2010 May
Are Tim and Stephanie the New Dick and Barbara?
By Joshua S Hill
My name is Josh, I’m 25 years old, and I like comics.
No, this isn’t some introduction to a “comics-anonymous” editorial, but rather an acceptance of something I’ve long ignored: Dick Grayson is not my Robin.
That’s a hard pill to swallow, considering how long I’ve been of the belief that Grayson was my Robin. But the reality is that Dick Grayson gave up the job of Robin the year I was born (how is that right?). The Robin I should have known is either Jason Todd or Tim Drake. But I didn’t start reading comics until the early 2000’s, and I used to watch Batman: The Animated Series a lot, so all I knew was Dick Grayson as Robin (we shall not speak of Chris O’Donnell, okay?).
I’m not going to talk much about the time between 1984 and 2009, as it’s not really important to what I’m trying to say. I’ve read a fair bit of the stuff from those years and garnered these thoughts: Jason Todd never got a fair shot; Dick Grayson as Nightwing is a brilliant character; Tim Drake was a really great Robin; and Barbara Gordon is a brilliant character.
It’s amazing, actually, how much time has passed, almost without our realizing it: some 26 years since Nightwing made his appearance, and 21 years since Tim Drake appeared as Robin and Barbara Gordon debuted as Oracle. A lot of people still consider Dick and Barbara the “feature couple” of the Bat-universe. They are Robin and Batgirl, the No. 2 and 3 of that close-knit Bat-family after Batman/Bruce Wayne. But so much time has passed, and I’m forced to ask the question, are they still that feature couple?
- May 12, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Chris Watkins on Odori Park
Odori Park
Odori Park is a charming gag strip about a multicultural family: Arisa, from Hokkaido, Japan, Colin, from “Suburbia, U.S.A.,” and their toddler, Sprout. Creator Chris Watkins draws his material not only from the everyday hassles of parenthood and running a small business (a bookstore) but also from the cultural differences between Arisa and Colin. The strip has been online for just over a year, so we thought this would be a good time to talk to Chris about his creative influences and the routine of making a webcomic that updates three times a week.
Brigid: I can’t help asking about a comic like this—how much do you draw on your own life for Odori Park?
Chris: I’d be lying if I claimed there isn’t a close correlation between my life and my characters’. Obviously, my own intercultural marriage experiences are a huge inspiration for the whole comic. Still, I try to remind folks that there’s a line (otherwise, I’d get in trouble); at most, OP is only semi-auto-biographical. Most of the characters and situations are amalgams of reality. My wife, for example, has a lot in common with Arisa Easton—they’re both from Hokkaido, Japan, and they’re both skilled at accounting—but my wife isn’t of Ainu descent, and she’s far less likely—to pick a trait—to show her anger as directly as Arisa has on occasion. The bookstore the Eastons own is another good example. I’ve freelanced before, so I’ve pulled some of that experience into the strip, but it’s mixed into a heavy dose of recollections of a friend who owned a game and gift store. That’s the real inspiration there. The most notable exception is when our four year old says something funny. Those tend to go straight into the strip.
Continue Reading »
- May 12, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
‘Most likely to hook up with your mom’
Image Comics sent over another teaser today for Morning Glories, the new series by Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma and Rodin Esquejo. Check out the previous teasers here, here, here and here.
- May 12, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Dark Horse to end Star Wars: Legacy
Star Wars Legacy #50
The Dark Horse folks used their Facebook yesterday to explain why they are bringing Star Wars: Legacy to a close. Actually, “explain” is kind of a strong term, as they never say exactly why the series is ending, other than that for some reason they didn’t think they could keep producing it at their usual high standards, but it sounds like they just might have run out of stories to tell:
Unlike other publishers, Dark Horse has never been one for prolonging a series simply to do so. Our comics come from a place of creativity and artistic expression, and this applies to all of our titles, whether creator owned or licensed property.
One of our promises to ourselves, our fans, and George Lucas himself was that we would treat our line of Star Wars books with the highest level of respect. We hope that you’ll agree that we’ve achieved this goal, and trust you’ll take our word when we say that we’ll continue to strive for such high standards.
Their other Star Wars comics will continue, and they are launching a new series, Star Wars: Knight Errant, due out in the fall.
(Via the Sci-Fi Block, where Robert Ring adds some commentary.)
- May 12, 2010 @ 09:15 AM by Brigid Alverson
Ben Templesmith, thespian: ‘… and pretty soon the crying stopped’
Ben Templesmith and Barry in "The Variants"
He’s already widely known as an illustrator, a writer and a sharp dresser, but now Ben Templesmith adds “actor” to the list with a guest-starring role in a two-part episode of The Variants, the online comedy series set at Zeus Comics in Dallas. Duck has he wields a katana! Nod as he recounts the world’s worst break-up! Marvel as he makes with the Mary Poppins impersonation!
- May 12, 2010 @ 08:41 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Naruto, Vol. 46
Publishing | Brigid Alverson, Simon Jones, Gia Manry and Daniella Orihuela-Gruber provide commentary on Tuesday’s announcement that Viz Media is restructuring, laying off up to 60 employees and closing its New York City branch. Manry cautions that there’s little need for panic, while Jones points out that it’s unclear whether the company’s cuts are in its manga or anime divisions.
Alverson notes that the news came as such a surprise because Viz publishes the most popular manga properties (Naruto, One Piece, Fullmetal Alchemist) as well as some of the most acclaimed (Children of the Sea, Pluto, 20th Century Boys): “However, as publishing veterans know, acclaim does not necessarily equal sales.” [Viz Media]
- May 12, 2010 @ 07:56 AM by Kevin Melrose
Breaking: Viz Media lays off 60 employees [Updated]
Viz Media
Top-selling manga publisher Viz Media today announced the layoffs of as many as 60 employees and the closing of its New York City branch, Publishers Weekly reports.
The staff cuts — 55 from its San Francisco headquarters and five from the New York office — represent about 40 percent of the company’s workforce.
In a statement today to PW, the publisher acknowledged it is “restructuring to adjust to changing industry and financial market realities.”
Viz, which publishes such hits as Naruto, One Piece and Fullmetal Alchemist, had appeared to weather the worst of the economic and market declines that led to a major restructuring of rival Tokyopop in 2008 and the closing of several smaller manga publishers.Viz previously laid off a reported 12 to 15 people in February 2009.
Update (May 12): Evelyn Dubocq, Viz’s senior director of public relations, revealed this morning on Twitter that she has been laid off after seven years with the company. “It’s so odd waking up on a work day having no place to go,” she wrote.
Update 2 (May 12): Viz Media has released a statement about the restructuring:
- May 11, 2010 @ 05:47 PM by Kevin Melrose
The Middle Ground #4: Size Matters, Or So I’m Told
My latest random comics obsession: Comics that don’t look like comics.
Okay, that needs some unpacking. While I grew up, like most people of my nationality and age, with things like The Beano and Whizzer and Chips and 2000AD – comics printed cheaply and, for the most part (at least when I was a kid) in black and white – somewhere along the way, my definition of what a comic looked like became, well, the American monthly comic. The dimensions of your average Uncanny X-Men, and in full color. I can remember, back when I first started collecting American comics, feeling like they were too small, but even then thinking that there was something great about that, something that made them more purely comic-y. And, as I got older, that idea has stuck with me for some reason: That comics are 32 page stapled magazines measuring 6 ⅝” × 10 ¼”, and they’re in full color. Continue Reading »
- May 11, 2010 @ 02:51 PM by Graeme McMillan
Lady Gaga gets the altcomix treatment in Prison for Bitches
Prison for Bitches art by Evan Hayden and Leslie Predy
“Bad Romance” yes! Bad comics no! Making its debut at last weekend’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Prison for Bitches is a no-holds-barred fanzine tribute to Lady Gaga. Taking its name from a segment in Gaga and Beyoncé’s instant-classic “Telephone” video and edited by Same Hat!’s Ryan Sands and newly minted Doug Wright Award winner Michael DeForge, the ‘zine contains artistic tributes to Lady Gaga from a host of underground art and comics stalwarts and up-and-comers, including Johnny Ryan, Michael Kupperman, Hellen Jo, Lisa Hanawalt, and Nick Gazin.
The book’s slated to go on sale online today; in the meantime, click the link for sample spreads, and click here for DeForge’s strip, which foresees another 86 years of world domination by the Haus of Gaga. (And click here for previous Robot 6/Gaga goodness.) Don’t be the last little monster on your block to get a copy!
- May 11, 2010 @ 01:39 PM by Sean T. Collins
At least there’s one superhero movie that doesn’t suck…
Is the superhero genre a cinematic dead-end? Since Salon’s Matt Zoller Seitz made the case last week, the topic has been much on the minds of the comics commentariat. Recently, Tom Spurgeon, Tim O’Neil, Charles Hatfield and yours truly have all weighed in on the matter, focusing on aspects like the power of individual moments or performances vs. that of the story as a whole, the storytelling techniques mandated by Hollywood’s need to get a return on the massive investments required for the genre, the question of why fans get so worked up for the movies when they have any number of (usually superior) comics about the same characters to read, and personal film-by-film rundowns of the genre’s high and low points.
Of course, this was all before I saw Black20′s magnificent made-up mash-up trailer for Iron Man IV. Now, it’s possible that this is a parody of super-sequels’ tendency to over-stuff themselves with new characters, extra villains and half a dozen subplots. On the other hand, when you’re presented with an Iron Man movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Fred Gwynne, Jim Carrey, James Brown, Vanilla Ice, Carl Weathers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Barack Obama, M. Bison, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, David Arquette, Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Johnny 5, who’s gonna complain? If you can make it through the 2:19 mark without laughing out loud, maybe you’re a superhero.
(Via Topless Robot)
- May 11, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Comics Cavalcade | Sasquatch, Shakespeare and Bolshevik Breasts
Every day people post comics on the Internet. Here are a few that caught our eyes.
The Adventures of Bronzegold, Barbarian Rogue by Benjamin Marra
- May 11, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Remembering Frank Frazetta
A self-portrait by Frank Frazetta
A roundup of remembrances, tributes and obituaries for legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, who passed away Monday at age 82:
Timothy Bradstreet: “It’s very difficult to articulate how much Frazetta influenced me. That influence does not seem readily apparent in my work after all. Sure, I tried my hand at drawing just like Frazetta just like everyone else did. A lot of great artists have tried and have fallen short. Frazetta’s influence with me goes deeper — our hearts are connected, style and process are simply a means to an end. I read Frazetta’s own words speaking to what goes through his mind when he creates, and that confirms for me that we share a common connection. He may have painted with fire, but the coals are stoked somewhere much more deep down in the soul.”
Guillermo del Toro: “He gave the world a new pantheon of heroes. He took the mantle from J. Allen St. John and Joseph Clement Coll and added blood, sweat and sexual power to their legacy. … He somehow created a second narrative layer for every book he ever illustrated.”
Tom Richmond: “Frazetta’s fantasy illustrations were so charged with mood, savagery and movement they literally seethed and smoldered from the cover of these books. As beautifully rendered as the other cover illustrations of Boris Vallejo were, there was always something elemental and primal that put Frazetta’s work on a level all its own.”
- May 11, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Everyone’s a Critic: A roundup of comic book reviews and thinkpieces
Hiroyuki Takei's Butsu Zone
Manga: It’s a Jason Thompson hat trick: The prolific editor and writer, and the author of Manga: The Complete Guide, has three recently published articles, and all are worth a look: At comiXology he sings the praises of Shaman King creator Hiroyuki Takei; at Anime News Network, he writes about the classic manga The Rose of Versailles, which tells the story of Marie Antoinette and her cross-dressing bodyguard; and at io9, he looks at five sexually twisted manga.
Roundtable: The Savage Critics get together to discuss Dan Clowes’s Wilson, and how much they resemble (or don’t resemble) the title character.
Art comix: Paul Gravett talks to John Broadley about his hand-crafted graphic mini-comics woven around bits and pieces that he finds at his day job at a clipping service.
Advice: Lauren Davis looks at a couple of diary comics and notes the importance of having some sort of overarching theme.
Criticism: Kate Dacey, chronicles the seven deadly scenes of reviewing—and admits she has committed a few herself.
Timing: David Welsh discusses the sometimes unexpected pacing in One Piece, noting that lead character Luffy achieves one milestone on the way to becoming King of the Pirates in just a chapter, rather than a volume.
Snark: Chris Eckert retells Identity Crisis from the culprit’s point of view. Warning: Spoiler!
Conversation: Translator Jocelyn Allen, blogger Deb Aoki, retailer Christopher Butcher, and editors Erik Ko, Dan Nadel, and Ryan Sands got together at TCAF for a panel on indie manga, and Deb has the transcript for your reading pleasure.
- May 11, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Found object: Bootleg Batman cards
Not your father's Batman cards
Translator and Tokyo-dweller Matt Alt ran across some cool unlicensed Batman trading cards recently in a toy shop, and when he turned them over, the images on the back were even cooler.
- May 11, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
Straight for the art | John Romita Jr.’s Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide cover
Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
I remember as a kid going all the way to Washington, D.C. to visit the Smithsonian Museum on a two-week family road trip (shudder), and the only thing I walked out of the gift shop/bookstore with was a copy of the newest Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. Not that I really cared about how much any of my comics were supposedly worth — I never planned on selling them anyway — but the draw for me was the tons of advertisements for various comic shops around the country. I spent part of the trip back to Dallas circling all the ones I needed to order comics or catalogs from.
Nowadays I’m really out of touch with the segment of fandom that does care about how much their comics are worth, and I haven’t seen one of the guides in ages. But I do like the 1970′s Conan #1 cover recreation that John Romita Jr. provided for the Hero Initiative’s limited edition version of the guide. They’ll have 500 copies of them in San Diego this year for $35, with the full cover price going to the Hero Initiative.
- May 11, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin