DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT...
Percy Carey picks the hottest releases from the week of 4/8/09
[Assisted by comicbookpage.com]
DOCTOR WHO: FORGOTTEN
By Tony Lee
Stranded in a strange Museum that's dedicated to him-and with no TARDIS in sight, The Doctor and Martha must make sense of their surroundings, hindered by one small fact-The Doctor has lost his memories of every one of his previous incarnations! Tony Lee and Eisner-winner Pia Guerra present a tale that spans generations of Doctors!
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GREEN LANTERN #39 (ORIGINS)
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Philip Tan; Jonathan Glapion
Cover by Ivan Reis; Oclair Albert
Variant cover by Rodolfo Migliari
'Agent Orange' Part 1 and featuring an 'Origins and Omens' backup tale! As the orange light of avarice erupts in violence within the Vega System, the secrets of the Guardians' pact with the criminals of the universe that has kept the Vega System off limits is revealed. Hal Jordan comes face to face with the mysterious and immensely powerful Agent Orange in a bizarre confrontation. Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. For every 25 copies of the Standard Edition (with a cover by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert), retailers may order one copy of the Variant Edition (with a cover by Rodolfo Migliari ).
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IGNITION CITY #1 (OF 5)
Written By Warren Ellis
Art By Gianluca Pagliarani
Where did the space heroes go to die? A major new series by Warren Ellis, the writer who reinvented Science fiction in comics, in the alternate-world style of the award-winning Ministry Of Space and Aetheric Mechanics - a retro-punk 'future of the past' where spaceships still belched smoke and arguments were still settled with laser pistols. 1956. Personal space flight is becoming illegal all over the world. Grounded space pilot Mary Raven has to journey to Earth's last spaceport, the island of Ignition City, to recover her dead father's effects - and discovers, there in the lawless interzone of the ramshackle settlement raised inside the ring of launch pads, that her father died on the wrong end of a ray-gun. She's not going to leave until she finds out who killed Rock Raven, but there's a lot of people who'd rather feed her to the recycling chipper first! Ignition City is an on-going color epic told in five issue series featuring the art of Aetheric Mechanics' Gianluca Pagliarani and launching with a Regular and Wraparound cover by Pagliarani, a painted cover by Felipe Massafera, and a rare Design Sketch cover by Pagliarani!
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MARVEL ZOMBIES 4 #1 (OF 4)
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by KEV WALKER
Cover by GREG LAND
Variant Cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM
The acclaimed creative team behind MARVEL ZOMBIES 3 returns...with another adventure that takes place in the Marvel U! The vampire. The witch. The werewolf. The muck-monster. The devil. They're nobody's idea of heroes, but they're all that stands between our world and an unstoppable apocalypse! They're the new Midnight Sons, and their quest to track down the undead who escaped from A.R.M.O.R. will lead them around the globe-and right to a cruise ship overrun with undead undersea-dwelling cannibals! Can this monstrous team stop the 'red tide' before it unleashes untold horror upon the mainland? Not if the Merc With Only a Mouth has anything to say about it! Yes, writer Fred Van Lente and artist Kev Walker-the guys who made IGN.com say 'MARVEL ZOMBIES 3 may actually rank as the best in the series'-are back again, unleashing the flesh-eaters for another roller coaster ride of gore, action, gore, thrills, gore and gore!
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WATCHMEN BLACK FREIGHTER DVD
Chronicling a castaway's increasingly desperate attempts to return home to warn his family of the impending arrival of the Black Freighter - a phantom pirate ship which houses the souls of the damned - the Zack Snyder-directed 'Tales of the Black Freighter' animated story-within-a-story narrated by Gerard Butler (300) provides a gripping commentary of the events introduced in the Watchmen graphic novel and feature film, and includes the documentary-style film, 'Under the Hood,' that delves into the characters' backstories.
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WOLVERINE WEAPON X #1
Written by JASON AARON
Pencils & Cover by RON GARNEY
50/50 Variant Cover by ADAM KUBERT
'THE ADAMANTIUM MEN' Part 1 (of 5)-In the jungles of Colombia, people are turning up dead, whole villages brutally slaughtered by a team of soldiers who move through the shadows like ghosts. On the streets of San Francisco, Logan learns that the files from the old Weapon X program, the blueprints for building Adamantium-laced super soldiers like himself, have fallen into the hands of the evil corporation, Roxxon. Once again, it seems, someone is looking to build the perfect killing machine. That means it's time for Wolverine to step in, and remind them that someone already did. Plus 8 pages of Director's Cut Extras!
Scott Koblish April 9th, 2009 at 03:11 PM
If you and the mayor are handing out money to comics publishers, I live in L.A., publish comics and could use some no-strings cash...
Mike Parker April 9th, 2009 at 04:04 PM
Percey, Hit me up when you get a chance Mike Parker
Chris April 9th, 2009 at 04:38 PM
I question with what business knowledge and authority of the comic book industry that Percy Carey is making such claims as the comic book industry would refuse economic incentives or that "it feels like 90% of comic book publishers are afraid to allow their companies to grow, and refuse to think outside of their industry". Tell that CrossGen which went spent millions and went bankrupt trying to create a digital distribution model. What about Marvel which is experimenting with a subscription model or DC Comics' Zuda webcomics iniatives. Please name another company besides Marvel or DC which has the financial capital to develop or experiment with developing digital distribution of their materials. Please tell us what the answer is. Please explain how to make money in the digital arena because if Mr. Carey has the answer, he should be making money instead of spouting statements that don't appear any foundation. Please back up your statements.
Robert Scott (Comickaze) July 17th, 2009 at 09:03 PM
Chris, you asked, "Please name another company besides Marvel or DC which has the financial capital to develop or experiment with developing digital distribution of their materials." The answer quite simply is PROFESSIONAL ONES. If you cannot come up with names, perhaps that means that the publishers you can name are not accepting the responsibilities that go with being a professional publisher. If one intends to create and sell commercial projects, they would do well to first address a business plan and it would encompass most if not all of the things Percy mentioned. That most have decided that publishers are only responsible for creating content and it is Diamond's and their retail accounts responsibility to get it sold is a strong indicator that the they don't understand basic business principles. Those who can't/won't do what Percy is talking about should not be in "business" and guess what? As he implied, most WILL end up out of business.
JM Ringuet April 11th, 2009 at 02:39 AM
I have to agree with you Percy, you are right about a lot of what is going on in the industry right now. A lot of creators with genuine ideas and new visions about the medium are crushed between the monolithic superhero houses and the snobby 'high road' niche companies, and they have nowhere to go. Thinking that comics are inherently a small market is madness: they sell by the millions in places like France or Japan, and not because they have better creators but better distribution systems, better reputation and are looking forward instead or backward (or instead of gazing at their own navel). There are a lot of things to do with comics in the US, lot of places to go and lot of people to reach, but none of the current publishers in the industry will do that. We need new publishers, we need new visions, we need mixing and crossing-over and fusion with other media (like music - and Hip Hop is in a unique position for that - TV, movies, books, animation, gallery art, toys, etc.). Unlike what 'Chris' is saying we don't need more money, we need true vision! If we have vision and find way to reach a global audience money and everything else will fall into place. It's time for a revolution in the US comic industry.
Jeremy April 13th, 2009 at 06:36 PM
Hey Chris, This was wriiten in Lying in the Gutters today April 13th. THE GREAT COMICS BAIL OUT OF 2009 While the US and UK recessions seem to be causing redundancies, bankruptcies and reductions in revenue across the comics industry, in Japan, they're using comics to bring themselves out of their own financial problems. The government is giving the manga industry a 15 trillion yen infusion to increase their manga exports by 1000%, creating half a million jobs in the process. That's what happens when you have a comics fan as Prime Minister of Japan, Taro Aso. Hang on, isn't Barack Obama one as well? Will Quesada and Levitz be going cap in hand any time soon? Or was the "Amazing Spider-Man" cover the best we're going to get? One major concern for some. however, is that manga exports from Japan are going to be government subsidised. As American comics get more expensive, expect Japanese comics in America to get a whole lot cheaper. And a lot more competitive. Concrete proof, Percy knows what he is talking about regarding the comic book industry. My question to "Chris" and countless others is this... What is the rest of the comic book industry trying to do to save their idnustry... The answer...Nothing. Wow, you mention Crossgen. I can mention countless others that have failed but just because you remain in the market place doesn't mean that your a cutting edge company. Wow, Marvel and DC are currently making comic book movies, they should have done this years ago. But people find the move cutting edge. In sixty years, neither company has tried to make cutting edge advances then take small risk and get rewarded from an audience that cannot embrace change. Percy is trying to bring economic growth to an industry that is twenty years behind the curve.
Distrakt April 22nd, 2009 at 07:40 PM
I LOVE VERTIGO/DC!
Django3000 February 3rd, 2010 at 04:07 AM
Thanks for posting this article Percy. Your book was super dope - and I'm glad to know someone in comics is on a first name basis w/ the mayor of Tinseltown! As a comics creator working out of Portland, OR - it's exciting to see someone finally insisting we get on with this business of living and working in the 21st Century, at long last! More powa to ya! Djo Fortunado
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