Royal Jelly: December 23 2015

ART OPS #3
DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #2 (OF 8)
ISLAND #5
JUPITERS CIRCLE VOL 2 #2
LAST GANG IN TOWN #1 (OF 7)
PRETTY DEADLY #7
SAGA #32
VENUS #1

Not going to go into detail on today's list. Looking forward to checking out Boom Studios new title Venus. The cover reminded me a little manga style and I've been looking for a new sci fi book. So I'm excited !! More later!

Upcoming Comic: The Discipline

Image Comics just released a press release about an intriguing new comic book. I got sucked in even before I read that one of my all-time favorite writers is the man responsible. Peter Milligan has teamed up with Leandro Fernandez (Queen & Country) to bring us a new series about sex, death, and metamorphosis. I am excited!! I love Milligan. He's quoted as saying, 

“This might be the edgiest story I've written,” said Milligan. “In most ‘erotic thrillers’ sex is the end-game, the objective. In The Discipline the erotic charge is simply a step towards something stranger, darker… beyond human.”

The story centers around Melissa who becomes tangled in a seduction that isn't all it seems. That's pretty much all the information that has been released but I think the cover is what really says it all!

This series won't be hitting stores until March 2nd but you can pre-order using this diamond code: JAN160523

Royal Jelly: December 16 2015

ATTACK ON TITAN GN VOL 17
BEAUTY #5
DESCENDER #8
FROM UNDER MOUNTAINS #3
EMPTY ZONE TP VOL 1 CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEAD
HUCK #2
I HATE FAIRYLAND #3
LUCIFER #1
SPIRE #5 (OF 8)
TOKYO GHOST #4

Lots of lovely ogodies but this week I am MOST excited about Lucifer #1 !!  Vertigo is rebooted one of my favorite titles. That charismatic fallen angel is back in a new series written by Holly Black.  The only other Vertigo contributions from this writer would be the graphic novel A Flight of Angels which I admit I haven't read. It was released back in 2012 and I'm afraid I can't personally speak to its quality. Lovely art from the looks of it. Black is more widely known for being the co-writer of the children's book The Spiderwick Chronicles which was spurned off the coat-tails of Harry Potter. You know... that crazy fantasy based childrens stuff that flooded the market over 15 years ago and hasn't really gone away (well now it's mostly apocalyptic and dystopian thanks to the Hunger Games).  

I'm not sure why Vertigo keeps taking on these new writers lately. It's not a bad thing exactly, it's just really strange to me when there are so many successful writers that they've used over the years and made amazing series. Perhaps Carey didn't want the job. Mike Carey of Hellblazer, Lucifer, Unwritten, etc.

At any rate, I have high hopes that this will be an amazing series. I hope Mike Carey comes back to at least write a guest piece. :) 

Exclusive Interview with Ed Brisson & Lisandro Estherren: The Last Contract

 It is my pleasure to bring you this exclusive interview with Ed Brisson (CLUSTER, 24:UNDERGROUND) and Argentina based designer Lisandro Estherren on their upcoming collaboration THE LAST CONTACT available Jan 13th! Today is the final day for pre-ordering the first issues of this highly anticipated crime series from Boom Studios!

TFQ: Where did the inspiration for this story come from? How did you begin to develop The Last Contract?

ED BRISSON: THE LAST CONTRACT was a weird one for me. Normally, I'll carry story ideas around for months, maybe years, let them gestate and develop. However, THE LAST CONTRACT wasn't like that at all. I was pitching a bunch of ideas to [BOOM! editor] Eric [Harburn] for a follow-up series to CLUSTER and nothing was really sticking. I think we'd burned through about 10 or 15 ideas that I had and none of them was really right—regardless of how long I'd been sitting on them.

Eric asked if I had anything else, and I didn't, but said that I'd always wanted to do a hitman story and Eric asked for more info—the thing was, I didn't have a idea. I just knew that I wanted to do a hitman story. So, I did was anyone else in my position would do: Fake it til you make it.
I sat down and literally made up the story in my email response. I was completely flying by the seat of my pants, spinning out an idea of an 80-year-old retired hitman who finds himself in the crosshairs of someone who wants revenge for something that happened over 20 years earlier. I didn't want this to be like a Liam Neeson-style retired hitman; I wanted to do something where it's a clearly geriatric, forgot-where-he-put-his-glasses-even-though-they're-on-his-face style of older, retired man. Once I nailed that part of it, it's like the flood gates opened and I had what I felt was a real interesting story on my hands.

TFQ: What kind of action can we expect to see in this story? Will it be a fast paced adventure or more focused on interpersonal relationships and introspective character development? 

BRISSON: There's going to be quite a lot of action and dark humour, but much of the story is going to focus on The Man coming face to face with the people who've been impacted by all the lives he snuffed out. Even 20-plus years after his retirement, the rippling effects of his actions are still prevalent, the wounds still raw.

TFQ: How did the two of you come together to collaborate on this book?

Variant by Vanessa R Del Ray

BRISSON: Eric and [assistant editor] Cameron [Chittock] had a bunch of artists that they've been wanting to work with and sent me their portfolios to look at. They probably wanted to strangle me during this process because I tend to be really picky about who I work with and kept passing on artists. I wanted to make sure that the art suited the story. So, while there were plenty of good artists presented, great artists even, none of them felt right.

Then they showed me Lisandro's portfolio.

I instantly knew that he was the right artist for the job. Thankfully, he was available and seemed really into the story.

Once the pages started coming in...man...there's NO ONE else who could have drawn this book. People are going to be blown away by his work. Every time new pages come into my inbox, my jaw hits the ground. Just amazing.

TFQ: Lisandro, could you tell me a little bit about your artistic process? How did you develop the atmosphere for this series? Are there any references you used to develop the settings and character appearances?

LISANDRO ESTHERREN: Yes, there is a primary mood that we set from the start. We are making a gritty crime story, so we needed a strong, heavy, black-and-white look, but also trying to add the subtleness of the greytones that helps to modulate the light values.

About references, part of my job is to follow close to the script, to study some realistic settings, and dig out its nature to make the storytelling more interesting. The character development follows a similar process: close study of the references, sketch a lot, and push the features beyond to find the proper look. I think the readers will enjoy this creative run.

Royal Jelly: December 9th 2015

CODENAME BABOUSHKA: CONCLAVE OF DEATH #3
CONSTANTINE THE HELLBLAZER #7
HARROW COUNTY #8
HEAD LOPPER #2
IZUNA DELUXE HC
MONSTRESS #2
NEW ROMANCER #1 (OF 12)
NO MERCY #5

Here's my awesome list for today!! I'm truly excited about everything on this list. First of all, please check out my interview with Antony Johnston on Codename Baboushka!  

I want to mention that Izuna, which takes place in the same universe as Humanoids previous release Legend of the Scarlet Blades. I was a massive fan of that book and when I heard about the North American release of Izuna, I kinda melted! I mean look at the cover!!!!

Finally, I just wanted to mention that one of my favorite writers of all time has a new series!! This 12 issue series debuts from Vertigo! Peter Miligan brings us New Romancer! I can't wait! :D

SNOW BLIND #1

Here's a book I could not miss and you shouldn't either. Tyler Jenkins (Neverboy) and Ollie Masters (The Kitchen) have teamed up to bring us a four part mini series debuting this Wednesday, December 9th. Just before Christmas!

The story begins with an introverted teenager who breaks into libraries to sit and read books after hours. It becomes apparently quickly that the secrets his family has been keeping from him are about to unravel.  As always I won't spoil the plot.

Of course you might remember me praising the work of Tyler Jenkins previously. His work can be mistaken for no one else and his character design is distinctive and pronounced. What I enjoy most about Tyler's characters is his ability to accurately illustrate the state of mind of his character. This book accurate echoes the loneliness, complacency and even frustration which is felt by the characters instead of relying of script to do so which is ALL too common in comics right now.

Equally, Masters has weaved an inner monologue to take you into the deep recesses of Teddy's mind. I screamed about The Kitchen more times than I care to admit and I must have got half the people I know to grab the trade. Master's is a master of the inner monologue. It's something I personally admire.

So I know I haven't been writing many reviews lately! I shall apologize now! I'm still reading lots and I think you should check out this gem from Boom Studios. I've been really happy with all the series coming from Boom this year. It's nearing the end of their 10th Anniversary year and I think it's been an excellent year of solid releases from a fantastic label I hope to see them around for another ten years of great content.

Tipping Point

I'm so grateful for being able to read this pre-release. Tipping Point is being released by Humanoids in January of the new year! What an amazing way to start the year. I love anthologies and I adore short comics.

This anthology includes 15 of some of the worlds most celebrated sequential artists. They have each contributed stories where a tipping point forms mentally, emotionally, physically and rides the line between reality and perception.

Contributing artists include:Boulet, Eddie Campbell, John Cassaday, Bob Fingerman, Atsushi Kaneko, Keiichi Koike, Emmanuel Lepage, Taiyô Matsumoto, Frederik Peeters, Paul Pope, Katsuya Terada, Naoki Urasawa, Bastien Vivès  and a brilliant cover created by the amazing Enki Bilal.

Obviously, there are some big names in that list. A couple of my favorites which got me excited for this release are of course, Paul Pope, Bastien Vivès (who you will remember me raving about after reading Last Man this year which just made it to North American readers in English!) and Naoki Urasawa (of Monster, Pluto, 20th Century Boys). Some of the stories take place on Earth as a sort of "Slice of Life" type story while others are pure science fiction and some mythological.

I have to say that my favorite contribution comes from Naoki Urasawa which emotionally lingers long after you've moved onto the next story. It's impossible not to adore his artwork and I really enjoyed the more minimalistic approach he took for this short. Although all shorts are equally through provoking, this is my favorite from the collection.

Please check out the awesome video trailer for the book on the Humanoids Website. I'm only sad this didn't make it out for Christmas as it really would make an amazing gift for that comic lover on your list. I would suggest making a pre-order on Amazon as it will be pleasant belated gift when it ships to their door in January.

Royal Jelly: DECEMBER 2015

ALL NEW INHUMANS #1
ALL NEW X-MEN #1
CARVER PARIS STORY #1
HARROW COUNTY TP VOL 1 COUNTLESS HAINTS
JIM HENSONS STORYTELLER DRAGONS #1
MYSTERY GIRL #1
PLUTONA #3
PAPER GIRLS #3
PRIVATE EYE DLX ED HC
X’ED #1

Alright I must apologize for the lack of reviews and posts. I recently hurt my right arm at the gym and typing for extended periods of time is pretty uncomfortable. That being said, I just threw together this list quickly. LOL!! I shoved two Marvel titles on there, I wanted to remind my friend Joey that the All New Inhumans begins today, but really, I just want to remind people about the amazing books that ARE NOT from the big two. Plutona being one of my favorite new books and Brian K Vaughan's latest book Private Eye which is out on hardcover. Also, check out Black Masks' latest series X'ED because that cover is BAD ASS.