Black Phoenix Vol. 1

(Paperback)

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Description

Black Phoenix is, at its core, a contemporary comics magazine featuring original characters and stories of various comics genres--all dreamed up by its sole author, Rich Tommaso. Dont be fooled by the pseudonyms inside--he changes names as often as drawing styles. But, the magazine is also like a walk through comics history itself. Each volume of these golden age, pulp styled digest anthologies is headed up by a long-form comics adventure which is backed up by a bunch of short-form comics--all in the same genre or flavor.

Reviews

The stories created by Tommaso reflect an incredible variety of genres and tones. While many comics creators tend to be pegged for the one thing they do best, Tommaso defies definition in this regard. He regularly tackles a wide array of stories, including horror, crime, thriller, and even funny animals. There's really no guessing what his next project might look like. Chase Magnett
Tommaso's art is skilled and lively, the color covers particularly fine, boasting eye-catchingly original graphic design. His dialogue is snappy, the narration low-key, in contrast to the frantic goings-on, with a nicely turned phrase ("Time is like an infinite sick day for me now...") here and there. - Poopsheet
The longtime Dark Horse- and Fantagraphics-published cartoonist Rich Tommaso deserves credit for continuing to find new places to go stylistically. - Tom Spurgeon, The Comics Reporter
"Rich Tommasos cartooning possesses an innate and confident snap that grabs the eye and won't let it go. Rich seems to get better with every comic." - James Sturm
Tommasos artwork is just stunning and highly original, while preserving many aspects of traditional cartooning. Each panel is constructed as carefully as a full-page spread with every crisp line of inking or block of color remarkably balanced." Hannah Means-Shannon, Comicon

Author Bio

Inspired by the crime and horror films of the 1970s - 1980s, artist/writer Rich Tommaso has effectively utilized those influences in his first two original titles at Image, DARK CORRIDOR and SHE WOLF. Having grown up during these same time periods, he's also been able to draw from his own life experiences to elevate and personalize his comics while simultaneously working within those classic genres.