Tagged: Graphic Novel

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WWC Interview: ‘World War Z’ Writer Max Brooks

  • News
  • June 29, 2008

maxbrooks-3100333To some, it may seem unusual to find Max Brooks, the author of the very popular novels The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z at a convention devoted mostly to comic books. But really, it isn’t that hard to understand. Both of Brooks’ books deal with zombies, a very popular creature among comics and pop culture fans.

Recently, Brooks’ novel World War Z was optioned by Paramount Pictures for actor Brad Pitt’s company Plan B to produce. He’s also hard at work writing the graphic novel adaptation of the historical zombie attacks featured in The Zombie Survival Guide — which is being packaged by Avatar Press.

I sat down with Brooks on Saturday to talk about zombies, his love of history, his latest project and why translating his work into a graphic novel was one of the hardest things he’s ever done.

COMICMIX: So Max, you’re a writer of two successful novels. What are you doing at a comic book convention?

MAX BROOKS: I have my first comic book, a graphic novel based on the reported attacks in the Zombie Survival Guide, that I’m doing with Avatar. That’s what I’m doing here at this convention.

CMix: How did you hook up with Avatar Press?

MB: i was stalked by William Christensen, who heads Avatar Press. He cornered me at another show and said he really wanted to work with me and i said "i would really love to work with you, too. Who are you?" But then we talked and he gave me some samples of artists and i really liked what i saw and thought we could work together.

I ended up going with this one artist because i liked his work the most and i thought it looked the most realistic, which was important for me.

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New ‘Watchmen’ Set Video – Costumes

Zack Snyder and the Watchmen movie crew recently delivered another video from the set of the film, providing a bigger peek at the "look" of the upcoming adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ groundbreaking graphic novel.

This time around, costume designer Michael Wilkinson takes you on a tour of the clothing that makes the men — and women — of Watchmen.

UPDATE: Looks like the code JoBlo provided to embed the video wasn’t playing nice with our system here, but I think I’ve wrangled it into shape now. Apologies for the delay. – RM

 

 

 

 

(via Cinematical and JoBlo)

 

More Will Eisner Films on the Way

Will Eisner’s seminal comic book series The Spirit is on the way to theaters, adapted by Frank Miller. And it looks like more of the legend’s creations could be following.

Wired has the news that Creative Artists Agency picked up the rights to Eisner’s estate and will push for more movies based on those books, including A Contract With God.

CAA, a heavyweight talent handler that represents Steven Spielberg, Tobey Maguire, Cameron Diaz and scores of other A-listers, will be pushing for movie adaptations of Eisner titles as a result of the deal, which was announced last week. Eisner comics that could make it to the silver screen include A Contract With God and Other Tenement Stories, John Law, Lady Luck, Mr. Mystic, Uncle Sam, Blackhawk and Sheena.

Eisner died in 2005. Widely credited with helping establish the graphic novel as a respectable art form, he was honored in 1988 when Comic-Con created the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards to recognize cutting-edge comic book talent.

Simone & Ajax: Duck Amuck!

  • News
  • March 6, 2008

 

Today, in Andrew Pepoy’s all-new, full-color graphic novel, Simone & Ajax: The Case of the Maltese Duck, our heroes follow the clues to find the missing mallard.  

Where will the trail lead?  Who can they trust?  And why a duck?

Credits: Andrew Pepoy (Artist), Andrew Pepoy (Letterer), Andrew Pepoy (Writer), Jason Millet (Colorist), Mike Gold (Editor-In-Chief)

More: The Adventures of Simone & Ajax: The Case of the Maltese Duck

 

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Zack Snyder Answers Fans’ ‘Watchmen’ Questions

  • News
  • February 16, 2008

Over at the official Watchmen film website, director Zack Snyder has answered a pretty hefty list of questions from fans about his upcoming big-screen adaptation of the groundbreaking graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

The Q&A is divided into two parts (part one, part two) and covers a lot of ground, from the difficulties of adapting Moore and Gibbons’ use of panels and dialogue to create "scenes between the scenes" to the costumes and fight sequences of the film.

On the subject of Rorschach’s costume, Snyder shed some light on the level of detail he’s aiming for in the character’s mask and the way it reacts with Rorschach’s mood and hidden expressions:

As you can imagine, the most effective way to render the ever-changing inkblot that is Rorschach’s face is with the use of visual effects. So, we created a blank mask and strategically placed small green tracking markers on it. The markers will be used to track the contours of his face throughout the shot. There is also a hole that reveals Jackie’s [Jackie Earle Haley] eyes not only so he can see, but also to help to the VFX artists later while they animate Rorschach’s face. The opening allows them to see what Jackie’s eyes were emoting. When completed, his open-eyed, green polka dotted face will have been replaced by a CG element, a slowly changing inkblot pattern. We’ve gone through and analyzed the many inkblots from the graphic novel and have assigned them each different emotional characteristics — so that when Rorschach is experiencing something in a scene, the shape on the mask reflects his emotions in a graphic and abstract manner. I have had the opportunity to see some of the early tests and I am very pleased with how it is coming together.

Oh, and as if that wasn’t enough, Snyder also addresses some of the rumors surrounding the development of The Black Freighter, the story-within-a-story that unfolds throughout the graphic novel.

 

Today, We Are One, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • February 11, 2008

 

Well, it says here that this is Whizzy’s Wazoo #53. That means today ComicMix starts our second year.

Wow. 

This is a good time to look back at what we’ve done, what we’re trying to do, and how we’ve made the world a better place. Whereas that last point is undoubtedly true, I’d rather look forward. Not a whole year forward; that seems like bad luck. Just the next few months.

ComicMix is going to increase our number of pages by tens of thousands. No kidding. We’re almost ready to do that; our tech team has been working furiously to do the tech voodoo that they do so swell. We’ve already got enough broadband to bury Atlantis. You’ll be seeing a lot more of… well, everything, including some of the greatest names old and new in comics and related media.

And speaking of comics… (more…)

ComicMixer Robert Tinnell near you

  • News
  • December 11, 2007

Our own Robert Tinnell, co-writer of both EZ Street and Demons of Sherwood, is on the road promoting his graphic novel, Feast of the Seven Fishes.  He’s a charming man, with great stories.  Stop by and tell him ComicMix sent you!

Today, 12/11/07 in Philadelphia, PA

Fante’s Kitchen Ware’s 12:00PM – 3:00PM

1006 S 9th St

Philadelphia, PA 19147

Vesuvio’s Restaurant 5:00PM – 9:00PM

736 S 8th St

Philadelphia, PA 19147

12/12/07 in New York, New York

La Ferrara Café  2:00PM – 5:00PM

195 Grand St

New York, NY 10013

12/13/07 in New York, New York

La Lanterna di Vittorio 12:00PM – 3:00PM

129 MacDougal St

New York, NY 10012

12/14/07 in Boston, MA

Boston BeanStock 4:00PM – 8:00PM

97 Salem St

Boston MA 

Defenders of Freedom Are Coming

  • News
  • September 30, 2007

okko-6923782From the day we did our first Big ComicMix Broadcast, we told you that there were big things planned here at ComicMix, and now you will finally see for yourself in a little over a full day. Phase Two is about ready to fly, but in the meantime here are some things to surf two while you are waiting….

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched their graphic novel project, Defenders of Freedom which is comprised of two original stories: "Blue Collar," written by Jimmy Palmiotti and inked by Rick Burchett, about a man and a racist police officer, and "A Question of Obligation," drawn by Mark Badger and written by Matthew Manning, a story about a clash between government involvement and civil liberties. The back cover art is by Art Spiegelman. The ACLU has released the limited edition graphic novel in print via "guerilla marketing" teams in seven US cities, as well as in digital format on its youth-targeted website here.

If you want to be sure to get a copy of Okko: The Cycle of Water #1 from ASP Comics go to their site here. It also might be available from some comic book retailers, but there is no guarantee how long the "few hundred" copies AP turned up will last.

You can see that "Sopranos-like-remix" of CBS’ How I Met Your Mother here. It’s a three minute version of the first two seasons. Meanwhile, if you are on Facebook, you’re invited create their own recap, in hopes of being selected to air in a November episode. And if you are a fan, you also probably know the SlapBetWebsite is here.

Things are gearing up for 24 Hour Comics Day, the annual around-the-globe, around-the-clock festival of comics creation coming on Saturday, October 20th. Amateur and professional cartoonists will gather at event locations worldwide, each person aiming to create a 24 page comic book in 24 hours. Right now, 70 official local events have been announced with the latest list here and if you would still like to organize your own, get information here.

Finally, if you want to get a quick Heroes fix, Adrian Pasdar has some video he shot on the set of the NBC show here.

Join us here Tuesday for what we’ve all been waiting for, but in the meantime, here’s a question. Do you know someone who might be thrilled to hear that GrimJack, Simone & Ajax, Jon Sable, Freelance, or Munden’s Bar are back, or that might enjoy Fishhead, Black Ice or EZ Street? Do them a favor and shoot them a link to ComicMix this week – and while you are at it – be SURE to tell them it is (and will be) 100% FREE. We’ll be back in a couple of days with your personal audio guided tour of the New Stuff complements of ComicMix chairman Brian Alvey.

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GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: The Architect

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Imaginative literature thrives on the “what if?” story. What if aliens invaded Earth? What if vampires were real? What if a superpowered infant was rocketed to Earth from a doomed planet?

Or, in this case: what if Frank Lloyd Wright were an insane evil druid whose wrath extended years after his death?

OK, the architect in this graphic novel isn’t precisely Wright. He’s a prickly, arrogant, obnoxious know-it-all (so far, that doesn’t just describe Wright, but all architects) building his dream home (with some Fallingwater-esque elements) in 1969 Wisconsin. He’s running low on money, but that never stops arrogant, visionary architects in imaginative fiction – he just runs off to do some lectures to raise some money. Which leaves his young, city-jaded, hot-to-trot wife alone, and bored, in the company of the young, dashing, level-headed construction foreman. Do I need to draw you a diagram?

I draw a veil over what happens next, except to say that the bulk of this graphic novel  (which has seventy pages of story, for those counting at home) takes place in the present day, among a group of young people cleaning up and restoring the aforementioned dream home.

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Babylon 5 novels bite the dust

  • News
  • April 24, 2007

So much for new Babylon 5 novels and graphic novels. Matthew Sprange of Mongoose Publishing notes on their discussion forums: “ We have agreed to drop the entire novels project – it really wasn’t going to go anywhere. In their place, we have a new B5-related project waiting in the wings. More news on this soon!”

A number of novels were in the works at the time the plug was pulled, including a rumored one by Claudia Christian, who played Commander Susan Ivanova on the show. No reason were given as to why the license for the novels was dropped.

Mongoose will continue to produce Babylon 5 role-playing games.

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