music
The Wilco/Popeye crossover you wish you’d demanded
This Sunday’s Popeye comic strip by Frank Caruso and Ned Sonntag featured the band Wilco joining the regular Popeye cast in handing out Wilco-brand spinach. The band’s guest appearance was just part one of the crossover, however, as Wilco’s latest video features the band jamming with Popeye, Wimpy and the rest, with Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy providing a third potential suitor for the ever-popular Olive Oyl.
The song, “Dawned On Me,” is from the band’s album The Whole Love, and the video is directed by Darren Romanelli, who conceived the collaboration between Wilco and King Features for the band’s first video since 1999. No doubt a cover of “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today” can’t be too far away.
- January 25, 2012 @ 11:00 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | Creators, publishers speak out against SOPA, PIPA
Neil Gaiman
Internet | Sandman co-creator Neil Gaiman joined with Trent Reznor, Aziz Ansari, OK Go and 14 other members of the creative community in signing an open letter to Congress against the PROTECT IP Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act. “We fear that the broad new enforcement powers provided under SOPA and PIPA could be easily abused against legitimate services like those upon which we depend. These bills would allow entire websites to be blocked without due process, causing collateral damage to the legitimate users of the same services – artists and creators like us who would be censored as a result,” the letter states.
Warren Ellis and Fantagraphics have also come out against the bill, while Peter David, who is against the bill in its current form, takes aim at those who “endorsed the piracy, supported the piracy, enabled the piracy, felt their own actions weren’t piracy, and now refuse to accept the consequences of their own actions.” ComicsAlliance has posted an editorial against the bill and rounded up webcomic reactions to the blackout. [NeilGaiman.com]
- January 19, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by JK Parkin
Two comics-inspired bands plan West Coast tour
Comics have been inspiration for music for decades, but two acts have recently taken it to a whole new level — and are now uniting to take on the West Coast. Nerd-core rapper Adam Warrock and nerd-rock band Kirby Krackle are launching an eight-date tour that will start next month in Seattle and and go through California, Las Vegas and Arizona and end up in Ogden, Utah. The complete dates are:
- Feb. 16 | Seattle | Nectar w/ Klopfenpop, DeathStar
- Feb. 17 | Portland | Mt. Tabor w/ The Doubleclicks
- Feb. 19 | Berkeley | Gilman St.
- Feb. 21 | Los Angeles | The Mint
- Feb. 22| San Diego | Ruby Room w/ Doctor Awkward
- Feb. 23 | Las Vegas | Beauty Bar w/ Dead Neon
- Feb. 24 | Tempe | Stray Cat Lounge w/ MegaRan
- Feb. 26 | Ogden | Mojo’s Music w/ DJ RoboRob
The excellent poster art at right was done by cartoonist Dean Trippe.
The team-up plans to bring along some special guest performers to be announced soon. No word yet whether Lila Cheney will open for them.
- January 13, 2012 @ 03:00 PM by Chris Arrant
Your friendly neighborhood M.C. back on the scene
Comic book rapper Adam WarRock is following up his last project, The Serenity-themed Browncoats Mixtape, with a new album called “You Dare Call That Thing Human?!?” And the comic book reference-filled album’s first single, called “616,” is available now on his website.
The song is jammed pack with all sorts of shout outs to Marvel and DC Comics, from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to Wally West’s appetite to, naturally, the Infinity Watch. The new album will be released on Feb. 13 in both digital and disc formats, and will feature notable indie and nerdcore acts MC Lars, Doctor Awkward, Beefy, Dual Core and more. You can listen to “616″ above, or head over to his website to download it for yourself.
- January 6, 2012 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Grant Morrison shares an Invisibles-inspired playlist on L.A. public radio
KCRW, a National Public Radio affiliate that broadcasts in the Los Angeles area, regularly hosts celebrity disc jockeys, and in the past have welcomed Mark Waid and Jimmy Gownley. This week Action Comics writer Grant Morrison spun a few tunes for the station, including “The Queen Is Dead” by The Smiths, “Mogadishu” by Baader Meinhof (“this would have been the theme song of The Invisibles“) and “Blue Flowers” by Dr Octagon:
The next song is “Blue Flowers” by Dr Octagon, and this one’s here to represent Hip Hop, because I do listen to quite a bit of Hip Hop. But this one was kind of what got me into it back in the 90′s. And it came out at the time when I was working on Invisibles and we had a character in Invisibles called Jim Crow. He was kind of a master of voodoo Hip Hop, or trip hop, and someone wrote to me and said, ‘You know, you’ve got this Jim Crow character, and this is the music he would make.’ And they sent me this album, and I just was blown away by it.
Again, to hear something so intelligent, it was a Sci-Fi album but it was Hip hop. It sounded like comic books, it sounded like my favorite science fiction, it sounded like the weirdest television show you’d ever seen. So again, it’s on the psychedelic theme, I mean, this is Hip Hop’s finest expression of psychedelia, “Blue Flowers”, and the bizarre trip to the park is very much in the Lennon mold, but for a new generation.
You can hear the whole thing and read a transcript on the KCRW site.
- January 5, 2012 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
‘Moving forward and creating new things’: Eric Stephenson on Image’s 2011 and 2012
Eric Stephenson
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Image Comics, the company formed by a group of artists who left the security of work-for-hire comics to create and own their own comics. It’s been 20 years of ups and downs, but one thing that has remained consistent is a focus on creator-owned work.
With 2011 in the history books and their big anniversary kicking off with the first Image Expo, a new ad campaign and high-profile series by big-name creators like Brian K. Vaughan, Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer and many more, I thought it was a good time to chat with Publisher Eric Stephenson about the state of the company, the year that was, their upcoming plans and anything else he was willing to talk about. My thanks to Eric for taking the time to answer my questions.
JK Parkin: Thanks for agreeing to do this interview, Eric. Incidentally, another feature we’re running as a part of our anniversary bash is one where we asked various comic industry folks about what they’re looking forward to in 2012. I got one back yesterday where the answer was basically “everything from Image Comics.” I find that interesting, because there’s a lot of diversity in Image’s line and although I think you guys probably publish something for every kind of taste, I wouldn’t think that every title would appeal to every comic reader. And yet I also find myself checking out at least the first issue of everything you guys have done lately. So from your perspective, what’s the unifying factor (or factors) right now among your titles, if there is one?
Stephenson: I think the main thing is that we’re moving forward and creating new things. We’re not content to just recycle the same old ideas month in and month out and then market it all as brand new. If this was another publisher, we’d be debuting our latest spin-off of The Walking Dead in March, but instead, we’re launching a new series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, a new series by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Pitarra, a new series by Joe Keatinge and Andre Szymanowicz, and so on. For 20 years, Image has put its faith in creative people, and it’s the power of their imagination that links all our titles together, now more than ever.
- January 2, 2012 @ 07:55 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | Stuck in the Middle to remain in school library
Stuck in the Middle
Libraries | A committee recommended Monday that Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age, an anthology of comics about middle school edited by Ariel Schrag, should remain in the Buckfield Junior-Senior High School library in Dixfield, Maine, after the mother of a student challenged its appropriateness because of “objectionable sexual and language references.” The local school board will make a final ruling in January. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom sent a letter of support for the book prior to the hearing. A school board in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, pulled the graphic novel from middle-school libraries in November 2009, but allowed teachers to continue to use it in class. [Sun Journal]
Digital | Charlie Sorrel looks at the iPad comic reader called, appropriately enough, Comic Reader. [Wired]
- December 14, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by JK Parkin
The Robot 6 Holiday Gift-Giving Guide, Part 1
‘Tis the season for decking those halls, trimming those trees, lighting the menorah and, of course, figuring out what to buy for your friends and family. To help give you some ideas, we reached out to a few comic creators, asking them:
1. What comic-related gift or gifts would you recommend giving this year, and why?
2. What gift (comic or otherwise) is at the top of your personal wish list, and why?
We’ve gotten back a bunch of suggestions, which we’ll run between now and the end of the week. So let the merriment commence …
Jim McCann
1. Exclusive 2011 Janet Lee Holiday Ornaments
Every year, Janet does about 12 ornaments, three sets of four. This year, she has done Hipster Animals, Scary Toys and Art Nouveau Angels. They are signed and dated, and at the end of the season, that’s it! She stops making them. I’ve been collecting them since 2007, and now our tree is almost completely filled with Janet’s art. You can buy them exclusively through her Etsy shop.
Oh, and if you’re REALLY nice, she MAY have a very limited Dapper Men ornament or two. Just ask!
2. This year, for myself, I’m going with a mix of Blu-Rays (portable Blu-Ray player, please, Santa!) and books. But the thing I’m REALLY excited for is the hardcover edition of the Complete Ripley novels, by Patricia Highsmith. Most people only know of Ms. Highsmith through The Talented Mr. Ripley (and classic film lovers through Strangers On a Train). There were actually five Tom Ripley novels, and the collection looks amazing. Why these books? My spouse recently Tweeted a quote from John Lithgow that struck me as a writer: “Duality, duplicity, truth and deception, good becoming bad and vice-versa are crucial elements of great storytelling.” Highsmith was and remains an unsung hero of mastering that, so I hope I learn something in the process!
Happy Holidays from the Dapper Lariosa-McCann household!
Jim McCann is the writer of Return of the Dapper Men and its upcoming sequel, Marvel Zombies Christmas Carol, Hawkeye:Blindspot and the upcoming Mind The Gap.
- November 28, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | DC Comics named one of America’s Hottest Brands
Action Comics
Publishing | DC Comics joins the Kia Soul, Goldfish, My Little Pony and several others on Advertising Age’s annual list of America’s Hottest Brands: “With decades of stories under their capes and utility belts, Superman — and other DC characters, including Aquaman and the Flash — had ossified. Though relaunching its entire cast and making their adventures available to print and electronic audiences might alienate some hard-core DC fans, it might also gain plenty of new ones. Making DC characters more popular is crucial for its parent company. While the comic-book business is way down from its heyday, its characters fuel big-ticket Hollywood movies that can generate millions of dollars in revenue and licensing. The pressure may be on DC because rival Marvel, now owned by Disney, has churned out superhero film properties on a regular basis for years.” [Advertising Age]
Broadway | Producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark have changed their tune on the $75 million musical; previously they predicted they wouldn’t make back the money invested in the show without franchising it in other cities and countries, but now they predict they’ll make it back entirely from the Broadway run. They also are considering adding in new scenes and a new musical number to the production every year, “making it akin to a new comic book edition, and then urging the show’s fans to buy tickets again.” [The New York Times]
- November 28, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Your Wedesday Sequence 33 | Victor Moscoso
“Pablo Ferro Films” (1967). Victor Moscoso.
There’s always some education to be had from looking at comics by artists who are better known for their work in other media. Victor Moscoso is one of two members of hippie-era San Francisco’s legendary Zap Comix collective whose work on rock concert posters is arguably more notorious and influential than his comics. (Rick Griffin accompanies him in this category.) That isn’t to say, however, that Moscoso’s comics have wielded anything less than a tremendous influence over the past few decades, despite the fact that they remain somewhat under-discussed. Moscoso brought color printing to the medium’s underground, did work in Zap that anticipates the most adventurous of today’s experimental comics, and brought a cubist-inflected fine art sensibility to his pages that echoes in the work of cartoonists from Gary Panter to Art Spiegelman.
- November 23, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by Matt Seneca
What Are You Reading? with Nate Powell
Big Questions
Hello and welcome once again to What Are You Reading?, where every week we talk about the comics, books and other stuff we’ve been reading lately.
Our special guest this week is musician and comic creator Nate Powell, who you might know from his most recent graphic novel, Any Empire, or the Ignatz and Eisner Award-winning Swallow Me Whole. When he’s not creating comics, he’s hanging out at the United Nations with the likes of R.L. Stine, Ann M. Martin and other teen-fiction writers in support of What You Wish For, a collection of young adult stories and poems. Proceeds from the book will be used to fund libraries in Darfuri refugee camps in Chad.
To see what Nate and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.
- October 30, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Akira the Don channels anime on new mixtape
Manga Music
Artist, musician and our buddy Akira the Don has released a new mixtape, titled Manga Music, featuring “a tribute to the monumental works of Manga Entertainment, who this year celebrate 20 years of serving us Westerners with the very finest anime.” Each song samples and is named after one of their releases, such as Evangelion, Full Metal Alchemist, Crying Freeman and, naturally, Akira.
“Twenty years ago I was a little boy living by the sea in North Wales gaping in awe at their advert for Akira in the back of my Dad’s copy of Vox magazine,” Akira the Don wrote on his site. “A little while later I was pushing a big VHS cassette into its slot, an a few hours after that my life was changed forever.”
You can find it on his site, along with a new T-shirt and hoodie, as well as on YouTube and, thanks to the magic of Soundcloud and embed codes, right after the jump.
- October 27, 2011 @ 01:00 PM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The once and future Extreme Studios; Colleen Doran’s digital success
Youngblood
Creators | With the announcement that Rob Liefeld’s Extreme Studios is back in business, former Extreme Studios employee and current Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson reflects on his time with the studio. “From 1992-1998, Extreme Studios was more or less my life. Youngblood, Supreme, Brigade, Bloodstrike, Team Youngblood, New Men, Prophet, Youngblood: Strikefile, Bloodpool, Glory… We put out a lot of comics, and for the most part everyone involved was incredibly young. Rob and I were amongst the oldest at 25. So many of the artists involved in various aspects of production were just out of their teens, and that made the work as frustrating as it was fun. But looking back, the main thing I remember about that time is Rob wanted to share his success with people who loved comics and wanted to make a living in the business as much as he had.” [It Sparkles!]
Webcomics | A Distant Soil creator Colleen Doran, who began serializing the comic online in 2009, notes “my bottom line is up significantly, and my online audience is ten times higher than when I started the five day a week online serialization of A Distant Soil 2.5 years ago.” She also shares advice she received when she started the endeavor that hasn’t worked for her. [A Distant Soil]
- October 17, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by JK Parkin
Chiang, Crabapple, Cavallaro support Shirts For A Cure at NYCC
Shirts For A Cure, a project started by the Syrentha J. Savio Endowment to raise money in their efforts to provide financial assistance to underprivileged women who cannot afford breast cancer medicine and therapy, sells exclusive shirts for various bands and musical artists on their site. And they’ll be at the New York Comic Con this weekend selling shirts created by artists like Mike Cavallaro (his design is shown above), Molly Crabapple and Brian Ewing.
In addition, Wonder Woman artist Cliff Chiang will hold a signing at their booth Friday at 4 p.m., where you can get one of the last 50 of his limited edition Wonder Woman print.
And even if you can’t attend the con, go check out their site … they’ve got some cool shirts for a great cause.
- October 13, 2011 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
What Are You Reading? with Kevin Colden
Animal Man #1
Welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading? Today our special guest is Kevin Colden, whose comic work includes Fishtown, I Rule the Night, Vertigo’s Strange Adventures and Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper, among others. He’s also the drummer for the band Heads Up Display.
To see what Kevin and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below …
- September 18, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin