2011 May
Watch the first trailer for the Batman Live arena tour
Bullet-time Robin!
Not to be outdone by the retooled Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which released a new TV spot a couple of weeks ago, the producers of Batman Live have premiered a curious bullet-time trailer for their $20-million arena tour, courtesy of Total Film.
Officially announced in November, the live-action (non-musical) show pits Batman and Robin against their rogues gallery in an ambitious production that features a giant video screen, a Joker hot-air balloon, recreations of several Gotham City locations, and a Batmobile created by legendary Formula One designer Gordon Murray.
Check out the trailer after the break. Batman Live premieres July 19 in Manchester, and tours the U.K. through Oct. 8 before heading to Europe and then, in August 2012, North America.
- May 23, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
What Are You Reading?
Lost Girls
Hello and welcome to Wha Are You Reading? Today our special guest is illustrator, photographer, writer, filmmaker and jazz musician Dave McKean, whose works include Cages, Mr. Punch, Signal to Noise, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Violent Cases, Coraline and many, many more. He has a new book with writer Richard Dawkins, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True, coming out in October, as well as a graphic novel called Celluloid coming out from Fantagraphics in June. Special thanks to Chris Mautner for asking him to participate this week.
To see what Dave and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …
- May 22, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Fist Stick Knife Gun, Unknown Soldier win Glyph Awards
Fist Stick Knife Gun
The graphic novel adaptation of Fist Stick Knife Gun took home three Glyph Comics Awards this weekend, while Vertigo’s canceled Unknown Soldier took home two more in the annual awards that “recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year.”
Based on the memoir by Geoffrey Canada, Fist Stick Knife Gun was adapted into a graphic novel by Jamar Nicholas. The adaptation won story of the year and best male character, while Nicholas received the rising star award. Unknown Soldier appeared on the list for its third year, with Joshua Dysart winning for best writer and Dave Johnson winning the best cover award for Unknown Soldier #15. Keith Knight’s The K Chronicles won in the best comic strip or webcomic category for a record fifth time.
The awards were presented at The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia Friday night. Here’s the complete list of winners:
Story of the Year: Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist
Best Writer: Joshua Dysart, Unknown Soldier
Best Artist: Richard Koslowski, BB Wolf and the 3 LPs
Best Male Character: Geoff, Fist Stick Knife Gun; Geoffrey Canada, writer, Jamar Nicholas, artist; based on the life of Geoffrey Canada
Best Female Character: Selena, 28 Days Later; Michael Alan Nelson, writer; Declan Shalvey & Marek Oleksicki, artists; based on the character created by Alex Garland for the motion picture 28 Days Later
Rising Star Award: Jamar Nicholas, Fist Stick Knife Gun
Best Reprint Publication: Superman vs. Muhammad Ali Deluxe HC, DC Comics
Best Cover: Unknown Soldier #15, Dave Johnson, illustrator
Best Comic Strip or Webcomic: The K Chronicles, Keith Knight, writer and artist
Fan Award for Best Comic: Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers; Reginald Hudlin, writer, Denys Cowan, artist
Chairman’s Award: Black Comix: African American Independent Comics Art and Culture, by Damian Duffy and John Jennings
- May 22, 2011 @ 08:55 AM by JK Parkin
Saturday Shelf Porn
Welcome once again to Shelf Porn, where comic fans show off their comic-filled shelves. Today’s Shelf Porn comes from Ian Wells from England, who shows us his comics, toys and more.
If you’d like to submit your own shelves for the whole world — or at least our viewing audience — to see, then send me pictures and write up: jkparkin@yahoo.com.
And now here’s Ian …
- May 21, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Carry a Toon (book) in your pocket
Little Mouse Gets Ready, and he teaches French as well!
Toon Books, the early-reader comics imprint helmed by Francoise Mouly, is relaunching three of its iPhone apps: Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons, by Agnes Rosensteihl; Jack and the Box, by Art Spiegelman, and Little Mouse Gets Ready, by Jeff Smith. Yes, you can get comics by the creators of Maus and Bone for free! All are worth a look on their own merits, and they also make an excellent distraction should you find yourself in the company of bored, fidgety children.
Of course, the free app is just the start—as soon as you open it up, you get the option to purchase an audio version in English or a variety of other languages.
I looked over the Little Mouse app, and it looked good, although the automated page turns are a little disconcerting. (You can turn that off from the start menu but not once you are reading the book.) All three books were originally published in a landscape format so they fit nicely on the screen, and the resolution is good even when blown up to double size for the iPad. And compared to $12.95 for the hardcovers, the free app is a steal.
- May 21, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
The Fifth Color | Forward into the Past with Marvel solicitations for August 2011
August is going to look a lot like this
So here we are, looking ahead to August. The confetti and streamers from what will probably be the most successful year of Marvel films to date (three summer movies released consecutively helps!) will be quietly swept up, the San Diego Comic Con will have probably released tantalizing footage of the next year’s main event, the Avengers movie and oh, yeah. Something something comics something.
Looking to my extensive notes, I have dusted off the leather tomes of yesteryear and found that 2010 wasn’t half as lively as this year is shaping up to be. Sure, it was a month of endings and beginnings, plus vampires were everywhere and Shadowland was just kicking out the jams in all its mini-series glory but … looking back now, maybe it’s the nostalgia that keeps me from thinking better of the books that came out in August last year. Maybe it’s because I already know what became of each ending or beginning, how important vampires turned out to be and that yes, the Cable & the New Mutants: X-Force HC was a clue that Nate Summers was going to bow out at the end of Second Coming (man, Second Coming was last year? It feels like it’s been longer than that…).
With that in mind, can I tell you how excited I am for Fear Itself #5? Come look ahead at August and see what Marvel has in store after their banner year in film.
Continue Reading »
- May 20, 2011 @ 03:30 PM by Carla Hoffman
Six by 6 | Six noteworthy debut comics
Good-Bye Chunky Rice
Cartoonists rarely produce great work right out of the starting gate. It usually it takes lots of time and lots of effort for an artist to hone their style and storytelling abilities. Debut comics — even those made by the greats — rarely offer any indication of what type of treasures lie ahead. Even Chris Ware had to make Floyd Farland before he could produce Jimmy Corrigan.
Still, sometimes a cartoonist seems to spring out of the sea foam fully formed, producing a work that not only draws attention and great buzz, but also indicates exactly where they’re headed — what direction they plan to take as an artist and what you as a reader can expect from them.
Here then, are six debut comics that made people go “Who the heck is this guy? And why haven’t I heard of him before?” I’m sure I missed someone. I always do. Be a dear and let me know who I forgot in the comments section, won’t you?
- May 20, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Flashpoint world map sparks controversy
When DC Comics released its map of the World of Flashpoint this morning, fans began talking about it right away. What DC likely didn’t expect was the tone of that discussion. One of the largest complaints was readers’ quickly and strongly objecting to Africa’s being labeled as “Ape-controlled.”
The first comment on our post about the map, for example, was “‘Ape controlled’? Racist much?” And though other commenters were just as quick to point out that Africa is the home of Grodd’s Gorilla City, the expansion of which will be the subject of one of the Flashpoint mini-series, the wording of the label is undeniably unfortunate. Commenters also point out the mention of the “Asian Capital” that suggests to them a lack of awareness of the diversity that exists on that continent.
It’s not only Robot 6 commenters who are discussing the issue. The conversation is also being had at the Comic Book Resources forums, Comics Alliance, and undoubtedly other places I haven’t discovered yet. Comments range from the relatively benign (“It’s almost as if DC wants to start racial controversy”) to outright accusations of racism and misogyny.
Others have noted that even if no intentional offense was meant (and honestly, does anyone really believe that it was?), in addition to a lack of sensitivity, the map also betrays a lack of imagination. Gorillas in Africa, Nazis in South America, and pirates in the Atlantic — for example — are standard tropes in adventure stories. Even Alaska as “Land of the Undead” has me wondering if we’re going to see a 30 Days of Night crossover. I’m guessing that familiar clichés are exactly what DC’s going for, but I understand the complaint that some of these stereotypes could use a second thought and another look.
On the other hand, it strikes me that the Amazons’ taking over Britain and declaring it New Themyscira is a pretty original idea. And I certainly wouldn’t suggest that a world full of talking gorillas, Nazis, pirates, merfolk and Amazons is a bad place to tell a whole mess of stories. It’s just too bad that it’s been overshadowed by another mess altogether. Especially since this isn’t the first time DC’s been accused of this kind of thing.
- May 20, 2011 @ 12:55 PM by Michael May
Robot 6 presents Icarus #2, page 3
Icarus is a comic by Ryan Cody and is serialized here on Robot 6, with new pages every Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Comments welcome.
The amount of research that went into Mars’ lighthouse was ridiculous, but also one of the best parts of creating my own comic. I love the research phase of any project.
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 forViper
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
- May 20, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Ryan Cody
Cloonan and Moses Drink the Blood of the Dragon
Drink the Blood of the Dragon / Speak the Language of Birds
Demo artist Becky Cloonan posts a new print she and painter/tattoo artist Mike Moses teamed up to create:
“Drink the Blood of the Dragon / Speak the Language of Birds” depicts Sigurd and Fafnir from the Völsunga Saga. After Sigurd had slain Fafnir with the sword Gram, Odin came to him disguised as an old man and instructed him to bathe in the blood of the dragon, and eat it’s heart to grant him invulnerability and the ability to communicate with birds.
The print costs $30, and purchasing info can be found at the first link above.
- May 20, 2011 @ 11:12 AM by JK Parkin
Camilla d’Errico gets in on The Art Hustle
It sounds a little shady, but The Art Hustle is actually a trading card series featuring original works of art (backed by a photo of the artist), because why should baseball players get all the trading-card glory? You can mix and match and collect the whole series, and there’s also a set of menko (which are apparently like POGs, only rectangular). And the latest contributor to the set is Camilla d’Errico, whose works include Make 5 Wishes (the Avril Lavigne graphic novel), Sky Pirates of Neo Terra, Burn, and a new art book from Dark Horse, Femina and Fauna. Al Jaffee is also represented in this pack, but other than that there don’t seem to be a lot of comics artists on the roster.
- May 20, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Flawless victory: Chuck BB and Andy MacDonald engage in Mortal Kombat
Chuck BB and Andy MacDonald have launched a new sketch blog called Hey! Draw Something! While it’s still fairly new, they have posted a couple of Mortal Kombat sketches, with more to come, I’m sure.
- May 20, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Flashpoint‘s map of the world
Flashpoint Map
I dig maps, especially maps of fictional places (I even have a copy of this). So I was thrilled when DC Comics posted the above map of the Flashpoint world on their Source blog today.
According to the post, writer Rex Ogle and artist Freddie E. Williams II designed it. They also note the pirate trade routes shown will be explored in issue #2 of the series, as well as in the Deathstroke and the Curse of the Ravager miniseries. Looking at some of the other locales, you can map some of the other tie-ins to their parts of the world as well.
Check the Source throughout the day for interviews about the global conflict at the heart of the story.
- May 20, 2011 @ 07:30 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The Governator placed ‘on hold’; B&N gets $1B offer
The Governator
Publishing | As the fallout mounts from the revelation that former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child more than a decade ago with a member of his household staff, plans to revive the Terminator star’s acting career have been put on hold — a move that now extends to The Governator, the comics and animation project co-developed by Stan Lee. “In light of recent events,” representatives announced last night, “A Squared Entertainment, POW, Stan Lee Comics, and Archie Comics, have chosen to not go forward with The Governator project.” However, Entertainment Weekly notes the statement was revised two hours later, putting the project “on hold.”
Unveiled in late March, on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, no less, The Governator features a semi-fictional Schwarzenegger who, after leaving the governor’s office, decides to become a superhero — complete with a secret Arnold Cave under his Brentwood home that not even his family knows about. “We’re using all the personal elements of Arnold’s life,” Lee said at the time of the announcement. “We’re using his wife [Maria Shriver]. We’re using his kids. We’re using the fact that he used to be governor.” But even before the couple’s separation became public, producers had backed off depicting Shriver and their children. [TMZ, Entertainment Weekly]
- May 20, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Grumpy Old Fan | Surprise me: DC Comics Solicitations for August 2011
Featuring the classic Blizzard vs. Polar Bear battle!
One tagline for the big alien-invasion movie Independence Day cautioned, “Don’t make plans for August.” Well, perhaps the biggest news coming out of DC’s August solicitations is the pervasive sense of foreboding they have about September. Rich Johnston maintains that a whole crop of new No. 1 issues is on tap for the fall, but there are no “FINAL ISSUE!” blurbs to be found on any of the current ongoing series.
While that doesn’t rule out a line-wide relaunch, the solicits also seem to say that readers won’t have to worry about a line-wide reboot. As noted in this space a couple of weeks back, the degree of change will probably be different for different titles. Nevertheless, now that we have a better idea of how August will look, let’s see what it says about September….
- May 19, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant