A Girl and Her Dog

 

Recently, Drew Ford at It's Alive shared some preview panels with us from his new publication, A Girl and Her Dog, by writer John Holland and artist Hernan Gonzalez. He described the story as a moving love letter to dogs. This artwork certainly reaches out and grabs you, doesn't it? How can any one who has ever owned a dog, and felt that love returned, not smile at these affecting images?

If you wish to order a copy, right now you can get one signed by the writer for no additional charge. 

To order the book click the link below:

A Girl and Her Dog--Signed Copy

 

Drew Ford

Publisher

IT’S ALIVE!

www.itsalivepress.com

 

Instagram: @itsalivepress

Facebook: @itsalivepress

Twitter: @itsalivepress

 

 

 

IT'S ALIVE! is the brainchild of multiple Eisner Award nominee Drew Ford, publishing out of print comics, English translations of foreign material, original projects, and other unique collectibles.

 

Currently publishing: Airboy, Air War Stories, Breathers, Combat, Dose!, Holler, Kona, Nervous Rex, Red Range, Strange Attractors, and Tangled River.

 

Graphic Novels currently available: Dope, Family Man, Red Range, The Silver Metal Lover, and Voyage to the Deep.

The Complete Aztec Ace

Long time readers may have read my posts on the 1980s series Airboy from Eclipse Comics. The independent publisher helped many talented people publish their dream projects. Now Drew Ford at It's Alive is bringing one of those grand visionary journeys back to us, with his remastered collection of all fifteen issues of the Eclipse comic series Aztec Ace.

 

37 years ago, in 1984, Doug Moench (legendary Batman and Master of Kung Fu scribe, and creator of Moon Knight) created and wrote the first of a fifteen issue series for Eclipse Comics.  This series soon became the wildest, most incredible time travel story ever told in comics, or anywhere else, for that matter! 

 

 

This was also made possible by the talented group of artists who joined Moench on his time-travel journey, which included: Michael Hernandez, Dan Day, Nestor Redondo, Ron Harris, Mike Gustovich, Mike Harris, Art Nichols, Thomas Yeates, Tim Sale, Mark Pacella, Phillip DeWalt, Denis McFarling, Steve Oliffe, and Sam Parson.

 

 

Included you'll find a brand new introduction by Doug Moench, a new foreword by original series editor Cat Yronwode, a new essay about comic book design and coloring in the 1980s by original series colorist Denis McFarling, and a new afterword by journalist (and original Eclipse Comics staffer) David Allen.

 

 

This collection boasts new AZTEC ACE pin-ups by an amazing group of comic book superstars, including: Matt Kindt, Bill Sienkiewicz, Paul Pope, Jeff Lemire, and many more!   

 

 

Now, all fifteen issues of the AZTEC ACE series are being collected into a hard cover collection that any serious comics collector MUST have on their shelf. 

CLICK HERE to pre-order your copy!

 

 

 

 

IT'S ALIVE! is the brainchild of multiple Eisner Award-nominee Drew Ford, publishing out of print comics, English translations of foreign material, original projects, and other unique collectibles.

New Thunderbunny Collection

Here's another announcement from Drew Ford at It's Alive! This time, it's for fans of the old independent publisher Warp Graphics. The company, run by Elfquest creators Wendy and Richard Pini, also brought comic fans many other fun series to enjoy, including...

IT'S ALIVE! is proud to announce the publication of a THUNDERBUNNY omnibus collection by creator Martin Greim, along with a number of artists from a variety of publications between 1982 and 1987.

 

Thunderbunny #1 Cover, Warp Graphics, 1985

In 1960, the first appearance of THUNDERBUNNY was published in a fanzine entitled Mass Fan Newsletter. It was two drawings and a short story by Martin. 17 years later, an 8 page THUNDERBUNNY showed up in Comic Crusader Storybook. The art for that was by Gene Day and Jerry Ordway. There was also an image of THUNDERBUNNY on the back cover of that same comic by Joe Sinnott. 

 

Then, in 1982, the THUNDERBUNNY origin story was published in Charlton Bullseye #6, with art by Mike Machlan and Victor Laszlo (aka Peter Iro). Cover by Machlan and Ordway. Later the same year, the entire issue of Charlton Bullseye #10 featured THUNDERBUNNY, drawn by Brian Buniak. 

 

Finally, in 1985, THUNDERBUNNY #1-12 came out from Warp Graphics/Apple Comics, with artwork by Buniak. The last issue came out November of 1987.

 

 

Thunderbunny #2 Cover, Warp Graphics, 1985

We are thrilled to finally bring such a collection to life. We believe many fans will love having all of these incredible stories and artwork in one book to enjoy for years to come.

 

Drew Ford

Publisher

IT’S ALIVE!

www.itsalivepress.com

 

Instagram: @itsalivepress

Facebook: @itsalivepress

Twitter: @itsalivepress

 

IT'S ALIVE! is the brainchild of multiple Eisner Award nominee Drew Ford, publishing out of print comics, English translations of foreign material, original projects, and other unique collectibles.

 

Currently publishing: Airboy, Air War Stories, Breathers, Combat, Dose!, Holler, Kona, Nervous Rex, Red Range, Strange Attractors, and Tangled River.

 

Graphic Novels currently available: Dope, Family Man, Red Range, The Silver Metal Lover, and Voyage to the Deep.

Nervous Rex #1 Signed Copies

 

For all you Blackthorne Comics fans, here's some more news on that Nervous Rex re-release from publisher Drew Ford at It's Alive.

Mild-mannered tyrannosaur Rexford doesn't really fit in with the Jurassic age, as he would rather just eat oatmeal and hang out with his friends. But his wife Dearie is always after him to be a more aggressive meat-eater and add to the fossil record. Also featuring a backup story starring the diminutive King Billy. 

 

 

This is the first comic book work from animator and children's book illustrator William Van Horn, who is known by most as a comic book artist for Disney. 

One copy of NERVOUS REX #1 signed by William Van Horn. LIMIT 100.

$30 + Tax & Shipping. 32 pages, B&W. 

Go grab your signed copy of NERVOUS REX #1 here:  

https://itsalive.bigcartel.com/product/nervous-rex-1

 

 

Drew Ford

Publisher

IT’S ALIVE!

www.itsalivepress.com

 

Instagram: @itsalivepress

Facebook: @itsalivepress

Twitter: @itsalivepress

 

IT'S ALIVE! is the brainchild of multiple Eisner Award nominee Drew Ford, publishing out of print comics, English translations of foreign material, original projects, and other unique collectibles.

 

Nervous Rex

Once upon a time in San Diego, there was an independent publisher called Blackthorne. They published a wide range of comics, including a series called Nervous Rex. Several decades later, I became friends with professional colorist Barbara Marker, who colored covers of this fun series. 

In time, Blackthorne went away. Most of the titles the company published faded into obscurity. Some can prove difficult to find. 

Then it happened one day that an announcement arrived in my e-mailbox. For fans who lament the passing of Blackthorne, it seemed like good news. It also told me a little about a comics creator who wasn't on my radar. As I enjoyed reading it, I thought I'd share the announcement with you.

If you're a fan of Blackthorne comics, perhaps you can live happily, forever after...

 

 

Coming soon from IT'S ALIVE!

 

NERVOUS REX by William Van Horn

 

IT'S ALIVE! is proud to announce the publication of NERVOUS REX by Disney artist William Van Horn, known for his work on Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics.

 

 

 

 

Van Horn worked in animation and children's books for some years, before joining Gladstone Comics in the mid 1980’s, creating mainly short Donald Duck stories for them. Though he started that career about the same time as Don Rosa, Van Horn hasn’t had nearly the amount of attention as Don. He has also produced new Donald Duck stories regularly for Danish publisher Egmont, which have been reprinted by Gemstone.

 

Most of William Van Horn’s fans around the world only know him for his hilarious Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics. But few know about Van Horn’s first comic book masterpiece, NERVOUS REX.

 

The series about Rexford--a nervous, pint-size and very henpecked dinosaur--shows off Van Horn’s unfettered love of whimsy and wordplay.

 

Much of the humor would be echoed later in Van Horn’s Disney duck comics. But visually and thematically the REX series is inspired by George Herriman’s classic comic strip Krazy Kat.

 

The series sold well initially, but when Van Horn started working for Disney, he largely left REX behind. . .

 

. . .but now it’s back!

 

IT'S ALIVE! plans to reprint the original ten issues, along with an eleventh issue, which will collect the NERVOUS REX short stories that first appeared in issues of both Laffin' Gas and Disney Adventures.

 

 

 

Drew Ford

Publisher

IT’S ALIVE!

www.itsalivepress.com

 

Instagram: @itsalivepress

Facebook: @itsalivepress

Twitter: @itsalivepress

 

IT'S ALIVE! is the brainchild of multiple Eisner Award nominee Drew Ford, publishing out of print comics, English translations of foreign material, original projects, and other unique collectibles.

 

Currently publishing: Airboy, Air War Stories, Breathers, Combat, Dose!, Holler, Kona, Nervous Rex, Red Range, Strange Attractors, and Tangled River.

 

Graphic Novels currently available: Dope, Family Man, Red Range, The Silver Metal Lover, and Voyage to the Deep.

Mark Hamill, Ray Harryhausen & Don Rickles

 

 

Here's a little more from that Mark Hamill interview in Starlog #21:

It seems that one of Mark Hamill's childhood heroes was Ray Harryhausen. When Hamill got to talk with the celebrated special effects wizard, he said, "Thank you. For good or for bad, your films really captured my imagination, and just intrigued me so much." Mark Hamill was so blown away by his first viewing of Ray Harryhausen's movie Jason and the Argonauts that he stayed at the cinema and watched it two more times that day. 

"I was eleven when I saw it, which was the perfect age for that kind of picture. In fact, if Harlan Ellison was eleven, he'd probably love Star Wars."

As someone who first saw Star Wars around that age, and returned to the cinema later that week to see it two more times, I couldn't agree more.
 

As for comedian Don Rickles...

 

Bom Vimdin: smuggler & mercenary

 

One of the patrons of the Mos Eisley cantina was later named Bom Vimdin. But during the filming of the cantina scene, the character lacked a name. So, according to online source Wookieepedia, the production crew gave him one.

Yes, you guessed it. They called him: Don Rickles.

Dragon Dave

P.S. Want to read the entire interview? Here's the Link:

Starlog #21 Mark Hamill Interview

Mark Hamill, the Parisian Movie Critic & Harlan Ellison

 

26 year old Mark Hamill

 

In an interview in Starlog #21, published in April 1979, a young Mark Hamill recounts a conversation with a Parisian movie critic.

Reporter: "Not only did I find Star Wars vapid and unimaginative, but I found it downright frightening in its mystical-religious, crypto-fascist, bargain-basement dogma."

Mark Hamill: "I bet you can't say that three times fast."

 

 

The interviewer suggests that the critic who irked Mark Hamill the most was noted science fiction author Harlan Ellison. It seems the famous author argued that Star Wars represented the triumph of technology over content, and of special effects over a "people" story, to the ultimate detriment of both science fiction and literature.

According to Hamill, Ellison also wrote, "Luke Skywalker is a nerd, and Darth Vader sucks runny eggs."

Mark Hamill's response?

"I saw him on a talk show in Canada and I thought he was like a game show host. He's like the Don Rickles of science fiction."

Hey, no knocking the late Don Rickles, Mark! He was cool!

Dragon Dave

P.S. Want to read the entire interview? Here's the Link:

Starlog #21 Mark Hamill Interview