Tagged: Iron Man

2010 Eisner Award Nominations

The list is out. Pretty straightforward, with a few surprises (No Todd Klein or John Workman for lettering? And was Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader not eligible?)

Our congratulations to all the nominees. We’ll be starting the betting pools in 3… 2…

Best Short Story
•  “Because I Love You So Much,” by Nikoline Werdelin, in From
Wonderland with Love: Danish Comics in the 3rd Millennium
(Fantagraphics/Aben malen)
•  “Gentleman John,” by Nathan Greno, in What Is Torch Tiger? (Torch
Tiger)
• “How and Why to Bale Hay,” by Nick Bertozzi, in Syncopated (Villard)
• “Hurricane,” interpreted by Gradimir Smudja, in Bob Dylan Revisited
(Norton)
•  “Urgent Request,” by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, in The
Eternal Smile (First Second) 

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
•  Brave & the Bold #28: “Blackhawk and the Flash: Firing Line,” by
J. Michael Straczynski and Jesus Saiz (DC)
•  Captain America #601: “Red, White, and Blue-Blood,” by Ed Brubaker
and Gene Colan (Marvel)
•  Ganges #3, by Kevin Huizenga (Fantagraphics)
•  The Unwritten #5: “How the Whale Became,” by Mike Carey and Peter
Gross (Vertigo/DC)
•  Usagi Yojimbo #123: “The Death of Lord Hikiji” by Stan Sakai (Dark
Horse) 

Best Continuing Series
• Fables, by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew
Pepoy et al. (Vertigo/DC)
• Irredeemable, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (BOOM!)
• Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)
• The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC)
• The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image) 

Best Limited Series or Story Arc
• Blackest Night, by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Oclair Albert (DC)
• Incognito, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)
• Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (VIZ
Media)
• Wolverine #66–72 and Wolverine Giant-Size Special: “Old Man Logan,”
by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, and Dexter Vines (Marvel)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young
(Marvel) 

Best New Series
• Chew, by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick, art by Tony
Parker (BOOM!)
• Ireedeemable, by Mark Waid and Peter Krause (BOOM!)
• Sweet Tooth, by Jeff Lemire (Vertigo/DC)
• The Unwritten, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC) 

Best Publication for Kids
• Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, by Jarrett J. Krosoczeka
(Knopf)
• The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, by Eleanor Davis
(Bloomsbury)
• Tiny Tyrant vol. 1: The Ethelbertosaurus, by Lewis Trondheim and
Fabrice Parme (First Second)
• The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, edited by Art
Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams ComicArts/Toon)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz hc, by L. Frank Baum, Eric Shanower, and
Skottie Young (Marvel) 

Best Publication for Teens
• Angora Napkin, by Troy Little (IDW)
• Beasts of Burden, by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson (Dark Horse)
• A Family Secret, by Eric Heuvel (Farrar Straus Giroux/Anne Frank
House)
• Far Arden, by Kevin Cannon (Top Shelf)
• I Kill Giants tpb, by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura (Image) 

Best Humor Publication
•  Drinky Crow’s Maakies Treasury, by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics)
•  Everybody Is Stupid Except for Me, And Other Astute Observations, by
Peter Bagge (Fantagraphics)
• Little Lulu, vols. 19–21, by John Stanley and Irving Tripp (Dark
Horse Books)
•  The Muppet Show Comic Book: Meet the Muppets, by Roger Langridge
(BOOM Kids!)
•  Scott Pilgrim vol. 5: Scott Pilgrm vs. the Universe, by Brian Lee
O’Malley (Oni) 

Best Anthology
•  Abstract Comics, edited by Andrei Molotiu (Fantagraphics)
•  Bob Dylan Revisited, edited by Bob Weill (Norton)
•  Flight 6, edited by Kazu Kibuishi (Villard)
•  Popgun vol. 3, edited by Mark Andrew Smith, D. J. Kirkbride, and Joe
Keatinge (Image)
•  Syncopated: An Anthology of Nonfiction Picto-Essays, edited by
Brendan Burford (Villard)
•  What Is Torch Tiger? edited by Paul Briggs (Torch Tiger) 

Best Digital Comic
• The Abominable Charles Christopher, by Karl Kerschl, www.abominable.cc
• Bayou, by Jeremy Love, http://zudacomics.com/bayou
• The Guns of Shadow Valley, by David Wachter and James Andrew Clark,
www.gunsofshadowvalley.com
•  Power Out, by Nathan Schreiber, www.act-i-vate.com/67.comic
•  Sin Titulo, by Cameron Stewart, www.sintitulocomic.com/ 

Best Reality-Based Work
• A Drifting Life, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Footnotes in Gaza, by Joe Sacco (Metropolitan/Holt)
• The Imposter’s Daughter, by Laurie Sandell (Little, Brown)
• Monsters, by Ken Dahl (Secret Acres)
• The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric
Lemerier (First Second)
• Stitches, by David Small (Norton) 

Best Adaptation from Another Work
•  The Book of Genesis Illustrated, by R. Crumb (Norton)
• Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: A Graphic Adaptation,
adapted by Michael Keller and Nicolle Rager Fuller (Rodale)
•  Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, adapted by Tim Hamilton (Hill &
Wang)
•  Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
• West Coast Blues, by Jean-Patrick Manchette, adapted by Jacques Tardi
(Fantagraphics) 

Best Graphic Album—New
• Asterios Polyp, by David Mazzuccheilli (Pantheon)
• A Distant Neighborhood (2 vols.), by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent
Mon)
• The Book of Genesis Illustrated, by R. Crumb (Norton)
• My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill, by Jean Regnaud and
Émile Bravo (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric
Lemerier (First Second)
• Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter, adapted by Darwyn Cooke (IDW) 

Best Graphic Album—Reprint
•  Absolute Justice, by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Doug Braithewaite
(DC)
•  A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, by Josh Neufeld (Pantheon)
•  Alec: The Years Have Pants, by Eddie Campbell (Top Shelf)
• Essex County Collected, by Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
•  Map of My Heart: The Best of King-Cat Comics & Stories,
1996–2002, by John Porcellino (Drawn & Quarterly) 

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips
• Bloom County: The Complete Library, vol. 1, by Berkeley Breathed,
edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
• Bringing Up Father, vol. 1: From Sea to Shining Sea, by George
McManus and Zeke Zekley, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW)
• The Brinkley Girls: The Best of Nell Brinkley’s Cartoons 1913–1940,
edited by Trina Robbins (Fantagraphics)
• Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, by Gahan Wilson, edited
by Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)
• Prince Valiant, vol. 1: 1937–1938, by Hal Foster, edited by Kim
Thompson (Fantagraphics)
• Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, Walt
McDougall, and W. W. Denslow (Sunday Press) 

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books
• The Best of Simon & Kirby, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, edited by
Steve Saffel (Titan Books)
• Blazing Combat, by Archie Goodwin et al., edited by Gary Groth
(Fantagraphics)
• Humbug, by Harvey Kurtzman et al., edited by Gary Groth
(Fantagraphics)
• The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures deluxe edition, by Dave
Stevens, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
• The TOON Treasury of Classic Children’s Comics, edited by Art
Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (Abrams ComicArts/Toon) 

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
• My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill, by Jean Regnaud and
Émile Bravo (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• The Photographer, by Emmanuel Guibert, Didier Lefèvre, and Frédéric
Lemerier (First Second)
• Tiny Tyrant vol. 1: The Ethelbertosaurus, by Lewis Trondheim and
Fabrice Parme (First Second)
• West Coast Blues, by Jean-Patrick Manchette, adapted by Jacques Tardi
(Fantagraphics)
• Years of the Elephant, by Willy Linthout (Fanfare/Ponent Mon) 

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia
• The Color Trilogy, by Kim Dong Haw (First Second) 
• A Distant Neighborhood (2 vols.), by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent
Mon)
• A Drifting Life, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
• Oishinbo a la Carte, written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira
Hanasaki (VIZ Media)
• Pluto: Urasawa X Tezuka, by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (VIZ
Media)
• Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media) 

Best Writer
• Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil, Marvels Project (Marvel)
Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon)
• Geoff Johns, Adventure Comics, Blackest Night, The Flash: Rebirth,
Superman: Secret Origin (DC)
• James Robinson, Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
• Mark Waid, Irredeemable, The Incredibles (BOOM!)
• Bill Willingham, Fables (Vertigo/DC) 

Best Writer/Artist
• Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark’s Parker: The Hunter (IDW)
• R. Crumb, The Book of Genesis Illustrated (Norton)
• David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
• Terry Moore, Echo (Abstract Books)
• Naoki Urasawa, Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, Pluto: Urasawa X
Tezuka (VIZ Media) 

Best Writer/Artist–Nonfiction
• Reinhard Kleist, Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness (Abrams ComicArts)
• Willy Linthout, Years of the Elephant (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• Joe Sacco, Footnotes in Gaza (Metropolitan/Holt)
• David Small, Stitches (Norton)
• Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know: A Good and Decent Man
(Fantagraphics) 

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
• Michael Kaluta, Madame Xanadu #11–15: “Exodus Noir” (Vertigo/DC)
• Steve McNiven/Dexter Vines, Wolverine: Old Man Logan (Marvel)
• Fiona Staples, North 40 (WildStorm)
• J. H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC)
• Danijel Zezelj, Luna Park (Vertigo/DC) 

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
• Émile Bravo, My mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill
(Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
• Mauro Cascioli, Justice League: Cry for Justice (DC)
• Nicolle Rager Fuller, Charles Darwin on the Origin of Species: A
Graphic Adaptation (Rodale Books)
• Jill Thompson, Beasts of Burden (Dark Horse); Magic Trixie and the
Dragon (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
• Carol Tyler, You’ll Never Know: A Good and Decent Man
(Fantagraphics) 

Best Cover Artist
• John Cassaday, Irredeemable (BOOM!); Lone Ranger (Dynamite)
• Salvador Larocca, Invincible Iron Man (Marvel)
• Sean Phillips, Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon); 28 Days Later
(BOOM!)
• Alex Ross, Astro City: The Dark Age (WildStorm/DC); Project
Superpowers  (Dynamite)
• J. H. Williams III, Detective Comics (DC) 

Best Coloring
• Steve Hamaker, Bone: Crown of Thorns (Scholastic); Little Mouse Gets
Ready (Toon)
• Laura Martin, The Rocketeer: The Complete Adventures (IDW); Thor, The
Stand: American Nightmares (Marvel)
• David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
• Alex Sinclair, Blackest Night, Batman and Robin (DC)
• Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien, BPRD, The Goon, Hellboy, Solomon Kane,
Umbrella Academy, Zero Killer (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC);
Northlanders, Luna Park (Vertigo) 

Best Lettering
• Brian Fies, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? (Abrams
ComicArts)
• David Mazzuccheilli, Asterios Polyp (Pantheon)
• Tom Orzechowski, Savage Dragon (Image); X-Men Forever (Marvel)
• Richard Sala, Cat Burglar Black (First Second); Delphine
(Fantagraphics)
• Adrian Tomine, A Drifting Life (Drawn & Quarterly) 

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism
• Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows)
• ComicsAlliance, www.comicsalliance.com
• Comics Comics, edited by Timothy Hodler and Dan Nadel
(www.comicscomicsmag.com) (PictureBox)
• The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy
Valenti (Fantagraphics)
• The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon
(www.comicsreporter.com) 

Best Comics-Related Book
• Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel, by Annalisa Di
Liddo (University Press of Mississippi)
• The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics, by Denis
Kitchen and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)
• The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, by Helen McCarthy (Abrams
ComicArts)
• Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater, by Eric P. Nash
(Abrams ComicArts)
• Will Eisner and PS Magazine, by Paul E. Fitzgerald (Fitzworld.US) 

Best Publication Design
• Absolute Justice, designed by Curtis King and Josh Beatman (DC)
• The Brinkley Girls, designed by Adam Grano (Fantagraphics)
• Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, designed by Jacob Covey
(Fantagraphics)
• Life and Times of Martha Washington, designed by David Nestelle (Dark
Horse Books)
• Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz, designed by Philippe
Ghielmetti (Sunday Press)
• Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? designed by Neil Egan and
Brian Fies (Abrams ComicArts) (more…)

Crazy Sexy Geeks FAQS 2 – Iron Man Briefcase & Armor History!

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Crazy Sexy Geeks answer FAQS: Wonder why geeks are excited that IRON MAN 2 features a suit of armor that collapses into a briefcase? Learn the history of Tony Stark's briefcase armor right here! And then check out a fun music montage featuring Iron Man's ever evolving look from 1963 to today!
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Chris Evans cast as Captain America

Variety reports that square-jawed lady-killer Chris Evans will be under the winged-mask of Captain America for Marvel’s upcoming The First Avenger: Captain America, set to hit theaters next summer.

Also noted from Variety: Evan’s deal looks to be for at least three pictures, not including the already mentioned “Avengers” film set to come out in 2012. Evans will be hurling his shield next to Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, as well as Edward Norton’s green skinned goliath, the Hulk.

The First Avenger: Captain America also has cast the neo-hating turned neo-nazi, Hugo Weaving as the villainous Red Skull.

Of course, comic book fans should not be surprised by Mr. Evan’s turn as a hero, given his lengthy comic book twinged resumé. Starring first as the hot headed Johnny Storm in the less-than-beloved pair of Fantastic Four pictures, Evans will also debut as the alliterated Lucas Lee in the upcoming Scott Pilgrim flick, as well as the jacked-mouth hacker Jake Jensen in the forthcoming Losers movie coming out this April.

So, ComicMix fans, what do you think? Does Evans belong wielding the shield? Where do you think Stan Lee will cameo in the Cap film? Do you think Ben Grimm will enjoy a quieter Baxter building while Johnny get’s a little patriotic? Tell us what you think, soldier!

Marvel Unveils New Iron Man Armor

As the worlds of film and comics grow ever closer, Marvel this afternoon released this image of Iron Man’s new armor. If it looks awfully similar to the movie version of shellhead, that’s no doubt intentional. Ryan Meinerding, designer on the Iron Man and Thor films helped adapt the movie suit for comics and this debuts in April’s Invincible Iron Man #25.

The series, written by Matt Fraction, has been acclaimed to the point where director Jon Favreau had Fraction consult on the sequel, conveniently due out just weeks later. With a new storyline kicking off, the new mission requires a new kind of armor.

“The inspiration for the new design came from thinking about a sleeker, leaner, tougher Iron Man,” Fraction said in a Marvel press release. “If technology is increasingly getting smaller and lighter it seems like the Iron Man should do the same: ergonomic and aerodynamic. We were looking for something that felt as sleek and glossy as a sports car Tony Stark would covet.  I love what we’ve come up with. It feels like the next evolutionary step in the Iron Man’s design.”

Review: ‘Two Girls and a Guy’ on Blu-ray

2guysandgirl-bd-spine-3810881When an actor or director suddenly breaks out and gets hot, studios scour their vaults to see if there’s a way they can capitalize on this heat. Last year, Robert Downey, Jr. went from a troubled, gifted actor to a Super Star thanks to his performance in [[[Iron Man]]]. This week, 20th Century-Fox hopes to catch a break with the Blu-ray release of Downey’s 1998 film Two Girls and a Guy.

Written and direct by James Toback, the film is virtually a real time three-person stage play on a film. In his self-congratulatory 20 minute conversation on the Extras, Toback talks about how he came to write the film, by beginning to imagine a setting. In this case, that’s the spacious loft apartment which became the set his performances would use. After that, he populated the apartment with his players.

We open with Natasha Gregson Wagner’s Lou and Heather Graham’s Carla standing outside the apartment building waiting for their boyfriend to return from trip Very quickly, they determine that the boyfriend in question is the same man, Blake. Once Lou breaks a window to access the apartment, they bond while laying in wait.

Blake arrives and immediately calls his mother, then Carla, then Lou, placing them in the exact order of his affections although that doesn’t become obvious until later as his lies comes to haunt him. The audience gets to see him in has natural state before the women reveal their presence one at a time, catching him in his 10 month-long web of lies.

Carla and Lou are very attractive women in vastly different ways, with Carla soft, brainy, and traditional while Lou is edgier, street smart, and sharp tongued. What’s interesting to Toback was exploring how the same words could seduce such different women. In fact, he finds great humor in this, despite none of that mirth making it onto the screen.

The 1:25 length of the film should allow all three to shine and strut their stuff, but despite the histrionics, the film feels cold and uninvolving. At no point does Toback allow Downey’s Blake to show us any redeeming qualities to demonstrate why they fall for him. As a struggling actor, Blake should not be able to afford such nice digs or afford two women but that’s never addressed.

Instead, the characters reveal their true selves while dunning Blake for obfuscating the truth while he continually denied doing anything wrong. The truth is the overall theme of the film as is the importance of honesty. All too often, though the film’s momentum is interrupted with Blake’s obsessing over his mother, which shows where his heart truly lies.
 
Toback not too subtly shows his hand by decorating the apartment with a framed one-sheet for the classic French film [[[Jules et Jim]]]. Late in the story, Lou brings up a threesome relationship which excites Blake but seems to disinterest Carla. In fact, by this point, both women are drunk and begin to reveal their true feelings culminating with Carla taking Blake to his room for sex while Lou sits outside the door, listening.

The sex scene earned the film an NC-17 rating and Toback’s appeals were rejected so he made edits. Interestingly, both versions are on the Blu-ray disc and they are both steamy and erotically charged without any nudity.

The original DVD commentary is provided and between that and the Toback interview, we learn how much was improvised despite the writer claiming the script wrote itself in a mere four days. As a result, one longs to see deleted or alternate scenes to see how the cast found their characters but alas, none are provided.

As the credits roll, one hoped for a more satisfying ending. I was unmoved by this potentially fascinating set-up despite some solid performances.

Crazy Sexy Geeks Celebrates 70 Years of Marvel

crazysexygeeks2-8787467In the second episode of Crazy Sexy Geeks, our new weekly series meant for both die-hard fans and people new to comics, hosts Alan Kistler and Carrie Wright head to Barnes & Noble and then Midtown Comics for a two-pronged celebration.

It’s been 70 years since Marvel Mystery Comics #1 came out in 1939, featuring the Sub-Mariner and the original android Human Torch. Since then, hundreds of heroes and villains have been brought to the world through the pages of Marvel comic books.

At a Q&A panel at Barnes & Noble, fans got to speak with Joe Quesada, Klaus Janson, Fred Van Lente, Greg Pak and Chris Claremont. The gang gave some advice on artists and writers trying to make a career out of their hobbies and also spoke about recent projects such as Magneto: Testament, X-Men Forever and attempts to create a new Avengers ongoing cartoon series.

The party then continued at Midtown Comics (Times Square location) where Iron Man and Spider-Man mingled with fans as they looked over the newly-released The Marvels Project #1.

Enough talk. Now watch!

Alan Kistler has been recognized by major media outlets as a comic book historian. Along with writing freelance for ComicMix.com and MTV.com, he hopes to one day write for DC, Marvel and Doctor Who. He also intends to time travel. His web-site can be found at: http://KistlerUniverse.com

Crazy Sexy Geeks: A New Weekly Web-Series

amber-benson-alan-kistler-crazy-sexy-geeks-5022931So your parents loved Robert Downey, Jr. in Iron Man but don’t think comics themselves have anything to offer? Your friends loved V for Vendetta and The Dark Knight and are curious to read comics now but aren’t sure where to start? This is the show to help them all out.

Starring yours truly and New York actor Jose Ramos, “Crazy Sexy Geeks: The Series” is meant to help new people get into comics and other geeky entertainment while also being fun for those already initiated. Each week we will discuss topics such as openly gay super-heroes, why there don’t seem to be many women super-heroes outside of comics, whether remakes are better than sequels, the challenges of film adaptations, and other fun topics that anyone with a smidgeon of pop culture knowledge can enjoy.

This is not your typical comic book video blog where two or three guys sit in a basement or at a friend’s house and just review what came out this week. This is a show where we go out on the street, asking mainstream America what they think about super-heroes, sci-fi films, etc. Likewise, there are professional interviews with folks such as Rob Zombie, Edward James Olmos, novelist David Mack (Star Trek: Destiny, The Calling), and others still to come.

For our first episode, watch us chat with Amber Benson (Tara from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) about female super-heroes, her new novel Death’s Daughter, and what she thinks about the Twilight series.

Ready? Great! WATCH OUR FIRST EPISODE!

ComicMix.com and Midtown Comics are not responsible nor necessarily share the views expressed on Crazy Sexy Geeks. If you love Twilight, get mad at Jose and Alan, not anyone else.

Alan Kistler is a freelance online journalist who has been recognized by media outlets as a comic book historian. His additional works can be found at http://KistlerUniverse.com.

Marvel’s Second Quarter Fizzles

Marvel’s second quarter earnings reports are in, and while they beat expectations, it wasn’t by much. They made (almost) exactly the same amount in the first quarter as they did in the second, which is not really a good thing for a business to do.

Publishers Weekly summarized the reports thusly:

Publishing revenue at Marvel Entertainment was flat in the second
quarter, slipping from $31.8 million to $31.7 million. Operating income
fell more noticeably, dropping 6.8%, to $10.9 million. A lower level of
high-margin advertising and custom publishing sales was cited as the
reason for the decline in earnings. For the first six months of 2009,
sales in the publishing segment fell 1.4%, to $57.5 million, and
operating income declined 17.1%, to $17.9 million. The company said it
expects the publishing segment to finish 2009 with revenue between $115
million and $120 million; in 2008 sales were $125.4 million.

DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com’s Nikki Finke has more detail:

The company said it benefited from growth at its film production segment, primarily in initial revenue for Iron Man DVD
sales and domestic pay TV window. But Marvel’s profit fell 38% after a
decline in licensing sales for toys and character-related products
following its Iron Man and Incredible Hulk bonanzas.
Marvel’s 2nd-quarter revenue fell 26%, and net income fell. But Marvel
also raised the low end of its full-year profit and sales forecasts
with Iron Man 2
coming out in 2010.

Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat says it’s a sign of a slower Q2 for comics all around. What do you think?