Tagged: dark horse

Comic Review: Rise of the Black Flame #1

Rise of the Back Flame #1 is another totally solid debut straight from the Mignolaverse. This one traces the origins of the legendary villain, The black Flame from the pages of Hellboy/BPRD and gives us an excellent set up for an intriguing jungle horror adventure that I’m sure Indiana Jones would most certainly sign up for. The setting is Burma and there’s been a series of disappearances of young girls that the locals believe to be the devilish work of a near by cult.

On the case are two Brittish detectives who’re on the case searching for clues, quickly meet Sarah Jewell and Marie-Therese Lafleur who tell them they’ve got an expedition set up to find the Temple of the Black Flame. Sarah Jewell goes on to tell them of some of her incredible supernatural adventures she’s shared with The Witchfinder himself Sir Edward Grey. I’m getting the feeling we’ll be seeing much more of these characters in the future of the Mignolaverse….if they can survive this expedition that is. 

Here we have again everything I love about reading comics, grand adventure set in exotic locales with a supernatural mystery brewing. Like I’ve said before Mignola’s books to me are the best on the scene, whether it be Hellboy, BPRD, Witchfinder or Lobster Johnson. They’re always a helluva great time to read and are all connected by a deep lore that’s been running strong for decades. So here we have the opening of another chapter in the saga and a true prequel for fans of the villain of the BPRD’s ‘Hell on Earth’. I’m certainly going to be back for issue #2 as it’s bound to be filled with some excellent storytelling and some creepy jungle adventure, for a good time check out this debut!  

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Black Hammer #1: The Quiet Life After Superhero Retirement?

I read a cool little debut issue for Dark Horse’s new series Black Hammer by Jeff Lemire & Dean Ormstom. This comes at a good time for me personally as I’ve been seriously missing a good solid superhero comic book to read. I’ve more or less given up on the Marvel & DC universes at least for the time being as it feels a little too fan calculated these days. So here on the shelves was a new series featuring a weird story about a team of retired superheroes who for ten years have been forced to live in rural small town somewhere presumably in the USA (though they may be somewhere else entirely). The team disappeared and have been thought dead since their victory in a giant battle to save the planet. 

So here they sit all reacting differently to their predicament as they share a house as a “family” on a farm. Some enjoy the quiet life while others are obviously feeling trapped. The interesting thing about the first issue is the mystery of where exactly they are, how they got there and why they for some reason are unable to leave. I highly doubt this quiet life will continue on this way for too long.

For the time being though this first issue delivers the intrigue as we realize one the children of the superheroes, working as a reporter, seems to be getting ready to try to figure out just what happened to them all. The comic is a solid first issue that brings along with it enough gusto to inspire me to drop another 4 bones on the second.

Artist Dean Ormstom also brings some serious character with his unique art that would fit in perfectly in books like Hellboy & BPRD. So if you’re looking for something different than what the “big two” are churning out these days this is a great first issue worth your hard earned cash.

Joe Golem Occult Detective #1: Mignola & Co Bring the Thrills & Chills Again!

Mike Mignola rarely lets me down, in fact I’d go as far to say that these days the Mignola-verse is where I really like to spend most of my comic book time. So yesterday it was a no-brainer that I’d have to pick up issue #1 of Joe Golem: Occult Detective. The series is based on characters from the ‘Joe Golem & The Drowning City’ Novel by Mike Mignola & Chris Golden, but the comic is meant to be a stand alone story (actually outside of the Mignola BPRD / Hellboy world) so you don’t need to read the novel first. However this first issue has peaked my interest in the book so I’ll probably check that out soon as well.

Well as you can guess by the title, this one is a bit of a pulp style supernatural thriller and takes place in severely flooded New York City in 1965. There in waters that fill the streets children are disappearing, being abducted by vicious creatures that roam below. We’ve got Joe Golem on the case though trying to figure out just what the hell is really going on here, we also get a bit of background into the cities past and some strange flashbacks or nightmares that will somehow tie into the dangerous waters of New York City.

We also meet Golem’s partner Simon Church a mysterious old man who seems to keep himself alive with strange magic, he also keeps a golem like clay monster in is house that’s likely to play a major role in this story. The artwork by Patric Reynolds is also excellent giving us a great look and feel of the gloom of the dark flooded waterways of mid century Manhattan.

The story is titled “The Rat Catcher” and I’m most definitely on board for the rest of the 5 issues (though inside it states there’s only 3 parts to this story? hmm….) and some spooky tales of adventure & mystery that Mike Mignola has become a legend for telling!

Let’s Make ‘Hellboy 3’ Happen!!

I’m super happy that Ron Perlman is taking matters into his own hands recently with Hellboy 3!! To me it’s absoutely ridiculous that this franchise remains with out it’s final chapter! I’m a HUGE fan of the movies and  HUGE fan of the Hellboy/BPRD Mignolaverse and while the movie took a bit of a different take on the character in many ways I still think Del Toro nailed the look and vibe of the whole comic book world they exist in. I don’t think it was humanly possible to cast a better Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and all of the FX work was 100%! I mean how amazing was Doug Jones as Abe Sapien too?!

Well apparently not quite amazing enough for the masses as we never got the third chapter of Guillermo’s planned trilogy. Perhaps the Hellboy universe is just too dang bizarre for the people who yearn for ultra chiseled male models in costume? But for some odd reason we are getting a sequel to the rather unimpressive forgettable Pacific Rim? What gives? Well Perlman and the rest of the cast are pretty damn excited to finish the story. Good ol’ Ron has been speaking out about getting the third film made saying:

“I don’t have any news for you, but there’s always a chance, I’m getting to that age where, if I waited much longer, ‘Hellboy 3’ will be performed out of a wheelchair. So I was basically trying to say, if there’s going to be this thing, it should be sooner rather than later. I wouldn’t want to be involved in a crowdfunding. I don’t think it’s the fans’ job to fund a movie; I think it’s up to the people who do it professionally. I think it’s the fans’ job to sit back and buy popcorn and Coke and watch a movie and enjoy it.”

So here at Universal Dork I wanna use my voice (what little one it may be) to get more of the word out about making Hellboy 3 finally happen! Let’s not get a rebooted Hellboy just yet, let’s finish the story we started and see what Hellboy’s fate really is. Will he bring about the destruction of mankind bringing Hell on earth? Or will he somehow fight the creatures from deep down in the firey pits? Imagine some of the other BPRD agents added to the cast like Panya, Roger the homunculus, Benjamin Daimio, Howards or how’s about Lobster Johnson?!

 

And also how about a B.P.R.D. movie?! Or a Netflix series? Give us something dammit! I have honestly been slowly becoming totally burnt out on The Avengers movies, I think that Ant-man looks like a bland 2008 Marvel movie with another boring villain and the same tired formula as most Marvel flicks being churned out. Highly forgettable shit in the end. I really believe the Hellboy movie universe holds a lot more intrigue, horror and mystery at the moment. To me Marvel movies are starting to feel like a bit like a shiny boring Pepsi commercial. But in this day and age that’s what most people seem to dig, and if a film isn’t going to make massive amounts of cash then Hollywood just ain’t interested. The first two films didn’t make an obscene amount of money, so the idea of a third movie being made today I guess is kinda unfathomable.

To me the movies always seemed a little too unique and smart for the mainstream. Crowdfunding may indeed be the only way to get this one off the ground at this point. Or perhaps they could re-cast some male supermodels in the roles of Abe Sapien and Hellboy and make them all sexy? Ugghhh…Despite all of that  I still think Ron Perlman’s Hellboy could be the guy who saves the superhero flick….let’s get the word out there!

Frankenstein Goes Underground with Mignola!

 

I Just read the brand new first issue of Frankenstein Underground that just came out today by Mike Mignola & Ben Stenbeck. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Frankenstein’s monster in a Mignola story, nope he originally appeared in the Hellboy story “House of the Living Dead” back in 2011. A great little story where Hellboy has a short career in Mexico wrestling monsters and yeah Frankenstein’s Monster is one of his opponents/buddies.

 

That’s what I enjoyed so much about this first issue, it really ties in with a few stories from the ever expanding Mignolaverse. Don’t worry though this story is a simple one so far, it follows The legendary monster into the 1950’s where he’s helped by a witch and hunted by a familiar face from a classic BPRD adventure. It also appears that the title of this book should be taken quite literally as it’s clear the  creatures adventure is headed far below-perhaps to hell?

This is a nice weird ass first issue with a great cover by Mike himself. Let’s face it how can you turn down a solo Frankenstein story written by Mignola that takes place in the 1950’s? I’ll be there for issue two because these days I’d rather spend my time in the unique world of the Mignolaverse than the generic confines of the Marvel Universe….

Comic Pick of the Week: Hellboy & The B.P.R.D. #1!

I have been looking forward to Hellboy and The BPRD #1 for quite some time now and this first issue was a real treat for any fan. I’ve missed Hellboy (and Abe Sapien for that matter) in the pages of BPRD now for quite sometime and this series is giving us a first look at his first adventure ever with the team!

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Mignola and John Arcudi (one of my favorite writers) team up again this time with Alex Maleev making this an epic event. I’ve been in love with Maleev’s brilliant artwork since his legendary  long run on Daredevil he did years ago with Brian Michael Bendis. He’s easily one of my favorite modern comic book artists and his work on this book thus far doesn’t disappoint. This is also the perfect time for anyone who was thinking about getting into the Hellboy universe to get on board, as the universe is at this point pretty vast. This shows us what the red devil was like on his first paranormal outing with a team.

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The story is a simple premise thus far. Professor Trevor Bruttenholm assembles a team of human BPRD agents to take a younger Hellboy on a mission to the jungles of Brazil to investigate a series of over thirty murders. They head out to a small village where the townsfolk claim a strange creature has been blamed. The team, a bit reluctant about bringing Hellboy along find refuge there near a huge ominous castle.

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This is a great set up issue, with awesome artwork, creepy locales and a cool mystery brewing. This is the kind of book I love. The series is planned to cover each year, in 2015 covering 1953 and so on. I can’t wait to see who we meet along the way as the BPRD fills it’s ranks with likely more odd characters, so buy this book and maybe we’ll get that third Hellboy flick we have been waiting for!

This Week’s Comic Book Reviews! ‘Manifest Destiny’ Stomps ‘The Walking Dead’!

Yesterday was Wednesday and as usual I bought a few new funny books! Here’s what I though of ’em!

Manifest Destiny #7, Image/Skybound What else can I say here about this comic book? It's could be my fave title at the moment-the first story arc was a great and it's now in trade paperback form so I suggest checking it out. This title gives me similar feelings of when I first got hooked onThe Walking Dead!

Manifest Destiny #7, Image/Skybound
What else can I say here about this comic book? It’s could be my fave title at the moment-the first story arc was a great and it’s now in trade paperback form so I suggest checking it out ASAP! This title gives me similar feelings of when I first got hooked on The Walking Dead! Issue  #7 continues the adventures of Lewis & Clark as they continue up river on boat with cast of crew members who’re truly creepy in their own right. We’ve got Lewis trying to keep his monstrous discoveries a secret and a new female crew member who’s discovered his private journal entries. It doesn’t take long though for things to get crazy again as their boat become stuck on on something strange which signifies that these guys are in for more monster mayhem in the woods! The book is fresh as hell and the artwork is awesome-this books popularity is rising quickly and the first six issues are going for a pretty penny already on Ebay-now’s the time to jump on board as you can read seven straight issues without having to wait months between!

 

Abe Sapien #13, Dark Horse Abe Sapien's ongoing solo series has been pretty interesting so far. It's always bizarre and keeps getting darker in tone with every issue. Abe's recently went through some transformations recently becoming more monster in appearance than man. This issue encourages new readers to jump on board as a good starting point. We see Abe still traveling across an apocalyptic wasteland with an odd woman whom he found chained up inside a weirdly ravaged house. They run into some strangers who's son has half transformed into frog man monster, seeking the powers of a healer who supposedly lives close by. Abe's still trying to prove to himself and world that he himself is in no way connected to the most recent events of monster outbreaks that have occurred in major cities. This series continues to intrigue me as does almost everything in the Hellboy universe. I'm still trying to catch up on all the thick rich back stories that all seem to connect in some way.

Abe Sapien #13, Dark Horse
Abe Sapien’s ongoing solo series has been pretty interesting so far. It’s always bizarre and keeps getting darker in tone with every issue. Abe’s recently went through some transformations recently becoming more monster in appearance than man. This issue encourages new readers to jump on board as a good starting point. We see Abe still traveling across an apocalyptic wasteland with an odd woman whom he found chained up inside a weirdly ravaged house. They run into some strangers who’s son has half transformed into frog man monster, seeking the powers of a healer who supposedly lives close by. Abe’s still trying to prove to himself and world that he himself is in no way connected to the most recent events of monster outbreaks that have occurred in major cities. This series continues to intrigue me as does almost everything in the Hellboy universe. I’m still trying to catch up on all the thick rich back stories that all seem to connect in some way. This issue also features some pretty spectacular artwork and an additional Abe Sapien back up story-so you most definitely get your money’s worth! Anyone looking for a good creepy comic book with heavy Lovecraft influence should check this title out!

Walking Dead #128, Image Ok, first let me clarify that I'm really not a huge fan of this book anymore, it used to be my favorite title. I wasn't a fan of "All Out War" and this continues the story a couple years after those events. The whole gang has been hanging out with Rick in their picture perfect community but of course we still have the annoying Negan involved as he's being held captive trying to make friends with Carl secretly. We have a new group of people who enter the community and of course no one truly trusts each other. Carl wants to move out of Rick's place. It's reall more of the same shit we have been reading for the past couple years or so. Man, this book needs a serious kick in the ass. But it just keeps going and it really doesn't cover too much new ground. There's not a lot of adventure to be had in The Walking Dead anymore, they kinda just like staying in the same place, no matter what and pretend that their rebuilding the world single handedly. However they still have zero clue what is going on in the rest of the world, nor does anyone seem to care. They have no idea what caused the outbreak, and they don't seem to care. They really haven't traveled all that far, they just blindly accept that the whole world is fucked and continue with their repetitive daily operation. Maybe Rick just wants be the leader of the world? maybe he fears finding others and losing his say in how everything always foes down? I think a lot about how this title could be a top notch adventure still and all the different scenarios they could face, yet it just keeps doing more of the same old shit. I'm really at this point keeping up with the story because I've made it this far. I really do miss the old days of this book when the group was on the move and constantly entering into the unknown.....

Walking Dead #128, Image
Ok, first let me clarify that I’m really not a huge fan of this book anymore, it used to be my favorite title. I wasn’t a fan of “All Out War” and this continues the story a couple years after those events. The whole gang has been hanging out with Rick in their picture perfect community but of course we still have the annoying Negan involved as he’s being held captive trying to make friends with Carl secretly. We have a new group of people who enter the community and of course no one truly trusts each other. Carl wants to move out of Rick’s place. It’s really more of the same shit we have been reading for the past couple years or so. Man, this book needs a serious kick in the ass. But it just keeps going and it really doesn’t cover too much new ground. There’s not a lot of adventure to be had in The Walking Dead anymore, they kinda just like staying in the same place, no matter what and pretending that they’re rebuilding the world single handedly. However they still have zero clue what is going on in the rest of the world, nor does anyone seem to care. They have no idea what caused the outbreak, and they don’t seem to care. They really haven’t traveled all that far, they just blindly accept that the whole world is fucked and continue with their repetitive daily operation. Maybe Rick just wants be the leader of the world? Maybe he fears finding others and losing his say in how everything always goes down? I think a lot about how this title could be a top notch adventure still and all the different scenarios they could face, yet it just keeps doing more of the same old shit. I’m really at this point keeping up with the story because I’ve made it this far. I really do miss the old days of this book when the group was on the move and constantly entering into the unknown…..

More Mignola Cartoons Please!!

For those of you cartoon lovers out there I wanted to make sure that none of you missed “The Amazing Screw-on Head” from 2006. Based off of a Mike Mignola of Hellboy fame, one shot comic book of the same name from 2002. This single episode was the pilot for what was hoped to be a Sci-Fi channel original series. For whatever reason it was not picked up and we are left simply with this 22 minute episode full of brilliant animation, awesome quirky characters and a ton of action! I love Mignola and weekly read his comics and if there were more cartoons out there like this one the world would be a much better place!

Screw-on Head is the occult robot investigator of Abe Lincoln (this ass wipe again?! don’t get me started!) who can screw his head on and off into different bodies. He then follows Lincoln’s orders to fight zombies werewolves and whatever else goes bump in the night-kinda like a prequel to BPRD. The pilot had a survey to get peoples reactions, apparently it was too out there for the masses. It even had a star studded cast of Paul Giamatti, Patton Oswalt, Molly Shannon & David Hyde Pierce. What more could you ask for people? Well anyway if like rad cartoons and have never seen this check it out – you won’t be disappointed as it looks exactly like Mignola’s artwork has jumped off of the page of one of his comics!!

Get Excited For the GOON!!

Wow I just recently saw the teaser trailer for the upcoming Goon Movie adaptation and it’s looking incredible!! Those of you who aren’t familiar with the Goon should check out the trade paperbacks from Dark Horse comics, they are anything but ordinary! With the fantastic artwork and macabe stories of Eric Powell this comic has got to be one of the most off the wall books I have read in years. Trust me.

 Check out this rad teaser from David Fincher, starring Paul Giamatti and Clancy Brown. It looks liek this is the perfect medium for this comic to be portrayed on film-I can’t wait!!