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Movie producer Avi Arad, the former chief creative officer of Marvel Comics and founder of Marvel Studios, is now an independent producer on the Sony lot.
And he needs an assistant. And not just any assistant: a First-Assistant.
Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Avi Arad
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Weekend Reading: Chaykin, Kubert, Harrison and Harlan
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Site Features, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
You know how you can tell that Summer's over? There aren't any more big budget super-hero movies coming out. Fortunately, there's all kinds of stuff on the internets to keep us occupied.
Beau Smith writes about the late Joe Kubert.
Tom Spurgeon writes about Harry Harrison.
I would’ve watched the heck out of any Daredevil movie that was done like this trailer:
Comic Strip of the Day talks about Richard Thompson and his decision to retire from Cul de Sac because of illness.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Chaykin, Kubert, Harrison and Harlan
The Avengers: I Finally Catch Up
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Yeah, my bad. I finally got around to seeing The Avengers on the big screen with my old pal Dave Olbrich (he was seeing it for the third time).
I'll echo what is probably the view of 99% of the super-hero movie audience: (1) I loved it and (2) where was this movie when I was 13?
Afterwards, I had a few thoughts.
I was surprised by the sudden death of what I thought was a fairly major character in the continuity. I know Joss Whedon always likes to kill off someone in his movies – I'm sure the first draft of Toy Story had a sacrifice from Mr. Potato Head – so I should've been better prepared. But I wasn't. Sad to lose the character and sadder that the actor has lost a pretty good gig.
Tom Hiddleston was riveting as Loki, an excellent performance capturing the character's grandiose plans and his petty humanness. Here's hoping he gets as good a role in subsequent years and doesn't end up playing a Russian mobster on Person of Interest, or the put-upon dad in some lame sitcom.
This is my favorite Scarlett Johansson movie. And yes, I've seen more than one. Including that one. And that one too.
Click to continue reading The Avengers: I Finally Catch Up
"Strip Vertigo of its haunting, Wagnerian eternal-return score by Bernard Herrmann and you've got a muddled Orphic saga that looks like a not-great Steve Ditko comic with a performance by Kim Novak that exerts all the erotic mystery and allure of a burlap bag."
James Wolcott @ Vanity Fair
Be sure to check out our other notable quotes!
[Artwork: Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives Vol. 1]
It’s hard to believe that Joe Kubert passed away. His work was such a large part of my comic book experience and his war comics are so ingrained on my psyche that it feels like the passing of a great man of literature.
From Sgt. Rock, to Enemy Ace, to Tarzan and dozens more, his work never disappointed. His covers were dynamic, fluid, and never looked like anyone else’s. I could spot Kubert art a mile away. I loved his covers on Son Of Tomahawk, and I really liked a tryout series of his called Firehair, about a red-headed boy raised by native Americans.
And as much as I loved his war comics, it was his Tarzan that was a revelation to me. I’d read the Gold Key stuff which I found stiff and unexciting, but when I picked up the first issue Kubert did for DC, I was amazed at how he got me to like a character I was never really interested in.
Years later, I was fortunate enough to be involved in the publication of one of Joe’s graphic albums, Abraham Stone, at Malibu Comics. Here’s how that came about.
Click to continue reading Joe Kubert, RIP
Weekend Reading: Batman, Doonesbury, Killraven and Kickstarter
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
So the Olympics are finally over, and that means it's time to talk about real heroes, right? Y'know, the ones in capes!
For most of us, we have the belief that Bill Finger is the true creator of everything that made Batman great. Here’s why.
Jake Hinkson looks at The Dark Knight Rises and the other two parts of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy: “Unlike the set-bound comic-gothic theatrics of Tim Burton's Batman films or the plastic sex-toy quality of Joel Schumacher's films, Batman Begins is a full on epic.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Batman, Doonesbury, Killraven and Kickstarter
So... my local comic book store closed down after 25 years in business. It’s the same old story - they can’t make a go of it any more following a boom period in the 1990s.
I found out about it, oddly enough, on Free Comic Book Day this year, and was part of a conversation where the owner was discussing the reasons why his store was closing. One of his comments was that he had seen a decrease in comic book-related traffic in his shop over the years and that he had not seen new, younger readers coming in for comics.
The store had between 50 and 70 regular subscribers in a community comprised of three towns, totalling around 50,000 people. It’s a mostly rural area that’s been hit hard economically over the years - there are almost no aspirational jobs for anyone in their 20s, and the population demos have less than 6% of the population between the ages of 20-25.
Click to continue reading My LCS…RIP
Bullet In The Face: Alan Spencer & Alex Maleev
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Television, Marvel Comics,
One of the shows that I'm really looking forward to is Alan Spencer's Bullet In The Face. It debuts on IFC on August 16.
And why am I looking forward to it? Just one reason, really: it's Alan Spencer. He created the great Sledge Hammer! sitcom and based solely on that, he gets a free pass from me for life - I'll check out anything he's involved in. Plus, this stars Eddie Izzard and Eric Roberts.
To promote his new show, Alan took to Facebook and posted the following: "Here’s something I’m proud to share. IFC’s publicity team made a classy move by commissioning Alex Maleev to create this artwork for Bullet In The Face. The artist cited Robert McGinnis' posters for James Bond as an inspiration, making this doubly meaningful… or shall I say 007 meaningful."
Maleev, of course, is perhaps best known for his work on Daredevil with Brian Bendis. Looking at his poster for BITF, all I can think is that he should do more.
Click to continue reading Bullet In The Face: Alan Spencer & Alex Maleev
Weekend Reading: Olympics, Dark Knight, Ellis and Watchmen
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, DC Comics, Independent,
I know we're all very busy watching this running, jumping, swimming thing from London, but fortunately there's still time to see the gold, silver and bronze of the internets.
Warren Ellis’ tweets on the Olympics opening ceremony can’t be beat.
Award-winning novelist John Scalzi (Redshirts) blogs about his first experience at Comic Con International.
Now that Valiant’s back, you know who else is returning? A new incarnation of First Comics.
Bleeding Cool reports on a “lost” Alan Moore project seeing the light of day through Avatar.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Olympics, Dark Knight, Ellis and Watchmen
Comic Con International: 2012
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics,
Comic Con International has come and gone already. Naturally, my Comic Con experience is quite a bit different from most people. I’ve been going for quite a while, have a lot of friends and acquaintances that I see there, and have an established routine of places to be at certain times.
I got there too late on Wednesday for what some reported was a raucous Preview Night, so my convention didn’t start until Thursday morning.
Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter has a rundown of convention memories from around the internet. (And congratulations to Tom for his Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Journalism. It’s well-deserved.
Click to continue reading Comic Con International: 2012
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