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WEEKEND READING: STEVE DITKO, SPIDER-MAN, VAL MAYERIK & ELMORE LEONARD
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
There’s lots of cool stuff on the internets, and I had lots of free time to find all of it, I mean most of it, okay, some of it. If you like your “Tales of Steve Ditko,” have a memory of comic book artist Val Mayerik, love the idea of Dave Berg getting looked at, or want to know about someone who slept their way into comics, this is the place for you. Let’s get it started:
STEPHEN DESTEFANO & STEVE DITKO: A long time ago, Stephen DeStefano, one of the industry’s premiere cartoon people, worked in a near-forgotten department of DC Comics and without really realizing it, he ran into Steve Ditko. At his blog which he no longer seems to update, Stephen relates the story and draws a picture of Ditko from memory. It’s an old post, but worth a visit.
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN: I’d forgotten that Steve Vrattos used to dress up as Spider-Man, not because of a particular fetish or a desire to pretend to fight crime, but because his employer Marvel Comics used to pay him to do it. If this sounds like perfect blog-fodder it is; it’s a fascinating side of the business of comics that most people don’t know about.
(h/t Scoop at Diamond Galleries)
“I SLEPT WITH A GUY AND ALL I GOT WAS A STORY IN AN IRON MAN ANNUAL”: Before she went on to become “Operations Manager for a telephone answering service,” Carrie Lowry was Carrie Barre, and she was married to an assistant editor at Marvel Comics back in the go-go 1990s. That was
Click to continue reading WEEKEND READING: STEVE DITKO, SPIDER-MAN, VAL MAYERIK & ELMORE LEONARD
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Like everyone else and their five year-old sister, I have become addicted to Twitter. Unlike deleterious addictions (i.e. following P. Diddy), however, I receive first-hand news from my favorite comic book artists, including a look at the Chew #4 cover!
Rob Guillory, one-half of the creative force behind Image’s sold out comic, divulges the daily progression (and news!) of the darkly humorous detective story without the slightest indication of just how much he fuels nerdish excitement (mine definitely included) all around. Coming from someone who foolishly followed Jhonen Vasquez’s pretentious and irksome tweets back in the day, I am overwhelmingly thrilled to see artists like Guillory and Fabio Moon tweeting.
Now, onto the Chew #4 cover…
Click to continue reading Guillory Tweets First Look at Chew #4
Rating: ***
When it was announced that there would be a new Batman and Robin, a guessing game began. When a teaser image was released, we all made the assumption that the new Batman would be Dick Grayson and that the new Robin would be Damian Wayne. DC tried to keep the guessing game going, but in the end, we were all right. When the announcement came that a “Red Robin” title would be launched, with a new person behind the mask we made the assumption it was Tim Drake aka Tim Wayne. Well, guess what, we were right again!
I’ve revealed that in my opening paragraph because I don’t feel its worth it to continue teasing that information or say beware of spoilers. We knew it was coming and now Tim is Red Robin with the quest to find his presumed dead mentor: Bruce Wayne.
This was a good issue, but not a great start to the series. I think the reason why I’m interested in collecting this book is because of the character of Tim Wayne. Tim has developed into arguable the best character DC has created in over the past twenty years. He’s developed from this young, intelligent, and innocent boy who discovered the identity of Batman, to this man who seems to be not only capable of taking over for Batman, but he could be an even be a better Batman than Bruce could ever be.
Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Red Robin #1
Rating: *** 1/2*
When DC announced the new direction they would be going with in the Batman books, I wasn’t happy. With this new direction would come a new monthly book called “Batman and Robin” which would be written by Grant Morrison. I wasn’t happy. Then came the news that Judd Winick would take over the “Batman” monthly title. Still not happy. I thought to myself, that I probably may end up not reading any of the Batman books that DC would be publishing for the foreseeable future or until Bruce Wayne returned as Batman. Well, if you read my review from last week, you know I was very surprised and absolutely enjoyed “Batman and Robin”. So what about Judd’s first issue of “Batman,” well, DC is two-for-two in my book as I absolutely loved this week’s issue of “Batman”.
The story is an epilogue to “Batman: Battle for the Cowl” and it shows some of the events that lead up to where Grant Morrison’s story begins in “Batman and Robin”. The issue shows various moments where members of the Batman family and the super hero community deal with the news of Bruce’s death. Some very moving scenes were done here, particularly the one in the cave with Alfred. I’m not a huge fan of Ed Benes’s art work, but he does a good job here with some moving visual images that set the tone of everyone’s feelings concerning Bruce.
As I said, there are some powerful moments in this book as we see Dick Grayson breakdown and cry over the death of Bruce Wayne, but the most moving scene come from Alfred. Superman and Wonder Woman return Bruce’s cape and cowl to give to Dick and Tim in the Batcave. As they discuss Bruce’s death, Alfred enters the cave with some refreshments for everyone. Superman asks him if he’s alright and Alfred’s response is, “Am I all right? No, sir. I am not. My son has just died.” I’m not sure if this sentiment was ever expressed by Alfred in any other comic, but for Alfred to say that about Bruce was dead on. Thank you, Mr. Winick. Bruce Wayne was orphaned, but he gained a father in Alfred from a very early age and Alfred has watched his “son” grow up to be a great man. I was happy to see that moment expressed here.
Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Batman #687
Walking Dead #62 Weakly Introduces Hunter Arc
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Reviews, Image Comics,
I know, I know: how can I label anything that Robert Kirkman touches as “weak”? Trust me, I was just as disappointed as you were with this month’s issue of his never ending zombie saga, The Walking Dead #62. Even more upsetting is the fact that this issue marks the first of five issues in his “Fear the Hunters” arc!
We start off post-Billy and Ben murders, where Dale has plunged deeper into his anti-social abyss (clearly depicted in the second panel where he is outright facing the opposite of the party). Kirkman then spotlights the very intriguing progression of Carl’s character, which I foolishly assumed in the last issue was his mirroring Rick. Judging from what Kirkman showed us this month, I cannot even imagine what he has in store for Carl, but it does make me giggly and excited.
Then… ZOMBIES! Oh how I missed you guys last month!
Enough of a recap—on to what I have to say about this letdown (so as to halt you from throwing stones at my head).
Click to continue reading Walking Dead #62 Weakly Introduces Hunter Arc
After withholding some amazing news for over a week, Chew artist Rob Guillory was finally able to thank everyone on his Twitter page today. Turns out that the great news was that the first printing of Chew sold out in two days, despite what Image claimed was a “significant overprint.”
Writer John Layman retains his quirky humor when thanking his fans: “I’ve been insisting for years that the comic book industry has been clamoring for more books with double page spreads of non-costumed characters eating soup, and it’s gratifying to see there indeed is a robust market for such a book. Big thanks to everybody—retailers, readers and reviewers—who came out in such shocking numbers to check out something new and different, and more than a little bit weird.”
As reviewed last week, Chew is a very dark and humorous new take on the detective genre. John Layman and Rob Guillory tell us the tale of Detective Tony Chu, a man of the law who receives psychic impressions from eating (the term is “cibopathic”).
Due to the extinction of the first printing, Chew‘s second printing is scheduled for release on July 1st, the same day Chew #2 comes out.
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| Image Comics
Have you ever wanted to see Geoff Johns work a cash register? If you’re in the Los Angeles area this weekend, you might get the chance. Earlier this year, Earth-2 Comics, the fantastic funnybook store on Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, CA, took over Golden Apple’s satellite store in Northridge. You can read about the changeover at the Golden Apple website. Golden Apple still maintains their flagship store in Hollywood.
To celebrate Earth-2’s expansion, they’re throwing a grand opening party at their new store this Saturday, June 13 from 11am – 7pm. So what about Geoff Johns?
Click to continue reading MEET GEOFF JOHNS AND JEPH LOEB; BUY COMICS
Contest: Zune HD giveaway! (Final Round!)
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Handhelds, Hot Deals, Internet, Microsoft, Portable Audio / Video,
The Zune HD is real, and we are going to be giving one away to one of our readers. You want in? All you need to to do enter to win the Zune HD is help us win the I’m a Blogger Get me Out of Here contest. If we win, we will be bringing you content straight from the set of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here. Seriously, I had to taste some of the most vile flavors I’ve ever put in my mouth, and you’ll probably get a few laughs out of it.
Here’s how to enter to win:
- .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) - make the subject line “Vote for Andru Edwards” and hit send.
- If you don’t have one already, sign up for a Gear Live account
- If you don’t have one already, sign up for a Twitter account
- Add the Gear Live Twitter account to your follow list
- On Twitter, post the following tweet about our contest:
“I just entered to win a Zune HD from @gearlive! http://bit.ly/zune-hd” (Click here to tweet this now) - Once that is done, leave a comment in this forum thread with a direct link back to your Tweet, or a screen capture showing you voted. Be sure you are signed in to your Gear Live account before you leave the response.
BONUS ENTRIES: Want more chances to win? Share the link to our contests on the following sites, and leave us a comment linking to those as well:
- Post a screen capture in the forum thread showing that you voted
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- Del.icio.us bookmark
- FriendFeed: Use Post a Link
- Your blog: Have a site? Link to our contest on it!
Remember: The bonus entries are just that - bonus. In order to be eligible to win, you must complete the core Twitter requirements.
As we (hopefully) make it through each round, you get another chance to Vote all over again, giving you even more chances to win. The contest starts today, and is open to US residents only. You have until 11:00 PM PST on June 11th to enter your votes. We will then announce our winner, chosen randomly out of all valid entrants and bonus points, on June 12th. The winner will be sent a Zune HD right after the product launches. Remember, you have three chances to enter a vote!
COMIC BOOK JOBS: Who’s Hiring? Marvel, Wildstorm/DC, Dark Horse, Archaia!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
If you buy comics, read comics, and collect comics, chances are you’re one of the 250,000 fans that want to actually work in comics. Good news – there are some prime comic book jobs that could have your name on them. Especially if you’d like to try working for Marvel Comics, Dark Horse, the Wildstorm division of DC out on the West Coast, and Archaia, publishers of one of my favorite comics, Mouse Guard.
DARK HORSE COMICS: If you’re in the Milwaukie, Oregon area, Dark Horse Comics is looking for you. Actually, they’re looking for a Comic Retail Manager. They want someone to work “in conjunction with Diamond Comics Distributor to service retailers in the worldwide market.” As someone who’s done that before, for a different publisher, I can tell you it’s not a bad job. They’re offering a full-time salary that ranges from $8.40 to $19.23 per hour, and includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Vacation, Sick Leave, Life Insurance, Long-Term Disability, Retirement, Travel Expenses, Education Reimbursement. Got to be at least 18-years-old though. There are a bunch of requirements and expectations, so head over to the listing at Book Jobs and see if it’s right for you. The job just went up on June 2, so there’s still plenty of time to get that resume over there.
ARCHAIA COMICS, the publishers of Mouse Guard, and Artesia are looking for an unpaid Summer Intern to do fun things like reading and writing coverage for film, television and comic book scripts, monitoring and updating Archaia social networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and handling shipping and receiving, among other responsibilities.
Click to continue reading COMIC BOOK JOBS: Who’s Hiring? Marvel, Wildstorm/DC, Dark Horse, Archaia!
WEEKEND READING: Will Eisner, Clown Funerals, Don Heck and Moon Nazis!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Welcome to the weekend reading portion of the blog. Lots of great stuff found on the internets this week, from Will Eisner and Clown Funerals to Nazi Moonbases, there’s enough stuff to make everyone happy, and that’s always the ultimate goal, isn’t it?
WILL EISNER’S WONDER MAN: This is an oldie, but still good. Eisner was hired by Victor Fox to create Wonder Man to be his company’s Superman. When Wonder Comics #1 debuted in 1939, Fox then proceeded to get the crap sued out of him by the owners of the real thing. Eisner was even called to the stand. You can read about that over at the Wikipedia. But over at Golden Age Heroes, you can read the complete first Wonder Man story.
WILL NO ONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN? Fredric Wertham did, and so did the U.S. Government. But did you know that England also had its share of hysteria over comics? It seems that Jolly Old E was very concerned about children who read comic books and then commit horrible badness, which must then be traced back to those horrible comic books. Britain’s National Archives has a great podcast about how the vulgar American comic books were insinuating themselves into Britain’s cakes-and-ale culture and corrupting the sweet-faced youth of our mother country. Fortunately, the host does bring up the fact that Britain had something of a comics industry long before we showed up. Oh, snap! The podcast is called “Kapow! Fifties Britain Vs. The Comics Menace,” and the link is courtesy of Elizabeth Foxwell over at The Bunburyist (and that’s a reference to Oscar Wilde, you lit-slackers).
Click to continue reading WEEKEND READING: Will Eisner, Clown Funerals, Don Heck and Moon Nazis!
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