The content of alternative comics anthologies in the last ten years seems to be veering away from their (potentially offensive) underground roots. Instead, these collections seem to be reaching more towards the art gallery-centric world of the Pop Surrealism movement. For example, Blab! once regularly spotlighted cartoonists like Kaz, Daniel Clowes and Richard Sala. But now it reserves the most space for top names in the alternative art world like Gary Baseman, Mark Ryden and Camille Rose Garcia. All of these creators are equally...

It comes as little surprise that some of the best loved and oft re-visited works of literature are solidly based in the realms of fantasy. From A Midsummer’s Night Dream to Lord of the Rings there is something hugely appealing about taking our imaginations into the lands of vibrant, idyllic, fantasias. In this genre there is perhaps no creation as well known or as frequently re-interpreted as Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (1898 edition) First published...

This Saturday, February 27th. will be the opening reception for the exhibition Curiouser and Curiouser: Inspired by Alice In Wonderland at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA. Over 40 artists from the worlds of illustration, comics, production design and more will have new pieces on display featuring their interpetations of characters and imagery from the classic book. Work used in the production of the upcoming Tim Burton Alice In Wonderland film will be seen as well. Please note that the film related work will be on display opening...

The mixing up of genres can be a tricky thing. If a creator is not extremely well-versed in what makes the cross-pollinating genres work (as well as what is cliche and makes them fail), things simply will not gel. Thankfully, first-time comics writer Matt Maxwell knows how to fuse these things properly, making his hybrid western / horror graphic novel Strangeways: Murder Moon the very entertaining read that it is. In Murder Moon, (self-published by Maxwell via Highway 62 press), ex-Civil War soldier Seth Collins is the survivor...

Artist Dave McKean has found tremendous success and acclaim in a wide variety of mediums including painting, sculpture, book illustration, photography, filmmaking, music, and, of course, comics. Legendary amongst sequential art enthusiasts, his singular and recognizable style is found in many of the most highly acclaimed titles of the last 20 years including Violent Cases, Mr. Punch, Arkham Asylum, and The Sandman, as well as his own creation Cages. I had the pleasure of attending the opening reception for McKean’s newest...

This coming Saturday, February 13, Gallery Nucleus will be holding a special book signing with the legendary Barron Storey and Kent Williams. The event will be to celebrate the re-release of Storey’s long out of print (and extremely hard to find) The Marat/Sade Journals along with Williams’ most recent collection Kent Williams, Amalgam: Paintings and Drawings, 1992-2007. Barron Storey began his art career in the 1960’s and his work has included a dozen covers for Time magazine, and the first ever official large scale painting...

Alhambra, California. Located not far from Downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena, Alhambra is a small, but thriving city proud of its large Asian and Hispanic population. Main Street here has seen a true rebirth in recent years as a wealth of new businesses, restaurants, and entertainment venues has turned a once neglected stretch of road into one that teems with life on any given evening. Yes, Alhambra is a city on the rise. Or at least it was, until the tragic events of Saturday, February 6, 2010 when it found itself victim to...

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner we should pause to recognize that love can, in fact, live beyond the grave, although in a somewhat bloodier fashion. Need proof? Then head down to Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA this weekend for the opening of their new show “Zombies In Love”. Over two dozen artists from the worlds of comics, film design, illustration and special effects will give their take on rotted romance in what is guaranteed to be the coolest thing going down in L.A. this weekend. Featured...

There is something enticing about tales of addiction, shame, and degradation that easily draws the reader into the skeleton-filled closets of the author. What exactly that attraction stems from is something I’ve been considering a lot since reading the sensational graphic novel The Alcoholic by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel, now available in trade paperback from Vertigo. Is the attraction to this material due to having the chance to peek into the life of one who suffers from a problem that seems utterly foreign to those...

Here at Sequential Sunday, the work discussed can sometimes be, well… a little dour. This realization came to me when I was deciding what book to discuss this week and noticed that they either revolved around alcoholism, an insane asylum, or The Holocaust. In light of this, I decided to make this week’s article a little more fun and breezy, while still showcasing a lot of great work and drawing upon sophisticated source material. With that I give you: Watchmen-themed cutesy crafts. You see, there is very little in...

The hawk-eyed readers of our site amongst you, will probably realise that the Comic Impact podcasters have not done a usual ‘Trade Tuesday‘ podcast for about a month. Now, asone of the podcasters on the site, I am here to let you know that this fault was not an accident or without reason. We have come up with a new idea, for a new monthly podcast, that we hope will grab your attention in new and more variant ways. As of this month, we will be starting a new podcast entitled the ’Book Of The Month‘...

Now that 2010 is in full swing I’d like to wish all of our Comic Impact readers all the best in the new year and charge right back into my Best of 2009 list. Up, up and away we go…. Criminal The Deluxe Edition by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Val Staples (Marvel/Icon) It comes as no surprise that Ed Brubaker can write a great crime comic. What does come as a surprise is that any wirier, even one as talented as Brubaker, can take the crime/noir genre and make it feel so fresh and invigorating that it’s almost...

I initially thought the task of compiling a list of the best in comics and related art books released in 2009 would be relatively easy. Boy was I wrong. We saw a wealth of amazing output from the indie press, mainstream publishers and collected works of illustrative artists of the past and present. 2009 has been a fantastic year overall for sequential art, the best of the last several, with my only real problem being finding the time (and money) to take them all in. So without further ado here is Part I in my two-part series...

Your regularly scheduled programming (the Sequential Sunday column) will not be seen (or read) this week as I would like to take this time to thank all of our Comic Impact readers for making 2009 such a great year. I hope everyone has had the happiest of holidays, got what they wanted for Christmas, and did not see the following scenario in their house when Santa came calling… I wish everyone nothing but the very best in the coming year. Your comments and feedback on Sequential Sunday have been greatly appreciated and I look...

Nobody likes being the last person to show up at a party, and boy do I feel like I’m the last person to show up at this one. I consider myself an avid fan of all things horror since childhood, but I have to admit that until now I have not read the incredible Image comic The Walking Dead. But like a straggler at a blowout drinking fast to be on everyone else’s fuzzy wavelength, I am attempting to make up for lost time. In the last week or so I have read all ten of the currently available trade paperback collections of The...

Since writing my last Sequential Sunday entry about the supremely talented artist Mark Schultz, I have been giving much thought to his influences and what the work of those artists have meant to me as well. The name that kept entering my mind the most, one whose work I’ve admired since childhood, is that of Al Williamson. Even though Williamson has had a long and highly esteemed career spanning several decades, the work of his that invariably jumps to my mind is the one that I was exposed to first - his comic book movie adaptations,...

Founded in 2002, Flesk Publications is still a relatively young company with less than twenty releases under its belt. But the astonishing work contained in these books display such an incredible degree of talent and wealth of beautiful artwork that they are, without a doubt, amongst the very top-tier of publishers of illustrative and fantasy art in this country. With a focus on some of the best American illustrators of the past and present, Flesk gives the heavily detailed art found in their collections the beautiful reproductions...

Author Patrick Wensink has just released a new collection of highly bizarre (and extremely funny) short stories titled Sex Dungeon For Sale! To mark the occasion he is holding a coloring contest in which the winner will get a set of autographed books including the brilliantly absurd Tales Designed To Thrizzle hardcover collection from Fantagraphics signed by Michael Kupperman! The contest is simple: visit Patrick’s website, download one of the illustrations created for Sex Dungeon For Sale! and bust out some crayons!...

When one thinks of important American epicenters for the development and cultivation of comic art, there are a couple that will always spring to mind first. New York is one, of course, as New York City is the undisputed publishing capitol of the country and home to industry giants Marvel and DC. California is certainly another as San Francisco was ground zero for the counterculture movement of the 1960’s and the explosive, unapologetic underground comics that emerged from those politically charged and artistically liberating...

Join Simon, as he takes a little break from comics, to do a  special commentary with guests, Bryan and Chris, for Doctor Who’s, “The Waters Of Mars.” The trio discuss the highs and lows of the episode and try to figure out what the final two episodes with, David Tennant, have in store for The Doctor. They also talk about future possible story lines for Matt Smith. So, if you’d like to hear what these three have to say about the latest installment of Doctor Who, make sure to listen to this podcast. MAJOR...

For those who read fantasy comics, 2009 is proving itself to truly be a banner year with some of the quality genre material hitting the shops recently. First, there is the amazing continuing series Mouse Guard by David Petersen. Then we saw the phenomenal debut of Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy Bastian, which to me still stands as the best, and most beautifully drawn, title of the year. Now there is another comic to add to this imagination abundant list: The Stuff of Legend. The first issue of The Stuff of Legend (written by...

Are you following the Comic Impact Twitter?  If not then you miss me posting photos on Saturday of  Tone Rodriguez (Tyrese Gibson’s MayhemHack/Slash vs. Chucky) stopping by Galaxy of Comics as he was working on this bad ass Darkseid with Kirby krackle’s and the works. Sorry these photos are not great but I was taking them with my cell phone. Final product  all I can say is WOW Simon Daoudi Simon@comicimpact.com

So I took a lot of photos this weekend at San Diego Comic Con.  I am going post more later, but right now I wanted to post photos of Sheldon and I with some of our friends… and you never know  maybe some of your favorite people working in comics! Sheldon and Scott Pilgrim. Wow it’s Trina Latrine aka G33K T4LK N3RD R0CK!11!1. Sheldon talking with his god, Ed Brubaker (Daredevil, Captain America). The ladies (Dana, Chris) love Sheldon. Tom Nguyen (Green Lantern, Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters) trying...

If you have been reading Comic Impact for sometime now you know that staff member Sheldon is in love with Ed Brubaker (Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist). Well, last night before we recorded his Trade Tuesday (yeah, it’s a Brubaker book) he showed me this photo of him and his new hat. I think he needs help!!!! If you can help Sheldon please do. Sure, I may be a bit gay for Brubaker myself, but Sheldon seriously needs help. If you know of a good support group please contact us. I just hope he does not ask Andy to dress...

Here at Comic Impact we like to give away awesome stuff for free. Well, almost for free as you are required to do a little somethin’ somethin’ for these kick ass prizes. Here’s the skinny on the contests for the month of July… We want you to print a Comic Impact logo from your computer and show the world how much you love the web site! All you have to is download this PDF with our logo and take a photo of you holding it. Now there is a small catch of course- we don’t want you just in front of your computer lounging...

It’s a new month and an all new Pull List! Andy has the POW (Pick of the Week) for this first week in July- will he pick Captain America: Reborn #1 to make Sheldon happy, or will he go with Deadpool Merc With a Mouth #1 to tantalize Simon? Honestly, he probably won’t pick either as some kick ass indie books are due this week, like Terry Moore’s Echo, The Sword, and an all new Vertigo series called Greek Street! Who knows  what he will pick, but you can check out the Comic Impact pull list by looking below: Andy’s...

Hey there internet-land, I’m Rob (bio in the ‘about me’ section) and I’m the new guy here at Comic Impact reporting from Leeds, England! I figured I’d best give you a little introductory post before I throw myself in off the deep end and start writing articles, just to get you caught up on what I’m going to be doing here. I’m going to have a little slot every Thursday called Tea Time Thursday, where I will talk about one British comic that caught my eye! The feature will start this week because I’ve got myself...

Now while I’m aware this isn’t a news post or anything exactly ground breaking, it is a little reflection and story I wanted to share with you all. Geeks, freaks, or nerds. Call comic book fans what you want but this little story is a nod towards a world we are all totally engrossed in. As you have seen, Comic Impact has had a re-design. As part of this our leader requested that we all have some relativity pro photos taken of us, basically photos of us showing us as we are. I’ve done some modeling in my time...

Hey Comic Impacters, Man we really need to come up with a better name for you fine folks for the web site… Anyway, it’s finally here!!! Our first big leap into the unknown: a redesign of your favorite comic book web site (and mine), Comic Impact- or Comic Impact 2.0! I mentioned earlier that we have some big plans, and this redesign is really only the very tip of a massive ice burg waiting to sink the Titanic that is your love for comics….ok maybe not the best analogy but you get the idea. We really hope you...

So I am going to  selflessly promote Comic Impact right now .Do you want a  Comic Impact button why not join us at Collector’s Paradise. For Free Comic Book Day. On May 2 2009 that’s right it is this Saturday so just come up to Sheldon or My self (Simon) and just say Hey I want one of those cool Comic Impact buttons or just give us some homemade cupcakes we will be  more then happy to give you a button. Simon Daoudi Simon@comicimpact.com