The Mix : What are people talking about today?

SDCC: Comics via Wii

  • News
  • July 24, 2008

The electronic future of comics moves apace with the announcement that some manga titles will be distributed on Nintendo’s Wii videogame system.

At first, it looks like this will only be available in Japan, but it may develop further.

The companies, Kadokawa, Kodansha, Shueisha and Shogakukan, have formed a joint venture with a local software house that aims to be the first to bring digital comics to the hit console. The venture, called Librica, was formed in July and will deliver comics through the Wii Ware software channel to users. An Internet connection will be required to use the service.

Initially it will target the Wii but Librica said it is considering expanding the service goal to encompass the handheld DS gaming device. It will also offer other publishers the chance to join its platform when launched.

Launch timing and pricing for the service was not announced.

Behind the Scenes of Tori Amos’ ‘Comic Book Tattoo’

Behind the Scenes of Tori Amos’ ‘Comic Book Tattoo’

Today sees the release of one of the most odd comics projects of late, a compilation of stories based on the music of Tori Amos, Comic Book Tattoo.

Spinner has a lengthy interview with Amos on the subject, as well as chats with many of the project’s creators. Read it all right here.

Amos offers her reaction to the book:

I’m not offended by this book, but I’m shocked. And it’s shocked in a way that makes me laugh, sometimes makes my skin crawl, sometimes makes me have to go back and dive back into that song again. I had given a brief to Rantz. I said, "This is not about people trying to, line by line, interpret and do a visual cover version of this song." Because I just didn’t find that intriguing at all. The comics that I was introduced to, which was ‘The Sandman,’ had integrity to me. And sometimes in the storyline, things didn’t always end up OK. Sometimes people die. Sometimes life does not triumph over all.

Overheard at San Diego 2008, part 1

Overheard at San Diego 2008, part 1

  • News
  • July 24, 2008

Continuing our award winning wackiness from last year, ComicMix presents the ongoing whispers that you might have missed while you were on line waiting to get in…

On the way to the Dr. Who panel:
"If I see another Stormtrooper, I’m going to drop-kick one."

Luckily, we found one that’s just the right size to drop-kick…

Around Entrance A:
"Find The Six? And what the hell is that guy with the 5-3 on his back?"
"Third base to first?"

Comics pro who wishes to remain anonymous:
"Chris Tucker is really upset that all of his scenes as Ebony have been cut out of the Spirit movie."

 

 

McCain, Obama Profiled in IDW Comics

  • News
  • July 24, 2008

The trend of using comics in politics has been picking up steam of late, starting with the graphic adaptation of the 9/11 Commission Report to Dan Goldman’s upcoming 2008 campaign book to that nutso Oklahoma county commissioner who thinks he’s being attacked by Satan and gays.

Now IDW is jumping into the political waters with a pair of comic book biographies of the two (realistic) contenders for the presidency. The Presidential Material books feature John McCain and Barack Obama in what sounds like it’ll be a guide for voters.

They’re $3.99 a piece at 28 pages, and will ship in October.

At right is the cover of the McCain book, which I posted instead of the Obama one. Liberal media my ass.

Comic-Con News: Wednesday

Comic-Con News: Wednesday

  • News
  • July 24, 2008

Comic-Con International officially kicked off last night, and already there’s plenty of news to report:

The early hit of the show? Heidi MacDonald of The Beat says it’s the model Owl Ship that Warner Bros. brought from the Watchmen film. "Cooler than dirt," Heidi says.

Ed Brubaker makes the jump to scripting live-action, as Sony has announced they’ll make an online series out of Brubaker’s Angel of Death. It’ll appear on Crackle, Sony’s online video outlet. More information right here.

Darwyn Cooke also announced his new project for IDW, a potential series of four graphic novels based on the Parker crime novels by Donald Westlake. The first will be Hunter, and IDW will have some cards promoting the project that they’ll distribute at San Diego.

On a related note: "And IDW did a nice job with the collateral material as well, handing out Cooke artwork with a disc, as well as Parker T-shirts to the press. Well done, guys." I guess the whole "journalists don’t accept gifts from sources" thing doesn’t apply to the comics world?

"Tossing a bus on an unsuspecting villain never gets old." And that’s the highlight quote from the DC Universe Online panel. Check right here for more.

Blog@ has a nice collection of photos from day one.

Bully makes a smart move with the California excursion and loads up on In-N-Out.

Twitters from Pop Candy, and be sure to note the uber-creepy Photoshopped image of Whitney turned to She-Hulk.

And, lastly, the legend of The Bag.

Spam Diego, by John Ostrander

Spam Diego, by John Ostrander

  • News
  • July 24, 2008

So – today is the first official day of the 2008 San Diego Comic Con International Clam Bake and Fish Fry Harvest Moon Festival. Or, as I like to call it, Spam Diego. Where different unspecified cuts of meat are jammed together into one can until it becomes a single mass wrapped in a gelatinous type goo.

I suppose I should get right down to my first Con report.

I woke up this morning, got my newspaper, fed the cats, fed myself while I read the comics, came in here and turned on my computer. That’s right; I’m here at home, not there amidst the teeming multitudes lined up to gain entry. Wished I could say I wished I was there, but I really don’t. The last time I was there, my hotel was about a twenty minute trolley car ride north of the Convention Center. If it had been as far south, my hotel would have been in Tijuana. This year, I think I heard that people are having to commute in from Chicago.

When I go to a Con, I have certain criteria. I want to meet the fans and, if they want, sign their books. Fans are the ones who have enabled me to make my living at what I love doing for about twenty-five years. I want to say thank you, give back some of the love. I want to get new fans, if I can. I want those who have read and are reading my books to have a good experience of me.

At Spam Diego, unless you have a table of your own – too expensive for a writer type like me – or you’re being sponsored by one of the publishing houses, it’s hard for the fans to know where you are and when. Plus there’s a lot of competition. Lots of stuff going on. I mean. Brian Michael Bendis could get lost in this shuffle.

I want to meet some friends in the business that I haven’t seen for awhile; maybe make one or two new ones as well. Get to meet some who I’ve only known via e-mail. There are people I have worked with whom I have never met face to face. It used to be I’d run into people I hadn’t met in a while at SDCC and that’s always been a big draw for me. Now? I don’t know if I’d accidentally run into anyone unless I was driving the Batmobile.

(more…)

ComicMix Radio: Preview Night At Comic Con

ComicMix Radio: Preview Night At Comic Con

 It’s Preview Night at San Diego ComicCon!

The doors opened to the first lucky badge holders on this sell out weekend and we take you along with the first of our special extended ComicMix Radio broadcasts.
Join us as:

  • ComicMix Editor In Chief, Mike Gold, joins us as our special co-host with news on the Big Plans we have here at SDCC
  • Nixon’s Pals Creator Chris Burnham talks comic projects new and future
  • We meet Kid Flash – really

 

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

 

How the Superheroes Saved Movies

How the Superheroes Saved Movies

  • News
  • July 23, 2008

We’ve heard plenty about the dominance of the superhero in Hollywood, but a new story in the UK Telegraph puts some numbers together and shows just how much movies are benefitting from the comics influx.

After a huge run of successful comics films, The Dark Knight (which happened to open with a record $158 million weekend) was just the cherry on the ice cream:

It becomes the fifth film with a comic book or graphic novel theme to dominate the box office in recent weeks following Universal’s blockbuster Iron Man, as well as Hellboy II, The Incredible Hulk and Wanted. Together they have generated more than $500 million (£250 million) in US takings alone.

Sequels to this year’s hits are already planned and dozens more offerings based on comic books are in the pipeline.

"They have become Hollywood’s safety net," said Jeff Bock, of Exhibitor Relations, the box-office analyst.

It would be interesting to see a breakdown of how much of that gigantic sum is actually coming back to comics publishers.

Disney and Pixar Go Boom

Boom! Studios has announced they’ll be publishing comic book adaptations of Pixar cartoon properties, with the first announced being an Incredibles project.

The news comes as an early announcement from Comic-Con International, which is just getting underway. Boom EiC Mark Waid will be writing the Incredibles series, featuring covert art from Darwyn Cooke.

"Today, American comic books are aimed primarily at an older readership. Comics produced for an upcoming generation of readers are scarce – and BOOM! Studios aims to do something about that," said Waid. "There will be comics for kids again!"

To commemorate this historic partnership, BOOM! will be releasing a special preview book featuring sneak previews of upcoming projects using the characters from TOY STORY, FINDING NEMO, and MONSTERS, INC. Featuring commentary by Waid, this preview will give comic fans and interested parents a look at the quality comics BOOM! will be producing for a younger audience by the end of the year.

According to the release, these won’t be straight adaptations, but rather all-new stories set in the world of various Pixar films.

Boom also is going to be doing a Muppets book, Waid told CBR.

It was also announced Wednesday night that Waid will be writing "The Muppet Show." Given the Muppets’ long and varied history in television and film, CBR asked Waid about the particular form this series would take. He was able to reveal that the first thing to appear would be a four-issue miniseries, but future series are "something that’s more in flux." "We’re talking about doing a couple one-shots that could be collected into a trade paperback, we’re talking about doing series that are based on ‘The Muppet Show‘ itself," Waid explained, "and then we’re also talking–with Disney’s heavy encouragement–to do things like Muppet Robin Hood, or the Three Muppeteers or whatever. They’re talking to us about following sort of the paradigm they set up in the movies about classic stories retold with the Muppets."

New Crime Comics from Vertigo

New Crime Comics from Vertigo

  • News
  • July 23, 2008

There’s a very small note in the New York Times (which has had a veritable shload of comics news lately) about DC imprint Vertigo, which is apparently adding a new imprint, or focus, or something.

Vertigo will be doing some crime comics, though no projects are announced. Earlier this year Vertigo announced a new impetus on graphic novels, so it seems change is very much afoot.

From the brief:

DC Comics has announced that it will start a new thriller imprint next summer. Vertigo Crime, a subimprint of Vertigo Books, will be devoted to mysteries and crime stories.

DC and Vertigo have no news about this. I would guess it’ll come up at the Vertigo panel at SDCC, though:

4:30-5:30: Vertigo: View of the Future
Vertigo is a more than a name. It’s the imprint that delivers smart, provocative and edgy books. Be here to find out what’s in store for your favorite Vertigo titles as well as some major new projects that will be announced here for the first time! Hosted by Senior VP – Executive Editor, Vertigo, Karen Berger, Group Editor Shelly Bond, and Senior Editor Will Dennis, this panel is not to be missed, especially considering the talent in tow: Brian Azzarello (100 BULLETS, JOKER), Mark Buckingham (FABLES), Grant Morrison (SEAGUY), Matt Sturges (HOUSE OF MYSTERY), Matt Wagner (MADAME XANADU), Bill Willingham (FABLES, HOUSE OF MYSTERY), G. Willow Wilson (AIR), Brian Wood (DMZ, NORTHLANDERS), and others!

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