Never fear, Heather is here!
Alright fan-boys, fan-girls, and fan-peeps hailing from all over—I have here an exclusive sneak preview of a brand new and unprecedented super hero comic series created by Aspen Comics, coming to shelves known as: Idolized! All I was able to actually preview were some unique panels filled with unfinished sketch renditions penciled by Micah Gunnell, as well as some cover pages created by Art Adams, Joe Benitez, Keron Grant, and Humberto Ramos. Given the heavy hitting artist names attached to Aspen’s first super hero-themed, exclusively new storyline Idolized, a certain interest is starting to buzz! And that’s coming from a fan-girl like me who mostly follows Marvel and DC for my super hero themed storylines and characters! Read on to see what the HEATHER’S BOOT LIST verdict will say about Idolized…
Check out these first snazzy sketches as already released via facebook…
Aspen Comics had this to say about their first super hero-themed comic series, Idolized…
ASPEN COMICS OFFERS A FIRST GLIMPSE AT THE INTERIOR ART ON “IDOLIZED”!
Press Release
4/1/12
Each day throughout the month of April Aspen will be revealing a single panel – or a glimpse at a piece of a panel – from issues 0, 1 and 2 of IDOLIZED. Fans have seen some of IDOLIZED’s covers, but none of the interior art until now. The artwork can be seen by visiting the official IDOLIZED Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/IDOLIZEDComic.
“We’ve been aching to show fans how absolutely amazing the interiors on this series look,” said Aspen’s Editor-in-Chief Vince Hernandez. ”Micah Gunnell’s pencils on this book are beyond outstanding, and we can’t wait for the readers to see how spectacular it is.”
“IDOLIZED” is Aspen’s first-ever superhero series. It tells the story of girl with super-powers and a tortured past, who seeks revenge, and ultimately finds redemption, over the course of competing in a televised super-hero competition show. Essentially, it’s “True Grit” meets “American Idol”…with capes. The series is written by Michael’s brother David B. Schwartz (acclaimed writer of Image Comics’ “MELTDOWN”, “Aspen Showcase: Ember” and “Fathom: Blue Descent”), with explosive art by Micah Gunnell (“Shrugged”, “Executive Assistant: Orchid”, “Dellec”) and colors by David Curiel (“Executive Assistant: Orchid”). Cover artists will include ART ADAMS, JOE BENITEZ, KERON GRANT, HUMBERTO RAMOS and more of the biggest names in comics. The first issue will debut June 27th, 2012.
Please visit www.Facebook.com/IdolizedComic for more details on the series.
For more information on Aspen Comics, please check www.aspencomics.com or www.aspenstore.com
And follow IDOLIZED writer David B. Schwartz on Twitter: @davidbschwartz
Now onto the visual goodies! As you can see from these rough sketches drawn by Micah Gunnell, intense action and emotion will prove to be a theme in this storyline—which appears to be portrayed pretty accurately in the main character’s face. Comparing Idolized to award winning films like True Grit and pop culture iconic shows like American Idol, Idolized seems to promise a very interesting plot premise that indicates the main character will not only be fighting and brandishing super powers as way to show her worth, but wiping out other contestants who are competing for the same chance to out-shine one another. Hmm… Anyone else here getting a sense that Idolized might just be riding on the coat-tails of The Hunger Games?
I did however find the cover pages to Idolized to be interesting—especially with the use of real-life supermodel, Rachel Clark, to portray the realistic look of Idolized’s main character (far left panel). Check it out here…
Realistic look of Idolized super hero
Summing up my thoughts on this new, first time, super hero series called Idolized, created by Aspen Comics? If it sticks to strong character development and maintains a riveting storyline much like True Grit, as well as manage to bypass the usual schtick that American Idol is notorious for, then Idolized might just be the start of a much bigger and more epic storyline as time goes on. However, given the popularity of contestant-elimination-based reality shows and flash-in-the-pan one-hit-wonder competition winners, if not careful, Idolized can very easily fall flat. And now for HEATHER’S BOOT LIST verdict… (BOOT = bad, WOOT = good, and WOOT WOOT = go buy this comic NOW, yo!)
Idolized = WOOT!
I say give Idolized a shot, I know I am going to do so when it officially comes out. A super hero contest featuring possible hardcore and authentic character development with epic elimination scenes brought on by super power usage? Yeah, I’m game—you should be too.
Release date: 06/27/12
