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October 17, 2006

Nextwave Canceled?

Marvel just let out the solicitations for January and I was a tad suprised when I saw this:

"To all those who HAVEN’T been buying NEXTWAVE– Thanks a lot, jerks! This is the last issue! To all those who HAVE been buying NEXTWAVE– YOU RULE!! Do not miss this pulse-pounding conclusion to the greatest work of western literature EVER! Hamlet? Horrible. War and Peace? What-a-joke! The Great Gatsby? The Great Lame-by, maybe. Those works are going to be moved to the Bad Section of your local bookstores after this issue comes out. Don't miss this or you won’t know what your children’s children are reading in school."

I was surprised because I thought the numbers for the title were good. Thats when I learned Warren Ellis sent out a press release via email:

"Sales on the singles are okay, if not great. Sales on the first collection have apparently been terrific.

We were on such a roll with NEXTWAVE that I was actually into the idea of doing a second year, which is highly unusual for me and work-for-hire properties. So Marvel sat down and looked at the numbers, as they wanted to do a second year too.

What they found was that, at our current sales levels, they could afford for me to write it, but not for Stuart to draw it. Stuart, as a Marvel-exclusive artist, commands a fee commensurate with his astonishing talent. I’m WFH-exclusive too, but they just send me whisky and loose women and I’m fine. So, basically, I could continue to write NEXTWAVE, but we’d need to find another artist. This, to me, was just wrong. I mean, Stuart would obviously be given a far better job that had actual readers attached to it, but it still seemed a bit like the numbers were conspiring to fire him for doing his job too well. Everyone at Marvel pitched in to try and make it work, but the numbers were just against us.

So NEXTWAVE #12 will be the final issue of the ongoing series.

(To clear up a common misconception: NEXTWAVE was always pitched as an ongoing series. However, my original intent was to do 12 and then pass it on to someone else. This got garbled, somewhere down the chain of communication, and so the first issue or two got solicited as “part xxx of 12″.)

However. The numbers game changes when you posit things in terms of limited series.

NEXTWAVE #12 will be the last issue of the ongoing series: but there will be more NEXTWAVE to come, presented as a sequence of limited series.

This was all worked out some months ago, so I had plenty of time to work the final NEXTWAVE sequence into a conclusion of sorts. #11 even features a twelve-page spread that you’ll have to buy six copies of the comic to assemble into its full splendour. Everyone wishes I’d thought of that eight or nine months ago.

That was the news. Return to your duties."

Wizard Sucks

    Wizard sucks because the magazine/website is more about marketing and publicity than news or in-depth coverage. If you want proof of this, then read this headline: “TURNER VARIANT REVEALED FOR 'ONSLAUGHT REBORN' #1! Variant cover for hotly anticipated Marvel series makes its debut!”
    Onslaught was partially responsible for driving away tons and tons of readers in the 90's, yet Wizard claims it’s come-back is “hotly anticipated.”  I’m sorry but that’s a straight up marketing spin, not a news headline.
    And for you OCD fanboys that care about variants, here is the cover:
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October 16, 2006

SPX: All My Coverage

 
Links to all my SPX posts:
Friday, Day 1
Saturday Photo Dump
Ignatz Winners
Scott McCloud Q&A
Center for Cartoon Studies Workshop
McCloud Triva
Working With Main Stream Publishers panel
Changes in Comics Publishing and Distribution

SPX: Changes in Comics Publishing and Distribution panel

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This panel had Fantagraphics Publisher Gary Groth, Top Shelf Publisher Brett Warnock, Picture Box Publisher Dan Nadel, and cartoonist Lauren Weinstein (was supposed to be on the last panel, but missed it so sat in on this one) discussing comic book publishing and book store distribution. Bill Kartalopoulos moderated.

Continue reading "SPX: Changes in Comics Publishing and Distribution panel" »

SPX: Working with Mainstream Publishers Panel

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Agent/Publisher Denis Kitchen and cartoonist Scott McCloud discussed the experience of working with “mainstream” book publishers.  Lauren Weinstein was supposed to be on the panel but a scheduling mix-up had her missing it. This panel and all panels held on Sunday for the “Small Press Summit” were moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.

Continue reading "SPX: Working with Mainstream Publishers Panel" »

October 15, 2006

SPX: More Coverage!

I still have three panels from today that I'm going to clean up and post. The problem with them is that they are really long and I have a lot of typos to remove so it takes a while to make them readable. But I'll either post them later tonight or tomorrow. Then, just so you know, the panels are:

Working with Mainstream Publishers - with Scott McCloud and Denis Kitchen

Changes in Comics Publisher and Distribution - with Gary Groth, Dan Nadel, Brett Warnock and Lauren Weinstein

Publicity and Media - with Heidi MacDonald, Calvin Reid, and Whitney Matheson

SPX: Scott McCloud Q&A

    The Q&A session was held Saturday afternoon in one of the smaller panel rooms at SPX. Bill Kartalopoulos ran the session and allowed audience members to ask questions during the last fifteen minutes. Bill, who attended a session by McCloud a few weeks ago asked him to start off by explaining and talking about the controversial “grid.”

Continue reading "SPX: Scott McCloud Q&A" »

SPX: Day 2 Photo Dump, (Saturday 2006)


Above: This is how full the show floor was all day Friday and Saturday.

Continue reading "SPX: Day 2 Photo Dump, (Saturday 2006)" »

SPX: McCloud-Clan Trivia

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    Here is a piece of McCloud trivia I heard twice over the weekend. You see the panel above? Most of you should recognize it as the last panel in Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics.” In the panel you see Scott, and then Ivy holding their first born, Sky.
    Ivy told me this weekend that Sky’s “release date” and the book’s “release date” are actually two weeks apart and that the book came out first.  However, Scott chose to draw Sky as a new born because he didn’t want his wife immortalized in a pregnant state. She said he felt it was bad luck. She also said that the proof that the book came first is the fact that Scott drew Sky as a bald baby becuase apparently she has always had a full head of hair.

SPX: Center for Cartoon Studies Panel


           
The Center for Cartoon Studies: Presentation and Workshop was led by Robyn Chapman who goes to the CCS in Vermont. From the description of the panel I thought it was going to be about how to cartoon, but it was really one long pitch about the school. Even so it was a lot of fun.

Continue reading "SPX: Center for Cartoon Studies Panel" »

SPX: 2006 Ignatz

Ignatz Winners from last night

Outstanding Series
Owly by Andy Runton (Top Shelf Productions)

Outstanding Comic
Schizo #4 by Ivan Brunetti (Fantagraphics Books)

Outstanding Artist
Tony Millionaire, Billy Hazelnuts (Fantagraphics Books)

Outstanding Minicomic
Monsters by Ken Dahl (Self-Published)

Outstanding Debut Comic
Class of ‘99 by Josh Eiserike (Self-Published)

Outstanding Anthology or Collection
Black Hole by Charles Burns (Pantheon)

Outstanding Minicomic
Monsters by Ken Dahl (Self-Published)

Outstanding Graphic Novel
Tricked by Alex Robinson (Top Shelf Productions)

Outstanding Story
Ganges #1 by Kevin Huizenga (Fantagraphics Books)

Promising New Talent
Hope Larson, Salamander Dream (AdHouse Books), Gray Horses (Oni Press)

Outstanding Online Comic
Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch

October 13, 2006

SPX Day 1, (Friday 2006)

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    Today, I ventured into SPX for the second time (the first was 3 years ago). The most noticeable change was that the convention was held in Rockville. I’m not sure how the ‘regulars’ felt about it, but I liked the new location. It was still crowded, but from what memory serves the lighting was 100 times better. Plus I just like Rockville a lot better than Bethesda [Below: The new location].

    I’ve not been to many conventions (just ones in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and NYC) but even I could tell the difference between SPX and the main stream shows. At SPX, nearly every person you talk to is nice and friendly (That’s not saying people aren’t at mainstream shows just that almost EVERYONE I talked to at SPX was).

Continue reading "SPX Day 1, (Friday 2006)" »

Fantastic Wedding


    Someone posted a buttload of “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” photos on flickr. See them here. These are all from the Reed Richards and Sue Storm wedding which gets crashed by the silver surfer. 


SPX


SPX is today! I'm sneaking onto campus to print copies of "DAD!" for free then heading over to the convention. I may try to do some "live blogging" or at least post updates, but I won't know what I'll be able to do until I get there, so stay tuned.

October 09, 2006

24 Hour Comics Day Numbers

After getting a full night of sleep (I know from experience how nice that was), 24HCD organizer Nat Gertler posted a wrap up of the event. It seems at official locations participants in the world-wide-event hit 1199. Counting people, like me, who made their comics at home, an estimated 20,000+ attempted to make a 24 Hour Comic.

SPX Programing

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    SPX just announced the programming for this weekend. I’m going to have to figure out which panels I want to go to.
    Continue after the break to see the full schedule.

Continue reading "SPX Programing" »

October 04, 2006

"Ghost Rider" trailer


The “Ghost Rider” trailer has been posted online here. I know nothing about Ghost Rider so I can’t give a frame-by-frame break down in an attempt to guess the plot, but I can say that this is a movie I don’t mind waiting for DVD to see.
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October 03, 2006

"X-men 3: The Last Stand" DVD

    I got “X-men 3: The Last Stand” from Blockbuster so I could check out the three Alternate Endings. I was so disappointed in the decisions they made in the film that I was hoping a major alternate ending would make me feel better.
    Well dammit now I feel even more disappointed.
    The first ending is 40 seconds and is exactly the same as the original ending, only Beast makes a joke about needing larger classrooms for all the new students at the school.
    The second ending is 44 seconds long and shows Rouge returning from the clinic where they were healing mutants. This time she didn’t use the “cure” to get rid of her powers. Although it was a such a short scene it’s the version that should have been in the original film. I mean to have the “real” version as her losing her powers goes against what it means to be an X-man.  The X-men are there to show that its ok to be different. They are about accepting yourself for who you are and it just seems wrong that in this third film they had a major character go against that.
     The third ending was 1 minute 4 seconds and has Wolverine at the bar he was in the first film. The bar tenders says “I remember you” and then gets him a drink. The bar tenders also asks “Where are you headed, home?” and Logan says “Yes.”  I’m guessing this was supposed to be a tease for the Wolverine-spin-off, but if it was there was no teasing at all. It was really lame.
   Making the DVD more pathetic was the fact that there were no other special features. There were no featurettes or behind the scenes stuff. There were a few east eggs, but they weren't funny or cool.

October 01, 2006

24 Hour Comic Day

    Next Saturday (Oct. 7) is this year's "24 Hour Comics Day." The whole concept was created years ago by Scott McCloud and is pretty simple: In 24 hours, write a comic, draw it, ink it, and letter it.
     The rules for a 24 Hour comic can be found here.
     I'm thinking about attempting a 24 Hour Comic, but I'm not sure if I'm capable of it. I can't draw worth crap and even when I was doing "Ocean Life" it would take me 2 hours to do draw a simple strip. Then I would have to ink, color, and letter it.
    Well... I have till friday to decide if I'm doing it or not. So we'll see.

September 29, 2006

Spike TV Cancels "Blade"

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    [Click above photo to enlarge] Today, all the news is from MySpace. This time “Blade” actress, Jill Wagner, posts that Spike TV has canceled the TV show.

Wizard Stuff

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    Remember this from last week? I won “Xenosaga III” from Wizard. Well I got it this week in the mail but they sent a mess of other stuff too.
             -Wizard
             -Animie Insider
             -Toy Fair
             -Jonah Hex #1
             -Jonah Hex #2
             -Wildcats #0
             -Hero Squared #3
             -Exalted #4

Downey as Iron Man

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   Jon Favreau, director of the new “Iron Man” movie, posted the following on his MySpace blog:
   “It is true. Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark. I am about as excited as I can be. I saw what he can do and he is extremely enthusiastic about playing Stark. I can say with absolute certainty that there is no better choice. The humor and emotional dimension he brings truly raises the bar on this project. Get ready.”
    So come February, Downey, the well known drug addict, but amazing actor, will portray Tony Stark, Marvel’s well known alcoholic. Between that and Tony Stark being a total dick, the roll shouldn’t be a stretch for Downey.

September 27, 2006

Winterview #1

    The Scott McCloud Clan has posted the first Winterview. This is an interview conducted by McCloud’s youngest daughter Winter and filmed/edited by his oldest daughter Sky.
    The McCloud girls are holding the Winterviews with various comic book creators that the meet across the country on their 50-state-tour.
    This first one is with Raina Telgemeier (of "Smile" and "Babysitters Club" fame) and Dave Roman (associate editor at Nickelodeon and creator of "Astronaut Elementary" and "Agnes Quill").  There isn’t too much to be gained about comics from it, but its nice to watch to just how cute of a couple the two cartoonist are.

Wizard Film Festival

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     Wizard (the magazine publisher and convention coordinators) is launching a new film festival that they plan to make an annual event. The actual competition will happen at Wizard World Texas and winners will be screened at Wizard World Lost Angeles.
     There are four categories; dramas 5 minutes and under, comedies 5 minutes and under, dramas 60 minutes and under, and comedies 60 minutes or under.
     I’m 96.7 percent sure I’m going to submit “Hundred Dollar Bill” into the 5 minute drama category. I just need to talk to Kevin and I’m waiting to hear back on an email I sent Wizard.
     There aren’t any crazy prizes or anything for this festival. Actually there is only one prize. The best of the four finalists will receive a “Best in Fest” award at Wizard World Texas. Then next spring at Wizard World Los Angeles, the winner gets an 8ft table for free at the show (One of the questions I emailed was if Wizard World pays for transportation and lodging in L.A.).

September 26, 2006

Review: Writing for Comics with Peter David

    This is a really bad book and you should not waste your money on it. I mean just skimming it in the book store I should have known it was going to be total crap, but I wanted to have a little faith in David and gave it a try.
   The biggest problem is that there is no order to the book. Most writing books start with smaller concepts and build on those. David wrote his like a stream of conscious where it just keeps shifting into the next subject without any real connection. The book has chapters, but you only know that from the table of contents. You could never tell by reading it.
    The second problem with the book is that David has nothing important to say. Every concept he talks about is done very lightly and better covered by other writers. At one point David it admits this saying, “Scott McCloud has written about matters such as these at far greater length, and with far more expertise, than I could hope to achieve.”
    Everything David writes about is a diet-version. At one point he talks about the traditional three act structure. He does his best to explain plot points and pacing, but it’s a generic point of view that can easily be found on numerous websites. It would have been nice if David elaborated or added his own view/twist to these types of things. Instead, if you want to know about plotting, structure, or pacing you’re better off reading anyone of Syd Field’s screen writing books.
    I love the part where David talks about character arcs. He tries to explain how characters need to grow from the beginning of their journey till the end of their journey. He also makes a comment about mentor figures being popular, but doesn’t really spend time explaining archetypes. It was so frustrating to read because he was clearly talking about Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, but he did a hack job of explaining it. If you want to really know about this stuff than you are better off reading Campbell's "Hero with a Thousand Faces" or Christopher Voight's "The Writer's Journey."
   Another odd thing David does is constantly makes pop culture references. I understand the need to reference well known material to make your points, but he over does it. There are times when he says “Look at Pirates of the Caribbean where they did blah blah blah..” when it would have been better if he had taken the time and elaborated more.
    “Writing for Comics with Peter David” is too watered down for anyone over the age of ten to read or gain from. Do not waste your time buying it or even skimming it for free when in a bookstore.

Heroes

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    I love TV. I love it even better when it and comics overlap, but for some reason I was a tad disappointed in last night’s premier of “Heroes.” The episode was re-edited from the version I saw earlier this summer. In what I saw, the pilot was a 2-episode premier-event, NBC didn’t like that so they re-edited the show so that the first two episodes could stand alone. So if for some reason, this week’s episode didn’t click with you, just hang on for one more week. I promise it gets better.
    Then, to hold you over until the second episode airs, NBC has launched an online comic taking place in the “Heroes” universe. Even cooler is the fact that it was drawn by Michael Turner. More artwork and "Heroes/Comics" stuff can be found at 9th Wonders.

September 25, 2006

Boondocks Gets Longer Hiatus

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    “The Boondocks” one of the greatest comic strips of all time, has been on hiatus since last February. New strips were supposed to start running next week but Aaron McGruder, the strips creator, just announced that the hiatus will last indefinitely.
    For anyone un-cultured enough to have read the strip before, its about a black family living in the suburbs that cracks on everything from politics, racism, BET, and about everything in-between. I have the first two collected volumes and the first season of the cartoon that ran last year on Cartoon Network.
    In a press release, McGruder says that he plans to start doing the strips again but isn’t ready yet. He says that he focusing a lot of energy on the second season of the TV show and has other comic ventures he wants to finish before returning to the daily comic strip.
    "It's my understanding, in the communications with Aaron and his agent, that the biggest problem is finding the right time to make a decision," said Lee Salem, president of the “Boondocks” strip distributor told the AP. "He's not ready to do that at this point. I don't know the answer to (the comic's future)."
    I’m all about McGruder giving attention to the TV show, but I’m really sad the new strips have been put on hold.

September 23, 2006

Making Comics

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    I finished reading Scott McCloud’s “Making Comics.” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the comic-academia, McCloud first proved himself an analytical genius with his first book “Understanding Comics,” way back in 1993. In it, he broke down comics and gave his definition of the medium, as well as how it works. His next book, “Reinventing Comics” hit the shelves in 2000. In it he analyzed things like, the industry, the format, and digital comics.
    With “Making Comics,” his thickest book to date, he does exactly as the title describes, he explains how to make comics. He focuses on things like layouts, how to draw, how to letter, how to tell a story, and a billion other things.
     For anyone interested in the field, this newest book is another must read, and although the content is valuable, its McCloud’s tone and storytelling abilities that make it stand out. I mean let’s be honest, this is a text book. This is something you would read for a class or for a homework assignment. But the way McCloud handles it, it doesn’t feel like homework. It feels like a personal discussion with an old friend about a medium you both love.
     My favorite chapter of the book was the first part which talks about layouts, pacing, framing, and things along those lines. I probably liked it the best because I’m working on “DAD!” my documentary graphic novel and it’s exactly the kind of help/input I need.
    The chapter that I found the least interesting was the part where McCloud talks about drawing. He talks about form, drawing tools, and all that stuff.  It’s very well done and anyone interested in drawing should read what he has to say. I just didn’t connect with it because I’m not an artist (by artist, I mean a person who draws or paints) and never will be one.
    After each chapter, McCloud has added notes and exercises. In a sense it’s a tad weird that he included the “notes” sections in the book because they almost feel like “special features” you would find on a DVD. If anything, these note sections, make the book even more text-book-(but in a goodway)-like and the perfect thing for a college course or someone trying to teach themselves how to make comics.
   There isn’t much else I or anyone else can say about “Making Comics” other than you should have already bought it and if you haven’t then get off your butt and go get it.
   Even cooler, if you’re a McCloud fan, is that he and his McCloud-Clan are doing a 50-state-tour over the nex year! (The Tour Blog) He'll be doing D.C. and MD on Oct. 14th. I'm definitely going to see him at SPX and then at his book signing at Politics & Prose. I've even tried emailing McCloud to see if he would be willing to do an interview with me at the bookstore, like the one I did with Brad Meltzer, but he's not responded. Of course I can't blame him for not responding. He's a comic-genius busy doing a state to state tour and I'm just one of many fans.mccloudchallenge2.jpg

September 22, 2006

Brad Meltzer Q&A


It took me a bit of time, but I finally got the full Q&A from my Brad Meltzer interview typed up. The interview took place at Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. and it was recorded so that everything you read is verbatim (except for stupid typos and lack of commas).

From Meltzer's website:

"Brad Meltzer is the best-selling author of The Tenth Justice, Dead Even, The First Counsel, The Millionaires, The Zero Game, and his newest novel, The Book of Fate. He's also the writer of the Justice League and the co-creator of the TV show, Jack & Bobby."

I should have a full article based on this interview, the book, and two events I went to with him by next week. The Q&A is after the break.

Continue reading "Brad Meltzer Q&A" »

Tom B. on Super Heroes

Marvel Editor Tom Brevoort is always fun to quote. In his blog he writes:

“Here's the thing: the characters are invulnerable. I'm not talking about super-powers here; I'm talking about the ability to survive bad stories and bad times and to live on and prosper again. The primary Marvel characters have been around for four decades at this point, and have been translated into animated cartoons, movies, television shows and more toys than you could ever hope to collect. They've become immortal, and a part of the pop culture landscape.”

Wait there’s more:

“Think of the worst mistakes you can come up with from years gone by: Professor X dead? Fixed. The Human Torch married? Fixed. Spider-Man a clone? Fixed. And then think about all of the stuff you're worried about that's happening today--do you truly believe that it's any more difficult to repair or redeem any of it than what we've seen in the past? I sure don't.”

     Basically what he’s saying is that everything going on in comics now, doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who gets killed. It doesn’t matter that Spider-Man revealed his identity. NONE OF IT MATERS because at some point in the future it will be fixed or changed.
    If what we are reading doesn’t matter, this makes me wonder, why bother reading comics?
    I think it’s for the ride. I think it’s because we want to read stories and be entertained by them. Though in comics it does make it frustrating knowing that the “now” doesn’t matter, but comics are an odd medium. You don’t have TV characters last for forty years, (well maybe on soaps but they are just as bad as comics with changes and fixes).
    How boring would a TV show get if it lasted for four decades? I love “Grey’s Anatomy” but the show could never last 40 years. The producers and writers would run out of stories to tell with the main characters or the main characters would be thrown away and new cast would come on board. At that point it wouldn't be the same show anymore. I mean look at "ER" compared to what it used to be. It's a totally different show, except for the setting.
    There are changes and fixes in comics because you need that up and down feel for drama. But in the long run, all characters return to their natural form, only to be changed again down the line. So whether you are pissed about Clor(cloned Thor) or whatever, just suck it up and know that given enough time, all will be changed again. 

Wizard Loves Me

    I won a contest from Wizard Magazine. They were offering a free copy of “Xenosaga III,” (a game I want but didn’t want to spend money on), if someone could connect the game with the TV show “Eureka” in six steps.
    Using IMBD.com I said, “Assitant Scott is voiced by actor Brian Chase. Brian Chase was on an episode of "House." Salli Richardson was on an episode of "House." Salli Richardson is Allison Blake on "Eureka".”
    I was the first one to answer it, so I’m getting the game!xenosaga.jpg

September 19, 2006

Brad Meltzer is setting records


    NY Times Best Selling Author Brad Meltzer has made history by being the first writer to top the NY list and Diamond Comic Distributors top 100 at the same time.
    “The Book of Fate” is tearing things up in book stories while “Justice League of America” is kicking Civil War’s ass in comic book stores.
    I really enjoyed “The Book of Fate” but I’m holding off on JLofA until it hits graphic novel form. Also, I should have my Brad Meltzer interview transcribed by the end of the week.

Spider-Man: Mary Jane's Death


    It seems the above pic that Marvel leaked to the internet to cause a buzz was from “Spider-Man: Reign” issue one, according to their solicitations for December. Of course there is supposed to be a huge plot twist/reveal happening in “Civil War” issue 4, which hit shelves tomorrow, so maybe MJ will die in continuity.

September 14, 2006

"Sub Mariner" Movie Has a Director

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     I don’t know why I’ve not read this anywhere else yet, but The Hollywood Reporter is saying that a director has been signed onto the “Sub Mariner” movie. Jonathan Mostow, of “Terminator 3” will be helming the live action film staring Namor. Universal Pictures is the studio behind the film while Kevin Misher is producing for Marvel Studios.
    I’m sort of surprised that this is being made. I would have thought that a more marketable way to do the movie would be to have Namor in the third “Fantastic Four” movie and then follow that up with a Namor spinoff.
    So far no cast or details have been announced about the plot of the “Sub Mariner” movie.

September 13, 2006

Pride of Baghdad

      There is a 10-page preview of "Pride of Baghdad' on MySpace. If anyone is on the fence about getting this book, check out these pages. I'm a fan of Brian K. Vaughan's work, but this is on a whole new level.
     The story is based on true events, from 2003, when the U.S. bombed Iraq, allowing four lions to escape from the Baghdad zoo. Even if you aren't interested in comics you should consider checking this out.

Nextwave 11


     I just got the first "Nextwave" trade and I decided I really like Stuart Immonen's work, so I went to his website to learn more about him. Once there I found this bad boy, the cover to Nextwave 11.
    For you non-comic book readers, Civil War is this massive crossover that Marvel Comics is doing. The title has been delayed and because of that, a lot of tie-in books have also been delayed. A lot of fans are upset and blaming the writer Mark Miller.
    So I found this cover for "Nextwave" hilarious" and if you read comics but haven't picked this title up, you should think about checking it out.

September 12, 2006

Back in Black

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     It was announced yesterday that Spider-Man will be returning to his black costume. Spidey Editor Axel Alonso & Joe Q. wants everyone to believe that the motivation for this wasn’t really to match up the comics with “Spider-Man 3.”  Alonso tells CBR:

“For the most cynical fans out there who'll say Marvel wants Spider-Man in the black costume because of the movie, they're only 10% right. The beauty is we knew 16 months ago as we were planning out the thrust of "Civil War" and beyond, how all of this laid out beautifully for us to move into the future. So, the thing is the timing is perfect. We understand the motivations behind the change. The same as when we were planning "Civil War" and people would guess that maybe Cap would be the pro-registration guy and some complained that he would be, but then they saw how it was rendered and why he was motivated to do what he did. That's what's driving us right now. Character motivations and how they react to what's going on around them.”

     That’s all crap. The motivation was that they wanted to link the comics to the movie. The change of costume isn’t story driven.
     Look at the other announcement that came yesterday involving Spider-Man:   “Spider-Man Family” which will feature a 22 page main story set somewhere in Spider-Man’s past with a short back up story.
     In an interview with Newsarma, the writer, Sean McKeever says that upcoming story lines involve the black suit, sandman, and venom. Since I’m a fan of McKeever’s and a regular at his site I asked if the higher-ups told him to incorporate those story points or if they were solely his idea. He said they he was given him.
     It’s not that I don’t understand why Marvel is trying to link up the comics with the new movie. It makes sense to draw in new readers. But Alonso & Joe Q. should just be honest about it instead of trying to play it off as “Ohhhh nooooo we wanted to do this all along. It’s just dumb luck that it works out this way."

September 11, 2006

Joss Whedon is taking over “Runaways”

    Joss Whedon is taking over “Runaways” when Brian K. Vaughn leaves! This was announced today in Baltimore during a retailers seminar. Joe Q. also announced it during an interview on Newsarama where he said:

“Quite simply, Joss and Brian K. Vaughan speak quite often and I guess they got talking Runaways, which is one of Joss’ favorite titles. When Joss heard that Brian was leaving he called us up and asked if he could do the story following Brian’s last.
    So, while I would love to tell you that I used my powers of manipulation and seduction to lure the ever-illusive Whedon out of it’ natural habitat within the jungles of Hollywood, I had nothing to do with it but I’m thrilled nonetheless. And Michael was hand picked by Joss to illustrate the story. This is fantastic for Michael as I feel he’s a brilliant talent in need of wider recognition and I think this will be the project to do just that!
    What Brian along with co-creator Adrian Alphona has managed to accomplish with Runaways is truly astounding. It was launched during a time when the market was completely unresponsive to anything that wasn’t starring recognizable characters and yet here it is still healthy and chugging along. Joss’s desire to write the next storyline is only going to cement this book further into the minds of fans and retailers as a must read title similar to X-Men or Spider-Man.
    This of course is in no way a slight to the work that BKV has done on this title, Joss just comes from that Buffy world and there is no discounting the huge throng of people that follow his every move. To be honest, the person happiest about this is BKV, because Joss brings his white-hot spotlight and shines it on his baby.”


    
The news of Vaughn leaving the title broke last week, which I wrote about here. I’m thinking if Whedon is taking over I have no choice but to continue reading “Runaways.” Newsarama also did an interview with Whedon which is here.

September 10, 2006

Harvey Awards 2006

I went to the Harvey Awards and found it pretty darn boring.

I guess I had wrongly thought that because it was comic books it would be more exciting, but it was like any award show in the sense that it was really drawn out.

Follow after the break to see the winners.

Continue reading "Harvey Awards 2006" »

September 09, 2006

Baltimore Comic-Con was Evacuated

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[Above: Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge) stands amongst the thousands of evacuees]
    At around 11 a.m. this morning, fire alarms sounded at the convention center in Baltimore forcing a technology convention and the Comic-Con to evacuate.

    At the time the alarm went off I was at the Image booth waiting to talk to Erik Larsen (see previous post) when I noticed that the fire emergency lights on the ceiling were flashing. An announcement soon came over the P.A. system saying that they were evacuating the building and that everyone must leave.

[Above: Scott Kurtz (PvP) right before the evacuation happened]
     Scott Kurtz and Larsen were talking about how they have never seen fire alarms go off at a convention before, nor have they ever had to evacuate from a convention.

     “If I’m going to die at least I’ll be taken out at a convention,” Larson said to Kurtz while signing an autograph for the last person waiting in his line.

     Looking around the showroom, it was clear a lot of the people with booths were confused about what to do. They didn’t want to leave their stuff because they were worried someone would get back first and take it. So some were doing their best to hide all their items or they stacked up everything they could and took it outside with them.

    Some of the other Image people were laying t-shirts over their books, while others were putting books and graphic novels on the floor.
     Since I had a press pass and knew I technically didn’t have to leave unless a police officer told me to do so, I waited until I was the last one to leave. Because I was the last person to leave (other than two convention staff members who were yelling at me to evacuate) I got some really cool photos. Everyone was standing outside the glass windows of the completely empty lobby. I mean thousands of people just standing outside. I can’t wait to get my film developed to see how they turned out.

     After about 25 to 30 minutes, people were allowed back into the convention. I sent an email to one of the guys in charge of convention and left a voice mail for the conventions PR person. Hopefully they’ll get back to me and let me know what happened.
Updated:

I got a call back from a friend who works at Camden Yards. He told me that a sprinkler went off in the right half of the convention center, where a technology convention was happening. Alarms automatically went off and then the fire department had to come turn off the water.
[Below: Tons of fire trucks showed up]

Erik Larsen/DAD!

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    The only person I really wanted to talk to today at the convention was Erik Larsen. For all of you non-comic book people, he’s the head guy at Image Comics. Whether or not you agree with his opinions, I think most people will say he’s an intelligent guy who has a strong understanding of comic books and how the industry works.
    After waiting in a brief line, I got to talk to him one on one (because the building was being evacuated, see the post above). I told him that I was working on a personal project, not something I’m really considering submitting to places, but even so I was hoping for advice. 
    Larsen said, “Let’s see what you got.” So I handed him my test-pages for “DAD!” the documentary-graphic novel I’m working on. I explained to him that I could tell something was wrong with the layout or overall aesthetics but that I’m just not experienced enough to know what. I asked him to not just tell me “This sucks” but to please explain why it sucks.
    “So you just have these actors posing for you?” he said after thumbing through it real fast. He also laughed.
    “No no no,” I said. “That’s real. It’s a documentary graphic novel.”
     He got a really surprised look on his face, said “Oh wow” and then went back to the beginning and actually read it.
     About halfway through he asked me some things, like who took the photos and that kind of stuff.  I explained to him that for these pages, my neice did the photography, but that for the rest of the graphic novel I did. I also explained that I have a film background and “shot” the whole thing as if I was doing a regular documentary on DV. 
     Larsen just continuted to read it and was nodding to himself as he was going through. When finished he simple said, “I really don’t know what to tell you. This is different. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I think it works. There is a problem with the lettering being too big, I’m guessing you are doing that yourself?”
     “Yes,” I said. “I’ve been teaching myself how to letter for the past month.”
     “Make the lettering smaller and then another thing you may want to do is start looking for photos that have dead space. You want to try and take advantage of that dead space so your panels don’t look so busy, but other than that it works.”
    MAN! So there you have it. A comic book professional I really respect looked at my project and didn’t say it sucked! It just feels nice to show the project to someone like him and see that he got it. Yes he laughed, but once he realized it was a documentary he got it!
     So now the next step is to finish teaching myself lettering and to get about 15 to 20 pages done. I want to take those pages with me to SPX in a month and talk to some of the smaller/indie publishers about what they think.
    I’m also really hoping to get a chance to to show it to Scott McCloud.  I’m trying to set up a one-on-one interview with him, like I did with Brad Meltzer (I promise I'll post my Q&A soon. I just need to write the article first). McCloud is another creator who I really respect.

What I got @ Comic-Con