Tagged: comics

BIG BROADCAST’s Stories Behind The Stories

  • News
  • October 7, 2007

captain_victory_3-9826848Needless to say, it has been a rather eventful week here at ComicMix, but not so much that we can’t take the time out to WELCOME all of you who may have just discovered us via news of our new, weekly and FREE comics. If you missed some of our Big ComicMix Broadcasts this week, here are some things we pointed you toward:

Even if you hate CSI: Miami, you will still enjoy this montage of cheesy David Caruso one-liners here, then take a trip here for some ideas on making your own montages and getting CBS to use them!

That preview of the new Wallace and Gromit special can be seen here. Actually it is a short film about the next TV special, Trouble At’ Mill, which will debut on BBC One in fall/holiday 2008. 

If you are lucky enough to own any original Jack Kirby art from Captain Victory, Image Comics needs your help in order to produce the best looking hardcover of this project. Drop them a line here.

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BIG BROADCAST: Mad’s Main Man Talks!

10092_2_0030-9595782There probably hasn’t been a generation since the late 1950s that, in some way, hasn’t been touched by Mad Magazine. Born out of the Comics Code ravaged EC Comics, it went from four color comic to traditional magazine and broke circulation records that have yet to be topped. Today The Big ComicMix Broadcast begins our talk with Al Feldstein, a mainstay of EC’s glory days and the man who helped Mad on the map. Plus, The Hardy Boys get gamey, Image pulls the Kirby book and we take another step closer to Transformers 2.

Now PRESS THE BUTTON, please!

BIG BROADCAST: A Day Without Hoosiers Is Like…

oneyrind-2666515Ever think that there are at least parts of your life that would make an interesting comic? Artist Kurt Dinse did and from there he added a little drama and created One Year In Indiana, an intriguing indy comic  spotlighted today on THE BIG BROADCAST!

Plus: What is the deal on all those Marvel Zombie variants? How about Princess Bride coming to the game market? The new Tintin trilogy? And today, we fondly remember Mrs. Hart.

Let us entertain you while you read the all-new, all-free Black Ice… PRESS THE BUTTON!

GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: Some Greasy Kids Stuff

 

 

dinos-6479331Today I’ve got three books that either are for kids or look like they should be, so, if any of you are allergic to greasy kids stuff, just move on to the next post.

[[[Dinosaurs Across America]]] is the new book by Phil Yeh, who has spent the last two decades promoting literacy and art across the world in various ways, including lots of comics. In fact, this book was originally a black-and-white comic that was sold at various Yeh events. It’s a quick look at all fifty states in the US, with a concentration on quick facts and learning all of the capitals. One of Yeh’s recurring characters, Patrick Rabbit, has been suckered, and a group of dinosaurs (also recurring Yeh characters) set him straight on the real facts. There’s no real story here, but it’s a great book for kids interested in state capitals or geography in general. (Or even for kids who aren’t interested in that, but need to learn some of it.)

 

korgi-2421365

 

[[[Korgi]]], Book 1 is the first in what’s planned to be a series of all-ages wordless comics stories. It’s by Christian Slade, and seems to be his first major comics work. It’s cute and fun and adventurous by turns, though the wordlessness doesn’t always help with a fantasy story like this. (The dogs, such as Korgi, are obvious Special somehow, but it’s hard to convey the specifics of something like that without words.) This is perhaps pitched a bit older than Andy Runton’s [[[Owly]]] books – also wordless comics stories from Top Shelf for all ages – simply because there’s more action and suspense in Korgi. (There’s certainly nothing here I’d worry about giving to my six-year-old.) Slade uses a lot of scribbly lines for shading and tones, and – especially after reading James Sturm’s America recently – that looks a bit amateur to me. Slade is very good at it, but it does leave an impression of lots and lots of little lines all over the page; it would be interesting to see him use other ways of showing tone and shading, and concentrate on drawing just a few, bolder, stronger lines. Or maybe not; he gets some great effects with his many lines, creating clouds and rocks and monsters that come to vivid life on the page.

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We’ve got issues!

  • News
  • October 2, 2007

Okay, technically we’ve got issue with no "s", but today is a pretty big day for ComicMix.

We have a new design. We published the first installment of one of our comic books online. We added the ability to leave anonymous comments. We added an easy way to listen to our podcast archives. Best of all, we moved the site to an entirely rebuilt publishing platform which will let us release new features over the coming weeks at light speed.

The amazing thing to me is that it’s just a start. It’s everything that comes after today that has me so psyched.

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DENNIS O’NEIL: Plugging No-Face

  • News
  • October 2, 2007

 

Imagine me jumping up and down and pointing to myself and waving a book and yelling, Buy this you gotta buy this it’ll make you happy and rich and solve all your problems and give you Jessica Alba’s phone number it’s the greatest thing since similes…

Now imagine me reverently kissing the hem of George Bush’s garment.

One event is as likely to occur as the other.

I tell you this because soon I will mention a collection of stuff I wrote before some of you were born and I wouldn’t want anyone to think for a nanosecond that I was recommending you buy it.  We Missourians who have attained a certain degree of maturity do not so demean ourselves.  (We sip our tea and doze in the afternoon sun instead.)

With that caveat…

Yesterday a Santa’s helper from Brown dropped an early Christmas (or Halloween) present on the front stoop, a box of graphic novel-format volumes titled Zen and Violence.  Now, somewhere on the space-time continuum between my typing these words and you reading them, they will be inspected by Mike Gold, who is the editor of this department and also edited the aforementioned collection of comic books.  Let us pause to consider that maybe the space-time continuum is, indeed, curved, and then enter a timid demurral regarding that title, Zen and Violence.

Not mine.  Not Mike’s, as far as I know.  My first problem is this: there isn’t much Zen in those pages.  A smidgen, maybe, but when I did the stories I may have thought I knew more about Zen than I did.  I’m not sure how the series came to be identified with Eastern thought, but it did, and if it does for someone else what the works of Kerouac and Ginsberg did for me – point to the Something Else out there – then maybe I should shut up and smile and bow and retire.

My second problem:  Yes, there is plenty of violence in the stories, or action, as some prefer to euphemize it.  These were, after all, published as superhero comics in 1986-1987 and nobody back then was buying superhero comics to study philosophy, nor should they have been;  violence…er – action was part of the package.  Nor do I want to be snooty about it; violence has some valid dramatic uses (and I guess action does, too.) But I don’t want anyone to think I recommend violence as an all-purpose problem solver, and putting the word in a book title might give that impression.

Okay, okay, I’m being paranoid…

RECOMMENDED READING:  You want to know something about Zen?  Brad Warner’s your man.  Warner is a musician, monster movie fan and Zen priest and that, my friends, is a resume a lot of us would be proud to call our own.  His latest book is called Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, Good, Truth, Sex, Death & Dogen’s Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye.  The title, for once, says it all.

Dennis O’Neil is an award-winning editor and writer of comic books like Batman, The Question, Iron Man, Green Lantern and/or Green Arrow, and The Shadow, as well as all kinds of novels, stories and articles.

Defenders of Freedom Are Coming

  • News
  • September 30, 2007

okko-6923782From the day we did our first Big ComicMix Broadcast, we told you that there were big things planned here at ComicMix, and now you will finally see for yourself in a little over a full day. Phase Two is about ready to fly, but in the meantime here are some things to surf two while you are waiting….

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched their graphic novel project, Defenders of Freedom which is comprised of two original stories: "Blue Collar," written by Jimmy Palmiotti and inked by Rick Burchett, about a man and a racist police officer, and "A Question of Obligation," drawn by Mark Badger and written by Matthew Manning, a story about a clash between government involvement and civil liberties. The back cover art is by Art Spiegelman. The ACLU has released the limited edition graphic novel in print via "guerilla marketing" teams in seven US cities, as well as in digital format on its youth-targeted website here.

If you want to be sure to get a copy of Okko: The Cycle of Water #1 from ASP Comics go to their site here. It also might be available from some comic book retailers, but there is no guarantee how long the "few hundred" copies AP turned up will last.

You can see that "Sopranos-like-remix" of CBS’ How I Met Your Mother here. It’s a three minute version of the first two seasons. Meanwhile, if you are on Facebook, you’re invited create their own recap, in hopes of being selected to air in a November episode. And if you are a fan, you also probably know the SlapBetWebsite is here.

Things are gearing up for 24 Hour Comics Day, the annual around-the-globe, around-the-clock festival of comics creation coming on Saturday, October 20th. Amateur and professional cartoonists will gather at event locations worldwide, each person aiming to create a 24 page comic book in 24 hours. Right now, 70 official local events have been announced with the latest list here and if you would still like to organize your own, get information here.

Finally, if you want to get a quick Heroes fix, Adrian Pasdar has some video he shot on the set of the NBC show here.

Join us here Tuesday for what we’ve all been waiting for, but in the meantime, here’s a question. Do you know someone who might be thrilled to hear that GrimJack, Simone & Ajax, Jon Sable, Freelance, or Munden’s Bar are back, or that might enjoy Fishhead, Black Ice or EZ Street? Do them a favor and shoot them a link to ComicMix this week – and while you are at it – be SURE to tell them it is (and will be) 100% FREE. We’ll be back in a couple of days with your personal audio guided tour of the New Stuff complements of ComicMix chairman Brian Alvey.

Trick ‘R Treat, DC/Wildstorm!

  • News
  • September 27, 2007

8216_400x600-1-9230136Yesterday, retailers received the following e-mail from Diamond, DC Comics’ exclusive distributors to comic shops:

TRICK ‘R TREAT MINISERIES TO BE RESOLICITED AT A LATER DATE

TRICK ‘R TREAT, the four-issue weekly shipping mini-series from WildStorm, has been postponed and will be resolicited at a later date.  All orders placed under the item codes AUG070318, AUG070319, AUG070320 and AUG070321 are cancelled.

This begs the question: are they going to change all the evil pumpkins into happy Santas? I can see it now:

DARK RUDOLPH!

WON’T YOU PULL SOME SLAY TONIGHT??

It also makes me wonder what I’m going to give the little kiddies this Halloween. Their parents won’t accept apples…

JOHN OSTRANDER: Devil’s Advocate – Iraq

  • News
  • September 27, 2007

john-ostrander100-2474439I’ve got something nibbling at my mind and perhaps the only way for me to sort it out is to put it into words. It has to do with our adventure in nation-building, a.k.a. the Iraq debacle.

I’ll start by saying that I was for the invasion of Afghanistan. Then and now, it seemed to me the necessary response to 9/11. Al Quaeda appeared responsible; they had their camps in Afghanistan with the full knowledge and support of the Afghan government, the Taliban. You get hit, you hit back at the ones who hit you. Hard. As Al Capone said, “That’s the Chicago way.”

On the other hand, I was not for the invasion of Iraq from the beginning and I said so. I didn’t buy the “imminent danger” from the “weapons of mass destruction,” especially since there were UN weapons inspection teams on the ground inside the country. The fact that the Bush Administration was so stridently insistent made me ask “What else is going on here?” At first I thought it was about the oil (and now Alan Greenspan says it was); I came to believe that it was a NeoCon vision of transforming the MidEast by creating a functioning democracy in the middle of it. Now I think it’s about the oil, about the NeoCon vision, and certain select Bush-friendly companies making a bucket of money there.

I believe that the NeoCons thought that the Iraqis in exile would just step in, set up a new government, we would be hailed as liberators, and it would all be done in six months. I believe it was on the agenda to do before 9/11 happened; that tragedy just enabled the Bushies to push the plan through without thinking it through. The only plan the current administration seems to have for dealing with the mess is to leave it for the next administration to clean up. Instead of nation building, we seem to have created a geographical area of chaos. It’s a constant drain on both our military and our national finances; Iraq seems like an open wound.

My disgust with all of this is long standing. We had no business going into Iraq in the first place. The WMDs were a lie and the Administration knew it or, at very least, should have known it. The Dems were elected to Congress on the promise to end the war and the low low low approval rating of Congress at the moment stems on their failure to even staunch the flow. Since I didn’t believe we should be there in the first place, it stands to reason that I think we should get out at first opportunity.

BUT. . .

Colin Powell is purported to have said to Bush about Iraq before the invasion that “If you break it, you’ve bought it.” And there’s my problem. I think there’s truth to that. Before we invaded, Iraq was a functioning country: it had electricity, people had jobs. Yes, it also had a murderous dictator in charge; lots of places around the globe do and we don’t seem to have bothered ourselves about them.

So now what have we got? Sect fights sect and sects fight internally and they all hate us. It’s chaos and we brought it. We, the People. This country. You, an individual, may have, like me, been against the whole misbegotten enterprise from the start but I’m talking about the collective We. The We that elected not only the President but the members of Congress that sustained him, as well as the Democratic Party that has no spine.

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DENNIS O’NEIL: On Writing Comics, Part Two

  • News
  • September 25, 2007

Last week, before I so rudely interrupted us, we were discussing the merits of writing comic books using the “full script” method, in which the writer produces a first cousin to a movie script, with visual directions as well as dialogue and other verbal stuff. Now, we should examine he advantages of working in what has come to be called the “Marvel style.” With this method, you will remember, the writer first does a plot and the penciller renders this into a visual narrative. That’s conveyed to the writer who then adds dialogue and captions and, often, indicates where the balloons and captions should be placed by drawing them onto copies of the artwork.

The main one is that, if the penciller is a good storyteller, he can do the writer’s work for him by figuring out pacing and kinds of shots. When Marvel’s Stan Lee adopted this way of operating, he was working with such as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, men who were already masters of their craft. Stan didn’t have to worry about such bothers as a boring but vital plot element being eliminated or the pacing of the story being off so that a lot if crammed into the last pages, maybe not leaving enough room for copy. And – when you work with really good artists there’s always the possibility that they’ll improve on your visual storytelling. They will, in other words, make you look good and who doesn’t like that?

When I first worked for Stan in the 60s, our plots were pretty terse, a couple-three paragraphs or even less. But remember, we were usually collaborating with highly experienced artists. When I last left Marvel, in 1986, the plots were generally much longer and closely detailed.

Then there’s Doug Moench, whose plots for 22-page comic books might run 25 pages and include swatches of dialogue. I once asked Doug why he didn’t just do full scripts and save himself some hassle. His reply was that sometimes art inspired him, gave him a character twist or bit of dialogue he would not have thought of otherwise. And this procedure also functions as a fail-safe mechanism – if something isn’t in the art that needs to be there, or if something is unclear, Doug can write to remedy the problem.

Here, my friends, we have a man who is both conscientious and a complete pro.

For a while some years ago, the Marvel style ruled – or at least would have won popularity contests. Now, I’m told by working comic bookers, the full-plot method is much the favored. I don’t know why. It might have something to do with the fact that now, as in the past, deadlines are a major editorial hair-grayer and the full script method is a tiny bit easier to manage because it involves fewer exchanges of material and maybe a little less paperwork. Or maybe, like so much else, these things are determined by evolutionary cycles I can’t quite wrap my brain around.

RECOMMENDED READING: Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney

Dennis O’Neil is an award-winning editor and writer of comic books like Batman, The Question, Iron Man, Green Lantern and/or Green Arrow, and The Shadow, as well as all kinds of novels, stories and articles.

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