My 'Take' On: Emerald City Blues #2 From Karl Altstaetter     - Above Photo:  The Alternate Sketch Front Cover to Emerald City Blues #2 from Karl Altstaetter. - At the Top Left: Karl Altstaetter at the recent San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival held in September.  - At the Bottom Left: The Poster to the San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival.

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3271:

I just saw Karl Altstaetter at his table in the Artists Alley at this past weekend's Long Beach Comic Con. 

Which reminded me that I hadn't yet blogged about his issue #2 of his Emerald City Blues (ECB) #2 that he gave me at the San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival in September.

At times I do get a little behind on comics / graphic novels that I would want to blog about if they are the 2nd issue of a series that I have already blogged about. However, this series deserves additional publicity because of what this series is about, and how this 2nd issue moves this series along.

First, here is the link to the my review blog on issue #1 of this series.

For more on what this issue #2 is about, I've copied this from Karl's web site:

The saga continues as Dorothy and Tin seek out the Scarecrow for answers. Meanwhile Glinda reveals there is more to her plan than ruling Emerald City!

Emerald City Blues is a post modern take on The Wizard of Oz by Writer / Artist Karl Altstaetter (Q-Unit, Deity, Bloodstrike)

Three covers!

Main "Yellow Brick Road" Cover 28 pgs-$5.50 + $4.95 S.H.

Alternate Dorothy Cover 28 pgs with a card stock cover $10.50 + $4.95 S.H.

Alternate Dorothy Sketch Back Cover Comes with a custom sketch on the back! $25.00 + $4.95 S.H.

Okay...So what is 'My Take' on this 2nd Issue?

Front Cover: I received the alternate sketch cover issue to read and blog about, as shown at the top right of this blog post. Which would definitely attract the eyes of a possible male reader!

Inside Front Cover:  The credits are shown on this page, with an email address to contact the creator, and a web site to see what else has been produced for this series.  

Splash Page:  Truly a Splash Page!

The Interior Pages: What was striking to me when first thumbing through the comic book and then reading it, was seeing the usage of the colors.  Pages with just black, white and red colors, and then others with additional colors.  A good mix for this issue.

The storyline gets more defined for me as a reader. The artwork keeps the story moving, and the smart usage of colors helps move this issue forward.

This ends chapter 2.  Chapter 3, (the next issue), continues the storyline. There are three pages of ads at the back of the issue, plus one page from other artists who have contributed artwork on the deviant art web site.

The Inside Back Cover: Is the Ka-Blam ad from the printing company.

Back Cover: Again, the issue I received was the alternate cover, which had a blank sketch area for a sketch to be illustrated by the creator. Which would come with the purchase of this issue.

I found that this issue hit the stride of the series enough to interest me into looking forward to issue #3.  

Thus my 'comic book grade' for this publication is a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 on a 10.0 comic book grading scale.

Here is the link to Karl's deviant art web site so that YOU can purchase this comic book for yourself to read!  He also accepts commissions at that web site, as well as freelance work and questions on his works there.

My thanks to Karl for bringing this second issue of the series to my attention at both the San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival, and this past weekend's Long Beach Comic Con!

PLUS: My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over 3,270 total posts in number! I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

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Note: Our online comic book shop carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items at the link seen below.  

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!

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