At this weekend’s Boston Comic Con, ComixTribe announced SCAMthology, a new project expanding Joe Mulvey‘s Scam universe, featuring top and up-and-coming comic talent telling thirteen new stories featuring super-powered con-men taking Vegas for all she’s worth.
The full roster of SCAMthology creators includes Joe Eisma, Ben McCool, Nick Pitarra, Paul Allor, Brian Shearer, Tyler James, Adam Masterman, Rich Douek, Daniel Logan, John Lees, Doug Hills, Aaron Houston, Kirk Manley, Josh Flanagan, Alex Diotto, Jonathan Rector, Jamie Gambell, Amy Chu, Nolan T. Jones, Steve Colle, Ryan K Lindsay, Alex Cormack, Steve Forbes, and Daniel Picciotto.
That’s thirteen teams, all tasked with developing the Scam mythos. And that’s an impressive line-up.
The first four-issue Scam mini-series concludes this November with a double-sized final issue, and SCAMthology will follow directly after. ComixTribe has created a special SCAMthology Tumblr Page that will feature frequent teasers and more details about the project over the next few months. SCAMthology is set to be released in early 2014.
The Standard is back, but not everyone is happy to see him return. And with a monstrous killer still on the loose and the body-count of headless victims continuing to pile up, Gilbert Graham’s heroic comeback might be fatally short-lived. Also: The Standard and The Corpse… face-to-face at last!
Diamond Code: AUG131152
THE STANDARD is the story of two different men from two different eras who share the same heroic legacy. In the past, The Standard was the world’s greatest superhero. Today, he is a celebrity with his own reality TV show. But when a catastrophic event brings the two generations into collision, The Standard is forced to ask if superheroes still have a place in today’s cynical world. THE STANDARD is a six-part superhero miniseries written by John Lees and drawn by Jonathan Rector.
The Standard is the story of two different men from two different eras who share the same heroic legacy. In the past, The Standard was the world’s greatest superhero. Today, he is a celebrity with his own reality TV show. But when a catastrophic event brings the two generations into collision, The Standard is forced to ask if superheroes still have a place in today’s cynical world.
The Standard is a six-part superhero miniseries written by John Lees and drawn by Jonathan Rector. Lees is the winner of the Scottish Independent Comic Book Award for Best Writer 2012 for his work on The Standard.
The Standard is the latest entry into the tradition of deconstructing superheroes and it does a pretty good job at it. This first volume is presented in three parts. The first, takes a look at the original Standard, his origin and has a feel of a old-time comic. It pulls of the retro really well. It also delves into the modern day Standard, a reality television personality selling out his name to make a buck, also the original Standard’s former sidekick.
The second catches us up on the original Standard and is a catalyst for the third part. I don’t want to go into it and give away the surprise.
The third part wraps up a story thread throughout each part, tracking down a kidnapper of children and leaves us with a cliffhanger and at least one unanswered question.
There’s great pacing and plotting between the three sections, each setting each other up and flowing nicely into each other.
The series overall sets up some nice questions as to why stories of the past were so innocent. They focused on robbery, and silly plans while today’s comics are much more violent and mature. As a whole the world has gone down this “darker” path, but the comic brings up, was this really the case or is it nostalgia and we’re misremembering.
I can’t say everything is original, there’s only so many deconstructions you can read, but, the writing, the characters, the pacing makes it really entertaining. It’s a great take on it all and I can see why the comic has won awards.
Do yourself a favor and check out this independent series. It’s great to support indies, and especially so when they’re this good.
THE STANDARD is the story of two different men from two different eras who share the same heroic legacy. In the past, The Standard was the world’s greatest superhero. Today, he is a celebrity with his own reality TV show. But when a catastrophic event brings the two generations into collision, The Standard is forced to ask if superheroes still have a place in today’s cynical world. THE STANDARD is a six-part superhero miniseries written by John Lees and drawn by Jonathan Rector.
The Oxymoron is a character from ComixTribe’s maxi-series THE RED TEN by Tyler James and Cesar Feliciano. This spin-off anthology features ten stories by writers and artists, including Jason Ciaramella (The Cape, Godzilla), Mark Poulton (Savage Hawkman, Avengelyne), Joe Mulvey (SCAM) and more, and is edited by ComixTribe publisher Tyler James.
ComixTribe has made one of the stories in the collection, Living Dead by Mark Bertolini (Breakneck, Fubar II) and Carl Yonder (Ghost Lines, Fubar II), available in its entirety as a FREE PDF download.
The OXYMORON Volume 1 Hardcover will debut at the 2012 New York Comic Con in October, with backers starting to receive the books shortly after. The standard cost for a signed hardcover is $25.00 and includes shipping, but there are a variety of pledge levels available. ComixTribe will also be offering a number of direct-to-retailer incentives, including 55% off the cover price to retailers and brick & mortar exclusivity through 2012.
OXYMORON VOLUME 1 includes:
“Passive Aggressive” written by Jason Ciaramella (The Cape, Godzilla), art by Joe Mulvey (SCAM)
“A Selfless Man” written by John Lees (The Standard), art by Tyler James (The Red Ten)
“Double Standard” written by Steven Forbes (Runners), art by Dave Myers (Warriors of the Dharuk)
“Nearly Perfect” written by Yannick Morin (Mascherata), art by Alex Cormack (Chikara)
“Quiet Riot” written by Paul Allor (Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesClockwork), art by Aaron Houston (Clockwork)
“Act Naturally” written by Rich Douek (Gutter Magic), art by Rafer Roberts (Plastic Farm)
“The Living Dead” written by Mark Bertolini (Breakneck), art by Carl Yonder (Ghostlines)
“Working Holiday” written by Mark Poulton(Savage Hawkman, Avengelyne), art by Jules Rivera (Valkyrie Squadron)
“Alone in a Crowd” written by Ryan K Lindsay (Heist), art by Daniel J Logan (Back in the Day, EXO-1)
Cover by Jonathan Rector (The Standard)
Foreword by Eisner-Nominated Writer Jason Ciaramella.
Pin-ups by artists including CP Wilson, III (Stuff of Legend)
“Same as the First, But a Little Worse” – Epilogue by Tyler James and Cesar Feliciano
The theme for this pairing is “the,” just kidding, actually it’s two quality books independently published, but both would fit at a major publisher. 2011 was the year I really dove into “indie’ books and because of that discovered quality like these two.
The Hero Code #1
I’ll start right out and say, the comic is very familiar. There’s the “Superman,” the “Wonder Woman,” the “Batman” type characters, but the way the story unfolds, how each of those characters are portrayed and especially with the solid art, I just don’t care. I discovered the series on Kickstarter and happily contributed towards it, but when I saw the product I helped get produced, I was ecstatic. This is a comic I’d pick off of the shelf or be excited to get in Artist Alley at a convention. It’s quality.
The premise behind the series is that every human on the planet holds within them a genetic coding which grants the carrier great powers. The catch – this code only activates when we are faced with near-extinction level threats. The series explores ideas about time, reality, and what it means to be a hero.
The first issue is all set up. Full of action that just pops off the page with amazing art. I got to the end and immediately wanted more, a very good sign. The comic is familiar, but there’s an excitement and energy about it that are missing at times from other similar books. That feel makes the comic stand out and makes this one of my favorite finds of 2011.
Story: Jamie Gambell Art: Jonathan Rector Publisher: MPS
I’m not much of a fan of books. I really didn’t like reading them growing up, so the ones I really enjoyed I could count on my hand. Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians or And Then There Were None is one of those books I loved. The Red Ten is the super hero version of that story, which makes me wonder why the hell that hasn’t been done before?!
When the world’s greatest detective is violently murdered by her nemesis, the world’s foremost super team and her former sidekick band together to bring the villain to justice. However, the mission goes terribly wrong, and before the night is out each of the ten “heroes” will pay dearly for past transgressions.
What was fun reading this comic was, I had no idea that it’s similar to one of my favorite books. I got to the end and had a smile on my face. It’s a murder mystery except anyone can be the murderer or victim and I’m expecting twists and turns like the book it’s based off of. The art is solid, pacing great, everything is top notch.
This was another comic I got to the end and wanted to read more. It was that good and that entertaining. Here’s hoping we see issue two soon, I really want to know who did it.
Story: Tyler James Art: Cesar Feliciano Publisher: Comix Tribe
WRITER: John Lees
