Category: News

toto-3997352

COMICS LINKS: Definitely Not Kansas

  • News
  • August 23, 2007

toto-3997352

Comics Links

Variety reports that Todd McFarlane’s toy-based re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz is being developed as a movie. (See all the toys here; everyone else went with Dorothy as the obvious illo, but I thought his vision of Toto was just as bad, but even weirder.)

Mark Evanier writes about Robert Kanigher and his Metal Men.

Nick Bertozzi has posted the proposal he and James Sturm put together in 2003 for a graphic novel adaptation of a screenplay called The Black Diamond Detective Agency. (The owners of the property ended up giving it to Eddie Campbell to turn into a GN, which came out earlier this year.)

Jayme Lynn Blaschke visits Metropolis, Illinois, and takes pictures of all of the Superman stuff there.

Comics Should Be Good casts their usual beady eye on DC’s November covers.

Occasional Superheroine believes everything is wrong with DC Comics, and explains their problems in great detail.

The Elmira Star-Gazette is happy to see the new comic based on a video game, Halo: Uprising.

Dick May or May Not Read Your Blog begins an odd, quixotic series on the career of Rob Liefeld with a long post about his work on Hawk & Dove.

 

Comics Reviews 

Wizard reviews Mike Allred’s Madman, Vol. 1 and Marvel’s X-23: Target X.

Comics Reporter reviews a mini-comic called Click by Sara Ryan.

Jog of The Savage Critics looks at Bill Jemas’s reign at Marvel, the “progressive” era, Igor Kordey, and, finally, the first eight issues of Soldier X. (more…)

JOHN OSTRANDER: Widgets

  • News
  • August 23, 2007

ostrander100-6411617karl-marx-1801863Theories are great. I love theories. Usually they’re a wonderful conflation of thought and imagination. We all have our own pet theories on things and we teach them to do tricks or rub their tummies and have fun with them. For example, my sweetie, Mary, on a regular basis comes up with new theories of how the universe was created. They’re different each time and always fun. Sometimes they stumble near quantum theory and that gets a little spooky but, all in all, I enjoy them almost as much as she does.

My problem with theories is when they become ossified into dogma. This happens not just in religion but in all walks of life, including economics and business. Communism is a good example of an economic theory gone to dogma. One of its charming hypotheses was that, once communism had spread around the globe – as Karl Marx felt it inevitably would – all government would evaporate because we would have achieved the workers’ paradise. That theory, unfortunately, is not based on any human trait I’ve ever seen. Capitalism, on the other hand, being based on human greed, is and that’s one of the reasons it has survived and communism has not.

Capitalism and business, especially in recent years, have had their own bits of theories that are endlessly repeated like mantras until they too have become dogma. They’re applied whether they fit the situation or not, sometimes out of stupidity and other times from cupidity.

One of my least favorite bits of economic dogma is “They’re all widgets.” The word “widget” was coined, I believed, by playwright George S. Kaufman for his 1924 play Beggar On Horseback in which the protagonist must choose between his work as a composer and a steady but soul draining job in a “widget” factory. Since it was never defined, a “widget” – in the economic sense – is a synonym for “product” or, when dealing with a creative artist, the term “talent” is used. What it comes down to is that it doesn’t matter what the widget is, certain business and selling rules will apply. Soap, beef, talent, cars, drugs, beer, games, comic books, movies, TV shows – they’re all widgets. One theory fits all.

Except it doesn’t always do that. In 1989, Marvel was bought by Ron Perelman’s MacAndrews and Forbes; at the time, Marvel had maybe 70% of the sales of a very healthy direct sale market. Before Perelman’s little junket was done, Marvel was in bankruptcy and the market was in tatters. Why? Because they decided they were selling widgets. They didn’t need to know anything about comics or the market; they were going to apply sound business principles and make comics respond accordingly. (I had plenty of friends on the inside keeping me abreast of the latest theory.) Nobody could tell these guys nothing. Their business model was not simply Disney but McDonald’s which not only sells hamburgers but own the bakeries that makes the buns, the cattle ranches that supply the beef and so on.

Marvel started to bring its licenses inside the company with the idea that they would supply the product. Since trading cards were so popular, they would buy the trading card companies. They bought the companies after the interest in trading cards had already crested. Perelman’s suits were consistently behind the curve. (more…)

Stan Lee and… Paris Hilton?

  • News
  • August 22, 2007

paris-hilton-nip-slip-5820045From Film School Rejects : Stan Lee told NY Post columnist Cindy Adams he’s planning to make an animated cartoon TV show with Paris Hilton. “A hip comedy in the superhero comedy-adventure genre. We get on very well. This is a charming, very likable person. Sophisticated. Great comedic sense. A fine voice. And seriously hard-working. Totally unlike whatever the public is led to believe. And she has input. She attends every meeting. What we plan to do is truly tasteful.”

It’s good that Paris is getting involved in comics — I was wondering who was going to write fill-in issues for Jenna Jameson.

astro-7711030

COMIC LINKS: Astro Boy Goes West!

  • News
  • August 22, 2007

astro-7711030

Comics Links

Toon Zone asks Philip Brophy to explain to them how wonderful Osamu Tezuka is, in connection with an exhibition of Tezuka’s work now in San Francisco.

The Beat has a whole load of Toronto Comic Arts Festival photos.

The International Herald Tribune looks at the recent increase in graphic novel publishing in the UK.

The Seattle Times takes a look at DC Comics’s new Minx line.

Scott Shaw! explains how, once upon a time, Archie met the Punisher. (It was the ‘90s – that kind of thing happened a lot.)

Comics Reviews

Comics Reporter reviews World War Hulk #3 and Booster Gold #1.

Boston Now reviews the graphic novel Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, and Marc Hempel.

SF/Fantasy Links

Paul McAuley explains why he writes short stories (and it’s certainly not the money).

Edward Champion is not happy – at great length – with Adam Gopnik’s recent profile of Philip K. Dick in the New Yorker.

Tor Books will be podcasting from Worldcon, with commentary from Tom Doherty and Patrick Nielsen Hayden.

John Klima lists some of the major SF/Fantasy short-fiction outlets (for ease in supporting them). (more…)

Zuda, Zuda

  • News
  • August 21, 2007

zudaworry200-6471632One of the panels I was most looking forward to at Wizard World Chicago was the Zudacomics panel, where Richard Bruning and Kwanza Johnson were going to show off the reader and answer questions. Sadly, their demo wasn’t working at the time, so it just turned into a lot of questions and answers. Jason Fliegel was there and covered many of the thing I wanted to, but there are a few points to add and emphasize.

Jason points out the issue of the contracts: "First… DC didn’t brief the panelists on the legalities of the deal that is being offered to creators. Or DC hasn’t figured it out themselves yet. Or both. During the panel, Bruning noted that DC would own the trademarks in the characters. I asked whether the trademarks would be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office, and if so, in what categories. Bruning and Johnson looked flabbergasted, then bullshitted me for thirty seconds before moving on to the next question. Clearly they had no idea."

Let me add: DC/Zuda will let the creators keep the copyright to the work, but they will retain the trademark.  If you think that’s not a problem, let me refer you to Chris Butcher: "Trademark is interesting, it’s why the KRAZY KAT collections that Fantagraphics are doing are called Krazy & Ignatz and why the GASOLINE ALLEY collections that D+Q are doing are called Walt & Skeezix. The copyright on those early works may have fallen into the public domain, but the titles (marks) used in business (trade) haven’t, and are still owned by the syndicates." Or think Captain Marvel instead of Shazam.

(more…)

Today’s Hot Comics Links

  • News
  • August 21, 2007

spirit-9018570

Comics Links

Suspension of Disbelief (which I haven’t seen updated much lately, so I hope it’s back) looks at Spirit #5, and that old bad-plotting standby, beating a guy until he signs a contract/confession/whatever.

Think the San Diego Comic-Con is big? It’s only the third largest comics gathering in the world – and number one is Japan’s Comiket, held twice a year in Tokyo. This past weekend, about 550,000 people were there.

Forbidden Planet International reports on graphic novels at the recent Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Publishers Weekly reports on the recent land-rush business in movie rights for graphic novels.

Newsarama rounds up and comments on a bunch of stories about DC comics’s Zuda project.

Canada’s National Post reports on the Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

The Chicago Tribune talks to Douglas Wolk about whether comics are getting any respect.

The LA Times has noticed that some comics have been “slabbed” by CGC. Once again, the mainstream press runs about a decade behind events in the comics world…

Comics Reviews

Graeme McMillan of The Savage Critics admits that he’s a latecomer to Ultimate Spider-Man, but he likes #112.

Comics Reporter reviews an anthology comic from a few years back, Reactor Girl #6.

(more…)

9 Superpowers You Might Actually Want

  • News
  • August 21, 2007

From The Best Article Every Day, 9 Superpowers You Might Actually Want:

Humor ESP. You’ve got a great joke involving St. Peter, a stripper, and a tricycle, but you’re not sure how it will go over with your friend’s new boyfriend, whom you’ve only met once but get the feeling doesn’t really like you. Your humor ESP will let you know whether the joke will end in laughs or a theological debate. This peculiar psychic ability also comes in handy when you want to come up with the exact line to scare off that guy at the bar who just won’t leave you alone.

I’ve got a few of my own:

Time Dilation & Compression: Make those slow movies fly by and meetings with the in-laws fly by, and stretch out that vacation time and get a few extra hours to finish art corrections.

Parking Spot Creation: The ability to magically have a parking spot appear wherever and whenever you need one.

Human Computer Antivirus: Nuff said.

What are yours? Leave them in comments.

DENNIS O’NEIL: On The Road Again

  • News
  • August 21, 2007

Jack Kerouac’s novel On The Road is 50 years old.

“And this has exactly what to do with comics?” demands the snotty guy in the corner. Well, actually, not much, but maybe if we stretch, a little something. Patience, please.

If you know people my age, or a bit younger, you may have heard On The Road stories. Mine is pretty banal: I was fairly unhappy at school (I was always fairly unhappy at schools, except when I was actively miserable) and I read and had my mind altered by Kerouac’s book which is, among other things, a paean to travel and the highway. So, one morning, I went down to breakfast, borrowed about forty bucks from my father and, blowing off university exam week, got on a bus for New Orleans.

Once there, I didn’t do much: checked into a Y, hung out, walked around, had a friendly lady on Bourbon Street offer to teach me everything about life for only five dollars. I kind of guessed what she was talking about and, being the Good Catholic Boy that I was, politely declined. Then I boarded another Greyhound and went home. No hitchhiking, not that trip, though there was plenty later. (And, by the way, don’t try this at home. Hitchhiking in the 50s and 60s was not without hazards, but not nearly as dangerous as it is now.)

“Did someone mention comic books? This column, this whole dern website, is supposed to be about comics.” The snotty guy in the corner again. Okay, be at peace, brother, and give me another paragraph or two.

Kerouac was, as I’m sure everyone except the guy in the corner knows, the most famous and visible member of a loose confederation of novelists, poets, and musicians that became known as The Beat Generation. I’ve never heard, or read, any of them even evidencing knowledge that comics existed. But they were contrarians that believed that most conventional wisdom was erroneous, that genuine American values involved peace and understanding and, incidentally, that maybe mainstream literary and critical folk – the Establishment – did not own the last word on artistic matters.

Jump ahead a few years to the mid-60s and here we are, on college campuses, and what are the bright rebels reading? Well, a few – those who still wear ties on Sunday – are still delving into Catcher In The Rye, and a few more are grokking Stranger In A Strange Land, but the real nonconformists, the bright ones, are into comics, particularly Marvel comics.

(more…)

Halo ActionClix Coming Soon

  • News
  • August 20, 2007

halo-2356691Halo 2 launched to the single biggest day in entertainment history grossing $125 million and, with the third game’s release rapidly approaching, the Halo franchise is looking to extend their dominance to the miniatures market with Halo ActionClix.

Launching in September, Halo ActionClix is changing many of the rules from Wizkids’ other ‘Clix games to make game play more like the video game.  Players can switch weapons mid combat, for example, if you were playing a figure of MasterChief with a sniper rifle and decided that the best weapon for the situation was, in fact, the shotgun you could spend an action to swap out one figure for the other.  Another feature more like a video-game is that figures do not stay dead, rather they will respawn at pre-determined points on the map.

Halo ActionClix also features exclusive Halo 3 preview content.  Figures from the initial set will be from the upcoming game; in many instances this will be gamers’ first glimpse at these characters.

The game launches this September with four- and five-figure booster packs and the Hunter Combat Pack Starter Set.  Subsequent releases will be vehicle packs and an expansion focusing on Halo 3 in earnest, all by the end of the year.

MIKE GOLD: Comic Conned-Out

  • News
  • August 20, 2007

mikegold100-7174689A whole bunch of us ComicMixers have been attending various and sundry comic book conventions over the past half-year, and, having just come back from Chicago Wizard World, I’ve got a few observations.

For the record, we attended Comic Con in New York, Comic Con in Pittsburgh, I-Con in Stony Brook, New York, Heroes in Charlotte, North Carolina, MoCCA in NYC, the Big Apple Con in NYC, Comic-Con in San Diego, and Wizard World in Chicago. We also did the annual Book Fair and the Licensing Show, both in Manhattan. We’ve got at least three more shows coming up: the Baltimore Comic Con, another Big Apple show in Manhattan, and Mid-Ohio Con in the middle of Ohio.

MOST INTERESTING SIGHT: Scalpers hawking one-day passes at the San Diego Comic-Con. Just like at sports events and concerts. Pretty amazing. I wonder if SDCC saw many counterfeits? I wonder if I could trade my pass for two tickets to The Police?

adam-strange-1216399BEST COSTUME: This is a close call, and sadly I don’t know the name of the winner. But he dressed up as Adam Strange in a costume so on-model Murphy Anderson would have swooned. Take a look; he’s the guy with the ray guns.

BEST PRESENCE OF COSTUMED FANS: I-Con, in Long Island. Damn near everybody was in a costume. Some furry, which confuses some people. But if you’re looking for the thrill of being surrounded by hundreds of costumed college students, many of whom are armed, I-Con won’t let you down.

BEST EXPOSITORY MOMENT: When Adriane Nash explained the concept and activities of “furries” to Michael Davis while at dinner in Chicago. ‘Nuff said.

BEST REUNIONS: Len Wein and I are old friends, but for some reason we haven’t been in contact for a while. A sweet, gentle, funny, talented man, Len will be visiting Munden’s Bar sometime soon. Len and I got together at Michael Davis’s SDCC dinner party, which was my second favorite meal of the convention season thus far (and it was a close second). Also, and equally, Mindy Newell, at MoCCA. Mindy used to write comics; Mindy should be writing comics. Or something. A great talent, a wonderful human being. Hiya, Mindy!

BEST MEAL: The post-Wizard World decompress at Chicago’s Gulliver’s Restaurant, the only place I can get genuine Italian beef with barbecue sauce along with the Italian beef goo. ComicMixers Adriane Nash, Mike Raub, Kai Connelly, Andrew Pepoy, and Chris Burnham joined my wife Linda and me, along with artist Reilly Brown and writer, professor and fellow Gulliver’s habituater Len Strazewski. (more…)

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks