Latest Gear Live Videos
Weekend Reading: Ajax, Tintin, Chaykin & Barreto
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, Television,
It’s not just the weekend, it’s a long holiday weekend into a whole new year. Have a happy one with a few links to read.
Beau Smith writes a wonderful tribute to his friend and frequent collaborator, Eduardo Barreto.
If you’re tracking the future of digital comics, Appy Entertainment’s Paul O’Connor has an interview with the guy behind Operation Ajax, Daniel Burwen.
The writer Lance Mannion goes to see Tintin. There have been lots of reviews over the internets already, but I’m partial to this one. “In fact, The Adventures of Tintin [is] as good an Indiana Jones movie as Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. In parts, it’s as thrilling and new as Raiders of the Lost Ark. Throughout, it’s much better than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and a reminder that as great as the young Harrison Ford was what made the movies was the spirit of adventure that infused them, and that spirit was a boy’s (and girl’s) spirit.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Ajax, Tintin, Chaykin & Barreto
Advertisement
Writer Rich Handley knows more about Planet Of The Apes than any three of you combined.
As the editor/compiler of two massive reference books - Timeline Of The Planet Of The Apes and Lexicon Of The Planet Of The Apes - he’s delved into the nerd minutiae of the movies, comics, TV shows and animated cartoons like Cornelius digging in the Forbidden Zone.
And we are all better people for it - because the only way to prevent the Apes from taking over, is to keep talking about it and disrupt the timeline.
On the occasion of the release of the new Apes extravaganza, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, I went right to the source to ask Rich a few questions about continuity, apes and more.
Note to all: This interview might contain some spoilers (you think?), so you are forewarned.
TOM MASON: So, reboot or prequel?
Click to continue reading Q&A: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
Weekend Reading: Kirby, Ditko, Cowboys & Aliens And Marvel Comics
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, DC Comics, Image Comics, Marvel Comics,
I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the Kirby family lost its claim in court to the copyright to characters Jack Kirby created. As usual, Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter has the best analysis.
Now let’s see what else is out there.
Cowboys: Deadline continues to do the number-crunching on this week’s comic book-inspired film, Cowboys & Aliens. The early results show an under-performer.
Blood: And over at Bleeding Cool, Rich Johnston looks at the long journey getting Cowboys & Aliens from concept to screen.
Ditko: Tom McLean at Bags & Boards doesn’t post as often as he should, but when he does, it’s worth reading. His latest is a review of Blake Bell’s Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko from Fantagraphics. This is a beautiful snip: “Could Ditko be a first-generation fanboy, an 83-year-old whose life was spent obsessing first over comics and later over a juvenile political philosophy that only makes sense within a self-imposed bubble?”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Kirby, Ditko, Cowboys & Aliens And Marvel Comics
Okay, how many of you went to BEA this past week? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Since you didn’t make it, you might appreciate Torsten’s overview at Comics Beat.
Now, here’s some more nifty stuff:
Toth: Randy Reynaldo reviews Alex Toth, Genius Isolated. Need more be said?
Apes: My pal Rich Handley, no stranger to Planet of the Apes, reviews the first issue of BOOM!’s new Apes series, and likes it.
Apes II: Did you know there’s also a new Planet Of The Apes novel out? That’s right, novel! Scoop has the scoop.
Blackbeard: A terrific piece on comics historian Bill Blackbeard’s efforts to preserve comic strips, in case you were wondering why he’s such an important figure.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Toth, Apes, Jesus and Lichty
Weekend Reading: Dr. Who, Dinosaurs, Rob Hanes and Thor
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, Television, Image Comics, Independent,
I was saddened by the recent death of Elisabeth Sladen who played Sarah Jane in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Of all the reminiscences online, the one I thought the most touching was by her co-star, Tom Baker.
Dinosaurs: Topless Robot looks at the “10 Most Badass Dinosaurs In Comics.” Something I created made the list, so naturally, I’m linking to it! Thanks to author Jesse Thompson for the shout out.
Royalty: Evan Lewis at Davy Crockett’s Almanack likes Prince Valiant Vol. 2: 1939-1940 from Fantgraphics. “Amazing as the artwork in Volume 1 was, it just keeps getting better.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Dr. Who, Dinosaurs, Rob Hanes and Thor
Weekend Reading: Dark Horse, Tokyopop, Borders, Glut & Apes
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Dark Horse Comics, TokyoPop,
So, not a great week for comic book publishers as Tokyopop finally called it quits. If you have a project over there, it's a good time to get a lawyer to look over your contract and see about rights reversion when the publisher goes away without declaring bankruptcy (yet) or getting sold.
Then Dark Horse laid off a bunch of employees, many of them beloved and had been there a long time.
But at least the US Government is stepping in to try to stop Borders executives from looting the stores they’ve already ruined.
Rise: I love the way the new Planet of the Apes comic book from Boom! is looking. The Scoop has a sneak preview of the first issue, on sale April 27.
Victor: Here’s a great interview with writer Don Glut that’s mostly about Frankensten. “Why don't I do a series of Frankenstein novels that would be based on the movies and all of these other things? In each one I would bring in some other character from fiction or whatever. I would create this whole Frankenstein universe.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Dark Horse, Tokyopop, Borders, Glut & Apes
Weekend Reading: Kirby, Dick Tracy, Godzilla & Jimmy Olsen
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Everyone but me is at WonderCon this weekend. And I know this because of all the Facebook updates and Tweets that keep showing up in my inbox.
For those of us not walking the con floor and buying comics and debating the future of comics, let’s see if there’s something we can read:
Superman: Nikki Finke prints the letter that the late Joanne Siegel sent to Warner Bros. regarding the Siegel estate’s ongoing legal battle over Superman.
For those in need of some history about the current incarnation of the Warner empire, it begins with Kinney Parking Company which “was a New Jersey parking lot company owned by Manny Kimmel, Sigmund Dornbusch and mob figure Abner Zwillman. Prior to its public listing in 1960, it merged with a funeral home company, Riverside, and then expanded into car-rentals, office cleaning firms and construction companies."
Kinney National Services, Inc. “which was formed in 1966 when the Kinney Parking Company and the National Cleaning Company merged. The new company was headed by Steve Ross."
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Kirby, Dick Tracy, Godzilla & Jimmy Olsen
Weekend Reading: Batman, Clint, Shooter, Granito And Rozum!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics,
.jpeg)
I have an idea for a great drinking game. Surf the internet and every time you come across a link to Bleeding Cool’s expose of Rob Granito, take a drink. You’ll be Lohan’ed before Monday. In the meantime, I await the Bluewater biography of Mr. Swipey McSwipe-swipe.
Let’s see what else is out there:
Batman: The writer Lance Mannion tries to teach his sons about Batman.
Liberty: Writer Martin Powell gets interviewed at Broken Frontier. Subject: his children’s books and The Halloween Legion and Liberty Unlimited, both of which I’m really looking forward to.
Blood: Mark Wheatley, Marc Hempel and Ricky Shanklin’s graphic novel Blood Of The Innocent is marching toward the big screen. Breck Eisner (The Crazies) is attached to direct and Bill Marsilii (Deja Vu) is writing the screenplay. According to Scoop: “The original comic book series set Dracula against Jack the Ripper and was published by Warp in 1985.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Batman, Clint, Shooter, Granito And Rozum!
Abrams ComicArts, the graphic novel portion of the mighty Abrams company, is looking for an Editorial Assistant to help nudge their books along.
You have to be an “organized, detail-minded individual with a demonstrated interest in graphic novels or illustrated books to provide administrative and editorial assistance to an editorial director and publishing director.” Got all that?
It really means trafficking, filing, collating proofreading and any task the editor doesn’t want to do or doesn’t have time to do.
You’ll need a bachelor’s degree and 1-2 years of publishing and/or office experience, and the usual publishing software skills.
Abrams ComicArts does some really nice books, so this’ll certainly look good on your resume.
Salary is in the low $30s, so you’d pretty much have to already be living in NYC to make this happen.
Good luck, job seekers!
[Artwork: Shazam by Chip Kidd, one of the books from Abrams ComicArts]
Read More 
| Abrams ComicArts (via Publishers Market Place)
Weekend Reading: Borders, Bruce Jones, Dick Tracy And Alan Moore
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, Television, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Can you believe another weekend is already here? I can't, so I'd better post a few links and then hit the liquor store!
Let's see what's out there on the interwebs for those of us not already enjoying C2E2:
Borders: The bookstore chain just didn’t drop into bankruptcy overnight. Here’s a list of a half-dozen balls they dropped that you’d think they wouldn’t have.
[Link: Making Light]
Bruce: Comic book writer (remember his run on Hulk?) and novelist Bruce Jones ponders the future of fiction.
Return: John Zipperer at Weimar World Service reports that editorial cartoonist Lyle Lahey is back from his sabbatical, and in top form as he makes fun of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.
Dick: For those of you who don’t already know, there’s a new creative team on the venerable comic strip, Dick Tracy. It’s writer Mike Curtis and artist Joe Staton, and the whole thing is 3 daily panels of awesome. Hogan’s Alley interviews Staton about his new job.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Borders, Bruce Jones, Dick Tracy And Alan Moore
Recent Galleries
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.