More Black Diamond Covers!

Who says writing comic reviews doesn't pay? Well they're right but I did get permalinked on AIT Planet-Lar's website and Larry Young (Creator/Writer of the Black Diamond) was nice enough to post the covers for Issue Four: American Look, and Issue Five: Turn About Man. I'm hoping for wallpapers next since I absolutely love the cover of issue five. Show some support for this up and coming company by buying an issue or two. I've boughten a couple from MidtownComics but after digging for more and more content on Planet-Lar's site I found another great online store that can help you out too. Head on over to Khepri.com, they've got a lot of deals and liquidate books all the time!

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Catching up with The Black Diamond

Not to long ago I was blown away by the first issue of AIT-Planetlar's comic The Black Diamond. Well after attending this years Comic Con I picked up issues Two and Three of the series, along with the preview issue "On Ramp".

In "On Ramp", we are introduced to the world of the the Black Diamond. Were starting the day with Doctor McLaughlin, as he wakes up without his wife Kate. Splashed in between McLaughlin's narration we have several action pages of two cars chasing each other on the Diamond. After the Doc gets going he wishes his neighbor a "good morning" in their own playful way, and he's off to the office. Unfortunately for his neighbor who's walking her dog, she is just in time for one of the two cars we saw earlier to go crashing through the barrier of the Diamond, and land directly on her... welcome to the world of the Black Diamond.

Issue Two: One More For The Road
This issue is not only my favorite issue thus far, but it's also the big reveal. The government wants the oil being supplied to the Black Diamond. You see there's One guy who owns all the oil, and he's on a hunting trip with a military rep. There conversation is rich with social commentary about what's happening in our world today. If it were a movie, I'd have a hard drive full of sound bytes from their conversation. In fact this issue is a lot of dialog and great art work. Kate, Doctor McLaughlin's kidnapped wife, shares the best conversation between herself and her kidnappers as they do a crossword puzzle. You can sum it up by saying it's about those random words you learn and never have another use for outside of crosswords and telling other people. Also how does Jon Proctor make women beautiful, sexy and intelligent with his pencils? Larry gives them personality and Jon makes them live up to it, making them a great team. The third act of the issue takes place in a diner off of the Diamond, and we're introduced to another sexy female lead. Each issue ends with a humorous back up story to add depth and history to the Diamond, and this issue is not exempt. The back story is basically a Pirate Radio show interviewing a Black Diamond Preacher. You'll find more social commentary and humor, in this short but good story, that wraps the issue up nicely.

Issue Three : The Bottle and the Throttle

If the last issue was a dialog issue, then this issue is an action issue. Remember that sexy female lead I barely mentioned before? Well she quit the diner and dumped the owner, her boyfriend, in the last issue. She also took with her a, "treasure" that the Ex wants back. And who would have just happened to pull up to the diner in the last issue? That's right the Doc Don. She jumps in the car and the two speed off, yes they exchanged dialog about it but that's not important. Great, great action pics of the cars and bikes chasing each other. The sexy hitch-hiker starts fire bombing the bikes and Ex's car, and boy howdy can Mr. Proctor draw some pretty fire! I don't really want to keep giving away a lot of the story at this point because that would take away from the fun of reading the issue. Just know that sexy-hitch-hiker and Don share some good dialog that makes the chase scene that much better. Kate also confronts her kidnappers on the ridiculousness of her being kidnapped, telling them that pretty much the government won't give a crap that they took her. She doesn't know how right she is. In the last pages the Army starts "cleaning" the Diamond with extreme force. Picture protesting in China, and you'll get the idea. Interesting enough, they're six pages of script for you to read. I myself, seeing different comic book writers and how they craft an issue since it's so different from writer to writer. The back story is... funny, and dark. That's all I'm going to say :)

After reading the first issue of this series, I have to say I'm hooked. In fact, why haven't you picked up a copy yet? You are literally missing out on one of the best comics being made right now! I can't literally can't wait for issue four to come out, and wait, desperately for more projects from Larry Young and Jon Proctor, but also AIT-Planet Lar as well. Larry also does a column for CBR, check it out and pick up an issue. With increased sales I wouldn't have to fight people to get an issue of the book.
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Now playing: "Stay Put!" by The Blood Arm
via FoxyTunes

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The Black Diamond - From Ait Planetlar

The Black Diamond
Issue One
Shake Hands With Danger

Created and Written by
Larry Young

Art by
Jon Proctor

From AIT-PLANETLAR
Released Date
06-13-07

This is as Indie as it gets. I had never heard or seen anything from this company before randomly picking up this book. I'll tell you one thing this company is it's best self promoter. Black Diamond is about a highway that has no rules, anything goes, no speed limit, no laws. It was designed to keep the dredge of society away from everyone else. The problem with keeping everyone on the road that's dangerous is that occasionally they fly off the side harming the people that are meant to be safe. Unfortunately to get the whole story you'll have to read the Zero Issue titled 'On Ramp' but they do a great job of printing a review of that issue in the first issue. Cleaver huh? It's a great review from ComicTreadmill.com.
They too have a review of the first issue which is unfortunate for me since they probably have a bigger reader base, but they come off a little biased loving the Author and Company just a little too much. So on with my review!

I would give this book an 9.5, it wasn't perfect but it was really freaking good. It had a little too much 'Car Jargon' to the point that I didn't know if the car had really existed outside the world of comics, but I liked the fact that I stopped paying attention around the time the Main Character did too. Basically this Orthodontist's wife gets kidnapped because her Father designed the Black Diamond. The Army is taking control of the road again using excessive force to get the job done. The part that doesn't really make since is that the Wife's brother is a cop and he gives the car to the Husband and sends him to get her back... Yes it's a more interesting story for the boring guy to go see what he's made of, but its kinda hard to swallow at the same time. The Art is amazing and the Team chooses interesting angles and panel designs that really fit and make the book stand out. Honestly the quality of this book, was not independent. It far surpassed the norm of Indie comics, if it had been printed on better paper (which may have been intentional as a throw back to early comics) I wouldn't be able to tell it apart from Marvel Icon's Criminal in comparison to quality. It will be hard to find this book and Online is probably your best option unless you have a local shop that takes a gamble on Indie's. I was able to find both Issue 0 and 1 at MidtownComics for a decent price plus shipping making it a little harder to swallow but trust me this is a book you won't want to miss. This is one of those books people will be talking about how good it is a few years when they released the seventh printing of the Trade Paper Back. I'm glad I found this book before it became the next 30 Days of Night, where the first issue sells for 80 to 120 bucks due to it's popularity and low print numbers. Check this book out, and see the potential that not only this book has but more than likely the company too.

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