2011 August
Phil Noto pays tribute to the Fantastic Four
Reed and Sue Richards and Ben Grimm, by Phil Noto
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four, Phil Noto offers an amazing “snapshot” of Sue and Reed Richards and Ben Grimm taken early in their career. In case you can’t read the caption, it says, “Sue and Reed Richards (also pictured, Benn Grimm) at dinner hosted by Robert F. Kennedy, 1965.”
- August 9, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Titan announces The Complete Flash Gordon Library
Titan Books will publish The Complete Flash Gordon Library, a restored full-color hardcover series collecting every strip from the legendary sci-fi adventure comic. The first volume, On the Planet Mongo, will be released in March 2012.
Created by Alex Raymond, Flash Gordon debuted in January 1934, chronicling the adventures of the titular polo player and his companions Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov as they attempt to save Earth from Ming the Merciless, ruler of the planet Mongo. The strip ran in newspapers for seven decades, inspiring radio serials, movies, television series and comic books, and helping to inspire Star Wars.
The 192-page first volume, which retails for $39.95, includes a foreword by Alex Ross. Check out the official announcement after the break.
- August 9, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Aging: The final frontier
A scene from Special Exits
When Miles Morales was revealed as the new Spider-Man this week, David Betancourt had a visceral reaction to the news:
My friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was … just like me?
Like Betancourt, Morales is half black, half Hispanic, but there’s more to diversity than ethnicity. Everyone talks about how superheroes are all white, but nobody talks about how they are all young. A middle-aged superhero is usually the butt of a joke, but outside the capes-and-tights realm, there is a growing category of comics about the trials and joys of middle age.
When I was young, I looked upon aging as a horror show—your looks deteriorate, your parents get sick and die, your kids get snottier and snottier and then move away, and every visit to the doctor carries the potential of a nasty test or a bit of bad news. Instead of daydreaming about accepting the Nobel Prize, you spend your days thinking about boring things like health insurance, car maintenance, and college tuition. The cheery nihilism of youth gives way to the humdrum of necessity and responsibility. What I am learning, though, is that as difficult as all this can be, there are also moments of grace and even humor. You don’t stop living and growing and changing once you turn 40. Every stage of life is full of stories.
- August 9, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | Offended, Robert Crumb cancels Australia appearance
Robert Crumb
Creators | Robert Crumb has decided not to attend Graphic 2011, an arts festival scheduled for Aug. 20-21 at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Crumb told The Australian he withdrew from his headline appearance because of an article in the Australian newspaper The Telegraph that called him “a self-confessed sex pervert.”
“It’s a very, very disappointing situation,” Graphic co-curator Jordan Verzar wrote on the show’s Facebook page. “There were a legion of people eagerly anticipating his visit and the Graphic team and Sydney Opera House had been working for months to pull together the shows he was involved with and to supply an enjoyable first visit to Australia for him. I sincerely doubt that he will ever make it to Australia now. It’s a very sad day, but I’m still excited and looking forward to the rest of the great shows happening at Graphic next weekend.” [The Australian]
Retailers | Birmingham, England comics shop Nostalgia and Comics was damaged during the riots of the past few days; no one was injured, but the windows were broken. [The Forbidden Planet blog]
- August 9, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Check out Sarah McIntyre’s China travel diary
Sarah McIntyre is one of a group of talented British comics artists who created work for the short-lived children’s comic The DFC; McIntyre is the creator of Vern and Lettuce, a whimsical story about a sheep and a rabbit. That book has not yet been published in the U.S., but happily, the web is everywhere, so anyone can enjoy McIntyre’s travel diary of her recent trip to China. McIntyre is blessed with an effortless style, a sharp eye for detail, and a willingness to go out and actually talk to people, so her diary is a delight to read. She drew all the characters as animals—it’s faster, she says—but it also gives the comic a whimsical air, and she includes photos of people and places as well. It’s the next best thing to being there!
- August 9, 2011 @ 06:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Talking Comics with Tim | Robert Venditti
The Homeland Directive
As an Atlanta native, in terms of pro sports teams, I root for the Braves and Falcons every season. In a similar vein, when something from Top Shelf (partially based out of the Atlanta metro area) is published, much less by a talented Atlanta-based writer like Robert Venditti, I aim to support that project, but only if that support is warranted. I am happy to say that Venditti and artist Mike Huddleston’s The Homeland Directive has more than earned my full and enthusiastic support. Don’t trust my gut? Consider what The Middle Ground columnist Graeme McMillan’s wrote about the 152-page graphic novel: “It’s unlikely you’ll find a book that looks as good as The Homeland Directive this year.” The book, released last month, is best framed by the publisher: “As a leading researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Laura Regan is one of the world’s foremost authorities on viral and bacteriological study. Having dedicated her career to halting the spread of infectious disease, she has always considered herself one of the good guys. But when her research partner is murdered and Laura is blamed for the crime, she finds herself at the heart of a vast and deadly conspiracy. Aided by three rogue federal agents who believe the government is behind the frame-up, Laura must evade law enforcement, mercenaries, and a team of cyber-detectives who know more about her life than she does—all while trying to expose a sinister plot that will impact the lives of every American.” My thanks to Venditti for his time and be sure to visit the Top Shelf website for a six-page preview of the book.
Tim O’Shea: Was there any one factor (influencing your decision more than others) as to why you tapped artist Huddleston for the project?
Robert Venditti: I wrote the book having no idea who the artist was going to be or, for that matter, if it was even going to get published. When I turned in the script to Chris and Brett at Top Shelf, Mike Huddleston was one of the first names they mentioned. I’d never met Mike before, but I was a fan of his work on The Coffin, so I was immediately onboard with the idea. He’s an amazing talent, and he proved himself to be a consummate professional as well. It was an absolute joy to work with him.
- August 8, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
‘Racially charged reinterpretation’ of Black Terror hits at just the right time
Blackest Terror
Sometimes the right project hits at just the right time to take advantage of the 15-second media frenzies that pop up … take, for instance, Eric M. Esquivel and Ander Sarabia’s Blackest Terror, “a new, racially charged reinterpretation of the 1940′s superhero ‘The Black Terror.’”
You guys know who the Black Terror is, right? He’s a public domain character from the 1940s who has popped up often in comics over the last 20 years or so, in places like Dynamite’s Project Superpowers, Image’s Next Issue Project and more. You can find more information on him at the Public Domain Super Heroes wiki.
This latest version is one of five self-contained one-shots coming from Moonstone Books by Esquivel and Sarabia, as they reinterpret Golden Age characters like Black Terror, Moon Girl and Super American. Here’s the description of the book:
The Blackest Terror is a pioneer in what sociologists have dubbed “the super hero subculture,” a collection of racial and social minorities who feel underserved by the mainstream legal system and have decided to take matters into their own costumed hands. How will the world react to these benevolent outlaws? Will they become celebrated symbols of humankind’s capacity for good or hated catalysts of a bloody revolution?”
- August 8, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Quote of the day | “Richard Gere IS Chester Brown in Paying For It: The Movie!”
Chester Brown
“It’s hard to imagine a Hollywood adaptation that would stay true to the book’s political message. That would be a problem for me. I doubt I could be convinced to sell the rights to an American company — filmmakers would be very tempted to turn the ‘Denise’-and-Chester story into a variation of ‘Pretty Woman.’ The reality of our relationship is nothing like that film.”
–Cartoonist and (ironically monogamous) prostitution enthusiast Chester Brown, on the prospect of seeing a big-screen version of his memoir of life as a john, Paying For It, in an event report and interview from CBR’s James Gartler. It’s just as well, really: Based on Brown’s gaunt, vacant-eyed self-portraiture in that book, the only actor I can think of who could convincingly play the role is Jack Skellington, and I’m pretty sure that since The Nightmare Before Christmas he’s been concentrating primarily on live theater.
- August 8, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
DC summons Jack Kirby’s Spirit World
One of Jack Kirby’s most potent (but forgotten) works is now being collected.
Popping up on Amazon.com, Spirit World was a supernatural themed black-and-white magazine that Jack did when he first jumped ship from Marvel to DC in the late 1960s. Unlike his Fourth World work, which has emerged as his most popular DC work, Spirit World was a book published by DC through a separate company called Hampshire Distributions. Why, you ask? Well, so Kirby could make an early break from the oppressive Comics Code to cover some heavy political and social commentary as well as a dose of horror as well.
The book was 52 pages of unbridled Kirby,with stories like “The President Must Die!” foretelling JFK’s later assassination, to shorts like “House of Horror” and “Children of the Flaming Wheel.” After years of fruitless searching for this in back issue bins, I’m looking forward to DC publishing this next April.
- August 8, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Tearjerker alert: Jordan Crane’s The Last Lonely Saturday is now a short film
from The Last Lonely Saturday
The Last Lonely Saturday, by Uptight and The Clouds Above cartoonist Jordan Crane, is one of my favorite comics of all time. Why? You can find out if you read the entire beautifully bittersweet story online at Crane’s webcomics portal, What Things Do.
It’ll only take a minute or two. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
There now. Need a hankie? I figured. The story of an elderly man bringing flowers to his beloved, The Last Lonely Saturday is where I first discovered Crane’s impeccably cartoony character designs and near-wordless storytelling chops, as well as his knack for teasing both the darkness and the light out of issues of love and loss. And now the comic has been adapted into a live-action short film by director Seth Craven. The movie premieres as part of the HollyShorts Film Festival at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 in Los Angeles on August 12 at 5pm. Get ready to be heartbroken.
- August 8, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
I’m ready for more of Tony Moore’s Joker
A weekend blogpost by artist Tony Moore got my eyes reeling and my mind day-dreaming.. day-dreaming of Moore doing a Joker series. Check out what Moore posted Sunday:
Moore drew the image several years ago, but only recently dusted it off and colored it before unveiling it for the first time.
Moore’s currently hard at work on Marvel’s Venom series with Rick Remender, but just imagine for a second if DC gave Tony the reigns of Gotham’s big bad? Or even that great Lobo series he and Remender pitched years back.
- August 8, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Ty Templeton breaks down the Miles Morales/Spider-Man controversy
From "Bun Toons," by Ty Templeton
If you were perplexed by some of the negative reaction to the news that half-black, half-Hispanic (but not gay) teen Miles Morales will replace Peter Parker as Spider-Man in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, veteran cartoonist Ty Templeton helpfully explains it all in the latest installment of his Bun Toons comic strip.
- August 8, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Artist Brandon Peterson working on interior art for X-Men project
After years of only producing covers and pin-ups for Marvel and other publishers, long-time comics artist Brandon Peterson announced on his website that he’s just initiated work on a new series he is penciling. Although no specific title has been announced, Peterson says on his blog he’s working on something “for the X-Men books” and drawing interiors. Those could be one and the same, or two separate projects.
Peterson came to prominence in the early nineties through his work at Marvel and DC, and really struck it big when Marc Silvestri tapped him to be the artist of the CyberForce spin-off series Codename: StrykeForce. He continued working at Top Cow for several years, producing his own creator-owned series Arcanum. In 1999 he left to become a freelancer, but was quickly snapped up by the then-new comics company CrossGen as its art director. Peterson penciled a variety of work including Mystic and the under-rated Chimera series. After the collapse of CrossGen, Peterson was one of a host of artist Marvel snapped up, and Peterson ended up drawing Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Vision and Doctor Strange revamp (simply called Strange) before switching up to being a cover artist.
For those looking for new Peterson art, Peterson recently released a 2011 edition of his artbook series Illuminations which you order online at Stuart Ng Books and Bud Plant Books, or get it at one of Peterson’s frequent con stops.
- August 8, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Arrant
50 years ago today, Fantastic Four #1 changed the comics world
Fantastic Four #1
As Marvel’s Senior Vice President of Publishing Tom Brevoort notes, 50 years ago today, The Fantastic Four #1 debuted, beginning a 102-issue run by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby — an unfinished issue was completed in 2008 — and giving birth to the Silver Age of Marvel Comics.
Given Marvel’s recent legal victory in the bitter copyright battle with Kirby’s heirs, the anniversary is undoubtedly a bittersweet milestone, but an incredibly important one all the same. Happy 50th to “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” and the Marvel Universe as we know it. And thank you, Lee and Kirby, for the Fantastic Four and much, much more.
- August 8, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | ‘Spider-Island’ tops sluggish July; BOOM!’s Disney titles end in October
Amazing Spider-Man #666
Publishing | Sales of comic books and graphic novels in July fell 6.17 percent versus July 2010, with dollar sales of comic books sold through Diamond Comic Distributors falling 4.27 percent and graphic novels falling 10.10 percent year-over-year. Unit sales for comics were only down slightly, at .52 percent, which ICv2 points out “indicates that comic book cover prices have in fact declined. The problem is that circulation numbers have not risen enough to make up for the decline in revenue from lower cover prices.” Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man #666, which kicked off the “Spider-Island” event, was the best-selling comic of the month, while League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III Century #2 from Top Shelf topped the graphic novel chart. John Jackson Miller has commentary.
Marvel saw a slight increase in its dollar market share for July when compared to June, while DC’s jumped from 28.03 percent in June to 30.55 percent in July. IDW, the No. 5 publisher in terms of dollar share in June, moved to the No. 3 position in July. The top seven publishers were rounded out by Image, Dark Horse, Dynamite and BOOM! [ICv2]
- August 8, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin