New Photos From Marvel's Iron Man 3!

Robert Downey, Jr. stars as Tony Stark/Iron Man in "Iron Man 3"

Stop what you're doing, and take a peek at four new photos from Marvel's "Iron Man 3," in theaters May 3, 2013!

Iron Man 3 Trailer Post-Mortem and Dissection!

Yesterday we got the 1^st official trailer for much anticipated April 2013 release, Iron Man 3. Unfortunately without revealing much.

Click to enlarge!

The part emotional, part action-packed teaser trailer was pure brilliance and here are a few of the moments and things you may or may not have missed during the trailer of what fans are calling Marvel’s darker take on this superhero in a story inspired by the iconic Extremis storyline by Warren Ellis and where we finally get to see the cinematic encounter with arch-nemesis, The Mandarin!

Holy Cow presents "Aghori" : EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW!! (Part 2!)

Promo art - a character study (clickable!)

The Aghori is back!

Yes folks, welcome to our follow up to last weeks most-excellent preview pages from issue #0 of the exciting and much-talked-about series.

This week we are excited to bring you the second half of this tantalizing teaser chapter from this promising new series from creators Vivek Goel and Ram V. who have got the Indian comic community buzzing since the first images were released.

What is he? Demon fighter? Hero? Rogue? Mystic? Human? … and what is his mission?

We all have to wait a while still to know the answers to all this and more, but this short story has been a great glimpse into the kind of stories and art that we can expect to see from the series.

So without any further, here is the end of the beginning as this chapter wraps up just as the #1 issue is poised to hit the shelves! With special commentary from the creators themselves, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Holy Cow presents "Aghori" : EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW!!

Teaser cover image

Greetings comic fiends and fellow fans! 

Thanks to the amazing folks over at the creative power-house that is Holy Cow Entertainment (HCE), we have an extra, EXTRA special treat for you. 

Not all that long back we had a special, exclusive interview with Ram V., the writer for the very-in-the-news series titled "Aghori" which is being teased as one of the intended flag-ship books/characters in the Holy Cow universe of comics. 

Now, we have something more and even better : the first four full pages of the Aghori #0 with commentary from both Ram and Vivek Goel on the development of the series as well as insights into the creation of this first glimpse into the world of Aghori, before the highly anticipated launch of the series itself!

And so, keep reading for all the latest Aghori awesomeness! (And remember - CLICK TO SEE EACH PAGE IN IT'S FULL GLORY!)

Special Interview : "Aghori" writer spills some beans!

All right folks! The wait is over... We have been teasing you with hints of an inside scoop about Holy Cow Entertainment’s (a.k.a HCE) next Magnum Opus – “Aghori” - and now your wait is ended!

For those of you not familiar with the basics of how this came to be : HCE was started by super-star artist Vivek Goel to be a creator owned and run publishing house, a rare feat anywhere in the world, with emphasis on always having excellent art and a style all it's own. They kicked off with the release of the horror/fantasy/therianthropy based Werehouse : Home of Monsters v1 which introduced them with a bang featuring three unique stories with different writers. This success was followed closely by the current fan-favourite re-telling of one of India's greatest saga's (from the other side of the fight) – Ravanayan. You should check this stuff out to whet your appetite before this new series that's going to be one of the flagship titles from HCE, hits the bookshelves and stands!

Read ahead now as we bring to you an exlusive rapid-fire interview with the writer of the series – Ram V. – and start to peel away the layers of mystery around the project.

The Future of Marvels Cinematic Universe post-Avengers

With the worlds first ever superhero crossover movie event -The Avengers - set to release tonight here in India (special midnight premier screening, don't bother we tried and it's sold out!), everyone is already talking about future marvel projects

The current line-up for Marvel Studios post avengers are as follows:

Iron Man 3 on May 3rd, 2013

Thor 2 on November 15th, 2013

Captain America 2 on April 4th 2014

Unnamed Marvel movie on May 16th 2014

The only spot left for Marvel Studios is May 16^th 2014 so it would be interesting to see what is more to come up. It may be possible that they go with Incredible Hulk 2 as he is really stealing the spotlight in trailers and other clips.

There are other films in development at Marvel Studios as well - Dr Strange, Luke Cage/Heroes for Hire, Black Panther and of course Edgar Write being firmly attached to an Ant Man movie. Word came out on various websites that Marvel and Disney may go with three films a year, with a two of them releasing in summer and one releasing in the fall. Thor 2’s date was pushed forward because of the same reason and if the experiment is successful they can go ahead with three films per year.

Now let’s talk about the confirmed movies and speculation/rumours

The Definitive Collection of Pre-release Avengers Footage

In the past, there have been moments in Geek Culture that saw the world take notice and stand in awe. In terms of pure excitement, the release of The Phantom Menace was one. So was The Death of Superman, which got unprecedented media coverage. The inclusion of Watchmen into Time’s list of 100 best novels still makes us proud. More recently, the Christopher Nolan Batman movies have revolutionized the way Hollywood looks at Superheroes.

Come April, it appears we have potentially another such moment in our hands.

Unless you’ve been off-planet for the last half decade or so, you are aware of the upcoming The Avengers film, which hits Indian Theatres on the 27^th of April, as a culmination of the four movies Marvel Studios has released so far.

Listed here is most of the pre-release footage from and related to the film currently available, for your nerdgasmic viewing pleasure.

Meeting Maniacs: Yogesh Chandekar and Saumin Patel (a.k.a masterminds of The Jungfrao Encounter!) + Preview Artwork!

Vinod... Agent Vinod.

We have a very special treat for you today everyone!

A one-on-one session with the brilliant creative team behind the awesome new The Jungfrau Encounter: An Agent Vinod Graphic Novel, which is a killer idea in that it does not tie-in directly to the movie but is an adventure all its own – a potential new side to franchising a character? We think it could be, so along with the interview we were lucky enough to get some brilliant art samples from the book.

(Yogesh Chandekar is the writer who cooked up this mad adventure and Saumin Patel is the brilliant artist who has so vividly brought it to life!)

1. Before we dive into the big comic news for which we're here today – would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself and how you found yourself working in graphic story-telling and comics?

Yogesh Chandekar (Y.C) : I’m an ex-advertising professional who simply got bored and left the field in 2007 to join Virgin Comics. Six months later, Virgin shut shop abruptly leaving me without a job. I had no intention of going back to advertising, so I did some freelance writing for a

In The News: Before Watchmen (Previews + Info)

I'm conflicted folks, torn even.

I thought I'd be back to writing here as with one of a many topics and comics and things I'd come across and thought of since I took some (much needed) time off from life in general. But then I came back and before I could even put in my first column, DC went and blew it all out of the water.

For those of you who have been hiding under the proverbial rock, DC Comics announced very recently that they are finally going ahead with one of the most long-waiting and controversial moves in comics – releasing more Watchmen series' and doing so without its creator, the legendary and oh-so-scary Alan Moore.

As it stands now, the new books will be several mini-series of prequels and will be tentatively entitled “Before Watchmen” and will (according to DC's updates) include the following titles and creative teams:

Meeting Maniacs: Bhanu Pratap!

First of all, a real thanks for taking out time and doing this interview. Being a hardcore fan, I'm just gonna hop on to my mission rather than being all gabby.

COMIC ADDICTS: I know many of our readers want to get right to questions about 'Munkey Thugs' and 'The Damned Book', but I think we should start by you telling us a little 'bout yourself.

BHANU PRATAP: Hey Anupam and Comic addicts, thanks for this interview. I am already feeling like a celebrity( I hope to make this interview controversial enough). But really, I am glad that you guys are making a platform as cool as this available to us, as creators and fans of the comic book medium.

Ok, I am Bhanu Pratap, a painter, comic book artist/writer, or cartoonist. I was born in Una, Himachal Pradesh, but brought up in Delhi. I am currently working out of New Delhi, working on a few group art exhibitions, and two- three comic projects(not counting the thousands I conjure up in my head everyday). And I do plan to do a lot of things in these mediums in the foreseeable future as well.

CA: You are both a writer and an illustrator. So with this in mind: who have been the major role models of your life?

BP: Is this the question where I get to totally be a fanboy and name all the artist heroes I have? Yes!!!

Well I can’t name them all here, can I?

Let me just try to name all the people who have helped me get to this point in life and as an artist.

First role model would be my elder brother, who inspired me to pick up pencil and draw Jambu (an old Indian robot superhero). Then artists/painters like Phil Hale, Francis bacon, Egon Schiele, Ashley Wood, Kent Williams, Euan Uglow, Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth. Mangakas like Naoki Urasawa, Katsuhiro Otomo, Taiyo matsumoto, Junji Ito, Atsushi Kaneko, Jiro Matsumoto (NSFW), Okama (NSFW). Paul Pope, Alberto Breccia, Hugo Pratt, Jose Munoz, J P Leon,

(Click to enlarge)

THE ALEX TOTH and THE JACK KIRBY, Moebius, Nicolas De Crecy, Nicolas Nemiri, Jason, DAVID MAZZUCHELLI, Guido Crepax (NSFW), Al Columbia... Damn it, the list goes on… maybe I can make a list and then you add it to the end note?

There are so many awesome inspiring artists/writers/ demigods out there waiting to be discovered by more and more comic book fans, and I would implore anybody who reads this to know about all these stalwarts of art history.

Oh and I would also like to point attention to sites like drawn.ca, conceptart.org and others like these as great places to find hidden gems of the art world.

PREVIEW!! The Last Airbender: The The Legend of Korra

 The Last Airbender? Not Anymore!! 

Welcome, welcome, welcome back my fellow wayfarers - today is a special previews post that I think will give some of you reasons for gladness and much joy, well it did for me at least and I'm running on the assumption that there are people who share the same tastes as me!

But I won't keep it hanging anymore and will now get right to the meat of the matter at hand:

Some of you are fans, both casual and dedicated, of a ground-breaking and fantastic little TV series called Avatar: The Last Airbender which was produced by Nickelodeon studios and aired its 61 spell-binding episodes from 2005 to 2008. All of us fans were both overjoyed and broken-hearted when the final episodes aired and brought the saga of our hero Aang's journey to a close. Well feel low no more!

Poster from Comic-Con 2011.

Many of you will have heard over the years of Avatar comics and follow-up cartoons coming up from time to time, with no real confirmation and solid proof. Then we were given some relief through a few Avatar comics that were released that were a bundle of fun of you could get your hands on them, showing us quiet (and some not so quiet) moments and interludes that are set between various points in the TV series itself.
And then there was the dark time... that horrible time when they made a movie based on the series, a movie so lame and derivative and disheartening that many felt this could even kill the franchise!

But now light shines once again in the form of a new series called The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra (click for its homepage),  I know, it's one hell of a mouthful and I wish they could have just called it what it should have been, i.e, "Avatar: The Legend of Korra" - but thanks to the very talented jackass that is James Cameron who is making it a legal issue so that his entertaining but otherwise not-so-deep movie series can keep the "Avatar" name. Damn you Cameron, why did you have to be such a douche, you know this series is more deserving and you can just call yours "The Pandora Trilogy" or some such. Ah well...

Meeting Maniacs: Harsho Mohan Chattoraj

 ComicAddicts chats with H.M.C

(Click to enlarge the awesome-ness!)

So Harsho, tell us a a little bit about yourself.

Let’s see – I’m a comic book artist ( well, I fancifully refer to myself as a graphic novelist at times ) based in Kolkata. I’ve worked in other fields too, and still continue to do so, albeit to a lesser extent these days, as I try to give most of my work energy to my comic projects. I love watching movies and TV serials, listening to music and reading books ( my favourite authors would be Stephen King,. P.G.Wodehouse and John Mortimer ), and let’s not forget comics – I prefer them to books, actually.

The man himself.

How did you get your first break in this industry?

The first break in the comic strip zone ( and they’re the strips in the newspapers, not to be confused with comic books ) came pretty early for me – I had a cartoon column and a comic strip column in 2 supplements of ‘The Statesman’ newspaper in Kolkata. That was around 12 years back, if memory serves me right.

And my first comic book break was a project for a US-based client. The comic’s name was ‘GunMetal Blues’. Strangely enough, that 80-pager is yet to be published, whereas the ones following it got published rapidly, almost immediately after creation.

Can you share some of the biggest influences on your life?

I suppose you are referring to the influences on my life in the comic world… so lemme see – Mike Mignola , Lee Bermejo, Stuart Immonen, Tony Harris, Jae Lee, J.H.Williams III , Leinil Francis Yu . The list goes on and on, but these would be the toppers any day.

What first made you want to not just be an artist, but a comic-artist?

Yes, at the start, and till around 4 years back, I preferred to be a jack of all trades, but comics had been my mainstay always, even among those other ‘trades’. And 4 years back, when I returned to my home in Kolkata from my sojourn in Bangalore, I focused primarily on comics, trying to get better at it.

Meet the Avengers! (Shattered Heroes roster)

Yeah, it’s that time of the year again, when Earth’s mightiest heroes, at least those who survived the latest summer event, are united against a common threat (Read : Norman Osborn), to fight foes no single hero can withstand. Except Batman. It’s a pity he’s in a different universe.

With the release of Avengers #19, written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by David Acuna, this new comic book day, Marvel has unveiled the full new roster of the post Fear Itself Avengers. It does seem like a pretty solid combination of Avengers mainstays, returning classic members and new recruits.

All images - Click to Enlarge

The Roster

1. Captain America (The real one)

After the <SPOILER!> non-death of Bucky Barnes in Fear Itself, it is time for the original Captain America, Steve Rogers to wield the shield and lead the team once more.

 

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEWS: Zombie Talkies!

Welcome my friends to yet another round of awesome previews and news for you as we inch closer and closer to this weekends sure-to-be-awesome Comic Con Express in Mumbai!

Today we bring you another crazy comic that will be launching at the Convention, ZOMBIE TALKIES! Starting off as a script for a film project that was originally titled “Shaadi of the Dead” in keeping with the legacy of zombie flicks like those of the legendary George Romero, the comcis creator had a moment of truth/ saw the light/ saw through the matrix (or whatever analogy you prefer) at the San Diego Comic Con which led him to see that the adventures of the un-dead can be just as big a genre here in India as they are in the west.

So with the blessings of film icon Shekhar Kapur and a zeal to share their vision far and wide, the creative team not only kept working on the movie (which is now on its way to theatres near you someday soon!) but also decided to do a comic book – a couple of young up-and-comers in the form of Harshvardhan Kadam and Anish Patel came on board and along with Vaspar Dandiwala formed the team that started bringing this graphic gore-anza to life.

With a working title of “Bollywood of the Dead” they threw themselves into their tasks like a sacrificial lamb to the zombie hordes below and now we finally get to see where all this has brought us.

NOTES AND SCREENGRABS FROM THE AVENGERS TRAILER

 So yes, finally on the 11^th of October 2011, Marvel has released the first theatrical trailer for the Avengers.

If you have been living under a rock the size of Switzerland, you can check it out down here.

• We know Nick Fury has some kind of information on an impending threat either from Loki or someone else in a sequel, which is why he starts assembling the team.

Yeah, I'll take a Royale with cheese... (Click to enlarge awesome-ness!)

• The general tone Mark Ruffalo’s Banner is being handled with seems similar to Norton’s, which will hopefully make this transition a lot smoother.

FML! (Click to enlarge awesome-ness!)

• ScarJo farts fire.

(Click to enlarge awesome-ness!)

Review: HABIBI by CRAIG THOMPSON

Who says you can't write a Graphic Novel about Islam? 

 There have been a lot of issues for anyone trying to depict Allah or his Prophet Muhammed. 

Cartoons, like that which was published in Jyllands-Posten, a Dutch newspaper caused controversy which ended up with the cartoonist having a Fatwa (holy kill order, assassination) placed on him. The offending cartoon can be found below. 

And that was from a Dutch cartoonist. 

Recently, a very important and interesting graphic novel was written by Child Psychologist Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, a Kuwaiti. The 99 series is based around the 99 names of god in Islam. 

Comic Con through Campfire and brimstone!

Campfire’s experience at the last Comic Con

At Comic Con Delhi '10

Fifteen thousand comic book fans gathered together in Delhi for India’s first ever comic con. The two-day convention was a phenomenal success, far exceeding the expectations of both the organisers (Twenty Onwards Media) and the participants.

Campfire graphic novels, for example, raked in more revenue during the first day of the comic con than in 10 days at the 2010 Delhi Book Fair.

SPECIAL PREVIEW: Jason and the Argonauts!

Welcome folks to a special preview of one of the most unique looking books to be published out of the Campfire library.

Now, Greek mythology is one of the most widely known and the stories among the most respected and iconic across the globe. From the Trojan war to the twelve tasks of Hercules to the various tales that define their pantheon of Gods, among so many more, it is a rich and powerful family of stories that have inspired people for generations.

So it is small wonder that Campfire has taken it upon themselves to make their successful adaptation works finally touch on these tales of adventure and humanity.

Recently Campfire Graphic Novels has released a graphic novel on the story of ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ and their adventures trying to win the fabled Golden Fleece. Filled with very raw looking but intriguingly quality artwork that confounds with its combination of savage beauty, it all seems to suit the tale, the time and the place.

Courtesy the good folks over at Campfire we have for you today these sneak previews of some of the final pages from the graphic novel as well as an album at the end with loads of amazing black-and-white pages in high-res for you to enjoy and feast your eyes upon!

A day in the park with Daksh's creator!

Welcome back addicts! Today brings an EXTRA special treat for one and all!

We have for your pleasure, an interview with Shamik Dasgupta, Indian comic scribe extraordinaire, and uber-brain behind the already iconic “Daksh”.

In our last interview with Shamik he promised that he would be revealing all about this new comic that has built a whirlwind of energy around it, to us here at ComicAddicts. And true to his promise, here he is in a candid conversation with us on Daksh

(Also, we have been graciously given some sample pages of spectacular art to preview especially for all of you – click them to see them in all their wicked glory!!)

(Click to enlarge!)

CA: Shamik, thanks again for taking the time to be here. If you don't mind we're in total fan-mode and will dive right into the deep end!

CA: After a stormy start and a lot of great fan-approval, Daksh has finally reared his head again! Admittedly, we couldn't have been more pleased, except perhaps if it had been sooner. Where has Daksh been so far and why did it take so long for him to come back again?

SD: Well actually there had been some disruptions after the first issue which took us some time to get back in gear, but when we did we went full steam ahead. There were speculations whether we would follow the usual conventions with Daksh and keep it for all ages or we should go completely mature on this title. Finally and thankfully Level 10 decided to establish their brand Comic Jump as a full fledged mature oriented magazine and my shackles were broken. This is possibly the most fun I ever had writing a series with no holds barred.

EXCLUSIVE! Preview of Shakespearean proportions!

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble." 

This line is one of the most iconic quotations of all time, heard and vaguely known even by those unfamiliar with its well-aged roots. 

For those unfamiliar, this is from the play Macbeth which some of us have had the fortune (good or bad is your call) of studying it in school in some fashion or other. Others have perchance seen it on stage, seen it parodied and in numerous other forms. 

We have exclusively for you good Comic Addicts out there, this exclusive preview from Campfire of their upcoming Graphic Novel adaptation of one of William Shakespeare's most respected and well-known plays, adapted by Jyoti Bhansali and illustrated by the clearly very talented Naresh Kumar.