2011 January
Saturday Shelf Porn!
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn, our weekly look at someone’s shelves … and this week you get a second dose, as we move the feature to its new home on Saturday! Today’s collection comes from newlyweds Scott and Jessica Greenfield, who share their really awesome Hobby Room/Nerd Shrine of action figures, graphic novels, posters and more.
If you’d like to share your collection with the world, please email a write-up and pictures to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
- January 22, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Best Online Comics Criticism 2010
If you’ve made your way around the Interwebs at all over the past few days (or at least the comic-book derived portion of such) you may have noticed a couple of posts devoted to what’s being called the “Best Online Comics Criticism of 2010.” And, unless your memory is as faulty as mine, you may also recall similar lists being made around the same time last year, as this is an annual event created and overseen by the esteemed critic (and Hooded Utilitarian contributor) Ng Suat Tong.
Suat was kind enough back in January of ’09 to invite me to be one of the judges for this year’s round-up. the other judges consisting of Tim Hodler, Johanna Draper Carlson, Melinda Beasi, Derik Badman, Shannon Garrity and Bill Randall. I’ll go through this year’s winners, with my personal commentary in a minute, but if you’re the impatient type, you can see the final results here and here.
First, some brief observances …
- January 22, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Mautner
The Fifth Color | Forward into the past of Marvel in April 2011
I feel sorry for the shark.
Is it me or does January always go by crazy fast? The moment the holidays are over and everything returns to a normal schedule, it feels a little like playing catch-up to all that time lost. No rest for the wicked, I guess, so here we are, putting on our dainty opera glasses to see the great stage of Marvel comics. Sure, the seating is bad and sometimes the play isn’t as great as it looked from the little glasses, but there’s no other way to see the show, folks.
It is so hard not to make a Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark joke here, I just want you all to know this.
Anyways, April! There’s Fear Itself #1, some subsequent tie-ins, a couple brand new names and titles, and the celebration of The Mighty Thor hitting the big screen next month. The hype machine is on, let’s see what’s in store for us in April 2011.
- January 21, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Former teacher sentenced for Simpsons porn
Steven Kutzner was sentenced on Tuesday in Boise, Idaho, to 15 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release and mandatory sex offender treatment, for possessing drawings of minors having sex. This case has received a lot of attention on comics blogs because the images mentioned in the plea agreement were all of characters from The Simpsons, and the case is one of several in recent years that have involved drawn images. Child pornography in the form of photographs or movies involves the exploitation of real children, but drawings and animation are more of a thought crime, and a robust discussion has sprung up as to whether it’s something that should be prosecuted.
Sean Michael Robinson, who has been following this case at The Comics Journal, spoke to Kutzner’s attorney D.J. Carr, who said that while he felt the statute under which Kutzner was prosecuted “puts the government in places it shouldn’t be,” this wasn’t the case to test it. The fact is, the 33-year-old Kutzner isn’t some hapless hobbyist being victimized by an overzealous prosecutor. German police and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency had identified Kutzner’s computer as the one that offered a file of actual child pornography for download on a peer-to-peer network, and Kutzner admitted that he had downloaded child pornography and then wiped his computer to remove all traces of it.
This reads a bit like an episode of Law & Order: SVU, in that prosecutors knew Kutzner had downloaded child pornography, but they might not be able to prove it in court, so they charged him with possession of obscene cartoons instead. Kutzner pleaded guilty to avoid the more serious charges. In fact, there is unlikely to ever be a clean test case of laws banning drawings of child obscenity, in the sense that prosecutors would go after someone because of one or two images in an otherwise innocuous collection. The DA in this case, Jim Peters, basically said as much to Robinson in October, when Kutzner pleaded guilty:
- January 21, 2011 @ 02:41 PM by Brigid Alverson
Heroes actor Todd Staswick and artist Dennis Calero look for the Devil Inside
No, it’ s not an INXS tribute.
It’s a “guns blazing, white-knuckled, preternatural joy ride to hell and back,” according to its creators Dennis Calero (Solar Man of the Atom, X-Men: Noir) and actor Todd Staswick (Heroes, The Riches). Devil Inside is a new online strip that follows an arcane drifter named Jack Springheel (Springheel Jack, get it??) who’s on the run with a bounty on his head. Sara Lima at ComicVine did an interview with them about the series in July.
Devil Inside is 28 pages into its run, and Calero and Staswick post up a new installment each week on Staswick’s website.
- January 21, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
First preview for DC’s ‘Flashpoint’ lands on Free Comic Book Day
Green Lanter/Flashpoint FCBD 2011 Special Edition
The first preview for DC Comics’ heavily teased “Flashpoint” event will arrive as part of the Green Lantern Free Comic Book Day issue, the publisher announced today.
Although the Flash-centric mega event, by Geoff John and Andy Kubert, has been dangled in front of readers since April 2010, little has been revealed about “Flashpoint” beyond that the threat facing the DC Universe’s speedsters could change the pasts and futures of Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and other heroes.
Here’s the solicitation for what’s being billed as the Green Lanter/Flashpoint FCBD 2011 Special Edition: “This is the perfect jumping-on point for new readers who can’t wait to see the Green Lantern major motion picture from Warner Bros.! Discover how and why Hal received the power ring that changed his life forever with this reprinting of Green Lantern #30, a pivotal chapter of the Green Lantern: Secret Origin graphic novel. No comic fan can afford to miss this exclusive first sneak peek of ‘Flashpoint,’ DC’s blockbuster event of 2011, by the all-star team of Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert.”
Free Comic Book Day 2011 will be held on May 7.
- January 21, 2011 @ 12:03 PM by Kevin Melrose
Comic Couture | Keep your head warm … as Hell(boy)
About to step out into the cold and need something unique to protect your noggin?
An enterprising comic store in Massachusetts called Hub Comics is selling hand-made Hellboy hats for $20, as seen recently on the retailer’s Twitter feed. No word yet whether Mike Mignola’s signed off on this, but it seems like a creative (and cozy!) adornment for any nerd or geek in your life.
- January 21, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Barnes & Noble slashes buying staff, leaving publishers shaken
Following in the wake of the Borders Group’s worsening financial problems comes news this week that Barnes & Noble, the largest bookstore chain in the United States, has laid off much of its buying staff.
Although the company wouldn’t confirm the number, Publishers Weekly reports that about 45 to 50 jobs were eliminated. Among those fired were Robert Wietrak, vice president of merchandising, and Marcella Smith, director of small press and vendor relations. According to The New York Times, buyers responsible for cookbooks, reference books and mysteries were among those let go.
“We made a small number of organizational changes this week that are designed to better align our resources with our business,” a spokeswoman said. “Barnes & Noble is a growing company with both our revenues and new hires growing faster than they have in years.”
PW reports that publishers were shaken by news of the firings, “with the larger publishers wondering who would oversee merchandising, while smaller presses questioned who would be looking out for their interests.”
MobyLives offers commentary: “What possessed B&N to not only fire such important employees, but to do it in such a cynical (or is it desperate) bad-publicity-be-damned style?”
- January 21, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Plastic fantastic Archie & Friends
Although it has grown increasingly topical of late, Archie Comics has a longstanding tradition of producing special Earth Day stories. This year, in April’s Archie & Friends Double Digest #4, the Riverdale gang takes a hard look at the waste stream as Dianna Cohen, founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, and writer Angelo DeCesare (who wrote the “Twilite” parody) team up to produce the story “Bottle Battle!”
Annually millions of plastic bottles are recycled, but where do they go? Are they actually broken down a turned into something else? Or do they just disappear from sight? With the help of Veronica’s father Mr. Lodge, the kids from Riverdale High School discover what really happens to a bottle after the beverage is gone.
And in an interesting twist, the comic will be available through the usual venues (comics shops on March 30, newsstands on April 12) and as a single-issue subscription from the Archie Comics Store, which also offers a handful of other special issues like the “Riverdale Shore” parody, the Veronica meets President Obama issue, and the critically acclaimed Jughead #200.
- January 21, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Tobin and Coover’s Gingerbread Girl kicks off online today
From "Gingerbread Girl"
Gingerbread Girl, the upcoming graphic novel by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, will debut today in serialized form on Top Shelf 2.0, leading up to its hardcover release in May. New installments will appear each Monday and Friday.
Announced in July at Comic-Con International, Gingerbread Girl follows the night in the life of 26-year-old Annah Billips, who may or may not have a missing sister named Ginger. “At heart,” Tobin told Robot 6 in August, “it’s a strange bird of a character study focused on the main character, Annah, with a changing group of narrators (including a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a magician, a pigeon, a thug, a store clerk, a doctor, an English bulldog, and many more) searching for the truth behind our ‘Gingerbread Girl,’ who believes that her mad scientist father extracted a part of her brain (the Penfield Homunculus) and used it to create a sister for Annah.”
The 112-page graphic novel is already available for pre-order for $12.95 at the Top Shelf Productions website.
- January 21, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
J.H. Williams III addresses Batwoman delay
Batwoman #1
As DC Comics’ solicitations confirmed yesterday, the much-anticipated debut of the Batwoman series has been moved from February to April — the date that writer-artist J.H. Williams III notes he originally wanted.
“Some think that this book was to launch last July,” the award-winning artist writes on his blog, “this was never the case, this was speculation on the part of some. The book was also never to launch in November either. The zero issue which came out at that time was never in the original plans, but was done as a bit of a reminder as requested by DC, and to set the stage, this of course took out time of the work already in progress. February had been decided on the launch date by the company with reservations about that from me. I felt that was a bit too soon in a realistic look at work progression. One of the reasons for this was that I had been seriously committed to making appearances around the world over this past year. I think maybe 3 months or more of work loss occurred during that time. I kept trying to point this out whenever discussions about schedule came up. When first discussing the launch date earlier last year we had originally wanted April 2011, and now ironically that is what we have. Only after solicits stating otherwise, causing some unnecessary frustrations.”
Williams, who’s collaborating on Batwoman with W. Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder, says his schedule was further complicated by the addition of the covers for the high-profile Batman Inc. (He’s since bowed out of that assignment, with the cover for Issue 5 being his last.)
“Even though there has been issues raised in the scheduling and plans being jumped the gun on, DC acknowledges for the greater good of the project we need more time,” he continues. “I’m glad that they saw this was a good idea, this will help maintain a certain standard that we’ve already set in place.”
Visit Williams’ blog for more of his comments, and to see his covers for Batman Inc. Batwoman #1 is set to debut on April 27, according to the DC Comics website (the solicitations released yesterday say April 6).
- January 21, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Is a Walking Dead video game in the works?
The Walking Dead #50
Could the popular zombie series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard be moving from comics page to television screen to game console? Signs point to … maybe.
Video-game website 1Up reports it received an invitation from Telltale Games to a Feb. 17 event at which the developer will announce five new multi-platform projects, including “one based on a just-launched property from the TV and comic book world whose popularity is changing life as some know it.”
It’s a fine bit of hyperbole that, nevertheless, hints at The Walking Dead, whose TV adaptation broke ratings records for AMC and received critical acclaim (including a Golden Globe nomination). The only other “just-launched property” that comes to mind is Cartoon Network’s Young Justice. However, that fledgling series has yet to achieve the heights — or the hype — of life-changing popularity.
As 1Up’s Frank Cifaldi notes, while there’s no evidence to push this beyond a tantalizing theory, the property “fits Telltale’s style of games rather well.” The San Rafael, Calif.-based company has developed episodic games based on CSI, Wallace & Gromit and Jeff Smith’s Bone. It’s now working on series for the Jurassic Park and Back to the Future franchises.
- January 21, 2011 @ 05:35 AM by Kevin Melrose
Grumpy Old Fan | Don’t know much about history
The Atlantis Chronicles #1
Last week’s big reorganization project is finished (for now) — but by reintroducing me to Peter David and Esteban Maroto’s The Atlantis Chronicles, it has already paid off.
The Atlantis Chronicles was a seven-issue 1990 miniseries designed to give Aquaman a more “classically mythic” backstory. Like the Old Testament or your average Shakespearean tragedy, it is full of intrigue, violence, sinister motives, and secret affairs. Along the way it traces the history of twin cities Poseidonis and Tritonis from their sinking to Aquaman’s birth, explaining such things as marine mental telepathy, why the Tritonistas are mer-people, and when the Idyllists broke off into their own community. It was all in service to a PAD-written Aquaman regular series which ended up being delayed for a few years; and which, when it finally did appear, produced the cranky, hook-handed Aquaman of the ‘90s. Re-reading The Atlantis Chronicles reminded me that some noteworthy plot elements — including an involuntary amputation — foreshadowed similar events in the later series. Some characters from TAC also reappeared in David’s Aquaman, further connecting the two.
I enjoyed The Atlantis Chronicles on its own merits, but I couldn’t help but think how it would have been treated better in today’s marketplace. That, in turn, got me thinking about the roles various “historical” DC miniseries played (and might still play) in the building of their legends.
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- January 20, 2011 @ 03:30 PM by Tom Bondurant
Comic Strips to Comic Flicks: Daniel Clowes movies they haven’t made (yet)
Daniel Clowes (self-portrait)
In recent years, we’ve seen a boatload of comic books and graphic novels make their way to the silver screen, from Big Two stalwarts like Spider-Man and Batman to independent titles like Scott Pilgrim and 30 Days Of Night. Among the various adaptations, though, some creators have emerged as magnets for Hollywood types — and unlikely and under-recognized one is Daniel Clowes.
Clowes was one of the driving forces of alternative comics in the ’80s and ’90s, and was identified as one of the earliest “literary” cartoonists — that is, cartoonists whose storytelling goes above the level of stereotyped “traditional comics” and into the level of literature. His work was quickly embraced by the younger generation, and Clowes illustrated over 20 album covers, several skateboard decks and even a soda brand. Crumb director Terry Zwigoff picked up the story of Ghost World, which appeared in several issues of Clowes’ anthology Eightball. After the success of Ghost World, Zwigoff and Clowes followed it up with 2006′s Art School Confidential, also based on stories found in Eightball. Clowes has also worked on several movies not based on his work, including a project with Michel Gondry.
With those two alt-films released and successful, here’s a look at some other Clowes stories and ideas for adaptation:
- January 20, 2011 @ 02:30 PM by Chris Arrant
S’allgood with Salgood Sam
Beneath the superhero surface of American comics lives a teeming underground of talented artists who make their way without donning cape or cowls. And while they may not immediately come to the attention of Wednesday comic shoppers or casual fans, they’re all there waiting to be found.
One of the most talented artists who doesn’t (yet) have the popularity to match is Max Douglas, AKA Salgood Sam. His current project is the webcomic series Dream Life at Transmission X, and his biggest print work is arguably the first issues of Sea of Red for Image, or the graphic novel Therefore! Repent with writer Jim Monroe for IDW Publishing. He’s drawn stories in numerous anthologies, and even did an issue of Ghostbusters last year. It’s quite different from the early ’90s, when he worked on Clive Barker’s Razorline imprint at Marvel, and even drew an unpublished issue of Ghost Rider 2099 with a young Warren Ellis.
Flashing forward to the current day, and the artist recently began work on Dream Life’s second act; here’s a great segment from last month’s pages to get a taste of what he’s doing:
- January 20, 2011 @ 01:30 PM by Chris Arrant