2011 March
J.H. Williams III wants the funk for Static cover
Static Shock Special
Artist J.H. Williams III shares what I believe is a variant cover for the upcoming Static Shock Special DC is putting out as a homage to Dwayne McDuffie. At least, the solicitation for the title lists Derec Donovan as the cover artist.
At any rate, it’s a wonderful piece of art that Williams says was inspired by funk music.
“I wanted to try some different things in attitude,” Williams wrote on his blog. “The Milestone characters always had this unusual quality to them, which I think made them pretty cool. And some of them seemed to have this Funk aspect to them. Now when I say Funk, I’m referring to Funk Music. So I decided to see if I could bring that more forward in attitude for this cover. The result is pretty effective. It still has this iconic quality that the genre should have, but now it feels like Funk meets Superheroes to me. Resulting in something different than what I usually do.”
You can see the steps in his creative process, from rough sketch to the final version, over on his blog. The comic comes out in June.
- March 29, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Neill Cameron draws cool Japan from A to Z
From Akira to Dragonball Z
Japan has a special place in the comics world (and the greater geek universe), so it’s not surprising that a lot of artists are doing fund-raisers right now. Neill Cameron, creator of Mo-Bot High and a member of the British kid’s comics group The DFC, is really going the extra mile: He will go through the alphabet, drawing a picture a day of something from Japanese anime, manga, gaming, or other Things That Are Awesome. Neill has set up a JustGiving page for donations, as well as a Facebook group, and he’s taking suggestions:
Bonus points for alliteration, and it might be nice to get a bit of cross-cultural exchange going on in there – if, for example, for ‘D’ you were to suggest Doctor Who and Doraemon Dunking Donuts Daintily, well then I would probably have to draw that. You get the idea.
- March 29, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Pope to get his own manga
The Dalai Lama has his own bio-manga, so it’s only fair that Pope Benedict XVI should get one too, right? Creator Jonathan Lin has already produced two biblically themed manga, one on St. Paul and one on Judith, and now he is turning his hand to a more contemporary story, that of Pope Benedict XVI, in a manga titled Habemus Papam! (For the uninitiated, the title is the Latin phrase used to announce the election of a new pope.)
One flaw with this plan, of course, is that Benedict has had a rather sedate life compared to the others. Judith saved her people by befriending and then beheading the general of the enemy troops. St. Paul had a blinding vision on the road to Damascus, which could be a real tour de force for a serious manga artist, and he traveled quite a bit, which opens the possibility of some action-packed, if uncanonical, adventures. And the Dalai Lama’s story is filled with battles and betrayal. The pope? Not so much.
This short story captures different moments throughout the Holy Father’s life – specifically as a cardinal working with the late Pope John Paul II, and culminating in the moments leading up to his election as Bishop of Rome. The story also shows how he grows into his role as pope.
So it’s one of those more contemplative manga, then. You can’t argue with the numbers, though: Lin, who has his own publishing company, Manga Hero, plans to print 300,000 copies, which places Habemus Papem! in the same league as Twilight: The Manga, although it sounds like many copies will be distributed for free during World Youth Day in Madrid this coming August.
- March 29, 2011 @ 07:19 AM by Brigid Alverson
Talking Comics with Tim | Nicola Scott
Teen Titans 93
For longtime comic readers like myself, there’s nothing quite like when a team book introduces a new character to the mix. This Wednesday, artist Nicola Scott gets to bring Solstice, a character she designed, into the Teen Titans mix with the release of Teen Titans 93. In addition to discussing Solstice, Scott notes the shift in tone/sense of fun that series writer J.T. Krul has brought to the series; how she considers herself a character-driven artist; as well as the lessons learned from collaborating with the likes of writer Gail Simone/dealing in subtext (among other topics). At the end of the interview, she invites fans to suggest characters we’d like to see her draw in the future–be sure to chime in with your ideas in the comments section.
Tim O’Shea: Over at the Source, you expressed part of what appealed to working with J.T. Krul on Teen Titans. ” Character, tone, direction. He has blown me away.” What is it about Krul’s approach to character and tone that appealed to you?
Nicola Scott: Over the last couple of years the tone of the book seemed to have become quite dark, and seemed to be missing youthful energy and a sense of fun. The characters weren’t quite connecting in the way DC hoped for them to. Straight off the bat JT had them feel exactly like their regular selves. The comradery had returned too and that’s such an important ingredient with the Teen Titans. The script for the first issue was fun, a great recap of the characters and who they are to each other. There were some gags and some drama and it felt like young people with huge responsibility. Another ingredient that I think was important, was bringing it back to the core members. A couple of new additions is fine but when most of the cast is unrecognizable to outside readers, it’s hard to grow the audience.
- March 28, 2011 @ 03:06 PM by Tim O'Shea
Grab yourself a horror-comic bargain from Xeric winner Lane Milburn
from Death Trap by Lane Milburn
Wanna get your hands on some pulpy, creepy, weird, funny and, at times, genuinely harrowing horror comics? Allow me to introduce you to Lane Milburn, who’s got the deal for you. Milburn, a member of the Baltimore-based Closed Caption Comics collective, is offering two of his collections, the Xeric Grant-winning Death Trap and the screen-printed “mini”comic The Mage’s Tower, now on sale for the low low price of $12 total.
The cool thing about Milburn’s comics is that you can never quite tell where they’re headed. The title story in Death Trap seems like your typical slasher/Texas Chain Saw set-up, with a quartet of drunk teens stumbling into some bad craziness in the woods one night, but the killers they encounter are far, far stranger than the ones in the midnight movies of yore. Meanwhile, the other collection’s quasi-title story “The Mage’s Tour” (tour, not tower) starts like a fantasy novel about a pair of monks sent to liberate a tower from the clutches of an evil overlord, takes a left turn into comedy when it’s revealed that said overlord has turned said tower into a modern-day tourist trap complete with middle-aged moms who can’t work a cameraphone, and then shifts yet again into a stunningly dark depiction of violence. Milburn’s muscular, crosshatched art style can have you laughing one moment, cheering through an action sequence the next moment, and leave you shaken and disturbed when all is said and done. Highly recommended.
The Late March Mayhem sale only lasts until April 1, so order now!
- March 28, 2011 @ 01:17 PM by Sean T. Collins
Opus struts his — or her — feathers on Fringe
Opus the Peahen
Fans of FOX’s Fringe probably caught this on the show’s most recent episode — an “alternate reality” version of Berkeley Breathed’s “Opus” comic strip. Click on over to see the entire strip, courtesy of IDW’s Chris Ryall.
Much like DC’s comic-book plotlines were a little different in the Fringe reality, so too is Breathed’s famed penguin. For one thing, he’s a peahen — and presumably female — in the topsy-turvy world. Some things do remain the same, though — Paris Hilton gossip is still taser-worthy.
- March 28, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Animators illustrate colleague’s earthquake story
That didn’t take long: As Japanese anime and manga artists continue to draw hopeful images to cheer up the populace after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, a group of American animators have taken a different tack and illustrated an actual e-mail from a colleague in Japan.
Joe Is Japanese is a graphic novel (currently serialized on the web) and animated cartoon about the adventures of a 35-year-old man and his animator pals in Japan. It’s loosely based on real life, so when the earthquake hit, and Joe’s real-life counterpart, Koga, sent the creators an e-mail about his experiences, they went ahead and made it into an 11-page comic, Koga’s Email. It’s a fascinating first-hand account of the quake—it’s one thing to read about it, another thing altogether to see it happen. (Yes, comics are better than plain prose!) Koga’s English is a tad unidiomatic, but the animators gloss nicely over that by depicting their own puzzlement in places. It’s a quick read and well worth the click.
(Hat tip: School Library Journal tech editor Kathy Ishizuka.)
- March 28, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Support Japan by buying artwork from Periscope Studios
Akira by Dustin Weaver
The artists associated with Periscope Studios regularly post some pretty awesome artwork on their sketch blog, to the point where you kinda have to wonder how they could make it even more awesome. Which they have.
Last week Dylan Meconis, Colleen Coover, Dustin Weaver and several more of their artists created pieces that they’re auctioning off on eBay to benefit Peace Winds Japan, an organization providing emergency relief efforts in the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged country.
“I had pretty much told myself that I wouldn’t be participating in many more Periscope sketch challenges for a while because I need to be focused on work,” Weaver wrote on his LiveJournal. “But when the idea of doing a Japan week was suggested I was immediately on board. There are probably a lot of artists who feel this way, but for me this is a chance to give a little back to a country that has given me so much. Many of my greatest artistic inspirations are Japanese.” Weaver’s piece, above, should look familiar to fans of Akira.
You can find all the pieces up for auction on the studio’s eBay page.
- March 28, 2011 @ 10:30 AM by JK Parkin
The Fifth Color | Forward into the Past with Marvel for June ’11
Fear Itself #3
[Editor's Note: Due to technical issues, Carla's column from last Friday was delayed until today.]
It is more fun to announce things at comic conventions where there’s a live audience to ooh and ahh at all the new and exciting products you’re putting out than it is to post it on the internet. It’s the difference between selling your car in a showroom as opposed to an ad on Craigslist. I’m sure there’s a dirty joke in there somewhere, so feel free to fill it in for yourself, but the point remains. So that’s why we didn’t get the Marvel Comics solicitations for June 2011 when we usually do; as all the other kids down the block showed off their upcoming new comics, Marvel waited until C2E2 was over because the big show came first.
Or so I thought.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Marvel Comics has unleashed the full power of their June line-up. They weren’t waiting for the live announcements to go first, they were keeping their readership safe from the imminent disasters that will befall us in the future! They were protecting us! They had only our safety in mind and now the true story can be told! I present the June 2011 solicitation list that will very nearly END EXISTENCE AS WE KNOW IT!!!
Anyone prone to heart conditions, seizures or who could be pregnant, read the following list of colossal entertainment at your own risk. These comics are rated M for “Oh MY God, these comics will crack the internet in half!”
- March 28, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Carla Hoffman
Start reading now: Shaman noir
It’s as if someone took a Mike Hammer story and relocated it to 16th-century Siberia: Terry LaBan’s Muktuk Wolfsbreath, Hard Boiled Shaman is the story of a lone shaman-for-hire, written in a style that is strongly reminiscent of hard-boiled detective stories, right down to the beautiful woman appearing out of nowhere to hire him. (“I can take a look. But it’ll cost you a pound of caribou.”)
The webcomic is apparently new, but LaBan has written several Muktuk stories before. The first one appeared in his alt-comic Cud, and it was followed by a three-issue miniseries for Vertigo, illustrated by Steve Parkerhouse. But that was over 10 years ago; it’s 2011 now, and Muktuk has made it to the web. The comic is just 11 pages long at the moment, so it’s a good time to jump on and start reading.
(Via Scott McCloud.)
- March 28, 2011 @ 08:37 AM by Brigid Alverson
Joanne Siegel’s posthumous appeal to Warner Bros.
Superman
Joanne Siegel, widow of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, passed away on Feb. 12 with her family’s prolonged legal battle with Warner Bros. over the Man of Steel still unresolved.
Although a judge ruled in 2008 that the Siegels had successfully recaptured half of the original copyright to Superman, paving the way for the estate of co-creator Joe Shuster to do the same in 2013, Warner Bros. has continued its increasingly bitter fight for the property. In May the studio went so far as to sue the attorney representing the two families in an effort to force him to resign.
Noting the recent changes in tone and tactics, Joanne Siegel prepared a letter to Time Warner Chairman Jeffrey L. Bewkes just two months before her death asking for an end to such “mean-spirited tactics” as the lawsuit against attorney Marc Toberoff and multiple depositions of herself and daughter Laura Siegel Larson, both of whom were in poor health.
“My daughter Laura and I, as well as the Shuster estate, have done nothing more than exercise our rights under the Copyright Act,” Siegel wrote in the letter, obtained and published by Deadline. “Yet, your company has chosen to sue us and our long-time attorney for protecting our rights. [...] The solution to saving time, trouble, and expense is a change of viewpoint. Laura and I are legally owed our share of Superman profits since 1999. By paying the owed bill in full, as you pay other business bills, it would be handled as a business matter, instead of a lawsuit going into its 5th year.”
The latest turn in the case came just last week, when it was reported that Toberoff had asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to determine exactly what elements from Superman’s mythology his clients can reclaim as a result of the 2008 court ruling.
Read the full text of the letter after the break.
- March 28, 2011 @ 07:15 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Borders switches facility closing; effects of Tokyo law
Borders
Retailing | The struggling Borders Group, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb. 16, has reversed its January decision to close the distribution center in LaVergne, Tenn. The bookseller will instead shut down its warehouse in Carlisle, Penn., leaving the facility in Tennessee and another in California. [Nashville Business Journal, via ICv2.com]
Legal | A handful of publishers address what effect Tokyo’s revised ordinance further restricting the sale of sexually explicit manga to minors might have on the industry. “This ordinance could attack the creativity of genuine authors, not just attacking perverted comics,” says Pascal Lafine of Tonkam, a French publisher of manga. [The Mainichi Daily News]
Publishing | David Itzkoff profiles Marvel, tracing the company’s route from mid-1990s bankruptcy to its current place at the top of a struggling industry. [The New York Times]
- March 28, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
What Are You Reading?
Kirby King of Comics
Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Our special guest today is Ryan Cody, creator of Icarus and illustrator of Villains and Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun. You’ll be seeing more of Icarus around these parts starting very soon …
To see what Ryan and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below.
- March 27, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Geoff Johns to write new Aquaman series
Brightest Day #17
A new Aquaman series written by Geoff Johns will launch later this year in the wake of Brightest Day. The announcement was made Saturday at MegaCon during the DC Comics spotlight panel and confirmed last night by Johns.
“Announced at Megacon: After Brightest Day I’ll be moving over to a new book — Aquaman #1 coming later this year!!” he wrote on Twitter. It was not revealed whether the title is an ongoing or a miniseries, or who the artist will be.
It will be the seventh series for the 70-year-old character, who reached the height of his modern-era popularity in the 1990s under writer Peter David. The last Aquaman comic, subtitled Sword of Atlantis as part of a sweeping “One Year Later” retooling, was canceled in 2007, leaving the sea king dead. Or, rather, “dead,” as he was resurrected in DC’s Blackest Night event before going on to play a central role in Brightest Day.
Although Aquaman is often the butt of jokes, in large part due to his depiction in the Super Friends animated series, Johns has championed the character and his place in the DC Universe.
“I think Aquaman is one of DC’s A-List characters, but he’s got to be treated like that,” Johns told Comic Book Resources in December. “He’s got to be showcased like that, and he’s got to kick ass like Green Lantern or Batman or the entire Justice League.”
- March 27, 2011 @ 07:13 AM by Kevin Melrose
Shelf Porn Saturday
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn, where we help fans show off their stuff. Today’s shelves belong to artist Tom Krohne, who shows off his collection of action figures and comics.
If you’d like to have your collection featured here, email me a write-up and some pictures at jkparkin@yahoo.com.
Now let’s hear from Tom …
- March 26, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin