The Beat has an Exclusive Advance Review of The BUNKER

Over at the Comics Beat, Laura Sneddon had the scoop with an advance review of The BUNKER. The BUNKER is my new digital comic with comics writer sensation, Joshua Hale Fialkov and it's launching August 5th, 2013.  She had this to say after reading the first four pages:

And you’re hooked, right?! I’m hooked, completely, and believe me that if you think those four pages are intriguing then you ain’t seen nothing yet! What the friends find down there, and what it means for their past, present and future is… well, you’ll see.

Laura had plenty more nice things to say so why don't you head on over here to read the rest of the article:

http://comicsbeat.com/exclusive-advance-review-the-bunker-by-joshua-hale-fialkov-and-joe-infurnari/

The BUNKER, a digital comic by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari launches Monday Aug 5th, 2013. The address for press inquiries on THE BUNKER is info@thebunkercomic.com. Or on Twitter @whatisthebunker. If you sign up for the mailing list, you'll get early access to our very first chapter. Sign up at http://www.whatisthebunker.com .

The Anchorage Press 'Enshrines' MUSH! . . .in the Outhouse!

In his review of MUSH!, Anchorage Press writer Jamie Smith exclaims,

This book should be enshrined in the outhouse as required and repeat reading

For a book like MUSH, I'm not sure there's much higher of a compliment than that! He also had many nice things to say about the book's refreshing take on talking animal comics and its authentic depiction of mushing. Jamie also talks at length about the art. Unlike most reviewers, Jamie brings a great deal of comics related experience to the table. He's taught comics and comic art at the University of Alaska as well as being a comics creator in his own right. His weekly cartoon, Nuggets, has appeared in the Anchorage Press and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner since 1988. In talking about the art for MUSH! he had this to say,

Infurnari’s artwork here is exceptional—his loose, sketchy linework using a Japanese manga quill pen lends a spontaneity to the drawings that thoroughly suits the subject matter

I could continue to quote this piece but I think it best for you to read it in its entirety here.

**Jamie Smith has also written an extended, 'redux' version of this review on his own blog, Ink and Snow. That review is available here.

It was a pleasure talking about MUSH with Jamie who brings a rare enthusiasm for the medium informed by decades of experience creating comics. Please go take a look at the review and while you're at it, go take a look at this nice gallery of Nuggets and other work by him.

Thanks!

MUSH! is HUGE in Singapore!

You'll have to forgive my overly histrionic title but when Nicholas Yong, journalist for the Singapore Straits Times writes such a lovely review for MUSH! Sled Dogs with Issues, I can't help but get a little excited. The book is available there through Books Kinokuniya. Here's the review in full:

Guy is going after team leader Dolly’s job. Buddy is lusting after Venus, who is not interested. And all Winston wants is a bit of respect, while nobody knows what Fiddler wants.

The dog-eat-dog world comes to life in this wry, offbeat tale of six sled dogs and their two owners in the remote Alaskan frost.

All six pooches have clearly defined personalities and all just want the boss to hitch them to his sled and take them on a run. As Fiddler, a mixed-breed Alaskan Husky, gloomily puts it: “Not much point being alive if we don’t run.” Much of the fun of the story lies in watching the dogs interact between the longed-for runs: These mutts are as flawed as their owners, plagued by ambition, self-doubt and self-absorption.

The outspoken, caustic Dolly, a gorgeous Seppal Siberian sled dog, gets the best lines. In response to Fiddler’s remark about a sled dog who does not run, she says: “The meaning of that dog’s life is, he should be a cat.”

There are also plenty of laughs at the expense of the hapless Buddy, a Greenland dog, whose lust for Dolly is the very definition of, erm, puppy love. He is too dense to tell that she is indifferent to him, although the owners have mated the two several times.

Infurnari’s frenetic, almost cartoonish visuals complement Eichler’s acerbic wit perfectly and make the dogs particularly expressive. The human characters almost pale in comparison.

Dog owners Frank and Patty have their own issues. Frank is determined to disavow human society, declaring that “my dogs care about me more than they do”. Exasperated, Patty has the perfect comeback: “How loving do you think your precious dogs would be if you didn’t control their food?”

There is a strange irony in seeing humans, who consider themselves highly evolved, and dogs, supposedly their best friends, bickering over the same things. Frank might as well be talking about people when he says of the dogs: “They’re never more than one bite away from backsliding into wildness.”

At the end of this charming, enjoyable tale, Frank and Patty face the same issue as the dogs: They just have to learn to get along and work together if they want to survive.

Thanks go to Nicholas Yong for contacting me and bringing this to my attention.

Comic Critique Loves Pood #1!

Louis Vitela has a glowing review of Pood #1 up at Comic Critique.com. He gives the paper 5 out of 5 stars! He had this to say about Rammy & Soupy in Dreams of Flight:

“Rammy and Soupy in Dreams of Flight” by Joe Infurnari (with characters created by Joe Infurnari and Cecil Castellucci) is a hobo tale that is by turns gut-wrenching, poignant, and hopeful. Clearly it was an attempt to unman me, to elicit public sobs of understanding and empathy while I Pood on the bus. But it failed; I went somewhere private to sob.

Thanks Louis!

Fablewood in Stores This Week!

This week the much anticipated anthology of fantasy comics, Fablewood, hits store shelves! The book is edited by William Ward and features work by luminaries, Ryan Ottley, JP Ahonen, Daniel Lafrance and many, many more. In it you'll also find my out of print minicomic, Mandala! The reviews are already hitting the web and the word is that Fablewood is not to be missed. Ambush Bug at Ain't it Cool News had this to say about the book:

FABLEWOOD is a feast for the eyes, the heart, and the mind. This fantasy anthology is done by a handful of talented artists and writers, all fully capable of telling the type of story that stretches the imagination. I found this book to be a real showcase of talent. I’ll go over the entire book briefly, but my observations don’t do this book justice

In his review of Mandala, Ambush Bug wrote this:

Due to the stylized font, I may misspell the writer/artist behind the wonderful reading experiment that is “Mandala”, but Joe Thfurhart’s story is one of the book’s highlights both in its mandala-shaped storytelling style and the cool mix of cavemen and giant robots.

Don't sweat it! The name mistake is a common one. It's the handle that I use on the Erotic Nights of the Norse Gods Bulletin Boards most weekends. Regardless, the compliments are greatly appreciated. Congratulations are in order for all involved and many thanks to editor, William Ward, for assembly such a talented roster of writers and artists.

Now what are you all waiting for!? Go out there and get yourself a copy! I promise you won't be disappointed.

Wasteland #14 Reviewed on Pop Syndicate!

There's been a few nice reviews lately! Here's another one by Scott Cederlund at Pop Syndicate.

Even if I can’t quite figure out if I’m supposed to like or despise the main character, Wasteland leaves you wanting more.

I’ll easily admit to being way behind on Wasteland. I’ve got both trade collections and need to sit down and read the whole thing from the beginning again. With that said, I enjoy the structure Antony Johnston has set up with the book, giving regular artist Christopher Mitten a break between arcs and writing a single-issue story for a guest artist. Issue #14 is one of those issues and features artwork by Joe Infurnari.

The character of Michael has been a mystery since the series began. A ruin runner (a cross between a drifter and a soldier), Michael is found in the wasteland, half dead, by a preacher and his guide. Father Wornn tries to show the stranger kindness and tries to help him while his guide Hami, familiar with the reputation of the ruin runners wants to leave Michael where they found him. Of course, a ruin runner knows a few more things about surviving in the wilderness so even as Father Wornn helps Michael, it’s Hami who is grateful and appreciative for the additional help. But when Wornn begins having visions of Michael as a demon, he may finally be realizing the truth about the ruin runner.

Johnston’s story is a fascinating look at Michael and the conflicting character he is. At various points during the issue, it’s easy to imagine Michael as either an angel or as a demon. Those classifications end up being too simple of classifications for Michael. He’s neither heavenly or from hell. Maybe the way we see him in the beginning, helpless and trapped by his environment, is more in tune with what Michael is. Maybe it’s enough to say that Michael is just a man and does just what he needs to in order to survive. And that’s really what Wasteland is about; survival.

Christopher Mitten’s artwork on this series has been a defining aspect of the title but Infurnari’s artwork is similar enough to Mitten’s while providing a whole new experience. Using tones and striplings, Infurnari produces a dry feeling book. It’s a dusty and dirty world in Wasteland and Infurnari gets that across in ways I’ve seen few comic artists able to accomplish. Mitten’s artwork produces the same effect though some minimalism. Infurnari puts a lot of ink on a page but he’s able to produce a barren feeling in his artwork that helps define the world.

As I said, I’m behind on my reading with this title but for this issue, it doesn’t matter. You can easily dive into this issue as it provides tone and texture for the whole series without being indecipherably tied into the other thirteen issues. And whether it’s about an anti-hero or a noble villain, Wasteland #14 provides a thrilling story about a conflicted character.

Wasteland #14 “Death Walks Behind You” Written by: Antony Johnston Drawn by: Joe Infurnari Lettered by: Douglas E. Sherwood

Thanks for the great review and thanks for reading Wasteland #14, Scott!

Wasteland #14 Reviewed on Comixtreme.com!

Brandon Schatz at Comixtreme.com had this to say about Wasteland #14:

Fifty-five years after the Big Wet, Michael saunters into the city of Providens with some recently acquired supplies - itching to make a trade. In short order, he finds a shop keeper who is willing to trade for some cash, but would like to know how Michael came into possession of a bible. It’s a long story, of course, one Michael doesn’t share himself - but lucky us, we’re let in on the secret.

This issue of Wasteland is another in the series of flashbacks that serve as a break in between arcs of the larger story. The idea is to develop the world from a slightly different vantage point than we are used to, utilizing the skills of a guest artist to relate a story left untold about the lives of certain characters in the book. The last time we got an issue like this, Carla Speed McNeil - and in this one we get a story drawn by the talented Joe Infurnari - artist of another Oni Press book Borrowed Time, and a webcomic entitled “The Process”. The result, of course, is something that feels different than the stories writer Antony Johnston tells with Christopher Mitten, but reads just as well as the rest of the series.

While Johnston’s story is fantastic once more, detailing more moments of survival in the (quite literal) wasteland between towns and giving us a subtle call back to the very first issue of the series - the real surprise here was just how great the pages by Infurnari turned out. I expected big things, having been wowed by his art style before, but in this issue, he accomplishes something that very few in comics can do well - telling a sequential story in which there are little to no panel separations, and making it work. Not once is there a question of where the eye should flow, as the art naturally directs to the next event. In the same token, kudos to letterer Douglas E. Sherwood. Good letterers are often overlooked - mainly because when they are doing their job right, you don’t really notice bubble placement - and in this issue, a wrong placement really would’ve provided for chaos. He did a great job picking his spots, and helping lead the eye as well. Just a bang up job by all involved.

I do say this every time I review this book: you should be picking this one up. It’s one of the best books out there at the moment, and one of the few post-apocalyptic stories that didn’t make me want to dig out my own eye with a spoon - much to the credit of Johnston. Top notch as always.

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Wasteland #14 Reviewed on "Comics Should Be Good!"

Greg Burgas' CBR column, Comics Should be Good!, recently posted a review of Wasteland #14 and it's good! Here's the quote:

One reviewer wrote that he didn’t like this comic because he can’t tell the characters apart. As long-time readers might remember, that’s a criticism I often have, although as Johnston gets deeper into his epic, it’s becoming easier to tell who’s who. But that shouldn’t be a problem with this issue, which, if you haven’t been reading Wasteland (and too bad for you!), is a good place to start. It’s an “in-between” issue, which means that Johnston tells a standalone story with guest art. Infurnari’s art is rough and gritty, which suits the desert setting of the issue nicely, and he completely eschews panels for most of the book, instead bleeding one scene into the next, which is all part of a story told as a flashback to a merchant in the town of “Providens” and which adds nicely to the mood.

The narrator is none other than Michael, the enigmatic ruin runner of the main story, and he had brought a laceless boot and a Bible to the merchant. When the man asks him where he got a Bible, Michael tells him the story of a priest and his guide crossing the desert on their way to Providens, and how he (Michael) fell in with them. It’s a nifty little tale of men overcoming or succumbing to prejudices, and ends with an ironic little twist. The problem I have with the story is that it relies on a stereotype to make its point. The priest acts pretty much how we would expect him to, and it’s a bit disappointing. The nice thing about the story is that we get to know more about Michael and his somewhat brutal past, which will doubtlessly come into play in the “present” of the book.

I encourage you give this issue a try, because it’s a good example of the world that Johnston has created, and although it’s not a perfect story, it still shows what kind of lives the people in the world live. These one-and-done stories that separate the main arcs are nice, because they allow you to get a good idea of what kind of book it is. And if you don’t like it, you’re not out a ton of money. But why on earth wouldn’t you like it? That’s just crazy!

Thanks a ton, Greg! Now what are you waiting for!? You heard the man, git out there and pick up a copy already!