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Weekend Reading: Spider-Man, Skin and The Princess And The Frog
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Happy holidays! Gravy is the Giant-Size X-Men #1 of my family and I’m so stuffed that my stuffed fingers keep hitting double keys. So I’ll celebrate with a shortened post for the holiday season.
First off, over at The Comics Reporter, Tom Spurgeon has the Ultimate Black Friday Holiday Shopping Guide to nothing but good stuff - sound recommendations for you, your friends and even your family. Highly recommended, if only to open discussions.
Virginia Comic Con: Scoop over at Diamond Galleries has some nice photos of the recent Virginia Comic Con up. Michael Golden, John Gallagher, Chris Claremont, Larry Hama, Louis Small, Chuck Dixon, Steve Conley, Alex Saviuk, and Billy Tucci were among those present who got their picture taken.
Skin: Over at the Forbidden Planet blog, Joe revisits an old favorite, Skin by Brendan McCarthy, Peter Milligan and Carol Swain.
Spider-Man: You know what I really want for Christmas this year? A Spider-Man action figure dressed like Chris Claremont circa 1981.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Spider-Man, Skin and The Princess And The Frog
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Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Returns
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: DVD, Reviews, Television,
I love the old Rankin-Bass holiday classics, but my favorite is Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. It used to be appointment TV, but then along came DVD and the ability to watch it anytime.
Now that I have kids, we watch it pretty much year-round. In 2009 so far, I’ve racked up at least 20 viewings. And when you watch something that many times, you start to notice some things that escaped me when I would just see it once a year. Here’s my list:
Mrs. Claus: She’s a chubby chaser and an enabler. Santa finally gets his weight down during the off-season - which no doubt would help his cholesterol and blood pressure and help him live longer - and yet she can’t wait to start stuffing him again, upping the ante by reminding him that everyone loves a fat Santa, including her I’m guessing.
Santa Claus: First off, he’s a jerk. Rudolph is a super-achiever compared to the others in the Reindeer Games, and Santa’s too worried about the red nose thing. Since no one on Santa’s route will ever actually see Rudolph, this is really all about Santa’s issues.
Click to continue reading Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Returns
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I’ll get this out of the way early: I don’t like Mickey Mouse as a character. I find him the most irritating one in the Disney cartoon universe and his high-pitched voice makes him the Jennifer Tilly of animation for me. So I was all poised to not like the new Boom! Kids comic with him as the star.
Naturally, I’m wrong, again. Mickey Mouse and Friends #296 kicks off Boom!’s launch of the title with a tale by Stefano Ambrosio (translated by Saida Temafonte) and artists Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, Roberto Santillo and Marco Giglione that ties in with Sorcerer’s Apprentice continuity (from Fantasia). Mickey’s still the apprentice to the sorcerer Nereus and still not doing a good job, magically speaking. When Nereus leaves for an emergency, Mickey is tricked out of the drought-suffering village’s magic crystal by Peg-Leg Pete.
Before Nereus returns and realizes what a dope his apprentice is, Mickey has to join a sorcerer’s team in the far-off city of Grand Haven and enter a tournament to try to win the crystal back. Fortunately, he’s found Goofy, a sorcerer who really wants to be an alchemist and herbalist, and Donald Duck, a sorcerer with a pet dragon. Together, the three form their own sorcerer’s team and set out to defeat Pete, who’s determined to stop them (and he’s got Disney’s classic Beagle Boys on his side).
Click to continue reading BOOM! Mickey Mouse and Friends #296
Happy Thanksgiving: Superman, Retailers, Marvel, DC, and Jack Kirby
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
It’s Thanksgiving, at least here in the US. For those of you outside the 50 states, just know that we are currently gorging on the kinds of food we don’t normally eat at any other time of the year, getting together with family and friends (some of us might be watching football), and reflecting on things we are thankful for. And yeah, it’s usually about friends, family, and good health, but I’m also thankful for comic book stuff too.
Here are five things I’m thankful for, as relates to comic books. Of course, this is just my list. Your mileage may vary..
(1) Comic Book Stores. Seriously, what a great idea. You can argue over smart retailers vs. the other kind, but how great is it to actually have an LCS? I like going to every one I’ve been to; the ones where they know me by name or greet me as I come in, and the ones where the clerk acts like I’ve ruined his plans for the day just by opening the door. I’ve even waded through a pile of Wizards of the Coast players just to grab my comics. I don’t mind. The idea that there’s a place where I can go and get comics is amazing to me. Until you’ve lived in a place that has no convenient comic book store, I think it’s hard to realize what a luxury one truly is. And to any retailer who’s managed to survive this long, my imaginary hat’s off to you!
(2) Marvel and DC. Okay, sure we all have our share of Big Two Disappointments we can point to and their weird reliance on crossovers and events that no one believes in, but overall, it’s great to have them around. They are responsible for the Direct Market and for keeping it alive. It’ll be interesting to see what happens as everything goes digital (and more people read online comics instead of superhero comics) and the generations of print collectors die off, but for now, I’d hate to see the industry that had only Marvel without DC or vice-versa. Besides, I have friends at both companies and don’t want to see anybody unemployed.
Click to continue reading Happy Thanksgiving: Superman, Retailers, Marvel, DC, and Jack Kirby
Quote of the Day: Natalie Portman on Marvel
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Interviews, Movies, Marvel Comics,
“Any time I get a phone call, it doesn’t come up as a normal number; it’s like a five-digit code. I’m like, ‘What kind of spy organization is this?’ I’ve never seen that before. I’ve had phone calls from people in the government, and they don’t have that. Marvel is some crazy underground world.”
- Actress Natalie Portman on getting contacted by Marvel for her Thor role.
(Make sure to check out other notable quotes.)
Read More | Vulture
I was happy to see that Boom! Kids has an Uncle Scrooge title in their Disney line-up as a companion to their Donald Duck title. The Ducks are my favorite Disney characters, partly because of the way they look (c’mon, they’re ducks!) and partly because they’re the ones that are most likely to take off on some wild adventure.
In “Uncle Scrooge And The Ghostly Carriage,” writer Per-Erik Hedman (and translator Stefania Bronzoni) and artist Wanda Taggino have Uncle Scrooge gathering up his usual crew - Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie - and his lucky dime. They’re off to Germany to check out “another moneymaking venture,” a castle Scrooge bought “for a steal.” As luck would have it, the castle is haunted and Scrooge’s recurring nemesis, Magica De Spell, sees this as an opportunity to grab that dime. What follows is a ghostly, madcap, door-slamming style French farce of trap doors, hidden staircases, secret bookcase doors, and a ghost.
Taggino draws in the classic Carl Barks/Don Rosa style and infuses the pages with great energy. Hedman’s script is fast-paced and he wraps the whole thing up in 16 pages. The same team has a second story in the issue, “Salt And Gold.” Continuity-wise, it picks up where the previous story ends - Magica is still after the ducks who are now joined by Gyro Gearloose for an adventure in alchemy, a subject near and dear to Scrooge’s greedy heart. It’s a cliffhanger, to be continued next issue.
There’s a cover variant for this issue with a Don Rosa cover. I don’t have that one, but if you’re a collector, I’m sure you’ll want it.
[Artwork: a panel from Uncle Scrooge #384, ©Disney]
I’ve always liked the Disney comics, whether they were published by Gold Key, or Gemstone or Gladstone or Gearloose or whomever. I always thought they were fun comics for kids. I love what Carl Barks did, and the same with Don Rosa. I also like the ones that aren’t by them. I even like the sillier ones like Moby Duck. I liked all the expensive hardcover and trade collections too, but I always wanted to see the comics targeted more towards kids because I think they can help grow a new generation of comic readers.
So I was glad when Boom! picked up the license for their Boom! Kids line of comics (which already includes The Muppets and the Pixar titles). They’re putting them out on a regular schedule, picking up with the old numbering and pricing them at a good $2.99 – aiming them squarely at the kid market. It’s a good, smart play on their part.
Click to continue reading BOOM! Donald Duck And Friends #347
Victor Gischler & Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #5
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
I’m an idiot. When I first read about this book, I made a mental note to grab it right away. Then I brain-farted it out of my head.
Why did I want Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth? Because I’m a huge fan of writer Victor Gischler, that’s why. Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse. Vampire A Go-Go. That Victor Gischler. I’ve been reading his books ever since I grabbed Gun Monkeys off the rack because it contained this opening line: “I turned the Chrysler onto the Florida Turnpike with Rollo Kramer’s headless body in the trunk, and all the time I’m thinking I should’ve put some plastic down.”
That’s Gischler. And it continues now that he’s writing Deadpool for Marvel Comics. At the start of this series, Deadpool’s been hired by A.I.M. (those guys in the great yellow outfits with the squarish hats) to retrieve a secret bioweapon from the Savage Land. The weapon turns out to be Deadpool’s severed, zombified head from another dimension. Gischler’s got a thing for the headless, but I’m okay with that!
Since I missed the first four issues, I’m coming into the middle of the story which pits A.I.M. against Hydra, with Deadpool in the middle with a hot scientist and lots of firepower. But I picked up the action with ease - Deadpool has the zombie head to deliver to A.I.M. in space but Hydra has other ideas and those ideas mostly involve guns and killing. Gischler’s dialogue is sharp, funny and breezy - and it takes a lot of hard work to make it feel that way and still keep the story on point. Listening to Deadpool discuss Star Wars with a nameless A.I.M. employee made me LOL.
Click to continue reading Victor Gischler & Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth #5
Batman is dead, you see, but when you’re DC Comics, the publisher of Batman, and you have a lot of companies that have paid $$$ to put his licensed image on toys and cups and action figures, you still have to publish some Batman comics with the Dark Knight Detective actually in them.
Hence, Batman: Unseen, by Doug Moench and Kelley Jones, which is sub-titled “A Lost Tale of Bruce Wayne as Batman.” That way, we all know that the story took place, but not while Batman was supposedly dead. Moench and Jones have previously collaborated on Batman And Dracula: Red Rain and Batman: Haunted Gotham and several other Batman-related products and it’s great to see them return.
The Unseen part of the title refers to Batman’s new nemesis, a variant on The Invisible Man named Nigel Glass who’s succeeded in creating a liquid that renders him, well, invisible. His transformation by Jones is horrifically beautiful. The uber-villain (the leader of the newly revived Black Mask Gang) who financed Glass’s invention wants this formula for himself, Batman wants to stop Glass, and Glass is out for vengeance against all those who harshed his crazy. One other small story detail: it appears that Bats is worried he’s losing his ability to strike fear into the hearts of men (and with good reason).
Click to continue reading Batman Unseen: Doug Moench and Kelley Jones Score
Weekend Reading: Axa, Star Trek, Alan Moore and Joe Kubert
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Happy happy joy joy, another weekend has arrived and the internet is packed with stuff to keep us all occupied and indoors, at least until game time on Sunday. So whether you like the good girl stylings of Enrique Romero, spoilers from the new Star Trek movie (now out on DVD), or need to see a picture of Joe Kubert’s enormous drawing table, it’s like a pirate’s treasure: all down below. Let’s begin…
Enrique Romero: Pete Doree over at The Bronze Age of Blogs has a great post up about Enrique Romero, artist on two classic British newspaper strips: Axa and Modesty Blaise. No offense to Pete’s solid writing cred, but this one’s all about the art. Images might be a little NSFW, depending on where you work.
J.J. Abrams: Lance Mannion has a few spoiler-laden comments on the Star Trek movie now that it’s out on DVD. “Now, obviously I have more invested in Star Trek than is healthy for a reasonable adult. But geek that I am, I am not religious about it.” He doth protest a smidgeth to mucheth, but he writes so well on the subject, you’ll get sucked right in. Bonus: dialogue excerpts from OST.
Adrian Raeside: You don’t think of cartoonists as explorers, but Canadian editorial cartoonist for the Times Colonist in Victoria, BC, is the grandson of Charles “Silas” Wright, a member of Robert Scott’s famous expedition to the South Pole. Adrian retraced his old relatives footsteps and wrote a book about it: Return to Antarctica. His paper runs an excerpt.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Axa, Star Trek, Alan Moore and Joe Kubert
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