Stan Lee
Comics A.M. | Could WonderCon’s Anaheim move be permanent?
Anaheim Convention Center
Conventions | WonderCon was held in Anaheim, California, this year because the traditional venue, San Francisco’s Moscone Center, was closed for renovations. Heidi MacDonald wonders whether the shift will be permanent, and a lively debate ensues in comments. SFBay, meanwhile, informally surveyed exhibitors, and found many retailers saw a steep drop in sales from last year, while many artists saw an increase in revenue. [The Beat]
Retailing | ICv2 sees an uptick in manga sales in comics stores and speculates that the Borders bankruptcy has led readers to a variety of different channels, including the direct market, which could be an opportunity for comics stores to expand their customer base. [ICv2]
Digital comics | Digital distributor comiXology will offer HD versions of all its comics for readers who use the new third-generation iPad, and Jason Snell says the new retina display and the HD comics make for a much better reading experience. [Macworld UK]
- March 20, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson
Scientific-minded Stan Lee finds flying Superman ‘frustrating’
As a chief architect of the Marvel Universe, Stan Lee co-created everyone from the wall-crawling Spider-Man to the rampaging Hulk to the flaming Human Torch — y’know, characters grounded in science – but he admits he finds the powers of one high-flying superhero a little “frustrating”: the Man of Steel.
Explaining his approach to creating the classic Marvel superheroes, Lee told TV Kids, “Basically, if you’ve read my stories you know I’m very scientific minded. For example, I didn’t just have Spider-Man gain a spider power miraculously, I did it as scientifically as possible — he was bitten by a radioactive spider. It could have happened to anybody. When the Hulk became the Hulk, it just didn’t happen casually — there was a gamma-ray bomb that exploded. If you ask me what a gamma ray is, I would have no idea at all, but it sounds very scientific, I think. The Fantastic Four, they gained their powers from cosmic rays, of which I know as little as I do gamma rays, but they sound impressive. At that point I ran out of rays, so when I had to do the X-Men, I took the cowardly way out, I said, well they’re just born that way, that’s all. They’re mutants. That got me off the hook there.”
After referencing Lady Gaga, the legendary writer has a little fun, insisting — with tongue firmly planted in cheek, no doubt — that, unlike so many of his characters, Superman’s flying ability doesn’t make much sense.
- March 15, 2012 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Comic-Con badges go on sale Saturday
Comic-Con International
Comic-Con | Badges for Comic-Con International go on sale online Saturday at 8 a.m. PT for those who met the Feb. 28 deadline to register for Member IDs. Emails were sent out Thursday directing those with Member IDs to the specific Event Planning International Corp web address. Organizers instituted the registration system this year in an attempt to make the notoriously problematic badge-purchasing process go more smoothly: Everyone — attendee, volunteer, professional or press — who intends to purchase or apply for a convention badge must first have a Member ID. Comic-Con will be held July 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. [Comic-Con International]
Community | If you helped Mike Meyer, the mentally disabled man whose entire Superman collection was stolen last year, NPR would like to talk to you. After the theft, comics fans sent hundreds of Superman items to Meyer to replace the ones that were stolen. Eventually the original collection was retrieved, and Meyer shared most of the donated items with a local children’s hospital. NPR interviewed Meyer for its State of the Re:Union show and would like to talk to donors large and small as well. Contact details are at the link. [ComicsAlliance]
- March 2, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
MangaNEXT: Vertical licenses Stan Lee manga
The manga publisher Vertical Inc. announced two new licenses at MangaNEXT: Heroman, which is co-written by Stan Lee, and The Limit, a serious take on bullying by Keiko Suenobu, the creator of Life, a manga about cutting that was published by Tokyopop in 2006. They will also be publishing a Queen’s Blade art book, based on the popular Japanese franchise that includes illustrated books, manga, anime, and video games.
Heroman is not a typical title for Vertical, but marketing director Ed Chavez said the manga really surprised him. “This is a very smart introduction to not just manga reading and traditional Japanese tropes of science fiction and the like, kaiju and giant monsters, but also a great introduction to American superhero comics,” he said. “To have Stan Lee involved and to have Square Enix [the publisher] involved, I thought this was a very interesting proposition.”
Lee developed the plot for the series, which was made into an anime by the anime studio Bones. The story, which is set in Los Angeles (or a city very much like it), is about a teenager who is a little undersized who wants to be a hero; he picks up a discarded toy that someone has thrown away and… well, you know… next thing there’s aliens and giant robots. Sounds like good stuff. Square Enix is the publisher of Fullmetal Alchemist and Black Butler, as well as a host of popular games, and they sure know how to make manga.
The other new manga license, The Limit, is a shoujo story that, Chavez said, “even the dumb old guys at Vertical—we are in our 30s—could understand.” In other words, it lacks the visual busyness of a lot of shoujo manga (see: Sailor Moon, or anything by Arina Tanemura), and, Chavez says, “It’s brutal. Once you get to the halfway part of the first volume, it’s literally a survival story, with high school girls. Six girls come in, three girls come out. I want to see not just your traditional shoujo reader pick this up, I would like to see the guys pick it up. It’s a harsh title.”
- February 24, 2012 @ 02:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope documentary trailer debuts
Apple.com has premiered the first trailer for Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, the film by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) examining the cultural phenomenon that is Comic-Con International by following the lives of five attendees.
As you can see from the cosplay-heavy trailer below, the documentary also boasts plenty of familiar faces, including Kevin Smith, Seth Rogen, Eli Roth and Stan Lee (who, along with Joss Whedon, is one of the executive producers.
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope opens April 6.
- February 23, 2012 @ 10:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Stan Lee Media loses fight for Conan the Barbarian rights
A federal judge has dismissed a bid by Stan Lee Media Inc. to reclaim the rights to Conan the Barbarian, which the failed dot-com briefly held before going into bankruptcy in 2001. However, a bigger legal brawl still lies ahead, when the company appears before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on March 8 to argue it should be allowed to pursue the rights to Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, The Avengers and other lucrative Marvel properties.
Stan Lee Media, which operates independently of its namesake and co-founder — in fact, it’s suing Stan Lee — has struggled since emerging from bankruptcy in November 2006 to regain some of the money and glory from the heyday of the Internet bubble, primarily through lawsuits claiming the improper transfer of intellectual properties.
In the Conan lawsuit, filed in August even as Conan the Barbarian 3D arrived in theaters, the company claimed, in part, that when Conan Sales Co. bought back the rights to the Robert E. Howard characters in 2002, shareholders weren’t notified, and SLM’s interests weren’t properly represented. The complaint also alleged that Arthur Lieberman, Lee’s longtime attorney, committed fraud during the proceedings, and failed to report conflicts of interest. As a result, SLM argued, the transfer of the rights to Conan Sales Co., which subsequently sold them to Paradox Entertainment, should be annulled.
- February 14, 2012 @ 06:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | James Sturm on why he’s boycotting The Avengers
Artwork by James Sturm
Creators | Market Day creator James Sturm explains he’ll be boycotting The Avengers movie because he believes Jack Kirby, co-creator of many of Marvel’s longest-lasting characters, “got a raw deal”: “What makes this situation especially hard to stomach is that Marvel’s media empire was built on the backs of characters whose defining trait as superheroes is the willingness to fight for what is right. It takes a lot of corporate moxie to put Thor and Captain America on the big screen and have them battle for honor and justice when behind the scenes the parent company acts like a cold-blooded supervillain. As Stan Lee famously wrote, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’” Tom Spurgeon notes the position seems to mark a shift for Sturm, who wrote the Eisner-winning 2003 miniseries Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules for Marvel. [Slate, The Comics Reporter]
- February 8, 2012 @ 07:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | Guy Delisle, Jim Woodring win Angoulême honors
Jerusalem
Awards | The gold medal for Best Graphic Album at the Angoulême International Comics Festival went to Guy Delisle for Jerusalem, and the jury awarded a Special Prize to Jim Woodring for his Congress of the Animals. Veteran French creator Jean-Claude Denis was awarded the Grand Prix de la ville d’Angoulême, so he will preside over next year’s festival, as Art Spiegelman did this year. Two manga won awards as well: Kaoru Mori’s A Bride’s Story won the Intergenerational Award, and Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s autobiographical A Drifting Life received the World Outlook Award. The Heritage Award went to Glenat’s edition of Carl Barks’ Donald Duck. [Paris Match]
Conventions | New Orleans Comic Con, held over the weekend, receives plenty of coverage, with spotlights on Stan Lee’s panel, aspiring creators and cosplayers. [Reuters, The Times-Picayune]
- January 30, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | San Diego Convention Center plan advances
San Diego Convention Center
Conventions | San Diego City Council on Tuesday approved the basic funding plan for the proposed $500 million expansion of the San Diego Convention Center, home to Comic-Con International. At the center of the financing scheme is an assessment district that adds between between 1 cents and 3 cents per dollar to room taxes of 224 hotels with more than 30 rooms. Those hotels closest to the convention center would be assessed an extra 3 cents per dollar, and those farthest away could be charged an extra penny per dollar.
The expansion plan has a ticking clock, as Comic-Con has signed a deal to remain in San Diego through 2015, but larger venues in Las Vegas and Anaheim have been lobbying organizers to look elsewhere. [NBC San Diego]
- January 25, 2012 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
Previews: What Looks Good for March
The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist
It’s time once again for our monthly trip through Previews looking for cool, new comics. As usual, we’re focusing on graphic novels, collected volumes and first issues so that we don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “Batwoman is still awesome!” every month. And we’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.
One cool change this month and for the foreseeable future: I’m joined by Graeme McMillan who’ll also be pointing out his favorites.
Finally, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell us what we missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.
Abrams Comicarts
The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist – I admit, I tend to run hot and cold on Clowes’ output, but I’m a sucker for coffee-table career retrospectives, so the idea of taking 224 pages to look back at his career to date (with, of course, the traditional little-seen artwork and commentary) seems like a must-look at the very least. [Graeme]
Abstract Studios
Rachel Rising, Volume 1: The Shadow of Death – Terry Moore’s latest series gets its first collection and I love the premise of a woman’s waking up in a shallow grave with no memory of how she got there and needing to figure out who tried to kill to her. [Michael]
- January 24, 2012 @ 12:00 PM by Michael May
Stan Lee is licensed to thrill in this week’s episode of Chuck
Comics legend Stan Lee will appear on this Friday’s Christmas episode of NBC’s Chuck, playing himself but with a little bit of a twist. Entertainment Weekly posted the above clip of his cameo. Chuck airs at 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific.
- December 21, 2011 @ 08:13 PM by JK Parkin
Stan Lee’s Super Seven gets a new name and a release date
Mighty 7
It’s been almost two years since A Squared Entertainment and Archie Comics announced they were teaming up with Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment to create a comic called Super Seven — not to be confused with the cartoon of the same name or the toy company with a similar name that filed suit for trademark infringement.
Now it looks like the project is finally going to see the light of day, although with a different name, as Stan Lee’s Mighty 7 is showing up on the Previews World site. The story involves seven aliens landing on Earth who are taught to be superheroes by Stan Lee himself. Alex Saviuk is penciling the book and drew both of its covers (You can find the variant cover for the book after the jump).
Look for it in March.
- December 17, 2011 @ 08:00 AM by JK Parkin
Stan Lee Excelsior Award shortlist announced
What, you’ve never heard of the Stan Lee Excelsior Award? Well then, you must not be a teenager in the U.K. The awards were started last year by a teacher in Sheffield, and students in 17 different schools voted for their favorite graphic novels. This year, 66 schools participated. The books must be suitable for readers aged 11-16, and yes, Stan Lee did authorize the use of his name, although other than that he doesn’t seem to be personally involved (however, the website does say organizers work closely with the Stan Lee Foundation).
Here’s what’s interesting about this shortlist: It reflects what tweens and teens are actually reading, as opposed to what the adult gatekeepers think they should be reading. That means the list is fascinatingly eclectic and also devoid of any award winners — I know when I was a kid, that foil Newbery Award seal was the kiss of death. Things don’t seem to have changed much. Here’s the 2012 shortlist:
- December 7, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Quote of the day | Stan Lee as the Sean Parker of Marvel
Stan Lee
“[Stan] Lee will receive a special Vanguard award from the Producers Guild in January, and the press release announcing the award claims that he ‘has exerted more influence over the comic book industry than anyone in history,’ which is probably true, but it also claims that he ‘created or co-created 90 percent of Marvel’s most recognized comic characters.’ We’ll never actually know the truth of those collaborations — like great modern American success stories, the truth has been lost in a neverending quagmire of lawsuits. (If this were The Social Network, you could argue that he was the Sean Parker of Marvel. Which isn’t a bad thing: Without Sean Parker, Facebook wouldn’t be Facebook.) [...] Lee will probably give a great speech when he wins the award. He’s always been good at talking, especially when he’s talking about his favorite subject, his greatest invention, the one character that we absolutely know for certain he’s 100 percent responsible for creating: Himself.”
– Entertainment Weekly writer Darren Franich, on the announcement that the Producers Guild of America will honor Stan Lee with its 2012 Vanguard Award, recognizing achievement in new media and technology
- November 11, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | Archie hits Nook Tablet; Stan Lee gets Vanguard Award
Archie Comics
Digital | Archie Comics announced that its comics will be available on the recently announced Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. [Archie Comics]
Awards | Stan Lee will receive the Producers Guild of America’s 2012 Vanguard Award recognizing achievement in new media and technology. “Stan Lee’s creative vision and imagination has produced some of the most beloved and visually stunning characters and adventures in history,” Producers Guild Awards co-chairs Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim said in a joint statement. “He not only has created content that will forever be in our culture but continues to make strides in the digital and new media realms, keeping the comic book industry fresh and exciting. Stan’s accomplishments truly encompass the spirit of the Vanguard Award and we are proud to honor him.” George Lucas and John Lasseter are among the award’s previous recipients. [press release]
- November 10, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin