Tag Archives: mata hari

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

Each week our contributors are choosing up to five books and why they’re choosing the books. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Black Panther Annual #1 (Marvel) – Some of Black Panther’s greatest creators return for this annual.

Deathbed #1 (Vertigo) – We’ve read it, it’s amazing and entertaining. A writer is hired to tell the life of a mysterious person… then the twist happens.

Fence #4 (BOOM! Studios) – A wonderful series that takes the best of sports focused manga and gives it a Western twist. Every issues is fantastic.

Hit-Girl #1 (Image Comics) – The Kick-Ass reboot was a mixed bag but we’re hoping this one will be better.

Infinity Countdown: Prime #1 (Marvel) – Marvel’s next event is gearing up and we’re excited to see where it goes.

James Bond: The Body #2 (Dynamite Entertainment) – Have you read the first issue!? Bond recounts tales as to how he received the scars he has. A fantastic way to frame the story.

Mata Hari #1 (Dark Horse/Berger Books) – A new release from Berger Books is on our radar and a series we’re automatically looking forward to checking out.

Punks Not Dead #1 (IDW Publishing/Black Crown) – A new release from Black Crown is on our radar and a series we’re automatically looking forward to checking out.

Quantum and Woody #3 (Valiant) – One of the most entertaining superhero comics on the market. The team up will keep you entertained from the action and the laughter.

Rust Vol. 4 (BOOM! Studios/Archaia) – If you’ve read the first three volumes of this series, you know why it’s on this list. From the beautiful art to the amazing storytelling, this volume wraps up the series about a mechanical boy trying to live his life post war. We’re expecting a tearjerker.

A First Look at Berger Book’s Mata Hari #1, Out this February

Mata Hari, the infamous “stripper spy” lived a colorful life that came to a dark end. The woman who claimed she was born a Javanese princess died a figure of public hatred when she was executed by a French firing squad in 1917. A century after her death, questions are still raised about her conviction, her life, and the line between fact and fiction.

Now, breakout talent writer Emma Beeby, artist Ariela Kristantina, and colorist Pat Masioni tell the intriguing and often tragic tale of the original femme fatale in this carefully researched series, which includes information from original MI5 files.

The first issue of Mata Hari introduces us to the controversial figure on the eve of her execution as she writes her memoir, walking the line between the romantic tale of a Javanese princess who performed “sacred” nude dances for Europe’s elite, and a real-life saga of a disgraced wife and mother who lost everything in her fight for what she believed was right.

But, as she sits trial for treason and espionage, we hear another tale, of a flamboyant Dutch woman who became “the most dangerous spy France has ever captured”–a double agent who whored herself for secrets, lived a life of scandal, and loved only money. Leading us to ask . . . who was the real Mata Hari?

Mata Hari #1 (of five) is on sale February 21, 2018 from Berger Books and Dark Horse.

Berger Books Details Revealed

In early 2017, Dark Horse announced Berger Books, a new line of creator-owned comic books and graphic novels, from Karen Berger, the legendary, award-winning comic book editor and founder of DC Comics’ influential imprint Vertigo. Today, Dark Horse has revealed the new imprint’s premiere titles. Berger Books will release four new comics series, each to be later collected as a graphic novel: Hungry Ghosts by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose; Incognegro: Renaissance by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece; Mata Hari by Emma Beeby and Ariela Kristantina, and The Seeds by Ann Nocenti and David Aja. Berger Books will also publish a tenth-anniversary edition of Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece and The Originals: The Essential Edition by Dave Gibbons.

Author, chef and Emmy award-winning television star Anthony Bourdain and acclaimed writer Joel Rose tell haunting tales of terror, irritable spirits, and horribly strange beings in Hungry Ghosts, a four-issue anthology series including art by Vanesa Del Rey, Leo Manco, Alberto Ponticelli, Paul Pope, and Mateus Santolouco. Inspired by the Japanese Edo Period game Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai or 100 Candles, played by samurai warriors to test their courage, Hungry Ghosts reimagines this classic game of dread and terror as a circle of international chefs invoke modern tales of horror, terrifying yokai, yorei, and obake, all with the common thread of food. Hungry Ghosts #1 goes on sale January 31, 2018.

Acclaimed novelist Mat Johnson  and veteran artist Warren Pleece reunite for Incognegro: Renaissance, a new prequel series that follows cub reporter Zane Pinchback through the glittering nightlife of the Harlem Renaissance as he goes undercover, passing as white, for the first time. The first issue (of five) goes on sale February 7, 2018. This new series is a perfect companion to the tenth-anniversary edition of the 2008 Vertigo graphic novel, Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery. Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery features enhanced toned art, an afterword by Mat Johnson, character sketches, and other additional material. Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery finds Zane Pinchback, a reporter for the New York-based New Holland Herald, sent to investigate the arrest of his own brother, charged with the brutal murder of a white woman in Mississippi. With a lynch mob already swarming, Zane must stay “incognegro” long enough to uncover the truth behind the murder in order to save his brother—and himself. Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery goes on sale February 6, 2018, and is available for preorder on Amazon, Penguin Random House, and at your local comic shop.

Breakout talent, writer Emma Beeby and artist Ariela Kristantina join together for a new five-issue series based on the controversial and historical figure, Mata Hari. Mata Hari is notorious as the original “stripper-spy”: exotic dancer, convicted double agent, and femme fatale. Executed by a French firing squad in 1917, many have since questioned the conviction. A century after her death, Mata Hari tells her story through fictional diary excerpts, drawn from biographies of the real woman whose past has been shrouded in mystery by both the lies of her accusers and the outlandish stories she told about herself. The first issue of Mata Hari goes on sale February 21, 2018.

Award-winning artist David Aja and filmmaker, journalist and writer Ann Nocenti team up for The Seeds, a new four-issue series. In an imminent America where fact-based reporting is gasping its last breath, an idealistic journalist stumbles into the story of a lifetime, only to realize that she can’t report it. Instead, she has to pitch the biggest myth of her career. An eco-fiction tech-thriller where flora and fauna have begun to mutate, The Seeds is also a story of love beyond race and gender, and of the resilience of both human and animal kind. The first issue of The Seeds goes on sale March 28, 2018.

The Originals: The Essential Edition is an oversized new edition of Vertigo’s 2004 Eisner award-winning graphic novel from comics legend, Dave Gibbons. In a retro-futuristic city of industrial gray where hover scooters, music, and drugs rule the street, The Originals are the toughest, most stylish gang around. For two childhood friends, nothing is more important than being one of them, but being part of the crowd will bring its own deadly consequences. This new edition includes 32 pages of never-before-seen development art, process pieces, and behind the scenes extras—all annotated by Gibbons. The Originals: The Essential Edition goes on sale April 18, 2018.

Review – Mata Hari


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Radical Premiere Mata Hari CoverI didn’t know what to expect with this pseudo biography of the famous Mata Hari.  I know the name, but I’d imagine like many, know nothing of the famous femme fatale.

From Rich Wilkes (xXx), a look into the most notorious woman of her time, Mata Hari, debuting in a special $1.00 Radical Premiere, previewing the upcoming graphic novel.

What is the secret story behind femme fatale Mata Hari, the most famous female spy in the world? Through the account of a humble eighteen-year-old girl, discover the secrets of the famous heroine, her covert missions and the love that made her lose everything.

The short premiere of the graphic novel coming out next year we learn about this character who turns out was a spy and executed for espionage.  I called the comic a pseudo biography as much of the details of her espionage is sealed and some of the events are fabricated for the stories sake.  Rich Wilkes admits that in the comic, and I applaud him for it.

The comic is $1 and it definitely has me interested.  The story is fascinating, even more so because it’s (semi)true.  The writing is pretty good and the art also pleasing on the eyes.  Overall, for $1 how can you go wrong.

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Preview – Radical Premiere: Mata Hari

Official Press Release

RADICAL PREMIERE: MATA HARI

Creator and Writer RICH WILKES
Artist ROY ALLAN MARTINEZ
Colorist DRAZENKA KIMPEL
Letterer TODD KLEIN
Cover Artist TAMÁS GÁSPÁR

Price: $1.00
Page Count: 24
Format: Full Color

From Rich Wilkes (xXx), a look into the most notorious woman of her time, Mata Hari, debuting in a special $1.00 Radical Premiere, previewing the upcoming graphic novel.

What is the secret story behind femme fatale Mata Hari, the most famous female spy in the world? Through the account of a humble eighteen-year-old girl, discover the secrets of the famous heroine, her covert missions and the love that made her lose everything.

Radical Premiere Mata Hari Cover