It’s new comic book day! What are you all getting? What are you excited for? Sound off in the comments below. While you wait for comic shops to open, here’s some comic news from around the web.
The elevator pitch for Wyatt Kennedy and Luana Vecchio’s Bolero goes something like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Locke & Key. If that doesn’t sell a comic, what does? But to lay claim to that comparison means setting expectations sky high. Fortunately, the comic more than lives up to the stories it namedrops.
Bolero #1 follows Devyn “Dagger” Dagny, a tattoo artist that gets her heart very, very broken—shattered, even—by Natasha, the person that Devyn will go through a whole multiverse to either get back with or forget.
By multiverses I mean literal multiverses. Devyn is given the opportunity to travel precisely 53 universes using a mother key, given to her by a very curious and cuddly creature, that allows her to move between them. A set of rules comes with the mother key, all which are basically set up to be broken later on. These range from not speaking to the being that offers the key to not traveling beyond the number of universes agreed upon.
Kennedy, who scripts the story, takes most of the first issue to lock the emotional hooks in place for Devyn’ multiversal journey, in which she’ll experience the different possibilities and forms her relationship with Natasha could take. The jumps in time, space, and bodies the comic promises is in short supply in this first entry, but the premise is well put together and shows no signs of letting up on the emotions-shattering rollercoaster ride Kennedy hopes to take us on in future issues.
Vecchio’s art possesses a dream-like quality to it that lends itself perfectly to the type of universe-hopping experience Bolero is aiming for. Characters move across the comics page with a floaty sense of rhythm that imbues the storytelling with a kind of musicality to it that makes everything come together beautifully. Moments of bliss are magical, whereas moments of pain feel like someone is prodding inside you with a cold and indiscriminate medical apparatus without anesthesia. Vecchio’s work is quite simply a marvel to behold in Bolero.
The art is given an extra bump in the magic department with a similarly dreamy and light approach to the lettering, made possible by Brandon Graham. Dialogues unspool like memories one plays over and over again in their mind after a particularly bad breakup. Graham takes the concept and applies it with a careful use of hazy lines and unstable word balloons that capture the raw emotions that hang over every word. It’s a highlight of the book and it shows deep consideration for the vision of the story.
Bolero #1 is a primer on love, pain, and loss that prepares readers for a deeply intimate and rough story that is sure to connect on many levels. It’s a world of possibilities I can’t wait to dive into, no matter how hard things will most definitely get for Devyn and Natasha as they go through 53 variations of their doomed relationship.
Story: Wyatt Kennedy Art: Luana Vecchio Lettering: Brandon Graham Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy along with a box of Kleenex and a bucket of ice cream.
Image Comics providedGraphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
The elevator pitch for Wyatt Kennedy and Luana Vecchio’s Bolero goes something like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Locke & Key. If that doesn’t sell a comic, what does? But to lay claim to that comparison means setting expectations sky high. Fortunately, the comic more than lives up to the stories it namedrops.
Bolero #1 follows Devyn “Dagger” Dagny, a tattoo artist that gets her heart very, very broken—shattered, even—by Natasha, the person that Devyn will go through a whole multiverse to either get back with or forget.
By multiverses I mean literal multiverses. Devyn is given the opportunity to travel precisely 53 universes using a mother key, given to her by a very curious and cuddly creature, that allows her to move between them. A set of rules comes with the mother key, all which are basically set up to be broken later on. These range from not speaking to the being that offers the key to not traveling beyond the number of universes agreed upon.
Kennedy, who scripts the story, takes most of the first issue to lock the emotional hooks in place for Devyn’ multiversal journey, in which she’ll experience the different possibilities and forms her relationship with Natasha could take. The jumps in time, space, and bodies the comic promises is in short supply in this first entry, but the premise is well put together and shows no signs of letting up on the emotions-shattering rollercoaster ride Kennedy hopes to take us on in future issues.
Vecchio’s art possesses a dream-like quality to it that lends itself perfectly to the type of universe-hopping experience Bolero is aiming for. Characters move across the comics page with a floaty sense of rhythm that imbues the storytelling with a kind of musicality to it that makes everything come together beautifully. Moments of bliss are magical, whereas moments of pain feel like someone is prodding inside you with a cold and indiscriminate medical apparatus without anesthesia. Vecchio’s work is quite simply a marvel to behold in Bolero.
The art is given an extra bump in the magic department with a similarly dreamy and light approach to the lettering, made possible by Brandon Graham. Dialogues unspool like memories one plays over and over again in their mind after a particularly bad breakup. Graham takes the concept and applies it with a careful use of hazy lines and unstable word balloons that capture the raw emotions that hang over every word. It’s a highlight of the book and it shows deep consideration for the vision of the story.
Bolero #1 is a primer on love, pain, and loss that prepares readers for a deeply intimate and rough story that is sure to connect on many levels. It’s a world of possibilities I can’t wait to dive into, no matter how hard things will most definitely get for Devyn and Natasha as they go through 53 variations of their doomed relationship.
Story: Wyatt Kennedy Art: Luana Vecchio Lettering: Brandon Graham Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy along with a box of Kleenex and a bucket of ice cream.
Image Comics providedGraphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
TODD McFarlane Productions is to provide the free preview comic to be bundled with the inaugural issue of the American edition of Multiverse. While details have yet to be finalized, TMP will begin the 20th anniversary celebrations of its flagship character with a giveaway featuring not only fan favorite Spawn but also Haunt and a plethora of other exclusive material.
Published by Hell Freezes Over through Ardden Entertainment, Multiverse #1 will be available in February 2012 to coincide with the brand new London Super Comic Con and The Image Comics Expo celebrating 20 years of publishing.
Priced at an introductory $4.99, Multiverse features news, reviews, interviews and an insider view of the industry as well as previews of up and coming titles. It is compiled and edited by veteran comicbook journalist and author Mike Conroy, who said, “Spawn was one of the titles that helped launch the 1990s comics boom and I’m delighted that Todd and his crew have chosen Multiverse to kick off their celebrations.”
Commenting on the launch of the magazine and the inclusion of the free TMP comic, Ardden co-publisher Richard Emms said, “We (Ardden) are very excited to be publishing one of the coolest comicbook news magazines this industry has ever seen and to be giving away a free Todd McFarlane comic is a dream come true for our launch in February.
“2011 has seen the rise and rise of the comic book industry and 2012 looks set to build on that success. It’s the perfect time to be releasing a magazine like Multiverse and we are certain that fans will embrace the concept,” he added.
Multiverse #1 is being offered on page 239 of the current Previews (for February-shipping product) under order codes DEC110838 and DEC110839.
IT’S THE magazine I, Vampire writer Joshua Hale Fialkov hails as “beautifully designed, with a modern, smart sensibility about mainstream comics that’s been missing from print comics journalism for a long time” and it will be available in the US for the first time in February.
In conjunction with Ardden Entertainment, British-based Hell Freezes Over is launching a US edition of its flagship title. Highly regarded not only by its readers but also by comics professionals, whether they be writers, artists, editors or publishers, Multiverse is the full color magazine that prompted one reader to say: “The content is informed, easy to read, lacks post-modern nonsense and packed into a well-structured format. I loved the balance of popular heroes and emerging or independent coverage with what comes across as educated and balanced prose.”
Multiverse is Britain’s leading comics magazine. Promotionally priced at $4.99, the first issue of the 68-page American version is being offered on page 239 of the current Previews (for February-shipping product) under order codes DEC110838 and DEC110839.
Discussing the title, publisher/editor Mike Conroy said, “Its main focus will unashamedly be the popular – read commercial – end of the business. That’s not just the ubiquitous superheroes but Star Wars, Star Trek, G.I. Joe, Transformers and similar spin-offs and licenced titles alongside zombies, vampires and other such horrors.
“Even so,” continued the veteran comics author/historian, “we certainly won’t be neglecting the innovators out there on the cutting edge, whether their print run is 100 or 100,000. We’ll be covering their latest titles as they continue to expand the boundaries of our medium.
“My goal has always been to produce an entertaining title that occupies the middle ground between the late Wizard and the moved-to-another-plane Comics Journal – that is just straightforward reportage without to the hype or the cerebral dissection. I think Multiverse is that magazine,” Conroy concluded.
