2010 August
Dark Horse creators show how they do it
Chris Scalf's cover for Star Wars: Blood Ties
Dark Horse has an interesting feature on their website: Every now and then they show all the stages in the making of a comic, from script through thumbnails, pencils, inks, coloring, and lettering, and they do it for five or six pages, so you can really see how the story develops. The latest example is issue 1 of Baltimore – The Plague Ships, written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden with art by Ben Stenbeck. It’s a must-see for those who like to watch all the parts come together.
Elsewhere on the site, you can watch Chris Scalf’s cover for Star Wars: Blood Ties unfold in a three-minute video. The cover was done entirely digitally, and the process, from a single rough shape to the complex final product, is fascinating to watch.
- August 17, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
Check out Jock’s cover for Tron: Betrayal movie prequel
"Tron: Betrayal" cover, by Jock
Although Marvel’s November solicitations include a listing for the Tron: Betrayal graphic novel, a prequel to Disney’s upcoming movie Tron: Legacy, they don’t include the cover image. Luckily, Jock is quick to point us to his website, where we can see his cover and early sketches.
The graphic novel, written by Jai Nitz from a plot by Starlight Runner Entertainment and illustrated by Andie Tong, is also being released by Marvel as a two-issue miniseries. Tron: Legacy opens on Dec. 17.
- August 17, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Ben Bova disses graphic novels
Plenty complex: Darwyn Cooke's Hunter adaptations
Science fiction novelist Ben Bova wrote a column on literacy for the Naples Daily News, in which he wonders if literacy itself is in danger of becoming a thing of the past. Bova decries dropping literacy rates (without presenting any evidence that such a thing is happening) and discusses the shrinking space that bookstores give to traditional books, as audiobooks and graphic novels take over.
Take the idea of graphic novels. Essentially, these are comic books for adults. Some of the works are quite striking and even powerful. But War and Peace they’re not. They’re not even Valley of the Dolls.
It’s impossible to reproduce a novel’s deep characterizations and nuances of plot development in a comic book format. I’ve had a couple of my short stories done in graphic style and, while I’m pleased with the results, I don’t see how a novel could be done that way — except by boiling down the novel to a few incidents and characters and tossing away almost all of the depth and plot development.
There are two things wrong with this statement. One is that graphic novels must be based on print novels and the other is that they can’t have depth or literary quality of their own. My long list of counterexamples (drawn straight off the top of my head) would include Darwyn Cooke’s adaptations of Richard Parker’s Hunter novels (which have plenty of depth and characterization and layer onto that a rich visual evocation of urban life in the 1950s); Dash Shaw’s Bodyworld; the complex and fascinating Logicomix; and Art Spiegelman’s Maus, the book that really got this category started.
(Hat tip: Von Allan.)
- August 17, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
Marvel’s Daredevil will end in November, apparently
Daredevil #512
Daredevil, the long-running Marvel series that in recent years earned critical acclaim in the hands of creators like Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark and Andy Diggle, apparently will end in November with the conclusion of the “Shadowland” crossover.
That’s according to the publisher’s November solicitations, which uncharacteristically lists Daredevil #512 as the “FINAL ISSUE.” Marvel typically doesn’t announce cancellations that far in advance, suggesting there’s something “special” in store; perhaps a miniseries interlude as Matt Murdock grapples with the ramifications of the “Shadowland” storyline, or a complete series relaunch. Daredevil returned to its original numbering in September 2009 with Issue 500.
“Shadowland,” billed as “The Battle for the Soul of New York,” revolves around a temple/prison constructed by Murdock, now leader of the Hand, to house the criminals who stand in his way of cleaning up Hell’s Kitchen. His methods, however, bring him into conflict with many of Marvel’s “street-level” heroes, including Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Moon Knight, Elektra and Ghost Rider. The crossover, which debuted in July, involves the core miniseries, Daredevil, Thunderbolts and numerous tie-in miniseries and one-shots.
In related news, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man will return to the original numbering abandoned a year ago with the relaunch of Marvel’s Ultimate line. So instead of No. 16, November’s triple-size 10th-anniversary issue will be No. 150.
- August 17, 2010 @ 08:44 AM by Kevin Melrose
Watch the teaser for Mark Millar’s CLiNT Magazine
Titan Magazines has released a teaser video for CLiNT Magazine, its new monthly venture with writer Mark Millar. Announced in May, the 100-page publication is set to debut in September in the United Kingdom with a mix of interviews, features about movies, television and video games, as well as four serialized comics. The premiere issue will include the debut of the Kick-Ass sequel, Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall.
- August 17, 2010 @ 08:11 AM by Kevin Melrose
Talking Comics with Tim: Megan Kelso
Artichoke Tales
What does it take to make a story just right for some creators? As revealed in this interview with Megan Kelso, with her latest book, Artichoke Tales (released by Fantagraphics a few months ago and praised by Brigid just yesterday)–it took 10 years. Not every storyteller takes the time to indulge my questions in the manner that Kelso did, an effort for which I’m extremely grateful. Here’s the scoop on the book: “Artichoke Tales is a coming-of-age story about a young girl named Brigitte whose family is caught between the two warring sides of a civil war, a graphic novel that takes place in a world that echoes our own, but whose people have artichoke leaves instead of hair. Influenced in equal parts by Little House on the Prairie, The Thorn Birds, Dharma Bums, and Cold Mountain, Kelso weaves a moving story about family amidst war. Kelso’s visual storytelling, uniquely combining delicate linework with rhythmic, musical page compositions, creates a dramatic tension between intimate, ruminative character studies and the unflinching depiction of the consequences of war and carnage, lending cohesion and resonance to a generational epic. This is Kelso’s first new work in four years; the widespread critical reception of her previous work makes Artichoke Tales one of the most eagerly anticipated graphic novels of 2010.” Fun aside, in clarifying a detail about this interview, I learned that Kelso created a iGoogle theme, which can be accessed here. One last item, Fantagraphics posted a 16-page preview here.
Tim O’Shea: Creating Artichoke Tales represented more than six years of your creative life–can you describe how relieving (or what emotion you felt) when you finished the tale?
Megan Kelso: Truth be told, it was more like a ten year project. I think for some reason my publisher wanted to down play how friggin’ long it took me to finish this book. It was very protracted because I took a lot of breaks to do other things; freelance work, a wedding, moving, having a baby, moving again. I actually finished pencilling the last two chapters in 2005, which is really the heart of the creative work. I pushed myself on that because I wanted to be done with the storytelling part of it before I was pregnant. But then the final denoument, the inking, the computer shading, the corrections – I didn’t begin that work until two and a half years later. It was kind of excruciating doing all the final work on the book after it had been completely drawn – I think because the urgency and excitement of getting the story out was over. Then it was just drudge work. I finally finished all the work just before Thanksgiving of 2009 and I was 100% thrilled and happy about it for months. The let-down, “nothing left but doubt” part of finishing a huge project did not set in until I recently saw it in printed form. I am totally happy with how the printing and production came out, but even still, there’s a bit of a void. I think I’m fending off a bit of a mid-life crisis.
- August 16, 2010 @ 03:30 PM by Tim O'Shea
Quote of the day | Warren Spector, on video games and comics
Disney Interactive Studios
“If we don’t break out of the big buff guys with swords, and guys in tights, and space marines in armor, we’re going to get marginalized the way that comic books have been in the United States. I hope we can break free of the content of comic books.”
– Warren Spector of Disney Interactive Studios,
addressing the Game Developers Conference Europe in Cologne, Germany
- August 16, 2010 @ 02:46 PM by Kevin Melrose
Vagabond vs. One Piece
Spot the differences: Takehiko Inoue draws Monkey D. Luffy, the hero of One Piece
The translator who goes by Gottsu-Iiyan has been translating a joint interview with Vagabond creator Takehiko Inoue and One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda at his blog, The Eastern Edge. At one point, Inoue reflects on the differences between his and Oda’s art:
•••• Mr. Inoue, how do you see Mr. Oda’s art?
Inoue: It’s full of an appeal that is the complete opposite of my work. It’s full of life, and has the power to draw readers to specific points. Comparatively, I’m an artist that likes “subtraction”. I try to fill things in as little as possible and leave something to the negative space.
That’s the sort of thing that isn’t obvious until you hear it said—and then it is. Oda amplifies the point: Continue Reading »
- August 16, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Haspiel to ‘make Woodgod honorable’ in Strange Tales sequel
Woodgod by Dean Haspiel
With the announcement that a Strange Tales sequel is in the works from Marvel, some of the creators are starting to talk about their contributions. We already heard from Gene Yang and Rafael Grampá, who are respectively working on tales starring Frog Man and Wolverine. And now Dean Haspiel reveals he’s bringing Woodgod out of the moth balls for a new story.
“I performed a creative séance and summoned the spirit of Jack Kirby, whose only association to Woodgod was his cover contribution to the origin issue,” Haspiel writes on his LiveJournal. “Perhaps foolishly, I decided to attempt the impossible and make Woodgod honorable. My personal challenge was to banish Woodgod from the bad character idea drawer, pay homage to my favorite Marvel anthology, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE [which featured my favorite Marvel character, The Thing], and high-five Jack Kirby. This fall, Marvel will publish the results and fans will decide if I prevailed.”
- August 16, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Tokyopop goes digital-first with Hetalia
Tokyopop has a hot property in Hetalia: Axis Powers, a manga series in which the nations of the world are personified by various manga stereotypes and act out their political affairs on the page. The series has a fan following already, partly because it offers lots of cosplay opportunities (there is also an anime, which is licensed by Funimation and has been out for a while). The first volume is scheduled for release in September, with a list price of $12.99, but Tokyopop has chosen to jump the gun and release Hetalia digitally, through Zinio, for just $5.99. This edition seems to be the same as the print edition; at 148 pages, it’s a bit skimpy for the higher price. They have also made the book available to libraries for free through the OverDrive program, so anyone with a valid library card can read it online for free. Tokyopop freelance editor Daniella Orihuela-Gruber, who worked on the book, offers five reasons to give it a try, and Johanna Draper Carlson puts the digital release in context.
By offering the digital version earlier and at a lower price than the print edition, Tokyopop is moving faster than the superhero publishers. It’s not clear why.
Oddly, Amazon lists another version of Hetalia with a generic cover, which makes me suspect it’s a bootleg; if it were the Japanese edition, there would be art. Since this edition is priced over 12 bucks, it’s not a particularly good deal either.
- August 16, 2010 @ 12:15 PM by Brigid Alverson
Weaver shares extras from SHIELD, including uncensored monster sex
If you’re a fan of Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver’s incredibly imaginative, layered and awesome SHIELD book for Marvel, you’ll want to check out this post from Weaver’s LiveJournal. The artist shares several “extras” from the book, including a variant cover sketch, “quiet math” equations and the uncensored version of a panel featuring Isaac Newton having sex with a Deviant, which I’ll include after a SPOILERS WARNING for issue 3 and a NSFW warning …
- August 16, 2010 @ 11:15 AM by JK Parkin
DC Comics unveils White Lantern Batman
Brightest Day #13, by David Finch
DC Comics has released the November solicitations for its “Brightest Day” titles, including David Finch’s stunning painted cover for Brightest Day #13, which features White Lantern Batman. See the full cover, and the solicitation text, after the break. The publisher’s full November listings will be released at 2 p.m. Pacific today.
- August 16, 2010 @ 10:42 AM by Kevin Melrose
Snyder, Francavilla team for ‘Commissioner Gordon’ back-up feature in Detective Comics
Commissioner Gordon
DC Comics announced on Friday that Scott Snyder, who takes over the writing chores on Detective Comics in November, is also writing a back-up feature for the book starring Commissioner Gordon. Snyder will be joined by artist Francesco Francavilla on the feature.
“I’m a huge fan of Francesco’s work and have been for quite some time,” Snyder told DC’s The Source blog. “His style is dark and daring with a good amount of noir to it, but there’s also a striking physicality to his art – his characters always look very real, very vulnerable and human. Which is why I always thought he’d be perfect for the job; because this story is dark and dramatic with some big revelations, but it’s also about Jim Gordon, the man, coming to terms with some very tough skeletons from his past… Or rather, one skeleton in particular – someone who has just now returned to Gotham, too… So I simply could not be more excited about Francesco’s involvement. With Jock on feature, Francesco on back-up, this is exactly the team I’d hoped for! (Huge giant-penny-sized thanks to our editor Mike Marts for the creative freedom and support.) Can’t wait to see what you think of the book, DC Nation!”
- August 16, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Vote online for the Inkwell Awards
Voting for The Inkwell Awards, which recognize “the ink artists and their work,” is now live. Voting will run through Sept. 15., and the winners will be announced at Wizard World New England at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston the weekend of Oct. 15-17.
The Inkwell Awards is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and educate about the craft of comic book inking and to annually recognize and award the ink artists and their work. Now in their third year, the organization is overseen by founder and director Bob Almond, Daniel Best, Jimmy Tournas, Bob Shaw, Nathan Massengill who make up the IA core committee and Adam Hughes, Mike Marts, Ethan Van Sciver, Mark Brooks, Sal Velluto, Mike McKone, and Trevor Von Eeden who make up their IA ambassadors. They sponsor the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund for the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon & Graphic Art and host the Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award.
- August 16, 2010 @ 09:12 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Winchester #1
Legal | SLG Publishing revealed it’s embroiled in a trademark dispute “revolving around our comic book about a certain gun heiress,” and has established a legal defense fund to help pay for what’s already become a costly fight. Although Publisher Dan Vado doesn’t provide details, it seems likely that Winchester Mystery House, LLC, has objected to Winchester, the historical fiction/horror series by Vado and artist Drew Rausch. The comic, which debuted in October 2009, centers on rifle heiress Sarah Winchester and the construction of Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California. Just last year, Winchester Mystery House sued a production company for trademark infringement over a DVD called Haunting of Winchester House.
“Just so we are being clear, SLG is not raising money to fight some long, drawn-out court case, there isn’t enough money in all of comics for that kind of fight,” Vado writes on the publisher’s website, “we are asking for money to pay for the costs of responding to the letters and harassment from the baseless claims thrown at us. This is money we have already spent, a lot of it borrowed, for which there will be no return and is now affecting our ability to operate.” [SLG Publishing]
- August 16, 2010 @ 08:22 AM by Kevin Melrose