Tag Archives: panel

Dragon Con 2016: Team “Motor Crush” Hosts Panel, Talks Bad Bitches on Bikes

img_1757If you were at Dragon Con this year, you might have been wondering just who that lovely looking lady with the nail studded cricket bat on your badge was. The answer to that is Domino Swift, the protagonist of the upcoming Image Comics series Motor Crush! While Domino was all over roughly 77,000 badges this past Labor Day weekend, an even smaller number got an early look into Motor Crush on Saturday afternoon when the panel took place.

Fans of the Batgirl of Burnside will immediately recognize the creative team behind Motor Crush. Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, and Babs Tarr are continuing their work as a unit with this new book that’s being released on December 7. In fact, this book has been in the works for some time, with the three of them starting to talk about revamping an old pitch Fletcher had done for Oni Press back in the early 2000s around the time issue 3 or 4 of Batgirl had come out.

In fact, the team admitted that one of the reasons they had started work on Motor Crush around then is that they were told that Batgirl might only run six issues due to impending cancellation. We know now that isn’t what happened, but the team did decide to walk away from Batgirl to work on this series. No hard feelings between them and DC though. They’re proud of their work on the series (even if Frankie didn’t get to be Oracle) and had nothing but nice things to say about DC editor Mark Doyle.

As for Motor Crush though, we’re about to see a whole different animal from Stewart, Fletcher, and Tarr. Described as “Bad Bitches, the comic” by Tarr, the story follows up and coming Domino in a world where motorcycle racing is the primary form of entertainment. However, at night, she’s running a great risk to herself, her family and her career by competing in illegal and violent street races for something known as Crush, a “machine narcotic” used to boost engines in races. At the start of the series, one driver has already died in a crash from it. So the main question of the series becomes why is Domino competing for it?

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Fletcher, Stewart and Tarr hope to answer that question over the course of the series, which should run for at least 15 issues, if not more! The series is much more cohesive between the three of them, with Tarr contributing a lot more to the plot as well as doing her own colors while Stewart has been confirmed as the letterer for the series along with layouts. Tarr is also taking a more traditional route with the art this time, using a mix of traditional and digital art for the series along with hand lettering sound effects. She says being able to ink traditionally has helped her a lot in her creative process by allowing her to not spend all day on her computer noodling with one particular line.

What’s this more cohesive process between the three of them been like? “We argue a lot,” Stewart responded, only half-jokingly.

Still, that arguing must be paying off. As a special treat to the attendees of the panel, the three gave away copies of the #0 issue, which is technically the ashcan of the first half of #1. The setting of Nova Honda, which was inspired by both the good and bad parts of Rio de Janeiro and the colors of Miami, is lush and colorful and what little we get to see of the characters so far, they’re a delightful and intriguing bunch. The Willow Smith influence on the way Domino carries herself is especially felt.

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As for the series itself, not only will it deliver set up in the first arc, but the first five issues will include a prologue to Fletcher’s other Image series Isola, which is also being helmed by Gotham Academy co-creator Karl Kerschl. Fletcher describes the series as being very Miyazaki-esque and violent, but in a different way from violence of Motor Crush.It’s brutal to your heart and less to your face,” he said on the panel.

I’ve been intrigued by Motor Crush since its announcement, but the Motor Crush takeover of Dragon Con has definitely had me wanting more of the world of Nova Honda. Between the enthusiasm from the creators and the first ten-page bite given to us, I cannot wait to have more of this high energy, bad bitches on bikes book in my life.

As for the badges, I don’t know who was more excited: Tarr for seeing her art everywhere or me telling strangers about Tarr and Motor Crush.

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Motor Crush comes out December 7 and can be pre-ordered through your local comic shop. (Definitely get on that because as he said on the panel, Stewart is trying to buy a house.)

Baltimore Comic Con 2010 – Top Cow Panel


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Ron Marz, Nelson Blake II, Filip SablikI sat down at one of the Baltimore Comic Con panels to see what my friends at Top Cow had to say about what we can expect and hear them dish on a little insight into their comic making madness.

On the panel was über writer Ron Marz, artist Nelson Blake II and Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik.  Here’s some of what they had to say.

  • Artifacts brings together the fantasy and science fiction aspects of the Top Cow universe together.Ron Marz
  • At the stories heart is Sara Pezzini and Jackie Estacado’s search for their daughter Hope and challenges them both to see how far they’ll go, what lines they’ll cross and what they’ll do to get their child back.
  • Marz described the event as a Michael Bay movie but with characters on top of the action.
  • Marz then went to talk about the overall writing philosophy of Top Cow and that you shouldn’t need a degree in continuity to enjoy a comic.  It’s basic writing 101 in that a comic should be accessible for new and old readers alike.  Artifacts is especially written to make sure that’s the case.
  • Artifacts #1 is going back for a third printing, the first Top Cow comic to do so.
  • The panel went on to talk about the Velocity mini-series and how the original project was scrapped due to creator disagreement.  A pitch by Marz when he stepped in to write the series was to have it be a relay race where Nelson Blake IIeach issue is handed off to a new writer and artist.
  • Nelson Blake II described Magdalena as “a symptom of what’s going on in the Top Cow universe.  It’s all part of the same vision.”
  • There was lots of discussion in how creating comics needs to be a collaborative project between the writers and the artists and Top Cow makes sure that’s the case.  Other companies take an assembly line approach to production.  The writer creates the script and artist draws what they write.
  • When it comes to the overall universe Filip stated that you should be able to buy just one comic book series if you like and enjoy it on it’s own, but ifFilip Sablik you purchase everything, you should be rewarded with a richer story.
  • They’ve launched some graphic novels for $5 to get you, the readers, to take a chance on the series (they’re worth it).  They’ve even launched one that has six first issues for $5 understanding the economy is tough and it’s more difficult for individuals to try out and take a chance on a new series.
  • When it comes to a Witchblade movie, the funding is in place but they haven’t gotten a script they like and have gone through 3 or 4 scripts.  They’d rather have no movie than put out crap.

Interesting Panels from Comic Con 08

I unfortunately have not been to a Comic Con yet (next year I swear I’ll be there). Instead I’ve been watching to coverage provided by so many other sites. A part of conventions are not just the interesting displays on the floor or the dealers room, but they are often packed with interesting panels where you can interact with some of the creators and artists.

Two that I noticed have some greater social outlook than the usual, whats next with series so and so. Comic Book Resources has a nice recap of the two.

The Black Panel covers African American contributions to comic book and entertainment.

Women in Marvel is a panel of the talented female staffers at Marvel comics.

IGN also has an interview with the female force behind the new Marvel Cloak & Dagger series, touching about women in the industry.