Weekend Reading: DC Comics And Warner Bros.
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Image Comics, Marvel Comics,
So did you hear the big news? Marvel’s moving to a new office building in Manhattan!
Not to be outdone, Warner Bros. decided to shake things up with a large scale corporate shift. This interview with Diane Nelson from Comic Book Resources actually sheds very little light on the nuts and bolts of it.
And the lack of real answers has caused Tom Spurgeon to raise some questions he’d like to see answered about the situation forward-going.
Naturally, and because I sometimes can’t keep my mouth shut, I have my own take on the matter.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: DC Comics And Warner Bros.
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Batman Update: Alfred’s Twitter Feed
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
Everyone knows that Alfred Pennyworth is the loyal and faithful butler to DC Comics’ Bruce Wayne, aka Batman aka The Batman. But if you’re not following Alfred’s Twitter feed, you’re missing all the action at Wayne Manor. Here’s a taste from @BatButler:
I knew Batman wasn’t really dead. Of course, he’s lost weight. Hand-stitched batsuits? Not a good idea.
How embarrassing! Just served high tea to evil Batman robot. Everyone knows he drinks coffee!
My bad. Ran into Diana Prince today in her new costume. Called her Diana Rigg by mistake.
Bat quiz: There’s a life-size statue of Catwoman in the Batcave. Why does it have perky nipples?
Commissioner Gordon called Bruce today just to chat about last night’s Glee. I think he’s a very lonely man.
Click to continue reading Batman Update: Alfred’s Twitter Feed
Weekend Reading: Joe Sinnott, Sinister House and Jonah Hex
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews,
My favorite Jack Kirby inker was Joltin’ Joe Sinnott. The work they did together is still stunning 40+ years later. Joe’s heading into hip replacement surgery today, and if you’d like to send him a get well note, Mark Evanier has all the details.
Sinister House: Bookgasm‘s Rod Lott sat down with the 500-page Showcase Presents: Secrets of the Sinister House. His verdict: “You’ll be hard-pressed to find a story that isn’t a blast to read.”
Twelve-Way With Cheese: Rod Lott (him again) cracks open a copy of Twelve-Way With Cheese #1, an independent 112-page anthology trade paperback out of Cincinnati. Says Rod, “The end result is something akin to MAD or National Lampoon in their respective heyday.” I would love to see more cartoonists from various regions get-together and self-publish.
Comic Books: John Anderson interviews Top Shelf’s Brett Warnock at John Scalzi’s Whatever.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Joe Sinnott, Sinister House and Jonah Hex
Weekend Reading: Breyfogle, Batman, Whedon & Wild Cards
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Interviews, Reviews, Television, Independent,
Welcome to the back to school edition of Weekend Reading. Here are a few things better than homework, unless your homework includes classes at MoCCA.
Everything’s Archie: Norm Breyfogle is interviewed by Matthew Price over at NewsOK. The subject? Archie and the gang at Riverdale.
George R.R. Martin: You know what’s coming up in November, back in print after a decade? Wild Cards 1, expanded with new stuff.
Witchblade: Author Paul Bishop has a favorite Forgotten Book. It’s the Witchblade tie-in novels based on the short-lived TV series with Yancy Butler that was based on the Top Cow comic book without Yancy Butler.
Batman Under the Red Hood: SF Signal has a review of the just-released DVD.
Donald E. Westlake: Whether writing under his own name or his many pseudonyms, Westlake is one of my favorite crime-and-caper writers.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Breyfogle, Batman, Whedon & Wild Cards
Batman Confidential #50: Jerry Bingham Returns
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
If there’s one comic book I’m really looking forward to in November, it’s Batman Confidential #50. For starters, it’s the first of a 5-part story by writer Marc Guggenheim, the executive producer of the upcoming super-hero TV series No Ordinary Family. That would have me at the comic store anyway.
But what’s going to get me there on November 3 is that the art (and cover) is by my pal Jerry Bingham (artist on Batman: Son Of The Demon, one of the great graphic novels of all time). DC’s promo copy says Jerry’s drawing Batman “for the first time in more than 20 years,” and who am I to argue?
I’ve known Jerry for years – I’ve commissioned covers from him on comics I’ve edited and written. And he was a design-and-color consultant in the early days of the Ultraverse, so I got to hang with him nearly every day and watch him work. I can’t wait for this.
This 56-page issue stars “a younger, more maverick Batman as he faces a foe who had once tangled with the Justice League of America in the Orient!” The back-up JLA story ties in with Marc and Jerry’s lead.
I’m already in line.
[Artwork: Cover to Batman Confidential #50 by Jerry Bingham, © DC Entertainment]
Grounded: Superman’s Walking Tour Diary
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
Superman‘s been grounded. No he hasn’t been sent to his room without supper, but the Man of Steel is taking a walking tour of America. The year-long adventure, called “Grounded” began in Superman #700 but really picks up steam in #701. It’s written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by Eddy Barrows. Supes will be using his cross-country hike to try to reconnect with the people of this great nation.
Naturally, he’s keeping a diary and we got our hands on some excerpts. Up, up and away…on foot.
Day 6
Batman called to laugh at me. Said even Terra-Man used a horse. Ha-ha. Prick.
Status: Facebooking an embarrassing panel of Bruce and Dick getting massages in old comic book.
Lunch: A&W’s Uncle Burger. Stupid name for a pretty good burger.
Day 9
Met another guy who wants to talk about the “brown skins.” I said he had me confused with Green Lantern. I don’t see skin color. I have enough trouble with Kryptonite’s colors. And don’t get me started on the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Click to continue reading Grounded: Superman’s Walking Tour Diary
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Q&A: Jim Beard, Batman & Gotham City 14 Miles
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews, Television, DC Comics,
If you’re a fan of the 1960s Batman TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward, then you already know what that phrase means. It’s the sign you see denoting the distance from the Batcave to Gotham City. Wayne Manor was way out in the 1960s suburbs! Gotham City 14 Miles is much more than that, however. It’s also the title of a new book edited by Jim Beard whose full title is Gotham City 14 Miles: 14 Essays On Why The 1960s Batman TV Series Matters. Essayists include Beard, comics historians Peter Sanderson and Robert Greenberger, and a host of people whose names are being revealed one at a time.
The book will be published by the Sequart Research & Literacy Organization a “non-profit devoted solely to the study and promotion of the artistic and literary medium alternately known as comics, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, manga, sequential art, and sequart.”
Beard says Gotham City 14 Miles is the first book on the old Batman TV series in over 10 years, and I say it’s about time. The book will examine the 1966-68 TV series and “quantify its worth and weight in current pop culture. It also intends to shoot down many of the cliches, falsehoods and outright misinformation about the show and illuminate its strengths and, yes, its weaknesses.”
Click to continue reading Q&A: Jim Beard, Batman & Gotham City 14 Miles
Weekend Reading: Kick-Ass, iPads, Vertigo Crime and Richie Rich
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Last week it was Kick Ass, now it’s The Losers, and coming up it’s Scott Pilgrim. Is this not the year of the nerd who loves popcorn? Let’s see what else there is to do while ordering our tickets…
Batman, Robin and Kick-Ass: Over at Something Old, Nothing New, Jaime Weinman longs for the return of a viable Robin character to the Batman movie franchise. Here’s a little taste of the longer and worthwhile read: “The thing about the concept of Kick-Ass is that it deals with an aspect of the Robin character that has been batted around in the comics from The Dark Knight Returns on, and even in the animated shows, but has never been dealt with in the movies: superheroes inspire kid copycats. In a weird way Robin is more ‘realistic’ than a man who, based on no apparent model except a bat, decides to fight crime in his underwear.”
The Losers: “This movie isn’t too violent because…hey look over there: a puppy!” Movie studio publicists work overtime for stories like this.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Kick-Ass, iPads, Vertigo Crime and Richie Rich
Weekend Reading: Addams Family, Little Fuzzy, Danger Ace and Louisa May Alcott
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews,
So your flight across the Atlantic was canceled due to volcano, and you’re stuck at home with just your computer. Why not click a few links and find out how a New Yorker cartoonist kept a diary of sexual conquests, how John Scalzi is rebooting Little Fuzzy, and Shary Flenniken tackles Alcott?
The Addams Family Man: Charles Addams, creator of The Addams Family which began as a series of cartoons in The New Yorker, became a 1960s TV series, then a couple of movies, and now a critically-reviled Broadway musical, is the subject of a detailed biography. Cartoonist Edward Sorel has a review that also chronicles some of the hot chicks of the era who hooked up with the cartoonist, including Veronica Lake and JFK’s wife. That’s right, a cartoonist got to shag Veronica Lake, and even kept a diary entry about it.
Danger Ace: Yes, you could be reading Brightest Day or Nemesis right now, but you should really try the online comic from Chad Bowers and Carl Yonder.
Weekend Reading: Starlog, Christopher Golden, Gerry Conway, Tarzan and Steve Milo
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,
Lots of cool to click on lately, from horror and comic book author Christopher Golden to comic book and television writer Gerry Conway, with a dash of The Simpsons and a blast from the Direct Market past with the ghost of Steve Milo. Check ‘em out:
Christopher Golden: When I first read Golden’s Of Saints And Shadows, I was struck by two things: (1) he’s really good and (2) this book reads like a horror version of X-Men. Novelist Ed Gorman plays Q&A with Golden over at his website.
Gerry Conway: One of my absolute favorite comic book writers (and now a TV writer in the Dick Wolf empire), Mr. Conway is excited about the new Predator reboot, Predators. He tweets: “Not that it matters: Predators seems to have a similar plot device to a movie Roy Thomas & I pitched years ago. Great minds, etc.” He expands on that in subsequent tweets, “I’m not claiming idea theft, ‘cause Roberto Rodriquez would’ve been 14-years-old when Roy & I made our pitch, and somehow I doubt…” Since he curtailed his blogging, his tweets make for fun reading.
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