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Indie Spotlight: Yumi Sakugawa

Muy Mareado! — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:00:11 +0000

Welcome to Indie Spotlight! The independent scene is filled with many writers and artists alike and we here at Comic Book Therapy wanted to explore and reach reach out to these talented people to have the opportunity to learn about their works. For our first edition we present to you Yumi Sakugawa!

I am Yumi Sakugawa and I am a comic book artist and illustrator based in the Southern California. I am a regular comic / illustrator online contributor to Sadie Magazine and Wonderhowto.

Most recently, my comic zine “Mundane Fortunes for the Next Ten Billion Years and Other Stories” was selected as Notable Comics of 2012 by the Best American Comics anthology editors.

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Comic Book Therapy – Thank you very much for taking the time out to do this interview. How have you been doing?

Yumi Sakugawa – It is my pleasure! I’m finally fully recovered from a week-long cold so right now I am feeling pretty amazing.

CBT – You’re a self published comic book artist. How did you start?

Yumi – After I graduated from UCLA, I spent a year teaching English in Japan… because that’s what you do when you have just graduated from college with an art major and you have no idea what you’re going to do with yourself. During that time, a fellow English-teaching American artist friend and I spontaneously decided to sign up for a small booth at the bi-annual Tokyo Design Festa, a giant arts and craft convention that happens in Tokyo every May and November. I didn’t have any art on hand and I definitely did not want to show up as a first-time exhibitor empty-handed–so I furiously whipped up my first self-published 30-page comic zine “Milk and Moo” just in time for the event. Note to new artists, there is nothing like a convention deadline to really force yourself to kick your own butt to get something done.

This was back in 2008, and I had no idea that a zine culture even existed. When I moved back to Los Angeles, I made serendipitous connections with fellow artists in 2010 who introduced me to the zine scene and really got me hooked to showing comic zines at zine conventions.

CBT – What projects have you completed? Currently working on?

Yumi – I’ve self-published about eight comic zines in the last four years, ranging from illustrated guides on meditation to short comic story collections. My most recent self-published comic zine was a 50-page autobiographical diary comic of my travels in Paris and Rome.

Things I’m currently working on? I’ll definitely be releasing more self-published comics about meditation and mindfulness (people seem to really like those), and more short comic story collections. And since the world always needs more self-love and creative inspiration, I’m thinking of releasing a comic zine that deals specifically with self-love and staying inspired as an artist.

I’m also working on a longer fictional comic project right now, longer than anything I have ever made. It’s kind of a secret so either a lot of people will get to read it once it’s done or I won’t finish it and no one will ever know about it. Hopefully it will be the former and not the latter.

CBT – How long have you been in the art world? What inspired you to pick up the pencil/pen and create?

Yumi – I honestly don’t know what counts as being in the art world! I was in my first group art show in 2008 that wasn’t an art school student campus gallery show, so maybe since then? As for what inspired me to pick up the pencil / pen and create, I’ve always been drawing and doodling since I was a small kid, and drawing is the perfect medium to express yourself when you’re a really painfully shy kid and you’re trrified of talking to people.

CBT – As an artist, conventions and other means of showcasing are pretty important to promote your work. Have you attended conventions?

Yumi – Yes! I’ve attended maybe 6 different comic and zine conventions in the last few years and I really love the convention scene. For 2013, I’m really excited that I will be tabling away from the West Coast for the first time ever–at the Brooklyn Zine Fest in April and at the Toronto Comics and Arts Festival in May. Come visit my table if you think you’ll be going to either of those events!

I always make the coolest new friends and discover amazing new artists at every convention event. Seriously, I feel like there is a significantly lower percentage of douchey, pretentious creative types in the zine scene compared to other creative scenes or maybe I have just been really lucky with the people I’ve met. That, and I love having the opportunity to share my work with new people and connect in real-time with people who have seen my work previously on the internet or elsewhere.

If you are just starting out as a comic book artist, then I really recommend signing up for a table or a booth at a comic convention. Even if you don’t sell that many comics in the beginning, you get so much from the whole experience.

CBT – What is your best Convention memory?

Yumi – I think my best convention memory is the first comic and zine convention I’ve ever attended in 2010. I was crammed in one car with three other zine friends and left at 3 in the morning from Los Angeles to arrive just in time in Sacramento at around 10 A.M. to table at Indy Euphoria. I was only there for one day and I hitched a ride back to Los Angeles with another friend that same night. That convention memory is particularly special to me because that was the first time I had the chance to meet Dylan Williams, the late founder of Sparkplug Comic Books. It was at the convention when he actually bought copies of my first comic zine from me to distribute through Sparkplug and as a total newbie, I was so blown away by the possibility that complete strangers would really take a genuine interest in reading my comics. I feel so fortunate to have met him at that time and one more time before his unfortunate passing in 2011.

CBT – Things can be a bit difficult getting into the comic business. What encourages you to continue?

Yumi – I honestly don’t think much about the difficulty of getting into the comic business. Not because I naively think it won’t be difficult for me or anything like that, more so because I’m much more preoccupied on a narcissistic, mundane level with the daily difficulty of motivating myself every single day to find the time and the inspiration to move forward with my comic projects, regardless of busyness or creative blocks.

What keeps me going? Fan mail from an eleven-year-old girl. Complete strangers from countries I’ve never visited ordering my zines online. Seeing my self-published comics on display in my favorite independent bookstores. Kind messages from strangers. The painstakingly slow progress I make as an artist with every new project I finish. Being held accountable to my inner eleven-year-old who always dreamed of becoming a cartoonist.

CBT – Have you done work for other publishers?

Yumi – I’m actually working on something with another comic publisher. I can’t disclose too much information for the moment and more details will be revealed later in 2013. Stay tuned!

CBT – What do you enjoy most about doing comics?

Yumi – I think comics is the best creative medium for me to fully and honestly express myself as an artist and as a human being. Growing up, I was always torn between wanting to become a writer and wanting to become an artist; thankfully with comics, you can do both things at the same time.

CBT – With the year of rebirths and reboots, do you feel it contributes well to the comic business or takes the interest away from longtime readers?

Yumi – I’m the worst person to ask this question. I haven’t actually read any rebirth or reboot comic storylines.

CBT – Who is your favorite comic book artist? Favorite title or series that features his/her art?

Yumi – What a difficult question! I have many favorite comic book artists that changes with what I am interested in at the moment, but I always find myself revisiting again and again “Skim” illustrated by Jillian Tamaki and written by Mariko Tamaki. Coming-of-age stories with interesting female teenage protagonists are my personal catnip.

CBT – What comic book character would you find easy to relate to?

Yumi – This is a Japanese manga character, but I can relate too well with Maruko from the shoujo manga series “Chibi Maruko-Chan.” She’s lazy and disorganized, and prone to retreating to her own imaginary world a lot, just like me. (I can’t relate, however, to her immense dislike of nattou)

As for an American comic book character, this may be an extreme cliche answer but I think Charlie Brown and I would have had a lot of great coffee hang-outs. I was a pretty melancholy kid prone to over-nostalgizing my own childhood experiences in my head as they were happening in real time.

CBT – What would you consider your greatest piece to date?

Yumi – I don’t know if this would be my greatest, but I will always have a huge fondness for my first self-published comic story “Milk and Moo.” There is a wonderful magic that comes out of having no idea what you’re doing but somehow getting it done anyway.

CBT – For those who want to have a start in illustration, what advice would you share with them?

Yumi – Give the world as many opportunities as possible to see your artwork. Have a regularly updated art blog. Show your work at shows. Exhibit at conventions. Meet other artists. Make friends with artists whose skills and work ethic intimidate the shit out of you. Being an artist can be a lonely business, so find a community of artists you can join or make your own community. Find excuses to get your illustration out there, whether it’s volunteering to illustrate for a someone’s music event flyer or challenging yourself to publishing a weekly web comic with a friend.

In the beginning, all of this may seem like shooting darts in the dark. It is all worth it for the momentum that you create for yourself that will carry you over to your next great opportunity.

CBT – Thank you very much! Is there anything you’d like for us to be on the lookout for?

Yumi – Since so many people have asked about this, I will be releasing a limited artist booklet print of my emo-comic “I Think I Am In Friend-Love with You” sometime this month (January). If you are looking for the perfect not-so-subtle gift to give to your friend-crush for Valentine’s Day, this is it.

>Click Images for Bigger Versions<

Check out the sites below to see more of Yumi’s work and updates on her projects!

Bigcartel: yumisakugawa

Facebook: www.facebook.com/yumiverse

Flickr: yumisakugawa

Twitter: @yumisakugawa

Tumblr sketch blog: acrosstheyumiverse

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Hey writers and artists!! As the continuing interest in independent works grows, we want to reach out to the indie community and highlight those who dedicate their time and effort to a passion for their work. Tell us YOUR story! If you know someone that you would like to be featured in this section let us know!

To be featured in Indie Spotlight, please complete the following steps:

Contact us at: dezdewberry@comicbooktherapy.com (Please put “Indie Spotlight” in the subject line)
Provide a short bio and 5-10 pictures if you’re an artist
Sit down, relax and get ready to be contacted back!

Muy Mareado!, Indie Spotlight: Yumi Sakugawa

An interview with Peter Clines

Michael Worthan — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 20:09:39 +0000

I’ve been given the chance to once again interview author Peter Clines about his newest book -14- that just hit stores and e-stores a few weeks ago. After reading and reviewing -14- and realizing this book was by far one of my favorite summer reads this year I reached out to Peter and he agreed to do this interview. I hope you folks enjoy and go pick up a few of his amazing books.

Your newest book is simply titled -14- . Can you explain it a bit for some of those who haven’t read the synopsis of the book yet?

14 is about a guy named Nate who moves into an old apartment building and notices a few odd things about his new home. Nothing major or earth-shattering, just a couple odd things that are easy to brush off. One of them is an apartment on the second floor that has several padlocks on the door—apartment #14. But as he gets to know his neighbors, he starts to realize that almost every room in the building has something odd about it. And well… anything past that would be giving things away.

It’s been a tough sell at times because it is so mystery-heavy, and anything you get told takes away from that bit of dramatic impact in the story. I was up at Crypticon in Seattle over Memorial Day weekend with a few advance copies, and the way I sold it to people there was “How would you explain LOST to someone without giving anything away?” And they’d usually grin and say “People crash on an island and stuff happens.” So that’s how I’m explaining 14 (and hoping most other people explain it for as long as possible). This guy, Nate, moves into an old apartment building and stuff happens.

What was your inspiration for writing -14-?

A couple things. It was one of those lucky moments where a bunch of ideas were in my head and they all happened to fall together to make a story.

A good chunk of it was the building I first lived in when I moved to Los Angeles. It was really old and brick and had paint that would peel off the walls in big sheets. It also struck me how odd it was that I didn’t know any of my neighbors, even after I’d lived there for almost a year. Which is really odd when you think of, say, a college dorm. It’s the exact same living arrangement but you know everyone, you hang out together, and sometimes crash in each others’ rooms (for various reasons). It got me wondering why things were so different in an apartment building. The tenants eventually bonded over the big Griffith Park fire in 2007, the one that threatened the Observatory. A bunch of us ended up on the roof, just watching the fires and drinking all night. And we all started talking and got to know each other. And suddenly we were this little community with shared interests and hobbies and we were trading DVDs and sharing meals.

True story—it turned out one of my downstairs neighbors, Hunter, was one of the founding members of the sci-fi band Gwar. He was Techno-Destructor. I got to wear his claw once. We hung out a couple of times and played games. He’s very cool, and his kid’s a big superhero fan.

Anyway, when I moved out, my girlfriend and I joked about leaving a note for the next person who moved in to find. And that got me thinking about the kind of things you could find that other tenantsleft behind. Maybe deliberate or accidental. I mean, who really knows what happened in their apartment before they moved in?

And part of it was Nate. I’ve seen lots of characters in lots of books who have great jobs and careers, or who live on the fringes or even are total anarchists. When the plot of their given book gets going, they can take long vacations or tell their secretary they’re out for the day or do whatever. But it seems rare to have a character who’s just trapped in a job and can’t do something else, no matter how common it is in real life. They don’t make enough money to really live, but they also can’t afford to quit. I’ve been there, and I think a lot of other people have, too, so it struck me as an interesting type of character that people would be able to relate to.

-14- was a definitely different book in all the best ways, any chance for a sequel to it or is this a stand alone project?

For the moment it’s just a stand-alone thing, although I have had a few random ideas for “what happens next.” Maybe somewhere down the line I’ll have some big interlocking universe like Stephen King and we’ll see some of these characters again. For now I think we can let them rest, though. Seriously, they deserve some time off.

With you having written five different books, what has been your best experience with them and, which book is your personal favorite?

Probably one of the best experiences was The Junkie Quatrain, the interlocking short stories/ novella I did for Audible.com last year. It was a short deadline at a time when my girlfriend and I were tight, financially speaking. So I threw myself into it and I kept thinking about Robert Louis Stevenson writing Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde to pay the rent, or old stories from Ray Bradbury about writing stories for grocery money. It was a bit stressful, but it also made me feel really close to all the giants that started out the same way. Not that I’m a giant. I get some joy just from being in that same low position they once were.

Past that, it’s really tough to pick a favorite. There are things I’m exceptionally proud of in each book. There’s things in each book where I look back and sigh and kick myself for not realizing I should’ve done this instead of that. I would have to say my favorite book is “the next one,” because I’m still amazed that I get to keep doing this.

We all have favorite authors, my list isn’t a short one but you are definitely on it sir, so who are your favorite authors?

There’s so many. Ray Bradbury’s been one of my favorites since I was very young. He was just amazing. I wrote him a fan letter in college and was thrilled when he wrote back. I still have the letter, and living in LA I had a few chances to hear him talk. It was really sad for me to have 14 come out the day after he died, and I felt very cheap doing any sort of promotion for it at all.

As a native Mainer and someone who gets lumped into horror, I have to love Stephen King. People can bitch all they like, but he is the 20th century’s Charles Dickens (and possibly the 21st century’s, too). Craig di Louie is another Permuted Press author whose stuff I love so much I have to say I hate him (not really, but it keeps me from gushing all over him). Lee Child’s books are fantastic. Neil Gaiman is brilliant. More people should know about Dan Abnett (I met him a few years back at the San Diego Comic-Con and his table was deserted. I just got to stand there and talk with him for fifteen minutes—he autographed a copy of Ravenor for me). Mira Grant a.k.a. Seanan McGuire. Iain McKinnon. Eloise J. Knapp. I also love the classics—Edgar Rice Burroughs, Harper Lee, Steinbeck, Dumas, Hawthorne (we all hated his stuff in school, but Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote some very, very creepy stories when you look back at them). And there’s great young adult authors (some before there was such a thing as “young adult”) like Lloyd Alexander and Alexander Key and…

Like I said, too many.

At this juncture in your career what has been your biggest challenge as a writer?

Only one? Hmmmm…

I don’t know. It shifts from day to day. Sometimes I put a ton of work into the Facebook fan page, interviews, or other promotional-type stuff. There are days I spend hours doing damage control of one type or another. I don’t think there’s any one thing that’s more challenging than anything else.

Silly as it sounds, the biggest challenge is probably getting outside and talking to people. I’ve got a home office, so I work here, eat here, sleep here… On a regular day I usually see my girlfriend and my cats and that’s about it. But you need to get out and see people and talk to people. That’s the interaction that helps you get a sense of how people talk and react. I’m very lucky to have a lot of friends who I can just go out for coffee with or spend a day playing with little toy soldiers or watching bad SyFy movies.

With your books being popular, and in my opinion easily transferred to a screenplay, have there been any Hollywood types looking at your work that you can speak of?

That I can speak of… no, probably not yet. Not saying there hasn’t been interest, but I think I need to wait on some things before any loud announcements are made.

But even then, that doesn’t mean a movie is a sure thing. There’s no point in cheering or getting excited. It’s fantastic having interested parties who honestly love my stuff, but the nature of film is that you need to hit this sort of critical mass of interest, if that makes sense. Studio heads, producers, actors… a lot of people have to be interested. Unless the one guy who likes your book is Steven Spielberg, JJ Abrams, or James Cameron, it’s still an uphill battle.

For anything you want to see made into a movie, the best thing is for people to be talking about it. Lots of people. If a million people went into work tomorrow talking about how cool 14 is, there’d be a movie in the works by the end of the month. Until then… I’m just very glad some cool people are interested in making things happen.

What is your advice for getting over writers block?

I know this sounds kind of silly but my advice is just keep writing. I think in most cases writer’s block is just fear. It’s this paralyzing worry that the words I put down are going to be wrong or inferior in some way, and then my whole story will be tainted somehow and never live up to the version in my head and –wham—there goes my Nobel Prize for Literature. Odds are those first words will be wrong and inferior, but that’s not the end of it. That’s why we edit and do multiple drafts. Words gets rewritten and edited and sometimes completely cut out of the story. It doesn’t have to be perfect on the first draft, just on the last one.

So if you’re stuck with writer’s block, just start writing. Write anything. Catch up on email, review some books on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Write up lists of favorite birthday presents you’ve received, beloved pets, favorite television shows, characters, people you’ve slept with, people you wish you’d slept with. Just write. It’s like any sort of exercise, and the longer you go without doing it the harder it is to get going again. So just write and don’t worry about being wordy, because this is all early-draft type stuff that no one’s ever going to see. And eventually you’ll be free enough to steer your writing back to your book or screenplay or short story.

I’ve got a little ranty blog where I talk about writing stuff at least once a week. Not agents or publishing or anything like that. It’s just tips and suggestions and observations about writing and storytelling, culled from my many, many years of screwing things up and doing it all the hard way. I’m also thinking about putting out a Kindle book later this year kind of assembled from/inspired by the blog. The working title is currently The Ed Wood Guide to Storytelling. Just because.

Well there you have it folks, I hope you pick up Peter Clines newest book -14- and also I hope you enjoyed the interview! Until next time keep reading those books and stay tuned for more interviews and news!

Michael Worthan, An interview with Peter Clines

DC Comics Launches Before Watchmen Viral Site

wolverinept — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:00:06 +0000

If you’re a fan of the original Watchmen graphic novel,you surely know the controversial periodical called New Frontiersman, which appears in the story. Always publishing articles with acidic social and political criticism, it is usual to see Rorschach reading it and it’s where he sends his diary at the end of the saga.

This special first edition, dated August 2, 1977, has an editorial from Hector Godfrey – the fictional editor of the publication, which appears on the last page of the graphic novel – and an article by Seymour Smith’s assistant, the same one that at the end of the story finds Rorschach’s journal.

It also presents a story about masked vigilantes with the classic question “Who Watches the Watchmen?”. This article is signed by Doug Roth, reporter for the Nova Express, who was present at the Dr. Manhattan press conference and reveals that several well-known hero’s got cancer, implying that this was by living with him.

Looking in the text, there are links to profiles on Twitter and Facebook, as well as part of a censured script and a link to a Latin phrase, in Wikipedia.

wolverinept, DC Comics Launches Before Watchmen Viral Site

Marvel Celebrates 3 Million True Believers On Facebook!

Agent Burgos — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:03:34 +0000

All day long, Marvel is celebrating over 3 million fans on the Marvel Facebook Fan Page, and thanking you – the Marvel Universe! Be sure to head on over to www.facebook.com/marvel for your first look at exclusive art from upcoming comics, news, & previews from Marvel video games all day long! And that’s not all because we’ll have even more Mighty Marvel surprises up our sleeves that you’ll have access to ONLY through our Facebook fan page! Don’t forget to check us out on Twitter, YouTube, GetGlue, and Google+ to further enhance your Marvel experience because this is YOUR UNIVERSE! With so many ways to get your daily dose of all things Marvel, there’s no reason not to get involved! But in order to get your exclusive look on tons of great Marvel stuff, stay tuned to www.facebook.com/marvel! With over 3 million fans strong on Facebook, thank you for making yours Marvel!

Agent Burgos, Marvel Celebrates 3 Million True Believers On Facebook!

MURDER AND MUSIC ON THE BAYOU!

Agent Burgos — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:08:07 +0000

DÍAZ CANALES AND GUARNIDO’S BLACKSAD IS BACK!

February 2, MILWAUKIE, OR—Eisner and Harvey Award–winning duo Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido are back with another incredible tale to shock and awe crime-fiction fans and comics-art aficionados alike!

Detective John Blacksad returns, with a new case that takes him to a 1950s New Orleans filled with hot jazz and cold-blooded murder! Hired to discover the fate of a celebrated pianist, Blacksad finds his most dangerous mystery yet in the midst of drugs, voodoo, the rollicking atmosphere of Mardi Gras, and the dark underbelly that it hides!

Dark Horse’s Blacksad collection is already in its fourth printing, with 20,000 copies sold. Artist Juanjo Guarnido was voted the winner of the 2011 Eisner Award for Best Painter, and Blacksad Volume 1 won the Harvey Award for Best American Edition of Foreign Material.

“A lovingly crafted homage to the Hammett-Chandler chestnuts of old . . . and Guarnido’s watercolor panels feel like the unearthed film-noir storyboards of a master…A.”—Entertainment Weekly

Blacksad: A Silent Hell features an extensive making-of section, with tons of prelim sketches and watercolor studies, written by artist Juanjo Guarnido! This volume also includes two never-before-collected Blacksad short stories!

Blacksad: A Silent Hell is on sale July 11, 2012.

Agent Burgos, MURDER AND MUSIC ON THE BAYOU!

THE BEAUTY CROWNED PILOT SEASON 2011 WINNER!

Agent Burgos — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:14:16 +0000

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.

Agent Burgos, THE BEAUTY CROWNED PILOT SEASON 2011 WINNER!

He’ll Go To The Ends Of The Earth To Protect You In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN!

Agent Burgos — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:09:37 +0000

The next big Spider-Man epic begins in Amazing Spider-Man #682, part one of Ends Of The Earth, by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli!

The Sinister Six, led by the vengeful Doctor Octopus, is back and they’re looking for revenge! Can Spider-Man & Earth’s Mightiest save the world before Doc Ock’s explosive endgame is revealed? Find in Amazing Spider-Man #682 hitting comic shops and the Marvel Comics app this March!

Join the conversation on Twitter with #SpiderMan.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682 (JAN120658)
Written by DAN SLOTT
Pencils & Cover by STEFANO CASELLI
Colors by FRANK MARTIN JR.
FOC – 2/27/12, ON SALE – 3/21/12

Agent Burgos, He’ll Go To The Ends Of The Earth To Protect You In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN!

Marvel Announces AVENGERS VS X-MEN LAUNCH PARTIES!

Agent Burgos — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:42:25 +0000

Marvel’s making sure all comic book stores worldwide are armed for the biggest super hero war of all time with the Avengers VS X-Men Launch Parties on Tuesday, April 3rd at 8pm (local time), one day before the first issue goes on-sale. In addition to being the first in line to purchase Avengers VS X-Men #1, fans will also be able to receive special items exclusive to these parties, specific to the team—Avengers or X-Men—supported by the store.

To ensure these parties are the biggest sales success of 2012, each retailer opting into this event will receive a free Avengers VS X-Men Party Kit from Marvel, containing exclusive promotional materials.. In order to receive this party kit, every retailer just needs to choose a team—Avengers or X-Men—and will receive special bonuses for their allegiance.

“We’ve never had a bigger story than Avengers VS X-Men and we’re backing retailers with the biggest incentives you’ve ever seen through the Avengers VS X-Men Launch Parties,”

said David Gabriel, Marvel Senior Vice-President of Sales.

“Whether it’s advertising, promotional material or limited edition variant covers, every one of our valued retailer partners will be able to get the word out to both their regular customers and new fans about this comic event and the exciting Avengers VS X-Men Launch Parties. Some stores will choose to side with the Avengers and some will side with the X-Men, but I can guarantee one thing—Marvel will make sure all of them have everything they need to make Avengers VS X-Men #1 their top selling comic of the year.

”
All retailers who opt into the parties & choose a team will receive the following as part of the Avengers VS X-Men Party Kit:
Avengers VS X-Men Program, a free comic previewing the upcoming event
Avengers VS X-Men Postcards
Avengers VS X-Men Customizable Flyer
Avengers VS X-Men Customizable Press Release
Avengers VS X-Men Backlist Sales
Avengers VS X-Men mini posters
Avengers VS X-Men promo items
Avengers VS X-Men #1 Advance Screening Copy, delivered to retailers in late March 2012
Avengers VS X-Men Party Lithographs
Mass media promotion around the launch of AvX and the associated parties
Promotion of parties to Marvel fan base via Marvel.com, Twitter and Facebook
An additional discount on the Road to Avengers VS X-Men Trade Paperback

And these same retailers will receive complimentary team specific versions—based on their allegiance—of the following:
Exclusive Avengers VS X-Men #1 Spotlight Variant specific to the team supported by the store
Free Avengers VS X-Men mini-posters showing store allegiance
Free Avengers VS X-Men Party Tickets
Free Avengers or X-Men Team Pins
Free Avengers VS X-Men in-store signage and shelf-talkers

Which team will reign supreme? Join the conversation on Twitter with #AvX!

For more on Avengers VS X-Men, please visit http://avx.marvel.com

Agent Burgos, Marvel Announces AVENGERS VS X-MEN LAUNCH PARTIES!

Help ComicBookTherapy Reach 2,000 Facebook Fans And Win Captain America: The First Avenger (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D)!

wolverinept — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 23:08:31 +0000

We’re noticing a significant increase in the number of comments and “likes” over on our Facebook page. Its great that we have Facebook as well as the website here as a platform for talking and listening to our felow comic book fans and others as we discuss about comic books and other related issues.

We’re nearly at the 2,000 fan mark and to help us get there we thought we’d enlist your help.

On the day we reach our 2,000th fan we will give away a Captain America: The First Avenger (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) box set to whoever has been the most “engaged” fan in the preceeding month. Being engaged is really simple – all you need to do is “like”, “share” or comment on any of our Facebook posts. You can even upload questions, articles or photographs of your own. We’ll use the independent site FanGager.com to tell us who has won. Below is a graphic showing the current Fan League table. As you can see, you don’t really need to do that much to get within a chance of winning the Box Set.

Ryan Lindon is currently heading up the field with 12 comments.

There is a serious side to this as well. Its actually really challenging for a small company like ComicBookTherapy to get the word out fully to the worship community across multiple countries and continents. Facebook is a great way of helping us achieve that as most comic book fans are friends on Facebook with other people who might well like our content too. By commenting, liking and sharing you spread the word and get yourself in with a chance of winning Captain America: The First Avenger (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) .

Audio Commentary – With Joe Johnston, Shelly Johnson, and Jeffrey Ford.
Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer(HD, 4 min).
Featurettes (HD, 48 min) – Seven spotlights (Outfitting a Hero, Howling Commandos, Heightened Technology, The Transformation, Behind the Skull, Captain America‘s Origin, and The Assembly Begins).
Deleted Scenes(HD, 5 min) – Four axed scenes, playable individual or all together, with optional commentary by Johnston, Johnson, and Ford, the commentary track’s participants.
Trailers (HD) – Four trailers. Two for the film, one for a video game, and another for The Avengers cartoon.

Head on over to Facebook and get liking, commenting and sharing. (And no, Ryan Lindon “gaming” the system and liking everything is clearly cheating!)

wolverinept, Help ComicBookTherapy Reach 2,000 Facebook Fans And Win Captain America: The First Avenger (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D)!

The Weekly Dose Podcast #1 – Flashpoint and The New 52 DC Relaunch

Agent Burgos — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 23:54:59 +0000

The Weekly Dose is a weekly comic book podcast powered by Heroes and Villains. Every episode our hosts discuss the latest news in comics and the comic community in general. Once in awhile, we’ll even get a special guest interview from someone in the industry.

In this episode Eric M Esquivel from Heroes and Villains, discuses the end of “Flashpoint“, and how excited he is for the new 52 DC relaunch.

Heroes and Villains will be sponsoring the first 4 podcasts and we can’t be more excited about it! If you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment below.

Make sure you visit them online HERE and like their Facebook page HERE. Do you have Twitter, well then, you can find Heroes and Villains HERE!

Thanks and enjoy!

Genre: Comic Book Podcast | Updates: Weekly | Duration: 35 minutes | Subscribe: RSS Feed / iTunes

Agent Burgos, The Weekly Dose Podcast #1 – Flashpoint and The New 52 DC Relaunch

Did You Read Comics In Public?

Michael Worthan — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:18:17 +0000

This is my second year covering Read Comics In Public Day for a website, and the first time for my website. I sent out a flurry of tweets and Facebook updates to associates, friends, and just about anybody that would listen to me to get some awesome pictures for this article.

Luckily I received a pretty fair amount of responses, and am very pleased to post up these pictures. Some of these are from people back East reading comics during hurricane Irene, some of these are people I’ve met through this site, and throughout the comic industry, and some of these folks are my friends. All though show thier love for comics and offered me the oppritunity to share these amazing pictures with all of you. I would personally like to thank everyone that participated, and of course credit where credit is due all of thes pictures belong to their respective owners. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed receiving them.

Joey Silva also known as @joecool57h

Lynn Paulus of ForbiddenPanel.com fameWilt Manglicmot Senior Art Director on CBT & Artist for the web comic Nerd Geek Dork

A CBT contributing writer Jordan Duncan @jordanghastly on Twitter.

Wilt Manglicmot Senior Art Director on CBT & Artist for the web comic Nerd Geek Dork

An awesome picture from twitter follower @JRyanZambrano

This picture comes from Janna O'Shea also known as @dreamyeyed on Twitter. Sent during hurricane Irene in New York she found a way to enjoy our nerd holiday regardless.

From our very own CBT Senior Writer Kai Charles also well known as @YogiaKai on Twitter

: Comic lover, and gamer Zachary Hayden also know as @zspider1984

Co-Owner of CBT and comic lover Chris Doucher also know as @Comic_Canuck on Twitter

Last but not least Co-Owner Michael Worthan (me) also known as @NotSoSilentMike on twitter

Once Again I’d like to extend my thanks to those that participated, and if you didn’t this year there’s always next year!

Michael Worthan, Did You Read Comics In Public?

AlbinoDarkBeast Reviews Freakshow #3 From The Bowels Of Hell

AlbinoDarkBeast — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:48:52 +0000

This site hacking thing really got out of proportion. I find it so hard to believe that an “adult” can take petty differences and blow them out of proportion so persistently. It’s this kind of behavior that perpetuates the immature comic freak stereotype we sadly have to live with. That and lame-ass cosplaying (guys: don’t dress up as SF’s Cammy or Kratos unless you actually WORKOUT, please!). Makes me wonder what else is lacking in their life (the hacker’s not the cosplayers’). Social validation after an adolescence riddled with bullying and public humiliation? Overcompensation for the lack of reproductive prowess? A less-than-adequate physique plagued by frailty coupled with unsightly table manners? All of the above?

Dear A-Hole who hacked our site: Keep it up. Every time you do, we come back bigger, better and stronger and you reveal a little more of what a pathetic, dysfunctional sad excuse for a human being you are. We find our security flaws and work them out. We weed out the lazies and consolidate our friendships. We retype articles and they come out a lot better the second time around. Keep waving your hypogonadism out in the open. Some will think it’s a statement of pride and support your cause, but the rest of us will grow up, move on and keep trying our best to make a kick-ass website for our readers to enjoy.

So, Readers, I apologize on behalf of ComicBookTherapy.com for making you witness the lame tantrums of a man-child. I truly hope we’ve made it clear so far that we are the bigger and better men and women and that we will strive to continue entertaning you for no other purpose than entertainment itself. No gain other than camaraderie.

While our content is migrating to a different hosting service, you may stumble upon some glitches and dead links. We keep finding broken stuff and are doing our best to rebuild. By the time we were hacked, I had 4 articles in the works, all lost. So instead of slaving away searching for the past reviews, I’m reposting my opinion on Freakshow #2 along with my review of issue #3. I’ll post a review on the trade paper back as soon as it hits the shelves. In the meantime, please enjoy:

FOR THE REVIEW OF FREAKSHOW #1 CLICK HERE

AlbinoDarkBeast Finally Reviews Freakshow #2!

It took long enough. So long, I almost forgot about it. But here it is, in my hands, the glorious second issue of Freakshow.
The first issue rekindled my love for graphic novels after Bendis broke my heart. It was a dark time, indeed, filled with uncertainty and disappointment. But amidst the chaos, Server et al delivered the best cheeseburger I’d had in years. Awesome art, a compelling story and an impeccable use of graphic resources, all rolled in one very satisfying work of art.
Expectations piled up high and fast. The first issue was amazing, with 49 glorious pages to drool on. And as the weeks passed my imagination ran wild. Oh, the awe-inspiring panels I would read! The intricate plots and the surprising twists!…
Facebook didn’t help, either. Deeper delving on Rot’s past was offered, gore beyond Chan-wook Park’s wet dreams was promised. The murderous geek in me tossed and turned.

Upon grabbing the second issue, though, it became evident that production issues got in the way of art. The second issue is a little lighter, with only 33 pages. The artwork is still awesome, but it may strike you at first as haphazard and rushed. After comparing it to the first issue, it’s evident that it lacks the postproduction editing that gave the first issue its great feel and depth. No more haze-enhanced perspective to convey retrospective.
The book picks up exactly where the first issue left, as our monsters lay beaten to a bloody heap of mutated tissue. Turns out Stronghold is not as smart as he thought he was, and Critter’s tenous grip on humanity threatened a lot of lives, as was predicted from the first issue.
What really bothers me, though, is that there’s still no confirmation on Rot’s part. I bet my friends it’s a girl, even though it’s referred as “he” in the first issue. I mean, it looks like he/she/it wears a mini-skirt and high boots, and has an unhealthy attachment to a damn scarf…. Girly….
Anyway, gender speculations aside, it IS still an awesome book. Any setbacks from the original standard of quality are minor, and only serve to increase anticipation for the final issue. I truly hope they deliver an awesome combo finisher for this one.
The art is consistent in style, with a dark, Aeon Flux-y feel to it, and a style reminiscent of 80’s epics. Every panel is highly detailed, with great colors and good dialogue balance to top it all. There’s an all-around great use of perspective, although the faces may seem a little distorted form time to time. Still, the amount of attention put to corpses makes it all worth it.
Buy it, please. I can even loan you the cash.

FREAKSHOW #3

By the All-Father’s wrinkled left nut! Freakshow #3 is finally in my hands! And it’s Freakin’ AUTOGRAPHED!!!

It is truly a very happy and very sad day today. I know, I raved before over the fact that this was a mini-series, and that the work Server, Lanzig and Suitor was simple and straight-forward, yet so elegantly deep, it transpired something special when you immersed yourself as much as I did in such a short story. Still, I didn’t want it to end.

But end it did, and it did not disappoint.

Throughout its (regrettably) torpid publication, Freakshow maintained a very uniform standard of quality. Exceptional art, a wonderfully executed ambiance and an immersive and compelling story that immediately engaged you with a cast as diverse as it was gruesome.

My one complaint is purely administrative. It’s a shame that such a great book had to be held back over financial or distribution issues. Inconsistent publication dates could seriously hurt Ape’s sales in the future. But as long as those problems only affect Richie Rich, I’m cool with it (seriously, guys, Richie Rich?!).

Anyway, Freakshow progressed at a steady pace from the first issue, increasing in violence and accelerating in cadence until it reached an epic final issue filled to the brim with huge panels of artfully detailed gore and, more importantly, a thick, juicy slab of perfectly cooked writing (please refer to my “cheeseburger analogy theory” in previous articles).
It’s hard to fill a whole page without revealing any major plot details, because the story is linear enough to leave no loose ends. There’s a major plot twist in the end, as there always should be, and it’s as exciting to read as it’s heartbreaking to full grasp.

I’ve been warned by Ape Entertainment that distribution issues will make the trade paperback available before the 3rd issue comes out in many locations. This is the perfect opportunity to fall for Server et al’s work from the first page. Buy it. Support them. Grow beyond your own preconceptions of what a comic book should be. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

AlbinoDarkBeast, AlbinoDarkBeast Reviews Freakshow #3 From The Bowels Of Hell

APES WILL RISE !

Yogikai — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 06:34:12 +0000

It’s barely been a day and my E-mail Inbox, Facebook and Twitter is buzzing! Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a hit! Cant wait to see it tomorrow.

At The Boom panel at SDCC I heard about the #Apeswillrise project BOOM Studios has created. A free Web comic is available at http://www.apescomics.com

Now in its sixth week this comic is a prequel to the events of the movie, as we meet Chimpanzee Bright Eyes and her journey from the jungle to the sterile lab where she is a test subject in a mysterious ab study. This is a wonderful comic. With new episodes being updated every Wednesday its a great compliment to the movie and some first rate comic book writing and art.

Also make sure to download the FREE I-phone app with a link to cool you tube clips, Ticket information and an addictive memory game to test your intelligence against a chimps! Be warned though don’t play on the “Ape” level unless you open to failure! A great app, i look forward to playing it a lot more.

So be sure to check out Rise and let me know your thoughts

Yogikai, APES WILL RISE !