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RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 13

Ash Griffith | February 19, 2019

Topics: Avengers, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, comics, Comics X-Change, John Green, Kim Possible, Love Romances, Lumberjanes, Miles Morales, No Road Home, Spider-Man, Unstoppable Wasp

Welcome back, comic fans of the River City! Welcome to RVA Comic X-Change, Issue Lucky Number Thirteen! Only good things come in a baker’s dozen, and we’re just one of them.

This week we’ve got a good handful of goodies just for you coming out in the next two weeks. We’ve got some feminism for you, some romance, and because I can not think about anything other than Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame right now, naturally I have some good Marvel goodness to tide us over. Fasten your capes, grab your beverage of choice, and let’s dive on in.

Lumberjanes #59 by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, and AnneMarie Rogers

Lumberjanes is one of those series that I had heard about for awhile, but never got the chance to check out until now. Following the story of five girls spending the summer at a scout camp, strange creatures and the supernatural pop out at every turn. Naturally.

Kim Possible Adventures Trade Paperback by Michael Stewart, Abby Denson, John Green, and others

Yes, you read that correctly. John Green of Young Adult novel fame, author of Paper Towns and The Fault in Our Stars among others, dug his meaty grips in on this classic series. Following the adventures of the Disney Channel heroine, this one finds Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable bringing Rufus the naked mole rat with them as they jump into the comic world.

Avengers: No Road Home #2 by Al Ewing, Mark Waid, and Jim Zub

With Avengers: Endgame in just over two months, I’m digging my hands into everything. This week the Avengers go toe to toe with Greek mythology as they battle Nyx, Queen of the Night. However Hawkeye’s fate lies conveniently in her hands.

Black Widow #2 by Jen and Sylvia Soska and Flaviano

My favorite Avenger has yet another series in time for the penultimate MCU film of this current arc. Color me blessed. Natasha Romanoff walks into nothing but trouble in part two of this five-part series.

Love Romances #1 by Jon Adams, Dennis Hallum, and Gail Simone

Are you a love story junkie who knows Valentine’s Day is never enough for you? Samesies. Lucky for us, Marvel has us covered with a new anthology series asking, amongst other questions, can robots fall in love? Well, can they, Marvel? Can they?

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #3 by Saladin Ahmed, Javier Garron, and David Curiel

Did you also leave your theater’s showing of Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse with an intense desire to scoop up any comics featuring Miles Morales? Um, duh — of course you did. Lucky for you, so did I. Miles finds himself in some Scooby Doo-esque hijinks this week, but lo and behold, who is our convenient guest star this week? Captain America, you say? Ah, yeah.

Unstoppable Wasp #5 by Jeremy Whitley and Gurihiru

Ant-Man is the most underappreciated of the MCU film franchises, and I won’t rest until Luis has his own comic series. In the meantime, Nadia Van Dyne (daughter of Hank Pym, but not Janet Van Dyne… hmm) has a pretty solid series of her own to tide me over. Just when she thinks she has hit the rockiest of bottoms, it gets worse. She finds out she and her father have more in common than she realized. Awkward.

So many good things to tide us over until Brie Larson dones the red, blue, and gold for Captain Marvel in only seventeen days. And there’s only sixty-six days until we find out what happened to our beloved meddling kids in Avengers: Endgame. But who’s counting? (Me. I am.)

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 11

Ash Griffith | January 22, 2019

Topics: comics, Comics X-Change, Gaffe, Into The Spiderverse, Iron Circus Comics, Morgan K. Sawyer, Spider-Man, Welcome To Paradise

Good afternoon, comic book fans of the greater River City! Welcome back to another solid issue of RVA Mag’s Comics X-Change, where we take a look at the new comics you need to dive into on New Comic Book Day, and talk about the hottest topics in comics culture.

This week we have two exciting things going on. We sat down with local comic book artist and illustrator Morgan K. Sawyer to talk about his newest comic series and just what it is about Richmond that is suddenly bringing all the talented comic creators out of the woodwork. After that, we have my pick of the week, a belated but oh-so-jaw-dropping comic film pick.

My spidey-senses are tingling, y’all.

Morgan K. Sawyer is a local comic artist and illustrator who recently announced that his newest series, Gaffe, would be released toward the end of next year by Iron Circus Comics. While Sawyer has been drawing most of his life, he got involved with comics when friends asked for him to draw for them, and he’s been entwined in the comics world ever since.

While most people will quickly tell you that comics have always been cool, longtime fans know that comics have hit a trendiness uprising in recent years. Sawyer agreed with me that, at least partially, it has something to do with the storytelling.

“I think it still leaves your brain just enough to fill in the blanks, so it leaves your imagination room,” said Sawyer. “It’s also a visual medium, so even if you’re not necessarily reading it for the words or the story, you still have the visuals that will tell the story for you.”

Richmond is the home to so many different mediums of creativity, including our beloved comics. It’s no surprise that so many different comic artists, writers, and amalgamations thereof are popping out of the woodwork recently. It doesn’t hurt that the cost of living is more feasible than somewhere like New York. But what is it about Richmond specifically?

Sawyer agreed that Richmond has, in its own way, inspired his work.

“I wouldn’t be doing comics if it weren’t for my comics teacher, Kerry Talbot,” said Sawyer. “He pushed a good amount of the local artists who draw comics who went through [VCU’s] CommArts [Department]. He was the foundation that a lot of us built off of.”

Another lovely trend in vogue at the moment (but still forever cool) is the classic RPG, Dungeons and Dragons, and it’s the inspiration for Sawyer’s new series, Gaffe.

“Gaffe is basically taking that genre of Dungeons and Dragons, and doing it from the monster’s perspective,” said Sawyer. “The monsters aren’t necessarily bad guys, they’re just doing their job. I was playing with a lot of [Kevin Smith’s] Clerks-style humor, where I was just thinking about Dante. Minimum wage guys who are stuck at this job, but they’re monsters. And having a miss on all fronts.”

The main character is also a zombie who doesn’t remember how he died, but ends up working with the monsters. Sawyer focuses on the zombie’s day-to-day life, while doing his art in a style more cartoonish and animation-based than his previous work, Welcome to Paradise.

This week I have one solid film recommendation for you. Yes, yes, I know, I am so late to the boat with this, but. Y’all. If you haven’t seen Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, then I need you to whip out your phone, pull up your Lyft app, and pay the $5 to get your butt down to Bowtie Cinemas and watch this movie.

In an interesting departure from the way we usually think about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Spiderverse is completely animated, rather than the live action that we have become so accustomed to. Another important point is that, instead of focusing completely on Peter Parker (although he is featured, and is important to the plot), the main character of the story is Miles Morales. Morales, the young African-American/Latino teenager with spider powers of his own, has been a huge fan favorite of the Marvel Universe since his creation, and is finally making his long-awaited film debut.

The story naturally follows the traditional Spider-Man route: teen gets bitten by conveniently available radioactive spider, growth and maturity montage happens. Then a plot point I wanted to tell you, but it’s a spoiler so I can’t, happens. What makes this film so unique is the fact that we end up meeting so many different iterations of the classic hero, who — in their own way, naturally — come to help Morales grow and embrace his new Spider-identity.

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse is not only a perfect example of quality filmmaking, but also one of the greatest films the MCU has produced in its history. When you hear people leaving the theater say that they usually hate those “weird superhero movies,” but they loved this one? Then yeah, I’d say this was a pretty okay film.

Until next time, comics fans!

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 10

Ash Griffith | January 8, 2019

Topics: comics, DC, Die, Heroes In Crisis, Image, Immortal Hulk, Marvel, Miles Morales, RVA Comics X-Change, Spider-Man, Stranger Things, third eye comics, Venom Unleashed, Web of Venom

Good afternoon, comics fans! Welcome to not only the first Comic X-Change issue of the new year, but the big whopper – Issue Number 10! For such a special issue, and to kick this brand new year off right, I decided to reach out to one of my very best comic friends and gurus, Kevin Smith of Third Eye Comics in Mechanicsville.

This issue, we’ve got some good hearty amuse-bouches for you to appetize your palate after the holidays. Kevin is bring us some big hitters to watch for in the lands of Marvel and DC, and then I’m going to close us out with the big topic my brain can’t shut up about – Stranger Things Season 3. Let’s get down to business, y’all.

“Miles Morales: Spider-Man #2” by Saladin Ahmed and Javier Garron

“Previously [Miles Morales] had taken over one of the Spider-Man books that Peter had started years ago, but now he has one all to himself.” said Smith.

“The Immortal Hulk #12” by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett

“[Bruce] Banner was killed about three years ago in Civil War II, and thought to have been gone for awhile, and had been brought back,” said Smith. “Marvel’s taking The Hulk back to his origins, the way he was back in the 60s when he was created, where Banner and Hulk are more of a Jekyll and Hyde creature now.”

“Web Of Venom: Venom Unleashed #1” by Ryan Stegman, Juan Gedeon, and Kyle Hotz

“I’m really enjoying this because [Venom writer Donny] Cates has decided to take Venom and, instead of just being one character, [write] the mythology and the history of the symbiotes,” said Smith. “[He’s] taking them back literally to the dawn of time.”

“Heroes in Crisis #5” by Tom King and Clay Mann

“DC has created this super secret place called Sanctuary,” said Smith. “Someone has gone into the Sanctuary, somebody has found the video files of the heroes where they take their masks off and confess what happened.”

“Die #2” by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans

“This is something best described as the kids from Stranger Things, mixed with the kids from IT, mixed with Jumanji,” said Smith.

On January 1st, Stranger Things fans were gifted not one but two wonderful presents, and just as we thought the holidays were winding down to a close. Both the official release date poster artwork (above), and a new trailer that also confirmed the official release date, were released as we rung in the new year. We still have just under another six months to go before all of our questions are answered in eight new episodes, but let’s take a look at some things.

“One summer can change everything.” So the new season will take course over the course of the summer of 1985, which we kind of figured when the first teaser came out and showed Mother of the Year Steve Harrington working his new summer mall job. The final episode title is “The Battle of Starcourt,” so while it’s safe to assume that the mall is where the showdown with the big-bad is going to play, is it centered around July 4th? What specifically about July 4th is so crucial?

Also, why are four of the kids stoked for the fireworks, while El and Mike are the only ones wigging out?

Let’s also backtrack a little bit more and dig deeper into theory land. A month or two ago, David Harbour posted on his instagram about shaving his mustache. While this in and of itself is innocuous enough given that he has been filming Hellboy and probably has a new project to work on, something else feels weird. He did go into a long speech about how Hopper was the greatest role of his life…

Now granted, he could just be generally excited that filming is over, and ready to see how fans react to the new season. Or you could be me, dig much deeper, and question if Harbour just released a backdoor spoiler. Is it a possibility that beloved asshole sheriff Chief Jim Hopper dies this season?

Guess we’ll find out in another one hundred and seventy-seven days. But who’s counting?

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 9

Ash Griffith | December 27, 2018

Topics: Aubrey Sitterson, Chapterhouse, comics, Conan The Barbarian, Dark Horse, Devilman, Die Kitty Die, Dynamite Comics, Erik Larsen, Go Nagai, Image, Jason Aaron, Kyle Starks, Marvel, RVA Comics X-Change, Savage Dragon, X-Force

Good afternoon and happy holidays, comic fans! Welcome to that weird in-between week at the end of the holidays where up is down, left is right, DC is Marvel. I hope regardless of what you celebrate that you had a great holiday season, and I hope you got all of the comic goodness your nerdy little heart desired.

I am filled with cheesecake and potatoes and ready to dive into this week’s comic talk here at RVA Mag. This week we have comic author Aubrey Sitterson sitting down with me, all the way from much warmer California, to tell us his picks for the next few weeks in comic-land.

Aubrey Sitterson is the author of The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling. He has worked for all of the major comics publishers, including Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse, and even lived in the River City for awhile before ultimately moving when he was eighteen. As someone who is so immersed in the industry, what does Sitterson think we need to keep an eye on for the next few weeks?

“X-Force #1” by Ed Brisson and Dylan Burnett

“I’m a sucker for the 90s X-books, and none more so than X-Force, so this is an easy sell for me to begin with,” said Sitterson. “I also know for a fact that it’ll be the best looking book on the stands the day after Christmas, because it’s got art by the brilliant Dylan Burnett, who I was lucky to work with on a series of Doctor Spektor back-ups at Dynamite!”

“Mars Attacks #3” by  Kyle Starks & Chris Schweizer

“If you’re familiar with their work on Rock Candy Mountain, you know what a powerhouse pair Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer are,” said Sitterson. “Here, they turn their considerable talents to the twisted, violent, and hilarious.”

“Conan the Barbarian #1” by Jason Aaron, Mahmud Asrar, and Matthew Wilson 

“Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian is one of the most important characters in all of speculative fiction, every bit as foundational as the work of J.R.R. Tolkien,” said Sitterson. “I can’t think of a better team than Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar to breathe new life into the Cimmerian.”

“The Conan Reader” by Kurt Busiek, P. Craig Russell, Fred Van Lente, et al.

“Like everyone else, I’m stoked to see what-all Marvel does with the Conan license, but for years prior, Dark Horse has been bringing their A-game,” said Sitterson. “This is a massive, 700-page collection full of amazing work from Kurt Busiek, P. Craig Russell, Timothy Truman, Ariel Olivetti, and more.”

“Savage Dragon #241” by Erik Larsen

“Erik Larsen’s magnum opus is something truly unique,” said Sitterson. “Don’t worry about going back and starting from the beginning – diving into the middle of one of the all-time great superhero comics runs is a huge part of the fun.”

“Devilman Grimoire vol 5” by Go Nagai & Rui Takatou

“It’s a great time to be a fan of Go Nagai’s Devilman,” said Sitterson. “Not only was Devilman Crybaby an amazing fever dream reimagining of the classic manga, but Seven Seas Entertainment is currently publishing the original series, as well as this other recent reinterpretation, now on its fifth and final volume.”

This week as I slowly crawl back into the real world from my food and festive coma, I have one killer recommendation for you. “Die Kitty Die” by Dan Parent and Fernando Ruiz is the most meta of meta right now. Starring witch Kitty Ravencraft, Die Kitty Die finds Kitty trying to survive while the creators of her own comic try to kill her off. Bonus points for the neat cameo by God, as played by American treasure Bea Arthur.

As the year and the season draws to a close, at least we can take solace in so many things to look forward to next year: so many new and continuing comic series, the film releases of Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame, and hell, even a new chapter in the Men in Black franchise. Happy new year, comic fans!

RVA Comics X-Change: Issue 8

Ash Griffith | December 11, 2018

Topics: Aminder Dhaliwal, Avengers 4, Avengers: Endgame, BattleArc 2088, Brett Marcus Cook, Carolyn Nowak, comics, Danny Djeljosevic, Flower Girls, Francesca Lyn, Girl Town, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Nancy, Olivia Jaimes, On A Sunbeam, Richie Pope, RVA Comics X-Change, That Box We Sit On, Tillie Walden, Woman World

Good afternoon and happy holidays, comic fans! Welcome back to yet another issue of your favorite biweekly go to spot for comic and pop culture talk. If you’re like me you used Sunday’s Snowmageddon to hole up and catch up on the latest and greatest out there right now (and honestly, to rewatch the new Avengers trailer ad nauseum, which we will also go into. Stay tuned). Now that the snow is melting, we’re ready to warm up to some new soon-to-be favorites.

Luckily for us, this week we have local comic writer and VCU adjunct professor Francesca Lyn to tell us what she has been digging lately. Lyn is the author and co-creator, along with artist Sally Cantirino, of Flower Girls, which explores what happens to magical girls after they grow up. While Lyn got a lot of her favorite comics from this year’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD, Richmond’s Velocity Comics is her home store.

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

“It’s a space story but mostly set in a boarding school,” said Lyn. “Her artwork reminds me a bit of Sam Alden but she is definitely doing something that is completely hers.”

BattleArc 2088 by Danny Djeljosevic and Brett Marcus Cook

A 40 page Cyberpunk one shot inspired by series such as Blade Runner and Bubblegum Crisis.

Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak

“It’s already been on a lot of best of 2018 but it deserves it. It is incredible.” said Lyn.

That Box We Sit On by Richie Pope

Two friends decide to uncover the mystery behind the titular box they sit on every day.

Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal

“I started reading it when it was a webcomic on Instagram,” said Lyn. “It is so funny and good.”

“Nancy” by Olivia Jaimes

The daily comic strip, which dates back to the 30s, was recently taken over by a young female cartoonist, Olivia Jaimes. She has injected modern touchstones and absurdist humor into the strip, making it suddenly relevant again. “A lot of fans of Nancy are super divided, but I really like this fresh take.” said Lyn.

My own recommendation to you is something you have undeniably already seen. Marvel decided to stop toying with us and not only finally released the Avengers 4 trailer, but gave us an official name to go with it.

Avengers: Endgame.

I have been calling it forever and everyone rolled their eyes at me, so to see it official made me do a Looney Tunes-esque style cackle before my phone fell on my face. There is so much to unpack though with this trailer, and honestly, I have never wanted a film to come out right now more. At least, since probably every other Avengers film.

Tony Stark is officially just giving up and accepting his destiny to drift along through space. Thanos is enjoying the peace and calm after he totaled half of the planet; his armor hangs like a creepy scarecrow. Captain America has shaved the beard.

But is Shuri even still alive, though? How did Ant-Man escape the Quantum Realm? Does John Watson ever make an appearance and ask Sherlock why he is wearing a towel around his neck and talking in a weird American accent?

So many questions!

As we sit here in as little patience as possible until April 26th, at least we can be sure of one thing — NASA is finally doing what we pay them to do, and is trying to help Marvel figure out how to bring Tony Stark back home. 

Until next week, comic fans!

RVA Mag Comics X-Change: Issue 5 — Comicon Edition

Ash Griffith | October 30, 2018

Topics: Aubrey Sitterson, comics, comics conventions, Comics X-Change, cosplay, Diva Dynamite, Rod Van Blake, Telegraph Comics, VA Comicon

Good afternoon, comics fans! Welcome to another edition of RVA Comics X-Change, your biweekly go-to spot for comics and pop culture. This week, instead of getting you the best recommendations for the next two weeks, we decided to make a pit stop at VA Comicon, which took place last weekend, and give you the lowdown on what you missed. 

Housed at the Richmond Raceway, the 2018 VA Comicon was on the smaller scale, but still proved to be a popular hub for Richmond’s comic community and casual fans alike. As cosplayers walked around the center, various vendors were set up. They ranged from casual fans selling their collections to genre writers; there was even a table set up for Breakout, an escape-room franchise in Midlothian. 

Fellow RVA Mag writer John Donegan was kind enough to help me maneuver our way around the arena full of people (and even got himself 3D-printed). With so much happening all around, we had to stop a few people and ask what was going on. 

Katie and Richard, aka Team Rocket

Meet Richard and Katie, your friendly neighborhood Team Rocket cosplayers. Neither of them had ever been to a comic convention before, but upon learning that there was one nearby, they decided they had to investigate. Understandably, they had a lot of requests for pictures as they walked the floor. 

“I’m surprised, I didn’t expect so many people to talk to us,” said Katie. “I’m enjoying the attention,” added Richard.

Aubrey Sitterson

Among the professionals in attendance was comic writer Aubrey Sitterson, who wrote The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling. Sitterson is actually a Richmond native, but he currently lives in Los Angeles. With such powerhouses on his resume as Marvel, DC, and IDW Publishing, I was sure he does conventions on the West Coast all the time.

Any difference between East and West Coast cons?

“It’s a lot colder here, man,” said Sitterson. “I don’t see too much of a difference. The neat thing about comic book conventions is that there are about a dozen different ways to do Comic Con. There are people who do cosplay and take pictures, people who check out comic books — my favorite people. I like that there is such a huge variety of stuff to do for people.” 

Rod Van Blake

Sci-Fi novelists were certainly in attendance, and we had the joy of meeting with author Rod Van Blake at his table. Van Blake is currently working on the third novel in his series, Ancient Illumination. He’d come to VA Comicon to talk to fans about his novels — and sell a few, too. Van Blake lives in the area and mostly tries to stay relatively local, going as far as Baltimore Comic-Con or Awesome Con in DC. This makes selling the novels easier, and, he joked, makes it so he doesn’t have to lug around a hundred books at a time. 

How is being a vendor at a convention different than being a passing fan? A little bit, he remarked.

“It’s a lot more leisurely when you’re just walking around looking at stuff,” said Van Blake. “I tend not to sit down as a vendor, because I like to engage people as they come by and tell them about the book. I still get to meet a lot of nice people and see the crazy costumes as they walk by.”

Kate DeNeveu and David Murray of Telegraph Comics

Naturally, even a few comic shops were in representation. Charlottesville’s Telegraph Comics made an appearance, albeit without any comics to sell, instead bringing posters and other paraphernalia. They thought smart; realizing everyone else would be bringing the comics, they decided to bring the easier-to-carry things. 

“We’ve been wanting to try out smaller, more local shows,” said one of the owners, Kate DeNeveu. “There’s always an enthusiastic crowd.”

And of course, just to round it out, there was also a wrestler in attendance. Wrestler Dynamite Diva was undeniably more excited than anyone else to be there.

Dynamite Diva

“This is my first comic-con; I got an invite, and wanted to see what it was all about,” said Dynamite. “I have one of these crazy characters that kind of blends right in, so I actually blend somewhere.”

The wrestler herself couldn’t name every costume she saw at the convention, but she recognized a few. “My son gets me into all of this anime stuff because he has me at home watching it,” she said. “He would probably be able to say all of them right off. ”

And so another successful VA Comicon comes to a close. Did we see you? Any favorite costumes?

Your recommendation for this issue, as we head into November, is to keep your eyes peeled for the Avengers: Infinity War 4 trailer that is to be released this upcoming month. What are you looking forward to with the new trailer? Any theories? 

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