2011 October
NYCC | Joe Kubert’s poster for Lucasfilm’s Red Tails
Lucasfilm debuted a New York Comic Con-exclusive poster for its upcoming action drama Red Tails created by comics legend Joe Kubert.
Directed by Anthony Hemingway from a script by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder, the film is inspired by the World War II exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American combat aerial unit in the U.S. armed forces. Executive produced by George Lucas, Red Tails stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston and Nate Parker.
See the full poster below. Red Tails will be released Jan. 20 by 20th Century Fox.
- October 15, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
NYCC | A round-up of Friday news
New York Comic Con picked up steam in its second day with announcements from Vertigo, Dark Horse, Marvel, IDW Publishing and Image, and the possibility of Sesame Street comics. Here are some of the highlights:
• Following in the footsteps of DC Comics: The New 52, most of Vertigo’s titles will be available digitally the same day as print.
• Geoff Johns announced that work is about to get under way on a Robot Chicken DC Comics special that will skewer the company’s superheroes in the same way that the show tackled Star Wars. The episode, written by Johns and MAD‘s Kevin Shinick, is set to air next summer.
• Confirming last-minute speculation, Ed Brubaker announced that he and frequent collaborator Sean Phillips (Sleeper, Criminal, Incognito) will release their next project through Image Comics. Called Fatale, the series blends noir elements with the supernatural world. “I’ve been wanting for a while to do something with a more supernatural element to it,” Brubaker told Comic Book Resources. “So Fatale mixes what we do and all the ways we’ve poked fun at the noir genre. If Incognito was us doing ‘What if Doc Savage, Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler had all existed in the same universe?’ then this is a weird combo of James M. Cain and Lovecraft. It’s got a real horror element to it — the first time I’ve really tried to do anything with horror — but it’s also got this really epic story to it.”
- October 15, 2011 @ 06:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Previews: What looks good for December
The Dare Detectives: The Snow Pea Plot
It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes, and first issues so that I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “ Life with Archie is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.
Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.
Ape
Richie Rich Gems Winter Special - In addition to their modern-look Richie Rich, Ape has also re-introducied the classic version in both new and reprinted adventures. I missed the solicit for Richie Rich Gems #44 last month (which picked up where the Harvey series left off in 1982), but the series continues with not only the Winter Special, but #45 as well.
Arcana
Dragons vs Dinosaurs - I haven’t had great luck with Arcana’s books in the past, but c’mon. The title alone…
Hero Happy Hour: On the Rocks - This, on the other hand, is no risk at all. I’m a big fan of Dan Taylor and Chris Fason’s superhero bar stories and this is an all-new, 80-page adventure. Not reprints; not even a printed version of the webcomic. It’s all-new and I need it.
Archaia
The Dare Detectives: The Snow Pea Plot Collected Edition – Archaia prepares for their publishing Ben Caldwell’s Dare Detectives: The Kula Kola Caper by re-publishing the first story that was originally put out by Dark Horse.
- October 14, 2011 @ 05:00 PM by Michael May
NYCC | Scarlet Spider returns, hits the road in January
Scarlet Spider
After months of teasers, Marvel broke their silence at the New York Comic Con and announced a Scarlet Spider ongoing series by writer Christopher Yost and artist Ryan Stegman that will kick off in January.
As for who is under the mask, well, that remains a mystery, but Yost has confirmed it is someone who has a connection to Spider-Man.
“After the events of Dan Slott’s amazing #spiderisland, Scarlet Spider’s entire life has been turned upside down,” Yost told MTV Geek. “ScarSpi (like ScarJo) has one motivation — get the hell out of New York. For reasons that are as yet unrevealed, ScarSpi is on the run, heading down Mexico way. But as the story progresses, those motivations will change because life gets in the way.”
The original Scarlet Spider was Ben Reilly, a clone of Peter Parker who first appeared as a part of the infamous Clone Saga back in the 1990s. Reilly assumed the identity for a brief time before taking over as Spider-Man from Peter Parker. Later a villain took the name. Reilly eventually died saving Peter Parker from the Green Goblin. More recently, three “Scarlet Spiders” appeared in Avengers: The Initiative, wearing the “Iron Spider” armor Tony Stark once gave to Peter Parker.
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- October 14, 2011 @ 04:30 PM by JK Parkin
NYCC | Are Sesame Street comics on the way? (Everything’s A-OK)
It looks as if Sesame Street, the television series that’s educated and entertained children since 1969, could be making the move to comics.
It all seems very tentative, but Ape Entertainment has announced it’s in talks with Sesame Workshop to produce a series of a series of comic books featuring such beloved characters as Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Elmo. If the deal pans out, the comics would debut next year in print and digital editions.
- October 14, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
NYCC | Vertigo moves to same-day digital release for many titles
Spaceman #1
Executive Editor Karen Berger announced this afternoon at New York Comic Con that several Vertigo titles will follow in the footsteps of DC Comics: The New 52 and be available digitally the same day as print.
The following series will move to same-day digital release beginning with issues identified as jumping-on points for new readers:
- Sweet Tooth, beginning with Issue 26, available now
- Spaceman, the new miniseries by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso, with its Oct. 26 debut
- The Unwritten, beginning with Issue 31, on sale Nov. 9
- iZombie, beginning with Issue 19, on sale Nov. 16
- The Unwritten .5 issues, beginning with Issue 31.5, on sale Nov. 23.
- Fables, beginning with Issue 112, on sale Dec. 21
- American Vampire, beginning with Issue 22, on sale Dec. 28
- Hellblazer, beginning with Issue 287, on sale Jan. 18.
Look for more coverage from the “Vertigo Visions” panel later on Robot 6 and Comic Book Resources.
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- October 14, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
NYCC | Cornell, Kelly to visit Saucer Country
Saucer Country
Demon Knights and Stormwatch writer Paul Cornell is teaming with New York Five and Local artist Ryan Kelly for a new Vertigo series, Saucer Country. Announced at the New York Comic Con today, Cornell described the book on his blog as “The West Wing does The X-Files.”
The story centers on Arcadia Alvarado, the governor of New Mexico, who Cornell said is ‘abducted by aliens’ on the even of her announcement that she’s running for president
“Those speechmarks are because she’s not exactly sure what happened. But she’s going to use all her staff and resources to find out. What happened to her might also be a threat to U.S. security,” he said on his blog. “Saucer Country is a trip through UFO mythology, a subject I’ve always been fascinated with. It’s a dark, suspenseful, serious thriller with, I hope, some warm, very human characters at the heart of it. Between arcs that feature Arcadia and her staff venturing into the murky worlds of flying saucer lore, we’ll be featuring one-off ‘true story’ issues, a short version of which already appeared in the Strange Adventures one-shot earlier this year.”
Watch for it in 2012, and you can see some previews pages over on Blastr.
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- October 14, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Ryan Mita on the making of Minimum Paige
One of the most intriguing comics I picked up at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo a few weeks back was Minimum Paige, an anthology produced by the Harvard Bookstore and printed in-house on their print-on-demand machine, Paige M. Gutenborg. I checked in with editor Ryan Mita to get the story behind the stories.
Brigid Alverson: First of all, tell me about Paige M. Gutenborg—what is it and what can it do?
Ryan Mita: Paige M. Gutenborg is a book machine and fantastic opportunity for artists to custom print their works. Books must be over 40 pages long, there is no minimum print run and artists can design the book anyway they like.
In addition to custom printing, Paige can print nearly five million titles, including Google Books in the public domain, and later this fall, HarperCollins will make 5,000 backlist titles available.
We’re excited about the future of bookselling and Paige keeps Harvard Book Store a step ahead.
- October 14, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
NYCC | McCool, Guevara to adapt Russian film Alexander Nevsky for IDW
Ben McCool (Pigs, Memoir) and Mario Guevara (Solomon Kane, Victorian Undead) will adapt Sergei Eisenstein’s 1938 film Alexander Nevsky into comics form. Titled Nevsky, IDW will publish the 110-page graphic novel in Spring 2012.
Set in the 13th century, the film and graphic novel tell the story of Alexander Nevsky, a 13th century Russian leader who led his soldiers to victory over the invading Teutonic Knights.
“Nevsky was as much a leader as he was a warrior,” McCool said in a press release. “His story isn’t just a page of little known history; it’s an inspiring tale full of strategy and battles and the fight for freedom.”
“Nevsky has a compelling story by Ben McCool and breathtaking art by Mario Guevara,” said IDW Senior Editor, Special Projects Scott Dunbier. “But the big picture here is Nevsky himself, a larger than life figure from Russian history who literally reaches out from the page and pulls you headfirst into the story–if you liked 300, you’ll love this!”
You can find the complete press release after the jump. You can find more information on the project at its official website.
- October 14, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
NYCC | Dark Horse confirms Wood and Cloonan on Conan
Dark Horse has made it official, announcing at New York Comic Con that Demo collaborators Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan are reteaming for an adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian short story “Queen of the Black Coast.”
Often considered among the best Conan stories, the 1934 tale finds the Cimmerian taking to the high seas, where he joins up with the pirate queen Bêlit for an adventure marked with romance, terror, murder and madness.
Dark Horse teased the reunion of Wood and Cloonan two weeks ago with a vague convention schedule listing and a graphic that read simply “Brian & Becky & Dark & Horse.” The duo partnered on Channel Zero: Jennie One in 2003, which they followed with their breakout work Demo and the 2010 sequel Demo: Volume 2. They also collaborated last year on two issues of Wood’s Vertigo Viking series Northlanders.
Their run on Conan the Barbarian, described by the publisher as “a perfect jumping-on point for new readers,” begins Feb. 8.
In addition, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund announced this morning that limited-edition prints of the above image, signed by Wood and Cloonan, are being sold for $50 this weekend at the CBLDF booth (#1158) to benefit the organization.
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- October 14, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
The Sequential Goose | A short chat with Scott C.
From Scott C's 'Pop Goes the Weasel'
All this week at Robot 6 we’re interviewing some of the many contributors to First Second’s new anthology, Nursery Rhyme Comics. In today’s final installment, Chris Mautner talks to cartoonist Scott C.
If anyone in this new anthology seemed like a “must-get,” it surely was the cartoonist known as Scott C., a.k.a. Scott Campbell. His charming, anthropomorphic — and frequently sardonic — work, whether found in video games made by Double Fine Studios, in comics like Hickee and the Flight anthologies, or in his new book, Amazing Everything: The Art of Scott C. seems perfectly suited to the off-kilter, frequently surreal world that nursery rhymes frequently seem to inhabit. The fact that he chose one of the most manic rhymes of the bunch — “Pop Goes the Weasel” — seems equally fitting.
How did you get involved in this particular project and what led to you selecting this particular nursery rhyme?
I’ve known Chris Duffy for awhile through Nickelodeon magazine. When he asked me to take part in the project, there were not many rhymes left. I chose Pop! Goes The Weasel because it is the most nonsensical of any of the rhymes and I thought it would be fun to pick apart.
- October 14, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Chris Mautner
NYCC | Why would Ed Brubaker be at an Image Comics panel?
Ed Brubaker
iFanboys Ron Richards caught an interesting little aside on Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson’s blog. Today at 4 p.m. Eastern, Stephenson will join Robert Kirkman, Rob Liefeld and Tim Seeley for the panel “Creator-Owned Comics with Robert Kirkman.”
“We won’t be joined by Ed Brubaker. Or will we?” Stephenson writes.
Is this a tease that Brubaker may be doing something for Image Comics? That might be jumping to conclusions, especially since Brubaker seems to be pretty busy at Marvel with Captain America and his various Icon series. But you may remember that Kirkman and Stephenson held a similar panel in San Diego this past summer, where Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples’ upcoming project Saga was announced.
“The BKV announcement was THE news of the show, so, it’s safe to say there’s some level of expectation for a similarly sized announcement,” Richards said on iFanboy. And a new Brubaker-at-Image project would certainly fit that bill.
I guess we’ll find out at 4 p.m. if a) they actually are joined by Brubaker at the show and b) if he’ll be there to announce something. Maybe he’s just interested in talking about creator-owned comics …
Update: Brubaker was only at the panel in video form, but they did announce Fatale, an Image series by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.
- October 14, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Lisa Hanawalt, J.G. Ballard, McSweeney’s in multi-car pile-up
What is it with Lisa Hanawalt and the use of automobiles for untoward purposes? Last week she drew a review of Nicholas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling’s neon-noir crime flick Drive, and now she’s selling an original art piece entitled “Car Wreck Totem Pole.” Originally created for the (very comics-friendly) Panorama issue of McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, the watercolor illustration was inspired by Crash, author J.G. Ballard’s novel about accident victims who’ve become sexually fixated on car crashes. (You may also recall director David Cronenberg’s kinky film adaptation, starring James Spader at his James Spaderest.) It’s on sale for $220 at Hanawalt’s new online store. Where does she go from here — The Road Warrior, Death Race 2000, Vanishing Point, Duel, Cars, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Herbie the Love Bug? The possibilities are endless and/or unleaded.
And hey, while we’re on a Ballard kick, it’s never a bad time to check out The Diary of a Teenage Girl author Phoebe Gloeckner’s extravagantly NSFW illustrations for Ballard’s The Atrocity Exhibition — well, unless you’re at work, in which case it’s a very bad time to do so. There’s also this examination of Ballard’s book covers by Simon Sellers and Rick McGrath, featuring striking from artists such as Salvador Dali, Chip Kidd, Max Ernst, David Pelham, Bill Botten, and Chris Foss. Finally, this is a bit farther afield from comics, but the excellent BBC4 rockumentary Synth Britannia, which is now available in its entirety on YouTube, spends some time tracing Ballard’s influence on early synthesizer-heavy experimental and synthpop acts The Human League, The Normal, John Foxx, and Gary Numan. Buckle up!
- October 14, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
NYCC | Free Comic Book Day adds Halloween 2012 event
Diamond Comic Distributors announced at Thursday’s retailer breakfast at New York Comic Con that it will add another Free Comic Book Day event, set for Halloween 2012.
ICv2.com reports that while the traditional FCBD will still be held May 5, 2012, Diamond found interest from publishers in supporting a second, similar event on Halloween, “which has become, next to Christmas, the holiday with the most retail impact.”
Many retailers already hold kid-focused events on Halloween, with some giving away comics left over from Free Comic Book Day. Diamond has in the past encouraged stores to give away themed kid-friendly minicomics as “sugar-free safe bag stuffers.” This year’s selections include 16-page issues of Scary Godmother, Archie’s Laugh Comics, Donald Duck and The Smurfs. However, next year’s offerings will be part of a full-fledged Free Comic Book Day event.
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- October 14, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Grant Morrison’s Wonder Woman series could debut in 2012
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison’s long-discussed Wonder Woman series, which he describes as “the hardest project I’ve ever done,” could arrive as soon as next year, “or thereabouts.”
The update comes in a newly transcribed Q&A session from this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, where the writer again touched upon the bondage and “loving submission” elements inherent to the early Wonder Woman stories by her creator William Moulton Marston.
“The Wonder Woman strip had this weird, libidinous kind of element, and obviously on Paradise Island, it was this amazing Second Wave, separatist, feminist idea of an entire island where women had ruled for 3,000 years and what they did for fun was chase one another!” Morrison said. “So the girls would dress up like stags and run through the forest and another girl would chase them and then they’d capture the girl, tie her up and put her on a table and pretend to eat her at a mock banquet. This is a typical Wonder Woman adventure! In 1941. But then Marston died, and that energy left the strip, it just disappeared.”
Morrison said he’s attempting to reintroduce some of those elements, “but without it being prurient or exploitative.”
- October 14, 2011 @ 06:00 AM by Kevin Melrose