Congrats to ADDTF for one solid year of reading comics naked.

Also, welcome back ADD and In Sequence.

Did I miss anyone?

 
Snow Day!



Happy 88th, Julius Schwartz!

The relatives of Don Flowers have set up a website for selling original artwork to benefit Mr. Flower's grandchildren's education. For more of his work, check out the selection at Shane Glines, where I also first heard the news. Love those inky pools of black.

Don Flowers reminded me of Action Girl. Action Girl reminded me of Sarah Dyer. Now, Sarah Dyer has reminded me to Weep No More. Charlton romance comics. Does it get any better?

Also courtesy of Shane Glines, Jay Stephens has a batch of his Oddville strips from their run in a special section of the Toronto Star.

Journalista links to the Creative Commons project, which "is devoted to expanding the range of creative work available for others to build upon and share" by seeking alternatives to normal copyright. Not only do they use comics to help illustrate their points, but this information could be useful for comic creators, including our own Jenny Everywhere Project.

Eastday has a small article on China's first (presumably sanctioned) cartoon production line, which has produced 74 volumes of traditional Chinese stories in the last six months.

This is it for me and the Mark Waid Nerd Riot. The Big Sunny One compiles a fairly comprehensive collection of links and quotes and he also offers up his own take on the matter. If you haven't been reading his blog, and you read Flat Earth instead, you're a fool.

I found out recently that I was born on the 100th anniversary of the first officially recognized game of hockey. I believe that this makes me the living embodiment of Canada.

"I took a leap." - Rich Johnston on Madonna reading the Filth, from the "parody" public service announcements found at Waiting For Tommy. Comics are cool!

Doug Nagy, Sinister Ukelele Minstrel, creator of the legendary folk song "She-Hulk Boy" has a song online about Loki and his tendency to turn cars into ice cream. Intro by yours truly.

It's a sad, little-known secret that I own almost every appearance of Ambush Bug. Well, the Bug is back.

Bit of a commotion in one of the message boards I frequent prompted me to check out Warren Ellis' blog. Glad I did, for if I hadn't I would never have been exposed to the wonders of Giant Hulk Fist Porn. Not work safe. That means you, Mom.

The disturbingly comprehensive Betty Cooper FAQ. If you click on only one link this summer...

I've been saving up links for an essay on Epic, but I'm tired of waiting. Ages ago Neilalien linked to a blog run by a guy looking to take Cloak and Dagger into Epic fame and fortune. Other than the Betty Cooper FAQ, this is my favourite guilty pleasure.

Astronauts and Cosmonauts on the International Space Station watched the Tank Girl movie repeatedly. The effect? "There were these scenes of cruelty in this movie, and we would be watching it, and it would just almost start me shaking," said Bowersox, a shuttle commander and fighter pilot. Best story of the week. Trumps Garfield turning 25, that's for damn sure.
posted by Steven at 8:22 PM

 
Dig?

I was going to post this entry last night, but first I had to debate over the notion of helping feed the Marvel hype machine more than I already have the last little while. That said, i thought I'd clarify a few things.

First up, Joe Quesada has issued a statement which, among other things, says that Jemas is not taking over the Fantastic Four, as Mark Waid said in his statement. I did mention in my previous entry on the subject that this was only a "possibility", but I want to make sure there isn't any miscommunication. I have my doubts about a few points in Quesada's statement, but it's all conjecture, and I strive to avoid rumours as much as possible. I would link to the press release, but both Newsarama and Comicon have been periodically knocked out by the heavy traffic due to this story. I will edit it in later.

Second, the real reason I'm talking about this again is because Dirk Deppey of Journalista expanded on his own coverage of the news, and this blog was included in the round-up. While Deppey doesn't directly make any statements about my comments, I am lumped in with a few other blogs that I may not agree with, so I thought I'd elaborate on what I wrote just to make sure I'm clear.

"That said, I'm siding with Quesada in all of this. Folks, Fantastic Four is Marvel property, dig? It's not Waid's title; he's writing work-for-hire for a series that is ultimately more the editor's responsibility than it is Waid's. Be serious; this isn't even remotely the first time this has happened. Hell, a decade ago Chris Claremont -- the man who turned Uncanny X-Men from a floundering mess of a series into Marvel's flagship title -- was fired over a disagreement in plot development with his editor. Did anyone seriously think things had changed since then? Legally speaking, Marvel Comics is writing the series using Waid's fingers, and no amount of protest is going to change that. This is what work-for-hire is all about." - Dirk Deppey.

Surprisingly, despite my usual anti-Marvel rhetoric, I agree. One of the things I admire about NuMarvel (and what I admired most about the beginnings of Marvel) is their willingness to take chances and burn a few bridges to make newer, potentially stronger ones. Hey, in some ways I even think Epic is a brilliant idea. So many readers have forgotten that most of the excitement of early Marvel Comics was built on change and the unexpected, even if sometimes their gambles didn't always pay off. Anyone who reads mainstream comics regularly, creator or fan, and who still doesn't understand the perils of work-for-hire or the concept that they aren't the boss, should do some reading.

"Don't like having a comic book that you read transfered to another set of fingers? Read a comic where the creator has an ownership stake in the property.' - Deppey again.

The only way to truly register a complaint with a business is to stop giving them your money altogther, not just dump the particular title you have a grievance against then turn around and spend that money on another title from the same company. Otherwise, all your protestations mean nothing, and deservedly so. Marvel doesn't care how you spend your allowance so long as it's with them.

"I thought Evan Dorkin's two-issue run on Agent X was a total hoot, but you don't see me threatening to boycott the company because Gail Simone's taking over, now do you?"

You don't see Deppey threatening to boycott the company, and that's his choice. Most people I know will still buy Marvel through thick and thin, no matter what. That's fine. But for those who aren't interested in supporting Marvel, whatever their reason (even with a reason that I personally don't appreciate), I don't understand why they shouldn't boycott the company.

Update - It must be a slow news day. Journalista mildly responds.

Nerd Riot!

I wasn't going to write anything else tonight. I was through. But along comes Title Bout to put it all into perspective. Makes me look like a big ol' nerd, alright.

Title Bout is finishing up real soon. If you haven't read it yet, I pity you and envy you in equal measure.
posted by Steven at 2:06 AM

 
Amen

"Sometimes you don't want Kafka, you want Archie." - Tom Waits
posted by Steven at 2:28 AM

 
Flame On!

Newsarama has reported that Marvel has fired Mark Waid from the writing position on the Fantastic Four. Waid hasn't had a great deal of luck with Marvel in the past. His acclaimed run on Captain America with Ron Garney on pencilling chores was ditched in favour of the Heroes Reborn fiasco, by Rob Liefeld no less. Then when he returned to the title, he had an entire issue rewritten after it had been approved by editorial which led to him leaving the book. And if you take into account the miscommunication with DC that temporarily wiped out his chances of writing Superman or his withdrawal from the Harvey awards during his short tenure at Crossgen, you have to wonder if there's anywhere Waid can work where there isn't bad blood.

Once again, Waid has been tossed off of a title which he has helped revitalize. The real reason that this has become so buzz-worthy is that Mark Waid has mentioned the possiblity of Marvel head honcho Bill Jemas taking over from him. It's almost universally acknowledged that as a writer, Mr. Jemas makes a hell of a publisher. The story is also repeated at Comicon. I'm mentioning this because of something Drew Reiber points out on the Comicon feedback. "I would love to note this is the first time I've seen a story run with every post in 100% agreement, on TWO sites no less.

The tide seems to be turning. Just a year or two ago, the kids at Marvel could do no wrong. Now, with retailers snapping at their heels and after breaking promises to streamline their titles and keep from flooding the market, many people are wondering if they're seeing the fall of the empire. The part I find funny is that many people are becoming pissed enough to send stock letters of protest and stop reading the Fantastic Four once Waid is off the title, all of which means nothing if they're just going to spend that money on other Marvel titles.

Update: In the few hours since I first posted, many self-proclaimed Marvel Zombies posting on the Newsarama and Comicon message boards have expressed a desire to quit buying Marvel comics altogether, which I find quite surprising. If this gets organized and snowballs, there's a possibility that most, if not all, of Marvel's output will see a decrease in sales. It's obviously too early to see if more than a handful of people will take this stance, or if those who talk the talk will walk the walk, but I stand corrected in my previous statement that no one seemed willing to make such an ultimatum.

Oddballs Unite!

While it's not a dire emergency, Scott Shaw! of the essential Oddball Comics site has issued a plea for help in getting more viewers into his little weird corner of comic fun. One can't do much better then today's installment, which introduces us to the menace of the Composite Superman!



No word of a lie, The Composite Superman was one of my favourite oddball characters. I still have most of his appearances growing mold in my closet. This badass has the combined powers of the entire Legion of Superheroes. Too bad they never had anyone with the power of fasion sense on their team.

Believe it or not, Oddball Comics and it's message board have provided me with a great deal of research material for this blog. Not only does Mr. Shaw! showcase a wide variety of comics on his site, but he also includes interesting facts about the people behind their creation. There's even theme weeks like Strange Schwartz Stories, Little Archie, Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen, Even More Strange Schwartz Stories, Lois Lane's crotch, Cool, Hip and Groovy, Funny Animal Superheroes, and Comics About Cartoonists. And most of the month of April, 2001 was taken over by a wide range of guest hosts presenting their favourite oddball comics, including Coop, Stan Sakai, Paul Dini, and Mark Waid among others.

There's over three years of material available, so you'll never run out of hijinks. Here's just a few of my faves to get you started.



Any comic where a superhero develops a giant head is worth buying.

Ant Heads on superheroes runs a close second.

Archie Andrews beating off three other guys.



Ooooh yeah!

Pop Superstars featuring Butch Dykeman.

Krypto the Super-Dog has a sex-change and gets a bun in the oven.



Lana Lang as the Insect Queen, one of my all-time favourite comic characters. No, really.

Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane in I Am Curious, Black.

Just one of many installments of my favourite series within a series, The War That Time Forgot.



'Nuff said...
posted by Steven at 3:31 AM