2009 June
I think, therefore I have a thought balloon
Philosophy Now magazine
The May/June issue of Philosophy Now has big section on comics featuring an essay by the esteemed John Lent on philosophy and comics, an editorial by Charles Natoli and interviews with Batman movie producer Michael Uslan, author and scholar Danny Fingeroth and longtime cartoonist and Marvel/DC inker Frank McLaughlin.
The articles are all online, but you have to have subscription to the magazine in order to read them. You could just go buy a copy of the periodical on the newsstand. An old-fashioned idea I know, but then I churn my own butter.
(hat tip: Craig Fischer)
- June 9, 2009 @ 09:31 AM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | Tintin + Fantastic Four mash-up
from Fantastic Four Giant-Size Adventures #1
” … it’s what happens when Paul Tobin has 2 extra pages in Fantastic Four Giant-Size Adventures #1 and asks me if I want to do a short homage to Herge.”
And Dustin Weaver does a fantastic homage to Herge. Paul Tobin shows a few more panels on his blog.
Fantastic Four Giant-Size Adventures #1 is due in stores June 24.
- June 9, 2009 @ 08:33 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Wizard Entertainment
Publishing | There’s been yet another firing at Wizard. This time it’s controller Scott Klein, who reportedly was given his walking papers on Sunday. He’s at least the fourth Wizard casualty in the past two weeks. [The Comics Reporter]
Retailing | Borders UK has hired a finance company to try to sell its 51 stores. [The Independent, via The Inkwell Bookstore Blog]
Retailing | David Welsh talks with Gail Kump, co-founder of distributor Midpoint Trade Books, about Fanfare/Ponent Mon and getting graphic novels into the hands of consumers. [The Comics Reporter]
Jason's Spider-Man
Publishing | Eric Reynolds has a sneak peek at Jason’s Spider-Man story from Marvel’s recently (officially) announced Strange Tales MAX miniseries. [FLOG!]
Publishing | Dark Horse, Marvel and Wildstorm are hiring. Archaia is looking for an unpaid intern. [Comix 411]
Publishing | The anime licenses of bankrupt anime and manga distributor Central Park Media are being liquidated. [Anime News Network]
- June 9, 2009 @ 07:33 AM by Kevin Melrose
Happy 75th birthday, Donald Duck!
Donald Duck's debut in 1934's "The Wise Little Hen"
The world’s most famous, and likely most irritable, waterfowl marks a major milestone today as Donald Duck turns 75.
The “feathered anti-hero,” as Agence France-Presse describes him, debuted on this day in 1934 in Walt Disney’s “The Wise Little Hen,” an animated short that also featured his pal Peter Pig in a retelling of the well-known story.
Although Peter never caught on, Donald rose to worldwide fame, starring in more than 150 cartoons and numerous feature films. But, as the Disney Comics Worldwide blog notes, most important may be Donald’s thousands of comic books.
- June 9, 2009 @ 06:10 AM by Kevin Melrose
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Thunderbolts are go!
Green Goblin
I thought it was kind of interesting when they announced Songbird would be a playable character in the upcoming Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 video game, but now it looks like she won’t be the only Thunderbolt to make an appearance. Joining Songbird, Iron Fist, Juggernaut and a host of others in the game that’ll follow a plotline similar to Marvel’s Civil War mini-series are the Green Goblin and Venom.
About the Goblin, senior animator Adam Olshan said, “In folklore, goblins are mischievous creatures. It was easy and fun to assign that personality to Goblin, even without the wealth of comic inspiration and the great writing from years of Marvel comics, and the adaptation from our Narrative team. Green Goblin should be having fun while he’s destroying the level. He’s the guy leaving a flaming bag of dog poop on your doorstep. But in his case, the flaming bag of dog poop will probably blow up your house.”
- June 9, 2009 @ 05:01 AM by JK Parkin
It’s time for the return of Atari Force
Atari Force #1
French video-game publisher Infogrames Entertainment announced last week that it’s returning to its 1980s roots, reverting to the name Atari and focusing on online and casual games.
That, of course, can mean only one thing: Someone needs to bring back Atari Force!
Oh, all right, it can mean several things, but one of them should be the return of the space-adventure comic loosely — very loosely — based on the Atari brand.
If you’re not familiar with Atari Force, it’s probably because you’re too young — or else I’m too old.
In 1982, DC Comics produced minicomics that were packaged with several Atari home-console games (DC and Atari were then both subsidiaries of Warner Communications). Among those comics was Atari Force, created by Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, Ross Andru and Dick Giordano, and linked to the game Liberator. For five issues, Commander Martin Champion and the crew of the starship Scanner One searched for a new home for the human race because Earth was on the brink of ecological disaster.
To be honest, I wasn’t all that interested in the original version, and only vaguely remember seeing it at the time. But in 1984 Atari Force made the move to a full-sized, ongoing series by (at least initially) Conway and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez that again featured Martin Champion, this time with his dimension-jumping son Tempest, telepathic mercenary Dart, insectoid empath Morphea, enormous alien toddler Babe, and the rodent-like thief Pakrat. Other characters, like Blackjak and Taz, were added later in the run.
Hey, 1984-Kevin thought it was awesome. And it probably was. (I still have a couple of issues somewhere, but I haven’t looked at them in a while to see how the series holds up.)
I realize Atari hasn’t been owned by Warner for 25 years, so licensing becomes an issue. But if DC’s Wildstorm imprint can maneuver a corporate obstacle course to produce comics based on World of Warcraft, Everquest and Mirror’s Edge, surely it can make Atari Force happen again. If not as a new series, then maybe in a “remastered” collection to celebrate the rebirth of the Atari brand?
Come on, it’s just 20 issues — 25 if you include the original minicomics. Please? Do it for the ’80s.
- June 8, 2009 @ 04:09 PM by Kevin Melrose
Straight for the art | Just a steel town assassin on a Saturday night
Elektra
Cliff Chiang dropped us a note about this sweet Elektra/Flashdance mash-up he posted on his blog. He also reposted his Batgirl/Purple Rain and Vampirella/Rio album covers, and says he has a few more planned in this same vein.
- June 8, 2009 @ 02:57 PM by JK Parkin
Thin wallets, fat bookshelves: Abrams fall catalog
Toon Treasury of Classic Children's Comics
The art book publisher Abrams came out of the gate running this year with their new Comicarts imprint, which featured titles like Craig Yoe’s discovery of naughty Joe Schuster art, Secret Identity. What delights will the offer for the second half of the year? How about a new book by Alan Moore? Yes, it’s true; click on the link to find out more.
- June 8, 2009 @ 02:03 PM by Chris Mautner
Strangeways: The Thirsty – Page 079
Art by Gervasio and Jok. Written by Matt Maxwell
Huh, maybe Joachim has the upper hand in this after all. Who knew that vampires could be so sentimental? And dig that crazy Engineer. I kinda like that guy.
Got to the archives to catch up on the story from the beginning.
And as a reminder, you can win yourself a copy of the first STRANGEWAYS graphic novel, MURDER MOON. Just check back in on Wednesday, at little or no personal risk to yourselves. See you then.
- June 8, 2009 @ 01:00 PM by Matt Maxwell
Talking Comics with Tim: Nate Powell
Swallow Me Whole
Nate Powell‘s Swallow Me Whole is a graphic novel that demands and warrants repeated readings. Released by Top Shelf last year, the publisher describes it as “a love story carried by rolling fog, terminal illness, hallucination, apophenia, insect armies, secrets held, unshakeable faith, and the search for a master pattern to make sense of one’s unraveling.” My thanks to Powell for this email interview and his level of candor.
Tim O’Shea: What motivated you to start self-publishing mini-comics at the age of 14?
Nate Powell: Well, I’d been drawing comics with a few friends for a couple of years already. We had many issues of a comic series mapped out, and a friend’s uncle suggested that we finish up each issue and self-publish it. We didn’t really know what that entailed, but soon discovered a few neglected copy machines around town and in my dad’s office. We made 100 copies of the first comic, and they all sold in about two months; we’d never anticipated recovering our expenses, or anyone actually BUYING the books, to be honest. We just wanted to have a comic too, and found the most accessible way to make them. At this time I was already into the punk subculture and had been exposed to people who made zines and released records in much the same manner, but it was not until a few years later when I started writing zines and putting out records that I saw the inherent connections between these two realms of DIY entrepreneurship.
- June 8, 2009 @ 12:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
Comics and wrestling tag-team in Chikara
Uncanny X-Men #141 & Chikara DVD cover
Chikara is a Lucha Libre-style wrestling promotion based in Pennsylvania that uses a lot of comic book imagery in their promotion. Case in point, check out these covers to some of their DVDs, which feature homages to classic comic covers by Marco D’Alfonso, or check out their roster page to see their talent turned into comic book heroes and villains.
- June 8, 2009 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | Cartoon Prayers
From 'Prayer Requested'
Drawn and Quarterly has some preview images up on their blog from Christian Northeast’s upcoming book, Prayer Requested, which features real, honest-to-god “found” prayers, collected and illustrated.
- June 8, 2009 @ 10:59 AM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | Mack White’s ‘Roadside Hell’
White's 'Roadside Hell'
Over at his blog, Mack White has posted a few sample panels from his upcoming short story that will appear in the third volume of the Hotwire Comics anthology. Looks like the sort of trippy, conspiracy-laden, horror-tinged stuff I’ve come to expect from White, which is definitely a good thing.
- June 8, 2009 @ 10:20 AM by Chris Mautner
Nominees announced for British Fantasy Awards
Locke & Key
The British Fantasy Society has announced the shortlist for the British Fantasy Awards, which will be presented in September at FantasyCon in Nottingham.
The nominees in the Best Comic/Graphic Novel category are:
• 30 Days of Night: Beyond Barrow, by Steve Niles and Bill Sienkiewicz (IDW Publishing)
• All-Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC Comics)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 3: Wolves at the Gate, by Joss Whedon, Drew Goddard and Georges Jeanty (Dark Horse)
• Comic Book Tattoo: Tales Inspired by Tori Amos, edited by Rantz A. Hoseley and Tori Amos (Image Comics)
• Hellblazer: The Fear Machine, by Jamie Delano, Mark Buckingham, Richard Piers Rayner and others (DC Comics/Vertigo)
• Hellblazer: The Laughing Magician, by Andy Diggle, Leonardo Manco and Daniel Zezelj (DC Comics/Vertigo)
• Locke & Key, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW Publishing)
• The Girly Comic Book, Vol. 1, edited by Selina Lock (Factor Fiction)
• The New Avengers: Illuminati, by Brian Bendis, Brian Reed and Jim Cheung (Marvel Comics)
In addition, Neil Gaiman was nominated for Best Book, for The Graveyard Book, and Best Non-Fiction, for his blog. Dave McKean received a nod for Best Artist for The Graveyard Book.
(via the Forbidden Planet International blog)
- June 8, 2009 @ 09:20 AM by Kevin Melrose
Yow! What have they done to Little Lulu?
Over in Brazil, apparently the likes of John Stanley, Irving Tripp and Marjorie Henderson Buell aren’t good enough anymore, because they’ve taken the classic Little Lulu character beloved by so many and given here a makeover that, well, see for yourself …
Oh the inhumanity
You can see more images and a snippet from the new comic (it’s all in Portuguese) here. According to Cartoon Brew, Tubby has left his violin to lead a rock band, Annie is the gang’s geek and a videogame freak, Gloria is a fashion expert and Alvin has become a skater and surfer.
So … they’ve taken everything that was original and funny about the characters and replaced them with generic cliches? I’m sure that will work well for them.
This is all the fault of that West Side gang I betcha!
- June 8, 2009 @ 08:45 AM by Chris Mautner