Pirate Wars in Valendor

In the Sky Pirates of Valendor comic book series, up until this point, the leading airship has been the Rogue’s Revenge. Its crew consists of Captain Tobin Manheim, Bryan Springhammer, Gearz and Shyni. Currently the independent comic book series is one issue away from completing their 2nd volume of books. In February 2013, Jolly Rogue Studios will release the collected trade paperback at TempleCon in Providence RI, featuring a painted cover by Marvel veteran artist Mark Sparacio. This debut is significant as it represents the studio’s first major release as self-publishers.

Everett and Susan Soares, publishers of Sky Pirates of Valendor have launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds to publish the collected volume as well as launch their 3rd volume, sub-titled Pirate Wars.

“Our goal is to have the fleet of ships competing in the wars to be named and manned by our readers,” commented Everett Soares who created the series in 2007.

Depending on the level of contribution, fans can name a ship all the way up to starring in their own issue. The levels of contribution include:

· Contributors of $10 will receive a limited edition, numbered print of the Volume 2 wrap-around cover signed by Marvel veteran artist Mark Sparacio.

· Contributors of $20 will receive one of the first printed copies of Sky Pirates of Valendor: Volume 2. Contributors will also have the option of naming one of the ships to be included in Pirate Wars.

· Contributors of $50 will be drawn into the comic book series as one of the participants in Pirate Wars. They will also receive a pinup of their character and a copy of the issue their character appears in.

· Contributors of $100 will not only be drawn into the comic book series but will also be the captain of their very own pirate ship, named by the contributor. The contributor will also receive the original page where the ship appears and a copy of the issue they appear in.

· Contributors of $500 will receive the following: 1. Will be drawn into the series as the captain of their very own pirate ship, to be named by the contributor! 2. Will receive the original page where their ship appears and a copy of the issue they appear in. 3. Will have a 10-12 page short story written and illustrated based on the backstory of their ship. The short story will be included in one of the 6 issues of Sky Pirates of Valendor: Volume 3.

Everett and Susan have also decided that 14% of the proceeds from this campaign will be donated to the victims of the Aurora, CO shooting on July 19, 2012.

The campaign will run until September 30 and contributors will be contacted in the fall of 2012 for their respective contributions. To contribute to Pirate Wars in Valendor, visit http://www.indiegogo.com/PirateWarsValendor?c=home&a=59574

For more information on Sky Pirates of Valendor, or to download digital copies of the current issues, visit www.skypiratesofvalendor.com.

The Ultimates Are Back in Action in ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #14!

The Ultimates Are Back in Action in ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #14!

The Fanboy Buzz is pleased to present your first look at Ultimate Comics Ultimates #14 – a Divided We Fall tie-in! With America still in turmoil from the City’s attack, someone is mysteriously working behind the scenes to keep it that way – but who? Can even the newly reunited team of Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor discover the identity of their foe and hold together the country at the same time? The red-hot creative team of writer Sam Humphries, and artist Billy Tan & Timothy Green II bring you the answers in Ultimate Comics Ultimates #14, assembling in comic shops everywhere, the Marvel Comics app, and Marvel Digital Comic Shop this August.

ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #14 (JUN120635)

Written by SAM HUMPHRIES

Penciled by BILLY TAN & TIMOTHY GREEN II

Cover by MICHAEL KOMARCK

FOC – 7/30/2012, On Sale – 8/22/2012

Glasgow League of Writers Anthology #1 Review

Rating: 2/5
Publisher Name: Glasgow League of Writers
Publisher Website: http://www.glasgowleagueofwriters.com/

Writer: Multiple
Pencils: Multiple
Inks: Multiple
Number of Pages: 56
Price: Unknown
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: A – Appropriate for age 9 and up.

Publisher’s Blurb:
GLoW is a group of comic book writers who support one another in creating
new and exciting work. Founded by Gordon Robertson, creator of web comic
‘ArseCancer’, GLoW have met every two weeks since May 2011. This anthology
features stories from all those members who were present at GLoW’s inaugural
session. Since that time membership has trebled and GLoW’s reach has expanded,
with members collaborating with other creators across the Scotland, UK and further afield.

Reviewer’s Comments:
The writer of The Standard, John Lees, recently contacted me asking to review a copy of the Glasgow League of Writers Anthology #1 (GLoW #1). Given the enjoyment I received out of John’s previous work, I decided to give this a shot. In the past I’ve found that collections of work often came off disconnected leaving far too few pages for story development to occur – sadly, this was also the case with GLoW #1.

While there were many stories within GLoW #1 that were enjoyable there were only a couple stood out from the rest (“Egg” and “Awesome Doggy Boy”) while others felt as if they were just added to fill pages (Aaron Funk). I was really hoping that GLoW would break away from other anthologies and there would be fewer stories but featuring more development; however, at the end of reading this I felt lost and in a state of mixed emotions.

Unfortunately GLoW also fell victim to another issue that plagues collections which is the constant variety of art work. I find that when one more polished-feeling art work style (ie. Egg) is put in conjunction with something with a more rough style (ie. Retina Wrecker), the latter comes off feeling inferior – no matter how good the art is for that style. I find that usually this is the case for writing too as there is a variety of different styles. For these reasons I’m not going to judge the writing or the art as I don’t feel there were enough consistent pages to get a true feel of how these would be as individual titles.

As mentioned, there are some decent stories in this book; however, they just don’t have enough time to blossom or establish a decent hook. That being said, I do suspect we’ll be seeing some of these branch out in the future and if you want to get in on it early – pick up GLoW #1 as I’m sure you’ll find something that you’ll enjoy.