Tag: Mark Russell

Pop Culture Squad > Mark Russell
Upcoming Release: Second Coming Is Coming Back with “Trinity”

Upcoming Release: Second Coming Is Coming Back with “Trinity”

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Sometimes items show up in our inbox here at PCS, and they just make us shout, “Hell Yeah, Bring it on!!” This press release was one of them. We are huge supporters of Ahoy Comics here as you can tell from Mike Gold’s latest column.

Second Coming is also very dear to us in particular, and any time we can let people know that more Second Coming is on the way, we are happy to do it.

Press Release:

AHOY Comics’ Controversial and Acclaimed Comic about Jesus Christ and His Superhero Roommate is Resurrected with SECOND COMING: TRINITY

2022 Eisner Winner Mark Russell, Co-Creator Richard Pace and Artist Leonard Kirk All Returning for the Third Series

(January 17, 2023) You welcomed Jesus with open arms in SECOND COMING. You marveled at his miraculous return in SECOND COMING: ONLY BEGOTTEN SON. Now the book that turned the comics industry upside-down with “quite a bit of humor…[and] a lot of heart” (The New York Times) is back for its third act with SECOND COMING: TRINITY. Continue reading “Upcoming Release: Second Coming Is Coming Back with “Trinity”” →

Preview Reviews for the Week of 11/9/2022: Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #1, Specs #1, and Two Graves #1

Preview Reviews for the Week of 11/9/2022: Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #1, Specs #1, and Two Graves #1

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews.

This week we have a three terrific books for you. The first is Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #1 from Ahoy Comics, and the second is Specs #1 which is from Boom! Studios. Finally, there is Two Graves #1 from Image Comics.

You can find these books at your LCS or wherever you buy books on November 9, 2022.

Also the rest of the #NewNumberOnes for October are here.

Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #1
Ahoy Comics
Written by Mark Russell
Art by Steve Pugh
Colors by Chris Chuckry
Letters by Rob Steen
Cover Art by Steve Pugh

Original Solicitation:

The long-awaited return of the “series that’s simultaneously infuriating and hysterically funny in its indictment of not just the 1%, but of the people-and the economic system-that enable them” (Comics Beat). The year is 2046, two years after Billionaire Island fell-taking the world’s economy with it. Only one man-er, dog-can save us now. But where is Business Dog?

PCS Review:

Reading a political socio-economic commentary by Mark Russell on election day just feels right. This next volume in the world of Billionaire Island is off to an excellent start. The brilliance of Russell’s writing is that while it is loaded with social commentary and satire, the story is usually compelling and interesting. That is certainly the case with this book.

The story picks up two years after the first volume ends and does an excellent job of laying out the environment while ramping up a new conflict. The character development and pacing of the book are well executed.

Steve Pugh does a fantastic job with the visual narrative. His character expressions are important to the success of the story, and they stand out so exquisitely because of the brilliant panel designs and page layouts. Chris Chukry’s bright color work blends perfectly into the tone of the book, and Rob Steen continues to be the unheralded star of Ahoy comics with his excellent lettering.

This is an entertaining book that makes you think and invites you to come back for issue #2. Also the homicidal golf cart steals the second half of the issue. Continue reading “Preview Reviews for the Week of 11/9/2022: Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs #1, Specs #1, and Two Graves #1” →

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Comic Writer Mark Russell

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Comic Writer Mark Russell

Posted on by Bob Harrison

In this episode of the Pop Culture SquadCast we spoke with writer Mark Russell. It’s been about seven years since Mark burst on the scene with his breakthrough book The Flintstones from DC comics.

Since that time, he has delivered a string of smart, thought provoking stories in the medium including Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Second Coming with Ahoy Comics, Red Sonja from Dynamite Entertainment, Billionaire Island, Not All Robots from AWA Studios, and so much more.

We spent some time in this conversation talking about his two upcoming series which are Superman: Space Age on which he is work with legendary artist Mike Allred. And The Incal: Psychoverse that he is doing with Yanick Paquette.

If you are a fan of Mark Russell’s work at all, you know that we had to touch on some current events and nature of human society. It was a lot of fun.

We transcribed some of the interview below but also listen to the SquadCast to hear the whole conversation. We hope you enjoy it.

PopCultureSquad: You’ve written Superman before in Wonder Twins and One Star Squadron. How does this new story differ for you? Is it the same version of Superman?

Mark Russell: I wanted to write him as like sort of a wise old stoic, you know, sort of like Marcus Aurelius or Suetonius or something, but he doesn’t start out that way. And I think what is different about this story is it tells Superman from his beginnings to becoming that. So, it is much more about trial and error. It is much more about the process of him becoming Superman, about him absorbing the wisdom of the Kents and Lois lane, and synthesizing all of the influences that they have on his life and becoming what you would recognize as my Superman. He is an unflappable, wise character who realizes that he has to be the voice of reason, that he has to be the most generous soul in the room, because anything less than that would be a nightmare for the human race.

PCS: Right. And it’s interesting because the Superman that you have written is very different from Sunstar from Second Coming. Superman that you’ve written has that heavy gravitas to him. And you can tell that everyone who’s talking to him, or stuck talking to him, knows that they are talking to the most powerful person on the planet, and he is not acting like it.

MR: So. Yeah. When I had originally pitched the Second Coming story, I wanted it to be Superman, but, Dan Didio at DC said, “I get death threats when Superman fails to say the Pledge of Allegiance. You are not going to involve me in your blasphemy here.” So, luckily he said no to Superman, but he said, “You can write it as a creator own character, and I’ll approve it.” So, that’s when I created Sunstar. and it really turned out to be a good move, because Sunstar, I think makes a much better paring for Jesus Christ than Superman.

If it was Superman, then you just have two nice guys, two really wise guys bouncing off each other, and no one wants to read that. There is just really nowhere to go with that. Whereas, Sunstar is not that wise. He’s a guy who’s kind of spoiled, someone who’s leaned into his privilege, and Christ has to sort of dial him back a little. Continue reading “Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Comic Writer Mark Russell” →

Preview Reviews for the week of 7/10/2019: Second Coming #1 and Reaver #1

Preview Reviews for the week of 7/10/2019: Second Coming #1 and Reaver #1

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews.  This is where we give advanced glimpses at some of the comics that will be coming out this Wednesday.

A reminder for you. Here at PopCultureSquad, we are decidedly Anti-Spoiler.  We feel that ruining someone’s experience with something for the sake of getting a scoop or clicks is the wrong thing to do. Therefore, we have decided to publish this column, as necessary, with mostly spoiler-free reviews of upcoming issues.  Hopefully, the information that we share with you will increase your excitement for these books.

This week we have TWO preview comics. The first is the debut of Second Coming by Mark Russell and Richard Pace, published by Ahoy Comics. The second book is the premiere issue of Reaver by Justin Jordan and Rebekah Isaacs from Image Comics. Both of these books have been eagerly anticipated and are featured in our New Number Ones column for July.

You can find Second Coming and Reaver at your LCS or on Comixology on July 10, 2019.

Continue reading “Preview Reviews for the week of 7/10/2019: Second Coming #1 and Reaver #1” →

Spotlight Interview with Comics Writer Alex Paknadel

Spotlight Interview with Comics Writer Alex Paknadel

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Alex Paknadel is a rising star in the field of comics writing. In 2019, he has completed his highly acclaimed first series with Vault Comics called Friendo. He has continued as the writer of the Lion Forge book Kino, which is set in the Catalyst Prime universe. He also wrote a four-part mini-series for Valiant called Incursion.

After breaking into the comics scene in 2015 with Arcadia from Boom! Studios, he has developed a reputation for thought-provoking storytelling. Often his topics cover deep socio-political subjects, but he can write a super-hero fight scene with the best of them. If you follow our Preview Reviews or Everything We Read columns, you will find Alex show up regularly there.

We caught up with Alex in Chicago at C2E2 in March, and this interview was captured then.

PopCultureSquad: Recently [in March 2019] there was an announcement that you and your White Noise studio mates [Dan Watters, Ram V, and Ryan O’Sullivan] have new books coming from Vault Comics. What can you tell us about that?

Alex Paknadel: We’ve re-upped with Vault for another tranche of books for 2019-2020. Dan Watters and I have started work on a book called Earthcrosser, which is being gorgeously illustrated by a brilliant Scottish artist named Pablo Clark. Ram and Ryan’s plans for 2020 are well-advanced too, so expect great things.

PCS: Ok, and you guys know what you are doing? You are excited about the new books?

AP: Yeah, we were able to get fantastic creative teams for the first wave of books, and we have managed to at least equal the quality of creative talent for this next set if not go beyond that.

We have been viewing Vault, and I hope they don’t get upset for me saying this but, as sort of an outlet for our “Boutique Books”. These are the ones where we take big risks.

PCS: Are they the ones that are most personal? Continue reading “Spotlight Interview with Comics Writer Alex Paknadel” →

Brainiac On Banjo #029: Ahoy There, Mr. Christ!

Brainiac On Banjo #029: Ahoy There, Mr. Christ!

Posted on by Mike Gold

If you’ve been to a comic book shop lately or you’ve thumbed through a recent Diamond Distributors catalog, no doubt you’ve noticed there are a hell of a lot of viable-looking, professionally-operated new publishers around who are doing some very interesting projects. You’ve also noticed there are far too many new projects for you to check out. Or, perhaps, you’re tired of hearing your credit card scream every time you go to the comics shop.

Lucky for Ahoy Comics, one of the better new imprints to come down the pike in the past couple years, our friends at DC Comics just gave them one hell of a promotional boost.

DC had this six-issue project called The Second Coming, by Mark Russell and Richard Pace – which, alone, should be enough to get you to check it out. It’s about Jesus Christ, his superhero roommate Sunstar, and his reactions towards contemporary society. As Russell told the New York Times he was telling a story about how we have “fetishized physical violence and force as being the solution to every problem.” OK, that’s a valid pitch for this satirical series which, clearly, was not intended to be the gospel truth, or a replacement or a revision of same.

DC solicited the first couple issues before word got out to the various hate groups such as the Christian Broadcasting Network, Citizen Go, Christian Headlines, and Fox News. Just because you throw around the word “Christian” does not mean you aren’t a hater, and these groups and their fellow travelers quickly organized petitions urging its cancellation and threatening a boycott of DC. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo #029: Ahoy There, Mr. Christ!” →

Second Coming Is Really Coming

Second Coming Is Really Coming

Posted on by Bob Harrison

It is with great joy that we let you know that Second Coming is actually coming!!

Second Coming by Mark Russell and Richard Pace will be published by Ahoy Comics beginning on July 10, 2018

You may be aware that, last month, DC/Vertigo cancelled the previously announced series Second Coming. It was solicited as a satire that puts a newly Earth-bound Jesus Christ as a roommate to Sun-Man, the “Superman” character of the world that it is set in.  While the comic was announced in July of 2018, a fundamentalist backlash began in January of this year, and the creators were offered the opportunity to take the book to another publisher.

Continue reading “Second Coming Is Really Coming” →