Tag Archives: Books

The Saturday Comics: Introducing Red Hot!

28 Sep

September 28, 2015

cropped-sat-com-logo.jpg

red hot 1 2

ISSUE 1
Mike Luoma
Rhys ap Gwyn

ISSUE 2
Mike Luoma
Juan Carlos Quattordio
Bettina Fertitta

How do you prove you’re a hero?

That’s the question the new Red Hot is out to answer in Introducing Red Hot. He’s a third generation hero, just starting out, and eager to prove he’s worthy of his legacy. As you might imagine, things do not go smoothly, and a simple bank robbery has far-reaching, and deadly, consequences.

The story is fast-paced and in this age of stories that take five issues to tell what should be wrapped up in five pages, that’s refreshing. The fast pace does not sacrifice either plot or character development. I’m going to keep this review spoiler free, but you will be introduced to not only Red Hot, but the super-group The Team and various members, including Leader One, Mister Velocity, and Mind Man. In a field dominated by The Avengers and the Justice League, it would be easy to simply write a Superman analog, a Batman-type, and a Captain America stand-in to round out the cast, but each character has a distinct personality, and none are designed to look like obvious knock-offs. Effort has gone into making these characters distinct.

Mike Luoma writes the book and his dialogue shows an ear for realism. The art favors dynamic layouts and bold colors, and that just adds to the fun. The artists change from the first to second issue, and while the art is clearly different, both have a similar style, keeping Red Hot consistent from issue to issue.

The bottom line is that these are fun comics. They are serious and dramatic, but handled in such a way that you know you are in a comic book universe. So many other, hugely-selling comics strive for “realism” and lose the magic of the comic book medium. This one embraces it.

I’m ready for issue three.

Mike Luoma has written more than just Introducing Red Hot. If you like this, check out his other works. You can get Introducing Red Hot in digital or print, plus Tales of The Team, Vatican Assassin, and lots of others at Indy Planet just by clicking here: http://www.indyplanet.com/front/brand/Glow-in-the-DarkRadioComics/

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This Has To Be It! My Amazing Comic Book Idea

2 Jun

June 2, 2015

OK, I admit that I’ve had a, um, spotty track record in finding the Next Big Thing. I had no idea it would this hard to become the next Hollywood superstar producer/writer/director.

Let’s look back at my previous attempts at fame and glory but more importantly, fortune.

  • The sci-fi family epic Hamsterus! To this day I am not allowed within 100 feet of DreamWorks studios. What’s wrong with a touching film about the love between a young boy and his giant radioactive hamster? The last 35 times I asked Steven Spielberg all he said was “I have a restraining order against you!”
  • President Hobo. Wouldn’t a show about a homeless President be perfect for prime time? Even BET turned that one down.
  • Murderchimp. That was something or other about some kind of chimpanzee assassin. I’m not really sure what that was all about, but I did manage to get a rejection slip from every publisher in the English speaking world. And that includes even the self-publishing places. Here’s a direct quote from Kindle Self-Publishing: “Screw you and your stupid monkey.” For the record, Kindle Self-Publishing, Murderchimp isn’t a monkey, he is a chimp.
  • El Kabong was my idea to revive old time radio. It starred an invisible crime fighter who smashed guitars over criminal’s heads. Nobody was willing to buy it. No wonder radio is dying.

Well, that just leaves comic books, and I think that I have the perfect idea for a killer comic. And I plan to both write and draw it, despite having little talent at one and no talent at the other.

Here’s my pitch for…..

Dr. Ghost Zombie!

Doctor Bruin Z. Othello was your typical brain surgeon. He had money, fame, women, fancy jets, expensive cars, designer clothes, mansions in every city, his own fleet of ships, a pair of airlines, a pet puma and even a permanent apartment in the White House. Then one day as he was walking home from a charity Faberge Egg painting contest, he was fatally gunned down when he tried to stop a robbery in a bodega on the wrong side of the tracks.

Not wanting to go to Heaven, he stayed on Earth and fought crime as a poltergeist. However, one day, his arch-nemesis, The Doom Vulture, resurrected Doctor Bruin Z. Othello’s body as a zombie. Ghost Othello battled his own undead body until he was able to possess it and reclaim his physical form.

Now reunited and back among the living, sort of, Dr. Othello fights crime as the 2-in-1 crime fighter. When necessary, he can leave his body and fight as both a ghost and a zombie. The only drawback is that his body is still rotting, but the brilliant doctor is working on a cure.

There it is. What do you think? I am going to be famous!

ghost zombie 1

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →