the incal
‘Drive’ director adapting ‘Incal’ for big screen
One of the greatest comic series ever may finally make its way to the big screen. However, most people in the United States haven’t even read the book.
Late last month at the annual movie spectacle Festival de Cannes, Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn revealed in an interview with France Inter that he was beginning work on a big-screen adaptation of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius’ epic graphic novel series The Incal.
Debuting in 1981, the comic follows a one-time bodyguard named John DiFool after he comes in possession of a powerful artifact — the Light Incal — which leads to various factions of a galactic empire coming to take it from him. Based in part on the Tarot, the series is space opera but in a way very much unlike Star Wars.
In late 2011 the U.S. arm of Humanoids released a deluxe edition of the first six issues of The Incal, featuring a foreword by Brian Michael Bendis, after a long and tenuous series of previous printings in America. First released here by Marvel’s Epic line, in the past 20 years it’s had printings at DC and the U.K. publishing house SelfMadeHero.
Portland’s Floating World Comics to host art tribute to The Incal
Although not as well-known in the United States as Jack Kirby or Stan Lee, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius are vaunted names for knowledgeable comics fans, no matter which side of the Atlantic you live on. And now Portland, Oregon’s Floating World Comics is hosting an exhibit in February paying homage to the duo’s groundbreaking sci-fi graphic novel The Incal.
Titled “As Above So Below,” this gallery-style exhibition will feature homages to The Incal by more than 20 illustrators and fine artists as collected by blogger Ian MacEwan. Participating artists include Killian Eng (who did the poster at right), Ari Bach, A.T. Pratt, Brett Cook, Chase Van Weerdhuizen, Dave Taylor, Duncan Gist, Gil Agudin, John Thomason, Kara Frame, Luis Bañuelos, Orion, Matt Horak, Nic Williams, Nickolej Villiger, Nicolas Delort, Ricardo García Hernanz, Ruth Knight, Sloane Leong, Spencer Hawkes and Wren McDonald.
This exhibit began its life when MacEwan put out a call on his tumblr Quenched Consciousness for artists to redraw a single panel from The Incal.
Food or Comics? | Black beans or Black Beetle
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.
Black Beetle: Night Shift
Graeme McMillan
It’s beginning to look a lot like the final Wednesday before Christmas (and the final full one of the year), so with my $15, I’d get some gifts for myself that I know I’ll enjoy: the second issue of Chris Roberson (and now, Dennis Calero)’s Masks (Dynamite, $3.99), the third issue of Brandon Graham’s Multiple Warheads: Alphabet to Infinity (Image, $2.99) and Francesco Francavilla’s The Black Beetle: Night Shift #0 (Dark Horse, $2.99). Also, I suspect that I’ll be unable to resist the first part of Vertigo’s adaptation of Django Unchained (DC/Vertigo, $3.99), too.
If I had $30, I’d add another pile of favorites to that list: Judge Dredd #2 (IDW, $3.99), the by-now-amazingly-late-but-still-enjoyable Bionic Woman #6 (Dynamite, $3.99), Hawkeye #6 (Marvel Comics, $2.99), and the latest issue of the always-wonderful Saga (Image, $2.99).
When it comes to splurging, however, then I’m going to be playing it relatively cheaply: That Star Trek 100-Page Winter Spectacular (IDW, $7.99) feels like it might offer just the kind of space-age cheer I’ll be grateful for by mid-week … Happy Warpspeed Holidays, all.
Previews: What looks good for December
The Dare Detectives: The Snow Pea Plot
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 I don’t have to come up with a new way to say, “ Life with Archie is still awesome!” every month. And I’ll continue letting Tom and Carla do the heavy lifting in regards to DC and Marvel’s solicitations.
Also, please feel free to play along in the comments. Tell me what I missed that you’re looking forward to or – if you’re a comics creator – mention your own stuff.
Ape
Richie Rich Gems Winter Special - In addition to their modern-look Richie Rich, Ape has also re-introducied the classic version in both new and reprinted adventures. I missed the solicit for Richie Rich Gems #44 last month (which picked up where the Harvey series left off in 1982), but the series continues with not only the Winter Special, but #45 as well.
Arcana
Dragons vs Dinosaurs - I haven’t had great luck with Arcana’s books in the past, but c’mon. The title alone…
Hero Happy Hour: On the Rocks - This, on the other hand, is no risk at all. I’m a big fan of Dan Taylor and Chris Fason’s superhero bar stories and this is an all-new, 80-page adventure. Not reprints; not even a printed version of the webcomic. It’s all-new and I need it.
Archaia
The Dare Detectives: The Snow Pea Plot Collected Edition – Archaia prepares for their publishing Ben Caldwell’s Dare Detectives: The Kula Kola Caper by re-publishing the first story that was originally put out by Dark Horse.
Comics A.M. | Why Marvel spoils stories in the media, Green Lantern lateness
Ultimate Spider-Man #160
Publishing | Arune Singh, Marvel’s director of communications, addresses how Marvel works with media outlets to break major storyline news and in many cases spoil the story, like Ultimate Spider-Man dying. Their goal is to hopefully bring lapsed or non-fans into stores: “When we line up this kind of mainstream media coverage, it’s offering the promise of breaking this big news to the outlet. It’s with the knowledge that they’ll be the ones making the headlines, being referenced by other sites and getting the attention. But if we wait till the story breaks or the Wednesday books go on-sale, someone else is going to buy the issue early in the morning and break the news. Is it possible that mainstream outlets will still pick up on the news then? Yes, it’s possible. But the only way to guarantee that big, sweeping placement worldwide — as you’ve seen with the Death of Spider-Man — is to break it before anyone has a chance. And that kind of placement is, as I mentioned above, what will get us attention from outside the industry.” [ComicsAlliance]
Retailing | Toronto retailer Chris Butcher worries about how well the two late Green Lantern movie prequel comics — one shipping this week, one shipping in August — will sell so long after the film’s release. He also discusses the lateness of the final issue of the War of the Green Lanterns crossover, which won’t come out until after the epilogue story in this week’s Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #11. [Comics212]
Food or Comics? | This week’s comics on a budget
Batman Inc. #7
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.
Chris Mautner
If I had $15:
I’d pick up Batman Inc. #7 ($2.99) and that would be it, so afterwards I’d pat myself on the back for not blowing my whole $15.
If I had $30:
I’d go with Farm 54 ($25), a new hardbound collection of stories by the brother and sister team of Galit and Gilad Seliktar, courtesy of Fanfare/Ponent Mon. It’s basically a semi-autobiographical collection of tales capturing a young woman at various critical stages in her youth, adolescence and young adulthood, all done in a tentative, wispy watercolor. Lovely stuff to flip through, at the very least.
