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!
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.
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.
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.
Dark Red #2 hits your local comic shop on April 24th, but thanks to AfterShock Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you.
The 32-page book is written by Tim Seeley, with art by Corin Powell, colors by Mark Englert, and letters by Marshall Dillon. Aaron Campbell worked on the cover. Can we take a moment to talk about Campbell’s work on the covers? Each of the past three issues has been an iconic horror masterpiece that will keep me up at night. They are all different, yet bold and in your face. Campbell is the vampire Santa Claus delivering a new treat each month.
About the issue: A surprise, shocking dive into Chip’s past. During WW2, a small group of soldiers, pursued by Nazis, wanders into a dilapidated French hotel, and one man’s life is changed forever.
Check out the Dark Red #3 preview below:
Are you reading Dark Red? Comment below with your thoughts on the series!
Seeley does a great job at setting the tone of Dark Red right from the get-go. He takes us down the dark highway and into Nowhere, USA, with stereotypical characters that normally wouldn’t make it past the first few pages of a story. In the middle of it all is vampire protagonist Chip Ipswich, who doesn’t rip open the throat of a local drunk when confronted. Rather, he uses his power of persuasion to remain unassuming, to continue his humdrum existence in rural America. – via Michael Fromm’s review of Dark Red #1
The Spider-Man Free Comic Book Day Special is out this Saturday, May 4th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you. The issue will give readers their first look at Marvel’s upcoming big summer event, Absolute Carnage.
FCBD Spider-Man will feature a Peter Parker/Miles Morales story by Tom Taylor, Saladin Ahmed, and Cory Smith, while Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman will handle the prelude to Absolute Carnage.
About the issue:
Everyone knows Miles Morales, who rose to fame in Marvel’s acclaimed animated sensation Into The Spider-Verse – and with a second feature film arriving this year, Peter Parker will once again suit up to save the world with his web-slinging super powers! In a special FCBD story, creators Tom Taylor, Saladin Ahmed, and Cory Smith take these superstar heroes of the Spider-Verse in a shocking new direction, with a story that will build to one of Marvel’s most fantastic and epic tales later this year!
And prepare for absolute terror within the pages of FCBD, as an original Venom story by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman sets the stage for what will become one of the most fearsome events in the Marvel Universe…
Nearly a year after the epic red-hot arc of the Red Goblin, Venom’s dynamic creative team is bringing you a story that’s been brewing since classic Spider-Man tales like Amazing Spider-Man #252, The Spectacular Spider-Man #90, Marvel Team-Up #141 – a saga so big and so absolutely action-packed, it will deliver the most dramatic story in all of FCBD history! Fans will be well aware by the summer of 2019 that “everyone is a target”…and the 1st Saturday in May, Marvel invites you to experience the threat for yourself!
Cates and Stegman have been building up to this event since they launched their critically-acclaimed Venom run last year. The event was officially revealed at C2E2 back in March; you can watch the announcement below.
As Cates says, Absolute Carnage is about to “blow the entire Marvel U apart.” No character who has ever worn a symbiote is safe, and in 2019, that’s just about every character. It all starts this Saturday in the pages of Spider-Man on Free Comic Book Day.
Tom Taylor and Saladin Ahmed, meanwhile, have been writing the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Miles Morales: Spider-Man, respectively, both of which have been consistently stellar and fun to read. So having the two writers come together for a Peter/Miles team-up story is reason enough to pick up the comic, symbiote madness aside.
Check out the full FCBD SPIDER-MAN preview here:
Have you been reading Venom? How excited are you for Absolute Carnage? Let us know in the comments!
STRANGER THINGS: SIX #1 hits your local comic book store on May 29, but Monkeys Fighting Robots received an early review copy, thanks to Dark Horse Comics.
The book is written by Jody Houser, with art by Edgar Salazar, inks by Keith Champagne, colors by Triona Farrell, and letter work by Nate Piekos. Several cover artists worked on the first issue as well: Aleksi Briclot, David Mack, Kyle Lambert, and Patrick Satterfield crafted the photo variant.
The four-issue mini-series is a prequel to Netflix’s Stranger Things and centers around a teenage girl with precognitive abilities. Francine has struggled through a lifetime of exploitation only to end up the pawn of a government agency (led by Dr. Brenner) that wants to harness her powers for its own ends.
Houser writes a brisk first issue that gives you an overview of the main character and hints towards the future of the story arc. Houser connects you with Francine with little words, and once you are holding hands with the main character, she makes you feel vulnerable and scared as well. By the end of the issue, you and Francine see the world through one lens. Houser’s ability to envelope the reader in the story so quickly is unique.
Salazar’s art takes emotional hard cuts from panel to panel. Without even reading the dialogue, you know precisely what Francine is feeling. The emotional ride that Salazar takes you on is gut-wrenching as you see Francine’s innocence ripped away from her with each page turn. When you add in Champagne’s light ink work, there is a fragileness to the world Francine inhabits. Farrell’s colors are also muted and subdued. There’s a depression to the color arrangement that feeds off the story and artwork. Piekos’ sound effects stand out just enough to carry weight but not distract. The creative team understands character-driven narrative, and everyone is doing his or part to tell a fantastic introductory issue.
If you are a Stranger Things nerd, this is a must-read. If you want to be a comic book artist or writer, this is a how-to guide for storytelling. STRANGER THINGS: SIX #1 is all the best parts of what make comic books great.
The Year of the Villain looms over the DC Universe.
If DC had to show off their best characters, more often than not it would be its villains. Characters like Lex Luthor and Joker have made a name for themselves, not just in comics, but in pop culture as a whole. The villains of DC comics always leave a lasting impression which is why the events in this coming year will focus on them. Along with the Leviathan rising arc in Action Comics, Scott Snyder’s Justice League has been setting up a cosmic level threat with the Legion of Doom. What could be coming in the Year of the Villain?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
Amanda Waller rushes to see the President to warm him about Lex Luthor but is shocked to find him missing. Instead, his desk is occupied by the bald billionaire villain himself and the rest of the Legion of Doom. They attack her then fall back. This turns out to be a master plan of Lex’s as he plans to invite all the villains of the world under one banner. This is all for a much larger plan made by Perpetua, mother of the Multiverse, who seeks a war between Justice and Doom. Meanwhile, in Seattle, Green Arrow and Batgirl begin to search for clues about the terrorist group Leviathan.
This story promises a big year for DC. With such an iconic villain roster, it makes sense for DC to unite them with the Legion fully returning. The thing that makes it better, however, is the promised war between the League and The Legion. Perpetua knows this war will shift the multiverse into chaos as intended. Just the tease about the number of characters entering this war brings a smile to this reviewer’s face. Mix in the fantastic characters of Lex and Brainiac essentially spearheading most of the issue and we have a great intro to the Year of the Villain.
Art:
With issues like this, the artwork needs to go above and beyond. Thankfully the team does just that. Each page is breathtaking with every villain looking more intimidating than the last. The best pages, however, are the twin rosters of the coming battle. Lex’s Legion scream villain while the Justice League gives a warm reminder of the famous cartoon in the early 2000s. If the teams for this comic do their magic for the events to come, it’ll be one great looking year.
Conclusion:
It’s a great time to be a villain, and this comic is proof of it. For an almost free tease for the upcoming events, it feels like we’re stealing from DC. The quality of this comic is terrific in both art and story. This issue screams hype for the coming year, and I can’t wait to read these events.
Valiant Entertainment’s FALLEN WORLD #1 hits your local comic book store today; the five-issue mini-series is written by Dan Abnett with art by Adam Pollina.
FALLEN WORLD is a pleasant surprise, as Abnett builds a world on par with Game of Thrones, and Pollina’s artwork pulls out every ounce of emotion from the 22-page book. Ulises Arreola’s colors add depth and texture to each panel, and the blood red seems grittier than usual. Jeff Powell’s letters keep Abnett’s grand narrative organized and easy to follow. FALLEN WORLD #1 is a complete book that deserves your attention.
About the series: In the year 4002, a cyborg samurai named Rai struggles to find his morality, while the Nanite-filled supersoldier Bloodshot is on a mission to save the citizens of Earth. Will they work together for the greater good? All signs point to no. Oh, and did we mention there are also dinosaurs on the loose and powerful animal-human hybrid mutants? Good luck with that, Rai.
If this is your first time reading a Valiant book or this is your favorite publisher, Abnett quickly introduces all the main characters. Rai, Bloodshot, and The Eternal Warrior are explained as the story unfolds and you don’t feel like any information is left out. The pacing of the issue and how characters are handled is what makes FALLEN WORLD feel like an episode of Game of Thrones. Abnett’s pace is rapid, introducing different elements of the story, ending on a high note, and then moving on to the next story element. Abnett told us earlier in the week he uses a ridged outline for storytelling and you can tell. Each sub-chapter of the issue is very focused and progresses the story to the cliffhanger at the final two pages of the book.
The combination of Pollina’s art and Arreola’s colors are disturbingly perfect. The close-ups of Bloodshot and the veins popping out of his neck are elements that build terror in the issue. Then to jump to the bright colors of Rai and his world gives the book balance. All the colors and texture build up to the final two pages where the art of storytelling in comics explodes off the page. As the cinematic lens of Pollina’s work pans back and forth to each character, the detail and camera angle used in each panel is brilliant.
At the end of the issue, you want to continue to read the story. FALLEN WORLD #1 lands on a perfect note to hook you as the reader. Run to your comic book store and pick up this issue today.
Team-ups involving numerous members of the Batman rogue’s gallery often produce interesting results. While we’ve known Bane to be in charge of Arkham Asylum for quite some time now, Batman #70 demonstrates the true level of control he has within the facility.
The issue sees Bruce finally break free of the nightmare-invoking machine. Once he achieves that, he must fight his way through an endurance round of villains to escape the Asylum.
The Writing
King begins Batman #70 with the opening lines of Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. He invokes Batman’s wrath, which the Caped Crusader promptly serves up for the inmates of Arkham.
Throughout the first half, Bruce runs the gauntlet of villains, tearing into Bane for his weak plan to break him. “Is this your marvelous plan, Bane?” Bruce taunts. “After all these years of me humiliating you? Of me exposing you as a soft, feeble-minded lamb? Of me, time and again, breaking you? You answer…with bad dreams!” Of course, the reader is aware there is much more to Bane’s plan still waiting to be revealed, serving to keep up the tension even after the final page of Batman #70.
While Batman does have rage driving him forward, it can feel a little dismissive at times to see him cut through these characters so easily. Foes like The Riddler, Man-Bat, and Hush might not be able to stop Batman on their own, but still he crushes them like minor annoyances, rather than dangerous criminals. It can be rationalized given Bruce’s anger, though, so it’s a minor complaint.
Batman #70 advances the story well, setting us up for a much bigger showdown to come. It’s a game of cat-and-mouse between Bruce and Bane, in which both believe the other is the mouse.
The Artwork
Mikel Janin nails it in Batman #70. The artist provides us with a moody, stylish, and dynamic vision, while also remaining incredibly cohesive.
Without offering spoilers, there’s a sequence halfway through the book where the artwork shines, in which Batman meets Scarecrow. Janin perfectly ratchets up the tension in the sequence, leading to a fantastic payoff. It’s a great demonstration of the power of visual storytelling when executed well.
Of course, the stunning visuals in Batman #70 owe a debt to colorist Jordie Bellaire as well. She bathes certain scenes in unearthly monochromes, while others while others feel grimly realistic. There’s a lot of contrast in styles, but it all pulls together for an excellent final product.
Final Thoughts
Batman #70 is a great chapter in King’s ongoing run. While there’s no big showdown, it does promise that the long-running storyline is on-track and building momentum.
