TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3138:

So what's this anthology about? Here's the background info from another web site:

"My website is www.betweenmars.com.  My book, titled “Kevin Woody’s Between Mars,” will be a collection of three short stories, the bulk of which is a 41-page story about a 19th century Chicagoland town that doesn’t know what a beard is because a masonic-like society of barbers has kept beards a secret from humanity for centuries.  I’m currently posting the comic on my website every Monday, Wednesday, & Friday.  The book will be 52 full color pages for $12.”

So what's 'My Take' on this anthology?

Front Cover / Back Cover:  The front cover shows a spaceman using a saw on what apperas to be an air hose.

Turning to the back cover, as it a 'wrap-a-round' cover, it is a little surprising to see the scene...! 

Okay, so what's this publication going to look like inside after that twist?

Inside Front Cover:  Is a pencil sketch of a character with the word 'Enjoy' underneath the sketch.

Splash Page:  Is an actually the Table of Contents showing that there are 3 stories:

'Pogonotomy' starts on Page 2.

'The Forgotten Daughter of Zeus' starts on Page 44.

'Glutenous' starts on Page 49.

So the majority of the pages in this publicatin center on one story...

Okay, so I start reading this first story. It's not like the wrap-a-round cover in style or content...But...I find the storyline to be very interesting...

And the artwork produced in sepia tone...It's pretty darn good! There's some full panel pages, some multi-panel pages, and the story is well paced.  Well done, even though I'm wondering why the publication is titled 'Between Mars'??!!

The 2nd story start off in color, and is set even earlier in time than the 1st story.  Back to the time of the story of 'The Forgotten Daughter of Zeus'?!

I don't get it...The story and art is okay, nah, actually it is pretty good also, although done in a different art style, but now I'm wondering, did I miss something...Somewhere along the line here?

The 3rd and last story - Now this story is in black and white,. Yeah, B&W!  And yeah, cute...kinda funny even...But still, it has nothing to do with the other two stories in this publication, let alone with the Title!!!

Final Page - The Inside Back Cover: The short, (and I mean short!) story of the origin of Woody!

Okay, it's got me stumped!

I see on the bottom of the back cover the web site for this publication: www.betweenmars.com.

Maybe the answer is there?  But why should I look there for the answer to my question ever since I opened the publication to the first page?

Yes, if I had an iPad or iPhone with an app to check online what this publication is supposed to be; I could do so.  But if I was a browser and saw this in a LCBS or a brick-n-mortar book store, why should I have to?

It's either a Master Marketing Gimmick, or something to drive the browser crazy before purchase.  Or both...?!

So I go to the web site.  I find that Woody has been working on this since 2005, per the copyright on the web site.

Yet, after going through all the pages, at least I believe I saw all the pages, as there are links to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, etc., I still don't have my answer to my question.

Why is it titled 'Between Mars'...???!!!

Well...maybe I'll have to ask on the Facebook Fan Page for: Kevin Woody's Between Mars!

This is where I normally would give my My Thanks to the creator of the publication for bringing their publication to my attention.  Well...even though the 'Title' is still bugging me, the artwork and storylines inside the pages of this publication are definitely worth taking a look at!  Thanks, Kevin!

And My Thanks again to ALL of YOU reading this blog and our earlier archived blog posts.  Now over 3,135 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, TPBs, promo comics, and graphic novels, including anthologies at:

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

Check Out More Of Our Own Endeavors:   Yeah, that's me in the photo shown to the left, taken at the 1973 San Diego Comic Con! I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 SDCC at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!    Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. NOTE; All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3137:

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3136:

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3135:

So what's this comic book / series about? Here's the background info from the web site:

"Written by Steve Moore, art by Cris Bolson, colored by Doug Sirois, lettered by Todd Klein, covers by Clint Langley.

The stunning conclusion! After an explosive showdown of thunder and lightning on the battlefield, Hercules and his companions are set to end Egypt¹s civil war. But even with a cunning plan to defeat Khadis, Lord of Lightning and the insurgent king Amenmessu, there still remains a traitor in the royal house of Seti II. When the dust has settled on the grounds of war, the future of Egypt is in the hands of Hercules.

28 pages, $2.99”

So what's 'My Take' on this last comic of the five issue mini-series?

Front Cover:  Very imposing Front Cover...Regal even. And when opened up to show a wrap around cover, it is actually a breath taking cover! (What I received was the Cover A WrapAround cover at the top left, not issue #1 Doug is holding in the photo.)

Inside Front Cover:  Good that there is a 'previously' paragraph, especially since I had NOT read any of the 4 previous issues in this 5 issue mini-series. Normally I would not pick up the last issue of a mini-series that I had not read the earlier issues.  So I'll keep that in mind reviewing this issue #5 only. The actual credits are listed on this page. As shown previously above.

Splash Page:  None / as the story appears to continue from the previous issue.

Pages 2 - 24: The rest of the story.

Then 5 pages of Houses Ads & a letter from the President / Publisher of Radical Publishing on the inside back cover.

Back Cover:  On the Cover of this Cover 'A', it is the wraparound cover.  I am not aware of what the Cover 'B' back cover shows.

So...What did I think of this issue, coming in at the tail end of the story?

Well, first let me speak of the storyline.  I'm glad there was a 'previously' paragraph on the inside front cover.  That helped! I was able to pick up on what had been going on earlier, but had a little trouble identifying the characters who were in this storyline. Again, that is why I normally don't pick up the last issue to read first!

The artwork: I found that the story flowed with this artwork.  There was a bit of 'red', (blood), in several panels, but I came in on a battle that was going on. Not overly gory, and the battle was soon over.  The style of the art fit this genre.

The colors:  I found that the colors used for this issue to be complementary and not over the top.  Some fight scenes today are overly gory in presentation...this was not. Good coloring on this issue.

The lettering:  Todd Klein is a pro at this.  Another good job in placing the word balloons, especially on some pages that were heavy in text.

Note:  The Hercules Logo and character design were by Jim Steranko...Yes, THAT Jim Steranko. 'Nuff Said!

Overall, if this last issue in this mini-series is representative of the entire five issues, then this would be a comic book series that I would enjoy reading.

Although I am a big fan of Xena: Warrior Princess, starring Lucy Lawless, I was never a fanatic of the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys TV Show, which ran for 6 seasons.  From what I could see from this final issue of the comic book mini-series, this is definitely not like the TV Show.  It's more of an epic story instead of a classic adventure yarn type of storytelling.

I would give this issue #5 by itself, a Very Fine Plus (VF+) 8.5 out of a 10.0 grading scale, due to the fact that I haven't read the earlier issues, so I had missed the beginning and middle of the storyline. Again, that is not this mini-series' fault that I missed the earlier issues. I'm just grading this based on what is presented only in issue #5. 

As I said earlier, this was a recent mini-series. This was cover dated for December 2009. For info on how YOU can see more AND order this comic book, check the following web site: Radical Publishing - Hercules - where you can see the other covers, and maybe wait for the TPB (Trade Paper Back), that is in the Pre-Order stage right now.

My thanks to Doug Sirois for bringing this comic book mini-series to my attention.  Doug does NOT have a Facebook Fan Page, so I will instead show his own web site address here: DougSirois.com. I took a look at it, and found it to have quite a few examples of his works!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our own online comic book store carries many different genres of comics and graphic novels, including Hercules, Xena and other Comics in this genre at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

---

 

"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

Check Out More Of Our Own Endeavors:   Yeah, that's me in the photo shown to the left, taken at the 1973 San Diego Comic Con! I first set up as a 'dealer' at the 1972 SDCC at the El Cortez Hotel. So I've been around comic conventions for a little while, LOL!   Tina and I now have an on-line exhibitor table at the first "virtual" comic con titled the "Facebook Comic Con" (FBCC)! You can view our table and interact with us there on Facebook by clicking this link.  So if YOU are a Facebook member, please 'join' our Facebook Comic Con - Make It So Marketing exhibitor table for updates, specials, links to this blog, and other wall comments that we post every day!    Also, if you are a Facebook member and would like to join my Facebook Network, feel free to send a 'friend request' to 'Michael D Hamersky'.         ------------------- Talking about comics: if YOU are a comics creator, (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer, etc.), OR even a Comics / Magazine Publisher, feel free to contact me regarding YOUR works for a possible mention / review! I've made a special blog post about: "How To Best Submit YOUR Publication For Possible Review!" for those creators / publishers that would like to possibly have their publications mentioned or reviewed. Just click on the link provided in this paragraph! ~Michael @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com   WEB PAGE NOTE:  This blog post is written for the IE Browser standards. Chrome, Safarai, Netscape, Firefox and the others serve the page up differently. The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768. NOTE; All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

 

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3134: