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Another swell drawing by pal Casie, who is, perhaps, speculating on the next revamp of the Batman movie franchise featuring
those two lovable scamps. (To see other pics by Casie featured on this site, just click the newly-created “
pal casie” tag! Or
follow her on the Twitters to see ‘em as she draws ‘em!)
In other news:
- There’s a new trailer for Man of Steel out, and it certainly looks promising, but we’ll see. It’s apparently sparked some debate about revisiting Superman’s origin yet again, but 1) from the trailers it looks like Supes’ origin, both the Smallville and Kryptonian elements, will be thematically important to the film as a whole and not just something to plow through to get to the action, and 2) it’s the first film in a potential franchise, not just for Superman but seemingly for DC heroes as a whole, so a little world-building from scratch is likely needed. Oh, and 3) it probably doesn’t hurt to remind folks who aren’t immersed in the mythology what the Superman story is all about.
I seem to recall arguing before on this site, years ago, that you really didn’t need to retell Superman’s origin since everyone pretty much knew it, and getting plenty of arguments in the comments section against that position. Clearly it depends on the kind of story you’re trying to tell, in what context, and in the case of Man of Steel, where it’s the (hopeful) start of a new series, and it’s been a while since the last film (itself an odd cousin of the Christopher Reeve cycle of films), and the origin appears to be important to the overall plot, retelling that origin seems necessary. So, okay, I may have been wrong about the origin thing, in that post way back when. I’m allowed to be wrong about once or twice a decade.
I also just joked on Twitter that they should go the super-decompressed route in retelling Superman’s origin, and devote the entire first movie to a science drama about Jor-El investigating Krypton-quakes, which just goes to show there’s no debate to which I can’t contribute nothing of any real use.
- Pal Dorian is back to reviewin’ Doctor Who, as is pal Dave, and they’re both smart guys with intelligent things to say about a show I’m watching, and if you’re watching that show too, maybe check them out.
- Hey, you guys remember Ken Lowery, right? The guy I allowed to help me with writing Write More Good by, you know, fetching me coffee and stuff? Well, that boy’s got himself one of those fancypants Kickstarters to help him and his pal Robert Wilson IV fund a new one-shot comic. I contributed to the cause, and maybe some of you can help my pal out, too.
- Speaking of helping, I was more than happy to assist pal Andrew with his latest installment of Nobody’s Favorites, even if all I did was shove a comic into an envelope and let the gentle hands of the post office bear it aloft to Woburn.
- Bully, the Little Stuffed Bull Who Has Been Rebooted into a Stuffed Little Bull, gives those “WTF Certified” covers from DC Comics the ol’ what-for and shows everyone what “WTF” really means.
- And lastly, on a more serious note…my best wishes to the people of Boston.
So apparently that jam pic of Linus, Snoopy, Broom-Hilda, and the Demon that I posted way back when is making the rounds again, only this time it’s a pic of the original art from this auction site, and not a scan from the San Diego Comic Con ’74 program like my image was. The auction was back in 2008…I wonder what it sold for? Also, I’m amused by the link on the auction page that reads “I Have One of These to Sell,” like there’s two jam drawings by Charles Schulz, Jack Kirby, and Russell Myers. (Yes, yes, I know it’s just part of the page’s standard template, let me have my fun.)
Also, I see on my original post my addendum link to my comments section (for more info about the pic) is dead dead dead, thanks to my original third-party commenting system giving up the ghost a while back. Oh, the reliability of sorta-free technologies. Thank goodness I still have Google Reader to follow all my favorite websites!
In other news:
- So have you seen what pal Andrew has wrought? ULTIMATE POWERS JAM, in which Andrew uses an old Marvel Comics role playing book to randomly generate a super character, and hands it off to his accomplices who then whip up an illustration and description for said character. Some pretty amazing and entertaining results so far…go check ‘em out!
- NOT COMICS: pal Dave’s Electronic Games Sunday, where Dave pokes through this archive of the Electronic Games magazine (which I myself read starting with issue #1 way back in ye olden days) and picks out items of note for our amusement and, usually, horror. If you’re old like me ‘n’ Dave, you’ll find this nostalgic. If you’re one of those punk kids that’s never known anything other than an X-Station or a DS-Boy, you’ll just pity us.
- BEHOLD: GO-GO CHECKS
So Paul wrote in and asked if I had any comment on this week’s delayed arrival of Scarlet #6 from Marvel’s Icon imprint. And I said, “oh, was it late?” and I checked our cycle sheets at the store, and BEHOLD:
#1 – 7/8/10
#2 – 9/1/10
#3 – 11/4/10
#4 – 1/19/10
#5 – 3/28/11
#6 – 2/6/13
Wow, nearly two years between the last two issues. Not quite Ultimate Hulk Vs. Wolverine level, but pretty close. I probably just didn’t notice it because, unlike that Hulk/Wolverine thing, I didn’t have people asking me every day when it was coming out. Or any day, for that matter. Is anything really late if nobody’s waiting for it? …Ooh, okay, that’s a bit harsh. I’m sorry. But not too sorry, because I have to sell these things, and a two-year gap between issues is kind of bullshit, and certainly no way to keep a readership.
And of course there’s the other end of the spectrum, in which we got three issues of The Avengers over the last three weeks, which is also ridiculous. Or two issues of Superior Spider-Man over the last two weeks. Or seven issues of All-New X-Men since mid-November. I’d like to see comics released on a rational, responsible schedule, one where retailers and customers can plan out their spending, and one where the market isn’t flooded so quickly with consecutive issues of a series to the point of discouraging readership, but I suspect I’ll see “Steve Ditko Sings The Hits – Live On-Stage Revue” before that ever happens.
Mmm. Okay, now I’m angry. WHY MUST YOU POKE THE BULL, PAUL?
Let us go on to happier things:
- I am getting comments and multiple emails from folks telling me that the current Nancy comic strips are retelling the origin of Sluggo. Read ‘em yourself, starting here. …To think I’d ever see the word “reboot” in a Nancy strip, that wasn’t about, say, Sluggo putting on two pairs of boots.
- Big Rich Handley, creator of the Roots of the Swamp Thing website, recently interviewed former Swampy artist Steve Bissette and former Thingy writer Nancy Collins. Good readin’ all around…go check those out.
- This is interesting…John MacLeod, one of the contributors to this issue of Ultra Klutz I discussed a while back, popped up in the comments to that post with a couple of details about his contribution to the comic. And it turns out you can read his Dishman comics online (along with his commentary)…and be sure to take a look at his more recent project, Space Kid.
- Bully, the bulliest of all stuffed bulls, just wrapped up his 366 Days of Alfred Pennyworth project with this explanatory post, and kicked off 365 Days of DC House Ads with this post. How that little bull manages to put out so much good stuff when he has trouble even reaching the keyboard is beyond me.
- Sent to me by Many Folks: Gerhard (he of all-the-bits-of-Cerebus-not-by-Dave-Sim fame) puts down some lavish lines over a Bernie Wrightson-penciled Swamp Thing drawing.
- From pal JP: a penciled image of Swamp Thing and Mary Worth, as you’ve always wanted them.
- “OOH! OOOOOH! ME, ME, HE’S MINE, ME ME ME!“
- “What’s So Great About Swamp Thing?”
“He can easily regrow damaged or severed body parts, and can even transport himself across the globe by leaving his current form, transferring his consciousness to a new form grown from whatever vegetable matter is present in the location he wishes to reach”
“its a mystery and a good show”
“I dunno, you tell me”
“Boobs…”
Hey, I’ve been busy, what can I tell you:
- Tony Isabella has a few supplementary stories of his own to go along with the recently-released Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, and you can read them in these three blog posts: a one, and a two, and a three.
- I’m a bit late to send folks to pal Andres’ Kickstarter page, as he’s already reached his funding goal, but go there anyway and check out previews for his forthcoming graphic novel Pariah, MO.
- Pals Dorian and Ken take on the new movie trailers in this month’s installment of “In A World.”
So on Tuesday, someone came to the shop and asked “do you have that Superman comic with Clark Kent?”
…
I paused for a second. Probably blinked once or twice. “How in God’s name do I answer that question?” I thought. Just wave my hand in the general direction the back issue bins with all the Superman and Action comics and say “sure, pick one!”
And then I remembered seeing some reference that morning on the Twitter about Superman being in the news for…well, you can click on this if you want to see, if you don’t know already.
Anyway, being generally out of the news-cycle loop for the last couple of days was apparently a bad idea, and left me unprepared for this gentleman’s question, which, in fairness, wouldn’t have been too far off from some questions I’ve fielded over the years. But once I realized what he was talking about, I was able to assist him, let him know when the comic in question was due out, even offered to save a copy if he’d like.
And of course that got me to wondering if I’m going to see a rush on this title from the real-world news interest, but I guess I’ll find out when I go into the store today. Frankly, I’m not sure why this particular plot twist is “news” other than the self-reflexive commentary of “even Clark Kent sees the writing on the wall,” but given we just had a news cycle based around “GASP! Batman fights the Joker!” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. However, I suppose the coverage of that sort of plot development is an improvement on the ol’ “THIS ISSUE, SOMEBODY DIES!” media stories, the returns of which have diminished quite considerably.
So we’ll see what happens with this Superman comic. But frankly, the news should be covering Maggie #1, the special Simpsons one-shot that features lots of work from Sergio Aragones, as well as Carol Lay, Mike Kazaleh, and other Folks of Note. But that’s just my opinion.
Enough of that…how ’bout this:
Just a quick note to mention that I tried out Cerebusdownloads.com a few days ago. Once a week a new issue is uploaded, you pay about a buck, and you get a download (in a variety of formats) of a full issue of Cerebus from what is arguably the best and most reader-friendly segment of the series, “High Society.” Includes big ol’ scans of the art, all the ads and letters pages/text pieces, plus sketches and production work and much more. Also, you get a bit of video business, where Cerebus creator Dave Sim reads through the entire issue for you, doing voices for all the characters, and there’s music and sound effects, too. Oddly compelling, certainly fun, and I think I’m totally down with having Uncle Dave read me a Cerebus story once a week.
(The Video Cerebus reminds me a bit of the old proto-Nickelodeon TV show “Video Comics,” mentioned before on this site, where, just like the Cerebus thing, a variety of comics would be presented panel-by-panel, with voice actors, narration, and sound effects. If you’re old enough to remember that show, you know what the Cerebus thing is like.)
There’s a free sample you can try out, featuring Cerebus #26 (the first chapter of “High Society”). It’s worth a look, I think.
In other news:
- I have been shamefully neglectful in not plugging The Variants in these here parts. For those of you who don’t know, The Variants is a shocking look into the everyday lives of comic shop employees. 100% funny, 100% ABSOLUTELY TRUE. As someone who may have worked in a comic book store, I support The Variants‘ service and / or product.
- Pal Andrew talks about that beautiful man, Vincent Price.
- Reader Phil directed me to this Peanuts costume and, um. And then I started thinking “is there an adult-size Woodstock costume” and of course there is.
- Speaking of Halloween, pal Dorian has been reviewing horror films all month, and just the other day hit one of my all-time favorites.
- This Yahoo! news story is just this close to being this parody post of mine from a few years back.
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