Newsarama Exclusive Preview: Pilot Season: 7 Days From Hell #1

And with Pilot Season: 7 Days From Hell #1 hitting stores next week, Pilot Season 2010 is a wrap!

With five heavy contenders, who will you choose? Which one is worthy of its own series? It's all up to you guys! Our fantastic readers! The polls will open up November 1st.

But in the mean time, check out this exclusive preview of Pilot Season: 7 Days From Hell #1 by Bryan Edward Hill, Rob Levin and Phil Noto.

See the full preview here.
Source: Newsarama

Newsarama: Filip Sablik in "Back the New" or "Fighting Cynicism"

It’s Autumn again. Where did 2010 go, friends? Seriously it seems like only yesterday I was playing video poker at the Hard Rock Café Casino to finish out 2009. I swear it was only minutes ago I was finalizing plans for San Diego Comic-Con and feeling the cold sweat inducing panic of hard printing deadlines rushing headlong at my deer-in-the-headlights expression.

Autumn 2010 means cooler weather (for you poor suckers who live in four seasons), mid-term elections, the return of pumpkin as the flavor-du-jour on everything from your latte to your ice cream, and a new crop of TV pilots hoping for at least one good season in the sun. For us at Top Cow it also means its time for a new crop of Pilot Season comics.

This year we have five different new concepts by five unique creative teams. A mix of season pros and wet-behind-the-ears newcomers fighting for your attention and trying to create something you haven’t seen before. So much of the comics released in recent years have been about nostalgia. I get it. Nostalgia is a warm blanket, a comforting hot cup of cocoa. It reminds us of better, bygone days in troubled times. We know what we’re going to get and what to expect. But I’m here to challenge you take a chance on the new. Stretch past your comfort zone and reach to discover a different genre or an undiscovered creator.

Read more about Pilot Season 2010 from Filip here.
Source: Newsarama

Quarter Bin Reviews Pilot Season: Stellar #1

...thanks to the pacing of Kirkman’s story and the art of Bernard Chang. The heroine herself really stands out as a female lead, with a unique look and attitude. She seems hard as nails, but she’s clearly not; she can be sad, lonely, even vulnerable, despite having these superhuman abilities.

Stellar’s vulnerability and weakness were best displayed by a few panels showing her showering off after her latest misadventure. What could have quickly become an excuse to show off a naked lady instead focused on her face, her emotional breakdown. I love tiny moments like that, when we get to see who a character really is, not just who she presents herself as to the outside world.


Read the full aritcle here.
Source: thequarterbin.com

Comic Book Jesus Reviews Pilot Season: Stellar #1

The premise for the book is an intriguing place to start. We’re not told the main character’s name, but can assume her nickname is Stellar. Essentially, she’s 1 of 5 soldiers who have been genetically enhanced on Earth. The powers are good, but the fact that the radiation within them causes other humans close to them to get sick is not so good. Nor is the fact that Stellar’s fellow volunteers were driven mad (and apparently evil) by the process. Stellar is the only one who desires to be a hero, so uses her powers to wander the universe doing just that, all the while aware she’s truly alone. All of that is a great spring board for an even greater tale, and Kirkman wisely drops hints about all this throughout each page turn. No awkward exposition here! Chang’s art is a nice blend of emotional moments and sci-fi splendour. His layouts are dynamic and there’s never a page without a sense of drama or danger. Creatures and characters look real; leaning more towards Star Trek than Wars. My vote’s on Stellar. Kirkman, as he reveals in his afterword, has a host of ideas for this book and I hope we get to see them. Stellar is but a tasty appetiser to what could be a potential buffet

Read the full review here.
Source: comicbookjesus.com

Comic Book Page Podcast Chats Pilot Season 2010 with Filip Sablik

Bob Bretall talks with some of the creators about items in the July 2010 Previews catalog.

Items mentioned:
Top Cow Pilot Season 2010: Interview with Filip Sablik
Pilot Season: 39 Minutes: Interview with William Harms
Freedom Fighters #1: Interview with Jimmy Palmiotti

Get the podcast here.
Source: comicbookpage.com

Comic Vine: Are You Ready for Pilot Season 2010?

The coolest thing about Top Cow's Pilot Season comics is the fact that readers and fans get to choose which two of the six pilot season releases will be published and made into ongoing books.

Top Cow has kept their readers heavily involved since their first Pilot Season in 2007, allowing readers to choose the next ongoing title through online voting.

Since then, over 4 million readers from all over the world have participated in voting, which I personally feel is a reflection of their success.

Top Cow has officially released the concepts for their upcoming Pilot Season titles, which will hit store shelves later this year. Check out the incredible preview art and concepts below. Will you be picking up these issues?
Are you looking forward to voting this Pilot Season?

Read the full article here.
Source: Comic Vine

CBR: The Top Cow: 'We Create' Media Panel

A herd of devoted fans flocked into a packed room for the Top Cow: "We Create" Multimedia panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Saturday, sitting before a panel consisting of Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik, president Matt Hawkins, CEO Marc Silvestri and American Original founder Jeff Katz, with plenty of guest panelists and prominent announcements to follow.

The Top Cow panelists kicked things off with a first look at a trailer cut specifically for Comic-Con. Featuring a flashy music video with quick cuts, concert footage and all sorts of burning fanfare, the trailer teased a project built around September Mourning front woman Emily Lazar that's billed as a cross-media entertainment endeavor across comic books, digital downloads, video games, jewelry and much more. Lazar briefly joined the panelists on stage and Silvestri described the mysterious project, saying: "It's coming out real fast and we're going to start teasing it out through the Top Cow Universe. If David Bowie had technology today, this would be Ziggy Stardust."

Although he wouldn't tip his hand on what exactly the Lazar-centric project entails, Silvestri made a promise to the panel's attendees. "I'm being very genuine here," he said. "You're going to remember this day."

Read all our panel announcements here.
Source: CBR

Newsarama: PILOT SEASON Continues With A Toxic Hero in STELLAR

What do you do when you put Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri in the same room and tell them to get creative? You get this year’s Pilot Season books from Top Cow. This pair of creative titans – and Image partners – dreamt up the five one-shots that comprise this latest edition of Top Cow’s Pilot Season initiative, with Kirkman writing the script and enlisting a top-name artist to draw the story.

After the release of Murderer, Demonic and Stealth earlier this year, the penultimate title coming out is Stellar, now scheduled for a July 21, 2010 release. Illustrated by Bernard Chang, Stellar charts the tumultuous trajectory of a genetically-enhanced super-human who is exiled from Earth after finding out she’s toxic to the human race. After driving her four fellow test subjects insane, she’s banished from Earth and tries to find a life in the outer reaches of space – knowing that she can never return home.

Read the full interview here.
Source: Newsarama

Word Balloon Podcast: Top Cow's Worlds Collide with Filip Sablik

The Top Cow publisher is here to discuss The Darkness, Witchblade, new books like Angelus, Broken Trinity:Pandora's Box, and everything that leads to this summer's TC event Artifacts. Plus Robert Kirkman & Marc Silvestri's pilot season , and Top Cow's future in the digital market.

Get the podcast here.
Source: wordballoon.blogspot.com

Messages from Marz: Fast Girls and Winged Warriors

Get thee to a comic store today! Angelus #4 and Velocity #1 both appear in shops this week. If you didn’t catch the previews for each, you can still do so. The Velocity preview is here. And the Angelus preview is here.

The critical reaction to Velocity has been very gratifying thus far. I set out to tell an accessible superhero story – a fun story – that wasn’t mired in continuity or over-the-top, get-your-heart-ripped-out violence. If the reviews are any indication, we at least got close to that mark.

Read the full post here.
Source: Ron Marz

Omnicomic: Solicitation: Pilot Season: Forever #1

Top Cow might be onto something with this whole Pilot Season thing. It seems that Top Cow can slap the tag on any comic and it'll be awesome. But they save it for those works that really are part of the Pilot Season program, and Pilot Season: Forever #1 is the latest in that lineage of comics.

Read the full solicit here.
Source: Omnicomic

CBR: Top Cow Pilot Season Winner Velocity is Back in New Miniseries

Official Press Release

Top Cow Productions, Inc. proudly announced today that the Cyberforce character and winner of the 2007 Pilot Season, Velocity, will break out in her own series. Velocity #1, the first in a four-part series will hit comic book store shelves June 30, 2010.

Written by Ron Marz (Witchblade, Magdalena, Artifacts) and featuring art by Kenneth Rocafort (Cyberforce/Hunter-Killer, Madame Mirage), Velocity #1 focuses on Carin Taylor, the fastest woman in the world. At least, she’d better be if she wants to save her own life and the lives of her Cyberforce teammates. When a former Cyberdata scientist – and test subject – seeks revenge against the members of Cyberforce, only Velocity can save her friends before the clock literally runs out. The series will utilize a unique story-telling technique by having a literal ticking clock through out the series counting down one minute per page as Velocity races around the globe.

Read the full release here.
Source: CBR

Broken Frontier Reviews Pilot Season: Stealth #1

Stealth #1 is part of Pilot Season, which is an annual Top Cow initiative which lets readers choose which one-shot will be made into an ongoing series. Usually, different writers and artists compete, but this year each is written by Robert Kirkman. Kirkman is one of the best writers in the industry today, so it’s a safe bet that each issue of this Pilot Season will be equally amazing. Stealth is the third of five books, following Murderer and Demonic, and preceding Stellar and Hardcore. As always, Kirkman meets and exceeds expectations in this non-traditional superhero comic book.

Read the full review here.
Source: brokenfrontier.com

Comics Podcast Network Spotlights Pilot Season: Stealth #1

John Mayo and Bob Bretall discuss SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #1 by DC, ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN/WOLVERINE #1 by Marvel and PILOT SEASON: STEALTH #1 by IMAGE COMICS.

Get the podcast here.
Source: comicspodcasts.com

Jimmy's Juke Joint Reviews Pilot Season: Stealth #1

The first reason is that the concept behind Pilot Season is to provide comic readers with fresh new concepts that fans can get behind. It’s a fun experiment that tends to turn out more good comics than bad. This issue takes the concept of a fresh and new idea and dunks it with the power of Dwight Howard and the elegance of Lebron James. The idea of a superhero suffering through the late stages of Alzheimer’s is a very neat idea. I really would like to see this as a maxi series. A long run wouldn’t work but a maxi with the same emotion present in this story would be amazing.


Read the full review here.
Source: multiversitycomics.com

Broken Frontier Reviews Pilot Season: Stealth #1

Stealth #1 is part of Pilot Season, which is an annual Top Cow initiative which lets readers choose which one-shot will be made into an ongoing series. Usually, different writers and artists compete, but this year each is written by Robert Kirkman. Kirkman is one of the best writers in the industry today, so it’s a safe bet that each issue of this Pilot Season will be equally amazing. Stealth is the third of five books, following Murderer and Demonic, and preceding Stellar and Hardcore. As always, Kirkman meets and exceeds expectations in this non-traditional superhero comic book.
As far as I know, Stealth is a completely novel idea. It’s about an aging armor-clad vigilante named Stealth, who has started to lose his mind in his old age. He begins attacking misdemeanor criminals and mistakes his son for his brother. As the story progresses, we learn that although all of his symptoms fit Alzheimer’s disease, there may be something else at work in his mind. This adds to the mystery surrounding the origins of the Stealth armor. Unfortunately, Stealth’s son, Todd, doesn’t have time to explore this possibility as his father’s mistakes get larger and more costly. Finally, after the biggest mistake of all, Stealth reveals that the “men with the light” are coming to “fix” him.


Read the full review here.
Source: brokenfrontier.com

Newsarama Video: Filip Sablik Talks Artifacts, Velocity & Pilot Season

Top Cow Publisher Filip Sablik talks to Newsarama about Artifacts, Velocity Pilot Season, Murderer, Stealth and Stellar.

Watch the video here.

Source: Newsarama

The Dollar Bin Talks Common Grounds and Pilot Season: Twilight Guardian with Troy Hickman

Joel and Adam of the Dollar Bin discuss with Troy Hickman his works Common Grounds and the Pilot Season 2 winner Twilight Guardian in this first ever Dollar Bin Skype/phone/studio hybrid (meaning it was recorded about 5 months ago). Troy also tells us about his early years with comics as well as working with Pilot Season from Top Cow. Will the real Troy Hickman please stand up?

Download the podcast here.

Source: thedollarbin.net

One Metal Reviews PIlot Season: Stealth #1

The brain responsible for The Walking Dead, Invincible, and Marvel Zombies splatters its gray matter and creative goo all over the pages of this year’s Top Cow Battle of the Comics. With Marc Silvestri illustrating covers, Robert Kirkman now grinds away at scripting five distinct pilot issues in a whirlwind funny book election that once challenged a hodgepodge of writers and artists to present a numero uno idea that would steal readers’ hearts forever.

Read the full review here.

Source: onemetal.com

Major Spoilers Reviews Pilot Season: Stealth #1

Imagine you just found out that your father is a Superhero. THE Superhero. Now imagine that his doctor has just diagnosed him with Alzheimer’s. How do you take care of a superhero who can’t remember who you are?

Read full review here

Source: majorspoilers.com