Month: October 2019

Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity – A Suspenseful Game of Cat & Mouse

Harley Quinn is one of DC’s most popular characters. Attend any comic con and you’ll find as many Harley cosplayers as there are Deadpool. She even heads several comics- with her own ongoing written by Sam Humphries, and a Black Label miniseries by Stjepan Sejic.

This past new comic book day, she received another Black Label miniseries entitled Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity. It is written by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Mike Mayhew and Filipino artist, Mico Suayan.

Joker/Harley is a reimagining of the pair’s dynamic where Harley is a forensic psychologist and criminal profiler hunting down a serial killer called the Joker. The case gets personal and Harley finds herself jeopardizing her morals and integrity in order to solve it.

At this year’s New York Comic Con, the DC booth hosted a pre-release signing with Garcia and Suayan, and Mayhew’s signature could be added with a quick visit to artist alley.

The DC Black Label imprint allows creators the freedom to pursue stories with recognizable characters without being bogged-down with continuity. Joker/Harley: Criminal Insanity is an interesting take on this nefarious duo, and the first issue is currently available at your local comic book store.

The Underappreciated Women of Black Lightning

The CW Black Lightning superhero television show follows high school principal, Jefferson Pierce, as he tries to better and save his community as a civilian and as his vigilante alter ego.

Much like the other Berlanti-verse programs, Black Lightning had a significant presence at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. They held a panel teasing season three and hosted a signing with most of the main cast.

What many don’t know was there was a second signing for the show. Away from the flashy Warner Bros. booth on the show floor, in the Sails Pavilion, the women behind Black Lightning had their own signing.

The signing featured writers, costume designers, and a few ancillary characters. Though not as glamorous as the cast signing, it was nice to meet some of the underappreciated members of the show. Plus, the autographed extra-sized poster was great SWAG!

Black Lightning recently returned for its third season. Watch it Monday nights at 9pm on the CW.

SWAG! The NYCC 2019 Haul

New York Comic Con is one of the largest conventions around- attracting attendees representing every corner of pop culture. With so many big names from comics, TV, movies and video games, you can believe there are many great opportunities to pick up SWAG. Each day provided something new.

Here’s what one of the Swag Collector team members picked up.

Thursday was the biggest day volume wise. It was a large haul, with the vast majority coming from a single exhibitor, Kabam. The company was promoting their recently announced game, Marvel Realm of Champions and gave away a special banner and pin based off of which house you selected in the demo. I was fortunate to obtain all eight.

Panels are also a good source of SWAG. That’s where I picked up the Servant water bottle and the This Week in Marvel gloves, who hosted the Spider-Man Spectacular panel.

Finally, I picked up two comic related items. I went to Colleen Doran’s signing at the Dark Horse booth where they gave out posters for Snow, Glass, Apples, her graphic novel collaboration with Neil Gaiman. Also, I received a small, quick sketch from artist Chris Eliopoulos.

Friday’s haul, though smaller, was also video game influenced. The Eisner winning comic series, Blacksad, is receiving a video game set in the anthropomorphic crime noir universe. They handed-out a themed t-shirt and faux newspaper along with a bag from the developer. At the Marvel Games panel, audience members could receive a Ms. Marvel fan fiction comic. Outside of the con at the Watchmen Afterparty, I picked up a coaster and a Swatch watch.

Saturday was all about comics. From DC, I picked up a pair of their samplers and a signed poster for Joker/Harley: Criminal Insanity. In addition, I attended two of the panels where Marvel provided exclusive variant covers. Even hit up artist alley to get them signed. The Netflix show, Seis Manos, gave away posters at their presentation.

I made a cameo appearance on the last day. I only rolled in for The Dragon Prince panel. There, I picked up an enamel pin, which was a Dark Horse show exclusive.

There was so much SWAG I had a hard time fitting it all into my bag home. NYCC is definitely a premiere event for a significant haul.

Primal: An Unlikely Pairing To Survive The Prehistoric Landscape

Genndy Tartakovsky has had a prominent career in animation. He is the talent behind such favorites as Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack. After spending time in movies with the Hotel Transylvania franchise, the creator is set to make his return to television.

Tartakovsky’s mature themes series, Primal, explores the relationship between a caveman and dinosaur, after tragedy unites them. The unlikely pair must work together to survive the prehistoric landscape.

Primal had a nice presence at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, with a panel and events at the offsite, Adult Swim On the Green. At the latter, the first two episodes were screened, followed by a Q&A.

Primal goes against current trends by being completely hand drawn with no dialog save for occasional grunts and growls. The engaging and compelling show is a testament to Tartakovsky and crew’s story-telling prowess. The combination of art and score are effective in communicating emotion and tone, throughout, and the action sequences are brutal and intense.

Tartakovsky also held a signing at On the Green. Those fortunate enough to score a ticket received an autographed card and a pin.

More news or sneak peaks for Primal can be expected during New York Comic Con, where the show will also have a panel. The first episode airs Monday, October 7, at midnight on Adult Swim.

Gear Up For Catalyst Prime Seven Days From Lion Forge

Catalyst Prime is the superhero imprint from comics publisher, Lion Forge. It began in 2017 with the free comic book day issue, Catalyst Prime The Event. The focus of this superhero universe is to promote diversity and inclusion in both characters and creators.

The Catalyst Prime Universe (CPU) spawned seven different titles in over two years. Now, the CPU will experience its first major cross over event, Catalyst Prime Seven Days– engineered by comics scribe, Gail Simone.

A month prior to Seven Days, Lion Forge held a week-long, daily giveaway to promote the signature mini-series. Amongst the SWAG were t-shirts featuring heroes of the CPU. Below is the shirt featuring Noble, star of the flagship book.

Lion Forge made the most of the shirt’s marketing power by including the series’ logo on the front and name on the back- with the Catalyst Prime logo and the Lion Forge logo prominently displayed on each sleeve.

In addition, after a mailing error, Lion Forge went above and beyond by correcting the mistake with even more SWAG! This included a shirt featuring hero, Summit, a button, and a decal. Best of all, The “Impact Shelter” decal is a wink to readers who recognize the shelter’s significance to the story’s near extinction-level event that granted powers to regular joes.

Lion Forge did a nice job promoting the crossover event, and it will be exciting to see the superheroes of the CPU team up for the first time.

Catalyst Prime Seven Days #1 hits stands Wednesday, October 2.