Tagged: ComicMix

The Stories Behind The Stories …

  • News
  • August 6, 2007

reboot-8447670With our suitcase still not unpacked from San Diego, or packed for Chicago, we had a pretty busy week on The Big ComicMix Broadcast.  Life after the SDCC seems to be as busy as ever, with a lot of things both New & Cool we covered for you…

• ReBoot, the much loved CGI series from earlier this decade is coming back as a movie trilogy! Right now, the offer is open to different producers to submit their ideas for the direction of the revival – and you can see (and vote on) these choices here

• Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall game that premiered at SDCC can be previewed at the FusionFall website. If you are interested, you can sign-up for a chance to participate in beta testing for the game.

• If making movies seems more your thing, The Ultimate Star Wars Fanboy (or Girl!) contest is up and runs through August 31st here or even here. As we told you, it ties into the release of the Fanboys major motion picture, set to come out in January of next year.

snoopdog-2759795• If you haven’t seen the MySpace version of Dark Horse Presents you can take a look here. Among the first works presented is "Sugar Shock" from Josh Whedon and artist Fabio Moon. There’s also a great new story from Rick Geary!

• If you got excited about the return of Snoopy, then take a minute to see more from Namco Networks here. In addition, they carry a lot of retro games (Pac-Man anyone?) for your mobile phone.

WizardWorld Chicago begins on Thursday, and by now you have probably guessed we will be there with microphone in hand. Take a look at the guest list here then drop us a comment and tell us who YOU would like to hear from on The Big ComicMix Broadcast. We will be streaming direct from the floor, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday, and of course there will be news and photos right here at ComicMix.com!

MARTHA THOMASES: Space Oddity

  • News
  • August 4, 2007

x-1225417Jerome Bixby’s Man From Earth is a profoundly unfashionable film. Written by Bixby before he died and directed by Richard Schenkman, it’s a science fiction movie with no aliens, no space ships, not even any explosions. It’s a thoughtful movie, intimate, with adult actors dealing with complex philosophical ideas.

When I was first reading science fiction, I liked the books with lots of talking and big ideas. I liked Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy and the robot books, where scientists explained large concepts and the societies these concepts would inspire. I liked it so much that I could often overlook inane plots and cardboard characters. When the books were more literate, that was even better.

Jerome Bixby is a science fiction writer from the old school. He wrote episodes of Twilight Zone and Star Trek, including “Mirror, Mirror.” He wrote screenplays, including Fanatastic Voyage, which was based on his short story. Just before he died, he wrote the screenplay to The Man From Earth.

It’s a small film, produced on a shoestring budget of $200,000. The closest thing to a celebrity in the cast is William Katt, formerly the star of The Greatest American Hero. Also in the cast is Richard Riehle, a character actor you’ve seen in a zillion movies, Annika Peterson, Ellen Crawford, John Billingsley, Tony Todd, Alexis Thorpe and David Lee Smith as the central character, John Oldman.

There is only one set, a cabin in the woods, and the entire story takes place over the course of a single day. John Oldman is a university professor packing his belongings to leave for a new job. His friends, other professors and a student, have come with food and drink to wish him well. Over the course of the day, he tells them that, to the best of his knowledge, he’s 14,000 years old.

For the rest of the film, these highly educated, polite people argue with each other about whether or not such a thing is possible, or is Oldman pulling some kind of cerebral practical joke. They consider religion, anthropology, history, and the other fields in which they are expert. No one attacks Oldman for a DNA sample to run tests, no one pulls out an old photograph or other evidence. The devout Christian character feels threatened, but does not condemn Oldman to Hell, nor does she stone him. They talk from mid-afternoon until night, when the last few people at the party go out to look at the stars. (more…)

Fabulous Baker Girl!

  • News
  • August 2, 2007

the-new-baker-coverWe’re thrilled to pass on the news that the newest Baker is a girl, born this morning at 7:53 AM.  She is 8 lbs 13 oz, 21 inches long.   Everyone at ComicMix says congrats to Liz and Kyle, Lillian, Isaac and Jackie.

Artwork copyright Kyle Baker. All Rights Reserved.

The Truth About San Diego

  • News
  • August 1, 2007

Dirk Deppy’s ¡Journalista! opens today with the following quote:

“We’ve put up the superheroes and now we’re on to the people with actual talent.”

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, looking forward to American Idol.

Mr. Sanders is an asshole.

While in San Diego last week, ComicMix podcast producer Mike Raub and I did a quick estimate on the minimum amount of cash the San Diego Comic-Con pumped into the local economy. With 140,000 in attendance, most of whom staying in hotels, using taxis and public transportation, going to parties, using convention facilities, doing a bit of shopping, paying local and state taxes and dining at local restaurants during the four day show, we estimate comics fans spent a minimum of an eighth of a billion dollars in Mr. Sanders’ town – and most likely more than twice that.

What did we get for our money, outside of the Comic-Con itself? Hotel service that was indifferent at best (hotels were sold out; some folks had to commute in from damn near the Mexican border), and lousy restaurant food with incredibly rotten service. I go to over a half-dozen conventions each year, and never was I treated worse than I was in San Diego last week. Mr. Sanders’ city simply sucks.

Then again, if Sanders thinks American Idol candidates have "actual talent," his head’s so far up his ass he probably thinks the food at the Blarney Stone smells good.

MARTHA THOMASES: Like a Virgin

  • News
  • July 28, 2007

martha100-4663510In many ways, this will be my first San Diego ComiCon. Oh, sure, I went to ten of them before, but that was because I was working for DC Comics. This will be my first San Diego without booth duty.

At DC, I was Publicity Manager from 1990 to 1999. I had a great time showing off our ever-expanding list of titles and, eventually, imprints. Turning people on to Vertigo, to Milestone, to Impact and to Helix was really fun.

Unfortunately, I never got to leave the booth. I mean, I could take bathroom breaks, and if one of my many media contacts came by, I could walk that person around to show off what was cool in comics. For the most part, however, it was four solid days of standing in the booth.

There were chairs at the booth, lots of chairs. Unfortunately, these comfortable pieces of foldable furniture were not for those of us in the Marketing Department. The chairs were for the talent. Now, I agree that the writers and artists who work on comic books, who interrupt their work to come to conventions (where they don’t get paid) should be made as comfortable as possible. They deserve to be treated like rock stars. The Marketing team should be there to make life easier for the talent and for the fans, and to assure everyone of a good time.

That’s my belief, and I tried really hard to live up to it with a smile on my face. Usually, I got through Thursday and Friday pretty well. By Saturday, even with my best running shoes, my feet would be hurting. By Sunday afternoon, my face would hurt from smiling. There would be lots of news and excitement I’d overhear among the fans that they’d picked up at panels, which I could never go to because I was at the booth.

There would be some weird things I’d have to do that weren’t, strictly speaking, in my job description. I’d get the talent bottled water, because the water in San Diego gives me horrible headaches, and talent shouldn’t have headaches. I’d be the bitch at the end of the signing line, the person past whom no one else would get their books signed. It’s a horribly thankless task, because you have to tell people they can’t have something they really want. The worst is being the bitch at the end of the Neil Gaiman line. Neil will have agreed to sign for two hours. After these two hours, I would get in line to stop it, but the line would grow behind me. By the time I got to the front of the line, Neil would have been signing for more than three hours. I’d tell people they couldn’t get anything signed, and Neil would say, ‘Oh, no! That’s alright, I’m happy to do a few more.”

On the plus side, I had an expense account. I could take journalists and talent out for dinners and drinks. DC had travel agents who put us up at the Marriott, and then the Hyatt, which were close to the convention center. My feet might hurt, but I didn’t have far to walk. (more…)

Overheard at San Diego, part 1

  • News
  • July 26, 2007

Seventeen years ago yesterday in San Diego, Roseanne Barr sang the National Anthem at a Padres game.

While we can’t promise you anything quite like that from any Hollywood types in town for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International, we’re bringing you the most quotable things we can eavesdrop on.

At the Newark Airport terminal: "It’s tough to tell who’s going to the convention on this flight. You used to be able to tell at a glance." "Yeah, no one’s wearing comic book shirts." "Everybody’s reading Harry Potter, but that doesn’t tell you anything."

On the floor of the convention: "We’re opening up new boxes to sell books on Preview Night. In the first hour. I hope we’ve got enough to last the weekend."

Outside the hall: "I think they’re going to use those Superman bags as tents for emergency housing."

What have you heard? Send your snippets to overheardSDCC@tips.comicmix.com, or come up to us at the show– we’re the one’s in the ComicMix shirts.

On The Road Again…

  • News
  • July 25, 2007

A quick note to tell you the ComicMix editorial team is on its way to the San Diego ComicCon International, so we’ll probably be a little light on contributions today. But we’ll more than make up for it the rest of the week!

We’ve got about a dozen of us attending the show, and most of us will be wearing our new multicolored ComicMix t-shirts for easy identification. So, please, feel free to stop any of us and tell us what you think of the site… what you’d like to see on ComicMix… and what you think is going to be involved in our just-about-to-be-announced ComicMix Phase II.

We look forward to meeting you. And for those who won’t be making the show, stay tuned to ComicMix. We’ll keep you right in the thick of things!

Mike Gold, Editor-In-Chief

EZ Street To Sneak-Peek At San Diego…

  • News
  • July 23, 2007

xyx-5320566Our pals Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell will be at the good so’ San DIego Comic thing this week – booth 2308 – where they’ll be showing off their latest project, EZ Street.

In addition to his comics work, Robert, of course, is the writer and/or director of such movies as Frankenstein and Me, Kids of the Round Table, and Believe; he also produced the classic Surf Nazis Must Die! Bob also wrote the column on autism for ComicMix last month that generated so much comment. Mark is the man (or at least a man, when he’s standing next to Marc Hempel) behind Mars, Breathtaker, Tarzan, Frankenstein Mobster, and all sorts of other cool stuff. He’s got a new sketchbook called Handmaid debuting at SDCC.

Together, Bob and Mark are doing an on-line comic strip The Mighty Motor-Sapiens at the NASCAR fan site – it’s in collaboration with Daniel Krall and Craig Taillefer. It starts August 6th.

And we’ll tell you all about EZ Street right here at ComicMix.com… when the time is right.

Artwork copyright 2007 Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell. All Rights Reserved.

MIKE GOLD: Getting Nostalgic For Nostalgia

  • News
  • July 23, 2007

mikegold100-3100131As these very words see the dawn of a new week, I shall be at home packing my ComicMix shirts for the San Diego Comic Con International. It’s the most important event in the comics year. Really; don’t read that with any sarcasm because I mean that. I agree with every word Michael Davis wrote in his column last Friday the 13th: it’s a hell of an effort, it’s a hell of a show, it’s a huge event.

But I can’t help but get a little nostalgic for the old comic book shows, where the primary focus was on comic books as a hobby and an art form. These days, most of Hollywood and all of New York moves out for the SDCC; it’s a massive business. Meetings, negotiations, mega-promotions, dealers dealing comic books made unreadable by being embalmed in plastic to other dealers for very high-stakes, lawyers, agents, managers, suppliers… it gets to be overwhelming.

My first national conventions were back in New York in the late 1960s, where the sainted Phil Seuling created the model for the comic book comic book convention. When I was involved with the Chicago Comicon (now Wizard World Chicago) back in 1976 – 1985, I shamelessly ripped off Phil’s format and approach; thankfully, he saw that as a tribute. It was a different world then.

As I recall, I was at the first Seuling show to crack the 300 barrier. That’s 300 fans. Today, San Diego has more than 300 pros in attendance. Hell, it’s got more than 300 lawyers in attendance. Back then, most of us were amazed there were so many of us all over the nation. For the first time, we realized we were not alone. We weren’t that unusual. Comics were not hip; hell, from a real-world point of view, they weren’t even very profitable. This was before the direct sales market – we have Phil to thank for that, too – and comic book stores only sold back-issues. There were no action figures or posters or alternate covers; in fact, there wasn’t much of an original art market as neither DC nor Marvel returned the art in those days.

As a young fan, I was exposed to older fans’ nostalgia. I read The Spirit and Justice Society, and I met people who gave me access to Milton Caniff and to The Shadow and to old time radio and movie serials and other relics of The Greatest Generation’s lost youth. Guys like Jim Steranko and Al Williamson would personally turn me on to great artists and concepts and projects. I was exposed to America’s popular culture history, and it was great fun. (more…)

dorothy-parker-200x218-3330504

MARTHA THOMASES: Dorothy Parker

  • News
  • July 21, 2007

dorothy-parker-200x218-3330504Dorothy Parker was a poet, short story writer and critic for The New Yorker in its heyday. When I was first writing, I wanted to be Dorothy Parker. Well, actually, I wanted to be Nora Ephron, who wrote a column in Esquire at the time, and who said that she had once wanted to be Dorothy Parker. A quick trip to the library, and I had an entertaining week reading her poetry. You probably know at least one of her poems, “News Item,” which goes:

Men seldom make passes

At girls who wear glasses.

Her literary and theatrical criticism, under the nom-de-plume of Constant Reader, was also hilarious, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. You can catch up with her poems, short stories and reviews in the omnibus Portable Dorothy Parker.

Mostly, however, she was celebrated for being the only woman at the Algonquin Round Table. In a group that included Robert Benchley, Harold Ross, George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, Alexander Woollcott and others, Parker was the only woman considered witty enough to be a regular (although Edna Ferber and Jane Grant, Ross’ wife, sat in occasionally).

It was an attractive fantasy for an unpopular girl in boarding school. I was not a person who got to sit at a table with boys. The only males who listened to me were my teachers, who were paid for it. Naturally, I looked for a way to be sought after, instead of merely tolerated. I spent the next twenty years writing, trying to earn my place at the table. If only I had known that the easiest thing to do was to work for a comic book publisher.

I’d freelanced for Marvel in the 1980s, but being on staff at DC was an entirely different animal. All of a sudden, I had everyone’s telephone number, and if I called someone for no apparent reason, my call was still answered happily. I could go to one of the Warner Bros. movie screenings and have people save me a seat. I could sit at any table at any bar near a convention and be welcome. In fact, I was often the only woman at the table.

It was heady stuff. True, these were not the prep school boys whose attention I had craved in my teens, but instead comic book editors, artists and writers. They were often smart and funny, but hardly ever blond or WASPy. Still, it felt as if I was sitting at the table with the cool kids. I was getting laughs telling jokes to guys who weren’t my husband. This was better than therapy!

(more…)

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