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"The series ending doesn’t mean you won’t see Starfire pop up in other places!"

Harley Quinn #17

By Harper W. Harris

Down in the bustle of the DC booth, I got a chance to talk with Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Chad Hardin, the team behind the ever popular Harley Quinn series, as well as newer books Harley Quinn and Power Girl and Starfire.

Harper W. Harris: When you wrote issue #12 of Harley Quinn, did you always plan on expanding that story into its own series or story?

Amanda Conner: Jimmy did.

Harley Quinn and Power Girl #2, out 7/22

Jimmy Palmiotti: Yeah, when we writing it, I said, it would be great if we could just make it a couple weeks later when they came out of the ring, and if this team up does okay, maybe they’ll let us tell that story. And it did do okay–it did better than okay! So when we pitched it to Dan [Didio], we said, well, we’d like to take what happened during those two weeks, how Power Girl got in a wedding dress, why these three eyed cats, and make it into six issues. He said, “If you can figure out all that, then go for it.” So we did. And we had Stephane Roux that wanted to draw it–we got lucky getting Stephane, so it all came together. It was sort of not a plan, but I left the door open in case something happened.

HH: What has it been like to return to Power Girl, a character that you had such a big impact on several years ago?

AC: We actually love Power Girl so much, and we miss working on that character, so we just said lets put Power Girl and Harley together, why not!

HH: They’re a good pairing so far! So speaking of Harley Quinn, the character has obviously gotten immensely popular in the last year or so. Has that level of fan involvement or popularity changed the way you view the character or the way you aim to tell her story?

AC: Not really–I mean we always loved the character. We wanted to make her the truest Harley that we knew how. I think it’s just resonated with a lot of people, because they feel like it’s very Harley-ish. I think that might be one of the reasons people love it so much, she feels like Harley. She’s wacky, she’s crazy, a little homicidal, but lovable.

JP: We like to say it’s because of Chad’s artwork too that’s sucking everybody into the book. I mean we got lucky–again a lot of things were just timing. The timing was right for the book, the tone that we thought may or may not work actually worked. It’s always a hit or miss when you’re going to change things up a little bit. We got lucky this time, I could tell you about the 40 other times we didn’t get lucky, but that would take up a whole other interview. We’re happy this worked out!

HH: Yeah, I think a big part of its success is the fresh, funny approach to a superhero story. What is your process in writing it as a comedy? Is there a lot of throwing out ideas, sketching them out, then seeing visually a way to make the situation funnier or add a new joke?

JP: We don’t really write it so much as a comedy as this is the story, and then we find the funny, absurd moments in it. All superhero comic books could easily be done like this with everything they do, everything from the capes to how ridiculous it is, if they can do all this, then why aren’t they doing that situations. So with Harley we actually try to lay out the story very grounded, like a regular comic format, this is what’s happening. As a matter of fact, as absurd as it is sometimes, she’s actually more based in the real world than some other characters because she goes through the motions: she’s on the street, she goes from this place to that place–there’s no jump to scenery, she has to get somewhere. We have whole scenes with car services and cabs–

Chad Hardin: Or she’s at work, or eating.

JP: She’s trying to do three jobs…it’s actually really grounded. But in that, it’s sort of like our own lives, right? There are these absurd moments that we see every day and we giggle and then we forget about. With Harley we have these absurd moments and we take it to a hyper sense of reality. And then we hand it over to Chad.

CH: Whenever they hand me the script, it’s like, how can I make this…more. You know, take the football across the goal line so to speak.

AC: And you always do!

JP: We like to think of it, whether it’s perceived that way or not, as a very grounded in reality story. We could be completely wrong and be just getting by on what we think, but that’s how we see it.

AC: You can have a very grounded story, but when Harley gets involved, everything just goes upside-down.

CH: She’s the touch of chaos that spins the universe into this chaotic motion, and that’s where the absurdity comes in.

From Harley Quinn #12, which led to the Harley Quinn and Power Girl mini-series

JP: I also think it’s why people like the book. It’s one of the few books–we know the procedure of a superhero book is that it’s going to have the fight and then the cliffhanger–with Harley, you actually have no idea what’s going to happen on the next page. We throw random things–like all the sudden there are 800 birds on her–like we just go randomly in places and it should be that way, because that’s how her brain acts, so it shouldn’t be so linear in that way. It seems to work and we’re always happy when we get Chad’s pages back and we’re all laughing at things that we didn’t even write that are in the background. We’re like, that’s a really good working team when everybody’s putting their best into it. And with Alex Sinclair on colors, it’s one of the most fun books I’ve ever worked on.

HH: You guys definitely have an awesome team going, a great collaboration. Chad, how is the process different drawing for writers that are very talented artists in their own right?

CH: I don’t know how to explain this so much, but it is different in that it’s the most challenging book I’ve ever been on, but I don’t know why. It just is. But I think it’s because I don’t dare dial anything in.

AC: We know where he lives.

CH: Everything’s got to be perfect, perfect, perfect. We’re crossing all the t’s and dotting all the i’s. But I think the fans really respond to that.

JP: I harass him once in a while.

CH: If Jimmy doesn’t like something, I can tell immediately. He’ll give me like a one word note, like “cool” or “awesome”–if I don’t get that, I’m like, okay, something’s wrong.

JP: Like, “Staten Island has more trees.” He drew a scene, and he doesn’t know Staten Island, it has more trees.

AC: There is no island off the coast.

CH: Oops! I actually did go to New York, I walked around Coney Island and took a million pictures. But off the coast, I have no idea. Across the Brooklyn Bridge, I have no idea.

JP: We’re dealing with a real city, there are 4 million people in Brooklyn that might have something to say if we completely turn everything away.

HH: You can’t really fake that geography.

JP: Yeah. Even with the scatapult on the roof, Amanda kind of figures out where it is using Google Maps, where it would go over buildings.

CH: We have a map of the building, the floors. I know which way it faces, we’re pretty anal about it.

AC: Oh, we’re so anal about it–I downloaded all these apps so I can know what degrees it needs to be pointed at to hit any J Train that might be going over the Williamsburg Bridge–Oh no that’s the L Train, nevermind!

Starfire #3, out 8/12

HH: I wanted to talk about Starfire–how did you get attracted to that character?

AC: They asked us to write it. [Laughs]

JP: They ask, how do you feel about Starfire, I’m not sure how I feel about Starfire. Amanda definitely has more history with her.

AC: I read all the Wolfman Perez Teen Titans, so I liked the character a lot. And I’ve seen her go through a lot different incarnations.

JP: They sent us the New 52 trades, and we read those, and I was like, okay, that’s that, but we also like the cartoon a lot. We laugh our asses off at the cartoon. There’s got to be a way we can make this work for us, in order for us to have interest in writing it. Dan said, alright, then pitch how you would want to do it and we’ll see if it works with what we’re thinking. We pitched the book you have. We said it’s a new town and she doesn’t want to be a superhero so much, like a new start. And they went for it. I think they had confidence with us doing Harley that maybe we could handle that. I don’t think we would’ve been offered it if we weren’t doing Harley. I don’t think it would’ve been a book they would have come to us with, so we hard to earn that book.

Harley Quinn #17, Starfire #2, and Harley Quinn and Power Girl #1 are all in stores now, with new issues coming soon!

CHECK THIS OUT!

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NO!

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SERIOUSLY,

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CHECK THIS OUT!!

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This is the new Guardian Herd #3: LANDFALL cover.

Landfall is the final installment . . . maybe . . . (I hope not) . . . of The Guardian Herd series.

Unfortunately, you must wait until next February 2, 2016 to get your hands on this beautiful cover.

How cruel, isn’t it, to reveal a cover you can’t touch for 8 months. Well, I cannot wait . . . must not wait . . . I shall not wai . . . okay, I will wait, but only because it is worth the wait and because the story comes with the cover. Ah, the story. What is Landfall all about?

“It has been many moons since Star received his starfire power. He has gone from being born a dud—unable to fly and shunned by the five herds of Anok, including his own—to becoming a strong yearling, ready to lead his own herd as an over-stallion. But now he will face his toughest challenge yet. Nightwing the Destroyer, Star’s eternal rival, is amassing an army to destroy him and all of Anok. The only way for Star to defeat him is to learn how to fight like a warrior—without using his starfire. For if he uses his power, even to heal, Nightwing will know where to find him.

“As the threat of war looms over Star’s head, he can’t help but wonder if the current peace among the united pegasi is strong enough to defeat the powerful Destroyer once and for all.

“With increasingly difficult challenges and brand-new areas of Anok to explore, Jennifer Lynn Alvarez will thrill readers with this epic and exhilarating third installment of The Guardian Herd series.”

WOW!

But hold on—there is more.

The Guardian Herd Series cover has inspired readers all over the country. Here is some of the amazing art fans have created to show their love of the series.

© Danielle A.

© Isabella T.

© Jennifer D.

© Mary W.

© Ruby K.

© Abby P.

As if this Guardian Herd cover and those kids’ pictures are not exciting enough, I am pleased as punch-ing herds to have a partial glimpse at Guardian Herd author Jennifer Lynn Alvarez’s interview with the cover artist, David McClellan. Most of you know about Jennifer. Here is a little about David:

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David grew up near Portland, Oregon. He studied illustration at Brigham Young University in Utah. In addition to illustrating books, David works as an artist for Disney Interactive Studios, where they make the video game, Disney Infinity. David lives in Utah with his wife and four boys.

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Interview and Art Tips with David McClellan

How did you become the cover artist for The Guardian Herd series?

The art director at Harper Collins had hired me before, but on a completely different kind of subject matter. As she considered me for this job, she asked if I was any good at painting animals and asked for some examples, and I told her that I was okay, but that I was probably weakest at horses. Of course, horses were exactly what she needed. And she agreed with me that my horses were not my best work, but for some reason she took a chance on me anyway. I immediately went and got some books on horse anatomy and started trying to figure it out. In hindsight, I think I was probably equally bad at drawing all animals. It’s just that horses are animals that humans are really familiar with, and have such specific proportions and musculature, that people can always tell when artists get them wrong. If you draw a dog wrong, you can just say it’s a different kind of dog.

 Please describe your process, from conception to delivery, for creating a Guardian Herd book cover. 

The art director gives me a description of what they want to see on the cover as far as characters and what kind of setting they want. Then I do several sketches to try and turn all those elements into a composition, taking into account where the title and author’s name will be. Those first sketches are usually so rough that no one else would understand them. Lately I have been doing those kinds of sketches on my phone. I then pick out a few that have the most potential and make more finished sketches of those ideas to send to the art director.  She will then review the sketches with the editor and author and then either ask for changes or give the go ahead on the one that they like best. Then I will do color studies and work out the big picture before rendering any details.  

I will have to do research and gather reference materials, in this case, lots of pictures of horses and wings. I have used toy horses for reference too since the photos usually don’t have the right kind of lighting.  So sometimes I set up the toy horse with some makeshift paper wings to help me figure out what the shadows need to do. Then, from that point on, it’s just a lot of hours of painting time to refine and finish it off.

© 2015 David McClellan

Your perspectives on the covers are dramatic! Can you give readers any tips on how to draw interesting pictures?

As far as perspective goes, on both of these Guardian Herd covers so far I have dropped the horizon line lower so it feels like you are looking up at Star, which makes him feel more heroic. There are so many potential answers to the question of how to make interesting pictures. Coming up with an interesting idea that is worth the time spent creating it is certainly crucial. Doing several rough sketches to get at the best possible idea helps. Making your image clear and legible helps. For example, it helps to have a clear focal point that is the most important thing in your picture and then have all the other elements complement rather than compete with that main focal point.

© 2015 David McClellan

I believe that contrast is a big key to making things interesting. Our brains naturally look for contrast to make sense of things. And not just contrast of light and dark but just about everything you can think of has an opposite that you can use to set it apart and make it stand out. Of course, not everything should stand out. Only the important things. But if you want something to feel light, surround it with some dark. If you want something to feel big, put something small next to it. Try to keep variety in your shapes and not make everything too similar or monotonous.

Do you have any specific tips/advice on how to draw horses and feathers?

Well, start by getting the best reference materials you can get. You may not be able to see all that you need to understand in a photo of a horse, so a book on horse anatomy or a diagram of the muscles of the horse can be helpful. With feathers, it seems to be a little like drawing fingers or hair. If you are drawing a hand, it works best to mass in the fingers as a group first before trying to depict each individual finger. And with hair, it’s the same thing. You draw the mass of hair and then define only as many strands of hair as you need to in order to show that it’s hair and no more.

With the feathers, start with the shape of the wing as a solid mass with the structure of the bones underneath in mind, and then add the feather detail on top of that foundation. And remember that you don’t have to define each feather with equal importance. Pick a few main ones to be the ones that tell the story.

Can you recommend any software programs that budding artists might want to learn?

I really only work in Photoshop for my illustration work, although I sketch in the Sketchbook Pro app on my phone. I have messed around with the Brushes and Art Rage apps on my iPad. I think the kids probably know better than I do what the cool new painting apps are. I always recommend that kids get really good with real pencils and paints before getting into digital art because I think that foundation really helps.

Partial Interview Reprinted with permission from Jennifer Lynn Alvarez. For more information on The Guardian Herd Series please visit The Guardian Herd series website. To read the entire interview, gallop—or fly—on down to the tour dates and sites. (But don’t go yet, there is “One More Thing.”)

You can see more of David’s work at mcclellanart.com and on Instagram:  @mcclellan_art 

Now for the author of The Guardian Herd series. Just in case you have been living in a WIFI-less barn, here is a little about the author, Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

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Jennifer Lynn Alvarez is the author of The Guardian Herd: Starfire, Stormbound, Landfall and The Pet Washer indie book series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, three children, and more than her fair share of pets, including horses.

Here is how you can, dare I say must, follow Jennifer:
Author website: www.jenniferlynnalvarez.com
Twitter:  @JenniferDiaries
Facebook    Pinterest    YouTube    Google+
Instagram: @jennifer_lynn_alvarez
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Guardian Herd #3: LANDFALL releases in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats on 02/02/2016.

You can pre-order a copy at Amazon or Barnes&Noble.

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If you would like to see more of the cover reveal tour—who knows what else you might learn—check out these sites:
June 15th—Middle Grade Mafioso  (running entire interview with David McClellan)
June 16th—Kid Lit Reviews
June 17th—This Kid Reviews Books  (Interview with Audio Book Narrator)
June 18th—Beachbound Books  (Interview with Guardian Herd Character)
June 19th—Doodles Doodles Everywhere  (Artist Interview Debut in India) 
June 20th—Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
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ONE MORE THING.

Really, there is one more thing, and you really need to pay close attention to this part. To be sure you’ll hear, I’ll yell it out:

“HERE IS THE GIVEAWAY MENTIONED IN THE POST TITLE!”

To enter for a chance to WIN a Tote Bag Prize you MUST leave a comment (with your full name and email address IF your name does not link to a website or blog).

Here is the Tote:

FRONT

BACK

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Oh, wait . . . I forgot to open it up. Ooh, inside are the prizes!

The winner will receive:
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A signed paperback of book #1 STARFIRE (reviewed HERE)
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A poster of the LANDFALL cover. 

Character trading cards (sorry, no image, but Stormbound is reviewed HERE)

AND, to carry home all this swag, you get to keep the actual Guardian Herd Tote!

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That is one good prize package.

Ready to win? Leave a comment.
(Winner will be announced in a future post.)

Stay tuned, a review of LANDFALL will be here as soon as, well, Ms. Alvarez sends a review copy.

It’s that time again! Just like last week, I picked up every issue DC Comics put out of their current “DC You” initiative, and I’m here to present my scattered and unorganized thoughts in a few sentences. Again, none of these should be construed as reviews really, it’s just a quick glimpse at one fan’s thoughts on the newly evolving line of comics from his long-time favorite publisher.

Also, just a point of clarification, I bought all of these with my own money. Not one comp copy was involved in the writing of this piece, if that sort of thing means anything to you.

Batman #41: I’m not fully sold on the Jim Gordon as Batman take yet, but this new arc continues the rather fun zaniness that’s been part and parcel of the Scott Snyder–Greg Capullo run since “Zero Year”, and Capullo continues to be one of the best artists at the Big Two. His work pops in a way that so few superhero illustrators can manage, and he just keeps getting better. I also can’t say enough about FCO Plascencia‘s colors. The new status quo is intriguing enough, and I look forward to seeing how it spills over into books like Batgirl, Grayson and Detective Comics (see below).

Verdict: Already on my pull and staying there

Batman/Superman #21: I love Greg Pak‘s work on Action Comics, so it vexes me a bit when I can’t seem to reconcile the great work he does there and the fairly pedestrian stuff he cranks out for this title. The new shift for Superman, which inevitably is the character this title has focused on in greater detail, hasn’t really done much to refresh a series that can’t escape a feeling of staleness and bland superheroics. Being envisioned by the house-stylings of Ardian Syaf doesn’t help either.

Verdict: Stopping here

Catwoman #41: I missed the boat on early issues of the critically acclaimed, but fairly under-read (and promoted), Genevieve Valentine Catwoman run. I think I may have assumed too much to think that I could just jump on-board here. It’s really well written, you can tell Valentine has a pretty elegant control of prose, but I’ll be damned if I knew what the heck was actually going on. I found it difficult to keep up with who each character was, and what purpose they served in Selina’s world, though in ensemble-based crime fiction, I sometimes bump into that barrier. I’m maybe intrigued enough to try again, with the hope that familiarity will breed some affection, but I can’t say I’d recommend it for the first timer.

Verdict: On the fence

Constantine: The Hellblazer #1: Riley Rossmo can do no wrong, and the Dante‘s Inferno-inspired spread found within is the kind of panel layout that will always grab my attention. This is a really fun reintroduction to the John Constantine that we used to see back in the Vertigo days, rather than the New 52 superhero that had populated books like Justice League Dark and the previous Constantine title. I like this more arrogant and amorous John, and the fact that DC is putting out a book that pushes their general boundaries of content within the main line is nice to see. It’s a bit over-written, with its themes hammering you over the head (especially in a secondary character’s denouement), but I’m mostly sold provided that one big flaw is rectified in subsequent months

Verdict: Going onto the pull-list

Detective Comics #41: I really like Francis Manapul and Brian Buccelatto as an art team, frankly as far as “cape comics” go, there are few better. As writers though, I’ve had more trouble with their output. Their angle on the Jim Gordon as Batman take is solid enough: a book about Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya will always grab my attention in some form or fashion. But I’m not sure I found enough here to really hook me between a few iffy narrative conceits and some dialogue that didn’t quite land with me. Additionally, while I think Fernando Blanco does a decent enough Michael Lark, I’d be more excited about this title if Manapul was penciling it himself still.

Verdict: Stopping here

Earth 2: Society #1: I had hopes that perhaps with a fresh start, Daniel Wilson might be able to employ something worthwhile into the literal new world that the Earth 2 characters are now inhabiting. How wrong I was, as this was basically unreadable. I liked the Johnny Sorrow appearance at least, but it was basically negated by Terry Sloane sprouting mechanical wings.

Verdict: Stopping here

Gotham Academy #7: I can’t even begin to pretend like I’m not in the tank for this book. I love it, and even when it has fill-in artists like Mingjue Helen Chen, the title is able to uphold its cinematic qualities. Chen’s work here reminds me a good deal of Irish animator Tomm Moore, and her gorgeous cartooning provides a perfect spotlight for secondary character “Maps” and the meet cute that occurs between her and Damian Wayne. There are a couple of spatial hitches where I was bit disoriented as to what was happening in a panel or two, but otherwise, this is a pretty great all-ages adventure.

Verdict: Already on my pull and staying there

Harley Quinn #17: Maybe it’s The Naked Gun fan in me, but I always laugh at a good beaver joke, and this one had me guffawing a bit. I hadn’t read an issue of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti‘s take on Harley since its debut issue and this month’s offering had me wondering why I hadn’t. It was humorous, zinged with energy, and Chad Hardin‘s art looked way more suited to the material than I remember it. I thought the Gang of Harleys was a pretty fun idea too.

Verdict: In for the next issue

Red Hood/Arsenal #1: The idea of a “buddy comedy” comic book isn’t a bad one, it works well for titles like Archer & Armstrong, and in theory Jason and Roy should be diametrically opposed enough that it should make for some solid hinjix. Unfortunately, with Scott Lobdell at the helm, you may as well dash those hopes. It’s funny, looking at Denis Medri‘s art, I could see a fairly effective intro tale being weaved here if someone else wrote the dialogue. But Lobdell’s attempts to give an edge to every character voice makes them all sound like the same person. It’s better than Earth 2: Society, because I could at least tell what’s going on, but it reads like a comic that Poochie from The Simpsons would write.

Verdict: Stopping here

All-Star Section Eight #1: Yeah, this was pretty awesome. I never read Hitman, I should probably get on that (it’s 99 cents a pop on Comixology right now after all), but I thought what Garth Ennis and John McCrea were up to here was hilarious. It’s a bit “inside baseball” in the way a good Ambush Bug comic might be, particularly in its shoutouts to the 90’s “Bloodline” event and the various iconic Batman poses being used to pretty great effect, but it’s all presented in a way that shouldn’t detract from a new-comers enjoyment much. I mean, who doesn’t find a Batman that’s too cheap to pay a $3 ATM fee endearing? Yeah, Hitman, I need to read it.

Verdict: Going onto the pull-list

Starfire #1: I think I may have liked this better than even Harley Quinn this week, perhaps because I was entering at ground zero, but I have some affection for well done “fish out of water” stories and this is a particularly good one. There’s a great deal of damage control that needed to be done with Kori in the New 52, and I’m confident Conner and Palmiotti are well on their way to rectifying those issues. It’s Starfire getting into hijinx in a trailer part in Key West. This is my kind of jam, and I’m really appreciating the story-telling corner that this team is building for themselves.

Verdict: Going onto the pull-list

New Suicide Squad #9 – It’s hard to separate the real world inspiration for this story from the potential of the narrative. On paper, the idea of a group of supervillains going undercover into a bigger hive of evil-doers to take them down is attention grabbing enough (and as a big fan of COPRA, I’m primed to love a Suicide Squad story), but the parallels between this League of Assassins splinter group and the real-world ISIS rubs me the wrong way, and fairly bland sub-Rags Morales like linework pretty much put my interest in this book out of its misery.

Verdict: Stopping here

This week’s must-reads: Batman, Constantine: The Hellblazer, Gotham Academy, All-Star Section Eight, Starfire

Next week: Sonny Liew draws Doctor Fate, Martian Manhunter gets a solo series, the Batgirl spin-off Black Canary takes flight, and I try to reconcile mentally why I’m buying anything from the current Wonder Woman run.

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.

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The Guardian Herd #1: Starfire

Written by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez
Harper/HarperCollins Children’s Books      9/23/2014
978-0-06-228606-2
Age 8 to 12              272 pages
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“Once every hundred years, a black foal is born, prophesied to either unite or destroy the five herds of flying horses that live in the land of Anok. He is fated to become the most powerful Pegasus in all of Anok. Star is this black foal. Even though Star has malformed wings that make him unable to fly, the leaders of each herd will take no risks and want to execute Star before his first birthday. With the help of his friends, Star must escape the clutches of the powerful leaders. His epic journey of self-discovery turns into a battle between good and evil that will keep readers eagerly turning the pages.”

Opening

“Star trotted through the dense pine forest, alone.”

The Story

The Pegasi of Anok (mythical winged horses), consists of five herds each with their own leader—the over-stallions—and their own land. None crosses the borders without permission. Wars have been raging between these herds for hundreds of years. Star is a black foal born into the Sun Herd, led by Thunderwing. When Star’s mother died birthing Star, Thunderwing’s mate adopted him, much against her mate’s wishes.

Star, a black foal, was born under the Hundred Year Star. If he can remain alive until his first birthday, he will receive the star’s power, and then become either a destroyer or a healer. No one knows which he will become, not even Star, and this terrifies the over-stallions of each herd. The last black foal born under this star all thought would be a healer. He was a good weanling, but when he received the power, he became a destroyer and wrecked havoc in all the land of Anok. It is up to the over-stallion of the guardian herd—Thunderwing—to kill the black foal before his first birthday, or to let him live and receive his ultimate power. Thunderwing is as scared as the others are and plans to execute Star before his first birthday.

Only Star’s three friends and his adopted mother believe Star will be a healer and seek to keep Star alive so he can receive the power of the Hundred Year Star. The other weanlings (those under one-year of age) bully Star and his three friends, mainly because he cannot fly. He does not fit into his wings, and must walk every like a common horse—a terrible insult to a Pegasus.

One particular weanling has it in for Star and tries to kill him. But in doing so, he crosses into another herd’s land, starting a war. Between this new war and the majority of pegasi wanting him executed, Star knows he must be on his own. Can Star survive without his friends, tend to his own food and water, and remain hidden from all other pegasi? Whether or not Star can survive on his own will greatly determine his future. With five herds looking for him, Star’s odds of survival are slim.

Review

The Guardian Herd has every element a kid wants in an adventure. The author has created an imaginative, highly stylized world kids will appreciate. There are great characters that are easy to understand and like, even the terrifying bully Brackentail. This adventure has tons of action, some with violence. The violence is not bad until the final battle, making this book more appropriate for middle graders on the older end of their age-range.

There are many characters is The Guardian Herd. So many that the author starts with five pages of descriptions so kids know the herds and the pegasi in each herd. I found this section a tad overwhelming and skipped it altogether. I had no trouble remembering who was who and where they belonged. The only thing this list does, in my opinion, is make the story seem cumbersome and it might scare off a reader or two. I would drop it or place it at the end of the story.

Star is a wonderful character. Despite his worthless wings and inability to fly, Star has a warm personality, respects and honors his friends and adopted mare, and is braver than one would think given his situation and fate. Star is a character whose side you will quickly take up. When off on his own, Star’s humor—or the author’s humorous writing—had me in stitches. I loved his friend Crabwing and the things they did in and around the bay.

Granted, there is a huge war near the end of the story and the violence can be just shy of young adult territory, but I do not think it will give any kid nightmares, especially when the scenes that follow these battles are as strong and easy to envision. Once these scenes begin, the war becomes a distant memory. I think these final scenes will override any violent scenes a kid may linger on. The ending is extremely well written and strong. It was nothing as I imagined it might be. I cannot explain any further without spoilers, so this will have to do: the ending is fantastic. If the author does not hurry up and finish the next book, I may start stalking her blog.

The Guardian Herd may not be a New York Bestseller, yet, but it will entertain, and possibly teach your child a few things about friendship, respect, and loyalty. If not, they will still be completely engrossed for a few hours with an imaginative world that actually resembles our own world in many ways. I highly recommend this series for kids age 10 and up. Adults who love fantasy adventures will also enjoy The Guardian Herd #1: Starfire. This is Jennifer’s debut novel with HarperCollins—her first traditionally published book!

THE GUARDIAN HERD #1: STARFIRE. Text copyright © 2014 by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez. Advanced Readers Copy received from the publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York, NY.

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Get your copy of The Guardian Herd: Starfire at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—HarperCollins—your favorite book store.

Learn more about The Guardian Herd: Starfire HERE

**Also Available in Audio

Meet the author, Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, at her website:    http://www.jenniferlynnalvarez.com/

Find more exciting stories at the HarperCollins website:    http://www.harpercollins.com/

HarperCollins Children’s Books is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Here is a twelve-year-old kid’s view of The Guardian Herd #1:  Starfire. Read Erik’s review HERE

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Also by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

The Pet Washer

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Reviewed HERE

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Copyright © 2014 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews