2010 February
DC’s War of the Supermen will be a four-issue, ’100-minute’ battle
War of the Supermen #0
Two months after announcing War of the Supermen, DC Comics has revealed more details of the May event the publisher describes as “the 100-minute war.”
That’s right, the epic battle between New Krypton and Earth will be fought and won in less than two hours. In our world, the action unfolds over the course of four issues, each representing 25 minutes — and all shipping in the same month.
“The number of mocking ‘Wouldn’t a world of supermen defeat Earth in five minutes?’ questions I’ve been assaulted with have undone years of therapy,” Superman Group Editor Matt Idelson tells the DC Universe blog. “Now, thank Freud, the time for secrets is over, as the two sides are finally going to war! And it’s going to last a lot longer than five minutes – 100, to be exact, told in 25 minute increments. That doesn’t count the few minutes before the clock starts, in War of the Supermen #0, our contribution to this year’s Free Comic Book Day.”
War of the Supermen is written by Sterling Gates and James Robinson, with covers by Eddy Barrows and interior art by Barrows, Aaron Lopresti, Jamal Igle and Eduardo Pansica.
More covers can be viewed at the link.
- February 10, 2010 @ 03:06 PM by Kevin Melrose
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Hello and welcome once again to Send Us Your Shelf Porn, that little corner of the Internet where folks can show off what they’ve got, so long as what they’ve got involves comic book collections.
Today we’re looking at not so much the collection as the room of one Jason Smith, who hails from Woodstock, GA. Jason has gone all out in his interior decorating, as can be evidenced by the photo below.
Jason’s got lots more photos of his set-up after the jump.
- February 10, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Strangeways: The Thirsty – Page 116
I don’t mind telling everyone here that I spent the morning driving the porcelain bus. I do wish that I’d actually been having a good time last night to have earned it. Instead, it was a normal yesterday with a kinda sucky today.
At least I didn’t have to make it to my dentist appointment…
Art by Gervasio and Jok. Written by Matt Maxwell
I’m going back to die on the couch now. Tell my wife I love her.
- February 10, 2010 @ 01:59 PM by Matt Maxwell
Straight for the art | Mr. Kick-Ass and Little Miss Hit
Mr. Kick-Ass and Little Miss Hit, by Steven Anderson
Artist Steven Anderson depicts characters from Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass in the style of children’s book illustrator Roger Hargreaves (author of the Mr. Men and Little Miss series). Anderson’s Flickr account features similar takes on Red Mist, Wolverine, The Hulk, Nick Fury and numerous other comic-book characters.
(via Super Punch)
- February 10, 2010 @ 12:48 PM by Kevin Melrose
Comics cavalcade: James Spader, Chuck Barris and Luke Malone
The 66-Year Stink by USS Catastrophe
- February 10, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Preview: The Troll King
Continuing our-three part preview of Top Shelf’s upcoming Swedish Invasion line of graphic novels, today’s we’re offering a look at The Troll King by Kolbeinn Karlsson. Here’s the synopsis from the official page:
A dwarf falls into a river and is taken to a place beyond space and time. A carrot takes a bath and finds itself transforming. Two reclusive mountain men rejoice when their wish for children is granted, but their sons make a terrible discovery. And throughout all these tales, the spirit of the forest walks on… Welcome to the surreal world of The Troll King, by Swedish visionary Kolbeinn Karlsson. It’s a fantastic journey into the wilderness lurking right outside your town, brought to you by comics’ cuddliest Viking.
Sounds like my kind of comic! You can determine if you feel the same by checking out the preview after the jump.
- February 10, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by Chris Mautner
DC rolls out final two Return of Bruce Wayne covers
Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #5
DC Comics unleashed today the final two covers for its Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne miniseries. Featuring art by Andy Kubert, the covers for issue five and six feature the most familiar renditions of Batman yet — Detective Batman and Superhero Batman.
See the first issue here, issue two here, and issues three and four here. Issue six is available after the jump.
- February 10, 2010 @ 10:53 AM by JK Parkin
Quesada responds as Captain America‘s Tea Party controversy gains steam
From "Captain America" #602
Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada says that while he can understand why some people are upset by a “tea bag” reference in Captain America #602, he thinks “there’s also a portion of this story that is being blown out of proportion and taken out of context.”
Some members of the Tea Party movement are offended by a scene in the January issue, Part 1 of the “Two Americas” storyline, which depicts an anti-tax rally in Boise, Idaho. Among the protesters is a sign that bears the slogan, “Tea Bag The Libs Before They Tea Bag YOU!”
That displeasure — from “a chorus of critics” — received national attention this morning in an article at FoxNews.com that quotes writer Ed Brubaker as saying the slogan wasn’t written by him but rather was added later in the production process.
“I don’t know who did it, probably someone who thought it was funny,” Brubaker wrote in an e-mail to Fox. “I didn’t think so, personally. That’s the sign being changed to something more generic for the trade reprint, because I and my editor were both shocked to see it.”
- February 10, 2010 @ 09:50 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
iPad
Business | Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger on Tuesday called Apple’s newly announced iPad a “game changer,” and said that the entertainment giant has plans for the device that includes comic books, games and interactive television. Again, that should come as little surprise, considering that Steve Jobs is Disney’s largest shareholder. [AppleInsider]
Legal | The Michigan Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in the case of retailer and convention organizer Michael George, who’s awaiting a second trial in the 1990 death of his first wife Barbara. The appeals court typically takes a month to rule.
George, 49, was convicted of first-degree murder in March 2008, but the verdict was set aside six months later by Circuit Judge James Biernat, who cited prosecutorial misconduct and the discovery of new evidence that might have swayed the jury. George has been held in the Macomb County Jail since his arrest in August 2007. [Detroit Free Press]
- February 10, 2010 @ 08:36 AM by Kevin Melrose
Second “Nemesis” name auction over $4,600
Nemesis #2
Last month Mark Millar and Dynamic Forces auctioned off a “starring role” in Millar and Steve McNiven’s upcoming Marvel Icon comic Nemesis, raising more than $8,000 for the school where Millar’s brother works with handicapped children. The winner of that auction, Blake Morrow, will share his name with the book’s good guy, a cop trying to stop the title character.
Now Millar is auctioning off the real name of the title character and bad guy, Nemesis. If you’d like to face off with Morrow in the book, you’ve still got a little more than a day to place your bid. As I type this, it’s currently up to $4,650.
“Can I just say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the first auction,” Millar said in a press release on the auction. “The kids and staff at my brother’s school were delighted and the $8,400 raised means a quarter of their target has been reached already. I had chosen a good secret identity for Nemesis himself, but it seems almost selfish not to auction this now too and possibly reach the halfway line the kids need for this bus. I’m amazed how much cash was raised the first time around, but am hoping the auction to name the TITLE character raises even more. Dave Lizewski loves the fact he’s the lead in the Kick-Ass comic, movie and upcoming video-game and I’m hoping whoever wins this new auction is equally delighted. A huge thanks to them for finding the cash in these difficult times.”
- February 10, 2010 @ 07:15 AM by JK Parkin
Stan Lee partners with Archie, A Squared for Super Seven [Updated]
Strong Arm, from "Super Seven"
Archie Comics and A Squared Entertainment are partnering with comics legend Stan Lee on a multimedia property called Super Seven, which will feature the Man himself.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lee’s comic centers on seven aliens whose spaceship crashes on Earth, where they’re befriended by the Marvel icon and resume their lives as superheroes.
“Nothing is more exciting to me, as a writer, than creating a new type of story or introducing a new theme,” Lee said in a statement. “Although I’ve briefly appeared in other comics, Super Seven is the first time that I’ll actually be a continuing character in a far-out, original superhero series.”
Archie Comics will publish the Super Seven comic, while A Squared will develop the property for television and online ventures and oversee licensing and merchandising. The projects are expected to launch in the fall.
It’s been a busy year for Lee, whose POW! Entertainment has a first-look deal with The Walt Disney Company. In December, Disney strengthened those ties by purchasing a 10-percent equity stake in the company. Super Seven isn’t part of the Disney agreement.
Update: The Archie Comics press release can be found after the break.
- February 10, 2010 @ 05:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
DMZ, Mesmo, Choker, Human Target and more fight the snow to get to shops this week
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.
Although a snowstorm caused some problems at Diamond Comics Distributors‘ headquarters this week, I hear through the grapevine that they aren’t expecting any delays in getting comics shipped out to shops. Good news indeed.
To see what Kevin, Chris and I have to say about this week’s comics, read on …
Hicksville
Chris Mautner’s Pick of the Week: Hicksville Definitive Edition
One of the most important comics to come out of the art comix scene of the 1990s, Hicksville was the finest love song ever written to the medium at that time. A mystery set in a quaint New Zealand town where everyone just happens to be an ardent comics junkie and no one wants to talk about its most famous resident, superhero artist Dick Burger. It’s such a significant and beloved work that it’s hard to believe it’s languished out of print for so long. Thank goodness Drawn and Quarterly has seen fit to reissue it and get it out in front of people’s noses again. If you haven’t read this yet, you’re missing out on a real treat. (Drawn and Quarterly)
- February 9, 2010 @ 02:30 PM by JK Parkin
Hogarth and Montana named to Eisner Hall of Fame
Archie #1
The Eisner Awards judges have selected legendary artists Burne Hogarth and Bob Montana for automatic induction this summer into the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame.
Hogarth, who passed away in 1996, was an illustrator best known for his work on the Tarzan newspaper strip, an art educator and the author of influential anatomy and drawing books. Montana, who died in 1975, was the co-creator of Archie who drew the Riverdale gang for three decades.
The judges also chose 13 nominees from which voters may select four to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for 2010:
• Carl Burgos — the late Golden Age-era artist and co-creator of the original Human Torch
• Steve Gerber — the late writer and co-creator of Howard the Duck and Omega the Unknown
• Dick Giordano — the artist and longtime DC Comics editor
• Michael Kaluta — the artist best known for his work on Starstruck and The Shadow
• Jack Kamen — the late illustrator and prolific EC Comics artist
• Frans Masereel — the late painter, woodcut artist and creator of Mon Livre d’Heures
• George McManus — the late cartoonist and creator of Bringing Up Father
• Sheldon Moldoff — one of Bob Kane’s primary “ghost artists,” and co-creator of Hawkgirl and Poison Ivy
• Marty Nodell — the late artist and co-creator of the Golden Age Green Lantern
• Bob Oksner — the late artist known for his work on humor, adventure and superhero comics
• Bob Powell — the late artist known for his work on Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and Blackhawk
• Yoshihiro Tatsumi — the creator of Abandon the Old in Tokyo, A Drifting Life and The Push Man and other stories
•Mort Weisinger — the late and longtime DC Comics editor and co-creator of Aquaman, Green Arrow and Johnny Quick
Online voting is open now through March 31. The inductees will be announced during the Eisner Awards ceremony held July 23 during Comic-Con.
Read the full press release after the break:
- February 9, 2010 @ 01:40 PM by Kevin Melrose
Unbound: Getting in on the ground floor
There are some things about comics that work better online than print, and there are some things that just don’t work as well.
For instance, you can pick up a 200-page graphic novel and read it in pretty much one sitting, and usually that’s a pleasurable thing to do. Reading 200 pages worth of webcomic archives? Not so much. No matter how interesting a comic may be, a screenful of links to past episodes is a daunting sight to the new reader, and clicking, waiting for each page to load, and scrolling can become tedious pretty quickly.
So, for those who don’t have time to wade through pages of old comics, here are five promising startups, all new comics that have launched since the beginning of 2010. There’s a variety of styles and genres here, but all are so new that you can be up to speed in a few minutes. And all look like they will be worthy additions to any RSS feed.
- February 9, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Your other video of the day: Nino Falanga, world’s fastest cartoonist
I dunno about world’s fastest, but that is pretty fast. Courtesy of Mike Lynch:
[Falanga] did work behind the camera, for the animation departments at MGM and UPA, and did live action film and TV work (both behind and in front of the camera) in the US, Italy and Spain.
Here he is on the American game show To Tell the Truth. The celebrity panel is composed of Kitty Carlisle, Durwood Kirby, Gene Rayburn and Peggy _____ (I forget her last name- she was on a zillion game shows in the 60s and 70s). While the celebrities are guessing who is the real cartoonist, the contestants are drawing caricatures of them.
- February 9, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Mautner