Tagged: comics

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Interview: Greg Weisman Talks ‘Gargoyles’

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  • July 17, 2008

gargoyles-t-shirt-2166293When I was younger, there was a Disney cartoon that my friends and I loved and which impressed our parents with its maturity and layered story-telling. The series was called Gargoyles, and it told the story of a clan of warrior creatures from 10th Century Scotland who are brought to modern-day New York City via magical manipulation. Led by the noble gargoyle Goliath, the creatures find themselves to be strangers in a strange land, forced to hide while trying to find their new place in the 20th century. Soon enough, they wind up becoming superheroes, protecting the same humans who either fear them or don’t believe they exist.

Although the series lasted only two seasons (followed by the short-lived Goliath Chronicles series, which is considered apocryphal), its fan base remains extremely loyal — so much so, in fact, that a convention for Gargoyles fans, called the Gathering of the Gargoyles, has been held each year for more than a decade now. In recent years, we’ve seen much of the television series finally released on DVD, and Slave Labor Graphics has begun publishing an ongoing Gargoyles comic book series and spin-off miniseries, Bad Guys, headed up by series creator Greg Weisman and picking up where season 2 left off.

I spoke with Weisman (who also serves as story editor for the new Spectacular Spider-Man animated series) during the most recent Gathering of the Gargoyles event, and we chatted about the clan of winged Scottish warriors that he created so long ago and what the future holds for them. 

COMICMIX: So, we’re at the 12th annual Gathering of the Gargoyles convention. You have the new comic book series from SLG and the Bad Guys spin-off coming out now. You’re even talking about future spin-offs. All of this says there’s a decent fan base. So what’s happening that we still only have the first 26 episodes of season 2 on DVD?

GREG WEISMAN: Well, there’s a lot of turnover at Buena Vista Home Entertainment. You’ll have people there who are interested in the project and then you’ll have new people come in who aren’t so much. The ugly truth of it is that Season One sold very well, and the Season Two, Vol. 1 DVD did not sell so well. Even if, ultimately, it sold as well as the first season, we sort of lost Disney’s attention. So we need to get their attention all over again, and the best way to do that is by making sure that we continue to sell the DVDs that exist, show them that the comics are selling well. Gargoyles is SLG’s best-selling comic. (more…)

‘New Frontier’ Earns Emmy Nomination

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  • July 17, 2008

newfrontier-1710396The Emmy nominations are here, and the Justice League: The New Frontier animated movie is among the contenders.

The direct-to-DVD adaptation of Darwyn Cooke’s retro comics series is nominated as an animated program at least an hour long.

Competition is all surprisingly nerd-friendly fare: South Park and Family Guy.

Interview: Jeph Jacques on ‘Questionable Content’

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  • July 17, 2008

questionablecontent1-00x-3293550Now approaching its fifth year on the World Wide Internets, Questionable Content has gone through quite a few changes since its beginnings as an indie-rock webcomic that chronicled the life, loves and culture criticisms of "music nerds" Marten, Faye and a surrounding cast of characters (which also included Marten’s troublemaking, sentient "AnthroPC," Pintsize).

These days, the cast has expanded singificantly to include fan-favorite characters such as Marten’s obsessive-compulsive neighbor, Hannelore, and the relationships between major and minor characters have been explored, dismissed, or in the case of Marten and the "Coffee of Doom" owner Dora, bloomed into long-term (by webcomic standards, at least) plot points. While drama has managed to carve a niche for itself in the world of QC, Jacques has similarly carved out a name for himself among the top-tier creators in the webcomic scene.

After wandering through the QC archives a bit, I was struck by the differences in those first strips posted back in August 2003 and today’s QC. Both the art and the focus of the series have shifted dramatically in the last few years — much moreso than many of the strips on my radar. With that in mind, I recently took the opportunity to pick Jacques’ brain about the origins and development of the series and the nature of "indie cred."

COMICMIX: I’m familiar with the area QC is based on, so I think it would be interesting to hear your take on the setting for the series and how it compares to its real-world counterpart…

JEPH JACQUES: For those not In The Know™, QC is set in Northampton, Massachusetts, a smallish town in the western end of the state, home to Smith College. Northampton is a Very Fancy Town that likes to pretend it is actually a chunk of Manhattan that somehow got carried two hours due north (possibly via Hipster Albatross).

The QC version of Northampton corresponds roughly, at best, with its real-world counterpart. Many of the streets are the same (almost all the outdoor backgrounds are taken from real-life photographs) but there are differences. Coffee of Doom, for instance, exists on some bizarre meta-street that does not actually exist in the real world. The exact location of Marten’s apartment building is similarly a mystery. Basically, I use the actual town layout when it’s convenient, but break the rules whenever it suits me.

As for the cultural setting, from what I can tell Northampton is primarily young, liberal, Caucasian, and college-educated, and the cast of QC essentially reflects that. (more…)

ComicMix Six: Greatest Joker Victories

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  • July 16, 2008

Sometimes the villain wins.

Sure, you might stick them in jail — or an asylum — for what they’ve done. You could even throw them off a rooftop, leaving them paralyzed for life. But that won’t change the fact that they already did it. They scored a victory, even if it was short-lived.

The Joker is definitely a villain with a better track record than most. Lex Luthor may have become President and nearly destroyed Superman a few times. But he never killed Lois Lane or tortured Ma and Pa Kent. The Clown Prince of Killers, however, has had quite a few shining moments.

What drives this evil mass murderer? Some have claimed the chemicals which altered his pigmentation also damaged his brain. Some have claimed he suffered such psychological trauma and simply snapped. Some believe his brain actually acts on a higher level of perception, forcing him to operate with a logic we simply aren’t equipped to understand. Half of his crimes seem to be a way of trying to bring Batman to his own way of thinking, that there is no hope in the world, only chaos.

The fact that we can argue about the Joker’s sanity (or lack thereof) is part of what makes him so interesting. And so, with the release of The Dark Knight — and the Joker — looming near, we’ve sifted through the long and bloody history of the Harlequin of Hate to find those victories which stand out above the rest. Steel your nerves and enjoy ComicMix Six: The Six Greatest Joker Victories.

And if you’re interested, you may want to check out our related article, 11 Batman Stories to read before The Dark Knight.

(more…)

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The Dark Knight’s Leading Ladies?

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  • July 16, 2008

catwoman-00-2124140With The Dark Knight looming large this week, Cinematical’s resident "geek beat" writer Elisabeth Rappe recently put together a list of the ladies she’d like to see introduced in the new Batman film franchise. Among her thoughtful reflections on potential leading ladies for Gotham’s favorite superhero are Catwoman ("she needs to be redeemed from that awful Halle Berry film"), Poison Ivy ("Nolan could revise her into a true eco-terrorist, a scientist who takes ‘green living’ a little too seriously") and the suggestion with the most potential, in my opinion, Talia al-Ghul:

Talia al-Ghul is another potential villain for Batman to take on – but her role in the comics is never so clear cut. She is continuously torn between loyalty to her father and her love for Batman. This complex relationship seems ideal for Nolan’s world, and Ra’s al Ghul’s apparent death in Batman Begins would lend an added dimension. Bonus points if they actually went so far as to bless the union, if you get what I mean.

Head over to Cinematical for the full list of Gotham City Gals.

Platinum Studios’ Financial Struggles

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  • July 16, 2008

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A lot of questions have been thrown around of late regarding the financial status of comics publisher Platinum Studios, especially after Hero by Night creator D.J. Coffman went public with news that he hadn’t been paid for work and was facing foreclosure.

I spent the past several weeks investigating Platinum’s finances and interviewing Coffman, Platinum President Brian Altounian and other sources.

What came up is that Platinum is in a precarious financial situation, in the red by more than $10 million. An independent auditor warned that the company is a serious threat to go under. You can read the article at Publishers Weekly right here.

Platinum indicated to me that they wouldn’t be giving any more interviews regarding the company’s finances or the situation with Coffman.

Platinum has created a blog, where they give the unedited transcript of my interview with Altounian. You can read that right here. I haven’t had a chance yet to check it against my record of the interview.

 

Catch ‘The Spirit’ Trailer While You Can

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  • July 15, 2008

spiritposter-9585227The trailer to the upcoming The Spirit movie is set to debut at Comic-Con, but earlier today it leaked out early.

While it’s been taken down just about everywhere (including one of its last homes right here at Film School Rejects), reviews of the trailer are, well…

I am not sold on this movie just yet. I dig the concept, I loved the comic and I am also a fan of Frank Miller’s work, at least the kind he does on paper. This however, isn’t doing it for me. The dialog sounds awkward, the effects seem forced and over-the-top and I don’t know if it is going to be anything but another excuse to go heavy on the use of green screen to make a “innovative” comic book flick. I am wondering whether this will end up on the Sin City side of the spectrum or the Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow side. At this point, it is still too early to tell for sure.

What he said.

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San Diego Comic-Con: Everything You Need To Know And Then Some

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  • July 15, 2008

comic_con_logo-6878829We’ve already posted several round-ups of where you can find information about tickets, programming and other concerns related to this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego next weekend, and while I’ve been considering the idea of some sort of official guide to the show, I might be better off just directing you to the exhaustive "Guide to Visiting and Enjoying Comic-Con International" posted by Tom Spurgeon in May.

Sure, the article was published more than a month ago, but much of what it details holds true now — and if you’re like me, you’ve avoided thinking about anything related to "Nerd Prom" until you absoluely have to do so. It’s well worth the time it takes to read through the article, and offers up the sort of wisdom that only years upon years of attending the show tend to produce.

Among the topics Spurgeon addresses in his guide are "What to Prepare in Advance" and "Ways to Maximize Your Hotel Experience," as well as tips about the local transit service, notable sights and services, and a metric crap-ton of other helpful hints.

From "Eighteen Random Observations About San Diego Hotels":

The trend downtown is towards 1) boutique hotels that cost an arm and a leg with features to match, and 2) big-name luxury hotels that can ramp up their room prices to those levels. Soon, no one without a major film development deal will be able to afford a downtown hotel, and all the comics people will stay in a tent city north of the zoo, burning old copies of Star Comics to keep warm at night and staging gladiator-style fights between inkers vs. colorists for entertainment.

If you’re headed to San Diego, this is pretty much required reading, folks. Do yourself a favor and give it a read.

Viz Looking for New Properties

  • News
  • July 15, 2008

12901vizmedia_logo-lg-1795549Manga publisher Viz Media will be looking to take on new projects, and even possibly some non-Manga content, according to ICv2.

In a Q&A with Marc Weidenbaum and Eric Searleman, editor in chief and vice president respectively, ICv2 finds out more detail about these changes, and how they tie into Viz’s announced talent search at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Are you looking for manga-style properties?

If by "manga" you mean what is generally considered manga in the United States (fantasy and romance aimed at teenagers), then no. If by "manga" you mean what is meant by manga in Japan (a broad range of comics that emphasize serial storytelling, cliffhangers, reader feedback, a supportive editorial process, and a rich creator voice), then yes we are.

The story also addresses the difficulty in selling any non-Japanese content in the Japanese comics market:

Japan remains the toughest market for material from other countries to crack. But even that may be changing, as the U.S. subsidiary of the two largest manga companies in Japan begins its search for original comics. Viz Media’s Marc Weidenbaum, VP Original Publishing, and Eric Searleman, Senior Editor, the execs handling the search for original content answered in the affirmative when we asked whether there is American material that would sell well in Japan. “Certainly,” they said. “Both countries have their own rich, indigenous graphic-storytelling cultures. There are bridges yet to be built.”

(via Blog@)

SLG Editor: Enough Women in Refrigerators

  • News
  • July 14, 2008

slave-labor-graphics-logo-p-2430465For all the discussion about the role of women in comics — as creators and characters — apparently more needs to be said, at least judging from the submissions that come in to publisher Slave Labor Graphics.

SLG editor Jennifer de Guzman goes off in a new journal entry, deriding the material she’s seeing cross her desk.

Indie and alt comics are still much-dominated by male creators, and in these men’s minds, women serve as plot devices that aid in a male development’s character. The women are damaged and victimized and usually odd — like that hot, fucked-up chick in Fight Club, brah! — and I’m tired of them. Just in this month, only a week old now, I have seen women who have been lured into porn, women who are hookers who teach young men lessons about life, women who were raped by stepfathers, women who are bi-polar and suicidal, women who are naive and long-suffering girlfriends of scumbags, and women who seem pretty cool and normal and then get kidnapped in order for the male protagonists to have something to do by saving her. Women who are never the protagonist.

Guys, STOP IT. The cumulative effect of these crazy/victimized/damaged women submissions — almost every other envelope I’ve opened — has got me wanting to punch someone. And you know where that will lead me: In trouble with the law, I’ll slip into the underbelly of society, start a nasty meth habit, turn to prostitution and then have to be saved by the man who has always loved me. Don’t let it happen to me. You can be a hero.

(via Journalista)

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