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This week’s episode is entitled “What Happened, Happened”. The title is an appropriate one for this episode as we have to realize that what is happening in the past with the LOST people in 1977 has always been the past. They have not changed things by going back into the past. This isn’t “Back to the Future” where an alternate time line has been created. What happened, has already happened and has always been, which is what Miles tries to explain to Hurley here in this episode. I believe Miles represents the voices of the creators and writers of the show here as I think they are using him to talk to the audience as a way of letting them understand what’s going on in the show. The past has not changed by the appearance of the “LOST” people in the past, this has always been the past. Get it? The scene was very funny.
This episode however focuses mainly on Kate and her time on the island during the 1970s and her time off the island in 2000s. This was a difficult episode for me as a parent because it explains why Kate left Aaron before she decided to go back to the island and it also shows where Aaron is now. I don’t know how I feel about the answers given in this episode. Although Kate is not Aaron’s biological mother, she is and has been his mother for the majority of his life. To walk away from him the way she’s done is difficult because I don’t know if a parent can just do that. I know there are bad parents out there who are capable of doing horrific things to their children, but Kate is portrayed as truly loving and adoring Aaron as her own child. Why leave him to go with Jack back to the island?
Spoilers…......................
Click to continue reading LOST Review 4/1/09
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APRIL FOOLS: Marvel, DC, Overstreet, Watchmen and More!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
It’s April 1, and I think everyone knows what that means…
MARVEL COMICS will introduce a new Spider-Man one-shot: Spider-Man: Hedge Fund, a comic book that you don’t actually own, can’t read and will actually decrease in value.
DC COMICS will continue their corporate policy of not allowing their employees to comment on blogs or engage in internet catfights. DC employees are, however, still encouraged to dictate letters to their secretaries who will type them up on their IBM Selectrics and mail them to the local newspaper.
To compete with Zuda, MARVEL COMICS will launch a new online initiative for creator-owned comics. It’ll be called Epic Fail.
PLATINUM STUDIOS has announced that they have entered into a joint venture with a pr firm to send out more press releases.
In an attempt to reach out to the digital generation, Marvel Comics will release a new X-MEN title: X-Men: Tech, which will introduce their new heroes: Twit’r, Phacebook, iPhoner, Mashed-Up, Avatard, and Utoob.
On the publication of the 39th annual edition of THE OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE, Gemstone will publish The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Price Guide.
In an example of a growing trend in COMIC BOOK PIRACY, kids are illegally downloading comics from the Internet…and printing them.
STAN LEE MEDIA has announced today that they are suing everyone named Stan, Lee, Stanley, and Stan Lee.
WARNER BROS. has officially announced the Watchmen sequel: “Watchmen II: Another Thing We Do To Piss Off Alan.”
A new villain based on NADYA SULEMAN will debut in Amazing Spider-Man: Doc Octo-Mom.
Don’t forget to tip your waitress!
One of the great joys of working in comics is getting to hang out with a lot of creative people. As comics are Frankensteined together out of their various parts, you have access to fun stuff that never makes its way into print – notes, sketches, doodles, penciled pages, rough drafts, color tests, model sheets, costume designs, etc. Sometimes in the heat of production an artist will do something really funny that gets passed around from desk to desk and much laughter ensues.
Malibu Comics’ Editor-in-Chief Chris Ulm was one of the founders of the Ultraverse (it was his idea, if anyone asks) and he was also the co-creator of Rune with Barry Windsor-Smith. They envisioned Rune as the UV’s ultimate villain, a vampire of sorts who would be to the Ultraverse what Galactus was to the Marvel Universe and what Darkseid was to the DC Universe.
Rune starred in his own comic, guest-starred in others, and fought both Conan and the Silver Surfer. Not too shabby for an upstart neck-biter. One of the things the Ultraverse had going for it was a strong licensing department. There were a couple of people in the office who were always out hustling up licensing partners for t-shirts, watches, pins and more. That led to a little creative fun from Rune artist Barry Windsor-Smith and his inker Alex Bialy. They sent this little fax to Chris Ulm with their humorous pitch for a potential licensing partner. For the first time outside of the Malibu offices, you can now see the Toy That Should Have Been Made: The Rune Pez Dispenser, the first in a new product line of “vampire Pez” or possibly “comic book Pez.” Enjoy!
(Rune © Marvel Comics)
I’ve been waiting for The Incredibles comic book since I first heard about Boom’s new line of comics for kids last year. Originally given the working title of Zoom, the line’s been branded now with a proper line-extending imprint, Boom! Kids and the results for the launch are spectacular.
The Incredibles: Family Matters #1 kicks off the first of Boom! Kids Disney • Pixar books. The 4-issue mini-series is an original adventure by writer Mark Waid and artist Marcio Takara. Waid takes a classic super-hero storyline - I won’t give it away because it spoils the whole cliffhanger ending kind of thing – and templates it over The Incredibles and walks away a winner. He makes the characters’ transition from animated feature to comic books feel seamless and gets right into the all-new adventure without doling out unnecessary backstory. He packs a lot into 22 pages, and it’s all clear, crisp and fun. Never seen the movie? Not a problem, there’s enough here to fill in the gaps without feeling left out. Love the movie? Your love can easily transfer to these pages and satisfy you until the movie’s sequel comes out. Waid has captured the very essence of the movie and what’s here is nothing short of a Master Class in how-to-do-it right. Takara’s artwork is spot on and he packs each page with visual playfulness.
There are 4 variant covers by Michael Avon Oeming, and a special one by Mike Mignola, if that’s your kind of thing. Less than 24 hours after the first issue hit the stands, my LCS only had two copies left out of over 20 ordered (I asked). The cover to your right is the one I bought. With The Muppet Show #1 already sold out, and the first issue of The Incredibles: Family Matters following suit, it looks like Boom! Kids is off to a great start. Now here’s a tip – feel free to enjoy The Incredibles comic in the privacy of your own Fan Cave, but if you have kids and you want to grow the next generation of funny book fanatics, sit down with them and read it together. You won’t be sorry.
If you want to preview some interior pages from the first issue, you can click here.
[Disclosure #1: Mark Waid and I have known each other for years and during our awkward not-quite teenage years, had many lunches together at an awful Hollywood restaurant called New York George.]
[Disclosure #2: I used to work with Boom toppers Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby at Malibu Comics.]
[Disclosure #3: At Book Expo America (LA 2008) I asked Boom Marketing and Sales Director Chip Mosher if he knew where Ross was. He did.]
(artwork @ 2009 Disney/Pixar)
One of the next Boom! Kids releases is the comic book version of Disney•Pixar’s Cars, starring Lightning McQueen. I talked about it earlier in this post.
This week’s episode is entitled “He’s Our You”. This line is stated in the episode and it’s a reference to a Dharma employee named Oldham who lives on the island. He, like Sayid, is experienced in torturing people. As we saw in last week’s episode, Sayid is imprisoned by the Dharma people as they believe he is one of the Others. Sayid refuses to go along with Sawyer’s plan to pretend to be a defector from the Others so that Sayid can live the Dharma people undercover the way Sawyer has been doing so for the past three years. Horace and the Dharma people believe Sayid is one of the Others and feel that if he’s not going to talk, then they must resort to desperate measures to get information out of him - torture.
All of this is almost small potatoes and I don’t mind going into all of this here before I tell you to look away for spoilers. The cliffhanger for this week’s episode is big and it will probably confuse and freak out some people who aren’t into the time travel aspect of the show. I did not see this one coming and it left me wondering where do we go from here?
Spoilers…...............
Click to continue reading LOST Review 3/25/09
I’ve always been a fan of “How to” articles, books, blogs, etc. I blame my dad for my addiction to the DIY lifestyle. As a kid, I would browse through comics with awe and wonder. They were the most beautiful things that I had come across; with vivid colors and pages of action sequences. Why wouldn’t I love them?
Even though I racked up quite a collection, I confess: I never read them. I looked through them and admired their artwork often, but considered the dialogue sections of comic books the “boring parts”.
It wasn’t until I was older that I began reading comics, and while some were tacky and cheesy, others were thoughtful and intriguing. My attitude changed quickly and I became obsessed with comic writers.
When I went to the local comic shop I looked for names like Moore, Miller, Busiek, and Brubaker. As I read more, I wanted to learn how they wrote comic books.
So here are links to Kurt Busiek’s comic book writing advice, which I have enjoyed. They’re a great resource for anyone looking start writing their own comic books.
Click to continue reading On Writing: Kurt Busiek
Q&A: J. C. VAUGHN & The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews,
I have a total fancrush on The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. For years, it was the only regularly published reference for comic books and while I didn’t really care if my personal collection increased in value, I did like to use the book as my first line of “nerd defense” (“See? This comic book is worth more than your car!”). I might have mentioned that I have relatives in the antique business and whenever they’d stumble across a handful of old comics at some flea market or in the back of a dusty old store, I’d be the point person because, thanks to Overstreet, I knew the difference between Donald Duck #9 and Four Color Comics #9.
Overstreet is a reference book that no fan should be without as it reports on the back issue market for comic books – and not in a rapid-fire “this book is hot-hot-hot now-now-now!” way, but in a calm and measured long view of the industry. In addition to prices based on condition and sales data, it’s a valuable tool for first appearances, collectible issues, rare comics, new costume designs, high profile artists’ work, team-ups, you name it. It’s as valuable to funny book fanatics as Leonard Maltin’s movie book is to Turner Classic Movie nuts.
I also like the idea that Robert Overstreet staked his claim on a piece of the marketplace decades ago that didn’t involve writing, drawing, publishing or selling comic books. He took his home-based business idea and grew it into an empire. We should all be that smart.
My friend J. C. Vaughn has for many years been the Executive Editor and Associate Publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide. He knows more about comics, prices, retail trends, auctions and back issues than I think is humanly possible. And he tracks it all without a Blackberry or iPhone. Just walking around Comic Con International with him is an adventure. With the new edition of the Guide set for release on 3/25, J.C. took a few minutes to talk shop.
TOM MASON: How long have you been the Executive Editor and Associate Publisher of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide?
Click to continue reading Q&A: J. C. VAUGHN & The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide
“LOST” is back this week, thank God. I know it’s only been a week, but if you’re like me, you needed your “LOST” fix badly. This week’s episode was “Namaste”. According to Wikipedia, the word namaste is a greeting used by people in India and Nepal. The literal translation is “I bow to you”. I didn’t read this until after this week’s episode, which now puts all of these different theories and ideas in my head about the show as a whole. Maybe this is important. Maybe the word namaste is clue to what the island is all about. We’ll see.
When we last saw Sawyer, he had met up with Jack, Kate, and Hurley. Sawyer and his crew are living with the Dharma people in the year 1977. He must now find a way to help these three and still keep the secret that they are all from the future. Sayid is on the island in 1977 and his appearance ends up causing some trouble for Sawyer. Also on the island is Sun, Ben, Frank and everyone else from Flight 316. But the question is when are they?
Spoilers….......................................
Click to continue reading LOST Review 3/18/09
According to IGN.com there are some big changes in store for the Batman titles post-Battle for the Cowl. In June we will see some new series premiere and the traditional Bat-titles get new creative teams. Here is the list: “Detective Comics,” “Batman,” “Batman and Robin,” “Red Robin,” “Gotham City Sirens,” “Batman: Streets of Gotham,” and the “Outsiders.” I also saw on a message board over at CBR that Batgirl will be getting her own series again. The CBR message board also posts who are the creative teams behind each book.
The good news for me is that Grant Morrison is off “Batman”. The bad news is that he’s being replaced by Judd Winick. I’ve enjoyed stuff that Judd has written in the past. His work on “Exiles” and “The Outsiders” was good - particularly the “Exiles” that book rocked and hasn’t been good since he left. However, I was not all impressed with his previous work on Batman. Why DC didn’t just give the “Batman” title completely to Tony Daniel as he’s staying as artist I don’t know. Maybe it would be too much to handle? I love what Daniel is doing on “Battle for the Cowl”. “Detective Comics” will be written by Greg Rucka and will feature Batwoman - I’ll check out the first issue, but I’m not a big fan of Greg Rucka so I may end up dropping it. I also could care less about Batwoman.
Although Grant Morrison will be leaving the “Batman” title, he will be staying in the Bat-universe and will be launching a new monthly series entitled “Batman and Robin” along with his usual artist collaborator Frank Quitley. According to IGN, this title will be the “flagship” of the Batman titles. I’m not happy with that statement as I feel the original title of any group of comic books should be the flagship title. The flagship title for Batman should be and always be “Detective Comics”.
Click to continue reading My Future with the Batman titles
COMIC BOOK JOBS: Who’s Hiring? Tokyopop!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, TokyoPop,
It’s a tough, tough employment climate out there. Opportunities to grab a foothold in comics – especially old-school print comics – are few and far between. There’s at least one company publicly looking for someone right now. Could it be you?
Tokyopop, the manga giant that has been laying off staff over the past year or so in a pink slip tornado, needs a new editor, someone to “guide the selection, creation, development, and marketing of licensed manga products.” You’ll be working with the senior editor and associate publisher to manage all this licensed manga, so no OEL for you. You’ll also be doing what sounds like a lot of marketing stuff, but in a recession-based economy, it’s the underpaid multi-taskers who hang on the longest.
But before you get too excited and slap a few trendy buzzwords on your updated resume, you’ll need to meet a batch of requirements. Some include: the ability to write and speak Japanese (okay, I’m out), possession of a college degree (presumably your own), enough manga knowledge to be the Ken Jennings of Japanese culture, and have the positive can-do attitude that only a job in comic books can bring!
Details are at the link. Go for it!
(artwork © Tokyopop)
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