The Mix : What are people talking about today?
Superman Can Come to Your Home Town
As reported this morning in USA Today, DC Comics is hosting a contest tied to the arrival of J. Michael Straczynski as the Man of Steel’s new writer. As Superman walks from coast to coast in his quest to understand America, readers can lobby for the hero to pay their hometown a visit.
This is a stunt reminiscent of a long-running feature in Captain Marvel’s 1940s adventures as he paid visits to towns with prominent newsstand wholesalers, attempting to boost circulation around the country.
Here’s the formal announcement:
New York, June 23, 2010– Starting in July 2010, coinciding with the 700th issue of Superman, DC Comics will be celebrating this remarkable anniversary of America’s greatest hero with a historic journey…not to alien worlds or distant galaxies, but through the streets, roads, highways, homes, farms, suburbs, and inner cities of America. And America itself, in the person of those very real places, is invited to the party.
Beginning with the city of Philadelphia, Superman will walk across America, a journey that is expected to take most of a year. He will pass through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington. Along the way, Superman will be passing through real towns, real cities, real neighborhoods. And your town, your city, your neighborhood may be among those chosen for his historic journey. Superman will literally pass through your town as visualized in the pages of his book. If your town is within 50 miles of the line marking Superman’s journey, then you are eligible to participate.
If your town is chosen, then it will become part of an issue of the Superman comic. For over fifty years, Superman has been America’s greatest hero, and now he is returning to those roots. The series of issues will examine how Superman sees America, and how America sees Superman. And for those towns selected, it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of his historic journey.
DC Comics Goes Digital; Apps Announced for iPad, iPhone, and PlayStation
It’s official. The last big holdout has made it to Apple products.
DC Comics is partnering with comiXology and PlayStation®Network for two separate digital comics distribution deals launching today. In addition, a DC Comics App for the iPhone®, iPad® and iPod® Touch is available allowing consumers an easy way to access DC Comics’ content.
Most interestingly, DC’s
partnership with comiXology also includes a first-of-its-kind Retailer
Affiliate Program, which will collect a portion of digital revenues to
be invested back to and on behalf of comic book retailers in a variety
of initiatives.
“At DC Comics, it has been a top priority that DC forges a meaningful, forward-looking digital strategy,” said Jim Lee, Co-Publisher, DC Comics. “As both a comic book creator and Co-Publisher, it was incredibly important that our plan includes not only creator incentive payments, but also an innovative component that supports comic shop owners. We see digital as an opportunity to grow our entire business.”
Both the comiXology and the PlayStation Network Digital Comics launch offerings will include classic titles from DC Comics, Vertigo and WildStorm, such as Batman: Hush, Green Lantern: Rebirth, Fables: Legends in Exiles and Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories. Both programs will share a tiered pricing format, with digital comics priced from $.99 to $2.99 per issue. The Justice League: Generation Lost mini-series will be available through both platforms day and date with each issue’s print edition on-sale date, with both the digital and print editions priced at $2.99. Several comics will be available for free at launch, including the first installment of the ZUDA series Bayou and select stories from Batman: Black & White, and one issue of Neil Gaiman’s critically acclaimed
Sandman will be available digitally exclusively through comiXology each
week.
To further promote today’s announcement, DC Comics is offering a free 10-page preview of the 700th issue of Superman available through both platforms, day and date with the issue going on sale in comic book stores. The 10 page story is a prelude to writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Eddy Barrows’ highly anticipated “Grounded” storyline that will be published in Superman which will examine how Superman sees America, and how America sees Superman.
Green Hornet Busts His Larvae
Trailers and photos are beginning to leak out from the most disparaged unreleased movie of the year.
We’re finally seeing something from Seth Rogen’s Green Hornet movie, set for release next January. Already, that’s a bad sign – usually, big deal action flicks are released in summer or around Christmas, and Green Hornet was moved back from this summer into an all-but-invisible slot.
The stuff that’s been released is, of course, the really cool stuff. There’s nothing that says this is all the cool stuff the movie has to offer, but we always have that sneaking suspicion. Seth doesn’t look too bad– sort of plumpish Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. And Jay Chou looks like he
can handle the martial arts. It other words, there was nothing to chase me
away, like in the Spirit and Jonah Hex trailers. And there’s at least one thing that’s really cool-looking.
That would be the car, Black Beauty, after which they named the powerful amphetamine. It looks great. It damn well should; it might be carrying the movie. But… can it act?
I’ll probably see The Green Hornet for at least three reasons. The villain is being played by Christoph Waltz, of Inglourious Basterds fame, and he stole that movie, dropped it on me, and performed a lap dance. Edward James Olmos is playing hard-edged reporter Mike Axelrod, the man out to
expose the Green Hornet to impress his publisher, who also happens to be the Green Hornet. And long-time comics artist Arne Starr is in the movie, in a bit part but still, it’s always cool to see friends in the movies.
But I am most certainly not sold on The Green Hornet. At least, not yet.
The Other Adrienne Colan
We are saddened to report the passing of Adrienne Colan, wife of Gene Colan, over this past weekend. Clifford Meth, pictured here at right with the Colans, adds this personal note for his friend.
The news hasn’t been great in the Colan home these last few months. If you’ve followed it, and if you’ve read between the lines, you’ve weeded out a kernel of truth and likely a whole cob of mistruths. And none of that really matters, now. It was all rubber-necking anyway.
But there are truths I’d like to share about Adrienne Colan, and chief among them was her and Gene’s love for each other. It read like an epic poem. The hardships and tragedies and obstacles were too numerous to count, but for half a century they remained at the center of each other’s universes. For richer or for poorer. In sickness and in health. For better or worse.
The Adrienne Colan you met at conventions was the real McCoy. She was tough and funny and uncompromising; warm and intelligent and spiritual. And her sense of humor was splendid. I think that’s where we met—at that dark crossroads where everything was tragic-comic. Our friendship existed outside of my friendship with Gene; we corresponded for decades, sharing dreams and fears.
And I guess I loved Adrienne. Now that the end has come amidst ashes and tears, I owe myself that honesty. I loved her attention, loved sending her a new story and when she got something I’d written and dissected it (and me with it); loved that she was intellectually curious about everything I shared and painfully honest with me…and with herself.
“Something I find fascinating about you is how you came to give yourself permission to live by your own standards without alienating those that love you and
you love,” she wrote to me last December, following a personal tragedy. “How and where does one go inside to know they have that right to live by their own truth? I’m so interested in this because I’ve always had a POV about how I need to live my life but continued to allow myself to be crushed by [others]… I’ve allowed their version of right and wrong choices to annihilate my world view. That’s what the weight is about. And I can’t begin to tell you dear Clifford how awful it is [for] one’s psyche to still be crawling my way out of that at the age of 67. At this age I feel I acquiesced to letting myself ‘die’… But I’m responsible, so I eat.”
And there it was—that dark humor inside the sadness. So I eat. You could hear her say it.
The Point Radio: Behind The Heat On BURN NOTICE
When it comes to action on TV this summer, chances are it is on a show created by MATT NIX. With THE GOOD GUYS a hit and BURN NOTICE riding high, Matt has plenty to talk about with his present & future projects. Plus THE HOBBIT may have found a director and JONAH HEX tanks in a big way.
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Can iPhone Comic Viewing Apps Bring In New Readers?
As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not a huge collector of comics. Sure, I have a small stash of ElfQuest comics somewhere in storage, and a handful of graphic novels, but I have never been a comic shop regular. It’s not that I don’t like comics when I read them, it’s just that I never got into the habit of going to a comic shop every week. In fact, until the past eight to ten years or so, the majority of my comic shop experiences involved getting sneered at by total strangers who thought I didn’t belong there. Things have gotten much better since comics have gone mainstream with major motion pictures and the like, but I still feel a little apprehensive about entering a shop. Sort of the way someone inexperienced with fine wine feels the first time they go to an upscale wine shop. I know I am not the only person who experiences this comic shop anxiety.
This, along with my iPhone obsession (sadly, I am not yet an iPad owner), makes me the perfect candidate for comic reading apps. I can browse titles, check out reviews online, make a purchase, and read the material without ever having to set foot in a shop. However, when I first began looking for a comic reading app, I was a little overwhelmed by all of the choices available. I decided I should take it upon myself to do a little research, but to pare down the possibilities, I first set some parameters for selecting reading apps. Since I didn’t know whether I would like the format, I decided that I would only download and try free applications. I generally follow this rule when downloading any applications I haven’t already tried, as there isn’t a refund if you don’t like what you get. Secondly, I decided that any reader which required me to download comics to my computer and transfer them to my phone in a different file format (ie. apps that convert different files into a readable comic) would be way too much work for the casual comics reader. Therefore, only applications where I could download and read the comic right there made any sense.
I decided on four different apps to try: iVerse, IDW, XComics by ComiXology, and Marvel. (Disclaimer: IDW distributes ComicMix titles through their apps.)
Avatar Goes Blue
I didn’t see Avatar, but I’ll bet you a boatload of lawyers will be seeing its X-rated sequel this fall.
Larry Flynt’s Hustler porn empire just finished making
what is said to be the most expensive porn flick in history, and it’s called This Ain’t Avatar XXX, and, of course it’s in 3-D. Perhaps they want to be faithful to the original.
This is awesome, although some fans of the medium might
think it’s a remake of the hit 1968 arthouse classic I Am Curious Blue. Me, well, I’m not so curious. Ever since The Stewardesses (1969; the first single-camera 3-D movie), porn has long been the most logical subject matter for 3-D movies, unless you’re really into small-breasted women or are easily frightened by money shots.
As it turns out there was an alien sex scene in Avatar, but it was cut because somebody thought showing the two leading blue characters hooking their tails together on-screen would jeopardize the movie’s rating or the merchandising licensees’ delicate sensibilities.
Maybe the parody will incorporate James Cameron’s environmental message. That would make This Ain’t Avatar XXX relevant… something that the original was not. We can find out in September. I can hardly wait for the IMAX screening.
Review: ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 1 Collector’s Edition’
If you’ve been to a movie theater in the past five months, chances are you have seen a trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s live action version of [[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]]. If you’ve been in the audience for a family friendly film, you’ve probably also heard many parents and kids excitedly buzzing about the trailers. But if the trailers for the major motion picture are all you know of The Last Airbender, you’re really missing out.
My kids and I were first introduced to the series, which originally ran on Nickelodeon from 2005-2008, when a friend sang it’s praises as a wonderfully engaging show that was appealing to both kids and adults. The series, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, follows a boy named Aang, the last-known airbender (person with the ability to manipulate the element of air) who is also the Avatar – someone who has the power to master all four elements – who is discovered by a brother and sister from the Water Tribe and sets out with his new friends (along with a flying bison inspired by Miyazaki’s catbus) to defeat the war-hungry Fire Nation from destroying the world. My kids loved it, and it quickly became a household favorite. We also soon discovered that many of our friends were fans of the show, as well.
Now, in anticipation of Shyamalan’s film, Nickelodeon is releasing a shiny new collector’s edition of the first season
Review: ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia’
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia
DK Publishing, 208 pages, $16.99
Ever since it was mentioned in the original [[[Star Wars]]], fans have always been curious about the events of the Clone Wars. It was a never a factor in the original film trilogy, just a nifty throwaway line to add depth to George Lucas’ mythology. Then we got to finally learn of the wars’ origins in [[[Attack of the Clones]]] (2002) and [[[Revenge of the Sith]]] (2005).
But people wanted to learn more and Lucasfilm happily obliged, first with Genndy Tartakovsky’s marvelous animated series, which ran from 2003–2005 and then the more recent 3D CGI series which has been running since 2008. Character designer Kilian Plunkett referred to the imaginative work of Tartakovsky when creating the look of this series and it visually is a good fit with the live-action films.
With a sprawling cast and campaigns occurring throughout the Galactic Empire, fans, casual and diehard alike, could benefit from a scorecard. DK comes to the rescue this month with [[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia]]]. Measuring 9.25 x 6.25 inches, its at a smaller trim size than the more recent pop culture offerings.
There are 204 character profiles, a page apiece, covering the events of the first two seasons, all 44 episodes inclusive. Each page has a full-figure shot, vital statistics, some call outs to denote details and short paragraphs placing the character into context. Apparently, the content does not reflect events or characteristics from the first animated series.
Yes, the series airs on the Cartoon Network which has a younger audience, but since the book is described as being aimed for 8-17 years old, it also offers far too little in the way of detail. The uncredited writers should have given us some overview of the era, a brief timeline for events, and maybe a clue as to where each character made a first appearance.
Instead, we get surface details offering no greater understanding of the people and their place in the wars. Padme Amidala’s page, for example, tell us she is secretly married to Anakin and likes to look for the good in people. Nothing about her upbringing, her evolving relationship with Ani and other details to make her a more interesting and better understood character.
The CGI frame captures from episodes along with selected poses are a little too dark so details and expressions are needlessly obscured.
Much as we expected better from Lucas’ more recent efforts, so too have I come to expect more from DK. This book is pleasant to skim through but makes you want far more than is offered.
