2011 March
Saturday Shelf Porn
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn, our look into the hearts and homes of fans around the world. Today’s submission comes from Fran Sad in from Lausanne, Switzerland, who shows off a HUGE collection of graphic novels, posters and the like.
I’m going to be out all this coming week, so there won’t be any Shelf Porn next Saturday, but in the meantime, please do what you can to fill up my in-box with pictures of your shelves while I’m away. Send your write-ups and jpg’s to jkparkin@yahoo.com, and I’ll sort’em when I get back.
And now here’s Fran’s pictures …
- March 5, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
First look: Conan: Island of No Return, Solomon Kane: Red Shadows covers
Conan: Island of No Return #1
Courtesy of our friends at Dark Horse, we’re pleased to bring you a couple of cover reveals for their June-shipping books. First up is Conan: Island of No Return #1, above, which is by Michael Kutsche. The book itself is by the team of Ron Marz, Bart Sears and Randy Elliott, features Conan teaming up with a pair of sister thieves for a heist.
And after the jump you’ll find the two covers for the third issue of Solomon Kane: Red Shadows, by Guy Davis and Gregory Manchess. In that issue, Bruce Jones and Rahsan Ekedal take Kane to Africa. You’ll also find complete solicitation information for both books.
Click below for high adventure …
- March 5, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by JK Parkin
The Fifth Color | Hail to a Chief
He just looks so ominous...
It’s been awhile, but did the hair rise up on the back of your neck as of late? Did a cold wind blow through you? Even before I caught the news of the major editorial change at ol’ Marvel HQ, something didn’t feel …right.
And it’s not Axel Alonso. I’m actually stupendously happy that we have such an awesome new EIC; not only do a bunch of cool writers constantly refer to him as the man who got them their first writing gig at the House of Ideas, but the way he balances this new talent with the old brings out the best stories in each of them. He’s a really great editor and, with his name in the indicia, you know you’re going to get a quality story.
Not to mention he has been just about the only Marvel envoy at the West Coast WonderCon for the past few years and is fervent in his desire to keep the X-Men in San Fransisco, so he’s got this California girl’s support.
No, it was something else about the announcement that got me a little spooked. That “Chief Creative Officer” part. The fact that Joe Quesada isn’t so much stepping down from his position as stepping up. Chief Creative Officer makes me think of rank. I mean, a Chief Petty Officer is one thing, a but a Chief Creative Officer? From the same guy who got ‘creative’ with Spider-Man’s marriage?
Oh yeah, there’s that chill. Yikes.
- March 4, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Roy Thomas adds ‘artist’ to his resume
Avengers by Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas has done a lot of writing for several different media — most notably comics like Avengers and All-Star Squadron, but also TV and movies as well — and he served as editor-in-chief at Marvel. But now he can add “artist” to his resume as well, as he drew the above cover for the Hero Initiative, with inking by Ty Templeton.
- March 4, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
J. Scott Campbell drinks tiger blood and wins
Although best known for his hyper-stylized superhero artwork, J. Scott Campbell is a talented caricaturist. And sometimes that love of genre entertainment and portraiture combines — with a hint of tiger blood.
Inspired by the recent interviews with Two & A Half Men actor Charlie Sheen, J. Scott Campbell takes the actor’s “tiger blood” phrase and melds it with Thundercats in this inspired illustration on the right. Check out the artist’s DeviantArt page for this and a variety of work, including some amazing Lost portraits.
As of late, Campbell has been a cover artist for both Marvel and Zenescope. His next major interior project is a long-awaited Spider-Man story with writer Jeph Loeb, announced back in 2006.
- March 4, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Six by 6 | Six great non-superhero comic book fights
Today’s Six by 6 sprang out of a recent post Comics Reporter Tom Spurgeon did on five of his favorite superhero fights. It’s a pretty excellent list and made me want to come up with my own, though I thought I might see if I could expand it a bit by staying away from the superhero genre and moving into other realms. What great fights could I find in the world of manga or alt-comix, I wondered?
Turns out I didn’t have to look too far. I should note though that this list is by no means definitive — it’s simply a list of six comic book battles that I like a whole lot. I’ve probably forgotten some. Actually I’ve probably forgotten plenty. Feel free to let me know what I’ve overlooked in the comments section.
- March 4, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Cartoonist Nick Abadzis tells a foodie tale set in Brookyln
Phenomenal cartoonist Nick Abadzis (Laika) has turned up in a surprising new place: Gourmet Live magazine, a digital magazine available via Condé Nast as an iPhone app.
Titled Chefs of America, the cartoonist says “fittingly, it’s about food.. but of course, it’s not only about food. Food is all about people, after all…”
Abadzis plans to have a new episode in each week’s issue of the Gourmet Live app — which is free, so there’s no time like the present to check out new work by this amazing artist.
- March 4, 2011 @ 09:05 AM by Chris Arrant
Comics A.M. | Kodansha International closing; Blizzard ending Tokyopop deal?
Kodansha
Publishing | Kodansha Ltd., Japan’s largest publisher, will close its 48-year-old Kodansha International subsidiary by the end of April. The division is a separate company from the New York-based Kodansha USA, which Kodansha Ltd. established in 2008. Kodansha International specialized in English-language translations of Japanese books and original English-language books on Japanese topics, and published the occasional few manga-related title. At the February press conference at which incoming Kodansha Ltd. President Yoshinobu Noma announced the publisher’s 46.7 percent stake in Vertical Inc., he revealed the company would increase its focus on digital publishing and overseas markets. [The Japan Times, Anime News Network]
Publishing | Video game developer Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind World of Warcraft and Starcraft, is rumored to be ending its licensing agreements with troubled U.S. manga publisher Tokyopop. Although the report comes on the heels of Tokyopop’s latest round of layoffs — Troy Lewter edited many of the current Blizzard titles — the two events are apparently unrelated. [Lore Hound, via Joystiq]
- March 4, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Kevin Melrose
The total bitchin’ rock star from Mars does Riverdale
Just remember he doesn't like small talk, girls
Oh my … as if Charlie Sheen’s troubles couldn’t get any worse, artist Fernando Ruiz details Archie’s worst nightmare. Keep him away from underage girls! Archie Comics sent this over, and I can only assume it’s a joke, rather than an upcoming storyline. Hopefully.
In any event, if you haven’t gotten enough of Sheen’s rantings, The Sheen Family Circus has mashed them up with Family Circus cartoons. Jeffy’s got quite the mouth on him.
- March 4, 2011 @ 06:00 AM by JK Parkin
Grumpy Old Fan | Going on about ongoing series, Part One
Your one-stop source for first-issue hype
First DC announced (via the May solicitations) the cancellation of five titles. Now it looks like the “First Wave” line is being shown the door.
Blogger/podcaster extraordinaire Al Kennedy suggests that “First Wave” might have benefited from a little multiversal-crossover action. I tend to agree, although I think including versions of Batman (and other pulpy DC characters like the Blackhawks) was something of a backdoor crossover.
While that’s a topic for another day, it made me wonder about the general trends within DC’s ongoing series. Thus, starting today I want to take a much longer look, ‘way back to the start of Big Event comics in 1985. DC has launched hundreds of ongoing series since then, and I want to see what made the difference in those series’ successes. This will take a while — maybe two to three posts — but I hope it’ll be worth it.
[Thanks as always to Mike's Amazing World Of DC Comics, an invaluable source of data for any DC fan.]
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- March 3, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Your other video of the day | Todd McFarlane shows you how to draw a face
Spawn creator Todd McFarlane channels his inner Bob Ross and shows you how to draw a face. This is a third in a series of videos he’s posted; he’s also covered how to draw eyes and how to start a comic page. You can find them all on the McFarlane Companies YouTube page.
- March 3, 2011 @ 01:03 PM by JK Parkin
Your video of the day | Don Rosa explains how he literally sees his art
In a video by Chris Sparks, Famed Disney “Duck” artist Don Rosa explains his eyesight and how it affects his ability to draw, after surgery for retinal detachment wasn’t completely successful. Very interesting and somewhat inspiring, especially after watching other videos of Rosa in action.
- March 3, 2011 @ 12:04 PM by JK Parkin
Celebrate the impending release of A Dance with Dragons with some sweet art
Nerds worldwide are rejoicing today because after six years and countless delays and false starts, author George R.R. Martin has announced that A Dance with Dragons — the much-anticipated fifth book in his seven-volume epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, making the jump to TV on April 17 in the form of the HBO series adaptation Game of Thrones — is now officially and firmly slated for a Tuesday, July 12, 2011 release. I’ll be spending most of my day gibbering giddily, but if you manage to pull yourself together, do check out a trio of very cool A Song of Ice and Fire illustrations by artist Kali Ciesemier. That’s Jon Snow above; click the links to check out her takes on Sansa Stark and Brienne of Tarth. Winter may be almost over, but Winter Is Coming!
- March 3, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Holy Quinones!
Sometimes an artist’s work will just make your heart go pitter-patter. Take this pin-up by Joe Quinones:
Published on his blog, Quinones says this commission was done as an art exchange for a piece of Mike Allred art owned by a comics fan. A year in the making, this X-Men pin-up seems definitely worth it. Go to Quinones’ blog to see more about this, including an animated graphic showing the different stages of this project.
Joe Quinones is a relative newcomer to comics — he made his official comics debut on the “Green Lantern” strip in last year’s Wednesday Comics, and has gone on to do work on Marvel’s Spider-Man and some covers for Dark Horse’s Star Wars titles. He’s currently working on a graphic novel for DC that I hope is announced soon. And I take more than a little bit of pride in the fact Joe debuted on the comics scene over at the Project: Rooftop site I co-founded.
- March 3, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Comic creators I wish would return to comics
Mike Zeck drawing Nick Fury sporting Gucci for UK fashion mag "Arena"
If you’ve been a comic fan for any length of time, you’ve come to appreciate the talent and skills of certain creators. Whether they be mainstream heavyweights to cult-favorite indie cartoonists, they’re a big draw for you as a reader — and someone whose work you’d buy, sight unseen, based on their previous work you’ve loved. But just like childhood friends and lovers, sometimes they disappear, and a small piece of you longs to see them again.
Without getting too sentimental, here’s a list of some comic creators I’ve grown to love over the years that have (unfortunately) dropped off the American comics scene by-and-large. If you know them, tell them I’d raid my bank account for new work by them!
Brian K. Vaughan: Arguably one of the 21st century’s most successful creator-owned comic creators outside of Robert Kirkman, Brian K. Vaughan worked through the ranks at Marvel and DC to do both great company-owned superheroes like Runaways and The Hood, and his own inventions. After signing on to the TV series Lost, Vaughan has slowly drifted away from comics with his last series Ex Machina ending last year. DC just put out a collection of his Batman work, but no new work has been formally announced. In Vaughan’s last major recent interview, the writer states that while he’s become embroiled in movies and television, he “craves comics.” Among several television and movie projects in the works, Vaughan says that he has new comics stuff “percolating in the background.”
- March 3, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Arrant