut down also reminded me of old Asian action films where that seemed to be a staple. Someone always seemed to be yelling out 'FATHER', or 'MOTHER' to someone who was about to assume room temperature -so that was a nice bit of nostalgia. Panel 6 looked like the creator was playing around too much with Photoshop when he colored it. This gets followed up with some nice childhood flashback panels, which tell me sepia-tone is the way to go for this creators future colorist efforts. Screen 4 reveals in a flashback that Yuki and her father were attacked by zombie ninjas. Their design makes for some very cool looking monsters, I was really impressed with that. The fight scene art looked stiff, and I was surprised zombie ninjas had red blood. Too many special effects like a see through blade swish took me as a reader out of the story.

A different story structure could have got a fav from me

In the next screen You see a cool blood soaked panel of Yuki killing ninja zombies, then rushing to her fathers aid. This is where things get wonky as hell. She sees her father stabbed through the chest by the new super bad villain, but his back is to the readers, we don't see the fathers face. In the last panel the father says: 'good-bye my child..." David might have been going for a serene acceptance of death look, but it came off weirdly unemotional. If readers could have seen his face before on this screen it might have made a difference. If he had been shown accepting he had been stabbed, stunned silent, or even in anguish that last panel on screen would have had more emotional panel. If that last panel had actually showed Yuki's father in some distress (since he screamed, got stabbed through the chest and all), it would have worked better. Screen 6 had some good sound effects, and some confusing art. I think some hooded demon creature just randomly showed up, and blasted a hole in the guy who killed her fathers chest (nice gore by the way), -which is weird- you'd think they would be on the same side??? Yuki attacks the 'hooded one', but he/it knocks her out then splits with the rest of the evil horde. Another cool black and white/gray tone flashback/forward to her in front of her father's grave stone??? It ends with some T & A shots of Yuki getting dressed up like Chung-Li before going out to get her revenge. Instead of all the dreams/flashbacks/flash forwards convoluting the cliff hanger ending, their could have been a more interesting way to do it. If the story had not gone the non-linear narrative route, it could have ended with Yuki on the floor covered in blood, the evil demon creature having gotten away/won. It would have been more of a done-in-one story which is rarer than the cliff hanger, and thus gets more appreciation from me. Leave things ambiguous if the girl lives or not, and cut back on some of the information in the synopsis. That would have been more impressive than a standard type ending. If you don't pull off all the time jumping well, you just end up with confused readers who can't get into your comic.

Zuda review Revenge of the Homicidal Pumpkins/ If the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes cartoon had been awesome, it would have been like this

2009-09-26T23:03:00.022-05:00

Revenge of the Homicidal Pumpkins is a September Zuda comic done by Shannon Cronin, jo2pa2, tinkfan83. It got a favorite from me, here is the synopsis: After a series of freak accidents occur in the small town of Douglas, Colorado, 13-year-old Robbie Jarvis soon discovers the deaths were anything but accidental. Convinced that homicidal pumpkins are planning to kill everyone in town on Halloween night, Robbie must find a way to save the lives of thousands of people. The thing is, no one believes him! Can Robbie save the people of Douglas? Will the homicidal pumpkins succeed in their massacre? Will I win this contest so we can find out? You decide!

Turn a comedy into a horror comic and get a excellent read

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes was a cool comedy spoof of a monster horror film. Revenge of the Homicidal Pumpkins is a cool horror comic that flips the premise and makes pumpkins scary as hell. What got me right away was the use of an overhead establishing scene shot. Backgrounds aren't always a strong point for Zuda comics, so when I see them well done, I notice. The letters are easy to read. The colors fit the story perfectly. The story and art are both excellent. I also really enjoyed the panel layout on screen one, and right off invoking the old horror standard of 'don't go outside to investigate nothing' -yes this is my go-to genre. We don't see much of that poor pumpkin farmer, but the dialogue/character design for him makes a reader want to know hoe he's going to meet his end. "I swear to the good lord 'bove... ya going to be the death of me." is the pumpkin farmers comments about his generator going out. The secret of this comics success is thanks to the writing and art it takes horror cliches and makes them work again. 'Revenge' doesn't give you the evil eye, and wink at you like your in on the joke at the same time. Horror story conventions can still be scary, if you have enough talent to pull it off, these creators do. You also have to set out to make the lighter moments a temporary break in being freaked out wondering whats going to happen next. I already want to know who's going to die so I can prepare myself in advance, that's a horror story success. You know once a character says something that alludes to their demise, they're going to get whacked in some horrible fashion. He sees something he can't believe then slips, falls, and a pumpkin vine presses the on button that leads to him being wood chipped in a awesomely gory full screen shot on screen 4.

So the kids are fair game in this story right?

Screen 5 introduces us to Robbie the 13 year old hero of this story, and horror aficionado. His room is decked out in various skulls/monster imagery, and his mom doesn't want him to be late for school. In screen 6 again we get a nice background shot of Robbie's kitchen which helps to establish the scene. The use of an establishing shot to show this charters surroundings and their not 9 1/2 hands hero tall gives the story more of a sense of reality. Their's not a 'Superman' type character in this story, I could see anybody getting taken down by the pumpkins. Screen 7 includes another establishing shot that shows Robbie's street, and reinforces the fact that this is Autumn. looking at the various carved pumpkins everyone has out on their doorstep in preparation for Halloween makes it look like all the pumpkins are just watching... waiting. It will creep you out, which means this is one horror story that has done it's job. Robbie goes off to school with his friend Corey -who as it turns out has an older brother who is a cop- Corey fills Robbie in on pumpkin farmer Ted, being chipped to death. The various faces Corey makes as he tells his awful tale manage to be both funny, and gruesome. Screen 8 just like every other screen of this comic was very impressive/professional in it's layout The strip ends with some appropriate gallows humor. Daryl (who I figure is Corey's brother), notices a trail of pumpkin seeds leading up to Ted's generator. The sheriff mocks his discovery by stating the obvious (right next to a pumpkin patch), and throwing a bunch of TV detective comparisons his way. It ends with the sheriff saying it was just an accident, and he has a "hankering" for some Sloppy Joes. As the sheriff says this we see whats left of poor Ted being shoveled into a plastic bag. . It's damn sharp writing this comic ended with a punch line. Revenge of the Homicidal Pumpkins didn't get my vote, but if it wins on Zuda I will follow it.

Zuda review Goldilock/ It looks fantastic, it's like a movie!

2009-09-26T23:00:00.034-05:00

Goldilock is a September Zuda comic done by Adam Lucas. It got a favorite from me, here is the synopsis: The newly discovered Planet Goldilock seemed to be the answer to Earth’s prayers, a new home and a chance for redemption. With the ominous death of genius inventor and philanthropist, Daniel Haze, looming in the air, a team of scientists has set out on a 2 year mission to explore the mysterious planet. Soon, beauty meets beast, and it's up to the brilliant minds of Pioneer One and the cunning of a lone alien savage to save the future of mankind. What lives on Planet Goldilock? Have we really found a new home? What really happened to Daniel Haze? Find out in, GOLDILOCK!

It could be a beautiful Anime film, shop it around if things don't work out on Zuda

The first thing that gets you about Goldilock is the amazing colors, and back grounds. It's not until you take how amazing they are in, that you start looking for characters and wordage. Somehow, someway, Adam Lucas actually made a 'slow burn' start work on Zuda. Like in other comics this month bringing impressive backgrounds does wonders for drawing readers into the world of the characters, It also makes for a more expansive 'epic' feel, if the story is going in that direction. Screen 1 sets the mood with amazing backgrounds screen 2 provides good characterization with good banter between characters. Alien creature males turn blue to attract mates, the female lead Katie makes a joke about Dane holding his breath. On screen 3 the comic jumps back in time three weeks to the explorers just arriving near planet Goldilock. It is a bit of a roll call screen, with some nice humor about the 'monkey's on Mars'. The art is obviously amazing, but the story/characters are just as well written. Screen 4 finishes introducing the rest of the characters: Alton, Ran, and Mrs. Haze. Mrs. Haze is the widow/heir of Haze Corp which was the company of her Husband Daniel Haze. Daniel Haze being dead, and the actions of Mrs. Haze in relation to that, and his dreams for humanity look to play a major part in the future of this story. What really happened to Daniel Haze, sets up a good mystery early on in this series. All the [possible] dark secrets of a new world tying into all the [possible] dark secrets of the characters, classic Sci-Fi at it's best.

What is the Planet Goldilock equivalent to black widows?

Screen 5 has the group meet up with one of Daniel Haze's friends/Mrs. Haze's enemy Bruce Lennox. Those two characters have a conversation where readers don't know exactly what happened, but we know something happened and it raises up the suspense level. You want to find out just what Mrs. Haze is up to, and what's going to happen once other characters clue on to her. We also see Banks Lennox's floating robot cube buddy/spy. The Ran is established as 'that guy that just knows something ain't right', you need that guy to work as a harbinger/Cassandra to ratchet up the tension. You also want to deliver all the information on this world/story characters, but not have the dialogue come off as a document dump in 8 screens. The dialogue is excellent for all the characters across all 8 screens. It is a slower start in the sense no fight scenes yet, but it actually pulled off suspense with a real cliffhanger ending. The comic ends with Katie discovering signs of intelligent life (steps carved in a rock formation) , and brings the ending back around to the beginning with one of those flying alien creatures turning blue to try to impress Katie. I love it when the beginning of a story ties into a story because it feels more like a serial cliff hanger ending. Too often cliff hanger endings are botched on Zuda probably because most people have never really watched an old serial. Their is a difference between coming to the end of part one in a serial, vs. just hitting stop 15 minutes into a movie. Their's a difference between a 8 screen prologue/preview created for that purpose, vs. just picking the first 8 screens/pages of a longer comic and submitting them. Those 8 screens need to be formatted for Zuda, and Adam Lucas/Goldilock does a fantastic job of that. This comic didn't get my vote, but if it wins I will follow it.

Zuda review WheelJack Union/ Marvel Masterworks Iron Man is better than Essential Iron Man, why is that?

2009-09-24T04:17:00.026-05:00

WheelJack Union is another September Zuda comic done by Mike Odumand rockstarnoah. Here is the synopsis: A young engineer, Gene Recktor, son of famed scientist Robert Recktor, has always resented living in his father’s shadow. Gene steps forward to head a secret project to develop an “unmanned tank”. Powered by his own delusions of grandeur and arrogance, he creates the WheelJack, a bipedal machine that far surpasses the vision of a mere automated tank. General Treys, an old friend of Gene’s father, agrees to put WheelJack into full production. Unexpectedly, the Wheeljack production comes to a halt, devastating Gene’s ego and growing aspirations. Gene demands that the military begin production again, but is denied by General Treys who now realizes Gene’s selfish motives. In the following weeks Gene becomes detached and embittered by his failure. He angrily pursues recognition and is met with open arms by a mysterious man. The actions Gene takes thereafter may very well open a chapter for him in the history books, but maybe not in the way he had intended.

You need to color your comics

With some comics on the web black and white works, but WheelJack Union wasn't one of those to me. The pages didn't look like a coloring book, but it didn't look finished either. Letters are for the most part easy to read. On screen 1 the impact of the tank being hit/THOOM! sound effect was stunted by the lack of color. It also could have been a more dramatic/bigger moment if it was a full page shot instead of half a page. It was a OK start, but this month (like almost every month) had some stiff competition on Zuda. The WheelJack robot design is cool enough, art is fine, but the most intriguing part of this comic is the Gene Rektor character. I can't tell from these 8 screens if his character is going to be 'redeemed', or if he's going to turn Nazi and have to be taken done by his own creations. The synopsis actually does a very good job in getting readers to want to know what happens next. Their are some good action scenes early on, accompanied by decent text box narration. The number of action scenes only served to underline how much color would have added to the story. The dialogue translation of the non-English speakers wasn't really needed. Wheeljack proceeds to slaughter a number of the enemy, so they bring in a tank to try to take him down. In screen 5 WheelJack side stepped the tank shell, then we see the horrified eyes of the Nazi goon as he/the tank gets blasted away. The WheelJack used a atom cannon with predictably impressive devastation. It is the best screen of the comic, and I liked the symbolism of a unarmed tank facing off against its armed counterpart.

Theirs more than one of them.... Awe hell look out Nazis...

The General didn't want to accept the WheelJack's success, but in the end he had to. Their was good characterization in the art work, which brought out the personalities of both General Treys and Professor Gene Recktor. Screen 7 had some tantalizing insights into Gene Rictor's character. Becoming a superstitious person for some unknown reason, and his whispered comments about his Father's reputation acting like his shadow in the final panel. Screen 8 starts off with a sound effect that goes across the screen, which was a nice touch. A impending Kraut attack leads Gene to want to activate the WheelJacks to save their production facility. His assistant Arnold also mentions they need to save the workers, which Gene agrees with as a after thought. It was a great job of underlining the cold heartless bastard villain qualities Gene could/will have. The last panel shows the various WheelJack's waiting to be activated in a homage panel to I, Robot. Color would have got this comic a favorite from me. The only thing that really didn't ring true is General Treys canceling the program because of Gene's less than altruistic motives with WheelJack. Even if you say he was a close friend of his father, no way do I buy the government, any government, would pass up a bright, shiny new secret weapon on moral grounds. That seemed like a plot point to bring in the 'mysterious man', but it's still a good story. This month was just too much competition.

Zuda review Tessyleia 2.0/ Cyberpunk comes to Zuda

2009-09-21T07:33:00.052-05:00

Tessyleia 2.0 is another Spetember Zuda competitor done by Marc Borstel and hayestronaut which got a favorite from me. Here is the synopsis: NeoYork, in the not-so-distant future. Tess is a young flight attendant, who retains the services of Second Chance-CyberOrganics. The company possesses the technology to store memories and behavior patterns of their living clients. More importantly, they provide customers with the capability to download these memories and behavior patterns into cyborg-hosts bodies upon the death of their original organic ones. After several months and a confirmation of death, The Company begins to assemble the cyborg Tess online.
Deeply routed in the Techno-thriller and CyberPunk genres, the story starts several hours after Tess’s initial death and subsequent synthetic renaissance. But nothing is as it seems. And soon, the cyborg will recall dark events from her past that her organic-self was desperate to forget. In this highly advanced society, information is the most valuable possession. Just as Tess is left to follow the trail that will lead her to her enemies, her predators are determined to destroy the priceless information that is contained in her cyber-brain. What’s the connection between Tess and ConCorp, the biggest warfare metacorporation on the planet? And how many times will she be forced to run from her former life?

Screen one reminded me of some old Cerebus page layouts

It was a whole lot of wordage, it did really remind me of some Cerebus layout's during High Society, but it did set the mood for the coming screens. I was impressed as you can be to see something so cyberpunky on Zuda. Between the fantastic art, and a whole lot of great dialogue was surprisingly didn't end up as sensory overload for the reader. Letters are easy to read, and the colors fit the story well. The creators really did a great job in the characterization of Dr. Mordecai in the dialogue and used binary code to spice up the layout of screen 2. The first four panels on screen 3 is what earned it a favorite from me. The thing that really stands out about this comic is how smart it is in answering the -What ifs'- that set up the story. What if you were a android implanted with human memories who was just activated? What would your process of adjustment to your new 'life' be? How does a comics creator get that across in 8 screens? In the case of Tessyleia 2.0 this is accomplished with a fork, and a Omniweb port connection. Dr. Mordecai holds up a fork to see if Tess recognizes it, which she does. He then tells her she will never need it again, and holds up her connector to the Omniweb which is how she will feed. He also sets up a no doubt later sub-plot in telling her to be careful where she feeds, because their are 'bugs' on the Omniweb that can harm her permanently. The art showing Tess focused on the fork and port connector, with the doctor a dull gray behind his hands was a well done P.O.V. shot. It also has to be said Lettering isn't just about a legible font, it's also about balloon placement. If the balloon placement in this comic wasn't handled as well as it is, the comic would suffer servery for it. The doctor also introduces her to Robbie a classic side-kick type, and also her 'phyisotherapist' to train her how to use her new android body. Which is another set-up to Tess becoming more of a bad-ass as the comic goes along, and she learns what her new body is capable of. The obvious parallels to real life physical therapy for people today (were people have to learn how to walk, talk, and eat again) are obvious. The involving execution of this part of the story was far more impressive to me than the big fight/explosion later on in the comic. The reason being a big action scene was not only expected, but damn near required everything considered. Tess's awakening was a unexpected surprise the way it was so well done. This added that 'the same, but different' hook genre stories need to really grab readers. How often do stories like this on Zuda with quiet moments come off as boring, instead of meaningful?

Oh my God, they killed Tessyleia!!!

On screen 4 Tessyleia droid 1.0 (remember that 1.0 it's going to come up later) gets her robotic exterior fitted with fake human skin. Their is a bit of a Rob Liefield style tits tribute, before Glory had the breast reduction, but if she wasn't a looker it would be less interesting. The doctor tries to get her to visualize her memories, which of course ends in her realizing she is part of a secret project "codename Penthesilea". The screens are packed with art, and dialogue, so readers don't get short changed, somehow this is pulled off without the screens being overcrowded. The creators showing this kind of talent, the only thing keeping them from being higher in the ranks is not winning enough friends, and influencing enough people. Screen 5 is where the truth/McGuffin comes flooding back into Tess 1.0's mind depicted as a stream of 1's and 0's, and a sudden urge to heave her chest. She also realizes that the bad guys are after her, and probably are already their since she paid in a traceable credit card transfer. That seems like out of character plot point stupidity -but maybe she was under the gun at the time... The main bad guy happens to be a look alike major planing to blow all of them to hell. Screen 6 we have the explosion which leaves the doctor dead, and Tess 1.0 minus a arm and some fake skin. Great art and sound effects on this screen, which ends with Tess 1.0 looking up at her doppelganger flying in the air saying "hi". "Too slow isn't" was the only real confusing dialogue in the whole comic which happens on screen 7. The look alike and Tess 1.0 do the villain monologue thing, and the new arrival reveals she is a clone then executes android Tess. Clones and androids in one cyberpunk story has the same payoff as double mint gum. Tess 1.0 dies (for her second death), and the Tess clone is told she was instructed to bring the android back in working order, clone Tess says "Yeah, well... sue me." The comic ends with the clone-major finding out Robbie escaped with Tess's memories setting up Tessyleia 2.0. It was cyberpunk done right fulfilling all reader expectations, and doing something extra in fantastic characterization which made it stand out. This comic should be higher up in the rankings, I hope to see more from the creators.

Zuda review The Symptoms/ A zombie by any other name...

2009-09-17T20:58:00.056-05:00

The Symptoms is another September Zuda comic done by William Sliney and Dave Hendrick. Here is the synopsis: One night a star fell poisoning the Earth. The age of the Zeno had arrived– half dead humans intent on spreading their star disease until all became like them. But humanity is nothing if not resourceful. As states fell siege walls went up and life went on behind them.
Later a star rose amongst humanity’s ranks, Kinger Loade, singing songs of revolution and resistance.
A string of misery if you’re a Zeno and the best guitarist this side of the plague. The son of a preacher man Kinger spent his formative years travelling the new dustbowl hunting down Zeno’s with his father. At 19 he emerged from the desert with a bloodied guitar in one hand and his daddy’s dog collar in the other. What became of the good Reverend Loade is a mystery that Kinger doesn’t ever want uncovered.
Kinger made straight for what was left of New York with a song in his heart and an idea in his head.
No matter how desperate life became he had learned he couldn’t die. He had found he’d something other than talent and sought others like him. Musicians with more than music in their arsenal; Reap a giant of a man and bass player, Violet Spray a lightning fast drummer both behind the kit and on her feet. They are The Symptoms.
Their music inspires what’s left of humanity, while their powers protect all who seek a better world. They will soon discover why they are special, on that day the world will end.
This is their story.

It's like Steeltown Rockers, meets NYX, meets Deadworld

A Zuda entry with both zombies and guitars was predestined, but the story structure is what makes it stand out as a good read. Neither zombies, or music backdrops are my go-to genres, so I had more than a little trepidation reading this comic. Having each of the main characters tell their stories in short vignettes is something new to Zuda so it got my attention. If it's a Zuda competitor, a 22 pager, or a hundred plus page graphic novel you need to hook the readers on page 1 which Symptoms does. You see a King Loade standing in front of a mirror about to blow his brains out. The switch back and forth between King Loade and his image in the mirror was very well done, with decent text box thought balloons as well. In panel 2 King Loade's reflection has his shoulder over the bottom part of panel 2, which called attention to the sequential order of panels. Readers see the reflection of King Loade holding the gun to his eye in panel 4, his actual non-reflected hand is also shown within the panel. The way this panel was laid out it looked like King Loade was both about to shoot himself, and also holding up his hand in a 'stay away' defensive gesture. A very cool use of a character's reflection in the panel layout on this first screen. It ends with a Bam sound effect panel that leads into a surprising full screen shot Juan Jose Ryp would be proud of on screen 2. Screen 3 is the start of Violet Spray's introduction where she's the drummer in a band who spots a zeno. The zombies are more the gray skin, than rotting corpse type so not very scary. Violet Spray runs across the stage to confront this 'zeno' with seemingly no one in the crowd noticing her, or it. Violet has super speed so no one notices how fast she's moving she grabs the 'zeno' at full speed, and ends up decapitating it. Violet Spray looks like a brunette Christina Aguilera, and their are some interesting choices in panel layout on her screens. In screen 2 the the creators went full on with the blood and gore, in panel 3 of screen 5 it was hidden with a readers imagination left to fill in the blanks. More gore might have been welcomed, but changing up speeds underlined a subtle difference in these characters origin stories. For the most part though the layout of Violet Spray's story was predictable and didn't rise to the level of the first 2 screens.

The soft bigotry of low expectations

Lately I usually expect nothing from a zombie comic, and end up with less than nothing to hold my interest. Fairly recent exceptions would be The Walking Dead in it's early run before it went off the rails and lost me, and the former Zuda competitor Gone Zombie. Comics with a musical back drop are also hit and miss with me. In spite of my zombie/rock band fatigue The Symptoms came close, but didn't succeed in hooking me as a reader. It started off fantastic, got a little pudgy around the middle, and ending up falling off a cliff into the abyss of average. The beginning of the end all started with Reap's origin story failing in comparison to the other two, so it was not the one to end on. The art/layout of a man-mountain Reap scaring off some bullies picking on another kid was fine, and set Reap up as the nice guy of the group. What didn't make sense, or read well was the text box narration. It's already been commented on, but how could Reap not know till he was 16 everyone else was afraid of him? It has the aura of Lennie from Of Mice and Men about it, but that never gets followed up on. In the text segue from screen 6 to screen 7 Reap thinks: "They were way too scared of me to pick a fight. First guy who did turned out to be one of them, ya know, Zeno's." Why is Reap the only character we don't get to see ( scaring bullies doesn't count) use his powers in the story? Their actually isn't a fight between Reap and the zeno, King Loade and Violet Spray show up and kill the zombie before Reap gets the chance. King Loade recruiting of Violet wasn't shown, so why bother to set-up Reap's story that way. I would rather have seen Reap take on a zeno, and bring back some more action to the story. The comic ends with the reveal this was all done as a news segment on a entertainment show. In screen 8 you have a info babe summing up the Symtoms with: "If they don't rule what's left of the world, they'll sure as hell try to save it." The last panel being the show playing on a TV in the front window of a 'TV Sales' store as a group of people run away from a herd of zombies. People running away in terror from the zombie/zeno hordes is expected, but the feelings of dread for the characters/human race wasn't pulled off by the creators. Making humanity's last, best hope a zombie fighting rock band featured on a entertainment TV segment turned it into camp, and took away all the dread. The beginning was more serious in tone so the story's end was disconnected, and the comic couldn't keep up the pace it started at. The Symptoms came close though, and I would like to see these creators back in Zuda again.

Zuda review Zamir/ The worse the thumbnail, the better the read

2009-09-13T21:38:00.053-05:00

Zamir is another September Zuda comic done by Pablo Zych, it got a fav from me for a nice story with very original art. Here is the synopsis: The main character Zamir –chieftain of Polan’s tribe, searches for his missing son. He arrives at the Holy Forest, where he encounters a Witch. She tells him that the hostile Wislan tribe kidnapped his son. They want to make an offering of the boy to Weles, the God of Darkness. Will Zamir and the Witch reach Wislan? What and who will stand in their way? Will they survive?

Some more well drawn monsters, I hope the trend continues this month

The art and dialogue are a perfect fit for a dark fairy tale/fantasy story. The ending could have had more impact as a danger/suspense cliffhanger instead of a 'going off on a quest', but still a very well done story. The art style has a little of that 'story book' feel and with the colors definitely stands out on Zuda. It starts off in a magical forest with Zamir surrounded by some flying baby zombies, and a Pan character hanging out in the background. the Pan character is also hanging out in the background of the last panel so maybe it will show-up again. if your doing a dark forest fantasy story interlude you need to be able to draw some scary trees, which Pablo does. Upon being accosted by the flying baby zombies (of unbaptized children) Zamir starts cutting their heads off to get past them. Then some nature spirit/demonically possessed tree tells him to "leave the holy forest" -I appreciate ironic dialogue. This comic has square word balloons but it fits the story, and lettering is easy to read. With Zamir throwing around words like fray, that dialogue sounded like it's trying too hard to sound old/odd. For most of the comic though (especially the witches scrying/warnings) the dialogue is very well done. The confrontation with tree demon was handled very well. Zamir bowed his head, was appropriately respectful, and got knocked on his ass for the trouble. Zamir tries to ride the forest demon like a bull, telling it he must find the witch. Proving the old adage 'there ain't no cowboy can't be throwed' Zamir is sent flying head first into a tree and knocked unconscious. Zamir's flying through the air was some well done sequential art.

Waking up to the rat creature was almost a film noir style effect

On screen 5 Zamir waking up was conveyed by a giant rat creature coming into focus, taking the space to spend two panels on this was a excellent narrative choice. The witch is dismissive of her creatures warnings, and the screen ends with Zamir running his knife through it's skull. I really like the different narrative choices used in this comic, the different shots used to tell the story. In panel 1 on screen 6 Zamir and the witch are only shown from their ankles down. This was a chance to spot light the witch's mangy cat, and prolong the suspense till you get to screen 2. This is the screen we also find out Zamir is immune to magic, and he plans to use the witch's second sight to find his missing son. No doubt the 'being immune to magic' bit, which helped him out in these 8 screens, will also come up again. The witch does her thing and divines Zamir's son is to be sacrificed to the evil god Weles. Zamir threatens the witch to get her to go along with him, and as they leave out to rescue the child, you can see Pan up in a tree. The geography and backgrounds were gnarled enough to really fit the mood for the story. Their would have been more drama if the story had ended earlier with the confrontation with the witch, before they rode off into the sunset, but it still stood apart from most everything else on Zuda.

Zuda review Marked/ Now that's how you draw a cool looking monster

2009-09-11T18:12:00.029-05:00

Marked is a September Zuda comic done by Fernando Pinto. Here is the synopsis: “Marked” is the story of Evan Dark, a man who loves his job. You see, thanks to the tattoos on his hands, he is able to destroy demons, trolls and various horrendous creatures of the netherworld, armed only with his fists. He’s one of the few “Marked men”; men who protect the world from the demon population which is trying to take over our realm. He received these tattoos by mistake (when the person, who had trained all of his life to be the next receiver was, apparently, ”less than prepared” for the task). With this, he landed a job working for “Blake, Stanton, and Bob”, the company that takes care of the human interests in the war between humans and demons. A war that, regular people (like you and I), are completely unaware of. It’s a great job, but there is one catch. You see, the problem in Evan’s life now is that there seems to be a demon rising (according to the sacred scriptures), so demons are appearing more frequently in our earthly plain. This means that working hours are getting more and more insane. Evan is trying to balance it all, while in a relationship the lovely Melissa Carlile, who thinks he’s just a regular accountant. So join Evan, as he punches his way through rooms full of creatures of the night, and tries to make it back home in time, for dinner with the love of his life.

Kind of like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, only it's a dude who destroys demons

The story of a hero who gets imbued with powers to go out and fight whatever evils lurking is a far older set-up than Buffy, and Marked does an excellent job of pulling it off. The art is a little cartoony, but the pace/writing is a great fit for Zuda. It helps a lot Evan is fighting some very coolly designed demons, in fluid action scenes. When it starts Evan has already gotten his powers (visible in the form of some cool 'Celtic cross' style tattoos on his hands), and is more worried about missing dinner with his girlfriend than the upcoming demon battle. That shows a early humor element, but also Evan is either accomplished, or overconfident in his demon fighting abilities. The script of the comic was filled with well done dialogue, and ending each screen on a high point that would make you want to continue reading. The demon design is awesome, purple skin, red eyes, and plenty of teeth. Readers don't get to see the fight continued because the story then switches to a flashback/origin story 3 years in the past. We see how Evan was like before he got his powers in a amusing exchange with one of his friends. The characterization here, and the compare/contrast to how he will become made for some great writing. I hope the plan is to continue having flashbacks to Evan's past, as readers also follow along in the present, it really hooks you as a reader. He has just lost his job because of backing over his bosses wife. He goes outside to take a leak in a alley, and crosses paths with the former holder of the special tattoos. He tells Evan he needs his hands, Evan says he's using them, so the former 'marked' just grabs his hands and that mystical energy starts flowing. It is a funny set-up and it got some laughs from me. Screen 5 shows a brilliant flash of light as the power changes hands (no pun intended), and then the former 'marked' falls with his last words being "Don't fuck it up". That last line was redacted for Zuda audiences of course. Screen 5 had some really nice sound effects which I always enjoy, and ended with a demon appearing behind Evan.

No drag assing around in Marked, Pinto mostly delivers in the 8 screens allotted

I'm not a big humor fan, but the mixing of humor with horror was so well done it made to story stand out. Readers see Evan's first ever battle with a demon, and of course he has his share of problems. A very funny moment was when Evan is grabbed around the face by a demon, and mumbles "Mfdbl pttrdl dsptl!" which translated means: "Dude I was just peeing!" On screen 7 we see the demon about to destroy our hero, along with some very good sound effects used as bridges between panels. The screen also ends with a panel close-up shot of Evan's new magical tattoo. Evan hits him in the face exploding his head, readers see the demon fall dead, and Evans pants slip to reveal some heart patterned boxers. It's one for the books as far as the things that can happen to you once you get your powers. It ends still in the flashback with Evan saying "Dooood", and looking at the now headless demon. The ending is the only thing that kept this comic from getting a favorite from me. I enjoyed the flashback, but it was a hollow ending that didn't connect up with the start of the story. It would have been great if the story could have came full circle by ending with Evan confronting a angry girlfriend back in the present day -even only in one panel. Ending in the flashback wasn't much of a cliffhanger since it's obvious Evan would survive and get better at slaying demons. I was looking forward to seeing the girlfriend back in modern times it would have made a fantastic self contained story. It's still a great read, and a great fit for the Zuda contest.

Zuda review Mystery Jungle/ I agree with everyone else, only more so

2009-09-10T14:08:00.037-05:00

Mystery Jungle is a September Zuda competitor done by Diego Cordoba, which has good art to go along with awful narration. here is the synopsis: The setting is a lost world in a hidden valley down in the jungles of modern-day Borneo, where dinosaurs still live among other creatures. When two foreigners, a man and a girl, crash-land in the jungle they find themselves alone and pitted against all sort of dinosaurs. Thankfully they run into a mysterious bronze-skinned savage who seems to know his way around the jungle. Now, among various saurians, tigers, giant apes, snakes and other vile creatures, they must make their way out of the lost valley and back to "civilization". Along the way they run into some dinosaurs and, barely making out alive, are captured by the Puti-Puta, a tribe of pygmies who feast on... human flesh! One night before they actually end up in the Puti-Puta's stew they are attacked by half-humans riding on pteradodons. However, in the turmoil that ensues, the girl is captured by the riders and taken to the land of TraLaLa, where the pteranodon riders present the captive to their queen, the mysterious black beauty Sheba. Queen Sheba, whom legend says is immortal, actually needs human blood to keep on living, especially the blood from a virgin. Now it's up to the mysterious bronze-skinned warrior and the man he rescued, to find the captured girl, fight the pteranodon half-human riders and confront their evil queen Sheba... But the man that accompanies the bronze-skinned savage has other plans on his own, mainly to look for the hidden treasure of the Loomas, whose location he preciously carries in a map kept hidden inside his clothes. The ordeal through which they must all go will, for once, decide who are the real predators and who are the preys.

One of the worst aspects of comics in the Golden Age shouldn't be repeated in piss yellow text boxes

The colors are fine, art is fantastically pulpy in a Tarzan newspaper strip way, and the letters are easily read in any viewer mode. The problem is with all the yellow boxes of needless narration. In the Golden Age (my favorite period in comics) one big problem was telling readers in text boxes, exactly what you've just shown them in the art. This comic is eat up with that problem all the way through it. Yellow box narration wasn't needed on screen 1, but I took it as a homage to the pulp genre of comics. Screen 2 is when the repetitive show and tell business really starts and it's all down hill from there. Screen 2, Panel 1: "Abruptly a staccato sound breaks through the humid skies...", in the panel you see a plane flying by with a Wwwrrrrr. "The bronze skinned man looks up at the new intruder...", sure enough a bronze skinned man is drawn looking up at the airplane. "These are not people who normally inhabit this jungle, he thinks...", yep the bronze skinned man does have a confused look on his face. Panel 2: "Suddenly a pair of leathery wings hit with all its force the metallic flying machine...", in the panel we see a 'pteranodon' flying into the plane. None of that text was necessary we could see what happened in the art, which would be even better without redundant text boxes taking up panel space. The narration also seemed to switch into first person with the 'metallic flying' bit. On screen 3, panel 2: "losing one of its wings from the impact by the creature, the plane spirals below towards the dense jungle", the art's good enough you can plainly see the plane spiralling without the play by play. With panel 3 we see a nice action shot of the plane crashing through the jungle, which is wrecked by a caption telling us the plane crashed "through the heavy foliage". On screen 4 we see the bronze skinned savage swinging through the jungle in panel 1, and read it in this caption: "The bronze skinned savage swings through the jungle trying to get below and see if they are any survivors". After that we get panel 2 of the two people in the crashed plane, then this caption to start panel 3: "Once they recuperate from the shock of their accident, the two foreigners climb out of the plane..." -you see them standing outside their plane. With today's readers that narration is needless, it would be assumed the crash landed pair got out off panel in between the borders/gutters from panel 2 to panel 3. You'd think once readers got to the T-Rex stand in that would be the cool part, but the big reveal is also accompanied by more narration. On screen 6 we get a nice action shot of the bronzed skinned savage swinging down to fight the monster, and save the poor foreigners. Its dramatic impact is hamstrung thanks to the inane caption: "Suddenly as the creature faces its potential dinner for the day, a bronze skinned figure comes soaring down...". Needless captions messing up the flow of the story, and taking space away from the art continue on screen 7. The comic ends with 'the bronze skinned savage' trying to jump on the monsters back, but he gets thrown. If you want a cliff hanger of impending doom their is a better lay to lay it out than making the hero look like he got thrown off a mechanical bull.

Reading the synopsis first I was hoping for a Tarzan meets exploitative cannibal story

Cannibal exploitation might be too hard a R until Zuda gets that mature content up and running, but the comic needed something else as a hook. I've already read Tarzan (I own some of the old comics), I don't need to read it again. Mystery Jungle needed that something 'different' to make it stand out from the rest of the pack. Considering it's a 'lost world' setting more monsters wouldn't have been a bad idea. My view of this comic would have been much higher without the yellow text boxes. Try this as a experiment: read the comic again, but ignore all the yellow/blue text boxes. It reads far better with just dialogue and sound effects than it does weighted down with narration. A advantage of getting rid of the narration is the creator doesn't put too fine a point on things. More elements of the story are left up to a readers interpretations, and it avoids pointing out the obvious in text. The art is more than fine enough to convey emotions in the characters expressions. Cordoba needs to abandon vestigial storytelling techniques, and have more confidence in his abilities as an artist.

Doing the happy dance for Eclipso

2009-09-09T14:08:00.016-05:00

Showcase Presents: Eclipso just came out recently, and I was thrilled to pick it up since he is one of my favorite characters. It reprints (with the exception of a Brave and the Bold Batman crossover) all of his earliest appearances from House of Secrets# 61-#80. Eclipso started out as a kooky Silver Age supervillain take off on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The character got a kick ass ret-con, and regular series as a fallen angel of revenge in the 90's. Then Bart Sears left, the art went south, and the regular series limped along till it died. To make matters worse the latest continuity rewrite has Eclipso being a creation of Darkseid (repetitive simplistic plotting every bit the equal of having the Red Skull be behind every villain Captain America ever faced) and the Atom's crazy ex-wife got possessed. I think faux-Eclipso is back giving Bruce Gordon (his host for most of the characters appearances) hell, but the Darkseid connection turns everything in the here and now into shit. Which is why I turn back to the characters original run. I long ago gave up my hopes of a Eclipso DC archive edition, but black and white in Showcase at least is a collection. I own a lot of the original issues, but they don't travel for easy reading near as well as a reprint edition. Eclipso was the creation of writer Bob Haney, and artist Lee Elias who drew his earliest adventures. This edition also reprints Alex Toth's run on the title (House of Secrets #63-#67), which isn't that easy to track down in back issues. Artist Jack Sparling would come on to handle the rest of the run. Their is a lot of Silver Age goodness to be found in Showcase Presents: Eclipso for 10 bucks, not to mention Toth artwork! If you got the cash to spare you should give it a try.

Zuda review Cards Kill/ Strong art, weak story structure

2009-08-31T17:14:00.023-05:00

Cards Kill was a August Zuda contestant done by Jason Chiu & Leah Liu. here is the synopsis: Kain Havoc is an ordinary clerk in a big company. He is so ordinary that people even forget his existence. He hates his job and feels inferior. He wants to change, but he doesn’t know how. One day, while playing cards, weird things start to happen. A card changes his life, and he receives special powers. Stronger and speedier now, sometimes he can’t control his consciousness. Kain doesn’t full understand what happened. Later on, he gets involved in a series of events, and finds out that he is not alone. He meets new friends, who have special powers just like him. During their adventures, Kain Havoc learns how to control his power and how to be a hero.

The colors and the art are what stand out to me

I admit Manga style isn't a area of comics that familiar to me, but I'm always game for a decent story. Cards Kill starts off in its opening screen featuring some type of demon creatures. The art and colors are the strong suit of this comic, which you really start to notice on screen 2. The joker look-a-like sends down magical cards to humanity that gives them powers this premise is nicely summed up by the second screen. The story isn't good, or bad just average with a let down for a cliff hanger ending. The letters are only fair pretty hard to read in small screen even post beta. Kain the lead hero gets a nice quite introduction, but from the pace of the story you'd think the creators were unaware they only had 8 screens. This could have been adapted for the format, but things need to get moving faster than this. Really well colored pretty art was only enough to get this comic a 10th place finish. Very nice colors and art on screens 4 and 5 made a Poker game beautiful to look at even if it did take up too much space. I also enjoyed the screen layouts through most of the 8 screens. The problem is with a name like Kain Havoc no way could he ever be a ordinary man. The other problem is it takes too long to get to the big reveal. The was a nice establishing shot to start off screen 6 and help establish time had passed. I also have to give the writer credit for not getting too wordy and letting the art speak for itself.

Screen 7 and 8 should have been screen 3 and 4

Which reinforces the point of their being too much fluff at the start of the story. The light weight 'oh I have powers now' wasn't much of a cliff hanger to end on considering other Zuda contestants. Screen 7 was some impressive panel layouts, very well done reveal of Havoc getting his powers. So why in the hell couldn't we have gotten to this sooner? All that pretty, but screen consuming build-up the creators thought readers needed -wrong it was needless. It also left the only option to end on being Havoc just getting his powers. "better than ever" is Havoc comment as he turns over the card table with a red light glow in his eyes and a Sunspot like complexion. The for the last panel we get yet another establishing shot -with crows. The fact that more crows were showing up (prelude to a Birds style situation) wasn't really that spooky, or interesting here. Forget setting the mood and go with a impact shot of this story's lead. Something more impressive than a table flipping would be called for. The art/colors were amazing, letters blah, writing was decent, but the pace of the story didn't fit the Zuda 8 screens format.

Zuda review Rogue Royal/ Aliens with eye stalks keeping it eye level

2009-08-31T17:09:00.020-05:00

Rogue Royal was a August Zuda contestant done by Chris Garrett. It got a favorite from me and here is the synopsis: What is Ember Zeram, beloved Space Princess of the Palmyrene Galaxy, doing associating with criminals and buying arms from the black market? Why can’t she make her mother, Space Queen Zenobia, happy and marry a nice space prince? Could it be she has taken on some secret mission that threatens to unravel the calm of the entire Intergalactic Empire? Who could she enlist in such a quest? Who will stand in her way? And why don’t they make space suits like they used to? Rogue Royal is a comedic sci-fi action comic with mild sexiness and frequent graphic alien dismemberment.

Mild sexiness meaning cute cartoon princess in a tattered and torn outfit

I'm not a big humor fan (not my go-to genre), but this story is funny. It's a done-in-one self contained tale that manages to be smart, zanny, and set-up then execute the punch line of the story. The colors match the light-hearted story and the letters are easy to read. The art is cartoony, but fun showing some nice alien designs. On screen one we see Ember talking to a alien with one eye on a stalk he can't keep off her cleavage. She puts a unwelcomed kink in his stalk along with a well written humorous little rant. Cute but not sickeningly so accurately describes the design of every single character in this story. A fine job on the part of the creator, with dialogue that matches the quality of the art. I really appreciate that this a story with a beginning, middle, and a end, especially that the alien menace arrives by screen two -no wasted screens. Screen 3 is one of the best screens in the comic with various cute little aliens getting ripped to shreds. Even more smart dialogue from the arms seller "10 percent off anything you see! Provided you use it to defend my station. no discount on Ammo." It comes off as a cross between a black market arms dealer, and a used car salesman. During the haggling you find out Ember's mother the Queen had used her influence to try to limit her daughters choice in arms. Their is also a nice recurring sight gag of bloody body parts flying around all over the place. The action scenes flow well with dynamic rendering in the art. The various sound effects for laser guns and laser blades was a high-light in this comic.

They shot their babies at her??? LOL

In a absurdest bit of humor the 'evil' Hideon mother critter shot flying pods of its 'babies' at Ember. Who proceeded to take them out in a well drawn action sequence. As the babies efforts failed a mother's love was lessened. it went from "Get her my precious little ones" to "oh you worthless wretches" with the papa Hideon saying "Hey did you shoot our babies at her?" Readers get another good action sequence as Ember blasts away at the Hideons. The coloring/lettering worked together, and helped make the fight scenes even more impressive. Ember saves the day by stuffing a grenade done a baby Hideon's throat and kicking it out a space lock. The other Hideons chase after with comments of "mmm! roast baby!" and "Outta my way!" It's so out there it's funny, and dead baby alien jokes are far more acceptable than any other kind. It ends with Ember's suit basically destroyed and a butt shot from Ember. "Now which one of you sold me this @#?!! spacesuit?" One more great laugh before the comic comes to an end. It was a well crafted story that fit the 8 screens allowed on Zuda. It had a respectable finish in the contest at 4th, and I'd like to see more work from this creator.

Zuda Review Absolute Magnitude/ Their is plenty of room left in the space pirate genre of Sci-Fi

2009-08-27T21:42:00.039-05:00

Another August Zuda review is Absolute Magnitude done by Robert Burke Richardson, Martin Morazzo, and chinadoll.Here is the synopsis: All Captain Pace and the crew of the Stormbrew want is to be allowed to hunt for treasure in peace. But Minister Zel and his SecuriZone forces are intent on catching them and burning their brains out. A little harsh, but then Zel knows that Captain Pace is secretly the rebelling heir to the SecuriZone royal family. A homecoming for Pace would mean big changes in the SecuriZone, like common people finally getting a fair shake, leading to the loss of Zel's wealth and position. Captain Pace has come to a planet with failing gravity in search of a gem made of pure light, one of the legendary Wandering Stars. But holding onto this priceless treasure may prove more difficult than acquiring it in the first place. Humans have colonized over half the galaxy, evolving different forms to cope with the various extreme environments in which they thrive. But no one has ever found signs of intelligent extra-terrestrial life. Not until now…

Firefly/Serenity isn't really a space western, it's really a pirate story set in space in the future, instead of the high seas a few hundred years in the past. Think about it: Group of rouges being chased by the authorities fly [sail] around to new exotic locales and met new friends and foes. Firefly wasn't the first, won't be the last, and theirs plenty of room left in the genre to be explored by Absolute Magnitude.

[After that short intermission on with the review]

Absolute Magnitude does everything well, but it didn't have that something special to hook me as a reader. The technical proficiency shown by all the creators was appreciated, but that alone couldn't hook me as a reader in 8 screens. I would have liked AM better if it had given more face time to the villains. The most interesting part of the comic for me happened on screen 1. Panel 1 reminded me of the famous eyes pried open reprogramming scene from A Clockwork Orange. Prisoners are hooked into spaceships and their brain power used to fly around space. Drive them two hard and their brains burn out, this is the fate planned for the Stormbrew crew by the lead villain Minster Zel. The letters are all very well done. Colors suit the story, and aid the art in clearly telling this tale. The dialogue and pace fit Zuda, and I already wanted to hear more of what Zel had to say from his comments on screen 1. When we get to the introduction of the Stormbrew crew it reminds me of G.I. Joe. The art was cool and nice dialogue exchange on screen 2. It also serves to reveal some interesting information about the setting of this comic. Screen 3 was a nice introduction to one of the characters Leria and a good reveal of every time she uses her 'powers' she gets a little closer to death. It was a nice touch that reminded me of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. Unfortunately we get the 'Rigg' interlude on screen 4. I know it was probably meant to contain funny dialogue as a HAHA style set-up to impending doom -instead the character was just annoying. I hope the dead stay dead in the AM universe and Rigg is smoking like a penguin in a old Valiant comic. The bursts balloons on screen 5 looked like stars so a nice touch from chinadoll. Screen 6 was a great chance for a action shot, but the art looked too stiff considering the crew were trying to avoid being squashed. A good pace but aside from the opening screen I was wondering where that scene/screen was that made this comic stand out from the rest?

Congrats on the probable win, hope you surprise me with some cool twists and turns in the story

Screen 7 "always hated you" line and the tears were a nice touch, but the fact I don't know who the hell they are limited the scenes impact. I'm glad you wasted (I hope) Rigg, but why kill 2 characters this early on? Save some of those death scenes for later on in the story when readers might miss a character that's killed off. We end on a death scene (Stormbrew logo visible was a nice touch) and more stiff looking running from other characters. If you have a team of characters 8 screens isn't enough to get inside their heads are really know them. The story then becomes more dependent on a big cliff hanger - bigger explosions help. The last few screens would of have some real punch if readers had any real knowledge/connection to the characters. Readers didn't have the twenty/thirty screens of build-up to give this cliff hanger any real weight. Not being familiar/invested with characters in a story turns what should be jaw dropping deaths into a yawn fest. Their wasn't enough big action scenes to make up for the lack of characterization on the heroes. This resulted in a very professionally done average read. Absolute Magnitude does have all kinds of possibilities for future directions. The comic just didn't do anything different enough to stand out considering some of this months competition. I'm hoping to be more impressed with the work once it starts updating. Loosen up the art for action scenes, continue to kick ass on colors and letters, and show more of the villain he's the most interesting of the lot.