CBR Reviews Velocity #2

“Velocity” #2 showcases the eponymous heroine’s abilities and problem-solving abilities as she’s left with the task of saving herself and her Cyberforce teammates from a deadly virus in under an hour. It’s a fun, breezy read with gorgeous art.


Read the full review here.
Source: CBR

CBR Exclusive Preview: Darkness #86

The Darkness #86
Story by: Phil Hester
Art by: Sheldon Mitchell
Cover by: Rafael Albuquerque
Publisher: Top Cow Productions
Cover Price: $2.99

Alkonost, Part 2 of 2!

In the hunt for The Sovereign Jackie and crew strike a deal with an insane Russian mobster and collector of the occult, but his supernatural enforcer wants to add a Darkness wielder to the collection. What is The Alkonost and how does it control even The Darkness itself?

Top Cow Pit artist Sheldon Mitchell (Pilot Season: Stealth) joins regular writer Phil Hester (Gen13, The Anchor) for a sinister two-part story. Featuring a cover by Rafael Albuquerque (American Vampire)!

See the full preview here.
Source: CBR

CBR: Artifacts #1 Goes to Third Printing

Top Cow Productions, Inc. is proud to announce that the first issue from their mega-event series, Artifacts, has sold out for a second time at Diamond and will head back to the printers for a third printing to meet demand, a first in Top Cow history.

The dynamic pairing of writer Ron Marz (Witchblade) with the art team of Michael Broussard (The Darkness), Rick Basaldua (The Darkness), Sal Regla (Magdalena) and Sunny Gho of IFS (Velocity) delivers one of the most accessible and engaging event series to date.

”The rapid sales velocity on Artifacts #1 has been incredibly gratifying and a testament to the fantastic work that the entire creative team of Ron Marz, Michael Broussard, Rick Basaldua, Sal Regla, and Sunny Gho have been doing,” commented Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik, “We’ve never gone to a third printing, but this is our biggest event to date and we want our retail partners to know that we are fully behind it.”

Read the full release here.
Source: CBR

CBR Exclusive Preview: Velocity #2

VELOCITY #2
STORY BY
Ron Marz
ART BY
Kenneth Rocafort
COVER BY
Kenneth Rocafort

The Pilot Season Winner is Back!

As the members of Cyberforce lay dying from a fatal techno-virus, their only hope for survival is their teammate Velocity. Carin Taylor has never been more in need of her super-speed as the races around the globe, trying to find and cure her teammates before the same virus kills her. The issue continues the inaugural creative union of writer Ron Marz (Witchblade, Angelus) and artist Kenneth Rocafort (Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer).

See the full preview here.
Source: CBR

CBR Exclusive Preview: Magdalena #3

Story: Ron Marz
Art: Nelson Blake II, Sal Regla, Dave McCaig
Cover: Ryan Sook
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: Sept. 1, 2010

The Star of the Forthcoming Feature Film Gets Her Own Series!

Descended from the bloodline of Christ, Patience is the latest incarnation of the Magdalena. Armed with the Spear of Destiny, she is tasked with destroying any and all evil... even if it takes the form of a little boy. Patience might be able to destroy the boy's demonic protectors, but can she bring herself to murder a child who could ultimately prove to be innocent?

See the full preview here.
Source: CBR

CBR Reviews Witchblade: Due Process

Phil Smith writes an intriguing and compelling story. The guilt that Pezzini feels over her lack of action a decade previous and Hicks’ transformation make for some tense and complex scenes. Hicks wants to return to his family, but his wife wants nothing to do with him because of the company he kept in prison. Smith adds a surprising element to that dynamic by making Hicks’ wife black, but that isn’t fully explored or made entirely clear in the art.

Read the full review here.
Source: CBR

CBR: Image/Top Cow Solicits for November 2010

Image Comics has released solicitation information and images for new books and products shipping in November, 2010.



ARTIFACTS VOLUME 1 TRADE PAPERBACK
story RON MARZ
art MICHAEL BROUSSARD
cover TOP COW’S FINEST
NOVEMBER 17
160 PAGES / FC / TRADE PAPERBACK
$9.99
Catch up on the Event of the Year!
Discover the series that has everyone buzzing with this introductory priced trade paperback collection released to coincide with the beginning of the second chapter of the yearlong event! Separately, thirteen mystical Artifacts will guide the fate of the Universe. Together, thirteen Artifacts will end the Universe. When a mysterious antagonist kidnaps, Hope, the daughter of Sara Pezzini and Jackie Estacado, Armageddon is put into motion. Starring virtually every character in the Top Cow Universe, this is a series for diehard fans and new readers alike.
Written by Top Cow Universe architect Ron Marz (Witchblade, Magdalena) and featuring art by Michael Broussard (The Darkness), this volume collects Artifacts #1-#4 along with the Free Comic Book Day #0 issue and a beautiful cover gallery, behind-the-scenes extras, and much more!
“ It’s loud, widescreen comic book mayhem that sticks to the roof of your brain” – 4 out 5 stars – Comic Book Resources
“…dramatic and heavy…visually striking…” – Newsarama
“…great writing and great art are in perfect tandem.” – Crave Online
“I have a feeling this book is going to be huge.” – 4.5 out of 5 stars – Comicvine

To see the whole November 2010 solicitations for November, go here.
Source: CBR

CBR: SDCC's The Image Comics Panel

The Image Comics Show at Comic-Con International in San Diego kicked off as PR and Marketing Coordinator Betsy Gomez introduced the fan-filled crowd to an all-star lineup of writers including Robert Kirkman ("Walking Dead," "Invincible"), Joe Kelly ("I Kill Giants"), Marc Guggenheim (writer of the "Green Lantern" film), John Layman ("Chew"), Ben McCool ("Choker"), and Nick Spencer ("Forgetless").

Betsy Gomez then took the opportunity to mention two upcoming projects from Top Cow writer Ron Marz ("Witchblade," "Artifacts"). Image has picked up Marz and Lee Moder's "Shinku" as a full-color monthly series, with the series focusing on vampires versus samurai. Marz previously released an ashcan issue at Baltimore Comic-Con in 2009. Additionally, Image and Top Cow are jointly collaborating on Marz's "Firebreather vs. Dragon Prince," with more details to be revealed at the Top Cow panel.

Read about the panel here.
Source: CBR

CBR's Comics Should Be Good: Comic Book Legends Revealed

Welcome to the two-hundred and seventieth in a series of examinations of comic book legends and whether they are true or false

COMIC LEGEND: Wanted was based on a pitch by Mark Millar to DC for a Secret Society of Supervillains series.

STATUS: Enough Truth for a True

Mark Millar and JG Jones’ Wanted was about a young man who finds out that his father is part of a secret society of supervillains.

Ever since the hit comic book came out in 2003, it has been rumored that the story was originally written for DC as a pitch by Millar for a mini-series about the ACTUAL Secret Society of Supervillains.

Like many things, the truth is somewhere in the middle.

For more info on that legend and other comic book legends, go here.
Source: CBR

CBR's Robot 6: Food or Comics?

Welcome once again to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we'd buy based on certain spending limits -- $15, $30 to spend and if we had extra money to spend on what we call the "Splurge" item.


If I had $15, I'd get…

Artifacts #1 ($3.99) looks like a good stepping-on point, so I'll give it a try. It's a big, complicated story about the 13 artifacts that control the universe, and how some shadowy entity is trying to bring them together to destroy everything. It sounds a bit grandiose, but what the hell, it's summer reading. Then I can spend that last dollar on one of Dark Horse's dollar comics, Sin City: The Hard Goodbye.

Read the full article here.
Source: CBR

CBR's Read Pile Picks Witchblade #137

THE READ PILE FOR AUGUST 11TH, 2010

"Witchblade" #137 was a cute done-in-one using a diary entry as a framing device for a necromancer guest star to befriend the title character.

Read the Buy/Read Pile here.
Source: CBR

CBR Exclusive Preview: Witchblade: Due Process

Sara has to make amends with an innocent man she sent to prison.

Before young Sara Pezzini was called to bear the Witchblade she made a horrible mistake that destroyed a man’s life. Today that man is being released from prison and has to put the pieces of his life back together. In order to protect his family, this desperate father made a deal with demonic forces, and now it is time to pay. When Sara tries to reach out and make her past wrong right, she's confronted by demonic forces. The stakes: a man's very soul.

Written by Phil Smith (Trinity: Blood on the Sands) with art by Alina Urusov (X-23, Young Avengers).

Catch the exclusive preview here.
Source: CBR

CBR Commentary Track: Artifacts #1

Warning: Major spoilers for "Artifacts" #1 lurk ahead.

The thirteen Artifacts of the Top Cow Universe are currently being united in the pages of "Artifacts," a 13-issue limited series written by Ron Marz and illustrated by a team of artists including Michael Broussard. Over the past several months, CBR News spoke with Marz and Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik on a weekly basis to discuss the thirteen deadly Artifacts at the center of the series - thirteen objects that could destroy the world when assembled all at once.

With "Artifacts" #1 currently available in comic book stores, the time for preparation is at an end and answers are most assuredly on the way. Continuing our coverage of Top Cow's most ambitious comic book event to date, CBR sat down with Marz, Broussard and Sablik for a detailed analysis of "Artifacts" #1, unearthing a behind-the-scenes look at the construction of the issue.

Read the full article here.
Source: CBR

CBR: Witchblade Goes from Comic to Console

Sara Pezzini isn't one to play games, but that's not stopping her from appearing in one.

At Comic-Con International in San Diego, Top Cow Productions announced its development of a "Witchblade" video game based on the comic book company's flagship character. But getting Sara from the paneled page to the digital realm isn't as easy as eviscerating a pack of thugs with a sentient artifact — there is a considerable amount of steps involved when it comes to bringing a video game to life, let alone a game based off of a comic book character. CBR News spoke with Top Cow President Matt Hawkins to learn more about the "Witchblade" game and its development process.

"I've been trying to develop a Witchblade video game for a very long time and developing video games on comic book properties is actually very hard," he told CBR. "With the costs of producing an Xbox 360 and PS3 game pushing $50 million now, [video game companies] want either massively preawareness branded properties or they want to internally generate and build their own characters, as you see with a lot of publishers."

Read the full coverage here.
Source: CBR

CBR Reviews Artifacts #1

Seven words in and this comic establishes the tone: mature readers only, please. Sara Pezzini has her gun drawn and cuts an intimidating first image in this series. From there, there’s action, violence, and suspense, including an issue-ending scene that is simply heartbreaking.

Top Cow magnificently identifies the major players in this story with two pages of quick bios describing the seven critical characters of this issue, but in the story, itself, the characters are smoothly identified by those they run into and the circumstances surrounding them. Sara Pezzini introduces herself as she comes to the rescue of a priest being attacked by a demon. Later in the issue, Tom Judge is pegged by the enigmatic Curator, who is set up to be a pivot point for the action and drama of this series.

There’s plenty of action and drama in this single issue. The Curator clues Judge (and the reader by proxy) in to what this series is going to be all about. “There are forces in motion,” he tells Judge. Those forces seek to draw together thirteen ancient artifacts -- including the Witchblade, the Darkness, and Judge’s Rapture cross -- which would result in the destruction of the universe.

The storytelling is cinematic and effective.

Rating:

Read the full review here.
Source: CBR

CBR: The Road Ends with the Thirteenth Artifact

The Thirteenth Artifact, currently unidentified within the pages of the Top Cow Universe, will finally be revealed over the course of "Artifacts," the 13-issue limited series from writer Ron Marz and a team of illustrators including Michael Broussard. Once revealed, this final Artifact will take its place alongside the twelve previously identified Artifacts: the Witchblade, the Darkness, the Angelus, the Rapture, the Spear of Destiny, the Glacier Stone, the Ember Stone, the Blood Sword, Pandora's Box, the Wheel of Shadows, the Heart Stone and the Coin of Solomon. Once identified - and once unified with the other twelve - readers will finally learn just how dangerous the Thirteenth Artifact really is. To learn more about the Artifact, CBR News spoke with "Artifacts" writer Ron Marz and Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik for the final installment of our weekly interview series.

"Obviously, you're going to have to read the series to find out what the final Artifact is - we're not even going to give you the name at this point," Marz told CBR. "I guess the main thing to say about it is that it's been hidden for a reason. There's a reason that this thing has been hidden very much off the playing field. All of that will start to become clearer once we reveal what the Artifact is and where it's been all this time."

Read the full article here.
Source: CBR

CBR: Top Cow Teases CCI Announcements

Top Cow is being tight on the details, but they have provided CBR News an exclusive teaser for a new series that we'll learn more about during Comic-Con International during the publisher's panel on Saturday, July 24.

No further details were given.

Source: CBR

CBR: The Heart Stone Beats on the Road to "Artifacts"

Matters of the heart are typically quite complicated. Matters of the Heart Stone, however, bring the word "complicated" to a whole new level.

The Heart Stone is one of thirteen deadly Artifacts scattered about the Top Cow Universe, taking its rightful place alongside others such as the Witchblade, the Darkness, the Angelus, the Rapture, the Spear of Destiny, the Glacier Stone, the Ember Stone, the Blood Sword, Pandora's Box and the Wheel of Shadows. While the true nature of the Heart Stone remains shrouded in mystery, its potential will be unlocked within the pages of "Artifacts," the upcoming 13-issue limited series from writer Ron Marz and a team of illustrators including Michael Broussard. CBR News spoke with Marz and Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik to learn more about the Heart Stone, its mysterious powers and its unidentified bearer.

Both Marz and Sablik acknowledged that the Heart Stone is "one of the more mysterious Artifacts," making the topic somewhat difficult to discuss in detail without spoiling major events of the "Artifacts" series itself. "While being a little bit veiled, the Heart Stone essentially lets you see to the heart of the matter and to the truth of who a person is at their core," Sablik told CBR.

Read the full article here.
Source: CBR

CBR: Top Cow Announces Comic-Con Plans

Top Cow Productions, Inc.’s race to Artifacts will include a stop at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, the world’s biggest and most exciting popular convention, from July 22nd – 25th.

Top Cow will once again storm into the convention and set up shop at booth #2629. Among the goods to prepare attendees of CCI 2010 for the race to Artifacts will be exclusives, preview books, free goodies, variant comics and trade paperbacks, including free copies of Artifacts #0 as well as other comics, posters and bookmarks (while supplies last).

See the full press release here.
Source: CBR

CBR: Wheel of Shadows Spins The Road to "Artifacts"

Time is on your side, yes it is, if your name happens to be Sabine and you're in possession of the Wheel of Shadows.

An elite Angelus warrior, Sabine has significantly upped the ante on her power set thanks to her possession of the Wheel of Shadows, one of thirteen deadly Artifacts lurking about the Top Cow Universe alongside the Witchblade, the Darkness, the Angelus, the Rapture, the Spear of Destiny, the Glacier Stone, the Ember Stone, the Blood Sword and Pandora's Box. But in seeking out the Wheel of Shadows, has Sabine finally bitten off more than she can chew? Only time can tell, but time is running out as we inch ever closer to the debut of "Artifacts," the soon-to-launch 13-issue series written by Ron Marz and illustrated by a team of artists including Michael Broussard. CBR News spoke with Marz and Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik to learn more about the Wheel of Shadows, its current bearer Sabine and their mutual role in the continuing "Artifacts" saga.

Like most shiny objects with a beautiful golden trim and an alluring obsidian interior, the Wheel of Shadows is not to be treated lightly - especially considering that it was most recently seen hidden in the depths of Hell. As is the case with the rest of the Artifacts, the Wheel offers its wielder with a very specific set of skills: in this instance, time manipulation.

Read the full feature here.
Source: CBR