The Mix : What are people talking about today?

2015 Eisner Award nominations

  • News
  • April 24, 2015

eisnerawards_logo_2-5040628Comic-Con International has announced the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for 2015. The nominees, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, highlight the wide range of material being published in comics and graphic novel form today, from companies big and small, in print and on line. The awards will be given out during a gala ceremony on Friday, July 10 during Comic-Con International: San Diego.

Best Short Story

“Beginning’s End,” by Rina Ayuyang, muthamagazine.com
“Corpse on the Imjin!” by Peter Kuper, in Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World (Simon & Schuster)
“Rule Number One,” by Lee Bermejo, in Batman Black and White #3 (DC)
“The Sound of One Hand Clapping,” by Max Landis & Jock, in Adventures of Superman #14 (DC)
“When the Darkness Presses,” by Emily Carroll, http://emcarroll.com/comics/darkness/

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)

Astro City #16: “Wish I May” by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (Vertigo/DC)
Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, by Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
Madman in Your Face 3D Special, by Mike Allred (Image)
Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration #1 (Marvel)
The Multiversity: Pax Americana #1, by Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely (DC)

Best Continuing Series

Astro City, by Kurt Busiek & Brent Anderson (Vertigo)
Bandette, by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain)
Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction, David Aja, & Annie Wu (Marvel)
Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (Image)
Southern Bastards, by Jason Aaron & Jason Latour (Image)
The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, & Stefano Gaudiano (Image/Skybound)

Best Limited Series

Daredevil: Road Warrior, by Mark Waid & Peter Krause (Marvel Infinite Comics)
Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, by Eric Shanower & Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
The Multiversity, by Grant Morrison et al. (DC)
The Private Eye, by Brian K. Vaughan & Marcos Martin (Panel Syndicate)
The Sandman: Overture, by Neil Gaiman & J. H. Williams III (Vertigo/DC)

Best New Series

The Fade Out, by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips (Image)
Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)
Ms. Marvel, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (Marvel)
Rocket Raccoon, by Skottie Young (Marvel)
The Wicked + The Divine, by Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)

BirdCatDog, by Lee Nordling & Meritxell Bosch (Lerner/Graphic Universe)
A Cat Named Tim And Other Stories, by John Martz (Koyama Press)
Hello Kitty, Hello 40: A Celebration in 40 Stories, edited by Traci N. Todd & Elizabeth Kawasaki (VIZ)
Mermin, Book 3: Deep Dives, by Joey Weiser (Oni)
The Zoo Box, by Ariel Cohn & Aron Nels Steinke (First Second)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)

Batman Li’l Gotham, vol. 2, by Derek Fridolfs & Dustin Nguyen (DC)
El Deafo, by Cece Bell (Amulet/Abrams)
I Was the Cat, by Paul Tobin & Benjamin Dewey (Oni)
Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, by Eric Shanower & Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Tiny Titans: Return to the Treehouse, by Art Baltazar & Franco (DC)

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17)

Doomboy, by Tony Sandoval (Magnetic Press)
The Dumbest Idea Ever, by Jimmy Gownley (Graphix/Scholastic)
Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)
Meteor Men, by Jeff Parker & Sandy Jarrell (Oni)
The Shadow Hero, by Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew (First Second)
The Wrenchies, by Farel Dalrymple (First Second)

Best Humor Publication

The Complete Cul de Sac, by Richard Thompson (Andrews McMeel)
Dog Butts and Love. And Stuff Like That. And Cats. by Jim Benton (NBM)
Groo vs. Conan, by Sergio Aragonés, Mark Evanier, & Tom Yeates (Dark Horse)
Rocket Raccoon, by Skottie Young (Marvel)
Superior Foes of Spider-Man, by Nick Spencer & Steve Lieber (Marvel)

Best Digital/Web Comic

Bandette, by Paul Tobin & Colleen Coover, Monkeybrain/comiXology.com
Failing Sky by Dax Tran-Caffee, http://failingsky.com
The Last Mechanical Monster, by Brian Fies, http://lastmechanicalmonster.blogspot.com
Nimona, by Noelle Stephenson, http://gingerhaze.com/nimona/comic
The Private Eye by Brian Vaughan & Marcos Martin http://panelsyndicate.com/

Best Anthology

In the Dark: A Horror Anthology, edited by Rachel Deering (Tiny Behemoth Press/IDW)
Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, edited by Josh O’Neill, Andrew Carl, & Chris Stevens (Locust Moon)
Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It, edited by Anne Ishii, Chip Kidd, & Graham Kolbeins (Fantagraphics)
Masterful Marks: Cartoonists Who Changed the World, edited by Monte Beauchamp (Simon & Schuster)
To End All Wars: The Graphic Anthology of The First World War, edited by Jonathan Clode & John Stuart Clark (Soaring Penguin)

Best Reality-Based Work

Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast (Bloomsbury)
Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories, by MariNaomi (2d Cloud/Uncivilized Books)
El Deafo, by Cece Bell (Amulet/Abrams)
Hip Hop Family Tree, vol. 2, by Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)
Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood, by Nathan Hale (Abrams)
To End All Wars: The Graphic Anthology of The First World War, edited by Jonathan Clode & John Stuart Clark (Soaring Penguin)

Best Graphic Album—New

The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil, by Stephen Collins (Picador)
Here, by Richard McGuire (Pantheon)
Kill My Mother, by Jules Feiffer (Liveright)
The Motherless Oven, by Rob Davis (SelfMadeHero)
Seconds, by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Ballantine Books)
This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki (First Second)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

Dave Dorman’s Wasted Lands Omnibus (Magnetic Press)
How to Be Happy, by Eleanor Davis (Fantagraphics)
Jim, by Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics)
Sock Monkey Treasury, by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics)
Through the Woods, by Emily Carroll (McElderry Books)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips (at least 20 years old)

Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo, edited by Alexander Braun (TASCHEN)
Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Tarzan: The Sunday Comics, 1933–1935, by Hal Foster, edited by Brendan Wright (Dark Horse)
Moomin: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition, by Tove Jansson, edited by Tom Devlin (Drawn & Quarterly)
Pogo, vol. 3: Evidence to the Contrary, by Walt Kelly, edited by Carolyn Kelly & Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics)
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse, vols. 5-6, by Floyd Gottfredson, edited by David Gerstein & Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books (at least 20 Years Old)

The Complete ZAP Comix Box Set, edited by Gary Groth, with Mike Catron (Fantagraphics)
Steranko Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist’s Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: Trail of the Unicorn, by Carl Barks, edited by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
Walt Disney’s Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck: The Son of the Son, by Don Rosa, edited by David Gerstein (Fantagraphics)
Walt Kelly’s Pogo: The Complete Dell Comics, vols. 1–2, edited by Daniel Herman (Hermes)
Witzend, by Wallace Wood et al., edited by Gary Groth, with Mike Catron (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

Beautiful Darkness, by Fabien Vehlmann & Kerascoët (Drawn & Quarterly)
Blacksad: Amarillo, by Juan Díaz Canales & Juanjo Guarnido (Dark Horse)
Corto Maltese: Under the Sign of Capricorn, by Hugo Pratt (IDW/Euro Comics)
Jaybird, by Lauri & Jaakko Ahonen (Dark Horse/SAF)
The Leaning Girl, by Benoît Peeters & François Schuiten (Alaxis Press)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

All You Need Is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, Ryosuke Takeuchi, Takeshi Obata & yoshitoshi ABe (VIZ)
In Clothes Called Fat, by Moyoco Anno (Vertical)
Master Keaton, vol 1, by Naoki Urasawa, Hokusei Katsushika, & Takashi Nagasaki (VIZ)
One-Punch Man, by One & Yusuke Murata (VIZ)
Showa 1939–1944 and Showa 1944–1953: A History of Japan, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki, by Mamoru Hosada & Yu (Yen Press)

Best Writer

Jason Aaron, Original Sin, Thor, Men of Wrath (Marvel); Southern Bastards (Image)
Kelly Sue DeConnick, Captain Marvel (Marvel); Pretty Deadly (Image)
Grant Morrison, The Multiversity (DC); Annihilator (Legendary Comics)
Brian K. Vaughan, Saga (Image); Private Eye (Panel Syndicate)
G. Willow Wilson, Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
Gene Luen Yang, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Dark Horse); The Shadow Hero (First Second)

Best Writer/Artist

Sergio Aragonés, Sergio Aragonés Funnies (Bongo); Groo vs. Conan (Dark Horse)
Charles Burns, Sugar Skull (Pantheon)
Stephen Collins, The Giant Beard That Was Evil (Picador)
Richard McGuire, Here (Pantheon)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist (Dark Horse)
Raina Telgemeier, Sisters (Graphix/Scholastic)

Best Penciller/Inker

Adrian Alphona, Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
Mike Allred, Silver Surfer (Marvel); Madman in Your Face 3D Special (Image)
Frank Quitely, Multiversity (DC)
François Schuiten, The Leaning Girl (Alaxis Press)
Fiona Staples, Saga (Image)
Babs Tarr, Batgirl (DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)

Lauri & Jaakko Ahonen, Jaybird (Dark Horse)
Colleen Coover, Bandette (Monkeybrain)
Mike Del Mundo, Elektra (Marvel)
Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad: Amarillo (Dark Horse)
J. H. Williams III, The Sandman: Overture (Vertigo/DC)

Best Cover Artist

Darwyn Cooke, DC Comics Darwyn Cooke Month Variant Covers (DC)
Mike Del Mundo, Elektra, X-Men: Legacy, A+X, Dexter, Dexter Down Under (Marvel)
Francesco Francavilla, Afterlife with Archie (Archie); Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight (Dark Horse); The Twilight Zone, Django/Zorro (Dynamite); X-Files (IDW)
Jamie McKelvie/Matthew Wilson, The Wicked + The Divine (Image); Ms. Marvel (Marvel)
Phil Noto, Black Widow (Marvel)
Alex Ross, Astro City (Vertigo/DC); Batman 66: The Lost Episode, Batman 66 Meets Green Hornet (DC/Dynamite)

Best Coloring

Laura Allred, Silver Surfer (Marvel); Madman in Your Face 3D Special (Image)
Nelson Daniel, Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, Judge Dredd, Wild Blue Yonder (IDW)
Lovern Kindzierski, The Graveyard Book, vols. 1-2 (Harper)
Matthew Petz, The Leg (Blue Creek Creative/Top Shelf)
Dave Stewart, Hellboy in Hell, BPRD, Abe Sapien, Baltimore, Lobster Johnson, Witchfinder, Shaolin Cowboy, Aliens: Fire and Stone, DHP (Dark Horse)
Matthew Wilson, Adventures of Superman (DC); The Wicked + The Divine (Image), Daredevil, Thor (Marvel)

Best Lettering

Joe Caramagna, Ms. Marvel, Daredevil (Marvel)
Todd Klein, Fables, The Sandman: Overture, The Unwritten (Vertigo/DC); Nemo: The Roses of Berlin (Top Shelf)
Max, Vapor (Fantagraphics)
Jack Morelli, Afterlife with Archie, Archie, Betty and Veronica, etc. (Archie)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Senso, Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist (Dark Horse)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
Comic Book Creator, edited by Jon B. Cooke (TwoMorrows)
Comic Book Resources, edited by Jonah Weiland, www.comicbookresources.com (link is external)
Comics Alliance, edited by Andy Khouri, Caleb Goellner, Andrew Wheeler, & Joe Hughes, www.comicsalliance.com (link is external)
tcj.com, (link is external) edited by Dan Nadel & Timothy Hodler (Fantagraphics)

Best Comics-Related Book

Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas (4 vols.), edited by M. Keith Booker (ABC-CLIO)
Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton, by Greg Sadowski (Fantagraphics)
Genius Animated: The Cartoon Art of Alex Toth, vol. 3, by Dean Mullaney & Bruce Canwell (IDW/LOAC)
What Fools These Mortals Be: The Story of Puck, by Michael Alexander Kahn & Richard Samuel West (IDW/LOAC)
75 Years of Marvel Comics: From the Golden Age to the Silver Screen, by Roy Thomas & Josh Baker (TASCHEN)

Best Scholarly/Academic Work

American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion: The Superhero Afterlife, by A. David Lewis (Palgrave Macmillan)
Considering Watchmen: Poetics, Property, Politics, by Andrew Hoberek (Rutgers University Press)
Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books, by Michael Barrier (University of California Press)
Graphic Details: Jewish Women’s Confessional Comics in Essays and Interviews, edited by Sarah Lightman (McFarland)
The Origins of Comics: From William Hogarth to Winsor McCay, by Thierry Smolderen, tr. by Bart Beaty & Nick Nguyen (University Press of Mississippi)
Wide Awake in Slumberland: Fantasy, Mass Culture, and Modernism in the Art of Winsor McCay, by Katherine Roeder (University Press of Mississippi)

Best Publication Design

Batman: Kelley Jones Gallery Edition, designed by Josh Beatman/Brainchild Studios (Graphitti/DC)
The Complete ZAP Comix Box Set, designed by Tony Ong (Fantagraphics)
Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, designed by Jim Rugg (Locust Moon)
Street View, designed by Pascal Rabate (NBM/Comics Lit)
Winsor McCay’s Complete Little Nemo, designed by Anna Tina Kessler (TASCHEN)

(more…)

The Law Is A Ass

BOB INGERSOLL: The Law Is A Ass #354: BATMAN’S NO LONGER A FIDUCIARY BAG

tumblr_lf0ctliupc1qfqksuo1_r1_1280-7167229At first he wasn’t a thief. Then he was. Now he isn’t again thanks to Batman, Incorporated.

Last week I wrote that every time Batman appropriated prototypes from Wayne Enterprises  projects and adapted them into Bat-tools, he was stealing from the shareholders of Wayne Enterprises. I’m happy to report that as of Batman and Robin v 1 16 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_and_Robin_Vol_1_16, he stopped being a thief.

In that landmark issue, Bruce Wayne publicly admitted that he had been secretly bankrolling Batman’s operations for years. Then Bruce announced his new initiative; Batman, Incorporated.

Batman, Incorporated is an international organization in which Batman franchised out his brand to crime fighters all over the world. He engaged surrogates in locations as diverse and wide-spread as England, Argentina, Africa, Hong Kong, Australia, Paris, and Japan. Even that far-off and exotic land of South Dakota. Batman, Inc., also included Nightwing, Red Robin, Robin, Batgirl, Frank, Dino, and Sammy. You know, the Bat Pack. Batman, Inc. is fully funded by Wayne Enterprises. According to the DC Comics online database, it’s even part of Wayne Enterprises’s security personnel.

Once Wayne Enterprises started funding Batman’s mission publicly, Bruce stopped being a thief. He was no longer secretly taking property from Wayne Enterprises and converting it to Batman’s private use. Instead he was publicly taking property from Wayne Enterprises and converting it to Batman’s public use. And as Emily Litella was wont to say, “That’s very different.”

Okay, so Bruce isn’t stealing from Wayne Enterprises, but how does Bruce justify Batman, Inc. to the Wayne Enterprise shareholders? Even if it’s not stealing to have Wayne Enterprises give equipment to Batman, it would seem a waste of company resources. Shareholders not only have a property right not to have corporate assets stolen, they also have a right not to have corporate assets squandered. Bruce’s fiduciary duties to the shareholders includes not squandering Wayne Enterprises assets. Like Kim Kardashian, Wayne Enterprises has to keep its bottom line well-rounded.

So exactly how did Bruce Wayne sell the concept of funding Batman, Inc. to the shareholders? I’m not sure, actually. There are a few ways he could have justified funding Batman, Inc. and I don’t know exactly which one he actually used.

The first, and easiest, justification would be that Batman, Inc. was paying Wayne Enterprises for the equipment, just as a local police force purchases Chargers to be patrol cars and pays Dodge for the cars. That way the shareholders are happy because Wayne Enterprises, thus they, make money by backing Batman, Inc.

I said that’s the simplest and easiest justification. I doubt that’s the one being used. There’s no indication that Batman, Inc. has any sort of income or revenue stream which could generate the monies necessary to pay for all the stuff and services it was getting from Wayne Enterprises. I’ve certainly never read about Batman, Inc. setting up its own system of online currency, the Batcoin. So let’s cross off the possibility that Batman, Inc. is paying Wayne Enterprises and look at the next method of mollification that Bruce could use.

If Bruce set up Batman, Inc. to be a 501(c)(3) organization, that could keep the shareholders happy. Section 5019(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is the code provision which establishes certain not-for-profit organizations as being tax-exempt. The section also provides that any gift made to a 501(c)(3) organization is deductible from one’s income taxes.

Section 501(c)(3) has a list of some of the functions that organizations can perform to qualify as charitable organizations. Among them are, preventing cruelty to children, lessening the burdens of government, and combating community deterioration and juvenile delinquency. As a crime-fighting organization, Batman, Inc. does any of those.

If Batman, Inc. were a 501(c)(3) – or other charitable organization – Wayne Enterprises could take a tax deduction for all the goods and services it provided to Batman, Inc. and lower its tax burden. If it’s paying less taxes, then its profits are higher, which satisfies the shareholders. You don’t have to be a member of TEA Party to know that less taxes makes people happy.

But what if Batman, Inc. weren’t a charitable organization? There’s still another justification that Bruce could use for funding Batman, Inc. Bruce could point out that by funding Batman, Inc., Wayne Enterprises was helping to lower crime and making the world a safer place. That would generate enormous good will for the company and make the world think of it as a benign corporation that was doing good work. When a company is perceived in such positive ways, people are more likely to do business with it. So by doing good work through funding Batman, Inc., Wayne Enterprises could increase its business and, thus, its profits. This is why some corporations do things such as donate body armor or body cameras to police forces. For the good will it engenders.

Even if there wasn’t any good will involved, Bruce could argue that by funding Batman, Inc. he’s making Gotham City and the world a safer place. That benefits the shareholders, because it means they’re not as likely to get robbed. And it benefits Wayne Enterprises financially, because it’s not as likely to get robbed, either. As someone who has been robbed at gunpoint, I can tell you from experience; not being robbed makes you happier than being robbed does.

Those are among the emotionally satisfying ways that Bruce could justify funding Batman, Inc. to the Wayne Enterprises shareholders. The feel-good justifications. There’s one more which is every bit as practical, just not as touchy-feely. Remember, Wayne Enterprises hired Batman, Inc. as part of its security force. If a corporation is going to hire security personnel, it’s got to supply them with uniforms and equipment, doesn’t it? You can’t have your night watchmen running around naked and without flashlights. How would you make a successful movie franchises about museum guards or mall cops, if they had rampant nudity and were rated X?

So there you have it. Batman’s fixed. He’s back to the way he started out so he’s not a thief anymore. Now if we could only do something about getting him back to being the other way he used to be when he started out. You know, just being neurotic instead of psychotic.

Martha Thomases: Tim McGraw, Frank Cho, Sex and Guns

spider-gwen-5563969It’s going to take me a bit to get to comics this week, so please bear with me. We have a lot of outrage to get through first.

Recently, country singer Tim McGraw decided that, when he was in Hartford, Connecticut on his national tour, he would do a benefit concert for the charity Sandy Hook Promise. This organization was started after the shootings at the Sandy Hook elementary school and describes their mission thusly:

“1) Protect children from gun violence so no other parent experiences the loss of their child by engaging and empowering parents and communities with targeted prevention programs in the areas of mental wellness early-identification & intervention, social & emotional development and firearm safety & security.

“2) Help our community through this tragedy by providing resources and programs that foster connection, resiliency and overall wellness.”

Naturally, all hell broke lose.

By volunteering to do a benefit concert for an organization dedicated to protecting children from gun violence, Tim McGraw had, according to the haters, betrayed country music. In order to be a true country music artist, they seemed to say, McGraw had to love guns, cowboy hats, hunting, and vote Republican. McGraw, a self-confessed Democrat, had revealed himself to be an apostate.

(I wouldn’t know about these standards, because this and this and this and this are the kinds of country music I like.)

Country music fans are funny like that. A decade ago, when the Dixie Chicks criticized George W. Bush and the build-up to the Iraq War at a concert in England, they were banned – by programmers, not the government – from country radio. Some pro-war people burned their CDs in public.

As a leftie, there are creative people who have political opinions with which I disagree. Sometimes, that is enough to make me question their art (Andrew Dice Clay) and sometimes I continue to like their work anyway, but with reservations (Mel Gibson). Sometimes I never liked their work in the first place (Ted Nugent) so not liking their opinions has no effect on my life.

Never have I wanted to ban them. Never have I burned their products in the public square. If it comes up in conversation, I am not shy about expressing my opinion. I might even join a demonstration, but to protest those opinions with which I disagree, not their attempts to earn a living.

We seem to confuse those two things.

Which brings us to comics. Finally.

Artist Frank Cho recently drew his riff on the Spider-Woman cover controversy on a comic book with a blank cover. He did not do this for Marvel, nor did he make a poster and try to sell it. He did, however, post the image online.

And then the Internet happened.

I haven’t read all the commentary because, well, it upsets my stomach. There are people (often but not exclusively women) who don’t like the image and have said so. There are people (often but not exclusively men) who liked it a lot and don’t like it when other people say they don’t like it. There may or may not be people who wanted to ban the image, but, to be honest, I just can’t.

Look, if you put an image on the Internet or any public forum, you are asking for a reaction to said image. If you’re lucky, you will be met with universal acclaim. That happens so rarely that you shouldn’t expect it.

The next best thing is that some people will like it and some people won’t, and those who don’t will write something thoughtful that is useful to you and your work.

Again, that doesn’t happen much, because of said Internet.

Speaking only for myself, I don’t find Cho’s drawing interesting, nor do I think the point he seems to be trying to make is very compelling. I would say the whole thing is a sophomoric attempt to shock using boobies (BOOBIES!) except it isn’t funny and my hero, Michael O’Donahue, once said that “sophomoric is liberal code for funny.”

However …

Cho drew the picture for his own amusement. If he is amused, that’s fine. That’s all he wanted to accomplish. If he wants my opinion, it is here for him. He is welcome to be unamused by my opinion, and that is the risk I take for putting it out here.

Now, if Marvel had commissioned and published that image, that would be a different thing. Then we could discuss the editorial perspective, the marketing issues, and what Marvel was trying to say about the audience it wanted to reach. This isn’t the Spider-Woman cover, but Cho’s personal riff on the Spider-Woman cover.

You, Constant Reader, have every right to let Cho know what you thought of his effort. He put it out there. I would urge you to keep your criticism (if you have criticism) to the subject at hand, and not blow it up into an Indictment of All Society.

In any case, whatever point he was trying to make seems to have been missed by his own statements. The good news (go, read the link, it will make you feel good) is that, in an attempt to clarify his point, he sold the drawing and gave the money to a domestic violence shelter.

I would say we can all agree that’s a good thing, but, it’s the Internet. I don’t think we can all agree it’s Friday.

 

Tweeks: WonderCon 2015 Haul Part Deux!

This week we bring you the second half of our WonderCon Anaheim Haul! Most importantly we review two new Tweeks-Approved comics for kids…and yes, we guess, even adults.  Both are very different, though they both have monsters.  In William Lykke’s Death-Danger Scooter Girl, Number 1 there a bikini-wearing goddess and her monster husbands and half-monster babies and lots of driving around on a scooter.  While in  Top Shelf’s Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell, we have depressed monster, the village who needs him to terrorize them, and an unlikely doctor and stowaway newsboy who are sent to fix the problem. 

As as a special treat, you also get to hear Maddy’s weird sneeze and find out which other Top Shelf comics we love.

Dennis O’Neil: Small Scientists In Big Packages

Glad tidings for all you superhero fans out there. A new Atom! And this one didn’t debut in the pages of a comic book, as his predecessors did. No, he sort of snuck in to the zeitgeist through whatever portal is reserved for television-spawned characters. If he eventually does appear in the comics, it’ll be a reversal of the usual procedure of going from comics to other media.

Since you’re reading this no earlier than Thursday morning (unless you’re a ComicMix staffer) you may have already seen him on Wednesday night’s episode of Arrow, where I’m sure he’ll put in an appearance. Fact is, if you’re a fan of that show, you’ve already seen him. He’s been on the set for a while now, introduced in the same way as Arrow’s people introduced The Flash last year. At first he was just a part of the storyline and only gradually did it become obvious that he had a larger destiny. (Introducing a character in a show other than the one said character will star in is an old television trick. There’s even a name for it: back door pilot.)

So, what about this new Atom? Take a look at him. Compare him to the first Atom, introduced in 1940. Anything familiar? Certainly not the costume. How about his superpowers? Hah – trick question. The first Atom didn’t have any powers. Costume: yes. Powers: no. He was a college student and later a scientist named Al Pratt and he was small and tough and… that’s it. Didn’t keep him from joining the Justice Society and share meeting with Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern – the biggies. Weep not for Al, because he did eventually gain super strength.

I wonder about the no-powers business. I mean, why? Well, the superhero game was brand new in 1940, maybe not well understood. Could the first Atom’s creators thought that the suit was the important thing?

Anyway, that was the first Atom. The second was a big improvement on ol’ Al Pratt. This was Ray Palmer, another, yes, scientist who, after exposure to a fragment of a white dwarf star, devised a gadget that allowed him to shrink way, way down, to sub atomic size if he so chose. That may not have been the most spectacular superpower in the paantheon, but it at least justified the “Atom” sobriquet. (Did anyone call him “the swatable super guy”? Probably not.)

And after Ray Palmer, the deluge. Five more Atoms, not counting the one who currently graces your video screen – another Ray Palmer who is a, you guessed it, scientist. Costume? Powers? That’s where this Atom differs from the rest. His powers are his costume, an exoskeleton that allows him to fly and be strong and maybe other nifty stuff to come. It’s not a new idea – you might know that there’s a Marvel dude with a similar rig – but, as we’ve observed before, nothing is really new. It’s always the recipe, never the ingredients.

But I wonder why they decided to call him The Atom. There was some mention of nanotechnology in the dialogue, but it didn’t, and doesn’t, seem important to the character.

Maybe Al Pratt could tell us.

Molly Jackson: Dark and Seedy Side of the Con

dark-and-seedy-side-1853260This past weekend was Star Wars Celebration. With the trailer released and more movie details announced, there was certainly enough to celebrate. However, just like at every con (unfortunately), a story emerged of a cosplayer being inappropriately touched and harassed.

You can read the full account of what happened here but, sadly, this isn’t new. Cosplayers get harassed at conventions all the time. It’s something that I have never understood, especially for a group of people who literally hero-worship. The instigators in this particular case were dressed as Jedi. That’s how guys who revere “guardians of peace and justice” decide to act? Have they learned nothing from the story they supposedly love?

Cosplay Is NOT Consent. That’s it. It’s that simple. We go to comic cons to celebrate superheroes and the fight of good vs. evil. How can we let this go on?

This is a call to action for every convention attendee. Conventions are working on the problem but they need help. We can’t leave this only to convention signs and security guards. We need to look out for each other. If you see someone being assaulted in any way, step up. Say something. Be the one who says stop. If it’s your friend, put an end to them harassing cosplayers. Make sure they understand how disrespectful it is to grope or harass a cosplayer. If they get angry at you, maybe all that proves is they might not be the kind of person you want to hang with.

To be clear, I am not advocating violence. If the situation looks to be going that way, get convention staff and security involved ASAP. However, most of the time, calling a person out makes them feel ashamed enough to stop. It’s time we started acting like the superheroes we read about.

Comics conventions are about having fun while immersing yourself in geek culture. This dark and seedy side of cons needs to end. Let’s work together to make comic cons safe for everyone.

 

Mike Gold: Forward, Into The Past!

Regular readers of this space know my first true love is the city of Chicago, and that I’ll use any excuse to cop a visit to my fatherland. That’s where I was this past week, and I did not need an excuse. The 15th annual Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention was in town, and, therefore, so was I.

It’s a great chance to meet up with old friends and make a couple new ones, all the while gawking at ancient publications printed on ever-deteriorating paper, more permanent facsimile reprints of same, and brand new efforts that replicate the mood, techniques and often the characters of those thrilling days of yesteryear. As my pal Jim Wisniewski says, the comradery echoes the days when comic book conventions were social occasions accessible to all… and were actually about comic books.

pulp-cover-5For the few of you who may be unaware – and who have yet to obtain the first volume of Jim Steranko’s History of Comics – comic books characters and comic book publishers got their start in those sense-of-wonder inspiring lurid tales of adventure. The Shadow, Doc Savage, John Carter of Mars, Nick Carter and The Spider, among many others, begat super-hero comics. Archie, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics, among many others that did not survive Fredric Wertham et al, got their start by publishing pulp magazines. It’s our roots.

And it’s slipping away. Paper was not meant to last forever, and pulpwood paper wasn’t meant to survive more than a month. That’s why I am so supportive of all the reprint projects. Yes, one man – another old pal, Anthony Tollin – has the lion’s share of the most popular characters but he is hardly alone in these endeavors. He’s already reprinted half of all The Shadow stories.

I am equally amazed and pleased to see so many small-press publishers (defining “small-press” as, say, not as large as Abrams and Simon and Shuster and their pals) doing “new pulp.” This is exactly what it sounds like: new stories written in the style of the classic pulps. Many of the new pulp authors are comic book veterans: Chuck Dixon, Martin Powell, CJ Henderson, Ron Fortier, John Ostrander, Paul Kupperberg, Will Murray, David Michelinie, Rob Davis… the list is as long as the long arm of the law. And it appears that I’ll be joining that stalwart group.

JimWiz laments the days when conventions were social occasions, and he’s most certainly not alone. Way back in those days, comics fans enjoyed more than comics, television and new movies. We enjoyed the pulps, sure, and we enjoyed newspaper comic strips, science fiction, mysteries, dramatic radio, illustration art… all kinds of stuff. We had a well-rounded education in America’s popular culture.

I’m not saying today’s comics fans avoid these important and closely related media, but you can’t ascertain their interest from going to shows such as this weekend’s C2E2 or the New York Comicon or the San Diego Comic-Con. Indeed, if you walk around these megashows and their ilk, you’d have a hard time ascertaining the level of interest in comic books. These shows have very little to do with comic books per se, and some of these convention organizers (note I said “some” and not “all”) clearly could not care less.

So when I go to shows such as the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention – and there are many others; check out Pulp Coming Attractions for all the news in the pulp world, including these shows.

This stuff has little to do with nostalgia. It’s all about our cultural heritage.

And the folks doing the new stuff, the reprints, and the conventions are true cultural warriors.

 

 

The Point Radio: Playing The IDIOTEST And ????

The highly rated series, IDIOTEST, is back for a second season on the Game Show Network. Host Ben Gleib let’s us prove just how bright we are by playing an (unedited) round here plus meet the man that put the first Nike shoe on a big name NBA plater and started a 13 billion dollar a year phenomenon. Meet Sonny Vaccaro, subject of a new ESPN documentary.

NBC is setting up another prime time cross over event and we talk to the shows that will tie it all together.  Be sure to follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

REVIEW: Batman vs. Robin

Batman vs Robin 3D box artThe notion of a hero having to deal with the son he never anticipated is certainly an interesting one especially with the added twist that the boy is already 10 and has been trained to be the ultimate assassin and future leader of a global terrorist organization. When Grant Morrison retconned Mike W/ Barr’s Son of the Demon graphic into the core DC Universe continuity, it had the virtue of freshness with a touch of audacity. He got far more interesting mileage out of the addition of Damian Wayne to the story than I anticipated. The core elements of that arc have been nicely replicated in the latest direct-to-video release Batman vs. Robin out now from Warner Home Entertainment.

BvR-Talon and RobinThis 80-minute feature is a much stronger outing than the last few, with credit going to the decision to change writers from Heath Corson, whose efforts have been weak, to the far superior J.M. DeMatteis. I’ll stipulate that Marc and I are old pals but the adaptation is deserving of the praise regardless of who wrote it. Director Tony Oliva, who has also been involved in the previous misfires, is back and frankly, rises to the occasion by making the character bits as visually interesting as the action sequences. That said, they remain overblown including the climactic fight which is wrongheaded on many levels.

BvR-Bat-OwlPicking up where Son of Batman left off, Damian has come to live with Bruce (Jason O’Mara) in Wayne Manor and Batman is trying to instill a sense of morality in his latest Robin, lessons never quite taught by Damian’s grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul. Damian, for his part, is impatient at every turn and is increasingly annoyed that Bruce and Batman are holding him back. Complicating matters, Batman is now enmeshed in the latest schemes from the Court of Owls, the secret long-time hidden society of Gotham powerbrokers who unleash their fist of justice, (Jeremy Sisto), when they don’t get their way. To take down Batman, they decide to seduce Damian into siding with Talon.

BvR-NightwingDeMatteis’ script takes the broadest of strokes from Morrison’s stories and melds them nicely with Scott Snyder’s more interesting issues of Batman.  As a result, the story’s best moments can be directly traced to his work such as the constant contrasts between Batman/Robin, Bruce/Damian, Damian/Dick, Batman/Talon, and so on.

Although the story frequently wants that Damian is only 10, he continues to display skills, knowledge, and attitude way beyond that of any 10 year old I know. On the other hand, emotionally, he is fragile, jealous of Dick Grayson, annoyed at Ra’s and Talia for abandoning him, and pissed at Bruce for not treating him as a peer despite clearly not being ready.

BvR-Robin-TalonThe film is not perfect. The film opens with Damian having stolen the Batmobile to take down Winslow Schott, called the Dollmaker here, and not the Toyman – which makes no sense. Gotham has enough oddball villains, one drag one in from the Superman books and then make him look like Jason from Friday the 13th? Then we get to the major battle in the Batcave, which is far too easily breached. Nightwing is literally pinned from shoulder to legs by the Talons but shakes off the multiple wounds without leaving behind a drop of blood or appearing weakened. Similarly, Batman takes a beating in a museum and then in the Batcave, including what might appear to be a mortal gut wound, but moves around without wincing, bleeding, or weakening.  There seem to be an endless supply of resurrected Talons which beggars credulity. Oliva’s propensity for drawing out the action sequences needs to be reined in already.

toucan_wca2015_batmanvsrobin2The story avoids the death and resurrection of Damian (for now) with a far more satisfying conclusion where Damian wants to take control of his destiny, no longer a pawn between parents and their conflicting agendas.

The character designs are still annoying with overly angular faces and impossible muscled necks. Bruce isn’t handsome and dashing and the various Owls, when out of the mask, are uninspired. What’s interesting about Andrea Romano’s vocal casting is that by using Sisto as the surrogate father Talon, she cast an actor who has previously been the Dark Knight in New Frontier. Intentional or not it brings a new layer of complexity to the relationships.

batmanvrobin001fOverall, the Blu-ray experience is fine for most viewers. The colors are strong and the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track quality is just swell.

Warner has released this in a variety of formats with the combo pack containing the Blu-ray, DVD, and Ultraviolet digital copy. There’s even a gift pack complete with Batman figure. The Blu-ray edition has the usual assortment of special features starting with commentary from Creative Director of Animation Mike Carlin, director Oliva, and producer James Tucker. The three have worked on enough features together they have some interesting comments here, comfortably riffing off one another, and providing context for this outing.

Gotham City’s Secret: The Mythic Court of Owls (31 minutes) is a somewhat belabored look at Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s layering of the Court of Owls over the history of the New 52 Gotham City. Additionally commentary comes from DC Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras (who I guess read the stories), Oliva, Tucker, and author Phil Cousineau, who has the least relevant things to say and could have been entirely excised.

The same gang of creators return for The Talons of the Owls 14 minutes) which specifically looks at the Court’s one man army. One interesting take away from these two features is that Capullo’s art, seen on the large screen, is remarkably detailed.

Coming later this year is something complete different and we get a Sneak Peek: Justice League: Gods & Monsters (11 minutes). Considering this is Bruce Timm’s return to the DC heroes after a break, it’s impressive to see how fresh his thinking is for what is essentially an Elseworlds take on the Big Three and I admit to being suitably enticed.

The disc also contain four onus episodes from the DC Comics Vault: “The Color of Revenge!” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold, “Old Wounds” from Batman: The Animated Series, “Obsession” from Superman: The Animated Series, and “Auld Acquaintance” from Young Justice. And then we close out with Merrie Melodies: Super-Rabbit (8 minutes).

 

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks