Tagged: ComicMix

Tyrese Gibson wants Luke Cage

tyrese-9095585Fresh from the set of Transformers, Tyrese Gibson sat down with the boys over at IGN and spilled his guts on how much he wants the titular role of Marvel’s Luke Cage big-screen project.

"We’ll see, man," he says. "You know, they’re doing the rewrites on it right now. I have not officially signed on to be a part of it, but they have me in mind, so I’m honored."

Having third billing in Transformers may be a big deal, but Tyrese told us that he’d have to step it up even more for Cage. "I’m gonna have to get my body at 199.99 percent," he says. "The Luke Cage fans are out there. I see the emails and the blogs — they want the best for the character. Hopefully, I’ll be that guy… if the script is right."

Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President of Production, recently indicated that the movie rights to Luke Cage have went back to the studio after Sony couldn’t commit to a "decent" script.

"We never got a script on Luke Cage while it was at Sony that did it justice from our point of view or [director] John [Singleton]’s point of view," Feige says. "The rights since have reverted back to Marvel, but I would love to do a Luke Cage movie — again, looking for ways to continue Marvel movies with fresh content and different points of view. I think Luke Cage would absolutely fit into that."

Of course, we’ll have all the latest as news develops on this project right here at ComicMix.

Luke Cage art copyright Marvel Characters. All RIghts Reserved. Tyrese Gibson copyright Tyrese Gibson.

MIKE GOLD: My All-Time Favorite Comic Book Cover

mikegold100-3788233They don’t draw comic book covers like this any more. And, well, that might be a good thing.

These days, we’re in a phase where covers are particularly boring. When it comes to the great American staple, the heroic fantasy comic, most are over art directed and too posh for their own good. Few actually have anything to do with the story inside; they are simply generic poster shots. When I stare at the big Wall-O-Comics at most shops, my eyes quickly glaze over. They generate little enthusiasm and manage to completely ignore the sense of wonder that makes comics magic. At best, I walk away from the Wall thinking “gee, that Captain America cover sure would make a swell statue.”

Yes, I still use the word “swell.” I’m trying to bring it back.

Look at a few of the really great covers. If you’re at all interested in the genre, how can you pass ‘em up? They are exciting, intriguing and most of all, they appeal to the sense of wonder.

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Yeah, they’re all ancient. But don’t try to tell me they’re childish. Putting on a mask and fighting crime and/or evil as the result of some event that wouldn’t even cut it in Greek tragedy is childish. We’re simply negotiating the price.

However, some covers were simply wonderfully absurd. They are so far over the top you’ve just got to check them out. In fact, there are so many of them that there’s an entire website devoted to the topic, run by cartoonist Scott Shaw!. It’s called Oddball Comics and you’ve got to check it out. He’s got about a trillion such covers there. But I don’t know if he’s got my all-time favorite comic book cover.

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ComicMix columns declare independence

Between the final episode of this season’s Dr. Who airing on the Beeb last night, and this afternoon’s "live" (read: an hour delayed) VH1 running of the Concert for Diana (sure, I could have seen the actual live stream online, but then I wouldn’t be able to do anything else with my computer), it seems this weekend as though England must have won that war a couple hundred years ago, at least the cultural end of it.  Nonetheless, our ComicMix columnists have been doing our all-American best to keep you entertained this past week, and here’s your weekly wrap-up of our latest:

Did you catch Mellifluous Mike Raub‘s "Words and Pictures" below?  If you want to relisten to the Big ComicMix Broadcasts to which he’s referring, here they are again:

Lastly, we extend a laurel and hardy handshake welcoming Andrew Wheeler to our happy little gang!

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MARTHA THOMASES: Gotta Serve Somebody

  • News
  • June 30, 2007

martha100-6378567This past month has been a very busy one for me. I’ve been out of town three times, twice on business, and I’ve attended two trade shows and three comics conventions. It’s a lot of time to be thrust into crowds of people, whether waiting at an airport, a synagogue, a taxi line or a display booth.

This past month has exposed me to a variety of interpretations to the phrase, “customer service.”

I first started to think about this nearly 20 years ago, when I saw a presentation by Peter Glen, the author of It’s Not My Department: How to Get the Service You Want, Exactly the Way You Want It. At the time, I was working in the special events department for a large retailer, and we were just starting to feel the first effects of Wal-Mart and other discount stores. According to Glen, the way to compete was not by cutting prices, but by offering more service.

He doesn’t just mean stores need to hire more sales assistants. He means the customer must be treated with respect, as if her time has value, and her needs are important. Customer service includes displays that feature all available sizes, quality merchandise that doesn’t break, and efficient check-out. This shows the customer that the merchant understands her, and provides the best value.

“Value?” you say. “How can you say value is important when you first said stores shouldn’t compete on price alone?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Would you rather shop at Wal-Mart, where costs are kept so low that they won’t hire a security guard to patrol their notoriously dangerous parking lots, or at another store where the management demonstrates a concern for your safety? Would you rather by a cheap coffee-maker (or other small appliance) that you need to replace every year, or a good one that lasts a decade or more?

As a comics reader, would you rather buy a comic that has a cover that’s teasing or unclear, or would prefer one that clearly represents the story inside?

When I worked at DC Comics, I was astounded at how obscure some of the covers for the trade paperback collections could be. “Where’s the title?” I’d ask. “How can I tell who wrote and drew the story?” Often, this information would be on the back of the books, invisible to the customer looking at the display. “It doesn’t matter,” I was told. “By the time the book is racked, we’ve already been paid for it.” (more…)

The Unseen Shadow!

  • News
  • June 29, 2007

weisingershadow-copy-7461246The Shadow, everybody’s favorite seminal pulp crime-fighter, has been getting a lot of play here at ComicMix – largely in anticipation of volume nine of Anthony Tollin’s series of Shadow reprints to be released in about three weeks. In case you missed the story and are short on time, this volume reveals in detail how the first Batman story was a point-by-point rip-off of a previously published Shadow saga.

So, on the lighter side, today we offer two alternate views of crime’s nocturnal nightmare. The black-and-white piece is by long-time fan and historian Russ Maheras and poses the question "What if The Shadow had been a 1960s Mort Weisinger comic?" This isn’t quite as odd as it might seem: Weisinger, of course, was the classic Superman comics editor of the 1950s and 1960s (and story editor of the original teevee series), and Superman creator Jerry Siegel wrote The Shadow comics for Archie during this period. Russ captured the style of Mort’s books to a tee.

silver_age_shadow-copy-8978565The color piece, by Dial B For Burbank’s Robby Reed, suggests the cover design of a 1960s Shadow Annual as if Street and Smith published it in the style of DC Comics’ 80-Page Giants. Dial B For Burbank is one of the most innovative pulp-and-serial sites I’ve seen, and we appreciate his allowing us to share an  advance look at the art.

The Shadow is copyright Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc., Condé Nast Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. They know what evil lurks in the hearts of fans!

Thanks to Russ and KK for the swell stuff!

Comfort Con 2007

  • News
  • June 28, 2007

By this point you’ve probably read so many con reports on the MoCCA Art Fest that they’re leaking out of your brain (the best place to catch most of ’em is the Collective Memory link at Tom Spurgeon’s place), but some things probably bear repeating and others definitely bear linking to, so here’s how I saw the day.

Despite physical limitations and transportation difficulties which prevented me from attending on Sunday, I found MoCCA to be one of the most comfortable conventions I’ve attended in a long time, in many senses of the word.  The temperature both outside and within the Puck Building was ideal; the AC was working well and Manhattan was going through a few wonderful early summer days of negligible humidity and temps in the low ’70s, making for a great weekend to be out and about.

Moreover, the minute I walked into the first of the four exhibition halls (three on the first floor and a large ballroom on the 7th) I felt welcome and put at ease.  Professional informality and friendliness abounded from pretty much every table.  Nobody put on the stuck-up "we’re better than the mainstream" indie airs that had given me pause in years past.  The talent level ran the gamut from folks just starting out with photocopied minicomics (and places like ComiXpress make it easier than ever to self-publish slick-looking stuff) to major imprints, from homegrown to foreigners from as far away as Scandanavia.  As many have reported, the gender mix seemed to be about 50/50. 

As Cheryl Lynn noted, "There was also a wide range of people from different ages attending… There were also people of different races and ethnicities there as well. There were black women! More than I could count on one hand even! Sweet!"  The happy diversity truly reflected what Heidi has called Team Comics — a great example of the amazing possibilities of the medium and a real sense of "we’re all in this together."

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As you can see, ComicMix was well represented at this convention as well.  Shown above are Kai Connolly, Mike Raub, Martha Thomases and Mike Gold.  Not pictured but present for the obligatory and always-wonderful ComicMix dinner were Glenn Hauman, John and Arthur Tebbel, Matt Raub and yours truly.

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Con co-organizer John McCarthy did a terrific job, and even had a few seconds to let me snap a photo of him.  More observations and photos below. (more…)

MoCCA Report Teaser

  • News
  • June 27, 2007

ComicMix was out in force this past weekend at the MoCCA Arts Festival, but life happened while we were busy making plans to tell you all about it.  So here’s a teaser photo montage of crowd shots to whet your appetite.

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We hope to be back later with a more substantial rundown.

MIKE GOLD: Perception

  • News
  • June 25, 2007

mikegold100-5317257Yesterday, ComicMix’s Matt Raub wrote a story about the possibility of noted actor Samuel L. Jackson playing Nick Fury in the upcoming Iron Man move. I hope that’s true; he would be the perfect choice.

Matt noted that this would probably be the Ultimates version of Fury. I thought about that for a while. Clearly, the perception is that since both this version and Mr. Jackson are black and the Marvel universe version is white, the movie version is based upon the Ultimates. That makes sense, but if you think about it, the only differences between the two are the character’s race, his age, and his rank. It is unlikely the movie would burden itself with Fury’s World War II backstory, and it really doesn’t matter if Fury is a colonel or a general. And unless there’s a plot point that is relevant to the story, his race doesn’t matter either, outside of a much-needed superhero role model.

The fact is, movies exist in their own universe – not in the Ultimates universe or the Marvel universe. But since Jackson is black, we (including me) are likely to perceive this relationship.

I’m reminded of this because a couple blocks from this past weekend’s New York City’s Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) wonderful independent comics convention was Manhattan’s annual Gay Pride march. Over a million strong. And the focal point of the parade is the same-sex marriage bill that’s before the New York State senate. The governor already said he’d sign it.

Of course, there’s plenty of opposition. Some people – for reasons that completely defy me – feel their marriage and the entire “institution” of marriage would be threatened if this bill passed. That makes no sense. There is a perception on the part of some that this is true, but the only proof they offer is that “marriage is between a man and a woman,” which is asinine, or that the only purpose of marriage is procreation, which spits in the face of heterosexual couples who cannot conceive, either for reasons of health or age.

This is what we call bigotry. The Nick Fury story is not.

There is also the perception that churches would be forced to violate their principles by having to perform same-sex marriages. This is also asinine. Churches get to make such exceptions all the time. Some will not perform interfaith marriages. Some will not perform burials unless the deceased had met, in life, certain criteria. Religion, enjoying the privileges of the First Amendment, is exempt from performing functions that violate its principles.

As Jon Stewart has said, “You mean, I don’t have to marry a guy? Then what’s the problem.” Live and let live. Let’s not get bent out of shape about how the folks down the road want to live their lives.

Just as we hope the only criterion for casting Nick Fury is the quality of the actor’s work.

Overloaded on cons?

  • News
  • June 24, 2007

The older some of us get, the more tendency to burn out.  Transportation troubles and physical limitations may conspire to prevent us from getting the full con experience, but when you can keep up with everything from the comfort of your own computer, things don’t seem so bad.  Here’s your weekly wrap-up of ComicMix columns:

It was great seeing Mellifluous Mike Raub and Kai and Matt yesterday; as usual, they’ve been busy as well with their podcasts:

And don’t forget this week’s special bonus:

Remember, summer’s just started — pace yourself!

Is Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson?

  • News
  • June 24, 2007

pic-7358439After about a week of watching what looks like another “Crispen Glover as Joker” rumor, we here at ComicMix have decided to go with the story that Samuel L. Jackson has been added to Jon Favreau’s Iron Man cast as none-other-than Nick Fury.

Aint It Cool News first broke the story on Thursday with an impenetrable source: seeing Jackson physically on the set. Again, those of us who remember the constant tug-of-war game between the truths and jokes that many alleged Internet journalists like to play with us are pretty weary about this news, because it seems TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!

If this were the case, Jackson would evidently be portraying the Ultimate version of the character, of which he was originally modeled after. Not only is this the biggest casting news for next May’s film but for future Marvel projects as well, opening the door for a spin-off franchise – and an Avengers film, which Marvel is already discussing.

The most interesting thing about this story is how the Internet fan base seems to be torn into two camps over the news: one that is jumping for joy over the news, and the other that is up in arms, saying that it would be another “Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin.". So I put the question to the fans here at ComicMix: What say you, Funny-Book Fans? Comment now!

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