2009 September
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | Science Fiction Classics
Science Fiction Classics
Science Fiction Classics (Graphic Classics, Volume 17)
Written by Hans Christian Andersen, Ben Avery, Antonella Caputo, Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Dunsany, Hunt Emerson, EM Forster. Rod Lott, Tom Pomplun, Rich Rainey, Jules Verne, Stanley G Weinbaum, and HG Wells
Illustrated by Hunt Emerson, Micah Farritor, Roger Langridge, Ellen L Lindner, Johnny Ryan, George Sellas, and Brad Teare
Edited by Tom Pomplun
Eureka Productions; $17.95
You might think that a book full of classic science fiction would be a natural subject to talk about in a column concerning adventure fiction, but I actually reconsidered it a couple of times. While I love robots, aliens, spaceships, and laser guns, I’m not someone that real science fiction fans would want to let into their club. Gimme Star Wars and Flash Gordon; you can keep your Asimov and Clarke over there. An anthology of the “classics” of scifi is likely going to need some serious spicing up to keep me interested. Fortunately, Science Fiction Classics has a full rack.
There are a couple of reasons that the anthology is appropriate for this space. First, it’s Volume 17 in Eureka’s Graphic Classics series. That means that there’s no way it’s going to be anything less than excellent in terms of how stories are selected and presented. Editor Tom Pomplun’s got the selection formula figured out and he’s great at executing it. He always has at least one, hugely popular story that everyone knows (War of the Worlds, for instance), but then he fills the rest of the book with lesser known material by a mixture of authors. The result is always surprising. Hans Christian Andersen and EM Forster aren’t exactly renowned for their scifi work, for example. And even writers who are – like Jules Verne – are represented by interesting picks (Verne’s “In the Year 2889,” for instance, instead of, say, From the Earth to the Moon).
- September 30, 2009 @ 10:15 PM by Michael May
@HoboDarkseid revealed!
A Twitter user called HoboDarkseid took the internet by storm this past August, leaving the world wondering “Who is the mad genius behind the dumpster-dwelling super villain?”
Actually, that’s a question I never thought to ask, as I assumed it was probably just some really clever fan. Turns out, though, that it’s a really clever comic writer, as revealed in this story on NPR.
Now we just need to find out that Spider-Man is really Grant Morrison, and the day will be complete.
- September 30, 2009 @ 03:56 PM by JK Parkin
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
It’s Wednesday again and here we are for another edition of Send Us Your Shelf Porn. Our guest this week is Batman devotee Julian Smoger, who has accumulated quite the caped crusader collection and wanted to share some of his more interesting finds with Robot 6 readers.
Once again, let me encourage any and all of you who’d like to submit your collection to please do so. Just send any pictures and commentary to cmautnerATcomcastDOTnet and I’ll try to get it up on the site in a few weeks time.
In the meantime, I’ll hand the virtual mic over to Julian …
- September 30, 2009 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Strangeways: The Thirsty – Page 090
Art by Gervasio and Jok, written by Matt Maxwell
Sunuva…looks like the bloodsuckers are gonna get away after all.
Wonder how long Joachim’s gonna stay around with a giant hole in his neck, anyways? Have to find out next week. See you then.
And remember, SoCal Robot 6 readers can see me (and guest blogger David Gallaher) this weekend at the first annual Long Beach Comic-Con. Looks to be a great show, and the revival of one of my favorite venues. Stop by for a five minute story or get your copy of MURDER MOON inscribed, breathlessly, even.
- September 30, 2009 @ 01:00 PM by Matt Maxwell
Straight for the art | Lil’ Batman Beyond
Lil' Batman Beyond
Artist Dustin Nguyen shares a few things “on his desk,” including two more Lil’ Gotham characters … Lil’ future Gotham, anyway. He doesn’t mention them appearing in his Lil’ Gotham stories that are set for the Batman and Detective annuals, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a cameo.
- September 30, 2009 @ 12:03 PM by JK Parkin
‘Can you imagine spider-powers and infallibility?’
Spider-Pope!
On last night’s episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert spied a spider crawling on the face of Pope Benedict XVI and posed a hypothetical scenario that would make Stan Lee proud: “… Given all the toxic waste and loose nuclear radiation all over Eastern Europe, if that spider bit the pope we might soon have … Spider-Pope!”
“He could shoot holy water from his wrists,” Colbert continued. “Trap atheists in his web, and every time someone used birth control his popey-sense would tingle!”
- September 30, 2009 @ 11:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Ride the Supernova Cycle to Where the Wild Things Are
by Ben Marra
In anticipation of the upcoming Spike Jonze film, Vice Magazine is hosting a blog where various artists are offering their interpretation of the classic kid’s book Where the Wild Things Are. Currently you can see artwork by Dan Zettwoch, Benjamin Marra (above, offering a Jack Kirby-inspired trip into space) and Ben Jones, with Jordan Crane, Matthew Thurber, Ted May, Tony Millionaire and many more on deck.
- September 30, 2009 @ 11:01 AM by JK Parkin
Mike Perridge’s Thirty Golden Rules
Over on his blog, webcomics pundit and digital comics critic, Mike Perridge has posted ‘Thirty Golden Rules‘ for creators considering submitting a series to Zuda Comics. While several of his rules are Zuda-specific, many of them also apply to comic-creating and comic professionalism too.
Here are just a few choice snippets:
- September 30, 2009 @ 10:17 AM by David Gallaher
Just say no Kal-el: A review of ‘Superman/Batman: Public Enemies’
Seriously, look at those necks
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is a new direct-to-DVD film set in an alternate DC universe where everybody takes ungodly amounts of steroids.
Seriously, that’s the only conclusion I can come to as to why every single character in this movie, even the civilians, has a neck — when they have a neck at all — that’s wider than their goddamned skull. Seriously, their heads look like they’ve been bolted on. And that’s to say nothing of the endless oceans of muscles that ripple across everyone’s bodies. The entire planet is obviously juiced to the max.
But the display of over the top physiques really shouldn’t surprise me. At it’s heart, Public Enemies is your typical uber-macho buddy action movie, and just as dumb and sexist as most of them to boot. It’s the comic nerd’s version of Tango and Cash.
- September 30, 2009 @ 09:50 AM by Chris Mautner
Your video of the day: A trailer for Kyle Baker’s ‘Dexter’
Remember when I mentioned the other week that Kyle Baker was going to be doing a cartoon based on the popular Showtime series Dexter? Well, here’s the first trailer, found via Beaucoup Kevin.
- September 30, 2009 @ 09:03 AM by Chris Mautner
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Disney Digital Books
Publishing | Disney is taking its children’s storybooks digital with a subscription-based website that features electronic versions of more than 500 of the company’s titles, from Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree to High School Musical. Online-exclusive content will be added by the end of the year.
The move by Disney, which sells 250 million children’s books each year, seems to signal a belief that online subscriptions, and not devices like Kindle, is the direction in which this corner of the industry is heading. [The New York Times]
Conventions | Paid admissions to last weekend’s Small Press Expo were 1,772, up 19 percent over the previous year. Heidi MacDonald and Sean T. Collins file their reports from the show. [SPX]
Conventions | Brigid Alverson, Erin Finnegan and Ada Price reports on the announcements and upbeat mood at New York Anime Festival. [PW Comics Week]
- September 30, 2009 @ 08:21 AM by Kevin Melrose
How To Draw Monsters The Steve Ellis Way
While many of you may know Steve Ellis from his work on HIGH MOON (due out in comic shops and book stores today!), he also has spent many years leading a double life as a fantasy illustrator and mad scientist. Elric, Dungeons and Dragons, Warcraft, Warhammer, and White Wolf are just some of the many fantastical worlds that Steve has brought to life with his imaginative and epic illustrations.
And now, you too can draw vampires, werewolves, zombies, and monsters just like Steve Ellis with his new book: SCREAM! Inside this vivid 128 page book, you’ll learn expert monster-making techniques on how to create dynamic gestures, freakish lighting effects, heart-stopping terror, or dramatic gothic tragedy. You’ll also find over twenty tutorials to help you create you own dreadful creatures in the comfort of you own home, studio, or laboratory!
The book retails for $22.99 (or $16.55 on Amazon) and it is perfect gift for the monsters in your life.
- September 30, 2009 @ 08:18 AM by David Gallaher
College students upset by The K Chronicles, miss point entirely
From "The K Chronicles," by Keith Knight
Students at Slippery Rock University are outraged by a recent installment of Keith Knight’s The K Chronicles, bringing into question reading-comprehension levels at the western Pennsylvania college.
The strip, which appeared Sept. 25 in the university newspaper, opens with a black man in a noose saying, “You’re doing this because I’m black, aren’t you?” A white man in the crowd responds: “See? There you go again!! Pulling the race card …”
In response some upset students at the small school walked around campus with nooses dangling around their necks.
“They put this in the paper thinking it would be funny,” one student told a local TV station. “How funny is it when it’s real? When you see someone walking around with a noose on their neck, it’s not as funny no more.”
“I think the whole thing is racist,” another student said. “I don’t even understand why they would print this.”
Members of the campus NAACP chapter and Black Action Society reportedly met with editors of the newspaper on Monday, and plan a march through campus on Thursday.
Knight, who’s no stranger to controversy, posted an official statement on his blog: “A comic strip can be about more than cats eating lasagna or how stupid your boss is. Some of the best comic strips point out truths not only though humor, but through satire. … In the first panel of this specific comic strip, white people accuse a black man, who is about to be lynched, of pulling the race card. This is an exaggerated, satirical version of what we often see and hear in mainstream media: the victim gets accused of pulling the race card, which is an easy way to dismiss the real issues involved.”
- September 30, 2009 @ 05:37 AM by Kevin Melrose
Talking Comics with Tim: Mark Waid
The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh
Any regular readers of What Are You Reading? likely know how much I enjoy Mark Waid‘s writing. So when Waid made himself available for a brief email interview regarding BOOM!’s The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh, the first issue of which goes on sale tomorrow, I jumped at the chance. As I found out in this interview, Waid and I share a love of research. My thanks to Waid for the interview, and please be sure to check out CBR’s five-page preview of issue 1 here. As detailed at the preview: “Back by popular demand, Mark Waid brings another installment of the world’s greatest detective! With only six months to live, Catherine Allingham’s condition is terminal. But nothing will stop her from trying to solve even more mysteries. It’s international suspense and hair-raising macabre as time runs out for our detective.”
Tim O’Shea: It was years ago and in a different corporate universe, but as a fan of your run on Ruse, I have to ask–is Catherine Allingham a creative descendant of Emma Bishop to some extent?
Mark Waid: Ha! Man, someday, I’ve really got to go into hypnotherapy and see if someone can help me remember which prototypical Sarcastic Genius became the template for my scientists and investigators. Actually, Emma’s more tender than Catherine. Catherine has no time for tenderness.
O’Shea: What was the appeal to mixing a spiritual quest with scientific exploration?
Waid: The appeal was in making an attempt to use science to answer (or at least approach) the great metaphysical mysteries. Detective fiction is full of excellent gumshoes who can tell you whodunnit. I wanted to get more into the impossible questions; a detective’s only as interesting as the challenges she faces.
- September 29, 2009 @ 07:47 PM by Tim O'Shea
This week is just packed with new series, trades, hardcovers and werewolves
It’s a big week for collections and hardcovers, as publishers are no doubt starting to vie for your holiday dollars. Yes, it’s almost October, which means the Christmas decorations should start to roll out at your local Target any day now, if they aren’t already there. That also means we should see a lot of great high end — and no doubt high priced — items over the next few months.
This week brings Robert Crumb’s illustrated Book of Genesis, the third Hellboy Library Edition, a deluxe edition of the first two Fables storylines, Absolute Promethea, an Ultimatum premiere hardcover, a hardcover Avengers Invaders collection and the annual Best American Comics collection, among others. On the softer side, there’s the first High Moon collection, a new printing of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies to tie into the DVD that came out today and a reprinting of Howard Chaykin’s Power & Glory mini-series, among many others.
That’s not to say that regular ol’ comics are being left out in the cooler autumn weather … both Dark Reign and Blackest Night are well represented in this week’s releases, and we’ve got new Astro City, a giant issue of Justice League, an anniversary issue of Teen Titans, a new Bomb Queen mini, Die Hard, Spider-Clones and the big wrap-up of Andy Diggle’s Thunderbolts run.
To see what Kevin, Chris and I are looking forward to buying tomorrow, read on … and don’t forget to let us know what’s on your buy list this week in the comments section.
- September 29, 2009 @ 03:03 PM by JK Parkin