2010 April
Hawthorne working on St. Michael’s Promise for Vertigo
pages by Mike Hawthorne
Artist Mike Hawthorne has been teasing a “game changer” book he’s doing for Vertigo on his blog for some time now, and in an interview with the local paper in Lancaster, Penn. about this Saturday’s Free Comic Book Day, he let a few details slip.
The project he’s been teasing is a 130-page graphic novel called St. Michael’s Promise. “It’s essentially a memoir of his mother’s journey from her native Puerto Rico to New York City, Lancaster and eventually York, where Hawthorne lives,” the paper reports.
Hawthorne, who is also working with Roy Thomas on Conan the Cimmerian, will be at The Comic Store in Lancaster on Saturday.
- April 29, 2010 @ 10:20 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | Dan Hipp’s Streetlight Manifesto poster
Streelight Manifesto
I could probably do a “Straight for the art” post every day for Dan Hipp — esp. lately, as he’s been posting a lot of cool stuff on his blog — but I try not to go too overboard with any one artist and just post when they have something really special. Like this piece, a poster for the band Streetlight Manifesto, for their upcoming tour.
And if you click on over to his blog, you can see a bonus image of Rogue, one of several X-Men he’s been posting lately. But like I said, all things in moderation …
- April 29, 2010 @ 09:53 AM by JK Parkin
Ross Campbell is too sexy for his comics
Wait a minute — scratch that, reverse it. In an interview with Kelly Thompson of our CBR sister blog Comics Should Be Good, Ross Campbell, writer/artist of Water Baby, Wet Moon, and SLG’s upcoming superhero book Shadoweyes, says that when people complain that his work over-sexualizes his mostly female protagonists…they’re absolutely right:
from Wet Moon by Ross Campbell
Kelly: At the same time that you’ve been praised by many (both critics and fans) for your portrayals of women, you’ve also drawn some criticism from people that think you are fetishizing or over-sexualizing some of your female characters…what do you think about that?
Ross: I agree. Haha.
Kelly: You agree with the criticism?
Ross: Yeah. I think they’re right, and I look back on my older stuff and I cringe. Which is normal, I cringe regardless when I look at my work, but I think I definitely got out of control with the sexualization, particularly with Water Baby. And what made it worse was that it wasn’t even intentional, I wasn’t sitting down to try to make a specifically “sexy” or titillating book like you’d see Milo Manara do or whatever, and that I didn’t intend it makes it seem to worse to me.
Kelly: Yeah, that was my next question – intention vs. just natural evolution of art.
Ross: It just came out that way, like I didn’t even realize it until I started becoming more aware of it and what I was doing. I just regret that it took me so many years to “get” it.
Kelly: So you have deliberately changed your drawing process…I actually think that’s interesting and laudable. That you’re more interested in the message you’re perhaps sending then just, “this is fun to draw, and this is how my style looks right now”.
Ross:At first it was kind of like that, yeah. Like I reached a point actually while I was greytoning Water Baby, I think, that I started freaking out and almost tried to keep the book from being released and not wanting to finish it, and I was like “what am I doing, look at these characters’ boobs and everything, what is wrong with me?!” So after that I really had to train myself to draw how I wanted to draw, but I think it’s become more natural now that I’ve been moving in that direction for a few years, but it’s still a process.
Kelly: I find this fascinating…and admirable, I have to say. Few artists seem to have a vested interest in not contributing to exploitation. Especially to the degree that they’ll train themselves not to do it.
Ross: Yeah, I just don’t want to be part of that. And I think there’s a big difference between having characters just be attractive or sexy in a “natural” way (natural in quotes because they’re still drawn characters) than them being like…crazy sexpot male gaze characters for no reason. And I think there’s a place for those types of characters, it’s fine if an artist wants to do that, I still enjoy looking at some stuff like that, but not really in the types of stories I want to do.
For what it’s worth, I actually disagree with Campbell about whether his stuff is exploitative. Obviously, his style isn’t “natural” per se — on some level he’s choosing to draw attractive characters. But the range of the characters he’s rendered attractively — in terms of body type, weight, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, personal style, intelligence, personality, pretty much every variable — is so broad and impressive that, to me at least, it’s a million miles away from a Supergirl upskirt shot or your average brokeback-pose sexy amazon-woman superheroine. Never does he single out an unrealistic ideal and present that as the one and only acceptable form of sexiness. It may not be “natural,” but it feels like it comes naturally through Campbell’s view of the world, and the characters with which he’s chosen to populate it. Still, I’m happy to see a cartoonist considering this issue at all, you know?
- April 29, 2010 @ 09:14 AM by Sean T. Collins
Penny Arcade duo among ‘the world’s most influential people’
Holkins and Krahulik, in Time magazine
Writer Neil Gaiman and DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson may not have made the final cut, but Penny Arcade creators Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins earned a spot on “The 2010 Time 100,” the news magazine’s list of the world’s most influential people.
Just how influential is the duo? The 12-year-old webcomic draws some 3.5 million readers, and has led to the establishment of Child’s Play, a charity that provides video games to sick kids in hospitals, and the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), a gaming convention that last year drew 60,000 attendees to Seattle. An East Coast convention, PAX East, debuted last month in Boston.
“Krahulik and Holkins have become the tastemakers, and conscience, of an industry the size of Hollywood,” Lev Grossman writes in his brief profile. “But for all their success, they are almost compulsively self-deprecating, and they give all the credit to their fans. You can’t put a label on them. Labels smack of hype, and Penny Arcade doesn’t do hype.”
- April 29, 2010 @ 07:37 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics shop nominated for Shuster Award, announces closing
Jellaby 2, nominated for best kids' comic
Most of the Joe Shuster Award nominations were announced in March, but the award committee made several additional nominations this week.
The nominations are below, but already there is an ironic footnote: Elfsar Comics & Toys of Vancouver was nominated for the Harry Kremer Award for Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer, and the same day announced it will close its doors for good on May 23.
It’s not a naked bid for the sympathy vote: Elfsar’s landlord has raised its rent, and store owner Ethan Peacock hints darkly that a neighboring supermarket covets the space. However, later on in Elfsar’s farewell letter Peacock also brings in digital comics as a possible factor:
The fact is the “modern age” of comics is changing at a rapid pace. With one million in sales through mobile formats such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, Kindle, and PSP formats in 2009, I believe that in the next 5 to 10 years we will see the most significant changes to the comic industry as a whole. Heck the biggest threat, known as the iPad has not even hit Canada yet and we have already seen the ripple effect in our business.
However, Elfsar plans to continue as an e-tail site.
Here are all the new nominees:
Continue Reading »
- April 29, 2010 @ 07:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Joshua Middleton bids farewell to mainstream comics (at least for now)
Supergirl #51
Artist Joshua Middleton, who most recently provided covers for DC’s Supergirl, has announced he’s finished with mainstream comics work, at least “for the foreseeable future.”
“I have plenty of other stuff to keep me busy, and I want to dedicate every minute of my free time to personal work only,” Middleton writes on his bog, “so the comic book covers had to go, bringing to an end, with a whimper, ten years of mainstream comic book work-for-hire.”
The news leaves open the possibility that Middleton could return to Sky Between Branches, his creator-owned “illustrated fairy tale” that saw just one issue from Com.x in 2002.
Middleton, who’s known in recent years primarily for his cover illustrations, began his comics career in 2000 on CrossGen’s Meridian. At Marvel, he drew the first four issues of NYX, as well as covers for New Mutants, before signing with DC Comics in 2004. There, he provided covers for American Virgin, Vixen: Return of the Lion and Supergirl, and drew the 2005-2006 miniseries Superman/Shazam: First Thunder and the 2007 one-shot Outsiders: Five of a Kind #4.
- April 29, 2010 @ 06:28 AM by Kevin Melrose
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | The Return of Pulp
Wayne Reinagel, Mike Bullock, and Joe Gentile at C2E2's Pulp Fiction panel
Since it’s exactly what we talk about here at Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs (now back on Wednesdays), I figured it would be appropriate to hold off talking about C2E2′s Pulp Fiction panel until now. I thought I’d also be able to squeeze Moonstone’s panel into this post as well, but that would make it way too long, so I’ll save it for next week. The Pulp panel was moderated by Ed Catto, Licensing Agent for Captain Action Enterprises. The members of the panel were Jim Beard (Marvel.com), BC Bell (Dan Fowler: G-Man), illustrator Tom Gianni, Joe Gentile (Moonstone Books), Mike Bullock (The Phantom), and Wayne Reinagel (Pulp Heroes), with Brian Azzarello (DC’s First Wave) joining later.
Catto opened the discussion by asking why Pulp is still popular and – more specifically – why it’s currently making a strong comeback. Gianni’s response was simply that Pulp stories are fun, but Bullock added that many readers today are yearning for a simpler time when problems were more easily solved. That’s a fascinating response to me as someone who believes that healthy fantasies can be a strong deterrent to inappropriate behavior, rather than provoking it. I love the implication in Bullock’s answer that society – while working hard at becoming more peaceful – still fantasizes about solving problems with violence, possibly as a way of channeling aggression into appropriate outlets. That makes a lot of sense to me.
Catto next asked about genres, particularly which the panelists thought were the truest embodiment of Pulp. Bell noted that Gangster stories were the biggest in Pulp’s heyday, with Westerns also being very popular. Gentile offered Heroic fiction as the definitive Pulp genre and Beard added that – Doc Savage notwithstanding – street level Pulp is best. The conversation then turned to personal favorites with Air and Jungle Pulp getting mentions.
Old vs New, creating Modern Pulp, and the endurance of the genre after the break.
- April 28, 2010 @ 07:15 PM by Michael May
Send us your Shelf Porn!
Today’s edition of Shelf Porn is an update on some shelves that Chris showed you back in November. Dave Tobin in Limerick, Ireland already had a really cool set-up, but he’s done some renovations to make it even cooler. Take a look after the jump.
Remember, if you’d like to see your shelves featured here, just send your write-up and pictures to jkparkin@yahoo.com. And now here’s David …
- April 28, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
‘There’s no room for cowards when your uniform is green’
I hesitate to poke fun at musician Gary Mitchell because, gosh, he seems really, really sincere. A Green Lantern fan, he wrote and recorded a song called “In Brightest Day” that he hopes to have included in the soundtrack for Warner Bros.’ upcoming movie adaptation. To that end, Mitchell has launched an online campaign, with a video, so that the song might come to the attention of studio executives.
“With hard-hitting guitar riffs, rock solid groove and exhilarating energy,” Mitchell writes on his MySpace page, ” ‘In Brightest Day’ is the perfect GL anthem, exalting themes of courage, perseverance and will power in the midst of impossible challenges, perfect to appeal to fans and non comic fans alike.”
It’s definitely a feel-good song, although one with rather purple lyrics — sorry, I couldn’t resist! — like “Soaring through the sky on the wings of my mind” and “Raise your anthem, fly your colors until all the world has seen/There’s no room for cowards when your uniform is green.” And the tune is catchy, reminiscent of something from an ’80s teen-movie montage showing the protagonist training for an arm-wrestling tournament/downhill-skiing race/big exam.
Mitchell asks that if you like “In Brightest Day,” do what you can to get the song in front of Warner Bros. executives.
- April 28, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
The force is strong in Morning Glories‘ next teaser
Image Comics sent over another teaser for Morning Glories, the new series by Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma and Rodin Esquejo. This yearbook-style “most likely” image might be one we can all identify with.
Check out the previous two teasers here and here.
- April 28, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Wide Awake Press brings Free Comic Book Day to your computer
Free Comic Book Day is just a few days away, and inevitably there are some fans out there who won’t make it to their local comic shop this weekend. Does that mean they are out of luck when it comes to scoring free comics? Of course not!
Wide Awake Press will offer a downloadable anthology this Saturday called Jabberwacky. It will feature medieval-themed comics by creators like Dustin Harbin, Van Jensen, Ben Towle, Pat Lewis and many more. Check out the trailer above.
- April 28, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
Everyone’s a Critic | A roundup of comic book reviews and thinkpieces
Kobato: Cute or subversive?
Review: The latest CLAMP manga to make it to the U.S., Kobato, struck me as unbearably sweet, but Kate Dacey theorizes that it’s really a clever parody of the entire moe genre.
Nomenclature: Helen McCarthy recounts the attempt of manga creator Shotaro Ishinomori to change the way the word “manga” is written in Japanese by changing the first character from one that means “random” or “involuntary” to one that means “a large number,” suggesting the infinite possibilities of manga. The change never took.
Ass-kickin’: Chuck Norris, eat your heart out. Ty Templeton lists seven comics creators with serious testosterone cred, through strength, courage, or just plain size (oh yes, and talent). (Via Blog@Newsarama.)
Fanzines: Ken Meyer, Jr., has another lengthy and fascinating post about an obscure fanzine up at Comic Attack; this time he looks at Graphic Illusions, which had exactly one issue—but what an issue!
Review: R.C. Harvey takes a look at IDW’s reprint of the classic Life With Father newspaper strip.
Review: Guest reviewer month continues at Trouble with Comics with Tom Spurgeon‘s look at The Early Morning Milk Train.
- April 28, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Are you an Alex Ross fan? Now there’s an app for that
Alex Ross iPhone app
Alex Ross has released a free iPhone app that allows fans to browse the artist’s galleries, view video interviews, receive updates on his personal appearances and more. In short, it’s Ross’ website for iPhone owners on the go.
- April 28, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Patton, Broadrick confirmed for Alan Moore’s Unearthing project
Alan Moore
Last year a collaboration between comics writer Alan Moore and Faith No More frontman Mike Patton was reported and subsequently unreported the next day when Lex Records founder Tom Brown said that Patton, as well as Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick, were not yet confirmed for the project.
It’s been almost a year, but some more information has finally rolled out. The Guardian now confirms that Broadrick and Patton are both working on the multimedia project called Unearthing:
However, the project has finally been confirmed. Patton and Broadrick are both attached to Unearthing, “a bewitching story written and narrated by Moore set against an epic score”. Although the soundtrack is led by Crook&Flail, a partnership between Fog’s Andrew Broder and rapper Doseone, there are a slew of cameos, including Hella’s Zach Hill and Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite. “It is about, uh, a co-worker of Alan’s and somehow seemingly about Alan himself,” Doseone told Pitchfork last year. “And it’s about the comic industry, the world of magic, the world we live in, the world we don’t live in.”
Lex Records will release the box set in July, including a deluxe release with CD and vinyl, an EP of instrumental highlights, a poster, a photo of Moore by Mitch Jenkins and a “dot-matrix printed transcript” of the script. No word on when the photographic novel will appear.
This isn’t the only musical project Moore is involved in; the Watchmen writer is also working with Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett of Gorillaz fame on an opera about John Dee.
- April 28, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Bone to stay in Minnesota school district’s libraries [Updated]
The offending volume
A Minnesota mother’s challenge to Jeff Smith’s Bone series has failed, with a panel from the Rosemount-Eagan-Apple Valley school district voting 10-1 Tuesday to keep the books in its elementary school libraries.
A committee consisting of parents, teachers and media specialists heard arguments from Ramona DeLay, who wanted the series banned because the fourth volume depicts smoking, drinking and gambling, and from other parents who wanted the book to stay in school libraries. Smith sent a written defense as well.
Bone has won numerous awards and garnered many positive reviews, but here’s the best part: The kids like it.
Rosemount students Spencer Strop, 13, and his fourth-grade brother, Preston, say they agree.
“I didn’t take it in a bad way,” said Preston, who began reading the books when his brother brought them home. “It’s not like anybody got drunk or was doing anything bad with drinking.”
The brothers said the setting of the novel is in a tavern, and some of the characters occasionally smoke a pipe and cigars. Spencer first picked up the novel from the library at Rosemount Middle School.
“We were actually hoping it would stay,” he said.
Said media specialist Melinda Martin, “I respect her right to object to the series, but not for her to censor it for the rest. I feel you would be doing a disservice to our district if you remove this book from our elementary schools.”
Update: Jeff Smith has posted about the decision on his blog and included the entire letter he sent to the review committee.
- April 28, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by Brigid Alverson