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Steve Englehart: The Plain Man
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
Summer's coming up and you know who's got a new book coming out? My old Ultraverse pal Steve Englehart, who's perhaps best known in comics for acclaimed runs on Batman, The Avengers, Captain America and dozens of other titles.
Years ago, he wrote a book called The Point Man. It was reprinted in 2010 by Tor Books and quickly followed by the sequel later that year called The Long Man.
He's got a new one coming out called The Plain Man – and the growing line is now called the Timeless Series - and it ships next month, June 21. There's a follow-up book already in the hopper called The Arena Man, so there appear to be plenty of stories left to tell.
Bonus for comic book fans, in The Plain Man Steve's bringing in some of his creator-owned characters, Coyote and Scorpio Rose to name just two, to join in the action. And they won't be the only ones popping up either.
Click to continue reading Steve Englehart: The Plain Man
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Comic Book Colorist Moose Baumann Could Use A Hand
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
Years ago, I worked in the same office at comic book colorist Moose Baumann.
I used to watch him color Malibu Comics' Ultraverse titles the old-fashioned way before computers took over.
He was a great colorist then and he's kicked it up a notch or four in the years since.
Like many freelancers recently, he's run afoul of the health care system and could use a helping hand related to medical bills from his wife's recent illness.
Moose is selling off some nifty prints and such to stay afloat. Blog @ Newsarama has the details.
If you can help out, please do, and if you want to buy some cool coloring for yourself or as a gift, do that too.
[Artwork: Green Lantern #177, with its innards colored by Moose and © DC Comics]
DC’s 99¢ Batman: Arkham City #1
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Video Games, DC Comics,
Want to know a comic you could be reading for just 99¢?
DC’s got one: Batman: Arkham City #1 by Paul Dini & Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen.
The first chapter in this multi-chapter storyline pits Batman against Hugo Strange who's pitching Arkham City as "Gotham's ultimate solution to crime."
Click to continue reading DC’s 99¢ Batman: Arkham City #1
Comic Con International 2011: Traffic Update
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials,
"If I can just get off of that L.A. freeway without getting killed or caught…"
Jerry Jeff Walker, L.A. Freeway
So it's probably safe to say that the city of Los Angeles might be kinda bummed that they didn't succeed in luring Comic Con International away from San Diego.
But do they hold a grudge?
Oh, I think so. I can't prove it of course, but this being the internets means I don't have to.
Click to continue reading Comic Con International 2011: Traffic Update
Weekend Reading: Alex Toth, Nick Fury and Doug Wildey
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Marvel Comics,
Greetings and welcome to the weekend. Let's read!
Toth: Animator Michael Sporn showcases a lot of great Alex Toth art from Dell Comics. Bonus: includes side-by-side comparisons of Toth’s b&w pages with the much lower-quality printed copies. Nice.
Bunn: Chris Arrant at Collecting Comic Books has a nifty interview with Cullen Bunn, writer of the upcoming Fear Itself: The Deep.
Cap: Novelist James Reasoner reviews The Trial of Captain America: “Under Brubaker’s guidance, Captain America continues to be one of the best comics out there today.”
Cartoons: Cartoonist Dan Rosandich gets himself a shout out from the Los Angeles Times Pressmens 20 Year Club.
Plop!: Diversions of the Groovy Kind has an old classic from Steve Skeates and Sergio Aragones.
Comics: We all knew that Nick Fury was a Sergeant and an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Did you know he was a fan of the comics? Mike Sterling reveals all.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Alex Toth, Nick Fury and Doug Wildey
Wonder Woman Fail: TV Series DOA
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Television, DC Comics,
We’ve all heard the news now: David E. Kelley’s proposed Wonder Woman TV pilot did not get the greenlight from NBC.
But what we haven’t heard are the real reasons behind the cancellation. Here then, are the Top Ten Reasons Why The New Wonder Woman Series failed:
10. Typical David E. Kelley: Too much “Wondering Woman,” not enough actual Wonder Woman
9. Etta Candy played by Calista Flockhart
8. To be trendy, Amazon homeland changed to Amazon.com
7. William Shatner and James Spader as dueling Steve Trevors
Click to continue reading Wonder Woman Fail: TV Series DOA
Top 10 Surprises in Thor
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Have you seen the new Thor movie yet? And if not, why not?
Of the summer's four big comic book movies - Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America and X-Men: First Class – it's the one with the distinguished pedigree (Kenneth Branagh! Sir Anthony Hopkins! Natalie Portman!) and one of the least likely super-hero movies besides Ant-Man or Metamorpho.
Curiosity alone makes it worth $10.
Having said all that, there were still a number of things about Thor that surprised me. Here's my Top 10.
10. It's not just his hammer that's called Mjolnir
9. Cameo by Stan Lee Media
8. His real name is "Sore"; he has a speech impediment
7. Shout out to Kirby; that's Kirby Carruthers, the assistant lighting director
6. Natalie Portman should be in every movie. Just sayin'.
Click to continue reading Top 10 Surprises in Thor
Weekend Reading: Gottfredson, Satan, Starlin and Comic Book Guy
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Collecting, Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Independent,
I hope you enjoyed your free comics on Free Comic Book Day!
I don't know how successful the event is at growing the industry, but I do like getting a lot of free comics to sample - it's like opening up a birthday present and finding Christmas inside.
Let's see what else is free:
Comics: Lance Mannion visits the local comic book shop, on the streets of New York City.
Cowboys: At Western Fictioneers, Troy Smith lays out his favorite Western comic books of all time. Bonus: Son of Tomahawk!
Mickey: Mark Evanier got himself an advance copy of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: "Race to Death Valley" (Vol. 1) by Floyd Gottfredson, published by Fantagraphics Books. And there was much rejoicing.
West: I love this poster by Thomas Perkins.
Bongo: Over at Bongo's blog, Comic Book Guy runs down a list of comic book places where he'd like to live.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Gottfredson, Satan, Starlin and Comic Book Guy
The Mighty Thor Scores!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
So, is there some kind of comic book movie out this weekend or what?
Yes, that’s right. Mighty Marvel Comics has unleashed one of its least-likely-to-star-in-a-hit-movie characters into his own hit movie: Thor. Word of mouth seems strong, box office seems stronger than Vin Diesel and by Odin’s beard we’ll probably be looking at Thor II and Son Of Thor before too long.
(In Son Of Thor, Thor’s misunderstood teenaged son swings his mighty, but lesser, hammer in Manhattan around a cast of 90210/Gossip Girl lookalikes while trying to find love with that year’s Kristen Stewart.)
Can Edgar Wright’s long-awaited Ant-Man movie be far behind?
Marvel does a great job with their movies - they have a similar look and style, they churn them out with the punctuality of a European train, and they’re either profitable or wildly profitable.
Click to continue reading The Mighty Thor Scores!
Weekend Reading: Blackbeard, Superman, Toth & Guindon
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Television, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Marvel Comics,
I was saddened to hear about the recent death of comics historian Bill Blackbeard. Tom Spurgeon had recently written about him and how he deserved a spot in the Eisner’s Hall of Fame this year. That prompted me to (1) agree immediately with Tom and then (2) write about my own dealings with Mr. Blackbeard.
I didn’t know that by then he had already passed. Tom has the best obituary, if such things can be defined by that term.
Fantagraphics’ Gary Groth shares some personal memories plus tributes from others.
Sparkplug has an interview with him from a while ago that’s first rate.
What a heartbreaker. The guy literally and single-handedly saved newspaper comics from the shredder of history.
Let’s see what else is out there:
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Blackbeard, Superman, Toth & Guindon
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