by Bone Digger

The Rising premier issue. This new series is kept short and sweet at least on it’s debut issue. Right off the bat, readers will be blown away by the top notch artistry in this one.

The issue is light on text so much will have to be understood thru visuals. It appears that the military are at war wit the DRACS but back at home, there is a peace treaty being negotiated. Of course not everyone is on board with this decision and these DRACS seems to possess some pretty lethal weaponry matched with a cold demeanor.
Back on the planet a cold emotionless reverend is intent on teaching others that GoD is absent from this world.  The DRACS existence has sort of catapulted that notion into reality and while there are some that still hang on to the notion, the Reverend is intent on showing them that there is only flesh and progress, nothing more.

At the issues end we see a new warrior “Darwin” unleashed upon firm believers that don’t get it.

This issue comes from the team at Radical comics featuring the talents of E/ Max Frye and J.P. Targete. The issue is a prelude into the new 3 part series from the team that looks to be promising and violent. Its a good thing Radical is around to keep those elements moving forward!

To read more from horrornew.net, click on the image below.

by Bone Digger

The Rising premier issue. This new series is kept short and sweet at least on it’s debut issue. Right off the bat, readers will be blown away by the top notch artistry in this one.

The issue is light on text so much will have to be understood thru visuals. It appears that the military are at war wit the DRACS but back at home, there is a peace treaty being negotiated. Of course not everyone is on board with this decision and these DRACS seems to possess some pretty lethal weaponry matched with a cold demeanor.
Back on the planet a cold emotionless reverend is intent on teaching others that GoD is absent from this world.  The DRACS existence has sort of catapulted that notion into reality and while there are some that still hang on to the notion, the Reverend is intent on showing them that there is only flesh and progress, nothing more.

At the issues end we see a new warrior “Darwin” unleashed upon firm believers that don’t get it.

This issue comes from the team at Radical comics featuring the talents of E/ Max Frye and J.P. Targete. The issue is a prelude into the new 3 part series from the team that looks to be promising and violent. Its a good thing Radical is around to keep those elements moving forward!

To read more from horrornew.net, click on the image below.

Reviews by Mark "Ambush Bug" Miller

The Rising #0

Radical Comics is the king of high concepts and here with this cross between SPARTACUS and V I think they have another high concept winner. The exposition is a bit heavy in this first issue, but necessary for the cliff hanger to be so dire. Earth has been enslaved by aliens and one man seems to be on a path to rising from slavery to overthrow his captors in gladiator style games. As usual, the art here is amazing with vivid colors and gritty landscapes. The story moves along briskly, although the aforementioned expository panels slow the pace down a bit. There's just enough in this preview issue to get me interested and excited with this premise. Chalk up another Radical book on my pull list please.

Driver for the Dead #1

It’s always good to compare a new comic to something similar and though there are shades of Cal MacDonald, John Constantine, and maybe a bit of the film ANGEL HEART tossed into this book, it reads as truly original. I was fascinated at the level of detail writer John Hefferman goes into when dealing with the realm of voodoo supernatural. I loved the Morgan Freeman-ish exorcist that started out the book and the exorcism that takes place goes into dark corners that I’ve never seen before in comics, let alone film. Leonardo Manco supplies the art, so you know two things: it’s going to be gritty as hell and it’s going to be fantastic. The art in this one is both as Manco adopts a more painterly style, but still injects grime and grit into every panel. Plus the main character is a bad@$$ driver who drives an even badder-@$$ier car, so it’s got that going for it too. Highly entertaining for those of you who like their horror ugly and fresh!

Ryder on the Storm #1

I pretty decent lead in for what looks to be a demonic noir tale. A rich businessman is found with holes drilled into his head. All signs point to a femme fatale, but something more diabolical seems to be afoot here. David Hani has been known for his cleverly paced stories which rely heavily on mystery. This hard-nosed detective tale set in what looks to be a noir-ish BLADE RUNNER / CAPRICA-like future (tech and fedoras) hold a lot of promise. Like a crack dealer, Radical continues to distribute their first issues teases in a highly affordable dollar premiere issue which lead into the series proper. Looks like they have another mark because I'm going to be seeking out RIDER ON THE STORM to see what kind of devilish things Hine has in store for us. Fans of ANGEL HEART and down and dirty detective/demon mash-ups like CONSTANTINE will want to check this out.

Reviews by Mark "Ambush Bug" Miller

The Rising #0

Radical Comics is the king of high concepts and here with this cross between SPARTACUS and V I think they have another high concept winner. The exposition is a bit heavy in this first issue, but necessary for the cliff hanger to be so dire. Earth has been enslaved by aliens and one man seems to be on a path to rising from slavery to overthrow his captors in gladiator style games. As usual, the art here is amazing with vivid colors and gritty landscapes. The story moves along briskly, although the aforementioned expository panels slow the pace down a bit. There's just enough in this preview issue to get me interested and excited with this premise. Chalk up another Radical book on my pull list please.

Driver for the Dead #1

It’s always good to compare a new comic to something similar and though there are shades of Cal MacDonald, John Constantine, and maybe a bit of the film ANGEL HEART tossed into this book, it reads as truly original. I was fascinated at the level of detail writer John Hefferman goes into when dealing with the realm of voodoo supernatural. I loved the Morgan Freeman-ish exorcist that started out the book and the exorcism that takes place goes into dark corners that I’ve never seen before in comics, let alone film. Leonardo Manco supplies the art, so you know two things: it’s going to be gritty as hell and it’s going to be fantastic. The art in this one is both as Manco adopts a more painterly style, but still injects grime and grit into every panel. Plus the main character is a bad@$$ driver who drives an even badder-@$$ier car, so it’s got that going for it too. Highly entertaining for those of you who like their horror ugly and fresh!

Ryder on the Storm #1

I pretty decent lead in for what looks to be a demonic noir tale. A rich businessman is found with holes drilled into his head. All signs point to a femme fatale, but something more diabolical seems to be afoot here. David Hani has been known for his cleverly paced stories which rely heavily on mystery. This hard-nosed detective tale set in what looks to be a noir-ish BLADE RUNNER / CAPRICA-like future (tech and fedoras) hold a lot of promise. Like a crack dealer, Radical continues to distribute their first issues teases in a highly affordable dollar premiere issue which lead into the series proper. Looks like they have another mark because I'm going to be seeking out RIDER ON THE STORM to see what kind of devilish things Hine has in store for us. Fans of ANGEL HEART and down and dirty detective/demon mash-ups like CONSTANTINE will want to check this out.

Review by pghhead

  There is a such a consistency and quality to the entire Radical line that you can pick up almost any of their special preview #0 books and not be disappointed for your $1.00 cover price.    They feature good writing and art with amazing inks and colors that give every one of their books a just-painted look.   The storylines all take place outside the superhero realm  and focus on other pop culture genres - -  western, science fiction, fantasy, crime, horror, etc.   It’s as if they already realized that it’s tough to beat Marvel and DC at their own game - - so why not offer something different and stay with it?

      I couldn’t figure out the entire storyline from the 16-page preview of THE RISING  but I can discern enough to whet my appetite for the first issue when it debuts (not scheduled to occur until Winter 2011).  The beginning of the issue features some soldiers with high-tech gear bogged down in a swamp as they await the amphibian-like alien enemy to come out of concealment and commence the battle.   There’s just a smattering of dialogue and plenty of gorgeous art as the squad captain rescues an injured comrade only to get fried and left for dead by an lightening-like ray from hovering enemy aircraft.   After page 6, there follows 8.5 pages of caption and dialogue free art, leaving the illustration to continue the story of how this  soldier is revived and later joins a tribe of Amazonian people.   He later is captured by the aliens.

        You would think you were viewing storyboards for a movie; and no wonder when you consider who the creators are   - - - E. Max Frye, a screenwriter who most recently worked on HBO’s Band Of Brothers series; and J. P. Targete , a Pixar illustrator who’s presently working on their adaptation of John Carter Of Mars).

          The aliens are apparently ruling the Earth now, with the cooperation of the female President Of The United States and other former world governments.  It seems the brother (Cyrus Jakes) of the captured captain (we don’t learn his name in this preview) has also become a willing ally of the aliens.  He does nothing to interfere with their plans for his brother, which include a trial in front of the Truth And Reconciliation Commission and subsequent assignment to a FEMA labor camp.

    The aliens provide a man of faith to visit the camp, but it’s not for spiritual support or guidance.  The reverend breaks out into profanity as he reveals his true purpose - - to break their spirit and crush their hope.   In an intentionally ironic outcome, a prisoner is permitted to prove his faith and gain freedom by beating “Darwin at his own game.”   Darwin turns out to be a behemoth mutated gladiator and the game is a bloody fight to the death.

     Yeah, you might say a lot goes down in 16 pages. The full 56-page first issue and the entire 3 issue series should contain a lot more to keep my interest.

To read the full review, click on the image below.

Review by pghhead

  There is a such a consistency and quality to the entire Radical line that you can pick up almost any of their special preview #0 books and not be disappointed for your $1.00 cover price.    They feature good writing and art with amazing inks and colors that give every one of their books a just-painted look.   The storylines all take place outside the superhero realm  and focus on other pop culture genres - -  western, science fiction, fantasy, crime, horror, etc.   It’s as if they already realized that it’s tough to beat Marvel and DC at their own game - - so why not offer something different and stay with it?

      I couldn’t figure out the entire storyline from the 16-page preview of THE RISING  but I can discern enough to whet my appetite for the first issue when it debuts (not scheduled to occur until Winter 2011).  The beginning of the issue features some soldiers with high-tech gear bogged down in a swamp as they await the amphibian-like alien enemy to come out of concealment and commence the battle.   There’s just a smattering of dialogue and plenty of gorgeous art as the squad captain rescues an injured comrade only to get fried and left for dead by an lightening-like ray from hovering enemy aircraft.   After page 6, there follows 8.5 pages of caption and dialogue free art, leaving the illustration to continue the story of how this  soldier is revived and later joins a tribe of Amazonian people.   He later is captured by the aliens.

        You would think you were viewing storyboards for a movie; and no wonder when you consider who the creators are   - - - E. Max Frye, a screenwriter who most recently worked on HBO’s Band Of Brothers series; and J. P. Targete , a Pixar illustrator who’s presently working on their adaptation of John Carter Of Mars).

          The aliens are apparently ruling the Earth now, with the cooperation of the female President Of The United States and other former world governments.  It seems the brother (Cyrus Jakes) of the captured captain (we don’t learn his name in this preview) has also become a willing ally of the aliens.  He does nothing to interfere with their plans for his brother, which include a trial in front of the Truth And Reconciliation Commission and subsequent assignment to a FEMA labor camp.

    The aliens provide a man of faith to visit the camp, but it’s not for spiritual support or guidance.  The reverend breaks out into profanity as he reveals his true purpose - - to break their spirit and crush their hope.   In an intentionally ironic outcome, a prisoner is permitted to prove his faith and gain freedom by beating “Darwin at his own game.”   Darwin turns out to be a behemoth mutated gladiator and the game is a bloody fight to the death.

     Yeah, you might say a lot goes down in 16 pages. The full 56-page first issue and the entire 3 issue series should contain a lot more to keep my interest.

To read the full review, click on the image below.

From the Comic Attack website, a mention of The Radical: Premiere The Rising preview comic. Pick up a copy today, it's only $1.

The Rising #0 (Radical)
Decapitated Dan: Very interesting idea and as always the artwork rocks!

See this and other recommendations from the Comic Attack by clicking on the image below.

From the Comic Attack website, a mention of The Radical: Premiere The Rising preview comic. Pick up a copy today, it's only $1.

The Rising #0 (Radical)
Decapitated Dan: Very interesting idea and as always the artwork rocks!

See this and other recommendations from the Comic Attack by clicking on the image below.