Greetings folks, Gary here again with a little review of a super cool fan driven project that you all should take note of.
A few months ago, Jamar Miller and the gang at Blood for the Baron sent us a copy of their in-house publication of Action Force. These “continuing voyages of” AF pick up where some of the Action Force universe left off and incorporates elements of the RAH universe. Call it the best of both worlds – or a Int’l/RAH Joe fan’s ultimate cross over dream.
Click the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below to check out the full review!
In this issue, titled Red Dawn, we pick right up with Action Man in his own personal drama. Natalie is helping Action Man deal with the situation with his real father (queue soap opera dramatic keyboard music here). Action Man is about to embark on a mission with Natalie sending ol’ Action Man off with a foreboding warning about going for revenge. Action Man promises he’ll return with his mission accomplished. Flash forward in time and we get a cameo from our favorite General, General Flagg. There is a reference to a failed Night Force Op that I have no idea about, but after some shifty interrogations by the AF team, they have determined that Dr. Exler killed Action Man’s father and his real name was Axel Mann. The writers were awesome enough to leave us a small blurb about who Mann was. Mann was a British Special Forces Officer who was on an undercover op to investigate the death of a solider. The suspect is still at-large and was the target of the failed Night Force op. Flagg gives Action Man the last known transmission from his father and this last bit of news; his mother was found dead in the USA shot over 100 times. Flagg reassigns Natalie, Knuck, Red Wolf, Flynt and Reb to a new team.
Meanwhile, we flash forward again to Iran, the AF team, including Action Man, Jammer, Scout and Doc are looking for signs of The Red Shadows. It is basic recon duty until they are ambushed by followers of the Red Vulture and the son of the Red Sultan. The battle is heated and the AF team is pinned down in a mud hut with no reinforcements in sight. The team manages to get a hold of Goucho and had him racing toward their rescue, but the attackers had their own plans – mainly leveling the hut with RPG. The issue ends in true cliff hanger form. Is Action Man and the AF team dead, or did they survive. I am willing to wager my Red Shadows con set that ol’ Action Man survives……but it is an effective ending nevertheless.
Other appearances and references in the comic include Vaughn, Red Wolf, Black Major, Red Laser and your standard Red Shadows trooper.
Man, my jumping on point here was issue 3 and as a connoisseur of the original Marvel 155, I felt a little lost at times. Jamar and gang did make it a little easier to catch up with key character dossiers in the back of the book, but as someone who is a vaguely knowledgeable fan on the international side, I just kind of rolled with the pages. I guess I will drop the money to get the back issues. We’ve put up some scans of the first couple of pages. The artwork is not bad at all. The writing is ok and for you PG-13 fans, they drop in a four letter bomb so it reminds you that this is fanfic, not something that is coming from one of the larger publishing houses.
Now, I admit, I’ve been sitting on this review for a while. The perfect time to put this out was when the GIJCC announced the Red Shadows con set. Alas, the real-world did not allow this to happen. Regardless, EVERY Joe fan, no matter what vintage or collector type you consider yourself, you should contact the guys at BftB and pick of some copies of this series. It is fan driven campaigns like this that Hasbro and the club take notice of – which is a good thing if we ever want to see more of the Red Shadows or other fan favorite factions come out in figure form again. Bravo to the only site and group in the fandom who fight to keep this sliver of Joe history alive!! Let’s get behind this effort!!
OK, Jamar, where can I order issue #4, Death Shows No Prejudice? Actually, I know. Issue #4, as well as any other issue of Action Force: Red Dawn is available right here at the Blood for the Baron store!
Feel free to leave your questions and comments in the comments section! I am sure the gang at BftB would appreciate your feedback.
no images were found
Now before we all jump onto the how cool this is, I want everyone to take a look at this pic after you look at those……
http://arielpadilla.deviantart.com/art/Darkman-34310622
(I knew I’d seen that pic before)…….. art by Ariel Padilla
What’s your point? its penciled art? from the book? 95 percent of the book is brand new art, 5 percent of the book is reused/reworked art that was never used in the first place, for certain scenes that make sense, I dont know how that diminishes the project and makes it any less cool
haters hate
I’ll side with Jamar here.
I’ve done numerous art-involved projects and to do something like this takes unbelievable effort and time and for there to be occassional art that wasn’t created specifically just for this project does not diminish it’s awesomeness, nor does it lesson the respect I have for all those involved. I mean really, look at the pic. That’s pretty cool, I say that’s good taste in using that image. 😉
Outstanding work !
In defense of Jamar, I’ve got two words:
Rob Liefeld
And this Action Man comic looks to be LEAGUES better than anything ol’ Rob ever did.
Question: The art seems to be all background for the exposition. Is there no actual word-balloon dialogue? I’m mostly just curious from a creativity and style standpoint, not a critical one.
Thanks!
-Nas
Wow, I ruffled some feathers, the question that should be asked is did you have the original artists permission to use their work, (As a graphic artist I understand that art gets reused all the time, that being said, the original artist could fine you for damages if you didn’t get permission). I pointed it out because if you’ve endorsed the book, you could be held liable. I don’t hate the work, I love what you’re doing for Action Force, but if you’re angry for me pointing it out, the real question is why?
Wow, I ruffled some feathers, the question that should be asked is did you have the original artists permission to use their work, (As a graphic artist I understand that art gets reused all the time, that being said, the original artist could fine you for damages if you didn’t get permission). I pointed it out because if you’ve endorsed the book, you could be held liable. I don’t hate the work, I love what you’re doing for Action Force, but if you’re angry for me pointing it out, the real question is why? And P.S. Rob Liefeld did the same thing with a Cover (he used a pose from Roadblock to make a cover with Cable, (Funny that Nas mentioned that). I respect everyones creativity……as long as credit is given…….Where it’s due.
Well, as a person and artist whom has worked on fanbased projects for public consumption, I have to give a hearty kudos to the guys at Blood for the Baron, on all of the hard work that has been put into creating these volumes of entertainment. Terrific job really, especially because they are able to bring a lot of the Red Shadows history to those of us who have limited knowledge of this interesting group of villains.
I’m a big fan of credit where credit is due, and when I’m working on a fanbased project where we need additional artwork to complete something at a certain level of quality, and we find an artist whose work fits our criteria, I always approach them directly to get their permission to use their work before using it. That’s just how I prefer to do it, for a few reasons:
1) It’s a sign of respect, not only for the artist, but also the whole project when the artist gives us permission to use their work. Adds a certain amount of credibility, if you will.
2) It usually affords us unique usage of said artwork in an original capacity, not just clipping it from here and there with choppy results, like much fan stuff ends up. And again, credibilty.
3) As an artist myself, I would appreciate these same measures being taken to utilize my art, were anyone interested in doing so for some reason. If for no otherreason, so that I can include it in my portfolio as part of my body of work. (If you BftB guys are ever interested in using my stuff let me know. I’m sure I’d be happy to help if I can.)
There are more reasons, but these are the biggest ones to me. Aside from that, it also greatly reduces or altogether eliminates the possibility of negative action being taken by affected parties down the road.
In defense of the topic at hand here, with the Red Shadows project, and as has been pointed out above, artists are often copied or pulled from even in the comics industry, so this is a relatively minor thing in the bigger picture with this project. Maybe it isn’t “right” to use it without specific permission, but I think most artists who aren’t professionally published, have to look at these points and see it as a tribute to their work, and that people see their stuff and have an appreciation for it. So much so, that they’d even want to use it.
Artists looking to get into the industry, or just to gain some type of published recognition, OFTEN do work basically for nothing BUT the prospect of getting published so that they can claim it as part of their portfolio of publications. (This is just smart marketing, because if they are good enough, this can lead to actual PAYING gigs. Been there, done that. Worth it.) There are TONS of artists out there who are dying to be seen, and this is one good way of that happening, so most artists aren’t going to get too bent over such a usage…UNLESS they already have an established reputation and career and such a “swipe” (as it is called) makes them feel that their name and work would somehow be diminished, or unless they are just an outright jerk.
Basically, whether or not it is given proper credit, usages like these should be viewed with appreciation and enjoyment by those viewing the final results, based on the efforts and talents of ALL those involved, credited or not. Any artists whose works may be used in such a manner, I think really must use tact and view them in a complimentary aspect, but also as I mentioned before, as portfolio filler if they eventually want legitimate published work down the road. (Admittedly, if I found that someone had used my work without asking or notifying me somehow, I’d initially be a little tweaked, BUT after stepping back and calming my thoughts for being “slighted” (and depending on the situation), I have to say that I’d end up seeing it as something I could view as a positive if used in line with something like this.)
All-in-all, hats off to the Blood for the Baron guys on this comic story. I’d love to eventually get copies of all these volumes being put out over there, concerning the Red Shadows as a focal point. Nicely done! To the rest, let’s try not to be so quick to throw gas on the fire and make something bigger than what it has to be. 🙂
BTW, even though this particular story is Action Force oriented, I wanted to point out that because the BftB site is predominantly (in my mind anyway) Red Shadows oriented, I tend to lump pretty much everything in together as having at least some affiliation with the Shadows, hence my “Red Shadows project” labeling during my previous posting.
No offense or confusion intended by that. It certainly doesn’t diminish the quality of the work, nor my appreciation for the job being done with any of the British characters/groups over there in these project stories. 😉
For the record tkprime , YES we had permission, about 2 years ago when we started all of this we asked and the artist actually sent us a bigger hi-res INKED version
as to why we are a little upset, well your comment was out of place and it sounded like you were trying to point out something wrong with the book when you have NO knowledge whatsoever of the inner workings of the books
NAS
no its not all background exposition there are actual word-balloon dialogue on the other panels/pages NOT shown.
each issue starts off with some back-story of each character so you can get to know them a bit more and the panels/pages shown above just happen to show those off
thanks for checking it out!
Hawkwinter
thanks for the kind words and support, glad you have liked what you have seen so far, the best is yet to come
oh and Gary, the night force op mention is a nod to the Toys R us Night Force pack with ACTION MAN and Flint in it! the first 3 and 3/4th inch action man/gi joe toy!!!
Jamarmiller, you’re right, I had no knowledge, that you had permission,but my intentions are sound. Credit where it’s due. Good luck with your book.
silent master, Im not familiar with your work, where can I see it?
Jamar, for a good sampling of my work, you may have seen several sets of cards for the GI Joe TCG over on Firefight. I helped Hawkwinter co-develop and create all of those custom sets as expansions to the game.
I was also one of the Moderators there until recent months, but you can still send me a PM there if you’d like more details or to get a better view of my work elsewhere, not contained on that site, or perhaps in an email.
We are no longer producing the Joe TCG expansions per se, but instead have moved on to other projects. I think you’ll be interested to see one aspect in particular when we get to the point of completion. As a matter of fact, I may have an idea about that, which you may have some interest in, so be sure to PM me when you get the chance.
Stealing artwork is lame no matter who does it. Whether it’s Liefeld or Gene Simmons’ kid copying layouts/panels or Greg Land straight up copying photo reference.
You’d think with all the spamming he does that jamarmiller would’ve already linked this:
http://www.bloodforthebaron.com/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=75
All of these comics are available at the top for free.
These hit my radar because YoJoe.com lists them in their main comics section for some reason. They sure as hell wouldn’t put custom figures in the toys section but they put fanfic in the comics section? Anyway, I saw Tim Seeley’s name in the credits of a couple of them and wondered why the hell he was doing fanfic so I searched around, found them online and noticed that they just lifted his panels from his DDP Joe work.
The versions posted online have no credits page to denote who did what and where it originally came from. Makes it look like you’re passing these off as all your own original work and that’s low in my opinion.
Please, really, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about my friend
the credits are posted on the main page http://www.bloodforthebaron.com/comics/risingsun/index.html
No one is trying to steel credit or anything, I cannot draw for the life of me and have no interest in trying to pass things off as my own original work.
as for spamming, I think you are the one spamming, you go from board to board trying to start crap with me/us on this and every time you do people shoot you down and point out how you are wrong. Again you have no idea what you are talking about so just stop. and you’d think with all the spamming you do, you would do a little more homework
haters hate, nothing we can do about it I guess
You can’t honestly think those “credits” are sufficient, can you? How about some actual disclosure as to what is original artwork created specifically for your project and what you’ve yeah, I’ll say it, stolen. For instance your issue #5 contains Red Shadows character art that is directly lifted from a DDP Joe comic.
And for the record, I’m not following you around. The only Joe related sites I’ve ever posted comments to are this blog and the Club forums both under the name of “Ben”. Clearly, I’m not the only one who finds you incredibly annoying though.
Ah, right, the Night Force set. Pretty cool to tie in the toy! My mind was squarely comic focused. Never bothered to think of the Action Man figure.
-You can’t honestly think those “credits” are sufficient, can you? –
Why are these not sufficient? Many professional companies never even mention who their artists are at all. For example the GIJoe TCG had absolutely NO mention of who drew the art for the cards. As fans we could figure stuff out by the odd visible signiture and scouring the internet for pics on artists sites, but that’s it.
I mean even the most successful card game in the world has absolutely NO mention of who created each set (though artists are credited on each card). In order to find out who even worked on the sets (let alone who did what, which is basically impossible info to find)you have to either A) catch the set release announcement that happens a good 6+ months before the set releases in a daily Arcana column or purchase a starter deck which includes a foldout guide that has some of the credits in itty bitty writing in one of the corners.
Or lets bring it closer to home : GIJoe issue 36 (Marvel run). It says on the front page in the credits section : Pencils – Rod Whigham, Mark Bright, Larry Hama and Bob Camp. Inkers : Andy Mushynsky and Mike Esposito. That’s it. No page numbers or anything.
I wouldn’t normally bother responding to this, but it irks me to no end that whenever anyone does anything fan-based in GIJoe there are always a handful of people that immediately spring online to try and tear it down. It’s almost unqiue to GIJoe. Other hobbie groups I see embracing the fans who try and keep things going ( Think Star Wars fans keeping the Decipher card game going, D&D Dark Sun fans keeping the official website going (with permission) and releasing products and even increasing the fan base to the point of WOTC actually printing new books again this year, etc).
Why is there always so much hate among Joe fans towards each other?
I don’t know if you’re just being willfully obtuse but many professional companies credit artists in the form of this stuff called money.
take the hasbro comic packs too ( the new stories ) only larry hama is credited in them, the artist, colorist, inker, editor is never credited.
everyone else finds you annoying Ben, much more than I. I actually contribute to the fandom , for NOTHING, I get NOTHING in return, and for the record you are the one that EVERYONE thinks is being willfully obtuse, you have no idea of the inner workings of this comic and how we do it. Either contribute something productive or leave, because no one likes your company. Your a troll, plain and simple.
I know we cant please everyone but since your the only one bitching Im pretty happy
thanks for all the kind words though from everyone else here and all of the other supporters from all of the other joe sites. Ben has been the ONLY one to speak against this incredibly difficult , time consuming, and involved project, so considering that, I do consider us to be very successful with it.
Cant please everyone, haters hate, theres nothing we can do about it.
I let you have the last word Ben, because I wont acknowledge your uniformed, troll post anymore
thanks guys
Speaking of “obtuse”, I can clearly see by your statements, that you have absolutely no functional, working knowledge of how professional companies often work in reality. You have no clue, nor do most people outside the industry, (so it’s not just you), of the vast number of artists who are not only uncredited in any given comic or design field that they may be affiliated with, but also unpaid. That’s right, unpaid.
Usually, the bigger or more well known artists will get credits in a book, but most background artists, ghost pencillers/inkers, finishers, etc., do not get a listed credit at all, much less a paycheck, in many cases (not ALL, but many). For the most part, this is how a lot of unknown but hopeful artists get their work printed, and as I mentioned in a previous post, THIS is how many up and coming artists do get “paid” (if you choose to call it that), by having their work published. Marvel comics, even DC have done this for years and years, and if you have maybe read recent issues of Thor, you will have seen this in action. Then once they’ve paid their dues, and the company sees that they can deliver a certain quality of work, they may get an actual paying job, doing actual illustration, or they may not. Either way, there is no guarantee that just because an artist does work for a company that he/she is always getting paid more than just having his/her work published. This is fact and it is reality. I know, because I have personally had things published in the past without pay or credits in books, but it got published just the same.
So, rather than attacking these guys for putting something together for fan entertainment, and then dogging it and/or them across the way, why don’t people just acknowldege that a piece of art is familiar to them, appreciate what has been done with it, and that credit has been given where due, and then either choose to move on or to enjoy what is being presented to the public for their general enjoyment? Why is it necessary to make a big stink over something so benign? Most people who have read a comic, will likely recognize familiar art anyway, they don’t need someone with nothing better to do than stir things up, or to point out where they may have gotten said artwork, THAT’s why there are credits, regardless of whether each panel or page is spelled out bit by bit, or not.
As mentioned before, not even the bigger companies will always offer a panel by panel or page by page breakdown of who did what. To them it is wasted time and space when they can blanket cover who may have done notable work in any given book, and Jamar & company have offered the same.
Aside from that, this stuff is more tribute to an existing genre/franchise than anything else. I may not be a big fan of the Action Force guys so much, but I really have come to enjoy the Red Shadows quite a bit, so I like seeing these tidbits included, as do so many other fans. So, accordingly, there seem to be two simple choices here, either accept it as such and appreciate the work involved, or don’t, and proceed to move quietly along and stop ruining things for everyone else. No one likes a kill joy or spoilsport, especially one who apparently makes a habit of antagonizing other fans or the work of fans who have the resources to assemble things of some significance for others with similar interests to enjoy at leisure.
As for “lifting” the artwork from the DDP books, or as you chose to exaggerate it as being “stolen” (which if credit is given it isn’t technically stolen), well so what? It appears to me that it’s being done in an effort to bring coherent unity of sorts to the Red Shadows stories, from varied sources and put it all together in a solid timeline for fans at large, NOT to somehow rip off either DDP or Tim Seeley. Again, there is credit being offered up front, and anyone who has read the original source material is going to know where the art came from, if not, that’s okay too, and they don’t have to know even if they cared. This also offers people whom may have never seen the DDP stuff, the rare opportunity to see it as it probably should have happened in conjunction with the European side of things, or at the very least, a version of it anyway.
On one final note, which will initially seem to support your statement above, Ben, but doesn’t really, I will say this:
Hasbro, for example, even Mattel, may pay an artist to design product art, they generally do not allow an artist’s name to appear on the packaging, nor offer credit otherwise, yet do pay them a fee for doing so. I point this out because you seem to have “credit” (the offering of public acknowledgement for artwork created by an individual or group of individuals, in this case), confused with “paycheck” (for the rendering of said artwork to draw attention to a company’s product(s)), and there is a big difference between the two. These differences should be learned, understood and duly noted before trying to get overly smart with the comments and jibes, especially when dealing with people who actually do have an understanding of the industry and the way it works.
Of course, like everyone else, you have the right to your own opinion, but you should at least make sure your facts are straight and substantial before revealing your ignorance on a board where your opinion is CLEARLY in the minority on this issue. I would also point out that the only person on here that seems to be annoyed with Jamar or his compilation of stories, is you. Even tkprime, who initially came across as maybe less than positive about a piece of art’s origins, still offered solid and considerate reasons for why he pointed it out and closed his comments out politely and courteously once his initial concerns were cleared up. You on the other hand are just being rude and instigating for the sake of, some apparently personal, issues you have seemingly developed with Jamar and his group elsewhere. I don’t think I am the only one who can see this obvious antagonization, as Jamar has kept his cool about himself in spite of your flaming commentary, but I think I can safely say that this isn’t the place for a personal vendetta to be hashed out. I’m also pretty sure that the rest of the posters thus far would likely agree with that too.
The best thing you could probably do for yourself and everyone here, at this point, would be to simply drop it quietly and just let it go, because you aren’t likely to get a lot of sympathy, with that kind of attitude, at this point I’m afraid. I don’t know you, as far as I am aware anyway, and so have no personal quarrel with you, but objectively speaking, my views on the matter are sound when I look at your comments here versus everyone else’s comments on the topic, and that is where it begins and ends, as far as I am concerned.
Yeah, EVERYONE finds me annoying. EVERYONE wants the Red Shadows. EVERYONE would buy them. You always make such definitive statements. I’m sure NOBODY finds that annoying.
I’ve simply stated my opinions on your project regarding the artwork.
You have chosen to dance around those issues while pretty much pitching a hissy fit.
Why don’t you enlighten me and the other readers as to the inner workings of your project. Maybe then the haters won’t have anything to hate on. I’m sure EVERYBODY would like that.
Oh, and don’t try to act like a martyr when your comic has a price tag printed on it. FYI $3.25 does not equal NOTHING.
Wow, Ben. You’ve pretty much proven EVERYONE’s points with this last post except your own. Amazing.
Once again, you attack and accuse and make demands, while all at the sametime further exposing your own ignorance. That’s pretty annoying, but somehow still amusing. 🙂
Just like you don’t know anything about how the inner industry works, you also apparently do not understand basic math or basic economics. He isn’t coming off as any martyr, with or without a price tag on his book. You see, basic economics should be enough to tell you, barring a heavy dose of common sense prior, that when one produces (that is to say, publishes or prints) a book like this, there are these things called printing expenses. Do you think they get printed for free by little elves or something? No, they do not. It COSTS MONEY to print these books, and printing isn’t cheap, especially for small independents etc., who unlike bigger companies such as Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, and more, do not get the HUGE print discounts that those larger established companies get for having ginormous print runs. I can tell you with certainty, that at $3.25 per issue, Jamar isn’t making anything off of these books in this current economic climate, except his money back, that was invested to print them in the first place. So according to the math of economics, $3.25 cover price = $0 profits.
Furthermore, it isn’t any of your business, nor mine, nor anyone else who isn’t directly affiliated with his project, what the inner workings of his project may be. The only things you NEED to know are that 1) He is producing something that fans are meant to enjoy (obviously, you are not a fan), 2) He has every right to defend himself against your childish and ignorantly futile attacks (and that’s all you’ve done is attack without hard evidence to support any of them), 3) He couldn’t possibly be making any money from them at that price (go back to school), and 4) if you don’t like what he has assembled, then don’t buy it, don’t read it, don’t look at it and don’t go all over making a big stink about it (just let it go and move on already).
If you don’t believe that he isn’t making money then there is one surefire way to find out for yourself without having to know his business… Go put your OWN books together and pay to have them printed and see how difficult it is to break even with just a small print run. I’ve self-published before, it isn’t cheap or easy as you may think, but if you aren’t convinced, go try it and see, before you come back raising cane about what he is doing. You have no idea what you’re talking about so far, and until you put your money where your mouth is, you never will.
I don’t know Jamar very well at all, but I can clearly see that he has enough confidence in what he is doing to support it with his own money, and knowing it is a risk that he might not even break even. I have to respect that, having done it myself in the past. What have you done but b!t@# at him over some artwork, which I might point out…ISN’T EVEN YOURS to start with!!
I have to wonder, given that your so-called opinions lack any real substance at all, why is it that you have such a mad-on for Jamar and his project(s)? Not that I care to hear them, just a rhetorical question. Oh and he hasn’t “danced around any issues” nor “pitched a hissy fit”. So far, he has been pretty straightforward with all of his responses, and answered all relevant questions posed toward the topic, whereas you just keep attacking and demanding and in general making a big stink over what is basically a non-factor at this point, thus he defended himself against your ridiculous rhetoric, nothing wrong with that. So, are you reading the same thread as the rest of us? Or are you just blinded by your own self-loathing and jealousy over his having some drive to create something fun for (almost) everyone who is interested enough to take a look? Either way, I’m still looking for some type of intelligent reasoning from you as to why anything you’ve had to say after the first post you made, has any relevence to anything.
You haven’t really even stated an opinion, per se, but from all of your whining, I gather that you don’t like his projects in general. Mostly all you’ve really done is toss insults at Jamar and Hawkwinter, and accused Jamar outright of stealing, which is basically just flaming to incite some stupid little online battle to somehow boost your ego, and I find that just ridiculous. Come back with some hard FACTS to back up your opinions if you intend to be legitimate, otherwise people will just laugh at you some more.