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Eight Comic Books to Read Before You Die

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

Just in time for the opening of WonderCon in San Francisco today, the online arm of the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Gate, has decided to put out its list, a comics "mix tape" as they call it,  of the "Eight Comic Books to Read Before You Die."

Posted by Peter Hartlaub, the list includes many notables in the comics world such as Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman and their works — which are probably considered classic must-reads by most comics fans already.

In addition, the list also features one or two other works traditional comics fans, those who usually confine themselves to one or more Marvel or DC titles featuring spandex-clad heroes, may be less familier with. Books such as Jeff Smith’s Bone and Y:The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan, although successful and well-known to many in the comics community, are perhaps not as well-known to the masses as the X-Men, Spider-Man or Batman.

Here, then, is the list of what the folks at SFGate think you should read, and in the order you should read them, before you die. Hopefully, you’ve already had the pleasure of discovering some of these works. Maybe after reading this list, you can discover a few more.

Y: The Last Man: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli

Swamp Thing by Alan Moore

Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross

Bone Volume 1: Out From Boneville by Jeff Smith

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

I’m pleased to say that, besides Bone, I’ve read all the books on this list and am a particular fan of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last man. Of course, now that I’ve read this list, I can never, ever read Bone. That is, unless I’m ready to die. 

What comics would be on your list?

Foo Fighters Sue Marvel For Copyright Infringement

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

Today, Rolling Stone is reporting that the Foo Fighters are suing Marvel Entertainment, First Serve International, Toonz Animation in India and First Serve Toonz for copyright infringement. According to the article:

The band alleges that Marvel used “substantial excerpts” of their songs “Best of You” and “Free Me” as the music for the trailer of the new animated series Wolverine and the X-Men.

The trailer, which showed up online back at the beginning of February, has since been taken down from YouTube. However, as in most cases like this, that doesn’t really help much because you can still get a look at it over at Movieweb. Well, at least you could have up until a few minutes ago. But now, "at the request of the studio", it’s gone.

If you were able to watch the trailer, which I was able to do before it went bye-bye, its pretty obvious that the Foo Fighters songs were used — a lot. Seeing this kind of thing makes me wonder how the people responsible thought they could get away with something like this?

Don’t they realize that once something hits the Internet, this kind of thing can’t stay a secret? Someone is going to get a strongly-worded letter in his or her permanent file over this, just you wait and see.

 

Monaghan and Henney Join ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

Recently, Variety reported that Lord of the Rings and Lost star Dominic Monaghan and Danial Henney, recently seen in the Korean drama My Father, have joined the cast of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. According to the article, Monaghan will play Barnell, a "mysterious character from Wolverine’s past who has the ability to manipulate energy and electricity."

Henney will take on the role of Agent Zero, "a member of the Weapon X program and an expert tracker with lethal marksman skills." Monaghan and Henney join a growing cast which already includes Hugh Jackman as, of course, Wolverine, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Taylor Kitsch, will.i.am, Lynn Collins and Ryan Reynolds.

The film, directed by Gavin Hood from a David Benioff script, which is shooting now in New Zealand, Australia and New Orleans, tells the story of Wolverine’s younger days and how he came to be the savage yet compassionate clawed mutant he is today. 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine hits theaters May 1st, 2009.

 

Mr. T. Limited Advance Graphic Novel Announced

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

As if things in the world of comics weren’t already interesting enough, word now comes, in the form of an official press release from publisher Mohawk Media, that the upcoming Mr. T graphic novel, set to release later this summer, will also have a "Limited Advance Edition" available right now for eager fans.

The Limited Advance Edition of the graphic novel will only have 4000 copies available and, as the press release states:

It marks the return to prominence of Mr. T, the Mohawk muscleman who was voted the fourth “Greatest American” in a recent global BBC poll, muscling in front of the likes of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

‘It’s great to be the star of a graphic novel’, says Mr. T. ‘And great entertainment is always driven by great writing!’ Mr. T, who contributes world-exclusive interviews to the graphic novel and acts as its Executive Editor, adds: ‘I’ve always strived to be a good role model to children and adults alike. I can’t think of a better way to do that than by encouraging people to read! What would I say to anyone who doesn’t read my graphic novel? “I pity the fool!” ’

Well said, Mr. T. Well said, indeed.

 

Manga Friday: More from Del Rey

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

Del Rey is about the only manga publisher sending me review copies on a regular basis, so they get an extra-large helping of Manga Friday’s love. And this week is no exception; we have no theme, but we do have these three new books from Del Rey…

Minima!, Vol. 1
Machiko Sakurai
Del Rey Manga, 2007, $10.95

There will not be a test this week, so you can relax – Minima! does not refer to the mathematical concept of minima. It’s not entirely clear what it does refer to, though I’d guess it’s a vague reference to small, cute, furry things.

Ame Oikawa is a quiet middle-school girl who’s vaguely dissatisfied about something – exactly what is not clear, because she’s so quiet – when she goes with her class to an amusement park. (Her problems are probably related to having a crush on some boy or other, but I couldn’t keep the other characters straight, so that part flew past me.)

But then a cute little stuffed animal that she just bought starts talking and walking around – its name is Nicori, and it’s standing up for her. Whatever the previous problem was – and did I mention that I’m still not sure about that at all? – disappears into the background, as there’s a media frenzy about this talking toy.

The plot lurches forward almost randomly from there, focusing mostly on the relationship between Ame and Nicori, with side-trips into the price of fame, the terrors of junior high, and the dangers of kidnappers before this volume is over. There’s a whole lot of big emotional scenes, mostly because Nicori is embarrassing Ame by misunderstanding things or blurting out her secret crushes.

This was very much not for me – it’s a story for and about tween girls; the kind who go “ohmiGOD” at the slightest thing and who make and break BFFs five times before lunch. For that audience, it’s harmless, but I doubt many (if any) ComicMix readers fit that demographic. However, if you have daughters or nieces, they might love this more than life itself.

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GrimJack: The Manx Cat – Past Lives

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

In today’s brand new episode of GrimJack: The Manx Cat, by John Ostrander and Timothy Truman, John finds himself in a stranger’s body.

Not only that, but he meets a sorcerer who should be dead. And the Chaotic Gods are on the loose.

A warning? Or a curse?

 

 

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Paramount Drops HD-DVD

  • News
  • February 22, 2008

Well, that didn’t take as long as I thought it would. I figured it might be at least a few days before Paramount made the decidion to drop HD-DVD. But I guess they hated being last to the party with a date nobody wanted.

So today, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount also dumped HD-DVD and will now be releasing content exclusively on Blu-Ray.

According to the Paramount press release quoted in the article:

 "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer. As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."

Again, no mention about content currently in the pipeline that’s already HD-DVD. Maybe they’ll go back and redo all of them and then release on Blu-Ray? That would seem unlikely and pretty costly. But with the odd things Hollywood studios sometimes do, I guess anything is possible.

I’m Mad As Hell, by Michael Davis

  • News
  • February 22, 2008
 
I like to laugh. I see humor in most everything. Most people meet me and assume because of my wicked sense of humor I must have lived a charmed life. 
 
Nope. 
 
As I have mentioned before, two members of my immediate family were taken by violence and that does not leave you a lot to laugh about. My family was really poor and I survived more than one brush with death growing up where I did. Not the kind of life story that makes for a giggle fest.
 
The reason for my mostly cheerful outlook on life is my mom. If you think I’m funny (and you certainly won’t after this article), if you have read any of my other stuff and thought I was funny, then you should meet my mother. She is freakin hilarious. My mom had a lot more to deal with than me and she dealt with it with good humor and was confident that she would not just survive but flourish, and she did.
 
As stated above I like to laugh and do find humor in most every thing except violence and cruelty. 
 
I am not a behaviorist, anthropologist or psychiatrist. I do not claim to understand the effects of environment, religion, tribal history, poverty or anything else that that affects human behavior.  I know that there are reasons why people do things. I know that there are sometimes societal reasons why people hurt other people. 
 
You know what? I don’t care anymore.
 
I hear a lot of reasons on the nightly news explaining why some people commit horrible brutal deeds against other people.   

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ComicMix at Toy Fair: Coverage Round-Up and Extra Photos

  • News
  • February 21, 2008

Well, Toy Fair is officially over, folks. All that’s left is to sweep up the wayward Legos, find a place for all of the free promotional swag, and calmly reflect on the passing of yet another convention.

Oh, and there’s always the "Clip Reel" — or, as we call it in the InterWebs News, the "Round-Up" article. So, just in case you missed any of our Toy Fair 2008 coverage, here are some of the announcements, audio, video and photos from Toy Fair ’08 we collected thus far.

We still have some audio and video wrap-up coverage, including today’s edition of ComicMix Radio, so keep an eye on the site over the rest of the week. As a special "bonus feature" of sorts, I’ve included a few photos after the round-up below of some sights, scenes, and, of course, toys that  were favorites of the ComicMix crew but didn’t quite fit into the rest of our coverage.

 

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daniels03-copy-3043906

Happy Birthday, Alan Rickman and C-3PO

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British actors Anthony Kingsley Daniels and Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman were both born today in 1946.

Daniels is famous for creating the memorable Star Wars ‘droid, C-3PO, and although Rickman is an accomplished thespian, his recent portrayal of Snape in the Harry Potter films earned him an entirely new generation of fans.

One interesting note about Daniels: He was the only Star Wars cast member to voice his character in all three National Public Radio dramatizations of the trilogy.

 

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