Panick Entertainment Sounds Like an Interesting New Publisher

I was a fan of, "Heavy Metal," magazine. A weird comic publication geared towards mature readers, it often had lots of wild sci-fi concepts, crazy violence, imaginative concepts, and (often) uncensored illustrated nudity for those after some cheesecake mixed in with everything else. It didn't officially end so much as it just petered out. However, some of the folks who used to be associated with, "Heavy Metal," as well as other companies are launching a new publisher (more on that in a second) and the magazine itself might relaunch over with Frank Forte of Asylum Press--it is unclear if it will be under that company or something else). The new publisher with a fun blend of talent involved is Panick Entertainment.

As Comicsbeat discusses in a post about Panick, "Panick may be new to the scene, but its team is not. The founders are comprised of comics industry vets with years of experience, including CEO Kris Longo (former Heavy Metal publisher and current Modern Fanatic CEO); head of studio and executive director Adam Schlagman (former VP of film and integrated content at DC); COO Doug Pasko (screenwriter and former The Outpost executive producer); CFO Christopher Chiang (former DC manager of finance); and CCO Mark McCann (writer, editor, and illustrator). Syzygy Publishing co-founder and former IDW president and CCO Chris Ryall will serve as chief advisor for branding, world-building, slate development, and more." That's a pretty solid lineup of folks with Chris Ryall having quit the pedigree having worked with IDW and currently doing cool stuff over at Image with Ashely Wood as well. I am intrigued by this Panick Entertainment as I always love weird sci-fi/horror, and can enjoy the occasional dash of gratuitous nudity in comics as someone who appreciates human form. I'll be following news about Panick Entertainment closely.

The Halloween Horror Box from Asylum Press Looks Like a Fun Kickstarter Campaign

I wrote before about getting some excellently packed comics from Asylum Press and recently reviewed a comic I enjoyed published by them in my latest capsule reviews. The head person of Asylum, Frank Forte, wrote me to thank me for the kind words I've been sharing and let me know that Asylum Press is actually currently running a Kickstarter campaign to help fund an assortment of snazzy horror comics. Known as the, "Halloween Horror Box," it is a collection of all new comics from Asylum press which backers can pick to get some or all of with assorted regular and spiffy variant covers. 

I want to thank Frank for telling me about their Kickstarter as Aslyum Press puts out cool comics and these are bound to be great reads. Plus, as I said before, they pack stuff well. Therefore, the comics will be fun and packed safely for backers. The campaign actually has already achieved its funding goal, so now there are just awesome stretch goals left! Here is that link again so you can give it a look.

Rant-Reviews: I Haven't Done One of These For a Bit

 It's Been Some Time

I realized I have not done some of my beloved/reviled capsule reviews since the start of this year, so why don't I whip some up for you right now to enjoy? Let's review some recent-ish comics and examine what I liked and what left me wanting.

A Smattering of Comics

Warlash: Cold Metal Mayhem #1 (One-Shot)

I blogged recently about how great an experience I had ordering this comic from Asylum Press, and I finally had the chance to read it. Collecting an assortment of great stories, this one-shot of adventures features Warlash, a character who is a bit like Batman meets Judge Dredd, but with his own interesting quirks and complexities too. I really loved the first story which featured art by the amazing Steve Mannion as it told the dark tale (written by Frank Forte) of a man named Grubbs who also has monstrous mutations. The other yarns are great too and this is a lovely one-shot about a character whose adventures I continue to enjoy.

5 out of 5 stars.

Strange Adventures #12

Well, that was an anti-climatic ending. For those who have yet to read this final issue of the latest Tom King maxi-series (he's done some solid 12-issue series) or want to read the story in full, I won't spoil too much. The whole series was a bit about trauma, PTSD, and how it can affect us as a person. That was interesting. There was a lot of Mr. Terrific too. That was good too. The story had some twists and turns, but just kind of deflated in this final issue with the whole maxi-series clearly not being about Adam Strange so much as using him to tell an at first intriguing but overall just kind of melancholy yarn. It was an alright way to spend 12 issues, even if we peter out a lot here at the finish line. At least the alternating art with Doc Shaner and Mitch Gerards (one for past, one for present) was consistently a treat.

3 out of 5 stars.

Southside #1

This was the first comic I've read from Advent Comics. It was solid. This first issue is by Tony Kittrell and Chepe Rios, who make a good team. It follows a somewhat Punisher-style hero named Dalton Malone who tries to keep Washington DC clean of criminals. There's a lot of blood, gunfire, some nudity, and the comic has a nice edgy feel without being over-the-top gritty as it works in some humor too. Apparently, Advent Comics has been around 10 years and has been gaining in popularity, now it is big enough to be distributed with other larger indie comics. If, "Southside," is a good indicator of quality I'm interested in checking out some of their other books in the future!

5 out of 5 stars.

Monster Kill Squad #2

I swear, Bad Idea Comics puts out some good stuff and if they let their books speak for themselves without doing dumb P.R. stunts they'd still get plenty of ink written about them for their quality titles. That said, they keep doing weird stuff that overshadows how clever and fun some of their comics are. "Monster Kill Squad," is one of those good times, focusing on a team that kills horrific beings that started appearing at a rapid rate after the opening of the literal Pandora's Box. It's a good read with a winking tone from Christos Gage (sometimes a little too eager to crack a joke) and absolutely gorgeous artwork by Tomas Giorello. I just wish Bad Idea made their books easier to read for those who actually want to you, you know, enjoy them!

4 out of 5 stars.

Primordial #1

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have collaborated a bunch of times and rarely disappoint. "Primordial," imagines an alternate universe where something went horribly wrong with our space programs early on and something was discovered that resulted in the U.S. and Soviet Union shutting everything down. What exactly happened is a mystery, but it involves the animals sent to space by our nations and what exactly took them. Lemire and Sorrentino give us something creepy and delightfully sci-fi. No matter what publisher they're with (in this case Image) they almost always make awesome stuff!

5 out of 5 stars.

Ordering a Comic From Asylum Press Was a Delight!

The refrain generally goes that if you order a comic directly from the publisher's website they won't pack it well and you'll be getting a damaged comic (no shade at Heavy Metal, but yeah). That said, I quite like the over-the-top vibe of the Warlash character's comics from indie publisher Asylum Press. Therefore, I took the risk of directly ordering the new comic, "Warlash: Cold Metal Mayhem," from them and was actually pleasantly surprised by what I received. In a very well-secured and sturdy cardboard mailer, I got that latest issue of Washlash's adventures, as well as another newer comic about him, "Warlash: Bioburden." Plus, there was a signed print by artist and founder of Asylum, Frank Forte! Check it out:

 I was just some random customer ordering a comic and they really treated me right! I mean, I only ordered one comic and got two plus a print, with everything packed spectacularly. In an era where people don't even do the bare minimum of packaging or customer service, this was a delightful treat to get. I want to thank Frank Forte and all the good folk at Asylum Press. They put out some cool comics and have some horror anthologies on the way that look snazzy, so maybe give their web-store your business if anything catches your eye.

Two Asylum Press Comics I Read and Shall Review--"Heavy Metal #271" and "Fearless Dawn: Eye of the Beholder"

Introduction to Asylum Press

Asylum Press has released a variety of comics I've read over the years. They don't have a huge output, but I've generally enjoyed their horror-comic anthology titles and would say I'm a fan of the "Fearless Dawn" comics by Steve Mannion. I've never really talked about Asylum Press on the blog before so I thought it would make sense to do so considering I just recently actually read two titles by them--well, one fully by them and the other through a special guest-editor edition of "Heavy Metal".

Heavy Metal #271

A comic magazine that tends to at least entertain if nothing else.

Ah, the long-running "Heavy Metal". While it may have been home to the more interesting and experimental stuff back in the past I've found more and more recently it has had a little of that creativity, but a lot more of what seems to be its bread and butter--gratuitous T&A and extreme violence. Now, sometimes a little T&A and over-the-top violence in comics can be nice, especially if it is well illustrated, and the thing that keeps "Heavy Metal" from seeming like just another random trashy comic (or comic magazine) is that generally the art is quite good throughout the anthology series.

This issue features art which is almost always good with only a few missteps (the "Dangerous Curves" story-art seemed a little too computer-driven and static despite being an action-tale), and a good deal of great-looking stuff--the famous (infamous?) Tim Vigil beautifully illustrates an otherwise somewhat generic zombie-yarn, for example. The only thing that made me a little uncomfortable are the stories that hint at forced sex between characters (such as when a strange squid-monster copulates with a woman bathing naked in the pond) but usually then turn-out to have everything as being consensual--except for the "Mutation" story which basically hints at a rape with the end of the story and therefore left me feeling some unease.

Overall this issue of "Heavy Metal" was essentially what you would expect to get from the series--sex and gore, with slight hints of something more creative (the "Warlash" story reads as an intriguing take on what you would get if you meshed Judge Dredd with Batman and gave him a noir-styled inner-narration). For acheving what it set out to do and at least being entertaining in a guilty-pleasure sort of way I would rate this...
3 out of 5 stars.

Fearless Dawn: Eye of the Beholder #1

Don't let the "#1" fool you!

Despite the #1 next to it and declaring it is a one-shot, this issue actually ties pretty closely into some other one-shots that have preceded this as a bit of a series. I actually think I unfortunately missed the "Hard Times" issue that came before this, but still was able to follow things pretty well, if mostly thanks to a "recap" page at the start of the book that helped fill-in any details I may have missed since the "Jurassic Jungle Boogie Nights" issue.

I  haven't read all of Mannion's comics featuring Fearless Dawn, but of the ones I have I've always been struck by how expertly his art can vary between looking cartoonish and silly to having a disturbingly realistic appearance. He honestly is just a master draftsman and his artistry skills make-up for the fact that the story-lines featuring Dawn can at times be a bit lacking. It is usually just her fighting against some evil Nazis, be it in space, in the aforementioned jungle full of dinosaurs, or whatever it seems Mannion feels like drawing.

This issue actually does have a somewhat stronger plot than some others however, as we actually see some cracks in Dawn's usually strong facade of being as emotionally strong as she is physically capable. Basically, her best friend and sidekick Betty has died along with Dawn's beloved dog, and it has resulted in her being extremely emotionally unstable. Seeing the fragile humanity of a character who normally has seemed to let little phase her is refreshing and makes Dawn seem infinitely deeper than the "Mary Sue" she would at times seem to be in previous issues. There is the usual Nazi-fighting and such, but it seems more, emotional, with Dawn's sadness and anger making her feel just that much more "real".

This is a comic I would call extremely enjoyable. Whether enjoying the stronger storyline in this issue or admiring the always-impressive artwork, "Fearless Dawn: Eye of the Beholder" is another great entry in the "Fearless Dawn" mythos by Steve Mannion.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

An Interesting Publisher

A modern-day telling of the "Sleepy Hollow" legend that looks potentially intersting.

Asylum Press is an interesting publisher, having slowly put out a strange assortment of stuff ranging from horror, to sci-fi, to a bit of heroics. Lately they seem to have been ramping up more in their release schedule, be it with the guest editorship of the latest "Heavy Metal", or starting to put out more stuff in physical and digital form. I've read things in the past by them I didn't like, but these two issues were good, so that hopefully bodes well for the future too. I myself am interested to see what comes next from Asylum Press, and will probably always be especially eager for more "Fearless Dawn" if nothing else.