2009 March
Watchmen editions lead New York Times lists
Superman: Brainiac
After seeing the USA Today and Amazon.com charts yesterday, it’s no surprise that Watchmen leads the hardcover and softcover categories this week on The New York Times’ Graphic Book Best Seller lists.
That, of course means, Starman Omnibus, Vol. 2, slips from the top spot on the hardcover list to No. 7.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto again dominates the manga category, laying claim to seven of the 10 slots. The most recent volumes of Bleach, Gentlemen’s Alliance and Black Cat slipped in at Nos. 4, 8 and 9, respectively.
The hardcover and softcover sections continue to show signs of genre diversity in the bestseller lists’ second week with titles like The Complete Peanuts: 1971-1972, Jack of Fables, Vol. 5, The Walking Dead, Vol. 9, Sonic the Hedgehog Archives, Vol. 10, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe muscling their way in among the superhero books.
The Times lists are compiled using an arcane formula that includes sales data from hundreds of retail outlets, including independent booksellers, book chains, online stores and direct-market shops.
- March 13, 2009 @ 07:35 AM by Kevin Melrose
TCM brings cartoonists underground
Peter Bagge's 'Reefer Madness'
Turner Classic Movies has a nifty online feature entitled TCM Underground: The Lost Scenes, where they get a variety of cartoonists to produce three-four page strips of fictional cutting room sequences or backstage antics on such schlockworthy films as Reefer Madness, Plan Nine from Outer Space and The Terror of Tiny Town. Contributors include Peter Bagge, Nathan Fox, Steven Sanders, Stephanie Gladden and soon Evan Dorkin. Unfortunately, the comics are way too small to be readable and you can’t zoom in on them. The good news is you can download the comics in much more readable pdf form. (via)
- March 13, 2009 @ 07:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Aaron Noble and the deconstruction of comic book art
My Funny Valentine by Aaron Noble
Aaron Noble is a painter who uses comic books as the raw material for the work he creates. Armed with an Exacto blade, the Los Angeles-based artist combs through old comics and cuts out pieces of illustration that catch his eye. He then arranges and rearranges the comic-sourced shapes into new forms on paper. Once satisfied with a collage, he will often paint it large scale on canvas or even as giant murals in cities like San Francisco and Beijing.
Drawing heavily from the “Image revolution” style of comics, Noble’s resulting pieces look less like early-’90s superheroes and their attendant carnage, and more like abstract swirls, spikes, smoke, and explosions. The biggest nerds with photographic memories will recognize elements — Spawn’s cloak here, Azrael’s armored knee there. But divorced from their original framework, they take on a whole new identity — imploding, mutated anatomies of unknown origin, alternately soaring and crawling across the canvas wrapped in computer colored hues and chrome. They are at once compelling and challenging to observe — as the brain eagerly devours the inherent eye candy, it struggles to make sense of the improbable geometries twisting across the surface.
- March 13, 2009 @ 06:42 AM by Sam Humphries
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Eisner Awards
Awards | Nominations for the 2009 Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards are due today. [Eisner Awards]
Webcomics | Cartoonist Jane Irwin is rethinking her earlier decision to end her historical webcomic Clockwork Comics because of her concerns over the depiction of racial stereotypes: “… I’m reconsidering my stance on permanently ending the book. Let’s call it a hiatus for now; the end of the first chapter’s a good stopping point. In any event, I need to pull back and do a lot more reading and researching, then re-evaluate the first half of the book to see if it’s something I can fix to better match the much darker tone of the second half.” [Clockwork Comics, via Johanna Draper Carlson]
Creators | Kevin Huizenga, Ted May and Dan Zettwoch, creators of the recently canceled Amazing Facts … and Beyond! with Leon Beyond, are seeking commissions and donations to keep the strip alive online. [Amazing Facts, via FLOG!]
Awards | Don MacPherson questions the legitimacy of ForeWord Magazine‘s Book of the Year Awards, which charges an entry fee. [Eye on Comics]
Blogosphere | Robot 6 contributors Lisa Fortuner and Melissa Krause are looking for someone to take over their linkblog When Fangirls Attack. [When Fangirls Attack]
Process | Artist Ben Templesmith and writer Chris Ryall provides glimpses behind the scenes of IDW Publishing’s Groom Lake#2. [Templesmith's blog, Ryall's blog]
Comics | A primer for DC Comics’ “Blackest Night” event. [IGN.com]
Comics | Eight miraculous superhero resurrections. [Mental Floss]
- March 13, 2009 @ 06:23 AM by Kevin Melrose
Soldier dressed as The Joker killed in standoff
The Joker
A soldier dressed as The Joker was shot dead by police on Sunday in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia after he reportedly pointed a loaded shotgun at them.
An affidavit filed Wednesday by the FBI identifies the man as Army Spc. Christopher Lanum, 25, a suspect in the attempted murder of another soldier at Fort Eustis earlier that day.
According to authorities, Lanum — dressed in The Joker makeup and costume he’d worn for Halloween — and girlfriend Patsy Ann Marie Montowski attacked Launum’s barracks suite mate Spc. Mitchell Stone, who was shocked repeatedly with a stun gun and then slashed in the throat with a knife.
Montowski told the FBI her boyfriend idolized The Joker.
Stone was taken to a hospital for serious injuries and later released.
Lanum and Montowski fled the scene in a minivan, which a park ranger later spotted some 200 miles from the Army base. The ranger called for help, and Lanum led police on a low-speed chase that ended when Lanum drove over a spike strip and crashed.
The affidavit states Lanum pointed a shotgun toward police, and refused commands to lower his weapon. A trooper fired through the window of the driver’s side of the minivan, and Lanum’s shotgun discharged. Police then opened fire, killing Lanum.
Montowski also was shot, and was treated for “non-life threatening wounds.” She was arrested late Wednesday and charged as an accessory after the fact to assault.
- March 13, 2009 @ 05:12 AM by Kevin Melrose
Annotations for Trinity issue #41
Trinity #41
Quite a few transitory in this issue, as old plot threads are wrapped up and new ones are set up. Actually, I thought it spent a good bit of time on characters, which was nice amongst all the energy-blasts and reality-adjusting. Plus, the issue ends with the potential for the greatest squirrel-versus-dog battle of all time.
Nothin’ up my sleeve…!
SPOILERS FOLLOW
* * *
LEAD STORY
“Our Rightful Realm” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.
Continue Reading »
- March 12, 2009 @ 12:48 PM by Tom Bondurant
Japan one-ups everybody (again) with erotic Obama comic
Obama and friends, from “My Neighbor Taro-kun”
Savage Dragon and Barack Obama? Old news. Spider-Man and the president? Pfft. Kids’ stuff.
Japan pushes past the Spandex and slugfests — and, apparently, boundaries — with Tonari no Taro-kun (“My Neighbor Taro-kun”), an erotic manga starring Prime Minister Taro Aso. Hence the title.
But the February issue of My Neighbor Taro-kun features a very special guest: a dead ringer for U.S. President Obama. If I’m not mistaken, er-Obama is flanked in the panel at the right by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and possibly Sen. John McCain. Or Ron Howard; it could go either way.
According to Gia Manry, the gist of the issue is that Taro-kun gets “a black neighbor who calls for change.” Judging from these scans from Sankaku Complex — not safe for work, but probably not as bad as you imagine — he wants a little more than change.
Manry also points out the artist draws er-Obama with a dot (or Urna) on his forehead, a symbol of enlightment or wisdom often seen in depictions of Buddha. Cue another round of those “Chosen One” comments … now.
- March 12, 2009 @ 11:13 AM by Kevin Melrose
Webcomics to Watch: Zuda’s Maintaining Bohemia
From Maintaining Bohemia, by Harold Sipe and Buster Moody
The grim side of DC’s Zuda Comics program is its swiftly growing graveyard. With 10 competitors every month and only one winner, that leaves the vast majority of promising webcomics in arrested development. Each story has eight pages to make its case — and if voters aren’t feeling it, page nine won’t be around the corner anytime soon.
This month’s Zuda Thunderdome includes the new comic from Harold Sipe and Buster Moody, Maintaining Bohemia. The team behind Screamland, Fangoria Magazine‘s Best Horror Series of 2008, turn their attention to a truly terrifying subject: art school. In their hands, the black sheep of higher education gets a scathing group critique from the janitorial and security staff that keeps the place from falling apart under the weight of its own pretensions.
Sipe’s writing pulls out the laughs as well as the knives (there are at least two “oh, snap” moments on every half-page that rang true for this art-school dropout). Moody’s artwork is, well, moody; his expressive caricatures convey an atmosphere that amplifies the dark, cynical humor. This is a wild webcomic that pulls out the stops, hopefully we get to see what comes next.
You can read Maintaining Bohemia for yourself over at Zuda Comics. If you like what you see, be sure to vote for it, lest we are kept waiting for that ninth page indefinitely.
- March 12, 2009 @ 10:34 AM by Sam Humphries
Bloody Amazons Ahoy! A review of the new Wonder Woman animated movie
Wonder Woman is going to hit you
The front cover of the new Wonder Woman animated film has a big sticker on the front letting you know that it’s rated PG-13.
This struck me as notable for two reasons: 1) it’s not often that a studio feels the need to broadcast their movie’s rating in large letters on the front of the packaging; 2) Why in Hera’s name does a Wonder Woman cartoon need to be rated PG-13?
That last question got answered pretty quickly in the opening sequence, as generic Amazons and assorted male (presumably Greek) warriors engaged in bloodsports on a huge battlefield where they quickly commenced to stabbing, hacking, impaling and generally killing each other without pausing for breath.
- March 12, 2009 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Marvel delays release of Thor and The Avengers movies
Marvel Studios
Fans of Thor and The Avengers will have to wait another year to see the Marvel superheroes on the big screen.
Marvel Studios announced this morning that Thor, originally scheduled for July 2010, now will be released on June 17, 2011. The ensemble Avengers, initially set for July 2011, now will kick off the summer-movie season on May 4, 2012.
The company also shifted The First Avenger: Captain America from May 6, 2011, to July 22, 2011. The original release date conflicted with Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man 4, which Marvel confirmed will open on May 6, 2011.
“This new schedule strongly sequences Marvel’s movie debut dates, big-screen character introductions and momentum,” Marvel Studios Chairman David Maisel said in a press release. “It maximizes the visibility of our single character-focused films, leading to the highly anticipated release of the multi-character The Avengers film in 2012.”
So, the Marvel Studios slate is as follows:
• Iron Man 2 — May 7, 2010 (unchanged)
• Thor — June 17, 2011
• The First Avenger: Captain America — July 22, 2011
• The Avengers — May 4, 2012
- March 12, 2009 @ 08:17 AM by Kevin Melrose
Calvin and Susie get it on, displeasing stuffed tigers everywhere
Creepy Calvin and Susie (artist unknown)
I don’t really understand the appeal of the illustrations depicting Bill Watterson’s eternally 6-year-old Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes fame, as an adult. To describe most of them as “treacly” would be kind (take this one, for example).
However, this one, which I excerpt above, strikes me as … I don’t know … downright creepy.
I can stomach, if barely, an adult Calvin waving as his daughter goes exploring with his one-time imaginary friend Hobbes.
But a teen-age or young-adult Calvin exploring Susie Derkins — a Susie Derkins who strips down to her bra and undies! — while a displeased Hobbes watches?
If any moment cries out for a good, old-fashioned tiger mauling, it’s that one.
Susie Derkins’ bra and underwear!
(via The Ephemerist)
- March 12, 2009 @ 07:46 AM by Kevin Melrose
Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news
Trade collections
• In this week’s column at Comic Book Resources, Augie de Blieck Jr. pokes the hornets’ nest by laying out a plan for comics fans to move from monthly issues to collected editions — and to switch from the local store to an online retailer. It’s all part of his effort to save money.
“I don’t care what on-line retailer you use,” he writes. Find one you can trust and that has a solid selection of books in stock at all times, and throw them your money. It’s a good habit to train your mind to pay for books that you don’t walk out the door with. Once you delay that instant gratification, you start thinking more about your choices and start only order the books you really want to read. You’ll find out what’s important this way.”
The column sparks discussion at the Pipeline Forum and at Comics Worth Reading, where de Blieck admits the email he’s received on the topic is “hilarious — it’s either people thanking me for the advice on a move they’d like to make in their reading habits, or retailers threatening to boycott CBR because I’m a jackass.”
• Also at CBR, Hack/Slash creator Tim Seeley considers the barriers to publishing less-expensive comics: “… there’s got to be a balance found somewhere–which is, it sells enough for the retailers to say, ‘If I devote this much rack space to it, I’ll make up for the $3.99 book’ — so you’ll have to sell three times as many. Which is tough. How do you do that? I’m pretty sure I can’t get Art Adams to draw me a book that I can sell for $1.99, or Mark Millar to write it.”
At Anime Vice, Gia Manry picks up on Seeley’s comments about telephone book-sized, manga-style anthologies as a possible alternative for American comics. However, the consensus is that the monthly comics crowd would resist the move.
• Blogger Kirk Warren goes old school by asking his readers what is their most valuable comic.
- March 12, 2009 @ 06:21 AM by Kevin Melrose
The Tao of Breaking Into Comics, According to C.B. Cebulski
“We’ve put A LOT of thought into our talent discovery and hiring processes recently. We WANT to find more talent. It’s in our best interest.” These are the words of C.B. Cebulski, talent scout and liaison for Marvel Comics. If you aren’t familiar with C.B., he’s one of the key people today actively searching for artists to join the big leagues of the comic book industry.
Having come from the manga and anime worlds, C.B. arrived at the doors of Marvel to create the Marvel Mangaverse line. It was there that he started fostering new creators for the House of Ideas. In addition, C.B. is a creative talent himself, having written the recent Marvel sellout X-Infernus, and his creator-owned Wanderlust with Image Comics. Next up for him is War of Kings: Darkhawk.
Possessing one of the sharpest eyes for talent in the industry, C.B. is known for being generous with his time and advice. “There were lots of people who helped me get to where I am today in comics and I am only happy to return the favor,” he says.
To that end, he has been using his Twitter account to post pointers for comic book hopefuls, distilled into zen-like chunks of 140 characters or less. If you haven’t been following along, grasshopper, you should start immediately!
We’ve collected some of these indispensable koans of wisdom for your guidance. Call it The Tao of Breaking Into Comics, According to C.B. Cebulski.
- March 12, 2009 @ 05:13 AM by Sam Humphries
Slash Print | Following the digital evolution
Civil War #1, on a bed of Mylar
Publishing | Louis Holt argues that “collectibility” will save the printed comic from being replaced by the digital version.
“The fallacy of thinking that digital comic books will kill print comic books is that it ignores the collectible value of comic books,” Holt writes. “There is no telling how many comic books sold today aren’t even read but are immediately slid into protective sleeves with backing boards. People can’t trade or wrap digital comic books in plastic.”
I suspect Holt creates a flaw of his own by overstating the hold collectibility has on readers. Handling monthly comics like 1,000-year-old parchments before sealing them away in Mylar bags may be common practice among a segment of the audience (particularly those of a certain age). However, I don’t believe “collectibility” is a driving force — the driving force? — for the readership at large. The increasing popularity of trade paperbacks, the whole wait-for-the-trade “movement,” and, yes, webcomics would seem enough to cast Holt’s notion into doubt.
That said, the band shouldn’t start the funeral dirge for the printed comic anytime soon (whatever “soon” means). Any sort of seismic shift by the industry toward digital comics still faces numerous obstacles — e-device quality and affordability, and the necessity of new business models, among them. I just don’t think “collectibility” is one of the more worrisome ones.
Matt Maxwell also weighs in: “Well, pulp novels are collectable, so are wax cylinders. So are vinyl records. Anything can be made collectible. Collectibility doesn’t mean that a format survives or is necessarily a standard currency any longer. It just means that someone wants the artifact and is willing to pay for it.”
Copyright | Although manga publishers have yet to clamp down on scanlators — fans who translate Japanese comics and post them online — a University of London professor thinks conflicts could arise as the global market becomes more lucrative. She estimates there are more than 1,000 scanlation groups worldwide.
E-devices | Matt Springer sees Apple’s rumored touch-screen Netbook as a contender for “ultimate eComics reader.”
Social media | Advertising Age reports that Facebook is driving more traffic than Google to some large websites.
- March 12, 2009 @ 04:33 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Watchmen
Sales charts | Riding the wave of last weekend’s movie opening, Watchmen climbs eight spots to No. 2 on USA Today’s bestseller list. The collection of the 1986 miniseries by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons also holds onto the top spot at Amazon.com.
Further down the USA Today chart, the 40th volume of Masashi Kishimoto’s leaps 84 places to No. 42, followed by Vols. 38 and 39 at Nos. 50 and 51, respectively. The 26th volume of Tite Kubo’s Bleach, meanwhile, debuts at No. 141. [USA Today, Amazon.com]
Legal | Lawyers for retailer Michael George, whose conviction last year in the 1990 murder of his wife was set aside by a judge, say his health is worsening as he waits in the Macomb County, Mich., jail for a second trial. The 48-year-old George has lost 50 pounds since his conviction in March 2008. [Detroit Free Press]
Creators | Writer-artist Ken Steacy discusses his career and the comics industry. [Martlet]
Creators | Percy Carey recounts meeting legendary creator Jerry Robinson at the “ZAP! POW! BAM!: The Golden Age of Comic Books (1938-1950)” exhibit at Los Angeles’ Skirball Cultural Center. [Complex.com]
Creators | Inker Doug Hazlewood is profiled. [MyFoxHouston]
Publishing | A Yaoi Press cover apparently stirs a minor controversy … over its use of word balloons. [Yaoi Press, via Brigid Alverson]
Comics | Kristy Valenti revisits Evan Dorkin’s Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Comic Book. [ComiXology]
Publishing | Former Wizard staff writer Ben Morse recalls the fate of his “Infinite Crisis Director’s Commentary” article. [The Cool Kids Table]
Art | Steve Duin previews the “Faster Than A Speeding Bullet: The Art of the Superhero” exhibit opening in September at the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. [The Oregonian]
Process | Atomic Robo writer Brian Clevinger explains how to write a comic-book script. [Atomic-Robo.com]
Process | Writer B. Clay Moore shares an unused script and several character designs. [Moore's blog]
- March 12, 2009 @ 02:39 AM by Kevin Melrose