Tom Piccirilli Could Use A Hand
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Independent,
Thriller/horror novelist Tom Piccirilli recently underwent surgery for a brain tumor and he could use a helping hand to aid his recovery. I’m a big fan of Piccirilli’s books, and if you can spare a little bit from your wallet, his friend the novelist Brian Keene has some links.
Here’s a direct link with a rundown on a lot of Tom’s books. I wish Tom a speedy recovery and good thoughts go out to him and his family.
[Artwork: A Lower Deep by Tom Piccirilli]
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Quote Of The Day: Dan Mishkin on Amethyst
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
"With the mini-Amethyst boom that’s going on right now, I’ve read something like the following a couple of times this week: 'In the 1980s, DC Comics invented Amethyst to try to tap into a girl audience.' Which manages to make the company sound both more creative and more crass than the reality I remember.
To clarify: DC didn’t invent Amethyst, Gary Cohn and Ernie Colón and I did; and no one at DC was telling writers and artists back then to come up with a way of reaching a girl audience.
But where the folks at DC -- Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz in particular -- deserve huge credit is in the fact that they supported Amethyst even though they knew it had *very little chance* of selling well in the comics market of the time.
Click to continue reading Quote Of The Day: Dan Mishkin on Amethyst
Jan Strnad: The Summer We Lost Alice
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Independent,
I’ve talked before about my friendship with Jan Strnad - we go way way to the days when Jesus rode a dinosaur, and he was the guy who taught me the secrets to writing comics.
Jan’s cred includes a ton of collaborations with Richard Corben, some of the best of the old underground comix, the occasional work for Marvel and DC (Sword of the Atom), a run on Dark Horse’s Star Wars comics, animation writing (Darkwing Duck), indy comics (Dalgoda) and novels.
I read and enjoyed the heck out of his first novel, Risen, and I’m pleased to report that he’s got a new one coming out this month. Jan’s always been drawn to darker, fantastical material, and The Summer We Lost Alice continues down that path as a supernatural mystery.
Here's what it says at Jan's website:
Click to continue reading Jan Strnad: The Summer We Lost Alice
Quote Of The Day: Superman & Wonder Woman
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
“Can't you hear Diana Prince whining to Hippolyta, 'Kal-El isn't just any superboy, Mother! He's the only one who truly understands me and loves me for who I am!' while Kal-El is whining something similar to the hologram of Jor-El? This better not turn into Twilight for fanboys.”
Lance Mannion, writing about the happy coupling of Superman and Wonder Woman
And be sure to check out our other notable quotes.
[Artwork: Superman & Wonder Woman]
The Avengers: I Finally Catch Up
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Yeah, my bad. I finally got around to seeing The Avengers on the big screen with my old pal Dave Olbrich (he was seeing it for the third time).
I'll echo what is probably the view of 99% of the super-hero movie audience: (1) I loved it and (2) where was this movie when I was 13?
Afterwards, I had a few thoughts.
I was surprised by the sudden death of what I thought was a fairly major character in the continuity. I know Joss Whedon always likes to kill off someone in his movies – I'm sure the first draft of Toy Story had a sacrifice from Mr. Potato Head – so I should've been better prepared. But I wasn't. Sad to lose the character and sadder that the actor has lost a pretty good gig.
Tom Hiddleston was riveting as Loki, an excellent performance capturing the character's grandiose plans and his petty humanness. Here's hoping he gets as good a role in subsequent years and doesn't end up playing a Russian mobster on Person of Interest, or the put-upon dad in some lame sitcom.
This is my favorite Scarlett Johansson movie. And yes, I've seen more than one. Including that one. And that one too.
Click to continue reading The Avengers: I Finally Catch Up
Joe Kubert, RIP
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,
It’s hard to believe that Joe Kubert passed away. His work was such a large part of my comic book experience and his war comics are so ingrained on my psyche that it feels like the passing of a great man of literature.
From Sgt. Rock, to Enemy Ace, to Tarzan and dozens more, his work never disappointed. His covers were dynamic, fluid, and never looked like anyone else’s. I could spot Kubert art a mile away. I loved his covers on Son Of Tomahawk, and I really liked a tryout series of his called Firehair, about a red-headed boy raised by native Americans.
And as much as I loved his war comics, it was his Tarzan that was a revelation to me. I’d read the Gold Key stuff which I found stiff and unexciting, but when I picked up the first issue Kubert did for DC, I was amazed at how he got me to like a character I was never really interested in.
Years later, I was fortunate enough to be involved in the publication of one of Joe’s graphic albums, Abraham Stone, at Malibu Comics. Here’s how that came about.
Click to continue reading Joe Kubert, RIP
Weekend Reading: Batman, Doonesbury, Killraven and Kickstarter
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
So the Olympics are finally over, and that means it's time to talk about real heroes, right? Y'know, the ones in capes!
For most of us, we have the belief that Bill Finger is the true creator of everything that made Batman great. Here’s why.
Jake Hinkson looks at The Dark Knight Rises and the other two parts of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy: “Unlike the set-bound comic-gothic theatrics of Tim Burton's Batman films or the plastic sex-toy quality of Joel Schumacher's films, Batman Begins is a full on epic.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Batman, Doonesbury, Killraven and Kickstarter
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
Weekend Reading: Frazz, Doc Savage and Spike Milligan
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Reviews,
To everyone suffering through the summer heat wave, wind and electrical storms and power outages in the U.S., my heart goes out to you. If you’ve still got the internets, here are some things to help ease the pain.
Daniel Best reports on trouble at Oz Comic-Con in Australia this weekend.
With convention season in full swing, the critic Bill Sherman reviews Rob Salkowitz’ Comic-Con And The Business Of Pop Culture, an account of the 2011 Comic Con International in San Diego. “Salkowitz approaches his topic as both a business analyst and a longtime fanboy -- and he shows a commendable breadth of knowledge about both the medium and the somewhat clannish fan culture.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Frazz, Doc Savage and Spike Milligan
Roger Slifer Could Use A Hand
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Television, DC Comics, Marvel Comics,
You’ve probably seen this all over the internets, but a little more won’t hurt. Veteran comic book writer Roger Slifer was hit by a car this past weekend.
Roger worked for both DC (where he created Lobo) and Marvel (where he worked on Avengers and Marvel Two-In-One), and later produced and/or story-edited the TV shows Jem And The Holograms, Transformers, Street Fighter and others.
Here’s the story, as reported by Flint Dille:
“Roger Slifer is in intensive care after being run over in a hit and run on Friday Night around 1:00. We had originally thought of keeping this quiet, because Roger is a fairly private guy, but as word is out and time might be of the essence if we're going to find the hit-and-run driver, I'll post what I know.
Click to continue reading Roger Slifer Could Use A Hand
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