Wed Jul 16, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

The Dark Knight's Leading Ladies?

Rounding up the women who should return to Batman's life on the big screen

With The Dark Knight looming large this week, Cinematical's resident "geek beat" writer Elisabeth Rappe recently put together a list of the ladies she'd like to see introduced in the new Batman film franchise. Among her thoughtful reflections on potential leading ladies for Gotham's favorite superhero are Catwoman ("she needs to be redeemed from that awful Halle Berry film"), Poison Ivy ("Nolan could revise her into a true eco-terrorist, a scientist who takes 'green living' a little too seriously") and the suggestion with the most potential, in my opinion, Talia al-Ghul:

Talia al-Ghul is another potential villain for Batman to take on – but her role in the comics is never so clear cut. She is continuously torn between loyalty to her father and her love for Batman. This complex relationship seems ideal for Nolan's world, and Ra's al Ghul's apparent death in Batman Begins would lend an added dimension. Bonus points if they actually went so far as to bless the union, if you get what I mean.

Head over to Cinematical for the full list of Gotham City Gals.

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Wed Jul 16, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Interview: Garth Ennis on 'Crossed'

The 'Preacher' and 'Punisher' scribe discusses his new, gut-churning series for Avatar Press

No stranger to pushing the boundaries of storytelling in the comics world, Garth Ennis has routinely shocked and awed readers of such titles as Preacher, The Boys, Punisher and recently, The Chronicles of Wormwood. In early August, Ennis looks to repeat that success with Crossed, a story that promises to be a "horrifically visceral exploration of the pure evil that humans are truly capable of indulging." The series will be published by Avatar Press -- also no stranger to testing the limits of mature-themed projects -- with art provided by Ennis' former collaborator on Wormwood, Jacen Burrows.

According to the solicit text for the series:

Imagine, for a moment, the worst crimes against humanity. Picture the cruelest affronts to decency. Conjure your darkest nightmares... and then realize it could all be so much worse. When civilization crumbles in one terrifying moment; when people are gleefully breaking into unthinkable acts of violence all around you; when everyone you love has died screaming in agony: What do you do? There is no help. There is no hope. There is no escape. There are only the Crossed. Certain to be the most depraved and corrupt book of the year, this one is not for the faint of heart!

With the prologue issue of Crossed (#0) hitting shelves immediately after this year's San Diego Comic-Con International, I posed a few questions to Ennis about the origins of the series, his thoughts on pushing the boundaries in today's comics scene and what really shocks him these days.

COMICMIX: What sparked the idea for Crossed, Garth?

GARTH ENNIS: I had a dream that I thought was going to be about zombies attacking a house full of victims, but it turned out they weren't zombies at all. They were simply people, grinning with psychotic glee at the thought of what they were going to do to the occupants of the house -- which wasn't going to be anything nice. Then I woke up.

Thanks again, subconscious self.

Continue reading Interview: Garth Ennis on 'Crossed' ›

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Tue Jul 15, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

San Diego Comic-Con: Everything You Need To Know And Then Some

The big ol' guide from The Comics Reporter himself

We've already posted several round-ups of where you can find information about tickets, programming and other concerns related to this year's Comic-Con International in San Diego next weekend, and while I've been considering the idea of some sort of official guide to the show, I might be better off just directing you to the exhaustive "Guide to Visiting and Enjoying Comic-Con International" posted by Tom Spurgeon in May.

Sure, the article was published more than a month ago, but much of what it details holds true now -- and if you're like me, you've avoided thinking about anything related to "Nerd Prom" until you absoluely have to do so. It's well worth the time it takes to read through the article, and offers up the sort of wisdom that only years upon years of attending the show tend to produce.

Among the topics Spurgeon addresses in his guide are "What to Prepare in Advance" and "Ways to Maximize Your Hotel Experience," as well as tips about the local transit service, notable sights and services, and a metric crap-ton of other helpful hints.

From "Eighteen Random Observations About San Diego Hotels":

The trend downtown is towards 1) boutique hotels that cost an arm and a leg with features to match, and 2) big-name luxury hotels that can ramp up their room prices to those levels. Soon, no one without a major film development deal will be able to afford a downtown hotel, and all the comics people will stay in a tent city north of the zoo, burning old copies of Star Comics to keep warm at night and staging gladiator-style fights between inkers vs. colorists for entertainment.

If you're headed to San Diego, this is pretty much required reading, folks. Do yourself a favor and give it a read.

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Tue Jul 15, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

The Dark Knight: 11 Must-Read Batman Stories

We flash back to one of our first required reading lists as 'The Dark Knight' looms!

A few months back, we posted a reading list for anyone who wants to catch up on the Batman mythos before checking out The Dark Knight. With the release of the blockbuster Batman Begins sequel looming, we wanted to call out that reading list one more time, just in case you missed it the first time around.

Our "11 Batman Stories to Read Before Watching The Dark Knight" feature rounds up some of the most important Batman stories to occur in the period leading up the events of The Dark Knight, according to our comic book historian Alan Kistler's perceived timeline of the Batman mythos. We explain why each story is important, provide a general synopisis of what occurs and call out any special notes for fans of the character who want to learn more about DC's famous hero.

Here's an excerpt:

Batman: Year One – It all starts here in this story by Frank Miller (Sin City) and David Mazuchelli (DAREDEVIL: Born Again). After years of learning how to be a detective and training in the martial arts and ninjitsu in the Far East, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City to begin his war on crime. Learn how he first met a young Lt. James Gordon (who would later become the famous commissioner of the GCPD) and hot-shot District Attorney Harvey Dent, as they all try to free their city from a corrupt police department and fight against the mobster known as Carmine “The Roman” Falcone.

This comic also features the reason Bruce Wayne chose a bat as his symbol and his first encounter with Catwoman. The end of this story leads directly into another item on our reading list, BATMAN: The Man Who Laughs.

Batman and the Monster Men – In Year One, you might notice a large gap of time that passes between November and December. This story, written and drawn by Grendel’s Matt Wagner, takes place during that gap and reimagines one of Batman’s earliest stories from the Golden Age of Comics. Meet Bruce Wayne’s early girlfriend, Julie Madison, and watch his first encounter with the sociopathic Professor Hugo Strange. This story also introduces the proto-version of the Batmobile.

So be sure to check out our list of The Dark Knight Must-Read Stories if you haven't done so already and keep an eye here on ComicMix throughout the week for more on The Dark Knight, which hits theaters July 18.

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Tue Jul 15, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Interview: Joss Whedon on 'Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'

New musical series to test experimental online distribution model

Creator Joss Whedon is no stranger to innovation and odds-defying creative success, having launched a massively popular television series out of a panned film, reinvented and reinvigorated various comic book properties, and transitioned a cancelled television project into a well-received feature film. With this week's debut of his three-part musicial series Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, he looks to break new ground once again, as the project he conceived during the recent Writers Guild strike and created with "friends and family" hits the Internet and looks to test a new model for online distribution of creative projects.

Starting on Tuesday, July 15, the first 10-minute episode of Doctor Horrible, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day, will be posted on drhorrible.com. Subsequent episodes will be posted on July 17 and July 19, and remain free to view until midnight on July 20. At that time, all of the episodes will be taken down until the DVD of the series is released at a later date. Whedon promises to let fans know more about the DVD release and his grand experiment in distribution during the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con convention, during which he'll screen the complete series one more time for attendees.

I was recently given the chance to have a short conversation with Whedon about Doctor Horrible, the impetus for this new project and his experience working with one of my favorite actors, Neil Patrick Harris.

Continue reading Interview: Joss Whedon on 'Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog' ›

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Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Dean Haspiel and the 'Street Code' Preview

Haspiel opts to try the Zuda route for upcoming project

Over at Whitney Matheson's Pop Candy blog, there's a preview of Dean Haspiel's upcoming semi-autobiographical webcomic Street Code. I've always been a fan of Haspiel's work, ever since I first encountered a Billy Dogma story published by the act-i-vate webcomics collective.

From Matheson's post about the preview:

"I felt that it was the right time to take what I learned drawing other people's lives the past few years and revisit drawing my own," he told me.

The story follows Jack, a New Yorker who relocates from Alphabet City to Brooklyn, "where most everything he stumbles upon is not as it seems."

What I find most interesting about this project is that Haspiel is publishing it on DC's controversial Zuda Comics webcomic imprint. Haspiel's sensibilities have always struck me as more indie-aligned despite his work with some of the larger publishers, so it will be interesting to see how he'll fare in this heavily scrutinized publishing model.

Street Code kicks off July 18.

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Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #10 - Midnight

Words are weapons in this week's episode!

The hit BBC series Doctor Who is now in its fourth season on the Sci-Fi Channel, and since we're all big fans here at ComicMix, we've decided to kick off an episode-by-episode analysis of the reinvigorated science-fiction classic.

Every week, I'll do my best to go through the most recent episode with a fine-tooth comb (or whatever the "sonic screwdriver" equivalent might be) and call out the highlights, low points, continuity checks and storyline hints I can find to keep in mind for future episodes. I'll post the review each Monday, so you have ample time to check out the episode once it airs each Friday at 9 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel before I spoil anything.

Missed a week? Check out the "Doctor Who in Review" archive or check out any of the past editions of this column via the links at the end of this article.

Keep in mind, I'm going to assume readers have already watched the episode when I put fingers to keyboard and come up with the roundup of important plot points. In other words, SPOILER ALERT!

Let's begin now, shall we?

Season Four, Episode #10: "Midnight"

Continue reading Doctor Who in Review: Season Four, Episode #10 - Midnight ›

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Sat Jul 12, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

The Origin of Image Comics?

Rob Liefeld leaves Marvel and Stan Lee (literally) has a cow!

Part of me really just wants to post the image here and leave it at that, but there probably should be some explanation. Over at the San Diego Reader, former Rock n' Roll Comics co-creator Jay Allen Sanford has put together an illustrated history of the "The Birth of Image Comics" as part of a recurring feature spotlighting some of the local comics talent in the run-up to San Diego Comic-Con. Seen below is Sanford's interpretation of the reaction from Stan Lee when Rob Liefeld decided to break from Marvel.

See? The explanation wasn't nearly as entertaining as the illustration now, was it?

Also in this edition of the Reader's "Local Comic Publishers History" lesson:

• The Birth of Image Comics
• Pacific Comics: The inside story of a legendary local comic book company (including a history of indie comics and the Creator’s Rights revolution)
• RIP Dave Stevens, famous former neighbor who created the Rocketeer
• Don’t Fear the Funnies: A history of censorship in comics
• The New Kids On The Block VS Revolutionary Comics - illustrated by Superman/Supergirl artist Stuart Immonen

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Fri Jul 11, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Webcomic News Roundup: Goats Goes Big, Webcomics.com For Sale

'Hammer of the Gods' hits ComicMix, the Mongol Rally looms!

By far, the biggest item of note this week was announced today, as one of the longest-running webcomics in the 'Tubes will now be collected in a series of 150-page Goats tomes. If you want to know the whole scoop, you can read my interview with Goats creator Jon Rosenberg here on ComicMix, as well as Gary Tyrell's mustachioed Q&A stylings over on Fleen.

Here's an excerpt from Tyrrell's interview:

Q: Any of your other material — earlier strips, the tantalizingly incomplete Patent Pending and Worlds of Peril, your minicomics (including the long hoped-for Operating Thetan III) — that might now see print as a result of this deal? 

A: Anything is possible, but a lot of the projects you mentioned were ended for good reason. Patent Pending needs to be completely rethought and redone if I ever decide to work on it again, it would have made a better novel than comic I suspect. The Worlds of Peril comics were the inspiration for a lot of what makes up The Infinite Pendergast Cycle, I like to think that it’s the story of what takes place in the aftermath of Goats proper. It’s not canon, though, so don’t be reading too much into that.

The first minicomic is going to be reworked slightly to serve at the intro chapter for Infinite Typewriters. The second one could theoretically be included as an extra in one of the other volumes. I don’t have any plans to produce OT3 at this time but if I can fix some of the plot issues I could see it appearing in the future in some form, either as a standalone or as an arc of Goats.

Continue reading Webcomic News Roundup: Goats Goes Big, Webcomics.com For Sale ›

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Fri Jul 11, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Heroes Con Video Wrap-Up

How was your week, Dan?

Sure, everyone's mind is on the looming behemoth over on the West Coast, but I can't help but direct your attention back to one of the more recent shows with this collection of video from Heroes Con last month.

Tom Spurgeon has all 11 clips over at The Comics Reporter, as well as a rundown of what you're likely to find in them (though he's not making any promises).

It's worth keeping in mind that this convention occurred during the height of activity on the "Dan DiDio is being fired" rumor mill, and the first clip (which I've embedded here) features Spurgeon's opening query of DiDio during the "State of the Industry" panel, asking him simply, "How was your week?" (Hint: It occurs around the 5:00 mark.)

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Fri Jul 11, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Immigrant Superheroes, Gigolo Robin

Hulk hauls vegetables while Aquaman works the fish market in photo series

Award-winning photographer Dulce Pinzon was first noted for her "Real Story of Superheroes" series back in 2006, so I might be way behind in linking to it here -- but it's so darn interesting that I'm willing to risk broadcasting my late arrival.

The synopsis of the series, according to Pinzon:

The principal objective of this series is to pay homage to these brave and determined men and women that somehow manage, without the help of any supernatural power, to withstand extreme conditions of labor in order to help their families and communities survive and prosper.

This project consists of 20 color photographs of Mexican immigrants dressed in the costumes of popular American and Mexican superheroes. Each photo pictures the worker/superhero in their work environment, and is accompanied by a short text including the worker’s name, their hometown in Mexico, the number of years they have been working in New York, and the amount of money they send to Mexico each week.

Pictured here is Ernesto Mendez, dressed as Robin, who manages to send $200 dollars home to Mexico City each week by working as a gigolo in New York City's Times Square.

The rest of the photos are available on Pinzon's website.

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Fri Jul 11, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Interview: Jon Rosenberg on the 'Goats' Book Deal

The long-running webcomic's creator talks about his new publishing deal

When I spoke with Goats creator Jon Rosenberg a month ago, he hinted at big things in store for his long-running webcomic that may or may not involve lasers, contracts and lawn care professionals.

Well, the news broke today, and despite a conspicuous absence of lasers and lawn care, there is indeed a contract at the heart of Rosenberg's big announcement. Rosenberg tells ComicMix that Random House imprint Villard will be publishing collections of the color strips of the series (everything from late-2003 until the current storyline) in a set of 150-page volumes. He expects to have the first volume ready for San Diego's Comic-Con International next year, with two more volumes following in six-month intervals.

From the official press release:

Villard Books will publish the recently completed Goats story arc, The Infinite Pendergast Cycle, as a trilogy —in the style of the great sci-fi sagas Goats so affectionately parodies. Each trade paperback volume will be full color and published at six-month intervals. The first volume, Goats: Infinite Typewriters, set for July 2009, will include newly revised and created material intended to introduce new readers to the colossal and complex Goats universe—and set up the audience for the rest of the epic. Book 1 will cover material published on the Goats website from December 2003 to January 2006. The second book, Goats: The Corndog Imperative, scheduled for a November 2009 release, covers January 06 to March 2007. And the third book, Goats: Showcase Showdown, due out in April 2010, covers March 07 to April 08.

I spoke with Rosenberg about the publishing deal and what it means for one of the 'Net's longest-running webcomics.

COMICMIX: So how did this deal come about, Jon? Who approached who?

JON ROSENBERG: My agent, Judy Hansen, made everything happen. I called her up one day and she said, "Hold on, I'm going to call up Random House and get you a book deal." And I waited on hold for a bit and when she got back on, it was all taken care of.

I'm beginning to suspect that Judy has some supernatural abilities, it has been an amazing education watching her bend reality to her will as she works.

CMix: What can you tell us about the specifics of the deal? Do you receive anything on a per-book basis, or was this a flat-rate arrangement?

JR: This is a standard book-type deal as far as I understand, with a royalty rate and an advance paid on those royalties and that sort of thing. It's a nice deal, I'm not going to retire early on it or anything but I'm quite happy with the terms.

Continue reading Interview: Jon Rosenberg on the 'Goats' Book Deal ›

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Thu Jul 10, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Who's the Best Superhero?

It's Superman vs. Batman vs. Wolverine vs. Daredevil vs. Spawn vs. Iron Man vs. ... Flash Gordon?

Of all the heroes in all of the comics ever made, who is the greatest?

While the answer to that one is easy (it's Rom: Spaceknight, of course), Chicago's RedEye Magazine seems to think the question merits a bit more discussion. They've put together a bracket-style "Best Superhero Tourney" to choose the greatest superhero, and even went so far as to recruit Stan "The Man" Lee to provide an audio greeting for participants.

Sure, some of the choices are easy (does anyone really think Popeye stands a chance against the Silver Surfer's power cosmic?), but there are some conspicuously absent characters -- including [gasp] Rom! The RedEye crew also loses points for naming two of the groupings of characters the "Nicolas Cage Region" and the "Rosario Dawson Region" -- but that one's forgivable. The absence of Rom, however, should be considered an affront to comics history as we know it.

With that in mind, I think it's time to do a little ballot-stuffing, folks. Who's with me? Let's head over there and make sure Popeye ends up trouncing Superman in the final round.

The first 32-character round ends this Friday, July 11, so register your votes soon -- then come back the following week to vote on the "Sweet Sixteen" of characters.

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Thu Jul 10, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

Nudist Camp: The Comic

Two dudes, in the nude... trying not to be lewd

The National Post's writer and cartoonist team of Ben Kaplan and Steve Murray recently chronicled their foray into a nudist colony in Ontario, Canada, and the resulting story and comic strip, well... they pretty much speak for themselves. From naked lawn care to threesomes in a hot tub, both features provide a funny, fish-out-of-water look at the inner workings of a popular no-clothes destination.

"Who's going to believe I go to a nudist camp to get away from my sexual urges, but it's true," English, 62, says in his trailer, where a pair of jockeys rests on a tub of gum drops. English now wears tan shorts and white Crocs and quotes Second Timothy, Chapter III, Verse six in a sermon that invokes rape fantasies, C.S. Lewis and a diatribe against Four Seasons showing porn.

(via journalista)

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Wed Jul 9, 2008 — by Rick Marshall

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' Photos

Images hit the 'net from next 'Harry Potter' film

With all of this talk about blockbuster adaptations of comic books, it's easy to forget about some of the other big films hitting theaters this year. Luckily, the Cinematical team has provided a reminder about one of those big releases that's likely to appeal to ComicMix readers: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Warner Bros. recently released some images from the film, and Cinematical has collected them in a nice little Half-Blood Prince gallery. Posted here is one of the images, but head over to Cinematical for the full host of photos from the film, which is scheduled for a November 21 release.

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