The Official Archaia Studios Press Thread

[PhotoJones]

This thread is for Mouse Guard, Okko, The Killer, The Secret History, Robotika or Artesia. Archaia's a great little publisher who seem to churn out hit after hit. Mouse Guard is HUGE, and gearing up for the second mini. The Killer has been getting amazing reviews (including from myself). Okko has been getting a lot of attention. And Artesia has even been optioned for a movie. So, in lieu of creating a slew of threads, I thought we could contain it to this one.

Anyone familiar with or reading an Archaia Studios Press title?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I just bought the Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 hardcover. I've only read a few pages into it so far, though.

 

[PhotoJones]

That book is great. A couple months ago, I dropped $50 on first printings of all six issues. How much was the hardcover, and what's the bonus material like?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It has a $24.95 cover price, and the extras include maps of the Mouse Territories and Barkstone, a nice illustration and page of text on Lockhaven, common mouse trades with illustrations, and a gallery of pin-ups by people like Guy Davis and Jeremy Bastian. Pretty sweet, given that I've heard buying the actual comics is way more expensive than $25 from others besides you.

 

[PhotoJones]

Yeah, it's pretty expensive. I may end up selling the issues and snagging the hardcover....

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm about halfway through now. It's pretty great. One thing I keep wondering, however, is how the **** you pronounce "Celanawe."

 

[PhotoJones]

I'm not sure, myself. I didn't know how to pronounce Mjolnir until I bought Ultimate Alliance and Thor said it. t:

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Heh, nice. The sheer weirdness of the spelling makes me think it's Welsh, in which case I have absolutely no idea how to pronounce it. It could be anything from "KELL-an-a-way" to "CHAIL-na-way" or something. Crazy Welsh.

Anyway, I just finished it. Cool story. I like a lot of the characters, especially Sadie, Kenzie, and Lieam. I was totally expecting Sadie and Conrad to wind up together, but those bastard crabs took him away from her. The part near the beginning with the snake was really cool. I'm looking forward to Winter 1152.

From the extras, I was particularly impressed by Mark Smylie and Jeremy Bastian's work in the pin-up gallery. Guy Davis was awesome, of course, but he's always awesome so I kind of disregarded him. The "Common Mouse Trades" thing was adorable enough to make me giggle like a schoolgirl, too.

 

[PhotoJones]

The pin ups were in the actual issues, too. I remember the Guy Davis one, specifically. Good stuff.

A little off topic, but have you seen anything about the Mice Templar? It's Oeming's new ongoing for image about a group of warrior mice. Apparently he's not been influenced by Mouse Guard and even sought and received david Peterson's approval.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I have only seen a full-page ad for it in the back of a recent comic... a Highlander issue, maybe. It looks like it'll be more of a fun, campy adventure where Petersen's Mouse Guard is more serious. I happen to be a big fan of mice (I had a pet one when I was younger) so I'm looking forward to both.

 

[PhotoJones]

Yeah. Anything Oeming drawn is in my book. Like you said, it looks to be a little lighter, but I can also see it being bloodier, too.

 

[Darthphere]

If any of these books were any good they'd sell in the top 10. Keep reading your garbage.

 

[PhotoJones]

That joke never gets old.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

If we were from the Marvel school of business, we'd praise Darthphere for making fun of us because it'd mean people are talking about us, at least.

 

[PhotoJones]

As anyone (and by "anyone" I mean you, Corp) read Okko or the Killer? Okko's 4 issue mini about to wrap up, and the Killer is a 10 issue mini on issue 4 right now. Both are excellent, and completely different from Mouse Guard or anything else Archaia puts out.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I haven't read either. I'll look into them, though. What's each about?

 

[PhotoJones]

Okko is a ronin who's on a quest to find a kidnapped girl, Little Carp. He's joined Noburo, a masked warrior (who might actually be a demon), Noshin the Drunk Monk and Tikku, Carp's little brother. The artwork is flat out amazing. Sooo detailed and colorful. It's written and drawn by a French guy called HUB. If you're into feudal Japan samurai stories (and really, who isn't?), you'll love it. I can garauntee that.

The Killer is a story that follows a nameless hitman. It's primarily set in Paris and Venezuala. The book flows well, and each issue has it's own little plot, but it's all part of a much larger story. Again, the art is fantastic. Luc Jacamon (nother Frenchman) is the artist, and it's written by a guy called Matz. Matz's script seems perfectly suited to Jacamon's artwork. My favorite scenes are the Parisian ones. You can almost smell the scent of stale cigarettes and wine. I'd say if you're a fan of De Niro's Ronin, you'd be into this book as well. The tones are very similiar.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The Killer sounds pretty good. I like stuff with hitmen and espionage and all, and I've been wanting some more comics like that. I'm already planning to pick up Rucka's Queen and Country because I'm totally gay for Rucka, but I'll probably check this out too and maybe wind up with a spy/politics triumvirate in this, Q&C, and Checkmate.

I'm also thinking I may track down The Secret History. I love historical fiction and immortals are always cool.

Okko I'm not really feeling. I'm actually one of the few who aren't really into feudal Japan stories. I like some, but I think I've been overloaded by 99% of anime, which is based in some way on the wandering ronin archetype. I may pick up a trade sometime, though.

 

[PhotoJones]

The Killer's on it's fourth issue. It's a ten part story, and I know there are plans to collect it in either a trade or a hardcover, or possibily both. The first issue is extremely hard to find, so this might be your best bet.

I actually have the first issue of Secret History, but I haven't gotten to it yet. At first, I thought it was an illustrated retelling of the Bible. I was so confused with why Igor Kordey would want to do that.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Kordey's gotten a lot better. His style is much better suited to The Secret History than it was to X-Men, too.

 

[PhotoJones]

There was an interview Newsarama did with Kordey not too long ago. He explained that he was initially put on X-Men because of his speed. They needed someone to literally complete an issue in a week. Once he pulled that off, they gave the book to him. He said that he developed a sort of more expressionist style to stay ahead of schedule, and he kept using that style because the editors kept patting him on the back. He thought they were digging his style, when in reality they just liked his speed. He developed kind of an attitude about it, that it must be great work if the X-editors liked it. He said he saw things in it that weren't there, and that he thought he was being really progressive. When he left the book, he looked back at his work, and he even he admits it's not very good.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Marvel really ****ed up his firing. One and a half issues of Excalibur in the can already, and they just let him go without offering a replacement series or a couple fill-ins 'til he could find a permanent new job or anything.

 

[PhotoJones]

Wow, I wasn't aware of that part. That's a raw deal.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Yeah, Kordey was understandably pissed. I'm glad he found other work, though. He was kind of a dick about superheroes anyway.

 

[PhotoJones]

Really? How so?