Weekend Reading: Smallville, Big Nate and Star Wars

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews,

I know that we’re all thinking the same thing: how great it is that Michael Rosenbaum is coming back to Smallville for the big series finale. I’m stocking extra Doritos for my goodbye party.

Now that you’re sitting down, why not read a few things:

England: I missed this end of the year interview with head of brand marketing for DC Thomson John Paul Murphy. DC Thomson publishes, among other things, the British comics the Beano, the Dandy and Commando.

Art: After looking at these paintings from Britain’s War Picture Library, I can only conclude two things: (1) Giorgio De Gaspari is a terrific painter and (2) I want to see more!

Nate: Comic Strip Of The Day takes a look at Big Nate. “It is self-deprecating, self-reflective humor delivered on an adolescent level. And it works.”

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Smallville, Big Nate and Star Wars

Weekend Reading: Batman, Doctor Who And Captain America

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Dynamic Forces, Independent,

The new teaser image for the upcoming Captain America movie is out. Looks like the art director grew up reading Image Comics. Now let’s see what you can read:

Heroes: Robin Brenner at Early Word, a site for librarians, has a rundown on superhero graphic novels. “Superheroes For The Uninitiated” focuses on the big names from the MU and the DCU, but she promises a future installment that goes outside Marvel and DC.

Bat: It’s been Bat-Week at Tor.com all week. If you’ve missed it, it’s all still there in all its Bat-goodness. Nick Abadzis is there and so is Gotham City: 14 Miles editor Jim Beard.

British: Beano artist Lew Stringer has news of a new, independent graphic novel from England called Armageddon Patrol, a “what if” that poses the question “what if super-heroes fought the Vietnam War?” I gotta get one of these.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Batman, Doctor Who And Captain America

Weekend Reading: Dick Tracy, Grim Ghost, Wonder Woman & Bully

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

Is there enough money to get Ricky Gervais to host the Eisner Awards this year? Please tell me there is. In the meantime, enjoy this link-based goodness:

Tracy: Here’s a nice profile of Mike Curtis and Joe Staton, the duo taking over the Dick Tracy strip on March 14. Bonus: the article features a 2-panel sequence from the Tracy strip by the new guys. I’m in! [Link: Daily Cartoonist]

Bonfire: Heidi at Comics Beat has the first part of a solid, smart interview with Ed Catto. You might know him as the Captain Action guy, but he’s also one of the guys behind the new comic-related advertising agency, Bonfire.

Tony: Mr. Tony Isabella has found a new comics writing home for himself over at the relaunched Atlas imprint. He’ll be co-writing the Grim Ghost, a series he worked on back during its original incarnation. Tony’s a good writer with an excellent sense of story & structure and he writes some snappy dialogue. I’m going to get this.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Dick Tracy, Grim Ghost, Wonder Woman & Bully

Comic Book Jobs: Dark Horse

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

Do you want to work where it rains a lot? That would be Milwaukie, Oregon in the Pacific Northwest, home to Dark Horse Comics, publishers of various Star Wars and Hellboy titles, and hundreds of others. (I recommend John Jackson Miller’s Star Wars: Knight Errant, issue #2 is on sale now.)

They’re looking for a couple of people, and one or both of them could be you.

First up is a Marketing Coordinator for their Digital Store. You’ll be managing their promo work for their digital comics, y’know, the future, and working closely with Marketing and Sales to make it all happen.

This includes writing copy, managing promotions and discounts, and developing the all-important blogging and social networking posts that make everyone seem like one big happy family. (Hint: Look at how Chris Ryall at IDW does it.)

You gotta be familiar will all the usual buzzwords like Google Analytics, SEO, A/B Testing, and so on. But it’s a job with a future.

Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Dark Horse

Star Wars: Knight Errant #1

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

John Jackson Miller is a friend of the blog. I've known him since he used to work for Krause Publications and edited Comics Retailer magazine for them. He knows more about comic book circulation figures than any person alive, and can tell you how many copies Jughead sold relative to Batman in any month back in 1965.

He's also a Star Wars junkie, and he's written a lot of licensed comic books and novels that prove that. Now he's got a new comic book series, Star Wars: Knight Errant, and the first issue is out from Dark Horse right now. At his Star Wars blog, JJM describes the series as "breaking new ground…with stories set a generation before the Darth Bane novels -- a time when Jedi are few and Sith Lords are many." The series will also introduce a new female Jedi, 18-year-old Kerra Holt.

Miller, who also wrote the Knights of the Old Republic series, said at the Star Wars official website, "Knight Errant asks what it means to be a Jedi outside the Republic, in a time and place where no other hope exists."

Artwork for the new series is by Federico Dallocchio.

Click to continue reading Star Wars: Knight Errant #1

Read More | John Jackson Miller