Written by MATT KINDT // Art by DOUG BRAITHWAITE // Colors by DIEGO RODRIGUEZ PLUS:An All-New BAD IDEA B-SIDE: “SAVE NOW” Written by MATT KINDT // Art by TOMAS GIORELLO // Colors by DIEGO RODRIGUEZ Cover by LEWIS LAROSA with LAURA MARTIN FOUR ISSUES // MONTHLY $3.99 EACH // 48 PGS. // ON SALE MARCH 3, 2021
At the height of World War II, the world’s most ingenious minds began a race to create a super-weapon capable of ending the war with the push of a button. One of those projects gave us the atom bomb…and another produced the world’s first supercomputer: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) — an immeasurably complex mathematical model that targeted the Axis war machine by calculating missile trajectories and troop deployments.
Everybody knows that. It’s real-life American history.
Or so we were told.
On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima.
Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki… Only President Truman wasn’t the one who gave order.
It was ENIAC.
In the Allies’ determination to end the war, they had accidentally created the world’s first autonomous machine intelligence…which had quickly deduced that one bomb wouldn’t be enough.
But ENIAC’s real plan was only just beginning…
Now, 75 years later, an encrypted countdown has just been detected in Earth’s satellite network and mankind only has three days left before ENIAC launches every weapon in the planet’s nuclear arsenal simultaneously. With few options and even less time, the Secretary of Defense has just given two covert operatives the most important mission in human history: kill ENIAC.
From the minds of New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), incendiary artistDoug Braithwaite (Justice), and extraordinary colorist Diego Rodriguez (Hellblazer: Rise & Fall) comes ENIAC #1, the debut series from BAD IDEA – the unruly and experimental new comic publisher pushing the bounds of the medium (and your patience) one issue a time. This is no ordinary comic book… This is the long-classified history of an unspoken superpower more formidable than all of Earth’s nations combined…and now its story can finally be told.
Bad Idea is on the way! After an interesting build-up, the comic publisher is ready to do something new, get some comics on the shelves!
Beginning in March 2021, comic fans will be getting at least one brand-new Bad Idea release per month in a variety of tastes-good, feels-great formats by a fleet of world-class creators, including writers Matt Kindt, Robert Venditti, Marguerite Bennett, and Zeb Wells, artists Doug Braithwaite, Juan Jose Ryp, Adam Pollina, Renato Guedes, and Adam Pollina, and even more yet to come (like Mae Catt, Joshua Dysart, Tomas Giorello, Eric Heisserer, David Lapham, Lewis LaRosa, Jeff Lemire, Peter Milligan, and more).
Bad Idea is taking a new spin on comic distribution. Comic books will be sold exclusively in participating comic book stores. No digital releases. No trade paperbacks or hardcovers. And no variant covers, either. Just super-high quality comics that will always leave you wanting more – because they’ll never publish more than two in a given month.
The publisher’s goal is for every single issue to look and feel special with prestige-format package, deluxe matte laminate covers, and heavy-duty interior paper stock. There’ll also be extra-long page counts, guest appearances from artists, and standalone bonus stories in every issue at no extra cost. That means more The Hero Trade from Matt Kindt and David Lapham and… the bird of a shared universe!?
All of that for just $3.99 per issue.
You’ll have to visit a Bad Idea “destination store” – one of the 100 and counting comic shops around the world that have signed on to join our independent network of direct-distribution retail partners – and buy them on a Wednesday (or simply pre-order them in advance by phone or email and pick them up whenever you’re damn well ready).
What will we see next year? Lets find out!
ENIAC #1 (of 4)
MATT KINDT (writer) DOUG BRAITHWAITE (art) DIEGO RODRIGUEZ (colors) LEWIS LAROSA with LAURA MARTIN (covers)
Seventy-seven years ago, the United States unlocked the key to defeating the Axis powers, but, in their desperation to end the war, created a far more powerful threat: ENIAC (Electronic Numerator Integrator and Computer), the world’s first supercomputer. ENIAC’s calculations proved vital to turning the tide against Germany and Japan – until it ordered the second atomic bomb to be dropped on Nagasaki without any human order or approval. America had inadvertently created the first artificial intelligence without ever realizing the full extent of its abilities…or its ambitions. For the more than 50 years that followed, ENIAC manipulated global affairs from the shadows, waging a cold war that pitted spy against spy, nation against nation…until it went dark and disappeared from view. Now, years later, an encrypted countdown has just been detected in Earth’s satellite network and mankind only has three days left before ENIAC executes its endgame. With few options and even less time, the Secretary of Defense has just given two covert operatives the most important mission in human history: kill ENIAC…before it kills us.
From the minds of New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), incendiary artist Doug Braithwaite (Justice), and colorist Diego Rodriguez (X-O Manowar), Bad Idea’s long-awaited debut starts here with a science-fiction thrill ride that will send shockwaves for decades to come.
FOUR ISSUES // MONTHLY // BEGINNING MARCH 2021
TANKERS #1 (of 3)
ROBERT VENDITTI (writer) JUAN JOSE RYP (art/covers) JORDIE BELLAIRE (colors)
The CEO of global energy conglomerate Greenleaf Oil has just discovered a terrifying secret: the planet only has a decade or less of petroleum left before it’s gone forever. But he has a plan to make sure his great-great grandchildren can continue to generate maximum shareholder value – and secure his own legacy in the process. Rather than develop a game-changing renewable energy source through the power of corporate innovation, Greenleaf has perfected the next best thing – time travel (duh) – so that a team of six field-rat contractors armed to the teeth in individually customized mech suits can go back to the Cretaceous Period, tweak the trajectory of the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, and give mankind another 500 millennia worth of oil reserves. What could go wrong? Only all of human history, of course – because when Greenleaf’s team of Tankers come home, they’ll discover that not only did the dinosaurs never die out, they’ve kept evolving for another 60 million years…and they’re more pissed off than ever.
Bone-shredding destruction! Wanton corporate malfeasance! Reckless use of industrial machinery! And lots and lots of ammunition. Like a Saturday morning cartoon that’s run irresponsibly overbudget, New York Times bestselling writer Robert Venditti (Justice League), blockbuster artist Juan Jose Ryp (Wolverine), and Eisner Award-winning colorist Jordie Bellaire (Pretty Deadly) are here to take all of our insecurities about mankind’s most self-destructive impulses and turn them up until the knob snaps off with THREE DOUBLE-SIZED ISSUES shipping BIMONTHLY (that means every other month, don’t look it up).
THREE ISSUES // DOUBLE-SIZED // BI-MONTHLY // BEGINNING APRIL 2021
WHALESVILLE #1
MATT KINDT (writer) ADAM POLLINA (artist/cover) MATT HOLLINGSWORTH (colors)
You never thought you’d see a Bad Idea like this! From the limitless imaginations of New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), veteran artist Adam Pollina (X-Force), and Eisner Award-winning colorist Matt Hollingsworth (Hawkeye) comes a very special whale tale for all ages (and species) in the tradition of Hayao Miyazaki and Pixar!
When young Wawae – the seaborn son of a whaling captain – is thrown overboard and swallowed whole by a whale, he knows his father will relentlessly pursue revenge against the creature that stole away his boy. What he didn’t expect, however, is what he’s about to find inside: the town of “Whalesville” – a colorful, cobbled-together village inhabited by an astounding collection of talking sea creatures, including a crab named Caleb, an angler fish called Angela, and a seadragon that prefers to go by Lilly. But, to Wawae’s new friends, Whalesville isn’t just their home, it’s the whole world – and they don’t understand the danger that now pursues them from above the waves or that they are even inside a whale at all. To rescue his new best buddies, Wawae will have to convince them of the truth…and save Whalesville before his own father sends them sinking into the inky depths forever.
In 1970, legendary filmmaker Oliver Larsen began production on his latest horror masterpiece on the lot of Los Angeles’ famed Cloverleaf Studios. Obsessed with bringing authenticity to the genre, the director insisted on casting real-life occultists to perform a genuine Satanic ritual live on camera – until something went horribly wrong. In the bloody aftermath, the production was shut down, the footage was confiscated, and the soundstage was forever shuttered.
Until today.
On the heels of a promotion that’s just made her the youngest studio chief in decades, Aviva Copeland is planning to overhaul Cloverleaf’s fading image for the 21st century – starting with the prime piece of California real estate that’s gone unused for 50 years: the very same lost soundstage where Larsen filmed his doomed masterpiece. But, as Aviva will soon discover, this corner of the lot may have been closed for a half-century, but it’s far from empty…and the evil that lives within its haunted walls will soon seize its chance to kill again.
New York Times best-selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, A-Force) and artist Renato Guedes (DCeased: Hope at World’s End) present a terrifying vision of horror and Hollywood in the boldly bloody Bad Idea manner!
FOUR ISSUES // MONTHLY // ON SALE JULY 2021
SLAY BELLS #1
ZEB WELLS (writer) DAVID LAFUENTE (artist/cover) ULISES ARREOLA (colors)
You’ve heard of black comedies? Well, this is the first one that’s not just black, but red and green and covered in reams of extremely flammable tinsel that’s already been banned in Canada!
Every Christmas Eve, little Bobby Hamilton and his father rise at dawn for an early morning hunting trip. It was their favorite tradition – until they accidentally killed a certain red-nosed reindeer. They should have known better. They shouldn’t have tried to cover it up. Because Santa Claus knows that they’ve been naughty – and, now like so many fragile Christmas ornaments violently shaken free, the yuletide peace of a quaint Midwestern farming hamlet will forever be shattered as Old Saint Nick comes to town to reap the sweetest gift of all: vengeance.
This July, Emmy Award winner Zeb Wells (Hellions, Robot Chicken), mischief-making artistic all-star David Lafuente (Ultimate Spider-Man), and colorist Ulises Arreola (Action Comics) are ready to ruin Christmas a solid six months in advance with the only thing we really wanted this year, anyway: another king-sized Bad Idea one-shot that will soon go down in infamy!
The combination of Mark Waid and Neal Adams together on a comic alone is something that catches my interest. While Waid has tackled the Fantastic Four before, Fantastic Four: Antithesis is the first time Adams has taken on Marvel’s first family. Unfortunately, Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1 doesn’t quite excite enough to match the build up of these two titans teaming up on a series.
Much of Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1 is a set up for what and when this take on the Fantastic Four takes place. It’s a “retro” story in that it’s quite some time ago when Franklin and Valeria are young kids. And the fact it takes place some time ago is possibly the most intriguing part of it.
After a battle with Annihilus the team is faced with a threat of an object hurtling to Earth and specifically New York City. The team has to spring to action to save the city and from there, it’s a mystery that gets the series really moving.
There’s nothing terribly bad with Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1 but there’s also nothing terribly exciting either. Waid’s writing is reminiscent to his past runs on the series with a “classic” feel to the team. His style for the series has more in common with runs from the 80s and earlier than in recent years.
Adams art, with ink by Mark Farmer and color by Laura Martin, is fine as well. The character features that “Adams” style and he gives some sweeping visuals that bring excitement to Waid’s story. But, like the story itself, the visual again feel a bit like a throwback. The art is a bit better than recent outings from Adams with DC but it’s definitely not the Adams of the past.
Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1 is just fine. After the first issue, the comic feels like it’d be a much better read as a graphic novel than monthly release. There’s a throwback quality to it that’s fun and having a story that doesn’t feel like it immediately impacts the modern Marvel continuity is nice. It’s that standalone that’s not quite one. It comes off as a shelved script that Waid didn’t work into his run on the series.
While not bad, Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1 is one for the hardcore Waid and Adams fans.
Story: Mark Waid, Neal Adams Art: Neal Adams Ink: Mark Farmer Color: Laura Martin Letterer: Joe Caramagna Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation:Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Next month, two comic book greats join forces to deliver a Fantastic Four tale for the ages! Industry legend Neal Adams and Eisner Award-winning writer Mark Waid bring you Fantastic Four: Anthithesis, a modern Marvel blockbuster jam-packed with a fan-favorite roster of Fantastic Four heroes as well as a new villain guaranteed to send shockwaves throughout all of fandom. While Mark Waid is no stranger to Marvel’s first family, having penned a character-defining run back in 2002, Fantastic Four: Antithesis will be the first full-length Fantastic Four story ever illustrated by Neal Adams. This all-star creative team sat down for an interview with Marvel host, Lorraine Cink, to spill details about their highly anticipated series!
Fantastic Four: Antithesis features inks by Mark Farmer and color by Laura Martin.
The soaring sentinel of the space-ways may have finally met his match in the all-new series Fantastic Four: Antithesis – the first full-length Fantastic Four story ever illustrated by industry legend Neal Adams! Adams is joined by Eisner Award-winning writer Mark Waid, who jam-packs this tale with a fan-favorite roster of Fantastic Four heroes and villains! Together, this celebrated creative team create a new nemesis for the Fantastic Four guaranteed to send shockwaves throughout all of fandom.
Who or what is the Antithesis, and will the combined might of the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, and Galactus himself be enough to defeat it? Find out more when Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1 hits comic shops in August!
Fantastic Four: Antithesis is written by Waid, with art by Adams, ink by Mark Farmer, and colors by Laura Martin.
It’s been foreshadowed for a while but the Fantastic Four and X-Men clash over the future of wellbeing of Franklin Richards.
Story: Chip Zdarsky Art: Terry Dodson Ink: Rachel Dodson, Dexter Vines, Karl Story Color: Laura Martin Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Get your copy in comic shops! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Stories and artwork by Steve Orlando, Jesus Marino, Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Gail Simone, Colleen Doran, Marguerite Bennett, Laura Braga, Scott Snyder, Bryan Hitch, Mariko Tamaki, Elena Casagrande, Kami Garcia, Phil Hester, Shannon and Dean Hale, Riley Rossmo, Vita Ayala, Amancay Nahuelpan, Ramona Fradon, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Emanuela Lupacchino, Liam Sharp, Bilquis Evely and Travis Moore. Cover by Joëlle Jones and Trish Mulvihill In Shops: Jan 22, 2020 Final Orders Due: Dec 09, 2019 Prestige Format SRP: $9.99
Decade Variant covers: 1940s variant cover by Joshua Middleton 1950s variant cover by Jenny Frison 1960s variant cover by J. Scott Campbell and Sabine Rich 1970s variant cover by Olivier Coipel 1980s variant cover by George Pérez and Laura Martin 1990s variant cover by Brian Bolland 2000s variant cover by Adam Hughes 2010s variant cover by Jim Lee, Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair
AN ALL-STAR COLLECTION OF CREATIVE TALENT CELEBRATE WONDER WOMAN THIS JANUARY IN LANDMARK ISSUE
Wonder Woman #750 is an all-star 96-page celebration of the Amazon Princess by longtime favorites and acclaimed new voices! This oversized gem tells tales from Diana’s past and present, along with major implications for the future of DC’s first Super Hero! Storytellers contributing to the issue include Colleen Doran, Mariko Tamaki, and legendary Wonder Woman creators Gail Simone, Liam Sharp, Nicola Scott and Greg Rucka returning to the character! Wonder Woman #750 also features pinup artwork by Ramona Fradon, José Luis Garcia-López, Emanuela Lupacchino, Bilquis Evely and Travis Moore.
In this first look, Mariko Tamaki and Elena Casagrande show Wonder Woman’s strength; Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott test her friendship and grace; and Gail Simone, Colleen Doran, and Hi-Fi revisit her love and compassion (and bring back Star-Blossom!) to showcase Diana’s wisdom and wonder. All this and more when Wonder Woman #750 hits shelves on January 22nd, 2020.
The latest epic featuring Kraven is over but what’s next for the Wallcrawler? The Amazing Spider-Man #25 follows up on the latest story arc and begins much more to come in the future in this oversized issue!
Story: Nick Spencer, Zeb Wells, Keaton Patti Art: Ryan Ottley, Humberto Ramos, Patrick Gleason, Kev Walker, Todd Nauck, Dan Hipp Color: Nathan Fairbairn, Edgard Delgado, Dave Stewart, Laura Martin, Rachelle Rosenberg Ink: Patrick Gleason, Kev Walker Letters: Joe Caramagna
Get your copy in comic shops starting July 10! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site
Publisher: BOOM! Studios Writers: Zack Whedon, Chris Roberson Artists: Georges Jeanty, Karl Story, Stephen Byrne Colorist: Laura Martin, Loren Kindzierski, Wes Dzioba, Letterer: Michael Heisler, Cover Artist: Nimit Malavia Price: $29.99
BOOM! Studios presents the second of two Firefly Legacy Editions. Collecting all previously released Serenity comics in an all-new value-priced format, no fan can afford to miss this official follow-up to Joss Whedon’s (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) critically-acclaimed film Serenity, collected in one place for the first time!
The ‘Verse is on the brink of war, and Captain Mal and his crew are on the run from an old, unstoppable foe. With the crew scattered to the far ends of the ‘Verse, it’ll take quite a gamble to pull them back together . . . but when the chips are down, never bet against Captain Malcolm Reynolds!
Collects Leaves on the Wind #1-6, “The Warrior and the Wind” from Dark Horse FCBD 2016, and No Power in the ‘Verse #1-6.
As the penultimate issue of the series (finally) heralding Wolverines, uh, return to the Marvel Universe, Return Of Wolverine #4does an admirable job of setting up the conclusion, but there’s nothing here that really excites, either. It’s an example of a perfectly average – at best – book.
The story tries to have shocks, but fails. There’s a revelation that, presumably, should carry some weight, but either I’ve read far too many comics and books or it’s telegraphed early enough that any surprise is long gone by the time you finally get to it. The promise of the first issue has either been long spent or Charles Soule ran out of time while writing this. Soule is a really good writer, and has produced some top tier comics; this just isn’t one of his best.
Declan Shalvey does his best to bring the scores up, but while he’s very solid, there’s nothing here that pushes this comic into a Must Buy purely because of the art.
The comic’s plot is focused almost entirely on a conversation and the flashbacks that part of the story is told in, which leaves one with the feeling that not a whole lot occurs. Certainly the longer flashbacks were almost unnecessary when combined with the brief flashes we get earlier in the comic (personally I find the brief flashes have more of a weight than the full window into the past; less is more, after all). There’s very little inherently wrong with the comic, but it’s hard to recommend paying full price for an issue that doesn’t seem integral to the story when a quick recap blurb in the finale would sum up this issue in its entirety.
Unfortunately, it’s a comic that neither demands to be read nor garners enough of an emotional reaction in your humble reviewer to find a lot to talk about. It’s simply very okay. That’s not always a bad thing, but neither is it a particularly great thing, either. As the oft used phrase goes, “it is what it is.”
And that’s very average.
Return Of Wolverine #4 is a comic that’s far from bad, but struggles to be anything more that pretty good. At the end of the day, for the price of this comic, I expected more.
Story: Charles Soule Art: Declan Shalvey Colours: Laura Martin Letters: VC’s Joe Sabino Story: 6.2 Art: 7.6 Overall: 6.6 Recommendation: Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
