A whole new comic book publishing company is on the horizon from the deranged minds of Steve Niles (30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre), Matt Pizzolo (Occupy Comics, Godkiller, Halo-8) and Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion, Epitaph Records) and we've got the details on their brand new comics. Find out which incredible writers and artists they've got signed on after the jump!
Fans of the comic book Locke & Key will want to pay attention. If you recall, the property - by writer Joe Hill and illustrator Gabriel Rodriguez - was translated for the screen as a television pilot. Mark Romanek directed and Fox ultimately passed on the pilot, deciding not to take it to series in spite of the warm reaction it received at the San Diego Comic-Con.
Last week, Latino Review reported that Universal and IDW, the publisher of Locke & Key, are going to develop a feature film trilogy.
From celebrated comic artist Mike Mignola and award-winning novelist Christopher Golden come the next installments of the critically acclaimed Baltimore series.
In Baltimore: The Play, a mad playwright puts on a Grand Guignol featuring actors that are real vampires. The evil financier of the play makes a bizarre discovery when he finds out that the playwright is a fraud and the true author is the disembodied head of a famous American author kept in a glass case. Baltimore: The Play is on sale November 21st.
Following The Play, Lord Baltimore finds himself in a double feature with Baltimore: The Widow and the Tank, on sale February 20, 2013. “The Widow” concerns a woman whose husband and war buddies have returned from the war as vampires and begun preying on their hometown. In “The Tank,” Baltimore learns of a wrecked tank in a field as he is passing through the war-ravaged countryside. People believe there is a vampire living inside that has been eating cattle and attacking locals. When Baltimore checks it out, it turns out to be true…to a point.
Crossed is a very special kind of zombie story. If you don't know about it, they're not your typical zombies. These are like rage virus zombies with an affection for....sexual desires - that's a clean way of putting it.
But if there is one thing that Crossed isn't, it's clean. This is one of the most depraved and disgusting comics put out, but I loved every page of it.
The latest series Crossed: Wish You Were Here is no exception to the rest of the Crossed series. It has all the violence and nastiness that the rest of the series has, but also a very important placement on characters and their working dynamics. Simon Spurrier, the devilish writer behind the series, has really cemented a great story within this universe (which is saying a lot after you're following up the likes of Garth Ennis and David Lapham). What is so cool about the way he handles this story is the amount of limitations he's put around himself, almost as if he's written into a corner purposefully. This works to the advantage of the story and makes it a much more relatable and personal tale to read.
You've perused Wednesday's schedule. Now, here is the jam-packed San Diego Comic-Con schedule for Thursday. Mind you, these are just the "horror highlights." You'll find the full sched right here.
For Dexter fans, this is the day for you. Also, there's no shortage of zombie love. There are a number of panels this day devoted solely for the undead, whether it is Image Comics The Walking Dead comic panel or a few academic discussions about shambling corpses.
The big surprise is SDCC's space for indie horror as Jen and Sylvia Soska take to the stage to talk bout American Mary and Dave Parker (The Hills Run Red) is previewing his next film Coldwater. Check out the schedule within!
Telltale Games and Robert Kirkman announced today that, "Starved for Help," the second episode of the game series based on the critically acclaimed comic book series, The Walking Dead, is now available for download.
In this tailored game experience, players get the chance to see how their story continues based on the decisions that they made in episode one, "A New Day."
Starved for Help is now available to download on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, followed on Friday, June 29th on PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. The PC and Mac versions of the episode will also be available to download on June 29 from the in-game menu.
Visual FX supervisor Victor Scalese is in the spotlight in the latest AMC featurette for The Walking Dead season 3. From environment to zombies, Scalese talks about his duties on the show and what the forthcoming season has in store for fans (hint: lots of "killing"). You can check out the video inside.
On another note, actor Lennie James spoke to Digital Spy recently. You might recall he played Morgan in TWD's first season. On his future with the show, he said: "There’s a possibility I might go back. It just depends on timing-wise if I’m free. At least one of the times they contacted me about it, I was busy doing something else.”
If you read the comics, well, you know the story circles back around to Morgan. We'll see if the show does the same.
To emphasize just how much The Walking Dead's fanbase has grown, Hall H of Comic-Con next month is going to host a panel dedicated to the AMC show.
Chris Hardwick (of The Talking Dead) will moderate the panel on Friday, July 13th at 1:25pm in Hall H, of all place. Yep, the big 'un.
The Walking Dead panelists will discuss what fans can expect in the highly anticipated third season, which debuts in October. Panelists include Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, Lauren Cohan, Denai Guerrero, David Morrisey, Executive Producer and Showrunner Glen Mazzara, Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd, Executive Producer Robert Kirkman and Co-Executive Producer and Special Effects Make-up Supervisor Greg Nicotero.
The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego announced its partnership with KNB EFX Group, Inc. and its founder Greg Nicotero, the force behind Special Effects Make-up for TV shows and movies such as AMC's The Walking Dead, Kill Bill, Predators and Land of the Dead, just to name a few.
In conjunction with the release of Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning The Walking Dead Issue #100 at San Diego Comic-Con, The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego takes place July 12 -14 at Petco Park, centrally located near the San Diego Convention Center. Registration is now open at TheWalkingDeadEscape.com.
Okay, so it's not exactly news now that Michael Rooker is returning for The Walking Dead season 3. How his Merle Dixon character factors back into the story is up for speculation (It's clear from some previously leaked set pics that he's rolling with David Morrissey's The Governor).
But let's talk about Merle's hand. The man lost it in season one, so how is he dealing with this? Well, a new set pic answers that.
Guillermo del Toro and novelist Chuck Hogan bring their New York Times best-selling series of novels, the Strain Trilogy, to Dark Horse Comics with an ongoing adventure that takes a terrifying spin on the vampire genre.
Renowned comics creator David Lapham (Stray Bullets, Silverfish) and artist Mike Huddleston (The Coffin, Butcher Baker) join forces in this comic book adaptation unlike any other - bringing del Toro and Hogan’s vision to life in a story that casts a deadly plague over the whole of humanity. The Strain Volume 1, collecting issues #1-6 of this ongoing series, is a horror story unlike any other.
When a Boeing 777 lands at JFK International Airport and goes dark on the runway, the Centers for Disease Control, fearing a terrorist attack, calls in Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team of expert biological-threat first responders. Only an elderly pawnbroker from Spanish Harlem suspects a darker purpose behind the event - an ancient threat intent on covering mankind in darkness.
In a summer awash in superheroes, Twentieth Century Fox is introducing movie-going audiences to the original superhero - Abraham Lincoln. Yes, we're talking about the former President of the United States...who also doubled as a vampire ass-kicker. His story is being told in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which is opening in theaters on June 22nd, directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted).
In anticipation of the film's release, Shock Till You Drop is exclusively hosting a motion comic book that delves into America's history and its vampire menace. The art features storyboards from the film.
HEAD TO THIS SPOT TO START READING (and stick around for an exclusive clip!) - and stay tuned for more installments.
Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jimmi Simpson, Robin McLeavy, Alan Tudyk and Rufus Sewell star in the film.
From the mind of Joe Madureira comes a full-blown Darksiders II digital comic series from Dark Horse Comics.
Delving into the days before the Apocalypse, Darksiders II: Death’s Door is a pivotal contribution to the world of the anticipated new game. Created in collaboration with THQ’s Vigil GamesTM, the studio co-founded by Joe Madureira, this original story follows Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, on a mission to destroy a rogue demon.
Chasing the creature across magical realms and even through time, Death’s quest takes him on a heart-pounding adventure that reveals some of the greatest mysteries of the games.
Actor Thomas Jane and noted artist Tim Bradstreet’s Raw Studios announced today that they have entered into an exclusive digital distribution agreement with comiXology — the world’s largest digital comics platform — involving all of Raw Studios’ comic book and graphic novels.
To celebrate, Raw Studios and comiXology are today making available the Dark Country graphic novel as an exclusive digital debut across comiXology’s entire platform — including iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire and the Web.
Thomas Jane fans will be familiar with Dark Country, the title of his 2009 directorial debut. Both the film and graphic novel are based on a short story written by Tab Murphy, Jane conceived of the film and graphic novel adaptions as stand-alone endeavors with unique artistic interpretations.
Just before the Memorial holiday weekend, we shared with you details for Anchor Bay's DVD and Blu-ray presentation of The Walking Dead season 2, arriving August 28th. Today, we have the trailer for said collection. The 13-episode season will be packed in a four-disc set.
No one has ever asked me who my favorite comic book characters are.
If you did, you'd get the standard answers: Batman, The Punisher, Daredevil. The less mainstream answers: Billy Butcher, The Goon, and Iron Fist...and the almost unheard of: Lord Henry Baltimore.
I fell in love with the character immediately after reading Baltimore Volume 1: The Plague Ships. I knew that the character would be returning in future volumes, and with the same creative team behind it I was beyond excited. After venturing the dark jungle that was Baltimore Volume 2: The Curse Bells I can offer, in short, two words: Home Run.
Picking up after Volume 1, we find Lord Baltimore still on the hunt for the vampire that killed his family. Much like the first time around his thirst for revenge lands him in many a hot spot, facing monsters and evils that can only be found dwelling in the mind of Mike Mignola. I often worry about a series that has implications of continuing antagonists, vampires in the case of Baltimore, but these fears were squashed and burned (at least for the future of this series).
Anchor Bay Entertainment is bringing The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season to DVD and Blu-ray on August 28th. Here's the lowdown, direct from our pals at AB:
A truly unique and very limited edition zombie head case created and designed by McFarlane Toys will also be available as Blu-ray™ only for a SRP of $99.99. Pre-book is August 1st. The 4-Disc sets will contain all 13 episodes of the second season and will be loaded with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, featurettes and audio commentaries.
The Walking Dead: The Complete Second Season is the much anticipated next chapter to the acclaimed post zombie apocalypse series. When we last left the “The Walking Dead,” the characters were in the midst of a high-intensity struggle to survive, fleeing the CDC as it burst into flames. In Season 2, they are still fighting zombies, and each other, facing more threats and obstacles than ever before.
You got a fleeting glimpse at her at the end of The Walking Dead season 2 as a hooded stranger with two armless zombies in tow.
Today, everyone is getting their first look at Michonne (played by Danai Gurira), a character who was embraced by fans of the comic book and is making her series debut on AMC's third season of The Walking Dead.
Check out a larger version of the photo inside. EW scored the exclusive.
“The essence of the character - her personality, her motives, everything that makes Michonne Michonne - remains intact from the comics,” series creator Robert Kirkman tells the outlet. “But like a lot of things on the show, there will be little tweaks and differences here and there. We saw that her introduction is slightly different from how it was in the comic, and her interaction with Andrea is really going to be a really cool addition to the character that I think will get television viewers up to speed, and they’ll get to know her a lot faster than comic book readers did.”
Although first announced in April, Variety is reporting the comic book Shambler is still being prepped for a screen adaptation.
Never heard of the comic? Well, here's what the title's official site has to say about the story: Dr. Samuel Pratt is a multi-doctorate scientist who is obsessed with raising the dead. But just as Sam is about to perfect his colossal breakthrough, an unfortunate series of circumstances puts him in conflict with organized crime. The mobsters kill Sam and take off with his irreplaceable research, hoping to sell the secret of immortality to the highest bidder. Pratt’s desperate fiancé and his shady lab assistants use the remaining prototype formula to bring him back to life. Humor mixes with horror as Pratt is resurrected and mummified, wrapped in police scene crime tape and out for revenge against the criminals who destroyed his life’s work. But time is against him. Sam must find a way to restore himself to true life before he denigrates into a mindless killing machine – the hulking anti-hero, who lurks in the shadows of LA’s underbelly, which the tabloids have dubbed: Shambler!
It's usually a bittersweet moment when a comic book becomes a video game. As a fan, we get excited because it's our favorite comic book come to life and we get to be a part of it, but more often than not it's about as disappointing as when one of the "big two" announce a big summer event series and it is ultimately lackluster (looking at you Avengers vs X-Men). Having said that, there are still plenty of comic books out there that could do with a good video game.
If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that while I don't play a lot of video games, Batman: Arkham City really captured me as it did everyone else. That game is nearly perfect and the same formula could be applied to essentially any comic book hero or series and it would work. For the sake of not sounding repetitive, I've limited myself to only choosing the Arkham City formula for one series, just so we can have a wide variety of styles here.
Now, let's put something on the proverbial table here before we get cracking. This list is, of course, my opinion and the style of video game that I've chosen for each comic book might not be what you consider “fun” or “cool” or whatever the kids say these days but it's what I like, so let's be cool in the comments section.
As The Walking Dead lurches into season 3, the canvas of characters is going to widen significantly. If you're familiar with the comic, or if you saw the season finale of season 2, Rick Grimes and company are heading to a prison, albeit an abandoned one - or so they think. Of the new characters they encounter, we know Michonne (Danai Gurira) - the samurai sword-wielding gal - is on the plate. So is The Governor (David Morrissey). But who else can we expect?
Cameras began rolling on The Walking Dead Season 3 and AMC has released the first promo video which takes you on the set. The cast and crew preview what's to come, where the season picks up. Producer Gale Anne Hurd reveals Ernest Dickerson - who helmed season 2's finale - is directing episode 301. The season is described as messy, dark, hard and, apparently at some point, "love blossoms." Head inside for the video!
Robert Kirkman, the creator/writer of The Walking Dead comic book series and graphic novels and Skybound announce their first event, The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego.
In conjunction with the release of The Walking Dead issue #100 at San Diego Comic-Con, the event takes place July 12 -15 at Petco Park, centrally located near the San Diego Convention Center. Registration is now open at TheWalkingDeadEscape.Com.
There are three ways to participate in this epic adventure. Participants can be a Survivor and race through the zombie infested evacuation zone; a Walker who becomes one of the undead, embracing the inevitable; or a Spectator who watches the apocalypse from sidelines at the Escape Party.
The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego is unlike any obstacle course event in the U.S., expanding on the best-selling The Walking Dead comic book series and graphic novel storylines, allowing Survivors and Walkers to explore the initial days of the apocalypse.
The Fringe is a place where non-horror genre films can get some play on Shock. These films might be sci-fi, fantasy or action - and certainly contain some horror elements - but will likely be light on scares, or, straight-up "horror." Still, they might be of interest to you.
Today, a bunch of viral madness was unleashed for The Amazing Spider-Man.
If you tinker around OscorpIndustries.com/AnimalDynamicsLab the word "Mutagen" formed. Adding that to the URL, OscorpIndustries.com/Mutagen gives you a first look at a new featurette which is all about The Lizard.
Edward R. Pressman, producer of such classic films as Wall Street, American Psycho, The Crow, Bad Lieutenant, and Das Boot, announced today that he has optioned the feature film rights for Archaia Entertainment’s acclaimed graphic novel Feeding Ground.
Created by Swifty Lang, Michael Lapinski, and Chris Mangun, Feeding Ground was the first full-length graphic novel to be published in hardcover simultaneously in English and Spanish. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is set to direct and screenwriter Carlos Coto will adapt for the screen.
Feeding Ground tells the story of a “coyote,” a trafficker of illegal immigrants, forced to smuggle his family into America by crossing the most forbidding part of the Arizona/Mexico border, a searing no-man’s-land known as “The Devil’s Highway.” Along the way, he and his family clash with U.S. Border Patrol agents, only to realize that the entire party is being hunted by the real monsters that roam the countryside - werewolves.
Superman series co-producer Pierre Spengler is lining up a slate of new projects in anticipation of the Cannes. Screen Daily says he's bringing two genre projects to the festival's film market.
The first being I Am Legion, a directing vehicle for Nacho Cerda (Aftermath, Abandoned) based on the comic book by Fabien Nury and John Cassaday.
French publisher Humanoids released the comic which was picked up in the U.S. by Devil's Due. The synopsis goes like this: While the outcome of the war is in doubt, the Nazis frantically search for Ana, a girl with the ability to possess other bodies.
Richard Stanley is attached to write the script.
I'm always skeptical about “sequels” to properties. Like, a few years ago when an "official sequel" novel to Bram Stoker's Dracula written by his grand-nephew or something. Needless to say I don't really see a point in doing a sequel to something that wasn't intentionally thought of or doesn't have some sort of connection with the original creators, but it does happen and sometimes they're quite good. Frankesntein Alive, Alive! would certainly be in that category.
If there are two people in the comic book world that know monsters it's Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson. Being the creators of some of the most influential and memorable monster comics ever there's no need to check their credentials. Plus, with the two of them having worked with the Frankenstein monster before it only makes sense that they would team up to tell this story.
Frankenstein Alive, Alive! is a sequel to Bernie Wrightson's original graphic novel adaptation of Mary Shelley's original tale, making it a sequel to the original story in a sense. Now, the original Frankenstein book is one of my all time favorites so like I said earlier, I was skeptical, but considering I adore Niles and Wrightson's work I was slapped in the face for doubting them.
It seems I told a fib dear readers. I promised you an extra long version of The Graveyard Shelf today and, alas, I was mistaken. I had it in my head that there were at least four or five comics that I didn't get a chance to review in the last week - turns out there were only two. So, prepare yourself for an average-length Graveyard Shelf, but don't confuse that with average quality, for you shall be disappointed!
The TV show and comic book have gone on very different paths, but one thing has remained constant: The Walking Dead characters constantly face tough choices. Kill a zombie or sneak past it? Risk your life for supplies or escape to safety and hope for a better opportunity later? Chop a dude’s hand off or leave him to do it himself? It provides a lot of “What would I do in that situation” type thinking, so it’s no surprise that the franchise’s first video game is all about choices, with minimal action.
And who better to deliver that sort of gameplay-lite approach to a big license than Telltale Games, who have tackled Jurassic Park and Back To The Future as well? I’m sure some folks would prefer a Resident Evil type survival horror adventure game, but this version actually fits the approach of the comic quite nicely – lots of talk, lots of characters, minimal but just enough action to keep you interested…in terms of the original work’s spirit, it’s probably one of the most successful licensed games in recent memory.
Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to Monsterpalooza this year - which sucks because I was looking forward to getting a hand on look at the new Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave comic book series.
The series is in the same vein as the old school Eerie and Creepy comics, and the modern equivalent of Dark Horse Presents, a series of short horror stories presented in one huge volume.
The comic is brought to us by Monsterverse Entertainment with 52 pages of art and story at the low low price of 4.99, that's a dime a page folks!
Well, it only took me three weeks to drop the ball on this whole weekly column thing but I'm a busy guy so lay off it. [Editor's Note: One more delay, Spencer, and we sacrifice your first born to Quetzacoatl.]
There were some comics I was going to review for last week's installment, but they will have to wait until next week so expect a super-sized entry. Anyway, I've got some exciting things to share with you and some things that will disappoint you like a bad tasting cake at a birthday party.
Alan Robert's graphic novel Crawl to Me is getting the adaptation treatment. As previously reported, David Armstrong (the Saw franchise's director of photography) is attached to director. At the time of his involvement, the project was looking for a writer and it appears it has found two.
According to Noise Creep, David White and T.J. Cimfel will tackle the story. Producers Robert, Jeff Mazzola and Chris White are shepherding the project.
White and Cimfel have penned the thriller Shut In, currently in development. Cimfel scripted the upcoming No Tell Motel.
Godzilla will always be my first monster love in life. But not long after I discovered the big green fella did I learn about the possibility of real life monsters, namely Bigfoot, Nessie, and the Yeti.
The “discovery” of these creatures captured my imagination, going as far as my declaration to my teachers in middle school that I was going to become a Cryptozoologist when I grew up. I've since moved on to greater pastures, but anything in the world that deals with cryptids is still a hindrance on my productivity.
I've always wondered why there was a lack of these creatures in comic books. They have an infinite well of myths and stories behind them, the possibilities would be endless. Then I heard about this comic book Footprints and I was beyond intrigued. Cryptids thrown into the mix of a noir underworld? I am there with bells on.
We talk about zombies a lot here at Shock. It's just a part of the job. Not that I'm complaining. Zombies are one of the reasons I got into what I do now I love the little critters. As it's been said before we're in an era now where the is an abundance of zombie media. They've become the new hot commodity for the masses. It's almost like zombies are so prevalent in our culture that creators think just because their story is about zombies means that it will be successful, not the case.
How do you take a concept (in this case, the living dead) and make it different from all the others? Well, there are of course several answers to this question, just ask any writer, but a few years back Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood came up with an answer to that question: Robots.
Joey Esposito is the comics editor over at IGN and he recently stepped into the world of comics creation with his new series Footprints. The comic details a mystery being solved by the most unlikely of noir characters, the world's cryptids (Bigfoot, Nessie, The Jersey Devil, etc.). Joey graciously gave us the comic to review, which we loved, and also agreed to talk to us about Footprints, writing, and comics in general.
The Fringe is a place where non-horror genre films can get some play on Shock. These films might be sci-fi, fantasy or action - and certainly contain some horror elements - but will likely be light on scares, or, straight-up "horror." Still, they might be of interest to you.
Warner Bros. has set Journey 2: The Mysterious Island director Brad Peyton for their DC Comics adaptation, Lobo, Deadline reports.
Created in 1984 by Roger Slifer and Keith Giffen, Lobo is a Czarnian (originally Velorpian) bounty hunter who, as a nearly indestructible anti-hero, drives a space-faring motorcycle across the cosmos in search of his next target.
People are always quick to slap the saying “Don't judge a book by it's cover” on someone these days. More often then not they're not even talking about a book. This advice though can be just as applicable to books as it is people, and it should be.
I fear that the title and cover of Alabaster Wolves will keep people away from reading it, which would be a shame. The peculiar title that it's sporting, coupled with the very peculiar artwork, would be more then enough to drive some people away from even picking it up. We mustn’t forget this little gem of advice that we so often do not apply to the object within it.
Alabaster Wolves is an interesting little tale by Caitlin Kiernan with pencils by Steve Lieber. It deals with an albino monster hunter named Dancy Flammarion who, even though her name makes her sound like two delightful Pokémon, finds herself in some very peculiar situations in the world. It's pretty obvious when reading this inaugural issue that there is a lot of back story to this character that some readers might not know about. The back of the issue and some Internet snooping proved me right. Kiernan has written two prose books featuring the character before, and I can say after reading this first comic I'd like to pick those up.
Dark Horse Comics has announced Ex Sanguine - a unique blend of horror and thriller from Tim Seeley, the creator of Hack/Slash, writer of The Occultist, artist of The Guild, and more.
“Ex Sanguine is my take on the vampire-romance genre, but instead of being full of longing and anguished staring, it’s full of brutal flirtations between two savage predators, one a vampire, one a serial killer,” said Tim Seeley.
One is a natural-born killer - a remorseless hunter of men restlessly prowling the night for victims to quench an unnatural bloodlust. The other, Saul Adams, is a vampire. A bored vampire. His centuries of existence have left him world weary and detached, lost in a haze of endless memories for days or weeks on end. His latest bout of preoccupation is mercifully interrupted by federal agents.
Ever since the ever popular The Walking Dead television show, and the completely insane prices that the comics are going for, I wondered how long it would take Image to jump on the variant edition covers for the series. Well, in my opinion, they picked a good place to try it out.
For the 100th issue of The Walking Dead that hits shelves in July it will have a whopping nine different covers for the centennial issue.
Charlie Adlard will be providing the regular cover, a wrap around and a special chromium cover. In addition to the series artist these high profile names will be contributing to the mix: Todd McFarlane, Sean Phillips, Marc Silvestri, Bryan Hitch, Frank Quitely and Ryan Ottley.
Quite the assortment of artists that will bring something really cool to a special issue. Inside, you can check out a preview of Charlie Adlard's wrap around cover but be warned, potential spoilers for the comic series lie ahead. You'll get the joke when you see the cover.
From the imagination of horror director Greg Mclean (Wolf Creek, Rogue) comes Dark Axis: Secret Battles of WWII, a four-part comic book series published by San Diego based Ape Entertainment and Diezel Punk. Digital editions will now be released via the COMICS+ App at iTunes.
After the release of DARK AXIS #1 on April 10th – editions 2, 3 & 4 will be released every two weeks and cost 99 cents each.
Issue two will hit April 24th, three arrives May 8th and the final issue strikes May 22nd.
Mclean describes Dark Axis as "an action adventure mash up of Saving Private Ryan meets Evil Dead 2. Featuring secret Nazi weapons, terrifying monsters and futuristic machines that reveal the history of a sprawling, evil conspiracy that almost changed the course of the war. The result is an alternate World War II history, as you've never seen it before.”
The Fringe is a place where non-horror genre films can get some play on Shock. These films might be sci-fi, fantasy or action - and certainly contain some horror elements - but will likely be light on scares, or, straight-up "horror." Still, they might be of interest to you.
Filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, along with producer Alexander Rodnyansky, have announced that production will commence on the highly anticipated sequel to 2005’s Sin City, entitled Sin City: A Dame To Kill For.
The film will be produced by AR Films and Quick Draw Productions, financed through AR Films U.S and released domestically by Dimension Films.
“The first question I am always asked is “When will you make another Sin City?” said Rodriquez. “I have wanted to re-team with Frank Miller and return to the world he created since the day we wrapped the original, but have felt a duty to the fans to wait until we had something truly exceptional that would meet and exceed what have become epic expectations. A Dame To Kill For will certainly be worth the wait.”
I was worried when I pitched the idea of The Graveyard Shelf that I would run out of things to talk about. Even with my second entry, it was something I was afraid of, but thankfully I was wrong. It's been a busy week here at Shock in the comics division.
I've read and written about quite a few books that you'll be hearing about soon. I've conducted interviews with several notable writers in the comic field - the first of which is up now with Selwyn Hinds of Vertigo's Dominique Lavaeu: Voodoo Child. He's put out a great comic and was a joy to talk to.
Today, I've got a handful of single issues to talk about below if you'll let me. Please let me.
One of the new Vertigo books that hit last month was Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child.
Set in the post-Katrina New Orleans, it's setting itself up to be an epic full of wonder, thrills, and monsters that we've never seen before in comics.
Like the other Vertigo titles, it was one of my favorite single issue comics of March. I reached out to the writer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds and he graciously accepted to do an interview with us.
A common conversation in nerd circles is the always interesting “What would YOU do in the zombie apocalypse?" Until now there has never been a story that focuses in on that story from the “nerd” perspective, but with the newly released Fanboys vs. Zombies we finally get a glimpse into what that world is like. Unfortunately, it is about as properly representative of nerd culture as The Big Bang Theory.
The comic details the “What if...” scenrario that the title says, and what better place for the setting of such an event that the San Diego Comic-Con? On paper, it sounds like it has potential to be one of the coolest forays into the geek lifestyle that one could think of. Though this is only the first issue, I can only help but think that the execution could have been better. While I can appreciate the story for what it is, it just didn't do it for me like I hoped. This is a great premise and could have been “the next big thing," but I feel like it fell short of that.
I was trying to think of a way to start off this review and couldn't really think of anything except that I would consider Ragemoor an “old school” horror comic. To which I thought, what does that even mean? So, I started to ponder what it means for something to be “old school”. Does it mean something that harbors the same tropes and story beats as older horror stories? Does it mean a story that takes place in an “old” setting, so it doesn't function as a present day counter part would? What about a story that is a knockoff or a re-imagining of an older story? If I were to harbor a guess, I would say it could be all of them.
As my mini-rant does suggest, Ragemoor has an old school sensibility and style to it. It is also the product of long time collaborators Jan Strnad and Richard Corben. It's obvious just from reading this that the years of work that they've done together is both obvious and that they've hashed out a quality style of working together.
Following the news that restored versions of Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava’s blood-curdling zombie horror classics Demons and Demons 2 will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and Steelbook on April 30th in the UK, Arrow Video is pleased to premiere extracts from the specially commissioned Demons 3 comic book.
For horror fans, it’s what they have been waiting for since 1986... Written by Stefan Hutchinson and Barry Keating, with artwork by Jeff Zornow and Peter Fielding, Demons 3 is an original sequel to the first two Demons films, presented as a 2-book comic, which will come housed in the Blu-ray and DVD editions of Demons and Demons 2.
You'll find a preview after the jump.
Welcome to The Graveyard Shelf, Shock's newest weekly feature! The idea behind this came from when I was thinking about the reviews we do for comics over here and how I wasn't happy that we seldom did a review for a series after its inaugural issue. So, in this new column you can expect more compact reviews for the other issues of comics that got a full length review for their first issue. But don't worry, we'll still be rolling out full length reviews for any new number 1s, any milestone issues and graphic novels.
I remember covering the announcement of Image's new mini-series Rebel Blood just a few months ago. I was pretty psyched about the comic for a few reasons: I like the title a lot, the art seemed nuts, the premise sounded interesting, and that cover....come on. After finally getting a chance to pick up and read the comic, my thoughts of what it was going to be weren't entirely met, but at the same time I was still really interested in the direction they took this.
Rebel Blood is a clever book, telling the story of Chuck Neville as he fights through the zombie outbreak to get to his family.
This book jumps around a lot, so it is by no means accustomed to linear storytelling. Often, the main character plays out various scenarios, which are depicted in his head, and how each of them could go horribly wrong. This is an interesting device for the story, it not only speaks volumes about Neville as a person and his though process, but it allows artist Riley Rossmo to stretch his zombified legs for the proverbial “What if” scenarios.
The question of vampire versus zombies is a regular debate among genre fans. I have no preference for a victor in the situation either way. As long as I get to see the fray, I'm fine with whatever the outcome is. While this is an often talked about topic among the horror community, it is seldom put into practice within the horror craft.
Vertigo, however, has now launched their fourth new series this month with precisely that kind of story for us readers.
The New Deadwardians is a peculiar book. It has a lot of melding of genres within its panels - be it mystery, family drama, horror or action. There's a lot to chew on here. And while we may only get a little bit of a vampire/zombie feud in this first issue, it would appear that we're being built up to a boiling point of the conflict between the two dead parties.
In conjunction with the release of Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden’s latest collaboration earlier this week, and Mignola’s appearance at this weekend’s World Horror Convention, Dark Horse is pleased to announce a limited-edition hardcover release of Joe Golem and the Drowning City.
After a séance gone horribly wrong, strange men wearing gas masks and rubber suits abduct the aging psychic Orlov the Conjuror, sending his young assistant Molly McHugh racing through the canals of a submerged Manhattan. As Molly flees her captors through a sunken city full of scavengers, her one hope comes in the form of two strange men: Simon Church, a Victorian-era detective kept alive by clockwork gears and magic, and his assistant, Joe, whose mysterious past is hinted at in dreams of stone and witches.
