Mike Allred
Coover, Francavilla, Allred, Samnee monkey around with new T-shirt designs
As I mentioned last week, the T-shirt site Threadless has unveiled the four designs for the fourth round of their “Comics-On Tees” series, this time with a theme of “Monkey Around.” The comics are written by Chris Roberson and feature artwork from Colleen Coover, Mike Allred, Chris Samnee and Francesco Francavilla.
Check out all four designs after the jump, which you can buy individually or as a set for $79.
- January 30, 2012 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Next round of ‘Comics-On Tees’ feature Roberson, Allred and monkeys
by Mike Allred
The folks the social T-shirt site Threadless are gearing up for a fourth volume of their “Comics-On Tees” line, where they ask a writer and four artists to design shirts that tell a story. Although they won’t be officially announced until Jan. 30, they did reveal the creator involved and teased some artwork from the shirts. And based on what they’ve shown so far, it looks like the theme this time revolves around monkeys.
Volume 4 is written by Chris Roberson of iZombie and Superman fame, with designs by artists Mike Allred, Colleen Coover, Chris Samnee and Francesco Francavilla. You can see some of Allred’s artwork above, and Francavilla’s after the jump.
- January 26, 2012 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Unwrapping comics: Pros share their holiday memories
A couple of weeks ago, I got to thinking about the holidays and comics. More exactly, I started wondering what some creators might say if i asked them for their favorite comics-related memory. As I got into contact with some creators, they did not have a favorite story per se, but those recollections were definitely memorable. Bottom line, these storytellers not surprisingly had some great stories to share. My holiday memory is an odd one, as a kid in the 1970s reading the Doonesbury comic strip where Rev. Scott Sloan had opening remarks before the Christmas pageant, where he noted that the part of the Baby Jesus would be played by a 40-watt light bulb. A lifelong Doonesbury fan, there are few strips that have made me laugh longer than that one. Told you it was an odd one. Now on to the storytellers with far better tales. My thanks to everyone that responded. Once you’ve read them all, please be sure to chime in with your most memorable comics-related holiday recollection in the comments section.
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.
- December 22, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
Food or Comics? | D is for Daredevil, DeConnick, Deadlands and ducks
Supergirl
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.
Graeme McMillan
As we’re heading towards the middle of August, it’s no surprise that curiosity is getting me to pick up more than a few DC books just see how particular series “end;” I’d be getting Justice League of America #60 and Legion of Super-Heroes #16 (both DC, $2.99) anyway, because I’ve been following those series for awhile, but I’m likely to add Batman #713 (DC, $2.99) to the pile as well, if only to see the explanation as to why Dick quits being Batman before the big relaunch. But it’s not all endings for me with my $15 this week; I’d also make a point of grabbing Daredevil #2 (Marvel, $2.99), because the first issue was just breathtakingly good, and the series became a must-read before I’d even reached the last page.
If I had $30 this week, I’d add to my list of DC final issues with Supergirl #67 (DC, $2.99), which Kelly Sue DeConnick has talked up in interviews as being the highpoint of her short run to date and a great capper to the series as a whole. I’d also check in with the third issue of David Hahn’s All Nighter (Image, $2.99), as well as see if Nick Spencer’s Iron Man 2.0 is worth a look with the mini-collection of the first three issues, Iron Man 2.0: Modern Warfare (Marvel, $4.99).
- August 16, 2011 @ 06:03 PM by JK Parkin
What Are You Reading?
Hello and welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading? Today’s special guest is Shannon Wheeler, New Yorker cartoonist and creator of the Eisner Award-winning comic book Too Much Coffee Man, Oil & Water, the Eisner-nominated I Thought You Would Be Funnier and the upcoming Grandpa Won’t Wake Up.
To see what Shannon and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …
- June 26, 2011 @ 04:06 PM by JK Parkin
Food or Comics? | This week’s comics on a budget
Space Warped
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.
Brigid Alverson
If I had $15:
I’d surround myself with good-humored, good-natured comics. Sometimes you just gotta do that. My stack would include Veronica #207 ($2.99), which launches the new Kevin Keller miniseries; Donald Duck #367 ($3.99), with a rework of a classic Carl Barks story; Space Warped ($3.99), kaboom’s new Star Wars parody comic (I probably won’t get half the jokes, but it looks like it’s worth checking out); and Love and Capes Ever After #5 ($3.99), just because Love and Capes is such a charming comic. I may be poor, but at least I’ll be happy.
- June 7, 2011 @ 01:25 PM by JK Parkin
Grumpy Old Fan | Surprise me: DC Comics Solicitations for August 2011
Featuring the classic Blizzard vs. Polar Bear battle!
One tagline for the big alien-invasion movie Independence Day cautioned, “Don’t make plans for August.” Well, perhaps the biggest news coming out of DC’s August solicitations is the pervasive sense of foreboding they have about September. Rich Johnston maintains that a whole crop of new No. 1 issues is on tap for the fall, but there are no “FINAL ISSUE!” blurbs to be found on any of the current ongoing series.
While that doesn’t rule out a line-wide relaunch, the solicits also seem to say that readers won’t have to worry about a line-wide reboot. As noted in this space a couple of weeks back, the degree of change will probably be different for different titles. Nevertheless, now that we have a better idea of how August will look, let’s see what it says about September….
- May 19, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tom Bondurant
Talking Comics with Tim | Laura Allred
Laura Allred's studio
There’s a list of creators that in my estimation are not interviewed nearly enough, one such example is colorist Laura Allred. You can find several interviews with both Mike and Laura Allred together, but few rarely focus on Laura solely. So I recently crossed my fingers and shot off an email to Laura seeking to do an email interview. Much to my sheer delight, she was game for a discussion of her career as a colorist. Jamie S. Rich, long-time Allred associate and friend of Robot 6, was kind enough to share his perspective on Laura’s body of work, which helped me shape some of the topics covered in this exchange. Obviously, a huge thank you to Laura for giving so selflessly of her time. As someone who enjoyed Art Adams’ Monkeyman and O’Brien years ago, I plan to dig up my box with those issues, just to appreciate Laura’s work on it, given how highly she speaks of it in this interview.
Tim O’Shea: The life of a freelancer is never easy–and in your house, it’s extra challenging as both of you make a living either through one of the independent publishers or work through DC or Marvel. Granted at this point in your career, there is a certain brand and reputation that your work carries, still freelancing is a challenge even for successful folks as yourself. If you don’t mind me asking, how much has your faith served to buoy your spirits when the hardships of freelancing blindside you?
Laura Allred: It seems when we simply try to do our best in all our efforts, everything always seems to work out. We work hard, though Michael refuses to call it working, but we also try to make time for family and friends. So, I’ve found that my secret weapon for hardships is to just crack the whip and we get back on track. I’m only half kidding.
- April 18, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
Talking Comics with Tim | Chris Roberson
Superman 710
Writer Chris Roberson is one of those folks that deserves to get more than one Eisner nomination, but alas he–oh wait yes he did. In all seriousness, this interview occurred before the Eisner nominations were announced last week. So while I congratulate Roberson for his nominations in the categories of Best Limited Series (along with Shawn McManus) for Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love and Best New Series (along with Mike Allred) for iZombie, the focus of the interview is mainly on Superman, while iZombie and the new Cinderella miniseries (Fables Are Forever) are discussed briefly. This Wednesday, April 13, marks the release of both Superman 710 and Cinderella: Fables Are Forever 3 (of 6), so we discuss his upcoming Superman and Cinderella issues (plus gaining a bit of insight into last month’s Lex Luthor’s 40 Cakes homage in Superman 709). To get greater context on Roberson’s upcoming work, be sure to also read CBR News’ recent Roberson coverage from late February and early March.
Tim O’Shea: The comics reading audience can prove to be a fickle lot, some readers thrive on minutiae, others do not. But there’s no doubt a lot of people recently got a kick (myself included) out of the Lex Luthor/40 cakes retcon in Superman 709. How did that idea come to pass (I know it was partially inspired by a tweet)?
Chris Roberson: It was really simple, actually. I’m a huge fan of the Super Dictionary, and have a copy of it on my shelf, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I might include anything from it until it was suggested to me. Once someone on Twitter first mentioned the idea (@loganjames, in fact), it seemed intuitively obvious in retrospect.
- April 11, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
What Are You Reading?
Kirby King of Comics
Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Our special guest today is Ryan Cody, creator of Icarus and illustrator of Villains and Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun. You’ll be seeing more of Icarus around these parts starting very soon …
To see what Ryan and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below.
- March 27, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Mike Allred’s Mad, Mad World
Mike Allred’s done it again. He’s taking a break from the Vertigo series iZombie he does with writer Chris Roberson to put together a pseudo-sequel to the compendium Madman Gargantua for a new tome dubbed Madman 20th Anniversary Monster set to come out in April.
Taking a page from his work on the innovative DC series Wednesday Comics last year, Madman 20th Anniversary Monster will be a huge book — measuring 11″ x 17″ and have a bevy of material new and old. Included in this volume are 20 new strips from friends and colleagues, virtually every single Madman pin-up from the original series and a new story by Allred himself.
Allred’s rolling out news, process art and contributions from friends on his new blog at allredart.blogspot.com.
- January 27, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Arrant
This American Life‘s X-Men poster
If you’re a fan of the X-Men, This American Life and Mike Allred’s art, your ship has come in. Last year’s “>Nation X #1 included a story by James Asmus and Mike Allred that featured Wolverine and Nightcrawler riding around in a pick-up listening to This American Life, and now the radio program is selling a poster of the panel that references host Ira Glass.
If you aren’t sure if this poster is for you, they’ve even provided a handy Venn diagram that should help you decide.
(Thanks, Dan!)
- November 24, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
What Are You Reading?
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
Welcome once again to What Are You Reading? Today’s special guest is writer and artist Dean Trippe, creator of Butterfly and co-founder of the Project: Rooftop blog, among other credits. He posts regularly on his Tumblr site Bearsharktopus-Man, where he is currently selling this nifty Doctor Who/Batman crossover print. He also has some art in the Webcomics Auction for the Gulf.
To see what Dean and the rest of the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …
- July 11, 2010 @ 02:04 PM by JK Parkin
What are you reading?
Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine
Welcome once again to What are you reading? Today our special guest is comics retailer James Sime, owner of the world-famous Isotope Comics in San Francisco. As a retailer, James has the opportunity to read a lot of comics, and his submission this week reflects the diversity of great stuff you’ll find in his shop.
Click below to see what he’s been reading lately, as well as what the rest of the Robot 6 crew has had on their reading lists this week ….
- May 9, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Allred vs. Cooke in the battle of the I, Zombie covers
Via Vertigo’s PR blog come the regular and variant covers for the upcoming I, Zombie by Chris Roberson and Mike Allred. You’d think a rad Mike Allred cover would be enough:
I, Zombie #1
- February 11, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin