2009 December
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last
Grumpy Old Fan
Into DC and Marvel’s ongoing game of compare-and-contrast comes the just-announced Legacies miniseries, ten issues starting in May 2010 which will guide the reader from the Depression to the mid-21st Century. It’s the history of the DC Universe — not to be confused with another upcoming DC project — as seen through the eyes of a normal family.
In other words, it’s DC’s version of Marvels.
This is not necessarily a bad thing.
- December 17, 2009 @ 01:45 PM by Tom Bondurant
All-ages Rocketbots searching for new publisher
Rocketbots
Citing “creative differences” with the publisher, Alexander Grecian and Chris Grine have withdrawn their planned Rocketbots: Trouble in Time comic from Shadowline’s all-ages imprint.
The 48-page hardcover, about five alien robots who crash on Earth during the Jurassic Period, initially was solicited for January 2010 from Silverline Books. However, blog posts from Grine indicated the release date had been moved to spring.
In a brief announcement posted this morning on his website, Grine said he and Grecian will shop Rocketbots to other publishers.
“The good news is that the book is done,” Grine wrote, “so any publisher who may be interested in seeing a killer book for kids about robots who crash on earth in prehistoric times can just see the whole thing, rather than a pitch and a few images.Thanks for everyone’s support over the last few months, it was a real driving force for me and Alex and I promise, we’ll do everything in our power to find these poor Rocketbots a new home.”
Grecian is the writer of Seven Sons and Proof. Grine is the creator of Chickenhare.
- December 17, 2009 @ 12:45 PM by Kevin Melrose
Indy Comic Book Week preview: Carnivale DeRobotique
Carnivale DeRobotique
Tony Trov, Johnny Zito and Mark Fidona will release a comic called Carnivale DeRobotique — “the story of a rebellious Nanny Droid, Wendy, who runs away to be a ballerina in the robot circus” — as a part of Indy Comic Book Week later this month. The book will be available at shops in Philadelphia, New York and Austin (click on the link above to see where exactly you can buy it). You can check out artwork from the book after the jump.
So what is Indy Comic Book Week? Kevin mentioned it back in October, but basically the idea is that since Diamond Comic Distributors won’t be shipping any comics the last week of December (although some comics, like Blackest Night #6, will ship early and be available that week), many independent creators are self-publishing their own comics and asking shops to carry them on Dec. 30. Things From Another World, the large Oregon-based chain and online retailer, has even set up a submission process so creators can have their books carried on their website. (They’ve also got an interview up with the founders).
You can find a list of shops that are participating, as well as a list of some of the books that’ll be out, here. The Indy Comic Book Week blog also has ongoing updates on its blog.
I’ll also add that if you have a book that will be in shops that week and would like to send us a few pages as a preview, drop me an email and we’ll run it here. Be sure to include all the pertinent information, like price, where it’ll be sold and all that good stuff.
- December 17, 2009 @ 12:15 PM by JK Parkin
Hooray for Beto
Heartbreak Soup
A belated congratulations to Gilbert Hernandez, who was named a 2009 Rasmuson Fellow in the field of Literature earlier this week and will get a $50,000 grant. (via)
- December 17, 2009 @ 11:45 AM by Chris Mautner
For your last minute-holiday shopping: Rosebud Archives
Bringing Up Father Xmas print
I usually don’t try to plug online shops and sales too often, but this struck me as rather interesting and worthy of note: Comics scholar Rick Marschall and Jonathan Barli have set up Rosebud Archives, an online shop where you can buy prints, books, stationary and portfolios of early 20th century cartoonists and illustrators like Winsor McCay, George McManus, George Herriman, Milt Gross and many more. The site draws upon the pair’s huge collection of art work, so it’s safe to assume there will be a lot more available in the months to come. (via)
- December 17, 2009 @ 11:15 AM by Chris Mautner
Still, he never did get his picture on a bubble gum card
Jeez, chill out Schroeder
Yesterday was Beethoven’s birthday, and the Schulz Museum honored the occasion with a new online exhibit entitled Schulz’s Beethoven: Schroeder’s Muse. The site features an examination of both the famed composer’s music and how Schulz incorporated it into his strip, along with recollections from Jean Schulz and others, audio selections, sheet music, history and lots of comic strips. Here’s a snippet from the press release, which Mike Lynch was gracious enough to post online:
Schulz’s Beethoven, Schroeder’s Muse features 60 cartoons that include meticulously drawn music from Beethoven’s piano sonatas complemented with manuscripts, first editions, and artwork from the rich collections of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at San José State University. Visitors to the on-line exhibition can listen to the music, travel to other websites to enrich their understanding of the strips, and explore cartoon and music history.
Sounds like a pretty good way to spend a Thursday afternoon to me.
- December 17, 2009 @ 10:45 AM by Chris Mautner
Viz to debut Not Simple
Not Simple
Viz Media unveiled yesterday the latest book in their Signature imprint — not simple, a done-in-one volume by Natsume Ono. The press release summarizes the plot:
not simple follows Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, as he travels from Australia to England and on to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian’s experiences in a novel titled not simple.
A special preview of the book will go up on the SigIKKI Web site later today. Viz has been publishing some marvelous work via their Signature line, so I have high expectations for this slice-of-life story. You can read the full press release after the jump.
- December 17, 2009 @ 10:15 AM by Chris Mautner
Chicagoans notice Soldier Field-size crater on Lake Shore Drive, shrug
Soldier Field, from Siege #1
It may have taken a couple of weeks, but the Chicago news media have finally detected the coming destruction of 85-year-old Soldier Field in Marvel’s Siege #1.
The landmark’s explosive fate was revealed Dec. 3 in a preview sequence reminiscent of the razing in 2006 of Stamford, Connecticut — the Marvel Universe version, in any case — used as a trigger for Civil War.
“I’m not the biggest sports guy and I meant no disrespect to sports fans,” writer Brian Michael Bendis tells the Chicago Sun-Times, “but we needed something so horrendous to happen for [Marvel's superheroes] to be united again. Hopefully, this will ring in a new day for Marvel readers.”
Chicagoans don’t appear particularly alarmed by the development. In fact, they’d be okay with a little more devastation.
“Marvel people,” one commenter writes in the comments section of the Sun-Times article, “Next time, please fill the stadium with Illinois politicians before you blow it up.” Says another: “In the next issue they should blow up Wrigley Field.”
Siege #1 debuts on Jan. 6.
- December 17, 2009 @ 09:45 AM by Kevin Melrose
If you look long enough, maybe you’ll find Stan Lee or Alan Moore
Simpsons 20th anniversary poster
The Hollywood Reporter shares this ginormous poster that Fox released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Simpsons, featuring everyone from Radioactive Man to Maggie’s nemesis, the kid with one eyebrow. You can find the full-size version here.
(I should add, I have no idea if Alan Moore, Stan Lee or any of the other comic folks who have appeared on the show are really there or not; I started to get a headache from looking it for so long and had to stop looking. So let me know if you find them!)
- December 17, 2009 @ 09:15 AM by JK Parkin
Another day, another best-of list roundup
Asterios Polyp
For those of you playing along at home:
• Comics Alliance selects the 10 best comics of 2009, including The Incredible Hercules, Incognito, Detective Comics and Asterios Polyp.
• At The Manga Critic, Katherine Dacey chooses the best manga of the year. Among them, Oishinbo, Gogo Monster and Children of the Sea.
• Flashlight Worthy asks a dozen comics bloggers to each select the best graphic novel of the year. The contenders include Sinfest, Vol. 1, Bayou and Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu. (via David Welsh)
• USA Today’s Whitney Matheson continues her look at the Top 100 People of 2009. Part 3 include Jeff Lemire (No. 58) and Joss Whedon (No. 47).
• At the Forbidden Planet International blog, Rob Jackson, Jim Medway and Wim Lockefeer discuss their choices for best comics of the year.
• Comic Book Club takes a two-part (video) look at the best of the year.
• IGN.com lists the Top 100 comic-book covers of 2009.
• Dave Ferraro chooses his favorite covers of the year.
- December 17, 2009 @ 08:45 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
PlayStation Digital Comics
Digital comics | Sony launched its much-anticipated PlayStation Digital Comics service on Wednesday with hundreds of titles from such publishers 2000 AD, Archie, Disney, IDW Publishing and Marvel. Several titles, including Atomic Robo #1, G.I. Joe #0 and Young Salem #1, are being offered for free download to PlayStation Portables. [PlayStation Blog, Kotaku]
Crime | More details emerged Wednesday in the family feud that led to the arrest last week of Alfonso Frank Frazetta Jr. on charges of stealing 90 of his father’s paintings from the Frank Frazetta Museum near East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. A notary supported Frank Jr.’s claim that his 81-year-old father had authorized him, in a signed document, to secure the paintings “by any means possible.” The notary also said she revoked the power of attorney held by Frazetta Sr.’s other three children Bill Frazetta, Holly Taylor and Heidi Gravin. A judge reduced Frank. Jr.’s bail from $500,000 to $50,000. Meanwhile, Frazetta Sr.’s art collection, valued at $20 million, has been removed from the museum by Bill Frazetta, who says, “They’re not going to be displayed back here in the Poconos after this.” [Pocono Record]
Crime | Closing arguments are expected to be delivered today in the trial of Jevon Sawyer, the 19-year-old accused of shooting retailer David Pirkola during the April 2008 robbery of Apparitions Comics and Books in Kentwood, Michigan. Pirkola, 58, spent weeks in a hospital and still hasn’t fully recovered from his injuries. [The Grand Rapids Press]
- December 17, 2009 @ 07:27 AM by Kevin Melrose
Iron Man 2 trailer debuts
Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle in the Iron Man 2 trailer
Over on CBR you can watch the first trailer for Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2. Robert Downey Jr. is brash, Mickey Rourke is Russian, Don Cheadle is War Machine, Gwyneth Paltrow makes out with an Iron Man helmet, Scarlet Johansson and Gary Shandling are both gorgeous…what are you waiting for?
- December 17, 2009 @ 07:22 AM by Sean T. Collins
Superboy officially returns to the Teen Titans in issue 81
DC Comics shared the cover to Teen Titans #81 on their blog yesterday …
Teen Titans #81
No surprise here, that Kon-El is back on the team … and it looks like he’s trading blows with the Milestone character Holocaust. Now what about Bart?
- December 17, 2009 @ 05:06 AM by JK Parkin
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: Demons of Sherwood
Demons of Sherwood
Demons of Sherwood
Written by Bo Hampton and Robert Tinnell; Illustrated by Bo Hampton
IDW; $19.99
I apologize for the lack of art with this post. My computer decided that it doesn’t recognize my scanner anymore. You can see all kinds of art for Demons of Sherwood though at ComicMix. I’ll be over here deinstalling Snow Leopard. Update: Buh-bye, Snow Leopard. Hello, scans!
There were two things that always got me excited as a kid: pirates and medieval stuff. Whether it was King Arthur, Ivanhoe, Robin Hood, or something else, I always thrilled to tales of chivalry, plate mail, and yew bows. But then I found Star Wars and everything else didn’t seem as exhilarating anymore.
Well, now I’m grown up and Star Wars has lost nearly all its shine. Jack Sparrow has rekindled my love for swashbuckling scoundrels of the seas, but so far nothing has gotten me excited about castles and wizards again. Not until Demons of Sherwood, that is. Bo Hampton and Robert Tinell’s webcomic turned graphic novel has everything a good medieval story needs: knights, damsels (sometimes in distress; sometimes rescuing distressed fellas), merry men, spooky woods, noblemen of questionable trustworthiness, holy relics, and enough of the supernatural to make things interesting without turning the whole thing into a fantasy tale. It’s also very grounded in reality.
I’m not talking so much about research or historical accuracy, though it may have those things going for it too as far as I know. What I mean is that the art and the script have weight to them. The story reads as if it’s happening to real people, in spite of the utterly fantastic things that are going on around them.
- December 16, 2009 @ 04:00 PM by Michael May
Wildstorm cancels Warcraft, Starcraft comics to make way for OGNs
IGN reports that Wildstorm is canceling its ongoing World of Warcraft and Starcraft comic series, and will replace them with a series of original graphic novels.
Both comics are based on the Blizzard Entertainment video games (and MMORG, in the case of Warcraft) of the same name. The announcement comes at an interesting time, as next month was supposed to see a name change for the Warcraft title to World of Warcraft: Alliance and the launch of a second title called World of Warcraft: Horde. Today’s World of Warcraft Special will be the last Warcraft comic, while January’s Starcraft #7 will be its last.
“While WildStorm and Blizzard loved the stories being told in the regular monthly comic-book series, we decided that the graphic novel would be a more suitable medium for the tales we wanted to tell next,” Hank Kanalz, vice president and general manager of Wildstorm, told the site. “The larger format will give our artists and storytellers more room to explore Blizzard’s rich, varied worlds and flesh out the characters that inhabit these places.”
No details on format or timing for the OGNs have been announced yet.
- December 16, 2009 @ 03:30 PM by JK Parkin