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Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 07/20/2011 - 07:00
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Categories: Comics

Eerie Archives Volume 7

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 05/25/2011 - 07:00
This excursion features the work of comic-book luminaries Ernie Colon, Mike Ploog, and Dave Cockrum, as well as fan-favorite Eerie creators Doug Moench, Don Glut, Tom Sutton, Sanjulian, Esteban Maroto, and Steve Skeats. Each volume in this series reprints times tales of horror in a high-quality hardcover format, including all
Categories: Comics

Domo Rocks Journal

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 05/18/2011 - 07:00
Our latest and greatest Domo Journal features Domo shredding on his new guitar. Think that you can rock as hard as Domo? It is highly doubtful, but your friend Domo is always easy to share your deepest thoughts, your to--do list, or best sketches with.

Categories: Comics

Star Wars: Blood TiesA Tale of Jango and Boba Fett

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 05/18/2011 - 07:00
Here begins a multigenerational tale of honor and redemption, starring two of the heaviest hitters in the Star Wars galaxy--the father-and-clone team of Jango and Boba Fett!

A mission that begins with Jango Fett--before the Clone Wars--will affect the course of Boba Fett
Categories: Comics

Star Wars: The Old Republic Volume 2Threat of Peace

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 05/18/2011 - 07:00
A look at the era of Star Wars: The Old Republic, written by one of the writers behind LucasArts and BioWare
Categories: Comics

Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rahsan Ekedal Tell Us About Echoes

The Blog From Another World - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 18:17

We’re bringing Top Cow Month to a close with an interview with the creators of the creepy, totally addictive series Echoes: writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Rahsan Ekedal.

In Echoes, Brian Cohn is an ordinary middle-aged guy expecting a child with his wife. He’s also a diagnosed schizophrenic–just like his father, who might be a serial killer who has killed countless little girls and made tiny dolls from them. When another girl disappears, Brian has to wonder–is schizophrenia the only thing he inherited from his father?

Echoes #5 comes out today and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. Read up on the series below and then order yours now, but be warned: this is a disturbing tale that is not for the faint of heart.

TFAW.com: Echoes is like something out of a nightmare. Joshua, where did the idea for this come from?

Joshua Hale Fialkov: It came almost directly out of my own fears. My wife and I had decided to have a baby, and I was instantly struck by how my relationship with my own father had shaped and molded me into who I was today. All of my flaws and strengths came from the way my parents raised me from an extremely early age. So, of course, I start panicking about what that means for me and my kid, and then, y’know, the mind drifts . . .

TFAW.com: The protagonist, Brian Cohn, is a schizophrenic who occasionally delays his meds, which makes him an extremely unreliable narrator. Will we ever know the “real” story?

JHF: I mean, for me, I know exactly what happens and exactly what the ending of the series means. I’ve been somewhat amazed that so many people who’ve read it have taken it in so many different ways. It’s actually pretty rewarding to have people actively debating and thinking about the book so long after they’ve read it. A lot of the thanks for that goes to Rahsan, who added just the right touch of ambiguity to the final art.

Rahsan Ekedal: The line between reality and Brian’s illusions is very hard for the reader to distinguish, and that’s exactly how Josh and I wanted it, so there’s no separation in the art, no clear difference between hallucination and reality. There’s a total immersion into Brian’s world that, I think, has caused a lot of people to become invested in figuring out what’s “real” and what’s not. I just can’t wait to see where that debate goes when everyone reads the finale in issue #5. Even though Josh and I are certain of its meaning, I’m really curious to find out what other people get from it.

TFAW.com: What was his relationship like with his father?

JHF: I think bad is probably an understatement. It’s never explicitly said in the comic, but, at some point, Brian’s mom just couldn’t take it anymore and abandoned him with his dad, which his dad really blamed on Brian, rather than his own illness and short comings, and that resentment just kept on coming up. I think once Brian was old enough, he probably left home and kept as far away as he could, while still trying to prove himself capable to his dad.

TFAW.com: If you read Echoes, his father never actually claims to be a serial killer, but Brian leaps to that conclusion immediately–admittedly, after finding some pretty damning evidence. Why?

JHF: I’d say it’s the evidence, I mean, it’s just all right there, and there’s not a lot of other paths to go down. If his dad knew about the room, then his dad must be connected to the room. We also see some of his rationale in the flashback at the beginning of issue #4, where he’s remembering this strange, almost dirty moment with his dad, that, in retrospect seems so much more sinister knowing what he knows now.

RE: And the thought becomes an obsession. Once the question is there, it becomes inescapable. We’ve all had a thought or fear that we just can’t get out of our head. And it’s even worse for someone with Brian’s condition.

TFAW.com: Rahsan, what did you think about this story when you first heard about it?

RE: The great thing about Echoes from the start was the push and pull between simplicity and complexity. You can describe the plot in one sentence, but at the same time, Brian’s story is incredibly rich thematically, and deals with very complex issues. That’s the recipe for a great story, in my mind. And the opportunity to draw a story that deals seriously with mental health was a big incentive for me to come on board for this book–it’s one of those things that doesn’t get talked about enough in our society. Plus, it’s Josh Fialkov–I would have said yes to working with him again even if the story was about cuddly bunnies. Which, by the way–spoiler alert–is what our next project is all about.

TFAW.com: Your style is pretty realistic, which makes it even harder to distinguish reality from fantasy. How did you approach this story?

RE: Reality, immersion, darkness. Those were the keywords for me. It was really important to us both that Brian feel like a real person. At an early design stage, I had Brian as more of a handsome hero type, but it didn’t quite feel right. That guy wasn’t Brian. And then Josh was like, “Make him fatter. Make him less attractive.” I went back to the drawing board, and suddenly Brian was staring me in the face. That was an important moment in the course of the book, I think, and a great example of our collaborative process.

Another important moment was the decision to print the book in black and white. It was honestly exciting, because normally in comics I’m working with a colorist. That has it’s own rewards, of course, but the bottom line is that what I draw isn’t exactly what the reader sees– the colorist is really creating the “finished” image. With Echoes, I had utter control over the relationship between my brush and the reader’s eyes. So I became totally obsessed with creating this immersive world of creeping shadows. The texture of the shadows is a character–I wanted the darkness in Echoes to feel alive, a representation of Brian’s mind.

TFAW.com: Rahsan, I’ve loved your work in The Cleaners and Creepy. It seems like your style took a definite shift between the two. Do you agree, and if so, what spurred the change?

RE: Part of it was just my learning process–I went to art school for five years, but nothing teaches you as much or as fast as actually working on a monthly schedule. But I also give a lot of credit to my editor (on both of the books you mentioned), Shawna Gore. She had her eye on me when I was still in school, and has consistently given me the right guidance at the right time, especially in that key moment between finishing The Cleaners and drawing my first Creepy short, when my process needed shaking up. We had a long talk at New York Comic Con that year, and it propelled me to changed up my style. Echoes has been the full expression of that effort, thanks to Filip Sablik and Top Cow letting me cut loose. But now I’m searching for new ways to improve. It’s a constant process. I’m never satisfied with my pages!

TFAW.com: Joshua and Rahsan, you worked together on The Cleaners. How has your working relationship evolved over the years?

JHF: Last time around, Rah and I didn’t really get to work together, as I had a co-writer who did most of the heavy lifting. But, we were like two little dogs separated by plexiglass at the pet store, so desperate to frolic together, that it was only a matter of time.

RE: We’ve worked together on a few things now, and I think we’ve developed a great creative short hand–Josh writes for me, and I draw for him, you know? It’s very rewarding when both creators are sort of anticipating the other. It works. And we frolic. Ah, the frolic-ing.

TFAW.com: What keeps bringing you two back together?

JHF: So much of our influences are in lock step. The old Warren horror magazines from the ’60s and ’70s, that Bernie Wrightson-style horror stuff, and I think we both circle the same films and television as well. Having someone who understands your references is such a huge help in the process. Plus, I think we make beautiful music together, so to speak.

RE: Also, we both take the craft very seriously, so that brings us together. Josh is all about creating that perfect panel, perfect single page, perfect 22-page experience. His scripts show that care, and that’s exactly in line with my visual ambitions, as well. So, it’s creatively rewarding to work together.

TFAW.com: How did you get involved with Top Cow?

JHF: I’d been working with Top Cow off and on for nearly five years now. Maybe more, actually! When I came up with Echoes, I was coming off the success we had with Alibi and it’s movie deal, so it just felt natural to offer them up what was next.

TFAW.com: While The Cleaners was more of a CSI-style horror story, Echoes is definitely more dreamlike and visceral. Which type of stories do you two prefer?

JHF: I think Echoes is definitely more in my wheel house. I love being able to tell grounded stories about characters that you love, even though you should, by all rights, be disgusted by them. Finding a way to make someone relatable and a hero when their actions clearly state the opposite is just a complete blast for me.

RE: I love a challenge, so working in many different genres and tones is great. I couldn’t choose just one.

TFAW.com: Will there be any more to the story after issue #5? Is there any room for a sequel?

JHF: I have a sequel in mind, and have had from the very beginning. So while Brian’s story is very much complete, for me, I have a lot of nasty things left to do to the people around him.

RE: The Empire Echoes Back!

TFAW.com: What types of comics would you two like to tackle next?

JHF: We’ve talked a bit, and I know my heart drifts towards doing something slightly less macabre, but still in the horror genre. Once Rahsan gets a break from being a goddamn superstar over at Dark Horse, we’re gonna sit down and figure something out.

RE: We’ll let you guess at what “slightly less macabre” might mean. We’re going to do something awesome, promise.

TFAW.com: What comics are you reading right now?

JHF: I’m absolutely in love with Scott Snyder’s run on Detective Comics. That guy is a genius. I’m also a big fan of the work Cullen Bunn is doing over on The Sixth Gun, Jeff Lemire on Sweet Tooth, and the Image book Li’l Depressed Boy is simply amazing.

RE: I have to give a bump to Jason McNamara’s The Martian Confederacy: From Mars With Love, with art by Paige Braddock. It’s out this month, I believe, and it’s a great, fun little book with a really twisted sense of humor.

TFAW.com: Do you have anything coming up you’d like to talk about?

JHF: Sure, I’m writing a three issue arc of Superman/Batman for DC, that’s in previews right now. I’ve also got some original comics debuting over at geek.mtv.com later this year, and a couple of books that’ll be announced this summer.

RE: Right now I’m drawing the fourth issue of Solomon Kane: Red Shadows for Dark Horse, written by Bruce Jones. Issue #1 is in stores right now. And we may be doing more Kane after that–should be some announcements soon. So, if you’re a Robert Howard fan, stay tuned for that. There’s other stuff, but nothing I can talk about yet. Follow us both on Twitter! We’re lively. That’s one word for it.

Thank you, Joshua and Rahsan, for answering all of our questions. Now get to work on something new for us to read! In the meantime, catch up on Echoes here.

ORDER ECHOES COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS NOW

VISIT OUR TOP COW MONTH PAGE

Are you loving Echoes like I am? Post your comments below!

Categories: Comics

Star Wars Adventures: Boba Fett and the Ship of Fear

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
The wreck of the Reverie, a four-hundred-year-old abandoned luxury liner is rumored to house an ancient relic of immense value. When Boba comes into possession of a map revealing the ship's current whereabouts, he sets his sights on the prize. But he's not alone-two bounty-hunting brothers with a grudge against Fett are now on his trail, hoping to win the treasure for themselves. But, neither Boba nor the brothers are prepared for what else is lurking within the creepy corridors of the forsaken Reverie . . .

* An original Boba Fett graphic novel for all ages!
Categories: Comics

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #6

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
With his beloved Gail's life hanging in the balance, the Man of the Atom faces his archenemy Nuro's Nuclear Ninja-warriors skilled in the arts of stealth, deception . . . and death. It's martial-arts mayhem on a cosmic scale! Plus, the astonishing origin of the Man of the Atom continues! In the searing ergozone of a black hole, all of time and space is laid bare to Dr. Phillip Solar. World War III is imminent. So is the death of his eleven-year-old sister . . . If only he could do something! But maybe he can . . .

* Industry legend Jim Shooter returns to the character he redefined in the 1990s to overwhelming sales and critical success.

* Part of a major launch of new related titles, including Magnus, Robot Fighter; Turok, Son of Stone; Mighty Samson; and Doctor Spektor.

* This issue contains multiple tales, including the continuing origin tale of the Man of the Atom.
Categories: Comics

Archie Archives Volume 1

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
Dark Horse Comics and Archie Comics Publications are thrilled to present Archie Archives!

Seventy years ago, a small independent comics publisher in New York introduced a new kind of character to comics fans. He wasn't a superhero or a warrior, neither a spaceman, nor a villain-he was Archie Andrews, the red headed teenaged "everyman" we all grew up with! Volume 1 of the Archie Archives series shines the spotlight on young Mr. Andrews's earliest adventures on the streets of Riverdale, from the budding romances he shares with Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, to his anxious antics at Riverdale High and all the trouble he's caused along the way!

* Collects all of the first appearances of Archie Andrews from Pep and Jackpot Comics, through Pep #31 and Jackpot #8.
Categories: Comics

Conan: Road of Kings #4

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
Captured! On his way to deliver stolen state secrets, Conan is abducted by the King of Nemedia and asked to turn over the name of the accomplice who sent him on this errand. Conan
Categories: Comics

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom Volume 1

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
Empowered by a thermonuclear catastrophe, Doctor Solar commands the awesome forces of the universe. But in the aftershock of the cataclysm that created the Man of the Atom, ripples throughout space-time imbue one Whitmore Pickerel with the power to create life-which he uses to serve his selfish desires and reckless ambitions. But some of Pickerel's creations have power beyond his dreams and hungers beyond his control!

* An icon of heroic fiction, Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom returns to comics
Categories: Comics

Little Lulu Volume 27: The Treasure Map and Other Stories

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
As if writing (and sometimes drawing) monthly issues of Little Lulu and Tubby weren
Categories: Comics

Mighty Samson Archives Volume 3

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
After a worldwide nuclear apocalypse, Mighty Samson is the superhuman son of one of the last surviving tribes of peaceful humans. Facing mutated, reptilian terrors, man-eating plants, radioactive seamonsters, and cruel, desperate survivors, Samson dares to explore a damaged, irradiated future America while he looks for sustenance and supplies for his people.

The third volume in this archival hardcover series reprints the original 1960s and
Categories: Comics

Turok, Son of Stone Archives Volume 8

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
In a land and time no longer their own, Indian warriors Turok and Andar struggle to find a way out of the lost valley, fighting for survival against a never-ending assortment of prehistoric monsters and primitive men. Witness fierce battles with epic stakes as the two braves encounter fire-breathing dinosaurs, giant man-eating plants, and more!

* This volume collects issues #44
Categories: Comics

King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel #3

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
Conan goes against his ingrained barbarian instincts and sides with a strange wizard in order to topple those who ensnared them both in the horrific dungeons beneath the Scarlet Citadel! Timothy Truman, Tomas Giorello, and Jose Villarrubia-the monthly team behind the critically acclaimed Conan the Cimmerian comic-book run-move ahead many years in the barbarian
Categories: Comics

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #4

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
An attempt on his life leaves Vader and a handful of loyal troops trapped on a desolate world. Despite the deadly perils posed by the environment and attacks from his mysterious enemy, Vader will not veer from his duty.

But what if the reason for his mission is negated? And what do these visions of Padme mean to Vader
Categories: Comics

Star Wars: LegacyWar #5

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
In the aftermath of the latest battle, the Jedi, the Galactic Alliance, and Roan Fel
Categories: Comics

Strange Case of Mr. Hyde #1

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
Sometimes good police work just isn
Categories: Comics

Usagi Yojimbo #137

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
The next chapter in this exciting tale of the Red Scorpion Gang! When the bunny bodyguard Usagi discovers the body of a magistrate
Categories: Comics

Domo 2" Qee Mystery Figures Series 3 Display Case

Dark Horse Comics - Wed, 04/27/2011 - 07:00
Dark Horse is proud to continue bringing you an exciting new series of creative designs for our little pal Domo, who continues to enjoy the "Qee" treatment from our collaborators at Hong Kong's Toy2R!

Their popular 2" Qee minifigures, appearing in stores and galleries worldwide, have proven to be a great fit for this character, and collectors and retailers seem to just want more. As before, chase figures are being produced with common figures. There will be a total of fifteen different versions, with varied levels of scarcity.
Categories: Comics
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