So, Nick Bradshaw's kind of blowing up right now, due to his work on Wolverine and the X-Men. But, I was first exposed to his work back in 2006, on a Wildstorm series, the appropriately titled Rokkin.
Written by Andy Hartnell, pencilled by Bradshaw, and inked and colored by Jim Charalampidis, Rokkin tells the story of Arness, a talented butcher, who lives in a medieval fantasy land.
Though adored by his neighbors, he's a simple, humble man, whose only real desire is to marry his lady, and give her the things she deserves.
..home.
In order to meet his goal, he works by day as a butcher, and by night as a woodsman, gathering lumber for the warrior, Rothian. But, one evening, he is called upon to assist Rothian with a new job, one that promises greater rewards.
Wait, Grizzlok? What's a--
-- oh.
After using his knowledge of animal anatomy to handily disembowel the demon-bear, Arness is rewarded with jewels, enough to give his wife a ring, marry her, and relocate them far away from the evil encroaching on the land.
Unfortunately, he doesn't do it quite fast enough. On the day they plan to disembark, Arness leaves the village to gather supplies, and returns to find it a smoking ruin, his wife missing. Caught unaware, he's bludgeoned into submission, enslaved by the armies of Lord Vulmax, and put to work building a fortress.
As it turns out, slavery is really good for building your core strength.
My scanner tends to wash out colors a bit, which means I have to fiddle with the brightness and contrast a bit. So, these images don't really do the book justice. I'm going to continue recapping the series, over the next few days, but if your local store has a good selection of back issues, try to find this book. Hartnell's script is a bit dry and formulaic at times, but as the series goes on, it loosens up a bit, with more modernisms injected into the fantasy lingo.
Bradshaw and Charalampidis' work is fantastic, though. The whole book looks like the most beautiful, violent movie, Disney never made. The creature designs are particularly fantastic, from the Grizzlok, to various giants and fantasy races, that show up later on in the series.
He lives here in Moncton. I had a nice chat with him on free comic book day as he's trying to see about getting a comic con organized for here next year and even met his folks. The guy is really nice.
so did this have an ending? or is it like the Warlord relaunch where they started out great and just stopped?
Rokkin #2; Arness, the hero of the story, has lost his wife, his home, and his freedom, forced into slavery by the armies of the murderous Lord Vulmax.
Who, by the way, is fabulous.
As the story returns to Arness, we find him coming to the defense of an elderly slave, who's to be executed. For his defiance, he's punished with a brutal beating, thrown into the stables, and left for dead. But, he's soon visited by said slave, who brings with him a goddess, and seemingly mystic pendant.
Despite making good his escape, Arness soon runs into trouble on the road.
Despite putting up a good fight, Arness is soon overwhelmed by the giants, battered into a nearby stream by an enormous cudgel.
Imbued with power, Arness quickly dispatches the remaining giants, and makes his way to a bar, where he gets tremendously drunk, picks a fight with an assortment of interesting characters, and forgets his magic word. Beaten into a stupor for the third time in as many days, he's only saved by the timely intervention of a mysterious swordswoman.
Nick Bradshaw seriously designs the best monsters and fantasy creatures, in this comic.
Honestly, it flew under most people's radar, so if you have a decent back-issue selection at your LCS, you may be able to find it. I'll check my store this Wednesday, and see if they have any extra sets.
Damn. That's cold-blooded. That poor shark wasn't hurting anyone.
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valhalla13013 Dark Shield Perceives the GodsRegistered Userregular
edited May 2012
Joker had the shark in an abandoned SeaWorld type place, and had been starving it, IIRC. He pushed in one of his old accomplices, who was now wheelchair bound (had been taking out his former gang members who he believed betrayed him.) Then he pushed Bats in.
I think it's during RIP when Bruce is tripping balls on weapons-grade heroin. I'll check later.
I went and found it, but my scanner is a piece of junk. It's from 683, the second Last Rites issue. There's a two-page spread of the shirtless swordfight w/ Ra's, Batman and the shark, Batman fighting Man-Bat, and Batman and Talia mackin'
"What The Butler Saw" is probably best known now as the title of a Joe Orton play, but it's a commonplace phrase dating to the early 20th century--one might have seen it, for instance, in this not-suitable-for-work machine. Appropriately enough for the salacious glimpse at the conception of Damian here.
This spread, in general, is a tribute to the Neal Adams-drawn period of Batman. The shirtless swordfight is a commonplace of Batman/Ra's stories--BATMAN #244, for instance. The wheelchair/shark/Joker bit is from "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge," in BATMAN #251. The werewolf/Batman fight happened in BATMAN #255.
When you take that all into consideration, his easy access to the Shark Repellent Bat Spray suddenly doesn't seem that bizarre.
Batman probably keeps that stuff near at hand no matter where he goes.
"We're in the middle of a desert Batman, do you really think you'll need the shark spray here?"
"There'll be an oasis. There's always an oasis. And since I'm here, it'll be a shark infested oasis."
From Great Lakes Avengers #2; I may do a whole series of posts about this mini, after I finish recapping Rokkin. But right now, I just wanted to share this page:
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so did this have an ending? or is it like the Warlord relaunch where they started out great and just stopped?
I love Thanos Quest so, so much. Highly recommended.
Who, by the way, is fabulous.
Despite making good his escape, Arness soon runs into trouble on the road.
Despite putting up a good fight, Arness is soon overwhelmed by the giants, battered into a nearby stream by an enormous cudgel.
Imbued with power, Arness quickly dispatches the remaining giants, and makes his way to a bar, where he gets tremendously drunk, picks a fight with an assortment of interesting characters, and forgets his magic word. Beaten into a stupor for the third time in as many days, he's only saved by the timely intervention of a mysterious swordswoman.
Nick Bradshaw seriously designs the best monsters and fantasy creatures, in this comic.
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Wow.
I'm assuming, by the Laws of Life, that this was never collected into a trade, and therefore is impossible to find in any sensible manner. Correct?
I mean, there's a Spanish translation TPB available, if that helps.
Honestly, it flew under most people's radar, so if you have a decent back-issue selection at your LCS, you may be able to find it. I'll check my store this Wednesday, and see if they have any extra sets.
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Too bad it was only 6 issues long.
But that's a terrible pun.
that's awesome
To an impressionable young man, this Joker was downright scary.
But ya the expression on Cleese's face for that silly walk, is perfect.
I also love how Scary Spice is making a scary face.
I went and found it, but my scanner is a piece of junk. It's from 683, the second Last Rites issue. There's a two-page spread of the shirtless swordfight w/ Ra's, Batman and the shark, Batman fighting Man-Bat, and Batman and Talia mackin'
Wow. The cover of #255 is insane.
When you take that all into consideration, his easy access to the Shark Repellent Bat Spray suddenly doesn't seem that bizarre.
Batman probably keeps that stuff near at hand no matter where he goes.
"We're in the middle of a desert Batman, do you really think you'll need the shark spray here?"
"There'll be an oasis. There's always an oasis. And since I'm here, it'll be a shark infested oasis."
Have Tintin crossovers period happened?
Diablo 3 - ArtfulDodger#1572
Minecraft - ArtfulDodger42
We already had Punisher / Archie, it's the next logical step.
you got hb fever, dogg
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