2010 January
Zudist Colony for January 2010
Welcome once again to our monthly Zudist Colony column, where we interview all of the competitors in the Zuda Comics monthly contest. Or at least those who choose to respond, anyway.
Many thanks to Brigid Alverson, who pitched in on last month’s column. And thanks as well to the folks at Zuda and DC Comics, who help make this column possible each month.
If you’ve been to the Zuda home page today, you might have noticed that there are only nine competitors listed. It turns out that today the first-place Thunderchickens pulled out of the competition. I went ahead and included their answers at the bottom of this month’s column, even though you can no longer vote for them.
So, let’s get to it …
- January 22, 2010 @ 02:42 PM by JK Parkin
Comics cavalcade: Dead pirates and short cowboys
A Hard Guy Called Concrete by Jack Cole
- January 22, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the awesome | Brendan McCarthy’s Spider-Man: Fever preview
from Brendan McCarthy's Spider-Man: Fever
Comics Alliance scored themselves an exclusive preview of writer-artist Brendan McCarthy’s upcoming Spider-Man/Doctor Strange miniseries/voyage into prime Ditko psychedelia, Spider-Man: Fever. I hear that if you press play on The Dark Side of the Moon when you open the cover, it syncs up perfectly.
You can breathe, breathe in the air from Doc’s Sanctum Sanctorum when the book hits this April.
(Via Douglas Wolk)
- January 22, 2010 @ 11:05 AM by Sean T. Collins
Straight for the art | 69 Love Songs, illustrated
Julia Scheele's 'When My Boy Walks Down the Street'
Like the Magnetic Fields? Well, even if you don’t, or if, like, me, you’ve never heard a Magnetic Fields song in your life before (I’m deprived, I know) you’ll still want to check out this art blog, created by a group of London artists dedicated to making comics based on every song from the Magnetic Fields’ 3-disc 69 Love Songs. (via)
- January 22, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | Sean Galloway’s Doctor Steel banner for Angoulême
Doctor Steel by Sean Galloway
Wednesday Comics artist/Spectacular Spider-Man character designer Sean Galloway shares a work-in-progress sketch of a banner he’s designing for the 2010 Angoulême International Comics Festival festival held in France. Galloway says he is working with Luche Libre writer Jerry Frissen on a new title called Doctor Steel, which will be published by Soleil in France. Hopefully it’ll get picked up in over here in the United States as well.
- January 22, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by JK Parkin
Your video of the day: Missile Mouse trailer
Here’s a rather cool ad for the new Missile Mouse book by Jake Parker and available through Scholastic’s Graphix imprint.
- January 22, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Conan O’Brien’s Chris Ware homage
Conan O'Brien, the Smartest Fired Talk Show Host on Earth
As if we didn’t already have enough reasons to join Team Coco: Peggy Burns at Drawn & Quarterly draws our attention to a very cool pre-commercial bumper that the soon-to-be late and lamented Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien used the other night, featuring art that looks a whole heckuva lot like the sticks ‘n’ circles style of ACME Novelty Library genius Chris Ware. Peggy snagged the screenshot from Adam Kempa, who reproduces an earlier Ware Easter egg from the show as well. Unfortunately, with the final episode airing tonight, I guess we won’t be seeing any more … for now, at least.
I sat around trying to fill in the blank for “Heh, Jay Leno probably reads _____ instead,” but I couldn’t think of a comic so self-evidently lame that it wouldn’t fill the comment thread with pissed-off fans anyway.
- January 22, 2010 @ 07:48 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Legal
Legal | A Michigan man will serve at least 27 years in prison for the April 2008 shooting of retailer David Pirkola during a robbery of Apparitions Comics and Books in Kentwood, Michigan. Jevon Sawyer, 20, was sentenced on Thursday to two years for using a firearm during a crime and between 25 and 50 years for an assault while attempt to rob while armed. He faced life in prison.
On April 25, 2008, Sawyer demanded at gunpoint for Pirkola to give him money from the cash register. Pirkola refused, and after a struggle Sawyer shot him. The 58-year-old retailer spent weeks in the hospital, and still hasn’t fully recovered from his injuries.
Sawyer was convicted in December. His accomplices, James Muriel-Neal Thompson and James Thompson, were sentenced earlier in 2009. [Grand Rapids Press]
- January 22, 2010 @ 07:25 AM by Kevin Melrose
Showers and flowers: DC Entertainment comic-book solicitations for April 2010
Grumpy Old Fan
It’s hard to describe the attitude I bring to each new batch of DC solicitations. Naturally, I use them to figure a comics budget for the particular month; but beyond that I do try to see what interests me, what I might want to try, and (in rare cases) what might make me drop a title. At their core the solicits are advertisements, so I react to them on that surface level.
Being a nitpicky snot, though, I also find myself taking a more cynical look at the solicits — like, they’re just ads, not part of the creative experience; so their puffery can be picked apart mercilessly. I try not to be too harsh, though, because they are just ads, and not to be taken that seriously.
Therefore, a sentence like
The effects that the already classic Blackest Night will have on the DC Universe will be felt for years to come and this issue not only sets the stage for the new ongoing biweekly DC Universe book Brightest Day, but also the next exciting era of the DC Universe!
can’t really fit into a larger context, even though it alludes to one. That sentence is designed to sell Brightest Day #0, and beyond that it’s non-binding. After all, if current conventional wisdom is remotely accurate, the “effects [to be] felt for years to come” will only be noticeable to those of us who’ve been following DC for the past five years; and likewise the “next exciting era of the DC Universe” may well refer to the kind of benign square-one setup which any new reader would reasonably expect. It’s like a monster-truck-rally announcer flacking for a dog show: “Puppies! PUPPIES!! PUPPIES!!!”
- January 21, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Thin wallets, fat bookshelves: Abrams’ 2010 spring catalog
Art in Time
Art book publisher Abrams jumped into the comics world with both feet last year with their new ComicsArts imprint. What do they have lined up for 2010? Poking around their Web site, I was able to figure out their plans, both via the imprint and their children’s line. They’ve slowed down their output a little but still have a rather impressive array of titles coming out. Fer instance:
- January 21, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | O’Malley’s unused Scott Pilgrim cover
unused Scott Pilgrim cover
Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley shares an unused version of the cover to volume four of the popular series from Oni. The creator also recently appeared on two podcasts that are worth a listen when you get a chance, if you’re interested in O’Malley and his work.
- January 21, 2010 @ 11:45 AM by JK Parkin
Help the Hodges charity auction begins today
Help the Hodges cartoon jam
Charity auctions are set to start today to benefit Matthew Hodge, the son of animator Tim Hodge, who was in a serious auto accident last summer:
On August 22, 2009 Matthew Hodge, the 17-year-old son of former Disney story artist and Big Idea productions director Tim Hodge, was in a serious auto accident. A train struck his car at 50mph as he was crossing the tracks. While Matt suffered neither broken bones nor any internal organ damage, he did receive severe head trauma causing him to remain in a state of coma today. Matt is a high school senior, a straight A student, and a drummer in his state championship marching band.
Many animation and comics industry folks have come together to donate items and artwork. The auction will include the above “jam” piece, which includes sketches by Mike Mignola, Stan Sakai, Sergio Aragonès, J. Scott Campbell, Jeff Keane and many more. Other items include a Charles Schulz drawing, a Rocketeer artist proof sculpture and a whole lot of animation art. You can find the complete list here and you can find the eBay listings here.
- January 21, 2010 @ 11:15 AM by JK Parkin
Your video of the day: Ed Piskor profile
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a nice video profile on the Wizzywig creator. (via)
- January 21, 2010 @ 10:45 AM by Chris Mautner
Get ready to do some Night Business
from Night Business #3
Over at the blog for his self-publishing outfit Traditional Comics, writer-artist Benjamin Marra — a real favorite ’round these parts — has posted a preview of the third issue of his gritty slashers ‘n’ strippers saga Night Business. The issue just went on sale on his site. Stepping into the NB world is like visiting a city built solely from straight-to-VHS action flicks, Skinemax movies, Italian giallo horror films, arcade-console art, and early ’80s indie comics — one of the most unique and gruesomely entertaining comics experiences around. You can get all three crazy issues for the low low price of $7. Do it. You won’t be disappointed.
- January 21, 2010 @ 10:15 AM by Sean T. Collins
Straight for the art | Girls Drawing Girls
Art by Jay Fabares
Girls Drawing Girls is a (I think) relatively new art blog featuring female animators and artists doing girlie pin-ups. Though far from explicit, there is some nudity, so it’s a bit NSFW, but if you’ like good girl art, or just good cartoon art in general, it’s worth checking out. They’re also doing a charity art sale to help the people of Haiti right now, if you’re so inclined.
- January 21, 2010 @ 09:45 AM by Chris Mautner