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At New York Comic Con last week, The Beat's Lindsey Morris chatted with Wes Craig about his current comics life - what it's like to spend your days elbow-deep in teenage assassins, angst, and violence.

Image Comics expands its digital footprint onto your Kindle.

Axcend from Image comics smashes two different story telling worlds together, but is it worth pushing start?

Descender is back!  After a slightly longer than average hiatus, the series’ second arc, entitled “Machine Moon,” will begin in November. The first arc of Descender made waves when it debuted at the beginning of this year.  Writer Jeff Lemire turned the classic premise of a boy and his dog on its head, setting their adventure in a […]

In a special push to celebrate Local Comic Shop Day on November 28th, writer Kelly Sue DeConnick, artist Valentine De Landro, and Image Comics have partnered with ComicsPRO, a retail association comprised of comic book shops, to release a special limited hardcover edition of Bitch Planet‘s first volume. The dystopian series, which focuses on a group of women imprisoned off-world […]

Let’s talk about originality in art. The Wicked + The Divine #14 came out this week, and while I know I sound like a broken record at this point whenever I talk about it online, the whole team is really outdoing themselves this arc.  Kieron Gillen has trumpeting this one as an “oddball” and “the most audacious […]

Since her beautifully delicate line-work graces the cover to the latest issue of Swords of Sorrow this week, we shine a light on the work of “renaissance woman” Tula Lotay! Working up her artwork in multiple layers of hand-drawn, hand-painted art, along with digital color/inks, Lotay spoils comics readers with an extraordinary amount of moody texture. She’s been contributing cover art and interiors to many books the past few years including Elephantmen, Zero, Rebels, American Vampire Anthology, The Wicked + The Divine, and Dynamite’s Swords of Sorrow.

Lotay is probably best known for her recent collaborations with writer Warren Ellis(Supreme Blue Rose, Blackcross; as cover artist, and their upcoming book Heartless), and her role as founder/organizer of the yearly Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which celebrates sequential art in all its forms.

If you like what you see, you should go follow Tula Lotay on her twitter page here!

For more comics related art, you can follow me on my website comicstavern.com – Andy Yates

This week, a longtime staffer of the internet’s premiere comic book website, The Beat, became obsessed…obsessed with ‘90s X-Men comics. We tried to take away copies of comics like X-Cutioner’s Song from the staffer — but the efforts of the full staff at the Stately Beat Manor (home of team Comics Beat) proved futile. We were […]

A super hero falls in the woods and the sound turns the lives of five kids upside down.

This is the first in a planned series of articles about the “Image Effect.” Over the past 20+ years Image Comics has grown from a vanity publisher for the top talents of the 90s into a trendsetter and home to a diverse range of popular titles and creators. How did they accomplish that? Image’s well-known […]

Descender's Mail-bot reveals comic creators who are in fact actually robots and speaks about all things Plutona. The answers may shock you.

This week’s Island #2 comics anthology features cover and interior art by the great Emma Rios! I first noticed Rios’ art on Marvel titles like Cloak & Dagger: Spider Island, Osborne, and the Firestar 1-shot. Now, Rios is taking her artwork to the next level on her new Image series Pretty Deadly, with Osborne collaborator Kelly Sue DeConnick on writing duties. It’s a supernatural tale that follows Death’s daughter, as she rides through lush and horrifying lands, seeking retribution.

Emma Rios is a Spanish comics artist and illustrator who has made a name for herself here in the States as well as Europe and beyond! She broke into the American comics scene in 2008 with the Boom Studios series Hexed, then worked with writer Mark Waid on the Dr. Strange series “Strange” for Marvel. I see that one of her earlier works is a comic called APB, but apparently that’s not available here in the U.S.

You can see the latest art and follow Rios on her twitter page here.

For more comics related art, you can follow me on my website comicstavern.com – Andy Yates

Comics Beat hosts its first panel at Long Beach Comic Con 2015 and we've got a Lollapalooza of a line up.

Last week some of our most elite staffers that contribute to The Beat found themselves in an impossible situation. When our entire team worked on apprehending Spider-Man rogue Mysterio, he suddenly opened a portal to a brand new comic book world — one very familiar to those who are acquainted to the work of Jack Kirby…that’s […]

Team Beat, a group of the world’s most elite comic book reading/writing forces assembled in the Stately Beat Staff Manor to deliver The Beat — the world’s premiere comic book website. Recently, Marvel and DC characters from decades past have found themselves wandering through the manner including Bessie the Hellcow, Ruby Tuesday, Vibe, Prez and […]

It was a rare “event week” for me at the comics shop with the much anticipated release of the new comics anthology Island! Brandon Graham, the creator, editor, and cover artist for Island is our subject this week. Graham’s work is inspired by classic European and Japanese(manga)comics. He started off drawing comics for Antarctic Press & Radio Comix, some being pornographic(see Milk! #7, etc.).

Graham would go on to work with the infamous Meathaus collective and to creating his own independent titles: Multiple Warheads and King City. I was fortunate to meet the super-friendly Mr. Graham back in 2012 during his Multiple Warheads: Alphabet Tour and he was kind enough to contribute to my convention sketchbook!

Brandon Graham is part of a new age of Image Comics, which has overtaken the “Big 2″(Marvel/DC) in the original content department. Recently, Graham, along with artist Simon Roy, “re-imagined” Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld’s Prophet to much critical acclaim.

Island #1 is an over-sized comic magazine published by Image Comics and features work by Brandon Graham, Marian Churchland, Emma Rios, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Ludroe. You can check out a preview here. The series will be released on a monthly basis.

You can see the latest news & art updates for Brandon Graham here.

For more comics related art, you can follow me on my website comicstavern.com – Andy Yates

by Zachary Clemente

In the overzealously air-conditioned afternoon of the Saturday of San Diego Comic-Con 2015, Image Comics held their fourth panel highlighting their creators – this time focusing on the aesthetics of their comics and how their creators, a mix of writers, artists, and colorists own it. From left to right: David Brothers (moderator), Rob Guillory (Chew), Stuart Moore (EGOs), Lee Loughridge (Deadly Class), Scott Snyder (Wytches), Jaime McKelvie (The Wicked & The Divine), and the not-pictured Josh Williamson (Nailbiter).

Williamson kicked off the discussion, prompted by a panel from his ongoing series Nailbiter that humorously depicts “The Buckaroo Butcher” – a serial killer who only kills clowns – stuffing a tiny car with a clown corpse. He mentioned that the surprises that his collaborator, Mike Henderson leaves for him in the panels keep the work fresh and entertaining.

While describing his book EGOs, Moore found it absolutely necessary to ensure that his collaborator, Gus Storms (who he called his “scruffy Moebius”), receives 50% of the rights on the project, jokingly cursing his “fucking principles.”

Loughridge, colorist on Deadly Class with writer Rick Remender and artist Wes Craig, described the conversation with Craig to develop their palette, saying that he always shoots for simplicity whenever possible as the colors are often the first thing that really get seen on a page and need to echo the narrative tone.

McKelvie quickly talked about the variant cover for issue #14 of The Wicked & The Divine by musician Grimes – they started talking online as Grimes is a huge fan of Matt Wilson’s coloring work so they offered her a cover. Both Williamson and McKelvie noted that this kind of control over a property is exactly why they bring their works to Image.

Art by Grimes

Guillory recounted the pitching process for Chew – since writer John Layman was first pitching it to Vertigo, Guillory tried to work in a style that would suite the publisher as he was used to working in a variety of styles. Layman nearly fired him from the book, as he was looking for the specific style that Guilloy posted on his blog, but had never been commissioned to do. After redoing the pages in that unique style, it was off to the races.

Wytches, according to Snyder was always set up to reflect the style of series artist and long-time collaborator Jock. They did a lot of preparation, ensuring that monster designs were biologically viable – every bit of the design being present for a purpose. He and Jock agreed that the best of horror exists “half an inch off of reality […] almost realistic, but just twisted enough away.”

Interestingly, other than the Grimes cover, the only image displayed from The Wicked & The Divine was the last page of the latest issue, showing the wheel of the gods with their various icons. McKelvie explained that the design from cover to cover of their book is incredibly deliberate, coming from his and series writer Kieron Gillen’s need to control the reading experience. The icons making up the wheels that bookend each chapter each tell their own story about the represented gods and give context to their overall connections – carefully designed by a friend of the long-collaborating duo. Additionally, McKelvie explained the the reason the credits are at the end is so you know who to blame. Snyder jumped in to laud them for how their successful design in the book creates a narrative texture, heightening the emotional experience.

During the Q&A portion, the panelists were asked about their relationships with working both in creator-owned and on licensed properties. Snyder, current writer of DC’s Batman series, picked it up right away, describing his experiences. Firstly, he’s noticing that publishers such as DC and Marvel are calling a lot more for different kinds of stories which he directly attributes to the success and demand for creator-owned works and that it’s becoming easier to do unique takes on existing properties. Secondly, he dug into his process for writing pre-existing characters which is to treat them like everything you know and feel about them is your individual idea, as if you made the character up.

Art by Jock and Matt Hollingsworth

When asked about the splattering and filtering effects layered on the pages of Wytches, he attributed all of it to series colorist Matt Hollingsworth. Following in suit with Jock’s unique style, Hollingsworth wanted to extend into something very different on the series once Snyder described the process as looking for the worst or scary version of himself. Hollingsworth returned with the filtered and splattered layers as a way to obscure the truth and maybe convince the reader that they’re deterring themselves from seeking it out of fright.

For me, the big takeaway from this panel can be summed up in the consistent narrative from all of the panelists when talking about the creative teams they’re a part of. They always called their writers, artists, colorists, letters, and so forth as their “partners” or “collaborators.” They happily see their teams as essential to the success and aesthetic of their Image books.

Thanks for joining us for our coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2015. It was a blast and we look forward to wrapping up out convention backlog over the coming week.

By Nick Eskey

On July 9^th at San Diego Comic-Con, the creators of comics “Eat of West” (Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta) and “Invisible Republic” (Gabriel Hardman and Corrina Bechko) gathered on behalf of Image Comics. These comic writers and artists were present to discuss the processes that they use to create their perspective works.

First the prompter asked the panel to talk about the comics themselves. “Eat of West is a Sci-fi Western,” said Jonathan Hickman. “The four horsemen come to bring about the apocalypse. But one of them falls in love; death of course. And he doesn’t feel like fulfilling his duty.” Gabriel Hardman said that “Invisible Republic is about a disgraced reporter that finds a hidden history of a foreign planet.”

Writer Jonathan Hickman and Artist Nick Dragotta (“East of West”)

For any story, the first thing that has to get cleared is its development. “We had an idea for a world going through a rebellion,” said Gabriel. “We were thinking of this song from the 70’s that talked about rebellion in the future.” For East of West, Nick and Jonathan talk about how they went to lunch together. “Nick wanted a Western, and I wanted a Sci-fi,” said Jonathan Hickman. “When we couldn’t argue over which one, we just decided to do both.”

With the idea of the story decided, the teams would need to be able to work well together. With any collaboration between artist and writer, they would each need to learn the other’s habits. “Well, we’re married,” said Gabriel. “We live in the same house. Our working habits have a sort of ‘Jazz’ interplay. If something doesn’t work, we talk to each other and change it… It’s very organic. And if we want to change something, it’s not like we have to go to anyone and get the changed approved.” For East of West, artist Nick said “I just wanted to make the work easy between us.” Gabriel from Invisible Republic laughed as this, then adding “It’s never easy for us.”

Writer Gabriel Hardman and Artist Corinna Bechko (“Invisible Republic”)

What sets apart a graphic novel and a comic from a book is the artwork; it tells the story just as much as the dialogue. Nick Dragotta spoke about his own drawing style. “I like to use thumbnails as panels… to let them lead the reader’s eye. This is easier for me because I work in digital, and use layers.” Writer Jonathan Hickman added that because his time is limited, he has to look at his work as a whole. “I’ll give Nick what idea I have for dialogue, sometimes even the whole thing, knowing there’s a chance I’ll have to rewrite it all… I just try to get the hell out of the way, and let the artist have his way.”

After showing the completed art, Nick said that sometimes Jonathan will say a section “would do better with this addition of dialogue.” This would make Nick either add a page or two, or even go back and redo some of them. “An angle change might have happened,” he further adds.

Gabriel Harman says that he’s in large a story board artist, working on some movies just as “Tropic Thunder” and “Inception.” He prefers to use more traditional means, using paper and pencils to draw out the scenes, defining parts here and there but not fully. “And I’ll ink it as I go,” he said.  “I don’t do full penciling first, or I’ll find that I have this dead thing.”

Soon the topic of rules came up: whether there are rules for their work. “One thing I believe in is arbitrary rules,” said Gabriel. “Things go left and right, and important things to the front. [Also] never use caption to tell where the story is going… For us it’s about drama than literature. These things are how you tell the story.”

This led to a discussion of how the teams decide to convey their story. Some comic writers and artists use captions to partially tell it, and some use over dramatic scenes. “We try to tell emotion with less,” said Gabriel. “Struggle and intensity with how the characters hold themselves. I want them to be like pixies; I want them to be quiet, and I want them to be loud when loud… I don’t want it like ‘Jack Kirby,’ where everything is flying out at you.”

“If you’re a writer, it’s like a huge cheat to just tell someone what’s going on,” said Jonathan of East of West. “It’s like if they said ‘I ran as fast as I could,’ and then they run. There’s nothing worse than telling something twice.” Nick added that, “I first drive for clarity; simplify. And then I draw the heck out of it.”

After the art is pretty much done, coloring comes in. Color palettes can be very important as well when it comes to making the comic tie together well. Gabriel of Invisible Republic mentioned that since their comic has two time streams, they use two different palettes. “The present is a desaturated  film look, when film use to be used for movies.” Nick took it further by talking about the role of colorists. “[They are] like the new finishers… we give the colorist enough space to play and have it. Color sells books, really. If you are in perfect harmony with your colorist, you have it made.”

As a last discussion, the teams discussed their influences; where their ideas come from. “Manga, because they show, not tell,” said Nick Dragotta. Jonathan Hickman had a lot more to say on the subject. “I consumed as much as I could when I was beginning, and my first five projects could be seen as ‘this is like that, but meets this.’ I don’t read as much anymore  though… when I work it could spark an idea that I’ll want to include, or spark another idea that I don’t’ have time for… Nowadays I watch a lot of film.”

Gabriel Hardman said that “I take influences from other outside sources. Pull from everything, not just comics.” This is where Jonathan broke back in, and went on a rampage about comic ideas. “I also work for marvel as a writer, and they write comics for comics. They don’t take any original ideas, just basically mine their previous franchises. It’s incestuous. No, they’ve [expletive] themselves beyond incestuous.” He then discussed how “cool” it is when people are willing to try new original things. “It’s really cool.”

It’s great to see the process from where the story and art of our comics come to life. Because after all, that’s what makes comics, well, comics. And it’s great to have a company like Image that gives their writers and artists the space to let such creativity flow. Keep an eye out for “East of West” and “Invisible Republic.”

by Zachary Clemente

Image Comics’ traditionally solid convention programming kicked off on Thursday of San Diego Comic-Con 2015 with a discussion of the mainstream in comics with Image creators (left to right) Michael Moreci (Roche Limit), Alex Grecian (Rasputin), Keenan Marshall Keller (The Humans), Chip Zdarsky (Kaptara, Sex Criminals), Marjorie Lui (Montress), and Kody Chamberlain (Punks).

Spurred by moderator David Brothers and questions from the audience, they described through their Image titles, what sort of genre could possibly best apply, and the process in which they’re made. Personally, one of the reasons I enjoying covering Image panels is that it’s a good opportunity for creators to be candid about the ins and outs of their creative process and the realities of working freelance.

Punks, according to Chamberlain, started as a light argument between him and the series writer, Joshua Hale Fialkov that turned into the creative challenge of “do comics need to be drawn?” Wanting to emulate the style of punk rock fliers and posters, all the pages of Punks are collaged by hand, only using digital processes for coloring. Chamberlain went on, saying that Punks was an experiment that led to fun.

Keller, who self-published the first issue of The Humans before it was picked up by Image, described the book as “Apesploitation” and an ode to underground comics today. Their goal is to have as much fun and upset as many people as they can.

The ever entertaining Zdarsky, hat in hand, admitted that Kaptara was an excuse to work with series artist Kagan Mcleod. He confessed further that the world of Kaptara is almost entirely built of his love of He-Man and that he considers the series’ Smurfs (known as “Glomps”) are like their Men’s Rights Activists.

‘Montress’ Promo Art by Sana Takeda

Lui, writer of the much anticipated Monstress title with artist Sana Takeda announced back at Image Expo in January explained the the idea for the book started with the idea of how neat it would be if Godzilla was her friend and that the title was crucial as she wanted to address the narrative of the monster as feminine. She also divulged that the first issue, a whopping near-70 pages will be released in November.

The majority of the panelists were writers, only Zdarsky and Chamberlain occupying the role of artist on a current Image book, but everyone echoed the need to write for the art and “get out of the artist’s way” when scripting. When asked about the relationship between collaborators and the nature of working on personal work, all stressed the need to work from the heart and to understand that writing in comics isn’t a guaranteed way to ensure financial success. Working from the heart was considered the best way to make the best work.

“The mainstream is what we make it.” – David Brothers

Thanks for joining and we’ll have ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2015 all this weekend!

This week we celebrate the Popeye-obsessed, Metal-warped mind of Tom Neely! His new series The Humans, with his pal Keenan Marshall Keller, has become a sleeper hit for Image Comics and is the perfect vehicle for Neely’s action-packed, skull-rattling artwork!

I first picked up some of Neely’s comics(The Blot, Your Disease Spread Quick, a Melvins comic book) at San Diego Comic Con about 10 years ago and I have to say that his comics career has been one of the most interesting to follow. Tom Neely has shown great range & versatility as an artist, from creating the cult-classic underground series Henry & Glenn Forever with The Igloo Tornado artist collective to his time campaigning for, then drawing for IDW’s new Popeye series(a life long dream of his) and then his recent 228-page graphic novel The Wolf, a beautifully raw, bloody acid trip of a story!

With The Humans comic book Neely has(hopefully)found his long-term happy(biker-ape-loitation)home to stretch his ink brush arm in!

Neely earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the University of Tulsa & Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. He was born in Paris, Texas and now lives in Los Angeles, CA.

His 2007 graphic novel The Blot won him the Ignatz Award that year and was named one of the “Best Graphic Novels of the decade 2000-2010″ by The Comics Journal. He’s done many illustrations and album covers for the music industry including Green Day’s Demolicious, last year.

You can check out more of Tom Neely’s website here, and for fresh updates on The Humans go “like” the official FB page here.

For more comics related art, you can follow me on my website comicstavern.com – Andy Yates

By Nick Eskey

Writer: Jason Shawn Alexander

Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander

Color: Luis Nct

Letters: Sherard Jackson

Publisher: Image Comics

Have you heard about the story set in a neo-noir dystopian society somewhere in the not so distant future? Most of you are probably nodding your heads in an emphatic yes.

Adding to that list is Jason Shawn Alexander’s first issue of Empty Zone.

Though the setting isn’t original, the story and the artwork make this comic a fantastic read. Think if the movie Blade Runner, the movie Tank Girl, Vertigo’s Sandman comic, and the anime Ghost in the Shell had a torrid love affair. Empty Zone would be the reason all of them have to submit to a paternity test.

The protagonist’s name is Corrine, a young and sexy woman who moonlights as super soldier for hire. Her easy-on-the-eye looks hints nothing at her enhanced abilities (save for her giant robotic arm of course). Her constantly reoccurring nightmares make her a haunted woman. But in this future where technology is advanced and society is crumbling, bad dreams are not the only things haunting her.

As the story goes, this first issue does well in introducing us to the characters, but still holding enough back that we are left wanting to learn more about their personalities and motives. The strange scenery and events leaves many questions to be answered, setting up what may be a good run for the series. As I mentioned, the atmosphere may not be original, but the writing makes up for that. The twist introduced at the end also sweetens the deal.

Writing aside, the artwork could carry this comic alone. Each panel looks like it should be framed on the wall. A lot of care went into the drawing, inking, and coloring (to which Jason Shawn Alexander wears the three hats of creator, writer, and artist). The facial drawings remind me a little of the rotoscoping used in A Scanner Darkly. Rotoscoping is essentially tracing over a film frame by frame. Everything from body articulation to facial expressions is highly detailed and close to real life. Objects and scenery are equally as well done. Overall, this thing deserves to be appreciated.

Empty Zone is a great addition to comics and collections. The artwork and writing is well done, with the pace taking readers for a fun joyride that doesn’t move too fast or slow. Fans of dark comics, as well as science fiction books and movies will surely enjoy this series. Image Comic’s Empty Zone hits local shelves June 17th.

All week long The Beat has been covering all facets of the comic book industry and attempting to secure our own doors away from the various comics characters who attempt to breach the domain in which we all live under one roof: The Stately Beat Manor. Together, members of the Manor bolted down each window, locked every door, and secured ourselves from being distracted by members of the Circus of Crime — who had been causing damage across the City — or so we heard from our own outside sources. Due to characters from the Marvel Universe continually breaching the manor, we took all necessary precautions. Unfortunately, we locked ourselves in with the Circus, whose individual members took our Beat contributors one-by-one. Their various tricks distracted us long enough from to steal our entire supply of gold. The Gold-less contributors of the Beat Manor continued to deliver carefully curated staff picks of the best comics of the week. The following is a public service announcement to comics lovers around the world wondering what books to purchase this very week!

Alex’s Picks:

Weirdworld #1

Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Mike Del Mundo

Welcome to the wildest, most dangerous new corner of the Marvel Universe. Welcome to Weirdworld.

• A world of swords and sorcery and strange, perverted science. A world where one barbarian walks alone, on a dark and savage quest though all things weird and fantastic from throughout Marvel history.

• His name is Arkon. A lost man in a lost world. Follow him if you dare.

We’ve been waiting to dive into the fabulous land of Weirdworld #1 for quite sometime here at The Beat. the story hailing from Marvel written by Jason Aaron with art from Mike Del Mundo has been one of our most anticipated tie-ins from the entire Secret Wars event. With Secret Wars providing an excuse from Marvel creators to take chances that are event more off the wall than usual comes the titular story, centered around a Conan analogue known as Arkon, a lost man in a lost world. Join the saga of Arkon as we continue to explore parts of the Marvel Universe that remained hidden until the 70’s!

Starfire #1

Writer: Amanda Conner Artist: Emanuela Lupacchino

From the writers of the outrageous smash hit HARLEY QUINN comes former Outlaw Starfire in her all-new ongoing series! She’s an alien warrior princess trying to find peace on Earth, and she’ll fight anyone and anything to get it!

The debut of the New 52 saw a lot of controversy from the character of Starfire, as the female hero initially solicited sexual acts from the male heroes in Red Hood and the Outlaws #1. Thankfully, Amanda Conner seems to have something different to say about the heroine in the upcoming Starfire solo title with pencils by Emanuela Lupacchino. While it is too soon to discover if Conner can do justice to the good will behind her name and the character, it seems that the lead is simply trying to find peace on Earth even with her more violent tendencies entrenched within the alien.

Dave’s Pick:

Savage Dragon #204

Story/Art: Erik Larsen

Malcolm Dragon vs. Angel Dragon? It comes to this-as Malcolm and Angel have it out in what may be our strangest issue yet.

On top of all that, it’s got a Captain Ultimate back up strip. If you aren’t reading the book published by Monkeybrain Comics, it’s one of the best all ages comics on the digital market.

Kyle’s Picks:

Gotham Academy #7

Writers: Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher  Art: Karl Kerschl

Special guest student Damian Wayne drops by the academy – and he is not pleased to meet his new classmates!

Of all of DC’s “new look” titles that came about towards the end of the New 52 era, Gotham Academy was definitely the most stylized. With gorgeous art from Karl Kerschl, and scripting from Brendan Fletcher and Becky Cloonan that evokes a nearly Miyazaki like tone, it’s the title that sets itself apart from the rest of the pack with charm and storybook style grace. Issue 7 sees Damian Wayne join the pack of students at this Bruce Wayne funded school, and given that he might be DC’s best new character of the past ten years, that makes Gotham Academy all the more of a must read. Jump on-board now!

Nameless #4

Writer: Grant Morrison  Artist: Chris Burnham

The world descends into chaos and the astronauts stranded in the Tunnels of Xibalba must endure unspeakable tortures when their captors finally reveal themselves.

As all human hopes, fears, doubts, and dreams are subjected to the cruel and merciless scrutiny of an inhuman, sadistic intelligence, is reality collapsing? Or sanity?

With The Multiversity, Annihilator, and Nameless; Grant Morrison has entered into a new career high-point in terms of output. Nameless can be as difficult to parse as his writing ever is, but it’s Morrison writing cosmic horror utilizing the philosophical underpinnings of Thomas Ligotti. If you can’t be convinced based on that alone, than perhaps the stunning work of Chris Burnham and Nathan Fairbairn will pull you in instead? Given that Burnham has probably been Morrison’s best collaborator in recent years not named Frank Quitely, and Morrison is a writer who I think often thrives best under particular artists’ representation of his work, Nameless should be at the top of your radar.

Matt’s Pick:

Weirdworld #1 (AGAIN!)

Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Mike Del Mundo

Welcome to the wildest, most dangerous new corner of the Marvel Universe. Welcome to Weirdworld.

• A world of swords and sorcery and strange, perverted science. A world where one barbarian walks alone, on a dark and savage quest though all things weird and fantastic from throughout Marvel history.

• His name is Arkon. A lost man in a lost world. Follow him if you dare.

Weirdworld: It’s the comic so awesome we picked it twice!

( I sweat Marvel isn’t paying us to endorse this comic!)

I know almost nothing about Weirdworld, but a comic penned by Jason Aaron is a pretty safe bet. Jonathan Hickman called him the most consistently good comic book writer of the past few years on an episode of Word Balloon, and I find it hard to disagree. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen Mike Del Mundo art on anything but covers, but the interior pages on his portfolio are top-notch. Looking forward to this.

Zach’s Pick:

Ghost Racers #1

Writer: Felipe Smith Artist: Juan Gedeon

Robbie Reyes, Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Alejandra Blaze and many, many more step into the arena for all-out, high-speed warfare. The stakes have never been higher as the most vicious Spirits of Vengeance ever do battle for they’re very souls! Buckle up for a wild ride this June for GHOST RACERS #1!

Even after Tradd Moore left Ghost Rider, I’ve loved what Smith has been able to do with the series…but this. THIS is what Ghost Rider can be about and his zaniest. The 5 flaming riders across history meeting in the “Killiseum” (can’t make this up) for a glorious death race. May they ride eternal, shiny and chrome.

Brian Wood is a Multiple Eisner Award-nominee comic book creator whose first comic, Channel Zero, debuted in 1997. He continued creating original series like DMZ, Northlanders, The Massive and The Couriers while moving up to the big leagues and writing for some of the biggest pop culture titles such as Star Wars, X-Men, Conan the Barbarian, Hellboy and Lord of the Rings. He is a writer, an illustrator and a graphic designer who has been a serious and well represented member of the comics industry for almost 20 years.

Recently, Wood partnered with Image Comics for the new monthly series Starve.  The first issue debuts on June 10th and looks into the life of Gavin Cruikshank, one of the world’s most famous chefs.  He runs a food-centric television program called Starve, which is an arena sport that pits chef against chef for the pleasure of their super rich patrons.   As the series opens, Gavin finds himself on the brink– what he once considered a noble profession has been tarnished, and now Gavin wants to wipe the stain from his name. The Beat recently spoke to Wood to discuss Starve and his career.

Seth Ferranti: Where did you come up with the idea for Starve?

Brian Wood: I feel like I had the idea forever, but it definitely came out of my personal obsession watching cooking shows.  These days I limit it to Top Chef, but for awhile I was watching anything I could get my hands on, from original Iron Chef to Jamie Oliver to Anthony Bourdain.  Bourdain was an indirect source of inspiration for Starve.   I originally pitched the series to Vertigo around the time DMZ was ending. It was going to be my next big multi-year epic, but then Anthony Bourdain approached them with Get Jiro!, so I was edged out.

Ferranti: You’ve had a long career in comics working as a writer, creator, illustrator and designer. Which of these roles do you enjoy playing most?

Wood: I always enjoy doing design for my books.  It’s my last remaining visual outlet after I stopped illustrating and working a day job in design. However, writing is clearly the thing that gets me the most excited considering the amount I do. In this last year I’ve really branched out, writing the upcoming 1979 Revolution video game and working on commissioned pilots for two television shows.  It’s new and exciting stuff for me.

Ferranti: Out of all the books you have created which is the one that resonates the most for you today?

Wood: This is always a tricky question, because different books mean different things to me.  Take Demo – Demo means Becky Cloonan, probably my oldest friend in comics and someone I love dearly (even if I hardly ever see her…)  Then, you have Local and The New York Four, which I did with Ryan Kelly, whom I collaborate best with.  I’m really proud of the work we do.  DMZ is the longest project I’ve done and for that reason stands out.  I was single when I started DMZ, and by the time it ended was married with two kids!  That’s crazy.  Plus Riccardo Burchielli – you work every day with someone on a comic for 7 years, they basically become your family.

But speaking strictly personally?  Northlanders is, I think, my best writing and where some of my most personal writing happened.  I miss that book every single day.

Ferranti: What is the difference between writing for huge established characters like the X-Men as opposed to creating your own stuff?

Wood: For maybe the first 10 years of my career I was pretty much a creator-owned guy, that was what I did 98% of the time.  Then I decided to jump in with both feet and see how the other half lived, and did Conan, X-Men, Star Wars, Eve, and a few others.  At one point, I got fired off Supergirl.  In retrospect, I’m glad I did all that, but its not what I’m best at and ultimately not what gets me out of bed in the morning.  It never gives the same sort of warm fuzzies that working on original material does.  As you can see from this last year, I’m back to mostly creator owned again with one exception on the horizon. I found a project too cool to pass up.

When I work, I ask myself, “What do you want to leave behind?”  That sounds morbid and probably a little self-indulgent, but I want to be known as the DMZ guy and not the Star Wars guy.  The work for hire is fleeting, it comes and makes a lot of noise, but then, in most cases, vanishes.  Good original material is eternal.

Ferranti: What comics did you love growing up?

Wood: I only really got into comics as a college student.  As a kid, I used to pick up Groo at the newsstand, and I love Groo, but it was just a once in a while sort of thing.  In college I discovered, at the same time, Vertigo and Fantagraphics.  I read Preacher, Hate, Dirty Plotte, Minimum Wage, and Sandman.  Kind of an odd mix!

Ferranti: What popular culture title did you most enjoy writing?

Wood: Moon Knight, which may sound like a surprising pick considering everything I’ve done, but that book was beautiful and effortless.  Greg Smallwood and Jordie Bellaire were amazing to work with and there was no heavy duty continuity to deal with.  I’m fiercely proud of those 6 issues.  Beyond that, I had fun on Ultimate X-Men and Star Wars, and let’s not forget DV8, one of the last Wildstorm books ever, art by Rebekah Isaacs and Fiona Staples.

Ferranti: It seems like all the pro writers end up at Image after their work at Marvel or DC.  Why do you think this is?

Wood: I’ve been around long enough to see how its cycled.  I started off at Image in 1997, and for a long time Image was the stepping stone on your headlong rush to Marvel and DC – the Big Two was the goal for EVERYONE and it was seen as the epitome of ‘having made it’.  Its only been in the last few years that its seemed to reverse.  Nowadays, new creators seem to be getting tons of work at Marvel and DC while the more established are back at places like Image and Dark Horse and are doing their ‘real work’.  Not to diminish anyone’s work anywhere; I just find the cycles to be interesting.

Ferranti: Where is Starve going to take readers?

Wood: This is the story of Chef Gavin Cruikshank dealing with a creative crisis when he finds his beloved TV show “Starve” turned into this amoral spectacle of a reality show.  He attempts to right the wrongs committed while simultaneously dealing with the damage he’s done to his relationship with his wife and adult daughter over the years.  It’s a sort of darkly comedic family drama with this celebrity chef thing as a backdrop.  We’ll follow Cruikshank as he enters his own show as a contestant and fumbles around trying to make things right.

There is another narrative thread: a society dealing with food scarcity, environmental damage, and urban blight.  Here, I handle the topics in a very different way compared to how I deal with things in books like DMZ or The Massive.  This is me writing in a more bombastic style that I have recently.  It harkens back to my older books like Supermarket and The Couriers in that respect.

Ferranti: What would you tell someone to make them want to read Starve?

Wood: I’d have to suss them out first.  Because some people are like me and are REALLY into the foodie thing, the cooking show thing, and this is rare territory for comics, so its easy to entice them.  But, I’m discovering, some people have zero interest in that stuff.  So for them it would be the redemption story, told with a nasty streak of humor.  I sometimes describe Starve as The Running Man meets Anthony Bourdain as played by Iggy Pop.  That usually works.

Ferranti: Who else worked on Starve with you?

Wood: Danijel Zezelj, who I’ve worked with often, on DMZ, Northlanders, and The Massive, and Dave Stewart, who has colored my Conanand The Massive.  Danijel and Dave collaborated on the excellent Luna Park OGN for Vertigo a few years back, with spectacular results.

I also like to point out that all three of us are owners and creators on this book, and its all just as much theirs as mine.  Its been a great partnership.

Ferranti: Can you list your website and social media contacts?

Wood: My twitter is @brianwood, my site is www.brianwood.com

“James Robinson” himself, being assigned the Airboy comic for a reboot

by Nick Eskey

For starters, this work is not for kids, and there might be a plot spoiler. With that out of the way, let’s review!

Airboy was originally made during the boom of super hero comics in the World War II era, where America dreamed of spandex clad heroes fighting not only super villains, but of the likes of Hitler and the entire Nazi army. One of the things that set him apart was that Airboy flew a plane with wings that flapped much like a bird’s. Even stranger, a Franciscan monk made both the plane and the superhero costume.

Aside from sharing the same name, that’s where the buck stops in this book. What we are instead given is a fast and illicit trip through one’s insecurities, and case of writer’s block.

Through the first few pages, it’s not the WWII flying ace that we see, but rather we are treated to a modern day man sitting on a toilet. Namely, we see writer “James Robinson” himself, being assigned the Airboy comic for a reboot. The story follows him, and later on artist Greg Hinkle, through a night of alcohol and drug fueled mayhem. Amid a wicked hangover, everything crescendos with a very “unlikely” visitor.

I must admit, it was weird seeing things from other end of the drawing board. Within the first couple of panels, confusion set in, and I read on wondering when this “Airboy” was going to make the scene. A number of pages later, all expectations of him and his flapping plane disappeared. I felt like some cardinal rule was getting broken. But as someone said some time long ago, rules are made to be broken.

The visuals reminded me a lot of “The Fifth Beatle” spliced with a Lewis Carroll drug trip. The use of solid colors as opposed to shading makes the art style unique

The story follows him, and later on artist Greg Hinkle, through a night of alcohol and drug fueled mayhemand pleasing to the eye. The drawing style is both clean and whimsical, making this story a fun and easy read.

Disregarding the art and the surprise twist at the end, the writing alone will keep any down to earth reader keep on reading. The frank, clear dialogue helps us relate to the characters it many ways, from their concerns and feelings, to the insane situations they are involved in.

All-in-all, I loved this story so far. It took me a few heartbeats to get passed my great confusion over the story title, but after that it was a good time. The humor and situations are very adult, so don’t be too shocked when you see male genitalia. Yup, you heard me.

This is a must read that should be picked up at your local retailer.

Airboy by Image Comics is available for sale as of today, June 3rd.

I would prefer not to name names, but a certain member of the Beat Staff has ingested one too many Steve Gerber comics and fell into the celebration of oddities. For those not in the know, we’ve been getting a lot of stray visitors at the mansion lately — the castaways of comics long ago who find themselves wandering the hallways of The Stately Beat Manor after hours. This week Ruby Thursday happened to pay us a visit. No…not ringing any bells? Thursday is a member of the Headmen, a group of B-list Defenders rogues sent to wreak havoc upon the work schedules of everyone here at The Beat. Or so we thought…as the aforementioned Beat Staffer blamed above and Ruby Thursday seemed to be getting along quite well. When Thursday heard that we took down Howard the Duck villain Bessie (Hellcow) with the power of love (and literature) she grew a newfound respect for us. We introduced her to some of the signatures we’ve acquired from past guests of the Comics Pull(s) including the Matter-Eater Lad (who she is also quite fond of.) She decided to help us continue The Beat tradition. Ms. Rubinstein suggested the following comics for this week revealing herself as quite the Archie fan.

Ruby Thursday’s picks:

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #3

Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Artist: Robert Hack

It’s the night before Halloween, the night before Sabrina’s sixteenth birthday, the night of the blood-moon and the lunar eclipse, and Sabrina has made her decision: She will go into the woods of Greendale as a half-witch and emerge…on the other side of a frightful ritual…as a fully baptized member of the Church of Night. But there will be a cost, and his name is Harvey. And unbeknownst to Sabrina and her aunts, there is a serpent in the garden, their great enemy Madam Satan, who is conspiring against them…

With a taste for the dark arts and 90’s sitcoms, Ruby couldn’t help but single out this week’s installment of Sabrina. While she did voice displeasure at the comic’s amount of delays — the villain can’t get enough of this reimagining of the titular witch. She expressed that the story has all the morally ambiguity she looks for in media, and the comic has just started to bring out more of the creepie crawlies…whatever that means.

Black Hood #4

Writer: Duane Swierczynski Artist: Michael Gaydos 

NEW ONGOING SERIES FROM DARK CIRCLE! “Bullet’s Kiss, Part 4″ The Connection’s lieutenants have discovered the identity of the new Black Hood. And now Greg Hettinger has only 24 hours to unmask their boss-the man who set Greg up!  As the badly-injured Black Hood struggles to piece together the puzzle, he’s forced to put his faith in a woman who could end up saving him… or sending him straight to the slammer!

Black Hood is also gearing up for a fourth issue that Ruby specifically wanted to single out. This is another installment within Archie’s own Dark Circle line of comics. With another series that’s filled with moral ambiguity and gritty realism, this is just the comic for Ruby. Before she left, Ms. Rubinstein wanted to mention that she will have revenge on the X-Men, Bruce Banner, Heroes for Hire, Bullseye, She-Hulk, Cloak, Silver Samurai, Skaar, and more. She’s also running in 2016 — so look for that — did we mention that Ruby Thursday previously ran for president?

Matt O’Keefe’s picks:

Old Man Logan #1

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Artist: Andrea Sorrentino

Enter the Wastelands: a realm where all heroes have been murdered by their arch-enemies, villains who now rule over the land with an iron fist. In the midst of this dystopian chaos, one man may make a difference?a reluctant warrior who was once the greatest mutant of all? A man known as OLD MAN LOGAN.

The original Old Man Logan (illustrated by Steve McNiven), was exactly what you’d expect from a Mark Millar comic: bold, brash, broad and full of interesting concepts largely left unexplored. That’s why it’s so exciting to see Brian Michael Bendis pick up on those old threads, adding his depth of character and focus on the more intimate details to the mix. The fact that the X-Men annuals he did with Old Man Logan artist Andrea Sorrentino were the best Bendis I’d read in years only gives me more confidence that this series has the potential to be something special.

Dave’s Pick:

Sons of the Devil #1

Writer: Brian Buccellato  Artist: Toni Infante

Last year, Brian Buccellato asked everyone for help making this project. On Wednesday, Sons of the Devil is officially an Image Comics reality. The premise poses the question; what would you do if you found out your father was evil like a Jim Jones or David Koresh? SOTD looks to bring supernatural horror to a human level.

Kyle’s Picks:

Material #1

Writer: Ales Kot Artist: Will Tempest

A man comes home from Guantanamo Bay, irrevocably changed.
An actress receives an offer that can revive her career.
A boy survives a riot and becomes embedded within a revolutionary movement.
A philosopher is contacted by a being that dismantles his beliefs.

Look around you. Everything is material.

I love pretty much everything Ales Kot does, from Secret Avengers to Zero (easily one of my top books of the 2010’s thus far), so this will surely prove no different.  Material looks to return to the wide-ranging ensemble cast style of his critically acclaimed earlier work like Change, but as with everything written by Kot, it’s impossible to pin down any of his titles into one particular box and that’s why I find him to be such a refreshing read every time out. I already know what will be on top of my modest pile tomorrow. It should be on top of yours as well.

The Sandman: Overture #5

Writer: Neil Gaiman Artist: J.H. Williams

The fate of the entire universe hangs in the balance when Dream finally gets his mother’s full attention. Magic, joy, war and heartbreak are brought to life on the pages with epic luminosity in the penultimate issue of THE SANDMAN: OVERTURE.

The biggest problem with Overture is that it’s been so long since the last chapter, I don’t remember what happened in the previous issue, much less anything before that. But, to its benefit, Williams’ work is so gorgeous that its hard to argue with re-reading the four issues that came before in order to catch up. It’s Neil Gaiman’s second to last issue of Sandman, if I was a betting man, I’d say you’re probably going to read it.