June 9, 2024 | ComicMix

First ‘Dragonball’ Poster Revealed

News
April 29, 2008

Dragonball may not be coming out until next year, but 20th Century Fox is getting an early jump on advertising. The first teaser posters for the film have been spotted in the wild and they’re, well, about what you would expect: a picture of a ball.

If someone was unfamiliar with the concept behind Dragonball, they might just think it’s a sports movie similar to Rollerball or a film inspired by Marble Madness. Depending on how you feel about the manga and the anime, those might be preferable options.

Slashfilm has the full-sized picture of the teaser poster if you can’t get enough pictures of balls.

Munden’s Bar: Ladies’ Night

News
April 29, 2008

In what may be the single greatest Munden’s Bar story ever (drawn by the lovely and talented Joanna Estep, with a writer too modest to name here), we see what happens every month to the women who live on Paradise Island.

The Amazons have been living together for three millennia. Their cycles are synced. And then ….

Credits: Bob Pinaha (Letterer), Joanna Estep (Artist), Martha Thomases (Writer), Matt Webb (Colorist), Mike Gold (Editor)

More: Munden’s Bar

ComicMix Radio: ‘Secret Invasion’ Required Reading

Podcasts
April 29, 2008

Marvel is doing their part to make sure you have all the pieces in hand to enjoy Secret Invasion by combining several recent sold-out titles in one volume, plus:

— Oni sends another comic to the big screen

— We send you into the comic store well-armed with a list of what’s cool this week

— Harry Potter sends his stuff on tour

So send the mouse over and press the button!

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via or RSS!

Review: ‘A People’s History of American Empire’ by Howard Zinn

Reviews
April 29, 2008

With the recent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s no surprise that Howard Zinn has something to say. The author of A People’s History of the United States, Zinn retold America’s story through the eyes of all those who were beaten down in the country’s expansion.

Now he’s back with an updated account, albeit in a strange form. A People’s History of American Empire (Henry Holt, $30) is an illustrated version of the previous People’s History with notes on the current imperialistic efforts of the United States, as seen by Zinn. No graphic novel, it’s more of a slideshow of Zinn’s lectures. Here’s a sample put together by the publisher and narrated by Viggo Mortensen:

For those long familiar with Zinn’s writing, there’s nothing especially new here, though he does effectively tie in his past lessons to the current mess in the Middle East. And while Mike Konopacki’s art is impressive if sheerly for the quantity (a dense 250-plus pages), it’s not worth seeking out the book just for that.

The purpose of this book, more than anything, is to take Zinn’s message to new readers in a new way. In comics form, that message becomes easily digestible, though without losing any of its intellectual punch.

The story of the dark side of American history remains an important ones for the country’s youth. Now that story comes in a book they’re more likely to enjoy.

Rene Engström on SPX and the ‘Anders Loves Maria’ Tour

News
April 29, 2008

A while back, I spoke with Anders Loves Maria creator Rene Engström about her webcomic and where she finds inspiration for the popular series. Yesterday, Engström provided a little more insight regarding her creative inpirations by posting a video tour of the Gamla Stan neighborhood in Stockholm, Sweden, where many of the stories in ALM are set.

Regular readers of the series will recognize many of the buildings, statues and other landmarks Engström has used as a backdrop for stories, including the monument where Anders and Bjorn recently had a heart-to-heart of sorts. For anyone not familiar with the strip, well… you’ll probably find it interesting, too — and for more than just the beautiful Stockholm scenery. After all, one of the most popular questions posed to comic creators tends to be “Where do you get your inspiration?”

Thanks to Engström, fans of ALM now have an answer.

Also of note: Engström has posted a recap of the Small Press Expo held this past weekend in Stockholm, as well as a few photos from the show. Apparently, confusion among event organizers when it comes to the webcomic side of the industry is a common occurrence, no matter where your show is held.

Mind you they did seem very unorganised when it came to booking a table (you couldn’t), and they really had no clue what to do with webcartoonists. At one point they were trying to push me into this locked, out of the way, media room, but I refused that idea and stole a spare table and set myself up right near the entrance to the con. Which was good and bad. Good because of the traffic, but bad because everyone thought I was the information desk. “No I don’t know where the toilets are, thank you very much, please read my webcomic.”

Interview: Grant Morrison on ‘Final Crisis’ and ‘Doctor Who’

News
April 29, 2008

As I wandered around the press gathering at the New York Legend Award ceremony for Stan Lee, I saw a familiar face — a face I first saw in an issue of Animal Man many years ago.

It was, of course, Grant Morrison, who is currently wowing folks in All Star Superman and weirding them out in Batman.

Known for cosmic-scale work in such titles as The Invisibles and various stories during his run on JLA, Morrison seemed the perfect choice to handle DC’s upcoming crossover mega-event, Final Crisis.

I spoke with Morrison about the influences and potential ramifications of Final Crisis, as well as his future as one of the primary architects in the DC Universe. We also chatted a bit about another series that has us excited: the reinvigorated hit BBC science-fiction classic, Doctor Who.

COMICMIX: First of all, you have to settle a bet for me, Grant. In the weekly series 52, the villain called "The Ten-Eyed Man" was re-introduced for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths, except now it was a whole cult of ten-eyed warriors who were very creepy and seemed to be mystical and demonic. That revamp had to be your idea, right?

GRANT MORRISON: Yes, yes it was.

CMix: I knew it! I said, "That is pure Morrison!"

GM: Wait ’til you meet "The Nine-Eyed Man" in Batman. He’s a renegade who cut off one of his fingers and is crazy now.

CMix: That’s just so weird, I love it.

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Marvel Millie and Me

News
April 29, 2008

So the third New York Comic Con is one for the annals and I have stopped twitching.

It was, at its Saturday afternoon height, a cauldron of mad, chaotic energy. (And wasn’t it dangerous? Couldn’t all that energy, confined and concentrated by four walls, affect the hearts of atoms and cause the forces that bind them together to disintegrate us all into quarks that would join the neutrinos in spewing through the universe?) That’s okay, for me, in small doses, and maybe in large doses for you, especially if you’re young and new to the megacon scene.

I won’t bother describing the event for you. If you frequent this site, you probably already have all pertinent information. Instead, a tiny, personal note:

Every one of the panels on which I sat was interesting and, I was happy to see, well-attended, which hasn’t always been the case in huge cons, where it sometimes seems that the exchange of currency is more important than honoring and discussing and learning about an art form. But the absolute, stone, hands-down high point came early, on Friday night, when I shared a stage with Peter Sanderson, who moderated, and Gary Freidrich, Joe Sinnott, and Stan Goldberg. Except for Peter, we were all veterans of Marvel’s early days, before the company became Marvel Entertainment and attached its logo to vastly expensive motion pictures, soon to play at a multiplex near you, back when it just published comic books – all kinds of comic books, not just the superhero kind – and there were no multiplexes in which to show ridiculously costly films, even if such films had existed.

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Remembering Bill Mauldin of ‘Willie & Joe’

News
April 28, 2008

This year marks a resurgence of interest in the late Bill Mauldin, who started out as a soldier-cartoonist in the U.S. Army during World War II. This revival is thanks largely to Todd DePastino, author of the new Mauldin biography A Life Up Front and editor of Fantagraphics’ new collection of Mauldin’s cartoons, Willie & Joe: The War Years.

Look for reviews of both of those right here on ComicMix in the coming days. Seen at right is one of Mauldin’s favorite war-time cartoons, of a soldier "putting down" a cherished Jeep.

In the meanwhile, Slate.com has a great primer on Mauldin in slideshow form. The piece also compares Mauldin’s point blank vantage of warfare to the removed way our current cartoonists are covering conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

America’s newspapers are famous all over town for yearning to become relevant again, so here’s a free suggestion: Send some of your extremely talented cartoonists to Iraq, embed their butts, and direct them to draw what they see. I’ll wager that what they produce will enlighten readers and move us, too, in ways that words and video cannot. That’s what Bill Mauldin did in another war more than six decades ago; there’s no reason why it can’t happen again.

Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Tyrol’s Guilt and Baltar the Traitor

News
April 28, 2008

Welcome to the latest installment of Battlestar Galactica Weekly, our recurring Q&A with Mark Verheiden, co-executive producer of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica. Each week, we’ll interview Verheiden about the events of the week’s episode, what those events might mean for both the season and the series, and hopefully unearth some clues about what to expect as the final season of Battlestar Galactica nears its conclusion.

Along with posing our own questions to Verheiden, we’re also taking questions from fans — so be sure to send your questions to me, your official BSG Weekly interviewer, after each episode airs at chris [at] comicmix [dot] com. New episodes of Battlestar Galactica can be seen every Friday at 10 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel. You can view previous interviews via the links at the end of this article.

This week, Verheiden answers questions about the fourth episode of Season Four, "Escape Velocity," which aired April 25, 2008. Note: These questions may contain spoilers, so read at your own risk.

COMICMIX (from reader John): What did Tyrol do at Cally’s funeral that Tigh felt might have given them away?

MARK VERHEIDEN: When the Chief grabbed Tigh and Tory in the receiving line, I think they could sense the intensity of his desperation and confusion.

Their concern was less about what he did during the ceremony than his precarious mental state in the wake of Cally’s death. Given Tyrol’s explosive comments to Adama, it’s not that far-fetched.

CMix (from reader John): Wouldn’t the final four put themselves at less risk if they stopped getting together and chatting about what they are all the time? Or, are they just programmed to do that?

MV: Short answer is yes. But on the other hand, they do have ongoing Cylon business to discuss in private. But programmed to do it? I don’t think so.

CMix (from reader Leah): How can the Six in Baltar’s head lift him up and turn him around?

MV: I would argue that Baltar’s gyrations were still him contorting himself, as if Number Six were hoisting him from the floor. I am reminded of Church services where people, in the throes of religious fervor, can evidence remarkable physical contortions, ”speaking in tongues," etc.

But feel free to interpret the scene in other ways if you’d like…

CMix (from reader Avery): The reading scenes between Adama and Roslin have been lovely. Will we be seeing more of that – or potentially more than that – as their relationship, and her cancer, progresses?

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