Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Comic Books - New
TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3149: Yes, this was another publication given to me at the recent 2010 Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con in Artists Alley for possible review in this blog! As You can tell from my earlier posts, I met a lot of comics creators in the Artists Alley! So what's this comic book about? Well, I found this on the comic book's web site to copy and paste here; which is similar to what was printed on the inside front cover, which I did not want to retype: "We are not alone in the universe; however, we are the most advanced, and the United States Peace Corps wants to be the first aid organization to assist the third-world planet of Frebon. It is the year 2061 and the Peace Corps’ 100th anniversary. Though miles to go before uniting all of mankind in the first world, America’s voracious appetite for commerce, democracy converts, universal power, novelty, and maybe something more sinister, has led these ten newly oathed volunteers to the recently discovered planet. American scientists, anthropologists, and missionaries flooded the small planet shortly after deeming it inhabitable. Scientists concluded that the environment is basically the same as Earth’s. Anthropologists quickly defined the Frebonians as a three-gendered society with equal populations of males, females, and singly reproducing hermaphrodites that all live in their respective gender groups. And missionaries clothed the naked aliens with second hand t-shirts while teaching them English in order to spread the word of God. Decades later, the ruling government of this poor society eager for development has welcomed the idea of Peace Corps on their small planet." The web site had the additional information on the Planet and Frebonians: "The newly discovered planet Frebon is a human inhabitable planet with an atmosphere similar to that of Earth’s, though the gravitational force is slightly stronger, and the sky is generally a shade of red. The Frebonians are slightly smaller than humans but much wider due to the gravitational pull, and have redish, scaly skin. Their forms resemble those of humans but with an added gender: the hermaphrodite or Chono. Male and female Frebonians do not live together as their mental and temperamental differences tend to lead to violence between the sexes, a situation the Chono are born to avert. The Chono reproduce by themselves and care for their own young. Their job on Frebon is to mediate between the sexes, perform mating ritual ceremonies, and lead in musical gatherings. Once mating is complete, the male and female couple may continue to see each other with supervision but will stay in their respective camps with females raising female children and males raising males." The web site also had additional info as follows:"The Frebonians have a culture built on respect for the old instead of worship of the young, group thinking, superstitions, their traditional religion as well as the adapted religion of the human missionaries that flooded the planet as soon as it was deemed inhabitable, and are beginning to believe in the power of science and deductive reasoning with all the new technology brought by various scientists and Earth governments. Frebonian camps are made up of “Treeples,” more wide than tall trees gutted at the bottom to resemble a cave or house, in which they live. Frebonians sleep on the ground softened by various grasses but do sit on stools or chairs, which are more like stumps of rocks or whittled wood. Their interior design skills are lacking, but there’s hope. Treeples don’t initially begin as trees. They begin as a virus that implants into an ear canal of a Frebonian and starts to grow, eventually killing the Frebonian, taking root in the earth and growing into a tree. Because the process is very painful and there are no volunteers, the Frebonian king inflicts dangerous criminals with this virus. But there are fewer dangerous criminals than there are Frebonians looking for shelter so many sleep together in one Treeple. The virus is somewhat of a secret and only a few Chono know how to grow it and how to kill the virus should a mistake be discovered. The earthlings are not aware of this process. Yet." So what's 'My Take' on this comic book?Front Cover: The front cover's colors bring out the title of the book "Peace Corps Frebon" to the casual browser. Other than that, a browser wouldn't get what the cover scene is about. If this was at LCBS, would it get someone interested in comics to pick it up? I wonder...? Inside Front Cover: A lot of text, which since the front cover doesn't tell us much...The extra text here is good to have! Also, this is the first inkling that this #0 comic book is part of something else: "Story and Original TV Scripts by: Aerron Allen. Comic book adaptation by: Brad L Johnson. Pencils / inks /CGI by: William H Johnson. Okay...Now a casual browser could see that this is a starting point for a non-comics project...! Splash Page: A 'splash page' with three panels. The comic will be in black / white / greytone. The Rest of the Pages: The story is told with many panels, and CGI looking panels at times. I initially read this comic book after I was first given it in April. When re-reading it again for this blog post, I found that it was a good presentation for what it truly appears to be...a promotional comic book for the comic book series and TV series. . Inside Back Cover: The text asks the question: Who is Aerron Allen? The answers are there, plus the promo text: Watch For Peace Corps Frebon: The TV Show! Back Cover: The 'Sales Pitch' - For the Peace Corps Frebon...Which asks the question: What if WE were the aliens?! So, after all of the above...what is 'My Take' on all of this? Well...I have to say this. This is a very good presentation to make a 'pitch' with in front of someone who is looking for a new show to produce / air. It has all the ingredients, background / characters / history, etc., to 'sell' the project. It is more than just 'storyboards'. Very good, IMO for a promotional piece. However, I'm blogging this for a blog that is titled 'Comic Book Collectors Blog.com'. Is this a really good comic book? Well...I would have to say 'Yes - Qualified'. For a Zero Issue (#0), it has everything that is needed to set up a limited sieries or mini-series. Enough to draw in the casual browser and have them want to see more. I'm glad it is labeled a 'zero issue', because if it was a #1 issue of a limited series, it would not rate so highly as it is mostly 'set up' with more 'sales pitch' than advancing the actual story. So in this case, having the comic book be labeled a #0 was the smart thing to do. I would grade this Issue #0 as a 'Very Fine / Near Mint' (VF/NM) 9.0 out of the 10.0 Grading Scale. The grade is for the 'total package' in this comic book format, not anything found on the web site, as a potential purchaser in a LCBS would not usually ahave access to that. Here's the publisher's site: PeaceCorpsFrebon.com - where you can see more, PLUS pick up the comic book for the $2.95 cover price plus the shipping charge of $2.50, if you can't find it at your LCBS. Additionally, the web site will draw YOU in to the storyline...it is a really good web site for the sales pitch for this project! My thanks to Aerron Allen, for submitting this comic book version of her project for possible review! AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,145 total posts in number! ~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com
http://www.comicbookscircus.com/
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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!
