‘La Mano del Destino’ Creates a Vivid, Action-packed Luchaverse

¡Mira! El Luchador is coming — and not just any luchador — La Mano del Destino, the champion with a mission, the fighter bent on reclaiming his rightful place in the ring, the man with the weight of revolutionary history upon him.

In La Mano del Destino, a new release from Top Cow and Image Comics, J. Gonzo creates a vivid, action-packed Luchaverse for us — an alternate 1960s Mexico that takes us into the Mexican sport lucha libre (literally “free wrestling”) and the home and memories of our hero, La Mano del Destino.

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Image Comics Goes Way Down to Hadestown with ‘Punderworld’ Graphic Novel

One of my favorite parts of the Tony-Award winning Broadway musical Hadestown is the story of Patrick Page’s Hades and Amber Gray’s Persephone. Also, I’m always down for interesting reinterpretations of Greek myths. Now, one of the biggest webcomics on the internet, Punderworld, is coming to comic shops from fan-favorite creator Linda Šejić. Think of it as a kind of prequel to Hadestown.

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NOC Interview: Josh Duhamel Discusses His New Series, ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’

Josh Duhamel stars as Sheldon Sampson, aka The Utopian, on Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy, which premieres on May 7. Based on the graphic novels by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, the new superhero show spans decades and showcases the complicated dynamics of family, power, and loyalty.

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NOC Interview: Leslie Bibb Discusses Netflix’s ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’

Leslie Bibb stars as Grace Sampson aka Lady Liberty in Netflix’s newest series, Jupiter’s Legacy. The show drops on May 7 and is based on the graphic novels by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. The new superhero drama spans decades while showcasing the complicated dynamics of family, power, and loyalty.

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NOC Interview: Mike Wade and Tenika Davis Talk Netflix’s ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’

Mike Wade plays Fitz Small aka The Flare and Tenika Davis portrays Petra Small aka The Flare II in Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy, which premieres on May 7. The new superhero series is based on the graphic novels by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, spanning decades while showcasing the complicated dynamics of family, power, and loyalty.

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NOC Interview: Matt Lanter and Ben Daniels on All Things ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’

Matt Lanter plays George Hutchence and Ben Daniels portrays Walter Sampson on Jupiter’s Legacy, which hits Netflix on May 7. Based on the graphic novels by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, the new superhero show spans decades and showcases the complicated dynamics of family, power, and loyalty.

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NOC Interview: Elena Kampouris, Ian Quinlan, and Andrew Horton on ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’

Elena Kampouris, Andrew Horton, and Ian Quinlan are the next generation to bear their superhero parents’ legacy and extraordinary public reputations. The new superhero drama spans decades and showcases the complicated dynamics of family, power, and loyalty. Jupiter’s Legacy, which is based on the graphic novels by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, premieres on May 7 on Netflix.

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In Praise of ‘ElfQuest’

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.

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Carl Choi and Sean Chen Talk NextChapter and the Future of Comics

NextChapter is a new, graphic media publishing and distribution platform of creator owned content focused on building a community for artists and fans to directly connect with each other. Their mission is to provide fans with access to original stories along with the creative process behind them, and unique opportunities to purchase limited edition collectibles such as compendiums, original pages, sketches, and various other pieces of art. I had the pleasure of talking to NextChapter’s founder Carl Choi about its origins and its future, and I also spoke with their first partner artist, the illustrious Sean Chen about his process and projects amidst the pandemic.

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Hard NOC Life: DC Celebrates APA Heritage Month with Gene Yang, Sarah Kuhn, and Minh Lê

On a special Asian Pacific American Heritage Month edition of Hard NOC Life, Dominic and Keith are joined by a trio of authors — Gene Luen Yang, Sarah Kuhn, and Minh Lê — who all have AAPI-themed graphic novels out now from DC Comics!

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Hard NOC Life: Welcome to the Cassandra Cain-aissance

With Birds of Prey ready to break box office records, and a brand new YA graphic novel from DC Comics, the shadow of Cassandra Cain descends upon a brand new episode of Hard NOC Life!

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The Official NOC #CrossLines Reading List

This past weekend in Washington DC, the Smithsonian’s historic Arts & Industries building was home to the most important gathering of artists you have ever seen. The CrossLines pop-up culture lab on intersectionality brought together over 40 artists and scholars to explore race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, disability, etc.

I was fortunate enough to be invited and helped organize a Reading Lounge and live podcasts — while artist Matt Huynh painted a mural in real time the entire weekend. One of the questions I got asked the most was about the books we included, so after the jump you can find a complete list of books we had in the Lounge!
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APAture2015: Interview with Jason Bayani

We continue our spotlight on Kearny Street Workshop and its APAture2015: Future Tense, a series of showcases featuring emerging artists from the San Francisco Bay Area. This Saturday, October 10, the Comics & Illustration Showcase will feature a number of comic book artists. Yesterday was my interview with artist Thi Bui. Today, I chat with Jason Bayani, Program Manager of Kearny Street Workshop.

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APAture2015: Interview with Artist Thi Bui

Kearny Street Workshop, one of the oldest and well-known arts organization in the Asian Pacific American community, proudly presents APAture2015: Future Tense, a series of showcases featuring emerging artists from the San Francisco Bay Area.

On Saturday, October 10, the Comics & Illustration Showcase will feature a number of comic book artists. Below is a brief Q&A with  Thi Bui, who is the featured artist at this year’s showcase.

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Concrete Park Vol.1: You Send Me — A Huge Endorsement

I had the pleasure of meeting two-thirds of the Concrete Park creative team at the Black Comix Arts Festival (BCAF) in January 2015. Not only were Tony Puryear (ill on the keyboard and with the pen) and Erika Alexander (Hollywood demigoddess) beautiful and amazing beyond all possible measure, their property was absolutely insane. There are very few things I want to teach in my classes, but Concrete Park Vol.1 You Send Me is a book I am rearranging my fall syllabus to include. It was my favorite thing (and I bought a whole lot of stuff) I picked up at BCAF. Did I mention that their property is off-the-rails crazy?

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My Answers to an Oft Asked Question

I have been asked some variation of the following question more times than I can count: “Which comics or graphic novels would you recommend that are by people of color, or address people of color in a holistic way, and also books for people who may not ever read a comic or graphic novel?” This is a very hard question as there is just so much out there that is great. There are books that I have taught in my classes that are neck and neck with the books I’ve bought as gifts for people who I am trying to convert to our four-color ways. While the below list is in no way comprehensive, they are my go-to books for whenever I’m asked the question. Please feel free to add your own picks.

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The Sun Brothers

A-Profiler Interview with The Sun Brothers

I interview The Sun Brothers, Brad and Wesley Sun, of the Chicago-based Sun Bros Studios. After running a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2012 to fund their first graphic novel Chinatown, they followed-up in 2013 with Apocalypse Man, their interpretation of a zombie horror survival story. In 2014 they are setting the stage with a follow-up Kickstarter campaign for their new graphic novel Monkey Fist, which is inspired by the classic Monkey King story.

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