Author Cullen Bunn (Sinestro) has a few holes in his schedule thanks to his landmark title, Sinestro coming to an end along with his other DC work. While the writer moved onto X-Men as part of Marvel’s All-New, All-Different line of books, the author still has the time for a Battlestar Galactica ongoing at Dynamite […]

There’s a few items I expect from CBS’ multi-cam sitcom Two Broke Girls and an outlet for comics isn’t among such items. Let’s face it, the show is what it is. However, as a nerd, I generally expect the show to look down on people working or reading comics, carrying some of that same pessimistic attitude tinged […]

By: Nicholas Eskey During the month of January we saw: Deadpool: Massacre, True Believers: Deadpool, Deapool Origins, Deadpool the Musical!, Deadpool the Variants, Evil Deadpool, Deadpool & Cable: Split Second, Groovy Deadpool, The Meaty Deadpool, The Wedding of Deadpool, Detective Deadpool, Uncanny Deadpool, and even the very fan-anticipated Spider-Man/Deadpool crossover.  The entire month might well have […]

Marvel has announced plans for a five-part mini-series starring Deadpool. The first issue of Deadpool and The Mercs will be published in February 2016.

Writer Cullen Bunn and illustrator Salva Espin have been recruited to work on this project. Four artists, Declan Shalvey, John Tyler Christopher, Mike Hawthorne, and Ron Lim, have signed on to create the main cover an action figure variant cover, a design variant cover, and a variant cover.

In an interview with IGN.com, Bunn explained that “this series spins right out of the main Deadpool book and the shenanigans Gerry Duggan is perpetrating over there. We’ve seen Deadpool hiring guys like Foolkiller, Terror, and Slapstick to run missions for him. This story focuses on that team in the thick of it and interacting with many Marvel characters. It just so happens that most of these characters want them dead.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Author Cullen Bunn has just announced his departure from Aquaman via a Reddit Ask Me Anything session held yesterday. The story was picked up by CBR, as the Big Two writer also confirmed a lost Green Lantern crossover. “I will be ending my Aquaman run with issue 48,” Bunn said on AMA, surprising readers. After […]

We’ve fallen a little behind on our Dynamite news so here’s a big catch-up post with all the news — and rest assured more is to come.

• Corrina Bechko (the excellent Invisible Republic from Image and Star Wars: Legacy) will write the Aliens / Vampirella horror crossover. Javier García-Miranda does interiors while Gabriel Hardman, another Beat favorite, provides the covers. A Vampirella/Aleisn team-up sounds a bit odd, but ampi can corssover with anyone, and here she investigates a bloddy mystery on Mars. OK THEN! The book comes out in September.

§ More Swords of Sorrow! A Swords of Sorrow: Miss Fury / Lady Rawhide one shot and a Cosplay Edition of Swords of Sorrow #3, inspired by cosplayer Tabitha Lyons. The scene reënects J. Scott Campbell’s cover to SoS #1 withTabitha Lyons as Red Sonja, Tasha Mackenzie as Dejah Thoris, Chiquitita Cosplay as Jungle Girl, and Mojo Jones as Vampirella.

Slated for release in September, the Swords of Sorrow: Miss Fury / Lady Rawhide special unites the rebellious Western heroine of yesteryear with the unpredictable — perhaps dangerously so — costumed crime-fighter, whether they like it or not. Written by Mikki Kendall and illustrated by Ronilson Freire, the one-shot comes with a cover by artist Mirka Andolfo.

• A 250-page artbook devoted to Jose “Pepe” Gonzalez, with an intro by Joe Jusko and hundred of images from the Vampirella artists career. Check out the gallery below, this stuff is nice.

Renowned for bringing to life the most beautiful women the art world has ever seen, Gonzalez’s career spans from drawing British romance comics to movie stars, book covers to commercial advertising. For the first time ever, author David Roach covers Gonzalez’s entire career, transcending his vast body of Vampirella work to explore the full breadth of the master’s creations.

• Alice Cooper vs. Chaos!, a five-issue miniseries pitting the world-renowned rock ‘n’ roll icon against Evil Ernie, Chastity, and Purgatori. Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Batman: Eternal) and Jim Terry (The Crow: Skinning the Wolves) share writing duties for the event series, with Terry performing double-duty as the series artist. Joyce Chin (Swords of Sorrow) will provide covers. This sounds weird but I guess you had to be there!

“Diving headfirst into the Chaos! universe has been incredible, like being pushed out of a plane into a combat zone filled with gods, nut jobs, and the most gorgeous women you could fathom,” says co-writer and artist Jim Terry. “I’m doing my best to keep up with it and hopefully kick in a little dramatic flair, as well as my own (and Tim’s) particular brand of madness. Add Alice Cooper to the mix and we’re hoping to leave fans breathless from action, horror, and mind-bending rock ‘n’ roll surrealism.”

• Finally, a new six issues miniseries called Voltron: From the Ashes, written by Cullen Bunn (Deadpool, Captain America) and illustrated by Blacky Shepherd (3 Days in Darkness). Set two hundred years after the events of Dynamite’s previous Voltron series, the miniseries will introduce a new team to pilot the five lions that form the Defender of the Universe. The debut issue will launch in September 2015 and feature cover artwork from acclaimed Transformers artist Alex Milne. Mecha stuff if you like that kind of thing.

Writer

Cullen Bunn

Artists

Martin Coccolo

Victor Ibanez

Andy Kuhn

Daniel Warren Johnson

Mirko Colak

Ronan Cliquet

Colorist

Jason Wright

Tony Avina

Sinestro by Cullen Bunn is the HBO of DC Comics. It’s a book driven by one of the meanest yellow and pink machines on the planet. Unfortunately, the title can lack a clear direction and plot focus at times. This is where Sinestro Annual #1 takes a departure from the rest of the series. In the comic thus far we have seen a complicated state of affairs that see’s a lighter Sinestro attempt to atone for his past sins while holding down his own guard. It’s a nuanced story that doesn’t quite paint the lead as a hero or villain – the Korugarian’s morality is a bleak shade of grey.

The issue opens with a murder. A Yellow Lantern has just been killed, and the plot only gains more steam from there. The Green Lantern mythology has been steadily expanding and branching out into different paths ever since Geoff Johns left the core series. It’s fascinating to pickup a Green Lantern comic and see which of your favorite characters are event still alive these days. Johns started to go down the path of figuring out what redemption meant to our lead, and seeing Cullen Bunn run with that plot thread has been my favorite part of the post-Johns era incarnation of this story.

I don’t mind a title that meanders and dives into the psychosis of Sinestro, but the action sequences within this title seen in previous issues has a tendency to deflate the character work. However, this story colors readers with Sinestro’s own thoughts on how to control each member of this team – it’s something that makes use of his brilliant mind. These sequences are all crafted with different artwork that says something different about each Yellow Lantern. Let’s face it, it’s weird to be in the Sinestro’s crew of misfits. When they were just bad guys it was so much simpler, but now the group is in a different place. The backstory of each character is cryptic, and evokes a certain level of darkness that’s hard to shy away from. It goes to show readers something that they might have guessed: team Sinestro is filled with haunted broken people.

Penciller Martin Coccolo does an admirable job evoking the style of trendsetter Dale Eaglesham. Eaglesham’s art style is very specific to his set of skills, and it’s unfortunate to see someone attempting to follow the style so closely. When Coccolo does break off from Eaglesham’s house style for Sinestro and add some shading and close-ups, the work gets appropriately bleak and the horror ambiance is clearly represented. The group of other artists joining the fray of this series are utilized exceedingly well. Lyssa Drak’s innocence as a young girl is lovingly captured by Victor Ibanez. Arkillo’s somewhat predictable inception is pointed out with the jangly linework Andy Kuhn. The psyche of Rigen Kale depicted by Ronan Cliquet is admirably broken. The Mirko Colak art is solid addition to the line-up. Still, the true star is Martin Coccolo – the artist perfectly captures the linework of the female villains with a sublime emphasis on facial expressions.

After all of those reflections of a murder, were finally given a revelation that builds up some plot aspects for the next installment of this story. Bunn goes a long a way in addressing some of the problems with this title within the Annual while giving us some perspective on the different components making up his team and giving committed fans a reason to actually step back and pickup the next issue. Martin Coccolo needs to stay on this comic for the foreseeable future, as his pencil style truly adds something extraordinary to this work. This is an important issue of the series that is more successful than most and will hopefully mark a sea change for this comic. Sinestro is coming back after Convergence, and it’s time for the title to really live up to it’s true potential with more issues like this.

Two more of Oni’s clever March Madness PR event with two more new books announced:

• Lion of Rora is a graphic novel by Christos Gage (Netflix’s Daredevil, Avengers Academy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine), Ruth Fletcher Gage (Netflix’s Daredevil, Law and Order: SVU), and Jackie Lewis comes out on August 5th. It’s based on the true story of 17th century Italian Joshua Javanel who leads a persecuted Christian sect known as the Waldensians against the oppression of a tyrannical duke.

“The Waldensians are Ruth’s ancestors, so the story of Joshua Janavel is a personal and important one to us,” said Christos Gage in a statement. “But it’s also a universal tale of the struggle for freedom, family and a safe place to call home. Jackie Lewis has done an incredible job capturing both the epic scope of the battles and the small moments that convey Janavel’s struggle between the simple man of peace he wanted to be and the brilliant general he became. We couldn’t ask for a better presentation than what Oni has given Lion of Rora. ”

We’re guessing you had not been familiar with the story of the Waldensians before, but after reading this, you’ll know all about their story.

• Oni’s main man Cullen Bunn is back with collaborators Drew Moss (Terrible Lizard), and Nick Filardi (Helheim, Brides of Helheim) with October’s Blood Feud a “Southern tale of vampires, necromancers, horrific spiders and family feuds that survive beyond the grave.” So add this one to the shelf of “southern gothic comics” along with Southern Bastards.

“Subtitled ‘A Vampire Yarn… With Spiders,’ Blood Feud is a book that means a lot to me on a lot of different levels,” says Bunn. “It’s a story that’s been with me for years, and the characters are, in one way or another, people who were important in my life, especially while I was growing up in rural North Carolina and Missouri. Spider Creek, the town in which this horrific little tale takes place, may be fictional, but it’s also very real. It draws bits and pieces from towns like Newton Grove and Dudley and Koshkonong and Thayer to form a place that might very well be the location for an invasion of blood-sucking demonic beasties. Blood Feud is also my chance to re-team with Drew Moss and Nick Filardi. This is a story of humor and horror in the vein of movies like Fright Night and Phantasm and Evil Dead 2, and I couldn’t think of two co-conspirators to bring this story to life!”

So there you go more good stuff coming from Oni and we haven’t filled out the brackets yet.

By Davey Nieves

Marvel pulled another piece out of their Secret Wars puzzle box today when they announced, on Newsarama, the ongoing Magneto book by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Javi Fernandez would be under the umbrella of the Last Days banner during Secret Wars. Starting with May’s issue #18, the master of magnetism faces off against the end of the world in a four issue story the writer described as being about Magneto’s legacy. He’ll see the events leading up to end of the Marvel 616 and attempt to use every bit of his power to halt them.

The arc is also set to feature appearances from Briar, the Marauders and various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who’ve been in pursuit of Magneto throughout the series. Readers will also see a surprise appearance in the form a character related to Magneto with a controversial past. With the terminability surrounding these Last Days tie-in books it would suggest an end to the series and maybe even the character himself upon conclusion. Could Marvel be revealing what characters won’t make it into Secret War? Magneto was a major part of the original 1984 Secret Wars, but it looks also though he may not even make it to this one. When asked if this would be the series finale Cullen Bunn had this to say: “If the book were to end, I think this arc would wrap things up quite nicely,” Bunn explains. “But what I’m doing also positions Magneto for some really exciting stuff that’s coming up. Really, do you think something like the end of the world is going to stop the Master of Magnetism?”

No other story details were revealed but we expect to hear more soon as the rest of the tie-in books are revealed including titles for the other two banners Battleworld and Warzones!.

What do you think of Marvel’s latest tease? Could Marvel leave Magneto out of their new world order?

Yep it’s another high concept zombie crossover as RETURN OF THE LIVING DEADPOOl takes dead Deadpool and brings him back!

Prepare for pools full of undead Deadpools as RETURN OF THE LIVING DEADPOOL #1 shambles in to comic shops this February! Blockbuster writer Cullen Bunn (Magneto, Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe) joins Marvel newcomer Nik Virella take you to a world overrun with undead Deadpools – each with a snarky mouth of its own.

To stop the zombie apocalypse, Deadpool used his own healing factor to save the world. Only any zombie that ate Deadpool…transformed into another Deadpool. Believe us – hordes of Deadpool’s might just be worse than hordes of flesh-hungry monsters.

“So there are thousands of Deadpools, all of them originating from the one and only Wade Wilson,” says Bunn in an interview with Marvel.com. “Every time a zombie takes a bite of one of these Deadpools, the zombie becomes Deadpool. You know how Deadpool has numerous personalities? Well, these newly created Deadpools start to latch on to different aspects of Deadpools split psyche, forming factions. And these factions don’t get along!”

This February, the dead will rise. And this February, the Deadpools will…er, rise! Be there for the heart-stopping, flesh-eating, wise-cracking RETURN OF THE LIVING DEADPOOL #1!

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEADPOOL #1 (DEC140932)
Written by CULLEN BUNN
Art by NIK VIRELLA
Cover by JAY SHAW
Variant Cover by RYAN STEGMAN (DEC140933)
FOC – 01/12/15, On-Sale – 02/04/14

deadpool, zombie deadpool, return of the living deadpool

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Marvel continue to tempt me with their extraordinary cover designs that are leaving many other publishers in the shade. Coming to Fearless Defenders blind of recent continuity, I had high hopes for this all female line-up, and was promptly swept off my feet.

Fearless Defenders #1 was an impulse buy – I picked it up along with a few other titles on the shelves on my new journey of Marvel discovery after being impressed by Hawkeye and Young Avengers. I’d heard a little about the new book from Bunn and Sliney but I hadn’t paid much attention as it didn’t seem to feature characters I immediately recognised. It was the cover that leapt out at me – two women fighting off the villainous hordes, in practical yet sexy clothing (no heels!), fighting back to back with sword, axe, and guns, and hey… a bionic arm? Whaddaya know, I do remember Misty Knight!

Both the first and second issues take their time introducing the various players, with Misty taking centre stage in #1, kicking ass and taking names. Her friend, archaeologist Dr. Annabelle Riggs is sweet and slightly reckless, accidentally unleashing the aforementioned hordes, leading to the appearance of the mighty Valkyrie. As she and Misty do their stuff, the dynamic of this title really comes to the fore – it’s a buddy cop comic essentially, the two of them trading on their different personalities to provide highly entertaining banter as a team of strong women forms around them. The plain talking Misty and the very Asgardian Valkyrie mesh well together almost immediately, the writer sidestepping the all too familiar trope of having lead ladies clash their personalities for pointless melodrama.

And speaking of pointless melodrama, let’s have a quick peek at the general reaction to #1 on the internet. Ah yes, “pointless”, “fanservice”, “socially inept”, “gratuitous”, “ill timed and forced”, and “pandering”. Whatever could these people be talking about? Well you know already of course, it’s the kiss between Annabelle and Valkyrie, the former planting a surprise smooch when saved by the latter. No more out of place you might think that the many women who reward Stark, Storm or Odinson with a quick lip attack after being saved from a burning building/tweet/spaceship and certainly less awkward than the costumes-stay-on sex favoured by Gotham’s finest, yet because both kisser and kissee were in this case both women, it gets called pandering. And the non-straight women who read comics rose up and replied, hell yes, pander me harder.

If Valkyrie swoops to your rescue the next time you’re being attacked by the undead, I defy you not to want to kiss her. Annabelle just had the ovaries to go ahead and do so, time from her perspective slowing down to savour the moment, and the Asgardian warrior did not seem terribly put out. On the contrary, #2 hints that it might be something she’d like to revisit at a later date, if you know what I am saying, hurr hurr.

If the cover to the first issue was enough to hook me, the second was what put it on my pull list. Well, the cover and the last page combined. Which I’m not going to spoil even though I really want to. Bah.

In this issue we are introduced to Dani Moonstar, and while my vintage Marvel reading did prod my memory with regard to Valkyrie and Misty, I admit that with Dani I was at a bit of a loss. However, enough information was fed to me in a few pages to give me some background, and I think prove that this book is very accessible for any new readers. And she pretty much kicks ass, despite the lack of powers. What really hit me again in this issue – and it’s a shame that this is something that leaps out – is again the lack of overt sexualisation of the characters. They are powerful and sexy women sure, but they are portrayed as heroes rather than just hot girls with their clothes torn off in towering heels.

It’s a little slower than the first issue, perhaps inevitable for plot building, but the opening sequence with Dani is terrific, as is the small diner scene between Valkyrie, Misty and Annabelle. Valkyrie’s failure to find new shield maidens is interesting given just how saturated this universe is with superwomen, and how readily she teams up with her new friends. I’m interested to see where this is all leading.

Each issue has been deliciously self-contained, demanding the reader is desperate for the next issue while also layering the characterisation deftly. It’s a bold move to be in the second issue and still have one of the three main players completely separate but it works well here, both in the short term and (I’d imagine) for the trade collection.

Yes there are tits. There is indeed ass. But for the first time, I get the sense that this is cheesecake that isn’t being aimed primarily at the male readers. There is a whole other demographic out there that loves reading about smart, sassy women who happen to be fantastically gorgeous without being objectified for the male gaze.

As a self-confessed fan of Catwoman, and an ardent supporter of more diversity in women characters in comics, my mantra is frequently this: “There’s nothing wrong with cheesecake. But it’s not all we want to eat.” In this case however… well this is damn fine and well written cheesecake.

PS – can I get my Catwoman/Nightwing cheesecake now please DC?

Fearless Defenders #2
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Will Sliney
Colourist: Veronica Gandini
Cover Artist: Mark Brooks
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Ellie Pyle
Publisher: Marvel

[Laura Sneddon is a comics journalist and academic, writing for the mainstream UK press with a particular focus on women and feminism in comics. Currently working on a PhD, do not offend her chair leg of truth. Her writing is indexed at comicbookgrrrl.com and procrastinated upon via @thalestral on Twitter]

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I noticed a common feature in the comics I was reading this week, a feature that made them all compelling as stories: the role of the underdog pitted against overwhelming odds. Seeing the psychological reactions of the characters was an important part of the ride, but excellent artwork, particularly in executing fight scenes, left me more than impressed with each one. HELHEIM #1 (out March 6^th), TRIGGER GIRL 6 (out March 13^th), and SLEDGE-HAMMER 44 (out March 13^th) strike a fluid balance between characterization and action, always a kind of brass ring for comics creation, though sometimes a little difficult for readers to come by.

[Spoilers for HELHEIM #1, TRIGGER GIRL #6, and SLEDGE-HAMMER 44 #1 below]

[HELHEIM #1]

HELHEIM, from Oni Press, kicks off a new series, and so has a great deal of storytelling to accomplish in a single issue. It does this with axes, axes, and more axes.  Though it’s true there are plenty of axes, there’s also a lot more to HELHEIM, a tale “of the North” featuring what I’ll assume from the title are Vikings. Joelle Jones (FABLES) illustrates the issue, and her style is not only eye-catching but moody. Her characters in profile resemble figures from Viking-age artifacts but also have an angularity to their movement that really establishes the world of HELHEIM. I mentioned fight-scenes. These are equally unique and captivating. Though pseudo-medieval fight scenes are common enough in comics to keep you from really paying attention to the detail of their rendering, Jones breaks down that familiarity through unique panel layouts, occasionally rounded to depict landscape or full-page with overlaid panels to create emphasis. If she impresses with her Vikings, she’s even more at home with her artwork conjuring the undead, which sets up the forthcoming themes of the series well. There’s a kind of epic weight to some of her panels that simply stays with you, a sign of excellent art.

[HELHEIM #1]

Writer Cullen Bunn keeps up the pace of the story with driving action, and combines many of the tropes from medieval sagas without slowing things down. He establishes the role of kin relationships straight off the bat as central hero Rikard tries to save his wounded son, but ultimately has to leave the corpse behind, and then engages with both his father and other relatives at their timber fort under siege. Family relationships make for good drama, particularly in 580 AD. This forms a large part of the psychology of Rikard in his role as protector, but also as father and son. But it’s the supernatural elements Bunn includes that I particularly applaud, from Rikard seeing a vision of his own bleeding ghost predicting his imminent death (this happens in Irish Sagas of the period, and perhaps Viking too), to the rising corpses of his recently slain grotesque foes pursuing him. These are some of the elements that make Viking sagas great in their own right, including blue-faced undead who haunt houses and pound on the roof, calling the cowering inhabitants by name. Bunn brings the most evocative moments of Viking tales to new life, but isn’t afraid to introduce his own developments, like the series premise set up in #1, that Rikard can be resurrected by witchcraft to act as a vengeful Franken-Viking. If the rest of the series shows such careful consideration as this issue, the combination of powerful artwork and strong storytelling will be well worth the read.

[TRIGGER GIRL 6]

TRIGGER GIRL 6, the compilation volume of the series that appeared in the too soon cancelled magazine CREATOR OWNED HEROES, but thankfully presented as a whole by Image, already took fans by storm in 2012, but seeing the series in one unit was entirely worth the wait. Phil Noto’s artwork on the series is simply dazzling, from sleek line-work to color themes. Noto has the uncanny ability to present moments of stillness in the midst of action that creates a sense of vertigo for the reader. Since about two thirds of the story-line involves clone Trigger Girl 6’s attempt to assassinate the president of the USA, hang on tight. The plot calls for handling animals in a majestic, impressive role and Noto proves up to the challenge, too, making you wonder if there’s anything that’s not his forte when it comes to comic art. The pastel hues of the early stages of the story also merge into ethereal jungle settings within any jarring sense of transition. From near-future technology to talking animals, Noto knows the score.

[TRIGGER GIRL 6]

Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray bring us a story in TRIGGER GIRL 6 that defies you to doubt its central truths. In an included interview, the collected volume expresses Palmiotti and Gray’s concern about big corporations, and the increasingly “overpopulation and greed” in modern society that gives weight to the whole TRIGGER GIRL concept. It’s not just a beautifully drawn assassin story (though that would probably be enough to sell the book), but it’s also a commentary on social conscience. The character of Trigger Girl 6 also develops and expands for the reader, drawing us into her psychology. While TG 6 is silent and therefore mysterious in the early stages of the story, after her escape from government interrogation, Palmiotti and Gray also include inner monologue text boxes that emphasize her own internal questions and search for identity. Though this is often a common feature of sci-fi clone stories, it’s always compelling when it’s handled well, and Palmiotti and Gray manage to convey a great deal about her personality in such a brief story arc. What’s most impressive about the story, though, is that the writers bring out their big themes in what’s effectively a single-issue finale as TG 6 discovers the biological haven where she was born and the scientifically enabled talking animals who have created her. It’s a wild idea, but it doesn’t feel forced in the least, and engages with a long history of social commentary and sci-fi literature that reflects on human behavior and finds it lacking. To say the story has heart would be an understatement; it has compassion and concern. The fact that Palmiotti and Gray feel that they can reach comics readers with such a weighty message elevates the medium in all the right ways.

[SLEDGE-HAMMER 44]

SLEDGE-HAMMER 44 #1, from Dark Horse, introduces a character from Mike Mignola and John Arcudi who has his own mysterious origins and motivations. Like a lot of intriguing Dark Horse comics set in the HELLBOY universe, WWII and the Nazi legacy feature, but this story focuses on the role of fighting men and establishes a skillful balance between the fantastic and the historically grounded. Jason Latour’s artwork has a lot to do with the success of this balance. His blend of stylized linework with military detail suggests 1940’s comic art dealing with war, and the fairly unusual (from Dark Horse) sepia and muted tones of Dave Stewart’s color palette set the comic apart as something a little different. It hints that the war, and its own epic aspects, are as important as the heroic figure that the comic introduces: Sledge-Hammer. But for steam-punk and technology fans, there’s also plenty to love in Latour’s artwork. Mike Mignola’s cover art set up the design of Sledge-Hammer’s mechanoid appearance in his characteristic wood-block imprint style, but Latour also brings a sense of the human to Sledgehammer’s anatomy and appearance, from the first panel where he’s introduced, looming large in his army jacket, to his explosive one-man operation fight scenes where he takes a beating from a Nazi robot. The comic has got atmosphere in spades thanks to the artistic team work involved.

[SLEDGE-HAMMER 44]

Mignola and Arcudi also craft a story with universal appeal through grounding the reader in the perspective of soldiers watching the mysterious Sledge-Hammer operation in action, as well as through giving Sledge-Hammer a speaking role even this early in the story-line. He may be a being of few words, but urging the soldiers to leave him behind and save themselves sets Sledge-Hammer up as a classic heroic being, capable of miscalculation (he seems not to have seen the Nazi robot coming), but also of personal sacrifice. It’s also a wise move that Mignola and Arcudi don’t give too much away about Sledge-Hammer’s mentality, leaving the reader to make assumptions and hang on for the next installment to learn more about whether this metal soldier has any other human characteristics, and what exactly motivates his driven actions against the Nazis. It’s a comic staged for a grand entrance of a unique character, and all the better for picking out the details of wartime experience in Europe through secondary characters. Like many projects that Mignola works on, the storytelling feels decompressed to allow the images to tell their own tale, often with only a few panels per page. The comic calls for more dialogue, actually, than many of Mignola’s works, to create a sense of experiencing conflict on the ground during WWII. The story feels particularly unencumbered by having to fit into any specific moment in a wider mythology, and for that reason it has an overpowering sense of being something new, brisk, and somewhat unpredictable. If you read issue #1, it’ll be almost impossible not to follow SLEDGE-HAMMER into its second issue whether due to its lavish homage artwork or its fresh storytelling, but most likely a combination thereof.

[SLEDGE-HAMMER 44]

These three comics display a strikingly high standard for comic artwork, really setting their artists loose to develop an aesthetic appropriate to the worlds they’re creating. It helps that the reader is following central characters into conflict and watching them battle it out against the odds within their own stories. This gives action scenes even more of an edge and also leads the reader deeper into the psychological layers of the storytelling involved.  All three comics celebrate the role of the hero, taking traditional elements and redefining them according to the personal vision of their respective creative teams. HELHEIM #1, TRIGGER GIRL 6, and SLEDGE-HAMMER 44 #1 prove that you don’t have to choose between spectacular art or strong storytelling in comics: you can actually find them both in one package if you’re lucky.

Title: HELHEIM #1/Publisher: Oni Press/Creative Team: Cullen Bunn, Writer, Joelle Jones, Illustration, Nick Filardi, Colors, Ed Brisson, Letters

Title: TRIGGER GIRL 6/Publisher: Image Comics/Creative Team: Jimmy Palimiotti, Justin Gray, Writers, Phil Noto, Artwork, Bill Tortolini, Letters, Design

Title: SLEDGE HAMMER 44 #1/Publisher: Dark Horse Comics/ Creative Team: Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Writers, Jason Latour, Artwork, Dave Stewart, Colors, Clem Robins, Letters

Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress.

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As a new character joins the cast of Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney’s Fearless Defenders, so she joins team members Valkyrie and Misty Knight in our growing group shot of the team! Today sees the release of Fearless Defenders #2, which sees Dani Moonstar enter the scene. The leader of the New Mutants for years and years now, Moonstar is a Native American character who was depowered during the M-Day storyline – but that didn’t stop her from her duties as team leader.

Now stepping into Fearless Defenders, I asked artist Will Sliney a few questions about the character, and her design in the book. Will’s been profiling all the characters as they appear, and you can find his previous looks into Valkyrie and Misty Knight here. But as we’ve been going on, Will’s been adding each member into a group image of the team, which establishes his ability to draw expressive and individual female faces for his cast. Read on! And gawp!

Steve: We’ve spoken previously on your interest in the mythology and cultural identity of Valkyrie. With Dani Moonstar, do you feel that same interest? As a Native American character, she is again a character with a vast cultural background all her own.

Will: Yeah, it’s nice to see the cultural diversity in Fearless Defenders already coming to the forefront. Anything new can be a big interest to me too. Obviously I know much more about Norse mythology having grown up on this side of the Atlantic, but its important to learn about the backgrounds of each new member. I have had fun researching for her.

Steve: As a Cheyenne, she again has quite specific facial features such as a flatter, longer nose, and quite pronounced cheekbones. How do you approach the character, in terms of look and features?

Will: I usually create a model sheet for each character. You can hopefully see the different facial features already in the group shots that have been building here at The Beat each month. You pretty much have hit the nail on the head for Dani. These features will have been laid out before in the many artists who have drawn her. I really liked David LaFuente’s recent take.

Moonstar joins Misty Knight and Valkyrie in Will’s group shot of the Fearless Defenders cast

Steve: While the other two characters are hand-to-hand fighters, Moonstar tends to use ranged weapons like the bow and arrow. Has this come into play in the action sequences, or do you prefer to have her in the middle of the fighting alongside the other cast members? How do you plan fight sequences?

Will: Dani’s opening scene shows that she can mix it up in hand to hand combat even when she is out of arrows. Bow or no bow. I think being de-powered, Dani is on a mission to prove herself as a fighter, so she is not afraid to go in fists first.

Steve: She’s also well known for having spent time as a valkyrie herself, with several stints in Asgard. How do you think the character fits in alongside Valkyrie, both visually and in personality?

Will: Its obviously an important part of the story. Dani does look different from Valkyrie when she is in her full Valkyior form. (I always have difficulty spelling that word.) and that is reflected in Dani’s personality too. I’m not too sure yet how highly Valkyrie respects Dani at the start. We will have to wait and see…

Pilot season is upon us in Hollywood, and Cullen Bunn's acclaimed The Sixth Gun has gotten a pilot order at NBC with Carlton Cuse (Lost) on board to produce.

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When the news was announced that Cullen Bunn would be writing Fearless Defenders for Marvel next year, the world breathed a sigh of relief. It’s no secret that this is a project many have been waiting to happen ever since he first hinted at it earlier this year, during his ‘The Fearless’ miniseries starring Valkyrie. Fearless Defenders returns to the character, this time asking her to assemble a team of women in order to protect the Marvel Universe from imminent danger. Artist Will Sliney will be drawing the series, which will begin in February. Wikipedia are already very excited about the book!

As am I. I couldn’t be more onboard for this book if Pixie and Hepzibah were on it (but think about it, Cullen?), so I immediately asked if he’d be interested in talking to me about it. He kindly agreed, and we talked about how the series came to be – specifically, how the pitching process began, how it developed, and how the book went from a tease at the end of The Fearless through to a new ongoing series.

Steve: When did you first pitch Fearless Defenders? Has it been a long process?

Cullen Bunn: I remember the moment the idea for this team first dawned on me pretty clearly. I was working on the series FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS and was brainstorming how to wrap the final issue. There were these eight magical, evil hammers floating around the Marvel Universe, and I wanted to get rid of them. So, I thought it might be interesting to have the Valkyrior—the Shield Maidens of Asgard—take the weapons and scatter into the universe. That left the Marvel Universe without Valkyrior, and I wanted Valkyrie to have a new sense of purpose.

So I thought it might be cool to have her tasked with gathering a new team of Shield Maidens. I also thought it might be interesting if these women had to be chosen from Midgard—from a group that might include already established characters.

I rushed to my computer and fired off an e-mail to my co-writers and the editorial team, just to see if they liked that direction. At the end of the e-mail, I wrote something along the lines of, “Be warned. I’m working up a proposal for this series right now!”

And I put together a short proposal that I sent to my editors at the same time I sent in the script to the final issue of THE FEARLESS.

It took a few months after the finale of THE FEARLESS for the series to get the go ahead. Remember, this was during the time that Marvel NOW was being planned, and I’m guessing there was a lot of discussion in regards to where this book would fit. Editorial teams changed a bit and the book went through a number of changes from my initial 1-page proposal.

Steve: The book was first hinted for readers in the final issue of Fear Itself: The Fearless, in which it was presented as an option to Valkyrie. Was this always a beat you wanted to include in the story? How early on did you first think of the premise, and how much did it inform the story in The Fearless?

Cullen: That idea for the formation of the new team of Valkyrior hit me around the time I was writing issue 6 or 7, and from that point on, I really couldn’t wait to reach that final issue and that teaser image. So… yeah, it helped shape where the second half of that series went.

Steve: When you pitch an idea like this, do you come with a firm idea of the book and where it’ll head and how it operates, or a more general premise, which can be altered? Do you try to firmly define the book, or do you leave room for editors to manoeuvre around the premise?

Cullen: My initial proposal was only one page. I knew, though, that I wanted a good part of the book to be about how Valkyrie would choose the members of the team. That was the note that I really wanted to stick to. I think that building the team relatively slowly gives every character a chance to find a place and voice in the group and in the book as a whole. Beyond that, the proposal definitely had room for editorial input. The collaborative nature of comic books is something that I enjoy, and I love seeing where new ideas can take a book. Sometimes, some of the suggestions I’ve been given have really challenged me, but I think it takes the series in some unexpected directions.

Steve: This has clearly been a book you’re passionate about creating – what was it about the series which spoke so strongly to you?

Cullen: I thought the concept was interesting and would give me a chance to showcase some characters who rarely get the spotlight and almost never get to work together. And I liked the way this could develop these characters. Also, I just thought this was an outlet for some really crazy, action-packed, surprising stories.

That’s all it took for me to be hooked.

Steve: How has your pitch developed since the original idea?

Cullen: I mentioned that the book went through more than one editorial team. Every time a change occurred, the book changed a little. It’s funny, though, because in many ways it came full circle. The premise moved away from what I originally had in mind, then circled back to something that was very close to my original pitch.

The biggest development is something that occurred because of the timing of the book. Because it took a while for the series to be approved, I decided that Valkyrie was procrastinating when it came to the task of choosing allies. She simply didn’t see anyone worthy of becoming a Shield Maiden. This, I think, paints Valkyrie in a much more interesting light, and I love the idea of exploring her definitions (right and wrong) of heroism.

Steve: What do you think is the essence of a good pitch? Do you follow the idea of boiling down the premise to a five-word ‘elevator pitch’?

Cullen: I think a good pitch needs to tell the editor what the story is about, who the characters are, how they will potentially grow, and who the audience will be… as succinctly as humanly possible.

My proposals typically have a one-sentence elevator pitch, a one paragraph expansion on that pitch, a breakdown of characters, and a three-act breakdown of the story (or first arc).

Steve: Did you write speculative issues, to show Marvel how the series would work in terms of tone? What physical work, besides a premise or synopsis, do you do to prepare for pitching a book?

Cullen: It’s different for every project, but I don’t often write a speculative issue. I’ve only been asked to do something like that once—for my first comic book series THE DAMNED (from Oni Press). Since I had no real prior experience, they asked me to write a couple of different scenes, just to make sure I could do the work.

Most of my proposals these days are less than two pages. That should be enough to interest the editor. If they’re interested enough, they’ll ask for more. That may, I guess, include a speculative script… but that’s not often the case for me.

Steve: What do you think ultimately sold the pitch to Marvel, and gave you the chance to create the series?

Cullen: I think they liked the basic premise of the series—Valkyrie building a new team of Shield Maidens from the women of Earth. It’s a clean, simple reason for a new super team to form. I think the fact that the cast is all women—an area that hasn’t been explored often and could draw some attention to the book—only helped.

Or maybe they just got tired of all my e-mails about the book.

Either way, I’m glad they took a chance on this. This is a book that is different from every other book on the shelf. And I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Many thanks to Cullen for taking the time to speak to me! I imagine I’ll be pestering him again in the future to chat about Dani Moonstar’s lovelife and if Misty Knight could beat up Iron Fist. He is also still writing The Sixth Gun for Oni Press, and just today he launched a competition open to anybody who pre-orders either of the titles. You can find out more at his website!

By Steve Morris

It’s not over quite yet! Even while Torsten attempts to shoo the remaining sheep out of Stately Beat Manor’s library and Todd tries to piece together one of Heidi’s vases, SDCC 2012 still has a few small bits and pieces left for us all. Marvel’s Spider-Man panel have been announcing a few changes in the company’s third-biggest franchise (assuming that X-Men are first, Avengers are second, and Doop fourth) today, including the cover for this year’s issue #700, and details on the ‘Minimum Carnage’ crossover story.

Yes, Minimum Carnage, following the previous two Zeb Wells-helmed stories featuring the red-fury symbiote villain. Starting with ‘Minimum Carnage Alpha’ and, absolutely, concluding with the Steve-predicted ‘Minimum Carnage Omega’, the series is this time a crossover story. Chris Yost’s Scarlet Spider and Cullen Bunn’s Venom are the two books involved, as the pair of antiheroes team up (after probably fighting each other a bit, as per tradition) to try and stop Cletus Kassady from, y’know, doing a load of murders. Lan Medina will draw the opening issue, before Khoi Pham tackles the Scarlet Spider side of the story and Declan Shalvey draws Venom.

Avenging Spider-Man #13 will be by Kevin Shinick and Aaron Kuder, and features Hypno Hustler and Deadpool. This may well be part of a tie-in to the weird web series Marvel announced earlier in the con, called ‘All-Winners Squad’. This series – live action – features Squirrel Girl, The Unicorn, Hypno Hustler and Doop as they… do something… and Morgan Spurlock is involved. It’s bizarre, nobody quite knows what’s going on. You can read a little bit about it on CBR, who seem equally confused about what Marvel are trying. OR! The issue is unconnected to the webseries entirely, and I just wasted ten seconds of your time.

Issue 700 of Amazing Spider-Man will look like this:

In other news, Punisher: War Zone was revealed to be a five-issue miniseries which wraps up Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto’s current run with the character. To confirm: Punisher is cancelled in September, with this miniseries starting in October.

In it, the Avengers finally decide that it’s time to do something about the ol’ mass murdering vigilante, and things get messy

By Steve Morris

Following on from past killing sprees perpetrated by The Punisher and Wolverine comes a new miniseries from Marvel’s burgeoning ‘…kills the Marvel Universe’ genocide franchise, Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe. Written by Cullen Bunn and drawn by Dalibor Talajic, this four-issue mini will see every character you love and cherish be hacked into pieces, presumably during a disconnected narrative ramble from the crazy protagonist about American Things like football and barbeque and… oh, I don’t know, The B—– In Apartment 23. That’s a thing, right?

With this in mind, things are looking more and more promising for the growing “Hepzibah Army” who have come to dominate the internet over the past few days, mobilising in their thousands to celebrate Cyclops’ bloodthirsty stepmother as she slices up Avengers and shoots Luke Cage with magic space guns. Seeing Wolverine, Punisher and now Deadpool all carve a bloody vengeance through the Marvel Universe,  it’s steadily becoming clear that Marvel are running out of genocide-friendly characters, paving the way for a four issue Hepzibah mini sometime next year. Clearly this is the case.

But let’s focus on this mini for the time being. Starting in Auguest with the Avengers, then moving onto the X-Men, and finally ending up with a Deadpool Vs Punisher matchup, the series will be focused less on the fun, cuddly, jokey Deadpool of late and more on the part where he’s a merciless serial killer and should be put in prison. This will be dark story brings fans a welcome return to the lost art of snuff comics, which we’ve all been deprived of ever since the last series of X-Force ended. In interviews Bunn has been careful not to give too much away about what happens… but handily the four covers give everything away, so we can discuss things in detail. Poor Cyclops!

Marvel held one of their secret press conferences this afternoon to reveal that Cullen Bunn would be taking solo reigns of the VENOM ongoing with #23. He had been in the “buddy program” with Rick Remender on the book—referring to Marvel’s habit of having newer writers team with vets before taking over on their own. Remender will finish the run solo with issue #22 while Bunn, best known for his indie work on The Sixth Gun for Oni, takes over with #23. Tony Silas provides the art for the issue (above) but he’ll team with Declan Shalvey going forward. The cover for #22 is by Tony Moore (Above.) Here’s a two-page spread by Silas which does look pretty nice. (click for larger)

The press call was much given over to talk of symbiotes and Flash Thompson—who has been the host for the Venom symbiote for the last few years as a military-type character. Bunn noted that Flash had been the victim of some really bad times of late but, “There’s a little glimmer of hope. Flash is trying to grab onto that hope and make a different life for himself. The thing we’ve learned about Flash is he tends to screw things up terribly. He’s still dealing with the fact he’s a screwup and it’s not going to be an easy road to get back to that happy place. But he’s working towards a brighter future.”

Remender teased that he would possibly be working on other projects in the near future.