Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Cryptocracy
WORK NOTES: illus by Pete Woods
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Atlanta
STATE: GA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/van-jensen * https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanjensen/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, former crime reporter; Georgia Tech, alumni magazine editor, ending 2014; DC Comics, writer, ending 2016.
AWARDS:Named first Comic Book Ambassador of the United States, 2016.
WRITINGS
Also author of “Cryptocracy” comics series.
SIDELIGHTS
Van Jensen began his writing career as a crime reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and he then went on to work for Georgia Tech as the university’s alumni magazine editor. After leaving Georgia Tech in 2014, Jensen became a writer for DC Comics, a post he held until being named the first Comic Book Ambassador of the United States in 2016. While working at DC, Jensen authored or coauthored three volumes in the “Green Lantern Corps.” series, Green Lantern Corps. Volume 4: Rebuild, Green Lantern Corps. Volume 5: Uprising, and Green Lantern Corps. Volume 6: Reckoning. Jensen then travelled around the world leading comic book workshops as part of his ambassadorial duties, and he returned to the United States to begin writing graphic novels on his own.
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer
Jensen’s longest-running graphic novel series, “Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer” begins with the 2009 volume Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and continues with the 2010 installment Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, Volume 2: The Great Puppet Theater. The third installment, Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer: Of Wood and Blood Part 1, came out in 2013, and the entire series was collected in the 2014 omnibus volume Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer.
As the title suggests, the series combines the story Pinocchio with concepts from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is to say that Jensen presents the walking, talking wooden puppet as a vampire-killing hero. Whenever Pinocchio lies, his wooden nose grows larger, and Pinocchio uses his wooden nose to stake a hose of vampires through the heart. At first, Pinocchio discovers his hidden talent by accident, but soon it becomes his way of life. Jensen’s Pinocchio also has a ghost cricket as his guide, and his friends are four prophetic ghost rabbits. Lifelike-puppets also round out the cast. Discussing the entire series in an online Paste review, Hillary Brown announced: “Jensen ultimately crafts an action-packed narrative that spreads out plot details at a nice pace, balancing revelation with plenty of stabbing and flames.” Brown then concluded that the omnibus volume “is an excellent, fun read, commendable for its craft and what it achieves.”
Cryptocracy
In 2016, Jensen began writing and releasing short comics as part of the “Cryptocracy” series, and he released the full-length graphic novel (also titled Cryptocracy) with Dark Horse Books in 2017. The book follows nine families who have secretly ruled the world since the dawn of civilization. Each family is named after a Roman god, and they use cryptids to control politicians and corporations alike. Much as the Roman gods bickered among themselves for more power, so do the nine families, and Jensen portrays the Mars family of North America as it faces off against other clans across the globe. Yet, all of the families will be forced to come together when a magical envoy of Chronos kills off all their elders. The assassinations signal the beginning of an ancient prophecy’s fulfillment, but Grahame, who is named the newest elder of the Mars clan, steps forward to fight Chronos.
Discussing the concept in an online Comic Vine interview with Mat Elfring, Jensen explained: “I would say it’s more mainstream than my previous creator-owned books. It’s mostly human characters without a lot of fantastical stuff, but there are super-weird, sci-fi elements to it, cryptozoological creatures, but it’s all stuff within the trappings of conspiracy-themed material. If you have seen the X-Files, this will not be something totally crazy to you.” Yet, online Star correspondent Terrence Toh complained: “What we should get is an intriguing, sinister tale that makes us paranoid of who’s watching our every move. What we get from this book instead, however, is a convoluted, rather unengaging mess of dull characters and intriguing, but wasted concepts. Which is a pity as it had so much going for it in the start.” A Publishers Weekly critic, however, lauded the graphic novel, asserting that Cryptocracy is “a treat for conspiracy buffs and graphic novel readers looking for something a bit weird.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, October 1, 2009, Ian Chipman, review of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer; March 15, 2011, Ian Chipman, review of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer: The Great Puppet Theater.
Broken Pencil, April, 2013. Aaron Broverman, Aaron, review of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer: Of Wood and Blood Part 1.
Publishers Weekly, October 19, 2009, review of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer; November 1, 2010, review of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer: The Great Puppet Theater; March 13, 2017, review of Cryptocracy.
Voice of Youth Advocates, April, 2011, Mirta Espinola, review of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer: The Great Puppet Theater.
ONLINE
Comics Beat, http://www.comicsbeat.com/ (May 10, 2016), Heidi MacDonald, “Van Jensen Named First Ever Comic Book Ambassador of the United States.”
Comic Vine, https://comicvine.gamespot.com/ (November 7, 2017), Mat Elfring, author interview.
Paste, https://www.pastemagazine.com/ (July 10, 2014), Hillary Brown, review of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer (omnibus).
Star, http://www.star2.com/ (July 14, 2017), Terrence Toh, review of Cryptocracy.
A former crime reporter and magazine editor, Van Jensen is the author of the critically acclaimed graphic novels Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and The Leg. He writes for DC Comics, including such series as Green Lantern Corps and The Flash.
The many worlds of Van Jensen
Meet the storyteller behind comic books, movies, diplomacy and more
Kimberly Lawson
May 11, 2017
0
Tweet
Share
WORLD BUILDER: Writer Van Jensen poses outside his backyard shed/office.Joeff Davis
Steps away from his Candler Park home — and access to the internet — writer Van Jensen spends hours each day in a shed in his backyard building new worlds.
The walls inside his homemade workspace are painted a baby boy nursery blue. It’s neat and serene — even the overwhelming stacks of graphic novels and other books on the floor are tidy. Behind the door, though, hangs a tangled mess of lanyards. They’re a testament to the many comic book conventions he’s attended.
On the wall opposite his desk is a large window he painted black and now uses as a whiteboard to keep up with his many projects. It’s clear this is a guy with a lot of words inside him.
The easiest way to explain who Jensen is and what he does is to say he’s a storyteller.
“I’ve worked on a lot of different mediums,” he says, “but the one thing that has been consistent is that I’ve always cared about telling stories. Even when I worked in nonfiction, I gravitated to the type of work that allows me to tell a narrative.”
It’s something he learned from his family: Both of his grandmothers were writers. One was a high school English teacher who graded the short stories he wrote as a kid. “She would destroy my writing,” he says.
Tough love — but clearly impactful. Jensen, who moved to Atlanta in 2007 with his wife, is known for working on DC Comics’ The Flash and Green Lantern Corps. He also helmed the conspiracy theory action series Cryptocracy for Dark Horse, among other titles. Currently, he’s finishing up a miniseries for Chapterhouse Comics (due out later this year), adapting Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels to graphic novels (“Working directly with the Fleming estate … has been kind of surreal,” he says), and collaborating on the original graphic novel Two Dead with Nate Powell (the New York Times best-selling graphic novelist who drew John Lewis’ March trilogy), set to come out in 2018.
How Jensen got into comics is not unusual. He started reading them as a kid in Nebraska, even though he was made fun of for doing so. “I was the only kid in my hometown who read comics,” he says. “I was the weirdo.”
When he got older, during a stint as the crime reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, he met and befriended illustrator Dusty Higgins. “We would talk about comics,” he says. “One day, just really randomly, he drew a sketch of a bad Pinocchio lying with his nose shooting through a vampire, and I chuckled at it and was like, ‘That’s clever,’ and totally forgot about it.” A few months later, after Jensen had moved to Atlanta, Higgins called him up and asked him if he’d be interested in writing the Pinocchio story. It ultimately became Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer.
“Easily in my top five best decisions,” Higgins says via email. “[Van]’s very good at analyzing where a story needs to go and the beats that we need to hit to get there. By the time we’d finished book one of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, we had a pretty good idea of where we wanted to take the second and third book, and Van introduced some of the weirdest characters in the story that inadvertently became my favorite characters to work with.”
When Jensen took a 10-page preview of the work to HeroesCon, a comic book convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, it got a lot of positive feedback. “I had just gotten accepted into an MFA program for creative writing,” he says, “and all these people said, ‘No, you need to be making comic books.’ It was like a sign ... comics are so visual; when I write stories, I see them in my head before I put the words on the page.”
Eventually, Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer was picked up and published in 2009. Afterward, Jensen started moonlighting at Top Shelf Productions, a publishing company based in Marietta (which was acquired by IDW Publishing two years ago), to learn more about the business, all the while maintaining his day job as assistant editor at Georgia Tech’s alumni magazine. He wrote comics whenever he could, and in 2013, he got a call from DC, asking him to take over Green Lantern Corps, and later, The Flash.
OFFICE SPACE: An inside look at Van Jensen's homemade workspace and collections of his work.Joeff Davis
IN THE PAST few years, Jensen says he realized something was missing from his work life. In March 2014, he walked away from running Georgia Tech’s alumni magazine to write full time. It was the dream, he says. A couple years later, he decided to leave DC to focus on his own works.
When he looked back at his career, though, he saw how much he loved the large-scale collaboration and project management side of being at the helm of a publication. He also started thinking about his roots.
“Going back to the silent-film era, my family had this theater called the Silver Hill Theater,” he says. “It had just, generation to generation, gone through the family. You go up in the projector room, and everyone who’d ever ran film wrote their name on the wall: So, it’s my dad, a couple of uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, friends of the family — all these names are up there. It closed in the ’70s, but as I was growing up, my dad and my grandma were always showing me movies that they screened at the theater and then telling me stories about what happened while they were showing the movies.”
As he was mulling over these things, Jensen became acquainted with two local film guys, Justin Miller, a production designer, and Chris Campbell, a director of photography. (They own their own production company, and have worked on big-budget feature films and television shows, such as “The Walking Dead.”) They suggested he consider directing film because so much of that work is preparation, coordination and tedious labor — the very things he missed doing.
So, he took a shot and self-financed a short film he wrote called Pisser. Miller and Campbell co-produced it with him. “The first day of shooting, I was like: ‘This is a terrible mistake, this is so overwhelming and so intense,’” Jensen recalls. “The second day, though, I could see the machinery of it. I saw how all the gears worked. It’s not like I knew how to run the machinery really well, but I at least understood what it was. That was the point where I realized this was the right path.”
Pisser, about a sad guy who decides that the victory he needs in life is to make a spatter-free urinal splash, is now in post-production.
“Right off the bat,” Miller says by telephone, “Van impressed us with his intensity and also the truthfulness that he strived for in storytelling. He always has a really strong sense of what a story should say about a character. He’s very imaginative but also very rigorous in his structure and process in storytelling. That’s a really difficult combination to find in a storyteller.”
Campbell adds via email: “I have learned so much about the nuts and bolts of storytelling because of working with Van. He just has a way of breaking a story down to the parts so well that an IKEA customer could put it back together. I think that is how he creates such unique worlds. He just starts with an insane idea and keeps breaking it down into parts until he can reassemble it as an entirely new entity.”
Even though Jensen has only been doing the film stuff for a little while now, he’s already got his hands full. In addition to writing an original screenplay, he also just finished directing a second short called Hot Yoga (which was adapted from a comedy sketch by Highwire Comedy), and he’s also preparing to direct two music videos for local hip-hop group Far Out Family.
Joeff Davis
WHILE FILM may be in his blood, it’s his work in comics that has made Jensen “the cool guy.” Last year, he was tapped to become America’s first comic book ambassador. “I thought I was being ‘catfished,’” he says. He spent almost two weeks in Tbilisi, Georgia, teaching people of all ages — including refugees who were displaced from their mountain villages after Russia invaded in 2008 — about comics. He also helped writers and artists there launch the first Georgian comic book.
“They had this idea of using comic books as a way of cultural engagement,” Jensen says, as comic books as they are now are “really the one true art form that is American.”
“There’s no way that this doesn’t sound stupid,” he continues, “but I do what I do because I think it’s the path that I have toward making the world a better place. For me to be productive in my work, I have to feel like I’m actively striving to make the world a better place. I feel like [taking on the comic book ambassador role] fit really well with that value that’s important to me.”
Jensen says he was asked recently to travel to Russia on ambassador duties, but he declined, as he and his wife are expecting their second child. (Also, the idea of going to Russia is a little scary right now, he says.) Plans are in the works, however, for a trip to Israel in the fall.
In the meantime, Jensen volunteers his time in local schools, teaching kids about storytelling by making comics with them. During a recent visit to Dobbs Elementary in Atlanta — one of the schools impacted by the big test cheating scandal — a boy asked him if he could be Superman.
“All the other kids started laughing,” Jensen says, “but he’s really earnest, and so I say, ‘All right, can you shoot lasers out of your eyes?’ ‘Well, no.’ Then I ask, ‘Well, can you fly?’ ‘No.’ ‘Well, can you punch through a brick wall?’ ‘No.’ I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know kid, I’m sorry. Wait, hold on a second. What makes Superman a hero?’ So he says, ‘Well, all those powers.’ I was like, ‘What does Superman do with those powers?’ ‘Well, he helps people. He looks out for people who are in trouble and he fights against the powerful who are doing bad thing.’ I said, ‘OK, can you do that?’ He said yeah.”
Jensen pauses. “That’s the kind of encounter that I live for. People look at me as, ‘Whoa, he has a cool job.’ I was just a kid in the middle of nowhere who wrote and drew stories.”
Join the conversation!
VAN JENSEN Leaving THE FLASH And DCU Altogether
By Chris Arrant, Editor
February 9, 2016 11:13am ET
DC Comics April 2016 solicitations
Credit: DC Comics
Credit: DC Comics
Van Jensen has announced he is stepping down as co-writer of DC's The Flash. Revealed in several tweets, Jensen is leaving DC and work-for-hire work completely to focus on "my own stories."
"I'll be wrapping up work on The Flash over this week and next. It's been a real honor, spending time in Central City," Jensen said. "There will be much more news from DC about what they have in store. Don't worry. Many more great adventures ahead for Barry Allen and all. As for me, I've spent most of the past 4 years focused on the DCU. It's time for me to focus on my own stories. I have so many exciting things on the way. Some you've heard about. Most you haven't. I'm blessed to do the job I always dreamed of doing."
Jensen's last solicited issue of The Flash with co-writer Robert Venditti is April 27's The Flash #51.
Van Jensen named first ever Comic Book Ambassador of the United States
05/10/2016 3:00 pm by Heidi MacDonald
Share this:
64
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
64
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
Here is a thing Donald Trump could not stop: the US has an actual Comic Book Ambassador, and that person is writer Van Jensen, who writes of his duties:
A thing that is both unbelievable and true: I am the first-ever Comic Book Ambassador of the United States. I was asked by the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, to come over along with artist David Mack and spend time visiting some cultural institutions and work with a group of locals in the creation of a new comic book. I’ll also be attending the nation’s literary festival and spending some time with refugee children at a displaced persons camp. After I’m back, I’ll be launching a book donation drive to send comics to the refugees. Stay tuned for more information on that!
While this may sound outlandish at first blush, comics are being increasingly used for educational purposes around the world, and as a popular medium make a great way to empower young creators and promote beneficial ideals. Van is a smart and principled guy, and along with David Mack, I’m sure they will represent US comic in fine fashion.
Jensen is also the author of Cryptocracy, which comes out in June from Dark Horse, and his new duties should certainly provide much more writing fodder for the series:
Hey there, friends! June sees the launch of Cryptocracy, a new ongoing comic book series I created with the super-talented artist Pete Woods. The book imagines a world in which a secret, shadowy, all-powerful organization does exist. But we see the story from their side—who they are, why they do the things they do. And, for the first time, someone is hunting them. It’s a big pastiche of conspiracies and science fiction, covering everything from Roswell to the Mothmen.
According to the State Dept.:
Renowned U.S. Comic Book Creators to Visit Georgia in May and June
In a new program launched by the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, renowned U.S. comic book creators will travel to Georgia to teach youth how to creatively share stories through the unique and engaging art form of comic books.
This summer, America’s first ever “comic book ambassadors” to Georgia – the illustrator David Mack (Daredevil, Alias, Kabuki) and the writer Van Jensen (The Flash, Green Lantern Corps, Cryptocracy) – will work with a talented team of Georgian college and high school students to create their own comic book.
Van Jensen will visit in May, holding workshops to teach the ins and outs of storytelling and scripting. He will also meet with Georgian publishers, talk to students at a Peace Corps summer camp, take part in Georgia’s International Literature Festival, and visit internally displaced persons at the Tserovani settlement camp.
David Mack will visit in June. In an effort to inspire new artists, he will hold an exhibit showcasing his unique style of visual storytelling. He will work with Georgian students to finalize their character designs, page layouts, pencils and inks for their comic book. He will also hold a master class with deaf and hearing-impaired students at a Tbilisi boarding school.
Empower Women, a student group at the Tbilisi campus of San Diego State University, will create the Georgian comic book. The students will ensure the comic book promotes teamwork, inclusion, gender equality, and non-violence. Empower Women has already selected student writers and illustrators to write and draw the book, and the U.S. Embassy will support the printing and distribution of its first issue, which will be given out free of charge to students in rural areas of Georgai. The project has already begun with a series of public workshops by the renowned Georgian writer Nikoloz Khomasuridze, creator of the first-ever Georgian comic book Amirani.
Georgia has a long, rich tradition of art, but comic books are relatively new to the country. With comic books fueling the boom in superhero films and TV programs, Georgian artists are eager to write their own stories but need technical skills to get started. During their visit to Georgia, America’s “comic book ambassadors” will share their extensive experience in the field. They will also highlight the importance of comic books as a form of expression, entertainment, and economic income, encouraging youth to view visual storytelling and comic books as an avenue to be heroic in their own, unique ways.
Van Jensen Discusses Upcoming Dark Horse Books CRYPTOCRACY and TWO DEAD
by Mat 'Inferiorego' Elfring on October 23, 2015
Writer Van Jensen talks about his new creator-owned work.
During New York Comic Con, Dark Horse Comics announced two new creator-owned books: CRYPTOCRACY and TWO DEAD. What's special about these series is that they're both written by Van Jensen (THE FLASH, THE LEG). Jensen spoke with us during the convention about these two new books and what we can expect.
Promotional Image by Pete Woods for CRYPTOCRACY
COMIC VINE: You have two books that were recently announced from Dark Horse Comics: CRYPTOCRACY and TWO DEAD. What's CRYPTOCRACY about?
VAN JENSEN: The basic idea is that there's a secret, shadowy organization that controls everything from behind the scenes. Every story where you see a conspiratorial agency manipulating a world event, they're always the bad guys. The thought hit me "what if we saw the story from their perspective?" Why do they do the things that they do. What's their agenda? Also, what is it that would scare them.
The main character is Graham who is the sort of head of this group. Life is kinda boring for him because he knows the answer to every conspiracy and there's no mystery or secrets. He manipulates everything, but all of the sudden, all of this stuff happens that is out of his control. There is someone who knows him, what he's doing and his organization and attacking them. That's never happened before, so there's this mystery to unravel.
CV: Although it's about conspiracy theories, how grounded is this book?
JENSEN: I would say it's more mainstream than my previous creator-owned books. It's mostly human characters without a lot of fantastical stuff, but there are super-weird, sci-fi elements to it, cryptozoological creatures, but it's all stuff within the trappings of conspiracy-themed material. If you have seen the X-Files, this will not be something totally crazy to you. That said, we're giving it a very new take and approaching it from a new perspective.
CV: So X-Files fans will be at home in this book?
JENSEN: Everyone who ever watched X-Files should buy every copy of CRYPTOCRACY.
CV: Who is doing art on this book?
JENSEN: Pete Woods. We collaborated on GREEN LANTERN: GODHEAD and in the course of us talking to each other, for that, he randomly mentioned how much he loved conspiracies and at that time, I was developing this idea with an editor at Dark Horse, and we needed an artists. Pete had worked at Dark Horse on their Terminator material and I talked to him and he read the pitch files and outlines I had and loved it. Already, he's turned in a chunk of issue one even though it's not out until May. He's brought so much in terms of ideas and visual storytelling, but also just storytelling. He added some cool wrinkles to some of the characters that's really redefined them. He's an incredible artist that's always done work for hire and has never done creator-owned in his career and he's turning in some of his best work ever. He's doing amazing stuff.
CV: The book is dealing with conspiracies, so what's the weirdest or craziest conspiracy theory you've woven into this book?
JENSEN: It touches on a lot of them. It has a really unique take on Roswell. The mothman too. I don't know if that's as much a conspiracy.
CV: More of a cryptozoological thing.
JENSEN: Yeah. I try to do just take all this stuff and it's not like every issue we're going to riff on a particular conspiracy and we're not letting the conspiracies fuel the narrative as much as finding ways to plug them into the story world.
TWO DEAD cover by Nate Powell
CV: With TWO DEAD, you're taking more of a true crime approach. What more can you tell us about this series?
JENSEN: TWO DEAD is set in 1940s Little Rock, Arkansas, which was actually ripe with organized crime. It was a very strictly segregated city and had separate white and black police forces. It was a very violent city that was struggling to move from a wild west mode form of policing into modern policing which is more analyzing crime and responding in more thoughtful ways rather than just, you know, you see a bad guy and take him out kind of mentality. There's inner-city crime. There's still bootlegging.
In the midst of all of this, the chief of detectives of the Little Rock Police Department, and this is a true story, was schizophrenic and he thought demons were overtaking the city and it was his job to defeat him. The story is about this chief of detectives as well as his main lieutenant who was basically trying to save the chief from himself. It's a true crime, noir story but told with a pacifist perspective. It really explores the nature and true cost of detectives instead of celebrating and glorifying it.
CV: Sounds like we're getting a character study of the chief of detectives but told through the narrative of others?
JANSEN: Yeah, it's basically a duel lead book. The chief and lieutenant are the two main leads but it's a big cast and everyone brings something to bare to the book. You want the characters to feel real, no matter how small their bit is. They all need something to say and have input on the narrative. I do think it has a really compelling cast. We look at the white side of town, the black side of town. We look at the criminals, the police. If anything, it's a really deep, history based, exploration of a very interesting place of a very interesting time. I would liken it to LA Confidential but set in the south.
CV: Who is doing the art on TWO DEAD?
JENSEN: Nate Powell who people will probably know best for the MARCH graphic novels, which are the John Lewis autobiographies, which have been New York Times best sellers and widely celebrated. Nate grew up in North Little Rock and he's a phenomenal artist and really good friend. He's never done any nior before, but he written and drawn about mental health issues and used to work in that field. In ever p[ossible way., he was a perfect fit.
Thanks to Van Jensen for answering our questions. Keep your eyes peeled for CRYPOTRACY, which comes out in May 2016 and TWO DEAD comes out in August 2016.
Cryptocracy
264.11 (Mar. 13, 2017): p67.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Cryptocracy
Van Jensen and Pete Woods. Dark Horse, $19.99 trade paper (152p) ISBN 978-1-50670135-6
Jensen (Green Lantern Corps) and Woods (Cops for Criminals) concoct a treat for conspiracy buffs and graphic novel readers looking for something a bit weird. Nine families, all taking their names from Roman deities, have secretly ruled over the Earth since ancient days. Their agents, including cryptids like the Grays and bugbears, convey their orders to politicians and business leaders. The Mars family of North America are preeminent among the nine families jockeying for power, until a harbinger of Chronos appears and kills the elders of several families with ease. When millennia-old prophecies are revealed, it is up to Grahame, the new elder of Mars, to lead the fight against the minions of Chronos and the chaos that they threaten to unleash. Jensen jazzes the story up with bizarre creatures, tech that seems like magic, and, of course, plenty of fighting. This doesn't take itself too seriously, and Woods's art plays along, giving this the feel of a grown-up Saturday morning cartoon. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Cryptocracy." Publishers Weekly, 13 Mar. 2017, p. 67. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA485971657&it=r&asid=21f45f6b9e5d6997d5305538cbe9f085. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A485971657
Jensen, Van and Dusty Higgins. Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer Volume 2: The Great Puppet Theater
Mirta Espinola
34.1 (Apr. 2011): p82.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
4Q * 4P * M * J * S *
The second volume of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer follows a cast of puppets, a ghost cricket, and a human girl, Carlotta, to battle to destroy the head vampire and his associates. With an enraged disposition, Pinocchio, the main character, plots to avenge his father Geppetto's death. His former ally, Master Cherry, now a vampire, is killed by Pinocchio's hand when Cherry cannot dominate his thirst for blood. In a fit of sorrow and fury over Cherry's death, the Blue Fairy casts a spell transforming Pinocchio into a human boy--rendering him virtually defenseless against the vampires. His wooden nose once wielded as a sword for slaying vampires is no more. Amidst the chaos, Pinocchio's love interest, Carlotta, is kidnapped by vampires who are set to sail to Romania. Determined to rescue Carlotta, the puppets and Pinocchio stow away on a pirate ship en route to Romania as well. After laying siege to the vampire ship, all but three puppets meet their demise. Fortunately, Pinocchio escapes with his life, but Carlotta remains imprisoned on the ship.
Higgins and Jensen craft a heartfelt hero story with twists of comedy, wit, and camaraderie. With a blend of horror and fantasy, the graphic novel unfolds layers of a unique story in comic book form. The vibrant characters breathe to life a tale that connects with readers of multiple ages. With a splash of romance and distinctive artistic quality, the story leads readers to the end of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer Volume 2: The Great Puppet Theater and leaves them anticipating the continuation of the story.
4Q Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses.
4P Broad general or genre YA appeal.
M Middle School (defined as grades 6-8)
J Junior High (defined as grades 7-9)
S Senior High (defined as grades 10-12)
Graphic Novel Format
Espinola, Mirta
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Espinola, Mirta. "Jensen, Van and Dusty Higgins. Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer Volume 2: The Great Puppet Theater." Voice of Youth Advocates, Apr. 2011, p. 82. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA253626631&it=r&asid=cff5ff63b82c96fbe4ee48524bb1785f. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A253626631
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, v.2: The Great Puppet Theater
Ian Chipman
107.14 (Mar. 15, 2011): p38.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, v.2: The
Great Puppet Theater.
By Van Jensen. Illus. by Dusty Higgins.
2010. 176p. SLG, paper, $14.95 (9781593622039).
741.5. Gr. 9-12.
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer (2009) capitalized on an irresistible premise (a puppet boy who uses his regenerative wooden stake of a nose to avenge the death of Geppetto at the fangs of vampires) and terrific, shadowy artwork to become a fast favorite. Now Pinocchio is joined by a whole cast of animated wooden puppets (who open the book with a pithy, hilarious staging of the first book's action) to slay their way through a sea of vamps and uncover the head bloodsucker. The newcomers and their squabbly group dynamics often upstage the alternately vengeful and pouty Pinocchio, whose wish to become a real boy and shy romance with Carlotta get fleshed out a bit here. It's an action story with heart, humor, and hooks, and a rare instance of originality in the painfully swollen ranks of vampire lore. Jensen and Higgins continue to play wonderfully off the original, un-Disneyfied version of the tale, and if this volume feels less a complete story than the first, readers will be happy to know there's more in store.--Ian Chipman
Chipman, Ian
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Chipman, Ian. "Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, v.2: The Great Puppet Theater." Booklist, 15 Mar. 2011, p. 38. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA252847326&it=r&asid=3e6aa939ad64358570a32d0fe36db957. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A252847326
Pinocchio Vampire Slayer: Pinocchio and the Great Puppet Theater
257.43 (Nov. 1, 2010): p33.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Pinocchio Vampire Slayer: Pinocchio and the Great Puppet Theater
Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins. SLG (www.slgcomic.com), $14.95 trade paper (176p) ISBN 978-1-59362-203-9
This second volume in the series sees a vengeance-obsessed Pinocchio joined in his quest to rid the world of vampires and their mysterious, off-stage master by a troupe of similarly magically animated puppets. The vampires are themselves obsessed with Pinocchio and possibly in possession of information that Pinocchio himself lacks about the origin of the magical wood used to make the puppet. While vulnerable to Pinocchio and his fellow puppets' wooden weapons, the vampires have the advantage of numbers and the ability to easily convert Pinocchio's human friends into monsters like themselves. As allies fall or are converted, Pinocchio oversteps and is faced with the consequences of a marvelous but inconvenient transformation. Higgins's art does a nice job of capturing the story and creating strong characters. Although inflicting the current fad for adding vampires and other undead to the settings of classic works of literature may annoy some, the original Pinocchio was itself both fantastic and filled with nightmare fuel; this is one of the few examples of this new genre that is arguably justifiable. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Pinocchio Vampire Slayer: Pinocchio and the Great Puppet Theater." Publishers Weekly, 1 Nov. 2010, p. 33. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA241780380&it=r&asid=fe18ea6f1ef4a9e50571108c3a69aea4. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A241780380
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer
256.42 (Oct. 19, 2009): p43.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer
Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins. Slave Labor Graphics, $10.95 (128p) ISBN 978-1-59362-176-6
This enjoyable reworking of Carlo Collodi's classic tale drops the magically animated puppet into a horror movie plot. After his maker/father Geppetto is killed by vampires, Pinocchio tries to protect the disbelieving inhabitants of his village, aided only by woodcarver Master Cherry, a greatly aged Blue Fairy and the ghost of the nagging cricket he squashed some time ago. As that last reference indicates, this is not the sentimentalized Disney version of the story; the protagonist of this book is one tough little puppet. Furthermore, although he's no Buffy Summers, as a vampire fighter Pinocchio has the advantage of a built-in wooden stake--as long as he remembers to tell lies at the right time. Jensen's script is clever, full of irreverent irony. But the highlight of the book is Higgins's b&w art that offers page after page of amazement. Swirling, whirling, jittery, skittery, the story dances gracefully from grin to grimace and back again. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer." Publishers Weekly, 19 Oct. 2009, p. 43. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA210440965&it=r&asid=0464fa9304a57c5eb5becab1710b1b9d. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A210440965
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer
Ian Chipman
106.3 (Oct. 1, 2009): p37.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer.
By Van Jensen. Illus. by Dusty Higgins.
2009. 128p. SLG, paper, $10.95 (9781593621766). 741.5. Gr. 9-12.
The premise for this graphic novel is really almost too good to be true. Basing their puppet on the darker original by Carlo Collodi rather than the sanitized Disney stiff, Jensen and Higgins' Pinocchio never becomes a real boy, and although there is a cricket, he is no Jiminy. Here, Pinocchio looks on in terror as Geppetto is killed by vampires. The puppet, who vows vengeance, is equipped with the world's finest vampire-slaying weapon: his regenerative wooden stake of a nose. Heavy shadows and thick lines dominate the panels and provide a midnight-black atmosphere for all the gory mayhem, but it's the humor that makes this so memorable. Zingers come fast and furious as Pinocchio peppers the combat sequences with lies, and the art can land a chortle with little more than a well-timed facial expression. There's also surprising heart at the story's center that plays with the core theme of fatherhood. There won't be many teen (or adult) graphic-novel readers who won't want this book for its concept alone, and the execution doesn't disappoint.--Ian Chipman
Chipman, Ian
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Chipman, Ian. "Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer." Booklist, 1 Oct. 2009, p. 37+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA209696294&it=r&asid=92bc2a0947d3c06bbdf05a8f97843cae. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A209696294
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer: Of Wood and Blood Part 1
Aaron Broverman
.59 (Apr. 2013): p66.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Broken Pencil
http://www.brokenpencil.com
Disney's Pinocchio this is not.
Actually, barring a pile of dead vampires left in the wake of a certain boy puppet, it's a lot closer to the original Carlo Collodi novel than the Disney version ever was, as he doesn't turn to a real boy at the end. Still, one wonders how Pinocchio went from wanting to be a real boy to staking Nosferatu with his extended nose.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Thankfully, this being the third book in the series--behind Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater--two barflies provide a brief recap of the story so far, so readers can jump right into the action.
Turns out, vampires have invaded Italy. Luckily, Pinocchio is the perfect puppet to defeat them with his endless supply of stakes, courtesy of his elongated schnoz. If that weren't enough, his sneezes produce lethal nostril flames. However, things get real when Gepetto is bitten and resurrected as a vampire himself and Pinocchio is forced to slay his own father. He takes refuge with a carpenter named Mr. Cherry and The Blue Fairy, while slaying vampires by night.
He eventually falls for a Disney princess type named Carlotta and his fellow marionettes from The Great Puppet Theater show up to provide reinforcements before Carlotta is kidnapped by the vampire dark lord Vlad Dracul and stuck on a pirate ship.
Our story picks up with Pinocchio stranded on a desert island in the middle of the Mediterranean with his marionette friends nowhere to be found and only the ghost of Jiminy Cricket to keep him company. Without his endless supply of stakes and Vlad Dracul's army barring down on him, Pinocchio must make the ultimate sacrifice and turn himself back into a puppet to save his beloved Carlotta.
This story has the feel of a sprawling epic and the art style brings to mind woodcarvings, which seems appropriate given our protagonist. The only real drawback is Pinocchio is a real boy for most of this volume, so you don't get nearly as much vampire killing mayhem as you do in previous volumes. Still, the series is a perfect blend of humour and horror with only a little gore and a fair bit of questing adventure for good measure.
Dusty Higgins (creator/artist) Van Jensen (writer), 131 pgs, SLG Publishing, slgcomic.com, $10.95
Broverman, Aaron
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Broverman, Aaron. "Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer: Of Wood and Blood Part 1." Broken Pencil, Apr. 2013, p. 66. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA330500770&it=r&asid=00981d5c25d4cfb4247eb6a8334747dd. Accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A330500770
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer by Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins Review
By Hillary Brown | July 10, 2014 | 1:42pm
Books Reviews
Share Tweet Submit Pin
Writer: Van Jensen
Artist: Dusty Higgins
Publisher: Top Shelf
Release Date: June 24, 2014
“High concept” is winning the war against star power these days, with Joss Whedon’s influence continuing to grow the on small screen, big screen and in the comics world. Who needs Brad Pitt when you’ve got Superman, and who needs Superman when you’ve got a smart and snappy idea. The idea at the heart of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, which compiles three earlier volumes, seems at first like a joke that could have been exhausted in the span of a few pages. Pinocchio’s made of wood. His pointy nose grows when he lies. Said nose makes a perfect weapon for staking vampires, whether accidentally (to start out with) or on purpose (later). But artist Dusty Higgins and writer Van Jensen work to assemble layers of flesh around their skeletal concept, and by the end of the third book, 500+ have passed and the characters have grown into semblances of real people.
Carlo Collodi’s original story, which is far darker and weirder than the Disney version (shocker there), provides a good bit of the inspiration, from the ghost cricket that guides Pinocchio in place of Jiminy to the four ghost rabbits that make doom-filled pronouncements to the commedia dell’ arte-style troupe of other living puppets. The book also supplies a somewhat medieval view of life as short, brutal and best spent as quickly as possible. Jensen then combines this perspective with a much more modern sensibility. The result isn’t quite the best of Buffy, but it’s better than the early monster-of-the-week episodes.
Dusty Higgins’ art translates Collodi’s metaphorical shadows into real ones, using woodcuts as inspiration in what also serves as a clever joke. His compositional skills improve markedly throughout the three books, with the final entry (“Of Wood and Blood”) including action panels that at least echo Hal Foster’s kinetic work on Tarzan with leaping characters that exude muscularity, grace and realism. The design of Pinocchio, in particular, draws attention, especially his mischievous face that becomes a vehicle for conveying emotion without dipping into cuteness or sentimentality. If there’s a weakness in the style, the flashbacks can be so lovely that the present narrative doesn’t quite hold up. In addition, some characters (small, dark, round ones clad in robes) don’t stand out from one another.
Jensen ultimately crafts an action-packed narrative that spreads out plot details at a nice pace, balancing revelation with plenty of stabbing and flames. Jokes (visual and verbal) unfold from clever setups, and no matter how many times Pinocchio’s nose grows in response to a deliberate lie, a foolish boast or even, crushingly, a statement of self-confidence, it’s a fine punchline out of which the protagonist manages to wring every possibility. Does the book ever rise to the level of true greatness? That might be an exaggeration. But this is an excellent, fun read, commendable for its craft and what it achieves.
Review: Cryptocracy
July 14, 2017 Book Reviews, Books, Culture
By TERENCE TOH
Related Articles
image: http://www.star2.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/str2_wow1508hellboy_MAIN_cn-e1502768281434-265x160.jpg
Review: Hellboy And The BPRD: 1955 – Secret Nature
image: http://www.star2.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/box-159632_1280-265x160.png
'Heart In A Box' is a moving fable
Put on your tinfoil hat, cover up your webcam, and trust no one. Because everything you read about on the Web? They’re all true. And they really are all out to get you.
Cryptocracy is a science fiction graphic novel that asks, what if every conspiracy theory out there, from little green men to the Illuminati, was real? What we should get is an intriguing, sinister tale that makes us paranoid of who’s watching our every move.
What we get from this book instead, however, is a convoluted, rather unengaging mess of dull characters and intriguing, but wasted concepts. Which is a pity as it had so much going for it in the start.
Cryptocracy (the word apparently means a government by hidden leaders) is set on a world just like ours, which is secretly ruled by nine powerful families who manipulate things from the shadows. Aided by powerful technology and unearthly allies, these Nine Families believe themselves untouchable shepherds of the rest of society.
One day, however, a mysterious old man named Hum appears, spouting dark prophecies as he dramatically starts to overturn the Family’s rule. Doing their best to stop him are a collection of agents from the Family, including Grahame (a tough, charismatic member of the Mars family), the hacker Bela, and Jason, a gruff, talking bear creature.
For this series, writer Van Jensen (Pinnochio Vampire Slayer, Green Lantern Corps) does his best to create a complex, engaging world, but sadly, falls a bit short. Much is made of the Nine Families that really rule the world: each is named after a planet, with different goals, but we never learn enough about all of them to make each family distinct or interesting. He could have changed his series concept to one big family ruling the world, and it would make little difference to the story.
image: http://www1.star2.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/str2_wowcryptocracy_terencetoh_3.jpg
It also doesn’t help that much of his story-telling feels very expository, and sometimes repetitive: there will be full pages devoted to one concept or another, only to have a character repeat this same information in dialogue later. We sort of got it the first time, you know?
Much of the story’s action focuses around Hum’s destruction of the Nine Families, in accordance to prophecy and what not. This proves to be a lot less engaging than expected, as a lot of it revolves around future tech and magical power being thrown into the reader’s face before he or she gets to become familiar with the world of Cryptocracy.
This focus on the destruction of the Nine Families is a little alienating: the series doesn’t really touch on how the rest of the world is affected by the events of it’s story (which involve buildings destroyed and the exposure of the Families!), which makes it feel a little hollow at times.
After all, the reason many conspiracy theories are intriguing is because they touch on how everyday lives are affected by the actions of a select few.
This action focus also takes a lot away from character development: most of the mains come across as stock stereotypes, and it is not easy to feel invested in their fates. Only Jason really stands out, and that’s because it’s hard to forget a talking bear!
Cryptocracy’s saving grace, however, is it’s humour. The book never takes itself too seriously, and features a lot of witty dialogue and hilarious references.
The artwork by Pete Woods (Superman: Up, Up And Away, Batman War Games, Avengers Assemble) is decent, but not great. His level of detail is rather inconsistent: characters go from super-detailed in one panel to almost crude, blocky depictions in the next.
All in all, Cryptocracy is not a bad series: it merely feels cliched and derivative, and fails to fully take advantage of its very intriguing premise. Real life conspiracy theories are more entertaining to read than this graphic novel. Let’s hope this series gets better as it goes on: until then, if you really want an engaging story of supernaturally tinged conspiracies, you’re probably better off with some X-Files reruns.
Cryptocracy is available at Kinokuniya, Suria KLCC. Call 03-2164 8133 or e-mail: ebd3_kbm@kinokuniya.co.jp or visit www.kinokuniya.com/my.
Cryptocracy
Writer: Van Jensen
Artist: Pete Woods
Publisher: Dark Horse Books
Read more at http://www.star2.com/culture/books/book-reviews/2017/07/14/review-cryptocracy/#O4CROhktF5dSjVqR.99
Review – Cryptocracy #2 (Dark Horse Comics)
Posted on July 27, 2016 in Dark Horse Reviews
Click to enlarge.
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Van Jensen
Artist: Pete Woods
Release Date: 27th July, 2016
Cryptocracy started with one hell of a bang. Behind the politicians and the world’s movers-and-shakers lies a secret organisation. Led by nine ruling families, each supported by nine circles of supporters (both informed and unaware), they orchestrate key events within society to their own ends. At first glance untouchable, the first book climaxed with the death of Babak, the Jupiter family’s elder. The second commences as the aftershocks are felt throughout the remaining families and they meet to begin their investigations. Amidst the finger-pointing and name-calling, the meeting is interrupted by an unexpected (and unwelcome) guest.
Writer Van Jensen continues to unapologetically weave his complex universe in the second issue, with little time for explanations or reminders. The exposition dumping remains high, but, barring a single clumsy exchange at the start of the book (you’ll know it when you read it), the delivery is smooth and, amidst all the intrigue and mystery, you’re unlikely to feel the weight of it. The dialogue isn’t perfect mind you, but when the story is this engaging and the setting so intricate, who cares?
One of the book’s strengths is its root in reality. There are fantastical elements to the series for sure, but ultimately it is our world that provides the stage for Jensen’s characters. The status and characteristics of the nine ruling families are clearly reflective of the nine superpowers they represent. Real-life historic events, like Roswell, are mentioned in passing. Yes, there’s something uncomfortable in using Pearl Harbour and the atrocities that followed in Japan as a plot device, but perhaps that’s the point. Cryptocracy is a vehicle for passing comment on our world and the horrors we’ve wreaked upon one another for ‘the greater good’, and Jensen clearly doesn’t intend to sugar-coat it.
Woods’ artwork is the perfect companion for the story. His depictions of the violent scenes within the book are visceral and don’t shy away from the grim realities of death and destruction. Then there are the characters, whose facial expressions are ridiculously well-rendered and serve to well-and-truly hook the reader into the story. My only critique is the action sequences; those involving Chronos’ Hum aren’t as fluid as they perhaps could be and are at times hard to follow. It’s a minor quibble, however, in an otherwise good-looking book.
Cryptocracy feels like a series that will continue to surprise the reader far beyond the first few issues. There are so many layers to unpeel. Through Grahame, we discover there are secrets within the Mars family that even an upper-circle pion doesn’t know about. This issue may not have the same punch as the first in terms of plot development, but it’s certainly exciting and I for one can’t wait for the next one.
Rating: 4/5.
In Review: Cryptocracy #1
The perfect blend of action, humor, and conspiracy. Highly enjoyable.
by Patrick Hayes
July 4, 2016
The cover: Grahame looks upon a hologram of the Earth. He eyes it impassively as a gigantic eye forms around the orb. The red light of the projection gives him a sinister look. Behind him several grays take notice of what he’s doing, perhaps wondering what he’ll have them scrub next. An ominous image from Pete Woods that introduces the protagonist of this series which definitely paints him in a particular light. Overall grade: A
The story: Van Jensen starts his saga with an introduction to how one of the families of this secret government works: a group of scientists were going to run a test to unlock the secrets of dark matter. Those in charge didn’t want this to happen, so Agent Shin had one of his lessers blackmail a cog, a human unaware of the ruling families, to release a mechanical creature into the scientists’ laboratory, creating a blast that would kill them during the test. This would allow “plausible cover for our media agents to push as the narrative…that once the device came online, it simply failed…and a group of the world’s leading scientists became victims of their own hubris. But…ah…our calculations on the blast impact, well…” The explosion took out two square miles of Illinois, which in the words of Grahame, a member of the Eighth Circle of the Mars family (there are nine families that rule the world), was a “Roswell-grade cock-up.” Such an explosion could cause humanity to scrutinize things and expose the family. Shinn realizes he can be killed for this fiasco, but Grahame reveals that he has concealed some things from Shinn, so the agent is moved into the Fourth Circle. The reader follows Shinn on his journey into how the family creates influence over others, as well as seeing the many varied, agents they employ. Page 10 introduces two of these agents and they provided much of the comedy of this issue. Jason is a fantastic character, and I’m going to leave it at that, while the many other individuals responsible for “scrubbing” are also excellent characters, especially seeing them in action at the bottom of 11. There is a possible problem for all the families in the form of Bela the blogger whose broadcasts continually come dangerously to the truth. How she’s dealt with is cool and she’s obviously going to have a face-to-face with Grahame at some point. Speaking of whom, Grahame personally gets involved in a situation that demonstrates more technology of the families and who is worthy of their protection. The last five pages introduces the key antagonist of the series and this looks to be extremely interesting. This is an entertaining story that holds a lot of promise. I’m a fan of stories that throw a lot at the reader and explain as they go along (Don’t get me started on how the Legion of Super-Heroes “Five Years Later” saga is one of the best in comics), and this book throws much at the reader. In fact, the inside front cover contains a cheat sheet on how on all nine levels to the Cryptocracy. Because of this, I was constantly going back and forth between it and the story to see what each level contained. If it were absent, I probably would have been okay; still, it interfered with my reading. When all is said and done, I want more. Overall grade: A
The art: The depth of this secret world is sensationally brought to life by Pete Woods. The first page features a father and son playing catch outside their house; a story doesn’t get more humdrum than this. Yet Woods makes this look amazing. Look at the unbelievable amount of detail in the second and third panels showing each of the characters. Not only do the characters look terrific, the settings behind each is fully rendered — a rarity in comic books! The first panel on the page and the circular close up in the sixth panel are a small taste of the technological wonders that Woods is going to show the reader. The explosion that’s the full paged splash of 4 is also a mere morsel of the epic scale that Woods will later reveal. This book depends on several factors to match the scope of the story, and one of them are the lush settings. One of these is shown on 6. It’s only shown on this one page, but Woods moves the point of view around so much it gives the location an aristocratic elegant feel, while so much decadence is occurring: I don’t think I’ve been so impressed with iron balusters in a comic before. The Mars headquarters is a techie’s dream, with the agents that work in stunning: I really want to see more of those individuals in the bottom of 7, and much more of Jason and those he oversees. Grahame’s action sequence is incredibly exciting and I’m really looking forward to seeing Woods illustrate more of the family’s tech. The design of the character that does damage to the Jupiter family is interesting, though given the technological state of the families, his look is the only option to show his opposition to what they represent. The visuals on this book are incredibly detailed and can be poured over again and again. Overall grade: A+
The colors: Given all the technology used in this book, the colors have to assist the art to show how far beyond the known world they are. Pete Woods is coloring his own work and it looks tremendous. The book opens with the normal colors of the known world, but morph into the world of technological fantasy when the Hydra is released, using light blues and hot pinks to show the mechanical creature. Computer screens on Page 5 use sickly greens to show the fallout of the explosion, rather than the expected neon blues — an excellent change of pace. 9 shows holograms looking as if they were created from light, but colors are used to show differentiation in them, rather than the monotone Star Wars blues. Violets are used for sensational effect on 10 – 12. The colors really bring the fantasy elements to life. Overall grade: A+
The letters: Dialogue, computer text, sounds, signage, the unique font of several individuals introduced on 10, transmissions during Bela’s broadcast, and the tease for next issue are from the Nate Piekos of Blambot. He is a letterer whose work always stands out superbly and this issue shows why he’s a talent: the computer texts look great, the individuals on 10 have a dialogue font that’s wonderfully unique for their race, and the sounds are sensational. Piekos is always gold. Overall grade: A+
The final line: A must read for fans of conspiracy theories and science fiction. A solid injection of humor keeps the story from getting overly serious and the visuals are absolutely sumptuous. The perfect blend of action, humor, and conspiracy. Highly enjoyable. Overall grade: A
To learn more about this book go to http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics
To purchase a hard copy of this book go to http://www.tfaw.com/