Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents His Take On... Genetiks The Graphic Novel by Marazano & Ponzio!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3640 -  I recently received a box of relatively new TPBs and graphic novels from Archaia Entertainment for possible review.  My youngest son, Vinnie, already review blogged one of them.  This graphic novel is one that I decided to read & review blog on.

This graphic novel is  'Genetiks - Volume 1'.

What is it about?   Here's the publisher's promo on that:

"What happens to Thomas Hale when the company he works for cracks his genetic code?

Genetiks is a pharmaceutical company on the cutting edge of biological science. Thomas Hale is one of thousands of employees in the Genetiks’ labs. Like his colleagues, he had agreed to give a drop of blood to his employers; a drop of blood that will allow the researchers at the company he works for to decode his entire genome. As the drop of blood is the property of Genetiks, Thomas will become, in effect, the first man to be privately owned by the corporation he works for."

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

The front cover to this book, which is rectangular in format, has a good intriguing cover.  Just enough to make you want to open the first page.

The inside front cover has the credits & other info necessary to present the book to its possible readership.  However, no introduction is shown as to what the book is about.

The 'splash page' is used... And the next page goes right into the story.

I found myself liking the artstyle right away, and it took a few pages for me to get into the storyline.

The artwork is 'realistic' in style, and it meshed very well with the storyline.

There is a final page, 'About The Authors', but that is all that is shown other than the storyline / art for this book.

The tale itself is pretty gripping, and held my interest after the first few pages in figuring out where the storyline was going.

A worthwhile book to read...

My comic book grade for this comic book presentation is a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale.

Here is the info for ordering this book:

Reading level: Ages 16 and up
Hardcover: 104 pages
Publisher: Archaia Entertainment (May 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936393425
ISBN-13: 978-1936393428
Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8 x 0.4 inches

You can see more of this comic book direct via this link. 

My thanks to Archaia Entertainment for bringing this book to my attention!

~Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,639 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,736 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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Michael D Hamersky On Comics Mentions... The Passing Of Howard A. McIntosh April 26, 1915 - April 25, 2012

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3639 -  Yesterday morning I received word that my Great Uncle Howard McIntosh had passed away during the night.   Being his power of attorney, I had to go to Los Angeles to take care of several items, which are discussed in the below obituary. 

It was Howard and his deceased wife, Marge (Carr) McIntosh, who started me on comic books back in the 1950s.  I mention them each year in my annual 'Whom I Am Thankful For... The Thanksgiving Post', when I update it each year. 

Howard and Marge are shown in the topmost photo.

Howard is shown with my wife Tina and me in the two other photos, that were taken during the February 2009 Zap! Pow! Bam! Exhibit at the Skirball in Los Angeles.

It has been a long and wonderful life for my Great Uncle Howard.  I am pleased to have helped him the last few months in his adjusting to assisted living care in between visits to the hospital and rehab center.

My condolences to the rest of his family members and his friends.

Here is the obituary:

Howard A. McIntosh, 96, Monterey Park, CA

Howard A. McIntosh died April 25, 2012 at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center after a brief illness. He was 96.

Howard lived a long and interesting life spanning pivotal events of the 20th century from Prohibition, The Great Depression, WWII and well into the new Millennium.

Howard was born April 26, 1915 in Brooklyn, Missouri to Mary Gertrude “Gerty” and Auris Harvey “Oak” McIntosh. Howard was the seventh of nine children, including five brothers and three sisters, one of whom survives him, Helen Olsen of Omaha, Nebraska.

Howard grew up on the family farm, enjoyed the local fishing hole, and was educated in a one-room schoolhouse. To put himself through college in Maryville, Howard and his mother raised turkeys!

After graduation, Howard worked as a teacher and later a principal in Missouri and Iowa. His first marriage to Dorothea Miller, ended in divorce. They had one son, Terry Roger who passed away in April, 2012.

During World War II, Howard was a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force serving as a Navigator on a B-19 Bomber. After the war, he joined the Air Force Reserve where he served until his retirement at the age of 60 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

In 1949, Howard married the love of his life, Margaret (Marge) Marie Carr who passed away in March, 2007. Marge and Howard moved to Monterey Park, California in 1960.

During his varied career, Howard worked for the tax preparing giant H&R Block. He also had a Law Degree and worked for a time in Family Law in the Los Angeles area.

Howard was known for his quiet and easy going disposition which served him well for many years living with three women in one house: his wife, her mother, and her aunt!

Howard had set up a scholarship at Northwest Missouri State University, where he graduated after the war. The fund has grown over the years and the "Howard A. McIntosh Scholarship" is awarded each year to a student from Mills County, Iowa with a GPA of 3.0 or more. If no qualified student from Mills County applies, students from Atchinson, Nodaway, or Worth counties in Missouri can be considered.

Living in California afforded Howard many opportunities to enjoy his favorite pastimes: fishing and golf! Howard enjoyed fishing off the coast of California many times with Francis Hamersky, husband of Howard’s niece, Lois, and deep sea fishing off the coast of California with his next door neighbor. After retirement, Howard regularly played golf on the hilly greens at the Monterey Park Golf Course with his long-time friend, Stan Lingdon.

Over their 58 years of marriage, Howard and Marge enjoyed traveling. They had a second home in Palm Springs, California and were world-travelers taking cruises to far off destinations including the Philippines and Turkey.

Including his sister, Helen, Howard is survived by his many nieces and nephews: Lois McIntosh Hamersky, Imperial Beach, CA; Leta McIntosh Hoyt, St. Joseph, MO; Erma Hall Payne, De Soto, IA; Gertrude Gaddy McNeeley; Julie Olsen Kenkel, Shennandoah, IA; Donna McIntosh Brown; Kate Lavely, Merriam, East Dover VT; Richard Hall, Billings, MT; Larry (Dean) Gaddy, Santa Ana, CA; John L. McIntosh, Creston, IA; John McIntosh, Plattsburg, MO; Richard McIntosh; Jimmie McIntosh; Douglas Olsen, Omaha, NE; George McIntosh, Omaha, NE; James Lee Olsen, Omaha, NE; Jerry Olsen, Minnesota; and Bill Lavely, Seattle, WA.

Friends are welcome to visit between 1 pm and 4 pm on Sunday, April 29 at Pierce Brothers, Turner, Stevens Mortuary on 1136 East Las Tunas Drive, San Gabriel, California.

Funeral services will be held at 11 am on Monday, April 30, 2012 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Monterey Park. Burial will be at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.

In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate donations to the Howard A. McIntosh Scholarship c/o Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO 64468.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

My thanks to my wife, Tina LoSasso, who wrote the above obituary with help from family members.

Also, there will be a web page In Memory of Howard Adolph McIntosh at this link, (after 5PM today), courtesy of the mortuary, Pierce Brothers Turner and Stevens Mortuary.

~Michael D Hamersky

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,639 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,731 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Mentions... May 5th of 2012 is Free Comic Book Day! As Found In North America!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3638 -  In less than two weeks from now, it will be FCBD!   (Free Comic Book Day.)

Here is the link to my review blog on how the 2011 FCBD was in the San Diego Metro Area, Part 1 & 2.

Here is the link to the 2012 FCBD Facebook Fan Page.

And... Here is the link to the 'Find Participating LCBS' in YOUR area.  Just type in your zip code and see what Local Comic Book Shop(s) are in your area!

My youngest son and I will be checking out the North San Diego County LCBS this year, and then taking in the Avengers movie along with Tina afterwards.

So there will be at least one follow-up blog to this one...!

~Michael D Hamersky

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,638 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,731 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents His Take On... Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #4 of 6!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3637 -  I recently received a box of relatively new TPBs and graphic novels from Archaia Entertainment for possible review.  My youngest son, Vinnie, already review blogged one of them.  This comic book would have been one that he would have review blogged also, but I decided to read and review blog it instead.

This comic book is  'Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #4 of 6'.

What is it about?   Here's the publisher's promo on that:

"Mouse Guard returns for its third volume: the Black Axe. This prequel set in 1115, fulfils the promise the wise oldfur Celanawe made to tell Lieam of the day his paw first touched the Black Axe. The arrival of distant kin takes Celanawe on an adventure that will carry him across the sea to uncharted waters and lands all while unraveling the legend of Farrer, the blacksmith who forged the mythic axe. Issues of the series start Dec. 2010 running bi-monthly for 6 issues."

Issue #4:  "Leaving the fate of Em in the weasel king of Ilder’s paws, Celanawe trudges into the briar lair of a murderous fox. The Black Axe, a weapon forged by Farrer and now wielded by his youngest heir, is put to the test so that one lone mouse can slay the red-furred villain which has claimed enough ferret lives to have the king of Ildur afraid to send his own kin after it. The uneven brutal battle has an only more brutal end."

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

The front cover to this publication, which is square in format, is presented as a comic book cover, with the front cover extending to the back cover.  (Not shown above.)

The inside front cover has the credits & other info necessary to present the publication to its possible readership.

The 'splash page' is not used... The first page goes right into the story.

I found the use of the 'fog' scenes to be interesting.  The fog hid a lot of the surrounding scenery and added suspense to the storyline.

When the fox arrived to the storyline, the 'fog' cleared up.  No dialogue for about four pages!

What follows is kind of hard to take,  but it is a tale worth telling.  And it is in twenty-three pages, with the twenty-fourth page being a pin-up page.

The inside back cover is a full page ad for Issue Five.

The back cover is a continuation of the front cover, as stated above.

This fourth issue of the six issues of 'The Black Axe' is almost a 'done-in-one' story.

It was presented very well, and captured what I believed David Petersen wanted to portray in this issue.

I believe that this issue is a hi-light of the series thus far.

My comic book grade for this comic book presentation is a VERY FINE / NEAR MINT (VF/NM) 9.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale.

You can see more of this comic book direct from Archaia via this link.  I don't see it for sale directly from Archaia, so please check your LCBS, (Local Comic Book Shop).

My thanks to Archaia Entertainment for bringing this six issue series to my attention!

~Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,637 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,731 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Mentions... The Villainous Lair Comics Shop! As Found In Normal Heights, California!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3636 -  In the past two days of blogs I mentioned that I attended an organizational meetup on the upcoming San Diego Comic Fest 2012 in blog #3634, and then went to the April 2012 Semantink's Comic Savvy at 5PM, as seen at blog #3635!

In between those two meetings, I found time to check out a 'new' comic book shop in the Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego at 3371 Adams Ave., San Diego, CA 92116.

The shop's manager, Chris Mitchell, welcomed me to the shop, and showed me the sections and aisles of comics / graphic novels / TPBs in the shop.  You can see those those other pics I took that aren't pictured at the above right at my Facebook Fan Page special photo album:  Villainous Lair Comics.

The owner, Alison Flynn, came by while I was still there, and introduced herself to me. She has started another venture down the street which is called Villainous Lair Gaming, which I did not go to.

This LCBS has a lot of the newest comic books that are published, and a decent amount of back issues that are filed away in easy to handle storage boxes.  There is a minimal amount of older (more collectible) back issues under glass near the check out register.  The only 'con' that I could find would be the lack of parking near this LCBS.  I had to drive around the blocks to find a nearby parking space on the street.

If you are in San Diego on business, or even live near the Normal Heights area, I suggest you check this new LCBS out. 

The Facebooks Pages for the two ventures are at:

Villainous Comics Shop 

and Villainous Lair Gaming.

~Michael D Hamersky

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,636 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,730 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail 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

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

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