Comic Con International: 2012

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics,

Comic Con International has come and gone already. Naturally, my Comic Con experience is quite a bit different from most people. I’ve been going for quite a while, have a lot of friends and acquaintances that I see there, and have an established routine of places to be at certain times.

I got there too late on Wednesday for what some reported was a raucous Preview Night, so my convention didn’t start until Thursday morning.

Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter has a rundown of convention memories from around the internet. (And congratulations to Tom for his Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Journalism. It’s well-deserved.

Click to continue reading Comic Con International: 2012

Bill Blackbeard: Eisner Hall of Fame

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I worked a lot with Bill Blackbeard and his San Francisco Academy of Comic Art. We never met -- it was all phone and mail.

You can find him credited in a couple dozen comics and collections that I put together on behalf of Malibu Comics. Everything from squarebound collections of Spicy Mystery Tales and Spicy Detective Stories to comic book reprints of The Shadow and Sherlock Holmes newspaper strips.

Without his guidance, his help and access to his massive collection of organized material, those books wouldn't have existed, and I wouldn't have learned as much as I did.

Click to continue reading Bill Blackbeard: Eisner Hall of Fame

Weekend Reading: Comic Con International, iPads, and Zeroids

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Movies, Television,

Welcome to the first post-San Diego version of Weekend Reading. I’m not linking to any convention reports because, well, other people do a much better job of tracking them all down. However, I will link to this. Mark Evanier does a much better job than I ever could of explaining how the Hollywood invasion of Comic Con International is not only necessary but welcome.

Spurgeon V. Field: There are many reasons why Tom Spurgeon won the Eisner this year at San Diego. This is one of the reasons why he should win it next year, too.

iPad: If you’re thinking of getting one, Beau Smith can make that decision easier for you.

Up, Up, And Away He Goes: James Bond and Superman screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz has passed away. Says The Guardian‘s classy obit: “In 1977 the director Richard Donner recruited Mankiewicz to work on the script of Superman, for which he received the credit of creative consultant, a fancy name for script doctor.”

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Comic Con International, iPads, and Zeroids

Joss Whedon Web Comic Gets One-Shot

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Reviews, Dark Horse Comics,

Originally published on the MySpace for Dark Horse Presents and later printed in MySpace Dark Horse Presents Vol. 1, Joss Whedon‘s Sugarshock is getting its one-shot, which hits comic book stores today.

With a team like Joss Whedon (even if he does only read one comic) and Fabio Moon, it’s no wonder that the comic received the Eisner Award for Best Web Comic.

For $3.50, not only will you get the complete comic but an additional 14 pages of Moon’s process, with exclusive character designs, page layouts, and promos. What a deal, eh?

The story follows a very unlikely-matched rock band (i.e. the vocalist loathes Vikings, their bass player is a robot) set to participate in an intergalactic battle of the bands—an epic one, at that. Complete with Whedon quirks and quips as well as Moon’s playfully-appropriate artwork, Sugarshock is a must have—get it at your comic book store today!

Read More | Dark Horse via Fabio Moon's Blog

Beasts of Burden #1: Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Reviews, Dark Horse Comics,

Evan Dorkin is one of my favorite comic book creators. If he didn’t exist, the industry would have had to invent him. In a different era, he’d be a Renaissance Man for all his mad skills: writer, artist, cartoonist, blogger. His work has appeared in comic books, magazines, and on TV.

Now he’s at it again, this time with a four-issue mini-series he wrote and artist Jill Thompson (Sandman; Scary Godmother) painted - Beasts of Burden. It’s the story of the animals of picturesque Burden Hill who discover that there’s a supernatural element to their town they must stop. Without giving too much away, they are soon enlisted by a mysterious organization to fight an even greater evil. 

Click to continue reading Beasts of Burden #1: Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson