Archive for August, 2005
Funny
“At first, I flipped open to a couple pages and thought “hey, this doesn’t look too bad,” and then I realized I was looking at the Bioncle ad.”
Mike Sterling, talking about the Rob Liefeld art in Teen Titans #27.
SPX 2005 anthology line-up announced…sort of
Over on his Comics Reporter blog, Tom Spurgeon announces the list of contributors to the SPX 2005 anthology. Kind of. Apparently, this is based on an e-mail conversation he had with the book’s editor, Brian Ralph. The official announcement hasn’t been made yet.
Whatever.
Neither Tom nor myself made the cut. Ah well.
Jack Kirby museum
Via Newsarama comes…er, news of the Jack Kirby Museum. The online presence is still under construction, but there are a few exhibits and art samples available. Go check it out.
“Coming soon, we’ll have a Fantastic Four exhibit with significant contributions from Tom Morehouse and a Captain America presentation by Mark Badger.The Kirby Museum’s long-term plans include a major travelling retrospective in 2007, a documentary, and more. “
You thought Moon Knight fans were crazed…
Check out this tribute to ROM!!Thank’s to whoever pointed this out on the Journal board. Made my week.
Do you live in NYC? Do you have $50? Are you free on 9/15/05?
Do you like gladiator movies?
Sorry, got distracted. Anyway, if you live in New York and want to learn about making graphic novels, then this seminar is for you:
“On September 15, 2005, AT 6:30 P.M., Chipp Kidd will host a panel discussion for those interested in the graphic novel. Kidd is a novelist, a world famous book designer, and an editor of Pantheon Graphic Novels. Panelists include Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer-Prize winning creator of Maus, Kim Deitch, creator of The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Jessica Abel, creator of Artbabe and La Perdida comics series, and PJ Mark, agent at Collins McCormick Literary Agency.The event will be held at 826 NYC, 372 Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Tickets are $50, reservations can be made by calling 718.499.9884.”
(via boingboing)
B is for…
Over at Ninth Art, Bulent Yusuf continues an apparently regular series of columns called Alphabetti Fumetti. This week, it’s the letter B. As in Vertigo mistress Berger, Karen. British artist extraordinaire Bolland, Brian. And everyone’s favorite cantankerous writer/artist, Byrne, John.
“Byrne puts us in a bit of a quandary, therefore. Namely, how to separate the man from the artist? There is absolutely no doubt that he is a great talent who has helped produce some of the most dynamic and exciting comics ever published in the mainstream. Byrne’s drawing style is instantly recognizable, often with large panels of granite-jawed titans engaged in epic battles. Visually, Byrne treads a fine line between realism and bombast – a perfect match for the superhero soap operas he specialises in.”
Which brings up something I’m curious about: namely, what do you guys think of Byrne? As for myself, although I was keenly aware of him since my early days of collecting comics, I never read (at least not with any regularity) his seminal works (Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Man of Steel, etc.) So I’m afraid I can’t offer up much of an opinion, other than the cliched “his old art seems more detailed and lively than his newer style, which often looks like he inked it with a magic marker.”
Did anyone read his Next Men book? How about his recent output, like the de-Morrisonized Doom Patrol or Blood of the Demon? Does he still have it in him to create great comics, or is he just the washed up egotistical comics curmudgeon that every other blog and message board paints him to be?
So … um … what are you doing next Thursday?
This from Tom Kelly, one of the organizers of Supraphonic Studios:
“Open house at Zola (782 N. High Street) Thursday, Sept. 1 6pm – close
Three DJ’s, art by Angie Needels, Vmann, and Tom Kelly
and the real draw: $5 Belvedere Martinis
Hope to see you,”
Both Needles and Kelly are friends of Panel, so I hope we can be represented.
The Physics of Superheroes
An upcoming book, The Physics of Superheroes by Prof. James Kakalios, will examine the science behind the spandex in October.
According to a writeup in this month’s Wired magazine, Superman’s legs would need to exert 6,000 pounds of force against the ground to allow him to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Nightcrawler actually would make a “bamf” sound when he teleports — his sudden disappearance would make a temporary vacuum.
The Human Torch’s fireproof costume, though; that’s just silly.
Hey-hey! New stuff up for grabs on ebay. Went live yesterday. Items up for bid include pgs. 5 &88 from No Dead Time and sketches of Batman, Spidey, and the Thing. Thanks to Dara for winning the bid on a NDT page.
Alien <3 Predator
While we’re on the subject of good Web comics, let me direct you to Alien Loves Predator.
It tells the story of Abe the Alien and Preston the Predator, two buddies who share a New York City apartment. The two are not actually lovers, and much hilarity ensues as Abe attempts speed dating. It’s lovingly illustrated with action figures.
Very funny stuff. I have lost several productive hours to this feature.
News that makes Dara very, very happy
I was reading the interview with Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson about his new graphic novel (more on that later) when I came across this bit of news:
“We just acquired the rights to – and you’ll be the first to know – ‘Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser,’ (by Fritz Leiber) which fantasy fans will know. He’s been out of print for some time,” Richardson said.”
The Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser series of books is my all-time favorite fantasy series. And I proudly own the 4-issue prestige format mini-series adaptations that Epic did many years ago, featuring art by the incomparable Mike Mignola! I’m really, really jazzed about this new series.
Anyway, back to the original topic of the interview: Richardson and artist Rick Geary are telling the story of Arthur Cravan in their new graphic novel. I must admit, I didn’t know who he was before this article, but I’m sure you CCAD kids know.
“Cravan is credited as being one of the founders of the Dadaist art movement. Basically, he was against the rich owning all of the art and wanted to create art that couldn’t be owned…he was Oscar Wilde’s nephew; he was thrown out of Germany; he was a stoker (someone who shoveled coal) on a steamship that he jumped in Australia; he became friends with Trotsky when Trotsky was raising money for the revolution; and he had a side business as a forger of Picasso and other famous artists of the day. He also created one of the most famous critical art magazines of his day that created great outrage.”
Interesting bit of Gaiman news…
Saw this over at MoviePoopShoot:
“Angelina Jolie has been set to star in “Beowulf,” the performance-capture adaptation to be directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steve Bing’s Shangri-La Entertainment.Jolie will play the queen of darkness, who tempts the Viking as he makes his way in the quest to become king. She joins Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson and Robin Wright Penn in the pic, which will feature filmed perfs transferred to performance capture. Zemeckis used the process in “The Polar Express” as well as “Monster House,” a film set for release next summer.
“Beowulf” was scripted by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman, with Zemeckis and his ImageMovers partners Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke producing and Martin Shafer and the writers exec producing. “
Huh. Roger “Pulp Fiction” Avary and Neil Gaiman on script? That’s just…weird.
Gay Batman
Artist Mark Chamberlain’s gallery of watercolor paintings of Batman and Robin, with a gay theme. And the old art vs. copyright infringement argument starts anew.
For more on the subject, including DC Comics’ cease and desist order, read the Stay Free magazine blog entry on this. The first comment is ignorant, but some of the other ones are well thought out and articulate.
(via boingboing)
Intelligent Falling
“Evangelical Scientists Refute Gravity With New ‘Intelligent Falling’ Theory”
Gotta love The Onion. Funny as ever.
“According to the ECFR paper published simultaneously this week in the International Journal Of Science and the adolescent magazine God’s Word For Teens!, there are many phenomena that cannot be explained by secular gravity alone, including such mysteries as how angels fly, how Jesus ascended into Heaven, and how Satan fell when cast out of Paradise.”