A Comics Odyssey – Issue #22

By Wayne Hall Sep 4, 2011, 19:30 GMT

We’re on the verge of what appears to be a groundbreaking September for the comics industry, so let’s check out this week’s headlines from the newly redesigned scifipulse.net website.

‘Justice League’ #1 Most-Ordered Comic Of 2011

Some of the folks at DC Comics likely breathed a sigh of relief when they received the order numbers for some of the “New 52” comics.

According to comicsalliance.com, the debut issue of the new Justice League, being written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jim Lee, is now the comic ordered most during 2011, coming in at over 200,000 copies.

“Compared to the sagging sales of the past several years, a 200,000 benchmark seems like a winged unicorn among miniature ponies,” said Caleb Goellner. “In the past few years alone there have been months where even the highest-selling single issue comic has sold fewer than 100,000 copies. The industry could certainly use hope in the current sales climate, although its important to distinguish it from hype. After all, 41 of DC’s 52 #1 titles will be returnable, meaning the publisher is absorbing the cost of unsold issues rather than retailers.”

The other good news for DC is that six other titles, including Batman #1 and Superman #1, received orders of over 100,000 copies. No word yet on what the other books that fall in this category are.

“While DC’s preorder numbers aren’t necessarily an indicator of financial success just yet, they’re at least a window into what could become a more energized retail environment for both print and digital superhero comics over the coming months,” the site continued. “Depending on if fans respond as positively to DC’s content as it seems retailers have to the publisher’s marketing messages, the 200,000 pre-order mark may seem more achievable than it has in a long time.”

Benaroya Publishing To Hold Signings And Events At Fan Expo Canada

In its debut appearance at Fan Expo Canada, Benaroya Publishing will be featuring signings, giveaways and limited edition comics at the Image Comics booth #130.Each day, Benaroya Publishing will hold signings with Jeff Cahn (Red Spike), Owen Wiseman (Samurai’s Blood) and Nam Kim (Samurai’s Blood), where fans will also have the opportunity to pick up a Fan Expo Canada EXCLUSIVE variant cover for MARKSMEN #2, first issue comics for only $1.00, as well as limited edition issues of RED SPIKE and SAMURAI’S BLOOD.

Fan Expo Canada is the country’s biggest, fastest growing and one of the largest events of its kind in the World! Now entering its 17th year, Fan Expo Canada showcases five genres (Comic, Anime, Science Fiction, Horror and Gaming), over 700 exhibits and sprawls to over 400,000 square feet and over 75,000 fans. Each year the Expo has a phenomenal celebrity guest list who sign autographs, host presentations and conduct question & answer sessions with their fans.

Fan Expo Canada runs from August 25th to August 28th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto Canada.

Ardden Entertainment To Unleash ‘The Devil Is Due’ In Dreary’

Ardden Entertainment is excited to announce the new original comic book ‘The Devil is Due in Dreary.’ This rockabilly western thriller tells the story of the lonely Southwestern town of Dreary, where the people live in constant fear of a prophecy that if two outlaws pass through, the Devil will follow at sunrise to drag their souls to hell.

One day, two men, Jack and Tino, pass through Dreary and their car breaks down. The townsfolk become convinced that Jack and Tino are the outlaws they have been waiting for. Fear and paranoia grows as we count down to dawn, and learn that not everyone is what they seem.

‘The Devil is Due in Dreary’ is written by David Parkin and based on his screenplay of the same name. The screenplay was selected for the Emerging Narrative program for IFP’s Film Week in 2008. This is where Parkin linked up with Daryl Freimark, an indie producer, who immediately came on board to produce the movie.

Additionally, Parkin is a writer whose short film ‘The Naked City’ premiered at the LA Film Festival (2007). Recently, his script ‘Hell’s Pass’ was featured on the 2011 Hit List as one of the top 100 un-produced scripts in Hollywood. Parkin is currently developing a number of projects for film and television.

The art is by Allan Jefferson, who has worked on War Machine, Justice League of America and Predators: Preserve The Game, amongst many others. The series also features cover art by Alex Sanchez, who has worked on Star Wars: The Old Republic, Justice Society of America Classified, Tales of the Vampires and 30 Days of Night and many others. Jonas Trindade is the inker and Diego Tapie is the colorist.

Review: ‘Kevin Smith The Bionic Man’ #1. Before anyone thinks that Kevin Smith has been fitted with mechanical implants, let me just say … nahhhh.

Here’s the book’s description: “Based on Kevin Smith’s unmade Bionic Man screenplay, much as Dynamite’s Green Hornet was based on a similar, project, the comic is co-written with Phil Hester drawn by Jonathan Lau with Alex Ross covers.”

You know when a comic based on a television series really sends you when you hear the theme music playing in the background as you read it. That happened to me with this comic.

This show had kids running in slow motion for years when it aired on ABC. It also featured terrific bad guys like the Sasquatch and a variety of villains who challenged Steve from week to week.

This book fills in the gaps in Steve’s origin story. It does show a famous female in his life as well. And the last words in this issue are from the program’s title sequence. You’ll have to read it to see them.

Like The Green Hornet, the team of Smith and Hester really works well together in crafting a comics story. It’s interesting to see how they make Steve relevant to today’s society as well as keep us on the edge of our seats. The art is also clean and strong, so I’m anxious to follow this story in the next issue, which can’t come soon enough!

Wayne Hall contributes to the Smallscreen, Film and Graphic Novels/Comic Book sections of the Monsters And Critics.com website. He writes recaps for Fox’s ‘Bones,’ Syfy’s ‘Warehouse 13’ and the BBC’s ‘Doctor Who.’ He is co-editor and a news writer for SciFiPulse.Net. He also serves as a host for the ‘SFP-Now’ weekly podcast and produces and stars in the ‘Wayne’s Comics’ weekly podcast. You can check both of them out at http://www.sfp-now.com.