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Webcomic News Roundup: Goats Goes Big, Webcomics.com For Sale

  • News
  • July 11, 2008

By far, the biggest item of note this week was announced today, as one of the longest-running webcomics in the ‘Tubes will now be collected in a series of 150-page Goats tomes. If you want to know the whole scoop, you can read my interview with Goats creator Jon Rosenberg here on ComicMix, as well as Gary Tyrell’s mustachioed Q&A stylings over on Fleen.

Here’s an excerpt from Tyrrell’s interview:

Q: Any of your other material — earlier strips, the tantalizingly incomplete Patent Pending and Worlds of Peril, your minicomics (including the long hoped-for Operating Thetan III) — that might now see print as a result of this deal? 

A: Anything is possible, but a lot of the projects you mentioned were ended for good reason. Patent Pending needs to be completely rethought and redone if I ever decide to work on it again, it would have made a better novel than comic I suspect. The Worlds of Peril comics were the inspiration for a lot of what makes up The Infinite Pendergast Cycle, I like to think that it’s the story of what takes place in the aftermath of Goats proper. It’s not canon, though, so don’t be reading too much into that.

The first minicomic is going to be reworked slightly to serve at the intro chapter for Infinite Typewriters. The second one could theoretically be included as an extra in one of the other volumes. I don’t have any plans to produce OT3 at this time but if I can fix some of the plot issues I could see it appearing in the future in some form, either as a standalone or as an arc of Goats.

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‘Sherlock Holmes’ Up Next for Downey Jr.

  • News
  • July 11, 2008

Variety is reporting that Robert Downey Jr. has signed up to play titular detective Sherlock Holmes in the upcoming Warner Bros. movie to be directed by Guy Ritchie.

Shooting starts this fall, which means it shouldn’t get in the way of Iron Man 2, which Downey also has on the table with a prospective 2010 release date. Marvel also apparently just brought back director Jon Favreau for that sequel.

Strangely, this is one of two competing Holmes movies, Variety says:

With Downey aboard, the film will go into production before a comedy that just coalesced at Columbia Pictures, with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Holmes, and Will Ferrell playing his crime-fighting partner Dr. Watson.

Columbia is fast tracking its project, which is being written by Etan Cohen ("Tropic Thunder") and produced by Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller.

One might wonder, then, what this news portends for Downey’s supposed interest in a film version of Cowboys & Aliens. Platinum Studios leaked word of that, going so far as to say the film would have a 2010 release.

File that one under "doubtful."

Writer Shares Origins of ‘Batman’ TV Series

  • News
  • July 11, 2008

The 1960s Batman TV series couldn’t be more different than the current movie versions — Batman Begins and the upcoming The Dark Knight — with the former being campy fun and the latter being dark, psychological action epics.

Variety tracked down Lorenzo Semple, Jr., writer of the Adam West TV version, and printed a lengthy article from him on the differences between the Batman stories and how his version came to be.

As we sat in the garden of that splendid caravanserai, sipping cool sangria, Bill pulled something from the inner pocket of his jacket. For those who never had the privilege of knowing him, Bill Dozier was one sophisticated gent. "This," he said, with a look of humiliation bordering on shame, "is what ABC has given us." It was, as the shrewd reader will have guessed, a copy of the comicbook "Batman." I’d seen this comic from time to time, even read it with amusement, but I was hardly a dedicated fan. Nevertheless. At the risk of pretending to Minerva-like wisdom, I must tell it like it happened: The TV show concept virtually exploded in my sangria-enhanced brain, full-blown. Bill asked me what I was thinking. I replied it was a really terrific idea — trust me and fly back home to Los Angeles, and I would write it. Trust me. …

It was a writer’s hog heaven. I was sent four issues of the comic for plot ideas, each featuring one of the Big Four villains. The Joker seemed the best pilot choice, though I’m not sure why. I mailed Bill the script at Fox. He and his folks loved it. Then I flew back from Malaga to New York for a meeting with ABC, where Bill eloquently pitched the script and its high-camp POW!! BLAM!! WHAMMO!! style, those onscreen graphics already written in. The network was a bit flabbergasted, so different was this from their usual pilot, but they got it. A particular supporter was exec Douglas Cramer, whom I like to think was only exhibiting the same exquisite connoisseur’s taste that has since made him one of America’s leading contemporary art mavens and collectors.

Review: This Week in ‘Trinity’ #6

Things started to coalesce in last week’s Trinity #5, and issue six keeps moving in the right direction with DC’s big three coming to realize there’s a big problem building, and they’re at the center of it.

This issue has dueling narratives, one part featuring Tarot now hiding out from Morgaine Le Fey’s wolf monsters. Tarot continues to see weirdness in her tarot cards, but she dives into it, seeing Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman appear on the cards and in her dreams.

There are some obvious elements in the cards — Superman on The Sun, Wonder Woman on The Earth and Batman on The Moon — but also a few more mysterious ones. Batman appears on The Magician, and Superman shows up on The Hanged Man, with the drawing making him look like Christ on the cross. Hmm…

Meanwhile, the big three themselves are up in the JLA space station trying to figure out what’s going on and not having much luck. The brand left on Diana’s shoulder by another of Morgaine’s monsters gives them worry, and again Kurt Busiek’s character moments are done quite well.

The two narratives come together as the heroes and Tarot both talk over the nature of the trinity, and their identities as heroes, how they each represent different faces of the same ideal. One strange aspect is that in Tarot’s dream, the people around each of the heroes have no faces, like the Question. Hmm…

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ComicMix TV: The ‘Hellboy II’ Ron Perlman Interview

No Hellboy interviews are complete without talking to the titular character himself. Ron Perlman’s name has been on the lips of just about any comic book or television fan since the mid ’80s. In a fun interview with Perlman, we got to ask him about his evolution as Hellboy, his interest in comic books, and his thoughts on returning to the 1980s TV show Beauty and the Beast (at this interviewer’s expense).

Hellboy II: The Golden Army opens today, July 11.

 

 

Missed one of our Hellboy II: The Golden Army interviews this week? Here are links to all of the recent ComicMix TV interviews with the Hellboy II cast and crew:

 

Heroes Con Video Wrap-Up

  • News
  • July 11, 2008

Sure, everyone’s mind is on the looming behemoth over on the West Coast, but I can’t help but direct your attention back to one of the more recent shows with this collection of video from Heroes Con last month.

Tom Spurgeon has all 11 clips over at The Comics Reporter, as well as a rundown of what you’re likely to find in them (though he’s not making any promises).

It’s worth keeping in mind that this convention occurred during the height of activity on the "Dan DiDio is being fired" rumor mill, and the first clip (which I’ve embedded here) features Spurgeon’s opening query of DiDio during the "State of the Industry" panel, asking him simply, "How was your week?" (Hint: It occurs around the 5:00 mark.)

 


 

Manga Friday: Stories for Girls, But Not About Getting Boys

  • News
  • July 11, 2008

sunshine-3366452Half by accident, I realized my manga reading this week included four shojo books – for girls – but that none of them were about dating, boys, or relationships. That’s probably not as unlikely as I think it is, but it’s my theme for the week, and I’m running with it. (Think of it as a nod to Alison Bechdel’s Movie Rule.)

Sunshine Sketch, Vol. 1
By Ume Aoki
Yen Press, June 2008, $10.99

Sunshine Sketch is mostly in 4-panel style, though it doesn’t seem to be primarily a gag strip. (Or, at least, if there were supposed to be jokes in each strip, most of them sailed over my head.) The beginning of each section is generally in a more standard page layout, though – and there’s an eight-page color section in the front, for any readers who need to ease into black and white slowly, like a cold pool.

Yuno is a first-year high school student, moving into an apartment complex near her prestigious arts-focused school and quickly becoming friends with her three housemates: Miya, Sae, and Hiro. (And once again I have to wonder – is it really common in Japan for thirteen and fourteen-year-olds to live on their own in apartments when they go to high school? Or is this an accepted fictional trope, something that happens a little bit in life – like a few Americans go to elite boarding schools like Choate – but happens a lot more in fiction?)

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Immigrant Superheroes, Gigolo Robin

  • News
  • July 11, 2008

Award-winning photographer Dulce Pinzon was first noted for her "Real Story of Superheroes" series back in 2006, so I might be way behind in linking to it here — but it’s so darn interesting that I’m willing to risk broadcasting my late arrival.

The synopsis of the series, according to Pinzon:

The principal objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper.

This project consists of 20 color photographs of Mexican immigrants dressed in the costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes. Each photo pictures the worker/superhero in their work environment, and is accompanied by a short text including the worker’s name, their hometown in Mexico, the number of years they have been working in New York, and the amount of money they send to Mexico each week.

Pictured here is Ernesto Mendez, dressed as Robin, who manages to send $200 dollars home to Mexico City each week by working as a gigolo in New York City’s Times Square.

The rest of the photos are available on Pinzon’s website.

 

 

Interview: Jon Rosenberg on the ‘Goats’ Book Deal

  • News
  • July 11, 2008

When I spoke with Goats creator Jon Rosenberg a month ago, he hinted at big things in store for his long-running webcomic that may or may not involve lasers, contracts and lawn care professionals.

Well, the news broke today, and despite a conspicuous absence of lasers and lawn care, there is indeed a contract at the heart of Rosenberg’s big announcement. Rosenberg tells ComicMix that Random House imprint Villard will be publishing collections of the color strips of the series (everything from late-2003 until the current storyline) in a set of 150-page volumes. He expects to have the first volume ready for San Diego’s Comic-Con International next year, with two more volumes following in six-month intervals.

From the official press release:

Villard Books will publish the recently completed Goats story arc, The Infinite Pendergast Cycle, as a trilogy —in the style of the great sci-fi sagas Goats so affectionately parodies. Each trade paperback volume will be full color and published at six-month intervals. The first volume, Goats: Infinite Typewriters, set for July 2009, will include newly revised and created material intended to introduce new readers to the colossal and complex Goats universe—and set up the audience for the rest of the epic. Book 1 will cover material published on the Goats website from December 2003 to January 2006. The second book, Goats: The Corndog Imperative, scheduled for a November 2009 release, covers January 06 to March 2007. And the third book, Goats: Showcase Showdown, due out in April 2010, covers March 07 to April 08.

I spoke with Rosenberg about the publishing deal and what it means for one of the ‘Net’s longest-running webcomics.

COMICMIX: So how did this deal come about, Jon? Who approached who?

JON ROSENBERG: My agent, Judy Hansen, made everything happen. I called her up one day and she said, "Hold on, I’m going to call up Random House and get you a book deal." And I waited on hold for a bit and when she got back on, it was all taken care of.

I’m beginning to suspect that Judy has some supernatural abilities, it has been an amazing education watching her bend reality to her will as she works.

CMix: What can you tell us about the specifics of the deal? Do you receive anything on a per-book basis, or was this a flat-rate arrangement?

JR: This is a standard book-type deal as far as I understand, with a royalty rate and an advance paid on those royalties and that sort of thing. It’s a nice deal, I’m not going to retire early on it or anything but I’m quite happy with the terms. (more…)

The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 11, 2008

  • News
  • July 11, 2008

All around, a great week for comics even in the face of a few serious missteps. And while the latest Secret Invasion was quite good, it was the monthlies that really kicked into high gear. Let’s get to the reviews…

jsa16-4829475Book of the Week: Justice Society of America #17 — This book hit a pretty serious lull in the middle of the Gog storyline, as Magog went away and Gog (an apparently benevolent god) made his presence known.

The latest issue is all about that old axiom, be careful what you wish for. Gog is on the peacepath, so to speak, and turns his focus on the members of the JSA, granting their deepest desires.

But his altruism cuts both ways. Damage gets a new face and Pieter regains his sight, while Starman becomes sane (“not a good thing”) and Power Girl is transported home… wherever that is.

It’s a slickly done issue by Geoff Johns, who crafts an extremely dangerous story without a whiff of a villain. This series had been needing a kick in the pants, and this issue was a big swing of a steel-toed boot.

Runers Up:

Captain Britain #3 — Even better than Secret Invasion is this spin-off title, which has the Skrulls invading Britain as part of their global conquest. This is one jam-packed issue, with epic fight scenes, tough decisions and even a believable turn from Merlin.

The expected rebirth of Captain Britain was goose-bumps good, and my only complaint is that this Skrull battalion is all fighting and no subterfuge, as they don’t utilize that huge shape-shifting advantage.

The Goon #26 — A classic gangsters-at-war story. Think Miller’s Crossing, except with monsters, zombies and filthy humor. Eric Powell maybe goes a bit too far in places, but all in all it’s a damn fine issue, and his art is brilliant as ever.

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