Motion Comics
Comics in motion: The Boy with Nails for Eyes
The Boy with Nails for Eyes
Up till now, I haven’t been too impressed with the concept of “motion comics,” but Shaun Gardiner has changed my mind.
At the moment, only the prologue of Gardiner’s The Boy with Nails for Eyes is up, but it’s already obvious that this is going to be an extraordinary comic. Gardiner uses animation to slowly bring the reader through the images, and he uses music (of his own composition) and sound effects to set the atmosphere and pacing. His art is nothing short of amazing, combining ink and collage with a limited palette of blacks, browns, and dark reds to create the mood and set up the elements of the story. The story itself isn’t clear yet, but interestingly, it starts with images of crows over a gritty industrial town, suggesting one type of story, and then brings in giant cathedral-bots, which kind of shifts the mood. Anyway, it’s well worth a look; the few minutes it takes to view the prologue are time well spent. If that gets you curious for more, check out Craig Smith’s interview with Gardiner at the Motion Comics blog.
- April 16, 2010 @ 07:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
Marvel confirms April debut for Iron Man: Extremis motion comic
From "Iron Man: Extremis"
Word actually leaked out on Friday that Marvel’s next motion comic will be Iron Man: Extremis, but the publisher makes it official this morning with this announcement, and trailer, on Entertainment Weekly‘s PopWatch blog.
As we speculated last week, the motion comic adapts the 2005 story arc by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov that heavily influenced the story and look of the first Iron Man film.
The first six episodes of Iron Man: Extremis will be available for download from iTunes, Zune and Xbox Live for $1.99 each beginning April 16 — ahead of the premiere of Iron Man 2 on May 7. Each additional episode will be released every two weeks.
Iron Man: Extremis is Marvel’s third motion comic, after Spider-Woman and Astonishing X-Men (both now available for free on Hulu). You can watch the trailer for Extremis at PopWatch.
- March 24, 2010 @ 09:37 AM by Kevin Melrose
Marvel to release Iron Man Extreme motion comic
Iron Man: Extremis
Marvel’s next motion comic will be Iron Man Extreme, presumably an adaptation of the “Extremis” story arc by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov that influenced the 2008 film.
The news leaked out this morning in a Chicago Sun-Times interview with Marvel executives Ira Rubenstein and Tom Brevoort about the publisher’s digital-publishing initiatives.
During an exchange about motion comics, Rubenstein (executive vice president of the company’s Global Digital Media Group) notes, “The new one for Iron Man Extreme is coming out.” Brevoort, vice president-executive editor, adds: “I worked on the original comic that’s based on, so I’m really interested in seeing that.” No release date was mentioned.
A Marvel spokesman had no comment.
Beginning in January 2005′s Invincible Iron Man #1, “Extremis” was a six-issue arc that updated Tony Stark’s origin, casting him as a weapons designer whose creations were being used against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan before the first Gulf War. The origin and armor designs in the Iron Man movie closely resembled those in “Extremis.”
Iron Man Extreme will be Marvel’s third motion comic, following Astonishing X-Men and Spider-Woman.
- March 19, 2010 @ 10:06 AM by Kevin Melrose
Bendis comments on end of Spider-Woman
At this weekend’s Emerald City Comicon, Brian Michael Bendis said that this week’s Spider-Woman #7 would be the last issue of the series. Over on his message board forum, he shares a few more details on why the book is ending:
Spider-Woman #7
alex did the work of 24 issues just to make this story. it was a lot of concentrated spider-woman for one man. i got to come and go to other projects. this was all he was doing, day in and day out. when we got to 7, he needed a break. i didn’t want to go on with it without him.
meanwhile, we’ve been deving our new icon book for two years. its something different. something bold. it’s time to do that. if you love our work, you’ll love it. it will be announced in chicago.
this was not a matter of sales or interest. we were number one on itunes for weeks.
thank you for digging her as much as i . she will be in every issue of avengers. and when the dust clears marvel has told us to consider returning to it and we might.
After an Origin limited series in 2005, Spider-Woman returned to her own ongoing series last fall, along with a “motion comic” on iTunes. Her previous ongoing last 50 issues before being canceled in 1983.
- March 15, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
The Murder of King Tut
Publishing | Bestselling author James Patterson is partnering with IDW Publishing for adaptations of his novels and comics based on new material. The first title, a five-part miniseries based on Patterson’s young-adult novel Witch & Wizard, will debut in May.
“Comics could reach a much larger audience than they do right now,” the author tells USA Today. “With all of the quality work and talent that’s out there, this industry could be so much bigger.”
Chris Ryall, IDW’s publisher and editor-in-chief, provides additional information on his blog. [USA Today]
Retailing | Discussion, or perhaps dissection, of retailer Brian Hibbs’ annual BookScan analysis continues: Hibbs, responding to Tom Spurgeon’s criticisms; Eric Reynolds, associate publisher of Fantagraphics; Hibbs, responding to Reynolds; and Johanna Draper Carlson. [Tilting at Windmills]
- February 16, 2010 @ 07:18 AM by Kevin Melrose
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight motion comic confirmed
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 6 (by Jo Chen)
A motion-comic Web series is in the works based on the successful Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, confirming rumors that began back in June.
Sci Fi Wire reports that voice casting has begun for Faith, Kennedy and Robin Wood — all familiar to viewers of the television series — and Season Eight characters such as Lady Genevieve Savidge, Roden and Twilight. And if you sound like Daniel Craig, the casting director has a part just for you.
Interview dates are set for this week, which makes it seem as if production is moving fairly quickly.
Sci Fi Wire has the full list of roles and character descriptions. Meanwhile, this comments thread at Whedonesque has fan reaction.
- November 16, 2009 @ 12:01 PM by Kevin Melrose
Astonishing X-Men motion comic to get big (like, three stories big) premiere
Marvelfest
This morning’s New York Post reveals some of the details for the Oct. 28 premiere of Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men motion comic in New York City’s Union Square Park.
The company will transform the former Virgin Megastore into a three-story outdoor screen to show the adaptation of the bestselling comic by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.
Astonishing X-Men is Marvel’s second motion comic. Spider-Woman, by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev, debuted in August.
The premiere will serve as the centerpiece for the first “Marvelfest” in Union Square Park, which will feature appearances by creators, a costume contest and giveaways. The event begins at 6 p.m.
- October 16, 2009 @ 06:29 AM by Kevin Melrose
Slash Print | Following the digital evolution
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Digital Comics | Dark Horse announced via press release that both Umbrella Academy and Hellboy: Seed of Destruction are available through the iTunes Store, with subsequent issues available soon. Seed of Destruction is available as four issues at $0.99 each, or as a bundle of all four issues for $3.99. The first issue of Apocalypse Suite is available for free, with issues #2–#6 only $0.99 each, or a bundle of all six issues for $4.99.
Digital Comics | Disney Comics Worldwide shares more details on Disney’s DigiComics initiative. They’ll eventually be rolled out worldwide, starting in December in English-speaking countries and Italy. They’ll be available for the iPhone, iPod and Sony PSP, and eventually Disney hopes to expand to other platforms like Nokia phones and the Wii. The stories will initially come from “the huge archive that The Walt Disney Company Italy has built up in the last 50 years.”
Motion Comics | All five episodes of the Spider Woman, Agent of S.W.O.R.D. motion comic are now available for free viewing on Hulu. Because it is “intended for mature audiences,” you’ll have to register and verify your age.
- October 15, 2009 @ 11:50 AM by JK Parkin
Irredeemable Motion Comic, new O’Bannon project coming from BOOM!
A couple of tidbits about upcoming BOOM! projects popped up on the internet recently. First up, Wil Wheaton posts on his blog that he recently did the voice work for an Irredeemable motion comic. Wheaton will provide the voice of Mr. Qubit, the leader of the resistance against The Plutonian.
And second, Farscape creator Rockne S. O’Bannon posted on Twitter that he’s working on a “top secret” project for the publisher. He didn’t offer any other details, and neither did BOOM! when asked.
- October 4, 2009 @ 07:46 AM by JK Parkin
Slash Print | Following the digital evolution
Tablets | Gizmodo reports on the long-rumored Apple Tablet device, saying that Apple “is in talks with several media companies rooted in print, negotiating content for a ‘new device.’” In addition, Apple has also applied for a patent on a “multi-touch surface that could accommodate two full hands and distinguish between palms and individual fingers for typing, gestures and more,” according to the Apple Insider.
Scott McCloud comments on the potential for such a device to change comics: “Most of today’s comics publishers are likely to jump into the pool with their clothes on—print-style pages intact. But if Apple’s gadget is anything like what’s being described, we could see a shift over time from point-and-click fragmented delivery, like what we have on the Web today, to more continuous spatial metaphors of the sort a lot of us turn-of-the-century mad scientists were playing with. Should be interesting.”
- October 2, 2009 @ 01:12 PM by JK Parkin
Spider Woman breaks it down to the illest beats
G4 has a new music video featuring scenes from the Spider Woman Motion Comic set to a song called “Watch Your Step.” If anyone sees the lyrics to the song pop up anywhere, please let me know …
- September 29, 2009 @ 10:40 AM by JK Parkin
Is the world ready for a ‘LoComicMotion’ Butterfly? (Probably not)
Not to be outdone by the likes of Warner Bros. and Marvel, cartoonist Dean Trippe has launched a motion comic of his web series Butterfly. Sure, the technology — “proprietary LoComicMotion Technology” — isn’t quite there yet, and the interface could use a little fine-tuning, but …
(Hey, I thought it was pretty funny.)
- September 3, 2009 @ 12:14 PM by Kevin Melrose
Marvel.com teases PSP comics + Motion Comics contest
Marvel.com posted a couple of videos yesterday related to two recent announcements about their digital comics efforts. First, here’s a sneak preview of the PSP Digital Comics service announced earlier this month:
Marvel also recently announced a partnership with a company called Aniboom, a “virtual animation studio” that will give animators “the opportunity to create unique motion comics based on comic book stories starring such renowned Super Heroes as the Hulk, Wolverine and Nova.” Basically it’s a contest where contestants create a Motion Comic based on a Wolverine vs. Hulk story or a Nova story. The grand prize is $10,000.
You can check out a promotional video about the contest after the jump.
- August 26, 2009 @ 09:01 AM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’09 | Day One
Comic-Con
After a bevy of announcements earlier in the week about movie deals and video-game adaptations, Comic-Con International officially kicked off Thursday with news of the hiring of an industry veteran, and three significant book acquisitions.
IDW Publishing revealed that Bob Schreck, a longtime senior group editor at DC Comics, will join the company as senior editor in October. He’ll focus on developing new projects and new talent.
An editor at Comico and Dark Horse, Schreck co-founded Oni Press with Joe Nozemack in 1996. Three years later he joined DC Comics, where he oversaw the Batman line and, eventually, edited the All-Star titles and developed new projects for Vertigo. He was laid off in January during a wave of major cutbacks by Warner Bros.
Day One’s major publishing news came from Scholastic, Drawn & Quarterly and Dark Horse.
Scholastic announced that Jeff Smith will release new Bone titles with co-writer Tom Sniegoski, beginning in summer 2010 with Bone: Tall Tales. The fall will see the expansion of the Bone world with the first book in the Quest for the Spark trilogy, overseen and illustrated by Smith and written by Sniegoski.
Drawn & Quarterly acquired the rights to Daniel Clowes’ new graphic novel Wilson, the cartoonist’s first book not to be originally serialized in Eightball. The title, described as a “portrait of the modern egoist,” will debut in May 2010.
Dark Horse, meanwhile, rolled out an overview of its convention announcements, which include plans to release all three volumes of the popular European noir series Blacksad.
In other Thursday highlights:
- July 24, 2009 @ 04:57 AM by Kevin Melrose
SDCC ’09 | Warner Bros. unveils next wave of motion comics
Superman: Red Son
Warner Premiere and Warner Digital Distribution today announced the next three titles in the Warner Premiere Motion Comics line: Superman: Red Son, Batgirl: Year One, and Batman: Black and White Collection 2.
For a limited time, the first episode of Red Son is available for free download from the iTunes Store.
Motion comics blend sequential art with limited animation, adding voiceovers and a musical score.
Superman: Red Son is the Eisner Award-winning 2003 Elseworlds miniseries by Mark Millar and Dave Johnson that imagines what might’ve happened had the Man of Steel been raised in the Soviet Union.
In 2003′s Batgirl: Year One, writers Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon and artists Alvaro Lopez and Marcos Martin retold Barbara Gordon’s origin as Batgirl.
Batman: Black & White Collection 2 features short stories by such creators as John Arcudi, Ed Brubaker, John Buscema, Howard Chaykin, Archie Goodwin, Sean Phillips, Walter Simonson, Ryan Sook and Danijel Zezelj.
All three titles are now available on iTunes.
- July 23, 2009 @ 01:28 PM by Kevin Melrose