2011 November
Who wrote the Barack Obama comic?
As you may remember from a few months ago, BOOM! Studios jumped on the presidential-campaign bandwagon with its Decision 2012 comics, each of which features a different presidential candidate. The President Obama comic came out this week, and as Johanna Draper Carlson pointed out, no writer is credited — which is odd, in this day and age.
Odd enough that I e-mailed BOOM! Studios myself to see what the story was. Marketing Coordinator Emily McGuinness was quick to reply:
We hired a young, incredibly talented writer to do these, and that writer elected not to take credit. Why? Well, they saw it as a great opportunity to refine their craft but didn’t want to be associated as the ‘political comic book writer’ moving forward. They’ve got some cool projects coming up, and wanted the focus of their next stage of career development to be on that. It made sense to us and we were happy to be respectful of their decision (no pun intended).
That makes for an interesting parlor game in about five years: Which prominent comics writer was behind the Obama comic? I’d look for someone with a love of text boxes and footnotes; the comic consists mainly of juxtaposed pictures and text, and it reads more like an illustrated prose bio than a comic. It’s non-sequential, if that’s a word.
The writing isn’t bad, but if I were going to write a compelling comic (as opposed to a hagiography), I’d include the juicy details about Obama’s 2004 election to the U.S. Senate, in which his opponent self-destructed in a sex scandal and the Illinois Republican Party drafted Alan Keyes as a replacement. Heck, I could do an entire miniseries on that election alone, and it’s a shame the writer covered it in a single panel. Maybe they were too busy with that next project to give it much thought.
- November 11, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Grumpy Old Fan | More polish for the Silver Age
Closing time at Wayne Manor: 1969's Batman #217
Last week I asked why the Silver Age is so pervasive in DC lore. Even though that’s something of a rhetorical question, I felt like it was left largely unanswered. The short answer is that the Silver Age represents the modern DC Universe’s origin story, so you’re never going to get rid of it entirely, regardless of reboots, relaunches, and/or legacy characters. However, in terms of style and tone, things are naturally more complicated.
It’s hard for me to talk about the Silver Age without relating it to the subsequent Bronze Age, mostly because I grew up with the comics of the mid-1970s. I see the Silver Age as an era of wild ideas, told in standalone stories which were light on consequences, whereas the Bronze took those stories and ideas and extrapolated a more “realistic” status quo from them. This is not to say that the Bronze Age was some vast improvement, since realism in superhero comics is a tricky prospect at best.
However, to me that point of compartmentalization, at which a previous creative team’s run goes from an ongoing concern to a finished body of work, is highly significant. That’s when the rules governing a feature are established (or amended), and therefore that’s when the people in charge of that feature decide how (and how much) it can grow. The same applies in the aggregate to the universe those features share.
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- November 10, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Read a sneak preview of Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem
Oh man, this was an unexpected treat to find in my Google Reader today: A six-page preview of comics memoirist-cum-journalist Guy Delisle’s upcoming travelogue Jerusalem, courtesy of Drawn and Quarterly. Delisle recounts a trip to an Israeli checkpoint as Palestinians attempt to pass through to attend Friday services at the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the resulting pages are a gorgeous demonstration of how to convey controlled chaos with a handful of lines and graytones. The full book, Delisle’s longest to date, comes out in April 2012.
- November 10, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Zombies, the Spirit of Pop Culture Present: A few thoughts on Zombies Christmas Carol
In seeking to explain the pervasive popularity of the zombie genre, talkers-about pop culture have long espoused the theory that tales of the unhappy undead catch on during times of national stress, usually of a military variety.
I bought that, as 2002′s 28 Days Later re-mainstreamed zombies between the U.S.-lead invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, but zombies are still around, and more popular than ever. The argument could be made that they’re still here because we’re still stressed out and America is still engaged in the same wars we were fighting a decade ago , but then, hasn’t every single year of American history been stressful for the folks living in it? Haven’t we almost always been at war with someone somwhere?
So I’m developing my own theory. I think zombies are popular not necessarily as a psychological reflection of the common consumers anxiety about terrorism or immigration or mortality or economic decline or the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Citizens United, but simply because the proliferation of cheap filmmaking and publishing technology and the hydra-like increase in media outlets makes it easier to make and transmit zombie products, and the astronomically more specialized consumer of the past decade means its easier to sustain popularity of particular genres. It’s now possible for almost any genre to become popular enough to be self-sustaining in today’s media environment.
For example, producers pitching Walking Dead to AMC in 2010 didn’t have to worry about mass appeal in the same way that a previous generations producers might have had if they pitched a Night of Living Dead series to NBC in 1985; if they get the people who participate in zombie walks and the comic book people and the horror people, that’s more than enough to tune-in and buy DVD collections.
- November 10, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by J. Caleb Mozzocco
RIP Bil Keane
The world of comics is filled with tortured souls, but Bil Keane was not one of them.
The creator of The Family Circus passed away Tuesday at the age of 89, after what was by all accounts a wonderful life. Keane started drawing The Family Circus in 1960, and it is still going strong today — his son Jeff took over in recent years — and his 60-year marriage to Thelma Keane, the model for the mother in the cartoon, was a love match. Keane served as the president of the National Cartoonists Society from 1981 to 1983 and emceed its awards banquet for 16 years. Even before he died, his fellow cartoonists unfailingly described him as the nicest of nice guys, and startlingly funny. His niceness, apparently, had a bit of an edge.
Keane took The Family Circus seriously, seeing his mission as providing “good, wholesome, family entertainment,” a sort of cartoon comfort food for readers whose real-life families may not have been quite as warm as his fictional clan. In fact, one of the most touching tributes to his work came from Lynda Barry:
I was a kid growing up in a troubled household. We didn’t have books in the house, but we did have the daily paper, and I remember picking out ”Family Circus” before I could really read. There was something about looking through a circle at a life that looked pretty good to me.
For kids like me, there was a map and a compass that was hidden [in] “Family Circus.” The parents in that comic strip really loved their children. He put that image in my head and it stayed with me.
- November 10, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
The 99 get its own iOS app — and webstore
In addition to its flagship Comics reader and single-publisher apps, comiXology has a number of iPad apps devoted single properties, such as Scott Pilgrim and The Walking Dead. Now the Islamic superhero series The 99 joins the ranks with their its iPad app and webstore, both powered by comiXology. Interestingly, while comiXology has created several dedicated iOS apps for different properties, this is only the second time company has created a single-property webstore.
The 99 was created by Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa as a way to promote peace and understanding; the title refers to the 99 names of God, and the characters are envisioned as role models embodying Islamic values that are shared by other cultures. We asked comiXology CEO David Steinberger to talk to us about this new addition to the line.
Robot 6: I know you have done single-property apps before, like Scott Pilgrim, and publisher and retailer webstores, but is this the first single-property webstore?
David Steinberger: We did a Transformers dedicated Web Store a few months back, but that’s the only other one. In that case, it was starting a new relationship. For this one, it’s that this is a special property — the only one from Teshkeel — and together we determined it should be sold directly on their site.
- November 10, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
DC Comics reveals collection plans for first arcs of the New 52
DC Comics Presents #6
DC Comics announced 51 upcoming trade paperbacks and hardcovers yesterday, as they plan to start rolling out collected editions of their New 52 relaunch titles next year. They’ll publish 7-8 of them each month from May to November.
Yep, they only list 51 trade paperbacks — Wonder Woman is missing. And it looks like the DC Universe Presents trade will collect both the Deadman story that wraps in issue #5 and the Dan DiDio/Jerry Ordway Challengers of the Unknown tale that starts in issue #6.
Coming out first as hardcovers are the first New 52 story arcs for Justice League, Batman, Green Lantern, Detective Comics, Batwoman, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, Action Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, Green Lantern Corps, Aquaman, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Flash and Superman. DC’s choices for the hardcover treatment line up almost perfectly with their top-selling titles for September; Teen Titans outsold Batwoman and Aquaman, but will go straight to trade paperback.
Check out the complete list after the jump.
- November 10, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Hulk smashed? Incredible Hulk #2 boasts 11 total artists
Credits for "The Incredible Hulk" #2
Next week’s Incredible Hulk #2, solicited with Marc Silvestri as penciler, instead has six artists credited with pencils and finishes. Additionally, the original three inkers have grown to at least five. That’s 11 total artists for a 20-page story.
Taking advantage of an apparent glitch that made the issue briefly available last night on some comiXology platforms, Rich Johnston grabbed a screenshot of the credits box, which shows Silvestri joined as penciler by Whilce Portacio and Billy Tan. Michael Broussard and Eric Basaldua are credited with “pencil assists,” while Scott Hanna receives a nod for “finishes.” Solicited inkers Joe Weems, Jay Leisten and Don Ho, meanwhile, now receive help from Rick Basaldua and Crimelab Syndicate.
It’s unclear whether those changes will make The Incredible Hulk #2 returnable; the issue has yet to appear on Diamond Comic Distributors’ product changes list.
Announced in July at Comic-Con International, the new series from Silvestri and writer Jason Aaron debuted in October as Marvel’s highest-selling title, with an estimated 106,470 copies. Silvestri, who received pencil assists from Broussard on the debut issue, concludes his first arc with December’s Issue 3. Portacio will draw the fourth.
- November 10, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Archie hits Nook Tablet; Stan Lee gets Vanguard Award
Archie Comics
Digital | Archie Comics announced that its comics will be available on the recently announced Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. [Archie Comics]
Awards | Stan Lee will receive the Producers Guild of America’s 2012 Vanguard Award recognizing achievement in new media and technology. “Stan Lee’s creative vision and imagination has produced some of the most beloved and visually stunning characters and adventures in history,” Producers Guild Awards co-chairs Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim said in a joint statement. “He not only has created content that will forever be in our culture but continues to make strides in the digital and new media realms, keeping the comic book industry fresh and exciting. Stan’s accomplishments truly encompass the spirit of the Vanguard Award and we are proud to honor him.” George Lucas and John Lasseter are among the award’s previous recipients. [press release]
- November 10, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Landing on its feet in 2012: Image teases something from Brandon Graham
Image Comics sent out a teaser today with the above image and the subject line “Landing on its feet in 2012.” They didn’t share any other details, but I’m pretty certain the art is Brandon Graham, and based on the setting and the cat’s shadow, I suspect this has something to do with King City. Maybe Image is releasing a collection, or, dare I hope, is it a new King City project?
A collection seems more likely; Graham said earlier this year that Tokyopop was looking at possibly releasing a collection of the completed series, and even printing it at the size of the Image issues. But that was before the company imploded. So maybe Image is once again picking up where Tokyopop left fans hanging? It would certainly fit the tagline, “landing on its feet,” considering the book’s publishing history.
Then again, if it’s a new project from Graham, I’d certainly be down for that, too.
- November 9, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by JK Parkin
Your Wednesday Sequence 31 | Carmine Infantino
Mystery In Space #71 (1961), page 6. Carmine Infantino.
Carmine Infantino holds a rather odd position in the comic book medium’s critical consciousness. Basically, he gets talked about for all the wrong reasons. I can’t really argue that he’s under-recognized; among a readership who know the guy that first drew the yellow circle around Batman’s chest-bat but haven’t heard of Herriman he’s probably over-recognized. The reason Infantino’s legacy has lived on is that he more than perhaps any other artist in comics history was in the right place at the right time. Any one of the consummately professional journeyman cartoonists DC employed in 1956 could have been tapped to give reviving the superhero idiom a shot, but it was Infantino who stepped into that void, and it was his art that superheroes made their first steps toward industry domination on the back of.
But while that’s a nice story, and while Infantino’s art was certainly a wonderful match for the high-speed pastorals DC churned out in the early Silver Age, it’s not what makes him special. If Jack Kirby was the superhero era’s great storyteller, Infantino was its great formalist, batting out page after page of pabulum stories that nonetheless managed to make a stunningly thorough exploration of layout, space, shape, and pacing. Infantino never worked on stories that transcend their time in the same way that Kirby and Ditko’s comics of the same time do; his transcendence isn’t in the reading of his work but the studying of it, the lessons about pure craft they hold.
- November 9, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Matt Seneca
Dave Johnson helps Lex Luthor with his trophy wall
The internet is a beautiful thing. Before, things created by your favorite artists might remain under lock and key in the vault’s of a collector, but now we all get to see it. For example, this piece of art by Dave Johnson.
Inspired by Dave’s work on Superman: Red Son, this piece was commissioned by a collector named Chris Caira who has been working on a gallery of comic villains and their trophy wall. Click over to his website to see Brian Bolland doing Joker’s trophy wall, Green Goblin’s trophy wall by John Romita Jr. and Sr. and more! Someone needs to offer this guy a gallery exhibit to show these off!
- November 9, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
New 52 Pickup | Weeks 9 and 10
Each Wednesday, DC’s New 52 hits shelves and CBR Staff Writer Steve Sunu is looking for the best bang for the buck in ongoing series. Cutting half his pull list each month from the original 52 in a battle royale, Steve has already narrowed the number to just 13 books. Which titles will make it past Issue 3?
After a quick break, New 52 Pickup is back to cover two weeks’ worth of pull list books — and the cuts are starting to get tough. Last week had three quality titles, while this week features the fan pick that keeps coming back like Solomon Grundy, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Also joining the pull list from the poll is Batman and the Jonah Hex/Amadeus Arkham buddy Western All-Star Western. Let’s get to it!
Warning! Spoilers ahead!
Action Comics
Written by Grant Morrison with art by Rags Morales and Gene Ha
Action Comics continues as one of my favorite books in DC’s New 52. Grant Morrison is giving the Superman mythos a face-lift for new readers and longtime fans alike, with an amazing opening sequence detailing the destruction of Krypton. While the Clark Kent sequences aren’t grabbing me nearly as much as I hoped, the Krypton mythos coming back around for the cliffhanger is slick and something I’m looking forward to reading. Rags Morales and Gene Ha continue sharing art duties, and it seems to work well. In my eyes, this is the Superman family book to beat, and it’s going to take some stiff competition from the other books to get this one off my pull list.
- November 9, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Steve Sunu
Documenting Chris Claremont’s epic run on Uncanny X-Men
Although Chris Claremont didn’t create the X-Men, he’s the one that defined them from 1974 to 1991, leaving a lasting impact on the characters and influencing future writers who worked on the franchise. And in a new documentary called Comics In Focus: Chris Claremont’s X-Men, the documentary filmmakers behind the recent Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis films take on the legendary scribe’s impact on Marvel’s mutants. And to get it made, they need your help.
Using the popular crowd-funding website Kickstarter, the documentary producers Sequart Research & Literary Organization and Respect Films are asking for $3,500 in fan support to make the film happen. Director Patrick Meaney spoke with Claremont as well as many of his chief collaborators such as Art Adams to get the inside-baseball perspective on the the writer and his definitive work.
If the funding is met and the film does well, the producers hope this will be the first in a series of Comics In Focus documentaries looking at the major moments in comics history.
So far over $400 of the $3,500 has been raised with 28 days to go, with excellent prizes for those that donate $10 or more.
- November 9, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Victoria, Australia to offer custom license plates featuring DC heroes
As I continue to wait patiently for word that I can put a Snoopy license plate on my car out here in California, Andy Khouri at ComicsAlliance brings word that Australians in the state of Victoria will soon be able to sport DC Comics heroes on theirs.
The character plates include Superman, Supergirl, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern, and for all but the Flash, you can choose a plate that either features the hero or their associated logo. Or, in the case of Supergirl, a pink license plate. As Khouri points out, the plates will sport images taken directly from the DC Comics Style Guide circa 1982, drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dick Giordano, rather than the recently redesigned “New 52″ versions of the characters. They’ll become available on Nov. 30, along with several Looney Tunes plates.
Check out the plate after the jump, and for more information, visit the Vic Road Custom Plates website.
- November 9, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin