2010 July
It may not be ‘official,’ but Parker and Hardman are the new Hulk team
Hulk sketch by Gabriel Hardman
When Marvel’s September solicitations were released last month, the creative teams for the three Hulk titles were labeled as “Classified.” Word later trickled out, through online retailers and then the Marvel Previews catalog, that Agents of Atlas creators Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman are taking over Hulk with Issue 25.
Curiously, though, the publisher has yet to make an official statement about the change, which follows the conclusion of the Red Hulk saga and the hiring of writer Jeph Loeb to head Marvel’s new television division.
The closest Marvel has come to a public confirmation is an article posted yesterday afternoon on its website trumpeting Hardman’s new exclusive deal. If the secondary headline doesn’t provide enough of a clue to the artist’s next assignment — “The ATLAS artist signs exclusive with Marvel and prepares to tackle The Hulk” — the story’s final two paragraphs stop just short of making it official. Or “official-official”:
As for what the future holds for the artist, he plans to continue on Atlas as long as possible, but he also informs readers to keep their eyes open for his take on the green goliath known as The Hulk.
“Me and Parker and [colorist Elizabeth Breitweiser] are going to work on another book that is going to be big and have a lot of explosive punching and other big action things in it.”
Marvel had no comment. When contacted by Robot 6, Parker responded only with the following photo:
- July 1, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Zudacomics.com: RIP, 2007-2010
End of the Road
DC Comics sent out a press release today saying that they are shutting down the Zuda Comics website and will offer some of the titles from the imprint on the iPad and the PSP through their recently announced digital initiative. The site is still live as I type this, ironically sporting an ad for the Zuda Comic End of the Road, but the release says it won’t last the day.
(Update: it looks like the site is now being redirected to the Zuda blog).
The move comes a couple of months after Zuda announced they’d be ending their monthly competitions and moving to a different submissions model. Zuda chief Ron Perazza adds a bit more detail at the Zuda blog (which will live on):
- July 1, 2010 @ 10:23 AM by JK Parkin
ALA: The Best Manga You’re Not Reading (plus a spare)
Cat Paradise
I didn’t just go to the American Library Association to gawk; I was also on three panels, one of which was titled “The Best Manga You’re Not Reading,” moderated by graphic novel expert Martha Cornog.
Here are my four selections, plus a mulligan (because you always think of the best one as soon as you send the list in), and I’m including Martha’s choices as well. I expect my fellow panelists, Kate Dacey and Robin Brenner, to post on this shortly, but I’ll include their selections as well for the curious. Feel free to add your own nominations for underappreciated manga in the comments — there’s always another panel!
Cat Paradise, by Yuji Iwahara (the creator of Chikyu Misaki, arguably the greatest children’s manga ever), is a pleasant combination of cuteness, fantasy, and action, all set at a boarding school where students are allowed to keep cats as pets. Nothing is ever as it seems, of course: A small group of the students and cats are warriors with special powers, and they are fighting on the side of the beautiful princess Kiri and her cat Shirayuki against an evil demon cat, Kaen, and his minions.
The heroine, Yumi, is your typical shoujo manga girl, nice but not very remarkable. She loves her cat Kansuke, whom she rescued from being crushed by a car, but she drives him crazy because she knits little outfits and makes him wear them. When they get their powers, it turns out that her power comes in the form of a ball of wool, and when she knits Kansuke an outfit, he transforms into a human and can go into battle.
The series combines an imaginative premise—what if you could talk to your pet?—with some serious fight sequences and the usual romantic complications. The plot moves along quickly, the characters are likeable, and Iwahara’s art is cute without being cloying. It’s a natural for shoujo manga fans, but it should be a fun read for others as well; the characters and situations are universal, and the art is clear and accessible even to readers who don’t read a lot of manga.
- July 1, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Michael DeForge’s precious little Scott Pilgrim release party flyer
Toronto-based artcomix enfant terrible Michael DeForge did the honors for this flyer advertising the release party for the sixth and final volume in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series, Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour. It’s always fun to see O’Malley’s distinctive character designs filtered through an artist with a totally different sensibility — and yet DeForge’s take on them seems just as much like a relic from some lost, demented TurboGrafx16 game.
- July 1, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Chris Ryall
Publishing | IDW Publishing has promoted Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall to the new position of chief creative officer, expanding his duties to encompass the company’s efforts across all platforms. Ryall, who joined IDW in 2004 from Kevin Smith’s Movie Poop Shoot website, will remain as editor-in-chief. [press release]
Publishing | In not-exactly-unexpected news, Dark Horse will move its online anthology Dark Horse Presents from MySpace to the publisher’s website. DHP originally appeared in print from 1986 to 2000, and was relaunched in digital form at MySpace in August 2007. [Newsarama]
Publishing | John Jackson Miller analyzes direct-market sales figures for May, which saw graphic novel sales slip 15 percent from the previous year: “My suspicion continues to be that orders for bigger-ticket items have been more likely to be impacted by the general recession; retailers are letting trade paperback inventories fall a bit, even in months in which they’re ordering more comic books (even given the price increases).” [The Comichron]
- July 1, 2010 @ 08:28 AM by Kevin Melrose
A first look at Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu’s Superior
Wizard #228 (Secret Jam Cover)
A variant cover for the Mark Millar guest-edited issue of Wizard, in stores this week, provides the first look at Superior, his upcoming creator-owned project with artist Leinil Francis Yu.
Teased a month ago at Comic Book Resources, Superior has remained somewhat mysterious, with Millar keeping uncharacteristically tight-lipped about the title. But with the release of Wizard #228, we get a glimpse at the comic’s hero — and his wrestling belt.
“His visual is based on the same old strongman look from the ’30s as [well as] lots of other old heroes,” Millar writes on his message board. “The story starts with Superior 5 in cinemas and nobody really caring anymore. It’s a character who’s been around for a long time. My love-letter to another costumed hero.”
What costumed hero could that be? Hm …
“I love the fact that nobody has guessed the tone of this yet,” writes Millar, adding that more will be revealed in an interview at CBR closer to the October launch. “This is your Super 8-style teaser for now.”
Update: Rich Johnston has a few more details (and a couple of scanned images) plucked from Millar’s Wizard interview, in which the writer says, “What I suppose I’ve done here really is kind of Marvelize Superman.” Superior apparently centers on a 13-year-old boy with multiple sclerosis who becomes “an adult overpowered superhero.”
- July 1, 2010 @ 05:57 AM by Kevin Melrose