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Wildstorm: Gen 13 #1 @ 299,000 Copies (1995)
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Image Comics, Independent,
Wildstorm – the once-formidable imprint of DC Comics - is officially shutting down this month and that makes me sad.
I have friends who work there (many of whom I'm happy to say are staying on to work for the corporate parent), but I was also present at its fairly official formation.
I was sitting in Marc Silvestri's beachfront apartment in Malibu, attending a meeting of the Image founders while they were putting together what would become Image Comics. I was there as a representative of Malibu Comics along with Malibu Publisher Dave Olbrich and Editor-In-Chief Chris Ulm.
Image was represented by Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, Jim Lee, and Whilce Portacio. Hank Kanalz was also there. He was Rob's co-writer on the soon-to-be published Youngblood #1, and years later eventually became the head of Wildstorm. (I have a photo of Hank videotaping the meeting so there's archival footage lurking somewhere.)
Dave and Rob had known each other for years, and if you corner Dave at a convention, he can tell you the story of how Malibu nearly published a version of Youngblood #1 years before the formation of Image, and before Rob started working for Marvel.
Image had scheduled several meetings at the beach that day and Malibu Comics was the first one. The publisher of Wizard, Gareb Shamus, would later drop by, as would Harold Anderson from Anderson News, the newsstand distributor.
Click to continue reading Wildstorm: Gen 13 #1 @ 299,000 Copies (1995)
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“I Am The Law...of Human Resources!”
Rebellion, the British publisher of 2000 AD (home of Judge Dredd) and many other great British Comics) is in a hiring mood for the holidays.
Unfortunately, they aren’t looking for a new body to fill the Judge’s suit. They want a PR Coordinator.
You’ll be covering “PR and Marketing for all aspects of the publishing sides of the business.” This includes “the famous Sci-Fi comic 2000 AD and Sci-Fi/Fantasy book imprints Abaddon and Solaris, as well as some for the renowned computer games.”
Comics, books, games? This sounds like I’ve washed up on the shore of Fanboy Island!
You’ll be writing press releases, fielding incoming media inquiries, maintaining those all-important social media contacts, plus research and tracking.
Rebellion only wants you if you can (1) provide samples suitable to their needs and more importantly (2) “legally work in the UK.”
Good luck, job seekers!
[Artwork: 2000 AD #1713, cover by D’Israeli]
Comic Book Jobs: Toys, Actors And Taxes!
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Action Figures, Editorials, Movies, Independent,
Is there a hint of Geppetto in your gene pool? Can you design and build your own toys? If so, there's an opportunity for you at 1821 Comics (that's the new L.A.-based comic book company that's working with Stan Lee on The War).
They're looking for a Toy Developer to design and build prototypes for toys and action figures "related to our various graphic novel properties."
I've worked with toy designers before and given the nod to various prototypes, including a character I co-created called, oddly enough, Prototype. It's fun. It's like watching Michelangelo sculpt Aquaman.
An "action/comedy web series" has sent out a casting call for non-union actors to appear in Deathfist Ninja Gkaiser. The short film will pay "homage to Japanese tokusatsu shows (i.e. Power Rangers, Kamen Rider, Godzilla)."
In addition to the standard human roles, they're looking for actors to play Dark Shinobi, the Butterfly Ninjas, and Dragon Sage Siyoki. My acting experience is limited to eating a Caesar salad at an L.A. dinner theater but I'll definitely want to see this when it's online.
Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Toys, Actors And Taxes!
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Wikileaks: Comic Book Secrets
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Image Comics, Independent, Marvel Comics,
If you took the time to read through the nearly 250,000 documents released this week via Wikileaks, you’d find a comic book connection in several of them. We at Comix 411 have nothing but free time and did the heavy lifting for you. Here are the comic book-related highlights from the document dump:
When visiting with US President Barack Obama, the CIA codename for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is “Bucky.”
Interrogators at Guantanamo routinely asked prisoners to choose: Betty or Veronica?
Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong Il sometimes dresses up as Wildcat before he tours a factory. In other news, North Korea still has factories.
Click to continue reading Wikileaks: Comic Book Secrets
I like anthology comics. I think they can be a great showcase for both a writer and an artist and if you’re in the mood for a short story instead of a long multi-part epic, they can really hit the spot.
That’s what led me to Scheme Comix, a new indy anthology from Happy World Productions and produced in cooporation with Arts Council Scotland. It’s a pocket-sized 32-page black and white collection of “5 tales of Suspense! Shocks! And Romance!” according to the cover blurb.
All of them are illustrated by Kev Harper, with writing from David Walker, Sharon Irvine and Louise C. Gordon.
Regardless of how long corporate comics survive, I like that there’s a vibrant group of DIY-ers driven to do it themselves, either on the internets or, in this case, print.
I like the variety of stories here: a private eye, space babes, and what looks like the beginning of a wild road trip. That’s right on the money as far as I’m concerned. And artist Kev Harper is definitely someone to watch.
Click to continue reading British Comics: Scheme Comix #1
Weekend Reading: Bill Finger, Mighty Samson, The Shadow & Valerian
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Independent, Marvel Comics,
Thank you internets, you’ve been great this week. So let’s share that bounty with others:
Mighty Samson: Writer J.C. Vaughn has a preview of Mighty Samson #1 at his blog. Shooter’s involved, Patrick Olliffe is the artist. Dark Horse is the publisher. I’m in!
Here’s a little more about the series at Comic Attack.
Shadow: Novelist James Reasoner has a Forgotten Book that’s a must have for fans of Maxwell Grant’s The Shadow: Gangland's Doom: The Shadow of the Pulps, by Frank Eisgruber Jr.
British Comics: Matthew Murray at Comics Beat goes all out for the new Dandy and breaks down its contents.
Peanuts: Zach Weiner finally lets Charlie Brown kick that football.
Peppers: Mark Evanier lives the sitcom life.
3-D: Ricky Sprague at Project Child Murdering Robot tells how Marvel Comics (in 3-D!) turned him into an atheist. Bonus: 3-D artwork on the internets!
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Bill Finger, Mighty Samson, The Shadow & Valerian
Supernatural Law & Magical Law: Separated At Birth?
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Independent,
I really enjoyed reading this article about a new TV series in development at Fox. The working title is Magical Law and according to the article “the would-be hour-long Fox show takes place in a Harry Potter–esque world where supernatural beings are part of the fabric of everyday life.”
I thought that was a cool idea for a show - a logical extension of the popularity of Harry Potter, Twilight, The Walking Dead and others since TV loves to make shows about cops, lawyers and doctors when it's not obsessed with dancing.
I also thought it was a cool idea because I’d read Batton Lash’s Supernatural Law, a comic book series (created back in 1979) that “features the law practice of Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd, who specialize in serving the legal needs of monsters and other supernatural beings, or those who find themselves in conflict with such beings.”
I’m not the only one who sees similarities, either. The A.V. Club also weighs in.
You can check out some Supernatural Law over at Webcomics Nation.
As the tag line to Lash’s series notes: “Beware the creatures of the night - they have lawyers!”
[Artwork: Supernatural Law © Batton Lash]
Mr. Natural and Fritz The Cat (Robert Crumb). Cheech Wizard (Vaughn Bode). Dirty Duck (Bobby London). Wonder Wart-Hog (Gilbert Shelton).
All of them are great underground comic book characters. But they're not my favorite. For my money, cartoonist Bob Foster created one of the greatest underground comic characters of all time, Myron Moose.
Foster published Myron Moose Funnies in the early 1970s and they were later re-published by Fantagraphics in the late 1980s, along with Moose strips that originally appeared in Marvel's Crazy.
Foster's also had the kind of career that a lot of people would look at and go "cool!"
He's been an animator for Hanna-Barbera (among others), lived in Europe where he wrote tons of comics - including Donald Duck - for Walt Disney Publishing and later was the editor of Walt Disney's Comics & Stories, and other Disney-based titles.
Click to continue reading President Bob Foster And Myron Moose
Boom! starts January off with a bang. I haven’t seen this get the attention it deserves so I’m going to give it a shout-out here. Boom! Studios, as part of their Boom! Kids division, has been publishing the Disney Comics for a while now and the results have been impressive.
Now, in January 2011, with Mickey Mouse And Friends #304, they’re publishing something that’s driving me nuts with anticipation.
In that issue, part of their 70 Years of Walt Disney Comics celebration, they’re reprinting a classic Mickey story written by Bill Walsh (go ahead, check out his IMDB credits; I'll wait) and illustrated by Floyd Gottfredson.
It’s “The Pirate Ghost Ship!” and this will be the first time it’s been printed since 1944. This special 40-page issue also features two other stories, another Gottfredson classic called “Laundry Blues” and a Goofy story by Romano Scarpa.
Click to continue reading Boom! Floyd Gottfredson And Mickey Mouse
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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