Pixar Animation Studios has always had a keen eye for finding truly unique and individualistic artistic talents to create visually stunning ways to drive their stories forward. In the highly stylized opening title sequence for their fourth film, Monsters Inc., the notable influence of 1950’s animation began to appear. Of the many talented artists working at the studio, four names are most commonly associated with pushing this distinctive look forward: Lou Romano, Don Shank, Nate Wragg and, last but certainly not least, Scott...

In last week’s installment of Sequential Sunday we took a look at the work of the great Al Williamson who passed away on June 12. As an addendum to that article I’d like to give some suggestions to those who’d like to explore the work of this comic art master via some of the books currently in print as well as those that are soon to be released. Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic by Mark Schultz (Flesk Publications) One of Williamson’s greatest influences was Flash Gordon,...

Independent publisher IDW is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary and their current slate of releases says much about how far they’ve come as a company in terms of scope and overall variety. The steadily churned out comics based on licensed properties such as Transformers and G.I. Joe has been (and likely still is) their bread and butter. Yet in the last few years their titles have started to also include top-notch horror and sci-fi (The Ghoul and Starstruck), classic comic strip reprints (Little Orphan Annie and...

At the retailer’s summit occurring in Chicago before C2E2 last weekend, Diamond Comics, distributor of weekly comic book issues, floated the idea of moving the release day for comic books to Tuesday, with the comic book retailers paying 5 dollars a week more. They put the idea to a show of hands vote to the retailers in the audience, and Tuesday releases narrowly won out. Now it sounds as if this is all speculation and discussion amongst Diamond. Why do they want to make comics come out on Tuesdays? Because of Hollywood....

Are you a fan of Jurassic Park like my four year old nephew Titouan? Then you may enjoy the new IDW comic. That’s right, Jurassic Park is now a comic book. Yet this isn’t the first time, as I recall when I use to work at a baseball card shop in the 1990’s there was a Topps Jurassic Park comics and it was BAD. Sure, I know your asking yourself, why would they make a Jurassic Park comic book? Well Comic Impact readers, let me tell you a story about IDW. If you look at most of the books they put out a lot of their...

It’s safe to say that lately I have had zombies on the brain. From reading over 1,500 pages of The Walking Dead in a week to the recent spectacular art show Zombies In Love there has been no shortage of the shambling dead in my thoughts. Given this it was without hesitation that I picked up the recently released first issue of the new IDW series We Will Bury You written by brother and sister writing duo Brea & Zane Austin Grant with art supplied by Kyle Strahm. We Will Bury You #1 - Cover By Ben Templesmith The year...

With Halloween right around the corner and all the spooky connotations that come with it hanging in the air it seemed like a good time to scour the shelves of my favorite comic book store for some seasonally appropriate material. The store in question is Comics Factory in Pasadena, CA where, if you’re an indie reader like me, you’re in luck as their selection of independents is so wide it almost rivals all the stock of the Big Two put together. Another huge plus for my ghoulish spree is that there seems to be more horror...

Now that it’s been a few days since the end of the first annual Long Beach Comic-Con I’d thought I’d chirp in with some thoughts on the event. Firstly, it took place in the clean n’ cheery part of Long Beach as opposed to the “run, motherfucker, run!” areas which would have been not only an odd choice of locales, but potentially a complete disaster for us sensitive artistic types. An entire afternoon passed in Long Beach and no one had to use their A-K. Today was a good day. I was happy to see many independent publishers...

Since the G.I Joe film comes out today and it was first a comic book by Larry Hama (Barack the Barbarian,Wolverine) . Back in 1982 first publish by Marvel comics. Then later on by Image, Devil Due and now IDW.I wanted to share with you the Comic Impact readers. My top 10 covers of the great marvel comics run of G.I. Joe. Stay tuned to comic impact sometime this weekend we will have a special G.I Joe review podcast of the film. Let’s  hope the film does not suck. 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...

We have a double dose of action in this episode for you Comic Impact listeners as Andy, Simon, and Sheldon get the ins and outs of the new I.D.W. series, Fallen Angel: Reborn! Join the guys as they talk to series artist J.K. Woodward and writer Peter David about everything Fallen Angel, how the two came to work together, Joss Whedon, and more! Plus, J.K. goes in-depth on how he broke into the comic biz, his time with Marvel, and the dream projects he’d love to paint at some time in his career. All of this and more when...

Fallen Angel: Reborn #1 published by I.D.W. came out in comic shops on Wednesdy and I have a special e-mail  interview for you with series writer Peter David! The comic is an awesome noir story about the Fallen Angel, an outcast from Heaven, who has come to the city of Bete Noir to help those in need by delivering justice to the beings who deserve it. Think The Preacher meets X-Factor blended with Christian mythology and you’ve got Fallen Angel. Plus, Peter even takes the time to talk a little bit about what’s coming up...

I know it’s not Thursday, but I want to show you some pages for the upcoming G.I Joe # 6 from IDW since Comic Impact friend, Robert Atkins is doing the artwork. I love his work. The description for G.I Joe # 6 goes something like this: The first epic story of G.I. Joe draws to an explosive conclusion as Snake Eyes hunts for the man who can lead him to the secrets of COBRA. But first the Joes’ silent warrior has to face down Destro, who’s willing to risk a fate worse than death to prove his worth. Make sure...

Comic Impact friend and reader, Michael Colbert, needs our help with a serious issue that is very close to my heart and the rest of the CI staff. His wife April has just lost her grandmother from advanced  stage cancer. The Colbert‘s want the comic community to know that J.K. Woodward (artist  for IDW’s “Fallen Angel” and “Star Trek Alien Spotlight: Klingons”) has  donated an original page from the “Klingons” book to auction on EBAY. The auction  is for April’s “Relay for Life”- an organization...

Join Simon, Sheldon, and Robert Atkins (IDW’s GI JOE) for the Artist spotlight of April with former Batman(1987-1992) artist Norm Breyfogle !! We get the great oppertunity to talk Neal Adams,Trek, Archie Comics and Politics with a personal fan favorite of the site not only that but you get two artist in one as we have Robert Atkins on as a special guest asking questions as well! This is a show you DON’T WANT TO MISS as a true legend of the comic world talks to the Comic Impact staff for two plus hours. Also find...

Join Simon and Sheldon as they talk about there picks of the week for the past week. Also found out  what Sheldon has been reading  and he can’t stop talking it about all this and also something you don’t want to miss if your a fan of ComicImpact. Simon Daoudi Simon@comicimpact.com DOWNLOAD EPISODE (Right-click and choose “Save As…” and save locally) HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST Thank you to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens to and tells their comic book stores about this show. We really appreciate...

Join Sheldon and I (Simon) as we talk with comic’s artist Robert Atkins for this month’s Artist Spotlight interview. Robert talks about his work on the new G.I JOE book from IDW. We also talk about a few of his future projects; podcasting, conventions, digital comics, Google searches, and how Snake Eyes can break dance and a lot more. His other work includes”Forgotten Realms: Legacy,” “Legion of Superheroes of the 31st Century,” ”Elders of the RuneStone,” and several Marvel stories. Make sure to also check out...

This week I don’t have a lot of books but there a few that I can’t wait to read .Here are the top five that I (Simon) am the most excited to read. Also this months Artist Spotlight Robert Atkins G.I Joe number 2 is coming out !!!. Action Comics, Amazing Spider-Man,Batman,G.I. Joe,Nightwing Simon Daoudi Simon@comicimpact.com

Here’s some highlights of the IDW To celebrate the 10th anniversary of IDW publishing, the company will release two books; one that features every cover ever printed by the company ( I WANT THAT ONE ), and the other full of interviews A new Angel series is on the way  co-written by Juliet Landau. Fallen Angel ends with issue #31, It will relaunch with a new #1, which will feature a character from the Buffy universe.  The story will take place during the season five of the Buffy television series. Doctor Who becomes a monthly...

Super-talented comics artist Robert Atkins joins us for this month’s Artist Spotlight. Atkins is best known for his art in issues of “Rift,” “New X-Men: Academy X,” “Snake-Eyes: Declassified,” several “GI Joe” titles, and even penciled “Dreadnoks: Declassified, Issue #3.” His other work includes”Forgotten Realms: Legacy,” “Legion of Superheroes of the 31st Century,” ”Elders of the RuneStone,” and several Marvel stories....

New comics will be hitting your stores on Wednesday January 21. We get a book that is five months late and some other stuff. Here are the top five that I (Simon) am the most excited to read. Amazing Spider-Man #584,Dark Avengers #1,Doctor Who Forgotten #6,Final Crisis Superman Beyond #2 (OF 2),Spawn #188 What is on your pull list for this week ? Simon Daoudi Simon@comicimpact.com