2011 November
Talking Comics with Tim | Shannon Wheeler
Grandpa Won't Wake Up
It’s been just over two years since the last time cartoonist Shannon Wheeler and I have done an interview. Since then, he’s gotten even more popular with his successful New Yorker cartoon submissions; turned his New Yorker rejections into the Eisner Award winning collection (from BOOM! Studios), I Thought You Would Be Funnier; collaborated with Simon Max Hill on a Little Golden Book parody, Grandpa Won’t Wake Up (BOOM! Studios); as well as teaming with Steve Duin (The Oregonian columnist) on Oil and Water (from Fantagraphics, set for release this month). This new interview focuses on the experience of winning a second Eisner (to go with his 1995 Best New Series win for Too Much Coffee Man), his various current collaborations, comedic boundaries and the impact of stress in his creative process. Be sure to peruse Fantagraphics 19-page preview of Oil and Water after enjoying the interview.
Tim O’Shea: Not many folks can say they’ve won an Eisner, but this year’s was actually your second Eisner win. How gratifying was it to get such validation again? Also, how amused were you that you won an award for a collection of work rejected by the New Yorker?
Shannon Wheeler: It was more moving than validating. I didn’t think I would win this time around. I swore I wouldn’t be one of those people who cry on stage at a stupid award ceremony. But once I got up and took the award in my hand I honestly choked up. It meant more to me than I thought.
- November 21, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
McDaniel teases Static Shock #4 in new trailer
It seems like we were running a different trailer every day and twice on Sunday for one of DC’s New 52 books back in August and September, but then they stopped coming once the first issues hit the stands. Until today, anyway; Scott McDaniel, co-writer and penciller of Static Shock, sent over one for issue #4, which comes out Dec. 7. It’s the last issue he co-wrote with departing writer John Rozum; McDaniel’s writing issues #5 and #6 himself, with Marc Bernardin joining McDaniel as of issue #7.
- November 21, 2011 @ 03:06 PM by JK Parkin
“We need a bat-signal”: Occupy Wall Street draws inspiration from Gotham City
Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
No one tell Frank Miller, but Occupy Wall Street has donned the mantle of the Bat. During last Thursday’s “Day of Action” march across the Brooklyn Bridge by New York City-based protesters, a powerful light projector bathed the monolithic side of the nearby Verizon Building with OWS slogans, in a move directly inspired by the Gotham City Police Department’s preferred method of contacting Batman.
In an interview with Xeni Jardin at Boing Boing, project coordinator Mark Read had this to say:
It came up at an action coordination meeting. We were talking about what to do on the 17th. We had a sense that the morning on Wall Street would be forceful and confrontational, and we wanted to not do the same kind of thing in the afternoon. Initial talks focused on having a thousand people taking the bridge in the afternoon, and continuing in a militant mode of activism. But we started thinking about creating a more unifying moment. A celebration of the birthday of Occupy Wall Street. Maybe taking the roadway and having lots of arrests might not be best thing. What if we took the pedestrian walkway, and gave out LED candles? We would give out 10,000 LED tea candles, a river of light streaming over the walkway.
And a guy named Hero, who has been central to a lot of facets of the occupation since the beginning, turns to me and says, “We need a bat signal. The 99%.”
I said, I think I can do that. I know just enough about how the technology works that I think I can pull that off. And for the past two weeks, I’ve worked full time on figuring that out.
It’s hard to say what my favorite part of this story is. Batman inspiring a real-life fight for social justice? The low-income housing resident who bravely donated her apartment as a base of operations? The choice of positive, uplifting slogans projected in light, against the metaphorical backdrop of a pretty ugly week for the country? The use of the face of a big building as the canvas for the OWS-signal, a la Gotham Cathedral in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns? The fact that the dude who came up with the idea is named “Hero”?
Read the message in full and watch a video of the signal in action (both via Boing Boing) after the jump.
- November 21, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Batman, Joker get BLOXed in new vinyl figure line
Batman Blox
Funko, the company whose Pop Vinyl figure line includes everyone from Mickey Mouse to Yoda to Spider-Man to the Ramones, has a new line called BLOX that features “2D-image ‘thickened’ into a boxy 3D-figure.” The figures stand seven inches tall and feature Batman, Joker, Gene Simmons and several cereal mascots.
You can see all of them in all their glory over on the Funko site, or head to Entertainment Earth to pre-order them.
- November 21, 2011 @ 01:12 PM by JK Parkin
Retailer Michael George gets life sentence for wife’s murder
Michael George
Former retailer and convention organizer Michael George was sentenced this morning to life in prison for the 1990 murder of his first wife Barbara in their Clinton Township, Michigan, comic store.
George was found guilty a second time on Oct. 11 after his 2008 conviction was overturned because of prosecutorial misconduct and the release of potential new evidence. Prosecutors contend that George shot his wife in the head in the back room of their store July 13, 1990, and then staged the killing to look like a robbery so he could collect money from an insurance policy and a shared estate, and start over with another woman.
The Detroit News reports that 51-year-old Michael George, who maintains he was asleep on his mother’s sofa at the time of the shooting, was also ordered to pay restitution of $130,000 to John Hancock Life Insurance Co.
A tearful Michael George, sitting in a wheelchair, addressed the court, saying, “Something will be found. Someone will come forward. I have never harmed a woman in my life. Let’s not forget no one saw me there — no one.” He plans to appeal the conviction.
Barbara George’s sister and brother also spoke, directing their comments to Michael George as well as his daughters Tracie and Michelle, who supported their father but were absent from the courtroom today at his request.
“We think about you all the time,” Christine Ball said, reading from a prepared statement. “Your mother lost everything. She didn’t get to hold you and watch you grow up. I know we sit at opposite sides of the courtroom, but we have and always will love you.”
- November 21, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Start Reading Now | Gracieland, by Jimmy Gownley
Jimmy Gownley’s Gracieland, co-authored with his old friend Ellen Toole Austin, is a gag strip about life in Catholic school from the point of view of the kids in the plaid uniforms. Gownley, who has 11 Eisner and five Harvey nominations for his comic Amelia Rules, is anything but preachy in these strips; Amelia fans already know that he has a genius for seeing things through a kid’s eyes, warts and all. Already, with only eight strips up, Gracieland has broken new ground: Gownley said to me yesterday, “I think we are the only Catholic-themed web strip that used the word ‘Fallopian’ that wasn’t about natural family planning.”
Gownley will be live-Tweeting the creation of the Thanksgiving strip today.
- November 21, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Colleen Doran on the joys of manga
A detail from Mangaman
Colleen Doran and Barry Lyga’s Mangaman is a fascinating crossover in which a manga character arrives in an American high school, with the twist being that the high school students don’t realize that they are also characters in a comic book until the outsider points it out to them. It’s fascinatingly meta and at the same time a fun read—Lyga and Doran have a lot of fun importing manga tropes, such as speedlines, going chibi, and talking to oneself, into the more literal world of western-style comics. I interviewed the two of them for the SLJ Teen newsletter, but I saved one bit for Robot 6 readers: Doran’s account of how she became interested in manga in the first place. It’s an interesting bit of comics history, and she kindly supplied some of her original art to go along with it.
Here’s Colleen, who went on to write the well-received Girl to Grrrl: How to Draw the Hottest Shoujo Manga, on how she discovered manga:
When I was a kid I saw anime on television and had no idea it was from Japan. I used to watch Star Blazers and Battle of the Planets every day. I did a comic strip called B-Force for my band nerd friends. The heros flew around in a giant bass clarinet. It was nutty.
- November 21, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Comics A.M. | Alvin Schwartz passes away; Martin leaves Daredevil
Alvin Schwartz
Passings | Alvin Schwartz, the prolific writer who penned Batman comics and the Batman and Superman comic strips for DC Comics in the 1940s, passed away Oct. 28 after a long illness. He was 95. Before leaving comics in 1958, Schwartz wrote for most of DC’s titles, including Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash. [News from ME]
Creators | Tucker Stone talks to Mark Waid about his work on Daredevil, and Waid confirms that Marcos Martin, originally announced as the artist on every other arc, won’t be working on the book after issue #6: “Unfortunately, it was something that came up while we were working. He’s doing 4, 5 and 6. When he came on, I don’t think things were firmed up with his next project and now they have. I salute him, and I think it’s going to be great and I want to see him go off and do creator owned stuff. But my heart breaks.” [comiXology]
- November 21, 2011 @ 07:15 AM by JK Parkin
What Are You Reading? with Thom Zahler
Hiya kids, it’s time for What Are You Reading?, a weekly look into what the Robot 6 crew has been reading lately. Today’s special guest is Thom Zahler, creator of the delightful superhero/romantic comedy comic Love and Capes.
To find out what Thom and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below.
- November 20, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Chain Reactions | Mudman #1
Mudman
This week saw the debut of Mudman, a new ongoing comic by Paul Grist publsihed by Image Comics. Grist has always had a talent for creating fun comics with a distinctive art style, whether he’s teaming with Grant Morrison on St. Swithin’s Day or Steven T. Seagle on Grendel: Devil in Our Midst, to writing and drawing his own comics, like Kane, Jack Staff and Burglar Bill.
How does Mudman stack up? Here’s what people are saying …
Brandon Borzelli, Geek Goggle Reviews: “The book opens with a letter from Grist about what his book’s source and motivation is and it is a great way to open up a creator owned book. Grist manages, in this note, to strip away all of the noise and hype associated with comic books in general to boil everything down to just a simple story that he wants to tell. It sets the stage perfectly.”
Sam Moyerman, Broken Frontier: “There’s something inherently wonderful with the writing of Paul Grist. The man just knows how to tell a good story. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about the setup here; any comic book fan will recognize it immediately: teenager, lots going for him, some stuff under the surface, and then suddenly… superpowers. And yet, despite what could very easily fall into melodramatic cliche, it remains fresh and fun in Grist’s hands. The dialogue feels right for these characters (especially a scene where Jack saves Owen from a bully) and never forces the action. Grist does enough to show that these characters live in a fully realized world. He even does a little of his vintage time manipulating, jumping around the action to keep surprises coming, even one for Owen in French class.”
- November 19, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Please consider contributing to the Rosalie Lightning Hart Memorial Fund
Cartoonists Tom Hart (Hutch Owen) and Leela Corman (Queen’s Day) have experienced a terrible, devastating loss with the unexpected death of their young daughter, Rosalie Lightning. Vineyland creator Lauren Weinstein has set up a memorial fund via PayPal to help Hart and Corman in their time of need. Please consider giving if you have the time and financial ability to do so. Weinstein also says that anyone seeking information on where to send condolences should email rosalielightningmemorial@gmail.com.
I’m sure I speak for everyone here at Robot 6 when I say we wish Tom and Leela our deepest condolences and hope they find the strength to carry on in the face of such a heart-rending, inexplicable tragedy.
- November 19, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Mautner
The Fifth Color | What to do if your favorite series is canceled
In the future, all comics will look like this!
Holy hand grenade, it’s been a week of nasty cancellations over at the House of Ideas! Yesterday it seemed like it wouldn’t stop as smaller titles were stripped away seemingly far too soon. Ghost Rider feels like it only just got here, but that’s now ending with issue #8. X-23, a successful breakout character in her own right (and currently on my TV screen in Ultimate X-Men vs. Capcom 3) is gone with Kssue 20. We’ll also be saying goodbye to a personal favorite: Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive is ending as of #529. 2012 does not seem to be a good year for new ideas as, while I can’t say that a Kirby-created character and two male-derivative heroines are all that new, we’re losing some of the more fringe books while our core titles seem to be bringing up old fan favorites.
Then, while PunisherMAX is coming to a conclusion rather than a short and final stop, there’s a quote from a Marvel representative saying that “A big change is coming to the MAX universe and nobody can miss what we’ve got coming.” Couldn’t tell you why, perhaps it’s the littered canceled titles scattered before them, maybe it’s the fact that the MAX titles are a struggle to publish and promote, but this statement doesn’t rest any fears.
The marketplace is vast; I mean, have you seen a Diamond catalog? While I think it’s a little thinner that usual these days, that doesn’t mean it’s not a PHONE BOOK OF COMICS AND COMICS ACCESSORIES produced monthly. Sure, maybe a little more white pages than yellow, but that’s still a lot of published titles you may honestly never see. Or perhaps want to see, as the range and scope of subject matter extends far beyond super-heroes. Marvel itself publishes Halo and Sense and Sensibility comics, and then everything in between. And while I might think Jane Austen is a bore, someone reading right now might be willing to club me with a shoe for maligning the great Jane’s name (please don’t hit me with a shoe). One reader’s Gravity is another reader’s Sammi the Fish Boy. While every comic may have a fan, they might not always have an audience.
Marvel has canceled books before they hit the shelves, before retailers have had a change to order them, and I’m sure there’s even books pitched right now that might never see the light of day. What do we do? What can we do as readers to change such a system, and how do we keep the hope alive? Here are a few thoughts.
- November 18, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors: Read it free!
Mark Andrew Smith has posted the first issue of Gladstone’s School for World Conquerors on his Tumblr for free. Featuring art by Armand Villavert, Gladstone’s School is an all-ages comic that has in-jokes to entertain adult comics fans and plenty of superhero action to engage the kids, so it really does work for all ages. The first volume of the collected edition came out on Wednesday.
Tumblr is an awkward platform for previews—the last page of the comic appears at the top of the site, and you have to scroll down to get to the beginning—but in this case it’s worth it because Smith has annotated the pages, so it’s bit like getting the director’s commentary.
- November 18, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Marvel bringing Daken: Dark Wolverine to an end
In a just-published interview with Comic Book Resources, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso revealed Daken: Dark Wolverine will be coming to an end, following a wave of cancellations that includes X-23 and Ghost Rider.
Although he didn’t indicate when the series will conclude, February’s Issue 21 is billed as “Issue one of the story the series has been leading up to,” suggesting the beginning of the final arc.
Addressing recent cancellations in this week’s “Axel-in-Charge” column, Alonso told CBR’s Kiel Phegley, “It’s always disappointing when a title comes to an end. I’ll bet everyone reading this column still mourns the death of a title or two they loved – and wonder why the book didn’t stick. And I guarantee you that as frustrated as a fan might be, there’s a writer, artist and an editor who are even more disappointed. That’s just the way things go sometimes. The market won’t support it.
“That said, I’m proud of X-23’s run,” he continued. “Two successful limited series and an ongoing series ain’t bad. Ditto for Daken [who is also ending his series]. From a supporting role in Wolverine: Origins to the lead of ongoing series that included him slicing Frank Castle to bits – enter Franken-Castle. Both were characters that gained traction in a market that, well, doesn’t really have a great track record of supporting new stuff. And both characters anchored legitimate monthly titles. We don’t do R&D at Marvel. We’ll stick by a title for a while – like we did with Spider-Girl – but there comes a point where that title has to earn, usually sooner than later.”
- November 18, 2011 @ 02:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
Collect this now! | 1963
Mystery Incorporated
You knew we were going to get to this series sooner or later, right?
- November 18, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner