2011 April
Creator Q&A | 21 author Wilfred Santiago
21: The Story of Roberto Clemente
While biographies are becoming more and more common these days, sports comics remain a bit of an anomaly (indeed, up till now James Sturm seemed to have had the market cornered). Let’s hope Wilfred Santiago’s latest book, 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente, starts to fill in that genre hole a little bit. Particuarly if they’re as visually dynamic and playful as this book is. Chronicling Clemente’s life from his early years in Puerto Rico to his untimely death in 1972, Santiago avoids the traditional traps of being too staid, didactic or reverential, creating a book that show us what made the Pittsburgh Pirates member so special without feeling like a history lesson. It’s a book that’s both fun as well as informative.
I talked to Santiago from his home in Chicago about the new book and what it took to get it into print.
Why Clemente? What was it about him that made you want to tell the story of his life?
I really wanted to do a biography. It’s something I wanted to do since my last project [2004's My Darkest Hour] and I had a list of different [potential] subjects. There were a number of factors as to why I chose Clemente in particular. I think it’s a compelling story to write about. The material was somewhat familiar [to me] and I like baseball .
- April 1, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Creator to watch: Nick Bradshaw
As part of my day, I’m lucky enough to see a metric ton of comic art (I weighed it!), so it takes something special to wow me — but from time to time I come across something new and unexpected.
Take artist Nick Bradshaw.
The piece that grabbed me was this great piece of original art he donated for the Hero Initiative’s 100 New Avengers project (at right). This isn’t the first time I’ve seen his name — but it’s the first time I’ve seen it like this.
Bradshaw came onto the comic scene back in 2004 when he illustrated a miniseries based on the cult movie Army of Darkness. After that he was hand-chosen by J. Scott Campbell to illustrate new tales in Campbell’s signature series Danger GIrl – and with good reason! Much like Campbell burst onto the scene showing shades of Art Adams inspiration, Bradshaw’s line work shown a real appreciation for Campbell’s line.
After that he fell off my radar, but this new piece really threw me for a loop — in a good way. Looking it up, Bradshaw just did the lead story in last month’s Uncanny X-Men Annual #3 — a comic I just asked comic shop to put on hold for me.
- April 1, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Icarus page 02
Artist note: The sports anchor in panel 1 was modeled after the great Linda Cohn, a great talent and hockey fan. Comments greatly appreciated.
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 1, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Ryan Cody
An advance look at The Advance Team
The Advance Team
Finals and Catwoman writer Will Pfeifer announced on his blog that he has a new graphic novel called The Advance Team coming out from publisher Tor/Forge. Although the book isn’t due until March of 2012, he’s already started a series of posts called Advance Team Tuesdays where he plans to offer “a taste of the comic each week,” in the form of artwork by German Torres and hints about the story.
As for the character appearing on the cover, Pfeifer said, “That determined-looking young man is Zack McKinley. Most of the time, he delivers pizzas. But on this very special occasion, he’s delivering Earth from destruction at the hand of alien invaders. Or maybe he’s delivering Earth into the hands of the alien invaders. It’s hard to tell — especially for poor Zack.”
In the second post, he adds, “As the story starts, Zack is coping with a terrible job, another winter in Cleveland and a bit of a crush on his co-worker. But, this being a science fiction graphic novel, he’s about to start coping with a heck of a lot more very soon.”
Keep an eye on his blog to find out more.
- April 1, 2011 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
WonderCon | Marvel recruiting new SHIELD agents in San Francisco
Attendees at this weekend’s WonderCon may find themselves being recruited for a new line of work — SHIELD agent.
Folks staying at one area hotel report a flyer being left on their door that says the occupant has a “unique skill set” that makes them an ideal candidate for “interplanetary threats.” It also directs them to tune into a channel on their TV. My apologies for the graininess of the images; sometimes in the spy game, you take what you can get:
- April 1, 2011 @ 10:23 AM by JK Parkin
Digital comics: What’s hot on the small screen
The digital comics scene continues to be a bit of a mishmash.
Every week, I get an e-mail from comiXology listing all of its new issues for the week, but the order seems to be somewhere between alphabetical and random. Viz Media also does a nice job of letting me know what’s new on its app. Graphicly sends a chatty e-mail featuring a couple of titles, but the company doesn’t put them front and center in its app, so I have to go looking for them (and it’s not the most intuitive interface). And while I know the iVerse folks have been busy, they don’t update their blog or (as far as I can tell) send out e-mails. This is all my way of saying that while the following may seem heavy on comiXology content, that’s not because I’m biased — it’s because comiXology has more titles and is doing a better job of promoting them.
That said, I thought it would be helpful to sift through this week’s offerings and pull out some good weekend reading.
A couple of classic series are debuting on comiXology this week. Having attended both the Vertigo panel and the Bill Willingham spotlight panel at C2E2, I was interested in seeing more of Fables, so it’s a happy coincidence that Jack of Fables #1 is up there for free. It’s just as clever as the main series, and Tony Akins’ supple penciling is a treat for the eyes. (One of the things I enjoy about Fables is that there is plenty of eye candy for the ladies as well as the guys.) Sometimes the free samples are kind of mingy, but not here: This is the whole first issue of Jack of Fables, and if that whets your appetite, Issue 2 is up there for $1.99.
Also new this week, although, sadly, not free, is Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s Batman and Robin. The first six issues, comprising two complete story arcs, are up this week.
- April 1, 2011 @ 09:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
A new Creed: Trent Kaniuga returns to comics with Twilight Monk
Remember Trent Kaniuga?
If you were a Wizard reader in the mid- to late-’90s, then you probably recall how hot the magazine was for Kaniuga’s self-published series Creed. After working on that series for several years he ended up at Marvel, where he illustrated the underrated Ghost Rider: Hammer Lane. After that he pretty much dropped off the comics map, going to the video-game industry, where he continued drawing and creating on franchises like World of Warcraft and Diablo.
But now he’s return to the comics fold with a webcomic called Twilight Monk. The series, which updates every Monday, follows a cursed monk as he sets out from his monastic home in search for a cure to a mysterious disease that’s afflicted him. Kaniuga says that this new series has the same sense of wonder as his first comic Creed, but “with a hell of a lot more kung fu!” Visit www.twilightmonk.com to see for yourself.
- April 1, 2011 @ 08:30 AM by Chris Arrant
Director McG launches Aspen Comics imprint
McG
Wonderland Sound and Vision, the company founded by producer and director McG, is partnering with Aspen Comics on a new comics imprint “to create transmedia properties out of original ideas,” Deadline reports.
As the term “transmedia properties” suggests, these are projects created with an eye toward film and television. First up is Haunted City, based on an idea by screenwriter Chap Taylor (Changing Lanes) and Wonderland’s Peter Johnson, which will be developed simultaneously as a feature script, television pilot and video game.
Wonderland has produced such films as Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and We Are Marshall and such television shows as Human Target, Supernatural and Chuck.
“As a filmmaker, I want to work with talent like Chap to build new models that allow us to create more freely,” McG tells Deadline. “By creating our own original properties, we can guide their development across several media simultaneously and kick off a whole new chapter of our company as a full-spectrum content provider. It also allows me to home-grow the movies I want to direct in the future.”
- April 1, 2011 @ 07:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
‘Long live Comic Sans’: Maligned font makes April Fools comeback
Comic Sans Pro
Although it’s still early, I’m going to go ahead and declare Monotype Imaging a contender for April Fools’ Day 2011 champion for its timely introduction of the Comics Sans Pro typeface family.
“Every day, millions of people rely on Comic Sans for countless applications ranging from scrapbooking to school projects,” Allan Haley, Monotype’s director of words and letters, said in the announcement. “Comic Sans is also a favorite in professional environments, used in medical information, instructions, ambulance signage, college exams, corporate mission statements and executive reprimands – even public letters from sports team owners to their fans. Breaking up with your spouse? Why not write a letter in Comic Sans Pro, embellished with a typographic whack!, pow! or bam! Comic Sans is everywhere, and now it’s even better.”
Because the only thing better than plain ol’ Comic Sans is bold and italic Comic Sans, the family pack includes two new italic and bold italic fonts designed by Terrance Weinzierl. “Our aim is to put the ‘fun’ back in ‘functional’,” the designer said. “We can’t wait to see Comic Sans Pro used in everything from second wedding announcements to warning labels. Long live Comic Sans!”
- April 1, 2011 @ 06:30 AM by Kevin Melrose