Comic Features

Publisher You Should Know: Avatar Press

This article’s main objective is to
share a thought and an opinion on comic a comic publisher. It is in
no way a promotional piece, a commercial, a plug or an advert. If it
happens to be taken that way I apologizes, for it was not my goal. So
when I was asked to share my opinion on any comic book publisher, it
was fairly easy decision. My choice was Avatar Press. Avatar Press is an independent
publisher of comic books based out of Rantoul, Illinois. It was
started by the E.I.C, William A. Christensen in 1996. Their first
release was in November and was William’s very own, Pandora. The book
is considered by many to contain be one of Avatar’s flagship
characters.

Inside the Writer’s Mind: A Look at PAC’s Article Process

Ever wonder how a Player Affinity writer get their ideas to do their feature articles? This article will explain, mostly it starts with a question. What I read last week? Now that is a good question. What did I read last week? As Jorge sat down in a bench somewhere in Detrioit city– you know that place where Robocop is set. People started to look at him in a strange manner, mostly because he was talking to himself. But that is ok with Jorge, this is not the first time he had talked with himself, in fact he is quite fond of talking to himself; you see young Jorge had developed a mind within his mind and this other mind goes by the name of George.

Cyber Monday Presents: The Savage Dragon

I remember back in 1993, a lot of people began collecting comic books mostly because the death of Superman was such a maintream hit. Some of my friends bought a couple of books in hope that they could sell them double the price. To some, it was good business to others not so much. We would sell them among ourselves. Sometimes I would get lucky and could get away with a couple of hidden gems, sometimes we would trade comics for comics. It was in those days that I stumble upon The Savage Dragon. I think I got issues five through nine. In those days I only would get the books that had the most amazing art; after all it was the dawning of Image Comics, everything was art in those days. But something about the Dragon was different, the art was great not as amazing as WildCats or Spawn but every time I look at the comic I just wanted to see more.

I Have A Comment On That – Vol 1: Death and Comic Books

Death and Comic Books: On the 21st of this month, Wired.com ran a story about a
man’s spare bedroom of comics being worth roughly $2 million dollars. That
article talks about his humble life as a collector and about his death in a
fire. The reason the story is such big news, is that the fire never made it to
the comics and the family that once questioned his hobby is sitting on a gold
mine. This article really made me sad. Here’s this man’s life
summed up as a Star Trek and comic collector that is killed in a fire of the
house he just paid off by selling a comic. His family clearly didn’t understand
him since they mocked his hobby and yes I’m reading into that a bit. If your
family said you were wasting your time and money with comics to the press you
would feel mocked as well.

Books To Read From Archaia Comics

Last week I talked about Archaia as a publisher you should know, and I also mentioned the good things that this publisher is doing.  This week I will recommend some books from the publisher that you could try and pick up for yourself.   My picks are solely recommendations of books you should read from Archaia; feel free to grab any of their fine selection for yourself and enjoy the goodness that they produce.

Books to Read from Dark Horse Comics

Books
you should read from Dark Horse Comics — that would be a lot of them.
But here are seven that should be in your collection.

Sin City:
Gritty, violent, sexy, dark and gruesome. The world of Sin City is
populated by whores, criminals, ninjas, killers, child molesters, and
religious and political corruption. It’s set in a beautiful noir tone,
drawn in gorgeous black and white. The cast of characters is abundant;
every character in this city has a story and most of them crave a thirst
for revenge. If you like hardboiled/mature stories, this is the book to
get. Oh, and it is drawn and written by Frank Miller.

Talking ‘Nonplayer’ With Nate Simpson

With the first issue sold out and a very high review score, I had the chance to sit down with the creator/writer/artist Nate Simpson of Image Comics’ Nonplayer and ask him a few questions about the book and a good mix of where he started and how he came to comics. PA) First of all congrats on Nonplayer #1 selling out at the distribution level and going back for a second print. Are you surprised by the success of the title? NS) Totally. I’ve been getting emails from friends I haven’t talked to in decades, saying they’ve heard about the comic. That’s downright weird. I’d really expected this thing to go completely under the radar. It’s very gratifying to know there are people out there waiting for the next issue.

Books to Read From Oni Press

Last week we learned about Oni Press and this week we’re going to take a look at some Oni Press books that you should read if you’re looking to check the publisher out. All of these books are relatively easy to find either online or in your local comic shop, so check them out. Alright let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Yes, you should read Scott Pilgrim regardless of what you thought of the movie or it’s oversaturation in the last two years. If for some reason you’ve been living under a rock the story goes something like this: Scott must fight the seven evil ex’s of his current girlfriend Ramona in order to continue dating her. There are references to video games, comic books, movies and music all within this tale. But what will really get you is the fact that once you start reading this book it is damn near impossible to put down. Scott really is the stupidest protagonist in the world, but you can’t help but root for him as he tries to get the girl.

Books to Read from Vertigo

 Vertigo Comics has a ton of great series that showcase the more violent and sophisticated world of comics. For more popular series to read from Vertigo check out the Publisher You Should Know: Vertigo Comics feature for a list of five other popular series from Vertigo and the history of the publisher.  Also check out the great mini-series from Vertigo called Faker and Jonah Hex: Two Gun Mojo that are two of my favorite comic books.

Talking ‘Jake Ellis’ With Nathan Edmondson

Jake Ellis has become quite the success for Image Comics and for Nathan Edmondson. With the recent extension of Jake Ellis I had the chance to interview writer Nathan Edmondson about Jake Ellis and what’s to come with the title and how it came to be. PA) This past week with the release of Who Is Jake Ellis #3 it was announced that the series would be extending from five issues to fifteen. What are your feelings on the success of the series?