This pick came as a very big surprise to us since we have been following this title since its debut well over a year ago. A title that has left us feeling empty and disappointed I am sad to say in spite of the wealth of great characters (Deadpool, Punisher, Elektra, and Venom among them). We were big fans of the book back in the day when the title featured true c-level characters like Atlas, Mach V, and Songbird. Since then, it has gone through various iterations with the latest being led by General Ross/Red Hulk. Nineteen issues of indifference finally has given way to what was the most entertaining issue of the series thus far as Ross assembles his anti-hero unit to take out Doctor Strange, who has seemingly gone rogue. The writing is with the perfect dose of humor and sufficient action sequences. Ben Acker and Ben Blacker fit in a lot of characters and plot in the pages they are given and the results are quite satisfying. Heck, you even get an appearance from Elsa Bloodstone the Monster Hunter! How is that for reaching into the archives of Marvel lore? Artist Matteo Lolli provides better art than we have been accustomed to seeing in this title of late as well!
Thuderbolts Annual #1 is onsale every where comics are sold!
OK, where were we a month ago when the first issue hit all of the local comic shops? Oh yeah. We were right there in line buying. If it were not for some fierce competition that week, you would have been hearing about this one much sooner. No better time than the present, however, to push the heck out of this one.
Lewis and Clarke are on their journey of discovery in the New World and what they come across is not at all what you would expect. You see, this is an America that is not quite the one you would recognize from your history books. And for the members of this famous expedition, it may be a tale they don't live to repeat. Historical fiction has not been this much fun in graphic novel form since we can remember. Writer Chris Dingess and artist Matthew Roberts are your navigators as you head west into the great unknown as the sun sets. The expedition is still accepting volunteers, so come along for the adventure!
Once
per month, we will be taking a look at movies released for the upcoming month,
and telling our readers where we would be spending our movie dollars each week,
based on the look of the trailers. Links to the chosen trailers will be
provided so you can see just what we are so excited about. Movie release dates are subject to change.
December 6th
Ah, December.....between all of the holiday preparations, shopping, and time with family and friends, there may be some time to take a break from it all and head out to the movies, right? Well, we have quite a month and it all starts with Christian Bale v Woody Harrelson in Out of the Furnace. A blue collar guy who is caring for his terminally ill Dad gets even more thrown at him when his brother (Casey Affleck) just returned from active duty gets involved with some unsavory characters and activities in their home town. The Cohen brothers present a story of the 1970's folk music scene in Greenwhich Village with Inside Llewyn Davis. Josh Lawson and Ron Perlman spook you with Crave. Josh plays a crime scene photographer who starts experiencing from very dark thoughts following the end of his relationship. A woman (Rhada Mitchell) and her husband struggle to conceive and almost lose hope until her best friend (Michelle Monoghan) becomes pregnant after a one night stand. The friend agrees to give up the baby to them in exchange for living with them, but things get complicated in Expecting. A sci fi thriller, Last Days on Mars has a team of astronauts accosted by a menacing presence. Liev Schreiber and Elias Koteas star. And finally, Khumba is a half-striped zebra who gets banished by his herd and goes on a great adventure to earn his stripes (yeah, I said it). Laurence Fishburne, Liam Neeson, and Steve Buscemi all contribute voice talents to this animated film. Out of the Furnace looks like a perfect way to kick off the month and we have the trailer for you right here.
December 13th
I am not even sure it is a fair fight in week two from our perspective here at Great Stories. So, before we even state our OBVIOUS choice for our movie dollars, lets run down the elephant in the room's competition. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas has yuletide cross-dressing comedy lined up for those non-fantasy fans and he even recruits a dose of Larry the Cable Guy for good measure. In American Hustle, Christian Bale sees his second major release in as many weeks and brings along Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, and the always lovely Amy Adams along for this 70's era tale of political favoritism and corruption, which looks to be a solid film. In Saving Mr. Banks, Tom Hanks...yes, I said Saving Mr. Banks (not Private Ryan)...ahem. Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney in his longstanding bid to convince P.L. Travers to allow him to bring Mary Poppins to the big screen. Emma Thompson plays the creator of the classic icon. Whether it is by accident or calculated design, Paul Walker appears in the film Hours as a man who struggles to save his newborn child from a hospital in New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina bears down on the city. And in Some Velvet Morning, Stanley Tucci plays a man who leaves his wife to be with a younger woman he has not seen in years in a tragically comic and quirky romance. In spite of some interesting films debuting this week, you will find us in line for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug which is destined to be another box office hit. Check out the trailer below and celebrate the return of Legolas!
December 20th
Ron Burgundy and the team return for Anchorman 2. It is out of the 70's and into the 80's (my favorite era) in this comedic outing. Walking with Dinosaurs is an animated tale following the migration of the now extinct beasts (Justin Long and John Leguizamo providing voices). And our pick of the week is the movie Her, which could put Jaoquin Phoenix back on the map as he plays a man who favors the relationship of a female voice born of advanced technology named Samantha following a hurtful collapse of a long and deep companionship. I know the crowds will be flocking to see Will Ferrell, but check out our pick below.
December 25th
And Christmas is finally here. Once you are done opening exchanging gifts and eating fine banquets with loved ones, there is a host of movies appearing at cineplexes everywhere including Scorcese's The Wolf of Wall Street, which is sure to make that joke of a Wall Street 2 movies look ever the awful movie it was. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConoughey, and Jonah Hill, it is a strong candidate for our bottom dollr (and it will have been since we'll be thinking of the first credit card bills that arrive on the 26th)! 47 Ronin has Keanu Reaves and 46 comrades battle mythical enemies in the Orient in a very captivating adventure with some potential. Grudge Match pits the stars of two of the most famous boxing films in Hollywood history against each other as De Niro throws down with Sly Stallone in what could be a pretty amusing comedy romp. Labor Day has Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin star in a film about prison escapee who solicits the help of a woman and her son to make a new life. In August: Osage County, an incredible cast featuring Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Sam Shepard, Julia Roberts, Ewan MacGregor, Abigail Breslin, and Benedict Cumberbatch tell the story of the powerful and influential women of the Weston family. Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig star in the strange comedic drama of a man who fantasizes about of heroic acts with a girl who in his office who barely knows he exists in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. And finally, Ralph Fiennes directs and stars in The Invisible Woman, which recounts the real life story of Charles Dickens 13 year affair with his mistress. Kristen Scott Thomas and Felicity Jones co-star. Having our fantasy quoted sated by The Hobbit, we will have to forgo 47 Ronin in favor of Scorcese's latest, though the unbelievably stacked cast of August: Osage County has us very intrigued. Hey, it's Christmas, so why choose? Check out both trailer here!
And that does it for another edition of Fresh Popped Corn. We would love to hear about which films you are excited for this month!
As we approach Pearl Harbor Day, what better way to honor the Greatest Generation than to pick up a copy of the Fever Ridge Trade Paperback collection that hit stores this week? This is the story of the 6th Army's 6th Infantry Division, called the "Sightseein' Sixth" and the Alamo Scouts under the command of General Walter Kreuger and a secret that could have changed the world forever. Nick Runge (Half Past Danger) provides the art for the Mike Heimos story. Check it out!
What has been missing from the field of graphic novel storytelling for some time is the innocence and journey of American discovery that has been embodied in the work of Charles Schulz and in a different medium, Norman Rockwell. As newspaper circulation slowly declines with the advent of 24 hour TV news stations and the world wide web, where massive amounts of information are at one's fingertips, one of the victims is the comic strip. I remember waking every morning, grabbing the newspaper and reading Garfield, The Far Side, Peanuts, and The Wizard of Id to name a few. Those three panel comics were the source of many smiles to start off the day before school, but fast forward many years and I now don't even get the newspaper delivered. Regular visitations to the comic store produce plenty of Marvel and DC superhero stories and no shortage of creator-owned mystery and action stories of the non-spandex variety, but lacking is the more innocent comic fare that served as my true introduction to the art.
Enter Max West's Sunnyville Stories. The tale centers around a young feline named Rusty and his parents who move to a rural community from the big city. For Rusty's parents, the move is one of opportunity, but is only a source of stress and unwanted change for their son. Moving away from everything he knows (community and friends), Rusty must develop new relationships and adjust to life in an environment that is completely foreign to him. Rusty may be a cat, but he is more like a fish out of the water on his first adventure to meet a new friend. The writing is infused with a touch of humor while dealing with an array of very real issues that many families face each and every day, which is all part of the charm of Max's flagship creative work.
Rusty gets a little more than what he expects when he meets Samantha MacGregor who takes him under her wing and introduces him to life in Sunnyville, starting with her family as well as the Tanuki's (a family of racoons from Japan). New adventures are just around the corner for the two, however, and Rusty comes face to face with a female canine (Rose) who is pretty unhappy with all of the attention Rusty Duncan has been receiving by the town. The two decide to settle their differences over an overly competitive game of pinball. Next, Rusty and Samantha get caught up in a criminal plot by some train robbers who steal a shipment of laundry detergent from the local launderers (a family of Greek ferrets). Will the kids help Officer Carl (a dutiful bulldog) apprehend the weasel thieves?
To complete the first volume, there is a small bonus story which was actually a treatment made for art school featuring the two main characters of Sunnyville stories.
There are many more stories Max is going to tell that will continue to flesh out the world of Sunnyville. Volume 2 is due to land (as of this writing) in March of 2014, which will contain four episodes and bonus vignettes and sketches, which we are looking forward to seeing. Further, Max is releasing Von Herling, Vampire Hunter sometime in the next calendar year which will serve as his first commercial departure from the Sunnyville brand.
Max West is offering the comic world something that is decidedly different and something that is sorely lacking in the industry from our perspective. As the art of graphic novels has decreased in circulation (much like most print media), companies seem to be serving a more mature audience. The themes and content of a majority of works on bookshelves and comic racks are a reflection of this aging audience, leaving not as much room for newer and much younger fans with more discerning parents to identify appropriate material to enjoy. And most of the age-appropriate material to be found is of the costumed super hero variety. Sunnyville Stories is a perfect book through which to introduce children to the comic world and reading as a whole. Kids will relate to some very real themes that will resonate with them and have the opportunity to learn some important life lessons along the way (just as Rusty has through the first three episodes of Max's work).
You can find Sunnyville Stories Volume One on sale here at www.great-stories.net and other select retailers of fine creative works!
Great Stories selects..... Conan & the People of the Black Circle #2 (Dark Horse)
Dark Horse has been doing a fine job with Robert E. Howard's creation. They have re-released a ton of the old Marvel material under their own brand, while maintaining the regular Conan monthly title along with the occasional four to six issue King Conan story arcs, all in very capable hands from a story and art perspective. Last month, Fred Valente and Ariel Olivetti began the adaptation of Howard's novella "The People of the Black Circle", with painted art as opposed to the standard pencils and the product is truly top notch. The subject material works well with the artistic style, proving that beauty and grit can go hand in hand.
The first issue which we read last month was relatively Conan-free as the set-up of the story featured a King succumbing to dark magics and the tragic action that his sister was forced to commit in its wake. Swearing revenge for her brother's death has caused her to deal with the man who she believes can bring about the end of those responsible, but things do not go as she anticipates.
You can find Conan &the People of the Black Circle #1 and #2 at your local comic shops. Check it out if you are a fan of action-oriented fantasy done in beautiful painted art!
Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting, the team responsible for relaunching the successful Captain America title back in 2004 bring to the page a strong female character in the title Velvet. Velvet Templeton is an office admin with some decidedly deadly talents, as will be discovered by readers in this yarn that is chalk full of espionage, assassination, and mystery.
There has been a wealth of female leads whose strength and purpose seem to hold significant sway of late. Just look at Greg Rucka's Lazarus and Kelly Sue DeConnick's Pretty Deadly (both of which were featured as Great Stories top selections in their debut weeks). Velvet is no different in this regard. If you are looking for the women's equivalent of James Bond, you may have wondered onto her right here in these very pages. Epting's art is effective in its gloom and he draws his characters with an appreciated level of realism. Too many books of late draw angular or disproportional characters that just take away from the visual storytelling (see Marvel's Thunderbolts for a prime example). The art in this book has enhanced the story beautifully and breathed life into panels that contain no dialogue whatsoever, and that is very much appreciated.
This book is seeing a second printing due to the highly successful debut just a couple of weeks back, and we are happy for that as you will have a chance to pick it up at a store near you (and we hope you do!).
