Y:The Next TV Show?

With the successful premier of AMC's "The Walking Dead" last night, I think that it is safe to say that we'll be hearing news of more series being developed into live action shows in the near future. Marvel and DC Comics have both briefly discussed plans to develop television programs. There has also been talk of "Chew" hitting the small screen. So the question lies, which series could be the next epic hit? For me, the answer is quite simple, "Y: The Last Man"  

For those of you not in the know, "Y: The Last Man" is a tale of Yorik Brown living in a world where every male mammal (with the exception of his monkey Ampersand) spontaneously and mysteriously died at the same time. During his adventures, Yorick learns what takes to really become a "man" in a world full of women.The story heavily focuses on gender issues, sexuality, and science/technology disrupting the "natural order".

Brian K. Vaughan's post apocalyptic masterpiece has been in Hollywood's developmental purgatory for years. It's time to let go and let someone else actually do something with the property. Honestly, Hollywood has never been the right place for the series. Y would suffer the same problem as "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World". While Scott Pilgrim was a great movie, it was essentially a cliff notes version. Due to the sheer amount of content of the series and time restraints for a film, many of the ancillary characters were not fully realized on screen. Television would allow Y to flourish as a weekly, hour long, drama. Vaughan wrote issues that were stand alone stories but also served the overall story, which would be perfect for television. A series that is filled unique locales and characters, action, sci-fi, comedy, and drama?! Yes please!

So there you have it gang! How do you think "Y: The Last Man" would hold up on TV? What comic book series would you like to see television?

Spider-Man : Big Time Trailer

I've never been really into Spider-Man. This trailer for the upcoming storyline "Big Time" left eagerly waiting to read Peter Parker's solo adventures! People that know me will know how hard that was for me to say! Expect a review when the new creative team of Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos takes over 11/10/10.

DC Comics Drops Price To 2.99

With the prices of monthly comics steadily increasing over the past couple of years, some readers have taken to waiting for the TPB's to be released. Well fans, DC Comics have listened and decided to roll back the prices throughout their entire line! Jim Lee and Dan DiDio discussed the price drop with Newsarama. This is great news for my inner-fan boy but terrible news for my wallet.

Walking Dead Mini-Documentary

Initially I had mix feeling when "The Walking Dead" television show would air on AMC. This is no way a slight to AMC. "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" are both excellent shows. While Robert Kirkman's series is a great story examining humanity, it's still story set in the zombie apocalypse. I was nervous as to the type of influence/pressure the network would have on the show. My fears have been laid to rest after watching this mini-documentary. The network has been doing a wonderful job promoting the show. I was very excited to see that the program was respectful towards the source material but was not a slave to Kirkman's work. The show premiers 10/9c on Halloween. Get stoked!

Left 4 Dead Comic: The Sacrifice Parts Three and Four

So, I sort of dropped the ball and missed the past few updates of Valve's Left 4 Dead comic, "The Sacrifice".  Parts three and four are both up now.  You can check them out here.

"The Sacrifice" is the most recent DLC released for the Left 4 Dead series, and was released yesterday.  "The Sacrifice" picks up before the events of the last major Left 4 Dead 2 DLC, "The Passing."  What's interesting to note is that "The Sacrifice" works for both L4D and L4D2; it combines features and game play from both games as well.

I haven't had a chance to play "The Sacrifice" myself, but look for a post once I get my hands on it.

If you haven't read the first two parts of the comic, be sure to catch up!

Q's for Billy Tan

At the Baltimore Comic Con we had the pleasure of meeting artist Billy Tan. Tan is responsible for the adrenaline pumping art of Shadowland. He has also worked on New Avengers, Uncanny X-men among other titles. We were lucky enough to score an interview with the art phenom! Since we are so nice, we are accepting submissions for questions from our readers. If you have a question for Billy Tan please submit all questions in the comment section below. Cut off for submissions will be at 6:00pm on Sunday 10/10/10. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

EGS Speaks to Mike Raicht from "The Stuff of Legend"

Roughly a month ago at Baltimore Comic Con, EGS was fortunate enough to sit down and chat
with “The Stuff of Legend” writers Mike Raicht and Brian Smith. All of us are huge fans of the book
and were beyond stoked for the opportunity to speak with the creative minds behind it. We
spoke with Raicht first about the past, present and future of “Stuff of Legend” along with some
information about how he got his start and got hooked up with Th3rd World.

The story behind “The Stuff of Legend” starts in a similar fashion to the book itself: with a boy and his teddy bear. Raicht’s son, Austin, had just been born. Since Austin was too small to have toys in his crib, all of his toys were placed above him.

“There was one teddy bear that looked like he was specifically watching Austin, like he was
guarding him,” said Raicht. “It's not a new idea; it's been done for centuries--stories about
toys protecting their kids. It's what you do with it afterwards that sets it apart,” he added.

Raicht had also been toying with ideas for a story reminiscent of the movies and books he grew
up with, such as Dark Crystal, Watership Down, and X-Men. The stories portrayed in these
series depict darker, more intense situations than current media directed towards younger
viewers. Raicht wanted to write something that didn’t play it safe, but still held the timeless feel
of great children’s story.

Raicht brought all of his ideas to Brian Smith, his co-writer for “Stuff of Legend” which sparked a
very long phone call of conceptualizing.

"That's when we can tell we had hit on something: when we've had a phone call were 2 hours
have gone by and we've mapped out a whole world,” Raicht said.

Left 4 Dead Comic: The Sacrifice Part Two

Guess what, L4D fans?  Valve gave us more comics to read!  Part two of The Sacrifice dropped yesterday, which means new L4D DLC is just around the corner.  If didn't read the first part of the Sacrifice, you can catch up here.

A New Voice for The Joker?

I had originally intended to write about Batman : Under The Red Hood. Since we at The Epic Gentleman's Society try to only write about things we enjoy, that plan quickly scrapped. Not that the movie was terrible, but for everything that I enjoyed, there was something that made me roll my eyes. In the end the movie turned out to be just "meh". What I enjoyed most about the animated feature was John Di Maggio's performance as The Joker.

Di Maggio is one of the best voice actors in the business. He is the voice behind Bender of Futurama, Marcus Fenix of Gears of War, Wakka of Final Fantasy X, among others.

A void will be left as Mark Hamill, who has played The Joker since 1992, will retire after Batman: Arkham City. I propose that John Di Maggio should be the next actor to voice the clown prince of crime. He is a recognizable name among fans of the video game and animation industry. And as I mentioned before, his performance was best thing about the mediocre film! So what do you think? Is Di Maggio the next Joker? If not, who would you cast?


SPOILER ALERT!!!!
This is one of the last scenes of the movie but it is a great example of Di Maggio's talent! You've been fairly warned.

X-Force: Sex + Violence

In X-Force: Sex + Violence, Domino is on the run from The Assassins' Guild (not Creed). The guild hired her for a heist against The Hand. Domino stole the money for herself and needless to say The Assassin's Guild is not pleased. Wolverine finds out about her predicament and insists on helping out his teammate.

Watching the chemistry between Domino and Wolverine was a blast! The duo are constantly bantering as the sexual tension between the two mounts. Once it erupts, the gloves along with the rest of their clothes come off. Their relationship is strictly carnal and isn't romantic by any means. As a character whose power is based on luck, Domino has a managed to get into a situation way over her head. Wolverine has no problem of pointing this out to her. At times I didn't know if Wolverine was going to attempt to kill or have sex with Domino. I don't think that Wolverine knew either. I would love to see more adventures starring these two characters.

Let's not forget about the violence. The fights are brutal and push Wolverine's healing powers to the limit. The carnage is beautifully painted by Gabriele Dell' Otto. I was really impressed with his work in Secret War and Dell' Otto doesn't disappoint with Sex and Violence. His use of shadows and lighting enhanced the intensity of the story. Almost every page consists of bullets, blood, and blades and I wouldn't have it any other way.

BCC2010: Omega Chase

Omega Chase is another comic written (and co-created) by Kieth Dallas and its a very interesting one. I've made it through issue one and I am left wanting more.

I have to give props to Kieth Dallas with how this comic is written. It draws you in right away. The narration/first person thoughts of main character Mack Baron have a lot of personality, and really fit in with the environment.

*Note* Possible spoilers after this, but I will try to keep it to a minimum.
The Omega Chase cover really shows us a bunch of what we can expect with the story: zombies in an old-timey Midwest, which is already exciting! My first thought was if its anything like Red Dead Redemption meets zombies, I'm sold hook, line, and sinker!

The comic opens up with us meeting Mack Baron, the the sheriff of a Providence Fields. The year is 1881, however Baron isn't so sure that is his place in time. He knows of key historical events that take place in the future, but has no memories of his past. So now we can expect some sort of sci-fi element added to the mix. There are hints of it towards the end of the first issue, but nothing specific. I am kind of hoping for an Assassin's Creed type of twist, but thats really because of my love for that game franchise. There's no telling what kind of twist this will take yet with just getting into the first issue.

Again, I really have to acknowledge the writing here. It does a really good job of setting up the feeling and tone for the time period. The humor is subtle but really helps break up the some of the seriousness. It definitely keeps you reading.

I really like where this comic is going. Again, I've only been through the first issue, but I'm excited to pick up the rest. I think this is a very interesting blend of genres, and ready to see where the rest of the issues will takes this story.

Left 4 Dead Comic: The Sacrifice Part One

Check it out L4D fans, Valve made us a comic!  Ya'll should totally read it, it's pretty awesome.  It ties into the last DLC pack released for L4D2 and attempts to fill us in on the events leading up to it.  Go read now!

BCC2010: Ghostbusters Con-Volution!

Walking around the Baltimore Comic-Con floor, I couldn't help but notice a Ghostbusters comic.

Ghostbusters is one of my favorite franchises ever. The original Ghostbusters movie is one of my favorite movies of all time (one of my feel good movies as well). I loved the cartoon series, The Real Ghostbusters, as a kid. I grew up with the Ghostbusters and continue to love them to this day. So obviously I had my hesitations when I saw a Ghostbusters comic. Could the comic hold up and be an extension of the Ghostbusters? Is this just a milking of a franchise hoping for more money with the recent success with the Ghostbusters video game and rumors of Ghostbusters 3? So I sat down with Ghostbusters Con-Volution and I thought it held up pretty well.

*NOTE* Possible spoilers after here, but I will try to keep them to an absolute minimum.

Written by Keith Dallas and Jim Beard, the Ghostbusters comic really feels like a cross between the movies and cartoon series. This particular comic felt a little more like the cartoon series because of the "comic-con" theme. In the movies, you never see the team without their trusty proton packs at the climax of the film. However, there were certain situations in the cartoon series where they left their gear behind and had to find alternate means of dealing with a ghost. This happens in this story and its done in a pretty fun way. You can tell the writers had fun with tying in some real life likenesses related to the comic world. The humor is pretty good as well, with jokes (again) really filling the space between the movies and cartoons. I am excited to get my hands on the rest of the comics in this series to see if they feel any more like the movies (I also want to see the proton packs in action :P).

One of my only real gripes with the comic is extremely minor and or an art related note. Josh Howard does a good job with the art, however I wish there was a little bit more difference in the way Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman were drawn. You can tell the difference between them with their dialog, but its hard to decipher one from the other by just looking at them. Other than that, I really enjoyed this one.

All in all, if you are a fan of Ghostbusters, this is going to be worth your time. Its fun and nostalgic. Give it a shot and let us know what you think!

BCC2010: Bargin Bin Challenge: Battle Pope

Now for our final entry in our EGS Bargin Bin Challenge: Battle Pope Volume One: Genesis!  

Before I go any further, I have a confession to make.  I did not pick up Battle Pope in a bargain bin.  I paid full price for a shiny new trade.  However, what Battle Pope lacked in low, low prices it made up for with blasphemy-laden kick-assery.

One of the first things I noticed about Battle Pope (beside it being called Battle Pope and the muscle-bound Pope on the front cover dual-wielding John Woo style on the front cover) is that it's written by Robert Kirkman.  Yes, that's the guy that writes The Walking Dead.  Needless to say, Battle Pope is a tad different than Kirkman's other works.

Battle Pope is Book of Revelations meets B-list action flick.  It's kind of like if Brock Samson were Pope during a post-rapture future.  Battle Pope chain smokes cigars like Wolverine, pounds whiskey like an Irish author, and chases tail like a senator.  He's quick to spout cheesy one-liners and smart ass remarks while he decapitates demons with a broadsword and/or mows thems down uzi's.

The story is simple.  God returns to earth to take those who have lived pure, sin-free lives to heaven--which is only two people (spoiler alert: Pope's not one of them!).  This pisses God off royally, so he decides to stop watching over Earth.  With God not around to keep everything in check, Hell opens up and it's demonic denizens start to wreak havoc.  God sends St. Michael to protect humanity, but he gets captured by Lucifer.  So, God takes our left-behind, foul-mouthed, lecher of pope and gives him super powers making him the Battle Pope!  Battle Pope and his bungling, hippie sidekick, Jesus (yup), must fight the forces of Hell to free St. Michael

Battle Pope is fun, guilty pleasure read if you're not easily offended by parodies of religious icons.  It's a simplistic story that relies heavily on it's ridiculous premise for laughs, which isn't entirely a bad thing.  Pope's raunchy behavior and Jesus' childish incompetence make for some funny moments.  However, the joke starts to fizzle towards the end of the book, but it's still a hell of  a ride if you're into dirty jokes and ultra violence.  

Battle is also a glimpse into the early career of Kirkman.  It's also interesting to note that the original publishing of Battle Pope was entirely in black and white.  It wasn't until the re-released trade (which is what I bought) that series was seen in color. 

BCC2010: Bargin Bin Challenge, Flaming Carrot

I think it would be safe to say that Flaming Carrot is an American hero. The guy knows how to entertain, and always has you muttering "w...t...f...???"

Continuing with our Bargain Bin challenge we have Flaming Carrot. When we first came up with the challenge concept at Comic-Con, we looked down and there is was, like a ray or sunshine through the stormy bargin bin clouds. We seriously didn't move one comic. And so it was purchased for 33 cents.

Flaming Carrot has to be the most random and eclectic comic I have ever read. I dont think there was ever more than 3 panels that were ever related to one another (besides the main plot, which in my comic was Flaming Carrot on a mission to find his lost bar of soap... mmhmm). Locations are always changing. Characters are going in and out of the story. Even the art style changes to real life pictures at the end of the comic (which was pretty hilarious I might add). To put it bluntly, this comic had a little case of A.D.D., and that was really part of the fun.You never (ever) know what kind of shenanigans will come up next, or who will show up next, or which ghosts will get sucked up in a vacuum, you know -- the normal stuff . It actually goes far enough to make me want to find more Flamming Carrot comics for the same reason. Flaming Carrot is definitely a strangely entertaining comic. Consider the Bargin Bin Challenge a success for me.

Here's to a Manly Friday: Saxton Hale

If you're a Team Fortress 2 player, then you're probably already well versed in the testosterone fueled heroics of Saxton Hale.  His manliness was borrowed to promote a few class updates last year.  Hence, Saxon Hale's existence was known predominantly only by the TF2 community.

That travesty ends today.  Behold Saxton Hale!

Sadly, Saxton Hale does not have his own comic series.  However, you can read the promotion comic Valve created for the TF2 updates.  There are also a number of additional Saxton Hale comic covers too.

Captain America: First Look

Here is our first glimpse at the Captain America suit for next years feature film, fashioned by some unknown stunt guy who also seems to be wearing a questionable cloak?...  Any ways, what does everyone think? Anyone super excited for Captain America next year?

Uncanny X-Force

I was a fan of the previous series so I am pretty stoked to hear about the new team!

BCC2010: Gon

Everyone at EGS had a blast at this year's Baltimore Comic Con. A highlight for me was TJ's "WTF?! Bargain Bin Challenge". Each EGS member had to find the craziest book possible. I was most pleased with my contribution to the challenge. Not just because "Gon" is filled with several WTF?! moments but it is hilarious and I walked away becoming a huge fan of this obscure series.

Gon is an incredibly cute and extremely tough dinosaur that  somehow managed to escape the fate of his fellow dinosaurs. The series follows the one foot tall carnosaur as he goes on completely random adventures (usually in search of food) with a variety of paleolithic mammals. Masashi Tanaka's artwork is very detailed, which makes following the story very easy since "Gon" lacks any dialogue or narration.

Gon is so awesome that he is an unlockable character in Tekken 3! Being that it's Gon, the adorable dino uses toxic farts and his ending in the game plays on a continuous loop. Masashi Tanaka would be proud as this is a very fitting tribute to his creation!

BCC2010: Hexed

This week we are going to start bringing you our Comic-Con round ups, thoughts, reviews, interviews, etc etc. Kicking things off, here is my review of one of the books I picked up titled Hexed.

Comic Info:

Hexed / Boom! Studios

Written By Michael Alan Nelson

Art By Emma Rios

Colors By Chris Peter

The Boom Studios booth was the first major booths anyone came to on the right hand side of the convention floor, so you really couldn't miss it. Browsing through their comics, the main thing that caught my attention was the art of Hexed and how vibrant it was. Then I started noticing what was on some of the panels, and without giving any spoilers away, things pick up really quick.

Hexed follows Luci Jennifer Inagcio Das Neves, or Lucifer for short, and her troubles as an underground thief. However, Lucifer doesn’t steal any old ordinary objects. Oh no. These objects once belonged to some pretty interesting people, protected by some pretty crazy monsters, and the means of getting these objects are pretty out there. I couldn’t believe some of the crazy and creative ways in which the writers decided to have Lucifer travel to certain places to go after very particular objects. For example, I learned there is a whole new world to experience within the bodies of the deceased…

My only problem with the books was the ending. It was a little predictable, which was really ok, but it just ended very abruptly. I really wanted the writers to extend the ending and go into some more detail (I didn’t want to stop reading!). There are also some details left out in the story, but you kind of just glance over them and continue. It actually helps add to the mystery of the story and keeps you reading.

Overall, I think this is definitely worth your time. The story is really out there and creative. The art is fantastic. The monsters and “other worldly” scenes are incredibly vibrant and detailed. Boom Studios did a really good job with this one. Hit the jump to check out a few still from the first comic.