Weekend Reading: Batman, Tintin, Starlog and Jerry Bingham
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Independent, Marvel Comics,
A big week on the internets, so let’s get right to it.
For me, the big news is that my pal Jerry Bingham is illustrating a 5-part story in Batman Confidential, starting in issue #50 that went on sale this week. If you’re on the fence about it, here’s a multi-page preview of it that’ll make you wish Jerry drew more comics. Fans of Batman: Son of the Demon rejoice!
Batman: Over at Project Child Murdering Robot, Ricky Sprague comments on the upcoming Christopher Nolan Batman movie with some language that might be NSFW but SWR (still worth reading)! Bonus shout out to Batman: Year One: “It was among the first of the modern age comic book character reboots that now seem to occur every other year or so. Mr. Miller's hardboiled writing was at its peak, and Mr. Mazzucchelli is one of the best illustrators ever.”
Biff! Bam! Pow!: Bob Greenberger at ComicMix tackles the eternal question: Is Legends of the Superheroes any good? “You have to love kitsch, bad writing, awful acting, and comic books to enjoy (or endure) these specials.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Batman, Tintin, Starlog and Jerry Bingham
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Comic Book Jobs: Checking Out Craigslist
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Teachers, interns, extras don’t sound like comic book jobs, and yet here they are. Let’s take a look at some Los Angeles-based opportunities.
Think Now Education is looking for part-time teachers for “after school programs” in the Inglewood Unified School District in Los Angeles. One of the classes you could be teaching? Reading Graphic Novels. Another one? Making Comic Books.
A Los Angeles-based comic book publisher “in the mid-Wilshire district” is looking for an unpaid intern for their design department. Got to love comics, designs that pop and creating excellent book jackets. No pay, except the usual college credit.
A movie based on an “Action Comic Book” needs extras of all types, ages and ethnicities for an L.A.-based shoot for scenes in a baseball stadium, airport, and subway. There is pay, they say!
Good luck, Craigslist job seekers!
[Artwork: The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels by Danny Fingeroth)
Martin Powell: Moonbeam Golden Award Winner
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Independent,
Congratulations to my old pal Martin Powell. His graphic novel, The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan won the Gold Medal in the 2010 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards in the Comics and Graphic Novels category.
I’ve known Martin since the go-go 1990s when Malibu Comics published his Sherlock Holmes comics, Scarlet In Gaslight and A Case of Blind Fear, among others (usually with artist Seppo Makinen). With artist Patrick Olliffe, Martin also adapted Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a book that’s well worth seeking out.
The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan, written by Powell, was illustrated by Aaron Blecha, and published by Stone Arch Books.
[Artwork: The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan]
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| Aaron Blecha
Comic Book Jobs: Uncle Sam Wants You!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
I think people sometimes forget that there's a world of printed comic books that exists outside the Direct Market. They come from advertising agencies, video game companies, and even the government. They're out there - and they need people to make them happen. Maybe someone like you.
If the phrase "Army Graphic Novels" sounds inviting, you've come to the right place. I doubt you'll be working on a new Sgt. Rock or Sgt. Fury knock-off, but still…a job like this would make you a government contractor. And that's gotta look good on the ol' resume.
SAIC is "a Fortune 500 scientific, engineering and technology applications company" that contracts with the U.S. Army, and lots of other clients it seems, to "solve problems." You can find out a lot more at the SAIC site.
One of the problems they appear to solve is the creation of a graphic novel – they need an artist to work on one for Uncle Sam.
The America’s Army team (the guys who make the official U.S. Army game) is "seeking a talented Artist to support the development of Army based graphic novels."
Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Uncle Sam Wants You!
MoCCA: Paul Levitz, Stephen DeStefano, Robert Sikoryak
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Television, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Is The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art the smartest kid in class? Their fall education programs make me want to hit Hotwire for a cheap flight to NYC and spend a few months with a laptop and some pencils.
My old friend Danny Fingeroth, the Senior VP of Education for MoCCA, gets a tip of my cap for putting together an excellent slate of programs.
Here’s a peek at the list:
Robert Sikoryak and Kriota Willberg are teaching “Anatomy For Cartoonists Workshop” (4 sessions). “This course will teach students how to create real or imaginary characters — in any style — that are consistent and believable.” Bonus: “nude models will be employed.” Nude models should never be unemployed, even in a recession.
Sikoryak is the author of the recently released Masterpiece Comics and his work appears frequently on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Kriota Willberg teaches anatomy for cartoonists and illustrators at The Center For Cartoon Studies.
Click to continue reading MoCCA: Paul Levitz, Stephen DeStefano, Robert Sikoryak
Weekend Reading: Alan Moore, Tamara Drewe and Darwyn Cooke
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews,
So did you read that great interview Adi Tantimedh had with Alan Moore over yet at Bleeding Cool? I was going to write about it precisely because I disagreed with almost every comment on the site and then I discovered that a much better writer, Tom Spurgeon at the Comics Reporter, did a much better job of encapsulating my feelings. So my work here is done.
Remember all those comic book movies that people outside of comics don’t really know are based on comics because they don’t have capes and boots, like The Losers, Scott Pilgrim, Road To Perdition, etc. There’s a new one coming up next month called Tamara Drewe, based on the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds.
The trailer looks awesome and I get a Reuben, Reuben vibe from watching it. (Yes, that’s the world’s oldest reference point, but go look it up.) Tamara Drewe looks like a lot of fun and I hope it moves a few thousand copies of the graphic novel, which is also well worth reading. Here’s a nice article on the movie from the BBC.
Now let’s see what else is out there.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Alan Moore, Tamara Drewe and Darwyn Cooke
Weekend Reading: Vince Colletta, Gene Roddenberry, Tezuka and Zombies!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Independent,
Welcome to the Labor Day edition of Weekend Reading, with a few extra links to help you cope with the extended weekend. Let’s get it started; I’ve got to make the rounds of quite a few barbecues.
Comic Books For Kids: You know who everyone should thank for the influx of great graphic novels for kids? Jeff Smith, creator of Bone. Robin Brenner at Early Word explains, and also points out that while a number of librarians are nuts about graphic novels from NY’s publishing icons, they are somewhat ignorant of the kid-friendly graphic novels actually produced by traditional comic book publishers.
Vince Colletta: I don’t think there’s an inker around who polarizes people as much as the late Mr. C. Scoop reviews The Thin Black Line, a new biography of the inker who “saved the bacon of many an editor.”
Gene Roddenberry: Frederik Pohl remembers his time with the “great bird of the galaxy.”
Superman: Randy Johnson, the writer not the retired baseball pitcher and mustache-worshipper, reviews Jeff Mariotte’s 2007 DC Universe novel Trail of Time. “The real fun for me were the chapters labeled May, 1872. They detailed the gradual coming together of four DC western characters, Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, El Diablo, and the Scalphunter, along with an able assist from Johnny Thunder.” Needless to say, he liked the book, and who among us wouldn’t? I’ve already ordered my copy.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Vince Colletta, Gene Roddenberry, Tezuka and Zombies!
Weekend Reading: App TV, Scott Pilgrim, Scooby-Doo and Brian Keene
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, Television, Independent,
If you want to know where the future of TV and games is headed, check out this piece at Gaming Business Review by my old buddy Chris Ulm. A co-creator of Rune, co-founder of the Ultraverse (it was his idea), and now the CEO of Appy Entertainment, he thinks a lot about those kinds of things.
This’ll get you started: “The living room right now is a no-man’s land of standards and cables, universally poor and inconsistent user interfaces, huge numbers of channels, multiple boxes of hardware, hated cable companies, and multiple video game systems, each with its own proprietary hardware and expensive software.”
Scott Pilgrim: John Scalzi explains the failure of Edgar Wright’s movie in terms we can all understand: the value of nerd-love.
The Cleveland Show: Tom Spurgeon’s brother interviews voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson, the voice of Cleveland Jr. and countless other characters.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: App TV, Scott Pilgrim, Scooby-Doo and Brian Keene
Cheapjack Shakespeare: The Graphic Novel Play
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Independent,
With all this talk of comic books being turned into movies (I’m looking at you Scott Pilgrim and Green Lantern and countless others), how about one that’s being turned into…a play? And no I’m not talking about the expensive Spider-Man musical.
I’m talking about Cheapjack Shakespeare, a comedy about a summer Shakespeare company that’s falling apart as they’re “beset by infidelity, egos, ambition and a particularly ill-timed lightning strike.” Shaun McLaughlin, a reknowned comic book writer (Aquaman) and TV producer (Batman Beyond, Static Shock and various incarnations of Justice League), created the online graphic novel that debuted earlier this year. “It’s like Glee with booze and Shakespeare,” McLaughlin says.
Cheapjack Shakespeare: The Non-Musical has finalized its casting, begun rehearsals and set its premiere date for September 9th at the Alt Theatre in Buffalo, NY. Additional performances will be on September 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25.
Click to continue reading Cheapjack Shakespeare: The Graphic Novel Play
Comic Book Jobs: Comic Strips and Graphic Novels
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
I was scanning the job listings the other day and found a bunch of teaching jobs. Somewhere between Composition I and II and Finance instructors, I found an opportunity for someone to teach Literature of Comic Books and the Graphic Novel. Where was this class when I was a lazy student?
The job awaits you at the Art Center Design College in Tucson, Arizona. Job duties of the graphic novel instructor are typical teacher stuff: “Instruct students according to the established curriculum provided by the General Education Department, grade all assignments, quizzes, and exams, and attend all instructor meetings.”
You need the usual requirements, and there are benefits including a “potential for full time faculty positions” and a “stable work environment.” Both of which cannot be overstated.
If you’d rather “do” than “teach,” here’s an odd listing that’s been up for awhile. It might already be filled, but I can’t find confirmation of that.
Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Comic Strips and Graphic Novels
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