Review: MISKATONIC HIGH #2 is Scooby Doo Versus Lovecraftian Horrors

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Miskatonic High is a new, independently published, teen horror comic series by Mike Shea and Ryan Mendoza. For the uninitiated, the title is inspired by a fictional university (named after a fictional river) that frequently appears in the pieces of literature that make up H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

In the first issue, Shea and Mendoza introduce readers to a small group of mismatched teens who attend the prestigious private school Miskatonic High. Members of the school’s community service club, the group takes a field trip to help clean an elderly woman’s basement. Shortly thereafter, they find themselves transported to ancient Egypt, where an evil sorcerer is attempting to unleash tentacled demons upon the world.

In this second issue of Miskatonic High, the group once again find themselves confronting a supernatural horror. Furthermore, a deep connection is made between one of the students and the terrors lurking beneath the surface.

** Some Spoilers Below **

Story

For Sarah Clarke, life at the affluent Miskatonic High had never been easy, being a poor, rural outcast. But when her friends come to help her on the family apple orchard, secrets better left unknown will be unearthed and she and her classmates will experience a terror in the dark.

It is apparent that writer Mike Shea was inspired by the hijinks of another group of supernatural mystery solvers when crafting Miskatonic High. The two published issues are episodic, with the stories more-or-less wrapped up by the final page. What Shea has done well thus far is slowly build upon the connection the group has with these Lovecraftian horrors coming to life, and the protectoral part that they will inevitably have to play. The most intriguing character is without a doubt Sarah, who is the social outcast among these misfits, and has a surprising link to the mole monsters the group encounters in the second issue.

Though the story draws inspiration from Lovecraft’s literary universe, that world’s air of dread and despair cannot be found in Miskatonic High. Instead, Shea opts for a fun and lighthearted tale. The characters are very upbeat, and deal with each situation with snark and a tongue-in-cheek attitude. Readers won’t be bogged down with too much exposition. Rather, you’ll be experiencing the scares and revelations alongside the “Mystery Incorporated” gang for the first time.

Art

Ryan Mendoza does a great job in balancing the light and darker aspects of Miskatonic High. His colors are slightly toned down, and he uses a muted golden overlay to light each panel with an otherworldly glow, as if something off-kilter is looming. He also makes great use of shadows to amplify the tension and potential terrors hiding around a corner.

Mendoza’s character designs are animated and expressive. He cuts into the tension created by the coloring with a style reminiscent of the wholesome, vintage Hanna-Barbera animation found in Scooby Doo and Super Friends.

Conclusion

Miskatonic High is a satisfying balance fun and frights, with snarky, nonplussed characters and exceptionally designed monsters. It’s for anyone who is a fan of Scooby Doo, and even modern incarnations of Archie and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Come for the Lovecraftian horrors, stay for the fun characters and the dangerous mysteries to be solved.

The first issue of Miskatonic High is currently for sale on their official website. You can also support their already successful Kickstarter to get your hands on copies of the first two issues, as well as some other goodies.

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Review: Metal To The Extreme In The Finale Of MURDER FALCON

By

Darryll Robson

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After eight months of metal infused demon fighting, Murder Falcon from the Skybound imprint of Image Comics comes to a stage shattering end. Music and mayhem pack the pages with excitement but all good things must come to an end.

“It hurts to set you free

But you’ll never follow me

The end of laughter and soft lies

The end of nights we tried to die

This is the end”

The End by The Doors

With adrenaline pumping and a world breaking fight on their hands, it’s difficult to imagine the members of Brooticus before they were heroes of the Earth. Their journey has been a long and difficult one and it has all been leading to this moment.

page art — Murder Falcon #8 Credit: Image Comics

Daniel Warren Johnson opens the final issue of Murder Falcon with a scene worthy of the best war movie, or possibly a Godzilla flick. The scale of the battle is illustrated on the second and third page by a momentous double page spread made even more impressive by the lack of dialogue and sound effect. This moment is just too big for words.

The scale of the battle is constantly referenced throughout making this a spectacular final issue. The pages of the comic are almost too small to hold the action and Johnson’s world shattering story. On a large number of the pages, the images simply bleed to the edge encompassing the reader in the vastness of the situation. Johnson tries at every stage to include the reader in the action, like a rock band encourages their audiences to sing along and dance. He wants this fight to be your fight as much as it is Brooticus’.

This engagement is important for the story because Johnson needs the reader to be emotionally committed to the characters. He has proven month after month that he can tug at the heart strings of his readers while surrounding them with the most outlandish of situations. This final issue is no different. As the reader becomes embroiled in the larger than life action, the type of End of the World battle that makes audiences shout out in support as seen in a number of the Marvel superhero movies, Johnson is laying the ground work for the emotional ending. And it is an outstanding piece of storytelling.

In such a short period, an eight issue run is not that long for a comic series, Johnson has made his characters so real and sympathetic that the fans are invested in band members. As such the final issue of Murder Falcon will make you physically gasp, shout out and cry.

interior art — Murder Falcon #8 Credit: Image Comics

The art work follows the tone of the story from page to page. The layouts are chaotic during the battle sequences but the panels become precise and contained for the emotional parts. It is the complex layouts that give the comic it’s clever pacing, pulling the reader along at such a speed that they are not ready for the emotional gut punches to come.

Mike Spicer follows Johnson’s lead by making the fight sequences full of vibrant colors. The lack of actual sound is replaced by the impression of music in the way that the color interacts with the surroundings. The backgrounds fluctuate and the panel boarders vibrate. Russ Wooton’s lettering weaves it’s way on and under the action, becoming one with the artwork. Even the speech balloons help with the storytelling, whether it’s using a tail to separate a character from a crowd or a small balloon lost in an oppressive image to emphasis a moment.

Murder Falcon has been a fresh and exciting comic from the moment the first issue hit the shelves. Johnson hasn’t held back and allowed his love of metal music to fuel his crazy story. But at every single step the characters have been the important aspect of his story: difficult to believe with a quick flick through but Jakes journey has been emotional and relatable. His fight against a natural disease over shadows all of the outlandish demons and mythical metal paraphernalia.

Murder Falcon has been about Jake facing up to the most difficult parts of his life. And the reader has been there every step of the way which is why this final issue is so spectacular and emotional.

Johnson and his team have created something exciting and different from anything else being released by the main comic publishers. The combination of music and mayhem gives this comic it’s edge but the heart is where the story is. Murder Falcon brought a tear to this reviewer’s eye and I expect that everyone who reads this comic will feel exactly the same.

Bravo, Murder Falcon, Bravo.

Now all that’s left are the cries for an encore!

cover art — Murder Falcon #8 Credit: Image Comics

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Review: INVISIBLE KINGDOM #3 Delivers A Sci-Fi Adventure With Hidden Depths

By

Darryll Robson

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A crew on the run and a lesson in religion greet readers in the third issue of the new sci-fi epic Invisible Kingdom from Dark Horse Comics. Combining an intriguing story with fantastic art work, can the Invisible Kingdom team maintain the high standard they’ve set in previous issues?

Writing/Story

With fuel running low and scout ships from the Lux company searching for them, Grix has to risk everything piggybacking on a passing comet. The situation becomes even more complicated when they receive the message from Vess who appears to have discovered the same ‘truth’ about the Lux company.

With two central characters questioning their life choices, G. Willow Wilson is able to shine a light into the darkness. By having the corruption within the system discovered from each side, both aspects of this sci-fi world can be examined from within, for better or worse. The reader is able to see how Wilson’s world functions and, in turn, question the real world in the same way.

Wilson isn’t making any grand statements in the Invisible Kingdom, but she is clearly demonstrating how easy it is to see only what those in charge want you to see. The leader of the religious organisation is manipulative and bully’s Vess while the Corporation can quietly eliminate those who stand against it.

The story in this issue is about bringing the central characters together. The staging is very straight forward: two set up sequences, one for each character, followed by the inevitable meeting. In a number of respects this issue of Invisible Kingdom reads like a chapter from a Firefly story. Grix and her crew have a definite Serenity vibe about them. However, Wilson is able to give her characters their own voices and establishes their characters very successfully. Both Grix and Vess are on difficult journeys and this comes across during the action. The way they react to the situation that fate has put them in is very different but they ultimately want the same thing. Wilson clearly shows that the only way they can survive is by working together.

Art

The Invisible Kingdom offers Christian Ward the opportunity to draw outlandish space sequences and complex personal character moments; both of which he excels at. His style is bold and brash, especially with his chaotic colors splashing across the page, barely contained within the black panel boarders.

Ward chooses emotional representation rather than literal interpretation. In some panels the figures are merely shapes to represent their positions, with specific color patterns identifying which character is which. At other moments all other details fall away apart from the character in the foreground. This focuses the reader’s attention.

Ward isn’t afraid to create an alien landscape and this is achieved mostly through his colors. Standard bipeds are turned into alien creatures simply by the color choices Ward makes. This makes Invisible Kingdom stand out from the crowd. While others strive for a realism in their fantasy and science fiction, Ward and Wilson embrace the alien-ness of their world. It still contains echoes of the world around us but looks so different it becomes fascinating and intriguing.

Even Sal Cipriano adopts the out of this world approach when producing the lettering. The sound effects are rendered in a range of colors that pop from the page. In a number of cases they cross the panel boarders and the gutters, encroaching on the other panels around them.

It is interesting to note that for a comic with such a unique visual style, for the most part it is only the sound effects that break the conventions of the comic book structure. Most of the imagery is contained within the ridged format of the panels, boarders and gutter. In the world of the Invisible Kingdom it would appear that only sound has the power to break convention. The rigid structure is needed in this instance to contain Wards artwork. If the boarders were broken regularly the storytelling aspect of the comic would be lost. To compensate for this the sound effects have a life of their own, reminding the reader of two things: firstly that they are in fact reading a very structured comic and the implications of that; and secondly that the story is about breaking conventions in small, seemingly insignificant ways.

Conclusion

There are many layers in Wilson and Wade’s Invisible Kingdom. There is a space opera style story, which will be familiar to many fans of science fiction. The combination of religion and outlaws on the run forms the backbone of some of Sci-Fi’s greatest stories, just take a look at the Star Wars franchise and the exceptional manga series Akira.

To accompany this are the amazing visuals from Ward which dare to be something different to everything else on the self.

And underneath it all is a commentary on a range of topics such as the structure of society, the struggle against personal convictions, and even the formality of comic books themselves.

It is easy to compare Invisible Kingdom to other comics such as Saga or the Firefly series but this is very different to those series. Wilson and Wade are using their respective languages to create something different. It has a sublime beauty and a deeper meaning that stretches beyond simple entertainment. Each page is a work of Art: beautiful, engrossing and challenging.

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Review: A Satisfying Conclusion In ALIENS RESISTANCE #4

By

Darryll Robson

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The conclusion to Dark Horse Comics’ Aliens Resistance story line hits the shelves this week. It has merged the comic book world with the gaming world by uniting two central characters from each aspect of the franchise. Brian Wood’s reluctant hero Zula Hendricks has battled beside Amanda Ripley, the desperate heroine from the Alien Isolation video game.

What fate is in store for these two women and can Wood finally bring some Xenomorphs into his story?

Writing/Story

Trapped on the classified moon as the day ebbs away, Amanda and Zula have to protect each other, keep the young Alec alive and reach the extraction point while an army of Aliens close on their position.

It is all out action as Brian Wood finally gives the reader an alien threat worthy of the franchise. The character development comes via the reaction to the desperate situation and Wood uses the fight for survival to highlight the best qualities of both Amanda and Zola.

Over the course of this series Wood has broken the characters down for the reader, showing off their different qualities. In this, final, issue of Aliens Resistance Wood brings all of that previous work together to show the reader exactly who these women are. By the end you are rooting for them 100%.

This story hasn’t been about the xenomorphs, not directly. Their absence has been obvious at times, leaving the comic with an alien sized hole it just couldn’t fill. However, this final issue brings the series to a close wonderfully. It focuses on the characters and compares the survival instinct against the need for vengeance. Like most of the best Alien stories, Aliens Resistance is about the human factor.

Aliens Cover — Aliens Resistance #4 Credit: Dark Horse Comics

Art

As the action picks up so does the dynamism of the art work. Whereas some of the earlier issues have been a little static, this is not true here. Robert Carey creates engaging compositions for the panels. Combined with an ever changing layout, the pace is much faster than previous issues and the reader skips from page to page until one moment where the script and the art slows the momentum down.

Carey creates an impressive sense of space. The vastness of actual space and the isolation felt by the cast is depicted in a number of different ways, shifting from large, non-descript backdrops to imposing dark foregrounds. Even during the quitter moments of the plot, the human characters are over shadowed by the scale of the location.

The color work plays a great part in this. Dan Jackson employs the use of light to change the mood within a panel. For some of the obvious, informative, pages the colors are crisp and bright allowing the information to be relayed. Other scenes, however, are color washes playing on emotion rather than exposition. It is during these scenes where the reader truly connects with the characters. The horror of the chest-busters is visual but hard to identify with but the loneliness and isolation of the characters is something that the reader can empathise with. Jackson captures the isolation of the characters succinctly with a single color wash over the heavy black inks.

The lettering is just as succinct. There is a clear definition between the speech balloons, especially when the characters on the moon are speaking to Davis on the orbiting spacecraft. A simple break in the boarder of the speech balloons, which is carried over to the caption boxes on certain pages, make the conversations easy to follow.

Nate Piekos has also expertly positioned the speech within the pages to lead the reader from top to bottom. This makes it pleasurable to read, especially in the conversation heavy middle sequence. Despite the pace of the comic slowing considerable at one point Piekos keeps the reader’s attention by breaking the speech up into less overwhelming, bite sized chunks.

Alternative Aliens cover — Aliens Resistance #4 Credit: Dark Horse Comics

Conclusion

As a series, Aliens Resistance has had its highs and lows. The lack of actual xenomorphs throughout the four issues has been frustrating, especially as nothing has really replaced them to create the kind of tension you would expect from an Aliens comic. However, the ending is very satisfying as Wood brings everything he has set up with the characters to a head. This issue, even with the Alien threat ramped up, proves that Wood was only concerned with characters and not interested in writing an action comic.

Out of the four issues of Aliens Resistance, this final one is the most successful. The plot, the characters and the art have all finally come together as a whole making for a satisfying and enjoyable read.

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Review: EXCELLENCE #1 Lives Up to Its Title

By

David DeCorte

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What if there is a secret collective of magic users who intervene in peoples’ day-to-day lives, providing a “shield” to those considered worthy? This is the conceit of Excellence #1, the new title from Image Comics.

Spencer Dales is born into a powerful family within a magical society called the Aegis. Their purpose is to use magic to better the lives of those with greater potential. That becomes a problem, though, as Spencer ages and his powers fail to manifest, straining relations with his family and causing an anger within him to grow.

The Writing

The core of Excellence #1 is the relationship between our protagonist and his father. It’s a classic formula; we see their relationship sour and take a tense, more adversarial dynamic as Spencer grows older. You feel for Spencer as he suffers through his father’s rejection. At the same time, you want to see the two reconciled, even as the distance between them grows.

Excellence #1 falls squarely within urban fantasy, and the worldbuilding on display is one of the book’s strong suits. We don’t know a lot about this world by the first issue’s end, but writer Brandon Thomas allows us to peak behind the curtain, offering us just enough to follow. What we see is the foundation of a very interesting world, making readers look forward to see it further developed.

There’s a clash developing between Spencer’s idealism and his father’s reverence for tradition and legacy by the book’s end. This sets up the main conflict of the series, reflecting the divergent worldviews that will guide them in future issues. As the story progresses, this rift will likely widen, especially if the imagery presented on the book’s final page is any indicator.

From the first page of Excellence #1, Thomas lays out the four key rules of this world. Thus, one can assume they will all be broken many times before the story’s complete.

The Artwork

Khary Randolph’s artwork is absolutely electric in Excellence #1.

The book’s aesthetic takes elements of Afrofuturism, anime, and other styles, grafting them into something all its own. Angles are sharp and crisp, giving the work a sleek, stylized vibe.

Beyond the design work, though, Randolph also does an excellent job laying out the page. His illustrations carry incredible energy as characters move with poise and grace, dancing from one panel to the next. The book has a solid flow to it, drawing the reader’s eye easily from panel to panel.

Emilio Lopez’s color work plays a big part in bringing the work to life as well. Colors are extremely vibrant, yet there is plenty of contrast and fine detail in the shadows. He uses color as an accent, matching the emotional pitch of each scene.

Final Thoughts

Excellence #1 is a strong start for the new series. Highly recommended for this week’s new picks.

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Review: Get Spooky With RED SONJA AND VAMPIRELLA MEET BETTY AND VERONICA #1

By

David DeCorte

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Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #1 feels simultaneously like a strange mashup, and a no-brainer.

The characters seem to have little crossover appeal at first glance. However, the book draws on the recent popularity of Archie-verse titles on the Archie Horror imprint like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Afterlife with Archie. Add to that other recent pairings like Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica, and it starts to make more sense.

The Writing

With Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #1, we see Sonja and Vampirella go undercover as new transfer students trying to fit in at Riverdale High. Meanwhile, the pair works alongside Betty and Veronica to crack a series of murders with supernatural overtones.

We’re told from the beginning that Vampirella’s old foes, the Cult of Chaos, are behind the killings. The mystery takes a backseat, though, to your standard “fish out of water in high school” story. Amy Chu’s writing is tongue-in-cheek, as one would expect with a story like this. Sonja is the self-serious stoic, while Vampirella is much more willing to play along with the high school dynamics.

On one hand, dialogue and interactions can feel stiff and uninspired at points. It also seems odd to see Sonja cast-off her “too cool for school” posture after developing an interest in football. Overall, though, Sonja and Vampirella have fun chemistry with one another and with Betty and Veronica. This constitutes the main appeal of Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #1.

It’s a fun story that strikes a balance between supernatural detective story and high school slice-of-life. Chu manages to balance these two aspects well to be funny, without slipping too much into farce.

Readers can expect to see more of the horror element develop as the story progresses and introduces the Cult of Chaos in a more significant role. For now, though, this is a respectable introduction for a novel crossover.

The Artwork

Maria Sanapo provides solid artwork for Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #1. Panels tend to be tightly-focused on our characters, meaning there is little in terms of background and setting. However, the lines flow smoothly from one panel to the next, and her character designs feel fairly animated.

One point that does fall a bit flat is in the expressions. There are points at which characters’ features feel lifeless, or strike the wrong tone for the moment. Though it’s not a consistent issue, certain panels can lack the intended impact due to mismatched expressions.

Vinicius Andrade provides heavy, shadowy tones for the first half of Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #1. It’s a suitable choice, underscoring the more sinister tone of the larger story.

Final Thoughts

Readers will come away from Red Sonja and Vampirella Meet Betty and Veronica #1 getting exactly what they expect based on the title. If it sounds fun, then you’ll enjoy it.

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DC Comics Exclusive Preview: SUPERGIRL #30

By

Anthony Composto - EIC

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May 5, 2019

Supergirl #30 is out in comic shops on May 8th, but thanks to DC Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive five-page preview for you.

The book is by Marc Andreyko and Kevin Maguire, with inks by Sean Parsons, colors by Chris Sotomayor, and letters by Tom Napolitano. Jesus Merino and FCO Plascencia crafted the main cover, while Amanda Conner and Paul Mounts did the variant.

About the issue:
If you want to do something right, do it yourself—the crystalline Lord Gandelo is tired of sending others to kill Supergirl and has arrived to destroy the Girl of Steel herself! It’s an all-out fight as crystal battles steel—and Supergirl must choose between avenging Krypton and sparing a wicked life.

In the wake of Brian Michael Bendis’ Man of Steel, Kara Zor-El has been on a quest to find out what really happened to Krypton.

Kevin Maguire’s signature facial expressions are on full display in this preview. His art, with Parsons’ inks, Sotomayor’s colors, and Napolitano’s letters, creates a fun, old-school action vibe, while the faces and hand gestures add the emotional weight.

Check out the full SUPERGIRL #30 preview here:

Are you reading Supergirl? Comment below with your thoughts on the series!

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INTERVIEW: Sherri Chung And Blake Neely Cross The Red Line For CBS

By

Ruben Diaz

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May 4, 2019

The Red Line is a new drama premiering on CBS and CBS All Access that follows the lives of three disparate families in Chicago whose lives are disrupted by a tragedy in their communities and to make sure every last tear is jerked out of your eye-holes are composers Sherri Chung and Blake Neely.

The “L” system is Chicago’s mass-transit system that, in any other organism might be considered a major artery. The Red Line’s derives its name from this system and instantly establishes an essential theme of this show — heart. It’s a show where the different points and counter-points of our society intersect, and it pulls no punches. In other words, bring the tissues.

PopAxiom talked with Sherri Chung and Blake Neely about prolific producer Greg Berlanti, music fatigue, and making The Red Line.

Berlanti And Friends

The Red Line tackles some of the most hot-button issues of the day, a bold move by CBS. Neely says “Greg Berlanti is the bravest producers I know and with Ava DuVernay, [they] put together this tough material and said ‘we have to make this.’”

Blake adds “From the first minute it grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go for eight episodes.”

Sherri first worked with Blake on Supergirl and later the pair worked on Riverdale and Blindspot. About The Red Line, Sherri says “It’s such great writing and such an important story.”

What was it like watching scenes “dry” “Watching it without the music was heartbreaking … it was riveting.”

However, music pays the bills for Sherri and Blake, so their job was to take riveting to a new level “[Producer] Caitlin … said to us ‘You guys are just mean.’” Blake explains “We’re taking a scene that’s already heartbreaking and just a little bit of the right music makes it so painful to watch.”

You did your job, right? Sherri joyfully replies “Exactly!”

Hopping On The Red Line

Sherri and Blake’s relationship got them aboard The Red Line “We came into this a little bit late, and they had already filmed episode one and two.”

Sherri adds “Both of us were jumping with ideas.”

Blake explains the outside-the-box challenge that the duo presented themselves “But the first thing we said is to try to do the show without standard instrumentation. No strings.”

Sherri backs that up “No strings.”

No Strings?

Sherri and Blake loved the idea of “no strings,” but the next challenge was “… how do we represent these three voices from Chicago? And so we experimented by using voices in place of what strings would normally do.”

Sherri continues our tour through their process “The producers wanted a sound that matched Chicago. But how do you make something sound like Chicago? And how do you mesh these sounds together so that each sounds like they’re from their place in Chicago.”

The creators of The Red Line Caitlin Parrish and Erica Weiss are from Chicago, and Blake explains “… they started giving us adjectives about Chicago … tribal, dark, cold, diverse.”

In the end, with voices in place of strings and much more, Sherri tells us about the show with zero spoilers “The three storylines converge, and we wanted the instrumentation to do the same.”

Reality

How does a composer explain music without having made any for a show? Blake stares a story about that “I was in a meeting in a writers’ room once and they asked ‘What’s the music going to sound like?’ And I said ‘You want me to sing it for you?’”

Sherri and Blake shift from project to project and genre to genre with ease and so, what’s it like going from fictional cities to real ones? “This is a show that’s not hyper-reality. We don’t have to make it feel like the superhero is flying. It’s present day, and in a way more subtle, There was an effort to not overwrite things.”

Blake agrees “It’s so different from what we do on the hyper-reality shows.”

Quantity AND Quality

Another notable difference about The Red Line is that it’s a short-run series with only eight episodes. Because of the compact season as compared to a typical network run of 22-episode Sherri says “Every episode packs a wallop.”

The Red Line will be on CBS every Sunday and CBS All Access from then until the end of time, presumably. In this golden age of content creation, is there a loss in quality. Blake doesn’t think so “You’re going to watch Avengers on the same platform as The Red Line as this other show and this other movie and so the quality of things has to be just as good.”

Blake talks a little more about the industry then versus now “Gone are the days of writing for television versus video games versus movies.”

The shift in the amount of content and the speed at which it comes out lead to “Music fatigue,” according to Blake.

Another reason quality is dramatically better today? “Back in the day you had a week between episodes and so reusing music was a little more common. Today, people are watching every episode back to back.��

Content Is King

Is there too much work? Well, yes, but that’s not a bad thing. Blake says “Personally, I have too much work. I aligned myself with Greg 17 years ago, and he became the most prolific TV producers in history. He keeps making shows, and I keep saying I’ll join. And now Sherri’s swallowed that pill and has too much work.”

Sherri shares her thoughts on the copious amounts of content today “It’s kind of the beauty of the industry. There’s so much content being made, and so once you get a good track record there’s a lot of work to be done, and people want you.”

Not only is there more work, but Sherri says “I also think because there’s so much content that everyone’s trying things that are new and different and so they want something new and different in the sonic approach.”

Blake affirms “It’s such a rich landscape of content right now.”

Outside Of Music

What moves the composers outside of music?

Blake answers “I’m inspired by what connects us as human beings. It’s so deep and complex. So when I’m writing for myself, it’s got some sort of human story to it. But I’m inspired by artwork … or a really cool LEGO build.”

Sherri’s response “I’m inspired by new stories but also not being in front of a piano or a computer. And it’s not to say that music isn’t being created but just being away from that.”

Thanks to Sherri, Blake, and Impact24 PR for making this interview possible.

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Review: SPAWN #296 – Todd McFarlane Takes Us Down Memory Lane

By

Matthew Sardo

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Spawn #296 hits your local comic book store this week, and Todd McFarlane takes the reader down memory as the series approaches its 300th issue.

McFarlane wrote the script, with plotting help from Jon Goff. Jason Shawn Alexander delivered some amazing art, the letters are by Tom Orzechowski, and Fco Plascencia & Greg Menzie worked on the color palette for issue 296.

ABOUT THE ISSUE:
“THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF AL SIMMONS,” Part One The road to SPAWN’s record-setting 300th issue BEGINS HERE!!! Witness the secrets of Al Simmons’ past, present, and future!!! Every hero! Every villain! Revisit Spawn’s legend in an epic, wide-screen story from critically acclaimed illustrator, JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER, and legendary creator, TODD McFARLANE!
###

With McFarlane working on the Spawn movie reboot, this march to the 300th issue has piqued my interest. I have no clue what the character has been up to since about issue 50, and there have been a handful of recons and reboots to the comic series, so who knows what’s in store once you flip the first page of 296. To my surprise, the book is set up for a brand new reader or a person who hasn’t read the book for the past 245 issues. There’s a nice recap on the inside cover that sets up the story. Then the issue itself is the equivalent to a greatest hits album, with the bonus of a timeline index on the last two pages so you can go back and read older issues. Goff and McFarlane make it so easy for you to understand Spawn’s complete complicated history in 20 pages. They do all this and give the reader an intriguing end point where I wanted to read more.

SIDEBAR – It will be interesting to see how much of the script from this book will be used in the film as it quickly establishes who and what Spawn is.

Alexander’s art on this issue is like a Bill Sienkiewicz / McFarlane mashup! Each page is an iconic moment from Spawn’s history and Alexander blows it out of the water. The blood, sweat, anger, and rage rips through the issue. His art is very raw and punk rock. My favorite page from the book is the one above this paragraph. We’ve seen this pose from Spawn a million times, but the raw inks still get under your skin. The image is perfect and warped at the same time. Plascencia and Menzie deliver perfect colors on this page with the rich black that sucks all life out of it. The iconic cape is alive and flowing, ready to choke the life out anyone that crosses its path (including Al).

Overall, Spawn #296 got me hyped for the story arc and reminded me why I loved the series as a kid.

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Episode 167: Todd McFarlane’s SPAWN #296 Vs. Jason Aaron’s WAR OF REALM #3

By

Matthew Sardo

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Many excellent books came out this week, but what was the book which moved the needle? Matt Sardo reflects on WAR OF REALMS #3, FALLEN WORLD #1, DCEASED #1, STRANGER THINGS: SIX #1, AND SPAWN #296.

Listen to the podcast below:

About the Monkeys Fighting Robots Podcast

Never heard of Matt Sardo?
For starters, he made the Kessel Run in less than 11 parsecs. Prior to that, he gave Doc Brown the idea for the flux capacitor and led the Resistance to victory over SkyNet – all while sipping a finely crafted IPA. As a radio host, he’s interviewed celebrities, athletes and everyone in between. He’s covered everything from the Super Bowl to Comic-Con.

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Monkeys Fighting Robots – An inside look at the world of comic books and the evolution of the industry.

POPAXIOM – Film and TV commentary with a focus on your favorite streaming service. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.

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