Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents His Take On... Judge Bao & The Jade Phoenix! Published by Archaia Entertainment!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3632 -  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 book is on 'Judge Bao & the Jade Phoenix'.

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

"In China under the Northern Song Dynasty, the Empire saw tremendous growth and prosperity. But with great riches come great temptations, and the Emperor must constantly fight against the corruption of renegade military officers, abusive governors, corrupt businessmen, and regular bandits and thieves. To fight against this scourge, Emperor Ren Zong gave broad magistrate powers to a judge whose reputation would extend well beyond the borders of the Empire: Judge Bao (999-1062 CE)."

Plus there is more: 

"First published in France, Judge Bao is China’s answer to Sherlock Holmes! To combat the scourge that goes along with great prosperity, Chinese Emperor Ren Zong gives broad magistrate powers to Judge Bao. He becomes a symbol of justice for the people of the land. His aversion to corruption and dedication to justice make him a popular hero, with many enemies. Accompanied by his bodyguard Zhan Zhao, his page Bao Xing, and his assistant and coroner Gongsun, he travels the length and breadth of the Middle Kingdom, crusading against corruption and all forms of injustice. In the first volume, Judeg Bao and the Jade Phoenix, Bao finds himself in a small village where a mother mourns her son, languishing in prison, caught in a complicated love triangle and accused of a murder he says he did not commit. Will Judge Bao find the real murderer?".

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

The front cover to the book, which is rectangular in format, was inviting.  The black & white interior pages were strong in design, and the writing was what made me read this book first.

This book is translated, and as seen on the last page of the book, it is just Volume 1 of a series.

I found the artwork to be very detailed.  That is what grabbed my attention first, as well as the irregular rectangular format it was printed in.  Finely tuned, the artwork kept me turning page after page. There are seven chapters in this book, and is a finely laid out book writing wise.

It kept me reading until I finished all 160 pages!

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

The book is not full of action scenes, nor is it just talking heads.  I look forward to seeing Volume 2 when it comes out.

To help you find this book, here is the info you would need:

JUDGE BAO VOL. 1: JUDGE BAO & THE JADE PHOENIX
Retail Price: $14.95 U.S.
Page Count: 160 pages
Format: hardcover, 7” x 5.25″ (landscape), black and white
Written by Patrick Marty
Illustrated by Chongrui Nie
Cover by Chongrui Nie

You could also buy it direct from Archaia 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 3,632 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 2,726 '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 Presents His Take On... TRIBUTE #1 Published by Main Enterprises!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3631 -  Catching up on some comics that have come in the fast few months here!

Here is one:  Tribute #1 from Main Enterprises.

What is it about?  Here's what the publisher has as a promo:

"The newest publication from ME is a showcase of talented illustrators showing off pieces usually found in their portfolios or art files on Facebook or sketchpads. This first issue has no theme but you'll find many pieces of popular heroes and villains, obscure to well-known, classic to present day. Talents include: Jeff Austin, Rock Baker, Gary Barker, Doc Boucher, Troy Boyle, Larry Blake, Dann Phillips, John Lambert, Scott Shriver, Jeff Mason, J. Monares, Dash Martin, Andy Smith, Jim Taylor, Joe Martino and Simon Mackie. A gorgeous package. 3.99 with S&H included."

Here's My Take On this first issue:

Front Cover -  Nice Green Lanterns front cover.  For 'A Gallery Of Homage Illustrations!'.

Inside Front Cover -  The God of Thunder  by J. Monares and Scott Shriver. Okay...

Splash Page - Is a table of contents page. With all 20 interior pages laid out as to who created the one page piece, and on whom it is about.

The table of contents page also has a memo from the publisher, Jim Main, where he states that... "Comic artists have been doing homage illustrations / pin-ups of popular characters from comic books / comic strips / movies / tv shows / pulps / cartoons for years now.  Many of their versions lay dormant in sketch pads or online, hardly ever seen by others.  I decided to rectify this situation and started pulbshing these unseeen masterpieces".

Okay, so now you and I know what this comic book issue is about. 

Does it fit the billing? 

Well... The front cover is pretty good.

Page 3 of Hourman by Gary Allen Barker is pretty good also. 

So is page 4, 6, 7, 8 (Fantastic Four page), 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 & 20. 

The back cover is also well illustrated.

So yes, this is a pretty good pin-up comic book.

If that is your 'thing' to view. 

Upcoming issues will have more of a theme to them.  As this issue didn't.

So I'm giving this first issue a a VERY FINE PLUS (VF+) 8.5 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grade.

You can find this issue at the Main Enterprises web site for possible purchase!

My thanks to Jim Main for sending this comic book my way for possible review purposes!

~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 3,631 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 2,725 '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 Presents Vinnie's Review On... The Dare Detectives! Case Number One - Published by Archaia Entertainment!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3630 -  Yesterday we received another package of items published at Archaia Entertainment. On looking at the publications, the title "The Dare Detectives!" stood out loud and clear to me. I decided to start reading through, and I was immediately hooked. The creator, Ben Caldwell, had an beautiful style of writing. In the first "case", or issue, he greatly developed the characters, making sure to keep all of their personalities specifically tied to them. I greatly enjoyed this publication, and I will explain why in more detail.

The dialogue of the characters remained fluid, and kept to the style originally introduced with them. I love that the author also took the time to make each character different - not all just honest good-doers, but real, imaginable people. The three main characters, the "dare detectives," are Maria Dare, Toby Taylor, and Jojo. They are all briefly described on the back with "Meet the world's most defective detectives -- hot-headed Maria, thick-headed Toby, and bunny-headed Jojo." Maria, the "shoot first, ask questions later" kind of woman often jumps straight into the action, rather than wait for the police to show up. Toby, the kind, hard-headed guy, who is often targeted by Maria and Jojo's cruel jokes, is more brawn than brain. Jojo, the last of the detectives is a rabbit who can be defined as "insensitive." He likes to speak before he thinks, often leading to being rude to others, and humor to the reader. Although I usually have a favorite main character, all of these guys have their quirks, and I have to say, I love them all.

The story advanced at a steady pace, not going too fast or to slow to leave the reader either confused or bored. This issue contained interesting villains with unique powers or weapons, such as the main villain in this issue, Madame Bleu, with her "freeze ring."

[SPOILER] The author, Ben Caldwell, also left the story of Bleu shrouded in mystery, and despite ending with Bleu in jail, I have a good feeling she'll be making a return in the near future. [END SPOILER]

The artwork was, to say the least, beautiful. Each character group seemed to have their own style. The women were drawn with more abrupt curves, while the men were drawn with more rounded curves. To prevent spoiling even more, I will use the term "creatures" but those, with the addition of Jojo, were also drawn with more "loosely drawn" lines, being that it was more flowing, rather than being more curvy. The way that this was done made it feel like it had multiple illustrators, although it was all done by Ben Caldwell, except the added touches of coloring and inking done by Bill Halliar and Mike Mucci. It added great variety, and made for more interesting artwork.

There was an added section, affectionately named "Bonus Junk" which included some mock-ups of possible future covers, as well as some concept art. I felt it was a nice addition, showing the readers the path that Ben took to get to the final images.

All in all, "The Dare Detectives!" issue #1 was a great success, if you ask me. I give this graphic novel a comic book grade of Near Mint (NM), a 9.4 out of 10.0 grade scale. My only deduction of rating was due to some awkwardness with a couple panels, being that it read from left to right across two pages, and then changed to up to down going left to right. Although it occured maybe two times at most, I think it would be easier for people to read if it kept one simple pattern per page. I do really like that uniqueness of it covering the two pages, and I would love to see that incorporated, just by itself, though. I thank you for this magnificient book, and I can't wait to read case #2!

~Vinnie

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,630 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 2,725 '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 Reviews... Dames In The Atomic Age Volume 1 - From Art Of Fiction.com

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3629 -   I met Christopher Ryder at the recent WonderCon in Anaheim, California, as seen in the above photo at the Art of Fiction booth!

Christopher gave me a copy of his new graphic novel, 'Dames In The Atomic Age'.  Here's what the publisher had as a promo blurb about the graphic novel:

"Welcome to the digital home of Dames in the Atomic Age, an original graphic novel written by Christopher Ryder, with art by Marc Sandroni, Mike Vosburg, Ragnar, Andy Suriano, Tony Fleecs, Chris Moreno, Mark Dos Santos, Tone Rodriguez, Brad Rader, and Rahsan Ekedal.

Set in Post- World War II Los Angeles, Dames in the Atomic Age is a unique pulp tale that pays homage to the B-movies, Sci-fi serials, and crime magazines of the 1940s and ‘50s.

Private Investigator Andrew Fisch is good at finding people, especially those who don’t want to be found. Unfortunately, his latest assignment, the seductive wife of a high-level Defense Department scientist, turned up in the bed of his best friend, a failed boxer known as “The Eclipse.” What follows is a night of back alley beatings, triplet Russian thugs, and ... lightning shooting revolvers?"

Okay... So what did I think of this graphic novel?

The front cover to the graphic novel is what caught my eyes at the WonderCon.  Thumbing through the graphic novel, the interior art with giant ants kept me interested.

When I read this graphic novel, I realized that there was a good storyline along with the artwork.  The execution of this graphic novel is pretty top notch.

Putting all this together, I found that this graphic novel did pay homage to the B-movies, sci-fi serieals, and crime magazines of the 1940s and '50s!

My comic book grade for this book is a NEAR MINT MINUS (NM-) 9.2 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale.

Here is where you can purchase this comic book:  Dames In The Atomic Age Volume 1!

My thanks to the writer, Christopher Ryder (pictured above), for bringing this graphic novel to my attention for possible review!

~Michael D Hamersky On Comics

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,629 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 2,724 '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 'Local' 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 Reviews... Black Powder #1 Bloody Frontier Adventure From Asylum Press

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3628 -  As mentioned in Blog #3627, I met Publisher Frank Forte at the recent WonderCon in Anaheim, California, as seen in the above photo at the Asylum Press booth!

Frank gave me a few of his most recent publications to read for possible review purposes. I'm choosing this one as the second one to review blog, as it was the one with the inside artwork that that 'grabbed' me. Why?  Here's what the publisher had as a promo blurb about the first issue of the proposed six issue run:

"Black Powder is the story of Robert Young, a former captain in the Barbary Wars, and his river journey on America's first steamboat to rescue the woman he loves from a gang of river pirates led by his cutthroat nemesis and former commander. Along the way he encounters hostile Indians, swashbuckling battles, and several historical figures, all set against the backdrop of the catastrophic New Madrid earthquake of 1812 that reverses the flow of the Mississippi river!"

Okay... So what did I think of this first issue of the proposed six issue run?

The front cover to this first issue brought me to thinking about pirates! 

And indeed, it is about pirates, 'river pirates'! This comic book is chapter one to a six chapter comic book issue run. Written and illustrated by Dwayne Harris, lettered by Bernie Lee, with production by Phil Smith.  Edited by Frank Forte & Dana Haring.

I found the illustrations / painting to be a little 'strange' at first, but the likenesses of the characters grew on me while reading.

The storyline was fascinating. I enjoy reading history, and this 'historical' encounter is one that intrigued me.

What was also neat was the 'Next Issue' page.  Plus three pages on the characters, Robert Young, Samuel Mzson, and Molly Livingston.  Plus a 'Rumbles and Rambles' page. The historical background of this series is one that definitely caught my eyes!

I for one am looking for the next part of this six issue series!

My comic book grade for this book is a NEAR MINT MINUS (NM-) 9.2 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale.

Here is where you can purchase this comic book:  Black Powder #1!

My thanks to the Publisher, Frank Forte, for bringing this comic book series to my attention for possible review!

~Michael D Hamersky On Comics

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,628 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 2,720 '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 'Local' 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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