This week I received a lot of cool art. The goals that are posted on Wolfman’s homepage are really beginning to come to fruition.

The story of this is update is ‘The Only Decent Day Of Wicked Lester King’ by John Carbery visualised by Dante Barreno. John’s story grabbed me from the get-go. It’s a simply layered examination of the character Lester King, who happens to be a killer. It’s a tale told with the right mix of dark humour, drama and a little horror. It was fun to read and when Dan (Dante) handed in the artwork I was blow away. From the moment Dan sent me his link to his deviant I knew this was the tale for this artist. Dan’s visuals are old school illustrator with the right up-todate touches to grab anyone’s attention.

John’s an irish writer that shows great flair in his words. Each tale he sends makes me want to read it – what I mean is that the opening pages pull you in. Dante Barreno is an artist from the Phillipines that was trained under Nestor Malgapo, a very popular Phillipino comic artist - I didn’t know how to insert this info!

I got a chance to read Star Trek ‘Countdown’ this week. Firstly, it’s a little over-priced at $18 (rounded up) for a 4 issue mini-series / prequel to the movie. For a four issue I’d have expected about $14 max. The trailer and the reviews for the new Star Trek movie look impressive. J.J. Abrams looks to have hit the mark for resurrecting this beloved universe whilst opening it up to a whole new audience. But be warned, unless you’re a Star Trek fan or have a good working knowledge of Trek then you won’t get the prequel. The story for the prequel is fun, typical of a Star Trek episode (especially from Next Gen, as it features most of our favourite characters from that time period). Spoiler ahead! How they handle Data’s resurrection is done in typical Star Trek fashion and quickly explained away. But it’s not relevant to the new movie as only Nero and Spock make it past the comic pages. And mores the pity for that! Spoilers over!

I’m curious to see how they explain Nero’s story in the Movie considering it’s the main story of the prequel. The art for Countdown does the job with David Messina having a strong grasp on likenesses (seeing Next Gen crew looking as they should is great). So many artists that have done this type of comic can’t seem to get this right, even with the ton of photo references available to them. But both the art and seeing these great characters return for a new tale (even if it’s not completed in the prequel) is not enough, for me, to hide the lack of strong story telling presented in this collection. Messina looks to have just drawn what he was given on page without investing any real passion for layout or character angles etc.

This comic was fun to read to for a diversion, it’s not essential to the film because by the end about 90% of its story is ejected for the big screen adventure to come. Not worth $17.99 – Oh, I didn’t buy it, I sat down and had a read at Barnes & Nobles (think Eason’s for you Dublin readers!)

Well, enjoy the art. See you next week

Eug

Wolfman-productions.com

The Spirit to comics!

I wanted to post this yesterday but it was a long day and I was tired. The art that’s to the right of the screen arrived at the perfect time but I just didn’t have the energy to think and type. And today turned out to be a similar day but I won’t be lazy about it. So, here we go.

This week I managed to see The Spirit. I only have one question; What the hell happened here? I remember loving Sin City when I first saw it. I just thought Rodriguez hit the mark and I thought it was cool that Miller helped direct some of it. So, when I heard Miller had the reigns for The Spirit I was very interested, even though The Spirit comics never grabbed my attention. I thought this could be the debut of a new great director. But I was wrong. Frank Miller’s ‘The Spirit’ is a cartoony comic book movie that’s so disjointed that the ‘cartoony’ elements are just the nails in its coffin. I didn’t get more than a third into the movie before I turned it off. The visuals are cool, not as good as Sin City but eye-catching. I think Kim Newman of Empire puts it perfect; ‘Displaying admirable love for pulp material and striking enviably sexy poses, but missing the emotional resonance, zeitgeist-catching populism and mainstream thrills which found movie franchises.’

Now onto the artwork above!

It’s a sample from the tale ‘Memory Garden’ from Nial Kitson, a freelance journalist. He’s a gifted writer, a cool guy to talk too and a total pro. Wolfman’s had this story for a while now, so I’m glad to have it finally finished. The story’s a goulish horror story that’s just perfect for Havoc 21. The art is provided by Emmanuel J. J. Ybarrola, (from Argentina). Emmanuel guides us through this tale in stark sharp b&w that carries a burton-esque feel to his backgrounds. When I received his first samples demonstrating what he can do I was seriously impressed. With the right exposure he’ll go far. I can only hope Wolfman can provide some.

Well, I hope you enjoy the art above!

Eug

Wolfman-productions.com

It’s Friday again. I’m busy and tired from organising Havoc 21 and AVH for publishing this year. I set about writing AVH nearly two years ago, it’s a series of stories that tells the story of one Family spanning over generations. It hasn’t been an easy task creating small stories, for two time periods, that were self contained but also pieces of a jigsaw. I’ve been working hard since last year on the producing of the artwork for this story that would also give me a chance to pencil again. Something that was the embodiment of Havoc 21 itself - made up of self-contained pieces but could combine to create a greater whole. And once I had enough written I jumped straight into pencilling the time period that I wanted to produce and directing another artist through the second time period. The art I debut this posting is my own from AVH. I am very proud of how my skills have evolved from my first pencils for ‘Always Forever’ in issue 1 of Havoc 21. I hope you like what you see!

Eug

Wolfman-productions.com

Have you seen a dentist lately?

It’s Friday, and again I’m later than I wanted with this posting ... I was waiting for a couple of artists to send in their work. Then finally I got something. I got this story, a few weeks ago, called Toothquake, from a writer named Royal Mcgraw; Detective Comics (Batman) and the Batman: Battle for the Cowl tie-in, Commissioner Gordon #1. When I saw the title I smiled (I hadn’t properly checked out the writers credits, that he kindly supplied)... expecting the tale to be something more suitable for Goosebumps than Havoc 21. Well, I read it and laughed. It was very Twilight Zone but directed by Sam Raimi. Though, I should have guessed, if I had read his credits, that the title would be a curve-ball or misnomer! And what a gifted and funny writer he is.

And then came Ben looking to work with us and I saw his art. I was nervous because I needed to see him handle something that wasn’t the Big Two. And I sent him this story, thinking it would suit his style. And it did. Now, what you see above is not finished. So, keep the criticisms to yourself till you see the second ‘draft’ of the artwork for printing. But I think when Royal (and you guys see this work finished and printed) you’ll understand how perfect Ben’s artwork is for this tale. He’s definitely what Wolfman is all about; debuting fresh young upcoming talent!

Eug

wolfman-productions.com