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Posts tagged IDW
Review: Locke & Key Omega #3
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Writing: Joe Hill
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colors: Jay Fotos
Review by Melissa Megan
The evil, murderous Dodge has settled himself in to little Bode Locke’s body and succeeded in getting his hands on the long sought after Omega key. The “Last Dance” has begun and it’s ugly. Bode/Dodge is headed to the black door to welcome his terrible, alien friends to this world and he won’t let anyone stand in his way, starting with poor Nina Locke.
While darkness is falling over the Locke house, Tyler and Kinsey are enjoying prom with their friends. Tyler accepts what he can get from the woman he loves and comes to terms with the tragedy of being in love in high school. Kinsey revels in the unique qualities of her closest friends and as the night comes to a close, chooses the after party over home. Everyone is headed for the caves, where the final party of the year is just beginning, in more ways than the Locke family realizes.
If you’ve been reading Locke & Key, by now, if you have a heart, you should be desperate to see this family come out on top. At the least see them stop hurting. The Lockes have lost so much and struggled so hard to keep their family whole, it kills me to watch them be defeated by the weasley, arrogant Dodge. And as much as I really, really hate to see Locke & Key come to an end, the suspense of how it will all end is becoming unbearable. Oh please, please let the Locke family stop the demons. They deserve that much.
Review: Criminal Macabre: Final Night- 30 Days of Night Crossover #2
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Writing: Steve Niles
Art: Christopher Mitten
Issue #2 of the Criminal Macabre / 30 Days of Night crossover continues the clash of Cal Mcdonald, hunter of everything supernatural and evil, and vampire leader Eben Olemaun. Eben is building a huge army of blood sucking monsters in hopes of taking over the world from humans. Cal and his ghoul sidekick, Mo’Lock, have teamed up with a pretty female FBI agent named Alice Blood. For the first time, Cal is actually getting some assistance from law enforcement, mostly because the vampires have been massacring agents and police officers all over L.A.
Cal is a ghoul now and having some challenges adjusting to that, but it hasn’t stopped him from carrying on his business or living hard. Eben Olemaun is kicking ass inside his circle to reclaim the remains of his wife and to express his rage over her death on the human race. Very soon, these two will clash and the battle will be ugly.
Crossovers are a tough thing in comic books; stories are not written to melt in to each other and combining them often takes something away from one or the other. This combination is working, maybe because the backdrop of supernatural power struggles are so similar in Criminal Macabre and 30 Days of Night. The personalities of Cal McDonald and Eben Olemaun are both intense and raw, there can only be an explosion when the two are brought together.
Steve Niles has been rumored to say that only one of these characters (and their series) will survive this crossover. Personally, I’m betting on Cal McDonald and Mo’Lock. I’ve been a fan of the Criminal Macabre series for years and it would be a terrible loss to comics to see his story end. Do you hear me, Steve? Let Cal live!
Review: 30 Days of Night #10
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Writing by: Steve Niles
Art by: Christopher Mitten
Eben’s vampire army is growing by the hundreds every day. He’s driven to get revenge for the brutal death of his love, Stella. he is also attempting to forge some kind of alliance or at least a truce with the deceitful European vampires. At the same time, FBI agents are crossing lines to find an advantage in their fight against the blood thirsty creatures. They’re bringing big guns and no fear, throwing rules and protocol to the wind.
Scary tale spinner extraordinaire Steve Niles continues the trek of Eben and his immortal tribe of vampires in 30 Days of Night #10. This series has been going for a long time now, and it’s featured a few artists along the way, but the work of Christopher MItten feels really harmonious here. Issue #10 doesn’t bring much action, really, but instead takes a slow burn to build up the tension for upcoming confrontations and likely messy battles.
30 Days of Night is one the best horror series on the shelves today, so if you aren’t already reading it, start now. There’s plenty of material out there already.
Review: Womanthology: Space
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Womanthology, if you haven’t already heard, is a large group of all female creators who put together a huge anthology of work and funded the publication through Kickstarter last year. The fundraising and the book were a huge success, shining a spotlight on many talented ladies in the comics industry, at all levels of accomplishment. After the success if the original anthology, IDW has decide to support a new 5 issue series from Womanthology, starting with Space!
Womanthology: Space offers five short stories from industry talents such as Bonnie Burton, Rachel Deering, Ming Doyle and Alison Ross, just to name a few. Some of these stories I liked better than others, but they were all well thought out and creative. Since each one is very short, I don’t want to say too much in the way of spoilers here, but I will touch lightly on each.
“Waiting for Mr. Roboto” is a cute take on the ‘searching for Mr. Right’ theme and takes place in a space diner. The characters are all either alien or robot. Trixie is a bored waitress hoping for something new and exiting to walk in the door. This was probably one of my favorite stories, simply because it’s easy and light hearted, the artwork simple and clean.
“Dead Again” is a creepy ghost story taking place on a lonely ship, just one man left to keep it afloat. He made a mistake one day and that mistake hasn’t let him rest ever since. I also enjoyed this one for it’s spooky, sci-fi vibe and nicely colored and textured art.
“Scaling Heaven” follows the efforts of American and Chinese astronauts to beat each other to the moon. The art of this story is soft and flowy, layered nicely; I really liked this particular style. I will say, however, the story itself was not my favorite. It just felt a little disjointed and open ended. 
“Princess Plutonia” reads and looks like a silver age comic, very vintage and brightly colored, the story full of fantasy alien names and space creatures battling for survival and love. It’s a super short but entertaining little adventure.
The final story is called “Space Girls” and it’s presented in a web comic style, all black and white, very simplistic. Sort of a silly portrayal of an all female spaceship that encounters a very special sort of alien presence while exploring new planets. There’s not much to say about this one, it’s basic, cartoonish and should make you smile.
All in all, Womanthology: Space is a nice little collection of tales of space exploration, by a mixed pot of creative women making their names in the comic industry. The first Womanthology book was created to benefit a charity called Global Giving Foundation. The new series of books are being created to get some exposure and creative props to the many skilled women in the comics industry. Regardless of the quality and enjoyment you get from these stories, one of those should be reason enough to support Womanthology.
Available now from IDW.
Double Review: Axe Cop & Star Trek / Dr. Who Crossover
18 months ago
It’s another two-fer review, readers!
Axe Cop: President of the World, Part 2
If you are a regular reader, you’ll know I am already an Axe Cop fan. President of the World delivers all the strange, fresh fun and weirdness that makes Axe Cop so entertaining. It’s interesting, though–remember when I interviewed Ethan Nicholle, and asked him what he predicted would change about Axe Cop once his little brother starts getting older? I noticed two things right away about President of the World that are significantly different than older Axe Cop issues: one is, Axe Cop actually has a female best friend (she’s “one of the only girls he [does] not think of as dumb”). And she’s pretty cool, too–though she appears so briefly in this story, I’d like to see more of what the Water Queen can do.
The other most significant difference in this recent Axe Cop might just be me, but it strikes me that this issue is much more violent than previous stories. It’s, well…kind of dark in some places. The bad guys really are working with complex psychology, and there’s lots of mass devastation, too. This is a good thing–I think the more Axe Cop evolves, the more compelling it will continue to be.
Also, it’s really cool to have Axe Cop in color.
Star Trek TNG/Dr. Who Crossover, Assimilation2 #4
Wil Wheaton is right when he shares memories of the future that Star Trek TNG is quite talk-y. This could make for a very static, text-heavy comic, even with the eccentric action of the Doctor thrown in. However, the almost-Impressionist style of art in this comic makes for much emotion and movement in every frame, even just in discussion scenes. The painterly style with its rich jewel-toned color and broad brush strokes is lovely to look at.
About the premise: does the idea of the Borg and the Cybermen teaming up terrify the bejeezus out of you as much as it does me? Also: duh, of course Guinan and the Doctor are sort of a breed alike. Actually, I’m now convinced Guinan is actually a Time Lady.
This issue is sort of a detective story, in that the crew and company are investigating what happened down on a planet between the inhabitants, the Borg and the Cybermen. So we do the classic away team and go investigate. It’s got the Star Trek and the Doctor Who tropes I want as a reader, along with the novelty of the mashup, and the story rolls along like a good episode of either. I found myself hoping Amy’s red hair didn’t make her a redshirt.
Really, when I first heard that they were going to do a comics mashup with Dr. Who and Star Trek, I thought, “Why hasn’t that happened before?” This is delivering.
I recommend both of these comics, highly. ~Prof. Jenn
Review: Locke & Key: Grindhouse
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Writing by: Joe Hill
Art by: Gabriel Rodriguez
Review by Melissa Megan
This week the Locke & Key team gives us a little bonus, stand alone story called Grindhouse, which tells yet another utterly creepy tale of some of Keyhouse’s earlier occupants. It’s a violent tale of a Canadian trio of gangsters pulling off their grand finale of heists, robbing some rich resort patrons and then planning to hide out on an exclusive island and enjoy their new wealth. In order to pull off their escape, one of the gangsters suggests they use the boat launch owned by a wealthy family who occupy an isolated mansion. Unfortunately for the brutal group, they chose the wrong family to victimize, and the wrong mansion to hide in. Keyhouse is not a safe haven for those who are not invited as guests.
The art style is very Silver Age, a change of look for Gabriel Rodriguez, but it works well for the story. If you’re a fan of Locke & Key already, which I am, Grindhouse is a special treat. The book also includes a very detailed “Guide to Keyhouse”, with notes and locations of each room and the secret rooms contained within them. As Joe Hill explains, the house has been continuously added on to and more developed through the various story lines of Locke & Key, and special attention was always paid to an accurate representation of the architecture in each story.
If you’ve been keeping up with Locke & Key then you already know these books are top notch, and Grindhouse is no different. It’s quality writing, great art and some of the most creative stuff on the comics market right now. If you aren’t familiar with Locke & Key, what the hell are you waiting for? There are multiple books out there, I suggest you get to reading them right away. Definitely required for any self respecting comic fan, especially if you enjoy your comics with a healthy dose of creep factor.
Locke & Key: Grindhouse is available this week from IDW Publishing.
Review: Monocyte Collected Edition HC
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Written by: Kasra Ghanbari
Art by: Menton3
Review by Melissa Megan
My local comic shop guy messaged me online: “The Monocyte hard cover is here, bagged and ready for you. I thought I should let you know right away, since you’ve been excited for it to come” ‘Excited’ is definitely an understatement here. I admit I don’t frequent my local shop as much as I should, but they know that for the last year I’ve never been late to pick up my latest Monocyte issues. This one, in particular, had me itching to get my hands on it. Nerds in Babeland readers are well aware of my addiction to these comics, as I have reviewed and highly recommended every single one. Creators Menton3 and Kasra Ghanbari felt that the horrible grandeur of Monocyte could not be contained in tiny comic book pages, so they brought fans a collected, hardcover edition that is so, so much more than just the story of Monocyte.
Collected edition size comparison to Monocyte single issues
From the minute you turn the book to take in the entire wrap around cover it is obvious that it was created with an incredible love and dedication to the power of Menton3′s art. He’s by far one of the most unique and impressive comic artists of recent years and Monocyte was, I believe, the creation that really got him noticed by readers, art collectors and artists. Within the first few pages of the book I became painfully aware of just how limiting those single issue comic pages had been for Monocyte. All I can compare it to is maybe seeing a film in IMAX for the first time. You have no idea how much you’ve been missing until you see it in all it’s glory, splayed out in giant size images that you can’t help lingering on after you’ve already read the words.
This is not at all to downplay the quality of writing that Kasra Ghanbari brings to Monocyte, which is the backbone of the book. He writes like he’s carving mythology in to a modern world, building characters and events on each other with unflinching grace and balance. The story is complex and requires your full attention, but if you allow yourself to be present in it, you will not be disappointed with the reward. I will stop gushing about how much I absolutely love Monocyte because as I promised, this collection is so much more than just the story of Monocyte.
art by Chris Newman
The Monocyte Collected Edition is a 224 page hardcover book. It contains the entirety of the original Monocyte story, plus the previously digital only prequel. The book also offers over 60 pages of new content, including a gallery of Menton3′s conceptual and design work for Monocyte, plus a very impressive guest artist gallery. Creepy little child demons by sculptor and fine artist Scott Radke. Sexy, gothic pinups by Alberto Ruiz. Fluid, surreal digital art by Chris Newman. Even some bad ass metal sculpted Monocyte head pieces by Tim Roosen. The book is literally stuffed with so much breathtaking art. One of my personal favorite pieces is a super goulish, almost 3D painting by David Stoupakis that I haven’t been able to stop looking at.
art by Aaron Ryan
The Monocyte Collected Edition is not only a magnificent representation of one of the best comics to be released in the past year, but it’s a guaranteed brag book for your collection. Set this book down on your coffee table (be careful not to spill on it!) and there’s no way someone won’t pick it up and get sucked in. Menton3 and Kasra Ghanbari are up to huge things this year (44FLOOD, anyone?), but Monocyte is the beginning of their magical union and one that every self respecting comic book reader should experience. if you’re a Menton3 fan or just a Monocyte fan, this book is a must own. MUST OWN. Not maybe. Get it now and bask in it’s awesome power of pure, artistic unicorn blood voodoo. Get it HERE.
Monocyte #4 – The End
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Cover A- Menton3
Monocyte #4 sees the end of the series, the end of the Antedeluvians and the Olignostics, possibly the end of Monocyte, if he gets his way. This series has been incredibly challenging and unique. Each time a new issue came out, I found myself re-reading the previous and keeping it by my side as I tried to articulate how to write about the current one. It’s a complex story, full of intellectual questions and metaphorical poems. It’s by no means a casual read, or even a mild one, but Monocyte will never fail to leave you wondering what you just experienced and feeling in awe of the artwork that shines from it’s pages.
Cover B- David Stoupakis
Incentive- Phil Hale
Issue #4 does a nice job of tying up the storylines of several characters we’ve met along the road to Monocyte’s eternal death, which was his only real goal from the beginning. I’m not going to lie and say that I understood exactly where these characters ended up, even after two reads, but I won’t hesitate to read through a few more times to get a better understanding. It’s that good.
Menton and Kasra enjoy using multiple artists and writers to layer Monocyte with texture and vision, particularly in telling side stories of the human slaves. In #4, I found the additional stories to be a confusing, distracting end to an issue already thick with development. I can’t fault them for following a successful system, especially when utilizing such creative talents as Chris Newman, Barron Storey and Ben Templesmith. Perhaps it’s just my personal attachment to Menton3′s mind blowing art and the fact that this is the last time I’ll enjoy it under the title of Monocyte, but this time around I wasn’t drawn to the extras. 
Monocyte #4 is, all in all, a very impressive conclusion to an incredible story. Monocyte has been one of the most engrossing comic series I’ve read in years. Menton3′s art is astounding and has left me a permanent fan; I’ll be watching his work enthusiastically as long as he continues to make it. Since Monocyte #1, Menton has been making a name all over comics and I don’t see him slowing down any time soon. I’ve already started my collection of work, in book and print form, and I’m very much looking forward to the Monocyte collected edition coming in July. 
There’s been a new bar set for comic books. That’s what Monocyte has left me with: a higher expectation for the future of my comics collection.
Monocyte #4 will be available May 30, from IDW.
IDW’s Monocyte #4 Coming, With Big Extras
01 year ago
B cover- David Stoupakis
Monocyte #4, the post apocalyptic, muti-species battle story love child of Menton3 and Kasra Ghanbari, will hit stores on May 23 and conclude the series. I’ve been covering this series since the beginning and it has raised the bar in both artistic chutzpah and writing prowess for comic books to a godly level. Yes, I am a fan. Monocyte is a story of two species locked in a never ending battle, using and throwing away what humans are left on the planet as tools of life force, weapons of mutilation and play things. Monocyte is the being sent to put an end to their nonsense and clear the clutter left behind. He does his job with pure brutality, staggering insight and intelligence, style and grace.
Incentive- Phil Hale
I promise you have not read a story like this one before. It’s everything I always wanted to find in a comic but never thought was possible. If you want something heavier, something thicker, something more cranial in your comic collection, Monocyte is just that. The poetic writing of Kasra Ghanbari and the other worldley artwork of Menton3 come together in a tender, perfect embrace that other comic teams can only dream of. Monocyte #4 will feature 3 covers plus interior art by Chris Newman and Ben Templesmith. Preview here!
I will follow up with a full review of Monocyte #4 after release, of course. If you haven’t already picked up Saltillo’s Monocyte album (have you not been paying attention?) then now is the time. The cd, released earlier this year, was on the top 50 electronic releases on iTunes and nabbed the #1 spot for industrial sellers on Amazon for over a week. Artoffact Records has now released Monocyte: The Lapis Coil on vinyl, which includes three tracks from the CD, two new remixes, and an exclusive new track called Necromancy. It will also contain some amazing artwork by Menton3. The vinyl is limited to 492 copies and will also be released digitally to iTunes and Amazon MP3.
Last, but certainly not least, IDW will bless us all with more treasure to add to the Monocyte collection: a 224 page, hardcover collected edition that will include the entire Monocyte series, with all covers, plus over 60 pages of brand new content. This book boasts a huge roster of incredible talent like Ashley Wood, Bill Sienkiewicz, George Pratt, Phil Hale, Barron Storey, Ben Templesmith, Riley Rossmo, Christopher Mitten, David Stoupakis, and Chris Newman. You’ll also get all the slave stories that were written for each issue and the series prequel, previously only available digitally. This book will be the one to own not only for fans of the work of Menton3, but comic collector who want the ultimate in impressive, unique hard cover brag material on their shelf.
The Monocyte collected edition is in the May Previews for pre ordering, which means do some pre ordering! It’s how you show those guys and girls at your local comic shop what you want and how you are guaranteed to get it.
Molly Crabapple’s Week in Hell Preview
11 year ago
Photos: Steve Prue, with additional photography by Kate Black, Yumna, and Andras Frenyo
Front and back cover photography by Clayton Cubitt
Publisher: IDW
Molly Crabapple is a modern artist in so many ways. She delves into social networking, online fund raising opportunities (Kickstarter) and invites fans to get involved first hand in her various artistic projects. Her art is like a daydreaming doodle let loose to roam, growing so large and complex that it crawls beyond the boundaries of the page. I’ve always been a fidgety doodler myself, and have wondered, on occasion, if there are artists out there who have developed the skill of the doodle in to more disciplined creations that can be considered full blown works of art. Molly has done just that and in a most impressive, beautiful way.
Molly Crabapple is best known as the founder of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti Art School, an alternative to the stiff, school room approach of art education. Dr. Sketchy’s utilizes the titillating faces and forms of various underground performance artists and boasts guest appearances from artists like Ron English, Audrey Kawasaki and Ben Templesmith. The doors are open to all artists. I’ve never had the opportunity to visit my local Dr. Sketchy’s, here in NY, but looking at pictures, videos and blog posts, it looks like a year round birthday party for David Lynch.
So, here’s the low down: Molly’s 28th birthday was approaching and she wanted to celebrate in a special way. She chose to ‘go crazy’, documenting every step of her journey in drawings, photos and videos. The endeavor was funded by a Kickstarter campaign, raising an astonishing $25,805 in pledges; backers were rewarded with live streaming of the Week in Hell and receiving actual pieces of the art walls created during it. Molly locked herself in a fancy hotel suite in NYC, covered the walls in lots and lots of paper, brought plenty of booze and drew until her pretty little fingers could stand no more. She stayed in those rooms for 5 days and welcomed many visitors including close friends, dancers, artists, press and possibly a monkey or two. Ok, maybe that didn’t happen, but it sort of did. Some of these visitors were drawn on the walls, becoming living pieces of the swirly, lacey landscapes pouring from Molly’s imagination.
Lucky for the rest of us, Molly’s Week in Hell is being published as a photo collection, including lots of added sketching and notes from the artist. I had the honor of previewing this collection and it fucking rocks. It’s sweet and pretty, eccentric and weird, comfy and soft, raucous and heady with subdued sex appeal. It’s like peeking in the window of an aristocratic party, the attendees being swanky artists, bohemians, circus performers and musicians. You want so badly to be one of them. You know you can’t be; there is a special, intimate magic happening between these people. The white rabbit could show up at any moment and clink his champagne glass with Molly’s.
I’m a big fan of nicely made art and photo books, even if I’m the only one around my house who picks them up repeatedly to enjoy the eye candy they promote. Week in Hell is a must have and available for pre-order through Amazon right now. Get it, if you want to party with the cool kids. Or not, but don’t blame me when you realize how much seductive color is missing from your life because of your choice to pass this book by. Yes, it’s that’s good. In case you’re being ridiculous and not taking my word on this, watch the video below. Call me later so I can say ‘I told you so’.
Molly Crabapple’s Week in Hell from Brainwomb on Vimeo.
