Tag Archive: Image Comics


borg’s Best of 2019–The Best in Comics

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes — Leave a comment
December 29, 2019

Our borg Best of 2019 list continues today with the Best in Comics.  If you missed them, check out our review of the Best Movies of 2019 here, the Kick-Ass Heroines of 2019 here, and the Best in Television 2019 here.

We reviewed comics from every major publisher this year, and were pleasantly surprised with all the new characters and content available.  You’ll find both some new creators on the list this year and some fan favorites who keep making better comic books each new year.

Here are the best comic books for 2019:

 

Best Limited Comic Series (tie) – Sara by Garth Ennis and Steve Epting (TKO Studios) and Goodnight Paradise by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli (TKO Studios).  The new publisher TKO Studios began with a bang with these two incredible stories.  Sara is what every fan of war comics hopes for, and Goodnight Paradise brings the realities of life in the 21st century to the comics page in a story that will stay with readers a long time.

Best Ongoing Comic Book Series – Ghost Tree by Bobby Curnow and Simon Gane (IDW Publishing). Haunting, mythic, and sweeping, this story of a man reflecting on his past and coming to terms with the present combines with Asian legend tropes to form an emotional and curiously funny tale. Sure to leave readers begging for more.

 

Best Sci-Fi Comic Series, Best Comic Book Writing – Ascender by writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dustin Nguyen (Image Comics).  Lemire owned this category with two fabulous science fiction tales, both with strong female lead characters. Runner-up: Sentient by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta (TKO Studios).

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Todd McFarlane’s Spawn to arrive at Issue #300 with several variant covers

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August 20, 2019

 

Todd McFarlane has said he hoped to create a comic that would make it 300 issues when he began his Spawn series back in 1992–to surpass Dave Sims’ Cerebus series and become the longest running independent comic book series.  Now 27 years later he’s making it happen with a scheduled Issue #301 on its way.  But first it’s the big 3-0-0 and plenty of variant covers to go with it.  McFarlane also has a reboot film in the works, but little detail has been released, other than McFarlane intends to write the script, produce the project, and direct it.

For Issue #300 we count 18 covers in all.  So make your picks and let your local comic book store know what you’re after.  Keep in mind this release is similar to other benchmark issues–one-third of these covers will not be regular shop releases–so you will need to track those down on eBay or from collector retailers.

Covers were designed for this issue by McFarlane, Greg Capullo, J. Scott Campbell, Jerome Opeña, and Jason Shawn Alexander, along with black & white covers, logo covers, and “virgin” art covers, as well as a blank sketch cover.

Here are full-sized images of the covers for Issue #300, courtesy of Image Comics, and a preview of Issue #301:

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Descender sequel Ascender–Another great sci-fi/fantasy adventure from Image

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March 23, 2019

 

Review by C.J. Bunce

If you missed Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen′s sci-fi/fantasy series Descender, a recommended series from Image Comics we discussed previously here at borg, you’re going to be able to jump into these creators’ exciting adventure universe in a sequel to the series coming this month, Ascender.  Set ten years after Descender, readers are introduced to a strange new world ruled by magic, replacing the mechanized world of the past that leaves the inhabitants of Sampson subject to an all-powerful space vampire witch.

Young Mila–daughter of Andy and Effie from Descender–takes center stage, roaming the wastelands and merely getting by with her father.  But what happened to Effie?  And what are they to do when an old loyal robot surfaces in a place where robot tech is forbidden?  It’s another great beginning to a series from Lemire and Nguyen, in the realm of Image’s sci-fi/fantasy Copperhead series, with artwork and colors that fans of Matt Kindt will be drawn toward.

Substitute names and places and you also have what could easily be the next great Star Wars story, complete with rebels, a dark mystic leader, and plenty of gritty Star Wars space fantasy realism.  In fact Ascender has all the elements we’re hoping for in the final chapter to the Skywalker Star Wars saga we’re looking forward to from J.J. Abrams when Episode IX arrives in December.

Check out these preview images, forthcoming covers by Nguyen, a character sheet and timeline for Ascender, Issue #1:

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Mike Norton’s complete Battlepug is coming your way in giant hardcover edition

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January 15, 2019

Review by C.J. Bunce

Image Comics is giving the celebrated Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series Battlepug a giant hardcover collected edition this month.  Written and illustrated by Mike Norton, Battlepug: The Compugdium collects all five volumes of the brilliant webcomic.  A series of humor-filled fantasy/adventure tales with the look and vibe of One Thousand and One Nights/Arabian Nights, Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian, Godzilla, and Ray Harryhausen movies, Battlepug is epic and unique.  Following stories told of the last Kinmundian as he rides his giant pug into the next town and next battle, Battlepug represents the best of the comic book and fantasy worlds.

With 336 pages in all with big 8.5 x 12 inch layouts, this is a book you’re going to keep returning to, fun for all ages.  Battlepug: The Compugdium includes Blood and Drool (the dreaded harp seal and Witch Toad!), The Savage Bone (meet Gil and some underwater types), Sit. Stay. Die! (a skull monkey and a host of giant underground beasts await), The Devil’s Biscuit (encounter a giant turtle spirit!), and The Paws of War (face the giant koala!).

Fans who have already gobbled down the five stories will still want to take a look at the Compugdium, as it includes plenty of great additional content: a gallery of 36 pages of Battlepug art from various artists, 15 pages of sketches, including some Norton layouts and early character images, plus cover art prints from the series.

Here are some great pages you’ll find in Battlepug: The Compugdium:

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Preview–Get your sci-fi fantasy fix with Image/Skybound’s Stellar

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January 8, 2019

Review by C.J. Bunce

An overlooked 2018 sci-fi adventure mini-series is making its way to a trade collected edition tomorrow.  The six-issue story arc in Image Comics/Skybound’s Stellar is a mix of good sci-fi concepts and action-adventure imagery.  You’ll find big-eyed aliens similar in design to the villainous hunter Zando-Zans of The Last Starfighter, a rundown future world bent on destruction like in Firefly, fast-paced action and characters like that of Syfy’s Killjoys, and a lead heroine called Stellar who is stuck out of time, with a past and future hidden from her, evoking recent years’ Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel stories.

Writer Joseph Keatinge (PopGun, Shutter) takes on a surprisingly complex idea created by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) and Marc Silvestri (Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine) and delivers the kind of story that belongs in the graphic novel format.  Stellar moves from place to place, from time to time.  She pursues the evil Zenith, an alien monster she believes to be the cause of destruction in her future.  Or is he pursuing her?  She’s moving through time, encountering those who may be able to help her unravel the twisted time loop she seems to be stuck inside.

The pretty, futuristic stylings and color choices by artist Bret Blevins result in a standout read visually.  And Keatinge pulls elements in from all kinds of sci-fi stories to create uncertainty and doubt.  Readers will ask “what’s going on here?” more than once, with an ending that is both satisfying and interesting.  It’s not the kind of tale that needs a sequel, the complete story is right there.

Here are some preview pages of Stellar, courtesy of Image/Skyborne:

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The Freeze–Unusual, intriguing apocalypse story begins in new Image series

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January 4, 2019

 

Review by C.J. Bunce

The entire world stops, like something out of the 1980s sci-fi classic film The Quiet Earth, only this time all of the people are frozen in place, in an instant, wherever they stood or whatever they were doing.  But one computer technician was experiencing an electrical jolt as it happened, and he may be the only person on Earth who can unfreeze people back to normal.  That’s the set-up for the first issue of the new Image Comics/Top Cow series The Freeze.

This tale of an arriving apocalypse is not like the standard fare of the trope.  Those typical end of the world supernatural events you might find, fire and brimstone, nuclear devastation, zombie plagues, and the like, yield to a simple global event of unknown cause, a bit like the vanishing people at the end of Avengers: Infinity War.  Airplanes keep flying until they fall from the sky, cars smash into each other–it’s the opposite of The Day the Earth Stood Still, instead the day the people stood still.  The first issue introduces the main character, Ray, and those around him as he stumbles into one of them, and he learns his simple touch is enough to fully revive them one at a time.  Where can we go from there, since one man can’t literally touch everyone on the planet?

 

The Freeze is a creator-owned series from writer Dan Wickline (30 Days of Night) and artist Phillip Sevy (Tomb Raider).  The first issue provides a glimpse at the direction of the story, as Ray becomes the part of a squad that selectively is unfreezing individuals.  But for what purpose?

Take a look at this excerpt from Image/Top Cow:

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Hit-Girl takes on an international mission in new series from Image Comics

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February 27, 2018

Her name is Mindy McCready and she is one of superhero comics’ most kickass of action heroines.  You know her as the partner/sidekick from the pages of Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.’s Kick-Ass comic book series, Mindy’s own ongoing series beginning in 2012, and two movies, Kick-Ass in 2010 and Kick-Ass 2 in 2013.  She’s eleven years old, and they call her Hit-Girl.  Hit-Girl is back in a new solo title beginning this month from Image Comics.

The first issue of the four-issue, limited series Hit-Girl in Colombia is full of the same irreverence the very unusual superheroine is known for.  Always slightly off in her methods, but true to her own superhero code, she’s ready to start blowing up bad guys.  But how far off can a girl be who is a fan of Hello Kitty and Clint Eastwood and John Woo movies?

  

Millar (who also wrote Kingsman: The Secret Service, Civil War, and Old Man Logan) returns as writer of this new story, and Ricardo Lopez Ortiz will be the series artist, with color work by Sunny Gho.  Hit-Girl goes off to the drug cartels of Colombia after she finds out the new guy she’s tagged as a replacement for the newly retired Dave Lizewski (aka Kick-Ass) is just not cutting it.  So she’s taken on a client who becomes her very own “guy in the chair” (actually a woman), and acquires a most unlikely sidekick to complete her mission.

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First ‘Ringo! comic book industry award ceremony honors Lewis, Young, Cho, Staples, King, and more

Filed under: Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes — Leave a comment
September 24, 2017

Named after the late beloved comic book creator Mike Wieringo, the first ever ‘Ringo! Awards were presented during an irreverent and humor-filled ceremony Saturday night at the end of the second day of Baltimore Comic-Con 2017.  This year the annual Harvey Awards were renamed in Wieringo’s honor.  Wieringo was an artist best known for his work on DC Comics’ The Flash, Marvel Comics’ Fantastic Four, and his co-creation Tellos (discussed earlier this year here at borg.com).

Voters from more than 100 countries selected the nominees and winners were picked from a final ballot by members of the comic book industry creative community.  Presenters last night included Mark Waid, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Amy Chu, Tom Brevoort, Walter and Louise Simonson, Terry and Robyn Moore, Kazu Kibuishi, Charlie Kochman, Lora Innes, Thom Zahler, Todd Dezago, and Craig Rousseau, with a keynote speech provided by multiple Eisner Award winner and Mouse Guard creator and David Petersen.

The ceremony provided two Hero Initiative awards, the Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award to Joshua Dysart, and the Lifetime Achievement Award to Marv Wolfman.  Multiple winners included John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell for their civil rights story March: Book III, winning for Best Original Graphic Novel and Best Non-Fiction Comic Work, and Skottie Young, recognized as Best Cartoonist and for his I Hate Fairyland as Best Humor Comic.

Darryl (DMC/Darryl Makes Comics) McDaniels awards Best Cover Artist ‘Ringo! Award to Frank Cho.

Here is the list of winners selected from the final ballot:

Best Cover Artist–Frank Cho (who accepted the award singing the “Thank You Very Much” song from Oliver)

Best Series–Vision (Marvel Comics)

Best Letterer–Todd Klein

Best Colorist–Laura Martin

Best Humor Comic–I Hate Fairyland, Skottie Young, Jean-Francois Beaulieu (Image Comics)

Best Original Graphic Novel–March: Book III, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)

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Action and intrigue drive new Image/Top Cow series, Samaritan: Veritas

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May 31, 2017

Fans of the television series 24 and Mr. ROBOT should check out a new series from Image Comics/Top Cow now available at newsstands: Samaritan: Veritas.  Written by Matt Hawkins with artwork by Atilio Rojo, readers are taken into a modern world of high-tech hacking and espionage.  A woman with a vendetta is about to get revenge by taking down the top tiers of government and the most successful company in the world.  Think Absolute Power (Clint Eastwood’s 1997 film about scandal in Washington) meets Tom Clancy’s Clear and Present Danger and you’ll have a taste of the action and excitement of this new series.

Samaritan: Veritas is a good jumping-on point for Hawkins’ Edenverse series, requiring no prior knowledge of the prior books to get onboard.  As with Hawkins’ earlier works, Samantha Copeland is the protagonist, this time dead set to take down the man who killed her lover.  Hawkins pulls together characters with unclear agendas, taking readers through a shadow world of the “dark web” and underground networks as Copeland formulates her strategy.

Copeland is a tough female lead in the latest twist on a Robin Hood story, much like season one of Mr. ROBOT.  You’ll find some edgy tension and thrilling situations, thanks in part to some great environments and sequences by artist Atilio Rojo, who also supplied his own color work.

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Preview–Image Comics’ sci-fi Western mash-up Copperhead returns today

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March 8, 2017

   

We rated it the Best Sci-fi Fix of 2014 and it’s back after a year-and-a-half break.  It’s the brilliant Image Comics sci-fi Western mash-up Copperhead.  Fans of sci-fi Westerns like Firefly should take note.  The series, which reached Issue #10 back in October 2015, featured one of the best new women characters in comics, the tough Sheriff Clara Bronson, large and in-charge in an off-world, sparsely populated town.  Writer Jay Faerber and artist Scott Godlewski created an instant hit complete with plenty of alien crime.  Check out our review of the series here.

Today, the critically acclaimed series returns with Faerber and artist Drew Moss stepping in for Godlewski.  We have a preview of Issue #11 for borg.com readers below.  The new story arc finds Sheriff Bronson’s past and present colliding as an old friend arrives in town while Clara investigates the murder of Copperhead’s mayor.

The first ten issues of Copperhead have been collected in two volumes.  Volume 1, available at Amazon here, introduced us to the new Sheriff in town and her son as they set out on a new planet and a new job.  Volume 2, available at Amazon here, is a rollicking adventure, packed with aliens, mischief, and fun.

Check out a preview of Copperhead, Issue #11, after the break:
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