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Comics A.M. | Todd McFarlane Productions emerges from bankruptcy
Todd McFarlane
Legal | Todd McFarlane Productions has emerged from bankruptcy after more than seven years, having paid more than $2.2 million to creditors, according to court documents dug up by Daniel Best. Of that, $1.1 million was part of McFarlane’s settlement with Neil Gaiman, which brought to a close the decade-long legal battle over the rights to Medieval Spawn, the heavenly warrior Angela and other characters (it’s unknown how much of that disbursement was eaten up by legal fees and how much actually went to Gaiman; the writer has publicly stated he gives money won in the proceedings to charity). Todd McFarlane Productions filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2004 following the $15 million court award to former NHL player Tony Twist, who sued over the use of his name in Spawn for the mob enforcer Antonio “Tony Twist” Twistelli. McFarlane and Twist settled in 2007 for $5 million. [20th Century Danny Boy]
- May 2, 2012 @ 07:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Powers fan film gives us what FX hasn’t (yet)
It may be some time before we see an adaptation of Powers on FX, where the pilot reportedly remains in limbo until executives can decide whether to move ahead with reshoots. However, don’t have to await their verdict to see the comic by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming in live-action form, thanks to the “Who Kill Retro Girl?” fan film by director Michelle Massey and cinematographer Adam Goral, which stars Brian Bedell as Christian Walker and Madeline Blue as Deena Pilgrim. Who needs Jason Patric and Lucy Punch?
- May 1, 2012 @ 01:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
This guy loves Batman more than you do (just look at that Bat-Stache!)
No matter how many thousands of Batman comics you boast to everyone — and I mean everyone; enough already — that you have in your collection, you’ll never be a more devoted fan of the Caped Crusader than Reddit contributor Captain_Auburn_Beard, who has made his dream a reality … by shaving his Van Dyke into the shape of the Bat-emblem. (Never mind that the Van Dyke is more closely associated with Green Arrow). Just don’t ask him to show you his Robin logo.
(via Gawker)
- April 30, 2012 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Conflicted about The Avengers? Here’s your solution
Many comics fans are struggling right now to find a workable position to take on the issue of creators’ rights. On one end of the spectrum are folks who have no problem boycotting everything Marvel and DC Comics do until past and present creators are treated fairly. On the other end are those who simply don’t give a crap and are all for corporations doing whatever they’re legally entitled to. Somewhere in between though are those of us who are torn between wanting to see creators treated fairly and being really super-excited to watch The Avengers. What are we to do about that?
My insistence on seeing a film seems really freaking petty when Chris Roberson is willing to give up work over these issues, but at the end of the day, I know I’m gonna go see that damned movie. My not seeing it won’t make a bit of difference to Jack Kirby’s family — and besides, what did Robert Downey Jr. ever do to me, anyway? And yet … Chris Roberson.
Fortunately, Jon Morris has an awesome solution. “So how about this?” he writes. “You’re probably going to go see The Avengers and, judging by the early reviews, you’ll probably enjoy it. How about — as a thank you to the creators who brought you these characters in the first place, who gave you something to enjoy so much — you match your ticket price as a donation to The Hero Initiative?”
Morris is a genius, and we should do what he says. I know I will, and not just my ticket price, but that of my wife and son, who are big fans of the Marvel movies. If you can afford to, maybe consider doubling your ticket price for a donation, just to cover someone else who doesn’t know about the creators’ rights issue or hasn’t heard of The Hero Initiative. The point is, if you care about creator rights, but don’t think that boycotting is the answer for you, donating however much you’re comfortable with to the support of those creators is an excellent idea.
- April 30, 2012 @ 09:00 AM by Michael May
Comics A.M. | Thousands turned away from Calgary comic expo
Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo
Conventions | Thousands of fans were locked out of the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo after the local fire marshal declared that the building had reached capacity. The big draw was not actually comics but a reunion of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. [Calgary Herald]
Awards | The Thrill Electric, an online comic created by Leah Moore and John Reppion, Emma Vieceli, Windflower Studio and LittleLoud for the U.K.’s Channel 4, has been nominated for best website in the 2012 Broadcast Digital Awards. [Broadcast]
Creators | Jay Faerber talks about his early ambitions, his current comic Near Death, and what is so special about being published by Image: “The thing about Image is you have absolute creative freedom. Once Near Death was approved, I just wrote it. There were no notes from Eric or anyone else at Image telling me what they think I should do, which is awesome. But it can also be a burden, because if a book sucks, I can’t say, ‘Well, if I had been able to do it my way…’ – because I did do it my way. So working at Image has made me become my own editor. The buck stops here, you know?” [Broken Frontier]
- April 30, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Chain Reactions | AvX Vs. #1
AvX: Vs. #1
The very first trip my dad ever made to a comic book store–and, in fact, it may have even been the only time he ever took us to a comic shop as kids, as that duty usually fell to my mom–was one Saturday afternoon when John Byrne was appearing at Lone Star Comics in Dallas. The store was fairly crowded, as Byrne was a big draw at the time, and I remember there was a long line snaking through the store. Anyway, we stood in line behind two guys discussing comics–or as my dad put it, “Two grown men arguing over whether the Hulk could ever get mad enough to break through Dr. Doom’s force field.”
We ended up leaving without ever having met Byrne, as my dad grew impatient and didn’t like the answer given to him by the clerk. “He’s too busy drawing sketches to sign comics,” he said as we left the store. In reality, we were probably only in the store and the line for a very short time, and I’m sure my dad’s interpretation of my brother’s request to get some of his Fantastic Four issues signed by the creator was that it would be quick 10-minute trip, with us running in to get an autograph and then running back out and getting on with the day.
- April 28, 2012 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Welcome to Comic Book City, USA
Greensboro, North Carolina, has a handful of nicknames: The Boro, Tournament Town, Gate City. Now, thanks to the efforts of Acme Comics, you can add one more to the list — Comic Book City USA.
WFMY News reports that supporters dressed as Captain America, Green Lantern and Spider-Man attended last night’s City Council meeting, where a resolution was unanimously approved declaring that Greensboro be known as Comic Book City USA the first Saturday of May each year in recognition of Free Comic Book Day.
“Now that it has passed, I expect us to be right up there with Portland and New York and San Diego as far as the importance to the community,” said Stephen Mayer, assistant manager of Acme Comics, which filed the resolution last month. “It’s amazing. It’s never been done in this way before. It’s never been adopted on so wide a scale, and it can only happen in Greensboro.”
- April 17, 2012 @ 09:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
C2E2 | From Detroit to Chicago, and back again
[Editor's note: Doug Zawisza, who regularly writes reviews for Comic Book Resources, joins us for a look at his one-day con experience at C2E2 this past Friday.]
The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo opened its doors for the 2012 edition at 1:00 in the afternoon on Friday the 13th. I decided to tempt fate, spit in the eye of superstition and join a trio of friends from my local comic shop to make the four-hour trek between Detroit and Chicago, take in the sights to see at C2E2 and return home, all in one day. That’s right: I was silly enough to think a whirlwind visit to Chicago would be a good idea.
We hit the road around eight o’clock and with a pair of stops on the way to coincide with the wonderfully easy traffic all the way into the great state of Illinois, we made it to McCormick place by 11:15 Chicago time. Coming in from the south side of the convention center, we mingled with Chicago White Sox traffic (oddly enough, the Detroit Tigers were in town to play the Sox) and managed to find parking at McCormick after driving through the shipping area of the parking facility.
- April 15, 2012 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Quote the day | ‘We’re … creating some of the best comics in history’
“The numbers don’t lie: More people are reading Image comics every single week, and those numbers are going to increase, whether they get them from your stores or from someplace else, because no offense to everyone who made the last 20 years so vital and creative, but right now, we’re blasting headlong into the future and creating some of the best comics in history.
See – in the past, when everyone claimed the sky was falling, it was because we were losing readers in droves – and worse, we were losing stores – because our numbers had been inflated by speculation. But the reason the sky isn’t falling now – the reason we’re actually skyrocketing – is because there are readers – real readers, the kind of customers we all want – in abundance. It’s our job – yours, mine, and the creators we publish – to capture their attention and give them the kind of experience they’ll come back for again and again.”
– Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson, in his speech at the Diamond Retailer Summit at C2E2
- April 13, 2012 @ 11:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Aquaman hero’s introduction, death sparks open letter to Geoff Johns
Kahina the Seer, from Aquaman #7
DC Comics’ Aquaman #7 marked the New 52 debut of archenemy Black Manta and the introduction of “the Others,” a super-powered team from the king of Atlantis’ past whose ranks included Kahina the Seer, a native of Tehran gifted with prophetic powers. Unfortunately for Kahina, however, her first appearance was also (presumably) her last, as she’s hunted down and killed by the helmeted villain in the issue’s opening sequence.
It’s a turn of events that didn’t sit well with comics writer, and fan, Dara Naraghi (Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland, Ghostbusters: Tainted Love), who’s posted an open letter to Aquaman writer Geoff Johns, reworked from a similar one he sent to Editor Pat McCallum, detailing his “extreme disappointment” as an Iranian-American reader in seeing an Iranian character killed off only eight pages after her introduction.
- April 11, 2012 @ 01:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Comic-Con ‘getting a handle on’ badge process
Comic-Con International
Conventions | Comic-Con International spokesman David Glanzer addresses problems with the badge-buying process: “After the two aborted events last year, we learned that each person had a multitude of browsers open. That’s going to create a bottleneck no matter what you do. Were there issues? Are we trying to work on them? Yes, we are. I think people’s anger is understandable, when all they’re trying to do is pay someone for a badge to attend an event and they can’t do that. We do test after test, and lo and behold something will happen. But (selling out in) an hour 20 minutes shows us we’re getting a handle on it.” [U-T San Diego]
Comic strips | Darren Bell talks about having Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager who was killed by a neighborhood watch member, appear in his comic strip Candorville: ” I decided to incorporate him into Candorville as soon as I saw one of my Facebook ‘friends’ post a photo of Trayvon [that turned out to not be this Trayvon], flipping off his webcam. Even if that had been the real Trayvon Martin, it wouldn’t have mattered. … What this told me was people were starting to dehumanize Trayvon, so they could rationalize what happened and insulate their own belief about ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws, about race, about concealed carry laws, etc., from any fallout.” [Comic Riffs]
- April 5, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Bar Harbor Batman arrested over April Fool’s joke gone wrong
Bar Harbor Batman
If you’re one of those men who just wants to watch the world burn, it’s probably better if you don’t post about it on Facebook.
Maine’s Bangor Daily News reports that 35-year-old Christopher Schwartz, the self-styled Bar Harbor Batman — “A Beacon of light in a bleak and otherwise dismal world” — was arrested Sunday after posting a Joker-esque April Fool’s prank demanding “payment of 1 million Dollars or I will Blow up the Hospital. Once the funds are secured, Private Message me for Further Instruction.”
Although Schwartz reportedly tried to explain to police that the post was a joke, he was taken to Hancock County Jail on a charge of terrorizing, and later released on $1,000 bail. It seems Wayne Manor is located uncomfortably close to Mount Desert Island Hospital, leading the Bar Harbor Police Department to take the post seriously.
- April 2, 2012 @ 01:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
This weekend, it’s Planet Comicon
The 13th annual Planet Comicon, billed as the biggest one ever, kicks off Saturday morning in Overland Park, Kansas, bringing more than 150 comics creators to the Overland Park International Trade Center.
“This is the biggest and best Planet Comicon ever,” promoter Christopher Jackson tells The Kansas City Star. “We’ve got the most celebrities, the largest array of creators and a large exhibitor area filled with collectibles for sale. There will be stage presentations throughout the day featuring the celebrities, artists, writers, illustrators and more.”
The comics lineup includes Jason Aaron, Jeremy Bastian, Cullen Bunn, Blair Butler, Gary Friedrich, Michael Golden, Jeremy Haun, Phil Hester, Brian Hurtt, Dave Johnson, Joe Kelly, Jason Latour, John Layman, Mike McKone, Kevin Mellon, B. Clay Moore, Mike Norton, Phil Noto, Dan Parent, Rick Remender, Duncan Rouleau, Tim Sale, Steven T. Seagle, Cat Staggs, Joe Staton, Arthur Suydam, Ben Templesmith, Bernie Wrightson and Skottie Young.
The Star also has a profile of Butler, who has Kansas City roots.
- March 23, 2012 @ 08:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Quote of the day #2 | Alan Moore on fans who buy Before Watchmen
“I have to say that if you are a reader that just wanted your favorite characters on tap forever, and never cared about the creators, then actually you’re probably not the kind of reader that I was looking for. I have a huge respect for my audience. On the occasions when I meet them, they seem, I like to think, to be intelligent and scrupulous people. If people do want to go out and buy these Watchmen prequels, they would be doing me an enormous favor if they would just stop buying my other books. When I think of my audience, I like to have good thoughts and think about how lucky I am to have one that is as intelligent as mine and as moral as mine. [...] The kind of readers who are prepared to turn a blind eye when the people who create their favorite reading material, their favorite characters, are marginalized or put to the wall — that’s not the kind of readers I want. So, even if it means a huge drop in sales upon my other work, I would prefer it that way. I mean, there’s no way I can police this, of course. But, I would hope that you wouldn’t want to buy a book knowing that its author actually had complete contempt for you. So, I’m hoping that will be enough.”
– From an interview with Alan Moore by Kurt Amacker, published by Seraphemera Books. The lengthy interview covers the Before Watchmen prequels, the roots of his legendary dispute with DC Comics, his severed ties with former collaborators Dave Gibbons and David Lloyd, public domain characters and so much more
- March 13, 2012 @ 02:00 PM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Matt Bors receives Herblock Award; SPACE winners announced
Matt Bors comic
Awards | Matt Bors is the 2012 winner of the Herblock Award, and the first alternative political cartoonist to do so, according to the Herb Block Foundation. The award includes a $15,000 prize — and that’s $15,000 after taxes, which is mighty thoughtful of them. “The prize money is extremely generous and important, as it is more than I’ve ever made in a year from my editorial cartoons,” said Bors, who plans to use it to upgrade his website. The finalist for the prize is Jen Sorensen, creator of Slowpoke and also an alternative cartoonist; she gets a $5,000 prize. [Comic Riffs]
Awards | The Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo, or SPACE, has announced the winners of its annual awards, which will be presented April 21 at the convention in Columbus, Ohio. Winners include Diabetes Funnies by Colin Upton, Sing, Sing by Paul Zdepski, and Spoilers by Kevin Czapiewski. [SPACE]
- March 13, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin