"The Hab," From Bad Idea is a Must-Read Only Two Issues In

"The Hab," is a new mini-series from Bad Idea. They're the publisher who puts out great books and often does odd gimmicks that vary between cute and annoying. When you ignore the gimmicks, you're still left with superb books, though. "The Hab," is only two issues in, but already has me hooked with its mix of sci-fi and horror. This comic is focused on a billionaire, his family, and a chunk of staff fleeing to a massive underground habitat he had built in the case of some world-ending event. What has happened hasn't been disclosed, and very well may not be, but it was some worst-case scenario as now everyone is in the big ol' Hab. The problem is, as the first issue reveals, something else is there too.

It isn't too big a spoiler to reveal that some strange microscopic organism has found its way into the supposedly purified water of the Hab and is causing everyone to hallucinate, as the resident doctor determines. In a strange twist, the staff appears to be sharing in their hallucinations, with the common theme being that this thing wants them to kill themselves. The claustrophobic environment mixed with some unknown, tiny, dangerous creation after everyone gives the comic a vibe of, "Alien meets The Thing," whilst still being totally unique. A billionaire making sure they are taken care of while shrugging at the fate of 99.9% or so of the rest of the World also is quite topical these days as folks like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Mark Zuckerberg float around in mega yachts or plan safehouses in outer space, whilst the rest of the World's economy seems to teeter on the edge of a collapse daily.

Writer Joshua Dysart has been in comics for years and knows how to craft a superb story. The fact that he has David Lapham and Bill Sienkiewicz providing art makes this an incredible creative team. The feeling of dread just drips from the pages as the cast of characters grapple with the disturbing images brought up to their consciousness by this unknown bacteria/mold/whatever it is. I find it a little funny how Bad Idea has been hyping up the fact that their comic, "Ordained," was optioned to be a movie when I think this comic is begging for some kind adaptation! We're two issues into the planned five, and I am eager to see just how weird things get.

Project Comic-Con 2013 In Review.

The fourth-ever Project Comic-Con has just wrapped up, and boy was it a fun weekend! As I enjoy doing, I'll recap some of the things I saw and did there. In no particular order of guests I saw (and spoke with beyond a simple "hello" as I tried to interact with everyone!) and the stuff I bought, I now present, Comic-Con In Review!

Guests I Saw and Stuff I Got in No Particular Order

Fabian Nicieza
Probably the neatest person I saw because he had a lot of interesting stuff to say would be Fabian Nicieza. We talked about his work on "Cable and Deadpool" (which was an amazing series) and what he is up to now, along with general chatter about the comic-book industry. He has so much energy and enthusiasm, and is quite witty, which raised the question of why he hasn't been doing a monthly comic for a bit. Basically he has been busy working full-time with a trans-media company called, "Starlight Runner Entertainment," but did say he'd always be eager to write a comic. Hey Marvel, perhaps you'd like to do another "Cable and Deadpool" book, please?

Avatar Press
Avatar Press had a presence at Project Comic-Con in the form of a booth with all kinds of great comics for sale. I got a number of their books for myself and a "Night of the Living Dead" one as a present for someone I know who is a big zombie fan. Avatar is indeed a very cool publisher putting out some of my favorite stuff lately so I was happy to see them at the 'con.

Watsui The Talking Dog
Watsui is a web comic by Dale Martin for all-ages that is very cute. Dale was very nice and fun to chat with Project Comic-Con, encouraging guests to name a new character that will be in the comic. I hope my suggestion is picked!

The Prospector
Darren Neely was at the convention with an intriguing self-published series called "The Prospector" about a more-than-century-old prospector dealing with all sorts of crazy situations. I bought some issues and am eager to read them!

Gargoyle by Moonlight
I've talked about how I enjoyed the comic "Gargoyle by Moonlight" before, and chatted with one of its creators, Timothy Brach some more about it. It was fun seeing him again!

George Perez

Industry legend George Perez was at Project Comic-Con, doing sketches and signing things for folk. He has been having some vision problems lately and is wearing an eye-patch over his left eye, but that doesn't appear to have slowed him down one bit.

Shane Cash and Anthony Medina
Cash and Medina have a comic book they've put out with prose novels by Medina that elaborate upon the initial comic-book stories. It is a clever idea and looks neat!

Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort
"Superman" writer Scott Lobdell was in attendance along with the comic-book illustrator, Kenneth Rocafort. Their booth was buzzing with fans and Lobdell was nice enough to give me a signed comic when he saw I didn't have anything on me for him to sign, a nice guy.

Neal Fitzpatrick
I've reviewed a piece of Neil's work before and found it quite to my liking with its mixture of cute graphics and a funny dark cynicism. It was fun running into Neal again and seeing how he has been.

Todd Tevlin
Tevlin does a humorous comic called "Frik'in Hell that is about a medieval warrior who works in fast food. He was at the 'con and fun to talk with.

Jim Mahfood
Jim Mahfood was very friendly and had a lot of his stuff for sale, of which I purchased one of his comics because how can you say no to his awesome art? Mahfood and I talked about his drawing style, how he greatly enjoys working with Joe Casey (a writer whose work I love), and other comics we like.

Angelic Wars
Marcus J. Mosley was at Project Comic-Con to promote his self-published work about a war between heaven and hell, "Angelic Wars". I got a copy of the 1st and 2nd issue and it looks interesting!

Angus Oblong
He was there last year causing a ruckus as he always does, and Angus Oblong was at Project Comic-Con yet again, with his quirky and offensive-but-in-a-good-way humor in tow. Oblong is always a hoot and it was fun to see him again.

Unshaven Comics
The guys behind Unshaven Comics are Matt, Marc, and Kyle. I picked up the first two issues that have been released of their "Samurnauts" series, a comic about astronaut samurai who have a trainer that is a monkey and helps them fight aliens and zombies. Yes, it is pretty crazy. I also got a cool poster from them!

Joshua Dysart
Also at Project Comic-Con last year and back again was Joshua Dysart. He was promoting his new work with publisher Valiant with "Harbringer". I bought the 1st trade and he was kind enough to sign it.

Ink and Drink Comics
A collective of folk who have put out a comic's anthology every six months for the last three years, Ink and Drink Comics are a cool bunch of folk with some snazzy stuff.

Dirigible Days
Dirigible Days is a steampunk web-series that will be continuing in comic-book form. I enjoy steampunk and its aesthetics very much, so seeing all their gear was cool!

Eric Basaldua
Another return to the 'con was Eric Basadula. Well known for his artwork of various heroines that often is quite risque, Basaldua was friendly as usual and had a lot of prints to sell. I myself love his Weapon X drawing that goes against his usual form of suggestive drawings of ladies and wish he'd draw more of Wolverine too, but as he's pointed out in the past, it's the drawings of pretty ladies that pay the bills.

Wascally Wee Willy
A man who makes incredibly surreal collages from comics named William Harroff was at the 'con and I bought a really cool coaster from him. Weirdly fascinating stuff.

Masta J Wood
Also at last year's Project Comic-Con, Masta J Wood, or Jon Woodard as he is also known, does very snazzy comic illustrations that have a cool mish-mash feel of western art and a hint of an anime style.

Show Me Comics
The guys behind indie-publisher Show Me Comics were at Project Comic-Con promoting their work, "Hafu" which is a strip about a girl in small-town Japan who doesn't know here father has a secret that will change her life and bring in all sorts of complicated elements such as the mob. I bought myself a copy and look forward to reading it!

Amber Stone
Illustrator Amber Stone was at Project Comic-Con and fun to chat with about comics. I especially like how she'll put her art on bottles and give them a magical look, like a little glass bottle with an "eye of newt" logo.

Steve Seeley and Michael Moreci

The guys behind "Hoax Hunters" were at Project Comic-Con and eager to discuss their comic. They were very friendly and funny too!

Camden Bottoms
Camden Bottoms creator Scott Quick was at Project Comic-Con with his cool artwork to promote his web series.

Scott D.M. Simmons
Mr. Simmons was at the 'con talking about his various comics works, including a neat one about a super-hero mother who has children that then gain their own super-powers--but at the expense of hers! A neat guy.

The Comic Creators Coffee Club
The Comic Creators Coffee Club (or C4) was at Project Comic-Con inviting folk to attend their meetings where they talk about creating comics and such!

JP Roth
Creator JP Roth was at Project Comic-Con again this year with her lushly illustrated comic, "Ancient Dreams". It really has some gorgeous art.

Zenescope
Comic publisher Zenescope was in attendance, and I spoke with them about how I haven't read much of their stuff but was thinking of giving it a shot.

Z.O.D.
The nice folk of Z.O.D. (Zombification Orientation and Defense) were at the convention, telling people how to fight off zombies through disaster preperation methods from the Red Cross.

Stache Publishing
The group of people who make is "Stache Publishing" were at the 'con to promote their various works, and they were quite the energetic bunch!

Lastly, I got this cool drawing of Moon Knight as a lego figurine by a man named Kenny who was selling some of his work with various characters in that style and was happy to make me a drawing of one of my favorite characters. Very cool!

In Conclusion
It was fun attending Project Comic-Con for my second time and I am excited for the next show! My thanks to all the creators and vendors at the show, and of course, thank-you to Steve and Jeff for creating this amazing show!

Project Comic-Con Day 1 Mega-Overview

Intro
I'm back from Project Comic-Con after spending many hours of the day there! I had quite the fun time, meeting many nice creators, vendors, and other assorted folk.Yes, even little ol' me with my often sarcastic and cynical outlook had a really good time, probably the most fun I've had in awhile. Let's do a big overview of a chunk of the stuff I did and the interesting people I met--some with helpful images from the Project Comic-Con website to tell you more about them! This isn't in perfect order of how I did stuff, but it's pretty close.

It Begins

I arrived to Comic-Con at around 9:50 AM or so, and even though it didn't officially start until 10 AM everyone was already being let inside--so yah for not having to wait! Upon going in I spoke with the pleasant Jim Valentino. He is one of the founders of Image comics and the guy behind the brand within it, Shadowline. We and some other fans chatted about comics, he showed some upcoming Image stuff, and I complimented how with all the hubub about creator's right at the moment (you know, with the Before Watchmen business) Image has been getting a bit more attention for how it lets people have their own intellectual property and such. He said from the start they've been about creators rights, that's one of the reasons behind Image's founding and he believes in it. A cool guy. Here is the Shadowline Website.

I stopped by the table of Kenneth Rocafort who some may know for his current artwork on, "Red Hood and the Outlaws." Yes, it did have some controversy at the start with the character Starfire and her behavior, but that was the writer, and regardless of that the book has and currently does look pretty darn good, with Rocafort's kinetic-action style of drawing. Plus, the guy couldn't be nicer. I told him how I enjoyed the way he drew Jason Todd and he said it was fun character to draw. Also, a young girl whom had drawn Iron Man with crayons was at his table and traded it with him for a very snazzy-looking drawing of X-23 he made for her. While the Iron Man drawing was cute, I think getting fully inked and colored drawing was a pretty sweet deal, showing how nice Rocafort is. Here is his site.

I spoke a bit with Micke Mckone,  whose work on Avengers Academy I've enjoyed, he was busy so we didn't talk too much, but he was nice just as everyone else was at the event. Here is his Facebook.

I also ran into a man who was probably one of the friendliest guys at the show, eager to hear about my blog and everything else I do. Plus he looks like a clown (literally) and made a great series known as the Oblongs. Yup, I ran into the famous (infamous?) Angus Oblong. I have proof I survived our encounter:

He was very funny and a joy to chat with. Anyone reading this who hasn't seen the Oblongs ought to, it is both depressing and funny. Depressing because if you think about it the main plot is that of social disparities between wealthy people at the top of the hill and deformed poor people at the bottom. Funny because Oblong has a twisted sense of humor that takes that premise and makes absurdly hilarious situations out of it. Here is a link to his site.

I also spoke with Joshua Dysart, who has done a lot of stuff, but I've most enjoyed his run on Unknown Soldier for Vertigo. It's worth checking out. It discusses the conflict in the Sudan in a way that is both tasteful while still making fora great story. His website is here.

I of course talked to the famous Denny O'Neil. I told him how much I loved his work on The Question--which he told me was one of the favorite things he wrote! His wife was with him too and she was very sweet. I went to a panel where he spoke about comics, and his thoughts about how continuity can useful when used logically but can't weigh you down ring especially true as writers try to explain everything and take every past event in a heroes life into account instead of just having fun with a tale. As of now I couldn't find an official website for him to share, but I do have this picture of us:

His wife was nice enough to snap it, the reason he has that look on his face is not because I am suddenly just popping up behind him and snapping a pic, but we were having issues getting my phone to take the picture and he was worried if it would work. On picture three it did!

Also in the morning I met the creators of the webcomic Nextuus and plan to check it out as they told me it is sci-fi and I do enjoy that topic. Here is a link.


At this point I took a late lunch
After all these creators and some booth-shopping at this point I took lunch. I went out of the event center and had a buffalo burger as readers of my blog will know with my beef allergy I can't eat cow. Yes, cow. I know I'm a horribly weird person. Anyways, after lunch I returned to the event center...

Afternoon

I had a lot of fun talking with Steve Lightle. I talked with him about his past Doom Patrol work and how to make comic characters interesting without making them seem too "different". We also talked about how characters get relaunched in ways that aren't always familiar and how that can work out well and not so well. He was working on a sketch for someone and they came by to see how it was going and I think they were a bit dismayed I had been taking up so much of Steve's time talking to him for quite awhile about comics!

On my way to meet Cullen Bunn I met one of the individuals behind the Comic Book Showdown. I tried Podcasting on my blog some time ago but it just didn't seem to be getting many listeners and all that editing and recording can take a bit of time, so I admire anyone who puts in all that work. Why not give them a listen? Just follow this link.

I then met Cullen Bunn and he was a fun guy. We chatted a bit about his new work on Wolverine, and I told him I had heard lots of great stuff about The Sixth Gun and had been meaning to check it out. He's also going to be writing Venom soon, so he's doing all kinds of new projects for people to start reading. He can be found online here.

Readers of the blog know I am a fan of alt-culture magazines, and at the convention I met Caesar Crawford, the owner/creator of The Dead Timez. He was fun to talk to; we discussed tattoos and how while I think they can look neat I am terrified of getting that many needles repeatedly shot into me (so yeah, I'm never getting one). It's a magazine about, "Local & Independent Art, Music, Film, and Entertainment." I picked up two back-issues and look forward to checking them out! Here is a link to them.

I met Robert Atkins and we discussed how I enjoyed his work on Heroes For Hire. He is doing a neat thing where he makes a sketch a day for all 366 days this year. I told him with it being a leap year he should have taken a day off and just done 365, but the man is dedicated. Here is his site where you can see all those sketches and more.

I met the creator of those Mini-Marvels comics I love and the popular G-Man series, Chris Giarrusso. He was kind enough to give me his card which he joked can be used as a bookmark. You can find his stuff here.

I met some guys behind an independent comic, I've got the first issue and the next one will be the 99th. You heard me. In a clever twist the first issue tells how the main character was born and the next will be about his death. That's a fun idea, and the comic is pretty wacky fun from what I've flipped through so far. You can learn more about them here.

I met the creators of  the webcomic Camden Bottoms. The art style for it is very snazzy and worth a look. Here is the link.

I stopped by the table of Dennis Hopeless and told him how I enjoyed Legion of Monsters, which he thanked me for. Link, here, you know the drill.

I met a neat artist with a cool style named Neil Fitzpatrick. The characters are adorable and the huge black eyes are both cute and creepy (in a good way). Find more of him here.

There was a table with a writer and artist who have a comic about a Gargoyle by Moonlight. It looked fun and the whole issue was a big self-contained tale. They gave me a link but when I go to it it currently says it is under construction. That may change soon. Here it is.

I also met a webcomicker behind Frik'In Hell. A tale of a medieval warrior who works in Fast Food. It's a comedy comic. Here is a link to the first episode.

The Day Ends
As the convention started to close up at 6:00 PM I put the bits of stuff I bought in my car and went back for the after-party. I was tired and needed to get a late dinner so I didn't stay too long. I had a really fun day and plan to be there again tomorrow. I will be getting there a bit later because lord knows I need some sleep after all the stuff I did today! As always, we owe thanks to the 2 guys behind this, Steve of the great Newcastle Comics and Jeff.