Nick Spencer
Food or Comics? | Are you my mutton?
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.
Saucer Country #3
Graeme McMillan
If I had $15 this week, I’d pick up the third issues of what may be becoming my two favorite new series: Saga (Image, $2.99) and Saucer Country (DC/Vertigo, $2.99). The former is easily one of the most enjoyable, most packed books out there right now for me, with Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples firing on all cylinders with the two issues to date, whereas the latter has an enjoyably retro feel that reminds me of the earliest days of the Vertigo imprint in ways that I can’t quite put my finger on but love nonetheless.
If I had $30, I’d grab the new edition of Leviathan (Rebellion, $16.99), a collection of a 2000AD horror story by Ian Edginton and D’Israeli that the creators apparently described as “Agatha Christie meets Silent Hill” about a Titanic-esque cruise ship that disappears in the middle of the ocean, and ends up somewhere else … with no land in sight for more than two decades. Really looking forward to reading this one.
Should I suddenly find enough money down the back of my couch to splurge this week, then I’d hope to find the $29.99 I’d need for the Deadenders trade paperback (DC/Vertigo). I entirely missed the Ed Brubaker/Warren Pleece mod romance comic the first time around, so this collection of the entire series will be a welcome chance to make up for past mistakes.
Comics A.M. | The Avengers, comics and the evolution of storytelling
The Avengers #1
Comics | With the success of The Avengers film, Kendall Whitehouse discusses the narrative techniques comics have “explored and exploited,” including “multi-issue story arcs, crossovers, team-ups, reboots and multiple title tie-ins,” noting they not only help sell more comics but also have blazed the trail for complex stories: “The story has now become a world unto its own that allows the reader to explore whichever dimensions are of the greatest interest. Follow the events from the perspective of Iron Man or Thor. Or just peruse the core series and ignore the supplementary story elements. The series presents a nearly unbounded narrative universe for the reader to experience. It is easy to interpret this with a cynical eye as nothing more than a series of cheap marketing tactics designed to pump sales. And yet, when well executed, something larger emerges.” [Knowledge@Wharton Today]
Retailing | Saturday’s Free Comic Book Day also served as the grand opening for Aw Yeah Comics, a store in Skokie, Illinois, owned (as the name suggests) by Tiny Titans creators Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani and retail veteran Marc Hammond. [Skokie Review, Time Out Chicago]
Comics A.M. | Darwyn Cooke dragged ‘kicking and screaming’ into Before Watchmen
Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1
Creators | How did Darwyn Cooke get involved with the Before Watchmen comics? “I was kind of dragged into it kicking and screaming by [DC Comics Co-Publisher] Dan DiDio. He had been discussing this for what does amount to several years now, and the first time he had approached me about it, I had actually turned it down simply because I couldn’t see doing anything that would live up to the original. And, it was about a year later, the story idea that I’m working on now sort of came to me and I realized that there was a way to do the project, and I had a story that I thought was exciting enough to tell. So I phoned Dan up and said, ‘Hey, if you still got room, I’m in.’” [Rolling Stone]
Creators | Ron Marz discusses Prophecy, his upcoming comic that turns the whole Mayan calendar thing into a crossover event that will bring together an eclectic group of characters, and defends the idea of crossovers in general: “If your objection is “they’re not in the same universe,” or a crossover somehow offends your sense of continuity, I’d suggest you’re missing the point. More than any other medium, comics are about unfettered imagination, about making the impossible possible. If you’re going to let some perceived “rules” prevent you from telling an exciting story, you’re just not trying very hard. Having a sense of wonder, of discovery, is much more important than following some set of perceived rules and regulations.” [MTV Geek]
What Are You Reading? with Ivan Salazar
New York The Big City
Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Today our special guest is Ivan Salazar, public relations and marketing manager for Studio 407.
To see what Ivan and the Robot 6 crew have been reading (and playing), click below.
Image Expo | Grant Morrison, new Phonogram and much more [Updated]
Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl
The first Image Expo kicked off Friday in Oakland, California, with a keynote speech from Publisher Eric Stephenson that emphasized creator relationships as the company’s foundation, and laid out more than a half-dozen titles that will be announced this weekend for release later this year:
• Happy!, by Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson, a mysterious title the writer says is “in a genre I’ve never really tackled before — but with a bizarre twist, of course.” It’s the first of several potential Image projects from Morrison. [iFanboy]
• Confirmation of a third volume of Phonogram, by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson, called The Immaterial Girl. Gillen says the six-issue miniseries, which will likely debut in November, is “primarily about the war between coven queen witch Emily Aster and the half of her personality she sold to whatever lies on the other side of the screen. It’s about identity, eighties music videos and further explorations of Phonogram’s core ‘Music = Magic’ thesis. There is horror. There are jokes. There are emotions. There may even be a fight sequence. It also takes A-ha’s ‘Take On Me’ with far too much seriousness – which, for us, is the correct amount of seriousness.” [Kieron Gillen's Workblog]
• Chin Music, by Steve Niles and Tony Harris, described by the artist as “a 1930′s Noir, Gangster, horror story.” [Tony Harris]
Chain Reactions | Thief of Thieves #1
Thief of Thieves #1
With Thief of Thieves #1, which hit stores this past Wednesday, Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) introduces the television “Writer’s Room” concept to his Skybound imprint, as he teams with Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, Iron Man 2.0) for a story about a thief who wants to retire. The heist comic features the artistic talents of Shawn Martinbrough (Black Panther, Luke Cage Noir) with colors by Felix Serrano.
So did Thief of Thieves manage to steal the hearts of reviewers? Here’s a sampling of what some of them thought about the debut issue:
Iann Robinson, CraveOnline: “If the sometimes stale and repetitive superhero genre has you down, then Thief Of Thieves could be right up your alley. The story is a simple one. Take a master thief named Redmond, a charming loner who is the hero to so many in the underworld. Open the comic with him masterminding a brilliant heist. Add in a beautiful assistant who wants him and creates enough sexual tension to make our hero uncomfortable. Then sprinkle in an upcoming job being bankrolled by a criminal mob type. The whole thing is behind schedule, off budget and people are getting antsy. So what does Redmond do? On the very last page he announces he’s quitting forever.”
What Are You Reading? with Andy Burns
Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Our special guest today is Andy Burns, editor-in-chief of the pop culture site Biff Bam Pop!, which is doing a holiday gift guide with giveaways through Dec. 24. You can follow them on Twitter for more information.
To see what Andy and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below …
Chain Reactions | T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
This week saw the return of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents from DC Comics in a new miniseries by writer Nick Spencer, who wrote the previous, pre-New 52 edition of the book. This time he’s joined by artist Wes Craig, who picks up where CAFU and several guest artists, like Mike Grell, Nick Dragotta, Dan McDaid and Dan Panosian, left off.
The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves have had a long, tumultuous publishing history. Before DC Comics announced they were bringing the concept back last year, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents had been published by at least seven different publishers since the 1960s. It started with a 20-issue run by Tower Comics, the longest run the title would enjoy in its history. One thing the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents have always enjoyed over the years is association with some of the industry’s best talent, with the likes of George Perez, Dave Cockrum, Keith Giffen, Steve Ditko, Jerry Ordway, Paul Gulacy, Terry Austin and of course Wally Wood working on the characters.
So what do folks think about the title’s latest return? Here’s a sample of reviews of the first issue:
Andy Hunsaker, CraveOnline: “The new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 has managed to keep its previous continuity – a privilege shared mostly by Things Geoff Johns Writes and Batman – but Spencer has lightened up the proceedings significantly, injecting a bit more fun into this first issue. It’s a bit thick with exposition this time around, but while in other cases it might seem turgid, as a reader of the previous series, it feels rather welcome. This iteration is a bit more straight-forward, and there’s much less of the feeling that everything sucks and will suck forever for everybody involved. In fact, the two people who wound up killing their own family members go out on a date in this issue – the no-bullshit Colleen Franklin, who killed her supervillain mother The Iron Maiden, and the much-bullshit Toby Henston, aka Menthor, who put a special mind-control helmet on and found his skullduggerously planned betrayal to his brother’s terrorist organization Spider rewritten into a triplecross. Henston even goes so far as to say ‘We could all use a little sunshine in our lives.’ That attitude sure helps to dissipate that hesitation about picking up the series.”
Marvel cancels Victor Von Doom miniseries before its debut
Marvel has canceled its Victor Von Doom miniseries before its planned debut at the end of the month.
“I see word is out about Victor Von Doom,” writer Nick Spencer tweeted this morning, referring to a post at Kabooooom. “Trust me, no one is more bummed about this than I am.”
Announced in August, the four-issue miniseries teamed Spencer with Demo artist Becky Cloonan for what was supposed to be a tale of a teenaged Doom as he journeyed into Hell to save the spirit of his mother.
“Really proud of the scripts and hope to get to work with @beckycloonan sooner rather than later,” Spencer wrote on Twitter.
The news follows a round of layoffs at Marvel last month that included the project’s editor Alejandro Arbona, as well as the cancellations of Alpha Flight, All-Winners Squad and Iron Man 2.0 (the latter also written by Spencer).
Comics A.M. | DC, Marvel tease big announcements as NYCC looms
New York Comic Con
Conventions | The New York Post previews this week’s New York Comic Con in a pair of articles, the second of which focuses on announcements from Marvel and DC. Marvel’s “Cup O’ Joe” panel will reveal how Fear Itself, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade and X-Men: Schism tie together, while DC plans to reveal “the surprising origin of a longtime member of the Justice League” and more creators who will work on their New 52 books, in addition to Andy Kubert. Update: Presumably the Justice League member with the surprising origin is Wonder Woman. [New York Post article #1, article #2]
Comics | Not surprisingly, DC saw double-digit increases in September compared to the year before, but the overall market was down a touch as graphic novel sales, lacking this year’s equivalent of Scott Pilgrim, were down. [The Comichron]
Business | Disney CEO Robert Iger, who oversaw the company’s purchase of both Marvel Entertainment and Pixar, will step down as CEO in March 2015. [Bloomberg]
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).
SDCC ’11 | T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents returns in November
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents by Frank Quitely
Here’s some great news from San Diego Comic-Con — T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents are returning in November with a new six-issue series by writer Nick Spencer, artist Wes Craig and “special guest artists” like DC’s first run did. Flashpoint artist Andy Kubert will provide the covers.
“It’s the little book that could! Nothing seems to stop this thing,” Nick Spencer told The Source. “I’m very grateful to DC for allowing us to continue telling this story that everyone involved has become so passionate about. This is really what we’ve been building towards since the very first issue– everything comes to a head here, and the twists and turns only get crazier as we delve deeper into it. To get to see this story through is enormously fulfilling from a creative perspective, and I’m excited and hopeful that with the collected edition on its way and the first arc already available digitally, we’ll have an opportunity to introduce a legion of new readers to these fantastic characters and the rich history of T.H.U.N.D.E.R.”
“We were thrilled with the response the first volume of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents got, so we wanted to do a new #1 so people who’ve been curious about the title would have a clean place to jump on board,” series editor Wil Moss said. “Nick Spencer has a crazy level of passion for this title, and he’s come up with a truly great story for this miniseries — underground warlords, deaths, rebirths, betrayals — trust me, you won’t want to miss it! And to have the incredibly versatile and talented Wes Craig on board as the main interior artist, with Andy freakin’ Kubert on board for covers? Not to mention the surprise guest artists who’ll be contributing to #2-5? You’ve no doubt already reworked your comics budget so you can pick up all 52 new books we’re launching in September — what’s one more?”
The first issue comes out Nov. 16, the same day as the trade paperback collection of the first T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents run.
SDCC ’11 | Robert Kirkman spills the goods on Thief of Thieves
Thief of Thieves #1
Robert Kirkman has at last revealed details of Thief of Thieves, a collaboration with Morning Glories writer Nick Spencer first teased a year ago with the launch of the Skybound imprint.
The Walking Dead creator tells USA Today he’ll employ a writer’s room approach similar to what occurs with television series, with he and Spencer hammering out the overall plot, and a team of scribes trading off on story arcs. (It appears virtually identical to the model used by Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, on which Joss Whedon served as executive producer.)
Spencer will pen the first arc of Thief of Thieves, which follows an aging international art thief who decides to retire from the game and instead steal from other criminals. “He’s got this compulsion where he has to steal or he doesn’t feel like he’s living, but he doesn’t want to break the law anymore,” Kirkman tells the newspaper.
Shawn Martinbrough, known for his noirish approach on such titles as Luke Cage Noir, Angeltown and DMZ — he even wrote the book How to Drawn Noir Comics — will be the permanent artist. Kirkman will step in at some point to pen his own arc. However, he’s keeping the names of the other writers a secret; presumably at least some of them will be revealed this week at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Visit USA Today to see a preview of the first issue. Thief of Thieves debuts early next year from Kirkman’s new Image Comics imprint Skybound.
DC relaunch scorecard: DCnU or DC No?
Green Lantern #1, by Dave Johnson
Although it seems like DC’s big relaunch announcement came out an eternity ago, it actually took the publisher less than two weeks to roll out the 52 titles and their creative teams for the big relaunch/reboot/overhaul coming in September. Now that the cats are out of their respective bags, I thought I’d see where various creators and characters will land after the reboot.
So I went back through DC’s August solicitations to see who was writing or drawing what, and tried to map everyone to their post-relaunch project — if they had one. However, looking at DC’s August solicitations, there seem to be several fill-in issues, so where appropriate I tried to map the most recent ongoing creative teams to their new projects (for instance, I consider Gail Simone and Jesus Saiz the regular creative team for Birds of Prey, even if they aren’t doing the last two issues before September hits). Keep in mind that I just went through the ongoing series and skipped over all the miniseries … of which there are a lot, what with Flashpoint winding up in August.
It’s also worth noting that although several creators didn’t appear in the “big 52″ announcements, that doesn’t mean their tenure with DC is necessarily over — some, like Frazer Irving, have said they have future projects that haven’t been announced. So I tried to note where creators have talked publicly about their post-relaunch plans with DC (or lack thereof, as the case may be). The same could probably be said for some of DC’s characters as well. Or, as Gail Simone said on Twitter: “Again, September is NOT THE END. There’s still plans for characters that we haven’t seen yet.”
So let’s get to it ….
Talking Comics with Tim | Nick Dragotta
Pages from Vengeance 1
If you were one of those folks who not heard of artist Nick Dragotta before this year, it’s quite feasible you learned about the storyteller after his work on Fantastic Four 588 (the silent mourning for Johnny Storm issue). If Dragotta’s next project is half as successful as I expect it to be, even more folks will know and like his art. That project? He and writer Joe Casey’s six-issue Marvel miniseries, Vengeance [set to be released July 6]. As described by Marvel: “When MAGNETO of the X-Men tries to rescue a young Mutant on the run, he accidently kicks off a series of events that will shake the very Marvel Universe to it’s core! Who are the new TEEN BRIGADE?! Who are the Brotherhood and what do they want with the YOUNG MASTERS OF EVIL?! And how is the RED SKULL pulling the strings from beyond the grave?” My thanks to Dragotta for the interview (and for the above preview art from the first issue). Once you’ve read this interview, be sure to also read Timothy Callahan’s When Words Collide column/Joe Casey interview.