Torchwood The Comic Book Is Coming To The 2010 San Diego Comic Con! From Titan Publishing       -------------- Above Photo: The San Diego Comic Con 2010 Exclusive Cover for the Torchwood #1 Comic Book! At the Top Left: The Front Cover to the Season One DVD of the Torchwood BBC TV Series! At the Bottom Left: The Logo for the Comic Con International: San Diego - a.k.a. San Diego Comic Con 2010.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3185:

I woke up way too early again this morning...I must be in 'training' for the upcoming San Diego Comic Con, that is only 13 days away!

So I was getting ready to start blogging about a book that I just finished as a change of pace from this week's blog topics of vampires / werewolves / & more vampire!

However, just before that, it occured to me to look up on the GCD (Grand Comics Database) to see if there were any comics books on a BBC TV Show that Tina and I just finished watching last night, (see DVD cover at the top left of this blog).

That would be the Season One of Torchwood on DVD.

And No...There wasn't any comic books on this TV Show. I double checked on the Doctor Who comic book listings, which is where this TV show sprang from. 

Plenty of Doctor Who comic series, one-shots, etc., but no Torchwood.

For some reason I decided to check it out on Google. Premonition?  I don't know.

However, immediately up comes the fact that Titan Magazines is going to be publishing a comic book on this TV Show! The same Titan Magazines, whose booth I stopped at last year at the SDCC and picked up a few magazines for possible review. (See this link for those blog posts.) 

Well, I had to stop my scheduled blog post for this news. As Titan Magazines is promoting this new comic book with a variant cover just for the San Diego Comic Con, (as pictured at the above right of this blog)!

So why am I somewhat excited about this news?

Well, of course Tina and I are attending all 5 days of this comic con.  Heck, it's in own our own 'backyard' so to speak, as it is only 35 miles South of us. And that's where I got my start in dealing with comic books, way back in 1972 as a dealer at the El Cortez Hotel where that year's con was held. But that's a story that's been told before...

The real reason I am somewhat excited about this, and want to see about standing in line for this comic book, is that Tina and I just finished Season 1 last night on the DVD. 

This DVD was released back in 2008, and no...we are not selling any of them, and we picked it up because during the American Summer Season on TV, we usually don't have that many shows to watch, as most shows on are a 'repeat' basis.

Both Tina and I found this DVD to be very enjoyable.  I won't speak for her, but I found it to be even more enjoyable than I thought it would be because...There isn't any Doctor Who 'baggage' here!

When I say 'baggage', it's that a viewer of this DVD doesn't have to know any of the Doctor Who continuity, which goes back a long way...too far back for me to get involved in that, even though we sell Doctor Who comic books.

Suffice to say, I found that this 1st Season DVD held crisp, bold, and outright daring episodes, thirteen of them in number.

However, I do want to stress that this DVD is NOT for those that of young age, as several of the topics and scenes are graphic in sexual content and violence. Not my usual fare of watching TV, turst me on that one!

Yet it is the characterization of the five main characters that drew me into this Season One right from the start.  Yes, some of the accents from this BBC production threw me off, but I got the gist of each of the scenes.  And the storyline that each episode unfolded made me want to come back for the next episode.  It's taken us a few nights of watching this DVD set, but IMO it was worth the time invested in it.

I for one will be looking forward to seeing the Season Two DVD set. Plus will brave the probable long line to get a copy of the San Diego Exclusive Comic Book #1 for myself.

Oh, and what's this TV Series about?  Here's just a bit from the Wikipedia entry:

"Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme, created by Russell T Davies. It deals with the machinations and activities of the Cardiff branch of the fictional Torchwood Institute, which deals mainly with incidents involving extraterrestrials.

An initial 13-part series was commissioned by the BBC as a spin-off from the 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who with which it is closely interlinked. The main cast consists of John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori and Gareth David-Lloyd. Gorman and Mori left the programme after the second series, with Kai Owen promoted from a recurring role to the main cast in series 3."

I notice that there has been three seasons so far.  It was mentioned that a fourth season is in production right now, for release in 2011.

BTW, there is also a Facebook Fan Page for Torchwood, which I've 'liked' this morning.  So I'll be checking that out further between now and Comic-Con.

That's it for this blog post...funny how my Thursday morning blog got re-directed. Plus isn't it amazing on how many TV Shows and Theatrical Films get adapted for comic books?  We are truly living in a 'Second Golden Age of Comics' right now people!  

My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,180 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:   Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013     ComicBooksCircus.com - It's Under The Big Top Of Comics! Click the Above Circus Tent to See Our Current Listings!

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! Plus thanks to my Facebook Friend, Norma Xenawannabe for designing the above poster! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.   NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

'My Take' On: Vampire Apocalypse: Prologue - The Mini-Comic From New Baby Productions       -------------- Above Photo: The Mini-Comic for Vampire Apocalypse: Prologue! At the Left Top: The New Baby Productions Logo! At the Left Bottom: The Back of the Postcard with the promo text. (Click on it to see it in larger size.)

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3184:

Today I am blogging on a mini-comic that was sent in for a possible review.  As I have mentioned in this blog before...There are a LOT of comics and graphic novels coming out on vampires / zombies / werewolves, as evidenced by this week's blog topics so far: vampire pirates on Monday - zombies on Tuesday - and now vampires of the future on Wednesday.

So why blog about this project?  Well...It's a project that is projected to be published in 2011 as a graphic novel.  It is based on Derek Gunn's 'Vampire Apocalypse' series of novels. This promotional publication is a 'Prologue' in mini-comic format.  Plus it is from a company that already has another title in print, Elemental Fources.  Thus the reasons why I've elected to blog about this one today.

Eric Mullarky, (seen at the bottom left of the photo at a recent XcapeCon), Publisher and Editor of this mini-comic, sent this to me a little while back.  It is a precursor to the projected graphic novel expected sometime in 2011.

I received the mini-comic, the promo postcard for this project, a promo postcard for the Elemental Fources series of comics, and his buisness contact info in the review package.  (I won't be blogging about the Elemental Fources in this post.)

So what's this mini-comic about?  Well, it's considered a 'Prologue' to the graphic novel that the publisher has projected to be released in 2011.

As to what it is about, please see the postcard graphic near the top left of this post, left click on it, there will be a pop-up window with a larger graphic, and then see what the publisher states it is to be about. Then scroll back to this point.

Okay...Now that YOU are back here...

Front Cover:  The front cover shows the title of the mini-comic, and for those that already know about the series of novels on 'Vampire Apocalypse', those people will be intrigued about a illustrated novel format. The large rectangular white box on the bottom right of the front cover kind of throws me off, but I figure it is for a promotional purpose.

Inside Front Cover:  The credits page, and done very well. Showing that the author is Derek Gunn.  The adaptation is by C.J. Hurtt, with art by Federico Combi. Letters by Dan Streeting. Publisher / Editor is Eric Mullarky.  With the domain name listed for those that are interested in checking this concept out further.

Splash Page:  Starts off with panels of the story. Not used as a true splash page.  However, I've already perceived that this is a promotional piece, not meant to be a real story within itself. It has only twelve interior pages.

The Rest of the Pages:  I'm not for sure when reading this, if this is just an excerpt of pages already produced, or if this is the actual storyline in pages sequence.  I'm reading this as a 'reader' with thoughts of purchasing it, not as a 'reviewer' of this publication.  The varied size and shapes of the panels is an interesting usage of panels, and kind of places me in the 'Apocalypse' sort of time period. 

Last Page: Having been semi-caught up in the action being presented in the storyline thus far, I reach this page to be told: "To Be Continued In Vampire Apocalypse The Graphic Novel Coming 2011.  Okay...

Inside Back Cover:  This is an in-house ad for the publisher's other comic book series, 'Elemental Fources'.  I see there are at least six issues so far. 

Back Cover:  It's an ad for this upcoming graphic novel, and showing the reader that is based on the series of Derek Gunn's Apocalypse novels.  So those already in the 'know' of this series would definitely want to look at this promo comic.  

So, after all of the above...what is 'My Take' on all of this?

Well...First of all, I would have to say that this 'Prologue' in mini-comic book format is a good teaser for those that already know about the series of novels, and that it will be published in illustrated graphic novel format sometime in 2011.

For those that don't know about this series of novels and are interested in this type of genre, it would probably spark an interest in checking it out further online.  Which after all, is the probable reason for this publication.

For those that are expecting a complete storyline in this mini-comic, which is done in a lot (most?) mini-comics, they will not see one. 

This publication is a good format to be a 'teaser' for the upcoming graphic novel.  Plus it is a good introduction for those that have read the series of novels to see what can be done with the concept in graphic novel format.

The artwork is fine, and fits this genre. The adaptation from novel to graphic novel is one I can't compare, not having read the novels.  The lettering is hard to read for me, because of the word balloons and boxes being shaded in colors. I can see why the letterer did it that way, but in mini-comic sized print, it doesn't come over as well as a full sized graphic novel would. So please bear that in mind when reading in this mini-comic format.

I would grade this mini-comic as a 'Very Fine' (VF) 8.0 out of the 10.0 Comic Book Grading Scale. That's because the publication is more a 'promotional preview' type of work than an actual 'read'.

As an actual read for someone that doesn't know the series of novels background, it probably has enough presented in the total of fourteen pages to entice the person to check out the website.  Which again, is most likely the purpose of this publication.

As a promo for the person who has read the series of novels, it is probably really good to help that person visualize this as a graphic novel, and look to how to possibly place a pre-order for when it is published in 2011.

Talking about websites, etc., I took a look at what is up already.

The publisher's main site is NewBabyProductions.com - which actually re-directs to the publisher's earlier web site for Elemental Fources at the time of this blog being posted.

There are a lot of links there, most for the other publication. However there are blog posts, forum threads, etc. for this Vampire Apocalypse.

There is also a Facebook Fan Page for New Baby Productions, which being an active Facebooker, I found quite interesting.  I suggest that if YOU are on Facebook to take a look at this Fan Page. The Fan Page has been around since sometime last year, (2009).

That is where I found the answer to my question as to when this would be published in graphic novel format, (as of December 2009): "No official release date yet. Production will take the better part of a year due to this being 140+ pages. I am targeting early 2011 so that it can be premiered at one of the larger comic shows or book fairs. I will keep everyone updated as we move along".

However as an update, I found in their blog on the May 27th post, the following about this project's progress:

"Federico Combi notified me earlier this week that he could no longer continue on as artist for our Vampire Apocalypse graphic novel. His workload was getting to be too much and he was already way behind on our agreed schedule. We have mutually agreed to cancel the contract, and New Baby Productions will continue the project without him. I would like to wish Federico luck in his future projects.

With that, I would like to introduce Andy Dawe-Collins as the new artist. Andy is a local Michigan artist who I am very happy to be working with. His dedication, style, and love of horror will really help this project. Catch some of his work at http://www.comicspace.com/irish46/."

So at this point, I'm not for sure how this will affect the publishing of this graphic novel.  Which is why I suggest that if YOU found this blog post about this project to be of your liking, that you add yourself to the Facebook Fan Page, and also add the Forum page on the web site to follow up on.

My thanks to Eric Mullarky for bringing this mini-comic book for possible review to my attention. And my best wishes to him and the others who are working to bring this concept to graphic novel format in  2011.  

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,180 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines and graphic novels at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

---

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:     Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.   NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

'My Take' On: The 1st Issue Of ZOMBIE RANCH The Comic Book! From Art Of Dawn -------------- Above Photo: Clinton Wolf & Dawn Wolf Holding the Preview Issue of Zombie Ranch At the Long Beach Comic Con Expo Held February of 2010. At the Left: The Front Cover of Zombie Ranch #1!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3183:

One of the pleasures I get from attending comic cons is to see projects take shape and evolve into full fledged printed comic books.

One of those projects is called 'Zombie Ranch', created and brought to print by Dawn Wolf and her husband Clinton Wolf.

I first came across this project back at the 2009 Long Beach Comic Con (LBCC), and blogged about it and the creators at this archived blog post. To allow YOU to catch up, I'll pause for a few minutes...

Okay?  Well on with the rest of the story.

I saw Clinton and Dawn again, this time at the February 2010 Long Beach Comic Con Expo, an one day con this time that the promoters put on in between the 1st ever LBCC and the upcoming 2nd LBCC during Halloween this upcoming October of 2010.

There, I was updated by both of them as to how the project was coming along.  Their process was to go from web comic to a preview comic, (which I blogged about last time), and to publish a hard copy comic book. Which is what is being featured at the the top left of this current blog post.

Okay...Enough history! That should bring us up to date! 

Having received a copy...What is this 1st issue about? Here's what I found for the promo of this comic book on the publisher's web site and order page:

Zombie Ranch

Story - Clint Wolf & Art- Dawn Wolf
Price: $4.50

"Meet Susannah Zane. She’s a rancher. She raises livestock. Only thing is, her stock isn’t technically “live”. The Great Zombie Plague wiped out a fair portion of civilization, and humans weren’t the only victims of its ravenous hunger. But that was years ago, and where cattle, pigs, and sheep got scarce, practical sorts found a new herd to market: the zombies themselves! Now a crew has come out to film a new reality television series on the subject. To the viewers in the Safe Zones, it might be an eye-opener; but for Suzie and her compadres it’s just another day in the unlife. Welcome to the Zombie Ranch.

Zombie Ranch is a comic about...well...Ranching Zombies.

Issue #1 collects the first 23 pages of the webcomic, representing the entirety of our first story arc, and including a foreword and afterword from Clint. The Special Edition is a signed copy of the same, plus several extra goodies as detailed in the store.

Don’t worry, the past, present, and future comics of Zombie Ranch will continue to be free of charge here on the web, and we highly appreciate every last one of you that drops by to read. But hey, now we’ve also got something to set out at our next convention table, and you guys have your option if you’re the type who really likes something to flip through for the true comic experience. Regardless of your preferences, thanks for your support!"

So what's 'My Take' on this first issue? Considering I've already read and blogged about the earlier Preview Comic? 

Front Cover:  The coloring of this is what would attract my eyes if I were to see it at my LCBS, which it won't be at unfortunately.  The striking use of the reddish and white colors make the main character jump out at you when first seeing it. The casual browser will get immediately that it is a 'ranch', with a cowgirl, and the arm hanging out of the wagon is just a 'touch' of what is in store for the reader!

Inside Front Cover: Now this is HOW to present a new offering to a new audience! A billboard with the concept and the creators and a mini-history as to how this storyline came about. Plus it is good to know that this concept started off as a 'webcomic'...

Splash Page: I said in the above that this concept was first presented as a 'webcomic'.  Which is why there is a lack of a 'true' splash page in this presentation.  Okay, I'll go along with that...

Interior Pages:  After the 'foreword' there are 23 pages of art and story.  The style of the art is one that I like for this genre of story being told.  As frequent readers of this blog know by now...I'm not overly fond of the current flood of zombies, vampires & werewolves stories being foisted on the public.  

However, this concept is tasteful, and with the artwork and coloring is actually a more than just interesting 'read'.

That's because 'Susannah Zane', the main character is 'fleshed out' in this storyline.  (Excuse the pun!).  You see, Susannah is a rancher.  She raises livestock.  Only thing is, as said in the concept pages: "Her stock isn't technically 'live'!".

I'll let you read more on this for yourself, by giving you the links to the web site for the webcomic and also to where to order this publication in a bit.

At the end of the storyline, there is an 'afterword' from Clint, which kind of sums it up for now.  Which is good that it was printed there.

The inside back cover was the usual Ka-Blam advertisement page, which the printer takes as being the POD publisher. A fair enough trade IMO. It's even better though, that Clint & Dawn have the ad page as the inside back cover, instead of the back cover, which most creators opt for.

The back cover had all of the right ingredients to help the casual browser make up their mind to at least thumb through the pages if seeing this at their LCBS. Really good promo piece, with just enough illustration, and copy text.

Well...First of all, I was pleased to see this concept blossom into a hard copy 'floppy' format of comic book.  I had missed the earlier conception of the webcomic, and only found this via the 'preview comic' stage at the 1st LBCC in 2009.  I'm glad that Clint and Dawn have gone through to hard copy full fledged 'floppy' comic book format.

Even though Tina and myself have now bought a 'Droid', and both have 'played' with the iPad, I know that I personally am a 'tactile' reader.  So I'm glad that Clint & Dawn have brought out this 'floppy' hard copy format.  It takes a firm belief in your creation to go to this new level.

Leaving my own somewhat influenced thoughts aside for a moment, after seeing both creators a couple of times in person now, it's time to give this hard copy format of 'Zombie Ranch' #1 a 'comic book grade'. 

I would grade this 1st issue of 'Zombie Ranch' a 'Very Fine / Near Mint' (VF/NM) 9.0 out of the 10.0 Grading Scale. That's pretty darn good for a first issue! 

So in the meantime, where can YOU pick up a copy? Here's what I have been told.  If you see Dawn & Clint in person at the upcoming Long Beach Comic Con in October, they should have additional copies.  If YOU can't wait that long, and really you shouldn't...Then check out their website for the Special Edition package of this comic, or order the regular edition from Indy Planet via this link.

Additionally, since I am a BIG user of Facebook, I want to mention the Zombie Ranch Facebook Fan Page that YOU can 'Like' and be interactive with the creators and other fans.  

My thanks to Clint Wolf for bringing this brand new 1st issue in hard copy comic book format to my attention!

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,180 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our own online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines and graphic novels at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

---

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:     Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post appears differently for different browser platforms. This blog is written first for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.   NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

'My Take' On: Jeromy Cox's VAMPYRATES Issue #1 From Bloodfire Studios -------------- Above Photo: Jeromy Cox Holding the 1st Issue of Vampyrates - the Regular Cover, at the Recent June 2010 San Diego Quarterly Comic Con. At the Left: The Creator of this Comic Book Series, With the Limited Edition Sketch Cover to the Series!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3182:

A little late this morning getting this blog posted for all to see...

That's because Tina and I were patriotic yesterday for July 4th, by going out and spending some money to help this economy revive!  We needed a new printer to share between us, and went with a wireless model, as xtra cords in the home office would likely 'trip' us up, (pun intended).

Then we went to Verizon to look at replacing our phones, as Tina needed a better plan & phone for the ever growing Business!  We ended up with two new Droids...And of course it was like 'Christmas In July' this morning, as I got up at an insane hour to download apps and get the photo progams downloaded in both laptops. 

Heck, the San Diego Comic Con is only 16 days away...gotta be ready and know how to use these 'smart' phones by then!

Talking about comic-cons, I recently attended the June 2010 San Diego Quarterly Comic Con, sponsored by Paul Martinez.

Above are two photos of Jeromy Cox, who had a couple of tables at this comic con to feature what he has been doing lately.

I talked with him about what I do, (blog about and sell comic books)and he invited me to take a look at his Vampyrates #1.  I have since read it, and am ready to blog about it today!

So what is this issue about? Here's what I found for the promo of this comic book on the publisher's web site:

Vampyrates

Story & Art- Jeromy Cox
Price: $3.95

Genre - Vampire, Sci Fi

"Doctor Kevin Ring is a man of science and reason. He believes in two things, his books and the love he has for his beautiful wife, Anne Marie. Kevin's father, Johnathan Ring, has depleted the family estate hunting mythical creatures and fairy tales. Henry Page, a ship merchant and good friend to the Ring family offers Kevin relief from his creditors. A

ll young Kevin must do is track down and stop a band of pirates that have plagued Page's ships. As if pirates weren't bad enough, Kevin, against his desires, must venture to uncharted waters to find pirates rumored to be demonic blood thirsty vampyres.

From the mind of 4 time Eisner nominee, Jeromy Cox, colorist of Promethea, Teen Titans and Rex Mundi. Featuring the 14 page full color Kindergoth story, "Cafeteria Havok" written by Lee Kohse and Drawn by Jeff Zugale. For more Vampyrates, be check out our Vampyrates gallery and visit www.vampyrates.com.  Comic book - 48 pages."

So what's 'My Take' on this first issue? 

Front Cover:  The Logo Design by Todd Klein is just right for this comic book. The closeup of the characters, with the red oooze coming down from the 'Vampyrates' title gives the casual browser what is is in store for them.  The character designs with the red eyes, also indicates what should be inside.  The banner at the top of the front cover definitely spells it out:  'Part One: Thicker Than Water'.

Inside Front Cover Page (AND 'Splash Page'): Okay...The storyline start right off, we knew already by the front cover it is a 'time' piece, and the medical discovery on these two pages forming the kick off to the storyline instead of an inside front cover and splash page, sets the stage for where the story goes next.

Not overly shocking for those that watch TV Shows like CSI, and Fringe, but not for the squeamish either!

Interior Pages:  The action continues, the cast is introduced, and what I noticed mostly was the beautiful coloring of the pages!  The characters are illustrated in a style that is enjoyable to view, and even though this genre is not one of my favorites, I found myself drawn to continue reading because of the art, colors, and storyline.

All too soon the story is 'finished', but on the last page of the story is the caption:  'The End?'.  I'm hoping not, as this was a good intro to the characters and setting.

But wait, there's more! 

There is a one page credits page, and a letter in manuscript form for the reader to see, about the background of the feature.

Plus this is one of those 'flip' comics.  By flipping the comic book over, there is another story, titled Kinder Goth- Cafeteria Havoc. Written and colored by Lee Kohse with art by Jeff Zugale.  However, I'm not going to review that here at this time...

So, after all of the above..What is 'My Take' on this comic book issue?

Well...First of all, I was pleased to see have seen the creator of this comic book at this smaller comic-con in San Diego.  It was my first 'real' introduction to Jeromy Cox and his works, even though I probably have read one of the other publications he has had a hand or two in.

I found that even though the genre was one that is not one of my personal favorites to read, Jeromy and the others involved in this publication made it an enjoyable read.  Enough for me to want to see an additional issue.

The storyline was Not over the Top, the dialogue was good for the period piece, the art was in a fun style, the inking by John Tighe and Mike S Miller was in keeping with the tone of the story. 

The coloring was outstanding, and also Not Over the Top, which I appreciated in this vampire / sci-fi genre of story.

The cover was by J.H. Williams III, I'm not for sure why, as I enjoyed the interior art as well.  But it made for a good front cover for someone at a LCBS want to pick up and browse through for a possible purchase.

The fact that there was an additional story added by the publishers of this publication could be considered a plus.  I found it to be cute, but whether or not it belong with the flip side could be asked, as it was a different type of tale with a different team of creators. 

I would grade this 1st issue of 'Vampyrates' with a 'Very Fine / Near Mint' (VF/NM) 9.0 out of the 10.0 Grading Scale. That's pretty darn good coming from me, who sees a LOT of vampires / werewolves / etc. stories coming in for possible review! 

So in the meantime, where can YOU pick up a copy? Here's what I found.  If you see Jeromy Cox in person at a con, he does have a few for sale, including the 'Limited Edition Sketch Cover' variant edition pictured at the top left of this blog.  If not, then check out the publisher's web site at: Bloodfire.com.

Additionally, since I am a BIG user of Facebook, I want to mention the Bloodfire Studios Facebook Fan Page that YOU can 'Like' and be interactive with the publisher and other fans.

AND for extra fun, here's the Vampyrates Facebook Fan Page just for this comic book creation! I have 'Liked' this one after reading the 1st Issue!

My thanks to Jeromy Cox for bringing this 1st issue to my attention!

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,180 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines and graphic novels at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

---

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:     Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post appears differently for different browser platforms. This blog is written first for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.   NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

Vinnie's Take On: The All New Super Friends Hour Season 1 - Volume 1 On DVD - Part I!       Above: The Front Cover to The All New Super Friends Hour - Season One - Volume One on DVD!  At The Top Left: The Stars of the Super Friends Hour Being Alerted to Trouble! At the Bottom Left: Vinnie - Today's Guest Blogger!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3181:

Today I'm pleased once again to have as guest blogger, Vinnie, who is writing 'His Take' on the The All New Super Friends Hour Season One - Volume One DVD Collection that we bought to view. Due to the length of the running time on this DVD, Vinnie will be posting a Part II in the future:

[SPOILER ALERT: This whole blog post is a 'Spoiler Alert', but that is because Vinnie goes into some detail in his review blogs. This is more of a review of the collection from a tween's POV.]

My Take On: 

The All New Super Friends Hour - Season One - Volume One on DVD!

This is part 1 of my 2 part Blog post. This is about The All New Super Friends Hour: Season 1 Volume 1. This set contains 7 episodes, each with 4 diferent cartoons in them.

In between those cartoons, they have riddles and fun segments where a Super Friend will have you put together 2 words, and ask you to decode it. A Super Friend will also either show you a magic trick, and how to do it! Along with those 2, they might also show you tips to stay healthy and safe.

Each episode has 4 cartoons: First, a short with a team up of either Superman, Aquaman, Batman and Robin, or Wonder Woman. Next there is a Wonder Twins 'short' where Zan, Jayna and Gleek are the only Super Friends appearing in that cartoon. Then, there is a half hour story with all the Super Friends and the Wonder Twins. Finally, there is a team-up with either Batman and Robin, Superman, Wonder Woman, or Aquaman teamed up with a featured guest star.

My thoughts about this are that it is very entertaining. Between every cartoon there are the mini-toons that throw in a change of pace. Those are usually puzzles and riddles which make the mind think, magic tricks to get the imagination working, and helpful tips to keep you healthy and safe.

My favorite type of the 4 cartoons were the team-ups where the Super Friends, Wonder Twins, and Gleek would solve a problem because you get to see all of them using their special talents. It is a real eye candy seeing Aquaman summon sea creatures as his minions, Wonder Woman with her magical lasso, Superman able t carry or break through everything with ease, along with all those "Super" talents he has like Freeze Breath, X-ray Vision, and many others,  Batman and Robin's Bat Utility Belt which carries everything for those situations, the Wonder Twins with their shape-shifting ability, and Gleek, the buck-toothed, blue colored primate with his Woner Tail and oposable thumbs to carry the bucket Zan is usually carried in when in water form.

The DVD was released quite awhile ago.  It originally hit in DVD format on January 8,  2008. I am writing this Blog in a 2 part Blog post because the total runtime for both discs in this DVD set is 323 minutes- nearly 5 & 1/2 hours. That wouldn't really be a realistic amount of time to cover in one sitting; but just about right if divided into 2 nights.
 
Because I haven't seen the whole DVD set, I will not give it a rating yet.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Blog of The All New Super Friends Hour: Season 1 Volume 1.

That will be sometime in the future. Thanks for reading! Now, take it away Michael!.

-------------------------------------------

That's the end of today's guest blog by Vinnie...My thanks to him for sharing here today what we watched this weekend! We don't have any for sale in our online store but YOU too can enjoy this DVD collection by clicking on the link that follows here:

The All-New Super Friends Hour: Season One, Vol. 1

If YOU liked his review on this DVD, you may enjoy reading his reviews on: The Ultimate Underdog Collection Volume 1, Planet Hulk, Coraline, Ponyo, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Sonic the Hedgehog TPB Vol 1, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, just to name a recent few!   

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,180 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines, and graphic novels, including Funnybooks, Sci-Fi, and MoNSTer Comics at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

---

 

"Hammering Out the Web For You Since May 12th, 1998!"       Note: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:     Make It So Marketing Inc. PO Box 130653 Carlsbad, CA 92013

My thanks to those of YOU that have read today's blog post! I do appreciate that! For those of you that didn't know me before today...I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 San Diego West Coast Comic Con (SDCC) at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   My wife Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor (dealer) table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our dealer table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link, which takes you to our table named: 'Facebook Comic Con | Make It So Marketing'.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!     Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to also join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'. I am reaching the maximum of 5,000 Facebook Friends soon, and I don't want YOU to be left out!         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently, sorry about that!   The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners. is blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.