Kossori's NewsfileKossori's NewsfileWelcome to Kossori's Newsfile. What follows is my (slightly unbiased) view of the current goings-ons in the world of comics. This week we'll take a look at the recent resurgence of magic and fantasy in pop culture, the return of some 80's nostalgia and the workings of two distinguished creators. Okay, now on to the news...
With Harry Potter releasing his grip on movie-goers to the oncoming Lord of the Rings, I decided to take a moment to reflect on comics' recent forays into the world of magic, elves and dragons...
Comics have always, for the most part, been about super-heroes. There have been several attempts to do magic or fantasy, but they either fail or revert to the super-hero form. Even Dr. Strange and Ka-Zar couldn't go long before becoming parts of the Marvel Universe.
However, there are some that did happen and were good. The following are sample highlights of magic in comics: DC:Books of Magic Swamp Thing (issues 49 and 50 in particular)Marvel:Dr. StrangeOther: Promethea Mage
And here are some sample highlights from the world of fantasy: DC:TSR Worlds (Including Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms and Spelljammer) Warlord (As well as it's spin-offs: Arak and Arion)Masters of the UniverseMarvel: Epic IllustratedConan the BarbarianElricOther: The Adventurers (a fantsy comic whose characters, reportedly, were "rolled up")Heavy Metal (how could I leave this one out?)
As for what's on the horizen: DC is producing Hunter: Age of Magic, starring the slightly grown up character introduced in Books of Magic. Marvel has lined up Mike Deodato to draw a new title called The Witches, starring Jennifer Kale, Satana and Topaz as a sort of magical "Charlie's Angels" to Dr. Strange's "Charlie".And what of fantasy? Well, Dreamwave is still producing Warlands and Shidima.
The '80s are back! Now that both G.I. Joe and Transformers have both made their come-backs, another '70s-'80s comic based on toys makes it's return at Image. The one catch is that they can't use any of the characters created by Marvel Comics. This means new characters, new continuity...
Meanwhile, Dreamwave has seperated from Image and is doing Transformers on their own. Pat Lee is handling it, himself. Check out these pics- pic 1, pic 2.
Oni Press and Mike Allred's AAAPop Comics are combining to bring you... It Girl! It Girl, a member of Allred's Atomics, will be featured in a one-shot scheduled for March. It will be written by Allred with art by Oni Press' Chynna Clugston-Major (It Girl pic). Several other Oni/Allred projects are planned, including a Spaceman one-shot.
