We Kill Monsters: Review

We Kill Monsters #1 of 6 (Red 5 Comics)
Written: Laura Harkom, Christopher Leone
Art: Brian Churilla
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Jeff Powell

Publication Date: 2009-07-08

Diamond Code: MAY091014


For anyone that read the Free Comic Book Day issue that Red 5 Comics put out you will have seen a preview for their new book, We Kill Monsters. This review is for the full 1st issue.


My first impression in reading this issue was of the art. I'm not familiar with the artist, Brian Churilla, but I already enjoy his work. He has a borderline cartoonish style that sets the mood for the story. With a less simplistic style it would have been harder to accept the seemingly random encounter the characters have with a monster. The colorist, Ronda Pattison, also helps to set a lighter mood with soothing and familiar color work. It's important for the visual art to establish a setting that works hand in hand with the plot and I was happy to see this book deliver such a team.


The story itself was somewhat silly but fun nonetheless. As stated before the visual art helps set you up for a story that requires a sense of humor and suspension of disbelief. While I have a good ability to suspend my disbelief (I've been reading comics since I was very young) I do feel that in order to usher readers into a new world of possibilities it's a bad idea to do it all at once. This is my only reall complaint with this story. I can believe there are monsters, I can believe that monster blood heals and I can believe that a monster will chase you home after you've killed its friend. However the idea that an arm healed with monster blood turns into a monster arm and gives you new insight into monster kind was a bit much. I feel that it would have been more condusive to build up to one of the characters growing a monster appendage. Of course this is only the first issue - perhaps the monster arm is a build up tactic - perhaps the monster arm will spread until more of the human body goes monster. Only time will tell.


Regardless of this one issue I enjoyed the book overall. The writer(s) manage to give you a feel for the characters rather quickly. During the rapid construction of a totaled truck into a tank-truck I had eighties music running though my head (yay eighties montage!). While I liked the Basher brothers (and, by the way, their store sign is really funny) I think I had more sympathy for the monsters. The way I see it the monster only attacked because its mate needed food (as you find out the second monster they encounter was carrying a bunch of eggs). Then, when the brothers killed the first one its mate wanted revenge. Poor monsters!


Overall Grade: B


Fun visual art and a decent start up plot. This could go either way at this point - either it will turn out to be a fun rollar coaster ride type story or the plot will move two fast to make much sense of. I'm hoping for the former. I'd encourage everyone to give at least the first two issues a try as Red 5 puts out some great comics.

Red 5 for April

Here's the two books being put out by Red 5 Comics for the month of April. I've really enjoyed most of the work being put out by this company and like to review their books when I can. I've passed out several issues of their books to many friends and hope to see more people become interested in what this company has to offer.



Neozoic #4

The walls of Monanti city are smashed, and the lives of millions are trampled beneath the feet of relentless dinosaurs. The Predator Defense League tries to stem the tide. The King finds his family kidnapped.

But is Lilli to blame? When both father and mentor turn their backs on her, the emotional show-down turns deadly.

This book is awesomely cool. I am amazed at how much has happened over just four issues.


First I'd like to say that this is my second favorite Neozoic cover so far. I'm a fan of archers, so that helps, the the dynamic of the cover itself makes me want to read the book. I know, never judge a book by it's cover, right? But in comic books, covers can make a difference in how well a book sells. And this cover rocks. Not only does it serve to foreshadow the events of this issue but it also highlights a major character and draws in potential readers. And, it's cool looking :) Props to J Korim and Jessie Lam. Issue #5 is the best cover so far though ;)


As I said, a lot has happened in this story so far, but even more happened in this issue. Lilli certainly has a rough time of it and I'm curious to see how she'll cope with it. We also get to see how hard the city is getting hit and how the rest of the cast is coping. In all honestly I had to read this issue more than once in order to understand all of what was happening. If this book has any weakness it's that it doesn't stand well on a single issue basis at the moment - that's easily forgiven since I own the previous issues :)


I just out and out enjoy this book. Neozoic throws the reader into a new world without much preparation but the story is both surprising and addictive. This pulls the reader in and helps to shrug of (and even to enjoy) the culture shock. One is especially captivated by Lilli and the little girl she is trying to save. I can't wait for the next issue - and I encourage everyone to give this book a try!



Abyss #4 of 4


Eric, Arrow and Shaafte find Abyss' secret lair, the kidnapped Quiver, and the ultimate target the super-villain's plan... the San Simian Superhero Con. Only by becoming bad guys can the the good guys stop the bad guys who look like good guys - while the fate of 100,000 fans hangs in the balance.


Over the course of four short issues this book has gone from flaky to fun and even heartfelt (in a sarcastic manner of course - but heartfelt none the less). I really enjoyed this issue, and while I'm still not the biggest fan of the artwork it's grown on me - and I also feel it's improved since the first issue.


This was a nice wrap up to this story arc with Eric becoming a hero in his own right. It keeps it's humorous tone but doesn't overdo it. The action sequences are fun and the dialog is well timed and paced. I really liked the coloring on this book, the light work on the cover especially stood out.


Overall I'd like to see this book as a trade. It ended up being a fun story when it was all put together and everything fell in place. I hope to see further stories about these characters.




On a side note, I had a random encounter the other day with a comic book artist. I complimented a customer at the store I work at on his sweet Atomic Robo shirt. He asked me if I read Atomic Robo and we got to talking. Apparently he's an acquaintance of Brian Clevinger and was the artist on one of the Robo backup stories. Here's his website if anyone wants to check him out, I just thought it was neat to run into him like that.

Jessie Lam on Digital Art and Neozoic

Completing my collection of Neozoic creators Jessie Lam, Neozoic's colourist, consented to an interview. I tried something new this time and instead of just emailing out my questions, Jessie was nice enough to work with an IM based conversation. There's no real need for further introduction, enjoy!


Gwen: Many comic book fans have no idea how much of a book gets it's look and feel from the colourist - you all are under appreciated.

Jessie: It's a bit of an understatement, but yeah - just wish there was more love for the craft to go around in this business.

Gwen: Well, mostly people just don't realize how much work is put into such things - I'd have no idea if I hadn't wanted to digitally color one of my sketches. It looked so awful that I made a friend (Corey Beahon) teach me the basics - and I still haven't gotten the hang of layers.

Jessie: Ah layers, it's really a matter of personal preference, and one's take on how to organize their workflow. I know one illustrator who averages 300!

Gwen: I use practically no layers as they drive me insane - and yeah, Corey is up there with his layers. Do you have time to talk shop now?

Jessie: Anytime you're ready.

Gwen: Well, to start off with, maybe you could describe what you do in your own words? With so little information about colourists out there it would help to educate our readers. [smile]

Jessie: Hnn. My job is to digitally render the linework I'm given in a manner that suits the visual style and overall story approach. Sometimes I'm given complete liberty of how to go about my job, and sometimes I'm given a few guidelines from the editor. The idea is to try to get it right the first time, and if there are revisions, get them done as quickly as possible. If I'm given the greenlight, I pass it onto the next guy down the line, the letterer.

Gwen: What program do you use?

Jessie: Photoshop 7. I know of colourists who've used Painter, or Photoshop, or both simultaneously.

Gwen: How did you become involved with Neozoic?

Jessie: Paul Ens approached me about colouring Neozoic because J. Korim personally recommended me. Korim and I had previously worked together on a comic as well as other commercial projects on and off. I was still in school at the time, finishing off a Bachelor's of Applied Arts in Animation at Sheridan College. Korim graduated there as well, years before I had. Even gave me his animation disc!

Gwen: I see on your website that you have your own art with your color work as well. Do you prefer collaborations or your own pencils?

Jessie: I don't mind both really. What matters to me more is being able to have fun while I'm at it. But truth be told, I prefer being able to make my own mistakes on my own time as well.

Gwen: Is it more challenging to color other people's art work?

Jessie: It often depends on their artistic approach, so it varies. If I'm being made to paint the same way for every piece of lineart I get, it's going to be quite difficult; sometimes some styles might not go very well together. What matters in the end is the final product. In a collaboration you don't want people to see any sign of clashing. What you want people to see is how well you work with the person you're collaborating.

Gwen: I would think that a lot of coloring work would have to do with how well you can translate someone's pencil work - like the battle scenes in Neozoic. Seeing how your work helps to define the action in such cases how hard is it to work out the details?

Jessie: Oh man, the battle scenes... I'd go nuts only if I have a dinosaur orgy on my hands.

Gwen: Haha, I'd imagine those take a lot of work. And some of those scenes practically qualify...

Jessie: That's usually the thing with action, sometimes it works better from a visual stand point if you don't get to see everything. Other times you have to be able to maintain a visual contrast of all the elements on the page so the readers can tell exactly what's going on. If it isn't with the use of lights and darks, it's with the use of colors as well. Working in black and white is infinitely easier than working with colors.

Gwen: How do you decide what kind action scene it is?

Jessie: Actually, I don't. I go by the information given out in the script compared to the pages Korim sends me. On occasion he'd give me visual cues to work with in terms of where the lighting might be going, or how many visual effects are needed in certain panels. With the FCBD (Free Comic Book Day) short he sent me some page samples from J.Scott Campbell's MySpace page as a light reference for the overall look.

Gwen: On occasion? Do you have to make lighting decisions on your own the rest of the time?

Jessie: Yes I do, but I base them all on where the light sources are in previous pages. I get to make up alternate light sources on new pages, mostly the interior ones. Sometimes I even have to keep track of what time of day certain pages take place, and how much time has passed. Issue 3 was a perfect example of that.

Gwen: What type of lighting is your favorite to work with?

Jessie: Backlighting. It's usually easier for me to see shapes in silhouettes.

Gwen: Do you also like working with the sharper contrasts?

Jessie: If they work with the page, sure.

Gwen: I guess I'm trying to get at what type of lighting is the most fun for you to work with.

Jessie: I don't even know anymore -

Gwen: I assume you have some fun that is.

Jessie: I go into spirals of giddy joy when Korim gives me pure silhouette panels to work with.

Gwen: Hah, I'm definitely quoting you on that!

Jessie: Ah please, I'll bet you 90% of the colourists out there would say that too [laughs]! But as I said before, whatever looks best on a page tends to stick with me. In my case, rather than having a favorite type of lighting, I go by what panels were the most fun for me to work with. I know it sounds vague and all but it really varies.

Gwen: Well you're my first professional colourist, but I'll be sure to ask any others that I talk to!

Jessie: Coloring can be a serious business, only if the colourists take it seriously.

Gwen: I agree, but I also think it would helps for the fans to have more of an appreciation for the color work.

Jessie: I think certain things are best experienced first-hand. In my case, I never truly understood what it was like for a a colourist, or a team of colourists, to work on a book until I tried it myself. When I got the chance to colour a comic, I was petrified. Performance anxiety to the max. It wasn't just a matter of being able to do a good job overall, but doing a good job in the amount of time I'm given. That means having to cut corners, or working differently than I was previously.

Gwen: Really? Your work is gorgeous, I find it hard to believe you'd have any reason to be nervous. Are deadlines that intimidating?

Jessie: Back when I was working on Rotogin: Junkbotz as a flatter, and gradually to lead colourist, yes. It was a monthly title under the Image banner. So it definitely felt like having a gun pointed at my head the whole time. It's scary to colour a book all by yourself at a certain visual quality. In a team, that anxiety can be shared so it's not as bad. With time and practice you could get accustomed to it.

Gwen: Have you gotten to that point yet?

Jessie: Getting there. Not yet. Maybe I'm just being too hard on myself.

Gwen: In my experience every artist is too hard on themselves. Where do you hope to go with your work? Do you want to stay in comics, or expand to other types of projects?

Jessie: The main reason I was back in comics was because of Korim, I thought it would be great to work with him on a project again. I'd love to be able to draw up my own graphic novel ideas and such later on. Otherwise, I'd like to be able to go into animation or video games.

(here’s a link to Jessie’s 2007 demo reel: http://www.vimeo.com/252114/ )

Gwen: Back to comics though, did you choose the pallet for Neozoic? I remember the first time I looked at the book thinking how well the colors set the tone for the story and the world.

Jessie: Paul asked me to go for really the earthy tones, nothing too specific, so I kept that in mind and just played around until I found something.

Gwen: You obviously work well with Korim, but are there any other comic book artists out there you'd like the chance to work with?

Jessie: Damn, uhm... I dunno really, but off the top of my head... LeSean Thomas? Maybe Jock [aka Mark Simpson] as well!

Gwen: If there's anything else you'd like to add - now is the time. As I said before, there's not a lot of information floating around about colourists in the comic book world, so if there's something I haven't covered in my 'interrogation' let me know.

Jessie: Most of the negative stuff about colourists working in the business can be found in this article.

I was interested in colouring comics when I first saw the work that Dreamwave Productions put out back in the late nineties. Even had the chance to moderate their forums for a time. Gradually as I grew to appreciate the amount of work that goes into colouring, there's also the business aspect to consider as well.

Gwen: What do you mean?

Jessie: Overly tight schedules, budgets, the people you might get to work with, the books you might get to work on... It's hard not to get jaded working as a colorist sometimes - mostly because the adverse effects might show up in your work.

Gwen: I can see how that would be a concern.

Jessie: This is even more reason to be able to love what you're doing, because it will show through even more.

Gwen: Has Neozoic worked out well for you then? What with already knowing at least part of your team going in?

Jessie: Neozoic is what we might call a labor of love. Is it working for you? If it does, then it works for us.

Gwen: Yes, I would think that you guys care a lot about the book by the type of end product you turn out.

Jessie: Comics are supposed to be fun dammit.

Gwen: Yes, they are. It's sad when people forget that.

Jessie: They can always remember.


Thanks again to Jessie! It's interesting to hear about a book from an oft neglected perspective. Hopefully colouring will gain appreciation as time goes by. Oh, and if you haven't been reading Neozoic you've been missing out.

Here are the previous Neozoic creator interviews if you're interested:
Paul Ens - Story
J. Korim - Pencils

A Few Upcoming Comics

These are just a few comic books I've had the opportunity to preview and I'd like to share my impressions about them. I have a great time with almost every book I get to read from Red 5 and BOOM. These publishers put out some fantastic material and if you enjoy comic books I can't imagine why you wouldn't be reading some of their books.


Atomic Robo #5 of 6 - Red 5 Comics


An anomaly in Italy leads ROBO to a secret Helsingard lair filled with memories of battles past. But behind the “end boss” doors, protectors have awoken. “Tell me it’s not cyborgs.” “Then I’d have to lie.”

Is this the end of ATOMIC ROBO and his famed Action Science League?

I have a feeling that I'll get a lot more out of this issue once the series comes to an end. Don't get me wrong, I haven't encountered an issue in this series that I didn't like, but this one in particular was confusing at times. There's a lot of overlapping plot going on, and while it all comes together for a cliffhanger ending, I had to go back and reread it to make sure I understood what exactly was going on. Like I said, I think it'll work better once the last issue comes out.


Still, Robo is a great read. I think I could hand this comic to just about anyone and they'd enjoy it. I also love the way the artist gives Robo's bucket head such colorful expressions - Wegener's art continues to do a wonderful job depicting these crazy stories. Atomic Robo is the most out and out fun I've had with a comic book in years.


Neozoic #3 - Red 5 Comics


Thousands of dinosaurs descend on Monanti and the entire Predator Defense League is called into action. But if the walls break, are the elite warriors enough to protect the city? And who or what is behind the lizard invasion?


Okay, I think anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis knows how much I love this series. We're only three issues into this series and already I've been sucked into not only the plot, but the characters' lives. This issue is fast paced and has soooo many things going on at once, but, for the most part, Paul Ens makes it work.


We continue to find out about the state of the city and we see the beginning of an intrigue plot unveiled all while Lilli and the rest of the PDL struggle to protect the city. J Korim, for still being a fairly new artist, does an amazing job with the amount of work that's required to pull off the large and detailed scenes required for this story.


My one complaint this issue is there is a scene that, story wise anyway, seems intended to be tragic. Instead I had a hard time not laughing because of, 1, its abruptness, and 2, the giant 'SQUASH' across the panel. I felt the scene would have had more impact as a tragedy and instead came across a bit Wild-e-coyote. Everything else was well done and I continue to anticipate this book every issue.



Abyss #3 - Red 5 Comics


Quiver, the latest in the long line of Arrow’s ill-fated sidekicks, has been missing for three weeks. Eric, son of super-villain Abyss, may be holding the key to her location (and a plot of world domination). But it will take a trip to Oakland to find a man soulful enough to help.


Well, I'm sold. The first two issues of this series weren't my favorite by a long shot, but I saw that there was potential and this issue brought it home. The story picks up and Eric makes a comeback after being sidelined. There's humor alongside a more 'serious' plot, but it no longer seems forced. I'm glad I stuck with this book as if things keep going as they are this will be a fun trade.


Foundation #2 - BOOM Studios


The Foundation has now revealed itself to one unlikely man and recruited him into their ranks. Using the lost texts of Nostradamus, the knowledge of the future is theirs. But it's subject to interpretation. Will they read the text correctly, or make a crucial mistake? A vibrant new thriller with the action of 24 but using the tone of X-Files!


Another great issue. Slower paced than the opening story, but it allows a good amount of space for some background information about the Foundation.


I stand by my previous statement(s) that this series is thought provoking to the extent of working it's way towards a higher literary status. The writer has obviously put a lot of work into this story and it pays off. The art is somewhat plain, but manages to convey the story with elegance. I love the ink and color work on this book - the shadow work is amazing. I highly recommend this unique work of storytelling.

J Korim On Neozoic

A little while back I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview the writer of Neozoic, Paul Ens. Today I'm happy to say I had the chance to converse with the artist on the same book, J Korim. J was nice enough to take the time to give us some insight into the art side of Neozoic. As I'm a big fan of this comic book I'm pretty happy I've had the chance to speak with two of the creators so far. Enjoy!

Gwen: How did you first become interested in drawing comics?

J: I was always drawing for as far back as I can remember, cartoonish kinda stuff cuz I grew up on the Looney Tunes and strips like Bloom County but I didn't get into real comics and drawing in a comic book style until I was about 11 or 12, which feels kind late. I remember exactly what got me into it. Way back in the early 90's there was a commercial for Levi's 501 'Button Fly' jeans, one of 'em starred Rob Liefeld hanging out with Spike Lee. Rob was drawing his X-Force characters and Spike was filming him in that early 90's 'shaky-cam' indie-style, it all looked really cool to me, especially the drawings. Pretty soon I started hitting my local comic shop and picking up the various X-books. It was a good time to do that for an aspiring artist too, Jim Lee was drawing X-Men, Wilce Portacio was on Uncanny X-men and Liefeld was doing X-Force. I know it's more fashionable to bash Liefeld these days but his X-Force issues are some of the first comics I ever picked up, they’re freaky and weird and over the top and I still love ‘em to death! So I dunno how long it would've taken me to finally walk into a comic shop if he didn't show up on TV sketching his characters and talking about his 'button fly'.

Gwen: What's been the most enjoyable project you've worked on up until now and why?

J: Neozoic has a great look that I’ve had more input in designing and developing than anything else I’ve worked on so this would be it. And I’m not struggling as much with my art & style the way I used to. I think the first time I drew comics I definitely wasn’t ready and the quality of my work dropped off too much. Now I’m getting the hang of it and it's getting fun.

Gwen: Many artists take quite a bit of time to develop a distinctive style and tend to pull heavily from the work of their predecessors for inspiration. You already seem to have a unique style to your work. How did you manage to find your own artistic niche so quickly? Are there artists who have influenced your work in the past?

J: Y'know, if I was better at imitating other people's work I probably would but I'm not that talented so I'm stuck with my own 'style' and trying to squeeze every last drop of juice out of it that I can. I learn a lot from looking at Scott Campbell's work, Joe Mad, LeSean Thomas, French artists like Olivier Vatine and Phillipe Buchet, and lots of Japanese artists. I guess whatever style I’ve fallen into comes from not getting too hung up on one particular artists approach. And being formally educated as an animator definitely helped too.

Gwen: Are there any already established comic book series that you'd like the chance to work on ,or any specific writers you'd like the chance to work with?

J: X-Men has always been at the top of that list for me cuz I grew up with it, and definitely anything Star Wars. Those are the two groups of characters I’m most attached to personally and I think my art style would work well in those worlds. I’m also a huge fan of Sergio Leone’s movies so I’d love to draw ‘The Man With No Name’ sometime.

Gwen: How closely do you work with the team on Neozoic?

J: Well, Paul works in Calgary and Jessie Lam (colorist) is on the other side of Toronto from where I live so it comes down to some creative messaging back and forth. I think I get about 80-90% of what Paul writes in his script onto the page, if I leave anything out it's usually to make room for some visual idea I wanna run with and Paul’s been good about letting me do that. Jessie's a fantastic colorist, always comes up with great textures so I only offer a few vague suggestions when I hand her a page and she brings back gold.

Gwen: What's the most challenging part of creating the visual world of Neozoic?

J: There’s a lotta characters, lots of story, lots of subplots with even more characters and crowd scenes, lots of everything. It’s kinda disorienting. With the exception of Lilli (the main chick) I haven’t had the chance to draw any one character long enough to really become comfortable with them visually. So every time I start a new scene I’m still looking for reference material on my own character designs(!!) "How is this guy supposed to be drawn again?" Creating a fantasy world with a huge main cast is a bit overwhelming for a rookie like me. Still got a lot to learn.

Gwen: How did you end up working with Red 5 Comics (Paul said he originally found you by searching the web for images of girls with swords)?

J: Yeah, Paul found my work online and I was looking to get back into comics so it was just good timing. He found some Kill Bill fan art I made a while back that keeps floating around the net, the same piece that’s now on the side of Atlanta Thrasher’s goalie Kari Lehtonen’s mask. Paul found that mask too, the Toronto Maple Leaf’s are my team and they barely ever play Atlanta so it would’ve taken me forever to find out my art was on Kari’s mask.

Gwen: A number of my friends are aspiring artists and a few of them have expressed concerns about going into art as a career. They seem to be concerned that their art would become less enjoyable if it was a job. Have you found this to be a problem? Is there a way you've found that helps your work stay enjoyable?

J: If you struggle with your own art it can be very demanding and emotionally draining but if you're flexible and one of those lucky bastards who can be creative on cue, it could feel like you're getting paid for nothing at all. I fall somewhere in between but the more I learn, the more enjoyable it gets. I like the part where you're forced to learn and develop, maybe that's not for everyone cuz it can get very discouraging when improvement doesn’t happen fast enough.

Gwen: What do you have the most fun drawing so far within the world of Neozoic?

J: The opening scene in the second issue has Lilli doing some serious acrobatics, a great action sequence with lots of flipping & jumping among a huge pack of creatures. That’s my favorite kinda stuff, I love drawing the very basic running/jumping/sword swinging adventure, making characters very agile and that scene turned out perfectly. The covers have also been a blast, we just finished with the 4rth issue cover and it’s a knockout. It’s always fun to take a break from pages and do an ass-kicking pin-up.

Gwen: If I become incredibly wealthy, will you draw comic books for me?

J: Jeez, I don't think I'm very expensive at the moment but yeah, you go ahead and get wealthy! So you can pay me way more than anyone else would! How could I not support that?

Thanks again to J! I look forward to seeing more of his artwork.

J's websites:
http://www.jkorim.ca/
http://www.myspace.com/jkorim

Red 5 Reviews: December

December Titles for Red 5 Comics:

Neozoic #2
Story: Paul Ens
Art: J. Korim
Color: Jessie Lam

Gwen: I've been having so much fun with this book. I've loaned out the first issue to several people and I was so excited to read this issue.

Let me say right off that this kind of story is right up my alley. I'm a big fan of epic fantasy/sci-fi type stories, I love swords, and I'm fond of dinosaurs - especially big ones. Even so, as much as I'm a good audience for this type of tale, I think I would have enjoyed this book anyway. As much as the plot moves quickly it's easy to understand. There's already quite a bit of background information being laid out and you're left wanting not only to read more, but to know more about the world of Neozoic. Paul Ens has done a masterful job of laying out the story so far.

J. Korim's art is wonderful. His action sequences are both dynamic and elegant. His art truly allows the reader to be lost in this new and exotic environment. I want to kidnap him and make him draw all the stories I write! Jessie Lam's color work is also gorgeous. I find that it not only compliments J's art but also helps to set the tone of the environment. The creators working on this book seem to all enhance each others work - which is how a good comic should be.


I think my favorite thing about this book so far is the characters. There's quite a few characters who we feel we should recognize and yet even after only two issues I feel that I have a good idea of who Lilli and her team are. Lilli herself is a fascinating character. I was excited to learn more about both her and her family. I can honestly say that I can barely wait for next issue. If you're not reading this book you're missing out on a beautifully illustrated and written tale.


Jim: This book just got even better and I thought the first issue was fantastic. This issue we start out with one of the best action sequences I have seen done in a comic book in a long time. Lilli sees a person in the midst of a group of dinosaurs and takes off on her horse, and her team member and the reader are wondering what the heck she is planning on doing. As she jumps from dinosaur to dinosaur after sending her horse away the depiction of the action is just fantastic. Close up when needed, wide shots when needed and there is one picture with the feet of the dinosaurs that is just out and out unreal. This was an action sequence worthy of an old Steve Ditko sequence in Spider-Man. At the end she saves a little girl who appears to be from at a different tribe.

Then the book really takes a surprising turn and we move back into the city and find out that the humans are not as primitive as the first issue led me to believe. In all fairness they never did say that weren’t advanced, it just never happened in issue one. It all makes sense as inside the city is technology on par with perhaps the mid to late 20^th century, and outside it’s back to nature as dinosaurs aren’t going to necessarily be taken out any better with a taser then a sword.

Inside the city we are given glimpses into the politics of this world; meet some of the characters’ families, and see small character bits to start filling in who these people are. It really is a rich and vibrant world that is being created, and it is a lot of fun to be in on the ground floor. What seemed to be a relatively straight forward premise is actually a richly developed and intriguing concept. Paul Ens had obviously done his homework and laid out a game plan before starting this book. It appears that he has probably laid out a good portion of the world and determined structure and written back stories for his characters. We are only two issues in and we have learned more about Neozoic and some of the main characters then most series give us in six. I hope this series lasts a long time because with this type of writing and the dynamic art of J. Korim I don’t want to miss an issue.

Atomic Robo #3
Story: Brian Clevinger
Art: Scott Wegener
Color: Ronda Pattison


Gwen: "Judging by how these things usually go, I think it's safer to assume mummies until proven otherwise." ~AR#3

Atomic Robo brings me great happiness. Amidst the piles of dreary Spiderman stories and monotonous 'everything that happens in the comic book will change the world as you know it' tales, Atomic Robo makes me laugh. It is so rare that comic books make me laugh anymore, and usually it's an occasional joke amongst a bleaker background. This comic keeps me smiling the entire time I read it. Sharp artwork, smooth colors and a fun story - what more can anyone ask for in a comic book? Honestly, I can think of no higher praise for this story and thus I have nothing left to say.

Jim: This book is such a revelation. The first issue gave us a little background, and then gave us Robo on a solo adventure; the second issue was an adventure with his team, but at its heart a story showing sadness, because Robo is outliving all of his friends; this issue is a crazy adventure. Robo and his crew take off to stop a runaway pyramid (yes a runaway pyramid) and the Egyptian government wants him to stop it without destroying it.

The pace of the story is such that you read it so fast that you can’t believe it is over. The dialogue is snappy and loaded with the light sarcasm that you would expect between this group. At the end Robo saves the day, but not without some collateral damage.

Brian Clevinger has crafted a fun and clever adventure. I’m not sure if he plans to link all of these stories together or if it was a six issue mini-series to just try out the character and see if it is successful or not, but I’m on this book for all six issues. Many bloggers like to take old comic and scan panels and rip them apart with sarcasm because many of those stories were written for an eight to twelve year old and seem silly based on the way we live today. What people miss (or are too young to understand) is they were usually fun. So many comics are no longer fun. They are exciting and interesting, but the pure joy is missing. Not here. Brian is writing FUN comics with Atomic Robo.

Scott Wenger as the artist is doing a great job showing us Brian’s story. Scott has captured the essence of the joy of Brain’s work and given us the same level of joy and fun with his pencils. What is so unreal is that Scott manages, by posing Robo, to get across his different emotions. This is difficult as Robo has no movement in his face plate. It is all about using body language to convey emotion. The cover for this issue was a beautiful piece of art. I’m not positive but Scott may have had the cover at Balti-con and now I wish I had bought it.

Abyss #2

Story: Kevin Rubio

Pencils: Lucas Marangon

Gwen: I'm still not sold on this book but this issue has improved enough to keep me interested. The plot is still a bit confusing but the more I read the more I begin to understand what's going on. Eric (the main character) has been put in an interesting situation by both having to deal with his father being a super villain and (this issue) having to try and convince the super heroes that he isn't insane. The humor worked a lot better this time around, and while I'm still not a big fan of the art it tells the story well enough.

Hopefully this comic will continue to improve. Sometimes comics work better once the whole tale is told - Abyss may be on track for a graphic novel.

Jim: Okay I was a little iffy on issue #1, but I’m sold now. This book has some great plot twists and the relationship between the father and son is a great one. The comedic touches are sprinkled liberally throughout the book and yet it also has a dramatic plot to it. A lot like real life, only I don’t wear rubber suits on have a kid sidekick.

What I enjoyed most about this issue was the dual storyline that was going down. One story was about Eric trying to stop his Dad from blowing up a building. After convincing the good guys he was trying to save them, there was no bomb. The other story is about his Dad and that he is setting up his son and everyone else and is basically doing his villain thing, but has yet to reveal his hand.

The art is solid and my favorite panel was the last one where we see Quiver’s hand being reached forward as she is about to go out on a date with (unbeknownst to her) a bad guy. I wish every comic could draw me in this well, tell this much story and then leave me looking for more.

Overall Red 5 Comics has another good month coming up. I'm excited to see how well these comics are being put together so far. Hopefully we'll have plenty of their stories to look forward to in the coming months!

Paul Ens on Neozoic and Red 5 Comics

As many of you already know Comics And… has been interested in Red 5 Comics from early on. Jim, Lee and I all worked together to review their first releases (Neozoic, Atomic Robo and Abyss) and we’ve had a lot of fun seeing what this new company has been putting on the market. Paul Ens, both the writer of Neozoic and a co-creator of Red 5 Comics (along with Scott Chitwood), was nice enough to take the time for an interview. This was my first attempt at an interview and Paul made it easy on me =)

Gwen: I did a bit of research before contacting you with this interview, but honestly most of what I could find was that you were formerly the web director for Lucasfilm’s Starwars.com and Lucas Online. How did you end up becoming one of the creators of Red 5 Comics?

Paul: I've been an entrepreneur all my post-teen life, but I'd been a Star Wars fan even longer, so when the chance came to work at Lucasfilm through the Star Wars prequels, I couldn't pass it up. But once Episode III was done, I started getting the itch again to play in my own playground. Scott Chitwood was in attendance for the Revenge of the Sith DVD press junket, and we got talking about comics and rekindled a spark to start our own comic company. From there, it's just been hard work and much fun.

Gwen: How did you go about finding the talent for the various titles Red 5 Comics is putting out?

Paul: Some of the talent has come through connections during my Star Wars years, particularly on Abyss with the team from Star Wars: Tag & Bink, and on Midknight with Tom Hodges who illustrated my Star Wars: Evasive Action comic.

The rest we've connected with online, being online junkies. J. Korim of Neozoic I found doing a Google search for visual reference of women with swords. I found a great piece of fan-art from Kill Bill and couldn't get the image out of my head. I finally just had to contact him and it turns out he was available.

Gwen: What do you think your greatest challenges will be as an independent publisher?

Paul: Our challenges are many. The first of which was just to get some product on the shelf. Our next greatest challenge is to have people give our titles a try. It seems most people who give us a look seem to really enjoy what they see. But the reality is that we have a long way to go before most comic readers have even heard of us.

It is our intent that Red 5 Comics will become synonymous with fun reads, cinematic story telling, on-time issues, beautiful art and great value. We have a long way to go. :)

Gwen: When it comes to comic book creators, you can hear anything from tales of working on a story since childhood to having an epiphany a month before the first issue comes out. How long have you been working on the ideas behind Neozoic?

Paul: I've had a long-standing "rule" that I will go see any movie with swords and I will go see any movie with dinosaurs. (Yes, I end up seeing some very bad movies.) Very shortly after Red 5 Comics became a solid idea, I wondered why there were no stories with dinosaurs and swords, and the premise came very quickly. However, the mythology woven into the story took a little longer, and has been evolving for over a year now.

Gwen: Some writers produce skeleton scripts while others find the details of the art to be extremely important to how their story is perceived. How closely do you work with the team on Neozoic?

Paul: The character design was very, very important to me, so I'd been doing my own concept art well prior to hiring Korim. He's done an amazing job of getting what was in my head onto paper. In fact, he's amped it up quite a bit. We're wrapping the art on issue #3 right now, and by now the three of us (myself, Korim on art, and Jessie Lam on colors) have a great groove going.

Gwen: Do you have an overall storyline planned for Neozoic or will you just see where it takes you in the long run?

Paul: The first major story arc has been in my head since day one. The first 8-10 issues are pretty much a boulder in motion at this point. However, the stories after that have themes and basic conflicts planned out, but they're not as tightly defined at the moment.

Gwen: Neozoic has a fairly interesting background story, as far as the setting being an alternate time line where dinosaurs evolved right alongside human beings. How did you come up with this alternate-Earth?

Paul: It all happened really quickly, but I was looking for a reason to have swords and dinosaurs on the same page. What really attracted me to the concept was that I thought the premises out there for having humans interact with dinos were wearing pretty thin. The plausibility always seemed forced. But the idea that the extinction event could be negated with a tiny twist of fate is relatively easy to accept. Then you just flash forward -- how would the human race possibly deal with that environmental circumstance. The first few issues show the Monanti people and their solution, but as the series goes on we'll see other societies and their solutions as well.

Gwen: Why did you choose a female lead?

Paul: Lilli is an amalgam of several people I know, who happen to be female... so it wasn't so much a choice as that just happened to be who she is. Her story arc has some complex maternal elements as well as relationships to fathers and father figures. A male just wouldn't work.

Gwen: What are your long term hopes for Red 5 Comics?

Paul: We're definitely committed to Red 5 Comics as a long term proposition. We intend to be putting out comics in 2027... though who knows how that will look technologically. I'd love for the industry to have 10 really major players, instead of the 2 or 4 we have now... and for Red 5 to be one of them. I'm looking forward to some Red 5 characters, and Red 5 Comics itself, to be a household name.

Most of all, I hope that month-to-month we entertain people. Otherwise, I don't care about the rest of that stuff.

Gwen: Lastly, what is your favorite kind of dinosaur?

Paul: Well, you simply can't beat a T-Rex for sheer cool factor. However, my first three dino toys were a plastic ankylosaur, triceratops and stegosaurus... so those have an emotional appeal as well.

Paul adds… Red 5 Comics is just a month in, so many stores are only ordering our titles if customers ask about them. Neozoic #1 came out a few weeks ago, but stores can still order it through Diamond with code AUG073944, and also Neozoic #2 with code OCT073754. The second chapter is on shelves in December.

Check it out, and thanks for the support.

I encourage everyone to check out Red 5 Comics. I’ve enjoyed all that I’ve seen from them so far and have already been passing around the books I’ve gotten to my friends. Thanks again to Paul, both for this interview and for such an exciting new book. Personally I’m hoping Paul’s concept art will be included in a trade one day – now I’m curious!

Midnight #1 - Red 5 Comics - A Review

Midnight #1 - Published by Red 5 Comics - Created by Tom & Terri Hodges, Script Paul Ens, Pencils and Colors by Tom Hodges, Inks by James Bukauskas. Coming out this November.

The premise of the book is that a husband and wife team are a doctor and assistant DA during the day and Midnight and Knightgale super heroes by night. If that wasn't enough to make you tired just thinking about it, they also are raising a daughter with the assistance of a nanny/ aide de camp, think Alfred younger and in a skirt.

Going into to this book I was a little hesitant as it all sounded too cute and just a little pedestrian in its concept. As I started reading the book I was still feeling the same way and the artwork was skewed towards an animation style which is not my favorite, but as I read the story I was transformed into a fan of what was going on. We are immediately introduced to our ultimate "power couple" on a rare date. We get to know them as a couple in a relationship for a couple of pages. The interchanges between rang very true for me and the visual exchanges are dead on to what all couples share.

After we met them as a couple, we get to see them in action as heroes and finally back home as a family, leading into their day jobs and a solid cliff hanger. The dialogue between David and Tarilyn (small aside I dislike her name) whether as a couple, heroes or as parents really worked well and I had an immediately feeling of a really strong relationship and want to know more about the family. Even the brief glimpses of the nanny and their child were well done and you immediately know the central cast within the span of one issue.

The actual powers that they have was ill defined, but it is very early in this series. There is so much here with both back story and going forward that I can see this series having a really long life. My one hope is that they allow people to get older as time goes by, because if you add a child you cannot let the child remain six forever. Well, you can, but I prefer to see growth in characters as they learn from experience and to see that reflect somewhat in their aging. In other words you can age slow, just age a little. Invincible is doing a great job with this right now.

The art was an adjustment for me as I grew up falling in love with Neal Adams as the ultimate super hero artist and when I read super hero titles I expect a little more realistic look. Again as the story progressed my opinion changed and the animated style really fit hand in glove for the overall feeling of the book. Now Tom Hodges has redefined square jawed hero to be "square jaw" and his wife has the pointiest chin ever created, but it works, it really works. The pacing and layouts of the book are excellent and as you read it you will occasionally get a smile as the personal interactions ring so true. Tom captures a wide range of emotions in his art and does it well.

Last and certainly not least this is a great all ages book at this point. Enough depth to the story and the relationships that an adult can relate to, but a nice fast moving story that a child would enjoy and be able to follow. In a comic world that has too few books to be able to read and enjoy with younger children, this book is a welcome addition.

Tom Hodges provides an excellent background piece at the end of the comic telling you why an idea that he has had since 1997, took ten years to make it to the stands. This book looks to have a huge upside and I can see little bits and pieces of the back story being added even as we move forward. There are so many stories and ideas with the premise they have set up that it will probably be a tough job to try and fit it all in.

If you are looking for gore and misery, skip this book, if you are looking for a fun book that is about fighting crime, being married, raising a family and holding down a job, sign up for Midnight.

RED 5 Comics - Coming In October

I know I have been pushing this new company, but it is only because they deserve the attention.
To further give you a taste of what these books are Red 5 has provided preview pages of each book. Order at least one from your retailer and try something a little different.

For October the three books they have coming out are:

ATOMIC ROBO #1By Brian Clevinger, creator of webstrip phenomenon "8-Bit Theater".Diamond Order Number: AUG073942
Some Preview Pages:


ABYSS #1By Kevin Rubio, director of legendary internet film "TROOPS".Diamond Order Number: AUG073943

Some Preview Pages:

And my personal favorite: NEOZOIC #1By Paul Ens ("Star Wars: Evasive Action")Diamond Order Number: AUG073944

Some Preview Pages: