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Two-Dimensional Pirates
That'd be comic book pirates, not poorly characterized movie pirates, that I mean. I have a little more news on Crossgen's upcoming pirate comic, El Cazador, so I thought I'd share. Bare facts first- the target date for the book is September (no word on when precisely, or at least not that I've seen), the creative team is Chuck Dixon (neat) and Steve Epting (no idea, but the little I've seen is good), and the Crossgen Sigil won't be a factor, which is a statement that will doubtless make no sense to anyone who doesn't read other Crossgen titles, but trust me, that's good.
Okay, so here's an interview with Chuck Dixon in which he talks a bit about why a pirate comic at all, what influenced him (Captain Blood! Yay!), and what El Cazador is all about. Not very long, but interesting. The main character, "a Spanish Donessa named Cinzia Elena Diego-Luis Hidalgo," will no doubt be beautiful, spirited, fearless, and tragic. But hey, pirate comic book. The cliches are part of the fun, or so I hope. No, seriously, I'm really looking forward to this book. Not all cliches are bad (even when they’re silly).
Interesting that Dixon supposedly hadn't heard of the real El Cazador, since it was one of the richer treasure ships to be lost in this hemisphere, and since it was found so recently (relatively). Oh well, I don't read pirate comics (or see pirate movies, for that matter) for the historical accuracy. But also interesting is that our heroine is a Spanish pirate. That's certainly a less-than-common nationality among pop culture pirate protagonists, who tend to be English (and occasionally American). The Spanish are usually the bad guys. Well, badder guys. So, neat.
There's a portrait sketch of Cinzia... 'scuse me, Lady Sin... uh huh... about half-way down this page. It's just a sketch, of course, but Epting has gotten a good bit of personality into it, which bodes well. (Further down the page, there are some other sketches on the theme of "Monkeys, Pirates, Ninjas and/or Robots"- fun but weird stuff.)
This is the official Previews blurb, with another teensy smidge of art and some truly dreadful copywriting. "When a fiery Spanish donessa runs afoul of a villainous armada, she sets sail with vengeance in her heart – reborn as Captain Sin!" Sounds like a cheesy romance novel. Though come to think of it, that could be fun too...
And lastly, Strange-Haven has a short news item with some more quotes from Dixon, mostly variations on the first interview, though he does say, "We'll be buckling many swashes," which always makes me smile.
Crossgen might not be the most groundbreaking publisher out there, but they're solid and reliable. They ship on time (a rarity these days), and if the writing often moves a bit slowly, the art is always attractive and occasionally stunning. They also have a knack for sliding their comics into existing but under-utilized (by comics) genre niches, which is smart marketing. Liked Gladiator? Read Brath. Like Sherlock Holmes? Try Ruse. And now that pirates and swashbucklers are back in the public consciousness, here comes El Cazador. No, they may not be rebels and rule-breakers, but Crossgen is certainly savvy.
Okay, so here's an interview with Chuck Dixon in which he talks a bit about why a pirate comic at all, what influenced him (Captain Blood! Yay!), and what El Cazador is all about. Not very long, but interesting. The main character, "a Spanish Donessa named Cinzia Elena Diego-Luis Hidalgo," will no doubt be beautiful, spirited, fearless, and tragic. But hey, pirate comic book. The cliches are part of the fun, or so I hope. No, seriously, I'm really looking forward to this book. Not all cliches are bad (even when they’re silly).
Interesting that Dixon supposedly hadn't heard of the real El Cazador, since it was one of the richer treasure ships to be lost in this hemisphere, and since it was found so recently (relatively). Oh well, I don't read pirate comics (or see pirate movies, for that matter) for the historical accuracy. But also interesting is that our heroine is a Spanish pirate. That's certainly a less-than-common nationality among pop culture pirate protagonists, who tend to be English (and occasionally American). The Spanish are usually the bad guys. Well, badder guys. So, neat.
There's a portrait sketch of Cinzia... 'scuse me, Lady Sin... uh huh... about half-way down this page. It's just a sketch, of course, but Epting has gotten a good bit of personality into it, which bodes well. (Further down the page, there are some other sketches on the theme of "Monkeys, Pirates, Ninjas and/or Robots"- fun but weird stuff.)
This is the official Previews blurb, with another teensy smidge of art and some truly dreadful copywriting. "When a fiery Spanish donessa runs afoul of a villainous armada, she sets sail with vengeance in her heart – reborn as Captain Sin!" Sounds like a cheesy romance novel. Though come to think of it, that could be fun too...
And lastly, Strange-Haven has a short news item with some more quotes from Dixon, mostly variations on the first interview, though he does say, "We'll be buckling many swashes," which always makes me smile.
Crossgen might not be the most groundbreaking publisher out there, but they're solid and reliable. They ship on time (a rarity these days), and if the writing often moves a bit slowly, the art is always attractive and occasionally stunning. They also have a knack for sliding their comics into existing but under-utilized (by comics) genre niches, which is smart marketing. Liked Gladiator? Read Brath. Like Sherlock Holmes? Try Ruse. And now that pirates and swashbucklers are back in the public consciousness, here comes El Cazador. No, they may not be rebels and rule-breakers, but Crossgen is certainly savvy.