2009 May
Unthinkable ARG: ‘Director’s Commentary,’ part one
Unthinkable
Editor’s note: It’s not often you get to say something like “This post was almost delayed due to government intervention.” But over the weekend, while traveling from Los Angeles to New York, Unthinkable writer Mark Sable was detained by the Transportation Safety Administration after a random luggage search turned up a script for his BOOM! Studios series.
“Nothing like starting the day explaining you’re not a terrorist, but writing about them,” he said on Twitter. “Just hope TSA writes a spoiler free review for Unthinkable.”
Luckily for us, TSA let him go and he made his flight. If they hadn’t, I might not have been able to post the first part of his “director’s commentary” on the alternate reality game, or ARG, that he and BOOM! conducted in March to help promote Unthinkable. In this first post, Mark introduces the book and the ARG concept, and walks us through the first mission.
Also, if you’re in New York, be sure to stop by Jim Hanley’s Universe this Wednesday, when the first issue comes out, as Mark and cover artist Paul Azaceta will be there from 6 to 8 p.m. signing it.
*****
By Mark Sable, writer/creator of Unthinkable
What is Unthinkable?
Unthinkable, my new comic from BOOM! Studios, is the fictional spy thriller rooted in the real world. After 9/11, the reaction of many was that this was something “out of a Tom Clancy novel.” Our government took it seriously, and commissioned a think tank made up of thriller writers. Their goal: to come up with worst-case terror scenarios, so that we could devise ways to stop them before the terrorists even had a chance to plot them.
- May 12, 2009 @ 11:07 AM by JK Parkin
Young as when the world was new
Grumpy Old Fan
This space is ordinarily reserved for my views on DC Comics’ superhero line, because those books take up the bulk of my comics purchases. Today, though, we’ll be talking about what is probably my first great love.
For this longtime fan, the new Star Trek movie (directed by J.J. Abrams, as if you didn’t know) is a revelation. It is a terrifically busy movie, full of running and shouting and frantic working of high-tech controls. Phasers are fired, shields are battered, and great starships endure severe poundings (as do their commanding officers). However, ST ’09 is not a mere popcorn film, designed to capitalize on the familiarity of corporately-owned characters. (As if to drive home this point, the movie was playing with trailers for G.I. Joe and the Transformers sequel.) It reintroduces the archetypal crew of the Enterprise convincingly, with winning performances from all involved.
Now, let’s be clear: this is not really a review. A review would talk about the film’s technical aspects, and I’m not ready to do that just yet. Actually, I’m still in the “remember that? That was awesome!!” phase.
Nevertheless, I do have something to say — but first:
SPOILERS FOLLOW for Star Trek (2009).
- May 12, 2009 @ 10:00 AM by Tom Bondurant
Robot Reviews: The Eternal Smile
The Eternal Smile
The Eternal Smile
by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim
First Second, 176 pages, $16.95.
Ah the “twist” ending. Who can forget their first encounter with that well-used narrative device? For you perhaps it was The Twilight Zone or the films of M. Night Shyamalan. For me it was the revamped Alfred Hitchcock Presents back in the mid-80s. I stayed up late that night, expecting your usual man-accused-of-crime-he-didn’t-commit-type tale only to discover at the end that — OMG, Ned Beatty really was the killer all along! That revelation threw me into a paroxysm. Why, everything I had assumed up till then about the story was untrue! Now I had to completely re-examine my preconceived notions about genre fiction! Black was white! Up was down! Stories aren’t supposed to do that sort of thing, are they?
But of course, stories do that sort of thing all the time. Take for example, The Eternal Smile, the latest graphic novel from Gene Yan (American Born Chinese) and Derek Kirk Kim (Same Difference). It’s a collection of three short stories that, in one way or another, all rely upon some sort of twist ending or surprise reveal. How much you enjoy the book, therefore, really depends upon how fresh that narrative conceit is to you.
- May 12, 2009 @ 08:44 AM by Chris Mautner
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Comics | An auction of Tintin items held Sunday in southern Belgium broke national and world sales records, and raised $1.57 million. The highest-priced item was a page from the 1963 book The Castafiore Emerald, purchased by an anonymous collector for more than $424,000 — three times the catalog estimate. [AFP]
Conventions | There’s still more coverage from last weekend’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival, including photo galleries from Torontoist and Deb Aoki, a roundup from the National Post, and a Doug Wright Awards piece in The Globe and Mail. Scott McCloud also has a good collection of links. [Toronto Comic Arts Festival]
Publishing | According to this article, Friday marked the 25th anniversary of The Transformers comic-book franchise, which debuted in 1984 from Marvel Comics as a four-issue miniseries. It would continue for 80 issues. [Total Sci-Fi]
Retailing | Sean Kleefeld spotlights Haven Distributors, and considers the year-old company’s chances. [Kleefeld on Comics]
Retailing | Matt Maxwell looks at catastrophism and the comics market. [Comics Waiting Room]
- May 12, 2009 @ 06:58 AM by Kevin Melrose
Star Wars: The Old Republic webcomic
Star Wars: The Old Republic
LucasArt and Bioware are working on a new MMORG — massive multiplayer online roleplaying game — called Star Wars: The Old Republic, which takes place well before the events that unfold in the Star Wars movies. If you’d like to learn a little more about it, Dark Horse is working with them on a webcomic that you can find right here.
- May 12, 2009 @ 06:06 AM by JK Parkin
Collect this now! The work of R. O. Blechman
From 'The Book of Jonah'
One of the books I’m most looking forward to the most this fall is Talking Lines by R.O. Blechman (and published by Drawn & Quarterly). I believe this is a collection of new material, but I’m hoping that D&Q or someone makes an effort to re-release the myriad number of books in Blechman’s back catalog.
Why? Who is this guy? The odd (and perhaps sad) thing about Blechman is that outside of certain small circles he isn’t really well known, his style is more recognizable than his name — if I were to point out some of his work you’d likely say “Oh yeah, that guy.” He’s the M. Emmet Walsh of cartoonists.
And yet he’s a fabulous talent, a man who’s published several successful books, children’s stories and graphic novels, long before that term came to the fore. He’s done illustrations for folks like The New Yorker, The New York Times and more recently The Huffington Post. He was a contributor to Harvey Kurtzman’s Humbug magazine back in the day. His work has exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art! The man’s got credentials. And yet, for some odd reason, in comics circles Blechman remains persona non grata.
- May 11, 2009 @ 03:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Talking Comics with Tim: Bob Fingerman
From the Ashes
When I learned that IDW was publishing Bob Fingerman‘s newest project, From the Ashes, I’ll admit I was pleassantly surprised, given that it seemed outside of IDW’s typical market focus. So when he recently agreed to an email interview I was eager to find out how it landed at IDW in addition to his thought process on this speculative memoir (as well as his latest Fantagraphics release, Connective Tissue). The first installment of the six-issue From The Ashes miniseries hits the market this Wednesday, May 13. Here’s the official snippet on the miniseries from IDW: “Fingerman and his wife Michele find out the apocalypse isn’t the end of the world in this hip satirical survival romp through Manhattan’s ruins. Think The Road, only funny!” My thanks to Fingerman for his time and to Emma Griffiths and Martin Wendel for facilitating this interview, as well as Chris Mautner for his help in formulating questions. If you happen to be in New York this Friday, May 15, Fingerman will have an art show/signing at Rocketship at 8 PM.
Tim O’Shea: Why did you opt to do this series as a mini-series, as opposed to a graphic novel?
Bob Fingerman: It wasn’t my choice. I’d have preferred to release it as a book straight off, but that’s not IDW’s business model. Still, they put out classy looking comics on good paper. And it will eventually get collected as a book.
O’Shea: You consulted with your wife, Michele, throughout the development of this story. But before embarking on this project did you tell her you intended this to be an “open love letter” (as you describe it in your recent Huffington Post piece) to her? Anyway you slice it, she clearly loves you a great deal to support a work that aims to capture your relationship with her and features “mutants, cannibals, zombies”.
Fingerman: Michele is the center of my life. She’s very supportive of everything I do. “Open love letter” is pretty corny, I’ll admit. But it’s honest. My consulting with her basically entailed repeatedly asking her, “Is it all right if I have you doing this or that?” She got final approval.
- May 11, 2009 @ 02:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
Strangeways: The Thirsty – Page 069
Written by Matt Maxwell. Art by Gervasio and Jok.
I hear that denial ain’t just a river. Apparently that’s news to some folks.
Welcome, Fark readers, assuming you’ve found your way over here. Hope you enjoy the comics and stick around for awhile.
Wednesday brings us another MURDER MOON giveaway. Be sure to tune in for the 1pm update to find out how. The contest will also be posted on the archives page. Entries will have until midnight on Thursday night to be submitted, so good luck to everyone who enters.
Oh, right, the archives link. Over here, guys.
- May 11, 2009 @ 01:00 PM by Matt Maxwell
Schulz Library now online
The Schulz Library
One of the highlights of any tour of the Center for Cartoon Studies (or so I’ve been told) is the Schulz Library. Now they’ve gone and gotten themselves a blog, where the school’s co-founder James Sturm, as well as other students, teachers and school associates, are posting items on some of their favorite cartoonists and artists.
- May 11, 2009 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Thin wallets, fat bookshelves: A publishing news round-up
Zeke Deadwood
* Cemetery Blues creators Thomas Boatwright and Ryan Rubio will release the horror/western/humor mash-up Zeke Deadwood, via Slave Labor Graphics in July:
He’s tough. He’s heroic. He’s… really, really stinky. Like gag-inducing, birds-falling-from-the-sky stinky. He’s Zeke Deadwood, zombie lawman, and if you’re a no-count outlaw looking to rustle up trouble, you’d best be moving on! A villainous band of varmints has taken over a small town, and the townsfolk’s only hope is an undead loner. Can Zeke stop the drunken rampage of terror? Will the townsfolk even let themselves be saved by the undead?
* Terry Moore revealed that he is putting together a Strangers in Paradise Omnibus that will debut at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
- May 11, 2009 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | Manapul’s Golden Age Superman
Superman
Artist Francis Manapul shares this absolutely stunning image of the Golden Age Superman he drew for the poster promoting this year’s Joe Shuster Awards. Check out his blog to see the full design process.
- May 11, 2009 @ 09:50 AM by JK Parkin
Concept art (and a possible story clue?) from Marvel Divas
Firestar character designs, by Tonci Zonjic
After the uproar triggered last month by the cover art and Sex and the City-inspired pitch for the new Marvel Divas — it’s “sudsy fun”! — it’s only right to point to some subdued, even cute, concept art for the series.
Among an “art avalanche” posted Friday by Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort is Tonci Zonjic‘s design for Angelica Jones (aka Firestar), which is a world away from J. Scott Campbell’s … um … curvy cover for Issue 1.
Zonjic envisions the character as a five-foot-two Vespa-riding woman with a contemporary hairstyle and sensible clothing, not … well, whatever it is Campbell drew. (Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada addressed the cover in his final “MyCup o’ Joe” column.)
However, the sketches do point to one potentially worrisome point — and it’s not Zonjic’s take on the Firestar costume. No, it’s the note at the bottom about the possibility of Angelica riding a Vespa: “… Also would make a good story device, I think. (She can fall and discover the lump then, for the most obvious example).” There’s another note, to the left, about her “boobs,” but I can’t make out what it says.
Is that an indication that the character will be diagnosed with breast cancer?
Marvel Divas, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, debuts in July.
- May 11, 2009 @ 08:55 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Unthinkable #1
Creators | Mark Sable, writer of Unthinkable, reports that he was detained for more than a half-hour yesterday by Transportation Safety Administration agents after a random luggage search turned up a script for the BOOM! Studios series. Unthinkable centers on a U.S. government think tank devoted to imagining nightmare scenarios involving terrorist attacks. “My privacy, a small price to pay for educating the government about the medium,” Sable writes. [Twitter]
Conventions | There’s a bevy of coverage from this weekend’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival, including an overview, creator snapshots and a Q&A with Yoshihiro Tatsumi from The Toronto Star, and coverage of the Authors at Harbourfront Centre discussion with Tatsumi, Seth and Adrian Tomine in the National Post. Sequential has a solid roundup of blog discussions. [Toronto Comic Arts Festival]
Awards | Nominations have opened for the U.K.’s annual Eagle Awards. The deadline is May 22. [The Eagle Awards]
Retailing | Xtremes Comics, Games, Toys and Puzzles in Roanoke, Virginia, will close later this month after more than a decade in business. [The Roanoke Times]
- May 11, 2009 @ 07:20 AM by Kevin Melrose
Kitty Pryde charity artwork available on eBay
Kitty vs. a Sentinel
Jason at Floating World Comics sent over a link to pictures from the opening of the Full of Pryde charity art exhibit that kicked off last week. So far they’ve raised about $500 for the Oregon Hemophilia Treatment Center.
Also, artwork from the show is now available for purchase on eBay. Check out the full list of available pieces here, by artists like K Thor Jensen, Jeffrey Brown, Nikki Cook, Rick Lacy, Dan Hipp, Bryan Lee O’Malley, Chuck BB, Hope Larson and many more. And finally, you can also check out the show’s official blog for more details and additional artwork that’ll be up on eBay soon.
- May 11, 2009 @ 06:45 AM by JK Parkin
Get your own super villain for $25
T3 -The OCD Pyromaniac
Len Peralta, who has a standing offer to draw whatever monster you can name, has declared 2009 the summer of the super villain, which means he’ll draw mad scientists, evil monarchs and archenemies of all shapes and sizes (like T3 -The OCD Pyromaniac, shown above) for $25. For an extra $10, he’ll throw in a video of himself drawing the super villain.
Check out some more of his work at his website.
- May 11, 2009 @ 06:04 AM by JK Parkin