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With Further Ado #204: Greg Hildebrandt Part 4 – Dissatisfaction as Part of the Process

With Further Ado #204: Greg Hildebrandt Part 4 – Dissatisfaction as Part of the Process

Posted on by Ed Catto

Let’s get into the fourth part of our With Further Ado conversation with Greg Hildebrandt. The real purpose of this is talk about his two amazing 2023 calendars. During our last conversation, we were in the middle of a story, as Greg and Jean had just received an enthusiastic invitation for a one-man show at a prestigious Manhattan art gallery.

Please enjoy Part 4 of my interview with Greg Hildebrandt:

Greg Hildebrandt: Twenty minutes later Lou Meisel calls. He loved it! And he said “Okay, what are you talking about?” She <Jean> said, “A show. A one man show.” And he said, “Okay we’ll talk.”

Ed Catto: That’s incredible!

GH: And I got the same model back. Plus, another model in the meantime. Plus, a bunch of the jobs that I’m working on with about three other pinups. Get the model. Shoot the pictures. And Jean is talking with Lou. Lou is saying, “I’m going to need at least twenty-four paintings. I mean, how many does he have?“ And Jean replies, “Just this one, and he’s working on three photos.”

“That’s right – it’s three years until the show,” replied the gallery owner.

“No, no, no, no, at the end of this year you’ll have all the art,” said Jean.

He says, “What are you, kidding me?” She says “No, I guarantee you’ll have it.”

So now Lou wants to see them live – the paintings- so I finished off two more. We put them in the car, go into the city. He loved them. And he said “Okay!” We decided well what date was for the show, and we went home. And that’s all I did for the next ten or twelve months: it was pin-ups.

I put everything away, because she (Jean) manages everything – current business, family. You name it: she does it! I draw. I got twenty-four paintings done.

That show was terrific and that started a whole new thing. Of course, you’ve got to react, or respond to the kind of situation, where some people are saying, “Pin-up Artist?!? He does dragons and stuff. What do you mean pin-up art?” Continue reading “With Further Ado #204: Greg Hildebrandt Part 4 – Dissatisfaction as Part of the Process” →

Preview Review for the Week of 12/16/20: Taarna: The Last Taakarian #1

Preview Review for the Week of 12/16/20: Taarna: The Last Taakarian #1

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews.

This week we have a new series by Stephanie Phillips and Patrick Zircher called Taarna: The Last Taarakian from Heavy Metal.

You can find this book at your LCS on December 16, 2020.

Taarna: The Last Taarakian #1
Heavy Metal, Inc.
Written by Stephanie Phillips
Art by Patrick Zircher
Colors by Jessica Kholinne
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Cover Art by Christian Ward

Original Solicitation:

From the death of the last Taarakian and a collapsed universe, Taarna was born. Heavy Metal’s flagship character from the animated film returns in a new series of cosmic mystery and battles throughout the multiverse in her war against Kako, the embodiment of chaos. This is the story of a millennia-old battle between godlike beings, with all sentient life caught in their path. A new life for Taarna begins from writer Stephanie Phillips, artist Patrick Zircher, with covers by Christian Ward (Invisible Kingdom).

PCS Review:

We have been looking forward to this book for quite some time. Soon after it was announced, we spoke with writer Stephanie Phillips about her excitement for the book. The initial installment of this story is visually gorgeous and evokes a lot of the somber and cinematic quality of the Heavy Metal movie that introduced the world to Taarna in 1981.  There is a scene in the last portion of the book that recreates and expands upon a classic part of the Taarna story in the movie. It is masterfully rendered.

This book is captivating in a unique way. Phillips tells the story in mostly from a mostly observational perspective which feels natural considering that the character did not speak in the movie. However, a strong emotional connection is formed to this stoic figure through her actions. The deliberate pacing is perfectly executed. The quiet moments match excellently with the action sequences. Continue reading “Preview Review for the Week of 12/16/20: Taarna: The Last Taakarian #1” →

New Number Ones – Comics Coming in December 2020

New Number Ones – Comics Coming in December 2020

Posted on by Bob Harrison

This month we give our readers a list of the exciting new comic book series debuting in December. We have compiled an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from PREVIEWSworld. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.

December is a relatively slow month for new series, and this is a list of just some of the new series coming this month. Check with your LCS or wherever you get comics to make sure you find new things to thrill you. We hope you will take a look and think about giving these a try. We will bring you reviews of most of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.

You will find the books listed below in the order of when they are released.

Week of 12/2/20
Week of 12/9/20
Week of 12/16/20
Week of 12/23/20

Continue reading “New Number Ones – Comics Coming in December 2020” →

With Further Ado #96: Heavy Metal – Your One Way Ticket To Midnight

With Further Ado #96: Heavy Metal – Your One Way Ticket To Midnight

Posted on by Ed Catto

Way back in the 80s, when I was in college, it wasn’t really cool to read comics. Of course, I didn’t stop reading them. Occasionally, I’d lend my comics to my classmates so they could read them, but for the most parts, Marvel-type superheroes were viewed as silly or childish by many college students.

It’s funny, but I still remember having to scold Brian Winke (he lived down the hallway of dormitory) when he bent back the cover of my copy of Avengers #217.  I gave him a friendly lesson on the tragedy of spine roll and how it destroyed the condition of comic.   Clearly, comics were important to me, cool or not.

The one comic that I was never paused to read ‘in public’ was Heavy Metal. It was filled with strong art and adult themes.  Although, to be fair, “adult themes” often translated simply to excessive violence and topless robot girls.

The story I really enjoyed back then was Jim Steranko’s adaptation of Outland. That was a science fiction movie starring Sean Connery that was essentially High Noon in space.  It was serialized over a few issues, and Steranko was delivering stunning top-of-his-game pages each and every time.

But I inevitably drifted away from Heavy Metal over the years. Somehow, I’d categorize it as something adjacent to comics, but not really include it as part of my core comics purchases.

Now, in 2020, that might all change.  There’s a new sheriff in town.  Matt Medney is the new Chief Executive Officer of Heavy Metal. I caught up with him and he pulled back the curtain to share his vision and his plans for Heavy Metal. Continue reading “With Further Ado #96: Heavy Metal – Your One Way Ticket To Midnight” →

Spotlight Interview with Comic Writer Stephanie Phillips

Spotlight Interview with Comic Writer Stephanie Phillips

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Hey Folks!

Welcome back to another spotlight interview.

During our practice of social distancing, we are still able to talk to comic pros and bring those conversations to you. The discussion we are bringing you this time is with comic writer Stephanie Phillips.

Stephanie has burst on the comics scene in the last few years. She wrote an original graphic novel that was backed on Kickstarter called Kicking Ice. From there she has written Devil Within at Black Mask Studios, Descendant and Artemis and the Assassin at Aftershock Comics, and The Butcher of Paris at Dark Horse Comics. She also had a story in the DC Comics anthology Crimes of Passion.

She has a few of new series that have been announced, including A Man Among Ye from Image Comics , Red Atlantis from Aftershock, and a new comic starring Taarna from Heavy Metal.

We had an entertaining conversation ranging from dealing with life in the world of coronavirus to her career and writing process.

The completed audio recording is below, but we transcribed some of the most important parts for you as well.

Download

Pop Culture Squad:  Thanks for being here. I want to say to the listeners that this interview was supposed to happen in person at ITHACON45 where we were both going to be guests, but obviously that and all other cons have been cancelled for the foreseeable, but hopefully not too distant, future.

On that topic, before we get to your amazing comic books, what can you share about how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted your life, both in comics or not if you want?

Stephanie Phillips:  Yeah, I mean I think it’s a really weird time for everyone, in most industries, but I think we are just going to see a lot of different changes to the way comics work. Thankfully, I know that we are all going to keep making comics, I have had some hopeful calls with publishers; people are willing to just kind of forge ahead and work things out. Make new trails if we have to, but those of us in the industry, I know we are kind of here to stay. However we keep making comics, I know we will keep making those. I know things are really messy and frustrating right now, but we are going to keep kind of making stuff, creating things because it’s kind of what we do. I think at the end we will have at least really good content to share with the world. Continue reading “Spotlight Interview with Comic Writer Stephanie Phillips” →