Berkeley, CA – February 2 – Top Cow Productions, Inc. is proud to announce that the winner of the Pilot Season 2011 event is Jeremy Haun’s and Jason Hurley’s THE BEAUTY.

THE BEAUTY beat out seven other competitors to take the Pilot Season crown in the most competitive voting period in the history of Pilot Season. This year saw the adoption of elimination-style voting as titles competed over three rounds to determine the overall winner. At the deadline, nearly one million votes total had been cast by fans for the Pilot Season 2011 titles. Other Pilot Season 2011 contenders included THEORY OF EVERYTHING by Dan Casey, Nick Nantell and Thomas Nachlik, ANONYMOUS by Matt Hawkins, Alan McElroy and Michael Montenat, MISDIRECTION by Filip Sablik and Chris DiBari, THE TEST by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rahsan Ekedal, SERAPH by Lance Briggs, Phil Hester and Jose Luis, FLESHDIGGER by Shannon Eric Denton, Brad Keene and Alex Sanchez and CITY OF REFUGE by Morgan Davis Foehl and Dennis Calero.


In the world of THE BEAUTY, a new STD spreads across the world, but this is a disease you want to catch. It makes all infected people unspeakably attractive. But after the world’s face-lift, two detectives discover some nasty, undesirable side effects. Will the world decide to stay beautiful at an unspeakable cost, or resign themselves to an ordinary-looking life?


With THE BEAUTY having been declared the official winner, the creative team will now work with Top Cow’s editorial department to plan out the full series.


“Now that we’ve won we’re going to be able to finish the story. I’m really excited to do that. It’s exciting to be co-writing and drawing something like this,” said Haun. “The process is surprisingly fast and a hell of a lot of fun. The trick of it is going to be balancing work on The Beauty with my regular art duties on The Darkness monthly book. Luckily, they’re both books that I absolutely love. It also doesn’t hurt that I just love to work. As crazy as it may seem, drawing two books is kind of my idea of fun.”


“Winning Pilot Season is easily the biggest moment of my career so far, and I couldn’t be happier. It was a hard-fought battle, but thanks to all of the fans of The Beauty, we came out on top,” exclaimed Hurley. “I can’t wait to get back to work on the book. We’ve got a lot of exciting stuff planned for the future of The Beauty, and since we’ve won Pilot Season, we’ll be able to share all of that with our fans. More than anything, I just want to send a huge thank you out to all of our family, friends, and fans for their support throughout the entire voting process. It’s thanks to them that we’re able to continue The Beauty.”


This PILOT SEASON, the fans came out in full force, crashing the first poll several times for the chance to vote for their favorite 2011 Pilot Season one-shots. Pilot Season is an annual initiative Top Cow began in 2007, inspired by a concept from the television industry: a number of “pilot issues” are submitted for consideration to be “picked up for a season,” except instead of TV executives deciding their fates, it’s the fans!


Previous winners of Pilot Season include: CYBLADE, VELOCITY, TWILIGHT GUARDIAN, GENIUS and 39 MINUTES. The CYBLADE, VELOCITY and TWILIGHT GUARDIAN series have been released and can currently be found at your local comic book shop or through Top Cow’s digital distribution partners. 39 MINUTES and GENIUS are currently in production and will be given release dates soon. All eight of the 2011 competitors are available at your local comic shop or through Top Cow’s digital distribution partners including comiXology, Graphicly, and iVerse. A trade paperback collecting all eight titles is planned for release in March 2012 and will carry a price of $19.99.

Berkeley, CA – 4 January 2011 – The New Year brings a slew of fresh starts and Witchblade bearer, Sara Pezzini, is no exception. Pezzini will start 2012 in Chicago with a new job and brand new life, thanks to the fresh ongoing creative team of Tim Seeley (HACK/SLASH) and Diego Bernard (The Man With No Name).



Sara Pezzini has always been a born and bred New York City detective, in addition to wielding the ancient Artifacts, the Witchblade. That all changes with WITCHBLADE #151, the first issue by Seeley and Bernard, which finds Pezzini living outside of the Big Apple for the first time in the series history and working as a private detective. The mystery of how and why Sara is in Chicago, as well as what else has changed about her situation, will drive the story and reader interest for the coming year. This issue kicks off the 5-part story arc, entitled “Unbalanced Pieces,” in which Sara must find a way to balance her new role in the Windy City.



“WITCHBLADE is a dream project or me: A great character, an epic art and editorial team, and an important legacy in the history of comic books!” said Seeley. “Top Cow is giving me an awesome opportunity to reintroduce Sara Pezzini to new fans, old readers, and to a whole new setting!”



WITCHBLADE #151 is the first issue in Top Cow’s REBIRTH, an initiative spinning out of the end of the ARTIFACTS event, which concludes in ARTIFACTS #13. REBIRTH will provide ground-level entry points for each of Top Cow’s Universe titles – WITCHBLADE, THE DARKNESS, and ARTIFACTS – and ushers in a bold new age of story-telling to coincide with Top Cow’s 20th Anniversary. In addition to containing the full first story by Seeley and Bernard, the issue will include a five page bridging sequence by Ron Marz (MAGDALENA) and John Tyler Christopher (ARTIFACTS) and an ongoing prose story backup feature by Seeley.

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Sean Phillips

The creative team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips bring their noir sensibilities and mixing in a little bit of horror and fantasy with their newest project, Fatale. When Nicholas Lash meets a strange young woman at his godfather’s funeral, he finds his life taking some unexpected turns, and wonders if it has anything to do with a novel his godfather wrote three years before he was ever published.

Having never been a fan of Phillips artwork before, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it through out the book. There’s impressive amount of detail, and the overall composition in most of the pages helps to move the story along. It’s very evocative of pulp detective tales of the 40s and 50s. The art is especially effective when it comes to one particular scene, showcasing the mutilated bodies of a group of occultists. Not to mention an impressive splash page flashing back to World War II. The color work by Dave Stewart certainly helps to set the mood from one page to the next.

Storywise, Brubaker is all about the slow burn. We’re given just enough story to peak our interest, as we’re introduced to the beautiful Josephine, and Hank Raines, who’s looking to break a story on police corruption that might get both of them killed if he’s not careful. She warns him about Walter, a homicide detective she has a relationship with, the nature of that relationship still unclear. And despite his pregnant wife at home, Hank now finds himself inexplicably drawn to Josephine, and dead set on protecting her, should any danger cross her path.

The set up is all there for quite an intriguing series. It’ll be interesting to see what Brubaker and Phillips have in store for readers.

Verdict: B+

Berkeley, CA – 12 December 2011 – Image Comics and Top Cow Productions are proudly spotlighting the landmark 150th issue of their iconic original comic book series this week with an over-sized issue full of extras. WITCHBLADE #150 also marks Ron Marz’s 70th consecutively written issue of one of the longest running comics with a single female lead, and a major turning point in the life of Sara Pezzini.



In addition to providing a story that serves as a fitting conclusion to Marz and artist Stjepan Sejic’s critically acclaimed run, WITCHBLADE #150 will also serve as a retrospective of their contributions and the longevity of the series overall. As a special bonus, the issue also includes preview material for WITCHBLADE #151, when the new creative team of Tim Seeley (HACK/SLASH) and Diego Bernard (The Man With No Name) take the reins of Top Cow’s flagship title.



“It’s bittersweet, definitely,” Marz reflected. “Sara has been an almost daily presence in my life for more than seven years, so it feels a little weird to be going our separate ways, at least in terms of the WITCHBLADE monthly. But even if this seems like Stjepan and I are breaking up with Sara, I know we’ll see her again in ARTIFACTS. Sara will definitely be a presence in that book going forward. So we’ll be reunited. And, uh, it feels so good.”



New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini is the bearer of the Witchblade, a mysterious Artifact that takes the form of a deadly and powerful gauntlet. Sara must try to control the Witchblade and learn its secrets, even as she investigates the city’s strangest, most supernatural crimes. Pezzini has carefully balanced her responsibilities as a police officer with her duties as bearer of the Witchblade for years, but now Lieutenant Phipps, from the Internal Affairs department, threatens to take one of these away from her. In this emotionally charged issue, Sara will be forced to make a decision that will impact the direction of WITCHBLADE for a long time to come.

WITCHBLADE #150, a 48-page full-color super hero comic book, will be available in stores and digital platforms on December 14th. This landmark issue will ship with four covers by Stjepan Sejic (JUL110410), Michael Broussard (JUL110411), Mike Choi (JUL110412), and a remastered cover by Michael Turner (JUL110413). WITCHBLADE #151 (AUG110425) will be available in stores and digital platforms on January 4th. For more information on the WITCHBLADE series, please visit www.topcow.com

Even moreso than Savage Dragon, I feel like WildC.A.T.s had to be one of the most random-as-fuck comics to come of out Image’s line of launch titles back in 1992. The sheer abundance of pastiche characters was rather overwhelming, and it seemed like no one could ever decide on a concrete mythology to follow. Details of certain characters changed like the weather, contradictory elements got added in just to spice things up, character’s transformed into whole other different beings. Let’s not even get into the short-lived animated series and its glorious theme song! If any comic NEEDS to be brought to the big screen, it’s WildC.A.T.s. And I’d want it to be as fun and blissfully stupid as possible.

CAST

Sam Worthington as Spartan - Who better to play an emotionally confused cyborg/alien hybrid than a man whose most famous roles have been as an emotionally confused cyborg AND an alien hybrid! He may hail from the Keanu Reeves acting workshop/pottery class, but I feel like that’s exactly the route to go when bringing a character like Spartan to life. He feels like a “leader by default” type of character.

Abbie Cornish as Zealot - Say what you will about Sucker Punch, but Cornish threw down when it came to those action scenes. I think her character even had a sword in that one, too! Hell, she even had to go “warrior woman” in one scene of Limitless, and the look in her eyes was menacing! I would not wanna tango with this broad (or maybe I would!)

Brian Van Holt as Grifter - Van Holt’s acting career is peppered with roles that come close to matching the “cocky gunslinger” quality of a character like Grifter. ANd just look at this face. He’s already a “that guy” actor anyway. If you had to guess his name, wouldn’t your mind already come up with something along the lines of “Cole Cash”?

Matt Mullins as Warblade - I wouldn’t subject him to the “Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine” treatment, but this casting choice is more for Mullins’ skills as a martial artist than his acting, which isn’t necessarily bad. I’d let him speak, and stuff!

Rosario Dawson as Voodoo - A flashback to the character’s time as an exotic dancer would be mandatory!

James Ransone as Dr. Jeremy Stone - Ransone’s a solid actor, and has always been skinny-ass gnat. He’d be perfect for the human side of the character Maul.

Brian Steele as Maul - Steele is a veteran creature performer, and he’s done characters as tall as 8 or 9 feet, easy. Get someone like Steve Johnson or Patrick Totoupolous to do the creature effects, and I’d be more than confident in their ability to come up with something impressive.

Peter Dinklage as Jacob Marlowe/Lord Emp - Even before Game Of Thrones, Dinklage has been known for turning in one stellar performance after another. I could see him having fun playing the alien billionaire that finances the WildC.A.T.s. I can already see him smokin’ a cigar in a fine Italian suit.

Any random European model as Void - Over time, I’ve gotten the impression that Void is a more complex character than she has any right to be, but to most fans, she’s just a hot chick that floats around as she stares blankly into space. Squeeze her into a mo-cap body suit, and let special effects adorn her in all manner of silvery goodnees.

DIRECTOR

Oh, this has Louis Leterrier written all over it!!!

Just as word broke of the casting of Lucy Punch as Detective Deena Pilgrim, it’s been announced that Jason Patric will take on the lead role of Detective Christian Walker in Powers. Based on the comic book by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, the series would follow the two detectives as they investigate crimes involving superheroes.

Can’t say I’m terribly thrilled about Patric as Walker, especially when I think the better choice would have been his Losers co-star, Holt McCanally. Granted, he’s just coming off of the failed Lights Out, also courtesy of FX, and would probably be hesitant to hitch his wagon with them for another go-round.

Gamers who have upgraded their PSP to firmware 6.20 will have the Digital Comics Reader app. The service is launching with about 550 comics today with additional updates weekly. Marvel Entertainment, Disney, IDW Publishing, iVerse Media and others are providing select titles ranging from G.I. Joe, Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, TRANSFORMERS, Star Trek to Archie Comics and more.

The comics will carry one of three price tags including $0.99, $2.99 with the majority selling for $1.99. Select titles will be available for free.

With digital comics becoming even more of a reality across more devices, do you find that $2 and $3 is too much to spend for something that you can’t hold in your hand? Not to mention what has traditionally been a collectible medium?

The Walking Dead is an amazing comic–every issue sucking you into a devastated world overrun by zombies, but where the few surviving humans are still the most dangerous creatures on two legs. Writer Robert Kirkman raises the stakes on tragedy and heartbreak every month, pushing his cast to their limits every issue. The latest issue, #66, concluded the “Fear the Hunters” arc, which had the Walkies encounter another group of survivors who have adapted their own tastes to those of the undead, hunting and feeding on the living as conventional food supplies run out all around. The five-part storyline was virtually zombie-free, and there wasn’t a roamer in sight in this final issue–yet it was easily one of the most horrifying chapters in the series to date.

If you aren’t following The Walking Dead already, either monthly or in trade paperback, then you are missing out on the best comic series on the stands. Get on board now, before the AMC TV adaptation makes it so your boss, your grandmother, or the bag boy at your local grocery can school you on what you’ve missed.

The few other books I read this week weren’t nearly as good.

Batman: Blackest Night #3 (of 3) was dull, continuing the get-on-with-it-already format of the various Blackest Night spin-offs, where various heroes (Dick Grayson and Tim Drake in this book) realize how ineffectual they are against the powerful Black Lanterns, have some vaguely emotional encounter with an important person from their past (their murdered parents and their parents’ killers in this book) back from the grave wearing the black ring, and then come up with a convoluted method of surviving the experience to end the unnecessary mini-series (they freeze themselves, relying on guest-stars Deadman and Etrigan the Demon to save their butts). Remember how Bruce Wayne–the real Batman–”died” earlier this year? Yeah, that might have been something worth exploring in the context of a series called Batman: Blackest Night.

Deadpool #900 was basically an anthology of overkill–the same joke, over and over and over, just like every other issue of every other Deadpool comic. The Merc with the Mouth is a fun character–Wolverine’s powers with Spider-Man’s sense of humor and a sociopath’s morality–but he’s too shallow and goofy to carry his own title. Oddly enough, Deadpool is one of my favorite characters to play as in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, he’s always welcome as a light-hearted guest character in other books, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how the character plays in the title role of a feature film. But this book is for die-hard DP fans only.

The last book in my pull this week is the most frustrating failure of the lot. Hector Plasm: Totentanz, an Image book written by Benito Cereno, illustrated by Nate Bellegarde, and colored by Jacob Baake, looks like it could be a cross between Madman and Hellboy, a Tim Burtonesque goth adventure to set the Hot Topic crowds’ collective pierced, black heart aflutter. The titular character looks cool–Edward Scissorhands with a better complexion and a nifty green sword instead of finger sheers. The art–linework and colors, by Bellegarde and Baake, respectively, looks amazing. But I swear, I haven’t got a clue what the story of Hector Plasm is–what the character is all about, what is going on in his world, because the writing was all over the place, unfocussed, disjointed, and kind of pretentious. Points to Cereno for whatever part he had in inspiring the artists to draw such nifty-looking images–but if comics are the marriage of art and words, this marriage is on the rocks.

Invincible, which is put out by Image Comics, is an impressive success story for writer/creator Robert Kirkman. Along with Kirkman’s The Walking Dead–also an Image title–Invincible managed to catch on with mainstream readers despite newcomer talent, original characters, and neither Marvel nor DC’s ad dollars or industry pull promoting it. Kirkman’s writing in the book is enthusiastic and the story just grows and grows and build and builds, hitting every cornerstone of the superhero genre with a cast that is well balanced between Kirkman’s clever inventions and familiar homages to classic characters and concepts from Marvel and DC. Kirkman has done so well for himself on these two titles that he’s declared an informal, non-violent war on mainstream creators working for the man at the Big Two publishers–insisting that all work-for-hire creators would be better served leaving the giants and following his lead in making creator-owned comics. (Personally, I think there is a place for both creator- and corporate-owned books, so there.)

From the first issue (this week we got #65), I said that Kirkman writes like a wish-fulfilling fanboy. I even used that as a criticism of the book for a while, before the first big twist of the series pulled me in and made me realize that Kirkman was more than just a fanboy hack. He was a fanboy writing the superhero comic he knew the rest of us fanboys wanted and maybe even needed. Invincible went from little-hero book-that could to sprawling epic. The character Invincible is a blend of the quirk and angst of Spider-Man and the power fantasy that is Superman, and the supporting cast covers every other possibility in between and beyond. And the art, by Ryan Ottley, has a satisfying mix of mayhem and emotion–the perfect blend of emoting and exploding faces. And Kirkman and Ottley have even managed to capture something that has been missing from comics for a while, and was taking in a frustrating way–a spot-on in all the ways that count recreation of the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson relationship from Spider-Man, through young super-powered lovebirds Invincible and Atom Eve.

Speaking of Peter and MJ, Amazing Spider-Man #603 continues to creep toward their inevitable reunion, but the current storyline with the Chameleon stealing Peter’s identity hinges on one huge flaw in logic that really tainted this issue. In order to steal an identity, the Chameleon does exhaustive research into that person’s life, and gives away that his research into Parker’s involved reading through journals and diaries. I work one job and don’t fight crime at night, and I have a hell of a time trying to squeeze in writing this blog or anything else…but I’m supposed to believe that, on top of his various day jobs, solo crime fighting, teaming up with the fugitive New Avengers, and juggling relationships with multiple women, Peter Parker has time to keep a diary? And more than that, I’m supposed to believe that the Chameleon couldn’t pick up from that or any other research that the guy is Spider-Man?! Disbelief suspended, but still.

Also, because some villainous traps are too effective for a writer’s own good, Spidey is now apparently immune to acid. I’ll wait to see the explanation on that leap in #604. Hopefully, it’s good enough to keep me interested in #605.

And finally, something I did come back for was Daredevil #500, the final issue by writer Ed Brubaker, who I’ve mentioned is insanely brilliant on Captain America, but has been just okay on DD. I actually stopped following DD after his first two story arcs, because they were just not all that engaging to me. But Marvel turned his departure from the series into a bit of an event, and the issue is fantastic. Brubaker wraps up a multi-part storyline that could lead to “a bold new direction” for Matt Murdock in future issues, and supplemental items in the book include a pin-up gallery, a reprint of Frank Miller’s Daredevil #191 (in which DD plays Russian Roulette with a banged up Bullseye), and a tight little stand-alone story written by Ann Nocenti and illustrated by David Aja. I love the way Aja’s art looks–his characters cartoony but alive on the page.

I won’t discuss the Rick Remender Punisher I bought on a whim, because, frankly (pun!) it wasn’t very good. But that’s all for the week. Sorry, DC…I’ll get you next time.

Army of Darkness #22, BPRD 1947 #1, Dean Koontz’s Nevermore #2, Demon Cleaner #3, Elephantmen: War Toys #0, Furrlough: Color Special #1, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly #1, Jungle Girl: Season 2 #5, President Evil #1, Prince of Heroes: Chapter 2 #3, Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time #1 and Street Fighter II Turbo #7.

 Olympus #1 (by Nathan Edmondson and Christian Ward) – I’m a total sucker for the Greek myths, I’ll get that out of the way right now. So when someone writes a comic about the characters in Greek myths in modern times, couples it with a noir-ish crime book, and throws in a little action… I’d say I’m the target audience there. So what exactly is Olympus about? Without spoiling too much, Castor and Pollux are Zeus’ Repo Men, going after his stolen goods, catching myth-y criminals, and generally trying to enjoy their immortal lives on Earth. What works best about this issue is that Edmonson deftly introduces the concept for those who don’t know much about myths, and has fun while he’s doing it. In addition, this issue works as a pilot of sorts, a done-in-one in adventure that still teases the upcoming arc of the book. And Christian Ward creates some dynamic compositions, though he works far better in full page splashes that tightly paneled pages, which tend to come off as a bit of a confusing mess. And although I’m a little tired of what’s becoming the “creatures of myth/fiction/history are hard boiled detectives going after their kind” sub-genre of indie comics (see Mercy Sparx, Perhapanauts, etc.), I’m a fan enough of the subject matter to check out the second issue, and see how the characters and plot threads seeded in this pilot/zero issue pan out.

The book doesn’t come out until May 20th, but we’ve got your exclusive look at the first five pages right here (click on the images to see ‘em large and in charge):

“I feel like my creator-owned ideas are more interesting for me at this point in my career than being the 300th guy to draw another Batman story.”

Click here for our interview with Mark Millar.

War Heroes #1 is available now!

“The first thing I thought was that [Kirkman] had been kidnapped by Islamic terrorists, because it said, “Kirkman’s plea to the industry”… I’d hate to see Robert beheaded, because I really like him.”

Click here for our interview with Tony Harris.

War Heroes #1 is available now!

Joe Kubert and Garth Ennis have spent decades and hundreds of issues demonstrating how the ultimate manifestation of man’s inhumanity to man reaches its peak during times of war. War puts good people into terrible situations, chews them up, and spits them out.

Serious war comics, all questions of quality aside, are really easy to find. They’ve been produced almost constantly since World War II. Funny war comics, though? Those are a bit tougher.

I’ve been describing Special Forces to friends as the greatest sucker punch ever written. Honestly, it’s a compliment. Let me explain.

Special Forces, and particularly Special Forces #3, is a fun comic. It’s got great action, excellent one-liners, a hot protagonist, and tons of well-choregraphed violence. In short, it’s got all the makings of success. It’s geared toward the mainstream audience.

The thing is, though, that I keep finding myself bopping along, reading and enjoying and grinning, and then I finish the issue and realize that everything I just read is based on real events. I don’t just mean the fact that the book is about the war in Iraq. I mean that the specifics of the book tend to have their basis in facts. Child soldiers? Maimed and wounded babies? Autistic army recruits? People from the wrong side of the tracks? It’s all real.

This is why Special Forces is a sucker punch. The quality of the book is through the roof. It’s fun, clever, action-packed, and entertaining. And then, at the end, the hammer comes down and you realize the actual nature of what you’ve been enjoying. It makes me pause each time, and it’s happened to me three issues in a row so far. I know, in the back of my head at least, that it’s all real, but it never sinks in until I read the news reports or see the pictures at the end of the book.

It’s a lot like the old Bugs Bunny cartoon where he’s playing bullfighter. He holds out the red cape, the bull charges, and Bugs pulls back the cape to reveal an anvil. The action in Special Forces is the cape. The reality of Special Forces is the anvil.

Special Forces is amazing, and the third issue is better than the ones before it. Baker touches on children, “civilian contractors,” and internet videos with deft skill. The comedy and action are window dressing that serves to both educate and entertain, though you don’t realize it’s doing the former until it has accomplished the latter.

I don’t know that this is my favorite of Baker’s works, since I have an almost obscene amount of love for Nat Turner. It is, however, one of his absolute best, and one of the best comics being published right now. The art is up to Baker’s usual standard, with a mix of traditional comic book storytelling and a picture book aesthetic. It’s easy to follow, the colors are bright and expressive without being garish, and the action genuinely makes sense. Where Special Forces really shines, though, is in opening your eyes to reality.