2011 September
Grumpy Old Fan | New 52 Week 3: I’m every woman…?
The new Blue Beetle #1
Whether by accident or design, this week was dominated by female leads (four, not including Starfire in Red Hood) and Bat-titles (four including RH; five if you count Birds Of Prey). It is tempting to say the woman-led titles ran the gamut of experiences from A to D, but thankfully it is a little more complicated than that. As you might expect, the week produced issues of varying quality, although I found something to like about each one. Sometimes it was harder to find that one thing, though….
Naturally, SPOILERS FOLLOW.
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In theory, the DC Universe Presents anthology has a longer lease on life because its sales can’t be judged fairly on the basis of only one arc. I suppose that, given Deadman’s relationship with one of Hawk & Dove’s headliners, that book’s readers might be interested in this one. By and large, though, the audience for this title is made up either of DC stalwarts waiting for a good Obscure Character X story, or (less likely, I’d say) impulse buyers. Such an approach might have been a great way to introduce a totally new character within the context of the New 52, and piggyback that feature on the rest of the relaunch’s popularity — but I’m not surprised DC chose Deadman, fresh off Brightest Day.
- September 22, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Ryan Cody offering subscriptions to Icarus via Kickstarter
Icarus
Ryan Cody, whose Icarus comic we were running here until he had to put it on hiatus to focus on other paying work, is now using Kickstarter to fund the production of at least four monthly issues of the series — a subscription service through Kickstarter, you could call it.
“What I am asking is if you are a fan of comics, of good storytelling, and are willing to give me chance, I will give you a full-color, 22-page comic every month for just a dollar each,” Ryan said. The minimum Kickstarter pledge will be only the subscription amount of $4. Rewards will also be offered that include original pages, covers and a limited edition ICARUS sourcebook.
A 20-page prequel is available for free starting on http://graphicly.com/ and http://drivethrucomics.com — and thanks to Graphicly’s embed feature, you can check it out after the jump. You can find a 32-page prequel on Ryan’s site.
- September 22, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
New, improved Wonder Woman could’ve been newer, more improved
Yesterday DC Comics released the first issue of its new Wonder Woman series, part of a reboot/relaunch of its entire superhero publishing line.
I like Wonder Woman. She’s one of the relatively few superheroes I genuinely root for. Not in a “I hope she defeats this villain” or “I hope she doesn’t get killed during the course of this dangerous adventure” sort of way, of course, because she is a superhero, and therefore always concludes her adventures safely and successfully.
Rather, I root for the character in the real world, in a “I hope this comic book of hers turns out good” or “I hope this is the take on Wonder Woman that catches on, and proves to folks that she’s just as good a character as Superman and Batman, her caretakers have just lost their way over the years.”
That’s why I get really excited when I see something like Ben Caldwell‘s too-crowded and laid-out but otherwise pitch-perfect Wednesday Comics strip, or proposals for YA and manga-influenced Wonder Woman comics from the likes of Caldwell and Tintin Pantojo or, hell, even just a really nice Wonder Woman drawing or character design in an unofficial venue (that is, one that’s not paid for and published by DC).
Personally, the release of Wonder Woman #1 was the comic of “The New 52″ I was therefore most excited about.
As an observer of DC, I don’t think it’s the most important offering, which would probably have been Justice League, as DC’s flagship title and declaration of intent written and drawn by two-thirds of the folks responsible for the relaunch/reboot. And/or perhaps Action Comics and Detective Comics, as DC’s two foundational books given historical renumberings as a sign of how serious the company is about starting over. And/or, from a fan perspective, even Batgirl, as a barometer of how the company would deal with continuity, which, in Barbara Gordon’s case, was an anyway-you-look-at-it positive, rather than baggage (And baggage is how continuity is usually perceived, although I’d argue that perception really reflects an accumulation of bad stories, not the longevity of a narrative in general).
But Wonder Woman is a comic and concept badly in need a ground-up reinvention of the sort several characters seem to be getting (like Green Arrow, for example), as evidenced by the fits and starts of the title over the last few years, and DC’s noticeable confusion of what to do with her.
- September 22, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by J. Caleb Mozzocco
Vasilis Lolos takes on the Dynamic Duo
Batman and Robin, by Vasilis Lolos
I’m a huge fan of Vasilis Lolos‘ work on The Last Call, The Pirates of Coney Island and Northlanders #17. I’m also fond of Robin, in concept if not always in execution. So stumbling across his take on the Dynamic Duo — Robin decked out in baggy gym shorts and Chuck Taylors — just about made my day.
Lolos mentions that he’ll soon be setting up an online store soon, which I hopes means the Batman and Robin piece will be for sale. I’d totally buy that. Check out the blog post for his renditions of Ghost Rider and Spider-Man.
- September 22, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Joshua Jackson writing Fringe comic for DC
Beyond the Fringe
DC Comics announced this week a new 14-part digital comic series titled Beyond the Fringe, which ties into the FOX TV show. It’s available now via DC’s mobile apps or at read.dccomics.com.
The series will alternate every two weeks between “A” and “B” storylines, with “A” storylines will explore events tied directly to the “Fringe” show canon, while “B” storylines will take a “what-if” approach and look at how things might change if certain elements are out of balance, according to the press release. Joshua Jackson, who stars on the show, will write an arc of the series called “Peter and the Machine,” which will detail events that take place between the end of season three and the start of season four. Drew Johnson will provide art.
This of course isn’t the first time Fringe and DC Comics have crossed paths; several “alternate” DC covers appeared on the show last year.
- September 22, 2011 @ 11:07 AM by JK Parkin
Quote of the day | Scott Snyder, on the accessibility of Batman
From Batman #1, by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
“Luckily the story I want to tell with Bruce is one giant sort of story in the form of other books I’ve really loved like the Long Halloween or Hush that stand as stories you can jump on at issue one and know nothing about Batman and sort of be fine with. So for us it was really designed to be accessible from go and then when the relaunch happened and it got numbered at number one I looked at it and thought,’Okay, now I’m going to have to change some stuff to be more accessible.’ And as I was reading it, I realized I really didn’t, it has everything in issue one that, to me, introduces a new fan to the world of Batman and celebrates the world of Batman for an older fan — the rogue’s gallery, the relationships between Bruce, Dick, Tim, Damien, they’re all there. The manor, the grandfather clock with the hands at 10:47 and Alfred, the Batmobile, the Batcave with all new gadgets, Commissioner Gordon — I wanted all those things to be at the beginning of the story because it’s really about Batman being comfortable, and Batman feeling excited to be in Gotham and to be in control of the city. Issue one establishes the status quo of Batman, which is the classic status quo, so our story really didn’t have to be changed at all to fit this kind of number one idea. At the same time I’m really excited for it to be a jumping on point for new fans because it’s a story that, as much as I was excited to bring to fans of the character with tons of references and Easter eggs, it’s also a story that’s designed to be able to introduce new fans, like my son when he gets a little older for example. Or for it to be a the first Batman book for someone and have them be able to pick it up and say, ‘Oh this is why I love Bruce Wayne, why the writer likes Bruce Wayne, I can see it from the beginning.’ And it makes them excited and it’s a good access point to the whole world and mythology of Batman.”
– Batman writer Scott Snyder, discussing his approach to introducing new readers to the character and continuity
- September 22, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
This weekend, it’s M.I.C.E.
New York may get the big shows, but Boston has a vibrant local comics scene and is building up a nice slate of events throughout the year. Boston Comic Con was like a teeny-tiny version of NYCC, with name creators (Darwyn Cooke, Stan Sakai, Frank Quitely) chatting with dozens of fans in small conference rooms. MICE, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, is like a mini-MoCCA, just one day long and featuring a number of talented creators. The lineup of exhibitors includes Box Brown, Kevin Church, Alexander Danner, Ming Doyle, Gareth Hinds, Dirk Tiede, and Tak Toyoshima, plus lots of people you never heard of who are quietly doing interesting, innovative work (that’s not a punt—I saw a lot of these people at BCC.)
The schedule includes lettering, coloring, and webcomics workshops and panel discussions on comics for children (featuring my Good Comics for Kids collaborator Robin Brenner), comics and social justice, comics and fashion, and more.
It all happens Saturday, from 10 a.m to 4 p.m., at Lesley University in Porter Square, Cambridge. Here’s an insider tip: It’s in the same building as a Japanese mall, which has lots of inexpensive noodle shops, one nicer fish restaurant, a bubble tea stand, and a lovely Japanese/French bakery, so plan to stay local for lunch. Admission to the show is free, and there’s plenty to see. I’m planning to make a day of it, and if you are in the Boston area, I’d highly recommend it.
- September 22, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
This weekend, it’s Detroit FanFare
Ultimate Comics X-Men #1 convention variant
The Detroit Free Press previews the second annual Detroit FanFare, which organizers hope will draw nearly 10,000 people to Cobo Hall on Saturday and Sunday. That’s more than twice the number that showed up for the inaugural event, held last Halloween in Dearborn, Michigan.
Comics guests include Art Baltazar, Jeremy Bastion, Timothy Bradstreet, Katie Cook, Todd Dezago, Kevin Eastman, Tommy Lee Edwards, Ramona Fradon, Larry Hama, Tony Harris, Phil Hester, Tyler Kirkham, Ron Marz, Sean McKeever, William Messner-Loebs, Tony Moore, Steve Niles, John Ostrander, David Petersen, Keith Pollard, Craig Rousseau and Ryan Stegman.
The film and television lineup includes Adam Baldwin, Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, Peter Weller and Steven Yeun.
The second annual Shel Dorf Awards, “dedicated to recognizing the comic industries best and brightest talents,” will be presented Saturday.
- September 22, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
E-comics site folds, leaving free comics for download
I found this totally by accident, and it’s sort of old news, but it raises a few points worth pondering: The comics download site Literate Machine shut down operations in May. The site is still there, but there’s a note:
You all may have noticed activity on Literate Machine has been pretty low for a while now. This is because of two major events: 1) The party providing the financial backing for the site has gone out of business, 2) The remaining founders of the site were hired away by far more successful competitors — comiXology
I’ll confess I never heard of the site before I stumbled upon it the other day, but it looks like the NPR version of DriveThruComics: It offers downloads of indy and small-press comics and literary magazines, and the design is done in tasteful grays. I hopped over there to download the first issue of So… Buttons, but I’ll have to look elsewhere, because the site’s SSL certificate has expired, so they aren’t selling any more comics. They continue to make free issues available for download, however, and if odd little zones, self-published comics, and tiny indy anthologies are your bag, head over there right now and check out the selection, because it won’t be there forever.
- September 22, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Submissions for 2011 Isotope mini-comics award due Sept. 26
Isotope Award
Comics retailer Isotope Comics in San Francisco is once again hosting their annual mini-comics award competition, and — AHHHH!!! — entries are due Monday by midnight!
“It’s my favorite time of year, when we get an opportunity to help spotlight a creator who is toiling in the underground making something magical that almost no one has seen yet… seriously, what could be more exciting?!” said Isotope retailer James Sime, “I consider the winner to be the comic industry’s Miss America for the year, it’s the Isotope’s job to get their work out there to the comics press and reviewers. And I’m proud to say that winning this award has helped some amazingly talented folks get noticed and published by some of the best and coolest comic publishers in our industry. So don’t be shy… I know that many of you out there are hand-crafting some mini-comics brilliance, let us help share your work with the world!”
Past winners of the award include Joshua W. Cotter, Max Riffner, Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Danica Novgorodoff, among many others. To enter this competition, simply send five copies of your mini-comic to Isotope’s address (326 Fell St. San Francisco, CA 94102) before the Sept. 26 deadline.
The award will be presented at Isotope’s APE Aftermath party on Oct. 1, the same weekend as the Alternative Press Expo.
- September 22, 2011 @ 06:00 AM by JK Parkin
Your Wednesday Sequence 25 | Hergé
Tintin in Tibet (1959), page 15 panels 7-9. Herge.
Figuring out the density of a page of comics is one of the most important challenges that a cartoonist faces between idea and finished product, but it’s also one that’s frustratingly tricky to talk or even think about. How does one measure how much happens on a page other than pointing and saying “this much?” And how does a cartoonist decide on the optimum amount of story to convey with each canvas? I’d hazard a guess that most of the time for both reader and creator, these aren’t conscious practices, and the varying densities of different cartoonists’ approaches simply occur rather than being plotted out.
- September 21, 2011 @ 03:01 PM by Matt Seneca
New 52 Pickup | Week 4
We’re well past the halfway point for DC’s New 52, and it’s winding down to when final cuts will be getting made to the pull list. This was a smaller week with 12 books, but it had a number of highly anticipated titles, including Batman and Wonder Woman, with a healthy helping of wild cards like Captain Atom and DC Universe Presents: Deadman. There was definitely something out there for every type of reader, but only a few books made it back onto the pull for next month.
Warning! Spoilers ahead!
Batman
Written by Scott Snyder with art by Greg Capullo
I’m a big fan of Scott Snyder’s work on American Vampire, so I had pretty high expectations for Batman, and I was not disappointed. Snyder’s storytelling style is fantastic, and he manages to set the stage for a great Batman story that draws from the existing status quo with a minimal confusion to new readers. Greg Capullo has great linework in this issue, but I was left wondering whether it’s the best fit for Snyder’s narrative. That said, I loved every moment of this issue; the cliffhanger is completely worth the price of admission for the next. As it stands, this is the Batman title to stick with and easily my pick of the week.
Status: IN
Birds of Prey
Written by Duane Swierczynski with art by Jesus Saiz
I enjoyed Duane Swiercynski’s run on Cable after X-Men: Messiah Complex finished up, and I’m a huge fan of the previous Birds of Prey series. Unfortunately, this title just doesn’t stack up to either one. As a fan, Birds will always be Black Canary and Oracle, and while Barbara Gordon does make a quick appearance, for better or worse, this is Canary and newcomer Starling’s show now. The plot just didn’t grab me, and Starling didn’t get nearly enough panel time to give me a better idea as to who she is. This might be a title that new readers find interesting, but the story and characters just didn’t work for me.
Status: OUT
- September 21, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Steve Sunu
R. Kikuo Johnson (finally) announces follow-up to 2005′s Night Fisher
After bursting onto the scene full-formed with 2005′s Night Fisher graphic novel and scooping up the Russ Manning Most Popular Newcomer Award just a year later, it’s taken a while for R. Kikuo Johnson to work up his feature-length follow-up.
But now we know.
Jumping from Fantagraphics to New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly’s Toon books, Johnson is passing off the art chores in favor of writing for artist Trade Loeffler, who drew the Zig & Wiki series for the publisher as well. Details are non-existent on the book itself, but now we know what to look for.
Although it’s been six years since Johnson’s last major book, he’s kept busy doing magazine illustrations and short comics for a variety of outlets including Marvel’s Strange Tales anthology, The New York Times and The Believer.
- September 21, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
What color is your superhero? Parsing the comics palette
Color is so important to comics that most teams have a separate colorist, yet how much do we think about the significance of a particular palette? Darius A. Monsef IV, chief blogger at COLOURlovers, has spent quite a bit of time thinking about it, and he has produced a large infographic that compares the color schemes of good versus evil, both in costumes and in overall coloring. Some of the factoids are obvious (white for good characters, darker colors for evil, green for radioactivity), some are surprising (apparently orange and purple, paired with white and gray, signify neutral characters in the comics world). Also, the good guys are usually clad in primary colors and villains in secondary colors. And the analysis of the colors used by DC and Marvel is fascinating (in a color-nerd sort of way)—DC uses way more black, while Marvel skews red. The infographic also has a handy chart of costume color changes over the years.
- September 21, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
The next big wait project emerges: Man-Thing by Gerber and Nowlan
In last week’s Axel-In-Charge Q&A right here at CBR, Marvel’s Editor-In-Chief Axel Alonso ended the weekly exchange with a loose-lipped hint that a long-delayed Man-Thing project is lumbering its way toward comics shelves. “All I can say,” said Alonso, “is we do have a Man-Thing project coming out soon that is older than some of Marvel’s assistant editors and well worth the wait.”
Well lucky for you, I know what he’s talking about.
A Man-Thing graphic novel by writer Steve Gerber and artist Kevin Nowlan. Initially started and announced in the 80s, it reportedly fell by the wayside while sitting on Nowlan’s drawing board. The original title was “Screenplay of the Living Dead Man”, intended to be a follow-up from the story “Song-Cry of the Living Dead Man” published in Man-Thing #12 way back when. It wasn’t until Gerber’s passing in 2008 that Nowlan refocused his energies and began working on the project again in his spare time. Back in March, Nowlan told me that it’ll end up being a 62-page painted story, and I even confirmed with Marvel that they’re going to publish it once Nowlan completes it.
With New Teen Titans: Games coming out this week and this other long-awaited release finally coming out, what other great stories might be lurking out there waiting to be finished?
- September 21, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant