My New Year’s Resolutions For 2011

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

I don’t like NYR’s for the simple reason that I never keep them. Lose weight, eat healthier, start smoking just so I can fail at quitting.

But this year, well, this year, I’m sure to keep some of these resolutions. Won’t you join me?

10. I will read many more webcomics, bookmark them and recommend them.

9. I won’t buy a Marvel or DC comic at a price point greater than $2.99.

8. But yet I will buy all the hardcovers from The Library of American Comics.

7. Read even more independent comics. I think that’s where the real interesting stuff is and has always been.

6. I will download more comics to my iPad. I’ll pay for them, too.

5. Figure out which movie will make less money: Green Lantern or Thor.

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Weekend Reading: Star Blazers, Shazam! And Monty Python

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Television, DC Comics,

Movies, TV, and video games! This week had it all. And even some stuff about comic books. Let’s take a look:

Star Blazers: There’s a new live-action Star Blazers movie coming, and Forces of Geek has 7-minutes of it. You know you want to see it, twice.

Mike Grell: Here’s a short interview with the writer/artist on Warlord and Jon Sable Freelance. “Grell plans more with his popular Jon Sable character and has hopes that Starslayer may make its way to the movies.”

New Comics Friday: Gary Tyrrell at Fleen catches up on some webcomics he was previously unaware of.

Raven: Comic Book Resources is reporting that the CW is interested in a TV series on the mysterious Teen Titans character. This is a way better idea than Aquaman or Green Arrow. I also like it because that means my pal Marv Wolfman gets some checks (as does George Perez) for creating her.

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Top Ten Things I’m Thankful For This Year

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

Thanksgiving is that wonderful time of year where we celebrates parades, football, days off from school and work, and something else I've entirely forgotten about. Here are some things I'm giving thanks for in 2010.

Naturally, your list may vary, and be a lot less selfish than my own.

10. My TSA date, Officer Pat Downe, had soft hands.

9. The iPad. Is it wrong to want 2 of them?

8. Library Book Sales: I scored a Pogo book, Quincy’s World by Ted Shearer and Don Martin Grinds Ahead! All for less than a buck total.

7. The debut of Oh, Brother! by Bob Weber, Jr. and Jay Stephens. Funny, funny strip.

6. Five Guys Burgers & Fries: If you’re going to eat, Five it up.

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When Speaks The Blowhards

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials,

One of the reasons I like the San Diego Comic Con/Comic Con International so much is that I get to see old friends and co-workers. That happened yet again (what a shock!) at this year’s convention.

Chris Ulm (one of the cofounders of the app company Appy Entertainment) and Dave Olbrich, now at Space Goat Productions, and little old me started talking about comics in the digital age along with the quality of nachos in restaurants surrounding the convention area.

That conversation ended when the sports bar closed, but Chris and I picked it up again on Facebook. Dave had dropped out, but Paul O’Connor, another pal who also co-founded Appy Entertainment and runs their company blog, joined in.

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Comic Con International 2010: Snowflakes By Zach Weiner & Chris Jones

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Reviews, Independent,

I was talking to Zach Weiner (Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) at this year’s San Diego Comic Con and he mentioned that he and artist Chris Jones (the guys behind Captain Excelsior) had a webcomic called Snowflakes that they do with James Ashby. Weiner scripts, Jones arts and Ashby plots.

Zach said the problem with doing a kid-friendly webcomic is that parents tend not to seek them out for their kids - they go right to the “safe” sites like Disney or Nickelodeon and that’s it. And that’s too bad, because they’re missing out on a real treat. Snowflakes began in 2009 and it updates every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Because it’s the internet, all of the previous episodes are posted so you can always start back at the beginning and catch up.

Here are the basics, cribbed from the site: “On a mountain top somewhere in the Andes mountains, a small group of very, very, very old nuns maintains a cozy orphanage. The kids have lost their families, and it may never stop snowing, but there’s always a fire in the fireplace and a never-ending supply of snowballs just outside the front door.

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Read More | Snowflakes Website

Comic Con International 2010: Super Ray and Dean Haspiel

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Reviews, Television, IDW Publishing,

One of the things I enjoy most about the San Diego Comic Con is that I can always find stuff I didn’t know existed before I trundled down an aisle and stumbled across it.

The Birth Of Super Ray was one of those. Created by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel, and published by IDW, the black-and-white, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch, ashcan-sized delight ties into Ames’ TV series, Bored To Death on HBO. You know, the one with Zach Galifianakis, Ted Danson and Jason Schwartzman.

The Birth Of Super Ray stars a stylized Galifianakis as a guy who - thanks to a subway accident - inadvertently becomes Super Ray, a character that the Galifianakis character created as a webcomic. Now, Super Ray has “a great responsibility to guard and protect Brooklyn.” The Birth of Super Ray is a fun, silly comic; a great freebie to drop into my bag as I made the rounds. My only “complaint” is that the whole thing wasn’t in color. The cover coloring is so awesome, I’d've liked to have seen it throughout.

If you missed your copy, you can download it from the HBO website.

[Artwork: Cover to The Birth of Super Ray, © HBO]

Weekend Reading: Bob Bolling, Doc Savage and Wonder Woman

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, Image Comics, Independent,

There’s less than 2 weeks to go before fan-filled flights start landing in San Diego. There may not be enough time to pack, but there’s plenty of time to surf the internet.

Bob Bolling: I love Bolling almost as much as Jaime Weinman at Something Old, Nothing New. Weinman posts a Wanda Wunderbuss tale from a 1984 issue of Pep. Added bonus, a link to Jack Kirby’s Archie work.

Rafael De Soto: You know who drew great manly-man covers for magazines like Male, Action for Men, Sportsmen, True Action, Men’s Life, and For Men Only? This guy, and Magic Monkey Boy has a nice display.

Webcomics: Do you know who has some interesting news about Jhonen Vasquez (Invader Zim)? Fleen, that’s who!

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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.

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Buffy Season 8 Comic Book Gets Web Series

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Dark Horse Comics,

Buffy the Vampire Slayer gets a second chance! Well, sort of.

Not to be confused at all with the rumored Buffy reboot by the rapacious Kuzuis, it has been reported that Joss Whedon‘s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic books will be translated into a motion-comic web series.

No word yet as to whether or not original cast members from the television series will appear, but casting director Jeff Shuter is already looking for voice actors to fill familiar and new roles. If you sound like Sarah Michelle Gellar or D.B. Woodside, this gig may be for you—check out the complete cast list after the jump (they’re looking for non-union).

While this good news comes after Dollhouse‘s cancellation, I have my doubts.

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Read More | Sci Fi Wire

Webcomics Q&A: Mike Bannon and Mordant Orange

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews,

The great thing about Stumble Upon is that you get to stumble upon some really funny webcomics. That’s how I found Mike Bannon’s Mordant Orange, a single-panel full color comic, about six months ago. A mechanical designer by day and a webcartoonist by night, Mike describes himself as “similar to a large block of wood but with slightly more hair and slightly less funny.” I thought it was time to ask him a few questions.

Tom Mason: How did you get interested in cartooning?
Mike Bannon: Probably much like anyone else. As a kid I had a bunch of Garfield collections. I used to read them all the time and try drawing Garfield. I also had an English friend who had lots of British comics as well, Beano, Dennis the Menace and all kinds of stuff I’d never heard of before. They were fantastic. But beyond that what really got me interested in cartoons was this physics teacher in high school who used to copy Far Side cartoons into course outlines and labs. I just the loved the smart, bizarre humor. I went out and got my hands on all The Far Side Gallery’s I could.
Tom: How did Mordant Orange get started?
Mike: In 2005, a friend introduced me to this thing called a blog. I started a blog like everyone else and posted all the dumb stuff on the internet that I found funny. After about two weeks of this I got bored and decided if I wanted to have a website that was worth visiting I would have to put something original up on it. So I started writing movie reviews. Which I sucked at it and quickly abandoned.

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Read More | Mordant Orange