2009 August
Talking Comics with Tim: Phil Hester
The Anchor
Writer Phil Hester is clearly enthused about his new creator-owned collaboration with artist Brian Churilla on BOOM’s The Anchor. Not all creators are game to discuss the mechanics of the craft, and I was pleased when Hester was game. In addition to mechanics, we get to discuss the series ([Pre-Order at Your Local Comic Shop by August 25, 2009 {Today}; Diamond order code: AUG090716] set to launch in October). As detailed at the BOOM! site: “THE ANCHOR. Holy warrior, unholy war. Freak of nature, beast of burden, hulking outcast, medieval prize fighter, Viking raider… God’s leg-breaker. One thousand years ago a hulking outcast sought refuge in the crumbling ruins of an ancient monastery and offered in return the one thing he had to give – his fists. Transformed into an immortal warrior monk standing at the gates of Hell itself to keep our world free from its invading armies, The Anchor is mysteriously tricked into centuries of slumber. But today, this holy warrior rises to battle all the unholy monsters unleashed during his slumber.” Be sure to also check out this preview of issue 1.
Tim O’Shea: What attracted you to working with BOOM! on this project, as opposed to pitching it to other companies?
Phil Hester: In all honesty, we pitched it a lot of places at once, and though other publishers made us offers BOOM! was the only place that saw our pitch and said “yes” without reservations. Also, they have a good reputation with retailers and fans, and among pros they’re known as a publisher that will hustle their collective ass off to get your book in front of eyes.
- August 25, 2009 @ 06:44 PM by Tim O'Shea
Good-bye, Rex Mundi, and hello (again), Kevin Smith and King City
This week we bid farewell to one king and welcome another as Arvid Nelson’s Rex Mundi (“King of the World”) ends its six-year reign just as Brandon Graham’s King City returns, if in a different form.
If I wanted to drive the theme a little further into the ground, I might try to link Kevin Smith to the court jester. Instead, I’ll just point out that the filmmaker is back with the six-issue Batman: The Widening Gyre.
Wednesday also sees the end of Frank Quitely’s first stint on Batman and Robin — he’ll continue to provide covers — the debut of Junko Mizuno’s Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu and a zero issue for The Incredibles.
To find out what other releases have Chris Mautner, JK Parkin and me talking, just keep reading. And, as always, let us know your picks in the comments below.
- August 25, 2009 @ 03:01 PM by Kevin Melrose
Robot reviews: A.D. New Orleans
A.D. New Orleans
A.D. New Orleans: After the Deluge
by Josh Neufeld
Pantheon, 208 pages, $24.95
Given its subject matter, and the talent of its author, I’d love nothing more than to declare that A.D. New Orleans is an excellent book, but I can’t. While it’s far from a failure and there are compelling moments, there are also too many flaws and awkward sequences to call the book anything more than a grudgingly qualified success.
- August 25, 2009 @ 02:30 PM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | Scott Pilgrim poster
The "Scott Pilgrim" cast, by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Bryan Lee O’Malley has unveiled a fantastic poster of the Scott Pilgrim cast — comic, not movie — that pays homage to the 1997 flyer for Capcom’s Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix.
- August 25, 2009 @ 01:41 PM by Kevin Melrose
Unbound: Design matters
Today’s topic is not webcomics themselves but the spaces around them.
A webcomic, by definition, exists on a website, and that website can be a valuable tool to set the tone of a comic, add context, and provide a smooth, pleasant reading experience.
Or not.
I am constantly amazed at the number of creators who work hard to make a good comic and then put it on a generic, poorly designed website that screams “amateur,” or worse, drives the reader away with clumsy navigation.
Design affects readers on an unconscious level. A tightly designed website has an aura of its own that can rub off on the comic and make it seem better than it really is—and a poorly designed site has the same effect in reverse.
It’s a tough world out there, and you want to stack the deck in your favor as much as possible. That means everything on a webcomics site should work to enhance the comic, and anything that doesn’t should be ruthlessly eliminated.
Herewith, then, is a short list of webcomics dos and don’ts.
- August 25, 2009 @ 12:42 PM by Brigid Alverson
Dysart shares details on his trip to Africa for Unknown Soldier research
Joshua Dysart, writer of Vertigo’s excellent Unknown Soldier series, shares five things he learned when he went to Africa in 2007. He went to do research for the book, which is set in Uganda’s Acholiland circa 2002 amidst the war between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army. It’s pretty interesting stuff:
Unknown Soldier, Vol. 1
2. GUNS, GUNS, GUNS – From my first destination (a wildlife preserve I spent the night in that was guarded by an AK-47 toting 17 year-old girl) to the moment I left, I saw guns everywhere. Every business seemed to have an armed guard at its doorstep. I saw people riding bicycles to work with shotguns strapped to them and a back barroom in Gulu that housed a wholesale armory. Soldiers and security are so used to their guns that they carry them with the lackadaisical indifference of a woman lugging a purse.
You can read more about his trip and what he used from it in the book at the Unknown Soldier production blog. If you haven’t been reading the series, the first trade came out last week, and was Kevin’s pick of the week in Can’t Wait for Wednesday. It’s definitely worth checking out.
- August 25, 2009 @ 10:30 AM by JK Parkin
DC Comics ‘wasted my time’ with Milestone deal, McDuffie says
The Brave and the Bold #24
After announcing last summer that the Milestone heroes would be merged fully into the DC Universe, the publisher seems to have pulled back on its big plans for the properties.
The Shadow Cabinet appeared near the end of writer Dwayne McDuffie’s abbreviated run on Justice League of America, and Hardware and Static have been featured in The Brave and the Bold and Teen Titans. But beyond that?
“At this particular time, we have Static in the Teen Titans, and we’re looking at a storyline that might be built around Static later in the run,” DC Comics Executive Editor Dan DiDio said in an interview posted yesterday. “But right now, no other plans.”
The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Milestone fans, or McDuffie himself.
“Plans for a Static monthly were scrapped by DC last spring,” McDuffie, co-founder of Milestone Media, wrote yesterday on his forum. “Based on their actions, they never really wanted to publish the Milestone stuff, they wasted my time. We could have done a little deal for them to use Static without me having to spend so much money on lawyers.”
Milestone was founded in 1993 by McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle in an attempt to increase minority representation in comics. Through DC Comics, the company published such titles as Hardware, Blood Syndicate, Icon and, perhaps the most successful, Static (which in 2000 spawned the animated series Static Shock). Milestone closed its comic division in 1997.
Blogger Rich Watson, who summarized the recent roller-coaster relationship between McDuffie and DC, questions what this latest turn says about the publisher’s “level of commitment to its black audience.”
“DC is content to have its black superheroes appear in team books and the occasional mini-series, but an ongoing series is — what? Beneath them?” Watson wrote. “And Static, a character that has proved itself not just in comics, but on television as well, can’t get a series either?”
- August 25, 2009 @ 09:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Venditti shares ‘The Ugly Truth’
The Ugly Truth
While some folks collect sketches of comic characters (like the Watchmen) from artists at conventions, Surrogates writer Robert Venditti collects sketches of himself — or of his baby picture, to be precise. And he’s started sharing them every Monday at his blog, starting with one by Jeffrey Brown.
(Speaking of Brown, don’t miss his Wolverine vs. Hulk strip over at the Top Shelf blog).
- August 25, 2009 @ 08:41 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Superman #1
Legal | A federal judge has ordered Warner Bros. and the heirs of Jerry Siegel to make another attempt at mediated settlement in their prolonged dispute over Superman. The parties will file a joint report on Sept. 18 outlining their efforts. [Jeff Trexler]
Crime | Authorities in Colorado say two brothers at the head of a massive methamphetamine ring were planning to use classic comic books to launder money. Police seized comics worth at least $500,000 when they arrested the suspects. [The Denver Post, The Associated Press]
Publishing | As Tokyopop gears up for its new online initiative, and King City finds new life this week at Image, Don MacPherson checks in with Brandon Graham and three other casualties of the manga publisher’s 2008 implosion: Ross Campbell’s The Abandoned, Eric Wight’s My Dead Girlfriend and Becky Cloonan’s East Coast Rising. [Eye on Comics]
- August 25, 2009 @ 07:16 AM by Kevin Melrose
Talking Comics with Tim: Molly Crabapple
Scarlett Takes Manhattan
Molly Crabapple is a successful entrepreneur (as the founder of the Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School) and storyteller. After a recent book tour to support her new Fugu Press book, Scarlett Takes Manhattan, she indulged me in a quick email interview. Her graphic novel is described (on the book’s back cover) as “A young woman orphaned in tragic circumstances (by a pair of copulating circus elephants) rises to become the foremost burlesque performer of her era: Scarlett O’Herring.”
Tim O’Shea: How did the book land at Fugu Press?
Molly Crabapple: Years ago, I did a catalog cover for a company owned by Christophe (big cheese at Fugu). When he decided to found a comics publishing company, he asked if I had any ideas for graphic novels. The rest, history…
O’Shea: You clearly love to explore the art of sexuality through your work. In those terms, what was the most enjoyable or challenging scene to convey in Scarlett Takes Manhattan?
Crabapple: I actually loved the scene where Scarlett is working as a dock prostitute and is able to avoid an unpleasant client with the help of a watermelon. Sadly, a watermelon was worth more than a blowjob in 1884.
- August 24, 2009 @ 03:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
Tell a lie, win a prize
Dustin Higgins and Van Jensen’s eagerly awaited Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer comes out next month, and they’re holding a contest to help promote it. All you have to do is lie:
Liar
Hypothetical question time. What if you were a magically sentient wooden puppet? And what if whenever you told a lie, your magically sentient wooden nose would grow suddenly? And what if you suddenly were confronted by a gang of bloodsucking vampires, and you needed to snap off a shank of magically sentient wooden nose to kill the undead? Hypothetically speaking, what lie would you tell?
If you can come up with a funny, creative lie, you could win some serious swag from the upcoming Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer graphic novel. The book, created by Dustin Higgins and Van Jensen, will be released by SLG Publishing on Sept. 30. All you have to do is post your best lie at the Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer Facebook group or send one by e-mail to pinocchiovampireslayer@gmail.com. All entries must be received by Sept. 23.
The best lie, as chosen by Dustin and Van, will receive a signed copy of the book and a page of Dustin’s original artwork. Two runners up will both receive signed copies of the book.
Mark Twain may have said “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes,” but it can also help rid the world of vampires. So get creative! Get hypothetical! Get lying!
Disclaimer: The creators of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer are not liable if a submitted lie appears in the current or any future Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer book. Dozens of lies appear in the book, and any submitted lie matching one in the book is purely coincidental.
- August 24, 2009 @ 01:18 PM by JK Parkin
Because Legos are for wussies
Hellboy Playmobil
Swedish artist Jakob Westerman has created a set of custom-made Hellboy toys using Playmobil characters. Above are the bad guys — Ilsa, Rasputin, dr. Krönen and Leopold — but there’s lots more in the link (go to the “Misc” section). Westerman even made a swell carrying case to hold them all.
(found via The Ephemerist)
- August 24, 2009 @ 12:30 PM by Chris Mautner
Great snakes, it’s a papercraft Tintin!
Watch out for that Loch Lochmond
Have some free time on your hands today? Why not download and try putting together this swell papercraft version of Herge’s Tintin. It would look great on your shelf. Myself, I’m waiting for the Bianca Castafiore version. (via the Ephemerist, once again. Photo courtesy of Cleber Machado)
- August 24, 2009 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Nominees announced for 13th annual Ignatz Awards
Ignatz Awards
The nominees have been announced for the 13th annual Ignatz Awards, which will be presented Sept. 26 during the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland.
Named after George Herriman’s brick-wielding mouse from Krazy Kat, the Ignatz Awards honor “exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression.” The nominees are selected by a panel of five judges and voted upon by SPX attendees.
This year’s nominees are:
- August 24, 2009 @ 11:20 AM by Kevin Melrose
What does the future hold for X-Factor?
X-Factor #47
The absence of X-Factor from Marvel’s November solicitations has some fans wondering whether the double-sized 50th issue will be the title’s last.
For their part, writer Peter David and the publisher are doing little to ease concerns about the book’s fate.
One his blog, David confirmed there won’t be an issue of X-Factor released in November, adding, “There’s really nothing to say, except that I assume Marvel will make some official announcement.”
A Marvel spokesman had no comment this morning.
Relaunched in 2006 on the heels of a well-received Madrox miniseries, the somewhat noirish X-Factor centers on the detective agency established by Jamie Madrox and staffed primarily by characters from previous incarnations of the series (Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Rictor and Siryn, among them).
Despite largely positive reviews and attention generated by plot developments like the recent kiss between Rictor and Shatterstar, X-Factor has had difficulty maintaining a foothold on the Diamond charts. While sales-tracker Paul O’Brien has chronicled a 47.4-percent decline over the past three years, the series has hovered in the 31,000- to 32,000-copy range for the past several months — not typically cancellation territory for Marvel.
- August 24, 2009 @ 10:29 AM by Kevin Melrose