The Mix : What are people talking about today?

Cowpuncher cartoonist J.R. Williams, by Michael H. Price

  • News
  • October 14, 2007

williams-jr-out-our-way-01-3997422Great cultures yield great artists, and I’m not talking necessarily about Ancient Rome or the Renaissance periods of either Italy or Harlem. The cowboy culture of the Southwestern Frontier has spawned its share of artistry, from poets and musicians to painters and, yes, cartoonists.

Conventional wisdom holds that Charles M. Russell (1864-1926), was the most gifted of the Western cartoonists. Russell’s illustrated correspondence, as preserved at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, helps to shore up this belief. But Russell’s leanings toward the presumably finer arts prevented him from pursuing cartooning as a career.

A near-contemporary of Russell’s, James R. Williams (1888-1957), took a different tack, becoming a working cartoonist who based a long-running daily newspaper feature upon his younger days as a ranchhand. (more…)

Meet the Real Mad Man

  • News
  • October 13, 2007

Pop culture in the 60s was made up of a lot of familiar faces, but few were as instantly recognizable or seen by so many as Alfred E. Neuman. Former Mad Magazine editor Al Feldstein reveals the secret origin of the "What Me Worry" guy. Plus…  we lay out some scoops on the new Tin Man mini series, Mike Hawthorne’s new web comics, how to get Devils Due titles on your phone and catch a live TV gig from Mama Cass.

PRESS THE BUTTON or we’ll give Alfred your sister’s cell phone number!

(We Could Be) Heroes: Top Ten Rock Songs About Superman, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • October 13, 2007

What does one hum on the way to the comic book store? If you’re a person of a certain age, with a certain history with certain illegal substances, you probably have a few songs about the original super-hero stuck in the part of your brain that should be storing French vocabulary words.

Even if you aren’t old, you probably listen to a few songs about super-heroes. The Marvel superhero movies have had fantastic soundtracks, even if most of the songs weren’t written specifically for the movies. The Prince Batman soundtrack is a winner (Vicki Vale!), and the Ramones did a fabulous cover of the cartoon Spider-Man theme.

And yet, the Man of Tomorrow is still the foremost inspiration for popular songs. From the alt-folkie to Eminem, there are Superman songs. Alas, some of the more hard-core take a rather literal approach to the term, “super-man” and imagine all kinds of sexual possibilities that seem to have nothing to do with Truth, Justice and the American Way (nor Kryptonian physiology, nor anything human – entertaining, though).

Here is my choice for the Top Ten songs about Superman: (more…)

Is Snappy Sammy Smoot The Real Fishhead?

  • News
  • October 12, 2007

Our pal and ComicMix columnist and Fishhead co-writer Michael H. Price sent me one of those "seperated at birth" things… sort of a crossover between his Fishhead and our first Munden’s Bar story, as produced by John Ostrander and Skip Williamson. The beauty on the left is called "Snappy Sammy Smoot," he’s a long-time hero of the underground comix, and is copyright 2007 Skip Williamson.

Check out both features – for free – right here at ComicMix. Just click the comics tab on the home page!

 

The Boys Goes To Star Trek

  • News
  • October 12, 2007

Variety reports that, among those cast in J. J. Abrams’ new Star Trek movie is Simon Pegg, star of Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. He’s slated to play Scotty, the role made famous by James Doohan. The same story says John Cho (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle) will be Sulu. The film is scheduled to go into production next month, with a Christmas 2008 release date.

(For those of you who don’t get the image at the right, Darick Robertson based the look of character Wee Hughie on Simon Pegg. So even if you haven’t seen Shawn of the Dead or Hot Fuzz or even that Doctor Who episode he did, you know what he looks like. Simon also did the introduction to The Boys trade paperback, and is a big comics fan.)

The Star Trek movie, co-starring Leonard Nimoy, has been fully cast with one important exception: the role of James T. Kirk. William Shatner holds out hope.

The rise of the Revolutionary Misfits!

  • News
  • October 12, 2007

Every once in a while we come across things on the interwebs we cannot begin to explain, we can only point at them and go, "Wow." We have effectively been stunned into silence by what we see, and can only share them with you.

In this spirit, we present to you… the Revolutionary Misfits! Thrill to the evil plans of Apathy Man! Chill to the exploits of Global Warming Man! Spill to the– oh, just look. I can’t even figure out where to start, other than here.

batmanbegins-3026568

O’Neil, Uslan, Foglios, DeFalco Go Public

  • News
  • October 12, 2007

batmanbegins-3026568People really are taking this comics stuff seriously. This Saturday, October 13, at 7 p.m. at the Montclair Art Museum as part of their "Reflecting Culture: The Evolution of American Comic Book Superheroes exhibition," there will be a lecture on "Superheroes and Society," moderated by Michael Uslan, executive producer of Batman and Batman Begins; with Danny Fingeroth, author of Superman On the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves; ComicMix columnist Dennis O’Neil, and Tom DeFalco, former editor in chief of Marvel Comics. $12 for memebers, $16 for non-members.

Meanwhile, the Association for Computing Machinery at the University of Illinois is hosting its 13th annual computing conference on October 12–14, with guests Phil and Kaja Foglio speaking on a panel entitled: "I can haz money now? Successfully Reengineering Traditional Comic Publishing For The Web," where they will be discussing, what else, Girl Genius.

Michael Davis: The Fanboy Guide to Girls • Part 2

  • News
  • October 12, 2007

527_4_0022-6169816Welcome to the first Fanboy Guide To Girls Dating Review And Quiz! Judging from the comments and dirty looks I’ve been getting since last week’s column I see that there is a need for this type of high quality help for many of our Fanboy Nation!

Fanboy Nation trademark and copyright Michael Davis. You never know when something will catch on!

So, young Fanboy, you have your sights set on a young lady. She’s cute and you are trying to work up the nerve ask her out. Great! So here is a step-by-step guide to get her to say YES and begin your loving relationship…with a girl!

Step 1: Say hello to the lady in question and after she says hello to you… leave! That’s right, just give a taste of your coolness and walk away. Chicks dig a man of mystery!

Step 2: A day or so later walk up to her again, look her in the eyes and say,  “I would like to have lunch with you.” Don’t forget to smile – unless you have gold teeth like those idiot rappers. When she says yes, you tell her where to meet you and walk away. If she says no, you calmly look at her and say “Oh I’m sorry I wasn’t talking to you.”

(more…)

Lead paint found in Marvel toys

  • News
  • October 11, 2007

curiousgeorge-8894088They’re finding it in everything, including Cub Scout badges, so why should Marvel be exempt? Via ICv2: Reuters is reporting that the non-profit Center for Environmental Health has detected levels of lead 10 times the legally allowed limit in a Curious George doll manufactured by Marvel (the old ToyBiz operation) and sold at Toys ‘R Us. Within hours of the announcement of the discovery of the lead-tainted toy, Marvel halted shipments of its Curious George toys from China and is pulling various samples from the factory for rush lead testing.

Marvel has not yet recalled the toys, but is working with CEH to determine the extent of the problem.

Big Broadcast: Return to Wonderland…

Being a successful indy comics publisher is tough today, but getting there is even tougher. Today The Big ComicMix Broadcast shares the story of Luke Smarto, creator of Fan Girl, who has created and published more titles than some of the "big" guys and is still reaching for that golden ring. Plus we tip you on a run of very limited Return To Wonderland variants from the UK, a source to download new versions of Candyland and Monopoly and news on more reworking of classic Jack Kirby artwork.

Stop staring at the girl on the cover and PRESS THE BUTTON!

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