Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews... Old City Blues The Graphic Novel By Giannis Milonogiannis Published by Archaia Entertainment! - Top Left Photo: The Company Logo for Archaia Entertainment. - Above Top Photo:  The Front Cover to 'Old City Blues' Graphic Novel by Giannis Milonogiannis.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3508:

Here is a review on the hard cover graphic novel presentation by Greek newcomer, Giannis Milonogiannis, published by Archaia Entertainment.

What is this graphic novel about?  Here's a description:

"The murder of the CEO at the head of the world’s foremost cybernetic corporation sets the stage for Old City Blues, the gripping new futuristic noir from publisher, Archaia Entertainment.

Old City Blues begins in the year 2048 of Southeastern Europe. Built on the ruins of the country once known as Greece, New Athens is a city crawling with life—low-life, that is. From mech smugglers and drug dealers, to corrupt politicians and all-too-powerful corporations, the city is at the mercy of high-tech criminals. And it’s up to Solano, Thermidor, and the rest of the New Athens Special Police to keep the city in order. When the cybernetically augmented founder of a tech corporation called Hayashi is found murdered, it seems to be just another case of cyborg persecution. But Hayashi Corporation’s strange response to the incident raises suspicion in Solano and the Special Police. The mystery they unravel will lead them straight into the wasteland of the Old City."

What were my thoughts on this graphic novel?

While the premise is one that sounds somewhat 'familiar'... The different style artwork by Giannis Milonogiannis gives a new approach to this genre.

It does help that Giannis is also the writer, in that he can illustrate his vision of the storyline in a black & white format.

The only possible problem in a work such as this, is that when one person is both the writer & illustrator, they are the one responsible for the total work.  If the reader doesn't like the storyline or the art, there is only one person that the dislike can be associated with...

I'm glad to say that Giannis comes through for me on this graphic novel.  The storyline made me 'hang in there', until I felt comfortable enough seeing the 'sketchy' style of artwork.  Unusual enough style to stop to mention, yet after seeing a few pages in this style, I found that the artwork captured the mood intended for this work.

There is a good balance between pages with a lot of copy versus pages with very little or no copy.  I found this easier to read, understand, and enjoy... The more I read on.

I'm giving this graphic novel a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grade, because although I liked the artwork shown in this book, I'm also realizing that my recommendations are 'out there' for all to see, and hold myself accountable for that.  I found myself liking this artwork style after a few pages, but others might not give it that long to adapt to for reading... My suggestion is, if you like this genre of story, then hang in there and give this artwork by newcomer Giannis Milonogiannis to sway you to finish it!

Here is what you need to ask for this book at your local book store or online ordering point:

Hardcover: 120 pages - Cover Price $14.95
Publisher: Archaia Entertainment; 1 edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936393204
ISBN-13: 978-1936393206
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces

For more on this book and online ordering... Check out the Archaia Entertainment online shop at: Old City Blues.

For where you can interact with the publisher, Archaia Entertainment, be sure to 'LIKE' their Facebook Fan Page!

Graphic novels like this one is one of the reasons that I enjoy reading the comics and graphic novels that are published by Archaia Entertainment, and always stop by their booth at comic cons that they are set up in!

As a matter of fact, I'm proud to list back issues of their comics at my own online comic book shop, ComicBooksCircus.com!

~Michael D Hamersky On Comics!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,558 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews... I Am Googol -The Great Invasion #1 By Bobby Nash & Rodrigo de Castro Published by PG Comics! - Top Left Photo: The Company Logo for Point G Comics!. - Above Top Photo:  The Front Cover to 'I Am Googol - The Great Invasion - Book One - A Hard Cover 'Comic Book' / Graphic Novel.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3507:

Back in Blog #3506 I mentioned that I recently received a copy of 'Monsters Among Us' #1 from Rob Wuest, who was the writer of that hard cover comic book.  I said 'hard cover' comic book, because it was a 'comic book' that was bound as a hardcover book.

I also mentioned that this format was used in Europe quite a bit, and that I thought at first that the item in the envelope had been sent from the United Kingdom!  It was that nice of a presentation package!  Actually you could call it a 'graphic novel'!

Well... Here's another hard bound 'comic book' / 'graphic novel', but this one IS from the United Kingdom, even though it has an American writer, Bobby Nash, that wrote it!

At the top right of this blog is the front cover to 'I Am Googol - The Great Invasion' Book One (#1).

So what is this comic book / graphic novel about?  Here's a description:

"Their arrival was heralded as a new beginning for the human race. Humans were no longer alone in the cosmos. Instead, they were suddenly thrust into an arena much larger than they were ready to deal with. In an age of technological advancement, Toughware and the wiki implants were the culmination of the first successful blending of human and alien technology. Suddenly, anyone with a wiki implant could ride the data streams. Hackers became celebrities as the neural landscape became the world's playground. And for a special few, a startling side effect was discovered. Fearing the worst, the Lambda Initiative was created to police wiki infractions and to protect the fabled Lambda Time Travel Restrictions. Anyone, human or alien, attempting to bypass the Lambda Protocols was subject to prosecution under this new law. To enforce this law, the G-Men were created. Culled from specialists with military and law enforcement experience, the G-Men sought out Lambda Protocol violators with swift and violent response. With wiki crimes on the rise and a growing anti-alien movement gaining strength, something had to be done. The government needed a solution, but they weren't sure what to do. And then they discovered a teenage girl living in Brazil with a special affinity for traversing and moulding the data stream. They had discovered the first Googol. And the world was about to change."

Whew!   That's a lot of ground to cover in book one!  But that is a good thing.  As the cost of this book is a little expensive.  (Probably due to shipping and the dollar exchange rate in the UK.)

I must admit that the packaging of this 'comic book' in hardback format does give a great presentation when first holding it, and then opening to the beginning pages!

Bobby Nash takes the concept mentioned above and runs with it... Enough to keep my interest in this book one, and wondering where the storyline is headed to in book two!

The artwork by Rodrigo de Castro fits this story's genre. Plus it illustrates very well the scenario that Bobby puts out there for illustration. 

The presentation with great paper used for printing, and the hardback covers makes this book one a nice one to give to friends or family members as a gift, as it is in the format of a hard cover comic book, not a 'floppy' comic book you would find published in the USA, (except for the one mentioned in Blog #3506!).

I'm giving this a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grade, because although I enjoyed reading it, the blank pages before and after the story could have been used for some sort of characters intro or storyline presentation, or even a bio of the creators, or of the publsihing company.  Instead the blank pages kind of threw me off a bit with just the words 'End of Book One'...  Both comic book & graphic novel formats allow for extra pages to give a wider scope of what the storyline is about, especially if there is a 'Book Two' planned for printing in the future!

Here is what you need to ask for this book at your local book store or online ordering point:

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,556 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Reviews... Monsters Among Us Issue #1 By Rob Wuest, Stevano Pavan & Mark Englert Published by Cosmic Comics Group! - Top Left Photo: Page 3 (black & white) of Monsters Among Us #1. - Above Top Photo:  The Front Cover to Monsters Among Us #1 from Cosmic Comics Group.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3506:

I recently received a copy of 'Monsters Among Us' #1 from Rob Wuest, who is the writer of this hard cover comic book.  I say 'hard cover' comic book, because it is a 'comic book' that is bound as a hardcover book.

This format is used in Europe quite a bit, and I thought at first that the item in the envelope had been sent from the United Kingdom!  It was that nice of a presentation package!

When opening the 'comic book' to the opening credits, I found that my copy was #99 out of 200 copies printed in this format.  I also found that the comic book was dedicated to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

I could immediately see why the book was dedicated to Stan & Jack, because of the splash page!  This splash page was presented as a discolored newsprint splash page from days of old... With an 'Atlas-era' Sci-Fi / MoNSTer page to draw the reader into turning the page to start reading the story... Which I immediately did!

I was captured by the storyline, the puns placed in the dialogue, and the artwork... all at once!  

It was like taking a time machine back to the 'glory days' of the period of Stan & Jack & Steve & Don & Larry when the monsters & science fiction comics were among the best that Atlas (pre-Marvel) was publishing!  Back then, (1957), there were only 16 bi-monthly comics.

The printing was the key factor to my believing that I was in a 'time warp'.  Instead of today's 'Masterpieces' style of re-printing old comics with clean, white & brite pages... This book's pages were intentionally aged.  The old school panel layout also added to the fun in reading this!

Trust me on this one... If you are a fan of the earliest 'Marvel' comics, those when the 'Marvel Age of Comics' was just beginning... You'll love this book!  Reading this is like reading the backup stories of Tales of Suspense when Iron Man was just being introduced, or Tales To Astonish, when Antman was first being featured. The 'backup' stories in those issues were great reading, during those titles transistion to superheroes!

In addition, the comic creators include a team of humans who are responsible for introducing the monsters to Earth... and that gives it a feel of the early 'Fantastic Four', minus one member.

Hey, I can't say enough 'good' about this book!

I'm giving it a NEAR MINT (NM) 9.4 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grade, because I loved the concept AND the execution of it!

You can see select pages of this comic book at the Monsters Among Us Facebook Fan Page.

At the time of this blog post, you can also purchase a copy via the Monsters Among Us web site, both in a hard copy and an e-book format. 

As a matter of fact at this time you can purchase an e-book for only 99 cents!  Check it out!   This is worth far more than 99cents in reading pleasure!  But you better hurry to pick up one of the remaining 200 special limited edition hard bound format copies!

My thanks to Rob Wuest for bringing his comic book to my attention!  It really made my day when reading it!  Make Mine Ma... er... Cosmic Comics Group!

~Michael D Hamersky 

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,550 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents... Tina LoSasso's Take On... The Art Of War! By Sun Tzu / Illustrated By Shane Clester / 2nd Edition Published by SmarterComics!   -   - Left Column Top Photo: The Front Cover to 'The Art Of War',  2nd Edition  Published by Smarter Comics! - Topmost Photo This Column:  The SmarterComics Logo -   Video Shown Above:  The promotional video on this 2nd Edition of the best selling book... Available in comic book format via eBook & hard copy from SmarterComics!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3505:

The Sun Tzu's The Art of War - Comic Book Style

From SmarterComics
Adapted by Cullen Bunn and Shane Clester
Illustrated by Shane Clester

2,500 year-old military treatise, "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, is required reading for U.S. Marines and in most American business schools.

 
It's known to have been studied by such champions as New England Patriots Super Bowl winning Coach Bill Belichick and World Cup soccer teams.

 
Gordon Gekko quotes it in Wall Street (1987): "Every battle is won before it is ever fought." Hollywood even made a modern day movie about it. Fun trivia: Wesley Snipes who stars in the movie is seen reading a copy of "The Art of War" in a previous film, Passenger 57.

Now The Art of War, originally written on bamboo strips, comes to us in comic book format, thanks to SmarterComics.

Cullen Bunn and Shane Clester adapt Sun Tzu's philosophy to modern situations. Illustrator clester applies Sun Tzu's tactics to politics, mobsters, poker (All warfare is based on deception.), business, paintball,
and retail commerce to name a few of the scenarios.

Here's the Publisher's Info on this book: 

The Art of War (2nd edition)

Author: Sun Tzu

Written by the ancient Chinese military general and philosopher Sun Tzu, THE ART OF WAR reveals the subtle secrets of successful competition – equally applicable to maneuvers in war, business, politics, sports, law, poker, gaming, and life. Required reading in modern business schools!

 Learn how to succeed in any conflict with subtle secrets of winning like these:

All warfare is based on deception.



Cowardice leads to capture.



The goal of the skillful general is not to win battles but to prevent them when possible.



Force your enemy to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots.

 Read this comic version of the ancient classic, and cut to the heart of the message.


2,500 years of strategic wisdom can't be wrong. Do you have what it takes to be a general of Sun Tzu's? Find out in just ten short questions.
 
The legend goes that Sun Tzu was born into minor nobility and given a good education, after which he wrote a military treatise in order to get noticed and hired by royalty. He then expanded his 13-chapter THE ART OF WAR into 82 chapters and trained the army. Eventually he broke the peace by invading the southern state of Yue. Other conflicts ensued, but although his troops were once outnumbered 30,000 to 200,000 he was always victorious. Many successes followed and continued after his death. Some considered his death to be another of his deceptions.

NOTE:  The publisher has multiple ways you can purchase this book! Here is the link to where you can purchase it direct from them at SmarterComics!  Either ebook via iPhone, Android, online, iPad, android tablet, or hard copy!

Thanks, Tina, for the above review!   I appreciate your guest blogging here again today!

I also want to mention that SmarterComics also has a Facebook Fan Page, that I suggest readers of this blog 'LIKE'.

~Michael D Hamersky 

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,550 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button! 

And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:  

http://www.ComicBooksCircus.com/ 

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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:  As of Monday, June 27th, 2011, I'll be using my new laptop, where the default resolution is 'higher', so there may be some temporary glitches until I am used to the new resolution.

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents...  Vinnie's Take On: Hammerboy  The Film (DVD) Based On The Korean Manhwa (Graphic Novel)   - Top Photo:  The 'Hammerboy' Film Version for English DVD! - Far Left Top Photo:  The Front Cover to the 'Hammerboy' Paperback  Version of the Korean Manhwa of 'Hammerboy', (graphic novel)!

(Vinnie)  Hello everyone! Today I am reviewing the Anime DVD, "Hammerboy". It was produced in Korea by Tae Kun An. It's a great tale and is actually family friendly.

    

 

  

    
All this time Mangchi has been training his Power of the Echo, in order to have
a chance to fight the leader, as he also shares this power. They fight and fight, and eventually the evil forces lose, like always, and the kingdom has been restored.

 

    

    

    

 

(Michael)  Thanks, Vinnie for the review blog today on this 2007 DVD that we watched together!

When checking out web pages for this blog to link to link to I found the following:

Hammer Boy (Hammerboy) on Facebook

Which was a reprint from Wikipedia.  On that page I found that there was an additional description of what was in the original film, although neither Vinnie, Tina, nor I found on the DVD version:

"...the movie has scenes where the Hammerboy's penis appears. Some people believe that makes the Korean anime have some "spectre" of Shotacon".

So that is probably why the film was for PG-13 on some web pages for sale. Again, we didn't see this on the American version shown at the top right of this blog post. Just the one word that we looked at each other when it was uttered, as nowhere else in the film had that language been used!

So, other than those two possible items, the film was one that all three of us enjoyed watching.  And to think that it was based on a Korean graphic novel (manhwa)!

And yes I did pick this DVD up because of the 'Hammerboy' title.  My 'nickname' ever since high school has been 'Hammerman' or 'The Hammerman', so my initial interest was due to the name!

~ Michael

BTW, You can 'follow' this Blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app!  We currently have over 2,550 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

~ Michael D Hamersky 

If I have it... You can find it 'Under The Big Top Of Comics' at:   ComicBooksCircus.com.

If it isn't available in my online 'Local Comic Book Shop, (LCBS), then you may be able find it in my Amazon affiiate link, as seen here:  Comics & Graphic Novels at Amazon!

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers 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.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works!!  (Note:  I don't list my email address here, due to 'spambots' gathering it and 'spamming' me. 

To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:

Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to have sent me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages in my network already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' for myself so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page! 

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