2011 November
Frank Miller blasts Occupy protesters as ‘pond scum’ and ‘rapists’
No stranger to controversy with such works as 300 and, most recently, Holy Terror, Frank Miller has waded into the political fray with a tirade against the “Occupy” movement that blasts the protesters as “a pack of louts, thieves, and rapists” that “can do nothing but harm America.”
In a blog post that blew up over the weekend, garnering the attention of everyone from the comics community to Entertainment Weekly to the New York Daily News, the creator who nearly 25 years ago wrote the influential Batman: Year One — “You have eaten well. You’ve eaten Gotham’s wealth. Its spirit. Your feast is nearly over.” — unleashed on the “pond scum” engaged in nationwide protests aimed primarily at perceived economic and social inequality.
- November 14, 2011 @ 08:20 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Fan/pro Bill of Rights; comics used in major drug ring
Bill of Rights
Creators | Writer Peter David shares a “Fan/Pro Bill of Rights” related to proper behavior at conventions, starting with a “Prime Directive”: “Fans and Pros have the right to be treated by each other with the same courtesy that they themselves would expect to be treated. Fans and Pros who act like jerks abrogate the right to complain when they themselves are treated like jerks.” [Peter David]
Crime | A Denver judge sentenced Aaron Castro to 45 years in prison after Castro pleaded guilty to drug and extortion charges. Prosecutors say he ran a major methamphetamine distribution ring and laundered the profits by buying and selling valuable comics in the collector’s market. [KMGH Denver]
Digital | Robot 6 contributor Graeme McMillan catches an error in Marvel’s press release from last week: Marvel was not the first comics publisher to release an entire line of comics simultaneously in print and digital—Archie Comics was. [Blog@Newsarama]
- November 14, 2011 @ 07:00 AM by JK Parkin
What Are You Reading? with Rik Offenberger
Green Lantern #3
Hey kids, it’s time once again for What Are You Reading?, a weekly look into the reading habits of your Robot 6 bloggers. This week our special guest is Rik Offenberger, comics journalist and public relations coordinator for Archie Comics.
To see what Rik and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.
- November 13, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Chain Reactions | Avenging Spider-Man #1
Avenging Spider-Man
When I started hunting for reviews on Marvel’s latest Spider-Man title, Avenging Spider-Man by writer Zeb Wells and artist Joe Madureira, I wasn’t surprised that the reviews were good–Wells and Madureira are certainly up for the task–but I was surprised by how good they were. As a reader, I didn’t really have this book on my radar, but after seeing how much folks liked it, and how words like “fun” and “the team-up is back” were being thrown around, I decided to download it and read it myself. As the owner of near-complete runs of Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-In-One, I was pleased to find out that, indeed, as Chris Sims put it, “this comic is Marvel Team-Up, and with this issue, it’s earned the name.”
But not everyone gave it a flawless review, so let’s take a look at what people are saying about Spider-Man and Red Hulk’s big team-up …
Alex Zalben, MTV Geek: “Wells has been slowly building an impressive body of work at Marvel, from a Carnage mini-series, to an epic run on New Mutants that spanned the history of the Marvel Universe. Here, we’re getting Wells flexing his comedy muscles (the writer started in comedy shorts, and currently writes for Robot Chicken) in full force. Here’s a Spider-Man writer who is as funny as Spidey is supposed to be, and the book is better for it. One ‘pose’ page with Red Hulk and Spider-Man has one of the better riffs on an ‘80s juice commercial I’ve seen recently (you’ll know it when you see it). And even a poster has a gut-busting joke on it in the form of the perfect slogan for Mayor J. Jonah Jameson to use for the New York Marathon.”
- November 12, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Exclusive Preview: Jughead #210
While the Life With Archie magazine is getting a lot of attention, something interesting is going on in the Jughead comic as well. In the current story, written by Craig Boldman, Jughead leaves home after a disagreement with his parents and crashes in the homes of various friends. As I mentioned earlier this year, this storyline shows Jughead being a bit more introspective than we are used to seeing him—just a bit, as every situation is still played for maximum laughs. It all seems to be coming to a head in Jughead #210, when he decides to move in with Trula Twyst, a fellow student with a penchant for pop psychology. The comic comes out next week, but we have an exclusive preview after the jump.
- November 12, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
The Fifth Color | Defining Ultimate Comics
How Ultimate is Ultimate!?
Have you ever seen a word so often that it starts to lose its meaning? Louis CK has a great bit on the word ‘hilarious’, go check the link (right about the 1:38 mark, NSFW language) and you’ll see what I mean. Because it feels like the word “Ultimate” means nothing to me anymore. I don’t know what Marvel means by it, I don’t know why it’s there now instead of a new label, but it’s been on a lot of comics. Just as a word, the adjective has five definitions, all of them relating to a finite point. They’re all various shades of getting to an endpoint.
So what shade do we call this particular line of comics? At NYCC editor Sana Amanat said that it wouldn’t be right to put one label on them all, but one general theme of the Ultimate comics was of identity exploration, with characters like Miles Morales and Nick Fury coming into their own. I don’t think that’s enough. Identity exploration happens in all comics, and labels help you sell those comics. The word “Ultimate” needs to have meaning. Seeing that name should let the reader know what they’re getting, after all, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke and Coke Classic are all different types of soda, but looking at the label, I know exactly what I’m going to enjoy (heaven forbid it say Pepsi!). I believe the Ultimate line started out with such a label, that they were a way to market a particular type of story to a particular type of reader at their inception, but just through time and ever-changing story, the Ultimate name has lost its luster and clarity. As an adjective it can mean five different things, and I’m not even talking about nouns (grammar humor!).
Right now, we have four titles united by one word, all different facets of their totality. Sit down and take note–I’m looking at you, Marvel Marketing–because I’m going to explain this and tie it all together.
Continue Reading »
- November 11, 2011 @ 05:00 PM by Carla Hoffman
Previews: What looks good for January
Explorer: The Mystery Boxes
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, “ Mouse Guard 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.
Amulet
Explorer: The Mystery Boxes - With the Flight anthologies done, the all-ages version, Flight Explorer has morphed into this. I expect it to be as lovely as its predecessors and especially like the Mystery Box theme.
Archie
Jinx – J Torres and Rick Burchett’s graphic novel aimed at tween girls.
Kevin Keller, Volume 1 and Kevin Keller #1 – Archie collects the first appearances and mini-series of their major, gay character and also launches his ongoing series.
Ardden
Flash Gordon: Vengeance of Ming – The third volume in Ardden’s Flash Gordon series.
- November 11, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by Michael May
Read Isabel Greenberg’s award-winning comic
I ran across Isabel Greenberg’s short story this week Love in a Very Cold Climate thanks to the Graphic Ladies?! Tumblr, and I was enchanted by it. It’s a lovely, folkloric story about a couple united by love but repelled by physical forces, and it appears to be part of a larger story world that Greenberg has just begun to create.
As it happens, Greenberg’s story won the 2011 Graphic Short Story Prize sponsored by The Observer, Comica, and Vintage Books. The runner-up and previous winners are also posted at the award website, and all are well worth a look.
- November 11, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
DC execs discuss October sales, Kindle deal
DC Comics Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Business Development John Rood and Senior Vice President of Sales Bob Wayne try not to gloat too much as they discuss DC’s October sales numbers over at ICv2. (Actually, ICv2 did the gloating for them with the headline “DC Crushes Marvel.”) Thanks to strong sales of the New 52 line, DC took over 42% of the dollar share and 51% of the unit share in the direct market, pushing Marvel down to about 30% in both measures. And the pie got bigger: Single-issue sales were up 24% compared to October 2010. “We’re excited to see the reports from Diamond that we’ve won the month in dollar share and in unit share,” Rood told ICv2. “I consider that ironic as hell, since we don’t price our comics to win any dollar share battles, and we don’t pump out a lot of inventory to win any unit share battles. So the fact that this is happening accidentally just speaks to the readership of the New 52, and the support from our retailers, which we’re so appreciative of.”
In Part 2 of the interview, Rood says that he sees the sales increase coming from new and returning readers, who are in it for the long haul, as opposed to speculators buying issue #1s in the hope that they will become valuable collectors’ items.
He was a bit less forthcoming on the details of DC’s deal to put their graphic novels on Amazon’s Kindle Fire e-reader, refusing to discuss how long the exclusive agreement would last and whether DC was aware that Amazon would price Alan Moore’s Watchmen at $9.99, half the price of the print version.
As for the trade collections of the New 52, the chief difference that readers will see, Wayne said, is a more unified trade dress; the graphic novels are definitely being presented as a jumping-on point for new readers. As to quantity and schedule, he said that the graphic novel releases will be spread out a bit, compared to the fairly concentrated launch of the monthly comics. While DC is publishing fewer comics titles than last year, the number of graphic novels will remain the same because they will be reaching into the vaults to publish older material, and movie tie-ins, in graphic novel form.
- November 11, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Robot reviews | Donald Duck: ‘Lost in the Andes’
Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: Lost in the Andes
by Carl Barks
Fantagraphics Books, 240 pages, $24.99.
Is Barks overrated? Is he really the comics master that people claim he is or was it simply that most of his contemporaries — especially where Disney comics were concerned — were so dull in comparison? Did the mystique surrounding Barks — the fact that he worked anonymously for so long — stoke his legend? In praising Barks, are we merely praising the surface elements of his work and ignoring whether his stories are stand up to the sort of strong critical scrutiny? Does mere nostalgia drive the bulk of our interest in his work? As one person put it on Twitter: “Is the worship of Barks just another case of comics culture’s elevation of craft over everything?”
I really don’t think so. Certainly it’s easy to get lost in the surface elements of Barks’ comics — the simple, clean lines, the skilled detail in depicting other cultures and lost civilizations, the slapstick humor. I suppose to some extent there might be a few people who come to Barks expecting to have their molecules re-arranged and will walk away sorely disappointed and wondering what all the fuss was about.
- November 11, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Mautner
‘My name is Bill Mantlo. I want to go home.’
From National Underwriter Life & Health
If you have the time, and emotional fortitude, I recommend you read this lengthy and heartbreaking profile of Bill Mantlo, the prolific 1970s and ’80s Marvel writer who now, 19 years after being struck by a car, lives in a Queens, New York, nursing home. While his struggles have been reported on in the past, I can’t recall them being chronicled in such crushing detail.
Mantlo turned 60 on Wednesday, but in his gaunt and pale condition, is described as looking closer to 80. He lacks mobility and labors to speak; he has a history of violent outbursts. Marvel’s “fill-in king,” who co-created Cloak & Dagger and penned titles like ROM, Micronauts and The Incredible Hulk, hasn’t been able to write since 1995. The last personal entry in his journal, dated Feb. 14, 1995, begins, “My name is Bill Mantlo. I want to go home.”
The article in National Underwriter Life & Health magazine, titled simply “Tragic Tale,” recounts his career at Marvel — warts and all, including accusations of plagiarism — where he wrote more than 500 issues, until his assignments dried up in the mid-’80s. It also touches upon his work as an attorney for the Legal Aid Society and the bitter divorce that preceded the hit and run that started Mantlo on a tragic two-decade decline.
When Mantlo’s health-insurance provider wouldn’t cover the long-term respite care it deemed necessary, his legal guardian, his brother Mike, quickly sold off the majority of his assets so he could qualify for Medicaid. His collection of toys and memorabilia, his comic books, the vacation cottage he once owned with his wife — all gone. That was 1995.
It really is a heart-wrenching story, a tragedy made worse by a flawed healthcare industry and an insurer eager to cut its losses.
- November 11, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Wolfe and Higgins bring zombies to Camelot in Knights of the Living Dead
Knights of the Living Dead
Artist Dusty Higgins has a knack for getting involved with projects with titles that make you scream, “Hey, why didn’t I think of that?” Over the last couple years, he’s worked with Van Jensen on the Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer series of graphic novels, the third of which is due next year from SLG Publishing. It of course pits the little wooden boy against monsters whose weaknesses include wooden stakes through the heart.
Now he’s teamed with writer Ron Wolfe for Knights of the Living Dead, a story that brings zombies to Camelot. The first issue is now available for free from SLG Publishing’s website, where you can also buy the second issue for 99 cents.
Wolfe says not to let the title fool you – the book is no spoof.
“I love the title, but don’t let it mislead you. The book is no spoof on zombies. It’s as dark as anything I’ve ever written,” Wolfe told Robot 6. His previous work includes Death’s Door and Old Fears, both horror novels co-written with John Wooley, as well as Hellraiser comics for Marvel. “That said, the premise allows for some playing around. But I really think, if I just happened to pick it up, this thing would trouble me for some time.”
- November 11, 2011 @ 11:00 AM by JK Parkin
Creators come together to Occupy Comics
Starting out as a small group of protesters, the Occupy Wall Street group has become a movement — and that movement is coming to comics.
Organized by director Matt Pizzolo, Occupy Comics is the name given to an activism-inspired charity anthology intended to raise funds for Occupy protests while also creating art to symbolize the movement’s themes. Using the crowd-funding site Kickstarter, Occupy Comics‘ goal is to raise enough money to fund the creation of a hardbound book as well as pay the creators involved, who will in turn donate directly to the Occupy movement.
The roster of talent includes a host of A-list talent such as Charlie Adlard. J.M. DeMatteis, Joseph Michael Linsner, Steve Niles, Tim Seeley, Ben Templesmith, Susie Cagle and others. The plan is to release the comics as a rolling series of digital comics in early 2012, followed by a print edition and later a hardbound collection.
- November 11, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by Chris Arrant
Quote of the day | Stan Lee as the Sean Parker of Marvel
Stan Lee
“[Stan] Lee will receive a special Vanguard award from the Producers Guild in January, and the press release announcing the award claims that he ‘has exerted more influence over the comic book industry than anyone in history,’ which is probably true, but it also claims that he ‘created or co-created 90 percent of Marvel’s most recognized comic characters.’ We’ll never actually know the truth of those collaborations — like great modern American success stories, the truth has been lost in a neverending quagmire of lawsuits. (If this were The Social Network, you could argue that he was the Sean Parker of Marvel. Which isn’t a bad thing: Without Sean Parker, Facebook wouldn’t be Facebook.) [...] Lee will probably give a great speech when he wins the award. He’s always been good at talking, especially when he’s talking about his favorite subject, his greatest invention, the one character that we absolutely know for certain he’s 100 percent responsible for creating: Himself.”
– Entertainment Weekly writer Darren Franich, on the announcement that the Producers Guild of America will honor Stan Lee with its 2012 Vanguard Award, recognizing achievement in new media and technology
- November 11, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Sixth performer injured in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Matthew James Thomas
Another cast member of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was injured Wednesday, the first since the once accident-prone Broadway musical underwent a sweeping overhaul in April.
Newsday reports that Matthew James Thomas, who plays Peter Parker in the Wednesday and Saturday matinees, suffered a head injury backstage at the Foxwoods Theatre near the beginning of the second act. Production stopped for about 10 minutes as Thomas was taken to the hospital for stitches. Star Reeve Carney, who happened to be in the theater at the time of the mishap, stepped into the role for the rest of the performance.
Producers described Thomas’ injury as “minor,” and released a statement saying, “He is fine and will be back in the show for his next scheduled performance on Saturday.”
Thomas, who was named as Carney’s fill-in about a year ago, is the sixth performer to be injured in the $70-million musical. The most recent was Arachne actress T.V. Carpio, who was hurt March 16 during one of the show’s many fight scenes (she replaced Natalie Mendoza, who left after suffering a concussion during the problem-filled first preview). The worst, however, was aerialist Christopher Tierney, who fell about 30 feet in December, breaking four ribs and fracturing three vertebrae. He returned to rehearsals in April.
The latest injury comes just as original director Julie Taymor, who was forced out of Spider-Man in March after five delays and a barrage of scathing reviews, filed a lawsuit against the producers, demanding proper pay and credit.
- November 11, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose