Groupies TP Preview

 

 

For some, music is merely a diversion. For others, it means everything. This group of friends pursue their passion by being as close to the creative process as possible. But what happens when they stand by the roaring fire for too long? And where do the musicians draw their inspiration from?

Here's all the info from Comixology and Mad Cave Studios:

 

Groupies TP

Written by Helen Mullane
Art by Tula Lotay

A sexy, fem-focused look at the dark underside of music fandom, informed by Mullane's research on the real women labeled "groupies" and illustrated by one of the industry's top artists!

Celebrated filmmaker Helen Mullane teams up with superstar artist Tula Lotay for sex, drugs, and rock and roll on the Sunset Strip! On a wild night out at the Fox Club, the coolest, hottest, and wildest girls on (or off) the Strip meet the edgiest up-and-coming band in town, and sparks fly. The Moon Show’s stardom is about to rise as they celebrate getting signed to the legendary Asmodeus Records. As the story unfolds, the excited groupies head on tour with the band – living the dream – but their tuned-in and dropped-out idyll is about to unravel. Something dark is pulling the strings, and the girls are about to discover the true cost of rock and roll.

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Comixology, Mad Cave Studios, and Superfan Promotions for sharing this preview with us.

Moon Dogs #1 Review

 

Writer: Tananarive Due

Artist: Kelsey Ramsay

Colorist: José Villarrubia

Letterer & Designer: Jeff Powell

Editor: Will Dennis

Cover Artists: Kelsey Ramsay & José Villarrubia; Tula Lotay

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 20, 2024

 

Carlos is ready to commit. But Nala isn’t sure. Her heritage complicates any relationship. And once you’ve told people your secrets, they can use them against you. Carlos knows she is a Moon Dog. But is he ready to join Nala’s family? Let's brew some tea, leap into Moon Dogs #1, and see!

 

Story

Nala and Carlos are reporters in Miami, Florida. While riding toward her parents’ house, a tip diverts them to Little Havana. Despite her upbringing and heritage, Nala is appalled by the dismembered body in front of the Carniceria. But they don’t have time to linger. The police are coming. Nala wipes away a paw print and removes a familiar necklace before Luis arrives.

 

In Moon Dogs #1, Nala is like anyone else. When she grows close to someone, she shares her secrets. While attending the University of Miami, she shared her family heritage with Luis. But their relationship didn't lead to marriage, and now Luis works for the police. Despite his faith in Nala, he knows one of "her people" brutally killed someone. Maybe he can work with a reporter to find the killer, but not Nala.

 

While the slaying severs Nala professionally from the police, it also drives a wedge between herself and her brother. Kai is growing up. He seeks empowerment and belonging. A group of young and successful people promises him both. So, Kai shares some of his mother's tea with them. Her ancestral blend helps were-hyenas control their urges and shapeshifting abilities. But in the wrong hands, that tea can empower people and propel them to savagery.

 

Tananarive Due’s story introduces readers to a diverse lycanthrope community. Nala's family successfully blended their werewolf and were-hyena ancestry in Moon Dogs #1. Nala wonders if she and Carlos can overcome the hurdles facing a Human/Lycanthrope marriage. But before considering that, Nala must steer Kai away from people who would unleash chaos in the name of social change. Why? Because the necklace Nala found at the crime scene belonged to her younger brother. And because, like all too many people today, Kai argues that it’s okay for “good” leaders to say or do bad things for “the right reasons.”

 

 

 

Art

Kelsey Ramsay shows a man’s scattered body parts on the sidewalk next to a trash bag awaiting pickup. A selection of prime cuts separates Carlos and Nala as they recognize the necklace in her hand. She raises it to show him the pendant matches the one around her neck. As Luis raises a hand to ward them off, three patrol cars in the street flash their roof lights. After the shocking street scene, Nala and Carlos dine with her parents and Kai. The crossed wooden canes of her ancestors hang on the wall and adorn table linen like a religious symbol.

 

José Villarrubia lavishes bright colors on the vibrant city of Miami in Moon Dogs #1. Houseplants in her parent's dining room echo the palm trees and tropical plants outside. While Nala wears a green shirt, she rides a red motorcycle, matching the red meat and the crime scene. The blue on Carlos’ shirt matches her father’s, the seat cushions, and the dark blue moonlit night. While Kai wears pink like his mother, he recalls a brown and red-colored meeting with the alpha males. And when the full moon rises, Carlos is not invited to dinner when the family wears white.

 

Jeff Powell slashes black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and white letters into black narrative boxes. The font emboldens for inflection and rarely shrinks. Nala pours out her heart and hesitation on a yellow legal pad, and drawings accompany an essay on the Were-Hyenas of East Africa. Elegant blue letters adorn a boat hull, while red music notes dance above Nala’s head. Sound effects enliven this story about power and responsibility with gunfire and a ferocious feast. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

While Moon Dogs #1 ponders what we owe to the past and future, this story of heritage and lycanthropy also addresses those who feel marginalized within an oppressed community.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Sacred Damned #1 Review

 

Writer: Sabir Pirzada

Artist: Michael Walsh

Colorist: Toni Marie Giffin & Michael Walsh

Letterer & Designer: Becca Carey

Cover Artists: Michael Walsh & Tula Lotay

Editors: Will Dennis & Pornsak Pichetshote

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 23, 2024

 

Kyle is a college football star. He excels in his classes, and his girlfriend adores him. Then Allison hears Kyle speaking a foreign language while he sleeps. Another evening, Kyle’s roommate awakens him in the kitchen. How did Kyle become fluent in Arabic? And why is he devouring an entire cake in his sleep? Let’s slip on our sacred amulets, leap into The Sacred Damned #1, and find out!

 

Story

NFL scouts approach Kyle. His professors brag about him. But as he garners good grades and touchdowns, Kyle seeks medical help. Why can't the doctors prevent him from sleepwalking and dumpster diving for table scraps? Kyle’s horror grows when he awakens in the woods over a fresh kill. Then, he does something that will haunt him forever.

 

When Western medicine has no answers, a college professor introduces Kyle to Dr Inayah Jibril. Based on her knowledge of customs and the supernatural, Inayah believes a djinn inhabits Kyle.

As the Ethnography and Occult professor grabs the spotlight in The Sacred Damned #1, Kyle hopes she can rescue him. But is Inayah a hero, a villain, or (to coin a phrase) a bit of both? Inayah did her homework on Kyle and learned secrets few others know. She claims her interest in djinn is academic. Yet Inayah's childhood diary tells a different story.

 

While Inayah proves the central Human character in The Sacred Damned #1, the djinns also emerge as sympathetic figures. They predated Humans. Yet most Humans who believe in them shun them. Western civilization has banished ancient spirits to the realms of folklore. So, the djinns subsist like illegal aliens or Native American tribes not granted a reservation. Humans live far shorter lives than their predecessors. Yet the ever-growing human population has caused rising global temperatures, the extinction of plant and animal species, and the gradual eradication of the djinns’ forest homes.

 

Humans have ruined the djinn’s lives. So, a djinn ruined Kyle’s life. Yet the djinns have also ruined Inayah’s. She fought back by learning how to defeat them while the djinns plotted to overthrow Humanity. No one wins in Sabir Pirzada’s story. Unless, that is, you define winners as those who live to fight another day.

 

 

 

Art

While Allison's smile glows, Kyle looks haunted. An exploding football and a photo of burned hands on a phone precede Kyle's descent into gluttony. Five panels stretching horizontally across the page evoke Richard Bachman's (or, if you prefer, Stephen King's) novel Thinner in reverse. Another lineup of three panels shows sympathetic leaders seated beside an American flag. Dr Inayah Jibril wears a black shirt, army surplus pants, and black lace-up boots. The only person who smiles in the second half of The Sacred Damned #1 is someone Inayah loves.

 

Red and blue haunt an evening that should have brought joy. Reds, blues, greens, and yellows dominate Toni Marie Giffin & Michael Walsh’s art. The djinn’s presence often bleaches colors from Kyle's surroundings. An orange and yellow fire rages between Kyle and Inayah as blues, greens, and purples illuminate the heavily inked forest.

 

Giant colored letters haunt dark panels, while black uppercase letters embolden for intonation in white dialogue balloons. After black letters in yellow narrative boxes chart Kyle's downward spiral, a child's large handwritten pink letters link Inayah and Kyle’s childhoods. As wobbly white letters in black boxes convey the djinns’ complaints in The Sacred Damned #1, Becca Carey’s sound effects heighten a brutal clash between the factions competing for control of the planet Earth. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When Humans stop believing in the supernatural, they stoke the flames of their desires regardless of how it burns the planet. With the usurpers despoiling their home, the supernatural refugees initiate guerrilla warfare in The Sacred Damned #1. Humanity's best hope for survival might be a woman who admires the “evil” spirits.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Minor Arcana #1 Review

 

Writer, Artist & Colorist: Jeff Lemire

Letterer: Steve Wands

Cover Artists: Jeff Lemire; Tula Lotay & Dee Cunniffe; Dustin Nguyen; David Mack; Jenny Frison; Fernando Rosales; Michael Dialynas; Kevin Wada; Soo Lee

Designers: Tom Muller & Grace Park

Editors: Maya Bollinger, Eric Harburn & Matt Gagnon

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 4, 2024

 

After years in the big city, Theresa returns to her hometown. She dreads the move, but her mother needs her. Can Theresa make this situation work? Or is it a dumpster fire that will incinerate her life? Let’s grab our Tarot decks, leap into Minor Arcana #1, and find out!

 

Story

The bus driver shouts at her. Theresa awakens from a dream. She has arrived! Theresa lumbers out and glares at Limberlost. She drags her roller bag to the local Psychic shop. But Theresa can't face her mom yet and heads to Stella’s Café for a cup of joe. The waitress invites her to sit anywhere she likes. Theresa takes a table and stares out the window at her mom’s shop. Suddenly, the waitress is getting all personal, reminding her of their High School days. Theresa can’t take this. Not now. So, there’s nothing for it. It’s time to reenter her mom’s world.

 

Nothing has changed. Theresa's mom welcomes her warmly. Then Vickie mentions that she expected Theresa yesterday. Vickie also wonders why Theresa doesn't take more pride in her appearance. Vickie dresses to impress her clients and create the supernatural aura they love. But all Theresa sees is a sham. Her mother puts on a show. Vickie preys on people's sadness in this no-hope town that most dream of escaping but never do. Theresa can't respect her mom. Suddenly, all the old frustrations and anger arise. Theresa hurries to the local tavern. But drinking will only bring a momentary escape. Besides, she is on the wagon. So, Theresa tracks down what used to satisfy her. There's nothing there for her now. Still, there is comfort in memories.

 

In Minor Arcana #1, Jeff Lemire tackles the difficulties of escaping our past. Theresa moved away, but new friends and work didn’t fill the aching void inside her. Now, her mother is sick. Vickie needs her. And according to Vickie, Limberlost needs Theresa. No preppy influencers or commercial interests are revitalizing Limberlost. In this small community, people seek connection. Theresa observed her mother with clients while growing up. So what if it is all a show? The future is a scary place. Theresa can offer them guidance. Theresa can assure mourners that their loved ones still care about them. The clients want to believe what Theresa will tell them. After all, doesn’t everyone need something to believe in?

 

Minor Arcana #1 is subtitled The Fool: Part One. But is the Fool card up or reversed? If it falls upright, the Tarot card offers the possibility of new beginnings. But if reversed, it portends folly, lack of direction, and poor judgment. Theresa’s life up ‘til now seems rooted in the reversed card. Perhaps there is still time to turn her life around.

 

Art

Theresa's cheekbones jut out, and lines surround her eyes when she frowns. The wind blows her straggly hair out of her drawn face as the slim woman drags her roller bag past barren trees and old stone and brick buildings. A church steeple rises above the thrift shop and the coin laundry. While most people Theresa passes return her frown, Kelly’s eyes glow, and a smile stretches across her face when Theresa says something Kelly wants to hear.

 

Jeff Lemire lavishes watercolors on his hand-drawn art in Minor Arcana #1. The green and blue skies press down on this town of yellow, brown, and gray buildings. Kelly's red jacket outshines Teresa's gray pants and the green stripes on her sweater. The warm brown and yellow psychic shop suggests vitality. Red neon signs glow in the windows. The drawn drapes hint at purple. But Theresa dreads entering the shop, with its red walls, purple drapes and tablecloth, and a purple lamp that shines down on a smoky yellow and brown globe.

 

Steve Wands conjures black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Frequent intonation emboldens and enlarges words. The wonky wheel’s clacking draws a passerby’s attention as Theresa heads for the house she used to call home. Yet the knocking that fills her mother’s shop could transform Theresa’s life in Minor Arcana #1. Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

A dream plagues Theresa while she sleeps. She returns to it again and again. She ran away from her hometown for as long as she could. Now, she is back in Limberlost. Theresa must face whatever her subconscious and the universe want to tell her in Minor Arcana #1. After all, life is but a dream.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Blow Away #1 Review

 

Writer: Zac Thompson

Artist: Nicola Izzo

Colorist: Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli

Letterer: D. C. Hopkins

Cover Artists: Annie Wu, Tyler Boss, and Tula Lotay with Dee Cunniffe

Publisher: Boom!

Price: $4.99

Release Date: April 17, 2024

 

Brynne Brautigan traveled to Baffin Island in Canada. Her mission: to capture footage of nesting Red Knots. Alone in the arctic wilderness, her focus wanders. Will Brynne complete her documentary before the helicopter arrives to return her to civilization? Let's bundle up, leap into Blow Away #1, and see what happens!

 

Story

Brynne ventures onto the snow to reposition cameras and change memory cards. Then, she returns to examine the previous day's shots. GEM+ commissioned her to get coverage of the environment. She hunts for a scoop that will make her a star.

 

After forty-plus days alone, Brynne tires of studying her monitors. Yet the clock is ticking in Blow Away #1. Soon, the ice will thaw, and the endangered birds will abandon the area. Brynne dreads calling her producer. So when she checks in late, Matt Reznor gives her a drop-dead date. Then he’s sending the helicopter whether she’s ready or not.

 

With little time remaining, she’s hungry for a great story. So when two hikers appear, Brynne decides to multitask. But isolation and long hours make her careless. Or perhaps she’s just brave. Others have paid the price for her hunger for headlines. This time, Brynne could pay the price for her careless disregard for safety.

 

In Blow Away #1, Zac Thompson transports us to the edge of the world. Brynne spends her days gazing at Mount Asgard. After an encounter with a polar bear, an animal believed by native peoples to serve as an intermediary between Humans and the gods, Brynne spots two climbers. Like brothers, they help each other. Yet, like brothers, they also fight.

 

Brynne senses a mystery. But does she have the time to solve it?

 

Art

Snow assails Brynne, clad in her thick parka. She gazes through sunglasses as she checks her camera equipment. Nicola Izzo captures Mount Asgard's vast size in Blow Away #1. Izzo imbues the snowfields with a sorrowful feeling as Brynne races past crevasses on her snowmobile.

 

Is Brynne wrong about the Red Knots nesting on Mount Asgard? Sixteen images stretch longitudinally across two pages like a photography contact sheet. Two images capture the elusive birds. The remainder only shows the mountain and sled dogs pulling a hunter across the snow. Might the endangered birds be nesting on Mount Odin instead?

 

Inside her squat cabin on stilts, Brynne studies two monitors. Disposable cups of coffee proliferate as she perches on the edge of her chair. Instead of searching for the birds, Brynne studies the climbers. She denotes their personalities from their actions and appearances. The one with long, black hair seems nervous as he climbs. His blond companion, sporting a beard, seems more at home on the steep mountainside.

 

Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli color Baffin Island in white, blue, and green. White dominates, as you would expect, amid the constant snowstorms. Yellow, orange, brown, and purple claim cabin interiors, while the colors on her monitors serve as windows to the outside world. Yet red marks its territory in Blow Away #1. One climber wears a red jacket. But we notice it most when blood sprays and covers bodies. Then there’s the trail of red that Brynne follows when she risks her life to help someone in need.

 

D. C. Hopkins slots frail black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Inflection makes words bold or introduces color changes. Enormous white letters help us hear sounds and the howling wind, while their red cousins accompany a soul in pain.

 

Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Reality and mythology merge as a photographer seeks a killer scoop amid whiteout conditions on the mountain James Bond once skied off in Blow Away #1.

 

Rating 8.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Indigo Children #1 Review

 

Indigo Children #1 Review

Writers: Curt Pires & Rockwell White

Artist: Alex Diotto

Colorist: Dee Cunniffe

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Cover Artists: Alex Diotto; Tyler Boss; Tula Lotay; Jenny Frison

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 29, 2023

 

In the beginning, there was darkness. Then lights appeared. The lights took form and became the glowing eyes of youths across the Egyptian desert. The youths’ feet left the ground, and they floated through the air toward the head of the ancient Sphinx. What happens next? Let’s tune into Indigo Children #1 and find out!

 

Story

Five years earlier, young Alexei boards an airplane. He glimpses a passenger’s past: the pain he suffered during the Chechen War in 1994. His mother notices his reaction and asks what he sensed. He whispers to her. She leaves to speak with a flight attendant. Suddenly a guard points his gun at the man, and the plane explodes. Boom! 

 

 

 

 

Donovan Price is tracking a story. The journalist corresponds online with his source. He travels to Russia. He meets with an aging professor who once knew Alexei. The professor piques his interest without giving him anything concrete to go on. Donovan calls in a favor. He wants to find Alexei: presumably one of the Indigo Children.

 

This double-length debut issue takes readers on a journey from Egypt to an unnamed airport and then to England before finally transporting us to Russia. Curt Pires & Rockwell White clutch the facts against their chests, making it difficult to parse what's happening. The journalist plays a videotape of young Alexei on a VCR. Yet he later claims his source sent him the video via email. The journalist uses a satnav instead of his phone. His cell phone—or his mobile phone, as he's in Europe—looks more like it belongs to the past than the present. Or is it a satellite phone? Initially, I thought the action took place in 1999. Later, I guessed the early 2000s. It wasn't until I Googled something a character mentioned that I realized that "Now," as stated in Indigo Children #1, must mean “Now.” 

 

 

 

Art

Alex Diotto’s simple, direct style gets the job done. While his characters aren't all that expressive, they're not supposed to be. The journalist asks questions. Those he asks--Russians, in this case--refuse to answer him directly. People always sweat when they're nervous. At first, I thought young Alexei was a girl. But then, I didn’t realize he was Russian.

 

Alex’s automobiles and buildings are good-to-impressive. Roads are lines with ink blotches. Bushes are inked-in forms or shapes with dots. Yet every scene provides scale. He portrays faces and bodies consistently. A laptop looks like a laptop. Old Polaroids, a well-used cup and saucer, an unlatched window that swings inward: every detail—including Russian lettering on signs and buildings--sucks us into Donovan’s journey.

 

 

 

 

Dee Cunniffe’s limited color palette enhances Diotto’s rough line art. Color combinations change with the scenes. Yet each combination fits the time, place, characters, and mood seems spot on. Light touches of shading and highlights suggest light sources. The coloring underlines the journalist’s dark journey through a land that does not know freedom.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering conveys mood and intonation in Indigo Children #1. Sometimes symbols suggest a gasp or grunt. Dialogue balloons and attached arrows change shape. Lowered voices shift from uppercase to lowercase letters. I particularly like how he portrays psychic communication and suggests white noise pouring from a radio.  

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Government conspiracies, a hint of Heinlein’s novel Stranger In A Strange Land, and an overt reference to The Truman Show make this an intriguing debut. After two readings, I don’t understand everything in Indigo Children #1, but I welcome learning more.

 

Rating 7.3/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch