30 Days of Night 15th Anniversary Edition
Written by Steve Niles
Art by Ben Templesmith
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Cover Art by Ben Templesmith
Trade Paperback
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 8, 2017

Fifteen years ago, a new comic book miniseries from IDW Publishing hit the shelves taking us to Barrow, Alaska, North America’s northernmost community, where the temperatures range from “cold as shit to fucking freezing,” and each year, the Sun does not rise for 30 straight days. The series begins on the last day of sunshine before the month of darkness begins, but this time around, vampires have arrived for unhampered access to sustenance of the human variety.

That 3-issue miniseries was 30 Days of Night and it put horror writer Steve Niles and artist Ben Templesmith on the map.

Penny Dreadful #1
Story by Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Andrew Hinderaker, and Chris King
Written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Art by Louie De Martinis
Letters by Simon Bowland
Cover A: Guillem March
Cover B: Ben Templesmith
Cover C: Louie De Martinis
Cover D: ​Photo cover by ​Martin Stiff
Cover E: ​Photo cover ​by Cat Connery
Titan Comics
Release Date: May 11, 2016
Cover Price: $3.99

I’ve never seen the Showtime series of the same name, but if it’s anything like Penny Dreadful #1 then I’m going to have to track the first episodes down and subscribe to it immediately. Truth be told, I never knew it had anything to do with the gothic novels of yesteryear; that alone is enough to get me interested. Additionally, after having read this wicked little piece of sequential art, I am fully prepared to indulge myself with this franchise. Why, you ask? Keep reading and I’ll tell you.

Back in December, I did a Patreon Spotlight for Ben Bishop’s (The Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness, Nathan the Caveman) post apocalyptic graphic novel, The Aggregate. Bishop invites us to imagine “if all the Power Rangers were evil, and they wanted to use their Megazord to wipe out most of the people on Earth, and Mad Max was a girl, AND he fell in love with the Red Ranger…” Doesn’t this sound amazing?

Recently, the artist and author decided to utilize Kickstarter as the platform to make this book happen. One of the first “choose your own adventure” style graphic novels – or as Bishop calls it, “Split Decision Comics” – the Kickstarter opened up yesterday morning, and has already exceeded its $10,000 goal! But with 28 days left in the campaign, there are still plenty of opportunities to support this endeavor — including pushing the project up to its second goal of $20,000, allowing Bishop to offer the book in full color.

Okay folks, I’ve got two names for you: Lovecraft and Templesmith. ‘Nuff said, right? I’m all about H.P. Lovecraft‘s works; as a matter of fact, I’m wearing a Cthulhu/Peanuts mashup shirt right now! So seeing a Kickstarter for DAGON by H.P. Lovecraft & Ben Templesmith was a must for me to support and share with you fine folks!

This year marks the 125th anniversary of H.P. Lovecraft’s birth and Ben Templesmith is celebrating the occasion by adapting Dagon into comic book form. Since this Lovecraft story was the first one that Templesmith read, it holds a very special place in his heart. And knowing how Templesmith does a great job at literally everything I’ve ever seen him work on, this is going to be awesome! Based on a short story revolving around a shipwrecked mariner, this horror tale is one of the first stories Lovecraft published (in this case it was 1919). I won’t go into too much regarding the story, but suffice to say that as with most things Lovecraftian, it’s not likely to end well. Dark and deadly, his tales rely heavily on the reader’s imagination to fill in the more macabre sections.

Have you ever had one of those days where it seems like the world is conspiring against you? Well, I’ve had one of those months. But right in the middle of what has been a pretty cruddy time, I got the chance to get a few answers from none other than Ben Templesmith himself! Talk about making my day/week/month! If you don’t recognize the name then you just aren’t paying attention. This man is a comic book demigod! He’s done a little bit of everything, most notably being the co-creator and artist for 30 Days of Night, Fell, and Shadowplay…not to mention working on a ton of other projects in one capacity or another.

I got the chance to ask him a few questions about his newest project, THE SQUIDDER (read more about it in my Kickstarter Spotlight). Read below what he had to say regarding the Kickstarter fundraising and success he’s had with it so far. And if you haven’t checked out this project yet, do so right here. It’s going to be tentacles above the rest!

There are a lot of Kickstarter campaigns out there trying to get you to part with your hard-earned cash. But how many of them can say they are from Ben Templesmith and 44FLOOD? That’s what sets THE SQUIDDER apart from all the rest and that’s why we want to bring it to your attention, because these folks do their due diligence when it comes to putting together an awesome project.

If you love Lovecraft’s Cthulhu and want to see it take a science fiction-inspired leap forward, then this is the one for you. Described as “an original graphic novel about an old soldier from a forgotten war in a post-apocalyptic world that has left him behind,” this is the first creator-run book from Templesmith in five years. It’s something near and dear to his heart so I have no doubt it’s going to be excellent from start to finish. Not to mention the fact that this Kickstarter beat it’s goal so well that they upped the length from 108 pages to 144 pages (33% more)!

Check out the video below for more information direct from Ben Templesmith himself.

Ten Grand #1
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Illustrated by Ben Templesmith
Lettered by Troy Peteri
Covers by Ben Templesmith, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jae Lee, and Ryan Sook
Image Comics / Joe’s Comics
Release Date: May 1, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

J. Michael Straczynski returns to Joe’s Comics — a Top Cow imprint that Straczynski created to helm Rising Stars, which is now at Image Comics. His first new venture under the imprint with illustrations by Ben Templesmith comes in the form of Ten Grand, a thriller that integrates mystery and suspense with the celestial and supernatural. This one had me biting my already short nails.

Ten Grand #1 takes us on a journey through the eyes of Joe Fitzgerald — a man who takes a lot of things very personally — from our world to the otherworldly confines of a seedy city; a dark, urban area where nothing is as it seems. Having once been a top enforcer for an underground crime-lord, Joe had everything stripped away when his lover, Laura, was murdered. Now a bitter and cynical man, Joe will take any job for the right price: ten grand. Such is the case when Debbie, a streetwise gothic girl comes to Joe for help. It turns out that Debbie’s sister, Sarah, had involved herself with a religious cult called Divine Will and is now missing. Debbie reveals an image to Joe of Divine Will’s leader, James. Confusion and anger set in as it is revealed that Joe has a violent past with James. It turns out that their first encounter was what drove Joe down his current path in life. He gives Debbie her money back and agrees to take the case for free as it has now become a personal matter.

By Lucid Crash

Choker, Vol. 1
Story by Ben McCool
Art by Ben Templesmith
Letters by Tom B. Long
Image Comics
Release Date: May 16, 2012
Cover Price: $16.99

In Choker, Johnny Jackson is a hard-boiled Private Investigator or Gumshoe and he has the cigarettes, trenchcoat, cramped messy office, surly demeanor, and the contempt for the police force that canned him to prove it. What the reader is supposed to assume is he now leads a life of obscurity blurred by booze (even if the first scene finds him spying on the mayor’s dalliances), but is about to get his one shot at public redemption when the cops call upon him to catch the drug dealer “Hunt Cassidy” he locked up years earlier.

Jackson is surely an antihero with a vulgar mouth and skeletons in the closet, but he is not without his charms. At his most human we see him caring for his kind and nerdy assistant Seaton Price. With a backstory that is highlighted by the Shotgun Police Force forcing him to take an experimental drug called “Man Plus” which is supposed to turn ordinary civil servants into robocops, Jackson evokes sympathy after being left with a serious side effect that comes to define him. A vise-like gripping hand that has a mind of its own earns him the unfortunate moniker “Choker,” and robs him of his badge and dignity after being deemed a danger to others.

DC Comics announced today that the comic book publishing company would be expanding its digital comics initiative with brand new weekly comics with Smallville Season 11, Batman, and a manga-inspired Ame Come line leading the charge.

Alright DC Comics, you’ve got my attention. This news story comes alongside a nice feature with writer Bryan Q. Miller on USA Today as he discusses preview pages and the previously announced Smallville Season 11 weekly digital comics series that follows the events of the popular TV show, which finally hits the digital platform today. Next month, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti will begin a new weekly digital comic based on Manga style that focuses on Wonder Woman and other female superheroes which takes the Ame Comi name from DC’s popular statue line. Where this gets really interesting to me, however, is with the announcement of the weekly Batman comics.

Hack/Slash #13
Written by Tim Seeley
Art by Emilio Laiso
Colors by Carlos Badilla
Letters by Crank!
Edits by James Lowder
Covers by Tim Seeley & Allen Passalaqua and Ben Templesmith
Image Comics
Release Date: February 29, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

I’ve been a Cassie Hack fan for quite some time, but Hack/Slash #13 is the first time I have had the chance to review the comic. I have long been impressed with Tim Seeley‘s writing and the way he manages to make every comic fun from start to finish. This issue was no exception, I thoroughly enjoyed the story (though I wish there was more Vlad in this one).

Kicking off a comic with velociraptors is an awesome way to begin a story. Closer interaction with them, however, changes more than one character’s opinion of them. I even enjoyed the Jurassic Park movie reference. I mean, really…who doesn’t love raptors?