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Review: Tank Girl: Skidmarks

The movie Tank Girl grabbed my attention, showed it a good time, and then debased it (and my morals) while skipping around singing musical numbers and making out with kangaroo men. The new Titan Books trade Skidmarks pretty much pulls the same trick, only I’m wise to its act—or at least indifferent.

Read the full review at OneMetal, or hey, hunt down the book and see for yourself: Bollocks.

Conceived from the British minds of Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, the punk rock female powerhouse known to indie comics readers as Tank Girl struck infamous gold for its brash dialogue and dramatic, almost psychedelic visuals (Hewlett would later animate the band Gorillaz). The title even inspired a film that bombed the box office despite rocketing ambition. Previously, Titan Books introduced audiences to a compilation book called The Cream of Tank Girl. Now Skidmarks ranks as the publisher’s latest, first appearing as a twelve-part series in Judge Dredd Magazine.

With her reckless friend Barney needing expensive medical care, Tank Girl enters the no-rules Watermelon Race at a chance at snatching the first place, multi-billion dollar cup prize. Rufus Dayglo, whose talent has decorated Tank Girl comic pages before with The Gifting and Visions of Balooga, illustrates Rebecca and her pals as they squash rival cars and speed toward the finish line, her beloved Balooga co-manning the tank. Of course, their hopeful clean victory hits a few bumps along the road, including a technical snag, a dangerous shortcut, and a lead-footed new competitor.

Tags: Alan Martin, Christian Krank, OneMetal, Rufus Dayglo, Skidmarks, Tank Girl, Titan Books
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Review: Fogtown

Personally, I don’t get noir. I mean, I get noir, but I don’t understand why anyone in the twenty-first century still enjoys film or book noir, in which misogyny and frivolous women reside. Maybe it’s a girl thing, but hey, misogyny is kind of dumb if you ask me, not all women are fickle, and anybody who calls me a dame will promptly get punched in the face.

Anyway, Fogtown is a good example of what doesn’t work about noir, which is a tricky genre as it is.

Check out my full review over at OneMetal.

Vertigo Crime invites readers into the seedy underbelly of a 50s San Francisco with Fogtown, a noir-styled graphic novel told from the perspective of a private eye named Frank Grissel. The often drunk detective has more than a skeleton or two hidden in his closet.

Tags: Andersen Gabrych, Brad Rader, DC, Fogtown, OneMetal, Vertigo
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Pull-O-Rama: August ’10

Ancient Roman vampires, apocalyptic horsemen-gangsters from Mexico (or possibly hell), and soul-hungry demons—monsters are coming out the wazoo this week at Impulse Creations.

Below are a few teasers, but you can read the full reviews here.

“David Hine dumps in all the right ingredients for a classic Darkness tale, lets it simmer, and before readers can catch their breath, they’re peering over a heaving pot of perfectly seasoned hellfire-side cuisine.” - The Darkness: Four Horsemen #1

“Fans of vampire fiction like True Blood might relish another half-naked glimpse into the undead world, but for those of us without a fang fetish, Ides of Blood does introduce a somewhat different means of examining the same old corpses.” - Ides of Blood #1

“Demons are creepy. Demons illustrated by Alina Urusov are even creepier. Unfortunately, the goosebumps-inducing demon in Witchblade: Due Process only adds a margin of the oomph the one-shot sorely needs.” - Witchblade: Due Process

Tags: DC, Due Process, Four Horsemen, Ides of Blood, Impulse Creations, Pull-O-Rama, The Darkness, Top Cow, Wildstorm, Witchblade
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Marvel Hypes Iron Man – Extremis

Today Marvel announced the upcoming Iron Man – Extremis DVD. While the press release made no mention of the motion comic, I’m guessing since Marvel Knights Animation’s name is attached, this is basically a mainstream release.

Iron Man blasts onto home entertainment shelves later this year … probably knocking out a wall or two with the sheer, unbelievable Repulsor force. Oh, yes. You’ll need these coming months to prepare.

Check out a trailer for the motion comic below. You can read about the DVD details here, at OneMetal.

Tags: Adi Granov, Extremis, Iron Man, Marvel, Marvel Knights Animation, Shout! Factory, Warren Ellis
Posted in Comics, OneMetal, Writing | 1 Comment »

Review: Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story

Mat Johnson, writer of Incognegro, and Simon Gane, artist on The Vinyl Underground, release their Hurricane Katrina tribute Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story tomorrow. The style of this book reminds me of more “serious” graphic novels like Fun Home and the recently published Revolver. Vertigo Comics puts out another good one.

You can read my early review of Dark Rain at OneMetal.

Five years after the water hit shores, Mat Johnson and Simon Gane still acknowledge the need for remembering the widespread destruction Hurricane Katrina caused. Their tribute, Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story, goes on sale tomorrow from Vertigo Comics and inspires a story of hope.

When Katrina lands, surprising even New Orleans locals with its severity, wronged ex-cons Dabny Arceneaux and Emmit Jack leave their assigned halfway house to capitalize upon their blessing in disguise. With the flooded population seizing every opportunity to escape to higher and safer ground, “J.D.” and his unlikely partner “Rockefeller” contact the security force Dark Rain, hoping they’ll lend their expertise in robbing Louisiana’s now vulnerable Banque de Congo Square. But Driggs, who leads the Dark Rain company of post-duty soldiers embittered over the government’s cold shoulder treatment, also specializes in backstabbing and corruption (a theme that undercurrents the book), and he tasks his team with beating the undermanned and unprepared Dabny and Emmit to the bank.

Tags: Dark Rain, DC Comics, Lee Loughridge, Mat Johnson, Pat Brosseau, Simon Gane, Vertigo
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Showcase: August ’10

Chocolate, mummies, and guts. A fairly unusual combination, but it makes for a great round of graphic novels. This month’s Showcase at Impulse Creations includes reviews of Sweet Tooth, Atomic Robo, and Berserker.

“Sometimes ruthless, sometimes eerily moving, Sweet Tooth‘s post-apocalyptic vision unfolds through the eyes of its innocent main character.” - Sweet Tooth Vol. 1: Out of the Deep Woods

“The blatantly silly creation, colorfully illustrated by Scott Wegener, pokes fun at comic books, science fiction, and monster movies galore.” - Atomic Robo Vol. 1: Atomic Robo and the Fightin’ Scientists of Tesladyne

“Jeremy Haun dresses airborne body parts with enough visceral pow to make Wolverine look twice.” - Berserker Vol. 1

Tags: Atomic Robo, Berserker, Impulse Creations, Showcase, Sweet Tooth
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Review: The Iron Saint Vol. 1

Jason Rubin struts his creative stuff with the trade release of The Iron Saint (formerly Iron and the Maiden). These spunky characters should be video games bosses!

After reading that Jason Rubin, co-founder of Naughty Dog and the creator of Crash Bandicoot and other successful platforming series, had dipped his creative pen in Top Cow’s ink, my heart was won. Rubin originally produced Iron and the Maiden for Aspen Comics before turning the characters over to the capable publisher Top Cow. Renamed The Iron Saint (an apparently acceptable substitute for the sue-happy Iron Maiden band), the comic’s first volume hit stands today. So does Rubin work his magic for creating iconic, cartoon mascots onto a hundred-plus colored pages illustrated by Joel Gomez and Francis Manapul? You can bet your furry whiskers on it.

Read the full review at OneMetal.

Tags: Francis Manapul, Iron and the Maiden, Jason Rubin, Joel Gomez, OneMetal, The Iron Saint, Top Cow
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