2010 February
Quote of the day | Rick Ungar on the politics of Marvel
Captain America #602
“To say that the senior management at Marvel has always been ‘conservative’ would truly be a dramatic understatement [...] Indeed, I daresay that those at the top of the company would find far more in common with the Tea Party beliefs than the liberal perspective. This is so much the case that when I want to get the ultra-conservative perspective on an issue, I often turn to my friend who comes from the highest ranks of Marvel management as he is politically somewhere to the right of Attila The Hun.
Yet, to Marvel’s credit, the company has a far stronger commitment to the First Amendment than the Tea Party leaders who are condemning the Captain America episode in question. Marvel has allowed Captain America to evolve over the past few years to keep it current with the issues facing the nation. Occasionally, the book tells stories that would likely grate on senior management – but that is what free speech is all about.”
– Rick Ungar, former president of Marvel Characters Group, on the Captain America-Tea Party controversy
- February 13, 2010 @ 12:53 PM by Kevin Melrose
Keith Olbermann spotlights dispute over Captain America #602
Last night on MSNBC’s Countdown, Keith Olbermann returned to the Captain America-Tea Party controversy, airing the full six-minute-plus segment cut short Thursday by breaking news. For the piece, Olbermann chatted with Washington Independent reporter and comics fan David Weigel, who took the photo on which the “tea bag” sign from Captain America #602 was based.
Plus, this time around Olbermann properly credited Comic Book Resources as the origin of the quote from Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada.
- February 13, 2010 @ 06:22 AM by Kevin Melrose
The Fifth Color | An Open Letter to Warner Todd Huston
Hi!
I’m Carla and I’d like to welcome you to the world of comics! I hear you’ve just started reading comics and blogged about what you thought of an issue fresh off the stands. You’ve had a very strong opinion of a character you have personally interpreted to mean something to you and your beliefs. On the Internet, this isn’t that uncommon, but — and this is the best part — you have actually had the editor-in-chief himself comment and apologize for offending you.
I know it’s been a few decades since you’ve read comics, but trust me: this is a high honor. A lot of fans of comics and the various characters depicted in them have done just as you have: looked into the issues of today, found things that weren’t like what they remembered or took an offense to what was depicted inside, and told someone how they felt about it. But rarely do we get the personal attention you have, from both those inside and outside the medium. Message boards are full of personal viewpoints, opinions, general ideas both positive and negative, and while Marvel has done their best to answer questions, we fans mostly get a general sympathy. Without even intending to, according to your blog amendment, Joe Quesada has apologized thanks in part to your critique of the Captain America #602.
- February 12, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Flight anthology to end with Volume 8, but Explorer will continue
Flight, Vol. 6
The critically acclaimed Flight anthology will end in “the next couple of years” with Volume 8, Editor Kazu Kibuishi announced. He will, however, continue to produce Flight Explorer — now called simply Explorer — the children’s spin-off that launched in 2008.
“We had a pretty good run [with Flight],” Kibuishi writes on his blog, “but it is now time for us to focus on producing full graphic novels. When I started the project, many of us on the book were kids coming out of college with little experience as professional working artists. Years later, the majority of the artists on the project have gone on to create graphic novels of their own, or are now working at major animation, film, and game studios. The original book was created to serve a need. That need was to get our core group published, to have our work be seen, and to get enough practice under our belts to be able to do books of our own. After 7 years, I feel the original needs were met, and the artists are more than ready to go the distance on their own.”
Flight debuted in 2004 at Image Comics before moving with its third volume in 2006 to Villard, an imprint of Random House. The sixth volume was published in July 2009; a seventh is in production. Contributors have included Kibuishi, Graham Annable, Becky Cloonan, Michel Gagné, Hope Larson, Sonny Liew, Dylan Meconis, Erika Moen, Fábio Moon, Ryan North, Dave Roman, Jeff Smith, Kean Soo, Doug TenNapel and dozens of others.
Although the first volume of Explorer sold through its 20,000-copy first printing, Kibuishi revealed in November the series had been “orphaned” by Villard. However, as he told Comic Book Resources earlier this week, he’s now working out a deal with Abrams to publish the anthology.
“Its purpose, to introduce kids to comics and reading through bite-sized stories, remains unfulfilled,” Kibuishi writes on his blog, “and a book like this is truly essential, especially now that there are so few places kids can find new comics. With the demise of Disney Adventures and now Nickelodeon Magazine, parents and kids are going to have a difficult time finding premium comics content that is entirely age-appropriate. We hope we can fill that need.”
- February 12, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Rescue me: Pepper Potts’ armored alter ego gets a one-shot in May
Rescue
I guess I missed the fact that Tony Stark’s former assistant Pepper Potts, who put on her own set of armor recently in the pages of Invincible Iron Man, actually has a codename now. She’s aptly called Rescue, and she’s getting a one-shot in May courtesy of writer Kelly Sue DeConnick.
The comic will tie into Marvel’s Siege event, as the character moves from being a superhero’s assistant to being a full-fledged superhero herself.
“But now she’s given the opportunity to don the mantle herself,” DeConnick told Marvel.com. “She doesn’t have to be support staff anymore, not a plot device, not tied to the train tracks, not doing her part to make exposition less obvious. She’s stepping into position not only as a heroine, but as a protagonist. That’s really interesting to me because it’s completely foreign territory for Pepper; it’s way out of her comfort zone. Doubt and fear are not emotions with which Pepper’s accustomed. Having the opportunity to be with her and sort of metaphorically hold her hand as she makes her way through this particular minefield, creatively, it’s a great place to be.”
- February 12, 2010 @ 01:30 PM by JK Parkin
Political pundits on Civil War: Iron Man Was Right
from Civil War
Captain America’s embroiled in a whole different controversy these days, but some real-world analysts remember the last time he got mixed up in a political back-and-forth: Marvel’s Civil War. Back then, Cap took up arms against Iron Man’s Superhero Registration Act, which required super-people to be registered, regulated and trained by the government. And this time, it’s liberals who are calling Cap out about it.
In a post that kicks off with a take on this week’s tea-party tantrum, national security blogger Spencer Ackerman of the progressive site Firedoglake argues that Iron Man and the pro-Registration side of the superhero Civil War were in the right:
- February 12, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Your video of the day: Canadian Batman TV commercials
Apparently back in the mid-80s Batman and Robin had to support their crimefighting habits by shilling for a retail store chain. Hey, batmobiles don’t come cheap. No doubt they had an added incentive in the fact that the Joker ran the competing chain. Man, he sure does enjoy gouging customers! (via)
- February 12, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by Chris Mautner
Comics Cavalcade: Torchwood, Space Angel and atomic rabbits
Feeling Better Now by Jeffrey Brown
- February 12, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Mautner
The Thanos Imperative to ‘ignite’ in Marvel’s cosmic books
The Thanos Imperative
Marvel announced today that not only is Thanos coming back in the pages of Guardians of the Galaxy, but he’s bringing another cosmic event with him.
In an interview with Marvel.com, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning talked about The Thanos Imperative: Ignition, a one-shot due in May that will kick off their next cosmic epic.
“The Thanos Imperative: Ignition is a great place to jump aboard and you won’t need any prior knowledge,” Lanning said. “But if you’re a devoted reader, there are rich seams of pay-off to enjoy. The threat of the Fault, a huge rip in time and space left by the War of Kings, is something we’ve been exploring in the Realm of Kings stories that run into The Thanos Imperative. This is the moment where Magus, a very serious bad guy in his own right, takes control of it and galactic disaster follows! This epic story forms a climax to many of the tales we’ve been spinning in the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe for the last three years.”
He said that the event will include Nova, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Silver Surfer and Quasar, as well as villains like Magus.
- February 12, 2010 @ 11:20 AM by JK Parkin
Tempest in a teapot: Politics, apologies and Captain America #602
Captain America #602
So we’ve seen this mixture before, even if all the ingredients aren’t always exactly the same. Take one dose of outrage, throw in some major media coverage, add an apology to the offended and presto — you’ve got the makings of a controversy. This week’s bruhaha, of course, is centered on a panel from Captain America #602, where an anti-tax protester had a sign that said “Tea Bag The Libs Before They Tea Bag YOU!”
It’s been picked up by everyone from the New York Times and Washington Times to political and comics bloggers. Even MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann got in on the act on his show last night, quoting CBR’s interview with Joe Quesada even though he didn’t mention the source.
So let’s see what folks around the comics blogosphere are saying about it. A lot of the discussion seems to be centered on Marvel’s apology, so let’s start with Brendan McGuirk’s post on ComicsAlliance, titled “Why Marvel Owes No Apologies for Captain America’s ‘Tea Party’“:
It shouldn’t be entirely surprising that Marvel, now a multi-billion dollar subsidiary of Disney, would kowtow to the media behemoth that is Fox News. Marvel Comics are for people of all stripes and creeds, of course, and no one should be made to feel unwelcome for leaning one way or another politically. Brubaker, however, has established himself as the preeminent Captain America writer by deftly weaving modern real-world allegory with bombastic superheroics to powerful effect, and so there was something rather disingenuous about Marvel’s recant, as it seems to be missing the point; sure, you can remove the “Tea Bag the Libs Before They Tea Bag You,” sign, but are you really saying this story isn’t about the Tea Party movement? Isn’t that what makes the story so interesting?
The intermingling of real-world concerns with colorful theatrics has been huge factor in the success of Ed Brubaker’s Captain America run. From its earliest installments, there have been seeds of the real world planted throughout this celebrated tenure, and that has been the lens through which we understand who Captain America is, and how he functions as a national hero.
- February 12, 2010 @ 10:53 AM by JK Parkin
Objet d’Afro: AdHouse announces an Afrodisiac art contest
Objet d'Afro
Jim Rugg and AdHouse Books are hosting an art contest — Objet d’Afro — to help promote the recently released (and very awesome) graphic novel Afrodisiac. Here are the details, from AdHouse’s blog:
Objet d’Afro highlights the obvious awesomeness of everyone’s favorite superhero, the Afrodisiac.
Here’s what we want – post a picture on our Flickr group of an Afrodisiac art thing…you pick the medium…you pick the everything. All mediums of art; whether it be painting, graphic art, sculpting, drawing, sketching, fake ads, short strips, or gluing an afro on a Ken doll. All categories are welcome, as are entrants from all countries….whatever…go nuts. If you don’t have a Flickr account, send us the picture…or the art thing…and we’ll post it for you.
We’ll have some awesome prizes for the king of the long shoe (art) game.
King Daddy: a piece of original art featuring Afrodisiac vs Dragonfly
Poppa-stoppa: a deluxe edition of the Afrodisiac and a signed copy of the Street Angel trade paperback
Cigarette Pimp: a signed copy of AfrodisiacHonorable mention(s) will receive a signed Afrodisiac print.
The contest will run from now (get going) through the end of March. Winners will be named by April 15, 2010.
You can find the Flickr group right here; even if you don’t plan on contributing, it should be fun to check back later and see what everyone else comes up with.
- February 12, 2010 @ 09:45 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | Julius Santiago’s ’365 Days of Bears’
Awwwww. Who’s a cuddlwy widdle pwanet eater? (via)
- February 12, 2010 @ 09:15 AM by Chris Mautner
And the tattoo pics keep on coming
At this point this may turn out to be a regular feature. If you think that sounds like a good idea (or a horrible one as the case may be) let me know in the comment section.
Ty Tyner shares his Scott Pilgrim tat (done by Joe Kennett):
This tattoo is on my left leg in between my knee and sock line. Its from the fight between Scott Pilgrim & crew vs Matthew Patel (the final fight in book 1 of the Scott Pilgrim series). It wraps around 60% of my leg so it was hard to get just 1 shot of it looking right. Here is a panoramic styled mock up taken just soon after it was done (hence the redness).
- February 12, 2010 @ 08:45 AM by Chris Mautner
The real question is who would win in a fight between Hulk and Sperminator?
Marvel Super Hero Squad and Middlesex-London Sex Squad: Adventures in ... Sex City
No, you’re not seeing double. The image on the left is the cover of an all-ages action-adventure video game featuring super-deformed versions of Marvel superheroes. The image on the right is the illustration for an online game developed by a London, Ontario, public-health unit to teach teens about safe sex.
If you get confused, just remember: Marvel Super Hero Squad features a cuddly version of the Incredible Hulk, a green-skinned Mr. Hyde to Bruce Banner’s Dr. Jekyll, while Middlesex-London Sex Squad: Adventures in … Sex City features Sperminator, an enormous luchador. An enormous luchador … with penises for arms. (That’s right. Now you know why I put a black bar over part of the image.)
One has Spider-Man, Iron Man, Storm and Captain America, the other has Willy the Kid, Power Pap, Wonder Vag and Captain Condom. It seems pretty evenly matched to me.
In the interactive game — we’re talking Adventures in … Sex City — teens are asked 25 questions related to sex: “Answering the questions correctly allows the superhero to conquer the evil Sperminator. However, if they answer a question incorrectly, they get shot with sperm by the Sperminator.”
Thankfully, players are protected by “a condom shield” if they answer correctly, allowing “the superhero to discharge the sperm back to the Sperminator.”
I swear, I’m not making this up! You can play the game for yourself here.
There’s no word yet as to whether Paul Tobin will be writing the comic-book adaptation. Stay tuned.
- February 12, 2010 @ 07:58 AM by Kevin Melrose
John Porcellino: The Movie
Porcellino in action
Now here’s a comics-to-film project I didn’t see coming. Minicomics master John Porcellino of King-Cat fame has revealed he’s the subject of an upcoming documentary by filmmaker Daniel Stafford, owner of Denver’s Kilgore Used Books and Comics. The doc is tentatively titled Root Hog or Root Hog or Die: Ballad of the King Cat.
Stafford’s started a blog to chronicle the process and post clips. So far he’s interviewed such comics luminaries as Joe Chiappetra, Jeffrey Brown, Ivan Brunetti and Zak Sally for the project, and he’s looking for fan-shot footage and photos. King-Cat fans, that’s your chance to be a part of film history!
- February 12, 2010 @ 07:24 AM by Sean T. Collins