Weekend Reading: Breyfogle, Ellis, Craven, and Spider-Man Sings!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Independent, Marvel Comics,
I can’t believe the Spider-Man musical will hit Broadway on December 21. Are there really enough little old ladies who want to take the bus in from Long Island on a Wednesday afternoon to see an all-singing, all-dancing super-hero? That’s quite a bit different from Starlight Express and Cats, right? My prediction: It’ll close before the Tonys are announced, but then a touring version will criss-cross America for years with Jake Lloyd, Mischa Barton, Gabe Kaplan and Angela Lansbury in key roles.
Now let’s see what else is going on:
Scott Pilgrim I: Over at John Scalzi’s Whatever, guest blogger John Anderson bows down before the triumph that is Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.
Scott Pilgrim II: The Early Word takes a look at how a comic book movie adaptation might help sales of said comic and then delivers a slap to the way DC Comics handles itself. “However, those intrigued by the Green Lantern movie are unlikely to be engaged by the continuity-heavy, you-must-buy-every-single-collection tale like Blackest Night. The folks buying Blackest Night? They are already Green Lantern comics fans.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Breyfogle, Ellis, Craven, and Spider-Man Sings!
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Q&A: BOX BROWN, Bellen!, and Love Is A Peculiar Type of Thing
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews,
If you’re not familiar with the work of Box Brown, run over to his site and check it out. Then come back here. It’s the internets; I’ll wait. Box has been doing his own webcomic, Bellen! (Ben and Ellen, see?) since 2006. In addition, he won a Xeric Grant for his big, fat collection of cartoons called Love Is A Peculiar Type of Thing, which can be ordered from Diamond Comics right now.
Recently, a revised version of Bellen! was nearly syndicated by United Features, but Box pulled it when the syndicate let go of its progressive comics editor, Ted Rall. Box says his work has been influenced by both Charles Schulz’ Peanuts and James Kochalka’s American Elf, so let’s chat.
TOM MASON: Were you surprised to win the Xeric Grant for Love Is A Peculiar Type of Thing?
BOX BROWN: Kinda shocked, really. When I created my proposal the book was only a little more than a third finished and I put it on hold between mailing the proposal and receiving the grant. It was a great fire under my ass to get moving on finishing the book.
TOM: What was it like becoming your own publisher?
BOX: There’s a lot of work in publishing a book like this. I had done a lot of self-publishing in the past but nothing of this magnitude.
TOM: What surprised you about it?
BOX: I had no idea what it would be like dealing with Diamond or “marketing” really.
Click to continue reading Q&A: BOX BROWN, Bellen!, and Love Is A Peculiar Type of Thing
WEEKEND READING: Alan Moore, Gotham By Gaslight, Jim Mooney, Ted Rall
Lots of fun stuff on the internets lately. We’re still not done with anything Alan Moore’s ever touched, seen, eaten or smelled; Gotham By Gaslight, the classic “Elseworlds” book gets a callback; Jim Mooney makes an appearance; and an old fanboy remembers the Chicago Comic Con of 1986 when funnybook fanatics were all talking about Alan Moore, Frank Miller and the grand future of the printed comic book!
MORE ALAN MOORE: This has been linked to elsewhere but Steve Rose has a nice interview with Alan Moore, published in England’s Guardian (which is both a newspaper and a website, not some cape-clad superhero).
GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT: There’s a great internet game started by blogger Patti Abbott and her site, pattinase. Every Friday, she encourages her fellow crime bloggers to write about their favorite Forgotten Books. This week, crime blogger Scott D. Parker weighs in with an old favorite. For those unfamiliar, in Gotham by Gaslight, Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola (Hellboy) imagined Batman back in Victorian England and created a memorable stand-alone adventure involving Jack the Ripper. Parker argues that this is a forgotten book that deserves to be discovered again. You can chime in on the conversation at his blog.
JIM MOONEY: I think Jim Mooney is a vastly underrated artist who doesn’t get nearly the love and respect he should. I feel the same about Bob Brown and Ross Andru. Over at 20th Century Danny Boy, Dan Best (who’s published a book about Andru and his longtime business partner Mike Esposito) has an excerpt from his yet-to-be-published book on Mooney. From just this sample, this looks like a great book and I hope someone publishes it soon (I’m looking at you, TwoMorrows). Mooney’s career spanned decades – a lot of Batman work back when Bob Kane was still taking credit for everything, and a lot of Marvel work later in his career.
Part One is here (and has the greatest photo of a very young Steve Gerber)
Part Three focuses on his Batman work. You’ll have to click the links and get part 2 on your own!
CHICAGO COMIC CON: Jay Zilber scanned and uploaded the entire program book from the 1986 con. It’s a fascinating journey back to the old-school days of comics. It’s a pdf and the scan is a little fuzzy, but the journey is worth making.
And finally, this cartoon by Ted Rall made me laugh out loud. Have a great weekend, internets!
Artwork © DC Comics
Q&A: Dan Thompson and RIP HAYWIRE
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews,
It’s been a long time since a good adventure strip debuted in the newspaper, and it’s great to see one come along. Even better when the creator, Dan Thompson, has a fresh take on the genre and a style that pops off the page. “RIP HAYWIRE” debuted on January 12, 2009 and from the moment you see it, you know it’s not your grandfather’s comic strip. Thompson has crafted a wonderful and funny homage to the era of Steve Canyon and livened it up with a sense of humor, great draftsmanship and a lot guys and gals getting popped in the head and blown up real good. I can’t wait for the pirates to show up!
Click to continue reading Q&A: Dan Thompson and RIP HAYWIRE
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