Women In Comics Presents: The Astonishing Art Of Amanda Conner…

I’ve been actively reading and collecting comic-books since I was a mere six years of age, my first ever encounter with a Superhero was through the dark and surly one himself – The Batman. From there I became a superfan of the Themysciran Titan – Wonder Woman, and eventually over the decades became a devoted stalwart of DC Comics and their menagerie of costume clad heroes and villains.

Not being content to just absorb the wonderfully fantastic stories wrought from the fevered minds of the various comic creators over the years, like most things I love in life, I was also heavily into the creative process behind the formation of the thrilling and titanic tales brought forth by said tomes… especially the diverse styles of the sundry artists who have regaled us with their wondrous takes on classic characters.

From an early age my favourite artists included such talented individuals as Neal Adams, George Perez, Brian Bolland, Norm Breyfogle, Adam Hughes, Phil Jimenez, Nicola Scott, Emanuel Luppachino and many, many too numerous to mention. Picking a favourite from these would always prove to be an insurmountable challenge… that was until I discovered the astonishing art of one Amanda Conner, from that point on anybody enquiring as to who my fave artist was, would not be able to shut me up as I enthused and rhapsodised over her awesome artwork. Quirky, zany, fun, and instantly recognisable… for me personally, Amanda will always be numero uno!

Amanda’s creative career began in the late 1980’s working for companies such as Archie Comics, Marvel and Harris’ Comics on their Vampirella series (which is where I first discovered her phenomenal oeuvre) But it was her work on the sundry female DC characters that led me to fall in love with her adroit artistic endeavours, especially her work with Starfire, Harley Quinn and Power Girl, which all remain (and always will) my absolute favourite versions of those iconic characters. 

On May of this year at the Comic-Con Revolution event in California, Amanda was honoured as the recipient of the Joe Kubert Distinguished Storyteller award, a prestigious achievement given only to the most outstanding comic-book creators, who exemplify both Joe Kubert’s artistic talent and commitment to the nurturing of the comic-book community. And long may she reign…

Ancient Amazon Archives Revisited – Act V

 

Pushing ever deeper into the cavernous chambers of the ancient Amazon archives we happen across an expertly crafted statue of Queen Hippolyta, the intricate design is so meticulous that it could only have been created by the Gods of Olympus themselves.

Tracing our fingers across the elaborate effigy we notice that the grandiose Sarissa spear that the likeness of the Amazonian Queen clutches in its left hand has a small catch hidden just below the tip. Lifting the catch cautiously causes the graven image of Hippolyta to suddenly drop the Aspis shield it was wielding. Upon retrieving the heavy bronze Aspis from the dusty chamber floors we notice, secreted behind the leather interior of the shield, a slender tome, that can only be translated through… ‘Classic Wonder Woman’  Precinct1313’s comic cover countdown to the 75th anniversary of the Titan of Themyscira.

Once more unto the breach my astonishing Amazonian affiliates as we celebrate yet another illustrious issue from those ceaseless composers of fantastic fiction – Gail Simone, Aaron Lopresti & Matt Ryan. Wonder Woman (volume 3) #41 was released in April 2010.

This compelling comic showcases a literal Clash of the Titans, as two of DC’s heavy hitters collide head on.  Kryptonian – Power Girl is the Earth 2 variant of Supergirl and possesses the same powers and skills as her parallel dimensional cousin, super strength and speed, near invulnerability, flight and more, making her a very ferocious foe to her rogues gallery of enemies. Unfortunately for the amazing Amazon, today, all of Power Girl‘s focus is directly on taking down Diana, in a battle royale of epic proportion.

Possessed by the offspring of Ares, Power Girl believes Diana to be a fake and instantly sets about exposing the truth by attempting to pummel the Themysciran Princess with all her immeasurable might. Though the two powerhouses are equals in both strength and fortitude, Power Girl is not an Amazon and with millennia of training and combat expertise, Diana is more than a match for the raging Kryptonian.

Another fantastic issue from Simone and Lopresti that pits two of DC Comics’ most beloved heroines. Standout moments of this two part tale entitled ‘A Murder Of Crows’ are, Wonder Woman extolling that she is “A Little Peeved” (after getting swatted by a down town bus that Power Girl is hefting like a baseball bat) and Power Girl punching Diana so hard… she ends up across the border in Canada!!

Join us again next time for more Classic Wonder Woman, my adroit Amazonian associates!

The Week In Geek… With Precinct1313

Welcome fellow agents of Precinct1313 to another episode of ‘The Week In Geek’ where we love to share our favourite Comic Book, Video-Game, and Cult Movie news for your perusal and pleasure. And so once unto the geek dear agents, once more…

Batman Family Set To Infiltrate Cinemas In 2019…

There’s an ancient Chinese proverb that says “You can never have too much Batman” and thankfully, in 2019, that wise old axiom will be coming true as we will be besieged by a veritable swarm of Bat awesomeness. According to my Gotham City sources, Warner Bros intend to make 2019 the year of the Bat by releasing not one, or two, but an astonishing SIX Batman related movies! 

That’s right fellow Batfans, six movies centered around everyone’s favourite costumed crimefighting compatriots. Apparently the plan is to release the Margot Robbie led “Gotham City Sirens” on or around Valentines Day, the highly anticipated “Nightwing” movie in May, Babs Gordon’s solo escapades in “Batgirl” in August, and finishing their DCEU Bat-run with “The Batman” in September. There will also be two animated movies, that will include an adaptation of the classic Long Halloween. All this Bat goodness will be part of DC and WB’s celebration of 80 years of Batman, roll on 2019, for it truly shall be… The Year Of The Bat.

Deathstroke… Superhero!?

Deathstroke is one of DC’s most popular and enduring bad guys, the Teen Titan’s nemesis has been with us since his inception in 1980 by comic book gods, mighty Marv Wolfman and glorious George Perez. Throughout his auspicious career as one of comic’s most prolific fan favourites he has been cast as both a murderous mercenary SuperVillain, and a violent anti-hero… but from Deathstroke #21, Slade Wilson will be going full Superhero ahead after being thrust into the Speedforce (by a Flash, which one is yet to be revealed) and emerging… a hero!?

“A new day has dawned for Deathstroke. Having emerged from the Speedforce a changed man, Slade Wilson takes aim at living a better life, a life in the sevice of justice. But when the world refuses to accept a new Deathstroke, Slade recruits a group of young Superheroes to join him including former Teen Titans, Kid Flash and Power Girl, his children Rose and Jericho, and the awesome Terra. But has Slade truly shed his villainous past? And what other shadowy forces are working against him?”

Well if Marvel can make Captain America evil (apparently he’s a bad guy, always has been) then DC can make Slade a good guy… right!?

It’s Dark, And It Matters…

DC Comics have disclosed that five new titles will be emerging from their newly announced “Dark Matter” line. The comic series’ will be barrelling out from the previously announced “Dark Knights: Metal”, the Batman-centric major event series that will encompass the entire DC Universe line this summer.

The five new ongoing comic series will consist of – “New Challengers” by Scott Snyder and Andy Kubert, “Damage” by Tony Daniel and Robert Venditti, “Immortal Men” by James Tynion IV and Jim Lee, “Sideways” by Dan Didio, Kenneth Rocafort and Justin Jordan, and finally, “The Silencer” by Dan Abnett and John Romita Jr.

These are seriously dream teams of the highest creative echelons, which bodes exceptionally well for the newly announced titles. DC Comics’ Co-Publisher and superstar artist Jim Lee commented on the new line with:

 “Dark Matter is a return to bringing both the writer and the artist to the fore, to unlock their true potential. At the talent summit we discussed what was currently missing in comics and how we could create something new for this generation. The result was Dark Matter, you’ll see bombastic action scenes and a narrative driven by the artist. This approach has energised the creators involved, myself included, and we’re going to have a lot of fun with these books!”

Why not join us again next time friends for more Week In Geek.

Classic Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman (Vol 3) #41

Pushing ever deeper into the cavernous chambers of the ancient Amazon archives we happen across an expertly crafted statue of Queen Hippolyta, the intricate design is so meticulous that it could only have been created by the Gods of Olympus themselves.

Tracing our fingers across the elaborate effigy we notice that the grandiose Sarissa spear that the likeness of the Amazonian Queen clutches in its left hand has a small catch hidden just below the tip. Lifting the catch cautiously causes the graven image of Hippolyta to suddenly drop the Aspis shield it was wielding. Upon retrieving the heavy bronze Aspis from the dusty chamber floors we notice, secreted behind the leather interior of the shield, a slim tome that can only be translated through… ‘Classic Wonder Woman’  Precinct1313’s comic cover countdown to the 75th anniversary of the Titan of Themyscira.

Once more unto the breach my Amazonian affiliates as we celebrate yet another illustrious issue from those ceaseless composers of fantastic fiction – Gail Simone, Aaron Lopresti & Matt Ryan. Wonder Woman (volume 3) #41 was released in April 2010.

This compelling comic showcases a literal Clash of the Titans, as two of DC’s heavy hitters collide head on.  Kryptonian – Power Girl is the Earth 2 variant of Supergirl and possesses the same powers and skills as her parallel dimensional cousin, super strength and speed, near invulnerability, flight and more, making her a very ferocious foe to her rogues gallery of enemies. Unfortunately for the amazing Amazon, today, all of Power Girl‘s focus is directly on taking down Diana, in a battle royale of epic proportion.

Possessed by the offspring of Ares, Power Girl believes Diana to be a fake and instantly sets about exposing the truth by attempting to pummel the Themysciran Princess with all her immeasurable might. Though the two powerhouses are equals in both strength and fortitude, Power Girl is not an Amazon and with millennia of training and combat expertise, Diana is more than a match for the raging Kryptonian.

Another fantastic issue from Simone and Lopresti that pits two of DC Comics’ most loved heroines. Standout moments of this two part tale entitled ‘A Murder Of Crows’ are Wonder Woman extolling that she is “a little peeved” (after getting swatted by a down town bus that Power Girl is hefting like a baseball bat) and Power Girl punching Diana so hard she ends up across the border in Canada!

Join us again next time for more Classic Wonder Woman, my adroit Amazonian associates!

Classic Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman (Vol 3) #34

Our torches flicker white hot incandescence across the walls of the ancient Amazon archives as we continue our research into the millenia long annals of the Olympus created Amazon race. We have descended vast depths since beginning this investigation, floor after floor of extensive libraries detailing every facet of the venerable Amazons and their feats of great valour, which are then regaled to you through – ‘Classic Wonder Woman’  Precinct1313’s comic cover countdown to the 75th anniversary of Zeus’ favoured daughter.

This weeks tantalising tome is brought to you by those veracious virtuosi of comic book excellence – Gail Simone, Aaron Lopresti & Matt Ryan. Released in September 2009.

Tag Team Champions

After her titanic struggle against the unremitting foe Genocide and a sorrowful departure from her home of Themyscira, Diana returns to her apartment in Washington DC. It is here she learns that Genocide is still alive, though broken and is being harboured by Dr Psycho in Japan, Psycho is using an underground Meta-Human fight arena as cover whilst he sets about returning Genocide (who is actually the corpse of Wonder Woman, stolen by Ares in the future and corrupted to become Genocide) to full power.

Diana consults fellow Justice League member Dinah Lance (better known as Black Canary) about her dealings with illegal operations such as Psycho’s fight den, who gleefully agrees to join Diana on her mission to infiltrate the Meta-Human arena as competitors. Cue another fantastically written tale by the talented Gail Simone, the quirky tale follows our two celebrated heroines on a journey through zany Japanese culture and even comparisons of Super female bust sizes(!?)… Of which the plentiful Power Girl comes out on top… of course!

I love this run of Wonder Woman by Gail Simone, in my opinion it rivals all the greats that came before and after it including George Perez and the more recent saga by Brian Azzarello. Simone just ‘gets’ the character like no other, it helps also that her talent runs the gamut of both deep dramatism and incredibly funny comedy. Rounding this series off perfectly are Aaron Lopresti’s fantastic visuals, his characters exhibit real emotion and his articulation of facial expressions in his art is worthy of the great Keith Giffen himself, and that is high praise indeed.

Join us again next time for more Classic Wonder Woman, my astonishing Amazonian associates!

 

Classic Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman (Vol 2) #174

Copyright: DC Comics

Return with us once more to the beautiful isle of Themyscira, home to the immortal Amazons and, Precinct1313‘s weekly comic-cover countdown to the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman. This week the ancient Amazon archives reveal their secrets in the form of “Wonder Woman (volume 2) #174.” Written by: Phil Jimenez. Cover art by: Adam Hughes. Interior art by: Phil Jimenez. Released in November 2001.

This weeks titanic tale is titled “The Witch And The Warrior” and is the first of a three part storyline that eventually serves as a set up for a six part crossover series entitled “The Joker’s Last Laugh.” In order to defeat witch-goddess Circe and her allies Silver Swan and Cheetah, Wonder Woman must engage the help of several female Superheroes. This terrific tome brings together some of DC’s greatest female Super heroes of all time including, girl of steel Supergirl, her parallel universe counterpart Power Girl, mistress of magic Zatanna, winged wonder Hawkgirl and the maid of might Mary Marvel. 

Join us again next week for another classic WW cover, my astute Amazonian associates!

Comic Cover Of The Week: Harley Quinn And Power Girl #5

Copyright: DC Comics

Welcome my comic collecting cohorts to another new comics Wednesday, and this weeks spotlight of excellence falls upon yet another Amanda Conner masterpiece – “Harley Quinn and Power Girl #5.” Comic book artist and writer extraordinaire Amanda Conner has long been a favourite of Precinct1313, after first discovering her work in the Terra mini-series in 2008, and then being blown away by her 12 issue run on the Power Girl ongoing series in 2009.

Amanda Conner studied at the famed Kubert school in New Jersey, where she cited Joe Kubert and Frank Miller as her main influences. After graduating she began her artistic career with Archie and Marvel comics, before moving on to work for Claypool Comics and then to Harris Comics to work on their popular Vampirella series in 1991.

Her career has gone from strength to strength since that time, with Conner taking the writing as well as artistic reins on many of DC’s popular characters, predominantly Harley Quinn and most things Power Girl related.

Classic Conner from Wonder Woman #600

Harley Quinn and Power Girl #5 is available at your local comic book emporium right now. Written by: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Art by: Stephanie Roux. Cover art by: Amanda Conner.

Comic Cover Of The Week: Convergence – Action Comics #2

(DC Comics, 2015)

This weeks confrontational comic-cover is drawn by one of the Precinct1313’s  all time favourite artists, the astounding Amanda Conner. Convergence: Action Comics #2 features a colossal struggle between what are quite possibly the world’s two most powerful female superheroes, the amazing Amazon, Wonder Woman versus the girl of steel, Power Girl. Be prepared for a battle royale of immense magnitude as these two titans of the DC Universe duke it out in an alternate reality clash between the ‘Crisis On Infinite Earths’ and ‘Red Son’ universes.

Convergence is a two month long maxi-series of comics that brings together heroes and villains from multiple timelines and alternate realities, to battle it out under the control of the villainous Braniac. Convergence: Action Comics #2 is written by: Justin Gray. Interior art by: Sean Parsons and Claude St. Aubin. Cover art by: Amanda Conner. Alternative cover by: Chip Kidd.

Convergence Changes Everything

(DC Comics, 2015)

Convergence is coming, DC Comics maxi-series, two month long comic-book crossover looks set to change the face of The New 52 forever. Convergence spans every era of DC characters, resurrecting  old favourites and showcasing classic heroes and villains from halcyon days gone by. Ted Kord returning as the Blue Beetle, Azrael donning the mantle of the Batman and Donna Troy as a key member of the Teen Titans, these and many more stories will be relayed through this huge ongoing two month saga, but wait, there’s more…

‘Shazam!’

On June 3rd, DC will be launching 24 new series alongside the 25 classic comics returning after their two month long Convergence hiatus. Co-Publisher of DC, Dan Didio explained that, “This  heralds a new era for the DC Universe, allowing us to publish something for everyone and be more expansive and modern in our approach to story-telling”. Exciting times ahead indeed fellow DC fans, it seems that the New 52 logo will also be removed from atop the comics, cementing this interesting change in direction.

New look Starfire is awesome!

New titles announced are: Batman Beyond, Bizarro, Bat-Mite, Black Canary, Constantine-Hellblazer, Cyborg, Dark Universe, Green Lantern-Lost Army, Doomed, Earth 2- Society, Dr Fate, Harley Quinn and Power Girl (awesome!), Justice League of America, Justice League 3001, Martian Manhunter, Midnighter, Mystic U, Omega Men, Prez, Red Hood- Arsenal, Robin-Son of Batman, Section 8, Starfire (amazing!) and We are Robin.

An amazing line up with Harley Quinn/Power Girl, Starfire and Red Hood/Arsenal being must haves for this particular DC fan. What are your thoughts on this divergence for DC Comics, are you as excited as we are for the future of the World’s greatest Superheroes? Sound off in the comments below, fellow fans of fantastic fiction!

New Comics Spotlight: Secret Origins #9

New comics spotlight this week falls upon DC’s return of the Secret Origins comic, this is actually the first issue of this updated series that I have picked up so far and not because of it’s cover star, Swamp Thing (though I do like the character), but for the back up story of Power Girl. This issue also features Green Lantern, John Stewart’s origin story.

The original Secret Origins comic goes way back to 1961, it was published as a one-shot and contained mainly reprinted stories, eventually becoming a mini-series in 1973 which ran a total of seven issues. It had a much larger print run in 1986, which comprised of  fifty issues that ran through to 1990. Chronicling the origins of the post crisis heroes and villains, I still have a large number of these original comics in my collection, so it was great to see the series return in April this year with the revised origin stories of the New 52 variants of DC’s popular heroes and villains.

As mentioned, Swamp Thing takes centre stage for this particular issue, Swampy is an elemental humanoid/vegetative hybrid possessing super strength and telepathic mastery over all plant life, created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson in 1971, with his first appearance in House of Secrets #92. Some of you may recognise Swampy from his popular television series in the 1980’s or the two films by prolific horror director Wes Craven and though by today’s standards they do come across rather camp and cheesy, they still hold up as a fun blast from the past and are well worth a watch.

If you are new to the DC Universe and have only started reading it since their New 52 reboot in 2011, then this is the perfect series to give you the up to date and revamped origin stories of their eponymous heroes and villains.

Swamp Thing is written by Charles Soule with interior art by Javi Pina, Power Girl is by Paul Levitz and Alisson Borges, and John Stewart’s origin is by Van Jensen and Pat Broderick.

Power Girl Unleashed…

Well this is awesome, Sideshow Collectibles once again show their superior sculpting skills with this amazingly lifelike statue of Kryptonian – Power Girl, aka  Kara Zor-EL. Kara hails from the alternate dimension of Earth 2, where she is known as Supergirl, after being stranded on Earth One with her best friend and fellow Superhero The Huntress, she changed her name to Power Girl/Karen Starr to differentiate herself from Earth One’s resident Supergirl. Cousin to Superman with the same powers, PG is one of DC Comic’s most enduring and beloved characters.

Original design by the amazing Stanley Lau

Sideshow’s premium format statue follows hot on the heels of last month’s Wonder Woman statue and is equally as gorgeous. Designed by the extremely talented Stanley Lau, this amazingly detailed statue stands at an impressive 21 inches in height. 

Sculpted in polystone by the very talented team of Andy Bergholtz, Mark Newman, Earl Ellis and Joe Menna, with the meticulous paintwork by Kat Sapene and Mireya Romo-Bowen. Sideshow are the kings of statue makers, Power Girl is limited 3000 statues worldwide and is also available in an even more exclusive limited variant edition with an interchangeable head. 

Variant version

We are huge fans of Power Girl here at the Precinct, you may recognise her as our header image for the website, so it goes without saying that we will probably have to get this at some point (as soon as our wallets recover from the expense of the Sideshow collectibles Wonder Woman purchase) Sideshow pre-orders begin November 13th, so if you like the look of this stunning statue head on over to their site PG fans.

We Love Kotobukiya – #3

Welcome back fellow collectors to part 3 of our regular look at Japanese toy and statue manufacturer extraordinaire – Kotobukiya. This time we shall be focusing on the amazing double team of Power Girl and her best friend and partner in crime-fighting, The Huntress.

Earth 2 superheroes Power Girl and the Huntress are two of DC comics most popular female characters, after being pulled through a dimensional rift and ending up on the parallel world of Earth 1, Kara and Helena must make a new life for themselves whilst also fighting crime and attempting to find a way back home.

Power Girl, Kara Zor-L, is beautifully sculpted by Tsukada Takashi from an original design by the amazing Shunya Yamashita. The statue stands at 1/7 scale, approximately 9″ and as ever is rife with detail, Kara is dressed in her fan favourite outfit and is posed dynamically with her red cape seemingly billowing behind her. The actual design of the character, especially the face, very much reminds us of previous Power Girl artist Amanda Conner’s classic take on the character…for us Amanda Conner will always be ‘THE’ Power Girl artist (though we did also enjoy replacement artist Kenneth Rocafort’s version)

The Huntress, Helena Wayne, also stands at 9″ in height and was sculpted by Masahiro Takashi. Cape and hair flowing in the wind, Helena stands with one foot on a gargoyle staring softly from behind her mask. The costume is amazingly detailed replete with armoured boots, utility belt and her iconic staff. Once more, as ever Kotobukiya have outdone themselves with this piece just exuding beauty and power, the eyes are especially amazing on this statue and are reflective of the quality craftsmanship that goes into each and every piece from Kotobukiya. As separate statues, Kara and Helena are amazing but if you can afford both, they definitely are – the Worlds’ Finest.

Precinct1313’s all time favourite comic-book characters..daily countdown.

Welcome friends…

NUMBER 6 is: Power Girl.

Power Girl was created by Gerry Conway and Wally Wood and was first introduced in All Star comics #58 in January of 1976, she is from the alternate reality of Earth 2 where she was known as Supergirl. Her origin story has varied over the years but currently is the same as her equivalent Earth one counterpart, when her parents learn that their planet-Krypton 2 was going to be destroyed they sent Kara Zor-L (PG’s real name) to Earth in a capsule to escape the destruction. At the same time her cousin Kal-El..Superman was also being put aboard his own escape capsule by his parents, though they left at relatively the same time Kara’s pod took longer to reach Earth 2.

There have been differing versions of what happened after this event in the comics, but the current story as told by the reboot New 52 version is that Earth 2 is attacked by the Apokolips ruler and God-like being of Darkseid, during this struggle the alternate versions of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are killed and Kara and her friend..fellow crime fighter Helena Wayne (known as the Huntress and daughter of Earth 2’s Batman and Catwoman) are thrown into a dimensional rift and end up on Earth one. Discovering that another Supergirl exists in this dimension PG changes her name to Karen Starr and renames herself Power Girl.

Though they are essentially the same character, the differences between Power Girl and Supergirl are many, PG is physically bigger than Supergirl and is a few years older and a lot less naive. Running her own billion dollar business, PG spends her off time fighting crime alongside the Huntress in the monthly World’s Finest comic-book.