Articles by van-jensen
Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Van Jensen
SLG Editor: Enough Women in Refrigerators
Jennifer de Guzman says sick submissions pile up
For all the discussion about the role of women in comics -- as creators and characters -- apparently more needs to be said, at least judging from the submissions that come in to publisher Slave Labor Graphics.
SLG editor Jennifer de Guzman goes off in a new journal entry, deriding the material she's seeing cross her desk.
Indie and alt comics are still much-dominated by male creators, and in these men's minds, women serve as plot devices that aid in a male development's character. The women are damaged and victimized and usually odd -- like that hot, fucked-up chick in Fight Club, brah! -- and I'm tired of them. Just in this month, only a week old now, I have seen women who have been lured into porn, women who are hookers who teach young men lessons about life, women who were raped by stepfathers, women who are bi-polar and suicidal, women who are naive and long-suffering girlfriends of scumbags, and women who seem pretty cool and normal and then get kidnapped in order for the male protagonists to have something to do by saving her. Women who are never the protagonist.
Guys, STOP IT. The cumulative effect of these crazy/victimized/damaged women submissions -- almost every other envelope I've opened -- has got me wanting to punch someone. And you know where that will lead me: In trouble with the law, I'll slip into the underbelly of society, start a nasty meth habit, turn to prostitution and then have to be saved by the man who has always loved me. Don't let it happen to me. You can be a hero.
(via Journalista)
Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Van Jensen
'X-Files' Comic Preview at EW
Scully and Mulder coming to WildStorm
The new X-Files movie comes out July 25, and that week also sees the debut of a tie-in comic book series from WildStorm.
Entertainment Weekly has a preview of X-Files #0, from series co-producer and co-writer Frank Spotnitz. Check that out right here.
The truth? It'll be out there in theaters when The X-Files: I Want to Believe opens July 25. But thanks to Frank Spotnitz, the franchise's coproducer and cowriter, it'll also be available in comic-book form two days earlier, when DC's The X-Files #0 hits stores. While the film takes place after the TV series' end, Spotnitz's title (illustrated by Iron Man: Hypervelocity's Brian Denham) is fully ensconced in buzzy season 5, with Special Agent Dana Scully's cancer in attack mode, and her FBI partner, Fox Mulder, initially on the lam, probing Scully's illness as well as surreptitious alien types.
Issue #0 is a story Spotnitz always wanted to tell, but never had a chance to. And it will, in fact, springboard into a few original comics miniseries set throughout seasons 2 and 5 of the show. Also, these tales will feature a familiar evil force. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. To jump-start the X-Files' long-awaited resurrection, DC and Spotnitz have given EW.com this exclusive first look at pages from The X-Files #0.
A funny little side note: DC posted a news item about this on its home page, right here. But if you click the link, you're taken to this wholly unrelated site.
Looks like Grant Morrison's insiduous usurpation of DC is much farther along than we'd thought.
Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Animated 'Invincible' on the Way, Sort Of
MTV develops 'cinematic comics'
While Robert Kirkman is still working away on the screenplay for the movie adaptation of Invincible, his superhero is headed toward screens in another way. Very small screens, that is.
According to a story in the New York Times, David Gale, the executive VP of MTV New Media, is developing along with Gain Enterprises a somewhat animated version of Invincible. It'll appear on iTunes, cell phones and MTV2.
The process starts with digital scans of the actual comic book pages. They are turned into an audio-visual experience through a process called Bomb-xx developed by Gain. In the end, the formerly two-dimensional comic book suddenly pulses with music, while word balloons pop up and fill in as actors recite the dialogue and panels zoom in and out and pivot in all directions. The frenetic energy is not unlike that of an MTV video.
Of all the comics to “animate,” why start with Invincible? “When you’re looking for a movie property or television property, first and foremost you look for a great story,” Mr. Gale said. “It’s a single creator following a great story arc.”
First six episodes will be previewed at Comic-Con International.
Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Could Gisele and Friends Make Comics Too Cool?
After Vogue ball, one fan says yes
Writing in the Scotsman (which has become one heck of a paper for comics coverage, if only for regular appearances of Mark Millar's nonsense), Stephen McGinty reflects on more than 20 years of buying comics in Glasgow, and he looks forward to the medium's potential oversaturation.
Flicking through this month's edition of Vogue (the American edition, much classier), I came upon the pictures from a recent fashion bash in New York which was styled on a superhero theme and had supermodels and fashion writers extolling the virtues of their favourite comic-book character. When Anna Wintour starts regaling us about superheroes it's time for the backlash to begin. The comic book should never be too cool. It's at its best when mocked and derided and will only topple off any pedestal on to which it is raised. The brilliance of the spotlight focused on comics will lead to burn-out. Comics thrive best in the shadows to which, I hope, they will soon return.
In case you're curious about the event, which was a superhero-themed ball at the Met, the New York Times covered it well. Here's a classic exchange (and one that makes me think supermodels being interested in superheroes isn't all bad:
Then Gisele Bündchen (in Versace), passed by, saying, “I want to take that Wonder Woman costume down and wear it right now, but it would probably be too revealing.” Her escort, Tom Brady (in Tom Ford), quickly commented, “I want her to wear the Wonder Woman outfit.”
Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Zombie: 'Werewolf Women of the SS' Comic Coming
Rob Zombie turns fake movie trailer into real comic book
After the Grindhouse doubleheader films came out in theater, one of the big questions was whether any of the movie trailers for fake films would lead to real movies.
There's no Machete on the way yet, but at least one of the properties will be expanded. Just not into a movie.
Cinematical reports that Werewolf Women of the SS, Rob Zombie's contributed trailer, will be made into a comic book series. Zombie broke the news himself on his MySpace page:
Werewolf Women of the SS is back! This time it's back as a comic book series! The wacky exploits of Commandant Hess, Lt. Boorman, Von Strasser Eva and Gretchen Krupp, Fu Manchu and even Hiltler will be coming you way. Everything you ever wanted to know about Project Pure Wolf but were afraid to ask!
No word on a publisher yet. Zombie previously worked with Dark Horse on The Nail and IDW on Bigfoot.
Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Marvel's Tom Brevoort Disses DC
Cup o' Joe gets ugly
Safe to say there isn't a lot of love lost between Marvel and DC these days, with that writers' spat over Secret Invasion and Final Crisis, then rumors that DC pulled out of an awards ceremony over a Marvel joke.
Now over at Marvel's Cup o' Joe column at MySpace, editor Tom Brevoort has gone straight middle school on the other New York comics giant. In addition to previewing some Secret Invasion pages, Brevoort writes:
I want to announce that I'm not at all interested in replacing Dan DiDio at DC after he is booted three weeks ago, and I haven't taken many secret, high-powered meetings with key DC and Warner's executives, who've long admired my great success with Civil War and Secret Invasion and New Avengers and so forth. Dan's doing an excellent job over there, and I'm sure I couldn't raise their market share by 10%, 15% or 20%. Despite the fact that many top-selling, exclusive Marvel creators have called me up in response to the rumblings to let me know that they'd love to work on a DC project for me if I was running things over there and begging me to consider it, I'm not remotely intrigued by the possibility. If called, I will not answer; if I answer, I will not parley; if I parley, I will not accept the job; and if I accept the job, I will not work very hard. So there's no truth to the wildfire speculation that links me at the hip to that position, and makes me the obvious next choice to sit in that chair. Just to make that all perfectly clear.
Ouch. I'm sure it's all in good fun for Brevoort or Marvel, but that has to sting for DC, which has had some serious struggles lately. And, as someone who was at Heroes Con watching DiDio as those rumors came to a head, let's just say he didn't look like a happy guy.
Are Marvel and DC still playing softball against each other? If so, this year I'd watch out for the cleats.
Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Van Jensen
'Hellboy 2' Tops Box Office
$35.9 million take easily bests first 'Hellboy'
More good news on the comic book movie front, as Hellboy 2: The Golden Army is reportedly tops at the box office, with a $35.9 million haul.
Variety says that well outpaces 2002's Hellboy, the first teamup between director Guillermo del Toro and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. The second film didn't face much competition, and next week brings the heavy hitter The Dark Knight, but it's still a good (and better than expected) take.
Universal said the successful opening of the aggressively marketed “Golden Army” both cements the “Hellboy” film franchise, based on the Dark Horse Comics character, and continues the studio’s winning streak at the summer box office.
“This is an incredible result. No other studio wanted to do this, but Universal had the wherewithal to do it. You had a very talented filmmaker, plus a great marketing campaign that created a huge demand,” said U prexy of distribution Nikki Rocco.
“Golden Army’s” audience breakdown intrigued competing studios. Of Friday’s audience, 69% were male, while a sizeable 58% were over the age of 25, pointing to del Toro’s draw. A full 10% were over the age of 50, while 34% were 35 and older.
Sounds like a third film is possible, depending on how ticket sales hold up.
I finally got to see it Sunday, with a moderately full theater. Lots of good laughs, but overall it was pretty uneven, mainly because of some weaknesses in the script.
Mon Jul 14, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Full San Diego Comic-Con Programming Online
Calluses ahoy!
Comic-Con International has posted the full schedule for the upcoming extravaganza in San Diego, and it's overwhelming as expected.
Here's Friday. And here's Saturday.
Featured guests and exhibits are way too long to list, but Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat does a good job of breaking down the highlights.
Those two days, by the way, are already sold out, and Thursday's tickets are just about gone. Get those comfortable walking shoes ready.
And while you're there, keep an eye out for some of our ComicMix crew, who'll be reporting on all the big news, and, if we're lucky, keeping another running tally on slave Leia sightings.
Sun Jul 13, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Comic-Con 2008 Programming
Finalized schedule listed for each day.
Half of the four-day schedule for San Diego's Comic-Con International 2008 is up and running.
Here's Thursday. Here's Sunday.
Obviously, much cool stuff to choose from. Too much cool stuff, in fact. Makes me almost not sad that I won't make it this year (watch out 2009!).
While we're on the subject, Variety has a retrospective of the early days of Comic-Con, when film people had little idea how to relate to comics fans.
Although it was more than 30 years ago, for example, I keenly recall a preview of the 1978 feature "Superman," where the studio rep described the campy villain Lex Luthor, played by Gene Hackman, as a real-estate mogul, not a master criminal. He was practically hooted off the stage.
Gradually, the studios started to wise up, hiring publicists specifically trained to handle Comic-Con's savvy but easily riled audience. When Ridley Scott's space-horror film "Alien" was showcased -- using little more than a slide show of surrealist H.R. Giger's jaw-dropping conceptual art -- the crowd was blown away.
Sun Jul 13, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Del Toro's 'Hellboy 2' Diary
Director's sketches reveal mind behind movie
Over at the New York Times, reviewer A.O. Scott takes an almost apologetically positive stance on Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. Among the many things he compliments is director Guillermo del Toro's extensive use of puppets in lieu of CGI.
It's one of the things I've long loved about del Toro's movies, an appreciation driven into overdrive by the extra DVD wih the first Hellboy movie that explained how the puppets were made.
As part of the Times' coverage of the new flick, they have extensive excerpts from del Toro's production diary, as well as audio of del Toro himself explaining the entries.
And of course, don't forget to check out the multitude of Hellboy 2 coverage right here at ComicMix.
Sun Jul 13, 2008 — by Van Jensen
DC and Warner Talk Movies
Meeting aimed to organize comics-to-film effort
Warner Bros. is apparently looking to emulate the success Marvel has had making its own movies, such as Iron Man and Incredible Hulk.
Variety is reporting some Warner honchos held meetings with people at DC Comics to try to develop a better pipeline from page to screen.
Warners has never had such a strategy, and there have long been complaints the studio has been slow to exploit a potential treasure trove of franchises. And while the studio is basking in critical love for “The Dark Knight,” it has watched studio rivals rake in big bucks from Marvel Comics characters, and Marvel itself get into the tentpole business.
While it’s assumed there will be another Batman pic, there’s been no formal announcement. And Warners has no movies based on the classic DC universe to preview at this year’s Comic-Con.
Few details are coming out, aside from this official statement: "We’re constantly looking at how best to exploit the DC Comics characters and properties." Exploit?
Now, if only someone from Warners would talk to DC about straightening out their comic book line.
Sat Jul 12, 2008 — by Van Jensen
26 Cartoonists Dustin Harbin Met and Liked
'Brady Bunch' style cartoon depicts artists
Dustin Harbin continues to both surprise and amaze.
The Heroes are Hard to Find comics shop employee is also THE GUY when it comes to Heroes Con, seeming to be everywhere at once, making sure everything was just right. He also donned one sweet white suit for the nightly bar crawl, but that's neither here nor there.
Now he's showing off both his love of cartooning and his art chops on his blog, with the following image "26 cartoonists which I have recently met and liked." And there's a larger version on Dustin's Flickr page.
Sat Jul 12, 2008 — by Van Jensen
New 'Conan' Poster Muscles Up
The Cimmerian returns
There's a new Conan movie on the way, supposedly headed to theaters next year.
Granted, there's no director, no cast and no crew (so far as IMDB knows), but there is the image at right.
IMP Awards has the first poster for the film, and it looks about exactly like what you'd expect it to look like. Big, muscly guy with a sword.
Maybe it'll be a shot-for-shot remake, like the Gus van Sant Psycho.
Since we're on the topic already, what actors would you like to see cast as the sword-wielding Cimmerian?
Fri Jul 11, 2008 — by Van Jensen
'Sherlock Holmes' Up Next for Downey Jr.
Whither 'Cowboys & Aliens'?
Variety is reporting that Robert Downey Jr. has signed up to play titular detective Sherlock Holmes in the upcoming Warner Bros. movie to be directed by Guy Ritchie.
Shooting starts this fall, which means it shouldn't get in the way of Iron Man 2, which Downey also has on the table with a prospective 2010 release date. Marvel also apparently just brought back director Jon Favreau for that sequel.
Strangely, this is one of two competing Holmes movies, Variety says:
With Downey aboard, the film will go into production before a comedy that just coalesced at Columbia Pictures, with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Holmes, and Will Ferrell playing his crime-fighting partner Dr. Watson.
Columbia is fast tracking its project, which is being written by Etan Cohen ("Tropic Thunder") and produced by Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller.
One might wonder, then, what this news portends for Downey's supposed interest in a film version of Cowboys & Aliens. Platinum Studios leaked word of that, going so far as to say the film would have a 2010 release.
File that one under "doubtful."
Fri Jul 11, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Writer Shares Origins of 'Batman' TV Series
Sangria played role in campy show's creation
The 1960s Batman TV series couldn't be more different than the current movie versions -- Batman Begins and the upcoming The Dark Knight -- with the former being campy fun and the latter being dark, psychological action epics.
Variety tracked down Lorenzo Semple, Jr., writer of the Adam West TV version, and printed a lengthy article from him on the differences between the Batman stories and how his version came to be.
As we sat in the garden of that splendid caravanserai, sipping cool sangria, Bill pulled something from the inner pocket of his jacket. For those who never had the privilege of knowing him, Bill Dozier was one sophisticated gent. "This," he said, with a look of humiliation bordering on shame, "is what ABC has given us." It was, as the shrewd reader will have guessed, a copy of the comicbook "Batman." I'd seen this comic from time to time, even read it with amusement, but I was hardly a dedicated fan. Nevertheless. At the risk of pretending to Minerva-like wisdom, I must tell it like it happened: The TV show concept virtually exploded in my sangria-enhanced brain, full-blown. Bill asked me what I was thinking. I replied it was a really terrific idea -- trust me and fly back home to Los Angeles, and I would write it. Trust me. ...
It was a writer's hog heaven. I was sent four issues of the comic for plot ideas, each featuring one of the Big Four villains. The Joker seemed the best pilot choice, though I'm not sure why. I mailed Bill the script at Fox. He and his folks loved it. Then I flew back from Malaga to New York for a meeting with ABC, where Bill eloquently pitched the script and its high-camp POW!! BLAM!! WHAMMO!! style, those onscreen graphics already written in. The network was a bit flabbergasted, so different was this from their usual pilot, but they got it. A particular supporter was exec Douglas Cramer, whom I like to think was only exhibiting the same exquisite connoisseur's taste that has since made him one of America's leading contemporary art mavens and collectors.
