Interview w/ Ben Templesmith
Ben Templesmith has been no stranger to horror — the creator-owned veteran has become one of this generation’s best defined horror authors through books like Welcome to Hoxford, 30 Days of Night, and The Squidder. After a brief hiatus from the comics scene, Templesmith is now running full-speed, churning out quality books behind the banner of 44FLOOD. Templesmith spent some time with us to fill us in on where he’s been, what he’s doing, and how the internet is changing the face of comics.
Green Lantern: Edge of Oblivion #1
How did Gardener leave the Red Lanterns? Where is Kyle Rayner? Where are these guys and why are they so lost? Beats me. Want answers? Better shell out a couple hundred dollars to get the last four years of Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps comics.
Deadpool and the Mercs for Money #1
Written by Deadpool veteran Cullen Bunn (Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe), this introductory issue does a fantastic job at remaining independent of concurrent titles and recent arcs, which remains a serious issue for Marvel books as their increasingly complex web or properties continues to expand.
Every Comic I’ve Ever Read Was Out of Spite
I made a vow, in that childhood-induced lunacy of acrimony, to read every comic book ever created. Twenty-three years later, that’s been my only New Year’s resolution. I visit local comic shops twice a week and have to swim through a stack of issues to get to my armchair. I’m a long way off from reading every comic ever, but I feel like I’m making some good headway. Every comic book I’ve ever read has been out of spite.
Kennel Block Blues #1
Kennel Block Blues is a weird mix-em-up mashing together Shawshank Redemption with 101 Dalmatians with a little Bugs Bunny added in for good measure. It’s a batshit insane combo that probably ought to not work, except it somehow — almost inexplicably — does. For the most part, anyway.
Deadpool Aims to Please
It’s safe to say that everything about Deadpool that Wolverine Origins got wrong, Deadpool gets right. Where the Merc with a Mouth was relegated to a literally mouthless caricature of supervillainy, his starring incarnation is every bit as lippy and sarcastic as his funny page counterpart. This film takes obscene pride in its viscera: from gore to profanity to nudity, gratuity is the name of the game in this film and it is that sense of enthusiastic intensity that truly sets this apart from every other comic book movie hitting the screen in the last decade. Deadpool earns its R-rating.
Best Comics of 2015: Best and Brightest
With so many great stories beginning and continuing into and throughout 2015, it may be tough trying to narrow down the best comics of the year. To compile this list out of hundreds of comics, I used the simple condition that each series or arc had to begin in the year 2015. Below is a list of the five best comics the year had to offer, from a variety of creators, publishers, and genres.
The Boy
Don’t let the trailer fool you — there’s a lot more going on in this film than the typical and trite synopsis or interesting-yet-entirely-overplayed trailer would lead you to believe. It’s an effective vehicle for Cohan, who at this point is probably itching to stretch her legs beyond the stagnant confines of The Walking Dead.
The Forest
To be honest, I’d have a hard time even recommending this film to the strange awkwardly aged audience group that seem to harbor an inexplicable love for these lousy PG-13 horror films. It doesn’t succeed in anything it sets out to do, nor does it manage to even try in any way that can be considered creative or original.
The Last Temptation of Christ
What sets this film apart – the story of Jesus Christ leaving Nazareth to collect his apostles and ultimately begin the chain of events that will lead to his crucifixion – is that it presents itself as a narrative instead of a gospel.
