Innholdsfortegnelse for 25 i Comic Heroes

And a big hello to readers new and old. We’re back, with our first new issue since July 2014. Frankly, it’s a pleasure to be here. This magazine started life as a special issue of SFX magazine way back in 2010. It proved so popular that it immediately became a regular title in its own right. We ran for four years until, like Captain America, we were temporarily put on ice. But just like Cap it was merely a hiatus... We may have a new look but we’re very much the same magazine at heart. We love comics and we want to celebrate them in all their glory. In this issue alone we’ve got features on everything from All-New, All-Different Marvel to the Vertigo relaunch, James Bond and Grant Morrison’s…

There’s a grand tradition of comics running late, but few have been quite so tardy as Batman: Europa . Announced way back in 2004, it’s finally due out this November. Probably. Written by Brian Azzarello and Matteo Casali, with pencils from Jim Lee and Giuseppe Camuncoli, the limited run series finds the Dark Knight running out of time as he contracts a deadly virus. He has one unlikely hope: the Joker. Together the two archenemies go on a European road-trip to try to find a cure. There’s no word, as yet, on whether they’ll be stopping off at the Louvre or taking in some shows along the way. Getting Jim Lee back on a Bat-book is a pretty big deal – though there seems to be a…

It takes a lot to upstage Warren Ellis announcing a new comics project, but Thought Bubble, the Leeds-based convention that’s been quietly building up to become perhaps the most important UK comics event, managed it this year. Ellis was on stage with his artist collaborator, Tula Lotay, at the Image Expo in San Francisco in July to unveil their new horror title Heartless when it was mentioned that Tula – not-so-secret identity Lisa Wood – was also the founder and director of Thought Bubble, which takes place in West Yorkshire every November. “Everyone started cheering and applauding,” says Lisa. “It was a bit of a shock. I was like, how’s that happened?” INSTANT SUCCESS How indeed. Thought Bubble is now in its ninth year, and Lisa (she adopted her alter…

OCTOBER CHEWBACCA (MARVEL) Yep, another of the original Star Wars gang gets the Marvel miniseries treatment. Still, if it’s as good as the recent Lando book we’re not going to complain. Gerry Duggan writes and Phil Noto draws the five-issue run. Expect insights and that into your favourite furball. Available 14 October STEAM MAN (DARK HORSE) Giant steam-powered robots versus invading Martians, armies of killer albino apes and a crazed vampire in the Old West. Written by Mark Alan Miller and Joe R Lansdale, with art by Piotr Kowalski. Who doesn’t love a bit of steampunk Western? Available 21 October BATMAN AND ROBIN ETERNAL (DC) As you may have guessed from the title, this weekly is a sequel to Batman Eternal. It’s set to run for six months with Scott…

Back in our universe, Humanoids is issuing a beautiful 240-page hardcover collection of all five Freddy Lombard stories. Considering they were created and originally published in the 1980s, they have a curiously retro flavour in many respects – and, fair warning, modern readers may take issue with aspects of the portrayal of Africans in the second story, The Elephant Graveyard (dodgy even in 1984). In the afterword, Jean-Luc Fromental advocates the view that Chaland’s art is evolving backwards, so to speak, towards a purer ligne claire style like that of Hergé at his 1950s peak. But if you come to Freddy Lombard with fresh eyes, you can appreciate the fluidity of Chaland’s earlier, more cartoony art, which goes a long way to reconciling the two competing schools of bandes dessinées…

BORN FULHAM, LONDON HIGH IT GIRL, VIVACITY NOW ELSIE HARRIS MORE WWW.OFFICIAL JESSICAMARTIN.COM Comic Heroes: You’re perhaps best known for your acting. What drew you to creating comics? Jessica Martin: In my childhood, I was always a keen artist and, being a fan of classic black-and-white movies, my subject matter would invariably revolve around either recreating portraits of my favourite icons or creating fake film posters or stories featuring film stars of my own imagining. I excelled at art at school but English and Drama were the subjects I chose to study and then I followed my dream of becoming an actress. My epiphany came when I decided to take up drawing again as a hobby about four years ago. A book called The Creative License by Danny Gregory,…

It’s two years since Angela made her Marvel debut in Age of Ultron . Is she now more integrated into the Marvel Universe after discovering that she is Thor’s long-lost sister? She’s such an unusual character, I don’t know if she is fully integrated into the Marvel Universe, or even if I would want her to be. A great deal of her personality and journey hinges on her being an outsider, a wingless angel. It’s the larger-than-life elements – a god without worshippers, a pantheon or a realm – that [make her] more mythic than superheroic, which helps to embroider her into the Thor corners of the Marvel Universe. You’re now flying solo on Angela . Can we expect a significant change in direction?…

Ask a comics-savvy friend to name some of the best non-superhero comics of the last 25 years and, chances are, they’ll list Vertigo titles. DC’s adult-focused imprint is the home to the likes of Sandman, Preacher, Y: The Last Man and The Invisibles, to name just a few… The imprint has been a home for interesting and thought-provoking comics ever since it began back in 1993. It was a springboard for iconoclastic creators like Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Peter Milligan and Garth Ennis, but with the departure of its Executive Editor Karen Berger in 2013, it seemed to flounder. Even its long-running flagship title, Hellblazer, came to an end that year with its hero, John Constantine, absorbed into the more kid-friendly New 52. Now it’s time to turn that around…

From reinventing the Santa Claus myth for the 21st century in Klaus to taking charge of cult sci-fi/fantasy magazine Heavy Metal, the future is looking bright for Grant Morrison. The recently completed Multiversity – an ambitious journey through the many worlds that constitute DC’s multiverse – appeared to be the Glasgow auteur’s last word on mainstream superheroes, although he isn’t quite done with the likes of Wonder Woman, The Flash and Batman just yet. Admitting that he and his wife and manager Kristan Morrison have made “a particular effort to reach out to various publishers,” the 56-year-old is spreading his wings even further, following up 2013’s Happy and this year’s Nameless for Image and 2014’s Annihilator at Legendary with projects for independents such as Black Mask, Graphic India and Boom…

Archie Andrews soon became a fixture on the American newsstands, his food-obsessed best friend Jughead and permanent love-triangle with would-be girlfriends Veronica and Betty keeping generations of comic fans entertained. However, by the 21st century, Archie was something of an anachronism, his stories a throwback to a 1960s heyday, buoyed by the nostalgia of his readers. That is until 2010, when Life With Archie began chronicling the life of a grown-up Archie Andrews and introduced Riverdale’s first gay character, Kevin Keller. Four years later, the series came to an unexpected end, the adult Archie taking a bullet for Kevin, who had been campaigning for tougher gun laws. But Archie had found another lease of life as a horror hero, fighting zombies in Afterlife With Archie and even alien hunters in…

You’ve just finished writing Titan’s Four Doctors cross-over, correct? “Actually, I just did a little tweak to two last pages on the last issue tonight, and that should be it. I think Neil finishes drawing it on Monday, so there we are. It’s a lovely feeling.” How was Titan’s Doctor Who day yesterday? “It was brilliant. I signed 1,000 copies of the Marc Ellerby variant [of The Four Doctors #1]. Marc had to change his signature halfway through when he realised the size of the task in front of him! It was nice to be part of something so global. I did three events in London in a day. Just an amazing thing.” You’re now one of the few people to write officially for the War…

You can get pretty much every major comic that’s released in pamphlet form as digital edition, but if Aces Weekly has whetted your appetite for digital-only releases, what else is out there? Electricomics launched just as we went to press and is already looking very exciting. Another good place to start is Comixology’s Submit programme, which sells brand-new digital comics by indie creators – it’s pretty much self-publishing, but carefully curated by Comixology. John D Roberts, Comixology co-founder and director of Comixology Submit, explains: “Creators just need to sign up, upload a PDF, go through an approval process, and then their work is put up for sale. We split the revenue evenly, with the creator keeping all rights. It’s a great deal for creators that don’t…

Reviewed: Issues 1-4 Writer: Brenden Fletcher Artist: Annie Wu Publisher: DC Format: Ongoing DC’s main-book big guns are fighting serious battles at the moment. Batman’s lost his memory, Superman’s lost his powers... Meanwhile, Black Canary just wants to survive a tour with her band – a high concept that somehow manages to be just as compelling as the rest of her buddies’ adventures. But forget the premise, this is all about Annie Wu’s art. Her punk-rock-fanzine-style visuals perfectly match the tone of Fletcher’s rock ’n’ roll rebirth, bathing the book in a neon glow. Canary has struggled to find her place in the modern DC universe. But shrugging off her responsibilities to play a bunch of dive-bars seems to be the best possible solution. Looking like a cross between Alice…

Reviewed: Issues 1-2 Writer: Jeremy Haun and Jason A Hurley Artist: Jeremy Haun Publisher: Image Format: Ongoing Beauty comes with an irresistible hook. There’s a new STD. But rather than leading to warts, sores, itching and embarrassment, it has a desirable side effect: it makes you gorgeous . We learn all this from a rather clunky and exposition-heavy opening few pages, which lay out the status quo. Half the world have “the Beauty” and the other half hate their perfectly formed arses. The story follows a squad of investigators after a supposedly Beauty-related bombing has wiped out a subway car full of people. But why is this crime of so much interest to the hazmatsuited CDC agents who appear out of nowhere and take over?…

Reviewed: Issues 1-5 Writer: Marguerite Bennett Artist: Various Publisher: DC Format: Ongoing Ant Lucia’s DC Bombshells began life as collectable figurines, before becoming a merchandising sensation. Now they have their own digital-first comic, written by Marguerite Bennett with art by various artists, starting with Marguerite Sauvage. It’s the 1940s and the world is at war. With the men away fighting, women are stepping up to the vigilante plate. This allows Bennett to cleverly rework the origins of Batwoman – now a baseball-playing socialite – and Supergirl and Stargirl, Soviet fighter pilot sisters (who look confusingly similar). The wartime setting also allows Bennett to return Wonder Woman to her classic origin, with Steve Trevor crash-landing on Paradise Island and Diana heading off to fight the Nazis. The reimaginings of classic characters…

Reviewed: Issue 1 Writer: Aaron Lopresti Artist: Aaron Lopresti Publisher: Dark Horse Format: Ongoing Wonder Woman and Justice League International artist Aaron Lopresti both writes and draws this new series. This retro-styled first issue feels like the setup to an ’80s family movie. Kenny, a teenage boy, finds himself in possession of an alien cube that allows him to turn matter into anything he wants – so long as it’s the same size (basic conservation of mass, right?). Oh, and a Nazi scientist is after the cube, because what else has a Nazi scientist got going for him these days? Power Cubed is such an ’80s throwback (Kenny even sports a leather jacket while his girlfriend has a side-ponytail) that the modern elements of…

Reviewed: Vol 1: Dark Meat City Writer: Run Artist: Run Publisher: Titan Format: Graphic novel It’s little surprise to hear that Mutafukaz is in the process of being turned into an anime – reading it already feels like watching the craziest cartoon ever made. Hyperkinetic art combines with a plot that throws multiple genres and influences into a garbage pail and blends them with a samurai sword. It follows our cockroach-collecting hero, Angelino, as a potential brain tumour turns into possible superpowers following a messy pizza-delivery accident. Graffiti-styled characters, Mexican-wrestling subplots and a pre-apocalyptic setting create a distinctive style that’s unlike anything else on the shelves. Mutafukaz is a violent read, with punk-rock politics and sequences so surreal that it would feel like science-fiction even without…

THE FIRST COMIC I READ A Marvel UK reprint – I think maybe Spider-Man Comics Weekly. The first one I remember buying with my own pocket money was actually a reprint of Stan and Jack’s first Fantastic Four story. I read it a hundred times and eventually the newsprint disintegrated! Occasionally I take a look at it on eBay and try to convince myself that I can buy back my childhood. THE FIRST INFLUENCE ON MY WORK Simon Furman, who wrote the Transformers comic when I was a kid. It was a licensed comic that would sell regardless of what was going on in it, but he created something great: epic storylines, exciting characters – and Death’s Head. MY FIRST PROFESSIONAL COMICS WORK It was a five-page Future Shock for…

Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar is set to launch a global talent search to find a new generation of comics writers and artists. The winners will be granted the opportunity to write or draw a strip in a Millarworld anthology. From 28 September, creators will be able to upload an example of their work to the Millarworld website. Six writers and six artists will be picked out, partnered up and given the chance to create a story using some of the Millarworld cast of characters. “There seems to be a disconnect between genuinely talented students at schools, colleges and universities getting into the comic-book industry,” says Millar. “I want to provide a platform to enable these people to showcase their talents.” Millar himself will be sitting down to judge the entries…

PANTHER RETURNS Black Panther will return in spring 2016, written by New York Times bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates and with art by legendary artist Brian Stelfreeze. The first arc is titled “A Nation Under Our Feet”. JULY THE 5TH? Titan have announced that Independence Day sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence will get a prequel in the form of a comic filling in the gaps between the films. DEAD OR ALIVE? DC has uncancelled The Omega Men thanks to fan reaction. They had announced that the series would end with #7 but now say it will run to at least #12. Three other titles are still ending, though: Justice League United, Gotham By Midnight and Lobo. HOLY COPYRIGHT, BATMAN! The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled – surprise! – that DC…

I began typing this in a tiny courtyard, outside my villa, where the kind folks of Pixelatl had put me while I attended their transmedia festival. The festival promotes and celebrates the creative talent abundant in Mexico in comics, animation and video games. Nimona creator Noelle Stevenson was a guest, as well as Book Of Life creator/ director Jorge R. Gutiérrez and John Andrews, creator of Beavis and Butthead. This was a world class event. I struggled to compute that it was a convention, because there were flamingos and toucans and the setting was a lush tropical garden where people lounged on beanbags in sunshine under palm trees. It was a convention though, with booths selling Cintiq tablets, comic books, art supplies and even remote-controlled drones. There were talks and…

BORN STAFFORD HIGH PHONOGRAM (“IT’S WARPED AUTOBIOGRAPHY”) NOW DARTH VADER MORE kierongillen.com Comic Heroes: Darth Vader is arguably the most iconic screen villain of the last 50 years. Was he a daunting character to take on? How much did you have to think about it before signing up? Kieron Gillen: A lot. Empire was the first movie I ever saw in the cinema. Writing canon, in the lead-up to it, for my own first cinematic vision of evil... well, am I the guy for the job? I had to really consider that carefully. In the end, I realised I’d probably written more morally dubious characters than anyone else presently working for Marvel, so... well, maybe I am he right guy for it. I’m also Evil. That helps. CH: What…

BORN LAS VEGAS, USA HIGH BLUE BEETLE, DR FATE NOW HARLEY QUINN MORE HARDINARTSTUDIOS.BLOGSPOT.COM Comic Heroes: What do you think it is about Harley that makes so many comic fans embrace her? Chad Hardin: Well essentially, Harley’s just her own force of nature. She’s completely lovable, completely toxic and does whatever she wants and somehow manages to get away with it. I think there’s a lot of appeal to that. Especially for some girls who maybe struggle to have that in their lives, sometimes things are pushed upon them, roles and things like that. Maybe they get that wish fulfilment through a character like Harley. CH: The comic has been a massive success for you all... Chad: I know! We’re doing better than we ever dreamed, which is great.…

OCTOBER The Twilight Children #1 (Gilbert Hernandez, Darwyn Cooke) Survivors’ Club #1 (Lauren Beukes, Dale Halvorsen, Ryan Kelly) Clean Room #1 (Gail Simone, Jon Davis-Hunt) Art Ops #1 (Shaun Simon, Michael Allred) NOVEMBER Unfollow #1 (Rob Williams, Mike Dowling) Slash & Burn #1 (Si Spencer, Max Dunbar, Ande Parks) Red Thorn #1 (David Baillie, Meghan Hetrick) Jacked #1 (Eric Kripke, John Higgins) DECEMBER The Sheriff of Babylon #1 (Tom King, Mitch Gerads) New Romancer #1 (Peter Milligan, Brett Parson) Lucifer #1 (Holly Black, Lee Garbett) Last Gang in Town #1 (Simon Oliver, Rufus Dayglo)…

While Graphic India is currently adapting Morrison’s film treatment and art-book for 18 Days into a monthly comic series drawn by Jeevan Kang, Morrison is writing Avatarex, a new digital series, also illustrated by Kang, which will be released in six-page instalments online. “It’s the only ongoing superhero book I’m doing in the foreseeable future,” he says. “It’s my attempt to build a superhero universe for India.” A portion of the proceeds will go towards promoting literacy and improving the lot of young women in India. “The country is firing into the future on all cylinders but the general attitude towards women and girls is simply unacceptable in a 21st century society,” says Morrison. “I see any attempt, however tiny, to help bring the sub-continent out of the dark ages…

On 1933, two teenagers from Cleveland – writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster – created a character called Superman. You might have heard of him. Five years later they sold him to Detective Comics – later to become DC Comics – for $130 ($10 a page) and a contract to work for the company. They made a living for several years, admittedly, but realised as early as 1941 that they had lost control over their creation, who had already birthed an entire industry. In 1946 they sued, and lost. They sued again in 1967. And lost. Both fell on hard times. In 1975, by which time Shuster was legally blind, a number of prominent figures in the comics industry took up their cause. Fearing adverse publicity with the first…

It’s been nearly 20 years since the last James Bond comic – the first issue of Topps’ never-completed adaptation of Goldeneye by Don McGregor and Rick Magyar – appeared in 1996, but 007 has featured in comics since shortly after Casino Royale was published in 1953. The Daily Express began serialising that book in a newspaper strip version by Anthony Hern and John McClusky in 1958. Adaptations of all of Fleming’s novels followed over the next eight years, mostly illustrated by Henry Gammidge. Modesty Blaise creator Peter O’Donnell took on Dr. No in 1960, two years before the film. The first James Bond comic book was a Dr. No movie tie-in by Norman Nodell, released by Classics Illustrated and DC Comics in 1963. After that, it wasn’t until 1981 that…

Reviewed: Issue 1 Writer: Jeph Loeb Artist: Tim Sale Publisher: Marvel Format: 5-part series This is the latest in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s colour-themed reimaginings of the early days of Marvel’s greats, after Daredevil: Yellow , Spider-Man: Blue and Hulk: Gray . As before, the duo use scenes and dialogue from the original comics and fill gaps in familiar storylines to tell broader, more nuanced tales than the creators back then were able or inclined to. It’s like a cover version of a classic song with added trills, frills and orchestration. The first issue recaps Cap’s awakening from suspended animation and first clash with the Avengers, follows with a poignant interlude featuring Nick Fury, then flashes back to WWII…

Reviewed: Issue 1 Writer: Matt Pizzolo Artist: Amancay Nahuelpan Publisher: Black Mask Format: Ongoing The much-hyped new series from young upstart publisher Black Mask lives up to its edgy reputation. Young Terrorists sets out its stall as a provocative comic right from the outset. The cover shows a dreadlocked girl with dynamite strapped to her body, about to light the fuse with a Zippo. In the opening pages, a baby is kidnapped at gunpoint. Fifteen years later, a billionaire, Gregor Solomon, is blown up in a coffee bar with a briefcase bomb. His daughter Sera is arrested on terrorism charges and sent to a black-ops military prison in the desert where she is tortured and forced to fight other detainees in brutal death matches, until she escapes. Then we meet…

Reviewed: Issues 1-3 Writer: Bryan Hitch Artist: Bryan Hitch Publisher: DC Format: Ongoing Superstar artist Bryan Hitch is back on JLA: Justice League Of America . Originally on the book in the 2000s solely as an artist, Hitch has been taking on double-duties for this reboot. If the first three issues are to be believed, he’ll continue to prove month on month that his epic imagination isn’t limited to drawing intensely detailed characters and scraps. Don’t get us wrong, Hitch’s signature widescreen vistas, as seen in Marvel’s The Ultimates, are present, but the plot is just as awe-inspiring. Mystery-filled and with shock revelations from the off, JLA is a hook-filled read. The high-concept – the God Of Krypton comes to Earth – could be a Grant Morrison…

Reviewed: Issue 1 Writer: Bill Morrison Artist: Bill Morrison Publisher: Dark Horse Format: 4-part series This limited series from Disney artist and Bongo Comics cofounder Bill Morrison is a ’40s pulp crime thriller with added zombies. Johnny Dover is a preserved corpse in a circus side-show who returns to life and goes in search of his real identity – a crusading radio DJ who fell foul of gangsters in prohibition Detroit. Dead Vengeance ticks off all the tropes of a pulp book: there are references to Mae West, the art is all strong lines and square jaws, and everyone wears a trilby. Morrison nails the voice of the era – you can practically hear the nasal twang in the ’40s dialogue that’s being thrown around. But there’s nothing particularly new…

What spurred you to start this new talent search? It just seemed like a nice thing to do. There used to be loads of easy places to start. But, especially in the States now, it’s hard for people to start out without investing their own money. If you’re self publishing then you take a financial risk and you have to work for free. If you’re trying to get noticed by a publisher you kind of have to do a four-issue series or maybe put something online. Even then you have to compete with so many other things. Marvel, DC and Image are bringing out a record number of books. So my idea was to find people with good samples, just commission them and make sure that they actually get paid…

LORDS OF THE RING The next ongoing series from Joe Keatinge and artist Nick Barber is Ringside. Set in the world of professional wrestling, it deals with the struggles both inside and outside the ring, but Barber insists it will have appeal to everyone, not just sports fans. It’s on sale 25 November from Image. MORE MANGA You only need to glance at the shelves of a Forbidden Planet to see how big sales of manga are. Dark Horse has taken notice too. It’s stated, in an interview with AnimeNewsNetwork, that it plans to increase its manga output by 25 percent by 2016. FEELING HORNS-Y? Charles Vess’s first published work, The Horns Of Elfland, is getting a long-overdue reissue this year from Archival Press. Originally published in 1979, these tales…

Rebellion is breaking old habits by publishing two new graphic novels that – in a first for the Oxford-based company – aren’t related to their flagship title, 2000 AD . Goldtiger may well be the best ’60s comic you’ve never read. That’s because it’s not from the ’60s at all. The brainchild of Guy Adams and Jimmy Broxton, Goldtiger began life as a Kickstarter-funded project back in 2013, but its retro look and feel is dazzlingly authentic. It’s described as being like a mixture of Modesty Blaise and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Sounds groovy to us. Rebellion’s Mike Molcher says, “With incredible veracity and a feel for the period, Adams and Broxton uncover the touching story of the creators behind the ’60s most surprising…

As the chair of Harvard’s History and Literature programme, Jill Lepore has spent her life writing about real world subjects such as slavery and the history of pioneer Jane Franklin. For her latest book, however, she’s set her sights on someone rather different: Princess Diana of Themyscira – Wonder Woman. What roles did Wonder Woman play in the struggle for women’s rights? Wonder Woman debuted in 1941 and fought for women’s rights. She fought for democracy, too, since superhero comics in the 1940s were all about WW2. But as she was originally conceived, she was fighting for equal rights for women. And as a matter of history, she was inspired by, and based on, British and American suffragists, feminists, and birth control activists. How did William Moulton Marston’s relationships with…

BORN LIVERPOOL HIGH LUCIFER, HELLBLAZER, X-MEN NOW THE UNWRETTEN MORE MIKEANDPETER.COM BORN WOLVERHAPTON HIGH RUSE,DEATHOLK, CAPTAIN AMERICA NOW MARVEL COMICS MORE MIKEPERKINSART.COM Comic Heroes: The association between the two of you goes back a number of years, to Caliber, is that correct? Mike Perkins: Yes, Doctor Faustus [in 1997] was the first thing we worked on together… Mike Carey: And it was already apparent then that there was some kind of a chemistry. Mike was living in Poland and I was amazed at the extent he went to [in order to] get the visual reference right for the architecture on Faustus, going around to medieval sites. So we’ve always come back to work together… MP: And clicked and got on well together. I think the thing is, and…

BORN UK HIGH CLA$$WAR, ORDINARY NOW MARTIAN MANHUNTER MORE WWW.ROBWILLIAMS COMICS.CO.UK Comic Heroes: Ichabod Azrael has just been published in the States. Any idea how it’s been received? Rob Williams: Not really. I find, with the US market, that if you do a DC or a Marvel book then Twitter tends to give you a tonne of feedback. Everything else, you really only get a snippet here and there. It seems to have gone down well with the few reviews I’ve seen. CH: Does it feel a bit like bringing it home, given that it’s a Western, the most American of genres? RW: I guess so, but 2000 AD, where Ichabod was first printed, has a long history of British creators telling stories about the…

New Avengers centres on a reformed A.I.M. Do you like reformed villains? People like Sandman and the Rogues’ Gallery were big draws for me growing up, and I always hated it when they inevitably turned back to crime. So when Sunspot bought A.I.M. and turned them to the cause of good, less-mad science, I thought it was great and hoped it was a change that’d stick around. And then pretty soon, I found myself in a position to make sure it would. In bringing Ultimates into the main Marvel Universe, do you rely on Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s original run? Not really. We go big and widescreen, but we do it in a different way, one maybe more fitting for the Marvel Universe itself. I’m trying to…

Buffy’s best pal Xander once mused on the nature of cool. “What is it? How do you get it? Who doesn’t have it? And who decides who doesn’t have it? What is the essence of cool?” Who decides? We do, that’s who! There are many great characters in comics, but only a select few can strut their way into the Comic Heroes’ cool list. It’s not about heritage – Superman is the daddy of all heroes, but he’s way too earnest for this list. And it’s not necessarily about having superpowers – Tank Girl has none (unless you count owning a tank) but she’s a million times cooler than most. We’ve also been wary when it comes to surface-level characters. Yeah, sure, Spawn looks great with his big floaty cape,…

Yeah, yeah – you know all the big Vertigo books, but what about the smaller titles that Vertigo has put out over the last few decades? For every Sandman or Preacher , there’s been a handful of Vinyl Undergrounds or Greek Streets . But, Will Salmon asks, which were the standouts? 1 DEADENDERS: Ed Brubaker and Warren Pleece created this odd cyberpunk/mod mashup set in a post apocalyptic future. Though it ran for just 16 issues before cancellation (and a hastily assembled wrap-up conclusion) it shone brightly as one of the more unique books in Vertigo’s history. 2 SAUCER COUNTRY: Paul Cornell and Ryan Kelly delve deep into UFOlogy with the tale of a presidential candidate…

Before he appears in the flesh, we see the devil on the band’s drum kit… “Oh yes, he’s their logo come to life. And if you look at the discography, the logo appears in lots of different places.” Did you have fun creating the extra details like the band’s albums? “Oh, I loved it. I wrote little descriptions of what each album cover looked like and Tony came up with these wonderful pastiche covers. Then the design department at Dark Horse came up with the logos, which were even more wonderful. I really enjoyed that. It’s really important doing stuff like that which feels authentic for people who know their classic rock.” There’s a lot of attention to detail. “Everything Dark Horse has done with the presentation has been wonderful.…

1 SAGA: Probably Image’s most acclaimed book right now – and with good reason. Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ science fantasy epic lives up to its name. A sprawling tale about a family fleeing a galactic war, it’s moving, exciting and weird. Highly recommended. 2 CHEW: Tony Chu is an FDA agent with a very unique ability: eating food gives him psychic visions of crimes. This bizarre detective story by John Layman and Rob Guillory has won two Eisner and two Harvey awards and is as bizarre as it is hilariously funny. 3 RAT QUEENS: This ode to Dungeons & Dragons by Kurtis J Wiebe and a cast of artists (currently Tess Fowler) may look like traditional fantasy fare, but it’s anything but. The Rat Queens of the title…

Bouncer is a one-armed gunslinger and the last word in law and order in the Inferno Saloon. Written by visionary film director Alejandro Jodorowsky and drawn with brutal intensity by the maestro, François Boucq, this is a western classic. And, thanks to our kind friends at Humanoids, we have three lush hardback copies to give away. To be in with a chance of winning a copy, simply answer this question: Which of these is not an Alejandro Jodorowsky film? A) El Topo B) El Mariachi C) The Holy Mountain HOW TO ENTER… Simply head to this link: www.futurecomps.co.uk/bouncer And submit the correct answer TERMS & CONDITIONS: Enter the Comic Heroes Bouncer competition online at www.futurecomps.co.uk/bouncer between Friday 9 October 2015 and midnight Saturday 9 January 2016.…

Reviewed: Issues 1-2 Writer: Mark Waid Artist: Fiona Staples Publisher: Archie Comics Format: Ongoing You know Archie Andrews. You know his cheery demeanour, his cast of pals and his complicated love life. His comic was as American as apple pie and just as old-fashioned. Turns out, you know nothing and everything. This reboot proves two things: there is still life in the old characters, and the things that made them enduring were there from the beginning. Welcome to Riverdale, as Arch himself says in the very first panel. Only this is Riverdale for the Community generation. It’s witty, energetic, and rather more clued up on its gender politics than before. Thanks to some amusing fourth wall breaking, it’s also not unlike a gentler, more chaste Sex Criminals. The gang are…

Reviewed: Issues 1-2Writer: VariousArtist: VariousPublisher: ImageFormat: Anthology This new anthology, edited by Brandon Graham and Emma Ríos, is a beautiful, unpolished gem with bold art and a heady mix of heartfelt, funny and sometimes jarring stories. It’s a cross-platform collection, which adds to the DIY, fanzine feel and provides some truly breathtaking art. Will Kirby‘s detail-packed work provides the cover and first five pages for the second issue, and you could sit and reread those early frames over and over, noticing something different each time. Emma Rios’ story is another standout, an engrossing tale that looks at gender identity and body dysmorphia in a very scientific way. Her artwork is beautifully expressive, and the muted colour palette means the focus is kept tightly on the three core characters and their…

Reviewed: Issues 1-3 Writer: Rob Williams Artist: Eddy Barrows Publisher: DC Format: Ongoing The New 52 is dead... Long live the DC YOU? In June, DC started a major restructuring, with 24 new titles in place of a bunch of cancellations. One of the most exciting additions to the DC YOUniverse (seriously, that’ll never catch on) is a solo book for everyone’s favourite alien shapeshifter, Martian Manhunter. Ditched from Justice League during the New 52 years and relegated to the background, J’onn J’onzz returns just in time to save the world from a sleeper-cell of Martian terrorists. But with J’onn also going through a significant identity crisis following his personality being split into several bodies, can he pull himself together enough to rescue humanity? It’s a brilliant concept, in a…

Reviewed: Issues 1-2 Writer: Scott & David Tipton Artist: Ron Joseph Publisher: IDW Format: 5-part series The BBC’s Sherlock wasn’t the first update of Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic character. In 1974, novelist Nicholas Meyer wrote The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, a brand new Holmes adventure that had the audacity to dismiss previous Doyle stories because they didn’t fit the tale Meyer wanted to tell. Here, IDW is being similarly audacious – dismissing the traditional comic-book format in an attempt to squeeze Meyer’s novel into a limited series, with slim consideration for what makes comics fun. Issue 1, in particular, is slow-moving, and overwhelmingly reliant on long stretches of expository voiceover that make the book feel like prose. Great art could carry the weight of the heavy text, but…

Mike Garley is a writer of comics, games, screenplays and other such cool stuff. Mike wrote beActive Media’s Emmy nominated comic series Collider , as well as Wallace and Gromit , Adventure Time , Eponymous , The Kill Screen and The Samurai Slasher . There has never been a better time for creator-owned/ indie comics (or just “comics” as I like to call them). The popularity of the Marvel and DC Comics films has brought about a resurgence in the medium, and thanks to an abundance of new and established Cons, as well as the multiple options for online distribution, it’s easier than ever to create a comic that can actually find an audience. This feature is going to serve as a practical guide full of helpful tips to bring…