Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #11 Preview

The adventures of Frankenstein and company continues next week under the leadership of new writer Matt Kindt. In issue #11, it seems Frank and Nina will be getting swallowed by a "whale-beast" called Leviathan that holds a city within it. This is exactly why we dig Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. -- its crazy, bizarre concepts.

Issue #11 hits on Wednesday.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He will love Star Wars until the end of his days.

Source : ign[dot]com

Dial H #3 Review

If you’ve been reading Dial H, you already know it’s a weird book. It’s a good thing for readers to understand from the outset because writer China Mieville plunges his readers straight into the weirdness in issue #3. Longtime readers of the Dial H property will have an advantage over those who are just learning the ropes; however, it still takes until the last few pages for Mieville’s seemingly disparate clues to coalesce into something that makes sense. That may sound frustrating, but it actually continues the totally unique vibe of the series nicely.

If you told me that a series about a telephone engineer and transdimensional combat would be on my pull list, I’d probably tell you to lay off the intoxicants. Here we are at Dial H #3, though, and I find myself being won over every month by the title’s oddness and depth. I’ll admit that it’s initially disconcerting to spend so much of the book wondering what the hell is going on and where things are leading, but the payoff is strong enough that it’s all worth it in the end. Furthermore, the sense of confusion that results from Mieville’s style of presentation sets the perfect tone for his main character’s plight. Perhaps most important is that the endpoint for this story is terrifically compelling.

Artist Mateus Santolouco is strong yet again in this week’s offering. His storytelling is once again rock solid, but what caught my attention in this book was Santoluoco’s regard for materials and their properties. Textures are explained well, and the characteristics of the (frequently exotic) substances depicted in the story look realistic. The foundation provided by Santolouco’s pencils and inks is skillfully brought to life by the coloring team of Tanya and Richard Horie. Sudden changes in location, time, or even dimension are clearly delineated by the colors used, affording each sequence a unique personality.

We’re still just beginning to understand the scope of this story, but there’s enough here to feel the excitement of the developments to come. At the same time, I’m certain that some readers will grow impatient for the payoff before it arrives and that others will be put off by the Morrison-like eschewal of comic clichés. Further, I would highly encourage new readers to pick up copies of issues 1 and 2, as they will be totally lost without those introductory chapters. Those caveats aside, though, I recommend that open-minded readers give this series a try. It really is a cure for comic fans who don’t want to give up on the superhero genre but are tired of superhero tropes.

Poet is a freelance writer, mid-core gamer, and frequent IGN contributor. Follow Poet on Twitter, or post a message on his IGN profile.

Source : ign[dot]com

Forte Denies MacGruber 2

A couple weeks ago, rumors were circulating that writer-director Jorma Taccone was developing MacGruber 2 with star Will Forte and co-writer John Solomon. However, Forte recently pumped the breaks on that idea during a press conference for That's My Boy.

"As for MacGruber 2, it's very much in the works. We're just... no, I'm kidding. Jorma mentioned it," Forte said according to Ain't It Cool News. "He was really tired one morning giving an interview, and he said something stupid about it. Believe me, we would love -- we had so much fun doing that. We're proud of it, and we jokingly talk about the sequel all the time. But I don't think anybody in their right mind would give us any money for it. If somebody gives us money for it --"

Interjected Andy Samberg, "I'll give you a thousand bucks right now."

"There is going to be a MacGruber 2 then," Forte said. "Funded by Andy Samberg."

"On a flipcam."

So there you have it. Unless Andy Samberg makes good on his word, it sounds like we'll have to keep on waiting for that MacGruber sequel. Nevertheless, Forte went on to express his gratitude to everyone who's embraced the first film and suggested that there may be "one alternate universe in a series of parallel universes" where MacGruber 2 gets made. Unfortunately, that's probably not our universe he's talking about.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/04/forte-denies-macgruber-2

Jonathan Ross: "I Pitched Quesada And Heard Nothing!"

Jonathan Ross, the writer of Turf and British TV celebrity, appeared on the Image All-Stars panel alongside fellow contributors Eric Stephenson, Nick Spencer and Bryan Hitch.

When asked what he thought of the industry right now, he shared, “I love the Marvel and DC stuff at the moment, but my first choice is to read the indie books. The Avengers helped everyone, as long as you can bear the noobs coming in. It’s a great time to be reading comic books.”

Elaborating further about his relationship with Marvel and DC, he revealed he once pitched an idea to Joe Quesada…but didn’t hear anything back. Despite this, when asked whether he’d still like to work for them he said, “Not if it meant I couldn’t do my stuff for Image. I would love to do something for them because I love those characters. Marvel operates on a very different scale though; Image works on a very human level.”

Ross has no plans to abandon his other projects just yet though, saying he’s working on a Channel 4 show as well as a new film show pilot. He apologised for not having more comic book stars on his chat shows, but said he felt it wasn’t really the right place. He did, however, reveal that his future projects may be more appropriate for them, saying, “I might be doing something new on the radio soon and I might be doing a comic podcast as I do have a good number of contacts and I have a very pointless knowledge of comic history.”

The rest of the panel shared their extensive expertise with budding artists and authors, advising them how to make it in the industry. Artist Bryan Hitch reassured many attendees that the hardest thing to draw was often quiet scenes, as the action scenes practically leap off the page. He said it was important to make sure that the eye moved about the page smoothly, while Ross asserted that any budding writers should be kind to themselves. He shared his wife’s advice that the hardest thing to do is bash out a first draft, but said it makes everything so much easier to edit.

Ross then provided an alternative way in for anyone struggling with their writing, saying “My advice for anyone trying to get into comics is to marry someone who can write better than you can.”

All the panel members revealed they were fans of the Game of Thrones TV series, with Bryan Hitch in particular saying it boded well for the future of comic adaptations. He said, “budgets are finally catching up; they definitely couldn’t have made Game of Thrones 10 years ago.”

So, what’s next for Image? While there were no big reveals, Ross did say that he kept writing down ideas that he later looked back at slightly bemusedly. He shared his desire to force Hitch to help him make a comic focusing on Russian soldiers vs yetis before, undeterred by Hitch’s lack of enthusiasm, pulling out his phone and reading, “evil saw-like idea; pranks get out of hand, and escalate.”

Keep your fingers crossed.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/21/jonathan-ross-i-pitched-joe-quesada-and-heard-nothing