EYES ON TINSELTOWN: IN THE KILLZONE!
Abby is Back! Beneath the glamorous surface of Tinseltown, beats a rotten heart full of corruption, greed, and lies. In this final chapter of volume 2 set in 1916, we will see how Abigail Moore, a cop in the early days of Hollywood in the 20th century, will manage a complicated case she got herself involved in.
Previously, in issue # 4 Utopia Studios was constantly in the news and subject to rumors. The head of the studio decided to do business with a German filmmaker that convinced him to film his flick in Mexico. There were many complications with the production when it finally started in Mexico. Abby and Billy faced dangerous people there and got themselves into real trouble. What will happen next?
THE CREATIVE TEAM
The creative team of issue #5 “In The Killzone!” consists of David Lucarelli (writer), Henry Ponciano (artist), and Wes Locher (Letterer). Tinseltown is published by Alterna Comics. Alterna Comics was founded in 2006 by publisher Peter Simeti and has gone on to help produce over 100 titles since then.
Alterna has been home to a New York Times best-seller, FUBAR Empire of the Rising Dead (2012), and a film adaptation, The Chair (2017), and has gained attention for its modern newsprint initiative and affordable prices. Alterna Comics titles are distributed to readers and retailers worldwide from their online store. Alterna also has its YouTube channel like many other creators do.
ABOUT TINSELTOWN
Tinseltown is a genuine story with a female protagonist. The stories in the series are filled with mystery, drama, and action for the young and the adults. I got the final chapter of Volume 2 on the Alterna Comics 2022 Spring crowdfunding campaign. The series has 2 volumes. Each volume is a 5 issue limited series. The stories are printed on traditional old newspaper-like material, stapled in floppy format.
VOLUME 2 LOSING THE LIGHT: ISSUE #5 IN THE KILLZONE!
Looks like the enemy at the end of issue #4 is a potential ally. But things get even more complicated when he and Abby work together. The situation turns ugly quickly. Abby tries really hard to do the best job. Billy manages to get help, but will they reach on time to help Abby?
The final chapter was entertaining. I liked the way Abby handled the situation. She eventually fails at catching the bad guy but that experience with the intel she now has helps her solve one of the mysteries: who is the mole in Utopia?
I love Abby’s ark. It is written in such a way that you can’t help but have respect for her, which she totally earns. You get to know her from her childhood and follow her journey, her mistakes, and how she learns from them. There are also the men in her life that help and support her at crucial times. They play important roles in her journey to become better at her job. There is a sequence in the story where Billy went looking for help and finds Paul and the others. They medially went to help Abby but they hesitate when they reach the location. Paul’s speech motivating everyone to fight in order to help Abby reminded me of Steven Rogers, Captain America.
There are a few things that are more difficult for women to deal with, and they need extra training to get better at it like shooting an automatic gun and physical fights. Abby goes through that journey. Pretending that it is an easy task for women to achieve these tasks is just a lie. To reach men’s physical strength and agility on an “equal” level women need to always go way beyond 100% of their capability maybe even reach 200% to be at that “equal” level, simply because males and females are physically different.
Males have physical strength and are typically good at fighting. Females have mental strength and are good at mediation, negotiation, and manipulation. I’m remembering the film Men in Black: International (2019) and I’m getting stressed out just thinking about how they wasted such an opportunity to properly introduce a female agent as one of the leads in the story. Anyways, let’s forget about that.
EXPERIENCE WITH THE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
Alterna Comics Spring 2022 pre-orders crowdfunding campaign did not disappoint me. Alterna is actively publishing comics and offers clients, through its crowdfunding campaigns, the opportunity to get new issues of comic books before they go public on their website.
The prices are very affordable for pre-order and when it goes public the price remains almost the same. The interior pages of the book are made of newspaper material, very similar to readers’ digest just thinner, and with a more vulnerable cover. In Addition to Tinseltown Issue #5, I also got the available Downcast issues.
The advantage of the campaign is that it offered a “create your bundle” option and it also offered additional products for free as stretch goals on the campaign which included:
- Alterna series Trading Card #5 Abigail Moore of Tinseltown
- Alterna series Trading Card #6 Agent Gibson of Unit 44
- Rare Alterna Foil “Kyron Morvel” trading card which was a pre-launch backer bonus
- Alterna Comics Original Blank Sketch Card: Every day 1 physical perk backer received a blank sketch card
- 11×17 Alterna Comics Poster: Every day 1 physical perk backer received a poster
- Alterna Comics’ “Thank You” letter, which is much appreciated
Alterna has good customer service. You can always be sure that you will get a response when you contact them. The tracking number was timely provided. They delivered everything in one package which is what was expected and what I prefer. Receiving multiple packages can be costly for international backers who may use third-party packaging management services.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Tinseltown series has engaging stories with good character-building and cliffhangers. I could not stop reading. I like stories of women that have struggles and learn through life experiences how to overcome them. It is so refreshing to read stories that are relatable and are just simply good for a change.
I loved how the story finalizes with an open ending leaving room for continuation which I am totally in favor of. For the moment there won’t be any new issues, but I hope it doesn’t remain shelved. I do hope there will be a possibility for a continuation of “Volume 3”. There are so many stories that could be told especially from the Hollywood era of the 1920s and 1930s.
Overall, I enjoyed reading the Tinseltown series. Check my notes on all the issues of Volume 1 and issues 1 -4 of Volume 2.
Now that we have volume 1 and volume 2 completed, I hope we will get a collector’s edition in softcover or hardcover in the future. Physical and digital copies of all the issues of Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available at the Alterna online store. Check them out!
Interested in more titles? Check the latest publications from the “EYES ON” series wherein I documented my experience with crowdfunding campaigns and shared my notes on the products I received:
- EYES ON BLACK TIDE RISING: VOLUME 1
- EYES ON JETTA RAYE ADVENTURES
- EYES ON INFINITALE CHRONICLES BOOK 1
- EYES ON STAR CIRCUIT CHAPTER 1
My notes are all set. Let me know what you think.
See you on the next page!
