Notorious banners & wallpapers

The amazing Tim Daniel was kind enough to create some web banners and wallpapers based on NOTORIOUS, the new back-up feature that will run throughout DYNAMO 5: SINS OF THE FATHER. And when I say "kind enough," I mean Tim demanded that he be allowed to create them! I make it a point never to turn down a man with a plan, so here we are:

     

Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father #2 cover

I really shouldn't reveal these covers so far ahead of the solicitations, but damn ... if you got this cover in your inbox, would you be able to just sit on it?

By Mahmud A. Asrar and Ron Riley, as always.

Notorious

DYNAMO 5: SINS OF THE FATHER is going to feature a back-up series called NOTORIOUS that will run in all five issues. It's five pages each issue, so that makes it a 25-page story in all. I've been writing short back-up stories ever since the original Noble Causes series, and I enjoy them. It's a fun writing challenge to tell a story in such a short span of pages, and in the case of Notorious, it's a serialized story which has its own unique challenges and rewards. On one hand, I don't have to wrap everything up at the end of five pages, but on the other hand, I have to have a compelling cliffhanger each chapter.

Joining me on this project are Joe Eisma (artist), Paul Little (colorist), and Charles Pritchett (letterer). Because of the small amount of pages in each chapter, I don't want to spoil too much of it, so I'm only showing one page as a teaser, but I think it's a good one.

DYNAMO 5: SINS OF THE FATHER will be on sale in June.

On Sale in June

At last, we're soliciting DYNAMO 5: SINS OF THE FATHER for a June launch. You'll get the full details when Image's June solicits are revealed, but here are the covers for the issue.

The main cover is by Mahmud Asrar & Ron Riley.

The incentive cover is by Kelsey Shannon & Marc Deering.

The Commune: reviewed

Last month, I mentioned that I'd ordered an indie horror film called The Commune, and I got a chance to watch it this week. First, I'm not even sure if I should call it a "horror" movie. Yes, it involves a few horrible acts, but when I think of a "horror" movie -- especially by today's standards -- I picture some PG-13 crap with a bunch of teenagers running away from an unstoppable killer for 90 minutes.

This isn't that kind of movie, not by a long shot.

And when I say it's an indie film, I don't mean it's indie compared to Transformers 2. I mean it's indie in the truest sense of the word. It appears to have been created by a bunch of like-minded people motivated by their love of movies and devotion to the story they wanted to tell, not by profit.

This is a mindset I can relate to, of course, having created comics for so long at Image. In fact, I was going to compare what I imagine this filmmaking experience was like to creator-owned comics, but then I realized it's not a true parallel. With Image, we're creating the comic in a grassroots kind of way, but we have the benefit of Image's production and distribution deals. So we're able to compete on the same comic book shelves as Marvel and DC. This type of indie film is really more akin to self-publishing comics, where you're doing everything on your own.

I have no idea what the budget was for this movie, but I'm guessing it was pretty small. And yet that doesn't come across on film. It's a "small" movie, in that there aren't a lot of locations and the cast is small and there aren't any special effects. But it never feels like a "cheap" movie. It's well-shot, the sound is good, and the music was particularly strong.

The story involves Jenny (don't call her Jen!), a 16-year old girl forced to spend time with her estranged father as part of a custody agreement. Her father's some kind of hippy guru and lives in a weird commune. Jenny arrives at the commune and we initially get a lot of fish-out-of-water / culture clash humor. But the humor's offset nicely by an undercurrent of creepiness to everything.

Jenny soon meets Puck, a kid who lives in the nearby town. They strike up a friendship, and spend more and more time with each other as Jenny is continually creeped out at the commune.

I won't spoil the rest of the film. As I said before, it's not what I'd call a "horror" film, per se. Maybe more of a psychological thriller. But it's also got strong elements of black comedy. It's my kind of movie, in that it slides quite comfortably back and forth between genres.

I found the high point of the film to be at the beginning of the third act, in a prolonged scene between Jenny and Puck. Elisabeth Fies, the writer / director / co-star, establishes a really intimate, genuine, raw moment between her two characters.

If you're in the mood for something different, and want to support truly independent filmmakers, check out The Commune. You can buy the DVD directly from their website.

The Slow Boil

I've got two Image mini-series that are developing very slowly, and I thought I'd show you some progress. One is a crime mini-series called POINT OF IMPACT, drawn by Koray Kuranel. Here's a page of pencils from the 2nd issue.

The other is a horror/romance/mystery mini-series called UNDYING LOVE, drawn & colored by Fran Bueno. Here's a finished page from the 2nd issue.

DYNAMO 5 teaser

Here's a look at a double-page spread from DYNAMO 5: SINS OF THE FATHER #2. Art by Julio Brilha, colors by Ron Riley.

Julio's almost finished with issue #2, and right now we're hoping to solicit the first issue for a June release. We won't make a final decision until the June Previews deadline, which is in mid-February. But as you can see from this fantastic page, (1) work is continuing and (2) we've got some very cool guest stars in this arc.