NYCC: ‘Marvel Contest of Champions’: Gameplay and New Character Reveal

This year at New York Comic Con we stopped by the Kabam booth to try our hands at the latest from Contest of Champions. The mobile game features Marvel characters in head to head fighting action and has the distinction of adding new heroes and villains into the Marvel Universe. Have you been following the adventures of Venompool, Civil Warrior and Guillotine?

No, you, haven’t because these are brand new properties introduced exclusively for Contest of Champions.

We spoke with Contest of Champions design director Tim Molyneux on the New York Comic Con floor and he talked us through his job and what we can expect from the future, including the introduction of mystic character Morningstar and other new characters soon to be unlocked on a tablet or phone near you.

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Dan Panosian Talks ‘Slots’ at FORCES OF GEEK

Artist Dan Panosian is best known for his work on Marvel and Image books as penciller and inker. Remember those sweet fake X-Men books in the movie Logan? Yup, Dan did those too. Dan joins us today to talk about his bold new crime redemption story from Skybound, Slots. He also reminisces about the early days of Image Comics, why he decided to break into storytelling with Slots at Skybound/Image, and what the future holds for his hero, Stanley Dance.

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FOG!:  What can you tell us about Slots and your lead character Stanley Dance?

Dan Panosian: Stanley is the guy who made every selfish decision that most normal people would deem far too indulgent . We can all look back and wonder what our lives would be like if we took some left turns here and there. But generally we’re reasonable and responsible.

Stanley always listened to the devil on his shoulder and brushed off the angel. Consequently, he doesn’t have many friends or family left. Or chances for that matter.  He’s pretty much done.  That’s where we start off.

We’ve been a fan of your art for a long time, what made you want to tell this particular story as the writer and artist?

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FOG! Chats With Sean Mackiewicz, About His New Image Comics Series, ‘Gasolina’ at FORCES OF GEEK

Skybound editor Sean Mackiewicz joins us today to talk about his latest writing project, Gasolina, from Image Comics. The desert drug lord adventure comic is already off into some interesting and somewhat scary places. Sean tells us what makes Gasolina burn so bright before the first issue hits the shelves later this month on September 20th.

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FOG!: Sean, you’re known for your Skybound editorial position. What inspired you to shift gears and get behind the writer’s chair?

Sean Mackiewicz: Finding the right idea.

Skybound’s been very encouraging in allowing employees to pursue creative projects outside of their main job, and I just couldn’t shake this idea. Doing a modern-day western with incredible vistas and gun fights against cartels armed with some truly gnarly “weapons”… and balancing it with newlyweds just trying to navigate and survive this messed up situation? I like challenging myself.

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‘LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain’ (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

‘LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain’ (review)

August 9, 2017 by Clay N. Ferno

The DC Super Hero Girls are back in LEGO form for this latest animated feature, LEGO DC Super Hero Girls: Brain Drain. Starring Wonder Woman (Grey Griffin), Supergirl (Anais Fairweather) and Batgirl (Ashlyn Nicole Selich), the students of Super Hero High face an unknown threat and try to solve the mystery of the High School’s amnesia from being brainwashed.

Don’t expect The LEGO Movie twist on these familiar characters, quite the opposite, this movie, while bricked up, sits nicely in the Super Hero High storyline and current loose and fun take on the DC Universe established in 2015 with the DC Super Hero Girls brand since 2015.

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‘Reborn: Book One’ (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

There is lots to love in Reborn, Mark Millar’s highly anticipated team up with Batman artist Greg Capullo. These master storytellers comment on aging, the afterlife, superheroes and large scale fantasy in a way that only Millar can.

Millar’s strength always at the base is taking a genre and re-presenting it to the comic book masses. From Kick-Ass‘ Spider-Man fantasy to Kingsmen‘s James Bond/Nick Fury spy stories, the genre gets inverted in Millar’s world.

Reborn, is more Excalibur meets Dungeons & Dragons and Conan The Barbarian meets Willow, than it is a story of what might happen when you die. In the battle between Adystria vs. The Dark Lands we’re immersed in a colorful fantasy world with a hero’s journey.

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FOG! Requisitions Answers From Newly Enlisted ‘G.I. Joe’ Writer Aubrey Sitterson - FORCES OF GEEK

He may be the latest-born writer on a regular G.I.Joe property, but Aubrey Sitterson has distilled his interpretation of the team into a military sci-fi property that earns the title “The Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe”. With a Transformer on the team and an awesome new headquarters, Aubrey joined us today to talk G.I. Joe, The Hasbro Universe and what we can expect after the latest Hasbro event First Strike!

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FOG!: Yo, Joe! Thanks for taking the time to talk Joe with us! What brings you to the IDW Joe Universe? How did you end up taking over for this season?

Aubrey Sitterson: Last year I wrote the fan-favorite Street Fighter x G.I. Joe, which was not only beloved by readers, but by Hasbro themselves. They dug the high-energy take on the Joes, one where they all felt like unique characters, so when it came time to launch a brand-new G.I. Joe series, IDW knew exactly who to call!

Following Revolution, we’re seeing a brand new take on IDW’s Joe properties, certainly different than the ongoing Larry Hama G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero continuity. For one, it is integrated into the other Hasbro titles, as “The Crown Jewel of the Hasbro Universe”. Tell us what it is like to write a Transformer, Skywarp, on to the team.

What kind of question is that? How is it to write a big, mean, surly transforming robot that happens to be on a team with people he could literally crush beneath his foot? It’s AMAZING, Clay.

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‘Captain Kid: Super-People Problems’ TPB (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

Captain Kid: Super-People Problems
Written by Mark Waid & Tom Peyer
Illustrated by Wilfredo Torres & Brent Peeples
Colored by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Lettered by A Larger World
Published by AfterShock Comics
$14.99
ISBN-13: 978-1935002864
Comixology Digital Release

Today sees the release of the collected edition ofCaptain Kid Vol. 1 (Aftershock Comics) from writers Mark Waid & Tom Peyer. Waid’s collected an impressive creative team, co-writing with The Atom‘s Tom Peyer with art by Wilfredo Torres (Jupiter’s Circle), and Brent Peeples (TMNT). The origin of the story starts with an idea Peyer (Legion of Superheroes, Tek Jansen) had ten years ago, finally bringing the story to light for Aftershock.

What exactly is Captain Kid, you ask? It is Mark Waid doing what he is best at, retelling familiar comic book superhero stories with a new twist. In the vein of Irredemable and Insufferable, Captain Kid takes the idea of your super powerful tight wearing hero but this time, he’s allowed himself to have a bit more fun with the palette.

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Geeky Reader: ‘The Official Making Of Big Trouble In Little China’ and ‘The Art Of Big Trouble In Little China’ (reviews) at FORCES OF GEEK

Written by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry
With Forewords by John Carpenter
With Afterwords by Kurt Russell and Eric Powell
Published by BOOM! Studios

“I’m a reasonable guy. But, I’ve just experienced some very unreasonable things”.

— Jack Burton

The story of Jack Burton vs. David Lo Pan is one for the ages, and one who’s thirty year legacy owes a bit to it’s huge budget and legendary director John Carpenter’s overall vision. While it wasn’t the biggest hit at the box office, in fact it only made back $11 million of it’s astounding $25 million dollar budget, Big Trouble In Little China garnered a generation of loyal fans. Those fans regard the movie as a kung fu science fiction masterpiece destined for cable reruns and cult status.

In tandem, we’d like to present to you two books that take you deep below San Francisco and the furies that lay there. BOOM! Studios has released The Official Making of Big Trouble in Little China as well as The Art Of Big Trouble In Little China to reveal on set special effects secrets and in depth interviews with Carpenter, Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall round out editions celebrating this cult classic.

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Antony Johnston Discusses ‘The Coldest Winter’ on The Cosmic Treadmill at FORCES OF GEEK

New York Times bestselling author of comics and video games Antony Johnston (Wasteland, Dead Space, The Fuse, Daredevil) joins us today to talk about his latest graphic novel The Coldest Winter. This is the prequel graphic novel to the upcoming film, The Coldest City starring Charlize Theron (Lorraine Broughton) and James McAvoy (Percival) about MI6 agents in The Cold War.

The Coldest Winter is for fans of the action spy genre and a good murder mystery. Antony bravely sends agents behind the Iron Curtain with no certainty of returning and the loyalty of his characters and the mission is always at the forefront.

When you are a spy, you must always watch your back!

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FOG!: Thanks for joining us to talk The Coldest Winter, Antony! Is it cold where you are right now?

Antony Johnston: I live in north-west England. It’s always cold here.

This is the volume that precedes The Coldest City (soon to be a major motion picture). Were the volumes meant to be released in this order?

That’s a bit of an odd question. If I’d wanted to tell the story of The Coldest Winter first, I would have written it first instead of The Coldest City. So yes, that was always the intention.

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