Effective Immediately Thepullbox.com has moved to it’s new home at thepullbox.com

It would seem that Marvel is taking a classic play out of the DC handbook… come on who doesn’t like it when apes attack!

From Marvel NYCC ‘08 - It’s a jungle out there.

Where’s “there,” exactly? Why, none other than the wittily warped world of MARVEL APES, of course! Marvel’s latest and greatest four-issue limited that, well—why don’t we let writer Karl Kesel (DAREDEVIL, FANTASTIC FOUR) tell you in his own words?

“MARVEL APES is the sensational simian mini-series of the season!” reports Kesel. “It’s four issues of furry fury and feces-flingin’ fun! It’s all your favorite Marvel characters—as you’ve never seen them before! If you only buy one mini-series next October about intelligent, super-powered apes and monkeys – it must be MARVEL APES!”

Kesel’s artistic partner on this ape-tastic series is none other than the multi-talented Ramon Bachs, most recently familiar to Marvel fans for WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE.

“You thought everything was already done and nothing new could be created,” questions the artist. “You were wrong!”

Read the rest of this entry »

Marvel, in collaboration with Soliel (an out-of-the-box acclaimed comic publisher from France), are bringing some highly praised and cutting edge sci-fi and fantasy books to the American audience in 2008.  This week in stores is a Soleil FREE preview copy giving a sneak peak at the four upcoming series.  Well worth your time to get it!

Press release:  Some of Soleil’s most popular releases, such as Sky Doll, Universal War One, Samurai and Le Fleau Des Dieux, make their English language debuts beginning this May. The first release will be Sky Doll #1 (of 3), a timely socio-political thriller in which a young android must decide her destiny by challenging the very government—and faith—that has controlled her life.
Soleil appeared on the comic scene in 1988 and quickly moved into publishing both classic comics by hot, young talent and series targeted towards younger audiences before buying great classics (Mandrake, Tarzan). Publishing science fiction, heroic fantasy, westerns and action comics from superstars such as Arleston, Tarquin, Mourier, Crisse, Swolfs and Ange, in addition to promising young talent, Soleil quickly established itself with a catalogue of powerful graphic novels.   Lanfeust, Soleil flagship fantasy title, is today a standard reference series and the keystone of the company: over 5 million books sold since 1994.   A top comic book publishing company in France with thousands of comic books in its catalogue, Soleil is producing over 250 new books per year and keeps expanding in other worldwide markets. Over the years, the company has positioned itself as both a leader in the fantasy genre and a major force in the European comic book market. Marvel.com

Sky-Doll #1 (of 3) May, 2008  The Story: The internationally acclaimed best-seller is now finally presented in English! Meet Noa, a so-called Sky Doll; a life-like female android without rights, who exists only to serve the State’s needs and desires. But when Noa meets two so-called “missionaries” who aid in her escape from her tyrannical master, all hell breaks loose for our cyborg siren as she uncovers clues that she may be much more than just a robotic toy. The first release in a new partnership between Marvel and cutting-edge French publisher Soleil!   Mature Content …$5.99 

The Oconocon, the premier Comics event of Wisconsin and it’s coming up soon! The Oconocon is May 4^th at The Olympia Resort & Convention Center 1350 Royale Mile Road, Oconomowoc, WI 53066. Oconomowoc, WI is located right in between Milwaukee and Madison. The Resort is conveniently situated less than 2 miles off of Interstate 94.

Some of the guests are: Jim Krueger (Justice, Project: Superpowers), Sean McKeever (Teen Titans, Countdown), John Jackson Miller (Star Wars: KOTOR), Mark Stegbauer (Femme Noir, The Four Uncles of the Apocolypse), Worth Gowell (Kid Houdini), Matt Anderson (White Picket Fences), Micah Farritor (White Picket Fences), Andy Brase (Kull, Incredible Hulk), Josh Elder (The Batman Strikes!), Rich Koslowski (Marvel Comics Presents), Russell Lissau (The Batman Strikes!), Tom Nguyen (Batman, Green Lantern Corps), Ande Parks (Green Arrow, Superman Confidential)… plus many, many more… check out the complete list here!

The architect and driving force behind the Oconocon is Joshua Goes. I have had the pleasure of knowing Josh for a year or two now. Recently I was able to get a few words out of him about the Oconocon, his life and how he uses his powers of geekdom for good!

Check out below for Josh’s interview, an insight into setting up a convention and monkeybread sweet deals on airline to and from comic conventions!

Read the rest of this entry »

Very few high-quality independent comic companies have moved as fast as Red 5 comics has in the last year. Here are just a few of the things brewing in their camp!

Coming in June is the Atomic Robo TPB - ATOMIC ROBO takes on Nazis, giant ants, clockwork mummies, walking pyramids, Mars, cyborgs and his nemesis, Baron von Helsingard, in his first trade paperback graphic novel. This edition collects the hard-to-find, sold-out, debut issues of ATOMIC ROBO #1 through #6, complete with cover gallery, pin-ups, concept sketches and bonus stories. 180 pages, $18.95

Red 5 has a cameo in the comedy hit Superhero Movie - if you look in the background you just might see a few familiar faces from the Red 5 lineup! We donated comics and posters for a scene in the movie that takes place at a comic convention. There were images from Midknight, Abyss, Neozoic, Afterburn, and Atomic Robo. So look in the background when you see the movie this weekend…you just might spot Atomic Robo and friends!

I am a big fan of the Red 5 book Afterburn… it seems so is Toby Maguire, from the Hollywood Reporter - Tobey Maguire and Neal Moritz are teaming up for “Afterburn,” an adaptation of a comic book published by newbie company Red 5 Comics. Rights to the film are being picked up by Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Media. Maguire would produce through his Maguire Entertainment banner and Moritz through his Original Films shingle. The book, whose first issue hit stands in January, is a sci-fi adventure set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth, whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of treasure hunters who for the right price extract such objects as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and the Crown Jewels while facing rival hunters, mutants and pirates along the way.

Hot off the press!: Red 5 has also just won the 18th annual Diamond Gem Award (2007) for New Publisher of the Year! Congratulation guys!!!! Gem Award nominees were selected by a panel of Diamond product specialists based on sales and their overall impact on the industry, while comics and other related merchandise were chosen on the merits of their quality, creativity and sales performance in 2007.

Fans of last year’s Bump and Valley of the Rage books… rejoice!  They are back!  With a new a look and at a new home.  If you are a horror fanboy or have interest in the genre, you have to check this out… the real deal!

Press release 4/7 -  THE SCREAM FACTORY, an alliance of film, music, literary and comic book professionals, has unleashed a stunning selection of downloadable quality horror titles online, and is delighted to tell readers that they can find the offerings at www.wowio.com at absolutely no charge!!!  All of the titles are available on Wowio through the Smashout Comics publishing group.

Read the rest of this entry »

Another set of images from Greg Horn and Marvel about this week’s Invasion

So here is a little excerpt of from this weeks Cup O’ Joe column where Marvel EIC Joe Quesada gives his response to the internet blasting he’s been taking on the current state of Spider-Man. The way Joe explains it makes sense to me, even if I’m not sure I agree with it, or more to the point, the way they accomplished their goals (ending Peter and MJ’s marriage). I mean honestly, why would Mephisto even care about Peter and MJ to begin with? Ah well, here’s Joe.
MyCup o’ Joe is the weekly communique from Marvel Comics Editor in Chief Joe Quesada to the legion of Mighty Marvelites Assembled! Every Friday, Joe will sit down with journalist Jim McLauchlin to answer questions on the pressing issues of the day at Marvel and throughout comics.

And you get to chip in as well! Joe will be answering YOUR questions every week! To get in on the fun, post your questions here in the MySpace Comic Books forum, or here on Marvel.com!

JM: We’re a few weeks into “Brand New Day” in the Spidey books, and there are still a fair amount of voices in the wilderness calling for your head on a platter. There seems to be a real undercurrent of people who seemingly just won’t be satisfied until you say, “Okay, I’m sorry, and I was a real dick for unmarrying Spidey and Mary Jane in ’One More Day.’” I’m guessing you don’t feel that way. Can you satisfy these folks? At this point, is it even “worth it” to you?

JQ: Well, first let me say that the reason some are calling for my head on a platter is because in many countries, my head is considered a delicacy.

Is it worth it to me to satisfy everyone? No. Because therein lies madness, my friend. But I don’t think that’s really the point, anyway. Some people didn’t dig the outcome, and that’s cool. It’s their opinion and I respect that. But hey—we can look down a long list of things that have happened at Marvel that people weren’t happy with that many are still sore about to this day, and many of those things are things that helped save our publishing division.

As I’ve said in the past, what’s important to me is the outcome of “One More Day,” and the reaction we’ve been getting from the majority of fans now is that they’re really digging “Brand New Day.” We’ve had a huge number of converts who hated the idea of Peter and MJ being split, but now they either understand why we did it, or they don’t ultimately care because they’re really enjoying where Spidey is now—which, by the way, was the whole point.

What I do find frustrating is that there are still a few fans out there that are upset about “One More Day” who are assuming things that aren’t necessarily true. They either haven’t read the story, or haven’t read it clearly. They’re reacting emotionally, and not based upon what was written and drawn. Either that, or they just want to be angry for the sake of bring angry [laughs].

One example: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard certain fans say that we’ve supposedly “thrown out 20 years of continuity” when I have stated over and over again that that’s not the case. Everything is as it has been, with the exception that the Peter and MJ didn’t go through with the marriage. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a wedding day and it doesn’t mean that they weren’t together all of these years. What it does mean is that there’s a story about the wedding day that is yet to be revealed, and it’s a story we’re going to tell one day. Believe me, the writer and artist that are going to tell this story are dying to tell it, but it’s not going to be right away. We have way too much Spidey stuff to cover before getting to that story.

JM: That’s quite a tease. How far out? Ballpark it for me. Six months? Ten years?

JQ: Sorry, you’re going to have to wait like everyone else. Besides, the creative team attached to this story would kill me if I gave away any more info than I already have. My understanding is that they’re already pissed at me for even saying that there might be a story in the works. I kid of course, but you never know. So, there are answers coming to all of the questions readers may have, but they will be revealed in due time.

That may frustrate some fans that want it all now, but there are other fans who eagerly await seeing what we have up our sleeve and how it all develops. All we ask is the opportunity to reveal these things within the context of the stories we want to tell, as opposed to following a continuity map. “Continuity Cop” is the kind of stuff that I consider “bookkeeping,” but it’s always best to deal with the bookkeeping within the context of the narrative rather than make a special point to spell it all out.

JM: You mentioned a “majority of fans.” Sitting where you sit, how would you break it down? Slap a percentage on it. How many people would you say are satisfied/unsatisfied with Spidey and where he’s going?

JQ: Based on sales of Amazing Spider-Man and the letters and e-mails we’ve been getting, I think that most of our fans are digging where Spidey is now, and understand why we did what we did.

What was unexpected and very cool to see at the last convention I attended—MegaCon in Orlando—was how many fans actually came forward and admitted they were converts. First and foremost, it takes a big person to do that, so let me say how greatly appreciated it is on my part, just to hear it. Some people started off hating the idea of the split, so they were all set to just forget about Spidey books forever, but after seeing what the difference was—and how suddenly Spidey was acting like Spidey again—they began to really understand what it was that we were attempting to do. They could feel how the overall tonality of the book was in a place that just felt right.

By the way, this was something that I was ultimately hoping for, and in some ways expecting. I remember when we had our very first Spidey summit to plan out BND. There was a reporter in the room who was documenting the meeting. On the second day of the summit, he pulled me aside and told me he had a confession to make. He told me very candidly that he really hated the idea of unmarrying Peter and MJ, but that now after sitting in the room and hearing all the stories that could be told with a new, freer Peter Parker, he completely understood why we were doing it. It hadn’t become clear to him until he was there and could see the whole plan and landscape of the world…and the light bulb went off. It also became crystal-clear to me at that moment that we were heading in the right direction, and that his reaction wouldn’t be a unique one once the BND books started to come out. Mind you, of course, this was many, many months before OMD ever shipped.

That’s the tough thing, I think, for fandom in this process—especially if you like a married Peter and MJ. Those of us writing and drawing the stories are struck with the limitations of a married Peter Parker every day. We know how good Spidey stories can be if they were just not married, and in turn how much more fans would be loving Spidey books if we could get to that point. So, from our unique perspective of creating the comics, it was the most obvious thing in the world. For the fan reading the comic, it’s not as obvious because they’re looking at it from a more immediate perspective and perhaps all seems lost when they hear the news. But again, I knew form that first creative meeting, it would be a bit of a “delayed gratification” game. Now that we’re rolling, I think we’re really rolling, and more and more fans will dig it.

JM: Let’s just assume for sake of this conversation that indeed a majority of fans like “new Spidey.” Anecdotal evidence would seem to indicate contrary. Which makes the question, I guess, what is the “distortion” of the Internet? Does it give a larger voice to a negative extreme? Positive extreme? Both? Neither?

JQ: I don’t think anecdotal evidence points in that direction at all. It certainly did the first week or two after OMD, but it’s certainly not the case any more. While it will always have its detractors, so will Captain America’s death, Civil War, etc., etc.

My experience is that the ’net definitely puts more emphasis on the negative voices. Praise too much on the ’net, and you’ll be labeled a “kiss-ass” or “sycophant.” Based on the Internet, Marvel should have gone out of business years ago! But that’s what the anonymity of the Internet offers people. You get to be a sniper, you get to yell “you suck!’ in a crowded room without having to stand tall by your convictions or needing to defend your argument. Many of us in the industry have commented how we have never been spoken to in person as we have been on the ’net.

A strange occurrence that also happens on the ’net is an almost “reversal of reality.” It’s like people switch around the 2-D characters with the 3-D people. I totally understand that there are times when fans aren’t happy with a storyline, or how a character is treated or portrayed. That’s completely cool, and voicing an opinion on that is appreciated and necessary. But what’s always strange to me is when someone comes to the defense of a character as if they are a three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood person; with feelings and family and all the trappings of a real life. These people sometimes speak to or speak of creators and editors as though we are two-dimensional villains on the comics page, twirling our mustaches, plotting some insane demise for a character, all for the express purpose of pissing them off. Which of course doesn’t make any sense to me. Does anyone honestly believe that anyone here at Marvel is trying to destroy characters or the universe? Last I looked, this is how we make our living and feed out families. More than anything, this is the “distortion” the net causes.

JM: Yeah, you see it a lot. You see the “Joe Quesada must hate Spider-Man.” On the other side of the street, you might see a “Dan DiDio is ruining DC on purpose,” which is insane. You guys are just doing your jobs to the best of your abilities, and you wouldn’t have jobs for long if that was the case!

JQ: Yeah. Unfortunately, some people can completely disregard that we actually do have feelings, family, and actually live in the real world. It’s a distinction that I believe gets lost on the ’net more than anywhere else, because it’s a behavior that I’ve never encountered in person. As a matter of fact, it’s always been the exact opposite. Almost all the fans I’ve encountered in person have been fantastic, and even the ones that disagree with something we did are always intelligent, honest and civil in the way the pose their disapproval.

But here’s the honest truth: the ’net will always be what it is when it comes to stuff like this, so the best we can do is have fun with it and play with what it offers. Believe it or not, sometimes I just say things on the ’net just to get people angry and talking about stuff…or at least that’s the rumor on the ’net! [laughs]

JM: Yeah, I’ve heard that rumor. So looking forward, I’m guessing a lot of what Marvel has going on right now will hinge on Secret Invasion, which starts in less than one week. From a Joe Fan on limited budget perspective, or perhaps someone feeling “event burnout,” why should they buy into this?

JQ: Well, lets be honest—if you’re suffering event burnout then you shouldn’t buy it. It’s just that simple. Though I don’t honestly know if event burnout is a prevalent as the ’net makes it seem. At least according to the retailers we’ve spoken to, when there are no events, they experience a big drop in the sales of books. But, some have also heard customers say that they’re suffering a burnout, so go figure. We’ll know soon, right?

Anyway, more to the point, why should you buy this series? Well, outside of the fact that Brian Bendis and Leinil Yu are the creative team and you know how those guys always bring their A-game, it’s our big summer popcorn movie for the year. The Marvel U has been infiltrated, but how far does it go, and what does it mean to every hero on the planet? Who’s a Skrull, who’s coming back, and who isn’t going to make it? Who is reuniting at last? Who’s going to go completely nuts and kill…
…someone!

See how I did that!? Anticipation, and answers to come, baby.

Anyway, outside stuff like that, I can’t see any compelling reason to buy Secret Invasion.

• Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel’s series-changing story arc “Batman: R.I.P.” starts in Batman #676.  They promise this will be big and lasting.
• You would think after last year’s World War: Hulk run, Marvel might have slowed down the Green Goliath’s publicity machine, nope… not with a major movie coming out this Summer.  Hulk fans have quite a few choices coming in the next few months: Hulk Versus Hercules: When Titans Clash, King-Sized Hulk #1, Giant-Sized Hulk #1.
• For those readers that are more classically minded (sci-fi that is), Bluewater Production continue it’s adaptations of films from the master special effects man himself with Ray Harryhausen Presents Flying Saucers Vs. The Earth
• Speaking of movie tie-ins, Marvel isn’t just pimping the Hulk… Iron Man has quite a few books coming out too: Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, Iron Man: Viva Las Vagas (written by Jon Favreau) and a second monthly Iron Man book, Invincible Iron Man.
• If you have been waiting for more Hong Kong Cavalier action, wait no more! Moonstone is releasing a 2-issue series Buckaroo Bonzai: The Prequel
• The big DC event that is coming up is Final Crisis, along with four mini-series, a Final Crisis Sketch book and it all starts in a 50 cent issue DC Universe: Zero.
• IDW continues their interpretive genius with an adaptation of Mack Bolan’s The Executioner in The Executioner: The Devil’s Tools.
• Boom! Studios is reviving an old game classic from the 80’s and 90’s with Blood Bowl: Killer Contract.  Blood Bowl was the original fantasy football league… with dwarves, elves and ogres.
• Marvel 1985, written by Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards will take a different twist on Secret Wars and what happens when the Marvel Universe and our world collide.
• DC/Wildstorm: DreamWar will see the heroes of the DCU and Wildstorm Universe collide as they try to save both universes in this 6-part series (this is not related to Final Crisis)
• Dynamite brings even more Ash goodness with Army of Darkness / Xena: Why Not?
• Marvel is trying to bring back some of their espionage fans with Captain Britain & MI:13, which is directly to the Secret Invasion.
• DC is bringing forth two new Batman projects.  Batman: Death Mask, an original Batman tale in manga style, prestige format.  And Batman: Gotham After Midnight, a more horroresque Scarecrow story written by the man himself, Steve Niles .
• The soon-to-be-classic dark future horror / sci-fi tale Pogrom is out from Devil’s Due
• The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs is a 4-issue series from Wildstorm that will be connecting the original Lost Boys movie with the sequel The Lost Boys: The Tribe.
• Mummy fans will get an eyeful with IDW’s The Mummy: The Rise and Fall of Xango’s Ax, this could be the beginning of a whole run of Mummy-related comics from IDW.
• NewUniversal fans will be excited (I am!) that Warren Ellis and Steve Kurth return to write a 6-part limited series NewUniversal: Shockfront
• A less-publicized project coming up from DC is The War that Time Forgot, placing many of DC’s “soldier” characters from many different times together on a dinosaur  riddled “land-o-the-Lost”-ish island by an unseen force.
• Legion Studios will blowing away all the horror fans out there with Wizard exclusive book Fallen Daughters, watch for that at Wizard World Chicago… it should rock!