Tagged: comics

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Review: ‘Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft’

locke-and-key-cover-3276813Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft
By Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
IDW Publishing, October 2008, $24.99

Horror in comic books have always been an uneven affair.  These days, horror comics tend to feature zombies or H.P. Lovecraft adaptations but there’s so much more that can explored.  Fortunately, Joe Hill doesn’t mind going where others fear to tread.

His [[[Locke & Key]]] miniseries at IDW was a chilling affair, as much for its fresh take on the supernatural as for the superb art from Gabriel Rodriguez.  The six issues are collected today for the first time in a handsome hardcover volume that comes well recommended.

Too often horror offers you stock characters in a stock situations and how A Meets B is about the only variable.  You tend not to care a whit for the hero or victim and too often gore for gore’s sake overwhelms the storytelling.  Hill, instead, takes his time setting up the characters, the Locke family, and as wee progress through the 158 pages, we learn things.  As a result, we get to care for the three children whose father dies at the story’s beginning.  There’s Ty, the eldest who is conflicted over the father he had come to hate; Kinsey the young teen figuring out her place in the world and young Bode who becomes our focal point.

After their father is killed, Nina takes her children to live with her brother-in-law at Keyhouse in Lovecraft, MA. The large ramshackle property comes complete with a well house and its while visiting there that Bode comes in contact with a spirit. The growing relationship truly begins our story as the secrets of the Locke family and their connections to the other residents of the small island town are doled out in bite-sized chunks. 

(more…)

The Many Lives of Supergirl

  • News
  • October 1, 2008

supergirl-35-5013179There’s been a lot of confusion about Supergirl recently. Since her re-introduction by Jeph Loeb in the pages of Superman/Batman, she has had a few conflicting stories concerning her nature and origins. And even then, she (and readers) had to deal with the fact that she wasn’t the first to bear that name. Today, Supergirl #34 was released, featuring the new creative team of writer by Sterling Gates and artist Jamal Igle, who promised they would start a new, interesting direction with the character, clearly establishing who she is and what she’s all about.

People, listen to me. The hype is true. This issue is a fantastic jumping-on point. It is written in a way that if you have never read a Supergirl comic before, you will understand what’s going on and who is up to what. There is a small blurb on the title page explaining that Kara Zor-El is Superman’s teenage cousin who came to Earth and tries to fight for "truth, justice and the Kryptonian way." There is an editor’s foot-note by Matt Idleson telling you exactly when this issue takes place in relation to Supergirl’s appearances in other comics (God bless you, Matt).

And for anyone who hasn’t been reading the comic so far, there are quick conversations characters that bring you up to speed on Kara Zor-El and how, ever since she arrived on Earth not too long ago, she has been making a lot of mistakes and stumbling in her journey to become a hero worthy of the legacy of her cousin Superman. To compliment the impressive writing, Jamal Igle’s art, as always, is clean, pretty and very emotive. You completely understand what’s going through the character’s heads even if you don’t look at the dialogue.

If you have any interest in the character or are curious about a young, fun girl with powers, this issue is a must-read. You even get to learn some Kryptonian insults!

Next month, Supergirl #35 is supposed to recap the basic origin of Supergirl, just to clear up things for anyone who’s still confusing her with the previous incarnations who were running around. As Gates said recently at the Baltimore Comic-Con, "Supergirl should be simple. She’s Superman’s cousin. Boom."

But I know you readers out there are curious about past continuity. Some of you remember a Supergirl who wore a t-shirt and mini-skirt or a Supergirl who had wings of fire and claimed to be an angel. And you’re thinking, "Hey, Jack! What’s the deal here?"

Well, look no further, faithful readers! At ComicMix, we enjoy indulging such questions. So, in the same vein of my Road to a Crisis article, I present to you a rundown of the various Supergirls who have graced the DC Universe. Please note, I will be dealing with the Supergirl characters who actually stayed on through multiple stories. I will not be going into detail about how one time Jimmy Olsen wished a Supergirl into existence, etc. (more…)

Oblivion, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • September 29, 2008

So we’re headed straight into another 1930s-style depression, or so our politicians and the media would have us believe. Maybe that’s true, although the attempted cure – the socialization of our investment bankers and the insurance industry – just might work. It’s the perfect solution in the Age of Irony: our neocon president nationalizing the very companies that control so much of our economy. Franklin Roosevelt must be rolling over in his grave.

But the real question that concerns us is – how might this affect us as comics and popular culture enthusiasts?

First, I’ll address the most obvious. If you lose your job, you will have less discretionary income and, despite our self-image, comics and movies and action figures are more discretionary than the rent, electricity and food. Even if you’re 45 years old and you live in your mother’s basement, if she’s living off of an annuity and her insurance company goes blooie, you might be cutting back on those X-Men titles.

If enough people find themselves in that position, the friendly neighborhood comics shop will go blooie as well. If enough comics shops go down, the smaller publishers (the “back of the catalog” people) will see retailers order their wares more conservatively than they did before. Some publishers will vaporize. It’ll certainly be tougher for creators to sell those more interesting yet less commercial projects.

Movies… well, that’s another matter. Movies have this rep for surviving the 30s Great Depression, but only among those who aren’t aware how many movie studios got sold, went bankrupt, or almost went bankrupt at the time. Today’s movie-going experience is a lot more expensive than it was for our grandparents. Even in constant dollars, $10.00 tickets are a lot more than 25¢ tickets… and our grandparents didn’t have to spend as much (relatively speaking) on popcorn and soda. More significant, most were able to walk to their local movie house. Today, we have to drive. Even the low, low price of $3.50 a gallon would crank the entire movie going experience up to $50.00 for a couple; more, with dinner. A movie date will cost you a cool hundred.

Television is no longer free. Sure, only a few people will need to get those digital adaptors for their rabbit-ears this February, but most of the rest of us get our fix from cable or satellite (or, in the case of my bestest friend, both cable and satellite). If food, rent, gasoline and utilities cost a family of four two grand a month or more and either one of the breadwinners is no longer winning bread, those premium channel packages are going to look real expensive.

Comics retailers order their stuff from Diamond on a non-returnable basis and, literally, bet the rent each month on their order form. They will have to be even more conservative. They’ve already been ordering what they know will sell; now they have to factor in the fear factor: how many of their regulars will lose their jobs, how many will be so afraid of losing their jobs that they’ll make immediate cut-backs in their purchases? I already said the “smaller” publishers would suffer; so would those companies that manufacture licensed material – action figures, posters, tie-in apparel, (more…)

The Theory of Webcomics: How Webcomics Make Money

  • News
  • September 28, 2008

The question is how webcomics make money. The answer is: Most of them don’t, but the ones that do usually rely on numerous sources. These typically include advertisements on the site, donations from readers, merchandise sales, and paid online content.

The webcomic itself can play several fundamental roles, all of which rest on the same idea: You come to the site to read the comic.

When the revenue source is advertising, the comic consists of a draw that makes the presence of advertising acceptable, in the same model as a TV show. Depending on the hosting site (and the author’s preferences) these can be Google text ads, banner ads put together by Project Wonderful and similar ad brokers, or customized ads solicited and designed by the artist himself. The former two are the easier choice, and typically the available ones to smaller comics with less traffic. More popular comics can often solicit advertisements from online retailers or other comics. The biggest comics, such as Penny Arcade [link: http://www.penny-arcade.com/], have been known to attract advertisements from companies looking to tap into their audience, such as Sega.

When discussing donations, the comic plays the role of a bridge or connection between the author and the audience. The author is typically closer and more responsive to audience feedback than a novelist or print comic author could be, often maintaining comic forums or a Livejournal to communicate with them. Over time, the audience thinks of the author not as a faceless comic-making entity, but as a friend who gives them free stuff and deserves to be rewarded for that. Randy Milholland is the undisputed master of this, having dared his readership that he would quit his day job if they’d donate a year’s salary. Which, in a matter of days, they did. (more…)

IDW’s Presidential Tour

  • News
  • September 27, 2008

IDW has announced signing tour dates for the creators behind the two eagerly anticipated bio-comics featuring presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. Additionally, both comics will be made available for download to mobile phones.

The application is accessible to most cell phones in America through http://m.gocomics.com, while iPhone users can order the comics through Apple.  This may be the first time comic books will have the same in store and download date.

“It’s only fitting that in this historic election that we break new ground in the publishing and online media worlds with the first ever simultaneous release of these graphic novels in both print and on mobile phones. It is also a great move for our democracy to make these beautiful candidate biographies universally available,” said Uclick CEO Douglas Edwards in a release.

The comics have garnered IDW a fair amount of publicity being the first time the candidates have been profiled in graphic form during a campaign.  The publisher has stressed that writers Jeff Mariotte and Andrew Helfer did independent research on both men and tried to present fair interpretations of their lives, providing additional background to readers who may not be as familiar with the candidates through traditional news media. (more…)

Maverick Is Their Name, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • September 27, 2008

 

My friend Stephanie is a proud Texan, even though she’s lived in Manhattan for more than three decades. You can still hear Texas in her voice. She’s about as far from the stereotype as you can get, not a cowgirl,  nor a big-haired society type, she’s a fine artist with a rock’n’roll heart. And, as you can see here, she has an affection for the rock stars of comics as well.

Still, the Texan remains. Stephanie has a pride in her home state that is far deeper and more profound than I feel for mine. She knows her state history. I wasn’t surprised that she knew enough to send me this link. I was just surprised at what it said:

It didn’t bother us when Ford Motor Company used the Maverick family name for their new car. We didn’t care that Tom Cruise’s character in Top Gun was named Maverick, and we were amused when Madonna used our name for her record label. It is part of the American vernacular. But when McCain and the media placed it in a political context, using the maverick label as the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, each and every member of this family was appalled. We continue to be. –Fontaine Maverick

Did you know there were real people with the name “Maverick?” I didn’t. I thought it started in the 1950s with the television show starring James Garner.

And to make this a bit about comics, don’t you think the young James Garner should have starred in a Spirit movie? He looks exactly like Denny Colt.

In fact, this is a lot about comics. Although I’m not current on the specifics of the law, I believe that the Maverick family does not retain legal ownership of their name for commercial use. By allowing it to be used so frequently and generically in the past, they’ve surrendered it to common usage.

However, just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s right. The contract Siegel and Shuster signed for Superman with DC was legal, and DC had no legal obligation to pay them more money. However, giving them a cut was the right thing to do, and, thanks to the efforts of people like Neal Adams and Paul Levitz, the creators received a portion of what was due to them.

  (more…)

The Theory of Webcomics: Could DRM Kill Your Webcomic?

  • News
  • September 20, 2008

The idea that the march of technology is too slow and could kill a baby art form is nothing new. Scott Kurtz wrote “Could Success Kill Your Webcomic?” in 2002, as he was then concerned with the increasing cost of bandwidth that came with an influx of readers. Fortunately, in the last six years, technological growth outpaced his concerns, but things were a bit dicey for some popular webcomics for a little while there.

Webcomics are taking the market share from print comics, particularly indie ones (though I wouldn’t be surprised if the general correlation between the advent of the web and decreasing sales of major companies’ print comics turned out to be a causation). When it comes to attracting new readers, a free product available on the web and updated daily (or several times weekly) is far more enticing to cash-strapped kids than a $3 22-page pamphlet that requires leaving the house to acquire and only advances the story once a month.

On a similar note, I’m of the strong opinion that when a company is able to produce and market a color ebook reader at the right screen size and the right price-point, it will kill the pamphlet comic book and hugely broaden the market for webcomics. Once the reading experience is equivalent, the decreased effort of ebooks can win the market for them. Why buy when you can download? If you want a physical copy, wait a few months and buy the trade paperback.

Obviously, the solution for the big companies is to appeal to those new readers by directly competing with webcomics and taking their advantages for yourself, while keeping your original advantages (professionalism, well-known brands, and the like). Of course, there are problems with translating print-sized comics to screens: Virtually no-one’s monitors can fully display ten-by-seven inches in portrait format with enough magnification to make it readable without destroying your eyes. Which means you either expand the image and have to scroll, or you can’t read the text and need to magnify it. (And in the worst cases, you need to scroll in multiple directions.) And there’s the loading wait when you turn a page. Most webcomics solve these problems by formatting their comics to fit most browsers, intentionally limiting the necessary scrolling and optimizing their text size for reading on monitors. The comics themselves are set up as compressed graphic images that load quickly. The archive sections of sites are usually designed with stripped-down graphics so that you can read through them quickly. (more…)

Everything I Need To Know About Politics I Learned From Superman, by Martha Thomases

  • News
  • September 20, 2008

For the last few weeks, most ComicMix columnists have been writing about politics. I can understand how you, Constant Reader, who came here to read about comics and movies and games, might think this is self-indulgently off-topic. Most of us have an intense interest in politics, and we think this is the most important election in a long time. People’s lives are at stake. But I can understand you frustration.

And then I had an epiphany. Not only did I grow up in a household where we discussed politics over the dinner table (and walking the dog, and taking in the dry-cleaning), but even more important, I gained my political perspective from Superman. The goals, strategies and tactics I discovered reading comics shaped my view of the world. Here’s what I know:

• You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone, whether that’s the planet Krypton or the ozone layer.

• Solar power makes you stronger.

• Drilling for oil in the ocean can upset the homes of your dearest friends, including your first love.

• Billionaire industrialists should not be trusted with positions of power. At best, they are obsessive loners with a mission to avenge their parents. At worst, they try to take over the world and destroy you and everything you believe in. (more…)

Fashionably Late, by Elayne Riggs

  • News
  • September 17, 2008

earamid2-1-6850803Whoever thought that lipstick would make major Silly Season news in the 21st century? Although I have to admit I’d rather hear about it being applied to pit bulls and pigs than human beings, but I’ve never had the best relationship with makeup, accessories and other fribbles, as this past week has reminded me.

Every September sees the re-emergence of Fashion Week here in New York City. In keeping with the acknowledgement that this Silly Season is in many ways sillier than most, this year Mercedes-Benz, the chief sponsor, has even decided to go with an election theme on the event’s home page. Maybe they want to emphasize how uselessly trivial it all is. Or, to be fair, how much “fun” people have ooh’ing and aah’ing at emaciated creatures who rarely resemble real people strutting the catwalks wearing creations that rarely resemble real clothing. And there are all sorts of tie-ins, one “big deal” this year being Target’s special “Bullseye Bodega” outlets in strategic areas of the city, only open this past Friday through Monday, which purported to sell high fashions at low (i.e., Target-level) prices.

Fool that I was, I ventured into one around noon on Friday, just out of curiosity, and found it to be the single most pretentious experience I’d ever witnessed. A cramped place with absolutely nothing of any practical value to me, but filled to the brim with a sea of people desperate for couture at closure level. I saw only one piece that would have fit me, a XXL man’s thermal top for around $35, but I’m afraid I just wasn’t in the market for one, and even if I were I could have gotten the same thing (sans designer label) for far less money by shopping at Amazon. That’s the kinda gal I am. But other gals seemed to like it just fine, so obviously one’s mileage may vary.

Even comic geeks have been able to get into the spirit of fashion this year.  My ComicMix colleague Martha Thomases has reported on the “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Rick Marshall covered the Marvel Fashion Show at the San Diego Comic-Con. There does appear to be a fun element to the idea of heroic costumes being more frivolous than practical, especially when worn by women. But even the guys are taken to task, and taken down a peg, by wry observations about their chosen uniforms. The word “capes” alone elicits either giggle-fits when watching Brad Bird skewer that fashion-don’t in The Incredibles, or sneers in comic pages wherein non-powered citizens dismiss the antics and lifestyles of the heroic and famous.

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On the Road to a Crisis

  • News
  • September 17, 2008

final-crisis-one-ff-1667347So right now, we’re halfway through Final Crisis, a crossover involving the weakening of space and time and all of reality being endangered. In the prelude one-shot DC Universe #0, readers were recapped about the fact that this is the third universal crisis to happen to the DCU (which isn’t entirely accurate and we’ll get into that soon).

But some of you folks may want a little more detail about what happened before this. Why is this the "Final" Crisis? And considering the fact that the previous two crises both involved history being altered, what do the heroes involved truly remember about them?

So here is not only a rundown of the previous crises, but the major events that have led into them and certain side stories that writer Grant Morrison may refer to again very soon. (more…)

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