Category: Comic Books

Dark Horse Comics, Ed’s Picks of Winter 2017 (Dec/Jan)

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Rounding out the last few months of Dark Horse Comics goodness was not too tough. There were plenty of titles to pick from, and I settled for a mix of pulp action, movie tie-in and heroism with this company’s flagship captain. Yes, I smell Hellboy in the air and I’m excited to hear that talks are happening again to see if a third movie will indeed get made.

My picks for the winter season includes the following, and there’s only one bare skinned hero who can protect me from Jack Frost!

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Conan Omnibus Volume 1:
Birth of the Legend
Dec 7

Do not make the same mistake as I did and think that buying these omnibus collections later. Although what I sought out can be found in smaller trade paperback collections, to have them all, especially Conan’s earliest adventures in one great volume will have me ordering it locally! The Birth of a Legend contains the works of Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord, with tales such as Born on the Battlefield, The Frost Giant’s Daughter, The God in the Bowl and much more!

Also featured are the material by Thomas Yeates and Greg Ruth, with colours by Dave Stewart!

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How to Train your Dragon Fans Will Love Feb 15 and 17th!

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Fans of How to Train Your Dragon need not fret. Netflix has not abandoned Dragons: Race to the Edge. While they do not always explain how they schedule their programming, this streaming service may have decided to time the next releases of episodes on Feb 17th with Dark Horse Comics’ own book, The Serpent’s Heir by Dean DeBlois, due to hit shelves a few days prior, on Feb 15th.

The graphic novel can be a quick read, and while it is unlikely to tie into events in the television series, both chapters are worth following. DeBlois’ tale will tie in with the third and final film. For more detail, please look at a previous entry here, and we can all guess what’s to come next.

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The Mummy. Hammer Comics Gets ‘Fresh.’

Hammer Comics’ The Mummy is looking to bring back the film studio’s trademark style of terror.

184068_1011544_1003By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Hammer Comics’ The Mummy is looking to bring back the film studio’s trademark style of terror. The afterward in the first issue by film historian Marcus Hearn explained executive producer Michael Carreras never lost sight of the fact that The Mummy was aimed squarely at the audience who love X-rated horror. The comic nicely continues in this tradition. While the creative team is cheating by taking cues from the upcoming film of the same name starring Tom Cruise with two sexy mummies causing havoc, I’m okay with that.

Ronilson Freire’s art nicely follows along the style presented from the early Hammer films and the period look is well-researched. Unlike cinematic treatments from classic Hammer era, to create that mystical world of the Duat would only look cheesy. The comic medium is perfect to bring to the Duat (the Egyptian Underworld) to life.

The first issue sets up the situation where Priestess Nebetah is ready to be judged in the weighing of the heart with Osiris presiding. Instead, Anubis intercepts and as for why, the answer will not be immediately known. While the spirit is waiting for a vessel to possess, Angelina Kostenko is not going to be so willing.

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“The Chicago Way” needs more than an Untouchable Feeling for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler Alert

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is certainly having fun with “The Chicago Way,” and it is the perfect episode to bring back a past character — Leonard Snart (Captain Cold) — because he nicely fits in the era the team has to visit to correct the latest time aberration. While he’s back (sort of) as a ghost, just how important he will be to Mick’s narrative will require a wait as the series is now at a mid-point. The season is set to resume January 24th, 2017.

I was hoping to see him as part of the team, ripped from the timeline at a different point, and brought back to 1920’s Chicago, but instead to see him as Ghost of Christmas Past (or is that Future?) chiding Rory for becoming soft makes for a terrific character study. Just what has this hardened criminal become? Is Heatwave losing his mojo? Amaya has an interest in him, and just where that goes is seeing these two be the muscle for the team. It’s hard to say if there’s a romantic thing brewing, but I am curious about where their relationship is going.

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What’s Next after Arcana Studios’ Howard Lovecraft and The Frozen Kingdom?

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom can make a great holiday gift for fans of Cthulhu and H.P. Lovecraft’s works. The adult self may well be morbid with his harsh opinions about the people he’s met and the Jazz Age he lived in, but for the youth, his innocence has yet to be tarnished. With snow hitting parts of the Pacific Northwest, I have the print volume, video releaseHoward Lovecraft and compilation hardcover (amazon listing) to cozy up to and the Dreamlands to visit as I lay snuggled up in my blanket. Some comic book stores may not be able to order them in, and thankfully they can be obtained through Arcana Studios’ website or on AmazonHoward Lovecraft.

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I wanted to know more about what’s coming for this trilogy. Reception is great for the animated version, and Arcana Studios is focussing on making Howie one of their flagship products. Michelle O’Reilly (pictured right), co-founder of the company, explained both she and her husband, Sean, wanted to give their production house a bit of rebrand. They want to focus more on kid-friendly content. She said, “Everyone loves H.P. Lovecraft but he’s not very kid-friendly. We made our own version that’s suitable for younger audiences.”

When looking at the two mediums to which this character is developed for, some readers/viewers may well notice a difference in artistic style. “Gary Yuen is our art director and modeler, and I really do love how he went into a much more Tim Burton look especially with Howard. Because there were so many artists on the book series, Howard’s look was never completely locked down,” Sean explained. “One of the greatest things from comic to movie comes from learning what worked and what didn’t work and being able to make those changes.”

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Teaser Trailer 2 Released!

A new teaser trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is now out, released in part due to Comic Con Experience in Brazil taking place this weekend by James Gunn.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Noir PosterA new teaser trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is now out, released in part due to Comic Con Experience in Brazil taking place this weekend by James Gunn on Twitter, and people can start this feeling right away. If only fans can ooga-ooga ooga-chaka tickets sooner than later, because everything we adored from the first film is here in the second. All the intense energy, the humour and love had for the first film will no doubt be transferred to second. Baby Groot will easily steal the show, and merchandise sales will no doubt go through the roof for this sapling now a few months older.

No timeline has been established into when the shenanigans resume in-universe. It’s a safe bet a few weeks if not months have passed. When considering the bomb-loving Rocket Raccoon has built a nuke that it will kill everybody in a huge radius, just what this team has done has me curious. Maybe the explosive is meant to kill that huge octopoid like creature? The only “plot” detail known is Kurt Russell plays Peter Quill’s father, a living planet known as Ego.

The montage set to Sweet’s “Fox on the Run” in the trailer may suggest the team is being chased yet again. The threat is uncertain. Until the release date nears, we can all wait for May 5th, 2017 to arrive in bated breath.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – First Trailer