“DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE” (Video Game Review)

in: Books/Art/Culture,Game and Toy Reviews | June 6, 2013 - 1:10 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
“DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE” (Video Game Review)

Zombie games have exploded over the past few years. With such titles a LEFT 4 DEAD and DEAD RISING leading the pack, the primarily PC platform company Techland has also jumped on-board the gore freight train with DEAD ISLAND and its current follow-up DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE. RIPTIDE follows the five main characters as they attempt to survive another zombie outbreak while scavenging for items on an infested tourist island. A blood-and-guts filled detour into an undead Hell, this first person, survival action game has received mixed reaction from both fans and critics, yet still manages to satisfy a hankering to stab and slash the walking dead.
Read more »
in: Books/Art/Culture,Game and Toy Reviews,News | May 20, 2013 - 8:49 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
“THE WALKING DEAD BOARD GAME” (Review)

THE WALKING DEAD has proved to not only be a media bonanza, but a merchandising boon as well. From t-shirts and toys to DVDs and, of course, comics, collectors have been shelling out hard-earned cash for a piece of zombie memorabilia. It’s perhaps thanks to the recent interest in all things undead that the series has spawned not one, but two WALKING DEAD survival board games. While ghoulish versions of classics like WALKING DEAD Monopoly and WALKING DEAD Risk are on the way, the former are more popular with the strategy gamers than the casual, Friday night crowd. The more popular of the two, THE WALKING DEAD board game based on the Image Comics title (versus the AMC show), finds the player forced to scrounge for food while attempting to survive the ever growing zombie-hordes. With the tag line “Can you walk among the dead?”, it definitely brings the point home as the board slowly fills up with flesh-eaters and dwindling hope of survival.
Read more »
in: Book and Comic Reviews,Books/Art/Culture,News | May 9, 2013 - 9:39 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
“TEN GRAND” #1 (Comic Review)

In the wide world of comics, Noir and Horror have sat down to drink more often than one would think. From John Constanine’s globe-trotting, mystical escapades to Cal McDonald’s ghoulish case files, paranormal mystery men have become a staple of the medium as much as superheroes and tragic origins. With the recent launch of TEN GRAND, we are once again reminded why the world seems endlessly fascinated with a dimly lit bar and a sob story. A work mixing striking visuals and strong writing, it joins Image Comics’ recent fascination for bizarre crime stories, most notably, CHIN MUSIC written by Steve Niles and FATALE from Ed Brubaker. Though it has yet to be seen if it will pick up as much steam as its predecessors, it can be safely assumed TEN GRAND might stick around for the long run.
Read more »
in: Book and Comic Reviews,Books/Art/Culture,News | April 29, 2013 - 9:47 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
“JUDGE DREDD: YEAR ONE” #2 (Comic Review)

Despite the overwhelming artistic success of Judge Dredd in the UK, there have been few attempts to work with the character stateside. DC comics had a short run with the gun-toting officer in the mid-90s, but unfortunately only lasted a whopping eighteen issues before getting shut down. That’s not to say that the Judge did not explode as a media gold mine, ranging from toys and video games to books and movies. Though as far comic books go, he never quite generated the same interest as he did abroad. But, perhaps thanks in part to the new DREDD movie, he has once again been given a chance to show off his trademark brand of justice in one of the latest IDW Publishing additions, JUDGE DREDD: YEAR ONE.
Read more »
in: Books/Art/Culture,Features/Interviews,News | April 25, 2013 - 10:09 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
Q&A: “WORLD WAR Z” author Max Brooks on new undead comic, “EXTINCTION PARADE”

When a person mentions zombies in polite conversation, several things tend to come to mind: George Romero, THE WALKING DEAD, B Movies, to name a few. In recent years, another name has been added to the ever growing history of the undead, Max Brooks. Brooks, best known for the ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE and WORLD WAR Z, is internationally renowned for his factual-like take on the ghoulish plague while re-sparking interest in the genre.
Read more »
in: Books/Art/Culture,Features/Interviews,News | April 24, 2013 - 1:00 pm | by: Svetlana Fedotov
Q&A: Slipknot’s Corey Taylor on first comic, “HOUSE OF GOLD AND BONES”

Rock ‘n’ roll and comics are not so far apart. Both have been blamed for corrupting the youth, both have inspired the other, and both are certainly owned by the Devil himself. It is little wonder that musicians are finding themselves behind the pages of a few four-color panels themselves with the likes of Life of Agony’s Alan Robert, and now Slipknot/Stone Sour front man Corey TAYLOR: , the newest musician to be bitten by the creative bug. Fresh from his fifth album with Stone Sour titled HOUSE OF GOLD AND BONES PART TWO (part one was released October 2012), TAYLOR: has dropped the similarly titled bookas a companion piece. Part dreamscape, part horror, the story follows the journey of a nameless man as he wakes up in an unknown world, hunted by a strange creature. As he attempts to put together his fragmented memories, he inexplicably finds himself attracting demonic doppelgangers, dark shadows, and more questions than answers.
Read more »
in: Book and Comic Reviews,Books/Art/Culture,News | April 19, 2013 - 11:47 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
“SWAMP THING, VOL. 2: FAMILY TREE” (Comic Review)

SWAMP THING has had as many series as the average person has fingers. Currently on its fifth run, the newest addition to the growing mythos has a found a different DC home outside of the Vertigo imprint, this time under the current DC universe, “The New 52.” Thanks to the relaunch, the hulking figure is back in the spotlight, this time with a densely rich world for him to kick ass and take names in.
Read more »
in: Book and Comic Reviews,Books/Art/Culture,News | April 10, 2013 - 11:07 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
“’68: JUNGLE JIM #1″ (Comic Review)

’68 has addressed the issues of war in a way many have refused to touch. Mixing the true terrors of the Vietnam battlefront with the inhumanity of the walking undead, the work has upped the horrors of death and isolation in a setting unfamiliar to this generation’s readers. Though it’s not uncommon to find zombies in WWI and WWII in both movies and comics, the Vietnam War seems to be one territory few ever tread; perhaps in respect to the still large population of Vietnam survivors or just in hushed reverence for the fallen troops.’68 takes no prisoners in its raw representation of a military conflict that still haunts many to this day, however. It’s a solid kick to the head to a market heavily saturated in zombie paraphernalia and reminds the reader that even though it’s a work of fiction, the stories it tells are a reflection of a time all too real.
Read more »
in: Books/Art/Culture,Features/Interviews,News | April 1, 2013 - 8:19 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
Q&A: “WITCH DOCTOR” scribe Seifert on “MALPRACTICE,” “HELLRAISER”

Brandon Seifert has come a long way in a very short time. With his partner-in-crime Lukas Ketner, they turned their supernatural/medical creation, WITCH DOCTOR into one of the most well received new series in the past two years. With the second arc, MALPRACTICE, well underway, Seifert is also finding himself penning such iconic works as HELLRAISER for Boom Studios and DR WHO for IDW. Though relatively new to the comic scene, he has shown a talent for story and dialogue that has continued to spur his popularity. He recently sat down with Fango to talk magic, mayhem, and medicine.
Read more »
in: Books/Art/Culture,Features/Interviews,News | March 28, 2013 - 1:32 am | by: Svetlana Fedotov
Fangoria Exclusive: Steve Niles talks FINAL NIGHT and EYES OF FRANKENSTEIN

It has been a trying four months for Steve Niles’ comic creations CRIMINAL MACABRE and 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. Not only have the two series been fighting to the death in the appropriately titled crossover, FINAL NIGHT (out from Dark Horse) but the “loser” has the added pressure of being put in permanent retirement. While fans have been biting their nails in anticipation, Niles has been keeping the outcome a tightly kept secret. Until now. With the release of the final issue this past Wednesday, we finally find out which of the two will live to see another run. Steve Niles recently sat down with FANGORIA in an exclusive interview about the ending of one series, the continuation of another, and all the little bits in between.

* WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! *
Read more »