2009 December
Anyone up for a trip to Dubai in 2012?
Concept art for the Marvel theme park in Dubai
I’ve never been particularly amused by amusement parks — blame traumatic childhood visits to Kings Island and Kings Dominion — but the long-developing Marvel park in Dubai could be enough to change that. Y’know, if I should ever find myself in the United Arab Emirates.
I say that after waking up to this stunning concept art from Chimera Design, discovered by the Disney and More blog. The lush illustrations include a map of the $1-billion park — it’s divided into four “lands,” with Crater Lake at the center — and renditions of the entrance, the City of Super-Heroes and Oasis of Magic. Visit Disney and More to see all 14 images.
Announced in 2007, the theme park is being developed by Marvel Entertainment and UAE-based construction and real estate company Al Ahli Group. The project initially was set to open in 2011, but now appears to be on track for 2012.
(via Slashfilm)
- December 2, 2009 @ 06:34 AM by Kevin Melrose
This week a Siege kicks off, the Blackest Night continues and the Comics Journal says goodbye
It’s the week after a major holiday in the United States, which means that comics won’t be hitting U.S. shops until Thursday, Dec. 3.
But it should be worth the wait, as it’s a pretty big week on the event front for Marvel and DC. Although the regular Blackest Night book doesn’t come out this week, two new tie-ins kick off starring Flash and Wonder Woman. Marvel, meanwhile, kicks off a couple of events — first there’s Siege Cabal, which leads into their big tie-up to the Dark Reign storyline, plus “Fall of the Hulks” kicks off with a prologue of its own.
Those are just the tips of the iceberg this week, as Jonah Hex hits a milestone (as much as I love this book, I’m surprised — pleasantly, of course, but still surprised — to see it make it to issue 50 in this day and age), the JSA gets a second title and The Comics Journal says goodbye, at least to its current format. To see what Chris, Kevin and I have to say about this week’s releases, read on, and let us know in the comments section what you plan to get.
- December 1, 2009 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Robot reviews: Three from First Second
Stuffed
Stuffed!
by Glenn Eichler and Nick Bertozzi
First Second, 128 pages, $17.99.
Ball Peen Hammer
By Adam Rapp and George O’Connor
First Second, 144 pages, $17.99
Refresh, Refresh
by Danica Novgorodoff, Benjamin Percy and James Ponsoldt
First Second, 144 pages, $17.99.
In addition to getting great Eurocomics into North American hands, one of the other — perhaps more interesting, possibly odder — feathers in First Second’s cap is what I’ve opted to call (for lack of a better term) the match-up, wherein already penned screenplays or stories by professional prose writers are given to established cartoonists to translate into graphic novels. This fall saw the release of three books that fall into that category — Stuffed!, Ball Peen Hammer and Refresh, Refresh. It’s a process that, depending upon the quality of the original material and the talent of the artists involved, can go wildly in either direction between success and failure, a theory all three of these books seem to prove to one degree or another.
- December 1, 2009 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Unbound: Ben Powis on the iPhone
Where Grows the Bitter Herb
Here’s a post-Thanksgiving special that won’t cost you a dime: Robot Comics is offering the iPhone/iPod Touch version of British artist Ben Powis’s Where Grows the Bitter Herb for free until December 8. Another Powis comic, Turtle Guitar, is always free. (Both comics are also available for Android at the standard price of 99 cents.)
Both stories are little folkloric tales brought to life with lovely art. Powis uses simple shapes with heavy outlines, textured backgrounds, and varied hatching to create comics panels that look like drawings from a picture book. The watercolor-like textures show up nicely on the backlit screen of the iPhone, and the panels also appear to be cropped differently than they were in the print edition of the book, providing a different type of reading experience.
- December 1, 2009 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Run, Archie, run: Upcoming video game puts you in Riverdale
A tip of the fedora to Caleb Goellner at Comics Alliance, who points out that there’s a trailer for the Archie game being created by FXLabs and announced back in 2008:
“I admittedly have an irrational fondness for Archie and his pals, but I’m not 100 percent certain kids will flock to a game where one of the highlights is mowing dad’s lawn,” Goellner writes.
- December 1, 2009 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
New Chickenhare: Part chicken, part rabbit — but all free and online
From "Chickenhare," by Chris Grine
Cartoonist Chris Grine, creator of the wonderful, Eisner-nominated Chickenhare graphic novels, has moved the third volume in the series online — free and in color.
Fish & Grymps continues the misadventures of the motley crew of misfits introduced in the 2006 Dark Horse graphic novel Chickenhare and the 2008 sequel Chickenhare: Fire in the Hole: Chickenhare, Abe, Meg, Banjo and
Scabby who, this time around, find themselves trapped on a mysterious island.
The new volume launched last week, but the action appears to really begin today. Updates come every Tuesday and Friday. You should go check it out. Really.
- December 1, 2009 @ 11:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Straight for the art | No evil shall escape my brick
Check out this great Blackest Night homage done by Act-I-Vate contributor and Lego fan Ulises Farinas did. Then head over here to see him do a Marvel variation. (via)
- December 1, 2009 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | Ryan Kelly says “Yeah” to more New York Four + a webcomic
Yeah Yeah Yeahs by Ryan Kelly
This post from Local artist Ryan Kelly brings all sorts of awesome; not only does he share a work-in-progress image of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (above), but he also teases two upcoming projects — a second New York Four book, which survives the death of DC’s Minx imprint and is moving to Vertigo, and a new webcomic featuring a cat (I think) with a mohawk and bomb.
- December 1, 2009 @ 10:13 AM by JK Parkin
Jen Van Meter responds to comments on that Power Girl/Cyclone scene
Last week Esther Inglis-Arkell over at the 4thletter called out a scene in the recent JSA: 80 Page Giant comic where Cyclone and Power Girl have a discussion about the latter’s costume … or, more specifically, the great big hole right in the middle of it.
“Are you kidding me? I’m getting an ‘I choose my choice’ speech from a fictional character?” Inglis-Arkell wrote. “Feminist fans are getting a slap because they won’t accept one bullshit excuse after another for why male heroes are mostly fully-clothed and female heroes mostly walk around in their underwear?”
That original post sparked up quite the discussion around the ‘net, not only at the 4thletter, but also at The Beat, Jezebel, Comics Alliance and right here at Robot 6, among many others.
You’d think that sort of attention might send the story’s writer, Jen Van Meter, running for cover, but instead she shows up in the 4thletter comments section to explain her intent when writing the story.
“A friend forwarded me links to your post and to a couple other blogs that have picked up on your comments, and I feel compelled to reply because you’re right — I failed in what I was trying to accomplish with the ‘Spin Cycle’ story, or, at the very least, I failed you and many of your respondents,” Van Meter posted.
Inglis-Arkell pulled the comment out into its own post, which I encourage you to read … it isn’t often you get to see a writer offer insight into a story where they “misstepped,” as Van Meter notes.
- December 1, 2009 @ 09:27 AM by JK Parkin
Darwyn Cooke talks technique, color and Jonah Hex #50
Art from "Jonah Hex" #50, by Darwyn Cooke and Dave Stewart
At Almost Darwyn Cooke’s Blog, the artist himself offers a rare and welcomed look at his approach to Jonah Hex #50, which hits stores this week.
“It’s always important to me to cite the influences that shape and inform my work,” writes Cooke, who previously drew Issue 33 of the DC Comics series. “The technique applied to the inks on Hex is an amalgam of several great adventure artists filtered through the hand of a guy many are convinced normally inks with a corncob. Moebius, John Severin, Reed Crandall, Jack Davis and Walt Simonson all had immense effects on me as a young artist and you’ll see that in the linework on Hex.”
He goes on to heap praise on award-winning colorist Dave Stewart, saying, “his ability to grasp an approach and then take it somewhere you haven’t been is the most exciting part of doing a book like this.” Cooke also provides a sampling of more than two dozen panels from the double-sized issue which, needless to say, looks beautiful.
Meanwhile, the DC Universe blog marks the release of the anniversary issue with a little commentary from co-writer Justin Gray (Jimmy Palmiotti gets his turn on Wednesday): “Darwyn Cooke had very specific visual ideas that deviated from the script that increased the tension and emotion in what is one of the most emotional stories Jimmy and I have written for Jonah Hex. He imagined the scenes differently, which is what you want — someone who looks at things with a unique perspective.”
- December 1, 2009 @ 09:01 AM by Kevin Melrose
Straight for the art | Jill Thompson’s Nightmare
Thompson's 'Nightmare'
If you’ve got a Facebook account (and have presumably friended Ms. Thompson) you’ll want to head over to Jill Thompson’s photo album to check out three sample pages she did of a Nightmare Before Christmas graphic novel adaptation. Sez the artist about the work:
All I know was that I did not get it….someone told me that Burton did not want a graphic novel adaptation…but then that Manga one came out…so- who knows what the reasons were. I liked what I did. I think I would have done a good adaptation. Maybe it woulda been a hassle. Liscensed things usually are a helluva headache.
Shame. I would have dropped down serious money to see her try to adapt this film.
- December 1, 2009 @ 08:37 AM by Chris Mautner
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Super Dunker
Awards | Thai cartoonist Jakraphan Huaypetch has won the top prize in the third International Manga Award, the “Nobel Prize of manga” contest sponsored by the Japanese Foreign Ministry. Huaypetch’s basketball comic Super Dunker follows a boy from a small island who by chance meets an NBA player and learns how to slam-dunk a basketball. Runners-up included artists from Brazil, China, France, South Korea, Sweden and the United States. [Kyodo News, Anime News Network]
Passings | Don Addis, a former editorial cartoonist for the St. Petersburg Times and creator of the syndicated comic Bent Offerings, died Nov. 29 of lung cancer. He was 74. [St. Petersburg Times]
Internet | The new Comics Journal website has gone live, more or less, with contributions by the likes of Anne Ishii, J.T. Dockery, Donald Phelps, Marc Sobel, Gavin Lees and Noah Berlatsky. [The Comics Journal]
- December 1, 2009 @ 08:04 AM by Kevin Melrose