When is a Demon not a Demon?

The tantalizing question of our header today is one that is posited in the comic Demon’s Regret, due out in June by Digital Webbing Press ($3.99). The comic is the work of writer Mitch Brown, and his crack art team of Wilfredo Torres, Mike Kilgore, Nate Pride, and with an outstanding cover by the legendary Michael Golden. I came across Mitch’s comic a short time ago, and he very graciously provided me with an electronic copy, and I’d like to fill you in on the treat you will receive when you acquire a hardcopy of your very own.

The first image you see here to our left is the Michael Golden cover, while the one that follows (just below) is the variant Wilfredo Torres cover. From where I sit, they both make very striking images, and you’d do yourself to get yourself either one of them.

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Demon’s Regret (Created and written by Mitch Brown with art by Wilfredo Torres; published by FiveMBooks LLC)

We all know the story of Lucifer, the leader of the hosts of Heaven — he who was called Morningstar. Lucifer the beautiful, Lucifer the vain. The Arch-Angel who thought himself to be equal to the Lord God on high, and lead a led a revolt of a full contingent of a third of all the Angles against their Lord. Well, so too does, Mitch Brown, only in Mitch’s tale, there is something of a unique twist.

You see, amongst Morningstars’ acolytes there is one who is not so taken with the lofty verbiage of the deceiver’s. Asmodeus willing went with Morningstar, only, once the turncoat angels were pitched out of heaven the others kept believing in Morningstar’s lies, Asmodeus did not. However he realized that he had begun to tread a path from which he could never return. While man was offered an out in the form of the son of God, the fallen angels were condemned to forever live outside the Grace of heaven.

Unable to return to heaven, and unable to act out openly against the shining demon lord Morningstar, nee Lucifer, Asmodeus has come to know that was truly accursed. This then is Mitch Brown’s, tale, that of the fallen angel who has seen the error of his ways, and — even though he is beyond redemption — does what little he can to thwart the unholy mechinations of the Prince of lies he is forced to serve.

In this first story, we meet Fred Hudson, a Gulf War Special Forces Vet, who earned his Purple Heart by giving up the use of both his legs and his left hand. He now lives in Chicago where his daughter has just been slaughtered by a cult of Satanists who worship the dark Lord Morningstar. Realizing that he has to do something to prevent the rise in this heinous cult, Asmodeus chooses to act as he has before in the past.

Brown goes on weaves a very intricate, believable, and powerful story of world of the mythical and divine. This is not per se a religious story, nor is it truly of the profane; yet it is one that trods the very bridge between the two. So often we read stories of men and women who must rise above their own shortcomings and failings to achieve that which is just beyond their grasp. This then is one such story.

Given this setup, one wonders where Brown will go, certainly he has done his research well, casting Morningstar, Asmodeus, and the others. Brown knows how to properly weave a rich tapestry that is lovingly rendered in crisp lines and bright colors by Wilfredo Torres. Anyone picking up this book will be in for a treat, as it is not simply angels and demons; it is a heart-wrenching story of missed opportunities, lost futures, and that tantalizing ethereal thing called hope. This is a story well worth reading.

Once again, Demon’s Regret is from Digital Press Webbing, and will be distributed through Diamond. It appears in the Diamond April PREVIEWS and will be in stores in June, with a cover price of $3.99.

Yeah, it's a Spider-Man World

Have I recently mentioned that I’m married to a wonderful woman? If I haven’ I probably should have much earlier. You see, it is her that has graciously not only allowed me to maintain my Spider-fetish, but is often the one subsidizing it.

Yep. it is true. Why just yesterday she had gone shopping in one of those “Junk Lot” discount stores, and she came home with not only with this package of Spidey Crayons, but this pair of Classic and Black Spidey Stampers.

Is she the coolest or what?

Truth to be told, while I have accumulated a fair amount of Spidey-Stuff over the years, it has been my lovely wife who has provided quite a bit of the really cool (and odd) stuff. Sure, sure, I could go out (and have) and get the action figures, games, and specialty shop stuff, but it is usually her that picks up the interesting, odd stuff, which is really the true gem of my collection.

OK, now I have to get back to work and earn some cash!

Love ya Honey!

Wülves are at our Doors!

That’s right buoys and gulls, it is getting a tad bit dangerous out there again. Just in time for ComicCon NY, my publisher of choice, Guild Works Production, is getting set to release Psychosis! #3. This cover is painted by my good buddy Ed Traquino (who will probably be packed up and shipped back to Britain when the INS learns that he is still in the country).

Personally, I think that this is some of Ed’s best work.

Oh yeah, I also have a short story in this issue. A little thriller I’m calling, Into the Wood, which is the follow-up to my Wülf Girlz story from issue #1.

As stated, the comic will be on sale at the NY ComicCon, and thereafter from places like MidTown Comics in NYC. You could also probably contact me directly here and I could arrange for you to receive a copy (for a small renumeration and a hefty postage and handling fee, of course). I understand that there will be a second (flip) cover to Psychosis! #3. I haven’t seen that cover yet, but when I do, you can be assured that I’ll post it here in this space. So keep watching.

Oh yeah, before I forget, on a related matter, there is a war brewing in the indie comics, well, no, not a real war, but a war among the various characters in the marketplace. That’s right from the twisted mind mind of artist and scripter Dave Ryan, along with inker Peter Palmiotti, and a helping hand from Richard Kane Ferguson on layouts and plotting, comes the War of the Independents. I mention this because the Wülf Grilz are playing a small role in this six-part series from Red Anvil. A new-found friend of mine, Joe Martino, also has a hand in this, and is producing a tie-in comic co-staring his character, Shadowflame.

More news as it develops.

An Easter Post Script

Ah, don’t you just love the after-holiday sales? I know that I do, that is how I acquired this little gem. I got one of these Spider-Eggs last year (mm-mmm-good), but didn’t see it this year at all. My lovely wife spotted it yesterday and scooped it up for me. Yeah, I thought at was nice as well.



I’ll let you all know how it tastes.

Next Avengers

I have acquire a couple of these direct-to-DVD Marvel videos, but (as it turns out) have never actually watched any of them. That might have to change. This one looks interesting.



There are others. I’ll have to find the time to watch the ones I have, and get back to you.

Comics Values Annual

Not quite here yet, but on the way, is the Comics Values Annual 2008 edition. As some of you may already know, I’ve been contributing to this annual comicbook price guide since the ‘93/‘94 edition (I’ve been the features editor and co-author on it since ‘97 or so). The book, published by Krause Books, is an annual listing of comics and their prices.

CVA provides some 94,000 individual listings with special sections devoted to specific publishers (Marvel, DC), notable eras and areas in the industry (Golden Age, Color Comics, Black & White and Undergrounds), plus a grading guide, along with market reports, and tips for buying, selling and preserving your comics. Whether you are a well-seasoned comic book collector looking for reliable details and data, or a box office junkie just discovering story lines behind big screen heroes, this book will take you into the collecting world armed with expert information.

Oh yeah, it also has a couple of articles written by yours truly. Most notably, is an interview I conducted with award-winning SF author, Orson Scott Card who is many things to many people, Funnybook readers probably know him best as the creator/writer of Marvel’s Ultimate Iron Man, and for his work with the Dable Brothers on Red Prophet and Wyrms (also from Marvel) while Science Fiction Fans know him as the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (making him the only author to have won both of science fiction's top prizes in consecutive years).

Personally, I found the interview enlightening (and, well, fun), hopefully you will as well. One more thing, you might have noticed that the cover is Iron Man, and the person interviewed writes (Ultimate) Iron Man, so I guess it is no secret that we are attempting to patch into the hype surround the New Marvel Comic Flic, staring, well, you guessed it, Iron Man.

Easter Monday Blues

Well, I can tell that it is the Monday after Easter because I’m currently nursing a post-chocolate gorge-fest hangover. I have to tell you that you really have to hand it to the capitalists in this country who have managed to turn virtually every holiday into some sort of shopping fest. Easter isn’t about the resurrection of Christ, it is when the Easter Bunny comes by and passes out a metric ton of candy. Christmas isn’t his birth, but 1/4 of the take for the budget of 90% of the retail businesses in the Country. Ash Wednesday isn’t the first day of Lent, but the day after the conclusion of Madi Gras, a 40-day drunken orgy. Graduation day is about gift-giving, not the graduation itself. Halloween is about the candy.

Oh, and it isn’t just religious holidays The Fourth of July isn’t about our independence from tyranny, but a reason to go out and buy a new car (as are, of course the various President’s birthdays, same too with Memorial and Labor Days). Valentine’s day isn’t a lover’s holiday, but a reason to go out and buy flowers, candy, and cards; as are Mother’s and Father’s Days. St Pat’s is a drunken Beer fest (OK, wait, I do agree with that one). Even SuperBowl Sunday is all about the big-screen TV and the high-end concept commercials rather than the game itself.

Personally, I’m not entirely unconvinced that the cotton-growers of the deep South didn’t subsidize John Wilkes Booth’s assassination of President Lincoln so that 100 years hence they could have have White Sales on his birthday; not to mention that automotive dealers backed James Earl Ray’s assassination of Martin Luther King to sell cars on his birthday. (Yeah, I’m that far off the beaten path)

Anywho, the image is what I got in my Easter basket this year, it is followed by a Spider-Bear stuff-it-yourself-toy that I spotted in a craft store, and that is followed by a couple of images drawn by a buddy of mine named Arlen Schumer, who is a graphic artist, author, and funnybook fan.