2010 November
Quote of the day | Are Tea Partiers the nerds of politics?
“I was reading this Slate article about why Tea Party people are always capitalizing regular nouns — it’s because it’s more in the style of the constitution, which played fast and loose with capitalization — and I realized that Tea Partiers are huge fucking nerds. Randomly capitalizing words to mimic your favorite sacred text is ridiculously dorky. It’s not that far removed from speaking Klingon.
Also, they cosplay and fervently love the same books and mythic figures; they speak in coded language; they get furious about trivial matters most people don’t care about; and they HATE it when anyone interprets their favorite origin stories (the constitution/American history) differently than they do. Tea Party rallies are basically comic book conventions only with poorer social skills.
You could actually take this comparison much further. Probably someone has.”
– A tumblogger named Dudestache on the Tea Party’s secret identity as the LARPers of the political sphere. Everyone’s always talking about the rise of nerd culture; I guess that explains the phrase “Senator-elect Rand Paul” as well as anything could.
(via Mike Barthel)
- November 4, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Marvel clarifies rollback policy, lowers Incredible Hulk price
Price rollback!
After nearly a month of online confusion and criticism regarding its announced price rollback, Marvel has clarified what titles may be affected by the policy.
“The pricing structure is that for limited series in the Marvel Universe that we roll out, we will price as many of those as we can for $2.99 for a 32-page book,” David Gabriel, senior vice president of sales & circulation, told The Beat.
He emphasized that the rollback will apply to 32-page limited series in the Marvel Universe, and not licensed titles or the marquee Ultimate line. However, the Incredible Hulk also will see a price reduction, and lose its back-up feature in the process.
“We had it at $3.99 throughout the event that was going on, and a lot of people were getting into the Hulk stuff but the price was becoming sort of a barrier to them staying with it,” Gabriel said. “The back-up features weren’t doing enough to propel enough sales on that or to keep them going. I actually had retailers begging me on that title to reduce the price … but only on that series. We did some math and figured some things out and moved some things around and that’ll be in the February catalog.”
The clarified policy differs significantly from reports coming out of the ICv2 Conference on Comics & Digital at New York Comic Con on Oct. 7, when the initial announcement was made. It had been characterized in several separate articles as a reduction from $3.99 to $2.99 for new titles beginning in January. But Marvel Vice President-Executive Editor Tom Brevoort told Comic Book Resources last week “that people either misreported or misconstrued” Gabriel’s announcement.
The Beat interview with Gabriel and Chief Operating Officer Jim Sokolowski goes beyond the rollback policy to delve into the state of the market, digital comics and more.
- November 4, 2010 @ 10:48 AM by Kevin Melrose
The monthly comic is reborn!
Tokyopop, a company that has never been afraid to play around with format, is bringing back the monthly comic — but only in a limited way.
Manga are serialized in monthly anthologies in Japan but are generally available only in collected form in the United States. In the manga world, everyone is a trade-waiter.
So it’s interesting that Tokyopop is shifting gears a bit with the second volume of Hetalia. Having already released the first volume in several digital formats ahead of the print edition, the publisher is now releasing the second volume in weekly installments via the comiXology app. The first two chapters are available now, and the remaining chapters will be doled out every Wednesday until the volume is complete. The first volume of Hetalia was also divided into individual chapters on comiXology, but they were all released simultaneously.
This points to something interesting about digital comics services like comiXology: Right now, the format is aimed at floppies, not trades. The default comic is 22 pages for 99 cents or $1.99, and there aren’t too many graphic novels on comiXology — Hetalia is the only manga that I know of. One reason may be that readers who tend to be wary of dropping a big chunk of change on a digital-only book will be more willing to buy it in small chunks for 99 cents a chapter. With six chapters in a volume, Tokypop can give one away for free and still take in almost five dollars a volume.
Weekly serialization makes a lot of sense for a manga like Hetalia, which already had a big fanbase in the U.S. It’s a gag comic, so continuity isn’t a huge factor for readers; it will be interesting to see if Tokyopop goes this route with some of its other manga in the near future.
- November 4, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Kickstart my art | Will Elder documentary needs your help
Chicken Fat
Gary VandenBergh is directing a documentary called Chicken Fat about MAD Magazine artist Will Elder, and he’s using the fund-raising site Kickstarter to get the $15,000 he needs to do it.
Specifically, he wants to raise funds to complete interviews with Hugh Hefner, Daniel Clowes, William Stout and Joe Dante about the man whose artistic “technique became the defining look of the early MAD and, subsequently, the visual style that defined a generation.” Like other Kickstarter efforts, he’s offering a range of prizes depending on how much you donate, from copies of the complete film on DVD to a credit in the film for high-dollar donations.
In addition to those named abovem the documentary will feature interviews with Maus/Raw creator Art Spiegelman, underground cartoonists Bill Griffith and Jay Lynch, actor and comedian Andy Kindler, MAD fold-in creator Al Jaffee, cartoonist Arnold Roth, artist Drew Friedman, MAD editor Nick Meglin and the late Harvey Kurtzman, Bill Gaines and Will Elder himself. If you’re interested in seeing this come to life, go check it out.
- November 4, 2010 @ 09:15 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | One Piece hits milestone, Scott Pilgrim dethroned
One Piece, Vol. 6
Publishing | With the release today in Japan of the 60th volume of One Piece, 200 million copies of Eiichiro Oda’s hit comedy-adventure will have been published. What’s more, this volume’s 3.4 million copies will break the record set by the previous volume. As of late August, One Piece had sold 20 million copies in 2010 alone — four times that of Naruto, the second-highest selling manga. On a related note, a 35-year-old Japanese man was arrested for copyright violation for allegedly distributing four manga, including the 59th volume of One Piece, online. [Japanator, The Mainichi Daily News]
Crime | Six people accused in the July robbery of a 77-year-old New York comics collector who died of a heart attack hours later could be charged with murder if police can link the crime to his death. [Democrat and Chronicle]
Conventions | Wizard Entertainment CEO Gareb Shamus announced he has acquired the two-year-old NOLA Comic-Con, which will become part of the Jan. 29-30 Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con. [press release]
- November 4, 2010 @ 08:39 AM by Kevin Melrose
Opening of Spider-Man musical delayed again
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
The delay-plagued Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will open in January instead of Dec. 21 because more work is needed on the $60-million musical, The New York Times reports.
The news comes a day after inspectors from the New York State Department of Labor visited the Foxwoods Theatre in Manhattan to examine the flying and safety devices for the production, the most expensive and most technically complex show in Broadway history. According to a department spokesman, the producers were unable to present all of the two dozen aerial maneuvers for the inspectors, requiring them to return before performances an begin. Previews had been set to start on Nov. 14.
Although the inspection had been scheduled for months, it occurred just two weeks after a performer broke two wrists during a failed aerial stunt, bringing to light concerns about the show’s safety. The Times reports that the Department of Labor and Actors’ Equity have opened investigations into the maneuver, which reportedly has injured two actors.
Spider-Man initially was scheduled to begin performances in February, but “cash-flow obstacles” in August 2009 triggered delays that eventually led to the loss of original co-stars Evan Rachel Ward (Mary Jane) and Alan Cumming (Green Goblin). The budget has ballooned from $35 million to $50 million to what’s now reported to be between $60 million and $65 million.
Directed by Julie Taymor and featuring a score by Bono and the Edge, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark stars Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano and Patrick Page.
- November 4, 2010 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
It’s 1954 all over again
Unlikely hero: Justice Antonin Scalia
Earlier this week, around the time I finished reading David Hajdu’s The Ten-Cent Plague, the U.S. Supreme Court, it seems, was re-enacting it. Well, at least a couple of scenes.
The Ten-Cent Plague tells the story of not one but several campaigns against comics on the grounds that they were violent and bad influences on children. And, to be fair, the crime and horror comics of the time were pretty damn gruesome, repulsive enough that a lot of folks were willing to set aside the First Amendment on the grounds that the Founding Fathers couldn’t possibly have envisioned the Crypt-Keeper, and they certainly wouldn’t want to defend that. Hajdu documents a flurry of legislation banning all sorts of comic books throughout the country, mostly promoted by people who genuinely cared about children (but who also seem to have forgotten that children have brains of their own).
A similar impulse led California legislators to pass a law in 2005 banning the sale of violent video games to anyone under 18, but the law was struck down by a lower court, because apparently you can only protect youngsters from sex, not violence. This led Justice Antonin Scalia to become the unlikely hero of video gamers everywhere, as he argued on Tuesday that while the First Amendment definitely wasn’t designed to protect obscenity, it should apply to everything else, even violence.
- November 4, 2010 @ 07:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | Beasts!
Beasts!
Beasts! Book 1
Curated by Jacob Covey; Written and Illustrated by 95 writers and artists
Fantagraphics; $28.95
Beasts! stretches the definition of what a comic book is, but we’re adventurous folks, right? At first glance, it’s an art book. Ninety different artists each depict a cryptozoological creature in the style of his or her choosing. There’s also a paragraph about each by one of five different writers, but that sounds like the kind of thing you’d flip through once and then stick on the coffee table. It certainly doesn’t sound like a comic. There’s no story and that’s what comics are. They line up pictures to tell stories.
Except that this book does tell a story. Not a very conventional one perhaps, but it’s there.
The first clue is Jacob Covey’s title. He didn’t edit the book; he curated it like a museum exhibition. The book’s Introduction further reinforces that notion. It reads like a program, with a definition of Cryptozoology and notes about the artists, the creatures they selected, and the approach the curator took in putting the collection together. It also shares interesting facts, points out easily missed elements of the book’s design, and even suggests the best way for “the enthusiastic reader” to experience what’s to come. In other words, it’s not only a program; it’s a tour guide. By the time I was done reading it and ready to turn the page, I genuinely felt like I was entering an exhibit. Not just an art show, but a fascinating trip into The Study of Hidden Animals.
- November 3, 2010 @ 06:39 PM by Michael May
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn! This week’s shelves were submitted by Richard John Marcej, a toymaker who shares his collection of some of his creations (as well as his comics and other stuff).
If you’d like to contribute to Shelf Porn, it’s easy — just send your photos and write-up to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
And now here is Richard …
- November 3, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
With this strip, I thee wed
Leigh Gallagher has illustrated books for DC Comics and 2000AD, but I bet none of them were as life-changing as his latest comic will likely end up being — a marriage proposal, in comic strip form, that he posted on his blog. It’s a cute strip and a great proposal … hopefully he’ll follow it up soon with the sequel, Wohoo! She Said Yes.
Update: She said yes.
- November 3, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Exclusive: Sneak preview of Calypso
As we mentioned the other day, the creators of the webcomic Ulysses “Seen” have turned to Kickstarter to fund their project, a webcomics adaptation of Ulysses, so they can pick up the pace a bit. And yesterday, they made their goal, so today we celebrate—with the first four pages of the second chapter, Calypso.
The first one is above; hit the link for the rest of the pages.
Continue Reading »
- November 3, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
The wisdom of Julia Wertz
It’s funny because it’s true: Julia Wertz provides a peek into the effects of reviews on a creator’s psyche at The Fart Party. Then to prove she’s not that thin-skinned, she posts some excerpts from bad reviews at her blog:
Only in America could an alcoholic, whiney, self-sabotaging person with limited artistic skill write and illustrate a comic, oops, “graphic novel” about her pathetic and boring life in San Francisco and New York City/Brooklyn and become successful. Reading it almost drove me to drink.
Ouch! Actually, Drinking at the Movies is anything but boring—it’s funny and perceptive and unsparing, and it’s well worth a read. I’m with the New York LA Times on this one.
- November 3, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Morrison sets the stage for Batman Inc. with ‘startling revelation’ in Batman & Robin
Batman & Robin #16
This week Grant Morrison wraps up his run on Batman & Robin with a “startling revelation” that sets the stage for the upcoming Batman Inc. title … and that’s popping up in the media. So if you haven’t read issue #16 yet and would like to do it spoiler free, don’t click the “Continue Reading” button below. You might also want to just avoid the internet completely.
SPOILERS WARNING!
- November 3, 2010 @ 11:32 AM by JK Parkin
State inspectors review flying safety of Spider-Man musical
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Inspectors from the New York State Department of Labor are visiting the Foxwood Theatre in Manhattan today to examine the flying and safety devices for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
Although the inspection has been planned for months, it comes just two weeks after a performer was injured during a rehearsal of one of the show’s complex aerial stunts, breaking both wrists when he was catapulted onto the lip of the stage.
Spider-Man won’t be permitted to begin previews on Nov. 14 until state inspectors approve the show’s special effects. Findings are usually issued a few days after the inspection. “The flying in this musical is unprecedented for Broadway,” Department of Labor spokesman Leo Rosales told The New York Times, “and we’re going to urge the producers to make sure everything is as safe as possible.”
Directed by Julie Taymor and featuring music by Bono and the Edge, the $60-million Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will be the most expensive, and most likely the most technically complex, show in Broadway history. It stars Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano and Patrick Page.
- November 3, 2010 @ 11:07 AM by Kevin Melrose
Defeated Senate candidate uses election night to promote his comic
Ultimate Warrior
Soundly defeated Tuesday by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and shut out by the South Carolina Democratic Party, Democrat Alvin Greene used his sparsely attended election-night celebration, and what remained of his 15 minutes, to promote a cause: his comic book.
The Huffington Post and WBTV report that Greene, who battled obscenity charges and his own party in his unlikely bid for the Senate seat, quickly shifted the focus last night from his failed campaign to Ultimate Warrior, a comic in which he stars as a superhero who saves people from foreclosures.
“This superhero is greater than, um, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk … and all those other characters,” he said, holding a printout up to the TV camera. Asked by a reporter whether he really thinks he could “take the Hulk,” Greene responded, “‘Nothing stops the Ultimate Warrior …’ before mumbling off and then saying ‘It makes all the sense in the world’.”
Indeed. WBTV reports that Greene, who didn’t deliver the traditional concession speech, went on to talk about his plans for an action figure: “He can see into the future. He is faster than [Olympic medalist] Maurice Green and he can out-leap [Michael] Jordan. See, I have projects like this … what is DeMint offering y’all — just more gridlock. Politics.”
You can read a five-page PDF of the comic, with art by Bob Raymond, on Greene’s campaign website.
- November 3, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose