Tagged: Batman

Happy Birthday: Shawn McManus

  • News
  • June 30, 2008

thessaly-3441323Born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1958, Shawn McManus got his comic book start in the early 1980s, working for Heavy Metal. He illustrated two issues of the Alan Moore run on Swamp Thing, then went on to draw most of the "A Game of You" storyline in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.

McManus also drew issues of Omega Men, Batman, Doctor Fate, and the Thessaly limited series in The Sandman Presents. He has done work for Marvel Comics (Peter Parker Spider-Man and Daredevil), Dark Horse (Cheval Noir), First Comics (GrimJack), Image (Supreme), America’s Best Comics (Tom Strong), and others.

In 1985 he was nominated for a Jack Kirby Award for Swamp Thing #32.

 

New York Times Profiles Comics Art Collectors

  • News
  • June 30, 2008

batmankillingjokespecialalanmoorebr-4924521Comics have long been a haven for collectors, that niche of consumers who’ll drop six figures on an old Disney issue or a near-mint of a Golden Age superhero.

As comics are becoming less of a disposable form of entertainment, the issues are increasingly common. So individual issues are no longer a hot commodity.

I don’t see it as a new trend, but The New York Times saw fit to devote a lengthy story to the new target of comics collectors — original artwork. The article mentions how originals were once used to sop up ink stains, but they’ve gradually become more and more valuable, to the point that they’re now selling for inordinately high prices.

Collectors of original comic-book art sound like a subculture within a subculture, and that’s fine with many aficionados. “There was a thrill in finding something nerdier than collecting comics,” said David Mandel, 37, an executive producer of the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” who first bought original art during a visit to the San Diego Comic-Con in 1995.

Mr. Mandel has pieces that would make many fans drool, like the cover, by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum, of Giant-Size X-Men from 1975, which trumpeted Wolverine, Storm and others as the new incarnation of the mutant team, and the 1982 cover of Daredevil No. 181, by Frank Miller, depicting the death of Elektra, the title hero’s girlfriend.

His collection also includes the last four pages from “The Killing Joke,” a seminal 1988 story that helped usher in a new level of maturity for comic books. That Batman tale chronicles a possible origin for the hero’s nemesis, and was written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland. In November the last page of the story became available at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas. Mr. Mandel landed it for just over $31,000.

It would’ve been nice if the reporter had talked to Scott Dunbier, currently an IDW editor and formerly one of the better known art dealers. If you want to hear some great stories about buying and selling comics art, I highly recommend Scott’s blog.

Review: ‘All Star Batman and Robin Vol. 1’

assbar-9206861A couple years ago, back when Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s All Star Batman and Robin started inconsistently shipping, I read the first few issues and then waved the series off. I hated it so much I added an extra “S” and started referring to it by the acronym ASSBAR.

At the time, it seemed like a good portion of comics critics felt similarly about the book. Then a curious thing happened. More and more reviewers started to come around to the new, harsh [[[Batman]]] that called Robin “retarded” and tried to kill cops.

Now with the first volume conveniently collected, I decided to revisit the series. Had it improved? Had I just given up to early? Or was it still ASSBAR?

As much as I love that nickname, I may have to retire it, because this series is not as bad as I first thought. Miller displays a near-mastery of pulp dialogue and narration, and Lee proves what everyone already knows, that he’s a master draftsman of superhero comics.

In case you’re one of the select few who haven’t read the book, it’s a wholly new take on Batman’s first years, and he’s portrayed as essentially a psycho. Which, in a lot of ways, makes sense. You have to be pretty nuts to put on tights and kick the crap out of muggers.

But Miller pushes it to ugly extremes, with Batman kidnapping Dick Grayson and forcing him into the war on crime, nearly killing fellow superheroes and possibly killing corrupt police officers. This Batman is completely unhinged, which becomes fully apparent in a later issue when the Joker appears and seems sedate by comparison.

Now, this is what Miller does well, crackling along at the harsh edge of humanity as he has in Sin City, 300 and elsewhere. But there are two inherent problems: First, this goes against every incarnation of Batman we’ve seen and degrades the character. Second, and most importantly, that degradation doesn’t work because it’s paired with Lee’s artwork.

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Review: ‘Wanted’

wanted1_00-5729527Reviewing Wanted, the film based on the Top Cow miniseries by Mark Millar and J.G. Jones, is a difficult request. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the film is enjoyable, but solely on a puerile level, and undoubtedly not for the reasons that Bekmambetov intended. This movie is exactly what would happen if a hyperactive 16-year-old was given free range to write a script; it features an Angelina Jolie butt-shot, bullets that don’t travel at normal speed or in a straight line, and the euphoria of telling off your boss and all the jerks at work. But when asked if this film is actually any good, or even a good comic adaptation, the answer is a strong “No.”

Those of you who remember the comic series remember a truly raunchy adventure about an assassin named Fox who recruits a cubical jockey to take his father’s place in a secret society of supervillains known as The Fraternity. From there, we get a few twists and turns thrown our way, but primarily, this was a comic book about all things comic books: superheroes, villains with puffy capes, a cannibal baddie, and even a few digs on other genre flops like Adam West’s Batman.

With that in mind, the movie takes its own liberties, and generously at that. Replace “supervillains” with “assassins,” “puffy capes” with “bullets that curve,” and “cannibal” with Morgan Freeman. It is totally understandable how this movie was sold, because people are so afraid of doing superhero films that don’t have names like “[[[Iron Man]]]” or “[[[Batman]]]” attached to them, so instead they were going for a Matrix redux, and failed miserably.

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Review: This Week in ‘Trinity’ – Part 4

We’re up to week five of DC’s big weekly event, and I regret to inform you that I’ve already caught myself thinking "same old, same old."

What happened?

The fight with Konvikt continued, with all the heroes getting knocked around, including your Big Three. At least they took the fight away from civilians, but still, so far the main point seems to be that there’s nothing really special about Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. They get their butts kicked by giant, purple aliens just like everyone else.

Quick tangent — I’m not sure if there are any other Weeds fans out there, but I find it impossible to read the name "Konvikt" and not immediately think "Dumb name" in Doug’s snarky voice.

Back to the issue, which was pretty breezy, it ends with Batman doing some detective work to take a new tack with Konvikt (dumb name), and then getting ambushed by another alien, Graak (really dumb name).

Meanwhile, villains Morgaine Le Fey and Enigma (who needs to just come out of the Two Face closet and admit to being  Harvey Dent) watch on their magic crystal ball and offer cryptic commentary.

Whoop-dee-doo.

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Review: ‘Madame Xanadu #1’ by Matt Wagner and Amy Reeder Hadley

Fresh off another successful Grendel run and two excellent Batman miniseries ([[[Monster Men and Mad Monk]]]), Matt Wagner is switching gears so hard he may have just shredded the transmission.

A revival of the occult heroine Madame Xanadu? Really?

Sure enough. Wagner is writing the Vertigo series, the first issue of which debuted this week. It’s, well, odd, for lack of a better word. The first chapter begins in Arthurian times as Xanadu tries to prevent Camelot’s bloody fall.

Wagner channels a bit of Shakespeare’s lyricism in Xanadu’s dreamy, esoteric narration. And much of the goal seems to be recasting the common legend in surprising ways, not the least of which is Merlin as an old horndog.

The art, by relative newcomer Amy Reeder Hadley, is as graceful and natural as the titular character. The slight manga influence further similarizes the book to Elf Quest, which it mirrors fairly closely in tone.

The only real problem so far is the lack of scope in the first issue. Not a whole lot happens, at least till the last page, and there’s almost nothing to hint that this series is going to be an epic love story between [[[Xanadu]]] and the Phantom Stranger that lasts through several ages. I had to check the PR cheat sheet for that info.

Van Jensen is a former crime reporter turned comic book journalist. Every Wednesday, he braves Atlanta traffic to visit Oxford Comics, where he reads a whole mess of books for his weekly reviews. Van’s blog can be found at graphicfiction.wordpress.com.

Publishers who would like their books to be reviewed at ComicMix should contact ComicMix through the usual channels or email Van Jensen directly at van (dot) jensen (at) gmail (dot) com.

Danny Elfman on Scoring Films Based on Comics

  • News
  • June 26, 2008

From Beetlejuice and Batman to Nightmare Before Christmas and the recent remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Danny Elfman has provided the music that has turned good films into great films, and has been no stranger to scoring the big-screen adaptations of comic books. In a short time, movie-goers will be treated to another pair of Elfman-scored films based on popular comics, as the Emmy-winning and (many times over) Oscar-nominated composer has provided the music for Wanted and Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

SuperHeroHype recently snagged Elfman for a short interview about the process of finding the right sound for comic books, his inspiration and the difference between the two films from his perspective.

CS/SHH!: Was "Wanted," which has much edgier music, more fun?

Elfman: Well, they are each fun in a different way. "Hellboy" was a little more romantic and traditional, but I love paying homage to Bernard Herrmann, who for me is my master. Any time I get to do that it’s a great joy. "Wanted" is like a whole other ballgame. I did a whole different thing: more synthesizers, percussion, and guitars. I had my guitar out. I was so glad that the two of them were so different.

Check out the full interview on SuperHeroHype.

More Characters Confirmed For ‘Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe’ Videogame

  • News
  • June 26, 2008

Comic and videogame fans have long speculated who’s going to be in the Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe videogame coming later this year. The only confirmed superheroes have been Superman and Batman. Now add the Flash to that list, as PlayStation: The Official Magazine subscribers got the news first when the latest issue arrived in their mailboxes.

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Mortal Kombat head honcho Ed Boon followed up with an interview over at Gamespot.com. He discusses fan reactions from the comics and games factions, teases the lineup, and reveals that DC villains will indeed perform the infamous fatalities from the series — but not the heroes. Heroes never kill… except Hal Jordan. He was possesed by the Parallax Fear Anomoly, so what’s Liu Kang’s excuse?

Comic Book Market Farces, by John Ostrander

  • News
  • June 26, 2008

How’s this for a concept of a superhero? A guy who is strong, can leap maybe a mile but doesn’t fly, and only a bursting cannon shell can puncture his skin. He is on the outs with the government, the local representatives of whom may be corrupt. He’s on the side of the “little guy” who otherwise may not have a chance against the Big Interests. He dangles neer-do-wells by one foot high in the air and threatens to drop them unless they co-operate – and he laughs while he’s doing it. The guy may be more than a little crazy.

Like the sound of this guy? Readers during the Depression did when they first started reading Superman. You ever go back and read those initial stories? In one, Superman decides that one slum area of the city needs urban renewal, which, of course, the city is disinclined to do. Superman then provokes the army who tries to drop bombs on him. He rushes in and out of abandoned tenements and the bombs level those buildings instead. The army fails to capture Superman and the tenements are leveled. The city now has to rebuild public housing, given the attention on the area.

That Superman today would be labeled a terrorist.

Or how about Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner over at Marvel when it was called Timely Comics. He was at war with the surface dwellers – us – and, in one story, deliberately flooded the Hudson Tunnel into New York. The tunnel is shown full of cars and there is no doubt in my mind everyone in them drowned. (more…)

Happy Birthday: William Woolfolk

  • News
  • June 25, 2008

Born on Long Island, New York in 1917, William “Bill” Woolfolk once claimed that he didn’t create many comic book characters but he did coin many of their most famous lines.

He was responsible for Captain Marvel’s exclamation of “Holy Moley!”, among other well-known lines.

Woolfolk started writing comic books in the early 1940s after he graduated from New York University. His first jobs were with Will Eisner and Jerry Iger’s company but he also wrote for Police Comics, DC (Superman and Batman), Timely (Sub-Mariner and Captain America), and Fawcett (Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., and Bulletman).

When Eisner went off to fight in World War II in 1942, Woolfolk and Manley Wade Wellman took over writing The Spirit. Woolfolk also served as chief scriptwriter for the 1961-65 courtroom drama The Defenders and wrote more than a dozen novels, including the 1968 bestseller The Beautiful Couple.

Woolfolk won many awards over the years, including a Scribner for short-story writing in 1940, two Emmy nominations for The Defenders, and an Inkpot in 2002. He died in 2003.

 

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