Interviews with Erica Schultz & David 'Nem' Howard
Plus Comic Book Reviews & Crowdfunded Recommendations
What does summer mean to you?
Well here in Phoenix (where 3/4 of the Squares live), it means trying to find ways to minimize your time outside as much as possible. Unless it’s time spent in a pool. And as comic book lovers, it means now we have an excuse to stay inside and read comics all day.
If you’re a comic book fan like us, then you’ll definitely love this issue of our newsletter. We have interviews with a Kubert School instructor and a comic reviewer-turned-creator as well as our regular reviews and crowdfunded recommendations. There’s plenty here to help you add to your pull list!
As always, we’re open to hearing your feedback and suggestions, so please let us know what you think or ideas you might have for additions to this newsletter. Oh, and help us grow our subscriber list by sharing out our Substack!
OK, let’s get this show started!
Last Week on Comic Book Squares …
Indie Comic Reviews
Daughters of Albion
Review by Ben Rojek
Writers: Denis Phan, Beanie White
Artist: Matt Timson
Additional colors: Marco Lesko
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: Immortal London
In the “Letters of Albion” section at the end of the second issue of this comic series, a fan wrote, “I can see this as a Netflix series or film.” And I wholeheartedly agree!
“Daughters of Albion,” which takes place in a futuristic London, follows young hacktivist Hashani and grizzled Detective Shaw as they both try to uncover what’s behind mysterious events that seem to defy both reality and time. This expertly mixed world science fiction and fantasy at times reminded me of the work of Tad Williams in its intricate yet well-paced world building.
The entire team behind this series deserves praise for the cinematic quality of both the storytelling and artwork. Denis Phan and Beanie Aurora White’s writing allows us to be quickly immersed into this not-quite-dystopian London, with its overly powerful corporations and brutal secret agencies. But what is lurking behind the shadows? This is expertly teased in each issue so that we’re left wanting more.
We are also immediately endeared to protagonist Hashani and her robo-sidekick Bee. She’s an idealistic genius whose family loves her even if they don’t always get her. She’s got both the snark and the heart that make for a hero you can’t help but root for.
By issue 2, we still don’t know much about Detective Shaw beyond his drive to do the right thing. But the creative team leaves visual breadcrumbs about who he might have been before we meet him. This helps create sympathy for the hard-nosed detective and makes us wonder why he’s so cynical yet driven.
And finally, the artwork! Roy Allan Martinez and Fahriza Kamaputra join forces to create a London that is both recognizable and alien. A full-page spread in issue 2 really highlights this: shoppers walk hurriedly near Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain while police drones hover near a holographic police officer surrounded by the words “We protect you from yourselves.” And amongst the fray is a giant ancient spirit searching for its prey.
Only two issues are out, but this world feels fully polished and complete, even with all of its mysteries to be solved. I cannot wait to read more!
Read “Daughters of Albion” now on GlobalComix!
Insane Jane
Review by Shane Walsh
Writer: Zach Hunchar
Penciler: Mendoza
Colorist: Mindwinder
Letterer: Johnny Lowe
Publisher: TidalWave Productions
Jane has a few issues to deal with and I’m all in for the ride.
I’m a sucker for characters that have some issues to work through. I was a big fan of Badger back in the 80’s and Jane has a similar feel. This first book really sets up the world that all the characters live in as well as the relationships. I get that sense that everything in the book is going to come back at some point.
The artwork by Mendoza is fun and energetic. I absolutely love the artistic choice to keep Jane in color and the rest of the characters in black and white. I wonder if I’m reading too much into it, but I get the sense that Jane feels like she is an outsider and not connected to anyone. By keeping her in color and then rest in black and white it emphasizes her distance from everyone else.
The writing is really tight and not a line of dialog is wasted. The characters are interesting and distinctive even when they are only on a page or two. I’m excited and engaged to keep reading to see where the story goes.
Read “Insane Jane” now on GlobalComix!
Dream Foundry Comic Script Contest 2023
We’re still raising funds for the Dream Foundry Comic Script Contest. You can donate directly to Dream Foundry (which is a nonprofit), or if you’d like to get something for your donation, visit our online store! Every penny of profits from the store will go directly to the contest fund.
9 Questions with Erica Schultz
(Erica Schultz is a comic book writer, editor, and letterer who has worked for publishers from Marvel and DC to Action Lab Comics, Dynamite Comics, Image Comics and more. She was recently announced as the writer for the upcoming What If...? Dark: Moon Knight #1 and Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1.)
How did you get into working in comics?
ES: I was working at an art studio where they were doing the animation for the Astonishing X-Men motion comic Gifted. They needed digital artists and animators, and I had worked as an art director and graphic designer. I was brought in at first just to separate the artwork. I was taught how to animate, and I excelled at lip syncing for whatever reason. So I ended up doing the lip syncing for the entire six episodes.
Once that project was over, we moved onto comics like Batman Odyssey and The First X-Men. My duties varied on those from doing ink and color assists to tying up scripts. I had always liked comics, but I never saw it as a way to tell my own stories, but after being exposed to the process of making comics, I decided to give it a try with some stories I had floating around.
I partnered with one of the other artists at the studio, Vicente Alcázar, and we created M3, an assassin/crime story. We put out 12 issues on our own, and that story became my portfolio piece for editors.
What is your current comic all about?
ES: I have a few current comics in stores. X-23 is a look back on Laura's life during the Utopian era. Hallows' Eve is a story following Janine Godbe from the Dark Web crossover in X-Men and Amazing Spider-Man. Issue #3 for both come out in May.
ASSASSIN OR X-MAN? THE DEADLY DAYS OF X-23! LAURA KINNEY, A.K.A. X-23, was cloned from LOGAN and trained by the Facility to be a deadly assassin. Even as she tries to put that life behind her, forces will try to drag her back - and she'll fight them tooth and claw! Beset by NEW ENEMIES - as well as OLD FAVORITES! - and set during X-23's days as a member of X-MEN and X-FORCE, when she walked away from the island of UTOPIA to find where she truly belongs, join us for an ALL-NEW story in thefan-favorite saga of Laura Kinney!
Spinning out of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Hallows' Eve gets her own series!
Janine Godby's world has been blown up several times in her life, but this time. she has a bag of super-powered masks and a chip on her shoulder. She's on the run from the police, but there's someone else after her too. Don't miss this breakout character break even bigger!
Who is everyone on the creative team?
ES: For X-23, there's Edgar Salazar (p/i), Carlos Lopez (c), Clayton Cowles (l), Kalman Andrasofszky (ca).
For Hallows' Eve, there's Mike Dowling (p/i and ca), Brian Reber (c), and Joe Caramagna (l).
Both teams are terrific, and I really enjoy working with them.
If you were to compare your comic to any two movies/shows/books, what would they be?
ES: Well, X-23 could be compared to The Incredible Hulk (1977) where Laura is on a sabbatical and trying to find herself. In the meantime, her past catches up with her, and she gets tangled up in a bad situation.
Hallows' Eve would be compared to a heist gone horribly wrong, so The Italian Job or the like, although those films always have a crew, and Janine works alone … mostly.
Who are your biggest creative inspirations?
ES: In terms of comics writers, I'm very inspired by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Chris Claremont, Chuck Dixon, Ann Nocenti, Ed Brubaker, Eve Ewing … they're all doing and have done incredible stories that push the limits of the medium.
What was the first comic you remember reading?
ES: I would get comics from my older brother, and I remember Batman: A Death in the Family. I was very confused because I had just been watching Adam West and Burt Ward on TV, and Robin looked fine. How could he be dead on the cover of the comic? That was a lesson for me in wards growing up and being replaced. There was also a violence to it that was visceral. Many of the situations that comics had presented had other-worldly violence: Dark Phoenix was caused by an alien force. Carol Danvers was assaulted by a character from another physical plane. This was just a crazy dude with a crowbar and some explosives. I hadn't read The Killing Joke when I read A Death in the Family. TKJ had come out a few months earlier. I don't know if it would've prepared me or scared me off of ADitF.
Besides yours, what are some comics you’re currently reading?
ES: In preparation for the Secret Wars show coming out, I'm rereading the entire Secret Wars run. I also just finished Know Your Station by Liana Kangas and Sarah Gailely.
Where do you fall on the pineapple on pizza debate?
ES: Absolutely not. Pineapple does NOT belong on pizza ever. I love pineapple. I could eat it all day in a fruit salad, mixed with cottage cheese or a nice Greek yogurt. But it has never and WILL never belong on pizza.
Crowdfunded Comics Recommendations
Crossover Division Vol. 1: Fictions & Other Truths
When stories come to life and threaten to fracture reality beyond repair, only an English professor and a research librarian have the knowledge and smarts to save us all. Join Hank Wallace and Hector Ramirez in Crossover Division Volume 1: Fictions & Other Truths as they encounter the War of the Worlds, Dracula, and Shakespearean tragedy in a small, midwestern town! This limited edition, oversized hardcover collects Crossover Division issues 1-4.
Back Crossover Division Vol. 1: Fictions & Other Truths now on Kickstarter!
StoneCop
In the city of Brighton Ridge, Colorado, the rock trolls came down from the mountains to terrorise the population. They tear up streets, crush vehicles and rip open homes.
The people live in fear, and only one thing can save them - to defeat the masonic menace, we need StoneCop! Once a rock troll himself, he's been chiselled down and reprogrammed to become the city's most statuesque law enforcer.
And now he faces his greatest test yet - transporting an imprisoned troll across the city to become the first inmate in Stonemax, their new maximum security underground prison. But the mountain monsters are determined to intercept the transfer and punish our hero for betraying them.
And if StoneCop survives this gravelly gauntlet, what other dark secrets lurk in the mountains?
Back StoneCop on Kickstarter!
Threads
Bronco Ink Comics is proud to present our latest graphic novel, Threads, a 96 page B-movie, sci-fi, sartorial satire of high fashion, sibling rivalry, and mind-controlling alien fabric!
Threads is the story of the Strand sisters, Devin and Phoebe as they try to break into the fashion industry. They both face issues with Devin’s sudden success until Phoebe discovers an alien fabric that changes their fortunes, challenges their relationship, and tries to take over the world!
Spoofing the fashion industry and B-movies at the same time, Threads is full of b-movie sci-fi action and suspense, great humor, and strong female characters.
Back Threads on Kickstarter!
