Author: Rick Marshall

‘Y: The Last Man’ and ‘Transmetropolitan’ – Plagiarized?

‘Y: The Last Man’ and ‘Transmetropolitan’ – Plagiarized?

  • News
  • February 28, 2008

With all the recent talk of creators getting ripped off, here’s another one for the old "Things That Make Me Shake My Fist Angrily" pile.

According to the ever-vigilant mightygodking.com, Y: The Last Man, Transmetropolitan, Fables and various other fan-favorite titles were all based on old Silver Age comics — and the site is chock full o’ proof!

Unsurprisingly, the writer of Yorick, The Last Man On Earth was a woman: Sally Polenti, a trailblazer in the comics field and almost totally unknown today. Her work on Yorick is more soap-opera-ish, perhaps, than Brian K. Vaughan’s – but then again, she also doesn’t have any of those Trivial Pursuit factoids Vaughan seems compelled to insert into any and all narratives he writes. And if you thought Vaughan’s depiction of the longing between 355 and Yorick was hot – well, Polenti’s positively smolders. Plus, mad scientists in just about every issue.

Seriously, though, the Photoshop skills are strong with this one. Color me impressed.

 

(via TheBeat)

Update: Jess Fink and Hot Topic

Update: Jess Fink and Hot Topic

  • News
  • February 28, 2008

The Jess Fink / Hot Topic rip-off scandal continues to evolve, and recently spilled over into the world of Fleen, where the popular webcomic blog’s mustachioed marksman, Gary Tyrrell, took aim at the clothing company and provided some helpful information for those looking to pepper Hot Topic with bullets of justice and, well… I think this metaphor has pretty much run its course.

First, Tyrrell provides a handy little example of history repeating itself when it comes to comic creators getting ripped off by t-shirt sellers.

For “Shmorky”, substitute “Jess Fink“. For “Todd Goldman”, substitute “Hot Topic“. For my take on the whole situation, allow me to quote Kris Straub on one of the past iterations of Wikimesses:

That’s pretty goddamn weak.

In a subsequent post, Tyrrell offers up some suggestions for resolution that, unlike many suggestions offered up by the online masses, do not involve burning each and every store to the ground and dancing a celebratory jig in the ashes. Tyrrell later updates his call to action and coverage of the whole mess with additional, more appropriate contact information for Hot Topic and even a few talking points.

The last of these posts prompted quite a bit of discussion, including one comment from an alleged buyer for Hot Topic who claimed that the situation "is being handled." Over on Fink’s site, however, [WARNING: NSFW Content Featuring Soaps and Butts and Elijah Wood] the situation certainly doesn’t sound like it’s "being handled."

 

‘Black Freighter’ Tale Confirmed For ‘Watchmen’

‘Black Freighter’ Tale Confirmed For ‘Watchmen’

  • News
  • February 28, 2008

Tales of the Black Freighter, the story-within-a-story found in the original issues of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, will indeed make it into the film adaptation of the groundbreaking graphic novel.

Actor Gerard Butler (300) confirmed to Empire today that not only will an animated version of Black Freighter be produced for the Watchmen DVD, but he will voice the main character of the tale.

“I actually read the script before reading the comic book and I thought it was awesome,” continued the 38 year-old. “Then I read the comic book and it’s great. The little bits that have been added define it so much more. It’s very dark and there’s just something so descriptive and scary. It’s this descent into madness but explained in such a sane way that you totally feel it yourself. By the end, my heart was pumping!”

According to Butler, the project will use anime-style animation.

Watchmen hits theaters in March 2009.

 

(via SHH)

A World of WonderCon: The Coverage Round-Up

A World of WonderCon: The Coverage Round-Up

  • News
  • February 25, 2008

From the stories coming out of WonderCon, it looks like the San Francisco convention is quickly approaching the high profile of its San Diego counterpart, with similar big-name announcements, celebrity appearances and, well, masses of stormtroopers popping up during the show.

Here’s a rundown of some of the highlights:

Saturday night’s Iron Man panel featured director Jon Favreau answering questions about the film — and the potential for a sequel — before showing off new footage from the film. SuperHeroHype has a great recap of the panel and footage. SHH also sat down with Favreau for a recorded interview that they’ve made available in downloadable mp3 format.

As for your dose of convention drama, Blog@’s Graeme McMillan ignited a veritable sh*tstorm around the InterWebs when he chose not to report a portion of the Bill Willingham Spotlight due to the creator’s request. Apparently (and this is what I’m gleaning from the online chatter), Willingham revealed some spoiler-esque info regarding Fables and an upcoming Fables-related project and subsequently asked reporters not to report on any of it. McMillan obliged, and was later dragged from his hotel room by an angry mob of comics fans, savagely beaten, then tarred, feathered and dumped in the bay — or the online equivalent, at least.

McMillan’s Blog@ associate J.K. Parkin not only reports on all of this, but also makes sure to get a word-for-word recap of the information that caused all of the ruckus.

 

(more…)

‘Ratatouille’ Over ‘Persepolis’ For Oscar Win

‘Ratatouille’ Over ‘Persepolis’ For Oscar Win

  • News
  • February 25, 2008

Disney’s Ratatouille won out over Marjane Satrapi’s critically praised graphic novel adaptation Persepolis in the "Animated Feature Film" category during tonight’s Academy Awards.

Oscar.com has posted an image from the pre-show survey filled out by Satrapi’s co-creator on the Persepolis film, cartoonist Vincent Paronnaud, who apparently wanted to become a clown and a priest when he was young, and finally decided that cartooning was a "good compromise between the two."

 

It’s TV Time With This Week’s Hot Links!

It’s TV Time With This Week’s Hot Links!

  • News
  • February 24, 2008

After a week full of toys & more toys, it is good to expand our digital horizons in some other areas. For example:

ABC is adding to your Oscar Party tonight with increased video coverage of the Academy Awards show. Starting later tonight, there will be more behind-the-scenes interviews, interactive features and even a user-generated feature encouraging fans to upload their own acceptance speeches.

NBC is now fully underway, streaming full episodes of vintage TV shows this month for free and select NBC Cable Entertainment sites. Included among the classics, look for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Night Gallery on NBC.com, the original Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers on SciFi.com, Swamp Thing and The Crow: City of Angels on ChillerTV.com and Kojak and Miami Vice on SleuthChannel.com.

DIC Entertainment has launched its first 24/7 online video channel. we found this interesting because it offers a range of new and classic titles like Dino Squad, Inspector Gadget, The Littles, Liberty’s Kids, and the live-action series Cake among others.  Later on this year, look for the launch of new property websites for DIC brands, such as Eloise, Beginner’s Bible, and Inspector Gadget.

Time is again running out to get us your e-mail answer to the trivia question we tossed out in the last ComicMix Radio broadcast. Getting it into to us at podcast [at] comicmix.com could get you an exclusive limited-edition, variant comic from Graham Crackers Comics – and again the deadline is 9am EST on Tuesday, February 26th! By popular demand – here’s another "little" hint – good luck!

 

Devil’s Due Pop on ‘Incredible Change-Bots’, ‘Xombie’ Toys

Devil’s Due Pop on ‘Incredible Change-Bots’, ‘Xombie’ Toys

  • News
  • February 24, 2008

Well, here’s one that has me excited.

Toys based on Jeffrey Brown’s popular Top Shelf comic, The Incredible Change-Bots, as well as Devil’s Due Publishing’s Xombie: Reanimated, were among several products highlighted in a recent announcement of DDP’s new line of pop culture toys, Devil’s Due Pop.

From the official press release:

This March, comic book icons bounce out of the pages of Devil’s Due and into a new line of action packed life accessories called DEVIL’S DUE POP. Beginning with a package of classically retro Golden Age Sheena: Queen of the Jungle stickers, DEVIL’S DUE POP will include an array vinyl toys, personal journals, and usable artwork based on the properties that have made Devil’s Due Publishing one of the ten largest comic book publishers in the U.S.

The Sheena stickers will be followed by products themed around DDP’s licensed horror series, Halloween: Nightdance, and an original "Shawnimals" plush.

The publisher is saving the best for last, though, with the June release of an original vinyl figure based on the main character of one of my favorite under-the-radar titles, Xombie: Reanimated. The print series is a continuation of the animated online series Xombie, created by James Farr, who also writes the DDP title.

DDP also provided a look at the first in a potential line of toys based on Jeffrey Brown’s Incredible Change-Bots, a comic he created for the publisher Top Shelf. The series is a parody of the various transforming robot cartoons, comics and toys many comic readers are familiar with. The first character to get the toy treatment will be Balls, a robot who transforms into a golf cart.

Images from the upcoming line are posted after the jump.

 

(more…)

Hellboy II Prequel Comic Preview

Hellboy II Prequel Comic Preview

Universal Pictures and Dark Horse Comics are distributing a 16-page Hellboy II: The Golden Army prequel comic to WonderCon attendees, but a five-page preview of the comic has been posted on the film’s official site.

Yes, that’s a preview of a prequel to a sequel, if you’re counting — and it’s written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, based on a story by Hellboy II film director Guillermo del Toro.

Oh, and don’t worry if that last paragraph read like a calculus equation, the comic is far more comprehensible, I assure you.

 

(via SHH)

Jess Fink and Hot Topic: Rip-Off Exposed?

Jess Fink and Hot Topic: Rip-Off Exposed?

  • News
  • February 23, 2008

Popular adult-oriented cartoonist Jess Fink is mad as hell, apparently — and she’s not going to take it anymore.

After a fan alerted her to a suspicously familiar t-shirt design advertised on chain clothing store Hot Topic’s website, Fink  is on a mission to prevent the store from selling any more shirts with the design that, she claims, is clearly ripped from art she created. Since she was already selling shirts with the design, Fink is looking to pursue legal action against Hot Topic.

The response from Hot Topic, according to Fink’s LJ site, was less than satisfying:

Basically they are not taking much responsibility and blaming it on the fact that they hire freelancers from time to time but that :

"It is my poiicy to encourage freelancers to use the free Getty photo images as reference points & we also use sketches from the Japanese free clip art books, which have inanimate objects with cute faces & legs etc. which are also very similar to the soap."

I’m sorry but I really don’t think this design is coincidentally or simply inspired by clip art. Things right down to the pose of the character and the look of the feet and hands are the same, even the color. I do not know if you know this guys, but most soap is white. Why not make your rip off soap blue or white? I am not trying to give any ideas to any further assholes, I am trying to point out how blatantly similar this crap is.

In the wake of this discovery, one of Fink’s fans created an animated banner for supporters to post around the InterWebs, which she’s made available on her site.

 

(via TheBeat)

Happy Birthday, Doug Moench

Happy Birthday, Doug Moench

Moon Knight creator and noted Batman scribe Doug Moench celebrates his birthday today. Moench’s byline has adorned hundreds of issues through the years, including work for DC, Marvel and various other publishers of comics and magazines.

He’s the man who made Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu a hit, and the architect behind many of Batman’s Elseworlds battles with vampires, werewolves and, on one occasion, the creature who gave Ah-nuld a run for his money: the Predator.

A personal favorite of mine, Moench’s run The Spectre was my first introduction to the writer, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Here at ComicMix, we hope you have a great birthday, Doug!

 

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks