2010 December
DC promotes Mark Chiarello to vice president-art direction & design
DC Comics
Mark Chiarello, the award-winning editorial art director of DC Comics, has been promoted to the newly created position of vice president-art direction & design, the company announced today.
He’ll oversee the editorial art department, and “lead in establishing the style, visual look and graphic design across all of DC’s imprints.” Chiarello will continue to be based in New York City, where he’ll report directly to Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee.
The news follows Wednesday’s announcement that longtime editor Eddie Berganza has been promoted to executive editor of the DC Universe imprint and Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler to the new position of director–editorial, special projects & archival editions.
The moves come as part of a massive restructuring that began in September 2009 with the creation of DC Entertainment with Warner Bros. veteran Diane Nelson as president, and continued in February with the naming of an executive team that includes DiDio and Lee as co-publishers and Geoff Johns as chief creative officer. DC announced in September that it would close its WildStorm and Zuda imprints, and shift business/administration, multimedia and digital-content operations to Burbank, Calif., while leaving the publishing division in New York City. As part of that “bi-coastal realignment strategy,” as many as 80 employees are expected to be fired or relocated.
The shakeup has seen the departures of executives like Richard Bruning, Steve Rotterdam and Cheryl Rubin, and the promotions of Bob Wayne, Hank Kanalz and, most recently, Bob Harras, who was named editor-in-chief, VP, DC Comics.
Chiarello, a respected artist who joined DC in 1993 as color editor before becoming editorial art director, has overseen such acclaimed titles as Batman: Hush, Batman Black & White, Solo, DC: The New Frontier and Wednesday Comics.
- December 2, 2010 @ 12:15 PM by Kevin Melrose
Exclusive preview: Usagi Yojimbo #134
Usagi Yojimbo #134
Courtesy of our friends at Dark Horse Comics, we’re pleased to bring you a preview of Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo #134, which arrives in stores Dec. 22. This standalone issue features the con artist Kitsune, who is selling snake, er, toad oil, claiming it has magical healing abilities. Unfortunately Usagi gets caught up in the con.
Usagi is consistently one of the most entertaining comics on the stands, so if you haven’t read it before, here’s a single-issue story to try out. You can find the preview and more info on issue #134 after the jump.
- December 2, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
Culture, characters, copyright and Creative Commons
Tuo the Alligator Man
The 30 Characters Challenge, which asked comic creators to come up with a new character every day last month, ended earlier this week, and if you head over to the site right now, you can see round-up posts by some of the artists who participated of all the characters they came up with in what was surely a very busy November.
One participant was Vito Delsante, writer of FCHS, who I spoke with about another character-in-progress last summer. Delsante created 35 new characters — or in a few cases revised older public domain characters — and now he’s releasing them into the public domain under a Creative Commons license.
Delsante said he was inspired by Mark Waid’s Harvey Awards keynote speech, in particular the part where Waid said “…culture is more important than copyright.”
“Waid argues many points about many different topics, but this…these bolded words above, hit me in a very soft spot (I’ll readily admit that I might be missing the point of his speech). He’s right,” Delsante wrote on his blog. “The idea of public domain adds to comics. But there are very few characters (as compared to copyrighted/franchise/creator owned characters) that are in the public domain. That changes today.”
Delsante isn’t asking for money or even the right to approve their usage; he only asks that he be credited with their creation when they’re used. Waid gives his approval in the comments section to Delsante’s post, while Sage LaTorra has already said he is going to use them in a role-playing game he’s designing. Although as Sean Kleefeld points out, it’s highly unlikely Spider-Man will be facing any of these characters anytime soon for a variety of reasons, it’s still an interesting move and I admire the spirit under which Delsante is doing it. Although I probably would have kept Tuo, the Alligator Man for myself.
- December 2, 2010 @ 10:34 AM by JK Parkin
Fantagraphics to publish Daniel Clowes-designed collections of Crockett Johnson’s Barnaby
The Comics Reporter’s Tom Spurgeon breaks the welcome news that Barnaby, the classic comic strip by Harold and the Purple Crayon writer/artist Crockett Johnson, will be collected by Fantagraphics beginning in April 2012. Designed by Wilson and Ghost World cartoonist Daniel Clowes, the collections will include the strip’s entire ten-year run from 1942-1952, including the strips created by Jack Morley and Ted Ferro after Johnson assumed a story-consultant role on the comic.
Long beloved by the comics cognoscenti, Barnaby tells the tale of young Barnaby Baxter and his cigar-chomping fairy godfather, Mr. O’Malley. As Spurgeon notes, old collections like the one pictured above have been hard to come by, making the strip one of the last great gets available in this, the Golden Age of Comics Reprints — which Fantagraphics arguably kicked off with its similar, Seth-designed Complete Peanuts collections. Barnaby joins Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse and George Herriman’s Krazy Kat dailies on the list of eagerly awaited archival reprint projects headed our way from the publisher over the next several years. (As an aside, my suspicion is that Johnson’s fine line, the whimsy of the material, the rounded and jolly character designs, and even the typeset lettering will all find a receptive audience in the webcomics age.)
Click here to read Spurgeon’s thorough report on the announcement and the strip itself.
- December 2, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by Sean T. Collins
It’s hard out here for a cartoonist: Michael Kupperman edition
What kind of sociopathic monster would not want to pay the man who made this?
“Considering a career in illustration? The money now is LESS than in 1980s, + you spend half your time chasing it cuz NOONE WANTS TO PAY YOU.”
– The great cartoonist and illustrator Michael Kupperman, whose Tales Designed to Thrizzle is legitimately one of the funniest comics ever made, serves up some real talk on Twitter. Congress failing to extend unemployment benefits is still the most depressing thing I read about the economy this week, but Michael Kupperman — Michael Kupperman! — having a hard time getting paid to draw things is a close second.
- December 2, 2010 @ 08:32 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | Troubled St. Louis retailer found murdered
Legal
Crime | A St. Louis retailer involved in an armed standoff in October when police attempted to arrest him on rape and weapons charges was found murdered Tuesday in a Missouri state park. Kenneth McClure, who operated Legends Comics & Sports Cards for more than two decades, was discovered shot to death about three hours after he failed to appear for a routine court hearing. Police say McClure’s 1992 Chevrolet Camaro was seen leaving the park Tuesday after the shots were fired, then found abandoned Wednesday morning.
The charges against the 57-year-old McClure stemmed from alleged sexual encounters with a 13-year-old girl between June 2008 and June 2009 at the comic store, where he lived in the basement. McClure recently gave Legends Comics to his nephew Everett “Sonny” McClure III. [Post-Dispatch]
- December 2, 2010 @ 07:03 AM by Kevin Melrose
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs | Getting to know Brian Clevinger
Not necessarily Brian Clevinger
Brian Clevinger first came to my attention with Atomic Robo and I’ve been a big fan ever since. Anyone who writes dialogue like “I beat them with my violence” is aces with me.
Of course, by the time Atomic Robo came to town, Clevinger was already a familiar name to fans of his award-winning webcomic 8-Bit Theater. And he’s becoming known to even more folks with his Marvel work. He wrote the back-up stories for World War Hulks: Wolverine vs. Captain America as well as the mini-series that features a space trucker and the line, “Doom does not mop”: Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet. And starting next month, he’ll be writing the WWII adventures of Captain America in Captain America: The Fighting Avenger.
Let’s get to know him:
Q: Who’s your personal hero?
A: My grandfather is an obvious choice. My parents too. They’re good people.
Q: What’s your morning routine?
A: First Charlie wakes me up 10 seconds before my alarm goes off. It looks like this. Then my alarm goes off. Then I feed the damn cats, start some coffee, check my email, skim Twitter, poke at a couple websites, and get to work.
- December 1, 2010 @ 04:00 PM by Michael May
DC Comics promotes Eddie Berganza and Ian Sattler
DC Comics
DC Comics veteran Eddie Berganza has been promoted to executive editor of the DC Universe line, Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras announced this afternoon.
Ian Sattler, who had worked as senior story editor for the past three years, also was promoted to director–editorial, special projects & archival editions.
A 19-year veteran of DC, Berganza most recently was a senior editor and then group editor, overseeing high-profile events like Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, Blackest Night and the upcoming Flashpoint. He’ll work with Superman Group Editor Matt Idelson and Batman Group Editor Mike Marts.
Dan DiDio had served as senior vice president-executive editor, DC Universe before being promoted in February to co-publisher.
- December 1, 2010 @ 03:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
No new comics in the United States today? Well, that’s ok … because we still have some Shelf Porn for you. Today’s Shelf Porn comes from Graham Apperly, who lives in England and shows us his library of graphic novels and collection of wargame miniatures.
If you’d like to contribute to Shelf Porn, it’s easy — just send your photos and write-up to jkparkin@yahoo.com. Also, if you’re decorating for the holidays and using any sort of comic book theme on your tree or around the house, we want to see those too! So take some photos and send them to me.
And now here’s Graham …
- December 1, 2010 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Robot reviews: Short takes on digital comics
Now that I have an iPad, I have been paying more attention to digital comics releases, particularly to comiXology’s weekly e-mail blast. I sampled some of their recent offerings and found them to be a mixed bag—three very good single issues and a graphic novel that was kind of mediocre. The lower price made digital a good deal for all of these, and with comiXology’s web app, they are available to anyone with a browser and a few dollars.
The Royal Historian of Oz #1 Andy Hirsch’s expressive art really lights up this story of an L. Frank Baum wannabe who makes it to the real Land of Oz—and steals a bunch of their stuff. His hapless son, who has barely been keeping things together, is less than thrilled to learn that his house is now home to an assortment of (mostly living) Oz artifacts, and the ruler of Oz isn’t happy with the situation either. Writer Tommy Kovac makes the characters grounded and convincing despite the fantastic circumstances, and Hirsch does a great job of bringing Baum’s lesser-known creations to life, filling the panels with quirky details. It’s in glorious black and white, with a bit of an underground comics vibe, and at 99 cents (a penny less than the print edition!), it’s a solid bargain.
- December 1, 2010 @ 02:30 PM by Brigid Alverson
This weekend, it’s Kids Comics L.A.
Kids Comics L.A.
This Saturday Meltdown Comics in Hollywood will host the creators of several recent kids’ comics for Kids Comics L.A.. The event will allow kids to meet Fraggle Rock‘s Sam Humphries, Darkwing Duck‘s Ian Brill, David Server and Jackson Lanzing of Penguins of Madagascar fame, and Reed Gunther creators Chris and Shane Houghton.
The event will also include interactive seminars on creating characters and comic book storytelling, as well as a Grilled Cheese Truck. The free event runs from 1 to 3 p.m.
- December 1, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Collins and Wiegle launch Destructor webcomic
Destructor
Our own Sean T. Collins and cartoonist Matt Wiegle have launched a website for their webcomic Destructor, which originally was posted on Top Shelf’s webcomics portal. The two comics that originally appear there in black and white, “Destructor Comes to Croc-Town” and “Destructor in: Prison Break,” will be posted in full color at the new site, followed by brand new stories.
Watch for new updates every Monday and Thursday, and check out the full press release after the jump.
- December 1, 2010 @ 01:15 PM by JK Parkin
Exclusive preview: Avengers Academy #7
Bring on your wrecking ball!
Avengers Academy #7 brings the return of Hank Pym’s Giant-Man alter ego, as he and the rest of the AA crew take on the Absorbing Man. The issue is written by Christos Gage and drawn by Tom Raney. Marvel released some preview pages for it already, but they were kind enough to send over three more for us to share with you.
Our own Tim O’Shea has an interview with Gage coming up in a couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for it!
- December 1, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by JK Parkin
Gold Sponsors announced for Free Comic Book Day
Organizers have announced a Gold Sponsor lineup for Free Comic Book Day 2011 that includes a bevy of licensed properties, Joe Hill’s Locke & Key, Spider-Man, a top-secret project from DC and, perhaps most intriguingly, a “kid-friendly title” from The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman.
The books for the May 7 event were selected by retailers on the FCBD Committee. “This year’s event is very special and the list of Gold Comics looks better than ever,” FCBD spokesperson Leslie Jackson said in a statement. “We are always honored to present comic book fans and new enthusiasts with some of the best comics available and hope that this year’s lineup will attract even more customers than ever before.”
The complete list of FCBD titles will be available in January’s Previews catalog. Here’s the list of Gold comics:
- December 1, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Peter David wouldn’t mind a shot at a Hulk Forever series
The Incredible Hulk #377
Marvel has published X-Men Forever, X-Factor Forever and New Mutants Forever, series that allow writers Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson to pick up where they left their classic runs years earlier. So why not Hulk Forever, continuing Peter David’s award-winning, 12-year stint on The Incredible Hulk?
In an interview with Comic Book Resources, David said he’d love to work on Spider-Man, Wolverine or the Hulk — or even Hulk Forever. However, he concedes, “I don’t know if the fan support for such a title would be there.”
David’s landmark run lasted from 1987 to 1998, during which time the writer explored Bruce Banner’s dissociative identity disorder, introduced the gray Hulk’s “Joe Fixit” alias as well the “new” Hulk that merged all his personalities, and killed Betty Ross. David left the title following a storyline disagreement with Marvel editors — they reportedly wanted Betty’s death to lead to the re-emergence of the Savage Hulk persona — and returned only briefly in 2005.
With Guillermo del Toro and David Eick reportedly sprearheading the Hulk’s return to live-action television, it might be an ideal time for Marvel to revisit one of the character’s defining eras.
- December 1, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose