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COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Alexander Siddig
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Continuing to open up my little scrapbook of pre-digital convention photos, here are a couple related to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and dating back to Comic Con International/San Diego Comic Con 1993 when Malibu Comics was launching its ongoing monthly DS9 comic book series. The company had snuck in under DC’s radar (DC had the other Star Trek rights) and snagged the license from Paramount. That was done by negotiating a top-of-the-market licensing fee and agreeing to certain sales guarantees. And that’s why in addition to the ongoing monthly series, there were multiple mini-series, specials, annuals and various cover gimmicks; there needed to be a minimum of two ST:DS9-related titles shipping each month to justify the fees.
The first issue of ST:DS9 was launching in August of 1993 and it seemed like a great idea to bring in one of the cast for the Con, provided all the right people could make it happen.
Click to continue reading COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Alexander Siddig
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It’s that time again. Time for Comix411’s favorite feature, EVERYBODY LOVES SUPERGIRL! This month it’s issue number 43.
It’s Kara’s birthday and all is not well. Her father is dead, she killed Lois’ sister, and failed to bring in Reactron, incurring the wrath of her mother, and as if that wasn’t enough she has to pick a guild to serve in for the rest of her life. As punishment for her failure, Alura forces Kara to perform daily tasks for a different Kryptonian guild everyday. Alura did this so Kara can experience life in each guild so she can make an informed decision about what to do with her life leading to a heart-to-heart between mother and daughter. Awwww.
Okay, summary done. Now let’s see if it was any good. I enjoyed this issue. I liked that Sterling Gates decided to frame the story in the form of a letter to her dead father. It allows you to experience the emotional gamut and stress Kara is going through on the eve of the biggest decision of her life. In fact, it reminds me of the stress I felt deciding which college to go to and choosing a career. In other words you can easily step into Kara’s shoes. There are some humorous scenes such as Kara’s visit with the religious guild, emotional scenes, and, of course, drama.
Art-wise, Joshua Middleton turned out a great cover. One of the best of the entire series, which makes me wonder, WHY ISN’T HE DOING INTERIORS!!!!!!! I’ve been a fan of his since his days at Crossgen and his Disney-esqe style is perfect for Supergirl. I Like Jamal Igles art, he does a beautiful Kara (that’s not hard to do) and a good Krypton, but doesn’t convey the wonder and emotion like Middleton’s art does.
Visit my website, Sledgehammer Productions for minutes and minutes of fun!
Batman’s Secret For Stress-Free Workdays
Posted by Kris Madden Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
BAT BROTH! That’s right, not your household chicken broth, “Bat Broth” is “a special mixture of nutrients designed to quickly convert to energy under conditions of internal stress.” It’s no wonder Bruce Wayne is able to run a multi-billion dollar business and moonlight as a crime fighter, when he has the modern businessman’s ultimate remedy.
I found out Bruce Wayne’s secret soup at the The Great Batman Equipment Archive. The site takes a comprehensive look into the Dark Knight’s “utility belt” of tricks; highlighting Batman’s inventory from comics, video games, RPGs, films, scripts, books, websites, and TV shows. Most common items are Batman’s tried and true “Batarang”, “Grapple Gun”, cape and cowl, but you’ll be surprised to learn about other items (Besides “Bat Broth”) the caped crusader carried with him from time to time.
Click to continue reading Batman’s Secret For Stress-Free Workdays
COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL: Joe Kubert and Sergio Aragones
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Platinum Editions was a joint venture between Ervin Rustemagic’s Strip Art Features (S.A.F.) and Malibu Comics. The idea was that since Ervin’s client roster of fantastically-talented big name artists was already creating graphic albums for distribution in multiple European countries, why not publish a US edition as well. Why not, indeed.
Malibu agreed to pay for a black plate change during the press run and produce a version of each book with English dialogue (and lettering), and distribute the books under a new imprint. Ervin originally wanted to call the imprint “Exit” because he had a theory that the sheer number of “Exit” signs on the freeways, interstates and highways across the U.S. amounted to a ton of free advertising. But Platinum Editions won the name game.
Once printed in Europe, the books would then ship to the US. It gave Malibu – in 1991 – access to some creators it normally would not have gotten to work with, including Joe Kubert (who would later illustrate Rustemagic’s Fax From Sarajevo) and Sergio Aragones. Kubert’s book was Abraham Stone, and Sergio did two books, Buzz & Bell: Space Cadets and Smokehouse Five.
Click to continue reading COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL: Joe Kubert and Sergio Aragones
R2D2 Translator assists in commanding your astromech droid in its native tongue. Unfortunately, the online application cannot translate your R2’s language into English. For that, Comix 411 recommends purchasing a protocol droid, well versed in the “doots” and “beeps” of astro-droids. C-3PO’s and TC-14’s are excellent droids for language translation, with their encyclopedic knowledge of more than six million galactic languages. However, if you are without a protocol droid, this translator helps direct your R2-unit on the cheap.
Read on for helpful phrases and info on setting up a custom R2 ring-tone for your cell phone.
Click to continue reading Learn to Speak R2D2!
The Alliance of the Serpent, a cult that uses inbreeding of royals to bring about the Anti-Christ, finally has the vessel they need to create a rift in the fabric of the universe. That vessel is William Murderface, the ill tempered, self-loathing bassist of heavy metal superband, Dethklok.
Who are Dethklok you ask? Why none other than the incompetent, inept, and metal stars of the hit Adult Swim cartoon, Metalocalypse. Dethklok consists of the aforementioned Murderface, Front Man and lyrical genius Nathan Explosion, Lead Guitarist Skwissgar Skwigelf, Rhythm Guitarist Toki Wartooth, and Drummer Pickles. The band has a fanbase that is so devoted that they often put themselves in physical danger to see the band. The band’s actions have attracted the attention of an “illuminati” like organization called the Tribunal, who constantly try to destroy Dethklok only to have the plan (most times literally) explode in their face. Okay now that that’s out of the way, back to the review…
Click to continue reading Review: Dethklok vs. the Goon
Welcome home! Comic Con International 2009 is over and most of you are back home, sorting through your many treasures and trying to remember who that is in the picture you took. I have no memories of 2009 because I didn’t make it this year, even though I’m just a few hours away. But to celebrate in the coming week, I’m going to post a few pictures from my convention archives, pre-digital era. And yes, there will be some scanning involved.
First up are two photos from CCI back when it was called the San Diego Comic Con and back when the year was 1993. The girl in the top photo getting a surprise breast inspection is Lita Ford, once part of an all-girl group called The Runaways (with Joan Jett) and then a very popular and attractive solo act – managed by Ozzie Osbourne’s wife, Sharon Osbourne. Also, having met Lita, pretty darned cool, too.
Click to continue reading COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL: Jim Balent and Lita Ford
Do you remember that time in Star Wars when Luke Skywalker and Han Solo dropped by Harry Potter’s house to see if he wanted to help them defeat Darth Vader and destroy the Death Star? Of course not, because it didn’t happen, except perhaps in Star Wars-Harry Potter Fan Fiction.
That’s what I felt like, though, when I was reading an old copy of Walt Disney Comics Digest (#23, July 1970) I found at a library book sale. I’m flipping through this old digest-sized comic book of classic Disney comics and there between the “Brer Rabbit” story and the “Super Goof” adventure was a tale called “The Magic Brew,” starring Donald Duck’s nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Identical triplets, the three nephews were created by Ted Osborne and official Disney Legend Al Taliaferro. HDL first appeared in a comic strip on October 17, 1937. Their first animated appearance was in the cartoon “Donald’s Nephews,” released on April 15, 1938. You can get all that info and more at the Wikipedia.
So far so good, but the actual plot of “The Magic Brew” is what really threw me.
Click to continue reading DISNEY TEAM-UP: PINOCCHIO and HUEY, DEWEY AND LOUIE!
WEEKEND READING: SpongeBob, Wally Wood, Philip K. Dick, Star Wars and Harry Potter!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Gather ‘round, internet pals. There’s a lot of great stuff all over the internets this week and not all of it has to do with Comic Con International. For example, there’s George Orwell, Philip K. Dick, Joe Murray and Wally Wood, Doug Mahnke and a whole lot more out there. Let’s roll some of it out:
DOUG MAHNKE: You might know Doug Mahnke as the original artist on The Mask with writer John Arcudi. Maybe you know him from Major Bummer or Stormwatch, or even the new Green Lantern series with Geoff Johns. But Tom Richmond knows Doug as one of the inventors of live airbrushed caricatures, and he tells all over at The Mad Blog.
RED ROBIN: Todd Klein is not only a great letterer and logo designer, he’s also a blogger. Over at his blog, Klein Letters, he breaks down the step-by-step process he used to design the logo for DC’s new Red Robin comic book.
WALT DISNEY: With Disney’s new The Princess And The Frog animated film due later this year, expect all kinds of blogposts about the Disney empire. Here’s a good one: Over at Bookforum, writer Hannah Frank revels in the ubiquity of the Disney brand by looking at five Walt-themed books that are not the usual “Disney is God” hagiography. One of the books even has Walt’s HUAC testimony where he outs one of his employees as a communist. Fascinating!
(h/t Galleycat)
Rating: ***
Blackest Night continues in this week’s issue of Green Lantern #44. I liked this issue. It wasn’t as good as last week’s first issue of the Blackest Night mini-series, but it was still a good read. Geoff Johns is also the writer here as he continues his run on the main Green Lantern title. Doug Mahnke who many know from his work on Batman, provides the artwork here and does a great job. Some very cool splash pages. I think his work is better here than it was over in Batman.
The story picks up from Blackest Night #1 as we saw the Martian Manhunter, J’onn J’onnzz is now a Black Lantern and he confronts Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. In a very cool scene we see when the black ring found the body of the Martian Manhunter as the Oreo cookie that Batman left on his coffin falls to the ground and crumbles as he bursts out of the coffin and flies off. J’onn keeps talking about how both Barry and Hal should be dead. I wonder if their resurrections have anything to do with the prophecy behind the rise of the Black Lanterns and the war that will take place among the various colored lanterns.
Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Green Lantern #44
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