mark millar
Quote of the day | Mark Millar on the Green Lantern movie
Green Lantern
“I hereby declare Green Lantern the worst superhero movie ever made. And yes I count The Phantom and The Shadow as superhero movies. Green Lantern was the cheapest-looking 300 million dollar movie I’ve ever seen. Why didn’t they give that money (to) Africa? It had a couple of good moments, all coming from Mark Strong. But oh man. It was just such an ODD movie. Like it travelled here from a parallel universe where they made a Green Lantern movie in 1995. But it was only eight quid and thus worth it. And I know I’ll go and see it again 
”
–Comics writer Mark Millar, reviewing in a few quick tweets this weekend’s big movie release, Green Lantern. Millar’s not the only one who found the movie lacking, as witnessed on review aggregation sites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. The less-than-stellar reviews, combined with what looks to be a very nice weekend in my neck of the woods, will likely keep me out of the movie theater, but I believe our own Tom Bondurant will have a review.
- June 17, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by JK Parkin
Kapow! Comic Con takes aim at Guinness World Records
Superior #1
If the growing guest list isn’t enough to draw fans and media to the inaugural Kapow! Comic Con, Mark Millar & Co. are raising the stakes by setting their sights on two Guinness World Records that most probably didn’t know existed.
Millar and collaborator Leinil Yu have given permission for their Superior character to be used at the convention to help secure the records for Fastest Production of a Comic Book and Most Contributors to a Comic Book.
To do so, such attending creators as Paul Cornell, Andy Diggle, Dave Gibbons, Jock, Frank Quitely and John Romita Jr. will lend their time on April 9 to create a 20-page standalone comic. For the Fastest Production record, the entire issue — from concept to script to art to lettering — must be completed between 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. A Guinness World Records official will be on-hand to certify the requirements have been met.
The finished product will be printed and distributed through Marvel’s Icon imprint, with all royalties going to Yorkhill Children’s Foundation, which provides enhanced medical equipment and resources for sick children and babies treated by Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow.
- March 18, 2011 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comic Strips to Comic Flicks: Mark Millar movies they haven’t made (yet)
In recent years, we’ve seen a boatload of comic books and graphic novels make their way to the silver screen, from “big two” stalwarts like Spider-Man and Batman to independent titles like Scott Pilgrim and 30 Days Of Night. Among the various adaptations, though, some creators have emerged as magnets for Hollywood types — one creator who seems to love it more than anyone else is Mark Millar.
After bouncing around the UK comics scene and later DC, Mark Millar made a name for himself for his big-picture epics on The Authority and The Ultimates. Working with artists like Frank Quitely and Bryan Hitch, Millar borrowed some of the wide-screen cinema techniques of film to display comic stories in a new light. From very early on, movie-makers have been cribbing notes from his comics; X-Men: The Last Stand screenwriter Zak Penn said Millar’s work was influencing his own. He was even brought in to act as an informal brain trust to give advice to Jon Favreau during the production of the first Iron Man film.
After seeing glimpses and glimmers of Millar’s influence on company-owned comics-turned-films, it was when Hollywood took notice of his creator-owned work that his bibliography became catnip for movie producers. After back-to-back successes with feature film adaptations of his comics Wanted and Kick-Ass, virtually every creator-owned comic from Mark Millar comes with the question, “How soon will there be a movie announcement?” This attention from movie producers has even led Millar to begin filming his own original movie, which is currently underway.
The question today is this: Of the creator-owned work Mark Millar’s done that haven’t become films yet, which should, and how should they look?
- February 7, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Quote of the day | Mark Millar on digital comics
Mark Millar
Okay, I’m loving the fact that Millarworld books account for 8 of the top 10 downloads in 2010. That’s cool, but what superficially looks like a great deal for creators is less so under a little scrutiny. Yes, you’re eliminating paper, printing, comic store and distributor costs, but there’s hidden costs here I haven’t seen highlighted anywhere.
1/ Apple take 30% right off the bat.
2/ In the case of Wanted, Comixology then splits 50/50 with the publisher.
3/ Then the publisher pays the agent and creative team out of the remaining cash depending on their deal.In hard numbers, the digital comic is normally half the price of the paper comic, but you have just as many percentages to pay out as a creative team to an electronic distributor and publisher. So effectively the creative team is getting half as much money. For creators, this isn’t great and for comic stores this is awful. I don’t mind paying thirty percent to a local store where my friends work and the guys care about the product. But do I want this money going to Apple?
–Kick-Ass and Wanted co-creator Mark Millar, commenting on the fact that issues of both titles made up the bulk of the top ten paid comics list for the Comics by comiXology application. Perhaps more disturbing, though, was something else he noted — “… I checked several sources last night and nobody could tell me what my download numbers were for these supposed record-breaking numbers of mine.”
Also, someone should send him the link to The Not .99 Method that Warren Ellis highlighted yesterday.
- January 14, 2011 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
Quote of the day | 2010′s bestsellers and half-full glasses
“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.
- January 10, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | Comic Relief’s closing ‘imminent’; the year in digital comics
Comic Relief
Retailing | Berkeley, Calif., institution Comic Relief, opened in 1987 by the late Rory Root, “faces imminent closure” as it reportedly hemorrhages customers and grapples with cash-flow problems that led to the temporary loss of its account with Diamond Comic Distributors. According to an article in the East Bay Express, the store could be purchased by one of Root’s relatives, who would revive the name and retain the staff. Or it could be closed and reopen in another location in January.
However, Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson argues that rescue by Root’s family is unlikely, as they already own Comic Relief: “A seemingly never-ending series of colossal blunders by Rory’s family have put the store on life support, and now the store is a shell of what it once was. Comic Relief hasn’t received new product in weeks. For anyone even the least bit familiar with the business of selling comics, it should be vodka clear: No new books means no business. No business means no store. And far from being some sort of solution to the store’s troubles, the Roots are actually the cause. They took the store over against Rory’s wishes and have run it into the ground with such force, you’d think they were blasting for oil.” [East Bay Express]
- December 17, 2010 @ 08:24 AM by Kevin Melrose
Mark Millar launches Kapow Comic Con in London
Mark Millar, from the Kapow trailer
Pledging to bring “San Diego Comic-Con to these shores,” Mark Millar this morning announced he’ll launch Kapow Comic Con on April 9-10 in London.
“The idea behind Kapow! is to bring the San Diego experience to Central London,” Millar tells Empire. “All the studios have a massive presence here in the UK, dozens of the world’s biggest comic creators are here and most of the comic-book movie adaptations are being filmed just up the road.”
Held at the London Business Design Centre, the premiere event will feature such creators as Brian Bolland, Olivier Coipel, Paul Cornell, Andy Diggle, Steve Dillon, Dave Gibbons, Bryan Hitch, Jock, Brendan McCarthy, John McCrea, Kevin O’Neill, Frank Quitely, John Romita Jr. and Leinil Francis Yu. The schedule is expected to be announced in February.
The convention also will feature the debut of the Stan Lee Awards, honoring “the cream of comic book talent for all their creativity and imagination.” Categories include best writer, best artist, best publisher, best TV show, best game or toy, and man or woman of the year.
Tickets can be purchased now through the convention website. You can watch the trailer, featuring Millar, Gibbons, Quitely and Yu, after the break.
- November 29, 2010 @ 06:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Mark Millar & Terry Dodson’s controversial Trouble to be collected in 2011?
Here’s a great catch by blogger Corey Blake and a great “is this real life?” moment for the rest of us: An Amazon listing for a hardcover collection of the 2003 miniseries Trouble by Mark Millar and Terry Dodson, slated for release on June 8, 2011.
For those of you who don’t recall those heady days, Trouble was part of the short-lived, Bill Jemas-shepherded revival of Marvel’s Epic imprint and an attempt to create the first hit romance comic in god knows how long. (I know, nothing says “romance comic” like Wanted, Kick-Ass, Nemesis, and Superior writer Mark Millar, but this was the same Nu-Marvel era that gave us Bendis/Maleev Daredevil, Milligan/Allred X-Statix, Millar/Hitch Ultimates, Morrison/Quitely New X-Men and so on, so cut ‘em some slack.)
Quite aside from whether the book was or wasn’t a good read, Trouble caused trouble for two reasons. First, it was basically a mildly randy sex dramedy about the teen years of Aunt May, Uncle Ben, and Peter Parker’s parents Mary and Richard…and it revealed that Peter was secretly May’s son through a hushed-up teen pregnancy. (I think — I’ve never been able to figure out how the very elderly May Parker made sense as the aunt for teenage Peter Parker, and having her be a teen herself at the time of his conception only confused me further.) At the time, Millar stated that this would be Spider-Man’s new origin if the book went over well. It didn’t, so the book never made it into official continuity.
- November 18, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Uncanny X-Force #1
Publishing | No comic cracked the 100,000-copy mark in the direct market in October, with the top title, Marvel’s Uncanny X-Force #1, selling an estimated 96,500 copies. Diamond’s graphic novel chart was led by DC Comics’ Superman: Earth One hardcover, which sold more than 16,000 copies. Retail news and analysis site ICv2.com notes that was the best number for a graphic novel since new volumes of Scott Pilgrim and The Walking Dead shipped in July. The website also pursues John Jackson Miller’s recent analysis of comics that don’t make it into Diamond’s Top 300, concluding: “Sales below the Top 300 may be growing in importance, but when we look at a fairly long period (10 months) either they aren’t big enough in the aggregate to make much difference, or their sales are changing at about the same rate as the Top 300’s. If anything, looking at year to date numbers, sales on titles below the Top 300 are shrinking faster than sales in the Top 300, at least in periodical comics.”
Meanwhile, Miller sifts through data made available by Diamond to determine that comics sales are 69.6 percent of the total market. [ICv2.com, The Comichron]
Conventions | Wizard Entertainment has announced its acquisition of Central Canada Comic Con in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Johanna Draper Carlson also picks up on rumors that the company is adding Mid-Ohio-Con to its growing stable. [press release, Comics Worth Reading]
- November 9, 2010 @ 08:36 AM by Kevin Melrose
Millar, Yu tease Nemesis/Superior/Kick-Ass crossover
Nemesis, Superior and Kick Ass
Over on his message boards, writer Mark Millar teases a crossover between three of his creator-owned properties — Kick-Ass, Superior and Nemesis — with some art by Leinil Francis Yu.
“Leinil’s just finished some layouts here, but it’s a nice teaser for everyone,” he said about the art. “The picture really says it all: Nemesis, Superior, Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass. The first Millarworld crossover event.”
No other details were given in terms of what this is or where it might appear, but his Clint Magazine might be a likely venue.
Update: It’s three covers.
- October 25, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by JK Parkin
Millar auctions off ‘title role’ in Superior for charity
Wizard #228 (Secret Jam Cover)
Like he’s done previously with characters in Kick-Ass and Nemesis, writer Mark Millar is once again auctioning off the opportunity to name one of his characters. This time around Millar is offering the naming rights to the young boy who transforms into Superior, star of the upcoming comic of the same name by Millar and artist Leinil Francis Yu.
The auction will once again benefit a special needs unit in a school where his brother, Dr. Bobby Millar, has been raising money for a new mini-bus.
“It’s amazing how much the Nemesis one made compared to the Kick-Ass one,” MIllar said on his forums. “We made about sixteen hundred bucks on the Dave Lizewski name (which went towards the school itself), but a whopping $17,000 (£10,000) for Nemesis and the first steps towards their mini-bus a few months back. This plus some private donations means they now have £10,000 left to get what they want: Not too shabby considering they only started raising this dough after Easter this year.”
“Stephen King did this a while back and it’s great. A reader gets their name in a book, I get a real name for a realistic wee character and some special needs kids get something they were needing. Perfect.”
You can place your bid on eBay.
- September 7, 2010 @ 05:00 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1
Sales charts | Although Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World performed poorly at the box office, it continues to boost sales of the Bryan Lee O’Malley series on which it’s based. The six volumes claimed the top six spots on BookScan’s list of graphic novels sold in bookstores in August, followed at No. 7 by the latest volume of The Walking Dead, whose television adaptation debuts on Halloween on AMC. [ICv2.com]
Legal | The owners of BATS BBQ in Rock Hill, South Carolina, are digging in for a legal battle after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from DC Comics, which objects to their attempts to trademark the restaurant’s logo. [The Herald]
Publishing | Mark Millar discusses CLiNT Magazine, his new monthly venture with Titan Magazines that debuts today in the United Kingdom. [Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser]
- September 2, 2010 @ 08:13 AM by Kevin Melrose
Watch the teaser for Mark Millar’s CLiNT Magazine
Titan Magazines has released a teaser video for CLiNT Magazine, its new monthly venture with writer Mark Millar. Announced in May, the 100-page publication is set to debut in September in the United Kingdom with a mix of interviews, features about movies, television and video games, as well as four serialized comics. The premiere issue will include the debut of the Kick-Ass sequel, Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall.
- August 17, 2010 @ 08:11 AM by Kevin Melrose
Tony Scott to direct Millar and McNiven’s Nemesis adaptation
Nemesis
The news that writer Mark Millar teased earlier this week has finally, officially broke — Tony Scott, director of The Last Boy Scout, Top Gun, Man on Fire and True Romance, will direct the movie adaptation of Millar and Steve McNiven’s Nemesis, their creator-owned title published under Marvel’s Icon banner.
“As you can imagine, I’m more than excited,” Millar wrote on the Millarworld forums. “Steve is delirious and this puts our books instantly in an entirely different league in Hollywood terms. Tony said this was a very timely project and Fox want to get this moving as soon as possible. Next up is a script and the writer we talked about did one of my top five movies of all time. The actor he’s shooting for as the lead character is going to blow your socks off.”
According to Deadline Hollywood, the rights were acquired by 20th Century Fox, and the film will be produced by Scott Free Productions.
- August 7, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Quote of the day | Mark Millar, on something ‘huge’
Mark Millar
“Remember that big news I had earlier in the week? I think it’s going live later today … Stay tuned. This is huge. Remember I did that movie with Angelina Jolie? That sales-busting Civil War thing? That Kick-Ass flick? That Marvel relaunch with the Ultimate line? That news-stand magazine I’m launching to revamp the UK comic-book scene? Well, this is bigger than ALL of those things. I’ve never been involved with something as big as this.”
– the occasionally hyperbolic writer Mark Millar, teasing a project
that’s expected to be announced “hopefully by sundown” today
- August 5, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose