The following is an interview with writer Monty Nero (Vertigo Cyan, The Amazing X-Men Annual #1) regarding the collection of his hit comic book series, Death Sentence, which is being released by Titan Books in comic book shops on June 25. In this interview, Fanboy Comics Managing Editor Barbra Dillon chats with Nero about his initial inspiration for the series that turns the superhero genre on its head, his collaboration with artist Mike Dowling, and the comparisons between his experiences as both a writer and an artist!
Meet the Patels is a funny and insightful film about the search for true love, but it’s not a romantic comedy. Rather, it’s a film about family and cultural traditions. It’s also a documentary, which makes the characters and situations that much more engaging, knowing that it’s a real story, about real people, not just a warped Hollywood depiction of clichés and stereotypes.
Man from Reno is a complex crime thriller, full of twists, surprises, mistaken identities, and more. At times, it’s a little too complex, making it difficult to keep track of exactly what’s going on from one twist to the next, but, nonetheless, it’s an intense and engaging film that most mystery/thriller fans will enjoy.
If you still haven’t seen Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, find a theater near you that’s still playing it and run there. If you’re like me and running isn’t your thing, you can always check it out when it releases on DVD/Blu-ray today.
Writer and artist Peter Bergting’s The Portent: Ashes is simple and elegant. It's like a dream where you only remember bits and pieces and maybe a few broad strokes, but it still fits together and is effective due to the overarching, ephemeral idea of the dream. Bergting’s first original graphic novel, Domovoi, was one of the first books I ever reviewed, and his artistic style and relaxed storytelling was unlike anything else I had read or seen, until now. At once lush and desolate, Bergting creates a world that is both familiar and completely unknown and then moves his characters through that world with a kind of violent beauty. Lin, a wood nymph who has been gone for a long time, wandering and searching for the one thing she believes will return meaning to her life, returns to the world she once knew, and, in a way, this is her story. The characters, at first glance, represent familiar fantasy tropes, such as the fearless heroine, the wise mentor, and the young warrior, but through Bergting's unique storytelling, he adds depth and dimension to these characters, layering them with a multitude of mysteries and a mythical history. Much of that history comes from shared experiences, but the way each of the characters responds to that experience is completely different, making for a rich, lived-in past. The past echoes loudly in Lin's ears, everyone whispering their disappointment, and she can feel the sense of failure and regret weighing down on her shoulders. The Portent: Ashes is steeped in the past, a past that haunts the present and swells with regret and irrevocable choices.
Picking up high in the sky, right where writer Fred Van Lente left off at the end of the first issue of Brain Boy: The Men from G.E.S.T.A.L.T., issue two continues telepath Matt Price’s psychic tussle with the shadowy organization known only as G.E.S.T.A.L.T. Frustrating for Price, but intriguing for us, the name is still all he really knows about this group, except that they are also quite powerful, and it turns out very well financed. We are introduced to a new form of psychic warfare, as Price finds himself physically trapped on an airplane, forcing him to astral project his consciousness in order to battle an onslaught of intangible enemies. That’s already almost too much information, so I’ll just leave it at that, though I will say that Van Lente’s description of the Astral Plane is hilarious. This issue has the same level of laughs as the previous one, and it is entertaining to see Price flex his psychic muscles beyond what we’ve seen and to find himself out of his comfort zone and even in a new outfit.
Eye of Newt is a new, four-issue miniseries from renowned fantasy illustrator Michael Hague, and it encapsulates all the wonderful elements you would hope to find in a classic fantasy tale. There are wizards and witches and dragons and magical baubles and talking animals, just to mention a few of the things to be found in this first issue. Newt is an imaginative, young wizard’s apprentice, and when he is not taking instruction from his powerful teacher, he is often daydreaming. As Newt approaches the trial that will determine how powerful of a wizard he will become, his master has a sense of foreboding about the young boy’s near future. Newt, on the other hand, is still just taking it all in, and though he has been taught much, one has the feeling that he still has much to learn.
The Strain hit the public consciousness around the time that news of the FX TV series and Guillermo del Toro’s involvement with the original property began being bandied about the interwebs. People who had never heard of horror comics began to anticipate the show’s release, but many were unclear exactly as to the particulars of the story. Publisher Dark Horse provides a sneak preview into the world of The Strain with a first-issue-for-a-dollar sale of the comic, and, if you’re like me, you’ll eagerly test the waters before committing to yet another TV show.
If you haven’t been following my regular reviews of the first four issues of Image Comics’ The Mercenary Sea by writer Kel Symons and artist Mathew Reynolds, this makes the fifth month in a row that I’m raving about a comic series that doesn’t involve a vampire slayer in some way. I won’t bore my fellow comic book sniffers by reiterating how The Mercenary Sea is one of the most original and atmospheric books on the shelves, or how Reynolds' bold and unique visuals can go toe to toe with nearly any other sequential art currently out there . . . No, I’ll just quietly inform you that The Mercenary Sea #5 continues the trend established by the issues that proceeded it by upping the stakes, pumping up the action, and being one of the best damn books on my pull list every month!
MINOR SPOILERS BELOW
Comic book publisher Top Cow will soon be releasing the eleventh issue of Aphrodite IX, written by Matt Hawkins and illustrated by Stjepan Šejić, and the publisher has been very generous to the Fanboy Comics staff. In light of the comic book's upcoming release on Wednesday, June 18th, we are now able to share a preview of Issue #11!