2011 August
Akira the Don draws Axl Rose for Art Brut comic
Axl Rose
Earlier this summer indie rock band Art Brut released a comic book that had Bryan Lee O’Malley, Hope Larson, Jeff Lemire, Jeffrey Brown and several others creating comics based on tracks from Art Brut’s Brilliant Tragic! album. (The band’s lead singer, Eddie Argos, is a big comic book fan, and even writes a column on them).
Artist and musician Akira the Don, whose new album The Life Equation can be heard on his blog and opens with a speech by Grant Morrison, created a comic for the song “Axl Rose.” Naturally, it features the Guns N’Roses front man leaping out of a kid’s poster to ride a motorcycle and flip off the world. The Don has posted it on his website, so you can go check it out for yourself.
- August 4, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by JK Parkin
See Junko Mizuno’s original art for Cinderalla
Junko Mizuno is a manga artist whose art is pretty far off the mainstream, yet she shows up in a lot of interesting places—she even drew a Spider-Man story for Marvel’s Strange Tales series, and her Cinderalla (yes, that spelling is correct) was one of Martha Cornog’s picks for the best manga you’re not reading. Mizuno’s version of the Cinderella story is decidedly adult and about as far from Disney as you can get—except that it’s awfully cute (in a subversive sort of way).
Now, lucky West Coast manga fans can see all of Mizuno’s original art for Cinderalla in a special exhibit opening Saturday, and running through August 29, at the Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, CA. (Warning: There’s a small image on that page that’s NSFW.) It looks like all the art is for sale, and there are limited-edition prints available as well.
- August 4, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Gallery of Game of Thrones Vol. 2: More fan art from around the web
Winter Is Coming by Bill Mudron
Because every fantasy epic needs a sequel, right? Three weeks ago I posted a massive gallery of fan art for A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones, author George R.R. Martin’s addictive revisionist-fantasy series of novels and the HBO television show adapting it respectively. Almost immediately, Robot 6′s commenters started suggesting additions, while the wider ASoIaF/GoT fan community keeps generating kick-ass artistic homages to their favorite characters and scenes faster than Tyrion Lannister would tear through a copy of Chester Brown’s Paying For It. (That is to say, pretty goddamn fast.) As was infamously the case with the series itself, it soon became clear that another volume was necessary. So here you go! Now all that’s left is to wait until the recently released A Dance with Dragons yields a Gregor Clegane-sized amount of fan art of its own…
Many thanks to Jamie S. Rich and the rest of the original gallery’s commenters, Fuck Yeah Game of Thrones Art, Zack Soto’s The Wall Defends Itself, Kris Mukai & Maritsa Patrinos’s Game of Thrones minizine, and Elio & Linda of Westeros.org for helping to scour the Internet’s riverlands for these images.
Please note: If all you’ve seen is the TV show, there are some mild SPOILERS ahead in the form of characters you haven’t met and, in a couple of cases (though nothing major, so don’t panic) events you haven’t seen. Also, some of these images are tastefully NSFW, so be warned.
Check out the whole gallery after the jump — click on any image to go to its original source, or as close to it as I could get. Don’t forget to check out Volume One of the gallery too if you’re looking for more. And again, please, NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS, for any book in the series. I will be very strict about this. To quote good old Tyrion Lannister, “Heads, spikes, walls.”
- August 4, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
You’ve gone digital, Charlie Brown!
In a press release that reads like a parody of corporate press releases, Peanuts Worldwide announced a series of digital initiatives that they hope will develop Peanuts into “a leading global entertainment and multi-media property.” Because it wasn’t before, apparently—just a meaningless jumble of books, television shows, movies, Broadway musical, syndicated newspaper strip, lunchboxes, etc. Verbiage aside, their new initiatives sound pretty cool.
First, there’s a new the Peanuts website, which is very nicely designed and gives you a daily Peanuts strip (the same one that’s in the paper, I’m guessing, but my paper doesn’t get Peanuts) as well as links to Peanuts merchandise, character profiles and video clips, and a page for the Charles M. Schultz museum. It’s a good start, and I hope they continue to add content.
The second part of the push is digital comics and e-books. The first product to launch was Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown, an original graphic novel published by kaboom!, the kids’ imprint of BOOM! Studios, which is available both in print and digitally via comiXology and a special Peanuts app (not in the iTunes store yet, as far as I could see). There are more original graphic novels on the way.
- August 4, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Archie co-CEO accuses company of smear campaign
Nancy Silberkleit
Archie Comics Co-CEO Nancy Silberkleit claims the company’s lawsuit against her is merely “a thinly veneered attempt to smear my name and gain complete corporate control” for her counterpart Jon Goldwater.
The lawsuit, filed early last month, accuses Silberkleit of bullying and sexually harassing employees, and sought to bar her from the publisher’s Mamaroneck, N.Y., headquarters and from representing the company at Comic-Con International. A judge allowed her to return to work and attend the San Diego convention, but she’s not permitted to talk to vendors.
According to Archie, Silberklet’s “offensive” behavior dates back to 2009, when she stepped into the co-CEO role following the death of her husband Michael Silberkleit, son of co-founder Louis Silberkleit. In one incident, she allegedly interrupted a meeting and pointed to each of the four men in the room, shouting “PENIS, PENIS, PENIS, PENIS.” In another, she reportedly complained that her “balls hurt.” Another employee asserts he heard Silberkleit say, “All you penises think you can run me out.”
The company contends it hired an outside firm to investigate employee allegations of Silberkleit’s actions, and was advised to cut ties with her.
However, The Journal News reports that Silberkleit denies the allegations and claims that Goldwater, son of Archie Comics co-founder John L. Goldwater, is a chauvinist who’s attempting to drive her out of the company.
“He has called me ‘stupid,’ a ‘moron,’ and ‘despicable,’” the former art teacher said in an affidavit filed last week. “In the presence of others he has told me to ‘shut up’ and ‘why can’t you be sweet, nice and quiet like a lady?’ ”
She accuses Goldwater of making corporate decisions without her, canceling a children’s literacy tour without telling her, and turning employees against her. “Mr. Goldwater long ago and repeatedly has told some employees and also people within the industry that he would get rid of me one way or the other,” Silberkleit wrote.
Her attorney has filed a motion to dismiss the company’s lawsuit. A hearing is set for Aug. 16 in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan.
- August 4, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Your Wednesday Sequence 21 | Osamu Tezuka
Phoenix: Future (1967), page 15 panel 9 (or is it panels 9-11?). Osamu Tezuka.
The easiest way of thinking about sequence goes something like this: multiple panels, related by subject or context and taken together at a steady rate, fuse together into a single, more communicative thing. Something that imparts more meaning than a single drawing can. But it gets a little more complex than that when the question of what exactly constitutes a panel is raised.
One might say it is an individual drawing, and be correct in a high percentage of cases. But the true difference between “panel” and “sequence” is functionally impossible to pin down, better defined case by case than with a single sweeping bit of language. After all, it’s no easy task to define what an “individual drawing” is either. Is it one fully formed object, such as a figure or an environmental feature? Perhaps not — there can be plenty of those in single panels. Is it everything an artist puts down into one uninterrupted space? Maybe, but in that case are word balloons separate panels? The lines blur when you look at it too carefully, and as with everything in the language of comics, an attempt to state a definition with words is doomed to fail. The eyes know better than the written word can say; better to go through a book of your choosing, any will do, and let them tell you that this thing, this drawing or collection of drawings is a panel, and this one a sequence.
- August 3, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Matt Seneca
Marvel’s in the kitchen with Williams-Sonoma
Marvel and Williams-Sonoma announced today that they’re partnering on a line of bakeware merchandise, including cookie cutters, aprons and more, that will be sold by the retailer.
The products are available now on the Williams-Sonoma website, along with a custom comic book that features the Avengers fighting the Frightful Four while a shrunken Jarvis makes hamburgers (really). The 12-page comic was written by Marvel’s resident foodie, C.B. Cebulski, with art by Todd Nauck.
Products will also be available in Williams-Sonoma’s retail shops in the United States and Canada.
“Building upon our incredibly successful relationship with Williams-Sonoma Inc., we are excited to launch a great new line of merchandise at Williams-Sonoma stores, bringing the Marvel brand to another audience and product segment,” said Paul Gitter, President of Consumer Products for North America, Marvel Entertainment, in the press release. “We are working with Williams-Sonoma on helping kids and adults spend time together in the kitchen.
- August 3, 2011 @ 01:16 PM by JK Parkin
Media decide new Spider-Man also may be gay
From the Drudge Report
As sometimes happens when comic-book story developments become mainstream-media sensations, the official announcement yesterday that Marvel’s new Ultimate Spider-Man is a biracial teen named Miles Morales has turned into a game of Telephone, with information added and dropped as the message goes along.
It didn’t take long for London’s Daily Mail to jump from Spider-Man has a half-black, half-Latino teen to a half-black, half-Latino teen … who “could be gay in the future”: “Fans will have to wait until the official Spider Man relaunch next month to find out how he came to be the superhero. But another surprise could be in the pipeline after his creators said that in the future they would not rule out making him gay.”
As best as I can tell, the sole basis for that is a quote from USA Today in which Ultimate Spider-Man artist Sara Pichelli says, “Maybe sooner or later a black or gay — or both — hero will be considered something absolutely normal.” It’s not exactly the same thing, is it? Doesn’t matter, though, as it’s good enough for Matt Drudge to declare that the Spider-Man “reincarnation” “could be gay.”
For the record, a Marvel spokesman was unambiguous when he confirmed for CBR News that Miles Morales isn’t gay.
Still, a blogger for the gay magazine Instinct is pleased with the possibility, writing that “though my money was on Robin as the first mainstream superhero to come out, I’ll be nothing but in awe if Marvel makes the great webbed one bat, err, spider, for our team!”
Meanwhile, Glenn Beck has weighed in on the new Spider-Man, saying, “Do I care if he’s half-Hispanic, all Hispanic? No. Half-black, half — I really don’t care. Half-gay, all gay, I don’t really care. … I don’t care. It’s a stupid comic book.” However, what he does care about is that … Michelle Obama is somehow — somehow! — behind the “half-black, half-Hispanic gay Spider-Man.”
- August 3, 2011 @ 11:10 AM by Kevin Melrose
Start Reading Now | Power Nap
I’ll save you some trouble and get you started with page 1 (above) of Power Nap, the new webcomic from Maritza Campos (College Roomies from Hell!!!) and Bachan, a Mexican artist who has done work for both DC Comics and the Mexican edition of Mad Magazine. The story has a great sci-fi premise: In the future, nobody needs to sleep—except for one guy! Pills called Z-Sup allow everyone to work 16-hour days for a large, faceless corporation, but our hero, Drew, is allergic to them. With just 15 pages up so far, we have characters, backstory, some bits of over-the-top humor, and the promise of some beautifully drawn office-life satire. And since the comic is just getting under way, you won’t have to stay up late to get up to speed.
(Via Fleen.)
- August 3, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Quote of the day | The appropriateness of Marvel’s new Spider-Man
Miles Morales in Ultimate Fallout #4
“New York City’s black and Latino residents comprise the majority of the population, and it is, after all, the blurring of those two regional cultures that produced the most important artistic movement in popular culture of the past 30 years. Yet despite the proliferation of New York superheroes, that culture has been largely absent from comics. There’s something fitting about the new Spider-Man being the kind of kid who has to worry about hiding his web-shooters from the odd stop-and-frisk search.”
– Adam Serwer of The American Prospect,
on Marvel’s introduction of Miles Morales as the new (Ultimate) Spider-Man
- August 3, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Details on DC’s Aug. 31 midnight releases
Justice League
Publishers | DC Comics have released details on the midnight release of Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1 on Aug. 31. The publisher is offering a free over-ship of Flashpoint #5 for retailers who order 125 percent of their order for Flashpoint #1, and the publisher has noted that that these are the only two DC titles shipping that week that can be sold at midnight. The promotion is only available to U.S. and Canadian accounts; due to the Aug. 29 bank holiday, the midnight sale option will not be available to UK retailers. [ICv2]
Legal | Michael Dean looks at the recent ruling by New York federal judge Colleen McMahon that the family of Jack Kirby has no claim to the copyrights of the characters he co-created for Marvel. Dean notes, “Some legal observers were expecting Marvel to be the second major comics-publisher domino to fall when Toberoff filed on behalf of the Kirbys, but there is a key difference between Kirby’s comics work and Siegel’s: It was well established that Superman already existed as a full-blown character concept before Siegel and Joe Shuster pitched him to DC, whereas Kirby, who died in 1994, did most if not all of his Marvel work on assignment from the publisher. In the case of work for hire, the Copyright Act defines the instigating employer/publisher as the Author of the work.” [The Comics Journal]
- August 3, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Food or Comics? | Snarked, Caniff, Ultimate Comics Fallout and more
Ultimate Comics Fallout
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.
Graeme McMillan
It’s an odd week this week, with little slices of history all over the place. If I had $15, I’d make a point of grabbing two of those slices immediately: Ultimate Comics Fallout #4 (Marvel, $3.99) is the most hyped of the two, the introduction of the “all-new” Spider-Man that we’ve apparently been counting down to for the last week, but I’ll admit more eagerness to read Superman #714 (DC, $2.99), the final issue of the original numbering of a series that’s been running for seven decades, as well as the final episode of “Grounded,” which has become a testament to Chris Roberson’s ability to make a silk purse out of JMS’ ear, or something. Also on the DC side, Flashpoint #4 (DC, $3.99), because I’ve come this far, and because I’m curious what the last page shocker that will make me desperate to read #5 is going to turn out to be. Also: Snarked #0 (BOOM! Studios) is out! Worth multiple times the $1 it actually costs.
- August 2, 2011 @ 05:00 PM by JK Parkin
The Middle Ground #63 | Stan Lee Presents
Believe it or not, there’s not enough time in the day to read all the comics I want. I wish that wasn’t the case, believe me, but it is; sometimes, it’s so bad that there’s not enough time to even get to the store on a given week, which generally leads to me forgetting that things have come out, and missing an issue, which leads me to miss another issue, and all of a sudden I’m miles behind and deciding to wait for the collection. Which is to say: I’m sorry that it’s taken me this long to realize how great Boom!’s Stan Lee line is.
- August 2, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by Graeme McMillan
Comic Couture | Show your mutant love with X-Men tees
The X-Men have had a pretty good summer so far, what with the cool, retro X-Men: First Class flick and the grand start to the Schism event. So what better way to declare your love for mutantkind than with one of Mighty Fine‘s new X-Men T-shirts. In addition to the above Young Mutants in Love shirt, they’ve also got two nice character-oriented shirts for Iceman and Nightcrawler, two “90s rock” shirts featuring Professor X and Storm, and a “We can get along” shirt featuring mankind and mutantkind shaking hands … well, we know that won’t last long. But one can hope.
Check’em out after the jump.
- August 2, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
How Donald Glover finally secured the role of Spider-Man
Troy (Donald Glover) in the opening scene from the season premiere of "Community"
A little more than a year ago, journalist and comics writer Marc Bernardin penned an editorial wondering why the Spider-Man in Sony’s movie-franchise reboot had to be played by a white actor, inspiring actor/comedian Donald Glover to spearhead an online campaign to secure an audition. The role eventually went to Andrew Garfield, of course, but Glover’s lobbying effort inadvertently ignited a disturbing Internet firestorm that Community creator Dan Harmon later characterized as a “curious eruption of a previously unknown demographic of racist comic-book readers.”
It wasn’t one of fandom’s shining moments. But fast forward 14 months, to the 49th anniversary of Spider-Man’s first appearance — that’s right, Amazing Fantasy #15 hit newsstands this week in 1962 — and the introduction of the new Spider-Man of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe. Caution: Spoilers follow for those who haven’t seen the countless newspaper and website articles on the subject.
- August 2, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Kevin Melrose