What Is Techno Again?

Zenescope Resurrects Charmed

Hooray for ’90s TV shows! Who doesn’t love ‘em? I’m certainly head over heels for those flashy, over-the-top, or just plain weird opening credits. But the 1990s, lingering a full decade behind us now, consequently tallies quite a laundry list of retired shows—including Charmed, one of my favorite late ’90s spots.

While Buffy the Vampire Slayer, for instance, continues to soak up all those rays of undying fan love, Charmed has now joined the party thanks to Zenescope Entertainment.  Learn more about the upcoming series at OneMetal.com.

Constance M. Burge’s Charmed (1998-2006) bubbled up from Spelling Entertainment and ensnared viewers with three gorgeous good witches. The original sisters—Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano)—later discovered an unknowing fourth, Paige (Rose McGowan), but despite the trio, the North American television series captured audiences with fashionable witchcraft, pulled them in with romantic ardor, and riveted them with murderous demons and dusty spell books. The premiere episode itself garnered 7.7 million viewers, shattering previous Warner Brothers Network records for most successful debut, and the show eventually nabbed the honor for the longest running hour-long show featuring all female leads.

Tags: Charmed, Constance M. Burge, Dave Hoover, Paul Ruditis, Raven Gregory, Zenescope Entertainment
Posted in Comics/Manga, OneMetal, Reviews, Writing | No Comments »

Raven Gregory on The Waking

This week’s Impulse Creations article is up a bit early: an interview with Zenescope writer Raven Gregory. In it we discuss his upcoming comic, The Waking—which is a zombie book wrapped in a fresh disguise. It’s really good stuff, and I’m looking forward to reviewing it in February.

Raven Gregory is no stranger to fairy tales, myths, and the realm of horror. His work at Zenescope Entertainment has allowed him to transform classic tales such as Alice in Wonderland and Grimm’s Fairy Tales and redefine countless fable characters in between. Now the writer/creator is putting his zombie survival instincts to the test with a comic series called The Waking. Recently he sat down with us at Impulse Creations to discuss the book and what makes it different from the standard zombie fare.

Impulse Creations: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat, Raven, and for giving us an advanced look at February’s The Waking. I can now vouch for its quality—it’s absolutely chilling. But since you’re the writer, why don’t you explain a little bit about the story for our readers? Vic Drujiniu is on board with you as artist. What’s the comic about, and how long will it run?

Raven Gregory: The story follows four detectives, in New York City, investigating two random murders as they begin to discover clues that the victims of these heinous crimes may actually be returning to avenge their own deaths. Now, in a race against time they must discover those responsible for the murders and uncover the supernatural source behind the “wakings.” The series is four issues long and both issue one and two will be in stores in February 2010.

Impulse: One of the things that really sticks out, especially with the first issue, is the narrator. He basically talks to the reader and cautions him/her to pay close attention. Most narration simply describes the scene and what the main characters are thinking. Why take this approach?

Gregory: A lot of it is because whether we see it or not, the story really is told from the perspective of the narrator who is also Vanessa’s partner. He is our everyday man, and while there are many characters in the series, it is really his story. Another big reason is that the issue is laced with clues that will play into the the “who done it” aspect of the story that becomes more and more apparent as the series progresses.

Read the rest here.

Tags: Raven Gregory, The Waking, Zenescope Entertainment
Posted in Comics/Manga, Exclusives, Impulse Creations, Writing | No Comments »

Review: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

The Zenescope Wonderland comics are pretty enjoyable—they have a dark and twisted edge similar to American McGee’s Alice, only the blood and gore stays and the mangy Cheshire cat has been toned down a few notches. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting and weird in that wonderfully messed up kind of way.

The Tales from Wonderland: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum one-shot continues the story of the various characters of the looking glass and how they came to be, but it misses a note or two in comparison with the other works in the series.

You can read my review over at the Girls Entertainment Network.

Tags: Raven Gregory, Reviews, Tales from Wonderland: Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, Zenescope
Posted in Comics/Manga, Girls Entertainment Network, Reviews, Writing | No Comments »

Review: Tales from Wonderland

If you’re a fan of the deranged style of American McGee’s Alice video game, then Tales from Wonderland by Zenescope might be right down your rabbit hole. It’s not quite as purposely screwed up as Alice, but it’s certainly spreading the gore and dark twists like playing cards of doom.

You can read my review of the trade over at the Girls Entertainment Network. And don’t worry, Zenescope gave me plenty more to read where that came from.

Man, now I’m in the mood to play some Alice.

Tags: Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Raven Gregory, Tales from Wonderland, Zenescope
Posted in Comics/Manga, Girls Entertainment Network, Reviews, Writing | 2 Comments »