Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

CBC Quickees: Manifest Destiny, Girls and Squirrels

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 17, 2006
Post category:Pop Culture Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

Cowboys & Aliens By Fred Van Lente, Andrew Foley, Dennis Calero, Luciano Lima, Magic Eye Studios, et al (Platinum Studios, 2006; $4.99) What if an alien invasion of North America in 1873 interrupted the European settlers' westward expansion of the United States, forcing them to band together with the native Americans they had ruthlessly displaced for nearly two centuries, and fight for their mutual survival? It's the kind of high concept Hollywood loves, so the only surprise in the comic book version of the story being published by Platinum Studios is that, well, they're actually publishing the comic book version…

Shadowline Slimline Offer Less for More

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 14, 2006
Post category:Media Personal
Post comments:4 Comments

With the publication of Fell, Warren Ellis started a mini-trend with what Image has now branded as their Slimline format: 24 pages @ $1.99. Fell has been very good, and a solid success story from a sales perspective, while Casanova has been a critical darling with respectable sales for an Image Central title without a well-known creator attached.Shadowline, Image co-founder Jim Valentino's personal imprint, has recently latched on to the format with their mini-series Sam Noir: Samurai Detective, but has taken a rather odd approach with it by...well, let Shadowline editor Kris Simon explain it:Sam Noir is done in that…

Rocketo Love from Junot Diaz

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 13, 2006
Post category:Media Personal Pop Culture
Post comments:0 Comments

Today's N.Y. Daily News, in their monthly Viva New York pullout section, included a feature called "Authors Pick Their Favorite Reads of 2006", wherein Junot Diaz (of the critically acclaimed collection of short stories, Drown), gave Rocketo a shout-out:"A comic book of extraordinary power, with a Cuban hero, written by a Cuban writer. I've read nothing like it before and can't imagine anything like it ever being written again."High praise indeed! And with Diaz being one of three featured authors in the article, his selection, the only comic book picked, really stands out. (Drown was an excellent read, highly recommended,…

BORP! — Bumperboy Update

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 13, 2006
Post category:Media Reviews
Post comments:0 Comments

It's been a while between Bumperboy updates here at CBC, but Debbie Huey just posted a sneak peek at the upcoming Bumperboy.net redesign and it looks pretty sweet.Huey is not only a talented creator, but a savvy marketer and merchandiser, and Bumperboy.net is the perfect example of a comics web site done right. Hopefully the relaunch will integrate her own LiveJournal, while offering new updates from Gordy.For the uninitiated, check out my review of Bumperboy Loses His Marbles, the first collected volume of Bubtopia's favorite marble-playing, sock-wearing-Bear friend-having, Borperer Supreme!Then, hit Bumperboy's Shop to get yourself a copy, along with…

Iron Editor: Brevoort vs. Alonso

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 12, 2006
Post category:Pop Culture
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Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort (who oversees New Avengers, Civil War, and Fantastic Four, among others) offers a peek into his editing process that the cynical observer might parse as an explanation of the delays behind Civil War, among other things:Different editors work in different ways, in terms of how they approach the actual editing of the story in a given comic book. For example, as near as I can tell, Axel Alonso focuses the majority of his efforts on the initial full script--once he's got what he considers his "master document", the story is largely locked, and he'll only…

On The Shelves: 12/13/06

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 12, 2006
Post category:Media Pop Culture
Post comments:1 Comment

Reading is fundamental. Don't waste your time reading bad comics out of habit! My weekly, semi-informed look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 12/13/06 follows. The full shipping is list available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Star Wars: Legacy #1CUP O JAVA STUDIO World Without Super Heroes #1, $2.99 Curious about this title? Hope not because there's no sign of it anywhere…

Smallville: Justice League Preview

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 11, 2006
Post category:Reviews
Post comments:2 Comments

I haven't watched Smallville in a long while, but I've caught many of the previews over the past couple of seasons and haven't liked where they've seemingly taken Lana Lang's character, hooking her up with Lex in a rather icky pairing. Nevertheless, I'll be catching this particular episode whenever it airs as Clark calls up some friends to take on his nemesis.Looks like the Flash, Cyborg, Green Arrow and Aquaman, I believe. Setup for a spinoff, perhaps? Have they introduced Bruce Wayne or Diana Prince Donna Troy Cassandra Sandsmark yet?According to Comics Continuum, which also has several screenshots from the…