2011 April
Grumpy Old Fan | Lincoln’s log: lessons from Legacies
DC Universe: Legacies #3 -- the JLA by Garcia-Lopez and Gibbons
There’s a weird little sequence in the middle of DC Universe: Legacies #3 when the narration’s timeline goes all hazy and oblique, in order to move the story from sometime in the Eisenhower/Kennedy years right into the “X years ago” of modern continuity. Because Legacies tracks some sixty-five years of costumed crimefighting, this sequence bridges the gap between the Justice Society’s retirement and Superman’s debut.
“Hazy and oblique” are also good words for describing DC’s approach to long-term continuity. The history of the DC Universe is well-settled up to the early 1950s, but past then it becomes elastic. This is something we’ve come to expect: fudging the calendar keeps our heroes both as experienced and as youthful as they need to be. However, each passing year also widens the gap between the end of the Golden Age (early ‘50s) and the beginning of the Silver (thought to be 12-15 years ago). Through reader-identification character Paul Lincoln,* DCUL’s writer (and longtime DC favorite) Len Wein aims to put a human face on all those four-color adventures.
That sounds like the premise of 1994′s Marvels and its spiritual descendant Astro City. Really, though, any halfway-entertaining super-survey needs a narrator with a recognizable point of view. Even 1986′s History of the DC Universe, which was basically a series of George Pérez pinups arranged in chronological order, took its florid prose ostensibly from Harbinger’s meditations on the nature of heroism.
- April 7, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Make mine MoCCA: Publishers
MoCCA Fest 2011 is this coming Saturday and Sunday, April 9 and 10, and as always, the show is bulging with new artists and established creators showing off their latest, most experimental, projects. I’m going to round up of some of the announcements that have come our way, starting with those from publishers.
Fantagraphics plans to have creators signing at their booth pretty much the whole time, with a roster that includes Kim Dietch, Peter Bagge, Dash Shaw, Michael Kupperman, Gahan Wilson, and others too numerous to mention—check out the full list at their blog. Their people are also going to be involved in a ton of panels, and with a four-table block (J1, J2, K1, K2), they should be hard to miss.
Abrams will have their usual crowd of A-list creators at their booth: Jerry Robinson, Michael Uslan, Chip Kidd, Al Jaffee, and Craig Yoe. Jaffee will receive the 2011 Klein Award for volunteer of the year, and Uslan and Robinson will be on the panel Batman, the Joker and Beyond on Sunday.
Top Shelf will be debuting two new books, Liar’s Kiss by Eric Skillman and Jhomar Soriano, and Night Animals, by Brecht Evens. Both Skillman and Evens will be there to show off their new books. Jess Fink will also be in attendance, although her Chester 5000 isn’t due out until May.
- April 7, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
“There’s nothing preventing a completely incompetent idiot from doing it”: Erik Larsen savages webcomics
Erik Larsen says "No We Can't" to webcomics
Every crappy submission can “see print” on the web–every reprint book that would sell three copies in print would work on the web. The web is the great equalizer. Every crappy thing can get tossed up there. If it all went digital nothing separates a pro from an amateur. Print is far more discriminating. There are fixed costs which can’t be ignored for long. It’s not the wild west like the Internet is. That’s why the web doesn’t excite me a whole lot. Every nitwit can put stickmen telling fart jokes up–there’s nothing special about it.
Stickmen telling fart jokes is Watchmen as far as the internet is concerned, @BizzaroHendrix.
I mean–there’s things on the internet that people are willing to read but they would never pay for–and those are the success stories.
It’s an entirely different level though, @NoCashComics– even the worst pro comics have a modicum of professional standards.
I’m not saying everything on the net is bad–no need to take offense, @tsujigo @BizzaroHendrix just that there is no filter.
I disagree and I don’t disagree, @IanBoothby — how’s that for being agreeable? There are plenty of groundbreaking things in print as well.
I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the best online work is on par with good pro comics but the worst is far worse. I don’t think there is a web only comic that’s as good as Watchmen or Dark Knight. Correct me if I’m wrong. There are certainly web comics that are good for a laugh–and better than what’s in the Sunday Funnies–but not at a Watchmen level–yet.
Point being–anybody can do a web comic. There’s nothing preventing a completely incompetent idiot from doing it, @215Ink.
No. Nothing promising falls through the cracks, @drawnunder if you can’t get your proposed book in print somewhere–your book sucks.
–Savage Dragon creator and Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen bemoans webcomics’ lack of the quality control inherent in the cost-prohibitive economics of print publishing. (Quotes from Twitter edited slightly for clarity.) Yes, if only webcomics had the high standards on display in any given issue of Previews. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go scour eBay for that Dart miniseries…
In all seriousness, Larsen’s right — there are obviously virtually no barriers to publishing comics online. So what? With the advent of easy blogging platforms, there are no barriers to publishing your opinion writing. With cheap digital cameras and YouTube, there are no barriers to making and distributing short movies. GarageBand turned any computer into a halfway decent home recording studio. And on and on and on. Isn’t this, y’know, awesome? On the flip side, is there really any reason to believe that money provides for quality control? All that the expenses of printing do is raise the barrier from “any completely incompetent idiot” to “any completely incompetent idiot with a little cash.” I’m not one for Internet triumphalism, but it seems awfully churlish — and odd, for an artist and publisher — to greet the Internet’s enormous boon to speech and self-expression in this way, quite aside from the question of whether he’s accurately characterizing webcomics to begin with.
- April 7, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
To do: Todd Klein signing in Philadelphia
From "F The Enchanted Letter," by Bill Willingham and Todd Klein
East Coast comics fans who are looking for something to do the night before MoCCA Festival could do far, far worse than the party and signing being held Friday evening for multiple award-winning letterer and designer Todd Klein at at Locust Moon Comics and Movies in Philadelphia.
The event will begins at 7:30 p.m. at the store, located at 4040 Locust St., near the University of Pennsylvania campus. Check out the press release after the break.
- April 7, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Rob Granito will talk about tiger blood, being a liar … for the right price
Joker by Ty Templeton + Joker by Rob Granito
“Artist” Rob Granito is making waves again this week. As Kevin noted last week, he’s the guy who “for several years has traced other artist’s work — everyone from Ty Templeton to David Finch to Arthur Adams — and passed it off as his own on eBay and at conventions. In addition, his list of fake credits includes everything from Calvin & Hobbes to Batman to Iron Man 2.” Check out Legit-o-mite for a very thorough list of the guy’s offensive behavior.
He was called out, both on the web and in person by creators Mark Waid and Ethan Van Sciver at Mega Con a couple of weeks ago. Reportedly he’s been banned from a number of conventions.
You’d think after all the negative publicity he’s received, the guy would want to find the nearest rock, crawl under it and hope that maybe someday the comics industry and the internet would forget about him. But, no.
- April 7, 2011 @ 10:30 AM by JK Parkin
New website goes behind the scenes of DMZ
DMZ art by Justin Giampaoli
Writer and reviewer Justin Giampaoli, who previously posted the 10-part “Brian Wood Project” on his 13 Minutes blog, has launched Live from the DMZ, a website dedicated to the Vertigo series by Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. Giampaoli promises “a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the series, never-before-seen images, and full length interviews on each of the 12 volumes of the series, posting in regular installments for the remainder of the year.”
He kicks off with an introductory Q&A with Wood, who discusses the genesis of DMZ, his collaboration with Burchielli, and response to the series. “One reaction I thought we would get more of and barely got any was from people accusing me of being anti-American or something like that,” the writer says. “I thought for sure someone from the other end of the political spectrum would have some comments for me, but … nothing. Not sure if I’m happy about that or disappointed, to be honest.”
- April 7, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Bluewater to launch superhero line
Bluewater Comics announced yesterday that they are getting into the superhero game with a shared-universe featuring characters based on the Greek gods who apparently have been transported to modern times.
OK, it’s been done before, but just because Zane Gray wrote westerns doesn’t mean nobody else can write westerns. The problem, as I see it, is that superheroes that are not from Marvel and DC are a tough sell. Let’s take BOOM! Studios as a comparison, as both BOOM! and Bluewater are small indy publishers. BOOM! has well known writers and artists, and it promotes the hell out of its comics to retailers and the comics press. Its superhero comics sell between 10,000 copies (Mark Waid’s Irredeemable and Incorruptible) and 7,000 copies (the Stan Lee titles) a month—respectable for a small press, but hardly DC/Marvel numbers. Bluewater has unknown writers and artists, and while it promotes the hell out of its comics, a lot of the press they get is bad. So it looks like this line has a lot of obstacles to overcome. (Not that bad reviews don’t move comics—I’m sure there are people who bought the Justin Bieber bio-comic because it’s cheaper than LSD.)
- April 7, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
AdHouse to publish Stuart Immonen’s Centifolia V2
Centifolia 2
AdHouse Books has a habit of producing some pretty exquisite-looking books, so it’s no wonder Stuart Immonen has teamed with them to produce Centifolia V2, an 128-page collection of the artist’s sketches, concept designs, illustrations and comics.
I believe the sold-out first volume was self-published, but AdHouse will also bring it back into print. They’re also offering a limited slipcase edition that includes both volumes and a print.
“I was very happy to be approached by Stuart to help make this happen. We’ve been con-buddies for a few years now, and I really love his work,” Pitzer said.
All three will be available starting at the 2011 Toronto Comics Art Festival on May 7 & 8. You can find the entire press release after the jump.
- April 7, 2011 @ 07:05 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | Publishers doubt Borders plan; what’s next for digital?
Borders Group headquarters
Retailing | Publishers characterize a restructuring plan presented Wednesday by Borders Group as unrealistic, with some saying they’re more convinced than ever that the struggling bookstore chain — the second-largest in the United States — will be forced to sell itself or liquidate. The bookseller, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb. 16, reportedly contends it could turn a profit by the end of this year. By 2015, it hopes to draw almost 40 percent of its revenue from online sales. The company, which is in the process of closing 226 superstores and is set to shutter 20 more, is also considering moving its headquarters from Ann Arbor, Mich., to less-expensive space in metropolitan Detroit. [The New York Times, The Detroit News]
Digital comics | Seth Rosenblatt surveys the digital landscape, and wonders what’s next: “Though no publisher interviewed for the story would confirm plans to do so, it’s not unreasonable to expect premium pricing for digital comics that come with extra features like audio tracks, or the ability to look at the black-and-white version of the artwork.” He also gets a tease from Oni Press’ Cory Casoni, who says, “”We have digital plans, and we’ll unveil them later this year and in early 2012. We are nefariously, giddily crafting things.” [Download.com]
- April 7, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Previews: What Looks Good for June
Old City Blues
Time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes, and first issues so that I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “Batman: The Brave and the Bold is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.
Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – feel free to mention your own stuff.
AdHouse
Welcome to Oddville! – It’s got Jay Stephens’ (Tutenstein, The Secret Saturdays) name on it, so I’m going to need to have it.
Antarctic
Gobs #1 – Likewise this with Richard Moore’s name. I’d rather it be a new Boneyard issue, but I’ll take vile goblins living in a giant’s corpse.
Archaia
Old City Blues – Archaia’s got a great track record when it comes to entertaining me, so if I’m going to take a chance on a cyberpunk story – a genre that I either love or loathe depending on the story – I feel like I’m in pretty good hands with them.
Dark Horse
Conan: Island of No Return #1 – I just realized what Lost was missing: a haunted castle and the greatest barbarian in the world.
- April 6, 2011 @ 08:33 PM by Michael May
Marvel teases something called ‘Vengeance’
Vengeance!
As David Brothers noted in his report from the “Welcome to the X-Men” panel at WonderCon this weekend, Marvel is starting to tease something called “Vengeance.”
And although he didn’t share any details on exactly what the project is, Marvel’s Agent M did post the images on his blog this week — above we have some sort of rendition of Nighthawk, and after the jump you can find someone who looks like a teenage In-Betweener.
- April 6, 2011 @ 04:06 PM by JK Parkin
Your Wednesday Sequence 5 | Hal Foster
Prince Valiant, March 16th 1941, panels 4 and 5. Hal Foster.
Sequencing is unique among the comics artist’s crafts; the one skill that’s completely remote, completely theoretical, that doesn’t involve making something that exists in actual physical space. The artist creates the sequence in his or her head, and then makes it real. Once medium hits surface to begin that process, though, what’s being done is no longer sequencing but drawing. In division-of-labor comics that are drawn from someone else’s scripts, sequencing is the only outlet an artist can use to “write” their own work. It deals not with the look of things but with the flow of information, the rhythm of the story, the way the reader is led to comprehend what the comic is showing them.
That’s why sequence is easily the aspect of comics-making that has the vastest and most complex potentials to it. But in another way, it’s also the simplest. If one were to explain clearly what it is to write comics, plot and character would need mentioning, and then there’s dialogue, dynamics, dramatic expression… and on and on. To describe comics drawing is a similarly tricky task: there’s the age-old tug of war between cartoon and realism, plus simplification, individual stylism, design, and that’s all without even getting into the question of what medium is being used to put the information on the paper. The act of sequencing — despite the complexity its more advanced practitioners bring to the table — is a pure, immaculate truth by comparison. It’s making a decision about how the next panel looks, and that is all.
- April 6, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Matt Seneca
Hero Initiative offers updates on Russ Heath, Josh Medors
Russ Heath
The Hero Initiative has two updates on a couple of creators who have had health issues.
First up is Will Eisner hall-of-famer Russ Heath, who had knee surgery earlier this year. The Hero Initiative’s Jim McLauchlin had lunch with Heath yesterday and says the classic artist is out of rehab earlier than expected. “I was fortunate enough to have lunch with Russ Heath yesterday, and he was in great spirits, having a grand ol’ time and cracking rapid-fire jokes, just like always,” McLauchlin said.
Next is Josh Medors, who continues to battle cancer. The Hero Initiative posted an update from the artist’s wife, Charlotte:
“It turns out Josh’s white blood cell counts were two one-hundredths of a point away from being too low to continue chemo. We’re working on getting those back up. In the meantime, his body is having a tough time fighting off infections due to this. He is fighting a bit of a cold, but he is keeping his spirits up. He has been drawing like crazy! It seems he is either sleeping or drawing all the time lately. It is really nice to see him drawing again!”
McLauchlin said to expect news on “a cover gig for Josh and a great product tie-in as well coming soon.” Best of luck to both artists.
- April 6, 2011 @ 01:16 PM by JK Parkin
Icarus pg 04
Icarus is a comic by Ryan Cody and is serialized here on Robot 6, with new pages every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
Ryan Cody is the creator, artist, writer, & colorist of ICARUS, a bi-monthly super-powered adventure/espionage book published through Super 75 Comics. Ryan’s past projects include illustrating the graphic novel VILLAINS for Viper
Comics as well as contributing to the Eisner-Award winning anthology, Popgun Vol.3, from Image comics. ICARUS #1 is currently available as both a .99 digital download and in print. For more information or to order a print copy of ICARUS, please visit www.super75comics.com
- April 6, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Ryan Cody
Teen Boat makes the voyage to print
Dave Roman is on a roll these days. First the prestige publisher First Second picks up his Astronaut Elementary and turns it into a beautiful, shiny graphic novel (retitled Astronaut Academy), and now Houghton Mifflin is going to do the same with his goofy webcomic Teen Boat (co-created with John Green).
“The angst of being a teen… the thrill of being a boat!” Did someone just toss the words “teen” and “boat” to Dave and John and dare them to make something out of them? Well, they did, and it’s damn funny, too. Heidi has the press release on the new book, which includes the seldom-seen phrase “featured everywhere from MTV to Boating World Magazine,” at The Beat. The book is due out in Spring 2011.
Teen Boat won the Ignatz Award for best debut in 2004, so this has been a long time coming. You can still enjoy the online version for free, but the book will be in color and include 33 new pages of story.
- April 6, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson