Tag Archives: kings watch

Preview: Kings Watch TP

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KINGS WATCH TP

Jeff Parker (w)
Marc Laming (a/c)
FC • 160 pages • $19.99 • Teen+

Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician are together again… for the first time! When strange phenomena fill the skies and all humanity shares the same nightmarish vision, three iconic heroes rush headlong into danger to save us all! While playboy adventurer Flash Gordon uncovers an alien menace, the ghostly jungle champion known as The Phantom faces murderous creatures in the African wild. But it’s only Mandrake, a stage performer in touch with the mystic realms, who knows how these horrors are related… and how they threaten to shatter the Earth. Brought together through the efforts of reporter Dale Arden, the eccentric Professor Zarkov, and man-of-action Lothar, the heroes must overcome the Cult of the Cobra and their otherworldly allies! Collects issues 1-5 along with Jeff Parker’s original script to issue #1, character sketches, a complete cover gallery and more.

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Preview: Kings Watch #5 (of 5)

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KINGS WATCH #5 (of 5)

Jeff Parker (w)
Marc Laming (a/c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

Final Issue!!!!! The Cobra and Ming The Merciless have dealt our world an apocalyptic blow that will change the course of the 21st century! In the 11th hour, Flash Gordon, Mandrake The Magician and The Phantom will all make the toughest decisions of their lives for the sake of Earth! Daring risks and ultimate sacrifices. The biggest adventure of the century just got bigger! It all ends–and begins–here!

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Preview: Kings Watch #4 (of 5)

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KINGS WATCH #4 (of 5)

Jeff Parker (w)
Marc Laming (a/c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

THE COBRA has engineered the most devastating event to hit planet Earth in millennia! The world is under siege from the forces of a nightmare land, and only FLASH GORDON, MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN and THE PHANTOM know how to battle the hordes of Mongo! But they’re spread thin and time isn’t on their side…even Cobra doesn’t realize what he’s unleashed and now faces a life of servitude…to MING THE MERCILESS!

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Preview: Kings Watch #3 (of 5)

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KINGS WATCH #3 (of 5)

Jeff Parker (w) Marc Laming (a/c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

Jeff Parker (Batman ’66, Agents Of Atlas, Thunderbolts) and Marc Laming (Planet Of The Apes, Splinter Cell) propel further into their epic event! Phantom, Mandrake and Flash Gordon have gone through hell to stop The Cobra from reaching the Kings Watch, but the mastermind pulls one last  deception on them all…and gets exactly what he seeks!  Now the forces of the universe turn against  us and unleash a fate that changes the world…

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Preview: Kings Watch #2 (of 5)

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KINGS WATCH #2 (of 5)

Jeff Parker (w)
Marc Laming (a/c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

The adventures of FLASH GORDON, THE PHANTOM, and MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN continue, by JEFF PARKER (Agents Of Atlas, Dark Avengers) and MARC LAMING (Planet Of The Apes)! The nightmares from space keep coming, Flash Gordon sees an alien hell, and now people are being murdered over the mystery behind The Kings Watch. Reporter Dale Arden tracks down the secret of Professor Zarkov’s scientific triumph, exposing him to the Cult of The Cobra. Only The Magician knows what horror is really coming for the world, and that humanity hangs on what The Phantom will do…

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Review: Kings Watch #1

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20130913-102047.jpgIn an ode to 1930s pulp strips, Dynamite‘s latest five-issue miniseries brings together a trio of non-super superheroes  (The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Flash Gordon) in an epic quest to save the world. It has been nearly 30 years since their last reunion in the 1986 animated series Defenders of the Earth. This time, these unlikely heroes must join forces against nightmares-turned-reality as experienced by millions of people across the globe.

Writer Jeff Parker has huge shoes to fill. They say Lee Falk, creator of Phantom and Mandrake, ripped off his oxygen mask in his final days to dictate his last comic scripts to his wife Elizabeth to finish. Falk maintained that creator-owned passion of his pulp heroes for over six decades. As a first issue, Parker hasn’t fleshed out enough of the characters or story for me to judge whether the torch has been appropriately carried on. All three protagonists are in different locales, facing different sets of problems. From the outset though, it looks he’ll bring them together in epic fashion.

The handful of questionable artistic decisions within the story are quickly overlooked by illustrator Marc Laming‘s phenomenal cover and title logo. Like the unmistakable f, t, and g+ of the world’s social media titans, Laming’s skull, eye, and lightning bolt in the title make a fantastic brand for the series.

That being said, there were a couple panels in the Phantom’s jungle battle that bothered me. The first was a close up shot of the creature’s eye being impaled by our purple hero’s sword.  The small size of the weapon was so disproportionate to the dinosaur, as drawn in previous panels, that it completely threw me off guard. A page later, I was again taken aback when he drew the Phantom running across an elephant’s trunk. While it pays homage to the heydays of our pulp hero, the absurdity of it ruined the seriousness of that scene.

While I personally feel Dynamite Comics made a great choice in bringing this team back as a miniseries, after reading that they sold out the 10,000+ print run on the first day of release, I’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing them regularly. Die hard fans can rejoice, their comic strip pulp trio is back.

Story: Jeff Parker Art: Marc Laming
Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

Dynamite Entertainment provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Preview: Kings Watch #1 (of 5)

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KINGS WATCH #1 (of 5)

Jeff Parker (w) 
Marc Laming (a) 
Marc Laming (c)
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

Panic spreads across the world. Strange phenomena fills the skies. Millions have nightmares of wild lands filled with horrible creatures… then wake to find the monsters are real. What are three men willing to sacrifice to save us all? Superstar writer Jeff Parker (Dark Avengers, Red She-Hulk) and artist Marc Laming (Planet of the Apes) deliver the earth-crushing event of 2013, featuring Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician like you’ve never seen them!

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Pick(s) of the Week: Boxers & Saints and so Much More

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BoxersSaintsIt’s a new week of comics and this Wednesday sees an interesting batch of releases. While going over the long list of comics and graphic novels coming out, one stood out amongst the rest, Gene Luen Yang‘s Boxers & Saints, a two-volume graphic novel that depicts the Chinese Boxer Rebellion.

Published by First Second, the set tells the story from two perspectives, one of the revolutionaries and from a Chinese girl saved by Christian missionaries. Either read together or separate, the graphic novels are a true work of art, layered in their content with beautiful imagery.

Many creators hope to publish one great graphic novel, Yang decides to one-up everyone by releasing two in one week.

Check out below for the rest of the team’s picks!

Andrew:

Top Pick: Kings Watch #1 (Dynamite) – Since their last reunion in the 1986 animated series Defenders of the Earth, Dynamite’s Justice League of 1930s pulp heroes looks like the perfect alliance to battle a global threat.

Star Wars #9 (Dark Horse) – As long as Brian Wood continues to maintain the look and feel of the original Star Wars trilogy, I’ll keep reading this series. The second Jar Jar Binks shows up, I’m out.

Batman #23.2 Riddler (DC) – These Batman sub issues are an interesting take on the universe’s villainous characters, but I’m ready to get back to #24.

Mars Attacks Judge Dredd (IDW) – After reading the unflinchingly serious Judge Dredd Year One, this book looks like a nice departure into the absurd.

TPB/Graphic Novel of the Week: The Halloween Legion: The Great Goblin Invasion (Dark Horse) – Sean and I posted rave early reviews of this HC, but in case you missed them, this story provides a fantastically fun start to the fall season.

Brett:

Top Pick: Might Avengers #1 (Marvel) – I’m a bit hesitant to put this one as the top pick, but Marvel has put together a “minority” super hero team to defend Earth as the rest of the heroes are off in space dealing with bad guys. There’s something about this that makes me feel dirty, but at the same time, the line-up of characters is too good to not read.

A1 #4 (Titan Comics) – Titan has been knocking it out of the park with each issue. This anthology is all quality in both storytelling and the art. Just an amazing package. I wish we could get each of these stories as their own individual series they’re that good.

Ballistic #2 (Titan Comics) – My second pick is also from Titan. This series evokes the crazy out-there British comics of the 80s. The issue is fantastic.

Chronos Commandos: Dawn Patrol #3 (Titan Comics) – Titan has an impressive three comics on my list. Dinosaurs +time travel + Nazis = fun. The comic is beautiful and fun and just screams B-movie entertainment.

Sons of Anarchy #1 (BOOM! Studios) – The popular and widely acclaimed television series comes to comics.

TPB/Graphic Novel of the Week:  Cyborg 009 (BOOM! Studios/Archaia) – You can read my review here. To say I liked it is an understatement. The graphic novel is fun and exciting all bundled up in a beautiful package both inside and out.

Jeff Parker Pens Kings Watch this September!

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Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician team-up in the upcoming Dynamite series, Kings Watch!  Written by superstar writer, Jeff Parker, and drawn by artist Marc Laming, and a cover by Laming as well as a Subscription-Only cover by Eisner Award winning artist, Ramón Pérez.  Kings Watch is available in comic book stores and digitally this coming September!

In Kings Watch #1, panic spreads across the world. Strange phenomena fills the skies.  Millions have nightmares of wild lands filled with horrible creatures… then wake to find the monsters are real. What are three men willing to sacrifice to save us all? The earth-crushing event of 2013 features Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician like you’ve never seen them!

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