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‘Manga Bible’ Makes Jesus a Superhero

  • News
  • February 5, 2008

Turning water into wine: superpower or blessed miracle?

The recently released Manga Bible presents it as a little bit of both, apparently. Illustrated by British-born Nigerian illustrator Ajibayo Akinsiku (a.k.a. Siku) and written by Akin Akinsiku, the 200-page book claims to be the "first ever Manga adaptation of the world’s bestselling book."

According to a report in The Plain Dealer, the book doesn’t shy away from applying modern-day vernacular to Old and New Testament tales:

In one panel, for example, the prodigal son leaves his father with the words, "See ya! Don’t wait up." In the next panel, he’s surrounded by women and booze.

Much of the book is dedicated to the Old Testament, of course – a discrepancy Siku claimed was as much due to the more colorful storytelling of the Old Testament as it was to the difficulty of navigating the conflicting gospels of the New Testament.

 

Bill Hader Interviews Ed Brubaker on ‘Criminal’

  • News
  • February 5, 2008

Over at MySpace TV, comedian Bill Hader interviews Ed Brubaker on his critically praised series Criminal.

The photo-driven interview is funny at first, then slides into nigh-hilarious, then back into pretty darn funny… and it’s chock full of name-dropping fun!

Best line?

Brubaker: "You DO know those are two different series, right?"

Ahh, welcome to the world of celebrity interviews, Bill. I sympathize.

 

The Science of Superheroes

  • News
  • February 5, 2008

In what’s become familiar but always interesting subject matter, PopSci.com examines "The Science of Superheroes" by calling in a "Hollywood physicist" to analyze the science behind superhero (and supervillain) antics.

The article takes eight popular characters from the world of comics and evaluates what it would really take for them to do all of the super-powered stuff they do. How could Superman fly? What happens when Bruce Banner’s body suddenly grows and he becomes The Hulk?

And my personal favorite: How does Storm control the weather?

If her stomach has mutated into some type of nuclear-fusion reactor, however—or better yet, a matter/anti-matter reactor—she could do it. Applying relativity (E = mc2), a single gram of mass converted completely into energy would yield 90 trillion joules. That’s 18 million lightning bolts!

Umm… yuck. Note to self: NEVER invite Storm out for Indian food.

 

Flickr Green Lantern Art: ‘Power.Less’

  • News
  • February 5, 2008

A friend directed me to this great piece of Green Lantern art created by Derek Chatwood and located in a public album on Flickr.

It’s titled "power.less" and the story that goes along with the art is price.less (click through to the image homepage  on Flickr for the full text):

Ego. Hal Jordan was walking ego. His excuse was that he had to be. The Green Lantern was powered by will. No will, no power.

For some reason, that day, Batman wasn’t having it. He called Hal out, and told him he shouldn’t underestimate the abilities of his team-mates. Hal laughed. C’mon Bruce, you know how this works. Whatever I can think of, whatever I put my will to, the ring can make happen. I can move a planet if I want to. I can do anything.

Hal, Batman said, as he rose from his chair. In some ways, you’re the weakest member in the League. …

(Artist: Derek Chatwood, All Rights Reserved; Hat-Tip to "Friends of Fipilele" for the link.)

ComicMix Radio: Wolverine’s Got A New Boyfriend?

 
On this Super Tuesday, you get the history making opportunity to vote twice, one of those times with your wallet at the counter of your local comics store.  As promised, ComicMix Radio does our part by running down the latest comics and DVD releases.
 
Plus , we’ve got…
 
• Brian K. Vaughan from Y to Wolverine
• Zuda Comics picks their first winner in 2008
• See those SuperBowl ads again -– and again
• The Schifrins get Spooked
 
And the picture here is just that: a picture, so no hidden messages here. If you’re in one of the Super Tuesday states, it’s just an enticement to get out and vote. So close the curtain and Press The Button!

 Or subscribe to our podcasts via badgeitunes61x15dark-1443231 or RSS!

2008 WCCA Nominees Announced

  • News
  • February 5, 2008

The nominees for the 2008 Web Cartoonists Choice Awards are out, providing a peek at who webcomic creators name as their favorite comics, creators and a variety of other categories.

Among some of the nominees:

OUTSTANDING COMIC FINALISTS:

Achewood by Chris Onstaad

Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell

Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch

The Phoenix Requiem by Sarah Ellerton

OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER FINALISTS:

Bear and Kitten by Andy and Angie

Octopus Pie by Meredith Gran

Pictures for Sad Children by John Campbell

The Dreamer by Lora Innes

The Phoenix Requiem by Sarah Ellerton

The WCCA website has a full list of 2008 WCCA categories and nominees along with links to each of the comics. Winners will be announced during MegaCon in Orlando on March 8, 2008.

MAD Magazine to Publish Pulitzer Prize Cartoonists

  • News
  • February 5, 2008

Readers of MAD Magazine who pick up the March issue (hitting shelves Feb. 19), might want to take special note of a certain two-page spread they’ll find inside. The special feature will showcase the work of 10 Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonists.

Ths spread, titled "Why George W. Bush is in Favor of Global Warming," will feature contributions from Clay Bennett (Chattanooga Times Free Press), Steve Breen (San Diego Union-Tribune), Matt Davies (Journal News), Jack Higgins (Chicago Sun-Times), Dick Locher (Chicago Tribune), Jim Morin (Miami Herald), Mike Peters (Dayton Daily News), Joel Pett (Lexington Herald-Leader), Michael Ramirez (Investor’s Business Daily) and Ben Sargent (Austin American-Statesman).

The New York Times has samples of the MAD Magazine Pulitzer winners’ art.

According to MAD editor John Ficarra, “the whole thing is a thinly veiled ploy on our part to win a Pulitzer. Next month, we’re going to get a number of Nobel Prize winners in.”

 

‘The Wind in the Willows’ Review

  • News
  • February 5, 2008

Classic Illustrated Deluxe # 1: The Wind in the Willows
Novel by Kenneth Grahame; adapted by Michel Plessix
Papercutz, 2007, $13.95 (paperback) / $17.95 (hardcover)

I’ve wasted a lot of time not writing the review for this book, mostly because I suspected it would be one of the shortest in my career. (And both you and my ComicMix overlords deserve better than a super-short review.)

The problem is that there really isn’t much to say about Michel Plessix’s adaptation of The Wind in the Willows: it’s lovely and sweet, one of the best adaptations of a novel into the comics form that I’ve ever seen. When a book does everything right, it can be hard to talk about it, and I can’t see anything that Plessix does wrong here.

Plessix’s linework is careful and assured, capturing complex scenes with ease and giving life and emotion to a wide variety of anthropomorphic animal characters. Even more than that, he’s mastered the tricky art of those animals: they’re human enough to have gestures and body language, but animal enough to be believable as talking frogs, badgers, rats, and so on. And then he draws humans in the mix as well, and makes the combination not just work for the space of a few pages, but feel natural and obvious.

On top of all that is a carefully-chosen palette of mostly light, pastel colors, trying it all together with the perfect touch. The art of The Wind in the Willows is simply exquisite, but you need to look at it closely; it doesn’t demand attention but instead serves and advances the story. (more…)

On This Day: Red Nose Day!

  • News
  • February 5, 2008

Today in 1988, The United Kingdom celebrated its very first "Red Nose Day," a sort of semi-holiday in which everyone dons a red nose during the all-day charity telethon run by Comic Relief.

The event was so effective on its first go-round that Comic Relief was able to raise about £15 million (back then, that looked a lot bigger when it was turned into $), all going to charity. The event continues to be held every year, and even those in military and school uniforms are allowed to break their dress codes with the clown apparatus.

Oh, how very cheeky!

First Look: Mark Bagley at DC

  • Uncategorized
  • February 5, 2008

bagley-dc-3943647When longtime Ultimate Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley announced he was moving to DC Comics, it caused quite the uproar in the comics scene. Now, Newsarama has a peek at the first piece of art from Bagley’s new, mystery project.

The ‘Rama crew also reposted the following excerpt from a Bagley interview last month that, they believe, sheds some light on the secret project:

"…my old buddy Kurt Busiek and I are together again for what looks like a really great project. I’m also really happy that Art Thibert will be inking me . He did a bang-up job when he and I worked together on Ultimate Spider-Man. I just got back from a three-day creative meet with Dan DiDio, Mike Carlin, Liz Gehrlien, Kurt, and Ian Sattler. It went great—they’re a bunch of great people with a real passion for what they do."

 

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