2010 January
Apple unveils its much-anticipated iPad media slate [Updated]
A paint app on the Apple iPad (image from Gizmodo)
After months of speculation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs this morning unveiled the iPad, a gesture-based media slate for e-books, Web browsing, video playback, applications and more. Pricing begins at $499.
At a press conference, going on now in San Francisco, Jobs described the device as “way better than a laptop, way better than a phone.”
The iPad is a thin, large-screen tablet based on the iPod Touch, and appears to function like an iPhone, allowing users to simply tap the screen to access functions, or move images with a swipe of a finger.
The iPad is a half-inch-thick, weighs just 1-1/2 pounds and boasts a 9.7-inch IPS (in-plane switching) display screen. It will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.
The basic 14GB version will retail for $499, much lower than many predicted. On the upper end of the scale, the 64GB iPad with WiFi and 3G will sell for $829.
In a fast-paced presentation, Jobs demonstrated the device’s use as a Web browser and movie screen, accessed iTunes, used calendar and maps applications, created email, and flipped through photo slideshows.
Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iPhone software, gave an overview of the iPad’s gaming potential before moving on to a customized app developed by The New York Times.
Programmer Steve Sprang briefly demonstrated the Brushes app, which allows users to paint on screen with brushes, swatches, eyedroppers and other tools. It will be available at launch. (Engadget describes Brushes as “very slick — probably the most impressive demo yet. A very sophisticated use of the screen real estate.”) As a commenter below points out, Brushes is the iPhone app artist Jorge Colombo used last year to paint covers for The New Yorker.
Moving on to Apple’s e-book app — called iBooks, naturally — Jobs acknowledged Amazon’s pioneering efforts. “We’re going to stand on their shoulders for this,” he said.
For its iBooks store, Apple is partnering (at least initially) with five major publishers: HarperCollins, Hatchette Book Group, MacMillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster. The reader allows users to skip directly to chapters from a book’s table of contents, change fonts, view images and control the speed of animated page turns.
Apple will begin shipping iPads in the next 60 days; it’ll be an additional 30 days for the 3G models.
The conference/presentation has ended. We’ll be sure to post updates if more details emerge.
- January 27, 2010 @ 10:20 AM by Kevin Melrose
Straight for the art | It’s on like Donkey Kong
by Anthony Vukojevich
Here’s another fun one from the Covered blog … Anthony Vukojevich reimagines the cover to Fantastic Four #26 as a game of Donkey Kong, with the Hulk as the misunderstood ape, Rick Jones as the princess in need of saving and the rest of the heroes climbing ladders and jumping over flaming barrels trying to avoid waves of flying steel girders. Brilliant!
- January 27, 2010 @ 09:47 AM by JK Parkin
Everyone’s A Critic: A round-up of comic book reviews and thinkpieces
• Let’s kick off with Tim O’Neil’s look back at the previous decade, in an essay which he ominously titles “Mediocrity Triumphant”:
I would posit that even though there are far more comics being published now, there are no more truly great comics being produced now than there were at the beginning of the last decade. If you discount the constant stream of reprints and international offerings, new English-language comics are about as good as they’ve ever been, it’s just that there are more of them. In fact, because of the market’s rapid expansion, actual average quality has plummeted. It’s not a question of having abandoned critical standards in order to gain popular market share: comics never had critical standards. What we have done now is to adopt the standards of the larger book market.
• Andrei Molotiu has been blogging up a storm at the Abstract Comics site, examining how classic, mainstream comic book artists have incorporated abstract shapes and forms into their work. Here he is talking about Steve Ditko; and here he is talking about Frank Miller. You’ll want to read both pieces.
Gahan Wilson: Fifty Years of Playboy Cartoons
• Jeet Heer makes the case for Gahan Wilson: “For all their morbidity and ghoulishness, Wilson’s cartoons affirm the value of cherishing life.”
• While we’re on the subject, The San Francisco Chronicle’s Laurel Maury really likes that new Wilson collection as well.
• Neil Cohn looks at a type of visual shorthand in comics he calls “action stars.”
• Matthew Brady reviews The Squirrel Machine: ” It’s a compelling, fascinating journey through an often creepy and always striking world.”
• Cory Doctorow examines Goats II: The Corndog Imperitive: “Rosenberg continues to walk the razor-edged line between silly and dumb, and does not slip onto the dumb side.”
- January 27, 2010 @ 08:50 AM by Chris Mautner
How about some coffee in a Too Much Coffee Man mug?
Too Much Coffee Man mug
Yesterday we learned that BOOM! Studios was kicking off a new imprint called BOOM! Town, under which they’ll release “literary comics” projects as well as merchandising. One of the first products they’ll release is a Too Much Coffee Man coffee mug, featuring Shannon Wheeler’s famous creation.
Its appearance changes when you fill it with a hot beverage, though I’m not sure which of the above mugs represents the before and which one represents the after (I assume an empty mug = death, and thus the skull).
- January 27, 2010 @ 08:20 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Shi Long Pang
Awards | The Xeric Foundation, the nonprofit corporation established in 1992 by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Peter Laird, has announced the recipients of the fall/winter grants: Sarah Becan, The Complete and Original Ouija Interviews; Sixta C., Soldiers of God; Ben Costa, Shi Long Pang, The Wandering Shaolin Monk; Blaise Larmee, Young Lions; Lane Milburn, Death Trap; Stefan Salinas, Within the Rat; and Nathan Schreiber, Power Out.
The Xeric grants assist creators with the costs of self-publishing. [The Xeric Foundation]
Retailing | Ron Marshall has resigned after just a year as chief executive of the financially troubled Borders Group. Michael J. Edwards, who joined the book chain in September as chief merchandising officer, has been appointed as interim chief executive. [The New York Times]
- January 27, 2010 @ 07:17 AM by Kevin Melrose
A smooth, original, unbeatable, irresistible week of comics
Afrodisiac cover
Welcome once again to Can’t Wait for Wednesday, our weekly look at what you can expect to find in your local comic shop tomorrow. To see what Kevin, Chris and I have to say about this week’s comics, read on …
Kevin Melrose’s pick of the week: Afrodisiac hardcover
Street Angel creators Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca roll out their high-energy, mind-boggling mash-up of blaxploitation films and 1970s Marvel comics like Masters of Kung Fu and Son of Satan. Alan Diesler is Afrodisiac, “a mysterious man from a far-away land — the original, unbeatable, irresistible, smooth dark-chocolate brother,” who, when not surrounded by foxy ladies, faces the likes of Dracula, Hercules, giant monsters and, perhaps worst of all, Richard Nixon.
Afrodisiac has previously appeared in an issue of Street Angel and in several anthologies, including Project: Superior, Meathaus: SOS and Popgun, Vol. 2. This 96-page hardcover collects all of those appearances and features new stories. You can read a preview and watch the trailer here. (Adhouse Books)
- January 26, 2010 @ 04:00 PM by JK Parkin
Robot reviews: The Year of Loving Dangerously
The Year of Loving Dangerously
The Year of Loving Dangerously
by Ted Rall & Pablo G. Callejo
NBM, $18.95
For a brief time, in my supposed salad days, I had the alleged good fortune to date two different women at the same time. My friends frequently kidded me about my good luck, but the truth was I was absolutely miserable. Plagued by guilt, constantly shuttling between the two women, desperately trying to remember who was responsible for, say, the flowers left on my car, and knowing that sometime soon I was going to have to break one of their hearts, put an amount of stress on my shoulders that outweighed any supposed benefits. My behavior during that time still ranks as one of my biggest regrets.
Ted Rall doesn’t have that problem. In the 1980s he juggled, lied to and slept with numerous women, a fact he chronicles in his latest graphic novel, The Year of Loving Dangerously, without much angst on his part.
- January 26, 2010 @ 03:15 PM by Chris Mautner
DC Comics offers Brightest Day promotional rings
The Flash and Green Lantern promotional rings
Seemingly bolstered by the success of its Blackest Night promotion, and undeterred by its detractors, DC Comics is making another ring offer. This time, though, the focus is on the publisher’s next big event, Brightest Day.
According to the DC Universe blog, retailers who purchase 10 copies of The Flash #1 may order Flash Promotional Rings. Likewise, those who purchase 10 copies of Green Lantern #53 may order Green Lantern Promotional Rings. Both titles appear in the February Previews catalog and will arrive in stores in April.
“One of the many great Flash Facts about DC Comics is that they actually do support the retailers with promotions like this that not only make our whole business a bit more fun, but also bring the promotion to every single reader,” writer Geoff Johns told the blog. “Of course, the proof is in the content and I couldn’t be prouder of the work Francis Manapul and I are doing on The Flash and Doug Mahnke and I are creating on Green Lantern. Thanks to everyone, retailers and readers, for an amazing 2009 and here’s to an even better 2010!”
- January 26, 2010 @ 02:33 PM by Kevin Melrose
Unbound: Talking to Josh Alves
Josh Alves’s all-ages comic Araknid Kid, started out on Zuda, built a following, and then, when it didn’t win, moved over to Sugary Serials, to complete the story. Araknid Kid is a cheery little comic about a superhero with spider-like powers—he walks on the ceiling and shoots webs out of guns—but it is set in the Old West and bears absolutely no resemblance to that other comic about a guy with spider powers. Araknid Kid is definitely a kids’ comic (the main character speaks in rebuses and someone gets punched out by a boxing glove on a spring), but the goofy humor and splashes of wit make it a good read for adults as well.
After wrapping up Araknid Kid, Alves launched a new comic, Heropotamus, last Christmas. When I saw that go up, I decided it would be interesting to talk to Alves about his work and the challenges of all-ages webcomics in general.
- January 26, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
BOOM! launches new ‘literary comics’ imprint, BOOM! Town
Robert Crumb trading cards
Publishers Weekly reports that BOOM! Studios is launching a separate imprint called BOOM! Town, under which they plan to publish and market “literary comics,” selective reissues of out-of-print works and merchandising. And they’re working with a couple of well known names in this area: former Kitchen Sink publisher Denis Kitchen and Too Much Coffee Man creator Shannon Wheeler.
Although their publishing plans are still being finalized, they’ll start off by reissuing a set of 36 trading cards by R. Crumb that were originally released by Kitchen Sink Press in 1991. They also plan to release a Too Much Coffee Man mug and I Thought You Would be Funnier, a collection of Wheeler’s rejected New Yorker cartoons that can be read online at the Activate site.
It also sounds like they may be publishing some of Harvey Kurtzman’s work, based on this quote from Kitchen:
“Denis Kitchen Publishing has four R. Crumb card sets that are perennials, [Harvey] Kurtzman’s The Grasshopper & The Ant and other books that could do much better in the marketplace with a real company’s attention. So I’ve entered into a distribution arrangement with Boom! to free myself more to represent clients as a literary agent but also to do more directly creative things like writing and packaging new books.”
It’s been a big week for BOOM! news; in addition to BOOM! Town, they’ve also got a Samuel L. Jackson-written series on the way, a new ongoing featuring Scorpius from Farscape and something in the works with CBGB.
- January 26, 2010 @ 11:09 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | ‘Complete History of the Robins’
From "History of the Robins," by JBadgr
I probably find this more amusing than I should, but I really like this concise, funny and well-drawn “History of the Robins” by a DeviantART user named Jessica (aka “JBadgr”).
There are installments devoted to Dick Grayson (“fashion-impaired leader of the Teen Titans”), Jason Todd (“Name of dye: ‘Grayson Black’”), Tim Drake (“He’s kind of a genius”) and Damian Wayne (“a GQMF”), but alas, none (yet) for Stephanie Brown.
(via)
- January 26, 2010 @ 10:20 AM by Kevin Melrose
Iron Man 2 soundtrack looks suspiciously like an AC/DC greatest hits compilation
Marvel announced today that they’ve teamed up with Columbia Records and AC/DC to fill Iron Man 2 and its soundtrack with music from the band’s heavy metal catalog. Columbia Records will release an album called AC/DC: Iron Man 2 on April 19, containing “15 classic songs from the band selected from ten of their studio albums.”
Here’s the track listing:
1. Shoot to Thrill
2. Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation
3. Guns for Hire
4. Cold Hearted Man
5. Back in Black
6. Thunderstruck
7. If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
8. Evil Walks
9. T.N.T.
10. Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
11. Have a Drink on Me
12. The Razor’s Edge
13. Let There Be Rock
14. War Machine
15. Highway to Hell
And MTV’s Splash Page has the first video, “Shoot to Thrill,” featuring Iron Man 2 footage intertwined with AC/DC concert footage:
- January 26, 2010 @ 09:50 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | Dumbledore & Voldemort by David Petersen
Dumbledore by David Petersen
Mouse Guard creator David Petersen shares two pieces of art he traded to artist Craig Rousseau, featuring Harry Potter‘s Dumbledore and Voldemort fighting. Click on over to his site to see his Voldemort.
- January 26, 2010 @ 09:20 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | Matt Forsythe’s life drawings
One of Forstyhe's sketches
The Ojingogo author has posted a bunch of drawings he did during a recent life drawing class that will impress the hell out of you. (via)
- January 26, 2010 @ 08:48 AM by Chris Mautner
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Legal
Legal | Sentencing has been delayed until Feb. 11 for Christopher Handley, the 39-year-old man who in May pleaded guilty to one count each of possession of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children and of mailing obscene matter. Sentencing originally was scheduled for Monday, but was moved at the request of the defense attorney.
The Handley case began in May 2006, when customs agents reportedly intercepted a mail package from Japan addressed to Handley containing what they deemed obscene material, “including books containing visual representations of the sexual abuse of children, specifically Japanese manga drawings of minor females being sexually abused by adult males and animals.” Agents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service obtained a warrant to search Handley’s Glenwood, Iowa, home, where they seized “additional obscene drawings of the sexual abuse of children.” Handley was indicted in May 2007 under a federal law that prohibits the possession any visual depiction — including cartoons — of “a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct that is obscene.”
Handley faces up to 15 years in prison, a maximum fine of $500,000 and three years of supervised release. [ICv2.com]
- January 26, 2010 @ 08:18 AM by Kevin Melrose