Tagged: fan

‘Y: The Last Man’ and ‘Transmetropolitan’ – Plagiarized?

With all the recent talk of creators getting ripped off, here’s another one for the old "Things That Make Me Shake My Fist Angrily" pile.

According to the ever-vigilant mightygodking.com, Y: The Last Man, Transmetropolitan, Fables and various other fan-favorite titles were all based on old Silver Age comics — and the site is chock full o’ proof!

Unsurprisingly, the writer of Yorick, The Last Man On Earth was a woman: Sally Polenti, a trailblazer in the comics field and almost totally unknown today. Her work on Yorick is more soap-opera-ish, perhaps, than Brian K. Vaughan’s – but then again, she also doesn’t have any of those Trivial Pursuit factoids Vaughan seems compelled to insert into any and all narratives he writes. And if you thought Vaughan’s depiction of the longing between 355 and Yorick was hot – well, Polenti’s positively smolders. Plus, mad scientists in just about every issue.

Seriously, though, the Photoshop skills are strong with this one. Color me impressed.

 

(via TheBeat)

New ‘Iron Man’ Trailer to Surface During This Week’s ‘Lost’

ironmanheadshot-4307991If you’re a fan of Iron Man and excited for the upcoming film — and let’s face it, you probably are if you’re reading ComicMix — then here’s some more good news for you besides the other stuff we’ve already mentioned previously.

According to Marvel, during ABC’s episode of Lost this week, they’re going to debut a brand-new, 90-second trailer for Iron Man.

This new trailer is the one director Jon Favreau couldn’t show at WonderCon this past weekend so you have to know it contains some pretty cool stuff. So, fire up your Tivos and get ready for some pulse-pounding, armor-clad action. Mine’s already set.

Lost airs Thursdays at 9 PM Eastern/Pacific and 8 PM Central. Iron Man opens May 2nd.

First Look: ‘Y:The Last Man’ Wrap Party Footage

It’s probably not much of a secret that I’m a huge fan of Brian K.Vaughan’s comic book series Y: The Last Man. If I wasn’t, why else would I be posting about it so much? So, in my continuing effort not to disappoint those of you who are also fans of the series, here now is yet another bit of news about it.

This time, the news comes to us in the form of exclusive video from the Y:The Last Man wrap party courtesy of Variety’s Bags and Boads site. The party, which took place a couple of weeks ago at Meltdown Comics here in LA, was held to celebrate the final issue of Y: The Last Man and as a benefit for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund — a worthy cause indeed.

The video showcases some of the many guests in attendance, including Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerrra, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid and my personal hero, Joss Whedon.

Check it out at the Bags and Boards site. Or, if, as the post says, you have trouble watching it there, it’s also available at Myspace Comics. Enjoy.

Government Recalls Spider-Man Cups

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of 6,600 Spider-Man water bottles sold exclusively at Sears last summer. These bottles carry a sufficient risk of choking, as the screws under the lid can come loose and fall into the cup.

Even though these items haven’t been sold for some time, the news is significant as many were purchased by and for fans old and young. Quite frankly, they look sort of cool. So if you’ve got ’em, you might want to take them out of service and put them on a shelf beyond the reach of small children who are not endowed with the powers and proportionate strength of a spider.

More info here.

Early Review: ‘Justice League: New Frontier’

 

Like many of you out there, a bad taste was left in my mouth coming off of Superman: Doomsday, so of course I was wary of DC’s next direct-to-DVD flick. I wasn’t a huge fan of the graphic novels (Isn’t that what we call thick comic books these days?), but I am certainly a fan of the [[[Justice League]]] and its animated counterpart. 
 
I’ll start with a warning to those who aren’t totally familiar with The New Frontier and its universe, but ARE fans of the established animated DC universe: this is a whole new direction from shows like Justice League Unlimited and others, but it is full of exciting DCU fan favorites. In fact, my biggest complaint about [[[Superman: Doomsday]]] was that there were no outside DC heroes, even though they were all over the original story. But I digress.
 
Looking at the animation first, I was very pleased that Bruce Timm (main creator of the animated DCU) and Darwyn Cooke (wirter/artist of The New Frontier graphic novel) were able to find a happy medium between the already established look of the animated Justice League and the very stylized look of Cooke’s art, thought I do think the eye-slits works much better for Superman than the baby blues. The entire artistic feel practically beamed with that golden age look, which is what attracted me to the books in the first place.

 

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Pottery Barn to Offer Spider-Man Products

Well, comics fan, it looks like you might have something to buy with that Pottery Barn gift certificate you received at your wedding after all.

Brandweek reports that Marvel Entertainment has partnered with Pottery Barn to begin offering a line of Spider-Man products, including bedding, lighting and various home decor and furniture, starting this spring. The agreement between the upscale chain and superhero product provider is part of a broad strategy on Marvel’s part to tap into the more affluent portions of the consumer market.

Pottery Barn, a relative novice in entertainment licenses, felt Spider-Man was a good fit for its mom-heavy consumer demo.

Jill Larue, senior vice president and general merchandise manager of catalog for Pottery Barn Kids, said it “pairs well with the classic and timeless approach” of its furnishings.

In order to fit in with the stable of Pottery Barn merchandise, the two companies toned down the standard, brightly colored Spider-Man presence on various products and plan to offer "a vintage look with lots of solid colors and less frenetic character images" on the products that will be exclusive to Pottery Barn — primarily children’s furniture and other home furnishings.

(via mmm)

New ‘Perhapanauts’ Site, Preview Launched

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau’s Perhapanauts.

So I was pretty happy to see them launch a new Perhapanauts website, complete with previews of the upcoming "King-Size Annual" that marks their debut with new publisher Image Comics.

Oh, and if you’re the type who’s been holding your breath until they put out a Chupacabra t-shirt, you can finally exhale. The new website is selling one of those, as well as a bunch of other cool merch, too.

 

 

 

Fan Comics Celebrate ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Torchwood’

Pia Guerra may have her work cut out for her.  While Guerra’s first issue of IDW’s Doctor Who comic book series is scheduled to come out in July, fan-drawn strips about the British sci-fi phenomenon and its spinoffs are already well underway.

Pseudonymous LiveJournal bloggers calling themselves spastasmagoria and jigglykat have created Torchwood Babiez, which is so unbearably adorable it could give Cute Overload a run for its money.  So far the ladies are up to Page 10, and they’re just getting rolling.

Meanwhile, Rich Morris is currently up to Page 81 of his wonderful strip The Ten Doctors, which can be enjoyed by casual viewers of the show but is really designed for the more fanatic trivia buff who remembers over a quarter century of Doctors, companions, villains and planets.  Only three of the story pages have been inked and colored so far, but Rich’s art is worthwhile even in pencil form.

Doubtless there are a ton of other fan-based comics making the rounds; we’d be especially interested to see any paying tribute to the kid-friendly "Sarah Jane Chronicles."

52 Weeks of Reading Recommendations by Dennis O’Neil

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When ComicMix launched a year ago, we were especially pleased to include the legendary Dennis O’Neil as one of our regular columnists.  Denny has written and/or edited every major character in comics, including Batman, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Superman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Iron Man, the Question, Azrael, and Millie the Model.

Back in the day, when comics had letter columns, Denny would usually share his reading preferences with readers.  We’re delighted to have continued this tradition here on ComicMix in Denny’s weekly columns.

To celebrate the last 52 weeks of Denny’s contributions to ComicMix, here’s a list of what he’s recommended so far, in the order he recommended them and with his thoughts on the recommendations (when he provided them). You’ll notice that, sometimes, he suggests the same book more than once.  And sometimes, he suggests more than one book at a time.  That’s the kind of reader Denny is — he takes his time, and he’s eclectic.

Good reading!

2/13/07

Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud

This is the one essential book for anyone with a genuine interest in the subject.

2/20/97

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, by Sam Harris

2/27/07

Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, by Thich Nhat Hanh

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Russell T. Davies on ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Torchwood’ and ‘Sarah Jane Adventures’

The Los Angeles Times has posted a fairly extensive interview with "Doctor Who"  Executive Producer Russell T. Davies, touching on everything from the upcoming broadcast schedule for various "Who"-related projects to the sexuality of "Torchwood" and his decision to distance himself from the "Who" fanbase.

According to the interview, the highly anticipated "Sarah Jane Adventures" – another "Who" spin-off project with a decidely younger target audience – will hit U.S. networks in April, along with the next season of "Doctor Who." The world of "Doctor Who" is quickly becoming a universe, according to Davies, and with the expansion comes some necessary sharing of resources.

"’Sarah Jane’ inherited some of our ‘Doctor Who’ monsters," Davies said. "We can’t afford new prosthetics."

Davies goes on to discuss the controversial sexuality of the more adult-themed "Who" spin-off, "Torchwood", as well as his unusual stance against becoming too entangled in fan message boards and fan-community response to the various series.

"I think we’re an unusual science-fiction franchise in taking a very big step back from fandom and having nothing to do with them. . . . Every program on the BBC has a message board on the website. I forbid it to happen on ‘Doctor Who.’ I’m sorry to say this, all the science fiction producers making stuff in America, they are way too engaged with their fandom. They all need to step back."

(Hat Tip: Outpost Gallifrey)