Feeling Lucid? I am!

“What if Harry Potter grew up and became a secret government agent?”

That was the pitch I got last year from creator Michael McMillian when Lucid was first coming out, and I’ve been sold ever since. Yes, I would like to see such a story please, and this book delivers wonderfully.

First, let me get my issues with it out of the way. The hardback trade is 10% smaller than the original 6.5” x 10” (approximately) of a typical comic book page, and it’s unfortunate. It’s probably my age and my need to finally cave in and get bifocals, but I found myself squinting at everything. 10% doesn’t sound like much, but for a book of this type which focuses heavily on the artwork and its detail, it’s a noticeable reduction.

But, typical of the top quality of everything Archaia puts out, the book is gorgeous. The well-designed dust jacket is a mix of subtly-embossed gloss and matte inks. I can’t stop touching it. The interior is just as lovely, and the binding will last forever.

I’m sure everybody is going to disagree with me on this, but the artwork style by Anna Wieszczyk is not my favorite. It’s personal preference, I know, but the gangly “Cowboy Bebop” anime style is not my thing. However, the skillful use of painterly color and sequential storytelling do work beautifully. The lush pages look good enough to eat. Expressions and gestures are subtle and the occult mood of the overall work are convincing and draw the reader in.

The story, scripted by True Blood’s Michael McMillian, is a fascinating arc between the four issues contained in this volume, with more to come in this limited series. Readers are thrust into the middle of this world that is both familiar and foreign, where magic is one of the most important weapons in the hidden chess game between nations.

The main character, Matthew Dee, is a direct descendant of 16th century mystic and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I, John Dee (look this guy up on Wikipedia), which enables him to wield magic and be the “Protector of the Realm” for the United States. I won’t reveal why, but I absolutely love how Ariah turns out to be a key part of it all, including the reason that Dee is “lucid” and able to tap into his gift in the first place.

Details and back-story are revealed as the tale unfolds, which is mostly successful, but I couldn’t help but think that I’d somehow come into the middle of the movie. More about the origins of how this all came to be would have been helpful for this first volume. At the back of the trade is a sigil guide, all four beautiful covers as they appeared, and a sketchbook which does explain some details.

The world of Lucid is rich and intricate, and I look forward to learning more about how it all works. Maybe we can convince McMillian to make the series open ended?

Image Comic Expo: A lot to love in this little show

I managed to wrest a day away from the clutches of my writing schedule and my boring mundane stuff to get myself over to the Image Comic Expo, held at the Oakland Convention Center this past weekend, February 24 - 26. I'm extremely glad I did, as this show netted a lot of great people, new contacts, and what must be 25 pounds of comics to review. More about that at the end.

Billed as "A 3-day celebration of creator-owned comics," it was primarily put on by Image, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and most of the signings and panels were focused on their titles, and a lot of that was focused on Walking Dead, which didn't interest me personally as I'm suffering from complete horror fatigue in my choices of entertainment. However, some of the other panels featured topics such as "Womanthology" which discussed not only women in the field of comics, but diversity in general, and "Pro Tips with Todd McFarlane" which offered insights into his creative process.

For me, the real highlight was not the TV stars or the signings, but the people and the tone of this show in comparison to others. Comic-Con San Diego is no longer a place for fans and industry professionals to gather and talk about what they love, it's an epic 50-ring circus where you have to shout to be heard and you risk being crushed in the wall of humanity trying to occupy a finite space. The Alternative Press Expo (APE) show in San Francisco is interesting, but it goes beyond traditional comic books and encompasses art projects, cartoon art, and what used to be called "underground" comics, still done as folded and stapled printouts. Which I respect, but it's not what I'm after.

I was surprised by the high level of participant quality at this show, considering its relatively small size. Image was there, of course, but so was Archaia, IDW, Top Cow, Comicraft and a number of excellent vendors. Artist's Alley was impressively skilled and the level of creativity in the new projects I saw was encouraging. Sure, the usual "show artist" was there, cranking out fan art sketches for the money, as well as the occasional "are they at the right show?" type of vendor, but the Image Comic Expo hit all the right notes for me, the right middle ground which is the current vibrant heart of the comic book industry.

It's about the people who are in this because they love it, not to be part of some mega-corporation who lost touch with what real people want ages ago. Archaia and Top Cow and Image get it. The people who run them understand that not everybody is the same, not everybody wants spandex... but some people do, and that's fine too. These companies at this show understand that talent can be found when you stop to listen and look at what's around you. They're not writing just to the 18-30 year old male demographic as discussed in the previous article. They write for everybody.

This show is inclusive. That makes all the difference in the world.

While there, I met up with old friends, made some new ones, and walked up to booths and said "Talk to me about your best titles." This is because the show is on a human scale, and you can actually talk to people instead of trying to shout at each other for 30 seconds before giving up and rushing off to another panel, signing or party. I never got the vibe of "buy something or get out of the way" as I have at other shows. As a result, I have never walked away with so many fantastic books as I did at this show.

Upcoming reviews will include (in no particular order): Lucid, A Tale of Sand, Elephantmen Volume 4, Invincible Ultimate Collection 1, Locke & Key, The Power Within, Witchblade Rebirth, Silver, Hello My Name Is Asshole, Vescell, Flying Sparks, The Last of the Greats, The Mark of Aeacus, Marineman, and The Pound.

I hope Image does this show every year, because I will be there. I can see it being perhaps twice as large, but no more than that or it'll lose the reason to go and become just another comic book convention. Well done, Image. As my father used to say, "And a good time was had by all."

Archaia flying boldly ahead, sans costumes

"We don't do superheroes, and we never will," said Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy, which may sound like a dire statement to some, but not when you take a look at the projects Archaia has coming up this year and into 2012. This rapidly growing company is truly one to keep your eye on. At the panel Saturday morning, they outlined several major projects in the works, including the ancient Greek action film Immortals, starring Henry Cavill, coming out 11/11/11. UFN prefers to cover the present-day, however "alternate universe" that present may be, and other media outlets are all over Immortals, so we decided to focus on some of Archaia's other offerings.

Their partnership with the Henson company has gained them access to Jim Henson's vaults, including stories and screenplays that were created but never produced. One of these is the beloved television series, The Storyteller. Several episodes that never saw the light of day were discovered, and new ones are being crafted into a volume of graphic novels by different writers and artists in the same style.

A project I'm excited about is A Tale of Sand. It's a complete original screenplay that was created in the 1960s when Jim Henson was still an up-and-coming indy filmmaker, and Archaia is making it into a word-for-word graphic novel adaptation from the script. As the story goes, a man wakes up and finds that he's in the middle of a desert, but doesn't know how he got there, what happened to civilization, or how to get out to safety. It's his journey across the sand to try and find his life again. "I describe it to people as 127 Hours meets Alice in Wonderland if directed by Jim Henson," said Christy when asked what the story is about.

I'd seen the name Lucid being tossed around before, but didn't really know what it was, so I was excited to learn that this is one book I'll be buying for myself when it comes out this fall. It's on the "Archaia Black" label and is also a project of Before the Door, one of the partners of that company being Zachary Quinto. Lucid has manga-style artwork by Anna Wieszczyk and is written by Michael McMillian, who I had the pleasure of meeting at a signing on Saturday. What if Harry Potter grew up and went to work for the government as part of a secret cold war of magicians? That's the premise of Lucid, and it's one I greatly look forward to.

One more project particularly caught my eye, and that's Bleedout. I've been aware of peak oil for years, so to have a comic book devoted to different scenarios of how we'll be living when the oil runs out is very exciting. Since the earth is not gifted with a creamy nougat center of oil, or self-replenishing, we will be running out some day. This book, coming out in the fall, features a number of new writers and artists telling their post-oil stories. I have some scenarios of my own, so I can't wait to see what other people think about how this very real future will play out.

The Archaia folks are gracious, smart and true rising stars in the industry, with unique media partnerships and sharp attention to detail. The high quality of all their products is a clear sign of their commitment to a print publishing future. Specially-bound books, thick papers and high-quality printing are all designed for a tactile experience that you can't get on a Kindle or at the variety store spinner rack (yes, they still exist). Again, keep an eye on Archaia, they're headed for the stars.

Article roundup and an apology

The Archaia article is done, but the extremely sad internet connection I seem to have at the moment is not letting me upload the video clips of the panel, so I'll post the article tomorrow morning without the video interludes, and add them when they're finally up. I'm sorry for the delay!

Now, on to the articles still to come over the next few days as time allows:

PRIEST: I have a ton of material on this new film, including individual interviews with the director, graphic novel creator, and three of the actors (including Paul Bettany), plus I'll review the footage I saw that is guaranteed to kick your brain's ass.

BREA & ZANE GRANT: This sibling team gave us an exclusive interview about their comic We Will Bury You and other upcoming projects. Brea also gave us some fun insights about her time on Heroes.

EVOLUTION OF COMICS IN THE TRANSMEDIA SPACE: An interesting panel discussing how comics can move deeper into the digital age, how to capture new readers, and the issues with traditional print comics.

TRIGGER MEN: A bromantic comedy about killing the elderly. No, really! This indie comic has a lot of potential.

THE NEXT GENERATION: Kids making comics! I paid a visit to the Prescott Elementary School table and discovered some gems.

LUCID: My review of the fascinating new comic from Archaia, which involves a secret political war between the world's mages.

JEPH LOEB: Just a short anecdotal article about haunting the new head of Marvel Television for an hour during his booth signing.

...AND PROBABLY MORE! I've got a stack of comics and loads of material to dig into for these, so please be patient as we roll these articles and more out over the coming week or two. After that... more interviews are lined up, including artist Dennis Calero! Stay tuned to UFN, and spread the word!