Before HOUSE M.D.
That reminds us, we hear the rumored Christopher Eccleston remake of THE PRISONER will be about a man who is transported to a strange village where people try to find out why he resigned from a popular sci-fi show.
Summation of human existence to this point.
Illicit Spanish animation. Never trust an informant.
[Thanks to Beat Spy LB for the link.]
Even GOD (Morgan Freeman) couldn’t stop him!
Via Comic Foundry
We’ve all been cracking up at those “I’m a Marvel and I’m a DC” videos on YouTube, but only Blog@Newsarama interviews creator Michael Agrusso:
1. How long had the idea for “I’m a Marvel… and I’m a DC” been percolating?
I’m a Marvel
I’m a Marvel
I pretty much acted on it as soon as it occurred to me. Around late February/early March, I was looking online and I read the news that both the Wonder Woman movie and the Flash movie had lost their directors due to creative differences with Warner Bros. On the same day! I was disappointed because I had been looking forward to seeing those movies.
Meanwhile, Marvel had a slate of movies featuring a slew of their characters scheduled through 2009 and beyond. And, say what you will about the varying quality of some of their movies, at least they were getting made. I had also just seen some of the Mac/PC commercials, and that’s where the idea for the first one came from.
Illustrator Nath Fox is interviewed at Pulp Secret and his work on DMZ #18 for Vertigo is discussed. We’ve been fans of Fox’s visceral illos for some time and it’s great to see him dipping a toe into comics. Attached, page from DNZ and a self-portrait.
And now, in more traditional comics marketing parlance, here’s the “trailer” for a new Robert Clementa GN bio, courtesy of Flog:
One of the books I’m most looking forward to in the next year is 21: The Roberto Clemente Story, a graphic novel biography of the great Puerto Rican slugger by Wilfred Santiago. I’m a huge baseball fan, and Wilfred looks like he’s gonna knock one out of the park with this one. Here’s a “trailer” for the book — our first, and be sure to check out the official website that Santiago has put together, it’s really sharp and almost certainly the nicest pre-pub book site we’ve ever been associated with.
As part of the imminent cell phone/iPod revolution many large corporations are sinking money into creating comics that can easily be morphed into cartoons or movies, or hybrids of the same. The flipside is animating existing comics into something more flashy, and we’ve had several people showing us their special software on iPods lately. Looks like the race is on!
Among these hybrids, the recent Fox Atomic Comics 28 Days Trailer is one example. Now here’s something a lot more complicated: Jonas Moore. We were alerted to it via an email from TheOneRing’s Michael Regina:
Heya, it’s Mike Regina, I’m working on a brand new project and want to tell you about it. It is called ‘The Many Worlds of Jonas Moore’ and stars James Bond & Resident Evil star Colin Salmon as the title character.
What makes this project unique is the format in which it tells the story, it is a relatively new technique using CGI, live action & 2D animation in a comic book style setting. All elements are meshed together to tell a great story set in an alternative England, where gaming has become a way of life, where characters and games are so realistic they seem to take on a life of their own.
A bit of poking around reveals animated photos, drawings, special effects and even some CGI for what might charitably be called a mishmash. We haven’t had time to actually watch or read or whatever it is you do with the thing. The spots are co-sponsored by Triumph, hence the motorcycle-heavy content, but we’re fine with Colin Salmon on a bike, to be honest. There are also actual comics on the site, with art by Mick Trimble.
We found this interview/PR with creator Howard Webster, and a blizzard of new media buzzwords ushers in the project:
“Branded content and fan generated content is a vast, evolving beast with huge metrics emerging from the web. The business models that drove the revenue big media agencies and global advertising agencies is collapsing, The easy relationship between big media buyers and media agencies and the net and gross fees that earned them massive paydays is thankfully dying.
It was, in my opinion, a snug cartel based upon suspect metrics that didn’t actually take into account how people actually interact with media. All it favoured was a justification of the media spend on the part of the manager who sanctioned it and the fees. In an effort to reinvent themselves the global media agencies are trying to claim they are now somehow experts in the field of branded content; the new content digerati. They’re not. In branded content terms they are the embarrassing father drunk at a wedding trying to look hip on the dance floor dancing to sounds of the 80s. The global media agencies are simply trying to copy what teenagers and web-heads are already doing in their millions with content on the web and are attempting to charge brand directors huge sums of money to do it.
Translation: Ads must look more like content in the future.
However, this hybrid format is not being embraced like a cuddly kitten, at least not according to this article in Macworld which says that “visual novels” are already the rage in–where else?–Japan but face an uphill battle in the US:
Visual novels feature rich color graphics and soundtracks with some of Japan’s best-known voice actors speaking character dialogue. They aren’t as interactive as games, but they’re not totally passive like e-books or movies, either. Visual novels often provide users with decision-making capabilities that will affect the story’s outcome. The pacing is slower than a game or a movie, but offers a rewarding payoff for enthusiasts who like the unique experience.
When visual novels are prepared for American audiences, the original Japanese language track and all the original story is maintained, but a subtitle track may be included so English speakers can understand what’s going on, which may turn off some casual users who don’t want to have to read.
Sometimes visual novels are equated with “dating sims,” a genre of largely erotic interactive entertainment where the goal is to disrobe a woman or to have sex, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Hirameki, for example, markets products safe for teens and others. In 2006, the company began offering Mac-compatible titles as well, first with a gothic horror novel called “Animamundi: Dark Alchemist” and more recently with “Yo-Jin-Bo,” a story set in feudal Japan. Both titles leverage Adobe Flash to achieve cross-platform compatibility.
Will the “visual novel” format ever take off? Maybe when it gets its own Griffith or Kirby. In the meantime it has two factors going for its eventual adoption here in the US: 1) advertisers will keep sinking money into it and 2) as goes Japan, so goes America. It’s inevitable.
The PULP SECRET REPORT is one of those internet/Tv show’s covering pop culture and the comics, but it’s actually pretty entertaining. Exec producer David P. Levin is spicing up the grew by giving away his comic book collection on the show:
A collector for over forty years, Levin is now the Executive Producer of THE PULP SECRET REPORT, available three times a week on Pulp Secret (http://pulpsecret.com), an online network devoted to comic book news and culture. To promote the show, Levin is giving away one comic book a week from his collection – which dates back to 1962.
The Pulp Secret Report is a comic newscast hosted by improv comics and writers Alex Zalben, Justin Tyler and Pete LePage, and includes news, interviews, and features about the world of comics. Fans can participate in the show by contributing their own videos, comments and email tips.
“This is a show that I’ve been waiting to see all my life,” said Levin. “I believe in it so much that I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is – or at least my comic collection – to get people to tune in.”
“I’m not going to simply give away recent comics – to really make this work, I’m going to give away comics that are really worth something to collectors,” Levin adds.
The other day we linked to a funny recording of William Shatner giving some voiceover directors the business. In the comments someone made reference to a similar Orson Welles voiceover outtake, which you can hear here. This is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Hilarious in hearing the great Welles talk about canned peas, and call the material “unrewarding,” as he squabbles with the directors who are clearly just desperate to get the eccentric genius to read something through.
Heartbreaking because the man who at age 25 directed what some still consider the greatest American movie ever made would never again finish anything in vaguely the way he intended, and was reduced to talking about canned peas for a living for decades. And yet the spirit is there. Observe how this epic man gives the two words “great shoals” an entire history, lore and mystery just by saying them aloud.
Anyway, this recording is so famous that it was recreated verbatim for an episode of ANIMANIACS.
Animaniacs.
Does anyone remember that?
We are alive, with a sore throat still…or again…or something. We intend to live on green tea and blueberries for the next week or so. We are happy about many things, but sad about others. Sad that PAN’S LABYRINTH didn’t win Best Foreign Film Oscar. (Yes I know it won three, so no real tears.) And sad that CHILDREN OF MEN didn’t win any. Do you want to know why everyone says CHILDREN OF MEN is the modern day BLADE RUNNER?
It’s a compendium of the video advertisement and other source material that the agency Foreign Office created for the film, and they are both mundane and chilling and beautiful. Go watch and make them all in-jokes. That’s what the internet is for.
Anyway, one good weekend of sleep and we’ll be back in the saddle. Sleep. Beautiful, precious sleep.
Eva the Deadbeat interviews James Kochalka at the opening of Fine Toon: The Art of Vermont
Cartoonists opening at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe Vermont.
§ Beat Pal “Casey” writes to say:
Brian Michael Bendis was on Howard Stern Tuesday morning. He wasn’t on the actual show, just an interview with the Howard News team that they play in between the breaks. Kinda neat!
§ Wizard interview STAN SAKAI, who has been at USAGI YOJIMBO for 22 years, a run of some 160 issues that may just be second behind CEREBUS for continued achievement. And he’s still going.
Q:…so if you look at everything you’ve done with Usagi to date, from when you self-published through Fantagraphics and Mirage and everything, what goals did you have back then that you feel you’ve met with the book? And how have your goals for the book changed?
SAKAI: Well, it’s changed a lot, because especially back then, I just hoped to get the next issue in before the deadline. It was pretty much thinking one or two months in advance. “I’ve got another story to write, and I hope the sales continue to [rise] so Usagi can continue on.” Now, though, it’s about thinking in the long term. It’s not just what’s happening next month, but next year or two years from now or even more. There are stories that I’ve laid groundwork for that won’t be told for another three or four years.
§ Larry Young and Mimi Rosenheim star in a short film about AIT/PlanetLar.
§ See Spurge deliver a great punchline.
§ Our reporter who has learned about comics for the day comes from the Deseret News which gives us all kinds of useful definitions along the way. Emphasis ours.
Graphic novels are a loose genre comprising lengthy comic books — often hundreds of pages long — that contain literary elements such as a plot and characterization.
Some graphic novels feature favorite comic figures, such as Superman. Others are fantastical adventures, Japanese comics, or attempts to retell Shakespeare. One of the most famous graphic novels is “V for Vendetta,” by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. It was made into a movie and released on DVD last August.
Among Arrington’s favorite graphic novels are “Fullmetal Alchemist” books by Hiromu Arakawa, a tale about orphans who try to bring their mother back to life with alchemy. “It’s a wonderful story,” said Arrington, a ninth-grader at Orem’s Lakeridge Junior High. “It’s so invigorating. I just love it.”
§ The Phoenix Comicon went well:
§ When he’s not producing operas, Shannon Wheeler likes to drink civit shit coffee.
§ A webcomicker has won the prestigious Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at Sundance, as Talk About Comics reports:
“Everything Will Be OK,” directed by Don Hertzfeldt and based on his webcomic “Anesthetics,” has won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival, it is reported. As Marc pointed out in comments, “It’s extracool news considering it was up against all the live action movies - animation almost never wins at Sundance! Go animation!!”
§ Is Kate Beckinsale set to play Carrie Stetko in the movie version of Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber’s WHITEOUT? So says Film Ick:
Joel Silver is producing a heist-come-chase film called White Out. It’s apparently a bit like Hard Rain, but instead of being set amidst torrential floods, it all goes down in the middle of a calamitous snowstorm; and it’s also a bit like Insomnia in that the Antarctic setting is about to be plunged into months of darkness as the story gets underway.
Kate Beckinsale is reportedly set to star as US Marshall Carrie Stetko, our heroine in pursuit of the robber-killers.
§ Is Ari Gold teaming up with Stan Lee for an Unstoppable Force? This little bit from a profile of actor Jeremy Piven, who plays driven agent Gold on ENTOURAGE, seems to provide a clue:
“We’ve got a really exciting project that we’re working on with (Marvel comics genius) Stan Lee.” Called “Huckster,” it considers the “world of politics and p.r.”
§ BTW, do you remember that Bruce Campbell Old Spice commercial we so admired recently? turns out it was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the Little Miss Sunshine directing duo. Click link for AdWeeks analysis of the campaign and word of who painted the world’s longest ship.
§ WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO hopeful profiled
Like most kids, Malik is like a parrot, and Frison’s remarks in front of the TV that day last year didn’t go unanswered. “This is a dream of yours, isn’t it?” he said. “Yeaaahhh,” Frison said. “You’re going to be on the show next year.” That sealed it. When auditions in 10 cities were announced for the second season, the 39-year-old software trainer fashioned XSeven, who can absorb personalities and abilities of up to seven people at a time, and pieced together a skintight uniform adorned with orange and gold flames.
§ Kill yourselves now. The director of GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES is planning a CG-Live action feature starring ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS.
§ Doink recalls Bam Bam at funeral:
“We’d be walking through an airport, and maybe because of the travel schedule he might not have slept for 28 hours,” recalled Ray Liccachelli of Rockaway, N.Y., who was Bigelow’s main adversary for several years in his role as Doink the Clown. “I was always very fortunate because people didn’t recognize me. I was always under a costume. But poor Scott. It was like the circus was in town. And he always tried to be as gracious as he could. “Could I have an autograph? Sign my shirt? Sign my back, sign my leg?’ He was always nice to them.
“One year I wrestled 297 days, and I know Scott did at least that or more, with 13 overseas trips thrown in there. At one point I wrestled Scott every day for seven months, in what seemed like every town across America, and the world.”
SuperDeluxe is a new “comedy video” channel just launched by Turner Entertainment. Poke around and you’ll find a few cartoons and familiar faces, among them this short featuring the voice of Toby Radloff, Harvey Pekar’s nerd sidekick by cult animator Lance Myers. In this episode, Ted deals with his mother’s refusal to bathe until he loses his virginity — a situation many a nerd has faced, to be sure.
§ Top Shelf has a trailer up for Christian Slade’s new comics Korgi.
§ McCloud family Winterview with Hope Larson and Bryann Lee O’Malley, with “Newlywed Game” style questioning!
§ Revision announces that iFanboy will become an internet TV show:
Internet television network Revision3 today announced the debut of iFanboy — audio and video shows for hardcore comic fans and casual pop culture patrons alike. Each week hosts Josh Flanagan, Conor Kilpatrick, and Ron Richards will deliver in-depth interviews with leading comic and graphic novel creators and publishers, as well as everyday comic book fans. Whether it’s remote reporting from the hottest comic book conventions, interviews with the stars of the genre, or in-studio advice on the comic books you should be reading, iFanboy will cover a new topic every week with passion, honesty and humor.
“Comic book pop culture is exploding,” said Ron Richards, one of the hosts of iFanboy. “Our audience ranges from 16 year old kids to physicians in their 40s. While they’re an incredibly diverse group, what they share is their passion for the world of comics and the unique culture that surrounds it. Some of the most popular names in entertainment grew up being fans of comics — from Kevin Smith, director of Clerks and Chasing Amy and writer of the comic book Daredevil — to Joss Whedon, writer of Astonishing X-Men and the creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. As the comic fan base and culture grow by leaps and bounds, these fans are looking for a source of irreverent, but seriously fanatic information. That’s what iFanboy delivers.”
How many well-known faces can you spot?
Al Davison is an English cartoonist who was born with spina bifida — doctors thought he would never walk — and his graphic novel THE SPIRAL CAGE chronicled growing up and struggling to be accepted as a whole person. Despite his handicap he’s studied martial arts for 30 years, and gained a couple of black belts. Here’s a video of Davison putting on an MA demonstration he recently put up on his MySpace page. He also runs a comics shop in Conventry called the Astral Gypsy which just celebrated its first anniversary.
If you ever run into Al at a show, chat him up — he’s one of the most unforgettable characters you’ll ever meet.
[Via Urbaniak]
Cool link of the day #1: A trailer for the new Eddie Campbell book from First Second.
Ghost Rider stars in this ad for Jackson Hewitt tax services. Satan cannot inspire fear the way the IRS does.
Ai caramba!
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.
Found on YouTube via The Comics Journal Message board, two cartoons from Michael Kupperman which aired on Saturday Night Live as part of the TV Funhouse series. First up…the amazing Pablo Picasso!
Next…CAPTAIN MARGINAL, a dead on Shazam parody.
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