Welcome back to Graphic Content, Elisabeth and Josh’s weekly “book club” where we discuss a different trade paperback each Friday. We want to hear from you! Join the discussion by posting a comment below, and we’ll send you a special coupon code or gift certificate!

This week we’re tackling Fables TPB Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers, and it was quite the read. Beware: if you haven’t read the book yet, we discuss some major plot points in depth, so there are definitely SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

In March of the Wooden Soldiers, we finally get more details on the horrific invasion by the Adversary, which drove the Fables from their lands and into “Mundy”ville centuries ago. We also get a close-up on Little Boy Blue. The action starts with a flashback to the climactic battle that took place just before the last boat left for New York, carrying the final group of survivors.

Here, Little Red Riding Hood makes her first appearance, as an apparent escapee looking for sanctuary. She and Blue have a whirlwind wartime romance, but are then parted–she’s sent off to the ship, while Blue stays behind to fight. At the last minute, however, he’s ordered onto the ship–only to find that Red stayed behind. The memory of that battle, and his loss, obviously still haunts Blue to this day.

However! Shortly after this revelation, who should appear but Little Red Riding Hood? Who is an apparent escapee! Looking for sanctuary! Bigby smells a spy, King Cole eagerly anticipates some feel-good PR coming his way, and Blue sees an opportunity to recapture lost love. Only one of them is correct, and I bet you won’t be surprised to learn it’s Bigby. “Red” is actually the old witch Baba Yaga, and she came with reinforcements from the Adversary–wooden soldiers–to snatch Fabletown’s magicks from them.

Oh, didn’t I mention? There’s a huge battle between the wooden soldiers and Fabletown, and we see Snow in action as a tactical newbie. However, these soldiers aren’t just after objects–they want Pinocchio too. It seems they consider him their older brother. Which hints that they were created by Geppetto, who Pinocchio had feared dead. So much stuff to wonder about!

In other news, Prince Charming is running for Mayor, Snow’s pregnancy is progressing (as are her feelings for Bigby), and a lot of Fables die. It was actually pretty touching, and definitely action packed.

Now it’s time to discuss your thoughts:

Did you dig March of the Wooden Soldiers?

JC: There’s a lot going on in this installment! The Battle for Fabletown, an impending election, a telling of the last boat out of the Fable lands . . . it just felt a bit off for me though. Looking back, it seemed like Willingham is just building up to some bigger event on the horizon.

EF: I liked it. I’m still shocked by the violence and willingness to kill characters off. I can’t quite reconcile these Fables with my childhood favorites, sometimes! I enjoyed getting some Fables history, and I was intrigued to learn more about Little Boy Blue.

After reading this book, what are your thoughts on Little Boy Blue?

JC: I was really impressed with the direction Willingham took Blue. He’s a stand-up character on the cusp of adulthood during Adversary invasion, thrown into war–and he measures up. He seems to have a well-developed sense of honor.

EF: Blue is definitely a case of more than meets the eye. He still looks like an innocent boy–so much so that the Harlem clubs won’t let him play the blues there, because they assume he hasn’t “lived” enough–but we see his strength and vulnerability in March of the Wooden Soldiers.

What did you think of The Last Castle?

JC: I just love it when they bring a different artistic style for flashbacks. This is especially true with Fables. It just felt like I was reading a nursery rhyme. I’m not sure where I sit in the whole Red Riding Hood spy thing. I want to believe that she wasn’t, but if she’s alive, wouldn’t that be the only explanation? I hope we’ll find out soon.

EF: I am resistant to change. I love Mark Buckingham’s art so much, I was disappointed that another artist handled that tale. It felt too stiff and rudimentary. I really liked getting a glimpse of some fallen characters, however, and it added some weight to the rest of the book.

Charming is really hitting the campaign trail hard. Do you think he’ll get enough signatures and beat out King Cole in an election?

JC: He’s a charmer, and like he said, “an election is just a romance writ large, with an entire community, rather than a single woman.” I’m pretty sure we’ll see him overtake Cole in the polls and get the seat.

EF: Like I said last week, Prince Charming is all about the chase, not about the work that comes after. He’s smart and savvy, and King Cole is complacent and out of touch. I’d bet Charming takes it, but God help Fabletown once the “romance” is over!

Enough of what we think–what do you think? Post a comment below and we’ll give you stuff, honest!

It’s week 20 of our Dark Reign live blog! Okay, we’ve got seven issues to recap this week. There are some great ones in there, but also some stinkers! This week also brings some new titles into the mix. As always, we try not to give away too much in these recaps, but beware: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Holy cow! Wolverine Origins #36 is freaking sweet! I won’t let the cat out of the bag, but Logan’s worst fear has been realized.

We actually sold out of this issue just a few minutes ago, folks. Yep, this comic is even more popular than we imagined. For those of you who missed out, we’ll order some more and put them into inventory when they get here.

For the rest of you, make sure you get your pre-orders in soon for Wolverine Origins #37. It’s gonna be epic!

Dark Reign: The Hood #1 kicks off a five-part miniseries starring The Hood, one of Marvel’s newer super villains. We’ve seen him floating around Dark Reign as a member of Norman Osborn’s Cabal, and now we get a book focusing exclusively on him. Is it a worthwhile read? The jury’s still out.

There’s an interesting idea in there: The Hood started out as, well, a hood who is now possessed by a demon and lives a double (or even triple?) life. He’s an emerging crime boss on the one hand (and the lover of Madame Masque), but at the end of the night, he heads home to a crummy apartment and his wife and kid. It’s kind of like, what if Spider-Man were a crazy villain while married to Mary Jane? The fact that his name is “Parker” makes me wonder if this is intentional. I’m interested to see where Dark Reign: The Hood #2 will take this.

It just keeps on getting better. Last time we saw Elektra, she was a little the worse for wear. In Dark Reign Elektra #3, we find that Foggy took her to get patched up.

But when there’s a bounty on your head, there’s no time for recuperating! Trouble seems to follow Elektra wherever she goes! Plus, Elektra has info on the Skrulls that Norman Osborn will do anything to get. Dangerous times to be a Skrull on Earth, that’s for sure.

The art in this book is 110% awesome. Even if you haven’t followed Elektra’s Dark Reign escapades, you’ll be able to appreciate it for the artwork alone. See you back here next month for the penultimate Elektra Dark Reign tale: Dark Reign Elektra #4.

New Avengers #53 was highly enjoyable, as usual. I’ve never read any Avengers titles before Dark Reign, so it’s really interesting for me to like a new superhero team. I freakin’ love the interaction between all of the members, especially Spider-Man, who is consistently hilarious. Him and broody Luke Cage? Beautiful.

Here’s the story: Doctor Strange is no longer Sorcerer Supreme, and the Eye of Agamotto (you know, the thing that used to hold up Strange’s cape) is on the loose, seeking the next in line. The Hood, who is possessed by the demon Dormammu, is after it, and a likely candidate shows up, but the end is a real shocker–and a travesty, according to a friend of mine downstairs in the warehouse. I have a question for the better informed: who the heck is Brother Voodoo? Hopefully New Avengers #54 (or one of you) will tell me.

I feel like a kid in a comic book shop. I’ve been waiting for Spidey to show in Dark Reign, and in Amazing Spider-Man #595, it’s finally happened.

The issue starts out pretty simple. Harry and Peter living it up in Central Park. Then Peter goes off to work. After that, Spider-Man goes to work. After getting some sage advice from a mutant with crazy chops and claws coming out of his fists, Spidey decides it’s time to go after Norman. Why not pick a fight with the most powerful man in the world?

This was a really fun issue, and the developments herein really make me think that Norman has to be one of the best chess players in the world. Don’t forget to get your pre-order in for Amazing Spider-Man #596. From the looks of it, there’s gonna be a throwdown!

I’ve really been enjoying this title, but Ms. Marvel #39 was a bit of a disappointment. I’m not a fan of the manga-style art by Sana Takeda–although it’s pretty, it’s a huge change for the title. I thought we’d be exploring more of just who Karla Sofen is, but I was left a little confused at the end. Psychic disembodied baby heads need Ms. Marvel? Wha?

But let’s go back to the beginning. Osborn has set Ms. Marvel on A.I.M., trying to form an “alliance” with them. When they respond by dropping a meteor on New York City, she brings it to them in Atlanta–hard–in a gorgeous shot. It was kind of awesome to see the power the new Ms. Marvel wields, and funny to see the major differences between what she told Osborn went down and how she actually handled the situation. I guess that’s what happens when you employ criminals, Normie! I’m looking forward to Ms. Marvel #40, I just hope we see more of what makes Karla tick.

Okay, sure, Avengers Initiative #24 is a veritable cornucopia of throw-away characters. Once you get over that point, you can actually start enjoying this book.

The art is pretty good, the pacing is quick, and there’s a lot of action. I’m not too familiar with Bengal, but Typhoid Mary seems pretty freaking interesting, and I’m looking forward to seeing Constrictor in Iron Man 2, so it’s good to see him in this issue. That brings us to Taskmaster. We’ve seen him recently in Deadpool and he seemed pretty funny there, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he does as the head of the Initiative in Avengers Initiative #25. We’ll see . . .

Damn, did Avengers Initiative get good just when Elisabeth passed it on to Josh (doubtful)? What Dark Reign titles are you guys enjoying? Post your comments below!

This June, Asylum Press is going to drop the proverbial bomb with the premiere issue of Fearless Dawn. Fearless springs from the mind of writer, artist, and jack-of-all-trades creator Steve Mannion–it’s also a rollicking good time and packed full of action, fun, and tongue-in-cheek humor. I was struck by how much I took to this title, and it reminded me of the kind of offbeat tales that drew me into comics in the first place. Don’t believe me? We’ve got a full-color preview of Fearless Dawn #1 for you to look at right here. And as a special bonus, Steve and the fine folks at Asylum Press have been kind enough to share the cover to issue #2 and three pages at the pencil stage for your viewing pleasure! You’ll see them peppered throughout the interview. We at TFAW.com were lucky enough to find a free minute in Steve’s schedule, so sit back and enjoy as we talk about the dangers of Nazi mutants, his time at the Kubert School, and what it’s like to tackle everything involved in creating Fearless Dawn.

TFAW.com: We’re here today with Steve Mannion, who–amongst other things–is the creator, writer, and artist of the upcoming title Fearless Dawn from Asylum Press. Hi Steve. Thanks for taking a minute to talk with us today.

Steve Mannion: Thanks. Glad to be here.

TFAW.com: As I touched on, you’re sort of a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to making comics. I think most people would say that any one of the roles you’ve chosen to tackle on Fearless Dawn would be plenty, but you’ve pretty much taken on the whole show. What’s going on there? Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or are you a man on a mission?

SM: LOL! . . . Probably a little of both.

TFAW.com: Alright then, standard obnoxious question when you’re talking to a multi-faceted creator: Which of these roles do you enjoy the most?

SM: Definitely the penciling. It’s fresh and it’s the first time the visuals really start to show themselves. Facial expressions and stuff like that. I stick in all the balloons and sound effects at this stage also.

TFAW.com: And was there one that presented the greatest challenge on this particular project?

SM: Finishing it. You know you’re running the race and you’re tired man, and there’s that finish line . . . it seems so far off sometimes . . . don’t . . . give . . . up!

TFAW.com: Well, for what it’s worth, I’m impressed in equal measure by both the art and the writing. There’s a great tone and cadence to the speech of your characters, and the art is entirely apropos. As an example, there’s a scene in an elevator that cracks me up because of the conversation being held and, simultaneously, the actions of the other passenger on the elevator. It seems to me that, to some extent, it would be more difficult to find that balance, since you’re creating both elements. How do you approach balancing the two?

SM: Gosh, I don’t know. I just kind of got the idea and did it. Maybe in that particular case it worked out.

TFAW.com: Now I know a bit about your background as an artist, and virtually nothing about your past experience writing. Let’s tackle them in order: how did you get started drawing?

SM: Just real young, I always did it. I always had a passion for it.

TFAW.com: I’m entirely envious of your time spent with Joe Kubert. What did your time with him bring to your style that wasn’t there before?

SM: Joe instilled a hard-working, deadline-oriented ethic in us. I didn’t know you could blow deadlines. He was heavy on that. And lettering! He loved to stress the importance of good lettering. Of course, the workload was staggering, so the repetition caused everyone’s chops to sharpen up. And being around that gang of guys, all of us students, it was great.

TFAW.com: Okay (and this is just my observation so maybe I’m nuts), I am also guessing you’re a man who’s looked at Rat Fink and Kustom Kulture with more than just a passing interest. There seems to be some echoes of Big Daddy Roth in the Nazi mutants. Am I crazy here?

SM: It’s weird, I wasn’t particularly interested in that stuff per se . . . maybe just coming through that era in art and culture it just sorta morphed in there? I was nuts about Wacky-Packs, Famous Monsters, Mad Magazine, Godzilla . . .

TFAW.com: Any other major influences of note, conscious or otherwise?

SM: Hmmm . . . Howard Pyle, Frazetta, Dave Stevens, Wally Wood, EC, Gigantor!

TFAW.com: Yes! Gigantor was awesome! So let’s hop back to the writing. Where did you get your start there?

SM: Probably just coming out of the Kubert school. Drawing little stories, thinking of little stories. Frankly, I never really felt the two were separate.

TFAW.com: Have you taken on scribe duties on any projects prior to Fearless Dawn?

SM: Just some other Mannion books, the “Big Hairy Ape” comics I did with Andy Marinkovich, Strange Pirate Tales, Strange Battle Tales and Strange Fairy Tales.

TFAW.com: And after Fearless Dawn, any plans to continue life behind the pen?

SM: We’re always plugging away on new stuff here!

TFAW.com: Well I’ve got to say I think Fearless Dawn is great. I’m definitely looking forward to her continuing adventures. Can you give us a hint of the troubles yet to come?

SM: Oh man, there’s gonna be some MONSTEROUS transformations, a resurrected bird, an A-bomb experiment, and a giant Gila monster. Good clean fun!

TFAW.com: Steve, thanks so much for taking some time to talk to us today. For everyone out there in reader-land, Fearless Dawn is being published by Asylum Press and is definitely worth checking out (you can get a glimpse of the first few pages right here at TFAW.com)! Steve, it’s been a pleasure. The best of successes to you and Fearless in your ongoing adventures.

SM: Thanks again!

So what do you all think? Are you excited to read Fearless Dawn? Anyone a fan of Mannion’s previous work, The Bomb? Any questions for him that we missed? Post them below!

Dabel Brothers Publishing is adapting Robert Jordan’s immensely popular fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, into comic-book form, starting with Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time: Eye of the World, the first book in the series (not counting the prequel, New Spring.

We were lucky enough to get some exclusive concept art by Chase Conley for many of the characters: check it out below!

Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time has sold more than 44 million copies world-wide in book form, and has been available as computer and roleplaying games. It even has a soundtrack! So what do you think of it having a comic-book adaptation? Are you excited to read the series? Comment below!

Thanks for tuning back in for our Graphic Content book club. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover in Fables Vol. 3 Storybook Love, so let’s get started. As with all Graphic Content entries, there will be SPOILERS for those of you who haven’t read the book.

Sometimes you get a TPB and it has some one-shots and shorter stories. This is the case with Fables Vol. 3 Storybook Love. This volume is “book-ended” by a couple of one-shots, the first follows Jack in a flashback as he heads to the South to aid in the American Civil War. We see the extent of Jack’s bamboozle skills. He’s a sweet talker and he’s always scheming. At the end of the book, Bigby tells us a cute little story about the Barleycorn Brides.

The main part of the story focuses on a journalist who’s been digging up dirt on the Fable community. He convinced that they’re all vampires, and he approaches Bigby to get a quote for the story. Even though he’s wrong, a few Fables meet to discuss their options. Bluebeard wants blood, but Bigby has a plan. For those of you who haven’t read it, I won’t reveal too many details, but it involves Briar Rose, her sleeping enchantment, and some career-ending pictures.

The second half of the book deals with the return of Goldilocks. She’s out to finish the job she started at the Farm and a little enchantment from Bluebeard promises to seal the deal. One of my favorite things about Fables is that Willingham does a great job of fleshing out characters, their back stories, and their motivations. This book does a wonderful job of developing Bluebeard, Bigby, and Prince Charming.

So, onto the questions:

How do you think Fables Vol. 3 Storybook Love compared to the previous Fables trade paperbacks?

EF: I wasn’t as enthralled by this installment–in part, because it felt disjointed, thanks to all the “extra” tales. It didn’t feel like an engrossing, carefully crafted story, like the previous two did. Still, it had a lot of good moments, and the artwork was great, as usual.

JC: I actually liked it more than previous books. We got some one-shots that didn’t deserve full arcs and sending Bigby and White off to the Great Northwest was a good device to further their relationship. I also really loved seeing the Big Bad Wolf come out again and seeing him huff and puff. The bit with Goldilocks chasing around a mouse was classic!

In this installment, we got a much closer look at Bluebeard. Is he a bad guy, or just misguided? Were you disappointed when Prince Charming killed him?

EF: Bluebeard seemed like a guy who was wholly motivated by his own insecurities and cowardice. He tried to puff himself up with his wealth and his bluster, but he was easily cut down by Bigby and Prince Charming. I almost ended up feeling bad for him, except his own issues led him to help Goldilocks escape, and he seems to turn her on Bigby and Snow just because he felt emasculated by them. I was shocked when he was killed, but again, I had that cringing-almost-sympathetic-but-mostly-contemptuous reaction when he started begging for his life.

JC: Don’t forget greed. Bluebeard is also greedy, not only for money, but power as well. I wasn’t disappointed when Charming ran him through. I like the direction this book took us.

Bigby’s declaration of love to Snow: creepy, or romantic? Also, how do you feel about the fact that they slept together while under the influence of an enchantment?

EF: Kind of romantic, kind of creepy. I really don’t like it when the woman is telling the man that she’s not interested, but he and others “know” that she “really” is. It’s kind of disrespectful. Add that to the fact that she got knocked up without her knowledge and consent, and this is a “storybook love” that’s hard for me to swallow. It felt rushed and contrived.

JC: I don’t think it was creepy at all. We’re talking about an animal who became a man. He’s got heightened senses that he has to manage 24/7, so I though his declaration was heartfelt and actually pretty sweet (seen from his perspective). I see Elisabeth’s point about Bigby telling Snow that, but she did end up implying that she wanted him to ask her out on a date a few pages later…

Prince Charming is also a more prominent character in Fables Vol. 3 Storybook Love. What do you think of his manipulative ways? Is he a credible threat to the power structure of Fabletown?

EF: I enjoy the character of Prince Charming, but I think he’s a total scumbag. At least he owns it, in some respect, but the way he totally bowled over Briar Rose had my skin crawling. At the end of the day, I think if he somehow got the power, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. He’s good at the chase, not the day-to-day work that would actually keep him in power.

JC: Total sleazeball. His character is still pretty enjoyable to read about, though. He knows his faults, acknowledges them, and makes no apologies. You kinda gotta admire that quality. If he were to obtain power, I don’t think he’d go all dictator on the community, it doesn’t seem in his nature. I could be wrong about that, though. I guess I’ll just have to keep reading.

So, what did you all think of Fables Vol. 3 Storybook Love? Join the conversation and we’ll send you a gift certificate or coupon code for extra savings!

We’re back for another exciting installment of our Dark Reign “live blog.” If you’re new to the blog, Josh and I have been reading–and recapping–every Dark Reign title and tie-in each week, and posting a new review every week! Some books we’ve liked, some we haven’t. But this is week 19, and frankly, I don’t see the end of the story arc coming soon. Who’s gonna take down Norman Osborn and his cabal?

There are five comics to review this week, and while we try not to give away too much in these recaps, beware: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Frank Castle continues his assault on crime in Punisher #5. His target: The Hood. I’m not so sure I like the way he infiltrates the ultra-secret Hood base of operations. It doesn’t feel Punisher-y enough.

Other than that, it’s a pretty okay issue. With one of his former allies working against him now, I think this series is going to heat up soon! There’s a nice little scene on page 26 with Norman shaving, and I’m finally starting to come around to the notion of The Hood being a viable villain. Get this issue and let me know what you think. I’ve had mixed feelings on it so far, but I’m sure as hell looking forward to Punisher #6 now.

Agents of Atlas #5 was different from past issues–no flashbacks, and thus no second set of artists. While I missed getting more back story on the Agents’ past adventures, the main story had plenty of excitement to offer!

Agents of Atlas is a little corny at times, but I’m really enjoying it. In this issue, the Agents, who are masquerading as bad guys, get into it with the New Avengers! Turns out they want to be beaten, so they don’t have to go through with supplying Norman Osborn with weapons. It looked like the New Avengers were catching on for a moment, but thankfully that passed, and we got a rock-’em, sock ‘em fight scene! I’m eagerly looking forward to Agents of Atlas #6.

Skrull Kill Krew #2 is kind of a throw away issue for me this week. The art’s still great though . . . so it’s a fun read for that alone. Robinson, DiSalvo, Getty, and Mossa are all earning their money this week.

The Krew heads to the rodeo and wouldn’t you know it . . . there are Skrulls in them thar bleachers! A certain feral mutant shows up and lends his claws to the event, and Moonstomp comes back into the picture.

Not that I expect much, but I don’t really know where this book’s going. We’ll see next month in Skrull Kill Krew #3.

I took over reading Dark Reign Fantastic Four #3 for Josh this week, since most of the Dark Reign comics out yesterday were originally his titles. So I was a little confused when reading this. Not sure what it’s supposed to be. Reed is investigating alternate universes to try to troubleshoot what went wrong during the (Marvel) Civil War, and the other three teammates are trapped in collapsed space-time. Meanwhile, kids Franklin and Valeria are home alone, and Norman Osborn is trying to shut the Fantastic Four down!

This book was amusing in places, but it felt like a mishmash of jokes the writer has wanted to tell and pinups the artist wanted to draw. It’s not terrible, but it’s definitely filler. We’ll see if this changes in Dark Reign Fantastic Four #4!

Finally, we’ve got Thunderbolts #132. Widow’s spying on her teammates, Paladin in tights, and a sociopathic puppy-killer with a death fixation.

I’m trying not to give too much away here…this issue is a little above-par with how the series has been going recently. If you’ve been reading Thunderbolts, you should dig this issue.

See you back here next month for Thunderbolts #133.

What did you think of this week’s titles? Want to speculate about Thunderbolts? Excited for H.A.M.M.E.R. to storm Avengers tower next month? Let us know below.

Many of you have already heard about our fantastic Spring Cleaning Sale–and from the look of our inventory, a lot of you have been taking full advantage of it! We’ve been selling out of so many items that we added more than 300 new items today, and you’ll save 70% off the whole lot!

Check through our Spring Cleaning page to browse hundreds of new items: mostly graphic novels and comics, plus some statues and collectibles. We have a limited supply of these items, so if you’ve got your eye on something, make sure to buy it now!

Who’s already cleaned out our Spring Cleaning Sale? Anyone want to share their favorite purchase? Post below!

The Umbrella Academy, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, hit the comics scene in 2007 like a psychotropic bomb. Dominated by offbeat characters, nonlinear storytelling, and art resembling a vivid acid flashback, the first miniseries, Apocalypse Suite, won the Eisner Award for Best Limited Series in 2008 and was wildly popular, to boot. Fortunately, hungry fans just got to feast on The Umbrella Academy: Dallas, the second miniseries, which just released issue #6 on May 13.

I was lucky enough to interview Gerard–also very well known for his band, My Chemical Romance–about Dallas, the upcoming hardcover edition, the proposed Umbrella movie, and his next comic book series for Dark Horse. Read on, but be warned: there are multiple spoilers for issue #6, so if you haven’t read it yet, be careful!

TFAW.com: Thanks for taking some time to talk with me!

Gerard Way: No problem!

TFAW.com: So, what led you to creating The Umbrella Academy and working in comics?

GW: Before I started the band, I spent a lot of years trying to break into comics, and eventually finding work in toy design. What happened was, the band started to really take off, so I had to quit all my jobs–all my freelance gigs and everything–and I really just missed it. I missed the whole world, and creating stuff like that. I missed the whole thing–the art of it, and the scripting, and the possibility, so that was the whole motivator.

TFAW.com: What’s your favorite part of writing The Umbrella Academy?

GW: I think my favorite part is that the comic is so loose. I like being able to surprise myself, and Scott [Allie, Dark Horse Comics Senior Managing Editor], and sometimes we have conversations where we surprise each other, and I love that part. I’d say, “Scott, this is the rough overview of the six issues,” and then by the time we’re at issue three, things have already changed, in a really good way, and I’ve got a whole new opening now. I never knew how I was going to end Dallas. I knew the facts, I knew what would happen, but I didn’t know how it was going to end, the specifics. There was all this weird stuff, like the Vietnam thing in issue #5, stuff like that was able to happen, to occur to me only as I’m writing the script, and that’s my favorite part.

Sending this stuff to Gabriel, and then seeing it come back and come to life, that’s actually the most rewarding part. I would get really excited whenever my email inbox would show something of his, and then I’d get to open it up and see what he’s done, and it’s always amazing.

TFAW.com: Cool! What made you choose JFK for the second series?

GW: You know, Dallas was going to be a later story–I wanted it to be a one-shot, at a certain point. I was like, “I just want this really crazy one-shot issue that’s maybe 40 pages long, that involves the characters having to assassinate JFK, and then being torn about it.” That was the original idea, and then what we realized is that we had a lot more. There’s so much more going on with these characters since the first series, and there’s so much more happening with their lives, that we can make a whole six issues out of it. The JFK thing really only takes up a quarter of their story in the series, but there’s so much more to it. I guess we could have done just that story in one issue.

Dallas was supposed to be the series that happened later, after we got through some more A-plot stuff, like where are the other kids? What really happened to Hargreeves? What happened to the Horror? Things like that. But Scott had said, “I think this is how you follow it up, you follow the first series with something that’s very different and kind of severe,” and that’s what we did.

TFAW.com: Are you still going to pursue those other storylines? I know everybody wants to know what happened to the Horror.

GW: Yeah, absolutely. In fact, right now, as soon as Gabriel is done with his other commitments and taking a break–I think Gabriel deserves a really nice vacation–as soon as he’s done with that, we’re gonna go ahead and get into some more of the A-plot again, which is, what happened to the other kids, and what’s going on here. So by the time we get to the fourth series, we’ll be deep in another plot.

TFAW.com: In Dallas, it seems like Spaceboy has kind of lost it. Was that because of the trauma of Apocalypse Suite, or Allison being injured?

GW: I think there is so much disappointment in that guy’s life, and I think he’s his own biggest disappointment. I think he just lost it because he apparently saved the world, but nothing seemed to have gotten better. Nothing’s different, for him, and that’s usually the case, but you never see that when you’re reading Superman. He’s always saving the world, but the next week, it’s the same thing, and you never really see that affect the character’s personality.

I think the biggest thing is, he’s trapped in this [Martian gorilla] body, so, now that’s they’ve saved the world, it’s time to celebrate and move on, and go back to their normal lives, and he can’t really do that.

TFAW.com: Yeah, because he’s a gorilla!

GW: Yeah! He can’t move on at all!

TFAW.com: It’s seems like he can’t move at all–he’s gained all that weight, like he hates the body.

GW: Exactly. So he’s stuck in this situation and body, and he can’t move on from it. But oddly enough, neither did any of the other characters. They didn’t go back and have normal lives.

TFAW.com: Well, how much of normal lives did they have before?

GW: Yeah, exactly.

TFAW.com: We saw more of Seance in this arc. Do you have any plans for him in the near future?

GW: You know, Seance is a character that I’m really happy has delivered the goods in terms of what he needed to be as a character. He played a very small role in the first series, up until the end, and now it’s nice to see that he’s actually kind of–that’s how I always wanted to use the character. He ends up using his personality more than his abilities, but I’ve always wanted to get more of him in there, and I found in this series that I could do that.

Me and Scott talk all the time about potentially doing a series with Seance, because of all the characters, it felt like he was the one that had the most room for other stories–he’s got this lost 10 years that were probably just a big party for him. But I’m sure there’s other things involved, because he’d lost his allowance for such a long time, when he split from Hargreeves, and he’s the kind of guy who’d do a lot of weird things to survive.

TFAW.com: Well, he had a kid back in Vietnam, so does he possibly have an adult child now, in the present?

GW: That is something I think we’ll see, if not in the next series but in the one after–the issue is definitely going to be addressed. Him having a kid in Vietnam is actually one of those interesting things where, it started off as something very simple, like, I just wanted him to have had a kid, I wanted to show the passage of time. Also, I’m assuming that a lot of people think that Seance is gay, and I wanted to play with that notion a little bit, too, because I’m not sure that he isn’t, but that doesn’t mean he can’t have a kid. So, you never know how that happened.

So that’s another interesting subject, but I really, out of all the characters, I thought, “It would be the most interesting if Seance had a kid,” and then the fallout of that we’ll just deal with later. I don’t know what the repercussions of that are, but I wanted to show that at least a good three years have passed.

TFAW.com: Well, we didn’t see a lot of Vanya in Dallas. Is she ever going to be forgiven by the family? It seemed like Rumor was opening up a little bit.

GW: Yeah, I feel like Rumor climbs into bed with her because she realizes that, “Hey, we all do horrible things. I did something horrible, and who am I to judge?” I think that they’ve kind of come to peace. So we’ll see a little more of Vanya and Rumor together next time. And potentially, Space might be on his own, Space might be with somebody else, so I think the team is going to be really split off now in different directions, and that should be pretty interesting.

TFAW.com: Does Vanya have any powers, besides being used as a weapon of mass destruction?

GW: The interesting thing is, by the time we get to see her again–and as the writer, I’m not even sure when that is, that could be series four or series five–she does in fact have the ability to play that violin and make things happen, so we’ll hopefully get to see that.

TFAW.com: So, is Number 5 always going to be trapped in his childhood body?

GW: As of right now, yeah (laughs). That’s another thing about the comic that’s really fun. I don’t know! Who knows what might happen there? As of right now he’s absolutely trapped in that body. I think now that people are so attached to that character, that if I had done anything with his body it would probably be disappointing. Because it’s not like he’s a precocious kid; he’s 65 years old or something. And I think that’s more interesting than just a precocious kid.

TFAW.com: He actually reminds me of Damien from The Omen. Was that on purpose?

GW: (Laughs) I think any sinister child is going to come off like that. If and when the [Umbrella Academy] movie ever does come out, it will be interesting to see how the actor–whoever they get to play that character–acts, because he’s not just a super-genius boy. You have to pretend that you’ve lived an entire lifetime of mostly murdering people, and you’re smarter than anyone in the room. It’s also been hinted at that Number 5 has had lots of sex and lots of drugs, so he’s someone who’s had a very full and extreme lifestyle.

TFAW.com: With future storylines, are you going to go chronologically from Dallas, or are there going to be more flashbacks and flash-forwards?

GW: By now, I think we’ve got this weird–I don’t want to call it a formula–but I like to feel like the flashbacks, the history, while it doesn’t exist until I write it, it’s there when I need it.

A really great example is the flashback at the beginning of issue #6 of Dallas, with the diorama of the solar system. This series is really about Number 5, so I wondered, what’s an example of something from back when he really was a child, that could really give the reader the sense of where his sense of rebellion comes from, where his sense of self-purpose comes from. Or at least an example of the rebellious nature he used to have. I wanted the story to be about his strong personality, his rebellion, so that’s why that scene was really important to me.

TFAW.com: Who is the third series going to focus on, then?

GW: That’s kind of up in the air right now. I knew going in that series one was about Vanya, and series two is about the Boy, and now it’s going to be kind of interesting, because we’re now going to see some other characters who are totally new to us, and I don’t think the book’s going to revolve around them, so it may revolve around–I don’t think it’s going to be Seance, but it’s gonna revolve around a main character from the group.

TFAW.com: Do you think it’s going to include the other kids from the mysterious birth?

GW: I think that we will see that more around series four.

TFAW.com: I was just wondering, with Spaceboy mentioning them at the end of Dallas, if they were going to be in the next series, or if you were just seeding it for future story arcs.

GW: He’s going to be actively looking for them, and he’s going to find some things out. I just don’t know how much yet.

TFAW.com: Is it safe to assume that the other kids will have powers?

GW: I would naturally assume that they also have powers. It’s weird–it’s not like I don’t want to give away stuff, it just hasn’t been written yet, which is a good thing.

TFAW.com: Are there going to be any MySpace Dark Horse Presents stories?

GW: I think Scott’s trying to get one more out of me. It’s really difficult with doing the album–that’s actually the hardest part, I’ve been doing this album. When I did the first Umbrella Academy series, I finished the pitch, and I sent that off, and then I couldn’t touch it until, I mean, even when Dark Horse called to do the series, I was literally in the middle of tracking, and I said, “I can’t work on this book until after I’m done with this record,” so it will be the same situation here. It’s very hard to do comics right now, even though there are some exciting things I’d like to do: doing an MDHP story, doing a one-shot, an Umbrella Academy adventure, all kinds of stuff. Fitting it into my schedule is the hard part.

TFAW.com: What about the Umbrella Academy movie? What’s happening with that?

GW: We just had a weekend of meetings, which was awesome. Writer Mark Bomback flew out from New York, and he met Scott and I here at the house, and we had a full day of meeting about the first film, about the script, about the things he was going to add to the mythology, things he was taking away, just making a really solid film out of it.

At the second meeting, we met with Universal and some people from the studio, and Mike Richardson and Scott and some people from Dark Horse Entertainment, and talked about the film itself and Mark’s script.

At this point, we’re waiting on a script from Mark–he’s finishing up some other commitments and then he’s going to get into it–and then we’ll move from there.

TFAW.com: Is it going to be an adaptation of Apocalypse Suite, or is it going to be a new story?

GW: Thankfully, it’s an adaptation of Apocalypse Suite. It doesn’t even involve that many changes. The only changes are stuff Scott and I had wished I’d thought of. It’s kind of like, “Oh, that’s cool. I wish I’d thought of that.”

TFAW.com: So it’s like your second chance.

GW: Yeah! And there are also some scenes that didn’t make it into the first trade because we ran out of room that will now make it into the movie.

TFAW.com: Oh, that’s cool. So it’s like a little bonus.

GW: Yeah, there’s a little bit of fan service in there, too, because by the time the film comes out, series three and four will already be out, so readers may see things from series three in the movie, which may excite them.

TFAW.com: Cool! What did you think of the Umbrella Academy PVC set?

GW: I loved it. I got a test run at my house, with the packaging, and after that they sent a case of them, and I opened them up, and I couldn’t believe how well done they were. I guess I should have believed it, but I’ve never seen PVC this good and this detailed.

TFAW.com: The paint jobs are really cool, the way they reproduced what was in the comics.

GW: Yeah, I think that’s my favorite thing. Oddly enough, the initial prototypes were painted by a woman I used to work with at the old toy studio I used to freelance at, before I had to quit for the band. She’s the one responsible for making the paint jobs look like Gabriel’s art.

TFAW.com: Do you have a particular favorite of the figures?

GW: I think my favorite is probably a tossup between Kraken and Space, because Kraken has some really interesting things going on with his paint job, there’s a weird little detail with the hair, certain shadows on him, and Spaceboy obviously has a lot of the same treatment. So the characters with the most detail colorwise in the comic have crazy detail in the figures.

TFAW.com: The Umbrella Academy: Dallas hardcover is coming out in September–what are the extras in that?

GW: We’re locking those in right now. The plus and minus of this whole series was, Gabriel and I had to become so tight of a unit, that I honestly did a collection of just three or four drawings for this series. Gabriel has such a better handle on the world that he does all the design work now–a lot of the time, right on the page. I would give him a description of the character and then I would see it right on the page. I don’t think he worked out too much on a sketch pad beforehand. Little bits, like Hazel and Cha Cha, he spent a little time on, and Carmichael he spent a little time on; characters like that. But that was it. So there’s very little art from me this time, so I don’t know what the extras will actually be.

TFAW.com: No apple pie recipe?

GW: Yeah, exactly (laughs).

TFAW.com: So, if you could have a crossover between The Umbrella Academy and any other comic, from any publisher or era, what would you pick?

GW: I think a really interesting crossover would be either Doom Patrol or Challengers of the Unknown. That’s one of the unspoken influences on the comic, those really old ’60s Challengers of the Unknown comics. There’s some crazy stuff that happens in the books.

TFAW.com: The members of The Umbrella Academy have powers, but they’re not really presented as a traditional superhero team. Do you consider it a superhero comic?

GW: I don’t consider The Umbrella Academy to be at all a superhero comic. If anything, series two pushed that even further away. With series three and four, it’s going to get even further away from what’s traditionally perceived as a superhero comic. I don’t know what it’s going to be considered as–maybe a post-modern science fiction drama? But that’s what I feel it’s moving toward. There’s not even a lot of costumes going on. I think of the comic more as an adventure comic.

TFAW.com: You and Gabriel Bá are a pretty good team, but are there any other artists you’d like to work with?

GW: Yes! Actually, the next series I’m doing with Dark Horse, I’ll be working with Becky Cloonan, and she’s someone I’ve been wanting to work with awhile. I kinda want to keep it in the family, and to me, that’s Gabriel, Fabio Moon, Vasilis Lolos, Becky, Rafael Grampá–all the guys who did the 5 anthology. I’ve had a really strong connection with them, personally, and I want to work with all of them. Those are the guys and girls that excite me the most–that kind of tight little group. They all kind of found each other. I think that eventually I will have worked with all of them–that’s what I’d love to do.

TFAW.com: So you think you’ll do any artwork yourself, or will you stick with the writing?

GW: Right now I’m going to stick with the writing. As far as concept stuff into the comic, Becky has already nailed it. I expected that I would do the same thing as I did with Umbrella, which was create a ton of drawings, but it’s been really hard with the record so I haven’t had a chance to do that. But I did get to build a model, which was really fun for me, and this was the first time I’ve ever built a piece of reference for an artist for a comic.

TFAW.com: What was it?

GW: I can’t actually say yet, but everyone will get to see it eventually. It’s this car model. It’s very integral to the comic series I’m doing, in the way that Kaneda’s bike was kind of a character in Akira, this car is the same type of thing. When I built the model, it took me about four days to get it to look right and do all the masking and detailing and stuff, but I wanted to get it totally exact to the way it should look in the book. It’s going to be a really interesting thing when we finally do a collection, to have photos of it.

TFAW.com: This project with Becky, is this the next Umbrella Academy series, or a one-shot?

GW: Oh, this is a totally new series.

TFAW.com: Oh, okay!

GW: Gabriel is always going to be the one doing Umbrella. Right now, he’s taking a break, and I didn’t want to give him something else to do. Gabriel and I have both decided that if we’re working on something together, it should be Umbrella.

TFAW.com: What’s the new series? Can you talk about it?

GW: I don’t know if I can yet, to be honest with you. Once I finish writing my lyrics for this album and start doing my vocals, I think then I’ll be able to sit down and really plot it out. I think it’s going to be a seven to eight issue series. I need to lock down the plot points so I can talk about it when people ask.

I’m writing it with a partner, who is an old associate of mine. We kind of wrote it together when we used to tour together in the van. I think that was the genesis for a lot of the slang and the locations in this comic. But it’s by no means autobiographical at all. It’s a really crazy sci-fi action comic, conspiracy story. So that’s going to be me with another writer, and Becky is the artist. And I think Dave Stewart is gonna color it.

TFAW.com: Well, I guess that’s the end of my questions! I want to thank Gerard for taking the time to talk with me, and he’s definitely piqued my interest for the new comic series.

So who has finished reading Dallas? What do you hope to see in future Umbrella story arcs? Will you check out Gerard’s new comic book series, even with a different artist? Anyone wondering how Gerard is on the phone (he was really nice)? Post your comments and questions below!

Welcome back for the second installment or our Graphic Content book club. A lot happened in the second in Fables Vol. 2 Animal Farm, so let’s get started. As with all Graphic Content entries, there will be spoilers for those of you who haven’t read the book.

The second chapter of the Fables story takes us upstate with Snow White, Rose Red, and Colin (one of the three little pigs). Snow and Rose have some issues they need to work out, and Snow’s annual visit to the Farm–where the non-human Fables live–is about due, so two birds, right? Wrong.

When the trio arrives at the farm, they find that the Farm Administrator has quit (read: been deposed) and the animals have had enough of being relegated to living at the farm. Their argument is that they’ve been prisoners for centuries and now it’s time to take over Fabletown and then make their move against the Adversary. Plus, it looks like Rose Red has joined the revolutionaries and is acting against her sister. Ulp.

But not all the farm animals are convinced this is the greatest idea, and remain loyal to Snow. Reynard the Fox steals away to warn Snow about the impending uprising, and the two attempt to warn the rest of the Fable community and quell the uprising.

And they do . . . until Goldilocks–a rabid revolutionary, and the would-be leader of the Fables–shoots Snow in the head. Thing is, she freaking survives, in part because the entire world believes in the “myth” of Snow White! We find out that with some help from the loyalists, Bluebeard, Charming, and Little Boy Blue gathered up all the offenders and Snow was rushed to the hospital. Turns out that since everyone keeps making movies and reading stories about her, she can’t die–although she is seriously, and perhaps permanently, injured.

The ringleaders are executed (the remaining little pigs) and other offenders are thrown in Fable jail. When Snow emerges from her coma and months of recovery, Rose visits her to talk about the fate of the Farm–turns out she only pretended to join the uprising to try to save Snow White’s life. However, she’s still upset at her sister, and finally spills: she’s mad because Snow left her to marry the prince, and because while the world still reveres Snow White, Rose Red has been relegated to the dusty corners of folklore. Her solution: to take over as administrator of the Farm–turns out, she’s damn good at it.

So, onto the questions:

What were your overall impressions of Fables Vol. 2 Animal Farm?

EF: I was really struck by how violent this tale was–Snow having to shoot Shere Khan, the graphic shooting of Snow, and the beheading of the pigs. The idea of these Fables living in “the real world” is one thing, but the gore and deep-running emotions kind of shook me. It wasn’t gratuitous–it was used really effectively–but it was still disturbing. We’re so used to the Disney-fied versions of these tales, but if you look back, the original fairytales were pretty gory. For example, at the end of Snow White, in some versions, the evil stepmother is forced to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she drops dead–and in some versions she’s actually Snow’s mother–so it’s fitting, I guess.

JC: I’ve been wanting to see more about the Farm ever since they hinted about it in the first issue. When you open it up to that two-page spread on what the layout of the Farm, it’s pretty much what you expect so see from a Fable Farm: a few castles, barn, a giant shoe, a pumpkin house, and what looks like a Smurf’s house.

How valid do you think the Farm Fables’ concerns were? Were they right to try to revolt?

EF: The thing is, they did have a point. The non-human Fables are confined to one space for centuries, because the other Fables are afraid of being found out. Plus, Snow did seem completely oblivious to their issues–like she’d never given it a second thought. It highlighted some serious problems with how Fabletown rules itself–even though they’re living in the modern world, they’re stuck in a monarchy, and the non-human Fables are thought of as serfs.

JC: I can see why the residents of the farm felt like second-class citizens, but Snow did say that 90% of Fabletown’s moneys go to running the Farm. That’s a huge disparity. That and they get to live the quiet life while the human Fables get to find dead-end jobs and pay taxes. In the end, I think they had legitimate grievances, but I don’t think a revolution was quite necessary.

Did Rose’s issues with her sister, Snow, ring true? What did you think of Rose’s idea of being the administrator for the Farm?

EF: It’s a common issue between siblings or best friends, I guess–feeling abandoned, dealing with sibling rivalry. Seeing Rose’s pain and anger over being forgotten and overlooked went a long way to explaining her heinous actions in the first Fables story arc. I thought making her administrator of the Farm was pretty pat, but it looked like she was going to be good at it, and that it would be good for her. Plus, the dragon-bird was frickin’ rad!

JC: Red really grew up in this arc. She took up with the revolutionaries to spare her sister’s life and took charge at the Farm while White was out of commission. It would be hard to be the kid sister of the most famous Fable, so I think the responsibility of the Farm (and the physical distance from her sister) will be good for their relationship.

Fables Vol. 2 Animal Farm has some obvious parallels to George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Did Bill Willingham pull it off?

EF: Ah, of course the pigs are the instigators–again! I thought Willingham executed the more sophisticated elements of the plot well. The ideology and growing fanaticism of some of the revolutionaries (especially Goldilocks) was well done, and they ably showed the hypocrisy that was mixed in with their ideals. I don’t know if simply stopping the revolt and putting in a new administrator is the answer–especially since the members of the Farm disliked that they had a human administrator before, instead of someone from their community–but Snow’s calm, “Kill the barn” and the dragon incinerating it was pretty badass!

JC: Agreed. Goldilocks freaking lost it. The revolutionaries are going to need the help of all Fables if they ever have a hope at reclaiming their lands. It seems that their intent to overthrow Fabletown was a bit myopic and would ultimately endanger every Fable in the process. It seems like their goals of equality quickly spun out of control and the leaders of the revolution only hungered for power at the end.

So, what did you think about Animal Farm? Let us know what you thought, and we’ll send you a special coupon code or gift certificate!

We’ve got five Dark Reign issues to recap this week. Whew! New titles are starting to get pulled into the fray, as you’ll see this issue. Of course, we try not to give away too much in these recaps, but beware: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

After getting caught on camera killing civilians and cops in last month’s issue, Dark Reign Hawkeye #2 picks up right where we left off. Hawkeye (Bullseye) then proceeds to target the film crew and chopper pilot.

Without giving too much away, this issue is pretty fantastic! H.A.M.M.E.R. has ultimate authority, and it’s using it! Rather than kicking Bullseye off the New (Dark) Avengers, Osborn decides to point the sociopath in a direction that would be more productive toward H.A.M.M.E.R.’s goals. Also, we find out that Bullseye is just as gonzo as Osborn ever was.

Great issue. Diggle has a handle on this one, folks. See you back here next month for Dark Reign Hawkeye #3.

I was looking forward to reading Savage She-Hulk #2, but I’m not sure if I’m going to like this series. I missed out on issue #1, which might be part of the problem–we sold out instantly–but I can’t help but think this comic was long on exposition and short on action and adventure.

Quick recap of the story thus far: Lyra, the daughter of Thundra and the Hulk, has traveled from an alternate-reality future where men and women are at war with each other. She’s doing the whole “Hulk SMASH!!” thing while seeking “the greatest hero of the era,” and Jennifer Walters, the original She-Hulk, is here to stop her. The character of Lyra, riddled with her own demons and self doubts, has potential, but this miniseries is already half over, and it feels like it hasn’t really started yet. However, there’s a cute backup story, a reprinted tale of the original She-Hulk (drawn by Alan Davis!), that I really enjoyed. I still have hope for Savage She-Hulk #3–meet me back here in a month and we’ll chat!

So a few pages felt rushed, but for the most part, Black Panther #4 was pretty good. We’ve been waiting with bated breath for Shuri (T’Challa’s sister) to meet the Panther God, and she finally comes face to face with the deity in this issue! The verdict? She declares her worthiness and in her arrogance, proves herself unworthy to take up the mantle of The Black Panther. Highlight for spoiler. Pretty shocking to say the least!

T’Challa clings to life and battles the armies of the dead for the chance to go back and save his kingdom, his people, and his wife. Also, Storm makes an appearance at the end that will knock your socks off. Paul Mounts is earning his money–we’re getting some great coloring from him. See you back here next month for Black Panther #5.

Before I recap Secret Warriors #4, I have a confession to make: I don’t care about Nick Fury or any of his associates. I know this in blasphemy in some circles, but I have no history with the guy and this book just isn’t my cup of tea, so Josh will be taking over the reins for me next month (I agreed to start recapping Dark Reign Young Avengers, before I read the first issue–shudder.

In this issue, ol’ Fury is recruiting some of his old associates from S.H.I.E.L.D. to join his Secret Warriors, while Daisy and Sebastian trek out to Australia to recruit another potentially intriguing member. Me, I was excited to see Gateway! And he talked! Does he do that now? Anyway, the story will continue in Secret Warriors #5 next month!

Dark Reign Young Avengers #1 is an exploration of a group of youngsters who band together to do some good. It’s also not very good. Since the real Young Avengers haven’t been seen since the final battle of the Skrull Invasion, someone needed to step into the shoes of the Young Avengers, right? Wrong.

Sure it’s cool to see “heroes” with new powers and the art is pretty slick in this issue, but the sum of the parts do not equal the whole. A girl making a robot racist and giving his “pleasure circuits” a workout? Another melting an old woman? Not my bag of chips. I’m officially passing this one off to Elisabeth. She’ll give you her take of Dark Reign Young Avengers #2.

So, what do you think about the newer titles in the Dark Reign crossover? Are they diluting the story too much? Post your comments below!