2010 June
Comics at the ALA
Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly meet the peeps
The American Library Association’s annual midsummer meeting just wound up in steamy but hospitable Washington, DC, and it was a great weekend for graphic novels.
The vibe at a library meeting is completely different from a comic con. It’s quieter, friendlier, more a meeting among equals than a fan/superstar kind of thing. And it’s strictly about graphic novels, not periodical comics (which most libraries don’t collect), and not movies or video games. Marvel and DC weren’t there, but a lot of the smaller indy publishers were (Top Shelf, BOOM!), and Diamond Book Distributors also hosted a number of publishers at their booth. The big guys (Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster) all have booths filled with every type of book, including graphic novels, although funnybooks often get short shrift from the reps there (a source of continual irritation to my librarian friends).
So, what did I see?
- June 29, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
Have to believe we are Magik: Art Adams’ variant cover to New Mutants #15
It’s just not a big X-event without Art Adams, who provides the variant cover to New Mutants #15. That issue kicks off the “Fall of the New Mutants” storyline by Zeb Wells and Leonard Kirk. Here’s how Marvel describes the issue:
The game-changing Fall of the New Mutants begins as Zeb Wells and Leonard Kirk set the fractured New Mutants on a crash course with destiny! A secret military group with a deadly connection to one of the X-Men’s past has Illyana Rasputin in their sights and has no qualms about killing whoever gets in their way. They’re no strangers to severe misfortune, but could this be the end of the New Mutants?
Check out the complete cover after the jump.
- June 29, 2010 @ 10:45 AM by JK Parkin
Dan Hipp unveils new cover for long-awaited third volume of Gyakushu!
"Gyakushu!" Vol. 3, by Dan Hipp
Following the announcement on Friday that Tokyopop has teamed with digital-distribution website Zinio to offer some of the publisher’s titles online, cartoonist Dan Hipp has revealed the new cover for the third volume of Gyakushu!
Debuting in February 2007, the violent revenge tale was canceled after just two volumes, a victim of Tokyopop’s 2008 OEL manga implosion. Now the first two previously published volumes are available for download from Zinio, with the third volume set to debut on the website later this week.
See the full cover after the break.
- June 29, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Summer Glau to voice Supergirl in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
Superman/Batman #8
If you needed more proof that the DC Comics animated DVDs are, in fact, continuing, TV Guide reports that a sequel to last year’s Superman/Batman: Public Enemies will come out on Sept. 28.
And just as that first film was based on the first arc of the Superman/Batman comic, this one adapts the second arc of the Jeph Loeb-written comic, which reintroduced Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl, to the DC Universe. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse will again star Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy as Superman and Batman, and Firefly/Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles actress Summer Glau as Supergirl.
The movie follows Batman: Under the Red Hood, which comes out at the end of July.
Update: And not even 30 minutes after posting this, Warner Home Video sends out a press release on the animated film, which adds Ed Asner and Andre Braugher to the voice cast. You can read it after the jump.
- June 29, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Vol. 12
Publishing | The manga series Battle Angel Alita: Last Order has gone on indefinite hiatus after creator Yukito Kishiro was asked to make three dialogue changes for a reprint of the original series. Kishiro, who was working on the 100th installment of Last Order and the accompanying cover for Ultra Jump magazine, reportedly asked the editor if he realized the changes, which specifically targeted words associated with schizophrenia, would lead to a missed deadline and his refusal to permit further reprints. The editor said yes. Kishiro made the revisions and met the deadline, but has placed Last Order on hiatus. He wrote on his blog that he doesn’t know whether there will be a 101st installment. Battle Angel Alita and Last Order are published in North America by Viz Media. [Eastern Standard, via Anime News Network]
Crime | A Monday morning fire at Heroes and Dreams comics store in Kenosha, Wisconsin, is being investigated as arson. No one was injured, but comics and other merchandise were damaged from heavy soot. [Kenosha News]
- June 29, 2010 @ 07:38 AM by Kevin Melrose
‘Emotional scenes, that’s the most fun for me,’ Kirkman says
Robert Kirkman and friends
With AMC’s adaptation of The Walking Dead in production in Atlanta, USA Today checks in with creator Robert Kirkman, who’s so far resisting the siren call of Hollywood.
“I like to say that in Kentucky, I’m thin!” he tells the newspaper. “I’m never moving out to Hollywood.”
Kirkman reiterates his desire to remain focused on the long-running comic — “We’re hoping to have 12 issues out this year, and I want to reward the fans who got us here by continuing to put our book out” — and touches upon the characters’ current situation, as they stay in a seemingly idyllic, walled community in Northern Virginia.
He also talks about his hopes for the TV series, which debuts in October. “Hopefully, things like The Walking Dead getting made will show people that comic books are an entertainment medium, ” he says. “They’re not just superheroes. Anything you could get out of a novel or a television series or a movie, you can get that in some form or another in a comic book. It’s just another way to experience great drama and cool stories.”
That’s a point actor Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes, echoes in a separate interview (he and Kirkman have formed a bit of a mutual admiration society): “You realize it’s a horror novel, but it’s extraordinarily like Lord of the Flies. Forget about the zombie thing. It’s like a plague has occurred, and what is left of humanity? It’s about society and humanity and family, a love story really, and within that, everything has run riot and the rules no longer apply, people have gone extremely feral.”
- June 28, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Kate Beaton brings Charlie Chaplin to life in film series poster
Charlie Chaplin movie poster
Hark! A Vagrant creator Kate Beaton provides the poster for the new Janus Films Charlie Chaplin series, which is on a tour that kicked off in Los Angeles earlier his month.
“She did an amazing job capturing the classic icon of the Little Tramp but treating it in a new way,” writes graphic designer Eric Skillman with Janus Films. “We wanted to remind people that these aren’t just stuffy classics to be studied, they’re honest-to-god funny films to be ENJOYED. (Something that even some of us at the office had forgotten until we started watching them again recently.) And I think Kate captured that spirit perfectly.”
- June 28, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Suit up as Iron Man in LittleBigPlanet
Iron Man suit for Little Big Planet
As promised, Marvel.com is unveiling the costumes you’ll be able to download for LittleBigPlanet, starting with this summer’s big movie star, Iron Man. They also confirmed that the costumes will work in the upcoming sequel to the hit PlayStation 3 game.
Check out a couple more pieces of art after the jump.
- June 28, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Take at look at Phil Jimenez’s art from Wonder Woman #600
From "Wonder Woman" #600, by Phil Jimenez
Following up on its promise of a week-long celebration of the Amazon Princess, the DC Universe blog has unveiled this character-filled illustration by Phil Jimenez from Wonder Woman #600, which hits stores this week. Jimenez is, of course, well-acquainted with the character, as he wrote and drew her title from 2000 to 2003.
See the full image after the break.
- June 28, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Quote of the day | Tom Brevoort exits Wizard World
Wizard
“We’re not done with Philly per se, but we do seem to be done, at least for the moment, with the Wizard conventions.”
–Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort, answering a Formspring question about Marvel’s third Wizard World Philadelphia no-show in a row by making Marvel’s severance from Wizard’s convention wing more-or-less official. (On its blog, Wizard reports that this year’s Philadelphia show “broke ever [sic] attendance record EVER!! The show was a HUGE success!”)
- June 28, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Joe Quesada explains Marvel’s digital-royalties plan
DC announced their digital publishing plan last Wednesday, but since then the conversation has focused nearly as much on what Marvel is or isn’t doing with regards to compensating creators for digital downloads of their work. DC announced incentive payments right there in the PR for their iPad app — did Marvel’s failure to do so mean they weren’t doing this, or (as stated or implied by various Marvel personnel) had they already done it on the down low?
In his latest Cup o’ Joe interview column, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada spoke to CBR’s Kiel Phegley all about this. According to Quesada, Marvel does have an “incentive program” in place, the first checks will go out after the San Diego Comic-Con, the plan applies to all creators (not just exclusive ones, as was rumored), and the reason Marvel didn’t announce it is because they figured they didn’t need to…
- June 28, 2010 @ 09:01 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Comic-Con International
Conventions | A limited number of four-day memberships for Comic-Con International will go on sale at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST today as part of hotel-stay packages. [Comic-Con]
Conventions | Michael Cieply looks at Comic-Con as a destination for filmmakers to promote their next big projects, and convention attendees as “consummate insiders” who don’t always pick the box-office winners. [The New York Times]
Legal | As a Brussels court decides whether Tintin in the Congo should be banned in Belgium, Pallavi Aiyar provides some background on the book’s history and on the civil case. [Business Standard]
- June 28, 2010 @ 08:27 AM by Kevin Melrose
With great cuteness comes great responsibility: Marvel costumes coming to Little Big Planet
Marvel invades Little Big Planet
The Marvel Universe is about to get a whole lot cuter, as Marvel announced on Friday that fans of the PlayStation 3 game Little Big Planet will soon be able to download new Marvel-themed costumes for their in-game characters. The “Sackboys and Sackgirls” can dress up as Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Venom, Punisher, Rogue, Ghost Rider, Green Goblin, Mystique and many more thanks to four costume packs that will roll out every week beginning July 7. In addition, Marvel is also unleashing a Marvel Level Kit, “which includes four levels of adventure pitting your Sackpeople against the evil plans of Magneto,” according to Marvel.com. The site promises more information and costume art starting tomorrow.
- June 27, 2010 @ 09:59 PM by JK Parkin
What Are You Reading?
New Avengers #1
Welcome once again to What Are You Reading?, where you’ll hopefully find something to add to your summer reading list. Our guest this week is Chris Arrant, who you may know from his comic book journalism work for Newsarama, Comic Book Resources and various print magazines for Marvel Comics, or from his comic book writing, which includes Female Force: Princess Diana, Tori Amos’ Comic Book Tattoo and 24Seven Vol. 2.
To see what Chris and the rest of the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click the link below …
- June 27, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Chain Reactions | Superman #700
Superman #700
This week saw the release of Superman #700, a milestone issue that closes out James Robinson’s nearly two-year run on the title and ushers in J. Michael Straczynski’s much-publicized “Grounded” storyline. That’s the one in which the Man of Steel, newly returned to Earth, walks across America to reconnect with the people he’s sworn to protect.
As you might expect, there’s been a good deal of discussion about the issue, as well as the 13-part story that it sets up. Here’s just a sampling of the comments from across the comics blogosphere — and beyond:
Martin Gray, Too Dangerous for a Girl!: “JMS sets up the coming ‘Grounded’ storyline, in which our hero will walk across America to connect with the people, via a scenario familiar to longtime comic fans. It’s the classic — yet senseless — scene from 1970′s Green Lantern #76 that prompted Hal Jordan to drive across the US with Ollie Queen rather than protect an entire space sector. [...] JMS has written some great books since he came to DC, so I’ll give this storyline a chance, but gee whiz, I like the idea of a cross-continent walk little enough without the pretext being a 40-year old plot idea that was stupid the first time out.”
Phillip, A Comic Book Blog: “The scene with the irate woman was a little too similar to the opening of Marvel’s Civil War, where Tony Stark is spit on by a mother who blames Iron Man and the Avengers for the death of her son. In fact, it’s almost exactly like that scene.”
- June 26, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Kevin Melrose