Category: News

On This Day: Rick Burchett

  • News
  • March 9, 2008

Comic book artist Rick Burchett was born in 1952. He originally worked in advertising in St. Louis, Missouri but was always a comic book fan. In the early 1980s he switched to comics professionally and worked for several smaller comic book publishers before joining DC.

His first DC title was Blackhawk, but that was quickly followed by Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and others. Burchett has won two Eisner Awards, for his art on The Batman and Robin Adventures and Batman: The Gotham Adventure.

His most recent work has been on Marvel’s She-Hulk.

 

Allan Turner’s Folklife Treasures, by Michael H. Price

  • News
  • March 9, 2008
 
roun1866_cover-1074035The measurable results of bare-knuckled research, like gold and luck, will turn up where you find ’em. Folks often think of cultural research in academic terms – the ivory-tower stereotype, alone in the realm of uninterrupted thought and empirical fact-sifting, or the aloof egghead at large amongst the tribes – but a truer basis must rest with the very folks whose thoughts and dreams and deeds form the foundations of any popular culture.
 
Or should the term be populist, as opposed to popular, culture? No matter – the root word means “of the people,” in any event. And some of the most lasting such research has come from the efforts of working-civilian folks whose interest in the down-to-earth lives of other folks drives them to venture among the masses with a companionable attitude, laden with note-pads and recording devices, to take down impressions for the long term. (Pete Seeger has a good term for such excursions, research-driven or not: “a political vacation.”)
 
The Allan Turner Collection at the University of Texas provides a memorable example of this people-to-people imperative. The namesake of the archive is a news-biz colleague of long standing, and several of these conversational interviews date from a collaborative push that Turner and I accomplished during the 1970s and ’80s. 
 
Deep-rooted sources of this influence include Thomas Edison (1847–1931). Eager to popularize and perfect his version of the 19th-century phonograph, Edison reconciled note-taking anthropological research with sound-recording technology by sending crews far afield, into the streets, to capture the crowd noises and pushcart-vendor cries of the turning of a century.
 
Then, in a more focused campaign of the early-middle 20th century, the father-and-son team of John and Alan Lomax concentrated upon the preservation of American folk music – starting with the songs of prison inmates and field-hands in the Deep, Deeper and Deepest South. Alan Lomax (1915–2002) helped in particular to forge new commercial possibilities for traditional folk-singing during the 1950s and ’60s – advancing a Voice of the People urgency during the reactionary post-WWII years, on the one hand, and arguing the case for a purer folkloric expressiveness during the 1960s’ craze for a more commercialized dilution of folk-singing.
 

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The Science of Comics: Batman’s Gliding

  • News
  • March 8, 2008

The Dark Knight is overlooking the city from the ledge of a towering skyscraper when he spies a violent crime occurring in the streets below. Without even the hint of a pause, he jumps off the top of the building and uses his his outstretched cape to swoop down onto the crowd of evil-doers.

That familiar scene has been one of the staples of comic books for which readers have long suspended disbelief. But maybe fiction isn’t too far from reality. Could this be done? The ComicMix mythbusters say yes!

How, you ask? Well, just watch this footage of a mountain wingsuit. Substitute the gothic architecture of Gotham City for the mountains, and you have one impressive, bat-shaped figure ready to glide down from the night sky and strike fear into the hearts of a superstitious, cowardly lot of criminals.

Warner Bros. Acquires Rights to ‘Bone’

  • News
  • March 8, 2008

Warner Bros. has plenty of comic book properties of their own to adapt, given that they own DC Comics, but apparently they want a few more. The studio has optioned the rights to adapt Jeff Smith’s Bone series of comics into a feature-length film.

Smith will serve as executive producer on the film, while Dan Lin, who has worked on such films as The Departed, TMNT, Alexander and 10,000 BC, will produce.

Whether or not the adaptation is live-action or animated will be determined by meetings between the filmmakers.

Previously, an adaptation of Bone was in development by Nickelodeon Films, but the project fell through due to the direction of the project and Smith’s desire to not exclusively aim the film at children.

(via Hollywood Reporter)

ComicMix Radio: Mark Evanier Knows Jack

One of the best surprises in the stores this week was Mark Evanier’s long-awaited Kirby: King Of Comics biography of Jack Kirby, which is the latest step in his longtime association with the King. Mark gives us the story behind the book in an excerpt from an interview you can read on Monday here at ComicMix, plus:

— Wizard #200 – confusing? We set you straight!

— Marvel sells out and DC reduces prices

—  NY ComicCon’s Guest List grows

— Stan Lee recreates some old magic

—  Not to be outdone, there’s a brand new trivia question and another chance to grab an exclusive Graham Crackers Comics variant by e-mailing us at: podcast [at] comicmix.com

Kirby Sez Don’t Ask – Just Press The Button

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-1435903 or RSS!

 

On This Day: Zatara the Magician

  • News
  • March 8, 2008

zatara-2548297

Giovanni “John” Zatara was born today in 1919 and by his mid-20s had a successful career as a stage magician while concealing an awesome secret—he could do real magic!

Zatara was descended from the Homo Magi, a race of magic-wielding humans, and learned the secrets of harnessing that power—speaking backwards—by reading the diaries of his direct ancestor, Leonardo Da Vinci. Zatara used his magic to help people between his shows, and during World War II he was part of the All-Star Squadron.

His daughter, Zatanna, became both a stage magician herself and a superhero, fighting for a time as part of the Justice League of America. Zatara gave his life to save her when they and several others fought the demonic Great Evil Beast.

Still The One, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • March 8, 2008
 
uncle-logo-1-9378389Last week, I pulled a muscle in my back.  This event, though rare, is not unknown; my back will hurt me every other year or so.  I should know the steps by now – hideous, agonizing pain, worse than any other person ever born has ever endured (because it’s happening to me), rest and recuperations, which includes excruciating guilt about suspending my workouts while the muscle recovers.  In a week or so, the pain will be gone and I’ll forget about it until the next time.
 
For now, though, I can’t sit down or stand up without an up-close-and-personal insight into how the muscles along the spine interact.  And every twinge reminds me that I’m no longer eleven years old.
 
For many people, an adult child, monthly condo payments, and the occasional hot flash might be enough to convince them that they were mature adults.  To me, these are just distractions from my real life.
 
In many ways, being an adult today is like the fantasyland I imagined as a child.  There are comic book stores, full of current comics, amazing toys and books about my favorite old television shows.  A few blocks from the comic book store, there’s a costume shop that’s open all year round, not just at Halloween.  There are candy stores, bookstores, bagel shops and playgrounds all over the place.  In a few weeks, it will be spring and I can roller-blade again.
 

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College Paper Slams ‘Persepolis’ Reading Assignment

  • News
  • March 7, 2008

persepolis_cover_big-7245347Not too long ago, I served as editor of a college newspaper, meaning I also headed up the editorial board that oversaw the paper’s opinion pages. More than a few times, the editorial board would be hard-pressed to come up with some topic worthy of bloviating upon.

I can only hope such a desperate lack of material was what spurred the editorial board of The Ithacan, Ithaca College’s (New York) student paper, to lambast the college’s leadership for choosing Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis as the summer reading assignment for incoming freshman. The editorial, in all its glory, is available right here.

An excerpt:

The idea of a graphic novel goes against the grain of typical required reading and may be welcomed by the incoming freshmen, who are part of a generation that has grown up in a world of fragmented cultures of television news, video games and the Internet.  But by coincidence, the selection of “Persepolis” comes soon after a November study by the National Endowment for the Arts indicating declined reading comprehension levels in young adults. 

Perhaps the selection of a graphic novel was an effort to engage members of a generation that seem to have lost an appetite for literature. But at some point, this idea of catering to different tastes only furthers the declining reading comprehension. Graphic novels are little more than advanced comic books. The thematic material of this book is worth broaching but its literary value, in terms of building vocabulary and furthering comprehension, falls short.

I think a lot of us working in comics have seen signs that the medium is making some pretty great strides in terms of general recognition and acceptance, but this editorial serves as a reminder that some people still need convincing. “Graphic novels are little more than advanced comic books”? There’s a lot of ignorance in that statement.

How about, instead of writing angry screeds against these college kids, instead we offer to send them a copy of Persepolis (I’d say it’s a safe wager that whoever wrote this editorial hasn’t read the book) as well as a collection of the numerous recent news articles about schools and libraries using comic books to effectively encourage reading among children.

GrimJack: The Manx Cat – GrimJack’s Back!

  • News
  • March 7, 2008

 Today, we have a brand-new episode of John Ostrander and Timothy’ Truman’s GrimJack: The Manx Cat.  

When you live in a place like Cynosure, the separation of Church and State gets pretty dicey.  Your faith-based initiatives tend to involve demons.  

What will Gaunt do?

 

Credits: John Ostrander (Writer), John Workman (Letterer), Lovern Kindierski (Colorist), Mike Gold (Editor), Timothy Truman (Artist)

More: GrimJack: The Manx Cat

 

Webbed Comics

‘Doctor Who’ Videogame On the Way

  • News
  • March 7, 2008

Hot on the heals of our other various videogame announcements and some recent spoilers concerning a certain Time Lord and a show that’s popular here at ComicMix, word now comes from the site Videogaming247 that a videogame based on the hugely popular Doctor Who BBC television series is on the way.

According to the site, video game producer Edios confirmed the game is in active development and is being made for various gaming platforms including the PC, Sony PS2 and the Nintendo DS.

When asked to confirm the game was, in fact, in development, an unnamed rep for Edios said:

“That is correct. We haven’t announced a release date at the moment. It’s not too far away. We should be showing it to [press] quite soon.”

Well, there you go. Even though details are still mostly unknown right now, it doesn’t seem like eager fans will have to wait too long to know more about the game — and that’s great for them.

For me, if I had a choice, I would actually prefer a game based on a different BBC Sci-Fi show. A show that I actually like quite a bit: Torchwood. With all the innuendo, sex, aliens and action, that would be a cool game. Anyone else fancy a game of Torchwood?

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