A Look at ‘The Dark Elements’ by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“You need something,” he said, and when I stared at him, he added, “Your face.”
“My face?”
“It’s in need of my kisses.”

---

A few days ago I stumbled upon the Dark Elements trilogy by Jennifer L. Trout. A beautiful tale written with equal portions of humour, lore, sacrifice and love, it will latch onto your heart with claws and leave you feeling achy inside. Between the Supernatural references and the naughty remarks of one of the main characters, Roth, I couldn’t fight the grins and giggles that escaped me whenever I read.

The first book, White Hot Kisses, was published in February of 2014, followed by Stone Cold Touch in October of 2014, and Every Last Breath in July of 2015. What’re the books about? Here’s the excerpt:

‘Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she’s anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses. Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she’s crushed on since forever. Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she’s not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn’t an issue, considering Roth has no soul. But when Layla discovers she’s the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne… it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.’

I know —I know. It sounds totally cliche, but I can promise you that you’ll adore the books if you can check-off a love for at least one of the following: A) A bad boy 😉  B) Supernatural or C) Lore with a modern twist. Armentrout made me Roth mush and I’m 150% fine with that.  Her books are like the first dusting of snow in the Winter, they’ll leave you holding your breath for gasping for more. I finished each book in less than a day, I was that enraptured by the characters (especially Bambi) and I hope you will be too! If you’re looking for a paranormal novel then you’ve found your match.

---

Rating: 7/10

Audience: Young adult.

Alex Ross Art Exclusives for SDCC

For those of you unfamiliar with Alex Ross, he is an illustrator and painter known for creating super realistic versions of comic book characters. Ross is best known for his work on Kingdom Come, Justice League: Secret Origins, Justice League: Liberty and Justice, and Marvels. He has also done many covers and variant covers for DC, Marvel, and Dynamite Entertainment.

Sal Abbinanti is the official art dealer for Alex Ross (alexrossart.com) and will be selling art books, comic book variants, sketch covers, exclusive prints and other geeky art goodness.

Batman #47 Set of 3 Signed Variants: 100$

Black Panther #1 Alex Ross Incentive Signed Variant Exclusive: 100$

Exclusive Han Solo and Chewbacca Print

Avengers, Captain America Joins Mini-Canvas: 150$ (11.5″x17.5″ Canvas Giclée)

Alex Ross 2016 SDCC Sketchbook: 20$

Batman Scars Lithograph (11″x16″): 50$

New Alex Ross Print: Flash Gordon’s 35th Anniversary

Flash Gordon’s Sam Jones will be signing copies of Alex Ross’s print Thursday, July 21 from 12pm-2pm. Booth #2415.

So if you happen to be at SDCC this year check out Alex Ross’s booth, there are some excellent exclusives to get framed and or put on your wall!

Keep checking in at Sktronixxx for more SDCC news and announcements.

San Diego Comic Con 2016 Coverage

It is approaching that time of year again. The originator and biggest convention of the year SDCC, with over 130,000 attendees last year.

SDCC will take place July 21st-24th. We at skatronixxx.com have formed a little coverage team to cover the pop culture event. I will be personally covering comic news and announcements. Unfortunately, we won’t be at SDCC, but it will still be fun none the less reporting from the comfort of my computer desk.

Here are some of the signings already announced.(for those of you lucky enough to attend and for the curious people unable to attend)

 

The Creator of Scott Pilgrim, Bryan Lee O’Malley is giving an exclusive preview to fans of his new graphic novel. It’s not the traditional preview you might be thinking of. Bryan is giving out 50 art print’s based on his new graphic novel per day (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) at the Penguin Random House Booth #1515. If you want 1 of the 200, exclusive prints get to the booth early as possible each morning to grab a ticket for the 1 pm signing.

 

Kidrobot will be hosting some big name talent at SDCC this year. Kidrobot will have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator, Kevin Eastman and Street Fighter creator Yoshinori Ono. You will need a specific wristband for each signing for Eastman and  Ono. The only way to get a wristband is on preview day and purchase a medium Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figure for the Eastman signing or buy a medium Street Fighter figure for the Ono signing. Only the first 50 purchases of each type of figure will get wristbands. Kidrobot’s booth number is #5645. Here is their complete  signing schedule

Thursday, July 21st Kevin Eastman 2:30pm-3:30 pm

Friday, July 22nd Scott Tolleson 11:00am-12:00pm  Jesse “J*RYU” Yu 1:00pm-2:00pm
Yoshinori Ono 3:30pm-4:30pm

Saturday, July 23rd Frank Kozik 1:00pm-2:00pm  Josh Mayhem 4:00pm-5:00pm

 

Action Lab Entertainment is bringing a huge variety of creators to their booths for signings this year. Some of the Creators include:

Dan Mendoza-Creator of Zombie Tramp

Jamal Igle-Creator of Molly Danger

Emily Martin-Artist of Princeless

Nicole D’Andria- Editor and writer of Miraculous

Brian Hess– Artist and co-creator of Awake

Enrica Jang– Writer of The House of Montressor

Daniel Logan-Artist of Puppet Master: Halloween1989

And more will be signing at booth #1735 and Action Lab: Danger Zone #2006 in the Independent Publishers Pavilion.

Stay tuned to skatonixxx.com for more SDCC news and announcements, also check out Skatronixxx’s article on wave one of Funko’s Pop Vinyl SDCC exclusives here .

 

Weekly Bookette #2 New Books of July 2016

New books are released every day, so it might get confusing checking them all out. Here at Skatronixxx we care about you, so we compiled a little list of the books that will release in the month of July we are excited about.

Marvel Anounces New Female Iron Man

Marvel Comics announced yesterday day through  Time Magazine that  Tony Stark would step down as Iron Man after  Marvel’s current event  Civil War Two ends. He will be replaced by a 15-year-old black female genius who attends M.I.T. Her name is  Riri Williams.

While it might seem very odd of Marvel to reveal such a drastic change before the last issue of civil war two is out, they assure fans this will not spoil the conclusion to the big summer event.

Riri Williams was created by Marvel veteran writer  Brian Michael Bendis,  who as always gets a mixed reaction from fans and internet trolls alike about his work. People, in general, seem to welcome the idea of a young female minority as  Iron Man, or whatever new name the character might take on.

The main criticism from others appears to be that while they are happy for the new character, people are not satisfied a “famous white male” is writing her. They would rather see a POC (person of colour ) or female write Riri Williams. There is also a reignited dialogue about the fact Marvel hires very few non-white or female creators.

I believe it is important to know if you already don’t, that Brian Michael Bendis has a mixed race family. He and his wife adopted two daughters. Sabrina from Ethiopia and Tabatha from a local agency in the states. Now with that knowledge does it not make sense Brian would be writing a character like Riri Williams. Brian has also been producing consistent quality work for Marvel for the past 15 years or so and has created many characters that are female and or mixed race (e.g., Jessica Jones, Miles Morals aka Ultimate Spider-Man). No one in comics writes the same character forever. I’m sure other creators regardless of race or gender will get to write Riri.

It will be interesting to see how Riri becomes the new Iron Man at the end of Civil War Two. It will also be interesting to see what happens to Tony Stark and whether or not he will remain a part of the Marvel Universe.

Could Tony end up like Logan (Wolverine) and just not be used for a while?  Could this change in the comics eventually affect the Marvel Cinematic Universe down the line?

Opinions, comments and questions are welcome down below.

Fight Club 2 Signing With Chuck Palahniuk

Hundreds of people lined out the door of Hypno Comics in Ventura, California waiting to meet Chuck Palahniuk, author of books like Fight Club and Lullaby and get their copies of his new graphic novel, Fight Club 2 signed. I was lucky enough to work the event and have a couple wonderful experiences with Chuck.

Let me start off by saying that Chuck is a very nice and down to earth guy. He wasn’t late for the signing like some famous types. In fact, he even arrived at the event before I did.

I had him sign a few items for me throughout the day and he seemed so genuine every time I spoke with him.

Now lets get to the actual signing, as I said before we had tons of people lined out the doors waiting to meet him. The event was sold out but we had many people trying to get in anyway throughout the day.

I expected that I would have to deal with a few crazy fans but everyone there was great and had a mutual love for Chuck.

We had many fans give him items to show their appreciation and one was especially cool that I will show down below. Chuck spent a few minutes with each person and signed what they had and took photos where he either pretended to fight them or choke them. From what I heard from the fans who walked through, they all loved those photo ops and everyone walked out happy

.

I can’t state it enough how nice and genuine Chuck was. I suggest you all pick up a copy of the Fight Club 2 graphic novel. It’s a great read for any comic fan, fan of the film/book or a fan of Chuck. And heck if you’re in California, go check out Hypno Comics and  you’ll probably see me and my buddies working there.

(All photos courtesy of Hypno Comics. Check us out at @HypnoComics on Twitter and Instagram. Just make sure you tell them Steve sent you!)

Interview with ComixTribe Co-Creator Tyler James

Here at Skatronixxx.com we are passionate about independent/creator-owned comic books as well as their creators and publishers. When we get the opportunity, we love to shine the spotlight on them.

Tyler James is a comic writer, publisher, game designer/producer and teacher from Newburyport,  Massachusetts U.S.A.

What inspired you to create comic books

Matt, my mother, will tell you that her biggest fear when I was a kid was how heartbroken I’d be when I learned I couldn’t actually be a superhero when I grew up.

I’d come home from pre-school every day with a brand new Batman utility belt made with scissors, glue, tape, and construction paper.

So, superhero comics definitely pulled me into the medium, and it wasn’t long before I wasn’t only reading the books, but throwing tracing paper over Spider-man and “drawing” him myself.

I credit the Image explosion of the early 90’s with triggering the “aha moment” realisation that these characters weren’t something that “always existed” but rather were created by actual human beings. Being there from the very beginning of the Image universe definitely had a major impact on me.

It wasn’t long after that that I decided I didn’t want to draw Spider-man as much as I wanted to create my own characters and tell my own stories.

When you decided that wanted to create your own stories what was your biggest challenge or obstacle?

When first starting out, and this was early 90’s so virtually a lifetime ago… I really didn’t have any challenges or obstacles.

I had paper and pencils and a copy of How to Make Comics the Marvel Way by Stan and John, and I was off to the races.

In that regard, I was lucky… when you’re a kid, you don’t really care that there’s so much you don’t know that you don’t know… you just go.

Of course, there were no internet resources, comic cons weren’t a thing I knew about, and my local comic shops were more places of commerce than true communities… so I did things wrong and would later have to unlearn a lot of bad habits.

What do you mean comics aren’t drawn on plain printer paper?

Why would I script out pages in advance rather than draw them one page at a time?

How else would I letter my pages but to draw in the word balloons and letter by hand?

That said, I’m incredibly grateful that I started logging my 10,000 hours at a very young age.

What is the origin story of comix tribe?

Flash forward twenty years or so, and I started working on more and more collaborative projects. After about a dozen years of working on comics entirely as a solo act, I realised that I’d never be able to create all the comics I’d wanted to bring into the world alone.

At that time, I started becoming increasingly obsessed with the craft of making comics and started writing some articles on craft and creating over at ComicRelated and on my own blog.

Eventually, I started working with editor Steven Forbes, who was also writing great how-to content. I hired him to edit a book I was working on… he tore it to shreds. We’ve been friends ever since.

Because I was working on books with other creators, publishing under “Tyler James Comics” didn’t seem like a very compelling option.

So, Steve and I conceived of a site called ComixTribe, which could act as both a resource of articles for comic creators and a publishing imprint for our future books.

ComixTribe.com opened its doors on 1-1-2011.

Having had quite a few successful Kickstarter campaigns, how has Kickstarter changed Comix Tribe?

ComixTribe has been bootstrapped from the ground up. Steven and I were big on ideas and short on cash to invest into ComixTribe.

Cash is oxygen to a business… without it, a business suffocates.

With it… well, you have options.

In 2012, we launched our first successful Kickstarter and in one month raised $26,000 on Kickstarter.

After Kickstarter took its fees, that still meant that more than $23,000 hit the ComixTribe business bank account.

To put that in perspective, that was more funding in one month than I had made in the previous 12 years creating comics, selling them at shows and online, etc. combined!

That infusion of cash helped us not only fund the production of a hardcover graphic novel that the direct market alone could not have supported, but it helped finance print runs for other series, marketing, and other publishing investments.

You can draw a straight line from that first Kickstarter to where we are today… it’s not wrong to say Kickstarter was a game changer for us.

It also continues to be a major part of our overall publishing strategy.

The reality is this… there is no path to victory for a small, bootstrapped, independent publisher selling only $3 comic books through the direct market. None. The numbers don’t work.

But when you’re able to put a system in place that combines Kickstarter, the direct market, conventions, Amazon, and digital sales… those numbers become a little easier to make work…

And then once you start piling upon additional revenue sources such as foreign licensing and media options… they start to get rosier.

And the truth is, success in one area often leads to increased success in other areas…

But you need to get the snowball rolling somehow, and in 2016, I have no doubt that the best platform to get that snowball rolling is Kickstarter.

Many readers are frustrated with the way Marvel and DC have handled their respective universes. Do you see independent/creator-owned comics popularity and sales coming close or equal to Marvel and DC’s in the next five year’s or so?

In the direct market (i.e., Comic Book Shops), no. No chance of that happening. But that’s a pretty narrow view of the comic book industry, isn’t it? I mean, Raina Telgemeier latest graphic novel Ghosts is getting a 500,000 first print run that is more than 700 times what DC’s top selling graphic novel sold last month.

There are webcomics that are read by far more people than any direct market series.

In the direct market, though, you have a Diamond providing 95-99% of the comic product to shops, and Marvel and DC taking up 70-80% of their comic product offerings… that’s not going to change anytime soon.

The good news is that independent creators and publishers don’t need to compete with Marvel and DC to win.

Erica Moen isn’t competing with Marvel and DC. She’s winning.

Jason Brubaker isn’t competing with Marvel and DC. He’s winning.

Greg Pak is working for Marvel and DC… but also doing his own thing outside of the Big Two. He’s definitely winning.

Are there any books or Kickstarter campaigns in the works you can talk about for 2016 or possibly 2017?

Can, I talk about Kickstarter campaigns… oh, man, that’s a loaded question, Matt!

Well, first I’ve got to give a shoutout to two creators who took part in The ComixLaunch Course I taught earlier this year who just wrapped up successful Kickstarter campaigns. Michelle Palmer’s Meraki and Jim Whiting’s Margo: Intergalactic Trash Collector.

The great thing about teaching The ComixLaunch Course and hosting the ComixLaunch.com podcast is that even when I don’t have a project going… I feel like I’ve got an investment in the Kickstarter platform.

Some projects we have in the queue are hardcovers for CHUM and AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE, the next OXYMORON: Killing Time anthology, and THE RED TEN OMNIBUS.

And those are just the projects that we’re talking about publicly.

We are very wary of asking too much of our fan base, and we do try to space out our Kickstarter’s so they can get primary focus when it’s the book’s time to shine.

But you can be we’ll be on the platform again soon.

However, the absolute coolest thing going on right now is what’s happening with SINK, the new John Lees Alex Cormack series. Nearly 500 readers have “got in the van” already, and the early reaction has been phenomenal.

Thanks to Tyler for taking the time to talk with us! Follow him on Twitter @TylerJamesComic also follow @ComixTribe. Subscribe to Comixtribe’s email list http://www.comixtribe.com/subscribe and get five free digital comics!

Check out Tyler’s podcast on 50 creators sharing the #1 Kickstarter Tip  www.comixlaunch.com/50tips

MORE Casting News for “Spider-Man: Homecoming”

At this point, the world could collectively play a game where we throw some names in a hat, pull it out, and chances are they are in this movie.

Following casting news from last week, a further three actresses have been added to the cast line up.

Garcelle Beauvais (The Jamie Foxx Show, NYPD Blue, Grimm) has officially signed on for the Marvel blockbuster, as has 17 year old Tiffany Espenden (Bucket & Skinner’s Epic Adventures, Earth to Echo, Phineas and Ferb).

 

Alongside these two, six time Emmy Award winner Tyne Daly (Cagney & Lacey, The Enforcer, Judging Amy) has also added her name to the list of impressive actors joining on for Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Marvel and Sony have yet to comment on their roles – they seem to be keeping an extremely tight lid on who’s who in next summers Marvel and Sony production, as the only official roles are Tom Holland (Billy Elliot The Musical, Captain America: Civil War) as the famous web-slinger, Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler, Rescue Me, Empire) as Aunt May, and Zendaya (Shake It Up!, K.C. Undercover) as leading girl Michelle. Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, The Judge, Sherlock Holmes) will be making a cameo as Tony Stark/Iron Man.

Otherwise, the rest of the cast are all rumours, be them strong or weak ones. However, it is very clear that Marvel and Sony want to re-introduce Peter Parker with a bang, and seal his place once and for all in the MCU.

Spiderman: Homecoming is currently filming, and is scheduled for release on July 7th, 2017. However, if you just can’t wait that long, you can catch Holland making his debut in Captain America: Civil War. 

Book Review: ‘This Savage Song’ by V.E. Schwab

“Corsai, Corsai, tooth and claw,
Shadow and bone will eat you raw.
Malchai, Malchai, sharp and sly,
Smile and bite and drink you dry.

Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal,
Sing you a song and steal your soul.”

V.E.Schwab, also known for Vicious, and her Shades of Magic series once again delights fantasy novel fans with her darkest tale yet.

August Flynn is a monster, a Sunai burdened by who he is and with a deep longing to be human. Kate Harker wishes she could be as monsterous as her father, who provides safety to their cities citizens at a cost. So what could go wrong should the two collide as an unsteady truce begins to crumble?

Once again, Schwab’s world-building is so flawless – it’s so gripping and detailed, and yet the text seems to flow effortlessly. The world she’s built is so vast, and she manages to also include political divisions between the city our two main characters are set in and other cities that are (so far) unknown to us.

The characters in this text are absolutely wonderful, especially the two main characters. August is a monster, hating the weight of what he is and the physical signs of it, marked by tallies on the skin, and by the hunger for human souls – ones that can only be brought to him by his music. He’s such an original character with such an amazing premise – if not just for the soul stealing violin alone. He’s so sweet, genuine and lovable, which is why his monstrous side is especially chilling.

Kate Harker was an absolute gem to read – burdened with her fathers legacy, she longs for his attention and approval, and seeks to get it by trying to be as violent and cruel as he is. While she plays the part of cold and calculating (and she is exceptionally intelligent), she has a lot of heart to her, and a lot of emotions linked to her childhood and trauma. She was so interesting to read, and her inner conflict was beyond fascinating.

All of the supporting cast of characters were fantastic aswell, from the cold Callum Harker and the Holier-Than-Thou Leo, to the students August befriends at Colton. However, audiences will fall head over heels for August’s sister Isla. Trapped inside the base where August lives with his two adoptive parents and heads of the FTF (Flynn Task Force), she’s gentle, sweet and holds a great deal of power. She’s a complete fairy tale princess trapped in a tower character, but with a terrifying twist hiding under her skin.

The whole story carries itself incredibly well, with this gorgeous imaginative world where monsters born from violence and shadows stalk regular people after dark. The three breeds of monster displayed in this book are such unique and terrifying creations – you won’t be comfortable looking at your shadow for a very long time.

This book cannot receive enough praise – Schwab displays incredible talent as she builds this wonderful world, inhabited by new monsters, and some you might recognise yourself. Schwab does an amazing job of showcasing both sides of the war in Man vs. Monster, using a descriptive and diverse cast of characters.

The adventure you’re taken on with August and Kate is thrilling, emotional, and at times, uncomfortably brutal. It’s her darkest book yet, and I highly recommend fantasy lovers pick this up for a read – just keep an eye on the dark corners in your room once you’re done.

A Finger Lickin’ Good KFC Comic?

So I woke up early this morning to an email from Skatronixx with the subject title KFC comic?. I thought I was misreading it due to me being barely awake, but no he was 100% serious.

Now the fact KFC has a comic book doesn’t necessarily shock me, it’s more the fact that DC publishes it. The first issue was apparently released last year (The Colonel of Two Worlds). I was totally unaware that this existed, so when reading the sequel The Colonel Corps (which is free on Comixology) I had low expectations.

The Colonel Cops is an all ages book. It uses the DC multiverse as it’s a backdrop for what I consider an unoriginal story. The Colonel of Earth one can only seem to remember one of his eleven herbs and spices for his famous chicken recipe after the Colonel Sanders of earth 11 arrived to ask him about it via dimensional travel courtesy of the flash. Earth 11 Sanders can only remember one different ingredient. They determine that the other Colonel’s in different realities know the other nine ingredients and must find them.

Some of the different Earth’s the Colonel’s travel to include  Kingdom Come (Created by Mark Waid and Alex Ross) and All-Star (Created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly). It was cool to see these worlds appear in the comic as its the only highlight of the comic for me.

I understand that this is a promotional comic for a fast food chain. It doesn’t change the fact that the story and dialogue are cheesy. I read one site call this the best comic book of the year. Really?  Unless you’re a diehard KFC fan, this comic will be forgotten quickly. Kids may or may not find it entertaining I believe.

While I don’t recommend reading The Colonel Corps, it is at least free.There are also dozens of other free comic options on Comixology, so please look the up as well.  So if you were curious about how they would do a KFC comic by all means check it out. If DC were charging a 2.99 or even .99 price tag, I would think of a better title to support.