Let’s face it, no one wants to work this week, and that even includes us. So we’re still loafing as we gradually get back up to speed.
In the meantime, check out this exclusive footage we found of Chip and Dale* planning how to take out someone named Donald. Fascinating.
* Yes, Chip ‘n’ Dale were chipmunks and these are grey squirrels. Who cares! They are so cute chittering back and forth to each other. And oh! their cunning little hands!
From everyone at Stately Beat Manor to all of you
!
Watch the third one for a special treat for our kind.
Here at Stately Beat Manor we’ve been getting many holiday cards, both physical and electronic, and each and every one brightens our mailbox with tidings of joy. By far the most unusual, however, was the Virgin Comics holiday card, above. At first we thought “Kaliiiiiiiiii!” but’s it’s actually a character from VOODOO CHILD by Nicolas and Weston Cage. Not what we were expecting but here’s to diversity!
MTV.com has an article up talking to a bunch of folks about Heath Ledger’s Joker. Included in the article are Guillermo del Toro, Paul Dini, Jeph Loeb and … ADAM WEST!
Posted by Mark Coale
While Dirk has rolled up his welcome mat, and The Beat has been loafing, at least a couple of bloggers have been WORKING.
Brian Heater at Daily Cross Hatch polls a wide-ranging list of cartoonists on their favorite comics of the year. Much love for Julia Wertz’ The Fart Party but the whole list should be perused by all.
Meanwhile, Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter goes all the way with a series of wide-ranging, informative interviews covering manga, the mainstream, and indies. How DOES he do it? Read them all when you have a quiet moment.
§ The great Joe Sacco
§ Manga guide author Jason Thompson
§ Artist Simon Gane
§ Writer Will Pfeifer
§ D&Q’s Tom Devlin
§ Comics Comics’ Tim Hodler
§ Cartoonist Julia Wertz
§ Cartoonist Frank Santoro
If Tom adds more, we’ll update this page.
Many blogs, including Colleen Doran’s are reporting an item from Spin Magazine regarding COMIC BOOK TATTOO, a new anthology based on the songs of Tori Amos. The book will run some 400 pages and stories will be based on individual songs. Long-time Amos cohort Rantz Hoseley edits. Doran has a bit more:
I will be illustrating a 12 page short story for the anthology in fully painted color, using the style I used for the Orbiter cover art. The story is written by noted writer Derek McCulloch.
Other announced contributors include Lea Hernandez, Chris Arrant, Russell Lissau, and doubtless scores more. Hernandez had this to say:
I don’t know if I can say what mine is, but I can say no one will expect my take on it. Nope. Never. Being a fan of Tori’s since Little Earthquakes, and what a profound effect her music has had on me emotionally and artistically, this is not only a dream come true but an honor.
Amos is one of early adapters in the comics/media crossover trend, due to her friendship with Neil Gaiman (the two were introduced by Hoseley) resulting in many lyrical and comical mentions of one another over the years.
Frazer Irving writes to assure us that he is indeed, working on issue #3 of GUTSVILLE, the well-received comic by him and Simon Spurrier about life inside a giant whale. To prove it, he even points us to a five-page preview.
Enjoy!
Matt Brady sits down with Dan Didio and just about every paragraph should provide fodder for at least three pages of message board comments. Too bad everyone is going away for the holidays!
There is a plan. There always has been a plan. It has been altered, twisted, turned, but there is a direction, a focus, and a reason for the way things are playing out in the DC Universe. If something occurred over a particular time that seemed to concentrate a particular “flavor” – in this case, death, then that is a mistake on our part to oversell it in a short window. But there is a reason for everything, there is a purpose for the story, and it ultimately goes to a better, bigger story at the end of the day which I think people will react incredibly positively to. I hope, at least.
Nothing is done haphazardly or done just to be gratuitous. The volume has been turned up for a reason. The panic that’s starting to permeate throughout the DCU is there for a reason. We are building to something called Final Crisis. There are spikes in the story as it moves forward, with endings and beginnings as we continue along. We tell periodical stories with continuing, larger stories interwoven throughout. Some of the characters live, some of them die, some return from the dead. The instantaneous reaction by some fans these days is amazing. A character dies, say, with Oliver Queen on his wedding night. The volume of the outrage over the “death” was just amazing – no one wanted to see how the story played out, or if they did, they were hopelessly outshouted by those who, for some reason saw that scene as the end of the story. As it’s clear now, it wasn’t the end of the story by any means. It’s almost as if a contingent of readers these days have lost the desire to speculate, to guess, to wonder about how a sudden intense scene, or even a death will play out.
For those people…may I introduce you to our trade paperback selection? As I said, I’m in the business of periodicals. We’re selling dramatic storytelling told in episodic fashion. The idea that people come back to try it again and see what happening is key to that.
Ron Hogan at GalleyCat has a report on the Comic Book Club One Year Anniversary which we wrote about earlier, with a fuller report
It was definitely Fraction who said of his work on Punisher War Journal, one of the best mainstream superhero comics I know of right now, “I wanted to make the most metal comic in the whole world. This is a comic you’d paint on the side of your van.” (And it’s true; if I had a van I would totally paint Fraction’s Punisher on the side…unless I’d already covered it with his independent comic, Casanova.)
Ron also points us towards better pictures by Keith Huang, once of which we’ve ganked above. It also reminds us us of an exchange which we’ve recounted to several people since then but negelcted to recount here; this must be remedied.
You’ll recall the show is hosted by comics/comics fans Pete LePage, Justin Tyler and Alex Zalben. The guests were Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, Matt Fraction, Brian Bendis and Ed Brubaker. One of the segments involves audience questions and this one was the beloved chestnut “If you had a superpower what would it be?”
The answers started from the comics writer end. Ed said he’d like to have the power to sleep through the night. Bendis said he’d like to be able to spell. Fraction said he wished he didn’t have to eat, because then he’d have more time.
By now the SNL end of the couch was getting the drift here. “You guys need to stop thinking about work!” said Meyers. “I’d like a power that doesn’t come with Word! How about FLYING?”
Of course there was general hilarity, in the audience, but it was also a rather rueful moment. Granted the Marvel side was mentally fried from a day of Summiting, but it was also maybe a little more symbollic. In the world of the freelancer, it’s all about getting the work out, by any means necessary. When you deal with fantasies all day, they become all too quotidian. We’d all like more time to sleep.
We attended a nice holiday party last night thrown by artist Kelli Bickman and jill-of-all-trades Paulette Powell. It was just a bunch of folks getting together, but it was nice to see old friends like Kyle Baker, Martha Thomases and Jim Salicrup and have a chance to talk a bit. We also chatted with Anne Murphy, the widow of Archie Goodwin, whom we hadn’t seen in forever.
In case you don’t know, Archie Goodwin was a writer and an editor who died at the much too young age of 60 in 1998. Archie ran Creepy, Eerie, Marvel Comics (he preceded Jim Shooter as Editor in Chief), founded Epic, and edited many great stories at DC. He also wrote Star Wars and Manhunter. But that’s just the tip of his resume. He’s pretty much considered probably the best comic book editor ever, and one of the very best writers as well. Archie was always kind and patient with the very young and annoying Beat, and for that we are always grateful. In later years, when we had grown up a bit, at local functions, Anne was usually by his side. She was a former editor at Redbook, and as smart, feisty and creative a lady as you would ever want to meet and we remember having many interesting conversations over the years with her.
It was truly a pleasure to see her again, and hear her talk about Archie, and also many episodes of comics history from the 70s through the 90s from a very different perspective. Sadly we can’t repeat most of them here, but there was one about a 70s comic book artist–let’s call him Timmy– who showed up at the house of a rival artist with a couple of goons, only to be met at the door by the rival’s wife and child. Timmy then called his rival and said “I know what your wife and kid look like!” News of this incident spread and Timmy didn’t get much work for a long time.
These days, the internet has lessened the distance between people who work on the comics and people who read the comics to the point where there barely is any. Talking to Anne was a sharp reminder that there have always been larger than life personalities and creative dramas in comics. They didn’t have message boards to duke it out on, so they did things in a more colorful way. Those were the days.
Okay we’re taking the day off from blogging except for a few odds and ends…time to get those last minute gifts and get ready for the trip home. We may have a seasonal greetings over the next few days but basically, we wish you ALL a very safe and happy holiday wherever you may be.
In the meantime, someone sent us the above faux-children’s book last night, and we think it’s just awesome.
The trailer for Hellboy II: The Golden Army launches today at noon PST simultaneously over four Fox-owned websites:
The trailer will launch simultaneously across four of Fox Interactive Media sites, including MySpace (http://www.myspace.com), IGN (http://www.ign.com), Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com) and AskMen (http://www.AskMen.com) and is set to premiere at 12 noon PST on Thursday, December 20.
We’ll have a link when it goes up.
And here it is.
And it looks kind of unbearably kickass.
Da-yumn.
It was really the year of the Baby. They were popping out everywhere.2007 closes with yet another cartoonists birth as Jessica Abel and Matt Madden welcomed Aldara Juliet Abel Madden on Sunday, December 16 at 8:27PM. According to Matt, “Aldara is pronounced all-DAH-rah and its origin is probably Old German, meaning something like “old and wise”. We discovered it in Galicia, where it is only slightly less uncommon a name than it is elsewhere in Spain and Portugal, largely because there is a saint there that shares the name: in fact, tomorrow, December 20, is Saint Aldara’s Day!”
Our best to all!
A post at Millarworld details a top notch tweaking:
First off, I have no opinion on this question of whether or not Stephanie Brown deserves a memorial in the Batcave. Never read a book with her in it, have only the vaguest idea that she was a female Robin who got killed off. I don’t know why DC doesn’t want to do it, don’t care.
What I do know is that there is a very passionate group of fans out there (largely, but not exclusively, female) for whom this is a major cause celebre. The furor about it kind of peaked a few months ago, and in the wake of various other “outrages,” seemed to have simmered down.
Now you or I, we’d have just put this behind us– no point in stirring things back up, right? Particularly since at least some of these folks are (or were and might be again) paying customers.
Evidently, though, Mr. Didio has decided to tweak those darn feminists again. In this week’s DC Nation, we are shown a list of the Christmas wishes of various DC characters (Superman wants “A new place to call home,” Batgirl wants “My very own mini-series,” etc.), on stationery that says “From the Holiday Desk of Dan Didio.”
Robin’s entry is “A memorial for Stephanie Brown.” This is crossed-out, and penciled over it is the notation “Can’t Do.”
So there, Stephanie Brown-ites, you haven’t been forgotten, after all.
UPDATE: We’re told by far better informed sources that this is really because the “Spoiler” it itching to return from the dead, as this Newsarama story reveals.
More from Kevin Melrose at Blog@.
That’ll teach us to try to figure out what’s going on at DC.
§ Queenie Chan notes the 3rd volume of THE DREAMING is out and gives the closing credits along with a correction:
An apology and thanks to Katie Huang and Paul Aeria, who helped me with the toning for book 3, but unfortunately didn’t get their names in the credits because of a printing error. Nobody was at fault - there was some confusion with the 1 month delay in street date because of the SECRET on the last page. So I thank Paul and Katie here instead.
Regardless, congrats Queeni!
§ Brigid has an exhaustive list of NYAF 07 links.
ITEM! Brigid Alverson, Kai Ming Cha, Douglas Wolk and The Beat all have 12″ silver Powerbooks, and it’s pretty cute when we all get them out and start banging away.
§ Paul Levitz talks imprints at Newsarama and lets it slip that DC will be launching a NEW COMICS LINE NEXT YEAR. We’ve heard a bit about this, but we won’t spill the beans. Yet. Levitz also talks about the possibility of “event fatigue:”
PL: I don’t know if it’s “event fatigue” on the part of the readers, but like any trick, if you keep doing it over and over, you’re going to not do it well at some point, and the audience will get tired of seeing the same old trick and, if not get up and walk out, at least start shuffling in their seats. You’ve got to vary your game.
§ Colorist and photog extraordinaire Jose Villarrubia writes to tell us that his hometown of Baltimore has just featured him in a video and it’s actually a nice little film about Villarrubia AND Baltimore.
§ Recent and upcoming books of creator profiles — such as The Artist Within by Greg Peston, or Joel Meadow’s upcoming Studio Space– usually cover artists, so it’s interesting to see WRITER Tony Lee’s desk covered at CBR:
I live in a shared house in Birmingham, so the only non ‘shared’ area is my room. It’s easier to work here anyway, and is covered in memorabilia from comics and from my years travelling. I’ve pretty much stood on every continent bar one, and I’ve got a variety of things all over the place that echo that. It makes me feel comfortable to sit somewhere like this. And when I’m comfortable, I can write. Or at least surf the web, update Facebook and Livejournal and watch tentacle porn.
So without further adieu, welcome to my studio. Or, more accurately - welcome to Tony’s bedroom.
ITEM! Tony Lee and The Beat have resolved to write more often!
§ EW critics Jim Jensen and Ken Tucker pick surprisingly with-it comics best-of lists! Guess the mainstream media really is with us.
ITEM! Did you know that Frankie Laine had hits with both “Rawhide” and “Mule Train”? His real name was Francesco Paolo LoVecchio.
§ Flog reports a footnote to the legal matter that shall not be named :
Charles E. Petit, known to the Fantagraphics offices as the longtime lawyer of Harlan Ellison, has been disbarred. Petit was found guilty of poor ethics by defrauding the family of author John Steinbeck. His defense honestly seems to have been that he’s driven crazy by migraines that lead him to forget events that transpire at the time of the headaches and stuff like that.
ITEM! Oh noes , we’re not going THERE!
Many news outlets have more info on the joyous news of two Peter Jackson/Fran Walsh-led Hobbity movies, including the New York Times. It seems that Jackson is busy filming LOVELY BONES and then TINTIN (YAY!) for the next three years or so, but he and Walsh will have complete creative control over the movies. But then there is the matter of the Hobbit Sequel — what the HELL is that all about????
The untitled sequel is described as bridging the 60-year gap between the end of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” and the beginning of the “Rings” trilogy.
Okay, now we are Tolkien scholars of some 30+ years standing, and even we can’t quite figure what this is about. The drowning of Frodo’s parents? Aragorn’s deeds in Arnor? Balin’s failure in Moria? The torturing of Arwen’s mom by the orcs? The life of Gollum?
WHAT???
(more…)
Some fellow has posted a Flickr set of The Galactically Hot Women of Star Trek TOS and it has Nerd World a-twitter. Can you not see why? Ay-yi-yi! Notice how all the women of this three year period had identical eyebrows and eyeliner that only Amy Winehouse could love. And yet they were HOT!
Via Forbidden Planet which has further discussion.
Disney sponsors Kid’s Day, and new guests announced.
New York Comic Con (NYCC) has announced its most recent guest appearances for the 2008 show which will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Center, April 18 – 20. In making the announcement, show officials also note that the Disney Book Group has recently come on board as a sponsor for Kids’ Day, an all-day program on Sunday, April 20 which will focus on events and activities designed to attract and entertain young fans. So far, officials note, Kids’ Day has been greeted with overwhelming support. Kid’s Comic Con 2008 has also recently partnered with New York Comic Con and will announce the winner of their brand new awards program at NYCC as part of the many Kids’ Day activities.
New Featured Guests who have been confirmed for an appearance at NYCC include: Mark Buckingham, famous for his work on Marvelman (Miracleman in the USA), Hellblazer, and Fables; Dale Eaglesham, an illustrator with dozens of DC and Marvel titles to his credit, and who is well-known for the newly re-launched title, Justice Society of America; Ron Garney, who, over the course of his career, has made a name for himself tackling some of the industry’s greatest characters, such as the Incredible Hulk, Silver Surfer and, most notably, Captain America, and who is currently getting rave reviews illustrating Amazing Spiderman with J.M. Stryzynski; and Steve McNiven, who has worked with an impressive array of writers, including Warren Ellis, Brian Bendis, and Mark Millar on titles such as New Avengers and Ultimate Secret.
No it’s not Cartman! It’s MARK MILLAR! It seems that Mark has a new Icon book called Kick-Ass, which John Romita Jr. will draw. And they are promoting it on MySpace, as Mark writes:
The next stage of the Kick-Ass promotion gets moving with the Myspace site going live. As you may recall, Kick-Ass is a limited series by John Romita Jr and I about a real-life superhero and his myspace page will form an integral part of the story. This is where all our promotional material will be appearing, the first of which is available now with an eleven page pencil preview from the first issue. We also get our first glimpses of the character and see the viral cell-phone video featured in last week’s Lying In The Gutters. The PR campaign kicks off in earnest early in the New Year with a major announcement in January and another the week before the first issue launches. This site also offers a chance for other amateur, real-life superheroes to interact with Kick-Ass (or any savvy comic-book creators hoping to promote their work).
Click on http://www.myspace.com/kickass_comic and check back for regular updates. Kick-Ass is a limited superhero series launching from Icon in February 2008.
We’ve blurred out a naughty word in the above poster, but you can see the unexpurgated version at the link. Also a suitably grainy YouTube video which shows some of the events of the comic — the secret word for the day is MULTI MEDIA!
And in yet MORE Mark Millar-related news, it sounds like the WANTED movie is getting a big push from Universal:
Come June 27, Universal Pictures anticipates having a huge blockbuster on its hands with “Wanted” a fantasy-action-thriller with a megastar cast that includes Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Terence Stamp. Is that the sort of thing that can be successfully shoehorned onto a 2-inch-by-2-inch cell phone screen? Perhaps yes, perhaps no, but mobile game developer I-Play sure intends to try.
While there will be other versions of the game for various platforms, only the mobile version will be released “practically day-and-date with the movie.” No specific date has been determined, however, because just two weeks ago the movie’s opening was pushed back three months from March 28.
The world’s most loved movie star is to play a superhero! And here is the trailer for HANCOCK which was originally called TONIGHT HE COMES.
But what kind of superhero will Will Smith play?
A hard-living superhero (Will Smith) who has fallen out of favor with the public enters into a questionable relationship with the wife (Charlize Theron) of the public relations professional (Jason Bateman) who’s trying to repair his image.
After viewing the trailer, you will agree…superhero movies are getting post-modern and grim ‘n’ gritty!
Our review? We want to see it! The Ludacris/Mystikal song was a particularly nice touch. Move bitch, get out th’way!
Oh dear.
We knew DDGB would do anything that paid…but Jodie Foster too?
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