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‘Justice League: The New Frontier’ Tops Xbox LIVE Videos

  • News
  • March 5, 2008

Justice League: The New Frontier, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation’s direct-to-DVD adaptation of Darwyn Cooke’s critically praised miniseries, was the top movie rental last week on Xbox LIVE’s Video Marketplace. The film, which imagines the DC superteam in the midst of the Cold War, took the top spot on most days since its release on on February 26.

Scott Nocas, a Marketing Manager for LIVE’s Video Store said, "With the great success of Superman: Doomsday on Xbox LIVE just after last year’s Comic-Con, Warner Bros. and Xbox were excited to bring another DC Universe animated movie to our consumers. We continue to see great engagement with the movie, and other DC Comics content on Xbox Marketplace."

Currently available at no charge on the service is a bonus feature that includes interviews with comic luminaries Jim Krueger, Mark Waid, Marv Wolfman, Rich Fogel and Darwyn Cooke himself.

Retail sales numbers for New Frontier have not been released yet but the film is expected to have done well. In fact, some retailers are actually having a difficult time keeping the film in stock, making the Xbox LIVE film an even more attractive option.

Wombat, a gamer from the popular CAGcast podcast, recently recounted his own experience trying to buy the Blu-Ray version of the film at a Circuit City in Union Square, NYC. "Naw, man. I bought the last one yesterday, sucka," an employee told him.

Owch.

If you’re still waiting on your copy, feel free to spend some time reading the ComicMix review of Justice League: New Frontier, checking out photos of the Series 2 line of "New Frontier" toys, or just watching the trailer for the film posted after the jump: (more…)

The Lost Art of Longhand, by Elayne Riggs

  • News
  • March 5, 2008

elayne-riggs-100-30724648:30 AM, Bx7 bus southbound to subway: It’s favored by Luddites and techies alike. Early adopter Neil Gaiman, for instance, writes all his first drafts this way, using various fancy pens. (Me, I use my Uniball blue roller ’cause it’s what I carry in my pocketbook.) It’s physically draining, at least if you’re not used to it. It requires both concentration to keep your hand steady, and a heightened awareness of your surroundings, particularly on moving vehicles. It certainly isn’t for everyone; I’d rarely recommend it for myself. But a pad of paper is a lot lighter and more flexible than my laptop, and not having the distractions of checking email and blogs and playing online games forces me to focus on the here-and-now of completing this week’s column. Besides, I need the practice in transcribing relatively illegible handwriting.

My Dad had beautiful longhand. Which amazed me, because he was naturally left-handed which was a no-no in hyper-superstitious Romania in the ’30s. His schoolteachers beat that left-handedness out of him — not entirely, I think he still shaved and did a few other things lefty, but he became right-handed for purposes of writing. I inherited his “sinister” gene, but by 1960s secular America children were allowed to retain such peculiar proclivities.

8:55 AM, “1” train southbound into Manhattan: Unfortunately, I never inherited Dad’s longhand flair. I can add a few flourishes here and there, but only if I slow down and write very carefully and deliberately, and that starts my hand aching again. I figure I’m okay as long as I’m just legible enough to make out a check (I’m mired enough in the 20th century to still use checks on occasion). Damn, I have to put this away now, someone just sat down next to me and I can no longer comfortably use my right arm to prop this up… (more…)

Video: Matt Kindt on How to Make a Comic Book

  • News
  • March 4, 2008

 

It stands to reason that if you’re interested in comic books and are here reading this site, you may have some interest in actually making a comic book yourself. If so, Matt Kindt, creator of various comics and graphic novels including Superspy, 2 Sisters and Pistolwhip, has made a video just for you.

The video shows Matt and the various steps he goes through to create a page of his Superspy comic. From the rough sketches, to pencils, to inking and then coloring in Photoshop you can see the transformation from a somewhat indimidating blank white page to a fully-formed comic book page. Who knows, this video might just be the inspiration you need to start creating your own comic.

If it is, be sure to let him know.

 

Film Review: Vantage Point

  • News
  • March 4, 2008

Not many trailers made in the past 10 years misrepresent the film they are promoting. Sadly, Vantage Point breaks that rule. By allowing me the room to figure out the entire movie through footage oversaturation, I didn’t have a huge urge to run to the theaters, hence the late review. But alas, seven days after the film’s release, I was able to go into the theater without a hint of outside ruination, no real mention of the big twists, nor who was evil and why. So to keep the film pure, and leave any future audience members unscathed, I’ll try to keep the dignity of the film intact and not give much away in the review.

With that in mind: This movie wasn’t very good. Albeit the concept isn’t exactly original (See Rashomon), the filmmakers here had a perfect opportunity to bring something as innovative and provocative as Rashomon to Hollywood and thus, to a Hollywood audience. Instead, the concept was left half-assed and basically unfinished, leaving holes in continuity that you could drive a Mack Truck through and backstory for only one character, reduced to a single line of exposition.

For those of you not entirely familiar with the concept of the movie, Vantage Point was adevrtised as featuring eight different perspectives (in truth, it’s only five) of the assassination of the President of the United States. Each gives a little more insight to the overall story, while leaving you at the edge of your seat each and every time you see a part of the story. At the end of the film, you’ll feel fairly manipulated, but that won’t compare to the complete lack of compassion you have for any of the characters. (more…)

Birthday Requests

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  • March 4, 2008

If anybody’s stumped on what to get me for a birthday present, there’s a copy of Marvel Comics #1 up for auction. Only $25k or so.

C’mon. It’s not even in mint condition.

It’s not like I’m asking for uranium or a tank or anything.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Please do not send gifts of uranium ore to ComicMix HQ. Thank you. -RM]

 

Review: Teen Titans Year One

teentitansy1-6915716The other day I was talking to James Kochalka, creator of Superf*ckers and the upcoming Johnny Boo children’s books, and he mentioned how difficult it is to find superhero books for his kids. Such offerings are mostly limited to comic book adaptations of cartoon series that were adapted from comics, he said, and “they’ve been pretty bad.”

For DC, the lifeline to younger readers has long been the Teen Titans, most recently through the TV spinoff Teen Titans Go! and Tiny Titans, which is almost too innocent for its own good. Now we also have Teen Titans Year One (issue #3 is out tomorrow), the “origin” story from writer Amy Wolfram.

The book succeeds on a number of levels, primarily in how it manages to be appropriate for kids without dumbing down. There are serious threats and the group faces violence and danger and interpersonal hangups. The art also perfectly fits the tone.

While I’ve enjoyed the series thus far, I doubt it’ll serve as a jumping-on point for any kid looking to get into comics. Another thing Kochalka complained about was how the youth-oriented Marvel and DC comics rely on readers coming into the book to have a firm understanding of the mythos, and that’s certainly the case with [[[Teen Titans Year One]]]. New comics readers will be fairly lost, if not out and out discouraged by the lack of exposition.

The Year One tag also only hampers the series, forcing it into a ridiculously incongruous existence amid decades-old comics. For instance, these Titans use cell phones and instant messaging, devices that weren’t around when the Teen Titans debuted. That’s nit-picking, to be sure, but when an editor’s note tells me this storyline happened right after [[[The Brave and the Bold]]] #54, I can’t help but be yanked out of the plot.

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) gmail (dot) com.

Revised Diamond Sales Figures for January Released

  • News
  • March 4, 2008

Computers are one of the greatest inventions of all time. I love ’em. They make so many things possible and help us get things done more easily and efficiently. In fact, if it wasn’t for computers, you woudn’t be able to enjoy all the great content right here at ComicMix.

Unfortunately, computers can also occassionally make mistakes. Case in point the most recent sales figures for comic books, graphic novels and other periodicals for January. Apparently, there was a technical glitch in the Diamond Comics Distributors’ computer system which resulted in elevated sales figures for comics, graphics novels and other periodicals.

According to ICv2, this glitch has now been corrected and the sales figures adjusted. The new figures reveal a much different picture of sales for January. Some of the biggest differences were that instead of the previously reported 7% gain in comic book sales, it was only 1%. Graphic novels had an even bigger discrepency, with actual gains of only 3% instead of the relatively unrealistic 17% previously reported.

Even with the corrected figures, the news wasn’t all bad. Nine comic book titles, including Hulk #1, Captain America #34 and Astonishing X-Men #24, sold over 100,000 copies in January, which was up three from December’s total of six. And, periodical sales were slightly higher than the previously strong figures from January of 2007, which was considered a very successful month at the time.

If you’re curious about how well your favorite comic books and graphic novels actually sold and what the top ones in each category were, check these out:

The "Top 300 comic books in January 2008."

The "Top 100 graphic novels in January 2008."

The "Top 300 comic books in December 2007."

The "Top 100 graphic novels in December 2007."

Looking over these lists, a couple things stood out for me. I find it interesting that Hulk #1 is at the top spot on the comics list for January (I guess red is a good color on him), two titles in the top 20, Astonishing X-Men and Buffy: Season Eight, involve Joss Whedon and a third title in the top 40, Angel: After the Fall, does as well.

Plus, the number three spot on the graphic novel list is also a Whedon creation: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 3. I guess you should never underestimate the power of a great TV show, even one that ended its TV run five years ago — especially if Joss Whedon had anything to do with it.

 

D&D Co-Creator E. Gary Gygax: 1938 – 2008

  • News
  • March 4, 2008

Chances are if you love comic books, sci-fi, fantasy and other great things like these, you’ve probably also played Dungeons & Dragons at one time or another as well. I’m not embarrassed to admit I used to play it quite a lot and before the days of the sophisticated computer and console games we have now, it was a great way to get together with a bunch of friends, roll the 20-sided-dice and kick some Beholder butt.

So, it’s sad news today to report that Gary Gygax, co-creator of D&D, co-founder of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) and generally regarded as the "Father of the Role-Playing Game" has passed away. The news was first reported on the Troll Lord Games Forums but now has spread across the Internets with postings at various other sites. Plus, his Wikipedia page has also already been updated.

Born on July 27, 1938, Ernest Gary Gygax took his love of Avalon Hill wargames and his passion for the works of Robert E. Howard, J.R.R. Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, and other great sword and sorcery authors and created D&D. He also co-founded Tactical Studies Rules, the company that published the game.

After D&D, Gygax went on to create the Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary Adventure RPGs, as well as a number of board games. He also wrote several fantasy novels. Over the years, Gygax became an icon to gamers and developed a huge following of fans, even appearing as himself in an episode of the show Futurama.

ComicMix’s own Glenn Hauman had a personal connection to Gygax.

"I met Gary a few years back, and he was a complete gentleman," said Hauman. "Ironically, he died on GM’s Day, a day created by various role-playing aficionados to pay tribute to the one who holds your character’s life in your hands. Gary’s influence on the gaming industry is immeasurable, and he will be dearly missed."

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

On This Day: Glenn Hauman

  • News
  • March 4, 2008

Glenn Hauman was born on March 4, 1969. He’s been involved in comics since junior high school, when he studied under the legendary John Buscema. Years later he joined the industry officially, working in production at DC.

Since then Glenn’s done writing, production, layout, editing, and interactive development at several places, including DC, Apple Comics, and Simon & Schuster. Currently he’s the Vice-President of Operations and Production Manager for ComicMix, the colorist for Jon Sable Freelance, and one of the first and foremost (and tallest!) of our merry crew.

Happy birthday, big guy!

 

ComicMix Radio: Stan Sez Make Mine Manga!

It looks like Stan Lee’s next collaboration in comics will be one with a Far East flavor – we’ve got the story, plus

— Jonathan Hickman’s Pax Romana is now free and online

— Family Guy spins off Cleveland

— The folks at Cannes will see Indiana Jones first

— And yes,  a brand new trivia question and another chance to grab an exclusive Graham Crackers Comics variant by e-mailing us at: podcast [at] comicmix.com

Excelsior – Press The Button!

 

 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-1725346 or RSS!

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