DMZ gets the full-on Sunday Times treatment:

What inspired Mr. Wood, 34, to create such a grim scenario? “Just living here,” he said during a recent interview near his Brooklyn home, where he lives with his wife, Meredith Gary, and their 9-week-old daughter, Audrey. “That makes it sound like I hate the city, but I really don’t.”

It’s just the opposite. Mr. Wood, who was born in Vermont and attended Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, briefly lived in San Francisco. It was a miserable but productive time. “Not only was I longing for New York, I was analyzing it,” he said. Developing the ideas for DMZ and another continuing comic-book series, Local, was the “one good thing of living out there.”

Cover from D&Q blog:

‘07 looks to be a banner year for Marvel, with bof-office smashdom for SPIDER-MAN 3 as sure a thing as is possible in the wild land of Hollywood; FF2, while bemoaned by purists, looks to have a solid audience base, as well. Ghost Rider looks…problematic, but at least nic Cage is happy.

Motley Fool has been a steady supporter of Marvel’s stocks over its highly successful run over the last five or sic years. However in a much linked piece, analyst Tim Beyers suggests that Marvel’s move in ‘08 to self-financed films may be problematic:

First, the good: The facility is self-contained. Movie revenues would be used to pay down debt. Therefore, a profitable hit would pay for itself while preserving Marvel’s relatively clean balance sheet.

Now, the bad: If Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk (or both) flop, then the facility could keep piling up interest as Marvel waits for a billion-dollar blockbuster to come to the rescue. That would be an unprecedented string of bad luck for mighty Marvel. But it’s at least worth mentioning, because spending will ramp up during 2007.

Go back to the Q3 press release. Therein, Marvel said that it plans to “commence principal photography” for Iron Man in the first quarter. Filming for the Hulk sequel will begin before the end of the year.

If some investors are nervous about these and other planned films, it’s because there’s no way to tell whether a fickle public will embrace lesser-known heroes. I may think Iron Man is cool, but he isn’t exactly a household name the way Spider-Man is.

Marvel would indeed need to have a very bad run of luck. Aside from the disastrous ELEKTRA, even dubious achievements like PUNISHER and DAREDEVIL have been earners. Over the next year it will be interesting to see how Marvel attempts to sell a hero like IRON MAN to an unfamiliar public. The first FF movie succeeded because Fox was able to sell it as an unobjectionable family friendly action movie. As Hollywood becomes less and less secure in its ability to market films, Marvel’s strong track record may become more and more valuable.

Robert Tonner is a high end specialty doll maker, whose made collectible figures for Harry Potter and other familiar figures. He’s just turned his skills to the DC Stars Collection:

Robert Tonner has long been a fan of the power and might of Super Heroes; each with its own fascinating story of heroic powers and secret identities. Introducing the debut Tonner Character Figures™ (TCF™) collection based on classic superheroes appearing in DC COMICS. The DC STARS Collection, by award-winning designer, Robert Tonner, bursts onto the scene with WONDER WOMAN and SUPERGIRL. Tonner Character Figures™ are approximately 16” tall with multiple points of articulation for the most powerful poses; each also has separately available wardrobes from origins to secret identities. Look for more TCF™ products for the DC STARS Collection in 2007!

The dolls retails for between $69.99 and $189.99. Check out the link for Wonder Woman’s crazy polka dot “career” outfit, and Supergirls loungey silver threads, the very latest in Kryptonian Kasual.

Warner’ is teaming with UFC light-heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell to promote 300:

Kicking off the promotion, Warner Bros. will be sponsoring Liddell in his next Ultimate Fight in Las Vegas on December 30, 2006. In addition, Liddell will be making personal appearances and will lend his name and likeness to a variety of other promotions that will be taking place across the country in the months leading up to the film’s release.

§ Rafael Kayanan thinks the Silver Surfger would look better without eyeballs.

§ Jimm Rugg talks about PLAIN JANES, the lead title in the MINX line:

“Obviously, I found the story captivating or I wouldn’t have considered drawing it. I find Cecil’s characterizations refreshing, articulate, and thorough. And the story was unusual compared to my idea of young adult material. I pictured ‘Mean Girls,’ and the story isn’t like ‘Mean Girls’ at all. The antagonists aren’t evil or bad. Conflict doesn’t lead to some big showdown. There aren’t any easy answers to the problems the girls encounter. After reading Cecil’s books and the ‘Plain Janes’ proposal, it was clear to me that working with her would be creatively rewarding.”

§ What they are saying about Corto Maltese in Japanese.

§Yoshitaka Amano is interviewed at the Dark Horse site:

DH: You were at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con for the first time-what did you think of that experience?

Amano: First, I was surprised by the scale of it! So many exhibitors and products! I had fun looking at original works of my favorite characters and artists (I’m a big fan of Batman and Neil Adams). Also, I saw the artists I admire and was able to get their books autographed! So, even though I was invited as one of the guests, I felt that I was able to attend and experience SDCC as a fan like almost everyone else!

[Link via MangaBlog]

§ Also from MangaBlog and elsewhere, a brief primer on “nouvelle manga” from ICv2:

Some of the chief creators associated with the movement include Jiro Taniguchi (The Walking Man, The Times of Botchan), Frederic Boilet (Yukiko’s Spinach, Mariko Parade), Kan Takahama (Monokuro Kinderbook), Kazuichi Hanawa (Doing Time), Kiriko Nananan (Blue, Sweet Cream and Red Strawberries), and Hideji Oda (A Patch of Dreams). Sweet Cream and Red Strawberries is available from Central Park Media, while all the other titles mentioned above are available from Fanfare/Ponent Mon.

§Local news alert: “Comic fans, artists rub elbows”, chafing ensues.

Chris Miles, 11, of Geneva, and his twin brother, Evan, have invented their own comic book characters.

Chris has invented such characters as Star Nova Jet Raider and Grand Assault Droid.

“I don’t read comic books too much, but I like making my own,” Chris said.

Evan also likes to draw.

“I get inspired by Chris and video games,” Evan said. “We just draw for the heck of it.”

Regular readers will recall the tale of “Breaking Home Ties,” the Norman Rockwell painting that turned out to have been a forgery after HENRY cartoonist Don Trachte hid the original from his soon to be ex-wife. Well, the NY Times reports on another Rockwell-inspired family spat, this time among the three sons of Saturday Evening Post art director Kenneth J. Stuart, the man Rockwell credited with helping his career more than anyone. Stuart came into possession of several original Rockwells, but following his death they have become the source of a bitter squabble among his sons:

When the urbane Mr. Stuart died in 1993, he left everything to his three sons — Ken Jr., William and Jonathan — in equal shares. The artwork was the crown jewel of an otherwise middle-class man’s estate, and by all rights, dividing three paintings among three brothers ought not to have been hard.

But two of the brothers, William and Jonathan, have spent 13 years fighting in court against their older brother, Ken Jr., saying that he took advantage of their ailing father, forcing him to sign papers to gain control of the entire fortune. The younger Stuarts charge that Ken Jr., who has been self-employed since 1991, used estate assets to enrich himself at their expense and support a lifestyle that included alimony for his first wife, a $5,000 Rolex for his soon-to-be second wife, $44,500 for a cello and bow for his daughter, and a $16,000 time-share for himself in New Orleans.

While two of the sons resist selling the paintings, the article points out that as time passes they become more and more valuable. (Trachte’s real Rockwell sold for over $15 million.) The details of the feud are just sad and petty; money changes everything indeed.

All three brothers say they are proud that Rockwell credited their father with playing an important role in his legacy. In a joint interview, Jonathan, 60, compared the infighting to “War and Peace,” and William, 63, recalled urging Ken Jr., now 65, to tote up whatever he owed the estate and make amends rather than force the dispute into court and make the “family look bad.”

Interviewed separately, Ken Jr. said he had done well by his brothers and blamed poor record-keeping. “The real nucleus of this problem is that I am the favorite of both my parents,” he said. “My brothers don’t like it and couldn’t do anything about it when my dad was alive, so this is what they did after he died.”

Back in the day!

Link via Dino.

UPDATE: Okay I am a moron and this is TO TELL THE TRUTH not WHAT’S MY LINE. Haste and idiocy…a deadly combination. In fairness, I never realized until this very moment that these were two different shows. I’m sure Mark Evanier is preparing a hangman’s noose for me at this very moment.

Thanks to all who pointed out this embarrassing error.

We don’t have a lot of time to round up the reactions to this stunning piece of work here, but you can read the entirely of Freedom In Peril: Guarding the 2nd Amendment in the 21st Century here, thanks to Boing Boing. The artist is anonymous, but it’s groovy that he or she used that woodcut Barnes and Noble style for the book! Matt High rounds up more calm, rational discussion on these here internets.

UPDATE: Okay kids, that’s it. No ARGUING ABOUT GUN CONTROL! Comments are closed. We do welcome informed debate on the THIRD AMENDMENT, however, the restriction on quartering soldiers in private homes.

ComiPress translates a Japanese article called The Reason I Quit as a Manga Editor:

wondered if I should ask him to redraw the manga, since that kind of work couldn’t be published in my magazine at the time. However, the act of denying an artist’s preference and going against his personality might make him think that I don’t want his manga. No, the action wouldn’t be my objecting his career and way of thinking; it only meant that his story should agree with the readers of the magazine.

If I had communicated with my colleagues better, I could have persuaded them to run the manga anyway with the artist adding a few touches to it. If I remember correctly, at the time, I showed our department’s most reliable senior the rough draft, and he concluded that it wasn’t fit for the magazine. I agreed with him and withdrew, partly due to his opinion, and partly because I was then a newcomer.

[Link via Brigid and others.]

Year’s Best lists are rolling in, and EW’s Ken Tucker weighs in with a fairly Catholic list, showing estimable taste by including Jason’s THE LEFT BANK GANG. We love Jason so much here at Stately Beat Manor that he’s in a Hall of Fame all his own.

It was a huge year for animated films — quantity was way up, while quality, depending on who you ask, was all over the place. Variety looks at the factors behind box office success for this years crop, revealing that timing was everything:

Successful toons tend to have very strong legs, dropping just 20%-30% each week. Those legs can get cut off, however, when another animated feature for families opens.

DreamWorks’ “Over the Hedge,” for instance, had a decent $38 million bow and declined less than 30% in its second and third weekends. In its fourth frame, however, “Cars” opened, and “Hedge” took a 50% hit, putting a big dent in its B.O. momentum.

Similarly, DWA’s “Flushed Away” went from a 12% drop in its second frame to a 60% drop in its third, when “Happy Feet” bowed.

Meanwhile, Cinematical looks at the increasingly competitive race for the Animated Oscar®. This year 16 films are eligible for a nomination.

Cartoons are a pixel’s-length away from taking the Academy by storm. Animated films this year have a serious increase in competitors, giving award voters a lot to choose from. As the Oscar watch warmsup, studios are wooing Academy members for their animated films as much as they are for Dreamgirls or Babel. This year there are sixteen animated features that are contenders for Best Animated Feature nominations. A category once dominated by Pixar and DreamWorks, the pool has now grown to include Fox, Sony and Warner Brothers.

Teshkeel is teaming with UNESCO and Aramex, a Middle Eastern transportation company, to deliver comics to children in several nations, including Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq, to brighten this time of year.

Kuwait based Teshkeel Media Group. today announced that they have joined with Aramex, the leading transportation company and UNESCO to help children and teens in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine . As the centerpiece of the partnership, Teshkeel will be giving away comic books featuring their Islamic superheroes, THE 99 as well as books featuring internationally renowned comic characters like SUPERMAN, SPIDER-MAN and ARCHIE. More than twenty thousand copies of these various comic books will be distributed this Eid to children and their families in these locations through the joint efforts of Aramex (who is donating the shipping and transit services for the project) and UNESCO.

Headed by Naif Al-Mutawa, a UNESCO award winning children’s writer, Teshkeel is the Arabic publishing partner for Marvel, DC and Archie comics and the creator of THE 99, a superhero property based on Islamic culture and history, which debuted to worldwide acclaim in June 2006.

The project came in response to the strong interest Teshkeel’s publications have been receiving from children throughout the Middle East coupled with Al-Mutawa’s desire to encourage literacy, positive messages and positive role models for children too often faced with violent conflict and disadvantaged living conditions.

(more…)

Tom notes that Stan Lee and Chris Ware share a birthday, a fact that always struck us as kind of eerie.

Blog @ links to a Stan interview on NPR that you can listen to to celebrate this special day.

It’s up!:

By Paul O’Brien
Once again, CIVIL WAR is the dominant theme for November, as the mega-crossover sprawls into its seventh month. This should have been the last one, but thanks to the delays, there’s a while to go yet. However, we do get two new ongoing titles this month - PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL, which was delayed by the CIVIL WAR rescheduling, and IRON FIST. There’s also a motley selection of new miniseries, among them Rob Liefeld’s ONSLAUGHT REBORN, J Michael Straczynsk’s BULLET POINTS, and the WHITE TIGER series co-written by Tamora Pierce.

Marvel thrashed DC in terms of market share - 48% to 39% by units, and 48% to 38% in dollars. Not even remotely close.

Thanks as always to Milton Griepp and ICV2 for permission to use their figures for these calculations.

1.  CIVIL WAR
05/06  #1 (of 7) - 357,601
06/06  #2 (of 7) - 339,527  ( -5.1%)
07/06  #3 (of 7) - 330,304  ( -2.7%)
08/06  —
09/06  #4 (of 7) - 280,508  (-15.1%)
10/06  —
11/06  #5 (of 7) - 272,603  ( -2.8%)
                    6 mnth  (-23.8%)

The lynchpin series for the big event continues, and once again there’s a variant cover. Thanks in part to more variants, re-orders are still coming in for issues #2 (3,246) and #3 (21,276), all of which are included above. No re-orders for issue #4, though, which is slightly odd, and does lend some weight to the theory that these re-orders are largely driven by variants.

But issue #4 did pick up some re-orders last month. Its first month orders were 272,573, so in that sense, this issue is marginally up. This is pretty much consistent with what we’ve seen on ULTIMATES, where even more protracted delays don’t seem to have made the slightest difference to sales.

Having said that, it’s always worth remembering that this is an order chart, not a sell-through chart. Several prominent retailers have reported huge drops in actual sales for issue #5, with around 20% of readers dropping the book. This is very strange behaviour and, of course, we have no way of knowing whether it’s simply a quirk of these stores. Lateness doesn’t usually have that effect, so there would be two possible explanations: either CIVIL WAR sales are more sensitive to delay because it’s a crossover event, or it’s a backlash against the actual content, perhaps the bait-and-switch tactics played with Thor’s return.

And even if 20% of readers did desert this book, of course, it would still be vastly outperforming the rest of the market.

Meanwhile, last month’s CIVIL WAR: CHOOSING SIDES one-shot picks up 7,454 re-orders, and charts again at number 217. That brings its total sales to 82,065.

(more…)

Here’s another blog that rewards frequent visits: Meathaus Enterprises. Thrown together by the various talented folks at Meathaus, the comics anthology, it features groovy artists, odd installations, neat buildings, and other randomly interesting things, like Sarah Oleksyk, above.

And oh hey, they’re having a Rocketship party this Friday! We may just show up.

We got our copy of the new MEATHAUS at SPX, and for our money it’s one of the year’s best anthologies.

This probably the best thing ever: all of Ray Harryhausen’s creatures in chronological order.

First, watch it. Even if you have seen it before, it’s good every time.

The great thing about Ray Harryhausen is that he is an artist with a style that no one could ever match. Not just in the designs of the creatures, but in the way they are animated. We remember talking to Shannon Wheeler once when he was working at Will Vinton’s claymation studio, and he mentioned that doing stop motion animation is surprisingly PHYSICAL work. No one but Harryhausen could have made these monsters and flying saucers and everything else MOVE like this. He was an Astaire, a Kelly, a Jackie Chan, a Bruce Campbell, a visual poet. There will never be anyone like him.

It also makes us feel sad that 95% of all today’s ubiquitous CGI animation, while worked on by very talented craftspeople, has none of this character, none of this flair. It’s bland, generic.

That said, it is funny just how many ways you can make tiny humans poke a monster with a sharp stick.

If you’re looking for a blog full of cartoon people goodness, you need to make Frederator Studios Blog a daily stop. All kinds of drawings, cartoon links, and other Toontown stuff is posted every day. Frederator is the company of Fred Seibert, a very smart guy who produces cartoons for screen and web. Check it out.

Worn out from opening presents and eating turkey? Here’s a good time killer. cityrag posts links to THE 50 GREATEST CARTOONS as picked in Jerry Beck’s 1994 book of the same name. Enjoy!

[Link via the Boing Boing]

A very Merry Christmas to you all.

Santa’s secrets.