2011 July
SDCC ’11 | Fantagraphics hosts Hernandez Bros. + more at Comic-Con
Love & Rockets New Stories #4
We’re getting down to the wire here, but we still have a couple more pre-SDCC things to share … first up, Fantagraphics sent over their booth and panel schedules, to go along with the massive list of books they’ll debut at the show. A list they keep adding to — check out the SDCC special edition of 21: The Story of Roberto Clemente they’ll have on hand. It’s so limited you can count the number of copies they’ll have on three fingers.
They’ll have a whole bunch of creators at their booth this year, including all three Hernandez brothers, Paul Hornschemeier, Johnny Ryan, Anders Nilsen and many more. Check it out after the jump.
- July 19, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’11 | Marvel announces Season One graphic novel line
Fantastic Four: Season One
To help celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, Marvel will publish a line of graphic novels featuring current creators retelling classic superhero tales. Called Season One, the initiative marks the company’s first entry in recent history into original graphic novels.
“We’re hoping to introduce folks who have never read any of these characters to these characters in this format, and also provide an interesting and illuminating story for people who have read a lot of Fantastic Four and Daredevil,” Tom Brevoort, Marvel’s senior vice president of publishing, tells USA Today. “If you want to dip your toe in the water and find out the essence of what Marvel is all about, here is a nice place for you to start in big, sizable, meaty chunks.”
The first wave will feature: Fantastic Four: Season One, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and David Marquez, due in February; X-Men: Season One, by Dennis Hopeless and Jamie McKelvie, in March; Daredevil: Season One, by Antony Johnston and Wellinton Alves, in April; and Spider-Man: Season One, by Cullen Bunn and Neil Edwards, in May. A second wave will debut soon afterward.
Season One isn’t a relaunch or an Ultimate Universe-like initiative — “”Everything you know about them, everything that’s existed for the last 50 years still exists and is still there,” Brevoort says — but neither is it a mere retelling of the characters’ origins. “These are individually new stories,” he says, “even though they’ve got bits and pieces of old and formative origin stuff in and around them, as well.”
Visit USA Today to see a preview of Fantastic Four: Season One.
- July 19, 2011 @ 03:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
SDCC ’11 | Bob Burden, Mysterymen and … Marble Comics?
Mysterymen trading cards
Marvel may have Mystery Men, but now Mysterymen creator Bob Burden has … Marble Comics?
In response to Marvel’s current Mystery Men miniseries, the Flaming Carrot creator and Dark Horse Comics announced that Burden is bringing his own “publishing house,” called Marble Comics, to Dark Horse.
Burden will be in San Diego this weekend in support of a Mysterymen trade that’s limited to 200 copies just for San Diego. It’ll feature a “first peek” at The Mysterians. and a back cover advertising Journey to Astonish and a Fin Fang Foom-ish monster called Flip Flap Flop. Burden spoke with Bleeding Cool about the ideas behind Marble Comics in a very entertaining interview.
You can find the press release and more info on Burden’s SDCC plans after the jump.
- July 19, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’11 | Dan Parent on the future of Kevin Keller
Kevin Keller #4
As we mentioned earlier, Archie Comics has some big news this week: Kevin Keller, their first openly gay character, is getting his own series. We fired off a couple of quick questions to Kevin creator Dan Parent and here’s what he had to say:
Robot 6: What makes you think Kevin has a strong enough personality to sustain his own series?
Dan Parent: I think he’s proven that with his popularity beyond his initial appearance. He feels like he’s been a part of the gang for years already.
Robot 6: Will he have his own set of friends, or will he hang out with Archie, Betty, Veronica, and the rest of the Riverdale crowd?
Dan Parent: Both actually. We’ve met some of his friends from his past who will continue to be around, and we’ve seen his relationship with the main five characters. What will be interesting are his relationships with other members of the Riverdale gang. And there will be a few new characters too.
- July 19, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
How do four (or five) Robins squeeze into a condensed DCU timeline?
From "Justice League" #1
Cosmic Book News snagged a copy of the DC Comics: The New 52 preview a day early — street dates be damned! — and uploaded scans of the opening pages of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League #1, the vanguard of DC’s line-wide relaunch. It’s an entertaining enough sequence, with Gotham City’s finest pursuing Batman across rooftops as he, in turn, chases some sort of raggedy cyborg villain, only to come face to face with Green Lantern for the first time.
But it’s the first panel, above, that captured my attention, as it establishes the events as unfolding “five years ago,” “when the world didn’t know what a super-hero was.” That the first issue of Justice League takes place in the past isn’t a surprise, but the time frame may be. It could also prove tricky for Batman’s history.
- July 19, 2011 @ 01:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
SDCC Wishlist | Ferrigno vs. Seagal in Amazing Arizona Comics #4
Amazing Arizona Comics
Russ Kazmierczak will head west from the Arizona desert to the much cooler San Diego area this weekend in support of his new comic, Amazing Arizona Comics #4, which feature stories about current events and politics in Arizona.
“Amazing Arizona Comics #4 is a flipbook, and in the lead story, a jealous Lou Ferrigno (recently deputized by Sheriff Joe Arpaio) tried to trump fellow celebrity law enforcer Steven Seagal by busting crooks on the Mexican border, and a local superhero, Dust Devil, tries to control the chaos,” Kazmierczak told Robot 6. The comics will recent featured by the local ABC and Fox news affiliates in Phoenix.
Find Amazing Arizona Comics at the small press K.O. Comix table.
- July 19, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC Wishlist | The Beguiling brings original art from Paul Pope, Seth and more
Paul Pope, for Sax Fifth Avenue
The Beguiling is not just a comic shop up in Toronto — they’re also an original art dealer for many top art-comix and indy cartoonists. And they’ll be selling some of that artwork in San Diego this week.
Our buddy Chris Butcher, who shared what he’s been reading with us this past Sunday, sent word that The Beguiling will be selling art in Drawn + Quarterly’s booth, #1629, during the show. Some of the artists who will be represented include Seth, Paul Pope, Jeff Lemire, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, Becky Cloonan, Anders Nilsen, Jason Lutes and many more. Check out the entire press release after the jump.
- July 19, 2011 @ 12:30 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC Wishlist | Amy Mebberson’s Green Lantern/Muppets mash-up
Muppet Lanterns
If you’re looking for some fun prints to buy in San Diego this weekend, Strawberry Shortcake artist Amy Mebberson has several, including the above mash-up of DC’s various Lanterns and the Muppets. Mebberson is no stranger to the Muppets, having drawn them when BOOM! had the license, and she’ll have a non-color coded Muppets print as well.
You can find Mebberson and James Silvani (Darkwing Duck) in the Artist Alley area of the con, table Table HH20. Just think of water …
- July 19, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’11 | Morgan Spurlock chronicles Comic-Con
Archaia's Stephen Christy stars in this two-page spread from Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
Morgan Spurlock has written a book and made a movie about San Diego Comic-Con. Spurlock got full access to Comic-Con to film Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope and sent photographers Aba Tulle and Peter McCabe out to document the celebrities and the fans forthe lushly illustrated companion volume from DK Publishing. The book will be available, appropriately enough, on Preview Night, at the Sideshow Collectibles booth.
The way the whole thing came together is classic San Diego, and illustrates why people bother to make the trek, despite the hassles involved. It all started when Spurlock went to the 2009 Comic-Con to film a Simpsons special and ended up meeting Stan Lee.
Spurlock said, “I went to kiss his ring and tell him that when I was a kid, he changed my life and made me realize that I could tell all the different kinds of weird adventure stories that were in my head.”
“Stan Lee says to me that we should make a documentary together and it should be about Comic-Con,” Spurlock said. At the same party, Spurlock said he ran into his agent, Robert Michelli from CAA. “I told him I want to make a movie about Comic-Con and he tells me I should meet another client of his—Joss Whedon!”
You get a bunch of creative types into the same room and that’s what you end up with. The film was made at the 2010 Comic-Con and features creators like Moto Hagio and Frank Miller as well as movie stars and assorted other celebs. Spurlock said that announcements about screenings will be coming very soon.
- July 19, 2011 @ 11:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
SDCC ’11 | Archie gives Kevin Keller his own series
Kevin Keller
It may have seemed daring for Archie Comics to introduce their first openly gay character, Kevin Keller, in Veronica #202 last year, but it’s a move that has paid off handsomely. Not only did the move draw a lot of attention to the publisher, but Kevin himself has proved to be a popular character, and his creator, Dan Parent, has been fleshing out his personality and backstory in a four-part miniseries that debuted last month. Today, the New York Times revealed that Kevin will get his own series next year, and readers will get some glimpses of the grown-up Kevin in the Life With Archie magazine, which features dual storylines in which Archie marries Veronica and Betty, respectively. And yes, Archie co-CEO Jon Goldwater says, they are going there: Kevin will get married in early 2012.
Parent has already taken on another controversial topic in the current miniseries, which reveals that Kevin’s father is in the military and Kevin himself would like to serve someday. The comic also tackles homophobia head-on but in a very Archie kind of way, by having the kids who are taunting Kevin turn out to be friends from his old school who were just trying to get a rise out of his Riverdale buddies. These new friends are a refreshing addition to the cast, and hopefully they will stick around for a while. Parent says that Kevin will be class president in the new series, but he adds, ” “Even the most popular kids are not popular with everybody. There’s some adversity he’ll have to deal with.”
As for controversy, Goldwater says it’s a non-issue: “Out of all the people who subscribe to the Archie books, we only had seven total cancellations,” he told the Times.
- July 19, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
SDCC ’11 | Activision announces voices for Spider-Man: Edge of Time, X-Men Destiny
Spider-Man: Edge of Time
In advance of their big panel on Saturday at Comic-Con International, video game company Activision has announced several of the voice actors who will bring their two big fall Marvel releases to life.
According to the press release from Activision, Iceman will appear in Spider-Man: Edge of Time — not the amazing friend of the same name, but Val Kilmer of Top Gun, Batman Forever and Heat fame. Kilmer will voice a character named Walker Sloan. In addition, Battlestar Galactica alumni Katee Sackhoff will voice the Black Cat, while Smallville‘s Supergirl, Laura Vandervoort, will voice Mary Jane. They join Josh Keaton as the voice of Spider-Man and Christopher Daniel Barnes as Spider-Man 2099.
- July 19, 2011 @ 10:24 AM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’11 | Is Brian K. Vaughan announcing a new project?
Brian K. Vaughan
Writer Brian K. Vaughan has been added to an Image Comics panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego, igniting speculation that the acclaimed co-creator of Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina will announce a new title.
The news came Monday from Image Publisher Eric Stephenson, who revealed on his personal blog that Vaughan will be among the special guests on the “Creator-Owned Comics With Robert Kirkman” panel, scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday. “You’ll want to go to this panel,” Stephenson wrote. “Why? Well, we’ve roped Brian K. Vaughan into attending, along with some other great guests, so … yeah. Be there.”
It’s been nearly a year since the conclusion of Ex Machina at WildStorm, and more than three years since Y: The Last Man wrapped up its 60-issue run at Vertigo. Since then, there have been few clues as to what the Eisner Award-winning writer had planned next — a return to creator-owned comics or a continued focus on film and television projects. But this news certainly suggests we’ll be seeing a new book from Vaughan in the near future. As Ryan K. Lindsay writes, “Why else would BKV be there except to announce something new?”
Read the panel description after the break, and follow Robot 6 and Comic Book Resources for any developments on Saturday.
- July 19, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
SDCC ’11 | Elvis Presley: Superhero, or just a fan?
Paul Pope draws Elvis
Elvis Presley was more than just The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, he was also a comics fan, and there is photographic evidence to prove it: Craig Yoe’s Archie: A Celebration of America’s Favorite Teenager opens up to a photo of Presley reading a comic book while on tour in 1956. He told a roomful of Jaycees (hardly what you’d think of as a comics-friendly audience) that “When I was a child, I was a dreamer. I read comic books and I was the hero of the comic book.” He had a stack of Captain Marvel Jr. comics in his attic. And, come to think of it, that whole thing with the jumpsuits and the capes and the lightning-bolt logo… was Elvis cosplaying?
Maybe so, according to a new book, Graphic Elvis, which celebrates The King’s love of comics and gives the editors an excuse to commission some totally boss Elvis fanart from the likes of Paul Pope and Greg Horn.
The book will be published by Liquid Comics (the successor company to Sir Richard Branson and Deepak Chopra’s Virgin Comics), with a special limited edition due out in time for the holidays, a mass-market edition to be released in April 2012, and an iPad edition sometime after that.
- July 19, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
SDCC ’11 | Villard to publish Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Seconds
Outline for "Seconds," by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Bryan Lee O’Malley’s hotly anticipated follow-up to his bestselling Scott Pilgrim series will be published in 2013 by Random House’s Villard imprint, Publishers Weekly reports.
Virtually nothing is known about the graphic novel beyond its title, Seconds, which O’Malley revealed in a tweet early last month. Random House’s Ryan Doherty will edit the book.
Published by Oni Press, all six volumes of the Scott Pilgrim series appeared on The New York Times bestseller list, thanks in part to director Edgar Wright’s 2010 adaptation. Although the film failed to ignite the box office, the books continue to sell well: The second volume, originally released in 2005, landed in BookScan’s Top 20 for graphic novels sold in bookstores in June — 10 months after the movie’s opening. The final volume, Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, received a 100,000-copy first printing.
- July 19, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | DC’s gay and lesbian heroes, ‘more brooding’ Superman
Stormwatch #1
Publishing | DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio talks about the gay and lesbian characters appearing in the company’s books come September, including Batwoman and WildStorm imports Apollo, Midnighter and Voodoo: “When we looked at trying to incorporate some of the characters that inhabited the WildStorm universe Apollo and Midnighter are two characters that have always popped out. Not because of what they represent, but they’re just strong characters in their own right and [they] were able to represent a story, a style of character that wasn’t represented in the DC Universe. There’s more of an aggressive nature with those characters that will interact interestingly with other characters and allows us to tell more and better stories.” [The Advocate]
Publishing | Todd Allen, Tom Foss and Graeme McMillan react to the list of changes to the “younger, brasher and more brooding” Superman who will inhabit the DC Universe following the September relaunch. [Indignant Online, Fortress of Soliloquy, Blog@Newsarama]
- July 19, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin