Weekend Reading: Watchmen, Ploog, Gibbons, and Gary Friedrich

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, Television, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,

It's the weekend time again and since we're between the end of football season and baseball season, at least in the U.S., it must be comic book season. Let's take a look.

Author Joe Konrath is a very smart man on the subjects of book publishing, Amazon, and the future of the written word business. He makes a great case in a post called Amazon Will Destroy You.

Tom McLean at Bags And Boards looks at both sides of the Before Watchmen argument and comes up with some smart thoughts worthy of attention.

J. M. DeMatteis runs a very nice appreciation of his sometime collaborator Mike Ploog.

Cartoonist Lew Stringer uncovers an old Dave Gibbons strip you might not be familiar with.

This is an old link, but it’s a nice profile of gag cartoonist Bob Vojtko.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Watchmen, Ploog, Gibbons, and Gary Friedrich

Weekend Reading: Joe Casey, Thor, Dr. Spektor and Drew Friedman

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, DC Comics, Dynamic Forces, IDW Publishing, Independent, Marvel Comics,

The War on Christmas is nearly done for another year, and there’s just enough time left for the War on New Year’s. Let's see what you should be reading this week:

Joe: This is simply a great, honest and open interview with Joe Casey, comic book writer/creator and co-creator of Ben 10. Perfect holiday reading from interviewer Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter.

Thor: So there’s some controversy from an all-white group that’s upset that Marvel has cast an actor of color to play a Norse God in Thor. Ricky Sprague at Project Child Murdering Robot has a thought or two.

Polly: Animator Michael Sporn is happy that Dean Mullaney’s new book has arrived (as am I). Polly and Her Pals: the Complete Sunday Comics 1925-1927 comes from Dean’s The Library of American Comics via IDW.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Joe Casey, Thor, Dr. Spektor and Drew Friedman

Weekend Reading: Spider-Man, Skin and The Princess And The Frog

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

Happy holidays! Gravy is the Giant-Size X-Men #1 of my family and I’m so stuffed that my stuffed fingers keep hitting double keys. So I’ll celebrate with a shortened post for the holiday season. 

First off, over at The Comics Reporter, Tom Spurgeon has the Ultimate Black Friday Holiday Shopping Guide to nothing but good stuff - sound recommendations for you, your friends and even your family. Highly recommended, if only to open discussions.

Virginia Comic Con: Scoop over at Diamond Galleries has some nice photos of the recent Virginia Comic Con up. Michael Golden, John Gallagher, Chris Claremont, Larry Hama, Louis Small, Chuck Dixon, Steve Conley, Alex Saviuk, and Billy Tucci were among those present who got their picture taken.

Skin: Over at the Forbidden Planet blog, Joe revisits an old favorite, Skin by Brendan McCarthy, Peter Milligan and Carol Swain.

Spider-Man: You know what I really want for Christmas this year? A Spider-Man action figure dressed like Chris Claremont circa 1981.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Spider-Man, Skin and The Princess And The Frog