There’s something oracular about Ray Fawkes’ One Line — the whole One Soul series, frankly — but this book particularly stretches the boundaries of sequential art and meta-comics, and reading it gives me the sense that as I turn the pages, the book is also reading me. You don’t need to have read One Soul or The People Inside to enjoy One Line, though it helps in appreciating the journey of the series’ experimental, multilinear form.
A panel all about the Filipino horror comic series, Trese, is one of many available for VOD through this year’s Anime Expo Lite. Moderated by Megan Peters of Comicbook.com, the conversation brought together comic writer Budjette Tan, artist KaJO Baldisimo, Ablaze Publishing co-founder Rich Young, and executive producer and showrunner of Netflix’s anime adaptation, Jay Oliva, to discuss everything about this beloved story of a badass investigator and her adventures surrounding the supernatural creatures of Filipino folklore.
With the recent launch of Cross-Play for Overwatch across PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch, Blizzard Entertainment also announced that Ashe’s Deadlock Challenge is now live across all platforms. Additionally, if gamers play and watch Overwatch from June 22 to July 5, they have the opportunity to earn sweet rewards, including the new Legendary Ashe and B.O.B. Skin.
The classic “Hero’s Journey” is probably one of the most common and cliche methods of storytelling in media. It’s everywhere, and pretty hard to avoid, as the foreword for Adora and the Distance demonstrates. From Star Wars to Back to the Future, the majority of tales out there feature the classic story of a (usually white male) protagonist going on an impossible journey in order to stop the forces of evil from ruining his life as he knows it.
The highly anticipated anime adaptation of Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo’s comic book series, Trese, is at last available to stream on Netflix. The adventures of hardcore investigator Alexandra Trese spring from the black-and-white comic illustrations into this beautifully animated, heavily detailed world, filled with tons of action, Filipino folklore, and a destiny cemented by circumstances but defined by respectable character.
Just in time for Father’s Day is award-winning writer and FatMan Beyond co-host Marc Bernardin’s first ever YA graphic novel Adora and The Distance. The novel is inspired by Bernardin’s daughter who was diagnosed with autism as a toddler and tells a deeply beautiful and personal tale of adventure, courage, and mystery. The novel follows the goings-on of young Adora as her fantastical world of pirates, giants, and ghosts comes under threat by a mysterious force called “The Distance.”
With great power, comes great responsibility. A timeless phrase with a powerful meaning. While it didn’t originate in comics, it was the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man that solidified the adage, transforming it into one of the most iconic comic book lines of all time.
Even if you haven’t ingested a single piece of Spidey content, the famous line tied heavily to Pete’s Uncle Ben has probably been ingrained in your memory by now. The line has been a major part of Peter Parker’s life for years, guiding the troubled hero through his hardest moments and reminding him why he dons the suit every day. But what happens when you don’t have great power anymore? What would Peter Parker do if he never became Spider-Man?
The trailer for Trese is here and it looks so good! The highly anticipated anime adaptation of Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo’s popular comic book series of the same name brings the black-and-white illustrations to life in color and with animation that looks so beautiful, it makes even the gory parts a stunning sight.
Every single time there is a “best of” list of comics and graphic novels, it’s almost inevitable that most of these lists are going to look a little similar. You’re going to see Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns on there, Moore and Gibbons Watchmen; (very deserving of a spot in the top 20) Grant Morrison and Dave McKean’s Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth. In writing this, I reviewed fifteen lists and this plays out, with some new additions like Robert Kirkman’s Invincible and Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina; and the more seemingly odder choices like, say, Brian Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. And at some point, we’re going to have to talk about why there are so many damn men dominating these lists.
As a teenager, it’s hard living underneath your popular siblings shadow. Zadie Lu knows quite well. She’s the little sister of the most popular kid in school who, after an accident, left him in a coma. It’s already hard being a teenager, but now be known as the girl with the brother who is in a coma. Despite the trauma of her brother’s condition, Zadie wants some normalcy in her life, but supernatural forces get in her way in the form of evil shadows.
When you first hear about the upcoming Disney+ film, Flora & Ulysses, you wonder just how Newbury Award-winning author and executive producer Kate DiCamillo came up with the idea of a girl and her superhero squirrel. The film, which premieres this Friday, tells the story of Flora, an avid comic book fan and self-avowed cynic, whose parents have separated. After saving a squirrel after being sucked up by an out-of-control vacuum, Flora names her new furry friend, Ulysses. She discovers, like the comic books, that Ulysses possesses unique superhero powers that help change Flora’s outlook on life for the better.
Almost two years ago, Greg Pak took the reins of rebooting the James Bond 007 comic book series but this time, having a revisionist take on a familiar and iconic villain, first introduced in the 1959 novel Goldfinger: Oddjob. Not only was the reimagined take refreshing and very much needed, the series itself was incredibly well done with the plot moving at a brisk pace, the action fun and invigorating to read, and the rivalry/bickering between James Bond and Oddjob (now known as South Korean secret agent John Lee) extremely entertaining and amusing to read.
Heyyy! It’s Kuya P AKA Patrick Michael Strange and I recently had the pleasure of sitting down for a NOC Exclusive interview with the Comics Creators behind Source Point Press’ Damned, Cursed Children! Howard Wong and Josh Stafford!
Happy Holidays! Not only is it Christmastime, but this is also Jamie Noguchi week on Hard NOC Media! Before he guests on a special Rise of Skywalker focused edition of Hard NOC Life, Jamie is also Keith’s guest on this month’s Southern Fried Asian.
Written by Jonthan Tsuei and with art by Eric Canete, RUNLOVEKILL — which debuted last month — is a refreshing, futuristic, cyber-punk tale with art and elements that I would dare to compare to Aeon Flux. Issue #2 hits comic shops everywhere next week. Before it comes out, though, we’re going to take a look back at RUNLOVEKILL #1, which builds tension very well and leaves you on the edge of your seat.
Also, if you’re a comic book or action figure collector and have some great superhero collectibles — or a great cosplay outfit — in the LA Area and want to potentially be featured in the Marvels video, please email jasonchumusic@gmail.com
Note: I am using Spec-Fic to encompass everything from fantasy, to sci-fi, to spy-fi, horror, and other things related to the fantastic genres. None of this “Neal Stephenson said science fiction isn’t a genre” stuff, please.
1. Joss Whedon. Fine. Great. He has given us some good television and films, but he isn’t the only person out there who has ideas. His shadow looms impossibly large over the televisual and cinema landscapes and it is getting to feel a little same-y. There is homogeneity to the Whedonverse that can wear a little thin. If he loved the genre as much as he says, he should take a step back and let some other voices (not coached or shepherded by him) emerge. There are only so many clever dialogue sequences we can take, or need. Even Kevin Smith realized his shtick was getting old. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean that it is as good as you think it is. Hell, people bought pet rocks and mood rings. Everybody may have raved about The Avengers, but Dredd was the comic book adaptation of 2012.
He is a talented man, but a little Whedon goes a long way.
It was recently pointed out to me that I never really revealed my own Nerd Origin despite asking all of the other contributors to do so. So in an effort to show solidarity with my fellow Nerds, I’ll talk a little bit about how I came to be a fanboy.
I’ve loved superheroes for as long as I can remember. I had a Batman birthday cake for my third birthday (and a Superman one the year before), not to mention countless pairs of Underoos, Mego figures, and other sundry superhero merchandise that would make Jordan Hembrough weep. The thing is, I’m not exactly sure why. It’s not like my parents were heavily invested in trying to transfer nerdom on to their children (you know, like what my fellowNerdParents and I are doing to our own kids). The only comics I remember my father reading were the old Lo Fu Ziones he used to help me learn and understand Chinese. But whatever the source, I had the bug.
As much as I loved these characters, though, I was never really exposed to them in actual comic books. My Batman either lived inside the television — whether it was Adam West or the Super Friends — or in my imagination as I pushed my Super Powers Batmobile across the living room carpet. But I couldn’t tell you what was going on in the Batman comics at the time, and those formative years — 1985-86 — were smack dab in the middle of the comic book renaissance.
That said, there was one comic that changed my life irrevocably, and is the reason I consider myself a comic book nerd at all.
I remember coming home after watching Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi on the big screen. I was quiet, but as soon as I got home and put on my pj’s, I jumped on my bed and pretended to fight invisible foes with my imaginary lightsaber. I had been practicing reproducing the sound of the masterful lightsaber and by the end of the week, I had perfected it. Some kids in the neighborhood where we lived in Lima, Peru either thought it was really cool or let their fists do the talking.
That didn’t stop me. I’ve always been the “unique” person in every room I’ve entered. Nowadays because there aren’t too many spoken word artists of Peruvian heritage in the Midwest — or the U.S. — that grew up watching Mazinger Z and Ultraman, or fell in love with Lynn Minmei from Robotech, or was sucked into Transformers, or collected Dungeons & Dragons figurines, or watched My Little Pony (not a Brony, by the way), or raised the eye of Thundera with Lion-O, or geeked out every time Voltron would form, or loved it every time Saint Seiya would scream out “Dame tu fuerza! Pegaso!”
Thanks Keith for creating this site and inviting me! I revised my 2010 Origin Story for 2013. Check it out:
I’ve told this story a million times: when I was young, my father kept me off the streets and saved much needed money buying me the toys I wanted by getting me a library card and teaching me to walk to the Franklin Avenue library, and there began my love of books and stories.
What I’ve written less about is the books I gravitated towards: books about mythological monsters, Greek gods and heroes, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Lord of the Rings, my older sister’s Elfquest collection and X-Men comic books. And the secret of many a nerd of color from the ‘hood: my lifelong devotion with role playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons, and Vampire: the Masquerade.
