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Top Cow at Comic-Con International 2010

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Official Press Release

BE AMONG THE FIRST TO START THE ARTIFACTS JOURNEY
TOP COW AT COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2010

LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 12, 2010 – Top Cow Productions, Inc.’s race to Artifacts will include a stop at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, the world’s biggest and most exciting popular convention, from July 22nd – 25th.

Top Cow will once again storm into the convention and set up shop at booth #2629.  Among the goods to prepare attendees of CCI 2010 for the race to Artifacts will be exclusives, preview books, free goodies, variant comics and trade paperbacks, including free copies of Artifacts #0 as well as other comics, posters and bookmarks (while supplies last).

Attendees are invited to join Marc Silvestri (Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia), President Matt Hawkins, and Publisher Filip Sablik for an exciting and lively multimedia presentation about Top Cow’s plans for 2010 and 2011 in comics, film, television and much more. Be the first to hear announcements and updates on film projects including Witchblade, Magdalena, Alibi, Wanted, and The A-Team. Plus announcements on new comic projects with creators including Ron Marz (Artifacts), Jeff Katz (American Original, Freddy vs. Jason), Phil Hester (The Darkness) plus surprise guest directors, screenwriters, producers and more!  The panel will be featured in room 9 from 1:30-2:30pm under the title Top Cow: “We Create” Multimedia, on Saturday, July 24th.

The schedule for signings as well as portfolio reviews at Top Cow booth #2629 will be released at a later date and will be available online at www.topcow.com as well as at the booth at the start of each day.

Joining the Top Cow team at booth #2629 will be Marc Silvestri, Ron Marz (Artifacts), Phil Hester (The Darkness), Michael Broussard (Artifacts), Kenneth Rocafort (Velocity), Jeremy Haun (Berserker), Eric Basaldua (Witchblade Annual), William Harms (Impaler), Rob Levin (Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box), Bryan Edward Hill (Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box), Nelson Blake II (Magdalena), Marc Bernardin (Genius), Adam Freeman (Genius), Jeff Wamester (The Darkness: Four Horsemen), David Hine (The Darkness: Four Horsemen), Jason Rubin (The Iron Saint), Joshua Ortega (Necromancer), Rick Loverd (Berserker), Sheldon Mitchell (The Darkness), Rahsan Ekedal (The Crazies, Echoes), Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Crazies, Echoes), Randy Queen (The Darkness/Darkchylde: Kingdom Pain), Sarah Queen (The Darkness/Darkchylde: Kingdom Pain), Jonathan Lincoln (Tracker), Rick Basaldua (The Darkness) and several other surprise guests.

Fans should note that because of anticipated crowding issues; artists appearing at the Top Cow booth will only be able to do a limited amount of free sketches per sitting.  Sketch tickets will be available at the beginning of each day of the show.  Sketch tickets are limited one per fan per day.  Fans must be present at the appointed signing time to redeem their sketch ticket.  Not all artists appearing at the Top Cow booth will offer free sketches and fans should inquire at the booth on the morning they plan to get a sketch for availability.

Also at the Top Cow booth #2629, the publisher will offer several items exclusive to Comic-Con International including three convention variant cover comic exclusives, two limited edition hardcovers, and an unannounced bargain-priced anthology book.

Fans who stop by the booth will be among the first to grab a copy of the debut issue to mega-event series, Artifacts by Marz and Broussard. Artifacts promises to be Top Cow’s most ambitious series to date and will weave together story lines from a number of Top Cow titles, including Witchblade, The Darkness, Angelus and Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box.  It has been known for some time that thirteen mystical Artifacts guide the fate of the Top Cow Universe.  For centuries, it’s been whispered that bringing together all 13 artifacts would bring upon mankind’s destruction.  The series will begin with a mysterious figure who seeks to put Armageddon into motion.  Artifacts #1 will arrive in stores on Wednesday, July 28th.

For up-to-date information on Top Cow’s plans at Comic-Con International in San Diego, please visit www.topcow.com or follow us on Twitter (@TopCow).

Artifacts #1 Cover

Review – Legends: The Enchanted

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Legends The EnchantedI went in trying not to compare Nick Percival’s Legends: The Enchanted to that other series involving folklore characters.  Other than involving some of the main characters, the comparison ends there.  Legends: The Enchanted is a very dark story, both in content and story.

You think you know them? Think again!

Violently ripped from the pages of folklore come the Enchanted. Supernatural immortals living in a dark, steampunk, creature-infested world where nature, technology and foul magic are in constant conflict. When the twisted, burnt remains of the half-wooden, half-mechanical warrior, Pinocchio are discovered, wolf hunter Red Hood and giant killer Jack realize the fragile rules of their existence have been shattered. With the help of other powerful Enchanted (the mercenary, Goldilocks and psychic exterminators, Hansel and Gretel), Jack and Red team up on an adventure to stop whatever, or whoever is destroying their powers and murdering their kind.

The world is a mix of fantasy and technology reminiscent of so many steam punk dystopian futures we’ve seen before.  The art is very dark with a sickly green pallor that seems to make it’s way into everything.  At times it’s hard to make out exactly what’s going on.  The story also is choppy with various plot lines left open and unresolved.  The ending is abrupt, and I left without feeling much resolution when it came to the story.

While the story is interesting and the spin worth checking out, I just can’t recommend it.  There’s reports that this graphic novel will be making it’s way to the big screen and I’d wait for that.  For the $19.95, there’s just so much more that’s far better out there.

Read more

Missouri State University to Offer Graphic Novel Course

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DiplomaMissouri State University will be offering a course through the English Department focused on graphic novels.  Dr. W.D. Blackmon and course instructor Jen Murvin Edwards decided that graphic novels were at a point that they deserve respect and needed to be taught in a course.

The course will run from August 9 through August 13 and will be open to members of the community for non-credit.  The course will focus on the criticism of graphic novels as well as how they are developed.

The course will also feature a guest appearance by Matt Kindt whose graphic novel 3 Story is being made into a movie.

Beware the Flashers

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As if comic book stores already didn’t have a bad reputation and poor stereotype, a Lewisville, Texas man was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the indecency with a child incident.

Kevin Walton, 32, of Lantana was arrested by police and was in jail awaiting arraignment charges of indecency with a child.  On July 3, Walton is accused on exposing himself in the presence of a child in the comic book section of Half Price Books.  Walton has no criminal record prior to this incident.

Indecency with a child is a third degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison.

NSFW – The Pro

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Produced in 2002, The Pro, by Garth Ennis, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, is the tale of a working girl with super powers.  Some test animation for the comic has been making it’s way around for a while, and now it’s on YouTube.

The motion comic is definitely not suitable for work.

Harvey Pekar Has Passed Away

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Harvey PekarHarvey Pekar opened his life to all of us through comic books.  He was one of two comic book legends to come from the “mistake by the lake,” the other being Superman.  His autobiographical comic book series American Splendor chronicled his life, warts and all.  Pekar passed away earlier this morning.

Pekar, 70, was found dead shortly before 1 a.m. today by his wife, Joyce Brabner, in their Cleveland Heights home, said Powell Caesar, spokesman for Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

A Cleveland institution, Pekar began his comics career after being inspired by R. Crumb in 1972 and began to publish annually in 1976.  Crumb described Pekar as “the soul of Cleveland.”

He won the American Book Award in 1987 for American Splendor and was a regular guest on the David Letterman show.  Pekar also won a Peabody Award and saw his life on the big screen in a film adaptation of American Splendor which won the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic films at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.

Cleveland.com has further coverage of the life and times of Harvey Pekar, a true original.

Pekar in a Letterman appearance from July 31, 1987.

Westboro Baptist Church Comes to San Diego Comic-Con

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The Westboro Baptist Church best known for protesting at the funerals of dead U.S. soldiers with signs such as “God Hates Fags” are coming to San Diego Comic-Con (they’ll be the one larping as assholes).  What’s the reason?  We’ll let them do the explaining:

Are you kidding?! If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible, well no high hopes here. They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent – so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.

1:15pm till 2pm on the Thursday, 22nd July, they’ll be picketing outside the convention.

It’s been a busy month for these nutcases.  They’ve also been picketing Justin Bieber, Lady GaGa, the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Al Gore.  Should be a fun time as the unwashed geeks meet the unwashed crazies.

I’m thinking some of the cosplay alone will cause the church members to have a stroke.

The Diary of Anne Frank, the Graphic Novel

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The Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam on Friday released a graphic novel version of The Diary of Anne Frank.  The museum is hoping this will allow more young people to discover Anne’s story.  The diary chronicles Frank’s hiding from Nazi’s as they occupied the Netherlands.  The family was eventually betrayed and taken by the Nazis.

Anne died in a concentration camp, along with her mother and sister. Only her father, Otto, survived the war. He published her diary, which had been preserved by one of the women who helped them while they were in hiding, in 1947.

The hope is to introduce the story to teens who might not otherwise read the book.

The graphic novel is written by Sid Jacobson and artist Ernie Colon who previously worked on the graphic novel adaptation of the 9/11 Commission Report and are working on a graphic novel about Che Guevera.

An English language version will be coming to North America in September.

Preview – Your First Look At Shadowland #2!

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Official Press Release

Your First Look At Shadowland #2!

Marvel is proud to present your first look at Shadowland #2, from the superstar creative team of Andy Diggle and Billy Tan! The battle for the Soul of New York has begun and battle lines have been drawn! A strange alliance is formed when Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, Moon Knight, and Kingpin realize they have a common enemy. Plus, a new player enters the arena! Will he be the savior of New York or its destroyer?

If you missed the exciting first chapter of Shadowland, be sure to check out the Shadowland #1 second printing variants!

SHADOWLAND #2 (JUN100575)
Written by ANDY DIGGLE

Penciled by BILLY TAN

Cover by JOHN CASSADAY

Rated T+ …$3.99

FOC – 07/15/10, On-Sale – 08/04/10

SHADOWLAND #1 SECOND PRINTING BULLSEYE ASSAULT VARIANT

SHADOWLAND #1 SECOND PRINTING NEW COSTUME VARIANT

Written by ANDY DIGGLE

Pencils & Cover by BILLY TAN

Rated T+ …$3.99

FOC – 7/15/10, On-Sale – 7/28/10

*Note: the New Costume Variant will be printed in fewer quantities. Also, retailers should get their orders in as soon as possible as these variants will be printed on a first-come-first-serve before the Final Order Cutoff date.

Shadowland #2 COVER Read more

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