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Comics A.M. | Nate Powell at U.N.; Stan Lee’s YouTube World of Heroes
Nate Powell at the U.N.
Creators | Any Empire and Swallow Me Whole creator (and our special guest this weekend for What Are You Reading?) Nate Powell appeared at the United Nations earlier this month with several teen-fiction writers who contributed to What You Wish For, a benefit book to fund libraries in Darfuri refugee camps in Chad. Video of the event can now be found on the U.N. website. [Top Shelf]
Business | Details on the collaboration between Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment Inc. and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner’s Vuguru have emerged: The two companies will work on a YouTube channel called “Stan Lee’s YouTube World of Heroes.” The channel is one of the 100 online video channels announced by the Google-owned video site, which seeks to add “professional, high-quality programming” to its site. [Los Angeles Times]
Business | They might move slow and eat people, but MSNBC estimates that zombies are worth about $5 billion to the economy. [MSNBC]
- October 31, 2011 @ 06:55 AM by Brigid Alverson and JK Parkin
‘He’s all white, and covered in spots, that’s why he’s called The Spot’
Although Marvel is heavily focused right now on the various Avengers movies hitting this summer and next, no doubt they’re looking for a big franchise to kick off in 2013. Using a green-screen suit, Patrick Willems may just have come up with the answer — The Spot. And he already has a catchy theme song to boot.
- June 23, 2011 @ 02:00 PM by JK Parkin
Your video of the day | How to letter by Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud offers a “how to” guide on the under-appreciated art of lettering comics. Above is part one; you can also watch part two on YouTube.
- May 3, 2011 @ 12:00 PM by JK Parkin
Talking Comics with Tim | Chris Walker
Anti-Matter
At some point in every comic book readers life, they have frequented a store that has quirky ambiance, fellow customers and/or employees. Chris Walker is a writer/director/producer who thought a comedy built around a comic book store would make for a great webseries. And from that initial concept the webseries Anti-Matter launched in late 2010. Filmed in New York’s Jim Hanley’s Universe, Anti-Matter features “hilarious hijinks that happen with the staff and idiosyncratic regulars of a NY comic book shop who treat the store more like a clubhouse than a place of business”.
Tim O’Shea: Can you give some insight into the character development and casting process for the series?
Chris Walker: Anti-Matter was created to be a humorous snapshot of hanging out at the comic store. I wanted to move past the conventional geek/nerd cliché and give a candid, witty look at this world. My goal was to show the broad spectrum of people one might encounter at their local comic shop.
Casting is always a challenge, especially at an indie level. Since the series is based in New York, a lot of talented actors came through for auditions. We had the fortune of casting from the same talent as pool shows like SNL and 30 Rock. Gratefully, we had one of the more unique challenges of production: “How do we fit all this talent on one show?”
- January 24, 2011 @ 04:00 PM by Tim O'Shea
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Todd McFarlane
Legal | A federal judge in Madison, Wisconsin, will hear arguments today regarding Neil Gaiman’s claim that Todd McFarlane owes him money for his copyright interests in three characters — Dark Ages Spawn, Domina and Tiffany — that he says are derivatives of their earlier creations Medieval Spawn, Angela and Count Nicholas Cogliostro.
“Our view is McFarlane just took some of the characters Neil was a co-creator of and just gave them different names,” Gaiman’s attorney Allen Arntsen told The Associated Press. “It’s a matter of principle.” In court filings, McFarlane attorney James Alex Grimsley denied Gaiman has any rights to the three additional characters, claiming they’re not based on the earlier creations. [The Associated Press]
- June 14, 2010 @ 07:20 AM by Kevin Melrose
The return of Spanish Alan Moore: ‘Alan Moore! I have joints!’
Remember that video we posted last month of a Spanish Alan Moore impersonator talking about Watchmen and fandom, and eating a page of From Hell? Of course you do. Well, it turns out there’s a rather surreal — okay, more surreal — sequel featuring an ode to Unbreakable, a cartoon snake … and Jumble, the idea elf who lives in Moore’s beard. Bless you, Neil Gaiman.
- April 15, 2010 @ 02:33 PM by Kevin Melrose
‘And I thought Thor was a robot!’
That Hitler/Downfall video meme is really working overtime. First the Führer learns that NBC is moving Jay Leno back to late-night. And now … now he finds out he could have trouble tracking down some of those Blackest Night tie-ins he missed because of Marvel’s Siege #3 variant offer to retailers. (Warning: The video’s subtitles contain obscenities — and typos.)
(Via Geoff Johns)
- January 14, 2010 @ 04:34 PM by Kevin Melrose
Holy unrefillable prescriptions, Batman
This is why YouTube the internet was invented.
Via Topless Robot > Gorilla Mask
- December 30, 2009 @ 11:10 AM by JK Parkin
Your YouTube video of the day: An intro to Larry Gonick
You may not be aware of it, but the final volume in Larry Gonick’s Cartoon History of the Universe — The Cartoon History of the Modern World Vol. 2 – is coming out in a few weeks. It’s the cap stone on a really wonderful series that underscores how well comics can educate as well as entertain readers. In this swell YouTube promotional video, Gonick talks about his work and process.
Found via Forbidden Planet.
- September 29, 2009 @ 12:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Your YouTube link of the day: Shhhh!
Oh my gollygosh. Someone’s actually adapting one of Jason’s short works to animated film.
Click on that first link to see Part one. (found via Mike Lynch)
- September 1, 2009 @ 11:30 AM by Chris Mautner
Your YouTube video of the day: Hans Rickheit at home
Poet and filmmaker Chad Parenteau visited cartoonist Hans Rickheit at his Philadelphia home and talked to him about his upcoming graphic novel, The Squirrel Machine. (via Flog)
- August 13, 2009 @ 10:10 AM by Chris Mautner
‘Splitting heads this October’
BOOM! Studios has released a trailer for one of the books that made our list of San Diego announcements we were happy about, The Anchor by Phil Hester and Brian Churilla:
A preview of the book can be found in last week’s issue of Irredeemable, which cost 99 cents. You can also find the preview on the book’s new website.
- August 11, 2009 @ 10:22 AM by JK Parkin
Tony Millionaire is God
Well, I don’t know what he’s really like, but in this YouTube video at least, the Maakies cartoonist plays a rather annoyed, and somewhat oddly garbed, deity, frustrated at trying to make a lesser being quaff a bottle of booze. Thank goodness for George Washington. (via Flog)
- July 21, 2009 @ 10:33 AM by Chris Mautner
Talking Comics with Tim: Harry Bliss
Luke on the Loose
Harry Bliss makes comedy and storytelling work on many levels. How do I know? He crafted comedy out of my dry questions in this email interview. In all seriousness, I credit Bliss’ collaborations with Doreen Cronin (including 2003′s Diary of A Worm and 2005′s Diary of a Spider) as being a key catalyst (by tapping into my son’s sense of humor) in sparking an increased interest in reading for him. So when I found out about Bliss’ new book (for Françoise Mouly’s Toon Books), Luke on the Loose (“Luke looks on at the pigeons in Central Park, while Dad is lost in ‘boring Daddy talk’, and before you know it—LUKE IS ON THE LOOSE! He’s free as a bird, on a hilarious solo flight through New York City”, a story in which he handles both the writing and illustrating roles), I jumped at the chance to email interview him. My thanks to Bliss for his time–and to Ron Longe for his assistance in making this interview possible.
Tim O’Shea: You’ve worked with Françoise Mouly for years at the New Yorker–in terms of Luke on the Loose coming together, did she seek you out to work with the Toon Books imprint–or did you seek the publisher out yourself?
Harry Bliss: Francoise asked me to contribute to Toon Books and she is the publisher, so…
O’Shea: You’ve collaborated with several children authors, including Doreen Cronin, Kate DiCamillo, Alison McGhee and Sharon Creech. Were there any storytelling assets or lessons you took away from these collaborations?
Bliss: I learn many things from all the wonderful authors I’ve had the good fortune to work with over the years, mainly, how to integrate words and pictures. It’s really a dance, trying to pair up the text with the art, not simply illustrating the words, but to move the story forward visually. If something is not enriching the story/characters, then it needs to go. This was especially critical with Luke. The author and I went back and forth constant- wait, I wrote Luke! Sorry.
- July 6, 2009 @ 03:00 PM by Tim O'Shea