Pilgrim Blade comic strip Chapter One

Thought it would be cool to have all of the first chapter of my webstrip up in one place. this is the pen and inks of chapter one.

You can see the finished lettered panels (colored and lettered by the great Pete Hernandez) at http://www.comicsnexus.com/. You can also check out the other strips and great features(like my weekly comic reviews :)) there.

Pilgrim Blade: Chapter one

Long time no post + some art.

I have not really been posting much here since I started @ http://www.comicsnexus.com, Please go check it out for my weekly Comic Capsule Reviews and Weekly Web comic strip Pilgrim Blade.

I plan on using this BLOG much more again.

Anyway why not update with some art.

Stay in touch and keep coming by!!!

-aris

Art for Manolis V

I haven't sent it out yet borther...in a few days.

Aris Launches Aris Asks comic blog!!!

http://www.arisasks.blogspot.com/

Come visit. It's my new comic blog. With creator interviews, reviews and other fun stuff....maybe even some familiar faces.

-aris

New Comic Reviews 4/8/2009

Trinity #45: Morgiane Le Fay's unholy Trinity descends into chaos as they strike a deal with Krona. Enigma and Warhound get banished and Krona makes a pact with Morgaine and Despero. We also got to see the Crime Syndicate beaten by the godly Trinity and some nice developments and action when the unholy alliance falls apart. The art is tremendous, although I am not a fan of McDanial, its a nice transition from Bagley's pages to his. And certainly, and I haven't said it enough...the coloring by Pantazis(another Greek?) are great. Bright and energetic. They do not overpower the pages with pointless textures and highlights. Another solid issue. 7.5 out of 10.

Captain Britain and MI:13# 12: Dracula on the Moon invading Britain to become ruler of the magics on Earth. I can hardly imagine any thing cooler. Cornell continues doing a great job building his story, drawing us in and throwing in some action. I really enjoyed the parts on the moon with Spitfire and Dracula. Dracula's dialogue and PoV is great. The plot rocks and I love the idea of the short lived anti vampire-invasion skull. Its Brilliant stuff. The art is also brilliant. I think Kirk delivers on every level. Great choreography and storytelling, wonderful back grounds and wide shots. The right amount of detail, and a serious knack for expression and gesture. All wrapped up in a clean, straight forward style. I really love his Dracula and the splash of the "Serpent's Crown" was very impressive as was the last page. A static splash page but still blazing with energy. I can't get over how this book stirs up all the reasons I love comics. Fun, great characterization and plot, and high energy. 8.5 out of 10.

Superman: World of Krypton #2: Wow..if this isn't a beautifully illustrated comic I don't know what is. It's off the charts amazing. I always liked Pete Woods but this is next level. Every aspect is beautiful. The designs for New Krypton, the expression, all the nuances of the Kryptonian technology and citizens. I had no idea I was going to be blown away like this. I also love the movement of the camera..tight and long shots...the two page splash. The coloring clean and pure is a great compliment to the clean open line work. Rucka and Robinson do amazing work too this issue. Really pulling you in to the Kryptonian culture, introducing characters, setting up friction within the established Kryptonian order and setting up very interesting developments. Kal-el stopped one slaughter, can he stop another? And GL showing up? How awesome will next issue be? 8 out of 10.

New Avengers #51: Bendis is possibly the best dialogue writer in comics and also at setting up interesting situations. This Sorcerer Supreme thing and Hood plot has been brewing for some time and it plays out nicely here. Strange is looking for his replacement, and Dormammu has his own under study on the Earth plane locked and loaded to take him out. The Dialogue with Wiccan in the diner is great. That character has tremendous potential. And the team meeting around the dinner table is great. I love it. And to top it off we get a great ending..that we know is really a beginning. The art chores are shared by Bachalo and Tan. Bachalo really does a wonderfully stunning graphic job with the opening and confrontation in the streets between Hood and Strange. Hood looks evil and menacing. Tan handles his part nicely as well. Nice movement and expression around the table between the Avengers. It's an issue that all talking, but still wonderfully dynamic and entertaining. I love the relationships, characterization and banter. 8 out of 10.

Green Lantern # :I really liked how Johns opens this up. The Controllers seeking out their own light in the Vegan System only to be ripped to shreds by the Orange of greed. And starts a chain of events that leads the Orange and Green on a direct path for a head on colission. There is a great amount of plot in this issue and we get closer and closer to Blackest Night. It also seems like Hal has the Blue ring stuck on him until he can pass it on to some one worthy. At first I was put off by Tan's art, but upon actually reading the issue I was really pulled in by it, particularly the beginning scene with Controllers nice dramatic angles and style. The problem at times are when you get large full figures. They end up stiff and awkward. But everything else was wonderful. Another outstanding chapter in the War of light. Things are really heating up...the Guardians are going to take action themselves, hopefully they will get knocked on their haughty a$$es. 9 out of 10.

Retro Review: X-Force #1 (1991)

I remember when this came out. backed with a card. It was exciting time in the 90's to be a comic book fan. I wouldn't say it was the best time, but certainly exciting and fun. And I love the wrap around cover.

And X-Force #1 epitomizes what would become the beginning of an era where superstar artists would really be driving the industry. Millions of comics were being printed and bought and soon be launching artists like Rob Liefield and Jim Lee into a comic book stratosphere that hasn't been matched since they got together with a few other pals and launch the Image Age.

The comic starts with a simple premise, some time has passed and the gritty and enigmatic cyborg from the future Cable has put a team of mutants together to save mutant kind. along the way he has brought some faces from the New Mutants (Cannonball, Warpath, and Boomer) and a few new faces Shatterstar, Feral and Domino. The confront the Mutant Liberation Front and Strife in Antarctica but they manage to escape. And we find that Cable is being hunted by what seems like an old friend in SHIELD.

Finally we learn that Cable is keeping his mutant power of telekinesis secret and Sunspot has been doing time learning the business sun-Tsu from yet another enigmatic character named Gideon. And they end up being kidnapped in a bid for corporate take over by Black Tom Cassidy. So you know Juggernaut isn't far behind.

OK. That's the skinny, and sure that doesn't sound to bad...except no matter how you slice it as it appears on the page it's all very silly. The dialogue provided by Fabien Nicieza over liefield's plot is almost comical. You can tell he is doing the best with what he's got, because to be honest this book is cliche after cliche and characters just spitting out one liners panel after panel..even if they don't make much sense..or aren't particularly witty. There is no emotional resonance at all, and really the script and plot is only there to move characters from one jumping gritting teeth slashing-punching scene to the next.

Even the scene where Cannonball comes to Cable for a heart to heart and Domino questions cables decision to keep his TK hidden from the group is an emotional void. And given the type of comic this is...seems out of place even. Then you get the last few pages with Roberto(sunspot) and Gideon...and you just throw your hands up and go with it no matter how silly it is. And it is very silly.

The art by Liefield is muddy, and ill defined. The inking he is doing doesn't even support the stylistic approach he is taking. The lines are messy and weak and often make no sense at all. This was the age of lines, so take it with a grain of salt. and I am not jumping on Liefield I actually love him. But here, his style is killed by bad inking (his own) and really bad coloring. The selections do not make sense, and really distract from the over the top nature of Liefield's style. Characters look like clowns...and I am not talking about Wildside..with many comic memes of the time..shoulder pads, pouches, circles around the eyes. The early 90's was a time of experimentation with color..so you have to give some leeway. But you can't give as much is needed to make this presentable. Lastly the book is riddled with stock poses and expressions and small panels. It's a hot mess.

The story-telling is pure Liefield, he only uses back grounds and establishing shots when absolutely necessary, and even then they tend to be flat panel grids(often badly colored), or hastily thrown together and covered with lines. If I remember correctly wasn't there a controversy of wiping whole panels from some Teen Titan's pages by Perez. But still exciting. you get lots of jumping and movement and dramatic expression...even if you don't like the style you have to admit it there in spades.

Even having said all that I enjoyed the read, it manages to capture a certain fun and excitement even with the distractions and criticisms above. It is a product of the time and no matter how you slice it managed to make fans of millions. There's something about it. It captures a snap shot of a comic industry very different then the one we have today. And in many ways i miss it...even if I times I haven't always admitting to liking it..especially back then. I was a comic snob.

8 out of 10

Chewcomic.com

I am really excited about this book and think if you are looking for something to read that will be fun, interesting, dramatic, really well produced and perhaps slightly odd this is the book to get.

John Layman (writer) and Rob Guillory(artist) have finally put up a site.

http://chewcomic.blogspot.com/

Ramping up for the June release, this is the place to see previews and get news. I highly recommend taking a tour. There is not a lot up yet, some nice preview art, but what is is really quite beautiful and certainly worth looking at.

This is directly from the site.

The Concept.
Tony Chu is a cop with a secret. A
weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions
from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he
doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit,
and why. It`s a dirty job, and Tony has to eat terrible things in the name of
justice. And if that wasn`t bad enough, the government has figured out Tony
Chu`s secret. They have plans for him… whether he likes it or not.Presenting a
twisted new series about cops, crooks, cooks, cannibals and clairvoyants,
written by JOHN LAYMAN
(Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness, House of M: Fantastic Four and PUFFED)
with mind-blowing art by astonishing comics newcomer ROB
GUILLORY.

(That sounds like a great idea for a TV show!)

The Buzz.
CBR on the CHEW Announcement.
Newsarama on the CHEW Announcement.
Comics Waiting Room interviews Layman.
Io9 Brief Interview.
FanBoy.com on the Cover Art.
Robot 6 digs on Rob.

I am telling you. you don't want to miss this comic.