Hello...is it me you're looking for?

So, I've noticed that it really has been a few months since I've done any work on here. Odd considering I do still review and interview, but just got lazy about adding it on here. Let's remedy that, okay? Polarity is a new mini-series by BOOM! and while I wasn't blown away by it, it's something to look for in the future. Full review after the image.

Polarity #1
Written by Max Bemis
Art by Jorge Coelho and Felipe Sobreiro
Lettering by Steve Wands
Published by BOOM!
Review by Lan Pitts
Robot Rating: 7 out of 10

There's a line from the film "Amadeus" in which Emperor Joseph when asked about what he thought about Mozart's opera, it was suggested to Mozart that it had "too many notes". While BOOM's latest mini-series Polarity isn't exactly Classical opera, it is an original take on a young artist finding himself as both a person, an artist, and someone who can headbutt a man's head, crushing it into oblivion. However, it suffers from the same problem: just too many notes.

Written by Say Anything's front man  Max Bemis, Polarity explores the world of the elitist, hipster New York art scene for most of the issue. It lays it out pretty well for anybody who is unfamiliar with that universe, even if there are some liberties with exaggerations, but not bad for a first foray into comics. Just when you think there's no action and you feel like you're watching "High Fidelity" for the nth time, the action kicks in and catches you off guard.

The big problem  is the fact that the main character, Tim's, inner dialog just clutters up the pages. Letterer Steve Wands does a great job at controlling the flow, but a lot of it just seems like unnecessary detail. We get the idea that he's with a girl that he doesn't want to be with, and has a thing for another girl right off the bat. The repetition of the detail stalls the pacing a bit. Bemis' banter can be witty at times, but much like the art scene described here, comes across as trying too hard.

Now the reason to really try this book out is artist Jorge Coelho. With layouts that just seem out of this world, Coelho takes Tim's bipolarity and runs with it. His figure compositions are sort of a mix of Tradd Moore and Rob Guillory. Characters have cartoonish anatomy, but still maintain a sense of reality. Every panel is bursting with detail, but not in the way a lot of mainstream artists handle things. Since the story takes place in Brooklyn, everything seems more active and captivating. The bar scene with Tim and Lily especially stands out as a scene where nothing is wasted. Add in some great coloring by Felipe Sobreiro, and you've got a great looking book in your hands.

Polarity's shortcomings don't outweigh the positive here, and it's something to keep your eye on in the coming months.  How Bemis handles Tim's dialog even before he became manic and off his meds makes for a less than stellar debut, but Polarity is visually appealing nonetheless.

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Interview with the Five Ghosts creative team. 

It's been a couple of moons since last time.

Yeah, it's been a while. Everybody have a good Halloween? Ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow? Yeah, me neither.

So I guess a quick update is what would be the best thing right now.




I interview Polly and the Pirates team, Ted Naifeh and Robbi Rodriguez.

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My Top 10 Favorite episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

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Here's some "new" art. I say that because they're all from September on.










Hope everybody has a Happy Thanksgiving and a killer holiday season!

Mid-May update. Reviews and interview, ahoy

Last Mortal #1 (Published by Top Cow; Review by Lan Pitts): When an opening scene for a comic is a man committing suicide, it really sets the stage for the rest of the issue. The story is told through the point of view of Alec King, a good for nothing hoodlum that takes a job with his friend, Brian, to assassinate a mayoral candidate, Robert Callahan. However, when the job gets botched, Brian is killed and Alec is on the run. Faced with the guilt of Brian's death, Alec tried to kill himself, only finding out he can't die. Written by John Mahoney and Top Cow publisher Filip Sablik, Last Mortal comes across as one part noir, and one part mystery. The black and white art by Thomas Nachlik, gives off an Alex Maleev vibe that seems fitting for the story. I liked the gritty, etchy look to it. The story itself has me intrigued, but sometimes the dialog felt a bit flat, but provided a proper set up that left me wanting to be around for the second helping.

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The past year and a half has not been kind to Daredevil, having been possessed by a demon and manipulated by the Hand in the Shadowland event, and turning away from his friends. Leaving Hell's Kitchen in the hands of the Black Panther and recovered, he is trying to find himself again, as a man and as a hero. Back in March, it was announced that Daredevil was slated for a relaunch in the summer. Little has been announced with what direction the title will take, besides having Matt Murdock getting back to his roots.

Along with contemporary legend Mark Waid, it was revealed that Paolo Rivera he would be part of the creative team with the relaunched title. Paolo Rivera has built quite the name for himself in the past few years. Having worked on numerous Marvel projects in the past (Mythos, Amazing Spider-Man, Fear Itself, The Twelve). Newsarama sat down with Rivera to talk about what lies ahead for Matt Murdock and what's like working on such a classic character.

Newsarama: You've worked on Spider-Man, produced some Daredevil covers, an original story Mythos that was published by Marvel, so who made the call to put you on Daredevil?

Paolo Rivera: That would be Steve Wacker. He was my editor since about 2007, we started working together on Mythos, and Amazing Spider-Man and he mentioned Daredevil to me about last year, but we weren't sure when everything was going to fall into place with everyone's schedules. As soon as he told, I said I was in. Just say when and where and I'll be there.

Nrama: On Andy Diggle's recent run on Daredevil, you did most of the covers. In this new volume, will you deviate from what you've done before?

Rivera: Well at least for the first three issues, the covers will be fully-painted as I usually do. As for the interiors, I will just be penciling while my dad will be inking, and I believe Javier Rodriguez on colors. As for the actual art work, I don't have a particular goal, except do what I normally do and try to make the best comic book I can. I've done some character sketches of Daredevil that I'm going to redesign, like his billy club, I also have a extra surprises in store that I was talking to Mark Waid about the other day and he seemed to like them...so I'll leave it at that.

Nrama: The other individual on the art team is Marcos Martin, what is it like collaborating with him?

Rivera: I've been a fan of his work since the first time I came across his stuff for The Oath. The second time I came across his stuff was on Amazing Spider-Man just before I started working on it myself. His issue with, what I think is, the Paperdoll, I saw that on the stands, thought that was a beautiful cover and he quickly became one of my favorite artists. So when Steve came to us and said it's going to be you two doing three issues on, three issues off it was perfect. I mean I couldn't ask for anything better. I love his work and it's a bit of some friendly competition [laughs].

Nrama: Were you always a big Daredevil fan growing up?

Rivera: I wasn't a huge Daredevil fan, but I slowly came around to him. I was a big fan of Joe Quesada and when I came across his "Guardian Devil" story with Kevin Smith, that is when I think that was the first book I ever read with Daredevil in the starring role. Other than that I haven't read that much, but I have read the big ones so to speak. "Man Without Fear" and "Born Again", with "Born Again" being the main thing when I think of Daredevil.

Nrama: Mark Waid has mentioned that Daredevil has gotten a little too dark and he wants to try and bring Matt out of the darkness a bit to have some old-fashioned Daredevil adventures. Do you think this direction will effect how you present your story artistically?

Rivera: I think automatically between me and Marcos we already sort of have a, I don't want to say "cartoony" feel-

Nrama: [laughs] I think "cartoony" is completely okay to say.

Rivera: [laughs] Good! We love cartoons and our styles are more conducive to the type of story we're going for. Steve knew that and knew what Mark's take on Daredevil was going to be. I mean, it's still going to have crime with a noir edge with him fighting the mob and drug dealers, in addition to that, we're going to have him fight supervillians, and major ones at that. You know what? Superheroes, too. In issue 2, he'll fight a major superhero as well. A famous one.

One of Mark's things is with Matt coming back to New York is that he needs to get past [Shadowland] and so he's just going through his life he needs to and whatever is necessary. However, not all of his friends and colleagues in New York are ready to let him do that. He did some pretty bad stuff and not everybody is ready to forgive him.

Nrama: Shadowland took Matt to a dark place, some say as far as he has ever been, which reflected in Billy Tan's style with the heavy inks and lots of shadows. How will your story differ from that?

Rivera: We're not going to do full left rudder here, just slightly in a different direction from where he is now, but still having the classic stuff in there as well. We're bringing Matt back to basics. You know, when talking to Mark and we want to make it our own book and at the same time, we don't want to completely change Daredevil. We just want make a solid book month after month. It's going to be the Daredevil you know and love, but it's also going to be our book.

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Starborn #6
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Khary Randolph, Matteo Scalera, and Mitch Gerads
Lettering by Ed Dukeshire
Published by BOOM! Studios
Review by Lan Pitts

I never thought I would see the words "Space Hitler" in a comic, yet here we are.

I've been feeling that Starborn has needed a little something plot-wise to really detour what has been almost the same thing in each issue, though I have been praising the pace that Roberson has had. I was more than just surprised as the story takes a slight dark turn here with the ambiguity of the Benjamin's quest. The issue primarily consists of Benjamin fighting off aliens and learning more about the oversuit's abilities, and what the symbol behind what he actually possess.

While Roberson may have hinted something isn't exactly benevolent about Benjamin's suit and gauntlet, Benjamin himself obviously has been fighting the good fight, at least in his mind. It adds another level of characterization to him as to see that even not knowing the full story, he wants to be the good guy. I guess the real challenge here is how the rest of the series will play out, now that Benjamin knows his family history and what his proclaimed destiny is all about.

Roberson sticks to his use of narrative that has been used since the beginning, but it's lessened since and I feel that's a good thing as we finally have a sense of who Benjamin is. Roberson has also set in motion another subplot with, what looks to be, an invasion angle on Earth. Khary Randolph and Matteo Scalera really dive into their full potential here and just all around solid. Randolph's angular style really heightens the fight scenes and goes perfectly with the alien technology. The panel layouts are strong and intense that really use different points of perspective, and he's really hit his stride. Mitch Gerads is another part of the equation here as he adds great depth to the background that adds so much to the environment. I love the use of warm colors and how he puts a little something extra here and there that makes the alien technology feel real.

Starborn started off reminding me of The Last Starfighter that is turning out more than what I think anybody thought it would be. Benjamin Warner and company have been a great cast thus far, and as I mentioned I'm curious on where this where lead next. For those who have been thinking it's been lacking action, give this issue a peep.

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Witchblade #144
Written by Ron Marz and Filip Sablik
Art by Stjepan Sejic and John Tyler Christopher
Lettering by Troy Peteri
Published by Top Cow
Review by Lan Pitts

This issue takes a step back from the current Artifacts event and goes back in time to take a peek inside what it was like working with Sara Pezzini, via her old partner, Jake McCarthy's point of view.

This is actually a layered issue, with the main story featuring Lieutenant Phipps, the troublesome IA officer who has been looking into Sara for a while now, finally has access to Jake's lock box, which contains a detailed note explaining what it is like working with Sara, and the Witchblade. Considering this is Witchblade's 15th year anniversary, it's nice to see a bit of a refreshing course in Witchblade 101.

Jake's memo is sweet and enduring. He gives the impression that before she took the possession of the mystical gauntlet, she was still a kick-ass cop, who did not take any garbage from thugs, to her captain at the time. Which, let's face it, she's still the same person. I've often compared Sara at times to Vic Mackey from the Shield, only less corrupt. This issue had me reminiscing about the show and I found it on par with the tense drama of Sara's secret being found out, and the cliffhanger at the end.

Stjepan Sejic really rolls out the memories here. Even taking on her infamous red dress. The layouts are impressive, if a bit subdued, since this feels more like a one-shot, but still gives us a glimpse of the bigger picture. Sejic never really draws Sara and Jake's early years, so this was fun to see him do something a bit different.

The best thing about this issue is that Marz has crafted a great jumping on point. Sara's background is explained and a brief history of the Witchblade itself is mentioned. One thing holding it back, I feel, is the back up feature by Filip Salbik and John Tyler Christopher. It's a short story involving Sara's current boyfriend and partner, Patrick Gleason. I guess it's only relevant since the book covers Sara's former partners and it seems fair to talk about where she's from to where she's at. It just wasn't clear it was Gleason until his name was mentioned.

Witchblade #144 opens the doors for new fans with a sense of understanding of the world of Sara Pezzini, and at the same time gives them a story to follow up on. Sounds like a good anniversary gift to us fans.

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Courtney Crumrin Tales: The League of Ordinary Gentlemen
Written, illustrated and lettered by Ted Naifeh
Published by Oni Press
Review by Lan Pitts

It's been a while since we've seen a story from the world of Courtney Crumrin. Creator Ted Naifeh recently collaborated with Spiderwick Chronicles author Holly Black to create the young adult graphic novel series, Good Neighbors, he had a brief stint on the Teen Titans back up featuring the Black Alice, Traci 13, and Zach Zatara, as well as wrote another chapter to his series Polly and the Pirates. So needless to say, he's had a lot going on, and its good to see him return to this macabre world.

Like the previous installment of Courtney Crumrin Tales, this too, is a story involving a young Aloysius Crumrin's, Courtney's uncle, early years. This explores more of his relationship with Alice Crisp, as well a bit of the history of the town of Hillsborough. We see Aloysius, undercover for the Anti-Sorcery Society, working with Alice Crisp, who soon finds out his secret. We also see a bit more of Aloysius' heritage and how magic works in this world.

Naifeh's art is distinct and you can definitely see he his back to what he knows best. Scenes with elaborate gowns, and goth architecture. Characters who just seem and look out of this world. His use of facial expression is different from what I'm used to seeing from him in the past. Fans of the series, now almost a decade old, will enjoy a delightful cameo from a certain goblin.

I thoroughly enjoyed "League", as it added another chapter to a series, and explored a bit more of the world. Naifeh really hit his stride here, and was able to be a bit darker than earlier stories. Portrait of a Young Warlock, the previous issue to this story came out about six years ago, so new fans who are trying to jump on to this, might want to hold off. It's not necessary, but even the title comes from "Portrait," and they may want the whole story. I know I would.

Interview with Ted Naifeh about his Bat-love

Ted Naifeh, like most artists, loves drawing Batman. Much like how almost every artist has that one character they get sheer joy out of drawing, Naifeh's is definitely Gotham's Dark Knight. Recently, on his website, he displayed some mock covers of Bat-books. Now, he's already done some redesigns of Bats' rogues gallery and other miscellaneous Gothamites, but what he's done here is completely different, and truly amazing. Naifeh spoke exclusively to Blog@ about Batman and his thoughts on the character's legacy.

Mike Carey talks about Unwritten and things to come

Mike Carey and Peter Gross' Vertigo series, The Unwritten, has swooped up numerous award nominations and has found itself on the New York Times Best Sellers list twice already. It is a tale of intrigue, fantasy, father-son relationships, and finding your purpose in life. Tom Taylor has been on quite an adventure in the past year and a half and with the revelations of issue #16, it's really only begun. Blog@ spoke to the author of the series, acclaimed writer Mike Carey about the ambitious undertaking he took with the most recent issue and what's in store for Tom, Savoy and Lizzie. Caution, there are spoilers for those of you not caught up.

Making Magic with Stephane Roux AND some new pieces.

Stephane Roux might not be a house hold name, but is a star defintely on the rise. Having done primiarly covers in his career, he's finally in his first ongoing series with Paul Dini, Zatanna!

Earlier last week, Newsarama talked to writer Paul Dini about the upcoming Zatanna series. This past weekend at MegaCon, we had a chance to talk to the famed artist about the project, his insights, and what lies ahead for DC's Mistress of Magic.

Newsarama: Who approached you first about doing the Zatanna series? How did you get involved?

Stephane Roux: I was at a convention, I can't remember which one, but I was talking to Dan [Didio] and he was approaching me about another project they had at the time and later he had said "you know we have Zatanna" and I just jumped for it.

Nrama: What drew you to her? I mean, she doesn't have a lot of merchandise and is relatively unknown to most non-comic fans, why her?

Roux: First of all, she's not one of the prominent characters, but there's something cool about a magician that is also a superhero. I always felt the character was a bit underexposed. Now, I'm not saying this character would have a long of run as say Wonder Woman has, but every character at DC should have that sort of chance to be put in the spotlight for a while. I also think the character has the potential to be the next Dr. Strange for all I know [laughs].

Nrama: What exactly will the series showcase? What's in store?
Roux: So far with the issues I've worked on, she's dealing with mystical forces with something that anchors through the real world because some of the bad guys are trying to take over, and there will be new characters and villains, and she's there to stop them from doing so. She's not alone, there will be a cop that goes to her because they have a case where mystical forces are involved. So that's how the book starts.

Nrama: What is it like working with Paul Dini, who is such a Zatanna enthusiast?

Roux: I actually just met him a few days ago, before then we had been exchanging emails. First of all, let me just say I'm a huge Paul Dini fan, you know, the Batman animated series and everything. Coming from animation, it was a shock to me what he had written and a few years later I'm working on a book with this guy and on his favorite character, it's just great. He's a guy that is very exciting to work with and I hope I can be as efficient and inspiring as he is with the scripts.

Nrama: What's it like going from a cover artist to constructing panels and pages, is there a different mentality?

Roux: Oh, there's definetly a different mentality. You know coming from animation and doing a lot of storyboards and just warming up so many times on personal projects over in France, so the storytelling aspect is not new or strange to me, it's just now we are doing it for a purpose. Working on pages is a different process because you have different filters to make sure you get it right, but it's not just my story to tell. I will say working on covers is something exciting to do because you get to tell a story and sometimes it's just your own. Pencils, inks, colors, etc.


Nrama: You have a great inker on the Zatanna team: Karl Story. You have to admit, he makes everybody look good.

Roux: Oh yeah, definetely. I'm so happy to have him on board. When it was asked who I would like as an inker, his name came first and they told me I can have him. He does justice to the pencils and I'm more than happy with his work.

Nrama: You've only got three issues planned so far, has there been ideas been tossed around for the future? Or are you taking your time because you do feel new to page construction?

Roux: Exactly, just taking it one step at a time. I need to talk to Paul about the villain we are introducing in the first arc, but will come back sometime later and it's a very exciting thing. It's all in the process of creation right now, but it's only going to get bigger and better.

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I've been waiting for this piece for a while. Since like, November. Finally got a scan and will hopefully will be sent here soon. Matthew Dow Smith, ladies and gentlemen.

Interview with Chuck Dixon about The Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages comes to pass...

For those unfamiliar with Dynamite's newest acquisition, Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, it is an epic medieval fantasy series that evokes Arthurian legend and Celtic myths with a touch of Star Wars. Sadly, the original author of series died in 2007, but luckily left the finale in good hands. Rand al'Thor is a sheepherder whose life is changed forever after meeting the mysterious Moiraine and her Warder, Lan. His destiny could bring the end of the Dark One, but possibly the end of the world as well. Now, as Dynamite continues the adaptation of the series, we spoke with writer Chuck Dixon about his history with the project, and what to expect going forward.

Newsarama: Chuck, are you a fan of The Wheel of Time yourself?

Chuck Dixon: I wasn’t before I started this project. I was initially offered [the prequel] New Spring on the strength of the adaptation of The Hobbit I had done for Del Rey.

Nrama: So let's talk about the prologue, "Dragonmount". That issue already came out, are you going to continue with the series from that issue or do another relaunch?

Dixon: That’s a question for Dynamite to answer. If I were to guess, I’d say they’ll include it in whatever collection is down the road. The material is Dynamite’s to do with what they will. No need to re-launch as the collected hardcover or paperback is the goal here.

Nrama: With such an epic story, what has been the greatest challenge so far?

Dixon: These books are pure prose. They are not written with comic book adaptation in mind (unlike Dean Koontz who writes in a form friendlier to comics). There’s lots of internal dialogue and character exploration via dialogue. What I have to do is telescope a bit a re-order some events to balance action and plot advancement. Sometimes I have to contort the prose a bit to do this. Like, if a past battle is mentioned in passing I’ll create a scene flashing back to it. I don’t break what’s written but bring more visual weight to what Jordan was evoking. Eye candy is important in project like this. Fans want to see this world.

Robert Jordan was very forgiving considering some of the cut and paste I had to do to make it comics. But I was always mindful to keep 99% of his dialogue and descriptions as written. The readers want his work not mine.

Nrama: Since Jordan wrote in quite detailed paragraphs, are you going to do EVERYTHING from the books?

Dixon: I believe that Dynamite is continuing the program as it was started so this will be a very close adaptation of the novels. Not quite page-for-page but close. So, it’ll be a literal translation and include as much of the book as we can.

Nrama: Do you feel like you're leaving anything out?

Dixon: Not so far. It’s all in there. Of course, everyone has a scene or character that’s their favorite and there’s a chance I’ll either leave them out or not place the desired emphasis on them. I’m still bummed that Beorn didn’t make it into the Lord of the Rings movies.

Nrama: How do you think you're going to handle some of the more adult stuff later on? I mean it gets pretty sexual especially with Mat and Tylin.

Dixon: I look forward to some telephone conference calls on this. But there’s ways to handle this kind of material without getting pornographic.

Nrama: Is there a favorite character you've liked writing so far?

Dixon: I fell in love with Moiraine when I was writing New Spring.
Currently I’m writing lots of Rand so he’s the guy I’m identifying with the most currently.

Nrama: Are you using the The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time guide, or what we fans call the "Big White Book" for the imagery or are you creating your own for certain things?

Dixon: I’m using everything. I’m using stuff you’ve never seen and no fan’s been privy to. The imagery I leave to the artists and editors and estate. It’s thin ice creating lasting imagery of characters and locations that so many readers have imagined on their own. My end is pacing and dramatization.

Nrama: Will the art team stay the same? Will there be a consistent artist you're being paired with or will it be a rotating team?

Dixon: Nick at Dynamite is still sorting all of this deal out. Once he does, I’m looking forward to improved communication as well as seeing the art as it progresses. The same working relationship I have with Dynamite on the other stuff I’m doing with them. You know, being allowed to proof the finished product and getting jpegs of the art. Believe it or not, I still have no copies of the comics published up to now.

Nrama: What are you looking forward to writing? I can't wait to see how the invasion of the Stone of Tear comes to life on the page.

Dixon: Long, extended action scenes are what I’m waiting for. That’s where I get to stretch my storytelling muscles. There’s lots of tremendous action set pieces coming up.

Top Cow talks about what lies ahead in 2010

At the beginning of this month, Ron Marz talked to Newsarama about the new mini-series coming out this week, Angelus, which showcases Dani Baptiste and the new direction her life is headed. However, Angelus is merely the start of a larger epic. Shipping in February, Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box tells the next chapter, centering around some familiar faces. Then comes the big event in April: Artifacts, which will take the Top Cow universe to a place it's never been before.


Newsarama talked to Top Cow scribe Ron Marz and publisher Filip Sablik to give us some insight on things to come with the upcoming events, starting with a quick sum up of Angelus:

"The story is definitely balanced between Dani's personal lilfe and her role as the Angelus. There's a lot going on in Dani's life during the series," said Marz. "She moves back to New Orleans, she has to sort out whether she's going to be in a relationship with another woman. And all of that is going on while she adjusts to her role as the Angelus, which includes a coup attempt by those who serve her, as well as a conflict with the Darkness, in the person of Jackie Estacado."

"One of the things Ron and I talked about when we were working on "War of the Witchblades" is that in a way, that story was the birth of a new hero in Dani becoming the Angelus," publisher Filip Salbik replied. "It was the origin story, if you will. In my mind, the Angelus limited series is Dani's 'Year One', the events that will define her as a hero and a character."

So, with that series in the works, Top Cow is about to unleash a new chapter in the "Broken Trinity" saga. Marz and Sablik explain it as something more than a standard Witchblade adventure.

"Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box is being written by Rob Levin and Bryan Edward Hill, who I like to think of as the "I Spy" team of the 21st century, except without the tennis pro cover," Marz joked. "It's very much set in the real world, like a globe-hopping big-budget action movie. It continues the stories of Finn and Glori, the characters we introduced in the "Broken Trinity" event I wrote last year. So Finn, who can become a frost giant, and Glori, who can transform into a dragon, are the fantasy elements, but they're placed in the real world. I think that's a really intriguing contrast."

Sablik went on to saying, "Yeah, I would describe Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box as more of a globe-hopping big-budget action movie. In tone and spirit, it takes inspiration from things like "Alias", "Indiana Jones", "James Bond", and "Tomb Raider". There are certainly supernatural, mystical elements to the series but it fills a very different space than Witchblade and The Darkness.


Marz explains that Artifacts was first talked about two years ago, and has been on the horizon for a while, but they're getting down to the nitty-gritty. "Issue #1 will be out in July, which sounds like it's far away, but it's really right around the corner in terms of publishing."

One of the big questions was about readers being able to understand the full story of Artifacts if they decide not to read Angelus or Pandora's Box. Marz has stated that Artifacts won't be like most crossovers where there are 3 dozen threads or anything like that, so Artifacts will be self-contained.

"Yeah, Artifacts will be a ground-floor read. Noobs will get everything they need to know within the story. So if someone is not reading Angelus or Broken Trinity, or heaven forbid even Witchblade and The Darkness, the story in Artifacts will still be completely accessible," said Marz. "The story is going to very literally redefine the Top Cow Universe, so part of my job early on is to establish who's who and what's what in the Top Cow Universe. You have to show the readers what's at stake in order for them to care."

"That's definitely one of the key things Ron and I talked about very early on when we began discussing the structure of Artifacts. We really want to make this the kind of event that if you've never read a Top Cow title, but you've been curious, you can walk into our biggest storyline to date and immediately be immersed," Sablik added. "It will hopefully make you want to go back and read the issues of Witchblade or The Darkness or other series that led into it, but it won't be necessary to understand what's going on in the series. My favorite part of the story Ron has come up with is that it has a very human element at its core. Even if you care nothing about the large Universe ramifications with the Artifacts, I think you'll be able to enjoy the journey the main characters go on."

Now, Top Cow has been around for a while now, but never has done this sort of "ultimate crossover event" and marketing this event is no easy task. "I've been amassing blackmail photos of all of the top one thousand direct market retailers for the last 3 years and it's finally time to make use of them. I'm kidding, of course," Sablik jokes. "We are going to be putting the full weight of our marketing behind this event series. You can actually already see teaser ads our monthly comics in the last month or two. The main thing will be building the excitement over the course of the next six months, releasing little bits of information a little bit at a time without spoiling the story. One of the other things we'll be doing is building towards the series in titles like Witchblade and The Darkness as well as limited series like Angelus and Broken Trinity: Pandora's Box. All of this hopefully will crescendo into a fever pitch around Comic-Con next year.


He goes on to say, "It is the must read title for 2010 in Top Cow. And I think I can say it's a must read for us because we've never done something like this before. And of course, there are difficulties in trying to pull something like this off."

Though, Sablik is confident in his team. "Fortunately, we have Ron Marz at the helm. Not only does he have experience in world building and writing sweeping epics like this, but he's also been the driving writing force in the Top Cow Universe for the last five years or so. We have other writers like Phil Hester, Rob Levin, and Bryan Edward Hill essentially acting as support for Ron and these are guys that Ron knows and already has relationships with. Marc Silvestri is providing his insight as well and adding to the big ideas at play here."

Sablik feels comfortable moving foward with this project for numerous reasons, but one stands out, "This isn't something we're doing because we need to fix continuity problems or capitalize on a trend. This story is a natural outgrowth of where the story of the Top Cow Universe has been going. It has evolved from the stories that Ron and Phil and others have been telling."

150th Mega Post. Interviews. Reviews....and all that jazz.

First up, it's the Batman: The Brave and the Bold season finale.



Batman: The Brave and The Bold -- "The Fate of Equinox"

"Justice wins the day thanks to the brave and the bold." -- Batman

The season finale opens up with armed guards on the lookout on top of a building. Batman, always on the prowl, knocks one out with his patented one-hitter-quitter and moves on to take down the other guard just as easily. Batman crashes down and is confronted by legendary Bat-villain, Two-Face. Two-Face & Co. surround Batman and he flips his coin on the decision to see if his henchman will kill the Dark Knight. It lands non-scarred face up... and surprisingly, Two-Face turns on the goons! Batman and Two-Face form a temporary alliance and defeat the hired help without breaking a sweat. To Batman's surprise, Harvey Dent then flips the coin again to see whether Two-Face gets Batman this time around. Too bad for Two-Face that Batman rushes and knocks him out.

After the jazzy intro, we see the Batplane flying over a jungle and a ancient temple. Batman climbs the staircase and then suddenly the temple starts crumbling and he's greeted by new Bat-baddie Equinox who invited him. Equinox explains his plan, which basically consists of halving the world in light and dark. A perfect balance, if you will. He is using some sort of a giant gyroscope that has some otherworldly powers to aid him in this goal. Luckily, Batman brought along Dr. Fate along for the ride. Equinox summons winged serpent creatures and Fate battles them with magic while Bats uses Nth metal knuckles to fight. Fate defeats the monsters, and then tries to get the jump on Equinox. Well, it is revealed that Equinox is the master of both Chaos and Order magic.

During his brawl with Batman, Equinox falls into that gyroscope and that triggers the temple to explode. Dr. Fate teleports him and Batman and both think that they got away too easy, as if Equinox wanted this to happen. Both can't agree on how to pursue the situation further, with Fate wanting to use magical techniques and Batman the more scientific approach. Though, when Batman's plane is transformed into a colossal red dragon, the two retreat to Fate's tower. When there, Fate meditates on the matter at hand, but something is terribly wrong. We cut to see Aquaman in his own realm, and Atlantis is under attack from sea monsters. Dr. Fate feels that it's the planet is fighting between order and chaos.

And he's right. The space-time continum has been unbalanced and we now have dinosaurs roaming the earth again. Worse yet, the shifting energies are affecting Fate's powers, making them weaker. He suggests that he and Batman acquire aid from his masters, the Lords of Order. Off they go to consult them and we learn a bit about Equinox's origin and his ultimate goal. The Lords sense Equinox's presence and try to overpower him, but Equinox soon drains the Lords of their power.

Now, Equinox has become, for lack of a better word, a god. Fate goes in with an attack, but Equinox reverses it. Fate realizes Equinox is too powerful for one hero and he summons all the heroes who have made a cameos during the season: The Flash (Jay Garrick), Hal Jordan, Fire, Red Tornado, Plastic Man, Aquaman, Black Canary, etc... and they are there to create a new hero out of all of their powers, with Batman becoming that hero. He is then transformed into a titan himself in spiffy new blue armor, all to clash it out with Equinox like a Godzilla movie. Batman tries using Fate's magic, but Equinox easily blocks it and he teleports both of them to outer space. Batman uses all of the heroes powers from Plastic Man's elasticity to Green Arrow's, well, arrows, to Beetle's cannons, but it seems that Equinox is still a bit too powerful for Batman, even with the combined strength.

Of course Batman being Batman, he convinces Equinox that he is indeed out of balance and therefore, imperfect. Equinox is now distracted, confused, and losing power. Batman swiftly punches him into the dark portal that Equinox was working on earlier and he returns to Earth and restores the powers of his friends. The balance has been restored, and our heroes have saved the day.

Brave and the Bold viewers, what did you think of "The Fate of Equinox"? I have to say that I didn't feel the tension with Equinox, or any real threat on his part since he's only made three appearances (you're more than welcome to correct me if I'm wrong). I didn't feel any connection towards him as a villain. I sort of wish they just went on ahead and used Libra, instead. I think it's interesting how Batman in this series is frequently in the craziest of circumstances, but this one felt a bit too heavy. Don't get me wrong, I love the series as a whole, but just wasn't really relating to anything in this episode. I did think it was pretty cool of Fate to combine the heroes' powers to morph Batman into this titan and duke it out with Equinox. I also think it was weird of Batman to argue with a wielder of Order magic on how to deal with somebody who possess both Chaos and Order magics. Common sense should dictate here, Batman.

Reportedly Season 2 of Batman: The Brave and the Bold will bring in more A-list names, but that's never been the lure of the show. I appreciate how they give coverage to all kinds of DC characters, not just the ones who already have a slew of merchandise. I'll continue watching, I just think they could have done better with this finale. Readers, I have two questions: One, what did you think of the finale; and two, who would you love to see grace this series with their presence?




Next up, is an interview, with Scott Burn, writer of the new Zenescope series, Agon.

Aliens. Gladiator-style competition. Possible genocide.

In January 2010, Zenescope expands their line from fantasy horror to science fiction. One of the first series to premier from their new direction promises action in a series of cinematic alien battles. Screenwriter turned comic scripter Scott Burn gave Newsarama this exclusive interview about his new limited series entitled Agon and what were the inspirations behind his creation.

Newsarama: So, Scott, for those of the readers out there unfamiliar with your works, mind if you tell what you've worked on before?

Scott Burn: I'm primarily an action/science fiction screenwriter. The other projects that I've written include Countdown (which was sold to Summit Entertainment), a story about a group of astronauts who land on a planet and find their own dead bodies. That's in development now and is based on a Richard Matheson short story called Death Ship. Last year I set up a script called Origin (Relativity Entertainment), a different sort of take on black holes and the origin of the species. And the first script I co-wrote called Redline (Bob Yari Productions) was about an FBI agent trying to catch a beautiful thief.

Nrama: What is the story of Agon? Better yet, what is Agon?

Burn: Agon is a Greek word meaning, among other things, "contest". The story is about an alien civilization coming to earth to tell us that we've reached a stage of enlightenment where we're invited to join an advanced alien hierarchy. But to do so, we have to compete against three other alien civilizations in battle. The winner gets to join. The losers have their entire species wiped out.

Nrama: What were the inspirations behind the look and feel of the book?

Burn: I'm a huge fan of the classic sci-fi writers like Robert Heinlein and Ray Bradbury. They have storylines that are epic in scope, but with many characters who are compelling to watch. And while there may be violence in the stories, they also pose really intriguing questions about the nature of humanity, and that drew me to this story. And I've been very fortunate to work with Joe and Ralph who brought in great artists who were able to capture the images I described almost exactly as I had them in my head.

Nrama: I love history, especially the ancient Greek era, did you take a lot from that time period such as architecture or borrow anything from mythology?

Burn: I majored in history in college, and I'm also very drawn to that period. However for the comic book, because the majority of it does not take place on earth, the story doesn't focus on Greek architecture or myth; except to the extent of exploring our original concept of mythology and Gods from the sky type ideas. There are some interesting theories about whether aliens were mistaken for gods in the early stages of mankind, and in that respect, mythology plays a role.

Nrama: Will this be an ongoing or limited series?

Burn: As of now, the plan is for Agon to be a 5 book series (plus the prequel).

Nrama: What are you hoping readers take with them after reading Agon?

Burn: While I hope readers enjoy the action and suspense of the story, I hope it goes a little deeper as well. The goal is to examine the nature of humanity...and whether you have to be human to possess it. Ultimately, I like stories that explore what is the nature of the species and that's what I've tried to do with Agon.




And finally, interview with Joe Brusha about Zenescope's upcoming Neverland.

Alice Liddle. Red Riding Hood. The Little Mermaid. You can now add Peter Pan's name to the list of characters Zenescope adapts into their popular Grimm Fairy Tales line. Zenescope is so excited about the new series, they recently announced a retailer guarantee, meaning retailers can return any unsold, undamaged copies that they order. The series also stands out as a new fantasy series amongst an expanding line of science fiction and more straight horror in 2010 for the publisher.

Newsarama talked exclusively to the writer of Neverland, Joe Brusha and what his take on the classic story entails in this seven issue mini-series.

Newsarama: How long has this been in the works?

Joe Brusha: This was one of the first stories ideas I had for the Grimm universe. I originally wrote it and did the research a few years so I can't be sure that every character from the original made it into this re-imagined version. But I don't think I missed any of the characters. Tiger Lilly, John & Michael, the mermaids and the Croc are all here as well as some new characters.

Nrama: Can you tell us a bit about those new characters?

Brusha: The main new Character is Johnathon Cross who is the hero of the series. He has elements of Hook from the original story, but basically he's a brand new character. As a boy he was abducted by Pan and taken to Neverland becoming the only victim who was ever able to escape. But he left behind his kid brother and the guilt over having to do that has pretty much destroyed his entire life. He gets a shot at redemption when he returns to Neverland to try to save Wendy's nephews John and Michael.

Nrama: Elements of Hook? How so?

Brusha: He has an actual hook and his hand was also bitten off by a crocodile. In the real world he has resorted to a life of crime and become a petty thief which is kind of like being a pirate. And when he's in Neverland he looks like a pirate.

Nrama: Can you tell us if popular Grimm Fairy Tales antagonist Belinda is involved somehow?

Brusha: Neither Belinda or Sela appear in this story. I actually wrote the first draft of Neverland a couple of years ago, before Belinda was even conceived as a character. Neverland is a very similar to Return to Wonderland in structure and while it ties into the Grimm universe it's a self contained story.

Nrama: What were some of the inspirations that went into the character design?

Brusha: Mostly from recent fantasy and horror films. Films like Lord of the Rings, Pan's Labyrinth and Pirates of the Carribean. For Pan I was thinking of a cross between an elf from Middle Earth, like Legolas, and some kind of Vampire. For creatures like the Croc and the Mermaids I wanted them to have a real monster/horror movie feel.

Nrama: Speaking of the art, can you reveal anything with the artist on board for this title?

Brusha: I can't right now. We had an artist assigned to the project but it hasn't been one hundred percent finalized yet. We should make an official announcement in about a week.

Nrama: This seems more like action/adventure than having Zenescope's brand of horror, were you aiming for that?

Brusha: There may be a little more action in this series than in some of our other Grimm Fairy Tales stories but not much. It has a good blend of horror and fantasy and it fits right into the Grimm universe without moving too far into a different genre.

Nrama: Would you consider this a great book to pick up if you aren't familiar with Grimm Fairy Tales and its history?

Brusha: I would but of course I wrote it so I'm partial. I think much like the Wonderland series this is a story that can be enjoyed even if you know absolutely nothing about Grimm Fairy Tales, Wonderland or even if you aren't that familiar with comic books as an entertainment medium. One of our goals as a company is to bring new readers and fans to the comic book industry and we've had a lot of success with that with our Grimm Fairy Tales books. I've had a lot of people tell me that Grimm or Return to Wonderland is the first comic they ever read. One of the good things about re-inventing classic fairy tales is that they are universally recognized which I think helps people to take a chance on them.

Blog@ interview with Adam Hughes via Blog@Newsarama

One year later…

While the Catwoman title may have been cancelled last Fall, Adam Hughes’ covers are hardly forgettable. He continues to exhibit the talent for which he is most known for. Newsarama briefly spoke to Adam Hughes on what it was like, literally, going back to the drawing board.

Blog@: So what was it like drawing Ms. Selina Kyle on her “resurrected” book? Bring back some fond memories?

AH: Yeah, and some regrets. I felt like I was finding my ‘zone’ in that last year on CATWOMAN; I was having ideas that were outside my usual box. Doing this cover reminded me of them. But it’s always great drawing Selina; she’s one of my favorite characters to draw. T’ain’t nothing like a bad girl gone good!

Blog@: How many drafts did you have before this particular one was selected?

AH: Just the one. I have an extremely subtle and streamlined work process with DC Comics Art Director Mark Chiarello, thanks to my years of doing covers for him. He said to me “Dan (DiDio) wants this certain vibe to the piece…” and explained the vibe, and I knew exactly what they wanted. It’s like an old-marriage where you can finish each others’ sentences. And eat their leftovers from the fridge.

Blog@: I guess you can’t give away any specific plot points, but what exactly is going on here on the cover?

AH: That’s OK: I don’t KNOW any specific plot points…! Basically, the feeling that DC wanted was akin to that moment in the 1925 Phantom of the Opera when the girl takes the mask from Lon Chaney’s head, and reveals his gruesome face. I didn’t want to ape that shot exactly, so I switched it so that the girl is in the front. Selina is finding a bloody face and is holding it up in a WTF?!? moment of dawning horror and the owner of the face is grasping at her from the shadows. Spooky stuff! Also, it’s my first zombie I’ve ever gotten to draw. Thanks, DC Comics, whee!!

You can get your paws on Catwoman #83 this January, ‘Rama readers.

Interview with Jerry Brown, writer of "Merc: Broken World"

Zenescope Studios are mainly known for the horror stories and retelling of fairy tales. They're taking a different approach this time around with Merc: Broken World, a noir story with a sci-fi edge. Newsara recently had a chance to talk with the writer of the series, Jerry Brown, though managing and scheduling was interesting because Brown resides in city of Adelaide which is in the South Australia time zone. He gives us a peek inside the details and imagery of this out-of-this-world realm.




Newsarama: So, Jerry, what is “Merc” about?

Jerry Brown: On the surface, Merc is a pretty straight cyberpunk story. Noir characters, Fortune 500 industrial warfare, technology gangs, NRA approved cybernetics—all the elements people have been tooling with for years. My goal was to pull it all together in a fresh way.

The main character is Sonny Grissom. Sonny is a merc, which is a cybernetically enhanced, industrial saboteur. Basically, he's a walking death machine, who gets paid to blow-up cola botteling plants, cap crooked CFOs and steal patent applications.
Mercs make a ton of money, live like kings, party like rock stars and every one of them dies in less than 10 years from all the neural stimulants and immune suppressors they need to perform their jobs. And those last few years of life are an utter nightmare. Failing kidneys, crippling arthritis. They live in constant pain, except for the few brief minutes when they get to fire-up the drugs and storm around like living gods—then it's back to being an invalid.

That's where Sonny is. He's one of the most succesful mercs out there, but his body has been completely demolished from all the punishment. He has six months to live, and he knows that he's wasted his life.

He takes a contract to perform a pretty high-risk task, only it turns out to be much-much more than that. That's all I really want to say about the plot. The story evolves and has a few twists and I'd like to leave them for the readers to find out.

NRAMA: What were some of your influences on the imagery and the design of the characters?

JB: Merc is a study of self-mutilation. I am facinated by the human obsession with distorting our bodies.

Piercings, tattoos, steroids. It's one thing to dye your hair. It's another to push a plug of stainless steel through your face. And when it's taken to its extreme it's really interesting, because extremes are always interesting. The first time I saw someone with a phone looped out of their ear I thought, wow, we're really starting to Borg. It's actually going to happen.
Ray Kurzweil posed a facinating question about when augmentation crosses the line.

How many circuits can you add to a human brain before that brain is no longer human?

The characters of Merc reflect this question. Every character is a freakshow, either by choice or by circumstance. Some have lost their humanity, others hold on to it more dearly for having been denied normality by fate.


NRAMA: Why did you choose to set your story in a cyberpunk realm?

JB: The core machinery of the plot could certainly have been used in different settings, but the avenues

I wanted to explore with Sonny's character could only be realized in a cyberpunk world. To be honest, I haven't been the biggest fan of cyberpunk. I think the punk aspect of the genre drives writers to write about minor players doing peon jobs, who get caught up in big things. It's a perfectly valid way to go, but my eye was always drawn to the flashy stuff—the bodyguards and hit men, who've turned themselves into freaks so they can do their jobs.

The complexities arise when you meet these characters at the end of their cycles. Now they're paying the price for all that power. You see this in ex-pro football players, who look back and say, “I can't believe what I did to myself back then.” I find it very compelling, and I wanted to write a character who's experienced a level of human performance far beyond what I could ever know, and is now paying the price. Cyberpunk was the best way to do it.


NRAMA: Who is the artist you're collaborating with?

JB: The artist is Daniel Schneider, and his work was built on concept art by Claudio Sepulveda.

Dan has done a great job, working on a very tight schedule. Because the characters are so physically mangled, there's a lot of room for interpretation. In a few cases I was quite specific about what was needed, but for the most part I've left it for Dan to decide how to achieve the desired effects. It's worked out great. The only change I've requested was on a panel he executed precisely the way I'd described it—which revealed a flaw in my approach and better way to do it.


NRAMA: Now this isn't your first gig in comics is it? For those of you unfamiliar with your work, tell us a bit about yourself.

JB: I actually come from the film world. I did a draft of Lobo for Warner Brothers (the draft prior to Don Payne's draft), worked on Romeo Must Die, worked with Alex Proyas and did bunch of other stuff that's stuck in development purgatory (which is a tad better than development hell).

A few years back I did a monstrously ambitious series of books for Humanoids Publishing,

called METAL. Two of the books were completed (108 pages), but the artist (Butch Guice) has

never done the art for the third book. Consequently, only two books were published and they were in in French (so, I can't even read them). Humanoids really wants to do a US release, but can't without the third book. It was an incredibly frustrating experience and turned me off doing comics for years. This is the first time I've come back to them since then.

NRAMA: Who are some of your influences as a writer?

JB: I'm real old school. Harlan Ellison would be my number #1 influence. After that, Robert Bloch, A.E. Van Vogt, Clark, [Isaac] Asimov, Bester, Farmer, Lovecraft. Frank Miller changed my sense of what was possible with Hard Boiled and Sin City, but I don't have a solid comic background.
In film, James Cameron is one hell of a writer. Critics take pot shots at his dialogue, but I couldn't disagree more. When you're writing sci-fi movie dialogue, you're always just two seconds away from utter idiocy. It takes incredible vigillance to keep your characters from sounding like Ed Wood creations.

Lately, I find games are really coming up fast as a true art form. I'm playing Fallout 3 now and I find the level of immersion—the level to which I care about what's going on—is approaching what a good book can do. It used to be games were just fear, but they're going after the bigger stuff now; hope, regret, situations with unintended consequences. Gears of War had some real characters too.

It's interesting that at a time when so much of the world is being reduced to porn—to the most stripped down components of ideas—that games are raising their standards and striving to tell more complex stories. I heard one game designer say that they feel a real pressure to try to hit it out of the park every time. I think that's exactly how it should be. It's what I strive for. Hopefully, Merc will deliver that.

Ron Marz on GL

I have no idea how I missed this interview. D'oh!

Interview with Ted Naifeh

I can't believe I forgot to post about this.

Interview with Holly G!

Here you go.

I'm feeling a bit sick today. Outlaw sent me some new books. I'll be sure to look those over.

Zenescope Presents: Dante's Inferno

Later this year, Zenescope’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales gets an expansion as Mercy Dante returns.

Fans of the series know that Dante committed an unspeakable act of violence in issue #29, and in August, Dante returns to the series in issue #41, a lead-in to the five issue, Grimm Fairy Tales: Dante’s Inferno

Described by Zenescope’s Ralph Tedesco as “Jacob’s Ladder meets Resident Evil,” the five issue miniseries promises to follow the Zenescope model of keeping the themes of a known story, while adding its own devious twists.

We spoke with Tedesco and Raven Gregory for more.

Newarama: So guys, can you tell us what the premise is of Grimm Fairy Tales: Dante's Inferno? Is it similar to the beginning of the Divine Comedy or does it just happen to share the name?

Raven Gregory: It's a much more modern take on the allegorical poem. There's a woman, an assassin, Mercy Dante, last seen in Grimm Fairy Tales #29, who shares a lot of qualities with the original Dante. This is a woman who commits an unforgivable crime that haunts her to this very day. Something so bad it is quite literally driving her insane and she's helpless to do anything to stop it until Sela offers her a chance at redemption.

NRAMA: Now how many issues will this consist of?

Ralph Tedesco: Well Grimm #41 is a prequel story to the "Dante's Inferno" mini-series. The mini-series will be five issues though.

NRAMA: Can you tell us something about the artists working this?

RG: We have a couple guys lined up. Some really incredible talent. One who has worked on Grimm Fairy Tales before and a brand new artist that I think people are really gonna dig. I don't want to say who yet until we get a couple issues under our belt but I think fans will be really pleased.

NRAMA: Would you consider this book more horror-oriented or action?

RT: It's part horror, part psychological thriller and definitely part action. It wraps all three into one which makes for a fun ride and something a little bit different too.

NRAMA: So would you guys say it's still in the style of the material Zenescope is known for or does it branch off a bit?

RT: Actually it's like taking the different styles we're already kind of known for and rolling them up into one.

RG: But there's definitely some new surreal styles we're working into this one. Some stuff readers won't see coming from a mile a way that we've never tried before. It's very exciting stuff that I think will have people talking for some time to come.

NRAMA: You guys over at Zenescope always seem to have some sort of horror influence in your works. Not that Hell isn't horrific enough, but is there any other source you tapped into for this arc?

RG: There's a truly disturbing sense of realism we're bringing into the mix with this tale. The idea that, sometimes, there's something that's looming just beneath the surface. Something that, if we're lucky, we never have to deal with. But that doesn't mean it's not there or that we don't breathe a sigh of relief that it happened to pass us by. But for Mercy, one wrong choice is all is takes to step out of the light and into the darkness.

RT: This series will have a little bit more action than our GRIMM fans are used to, that's one thing. We're definitely influenced by horror with the Grimm series but we also are always influenced by other genres as well and that's what we hope keeps our readers interested and on their toes.

Grimm Fairy Tales #41, the lead-in to Dante’s Inferno hits stands this August

crossed posted from Shotgun: Interview with Raven Gregory

Recently, I had a chance to talk to Raven Gregory: writer and editor over at Zenescope Comics to talk about the new chapter in the Wonderland series, "Escape from Wonderland".

Shotgun Reviews: For those out there that have no clue what it's about, can you explain Wonderland in a nut shell?

Raven Gregory: Return to Wonderland is the story of a mentally sick Alice, now an adult with a family of her own, who's teenage daughter, Calie Liddle, travels to wonderland to discover the source of her mother's insanity and discovers what wonderland really is. While Beyond Wonderland follows a now pregnant Calie, as she goes into hiding in New York City unaware that something has followed her beyond wonderland and is stalking her and those she holds dear.

Escape From Wonderland, the final part of the trilogy, deal with Calie, now determined and no longer running from her destiny, go back to wonderland intent on saving her newborn child from the madness of that world. But if you're asking me what Wonderland is...It's another dimension tangent to our own. A place that is the source of all madness in our world. Once every generation a sacrifice must be made to wonderland to keep the madness of that world from pouring into our own. But as we learn in Beyond Wonderland that may not actually be the case.