Pigeons From Hell: An Interview with Nathan Fox
May 5, 2008 | Categories: Art / Comic Books / Illustration

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from illustrator and Kitsune Noir friend Nathan Fox and it mentioned he had a new comic out called Pigeons From Hell. I had NO idea that he was working on a comic book so I went out and bought it the very next day, read it all the way through and was amazed. The story is adapted from a Robert E. Howard story, the guy who created and wrote Conan the Barbarian, though this story is a spooky/horror kind of story set in a swamp in the South.

Nathan’s art has never looked more beautiful, and it’s pretty rad to see him doing sequential artwork for a change. The story is also colored by the amazing Jeromy Cox, who colored one of my all-time favorite comics, Promethea. Since I was so enamored with the first issue of the series, I did a little interview with Nathan and asked him a little about the book and his new experience with comics.

+KN: So how did you get attached to drawing Pigeons From Hell?

Nathan Fox: I’ve been sending my work around for a while through pitches and narrative illustration work, trying to see if anyone would take a chance, and Matt Dryer at Dark Horse called me up for Pigeons From Hell.

+KN: Were you a fan of Robert E. Howard’s work before you started work on the comic?

Nathan Fox: Nope. Didn’t know about Joe’s work at all. I really didn’t know that much about the breadth of Howard’s work out there to tell you the truth beyond the barbarian movies. I only knew about Conan comics wise but rarely picked up any issues except for Greg Ruth’s work on the series. Love his stuff. But once I got into Howard’s writing and short stories and read the original Pigeons From Hell and caught up with the work Joe had been doing I was sold. And here we are.

Keep reading Pigeons From Hell: An Interview with Nathan Fox…

Mats!? Traveler of Time and SPACE
April 18, 2008 | Categories: Art / Comic Books / Illustration

If you’re in Los Angeles tonight I highly suggest stopping by my favorite comic book shop Secret Headquarters for the opening of a new art show titled, Mats!? Traveler of Time and SPACE. Mats was born in France to Swedish parents, and has been drawing weird shit since he was in kindergarten. I stopped by the shop yesterday night and was able to take a sneak peek at the artwork and it looks like it’s going to be a really rad show.

The opening goes from 8 to 10 pm tonight and Mats artwork will be up until April 30th in case you can’t make it tonight!

Bobby

Marvel’s Secret Invasion
April 4, 2008 | Categories: Comic Books

Since I’m a big ol’ comic beek nerd, I want to post my thoughts about Marvel’s newest mega-event, Secret Invasion.
I’ve been looking forward to this event for quite a while, and I’ve loved the build-up immensely. I think Brian Michael Bendis is easily the best comic book writer out there right now hands down. The man has orchestrated this event over the last 4 years, like, that’s unheard of.

Thankfully the issue definitely pays off and you see Marvel universe go to hell in a handbasket really quickly. I”m not gonna talk about the issue, but I do want to talk about some the ideas I have about who may be a Skrull and what might be coming up in the series. So if you haven’t read the first issue yet, don’t look under the cut. If you have, please let me know what you think!

Keep reading Marvel’s Secret Invasion…

The Walking Dead
April 1, 2008 | Categories: Comic Books

A couple weeks ago my best friend Garrett suggested I check out this comic book called The Walking Dead, which he described as a really good zombie story. I’m a big fan of zombies, so I bought the first trade paperback and gave it a try. I ended up getting completely addicted to this comic, and have since bought trades 1 through 7 in an effort to try and catch up.

The story is a pretty simple one, a good cop gets shot and put into a coma, wakes up to find the world’s gone to hell. There are zombies everywhere, and no one has any idea why. There’s no government, no law, just a lot of random people trying their best to survive. But what really sets this story apart is the incredible writing from Robert Kirkman. I think he described it best in the introduction to the first trade paperback when he said, “With The Walking Dead I want to explore how people deal with extreme situations and how these events CHANGE them.”

This isn’t just some zombie story, this is about people trying to keep their humanity in a world that’s been turned upside down. What also makes the story so amazing that it doesn’t hold anything back. People cuss, people get eaten, people die. Nothing is taboo or off limits, this is how fucked up the world would be and how people would react. It’s also pretty gruesome, so if you have a problem with gore, this probably isn’t the book for you, but it’s certainly not what this book is all about either.

I can’t say enough great things about this book, so go to your local comic book shop or even a bookstore and take a peek for yourself!

Bobby

The New Astonishing X-Men
March 19, 2008 | Categories: Comic Books

Newsarama posted some new images of the second run of Astonishing X-Men, one of the best things in comic books these days. Currently it’s being written by Joss Whedon and drawn by John Cassaday, both incredibly talented people, but their run ends with Giant Size Astonishing X-Men. That leaves the reins falling to two other extremely talented guys, Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi.

Warren Ellis has helped to change the landscape of comics over the last 10 years or so. His creation of The Authority brought a more mature, grittier edge to comics (along with others of course) and one of my personal favorites, Planetary, showed everyone how a brand new comic book could have an immensely rich past and a mystery that unravels after every issue. Simone Bianchi on the other hand is a relative newcomer, who’s only mainstream work that I know of was a few issues of Wolverine. But as you can see in the image above he’s definitely got an amazing style.

Together I think these guys are gonna’ make some rad comics, hopefully just as good as the previous run.

Bobby

Official Watchmen Promo Images
March 7, 2008 | Categories: Comic Books / Films

For about the last 10 years now comic books have become one of the hottest places to find good material for movies. Very few of these movies though have been based off comics that are considered to be “classics” by fans. That all changes next year with the release of Watchmen, a comic written by Alan Moore in 1986 that changed the very notion of what a comic book could really be. The story is set in the United States in 1985, where a world filled by super heroes is on the brink of a nuclear war. The story begins with one of the Watchmen being murdered, leading into a journey of who did it and the bigger implications of why.

The movie is going to be directed by Zack Snyder, know for his true-to-form adaptation of 300, which was a graphic novel by writer/artist Frank Miller. Snyder did a great job visually, though the screenplay was way too wordy, probably an attempt at making up for the fact that the graphic novel had very little speaking. I have a feeling that he’s going to do a good job of sticking to the book, and seeing the images above make me all the more confident. I think the Comedian (the guy with the shotgun) looks absolutely spot on, and the changes made to Nite Owl and Ozymandias present a good update to the original outfits.

The movie is supposed to come out 1 year from today, so hopefully they release some trailers soon to quench my thirst for more! For more info about the movie, check out the official Watchmen movie blog which is written by Zack Snyder himself.

Bobby

Paul Pope Draws The Lone Ranger
March 3, 2008 | Categories: Art / Comic Books / Illustration

Paul Pope, the best comic book artist in the galaxy, is going to be doing a fill in issue of The Lone Ranger telling the story of a Native American folk tale. The story (obviously) centers around a wolf, and man-oh-man is it looking sharp. If I had to get a lame wolf tattoo on my arm, it would totally be one that was drawn by Mr. Pope. Head over to Newsarama to check out a few more preview pages of the project!

Bobby

Brand New Iron Man Trailer
February 29, 2008 | Categories: Comic Books / Films

A new Iron Man Trailer has popped up onto the web, and man-oh-man they keep getting better and better! This time around you get a better idea of the general story, that the people who capture him use his Iron Man schematics to make a bigger, scarier kind of Iron Man. I’m guessing it’s supposed to be a variation of The Crimson Dynamo, but in the movie he’s called Iron Monger. The trailer is absolutely mind blowing looking, especially in the special effects department. The part where he opens those flaps to create drag and goes zipping behind the jets… so effing rad.

Two other exciting things to note that I noticed on IMDB. Sam Jackson is going to be playing Nick Fury, which is coo because the NIck Fury in Marvel’s Ultimate universe is modeled after Mr. Jackson. The other odd cameo is Ghostface Killah as a “Dubai Tycoon”, who’s first album was also named Ironman, so I’m guessing his cameo isn’t exactly a coincidence.

The movie comes out May 2nd, and I’m totally ready to camp out for this one.

Bobby

Live-Action Akira Movie Coming in 2009
February 27, 2008 | Categories: Comic Books / Films

That little headline got me all excited. A week ago FirstShowing.net revealed that the most well known anime in the world is getting the Hollywood treatment next summer. The rights were purchased by Warner Bros. who describe the film as “Blade Runner meets City of God”, which when you think about it like that, it sounds even better. They’re also saying that the movie going to be based more-so on the manga than on the anime, which should make for a much bigger story. One thing that FirstShowing mentions is that it might be taking place in “New Manhattan” instead of a neo-Tokyo. This would be pretty damn annoying if it was, Japan is the perfect setting for this movie, and always will be.

I think as long as they get a good director, don’t butcher the screenplay, and give it a decent budget, this should be awesome. They should just let the Wachowskis do it since they’re already directing Japan’s other most famous anime, which is also being produced by Warner Bros. I don’t even care for them that much, I just don’t think they’d screw up.

Who else would be cool for this project? Leave me some suggestions in the comments.

Bobby

The New Fantastic 4
February 17, 2008 | Categories: Comic Books

I picked up the new issue of Fantastic 4 last week, #554 to be exact, where writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch have started their run on the comic. These guys are only household names if you live with someone who reads comic books, but they could be compared to a guy like David Fincher, who makes movies that are not only smart, but flashy and edgy as well. The two worked together previously on a comic called Ultimates, sort of a contemporary take on The Avengers, but filled with the moral and political issues of our modern day society.

But now they’ve set their sights on bringing back one of Marvel’s most recognizable heroes to the glory they haven’t experienced since the 60’s or 70’s, honestly. Their run is slated at being 16 issues, almost a year and a half, and the first issue doesn’t disappoint. Within the first 10 pages, you’re subtly shown what each character’s powers are, and even a slight nod to how they got them. After that, it starts to feel extremely real. Millar’s characterizations are spot on, and you don’t feel like you’re reading a comic, it’s like you’re reading an issue of your favorite well written TV show.

That idea is also helped entirely by the amazing art of Bryan Hitch, who is hands down one of the best artists in the industry. His character’s feel absolutely real, such as seeing She Hulk sitting down on the couch with a more normal sized person. She Hulk looks like she’s 7 feet tall because she is 7 feet tall. Or when Sue (The Invisible Woman) is sitting on the opposite couch relaxing, suddenly an old love of Reed’s (Mr. Fantastic) teleports into the room. The first thing Sue does is put up her hair, realizing that she looks like she a mom and not the hot chick from the F4. It’s these subtle details that really make this something different from normal comics.

At the end of the issue you’re left with a pretty big reveal, drawn in a typically epic style that only Bryan Hitch can do so well. If you have any interest at all in comics, pick this up. If you’ve never read a comic in your life, go pick this up. This is a great place to start and should lead up to some pretty exciting things over the next year or so.

Bobby