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Stan LeeAs any regular browser of the internets knows, Stan Lee‘s POW! Entertainment has pacted with Boom! Studios to launch a line of superhero comic books based on concepts from The Man himself. Here are 10 things that Stan said as he signed the deal.

10. “What a coincidence! A Mark Waid once interviewed me for Amazing Heroes.”

9. “‘Boom,’ huh? Have you thought about either ‘Krakadoom!’ or ‘Bah-bah-boom’”?

8. “Can we work 2099 into the title of something?”

7. “You can still get me a room at San Diego, right?”

6. “How will this affect my cameo in ?”

5. “With great power comes a really great contract.”

4. “ is talking to me about the iStan.”

Click to continue reading Stan Lee And Boom! Studios: Top 10 Things Overheard

Read More | Boom! Studios

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Float-OutComedian and comic book enthusiast Patton Oswalt lends his writing talents to ‘s Firefly universe with the upcoming one-shot Float-Out.

The comic, which is set to hit stores on June 2, picks up where Serenity left off. Chronicling the late Wash’s friends, the story marks a new chapter in the Firefly ‘verse. Oswalt talks about continuing this world in comic book form and shares a little about how he felt with Whedon’s ending:

“Post-Serenity’ a bunch of Wash’s friends who we haven’t met on the show, they’re basically buying a new ship and christening it… It’s called a ‘float-out’ when you christen a ship. As they’re christening a new ship, they’re telling stories about Wash, and we’re basically seeing what could be the start of a new adventure… I had always been kind of bothered by Wash’s death.”

A fan of the television series, Oswalt didn’t have to do heavy research to take on the project and was quite inspired to continue the story: “It was very frustrating to see the show get canceled when a world was starting to come together. I just wish Fox had given it some more time, I guess.”

Patric Reynolds provides the interior art and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 artist Jo Chen lends her skills to the cover (seen above).

Read More | Splash Page

Deadly Hands Of Kung FuStan’s back in case you haven’t heard (he’s over at Boom!) and if you have, you’ll be happy to know there’s still a bunch of cool stuff all over the internet you might not have seen yet.

Comic Heroes: When is it a good time to launch a new magazine? Probably when most of the biggest grossing movies of the last 10 years have been based on comic books and sci-fi. John Zipperer has the news of a new magazine devoted to comic books and coming out of England from the publishers of SFX. Good news for the British - it’s coming out this month.

Stan Lee: Clifford Meth got about 2-minutes with The Man he’s known for three decades and asked some questions about the new Boom! Studios/POW! Entertainment team-up.

Neal Adams and Bruce Lee: I love Neal’s work on the various Batman comics he did back in the day. But you know what else I love? His covers for Marvel’s Deadly Hands Of Kung-Fu magazine. And so do the folks at Cyclops Central who posted a pile of butt-kickin, kung fu art by Adams that I could stare at all day.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Stan Lee, Comic Heroes, Gil Kane and George Tuska


Stan LeeStan Lee has made a pretty good hobby out of appearing in projects based on Marvel Comics. It’s a fun, and not too distracting, game to try to figure out if Stan will be showing up in a crowd scene, a cocktail party, a press conference or other setting where he can do his cameo, fulfill his Screen Actor’s Guild obligations, and eat the free lunch at break time.

On March 1, Stan appeared as himself on the fanboy favorite, The Big Bang Theory, probably the best sitcom currently on the air, thanks to creator-producer Chuck Lorre, co-creator-producer Bill Prady, and the rest of their talented staff of producers and writers. In “The Excelsior Acquisition,” the cast is excited about Stan’s appearance at the local comic book store, but Sheldon misses it when he gets tossed in jail for contempt while defending his traffic ticket. Naturally, when he gets out, he takes advantage of an opportunity to make the pilgrimage to Stan’s house. Stan acquits himself quite well and there are laughs galore. It’s a great use of stunt-casting and it’s packed with jokes that reveal the writers as fans of Marvel Comics, not posers. Well done, all!

Stan liked the experience so much, he Tweeted about it.

Click to continue reading Stan Lee And The Big Bang Theory


Buford TuneBuford Tune appears to be one of the forgotten cartoonists of the mid-20th Century, even though he had a comic strip that ran for nearly 30 years. I’d never heard of him or his strip which made this article about him all the more fascinating.

Continuing my series on cartooning and cartoonists, Tune sang about his own work back in 1964. This is pulled from an oversized saddle-stitched magazine from Allied Publications with the creatively-challenged title These Top Cartoonists Tell How They Create America’s Favorite Comics. It featured an introduction by Beetle Bailey’s Mort Walker and was compiled by Allen Willette.

Now, here’s Tune on key:

Click to continue reading Buford Tune and Dotty Dripple


UltimoSan Francisco is a really nice city. It’s easy to get around in, has a vibrant arts culture, and excellent food. Also, home to Dashiell Hammett, one of the great American writers and Wondercon one of the best of the regional conventions.

You know who else is there? Viz Media, the publishers of Naruto and Shonen Jump.

And now the manga publisher by the bay is looking for a Royalty Financial Analyst. That does not mean you’ll be counting and investing the Queen’s money, but does mean you’ll be on the Viz Finance Team.

You’re going to need some “solid math skills” (well, duh), an ability to “think in an analytical fashion” and you’re going to need those Japanese bilingual skills to even get in the door.

You’ll be using these mad skillz to compile, prepare and review royalty reports, review licensing agreements “to ensure compliance,” process data, report to licensors and licensees, and all that fun accounting stuff. Sadly, an interest in comic books, publishing, manga, anime, etc. is not listed as a requirement, but on the plus side it’s not being put out there as a detriment either.

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Who’s Hiring? Viz!


Mell LazarusSomeone should biographize Mell Lazarus, who is still alive and—coming up on 83—still working. For a long time, he had two daily nationally syndicated comic strips, Miss Peach and Momma. He wrote a humorous novel based on his experience working for Al Capp (creator of Li’l Abner), he worked for Al Capp and was an active presence in the New York cartoon scene. Oh the stories he could probably tell. I hope he’s secretly putting them all in a book.

Continuing my series on cartooning and cartoonists, this Lazarus piece is pulled from a 1964 oversized saddle-stitched magazine from Allied Publications with the creatively-challenged title These Top Cartoonists Tell How They Create America’s Favorite Comics. It featured an introduction by Beetle Bailey’s Mort Walker and was compiled by Allen Willette.

Here’s Mell talking about how he does it:

Click to continue reading Mell Lazarus and Miss Peach


Super Hero SquadMy favorite superhero cartoons are the DC ones from Warner Bros. where Bruce Timm and friends are at the helm. In fact, if someone just put a show on the air called “Bruce Timm & Friends,” I’d watch it. But the Marvel Comics cartoons have made vast improvements over the years and while I’m outside of the target audience these days, my sons get a kick out of them. Now the Marvel Studios down in Manhattan Beach, California are looking for some help.

In their Animation division, they need a Coordinator in Development and Production. It’s an entry-level deal, and you’ll be working across all of their shows (both regular series and DTV) and pitching in wherever support is needed. In the corporate world, this used to be referred to unofficially as a “floater.”

The job description has a lot of functions – it’s longer than anything you’ll be able to do in a full week – so just be satisfied knowing that you’ll be doing everything someone above you needs done from tracking, monitoring, researching, coordinating and stuff like that. One perk is that you’ll be hiring and managing interns and managing the search for key production and creative positions (which makes you my new best friend).

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Who’s Hiring? Marvel!


Judge ParkerBefore going any further, let’s just pause for a minute (which is like a week in internet-time) and send some good thoughts out to Eduardo Barreto, the great comic artist who currently draws the Judge Parker comic strip. He’s ailing with Meningitis and has had to push himself away from the drawing board while he recovers. Aside from being a good guy, he’s a terrific artist and Parker is one of the best-drawn comics currently on the page. We at Comix 411 wish him a speedy recovery. Eduardo’s pal and frequent collaborator, Beau Smith, has an excellent appreciaton as well as an update over at Busted Knuckles.

Kids And Guns: One thing I’ve learned is that kids from the 1950s and 1960s loved their guns, and companies were only too happy to fill their hands with iron, okay, well, plastic and metal parts, but still. Over at Cyclops Central they’ve got an excellent post to prove that point with ads from comics books and television.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: James Bama, Alex De Campi, Kids and Guns!


Stan LeeNot everybody who’s part of the comic book industry is writing, drawing, coloring, lettering or editing or blogging about writing, drawing, coloring, lettering or editing. There’s plenty of room for lawyers and accountants and guys who drive the trucks for Diamond Comic Distributors (and those guys are essential). But now there’s also an opportunity for anyone who can tap out a tune on a keytar, slap a bow on a violin or a blow a French horn.

I didn’t know this, or if I did, I’d forgotten it, but there’s apparently a Stan Lee documentary in the works called With Great Power. I believe this is different from the one called True Believer: The Stan Lee Documentary.

The folks behind the With Great Power doc are putting together “talented score musicians” which, unfortunately, are not guitar players who know how to make women pay their rent, but skilled musicians who want to be in the orchestra that’s scoring the film.

If you’re “skilled at your craft, non-union and can sight-read” and want to be part of the 90-piece non-union mighty marching band, I mean orchestra, currently being assembled for a 1-day session in mid-March over at the Warner Brothers’ Eastwood Stage, then some producers would like to hear from you – by email first, then they’ll listen to your pulse-pounding tuba triumph .

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Who’s Hiring? The Stan Lee Orchestra!


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