Category: News

‘Secret Invasion’ So Far: The Main Story

  • News
  • September 22, 2008

So we’re more than half-way through Secret Invasion, the event that’s supposed to be the biggest thing to rock the Marvel Universe since Civil War, where the question was “whose side are you on?” Secret Invasion’s question is “who do you trust?”, which is almost the same question as Civil War’s but not as grammatically correct ( it’s "whom", people!) and concerns the revelation that several Skrulls (shape-shifting aliens who’ve had their asses kicked many times) have secretly been living among us for a while. This story is the brain-child of Brian Michael Bendis, who has been praised for his series Powers and his run on Ultimate Spider-Man and who has been writing New Avengers and Mighty Avengers since both titles were created.

This plot has been done before to lesser degrees. In the early 90s, the Fantastic Four discovered that the Human Torch’s wife had been impersonated by a Skrull since before they were even engaged. And a couple of years later, the X-Men found out that Wolverine had been replaced by a Skrull who then died because he didn’t know he didn’t have Wolvie’s powers too (idiot).

But there are three major elements that mark this particular invasion story as different from what we’ve seen in comic books a million times over. The first element is that what’s left of the Skrull Empire has now taken up religion. Their holy texts tell them that Earth is theirs by right and they have become quite creepy by habitually saying “He loves you” to everyone they attack. Secondly, they’ve learned how to infiltrate us in such a way that they are now beyond the detection of super-powers, magic and technology – very scary in this post-9/11 world. Finally, the Skrulls have finally figured out how to produce super-powers on a large scale. Where once the Super-Skrull and Power Skrull were unique, now there are thousands of Skrull warriors who have the combined powers of many different villains and heroes.

But how’s the execution? Well, in a nutshell, the main series started off very strong and has recently picked up steam again full force. Even when it was slow, it had some great scenes. But these are over-shadowed occasionally by pages of wasted space and repetitive recaps. And out of the eleven tie-in issues Bendis has written so far, eight of them can be ignored or have a smidge of substance that’s surrounded by filler pages.

But if you are one of those unfortunate souls who bought all the New Avengers and Mighty Avengers tie-ins and then realized you’d wasted over twenty bucks, don’t worry! Just do what I and my good friend Lisa McMullan did. With a little creativity, you can take those pages and make yourself a very smart looking jacket! Now you’re not a sucker, you are actually quite fashionable!

Don’t believe me? Just look at this photographic evidence, nay-sayer! All you need is scissors, tape and maybe an hour of free time.

And when people ask you "How did you think to make such a snazy and debonair sport coat?", you can simply say "I got the idea from those crazy guys at ComicMix and Alan ‘the Sizzler’ Kistler. He’s one nutty guy, that Sizzler."

Not a bad series, but I definitely have some criticisms. Hmmm? What’s that? You want more detail about what my problems are with the main series and the Bendis-written tie-ins? Not a problem, folks. That’s what I get paid for.

By the way, folks, if it pleases you, feel free to check out my old list of the Six Worst Moments in Skrull History! (more…)

‘Lost’ loses Emilie de Ravin

  • News
  • September 22, 2008

With so many questions looming about Lost’s impending fifth season, there’s at least one mystery that can be solved right now: we won’t be hearing a certain cry to "stay away from my bay-bay!"

At the Emmy awards last night, Entertainment Weekly‘s Michael Ausiello had the chance to interview actress Emilie de Ravin who plays young mother Claire Littleton on the hit island drama. Claire was last seen as hanging out with her spooky ghost father in Jacob’s cabin, leading many to theorize that Claire herself had sailed off to that big island in the sky. Now comes word from de Ravin herself that fans won’t be seeing Claire as a regular in the new season, starting in January, causing further speculation that the young Aussie is toast.

"I’ll miss everyone," de Ravin says of her departure, "but it’s also great for me, because I can go and work on some other things."

That doesn’t mean she’s walking off into the sunset completely. When asked if she’d be returning for the show’s final season, she answered a resounding "Yes."

While we’re in the process of bringing out our dead, now’s a good time to bring out our possibly living, too. Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin Soo Kwon on Lost, also spoke to Ausiello on the red carpet about his status on the show. He acknowledge that Jin’s fate was "up in the air" after potentially blowing up in last season’s finale (gee, ya think!?!) but he swore that "if you keep watching, you’ll be rewarded."

Pressed if he’d completed any actual filming on the show, Kim coyly replied, "I just came from Hawaii. One could interpret that as [a good sign]."

There you have it. One character lost, another one found, and the rest of us thoroughly on the brink of madness waiting for some frickin’ answers!

Paramount to Fund ‘Tintin’

  • News
  • September 22, 2008

tintin-2615020The saga of Tintin continues to unfold as it now appears that Paramount Pictures will cover the $130 budget for the Steven Spielberg/Peter Jackson Tintin movie. As reported at Deadline Hollywood, the deal calls for Paramount to produce the movie entirely on its own as long as the principals remain on budget. Filming remains on target to begin in October.

Concern remains that the popular European character has yet to penetrate the American consciousness despite previous attempts, which made Universal skittish over the price tag since it meant the film would have to gross in excess of $400 million to show a profit.  Without a huge American contribution, there was concern on this issue.

Meantime, this is only secondary to the split of DreamWorks from Paramount as they ally with India’s Reliance Media to once more become an independent production entity.  The messy breakup will take weeks to resolve all the details including which film properties will remain with DreamWorks and which will be retained by Paramount.  The studio is claiming rights to at least three Spielberg projects including the story of the Chicago Seven trial.

At present they have yet to sign a distribution deal for DW films but Universal remains the odd-on favorite with 20th-Century Fox also reported to be interested.
 

Willis Proposes via Comic

  • News
  • September 22, 2008

David Willis, author of Shortpacked! and Joyce and Walky proposed to Maggie Weidner, his girlfriend of four years, using not just a single strip, but a week-long storyline of Shortpacked! Weidner, also an artist accepted in comic form, which was promptly posted to the Shortpacked! news section.

Willis is a long-time webcomic artist, having started Roomies! in 1997, continued with the sequel strip It’s Walky from 1999 to 2005, and continued that with the pay-per-month subscription strip Joyce and Walky. Shortpacked!, a less drama-heavy strip premiered in 2005 and chronicles the misadventures of the employees of a toy store.

Willis isn’t the first webcomic artist to propose in his comic. Mike Krahulik (“Gabe”) of Penny Arcade started the trend in 1999. Greg Dean of Real Life Comics did it in 2005, though he had actually proposed the week before, and the comic follows the (often embellished) events of his life. Eric Burns, also known as the webcomic pundit Websnark gathered a collection of 17 webcomic artists to create his proposal comic for co-blogger Wednesday White. And this past June, Three Panel Soul artist Ian McConville programmed a video game to propose to his girlfriend with.

Congratulations to Willis and Weidner, we wish you many happy returns. That, and we’re thankful you didn’t propose via LOLCat.

I’ve Done Paul McCartney Wrong, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • September 22, 2008

Back in my DC Comics days, I was sitting in my office pretending to work when Mark Waid stuck his head in. “Hey, do you know when Paul McCartney wrote ‘Silly Love Songs?’” he asked.

“Pretty much his whole damn life,” I replied without looking up.

That about summed up my feelings about Paul McCartney. I was a John Lennon guy, although I’ve come around to really appreciating George Harrison’s stuff even more. He spoke softly but carried a big stick. “Taxman,” “Piggies…” great stuff.

I’ve had cause to reflect recently, and I think I’ve done Mr. McCartney wrong. He did this great song called “Give Ireland Back To The Irish,” which took a stand on the England / Ireland situation that one might expect from a guy named Mc-anything. And the BBC, owned by the British government, promptly banned it. So did Radio Luxembourg and ITV, effectively removing it from all venues of British broadcasting. His record label, EMI, said they wouldn’t release it. They wanted safe little silly love songs that said nothing and inspired no one but the vapid.

McCartney followed “Give Ireland Back To The Irish” with a reggae version of “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” It got lots of airplay.

So it is with this community. Comics creators used to work out of their need to earn a living. The pulps were dying, they couldn’t get work as illustrators (particularly if their last name sounded Jewish), newspapers started their half-century of death throes by slowly dropping continuity comic strips, the type that bring the readers back the next day to find out what happened. Writers and artists like to eat, sleep and reproduce, and therefore must earn a living. It was tough, particularly during the 50s when their efforts were equated with those of child molesters. Not to say that their heart wasn’t in their work; often it was, with some of the creators.

Today, creators have greater luxury. They have more options; they have a wider range of creative opportunities. They can work from the heart and pay the rent at the same time. Few will get rich, but, hey, that’s show business.

So when I fall across what, at first, might seem like a truly stupid idea for a comic book story, these days I think about all those silly love songs I so callously dismissed. We have a wide range of creative fare out in the comics medium these days, greater than we’ve ever seen in America. We don’t have to look at movies or television for legitimacy. We can look to the reviews in major publications, we can appreciate the fact that works in this medium are receiving serious, contemplated analysis and acceptance by the world at large.

We can make a statement when we want to, we can tell a rip-roaring story when we feel like it. And as readers we can enjoy a work that says something directly, indirectly, or just indulges in pure escapist fare. As Jules Feiffer said in his play Little Murders, that’s all right.

This is the golden age of comics, folks, where our choices can range from a reggae version of Mary Had A Little Lamb to something as bold and – to some – as offensive as Give Ireland Back To The Irish.

And don’t forget to support your favorite rabble-rouser.

Mike Gold is editor-in-chief of ComicMix.

Brian M. Thomsen dies

  • News
  • September 22, 2008

It is with great sadness that we have to report of the passing of Brian M. Thomsen, science fiction author and editor, perhaps best known to comics fans as the co-author of Julius Schwartz’s autobiography, Man of Two Worlds: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics.

Brian was an editor at Warner Books during the days of their SF imprint Questar, then an editor at TSR Books, and most recently at Tor Books. He wrote, edited, and contributed to dozens of books. He loved getting down into the pulp origins of the business, and also loved working with history, both straight and alternate.

He will be missed. We’ll post more details as we get them.

Fingeroth to Speak About Graphic Novels

  • News
  • September 22, 2008

rough-guide-to-gns-2255567Danny Fingeroth, best known today as editor of Write Now!, will be speaking on the topic of graphic novels at the Court street Barnes & Noble in Brooklyn on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.

Known for his superhero work, Fingeroth may seem like an unorthodox choice to write a guide to non-superhero, "literary" graphic novels such as Maus, Fun Home, etc. But that, he says, is the point. The world of the literary GN is unknown territory to many followers of superheroes. As  a result he wrote the Rough Guide to Graphic Novels, published recently by PenguinPutnam.

This is far from Fingeroth’s first boo, having previously authored Superman on the Couch and Disguised as Clark Kent.  Fingeroth was also previously Spider-Man Group Editor and a Marvel Comics writer.

In his Barnes & Noble presentation, Fingeroth will discuss the world of graphic novels and present his sure-to-be controversial favorites. Q & A and signing will follow, and perhaps a surprise or two will be in store.
 

‘Pushing Daisies’ Creator Wants A New Star Trek on TV

  • News
  • September 21, 2008

Trek castAny fan of the ABC series Pushing Daisies is probably aware that creator Bryan Fuller was also the creative mind behind both critically acclaimed, yet short-lived series Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me, but it is not as well known that Fuller is also a full-on Star Trek fan, and in fact has even written 21 episodes for the lore: 2 for Deep Space Nine and 19 for Voyager. Fuller recently sounded off on J.J. Abrams’ new Trek film and his interest on taking the helm for a modern interpretation of the 1960’s hit.

I would love to do another Star Trek series, one where you could go back to the spirit and color of the original Star Trek, because somehow, it got cold over the years. I love Next Generation, but it’s a little cooler and calmer than the ones from the ‘60s, which were so dynamic and passionate. Star Trek has to recreate itself. Otherwise, all the characters start to feel the same. You always have a captain, a doctor, a security officer, and you have the same arguments based on those perspectives. It starts to feel too familiar. So all those paradigms where it takes place on a starship have to be shaken up.

After leaving Voyager, fuller went on to create the aforementioned shows, and also writing for a little show called Heroes. You can check out the full interview over here and fans of Fuller may have to wait to see how the film treats it’s legion of Trekkies before we see a televised revamp.

But until then, you can still enjoy his pie-making necromancer in Pushing Daisies returning to ABC on October 1st.
 

Why Write Games?

  • News
  • September 21, 2008

gamemastering-secrets-2nd-edition-5112406I’m a writer. It’s what I do. More than that, though, it’s who I am. I can’t not write—I actually get something similar to withdrawal symptoms if I go too long without writing. Writing is an essential part of my nature.

So what do I write? Almost anything, really. I’ve written over a dozen novels in the past seven years. I’ve written over a dozen educational books as well. I’ve written articles, essays, reviews, and children’s books. But the thing I’ve written the most? The one area I’ve been writing—and publishing—in continuously since 1992?

Roleplaying games.

“Why?” is what most people ask when they hear that. “Why roleplaying games?” Okay, except for other gamers, whose response is usually, “Cool!” But that’s only because they already understand.

So why do I write roleplaying games?

Is it because they pay so incredibly well? Hardly! Sadly, the RPG industry is tiny when compared to almost any other form of entertainment media, and it pays accordingly. Most RPG writers could make more money working entry-level jobs. Most also have other jobs in order to make ends meet. I was lucky enough to support myself for several years with my RPG writing, but that’s because I was writing A LOT and writing all the time.

Okay, so it’s not the vast fortune, then. Perhaps it’s the fame and the glory?
 (more…)

Frank Miller Quits Comics Forever! Really?

  • News
  • September 21, 2008

Frank Miller was recently out in Rome promoting this winter’s upcoming travesty/movie The Spirit with a few clips and a Q&A (in Italian!). Most of the clips shown seemed boring and confusing, much like the trailer (all except a gratuitous Eva Mendes butt-shot), but the more interesting part is how Miller explained to the press that he has no intention on going back to comics and that he is very close to starting production on Sin City 2. You can read a part of the interview below (poorly translated for our benefit) or check out the complete piece over here.

I can’t talk about my projects, because I don’t believe a movie is real until I see the title on the screen. There are many things that can go wrong. But I can tell you that I’m very close to begin Sin City 2 with Robert Rodriguez. We have to arrange a few things and we’ll be back in action.

The Spirit hits screens this Christmas and if you weren’t already planning on going, the aforementioned trailer below should help give you the boost you need.

 

 

 

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