What's that old chestnut The Mamas and The Papas once sang? Ah, yes! "Monday, Monday." And indeed, it's that opening day of the work week once again, which can only me that I, Dark Horse Publicity Coordinator Jim Gibbons, have a Mama Cass-sized helping of Dark Horse-related links to relay to you, our wonderful fans!

All right, cliched Mama and Papas jokes out of the way, let's take a look at some links, shall we?

The Goon
Wrapping up the extra-special and excellent original stories featured in Dark Horse, USA Today and Toshiba's DH:HD program, Eric Powell's The Goon took center stage with a story called "An Irish Wake." Head on over to USA Today's site to read the entire eight-page story and an interview with Mr. Powell about his signature creation!

Mike Mignola
The legendary creator of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. had a big presence in the press last week. The LA Times' Hero Complex blog featured an extensive video interview with Mignola, while ComicBookResources.com began running a series of articles on the writer/artist. Beginning with a recap and commentary on the events of Hellboy and B.P.R.D. in 2010, CBR will be taking a look at the future of these two series and the rest of Mignola's 2011 docket in the weeks to come.

Speaking of B.P.R.D., MTV Geek really enjoyed the final issue of New World…
"The true strength of the book is that it's not simply about the supernatural mysteries and battles that plague the cast but that we’re more invested in how the cast reacts to their trials. Abe [Sapien] has an uncharacteristic explosion of anger this issue, and another character contemplates what I think will be a murder and none of it feels false—it feels as though both are on a slippery slope, whether they see it or not, laid out by the very skilled writers."


PanelsOnPages.com also loved the issue…
"Mignola and Arcudi do a fantastic job of wrapping up this storyline and whetting our appetite for the next volume, which thankfully will arrive shortly, and Davis' art continues to amaze me. This has been one of the most consistently entertaining comics of the year, and this final chapter of the current B.P.R.D. epic gets 4.5 out of 5 Questionable Grave Markers."


And finally, Mass Movement did an in-depth interview with B.P.R.D. artist Guy Davis (who wrote this rad Dark Horse blog piece, as well) that you really should check out!

Dark Horse Digital
Wired's Underwire blog showcased an exclusive look at our upcoming Dark Horse Bookshelf app alongside an interview with Dark Horse's Online Marketing Manager Matt "Saturday In The" Parkinson and Dark Horse's Lead Developer Lennon "Happy Birth" Day-Reynolds. This is a must read piece for anyone interested in the digital future of Dark Horse and the comics medium. Check it out!

Axe Cop
Ready to see one of the awesomest comic covers of 2011? Check out the first cover to the three-issue, full-color Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth over at io9.com and marvel at its tremendous excellence. A few months before Bad Guy Earth premieres, (On December 22, in fact!) Axe Cop: Volume 1 hits shelves! Take a peek at the highly-anticipated collection at CBR's Robot 6, Bleeding Cool and Broken Frontier!

Buffy
(Spoilers are found in all these links, Buffy fans. If you haven't read issue #39, steer clear!)

On the heels of the shocking and heart-shattering events of Buffy #39, co-writer and editor Scott Allie and artist Georges Jeanty took time to do an extensive commentary on the penultimate issue of Season 8 with CBR. Read the in-depth insight here! Slayer superfan site BuffyFest offered a great "Behind the Scenes" look at issue #39 with more Allie Cat insight and pages taken directly from the issue's script. Lastly, Buffy fan blog Joss-xian Universe ran a rave review of the landmark issue rating it an "A." The review features an issue recap full of spoilers, so heads up!

Let Me In: Crossroads
The comic prequel to Matt Reeves' critically acclaimed "Let Me In" came out last week, and writer Marc Andreyko spoke with ComicAttack.net about the book. Not only that, but Andreyko also chatted with iFanboy and PanelsOnPages.com had great things to say about the issue…
"Andreyko's script is aided greatly by Patric Reynolds' dark, gritty artwork that helps to slowly set the dreadful tone that permeated the original film."


Conan
The big, burly Cimmerian popped up all over last week.
  • Mass Movement ran a complementary review of Conan Volume 9, saying "There are very few books on the market that maintain a level of consistency that their readers demand, but it’s one thing to maintain that level, and it’s something else entirely, as Conan does, to keep getting better with each and every issue."
  • Tim Truman spoke with Westfield Comics about the upcoming miniseries King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel.
  • iFanboy chatted with Roy Thomas about taking the reigns of the Conan ongoing with Conan: Road of Kings.
  • Comic Vine premiered Darick Robertson's exhilarating cover to King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel issue #2.

And don't forget to stay abreast of much manly advice and words of wisdom from Robert E. Howard's famous leading men over at the Man Tips Twitter account! Learn lessons like this… Man Tip #13: "No grunting bag-of-bones makes a meal of my friends… unless it first feasts on me!" Let Conan help you! It's as simple as stopping by Man Tips once a day!

Interviews, Reviews and Previews
  • Graphic NYC continues their lengthy look at and chat with comics legend Frank Miller.
  • Jason Little's Motel Art Improvement Service gets previewed over at Guerilla Geek.
  • PanelsOnPages.com takes a look back at Star Wars: Infinites and finds their favorable remembering were spot-on.
  • io9.com ranks Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale as a "must have" Christmas gift for any and all Whedon fans.
  • USA Today's Pop Candy blog featured the first look at Darick Robertson's interiors from Felicia Day and Jeff Lewis's The Guild: Vork one-shot.
  • ComicAttack.net spoke with Jim Shooter about Mighty Samson #1, the character's first appearance since the '60s!
  • Scripps News Service enjoyed Archie Firsts, calling it's contents "delightfully silly and slapstick."
  • Graeme Fiory of Graeme's Fantasy Book Review took a look back at Jeff Vandermeer's Predator: South China Sea and enjoyed the ride.


Well, ladies and gents, that's all she wrote! Thanks, once again, for checking in on my humble blog column and I hope to see you back next week. Tell then… Peace, Love and SOUL!!! --Jim Gibbons