2010 March
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | Booth
Booth
Booth
Written by CC Colbert; Illustrated by Tanitoc
First Second; $19.99
Growing up in the South, my friends and I were rather conflicted about the Civil War. On the one hand, there was a lot of geographic and cultural pride. We joked about the War of Northern Aggression (at least, most of us were joking), made proclamations that “the South will rise again,” cursed Yankees, patriotically ballyhooed the Confederate flag, and loved The Dukes of Hazzard. On the other hand, we knew that the right side won that war, that slavery was evil, and that racism was unacceptable. We absolutely revered Abraham Lincoln, and we thought that John Wilkes Booth – what little we knew about him – was the Devil himself.
Since then, I’ve always wondered about Booth. Why he did what he did. Who he was working with. If even Southern boys like us hated the man, who could be evil enough to support him? What kind of hood-wearing, baby-murdering secret society did this guy have to be in to want to assassinate the most beloved president this country’s ever had? What can I say? I was young.
I didn’t wonder any of this enough to do my own research, mind you, or even to crack open a book on the subject. Deep down, I probably suspected that the answer wasn’t nearly as exciting as I’d made it out to be in my imagination. But when I saw that First Second was publishing a comic about Booth – written by historian Catherine Clinton (Mrs. Lincoln), no less – I was eager to see what it revealed. Sure, it’s publicized as a fictionalized account, but this was the perfect opportunity to satisfy my curiosity about the notorious Booth, and in my preferred medium.
How it did, after the break.
- March 21, 2010 @ 07:00 AM by Michael May
Eddy Barrows joins JMS on Superman this summer
Superman by Eddy Barrows
Following up on their announcement a couple of weeks ago that J. Michael Straczynski will write both the monthly Superman and Wonder Woman titles beginning in July, DC Comics announced yesterday that artist Eddy Barrows will join JMS on Superman.
Barrows will draw a story for Superman #700, and then will take over the monthly title with #701. He’s also heavily involved with DC’s big May event, War of the Supermen, as he’s the artist on War of the Supermen #0, one of DC’s Free Comic Book Day offerings this year, as well as the last issue of the weekly limited series.
- March 20, 2010 @ 11:32 AM by JK Parkin
Not pony tails, or cotton tails, but DuckTales
Uncle Scrooge #392
Hot on the heels of their Darkwing Duck announcement, BOOM! announced this week that another Disney Afternoon cartoon is making its return. Uncle Scrooge #392 will kick off a four-issue arc featuring the DuckTales cast — Uncle Scrooge, of course, as well as Lauchpad McQuack, Gizmoduck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
“DuckTales is one of the most beloved television shows of the ‘90s,” said BOOM Kids! editor Aaron Sparrow in a press release. “It’s just spectacular to be bringing it back for a whole new generation to discover and enjoy!”
The premiere of DuckTales in Uncle Scrooge #392 will appear on store shelves the same month as BOOM!’s new Darkwing Duck mini-series. The first DuckTales arc includes scripts by veteran Disney writers Paul Halas, Tom Anderson, Didier le Bornec, Chris Weber, Karen Willson, Doug Murray and Régis Maine with art by Xavier Vives Mateu, José Maria Carreras, Roberto Santillo, Cosme Quartieri, Wanda Gattino, and José Cardona Blasi. The stories aren’t actually new, but will include material produced for Europe that was never published in the United States, as well as some stories published overe here back when the show was on the air.
The popular DuckTales show ran from 1987-1990. There was also a spin-off movie,DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, and two spin-off TV shows, Quack Pack and the previously mentioned Darkwing Duck.
- March 20, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | The Beach Boys and a sea monster, by John Allison
"Sea monster approaches Beach Boys c.1969 to get Pet Sounds signed," by John Allison
It turns out the best way to make sea monsters even more awesome apparently isn’t to inject them into a Jane Austen novel, but rather to pair them with Sunflower-era Beach Boys. John Allison of Bad Machinery fame discovered this, awing us all with a print he describes as, “Sea monster approaches Beach Boys c.1969 to get Pet Sounds signed.” (You can see a large version here.) I must own it.
- March 20, 2010 @ 06:57 AM by Kevin Melrose
The Fifth Color | Marvel by way of Carnegie Hall
Once again I find myself coming to sit down at the keys, trapped between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, Siege #3 was a mess: the off-camera narratives are called into action an issue earlier than usual, those little boxes that chat to each other to explain the splash pages were looking at. We’ve seen them as far back as Avengers: Disassembled and by now, it’s a little like someone explaining the plot to you while you’re trying to watch TV. Buckets of characters are being dumped in with little care for purpose and purely for shock and awe. The Hood and his criminal pals aren’t going to really make that much of a difference when the camera is so clearly focused on what Captain America is doing. Stature, despite being so tall, is going to be little more than a head in the crowd and really, when we all look back at this, it’s not going to make a difference that the Taskmaster was there or not (well, it will be relevant, just in another book where these things matter). And while we came in under the impression that this was going to be a Siege of Asgard, a very greedy man fighting against godly powers, where heroes are going to stand shoulder to shoulder with Thor and his pantheon…. well, no spoilers but Siege #3 really changed its mind on that. Just like Secret Invasion changed its mind at the last issue about heroes fighting aliens and gave the credit to a dude some readers were confused was even in the fight. A disappointing ending is starting to sound more and more likely the longer one thinks about it.
And I think about it a lot! Too much, probably. Being a fan on the internet, it’s in my very nature to complain, rattle my bars and rail against the wind for being too cold and getting hair in my face. Is this going to change the weather? No, but in some way it makes me feel a little bit better and here’s where that other hand and the hard place come in: my complaints do nothing. Aside from one sad exception, you can’t rage against the machine and then have the machine turn around and apologize for doing its job. No one likes a whiner, but being a doer is a job commendable of a name tag on a con panel. It’s good to give constructive criticism from time to time but it’ll bog you down eventually until you find something that lifts you up, gets inspirational and gets you moving. Sometimes the squeaky wheel should apply it’s own grease if it wasn’t results.
So I picked up a copy of Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way. Let’s be a doer.
Continue Reading »
- March 19, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Comics Cavalcade: Movies simplified, giant robots and alternate Africa
Kicking ass in six frames by various
- March 19, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | Jon McNally’s Martian Manhunter
I mentioned last week that I really dug the idea behind Project:Rooftop’s All-Ages All-Stars feature, and the latest entry just hammers that home. Artist Jon McNally shares an all-ages version of Martian Manhunter, complete with his own dog.
“Wonder Woman has her sisterhood on Themiscyra. The Flash has his fellow speedsters. Superman and Batman have their respective families. By contrast, poor J’onn J’onzz hasn’t much in the way of connections, aside from bands of bloodthirsty White Martians that appear every now and then. By gum, if Superman and Batman can have pets, then Martian Manhunter can have a dog!” McNally said.
Martian’s Best Friend? I like it.
- March 19, 2010 @ 11:13 AM by JK Parkin
Marvel to release Iron Man Extreme motion comic
Iron Man: Extremis
Marvel’s next motion comic will be Iron Man Extreme, presumably an adaptation of the “Extremis” story arc by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov that influenced the 2008 film.
The news leaked out this morning in a Chicago Sun-Times interview with Marvel executives Ira Rubenstein and Tom Brevoort about the publisher’s digital-publishing initiatives.
During an exchange about motion comics, Rubenstein (executive vice president of the company’s Global Digital Media Group) notes, “The new one for Iron Man Extreme is coming out.” Brevoort, vice president-executive editor, adds: “I worked on the original comic that’s based on, so I’m really interested in seeing that.” No release date was mentioned.
A Marvel spokesman had no comment.
Beginning in January 2005′s Invincible Iron Man #1, “Extremis” was a six-issue arc that updated Tony Stark’s origin, casting him as a weapons designer whose creations were being used against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan before the first Gulf War. The origin and armor designs in the Iron Man movie closely resembled those in “Extremis.”
Iron Man Extreme will be Marvel’s third motion comic, following Astonishing X-Men and Spider-Woman.
- March 19, 2010 @ 10:06 AM by Kevin Melrose
CBGB confirms comic coming from BOOM! this July
CBGB #1
CBGB has confirmed something I posted about back in January — that they are indeed working with BOOM! Studios on a CBGB comic book. In fact, this week at South by Southwest, they’re handing out copies of a single page CBGB comic by Jesse Blaze Snider and Chuck BB.
The four issue mini-series will kick off this July with a cover by Jaime Hernandez. The anthology will include contributions from Ana Matronic of the band Scissor Sisters, Kieron Gillen, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Kim Krizan, Chuck BB, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Rob G, Sam Humphries (go Sam!), Marc Ellerby and more.
“BOOM! is all about delivering fantastic work that’s not found anywhere else,” says editor Ian Brill. “The comic industry needs an outlet for the type stories found in CBGB, and we’re happy to be the ones working hard to bring these stories to smart, discriminating readers.”
“BOOM! got what we were about” says Louise Staley of CBGB. “Our attitude jumps off every page.”
“The club was as much about those in the mosh pit as it was the bands that played there,” adds Robert Williams of CBGB. “The narrative in this series celebrates both.”
The comic will come out under BOOM!’s new BOOM! Town label and will be collected into a hardcover in November. Check out a PDF of the one-pager from SXSW after the jump.
- March 19, 2010 @ 09:27 AM by JK Parkin
Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour coming July 20
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
Kapow! Oni Press announces the release date and title of the finale to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series:
Six years, five volumes, and 1,000 pages. Now the long anticipated finale to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s hit Oni Press graphic novel series has finally arrived. On Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 comic shops and bookstores across North America will celebrate the release of SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 6: SCOTT PILGRIM’S FINEST HOUR.
“It’s been quite a ride, and I couldn’t have gotten here without the support of the fans and the retailers,” said O’Malley. “It feels great to be in the home stretch, and I think this is going to be the best Scott Pilgrim book ever!”
Note the Tuesday release date, which is just in time for the San Diego Comic Con … and also a few weeks before the Scott Pilgrim film hits theaters on Aug. 13.
Update: O’Malley has provided a downloadable desktop wallpaper of the cover on his website.
- March 19, 2010 @ 09:09 AM by JK Parkin
Nominees announced for 2009 Reuben Awards
"Strange Adventures," by Paul Pope
The National Cartoonists Society has announced the nominees for the 64th annual Reuben Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in cartooning.
It’s been known since late February that Stephen Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Dan Piraro (Bizarro) and Richard Thompson (Cul de Sac) would vie for the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year.
However, now we get the full list, which includes nominations in the comic book division for Terry Moore (Echo), Paul Pope (“Strange Adventures,” from Wednesday Comics) and J.H. Williams III (Detective Comics), and in the graphic novel division for David Mazzuchelli (Asterios Polyp), Seth (George Sprott) and David Small (Stitches).
The full list of nominees can be found after the break. Winners will be announced on May 29.
- March 19, 2010 @ 08:46 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Amazon
Retailing | Amazon.com reportedly has threatened to stop directly selling titles from four major publishers if they don’t strike a digital-sales agreement with the online retailer before the launch of Apple’s iPad in just two weeks.
The publishers — Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin and Simon & Schuster — already have agreements with Apple to sell their books through its iBookstore. Under those deals the publishers will be able to set prices for their e-books, with Apple receiving a 30-percent commission. Amazon grudgingly agreed that major publishers could decide prices on titles in its Kindle store after a weeklong standoff with Macmillan last month. During the dispute, Amazon removed the “buy” buttons from thousands of the publisher’s books listed on the website. [The New York Times, GalleyCat]
- March 19, 2010 @ 07:25 AM by Kevin Melrose
Kirby heirs met with Disney in December for settlement talks
Jack Kirby
The heirs of Jack Kirby were engaged in settlement talks with the Walt Disney Co. in December, just weeks before Marvel filed a lawsuit to invalidate the family’s copyright claims.
That’s according to a motion filed last week in U.S. District Court in New York by Kirby attorney Marc Toberoff seeking to dismiss Marvel’s case for lack of jurisdiction.
The motion is dated March 9, the same day the four Kirby children sued Marvel and Disney to reclaim the copyrights to characters and stories their father created or co-created for the comics publisher between 1958 and 1963. The lawsuit followed copyright-termination notices the Kirbys sent in September to Marvel, new owner Disney, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox and others who have made films and other forms of entertainment based on the characters.
When Congress extended the duration of copyright from 56 years to 95 years in 1976, it included a provision that permits authors, their heirs and estates to recapture copyright at the end of that original term. If a property is determined to be “work made for hire,” the company that commissioned it is considered the author.
The Kirby children claim their father was a free-lancer (and not an employee) who created or co-created stories, which Marvel or its predecessor then purchased and published. They assert it wasn’t until May 1972 that Kirby assigned his copyrights to the properties to Magazine Management Co., then the parent company of Marvel Comics, for “additional compensation.” In its Jan. 8 lawsuit, Marvel argued that all of Kirby’s work for the company was “for hire,” invalidating the heirs’ copyright claims.
According to Toberoff’s motion, that lawsuit came as a surprise to the Kirby children, as there had been settlement talks with Disney on Dec. 9 and again on Dec. 16.
“At the conclusion of the second settlement conference, it was expected that Disney and Plaintiffs would get back to Defendants after the Christmas holidays,” Toberoff wrote. “Instead, Plaintiffs filed the present action on January 8, 2010 without warning and without any indication that such settlement discussions had concluded.”
In his motion, Toberoff argues that Marvel’s lawsuit should have been filed in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California, rather than in New York, because Marvel Characters, MVL Rights and parent company Disney are headquartered in Los Angeles and Marvel Worldwide regularly conducts business in California. In addition, two of the Kirby chidren, Lisa and Neal, live in California, while the other two have consented to the court’s jurisdiction.
(via Law.com)
- March 18, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Winick, Basri to take over Power Girl with issue #13
Power Girl #13
Following up on the announcement that Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Amanda Conner are leaving Power Girl after issue #12, DC’s the Source blog reveals who will be replacing them. Starting with issue #13, writer Judd Winick and artist Sami Basri will chronicle the adventures of Kara Zor-L.
“It is with GREAT fear and excitement that Sami and I leap into this gig,” Winick said. “Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Amanda Conner have bought an amazing, fresh, and inventive rebirth to this character. Our greatest challenge will be to remain faithful to what they’ve created and also take Power Girl to a new place. As far as the course that the story will take, I’ll be uncharacteristically forthcoming : The story is tied to JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST. Not CHAINED to it, but tied. Power Girl has a history with the JLI that will be explored. A lot.”
As previously reported, Winick is teaming with writer Keith Giffen on the 26-issue biweekly Justice League: Generation Lost mini-series.
- March 18, 2010 @ 02:30 PM by JK Parkin
Grumpy Old Fan: Separate but equal?
Batman Beyond
The more I thought about it, the more pleased I was that DC will be publishing an ongoing Batman Beyond book. Sure, the series ended over eight years ago; and sure, the episode of “Justice League Unlimited” which served as an epilogue (helpfully called “Epilogue”) is also fading into the mists of history.
To me, though, a new commitment to Terry McGinniss’ alternate future signals — whether DC realizes it or not — a renewed commitment to the Multiverse. Remember, the “Beyond” future (or something remarkably similar) was officially made part of the post-52 Multiverse as Earth-12, and barring a radical departure from DC, Earth-12 is where I expect Terry’s adventures to remain. Put simply, the BB mythology is based on the continuity of DC’s various animated series, from “Batman” through “Justice League Unlimited”; and while that continuity isn’t radically different from the comics’, it’s different enough. Bruce Wayne’s caped career ends rather ignominiously, for one thing. (Also, no Jason Todd; maybe no Golden Age superheroes; and the histories of the Flash, Earth’s Green Lanterns, Hawkgirl and Hawkman, and Wonder Woman each diverge in significant ways.) Besides, if DC really wants to drop hints about how its modern-day characters ended up, it can always use the farther future of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
- March 18, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by Tom Bondurant