Shawn Granger, writer and publisher of the comic book series 'Family Bones', sent me a copy of that series that was compiled into a trade paperback / graphic novel format recently.

I had not read this story when it was first published in comic book format.  So I was wondering what this book was about after first thumbing through  it, deciding on which publication to read next.  I  had opened up the mailing package that contained this and another one of Shawn's works that I had also not seen before. 

What I found was that this is a 'trade paper back / graphic novel' printed format of the collected FAMILY BONES comic book issues 1-5 that were previously published by King Tractor Press.

Also I found the following press release for the series:

FAMILY BONES is based on the TRUE STORY of the oldest married couple on Missouri's death row, as experienced one summer by their unwitting nephew. The writer, Shawn Granger, is a close relative to Ray & Faye and based the story on his experiences as well as those told to him by other family members.

Additionally here is more info:

FAMILY BONES is based on the TRUE STORY of the oldest couple of serial killers, as experienced one summer by their unwitting nephew.

This first volume collects issues 1 – 5 of the popular comic book series based on the lives of serial killers Ray and Faye Copeland.  They were the kind, elderly grandparents who murders farm hands at their home.

Sean is trapped on the Copeland farm, a slave for his uncle.  The heat simmers his skin to a full boil until the neighbor's beautiful daughter appears.  Wendy quickly becomes his hope, desire, and fear; not to mention his one trusted friend.  Together they discover each other and some very bloody family secrets.

The following are the credits and details for this compilation:

Written by:  Shawn Granger

Art by Orlando Baez, Kenneth Landgraf, Benito Olea Bellido, Mannie Abeleda, Pablo Agustin Lordi

ISBN 978-0-9787486-0-9
Publisher Shawn Granger
Copyright ©2007 Standard Copyright License
Language English
Country United States
Publication Date April 9, 2007
   
Page Count 176 pages
Size (Was a Comic Book printed format originally but reduced in size for book)
Binding Perfect Bound
Interior Color: Black And White

Okay... this is not the usual fare that I read.  However, after thumbing through the black and white art interior pages, I saw enough that made me want to read it first. Please note: I am not into the current vogue of TV shows that are in the CSI vein, nor shows like 'Medium', 'Ghost Whisperer', etc.  My personal tastes for murder mysteries is more like 'Castle', 'Monk', etc., with some 'Fringe' type of shows thrown in.

However, this story, although bizarre, was undeniably compelling to keep me coming back for the next chapter.  I'm glad that this series was printed in this format, as if were only left in series of single issue 'floppy' comic books format published once a month, I don't think I would have continued to pick this series up each month.  So this published format to read all of it, chapter by chapter in a book style is probably the better way to read this series for persons like me.

Also, even though this storyline is one that I wouldn't normally pick up, I can see it being a good introduction to graphic novels for those readers that enjoy this genre of story, but wouldn't read a 'comic book'. Because it is in sequential art format, it would be a good way of introducing those that don't normally read 'graphic novels', but instead read text / prose story books of the same genre.

So what about the artwork?  Well, I'm glad to see this series published in black and white format.  Black and white would have been my choice for this series also.  The different artists in the series have different styles, yet black and white 'blends' them together in a compilation much better than color would have.  The difference in art styles would have been a lot more noticeable in color, even possibly glaring.  Yet in black and white format the art flows well with the storyline and when breaking the reading time into chapters, it really isn't that 'different' from each artist that contributed.

The lettering by Richard Nelson was a consistent factor in the series, and worked well.

The color covers used for the front covers of the comic book series were well drawn and colored.  Each cover used was a good point-of-purchase display cover, and would have caused me to at least pick it up at my LCBS.

In summary, this story is a compelling read, and the artwork flows with chapter breaks for the reader to stop and then pick it up again to continue reading. A good introduction to those that have not read King Tractor Press publications before...

The following link is where You can see where to purchase this trade paper back / graphic novel: 

http://www.kingtractorpress.com/

Thanks to Shawn for sending me this and his other graphic novel to me for possible review!

AND... Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, comic cons, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films as they are shown!  

Earlier this week I received my regular emailed notice of my Facebook Friends that are celebrating their birthdays this week...

One name that jumped out at me was that Melody Mooney was going to be celebrating her birthday this upcoming Sunday.  I had suggested to Melody when I first met her at the LBCC in early October that I thought she would be perfect for one of my Blog's "Spotlight On..." Main Feature articles whenever she was ready. 

So I contacted her shortly after receiving the emailed notification and was pleased to receive the publicity photos published above, and a bio on herself, along with a personal note.

Here is what Melody sent me for this 'Spotlight On... Melody Mooney!': 

Melody or HYGENA from ‘Who wants to be a Superhero’ Season two was thrilled to be one of the three finalists and the last Super Girl Standing on the show! Her tag line is 'Fighting Grime and Crime' and her Hero was born at a Convention when she saw a need for someone to clean up after others and teach them proper Hygiene.

Melody is a Canadian born transplant that lives in LA with her Husband. She is involved in Children's Theatre and works with LA Unified School District Inner City Arts program to bring Theatre and fun to under privileged children. Melody loves Star Wars and has a huge Action figure and toy collection. She is a fan of Sci-Fi in general; so much so, she makes her own fan films and enjoys editing them as well. You can currently catch Melody on Youtube and in two independent films. Melody's dream job would be to join the cast of 'Capria' the Battlestar Galactica prequel.

Melody raises money and awareness for The March of Dimes , The Epilepsy Foundation and Pet Orphans.org.

The following are the links to keep up with Melody, who you can see is a very busy person!

http://melodymuse.wordpress.com/

http://www.shareyourstory.org/webx/.ef4474d/

http://giving.epilepsyfoundation.org/site/TR/Events/Tributes?pxfid=9700&fr_id=1060&pg=fund
 
http://www.cafepress.com/hygena 

My wife Tina LoSasso, President of Make It So Marketing Inc, just loved the way that Melody had her booth at the Long Beach Comic Con set up.  Besides being dressed as 'Hygena', Melody also had hygenic products with the Hygena label. What a heck of a marketing idea!  Plus, Melody was genuinely outgoing with all those that walked by, even though it had to be a looooong three day comic con standing on her feet most of the time!

As you can tell by this blog post and earlier blog mentions, I was also impressed by Melody when meeting her in person.  She is someone You should make a point of seeing at a comic con or pop culture convention that is being held in your local area!  Until she makes it out toward your area... check out the links she provided above to see what else is going on with Melody!

Thanks to Melody for the above photos and info... and most of all...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to You Melody on Sunday!

From Michael & Tina at ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com !

Yes, I did find a wealth of new comic books series and graphic novels at the recent 2009 Long Beach Comic Con!

Which is probably why I enjoyed this 1st Annual Convention so much!  The organizers made sure that Artists Alley was the main feature of this event!

Anyways, this blog post is about another series that I found at the TAT booth, (The Antidote Trust).  TAT isn't just one publisher, it's a 'collective' of independent publishers who have joined to better promote their own comics offerings under the TAT banner.

I have been amazed at the scope of comics being offered by those creators / publishers under the TAT umbrella!

Joseph Patrick Gauthier, pictured above top left of this blog post holding all four issues of 'Lazarus: Immortal Coils'  invited me to read and posibly review his series.  The top right photo of this blog shows the front cover of the 1st issue, 'The Director's Cut' version.  Joseph is also pictured in the video shown below the first issue, welcoming You also to see what 10WorldsStudio is offering.

The following are the creator credits for the first issue of this series:  

Created & Written by:    Joseph P. Gauthier
Art by:                            Carlos Rafael Duarte
Colors by:                        Frank Martin Jr.
                                       Vinicius Andrade
Lettering by:                   Dave Lanphear
                                       Art Monkeys
Book Design by:               Chris Colbert

Standard Comic - Full Color - Page Count: 28

So what's this series about?  Here's the PR for the series:

“A LONG TIME COMING…” It begins here, the New Testament character that disappeared from history is back, but this is no bible tale! On the surface, Gehenna City is any other metropolis. Its citizens are unaware they are raw material for an invasion! Demons rule Gehenna, possessing citizens and spreading like an infection. Only Lazarus can stop them! Discover the origins of this eternal warrior. His death, resurrection, and what fuels his one-man war for over a millennia! The comic 1,974 years in the making!

LAZARUS: Immortal Coils starring the Biblical figure as an immortal warrior in a city built by demons where humans are used as hosts for an invasion. The miniseries is created and written by Joseph Gauthier, penciled by Carlos Rafael Duarte (Highlander: Way of the Sword), with covers by Casey Edwards and Kevin Sharpe.

OK, I gotta tell you that the front cover of the first issue kind of threw me off at first.  Because I hadn't read the Press Release printed above!

True, I figured it must have something to do with 'Lazarus' or even the 'Lazarus Concept'.  After all it did state on the cover:  "The True Immortal Returns...".

But the front cover showed kind of a modern looking figure, a type of super-hero, so I figured that maybe just the name was being used from the biblical tale.

But no... the Splash page, indeed the first four pages were illustrated so fine that I believed I was reading a biblical tale!  It wasn't until page five that the story moved into the present day.  And then the action began!  Almost non-stop action with many illustrations and much less text and dialogue.  But a lot of sound effects!  Plenty of sound effects!

There was also four pages of bonus material, including character designs / concepts. Not a bad start for a series I thought...

So I went right into reading the following issues since I had them in hand.

What I found in reading all four issues is that I was actually more interested in the olden time scenes that were presented as flashbacks than the modern day scenes. Not that I wasn't interested in what was happening in the present, but the art style would change back to a simpler presentation when the biblical times were shown.  I liked that back and forth direction in art style, even though both eras were shown in a grim n' gritty way.

The storyline was really presented well, and the dialogue fit the characters that were presented.  The artwork flowed through all four issues, with great coloring especially on the olden days scenes.  The lettering did not get in the way of the art, and I enjoyed the sound effects lettering a lot!

This is a pretty good presentation from 10 Worlds Studio in my opinion as I enjoyed the 'Lazarus' concept updated for comic book format...

To see more of what's happening at this comic book universe:

http://www.10worldsstudio.com/

To order the first issue of Lazarus: Immortal Coils:

http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2132

My thanks to Joseph for bringing his series to my attention at the LBCC!

I have been blogging for the last several months about new comics and graphic novels that I have received for possible review in this blog...

So at times I kind of forget that this Blog is titled "ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com". Which means that I should be blogging about comic book titles that are also truly 'collectible' as well as a good read!

Well, today I'm going to mention again the DC Comic Book Series that Jack created and was an early 1970's hit and 'collectible' today because it is relatively easier to find at least reading copies of this series.

Quite honestly I was a BIG Fan of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's collaborations.  When they split, it was like the Beatles breaking up!   Plus I truly was a 'Marvel Zombie', picking up everything by that Comics publisher, including romance, westerns, war comics, and yes... I did say romance comics... my excuse was the artists in those: Romita, Steranko, Colan, Heck, etc.!

So when Jack left for DC I felt I should read his new series there and give his solo work a chance; The New Gods, Mister Miracle, and The Forever People.  Even picked up some Jimmy Olsen comics that Jack was doing, even though I hadn't read that title in years...

However, I just didn't 'get' Jack's "Fourth World" series, it wasn't what I was used to writing-wise in his earlier collaboration.  Yet I was drawn to the titles because of the art... And too soon those title ended for those that enjoyed Jack's foray into the world he created.   And with that, my brief time reading more than usual of DC Comics ended also.

So I missed the beginning of 'Kamandi' by Jack, even though he has been brought as a DC Universe character since then...

The majority of Kamandi's appearances to date occurred in the first comic book series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which was published from 1972 to 1978.

Kamandi was portayed as a young 'hero' in a Post-Apocalyptic future, which was set in a parallel Earth of the DC Universe's future.

It was set in a period after an event called "The Great Disaster". In that period humans are a persecuted minority in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals. If that sounds familiar to you, then remember that an earlier 1968 movie 'Planet of the Apes'  also portrayed an animal-ruled world!

Thanks to Jack Kirby who has given me so many hours of pleasure of reading the comics worlds that he created or co-created.  Kamandi was one that I enjoyed, albeit years later!

In an earlier blog I mentioned that I had met Richard A Hamilton at the recent 2009 Long Beach Comic Con while he was at 'The Antidote Trust' (TAT) booth...

At that time he told me that the mini-series I had blogged about earlier, 'The Miserable Dastards' had been collected into a TPB. (Click here for that blog.)

While I was there at the TAT booth he also handed me his earlier mini-series that I had not seen before. That was "The Return of the Super Pimps".

Okay... I had really enjoyed reading the first issue of  his 'Miserable Dastards' series,  and if he wanted me to check out his earlier work, then I was up for it!

But what was it about?  I kinda had an idea from the mini-series title and the covers of the six issues in the series, but wanted to know more.  Here is what the Press Release said about the series: 

"During the 1970’s, five protectors - Blackbeard, Foxy Mama, Homeboy, GhettoBlaster, and Sidekick - known as the Super Pimps kept the Hood safe and delivered justice with a strut. But that all changed on one night in 1979, and the Super Pimps were no more.

Now, almost thirty years later, Detective Jackson Maple still believes in his childhood heroes and sets out to reunite the Super Pimps, just as a familiar evil returns to The Hood after so many years."

I think I need to 'flesh' it out a little more... Yeah, that's a bad pun... But here's how the story really is set up in the first issue.   The reader gets to see the Super Pimps through the eyes of a young boy in flashback mode.

The Super Pimps had lost one of their own in battle, which basically had forced the team to disband on their own.  Then in the next scene it's now today in modern times and back to that same boy who had witnessed the end of the Super Pimps and who is now a Police Officer of all things!

Maybe this comic started off a little stereotypical at first for me...?  But then again, I am an older white guy that has grown up watching several blaxploitation movies and what not during the years...

But then the Super Pimps grew on me.  It was funny to see that the Super Pimps are considered an 'urban myth' of the past, and how they act like they are out of touch with that much time passing.  The storyline improves with each issue, and the dialogue works out for each character.

So with a full set of this mini-series I appreciated the storyline more, and the dialogue.  There's something about Richard's writing that I find to be a fun read. Maybe a little more so in the 'Miserable Dastards' mini-series, but this storyline here grew on me quickly, and I found myself enjoying it before the end of the first issue.  The additional issues just added on to the story, and the ending was pretty good as well!

Ulises Roman, who does the pencils and inks for the first issue is a little 'rough' at first for me.  However his pencils grow and he does get additional inking by Rick Bonilla in issue #2 & #3.  Robert Roach comes in for lettering and layout design in issue #3 and stays till the final issue #6.  The art style was a little different for me at first, but I could see that it did fit the storyline and jelled for me reading into the issues as I went along.

It was the coloring that helped put this mini-series together for me.  Jasen Smith had a hand in it for at least issues #1 thru 3. 

The credits for who did what got a little expanded and then contracted for the mini-series.  I don't know the creative backstory to this series, but all in all I enjoyed the mini-series as a whole, and was entertained by it.  One of the hardest things to do in publishing an indie series is to publish all the issues that are figured to be in the story arc.  This creative group did it, all the way through to the final issue which was #6.

I shouldn't compare it to the 'Miserable Dastards' mini-series which Richard also wrote; which was a completely different storyline and setting, so I won't much, other than what I've said prior to this. 

Suffice to say that I did enjoy reading this mini-series written by Richard and developed further by those listed above and more not named here.  I look forward to reading a third mini-series written by Richard! 

Here's the direct link to the Dial 'C' For Comics online store where you could purchase this mini-series, and also the 'Miserable Dastards' mini-series that I previously blogged about:

http://dialcforcomics.com/shop/fs_shop.html !

Thanks to Richard for bringing this earlier mini-series to my attention!