“By that logic I should change my name to Eric Larson. Geoff Johns should change his name to Jeff Johns since everybody spells it that way anyway.”

– Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen, responding to the news that, after 40 years of dancing around Marvel’s trademark by using titles like Shazam and The Power of Shazam, DC Comics is officially changing Captain Marvel’s name to … Shazam. Geoff Johns explained the decision was made, in part, because “everybody thinks he’s called Shazam already, outside of comics.”

Daryl Gregory

The Avengers #4 (Not the comic stuffed in 'Lil Daryl's stocking)

Every Christmas, comics would show up in my stocking. They’d be rolled up, which I’m sure breaks the heart of every collector out there, but it didn’t bother me much. Comics were for reading. For some reason, my mother thought I liked Thor. I wasn’t a Thor guy, except when he was hanging out in the Avengers. I was, and still am, a Captain America super-fan. How could my Mom not know this? But every year I’d get a couple more Thor comics.

Fast-forward 35 years. I’m the official stocking-stuffer in the household. My wife is the queen of holiday organization, but the stocking assignment has always been mine, primarily because it’s the kind of job you can give to a procrastinator. I can run out on Christmas Eve and grab everything I need: gum, iTunes gift cards, candy bars, extra batteries… and comics. See, my son is 15, and he IS a Thor guy, so I usually try to round up something Asgardian for him, as well as a something with Atomic Robo or Axe Cop. I don’t understand the clothing my daughter is asking for (an “infinity scarf” sounds like something Dr. Who would wear), but by gum, I do know my son’s taste in comics.

And by the way? The comics never actually get inside the stocking, but sit there on the mantle beside it. Because Christmas tradition be damned, I’m not rolling them.

Jeff Parker

Okay fine, I’ll tell an embarrassing one. A few years ago I was renting a house here in Portland and indulged one of my vices I haven’t been able to shake: trash dumping. Not in the woods or anything horrible like that, but in any open dumpster that someone left unlocked- I can’t help it, I hate having lots of trash around and can’t wait for garbage pickup sometimes!

Anyway, I had just gotten rid of a bunch of boxes at a nearby apartment complex’ dumpster during the holidays and Christmas morning I answered my door where an angry apartment manager held up an empty box from Dark Horse that had once contained comps of something I’d done for them- with my name and address clearly labeled. I had to laugh at myself for getting busted by such a stupid slip up, and I told the guy I’d go back over there and pull my trash out. He let me off the hook because it was Christmas and a ‘don’t do it again.’ I wonder what other mysteries he’ll be out solving this holiday season?

Remember kids, using other people’s dumpsters is WRONG. (wink!)

Fred Van Lente

It’d probably be getting Watchmen under the tree the year the TPB came out and reading pretty much in one sitting (in robe and PJ’s) for the rest of Christmas Day. I don’t remember if I got to Exploding Vaginal Space Squid before turkey.

Young Romance

Colleen Coover

One year Paul [Tobin, her husband] gave me my favorite Christmas gift EVER. It was a medium-sized box, and when I opened it there was some packing material, beneath which were fifteen romance comics from the late 60s and early 70s! I thought I’d died and gone to cheesy comics heaven. But then under all those comics was more packing stuff, and under that: ANOTHER TWENTY ROMANCE COMICS!!! Just the best.

Jane Irwin

My best Holiday-related comics memory is from right after Thanksgiving 2002, when Paul Sizer, Pam Bliss, Matt Feazell, Layla Lawlor, Sean Bieri and I all got together during Mid-Ohio Con and created a “Comics Passport” minicomic where fans could collect autographs and stamps from all of us and end up with a neat little personalized book. Sean hand-pulled the covers with his Print Gocco, and we each contributed a sketch. It was a really neat concept — it got fans of one creator introduced to the rest of us, and we had a lot of takers — but the very best part was that working on the passport together caused Paul and I to finally notice each other, after about five years of attending the same conventions. The rest, as they say, is history — we’ve been happily married and making comics together for over seven years now.

Paul Sizer

Here’s my memory. Not as mushy as Jane’s, but hers was pretty good!

Age 10: the marathon experience that was the opening of presents at Grandma and Grampa’s house was well under way. Two hours (out of five) in, my brain was ready to explode from boredom. Then, I opened a present from one of my uncles; How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way. History was forever altered. I don’t think I actually saw any of my other presents that year. I still have that book somewhere in my stacks.

Chris Schweizer

Through most of middle and high school, my sister exhibited a distaste for reading.  When she was a kid, she read voraciously, as did the rest of the family; when we moved to Kentucky (I had just turned eleven; she was nine) she fell in with a group of girls for whom reading was a very low priority, and, being a preteen girl in a new place and in want of friends, she naturally followed suit.  What I assume began as affectation became character, and by the time she was in middle school you couldn’t get her to crack open a book unless there was a grade attached.

There was one clear exception – newspaper comic strip collections.

My dad and mom both had picked up comic strip books since I was very little.  Our house was stocked with Peanuts and Pogo books well before I was born, and it was my dad’s first Calvin and Hobbes trade, likely brought home within days of its release, that cemented my love of the form, and my desire to contribute to it.  My dad was an ardent C&H and Far Side fan, and my mom bought For Better of Worse and Cathy.  We had stacks of others, usually the 1950s minimalist humor strips that still run today, but these paperback-book jobs were haphazard and gathered in no particular order from garage sales, not like the pretty horizontal Andrews McMeel deals that lined our bookshelves by series and in order of release.  When Watterson and Larson retired, our influx of books didn’t halt; if anything, it increased.  My mom and dad both became big fans of Dilbert (which, though oft-criticized, I still quite enjoy).  My favorite contemporary strip when I was in middle school (and a chunk of high school, until Zits came along and gave it a close run for its money) was Bill Amend’s Foxtrot.

Wrapped-Up Foxtrot

Though it may not be evident upon glancing at my comics, Foxtrot has likely had more influence on my storytelling than any other comic.  I consumed Amend’s dialogue pacing with such fervency and regularity that writing dialogue in anything but an Amend-patter-pattern would be entirely unnatural to me, and my dialogue pacing determines everything on the page, including the composition of the images. Oh, yes, Foxtrot was my favorite.

My sister felt the same.

My dad couldn’t resist picking up the Dilbert books as they came out, but the Foxtrot books waited until Christmas.  Why?  My parents, ever eager to stoke the fires of advanced literacy in their daughter, ALWAYS GAVE HER THE MOST RECENT FOXTROT BOOK. Without fail.  Every year. Her.

This would not have been a problem, in general.  We were a fairly communal household when it came to books, and what belonged to one generally ended up being passed around.  But as she grew older, my sister became increasingly aware of my intense desire to spend time with Amend’s newest masterpiece, and she began to use this to her advantage.  I’d have to trade candy for the privilege.  I’d have to give up a gift of greater value.  When I became able to drive, chauffeur duties became a bargaining chip.  Sometimes, just to get my goat, she’d refuse me entirely and hide the book, leading me to search, sometimes for days, whenever I found her absent.

“Well,” you might say, “You could drive and likely had a job.  Why not simply go get your own copy?”  The idea truly never occurred to me.  Getting my own copy when my dad or mom or sister had one which I could (in theory, at least) read?  It made no sense.  Even now, away from home for a decade and more, I still don’t have duplicates of books that my dad has.  The new Fantagraphics Peanuts collection?  You’ll not find a one on my shelves.  The big Calvin and Hobbes collector’s set?  Nope.  I make do with my old A/McM paperbacks.

I have, to be fair, stolen a good number of my parent’s books for my own collection – I consider it a child’s prerogative, and will not begrudge my own children such luxury when they someday fly the nest.  But, though they sit not in my sister’s house in Alabama but at my parent’s in North Carolina, I have not taken the Foxtrot collections.  Whereas taking from my dad is hardly stealing (sorry, dad), taking from my sister would be.  So, by virtue of Christmas tradition, I live more or less Foxtrotless, save the occasional bumper compendium snagged at a Borders failsale.

Elizabeth Breitweiser

My husband, Mitch, has a good one. Christmas of 1992, Mitch age 13. His dad gave him his very first comic book, Spider-Man 2099 #2. As soon as he pulled it out of his stocking and flipped through the pages, he knew he wanted to be a comic book artist.

This year will also be one for the memory book. Mitch surprised me by sneaking our little family, fat cat and all, into the holiday issue of Journey Into Mystery #632. What a treat!

The Breitweiser Family in Journey Into Mystery #632

Erik Larsen

My recollections are both Marvel-related. I can remember having two different people give me a copy of Stan Lee’s Origins of Marvel Comics as a kid and I can recall getting money from my parents to buy gifts for other members of my family and blowing part of it on a copy of Rampaging Hulk #1 (the b&w magazine) and getting some grief for doing that.

Mike Allred

When I quit a career in broadcasting in exchange for a budding comic book career, the first few years were hard going.  But Christmas time brought a few moments of splurging, and Laura would justify getting me hard cover collections of classic comics.  I still have those, and they are every bit as priceless to me as the original pulpy beauties they reprint.  Later, after Madman started taking off, she started scoring me original comic book art for Christmas gifts.  The ultimate collectable from the ultimate wife.  Laura is the best thing about Christmas and comic books.

Van Jensen

G.I. Joe

When I was 4 or 5, there was nothing cooler in the world than G.I. Joes. It’s fair to say I spent months in the lead up to Christmas poring over the Sears and JC Penney catalogs looking at the Joe toys, trying to decide which ones to ask for (we lived far from any toy stores, so the catalogs were all I had). Christmas morning, I know I had a couple of Joes waiting for me under the tree. But despite all of my excitement for the toys, I can’t recall which ones I received. All I really remember is that I also got my first few comics: issues of MAD, Captain America and Larry Hama’s G.I. Joe. I still remember the stories from those issues—Roadblock was arrested!—even though hundreds of readings long ago disintegrated the copies into dust.

MK Reed

On a New Year’s Day about 10 years ago, I was working in a ski rental shop at a small ski slope in New Jersey with my bff. They’d been very insistent that we come in on New Year’s bright and early, but it was in the 40′s and the snow was all melted. With few customers and little to do, we started putting together the shipment of kid’s skis that were waiting to be assembled, and when rentals employees called to see if they should come in, we said yes, not realizing that at a certain point the managers made an announcement that the slope would be closed in the afternoon because of the weather. (There was no speaker in the rentals room, nor supervision, nor heat.) We accumulated some boxes from the skis & bindings, and so my bff & I decided to set up a city of boxes and live out a Godzilla/Rodin fight to break them down. Within a minute of the fight’s beginning, the laughter and cheering of a dozen onlookers alerted a manager who showed up to see what all the noise was about. As he yelled at us for not leaving, we protested it was impossible for us to hear the announcement, and that no one had told us to leave or stop more employees from coming in. During the entire argument, we kicked & stomped down boxes. We were then criticized for being inefficient in box-waste removal, which everyone jeered at. Then we got to leave work early!

John Arcudi

Terminator

It was long, long ago — right about when I became a full-time comics writer.  In fact, it was exactly then.

I was back in my home town visiting my father for the holidays when I got a call from Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson.  I don’t remember how he got my father’s number (we had only communicated through my home # back in Brooklyn) but he did.   I’d been writing part-time for a few years, working a variety of day jobs, hammering away on scripts at night.  You can do that in your 20′s.  Just 8 page stories here and there, nothing regular.  Anyway, Mike was calling to offer me a series (Terminator) which would require a full time writing schedule from me, meaning I would have to quit my day job.  Seems like an easy decision in retrospect, but there was no “retrospect” then.   Still, I knew what I wanted, and so did Mike.  I remember what he said very clearly: “You want to be a comics writer, John, then be one.”  He was, of course, right.

Yeah, not something easily forgotten, to say the least.

Mark Andrew Smith

This is a Christmas story that happened to me last year.

Living in Taiwan they do not celebrate Christmas.  You’re on your own, and you try to make the best of things.

I went to a Taiwanese Bar with my friend Paul and we are going to order some hamburgers.  We sit down and there’s a drunk guy in the bar who speaks poor English that wants to talk to us and says the same thing over and over again, the guy is kind of scary, and I just nod to be polite, hoping he’ll leave.

In Taiwan there are street dogs everywhere. This black stray dog goes into bar and just starts humping the crap out of the guy’s leg.  He’s drunk and can’t do anything about it.

Meanwhile all of these Christmas songs are playing while the dog is going at this guy’s leg nonstop with his face so happy and his tongue hanging out of his mouth and it almost seems to synch up to ‘it’s the most wonderful time of the year’.  The dog would go away and then come back and hump this drunk and incoherent Taiwanese guy’s leg.

It went on for a good 30 minutes with the music playing like it was out of a film.

I turned to my friend Paul and said, “This is it, this is our Christmas Eve. Eating a hamburger and watching a dog go to town for 30 minutes on a drunk Taiwanese dude’s leg.  Merry Christmas Paul.”

Janet K. Lee

Duncan the Wonder Dog

Last year, I desperately wanted a copy of Duncan the Wonder Dog for Christmas, but could not find it in Nashville. My LCS couldn’t get it for me in time for the holiday; I had waited until too late to ask. So I tweeted about my great sorrow, my failure to acquire Duncan the Wonder Dog, to several hundred of my closest internet friends. Like you do.

Well, the amazing folks at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina, were listening. They have one of the best graphic novel sections in the US—not only in my opinion, but according to the fine folks at Publisher’s Weekly—and they sent me a copy of Duncan. It was a Christmas miracle under my tree. I sent them a bunch of home-made ornaments as a thank-you. Best part: the book was every bit as wonderful as I wanted it to be.

Charles Soule

In March 2009, my first published work, Strongman, appeared on shelves (from SLG Publishing, a fine group of people if ever there was one.)  The Christmas before that, I was home to visit my family in Michigan – in Grand Rapids, specifically, at my dad’s house.  I had some advance copies of Strongman with me, and I intended to give a few to my siblings and my father as Christmas “gifts.”  Yes, I know that’s pretty dubious as far as gift-giving goes.  I might as well have given them a framed picture of myself.  Signed.  (Hmm… maybe I’ll do that this year.)

Anyway, I got everyone something “real” too, but I was (and still am) very proud of Strongman, and wanted to share it with them.  On Christmas morning, everyone opened up their stuff, oohed and aahed and thanked, and we moved on to the customary post-gift breakfast.  Good stuff.  Traditionally, my family will go to a movie Christmas afternoon, or do something else as a group.  That year, we trooped out to see The Spirit, god help us.  My dad declined to come with us, which was weird – we weren’t all together that much over the year, because my family is scattered all over the country, and normally he’d hang out with us the entire day.  He decided to skip the movie because he wanted to stay home to read Strongman (or possibly because he’d read a review of The Spirit, but I choose to believe he wanted to read the book.)

My siblings and I saw the movie, came home, and my dad and I talked about my first published book for a while.  He was a comics reader from childhood, and introduced me to them – my first comic was a Fantastic Four he bought me, and I use to read his tattered T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents issues in his old bedroom when we’d go to visit my grandparents when I was little.  So, he knew what he was talking about, and he had some good things to say and some critical points to make.  It was amazing.  One of my favorite Christmas memories of all time, not just comics-related.  Unfortunately (putting it very mildly) that was the last real Christmas we got to spend together, but that afternoon we had no idea that bad things were looming on the horizon, and we just talked.  I have a million memories of my dad and books, but it’s hard to top that one.

Ryan Stegman

Spawn #39

My comics-related holiday memory is the issue of Spawn that had “Santa Spawn” on the cover. That is easily one of my most remembered comic book covers ever. It hit me at the time when I had just decided that comics were what I wanted to do and I just stared at it forever wondering how the hell someone could draw something that cool.

I also remember reading that issue. It’s hilariously cheesy, but in the best way possible. It’s like every Christmas related kids movie with the sappy ending. But the stuff leading up to the ending was insane violence and Spawn looking badass. What more could you want?

Corinna Bechko

This time of year generally means two things at our house: comics-related presents and wicked deadlines. Usually the gifts are special edition books or maybe rare action figures, while the deadlines are always urgent and seldom as nice to look at.

Last year I wanted to get something extra special for my husband Gabriel Hardman though, and after much hunting I found an original page from The Tomb of Dracula #14, drawn by Gene Colan and inked by Tom Palmer in 1972. I carefully wrapped my treasure up, convinced that I had scored a great bit of comics history.

Meanwhile, Gabriel was hard at work penciling and inking Hulk. The holidays are always hectic when you’re a freelancer, so when he was asked to do an extra “point one” issue on top of his normal workload something had to give. He agreed to pencil the book, but wanted someone else to ink it. And who did that someone turn out to be? None other than the legendary Tom Palmer. So in a nice bit of symmetry Gabriel now has an almost 40 year old Palmer-inked page hanging on his studio wall as well as his name next to Tom’s on a book from 2011.

Nick Dragotta

My favorite holiday recollection was the time Howtoons went to the Kipp Bridge Charter School in West Oakland to teach 8th graders how to make snow globes through our comics. We projected the cartoon up on the wall and then just laid out the supplies. The kids were pretty stoked you only needed a peanut butter jar, water, and glitter. The decoration we left to their imagination. The results were pretty fantastic. I also remember it being freezing that day, and we all wore our winter coats the whole time while inside the classroom.

Shawn Crystal on The Cartoonists Holiday

It’s dark outside, and cold. My two kids, Zoe and Zac, are tucked snuggly into their warm beds. My wife, Stephanie, sits watching Family Guy while wrapping presents.

I wish I were there, home with my family… relaxing.

Instead, I am at my studio, working tirelessly under the relentless pressure of a tight… VERY tight, deadline. This is my life, the life of a cartoonist. We don’t get down time, vacations, or holidays. We work when we have work. We relax when we don’t. The lucky ones are constantly working.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’m just painting a portrait of what a cartoonist’s life is like.

Crystal art from Deadpool Max XMas

When I was a young wide-eyed child with a head full of dreams, my biggest wish was to be a professional comic book artist for Marvel. Every Hanukah, I asked for drawing supplies, comics, and Marvel related toys. As I grew older, I wished for books on storytelling, cinematography, anatomy, and photography. Always focused on the big wish, to draw for Marvel. Decades later, here I am, doing just that.

I didn’t just wish for this lifestyle, I worked hard to achieve it. I was focused and driven to draw comics. I don’t think many of us (cartoonists) truly understood the demands of this job before we had it, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a damn cool job to have.

It’s a bittersweet time for me.

I miss being with my family, but I LOVE that I am drawing comics.

On the day of Hanukah, I’ll be busy frying Latkes and grilling steaks. Passing out presents to my family while shoveling Belgian chocolate gelt into my mouth. I’ll be full, happy, and half drunk.

So, I’ll get some downtime…even if it’s just for a day. After that, I’ll promptly return to my studio, ready to grind while I listen to Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast.

To my family, I love you. Without your support, I wouldn’t be able to do this. My job asks a lot of you. You work with me to make it all happen. I’ll see you soon, with a table full of food, and presents to pass around.

To all the cartoonists, my brothers in arms, fighting the good fight in the trenches of publishing…you’re not alone during these cold nights. You’re making comics, and you worked hard to be able to do this. Take a moment to enjoy your success. Soon you’ll be with friends and family, doing your thing. Only for a short while though, there’s a deadline waiting for you…. and he’s a nasty lil bastard.

Did I mention that I run the Sequential Art dept. for SCAD Atlanta as well? That’s another story for another time.

Image Comics has released a digital version of the Extreme Preview book that was available at the New York Comic Con last weekend, and thanks to the embed feature offered by Graphicly, you can read it right here. It can also be downloaded via ComiXology, Graphicly, iVerse and Diamond Digital.

The preview book offers a look at Brandon Graham and Simon Roy’s Prophet, Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell’s Glory; Alan Moore, Erik Larsen and Cory Hamscher’s Supreme; Tim Seeley and Francheco Gaston’s Bloodstrike; and John McLaughlin, Jon Malin and Rob Liefeld’s Youngblood. The first comic from the revived Extreme, Prophet #21, arrives Jan. 18.

Savage Dragon #177

Never one to shy away from politics or controversy, Erik Larsen will bring Osama bin Laden back from the dead as an irradiated giant green monster in October’s Savage Dragon #177.

It seems that after the body of the al-Qaida founder was dropped into the ocean from the U.S.S. Carl Vinson, it came into contact with radiation, bringing the terrorist to life and transforming him into a literal monster — Godzilla-like, even — hellbent on destroying America. Unless Dragon’s children Malcolm and Angel can stop him.

“Radiation is the cure-all. You get some of that stuff and life is good. In the real world, you get diarrhea and your hair falls out. But in comics — boom! — you’re brought right back to life,” Larsen tells USA Today. “”There’s not really going to be anybody going, ‘Whoa, don’t hit him!’ He’s kind of a (jerk), let’s throw that out there.”

Savage Dragon has famously featured appearances by Hitler, former presidents George W. Bush and George Bush, candidate Barack Obama, President Obama, and even God and the Devil. But is five months a little too soon to bring back bin Laden? Larsen fully expects some criticism.

“It’s not like this is ancient history and we’re looking at pictures and most of the people are dead and gone,” he tells the newspaper. “This guy did evil crap recently.”

Fear Itself #1

Publishing | Marvel’s Fear Itself #1 topped Diamond Comic Distributors’ April charts with an estimated 128,595 copies, the highest monthly sales for a comic since X-Men #1 surpassed 140,000 copies nine months ago. Retail news and analysis site ICv2 sees the strong debut of that crossover and the performance of DC’s Flashpoint prequels as signs “that this summer’s big events may be able to reverse the downward sales trend in the first quarter of 2011.”

DC’s Fables, Vol. 15: Rose Red led the graphic novel category with about 11,600 copies, followed distantly by Dynamite’s The Boys, Vol. 8: Highland Laddie. [ICv2.com]

Retailing | The bankrupt Borders Group reportedly has been unable to find a buyer for its entire business, which could signal the end of the second-largest book chain in the United States. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in February, and is closing about one-third of its locations. [Detroit Free Press]

Publishing | IDW Publishing Senior Editor Andy Schmidt, who oversaw such licensed titles as G.I. Joe and The Transformers, is leaving the company to work for Hasbro. Schmidt, who was previously an associate editor at Marvel, came to IDW in 2008. [Bleeding Cool]

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

Broadway | The three-week hiatus for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark did little to affect the musical’s box-office appeal: The $70 million production grossed $809,941 last week in just five preview performances. [The New York Times]

Conventions | Stacey Whittle wraps up last weekend’s Bristol International Comic & Small Press Expo. [SFX]

Creators | Erik Larsen looks toward the double-sized 175th issue of Savage Dragon, which he hesitates to call a “milestone”: “You tend to look toward the big round numbers — 100, 200. Passing up Kirby’s run on Fantastic Four was kind of the milestone for me when I got to 103. It was like, ‘OK, now we’re going!’” [USA Today]

Creators | Brian Heater wraps up a four-part interview with Peter Bagge. [The Daily Cross Hatch]

Creators | Joe Casey discusses his six-issue Marvel miniseries Vengeance, which doesn’t tie in to the publisher’s big Fear Itself crossover: “I begged them to let us suck off the teat of the latest Marvel Monstrosity Event, but to no avail. I figured it’d help us sell at least two copies of this thing. … But since that ship has sailed, we’re just pressing onward with the usual, incredibly low expectations.” [MTV Geek]

Comics | Luke Plunkett looks back at DC’s Atari Force comics. [Kotaku]

Comics | “Why Aquaman is the best damn superhero in comic history.” [io9.com]

The collected Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies is scheduled to hit this July as an over-sized 144 page book, collecting all 12 back-up stories as well as some new material from the likes of Tom Scioli, Jim Rugg, Jasen Lex, Paul Maybury, Zack Soto and others.

If you missed it in singles, this collection is worth a flip through. You have to admire Larsen’s agreeance to allow Fiffe and his team of creators to do this liberal a take on his characters. It really allows each of them to play to their strengths, and wish more creator-owned cartoonists would consider giving over the reins of their characters like this.

Cullen Bunn and Jim Zubkavich

Many who have been following this blog know I’m a fan of both Image’s Skullkickers and Oni’s The Sixth Gun. So when I saw that the two creator-owned books were having a mini-crossover of sorts — or, to be more specific, an ad swap — I thought it might be fun to see if Skullkickers writer Jim “Zub” Zubkavich and The Sixth Gun‘ writer Cullen Bunn might be up for interviewing each other.

So the duo hit Skype and had a long conversation that covered many different topics — how they pitched their books, their writing process, how they work with their artists, finding time to write and much more. My thanks to both Cullen and Jim for doing this, with an extra tip of the hat to Jim for transcribing it. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the second part of the interview.

*****

Zub: So, let’s start right off with the big news. Did I hear correctly that you’re now writing full time? You quit your day job?

Cullen: I did. This is my third week as a full-time writer.

Zub: Awesome. What were you doing before that?

Skullkickers ad from Sixth Gun

Cullen: I was the vice president of marketing for a small relocation assistance company here in Missouri. I was there for 15 years.

Zub: And how long have you been writing comics? I mean, how long would you consider yourself a professional?

Cullen: A professional? Probably about the time The Damned came out, the book with Brian (Hurtt). So that’s about five years ago. That was the first time I got any kind of traction.

Zub: And that was just a cold pitch to Oni?

Cullen: It wasn’t completely cold because Brian had worked with Oni on Queen and Country and Skinwalker, books like that. They knew Brian and were open to something he was involved with.

Zub: Okay then, the question then becomes how do you know Brian?

Cullen: Brian and I worked at a comic book store together 17 years ago. A comic and gaming emporium! It seems like it shouldn’t be that long ago. He was that kid always drawing on the back of comic backing boards, things like that. We started talking about putting pitches together, trying to get a comic book going. We used to hang out maybe once a week and tried to create stories but we never seemed to gain any ground.

Zub: Did you go to school for Writing, or anything related to that?

Cullen: I have a degree in writing from Southwest Missouri State University.

Zub: Was it scriptwriting in particular or just fiction as a whole?

Cullen: Fiction writing, primarily. It was around that time that Brian moved to New York and we stopped hanging out, but when he came back to St. Louis we started working on pitches again. Oni turned us down on a few things, but they finally jumped on The Damned.

Zub: Are those other ideas things you still have in the drawer?

Cullen: Yeah, actually! We pitched a Victorian England-style supernatural story and, even after they rejected it, they came back at some point and said, “You know, if you guys had pushed us, we might have considered it,” but we didn’t know.

Zub: You didn’t know the pitch process and didn’t know the editors well, right?

Cullen: Right, and it’s probably for the best anyways. The Damned was a stronger book and The Sixth Gun is definitely stronger too. We’ve actually discussed taking some of those Victorian characters and putting them in The Sixth Gun now.

Zub: That’s cool. No idea stays dead. It just gestates longer.

Cullen: That’s right! So, how about you? You have a day job, though your day job is a lot cooler than mine was…

The Sixth Gun #8

Zub: I have two day jobs actually. I’ve worked with the UDON studio for just over eight years, starting as a colorist and artist but eventually helping manage projects and dealing with clients. I’m also teaching at a college here in Toronto called Seneca, in their Animation program.

My background is in Animation, traditional 2D-style stuff. I thought I’d end up working in Saturday Morning cartoons and I did do that for a bit, working for a bunch of smaller companies and start-ups that combusted. At times it was a real grind. I was going to go back to school for 3D computer animation, take a post-grad course and try to break into the video game industry. I came back to Toronto when my cash flow was really bad and set my mind on doing that.

My friend Omar (Dogan) and I worked together in Calgary at a start-up and he was now working at UDON. At that point I think he was colouring Deadpool. Anyways, I came back into town and hung out with him, showed him my Photoshop colouring and he eventually introduced me to Erik Ko, the guy who ran UDON. Within a few weeks they had some extra work and I started coloring comics as a summer job. The plan was to make a bit of money and then go back to school. One thing lead to another and I started helping organize stuff around the studio. I really enjoyed the work and wanted to be involved with comics any way I could, so I put my roots down and stayed. It’s the best summer job I’ve ever had [laughs].

Soon after that I started teaching part-time at the college and I’ve been there ever since too. So I’m juggling teaching and UDON work… and now Skullkickers on top. Skullkickers is my first professional push into creator-owned comics.

Cullen: Cool. How do you do all that? I know it was next to impossible for me. I had a real tough time in terms of balancing the day job with family and writing. What’s your secret?

Zub: Time management is everything. I looked at these opportunities and said to myself, “I want to do all these things. They mean so much to me.” Constantly thinking, “This is what I want to do and if I don’t do them will I regret it?” The answer has always been “yes,” so that drives me when I work.

I’m not perfect about organizing or productivity, but when this all started I looked at what I was spending the majority of my free time doing — watching TV, playing video games or whatever. Social time with friends and family is important but even looking at that I realized what was important and what needed to be prioritized in order to get the work done. I guess I’m just obsessive-compulsive.

Cullen: No, I think that’s a good point. I talk to a lot of people who want to break in and they don’t know how to do it while making ends meet, and I was right there with them for many years — trying to write fiction, short stories and novels. It wasn’t until I started really treating this like a job that I was able to make any headway whatsoever.

Zub: I think people look at this and they say, “Well, it’s just comics” or “Hey, I’ve got a cool idea,” but everyone has ideas. Are you going to develop it, work on it, make it into something and really push yourself? That’s the difference between an idea and completing something worthwhile.

Cullen: Folks always say, “I just don’t have time to do it,” but when they sit down in front of the TV watching shows they don’t even enjoy, some sit-com they don’t even laugh at -– there’s 30 minutes right there. You have to make the time.

Zub: I don’t want to sound holier-than-thou because I know what it’s like to feel frustrated and not know where to start. The hardest part is at the beginning. Page one, you know. Maybe your first story will suck, but the next one will be better.

The Damned

Cullen: Yeah, totally. There are all those elements about networking and getting in with publishers involved at some point, but the one constant is that if you don’t do the work then you won’t get anywhere. I know people who write on their commute to work while they’re on the train in the morning or during a 30-minute lunch break. That’s their writing time.

I used to get hung up on the whole “I hate doing this work when I’m not sure anything will come of it.”

Zub: I think everyone goes through that. Unfortunately you need to prove you can do it before anyone’s going to pay you for it.

Cullen: Absolutely. So… Skullkickers is your first big push for yourself, creator-owned. How did it come about?

Zub: It happened in a really strange sideways series of events. Chris Stevens, he’s now the cover artist on Skullkickers, was doing a bunch of work for UDON and he was approached by Joe Keatinge at Image about contributing a story to Popgun 2, Image’s anything-goes comic anthology.

Joe told Chris he could do any kind of story he wanted, so Chris and I talked about the kind of things he likes, what he’d draw if he had his choice. So, he wanted to draw a fantasy tale but something earthy, not a typical heroic kind of fantasy. I brainstormed this idea for two monster hunter jerks, Chris liked it and went off to do it. A couple days later he admitted that the whole thing sounded funnier when I told it over the phone than when he tried to write himself and he asked me to write it up. So, we did up a 10-page story called “Two Copper Pieces” and Erik Larsen, publisher at Image at the time, quite liked it. He told us if we wanted to do more with it he’d green light it.

We did another short story for Popgun 3 and I outlined a five-issue adventure for these two guys, but as soon as we started working on it as a series things just stalled. Chris’ schedule got slammed, financial problems crept up, just everything that could get in the way did, you know. So eventually after Chris penciled half of issue #1 it just got mothballed and I figured it would never going to go forward.

Cut to two years later and Edwin Huang, this young 20-year-old art student, applies to UDON looking for work. They don’t have any openings but I was really impressed with his portfolio. It’s good, the storytelling is good. Almost everything is firing on all cylinders. So I sent him an e-mail and encouraged him to keep working on his stuff. We ended up talking back and forth and I eventually sent him the Skullkickers script just as a way for him to practice and build up his portfolio. He really busted out some amazing quality pages, picking up where Chris left off, and the next thing I knew we were getting the book going again.

Cullen: Awesome. Finding an artist who can do the work and one who communicates can be so difficult. That’s a great story and a real win for you there.

Zub: Brian’s a real workhorse, too!

Cullen: Oh yeah! Brian’s a great collaborator, and he challenges me. He won’t let me phone it in. If I ever get lazy, then he’s gonna call me on it. He has a knack for storytelling, and I know he has some stories of his own in him that he wants to tell as well. As a visual storyteller I couldn’t ask for a better collaborator. When we started working on The Sixth Gun he just told me point blank “Don’t hold back. Go ahead and challenge me in whatever way you want to. You’re not gonna scare me off with this book” which is obviously very liberating. I can do anything I want and say “You told me it was alright”! [laughs]

And that’s why we have characters with 36 feet of iron chains flying around in the air that he has to painstakingly draw link by link, or a flock of owls attacking people in a hotel in New Orleans because Brian told me to challenge him! He asked for it, he got it.

Zub: The bond you two have is driving both of you to push yourselves in terms of quality.

Cullen: Absolutely. You can tell that this is a book he’s really enjoying. He loves what he’s doing, and it’s all there on the page.

Zub: I know that you’ve had this feeling — when you get new art and it just pops in your in-box.

Cullen: I love it! It’s like Christmas. Getting new pages from artists helps keep me sane. They’re little rewards I get throughout the day. It’s just “Hey, here’s what I’ve been working for.” That’s one of the advantages of comics anyways, the collaborative nature of it. Seeing what an artist is going to do with the material I wrote.

Zub: Because I come from an art background, it’s all pretty visual in my head when I write it. I get an idea of how it might look but it’s not fully formed. It’s a bit murky, but I know that the description of a panel can all fit in one drawing. I’m not describing four actions in one panel or anything like that.

Skullkickers #7

Cullen: I do that occasionally. Brian always calls me on it when it happens. I haven’t done it in a while. It usually comes up when I’ve changed something and just missed taking a bit out from before.

Zub: Sometimes I get really picky, and I feel bad about it. Edwin is new to this, and he’s really eager, so he’s super careful. I feel like I can be ultra-specific. Sometimes I’ll specify the exact page layout because, especially with comedy, I need it to be just so in order to work. And he really hits the mark. But in turn I feel weirdly protective like I don’t want to steer him wrong.

Cullen: I’m kind of a stickler for certain pacing elements. I want things to appear in a certain panel, but I trust in Brian as an artist.

Zub: You write full script, right?

Cullen: Oh yeah. I write a lot more detailed than many scripts I’ve seen, but I don’t write a novel or anything like that.

Zub: How much reference material do you send? Visual reference kind of stuff, or do you leave that up to Brian?

Cullen: I’ll occasionally put it in there. We’re working on an arc that has a lot of trains, and I went to the transportation museum here in St. Louis and took pictures of all these trains from that era on my phone. Still, I don’t generally put a lot of links in the scripts I send to Brian. I know he’s slavish to that stuff.

Zub: It’s so easy to tell when I read The Sixth Gun that you’re both coming from an inspired mindset. You love westerns, you love the supernatural and you want that love to come through in the work.

Cullen: We’re very much on the same page in terms of the kind of story we want to tell and building a world is also really important to us. We wanted to make sure that The Sixth Gun was taking place in its own fantasy world.

Zub: Melding those western and fantasy elements… where did your love of westerns come from?

Cullen: My Dad owned a photography studio, and I’ve got a picture from when I was just a little kid where I’m wearing a jean jacket, jeans and I have a black cowboy hat on. They did a double exposure of me holding myself hostage, western-style. So I obviously loved cowboys even way back then. It was a steady diet of westerns on Sunday afternoons and reading weird western comics.

One of my favourite writers is a guy named Joe R. Lansdale, and he writes a lot of weird western stuff. He wrote a novella called “Dead in the West” and I go back and re-read that probably once a year because I really like what he did with it. In fact the first short story I ever sold was a weird western. It was to a magazine called Eldritch Tales.

Zub: A small press kind of thing?

Cullen: Thankfully the story never got published! [laughs] It wasn’t a very good story. A cowboy rides into town and fights Cthulhu creatures and snake men… that was a long time ago. I’m pretty sure I just sold it for copies. I still have a printed out copy of the story. Sometimes I think about sharing it with the world, but I’m not quite ready yet.

So, now my question to you is, I was thinking about Skullkickers, where you’ve got all these great sound effects. Did you name it “Skullkickers” before you came up with the big “Skull Kick” that ends the first story? Which came first, the title or the ending?

Zub: The title came first. When I went ahead and was planning the mini-series Erik Larsen wisely told us the “Two Copper Pieces” title wasn’t very engaging. So I just started jamming words together that sounded violent and cool. For a bit it was called “Corpsekickers,” which sounds quite awful. I don’t know where it came from in the end. I combined those two words, and it just worked. I was so worried that someone else must have used it elsewhere so I Googled like crazy to make sure no one had and then snapped up skullkickers.com as soon as I saw it was available. It just sounds too good!

I wanted to end the mini-series on the biggest, most bombastic note I could. Are they gonna fight a dragon or some other big beasty or what? I eventually came up with the idea for the Corpse Giant, the 30 foot tall zombified mess of bodies oozing together, but I didn’t know how the two idiots would kill this thing. When I struck on the idea of killing it from the inside out, that’s when it all clicked, and I worked backwards from there with the Dwarf’s leg and all that. It changed the whole middle of the outline and really tied it up with a bow.

Cullen: It does read like some of these things happened in a Dungeons & Dragons game…

Zub: Most people assume that it’s “my” D&D game, but it’s actually not. It intentionally feels like a game that’s headed off the rails though.

Cullen: Do you still play Dungeons & Dragons?

Zub: Barely ever, unfortunately. It really is a lot of fun if you get the right group together. It’s all about who you’re playing with. Whether it’s dramatic stories or more like a board game where you’re hoarding treasure -– every group is different and the game changes to suit it. If you find a group that’s all in the same mindset then it can be incredibly creative and really fun. If not, then it can be a real quagmire. Did you play?

Cullen: Yeah, I played D&D and other role-playing games for many years. Brian Hurtt, Matt Kindt, Shawn Lee and I have talked about trying to game again. Brian has never played anything like that. He says he wants to, so we’ll see.

Zub: I have a group here sort of in the same boat. We talked about Skullkickers and that rolled into a D&D conversation. They’re intrigued and want to get a game going. You need a group with the right attitude to make it work.

Cullen: You never really shake it. I thought I was done and packed my books away, sold a bunch of them. But I go to the comic shop and there they are, tempting. I was there today and I saw the new Gamma World. I read the back and thought “This sounds awesome!”

Skullkickers #1

Zub: They’re really open concepts that lend themselves to stories and new ideas. They’re a neat little framework for creativity. You can make whatever kind of story you want.

But even still, Skullkickers isn’t D&D. It does feel like these guys are bulldozing through your favourite fantasy story and wrecking everything though. They’re too big, too stupid and too boisterous. When it comes to the humour of it, pacing, dialogue and subplots, I take it very seriously. I want to create a high quality “funny book.” Some people assume that “funny” equates to “easy,” that I’m not thinking as much about it. But I really do take it seriously and want to make it all work.

So, back at you, when you’re generating the story, how tightly do you plot things out? How far ahead have you plotted?

Cullen: I plot it out pretty tightly. I do a page beat-by-beat “This is going to happen on this page” kind of thing.

Zub: Oh, I do that too!

Cullen: Sometimes I’ll break that down even further and then say “Okay, this important thing happens on this particular panel” all before I write the script. I’ve tried a bunch of formats trying to see what will be the magic bullet for me in terms of what’s going to work for plotting out a comic every time and it almost never works the same way twice for me. The other day I mentioned that I wrote a script all in long hand and some people couldn’t believe it. They wrote me messages saying, “Are you serious? All in long hand, why would you do that?” but sometimes that’s just what works.

I’ve never felt more ludicrously self important than when I’m actually leaving myself voice messages of story ideas. I’m driving down the road saying into my phone “One of the guns shoots fire…”

[both laugh]

I’ve got The Sixth Gun plotted out for 50 issues. I mean, broad strokes, mainly “in this arc this stuff will happen” sort of thing. And when I get closer it becomes more specific. I get down to the issues, then the pages and then the panels.

Zub: So issue 50 is the ending or 50 as a story goal that continues from there?

Cullen: 50 will end it. 50 issues will be needed to tell the story. Everything from the first issue will play into the ending.

Zub: For me, we were doing Skullkickers originally as a five-issue mini and then when Eric Stephenson (Image’s current publisher) said “Hey, sales are decent enough. If you want to keep going, just do it” I knew I wanted to tell a bigger story. That was after issue #3 came out, so I immediately started putting new subplots and foreshadowing in issue #4. From there I had to figure the bigger picture out –- broad arcs to make sure I know where it’s going. I’ve got an ending now and it’s a matter of wondering whether I’ll get a chance to tell it all.

Cullen: That’s always the question. We have an ending planned and things are going well. Oni Press is very pleased and it looks like we’ll reach that goal, but you never can tell. For The Damned we’ve also got a big ending planned that ties everything up in a nice little package, but we don’t know when we’re going to be able to get to that.

The Sixth Gun

Zub: Exactly. I know how I want Skullkickers to end and in the middle I could compress it or extend it depending on sales and the will of the art team. Because it was originally a mini-series, I said to Edwin, “If the book doesn’t make enough money, at least you’ll have a great portfolio of solid work you can show around in the summer of 2011.” And here we are, we’ve got that trade. My deep-seated fear is that he’ll get scooped up before we can finish this thing. Someone at Marvel or DC will snap him up because he’s consistent and professional through and through.

Cullen: Brian’s in for the long haul but he has to eat, so with other books like The Damned he had to move on to other projects.

Zub: Exactly! I don’t begrudge that at all. I totally get it, but I obviously have that intense sense of “I want to see this through to the end.”

Now that I’ve got a little bit of traction, the cork has been unplugged and now I want to do more books. I want to show that I can write a variety of subject matters. I want to write something dark, something emotional, all different areas. I want to find more collaborators, but you don’t know what you’re going to find in terms of consistency or professionalism when you work with other people. That’s kind of scary.

Cullen: That’s just as difficult as finding a publisher. You want to make sure they’re artistically appropriately, too. That they have the right feel for it.

Check back tomorrow for more from Zub and Cullen on superhero books, non-superhero books, social media and more.

Erik Larsen says "No We Can't" to webcomics

Every crappy submission can “see print” on the web–every reprint book that would sell three copies in print would work on the web. The web is the great equalizer. Every crappy thing can get tossed up there. If it all went digital nothing separates a pro from an amateur. Print is far more discriminating. There are fixed costs which can’t be ignored for long. It’s not the wild west like the Internet is. That’s why the web doesn’t excite me a whole lot. Every nitwit can put stickmen telling fart jokes up–there’s nothing special about it.

Stickmen telling fart jokes is Watchmen as far as the internet is concerned, @BizzaroHendrix.

I mean–there’s things on the internet that people are willing to read but they would never pay for–and those are the success stories.

It’s an entirely different level though, @NoCashComics– even the worst pro comics have a modicum of professional standards.

I’m not saying everything on the net is bad–no need to take offense, @tsujigo @BizzaroHendrix just that there is no filter.

I disagree and I don’t disagree, @IanBoothby — how’s that for being agreeable? There are plenty of groundbreaking things in print as well.

I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the best online work is on par with good pro comics but the worst is far worse. I don’t think there is a web only comic that’s as good as Watchmen or Dark Knight. Correct me if I’m wrong. There are certainly web comics that are good for a laugh–and better than what’s in the Sunday Funnies–but not at a Watchmen level–yet.

Point being–anybody can do a web comic. There’s nothing preventing a completely incompetent idiot from doing it, @215Ink.

No. Nothing promising falls through the cracks, @drawnunder if you can’t get your proposed book in print somewhere–your book sucks.

–Savage Dragon creator and Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen bemoans webcomics’ lack of the quality control inherent in the cost-prohibitive economics of print publishing. (Quotes from Twitter edited slightly for clarity.) Yes, if only webcomics had the high standards on display in any given issue of Previews. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta go scour eBay for that Dart miniseries…

In all seriousness, Larsen’s right — there are obviously virtually no barriers to publishing comics online. So what? With the advent of easy blogging platforms, there are no barriers to publishing your opinion writing. With cheap digital cameras and YouTube, there are no barriers to making and distributing short movies. GarageBand turned any computer into a halfway decent home recording studio. And on and on and on. Isn’t this, y’know, awesome? On the flip side, is there really any reason to believe that money provides for quality control? All that the expenses of printing do is raise the barrier from “any completely incompetent idiot” to “any completely incompetent idiot with a little cash.” I’m not one for Internet triumphalism, but it seems awfully churlish — and odd, for an artist and publisher — to greet the Internet’s enormous boon to speech and self-expression in this way, quite aside from the question of whether he’s accurately characterizing webcomics to begin with.

Legal

Legal | A Rochester, N.Y., businessman and the three men he allegedly hired to steal $40,000 worth of comics have been indicted on federal murder charges in connection with the death last summer of an elderly collector.

Authorities allege that Rico Vendetti hired Rochester residents Arlene Combs, Albert Parsons and Donald Griffin to break into the rural Medina home of Homer Marciniak, a 77-year-old retired janitor, on July 5 to steal his comic collection, described as “his pride and joy.” Police say the burglars entered the house in the pre-dawn hours after cutting the telephone line. When Marciniak awoke and surprised them, he was allegedly beaten and knocked to the floor. Although his injuries weren’t life-threatening, Marciniak died of a heart attack later that day. The four defendants face mandatory terms of life in prison if convicted. [The Buffalo News]

The Wayside Manor

Awards | UCLA sophomore Diana Huh has been awarded the 2011 Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship by the National Cartoonists Society Foundation. Huh, an illustrator for the UCLA newspaper and creator of the webcomic The Wayside Manor, will receive a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award weekend in Boston in May. [press release]

Retailing | Uel Carter, who worked on and off at now-defunct Berkeley, Calif., institution Comic Relief, is partnering with Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen and others to launch Fantastic Comics at 2026 Shattuck Ave. Named for Larsen’s first “Next Issue Project” comic, the store will open on May 1. [Berkeleyside]

Retailing | The Easton, Pa., bomb squad was called to Sacker’s Finest in Post-Apocalyptic Goods, a comics and record store, on Wednesday after a customer traded in a World War II mortar shell. The retailer accepts military memorabilia, but an employee wanted to make sure the device wasn’t live. Officers reportedly didn’t think the mortar was live, but took it with them. [The Express-Times]

Retailing | Rachel Arnett spotlights Chapel Hill Comics in North Carolina. [The Daily Tar Heel]

Creators | Action Comics writer Paul Cornell chats briefly about getting inside the head of Lex Luthor: “Lex is a couple notches below being a really great hero, from being actually Tony Stark. Those two have so many similarities, but in these couple notches are all of these bad things. Lex would like to think that he protects the planet from a dangerous, insufferable superpowered alien with heat vision, who will one day become cold and terrifying.” [io9.com]

Creators | Skottie Young is interviewed on video. [Schoolism]

Daytripper

Welcome to What Are You Reading?, where we talk about what comics and other stuff we’ve been reading lately.

Today’s special guest is Joe Keatinge, writer and co-creator of the upcoming Image comic Brutal with Frank Cho. He’s also the writer of the final “Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies” installment in April’s Savage Dragon #171, drawn by Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen, Billy Dogma’s Dean Haspiel, Nikolai Dante’s Simon Fraser, Parade (With Fireworks)’s Mike Cavallaro, The Transmigration of Ultra Lad’s Joe Infurnari, Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation’s Tim Hamilton and Olympians’ George O’Connor. He’s also executive editor of the PopGun anthology, he’s got an ongoing series coming soon that he can’t say anything else about and with his fellow studio members at Tranquility Base, regularly beats up on 13 year olds at laser tag.

To see what Joe and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below.

*****

Brigid Alverson

Street Fighter Legends Vol.3: Ibuki TP

I don’t play video games, so I’m not at all familiar with Capcomm’s Street Fighter series, but for some reason I picked up Udon’s Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki, and it’s really, really good. Oh, here’s the reason: Jim Zubkavich’s writing and Omar Dogan’s art. Zubkavich gives the characters a lot of personality and weaves a storyline I can care about, in between the martial arts battles, of course, and Dogan has created a teenage heroine that girls can enjoy. She’s powerful, cute, and comfortably dressed; her costume has some odd cut-outs, but at least she doesn’t go about her business in high heels. Ibuki is a ninja-in-training, but she is not sure she wants to make the commitment to that life, so although she lives in a secret ninja village, and takes lessons from a master, she also goes to an ordinary high school and has friends and even a cell phone. There’s ordinary high school drama—the good friend, the aggressive new girl, the exotic even newer girl—wrapped around the fight scenes to give them meaning. Zubkavich was nominated for a Joe Shuster award for the writing on this book, and it’s well deserved. This is good stuff.

All shoujo manga readers know that Japanese high schools operate on a strict hierarchy, in which the smartest and most popular boys and girls are labeled as such and worshiped by the other students. Masami Tsuda has a lot of fun turning that notion upside down in Eensy Weensy Monster, but the basic premise of the book also has a grain of emotional truth to it: Liking a guy can stir up strong feelings, and sometimes those feelings come out as hate rather than love. Nanoha, the heroine, is a very ordinary girl who happens to be good friends with the tw alpha girls in her school. When a new student, Hazuki, comes to the school, the other girls immediately dub him “the prince” because of his good looks. Hazuki is also shallow and self-centered, and his mere presence causes Nanoha to boil over with a rage so intense, she describes it as a little monster that lives inside her and occasionally takes over. But when Nanoha tells Hazuki off, he takes it to heart and decides to become a better person—with Nanoha as his teacher. Tsuda, the creator of Kare Kano, handles the story deftly and manages to make Hazuki a sympathetic, if somewhat dim character. I also like it that the series is only two volumes long, so rather than dragging things out, Tsuda tells her story and then winds it up.

Chris Mautner

Twilight of the Assholes

Tim Kreider is a great caricaturist, as his latest collection of cartoons, Twilight of the Assholes, attests. He has a real knack for portraying the unsightly physical traits of modern Americans– the rolls of fat, the paunchy stomachs, the jowls, flabby arms and chinless faces — that make up more of the current populace than we’d care to admit (myself included). Plus, he’s got a nice, razor-sharp wit that really cuts to the absurdity of a particular stance or issue, and he isn’t afraid to get nasty or break a taboo to make his point, which can be refreshing.

All that being said, Kreider does a number of things throughout Twilight that annoy me intensely, like his inexplicable and utterly unnecessary need to write a lengthy essay underscoring, underlining and over explaining each and every cartoon — he’s a capable writer, but I got the joke the first time thanks, I don’t need to have it laid bare in prose form. Then there’s the way he constantly inserts himself and his friends in every cartoon in an oh-so-cute, self-depricating fashion that over time suggests there’s more self-aggrandizement going on than first glance would suggest. Eventually it all starts to undercut the meat of the book — i.e., the cartoons — and I found myself going from being irked to delighted with Twilight in an almost rapid ping-pong fashion. Kreider’s talented and funny enough that I want to recommend this book to others, but find it hard to do so when he keeps getting in the way of his work.

Michael May

Bonnie Lass

Red 5’s inaugural digital-first comic Bonnie Lass is surprising in a couple of ways. For one thing, it’s bawdier and sillier than the other Red 5 books I’ve read. Bonnie Lass isn’t just a description of the main character, it’s also her name. So, as you can tell from the pun, the humor is pretty low-brow. There are jokes about Bonnie’s breast size and plenty of physical slapstick; not really what I’m used to from the company that publishes Atomic Robo and Neozoic.

But just as I was ready to write it off as a disappointing gag-book, it clicked in with an exciting action sequence and finished the first issue with an interesting villain. It also revealed that the story doesn’t just take place in a fantastic version of seventeenth-century Earth. It’s an amalgamation of that and Westerns with a bit of Film Noir and some modern technology thrown into the mix as well. The result is a light-hearted adventure story that owes as much to Indiana Jones as Pirates of the Caribbean. Which, now that I think of it, is exactly the kind of thing that Red 5 publishes.

My son and I read Jake Parker’s Missile Mouse: Rescue of Tanium3 for bedtime a couple of nights this week. We’d read and liked Parker’s short Missile Mouse story in Flight Explorer, but I wasn’t sure how well the concept would stretch out to a full-length graphic novel. Would it feel too thin? Not at all, it turns out. In fact, Missile Mouse was made for the longer format and Parker’s turned out an exciting, cinematic space pulp with some deep – though not too heavy – emotional resonance. As soon as I finish typing this, I’m ordering the first volume, The Star Crusher.

A few years ago, I read the first couple of issues of the original Abyss mini-series before deciding to trade-wait the rest of it. It was good, funny stuff, so when I got the chance this week to read the first issue of the second mini-series, Family Issues, I took a shot.

I might should’ve waited until I caught up on the first story, because I have questions about some of the relationships in the new one. Kevin Rubio does a good job of making sure new readers aren’t totally lost. I especially liked one Editor’s Note that read, “This little piece of exposition is for all you people who didn’t get the first series. Go buy it in trade paperback now! We can always use the sales.” That’s the kind of wall-breaking/meta-commentary/whathaveyou that I enjoyed about the earlier issues I read.

I had questions about what was going on (why does Magic Man and his family wear Nazi “SS” lightning-bolts on their costumes?), but I’ve read enough superhero comics to recognize and understand the general plot. Young Eric Hoffman’s dad was a super villain and now Eric’s trying to make restitution for that by using his father’s name to fight crime instead of commit it. Naturally, the more established heroes are distrustful, causing Eric to feel alienated, which in turn makes him question his mission.

The comic’s a nice discussion of what it takes to be a superhero. Its answers aren’t exactly groundbreaking, but maybe they’re not meant to be. The book’s got a light, comedic touch that almost touches parody, but the emotions are real enough that – while funny – it never becomes a joke.

And it’s got a great, soap-opera cliffhanger that even an Abyss n00b like me can understand and look forward to seeing played out.

Joe Keatinge

Corto Maltese: La Ballade de la Mer Salee

I’m still catching up from being at the Angouleme Festival de la Bande Dessinee and just recently got a change to check out the wares I picked up. I suppose with these books I’m doing more looking than reading since I can’t read a lick of French, but I don’t really care. They’re all fine looks, so to speak.

Favorites include Casterman’s massive edition of Corto Maltese: La Ballade de la Mer Salee, which came out through NBM many a year ago and is supposedly on its way back in the US from Universe, both under the name The Ballad of Salt Sea. Corto Maltese is one of my favorite comics of all time a, as Bleeding Cool put it, “Tinin for adults.” Great, deep philosophical adventure comics featuring the original comics swashbuckler. Of course, I can’t read this edition, but the sheer size of the book (rivaling DC’s Wednesday Comics hardcover) makes it all worth it. Author Hugo Pratt is a artistic god, even with an earlier work.

The giant hardcover train kept coming with the Soleil edition of Claire Wendling’s Daises, first put out by my favorite comics importer, Stuart Ng Books. If you’re not aware of Wendling’s work, you really owe it to yourself to track it down. Stuart actually has a fair number of her books and sketchbooks in stock. She’s more or less the greatest comics artist and designer most folks probably aren’t aware of. Just ask any legendary artist into her work, including dudes like Mike Mignola, and they’ll most likely tell you every line she puts down makes them envious.

Another Soleil find was Yaxin: Le Faune Gabriel by Dimitri Vey and Man Arenas and again, it’s a gorgeous giant hardcover, this time a fantasy narrative about a young satyr. I think. Like I said before, I can’t read a word of it, but the book’s gorgeous. It’s easily some of the best fantasy illustration I’ve seen since Michael Kaluta, Barry Windsor-Smith, Bernie Wrightson and Jeff Jones formed The Studio.

It was also a good year to be a Jean “Moebius” Giraud fan as I picked up two massive tomes, Moebius Transforme (the 300+ page catalogue for exposition at Paris’ la Foundation Cartier) and Moebius Oeuvres (the 400+ page compilation of pretty much every single comic he did in Heavy Metal’s European predecessor, Metal Hurlant). Giraud is the reason for so much in comics in terms of style, storytelling and, jeeze, pretty much everything. Sadly, with the exception of Humanoids’ recent reprints (we’ll get to those in a sec), his work is largely out of print. If you’re looking for a good overview of his work, these two books will do it for you. If they’re too rich for your blood, I also recommend his recent Arzak Vol. 1: L’Arpenteur from Glenat. It’s an especially amazing book considering the guy is into his seventies and doing the best work of his and just about anyone else’s careers.

Finally on the international front, I want to mention two publications about comics, Signs: International Journal for the History of Early Comics and Sequential Art and Beaux Arts Magazine. Signs is a publication delving into the very early works of comics from an academic standpoint with all subjects more or less from the pre-1930s. Thankfully it’s in English. While he version I have is actually a supplement to the second issue, so it’s much shorter, I found the entire thing completely enthralling. Considering I’ve read comics my whole life and have never seen 90 percent of the works they’re covering it makes their work all the more impressive. Beaux Arts is more of a traditional magazine, with each issue covering a different topic thoroughly, including very in-depth articles and reprints of choice work. I was able to grab two issues, the first about American comics (which covered its entire history, from the earliest days when Gaines was putting out Famous Funnies all to the most contemporary works and included reprints of Amazing Fantasy #15, among others) and the second was about sexuality in comics with a cover feature on Milo Manara and reprints of comics by folks like Happy Sex’s Zep. Unfortunately, it was in French. I still remain impressed.

I’ve also been catching up on the latest American comics either released while I was gone or just after. The stack was pretty massive, but I’ll narrow it down to the following books.

Casanova: Luxuria

Daytripper by Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba, Vertigo and Casanova by Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba and Matt Fraction, Icon: I’ve had an absolute blast rereading Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba’s Daytripper, now that it’s collected in one volume. I’m not sure why, but even though I loved it on its first read, I am loving it more the second time around. I have a feeling it’s going to be a book I read over and over with some regularity. Strangely enough, I’m having the same experience with their Icon published collaboration with writer Matt Fraction, Casanova. The series was a personal favorite when coming out through Image, when I read the single issues multiple times, then the Luxuria hardcover, then the Luxuria trade. Now that it’s been remastered through Icon, I’ve picked up and reread the singles multiple times over and have since done the same with the new Luxuria trade. I’m ecstatically awaiting the third volume. With Casanova once again coming out on regular basis, it may be back to being my most anticipated read of the month.

Cursed Pirate Girl by Jeremy Bastian, Olympian Publishing: Speaking of rereading stuff I’m excited about, I was very stoked to see the collection of Cursed Pirate Girl. I’ve picked up every single issue released, including the zero issue, but I wanted something easier to give out to my non-comics fans. It seems like the perfect book for anyone raised on John R. Neil, Little Nemo in Slumberland or, hell, fantastic stories in general, which is almost everyone on Earth. I think Gerard Way’s pull quote put it best, “[Cursed Pirate Girl] looks like something from 1892, but is totally ahead of its time.” Olympian also continues to impress from a production stand point. The paper, reprint and cover quality is astounding right down to the hand pressed logo. I’m extremely happy to finally put this on the shelf.

Nonplayer by Nate Simpson, Image Comics: I’ve been lucky enough to know cartoonist Nate Simpson during the majority of Nonplayer’s development (previously known as Project Waldo). However, despite seeing his process and almost every page as they’ve been drawn, the moment I sat down and read a print out of the book, I was seriously knocked on my ass like I had never seen a single line before. This dude’s comics debut is ridiculous and puts many a veteran cartoonist to shame. It’s one of those books I don’t want to describe too much, as I’d rather you experience it, but if my word’s not good enough for you know I showed a copy to that Jean “Moebius” Giraud dude during Angouleme and after saying it was “Very cool! Beautiful!” he asked me to keep it. That’s pretty much the greatest comics endorsement of all time.

Savage Dragon #171

Savage Dragon by Erik Larsen, Image Comics: The sales figures on this book often convince me the entire comic book industry is drunk. Not in a jovial drunk way, but like a making-bad-decisions-to-everyone’s-detriment way. I’ll admit a certain level of bias due to the triple threat of once being the book’s promo guy, having a story in an upcoming issue and Erik being a buddy. On the other hand, I’ve been reading every issue as soon as they hit stands since 1992. In fact, the latest storyline is easily the most ballsiest and innovative yet. If everyone I’ve read complain about how boring some superhero comics can be gave this series a shot, it would be a Top Ten book and I think they would be pretty satisfied. I mean, seriously, dude made his 18-year lead character the main villain of the series, then killed him out of nowhere. Where else do you see that happening? Furthermore, by the hand of the character’s creator, who has drawn every. single. issue? Nowhere.

Everything Humanoids Is Doing: Speaking of being confused by the comics’ industry, I don’t get how the new iteration of Humanoids US isn’t getting more positive attention. I’ve been a fan of their material over the years and while I’ve been critical of past incarnations, this one has been a fan’s dream come true. It’s the first time I’ve felt their material was packaged correctly, branded correctly and in the case of the Incal Classic Edition, colored correctly (well, correct colors restored anyway). Yet somehow ‘new to the US’ works such as John Cassady’s complete I Am Legion and Milo Manara’s Pandora’s Eyes as well as classics brought back from the Out-Of-Print grave including Moebius/Jodorwsky joints like Madwoman of the Sacred Heart and the aforementioned Incal Classic Edition seemed to fall under the radar. These folks brought Moebius back in print after an almost 15-year hiatus. How are we not all focusing on this? Seems like that alone should have been publishing event of last year, but it barely seemed to get noticed. I’m having a hard time getting why that is.

Emitown by Emi Lenox: This is pretty much my favorite web comic. Despite the fact its been getting a huge push after the Image Comics compilation, I still wanted to mention it since it’s really hard to make autobio interesting. Yet a new cartoonist like Lenox does so in a fresh, new light. Good times, that Emitown. A very impressive work by a new talent I’m way excited for.

I’ve also been trying to get back to speed with my Not Comics reading, including The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larsson, the second book in the Millennium trilogy just about everybody who digs mystery novels is reading. I really loved Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but I’ll admit to this one dragging a bit for me. However, in its defense I haven’t had as much time as I should to devote to it and will admit it really picks up about halfway through.

Finally, I feel the need to mention I pretty much always have a copy of Empire magazine with me. It’s the only mag I head down to my local newsstand (more often than not one of the downtown Portland Rich’s Cigar Stores) whenever I know it’s out. Comics will always be my first love, but movies is the one thing I don’t have a lot of interest in pursuing creatively and enjoy purely as a fan. Empire is the best movie magazine out there. Not maybe, not sort of, not almost – it completely and utterly is the most fun I have as a fan. The articles and interviews are always unique, in-depth and very well written without getting on the pretentious side. I really wish American comics currently had an equivalent.

“Fun fact! NINE of the TOP TEN graphic novels in 2010 were creator-owned books! Walking Dead, Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim among them.”

–Savage Dragon cartoonist Erik Larsen, speaking the truth. Of course, the flip side of this is that NINE of the TOP TEN graphic novels in 2010 had major Hollywood properties to thank for much of their notoriety, Walking Dead, Kick-Ass, and Scott Pilgrim among them. (The tenth was a Superman book that got over with mass audiences largely on the strength of a fortuitous press comparison to Twilight.) I don’t mean to short-change the success of Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard, Mark Millar, John Romita Jr., and Bryan Lee O’Malley, but proponents of creator ownership and creators’ rights probably ought not break out the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner just yet.

Axel Alonso, by Skottie Young

The news broke yesterday that Axel Alonso will take over as editor-in-chief of Marvel Entertainment, following Joe Quesada’s shift in focus to Marvel’s multimedia initiatives. Here’s a few reactions over the last couple days from various folks around the industry:

Tom Spurgeon: “I don’t know Alonso at all, not even a little bit, but he strikes me as a comics-first guy in a period in comics history where Marvel as a publishing company could use every bit of close attention that comes with having a savvy, comics-first guy in that position. That’s not in any way implied commentary on Joe Quesada, I swear. I’m comparing Alonso to other people that might hold that position in this day and age, not to his predecessor. Quesada’s run would have to be termed a big success. Moreover, he leaves that historical position I believe still generally well-liked and certainly widely admired, which is sort of astonishing given the decisions that job calls for over time.”

Tom Brevoort: “This is Axel’s moment. He shouldn’t have to share the spotlight. He well deserves it.”

Jason Aaron: “My bold prediction: the Axel Alonso era at Marvel will be just as exciting and groundbreaking as the Joe Q one, only with more cursing.”

Dan Slott: “Huge congrats to @axelalonsomarv and @TomBrevoort on their promotions. And world’s biggest THANKS to @JoeQuesada for all of his support! ”

Matt Fraction: “Now DC looks like precognitive geniuses for republishing all that Axel-edited Vertigo work last month.”

Erik Larsen: “So, wait–Marvel is promoting the guy who took the X-Men from being their #1 franchise to being titles with no heat whatsoever? Seriously?”

Newsarama has more reactions from creators, while Bleeding Cool lists five changes the new regime could mean. Also, a blast from the recent past: Alonso celebrated his 10th anniversary with Marvel last September, and the Sept. 24 T&A column on CBR collected responses from pros on the occasion.

Spawn: The Dark Ages #1

In the days following last week’s ruling in the long-running copyright dispute between Todd McFarlane and Neil Gaiman, we heard from Gaiman, countless fans on both sides, and an Image Comics founder. However, we didn’t get comment from McFarlane — that is, until last night.

“Neil Gaiman has the absolute right to defend his position,” he wrote on Twitter. “That’s one of the great privileges we all have in this country.”

That’s it; just two sentences. That’s in stark contrast to Erik Larsen, who has tweeted on the subject more than 50 times since early Monday. His flurry of comments, which were largely critical of Gaiman, drew a few replies from the writer.

“Waves. Hi Erik,” Gaiman tweeted last night. “When Todd comes out of bankruptcy you owe me $40,000. [...] Of course @erikjlarsen is grumpy over me winning again. He ran Image when the 1st round of the case gave me a $40,000 judgment against them. Last time @erikjlarsen blamed the loss not on Todd breaking the law, but on a female jury (& now on a female judge?) http://bit.ly/cbrs8i.”

This morning, Larsen fired back at Gaiman’s initial tweet with, “what did *I* ever do to you? Seriously. What was it that *I* personally did to you which would warrant such a thing?” Minutes later, he added: “How did you ever come up with Spawn on a horse, @neilhimself?”

When one Twitter follower, Brandon Fox, replied, “Dude, a judge, a jury, & the court of public opinion ALL believe @neilhimself deserves a portion of a characters he CO-created,” Larsen answered: “and a jury decided OJ Simpson didn’t kill his wife. What’s your point?”

Spawn: The Dark Ages #12

“The Neil Gaiman thing perplexes me because it seems so unfair. The characters he created were clearly derivative of the ones Todd created. How anybody can look at Medieval Spawn and side with Neil just shows their bias against Todd. It’s Spawn on a horse, for cryin’ out loud! Everything Neil created was derived from Todd’s creations and all of it was designed by Todd. Claiming ownership just seems really unfair. Now Todd is forced to have people sign work-for-hire contracts. It’s sad — but that’s the price we all have to pay.”

– Image Comics partner Erik Larsen, on last week’s ruling that Todd McFarlane
owes Neil Gaiman a share of profits from the derivative characters Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany

Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies

DC had Bizarro Comics, Marvel had Strange Tales, and now Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon has secured an alternative comics-style tribute of his very own. Starting with May’s Issue 160, Savage Dragon will run a series of “Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies” back-up strips by an array of indie cartoonists. The project is spearheaded by Act-I-Vate‘s Michel Fiffe, and the full line-up for the first year or so — including Vito Delsante and Rachel Freire, Hyeondo Park, Andrew Dimitt and more — can be found on the blog of contributor Chris Sinderson.

Fiffe’s press release is below:

Erik Larsen and I are proud to announce “Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies”, a monthly backup feature in the Savage Dragon title showcasing some of today’s rising indy stars and their alternative spin on the Dragonverse.

Erik Larsen’s character sandbox is vast and diverse enough to give way to all sorts of themes and genres. He’s given us a fantastic opportunity to tell compelling stories through his characters.

I’ve gathered some of my favorite new cartoonists to work on their own vision of the Dragon, and I really got a kick out of seeing their unique sensibilities. . Erik gave us complete freedom to express ourselves through these characters and as a result, we produced incredible stories while remaining faithful to the source material. We now have a solid year’s worth of back up stories and some very special guests stopping by soon to create even more Dragon comix!

In the spirit of Marvel’s “Strange Tales” and DC’s “Bizarro Comics”, the off-kilter stories in “Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies” are hilarious, adventurous, sometimes surreal, always highly personalized and gorgeous to look at. These short stories will be enjoyed by longtime Dragon fans, but they’re also great for brand new readers.

From "Image United" #3

On Twitter, Rob Liefeld showed off in-progress panels from Image United #3, featuring art by Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino and himself.

He also posted a panel from Deadpool Corps #1, which will be released by Marvel in April.

James Stokoe's poster for the San Francisco Panorama

Wow, newspaper nostalgia is quite the hot ticket for comics these days, huh?

First there was Kramers Ergot 7, Sammy Harkham and Alvin Buenaventura’s avant-garde anthology, printed at a massive size meant to emulate Winsor McKay’s full-page Little Nemo in Slumberland newspaper strips. Then there was Wednesday Comics, DC’s 12-issue anthology title, published on fold-out newsprint. And now there’s the San Francisco Panorama, a one-time-only “21st-century newspaper prototype” that doubles as the 33rd issue of author/publisher Dave Eggers’ McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern.

Boasting 320 pages of original content, the broadsheet-format Panorama contains full-color comics from Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Dan Clowes, Seth, Jessica Abel, Adrian Tomine, Kim Deitch, Ivan Brunetti, Gene Yang, Alison Bechdel, Erik Larsen (still can’t get over that) and more. It also features prose contributions of varying stripes from such comics-relevant authors as Michael Chabon, Chip Kidd, Stephen King, Junot Díaz and Michelle Tea, and a poster of the 49ers’ Patrick Willis drawn by Wonton Soup‘s James Stokoe. And there’s all the other stuff you’d expect from a newspaper — journalism, sports, features, a magazine, a book section and more. Only, y’know, all fancy-pants.

The New York Times reports that the paper has already sold through the limited run made available for sale on the San Francisco streets yesterday at the low price of $5, but it’s still available (or will be soon, that is) at the full $16 pricetag at bookstores and at the McSweeney’s site. Click here for an extensive preview.

(Times link via Pop Candy.)

Image United #1

Image Comics will be out in full force at the con, with several panels and a huge list of folks who will be signing all weekend — everyone from Mike Allred to Christopher Yost.

The biggest event on their schedule is a special signing event with everyone involved in their upcoming Image United book: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio and Jim Valentino.

Find their full press release and schedules after the jump

PRESS RELEASE – IMAGE COMICS TOTALLY BRINGS IT TO SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2009!

The world’s greatest creator owned comic book publisher announces their full lineup for San Diego Comic Con International 2009!

16 July 2009 (Berkeley, CA) – Image Comics, the world’s greatest creator owned comic book publisher, returns to San Diego with a bigger guest list than ever before and exclusives galore, all available at booth #2729!

In addition to a slate of panels including an unprecedented Image Comics workshop on creating creator owned comics, spotlights on Mike Allred & Robert Kirkman and their annual Image Comics Show featuring the company’s most massive announcements of the year, Image will also feature a very special Image United signing event on Saturday at 10 AM, the only signing featuring all seven members of the crossover’s creative team including Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Rob Liefeld (Youngblood), Todd McFarlane (Haunt), Marc Silvestri (Top Cow Pilot Season 2009), Whilce Portacio (Fortress) and Jim Valentino (ShadowHawk).

Throughout the weekend the Image Island will include booths showcasing Image Central, Todd McFarlane Productions and Shadowline with a pantheon of creators including Mike Allred (Madman Atomic Comics), Glen Brunswick (Jersey Gods), Camilla d’Errico (Sky Pirates of Neo Terra), Greg Epinoza (Pug), Tyrese Gibson (Mayhem!), Kieron Gillen (Phonogram), Rob Guillory (Chew), Phil Hester (Firebreather, Darkness), Greg Horn (The Art of Greg Horn), Jason Howard (The Astounding Wolf-Man), Andy Kuhn (Firebreather), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), John Layman (Chew), Mike Le (Mayhem!), Rob Liefeld (Youngblood), David Mack (Kabuki), Derek McCulloch (Pug, Stagger Lee), Jamie McKelvie (Phonogram, Suburban Glamour), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), the crew behind Image’s Harvey award-winning anthology PopGun, Cliff Rathburn (Invincible, Walking Dead), Jimmie Robinson (Bomb Queen), Tone Rodriguez (Mayhem!), Jon Sommariva (Gemini), Kris Simon (Bruce The Little Blue Spurce), Andy Suriano (Charlatan Ball), Josh Wagner (Sky Pirates of Neo Terra) Will Wilson (Mayhem!) and Jim Valentino (ShadowHawk). In addition, there will also be an exclusive first look at Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman’s long-awaited collaboration, Haunt, available from Todd McFarlane Productions!

There will also be special signing appearances by Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows), Marco Cinello (Soul Kiss), Alex Grecian (Proof), Sonny Liew (Liquid City), Ted McKeever (Transmet, Eddy Current, Metropol), Whilce Portacio (Fortress), Nick Spencer (Existence 2.0), Christian Ward (Olympus), Christopher Yost (Killer of Demons) and Man of Action Studios members Joe Casey (Gødland), Duncan Rouleau (The Great Unknown), Joe Kelly (I Kill Giants) & Steve Seagle (Soul Kiss) with many, many more!

Image will also once again be teaming up with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund for their annual San Diego Comic Con Welcome Party, 7:30 – 11:00 PM at the Westgate Hotel on 1055 Second Avenue. For even more fun stop by Top Cow Productions, Booth #2629, featuring a full lineup presented by the Image Comics’ partner studio run by Marc Silvestri!

Image Comics will be at booth #2729 during Comic Con International at the San Diego Convention Center, July 22nd-26th, 2009.

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Since that time, Image has gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. There are currently five partners in Image Comics (Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into four major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, and Image Central). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor, and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com.

IMAGE COMICS

SAN DIEGO 2009 
SCHEDULE

IMAGE UNITED

SPECIAL SIGNING EVENT

SATURDAY, JULY 25th

10:00 – 11:30 AM

Featuring the entire creative team of the upcoming blockbuster crossover in their only signing together!

Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino

PANELS

Thursday, July 23

4:30-5:30 PM Workshop – Creating Creator Owned Comics The Image Comics Way: Want to bring your own vision to comics? Learn how from the people who do it best! Join Image Founder Jim Valentino (Shadowhawk) with Image luminaries Joe Kelly (I Kill Giants), John Layman (Chew), Jimmie Robinson (Bomb Queen) Steven T. Seagle (Soul Kiss), and Richard Starkings (Elephantmen) for a very special, unprecedented workshop with an insider look at the creative process and tips on perfecting your pitch. This will also include a question and answer session giving you the chance to directly talk to many pros who have made their dreams their reality! Room 7AB

Friday, July 24

10:00-11:00 AM Spotlight on Mike Allred: Comic Con Special Guest Mike Allred (Madman) makes an extremely rare San Diego Comic Con appearance to discuss his entire body of work from Dead Air to Madman, Red Rocket 7 to X-Statix and his recent Image Comics series, Madman Atomic Comics. The discussion will give fans a rare look into Allred’s creative process, including never-before-seen art and a unique chance to pick the brain of one of comics’ most creative minds! Moderated by Stardust the Super Wizard collaborator Joe Keatinge (PopGun) and featuring a number of surprise guests! Room 8

11:30AM – 12:30 PM The Image Comics Show: The world’s greatest creator-owned comics publisher returns to San Diego with a flurry of announcements including an exclusive look including the biggest crossover event of the year, Image United by creators Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead), Todd McFarlane (Spawn), and Rob Liefeld (Youngblood). In addition, Image superstars Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows), Tyrese Gibson (Mayhem) and Ben Templesmith (Fell) will give the first word on many of their upcoming projects. The Image Comics Show will be the first place to get your first sneak peek at Whilce Portacio’s superhero series emerging from Image United, Fortress! Room 5AB

4:00 – 5:00 PM KIRKAMANIA! The Robert Kirkman Panel: Join Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible) for a lively discussion on his many projects and a look forward into the future with more than a few exclusive announcements! All this plus a surprise special guest appearance by Todd McFarlane (Haunt) as super secret free comics will be given away during a very special question and answer session! Room 7AB

SIGNING SCHEDULE

IMAGE UNITED

SPECIAL SIGNING EVENT

SATURDAY, JULY 25th

10:00 – 11:30 AM

Featuring the entire creative team of the upcoming blockbuster crossover in their only signing together!

Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino

Wednesday, July 22nd

6:00 – 9:00 PM: Jim Valentino & Kris Simon (Bruce The Little Blue Spruce) – Shadowline


Thursday, July 23rd

10:00 – 11:00 AM: Jim Valentino & Kris Simon (Bruce the Little Blue Spruce) – Shadowline

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Dave Elliot (Fallout Toy Works, Sharkman) & Steve Pugh (Sharkman) – Table 1

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Steven Grant & Victor Riches (The Safest Place) – Table 2

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Jimmie Robinson (Bomb Queen, Evil & Malice, T. Runt!) – Shadowline

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows) – Table 1

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Kat Cahill (I Hate Gallant Girl, All Girl Comics) – Shadowline

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Sean Lapacek, Ian Keiser & Joseph Weisman (Lillim) – Table 1

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Nat Jones (Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer) – Table 2

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Joshua Williamson & Vinny Navarrete (Dear Dracula, Overlook, Johnny Monster) – Shadowline

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Joe Casey & Andy Suriano (Charlatan Ball) — Table 1

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible) – Table 2

3:00 – 4:30 PM: Sonny Liew (Liquid City) – Table 1

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Alex Grecian (Proof) – Table 2

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Jeff Mariotte (Zombie Cop, Graveslinger) – Shadowline

4:00 – 5:00 PM: Nick Spencer & Kris Simon (Existence 2.0) – Shadowline

4:30 – 5:30 PM: Viktor Kalvachev & Philo Northrup (Pherone) – Table 1

5:00 – 6:00 PM: Joshua Williamson & Vinny Navarrete (Dear Dracula, Overlook, Johnny Monster) – Shadowline

5:30 – 6:30 PM: Kelly Yates (Amber Atoms) – Table 1

6:00 – 7:00 PM – Lisa Chase & S. Struble (Lil Depressed Boy, Existence 2.0) – Shadowline

Friday, July 24th

10:00 – 11:00 AM: Dave Elliot & Steve Pugh (Sharkman) – Table 1

10:00 – 11:00 AM: Alex Grecian (Proof) – Table 2

10:00 – 11:00 AM: Jimmie Robinson (Bomb Queen, Evil & Malice, T. Runt!) – Shadowline

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Viktor Kalvachev & Philo Northrup (Pherone) – Table 1

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Kelly Yates (Amber Atoms) – Table 2

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Mike Dolce & Marcus Perry (Descendant) – Shadowline

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Nat Jones (Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer) – Table 1

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Steven Grant & Victor Riches (The Safest Place) – Table 2

12:30 – 2:00 PM: Nick Spencer (Existence 2.0) – Shadowline

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Todd McFarlane (Spawn) – Table 1

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Joe Kelly (I Kill Giants, Bad Dog) – Table 1

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Ted McKeever (Transit, Metropol, Eddy Current) – Shadowline

2:30 – 4:30 PM: Sonny Liew (Liquid City) – Table 2

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows) – Table 1

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Pander Brothers (Tasty Bullet, Accelerate) – Shadowline

4:00 – 5:00 PM: Sean Lapacek, Ian Keiser & Joseph Weisman (Lillim) – Table 1

4:00 – 5:00 PM: Jimmie Robinson & Derek McCulloch (T. Runt!) – Shadowline

5:00 – 6:00 PM: Christian Ward (Olympus) – Table 1

5:00 – 6:00 PM: Gabriel Hardman & Corrina Bechko (Heathentown) – Shadowline

6:00 – 7:00 PM: KIRKAMANIA!: Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jason Howard (Astounding Wolf-Man), Cliff Rathburn (The Walking Dead), Cory Walker (Invincible) – Table 1

6:00 – 7:00 PM: Joshua Williamson & Vinny Navarrete (Dear Dracula) – Shadowline

Saturday, July 25th

10:00 – 11:30 AM: Image United Special Event: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri & Jim Valentino

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Kat Cahill (I Hate Gallant Girl)

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Nat Jones (Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer) – Table 1

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Kelly Yates (Amber Atoms) – Table 2

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Jimmie Robinson (Bomb Queen, Evil & Malice, T. Runt!) – Shadowline

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Chris Yost (Killer of Demons) – Table 1

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Christian Ward (Olympus) – Table 2

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Nick Spencer (Existence 2.0), Mike Dolce & Marcus Perry (Descendant) – Shadowline

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Steven T. Seagle & Marco Cinello (Soul Kiss) – Table 1

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Josh Williamson & Vinny Navarrete (Dear Dracula) – Shadowline

2:30 – 4:30 PM: Sonny Liew (Liquid City) – Table 2

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Justin & Bethany Shady (The Roberts, Missing the Boat, Lava is a Floor, I Beg Your Pardon) – Shadowline

3:30 – 5:00 PM: Todd McFarlane, Ryan Ottley, Robert Kirkman (Haunt) – Table 1

4:00 – 5:00 PM: Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Bechko (Heathentown) – Shadowline

5:00 – 6:00 PM: Alex Grecian (Proof) – Table 1

5:00 – 6:00 PM: Steven Grant & Victor Riches (The Safest Place) – Table 2

6:00 – 7:00 PM: Viktor Kalvachev & Philo Northrup (Pherone) – Table 1

6:00 – 7:00 PM: Jim Valentino & Kris Simon (Bruce the Little Blue Spruce) – Shadowline

Sunday, July 26th

10:00 – 11:00 AM: Jeff Mariotte (Zombie Cop, Graveslinger) – Shadowline

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Kelly Yates (Amber Atoms) – Table 1

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Justin Shady (The Roberts, Missing the Boat, Lava is a Floor, I Beg Your Pardon) – Shadowline

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Mike Dolce & Marcus Perry (Descendant) – Shadowline

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Steven Grant & Victor Riches (The Safest Place) – Table 1

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Josh Williamson & Vinny Navarrete (Dear Dracula) – Shadowline

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Duncan Rouleau (The Great Unknown) – Table 1

2:00 – 3:00 PM: Nick Spencer (Existence 2.0) – Shadowline

2:30 – 4:30 PM: Sonny Liew (Liquid City) – Table 2

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Christian Ward (Olympus) – Table 1

3:00 – 4:00 PM: Derek McCulloch & Jimmie Robinson (T. Runt!) – Shadowline

4:00 – 5:00 PM: Jim Valentino & Kris Simon (Bruce the Little Blue Spruce) – Shadowline

Savage Dragon #137

The back and forth continues about the appearance of Barack Obama in this week’s Amazing Spider-Man #583, which sports an alternate cover featuring the president-elect.

But this particular thread involves Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen and Amazing Spider-Man editor Steve Wacker.

It began last week when Larsen posted on a message board that he feels “very betrayed” by Marvel because, in his eyes, the publisher duplicated elements from Savage Dragon #137 — namely, the incentive cover and the use of the “terrorist fist jab” — and used as a story element a shape-shifting villain masquerading as the president, which he’d done previously in an issue of his long-running series.

Then yesterday, Wacker responded with an email to Robot 6 countering Larsen’s assertions: “The idea that this was off-limits because the President-Elect had appeared on another comic cover (or that we wouldn’t have had this idea without Erik Larsen) is beyond preposterous.”

And now Larsen has fired back:

So — lemme get this straight — Steve Wacker from Marvel goes to CBR to say that Marvel never looks at CBR? How does that make sense in any reality? Of course Marvel was aware of the Dragon/Obama cover –  Quesada is very aware of Savage Dragon. Hell, he hired my creative team to work on Ash — he drew a pinup in my book — he drew a trading card with Dragon and me on it — he even had fan mail printed in my letters page.

I hear from Marvel employees all the time in regard to Savage Dragon. To deny that anybody at Marvel saw or heard about the Obama alternate cover on Savage Dragon is ridiculous. It was all over CBR and Newsarama and all over the web. Yes — presidents have appeared on the covers of Marvel comics before but never on an incentive cover and never as a publicity stunt. Typically, the appearance of a president on a cover doesn’t have any sales effect, positive or negative, so there’s do such a thing.

Obama is different. Obama is history in our life times. He’s Jackie Robinson. It makes sense for Marvel to do this. They could see how Obama’s appearance resulted in three printings of Savage Dragon and they could anticipate that an appearance on Spider-Man might bring them a lot of attention. It was a good move on their part and I don’t deny that. But — come on — would a simple acknowledgement that I did it first be so hard? And don’t you think that scooting it in under the wire in order to put a lie to the publicity I’d already received for having Obama’s first appearance as President in a comic book just a little bit underhanded?

Coincidences do happen. Four years ago, I did a story where an appearance-altering villain disguised himself as the president. If Steve Wacker didn’t read that it’s not inconceivable to me that he concocted a similar idea on his own. Stories of Presidents being replaced with evil duplicates or even robots aren’t unheard of — but don’t  insult my intelligence by claiming that Marvel never looks at Diamond’s Previews or CBR or Newsarama.

– Erik Larsen
Savage Dragon perpetrator
www.savagedragon.com
www.imagecomics.com

Amazing Spider-Man #583 (Obama variant cover)

Earlier this week I blogged about Erik Larsen’s comments on Amazing Spider-Man #583 and Savage Dragon #137 that appeared on the ComiCon.com message boards. If you haven’t seen those comments, go read them first before you read this post, as it’ll make more sense that way.

Everybody up to speed? Good. Here’s Spider-Man editor Steve Wacker, who sent us an email responding to Larsen:

I’ve been watching for a couple days as a guy I’ve never met swings away at perceived phantoms, accusing myself and his fellow creators or ridiculous “betrayals” due to our story in ASM #583. I’d say this was a grasping at straws, but that assumes there are some straws around. So here’s some info:

I don’t know Erik Larsen from Adam (admittedly I stole that turn of phrase!) and I don’t follow the news surrounding Savage Dragon at all. However, I know this isn’t the first time he’s insulted writers that work for me under the guise of criticizing Marvel. I’m also aware he and many people around him aren’t happy with Spider-Man comics and that he’s written long and hard on the topic, but that doesn’t excuse him from blatantly accusing anyone of plagiarism… particularly based on such flimsy “evidence.”

Reading Erik’s statement, he wisely (if you want to cut off all logical arguments) proclaims that the actual truth of the matter — that Marvel has a history of showing presidents in our books — is a “false argument,” but I’m going to ignore him and make the point anyway because, well, ignoring that fact is as silly as his pretend outrage.

Marvel DOES regularly show politicians and we have for years. That’s the whole point. In fact, Marvel has spent the past year putting a fake presidential candidate in most of our books. The idea that we’d follow that up by putting a Spidey-fan-made-good on our cover can’t really come as a huge surprise to anyone smart enough to be a publisher.

The Spidey Obama short was just a goofy story to celebrate something interesting happening and no one is trying to claim it was anything else. Eric’s proposal that we only did this to get attention on Spidey is practically message board-ian it’s insightfulness. As a young Steve Wacker would say, “DUH!” or even “DOY!”

I’ve never in my life read Savage Dragon (which isn’t meant as a knock since people obviously enjoy it) and certainly no plot or cover ideas were stolen from it, unless Erik created the idea of the imposter/doppelganger story which made me laugh just to type it.

Hell, the whole idea of someone posing as a public figure idea is a clichéd trope at this point (Sorry, Zeb), but it fit exactly what we were trying to do with the quick 5-pager with a one week turnaround. No one involved thought we had discovered a never-before-climbed branch of the story tree (which apparently Erik thinks he may have done a couple years back when he apparently had the president replaced in his book.)

And Eric’s notion we stole the idea of the fist bump from him is also absurd. We actually stole it from reality. Like he did. Duh!

Onto another accusation of Erik’s, the decision to put the president on the cover was made because:

#1 – As I mentioned, we recently had some success putting another public figure — who was running for President in the Marvel U — on a variant cover. So I didn’t have to travel too far to think of this one.

And #2 – (and don’t miss this one because it’s an important point, so don’t start typing yet): The president actually used to read Spider-Man! He even quoted Spider-Man in the letter to his daughters released earlier in the week. Believe me, if McCain had declared himself a Spidey fan, I’d have been all over it. (You know that well-known Batman fan Sen. Patrick Leahy was in the newest Batman movie, right? I hope Leahy wasn’t featured in Savage Dragon first! Yikes.)

The idea that this was off-limits because the President-Elect had appeared on another comic cover (or that we wouldn’t have had this idea without Erik Larsen) is beyond preposterous. I suspect this is more of an overall “Marvel would be better if I were in charge!” bone to pick that Erik seems to carry around — which, if you get me on the right day, I completely share. But that bone doesn’t mean that anyone at Marvel’s “betraying” him as Erik dramatically puts it.

I’m a company stooge, so I don’t expect Erik’s going to care too much about what I think, but at the very least the writers and artists who are busy not stealing from him don’t deserve his mewling accusations.

-Wacker
Congrats for the controversy, Robot 6!