Spider-Man definitely has some unique tricks and abilities— super strength, wall-crawling, and a mysterious Spider-Sense— but do any of them stand up to scientific realities? The guys at ASAPScience take a look at how some of Spider-Man’s main attributes could legitimately happen, while others… not so much.
And we’re not even going to discuss how his brain can be taken over by an octopus.
As you probably already know, Peter David suffered a stroke last week. Even though the Davids have health insurance, they also have co-pays and things that the insurance company just won’t cover. And many people have been asking how they can help.
Right now, the most direct way is to buy his e-books. Crazy 8 Press, a writing cooperative that Peter belongs to (disclosure: so do I) has agreed to make their books available for sale through ComicMix. You can get The Camelot Papers , Pulling Up Stakes parts 1 & 2, and his Hidden Earth Chronicles novels Darkness of the Light and Heights of the Depths right now. All proceeds go directly to Peter.
Peter’s e-books are also available for sale via Amazon
We’ll be keeping you posted on additional efforts to help Peter as hear of them.
We wrap our look back at 2012 as Ric Meyers (ricmeyers.com) covers TV drama, the good and bad, and how the movies of the year fared, too. Meanwhile, it seems everyone watched DOCTOR WHO, and which network TV action show is trying a “choose your own ending” trick on Twitter?
Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.
New Pulp Author William Preston’s third story featuring the character known only as “The Old Man” comes to ebook via Kindle. “Unearthed,” originally appeared in the September 2012 issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine.
You can get Unearthed on your Kindle here.
About Unearthed:
This 18,000-word novella is the third story to feature my enigmatic hero, referred to as the Old Man in “Helping Them Take the Old Man Down” and as the Big Man or “the man himself” in “Clockworks.” The stories are best read in the order in which they’re being published in Asimov’s Science Fiction—that is, out of chronological order. “Helping Them Take the Old Man Down” takes place in 2001-2002, and should be read first. “Clockworks” takes place in 1962. This prequel is as far back as I plan to go. Two more stories, both sequels to the original tale, are in the works. The earlier stories are available, bundled together as a single e-book, via both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Mary and Bryan Talbot’s Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes has won the Costa Book Awards biography of the year. They won the £5,000 biography prize for a book that interweaves the true and tragic story of James Joyce’s daughter Lucia with Mary’s own troubled relationship with her father, the eminent Joycean scholar James S. Atherton.
The Talbots have known of the win for several weeks. “It has been really hard keeping quiet about it,” said Mary. “We were astonished. Just being shortlisted was amazing and hearing we’d won the category was stunning. We’re delighted of course, both personally – it’s the first story I’ve had published – but also for the medium, I can’t believe a graphic novel has won.”
It is not the first graphic work to win a major literary prize – Art Spiegelman’s Maus won a Pulitzer in 1992 and Chris Ware won the Guardian first book prize in 2001 for Jimmy Corrigan: the Smartest Kid on Earth – but the Costa award is still a significant moment for the graphic medium.
“It is a good thing for graphic novels as a whole,” said Bryan Talbot whose prodigious output includes The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and Alice in Sunderland as well as strips for Judge Dredd and Batman. “Graphic novels are becoming increasingly accepted as a legitimate art form.”
The last graphic novel spike came about 25 years ago with the popularity of books such as The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen and Maus. The problem then, said Talbot, was that there were not enough books to feed this. “By the time you’d read a dozen or so of the best titles, there wasn’t enough left to keep this nascent interest going. Since then, there has been an increasing number of graphic novels published and now we have this whole canon of quality work.
“We are living in the golden age of graphic novels. There are more and better comics being drawn today than ever in the history of the medium and there’s such a range of styles of artwork, of genre and of subject matter.”
Judges called Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes “a beautifully crafted” work “which crosses the boundaries between literature and the graphic genre with extraordinary effect”.
via Costa awards 2012: graphic biography wins category prize | Books | The Guardian.
Congratulations to Mary and Bryan!
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| Cover Art: Jeff Herndon |
Jim BeardâÃÂÃÂs Sgt. Janus: Spirit Breaker was interviewed at “The Royal Occultist” website. You can read the full interview with the New Pulp character here.
About Sgt. Janus: Spirit Breaker–
HERE BE GHOSTS
Situated in the rural back country of Edwardian England is an old, mysterious house whose unique owner earns his living as a Spirit-Breaker, a hunter of ghosts. A former military veteran, Sgt.Roman Janus has devoted his life to aid those haunted, both emotionally and physically by obsessive wraiths whose spirits are still anchored to our world.
Airship 27 Productions is thrilled to present Sgt.Janus âÃÂàSpirit Breaker by Jim Beard. Part detective, part occultist, Janus is himself a man of mystery whose own past is shrouded and the motivations behind his calling kept hidden. Within this volume you will find eight tales as narrated by his clients, each with his or her own perspective on this uncanny hero and his amazing career. Filled with suspense, terror and agonizing pathos, each a solid mesmerizing journey into the unknown world beyond. Featuring a cover by artist Jeff Herndon and eight stunning illustrations by Eric Johns, Sgt.Janus âÃÂàSpirit Breaker is the first in a new series by one of todayâÃÂÃÂs leading stars in New Pulp Fiction.
Airship 27 Productions âÃÂàPulp Fiction For A New Generation!
A few days ago I received an email from my friend John Jennings. John is a fantastic artist and teacher and I’ve known him for a lot of years.
I was not happy with what John had to say and let him know it. What John wrote me was a pretty detailed accounting of why some in the black comic arts community were not happy with the following line from the gallery show I’m curating for the Geppi Entertainment Museum called Milestones: African Americans in Comics. Pop Culture and Beyond.
“Up until now there has been no serious attempt to showcase African-Americans in the world of comic books, and the impact of their creative excellence, which has been a mainstay of the industry for as long as comics have been an American art form.”
Man, I went (as we say in the hood) Negro when I read that that line in the press release offended some people.
My response to John was in affect, how dare these mofo’s (white people, ask someone what that means, oh wait it’s New Years Day and you are all hung over so I’ll just tell you, motherfuckers. It means “motherfuckers”) be offended??
The reason why they were offended is because that line from the press release gives the impression that Milestones is the first exhibit of its kind. I must say, I’ve written some great kiss my ass letters in the past, but the one I wrote about those people who were “offended” was so good I thought about using it for a ComicMix article.
Before I could do that, John wrote a response that pretty much put be on blast (white people, ask someone what that means…oh I forgot New Years Day, hung over, OK “blast” in this instance means you call someone on their shit. Damn! I keep forgetting, New Year, hung over…’calling someone on their shit means you dismantle their argument), John called me on my shit.
John was right.
Milestones is the latest in a line of exhibits that feature black comic book art and artists.
I’m going to give John a forum to break down what has gone before in the Black Comic Space in a guest column here (something he’s just learning right now) as no one is better equipped than John to do so.
Those who know me are well aware that when I’m wrong, I say it.
I was wrong.
I also intend to acknowledge what has come before in any future press releases, interviews, etc. I think letting the millions of people that read me on ComicMix is a good start but I can do more and I will.
I’m excited about the show, I’m excited that Tatiana El-Khouri is co-curator, John is lending his considerable expertise and talent to the exhibition and Obama beat the living shit out of Romney.
That I was right about, was I not?
On a somber note, Peter David had a stroke the other day and all I can think of is how much I love that guy. Peter is not just a friend, he’s not just a great writer, he’s a really great guy.
Get well Peter and do it fast. We all love you dude.
Happy New Year, everyone.
WEDNESDAY: Mike Gold
As of today, it is officially 2013; and there’s nothing we can do about that, so we may as well enjoy it!
There’s nothing like a song to ring in the new year, and nothing like some resolutions (that may or may not be kept) to start that year off right. So join me, won’t you, in singing the geekiest song of New Year’s Resolutions that ever you will see, i.e. My Twelve Vows of New Year’s. I think you all know the tune. It’s similar to that silly old thing about the partridge and the pear and the damsels in distress or whatever.
Ready? Here we go!
My Twelve Vows of New Year’s
On the first day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
To book my flight for SDCC! Fn1
On the second day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
sell on Etsy, Fn2
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the third day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
Watch Arrow, Fn3
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the fourth day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
sort my Deadpool, Fn4
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the fifth day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
Beat Fallout 3, Fn5
sort my Deadpool,
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the sixth day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
get my subscriptions, Fn6
Beat Fallout 3,
sort my Deadpool,
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the seventh day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
write a new webcomic, Fn7
get my subscriptions,
Beat Fallout 3,
sort my Deadpool,
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the eighth day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
launch our Kickstarter, Fn8
write a new webcomic,
get my subscriptions,
Beat Fallout 3,
sort my Deadpool,
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the ninth day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
make my next costume, Fn9
launch our Kickstarter,
write a new webcomic,
get my subscriptions,
Beat Fallout 3,
sort my Deadpool,
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the tenth day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
don’t buy more variants, Fn10
make my next costume,
launch our Kickstarter,
write a new webcomic,
get my subscriptions,
Beat Fallout 3,
sort my Deadpool,
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the eleventh day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
post a serious column, Fn11
don’t buy more variants,
make my next costume,
launch our Kickstarter,
write a new webcomic,
get my subscriptions,
Beat Fallout 3,
sort my Deadpool,
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!
On the twelfth day of this year,
my New Year’s vow will be:
read my new comics, Fn12
post a serious column,
don’t buy more variants,
make my next costume,
launch our Kickstarter,
write a new webcomic,
get my subscriptions,
Beat Fallout 3,
sort my Deadpool,
Watch Arrow,
sell on Etsy,
And to book my flight for SDCC!!!
Thanks for singing along! Wishing everyone the very happiest and geekiest of new years; and until next time: Servo Lectio!
Fn 1: Seriously, I am finally going to go this year, I swear. I’m so excited!
Fn 2: I want to open a store in which I sell tiny, adorkable, possibly wearable geekery made of clay.
Fn 3: I always seem to be one episode behind. How does this keep happening?? I blame Deathstroke.
Fn 4: How did everything get all out of order and stuff?? I swear I used to have the whole collection arranged by date!
Fn 5: Seriously, I have owned this game for how long now and never played it? It came out in 2008! What is wrong with me??
Fn 6: My poor local comics shop owner recently mailed me a stack of my subscription comics because it takes me so long to get around to visiting the store. It’s not that I don’t want them right away. But I don’t have a car and the store’s a 20 minute walk from the Metro!! That’s like it being in the middle of the ocean or something.
Fn 7: Probably while on the Metro. That’s where I write most of my webcomic scripts.
Fn 8: For the new comic Ben Fisher and I are writing! It’s going to be amazing! And full of hamsters. Sooooo many hamsters.
Fn 9: I have an idea for DragonCon that is going take forever. But it will be magical.
Fn 10: I can’t help myself – the Deadpool Does Memes variant covers are Just. So. Great. <a href=”
Styyyyyle!!
Fn 11: But really. This was fun too, right? Just you wait; next time I’ll do iambic pentameter.
Fn 12: The pile, it is large. So very, very large.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON: Michael Davis
WEDNESDAY MORNING: Mike Gold
We begin our look back on the Pop Culture that was in 2012 as Media Mogul Ric Meyers (ricmeyers.com) runs down the vast array of great TV comedy from the year. From CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL to HAPPY ENDINGS to SUBURGATORY, it’s been a damn good twelve months. Plus what show was downloaded illegally the most in 2012 (we are talking millions here) and how iPads are killing the toy business.
Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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