Black Tower Graphic Novels, Comic Albums and Comics

 

Three Decades From Concept To Conclusion: The Invasion Earth Series of Graphic Novels

  "I read the original quote from that German blogger and thought it was a lot of hot air. When Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes arrived I thought "thick book" and knew you'd taken it from 96 pages to 360+...it looked impressive. I read through it in two days and -robots, aliens, "gods", super heroes, sorcerers, alien invasions and more and world-wide. And you tell me this was done without a script?! It's the only one I can think of so, yeah, the greatest British super hero graphic novel fits as a description." Pete Clark

"You say this is your final big story? The Green Skies was fantastic and everything laid out into chapters was a great touch!"

David Stephens, Comic Reviews

" 'Holy ******* ****!' was all I could say. I even tried counting the number of characters and how the **** you produced all of this without a script beats me. Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes and The Green Skies could only have been better if George Perez had drawn it!"

Dan's Comics

"I have no idea why you are not pushing this even harder. The books Return of the Gods: Twilight of the Super Heroes and The Green Skies I would love to see in German or at least get German fans to read since it has a good number of German heroes in it. Next big comic event over here send me copies and I'll sell them on my table!"

Gerd Hammer, German comics historian and trader

Selected comic readers were also chosen to review copies and, obviously, two of these were people from Hong Kong who I corresponded with on Manhua over the years.

"I just wish someone like Tong Li would publish this in Chinese -I mean there are Chinese heroes in this so why not?"

Wang Xiuying

"There HAS to have been a script and more than one person working on this! Brilliant!"

Mike Wayne, Australian comic dealer

Generally, these comments were all similar and I only quote these as any more would be very egotistical. The books should speak for themselves.

Paperback

A4

Black & White

331 Pages

Price: Reduced to £21.89 

Prints in 3-5 business days

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-return-of-the-godstwilight-of-the-super-heroes/paperback/product-22076337.html

It begins slowly.  It always does. It's a deception that everything in the world is as it should be and that never changes.

Earth’s heroes and crime-fighters are going about their daily tasks –fighting a giant robot controlled by a mad scientist’s brain, attackers both human and mystical -even alien high priests of some mysterious cult and their zombie followers and, of course, a ghost and a young genius lost in time. 

Pretty mundane. 

But psychics around the world have been sensing something.  A "something" that sends feelings of sheer terror through their psyches.

There is a huge alien Mother-ship near the Moon. Undetected by deep-space radar and other instruments, only a few on Earth have sensed it and they cannot penetrate the hull but only feel psychic screams and....worse.

And then it begins: strange orange spheres isolate and chase some of Earth’s heroes who then vanish into thin air –are they dead?  An attack by an old foe or foes -?

Black, impenetrable domes cover cities world-wide. 

Then it becomes clear to those within the domes what is going on: Alien invasion of Earth! 

A war between the Dark Old Gods and the pantheons that followed! 

Warriors from Earth’s past having to battle each day and whether they die or not they are back the next day! 

No one suspects the driving force behind the events.  One single evil guiding events.  Events that could cause destruction and chaos throughout the multiverse.

Assaulted on all fronts can Earth’s defenders succeed or will they fail...is this truly the end? 

The Cross-Earths Caper: Part II of the Invasion Earth Trilogy

Paperback, 

A4

Black & White

107 Pages

Price: £12.00

Prints in 3-5 business days

 http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-cross-earths-caper/paperback/product-22076318.html

Following the events on Neo Olympus and the Boarman invasion of Earth, many heroes and crime-fighters have withdrawn from activity. Some are trying to recover from injuries while others are fighting the mental scars left by the events.

But things have to go on.  As heroes from other parallels who helped during the recent events return home, members of the Special Globe Guard are shocked at the sudden appearance of Zom of the Zodiac. Never a sign of good things a-coming!

Very soon, a group of heroes mount a rescue mission and find that a quick rescue mission can turn sour equally quickly. As they overcome one challenge the the heroes become lost between parallel Earths and face new threats.

 Sometimes one Earth just is not enough. The complete story published in issues 7-10 of Black Tower Adventure now in...one handy dandy book!

A4

B&W

124pp

£15.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-1/paperback/product-5j4y7e.html?page=1&pageSize=4

It all began in 1987 and the Black Tower Universe has seen alien attacks, heroes kidnapped to be put into the middle of a war of the gods. 

Despite the deaths and losses the heroes -crime fighters, super powered and members of the magical union have come back but now unaware that alien races are escaping through the Sol system and that a mysterious space fleet is heading towards the inner planets, they find themselves trapped or distracted. 

The Many Eyed One is finally coming. 

The Multiversal Council has quarantined Earth and forbidden any to help. 

The evil has spread and there is treachery striking at the very core of Earth's defenders

A4

B&W

126pp

£15.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-ii/paperback/product-nj7wqr.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Following on from events in Green Skies V. 3 Part I the Clone Zone Boyz are increasing in number while those who created them, the Vampirons, continue to plot and await the arrival of their 'God' -The Many Eyed One. 

The Druid finds that his physical and mental state are deteriorating and even the Rev. Merriwether cannot help him. 

Shockingly, the Clone Zone Boyz claims someone close to Merriwether and this leads him to team up with two 'unsavoury' characters. 

In space Krii and Tyn hrrn face a seemingly unstoppable enemy. 

On The Moon the Selenites and representatives of other worlds meet and decide that Johnny Apollo, the Z-Man, is the only one who can lead the counter invasion fleet. 

With the enemy striking Mars and then the Moon things look grim

 A4

B&W

208pp

£16.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-green-skies-vol-3-part-iii/paperback/product-kj6r7r.html?page=1&pageSize=4

The gathered Sol Defence fleet is prepared to make its final stand led by Johnny Apollo the Z Man. If it fails to halt the invaders then the doomsday weapon will be detonated and destroy the entire Sol System. 

Meanwhile, unaware of the threat in space, Jack Flash, the Avenger and others prepare for a final show down with the Many Eyed One; a final confrontation they know they do not have the power to win. 

Is this Humanity...the Earths...final day?

Cinebook Ltd: Redbeard 3 - Mami Wata

 

Authors: Jean-Charles Kraehn & Stefano Carloni
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 72 colour pages
Publication: August 2024

ISBN: 9781800441415 

 £12.99 inc. VAT

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/redbeard-mami-wata-p-4559.html

Redbeard is in Tortuga, once a free haven for pirates, now a French colony. Here he hopes to find his old nemesis Morgan’s hidden treasure. His only clue is a name – Mami Wata. But Mami Wata is a Vodou goddess, the Mother of Waters. The Europeans on the island know nothing of her, and the slaves, who worship and fear her, won’t talk. The pirate captain is forced to look for the goddess’s priest … but can he trust him? 

I have mentioned before that I read the original Red Beard comic in Germany where it was published by Bastei as Der Roter Korsair. Sadly I only have one copy of that series now but it was enjoyable.  When I heard about the newer version I had reservations. Then I read them.

These have been well written and superbly drawn and coloured. Each book has so far surprised me and this one is keeping that surprise element alive.  It has everything you could want from a pirate adventure including the supernatural and even a giant man eating conger eel and the end..... ah. Nice touch.

The first series by Cinebook appeared in 2013 so you can have the fun of reading the lot from the very start and all available to buy from the Cinebook website!

Cinebook Ltd: Outlaws 2 - The Shores of Midaluss

  

Authors: Sylvain Runberg & Eric Chabbert
Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 56 colour pages
Publication: March 2024

ISBN: 9781800441200 

£10.99 inc. VAT

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/outlaws-shores-midaluss-p-4545.html

The second volume of an Orbital spin-off.

Midaluss, on planet Drenn, is a sprawling seaside city where wealthy districts and alien slums co-exist, though violence is never far. That is where Kristina and her new partner, Zachary, have decided to start their new career as luxury vehicles thieves. But even as they must face fierce competition from other gangs, the tragic events that followed Kristina’s arrival on Drenn soon catch up to them, and blood – alien and Human – could soon flow freely again …

I like to go a little bit better than some other sites. If you search for this book online the cover image -whether on Amazon, review sites or sellers- are all of the rough draft cover which is a bit off-putting but it is used as either the sellers do not have copies of the book or are just lifting the cover from Cinebook's site. So here you go; a good, clean final cover.

Well....the way of thinking was that Kristina would somehow come good and turn around from a prospective life of crime.  However, at the end of this volume she literally jumps to the point of no going back.  And her brother, Caleb,  has earned an internship at the IDO (Interworld Diplomatic Office) and is going to be allowed to sit in on the interrogation of a senior corrupt official and sort through the evidence. It is while doing this that he finds an holoimage showing Kristina in an attack on a drug cartel.

Sylvain Runberg's pacing and dialogue cannot be faulted and he delivers story impact at just the right points.

As for Eric Chabbert's artwork; it has that old school Valerian feel to it but with a twist. The various aliens look believable and that is often something that can be off in certain books but not this one.  The space craft look good and the cityscapes and architecture look incredible. I assume, since no colourist is credited, that Chabbert does his own colour work and it makes his art pop.

I was not that keen on another "kid on the run possibly turning to crime" book even if set in the future but this one works.   I stand by my review of volume 1 which re-reading reminded me how much I enjoyed the first chapter.

Recommended but, please, buy from Cinebook direct!

Cinebook Ltd: Lonesome 4 - The Sorcerer's Domain

 

Author: Yves Swolfs

Age: 12 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 64 colour pages
Publication: July 2024

ISBN: 9781800441392 

 £11.99 inc. VAT

https://www.cinebook.co.uk/lonesome-sorcerers-domain-p-4555.html

Elijah, the titular Lonesome Rider, had come to New York to settle accounts. Instead, he found a family lost to time and memory. But neither he nor his newfound sister Miss Lyle, the Pinkerton agent, were able to confront the one responsible for all their woes: their father, Senator Dawson, who has now gone to ground deep inside a forest that belongs to Cromley, a feared cultist. 

To get that family reunion they want, the two will have to face the devil himself!

Before I write anything the links for the first three volumes are below and astute readers will know what my next comment will be.

Vol. 3 review April 2023

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2023/04/cinebook-lonesome-3-ties-of-blood_2.html

Vol. 2  May 2022

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2022/05/cineboo-ltd-lonesome-2-ruffians.html

Vol. 1 August 2021

https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2021/08/cinebook-9th-art-lonesome-1-preachers.html

It is a series published once a year and it is killing enthusiasm and interest.

The art is eye-catching with plenty of detail in the clothing, architecture and fire arms. The colour work by Jackie De Gennaro is superb and brings everything to life.  The story pacing and dialogue are of the quality you expect from French comic albums. Story and art cannot be played down.

My problem is with the delays in getting books in a series out.  People seem to think that I work for Cinebook or know how the company runs which is totally incorrect. There seems to be no updates on books stating that some may be delayed for whatever reason and that is where the problem starts. 

Will there be a second volume? Will it be in 2024 0r 2026?  A volume each year means that unless you have perfect recall of every book (I read and see so many that it is not possible unless a series is out-standing) you need to go back to volume 1 and re-read each book or else you start asking "Who is this?"/"What's the beef about?"/"I don't remember that happening!"

Did I go back and read volumes 1-3? Absolutely not. I have enough things on my plate at the moment so although this is a good read I did end up shrugging at points.But it is a good read.

I have no idea what is going on at Cinebook because unlike when Olivier Cadic used to update on any possible delay (very few that I recall) all I get are the newsletters which I post on CBO.  If anyone at Cinebook has the slightest interest in my opinion then I would suggest that there was some type of regularly updated page explaining any delays in books because loyal or casual customers need to know when the next part of the series they are buying will appear.

Lonesome has now concluded so, based on re-reading my reviews, I would say if you like Westerns with a little taste of the unusual -buy this one.  Also; buy direct from Cinebook as a company needs to make good revenue and online sellers rip people off and sell via Amazon...do nbout expect much money back!

Cinebook Ltd - Black Mary 1 - The Departed / Black Mary 2 - Passage to the Hereafter

 

Authors: Rodolphe; illustrated by Florence Magnin
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages

£8.99 INCL vat

ISBN: 9781800441378
Publication: July 2024

The peace of Mordwick, a small coastal village, is shattered by the news that mysterious individuals have come ashore to dig up the recently departed. They looked like pirates, and rumours swell that the infamous captain Black Mary, a legendary, freedom-loving marauder desperately wanted by the Royal Navy, is involved. Could she be the cause of a wave of spectral apparitions sweeping through the kingdom – including that of the ghost of the recently departed king himself?

Authors: Rodolphe; illustrated by Florence Magnin
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages

£8.99 INCL vat

ISBN: 9781800441385
Publication: July 2024

Rescued at sea by Black Mary, Lord James, the libertine aristocrat who longed for adventure, is utterly enthralled by the fierce pirate captain – enough so that when she boards a royal warship, he chooses to fight at her side. With her ship badly damaged, though, Mary must return to her hidden base, an island not on any map. For good reason: the inhabitants of the island are … the men and women who died at sea, and remain there until it is time to move on to the afterlife … 

I have to say that I wish I could remember all I wrote in the first draft!

We have here what appears to be just another pirate story but throughout -odd though it may sound- there is a strange atmosphere to the story. I think that "atmosphere" would be lost if this was a "wait for part two" type  series.  What Cinebook has done is publish both volumes in one go and that helps.

The story is interesting and the ending had the feeling of one of those 1940s Hollywood movies -and I can't tell you why or it spoils  the end. It is a good read and I did read both in one go.

I have no idea what it is about the art but it really works and catches the eye and Magnin does an excellent job. Not sure what technique is used but I gave up questioning why I liked a certain style of art long ag because trying to explain why is difficult.

If you like your pirate action with a ghostly twist then you'll enjoy this. If you like ghost comics you will enjoy this. Highl;y recommended.

Cinebook Ltd: Rin Tin Can 2 - The Godfather

 

Authors: X. Fauche & J. Léturgie; illustrated by Morris
Age: 8 years and up
Size: 21.7 x 28.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages

£8.99 INCL vat

ISBN: 9781800441330
Publication: May 2024

After inadvertently thwarting a convict’s escape attempt, Rin Tin Can flees the penitentiary and ends up with two sheep herders who are being targeted by wool thieves. The robbers, Giuseppe and Aldo, are actually looking for a specific sheep skin tattooed with a treasure map, in order to post their father’s bail. 

Unwittingly – as usual – Rin Tin Can becomes first the accomplice of the two not-too-bright brothers, then their ‘godfather’ …  

The review of the first album is here https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2023/09/cinebook-ltd-rin-tin-can-1-mascot.html

How does a dog become a "god father"? Look, if you are looking for a straight forward and rational story with no slap-stick comedy or visual gags then I am guessing you nevber read the first album?

We have a dog that thinks dollar bills are pastry and consumes quite a few... and as those dollars are the troopers wages you can imagine they are not that happy.  Anything Rin Tin Can does correctly is purely accidental!  

The visual gags are there and the story , which might seem chaotic at times, delivers a good read and ending. The art is nice and the colour work does add more to it but some of the characters can be called "comical grotesques" -it is a style used for a very long time in European comics and it works.

None of this answers the question of how Rin Tin Can becomes a "god father" or what that exactly entails. Do you want to know?   Buy the book!  It's fun.