Tripwire's Editor, Andrew Grossberg... Recently sent me a review copy of the Tripwire - Superhero Special 2009. 

At first sight, this magazine reminded of a magazine I used to see on occasion at other cons several years ago.  That's when I realized that this was a 'special publication' from the same magazine publishers those years before in the mid 1990's.

At that time it was a British publication that was unusual in its' dimension size and stood out in size from the rest of the mags that I would pick up at a con.   After reading my comics, magazines, etc., I always bag and board them for storing.  Thus I consider it an 'unusual size' because of the storage factor.

It still is a British publication, and still is in that unusual size, at least for this special issue.   When I say 'special' issue, that would be because this is a stand alone issue devoted to superheroes.  The next issue, scheduled for June 2009, is to be their 'Adventure Special' which will feature people like Michael Moorcock, Robert E Howard, and others.  Otherwise Tripwire appears to have gone to an 'annual' basis the past few years...

BTW, the photo at the top left of this blog post is showing several of the Tripwire group at the recent 2009 Wonder Con in San Francisco, including Andrew Grossberg at the far right, and Editor-In-Chief Joel Meadows directly next to him.

Their 'Superhero Special' contained several different stories, which although each was about superheroes, had enough different characters to interest most readers of superhero comics and graphic novels.

I'll just comment on a few of the stories:

Of course there is a 'timely' lead piece, that of co-creator Dave Gibbons discussing the genesis of the Watchmen comic book series.  Enough text and photos to keep anyone's interest who wanted to know more about the 1980's series.

'Millar's Crossing' opened my eyes on the world of Mark Millar's creation Kick-Ass that is coming to film.  Hopefully this film will be marketed correctly in that is not a 'superhero' movie for kids. After seeing very young children at the recent Watchmen film, the film's marketing should let potential viewers know what age groups movies based on comics like these are for! 

'The Myth-maker' was an article on discussing Marvel's Captain Britain.  The Captain has had a problem in reaching higher numbers in sales over here in the States, just like Doctor Who, although there are several fans of both here.  Just not enough publicity to get either out of 'cult' fan status so far during these many years...

'The Golden Years'  had a look back at the 1930's - 1940's, which is also 'timely' if you are in the Los Angeles area that has the Skirball Cultural Exhibit showing Jerry Robinson's Zap! Pow! Bam! Exhibit now through this summer! Click here for our thoughts on that exhibit!

'Royal Flush' was a short article to the 'King of Comics' Jack Kirby, which helped win me over to liking this magazine even more!

'The 15 Most Important Superhero Graphic Novels Ever', was the mag's pick of the superhero collections that you would need to stock your shelves at home.  Some of the picks were of course the standard ones you would find in many such lists, but there were ones that were unusual IMHO to have on this list.  Even those that are 'standards' in many lists had detailed write-ups in this article, emphazing why they were important enough to be on this short list.  Enough so, that my wife Tina, stopped reading the article long enough to tell me of one GN to put on our next shopping list that she had never read!

In summary, even though you may have a subscription to Comics Buyer's Guide (CBG), Wizard, and others like we do, this special issue is worthwhile to pick up and read!

Being a fan of Robert E Howard's works will make me look for the next Tripwire Special, 'The Tripwire Adventure Special' due out in June!

If you can't find this $7.95 US priced publication at your LCBS or your local newstand or auction site... then their web site is at: http://www.tripwireannual.com

(Please Note: A complimentary hard copy for this mention / review was provided by the publisher.)  

This is a 'heads up'... To those of you that enjoy spy thrillers.  Which would include my wife Tina and myself, especially when they are transformed later into films, like James Bond, which Tina has seen all of them!

Well, this upcoming novel isn't a film, (yet), but it does have a book trailer online for you to view to give you an idea of what's ahead for this novel!

I recently became Facebook Friends with the author Jeremy Duns, who wrote me the following:  

"I just wanted to share the news that Free Agent will be available as an audio book. In the UK, it will be released by Oakhill Publishing and in the US by Recorded Books - both versions will be unabridged. There will also be a large-print edition in the UK, published by FA Thorpe.

Finally, I've just received a wonderful jacket quote from Gayle Lynds, the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Spymaster, The Coil and Masquerade. The latter was listed by Publishers Weekly as one of the top 15 spy novels of all time. Here's her quote:

'Utterly riveting, Free Agent is an international espionage thriller par excellence. Lyrical prose, unforgettable characters, and a fascinating plot that doesn't release the panting reader until the last page makes this spy ride unforgettable. Free Agent is the beginning of a classic series that's sure to be a huge hit.'

Free Agent will be published in the UK on May 5 and the US on June 25. But you can already place your order at Amazon, Target, Borders and numerous other places online. If you haven't yet, please do!"

Well, I took a look at the links that Jeremy provided, and decided to give you a 'heads up' on this upcoming book.

Like those of you that will take the time to look at the excerpts, I didn't get to read the whole novel, but it looks interesting enough for me to want to blog about it.

It is Not a Spy Thriller Graphic Novel, (like the online graphic novel 'The FAT Man' I've blogged about before), but it is in a similar genre without the illustrations.

Here is a little back of background on the novel:

In July 1945, MI6 agent Paul Dark took part in a clandestine mission to hunt down and execute Nazi war criminals. He will discover that everything he understood about that mission, about its consequences, and about the woman he once loved, has been built on false foundations.

Now it's 1969, and a KGB colonel has walked into the British High Commission in Lagos, Nigeria, and announced he wants to defect. His credentials as a defector are good: he has information indicating that there is yet another double agent within MI6, which would be a devastating blow to an organization still coming to terms with its betrayal by Kim Philby and the rest of the Cambridge Ring.

Dark has largely been above suspicion during MI6's years of self-recrimination - but this time he's in the frame. For some it would be flight or fight time. But when your arrest may be only moments away, sometimes the only option is flight AND flight... whatever the consequences.

For those of you that are on Facebook, you can view these links:

The 'Free Agent by Jeremy Duns' Group Page is at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23354543483

The BOOK TRAILER is at:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=58547396797&oid=23354543483

If you are not on Facebook, then the entire first chapter of the novel is also posted online at Simon & Schuster's site:

http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=65&pid=649737&agid=2

Also, Jeremy has more information about himself at his own personal web site at:

http://www.jeremyduns.com/

There you will find a previously unpublished article of his titled 'Beyond Bond' - A look at some forgotten spy thrillers. Also there is the fact that Jeremy knows his stuff, he also wrote the following article:  'Hunting the Nazis' - The True Story of the Belgian SAS'.

Like I wrote at the beginning of this blog post, this looks a good novel to check out when the book is published first in the UK, and then in the States.

(Please Note: A complimentary hard copy for this mention / review was not provided by the creator as it is in online format only at this time.)