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Webcomic News Roundup: Comic-Con, Remembered

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

Comic-Con International might be over, but the ‘Net was full of San Diego-related reports this week from webcomic creators. I’ll do my best to round-up some of those reports before getting into some of the news with no connection whatsoever to Comic-Con.

By far the most buzz-heavy event of the week in webcomics circles was the night out that began as an innocent webcomic creators’ meet-up but later evolved into a drunken cabaret with Star Trek actors Jonathan Frakes and Avery Brooks. As Rich Stevens of Diesel Sweeties put it: "Screw the Holodeck. My reality is way more fantastic."

Here’s one of the videos from the event making the rounds — if nothing else, it’s proof that such a surreal moment actually occurred:

 


 

 

On that note (pun totally intended), Scott Kurtz of PvP has a great recap of the events that transpired to make such an event possible, while also providing some video of his own from the night. Goats creator Jon Rosenberg also has a nice assessment of why Star Trek, a great bartender and eagle poop made this year’s Comic-Con International such a magical experience. Oh, and Brad Guigar of Evil Inc. joined the chorus with his own recap of "The Night" (as it is now being called). (more…)

Billy Crudup Talks ‘Watchmen’

  • Uncategorized
  • August 1, 2008

The Geek Files has a short interview with actor Billy Crudup, in which he talks about playing Dr. Manhattan in the upcoming Watchmen film.

Most of that screen time is in the digitally animated form Manhattan takes after a lab accident leaves him a super-powered god figure. Here are a couple good bits:

"And he was being asked to be a dutiful man at the same time by his government, so he was trying to attend to both of those while trying to carry on a relationship, and I think ultimately he discovered, through his own journey, that he was no longer as interested in people as he was in the … universe. … So I think my experience of doing it was the experience of asking that question each and every day."

Fans got a glimpse of Dr Manhattan in footage screened at Comic-Con. To play him, Crudup wore a motion-capture suit covered in lights, with dots on his face as a reference for computer generated effects to be added in post-production.

"It was a burden for about the first day, until I saw what these guys [his fellow actors] were in, and then they also had to go work out and watch what they were eating, blah di blah, blah, blah," Crudup said. "I was as happy as a clam. Basically came in and put on my pyjamas, stood on my apple box and tried to figure out Dr Manhattan."

Peter David on Ted Stevens’ Hulk Necktie

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

This is pretty funny stuff. Sen. Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican who’s being investigated for lots of financial improprieties, was photographed by Doug Mills of the New York Times wearing a Hulk tie (see at right).

Over at his blog, former Hulk writer Peter David has this to say:

The embattled senator has been depicted wearing a Hulk necktie based on the cover of Hulk #401, written by yours truly. Apparently it’s his favorite tie when he’s in trouble. I’m starting to get an inkling of how Rowena felt upon learning that her art was a favorite of Saddam Hussein. In the words of Groucho, it’s a club that you really would rather not be a part of since it would have you as a member.

The comments are pretty funny, including this gem:

He likes the theme because he’s often quoted saying, "Don’t make me Ted Stevens. You wouldn’t like me when I’m Ted Stevens."

Onion: ‘Al Gore Places Infant Son in Rocket’

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

From the Onion:

EARTH—Former vice president Al Gore—who for the past three decades has unsuccessfully attempted to warn humanity of the coming destruction of our planet, only to be mocked and derided by the very people he has tried to save—launched his infant son into space Monday in the faint hope that his only child would reach the safety of another world.

"I tried to warn them, but the Elders of this planet would not listen," said Gore, who in 2000 was nearly banished to a featureless realm of nonexistence for promoting his unpopular message. "They called me foolish and laughed at my predictions. Yet even now, the Midwest is flooded, the ice caps are melting, and the cities are rocked with tremors, just as I foretold. Fools! Why didn’t they heed me before it was too late?"

Al Gore—or, as he is known in his own language, Gore-Al—placed his son, Kal-Al, gently in the one-passenger rocket ship, his brow furrowed by the great weight he carried in preserving the sole survivor of humanity’s hubristic folly.

"There is nothing left now but to ensure that my infant son does not meet the same fate as the rest of my doomed race," Gore said. "I will send him to a new planet, where he will, I hope, be raised by simple but kindly country folk and grow up to be a hero and protector to his adopted home."

Read the rest right here.

Manga Friday: Who Are You?

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

This week we’ll be looking at three books with main characters who look like one thing, but are something else.

Nephilim, Vol. 1
By Anna Hanamaki
Aurora, May 2008, $10.95

On a continent with the unlikely name of Elwestland, two political powers – with the is-it-quitting-time-on-Friday-already? names of “The Empire” and “The Federation” – are in a long cold war, having split the land right down the middle. Oh, no, wait! There’s also a nearly impassable jungle right in that middle, conveniently separating the Empire from the Federation. And in that jungle live the mysterious, nomadic Nephilim.

Nephilim appear in one form by day and another by night – this may simply be swapping gender, but the text of the book doesn’t quite say that – and their night-form is the true one. (They’re fertile in that form, among other things.) But if an outsider sees a Nephilim in his/her true form – possibly only if the Nephilim is naked, but that doesn’t seem to be the important bit – The Curse declares that Nephilim must kill that outsider personally, or start to die slowly.

And our plot begins when the dashing Imperial soldier Colonel Sir Guyfeis S. Northenfield, who is also a top bounty hunter, a master of unarmed combat, and probably a deft hand at Parcheesi, too, is charging through that not-nearly-impassable-enough jungle on a mission to retrieve the fair Lady Lia, who has been kidnapped by perfidious Federal agents. He avoids or kills Federals by day, and has a quick run-in with a wandering Nephilim named Abel. (Rolling a fifteen or higher on the Random Encounter table, clearly.) That night, Abel is bathing in a stream, so Guy sneaks up to catch an eyeful – either unaware of the curse, secretly hot for the cute boy he thought Abel was, or just terminally nosy. He discovers Abel is “truly” (by night, at least) female, and she then tries, very badly, to kill him.

(more…)

action-comics-863-teaser-p-23-00-6574178

Interview: Geoff Johns on “Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds” and his Favorite Projects

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

action-comics-863-teaser-p-23-00-6574178Back in June, I spoke to superstar writer Geoff Johns about the return of Brainiac in Action Comics and all things Superman. With this month’s release of the first issue of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, I spoke to the writer about bringing back one of DC’s most beloved superteams, The Legion of Super-Heroes, as well as some of his favorite projects.

COMICMIX: What can you tell us about the Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds miniseries?

GEOFF JOHNS: It’s a really complex, big story. But the simple premise is that it’s Superboy-Prime and The Legion Of Super Villains vs. Superman and The Legion Of Super-Heroes. Superboy-Prime is foreign to the future and through what happens when he first gets there he makes an attempt to destroy everything that Superman has inspired while utilizing the Legion Of Super Villains. So the Legion Of Super-Heroes, who are struggling to come back together, who are almost obsolete at this point in the eyes of a lot of the United Planets, have got to come back and rally together for this challenge.

I’m trying to focus in on character here. I’m trying to introduce these characters to people that don’t know them and for those that do, to see them go through new experiences and new challenges. My main goal in this series is to tell a gigantic, epic story that centers on Superman and The Legion Of Super-Heroes. It’s just like when I worked on Sinestro Corps War, I wanted to do an epic Green Lantern story. There is a lot of emotion behind everything in this. That’s what I’m trying to focus on: the emotion of the characters and what they’re going through. Why should you even care about a character like Lightning Lad, Sun Boy or Dawnstar? What makes these characters compelling? Why are they worth following? Why are they worth learning about? My main goal is to, by the end of it, have people say, “I love Dawnstar! I love Sun Boy! I like Lightning Lad” or “I like Cosmic Boy!” (more…)

The Day The Earth Moved, by Michael Davis

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

I had a particularly bad day after the San Diego Comic Con was over. I don’t feel like sharing nor do I feel like writing about it. There are times when I don’t trust myself with my Mac and I fear whatever I write at those times would come back to haunt me. It’s like they say, never go shopping for food when you are hungry. I’ve done that and come home with 60 boxes of Twinkies.

I will allow myself to write when I’m mad about some injustice or something stupid, but when I’m sad or remorseful I’d rather just go with something I have in the can. When I first got the ComicMix gig I wrote a bunch of random articles to be used in case I was on vacation, sick or in case I had to deal with something on a personal level that required my time.

So, yesterday there was an earthquake that hit 5.4 on the Richter scale here in Los Angeles. What follows is a now-timely piece I wrote over a year ago when Mike Gold first offered me the ComicMix gig…

Why in the Hell do I live in Los Angeles? I hate it here. I hate the restaurants, I hate the fake people, I hate the what do you do and how much do you make and what car do you drive mentality that seems to resonate in this city. I hate the fact that I joined a gym like a sheep and almost never went. What an idiot I am!

Me, Michael Davis, joining a goddamn gym?? AHHHHHH!! Why the Hell would I join a gym?? I’ll admit it I joined because everyone in L.A. belongs to a gym. I wanted to belong as well.

What the FISH was I thinking? I’m not in shape? Hell yeah I am, ROUND is a shape!

I don’t need a damn gym. If I want exercise I can simply do what any black man does in Los Angeles… run from the police.

When I realized that I was becoming like the very sheep I hated, I quit the gym. In the year I belonged I went MAYBE five times.

Some people think that the weather is what makes people stay in L.A. Let me tell you something: where I live, the temperature hit 116 last summer. It was SO HOT that my dogs don’t want to go outside. They said to me (YES, they actually SPOKE) “Let us use the bathroom inside. We will leave the seat down, we promise… woof.” (more…)

The Saga of “Italian Spiderman”

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

Sure, he has nothing to do with the Spider-Man we know and love, but <a href=”

The Italian Spiderman recently caught the eye of Newsweek.com, who examined the viral video saga’s origins — as well as that of its creators. The final chapter of the YouTube sensation, which chronicled the adventures of a swingin’ 1960s Italian superhero, was posted just a week or two ago.

According to Newsweek, the video’s rise to viral superstardom was an unplanned — but pleasant — development for its creators:

The trailer was supposed to be a one-time lark. But Russo says that when he posted it on YouTube last November, it was watched 1,800 times within two days. In March, it was featured on YouTube’s homepage. As of this writing, it has been watched more than two million times. When Russo realized he had touched a nerve with his joke, he raised a little money ("we could have bought a 1990 or ’92 Toyota Corolla for what this project cost," he says) and began filming Italian Spiderman episodes in January. The first was posted on May 21 to both YouTube and the website for Russo’s production company, Alrugo. A new episode followed every week and eventually a fictional back story evolved—that only one 1968 print of "Italian Spiderman" ever existed, that it was recovered from a shipwreck last year.

 

IDW Says “No More Comic-Con?”

  • News
  • July 31, 2008

idwlogo-3678262There’s been no shortage of discussion, complaints and analysis to be found around the ‘Net the last few months with regard to the changing focus of San Diego’s Comic-Con International, but the recent suggestion that this year’s show could be the last for publisher IDW still created quite a stir. Tom Spurgeon recently spoke with IDW’s president, Ted Adams, about his buzz-worthy proclamation, and the interview is must-read material for anyone interested in the evolution of comics’ place in both Comic-Con and the convention scene as a whole.

 

SPURGEON: How much has the way the show’s transformed itself the last half-decade had an impact on your decision?

ADAMS: It’s part of it.

I should make a point of saying that the people that put on San Diego Comic-Con are pretty extraordinary. This show, what they do every year is I think is flat-out unbelievable. You couldn’t pay me enough money to take on any of their jobs. They’ve done nothing but treat us with respect. The decisions I’m weighing have nothing to do with the way we’ve been treated by San Diego or really this sort of perceived — I see these things on-line about the perception that Comic-Con is getting away from comics and becoming an entertainment show, and there’s no question that’s true. But I don’t have the angst over those things. I think we’re just seeing the free market at work here with San Diego Comic-Con. The market is saying "We want to see Hugh Jackman." [laughter] I don’t know how Comic-Con could make that not be. What are you going to do, go to Fox and say, "You can’t have Hugh Jackman here"? [Spurgeon laughs] You’re going to disappoint the tens of thousands of people that want to see that.

 

Head over to The Comics Reporter for the rest of the interview.

Review: ‘Slow Storm’ by Danica Novgorodoff

slow-storm-2943298Slow Storm
By Danica Novgorodoff
First Second, September 2008, $19.95

This is Novgorodoff’s first full-length graphic novel; she was an Eisner nominee last year for the one-shot [[[A Late Freeze]]]. She’s got an assured, pseudo-outsider art style, with big blocks of color and slablike faces, but her writing isn’t quite up to the same level yet. [[[Slow Storm]]] will be in stores in September, but comics stores and online retailers are, as always, already taking pre-orders.

Ursa Crain is a firefighter in Kentucky’s rural Oldham County who has a very confrontational, unpleasant relationship with her brother and coworker, the very thuddingly named Grim. (What kind of family names their two kids Ursa and Grim, anyway? Did they know their kids would be characters in a story with heavy symbolism?) These two siblings clearly don’t get along, but we don’t know why – and their sniping and digs don’t give us much of a clue. Grim also complains that his sister “looks like a moose,” as if he wants her to increase her sexual attractiveness – which doesn’t sound like any brother-sister relationship I know. (Particularly since the other firefighters – the ones not related to her – are already sexually harassing Ursa in their mild, Southern, good-ol-boy way.)

Rafael Jose Herrera Sifuentes (Rafi) is a stableboy from Mexico, living in Kentucky illegally upstairs in the stable where he works. He comes from horse country himself, but he could only live hand-to-mouth there, and so he got himself smuggled into the US to be able to send money back to his family. He had the usual bad experiences on the way – robbed by the coyotes taking him over the border, shot at by a racist rancher – and somehow settled into this Kentucky stable.

(more…)

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