ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT

Full cover wrap to the upcoming MOUSE GUARD: LEGENDS OF THE GUARD VOL. 2 #1 by David Petersen, on sale soon!

Comics and gaming collide in our graphic novel, HAWKEN: GENESIS, based on the HAWKEN game! Here’s a cool review on @comicsbeat:

Archaia, who makes a strengths out of the crossroads between comics and other visual media, has taken on another estuary zone in HAWKEN: GENESIS, bringing a comic based on a free internet gaming hub, HAWKEN to readers. Flood zones between visual media can be tricky, especially in gauging the right audience for a comic, since there’s not a one to one correspondence between gamers and comics readers in this case. But there is overlap, and Archaia are setting out to find out just how wide that swath is, and how much interest gamers might take in comics and comics readers might take in gaming. What they’ve produced, however, is a graphic novel true to the traditions of comics, featuring the aspects of the comics medium that can even more fully explore the world of HAWKEN in a sci-fi tradition. Add to that a commitment to bringing in comics artists who are well-versed in the medium to interpret the world of gaming into sequential narrative.

Read the rest of the review on ComicsBeat! 

“All will be revealed.” Don’t miss our new graphic novel, STRANGE ATTRACTORS, out now in print and digital! Here’s an excerpt from a review by @pipedreamcomics!

It may seem like lazy reviewing to compare Strange Attractors to movies rather than other comics, but its difficult not to as this feels much more cinematic than comic-like. As well as looking like a smart art house movie, it reads like a Woody Allen-esque love letter to New York, but with a mathematical undertone instead of jazz and angst, and really could only work in a city as steeped in modern mythology as the Big Apple.

You can read the rest of the review on Pipedream Comics’s website!

Our marketing manager, @melcaylo, was interviewed by @GENOthaDRAGON at @c2e2. Here’s an excerpt:

So here we are, it’s day 3 of C2E2 2013, how’s the show been for you guys?

Oh man, at Archaia, we’re doing really, really well here. Chicago’s always been a great town for us. We maintain an office here, so this is like a homecoming for us. Our editorial office is based in Los Angeles, but our executive office is based in Chicago. So when C2E2 comes around, it’s always like a nice little homecoming for some of our staff because some of them are native to Chicago. But the show has always been really great. The Midwest has always shown really great enthusiasm for our stuff and for all of our new books. So we’ve been having a great show thus far. 

Personally, what are some aspects of the show you look forward to and that get you excited when it’s time for a con and specifically C2E2 2013?

Well C2E2 is run by an organization called ReedPoP. And I always look forward to working with those guys. They really know how to put on a show. They’re the same organization that puts on New York Comic Con. So we work them at least twice a year and they know what they’re doing. They really take care of us as exhibitors. So I love working with those guys. Whenever there’s C2E2 or New York Comic Con, I always look forward to working with those guys.

And personally, I love coming to Chicago. I’m from New York, I live in L.A, but Chicago is such a great town. The architecture here is so beautiful. It’s such a clean town. Not to say that the other cities are dirty, but I always feel refreshed when I come to Chicago. You know, with the Chicago River and Lake Michigan over there. It’s a really, really fun town. And then, you know, just meeting up with all of my friends in the industry. Comic book conventions like this size are usually like reunions as well. You get to see all of your friends that you’ve known through the years. You can all be in the same place at the same time. And for many people, the convention doesn’t stop when the convention floor closes. Oh no. There are dinners, there are drinks and there are get-togethers after hours. And that’s when you get to reacquaint with your old friends and catch up and see what’s going on. 

Read the rest of the interview here!

Could the recently released Mumbai Confidential be “a defining work in graphic literature?” Geekadelphia certainly has some thoughts along those lines!

In a very enthusiastic review, they write:

“Mumbai Confidential is flat out brilliant, an instant classic that when people want to read a perfect example of noir storytelling in comics, this is the book they will look for.

Taking place in India during the time of the Encounter Squads, groups of rouge cops who end up becoming the criminals they are trying to eliminate, it’s a story that grabs you from page one and just doesn’t let go. The characters Mohapatra has created are multidimensional, fully realized people whom you quickly become very invested in, even with all their faults. The artwork by Shinde is gritty, dark and full of shadow, just like the story itself, but still beautiful in it’s own way. In fact, the writing and art complement each other so perfectly that you could almost believe they were done by the same person, not two individuals. ”

If you’re interested in this brand-new crime noir from Archaia, be sure to read the full review here, and check out the book on our website or wherever books are sold!

Drew from Multiversity Comics gets into the nitty-gritty details of the theory behind Strange Attractors’ design, what influenced its creation, and how he wove complex topics into a beautifully intriguing graphic novel. Get a first-hand perspective into the creative mind of Charles Soule in the full interview.

Strange Attractors goes on sale on May 15th, so don’t miss your chance to delve into the dangerous chaos of complexity theory and save New York City in a way you never thought possible!

In the meantime, here’s a preview:

MC: For those unfamiliar, what is the general idea of “Strange Attractors”?

CS: It’s a story about New York City, where I’ve lived for the past sixteen years or so. In essence, it’s about a genius mathematician who figures out how to use complexity theory (the Butterfly Effect, basically) to turn the entire city into one integrated system, or machine. He makes it his life’s calling to keep the whole thing running no matter what happens. However, he’s quite old and sickly, and he’s terrified that NYC will simply collapse after he’s gone, in particular because his techniques allow him to forecast an oncoming crisis that will level the city. So, he takes on an apprentice, a young grad student. There’s a ticking clock related to whether the young guy can learn the old guy’s techniques in time, not to mention whether the old dude’s just some ancient nutbag. It’s a little sci-fi, a little secret history and a lot of NYC. I love it.

MC: The premise sounds like a cross between Asimov’s “Foundation” series and the Person of Interest television show. Are you familiar with either of those?

CS: Foundation, certainly, although I haven’t seen Person of Interest. I’ve heard good things, though. The main foundation (ahem) of the story is based in actual science, even if it’s applied in a fictionalized way in the book. The idea that small initial efforts can have gigantic end results when applied to a complex system is a long-established principle that’s popped up a number of times in books, films, etc. I’d just say that here it’s applied in a way that I hope is unique and interesting – that was the goal, anyway. I mean, 2001 and Star Wars both have spaceships in them, but they take a pretty different approach.