The Mix : What are people talking about today?

Happy Birthday: Jerry Scott

Born in Elkhart, Indiana in 1955, Jerry Scott initially went into advertising. He got his start in comics by submitting gag strips to magazines in the mid-1970s—and sold one of his first ones to the Saturday Evening Post.

In 1983, he was asked to take over the Nancy comic strip, which he worked on for the next twelve years. In 1990 Scott and longtime friend Rick Kirkman created a new strip, Baby Blues. In 1997, Scott and Jim Borgman collaborated to produce Zits. Both Baby Blues and Zits are still running, and combined appear in over 2000 newspapers around the world.

Zits won the National Cartoonists Society prize for best newspaper comic strip in 1998 and 1999—Baby Blues won the award in 1997. In 2002 Scott received the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.

Robert Downey Jr. and the ‘Iron Man’ Review

First off, right out of the bullpen, I want to warn readers that this review of Iron Man, the first self-financed feature film from Marvel Studios, WILL HAVE SPOILERS. Normally, I try to keep any stories involving a new release free of them, but as you will read, this film is just chock full of little “fanboy delights” which enhance the experience and are an important part of the overall product.

With that said, this film should be labeled “FFBF”, meaning “For Fanboys, By Fanboys” because director Jon Favreau seems to know what the comic fans wanted to see. One gets the impression that if he were sitting in the seats, he’d want the same thing from this comics-famous tale of a millionaire, arms-manufacturing playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who decides to craft a supersuit and fight evil. Over the course of the film, anyone familiar with the character and the greater Marvel Universe will likely enjoy the references (sometimes subtle, but not always) to things ranging from War Machine to the Mandarin… even to S.H.I.E.L.D.

So make sure to pay attention, and most importantly, stay in the theater until after the credits! (more…)

Sound Bites For Dummies, by Michael Davis

"Every time I think I’m out they drag me back in!”

Al Pacino. Godfather 3

I had another article all ready to go. A lighthearted article about how I really loved comic books and how proud I am that I work in this industry on so many levels. I did not want to write another article on race, but thanks to Jeremiah Wright here I go again…

Some time ago I was given a gift certificate to The Burke Williams Spa. For those of you who don’t know, it’s an upscale health resort. Those who know me know that the last thing I’m about is anything “up scale.” I like simple. “Upscale” to me means a bunch of people who think they have a right to look down on other people. I know that’s a wide net to cast, but that’s how I feel. So when I got the gift certificate I was a little hesitant to go but man was I in a bad way and I really needed a massage. The gift certificate was for a massage and a milk bath…A MILK bath.

Look, I’m a MAN from the projects and a milk bath should have made me very uneasy, but truth be told it sounded so good. So I put my reservations on hold and made my way to Burke Williams. When I arrived I notice that the spa was staffed with women.

Beautiful women. Tall, shapely, sexy women.

When I checked in at the front desk I’m asked if I want a man or a women for my massage I say “woman,” thinking about all he foxes that are floating around. The receptionist looked at me strange, so much so I said “What?” I was starting to feel like this was exactly why I did not want to go to an upscale establishment. I’m a pretty simple guy. I like things simple. I hate interaction with people when my goal is to do something else. As an example when I walk into a Starbucks I just want a cup of coffee. I don’t want to buy a CD; I don’t want to hear about the new Booty juice latte, just give me my damn coffee. In fact if I walk in and there are more than two people on line, I walk out. BTW, I like my coffee the way I like my women…with soy sauce. (more…)

New ‘Incredible Hulk’ Trailer

The second trailer for this summer’s The Incredible Hulk is up at Apple’s trailer site. We get to see a lot more of the story, which looks to be lots of Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) running around the world, fleeing the military, then a string of battles.

Most notably, this trailer also shows a lot of Tim Roth as the Abomination, and how he gets to that point. Still a ton of question marks on this one that the trailer doesn’t dispel, most notably whether the CGI is up to par on the big monsters, which is what everyone wants to see out of a Hulk movie anyway.

The trailer’s also up at YouTube, which you can see right here.

CBLDF Interview With Charles Brownstein

With the recent resolution of the Gordon Lee case, in which a comic shop owner was arrested for accidentally giving a copy of a Free Comic Book Day  title that contained male nudity to a child, there’s been quite a bit of attention on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and their significant financial support for Lee during the trial.

Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter has posted a lengthy, comprehensive interview with Charles Brownstein, the executive director of the CBLDF, that touches upon the Lee case, its impact on the comics industry and the group’s other current and future projects.

As always, Spurgeon conducts a great interview that really gives you all you could ever want to know about the group and why there’s a genuine need for it. In this excerpt, Brownstein discusses the group’s ability to wage future legal battles, given the expenses incurred by the Lee case, and what types of legal issues are most worrisome to CBLDF:

What really makes me lose sleep is the prospect of getting a case under the PROTECT Act’s horrifying provisions equating drawings of teen and juvenile sexuality with actual child pornography. I’ve seen a couple of convictions for anime and manga that was ruled to be child porn. These were dirty people who also had real child porn, and who deserved their convictions for that material, not for repugnant art. There’s a difference between photographic evidence of a crime and drawings.

Those are the cases where we really need the community to stay firm in their support of the First Amendment. I think a lot of the content in the sexually oriented manga is pretty repugnant, but it’s lines on paper. The thing that raises my ire about PROTECT and the current slate of child pornography laws is that in attempting to create stronger resources against sexual predators, they create categories of thought crime. Child pornography is photographic evidence of a crime. To lower that bar to include dirty drawings and uncomfortable, if not repugnant, ideas muddies the waters in a way that disrespects the severity of the crime, and the victims of it.

For the full interview — which I highly recommend reading — head over to The Comics Reporter.

ComicMix Radio: Hot Girl In The Comic Shop!

That got your attention, didn’t it? Then come on in and meet Belkis, co-host of The Comic Book Novice radio show and a fresh fan with an interesting perspective on the industry, plus:

— Marvel collects X-Force and reprints another Hulk

— DC has a spot on the new KidsWB

— Galaxy Quest finally makes it to comics

— The Top 10 hottest sellers for March

Just before you press the button, make plans to join us Saturday for our special coast-to-coast coverage of Free Comic Book day. But even before that, be sure to shop the FCBD Retailer near you!

 

 
And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-8345799 or RSS!

Happy Birthday: Phil Foglio

Born in Mount Vernon, NY in 1956, Phil Foglio moved to Hartsdale, NY, while still a young boy and lived there until he went off to the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago when he was only 17.

While at school, Foglio worked on the science-fiction club’s fanzine, Effen Essef, and was nominated for two Hugo Awards for it in 1976—in 1977 and 1978 he won the Hugos for Best Fan Artist. In 1980 Foglio started a comic strip What’s New with Phil & Dixie for Dragon Magazine. It ran for three years.

He moved back to New York shortly thereafter but soon returned to Chicago. There he illustrated Robert Lynn Asprin’s MythAdventures series and turned the first book into an eight-issue comic book series from WaRP Graphics. From there Foglio got work with DC (Angel and the Ape, Plastic Man, and Stanley and His Monster), Eclipse (Fusion, Dreamery), First Comics (Munden’s Bar and Dynamo Joe), and others. He illustrated many card games, magazines, and books, created the character of Buck Godot for Imagine It and went on to create several Buck Godot graphic novels as well.

In the 1990s, Foglio brought What’s New back, this time for Duelist Magazine. He also created the series Girl Genius with his wife Kaja. In 2005 Girl Genius moved online as a free webcomic.

Iron Mug: 7-Eleven’s ‘Iron Man’ Slurpee Cup

000_2624tm-20394077-Eleven convenience store chains have a long history of releasing character-licensed Slurpee cups based on Marvel and DC properties, so it wasn’t a big surprise when I heard that Iron Man was next in line to help reacquaint thirsty customers with the effects of brain freeze. On the eve of the Iron Man movie release, I ventured into a local shop and had a look around at the Iron Man merch.

While there are regular, movie-based lenticular cups with little figures on the straw, it’s the Iron Man helmet and replica mug that brought a smile to my face. Sure, adults groan about merchandising, but the kids inside of us love it. Yes, comic book fans across America, you now have a new pen holder… or whiskey mug, if that’s your thing.

Here’s the official word on the promotion:

A collectible, refillable mug features the red and gold helmet of Iron Man’s Mark III suit of armor.  The 28-ounce mug retails for $3.29 and includes a Slurpee fill up. Additionally, 7-Eleven will offer three different Iron Man Slurpee spoon-straws with detachable Iron Man and Iron Monger figurines for a price of $1.49 each.

Check out the photos posted after the jump to see how cool this is… (more…)

The Weekly Haul: Reviews for May 1, 2008

War is the topic du jour in comics this week, with battles breaking out or warming up in darn near every issue. But instead of mindless battling, most of this week’s comics gave a deeper look into the costs and reality of violence. A reflection of our times, perhaps?

dcuzero-cv1-r5-8204369Book of the Week: DC Universe #0 — A very good issue, though not on par with Countdown to Infinite Crisis, which was a more lucid preamble to a big event. But that’s to be expected with Grant Morrison, who sets up Final Crisis with a series of vignettes that introduce the personal hell in store for many heroes.

The narration — leading to a very well done reveal that I won’t spoil — is appropriately vague and ominous, letting us know that storm clouds are brewing (though without falling into such cliché). The issue appropriately establishes the seriousness of the war on the horizon, though the elements of that war remain opaque.

While DC still has a lot to make up for after the painful Countdown, this issue goes a long way toward that end, not so much picking up from Countdown #1 as hitting "reset" on it.

The best scene is that with Batman and Joker, a meeting that starts out almost exactly like all of their interactions at Arkham, then twists in a new, foreboding direction. The layouts, which are extremely creative if not consistent, offer another highlight.

In the long run, though, this issue is only as good as the event that follows it.

Runners Up:

Elephantmen: War Toys #3 — In what could be just an excuse to draw some cool human-animal hybrids fighting with big guns, this series has offered a very solemn look at war. The Elephantmen are next-gen Hessians in a war between humans, and their animal instincts lead to atrocities.

It’s a gruesome reflection on how people wage war, that in battle humans become as ferocious and bloodthirsty as animals. A female guerilla soldier opposing the Elephantmen, Yvette, serves as the point of reason in this tragedy, her life in exchange for the animals gaining some humanity.

New Avengers #40 — The latest Skrullapalooza prequel that actually came out after Secret Invasion #1is a very worthwhile read, and manages to overcome its tardiness. In Mighty Avengers #12 and now this, Brian Michael Bendis has illuminated some of the anciliary issues to the big war between Skrulls and Earth, with this issue focusing on the Skrulls.

Giving motivation to villains is key to making a great comics event, and the plight of the Skrulls becomes very relatable, as does their turn toward religious extremism and their hatred of earth’s heroes. He loves you indeed.

(more…)

‘LitGraphic’ and the Comic Arts Festival at Norman Rockwell Museum

Okay, I’ll admit that I have yet to check out The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. While this might not seem like such an egregious sin at first, consider the fact that I lived less than an hour away from the museum for nearly five years and, well… there’s really no excuse.

That’s why I was happy to see some PR cross my desk for a Comic Arts Festival happening this weekend at the museum in celebration of their ongoing "LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel" exhibit.

Here’s all of the relevant info:

Comic Arts Festival at the Norman Rockwell Museum

Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Join us for an exciting day of workshops, lectures, book signings, and conversation with noted comic artists and historians in celebration of LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel. 

Artists Howard Cruse, Marc Hempel, Jack Purcell, R. Sikoryak, Lauren Weinstein, and Mark Wheatley will be with us to discuss their work, lead drawing demonstrations, and inspire the creation of comics of your own. Comic art collector Scott Eder, graphic novel historian Robin Brenner, and author/art critic David A. Berona will offer insights into the evolution of the field and the current comics marketplace. Be a part of our wet ink sessions and mini comic exchange! Refreshments will be served, and lunches will be available for purchase.

As the press release mentioned, our own ComicMix comic artist Mark Wheatley (EZ Street) will be among the noted guests in attendance at the show. While that should be more than enough reason to check it out, I also hear that the museum is actually quite a nice place… but I’m hoping to confirm that for myself this weekend.

You can find out more information about the festival, including a full schedule of events and contact information, on the schedule of current exhibits at the Norman Rockwell Museum website.

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