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Stan Lee Media Central to Case Against Clinton

stanlee-2309587Some diligent journalist needs to jump in and write a book about the ongoing fight for the rights to Stan Lee’s Marvel creations, because it becomes a little more bizarre every day.

The case is essentially between Stan Lee Media and its shareholders, who are collectively filing suit against Marvel and Stan Lee, saying they conspired to keep the rights to Lee’s creations from Stan Lee Media.

Sound confusing? Barron’s has a good breakdown of how this all came to be.

In short, Lee assigned his rights to Stan Lee Media, the failed dotcom that’s now run by Peter Paul, who wants the company to assert those rights over the many characters that have boosted Marvel’s fortunes through comics and movies.

Paul is saying that Lee left Stan Lee Media, and conspired with Bill Clinton (yes, that Bill Clinton) to break business promises made to Paul.

Paul is throwing corruption allegations against Clinton in a California suit, which is ongoing. For what it’s worth, Paul recently ran afoul of the SEC, which is also covered in that last link, from World Net Daily.

Review: ‘Skyscrapers of the Midwest’ by Joshua W. Cotter

skyscrapers2-3107482Skyscrapers of the Midwest
By Joshua W. Cotter
AdHouse Books, June 2008, $19.95

If Chris Ware were a few years younger, grew up in a more religious household, and had less of an obsession with comics formalism, he just might have become Joshua Cotter. Or maybe that’s just me being flippant – it isn’t really fair to Cotter; his work covers some of the same emotional terrain as Ware’s, but is otherwise very different.

[[[Skyscrapers]]] is difficult to describe; it’s made up of many short stories – sometimes as many as three to a page – that mostly focus on a family in the small town of South Nodaway, somewhere in the vast American Midwest in 1987. There’s also the robot Nova Stealth, who is both the human-sized hero of a Marvel-ish comic the elder boy of the family loves, that boy’s robot toy, and a gigantic god-figure stalking across the landscape, sometimes in imagination but other times clearly real. And then there are the stories that get into really weird stuff.

The stories mostly focus on the family’s ten-year-old son, who is never named. Neither are his father or mother, though his younger brother Jeffrey has the same name as Cotter’s own younger brother (to whom the book is dedicated). And Cotter was born in 1977, which would make him ten year old in 1987 – the same age as his fifth-grade hero. So we do know a name for this boy, even if that name never appears in the book.

(more…)

Wal-Mart Stocks ‘Racist’ Comic

meminsml-6211600Back in 2005, the Mexican government heard quite a bit of outcry when the country’s popular comic book character, Memin Pinguin, was commemorated on stamps.

It was a controversial decision because, as many see it, Memin is a racist stereotype of dark-skinned people. Look at the image at right and decide for yourself.

Now Memin is back in the news, as some reprints of the comic book series have turned up in Texas Wal-Marts. And a few shoppers are none-too-pleased.

She found one passage particularly offensive. In the frame, Memin Pinguin is being kicked by a light-skinned man and is called “a black troublemaker.”

Activist Quanell X said the problem with the book is more than just words.

“This is poking fun at the physical features or an entire people. Making them look buffoonish (and) portraying the young (black) kid as stupid,” said Quanell. “Whenever they are beating him, they are referring to him as Negro. Even here when he is being punched, slapped (he is called) Negro.

“This is a disgrace.”

Wal-Mart didn’t offer a comment for the story.

You can find a bit more background right here, including some evidence that the book isn’t racist.

Happy Birthday: Whilce Portacio

  • Uncategorized
  • July 8, 2008

wetworks2-3113566Born in Sangley Point, Cavite City, Philippines in 1963, Whilce Portacio joined Marvel Comics as an inker in 1985 but soon began penciling for them as well. He worked on The Punisher, X-Factor, and The Uncanny X-Men before leaving in 1992 to found Image Comics with several other well-known comic book artists.

Portacio soon withdrew from the partnership but in 1994 he published his title Wetworks through Jim Lee’s Wildstorm imprint. In 2006 Portacio and Wildstorm began Wetworks, vol. 2—after the first six issues he stepped back from the interior art duties but continues to illustrate the covers.

Portacio has also been drawing the new DC series Batman Confidential. In October 2008 he will become the new artist on Todd MacFarlane’s Spawn.

Dash Shaw’s ‘Bottomless Belly Button’ Trailer

  • Uncategorized
  • July 8, 2008

I’m usually not a fan of comic book trailers — ooh, a collection of still images shown in quick succession, how dramatic! — but the newly unveiled one by Dash Shaw for his graphic novel Bottomless Belly Button is worth a watch.

It’s at Fantagraphics’ Web site, right here.

Shaw created the animated trailer through a sort of rough series of drawings that interweave elements of the book. While it would work better with music, it’s a beautiful-if-simple video.

I reviewed Bottomless Belly Button earlier this summer. You can read that right here.

ComicMix TV: Luke Goss Talks ‘Hellboy II’

Luke Goss has played some of the best bad guys in film in the past 10 years, from Blade 2 to Steven Seagal’s Mercenary for Justice, and now he fills the role of “Prince Nuada” in Hellboy II. We got to chat with Luke about his makeup in the film, his relationship with writer/director Guillermo del Toro, and even his take on comic book fans.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army hits theaters Friday, 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:

 

‘Fanboy’ Officially Joins Lexicon

  • Uncategorized
  • July 8, 2008

Say what you will about the term "fanboy," it’s not going anywhere soon.

CBC is reporting "fanboy" is among the 100 terms just accepted into the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Surely "Ka-THOOM" can’t be far behind.

The wordsmiths at the Springfield, Mass.-based publishing house say they picked the new entries after monitoring their use over years in publications ranging from newspapers to technical manuals.

"As soon as we see the word used without explanation or translation or gloss, we consider it a naturalized citizen of the English language," said Peter Sokolowski, an editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster.

"If somebody is using it to convey a specific idea and that idea is successfully conveyed in that word, it’s ready to go in the dictionary."

The story goes on to explain fanboy’s lineage: …"’fanboy’ dates back to 1919 and describes a boy who is an enthusiastic devotee of such things as comics or movies."

(via Blog@)

ComicMix Radio: Final Crisis – A Guide (Sort Of)

A lot of comic fans have found that the biggest reaction to DC’s Final Crisis has been “Huh?”. Executive Editor, Dan DiDio gives us his take on what it’s all about and where it’s going, plus:

  • Batman RIP scores another sell out
  • Youngblood gives you a chance to play “catch-up”
  • Smallville finally moves ahead in the Superman mythos

Our world famous tour of this new comics and DVDs starts when you Press the Button!

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-7226744 or RSS!

Early Reviews for ‘Dark Knight’

dark_knight_joker-7251506The latest Batman incarnation, The Dark Knight, doesn’t come out for another couple weeks, but the love is already streaming from critics. We’ve also had buzz about a posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger and his supposedly terrifying take on the Joker.

Rolling Stone was one of the first out of the gate to lay honors at director Christopher Nolan’s feet, calling the movie “a potent provocation decked out as a comic-book movie. Feverish action? Check. Dazzling spectacle? Check. Devilish fun? Check. But Nolan is just warming up.”

Over at MTV, the sequel was given a 10 out of 10 for “Wow Factor.”

Variety jumps on the batwagon, praising the whole operation: “…this is seriously brainy pop entertainment that satisfies every expectation raised by its hit predecessor and then some.”

The Hollywood Reporter praises Christian Bale: “Bale again brilliantly personifies all the deep traumas and misgivings of Batman’s alter ego, Bruce Wayne. A bit of Hamlet is in this Batman.”

An early review at AICN says, “Just go see it.”

And an Associated Press review says, “Running just over two and a half hours, “The Dark Knight” is a true crime epic. Throughout, the Joker’s bag of tricks is bottomless, twisted to the point of horror-flick sick.”

‘Wolverine’ Movie: Kevin Durand Talks Blob

2319811-4417942Fans of Lost and 3:10 to Yuma know well how good Kevin Durand is at playing one mean prick. And soon we’ll all get to see how he fares at playing a mean, fat prick, as Durand is starring as Blob opposite Hugh Jackman in the upcoming Wolverine movie.

Durant recently chewed the fat (HA!) with Thunder Bay’s Source newspaper about the film.

“I wasn’t a comic book kid because I was busy playing hockey here in Thunder Bay. That’s all I wanted to do and all I dreamed of really. But when I saw the first (X-Men film), I was just in awe and the second one (X2: X-Men United) just blew me away,” he said.

When he heard the news a new installment was in the works, he was hoping the producers would consider him for a part and luckily for Durand, they already knew his name and called for him to take a look at the part.

And to get the larger than life Blob ready for the cameras, it took six months of costume and special effects preparation.

“I have a feeling people are going to like him,” Durand said.

Wolverine is planned for a fall 2009 release.

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