The idea of having your entire collection of comics in digital format has been getting more and more hype as of late. But even before Marvel and DC had their virtual store, virtual comics were still available to readers in a way that was not very ethical or legal. So the real question is, are virtual comics being presented the best possible way? The convenience of carrying all of your favorite books around to fill in the gaps of time throughout the day in the palm of your hand is astounding; but can we honestly say that reading comics on a tablet doesn't depreciate the effect of reading the actual book. I was recently made aware of this idea when checking out Mark Waid's (Kingdom Come) website Thrillbent.com. There I was directed to a presentation that Mark did in February about how his website is testing different ways to view virtual content in a way that will not depreciate the art and still maintain the illusion; and I was blown away by what the site has to offer in free downloadable comics and highly recommend checking it out. Below is the video of Mark's presentation on reinventing virtual comics.
Personally I am not a virtual comic reader. I like to support my local comic shop once a month and pick up a select few titles I have on hold; none of which have the virtual promo code. I like the idea that some comics offer the virtual comic, but for an additional cost I hardly see the benefit for just one person to have both. I recall being asked a while back that if it was morally acceptable to make a copy of a DVD you own because the original was scratched. The same pertains to music downloads and having a copy on every computer in your house. I feel that comics are no different and that if you purchase the comic you should get the virtual one at no extra charge. Now, I understand that the cost might be there to pay for the maintenance of the website, but even then are those comics readily accessible at your whim? Last month Marvel.com announced a giveaway of over 700 marvel issue #1 titles on their virtual store for free. The idea was to invest in new readers but they received more online traffic than expected and had to shut down the promotion early. The Marvel store was running slow and no one, even paying customers, could open their comics because they were only available on their site. Since then I have been playing around with the app on my smartphone and found that you actually download the comics to your phone in order to view them; which is nicer but still I find myself deleting them after one read because they will take up too much space if left unchecked.
After talking about virtual comics at my local comic shop the other day, one of the store patrons mentioned he had a friend from out of state who casually enjoyed comics and so he would buy the hardback and give the download code to his friend. You can't really say the comic book industry is losing money because the cost of the download was paid in full. After our conversation I got to thinking about what a great opportunity it would be to support our troops overseas if there was a site in which you could donate your virtual comic code to send to our troops. I am sure if Marvel or DC really wanted to, they could just donate them for free; but this would still help our economy and give to a good cause. Another thing that came to mind was the idea that if two friends wanted to go 50/50 on a book they would be able to do so, and both would have a copy of the book; of course if they wanted to get technical they could share the same online account and have the virtual comics readily available. Again this all comes down to what is morally acceptable, but the way people are reacting to the economy right now they choose to cut corners.
I really don't see myself going virtual in the future. The feeling of having the comic in my hand is something I really cherish; and if you watched the video presentation earlier in this article you can see how the current state of virtual comics isn't the best that it could be. I still think virtual comics have a place in our future and I find comfort in the thought that if I travel I will never have to pack another book again; but its still a tossup that will benefit some more than others.
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This is a continuation of "Angelicomics Presents the Top Ten Things Comic Book Movies Are Doing Wrong (but sometimes right)"To see No. 10-6 click below. (WARNING: May Contain Spoilers)
Wrong:
If anyone has ever seen an Uwe Boll film, you would know how far
away from the source material his movies really fall. In an interview
with the director he mentioned that he likes to take the story and
change it because everyone has head that story before. Trust me, we
want to hear it again! We have been waiting years for a film to come
out so we can witness our favorite characters coming to life on the big
screen, so we can yell at all those people who made fun of us for
reading comics and say, "Hey, look how cool this actually is." and sometimes we
get garbage. I think the Resident Evil series really falls hard to this.
We have an idea of how the story should play out, but instead we get
random characters thrown in to appease the fans only to have them killed
off. Regardless, the two biggest villains that never lived up to their potential were Blackheart from Ghost Rider
and Galactus from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Galactus
had potential and had a great build up, but failed horribly since he was
never seen on screen. This was a character that devoured planets and with all the space shots in the film, not once did we see him.
Blackheart suffered worse. I had high hopes that his demonic form would
make an appearance, In the comics Blackheart was portrayed as a very
tall black figure with tendrils for hair and piercing red eyes. Instead
we got the actor who was supposed to be Blackheart being surrounded by a
dark aura with dentures. Not very original. On one last note, I felt
Bane was a bit of a letdown. I know that the realism of the Dark Knight
trilogy was meant to show Bane portrayed from a realistic approach, but he could have been
injected with Venom at the end and I would have been satisfied. Right:
Originality does have its rewards at times. The greatest villain
adaptation on the big screen would have to be Heath Ledger's Joker
portrayal. The knife wounds to create the smile were a very welcomed
touch that made Christopher Nolan's portrayal of Gotham believable.
Thanos is another welcomed figure in the Marvel universe. At the end of
the Avengers film we are given only a glimpse of the villain, but it was
a fantastic one that leaves you walking out of the theater trying to
put everything together to make sense of how he could be the next
villain.
#4 - Keep the Basics
Wrong: Sometimes less is more. In some cases things become too complicated, and leave it up to Hollywood to glamorize everything with their patented stamp of approval. To further explain this topic I want to use a few examples where things that were added for the movies, actually made the film worse. My first example is in Green Lantern. The costume they decided to go with was made entirely out of CGI. With computer generated films we see less of the classical styles, much like older Disney films which were all hand drawn. Although a lot of work, if not more, goes into the CGI process, it should be looked at as a tool and not a framework to base everything else upon. Ryan Reynolds costume made audiences cringe because it wasn't believable, nor was it close to the comic adaptation.I feel that all of the X-Men films suffered greatly from this; of course many people can make the argument that the comic book versions of the costumes would be laughable in a live action film, but having at least some of those comic ideas could have inspired unique costumes for the movie. Instead we were given a very bland set of biker jackets that were all the same.
Right:
Pretty much every comic book film adaptation that didn't stray too far from the source material got it right. Where as some went above and beyond (Spider-man) others kept it fairly basic (Blade). Coming up with the right amount of realism and class is not an easy thing to do. Too much of the classic costumes and you risk looking like a fruit-roll-up. In the Spider-Man tilogy, Spider-Man never uses web shooters like he does in the comics. Although this was not correct in comparison to the comics, I thought that if I was bitten by a radioactive spider, I would like to have the web shooters built in too; again this isn't the most accurate depiction, but I think it was arguably a reasonable compromise.
#3 - Don't Change the Origins
Wrong:
I feel this one almost deserves to be lower on my list, but I will let you be the judge of that. When you stray from the original story you are asking for punishment. Not only does a bad origin story scream for a reboot, but directors will be tarnished for slapping the creators in the face. Some of you may have heard they are rebooting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, but the director wants to turn them into alien turtles. There have been many outburst on this all over the internet, and even my faith in Hollywood is being shaken. Let's look at some other examples where the origin of characters have hurt the story. The Fantastic Four; Dr. Doom was not on the space station, nor was he made of metal. They did try to correct this in the sequel with Doom's confrontation with the Silver Surfer, but the damage was already done. X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Wolverines past is still somewhat shrouded, but he was never brothers with Sabertooth. Also Deadpool gets a horrible makeover in this film, and I would just like to say that for the record, he never had cyclops' powers.
Right: First off, I would like to say you have to be pretty gutsy to try and change the origin of a character. Sometimes you can pull it off though with spectacular results. Now, I have never read the Ultimates but I am sure they retell a lot of the golden age comic origins. I think Thor may have benefited from his origin change, which had originally started with a man finding the hammer of Thor and turning into the god of thunder. Looking at Batman Begins we get a re-telling of Batman's origins; not so much in where he trained, but who he trained with. He was never trained by Ra's Al Ghul, but for the film I think it worked just fine.
#2 - Don't Kill the Heroes
Wrong:
Sometimes Hollywood directors think they have a liberty to kill off such iconic characters simply to make a memorable film, but more than not they just make a bad film that's not remembered for its good attributes. The X-Men films really shocked me when they killed off most of their star lineup; one even in the first 10 minutes of the film. Even though I have high hopes with the new film entitled "Days of Future Past" to fix all of these problems, you cannot do this. The only time this would be acceptable would be if you have plans to bring them back in the future or its actually been done in a comic storyline.
Right: So when have heroes been killed off that it was acceptable? Jean Grey died at the end of X2: X-Men United, she was brought back as the Phoenix in X3: The Last Stand. The Dark Knight Rises would not have suffered if Batman had died in its climactic sequence. We knew that this was Christopher Nolan's final film using the caped crusader, and his idea of Batman was a unique one. He used Batman as a symbol which became a martyr by dying. Although Bruce Wayne lived, Batman died. This was a great way to get the best of both worlds.
#1 - Don't Kill the Villains
Wrong:
This is my biggest pet peeve of all comic book film adaptations. Hollywood is slowly learning that this isn't necessary that in the end of every film we need to kill the villain. In my opinion any comic book villain left alive can make a cameo in another film. Fans eat this stuff up. These are the moments in the theater when people lean over to their friends or their date and say "I knew it!" I cannot even begin to make a list where the villain has died in a comic book film, there's just too many. You would think that if most Superheroes vow to never kill, why do the villains die so often? Right: Scarecrow shows up in all three Nolan Batman films and it was welcomed every time. The Joker didn't die in the second film, and although he was never mentioned in the third film we knew he was out there somewhere, and it was satisfying. Loki was brought back for the Avengers. All of these are perfect examples of when Hollywood learned their lesson to keep the villains alive for later use. But in all fairness, Harvey Dent's death was a justified one. His death actually fueled the meaning behind the second film and kick started theplot for the third film; this was a good death.
Final Note: Well there you have it, this is my list of the "Top Ten Things Comic Book Movies Are Doing Wrong (but sometimes right)." If you enjoyed this list and would like to comment about it, you can leave comments on my facebook by clicking the picture below.
Film adaptations of comic books have been in the main stream now for about 15 years. It wasn't until the release of "Blade" in the late 90's that things really started to take off, and people in Hollywood began thinking this was the new cash cow. Well, regardless of the finished product, they were right. These film adaptations have been keeping a steady flow of our cash into the world of lights and glamor regardless of whether they were good movies or not. The interesting thing about these movies is that most of this generation have never picked up a comic book; instead they have wander into a theater and for the price of three comics they get the whole story, the origin, the battle, the end, and then they usually walk away pretty happy. But what about the "fanboys," what about those of us that grew up with these characters. We are left asking, "Why, Hollywood, why do you spit on my childhood?" and yet still we continue to go back years after year to see if Hollywood has been shown the error of their ways, and fixed things in the sequel.
I wanted to come up with a list of things, which I feel will point out the what Hollywood is doing wrong to our beloved heroes. But don't get me wrong, they are doing some things very right, and I will point those out too. To my knowledge there hasn't been a list quite like this; so here we go. This is "Angelicomics' Top Ten Things Comic Book Movies Are Doing Wrong (but sometimes get right)." (WARNING: May Contain Spoilers)
#10 - Relaunching the Franchise
Wrong:
Many of the best known titles have already been exhausted, leaving Hollywood to scavenge around for new ways to reinvent the franchise. In such cases as Superman leading into its second relaunch, the Amazing Spider-Man, and a possible Fantastic 4 relaunch in the works, its hard to keep track of the original story. Some younger generations don't understand what's going on half the time; and when watching one of these movies they see action and adventure and little more. The adults on the other hand are left cringing and worrying "Will I ever see my favorite villains again?" Such is the case with the Spider-Man trilogy. When Venom was announced as a villain in the third movie, I was really excited. I think Sam Raimi did a great job thus far with the first two films, but when we got to see the web slinger's dark counterpart, nothing but disappointment filled my mind. Now fast forward a few years and we have a new series in the Amazing Spider-Man; a great movie that stuck to the roots of the original story and had a very unique story driven villain. But still, the fans are left to wonder when and how the return of their favorite villains, who were used in the original trilogy, will be received. I have no doubt that Venom will make an appearance again, but it just keeps confusing us and adds to the speculation of when and where these iconic villains will show up.
Right:
Obviously the new Superman film, The Man of Steel, hasn't been released yet, but it's shaping up to be a blockbuster. The new uniform, the blue tights, and still the same synopsis from the original, second film, starring Christopher Reeve. This is how a relaunch should be done. After the disaster of the last film, Superman Returns, it was time for Hollywood to step back and say "Hey, we messed up, lets make it right." They cut their losses and came up with this project. Unlike Spider-Man only being relaunched within a few years of the first 3 installments, I see The Man of Steel as a relaunch of the original four films. We can just forget about Superman Returns... He never really came back anyway.
#9 - Bad One Liners
Wrong:
There is nothing like sitting in a theater with goosebumps while watching your favorite characters duke it out on the big screen; and then one of them opens their mouths and says something disastrous. Yes we have all been privy to the cliche one liners that keep popping up in movies. To give you an example of what I am talking about, one line stick's to mind...
Yeah... she just said that. I don't think I had caught that line the first time I saw X-Men in theaters, but sure enough after many years of seeing this movie, this one line from Storm, still embarrasses me to this day. Many others come to mind, most of which come from the first three X-Men films. The Juggernaut's catch phrase, "I'm the Juggernaut, b****," being a horrible line taken from a youtube spoof. Its these kinds of one liners that ruin careers.
Right:
Every once in a while we will hear a line that sticks with us for the rest of our lives. Those are the kind of moments where the music is just right, the tone, the timing, just everything strikes home. Those are the lines that make careers in Hollywood memorable. My favorite being...
#8 - Dramatic Character Changes
Wrong:
Sometimes with new directors come new perspectives on a character. Perhaps going from one film to the next there was some inner turmoil that was taking place, which caused the character to go a little mad. However, when the previous film ends on a good note, why should we suspect anything has gone wrong during the time between the two films? Case and point, Ghost Rider; the first film ended, all the loose ends tied up, but now in Ghost Rider the Spirit of Vengeance we see that our heroin is suffering from the loss of his sanity, and now the spirit seeks to take control. The depiction of Ghost Rider was a much more in control character which was pulled off fairly well in the first film, but in the second movie he just feels entirely different and at times its confusing.
Right: X-Men, the Last Stand, although not a great movie still had a few good moments. In the beginning of the film we see a very troubled Cyclops who is still mourning the death of Jean from the previous film.His disheveled appearance makes us feel that these last few years between films have taken their toll on the lead X-Man. In The Dark Knight Rises we see a weak and decrepit Bruce Wayne which accurately displays realism and carries over the sentiments of the Dark Knight's ending. We can honestly say that Batman hasn't been out prowling the rooftops in some time while we were away. When he gave up the cowl, he meant it, and that's how it should be.
#7 - Adding Original Characters
Wrong:
There are millions characters in the comic universe to choose from, but for some reason Hollywood thinks its okay to come up with original characters to try and steal the spotlight. Looking back at Superman Returns, Bryan Singer thought it might be nice to give Superman a son. Interesting idea, poorly executed. There was no story as to how it was possible that Superman would have a son. It was left for the fans to figure out that somehow, in Superman II, when Superman gave up his powers to be with Lois, he impregnated her. Let alone, she has no recollection of sleeping with him after that movie; so whose child did she think she was having. Moving onto Spider-Man 3 we are given the New Goblin. Why was this even a character? There was the Hobgoblin, Demi-Goblin, heck he could have just taken the old goblin costume and I would have been alright with that. But instead we got the super rad hover boarder known as New Goblin. Something completely original, gone so very wrong. Lastly, Superman 3 gave us a machine that could kill Superman; why not just call it Brainiac? Problem solved.
Right: Sometimes we get some nice additions to the comic universe. I don't know if many of you will agree with me but because of the Batman the Animated Series we now have such loveable characters as Harley Quinn. Not many other Hollywood adaptations introduce new characters that survive the test of time.
#6 - Reusing the Same Actors
Wrong:
Chris Evans, James Marsden and Ryan Reynolds, this one is directed at you. I am almost willing to forgive Ryan and James just because the probability that a film crossover is unlikely. Ryan Reynolds plays both Green Lantern (DC) and Hannibal from Blade (Marvel); while James Marsden plays both Cyclops (Marvel) and Richard White (DC) in the Superman movie. However, Chris Evan's portrayal as both Human Torch and Captain America are unacceptable. With all the hype about film crossovers nowadays we will never see the Fantastic Four help the Avengers because of this fiasco, or until they relaunch the Fantastic Four. I am all for getting good actors to play these parts, but again, it just confuses people not familiar to the films and sometimes its good to give others a shot in the film industry. If you look at Hugh Jackman, he was barely a blip on the radar until he played Wolverine in the first X-Men film. Now he calls that role his roots.
Right: I really cant say that using the same actors is a good thing, but with new adaptations of previous films I think that sometimes its okay to say goodbye to actors who didn't do the rolls justice and let someone else take over. I felt Edward Norton was a great replacement for the Hulk in his one appearance, but then he was replaced in the Avengers by Mark Ruffalo. I like both performances, but this little screw up is the splinter in the series continuity. Toby McGuire as Spider-Man was great for its time period, but I think Andrew Garfield's adaptation is much more fitting. I also agree that Liev Schreiber's portrayal of Sabertooth in 2009's Wolverine: Origins was a better fit than Tyler Mane's in the original series.
Growing up in the 90's was a time that I wish I could relive again. Although I was born in '85, I was already growing what Freud called the "Ego;" something that allowed me to perceive my surroundings and start to grow a consciousness. I recall speculators on the news saying "Now is the greatest time to be alive in the entire history of mankind," and I think some people would agree. Nothing for me screams 90's than Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. Published in '89, Sandman was redefining how we read comics before its time. In my opinion nothing can can compare to it even now; perhaps that is because of the impact this story had on its readers. It seems most people have come to expect the unexpected and shock value no long has a value. At the time, Gaiman took the taboos of society such as the occult, religion, serial kills, and the mystery of dreams, and added a twist that only his mind was capable of producing. The result was a story that started as revenge and became so much more. "Sandman" quickly became a cult phenomenon that many readers still enjoy today. Sandman is written for a more adult audiences, but not really for violence, but mostly because of its disturbing stories; most of which make the reader think instead of perceive.
For the sake of time I will be focusing on "Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes." This was the first book in the graphic novel line of ten and can be considered the origin story. Sandman starts off with an occult group, hellbent on capturing and containing Death herself in order live forever. However, during the ritual of summoning and containing Death, they instead got Death's younger brother, Dream. Sealing Dream in a containment bubble and circle, they removed his helm, his magical jewel, and his bag of dust and left Dream to suffer within his prison until he was willing to cooperate. Since Dream is an immortal he needed no substance and therefore all it would take is time before he would be set loose to take his revenge. Upon his initial capture, phenomenon started to take place around the world in certain individuals. Some people who were asleep remained sleeping without waking and others who were awake were doomed to never sleep again. Dream's relics were quickly moved around the world and each has its own tale in which Dream has to divulge in order to regain enough of his power. After 80 years a small mistake causes the circle, which contains Dream, to be shattered and he sets forth on his mission to reclaim his relics and set right the wrongs his capture caused.
The art is what drove me to initially read "Sandman." Some people say not to judge a book by its cover but I find that to be rubbish when it comes to comics. Sandman had haunted me from when I was a child looking through old "Wizard" magazines, and I would see this poetic depiction of Dream with his darkened eyes. It still brings me chills. I can honestly say that the images from Sandman are ones that will stick with me throughout my life; the abstract faces, the horrific images, the grime, and the humor are all mixed into the perfect dream.
At Gem City Comic Con this year I met two aspiring creators, writer Dustin Carson and artist Ren Mckinzie. These two had teamed up with one of my friends, Victor Dandridge, on a few of his books; and so I felt it was only proper that I learn more about these two impressionable fellas. Like most professions, sometimes its about "who" you know and not "what" you know; the comic book industry is no exception. Dustin and Ren have been working on "Half Breed" for over two years; and with the help of colorist Jeff Balke, letterer Brant Fowler, and editor Vincent Watkins, issue 1 had finally made its way onto shelves with a beautiful eye catching cover.
(Jacob Newell, Dustin Carson, Victor Dandridge, Ren McKinzie)
At their panel, "The Collaboration of the Comic Book Page," Victor, Ren, Dustin, and fellow artist Jacob Newell, each described their own perspective of working with one another. Because the panel was so informal it was really great to see a bunch of guys bashing on each other and laughing at their own failures and success'. I could tell right away that these guys were great friends and could trust one another to do their part in creating a successful comic. But even then there are times when their communication would get jumbled up, much like a game of "telephone." As Dustin pointed out, the last page of "Half Breed" turned out to be a very skewed image of what he had original envisioned. The artists of the group made their argument that all they needed was a very cut and dry idea of the image, but what they got from Dustin was a very intricate novel excerpt, which as a writer myself I can totally appreciate; we try to paint pictures with words, to put emotion where it is devoid, but in the artist defense, sometimes less is more. By giving less it leaves the artist to paint "their" picture and fully submerge themselves into their art.
The first thing I noticed about Ren was his hair, he had a mohawk very similar to that of the Half Breed so I knew immediately that he liked to put a little piece of himself into his work. Ren is a very talented artist; I had a chance later in the day to stop at his table and look through his portfolio, so if you get the chance check out some of his work. I recall a series of illustrations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which had a nice realism to them; needless to say I immediately fell in love with them. Most Indy creators need something to pay for their appearances at shows; lets face it, just because you make a comic not everyone will buy it. As Ren had stated at his panel, most people look through his portfolio and like what they see, but its usually the big name characters that draw their attention. It isn't what artist necessarily want to do, but it pays the bills. I did pick up some chi bi-esque character cards which was Ren's bread and butter for the con.
I caught up with Dustin a few hours later at his panel on writing. Not only was it a panel, it was a classroom. Dustin was able to walk the audience through a series of texts, images, and comic panels describing the writing process to show how comic writers make their work iconic. One of the examples he used was the first page of Alan Moore's "Watchmen." In that first page, Dustin was able to show us how the story began, what was going to happen, and how the story was going to end. I had always loved that first page, but never did I see that message. Dustin was a really nice guy to talk to and very passionate about his work and the work of others. He invited me back to his table, but sorrowfully I completely got lost doing other things that day. I am still regretting it.
Disclaimer: As always I read comics in the way that I understand them, that being said, what I see may or may not be exactly what the creators intended. With criticism brings reflection.
"Half Breed"
So lets talk about "Half Breed." First off, the cover is what drew me to this book. The art is fantastic, the colors are smooth, but not blinding, and there is an awful lot of blood. Just a warning, this book is for adults only, there is nudity, beheading, skull crushing, and even eye popping on the very first page. That being said, I found the book to be an easy read. The story was not too complex, but it did leave me wanting to know more. The story of "Half Breed" begins with the Halfbreed's death (Yes, he has no mentioned name). Within the first page, much like Dustin mentioned in his panel, the author tells us how the book is going to end; but its not so blatant that you don't want to continue reading it. Upon his death the Halfbreed is sent to what I can only describe as Purgatory, much like Dante's Inferno, where he meets a giant, anatomically correct, version of Helen of Troy. The remainder of the story is of how the Halfbreed was born and sets a nice back story for the second issue; hopefully it will be available soon. I did find one or two spelling errors amidst the book, but nothing unforgiving; and at times I felt the story would have greatly benefited from being in color. There were a few times when the transition from locations left me re-reading the passages trying to make heads or tails out of where we were. The art is beautifully done and the details are spot on; but again, due to lack of colors it was confusing as to what I was looking at because it was such a zoomed in shot. Most of the panels are dark and the characters shaded. I assume most ogres are green and that's how I envisioned most of them being. Halfbreed is actually yellow on the cover, this is explained to be that he is half ogre and half human, but it is never mentioned who his father is. The large illustrations really accent the vastness of the scene in some areas of the book; however one particularly sticks out to me of a dragon which was a zoomed in shot that didn't let me fully appreciate the art.
The text is very legible and the story is easy enough to follow; if you have seen Lord of the Rings, you should be just fine. One thing I wasn't a fan of was that near the end of the book many new characters were mentioned but never shown on the pages. I think its great to have characters to look forward to seeing, but without something to make a connection with the first time they are mentioned, readers will be stuck asking "Who?," when they do show up.
Halfbreed was a fun read and I look forward to reading a second issue whenever its available. The story for this book was mainly an origin story; unfortunately it felt like the Halfbreed was missing from his own origin story and his mother became the main character. Even as a newborn baby the Halfbreed was only seen in one small panel which begged to be larger. I expect the second issue to be much more action oriented and with any luck, be fully colored. If you would like to get a copy of "Half Breed" you can purchase one at...
Twilight Star Studios is an independent publisher in the Springfield, Ohio area that has been creating independent comics since being started in 2009. Currently they have a library of over 30 comics that are available to the public; if you are interested in learning more about their publication you can head over to TwilightStarStudios.com for more information. I first heard of Twilight Star Studios a little over a year ago while attending one of their panels at the Gem City Comic Con 2012; and I can attest that these guys know their stuff; and It wasn't until that panel that I decided that it was even possible to create comics on a smaller scale. What started out for them as a hobby has grown into a profitable business and has garnered them respect amongst the comic book community.
I was privileged to speak with one of the owner's, Bill Gladman, and his daughter, Raichal Gladman (authors of "Ray-Chal' Princess of the Sands"), at this years GCCC; and was able to express my gratitude for the encouragement they allotted me the previous year. At this years convention I made it my business to reach out to the local community of creators in hopes of becoming more grounded in my understanding of how to promote my own book "Requiem". After only two years of attending conventions, especially on a smaller scale such as GCCC, it's not too far fetched to consider everyone family; we share our faults, our successes, and even feedback with one another in hopes that through experience and encouragement we can make a better book. What better way to encourage one another than by taking that leap of faith and buying a comic from one of these local vendors and reviewing it; and that is why you are reading this now.
Disclaimer: As always I read comics in the way that I understand
them, that being said, what I see may or may not be exactly what the
creators intended. With criticism brings reflection.
I had never read one of Twilight Star Studio's comics before, so although this review is how I read "Ray-Chal' Princess of the Sands," it does not mean that my interpretation is entirely accurate. There is a lot of back story to many of these books, and a common theme with small publishers is that they want to tell a story; and without knowing if there will be a sequel, sometimes we push as much of that story into one book. A good book of any kind will succeed in telling a beginning a middle and an end, if you do not accomplish those things, then the reader is felt like they were cheated of the story; and at a cost of five dollars a book, taking that risk with a publisher may be the last. Luckily "Ray-Chal' Princess of the Sands" does have a full story. I did read through the book twice because there were a few terms that I didn't understand; I contribute this to not reading the "Prodigy" comic, (also produced by Twilight Star) before reading this title. However Ray-Chal' Princess of the Sands" is considered to be a one shot and does a wonderful job at setting us up for the story with a recap of the world on the inside cover. The story surrounds a beautiful, young woman named Ray-Chal', who has the ability to walk along the time stream; similar to astral projection. We do discover that Ray-Chal' is related to Noheim, a prophet who traversed the universe, also known as the Territories. During Noheim's journey's she kept a journal which later became known as the book of Noheim, a text of 12 books that were found to be controversial among the people; regarding them as religious artifacts and delusional works of madness to others. The story has a hard time explaining why things are the way they are in the physical world. Besides the palace in which Ray-Chal lives and the ruins of the village Drerry, we never learn of how important the books of Noheim really are. Most of the story is set in the Timestream which is beautifully created, similarly to the world of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman." The Timestream is depicted as a flowing river of tall grass that flowed amongst a multitude of galaxies, a unique twist which I found enjoyable and refreshing. In regards to the writing, I found the story very original, never once did I think I knew what was going to happen next. However, I did find some of the script to be unnecessary; at times the characters would say exactly what they were doing, when the art was doing it for me. I do think that it is necessary to explain what is going on, especially to someone who knows nothing about the world that has been created, but this is where you show the reader instead of telling them. I did find it interesting that Ray-Chal' was the princess of the sands, and likewise her friend Cherise, the witch of the winds; even the dead had a wind, if there were a few more it would be like the Wizard of Oz. I would have guessed that Ray-Chal' would have been called the princess of the sands because of the idea that time runs like sands through an hourglass, but since the Timestream in which she walks is more of a tall grass, it leaves me to wonder what sands she is princess of.
The art done on "Ray-Chal' Princess of the Sands" was wonderfully done; it truly looks like a unique universe that would take more than one lifetime to explore; so it is completely believable that Noheim's journey would have been one that meant something to the characters. There were a few exceptions where the art looked distorted, usually it was different poses that were just not physically capable of the human form. These were few and far between and did not interrupt the flow of the story. I did notice one or two spelling errors, but unless your a stickler for that sort of thing you will still find the story entertaining. Overall I would give "Ray-Chal' Princess of the Sands" a positive review for its unique style, both art and story. I would like to see more of a back-story to the characters before they are launched into the fray of battle, but this could easily be done with a sequel; most good super-heroes do not have their history revealed until their second appearance anyway. I am sure we have not seen the last of Ray-Chal; the Twilight Star Studio has a long list of characters which can make a crossover into the others universe. With that being said, I would recommend this book to those who enjoy mystical stories similar to Dr. Strange or Sandman. For more information about publications of Twilight Star Studios, visit them at
This past weekend I was privileged to visit the Gem City Comic Con in Dayton Ohio; and what a successful venture it was for fans and creators alike. This is only the 8th year of the con, but the first that it has ever been held at the Ervin J. Nutter Center. Prior to this year, the GCCC was held at the Wright State University campus; and after last years convention, it was prevalent that they needed much more room due to its ever growing popularity. Who could blame them though, getting big name guests such as "Kingdom Come" author Mark Waid, "Usagi Yojimbo" creator Stan Sakai, and comic artist Sean Forney are all guaranteed seat sellers; but the heart of the convention lies within the local community.The real purpose of the GCCC is to inspire, promote, and encourage the underdogs of the industry. Being one of those underdogs myself, I can think of no better way of promoting my own writing than the convention scene. Meeting like minded creators, sharing stories, and even offering positive criticism once the convention is over, makes this one of the friendliest conventions around. New additions to this years con included a costume contests (both adult and childrens), an increase in celebrity panels, and a much larger Magic the Gathering tournament sponsored by local comic and game shop, Bell Book and Comic.
Over the next few weeks I hope to review some of the local Indy comics I had managed to pick up over the two day event. Not many people understand how hard it can be for local artists and writers to afford all the trips back and forth to the conventions to promote their work. I was happy to see the return of some of the smaller publications, such as Twilight Star Studios and Vantage Inhouse Productions, and the follow ups to the titles I had picked up last year. What is so great about the smaller companies is that you can build some strong friendships with their creators; and to come back the following year, its like seeing an old friend. I highly recommend for anyone interested in getting recognition for their work to check out the smaller tables at any convention first. Don't get me wrong, I think it is perfectly okay to show off your work to people who have had success in the industry, but with an understanding that you are not going to be an overnight success, it is worth it to make friends when and where you can. And always keep in mind that it is perfectly okay to take a chance at buying a four dollar comic from a local vendor; branch out from what you know, and come to realize that the Justice League and Avengers are not the only characters out there. I have found that most of the unknown work is very fruitful and rich with uniqueness; I know what I am getting when I pick up my monthly Batman title at my comic book store, but sometimes your pallet changes and you need to find sustenance elsewhere. Not to mention that when you purchase a comic from a local vendor you are making an impact in that person's life. Selling your work can be an uphill climb and each dollar becomes a foothold to reach a higher plane. I love it when people review my work and I love it even more when they tell me I am doing something wrong; and its the same with these smaller publications, they want your feedback too. So stay tuned for more updates as I go through some of these wonderful local publications over the next couple of weeks.
