Tag Archives: criss madd

Preview: Dead End Kids: The Suburban Job #1 (of 4)

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Dead End Kids: The Suburban Job #1 (of 4)

(W) Frank Gogol (A) Nenad Cvitcanin (CA) Criss Madd
In Shops: Jan 27, 2021
SRP: $3.99

Seven years after the deadly events of September 11th, three teens struggle with the long-term fallout of that tragic day. But these former friends are brought back together when they find themselves in the crosshairs of a local drug dealer who’s out for blood. Can they put their personal traumas aside long enough to work together and survive? No Heroine’s Frank Gogol re-teams with Nenad Cviticanin for an all-new entry in the Dead End Kids saga.

Dead End Kids: The Suburban Job #1 (of 4)

The Inkwell Awards Announces Artists For the Ivan Reis Spotlight Challenge

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The non-profit Inkwell Awards, devoted to promoting the art of comic book inking, has released the list of 24 artists participating in its fifth annual Sinnott Inking Challenge Spotlight. This year’s Challenge features artist Ivan Reis‘ take on DC’s iconic super-team The Justice League from the cover art to DC‘s Man of Steel (2018) as originally inked by Ivan‘s partner Joe Prado. The artwork will be auctioned afterward for fundraising.

The artists (in alphabetical order) are:

  • Gerry Acerno
  • Greg Adams
  • Brian Atkins
  • Keith Champagne
  • Kevin Conrad
  • John Dell
  • Michelle Delecki
  • Anthony Fowler Jr.
  • Scott Hanna
  • Christopher Ivy
  • Jay Leisten
  • Criss Madd
  • Jose Marzen Jr.
  • Mark McKenna
  • Jason Moore
  • Andrew Pepoy
  • Jack Purcell
  • Rodney Ramos
  • Ryusei Sawada (Kubert School 2020 Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship recipient)
  • Mike Sellers
  • Mark Stegbauer
  • LeBeau Underwood
  • Keith Williams
  • Walden Won

According to founder/director Bob Almond, the Spotlight Challenge, which grew out of its more inclusive, original Joe Sinnott Inking Challenge, showcases other contemporary, fan-favorite talents on a more limited scale with veteran published inkers who may or may not have participated in other challenges. The previous four pencilers were Jim Lee, Neal Adams, Erik Larsen, and David Finch.

The Challenge Spotlight furthers the inking advocacy’s dual mission of promoting the artform and educating the public. Blue-lined art files featuring a tightly penciled Ivan Reis Justice League pinup are sent to the artists to finish in ink. Each inked page will be signed by Reis and the inker, and include a certificate of authenticity signed and numbered by Almond. All pages will then be auctioned off at a later date as a fundraiser. Fans will be able to see the difference in the penciled and inked versions to better understand how much inkers contribute to the artform.

Review: No Heroine #3

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No Heroine #3

In No Heroine #3, Kayla is still dealing with vampires. Now, the vamps are throwing out all the stops to try and get her to leave them alone. All the while, Kayla is dealing with a loss so huge it sends her spiraling down the wrong path.

There are some details to Frank Gogol‘s writing that really stand out. In a story that delves into the supernatural, the real villain is the addiction that Kayla seems unable to shake.  It’s all done in a manner that doesn’t make light of such a topic. I think Gogol is able to bring that out in a way that a lot of writers aren’t capable of. The flip side is there are moments with the character that I don’t want to spoil with the review that came off disappointing and I’ll leave it at that.

Criss and Shawna Madd handle the visuals on No Heroine. They work well enough together but as far as their style, it’s not quite my cup of tea. It’s just a hair inconsistent to me. There were times when the art and colors popped and there were times when I would look at some panels and feel a bit more work was needed. It’s not all negative. Ahmed Raafat delivers another great-looking cover that’s sure to help get eyes on this book.

No Heroine #3 finishes as a fairly decent Vampire story that has that added layer with the addiction problems that the heroine Kayla is dealing with. While the story didn’t blow my socks off, I felt that it was a good read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a horror story that’s a bit off the beaten path. I wish the art grabbed me a bit more as I didn’t love the overall appearance but with that said, it wasn’t enough to make me dislike No Heroine.

Story: Frank Gogol Artist: Criss Madd
Colorist: Shawna Madd Letterer: Sean Rinehart Cover Art: Ahmed Raafat
Story: 7.0 Art: 5.0 Overall: 6.0 Recommendation: Worth a read.

Source Point Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comixology – TFAW – Source Point Press

Review: No Heroine #1

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source point press, no heroine, featured, comic books, comics, frank gogol, criss madd, shawna madd, sean rineheart,

The concept of a comic that explores addiction and vampires is an interesting one with a lot of potential. No Heroine #1 focuses on Kayla an addict who’s searching for her boyfriend who may be using again. Her journey has her diving into the world of vampires who apparently exist in this world and in this case, are a gang of drug dealers.

Writer Frank Gogol delivers a spin on the vampire slayer archetype and like so many of the stories the heroine in this case is able to dispatch vampires with ease. It’s an interesting concept for a comic that doesn’t explore the things that make it interesting. The title, No Heroine, is a clever play on words. Kayla is both the heroine and a user of heroin (I assume, her addiction is never really fully explained). She’s clean and sober now and with sobriety comes amazing abilities?

No Heroine #1 explores the surface of the series concept. There’s a lot of potential in the ideas within. The concept of addiction and vampirism are something worth exploring together. How far someone is willing to go to get their drug is another? And, someone attempting to stay clean while having to explore within a world where that’s difficult is yet another concept worthy of a story. Any of these things would make a must-read comic. But, we instead get a copy Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a not as sunny main character.

There’s also not enough depth explored in the concepts. Kayla is looking for her boyfriend Sid. What happens to Sid just… happens. We don’t really get a sense as to why he goes from point A to point C, he just does. Kayla too is able to dispatch vampires without issue which has you wondering why others don’t? And Kayla’s sobriety too is teased and the reader is left with potentially the most interesting aspect about the character to hopefully be explored in another issue.

The art by Criss Madd with color by Shawna Madd is ok. The designs feel a bit cartoonish and personal taste may be where it all comes down. There’s a certain lack of consistency for me in the character depictions with different angles of a face not quite lining up to be the same face. They’re off just a bit. The coloring to is a bit bright for the comic betraying the dark nature of the subject matter. It’s a style that would work better for a comedy than a story about addiction that features vampires.

No Heroine #1 has a lot of good concepts and ideas but the most interesting aspects of the comic are left to the side. We get a fairly cookie-cutter story of a heroine who can kick vampire ass. There’s potential in even that but by the end of the comic we’re left with a story that feels like it’s been done and nothing to make it really stand out from the (vampire) pack.

Story: Frank Gogol Art: Criss Madd
Color: Shawna Madd Letterer: Sean Rineheart
Story: 6.0 Art: 6.0 Overall: 6.0 Recommendation: Pass

Graphic Policy was provided with a FREE copy for review