Moore once again dives into his craft, doing full research on one of the most influential American writers of the 20^th century, H. P. Lovecraft.  Moore plays with Lovecraft’s common themes: horror, fear of the unknown or unknowable, race and ethnicity, forbidden knowledge, non-human influences on humanity, religion and the concept of fate.

The characters are all flawed: Merril Brears is a recovering sex addict and Gordon Lamper is a conservative man with intimacy issues. This makes the characters very human for the reader.

The story revolves around a series of gruesome murders culminating with an undercover federal agent committing the final three, after following a lead on a new drug that may be linked to the murders.  Agents Brears and Lamper pick up where the former agent left off, two years after the fact.   Following clues left behind by a supposed drug-peddler, the two find themselves knee-deep in a cult who believes Lovecraft’s writing to be true.

Moore takes the idea of Lovecraft’s writing as being just another science fiction piece and instead discusses the idea of the original writing coming from real-life experiences of writer.  This begs the question of what inspires fiction, and whether it comes from a purely imaginative place.

What follows is death, racism, and a gang-rape that is disturbing to say the least, brought to true form by Jacen Burrows, who illustrates the scene to its fullest.  The level of violence portrayed is most disturbing because of the realism Burrows lends to the pages.

Moore and Burrows work well together to bring a story together that is unsettling, brilliant, well researched and real.  The reaction of each character is appropriate for each situation, bringing a new dimension to them.

Neonomicon is a fantastically twisted and scary tale with everything needed to be a great read; an interestingly human cast, history and it stirs the mind and begs for questions to be answered.

Honestly, I don’t think comicdom has seen this kind of bounty since the experimental days of the late 1940s and pre-Kefauver Hearings/Comics Code 1950s: browse your LCS’s shelves and you’ll see, next to the usual capes ‘n’ tights fare, things such as sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, literary adaptations, funny animals, and… espionage?

Yep – spy/action/adventure titles, in the tradition of Tintin, Terry and the Pirates, Danger Girl, and others are still around, and a shining light among them is Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads’ new The Activity from Image Comics. If you’re looking not only for a great ride but also some gripping human drama, then this title is it.

“The Activity” refers to the Intelligence Support Activity, an intelligence “tribe” of the United States Army. When I first picked up this title, I was sure that the ISA was fake – so many books, movies, games, etc., make up their own spy organizations – but I’m delighted to say that Edmondson here has plumbed the depths and come up with a real organization that is fascinating. As portrayed by Nathanson, The Activity – here represented by the five-member ‘Team Omaha’ – is a group of spies’ spies: when a mission goes bad, when only the best will do, these are the guys you bring in to clean up and get out ASAP. The title’s tagline, “Warfare Without Warning” tells you what you’re in for.

In the first issue, we’re introduced to Team Omaha, named by their codenames: team leader Weatherman, agents Bookstore, Speakeasy, and Switchfoot, and new recruit Fiddler, brought in to replace a member who died on the previous op. We’re never quite sure what each one’s specialty is – the members all seem to be masters of many trades.  The first issue, mercifully, isn’t the usual “welcome to the team, hope you survive the experience” story: Fiddler accompanies the group to Rome where she’s shown the ropes (almost like an intern) as they clean up after a CIA “asset” that had to get out of town fast, eradicating all evidence he was ever there. The team acts swiftly and deftly, and we’re impressed not so much by a “James Bond” style of savoir faire but by a lack of it: these are may be extraordinarily trained folks in an extraordinary job, but they’re like real people; there are no quips, puns, or tomfoolery – just business. Nothing personal.

In the second issue, the team heads to Amsterdam to see if they can locate another intelligence agent gone missing – and possibly being used as a bargaining chip by terrorists to trade for nuclear arms. In Issue #3, the team is in an airplane returning from a disastrous extraction mission in Afghanistan where everything all went wrong. This is so far the strongest issue of the three, and that’s saying something – the group’s initial arguments and recriminations over what went south so badly swiftly turn to tales of their own past failures and how each moment is a learning experience.

And in the background, there’s another U.S. intelligence “tribe” looking to recruit Team Omaha for a mission – and use them as an expendable asset…

Edmondson’s writing here is flawless – there is no word or scene out of place. He’s by turns clever, poignant, humorous, and fascinating – but, at all times, subtle and understated, just like a good spy should be. There aren’t a lot of cliches in this title – the ideas are familiar, but we get caught up in the character interactions and what they’re doing. Like Law & Order, we only get snippets of each character’s life beyond their job, but those minimal details are all we need. Here, as in real-life spy games, the mission matters – the individual is secondary.

The team uses what’s termed “bleeding-edge” technology, and all of their stuff – from specialized communications devices to gas guns – have such a ring of truth to them that you wonder if it all may in fact be real. Either way, kudos to Edmondson here especially.

Mitch Gerads – who pencils and colours the title – is also spot-on. His technique is almost photo-realistic, though there’s room for expressionism and mild caricature in the faces of the characters. The details are great – in an scene in Issue #1, a group of criminals are trying to get out of a restaurant through the kitchen when the lights go out… and in the next panel we see the laser sights aimed right at them, glowing brilliantly in the dark. Wow. Gerads’ colors, which are vibrant while still staying realistically gritty, make liberal use of Photoshop splatter brushes and slick textures to make their point. (Here we should also note that The Activity is one of the few comics titles that credits flatters, colourists who digitally add a flat colour to areas of the line art, which the colourist then renders. Giving credit where credit is due is always laudable.)  There’s lots to absorb in the art, and it’s all spectacular.

I have very few complaints about this title – through the first three issues, I think we have a potential hit on our hands if The Activity generates more buzz. I’ll admit to being a little anxious about the “we’ll give them a suicide mission” angle that’s clearly on its way – this is a trope we see all the time in spy tales (the noble team of operatives betrayed and set up by the evil administration they naively trusted yadda yadda yadda…) and it always ends up the same. The Activity has a lot going for it – like great con man TV series such as Hu$tle and Leverage, that are based on clever concepts and twists of plot, this title, too, relies on the audience’s feeling of “Wow, what are they going to do NEXT?” to keep you reading.

I’m looking forward to this creative team keeping The Activity …well … active.

Oh we also dress Matt up in all sorts of crazy hats we found in the studio! Shenanigans!

Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties during this episode, the microphone we usually use at Harth TV was MIA so we ran out & got a quick replacement, after much fidgeting with it we decided that was as good as it was going to get, and being 30mins behind we just jumped right in. So apologies the sound quality is sub par but the interview is fantastic so Enjoy!

You can check out Gibson Quarter’s Blog he updates with news & sketches on the regular! Also you can find Undertow at The Silver Snail & The Comics Lounge & Gallery

Note: I want to apologize to the Comics Lounge & Gallery for always calling it the Comics Gallery & Lounge – I will get it right one of these days just gotta rewrite my programming :p

It’s all been done before – any conceivable permutation and combination of characters and powers has already taken place. We’ve seen mash-ups of all kinds: characters that were all-metal; “supernatural” characters banding together (to wit: DC’s JLA Dark and Marvel’s Legion of Monsters are just two recent examples); all-female superteams (the Lady Liberators, Danger Girl); fantasy superteams (Battle Chasers, Demon Knights); postmodern superteams (Squadron Supreme, The Authority); even a superteam of Victorian literary characters (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen).

Now we come to The Defenders, Marvel’s latest offering into the annals of superteam-dom which is a group of… has-beens?

Certainly that’s harsh, but in reality The Defenders is a fun ride and while not overly heavy on substance is worth a look.

Here’s the skinny through the first two issues: The Incredible Hulk has run afoul of a mystical rage spirit, Nul, the Breaker of Worlds, which seeks to destroy everything. Needing aid he calls on ex-Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Stephen Strange (lately fallen to bored dalliances with grad students) for help stopping the beast. Strange then gathers to him a motley crew of heroes we haven’t heard much from in a while: Namor the Atlantean, the Silver Surfer, Red She-Hulk (Hulk’s ex-wife Betty Ross), and Iron Fist.

At the forefront of Cartoon Network’s emergence from their “experiment with reality TV” era is Adventure Time. Animated by Frederator studios, the show chronicles the vibrant and surreal adventures of a boy and his dog as they explore the surreal wonderland of Ooo. Ooo’s landscape resembles the kind of early NES game where you never question why bipedal fruit seems to always be attacking you. Also, dogs can shape-shift. The show is a big success, everybody loves it, fan-art everywhere.

Eventually the tie-in comic from Evil Mark Waid’s “Boom! Studios.“ was announced since they needed some new brands to fill the void left by their discontinued Disney and Pixar material. To write it they contacted certified Cool Dude Ryan North.

Ryan North is perhaps best known for Dinosaur Comics (often referred to as “Qwantz” since that’s the URL). A comic about the musings of a friendly and enthusiastic Tyrannosaurus Rex (left) and his innocent philosophy. Because of the magic of character and idea driven storytelling, there’s no need for new art every strip. Occasionally, God and Satan also chime in with their feelings. If you can’t enjoy the comic then there is a remarkably high chance you’re a tragic bore.

Since Ryan North is a resident of Toronto, we had the privilege of a signing of #1 the weekend after the book’s release.

The Venue:

Located near Honest Ed’s, Little Island Comics is a wonderful new comic store that opened last September filled with more young-reader oriented comics than I ever was aware existed (and a few pieces to help the younger transition into more mature titles). A lot of illustrated adaptations of classic literature instead of Marvel and DC floppies. It was totally the perfect venue for the launch of an all-ages ongoing series like Adventure Time.

I waited in line behind a pre-highschool student who had to restrain herself from begging her parents to buy half the inventory (I recommended she eventually read Understanding Comics).

The Event:

The signing was a busy event with people of all ages politely milling around eager for their new comics. I bought one since my own local store was sold out last Wednesday. After a few minutes of waiting in line talking to other patrons it was my turn to meet Ryan North. I talked with storyboard artist Steve Wolfhard about how cool John DiMaggio is. I thanked them for their work, and proceeded to explore the shelves. According to the event organizer, they sold roughly 140 issues of #1. After finding a Sonic collection I was missing, sweet Tory cashed me out and explained why the store didn’t have carpets instead of tile flooring.

The comic itself.

#1 feels a little short but keeps the tone of the series. The dialogue has something of a Dinosaur Comics vibe that I am okay with since the dialogue on the show is highly free form. One minor grievance, the story ends on a cliffhanger because it’s telling a tale too large for the format, although I’m not sure the end-on-a-downer cliffhanger format is really the best for an all-ages book.
After the main adventure there’s a brief Tree-trunks spotlight that has cute art but not what I was in the mood for after the first half had me psyched up. Next month’s back-up stars Marceline (Vampire Queen) so you know it’s going to be amazing.
As a fan of the show, I’m leaving this ongoing series on my pull list.

Getting a comic signed without paying admission to a convention and getting to explore Little Island Comics made this trip worth it. Since I’m from the Land Of Oooakville I’m not going to come out for every issue, but I’m really glad I was there for the historic #1. Ryan North is a regular at The Beguiling’s TCAF event so hopefully you’ll all see him there with your issues of #1 to get signed, and if you haven’t already, buy his potentially life-saving Time Travel Essentials T-shirt and/or poster.

Now the only question is why there isn’t a My Little Pony comic yet.

-Michael Ryan, 14/02/12
Those new single-compartment subway trains. Oh man, you guys. Seriously.

]]> http://tdotcomics.ca/adventure-time-1-signing/feed/ 0 http://tdotcomics.ca/romance-in-the-time-of-kryptonite/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=romance-in-the-time-of-kryptonite http://tdotcomics.ca/romance-in-the-time-of-kryptonite/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:48:11 +0000 Manda J http://tdotcomics.ca/?p=5226 I have yet to sit through a romantic comedy without wanting to violently retaliate against everyone involved. To say the least they annoy me. The only one that would even come close for me is ʻThe Princess Brideʼ. And thatʼs not a rom/com. Thatʼs just one of the greatest movies of all time.

I just never get the ʻwhysʼ, ʻwhatsʼ, and ʻhowsʼ of it. Why is it so romantic that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fall in love sight unseen? What the hell is with the magic crabs in ʻSimply Irresistibleʼ?  How did I make it through *INSERT SANDRA BULLOCK MOVIE HERE*?

The first time I think I understood the concept of ʻromanceʼ  was one afternoon I was
watching ʻSupermanʼ on TV.

Well built hero, sassy journalist love interest. Whatʼs not to love? Then it happened.

Superman takes Lois flying.  That whole scene was like an ah-ha moment for me. That was it for me. Romance was having a guy taking you flying.

Wow, imagine my disappointment when I started dating.

OK, that didnʼt happen.

But what was romantic about it was why he did it. We all know how Clark felt about Lois. And this was a way to show her a bit of his world, and a bit of himself, which is why he chose her to interview Superman in the first place. A touch of vulnerability in a bullet proof man.

To me that seemed to be the overlying theme when it comes to romance. In comics in can play out in infinate ways.

Take Tank Girl and Booga.

Sure, they have had a violently loving relationship for years. But these two didnʼt find each other at speed dating.

There was an initial meeting between the two, but it wasnʼt until Boogaʼs gang sent him on a panty raid that sent things in motion.

Not many people would associate Tank Girl with the word ʻromanceʼ, but this is one of
those times where I do. It was a fast physical relationship, but it wasnʼt a one off.  Unlike other men in her life, she let him in. Showed him who she was (in her own way) and allowed herself to be vulnerable to him. It was a contrasting process to the same result.

I guess the point Iʼm trying to make is the more things change the more they stay the same.

Thereʼs a vast difference to both stories. The bolder (or stronger character, if you must)
could be ether gender. There could be an instant physical relationship, or a long courtship.  Gentle, kind, justice oriented hero or gun loving sociopathic malcontent.

Itʼs whatʼs identical that makes is great.

Both of them opened up. They showed who they were and let themselves be judged.
And thatʼs brave.

The key to romance is to be BRAVE.

Show your girlfriend your collection of Greatest American Hero dolls! Let you boyfriend
play with you ponies!  START QUOTING MONTY PYTHON!

Be true to yourself first.  Be brave.

Happy Valentineʼs Day.

02/13/2012 – Seems like everyone in comics is being sued for something recently. It’s only a matter of time before things are taken up a notch.

Fables is one of the best long running comics series ever, which spawned successful spin-offs like Jack of Fables, & Cinderella of Fabletown. Fables is about characters from fairy tales and fables alike, all running from their homelands and an evil adversary by hiding in modern day New York. It is a really well put together series that takes what we know of these characters & builds on that to create characters that are truly their own. For example Prince Charming is a sleazebag who uses women for their money and then discards them for the next hot piece of ass, whose ex-wives include Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella.

Am I going to insinuate that Fables directly inspired television producers to make Once Upon a Time or Grimm, or inspired film producers to make live action versions of many upcoming fairy tale films? No, because that is just plain silly. These stories and characters have been around for years & have always proved to be money makers; don’t take it from me, just ask Disney.

While we can only cross our fingers and hope for the best for Mirror Mirror & Snow White and the Huntsman films, we can discuss the current TV adaptations. This slide show shows some of the current fairy tale films in production. There are two Snow Whites, three Sleeping Beauties, two Little Mermaids, two remakes of the  Wizard of Oz (one is Wicked), a Hansel & Gretel, a Peter Pan, and  Jack and the Beanstalk.

Grimm, as indicated by the title, takes a darker look at  fairy tales. It centres around policeman Nick Burkhardt who has gained the ability to see the supernatural beings that live among  the people of Portland. Every episode Detective Burkhardt runs into a fairy tale-like being during a case, and every episode he calls up his werewolf sidekick Monroe to be both his muscle & intel. Insert some really poorly done face shifting effects & a half-assed ending & that is it – literally! I challenge you to show me what more this show has.
In the first draft of this post I wrote ‘protagonist’ because even though I have seen every episode of this show to date I still have to look up the Detective’s name, this is one of the many qualms I have with this series.

Nick Burkhardt is a paper thin character, he is a hard boiled detective with a heart of gold and no brain. The actor is cute, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that Nick’s aunt left him a loaded RV with everything a Grimm could ever want or need & he still walks around without a clue. His supernatural sidekick Monroe is the most interesting character since [spoiler alert 3rd episode] nick’s aunt died.

Ok, so we have bad characters, what about the plots? There have been some hints that supernatural beings outside of Portland may be aware of the new Grimm’s presence and some evidence that the police captain knows more then he is letting on, but that is it. With 10 episodes released there is still no over arcing story line to string these episodes together.

So poor characters and a weak plot; if this is a fantasy show, it just means they spent all their money on special effects right? Wrong all of the Grimm face-changing special effects look like early Buffy vamp-out sequences. I really would be surprised if this series makes to season two.

I could really go on for a long time about how dumb Grimm but I will just leave you with one tidbit. Episode 7 “Let Your Hair Down”  begins with a shadowy figure killing someone (admittedly evil) with their hair. Over the course of the episode they find out it is a little girl who’s been living in the wild for years. Solution: cut the girls hair, bring her home to her adopted parents & put the guy who gave her camping equipment away in jail. IT MAKES NO SENSE!!!

Once Upon a Time is a more family friendly show that incorporates adult themes that I would argue makes it better then Grimm. The story centres around the town of Storybrooke where everyone was a fairy tale character in another life but they don’t know it. The evil queen (from Snow White’s story) put a spell on everyone to trap them in Storybrooke so she would be the only one with a happy ending. In the town of Storybrooke, the queen takes the position of Mayor Regina & ruins everyone’s life through the force of law, while her adopted son Henry seeks out his real mother Emma to break the curse.

Each episode features the current life of the people of Storybrooke & their past life as their fairy tale selves. The fairy tale parts are often familiar but Once does a good job of adding more layers to the stories  that fit into an overarching narrative that reveals the motivations of the characters in the fairy tale as well as their counter parts in Storybrooke.

Emma & Henry are the show’s viewpoint characters. Henry is the only self-aware person in the town, and he is a child. Emma reluctantly goes along with Henry’s ideas partially because she understands children have to have hope, and partly cause deep down she totally believes it too. Once Upon a Time does a good job of juggling a large cast with their equally numerous fairy tale counterparts. The writers understand that they don’t have to put each character in every episode to keep us interested.

Let’s take a look at the show’s aesthetics. Half the show is a fairy tale, you say? Some of the fairy tale scenes look real, like the scenes in the woods. Sometimes, though, it’s obvious they are in front of a green screen, like any scene in a castle. How ever do they pull it off you may ask? With unbelievable costumes and make up.  Or should I say believable costumes and make up.  We understand that the fabled lands are just that by the rosy glow on the scenes and the amazing costume design. So we suspend our beliefs and agree yes, they are in a castle, because the show has engaged us so much already that green-screening can easily be swept under the perception rug.

With Once Upon a Time, there is way more then meets the eye. Yes it is about a good gal trying to overthrow the evil queen, but there is so much more going on behind the scenes. There is the whole Mr.Gold/ Rumpelstiltskin sub-plot, with Robert Carlyle as the shady character who owns Storybrooke in the real world, and is owed a debt by every character in fairy tale land. What makes Once a good show is that they are using what is already common knowledge folklore and crafting an original story arc around it that connects all the characters.

In summation although we wish there was a Fables TV series, Once Upon a Time > Grimm *pwnd ! and now you all know how much I love the fairy tale genre, I may post about some of these fairy tale films once they are released.

This week on Quinntessential Comix we take a trip to the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop to see what it is really all about. I want to do more shows like this, where we go out & explore the community together. I really hope you dig it, let me know on twitter or in the comments what you think
Thanks to Sean Menard,  Ty Templeton and the students for letting us sit in on the class!

You can check out the TCW online:
http://cartoonistsworkshop.com/
http://torontocartoonistsworkshop.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/TOCartoonists

Also check out some of Ty Templeton’s online stuff:
http://tytempletonart.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/tytempleton
http://tytempleton.tumblr.com/