Category Archives: Random

The Guardians of the Galaxy are Revealed for Marvel Universe Miniature Game

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I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on each starting team for the upcoming Knight Models game Marvel Universe Miniature Game. With the Avengers, X-Men, and Guardians of the Galaxy to choose from, it’ll be hard to decide which is the one to start with (so might as well start with them all).

We now know who will be in the Guardians of the Galaxy starter set. Each set comes with four miniatures as well as a mini-rulebook.

The Guardians will include Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, and Rocket Raccoon. I’d assume Groot will be the miniature released in a blister along with the team.

From their description, the team looks to have a decent mix and shooting and close combat. Star-Lord fitting the quick (via his rocket boots) figure to get in position to fire off his Quad Laser and Element Gun. Rocket is all about his guns, as he should be. Gamora has a gun and her Vorpal Blade, mixed with stealth she too will be maneuvering around the board for the attack. Finally Drax is a tank and all about close combat, not just using his knives, but also acting as a bodyguard and soaking up damage for others. All of the team are the affiliation Cosmic/Hero.

With that equipment and abilities it’s easy to see how you’d play this team in the game, maneuvering with some as you shot, shooting at a distance with Rocket, and getting Drax in close for the kill.

Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Universe Miniature Game

(via Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher)

DC Comics Shows off Dark Knight III #3 Variants

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The third issue of the upcoming Dark Knight III introduces Quar, the renegade fanatic priest of Kandor. Unwittingly freed and restored to normal size by Ray Palmer, Quar and his acolytes stake their claim to the planet Earth and demand nothing less than absolute obedience from the human race!

All that stands in the way is a (seriously) hobbled Bruce Wayne and Carrie Kelley, and they’ll need serious help, so they’re heading to a certain Fortress of Solitude to get it…

In addition to Andy Kubert’s awesome cover, several fan-favorite artists have lined up to contribute their talents for several unique variant covers for Book 3 (see your local comics retailer for details):

1 in 10 variant cover by Scott McDaniel
1 in 25 variant cover by Klaus Janson
1 in 50 variant cover by John Romita Jr.
1 in 100 variant cover by Frank Miller
1 in 500 variant cover by Jim Lee

This third chapter is co-written by Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello, with pencils by Andy Kubert and inks by Klaus Janson. In addition to the Book 3 periodical on sale in February, the Collector’s Edition hardcover which publishes both the main story and the mini-comic (Dark Knight Universe Presents: Green Lantern) in a same-size “prestige” format goes on sale March 9.

The Flash Runs to National City to Meet Supergirl

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Rumors have persisted for quite some time, but CBS and The CW announced today that Barry Allen/The Flash will be heading to National City where he’ll meet Kara Danvers/Supergirl. Grant Gustin, who plays Barry Allen/The Flash will be fighting along Melissa Benoist‘s Supergirl on Monday, March 28 at 8/7c on CBS’ Supergirl.

In the release announcing the event episode Executive Producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg not only thanked CBS, The CW, and DC Comics, and Gustin for working this out, but also the fans (and even journalists) who were vocal in wanting to see this happen.

This isn’t the first channel crossover we’ve seen. Constantine‘s John Constantine, which aired on NBC before being cancelled, appeared on an episode of Arrow (a show which The Flash shares a “universe”) during the latest season. This crossover would mean all four shows share a universe/multiverse.

The Flash and Supergirl

Review: Klaus #3

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Klaus_003_A_Main

Klaus continues to develop into an exceedingly interesting and nuanced world. More than the conflict itself, the imaginative interpretation of folklore is fascinating.

If the story of a winter ghost visiting children one by one every year was somehow not engaging enough for you, Grant Morrison has a new Santa story that may catch your interest. Here Santa is a wild man trying to save the sorrowful town of Grimsvig from the joyless rule of Magnus, who has outlawed Yuletide celebrations under the guise of trying to increase output from the coal mine the town’s men work in. Santa, or rather Klaus, has known the town in better days and seeks to return happiness and celebration to it.

Klaus began as really interesting concept released close enough to Christmas to really make the book fun. After the first issue, it seemed a shame that it was only part of a six-issue miniseries and that the story would not conclude until well after Christmas came and went. It seemed to be a real missed opportunity. However, with each issue the story unveils more and more of itself and further piques interest. Though everything continues to be an assimilation of Christmas iconography, it is done in such a way that that it expands the interest in the world beyond simply a passing seasonal investment. At this point, the tragedy is not that the story didn’t finish in time for Christmas, it’s that the story will end at all when such an interesting setting continues to unfold each issue.

The characters are obviously familiar. Not simply Klaus in his representation of Santa but relationships like the romantic connection between Klaus and Magnus’s wife, Dagmar. However, the way this world continues to set itself apart from expectation and traditional folklore prevents anything from cliché or tired.

The story works the imagination, trying to anticipate what goes on beyond the pages. The living toys that Klaus creates, are they related to the living wood he cut from a dead tree? Is the dark spirit dwelling within the coal mind the story’s version of Krampus? Seldom is a reader given so much in a story that they care to ask what lies ahead. It’s that suspense and curiosity that makes this book such a strong seller.

Keeping up with the great Grant Morrison, Dan Mora does a marvelous job creating the visual aesthetic for this book. From the hulking yet approachable Klaus to the beauty of the woodland spirits, Mora continues to prove to be a fantastic choice developing this character and creating this world.

Story: Grant Morrison Art: Dan Mora
Story: 8 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Buy

BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

A first Look at the Marvel Universe Miniature Game Character Cards

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We’ve got a first look at the character cards for Knight Models‘ upcoming game Marvel Universe Miniature Game.

It looks like the company has done a decent job at capturing some of the flavor of not just comic books, but even some of the fighting video games that have featured comic characters. They have some solid details of not just the name they might be known as such as Iron Man, but also their regular name, such as Tony Stark. This is important in that you can only have the same “real name” once on your team. So two version of Iron Man with Tony Stark would be out. But, you can have a Steve Rogers Captain America as well as a Sam Wilson Captain America.

As we explained previously, Power is how much a character has to spend each turn to do things. Speed is broken in to multiple movement sets which cost different amounts. There’s strength, an attack skill, agility, stamina, and willpower. Attack is what you’d use to do exactly that, while agility allows you to dodge, and stamina would be how much you get damaged.

In the defense section there’s a shield, brain, star, and Eye of Agamotto, which is used to defend against physical, mental, energy, and supernatural attacks.

Skills, we don’t know much about other than they’ll be explained in the rulebook. We don’t know the extent of skills and exactly what they do other than adding to various aspects of the character.

The level section is used to figure out the affiliation, which is part of the way you put together your team and the number helps balance the game for team building.

With attacks, we discussed in earlier posts that you’ll only be able to use attacks a certain amount of times such as every turn, as much as you can, or once per game. Special powers is a similar thing, with a frequency, and with different effects.

Endurance is the final section and as a character is damaged they get weaker and receive bonuses or negatives depending on the section. When you get to the red section, if you fail a stamina roll you’ll get KO’ed and be out of the game.

As a whole, the character cards are an interesting aspect making an easy to understand way to add new characters to the game and quickly see the abilities. As it has been laid out, you can see how the game will take shape as far as movement, attacks, and defense.

The more I’m seeing, the more I’m looking forward to this hitting my tabletop.

Marvel Universe Miniature Game Character Cards

(via Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher)

Satan’s Hollow: An All New Terrifying Tale From Zenescope Entertainment!

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This March, Zenescope Entertainment brings you a brand new horror series that explores the decades old urban myth of Satan’s Hollow, a place that some say is a direct path to the underworld. And, twenty years later, the legend continues with a survivor’s return to the hellish town, albeit with an immensely evil companion…

Writer Joe Brusha and interior artist Allan Otero combine their talents to make up Satan’s Hollow’s creative team, with covers by: Caio Cacau, Abhiskeh Malsuni, and Pasquale Qualano.

Local comic shops are ordering Satan’s Hollow until February 29th, 2016, so those interested in reserving a copy should contact their local comic shop with the following Diamond Order codes: JAN161847, JAN161848, JAN161849, JAN161850.

The Fix—Perfect for crime genre lovers

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The Fix #1The Eisner-award nominated team of bestselling writer Nick Spencer and artist Steve Lieber are in cahoots again for an all-new, ongoing crime series, The Fix, which will be launching from Image Comics this April.

The Fix is a story of the crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run Los Angeles—and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels. Bad people do bad things to each other in this frenetic, outrageous, sometimes off-putting new caper that gives nod to classic crime comics like Criminal and 100 Bullets.

The Fix #1 (Diamond Code FEB160465) will hit comic book stores on Wednesday, April 6th. The final order cutoff deadline for comic book retailers is Monday, March 14th.

Join Our Team!

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Graphic Policy is always on the hunt for talented contributors. If you’re interested in becoming involved with one of the internet’s most unique, fastest-growing entertainment and pop culture websites, now’s your chance!

Please note that all of the positions offered by Graphic Policy are volunteer positions. Our staff runs this site because we love comics, politics, pop culture, games, movies, television and geekdom.

We can not guarantee anything but your name in the writing credits (perfect for someone building a portfolio), but we will work with you to help you cover and write about the things you’re interested in.

Graphic Policy will open up its ability to obtain review copies, press passes and more for those who regularly post to the site. Your posts belong to you and you are free to post them here and other sites as well!

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A Historical Evening with Danny Fingeroth

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flyerTwo Wednesdays ago, on January 20, the counter guy at Midtown Comics handed me this flyer for an event they were sponsoring. There was a lot of information in it, but what immediately caught my eye was the opportunity to take a selfie with the Batmobile. Sold! Off to the New York Historical Society Museum & Library I went, later that evening.batmobile

I got there a little after six, and as promised, got my selfie; but there was so much more. They had a troupe of cosplayers walking around providing ample photo opportunities, followed by a Parade of Superheroes at 7:00 PM.

There was a fantastic Superheroes in Gotham exhibition that included both Marvel and DC characters (which unfortunately prohibited picture taking, but below is a photo I may or may not have taken of an original art page from Amazing Fantasy #15), originalartworkand a Batman exhibit honoring both Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

Then, at 7:30 PM came the slide show–Superhero New York: Real and Imaginary. I almost skipped out on it (it started at 7:30 PM and ran for an hour, which with my long commute meant I was looking at Midnight for home). I’m happy to say, I stuck it out.

It proved to be a solid presentation by Danny Fingeroth. He made me realize how little I know about the industry I claim to love so much. I knew next to nothing about where Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Will Eisner, and many of the ‘old’ greats hailed from, where they went to school, and where they grew up. He discussed the impact growing up in the gritty streets of New York had on their work; and he talked about their friendships, their falling outs, and more. He took us deep inside their work offices, into the bullpen; and he showcased historic comic book inspired landmarks.

fingerothThen, looking around at the large diverse audience sitting around me, I realized how much things have changed within the short time span I have lived in the comic book world. Here I was at a serious academic lecture, featuring comic books. I’m not sure that this sort of thing would have garnered the audience it did today, twenty odd years ago–not to mention the setting: The NY Historical Society Museum & Library on the Upper West Side. I was totally digging the scene. Danny Fingeroth has encouraged me to seek out more, to read more (I also purchases a signed copy of his Superman on the Couch with a Foreword by Stan Lee), and to learn more about the rich history of the comic book world—and I can start with NYC’s own comic book tour here.

Simon Bisley draws blood with Vampblade!

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Action Lab: Danger Zone’s newest hit series, Vampblade is getting an extra boost of cool. The company has released two new limited edition covers by one of the greatest artists on the planet, Simon Bisley!

Simon’s Vampblade covers are an AOD Collectables exclusive coinciding with the release of the first Vampblade Trade-paperback collection.The standard Bisley edition is limited to 2500 copies, and the risqué version will be limited to 1500 copies. Both covers will be available this May and orderable in the March Previews catalog.

Retailers and fans can still order copies of the first issues of this new ongoing series springing from the pages of Danger Zone’s popular Zombie Tramp series. Issue one is due to hit stores February 3rd, with subsequent issues following monthly.

Vampblade order codes:
issue 1 NOV15 1004-1010
issue 2 DEC15 0935-0940
issue 3 JAN16 1007-1012

Bisley variant order codes:
DEC158278 – reg/9.99
DEC158279 – risque/19.99

Vampblade_issuenumber1_cover_AODregular_variant_solicit Vampblade_issuenumber1_cover_AODrisque_variant_solicit

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