2009 November
Comics College: Osamu Tezuka
Phoenix Vol. 4
Welcome to Comics College, a semi-monthly feature where we provide an introductory guide to some of the comics medium’s most important auteurs and offer our best educated suggestions on how to become familiar with their body of work.
Today we’re looking at one of the most influential and prolific and cartoonists in the world, a man who’s body of work reportedly encompassed more then 150,000 drawn pages in just about every genre known to man. And that doesn’t even begin to mention his pioneering work in animation. I’m speaking, of course, about Osamu Tezuka.
- November 16, 2009 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Marvel goes bananas for Hitman Monkey
Jason Pearson's Deadpool #20 cover, featuring Hitman Monkey
The teaser image set the monkey-loving section of the comics Internet on fire — and let’s face it, that’s a pretty big section of the comics Internet. Now the truth about Frank Cho’s gun-toting mystery monkey has been revealed: He’s Hitman Monkey, a new character swinging his way into the Marvel Universe. Editor Axel Alonso tells Marvel.com this simian assassin (technically a Japanese macaque) will first appear in a two-part Marvel Digital Comic Exclusive by Daniel Way and Dalibor Talijic — featuring Cho’s cover — before wreaking havoc in February’s Deadpool #20. Here’s hoping for an eventual crossover with Gorilla Man from Agents of Atlas.
- November 16, 2009 @ 12:57 PM by Sean T. Collins
Comics Cavalcade: Goofy and Gossip Girlz
King Aroo by Jack Kent
- November 16, 2009 @ 12:30 PM by Chris Mautner
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight motion comic confirmed
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 6 (by Jo Chen)
A motion-comic Web series is in the works based on the successful Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, confirming rumors that began back in June.
Sci Fi Wire reports that voice casting has begun for Faith, Kennedy and Robin Wood — all familiar to viewers of the television series — and Season Eight characters such as Lady Genevieve Savidge, Roden and Twilight. And if you sound like Daniel Craig, the casting director has a part just for you.
Interview dates are set for this week, which makes it seem as if production is moving fairly quickly.
Sci Fi Wire has the full list of roles and character descriptions. Meanwhile, this comments thread at Whedonesque has fan reaction.
- November 16, 2009 @ 12:01 PM by Kevin Melrose
Straight for the art | Seth does Criterion
Make Way for Tomorrow cover
Check out Seth’s latest illustration project, the cover to Criterion Collection’s edition of the classic Leo McCarey film Make Way for Tomorrow. I would imagine the interior booklet is just as superbly designed.
- November 16, 2009 @ 11:25 AM by Chris Mautner
Vertigo previews Daytripper, Other Lives
Other Lives
It’s a good day for previews over at the official Vertigo blog, Graphic Content. Pamela Mullins has posted some pages from Peter Bagge’s Other Lives, which is due from the publisher next year. She also shares more preview pages from Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon’s Daytripper, which comes out in December. And lastly, check out the cover to Joe the Barbarian #2.
- November 16, 2009 @ 11:00 AM by JK Parkin
Wes Anderson discusses possible Fantastic Mr. Fox spin-off comic
I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, the animated movie about fox and his family fighting evil farmers. I haven’t seen it yet, but apparently there’s a comic called WhiteCape in one of the scenes that Anderson is considering turning into a real comic.
- November 16, 2009 @ 10:32 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | Surf’n'turf Nazis must die
by D.C. Stuelpner
Namor, eat your heart out … when the threat of Nazism spreads into the Seven Seas, D.C. Stuelpner shows who the right man is for the job.
- November 16, 2009 @ 10:01 AM by JK Parkin
Zack Whedon to write Terminator miniseries for Dark Horse
Zack Whedon
Among the comics coverage on Time.com’s newly launched Techland site is this announcement that screenwriter Zack Whedon, brother of Joss Whedon, is penning a six-issue Terminator miniseries for Dark Horse.
“I just turned in the first script and I’m very excited about it,” he writes on Techland. “I love Terminator. I think that movie is so good. Holy Toledo is it good. Now I get to play in that universe and make up Terminator stories of my own that people will get to read. I am not a big-time, famous dude and yet now I am choreographing action sequences set in a post-apocalyptic future overrun by evil cybernetic organisms hell bent on destroying the human race. How is that possible?! I’ll answer your question, Made-Up Person. It’s possible because in comics it doesn’t cost 150 million dollars to tell that story. They can put an idiot like me in charge!”
Whedon, who co-created Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog with brothers Joss and Jed and actress Maurissa Tancharoen, wrote the upcoming Dr. Horrible one-shot for Dark Horse and has penned episodes of the television series Fringe and Deadwood.
- November 16, 2009 @ 09:21 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Flight Explorer, Vol. 1
Publishing | Retailer Christopher Butcher catches word that Flight Explorer, the younger-readers spinoff of the long-running Flight anthology, is without a publishing home. Although the first volume, published in March 2008 by Villard, reportedly sold through its 20,000-copy first printing, editor Kazu Kibuishi tweeted last week that “the project remains orphaned.” Butcher provides commentary on his blog. [Comics212]
Legal | Google and groups representing publishers and authors on Friday filed a revised settlement they hope will resolve a dispute over the Internet giant’s controversial plans to make millions of out-of-print books available online.
The original agreement, created to resolve a 2005 lawsuit, was opposed by parties ranging from DC Comics to the U.S. Justice Department to the governments of France and Germany, who argued that its terms could violate copyright law. The revisions address the handling of orphan works, restrict the Google database to books published in the United States, Britain, Canada or Australia, and allow other companies to license the digital catalog.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin is expected this week to set a date for a “fairness hearing” in which arguments about the settlements will be presented by b0th sides. [The New York Times]
- November 16, 2009 @ 08:47 AM by Kevin Melrose
The Comics Journal #300 — now online in its entirety!
The Comics Journal #300
Kiss your productivity goodbye, comics fans: Every last page of the 300th issue of The Comics Journal has been posted online.
The Journal team had already pulled all the stops to make this anniversary issue something special even before it was announced that this would be the venerable comics-criticism publication’s final quasi-magazine-format installment. The result is a killer collection of cross-generational interviews between Art Spiegelman and Kevin Huizenga, Jean-Christophe Menu and Sammy Harkham, Frank Quitely and Dave Gibbons, David Mazzucchelli and Dash Shaw, Alison Bechdel and Danica Novgorodoff, Howard Chaykin and Ho Che Anderson, Denny O’Neil and Matt Fraction, Jaime Hernandez and Zak Sally, Ted Rall and Matt Bors, Jim Borgman and Keith Knight, and Stan Sakai and Chris Schweizer. There’s also a comics-format interview with Gary Groth by Noah Van Sciver, reviews of some of the past year or so’s most momentous comics — including Breakdowns, Acme Novelty Library #19 and Asterios Polyp — and retrospectives galore. Long story short, there’s so much stuff in there you’re probably best off calling out sick from work. Oh yeah, the print version hits stores soon. (Via Dirk Deppey)
- November 16, 2009 @ 08:01 AM by Sean T. Collins
What Are You Reading?
From Hell
Hey there, hi there, ho there, it’s time once again for What Are You Reading. Our guest this week is blogger and Top Shelf pr guru Leigh Walton. Want to know what Leigh is reading this week? Of course you do! Click on the link to find out, then let us know what you’re reading in the comments section.
- November 15, 2009 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Your Mileage May Vary: Green Lantern Corps #42
Of this week’s comic haul, Green Lantern Corps #42 seems to have gotten quite a reaction. Mostly due to the end, of course.
(I’m betting he’ll be back in a month.)
- November 14, 2009 @ 05:06 PM by Melissa Krause
Trace Adkins plugs comic on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson talks with country musician Trace Adkins about the comic book Luke McBain in a very funny interview. “This has gotten a lot bigger than I thought it would,” Adkins says about the book, which features his likeness. Check out a preview of the book, written by David Tischman with art by Kody Chamberlain, here.
- November 13, 2009 @ 04:00 PM by JK Parkin
The Hero Initiative needs your Ed Hannigan art
The Hero Initiative is putting together an art exhibit featuring the work of Ed Hannigan, whose work was featured in and on comics like Green Arrow, The Defenders, Superman, Batman and Spectacular Spider-Man, among others. They’re looking to borrow any original art for the exhibit from Dec. 15 through April 30; if you own any, contact Jim McLauchlin at jmclauch@aol.com.
- November 13, 2009 @ 03:30 PM by JK Parkin