watchmen
Check out Chip Kidd’s ‘Before Watchmen’ deluxe edition covers
BuzzFeed has debuted the Chip Kidd-designed covers for DC Comics’ four Before Watchmen hardcover deluxe editions, which arrive this summer.
A renowned designer and art director, Kidd is widely known for creating the jackets for such books as Michael Chricton’s Jurassic Park and The Lost World, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, David Sedaris’ Naked and Gerard Jones’ Men of Tomorrow. However, he’s also worked extensively in the comics arena, designing the covers for Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Vertical Inc.’s Osamu Tezuka line, and Dave Gibbons’ Watching the Watchmen (for which he also designed the interiors), as well as the logos and trade dress for All-Star Superman and All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. Most recently, Kidd created a variant cover for Before Watchmen: Rorschach #3.
Before Watchmen: Minutemen/Silk Spectre and Before Watchmen: Ozymandias/Crimson Corsair arrive in comic stores June 26 and July 2 everywhere else; Before Watchmen: Nite Owl/Dr. Manhattan and Before Watchmen: Comedian/Rorschach go on sale July 10 in comic stores and July 16 everywhere else.
Comics A.M. | ‘Walking Dead’ eases its grip on bookstore chart
The Walking Dead, Vol. 17
Graphic novels | BookScan’s January list of the Top 20 graphic novels sold in bookstores shows a bit more variety than the previous month, in which 10 of the slots were taken by volumes of The Walking Dead. This time it’s just six, with Building Stories, Saga, and the latest volumes of Sailor Moon and Fables cracking the Top 10. An adaptation of the Book of Revelation from evangelical publisher Zondervan was No. 9, followed by perennial bestseller Watchmen. (Note: The original version erroneously reported the number of Walking Dead titles in the Top 20.) [ICv2]
Creators | Paul Pope talks about his graphic novel Battling Boy, due out this summer, as well as the prequel comic The Death of Haggard West, which will released in in July. [Kotaku]
Quote of the Day | Dave Gibbons on ‘Watchmen’ covers auction
“>sob<”
– Dave Gibbons, responding with humor to the news that his original cover art for Watchmen #1 fetched $155,350 at auction on Friday, many times what he originally sold it for. (As the artist recently noted, the covers were included in an agreement for the original pages to all 12 issues of the landmark series.) “I thought I had a great deal. At the time,” he added in response to a tweet.
The original covers for the first three issues brought a total of $216,892.50 at the New York City auction. The covers for Watchmen #4-12 are expected to be put up for sale later this year.
Rare comics and original art fetch $4.4 million at auction
John Higgins’ color guide for the cover of “Watchmen” #1
Vintage comics and original comic art brought in $4.4 million over the weekend during a Heritage auction in New York City, Artinfo reports. Among the bigger sales were a CGC-graded 6.5 copy of Detective Comics #27, for $567,625, and John Romita Sr.’s original cover for The Amazing Spider-Man #121, which fetched $286,800.
As we noted on Friday, Dave Gibbons’ original cover art for Watchmen #1 sold for $155,350, with the first three covers going for a combined $216,892.50. John Higgins’ color guide for the first cover was bought for $7,767.50. The remaining covers for the 12-issue landmark series are expected to go up for auction later this year.
Wired.com delves into the history of the 12 covers, which were purchased at a Sotheby’s auction in 1993 by former Wizard Publisher Gareb Shamus for what’s been reported to be in the neighborhood of $26,000. The article doesn’t repeat that figure, but it does say what was paid was “a bargain price” (for instance, Higgins’ color guide for the cover of Watchmen #1 was picked up for $50, which was then five to 10 times the usual price).
Dave Gibbons’ ‘Watchmen’ #1-3 covers sell for nearly $217,000
Dave Gibbons’ original cover art for “Watchmen” #1
Dave Gibbons’ original cover art for Watchmen #1-3 sold today at auction for a combined $216,892.50. The first cover, featuring the iconic blood-splattered smiley face, was responsible for the lion’s share of that total, bringing in $155,350 alone. They were joined by John Higgins’ color guide for the cover of Watchmen #1, which went for $7,767.50.
Part of the $1.4 million Shamus Modern Masterworks, accumulated in the 1980s and ’90s by retailer Martin Shamus, father of Wizard magazine founder Gareb Shamus, the Watchmen covers were included in Heritage’s Heritage’s Vintage Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction, held today and Saturday in New York City. Consigned last year to Heritage, the collection already has produced one remarkable sale: Todd McFarlane’s original cover art for The Amazing Spider-Man #328 fetched $657,250 in July, breaking the record for a single piece of American comics art set in 2011 by a splash page from The Dark Knight Returns #3 ($448,125).
Heritage’s Vintage Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction also includes John Romita Sr.’s original cover art for The Amazing Spider-Man #121, an original Calvin and Hobbes strip by Bill Watterson, and 10 pages from Dave Sim’s Cerebus: High Society.
Gibbons’ covers for Watchmen #4-12 reportedly will be put up for sale later this year.
Dave Sim puts 10 pages of Cerebus: High Society up for auction
The same comics art auction this week that features Dave Gibbons’ original Watchmen covers will include 10 pages from Dave Sim’s Cerebus: High Society, sold by the cartoonist himself.
Asked by A Moment of Cerebus whether the sale was part of the “Doomsday Scenario” he outlined last summer in Glamourpuss #26, Sim explained, “Well, in a sense, when you’re 57 years old in the comic-book field, everything is a Doomsday Scenario. I set this in motion by calling Lon and finding out if Heritage was interested, which they were. Very. So, that was very gratifying. But you have to start early. It’s a long process of negotiation and I knew that would be the case. I set that in motion and then John and I did the Kickstarter campaign which didn’t require AS early a start. It was successful but I guessed the money wouldn’t last much past the end of the year with all the overhead and that was what happened. Lon and I weren’t ready for the November auction which is what we originally planned. There was still some negotiating to do. But we were ready for the February auction. Lead time. Everything is lead time.”
Bidding continues online through Thursday, with the sale scheduled for Friday in New York City as part of Heritage Auctions’ Vintage Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction.
Marko Manev’s Superhero Noir
Macedonian illustrator Marko Manev has designed minimalist superhero-themed posters before (check out his Watchmen and Marvel projects on Behance), but his latest series, Superhero Noir, is quite a step up from that work. These are powerful, cinematic, renditions of classic comic book heroes. No wonder these images are showing up all over the internet right now — they’re breathtakingly good, reminding you of how dramatic (or downright majestic) these characters can be when used right. No wonder that when the Bottleneck Gallery announced they were selling prints of a couple of these designs yesterday, they sold out in minutes.
Check out the examples below, then head over to see a few of these not featured here or in Manev’s Behance gallery over at his Tumblr blog. Continue Reading »
Dave Gibbons’ iconic Watchmen cover art heads to auction
Dave Gibbons' original cover art for "Watchmen" #1
The iconic blood-splattered smiley face cover for Watchmen #1 is among a handful of original artwork from the seminal 1986 miniseries by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons up for sale next month as part of a Heritage Auctions signature auction in New York City.
Described by the auction house as “historic” and a “DC masterwork,” the 10-inch by 15-inch image is joined by Gibbons’ covers for Watchmen #2 and #3, John Higgins’ color guide for the cover of Issue 1, a page from Issue 7, and a page and color guide from Issue 8.
The pieces are part of the $1.4 million Shamus Modern Masterworks, accumulated in the 1980s and ’90s by retailer Martin Shamus, father of Wizard magazine founder Gareb Shamus. Consigned last year to Heritage, the collection already has produced one remarkable sale: Todd McFarlane’s original cover art for The Amazing Spider-Man #328 fetched $657,250 in July, shattering the record for a single piece of American comics art set in 2011 by a splash page from The Dark Knight Returns #3 ($448,125).
Online bidding for the Watchmen art begins Feb. 2. The auction will be held Feb. 21-22 at the Ukrainian Institute of America at The Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion in New York City.
Before Watchmen collected editions show up on Amazon
I haven’t seen an official announcement of this yet, but several bloggers have picked up that the info for DC’s Before Watchmen trades is up on Amazon. I first saw this at Chris Marshall’s DGTL Comics. All four books are scheduled for July 2013 release, one each week (so, right around Comic-Con). Here’s what they are listing:
Before Watchmen, Vol. 1, by Darwyn Cooke and Amanda Conner, collects Before Watchmen: Minutemen (1-6) and Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre (1-4).
Before Watchmen, Vol. 2, by Brian Azzarello, J.G. Jones and Lee Bermejo, collects Before Watchmen: Comedian (1-6) and Before Watchmen: Rorschach (1-4)
Before Watchmen, Vol. 3, by J. Michael Straczynski, Adam Hughes and Joe Kubert, collects Before Watchmen: Nite Owl (1-4) and Before Watchmen: Manhattan (1-4)
Before Watchmen, Vol. 4, by Len Wein, Jae Lee and John Higgins, collects Before Watchmen: Ozymandias (1-6).
All four books are more than 250 pages, and Amazon lists the price at $29.99 each. Marshall notes there is also a Deluxe Edition of the original Watchmen that’s due out in June.
In September, DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio told MTV Geek that there would be collected editions of Before Watchmen that “will sit side by side with the Watchmen books.” He also hinted that sales of the trades would determine whether there would be more Before Watchmen comics in the future.
Comics A.M. | Final Dandy print edition features Paul McCartney
Publishing | The final print edition of the 75-year-old children’s comic The Dandy arrives Tuesday, featuring a cameo by none other than Paul McCartney. When it was announced the publication would move online, McCartney wrote the editors explaining it was his lifelong dream to appear in the comic; tomorrow he’ll be seen along with Desperate Dan. [Daily Mail, Daily Mail]
Passings | Jeff Millar, the co-creator, with Bill Hinds, of the comic strip Tank McNamara, has died at the age of 70. [Houston Chronicle]
Quote of the Day | Superman, ‘the Rosetta Stone of all superheroes’
“It’s a more serious version of Superman. It’s not like a heart attack. We took the mythology seriously. We take him as a character seriously. I believe the movie would appeal to anyone. I think that you’re going to see a Superman you’ve never seen before. We approached it as though no other films had been made. He’s the king-daddy. Honestly that’s why I wanted to do it. I’m interested in Superman because he’s the father of all superheroes. He’s this amazing ambassador for all superheroes. What was it about him that cracked the code that made pop culture embrace this other mythology? What we‘ve made as a film not only examines that but is also an amazing adventure story. It’s been an honor to work on. As a comic book fan, Superman is like the Rosetta Stone of all superheroes. I wanted to be sure the movie treated it respectfully.”
– Man of Steel director Zack Snyder, discussing his upcoming reboot of Warner Bros.’ Superman franchise, as well as his 2009 adaptation of Watchmen
Grumpy Old Fan | 43 for 43
The longest journey begins with a single issue
Every week, hard as it may be to believe, I try honestly to offer something I think might interest the larger group of DC Domics superhero readers. However, this week I am invoking a personal privilege. For one thing, with Halloween on a Wednesday (when I usually end up writing these essays), the holiday will more than likely take priority.
The main reason, though, is that today is my birthday, and as you might have guessed from the headline, this year is my 43rd birthday. Therefore, this week I have pulled together an especially memorable DC story and/or issue from each of those years, 1969 through 2012. (Note: They may not always line up with the actual year, but just for simplicity’s sake, all dates are cover dates.) These aren’t necessarily the best or most noteworthy stories of their particular years, but they’ve stuck with me. Besides, while I’ve read a lot of comics from a lot of sources, for whatever reason DC has been the constant. Maybe when I’m 50 I’ll have something more comprehensive.
* * *
Comics A.M. | Indian court blasts police for cartoonist’s arrest
From a cartoon by Aseem Trivedi
Legal | The Bombay High Court had sharp words for the Mumbai Police regarding the arrest of cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on a sedition charge. “How can you (police) arrest people on frivolous grounds? You arrest a cartoonist and breach his liberty of freedom of speech and expression,” said justices DY Chandrachud and Amjad Sayyed during a hearing in the case. The court will issue guidelines for the application of the sedition law, said the justices, who called the arrest of Trivedi “arbitrary.” “We have one Aseem Trivedi who was courageous enough to raise his voice and stand against this, but what about several others whose voices are shut by police.” [The Economic Times]
Creators | Grant Morrison talks about the guy who (literally) ate a copy of Supergods, why he is moving away from superheroes, and his upcoming Pax Americana, which is based on the same Charlton characters as Watchmen: “It’s so not like Watchmen. In the places where it is like Watchmen people will laugh because it’s really quite … it’s really faithful and respectful but at the same time satiric. I don’t think people will be upset by it, in the way that they’ve been upset by Before Watchmen which even though it’s good does ultimately seem redundant … This one is its own thing but it deliberately quotes the kind of narrative techniques used in Watchmen and does something new with them.” [New Statesman]
Comics A.M. | Prosecution lays out case against artist Brett Ewins [Updated]
The Art of Brett Ewins
Legal | The prosecution has laid out its case in the trial of former 2000AD artist Brett Ewins, who was charged with “grievous bodily harm with intent” following a January incident in which he allegedly stabbed a police officer responding to complaints about a man shouting throughout the night. Ewins, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia years ago and is on medication for it, suffered cardiac arrest during the confrontation and was hospitalized for three weeks. He reportedly has no memory of the incident. The defense will contend that the blow to the head rendered him unconscious (like a sleepwalker) so he was not aware of what he was doing. [The Evening Standard]
Talking Comics with Tim | LP’s Curt Pires
LP
Once and a while a comic drops in my inbox that carries some distinct element that snags my interest. LP, by writer Curt Pires and artist Ramon Villalobos, focuses on the life of a musician named F and the LP he possesses, which has unique qualities — far more unique than your average round piece of vinyl. The comic, which Pires is self-distributing, debuts Sept. 26 (it received a pre-release endorsement from guest Ed Brisson in this week’s What Are You Reading?”). In anticipation of its release, Pires took some time to answer my questions regarding his new collaboration with Villalobos — as well as to give me a chance to discuss music a smidge (something I always love to do).
Tim O’Shea: LP centers on a vinyl record (aka LP) — could this story have ever worked for you if it had centered around a CD or an MP3 player?
Curt Pires: I definitely think this story only works on vinyl. There’s something romantic about vinyl — something tactile. Something that you don’t really get with CDs or MP3s. I think a lot of my thoughts as towards this are sort of folded into the story. Sometimes intentionally — other times maybe not so much.
Did you have the story already written when you teamed with Ramon Villalobos, or did you construct the story with his art style in mind?
I had the full script written by the time Ramon had hoped on board to draw the book. I was definitely looking for someone with a bit more of European clean line style to draw this book. I’m a huge fan of this style of art. So Ramon’s sort of Darrow/Grampa/Quitely-influenced style was perfect for this book.