2010 July
Quote of the day | Matt Fraction, on the economics of Casanova
Casanova #1
“For all the bravado and, what you call it, callow youthfulness behind the idea of ‘Do it yourself!,’ at the end of the day, there’s a time in your life when you absolutely can, and there’s a time in your life when you’re married and you have a mortgage and a baby or two babies and you need diapers and food and it’s just like, ‘I can’t do that, I can’t work for free anymore.’ It’s not like anybody’s getting rich. It’s not like ‘Well, I need a BMW.’ No — I need to pay my light bill. That’s the reality of it. … So the idea was, let’s go off, and just build up the bank and get to a point where we can do seven issues for free again. Luckily, we haven’t had to. Luckily all three of our stars were in the ascendant and people at Marvel were really big fans of the work, and were excited to make Casanova an Icon book, so we’re very lucky — nobody has to work for free, and we still own Casanova and still control it.”
– writer Matt Fraction, in a highly recommended interview with GQ,
on the financial realities behind Casanova’s more than two-year hiatus
- July 2, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Books are powerful!
Read at your own risk: Psychic Academy
Margaret Barbaree of Crestview, Florida, has asked that city’s City Council to remove all manga from the library, claiming that it is “graphic” and “shocking.” And she gave some rather startling testimony.
“My son lost his mind when he found this,” Barbaree said of the manga book from which her examples were taken. She said her son had removed the book unsupervised from the library’s general stacks last summer and put it in his backpack. “Now he’s in a home for extensive therapy.”
Let me tread carefully here: I do not mean to minimize anyone’s illness or the pain it can cause. I’m a parent myself, and I would fight anything that I felt threatened my children. That said, it’s hard to believe that a book alone could cause someone to become mentally ill.
While the newspaper did not mention the title of the book in question, the meeting is a public record and a call to the Crestview City Clerk’s office revealed that Barbaree mentioned two comics, “The Naked Suicide Girl,” which seems to be a chapter of Gantz, and Psychic Academy. While Gantz is rated 18+ and should never be shown to a child, Psychic Academy is rated 13+, the same as Fruits Basket. The article does not give Barbaree’s son’s age but describes him as a teenager.
- July 2, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Isabella’s ready to stake vampires with Pinocchio and friends
Comic-Con International special guests Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins will have more details and artwork on Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater at the big con later this month. Until then, here’s another character reveal, Isabella … could she be based on the She-Wolf of France? Well, maybe not …
Here’s some additional info on the book:
Pinocchio’s back… but who are his friends!?! In the sequel to the 2009 graphic novel Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer by Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen, the titular puppet has to share the undead-killing stage. The stakes are raised in Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater (SLG Publishing) as Pinocchio unravels the mystery of the vampire menace and his own shadowy background. The sequel will hit shelves in October.
Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer was named one of the Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens in 2010 by YALSA. Follow Pinocchio on Twitter: @p_vampireslayer
- July 2, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Bunn brings bumps in the night to kid lit with Crooked Hills
Crooked Hills
A few days ago I posted a teaser for a new Cullen Bunn project coming from Evileye … and now Cullen has revealed more details about it on his blog. Crooked Hills is a new series of prose books for kids that “blends mystery and adventure to weave a fun an unforgettable story of will, friendship and family bonds,” according to the press release.
“Crooked Hills, Missouri, is a combination of many of the small towns in which I grew up,” Bunn said, “from Newton Grove, North Carolina, to Thayer, Missouri. (Thayer in particular helped to form a template for Crooked Hills.) Those towns were rich with interesting people and even more interesting urban legends and ghost stories. With CROOKED HILLS, I imagined sitting in the heart of a dark forest around a campfire, telling kids those kinds of spine-tingling ghost stories. So it seemed to me that having a witch come back to life to kidnap kids and be eaten by a hell hound would scare the living daylights out of almost anybody. But in that nightmare, I also saw a chance to explore what happens when kids face their fears; to overcome them can be incredibly liberating and empowering.”
And as someone pointed out in the comments section of the teaser image, the promo artwork is indeed by Bunn’s The Sixth Gun co-conspirator Brain Hurtt.
- July 2, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Free sample: The Broadcast
A panel from The Broadcast
As I was looking through the items on display at the NBM booth at ALA, the cover of The Broadcast really caught my eye. Written by Eric Hobbs and Noel Tuazon, it’s a story about how one isolated community faced the panic started by Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast—not realizing it is a hoax, four famlies come together for safety but the enemy, as is so often the case in these stories, comes from within.
Hobbs has just posted a scene from the story at the NBM blog, and it makes for powerful reading. There’s a bit more here. I enjoyed Tuazon’s art in Red Plains, so I’m really looking forward to this one.
- July 2, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Alternative casting
Donald Glover as Spider-Man
Columbia Pictures announced yesterday that Andrew Garfield is going to play the title role in Columbia Pictures’ 3D Spider-Man movie, which means that the internet campaign to get Donald Glover the role has failed. Amazingly, Hollywood executives do not take their marching orders from Twitter. I’m sure Mr. Garfield will do a fine job, although the first thing that jumps into my head when I see his picture is “Edward Cullen,” not “Peter Parker.”
But to hell with reality. I’m posting this to show off Chris Schweizer’s drawing of Glover as Spider-Man, to give the world a taste of what they missed.
- July 2, 2010 @ 10:15 AM by Brigid Alverson
Zenescope to add kids’ line
Don't go in the water! (Art not final.)
Yes, you heard that right. Up till now, Zenescope has been turning out cheesecake/horror combos like Grimm Fairy Tales and Return to Wonderland, which, although they sound like children’s books, most definitely aren’t. Now they are freshening up their line with something completely different: An actual kids’ line, Silver Dragon Books.
Zenescope president Joe Brusha included the new line in his presentation at the American Library Association meeting this past weekend, and the librarians I spoke to thought the books looked like they would be popular with young readers. The first two titles are co-branded with the Discovery Channel and are titled Top Ten Deadliest Sharks and Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Predators, which shows that they still have a taste for the sensational. A third graphic novel will be co-branded with Animal Planet.
Zenescope also gave us a look-see at their Charmed comic, based on the long-running TV series and pitched at teen readers. (In a departure from Zenescope tradition, it features fully clothed women.)
- July 2, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
"Bayou," from Zuda
Publishing | David Harper gathers reactions from a handful of Zuda creators to the closing of the website and the continuation of select titles through comiXology and the PlayStation Network. Chris Bolton, Sean Kleefeld, Crash Landen and Rich Lovatt have commentary. “From my vantage point,” Kleefeld writes, “the split between DC and Zuda (emotionally and philosophically) was about the same as can be seen between newspaper cartoonists and webcomic creators. There were these old school print guys who, for the life of them, could not wrap their head around free digital comic distribution.” [Zuda Comics]
Publishing | At Anime Expo in Los Angeles, Digital Manga Publishing announced it has acquired 10 new licenses. In addition, Wedding Peach artist Nao Yazawa will create a new series specifically for DMP’s eManga website. [Anime News Network]
- July 2, 2010 @ 08:55 AM by Kevin Melrose
You, too, can be Tyrese Gibson’s Mayhem!
"Tyrese Gibson's Mayhem!" costumes
Tyrese Gibson, the model/actor/singer who set Twitter afire last summer with … aggressive … marketing for his Image Comics miniseries Mayhem!, is back — this time with Halloween costumes. At least I presume they’re intended for Halloween.
Party-goods retail chain Party City is taking pre-orders (really?) for exclusive Mayhem costumes, which ship next month. What’s more, the first 100 orders receive a free copy of the comic autographed by Gibson.
“Not all super heroes play by the rules!” reads the description for the adult costume. “Blow away thugs as the heroic vigilante ripped from the pages of the Tyrese Gibson comic book! Adult Mayhem costume features a character mask, shirt with screen-print logo, matching pants, foam knee pads, black boot tops, and utility belt with plastic combat knives and pouches. Killer!”
The blurb for the boy’s costume dials back the violence, if only slightly, describing Li’l Mayhem as “mad, bad and dangerous to know!” There’s nothing as adorable as a pint-sized, knife-wielding vigilante — I don’t care what anyone says!
- July 2, 2010 @ 06:59 AM by Kevin Melrose
Grumpy Old Fan | You can change the name of a rose, but you can’t do nothin’ about the smell
Introducing the "Mod" Wonder Woman
Occasionally I find myself on a Monday or a Tuesday wondering what Thursday’s topic will be. Such was the case this week –
– and then the hand of Providence offered up J. Michael Straczynski’s radical take on Wonder Woman.
SPOILERS FOLLOW for what was actually a very enjoyable Wonder Woman #600….
- July 1, 2010 @ 04:30 PM by Tom Bondurant
Sneak a peek at Andy Diggle and Jock’s Image thriller Snapshot
A snapshot of "Snapshot" #1
Jock has revealed a first look at Snapshot, the long-teased Image Comics miniseries that reunites him with writer Andy Diggle, his collaborator on The Losers and Green Arrow: Year One.
First mentioned as early as November 2008, the thriller reportedly centers on a protagonist who finds a cellphone belonging to a hitman that contains snapshots of his work. Jock’s tweeted photo, of the opening page of Issue 1, seems to support that setup.
There’s been no mention of when the miniseries will debut, but perhaps we can expect an announcement later this month at Comic-Con International.
Jock and Diggle’s collaborative history dates back to 2000, when they created Lenny Zero for Judge Dredd Megazine.
(via Multiversity Comics)
- July 1, 2010 @ 03:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
Ooh, look, it’s Kevin Huizenga’s next book
On his blog, the great cartoonist Kevin Huizenga has posted some shots of The Wild Kingdom, his upcoming (and overdue) collection from Drawn & Quarterly starring his trademark everyman character Glenn Ganges. Okay, it’s not Wonder Woman in ’90s-Superboy’s jacket, but I for one am pretty darn excited.
- July 1, 2010 @ 02:30 PM by Sean T. Collins
McLauchlin on the “amazing warmth” and “genius” of Wally Wood
Daredevil #7
If news about Superior isn’t enough to pique your curiosity about this week’s issue of Wizard, then maybe this will — the magazine, guest-edited by Mark Millar, includes an article by the Hero Initiative’s Jim McLauchlin on the late, great Wally Wood.
“I found the piece very difficult to write,” McLauchlin says. “The subject matter is not always very pleasant. But I hope that in the end, you as a reader will get a circumspect view of Wood, and see the amazing warmth and his genius that accompanied his tragic, but very human, flaws.”
Wizard gave him permission to post the article on the Hero Initiative website; you can find it here.
- July 1, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Thirty-eight-and-a-half rogues
Batman villains by Dennis Culver
No, it’s not CBS’s latest comedy sensation — it’s the culmination of artist Dennis Culver’s deeply awesome “draw one Batman villain per day” project on flickr. Last time we checked in he was a little over halfway through; today he posted the final line-up, and the Bat-nerd inside me did a little Batdance in Bat-celebration. Of particular interest is Culver’s bro-tastic take on the Joker. (Bros killing bros?) Given the depth of Batman’s rogues-gallery bench, Culver easily could have kept this up for another month — and honestly, I kinda hope he will. (Maxie Zeus! Amygdala! Anarky! Doctor Hurt! The Mutant Leader! Heck, Superman!) Till then, click, browse, enjoy.
- July 1, 2010 @ 01:30 PM by Sean T. Collins
American comics through a Japanese lens
Superheroes, Japanese style
Jason Thompson has a column at Anime News Network called “House of 1000 Manga,” in which he rummages through what must be the world’s largest collection of interesting and offbeat manga and pulls out a few gems each week.
This week’s column looks at doujinshi, fan-made comics. Usually doujinshi are fan versions of popular manga, but apparently American comics are also fodder for doujinshi creators, and in an odd completion of the circle, several Western-based doujinshi were published in the 1990s by Antarctic Press. Justice featured Japanese riffs on American superhero comics, including Teen Titans, Iron Man and Batman, as well as critical essays by Japanese writers, whose take on American comics (and movies) is sometimes unique, sometimes straight-up fanboy. Star Trekker is just what you’d expect, a parody of the TV show with a mostly female crew steering the Constellation II through deep space. Apparently Antarctic released several issues of the comic as well as a graphic novel before Paramount, who owned the rights to Star Trek, noticed what they were doing and made them stop.
Thompson does a good job of dusting off these comics, putting them into context, and showing off the good bits, including selections from the essays. Mainly though, it’s just straight-up comics-fan fun.
- July 1, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by Brigid Alverson