Crazy Sexy Geeks: Superhero Psychology Part 1 – BATMAN!
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BEAU SMITH JOINS LIBRARY OF AMERICAN COMICS
Beau Smith, marketing advisor and writer, has joined IDW Publishingâs Library of American Comics imprint (which includes some pulp like comics within its vast amount of material)Â as its new Director of Marketing.
“We’re thrilled to have Beau onboard,” says LOAC Creative Director Dean Mullaney. “He and I go way back to the 1980s and Eclipse Comics, where I was the publisher and Beau the Marketing Director.”
A graduate of Marshall University in his native West Virginia, Beau has worked in all realms of publishing and marketing in comics. In addition to Eclipse, where he got his start, Beau was the VP of Marketing and Publishing for Image Comics, Todd McFarlane Productions and McFarlane Toys. Beau was with IDW Publishing for many years as their first Vice President of Marketing, and is the former Director of Product Information for toy maker JUN Planning USA.
As a writer, Beau has written Batman/Wildcat, Star Wars, and Wolverine, and his stories have appeared at DC, Image, IDW, Eclipse, Dreamwave, Moonstone, Dark Horse, and many other publishers. He created several well-received series, including Wynonna Earp, Parts Unknown, Maximum Jack, Courting Fate, and Cobb. If that wasn’t enough, he offers his opinion on pop culture in regular columns: “Busted Knuckles” at Comics Bulletin, and “From the Ranch” for Sketch Magazine, and Far From Fragile for Impact Magazine. Beau is also the author of the most common sense business book on the comic book industry- No Guts, No Glory: How To Market Yourself In Comics published by Blue Line Pro.
Beau will be focusing on retailers, and expanding the LOAC’s presence in libraries and universities, so all retailers, librarians, professors, and teachers are encouraged to contact Beau at: beau@loacomics.com 304-453-6565
INTERVIEW-MIKE McGEE
MIKE McGee, Co-Creator and Writer of EL GORGO!,
AP: Who is Mike McGee?
MM: Well, for the purposes of this interview, I’m one of the founders of the late, lamented Frontier Publishing, which ran serialized fiction by such luminaries as, uh, Derrick Ferguson; and more recently, I’m the writer and co-creator of EL GORGO!, a comic book about a gorilla luchador who punches sea monsters.
AP: Give us the background stuff. You know the drill: where do you live, where do you work, etc.
MM: I’m from Cleveland, but I’ve lived in the Metro DC area the last few years.
AP: How long have you been writing?
MM: Forever, basically. When I was a little kid, I had pretensions toward writing and drawing my own comics, but I soon discovered that literally every other kid I knew was a better artist than I was. So that was a blow. Anyhow, I could write okay, so my course was set, pretty much.
AP: Who is EL GORGO! ?
MM: El Gorgo is a genius talking gorilla luchador who’s also a superhero, a rock star and a historical novelist. He doesn’t sleep a whole lot.
AP: Why is EL GORGO! “The World’s Most Awesome Comics Magazine”?
MM: We-ellll…you know, we call it that in the spirit of fun, which is what the book’s all about, but honestly? Slapping that on the cover really does keep us on the beam, I think. It’s a challenge Tom and I have laid down for ourselves – can we make the book live up to that? We definitely try every time to make it the most awesome comic that we can do. EL GORGO! is a comedy, and in the sense that the tagline is kinda over-the-top it’s a joke, but it’s not really a joke. It’s more like a distant Shangri-La just off the horizon that we’re always striving toward – never mind that it could be and it probably is just a mirage and we should really think about drinking some water and maybe comb a few of these scorpions out of our hair – and we’re getting there one panel of a monkey punching a dinosaur at a time.
AP: Is it safe to say that EL GORGO! is inspired as much by the pulps as by comic books?
MM: Uh, in the sense that superhero comics took their inspiration from the ‘30s-era pulps, sure. There’s probably a little bit of Doc Savage in El Gorgo…really, a little bit of all those characters who were super-capable autodidacts with limitless resources and boundless idealism to go along with their teeth-gritting and ass-kicking. Our main inspiration is (as I think is obvious to most people who read EL GORGO!) the work of Jack Kirby, and because Kirby drew every single kind of comic book there ever was to draw, he did at least one pulp adaptation back in the ‘70s: JUSTICE, INC., which was actually a comic about The Avenger, only I guess DC couldn’t call it that, for obvious reasons. I have pretty fond memories of reading a random issue when I was a kid, and it’s possible some of that’s crept into EL GORGO! somehow or another.
AP: What do and your co-creator/artist Tamas Jakab have planned for future issues of EL GORGO! ?
MM: Oh, man, so much! Probably much more than we’ll ever live long enough to get down on paper, or pixels, or however people choose to read it. When we started the book, it was intended as a one-shot, and then it became a miniseries, and before long it turned into this whole epic we may never have time to finish. In the next few issues, we’re going to learn a lot of El Gorgo’s backstory, encounter his arch-nemesis, and venture off to the Himalayas – it’s gonna be a good time.
AP: You wrote a story for the Pulpwork Press anthology HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD. How did that come about?
MM: Well, I was invited aboard, and I nearly didn’t do it because I really couldn’t get a handle on the genre at first at all, but then I saw the cover by Jim Rugg (he of the comics Street Angel and Afrodisiac), and that was that. If I could have a story underneath that artwork, I knew I had to do it.
AP: Tell us about your co-writer on that story: Chris Munn.
MM: Chris kinda saved my ass on that story, because I didn’t have the first clue what to write about, and Chris had a killer idea and no time to write it himself – this thing that was kind of a cross between High Plains Drifter and The Wicker Man (the one without Nicolas Cage as Woman-Hating Bear-Man), which right away I knew I could do a lot with. I’ve known Chris for a really long time; he’s a really good guy, and a great writer. Unfortunately, we didn’t collaborate as directly as we’d both hoped would be possible on “The Town with No Name” – I wound up writing the whole story myself, but it is Chris’s story, too, which I know has been overlooked in a few places. His name is on it as well, as well it should be.
AP: Are you a western fan at all? Weird or otherwise?
MM: I’m a huge fan of Joe Lansdale, who’s written in and who halfway invented the horror western genre, at least as most people know it today. The influence may be indirect, but I don’t think HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD would exist without books like The Magic Wagon and Dead in the West, to say nothing of his collaborations with Tim Truman and Sam Glanzman on their Jonah Hex comics of the ‘90s. As far as just western-westerns go, I’m also a fan of Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian and think “Deadwood” may be the best drama ever to run on television (though, I dunno…”Breaking Bad”…), but I have to admit, I’m not terribly well-versed in the classics of the genre. Westerns on film just moved too slow for me when I was a kid – I’d always switch them off if one of the other UHF stations had Godzilla or a horror movie or something. I probably turned off half the movies John Ford ever made (though as an adult I’ve fallen in love with The Searchers). Like, John Wayne just bored the hell out of me when I was a kid, though I get the appeal now. But I always did dig Clint Eastwood. So…I guess I’m more of a western fan than I thought I was when I started to answer your question, but I wouldn’t say I’m like a western aficionado.
AP: There’s a HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD 2 in the planning/development stage. You planning on contributing to that?
MM: I’m thinking about it!
AP: What other writing projects are you working on now?
MM: Oh, I think it’s bad luck to get too much into stuff like that. I’m working on a few things, though.
AP: Here’s your chance for a shoutout or to pimp something. Go.
MM: Okay! As far as shoutouts go, naturally I’ll mention there’s some great stuff at Pulpwork Press (http://www.freewebs.com/pulpworkpress/) people should be checking out, if they haven’t done so. And of course everyone should read EL GORGO! (http://elgorgo.com/) and if they like that, there’s some really terrific stuff coming out of Action Age Comics (www.actionagecomics.com) that’ll be very much up your proverbial alley.
AP: Any final words of wisdom from Mike McGee?
MM: For the love of God – turn off your computer and go outside! It’ll all still be here when you get back.
MOONSTONE MONDAY-ED CATTO INTERVIEW
Ed Catto, Retropeneur, C & A Enterprises, LLC, partnered with Moonstone Books
AP:ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Ed, welcome to ALL PULP and to Moonstone Monday!ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Tell us about yourself, some personal as well as professional background?
EC:ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Sure, thanks for having me!
ÃÂÃÂÃÂàIÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂm a marketing professional and have spent my career building brands such as OREO, Snuggle, Chips ÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàAhoy!, Lysol, KIA and Napa.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàBut IÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂm also a long-time comic fan, and have worked with Marvel, DC, Valiant and Reed ExpoÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs New York Comic Con developing strategy and marketing initiatives.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàDeveloping Captain Action Enterprises, LLC, with my partner Joe Ahearn, seems a natural extension of both my marketing skills and my passion for comics.
AP:ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ What is your involvement with Moonstone Books?
EC: We shopped our first property, Captain Action, around a bit when we were looking to develop the new comic series.ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Moonstone was really the best place for us to find a solid partner committed to working together to build an engaging series.ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
We work closely with the whole Moonstone team to develop our series, manage the monthly ebb and flow of producing the comics, and to develop new initiatives. Examples include our digital relationships with ComiXology and Panelfly and our new partnership with Overdrive, the group that manages digital comics and books for libraries worldwide. Some of the other programs have been more straight forward, like the enamel/cloisonnÃÂÃÂÃÂé pins we created for The Phantom and for Captain Acton.
WeÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂve been thrilled with our partnership with Moonstone. ItÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs been a great place to be creative and work with fantastic talent.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàAnd now our titles with Moonstone are growing to include Zeroids, Savage Beauty, Lady Action and Captain Action Classified, the new 60ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs series featuring the ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂoriginalÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàCaptain Action.
AP: Captain Action seems to be your primary property. Can you give us some background on Captain Action as a character?
EC:ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ After the success of G.I. Joe, Stan Weston created the Captain Action toy line for Ideal.ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Just as G.I. Joe could change into an army soldier or an astronaut, Captain Action could change into superheroes.ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Originally he could change into a plethora of heroes including Spider-Man, Captain America, Batman, Superman…even The Green Hornet and Buck Rogers.
On the very basic level, Captain Action is all about imagining the possibilities of oneself.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàThe idea is that ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂyou can be anything you want to beÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàbut always tempered with ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂbeing yourself is pretty cool too.ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂàWe try to bring that into our Moonstone series.
He has a rich cast of characters too, including his arch-enemy, Dr. Eville, his sidekick, Action Boy and his amazing amphibious car, the Silver Streak!
AP: Can you talk about the process of how you came to be involved with Captain Action on a business level?ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ This is also probably a good place to have you explain the term you use on your facebook page to refer to yourself..Just what is a retropreneur?
EC: Our company, CAE, LLC is based on the idea of taking old properties that still have appeal or a nostalgia value, polishing them up and getting them out there once more ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàboth for original fans and a whole new audience too.
So ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂweÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂre kind of entrepreneurs with throwback/retro perspective. We get a lot of positive feedback when we offer our business cards to folks and they see Retropreneur. ItÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs a little whimsical, but itÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs memorable!
AP: Why Moonstone for Captain Action?ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ What about Moonstone appeals to you to help get the legend of Captain Action out to the masses.
EC: ÃÂÃÂÃÂàMoonstone has been a great place to serve as a launch pad for many of our own ideas, but publisher Joe Gentile also provides great guidance and insight.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàPlus, heÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs a tireless worker, so thereÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs always a sense that heÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs working hard for us and our books.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàThe Moonstone extended family, with Dave Ulanski, Lori G and the whole crowd, including solid folks like Marshall Dillon have been a joy to work with.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàAnd Mike Bullock, the Phantom/Black Bat/Lions, Tigers and Bears writer, has been a great compadre.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàWe worked with him on our Phantom/Captain Action miniseries and are working even more closely developing our upcoming Savage Beauty Series!
MoonstoneÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs also a publisher with a big tent. WeÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂre publishing a superhero comic, and robot/Zombie/Sorority Girl comic and a jungle comic..and they all seem to fit perfectly under the Moonstone banner.
In 15 years, MoonstoneÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs been good and honest with creatives too.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàSo when we call up our favorites to say, ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂHey, wanna work with usÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ, they know that Moonstone is a reliable outfit.
AP: How do you make a concept like Captain Action, one that started as a toy decades ago, relevant to the modern audience?
EC: ÃÂÃÂÃÂàWe ask ourselves that every day. And IÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂm not sure if thereÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs an easy answer. But weÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂve worked hard to ÃÂÃÂÃÂàbe true to the characters, while finding fresh voices and innovations.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàWe want to keep the core of what made the toy interesting in the first place (otherwise, why bother with it?) and yet spin it out so youÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll be pleasantly surprising the old fans and still providing engaging, welcoming entertainment for new fans.
AP: Do you have any other projects with Moonstone currently?
EC: Zeroids was another Ideal property from the sixties. They were a sort of early Transformers ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàrobots from space.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàWeÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂve brought that back with a vengeance. The first issue just met huge critical acclaim and the second issue will be out in about 2 weeks.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàThen weÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll continue on in 2012 with an ongoing Zeroids monthly comic.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàFor this one, we worked with writer Aaron Schapps to create a SciFi mash up of several concepts, including robots, zombies, aliens and, of course, sorority girls.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàIn fact, the series real protagonist is a college sophomore named Destiny Zero. She has sort of a Dorothy-in-Oz relationshipÃÂÃÂÃÂàto the Zeroids!
After that we have a Captain Action Winter Special! And what a special this is! ItÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll include:
A classic Captain Action tale of a beautiful French double-agent and a communist Yeti penned by Beau Smith and expertly rendered by the great Eduardo Baretto.ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
1.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàLady Action in ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂThe Spy Who Snowballed MeÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàby our favorite British madman, Tony Lee with art by Reno Maniquis.
2.ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ For the first time ever, Green Hornet will team up with Captain Action in a prose story by Matthew Baugh.
3.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂàCovers are by Mark Wheately and Ruben Propocio ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàitÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll be a quite a package.
Then weÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll debut Savage Beauty in February! This is a re-imagining of the old Jungle Girl Comics, but with a modern day twist.
Starting with a generous sneak peek at New York Comic Con, weÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll be inviting readers to take a walk on the wild side withÃÂÃÂÃÂàSavage Beauty, our new comic series that tells the stories of sisters Lacy and Livvy Rae. This series focuses on their travels throughout modern-day Africa as they are called upon to help right wrongs, protect the innocent and punish evildoers. As reporters forÃÂÃÂÃÂàAfrica Adventures Online, the Rae sisters are guided by the mysterious Mr. Eden to assume the identity of the mythical goddess Ayana. Disguised as this “Savage Beauty”, the two girls fight modern-day pirates, hard corps militias, corrupt politicians and various other real-world adversaries torn from today’s headlines.
Savage BeautyÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ will take you on an exciting journey as the Rae sisters discover their purpose in life, even as they make a real difference in the world.
Plus the comic book series intends to make a difference too – each issue will donate a full page to partner causes such asÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Oxfam, Just A DropÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ andÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Invisible Children, among others.
And our first issue will be oversized, with a Savage Beauty story, a classic reprint of the first Jungle Girl ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàSheena, and special features including lost promotional art to 60ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Raquel Welch Jungle Girl movie pitchÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂæand weÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll be offering it all for just $2.99.
And future covers read like a whoÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs who of comics ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàPaul Gulacy, Mark Wheately, Dave Hoover, Chris Short and even a few non-traditional surprises!ÃÂÃÂÃÂàSeries write and co-creator Mike Bullock has a long list of hot stories that we canÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂt wait to publish.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàWeÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂre really excited for this project!
So much else going on too: Our Phantom-Captain Action Hardcover is coming out and it looks gorgeous.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàWait till you see the wonderful John Byrne cover on issue #1 of Captain Action Classified. Future storylines in that title include a Berlin Wall story with NaziÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs and LSD, and a story that features the Beatles in Paris right before their historic Ed Sullivan appearance.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàAnd be on the lookout in November when that British Bombshell, Lady Action appears in the prose collection of short stories in the anthology: Chicks in Capes, edited by Lori G!ÃÂÃÂÃÂàLook for the lovely Nicola (Wonder Woman/Secret Six) Scott cover!
And convention-wise, we have two more this season. IÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll be a guest of Honor at the 35th Annual Ithacon in Ithaca, NY September 25th, and then weÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll have strong presence again at booth #2380 at New York Comic Con October 8-10th.
AP: What is the appeal of reviving old toy characters/lines and giving them new life in the modern era?ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
EC: ÃÂÃÂÃÂàIn one sense, itÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs a big-boys-big-toys kind of thing.ÃÂÃÂÃÂàWe like to play with entertainment properties and get down to their essence, and then build them back up again in an engaging story.
In another sense, itÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs what every kid does with every Imagination-based toy. They make their own story up. WeÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂre doing just that- with a talented group of collaborators- and itÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs a great challenge to put it out there and see if anyone likes it!
AP: Any future projects you care to let the ALL PULP pulpsters in on?
ÃÂÃÂÃÂàEC: Our biggest news isnÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂt quite ready yet, but itÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs so very, very close. WeÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂll be making a big toy announcement soon ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàhopefully before New York Comic Con ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàthat both new and old fans will be jump-out-of-their-seats excited about!
AP: Thanks a lot, Ed!
EC: ItÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs been a pleasure ÃÂâÃÂÃÂÃÂàthanks for having me!
Review: ‘Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide’
Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide
by Alan Cowsill
208 pages, DK Publishing, $16.99
It’s a new Age of Heroes in the Marvel Universe but as always, the clarion call for champions is answered by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers. With the hoopla surrounding the Marvel Studios’ announcements regarding the 2012 live-action [[[Avengers]]] movie, the timing is perfect for this book from DK Publishing.
Unfortunately, the book itself is already dated because they made little effort to make certain the status quo matched what was being published in the comic books. This is, of course, an exceedingly tricky proposition but thankfully, both Marvel and DC have recently hit demarcation points where you could say the information contained in these books are concurrent. (I managed to make next month’s [[[The Essential Superman Encyclopedia]]] information reflected the end of the [[[New Krypton]]] story so it can be done.) Reading through Alan Cowsill’s text, it is largely set during he events of Siege although some information is from the subsequent Age of Heroes so its inconsistent and confusing.
A book like this, especially from DK, prides itself on clarity of information and yet organizations and events are referred to and there’s no context or explanation provided, so it’s one thing to tell readers someone belonged to the Initiative, but what was the Initiative? The book also lacks any source material so you don’t have the usual listing of first appearances which is a major factual omission. Even more grievous is that for a book called Avengers, not once is there anything about the team. I was interested to see the line-up by line-up examinations along with explanations for the West Coast and New incarnations of the team.
Instead, this book features just over 200 heores and villains with information blocks, pointless power rankings, and lots of pop-ups with additional details. Visually, the material is mostly showing us the current incarnations of the character with smaller images culled from throughout Marvel history. This, though, may be the first time a book of this nature lacks substantial images culled from the first Marvel Age so Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and John Romita are severely underrepresented. Heck, titans like John Buscema, John Romita, Jr., John Byrne, and many others are also missing in action.
Over two dozen of the entries are out of date given the end of the Siege storyline. Perhaps the most inaccurate page is the one for Ant Man which gives us the deceased Scott Lang and never mentions the current Eric O’Grady, while the callout image of Hank Pym shows him as Giant Man.
There are some other serious gaffes such as giving us Clint Barton pages, one for Hawkeye and one for Ronin, which was superfluous. Similarly, Hank Pym gets pages as both Wasp II and Giant Man. The [[[Captain America]]] page is Steve Rogers with no page for Bucky as either the Winter Solider or Captain America II. In much the same way, the Black Panther page is all about T’Challa despite his sister being the current Panther (even in comics coming out this fall) but she gets merely a brief mention.
Characters who recently died such as[[[ Hercules]]], [[[Black Bolt]]], and [[[the Sentry]]] are said to be hale and hardy and while Jessica Jones’ page tells us she and Luke Cage had a child, Luke’s page neglects that detail as does the Invisible Woman entry neglect to mention Franklin and Valeria.
Books like these are great to thumb through and make a handy reference work but this one volume is a wee bit too all over the place to be anything more than a pretty picture book.
Kevin Conroy Discusses his Return to the Batcave
That loud sound you hear in the distance is the echo of fanboys cheering the return of Kevin Conroy to his benchmark role as the voice of the Dark Knight for the highly-anticipated Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, the ninth entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming September 28, 2010 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video.
Conroy, the voice behind the title character of the landmark Batman: The Animated Series, set a standard that has yet to be contested over the past 20 years. Conroy had already been seen on soap operas and television series like Dynasty and Tour of Duty when he aced his first audition for an animated voiceover role in 1991 – earning the title character role for Batman: The Animated Series. It was a casting decision that sounds as good today as it did back then.
Conroy will share that voice in person as the featured guest when Warner Home Video, UGO.com and The Paley Center for Media proudly present the East Coast premiere of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse in New York on September 23. The West Coast premiere will be hosted in Los Angeles on September 21.
The bi-coastal premieres are just part of the ongoing festivities in conjunction with the release of the film. Included in the activities is “Destination Apocalypse,” an interactive online promotion that allows fans to get even deeper into the mythology of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. Fans can access “Destination Apocalypse” at http://DestinationApocalypse.com and explore the many sections including games, quizzes and information about film. Fans can even send Kryptonian messages to their Facebook friends. In each section, participants virtually “check in” and earn badges to unlock an exclusive video clip from the movie. In addition, earning badges for participating in the various activities in each section help to unlock exclusive movie poster downloads.
Conway helps lead a Superman/Batman: Apocalypse cast that includes fan favorite Tim Daly (Private Practice) as Superman, as well as Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age) as the daunting Darkseid, sci-fi heroine Summer Glau (Serenity/Firefly; Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), and multi-Emmy Award winner Ed Asner (Up) as Granny Goodness.
Based on the DC Comics series/graphic novel Superman/Batman: Supergirl by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is produced by animation legend Bruce Timm and directed by Lauren Montgomery (Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths) from a script by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Tab Murphy (Gorillas in the Mist).
Conroy will speak quite a bit during pre-premiere interviews and a post-premiere panel discussion on September 23. But for those fans who can’t attend the sold-out event, here’s some thoughts the actor offered after a recent recording session.
Review: ‘Smallville Season 9’
When [[[Smallville]]] debuted on the WB network in fall 2001, it was a revelation, a serious and well-considered examination of Clark Kent coming to terms with his alien origins and super-powers in a modern context. It was a perfect fit for the teen-skewing network and apparently they hit pay dirt casting Tom Welling as Clark and surrounding him with a strong ensemble. The real secret early on was the writing staff, fronted by Jeph Loeb and Mark Verheiden, who said more with less and kept you coming back for more.
By the fourth season though, the success of the show was beyond expectations and the vamping began, coupled with the turnover of the writing staff which irreparably harmed the show. Things grew silly real fast as the iconic elements were twisted beyond recognition and the producers sought new threats and twists in the soap opera relationships. In the latter seasons, especially after creator/showrunners Al Gough and Mile Millar departed, character motivations seemingly changed weekly and storytelling logic was usually ignored.
Season eight gave us the season-long threat of Doomsday and once he was dispatched, it seemed time for something new. Maybe something familiar, a little taste of home. Executive Producers Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, and Welling decided the time had come to bring the threat of General Zod made flesh. Callum Blue was added to the cast as the Kryptonian military officer, and former ally of Jor-El’s, to demonstrate for Clark the need to use their powers for selfless reasons.
Recognizing this was likely the final season, they chose the theme to be that of Clark embracing his alien heritage. He donned a black costume for the first time and either distanced himself from his friends and allies or relearned the lesson that he cannot act alone.
The Point Radio: A DC History Lesson From Len Wein
DC’s rich history can best be explained by not only one of their oldest fans, but top creators. The man who gave us SWAMP THING (and much more), LEN WEIN shares a few 75th Anniversary Tales – plus LOCKE & KEY heads to TV.
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Mark Waid’s speech and the Napsterization of comics
Mark Waid’s planned Harvey speech on copyright, piracy, digital distribution, and the like is now posted at CBR. Please note that this is his Platonic ideal speech, not what I heard in the room– as I recall it and he himself noted, the speech he gave was significantly, shall we say, rougher. Sadly, no one has posted an actual transcript or video yet, which is a shame as I think that may have been even more important. (And yes, I have a lead on a copy.)
A while back, I wrote about a meeting I had with DC Legal talking about comics piracy, and I talked about how comics were being Napsterized. In the light of Mark’s call to start a dialogue on these topics, I’d like to revisit that topic– sadly, five years on, the issues are still with us.
Seth Godin recently talked about what publishing should have learned from the music industry:
1) We have a fresh slate at HarperStudio. What’s your advice?
The huge opportunity for book publishers is to get unstuck. You’re not in the printing business. The life and death of trees is not your concern. You’re in the business of leveraging the big ideas authors have. There are a hundred ways to do that, yet book publishers obsess about just one or two of them. Here’s the news flash: that’s not what authors care about. Authors don’t care about units sold. They care about ideas spread. If you can help them do that, we’re delighted to share our profits with you. But one (broken) sales channel–bookstores–and one broken model (guaranteed sale of slow-to-market books) is not the way to get there. If you free yourself up enough to throw that out, you’ll figure out dozens of ways to leverage and spread and profit from ideas worth spreading.
2) If everything is free, how is anyone going to make any money?
First, the market and the internet don’t care if you make money. That’s important to say. You have no right to make money from every development in media, and the humility that comes from approaching the market that way matters. It’s not “how can the market make me money” it’s “how can I do things for this market.” Because generally, when you do something for an audience, they repay you. The Grateful Dead made plenty of money. Tom Peters makes many millions of dollars a year giving speeches, while books are a tiny fraction of that. Barack Obama used ideas to get elected, book royalties are just a nice side effect. There are doctors and consultants who profit from spreading ideas. Novelists and musicians can make money with bespoke work and appearances and interactions. And you know what? It’s entirely likely that many people in the chain WON’T make any money. That’s okay. That’s the way change works.
3) How do you think publishers and authors could work more productively together?
Publishing is far too focused on the pub day. The event of the publication. This is a tiny drip, perhaps the least important moment in a long timeline. As soon as publishers see themselves as marketers and agents and managers and developers of content, things change.
4) What’s the most important lesson the book publishing industry can learn from the music industry?
The market doesn’t care a whit about maintaining your industry. The lesson from Napster and iTunes is that there’s even MORE music than there was before. What got hurt was Tower and the guys in the suits and the unlimited budgets for groupies and drugs. The music will keep coming. Same thing is true with books. So you can decide to hassle your readers (oh, I mean your customers) and you can decide that a book on a Kindle SHOULD cost $15 because it replaces a $15 book, and if you do, we (the readers) will just walk away. Or, you could say, “if books on the Kindle were $1, perhaps we could create a vast audience of people who buy books like candy, all the time, and read more and don’t pirate stuff cause it’s convenient and cheap…” I’m a pessimist that the book industry will learn from music. How are you betting?
So let’s think about the state of the industries– where music’s been the last few years, and where comics could be heading.
Recession? Check.
Screwed up and weakened distribution channels? Check.
High studio costs? Check.
Nearly free, widespread distribution system that the fans use? Check.
Major industry execs and creators that are either clueless about the Internet, or are years late to the party? Check.
A newly empowered bunch of creators doing it themselves and distributing online? Check, check, check.
So is there a solution? Yes, but there are some big hurdles to overcome. Start discussing it in the comment threads, and we’ll be back in a bit with more.
Review: ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season One, Part One’
Growing up in the 1960s, DC’s super-heroes were proud to don their uniforms and battle for truth, justice, and the American way. They had a relatively easy camaraderie with one another and they used their wits and their powers to get out the devilish death-traps they inevitably found themselves in every now and then.
While DC’s heroes and villains have been successfully translated to animation through the years, none have quite captured that colorful joy in being a super-hero. As successful as Warner Animations[[[ Batman]]], [[[Superman]]] and [[[Justice League]]] have been for the current generation of fans, [[[Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]] is the show that those of us from an earlier era have been waiting for. No Wonder Twins, no Wendy & Marvin – our heroes and villains doing what they do best.
The first thirteen episodes of the Cartoon Network series are collected on Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season One, Part One. The two-disc set, without any extras whatsoever, is being released Tuesday and is a joy to have. Producers James Tucker and Michael Jelenic have designed a show that celebrates the heroic and it is brighter, jazzier, and in many ways more action-packed than its predecessors. Each episode opens with a teaser that shows the conclusion of another successful team-up between Batman and a member of the heroic community then we get a complete tale with a different collaboration.
The show has taken great pains to explore the far-reaches of the DC Universe, across the stars and through the years. As a result, one never knows who will be seen next which brings a sense of delight to the viewing experience. Batman is equally comfortable in the past, fighting Morgaine le Fey alongside Etrigan the Demon, as he is battling in the years of the Great Disaster, aiding Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth. The writers have demonstrated not only a keen understanding of the core elements that make each hero and villain distinct, but adapts them well to television in order to avoid having them appear too similar to one another. The exception is Green Arrow, and the rivalry between the two heroes provides some welcome comic relief. Aquaman, king of the seven seas is also seen as a dim blowhard, eager for an adventure, always struggling to come up with an engaging name for it.
About the only adaptation that has failed to work for me is portraying Metamorpho, Black Lightning and Katana – the Outsiders – as a group of snotty teens. The most successful might be Jaime Reyes, the current Blue Beetle, who is one of the most frequent guest stars and is seen as a hero in training, struggling to gain the respect and approval of his mentors.
While bright and shiny, they still show death and its ramifications, as witnessed by the recap of Bruce Wayne’s youth and other random, senseless acts of violence. Batman has overcome those dark days and is a tireless, driven crimefighter, ready to take on any threat. His square-jawed design is evocative of how he was depicted by the likes of Sheldon Moldoff and Mike Sekowsky in the early 1960s, just before the “New Look” era began. The one element I feel does the show a disservice is the ability for his cape to morph into a jetpack while the Batmobile is an all-in-one sea to surface to air vehicle. While these are lovely animation shortcuts, they take us a step beyond the Batman they are celebrating.
And don’t think its all adventure as many stories also deal with emotional themes such as Red Tornado’s quest for humanity and Wildcat struggling with age.
The first half season ends with a two-part visit to a parallel world and the Injustice Syndicate, as batman struggles to fit in disguised as his counterpart Owlman. As one would expect justice triumphs but not without putting up a vigorous fight.
This set is a welcome addition to the DC video library and comes well recommended.
