Readers of this blog... will probably think that Tina and I do nothing but read comics, graphic novels, and books on comics.  Plus go to comic book movies and Sci-Fi films when they are released.  Oh, and go wine tasting also!

Well occasionally we do get out and do something else!  Last night we were invited by our neighbors to take in the first of a summer series from the City of Carlsbad (California) titled "TGIF Jazz In The Parks".  The first concert featured 'Canned Heat'.  Well, being the 'old fart' I am, I thought no, that Not Canned Heat' that I knew from 1965 - 1970, but then again...could it be?

It was!  Or at least what represents the Band today! As seen from the pictures below, we listened to and 'boogied' to the beat of the band...  

For this concert, we saw the band's four man touring group, which consists of (left photo) Barry Levenson, (middle pic)Dale Spalding, (right pic) Greg Kage, and Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra (pictured below). When they tour as the "Woodstock Reunited Lineup" they add Larry "The Mole" Taylor and Harvey "The Snake" Mandel.  Over the 40+ years since the band started, there have been 48 different band members!  

The band played for the two hour period, less a break, where the City of Carlsbad did its' promotion.  And yeah, they played their three biggest hits, "On The Road Again", "Going Up the Country", and leaving for last, "Let's Work Together!".   Pictured are (left) Fito - who was with the band from 1967, (middle) Michael and Tina 'dancing' at the front of the stage, (right) and the entire Canned Heat band, (Barry, Greg, Fito, and Dale), taking its' bow at the end.

And... of course there would have to be a 'comics' connection for me to blog about this, right??!!

Well, take another look at the top right of this blog post.

There you will see a comic book from 1969 titled 'Kanned Korn Komix'.  Yeah, it was published to be packaged with one of the Canned Heat albums.  That album (LP) was titled "Future Blues" (From Liberty 1970 USA).  Appears I just can't get away from comic books, even when I go to concerts, LOL! 

For more info on the Canned Heat band and their tour schedule, please see their web site at:  http://www.CannedHeatMusic.com

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This graphic novel series...  comes from Iberian Press.  So far I have blogged about the first volume.  Because the first volume was in a 'grayscale' format, and the second is in color, I intentionally blogged separately on these two volumes.  

Before I post my review, I'll post what the creators have laid out about the storyline synopsis for Volume 2:

" Ardan and Keegan reach Castel, but tempers flare as they fight their way through low life thugs, a black market pirate, two bounty-hunting dwarves, and the Horde’s most vicious death machines, The Hunters. The Horde marches the planet towards a horrific future as their enigmatic mastermind is poised to unleash his cybernetic army. They’ll stop at nothing to capture Ardan, if only he knew why. The walls are slowly closing in as Ardan finds himself in the Bull’s Eye."

In my earlier blog I stated that I had been around for a while and have read several Sci-Fi / Adventure / Fantasy epics before.  Of course the main idea in a first volume is to get the reader 'hooked' into the characters and the storyline, so that they will want to continue to follow the rest of the series.  As I stated the first volume did that for me...

So I open up the second graphic novel, and am pleased to see a map of the world of Tyr right away.  That is always great to have as a reference as to where the storylines are taking place.  So I go on to reading page one, then turn the page over to pages two and three, and noticed right away that there was some color at the bottom of page three.

That was a little different, because as I stated above, the first volume was really well done in grayscale.   Here the color accentuates the blood and the fire at the last panel on the third page.  Well... okay, that's an interesting use of color there...

I continue to read on, and find more coloring creeping into the storyline, and then there is a change of location. Now the rest of the color comes in.  Okay, if we are going to have color in this second volume, it was one way of bringing it about. Especially since there was a time period between the publishing of the two volumes.

I already had made the realization that Ardan’s story was far bigger than even Ardan realized.  Reading this volume I still didn't know how long this graphic novel series would continue as so far I hadn't seen any mention...

I also have stated before in my blogs that 'manga' art is not one of my favorite stylings.  Saying that, I found that Miguel Guerra's styling in the first volume using 'grayscale'  was a more polished look and I liked it.  The colored artwork in the second volume was more 'manga like' to me, because of the coloring.  Not that this is bad, just that it is closer to manga which is not one of my favorite formats.  However those that like manga-style would probably appreciate the coloring of the panels more...

I had mentioned that the lettering in the first volume was the only thing that seemed a little strange at times to me.  The person at the right of the panel could be speaking first, and then the person at the left speaking.  But not always, only sometimes... This was probably a holdover from the manga format, but it was a little unsettling at times for me.  I did not notice that process so much in the second volume, as it read better for me.

I had also mentioned that the word balloons were not totally white in the first volume, and that they appeared to be 'super-imposed' over the artwork.  At first it was a little distracting for me, but a few pages in I adapted to this word balloon format.  Here in the second volume, there was a continuation of that ballooon format, until the color was introduced.  Then the word balloons became the all white that would be considered 'standard'.

I enjoyed this volume, even with the change in color format, and the change in word balloon format. 

What did kind of throw me off just a bit, was the increased usage of common lingo / slang in the speech of a few of the characters.  Somehow I didn't feel that the characters would be talking like 'real Earth' people there on their own planet of Tyr.  Maybe this was to 'popularize' the storyline for the mainstream reading public... that I'm not for sure, but I did see more of it in this second volume.  Possibly it could be because the book was aimed at a 'Teen Plus' market per the rating at the back cover?  And yeah, I'm definitely past my Teen Years, that's for sure! 

I previously stated that I was looking forward to finishing the second volume in this series.  After reading this volume with its coloring changes, balloon changes, and what seemed to me to be a more defining of whom the series is aimed for, I still believe that this series  is a worthwhile series to pursue.

The biggest concern to me would be the increase of price from the first volume printed in grayscale at $13.95, to this volume printed in color at $25.99 cover price.  From a little bit more research on this series, I found that Miguel was planning on this to run for a total seven graphic novel volumes. 

I know that both volumes were good reading for me, and that I have enjoyed the storyline so far.  Best of luck to Miguel and Suzy in continuing this graphic novel series.  

Those interested in seeing this series continue should recommend it to their local libraries for possible purchase in their graphic novel sections!

Samurai Elf (vol. 2): Bull's Eye
Creator/Artist/Writer: Miguel Guerra
Editor/Writer/Color Assists: Suzy Dias
Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy/Adventure
Format: FC, 232 pages, 5.75" x 8.5"
Cover Price: $13.95 Black & White / Grayscale 
Ages: Teen+

For more info on the series and upcoming graphic novels, please see the Iberian Press web site at:  http://www.IberianPress.com

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

Here at Make It So Marketing's Blog, we post daily on comics and pop culture news and events.  Check out our daily blog posts, new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale including Isis Comics in our online Store! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!!

This limited series comic book title...  comes from Renegade Arts Entertainment and Berserker Comics.  It is a bi-monthly comic book with four issues planned for this limited series.

Before I get into my review of the first issue, I'll post what the publishers have laid out in their promotional release:

"Renegade is pleased to announce Channel Evil, a four part comic that we are co-publishing with Berserker Comics in Belfast.  Written by Alan Grant with Shane Oakley on art duties, Channel Evil is a full on horror story that will delight and terrify all who have the courage to read it. The first issue will be released in March 2009."

"The quick pitch:
A slick and sleazy chat show host gets more than he bargained for when he channels an ancient source of evil, unleashing terror and carnage upon the world."

Okay, their 'quick pitch' was exactly what the first issue is all about!  The interior pages are black/gray/white, which helps set the mood for this HoRRoR comic book!

The artwork is by Shane Oakley, with an ink assist by Suzanne O'Brien.  The artwork fits this genre very well, and the art is Not 'over the top' as seen in some HoRRoR comics. I rather liked this 'looser' style because of the black/gray/white pages it was printed in.

The letterer, Jamie Grant, did a fine job placing the word balloons and text in the panels.  Writer Alan Grant kept my interest while setting up the characters and the beginning of the storyline.

There also is a striking variant cover to this first issue!  The cover artist is Wayne Nichols, with inks by Andy Brown, and colours by Kieran Oats.

The Editor, Alexander Finbow, with production assist from Jamie Grant, has an introductory issue to be proud of!  I would look forward to seeing the next issue in this limited series...

Channel Evil #1 of 4   22pgs of art & story plus 2 ad pages
Writer: Alan Grant  Art: Shane Oakley 
Genre: HoRRor Comic  Format: Black/Gray/White interior pages

Cover Price: $3.99 USD  Ages: Suggested For Mature Readers

For more info on the series and other comics for 2009, please see their web site at:  http://www.renegadeartsentertainment.com/

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

Here at Make It So Marketing's Blog, we post daily on comics and pop culture news and events.  Check out our daily blog posts, new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale including Isis Comics in our online Store! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!!