2010 September
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | Skottie Young, Darwyn Cooke, and comics for kids
Darwyn Cooke
“A ton of guys who do super violent, adult books complaining about no books are made for kids. Odd trend. Me? I just go make a book for kids.” – Skottie Young, via Twitter.
I love this comment. Young doesn’t actually call anyone hypocritical, he just notes the strangeness of complaining about something that you have the power to change, but are choosing not to. I don’t know; is that the definition of hypocrisy? Maybe it is.
I think there’s a connotation though that hypocrisy involves willful deception and Young’s not accusing anyone of that. Without knowing exactly whom he’s referring to, I can imagine that a creator like that simply hasn’t thought through the disconnection between his words and actions. I don’t have to contribute time or money to the alleviation of world hunger in order to state correctly that it’s a horrible problem. And not contributing doesn’t necessarily make me dishonest. I can truly, legitimately believe that there’s a problem without taking a single step to solve it. And perhaps I believe that by drawing attention to the problem, I am contributing in some way to its solution. But – and I think that this is Young’s point – it’s a very tiny contribution and my complaining loses any power it had once people realize that that’s all I’m doing to help.
Like I said, I don’t know for sure whom Young was referring to, but I imagine that it’s at least indirectly inspired by Darwyn Cooke’s comments at Fan Expo. At the time Young wrote that, Twitter was all a… well, atwitter with folks’ responding to Cooke’s statement from a variety of angles. Even if Young wasn’t talking about Cooke, he was likely referring to someone who was. But since I don’t know, I want to be careful about how I talk about this. Young’s comment does apply to Cooke’s statement, but I don’t want to suggest that Young specifically had Cooke in mind when he made it.
After the break: So what was Young talking about and what does Cooke have to do with it?
- September 1, 2010 @ 03:30 PM by Michael May
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Welcome once again to Send Us Your Shelf Porn, the column that allows you to show off your shelves. Today’s Shelf Porn comes from Jeff Lemire, who you might know from such comics as Sweet Tooth, the Essex County Trilogy, Superboy and Atom, among others.
If you’d like to share your Shelf Porn with the world — or at least our viewing audience — send your write-up and pictures to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
And now here’s Jeff …
- September 1, 2010 @ 02:30 PM by JK Parkin
First look at Batman: Arkham City’s Catwoman, Two-Face and Harley
Joystiq has stumbled upon what appear to be 20 new, and pretty stunning, screenshots from Batman: Arkham City, the much-anticipated sequel to the bestselling 2009 video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. These images don’t come from an official source — they apparently were posted on an anonymous Flickr account — but they certainly look legitimate. And if they’re not the real deal, someone sure went to a lot of effort to craft a convincing hoax. Joystiq even theorizes the screenshots could be an intentional leak from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
Developed by Rocksteady Studios, the game will send players into Arkham City, the new maximum-security home for all of Gotham’s “thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds.” Arkham City “introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.”
You can get a first look at Catwoman, Two-Face and Harley Quinn after the break.
- September 1, 2010 @ 01:45 PM by Kevin Melrose
Brian Wood talks DMZ, Northlanders, the return of Jennie 2.5 and more
Since I began interviewing comics creators back in 2005, I’ve talked to Brian Wood more than two dozen times. When we first spoke, Channel Zero had just been collected by AiT-PlanetLar and he was working on his second creator-owned project, The Couriers. Since then he grew into one of the biggest names in independent comics before graduating to the offices of DC’s Vertigo imprint, where he’s entered the mainstream with works like DMZ, Northlanders and his return to Demo. He recently completed writing his first work on company-owned characters in almost a decade, reviving Wildstorm’s Dv8 series. With DV8 and Demo v2 behind him and DMZ counting down to the final issues, Wood is redoubling his efforts on his Viking crime series Northlanders while getting ready for a new round of series — including one chronicling musicians that sounds like my new favorite comic.
Chris Arrant: Let’s start with an easy one – what are you working on today, Brian?
Brian Wood: Oh, I guess we’re starting off with me being lame and saying “its something I can’t talk about,” that’s yet to be announced. So let’s forget I said that and instead I’ll lie and say that today I started the first issue of the final year of DMZ. I’ll probably actually start on that tomorrow. I’ve also been on a real tear recently with coming up with new ideas and pitches, for some reason. I have that fear that all of us have at one point or another, which is the fear of not having another good idea ever again, the fear of not being able to create something to follow a current critical success. I mentioned DMZ in its final year. I also concluded Demo recently, and I finished writing DV8 many months back. A lot of stuff ending, and requiring a bunch of new stuff to replace it. A new “era” in my career, really, especially when it comes to doing something to follow DMZ. Anyway, after worrying too much I’ve enjoyed a real run of creativity, and have seven or eight mostly completed pitches just sitting here. Enough to last me a while.
- September 1, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Webcomics site shifts from paid to free model
The comics website DarkBrain (warning: music and spoken dialogue) has shifted from a paid to a free model, with the option to upgrade for more adult content.
The website launched in February with 12 series of fantasy, sci-fi, action, and horror comics. There are two gimmicks: One is that it allows readers to choose PG-13 or R settings for each comic. From poking around the site, it looks like R gets you the same comic but with more blood and cussin’. The other is that the comics feature music and voice acting, and the text boxes and word balloons appear one at a time as the actors say the lines. Their PR claims that users can also customize the story itself, although it’s not clear how.
From the initial press release, it appears that some comics were offered for free while others were packaged into an online magazine called Cortex, which was priced at $4.99 per issue.
Under the new model, all comics are free at the PG level, but for a subscription fee of $4.99 per month ($24.95 for a 6-month membership), readers can access the R-rated content as well as some members-only content. The other change is that the website is now selling ads, which are only seen in the free version; members get an ad-free environment.
According one of to the site’s information pages, half of all sales goes directly back to the artists. It’s not clear how that will work under the new model.
- September 1, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Joe Quesada marks a decade as Marvel’s puppet master
Joe Quesada, by Alex Maleev
The Mighty Marvel Podcast marks its 100th episode with an interview with Joe Quesada, who was named editor-in-chief of Marvel 10 years ago this week. Quesada, who in June was promoted to chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, reflects on his time overseeing the Marvel Knights imprint, his role in the creative of the Ultimate Universe and more.
To help commemorate the anniversary, Alex Maleev created an illustration depicting Quesada as puppet master — no, not that one — of the Marvel Universe. See the full image after the break, and read more about Quesada’s tenure at Marvel.com.
- September 1, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Isotope opens up submissions for 2010 minicomics award
2010 Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics
Mini-comickers, ready your pens — San Francisco’s Isotope comics store is once again opening submissions for its annual Isotope Award for Excellence in Mini-Comics.
Entries will be accepted until Oct. 1, with the winner receiving not only the shiny post-modern piece of metal as seen on our right, but also the full support of comics retailer, musician and PR maven James Sime.
Previous winners include Joshua W. Cotter (Skyscrapers of the Midwest), Danica Novgorodoff (Slow Storm, Refresh Refresh) and Will Dinski (Fingerprints). Winners have gone on to be published by independent comic publishers like AiT-PlanetLar, AdHouse Books and Top Shelf Productions, as well as major book publishing houses like First Second Books.
Full details, and a healthy press release, can be found after the break:
- September 1, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Did Buffy’s Riley deserve a one-shot? Jane Espenson responds
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Riley
The big announcement in last month’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Riley one-shot about the return of the Angel license to Dark Horse appears to have overshadowed another controversy — namely, whether the character Riley Finn actually deserved his own issue.
For those unfamiliar with Buffy continuity, Riley was introduced in Season 4 as a teaching assistant at UC Sunnydale who led a double life as a drug-enhanced agent of the Initiative, the secret government organization dedicated to the capture of demons. To the displeasure of some fans, the wholesome Riley — some might say “vanilla” or “downright boring” — became Buffy’s boyfriend and, briefly, a member of the Scooby Gang. (Personal note: Professor Walsh aside, Riley may have been the worst part of the excruciating Initiative arc that dominated the season. Well, him, and Buffy’s maddening post-Angel self-esteem issues.)
The character left in Season 5, returning for just one more episode before re-emerging in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, the canonical comic-book continuation of the television series, where he was revealed as a double agent being used by Buffy to infiltrate Twilight’s organization. And then came the one-shot, which triggered enough grumbling that writer Jane Espenson — a fan-favorite writer of Buffy, Battlestar Galactica and Warehouse 13 — has taken to the Dark Horse website to defend Riley, and the one-shot.
“I hear that some of you are wondering why Riley Finn deserves a one-shot comic-book issue instead of Dawn or Xander or the deep, dark shadow under Spike’s left cheekbone,” Espenson writes. “The answer is simple: Riley wanted it more. He worked harder. He earned it.”
With tongue in cheek, she goes on to explain that not every character can withstand the rigors of a comic book one-shot — “There are no stunt doubles here” — or demonstrate the awareness required for the “highly technical” work. But Riley Finn, that wholesome boy from Huxley, Iowa, has mastered the art.
“This isn’t to say that the others aren’t excellent comic-book characters as well,” Espenson continues. “They obviously are. Xander has been turning in magnificent work despite the challenge of the eye patch, which has never, not once, migrated from one eye to the other between panels. [...] And I think Warren’s work deserves special praise, as he is quite obviously the best skinless performer in comics today.”
The final story arc of Season 8, written by creator Joss Whedon himself, begins with Issue #36, in stores today.
- September 1, 2010 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Crunchyroll developing online manga tools
Crunchyroll
The anime site Crunchyroll is Exhibit A for those who think digital distribution and copyright can coexist peacefully. The site began in 2006 as a place for anime fans to upload bootleg anime with fan-made subtitles (fansubs) but went legit in 2008, when they got some venture capital and swapped out the bootleg anime for the real stuff, making deals with the publishers to stream their content legally. It’s as if OneManga.com cut a deal with Viz and Tokyopop to host their content, rather than illegal scans.
So why can’t they do that with manga? Clearly the demand is there — witness the lengthy laments at the demise of OneManga. And indeed, Crunchyroll CEO Kun Gao discussed the possibility with Deb Aoki in an interview for her manga blog at About.com. Gao says the site won’t actually host manga, but it recently snagged a $750,000 investment from the Japanese e-book publisher Bitway to develop manga publishing tools. Says Gao:
- September 1, 2010 @ 07:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber get all righteous with Bluewater
Bluewater Productions publishes comic book biographies of popular figures, from Hilary Clinton to Stephenie Meyer, and many of them (such as the Meyer comic) are unauthorized. Now Rich Johnston reports that attorney Kenneth Feinswog has sent the company cease-and-desist notices on behalf of clients who apparently don’t appreciate getting the Bluewater treatment: Lady Gaga, the subject of a recently published comic, and Justin Bieber, whose bio-comic is due in October. Both comics are unauthorized biographies.
Feinswog’s claim seems to be that the comics are trademark infringements and violate the performers’ intellectual property and likeness rights.
Bluewater Publisher Darren G. Davis wouldn’t talk to Johnston, but he did confirm that he had received the cease-and-desist orders and offered a response to MTV’s Splash Page. His defense is that the works are bona fide biographies and are therefore protected under the First Amendment:
“These are not-poster books and as it was explained to the licensing lawyer, Kenneth Feinswog, it tells the story of [Bieber's] life in 22 pages,” he continued. “We offered to send him a copy of the book before it went to print. We have been offered deals with poster books, sticker books and we had to turn them down because we know we do not have the rights to that. But doing an unauthorized biography we are in full within our rights.”
Davis also offered the theory that the reason for the action is that Bluewater’s comic is competition for Bieber’s memoir Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever, which is due out this fall, as are several other books about the 16-year-old singer.
There is some precedent for this, but not in Feinswog’s favor. In the late 1990s, Revolutionary Comics produced Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics, unauthorized biographies of rock musicians. Feinswog sued on behalf of New Kids on the Block and Motley Crue, claiming trademark infringement, but the court ruled in favor of the comics. Coincidentally (or perhaps not), Bluewater recently acquired the rights to the Revolutionary line.
- September 1, 2010 @ 06:00 AM by Brigid Alverson