Comic Book Resources

Blackest Night vs. Siege: Place your bets!

Blackest Night #7

Siege #2

They say nice guys finish last, but when event comics will finish is anybody's guess. The demands of a high-profile series around which entire shared universes revolve can play havoc with scheduling. Naturally, editors and publishers love to maintain the artistic quality and consistency (and sales levels) provided by the big-name writer-artist teams that tend to lend such books a sense of "this is a big deal." On the other hand, they need to get books out on time so that other series whose storylines depend upon what happens in the event can proceed as planned -- and so that they don't end up alienating retailers and readers. But these same readers and retailers can end up just as irritated if they get the sense that the creators are being rushed, or if fill-in artists aren't up to snuff. It's a tough row to hoe.

With his front-row seat for a variety of events this decade, including Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, and Secret Invasion, Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort knows this better than anyone. So it was with an obvious mix of boldness and trepidation that he made the following prediction on his Twitter account:

It's height of hubris time: I'm willing to bet that SIEGE will wrap up before BLACKEST NIGHT does.

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That's Professor Bendis to you, pal

Brian Michael Bendis

Charles Xavier now has some competition in the "famous bald educators from Marvel Comics" department. As previously mentioned on on his Twitter feed, Brian Michael Bendis will be teaching a class at Portland State University, and now he's revealed the details.

On his message board, the Siege writer describes the course, "WR 399: The Graphic Novel," as "a class that I wish I had when I was in college." What looks like the official course-catalog description reads as follows:

The graphic novel features the unique marriage of words and pictures that has seeped into every facet of popular culture. This course will focus on all the storytelling elements that create the written word of this unique visual medium. Students will study the form and its influences, discover and create original works for both print and digital platforms, and be put through a classroom version of the editorial process. Throughout the term, there will also be a smattering of comic book professional guest lecturers.

The syllabus includes Robert McKee's Story, Stephen King's On Writing, Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, and Will Eisner's Comics & Sequential Art and Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative.

Bendis says he was inspired to take on the teaching gig by Dark Horse editor Diana Schutz, who featured him as a guest lecturer in her own PSU classes, as well as by the countless other comics professionals who've had parallel careers as educators. And to answer two questions Bendis's many fans are no doubt asking: No, he won't be posting his lectures online, and no, he's not quitting any comics projects to make room for his two two-hour class sessions per week. ("I’ll be doing this instead of reading Empire magazine and playing Rock Band iphone app when I should be working," he explains.)

Click the link for more details and background on the class.

Bendis reveals new projects, plot points in weekend Twitter-thon

Siege #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel

Very busy writer Brian Michael Bendis became an even busier writer this weekend. With little fanfare -- it "happened by accident" -- Bendis spent over an hour on Saturday answering reader questions via his Twitter account.

The 125-message micro-interview cost him some followers, irritated Warren Ellis (not really), and was eventually cut off by Twitter, but by the time all was said and done some interesting info had hit the Internet courtesy of his tweets.

First up, Bendis spilled the beans on a trio of upcoming projects with familiar collaborators:

* Bendis and his Daredevil: Wake Up partner David Mack will reunite for a new Hornhead project, Daredevil: End of Days, next summer. The project was first announced in February 2007, with Bendis and Mack as co-writers and art from Alex Maleev, Bill Sienkewicz, and Klaus Janson. (Daredevil will also appear in New Avengers #60.)

* "If the stars allow," Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos will reunite for a new Alias miniseries next year. It could be a MAX series "if the content needs it.

* Look for a creator-owned crime project from Bendis and his Daredevil and Spider-Woman collaborator Alex Maleev next summer.

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The Fifth Color - What About Bob?

The Sentry has come a long way, baby.  Bob Reynolds's story is no longer a man struggling with an addiction who was close to his dog, he's just about as far from that as possible.  The original April Fool's Prank for The Golden Guardian of Good turned out to be a larger tale of a man with the greatest amount of power having the greatest amount of responsibility.  That when you create the equal and opposite reaction to the power of a thousand exploding suns, the only way to win was to do nothing at all.  At his first introduction, we are left with a very quiet and beautiful study of the greatest good and the worst evil residing in an everyday man and the world that had forgotten him.

When Bendis puled him out of the Vault for his New Avengers, the stakes had already been changed.  The balance of good an evil was gone, just an implanted a virus from Mastermind and possible delusion villain The General that created psychological problems and the existence of the Void, which was just another extension of Reynolds himself.  We lost our philosophical battle and our more peacable idea of wrong and right to be able to tear Carnage in half in space.

Okay, there's nothing wrong with that.  Bendis even brought in Paul Jenkins as a character in the book to explain everything, kind of having him sign off on the project.  Despite his immense power and complexity, the Sentry was going to be an Avenger.  Hey, they've worked with gods and demi-gods before, what's the difference?

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Bendis: Dark Reign-ending Siege starts in December

Siege: The Cabal

In an extensive interview with Attack of the Show's Blair Butler, Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis confirms that Marvel's "Dark Reign" storyline will come to an end with a "big Marvel event" called Siege. It starts in December with a one-shot called Siege: The Cabal, which is followed in January by a four-issue Siege series.

Michael Lark will draw the Cabal one-shot, while Olivier Coipel will draw Siege. Both are written by Bendis. He says the storyline will bring a "seismic shift" in the Avengers titles on the level of what happened in Avengers: Disassembled and will reunite Thor, Iron Man and Captain America.

Siege was just one of several subjects Butler asked Bendis about; he also talked about Powers, various Marvel films, Fortune & Glory's 10th anniversary edition and much more. Check out the second part of the interview below (he talks about Siege at the very end) and go here to find the first half.

Also be sure to check out Dave Richards' interview with Bendis on Dark Avengers over on the main CBR site.

The Fifth Color | Marvel Solicitations for September 2009

Okay guys, this is September. Time to get serious. The summer blockbusters are either put to rest or coming to an end, and we have 11 different #1 issues to sort through, not to mention the other 11 #2 issues that are kicking it into high gear from last month. And what about the eight issues we know NOTHING about?? Pencils down, kids. The Marvel U just got real.

Or kind of ridiculous in regards to the ongoing narrative. But don't be afraid, not everything is all new and different. Let's take a gander at the September solicitations for the House of Ideas and see what we can look forward to hearing about when we're darn good and ready.

Okay, no joke, there are indeed 11 #1 issues coming out, from the benign Thor and Punisher Annuals (I actually find myself missing when they used to number annuals by the year they came out) to the long-awaited Spider-Woman #1 and Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1. There's even the ridiculous, but I'll get to that later. Point is, this is just as much a month for starts of things to come as August, which tips the scales at 14 #1 issues. Marvel may tout their 600th Captain America, Spider-Man or Incredible Hulk, but let's face it: #1 on a cover gives the book that delectable little collector's spice.

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Video: Bendis on Sound of Young America

The Sound of Young America -- "a public radio show about things that are awesome" -- recently interviewed comics writer Brian Michael Bendis at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in Portland, Ore. back in April. Below is the embedded video file, which you can also find on their site along with an audio-only version:

Brian Michael Bendis on The Sound of Young America from Jesse Thorn on Vimeo.

NYCC | Bendis confirms Powers TV series headed to FX

"Powers," by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming

We typically leave Hollywood news to CBR's "Comics Reel," but this tidbit seems worth including in our coverage of New York Comic Con: Writer Brian Michael Bendis has confirmed that the Powers television series is in active development as a pilot for FX.

Bendis had teased in September that the adaptation might be bound for the cable network, home to such dramas as The Shield, Rescue Me and Damages.

“I just handed in a draft to the network and we’re getting our notes from the network as soon as this thing is over," Bendis told MTV's Splash Page today. "So next week I’ll get the notes, and as long as they don’t involve sock puppets and some sort of orgy scene that I’m not interested in, then hopefully it will go in the right direction.”

Created by Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, Powers was published by Image Comics from 2000 until the creators moved the superhero police procedural to Marvel's Icon imprint in 2004. The series previously had been optioned as a movie by Sony Pictures.

Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes

Naruto, Vol. 33

Sales charts | Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen continues to have its way with bookstores as it holds the top spot on BookScan's graphic-novel list for the seventh month in a row. The hardcover edition was No. 3 for the second consecutive month.

The 33rd volume of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto checked in at No. 2 on BookScan's Top 20 for January (six other volumes also appear on the list). Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo's Joker was No. 4.

Elsewhere, Watchmen slipped 13 places to No. 48 in its 29th week on USA Today's bestseller list. [ICv2.com, USA Today]

Creators | Writer Brian Michael Bendis discusses, at some length, his run on Ultimate Spider-Man: "Doing my initial Spider-Man research, in going back and reading everything, [I found] for a sad sack this guy was getting laid left and right. This guy had more girlfriends than I ever had in high school. Betty Brant was hitting on him. MJ, Gwen. There were girls everywhere. There is an element of Peter that sees himself a certain way. But the reality is that he’s doing much better than he thinks. That’s always been there. It was only accentuated during the [John] Romita years where everyone looked real good. Everyone started looking very attractive and romance comic-y. And my goal overall was to hit the spirit of the Romita years. That’s when I thought the rules of Spider-Man really kicked in." [Bookslut, via Dirk Deppey]

Creators | Writer Dale Lazarov talks about his new work Manly, collaborating with artist Amy Colburn, and deciding against using dialogue: "At first, I struggled with writing non-cheesy porn dialogue, then realized that translation would be a problem, as most of the serious publishers for gay erotic comics are in Japan and Germany. It made sense to transform this limitation into a creative choice and a selling point; the lack of text makes the work more suggestive and involving for the reader, and the books are distributed absolutely everywhere." [Windy City Times]

Conventions | Tom Spurgeon compiles a list of 10 things he'd do if he were attending this weekend's New York Comic Con. [The Comics Reporter]

Events | Steven Padnick has photos from Tuesday night's Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe release party at Jim Hanley's Universe in New York City. [The Roar of Comics]

Blogosphere | In other Scott Pilgrim-related news, blogger Rachelle Goguen is having a contest in which you could win Scott Pilgrim: Full-Colour Odds & Ends 2008, a compilation of short stories. [Living Between Wednesdays]

Fandom | BBC presenter Jonathan Ross has donated a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15 for an auction to benefit Comic Relief. [Telegraph]