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ALL PULP NEWSSTAND BULLDOG EDITION 3/18/11

News
March 18, 2011

ALL PULP NEWSSTAND

BULLDOG EDITION

3/18/11

OFFICIAL PJF NEWSLETTER!!

The Official Philip José Farmer Email

It is now official, FarmerCon VI will be held July 29-31, 2011 in Columbus, OH at PulpFest!
PulpFest is held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center. Rooms are available at the “PulpFest Rate” of only $79 per night. However, to get this rate, you cannot book your room online, you must call their toll free number: 877-609-6086 and reserve your room over the phone. Remember to mention PulpFest to get the discounted rate.
To sign up for FarmerCon VI, first reply to this email to be added to the list.
While there is no charge for FarmerCon VI, you must Register with PulpFest to attend. Amazingly, you can attend all three days of PulpFest for only $30!
If you will be traveling to Columbus and staying overnight, I urge you to book a room at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center now. The $79 per night room rate is a great deal, and being in the same hotel gives FarmerCon attendees that much more time to hang out. We almost always go out together somewhere for a meal or two and we will be looking to do that again. So be sure to tell me you’re coming, don’t just decide to drop in at the last minute.
PulpFest and FarmerCon programming is still to be determined, but suggestions are welcome; both to me for FarmerCon and to PulpFest for their programming as well. Also, Meteor House will have a table in the Dealers Room where you will find back issues of Farmerphile, select items from Philip José Farmer’s estate sale, The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions, The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 2: Of Dust and Soul and perhaps more.
So, if you want to come to FarmerCon VI, here is a quick summary of the steps you need to take:

1. Reply to this email and tell me you are coming. 2. Register for PulpFest 3. Unless you live nearby, call 877-609-6086 and book your room.

I hope I will see you there!

Mike Croteau
The Official Philip José Farmer Home Page
http://www.pjfarmer.com/

PLANETARY BOOK AVAILABLE IN PREVIEWS!
From Sequart-

PRESS RELEASE:

Sequart Research & Literacy Organization’s Keeping the World Strange: A Planetary Guide is now available for order through comic shops (use Diamond order code MAR111401). The book is currently listed in the books section of March’s Previews catalog (page 347) and is set to hit stores in late May.
“Highly recommended.” – Ain’t It Cool News
Edited by Cody Walker, Keeping the World Strange offers essays that examine the highly-acclaimed WildStorm series from varied, thought-provoking viewpoints:
* We Contain Universes: The Delicately Spinning Reality of the Snowflake, by Kevin Thurman
* Surfing through Planetary: The Characters behind the Fiction, by Andy Richardson
* The Secret History of the WildStorm Universe, by Cody Walker
* When Third is Fourth: The Mystery of the Fourth Man, by Chad Nevett
* Bleeding Between the Lines: Planetary and Vertigo, by Timothy Callahan
* “The Hidden Wonders of the World”: Planetary and Reconstructionism, by Julian Darius
* Archaeologists, Architects, and Acolytes: Reading Futures Studies in Planetary, by Caleb Stokes
* The Monster Within: Examining Monstrous Archetypes in Planetary, by Ross Payton
* Planetary and Decompression, by Patrick Meaney
* The Ideal and the Strange: Order Vs. Freedom in Planetary, by Peter Sanderson
* The Man Who Knows the Game, by A. David Lewis (viewing Planetary as a game that begins with Elijah Snow’s white suit)
* Apocrypha or Canon? Fitting the Three Crossover One-Shots into Planetary, by Chad Nevett
* Appendix: Sequencing Planetary, by Julian Darius (a suggested reading order for Planetary’s 31 stories)
No Planetary fan or comics scholar should go without this critical analysis of one of the best series of the 21st century. (Softcover, 6”x9”, 188 pgs, B&W, $19.95 cover price, ISBN 9780578077017.)
– – – – – – – – – –
THE YEAR OF WARREN ELLIS: Keeping the World Strange is the first offering from Sequart’s “2011: The Year of Ellis” campaign, which includes two other books (Shot in the Face: A Savage Journey to the Heart of Transmetropolitan and Voyage in Noise: Warren Ellis and the Demise of Western Civilization) and the documentary film Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts.
– – – – – – – – – –
NOTE: Don’t assume your comics store will order copies – some stores might not even notice it in the catalog. The best thing you can do is tell your local retailer ASAP (they have to place orders before the end of March) that you want them to order you a copy. And because we’re buried in the catalog, it might help to give them the book’s order code, which is MAR111401.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Planetary and related characters are trademarks of DC Comics. This book is not endorsed by DC Comics.

Sandman TV Series Currently On Hold

News
March 15, 2011

Image via Wikipedia

Though a film adaptation hasn’t come to be (and based on the scripts kicking around, that’s a good thing) last September brought word that Neil Gaiman’s comic book series The Sandman might head to television in the form of a series from Warner Bros. and Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. But at a PaleyFest red carpet event, Kripke had some disappointing news, telling The Live Feed:

“Unfortunately, for a lot of varying reasons, Sandman is not in the works, at least for this season.” He elaborated that the potential adaptation “just didn’t quite happen this season through nobody’s fault, and hopefully we can do it again in the future.”

DC and Warner Bros. would love to see it happen, as doing it right could easily kick off a franchise of films or a long running TV series. The holdup, to me, seems to be just pulling all the players together at the right time.

Or if Neil’s old statement is still true…

“I’m growing vats of people like you all around the world. Eventually we’ll put a bunch of you in a room with knives, and whoever emerges alive will be the winner and can make the Sandman movie.”

…they may just be waiting for a big enough auditorium.

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‘Green Lantern: Emerald Knights’ to Debut at WonderCon

News
March 8, 2011

BURBANK, CA, March 8, 2011 – Fans attending on Friday, April 1^st, the first day of WonderCon, will be treated to a special Green Lantern talent signing and panel featuring the stars of the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures feature film Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard. The signing begins at 4 p.m., followed by the panel discussion at 5.

The highly anticipated Green Lantern movie, in theaters on June 17, 2011, will be the first live-action feature film to star the popular DC Comics character. The film relates the origin story of alter ego Hal Jordan (Reynolds), a test pilot and the first human chosen to wear the ring that provides him his superpowers.

Following the opening day panel, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps will have a deep and diverse presence throughout the weekend due to the combined efforts of DC Entertainment (DCE) and the various divisions of Warner Bros. Entertainment, including Warner Home Video (WHV), Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) and Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP).

WHV will present the World Premiere of the Blu-ray and DVD feature Green Lantern: Emerald Knights on Friday evening in the Esplanade Ballroom, immediately followed by a panel discussion featuring filmmakers and voice cast members. Panelists will also take part in an autograph session on Saturday. The all new DC Universe Animated Original Movie weaves six interlocking stories of the Green Lantern Corps’ rich mythology around preparations for an attack by an ancient enemy.

Also on Friday, DC Comics will host a panel about the Green Lantern comic books and the 2011 War of the Green Lanterns crossover event. The DC booth will host Green Lantern-themed signings and giveaways throughout the weekend.

WBIE and DCE will showcase Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, an action-adventure videogame that will be available in conjunction with the theatrical release of “Green Lantern.” Throughout the Con, visitors to the DC Comics booth will be able to get hands-on time with the game that delivers an immersive experience for Green Lantern fans of all ages.

WBCP’s worldwide licensing program for the highly anticipated Green Lantern film has already taken the industry by storm. Product manufacturers around the world have come together to capture and unleash the power of Green Lantern, who lit the way at this year’s Toy Fair, with master toy licensee Mattel bringing to life a comprehensive toy line inspired by the upcoming film. Visitors at WonderCon will get a sneak peek of the toy line, along with the opportunity to be “chosen” to win some of the popular products, long before they hit retail shelves.

All this and more begins with the Green Lantern signing at 4 p.m. and panel at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 1, 2011. WonderCon opens the doors to the main floor at noon. The event runs all weekend, through Sunday, April 3^rd, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Go to http://www.comic-con.org/wc/ for tickets to the “Green Lantern” opening day panel and for information about all of the Warner Bros.- and DC Entertainment-related events.

Grant Morrison Examines ‘All-Star Superman’ Page-to-Screen Transition

News
March 8, 2011

Renowned comics writer Grant Morrison has found a lot to like in the transfer from page-to-screen of his Eisner Award-winning All-Star Superman, the critically-acclaimed, hot-selling new entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies available now from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video.

In All-Star Superman, the Man of Steel rescues an ill-fated mission to the Sun (sabotaged by Lex Luthor) and, in the process, is oversaturated by radiation – which accelerates his cell degeneration. Sensing even he will be unable to cheat death, Superman ventures into new realms – finally revealing his secret to Lois, confronting Lex Luthor’s perspective of humanity, and attempting to ensure Earth’s safety before his own impending end with one final, selfless act.

All-Star Superman is now available from Warner Home Video as a Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD, as well as single disc DVD. The film will is also available On Demand and for Download.

Morrison had a few moments to chat from his home in Scotland last week about the all-new film based on his landmark comics series, and the late Dwayne McDuffie’s impressive job in re-imagining Morrison’s words into animated glory.

Question: Did you have, and did you want, creative input into the script?

Grant Morrison: Once I knew someone else was going to do it, I kind of wanted to let it happen and not interfere. I’m always excited to see how others translate things from page to screen. I didn’t even know Dwayne (McDuffie) was involved at first, but I’m so glad he did it. I was happy to see what the story might look like from someone else’s perspective and he did a fantastic job.

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THE PANEL THAT JUST WON’T STOP!!!

News
March 4, 2011

We originally said ‘Here’s a Panel Topic everyone should sound off on’ and we were right….people keep sending responses, so we thought it’d be good to repost just in case you weren’t caught up…Got a response of your own? Send it in!

We all know that DC announced this week that its FIRST WAVE line, the one that combined Batman, Doc Savage, the Spirit, and other Golden Age pulp and comic characters into one sort of ‘timeless’ universe where dirigibles and cell phones coexisted, is being cancelled. This extremely controversial line of comics, made so by the fact that many pulp fans saw the portrayals of their favorite characters as mishandled at best, blasphemous at worse, has definitely stirred up a lot of talk. Here’s the panel topic-Was DC’s First Wave as bad as all that? If so, why? What does the cancelling of this line mean for the future of pulp centered comics, if anything? Email your panel responses to allpulp@yahoo.com and they’ll be posted here!

*****
From Teel James Glenn, writer in the pulp tradition….

Why did the First Wave fail? the art wasn’t bad and even some of the ideas were interesting, but the basic premise seemed to be that even though pulp chracters have endured in their original form for 70 years the writers at DC knew how to ‘fix’ them. Why fix what isn’t broken? I doubt any of the writers actually read any of the books they were ‘improving’ by changing basic premises and characters. It is the same problem most movie adaptations have; everyone thinks they can violate the very core of the creations they SAY they are ‘reimagining. Bullflock!

Uncreative people feed off other people’s creations and bring the level down. You have to honor the work of those who came before and then you can prehaps–prehaps- move forward with new creations that can interact with them. Always look at the ‘character/series’ bible and honor it as if it was gospel–because it is.
If DC wanted to do pulps right they should have hired pulp writers not guys who said in interviews “I never read the books”–arrogance like that deserves to be discarded…

From Barry Reese, Member of the Spectacled Seven….

Where do I start? DC mismanaged the entire line, starting with a series of interviews from creators that alienated the hardcore fans and made newer fans wonder why they should try a bunch of characters that even the main writer talked about with disdain. Then go on to the launch miniseries, which still hasn’t finished… Here’s a clue: don’t launch a new line of books with a book that’s supposed to set up the whole thing but doesn’t come out on time. Makes the entire affair look half-assed and poorly planned. Then you have a book (Doc Savage) that after a mediocre beginning slides into outright crapitude with shifting writers and artists. And don’t get me started on The Avenger stuff, which was such an insult to the original characters that I wish DC had just renamed it.

They shouldn’t have solicited the kickoff mini until it was completed. They should have hired people who not only understood the characters but who genuinely loved them — you can update the characters and still maintain their core… but you have to *want* to do that. And why include Batman in this universe if his only appearances would be in a one-shot special and the mini? They should have had a Bat-Man series set in this universe that the other books could have orbited around — the Bat guy sells, you know.

Mishandled and poor creative decisions. I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did.

*********

From Tommy Hancock, another of the Spectacled Seven

Mine will be short. It will be short because I didn’t read anything but the first issue of the FIRST WAVE mini series and the first three issues of DOC SAVAGE. Well, I say the first three issues, I actually only read the full first issue because I couldn’t stomach anymore of what they jokingly referred to as THE AVENGER.

I am not a purist. I am also not a ‘we have to make changes to everything’ sort either. I like what I like and I like companies and writers to produce things I like. It helps when they are producing stuff I like based on other stuff I already like. What didn’t work in this regard is DC not only didn’t produce stuff that I liked based on characters I adore, but they ignored me. I didn’t want DC to ask me my opinion, well, maybe I wanted them to, but didn’t expect it. But I, being a pretty big pulp fan, was simply left out of the equation when DC got their hands on these great characters. My opinion, my interests, my desire to see these characters live again…didn’t matter at all. The bad part for DC was that these new readers I guess they were trying to appeal to…didn’t have any buy in at all to these concepts and saw them for what they were…poorly handled editorially misdirected imitations at best, toilet paper with pictures on it at worst. And me, my buy in…it went to Moonstone, Doc Savage reprints, and new pulp…

Just sayin’…
***********

From Derrick Ferguson, yet another of the Spectacled Seven

I read the first three issues of DOC SAVAGE (hey, there was no way I wasn’t going read it) and was unimpressed. I have to admit that the idea of all these classic pulp characters and certain DC characters like The Blackhawks and The Spirit, who in my mind are pulp characters, appealed to me. But the execution was, in a word, lousy.

Here’s what I can’t wrap my head around: why in the world would you hire writers who plainly have no love or liking for the characters they’re writing about? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to hire writers who actually know, love and have a true desire to write the best possible Doc Savage or Avenger stories they possibly could? Stories that would not only thrill and delight old time fans but make newer readers sit up and understand why these characters are cool and remain so after so many years?

And yeah, I agree with Barry: it didn’t help to have interviews with writers who I felt were giving me the digitus impudicus for loving pulp and had really snotty attitudes toward not only the work they were producing but who they were producing it for.

************
From Adam Garcia, Scribe of the Green Lama

I never read first Wave, but I think it’s fair to say it failed on execution rather than concept. While I advocate change, I don’t necessarily think you need to change everything, to make things effective. I’m more a believer that to keep things one specific way is a mistake and to open to adaptation. I’m 100% certain that First Wave would have been considered amazing if the story had been effective. Take the new Star Trek film as an example, a bottom to top reinvention that was overwhelmingly loved, or Batman: the Brave and the Bold or even the massive massive changes made to the Joker in Dark Knight. That’s what I’ve been arguing. Reinvention isn’t bad, it’s frankly the nature of pop culture, but refusing to accept it is.

You may not like the adaptation, that’s a fact of personal preference, but with licensed character adaptation is the only way the stay alive. So First Wave might have failed creatively, but I applaud the effort.

***************
Elizabeth Tadehara: Fan of The Shadow

I was shocked and angry when I learned through All Pulp that DC had finally decided to end First Wave. Then I wonder why? Why was I angry? Why was I shocked?

The art was not some of the Best work, I know DC is able and capable of turning out. Take First Wave’s One Shot with Doc and Batman. The art work seriously rubbed me all the wrong ways. Yet, it greatly improved with the actually series came out. While the good Doc’s was beautiful and captivating from the get go. Nor was the story… I’ll emit to not picking up any of Doc Savage’s First Waves after the first story arch, and the ones I did, I immediately put down cause they went off on some ungodly random tangent that the first four issues had not prepared me for. While First Wave, itself, let much to desired because I still have absolutely no idea what in blue blazes is going on. It’s like the writers for the series decided over coffee one day. “Hey! Who needs a decent story when you can just throw some well known character together and sees what happens?” Sheesh.

Now to why I was angry at the announcement of cancellation of First Wave. I had it on good authority that when DC approached the current owners of Doc Savage’s rights for First Wave, that this great Comic publisher agreed to also buy the rights to The Shadow. As an obsessed (yes, I am emitting to IT!) of The Shadow. I was hopefully and optimistic, since there has not been a decent comic form since DC’s: The Shadow Strikes.

The shock of the said cancellation wore off a few hours later, after I had some serious time to think about it. Even though, I am an obsessed fan, I am not by a purist either… cause sometimes the obsession out ways the purist. So I’m somewhat thankful, after reading all the other options, that they never got their hands on The Shadow. We do not need a repeat… Not after DC’s attempted update in the 1980s or (shutters) The Archie disaster.

As to the future of pulp comics. You need look no further than Moonstone. Enough said.

Review: ‘Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Vol. One’

News
March 2, 2011

Could the eleventh time be the charm? I stopped watching Saturday morning cartoons right around the time Scooby-Doo solved his first mystery. To my mind, it was also a show from my younger brother’s era. At the time, I thought it looked and sounded pretty stupid, an opinion I maintained ever since.

Last year, I was forced to re-examine those feelings when I was invited to write a few Scooby-Doo stories for DC Comics’ print incarnation. I talked with longtime fans and other writers in addition to reading a ton of stories. The formula had its charm and the characters diverse enough to hang stories on but I couldn’t imagine things like their family lives or the unlikely coincidence of all four being only children.

I apparently was not the only one with those questions, and Warner Bros. Animation has offered up a new series, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated which debuted in July. In late January, the first four episodes from the fourteen episode first season were released on DVD by Warner Home Video.

The formula remains the same. People get spooked by something, the kids investigate, wackiness ensues, and the monster is revealed to be someone in disguise who would have gotten away with the scheme du jour “if it wasn’t for those darn kids”. What’s different this time, though, is the introduction of a Big Bad, someone calling himself Mr. E (Mystery, get it? They owe Bob Rozakis a royalty), who is teasing Mystery, Inc. with clues to a some big mystery surrounding Crystal Cove. The mystery relates to the town’s history and involves a quartet of teen sleuths and their pet, and is being slowly unfolded so you don’t get a resolution to this in disc one (or disc two, due in March). Heck, you only get two clues this time around.

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ALL PULP PANEL-WHY THE FIRST WAVE ENDED??

News
February 24, 2011

Here’s a Panel Topic everyone should sound off on. We all know that DC announced this week that its FIRST WAVE line, the one that combined Batman, Doc Savage, the Spirit, and other Golden Age pulp and comic characters into one sort of ‘timeless’ universe where dirigibles and cell phones coexisted, is being cancelled. This extremely controversial line of comics, made so by the fact that many pulp fans saw the portrayals of their favorite characters as mishandled at best, blasphemous at worse, has definitely stirred up a lot of talk. Here’s the panel topic-Was DC’s First Wave as bad as all that? If so, why? What does the cancelling of this line mean for the future of pulp centered comics, if anything? Email your panel responses to allpulp@yahoo.com and they’ll be posted here!