Back in the late 00's when the Heavy Metal magazine web site had a forum, there was a participant who went by Intone Flux, who was active and prone to frequent comments and long posts on HM, and other topics that could be somewhat related (some were impressively long and supplemented with images and research), and who also started the idea of rating issues and their stories on a 1-10 scale. I joined in with some regularity, and some others also added to the mix. When they shut down the forums in 2011 (They suffered from inadequate moderation and multiple spam attacks, and pulled the plug instead of trying to save it.) I was so saddened and annoyed I started this little blog.
I liked IF's forum comments for the insights that were displayed, and despite the use of language that made me think English was not learned first, the fearless enthusiasm for the topics, related to HM or not. I enjoyed participating in a public opinion forum, and IF's reviews were a chance to join a conversation. Being a part of something like that, and missing it when it was gone, is why I do this now, so in some part I owe it to Intone Flux.
Since then, Intone Flux has commented here a few times, and contacted me about some other things, including work on actual comics. Indeed, he's outed himself as Attila Kiss, a contributor to a handful of published comic works. He's even asked me to review some of them, and I have once, it was in You Are Not Alone in January 2014. At the time, I hesitated to include a review of YANA, since it wasn't really HM related at all, but because it was such an important topic of resisting and surviving abuse, I agreed, and the post got a good deal of traffic for being on my puny and insignificant blog. I declined another time ("It's All in the Moon" in Grayhaven Comics "The Gathering"), but, undaunted, he's contacted me again, and this time I agreed to review a couple stories, since I quite liked one, and since I'm impressed enough with his determination and success of actually being published, to show him the respect of an honest review of the work.
So shortly I will put up reviews of The Heart, and Blues Ratz #1, from Scattered Comics, for your interpreting pleasure, and thank IF for thinking of me from those early days of the new millenium, so long ago. Until then, Attila Kiss exists elsewhere in cyberspace and beyond:
Attila Kiss Fbk
Attila Kiss Twtr
Scattered Comics Profile
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query attila. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query attila. Sort by date Show all posts
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Thursday, October 4, 2018
The Heart
The Heart is a story by Attila Kiss, and Marie Philippova, and Greg Woronchak (with "German Assistance" by The4thPip), published by Scattered Comics in Movie Massacre #2. Link: http://scatteredcomics.com/?page_id=5184
As I've mentioned, I knew Attila Kiss as Intone Flux from the old HM website forum, and I have reviewed his Blues Ratz #1, Blues Ratz #2, and Blue Ratz #3 previously.
I saved The Heart for a review until now. Not only because it takes me forever to do anything, but also because it was the one that felt more like a Heavy Metal magazine story, with compelling, sometimes gruesome art, and a dark and murky fantastical story, more on the adult side of the comic spectrum.
The Heart is a story of two stories, one of medieval-times bandits and one of twentieth century nazi occultism. They are tied together loosely by the narrative, and they also use two different artists, so there is contrast as well as continuity. A cave serves as hideout for murderous highwaymen in the first part, and later as the site of Moloch-worshipping ritual sacrifice, which (spoiler) is undone by the frail strength of its victims' humanity.
Greg Woronchak, who also did the art for Blues Ratz, shows a different style for the first portion of The Heart, and it suits the story well, straightforward but dynamic. The "vignette" page layout (I think that's the right word) frames the images and adds to the storytelling. Marie Philippova did colors for this first part, and also does the second part, in a different but complementary style, likewise engaging and enhancing the storytelling, showing the terrible attraction of arcane ritual in the service of evil. The art is the most enjoyable part of this work to me.
Followed closely by the story. Attila Kiss' style comes through, rich and descriptive, sometimes florid, sometimes clever, keeping the reader on their toes by making them work to keep up. The leap between the parts is broad, with little apparent to connect them, but enough to make this a whole story. The story of evil across generations and a brief triumph of compassion, finds disparate points in humans' broad capacity for experience.
If you're like me, with a fondness for exploration of humanity's extremes, with exciting and stomach-turning (and sexy! even) graphic art depictions, The Heart is for you. Go do yourself and Attila Kiss and his cronies a favor and check this out.
As I've mentioned, I knew Attila Kiss as Intone Flux from the old HM website forum, and I have reviewed his Blues Ratz #1, Blues Ratz #2, and Blue Ratz #3 previously.
I saved The Heart for a review until now. Not only because it takes me forever to do anything, but also because it was the one that felt more like a Heavy Metal magazine story, with compelling, sometimes gruesome art, and a dark and murky fantastical story, more on the adult side of the comic spectrum.
The Heart is a story of two stories, one of medieval-times bandits and one of twentieth century nazi occultism. They are tied together loosely by the narrative, and they also use two different artists, so there is contrast as well as continuity. A cave serves as hideout for murderous highwaymen in the first part, and later as the site of Moloch-worshipping ritual sacrifice, which (spoiler) is undone by the frail strength of its victims' humanity.
Greg Woronchak, who also did the art for Blues Ratz, shows a different style for the first portion of The Heart, and it suits the story well, straightforward but dynamic. The "vignette" page layout (I think that's the right word) frames the images and adds to the storytelling. Marie Philippova did colors for this first part, and also does the second part, in a different but complementary style, likewise engaging and enhancing the storytelling, showing the terrible attraction of arcane ritual in the service of evil. The art is the most enjoyable part of this work to me.
Followed closely by the story. Attila Kiss' style comes through, rich and descriptive, sometimes florid, sometimes clever, keeping the reader on their toes by making them work to keep up. The leap between the parts is broad, with little apparent to connect them, but enough to make this a whole story. The story of evil across generations and a brief triumph of compassion, finds disparate points in humans' broad capacity for experience.
If you're like me, with a fondness for exploration of humanity's extremes, with exciting and stomach-turning (and sexy! even) graphic art depictions, The Heart is for you. Go do yourself and Attila Kiss and his cronies a favor and check this out.
Friday, August 31, 2018
Blues Ratz #3
Blues Ratz #3 written by Attila Kiss and with art by Greg Woronchak, and the cover coloring credited to Matheus Bronca, is the ending installment of the story of the Gekimo brothers, and their struggles with the Blues. I previously reviewed the preceding stories, Blues Ratz #1 and Blues Ratz #2.
#2 ended with the brothers and their cousin pledging war against the mob. #3 starts with Bob the elder waking from the dream of his life, alone aboard a landed plane, which he promptly falls out of. His brothers and cousin meanwhile, proceed with their plans, first in a flashback with their partners in the botched drug deal, where the cousin uses his Canadian-ness to win a bet. Then the other brothers execute the other parts of the plan, taking on mob bosses in London and Italy, almost single-handedly I might add. Then follows Bob's wedding to the madam, and they could all live happily ever after, but instead they get back to their band, rocketing to the charts and playing Wembley, with help from their cousin, who brings in relatives from the old country to bring scandal and publicity. Finally the cousin is shipped back to Canada, less than willingly, for a humorous conclusion.
Like #s 1 and 2, Blues Ratz #3 is quite fanciful, taking leaps in logic and storytelling, flying through without stopping to catch your breath, dropping clever bits here and there. The art continues to hold up its end of the bargain, even picking up the pace with action and some rather gruesome scenes during the mob battles. If I had to choose, I might say I enjoyed #2 the most, as far as its cohesiveness seemed a bit stronger, but they are all comparable and work well to tell their tales in a similar manner, making up a story with plenty to offer and lots of fun in the telling.
Again, while I would not have sought this out on my own, thanks to Attila Kiss for bringing these to me and for the opportunity to look at something new and click out some words about it. Best of luck to Attila Kiss and Greg Woronchak on success with this and their future endeavours. Soon I'll review The Heart by Mr Kiss and others, something that was a bit closer to my HM interests, and at least as fun as reading about The Blues Ratz. Be sure to look these up and by all means spend a few bucks on them to support independent comics.
Here's Attila Kiss's store:
https://www.comixcentral.com/vendors/a-kiss-store/
And here's Scattered Comics':
http://scatteredcomics.com/?page_id=6470
#2 ended with the brothers and their cousin pledging war against the mob. #3 starts with Bob the elder waking from the dream of his life, alone aboard a landed plane, which he promptly falls out of. His brothers and cousin meanwhile, proceed with their plans, first in a flashback with their partners in the botched drug deal, where the cousin uses his Canadian-ness to win a bet. Then the other brothers execute the other parts of the plan, taking on mob bosses in London and Italy, almost single-handedly I might add. Then follows Bob's wedding to the madam, and they could all live happily ever after, but instead they get back to their band, rocketing to the charts and playing Wembley, with help from their cousin, who brings in relatives from the old country to bring scandal and publicity. Finally the cousin is shipped back to Canada, less than willingly, for a humorous conclusion.
Like #s 1 and 2, Blues Ratz #3 is quite fanciful, taking leaps in logic and storytelling, flying through without stopping to catch your breath, dropping clever bits here and there. The art continues to hold up its end of the bargain, even picking up the pace with action and some rather gruesome scenes during the mob battles. If I had to choose, I might say I enjoyed #2 the most, as far as its cohesiveness seemed a bit stronger, but they are all comparable and work well to tell their tales in a similar manner, making up a story with plenty to offer and lots of fun in the telling.
Again, while I would not have sought this out on my own, thanks to Attila Kiss for bringing these to me and for the opportunity to look at something new and click out some words about it. Best of luck to Attila Kiss and Greg Woronchak on success with this and their future endeavours. Soon I'll review The Heart by Mr Kiss and others, something that was a bit closer to my HM interests, and at least as fun as reading about The Blues Ratz. Be sure to look these up and by all means spend a few bucks on them to support independent comics.
Here's Attila Kiss's store:
https://www.comixcentral.com/vendors/a-kiss-store/
And here's Scattered Comics':
http://scatteredcomics.com/?page_id=6470
Monday, July 16, 2018
Blues Ratz #1
Blues Ratz #1 is a story about three brothers in a punk rock band, who live with their mom. It's by Attila Kiss and Greg Woronchak, and published by Scattered Comics. The band, the Punk Bratz, is struggling, as their drummer has "lost his rhythm", and the story gets complicated fast. The mom has recruited their Canadian cousin to manage the band, and bringing him up to speed is used to tell some backstory. She explains that her two older sons have the same name since their father was so drunk he forgot he used the second's name on the first. The oldest son, the rhythm-less drummer, has the "Hungarian Blues", an obsession that consumes the mind until it's satisfied. Their father had the "blues" too, his obsession was to see the Hungary soccer team beat England. And when it happened, he was killed for celebrating by his banned hooligan neighbor. And then it gets complicated....
Now, like I said, I'm not a big comics fan, and this isn't something I would normally review. But Attila Kiss, known to me as Intone Flux from the old HM forums, asked me to, and he sent me something else I'll get to later that I liked a bit more, so I agreed. While I found this work uneven, with some parts not very interesting to me, there were some things that I did like.
The characters are anthromorphic rats, and there's a reference to cats in their world, but otherwise it doesn't seem to have much relevance in the story. The art is nicely appropriate for a comic, and there are some flashback parts where the images are grayer and softer focus, which is effective but can be kind of murky and hinder the storytelling. The story itself has several interesting aspects, like past experiences defining characters' present actions, and some funky names, and it has an energetic pace that can be at once engaging and dizzying. The setting of a London punk band living with their mom, and the subtitle "Never mind the puberty, here's mid life crisis" is both a bit clever and sadly ironic. The gang tries several ways to cure "the blues" which don't work as intended, and require getting bailed out of jail more than once. This story ends with a surprise offer of help from someone in their past, and it's to be continued in #s 2 and 3.
So it was fun to read this, and nice of Attila Kiss to think of me and send it. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy it, and that may include some who come by here. So here's where to get it:
Now, like I said, I'm not a big comics fan, and this isn't something I would normally review. But Attila Kiss, known to me as Intone Flux from the old HM forums, asked me to, and he sent me something else I'll get to later that I liked a bit more, so I agreed. While I found this work uneven, with some parts not very interesting to me, there were some things that I did like.
The characters are anthromorphic rats, and there's a reference to cats in their world, but otherwise it doesn't seem to have much relevance in the story. The art is nicely appropriate for a comic, and there are some flashback parts where the images are grayer and softer focus, which is effective but can be kind of murky and hinder the storytelling. The story itself has several interesting aspects, like past experiences defining characters' present actions, and some funky names, and it has an energetic pace that can be at once engaging and dizzying. The setting of a London punk band living with their mom, and the subtitle "Never mind the puberty, here's mid life crisis" is both a bit clever and sadly ironic. The gang tries several ways to cure "the blues" which don't work as intended, and require getting bailed out of jail more than once. This story ends with a surprise offer of help from someone in their past, and it's to be continued in #s 2 and 3.
So it was fun to read this, and nice of Attila Kiss to think of me and send it. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy it, and that may include some who come by here. So here's where to get it:
Here is the publishers link to Blues Ratz:
Issue #1 available at:
DriveThruComics: http://www.
IndyPlanet: http://www.
Blues Ratz #2 Trailer:
Issue #2 available (for now only) at:
Thursday, August 29, 2019
ATTILA KISS COMICS PULP MUSIC
Attila Kiss, known to me first as Intone Flux from the old HM website forums, has taken to creating his own work, I've noted his Blues Ratz #1, #2, and #3 previously, and other things, and he (not so) recently alerted me to a new project.
"Twisted Holiday Horror Tales" #1 is taking form and he is posting regular updates here. It looks promising and I will look forward to seeing its release in time for the hollydays.
As always I wish him the best in his projects and his life, and express my admiration for his determination, and my apologies for my lack of timely response.
fred
"Twisted Holiday Horror Tales" #1 is taking form and he is posting regular updates here. It looks promising and I will look forward to seeing its release in time for the hollydays.
As always I wish him the best in his projects and his life, and express my admiration for his determination, and my apologies for my lack of timely response.
fred
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Blues Ratz #2
After a couple other things I wrote about (and my usual slackitude, sorry) it's back to Attila Kiss' Blues Ratz. I described how I know Attila Kiss from the old HM website forums and how he alerted me to his recent work in this post, and I reviewed the first installment of Blues Ratz here. Now I'll review the second installment Blues Ratz #2, and he's already sent Blues Ratz #3 to me, so that will follow.
To recap, in Blues Ratz #1, the three Gekimo brothers are seeking help for their oldest brother who has the "Blues", a debilitating obsession, with the help of their Canadian cousin. After multiple mishaps and incarcerations, and the other brothers catching their versions of the Blues, they are offered help by the thug who killed their father.
Here in #2, we find the "help" involves running contraband across Europe for the thug. Given a car and its contents and instructions, they immediately proceed to screw it all up. Ditching their Canadian cousin, the obsessed brothers careen from lewd behavior to drug deals gone bad to bribery, with their cousin trying desparately to follow, to end up at a brothel. During which they address their Blues, and get back to "normal", which involves declaring war on the mob...
Blues Ratz #2 plows along the same path blazed by Blues Ratz #1. The storytelling takes a convoluted but direct line, running, juking, stumbling sometimes, but always moving ahead. Some jokes work better than others, and some are really funny, but it never stops. The art is energetic and demonstrative, informative and often entertaining. There are some interesting effects, like the yellow voice balloons with the not-so-pale blue shading for most of it, that can be dark but lets unshaded parts contrast, and the weird metallic shading on the last panel. It's not what I usually seek out, but thanks to Mr Kiss for helping me look out from beneath the rock I live under.
I like it. There's more enjoyment of a neat expression, or panel execution, or clever phrase, than annoyment or perplexed head-scratching. It's a fun read, made more fun for me by my acquaintance with one of the creators.
He has Blue Ratz #2, and the other Blues Ratz stories right here:
https://www.comixcentral.com/vendors/a-kiss-store/
Blue Ratz #3 is out as well, and my review is coming right up (umm, when I get around to it, like usual). Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!
To recap, in Blues Ratz #1, the three Gekimo brothers are seeking help for their oldest brother who has the "Blues", a debilitating obsession, with the help of their Canadian cousin. After multiple mishaps and incarcerations, and the other brothers catching their versions of the Blues, they are offered help by the thug who killed their father.
Here in #2, we find the "help" involves running contraband across Europe for the thug. Given a car and its contents and instructions, they immediately proceed to screw it all up. Ditching their Canadian cousin, the obsessed brothers careen from lewd behavior to drug deals gone bad to bribery, with their cousin trying desparately to follow, to end up at a brothel. During which they address their Blues, and get back to "normal", which involves declaring war on the mob...
Blues Ratz #2 plows along the same path blazed by Blues Ratz #1. The storytelling takes a convoluted but direct line, running, juking, stumbling sometimes, but always moving ahead. Some jokes work better than others, and some are really funny, but it never stops. The art is energetic and demonstrative, informative and often entertaining. There are some interesting effects, like the yellow voice balloons with the not-so-pale blue shading for most of it, that can be dark but lets unshaded parts contrast, and the weird metallic shading on the last panel. It's not what I usually seek out, but thanks to Mr Kiss for helping me look out from beneath the rock I live under.
I like it. There's more enjoyment of a neat expression, or panel execution, or clever phrase, than annoyment or perplexed head-scratching. It's a fun read, made more fun for me by my acquaintance with one of the creators.
He has Blue Ratz #2, and the other Blues Ratz stories right here:
https://www.comixcentral.com/vendors/a-kiss-store/
Blue Ratz #3 is out as well, and my review is coming right up (umm, when I get around to it, like usual). Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!
Monday, December 16, 2019
Twisted Holiday Horror Tales #1
"Twisted Holiday Horror Tales #1", as advised to my humble blog by Attila Kiss, is now available for purchase, digital on comiXology: https://bit.ly/
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