Category: Comics

“London After Midnight” & “Curse of the Wolfman” Graphic Novels are Coming in 2023!

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Here’s some cool news for monster movie and comic books fans.  Source Point Press and Chaney Entertainment have teamed to create two new graphic novels for 2023.  The first, London After Midnight is based on the most famous lost film in the world.  Made in 1927, London After Midnight starred Lon Chaney as a vampire!  The second, The Curse of the Wolf Man will be a sequel to The Wolf Man (1941) which starred Lon Chaney, Jr.

Writer, Dirk Manning and artist Marianna Pescosta will be the creative team for London After Midnight.  The Curse of the Wolf Man will be written by Josh Werner with illustrations by Stan Yak and colorist Colin Johnson.  Ron Chaney (Lon Chaney’s great-grandson and CEO of Chaney Enterprises) will be involved with the creative teams. Look for London After Midnight and The Curse of the Wolf Man on Kickstarter in the spring of 2023,

Source: Rue Morgue.

Jim Ivey: A Celebration of Life!

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Jim Ivey died on July 13, 2022, at the age of 97.  Jim led an amazing life which you can read about here.  On October 9, 2022, 25 of Jim’s friends came together to celebrate him.

The photos above are of the front and back covers of a booklet that Charlie Moffitt put together.  It contained photos, drawings and remembrances of Jim by many of his friends.  Thanks to Charlie for putting the booklet together and also Mike Kott & Sue Cornwell who paid for the printing costs so that everyone got a copy.

Our celebration was at an Outback Steakhouse. Twenty-five of Jim’s friends attended. John Beatty wanted to, but his mother passed away two days prior.  I printed a sheet of Jim Ivey caricatures for everyone.  Jim liked to say if 100 artists drew the same person, the drawings would all be different, yet each would capture an aspect of the person.  It reminded me that Jim had friendships with each of us, but like the caricatures, the relationships were all slightly different.

It was great seeing so many of Jim’s friends who were also friends with each other because of Jim.  We shared a meal, and many wonderful memories.  There was a lot of laughter and we kept things low key – just as Jim would have wanted.

Mike Kott shares a Jim Ivey story!

Charlie shows Frank the proper way to hold a baby.

Everyone ignoring the waitress when the bill comes.

Cliff prepares to strangle Doralya.

The All-American Boy (we might have to revisit that nickname) tells the story of Jim Ivey’s slow motion fall during a poker game.

Bill and Rob recreating the Keep on Truckin’ pose.

Rob found Joy’s homemade cookies… so did everyone else!  Yummy!

Joy shares an art book that Jim gave her.

Cliff’s smile means something is up.

Wild Bill Black and me… it looks like my hair had a stroke.

When Jim was approaching his mid-80s, he sent me a letter that contained the full page below.  Jim came up with advice for himself  since he was over 80. I always thought it contained great advice for any age, so I made a copy for everyone attending.

Jim will be missed, but never forgotten.

THE FAFHRD and the GRAY MOUSER OMNIBUS is Coming!

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The Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Omnibus will be released on June 27, 2023.  Here’s the lowdown:

Fritz Leiber ranks among the giants of fantasy and science fiction visionaries, capturing multiple Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards and influencing a generation of writers.

And his most renowned creations are the swashbuckling Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories.

Collected here are adaptations of some of the finest of these tales—including the Hugo and Nebula Award winning “Ill Met in Lankhmar”—by comics legends Howard Chaykin, Mike Mignola, Dennis O’Neil, Al Williamson, and more. Join the hulking barbarian and the diminutive rogue as they battle swordsmen, necromancers, and flagons of strong drink!

Collects Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: The Cloud of Hate and Other Stories.

Pre-orders are available now!

Fantastic Four: Full Circle by Alex Ross!

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I don’t think I’ve read an issue of the Fantastic Four since John Byrne left the title in 1986.  Alex Ross has written and illustrated Fantastic Four: Full Circle, a graphic novel that has me interested in the team again.  Here’s the 411…

It’s a rainy night in Manhattan and not a creature is stirring except for . . . Ben Grimm. When an intruder suddenly appears inside the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four—Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm Richards), the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and the Thing (Ben Grimm)—find themselves surrounded by a swarm of invading parasites. These carrion creatures composed of Negative Energy come to Earth using a human host as a delivery system. But for what purpose? And who is behind this untimely invasion?

The Fantastic Four have no choice but to journey into the Negative Zone, an alien universe composed entirely of anti-matter, risking not just their own lives but the fate of the cosmos!

Fantastic Four: Full Circleis the first longform work written and illustrated by acclaimed artist Alex Ross, who revisits a classic Stan Lee–Jack Kirby story from the 1960s and introduces the storyline for a new generation of readers. With bold, vivid colors and his trademark visual storytelling, Ross takes Marvel’s first team of super heroes to places only he can illustrate. The book also features a special poster jacket, with the front flap unfolding to reveal an all-new fully painted origin story of the Fantastic Four.

Welcome to the Negative Zone and MarvelArts—a new collaborative line of books between Marvel Comics and Abrams ComicArts—where nothing is impossible and anything can happen!

Fantastic Four: Full Circle by Alex Ross is available now.

“Werewolf by Night” (2022) Directed by  Michael Giacchino / Z-View

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Werewolf by Night (2022)

Directors:  Michael Giacchino

Screenplay:  Heather Quinn, Peter Cameron

Stars:  Gael García Bernal, Laura Donnelly, Harriet Sansom Harris, Kirk R. Thatcher, Eugenie Bondurant, Leonardo Nam, Daniel J. Watts, Carey Jones and David Silverman

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Five of the best monster hunters alive will participate in a contest to determine the leader of all monster hunters now that Ulysses Bloodstone has died.  The winner will gain the “leader” title, and also the power of the Bloodstone gem.  Surprisingly,  Elsa Bloodstone (Donnelly), Ulysses estranged daughter,  shows up to take part in the contest.  Elsa’s stepmother, Verussa (Harris) warns Elsa against participating, but Elsa refuses to stand down.  It is obvious that there is bad blood between them.

The hunters will all enter a maze to fight each other and a monster that has been set loose in the labyrinth. The hunter that kills the creature wins the contest.  Only Verussa knows the kind of monster that lurks in the maze, but not even she knows which of the hunters is hiding a secret!

Werewolf by Night is a love letter to the classic Universal monsters.  Hats off to director, Michael Giacchino who is best known as a music composer for television and feature films (with over 150 credits on his resume).  After his efforts on Werewolf by Night music may go to the back burner.  Giacchino has great instincts and knows how to create a film that hits, pardon the expression, all the right notes.  Werewolf by Night is moody, full of atmosphere, interesting characters and tension relieved with just the right amount of comedy.

Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron, the screenwriters, were smart to write a modern film with an old school feel.  The film is in black and white which adds to the experience that we’re watching a classic horror film.  The werewolf looks, moves and acts like a man-beast and not a man in a werewolf costume.  I loved Werewolf by Night.  It seems like everyone does.  Werewolf by Night currently has a 7.6/10 rating on IMDb; Rotten Tomatoes shows a rating of 92% with reviewers and 94% with audiences.  As for me…

Werewolf by Night earns 5 of 5 stars.

JAEGER Written and Illustrated by Ibrahim Moustafa / Z-View

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Jaeger is a 48 page graphic novel written and illustrated by Ibrahim Moustafa, with letters by Nate Peikos of BLAMBOT,  Jaeger was first published as a web comic where it was nominated for an Eisner Award.

Idris Morel was a freedom fighter captured and tortured in a Nazi prisoner of war camp during World War II.  Now Morel is a  French-Algerian spy who tracks down and eliminates Nazi war criminals who have escaped justice.  Nazis speak in hushed whispers of the silent avenger they call “Der Jaeger” (the Hunter).  They live in fear that Der Jaeger will come for them.  As his body count grows, Morel’s obsession with revenge pushes him to the brink… will he become what he fights?

Ibrahim Moustafa has created what could have been a traditional World War II revenge tale and added twists to make it his own.  Nazis are easy targets, but the ones in Moustafa’s tale aren’t one dimensional bad guys.  I also like that Moustafa’s hero of the tale isn’t American or British.  He’s put the World part of the War back into the mix.

I really enjoyed Moustafa’s art.  It isn’t over rendered and the colors that Moustafa uses enhance each page.  The storytelling is straightforward with excellent use of inset panels to draw the reader’s eye to what’s most important.  The graphic novel comes with a choice of three different cover artists:  Dennis Calero, Phil Hester or Ibrahim Moustafa.  The graphic novel also contains a five page bonus section with character studies, page and cover roughs and a Jaeger commission.  I enjoyed Jaeger and could see additional tales of The Hunter.

Jaeger earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Morbius” (2022) / Z-View

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Morbius (2022)

Director:  Daniel Espinosa

Screenplay:  Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless

Starring: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Tyrese Gibson and Michael Keaton

Tagline: The line between hero and villain will be broken.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Michael Morbius (Leto) is a brilliant doctor who uses vampire bat blood to cure himself from a rare degenerative blood disease.  The process also gives Morbius powers associated with vampires (heightened senses, super speed and strength), but also a need for human blood.  When Morbius hungers, he loses control and all around him are in danger.

When Morbius’ friend Milo (Smith), who suffers from the same rare blood disease realizes that Morbius has found a cure, he goes through the process and becomes a vampire.  While Morbius sees himself as a monster and looks for a cure; Milo embraces being a vampire.  He sees himself as the next step in evolution and enjoys feeding on humans.  The police believe that Morbius is responsible for Milo’s murders.  Morbius struggles to find a cure with the police and Mio out to kill him…

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Morbius.  While the movie is set within the Marvel Universe, it played out pretty much as a standalone film.  Leto is perfect as the slightly strange Dr. Morbius.  When the movie started I felt it carried a vibe similar to the under-rated television show The Passage (which is a good thing).  I’m not a big superhero movie fan, but I enjoyed this one.

Morbius earns 4 of 5 stars.

The BITTER ROOT Hardcover Omnibus by David Walker, Chuck Brown and Sanford Greene is Coming!

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Bitter Root by David Walker, Chuck Brown and Sanford Greene is getting the deluxe hardcover treatment.  Check this out…

BITTER ROOT IS A TWO-TIME EISNER WINNER FOR BEST CONTINUING SERIES!

For generations the Sangerye family has fought to protect the world from the evil plague of the jinooï¿9;hideous creatures born out of hate and racism. But now the family must face an even greater evil that has arisen to destroy humanity, and threatens to rip the family apart.

Collects: BITTER ROOT #1-15, BITTER ROOT Red Summer Special

If this sounds like something you’d like, then jump in.  The water’s fine.  Pre-orders are available now.

TOO DEAD To DIE: A Simon Cross Thriller by Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin is Coming!

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Too Dead to Die: A Simon Cross Thriller by Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin will be released on December 20, 2022.  Here’s the lowdown…

Writer/artist team Guggenheim/Chaykin (BLADE, WOLVERINE) reunites for an all-new original that brings classic spy novels to the modern world.
In the 1980s, Simon Cross was America’s top super-spy. Today, his past has come back to haunt him, forcing him out of retirement for one final adventure.

I’ve been a Chaykin fan since the mid-70s.  Anything he writes, or in this case draws, is worth a look.  Pre-orders are available now.  Deal me in.

KILLADELPHIA Deluxe Edition, Book One by Rodney Barnes & Jason Shawn Alexander is Coming!

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Killadelphia took the comic world by storm.  If you know, you know.  If you don’t know, here’s a summary…

Finally, the acclaimed horror title which was nominated for an Eisner Award for “best new series” is collected in a stunning hardcover featuring the first 12 issues and more!

From RODNEY BARNES, the breakout star comics scribe and television writer behind HBO’s Winning Time, and the show-stopping artist who redefined SPAWN for a new generation, JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER.

When a small-town beat cop comes home to bury his murdered father, revered Philadelphia detective James Sangster Sr., he stumbles into a mystery that will lead him down a path of horrors and shake his beliefs to their core. The city that was once the symbol of liberty and freedom has fallen prey to corruption, poverty, unemployment, brutality…and vampires.

Now, it’s up to Jimmy and an unexpected companion to stop long-thought-dead President of the United States John Adams from building an undead army and staging a bloody new American revolution.

There’s a reason they say you can’t go home again. Welcome to Killadelphia.

Collects KILLADELPHIA #1-12 and chapters 1-5 of the terrifying werewolf tie-in story ELYSIUM GARDENS

I’m glad that Killadelphia is getting the deluxe hardcover treatment.  I’m looking forward to mine.  Pre-orders are available now.