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

Newsarama: FIREBREATHER & DRAGON PRINCE Team-Up @ Top Cow

Yes, they're both half-dragon/half teenage boy, the offspring of human mothers and mythical dragon fathers. And yes they're both new to the comics' scene over the last few years. But according to their respective creators, that's where the similarities between Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn's Firebreather and Ron Marz, Jeff Johnson and Lee Moder's Dragon Prince end. 



And they're putting their money where their mouth's are this fall inviting the comparison confident readers will see the contrasts in Firebreather vs. Dragon Prince, a Top Cow one-shot announced Saturday afternoon at the Top Cow panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego.

In the four-issue Dragon Prince miniseries released just two years ago, a teenager named Aaron Chiang is revealed to be the son of a dragon and the last heir to the dragon kingdom.

Read the full interview here.
Source: Newsarama

Newsarama's Best Shots Reviews The Darkness #85

The Darkness #85 (Published by Top Cow; Review by Lan Pitts): If you really want your dose of anti-hero, then you need to get this issue of The Darkness. The thing is probably the best about Top Cow is the level of accessibility to new readers. If you've just heard about the Darkness character through his video game or word of mouth and not sure what's a good jumping point, I'd say try this issue. Jackie is on a mission to destroy his nemesis', the Sovereign, bodies that he uses as hosts. So, Jackie ends up in Russia where he crosses paths with a former human trafficker that may not be as harmless as he appears. Phil Hester continues to deliver some great, gritty dialog worthy of even the big two's son-of-a-guns. Stealth artist Sheldon Mitchell joins the gang as the new ongoing artist and it's stellar. He has an angular style that is in the same vein as Sean Chen and in some aspects, Frank Quietly. Top Cow has really been on the ball lately and with Artifacts coming up, this is a book that I'm sure will have some great moments in it.

Source: Newsarama

CBR: The Darkness Turns #85

Jackie Estacado has a big year ahead of him.

As the bearer of The Darkness, Estacado is one of the most important figures within the Top Cow Universe, as evidenced by his central role in "Artifacts," the publisher's upcoming 13-issue limited series written by Ron Marz and illustrated by a team of artists including Michael Broussard. But his own adventures can't be discounted either, as "The Darkness" writer Phil Hester has plenty of dark designs ahead for Estacado as the character moves towards his milestone 100th issue. Before that, however, Jackie has to settle his score against the deadly Sovereign.

"The Sovereign is an immortal king from an impossibly ancient civilization who, as punishment for some act of hubris, was cursed to live forever in the idols made in his image during his reign. So, he's basically a ghost that can inhabit and animate statues of himself," Hester told CBR News of Jackie's current nemesis.

Read the full article here.
Source: CBR

Newsarama Exclusive Preview: Darkness #85

THE DARKNESS #85
(W) Phil Hester (A) Sheldon Mitchell (Cov) Aaron Campbell

Alkonost, Part 1 of 2!
When Jackie’s mission to destroy all of the Sovereign’s host bodies brings him into the collection of an eccentric Russian crime boss, he and his crew are confronted with an evil that is all too human.

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 Aaron Campbell (Sherlock Holmes, Green Hornet)!

32 pages Full Color $2.99


See the full exclusive preview here.
Source: Newsarama

Twitter Report: Phil Hester Comments on The New Spider-Man

Andrew Garfield pt. 2: @ChrisSamnee Super nerdy question: What artist's interpretation of Peter Parker do you think Andrew Garfield, our new movie Spidey, resembles most?
-Chris Samnee, Artist ("Siege: Embedded," "Area 10")

Andrew Garfield pt. 3: @philhester @ChrisSamnee Romita Sr. Just a bit too good looking. Not as plausibly nerdy as Maguire.
-Phil Hester, Writer/Artist ("Green Arrow," "The Irredeemable Ant-Man")

Read more tweets from July 2, 2010 here.
Source: MTV Splashpage

Twitter Report: Phil Hester's Looking Forward to Man-Thing Awareness Month

You can find out what thinks, who's visiting the ALA conference and which creators are ready for a Man-Thing Awareness Month.

Man-Thing Awareness pt. 1: @jeffparker I'm telling you, Man-Thing Awareness Month is going to be incredible.
-Jeff Parker, Writer ("Agents of Atlas," "Underground")

Man-Thing Awareness pt. 2: @philhester @jeffparker My Man-Thing Awareness Level is preset to orange.
-Phil Hester, Writer/Artist ("Green Arrow," "The Irredeemable Ant-Man")

To see the full Twitter Report for June 29, 2010, go here.
Source: MTV Splashpage

TBFAW: Phil Hester Returns for 2nd SDCC/CBLDF Event

Excellent! Artist/writer Phil Hester is returning for our Second Annual SDCC Autograph Card/CBLDF Auction event! As one of our original participants from 2009, we are very happy–and grateful–to welcome him back. Hester will contribute an original sketch to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which will in turn auction it off at San Diego Comic-Con. 100% of the proceeds will be used to support the First Amendment rights of the comics community!

Read the full article here.
Source: tfaw.com

The Intelligent Monster Reads All Things Phil Hester

Phil's writing a ton of stuff these days, and while as a writer has really found his "voice" and his work all has that "Phil Hester feeling" (to paraphrase Barton Fink) the wide range of stuff guarantees there is something for just about everybody.

Phil's been writing The Darkness for Top Cow for a couple of years now and its been a great mix of action,crime, and horror. When they relaunched The Darkness Top Cow made the smart choice to just let Phil run with it and do something new and fresh with the book, striking a balance between giving the hardcore Darkness fans what they want but with a fresh perspective that appeals to readers who might have never been into the Top Cow universe stuff before. The first trade of Phil's run collects the inital 6 issue arc that establishes the new status quo, and with a price of only $4.99 is the perfect place to start.

Read the full article here.
Source: theintelligentmonster.blogspot.com

Comic Book Revolution Reviews Darkness #84

The Good: The Darkness #84 was a great read, with equally great art all around making for a well worth 2.99 package that I was very glad I picked up the other day at the comic shop. I’m not one for random issue buying, if it’s not in my pullbox chances are high I won’t pick it up but I had to break that rule here as this looked like a great read from the first page.

Read the full reveiw here.
Source: comicbookrevolution.net

Twitter Report: Phil Hester's TV Treatment

@philhester Just read an unexpected TV treatment of one of my books and it was a rare instance of a Hollywood guy both getting it and adding depth. Yay!
-Phil Hester, Writer/Artist ("Green Arrow," "The Irredeemable Ant-Man")

Source: MTV Splashpage

The Comic Addiction Reviews Darkness #84

“The Three Deaths of Jackie Estacado”
Writer: Phil Hester
Pencils and Inks: Whilce Portacio
Colors: Arif Prianto of IFS
Letters: Troy Peteri
Cover A by Bagus Hutomo of IFS
Cover B Lance Briggs photo variant C2E2 Exclusive
Published by Top Cow Productions

Jackie Estacado (current bearer of The Darkness) has assembled a team to fight for revenge against the Sovereign. However, their ongoing mission has been interrupted by a team of Hunter-Killers who are under orders to take Jackie dead or alive. Unfortunately for the team of Hunter-Killers, they’re only the B Team and quite frankly don’t stand a chance against Jackie.

This issue gave Jackie a chance to further develop his skills and abilities as the power of The Darkness itself is limited only by light and a lack of imagination. Beyond that he’s learning that he can literally do just about anything. This was also the first issue in a while that featured Jackie and didn’t involve much of his Sovereign hunting team.

Overall this was a very strong issue leaving me wanting more.

Read the full review here.

Source: Comic Addiction

What The Con: CBR's Top Cow C2E2 Panel Coverage

At this weekend's Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo, Top Cow fans were treated to a panel filled with some of the company's most prominent creators including Phil Hester ("The Darkness"), Bryan Edward Hill ("Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box"), Nelson Blake II ("Magdalena") and Ron Marz ("Witchblade," "Angelus"). Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik moderated the panel and covered a wide range of topics, starting with the company's major summer event - "Artifacts."

Launching in July and set to play out over the course of a year, "Artifacts" is written by Ron Marz and illustrated by a rotating lineup of artists beginning with Michael Broussard for the first four issues. The remaining artists are currently unannounced, though Sablik said the final issue's artist would raise several eyebrows. Three different covers for the first issue were displayed - a Dale Keown cover depicting a distraught Sara Pezzini restrained by Jackie Estacado was described as the story-oriented cover, while John Tyler Christopher's cover profiling Sara was revealed as the first of thirteen Artifact bearer-centric covers.

The cover that received the most attention was a jam piece illustrated by several different Top Cow artists. Marz and Blake identified each artist's contribution as follows: Michael Broussard drew Tom Judge and Jackie Estacado, Sheldon Mitchell drew Sabine and Alina Enstrom, Kenneth Rocafort drew Michael "Finn" Finnegan and Glorianna "Glori" Silver, Marc Silvestri drew Danielle Baptiste, Stjepan Sejic drew Sara Pezzini, and Blake himself drew Necromancer and Magdalena. The panelists were quick to point to three mysterious emblems on the cover pertaining to the three Artifacts whose bearers have yet to be revealed.

Read the full coverage here.

Source: CBR

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Cosmic Book News Reviews Darkness #83

Check out this review about the Darkness #83. Thanks to cosmic book news for the review. Find the review here.

Source: cosmicnews.com

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Balloon: Phil Hester Stops Chasing Batgirl

Phil Hester joins us to say he’s not chasing batgirl anymore. The artist has been a busy writer creating the Anchor for Boom Studios, writing The Darkness for top cow, and black terror for dynamite. We get the lowdown on all of these series, plus Phil talks about some deals brewing for The Coffin and Fire Breather.

Listen to the podcast here.
Source: wordballonpodcast.wordpress.com

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Related: Controlling the Darkness

Check out this interview with writer of The Darkness, Phil Hester, answers Eric Ratcliffe's question concerning the current and upcoming events that will take place in Jackie Estacado's world. Find it here.

Check out www.comicrelated.com/ for more updates on all things comics related.

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What The Con: C2E2 Signing Times & Panels

Heading to C2E2 this weekend, herders? Be sure to stop by the Top Cow booth #551. Grab some free swag. Get your hands on Magdalena #1 before anyone else does. Say hey to your favorite creators. Give @TopCow (Filip) a high five. And offer @chrissypedia (Christine) a jello snack pack!

But of course, the real reason you stopped on by:

Friday
1:30 - 2:30pm: Eric Basaldua
2:30 - 3:30pm: Bryan Edward Hill & Alessandro Vitti
3:30 - 4:30pm: Phil Hester & Ryan Winn
4:30 - 5:30pm: Ron Marz & Nelson Blake II
5:30 - 6:30pm: Joshua Hale Fialkov


Saturday
10:30 - 11:30am: Joshua Hale Fialkov & Jeremy Haun
11:30 - 1:00pm: Ron Marz, Nelson Blake II & Troy Peteri
1:00 - 2:30pm: Phil Hester (1:30p) & Ryan Winn
2:30 - 4:00pm: Bryan Edward Hill & Alessandro Vitti
4:30 - 6:00pm: Eric Basaldua


Sunday
10:30 - 11:30am: Joshua Hale Fialkov & Jeremy Haun
11:30 - 12:30pm: Ron Marz & Nelson Blake II
12:30 - 1:30pm: Bryan Edward Hill & Alessandro Vitti
1:30 - 2:30pm: Phil Hester & Ryan Winn


AND DON'T FORGET TO STOP BY OUR PANEL!

Saturday, April 17: 7:15p - 8:15p in E450:
Join Sablik as the publisher launches Magdalena #1 with Marz and Blake II. Special guest, Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs will also stop by to discuss his love of Top Cow’s comics including his favorite character, The Darkness. Additional guests of the panel include Hester, Basaldua, Hill and more as they share with fans what’s coming from Top Cow in 2010, including exclusive early looks, exciting announcements, and special gifts for every panel attendee.

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Comic News: CBR: World's Top Writers Hate Brad Meltzer

Photo: Melzter emplores the staff of an empty Borders to please stop talking about last night's "Lost" and listen to some thing he wrote about Superman or something.

April 1, 2010, Miami, Florida. Last night, at the annual meeting of the Writer's Club, a petition was circulated requesting that New York Times bestselling thriller writer Brad Meltzer no longer be allowed to practice the fine art of writing. To that end, Meltzer should no longer be permitted to possess a pen, a pencil, or of course, a keyboard.

In support of the petition, the following sworn testimonies, all written by the authors themselves, were delivered at last night's meeting (and in no way did this have anything to do with today being the 40th birthday of Meltzer, or the fact he was born on April 1).

“For the sheer level of purple prose, inept plotting, snotty-nosed characters and the overall pathetic quality of his entire oeuvre, Meltzer stands alone. He is our Lincoln of crappy fiction. Happy 40th Birthday, Brad, and save some trees.”
- David Baldacci

“I don't really have time to waste on a guy who single-handedly lowered the level of the political thriller to zero. Basically, Brad Meltzer sucks out loud.”
- Nora Roberts

"Whilst on the toilet, there is simply nothing better than the collected works of Brad Meltzer. Not to read, mind you, but to wipe with."
- Damon Lindelof, co-creator, LOST

"As Wonder Woman's writerly alter ego, all I can offer as a birthday challenge is that my DC character could kick the butt of any of his DC characters. Game on, Brad!"
- Jodi Picoult

"Oh God, Meltzer again. I'm not 100% sure that the drivel this wretched ex-catamite produces is bad for western civilisation, but I know it's bad for me."
- Garth Ennis

"Meltzer has packed more clichés, hackneyed plot twists, and feeble minded characterizations into his relatively short, but bewilderingly uninterrupted career than most writers find possible in a lifetime. The damage he's done to comics, an art form he purports to love, is incalculable, and will take generations to repair."
- Phil Hester

Read more testimonials here.

Source: CBR

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AICN Previews Darkness #83

THE DARKNESS #83
Writer: Phil Hester
Art: Michael Broussard
Publisher: Top Cow
In stores this week!

Don't forget to pick up Darkness #83 in stores this week!

Source: AICN

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CraveOnline Reviews Darkness #83

The Darkness #83 is a rare breed of comic in that it’s a talker issue; an issue driven solely by plot with little to no action involved but still manages to be completely fascinating. The story here is so crisp, the dialog so spot on that it didn’t even dawn on me how dialog heavy and action light the issue was. I’ll be honest: I only have a working knowledge of the world of Darkness so I came to this issue almost as a newbie. At no point was I confused as to what was going on and by the issues end I became obsessed with digging deeper into this universe. Darkness #83 is that good and like I said, there’s not much action to be had in it.

The praise on achieving such a rare thing starts with writer Phil Hester who just nails every panel like it meant his job. So many comic book authors write for every other panel, or only give their all on the pages that “count”. Hester apparently wants to take the road less traveled by completely constructing a solid story using every square inch of space on the page. There isn’t a dialog balloon wasted or a bit of extraneous information. Hester has a lean and economical style that’s essential to keeping a plot heavy issue interesting. As I said, I’m just a casual Darkness observer and Hester totally hooked me by the end of the issue.


Read the full review here.

Source: CraveOnline

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