30 Days of Night #2 (of 6)
Steve Niles (w) • Piotr Kowalski (a) • Ben Templesmith (c)
The town of Barrow, Alaska experiences an unexpected and brutal murder that is the precursor to much worse things… the reimagining of 30 Days of Night continues in an all-new and all-horrifying direction!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Hope everyone had a great holiday and enjoying this final week of the year. We’re still rocking and rolling here and not slowing down for the week, so as we get going, here’s the latest comic news and reviews from around the web.
Star Tribune – Minnesota state Rep. Keith Franke traveled an unusual political path – Another comic fan elected official.
The Jerusalem Post – Graphic novel of Anne Frank’s diary will be presidential gift to dignitaries – Very interesting choice.
Reviews
Talking Comics – 30 Days of Night #1
Comic Book – Twisted Romance #1
Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!
Each week our contributors are choosing up to five books and why they’re choosing the books. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look!
Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.
30 Days of Night #1 (IDW Publishing) – A reimagining of the classic horror series.
Assassinistas #1 (IDW Publishing) – Mom’s an assassin who spent her sons’ tuition on new guns. Guess the son needs to get a job helping mom! Quirky concept, sounds like a lot of fun.
Backways #1 (AfterShock) – Writer Justin Jordan does Harry Potter… which is intriguing.
Catalyst Prime: Accell Vol. 2 #2 (Lion Forge Comics) – Lion Forge continues to entertain and their speedster is full of excitement and energy.
Catalyst Prime: Summit #1 (Lion Forge Comics) – A new entry in Lion Forge’s Catalyst Prime universe. Any new release, we’re intrigued and must check it out.
Curse Words: Holiday Special (Image Comics) – Have you been reading Curse Words? If not, you’re missing out.
Dark Ark #4 (AfterShock) – A new take on Noah’s ark, but this is the other arc, with all of the monsters. The last issue pivoted the series and we’re excited to see what’s next.
Dark Nights: Metal #4 (DC Comics) – Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap.
Fence #2 (BOOM! Studios) – The first issue was amazing. The series is a western take on sports manga. It’s so good!
Hellboy: Krampusnacht #1 (Dark Horse) – Hellboy does Christmas. Nuff said.
Marvel Two-In-One #1 (Marvel) – If you’ve never read an issue of this classic series, it’s a lot of fun. Here’s hoping this new one captures that of the original.
Rom & the Micronauts #1 (IDW Publishing) – Two properties coming together. We’re intrigued.
Sink #3 (ComixTribe) – Maybe the most disturbing comic series of the year?
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #15 (Marvel) – If you don’t know Aphra, you’re missing out. Think Indiana Jones but in Star Wars.
Star Wars: Poe Dameron #22 (Marvel) – Filling in the gaps of the Star Wars universe.
Tales of Suspense #100 (Marvel) – Another classic Marvel title returns! This one’s exploring the “death” of the Black Widow.
Transformers: Optimus Prime #14 (IDW Publishing) – Optimus vs. Dinobots.
Transformers: Till All Are One Annual 2017 (IDW Publishing) – Wrapping up this series, one that’s been full of political intrigue and giant robots.
Quantum and Woody (2017) #1 (Valiant Entertainment) – If you’ve never read Quantum and Wody, you’re missing out. A new series that’ll get you to laugh.
X-Men: Grand Design #1 (Marvel) – Ed Piskor takes on the X-Men.
30 Days of Night #1
Steve Niles (w) • Piotr Kowalski (a) • Ben Templesmith (c)
As the sun sets over an isolated Alaskan township—not to rise again for a month—a new evil emerges from the shadows to terrorize the town… But after a series of strange events and horrific killings, the question becomes what lurks in the shadows? 30 Days of Night is reborn in an all new reimagining of the series designed to titillate the mind and horrify the senses!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
30 Days of Night 15th Anniversary Edition
Steve Niles (w) • Ben Templesmith (a & c)
Direct Market Exclusive
Fifteen years ago Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith burst onto the comic book scene with their explosively fast and violent take on vampires that kick-started a modern horror comics revival. Going on to become a feature-length film from Sony Pictures in 2007 and spawning a full run of comics and graphic novels, the phenomenon is collected here, with the first three volumes of 30 Days of Night!
TPB • FC • $29.99 • 348 pages • ISBN: 978-1-63140-936-3
A pretty big snowstorm is burying parts of the United States this weekend, and could force individuals to be stuck inside for at least a few days. So, the team has decided to get in to the snowy spirit and have suggestions for comics and graphic novels to enjoy during your time stuck inside.
We’re also including links if you can get the comics digitally so you can enjoy them now!
Mr. H: Not a comic book but I highly suggest you stream or watch the classic Batman the Animated Series episode “Heart of Ice” one of the best in the entire run, and it even has chicken soup. Also Batman! You can watch it on Amazon Prime right now.
Alex: Batman: Noel – Yes, it’s a retelling of A Christmas Carol, but Lee Bermejo’s art and Barbara Ciardo’s colours just make you feel the cold. The art is just blood fantastic. That it takes place within a Gotham blizzard is just the icing on the cake. Kindle & comiXology.
Elana: Whiteout by Rucka and Lieber. You can get the Definitive Edition for the Kindle.
Alex: Wolverine: Bloodlust – I’m not going to pretend this story doesn’t hold a special place in my heart because it was the first solo Wolverine story I’d ever read, because it does, but the way Alan Davis draws the cold, yet supremely beautiful Canadian wilderness is fantastic. And the last page? Oh man.
Madison: Currently experiencing the snow you’re about to get! Lumberjanes #14 and #15 are an excellent little standalone story about a freak snow storm in the middle of summer. It’s probably not the weirdest shenanigan that the Lumberjanes have been involved in, but there story is, as usual, cute and funny with a good lesson to be learned by the end. Get it on Kindle #14 #15, or comiXology #14 #15.
Meghan: 30 Days of Night! Lots to choose from and start with volume 1 on comiXology.
Ash: Amazing Spider-Man #700.1 and #700.2. Spider-Man’s choice between responsibility and power are particularly important when NYC is buried in the snow. Get #700.1 and #700.2 on comiXology.
Javier: Chuck Dixon’s and Jorge Zaffino’s Winterworld. Oldie from the eighties. IDW collected it in a TPB about a year ago I think. Kind of like Mad Max with ice and snow. You can get it for Kindle and comiXology now.
Brett: I have to go with Snowpiercer! The world is destroyed in freeze and all of humanity that’s left is safe on a train which can never stop, or they die. You can buy volume 1 or 2 in print only it looks like. The movie is great though! You can watch that now on Amazon or on Netflix.
Source: wikipedia
Horror comics have had it rough.
For a few years they were at the forefront of the comic book industry, pushing the envelope with the stories they told, and influencing some of the most recognizable names in horror over the past five decades. From the late 40’s to the mid 50’s, horror comics essentially printed money for their publishers.
It would not, it could not, last.
There is some debate as to the first horror comic; Prize Comics #7 began an eight page feature adapting Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, causing some to label it as the first true horror series. There were other adaptations during the early to mid 40’s, one of which was Gilberton Publications Classic Comics #13. Printing a full adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Classic Comics #13 is the earliest known comic book dedicated purely to horror.
Source: wikipedia
However the first horror comic with original content is widely recognized as Eerie Comics #1, by Avon Publications cover dated January of 1947 (but the comic was actually published at the tail end of 1946). This volume of Eerie Comics never had a second issue, but it was relaunched in 1951.
Horror comics enjoyed some popularity on the newsstands, but it wasn’t until 1950 when EC Comics came on the scene that the genre really exploded with EC’s “trifecta of terror”: The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, and Crypt of Terror – which later became Tales from the Crypt.
The stories in the above comics, and the others that would follow, are bloody, gory, gruesome, macabre, sinister, and, at times, silly. They were truly horrific comics, but for some they were absolutely wonderful, and their influence on game-changing artists and writers can’t be overstated. Stephen King and George Romero, both hugely influential men on their own, created the film Creepshow as a love letter to the comics that influenced them as children. Alan Moore, one of the most acclaimed comic book writers of the past few decades, has a character reading an EC Comics-like story at a newsstand throughout the main story of Watchmen. Years later, HBO would develop a very successful anthology television show that ran from 1989 to 1996 based on the content of many EC stories published in during the 50’s, turning the Cryptkeeper into a household name.
But the golden age of horror comics of the early to mid 50’s would not last.
With the fallout from Fredric Wertham‘s book Seduction of the Innocent, and the Comics Code Authority (CCA) that resulted, horror comics, hit hard than any other genre, were virtually wiped out over night. Jobs were lost, publishers nearly went out of business, and the face of comics changed forever. Horror comics were everywhere, until suddenly they weren’t.
To say horror comics vanished over night isn’t strictly accurate. The essence of the comics stayed alive despite the CCA’s best efforts. James Warren of Warren Publishing would produce black and white horror comics, but published as a magazine, they were exempt from the CCA’s rules. By publishing these stories in a magazine format, Warren paved the way for other publishers to produce horror comics magazines.
Horror comics, like any good villain, wouldn’t stay down forever.
Although the Comics Code Authority spelled the end of horror comics for many years, we are currently experiencing a resurgence in horror comics – in a large part, perhaps, because the CCA has been entirely abandoned by publishers. The old EC Comics, those classically macabre stories that are finally making their way into reprinted volumes that for fans of the genre are an unparalleled look into the past. Modern comic books like The Walking Dead, American Vampire, and 30 Days of Night are only a handful of the titles that are carrying the torch of influence that can traced back to the golden age of horror of the early 50’s.
While perhaps not as popular as they were 60 years ago, when they accounted for almost a quarter of all comics published, horror comics have been making a steady return to prominence in the comic book world.
That’s not a bad thing.
IDW Games launched in a big way with recently announced games like Kill Shakespeare and 30 Days of Night. To help bolster a board game line already hotly anticipated by fans around the world, IDW is growing its games division by expanding its partnership with Pandasaurus Games.
This partnership includes bringing Pandasaurus’ vault of popular games into print, many of which are sold out. The first title in this partnership is Tammany Hall, launching in June, in which the players “take power, rule New York.” Other titles to follow are Rattus Cartus, the sold-out hit that pits players against each other and the Black Plague, and Yedo, Pandasaurus’ first game, which is a samurai-themed worker placement game from the designers of the upcoming Kill Shakespeare game, Wolf Plancke and Thomas Vande Ginste. It also means that moving forward, IDW Games and Pandasaurus will be co-developing engaging board games that will excite existing fans of the genre and surely make new ones.
The future looks very bright for board game fans with the return of some favorites and the release of new and exciting ones! This year, IDW Games and Pandasaurus invite you to get in the game!
There’s less than a month left until Awesome Con DC which takes place April 20 and 21 in Washington, DC and they’re not done with the announcements. Last week the convention announced Buffy‘s Nicholas Brendon will be coming to the first year convention.
Nicholas Brendon is best known to audiences as the sardonic Xander Harris on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a role he played for the seven-year run of the show. He’s currently recurring as FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch on the hit CBS series Criminal Minds, was recently featured in a four-episode arc on the ABC drama Private Practice, and also starred in the Fox comedy Kitchen Confidential.
This is just one of the recent announcements which also includes The Walking Dead‘s Theodus Crane, Wolverine co-creator Herb Trimpe and 30 Days of Night co-creator Ben Templesmith.
The convention line-up is impressive including Phil LaMarr, Ernie Hudson and comic creators including Larry Hama, John Ostrander, Justin Jordan, S.L. Gallant, Jeff Shultz, Jeremy Whitley and many more.
30 Days of Night #12
Steve Niles (w) • Christopher Mitten (a & c)
Fright-master Steve Niles concludes the all-new, critically acclaimed 30 Days of Night series! The war between vampires reaches a fever pitch as Eben Olemaun’s movement collides head-on with the old guard, with Agent Alice Blood directly in the crossfire. It all ends here!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Borderlands: Origins #2 (of 4)
Mikey Neumann (w) • Agustin Padilla (a & c)
“Lilith.” The legions of fans of the smash-hit video game BORDERLANDS have been clamoring to know: how did the Vault Hunters get on the bus with Marcus in the first place? Find out how Lilith started her journey with Mordecai, Roland, and Brick as her backstory about coming to terms with being a Siren unfolds. Learn how a young girl came to understand her incredible power, and how that power helped to save a world.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
The Crow: Skinning the Wolves #1 (of 3)
James O’Barr (w) • James O’Barr & Jim Terry (a) • James O’Barr (c)
James O’Barr returns to The Crow! In part one of this special three-part tale, “Returning from a Journey,” O’Barr and artist Jim Terry craft a harrowing tale set in a concentration camp in 1945 Europe. The night train is being unloaded. And one of the passengers is making a return visit…
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Ghostbusters #16
Erik Burnham (w) • Dan Schoening (a & c)
After several tough cases, the Ghostbusters are ready for a real day off from dealing with the supernatural… but that doesn’t necessarily mean the supernatural is going to take a day off from them. Ready to settle in and do some relaxing, they are surprised as a spectral child appears before them, speaking one word before it disappears — help.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
G.I. JOE #20
Chuck Dixon (w) • Will Rosado (a) • Ken Loh (c)
TARGET: SNAKE EYES hurtles toward its shocking conclusion! SERPENTOR’S FANG BRIGADE closes in on the Arashikage refuge deep in the jungle. HELIX and SNAKE EYES battle for their lives surrounded on all sides by warring foes. The G.I. JOE team rides to the rescue—but will they find a battlefield or a graveyard?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
The Hollows # 1 (of 4)
Chris Ryall (w) • Sam Kieth (a & c)
An all-new series from the creator of The Maxx and the co-creator of Zombies vs Robots! Sam Kieth and Chris Ryall transport you to a near-future Japan, where burned-out husks—the Hollows—wantonly devour souls throughout the city. Far above, a segment of society lives safely in giant tree-cities, but the problems below have a way of growing out of control…
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Love and Capes: What to Expect #5 (of 6)
Thom Zahler (w & a) • Zahler & Chris Bailey (c)
You ever watch those house shows where two sets of neighbors trade houses for a weekend? Well, Mark and Abby are experiencing something like that: They’re swapping bodies. But, unlike those shows, they didn’t sign up for this. And there’s only a month left until Abby… er, Mark’s… due date! As if that weren’t enough, Amazonia learns her fate, too. Excitement and laughs abound as the baby countdown comes to a close.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Popeye #8
Roger Langridge (w) • Vince Musacchia (a & c)
Poopdeck Pappy’s got a new sweetie… but there’s more to her than meets the eye! And did somebody say… treasure map? Join Popeye, Olive and Wimpy as they head for the high seas – and help Pappy overcome the trauma of his first bath in forty years!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Rocketeer Adventures, Vol. 2
Mark Guggenheim, Peter David, Stan Sakai, Paul Dini, Walter Simonson, Tom Taylor, David Lapham, Louise Simonson, Kyle Baker, Michael Golden, David Mandel, & Matt Wagner (w) • Sandy Plunkett, Bill Sienkiewicz, Stan Sakai, John Paul Leon, Bill Morrison, Colin Wilson, Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, Walter Simonson, Kyle Baker, J Bone, Eric Canete, & Michael Golden (a) • Darwyn Cooke (c)
The second all-new, all-great Rocketeer Adventures anthology is crammed with over 15 great creators doing terrific Rocketeer stories!
HC • FC • $24.99 • 136 pages • ISBN 978-1-61377-401-4
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #17
Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman (w) • Ben Bates (a) • Ben Bates, Eastman (c)
He is a warlord, a genius, and a squishy pink brain. He is General Krang. One of the most signature villains in TMNT history, Krang has an arsenal and wit unlike any other villain. This issue starts a story arc that reveals Krang’s master plan and sees the TMNT come into direct confrontation with one of their mightiest enemies!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Ongoing #12
John Barber (w) • Andrew Griffith (a) • Andrew Griffith, Casey Coller (c)
THE RETURN! He’s back… and CYBERTRON will never be the same. Everything BUMBLEBEE and his AUTOBOTS have built teeters at the edge of collapse—and STARSCREAM has to make the choice his whole life has been leading to.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Transformers Spotlight: Orion Pax
James Roberts (w) • Steve Kurth (a) • Kurth, Livio Ramondelli (c)
BEFORE OPTIMUS PRIME—there was Orion Pax! Four million years ago, the future leader of the AUTOBOTS disappeared into the Cybertronian wilderness to save a friend. What happened next would take him to the very brink—and have startling repercussions on the current comics!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
