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HOUSE OF MYSTERY VOL 1: Room and Boredom
Posted: Thursday, January 8, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
HOUSE OF MYSTERY VOL 1: Room and Boredom
This is a book where you can have a pirate, a psychic detective, a spaceman, a French romantic poet and an NYU film student sitting at a table having a beer together.
It's a writer's dream come true." — Matthew Sturges
Written by Matthew Sturges, writer of the Eisner-nominated JACK OF FABLES, and his JACK co-writer, FABLES creator Bill Willingham, HOUSE OF MYSTERY: Room and Boredom Vol. 1 (Vertigo | January 14, 2009 | 128pg. | Color | Softcover | $9.99 US | ISBN: 9781401220792), collecting issues #1-5, takes a classic DC Comics concept into the twenty-first century.
Everyone is a prisoner in one way or another, and Fig Keele—a feisty young architect who just happens to be running for her life—is no exception. Unfortunately for Fig, she's ended up in the House of Mystery, a strange place like something out of her nightmares.
Fig is one of five unfortunate characters trapped at the House, trying to solve the mystery of how and why they're imprisoned there. Each one has a terrible past they'd like to forget, and with no books, newspapers or TV allowed, they face an eternity of boredom. However, the House contains a supernatural bar where an eclectic mix of visitors eat, drink, and repent for their sins. To cover their tabs, stories become the new currency, and amazingly enough, the House attracts only the finest storytellers.
In his U.S. debut, artist Luca Rossi has illustrated HOUSE OF MYSTERY in the classic Vertigo horror tradition. Each issue in the first storyline also includes a second feature—a story told by one of the patrons—written by Willingham and illustrated by a myriad of guest artists, including two-time Eisner Award nominee Ross Campbell (WATERBABY), SANDMAN fan favorite and multiple Eisner winner Jill Thompson and, Mike Allred, best known for his Harvey Award nominated MADMAN. This collection is enclosed in an ethereal cover from Sam Weber (The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time Magazine).
“Magic—properly understood—is metaphor. When it comes to magic, you see not what is, but who you are.” Come on in to the HOUSE OF MYSTERY.
Praise for HOUSE OF MYSTERY
“Featuring oddball fantasy tales from strange characters . . . the stories are quirky and creepy in a fun way . . . and there’s enough variety here to lure the curious back for more. Grade: B.”
—VARIETY
“Worth a look if you like your comics heavy on the quirk.”
—IGN
“A truly twisted fairy tale. . . . Skewed vision, sheer inventiveness and inviting art.”
—OKLAHOMA GAZETTE
“Phantasmagoric. . . . A rock-'em/sock-'em/blood-splattered horror series. . . . The writing here is dexterous and vivid; the imagery brooding and bloody. . . . Willingham and Sturges are best with the absurd. . . . Dynamic, layered and visceral.”
—SF WEEKLY
“This is the next Vertigo pillar to watch!”
—WIZARD UNIVERSE
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Stan "The Man" Lee Talks Thor #600!
Posted: Thursday, January 8, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
That’s right, True Believers—Stan Lee has an all new story, with acclaimed artist David Aja, in the hotly anticipated Thor #600! Marvel.Com has your exclusive chat with “The Man” right here http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.6547 along with the debut of Gabrielle Dell’Otto’s stunning new variant to the issue!
Thor’s world will never be the same--- don’t miss Thor #600!
THOR #600 (NOV082404)
THOR #600 DELL’OTTO VARIANT (NOV082405)
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI, STAN LEE & CHRIS GIARRUSSO
Penciled by OLIVIER COIPEL, CHRIS GIARRUSSO & DAVID AJA
Wraparound Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
Variant Wraparound Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Variant Cover by GABRIELE DELL’OTTO
Rated T+ …$4.99
FOC—1/22/09, On-Sale—2/11/09
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William Shatner Presents Joins Free Comic Book Day
Posted: Thursday, January 8, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
The “William Shatner Presents” comic series at Bluewater Productions will blast off with a special one-shot collectors edition in honor of FREE COMIC BOOK DAY this spring.
On May 2nd, Free Comic Book Day the annual promotion sponsored by Diamond Distributors where participating comic book shops around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores.
Bluewater Productions and iconic actor/novelist William Shatner are providing a free 32 pages comic specifically for the occasion. The highlight of the book will be an original story prologue from the upcoming Tek War series.
This 12-page prequel takes place 4 years before the initial storyline. The story centers on protagonist Jake Cardigan’s arrest and conviction for murder as well as Tek trafficking. The story also leaves several clues as to important plot points that will happen in the series. We get an insiders look at the Tek War universe and the history behind Jake’s troubled past.
The book will also feature a previews of the other Shatner-based comic series Quest for Tomorrow and Man O' War as well as a sneak peek of the yet-untitled original story developed by Shatner.
We are also please to announce the writing/art teams of the different series. William Shatner will be producing and editing each of the series with Craig Nevius. On top of these three series, Shatner will be debuting the forth series in this one-shot. It will be a brand new creation for both Shatner and Bluewater.
THE TEK WAR CHRONICLES
ARTIST: Erich Owens (Star Trek)
WRITER: Scott Davis (Ray Harryhausen: 20 Million Miles More, War of the Elementals)
SYNOPSIS:
Tek War, William Shatner’s detective noir science fiction novel serves as the foundation of this new comic book series. Set in the 22nd century, the storyline will loosely follow the original tale set out in the first novel of the series. Jake Cardigan is a police officer wrongly convicted of a crime and suddenly released from prison to find an enigmatic scientist involved in the drug trade. He does this on behalf of a mysterious benefactor.
Fans of the novel series will recognize many familiar characters and get introduced to a new rouges gallery of players. It will be a rollercoaster of plot twists and turns as we get closer and closer to the ultimate secret of the digital drug called Tek.
QUEST FOR TOMORROW
ARTIST: James R. Howard
WRITER: David McIntee (novelist: Star Trek & Dr Who.
Comic books: Ray Harryhausen’s: Jason and the Argonauts
SYNOPSIS:
This story will work as both a new interpretation of the “Quest For Tomorrow” trilogy, and as an extension. It's not going to be a radical remake such as the new Battlestar Galactica, but more of a back-to-the-basics reinvigoration. The book will feature the character of Jim, who has become a fan favorite. The fast-paced, action-oriented plot is steeped in matters of family and identity, and will focus on issues social relevance tackling the demonization of youth.
MAN O’ WAR
ARTIST: Patrick Broderick (DC Comics artist – Firestorm/ Green Lantern)
WRITER: C.J. Henderson (novelist Man O’ War & Jack Hagee : comics: The Phantom & Kolchak)
SYNOPSIS:
In the near future, the population of the Earth has lumbered past the ten billion mark. Most of the planet's natural resources are dwindling or gone. The only thing keeping the ever-increasing masses of Earth alive are the vast food vats of Mars and the mining operations of the asteroid belts. But, the promised rewards for those who thirty years previous went to the stars to save humanity have never materialized. Instead of a new world to homestead, the colonists have been turned into virtual slaves by Red Planet, Inc., the corporation granted the charter to develop Mars.
Now, cheated, lied to, with no hope in sight, the Martian colony has begun to boil with talk of strikes and revolution. A stop in production would mean riots and chaos on Earth, billions dead in a matter of weeks. It would mean war, plague and famine at levels never before known. Into this most explosive political situation is thrust Benton Hawkes, the most trusted diplomatic negotiator alive. All sides agree, he the only man to be trusted to avert a catastrophe which could bring destruction to the entire solar system.
But, bitter reasons of his own, Hawkes wants nothing to do with Mars. And, on top of that, there are those who don't want to see the situation calmed, and who will do nothing to stop Hawkes from interfering with their plans.
The comic is now available for order through Diamond Distributors, order code JAN090019. To find out more information about Free Comic Book Day go to www.freecomicbookday.com.
About Bluewater Productions:
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Spidey Meets the President!
Posted: Thursday, January 8, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
MARVEL PRESENTS SPECIAL SPIDER-MAN STORY TO CELEBRATE THE HISTORIC INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA
Spidey Meets the President!
All-new 5-page story to be featured in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #583, on sale January 14, 2009
Features an exclusive commemorative variant cover of Spider-Man and President-Elect Obama
To celebrate the upcoming inauguration of Barack Obama, Marvel is proud to present an all-new story teaming up one of the world’s most recognizable political figures with the world’s greatest super-hero as President-Elect Obama joins Spider-Man in Spidey Meets the President!
This all new story written by Zeb Wells and art by Todd Nauck and Frank D’Armata takes place in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day and finds one of Spider-Man’s oldest foes attempting to thwart the swearing in ceremony of the 44th President of the United States. The story will be featured as a bonus story in Marvel Comic’s Amazing Spider-Man #583, available in comic book shops nation-wide on January 14th, 2009. A special variant cover by artist Phil Jimenez featuring the President-Elect and Spider-Man will be available for this issue.
“When we heard that President-Elect Obama is a collector of Spider-Man comics, we knew that these two historic figures had to meet in our comics’ Marvel Universe,” says Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. “Historic moments such as this one can be reflected in our comics because the Marvel Universe is set in the real world. A Spider-Man fan moving into the Oval Office is an event that must be commemorated in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man.”
For fans of Spider-Man and those wanting to own a part of this historic moment in American history, visit your local comic book retailer on January 14, 2009 to purchase the issue. To find a comic book retailer near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com/ or call 888-COMICBOOK. . For more information, please visit www.marvel.com
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New Watchmen Viral Site Goes Live
Posted: Thursday, January 8, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
Hey all, KP here. I got an e-mail about the new Watchmen viral microsite
http://www.thenewfrontiersman.net
It has just gone live. In the Watchmen comics, Rorschach is obsessed with conspiracy theories, and gets much of his information from a far right-wing magazine called the New Frontiersman. There is no content on the site right now but the seal will break early next week, and there will be a fair bit of content on the site leading up to the release of the film, including photos, documents and video.
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Free Tentacle Grape Soda at New York Comic Con
Posted: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
Free Tentacle Grape Soda at New York Comic Con
Attending New York Comic Con? Come to booth 1161 for a free sample of Tentacle Grape soda! Offer good while supplies last.
Tentacle Grape is the new beverage, inspired by the genre of adult Japanese animation called Hentai. A perfect caffeine rush for gamers, cosplayers, and comic book fans.
6 packs can be purchased online at tentaclegrape.com
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"You either know what the joke here is, or you're a very lucky person living a happy, healthy life." -Alex Zalben, Nerve.com
"The people at Tentacle Grape probably have a storehouse of tentacles, where they collect this jelly into large vats, and through the carbonation process, the jelly's grape flavor comes out -- which is, in fact, the reason why women in hentai have such trouble resisting the tentacles. It's so delicious." - Japanator.com
"Tentacle Grape is a caffienated grape soda that Mnemosyne is targeting at gamers, cosplayers, and comic book fans. It is also perhaps the best name I've ever seen for a product you actually ingest." - Mike Fahey, Kotaku.com
"Frankly, I find this product to be sexist, disgusting and cheap. Now where did I put my credit card..." - Arya Ponto, Just Press Play
"Are you a cosplayer? Do you know someone who cosplays? Do you think what they really need in life is yet another dose of caffeine?" - Rich Johnston, Lying in the Gutters, Comic Book Resources
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Jonathan Hickman Talks Secret Warriors On The Mighty Marvel Podcast
Posted: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
The next generation of Marvel super heroes are here! That’s right True Believers, in the latest episode of the Mighty Marvel Podcast, fan favorite host and Senior Art Director Jeff Suter sits with the man co-writing Secret Warriors, Jonathan Hickman! The two talk about the current state of the Marvel Universe during Dark Reign and Fury’s new super team will fight the good fight! Learn more about the Secret Warriors, sons and daughters of Marvel’s heroes & villains, and just how they may be the Marvel U’s last, best hope!
Well what are you waiting for? Go download and listen to this latest Mighty Marvel Podcast RIGHT HERE
Also, be on the look out for future podcasts on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.1622.Marvel_Podcast_Central, or subscribe to the Mighty Marvel Podcast on iTunes (that way you never miss any of the action packed installments)!
SECRET WARRIORS #1 (DEC082326)
SECRET WARRIORS #1 PARENT VARIANT (OCT088174)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS AND JONATHAN HICKMAN
Penciled by STEFANO CASELLI
Cover by JIMMY CHEUNG
Parent Variant Cover by TOP SECRET
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC—1/15/09, On-sale—2/4/09
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WAR MACHINE #1 Is A Hit!
Posted: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
Spinning out of Dark Reign, the hero known as War Machine has a new mission to save the world and critics can’t stop raving about his new series! War Machine #1, from acclaimed scribe Greg Pak (World War Hulk, X-Men: Magneto- Testament) and rising star artist Leonardo Manco team up for the new series that puts the iron clad hero on a quest to take down some of the world’s greatest threats! This one man army takes no prisoners, leaving fans and critics alike with their jaws on the floor!
“A new, cybernetically enhanced War Machine becomes like an international Punisher. He's a one-man war on worldwide crime...Manco's work is a good fit for this series, with its scratchy detail illustrating a world that is anything but bright and shiny. This is a sordid, tarnished Marvel Universe, and Manco 's style suits it perfectly.”—Timothy Callahan, ComicBookResources.Com
“Leonardo Manco does a great job capturing a gritty technological feel, and Greg Pak does a great job keeping the pace up. I think this series will be one to watch.”-- Brendan McQuirk, Newsarama.Com
“Leonardo Manco's beautiful art matches the subject material perfectly, giving Rhodes a rough, gritty world to rocket through and providing some gorgeous splash pages...(for the) shoot-'em-up comic with a sci-fi/tech twist.”—Bryan Joel, IGN.Com
“The lines between man and machine, hero and monster, justice and murder can be entertaining and interesting to explore under a talented pen and Pak certainly has that talent…[Manco] provides a gritty realism to the horrors of battle as well as to the horrors of Rhodey’s situation.”—Tonya Crawford, BrokenFrontier.Com
Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on War Machine, as the series continues to draw acclaim from all corners.
WAR MACHINE #1 (OCT082347)
WAR MACHINE #1 VILLAIN VARIANT
Written by GREG PAK
Pencils & Cover by LEONARDO MANCO
Villain Variant by MIKE DEODATO
Rated T+ …$2.99
ON SALE NOW!
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Marvel True Believer Tuesday: January 6, 2009
Posted: Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Posted By: Keith Dallas
The first "True Believer Tuesday" of 2009 provides 7 reviews of Marvel titles coming out tomorrow, including Punisher #1, X Noir #2, Invincible Iron Man #9 and Dead of Night Featuring Werewolf by Night #1!
In addition, Dave Wallace provides his monthly (P)Review column, featuring an advance look at Astonishing X-Men #28!
Marvel Month in (P)Review: December 2008/January 2009
Advance Review of Punisher #1
Advance Review of Invincible Iron Man #9
Advance Review of X Men Noir #2
Advance Review of X-Men: Manifest Destiny #5
Advance Review of Spider-Man: Fear Itself
Advance Review of Wolverine: Switchback
Advance Review of Dead of Night Featuring Werewolf by Night #1
Log on to ComicsBulletin on Thursday for an exclusive preview of a Marvel title coming out next week! And log on next Tuesday for your weekly dose of Marvel advance reviews!
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The Next Generation of Marvel Heroes Returns in SECRET WARRIORS! Preview Inside!
Posted: Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Posted By: Kevin Powers
Nick Fury has assembled the next generation of Marvel super heroes—the sons and daughters of super villains—to fight the new order that Dark Reign has brought to the Marvel Universe! Secret Warriors #1, written by award winning scribes Brian Michael Bendis & red-hot Jonathan Hickman and featuring the stunning art of Marvel Young Gun artist Stefano Caselli, presents Fury’s battle to not only train the next generation of heroes—but to also defeat what may be the greatest threat he’s ever faced! You’ve seen the Warriors come together in the pages of Mighty Avengers and you’ve seen them push back the Skrull armada Secret Invasion—but what could rock their world even more? If that’s not enough, in addition to the eye-popping cover by Jimmy Cheung, Secret Warriors #1 also features the parents of these heroes on a variant cover by a top secret artist!
Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on Secret Warriors and all other Dark Reign tie-ins as the new status quo for the Marvel Universe continues to generate buzz!
Want to know more? Well, Nick Fury has been leaking some information all throughout the Marvel Universe and if you click over to www.agentofnothing.com and use the password “eagleeye” you’ll discover his secrets! There are additional passwords hidden in Marvel comics all throughout January, so keep your eyes peeled for even more special exclusive content!
Without S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury and his super powered allies must face the Dark Reign alone—but are they part of something bigger than they could imagine? Don’t miss the double-sized Secret Warriors #1!
SECRET WARRIORS #1 (DEC082326)
SECRET WARRIORS #1 PARENT VARIANT (OCT088174)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS AND JONATHAN HICKMAN
Penciled by STEFANO CASELLI
Cover by JIMMY CHEUNG
Parent Variant Cover by TOP SECRET
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC—1/15/09, On-sale—2/4/09
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