Curb Stomp Launch with writer Ryan Ferrier at Alpha Comics February 25th.

curbstomp

Alpha Comics is pleased to announce that Ryan Ferrier will be returning to the shop to launch his new comic Curb Stomp! Visit Alpha Comics on Wednesday, February 25th between 2 and 8pm to meet Ryan Ferrier. Don’t miss his other new release, D4VE!

CURB STOMP #1

BOOM! STUDIOS

(W) Ryan Ferrier (A) Devaki Neogi (CA) Tula Lotay

WHY WE LOVE IT: Punk rock isn’t dead…yet. Turf wars, breaking rules, crushing violence, and Black Flag-these are a few of our favorite things, and we can’t wait for Curb Stomp to straightup
knock our teeth out (in a good way).
WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT: Writer Ryan Ferrier (D4VE) is a creator on the rise, and newcomer Devaki Neogi’s art will hook you with its aggressiveness but keep you coming back with its heart. Curb Stomp is an unflinching, visceral look at the lengths one woman will go to protect her friends, her family, and her home-perfect for fans of Rat Queens and the seminal ’70s cult-favorite film The Warriors.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Three gangs. Five girls. No way out. Machete Betty leads a small gang of women under the selfappointed task of protecting their home of Old Beach, one of three boroughs surrounding a rich metropolitan city. When Betty takes the life of a rival gang member in an act of self-defense, she sets off a chain reaction of retaliation, gang warfare, and unlikely allies. It’s up to the The Fever-Machete Betty, Derby Girl, Bloody Mary, Daisy Chain, and Violet Volt-to defend their turf at all costs.

BATTLEWORLD

BATTLEWORLD

Marvel Presents the Second of Three New Series Banners For SECRET WARS!

Press Release – New York, NY—January 22, 2015— The Marvel Universe has been destroyed! One by one, each and every universe across the cosmos has been eliminated. All that exists is a new, patchwork planet made up of the remains of decimated universes. Today, Marvel is proud to announce BATTLEWORLD, which joins LAST DAYS as two of the three unique umbrella brands of titles launching during Secret Wars!

“If you want the full story of what’s happening across the surface of this new planet, BATTLEWORLD branded titles are for you,” says Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso. “Who polices Battleworld? How do the various domains interact? What happens when those domains go to war? What strange, never-before-seen creatures inhabit this world? What familiar faces will make appearances? Fans who want to fully understand how each sector interacts with the others can’t miss out on these books!”

Titles carrying the BATTLEWORLD banner will focus on the interworking and interaction of all the domains now fused together throughout the one and only remaining planet! The Secret Wars are waged as the last remaining fragments of dead universes fight for survival. Who rules these domains? Who comes out on top? Who lives? Who dies?

“The inner machinations of Secret Wars happen here,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “BATTLEWORLD branded titles will be clearly marked through the Marvel Previews solicits as well as with well distinguished cover trade dress, this way both retailers and fans will know what they’re getting. Think of these as the new core monthly titles. “

What secrets are about to be revealed? Find out this may as Secret Wars enters BATTLEWORLD!

Congratulations to Jen Marie, Winner of Calgary Artist Challenge VIII!

Our Calgary Artist Challenge VIII judge, Cameron Stewart has made his picks for the top three challengers!

Congratulations to the winners!

1. Jen Marie

2. Nick Johnson

3. Christopher Peterson

Thanks to Cameron Stewart and all of the challengers! See everyone’s art here.

Calgary Artist Challenge VIII: Batgirl Takes Over Alpha Comics

Last summer DC revealed the new Batgirl redesign by Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr. Using the Batgirl #38 blank variant, local artists have been challenged to draw the new Batgirl. Artists had Wednesday to complete their art piece at Alpha Comics. Here are all the entries. Click on them to view them at full scan size.

Jen Marie

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Jaret Murphy

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Mark Matchem

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Shae Frank

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Jon Boy Hartz

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Mackenzy Peters

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Christopher Peterson ___________________________________________

Nick Johnson

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Sho Uehara

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Cam Hayden

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Roberto Duque

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Steven Charles Rosia

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Boxing Day Sale Friday December 26th

Boxing Day Sale! Fill out your comic collection at low prices! The first 10 people at the door will be awarded a ticket that can be redeemed at the counter for a grab bag packed with free comics! Alpha Comics opens at 11am.

Buy one comic - get one free (of equal or lesser value) in our Alpha Kids section.
Marvel comics, 10 for $15. Get 10 Marvel single issue comics for only $15. Regular price $3-$6 each.
40% off on blank variants. Take 40% off these heavy blank cover-stock comics. Intended for artists to draw a one-of-a-kind cover.
Select comics for $1 or less!
and more unannounced sales!

Bitch Planet #1 Review

Bitch Planet #1 Review

By: Rob Neil Gruszecki

Cast out onto a prison planet for their “non-compliance”, several women are added to an ever increasing list of incarcerated contestants on Bitch Planet, or as the less coarse call it, the “Auxiliary Compliance Outpost”. Here on this penal colony designated for neutering and dulling the independent thought and expression of women the main undercurrent is incendiary. A brawl breaks out almost immediately as the newest members are introduced into the fold and chaos looks to be the natural order, or at least until the ‘Red Window’ closes. In an audacious first installment we get a taste of the coming apocalypse of the patriarchy and it is a glorious, exciting sample of what is to come.

Continue reading →

Calgary Artist Challenge VIII

CAC8

This is a public invite for all local artists to visit Alpha Comics on Wednesday January 14th. The challenge is to create the best cover for Batgirl #38. You will be given one copy of the the Batgirl #38 blank variant. Then at the store, use your art skills to create a cover that will make jaws drop. Bring your own supplies. There is no restriction with medium, only that the art has to be on the blank variant. Alpha Comics will be open 11am – 9pm that day and artists can visit anytime on that date to work on and submit their cover. Art must be done in the store. Each submitted cover will be scanned and uploaded to alphacomics.ca. On Thursday January 15th entries will viewed by our guest judge. Prizes will be awarded to the top three covers as decided by Batgirl writer and cover artist, Cameron Stewart. (Guest judge will not be appearing in the store, they will be sent scans of the entries to view.)

Why should you participate?
This event will showcase local art, supporting the local artist community.
Your art will be exposed to thousands of people who are paying attention to Alpha Comics on the internet, including industry pros and comic fans across North America.
Prizes include blank variants that you’ll be able to create art on and sell at conventions or online. First place winner will receive a Copic marker set, the best markers used by industry pros.

3rd prize - Three Batgirl #38 blank variants.

2nd prize – Five Batgirl #38 blank variants.

1st prize – Five Batgirl #38 blank variants. Copic Original Markers 12pc Set Basic

Limited copies of the Batgirl #38 blank variant will be ordered. Email

Alpha Comics to R.S.V.P. and secure a copy or if you have any questions.

ODY-C #1 Review

ODY-C-1-Cover

ODY-C #1 Review

By: Rob Neil Gruszecki

Troiia has fallen. Rendered asunder by the crew of the ODY-C, a wasteland world calls out to the cosmos in anguish. A war has ended and home beckons. Odyssia guides a fleet of wards, shiftcaptains, dire mechanica and lesser girls through the far reaches of the galaxy on a path towards Ithicaa. Towards home. Diverted by the breath of Poseidon, the warship tumbles through space into dangerous territory. An epic journey only begins in a war torn cosmos as a lost captain ponders her purpose in a life after war.

Homeward bound

Warless at last

In a clever and unique retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, cosmic maniacs, Matt Fraction and Christian Ward, bring together a staggeringly expansive adventure story through the far reaches of the galaxy. Warping mythology in an important and exciting way, ODY-C is a beautiful journey and one of the most exciting trips you will take this year in comics.

Refreshingly, most of the cast at the core of the Odyssey have been gender swapped, wiping men almost entirely from the mythos. Very organically, ODY-C establishes itself as a revolutionary title in Superhero, Sci-Fi storytelling giving it a unique perspective that is so barely seen in comics or fiction in general. Eliminating ubiquitous genre tropes and stereotypes by merely flipping them, ODY-C immediately blasts forth as something fresh, interesting and important.

ODY-C in one issue manages to deliver a Tolkien level of backstory, plot and exposition which is presented in a history timeline of the universe as well as a beautifully rendered map. This addition is a must read in order to follow along with the main story and to really get the most out of your experience. I found it a brilliant compendium to the book giving it so much lore, shape and definition. Fraction puts readers in the world of ODY-C adeptly by transporting you directly to the “Birth of all known things” and then to the end of an era that feels like a whole new big bang and creation.

The visuals in ODY-C are absolutely stunning. An 8-page gatefold that overlooks the destruction as the dust settles on a devastated planet is a truly incredible sight. The fact that this book costs only $3.50 with the amount of content and artwork crammed onto each page is mind-blowing. Vibrant and lush colours are like a psychedelic trip, mesmerizing and creative, they swirl through space like paint splatters floating through a vacuum.

Getting to see the passion, care and effort that goes into making a creator-owned title is what makes reading comics worth every penny. Consistently Image comics widens its roster and publishes more and more of the best titles you will read in comics, hands down, and ODY-C is one of them.

Rob Neil Gruszecki is a writer, musician and Wednesday warrior

Follow him on Twitter @Ghost_Factory

Listen to his music www.Ghostfactory.bandcamp.com, read his comic series with Shae Frank, www.wildrosecounty.com or follow the Weekly Comics Round-Up Podcast www.Geekstampede.com

Tooth & Claw #1 Review

toothclaw

Tooth & Claw #1 Review

In an effort to return a once vibrant world teeming with magic to what it was, a gathering of wizards and beings of incredible power attempt to combine their abilities and summon the champion of legend. The original herald of lore who brought about the world’s age of magical enlightenment to begin with will be conjured by a magnificent coalition of strengths and mystical incantations. However now, sifting through the rubble of a decimated sky city brought crashing to the ground, the creatures of Keneil wallow in defeat until the discovery of what could be the key to their future.

We were good and gentle creatures

From Image Comics and the co-creator of Astro City comes Tooth & Claw, an epic fantasy that journeys through a magical landscape with an endless supply of imagination and wonder. In a number one that boasts 48 full pages of dense storytelling, universe building, action and character construction, Tooth & Claw is amongst the best Image number ones in recent memory alongside books like Saga and East of West. There really is just so much incredible content in this first issue, it’s astounding. Each page is lush with the complex design and exploration of a brand new world like pages out of a Kirby series and each panel is chock full of the exciting, collaborative imagination of the book’s creative lineup.

Narrative wise, Tooth & Claw reads like the documentation of a fully developed planet that has been under intense, microscopic examination for centuries and its inhabitants are citizens that have grown up and flourished there in real time. Seamless dialogue and soulful exposition, Kurt Busiek’s scripting is as genuine, organic and passionate as I’ve come to expect from the writer. His prose is beautiful, providing mesmerizing captions like from The Sandman that layer slick texturing to already gorgeously rendered environments. Being an enormous Astro City fan I couldn’t wait for this book and my expectations were at an all time high. Safe to say that here, Busiek delivered and then some.

This is the first work I have had the pleasure of reading from Benjamin Dewey and already he is amongst my favorite comic artists. Characters, settings, action sequences, you name it, are all here in spades in this first issue and alongside the brilliant color work of Jordie Bellaire, Tooth & Claw features some of the best artwork at Image next to Emma Rios’ work on Pretty Deadly. Jumping from all-encompassing shots of floating cities to their intricate inner workings then to the expressive features of hyper evolved animals then rapidly to full page spreads of explosive chaos, Dewey is eclectic and adept at every facet of the book’s visual storytelling.

I am truly excited by this series. With a top tier creative team, endless well of imagination and excitement and one of the best value first issues to be released in years, I think we have a truly masterful fantasy epic to look forward to watching unfold in Tooth & Claw.

Rob Neil Gruszecki is a writer, musician and Wednesday warrior

Follow him on Twitter @Ghost_Factory

Listen to his music www.Ghostfactory.bandcamp.com, read his comic series with Shae Frank, www.wildrosecounty.com or follow the Weekly Comics Round-Up Podcast www.Geekstampede.com

Midnight Feature Signing. October 29th

Wednesday, October 29th Alpha Comics will be hosting a signing for the new anthology comic MIDNIGHT FEATURE. Meet Justin Heggs, Joey Gruszecki, Rob Gruszecki, Carson Long, Nijoel Leman, and Heidi Forsyth between 3pm and 8pm.