2009 October
Apparently chicks dig the suit, too
Replica Dark Knight Motorcycle Suit
Universal Designs has released more information and few more promo images for the replica Dark Knight Motorcycle Suit that Larry Young linked to a few months back. According to the press release, the suit includes “a full-leather jacket that includes lightweight interior lining, as well as molded-leather and Kevlar armor sections; pants that include heavy-duty, four-way stretch Spandex inserts and CE-approved armor; authentic gloves and boots that replicate the amazing on-screen design.”
They only plan to create 1,000 of them, and they cost $998. You can order one — and check out all their Dark Knight-themed merchandise — here. It’s pricey, but takes cosplay to a whole other level. More promo images and a video of the suit can be found after the jump.
- October 2, 2009 @ 10:27 AM by JK Parkin
Robot 6 in Long Beach
Long Beach Comic Con
Okay, that’s grabbier than “Strangeways in Long Beach,” ya gotta admit. It’s even more accurate, since this week’s guest blogger, David Gallaher, will be there as well.
Where in Long Beach? Why, Long Beach Comic Con, of course.
It’s been a long time since the LA area had a bigger show to go to. The last show there was in 2008, and while it made for an interesting debut and and a great place to see friends over the weekend, it wasn’t a barn-burner of an event. I always felt that the shows put on in Long Beach far overshadowed the LA shows in terms of quality and location, and I’ve no doubt that this new show will live up to that. Apparently Stan Lee himself will be cutting the opening ribbon, which might be fun to see. I would love to have him sign my copy of ORIGINS OF MARVEL COMICS some day (indeed the book that made me a Marvel zombie so many years ago, also forming an impression of comics as books that I’ve yet to shake.)
I’ll be down at booth 63, Mr. Gallaher at booth 62 (I wonder if I can get him to swap booths with me — sentimental reasons). I’m sure he’ll have plenty of copies of HIGH MOON to sell, as I will have plenty of copies of MURDER MOON and the limited-edition red cover chapter #1 collection of THE THIRSTY. And don’t forget, those fabulous five minute stories will also be available for the asking.
See you there!
- October 2, 2009 @ 09:51 AM by Matt Maxwell
Own a little bit of Simpsons (comic book) history
Zettwoch's Simpsons cover
Hey kids, didya like that recent Simpsons Treehouse of Horror issue? You know, the one featuring folks like Kevin Huizenga, Dan Zettwoch and Jeffrey Brown? Well, now you can own a piece of it, as editor Sammy Harkham is selling off the original artwork. I blew all my spending cash at SPX last weekend, but perhaps you might have a couple extra hundred lying in your sofa somwhere. (found via Comics Comics)
- October 2, 2009 @ 09:19 AM by Chris Mautner
Quote of the day | Paul Pope on lessons learned from Wednesday Comics
Paul Pope draws Dune
“I wanted to try applying the lessons learned from the Wednesday Comics experience to a different subject, here finding a source which would be difficult to illustrate as a page of comics, given that there is very little suggested action. I find that with the format of Wednesday Comics (which is really the traditional Sunday Comics page), one must condense the plot and action to the briefest yet most vivid bursts of information available– there is a lot of space on the page for the illustrations to really overwhelm the reader/viewer, but there isn’t a lot of space for story development in the sense of how we’d develop a plot or work up dialogue for a typical comic book page. In a comic book, one page may be well drawn or well written, but it is still just a single facet of a larger whole. One page can be preceded or followed by another, but no one page carries the entire weight of the sustained narrative. The Wednesday Comics single page format forces the artist to create a story unit which may well be part of a larger storyline, however it still must be able to stand alone.”
(Also, click the link to check out his really awesome Dune artwork).
- October 2, 2009 @ 08:48 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Disney and Marvel
Retailing | Could Disney’s planned $4-billion purchase of Marvel signal the return comic books to the mass market? “I see the Marvel acquisition by Disney helping to expand the genre of comic books and remove it from the dusty basement of the world,” says direct-market retailer Creswell. “I do see Disney stepping in and offering retailers outside of the direct comic book market incentives for selling Marvel products,” Creswell said. [Reuters]
Publishing | Long-struggling e-book site Wowio reportedly has informed publishers that payments for the second quarter of 2008 will be made by Nov. 15. Wowio, which was purchased last year by Platinum Studios, was sold in July to a holding company formed by Platinum President and COO Brian Altounian. [Bleeding Cool]
Long Beach Comic Con
Conventions | The inaugural Long Beach Comic Con kicks off today at the Long Beach Convention Center in California. Guests include Berkeley Breathed, Stan Lee, Tim Bradstreet, J. Scott Campbell, Amanda Conner, Geoff Johns, Dave Johnson, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Scott Lobdell, Dustin Nguyen, Darick Robertson and Mark Waid. The Long Beach Post and Gazettes Town-News have previews. [Long Beach Comic Con]
Events | 24-Hour Comics Day will be held Saturday at locations around the world. [24-Hour Comics Day]
Conventions | Heidi MacDonald posts her Small Press Expo round-up/wrap-up/photo parade. [The Beat]
- October 2, 2009 @ 08:12 AM by Kevin Melrose
Digital Interface: The Ron Perazza Interview
Later this month, Zuda Comics will celebrate its second anniversary as DC’s webcomics imprint. One of the people responsible for the success is Ron Perazza, Vice President of Creative Services.
Welcome Ron.
For starters, take a moment to tell our readers who you are.
Sure. I’m the Vice President of Creative Services for DC Comics – which doesn’t really do much to describe what I do every day. In a nutshell, I’m responsible for what can very, very loosely be described as “other.” Ha! It includes everything from custom publishing (like posters for the American Library Association or LEGO’s Bionicle Comics), creative for promotions and tie-ins based on DC Comics characters (like the BATMAN BEGINS DVD menu, the SUPERMAN RETURNS/PEPSI webcomic or the SMALLVILLE animated “content wraps”) and creation of marketing materials such as convention graphics, house ads or PREVIEWS. I also oversee DC Online, which includes all of our websites, of course, but also things like the audio/video & podcasts and I’m very involved with DC Comics’ talent search, which we do at conventions. On top of all of that, I run Zuda Comics – DC Comics’ webcomics imprint. It’s kind of never the same day twice.
For those who haven’t heard about Zuda Comics, what it is all about?
Zuda Comics is DC Comics’ webcomic imprint. Basically we’re publishing comics online and then later, once there’s enough material available, collecting them as graphic novels for traditional print distribution. We take open submissions – anyone can send us their ideas and samples – but we select what we’re going to publish in kind of a unique way. On the one hand we have a traditional editorially driven selection process where the Zuda Editors (Kwanza, Nika and I) simply read, review and select what we think would be good for the site. However, in addition to that we have a competition where we put the submissions online and let the users decide. The resulting catalog is a pretty interesting mix of genre and style but I think it’s been very effective so far.
- October 2, 2009 @ 06:05 AM by David Gallaher
What I bought at SPX
Driven By Lemons
A good deal of the money I had for this year’s SPX was spent catching up on series I had fallen behind on like Mome or getting books that had come out earlier in the year but had been previously unavailable to me, like The Complete Jack Survives.
Still, in my wanderings along the various aisles I did manage to find some new and notable graphic novels, comics, minicomics and what have you. Here are 10 quick titles that you might be worth tracking down on your lonesome:
Driven By Lemons by Josh Cotter
I’ve already mentioned this one several times, but goddamn is it worth mentioning again cause this thing is really stunning. I keep picking it up, reading a random page, and then putting it down again. This is powerful stuff, this is.
Ganges #3 by Kevin Huizenga.
It always amazes me how Huizenga can take everyday moments, like, in this case, trying to get to sleep, and turn them into extravagant, elaborate displays of cartooning genius.
- October 1, 2009 @ 02:38 PM by Chris Mautner
The new Justice League, working against the clock
Grumpy Old Fan
Although it’s been a few weeks since the new Justice League lineup was revealed, I have been slow to post about it. Sometimes even we emotionally-stunted man-children have other obligations, you know?
The new League won’t come together until a six-parter starting next year (according to the preview writer James Robinson gave CBR), but this is a rare occasion for me. Normally when I get stuck for a blogging topic I fall back on either Dick Grayson (with or without his Titan peers) or the JLA, so I can’t really avoid this.
- October 1, 2009 @ 01:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
comiXology brings BOOM!’s Irredeemable to the iPhone
Irredeemable
comiXology and BOOM! announced today that the first four issues of the Mark Waid-written Irredeemable is now available via comiXology’s iPhone application. The individual issues can be downloaded for $1.99, and there’s also a free preview available as well.
Irredeemable is the first BOOM! book available via comiXology’s application. BOOM!’s Farscape, Eureka and Hexed comics are all available from iVerse.
- October 1, 2009 @ 11:51 AM by JK Parkin
Trick or treat fun at the House of Mystery
from House of Mystery Halloween Annual
I’m not sure I want to know what kinds of “treats” kids can expect when visiting the House of Mystery … but anyway, the Vertigo blog Graphic Content has some preview pages up from this month’s House of Mystery Halloween Annual.
They include looks at the House of Mystery framing sequence, a new Merv Pumpkinhead tale by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham, and one page of Chris Roberson and Mike Allred’s “I, Zombie” tale. Now those are treats I can get behind.
- October 1, 2009 @ 10:04 AM by JK Parkin
Go look: Gorey’s home
Edward Gorey
Filmmaker Chris Seufert is putting together a documentary about the late illustrator and cartoonist Edward Gorey and has a posted a Flickr set of photos taken from the author’s house. You know, in case you were wondering what the home of a guy who would write “The Gashleycrumb Tales” would look like.
- October 1, 2009 @ 09:31 AM by Chris Mautner
Next up on the DCU DVD sked: Crisis on Two Earths
One thing I didn’t mention in my review of Superman/Batman Public Enemies yesterday was that it came with a preview for the next DC DVD, Crisis on Two Earths. The story is the old evil superheroes from alternate earth versus our guys and seems heavily inspired by this book, as well as lots of old Pre-Crisis Silver Age tales. James Woods, Billy Baldwin and Chris Noth are among the celebrity voices. You can learn more from the video below, which I ganked from Topless Robot.
- October 1, 2009 @ 08:51 AM by Chris Mautner
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Marvel
Business | Propelled by Disney’s planned $4-billion purchase of the company, Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter debuts at No. 230 on Forbes magazine’s annual list of the 400 richest Americans. The 67-year-old Perlmutter has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion. [New York Post]
Creators | Several sources report that cartoonist Rusty Haller passed away this week of as-yet-unknown causes. He was 45. Haller, who began his comics career in the mid-1980s, is perhaps best known for his work in the early ’90s on Marvel’s licensed ALF and Count Duckula titles and, later, on Archie Comics’ The Flintstones. He also created Ace and Queenie, an anthropomorphic spy/romance series that appeared in the Radio Comix anthology Furrlough. [The Beat]
- October 1, 2009 @ 07:48 AM by Kevin Melrose
Girls With Slingshots: Five Years, Two Girls, One Cactus
Five years ago today, Danielle Corsetto launched a tiny little webcomic called GIRLS WITH SLINGSHOTS.
The comic, which debuted at SPX on October 1st 2004, details the foul-mouthed misadventures of two twenty-somethings – Hazel Tellington and Jamie McJack and their talking Scottish cactus, McPedro. Since its debut, GIRLS WITH SLINGSHOTS has grown from a cult-hit to a massive webcomics phenomenon with over 70,000 readers a day. Continue Reading »
- October 1, 2009 @ 05:16 AM by David Gallaher