2011 September
Mills and Langley team for American Reaper
From the mind that brought you seminal UK magazine 2000AD and some of the most memorable Judge Dredd stories available comes the story of a sci-fi future where senior citizens are given a second chance at life by digitally possessing younger people. Titled American Reaper, the series by writer Pat Mills and artist Clint Langley is set to debut next month in the pages of 2000AD.
American Reaper is described as a “sci-fi police procedural,” with law enforcement weighing in on the issue of older people assuming the bodies of those younger than them, sometimes by agreement but sometimes by force.
The series has been in the works for over three years, with Mills & Langley optioning the concept to Moon producers Xingu Films back in 2008. Mills and Langley have worked together numerous times, with Slaine popping up first and foremost for most people. As of late, Langley’s been doing covers for Marvel.
- September 15, 2011 @ 09:03 AM by Chris Arrant
More newspapers pull Doonesbury comics
The Poynter Institute’s Jim Romenesko (always the go-to source for journalism news) reports that Newsday and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have joined the Chicago Tribune in refusing to run this week’s Doonesbury strips, which include excerpts from Joe McGinniss’ book The Rogue, an unauthorized and extremely salacious biography of former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Shawn McIntosh, editor of the Journal-Constitution, has this response to readers who commented:
Mr. Trudeau has based this series of comic strips on an as-yet unpublished book by author Joe McGinnis about Sarah Palin. Since the book is not yet published, Ms. Palin has not had an opportunity to comment publicly on the content included in the book and picked up in the cartoons. Nor has the book yet been reviewed for accuracy. In essence, the cartoons would be reporting news, not commenting on news that is already public.
That raises an interesting question: Would the papers run the cartoons two weeks from now, after the book has been published? According to The Washington Post, McGinniss sent cartoonist Garry Trudeau an advance copy and later approached him about “an exclusive first-serial arrangement.” Honestly, this sounds as much like blatant product placement as an attempt to break news on the comics page.
- September 15, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | Dragon*Con co-founder arrested; Michael George trial begins
Ed Kramer
Legal | Edward Kramer, co-founder of the 25-year-old Dragon*Con held each Labor Day in Atlanta, was arrested Tuesday and charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment of a child after police allegedly found him in a Connecticut motel room with a 14-year-old boy. Kramer, who was first charged 11 years ago with child molestation and aggravated child molestation, never went to court after his lawyers argued that Kramer was physically incompetent to stand trial, due to a degenerative spinal condition and chronic pain. Kramer was under house arrest until 2008, when a judge ruled that he could travel, although conditions of his bond stipulated that he report his whereabouts on a weekly basis to the district attorney’s office and that he have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 16. On Wednesday a judge signed an order revoking Kramer’s bond, and the district attorney said Kramer will be extradited back to Georgia.
Pat Henry, current chairman of Dragon*Con, posted a statement on the convention’s website: “Edward Kramer resigned from the Dragon Con Convention in the year 2000 after being indicted on felony charges in Gwinnett County. He has not had any role in Dragon Con planning or activities since that time. Since 2000 the convention has been managed by three of the other founders. These men have been involved with the convention since the beginning. They are chairman Pat Henry, and board members Dave Cody and Robert Dennis. In these eleven years the convention attendance has grown from less than 10,000 to over 46,000 this past Labor Day.” [Atlanta Journal Constitution]
- September 15, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by JK Parkin
Another casualty of DC’s New 52: Amanda Waller’s weight
Amanda "the Wall" Waller in one of her earliest appearances (left) and in this week's Suicide Squad #1
While a lingerie-clad Harley Quinn received a lot of attention leading up to the Wednesday release of DC Comics’ Suicide Squad #1, the issue’s most radical makeover doesn’t appear on the cover. Instead it’s reserved for the final page, where readers discover that, post-Flashpoint, Amanda “the Wall” Waller is now thin and apparently significantly younger.
Since her introduction in 1986′s Legends #1, the tough-as-nails congressional aide turned Suicide Squad leader turned Checkmate’s White Queen has been depicted in comics as short and overweight, her size varying from artist to artist. Co-creator John Byrne tended to exaggerate Waller’s features, with her large frame supported by stiletto heels. In more recent years, she’s sported a slimmer look — although she’s never been “thin.”
Until Suicide Squad #1, by Adam Glass and Federico Dallocchio, Waller was one of the few prominent heavy-set characters in superhero comics. Rarer still, her weight wasn’t used for comic relief (like, say, Etta Candy in her earliest incarnations) or somehow connected to superpowers (as with Bouncing Boy, or Marvel’s Blob or Big Bertha). In a sea of ageless and impossibly thin and tall figures, Waller stood out as a squat, middle-aged force to be reckoned with.
Now, however, “the Wall” is young and svelte, like much of the DC Universe … and flashing a bit of New 52 cleavage.
You can see Waller’s unveiling after the break. But be warned: It contains spoilers for the end of Suicide Squad #1.
- September 15, 2011 @ 06:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Collages mash-up real-life and fictional superheroes
Eleven Fine Art in London kicks off an exhibit called “Supermen- An Exhibition of Heroes” Sept. 16, which features collages of real-life heroes made from fragments of comic books.
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, Ben Turnbull’s collages “celebrates the real life heroes, the firemen, and policemen who protect us everyday, in iconic new images meticulously constructed from fragments of fictional superheroes including Captain America, Daredevil, and The Fantastic Four as well as Batman, Spiderman (sic), and the Hulk,” according to the gallery’s website.
“The life-changing events of 9/11 led us all to believe in the need for real life superheroes,” Turnbull said on the site. “Superman didn’t fly down to save the falling buildings, there was no Caped Crusader ready to do battle with the arch-enemy and Spidey didn’t spin his web. Without the need of a phone-booth or a revolving door these true patriots donned their iconic costumes and sacrificed life and limb for what they believed in. With every cut-comic hero and dialogue I hope to bring out the true merits of the Brave and the Bold in their fight for Truth, Justice and the American Way.”
You can check out more of the artwork here. The exhibit runs through Oct. 22.
- September 15, 2011 @ 05:00 AM by JK Parkin
DC Comics reveals Adam Hughes’ cover for Batgirl #4
Batgirl #4, by Adam Hughes
Announcing this afternoon that Action Comics #1 and Batgirl #1 have sold through their second printings, DC Comics unveiled Adam Hughes’ cover for Batgirl #4, which features Barbara Gordon going head to head — or, rather, boot to head — with the newly introduced villain. Batgirl #4, by Gail Simone, Adrian Syf and Vicente Cifuentes, arrives in December.
- September 14, 2011 @ 02:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
Your Wednesday Sequence 24 | Jack Kirby
(I dunno what I’m doing with the numbering on these things either)
New Gods (1984 reprint series) #6 page 30. Jack Kirby.
The comics-critical landscape that has sprung up around Jack Kirby — often the man himself as much as his work — in the past few decades can be worryingly polarized. Though there’s plenty of good, clear-headed writing on what Kirby did with and for comics, there’s reams more of both hagiographic praise (which is fair enough, because this is one of the great artists not just in comics but of the 20th century) and the-emperor-has-no-clothes teardowns (which is also fair, because no one short of world leaders can really be said to deserve the amount of hosannas that have been heaped on Kirby).
- September 14, 2011 @ 01:01 PM by Matt Seneca
New 52 Pickup | Week 3
It’s that time again – time for 13 New 52 #1s with a whole lot of diversity in titles. Last week, DC led with some incredible starts to their relaunch lineup, and this week the publisher upped the ante significantly with even more top-notch story beginnings.
This week boasted a vast array of books, including two Bat-family titles, a new origin for the Boy of Steel, the resurrection of Resurrection Man, and medieval adventures with the Demon Knights. Let’s get to it!
Warning! Spoilers ahead!
Batman and Robin
Written by Peter J. Tomasi with art by Patrick Gleason
I have to admit that I’m a bit behind on Batman and Robin, and considering that, I wasn’t thrilled by this issue. Writer Peter J. Tomasi has the Herculean task of drawing from the mythos that makes Batman and Robin so appealing to longtime fans while also trying to start from a point that new readers can appreciate. That said, this book definitely skews to the fans of the old ongoing. If you followed Batman Incorporated, there’s also going to be a lot here for you. While I enjoy Patrick Gleason’s pencils and the threads Tomasi has set in motion, I’m not enough of a fan of the title for this to be an automatic in. Still, the setup is intriguing.
Status: ON THE FENCE
Batwoman
Written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman with art by J.H. Williams
Readers have been waiting a long time for this book, ever since the zero issue hit almost a year ago — and man was it ever worth the wait. If you’re unfamiliar with Batwoman and Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams’ run on Detective Comics, this book will be more difficult to get into. However, Williams continues to prove his mastery as a visual storyteller while flexing his writing muscles to excellent effect. Williams and W. Haden Blackman have picked up seamlessly from the events of the Detective run and added a cool connection to the greater DC Universe by including Bette Kane (AKA Flamebird) in the main cast. Great read, can’t wait for the next issue.
Status: IN
- September 14, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Steve Sunu
Comic Industry Job Board – September 2011
In the wide world of comics there’s always a needed for talented people — and not just for creating the comics. The comics you read everyday are supported by an immense infrastructure of editors, publishers, designers, distributors and retailers that make American comics what it is today. And despite the frail economy, the comics industry is always looking for employees.
We’ve compiled a list of all the openings in the comics industry for non-creative office positions and put it all into one place. It’s a good resource if you’re looking to work in comics, and also for armchair speculators seeing what companies are looking to do by seeing what positions they’re hiring for. We accumulated these by looking on publisher websites and job boards — if you know of a job not listed here, let us know!
- September 14, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Comic Couture | Remember the time I almost became a superhero?
Author and blogger Sean Kleefeld is getting into the T-shirt business as well, with a series of shirts that show “slightly less dramatic results” for various superhero origins. For instance, maybe a certain radioactive spider bite didn’t result in someone getting spider powers … it just resulted in a rash:
Almost a Superhero
The shirts, which also include riffs on the origins for Thor, Batman, Green Lantern and Hulk, are available through Cafe Press.
- September 14, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Robot 6 Q&A | Eric Hobbs on Awakenings
Writer Eric Hobbs made his bones last year with The Broadcast, a graphic novel about neighbors gripped by the panic caused by Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast. This week sees the release of a new graphic novel, Awakenings, penciled by Gabe Pena. Awakenings is a supernatural cop story set in a future version of New York City and featuring a cop who is accused of murdering his own son. Hobbs self-published Awakenings as a black-and-white comic before it was picked up by Arcana, so I asked him to tell me a bit about his experience with self-publishing and the evolution of the story.
Brigid: The Broadcast was my introduction to your work, but I know you actually wrote Awakenings first, and actually self-published it with black-and-white art. Can you tell me the story of how that happened and how it worked?
Eric: Awakenings has been a long, long time coming. I think I wrote Awakenings about a year before Broadcast so it’s kind of crazy to see it hitting stands a year after Broadcast was released.
Basically, Awakenings came into existence because a friend introduced me to comics and I quickly decided I wanted to get involved as a creator. Most people are shocked to hear this, but I started writing Awakenings about a month after picking up my first comic. I fell in love with the medium that quickly and wanted to do something right away.
Anyway my friend and I were going to do it together but that fell through so I started looking online for an artist to bring on board. I eventually found an incredibly talented penciller in Gabe Pena, and the thing just kind of took off from there. I brought on an inker and a letterer and just slowly started to teach myself the business of comics publishing.
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for the project wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the fact that I didn’t have a clue what I was doing as a publisher. Even though we had a book that was getting great reviews and moving a good number of units each month—I was barely making enough to pay the print bill let alone everyone I had promised page rates to. We put out four great issues, but I put myself in so much debt I had to shut down production. I had to move back in with my parents. It was … it was kind of a crazy time.
- September 14, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Quote of the day | The ‘veiled weirdness’ of reactions to Miles Morales
“It would have been nice if we were past certain places in people’s hearts about race. That kind of surprised me. There was a lot of veiled weirdness. What I could completely appreciate is, ‘I love Peter Parker as Spider-Man, what the hell are you doing?’ Completely with you on that. When it goes into that area where they think it’s affirmative action, or like Glenn Beck said about Michelle Obama making us do this, that was weird. I did not expect that. What I was more mad about was this dismissive, ‘Oh, it’s only a comic book, who cares?’ thing that was coming out of Glenn Beck. I’m like, ‘Hey. Now you’re making me mad. This isn’t just a comic. This is pop art, man. This is our culture. How dare you, sir!’”
– writer Brian Michael Bendis, discussing reaction in the mainstream media
to the introduction of Miles Morales, a half-black, half-Hispanic 13-year-old,
as the new (Ultimate) Spider-Man
- September 14, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | SPX attendance up; more on Justice League #1 sales
SPX
Conventions | Executive director Warren Bernard said attendance at this year’s Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland, was up 10 to 15 percent, with exhibitors reporting strong sales and many sell-outs. “A great line-up of new material was partially responsible, but the region itself is also a factor — the economy around metro DC has remained relatively stable even in the recession, and a lot of people with good jobs seem to save up their money for the whole year just to spend at SPX,” reported Publishers Weekly’s Heidi MacDonald and Calvin Reid. Because of the growth, next year the show will move to a bigger room with about 50 percent more space. Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware scheduled to attend. [Publishers Weekly]
Organizations | The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, meanwhile, reports that it raised $12,500 at SPX, thanks to efforts like the Jeff Alexander Memorial Benefit auction and fundraising activities involving Craig Thompson, Roz Chast and Sara Varon. [press release]
- September 14, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by JK Parkin
The Middle Ground #69 | Seven Decades Of Teenagerdom
It says something – although, I admit, I’m not quite sure what – that the book I enjoyed reading most last week wasn’t one of the “New 52″ from DC, nor was it the long-awaited return of Casanova from Marvel… Instead, it was The Best of Archie Comics, a collection of stories from the past seven decades of America’s favorite teenager. Well, apart from Justin Beiber, obviously.
I’ve written before about my secret, somewhat confused love for the Riverdale gang, but there’s something about reading such a chunk of history from the publisher in one sitting (It’s not only Archie stories, either – there’re Sabrina The Teenage Witch stories in there, as well as Josie And The Pussycats, the little-remembered That Wilkins Boy and even some Katy Keene) that’s weirdly compelling and addictive; I finished the 400+ page book and pretty much wished I had another one, as long if not longer, waiting for me immediately.
- September 13, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Graeme McMillan
Food or Comics? | Buffy, Pigs, Tomine and of course new DC titles
Demon Knights
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.
Michael May
If I had $15, I’d start with Demon Knights #1 ($2.99) and Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE #1 ($2.99). I’m excited about a lot of the DC Dark corner of the New 52; especially these two. Frankenstein is a continuation of the only Flashpoint series I stuck with and features one of my two favorite characters from Morrison’s Seven Soldiers of Victory. I wasn’t that interested in Demon Knights at first, but I was impressed by Paul Cornell’s chasing down a female fan after a panel at San Diego to pitch the series to her as something that people who are looking for great, female characters will enjoy. And I’ve been wanting to dig deeper into Cornell’s work anyway. On the Marvel side, I’m still thrilled about how well Alpha Flight is doing (creatively, I mean, but I guess it must be doing okay in sales too), so #4 ($2.99) is a must-buy for me. And I can’t wait to see how Mystery Men ends with #5 ($2.99). That’s been one of the high points of my summer, comics-wise. Finally, I’d grab X-Men Legacy #255 ($2.99) to dip my toe a little deeper into the X-Men world after being away from it for a while.
- September 13, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin