Artist Alley: Dan Mora

Dan MoraDan Mora is an up and coming artist  with Boom Comics. Coming straight from Hexed, he is now signed on for the up and coming series Klaus.

I have had the wonderful privilege of being able to chat with Dan many times. Now that Hexed is over, I thought this would be a great time to ask a few questions about the Michael Alan Nelson written series:

 

 Tell us a little bit about Hexed.

It was a pretty good book with a wonderful history about a girl who steals magic artifacts.

How did you get into Hexed?

It was my first assignment when I first started to work with BOOM, my editor thought that it will fit with my illustration style.

Who was your favorite character to draw?

The Harlot, she was a spooky crazy lady, it was very fun to draw.

 Was it the character or the story that made you pick that character as a favorite?

It was a little of both, her attitude made me draw her in very strange body language and the design of the creature was always fun to draw.

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Hexed

Did you come up with the concepts of Val and Lucifer based off the older artwork or did you throw your own spin on them?

I tried to stick with the designs of Emma Rios at first, but as time passed I began to add some details about the characters.

Were the images done traditional or digital in Hexed?

Unfortunately, they were all digital.

Do you prefer digital or traditional methods for illustrating comics?

Now that I’m working in the traditional way I can say that I prefer a million times the traditional way.

What inspired you to work in comics?

I always liked the superheroes and it was always in my mind that the perfect job to me would be to become a comic book artist.

What is the piece you are most proud of?

I think Hexed # 8 is my favorite.

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Old drawings from a dead newspaper

What is your typical day when working on a comic?

I wake up, make coffee, then work all morning in my pages, make lunch, more coffee, keep working until the night and at last watch some movie or go out.

How long does it take to do a single page (average 6 panels)?

In a very productive day I can finish two pages both pencils and inks.

Who are your inspirations?

That is a long list! The first names that came into my head are, Bruce Timm, Darwyn Cooke, Paul Pope and Mike Mignola.

 What is the current project you are working on?

Right now I´m working on Klaus, the secret origin of Santa Klaus

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Klaus

What is your dream project?

There are so many dream projects, but I think the one I really really want is to draw some pages for Deadpool.

 If you could pick anyone to act as your mentor, who would it be?

Bruce Timm.

 Have you done anything at a convention, as in had a table in artist alley or a booth or been a guest?

Sadly no, I’m really new in this world.

Have people ever cosplayed your work?

Yes! And it was an amazing sensation!

How has the industry changed since you first started?

Not really much, I’m very new in all this, I just under 2 years.

 

dan mora 2

Fan Requested Questions:

Was drawing the monsters/creatures more interesting than humans with powers?

YES, the estrange forms are always more interesting to draw.
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How did you come up with the Thief outfit design?

I tried to merge the Harlot character with the spirit of Lucifer and then give it some classic design.

Would you keep working on Hexed if you have the chance?

Yes of course, Hexed was amazing and it was such a great experience, I loved to work with Michael and I would do it again without thinking twice.

Fun time:

 Who is your favorite comic book character?

Deadpool or Batman. I don’t really know which to pick.

Deadpool Cowboy by Dan Mora
Deadpool Cowboy

Who is your favorite author(books)?

Mark Millar.

What is your favorite movie?

Back to the Future.

What is your favorite band/music artist?

Don’t have a favorite I think.

What is a quirk you have (like dipping fries into chocolate Sunday)?

I like to eat Ice cream with cola and watch some funny movie.

Pick:

Day or night

Day

Star trek or star wars

Star Wars

Coffee or tea

Coffee one dozen times

Summer or winter

Summer

Cats or dogs

Dogs

Batman or Superman

Batman

Low Tech Batman
Low Tech Batman by Dan Mora

Movies or a book

Movies

Pizza or Burgers

Burgers

Coke or Pepsi

Pepsi

 For those wanting to see more of Dan Mora’s work you can find him on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Next issue release date of current project:

Klaus with Grant Morrison,  Nov 4, 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

Madam Secretary: Season 2 Episode 2 Recap

Another week, another Madam Secretary. This action-packed episode starts right off with a kidnapping of an American citizen in Afghanistan while simultaneously informing us that the Russian president, Ostrov, is MIA.

In order to keep all the action straight, I’ll break it down by character. Obviously Bess has to deal directly with both the kidnapping and figuring out where Ostrov has gone. She assigns one of her staffers, Jay, to work with a man from the Department of Defense to work out a solution to reaching out to Ostrov. This endeavor does not go well, but I’ll get to that later. Almost as soon as Bess arrives to her office, her staff informs her that the supposed terrorists/kidnappers sent her a video message directly. They demand to speak with Bess or they will kill their American hostage. When Bess brings this news to President Conrad, he specifically prohibits her from reaching out to the “terrorists.” But of course Bess doesn’t follow those orders. She and her assistant Blake Skype the “terrorists” only to discover that they’re really contractors with the United State’s military, and they’ve only taken the American hostage in order to gain the visas promised to their families for their service. Bess brings this news to her staff, and they are equally outraged at this injustice.

Eventually the news that Bess disobeyed his orders reaches the President, but his Chief of Staff, Russell Jackson, convinces him that they should take the kidnappers’ deal. With the go-ahead from the President, Bess recruits a former Lieutenant, Mike, to help her speak with the kidnappers. Bess brings Mike to the Situation Room, and he’s able to make contact with the kidnappers. Unfortunately at the same time, they receive intelligence that the Taliban has discovered their location and that they only have a few minutes to escape. The White House eventually sends a team of Navy Seals to rescue the kidnappers’ and their hostage, but when it comes down to the wire they’re only able to save the American leaving the others to their deaths.

Meanwhile, Henry’s still up to his not interesting spying. However, he runs into a problem with his mission to keep tabs on Dimitri when Dimitri informs him that he has to leave school in order to care for his sick sister. By the end of the episode Henry’s able to essentially blackmail Dimitri into becoming a spy for the U.S. in order to ensure his sister can be sent to Stockholm for treatment (she has cancer, and she wouldn’t be able to receive the proper care in Russia). And the tension between Henry and Stevie continues to build when he confronts her about having her hair tested (hair he got from her brush) for any substances-specifically heroin. He and Bess give Stevie an ultimatum, either she tells the President and his wife that Harrison is possibly using again or they will that very afternoon. Rightly so, Stevie is outraged and storms out of the house. Henry spends the remainder of the day trying to reach Stevie with no success.

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Finally, we find the McCords at their family dinner where Stevie eventually appears. It’s obvious that there’s a ton of tension in the room, so Alison busts out her “talking stick” and the family addresses all their issues. Bess touchingly admits to Stevie that she’s been so hard on her because she isn’t sure how to parent her now that she’s an adult, and that really scares her. Henry, however, ruins the moment by angrily demanding to know where Stevie was all day, to which Stevie yanks the talking stick away and reveals she was taking the LSAT. She isn’t happy with the person she’s become, and so she’s trying to apply herself to a career that will give her life meaning. It’s a lovely moment, and it’s refreshing to see Stevie doing something sensible and not totally immature for once.

The warm-fuzzies don’t last for long however. After dinner, the Russian Foreign Minister, Gorev, pays the McCords a visit. He cryptically asks them if they would keep an eye on his daughter, Olga, while she studies at Harvard Law if something were to happen to him. When Bess presses him for an answer as to why he would make such a request, Gorev reveals that the Kremlin is going to announce that President Ostrov is dead. This leaves Bess and Henry to believe Gorev may have been behind it since he has previously expressed interest in power.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode even more than the premiere. It was great getting to watch an episode not involving too much conspiracy talk (the mishap with Air Force One only came up once). And it’s great seeing this show use its platform to discuss an important and upsetting issue. This issue involving that’s been discussed on John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, so it was nice seeing it reinforced on Madam Secretary this week. And once again there was an excellent cameo. This time by none other than Madeleine Albright! All right! I hope next week’s episode is just as satisfying, and that we’ll see yet another spectacular celebrity cameo.

Madam Secretary: Season 2 Episode 1 Recap

It’s that special time of year. The leaves are changing colors, the smell of pumpkin spice lattes fills the air, and your favorite fall TV shows are returning. Madam Secretary made it’s premiere on Sunday, and oh boy did a lot happen.

Madam Secretary follows Elisabeth McCord a.k.a Bess (Tea Leoni), a former CIA agent turned college professor who is asked to become the Secretary of State after the current Secretary dies in a plane crash. She and her family relocate to Washington D.C., and the show basically shows their transition to this new life. Eventually it is revealed that the former Secretary’s plane crash was no accident, and Bess and others devote much of the first season into solving this conspiracy. The conspiracy is really the least interesting part of the show. I think the show is much more compelling when it’s following Bess and her staff while they solve diplomatic issues.

Now, let’s catch up with everyone and where they are at the start of the second season. We finally got to see the Vice President make a cameo! Not once did he appear in the previous season, but we finally got to see him in perhaps not his brightest moment. Before the Vice President can begin his game of golf with the Chinese Ambassador, he loses his lunch all over the ambassador’s shoes. Cut to Madam Secretary Bess’s office where Matt serenades her with a song she must perform at the Pacific Rim Economic Forum later that day. Admittedly, my favorite part of this episode (and frankly any episode of this show) is watching Geoffrey Arend; now I know he can sing—life just got a little sweeter. Henry appears to be getting into the swing of things at his new teaching/spy job at the National War College. Jason is once again semi in trouble at school, Alison’s elected Peer Mediator at school —which no one cares about—and Stevie is hooking up with Harrison in a swanky hotel room.

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For the most part I was pretty happy with this episode, but I was not super thrilled with its ending. I got my fill with the whole Iran conspiracy in the last season. This season two premiere was off to a promising start. There was a huge crisis that Bess and her team had to deal with, but it was grounded and didn’t involve some wacky conspiracy until, it’s revealed at the end that someone (mostly likely within the government) tampered with Air Force One by enabling some malware that shut down all its communication. Ugh. Madam Secretary was so close to the show I want it so badly to be! It’s interesting enough to watch Bess deal with foreign and domestic issues without there having to be some convoluted conspiracy playing out in the background. I can understand that CBS probably wanted to get people interested in the first season so they added the whole “the Secretary of State was murdered and it was totally an inside job,” but the first season was a hit. So why continue the unnecessary drama? Oh well, I suppose I’ll have to deal with it.

And there’s still plenty more reasons to keep watching Madam Secretary. (Especially if Geoffrey Arend keeps singing.) Like Morgan Freeman making an appearance!! Whaaaat?! That was so great. I hope they find another reason to bring him in as the Chief Justice. Maybe he could just start narrating the episodes. I’d settle for that. Until next week….

Sicario (2015) Review

**SPOILER ALERT**

It’s been a long time since I’ve been so invested in a story while watching a movie, but Sicario certainly ended that streak. There wasn’t a moment I couldn’t feel my heart beating in my chest. I’d say that’s quite a feat for a two-hour film.

Siciario tells the story of FBI agent Kate Macy (Emily Blunt), who, after discovering a house filled with corpses in Arizona, is roped into a shady government mission to “bring down” the Mexican Cartel. At first, Kate jumps at the chance to catch the people who committed such a terrible crime, but she soon starts to question the validity of the mission her new acquaintance Matt (Josh Brolin) is pursuing.

From the initial scene in the house to the very last moments of the film, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. There’s an immediate sense that no one in this film can be trusted, except for Kate’s FBI partner Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya). It was equally frustrating and intriguing to struggle alongside Kate, just trying to figure out what’s going on. Each time Matt or his partner Alejandro (Benicio del Toro) reveal a “truth” about their mission, it’s clear that they’re purposely excluding important information. In fact, they won’t even tell Kate why they’ve even recruited her; they just keep telling her to watch and stay out of the way.
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If for no other reason, you have to see Sicario for Emily Blunt’s performance. I must admit I am extremely biased and I will never speak a word against her, but Emily Blunt truly steals the show. It’s great to see a woman in a kick-ass role who’s not also fighting the same cliche fights: like trying to balance her work and family life or  seeking a new love. Kate’s determined to do her job well and by the book, and her only mission in the film is to find out why she’s being used in this suspicious operation. My heart broke every time Kate tried to stand up for herself and her beliefs only to be shot twice, punched in the face, nearly strangled to death, and finally held at gunpoint. I wanted so badly for her to defeat Matt and Alejandro and for her to take over the mission and set things right. Alas, we can’t always get what we want.

Which leads me to my next point….I was really much less interested in any part of the film that didn’t feature Kate. Eventually it’s revealed that Kate and frenemies have really just been tracking down the Mexican Cartel so that Alejandro can exact revenge on its leader for murdering his family. Honestly, I did not care that Alejandro had suffered such a loss. Not really. He was causing as much pain (and murder) as his enemy had, so it wasn’t such a satisfying moment when he achieves his goal. I was more curious about what Kate was up to during that whole sequence. Alejandro was neither sympathetic nor interesting enough for me to care about to watch him murder a bunch of people who probably didn’t deserve to get murdered in the first place. But I guess I get it. He’s the hitman of the title (shrug).

Sicario’s one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year, and I hope Emily Blunt gets the recognition she deserves for her performance (and collectively for all her performances) this awards season.

Mario Maker Hands Players the Keys to the Mushroom Kingdom

Ever since my early days of squawking at my cousin Axl to let me play Super Mario Bros 3 during his summer visits, I’ve wanted to make my own Mario levels. I even drew out a few during those humid months, using crayons, markers, anything I could get my hands on. The toys in my room were usually arranged in some sort of level as well. Needless to say, Nintendo hit me in the childhood with Mario Maker.

Mario Maker has that weird Japanese feel to it. It’s off-beat with its menus and sound effects, but its goals of being a tool to make Mario levels are met with unprecedented success. Never before has the act of game design been so simple. A concept can rapidly become a product in a matter of minutes. Will the level make players cry for mercy or make them smile?

wiiu_supermariomaker_9uul0
Enemies can be stacked to create towers of mayhem.

Being able to build levels in four different Mario styles is a blast. What’s interesting is that many assets mix into styles they were never in before. For example, Bowser Jr. is available by giving dear old dad a shake, which can make for an interesting boss fight or just an obstacle to clear. Even new ways to play emerge with items like the Clown Car or Latiku’s Cloud. These items open up free flight, giving a whole range of options to builders.

Making levels isn’t everything though. Players who seek insane challenges will also find enjoyment with Mario Maker. The game supports many of the Wii U’s controllers, so players can grab their favorite and have a go at some levels in Course World with comfort. Filters can be used to find the hardest or most appreciated levels. You can also follow Makers like any modern social media site. Personally, I enjoy finding my favorite YouTube personalities through Twitter; their levels are usually pretty cool!

wiiu_supermariomaker_o2ubt
Pipes are now the homes of all sorts of things. . .

Of course, the major complaint behind Mario Maker is how the assets are unlocked. The more time you spend making levels, the more you unlock. Supposedly, a patch was added to speed up this process, but no matter how many levels I made, it seemed like I still had to wait until the next day for the shipment of assets to arrive. This does, however, force the player to build upon schema by using what’s available. Sometimes, the best concepts would come to me by being limited. I don’t think I would’ve messed with the New Super Mario Bros U mode if it wasn’t for that initial limitation; however, by doing so, I made some interesting levels involving the wall-jump mechanics in that mode.

Of course! Now let’s compare that with another statistical data that says that 82% of married women prefer cunnilingus over any other sexual act! 82%!!!! A man dealing with erectile dysfunction viagra sale can bring so much pleasure to a female. You can easily get rid of this trouble such as teasing her while she is cooking, sending her/him erotic messages, snuggling levitra without prescription while watching television together etc. Watching Too Much Pornography A survey in 2013 disclosed that men who watch porn per hour, suffer from low self esteem, poor viagra prices performance in bed and low sexual satisfaction. Functions like muscle contractions, hormonal secretion, blood flow, emotions and vardenafil india above all, the brain. The absolutely seamless transitions between modes, backgrounds, and level types gives the game a fluid feel. It opens the door for experimentation, especially when makers can tap an icon to try a segment as a player or switch game modes altogether. There’s also a Mario Path that can be toggled when unlocked, allowing makers to build sinister, precise jumps. Just about any feature a maker could want is possible in Mario Maker.

There are tons of unlockable sprites for use in the original Super Mario Bros style. A mystery mushroom grants makers the ability to put one of a hundred Nintendo characters into play, each with their own sound effects and animations. Unlocking these quirky characters can take a lot of time by playing the 100 Mario Challenge in Course World, but every Amiibo currently available unlocks a sprite, which is great for those of us addicted to the hunt of plastic figures.

Well, some are more quirky than others. . .
Well, some are more quirky than others. . .

All in all, Mario Maker is a charming game that gives players the chance to build levels for Mario to traverse. The excellent interface and flawless execution shows off Nintendo’s quality seal. There are tons of unlockables to find, and being that this is a community-driven game, it can hold unlimited hours of play. The joy of this game comes from its potential as millions of makers set out to create unique levels.

wiiu_supermariomaker_zou6k
Already, millions of levels have been made. Click this to play more!

Lastly, I challenge all of our Giga Makers to send us some levels. They could show up in a YouTube video or Twitch stream. I’ll be devising my own to share as well.

The future of Mario Maker is bright, but first, it has to be built.