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Review: This Week in ‘Trinity’ #5

trinity5-4792955First things first: I actually, gasp, liked this issue.

For the first time ever, Kurt Busiek pulled the storylines together and gave a sense of the big things ahead. Not perfect, but much better than the past few.

What happened?

The fight against Konvikt finally reached an end, as Batman’s smarts helped the big three devise a clever knockout punch. Batman was the star of the issue, also nabbing one of Morgaine Le Fey’s underlings (which look like the rat creatures from Bone), after it had branded Wonder Woman with an omega symbol.

During a brief interrogation (ended by the rat creature self combusting), it says, "You are the trinity. But you are weakened. Breaking. Soon, you will fall." Buh, buh, BUM!

There’s a little character moment that shines, as Batman and Superman are reluctant to advise Diana to see a doctor, and she points out the inconsistencies of gender relations. It makes her character a little more interesting, which is something plenty of other writers have failed to do.

In the backup, a trio of lame villains (Whiteout!?!) try to kidnap Tarot, who has started to see the trinity in her cards (as justice, strength and the devil — guess which hero goes to which card).

They fail, not unpredictably, in large part thanks to the reappearance of Gangbuster. Which, I’ve got to say, is pretty awesome. At the end, we see Morgaine Le Fey’s creatures after Tarot.

Like I said, everything’s coming together nicely, and we have dire warnings galore. So, hope returns, although I’m still curious as to why Busiek feels the need to include only the lamest villains.

Van Jensen is a former crime reporter turned comic book journalist. Every Wednesday, he braves Atlanta traffic to visit Oxford Comics, where he reads a whole mess of books for his weekly reviews. Van’s blog can be found at graphicfiction.wordpress.com.

Publishers who would like their books to be reviewed at ComicMix should contact ComicMix through the usual channels or email Van Jensen directly at van (dot) jensen (at) comicmix (dot) com.

‘DC Universe Online’ Wants To Be Your MySpace Friend

Just last week, Jim Lee dropped some details on Sony Online Entertainment’s MMO videogame based on DC Comics. We made a wish that screenshots would be soon to follow.

Well, consider that wish granted!

This week’s batch of DC comics featured links to a MySpace page showcasing the first public images of the much-discussed game.

dcu1-1158391

If you’re eagerly anticipating the upcoming PC and PlayStation 3 game, then head on over to www.myspace.com/dcuo for tons o’ details on DC Universe Online.

In addition to screenshots (which we’ve posted after the jump) the site also features developer interviews, Jim Lee concept art, wallpapers, and buddy icons. You might also want to add the social networking page to your Friends List because Sony is sponsoring contests for anyone who makes the game one of their "Top Friends."

But will DC Universe Online comment on my page about that time we got drunk and went to McDonald’s at 2:00 AM? Good times…. good times. (more…)

Amid Controversy, Platinum Studios Announces ‘Challenge’ Top 50

herobynightcover1-series-6355909You have to at least admire the resilience of Platinum Studios. Even as they’re raked over the coals for not paying the winner of a past Comic Book Challenge, they push ahead with the 2008 event.

At the Comic Book Challenge Web site, they’ve announced the top 50 in this year’s competition, who will fight on for the right to have their book published by Platinum.

The top 50 entrants, who include people from as far away as India, Singapore and Argentina, will now submit video pitches to be judged by a celebrity panel of industry and Hollywood insiders at a secret location in early August. Platinum Studios will sign the winner to a publishing deal, which will include print, online and mobile. In addition, the company will seek opportunities to develop the property for film and television.

“Moving the contest completely online this year opened it up to many more people, truly making this a worldwide event in which anyone can participate,” notes Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, chairman and CEO of Platinum Studios. “And the wide geographic diversity of the Top 50 is a testament to that.”

Meanwhile, Hero by Night creator DJ Coffman, who won an earlier challenge, writes on his blog that he finally got paid what he was due from Platinum. All it took was dragging Platinum’s lack of payment into public, where the publisher was denigrated en masse.

Fed Ex showed up with a check from Platinum paying me up to date anything that was owed to me, so that whole issue is over with. I’m glad they paid me, and honestly none of this would have blown up for me if I hadn’t nearly lost my house and life banking on or trusting that money would show up on time. It is what it is though, and I learned a valuable lesson that there is no job security anywhere, no matter what a piece of paper says. The envelope included a letter saying my “consultant” agreement with them was terminated as of today, which is fine with me, because in my mind it was terminated when checks never really showed up on time in the terms of that agreement.

Joss Whedon Talks ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Future

buffy16-revisedthumb-1898091Over at MTV, Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon talks about the big new direction for the comic book series, which sees Buffy and crew going off into the future.

In case, like me, you don’t hold a Ph.D. from Whedon University, it’s a good primer on all the implications that take hold with issue 16 (cover at right). In the issue, Buffy and Willow go to New York as a mystic event messes with time, into the world of Fray.

"The world of Fray has been a huge influence, in fact, the influence on season eight," Whedon said. "At the end of the series, I had something that categorically did not connect, and rather than throw out continuity, I used that. The present is so interesting with tons of slayers, and the future as we know it is quite the opposite. So why is that? And is that the death of magic?"

There’s also this, which is sure to set some nerdy hearts aflutter:

Also, we’ll be seeing a naked Willow soon.

"I had my fiancee pose for that one," [artist Karl] Moline said of the drawing. "It’ll be a nice, special-looking pose."

"It’ll be tasteful, unless he does it the way I wrote it," Whedon laughed. Don’t assume it’s another sex scene with Buffy, but something is about to happen that will rock the Scoobies’ world. "Things really start to change after the Fray story arc," Whedon said, "and the next thing we’ll be doing is seeing that from various points of view, with stand-alone issues dealing with larger issues of the world of the slayer and Twilight. There’s someone in the picture who hasn’t been there before, and the trick is, what’s the most unexpected, and who’s the most obvious and where’s the most pain?"

Interview: Warren Ellis on FreakAngels, Webcomics and Doctor Who

fapinup01coloured-4448516For anyone familiar with the online presence of award-winning writer Warren Ellis, it came as no surprise when the author announced at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con that he would be scripting an original, ongoing webcomic hosted by Avatar Press and titled FreakAngels. The concept, the preview art and even the name of the series all seemed quite, well… Warren Ellis.

What has been surprising, however, is the ease at which the longtime print author has adapted to the online medium and managed to create a compelling, unique series with very few blips in the weekly schedule he set for himself and FreakAngels artist Paul Duffield. At a time when top-tier print titles are failing to meet monthly schedules time and time again, Ellis and Duffield have managed to create a consistently compelling, unique series worthy of mentioning in the same breath as many of the more established webcomics out there. The fact that the series also has Ellis’ considerable online savvy and the resources of an up-and-coming publisher like Avatar behind it only makes the entire package even more intriguing to anyone with an interest in the digital evolution of the medium.

Avatar afforded me a few minutes to speak with Ellis during the recent Wizard World Chicago convention (where he was the event’s Guest of Honor), and I was glad to have the opportunity to ask him about FreakAngels, his thoughts on the online publishing scene, and how it all relates to traditional British storytelling.

COMICMIX: Coming from the print side of the industry, did your creative process change much for FreakAngels, Warren? How did the new medium affect your routine?

WARREN ELLIS: The only thing that has really been affected is the length of the episode. But even then, I’m not really writing with six pages in mind so much as I’m writing with 144 pages in mind. I’m writing FreakAngels in 144-page blocks, so I’m really keeping my eye on the bigger picture as opposed to keeping an eye on the ending of page six. So really there’s been no change at all.

I’ve kind of refused to change. [Laughs] (more…)

Animated ‘The Goon’ in the Works?

0c66de68-5677650David Fincher must love comic books, judging by the number of properties he’s optioned recently. Now add one more, as Slash Film is reporting that Fincher has picked up the rights to Eric Powell’s The Goon and plans to make a CG animated feature of it.

The Goon is a mob heavy living in a nameless town who fights against zombies, robots, giant lizards and other assorted nastiness. It’s gained quite a bit of popularity — and some awards — for its mix of horror and humor.

Fincher likely will just be a producer on the project, as he has quite a bit else to keep him busy.

It wasn’t specified whether Fincher, who is expected to lock up the Oscars with December’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, would direct. One would assume not, but clearly his interest in genre fare is strong. He remains attached to direct a live-action adaptation of the STD-horror graphic novel Black Hole from screenwriters Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. Farther back in Fincher’s fridge is Image Comics’ Torso.

According to the story, Blur Studio will be handling the animation.

The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 3, 2008

Things looked dour headed into the comics shop this week, but several books came out of left field and left me impressed. Rare that happens anymore when books get chewed over ad nauseum before they even hit shelves.

So let’s celebrate this special little week, when the comics followed in the tradition of the grand U.S. of A. and liberated themselves from suckiness.

Book of the Week: Joker’s Asylum #1 — When it comes to the Joker, there are a few staple stories. And probably the most generic is Joker taking over a giant game show and threatening the kidnapped contestants with death.

So when this book — which comes across like a clear cash-in on the upcoming Dark Knight film — started off with that premise, I could only think, “Not again.” That obvious bent is all set up, though, and writer Arvid Nelson swings the story in a direction that’s not only surprising, it’s also genuinely subversive.

The Joker’s target is the “innocent,” just not the contestants. He spares them (despite their idiocy), instead taking aim at a malevolent producer and the audience at home.

For anyone who bemoans the fact that thoughtful quiz shows are being swiftly pushed out of prominence by the like of Deal or No Deal, this is a story you’ll love. Alex Sanchez also offers a very new art style that’s scrawling but effective.

And the climactic line is a doozy: “Who’s the real sicko, America?” Indeed.

Runners-Up:

High Rollers #1 and Station #1 — Two new series from Boom! Studios, and both really shine. Station is a horror story set on an international space station, but at least so far there are no monsters or science fiction. The sizzle is all of the interpersonal type, as regional differences burn like a solar flare and one astronaut ends up killed.

High Rollers, from mystery writer Gary Phillips, is a Sopranos-like look at the rise of an L.A. crime lord. While the art in the first issue is too clean for the source material, Phillips keeps the story humming along as his antihero CQ starts to see the ugly side of a life in crime.

Astonishing X-Men #25 — After the disappointing dragging-on-forever conclusion to Joss Whedon’s run, I was all set to give up on this book, especially after learning it would be part of the listless X-Men’s current continuity. Then I started reading it. Credit Warren Ellis with taking this book back to the characters, focusing skillfully on their relationships and putting together a great comic, even though nothing much really happens.

I’m still not sure about Simone Bianchi’s take on the art, though I love how experimental he’s being with design. And if the words, “Chaparanga, where alien spaceships go to die,” doesn’t make you excited for next issue, I don’t think we can be friends. (more…)

‘Final Crisis’ tanks; WildStorm Sales Worst Ever

There’s a lengthy breakdown of DC’s May sales up at The Beat, and it only serves as further notice that the ol’ warship is taking on copious amounts of water.

The big story, of course, is the soft debut of Final Crisis, which couldn’t even crack 145,000 issues, a paltry sum for any big comics event. It’s not only well south of the 250,000 issues of Secret Invasion #1 that sold, but even the 178,000 from the much less ballyhooed World War Hulk #1. Not good.

The problem, according to Marc-Oliver Frisch, is mainly one of marketing:

One reason that may have led to this loss of faith in DC’s product is the publisher’s recent string of high-level failures. … Retailers had learned their lessons, and I suppose there was no reason to presume that they were going to forget them when it came to ordering Final Crisis. DC would have to put out all the stops to convince them that this was going to be different.

Which they emphatically did not do. Crucially, DC never bothered to tell anyone what Final Crisis was going to be about. … The slogan with which DC chose to advertise the content of Final Crisis when pressed for it, “The Day Evil Won,” doesn’t really address the problem. I mean, congratulations, so you’ve got a second act in there somewhere, at the end of which the bad guys temporarily win, which they always do.

In short, there is no hook.

Which sounds an awful lot like what I had to say about the first issue.

Things go from worse to, well, worse for DC, as its WildStorm line is basically not selling any comics. The average units sold for the line was a shade over 9,800, which is its worst ever mark, Frisch writes.

All told, sales are down everywhere and a whopping 11 series have been canceled because of poor sales.

The only good point was Vertigo’s new House of Mystery series, which debuted at well more than 20,000 copies.

Life 101, by John Ostrander

My Aunt Helen turned 101 years old last weekend. Let me repeat that – my Aunt Helen is 101 years old. She beat her own father’s record, who died a mere six months after turning 100. She still lives in her own apartment, with help especially from my sister, Marge. Helen gave up smoking only a few years ago but she still has her drink now and then. She gets to church when she feels the urge. Big Cubs fan, even though they haven’t won a World Series since she was born. I kid Helen that she intends to hang on until they win another one if it takes another hundred years.

She’s so old she dated John McCain. Ba-dump bump. I think she’d like that gag. Aunt Helen is still pretty sharp. Me, I’m not so sure about.

She lived in the house next to ours in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood when I was growing up, along with my paternal grandmother and grandfather. When Pop-Pop had bought the property, Rogers Park was actually a suburb on Chicago’s North Side. Me, my brother, and my younger sister ran over there with some frequency because there we were little princes or princess – which we sure weren’t at home. Lord knows we took advantage of it. Well, I know I did.

Saturday night we’d have dinner there in front of the TV. Helen always served up the same meal: a bit of steak, Campbell’s Pork and Beans, and for dessert, ice cream cake roll swimming in chocolate syrup.

Let me take a moment to extol on the glories of the ice cream cake roll. The principle was the same as a jelly roll cake only the cake would be a deep chocolate and would use vanilla ice-cream instead of jelly. It’s impossible to find on the East Coast. Even in Chicago, the quality has gone down. The last one I had, the cake was stale, thin, and had freezer burn, as did the very artificial vanilla ice cream that was in it. I’ve wandered off the topic again but… dang! It was ice cream cake roll!

I think I remember some of the shows I used to watch during those Saturday night dinners such as Patrick McGoohan in Danger Man (which would later become Secret Agent) and Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk playing Nick and Nora Charles in a TV version of The Thin Man. After dinner we’d watch The Jackie Gleason Show that included the Miami Beach version of The Honeymooners. If we were lucky, we escaped before The Lawrence Welk Show came on. (more…)

Mark Millar Churns the ‘Superman’ Rumors

If you read this story in the Scottish Daily Record, you might think the next Superman movie is on the verge. After talking about the success of Wanted and other properties, Mark Millar essentially said he was doing a Superman movie and it was set for 2011.

"Since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to reinvent Superman for the 21st century.

"I’ve been planning this my entire life. I’ve got my director and producer set up, and it’ll be 2011. This is how far ahead you have to think.

"The Superman brand is toxic after that last movie lost $200million, but in 2011 we’re hoping to restart it.

"Sadly I can’t say who the director is, but we may make it official by Christmas.

"But fingers crossed it could work out, that would be my lifetime’s dream."

Kevin Melrose kept tabs on the claim as it spread through Millar’s message board, and seemed a little farther from reality with each passing day, culminating with "it’s not even close to happening yet."

There’s nothing new at all to grandiose claims from Millar that end up as bunk — this is the same guy who claimed Civil War was the best-selling comic of the past 15 years, then didn’t hold up his promise when proven wrong.

But there’s something about all this that really bothers me, as Millar seems to have a nagging habit of being reckless with the truth, if not outright pathological.

Take the claim that he’s "always wanted to reinvent Superman for the 21st century" since he was a kid. Except, he was a kid in the 20th century.

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