ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT
www.archaia.com
Sharaz~De- Sergio Toppi
“I’m looking for this comic, I think it had a yellow cover…”
“We organize our books by genre, did you try over here?”
How many Archaia books do you see?
Double Book Review
‘Mouse Guard: Fall 1152’ & ‘Mouse Guard: Winter 1152’
Story & Art by: David Petersen
Genre: Juvenile/YA Graphic Novel
Literary Awards: Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids (2008)
My Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Mouse Guard: Fall 1152
Goodreads synopsis: In the world of Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper amongst harsh conditions and a host of predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed: more than just soldiers that fight off intruders, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live. Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam, three such Guardsmice, are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. Their search for the missing mouse reveals much more than they expect, as they stumble across a traitor in the Guard’s own ranks.
Mouse Guard: Winter 1152
Goodreads synopsis: In the Winter of 1152, the Guard face a food and supply shortage threatening the lives of many through a cold and icy season. Saxon, Kenzie, Lieam, and Sadie, led by Celanawe, traverse the snow-blanketed territories acting as diplomats to improve relations between the mouse cities and the Guard. This is a winter not every Guard may survive. Collects the second Eisner-Award winning Mouse Guard series with an all-new epilogue and bonus content.
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My Thoughts:
As an artist and a reader, I tend to like graphic novels more than comics or manga. (Let’s not judge or argue about it, please. I just do.) When I saw ‘Mouse Guard: Winter 1152’ at my library I automatically fell in love with the cover art and checked it out. At home, I realized (via Goodreads) that it was the second book in the series so I put the first one on hold and waited impatiently for it to come through so I could pick it up. It’s cover is just as gorgeous. But it’s not just the covers that I loved since David Petersen both wrote the story and created the artwork. The insides of these books are absolutely amazing. Every single frame tells a little bit more of the story while enchanting the eyes with it’s bold splashes of color. They are a beautifully realized world of their own and I am glad that the author took ten years to get this story down on paper and illustrate it.
These are for the younger persuasion and can be found in the juvenile or young-adult graphic novel section of any library, but I believe that readers of all ages can enjoy these books as long as they love fantasy adventures and art. They greatly remind me of ‘The Secrets of Nimh’, the ‘Redwall’ series by Brian Jacques, and an old book I read as a kid called ‘Battle For the Castle’ which also had mice in it. If I had kids, these would be a must on their shelves.
[This was originally posted on my blog]
We love hearing about more people reading Mouse Guard!
PANEL OF THE DAY - FEEDING GROUND
Written by Swifty Lang and art by Michael Lapinski.
Space: 1999 - Classics Remastered #1
Written by Andrew E. C. Gaska
Art by Miki and Gray Morrow
“A carefully selected body of original SPACE: 1999 comics from the 1970’s, SPACE: 1999 - CLASSIC is a celebration of the series that not only looks back in retro nostalgia, but also forward to the future of this dynamic space epic.
After suffering the loss of Victor Bergman, Paul Morrow, and David Kano, John Koenig and Moonbase Alpha find themselves at the mercy of an alien mastermind and a biological computer that eats minds. There only hope is to appeal to the mercy of the madman’s daughter, a shape shifting young woman called Maya, and convince her of her father’s sinister plan! Part one of a two part adaptation of the season two episode of SPACE: 1999 “The Metamorph”, expanded to include both new and cut dialogue, and utilizing the remastered art of comics legend Gray Morrow.”
Purchase your copy at Comixology!
If you have yet to read Space: 1999, now’s your chance! Head over to Comixology and check out this series with an updated spin on a popular classic.
PANEL OF THE DAY - MR. MURDER IS DEAD
When you’re a detective, it’s important to follow your instincts, even if they may lead you to a dangerous road.
“Who were the artistic influences that you brought to cursed pirate girl?
My influences are Arthur Rackham (number one), Edmond DuLac, Kay Neilson, Walter Crane Gustav Dore, Albrecht Durer, HJ Ford–a lot of the classic storybook illustrators. I love fairy tales and that world of illustration. I call Cursed Pirate Girl my nautical fairy tale. It’s definitely an obsession with an older antiquated world of illustration, I guess.”
Learn more about Jeremy Bastain and his beautifully illustrated graphic novel Cursed Pirate Girl here: http://bit.ly/17gDM3e
Panel of the Day!
From The Killer Vol. 1. Originally published in France this beautiful page was drawn by Luc Jacamon and written by Matz.
It’s a brutal, bloody story about a professional assassin that gets lost in a world without a moral compass.
Old City Blues fan art by Matt Cossin.
Congratulations to Archaia: seven of their titles have been nominated in YALSA’s 2013 Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Included among those titles is Spera 1, written by Josh Tierney and illustrated by various artists. Check out our 2012 interview with Josh!
~ T.
NEW COMIC DAY TOMORROW, OUR PICKS: STRANGE ATTRACTORS HC *A must for fans of MANHATTAN PROJECTS & NOWHERE MEN!* — Here’s one that we sneak-peek debuted at our Free Comic Book Day signing last week, and that I’m really excited to see hitting the shelves this week for you guys to get your hands on.
This is going to be one of those killer graphic novels that you’re going to see all over the Top 10 lists at the end of 2013, and we’re telling you now, Third Eye Faithful: make sure you snag yourself a copy of this gorgeous book as soon as ya can; cause it’s a must-have.
In order to set himself up with a cushy job post-graduation, Heller Wilson takes on a subject for his PhD thesis at the behest of his advisor.
This leads him to meet with Dr. Spencer Brownfield, a disgraced Columbia professor who spent his career researching Complex Theory, the idea that one can use mathematics to predict the large-scale outcomes caused by minute changes in environment.
At first, Dr. Brownfield seems crazy, but Heller soon discovers that the doctor’s research might be the only thing keeping New York City from destroying itself from the inside out.
Both in terms of storytelling and artwork, this book is pure quality comics all over the place. A great, compelling plot with gorgeous art that compliments the storytelling perfectly; combined with the incredible design and layout of the book by Archaia, who’ve wowed us with their MOUSE GUARD series, among others.
We highly recommend snagging Strange Attractors this Wednesday, and giving it a shot. It’s a big, pretty hardcover with a powerful story inside.. and it’s only $19.99.
Trust us: you can’t go wrong with this one.
The world of 3D entertainment has grown exponentially in recent years. It’s no longer a shock to see each new movie premiere in 3D alongside its regular format. But what about the genre of 3D comic books and graphic novels? Once a platform for fun, lighthearted comics featuring licensed…
ARCHAIA PANEL OF THE DAY - SHARAZ-DE
This page is from the original french version, illustrated by the masterful Sergio Toppi.
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