Gerrin Tramis and Sean OReilly talk about the upcoming slasher comic

Warning: There is a new slasher on the loose.

Coming later this year from Arcana Comics is GAUZE. We spoke with writer, Gerrin Tramis, and Arcana Studios’ publisher, Sean O’Reilly, about the project.

The Big Bad Wolf: Tell us about the comic, GAUZE.

Sean O’Reilly: I met Gerrin at Emerald City Comic Con and we started talking about The Cube and it’s director. Gerrin was a film student at the time and we talked about filming a short that would look cool and smart.

Continued here:

http://www.comicmonsters.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=873

My pick for Book of the Week (and what probably would have been Evie’s pick too, had she not known it was going to be mine) Tales of Penance: Trial of the Century Issue #2, from Arcana Comics.

This book features story and plot by Sean Wise and Paul Gilligan, brilliantly paced Scripting by Ryan Foley, art by Gian Fernando (credited as GOOF) and pitch-perfect colors by something called “EvE” – about which no further information can be easily googled.

So here’s your back o’ the trade blurb for this one.

ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE TAKES ON SUPERHERO STORYTELLING IN YEARS.

Here’s another one.

RIVALS THE BEST OF POWERS, ALIAS, OR GOTHAM CENTRAL.

And I mean both of them.

Continued here:

http://awesomedbycomics.blogspot.com/search/label/Penance

Announcing the 2009 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Semifinalist Results Semifinalists chosen from 1,085 entries:

21. Comic/Graphic Novel

The Clockwork Girl, by Sean O’Reilly and Kevin Hanna; Todd Demong, Art Director (Arcana Comics); Ropes of Revolution, by J. Gunderson; illustrated by Brent Schoonover (Stone Arch Books); The Secret Adventures of Hamster Sam: Attack of the Evil Boll Weevils! written and illustrated by Dave McDonald (DM Creative Publishing)

For the full article, please go here:

http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1250

We recently came across some old interviews Sean had done and decided to start posting them in the press section. So for those who may have originally missed them, now is your chance to read all about Arcana. First up is an interview with Broken Frontier:

BF: For everybody who’s never heard of Kade before reading this interview, how about you take us through an introduction to the character and his world?

SOR: Kade is the gothic demon hunter who doesn’t feel, but always hurts.

During the Black Sun, under the Eye of God, angels may fall to Earth. These Fallen Angels have left the grace of God and act without consequence, many trying to spite their Creator. Fallen Angels are able to possess the anemic spirits of those who are morally corrupt, using them as their demonic servants.
Kade is the ageless balance that tips the dark scale back towards the light, as he hunts the demons and the Fallen Angels. However, Angels are immortal and cannot be killed…only banished. Kade must find the Fallen Angel’s ‘real name’ and scribe this name onto the Angel’s flesh. It is then that the immortal is cast back to the Abyss…back to wait for the next Black Sun…

BF: Where does Sun of Perdition place the character in relation to the original Kade mini series?

SOR: The original Kade: Identity mini-series occurred 1000 years prior to the story in Kade: Sun of Perdition and this story will be monumental in the series. It’s a great place for someone to jump on, and will be a something we are hoping will serve as a solid platform for future stories.

BF: Ezra is also part of Sun of Perdition. What is her role in the story?

SOR: She is the yin to Kade’s yang. Like Kade, Ezra is a Child of the Black Sun and has been bestowed special gifts besides being ageless. She has been the emotional support for Kade and has always been there for him when he’s confused about his role in the world. As you can imagine, trying to hunt demons for thousands of years is physically and emotionally draining, and Ezra’s the type of person who can have you going on for eternity. She really has allowed Kade to go on this journey.

BF: Fan favorite indie artist Ben Templesmith is doing a variant cover for the first issue. How did you manage to bring him in, seeing that he hasn’t done any work for Arcana in the past?

SOR: Actually Ben did a cover for Dead Men Tell No Tales and it was a stunning cover…with the current story arc of Kade taking place in Europe’s Dark Ages, I wanted someone who’s done work in a Dark Ages setting…so I brought along Ben Templesmith, Liam Sharp, Nat Jones and Ashley Wood…all of these guys knows what it takes to do Dark Ages covers.

BF: Speaking of artists, Stjepan is bringing a very different look to the table than your regular pencilled, inked and panelised comic all the artwork is done digitally?

SOR: Stjepan is incredible and most of his work is done digitally for Kade. Stjepan might be the most talented artist I’ve met…he does absolutely everything from murals to digital painting to pencils…he’s been an absolute soldier on this project and I can’t say enough about him as an artist, a person and as a friend.

BF: Where did you recruit Stjepan for the project?

SOR: Stjepan actually submitted an incredible Kade piece to me and it was simply love at first sight.

BF: You guys are also working on a Kade video game. Which game studio is helping you with the development?

SOR: I can’t quite say yet but it’s a MAJOR company and they are from India. I’m hoping to release this information before or just after SDCC.

BF: How far along is the game in the production process?

SOR: In some stages it’s actually quite far down the line…in other’s not far at all…sorry I can’t go into too much detail yet but I’ve signed an NDA and until they let me speak I can’t say too much.

BF: Besides Sun of Perdition, what else does Arcana have coming up this summer?

SOR: Ezra: Evoked Emotions #1

Born under the Black Sun, Ezra has had a unique upbringing in life. Her parents were murdered when she was young her body was badly scared on her body. But with the death of her brother, and the realization that she is an ageless Child of the Black Sun, the scars she still conceals run deep. Normally Ezra is rogue mercenary for hire…but she has just embarked on a quest that becomes a personal mission to exorcise the demons in her closet from a long, long time ago…

Dragon’s Lair #1

Travel to a time of Sword and Sorcery; a time of Dragons and Damsels in distress! Welcome to the world of Dragon’s Lair!

Follow Dirk the Daring and Princess Daphne as they return from an astonishing adventure in the Free Realms only to be attacked by the great dragon, Singe, and his evil minions. Singe vows revenge against Dirk for killing his offspring, and Daphne is soon caught in the dread dragon’s claws. Now, armed with his courage and skill, Dirk must brave the Dark Kingdom and all its evils in order to save the Princess from Singe!

Dragon’s Lair #1 reprints the original MVC’s Dragon’s Lair #1-3 with a BRAND new cover by DON BLUTH! Be sure to get this collector’s item as it will be the most sought after issue of this fully completed FOUR ISSUE SERIES.

If you’re thinking of trying out something new, or you just have a thing for prison stories (you sick monkey, you), maybe you want to take a look at Corrective Measures, out from Arcana Studio, by Grant Chastain and Fran Moyano. It’s the story of a prison for supervillains, located 30 miles off the coast of Florida. A Christian fundamentalist named Payback, who’s sort of like a Punisher for Jesus, arrives at about the same time as a tough as nails corrections officer named Jason Brody. From there it progresses we see some of the hard choices faced in the world of prisons. Good and bad are ambiguous, and Chastain seems to have a good understanding of this. As a first time effort from both writer and artist, it’s fairly well done. The mysterious characters are probably the most interesting aspect of the story, since you don’t quite know where anyone stands, just as you don’t in real life, but unlike real life, in the world of the supervillain prison, the stakes are very high, and survival is a day to day affair.

Continued here:

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/Joshables_-_The_snack_size_column_bites_

At first I thought this was just going to be one of those “Punisher goes to jail” type of stories. At least that’s how the story starts off. A criminal named “Payback” (who’s a similar archetype to the Punisher) is locked away in a remote jail 30 miles off the coast of Florida. This prison, San Tiburon, houses the most ruthless super-powered criminals in the world. The warden isn’t too happy with bringing this known vigilante into his home. And who would? It’d be like treating him to a buffet! So the warden goes out and hires a new captain for his Violent Crimes wing, Jason Brody – an officer with a record of police brutality. Brody’s not exactly a bad officer, but he walks that fine where he could easily give in to his more “undesirable” traits.

Continued here:

http://weeklycomicbookreview.com/2008/10/01/corrective-measures-tpb-review/