Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Too Much Coffee Man Omnibus
by Shannon Wheeler

Promo copy:

Shannon Wheeler is an ambitious cartoonist who turned a minicomic character into a long-running newspaper strip, Eisner-winning comic book series, Converse shoe commercial, one of the first webcomics, and an opera. His dedication includes hand-stapling 20,000+ mini-comics and shooting 3,000+ comics with a .22 rifle. It’s been a 20+ year adventure with Too Much Coffee Man.

The semi-autobiographical, hyper-intellectual, high-concept comic appeals to both inside and outside the comic book world. Even Henry Rollins says Too Much Coffee Man is “the only comic I would really pay attention to, because I like the idea. Too Much Coffee Man has a lot to say. He’s a great apocalyptic philosopher for our very troubled times.” Holy crap. That’s Henry Rollins.

The Too Much Coffee Man Omnibus, at over 500 pages, was a pain in the ass to put together. It was solicited and cancelled multiple times – becoming one of the most anticipated books around. Many editors were fired and a few of them went insane. Wheeler said “I stopped going to conventions and slept in my closet because too many people asked me about the Too Much Coffee Man Omnibus.” Wheeler is once again making public appearances. The book is real, it is in stores, weighs as much as a small child, and it’s getting attention.

Too Much Coffee Man Omnibus collects five books previously published by Dark Horse:
– Too Much Coffee Man: Parade of Tirade
– Too Much Coffee Man: Guide for the Perplexed
– Too Much Coffee Man: Amusing Musings
– Too Much Coffee Man: How to Be Happy
– Screw Heaven, When I Die I’m Going To Mars
– as well as a number of unpublished brand new Too Much Coffee Man stories!

I revealed the events surrounding the first appearance of TMCM in a Nexus Graphica column.

Watch RevolutionSF for a contest to win a copy of the Too Much Coffee Man Omnibus.

Hellboy: The Fury #2
Written and cover art by Mike Mignola
Art by Duncan Fegredo

Promo copy:

While Hellboy makes one last stand against the Queen of Blood the war between the forces of good and evil rages on the battlefield with heaps of dead monsters and knights!

Star Wars: Invasion—Revelations #1
Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Colin Wilson
Cover art by Chris Scalf

Promo copy:

As the invading Yuuzhan Vong penetrate deeper into the galaxy, the Jedi fight back!

But one Jedi in training has taken a different path: Finn Galfridian, under the guidance of the mysterious Master Dray, infiltrates Coruscant and discovers revelations about the leaders of the New Republic that could lead to disaster!

Conan: The Frazetta Cover Series #8
Written by Timothy Truman
Art by Tom Giorello
Cover art by Frank Frazetta

Promo copy:

Running from the army of Turan, Conan and fellow fugitive Olivia hide out on a small island in the Vilayet Sea, but they soon find themselves stalked by a huge, unseen terror in the jungles and threatened by a group of pirates! These may be the least of their concerns, though, because the ruins of a lost civilization stir when a full moon rises over the isle–and even deadlier creatures awaken!

A modern adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s beloved “Iron Shadows in the Moon” tale.

More in Part II

Graphic Novels/Comics received 9/4/11 Dark Horse ed. Part I was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Let’s take a quick look to see what’s arrived at the Geek Compound.

Citizen Rex
by Mario & Gilbert Hernandez

Promo copy:

A bizarre, sexy look into the future from comics legends Mario & Gilbert Hernandez!

When gossip blogger Sergio Bauntin investigates the illusive robot celebrity CTZ-RX-1, he provokes the city’s shady power players, who don’t want the story to get out! It’s a surreal sci-fi adventure as only Los Bros. Hernandez can do it!

This handsome hardcover collection also features new cover art by Gilbert, an extensive sketchbook section with behind-the-scenes material from Mario, and a special pin-up from third Hernandez brother Jaime (Locas, The Education of Hopey Glass)!

Solomon Kane: Red Shadows #4
Story by Robert E. Howard
Written by Bruce Jones
Art by Rahsan Ekedal
Cover art by Guy Davis

Promo copy:

Solomon Kane faces two of his greatest foes in Africa, as Bruce Jones (Conan, The Incredible Hulk) brings his thrilling “Red Shadows” adaptation to a close! Seeking to avenge the horrible murder of a young girl, Solomon Kane chases the feared swordsman Le Loup across the globe, where he finds the villain in league with Songa, the powerful leader of a deceived jungle tribe. Kane finds an ally in the frail, ancient form of magic man N’Longa–but will the old, deposed witch doctor really be able to challenge Songa and save Solomon’s life? Rising stars Rahsan Ekedal (Creepy, The Cleaners) and Dan Jackson (Kull, Star Wars) illustrate this thrilling adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s classic tale!

Star Wars: Jedi—The Dark Side #3
Written by Scott Allie
Art by Mahmud Asrar
Cover art by Stéphane Roux

Promo copy:

On Telos IV, a priestess has been assassinated, and the planet is on the verge of civil war. Only Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Xanatos can protect the planet’s leader-who just happens to be Xanatos’s father-and stop the insurgents. But Xanatos is succumbing to his own long-buried resentments and may soon be more of a hindrance than a help.

Twenty years before his fateful meeting with Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn had his first encounter with the dark side…

Dollhouse: Epitaphs #1
Story by Andrew Chambliss, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jed Whedon
Written by Andrew Chambliss
Art by Cliff Richards and Andy Owens
Cover art by Fiona Staples

Promo copy:

The fight for free will starts now!

Alpha was the perfect product of Rossum Corporation’s mind-altering technology, until he snapped, burdened by the dozens of personalities they’d downloaded into his brain. Now the technology has gone viral, turning the entire population into murderous automatons, and it’s up to the psychotic Alpha and a small group of survivors to save mankind.

* Straight from the Dollhouse one-shot written by show writers Tancharoen and Whedon, this new series continues the tale of survivors taking up arms against Rossum.

* Fellow Dollhouse show writer Andrew Chambliss (CW’s The Vampire Diaries) makes his comics debut, joining Tancharoen and Whedon

* Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse continues only in comics!

B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth–Monsters #1
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi
Art by Tyler Crook
Cover art by Francesco Francavilla

Promo copy:

While the Bureau’s off fighting giant bat-eared beasts in Texas, Liz Sherman is kicking hillbilly ass in a trailer park!

More in Part I

Graphic Novels/Comics received 9/4/11 Dark Horse ed. Part II was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon

Back in late July, Blastr ran my interview with Attack the Block‘s writer/director Joe Cornish and star John Boyega. As is common with interviews, roughly half of what was said ended up on the cutting room floor. Since I’m a huge fan of the film and several interesting bits didn’t make the final interview, I deliever the remainder for your edification.

RK: Why the night shoot?

JC: I realized that a lot of my favorite films are all at night or in the dark: The Warriors, Evil Dead, Blade Runner, and Alien. It occurred to me that they’re all strong looking films because you can never just what for the sun to come out and put a balance board down and shoot. You have to light and think about lighting in every single shot. It forces you to design everything and it forces you to think about lighting and atmospherics. Plus I personally just like almost real time, contained narratives like The Warriors, Assault on Precinct 13, and Evil Dead. They take place over one night. It’s more claustrophobic and moment-to-moment action so you never have moments when characters tell you what happened yesterday or what’s gonna happen today or about something that happened in their childhood that you know is going to be repeated at the end of the day.

Since this was your first film, major or minor, where did you lack confidence?

JB: Thinking back it just felt like “Oh, I really wanted to learn.” I’m not sure about the lacking confidence. We were a young cast and we all had that vibrant energy. We were very enthusiastic to do it. Everybody had big talking. The production team really showed—I don’t know if they were putting it on—us that they knew what they were doing and we totally trusted them.[Executive producer] Jenny [Borgars] was so passionate about what the story was about and how we were gonna to do it. We felt cool let’s do it. I’m a teenager so I’m naive. Whatever, let’s do it. Have some fun.

JC: It was nothing but nerves and fear. I was experienced in TV but I always wanted to make a film. I’d been waiting 20-25 years to do this. So yeah, I had a huge amount of trepidation, ambition, and expectation. But it was fun. And working with these guys ’cause they were knew as well, it was an adventure for all of us. Plus it was just fun. It was aliens and chases, so it was nothing too heavy. It was kinda like play. Though if both us knew that movie would come to the States, get distributed in the States, and we’d be sitting here talking to you. If we had know that then, we’d probably would have been a whole lot more self conscious. We were in our own little bubble. We thought we going ot be premiered in a supermarket on one of those little TV screens above the dishwasher aisle.

What confidence during the casting stage?

JB: I’ve been working as an actor before Attack the Block as a stage actor. [Lack of confidence centered mostly around the first audition when I saw people] that looked like me [but] more better, more muscular. Sitting there with cups of water [gargling sounds]. Blah.. blah.. blah.. doing their vocal exercises and I’m just there with my Marvel t-shirt. But when you went in there, the environment was cool and the [garbled] was very supportive. I had a great time and just went for it.

Have either one of you lived in the blocks?

JB: I live in the blocks now. Joe lives like 15 minutes away from me.

JC: We filmed [in the blocks]. We call them estates in the UK, housing estates. Here you call it public housing or projects. It’s much more mixed in the UK. Because London was heavily bombed after the Second World War, the places where it was bombed were replaced by these big public housing projects. The interesting thing about London is that it’s very mixed. You’ll get a millionaire living next to someone on housing support. They’ll shop in the same shops and walk the same streets. That’s what Attack the Block is about. Now that there is a recession and jobs are harder to find, you get even more of a kind of mix. That’s the inspiration. In this block, there all these different types of people, all these backgrounds, all these socio-economic positions. They are separated by these kind of fake barriers. I was interested in using an alien invasion to bring those different characters together to point their commonalities between people rather than the differences.

JB: I watched The Wire (Season 4) as research for Moses. It’s amazing how much it’s similar. Not in terms of the area but in terms in the kind of attitude, the way they see the world. The way Moses is closed of to everyone else and believes everyone’s against him. That kind of thing. It is very similar so I sometimes find it surprising when people say “Aren’t they so different?” The thing is that they aren’t really that different. It’s crazy how much the characters in Attack the Block shared that same kind of energy with The Wire. But it’s just that we have aliens.

Is there a Hollywood remake in the works?

JC: [No serious discussions] I wouldn’t mind that. I’d kind of dig it. One thing I can never do is watch Attack the Block like a movie ’cause I made it. There would be something kind of exciting. I’d like to see someone else’s take on the story. I wish they would. Hurry up and pay me.

The interview actually started with this exchange after the duo commented on someone’s t-shirt.

Are there Attack the Block t-shirts?

JC: I still haven’t seen an ‘Attack the Block’ t-shirt.

JC & JB (together): It’s gotta happen.

What about action figures?

JC: Don’t talk about action figures.

JB (excited): I’m really up for that.

JC: [The aliens] would make some really cool plush toys. We really wanted that.

Attack the Block: From The Cutting Room Floor was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon