Monthly Archive: June 2007

Truman Goes To The Dead

  • News
  • June 13, 2007

The Greatful Dead have a new website, Dead.Net, and our pal Timothy Truman is all over it!

Timbo’s been drawing the Dead’s comix adaptations for years and years now – he also did up the triple-gatefold cover to their latest album, Live At The Cow Palace – and their new site’s got just about all of ’em posted! Some of Timothy’s finest and most heartfelt artwork, to be sure.

7_1-preview-5934428And what’s Mr. Truman been up to lately, besides drawing for the Dead? Well, he’s been writing Dark Horse’s Conan series, and for the past couple months he’s been hard at work drawing the newest GrimJack graphic novel, The Manx Cat, written by fellow-GJ creator John Ostrander.

Of course, Timbo’s got his own website. Check it out.

Lyrics written by and copyright Robert Hunter.

WSJ notices comics noticing girls

  • Uncategorized
  • June 13, 2007

Via Film Fodder, it seems the Wall Street Journal is taking notice of the Big Two’s desire to sell more comics to the gender that, you know, reads more.  That would seem to put DC and Marvel one up on WSJ writer Matt Phillips, who cannot resist using the usual balan superhero-reference exclamation-point-laden headline, even though the subject of the article touches mainly on female-friendly books that aren’t in that genre at all.

Here’s the video that accompanies Phillips’ article:

If it’s in the WSJ, it’s probably moved beyond "trend" and into financial reality.

52 To Prose and Sound

  • Uncategorized
  • June 13, 2007

51d81kq32nl-_ss500_-8247636Hot on the heels of our Infinite Crisis review (audio edition) comes word that 52 is getting the exact same treatment: a novelization this July by Greg Cox, and a full-cast audio adaptation by GraphicAudio.

Greg tells our Glenn Hauman: "I thought I’d shamelessly plug the 52 novel, which goes on sale in a couple of weeks. If nothing else, this is the first gay Batwoman novel, which gives it some small claim to newsworthiness!  :)" Probably so; those introductory issues of 52 have been up-priced in some venues and doubtlessly will be footnoted in next year’s Overstreet Guide.

Thanks for the news, Greg. We’re looking forward to both versions!

Artwork copyright DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Heroic Casting News

  • News
  • June 13, 2007

william_hurt-2416683For next June’s new Incredible Hulk movie, William Hurt (Lost in Space, Altered States) has been signed to play General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.

NBC has announced that Dania Ramirez (Callisto in X-Men: The Last Stand) has been added as a regular on Heroes. Ramirez’s character is name Maya but her place in the tapestry and her powers remain unknown.  Word is that new characters to at least recur in the second season will include a young African-American mother, an Irish mobster and a hunky boyfriend for Claire.

And the DVD for Season One will be out on August 28.

ELAYNE RIGGS: The last time I saw Paris

  • News
  • June 13, 2007

elayne200-5571070I think many of us suspect that there’s something fundamentally wrong with the fact that just about everybody reading this knows of the recent exploits of Paris Hilton.  If you’re at all attuned to media old and new, it’s nearly impossible to escape the breathless news about her latest adventures in crime and punishment, or at least the breathless reprimands the news media give themselves over the saturation coverage — although heaven forfend most of them stoop to using the first-person plural and actually assuming responsibility!  Even otherwise sensible pundits like Keith Olbermann (whose hard-hitting "Special Reports" many consider the modern incarnation of vaunted newsman Edward R. Murrow) can’t seem to stay away from peeping in on, and drooling over, daily celebrity hijinks.

Why the obsession? Well, the simple answer is ratings.  Just as sex sells, so does fame — particularly the doings of people who are "famous for being famous." (Presumably they’re considered "fairer game" because, when well-known people with actual proven talents get into trouble, they tend to elicit more public sympathy based on those talents?) Sometime during the Reagan era, when cable was still young, the three major US news networks were acquired by corporate owners with little to no interest in providing public service, which was formerly understood and never questioned as being the point of news.  Those corporate owners decided to make loss-leader news divisions into profit centers, gradually closed down local bureaus all over the world, and news became just another commercial product designed to grab eyeballs and ratings.  With the proliferation of 24-hour cable news networks this downward slide into banality became an avalanche.

And it’s not like there isn’t enough interesting and entertaining stuff going on in the world to fill 24-hour news days. But even more important than ratings is the fact that corporate heads don’t want to take a chance on anything unproven or too far out of their comfort zone. The US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq is one of the more egregious examples of late; any opposition to continued and compounded illegalities in that region has been seen as not only out of the mainstream and therefore not fit for TV time, but as borderline unpatriotic and possibly treasonous to consider discussing in a public forum. Ironically, the few programs that have managed to slip through and present an alternative view to mainstream media war-whoops have garnered respectable ratings from an audience obviously weary of hearing only one side of things, the side that continually asks, "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?"

Celebrity news falls deeply into these people’s comfort zone.  Not only are corporate owners all rich (and mostly straight white men, which usually goes without saying but not here), but they often socialize with other rich people, many of whom are also celebrities. They want their public to care about the lifestyles of the rich and famous because they lead those lifestyles, and like to believe the public cares about them as much as they care about themselves.

(more…)

DC Goes To Mars?

  • Uncategorized
  • June 12, 2007

mars-bar-source-5254413Okay, the Mars Bars trick isn’t working, so you can stop sending ’em. The CW is not going to renew Veronica Mars.

However, series creator Rob Thomas told The Toronto Star he was in discussions this week with DC Comics; "they want to do (Season 4) as a comic series."

The comic book medium is becoming the popular new way to zombify dead teevee series. Buffy The Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon has been writing a Season 8 for Dark Horse, and it’s been selling through the roof. Me, I’m holding out for Season 2 of Jack Of All Trades.

Thanks and a tip o’the hat to Larry Shell.

 

Your video of the day

  • News
  • June 12, 2007

Via Lisa Fortuner, a group of talented young men who put a not-so-atypical female comic shop customer on a pedestal so they can look up her dress.

One step forward, two steps back. If you have to ask why this song is indicative of (or parodying) the "just doesn’t get it" mentality, well, that’s what a comments section is for.

Cooke Sweeps The Shusters

  • Uncategorized
  • June 12, 2007

shu-8435300The 2007 Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Creator Awards were handed out this weekend and, according to the JSA (get it?) website, here are the winners:

Fan Favourite – English: web comics creator Dan Kim (April & May & June, Penny Tibute, Kanami)

Fan Favourite – French: Michel Rabagliati (Paul a la Peche)

Favourite International (non-Canadian) comic book creator: Brian K. Vaughan (Runaways, Y the Last Man, Ex Machina, Pride of Baghdad, Doctor Strange: The Oath).

Outstanding Web Comics Creator: Dan Kim (April & May & June, Kanami, Penny Tribute)

Outstanding Writer: Darwyn Cooke (Superman Confidential)

The Outstanding Artist : Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone (Batman/The Spirit)

The Outstanding Cartoonist (writer/artist) award went to Darwyn Cooke (The Spirit)

Hall of Fame inductees were Albert Chartier, Jacques Hurtubise, Gerry Lazarre and Gene Day. Hurtubise and Lazarre were both on hand to accept their induction into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame. The late Gene Day’s brother David Day was on hand to accept for his brother.

Secret Asian Man Goes Wide

  • Uncategorized
  • June 12, 2007

sam052207-7986235

On July 16th, United Media (home to Peanuts and Garfield) will launch a new newspaper comic strip with the highly punny name Secret Asian Man.

The creation of Tak Toyoshima, the strip tells the story of Osamu Takahashi, a struggling comic strip artist with a wife and son. Osamu – also known as Sam – is a second generation Japanese American. Toyoshima is the art director of the Boston alternative newsweekly, The Weekly Dig, where the strip has been running for some time. Secret Asian Man already appears in a number of such alt-weeklies across the country; being picked up by the Snoopy Syndicate is quite an achievement for an alternative comic strip.

For more info, check out Secret Asian Man‘s website.

Artwork copyright 2007 Tak Toyoshima. All RIghts Reserved.

Pixar’s Up

  • Uncategorized
  • June 12, 2007

pixar2-4427211

As Lillian Baker and I (plus my entire family) eagerly await the debut of Ratouille from Pixar, Variety reports that the studio’s 2009 release will be Up.  This will be about "a 70-year-old man who teams up with a wilderness ranger to fight beasts and villains."  The script is by Bob Peterson, and Peter Docter is the director.  He did Monsters, Inc.

The premise doesn’t sound that exciting to me, but neither did the story of a a few fish when i first heard it.  And Finding Nemo was great.  Hence, I have high hopes for this.

Next summer, Pixar’s pic is Wall*E.  In 2010, look for Toy Story 3.

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