Thanos
Jordan and Roberts: ‘Carpool Buddies of Doom’ creators … of doom
Rafer Roberts is running a Kickstarter campaign for his Plastic Farm comic, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do other awesome things, too, like illustrate a three-page comic Justin Jordan (The Strange Talent of Luther Strode) wrote about Thanos, Darkseid and some very special coffee. I was going to lament that I can’t actually buy Thanos’ “Titan Love Letter” blend, but after hearing him and Darkseid talk about it, maybe it’s best that way. Grab a cup of your own favorite joe, read the rest of the comic, then go help Roberts out with a Kickstarter donation. That sounds like a great way to start the day. Continue Reading »
What Are You Reading? with Ron Marz
Welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading?, where today we welcome special guest Ron Marz. Marz has written everything from Green Lantern to Witchblade, and you can currently find him working on comics like Artifacts, Prophecy, Blackburn Burrow and The Ride: Southern Gothic. He also writes the column Shelf Life for Comic Book Resources and can be found on Twitter.
To see what Ron and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.
Quote of the Day | DC creators are financially ‘taken care of’
Graham Nolan, Chuck Dixon, and their creation
[Bane co-creator] Graham [Nolan] and I both signed participation agreements, which are good in perpetuity. So it’s not up to them whether they take care of us. We’re taken care of. We’ve seen money from Bane all along – the Lego games and the little Bane-shaped piece in the Spaghettios. We always get a piece of what Bane makes. We’ll see money from this movie. They have graphs and charts to figure out how much based on how many lines of dialogue he has and how much he’s in the movie and how much impact he has on the story. We were part of it the last time when Bane was in the last [Joel] Schumacher film really briefly. We participated in that.
– Chuck Dixon, on the benefits of creating Bane for DC Comics
Would you pay $6,000 for Thanos’ first appearance?
No sooner did Marvel Studios confirm development a Guardians of the Galaxy movie at Comic-Con International — moving the cinematic universe in a decidedly more cosmic direction — than the speculator market kicked into gear.
The Los Angeles Times reports that by Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the Marvel announcement, one dealer was trying to sell a near-mint copy of the first appearance for Thanos at 100 times its usual price. The profile of the Mad Titan has, of course, risen considerably since his shadowy cameo in Marvel’s billion-dollar blockbuster The Avengers.
“I’m asking $6,000 for it,” the dealer told Geoff Boucher. “I know that’s high — hey, that’s really high — but that’s next year’s price.”
The comic in question is February 1973′s The Invincible Iron Man #55, by Jim Starlin, Mike Friedrich and Mike Esposito, which another dealer said is unlikely to fetch that hefty figure. However, he said he sold a copy for $1,200, saying, “That is the chosen book this year.”
Comics A.M. | Is a battle over Thanos building? Tim Marchman redux
Thanos
Creators | Following the appearance of the Infinity Gauntlet in Thor and the cameo by Thanos in The Avengers, Marvel appears poised to expand the cosmic elements of its cinematic universe with The Guardians of the Galaxy. While some fans eagerly await a movie announcement next week at Comic-Con International, Thanos creator Jim Starlin (who had to buy his own tickets to Thor and The Avengers) may be laying the groundwork for a legal challenge: Heidi MacDonald points out that Starlin has posted an early drawing of the Mad Titan on his Facebook page, writing, “This is probably one of the first concept drawings of Thanos I ever did, long before I started working at Marvel. Jack Kirby’s Metron is clearly the more dominant influence in this character’s look. Not Darkseid. Both D and T started off much smaller than they eventually became. This was one of the drawings I had in my portfolio when I was hired by Marvel. It was later inked by Rich Buckler.” [The Beat]
Comics | Tim Marchman, author of that much-discussed Wall Street Journal article, is at it again, this time interviewing Watchmen editor Len Wein about his work on Before Watchmen, and including the interventions of DC Comics Publicity Manager Pamela Mullin as part of the story. Between the embargo on the comic and Mullin doing her job, it sounds like the most interesting parts of the interview never made it into the final product. [The Daily Beast]
Comics A.M. | Florida comic store raided, owner arrested
Spice
Crime | Michael Lewis, owner of Rocket Comics in Pensacola, Florida, is being held on a $11,000 bond after his store was raided by police for allegedly selling “Spice,” a synthetic form of cannabis. [WEAR ABC]
Publishing | The Economist’s Babbage blog takes a look at R. Stevens’ successful Kickstarter for his webcomic Diesel Sweeties, which raised $60,000, far overshooting his initial goal of $3,000. [The Economist]
Creators | Gary Groth previews his interview with renowned children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, who passed away last week at age 83. The interview, conducted in October, is scheduled to appear in the next issue of The Comics Journal. [TCJ.com]
SDCC ’10 | Marvel Super Hero Squad searches for Infinity Gauntlet in new game
Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet
THQ today announced a sequel to 2009′s Marvel Super Hero Squad video game. Titled Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet the game will have players “using their super powers and super smarts to battle Doctor Doom’s Lethal Legion and search out the locations of the six lost Infinity Stones.” And hey, is that Thanos I see on the cover? Why yes it is.
The press release promises an “even larger” team of heroes. “We are excited to announce the next game in our Marvel Super Hero Squad franchise to an eager fan base,” said Martin Good, Executive Vice President, Kids, Family, Casual Games, and Global Online Services. “The new co-op Challenge Mode, super-powered action-combat and integrated puzzles truly elevate the series and further broaden the audience.”
The game will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DS systems. More info and pics after the jump …
This means war: Thanos Imperative #3 teaser
The Thanos Imperative #3
Marvel sent over a teaser image for the third issue of their galactic war mini-series The Thanos Imperative, featuring some cosmic heavyweights no doubt marching on to war … that tag line looks familiar, doesn’t it?
Here’s what Marvel had to say about the issue:
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at The Thanos Imperative #3 from the rock star creative team of Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Miguel Sepulveda! The Galaxy’s Mightiest Heroes come together in an effort to save the universe from the brink of destruction! Can Beta Ray Bill, Silver Surfer, Nova, Ronan, Gladiator and Quasar put an end to the intergalactic threat from the Cancerverse? Find out this August in The Thanos Imperative #3!
THE THANOS IMPERATIVE #3 (of 6) (JUN100613)
Written by DAN ABNETT & ANDY LANNING
Penciled by MIGUEL ANGEL SEPULVEDA
Cover by ALEKSI BRICLOT
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 7/22/10, On Sale 8/11/10
The Thanos Imperative to ‘ignite’ in Marvel’s cosmic books
The Thanos Imperative
Marvel announced today that not only is Thanos coming back in the pages of Guardians of the Galaxy, but he’s bringing another cosmic event with him.
In an interview with Marvel.com, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning talked about The Thanos Imperative: Ignition, a one-shot due in May that will kick off their next cosmic epic.
“The Thanos Imperative: Ignition is a great place to jump aboard and you won’t need any prior knowledge,” Lanning said. “But if you’re a devoted reader, there are rich seams of pay-off to enjoy. The threat of the Fault, a huge rip in time and space left by the War of Kings, is something we’ve been exploring in the Realm of Kings stories that run into The Thanos Imperative. This is the moment where Magus, a very serious bad guy in his own right, takes control of it and galactic disaster follows! This epic story forms a climax to many of the tales we’ve been spinning in the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe for the last three years.”
He said that the event will include Nova, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Silver Surfer and Quasar, as well as villains like Magus.