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Xeric Grant Winners Announced

  • Uncategorized
  • July 19, 2010

li-lotusrootchildren-6247247The Spring 2010 Xeric Grant
winners have been announced. They are…

  • Margaret Ashford-Trotter (Thunder in the Building #2)
  • Jason Brubaker (reMIND)
  • Jonathon Dalton (Lords of Life and Death)
  • Wei Li (Lotus Root Children)
  • Jed McGowan (Lone Pine)
  • Ansis Purins (Zombre #2: The Magic Forest)
  • Brittney Sabo and Anna Bratton (Francis Sharp in the Grip of the Uncanny! Book 1)

A total of $32,761 was awarded to these seven projects.

The Xeric Grant was established in September 1992 by Peter Laird, co-creator of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. Over $2,400,000 have been awarded since then to committed, self-publishing comic book creators from the US and Canada and to qualified charities and non-profit organizations in western Massachusetts. Laird believed the Xeric Foundation’s grants were an appropriate way to give something extra to the world of comics. Over the past eighteen years, hundreds of projects have been honored with a Xeric Grant, including Adrian Tomine’s “Optic Nerve,” Dawn Brown’s “Little Red Hot,” Santiago Cohen’s “The Fifth Name,” and Toc Fetch’s “Kids of Lower Utopia.”

The grant is offered twice a year, and the next deadlines for upcoming grants are September 30, 2010 and November 1, 2010. After the Foundation’s panel, made of established members in the comics
industry, selects the finalists, Laird personally picks the winners.

Congratulations to the talented winners of the 2010 Spring Xeric Grants!

‘Sunday Funnies’ postage stamps issued

  • News
  • July 19, 2010

On July 16, 2010, in Columbus, Ohio, the Postal
Service™ issued a 44-cent, Sunday Funnies commemorative stamps honoring five of our most beloved comic strips:
Beetle Bailey, Calvin and Hobbes, Archie, Garfield, and Dennis the
Menace, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20
stamps, designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland.

Presumably, the logic is that if you collect comics, you can probably be lured into becoming a stamp collector too… and I’ve heard worse ideas to balance the federal budget.

peter-fernandez-speed-racer-voice-actor-5157844

Peter Fernandez, voice of Speed Racer: 1927-2010

  • Uncategorized
  • July 19, 2010

peter-fernandez-speed-racer-voice-actor-5157844Cynopsis reports that Peter Fernandez, best known as the American voice of the title character in the Speed Racer television series from the 1960s, died last Thursday from lung cancer. He was 83.

Peter also was the voice for Speed’s brother Racer X and other characters for the Japanese anime series that was dubbed in English. He voiced other characters for Lupin III, Astro Boy, Gigantor and Marine Boy. Additionally, Peter made a cameo appearance in the Warner Bros.’ 2008 live-action Speed Racer film.

Born in New York City, Fernandez started as a child model for the John Robert
Power Agency. He then appeared on both radio and Broadway until he was drafted into
the Army at age 18, late in
World War II. His radio appearances included roles on “Superman”, “Mr. District
Attorney”, “Let’s Pretend”, “Gangbusters”, “My Best Girls”,
and “Suspense”, as well as on many soap operas. After his discharge from
the Army in 1946, he became a prolific writer for both radio and pulp
fiction.

In later years, he was the voice director for numerous animated series, including Adventures
of the Galaxy Rangers and Courage the Cowardly Dog, which he
has said was his favorite. He made cameos credited as “additional
characters” in several episodes, including his role as the voice of Robot
Randy.

We hope that his eulogy will be delivered in a very rapid yet perfectly understandable style.

Review: ‘Super Friends! Season One Volume Two’

At least one generation of super-hero fans grew up knowing the DC Comics heroes through their appearances on ABC’s [[[Super Friends]]]. Loosely based on the [[[Justice League of America]]],[[[Superman]]], [[[Batman]]], [[[Robin]]], [[[Wonder Woman]]], and [[[Aquaman]]] teamed up in the Hall of Justice and fought all manner of menace. Accompanying them for no rational explanation were Wendy Harris and Marvin White, along with Wonderdog.

The first iteration debuted in fall 1973 and was an hour-long adventure with 16 episodes comprising thefirst season. The series survived in various incarnations well into the 1980s when it finally faded away, ringing down one era of animated heroics. The biggest problem confronting these early missions was the network demand that there be no violence. Threats yes; actually hitting the bad guy, no.

Additionally, the stories were designed to deliver messages such as ecological awareness so the youngsters watching at home could learn something.

What they also learned was that story logic was not required on weekend mornings. The first half-season was collected earlier this year and now Warner Home Video releases Super Friends! Season One Volume Two on Tuesday. Maybe it’s telling that the packaging uses Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez & Dick Giordano style guide artwork than imagery from the series. Despite the fabulous Alex Toth doing design work for the series, the limited, budget conscious animation is pretty atrocious.

The wonderful Ted Knight narrates each episode as if he were reading from a Mort Weisinger script. We’re told what we’re seeing, we see it, and then the characters repeat much of the same thing. His voice, though, is pitch perfect to provide each adventure with a serious tone regardless of how ludicrous the stories are.

And they’re pretty terrible. Scientists with idiot henchmen are repeated a lot. Aliens arrive on Earth, telling us it looks pretty clean for settlement then it becomes a story of how humans are polluting the land, air, and sea. Well, which is it?

The heroes apparently hang out in the Hall of Justice, not having a life beyond the heroic personas, and wait for the TroubAlert to selectively tell them of a problem. One episode shows the computer summoning the heroes only after the third identical crime has been committed. Interestingly, Clark Kent is described not as a reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, but is instead a new commentator on television station WGBS, a nod to the then-status quo.
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The Point Radio: Scoop On Super Troopers 2

  • Uncategorized
  • July 16, 2010

Performing live for scores of college audiences helped the guys at Broken Lizard put together their plan for the long awaited SUPER TROOPERS 2. So who’s coming back for the sequel? KEVIN HEFFERNAN shares the news, plus Brett Ratner on Hercules? And yes, there IS that ComicCon thing happening….

Follow our reports DIRECT from the floor of the world’s biggest entertainment event, starting all next week on THE POINT RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE FOR FREE or go to GetThePointRadio
for more including a connection for mobile phones including iPhone
& Blackberrys.

Our Podcasts return around July 28th with a full report on the show right here – watch for updates!

And be sure to stay on The Point via iTunes - ComicMix, RSS, MyPodcast.Comor Podbean!

Follow us now on and !

Don’t forget that you can now enjoy THE POINT 24 hours a Day – 7 Days a week!. Updates on all parts of pop culture, special programming by some of your favorite personalities and the biggest variety of contemporary music on the net – plus there is a great round of new programs on the air including classic radio each night at 12mid (Eastern) on RETRO RADIO, COMICMIX’s Mark Wheatley hitting the FREQUENCY every Saturday at 9pm and even the Editor-In-Chief of COMICMIX, Mike Gold, with his daily WEIRD SCENES and two full hours of insanity every Sunday (7pm ET) with WEIRD SOUNDS!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE FOR FREE or go to GetThePointRadio for more including a connection for mobile phones including iPhone & Blackberrys.

 

 

Jennifer Lawrence Joins ‘X-Men: First Class’

  • News
  • July 16, 2010

While much attention has been given to Marvel Studios’ ramp up to production on Captain America: The First Avenger and the recasting of Spider-Man, 20th Century-Fox has been making great strides towards repopulating Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Students.

Production is slated to begin in early fall on X-Men: First Class, to be directed by Kick-Ass’ Matthew Vaughn. The latest casting caught our attention as the acclaimed Jennifer Lawrence has signed on to portray Mystique, the tortured shape-shifter. Lawrence is enjoying some of the notices of the year for her work in the independent film Winter’s Bone, currently in theaters. We first discovered her in The Burning Plain and suspect the model/actress will be a stand out in the new cast.

She joins a cast that already includes James MacAvoy as Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr (Magneto). The story will focus on the philosophical split between the old friends as the issue of mutants around the world becomes more than a scientific curiosity and political talking point.

With Magneto not quite a villain at this point, who will they fight? A character to be portrayed by Kevin Bacon, although his exact nature has fans speculating on his being everything from Arcade to Mister Sinister.

The other mutants to play prominent roles include Emma Frost to be played by the British beauty Alice Eve, Banshee, portrayed by Caleb Landry Jones (No Country for Old Men), Nicholas Hoult (A Single Man) as Henry “Beast” McCoy; and Lucas Till as Cyclops’ brother Havoc. Cyclops, though, has yet to be formally cast.

X-Men: First Class is being sandwiched in for a June 3, 2011 release, a month after the May 6 debut of Thor and Captain America, coming July 22. And of course, two weeks after the mutants return, Ryan Reynolds arrives as Green Lantern. If you thought this summer was a little dull, just wait for next year.

EW: Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern

  • News
  • July 15, 2010

It’s San Diego time, so now the movie studios and magazines are starting the high powered mush– er, push. Here’s Entertainment Weekly, which has decided to own the con over the last few years, running the first pics of Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern on the cover of next week’s issue.

Think there will be a line at Hall H to see this preview?

And what’s this about the new Buffy?

2009 Harvey Awards Nominees Announced

  • News
  • July 15, 2010

harvey-logo-2010-brown-1408107The 2009 Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced along with the release of the final ballot. Anyone “professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field” is eligible to vote. All submissions must be sent to the Harvey Awards before Friday, August 7, 2010. The awards will be presented by Scott Kurtz (PVP Online) at the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con on August 28.

The Harvey Awards, named in honor of the late cartoonist Harvey
Kurtzman, recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They are the comic book industry’s oldest and most respected awards, and are the only awards to have nominees selected and chosen by individuals creatively involved in the comics field.

There are over a hundred nominated names and titles, including Geoff Johns (“Blackest Knight”), Klaus Janson (“Amazing Spider-Man”), and
“The Walking Dead” (Image Comics), to choose from twenty-two categories. The categories range from Best Writer to Best New Series to Best Online Comics Work.

There is a lot of talent listed among the nominees, and voting will certainly be no easy task. Jeff Kinney (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”) was nominated in four categories, Zuda had creators and comics nominated in seven categories, and “All-Star Superman” creators were nominated in four categories. Hopefully three weeks is enough time for voters to mull over all the fantastic nominees and cast their ballots.

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One week (and fifty years) until Comic-Con 91!

  • News
  • July 14, 2010

Are you ready?

Have you gotten your gills implanted? Gotten your reservations set on the cruise ships? Put money in an interest bearing account to pay for all of this when you withdraw it in half a century?

If so, you’re ready for San Diego Comic-Con 91!

Personally, I’m looking forward to Will Pfeifer finally getting that special Eisner Visionary Award for being the first person to write about Sub Diego in the comics, way back when in 2004. Now that it’s been underwater for decades, this honor is long overdue.

Ten years ago today: ‘X-Men’ released

  • News
  • July 14, 2010

“Are you kidding? Who ever heard of Hugh Jackman? He’s a 6’2 Australian, not a 5’2 Canadian! And he does musicals! How can he play Wolverine? And he’s not even going to be in the costume!”

Yeah yeah yeah. Don’t fib about it, we have archives of you saying it on rec.arts.comics.

Nevertheless, about a half hour into the film that opened ten years ago today, those words were completely forgotten and Jackman was on his way to becoming an international star. And with the comparatively low-budget of only $75 million, X-Men went on to gross nearly double that in the US alone, and spawned a franchise that would gross over a billion dollars worldwide. And suddenly, people believed Marvel characters could actually be translated into successful films… and we’ve all seen the results of that.

So here’s to the scrappy band of mutants that could. Here’s hoping that X-Men: First Class, currently scheduled for June of next year, continues the tradition.

Here’s the trailer for the original film…

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