Tagged: comics

Dave Cockrum estate donates comics to Newark Beth Israel Children’s Hospital

  • News
  • February 22, 2010

dave-cockrum-9145621Kars4Kids, the national
car-donation program that benefits children, and Newark Beth Israel
Children’s Hospital in Newark, NJ, distributed a generous,
unique donation from the estate of Dave Cockrum, co-creator of Marvel
Comics’ popular X-Men series. The donated comics were part of Cockrum’s
personal collection.

“My husband loved to help people—he was
generous to a fault,” said Paty Cockrum, widow of the popular artist
and creator who died in 2006 from complications resulting from
diabetes. “Dave was extremely happy that the characters he created—such
as Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler—became a part of the childhood
memories of millions of children. He knew that was his legacy. Dave was
also an avid comic book collector. I’m delighted that kids in need will
benefit from his personal collection.”

The comics were given
out on February 19 to children who
are hospitalized.

Kars4Kids
is a national organization providing for the spiritual, emotional and
practical needs of children from impoverished or dysfunctional
families. The national, 501(c)3, non-profit organization was
established in 2000.

Hat tip (and happy birthday!) to Clifford Meth.

More on the ‘iPad: will it save the world… or destroy it?’ debates

  • News
  • February 4, 2010

I always notice these things when I’m on five different deadlines and really shouldn’t be distracted, but when Dirk Deppey says I’ve missed the point entirely, as he does here, replying to my comments here— well, it catches my attention.

Dirk says: It [the iPad] has to be cheap enough to appeal to the general public, building a large enough pool of potential customers to once again make selling comics to a mass audience feasible — otherwise you’re just trading one limited, stagnant marketplace for another, selling primarily to a fraction of the same customer base that you already had. Which is what I think will happen with the iPad as presently designed and marketed, for reasons already outlined. … Here’s the thing about Google’s strategy: Because it’s both open source and backed by one of the largest tech corporations on Earth, they can make a strong appeal to manufacturers, not only for their operating system’s lack of licensing costs but also because it comes with an already-functioning apps store that sells across multiple hardware platforms, guaranteeing (to the extent that anyone can) a thriving online marketplace for one’s customers. This in turn offers creators and publishers a potential for mass-market ubiquity that Apple will never, ever be able to match.

In order:

The iPhone came out less than three years ago and Apple has sold 33.75 million iPhones sold by the end of 4Q09. That’s a mass market platform, certainly a larger number than the number of people walking in to comics stores. For a point of comparison, Time Warner Cable has less than 25 million cable subscribers.

An even bigger sales platform is the iTunes Store, which has been the number one music vendor in the US for almost two years straight, which has sold over 9 billion songs, over 1 billion HD TV episodes, and downloaded over 2 billion apps, while traditional stores like Sam Goody and Tower Records have pretty much gone bye-bye. I wouldn’t exactly call that a “limited marketplace”.

We already have reports that iPhone editions of some comics from major publishers have been outselling print editions of the books, and that’s on a platform that’s not optimal for reading comics.

If there’s a problem with the platform, it’s the problem of getting lost amidst the huge amounts of stuff other people are putting out.

Dirk, if you’re willing to bet against Apple, which is also “one of the largest tech companies on Earth”, more power to you– I remember the Newton too. But don’t be surprised if these new distribution methods and platforms turn your local comic shop into the 21st century equivalent of Record World.*

*For the youngsters: once upon a time, CDs (remember them?) used to be as big as your head, and they would have so much music on them that they turned black. And when you turned them over, there was more music on the other side!

If the iPod changed the music industry, what will the iPad do to the comics industry?

  • News
  • February 2, 2010

At the Grammys this past Sunday evening, Neil Portnow, the Academy President and CEO, delivered some interesting and important words. Before the amassed crowd of celebrities, recording artists, and self-important rich people, Neil said words that hit this comic lover right in the bread basket.

“Now, what if someone told you they really appreciated your work but didn’t think they should have to pay you for it anymore. What would you do? How would you pay your bills, support your family? How would you survive?

This evening, you’ve seen performances by the most successful artists today. And you know about their generosity and giving back. But standing right behind them are thousands of unknown and up-and-coming music makers who face the question of survival every day. In the coming decade, unless they can make a living at their craft, the quality and creativity of the music will be at risk.

Well tonight, we’re all fans and music lovers who want to ensure that the future of music is a bright one. New technologies will bring music whenever and wherever you want it.”

The “up-and-coming” musicians he speaks of… the thousands upon thousands of twenty and thirty somethings working night after night in dingy clubs playing for measly covers? It got me thinking… are are they any different than the twenty and thirty somethings slaving over their computers and drawing boards, putting out small press and indie comics? Nope. And just as the indie bands’ survival is questioned based on the continuing movement to an all digital format… so too we must ask about the future of our medium. (more…)

How Amazon could force comics to go digital

  • News
  • January 30, 2010

Remember about a month back, we posted an article about Fox Networks and Time Warner Cable playing hardball over being carried?

Well, as of Friday books from Macmillan, including all sub-imprints like Tor books and St. Martin’s Press, have vanished from Amazon.com. According to the New York Times, the disappearance is the result of a disagreement
between Amazon.com
and book publishers that has been brewing for the last year. Macmillan,
like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of
electronic books from $9.99 to around $15. Amazon is expressing its
strong disagreement by temporarily removing Macmillan books.

Now with this as a precedent, let’s take it to the next level:

“Hello, DC Comics? Jeff Bezos here. Hey, how come we don’t have Batman: Black & White available for the Kindle yet?”

“Oh really? Do you know how many thousands of copies of Watchmen we sold for you last year? How many Batman and Sandman graphic novels? Don’t even get me started on Smallville DVD sets.”

“Let me spell it out for you. If we don’t start getting files for the Kindle by the end of this month, we’re going to stop selling the print editions of your books.”

Think it can’t happen? Are you sure?

$100,000 bounty to play with Apple iTablet two weeks in advance, or you could have comics

  • News
  • January 14, 2010

Everybody wants to see the fabled device that will change the comics industry, but Valleywag is putting their money where their mouth is with their Apple Tablet Scavenger Hunt:

If you can find the first genuine
photos, video or — the holy grail — the actual messiah machine itself
before then and they’re exclusive to us, we’ll give you a cash prize.

Not to be outdone, Marvel is offering 500 copies of Siege #3 with a Deadpool variant cover.

Marvel Unveils New Iron Man Armor

  • News
  • January 8, 2010

As the worlds of film and comics grow ever closer, Marvel this afternoon released this image of Iron Man’s new armor. If it looks awfully similar to the movie version of shellhead, that’s no doubt intentional. Ryan Meinerding, designer on the Iron Man and Thor films helped adapt the movie suit for comics and this debuts in April’s Invincible Iron Man #25.

The series, written by Matt Fraction, has been acclaimed to the point where director Jon Favreau had Fraction consult on the sequel, conveniently due out just weeks later. With a new storyline kicking off, the new mission requires a new kind of armor.

“The inspiration for the new design came from thinking about a sleeker, leaner, tougher Iron Man,” Fraction said in a Marvel press release. “If technology is increasingly getting smaller and lighter it seems like the Iron Man should do the same: ergonomic and aerodynamic. We were looking for something that felt as sleek and glossy as a sports car Tony Stark would covet.  I love what we’ve come up with. It feels like the next evolutionary step in the Iron Man’s design.”

Comic MMIX Year-End Picks: Favorites (and not-so-favorites) of 2009, part 1

  • News
  • January 6, 2010

Now that 2009 is officially over, we can do a year in review. This is by no means a definitive list of “the best of the year” as we’d never come to a consensus, just think of it as our varied and individual take on what stuck out in the minds of everybody here at the Mix. After all, as the song says, it’s a mixed-up, muddled-up, shook-up world. Onward!

kyle-rayner-death-2098757Shortest Death of the Year: Kyle Rayner. Green Lantern Corps #42/43 (DC)

For those who know me well, I was offered quick condolences when I picked up Peter Tomasi’s Green Lantern Corps
#42. Kyle Rayner, my personal favorite ‘Super Hero’ was given a
decidedly trite death; sacrificing himself with an exploding Alpha
Lantern Core in order to blow up a smattering of not-so-easy-to-kill
black lanterns and their Nekron inspired construct. Gaping plot hole be
damned! Sure Mr. Rayner was one of two honor guardsmen, who we’d
‘assume’ knew how to wield the emerald light with a little flair, might
figure that the ring could make a nice bubble to contain the
aforementioned big-bada-boom, and NOT include himself… But it was far
sappier dramatic
for Kyle to tell Natu (his current, non-refrigerator-bound-beau) and
Guy (his best-buddy-with-a-bygone-bowlcut) that he ‘wuved them. And
guess what? Not twenty pages later, Kyle was resurrected by Star
Sapphire Miri Riam, who showed us yet another unknown power from the
crystal spewing pink ring club. It seems that ‘True Love’ allows a Star
Sapphire to combine hearts, and save a dead lover. I guess Miri wished
she could have done that when he husband died, a few issues ago.
Whoopsie! –Marc Alan Fishman

Most overlooked of the year: Final Crisis Aftermath: Run (DC)

It’s easy to hate event books–especially one as polarizing as Final Crisis–but it’s hard to deny that sometimes damn fine things come out of them. Zero Hour gave us James Robinson’s Starman, Secret Wars gave us Spider-Man’s black costume (even if it was retroactive), and now Final Crisis has given us Run, a tale of the Human Flame, the most unrepentant bastard in the DC Universe, on the run from the Justice League following the death of the Martian Manhunter. It’s funny, it’s fast-moving, and it’s smart as a whip, thanks in equal measure to Matt Sturges’ (Blue Beetle, JSA All-Stars) script and the perennially underrated pencils of Freddie E. Williams II (Robin). Besides, it has the Condiment King. Who can say no to the Condiment King? –Matthew Weinberger

Favorite dialogue of the year: from Irredeemable #5 (BOOM!), written by Mark Waid, when the winged Gilgamos meets the black super-hero Volt:

“I know you! You’re Black V—“
“That’s the other guy.”
“From Philadelphia?”
“That’s the other other guy. Look, I am solidly aware that an electromagnetic African-American super is a total cliché. My apologies. I didn’t order this power off the menu, I swear.”

–Howard Margolin

(more…)

Patrick Stewart to be knighted

  • News
  • December 31, 2009

patrick-2520stewart-8178651 Now when the crew of the Enterprise addresses him as Sir, they can really mean it.

Patrick Stewart is on the list of people to be knighted by H.R.M. Queen Elizabeth II this New Year’s Day, and in the U.K. will henceforth be known as Sir Patrick.

Stewart is known to comics fans for, among other things, playing Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies and Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is also a fan of comics, having contributed an introduction to a Transmetropolitan collection, optioned the film rights, and having made his desire known to play the role of Spider Jerusalem in any screen adaptation of the property.

He is also a noted Shakespearean actor, having been a long-time member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and most recently performing as Cladius opposite David Tennant’s Hamlet.

Review: ‘Logicomix’ by Doxiadis, Papadimitriou, Papadatos, and Di Donna

logicomix-1535552

Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
Written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou; Art by Alecos Papadatos; Color by Annie Di Donna
Bloomsbury, September 2009, $22.95

Ever so often, there’s an object lesson that proves the saying so many of us like to make: that comics aren’t just for adventure stories, that they’re suitable for any kind of story. If we’re lucky, those paradigm-breakers are also really successful – and [[[Logicomix]]] is both of those things. It’s a major graphic novel on an unexpected topic – the life of Bertrand Russell, with a strong emphasis on his work attempting to create a solid foundation for mathematics, and thus all of learning – and it’s been quite commercially successful, alighting on bestseller lists occasionally and moving a surprising number of copies.

Logicomix, though, is also a piece of metafiction – the first character we see, on the first page of this graphic novel, is co-author Doxiadis, talking to the reader about this very story, and introducing us to co-author (and logician/computer science professor) Papadimitriou, and then to the art team, Papadatos and Di Donna, and their researcher, Anne. The authors and illustrators return to the stage – very literally, in one case at the end – several times in the course of the graphic novel, mostly to explain the details more carefully, and, occasionally, to lightly debate with each other about the meaning and import of the story.

After that bit of throat-clearing, Logicomix starts up in earnest…with another frame story, in which Bertrand Russell arrives to speak on logic at an unnamed “American University” on the eve of WWII, in 1939, and finds himself interrupted by protestors who want him to stand up unequivocally for pacifism, as he did during The Great War. Russell instead launches into his speech, which forms the narration boxes – and occasional interludes – for the rest of the graphic novel, as the panels depict first Russell’s youth and then his early mature years, as he worked on the foundations of logic.

(more…)

Weekend Window-Closing Wrapup, Christmas 2009

  • News
  • December 27, 2009

gi-joe-3199969I’m trying to avoid declaring an end-of-year window closing bankruptcy, wherein I just close every window and never look back, and then keep no more than ten tabs open.

Okay, twenty.

Thirty.

Stop me before I ctrl-click again.

Anything else? Consider this an open thread. Tell us what you got for Christmas!

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