League Podcast Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. October 19, 2016

COMICS

Comics picks of the week, Post- New York Comic Con Edition! We’re talking today over at Forces of Geek with Team Green Arrow! Green Arrow #9 has Ollie and Black Canary on Island of Scars. Want to know more, check out the video interview! … Gerard Way’s Young Animal Vertigo ‘popup imprint’ continues with Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye #1. We’re hoping the title is enough to get you intrigued. … Trinity #2 with Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman from one of our favorite Flash creators in recent years, Francis Manapul puts the team’s friendship in Jeopardy. Suck it, Trebek! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

NYCC Report: DC Entertainment ‘Meet The Publisher’s’ Panel - at Forces of Geek

For answers to the many questions Rebirth leaves the fans with, we headed to “Meet The Publishers” panel at New York Comic Con on Saturday afternoon.

The packed room full of Damian Waynes, Reys and our favorite, an older gentleman dressed as Wonder Woman, munching on some Kettle Korn.

DC Entertainment’s co-publishers, Dan DiDio and Jim Lee opened with the usual jokes and self-congratulation for the Rebirth line.  Among the tidbits mentioned during the presentation:

• Dan admitted that last year’s lukewarm NYCC panel reaction was partly the catalyst for the line wideRebirth change.

• Respect for legacy and character relationships were two of the other main reasons for the change.

• 14 million Rebirth books have shipped, and the numbers were strong for Wave 1.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

League Podcast Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. October 12, 2016

COMICS

The final issue of Darth Vader is here! Vader faces Aphra, the droids, Cylo’s creations and the Emperor in this giant-sized conclusion to an epic run from Gillen & Salvador Larroca in Darth Vader #25. … Mark Millar and Greg Capullo’s anticipated sci-fi tale Reborn #1 hits the shelves today! … Don’t cry little sister, Kiefer is on TV again as the President after protecting him for so many years! Tim Seeley (Nightwing, Hack/Slash) unleashes a Vertigo version of The Lost Boys with a brand new #1 today! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

FFOG! Chats With Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire About ‘A.D.: After Death’ at Forces of Geek

A superstar creative team of this caliber only comes together rarely to create a book that can change how comics are consumed and touch us with such personal stories. 

Scott Snyder (Batman, Wytches, American Vampire, Swamp Thing) writes A.D.: After Death for Image Comics with artist Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Essex County, Descender, Animal Man) contributing illustrations for this mostly prose comic book story.

These modern masters of comic storytelling joined Forces of Geek to talk about November’s upcoming first oversized volume in three parts of A.D.: After Death. The book proposes what it might be like if someone cures death itself.

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FOG!: Thanks for joining us guys!, We’re here to talk about After Death. I gotta say, this is really different and unexpected, two huge talents coming together. How did this come about?

Jeff Lemire: Scott and I have been friends and colleagues for quite a while, and mainly working on superhero stuff together for a bit (Animal Man/Swamp Thing). We’re developed quite a friendship and this started when Scott mentioned the initial idea of the story to me a couple of years ago.

At that time it was just going to be a straight forward, 20-page comic, a sci-fi, high-octane bombastic story, as a fun side project. We just wanted a chance to work together. We sat down and started to work on it, and the scope of the project started growing and changing and evolving. It became a much bigger project, what it is now.

Scott, this is your story, correct? Is Jeff writing too?

Scott Snyder: I’m writing it, but everything in it, I’ve run by Jeff. He has been an incredible help, sound-boarding stuff, brainstorming it, troubleshooting. He definitely deserves a credit toward the creation of the story as well. Having someone who is such a terrific writer, I feel like I have only a quarter of the work! He’s a terrific artist, he’s drawing it, and he helps me with the story.

If anyone got off easy, it was probably me! (Laughs)

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

League Podcast Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. October 5, 2016

COMICS

Comics picks of the week, New York Comic Con Edition! Hey, Ho, Let’s Go…To Riverdale! The Ramones meet Archie in Archie Meets The Ramones One-Shot! Hang your brain upside-down with this incredible Francavilla variant cover! … The Avengers and Spidey strike out on their own in the post- CIVIL WAR II Champions #1 from Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos! What a lineup! … Thunder, Thunder, Thunder, ThunderCats…HO! The Power of Grayskull and The Sword of Omens collide with He-Man/ThunderCats #1 with incredible artwork by Freddie E. Williams II. … See you at the Con? … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

Dean Haspiel Bids Adieu To ‘The Red Hook’ (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

Dean Haspiel’s latest original comics creation lands on the scrolling pages of the Line Webtoon (browser and app) and introduces a new superhero universe in New Brooklyn. The Red Hook takes elements of Silver and Golden Age heroes, borrows from modern art and takes cues from Scott McCloud’s Reinventing Comics. 

By releasing content weekly, the webcomic is not like anything you may have seen before. The pages tell their story by scrolling continuously from top to bottom on your screen (tablet/phone/computer screen), stopping at the chapter markers.

The setting is New Brooklyn, a borough seceding from the rest of the world that is not unlike Batman’sNo Man’s Land storyline. The American flag has been replaced by a white flag, not of surrender but independence.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

League Podcast Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. September 28, 2016

COMICS

Chart-topping Josie and the Pussycats are back in the new version of Riverdale started by Mark Waid last year. The new #1 is written by Marguerite Bennett (DC Comics Bombshells) and drawn by Audrey Mok! … To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, IDW is publishing anthology series Star Trek: Waypoint #1, starring super sleuths Data and Geordi! … Love and Rockets Magazine #1 is back from the Hernandez Bros., split into a Jaime and Gilbert side. Relive L&R with this brand new stories in Vol. 4! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

League Podcast Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. September 21, 2016

COMICS

D & Q sent us Tom Gauld’s mellow Mooncop for review, and to be honest, we weren’t quite sure what to do with sardonic wit in the story about a cop stranded on the moon in the simply illustrated book. It kind of grew on us from there, though. … Malcolm vs. Ant in Savage Dragon #216 with a special guest appearance from Spawn! … Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman take a break from Snickers ads to star in their own book, Trinity #1 by Flash writer Francis Manapul and Clay Mann. … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

League Podcast & Do617 Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. September 13, 2016

COMICS

Gerard Way kicks off DC’s new Young Animal imprint by taking over Doom Patrol with a new #1. …Spencer and Lieber’s (Superior Foes of Spider-Man) The Fix kicks off a new story arc of good cops turned terrible people in The Fix #5, Roy Meets the Mayor. …School is back in session with Gotham Academy Second Semester #1. … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

‘DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year’ (review) - at FORCES OF GEEK

The girls are back, or should I say, have arrived in DC Animation Studio’s latest all ages movie DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year. New versions of Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Bumblebee and even Big Barda star in this fun action adventure for everyone.

The class members of Super Hero High is gunning for the trophy of Hero of the Year, as principal Amanda Waller puts the girls in charge of finding out what is wrong with the school’s amethyst crystal.

Don’t worry, you’ll get to see Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld make an appearance because the main villain for this story is the creepy angular forehead of Dark Opal and a female version of Eclipso!

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

League Podcast & Do617 Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. September 7, 2016

COMICS

Recently Rebirthed Supergirl #1 from award winning writer Steve Orlando pits Kara against her father, Cyborg Superman! … John Byrne takes photos from Star Trek:TOS and makes brand new stories from them in this week’s Star Trek: New Visions Special Swarm One-Shot. … Jim Zub is back with Glitterbomb #1, a Hollywood horror story with both glitz and gore! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

FOG! Chats with EarthQuaker Devices’ Matt Horak About ‘OctoSkull’ - at FORCES OF GEEK

Rock and Roll. Comics. Rock and Comics, our “old alma mater,” as Chuck Berry once said!

Matt Horak (The Covenant, Thundarr The Barbarian Fan Comic) joins us to talk about the fusing of guitar pedals and the comic stories that back them up.

Earthquake Devices have commissioned Matt to drum up some interesting stories to market their effects pedals, and gives us a peek at the first story, OctoSkull.

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FOG!: Thanks for joining us, Matt. I’m not a guitarist but thought this was an interesting project. Please tell me first about your guitar pedal company.

Matt Horak: EarthQuaker Devices began when our illustrious founder, Jamie Stillman, attempted to fix one of his broken pedals. This led to him building some of his own pedals and selling them online. Flash forward 10 years and EQD has a line of 30+ pedals and 30+ employees.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

League Podcast & Do617 Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. Aug 31 2016

COMICS

The Legend of Wonder Woman wraps up it’s first arc with issue #9 today, written and drawn by Renae De Liz. This YA telling of the Wonder Woman story is the perfect intro to get young girls interested before the Amazonian Princess hits the big screen next year! … Sampson’s league of super-villains are taking over the planet in Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s incredible Jupiter’s Legacy Vol. 2 #3. … The Deadite polls show a huge gap but we know who is going to take the election this year in the land of the Necronomicon Ex Mortis: Ash, baby! Don’t wait until November, check out the Army Of Darkness Ash For President today!… Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

‘James Bond Vol.1: VARGR’ (review) at FORCES OF GEEK

James Bond Vol. 1: VARGR
Written by Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Jason Masters
Published by Dynamite Entertainment
ISBN: 9781606909010 | Price $19.99
Release date: June 22, 2016

Those fans of 007 may not have gotten all they wanted from Daniel Craig’s most recent performance of the MI-6 agent in Spectre last year, but may very well be delighted at what Warren Ellis has been able to do in the comic series from Dynamite.

Ian Fleming Publications and the Fleming Estate commissioned Ellis to approach the character for comics stemming from a licensing deal with Dynamite. The first story art is collected here in one volume, VARGR. Currently on stands is Ellis’ second arc with artist Jason Masters. More writers and artists including Andy Diggle (Green Arrow) will be brought on later this year to fill out more of 007’s modern comic continuity.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

League Podcast & Do617 Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. Aug 22, 2016

COMICS

Yo, Joe! Cobra is dealing with an inside agent that might bring them down in G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero #231! … A new villain is ready to take on Spawn in issue #265 written by Todd McFarlane and drawn by Erik Larsen! … Slade Wilson is back in Deathstroke #1 as he finds himself in the middle a ruthless super villain and a deadly dictator. … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

League Podcast & Do617 Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. Aug 17, 2016

COMICS

Supergirl is back in Supergirl Rebirth #1 written by Steve Orlando (Midnighter) featuring a lost Kryptonian werewolf! … Brian Wood is back with a gritty anti-government secessionist portrait of a small town with Briggs Land #1, in development for an AMC tv show! …The Mighty Thor #10 pits Jane Foster against S.H.I.E.L.D.! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

‘The Sheriff of Babylon Vol. 1: Bang. Bang. Bang.’ (book review) at Forces of Geek

The Sheriff of Babylon Vol. 1: Bang. Bang. Bang
Written by Tom King
Illustrated by Mitch Gerards
Cover by John Paul Leon
Published by Vertigo Comics
ISBN: 978-1401264666 | Price $14.99
Release date: July 13, 2016

Crime and war in post-9/11 Iraq is captured in Sheriff of Babylon written by Tom King (Batman, The Vision) and drawn by Mitch Gerads (The Activity, The Punisher).

King draws on his experience as a CIA officer to create a deeply personal rich reflection of the Baghdad of 2004 through the eyes of a former cop and current military contractor Christopher, his Muslim Iraqi girlfriend Sophia and former Iraqi police officer Nassir.

By being exposed to the environment, King has created, along with the carefully researched accuracy of Gerads’ artwork, a military crime fiction of the highest order—it just so happens to be in comic book form.

League Podcast & Do617 Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. August 10, 2016

COMICS

Rebirth has been interesting, but one of the most anticipated books is Scott Snyder’s return to The Bat with All-Star Batman #1! … Supergirl? Move over, there is a new Superwoman in town written by Phil Jimenez as Lois Lane takes flight in Superwoman #1! … Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Labyrinth #1 written by Jonathan Case. This special issue is printed on some high quality paper and special holofoil! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.

‘Suicide Squad’ (movie review) at Forces of Geek

Produced by Charles Roven, Richard Suckle
Based on Suicide Squad by John Ostrander
Written and Directed by David Ayer
Starring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie,
Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney,
Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje,
Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, Cara Delevingne

One thing we can all agree on is that the DC Cinematic Universe got off to a rocky start and seemed doomed with the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The controversy won’t end with this film, but I can say writer/director David Ayer finally gets it. Nothing is ever perfect but this movie is more than what meets the eye from the promos.

Spanning superhero, comedy, supernatural and military genres and introducing visual elements more commonly found in video games, Suicide Squad is a wild ride.

[READ MORE AT FORCES OF GEEK]

League Podcast & Do617 Comics Picks of the Week for Wed. Aug 3, 2016

COMICS

Killer queens, dynamite with a laser beam in this week’s picks! To coincide with this summer’s deadly DC movie hit is Suicide Squad Rebirth #1! … Frank The Tank stars in Punisher #4 - Not for kids, duh! … Joelle Jones’ killer housewife is back in Lady Killer 2 #1 from Dark Horse. Be careful at this lady’s Tupperware party—of demise! … Picks this week from LeaguePodcast.com.