Stained – Graphic Spotlight

Forget Major or Rick Deckard. Emma London is your new sci-fi noir goddess!

January 15, 2018 Matthew Klein Comics and Graphic Novels 0

There are hundreds of graphic novel and trade paperback collections that come out every month. The majority of the ones you hear about come from three publishers: Marvel, DC, and Image Comics. Do you realize that there are over thirty publishers out there producing new stories every month? Thirty bastions of burgeoning narratives that are competing for a small slice of the market share and even slimmer dollar share. One of those houses of creativity is 451 Media. Now, if you’ve heard of 451, it might be because of it’s most famous backer: Michael Bay. Yup, that Michael Bay. However, what you should get to know 451 for is kickass stories. Exhibit A: Stained from comics pro David Baron and artist Yusuf Idris.

Are you into such massively awesome sci-fi noir epics like Ghost In The Shell or Blade Runner? Well, if you enjoy Major and Rick Deckard, then you’ll love Emma London: recovery artist and bounty hunter for hire. Emma is a badass, possibly unbeatable in a fair fight and, oh yeah, part machine! Impulse control isn’t really her thing. She likes to dive headfirst into dark places tracking down subhuman criminals lurking in the underbelly of society and bring them to justice. But when Emma tries to take on a pair of international diamond smugglers, what she thought would be a record high bounty for a priceless painting will explode into a heart-pounding hunt of a different kind.

David Baron is the guy behind the guy behind the guy for some of your most favorite comics of all time! Grant Morrison’s JLA? Scott Snyder’s run on Detective Comics? Star Wars: Droids? The man has his fingerprints all over your bookshelves and you may not have even realized it. For decades he’s been considered one the premiere colorists around. Now, Mr. Baron is leaping forward into the role of scribe and working with a killer artist in Yusuf Idris. For fans of stories like Sleeper, Transmetropolitan, and just damn good sci-fi and crime, this is one collection that will fit perfectly in your hands.

Collects Stained issues #1-5.

About Matthew Klein 183 Articles

Matthew is a New York based writer and producer. He's got his own homegrown company, Reign Or Shine Productions that makes kickass theatre and podcasts. For the last couple years he's been working in sales at Valiant Entertainment, seeing comic shops and working at cons all over the country (plus Canada). He loves all things Batman, Valiant, pro-wrestling related and believes in the tooth fairy.