Marvel Super Hero Team-Up

MARVEL SUPER HERO TEAM-UP TPB (JUN090651)
Written by CHRIS CLAREMONT, J.M. DEMATTEIS, MARY JO DUFFY, STAN LEE, BOB LAYTON, DAVID MICHELINIE, FABIAN NICIEZA, CHRISTOPHER PRIEST, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, ROGER STERN, LEN WEIN
Penciled by MARK BAGLEY, JOHN BOLTON, MARK BRIGHT, JOHN BUSCEMA, GENE COLAN, KERRY GAMMILL, JACK KIRBY, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, SAL VELLUTO, PATRICK ZIRCHER
Cover by JORGE MOLINA
224 PGS./Rated A …$24.99
On Sale – 9/9/09

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

The List - Avengers: Hero Variant

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

The Walking Dead Invade the 9th-Century

6 August 2009 (Berkeley, CA) – Following up on the recent WALKING DEAD/CHEW flipbook, next week’s WALKING DEAD #64 features the entire first issue of the pre-release sell-out, VIKING #1, by writer Ivan Brandon and artist Nic Klein, in a special black & white edition at absolutely no additional cost!

"The response to VIKING has been absolutely flooring in every way. But the chance to expose the book to the entire massive WALKING DEAD fanbase is a whole new level of exciting,” said Brandon. “Even though VIKING is normally in our full-color, oversized format, we were surprised by how incredible Nic’s art looked in black and white. I think people are really going to love what they see."

VIKING, heralded as a crime comic for the 9^th-Century, follows the story of two brothers looking to make their way up the ladder of the Norse criminal underground, only to find they're quickly biting off more than they could ever hope to chew. Nic Klein's lush rendering of Ivan Brandon's hard-boiled story will be right up the alley of any WALKING DEAD fan.

Kirkman added, “I’m personally psyched to have VIKING in the back of WALKING DEAD. As both an Image Partner and a fan, I’m thrilled by the book’s success and hope to continue its growth in any way I can.”

WALKING DEAD #64 (FEB092371), a 48-page B&W comic book featuring the entirety of VIKING #1 for only $2.99, will go on sale next week, August 12^th, 2009.

VIKING #3 (JUN090394), a full-color, 32-page, oversized comic book for $2.99, will be in stores August 8^th, 2009.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Dark Horse and Jim Shooter Expand the Gold Key Heroes

AUGUST 5^th, MIlWAUKIE, OR – In a packed panel on Saturday morning during Comic Con, Dark Horse president, Mike Richardson, called a surprise guest to announce Dark Horse’s plans to develop new comics and graphic novels for the Gold Key Comics’ superheroes. Fans were shocked to see Jim Shooter enter the room; the man recently named the "Steve Jobs of Comics" by Comic Book Bin.

Shooter is perhaps best known for his nine-year tenure at Marvel Comics beginning in 1982, with highlights including Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s run on the Uncanny X-Men, and Frank Miller's run on Daredevil. Also under Shooter's editorial reign, Walt Simonsen revamped The Mighty Thor and made it again a bestseller. Following his successful run at Marvel, Shooter launched the well-received Valiant comics imprint in the early 90s, bringing many of Marvel’s creators with him.

Now, Jim Shooter comes to Dark Horse as head writer for the re-launch of the Gold Key Comics characters: Turok, Son of Stone®, Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom, Magnus, Robot Fighter, and Mighty Samson - with further characters and new comic writers to be announced shortly.

"It's great to be at Dark Horse, working with Mike Richardson, world-class creator, honorable gentleman, and industry powerhouse," said Jim Shooter. "It's great to be reunited with Magnus, Solar, Turok, Samson, and the other wonderful Gold Key properties. The opportunity is tremendous and the time is ripe. Let's do it.”

"Jim and I share a great affection for these terrific characters. We have some very exciting ideas on how to introduce them to a whole new generation of fans." Richardson said.


Turok®

An original comic book hero, Turok is best known today for a successful video game franchise boasting more than five million units sold since the first game was introduced in the 1990s. The legend of the brave and ruthless dinosaur-hunter has lived on for more than 30 years in comic book series from Dell Comics, Gold Key Comics, and Valiant. Anthologies of the original classic comics are now available from Dark Horse Comics.


Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom

Doctor Solar must find a way to become normal again after surviving an explosion that leaves him with the power to control atomic energy. When danger and disaster threaten the innocent, Solar leaps into action as the "Man of the Atom." One of Gold Key Comics’ most popular titles in the 1960s, the original nuclear-powered superhero reached legendary status by the 1990s in new comics from Valiant. The original classic comics now appear in hardcover anthologies published by Dark Horse Comics.


Magnus, Robot Fighter

Hailing from the year 4,000 A.D. is the stalwart hero of humanity, Magnus, Robot Fighter. These gripping adventure stories, in which a human who battles evil robots in the sprawling futuristic city of North Am, elevated the comic book medium when they debuted in the 1960s from Gold Key Comics, and captured the imagination of millions in new comics published 30 years later by Valiant. The original science-fiction classics now appear in hardcover anthologies published by Dark Horse Comics.


Mighty Samson

A popular Gold Key Comics character from the 1960s and 70s, the post-apocalyptic adventures of Mighty Samson are set in the land of N’Yark, an earth devastated by nuclear war. Amazingly large and strong, Samson uses his mutant strength only for good—and to protect his friends, Sharmain and Mindor, responsible for saving his life.


Turok, Son of Stone; Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom; Magnus, Robot Fighter; and Mighty Samson are part of the Classic Media portfolio of properties.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

The Punisher #9 - Rest in Pieces

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Cape Crisis - The Video Game!

5 August 2009 (Berkeley, CA) - Due to fan demand to actually live next week's debut issue of Mini-Marvels cartoonist, Chris Giarrusso's G-MAN: CAPE CRISIS, Giarrusso has brought his beloved creation to the video game world in a revolutionary, Flash-based, 2D video game experience only available on The Internet! [Where available, supplies may be limited, void where prohibited. - Ed.]

"In developing G-MAN: CAPE CRISIS: THE VIDEO GAME, we decided to work in the grand tradition of such literal blockbusters as Breakout and Arkanoid," says Giarrusso. "While it's not necessary for fans of the comic to play the game, we do promise it will expand on the series' storyline, allowing a total immersion experience into the world of G-MAN: CAPE CRISIS."

G-MAN: CAPE CRISIS: THE VIDEO GAME gives gamers the opportunity to step into the virtual shoes of G-MAN and five other beloved characters including Tanman, Sun Trooper, Billy Demon, Sparky, and G-MAN's brother, Great Man. Players must use enchanted energy discs in an epic quest to retrieve the powerful remnants of G-MAN's magic cape. G-MAN: CAPE CRISIS: THE VIDEO GAME features a game engine which allows players to move both left and right while saving the world from imminent destruction.

G-MAN: CAPE CRISIS #1 (of 5) (JUN090322), a 32-page, full color comic book for only $2.99, will be in stores August 12^th, 2009.

[Ed. Note: I just wanted to point-out how this is a great example of using the Web to add to a comic book experience. I know Lisa and I had a discussion about webcomics - specifically, about Marvel and DC putting back issues online - but I can't find it on either blog (Fixing the tags is the first job my intern/PA will have). The rundown is that Lisa, as a retailer, was totally against it, while I was completely for it; she thought it would hurt sales, but I thought it would only increase exposure. It's too early to tell who was right, but you're missing a lot of the experience when you read a comic online (not to knock any webcomics, which have their own elan because they are created specifically for this format). I had mentioned the possibilities - such as this - and she agreed that adding features you simply cannot get from a comic book would make all the difference, and that she would actually support those efforts. The G-Man game is a step in the right direction, especially since it forwards the story, but it's only that: a single step. Stephen King's N is another step. The Web offers comics creators an incredible, new palette of features from which to draw and sometime soon, I expect there to be virtual worlds one can explore which are not only based on comic books, but are extensions of them.]
]

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Brief Notes on the Atlantis Campaign

As the title indicates, these are some brief notes I have from the Atlantis Campaign I'm developing for use with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons/d20:

I'm still working on the gods and the calendar! I know these are among the first things you're supposed to finalize when developing a campaign world and I've already developed other aspects in great detail, but I am - as always - going way in-depth and these elements demand more scrutiny. Our own months and weekdays are named after gods, and Atlantis offers only a handful (p. 244), many of which are denoted as "old." Obviously, these "old" gods take precedence, as they certainly didn't wait until the Second Age to develop a calendar, but just as the new gods supplanted the old ones in worship, so would they in these regards (to a lesser extent), and I have to keep this in mind; most of the days and months will have been named in the First Age, and I've already decided the calendar survived and was handed down, though some of the elements were changed or renamed. Most of us don't know which days were named for what gods - even if we know that they were named for gods; even if we do know the gods to which the days refer, we don't necessarily know anything about them. This is the presumption I'm carrying over to Atlantis.

Furthermore, I'm working from which races are the ancient ones. Dragons are generally accepted as the first living thing, then Elves, then Giants (or vise-versa) - and then it gets murky. Right now, I'm thinking trolls, then probably another evil race or two along those lines before you get to Dwarves, but any which way it goes, Dwarves are definitely in the top five. Aside from Dragons and Elves, few inhabitants know any of this, but we DMs have to (of course). Anyway, their deities are to be accounted for; after all, Kramaal may never have had many human worshipers, but Kramaal (a deity of the dragons) is literally one of the oldest things known and though dragons don't use calendars, it isn't as if humans (generally considered the youngest of the races, barring the alchemical constructs [Andaman {Arcanum, p. 6}, et.al.]) were the first to develop a calendar, so some names will have filtered down. This information - that is, which races are the oldest and what begat what - may be in one of the books, I just haven't gotten that far yet, so I'm keeping this in mind, too.

Atlantis is written much like the first-edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons books: tons of pertinent information is packed into every paragraph and there are no indeces, so the entire book has to be read from cover to cover, otherwise you will miss key points. On the one hand, it makes for interesting reading, on the other, it's really easy to miss major points and even easier to forget where you read something; key information is literally "hidden" throughout the text and I'm having to take (fairly detailed) notes as I go, so it's slow-goings. This is another reason I haven't gotten further than I have: there's no sense developing stuff only to find out it's already been accounted for and/or major elements need to be changed - it's just time wasted.

That was one of the main arguments concerning 1st- and 2nd -Ed. AD&D: while you had to buy three 2nd-Ed. books to every one 1st-Ed. tome, you knew where everything was in 2nd-Ed.; in a very real sense, you were paying for the index, because even though the subject(s) a Handbook, or other supplement, covered was vastly expanded, it's pretty wild to re-read the 1st-Ed. books and see just how much stuff they left out!

The Castle Guide (DMGR2) is a perfect example: while a fantastic resource with a unique castle construction system (which I am actually following in the development of Fletcher's Hold - another aspect contributing to the delay), The Castle Guide is chockful of great information, but it omits the types of government presented in the 1st-Ed. DMG. Players might not realize that Hesperia is a gynocracy (DMG1, p. ##), and while there's no more information than that, the word alone gives you somewhere to start (the dictionary, in this case).

I said I would share this with you at every stage, and I'm sticking to that - at least until it becomes prohibitive. I don't know how I'm going to do this just yet, but it's most likely going to be through posts on The Wording. Of course, once completed, Fletcher's Hold will be presented in good old HTML in the Fantasy section. Unlike many sets, this one requires certain books because it is specifically written from certain books; you can strip the keyed information from most concepts and drop them into your own campaign with little to no problem, but Fletcher's Hold requires the Atlantis sourcebook from Bard Games. The Arcanum is highly recommended, but you can do without it - and given the prices I've seen for Atlantis, you probably will!

I have no idea who owns the rights to this fantastic game and setting, but I aim to find out. One of the most needed items is a large-scale map of the entire campaign world, as the book details the entire campaign world - as well as specific areas, but I don't know if the maps included in the book will enlarge successfully. I mean to try this and see, but I don't want to violate anyone's rights, and I'm pretty sure that would do it (though not positive).

More to come - soon!

[This post is still being edited, because Blogger's "Autosave failed" kept fucking me up]

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Family Tragedy

Sorry, guys. I let Scamper out Saturday night - well, put him out in an attempt to defend the youngest one's honor (she was in heat) - and when he hadn't returned, I went looking for him and found him dead in the road. The road is about 100 yards from the house and I've never seen him out in the yard, but we've only been here maybe three weeks now, so I don't know. He might have been chasing something or something could have been chasing him (though he's a tree-climber)... I just don't know.

It hasn't really hit me yet, but it's incredibly sad. Even though he was so problematic, it seemed like he was finally getting settled here, and then this... I raised him from a kitten... I'm just so upset and confused, really.

Anyway, I've also had errands to run as always (first of the month), so I'll get a few of these things out to you tonight and try to schedule some for tomorrow. Hopefully, you haven't been able to tell I haven't been here too much; I've been good about scheduling stuff, there's just been less stuff to share.

I'm also working on the website. There's a bunch of new stuff headed your way, but with the Vista box being down and all the stuff being on it, I don't know what this stuff will be. I'm still working on the D&D campaign, too. The cleric player said he was coming out to play and had another friend to add to the mix, but I haven't heard from him since. I'm having a blast behind the scenes, though! I'm going to share that stuff as I go, so formatting is not a priority; I'll fix it once things are more set.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

The List - Daredevil Hero Variant

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Invincible Iron Man - Winner: 2009 Best New Series Eisner Award

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Frankencastle

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

The Iron Patriot Acts

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

The Avengers - The List, Pt. 1

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Tiffany's Epiphany from Silverline

3 August 2009 (Berkeley, CA) – This September, Silverline Books, the children’s book imprint from Image Comics, expands on the world made popular in BRUCE: THE LITTLE BLUE SPRUCE with a story about all the downsides of being a bully, in TIFFANY’S EPIPHANY by writer Kristen Koerner Simon, and illustrator Jim Valentino.

"TIFFANY’S EPIPHANY presents an important moral, in a humorous and lighthearted fashion that is still fun for kids to read, in the Blue Forest Series tradition," Illustrator and Silverline Publisher, Jim Valentino said. "While I’ve worked on just about every type of comic book or graphic novel you can imagine, working on children’s books, such as TIFFANY’S EPIPHANY, has proven... very fun. Kristen and I look forward to continuing to visit the friends of the Blue Forest Series for a long time to come."

TIFFANY’S EPIPHANY features the return of fan-favorite characters, The Four Lovable Field Mice and Jack the Rabbit, but newcomer, Tiffany the Skunk, is bullying all of the other critters in the forest. It is up to Jack the Rabbit to confront her and show her how lonely being a bully really is, in a story that is sure to entertain and educate children of any age!

TIFFANY’S EPIPHANY (JUL090357), a 32-page, full-color, children's book for $12.99, will be in stores September 16^th, 2009.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Vengeance of the Moon Knight

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Marvel Comics Shipping 08-05-09

Here it is, True Believers, your weekly Rundown of Marvel Comics hitting shelves this Wednesday, August 5^th, 2009:

Comics On-Sale:
AGENTS OF ATLAS #9
AGENTS OF ATLAS #9 70TH FRAME VARIANT
ALL WINNERS COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
ALL WINNERS COMICS 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL MARTIN VARIANT
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #601
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #601 70TH FRAME VARIANT
BLACK PANTHER #7
BLACK PANTHER #7 70TH FRAME VARIANT
CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN #2 WRAPAROUND COVER
CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN #2 70TH FRAME VARIANT
CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN #2 CASSADAY VARIANT
CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN #2 CASSADAY SKETCH VARIANT
CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN #2 SALE VARIANT
DARK AVENGERS/UNCANNY X-MEN: UTOPIA 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DARK REIGN: ZODIAC #2
DARK WOLVERINE #75 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DEADPOOL #11 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (DR)
DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH #1 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH #2
DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH #2 70TH FRAME VARIANT
DESTROYER #5
EXILES #5
EXILES #5 70TH FRAME VARIANT
GHOST RIDERS: HEAVEN'S ON FIRE #1
GHOST RIDERS: HEAVEN'S ON FIRE #1 LEE VARIANT
HOUSE OF M: MASTERS OF EVIL #1
HULK #13 (DR)
HULK #13 70TH FRAME VARIANT (DR)
HULK #13 JRJR VARIANT (DR)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #15 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (DR)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #16 (DR)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #16 70TH FRAME VARIANT (DR)
IRON MAN & THE ARMOR WARS #1
LUKE CAGE NOIR #1
LUKE CAGE NOIR #1 CALERO VARIANT
OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #8
TROJAN WAR #4
ULTIMATUM: FANTASTIC FOUR REQUIEM ONE-SHOT
ULTIMATUM: X-MEN REQUIEM ONE-SHOT
UNCANNY X-MEN #513 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (DAX)
WAR MACHINE #8
WAR OF KINGS #6 (WOK)
WAR OF KINGS #6 CHOI VARIANT (WOK)
WAR OF KINGS: WARRIORS BOOK #2 (MDCU)

Collections On-Sale:
AGENTS OF ATLAS: DARK REIGN PREMIERE HC
ETERNALS: MANIFEST DESTINY TPB
EXILES ULTIMATE COLLECTION BOOK 2 TPB
HEROES REBORN: THE RETURN TPB
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE YOUNG ALLIES VOL. 1 HC
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE YOUNG ALLIES VOL. 1 HC (VARIANT)
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE SUB-MARINER VOL. 3 HC
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE SUB-MARINER VOL. 3 HC (VARIANT)
SPIDER-MAN & THE HUMAN TORCH HC
SPIDER-MAN: CRIME AND PUNISHER TPB
SPIDER-MAN: FAMILY TIES TPB
X-MEN LEGACY: SALVAGE PREMIERE HC
X-MEN: ORIGINAL SIN TPB

Posters On-Sale:
THE MARVELS PROJECT POSTER
*DAX = Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia tie-in
*DR = Dark Reign tie-in
*WOK = War of Kings tie-in

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Daredevil - The List, Pt. 2

DARK REIGN: THE LIST PART TWO - DAREDEVIL (JUL090494)
Written by ANDY DIGGLE
Pencils & Cover by BILLY TAN
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC—8/20/09, On-Sale—9/9/09

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Twilight's Stephenie Meyer to Get a Double-Shot of Female Force

In time for the November theatrical release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Bluewater Productions announced that the best-selling author of The Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer, will not only be the focus of a new Female Force biography comic, she will appear in two versions!

Female Force: Stephenie Meyer, scheduled for release right before the movie hits theaters on November 20^th, provides readers two options: a standard, 22-page version and a double-sized collector’s edition, containing a variety of extras!

"We... turn the tables on Meyers, and she becomes the featured protagonist," said Bluewater's president, Darren G. Davis. "And we are going to tell her story in a very fun - respectful - and unique way."

The comic, written by Ryan Burton (Flying Saucers vs. The Earth), examines her rise to popularity, her Twilight Saga novels, the launching of the successful movie franchise, and her future plans. According to Burton, a very recognizable and iconic vampire will serve as the story’s narrator.

"It's an equally strange and great feeling to write about an author of this magnitude, especially in a format that's near and dear to my heart. I think it's brilliant that Stephenie Meyer's story will be read by both fans of her work, and fans of the comic book medium," Burton said.

The alternate 40-page collector's edition will include the history of Forks - the Washington peninsula town where her stories take place - as well as other bonus material not found anywhere else. Female Force: Stephenie Meyer is being drawn by Dave Macneil and Vinnie Tartamella provides the cover art.

Meyer, named USA Today's Author of the Year in 2008, is the first full-time (fiction) author featured in the Female Force series (others have penned books, but have other careers). The series, to date, has published biographies on such influential women as Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Palin, and Princess Diana. Female Force offers a broad range of strong and influential women who are shaping modern history and culture.

"Stephenie Meyer has captured the imagination of millions. She has parlayed her stories into a cottage industry and that’s why we felt she was, indeed, a Female Force." Davis added.

"(Also, I’m hooked on the books like everyone else!)"

Davis notes other prominent and influential female authors', business executives', entertainers', journalists', politicians', and activists' biographies are currently in development for the Female Force series.

The monthly comic book series, launched earlier this year, has drawn considerable media attention, including features on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and Live with Regis and Kelly. It has also been featured in such periodicals as People, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and thousands of blogs and other media outlets, such as The Rundown.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Celebrate Marvel's 70th Anniversary!

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Strange Tales Podcast

STRANGE TALES #1 (of 3) (JUL090581)
Written and Drawn by JASON, PETER BAGGE, NICK BERTOZZI, MOLLY CRABAPPLE, NICHOLAS GUREWICH, JAMES KOCHALKA, MICHAEL KUPPERMAN, JOHN LEAVITT, JUNKO MIZUNO, PAUL POPE, JOHNNY RYAN & DASH SHAW
Cover by PAUL POPE
Parental Advisory - $4.99
FOC—8/13/09, On-Sale—9/02/09

© C Harris Lynn, 2009