Every so often I stop blogging about comics or graphic novels or comic book movies... And just gape at some statues that are being released now for collectors...

Like the one above!  Belit, Queen of the Black Coast, is just one of a set of three statues that are being released one at a time in this mini-series.

The reason this set strikes me is that it is based on a Conan the Barbarian comic book cover from Marvel Comics... AND the cover of this issue #88 was drawn by John Buscema with Ernie Chan!

Those two artists had a long run together when Marvel still had the rights to publish Conan.   Matter of fact, I can still visualize 'Big John' Buscema stating at his last San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) appearance, that Conan was what he enjoyed most illustrating at Marvel.  Like a big grizzly bear John repeatedly stated at the special SDCC program that he didn't like drawing superheroes, although his style at Marvel was overwhemingly loved by superhero fans, myself included.

It was Conan that he enjoyed most, and he verbally stated that he wished he had started sooner drawing him.  However when Marvel starting adapting stories from Conan's history, the company did not want a higher paid page rate artist drawing the then mostly unknown character as a comic book series.  At that time the 'Sword and Sorcery' genre had not really started in comics, although the paperbacks with Conan was a proven good seller in that market.

It wasn't until later that John was able to drawn the series as well as the black and white magazines published by Marvel at that time.

Back to the statue... Although the look is from the cover of issue #88, this piece is sculpted by Seth Vandable.  Conan has already been released, and Belit will be followed by Zula later.

The best thing about the Belit statue above is that all three statues in the set are designed with matching bases for display!  The Belit statue stands 13.5' tall and features her gripping both sword and dagger!  

Here's the point of this blog post:  Belit is already painted and ready to display when you buy her... BUT this Belit statue will be limited to a 500 edition run.  So Don't Miss Out if you have any interest in Belit, Conan, Zula or all three!  There are a lot of Robert E Howard (REH) cross over fans out there that make something like this a probable sell-out!  Even at the MSRP Of $239.00! 

No, we here at Make It So Marketing won't be selling any of the three statues!   I just wanted to point out this set, as this type of quality wasn't around when I was collecting models or statues earlier in my lifetime!

So either check your favorite online source for a pre-order, or check the web site at:  http://www.hardhero.com/belit-statue.html

(Please Note: A complimentary statue or other item for this mention / review was NOT provided.)  

The Magazine 'Heavy Metal'... In its' September 2008 issue, presented Part One of the 'Fluorescent Black' story. 

Nathan Fox was the artist of this special feature, and he tells me that he is hard at work on Part Two of the story, which he hopes will be published this Summer of 2009 during the height of the Comic Con Season.

Nathan's artwork in the 'Pigeons From Hell' mini-series was recently released in TPB format by Dark Horse. This was mentioned in an earlier blog post when Nathan was appearing at the 2009 New York Comic Con (NYCC).   

The story of 'Fluorescent Black' Part One is not one of the standard fares that I quite often read.   The genre this story is in actually does not always appeal to me.  Indeed one earlier reviewer who loved this story called it 'biopunk' in his blog review of Part One.  Which is actually not bad for the name of this genre of story. 

However, in this case, the story enthralled me and kept me reading till the end of Part One.   The writer, M.F. (Matt) Wilson, took the subject matter and ran with it and made the story believable, although it is set in a grim n' gritty future.  The storyline was realistic and the dialogue, although using  some foul language, fit the background and the scope of what was being described to the reader. 

The storyline starts from the 2003 SARS outbreak in Singapore and other parts of Asia.  The work that is done by pharmaceutical and biotech laboratories to combat this outbreak leads to new discoveries that changes the world.  The outline to this story is that it is set in a genetic dystopian future.  Mankind has been divided into two different living areas. Those persons that don't meet the 'norm' are then exiled out of Singapore.  They basically are 'forced' to survive by selling body parts in exchange for gene therapy and medicine. Not a real happy future for those outside of the 'norm'.  Fluorescent Black is hoped to be published in graphic novel format when completed.

The artwork by Nathan Fox, although using some nudity, some gross looking persons and some carnage scenes, did fit the storyline.  Nathan's art, which I like, is compatible with the dark future presented in the timeline.  If a reader was to take what is being currently shown on TV, ala C.S.I., Fringe, etc., then this could be considered an extrapolation into the future of what may happen and is vividly shown here.  

As this story was published in the magazine 'Heavy Metal', that alone should tell you that the story is not one for young kids or tweens.   However, the specific storyline as told in illustrated format is one that I found interesting, with the disclaimer that it does contain some nudity / some language / some carnage scenes that would not be for all readers.  I will be checking out the Part Two when it is published to see what the writer does in continuing the future he has started in this Part One.

There was a news story a while back that another company had bought the film rights to this storyline in 2007.   The film may be released in 2010.   

For those of you that want to know more about this 'Fluorescent Black' story, then their web site is at:  http://www.freethegene.com

(Please Note: A complimentary copy for this mention / review was provided.)  

Tripwire's Editor, Andrew Grossberg... Recently sent me a review copy of the Tripwire - Superhero Special 2009. 

At first sight, this magazine reminded of a magazine I used to see on occasion at other cons several years ago.  That's when I realized that this was a 'special publication' from the same magazine publishers those years before in the mid 1990's.

At that time it was a British publication that was unusual in its' dimension size and stood out in size from the rest of the mags that I would pick up at a con.   After reading my comics, magazines, etc., I always bag and board them for storing.  Thus I consider it an 'unusual size' because of the storage factor.

It still is a British publication, and still is in that unusual size, at least for this special issue.   When I say 'special' issue, that would be because this is a stand alone issue devoted to superheroes.  The next issue, scheduled for June 2009, is to be their 'Adventure Special' which will feature people like Michael Moorcock, Robert E Howard, and others.  Otherwise Tripwire appears to have gone to an 'annual' basis the past few years...

BTW, the photo at the top left of this blog post is showing several of the Tripwire group at the recent 2009 Wonder Con in San Francisco, including Andrew Grossberg at the far right, and Editor-In-Chief Joel Meadows directly next to him.

Their 'Superhero Special' contained several different stories, which although each was about superheroes, had enough different characters to interest most readers of superhero comics and graphic novels.

I'll just comment on a few of the stories:

Of course there is a 'timely' lead piece, that of co-creator Dave Gibbons discussing the genesis of the Watchmen comic book series.  Enough text and photos to keep anyone's interest who wanted to know more about the 1980's series.

'Millar's Crossing' opened my eyes on the world of Mark Millar's creation Kick-Ass that is coming to film.  Hopefully this film will be marketed correctly in that is not a 'superhero' movie for kids. After seeing very young children at the recent Watchmen film, the film's marketing should let potential viewers know what age groups movies based on comics like these are for! 

'The Myth-maker' was an article on discussing Marvel's Captain Britain.  The Captain has had a problem in reaching higher numbers in sales over here in the States, just like Doctor Who, although there are several fans of both here.  Just not enough publicity to get either out of 'cult' fan status so far during these many years...

'The Golden Years'  had a look back at the 1930's - 1940's, which is also 'timely' if you are in the Los Angeles area that has the Skirball Cultural Exhibit showing Jerry Robinson's Zap! Pow! Bam! Exhibit now through this summer! Click here for our thoughts on that exhibit!

'Royal Flush' was a short article to the 'King of Comics' Jack Kirby, which helped win me over to liking this magazine even more!

'The 15 Most Important Superhero Graphic Novels Ever', was the mag's pick of the superhero collections that you would need to stock your shelves at home.  Some of the picks were of course the standard ones you would find in many such lists, but there were ones that were unusual IMHO to have on this list.  Even those that are 'standards' in many lists had detailed write-ups in this article, emphazing why they were important enough to be on this short list.  Enough so, that my wife Tina, stopped reading the article long enough to tell me of one GN to put on our next shopping list that she had never read!

In summary, even though you may have a subscription to Comics Buyer's Guide (CBG), Wizard, and others like we do, this special issue is worthwhile to pick up and read!

Being a fan of Robert E Howard's works will make me look for the next Tripwire Special, 'The Tripwire Adventure Special' due out in June!

If you can't find this $7.95 US priced publication at your LCBS or your local newstand or auction site... then their web site is at: http://www.tripwireannual.com

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

This is a 'heads up'... To those of you that enjoy spy thrillers.  Which would include my wife Tina and myself, especially when they are transformed later into films, like James Bond, which Tina has seen all of them!

Well, this upcoming novel isn't a film, (yet), but it does have a book trailer online for you to view to give you an idea of what's ahead for this novel!

I recently became Facebook Friends with the author Jeremy Duns, who wrote me the following:  

"I just wanted to share the news that Free Agent will be available as an audio book. In the UK, it will be released by Oakhill Publishing and in the US by Recorded Books - both versions will be unabridged. There will also be a large-print edition in the UK, published by FA Thorpe.

Finally, I've just received a wonderful jacket quote from Gayle Lynds, the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Spymaster, The Coil and Masquerade. The latter was listed by Publishers Weekly as one of the top 15 spy novels of all time. Here's her quote:

'Utterly riveting, Free Agent is an international espionage thriller par excellence. Lyrical prose, unforgettable characters, and a fascinating plot that doesn't release the panting reader until the last page makes this spy ride unforgettable. Free Agent is the beginning of a classic series that's sure to be a huge hit.'

Free Agent will be published in the UK on May 5 and the US on June 25. But you can already place your order at Amazon, Target, Borders and numerous other places online. If you haven't yet, please do!"

Well, I took a look at the links that Jeremy provided, and decided to give you a 'heads up' on this upcoming book.

Like those of you that will take the time to look at the excerpts, I didn't get to read the whole novel, but it looks interesting enough for me to want to blog about it.

It is Not a Spy Thriller Graphic Novel, (like the online graphic novel 'The FAT Man' I've blogged about before), but it is in a similar genre without the illustrations.

Here is a little back of background on the novel:

In July 1945, MI6 agent Paul Dark took part in a clandestine mission to hunt down and execute Nazi war criminals. He will discover that everything he understood about that mission, about its consequences, and about the woman he once loved, has been built on false foundations.

Now it's 1969, and a KGB colonel has walked into the British High Commission in Lagos, Nigeria, and announced he wants to defect. His credentials as a defector are good: he has information indicating that there is yet another double agent within MI6, which would be a devastating blow to an organization still coming to terms with its betrayal by Kim Philby and the rest of the Cambridge Ring.

Dark has largely been above suspicion during MI6's years of self-recrimination - but this time he's in the frame. For some it would be flight or fight time. But when your arrest may be only moments away, sometimes the only option is flight AND flight... whatever the consequences.

For those of you that are on Facebook, you can view these links:

The 'Free Agent by Jeremy Duns' Group Page is at:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23354543483

The BOOK TRAILER is at:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=58547396797&oid=23354543483

If you are not on Facebook, then the entire first chapter of the novel is also posted online at Simon & Schuster's site:

http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=65&pid=649737&agid=2

Also, Jeremy has more information about himself at his own personal web site at:

http://www.jeremyduns.com/

There you will find a previously unpublished article of his titled 'Beyond Bond' - A look at some forgotten spy thrillers. Also there is the fact that Jeremy knows his stuff, he also wrote the following article:  'Hunting the Nazis' - The True Story of the Belgian SAS'.

Like I wrote at the beginning of this blog post, this looks a good novel to check out when the book is published first in the UK, and then in the States.

(Please Note: A complimentary hard copy for this mention / review was not provided by the creator as it is in online format only at this time.)