Author: Rick Marshall

‘Justice League’ Artist on Film Delays and Silver Surfer Design

‘Justice League’ Artist on Film Delays and Silver Surfer Design

Daniel James Cox, a concept artist for the "Justice League" film, recently commented on the project’s delay over on his blog:

It’s unfortunate, but the Writer’s strike has delayed further pre-production on the Justice League movie (i was working on it as a concept artist/illustrator) until later in the year. as a comic fan, i’m happy because the script does need another rewrite. however, the art dept has been doing some amazing artwork, so the team and I will all assemble back at Fox Studios in June/July to pick up where we left off!

While that’s all very interesting, his behind-the-scenes look at the "Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer" art he created is definitely worth checking out.

 (Hat Tip: C2F)

Accidental Overdose Killed Heath Ledger

Accidental Overdose Killed Heath Ledger

Actor Heath Ledger, who was found dead in a Manhattan apartment on Jan. 22, died due to a lethal combination of various painkillers, anti-anxiety medication and sleeping aids, according to the New York City Medical Examiner.

According to an Associated Press report posted today, Ledger’s body contained a mixture of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine.

There was no information provided about the levels of the various drugs found in Ledger’s system.

Ledger’s publicist released the following statement from Ledger’s father, Kim:

"While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage."

 

Jason Aaron on ‘Ghost Rider’

Jason Aaron on ‘Ghost Rider’

Ghost Rider is one of those characters that few writers seem to handle well. From one series to the next, the character has often seemed ill-placed, awkwardly written or just plain phoning it in. That all seems to have changed with the current Ghost Rider series, though.

According to the majority of Ghost Rider fans, however, the current, ongoing Ghost Rider series (scripted by Daniel Way and launched in time with the character’s big-screen debut) finally managed to sync up with the character’s appeal. Way departs the series this month, but will be replaced by Jason Aaron, the writer behind the critically praised ongoing series Scalped and the Eisner-nominated Vietnam War miniseries, The Other Side.

ComicBookResources has a nice interview with Jason Aaron about his upcoming Ghost Rider kickoff arc titled "Hell-Bent & Heaven Bound", the threat of machine-gun nurses (yes, you read that correctly) and, of course, where Ghost Rider will fit into the greater Marvel Universe:

“Other than the occasional guest star, Ghost Rider will remain confined to his own little corner of the Marvel U, which I think is when he works best,” Aaron remarked. “Right now, Blaze basically doesn’t give a damn who is or isn’t a Skrull or if Captain America is really dead.  He’s got his own problems to worry about and everybody else can go to hell.”

Aaron’s first issue of Ghost Rider will hit shelves Feb. 13.

 

The Adventures of Simone & Ajax – Now in Color!

The Adventures of Simone & Ajax – Now in Color!

 

Did Saturday seem a little bit drab without your weekly dose of The Adventures of Simone & Ajax?  A little less funny?  This Thursday, we make it up to you with brand-new stories, in full color. 

Written and drawn by Andrew Pepoy, the new story was colored by Jason Millet.  Since graduating from the American Academy of Art in Chicago in the early 1990s Jason Millet has worked as an illustrator in advertising, publishing, games, toys and, of course, comics. His clients include DC Comics, Devil’s Due Publishing, Dark Horse, Penny Farthing Press, Scholastic Books, Wizards of the Coast, Disney and Choose Your Own Adventures.

We had a chance to ask Andrew some questions about his new stories.

COMICMIX:  Tell me about your first color story!

ANDREW PEPOY: "Simone, Queen of the Jungle" is a tribute to the old Sheena/Cave Girl/Jungle Girl comics, and picks up where we left off at the end of "Moon Madness," with the rocket ship crashing towards Earth. Fortunately Simone and Ajax leap out with jet packs over a strange prehistoric land in the middle of Antarctica. Simone lands on Jayn of the Jungle, knocking Jayn out as she’s trying to unite the native tribes so they can defeat the unleashed Tiki Monsters. So Simone has to take her place, dressing up as a jungle girl and doing what she and Ajax can to stop the monsters and Ajax’s much larger dino relatives.

CMIX: Does color make it better?

AP: In this case, I think it does. I’m actually a fan of well-done, black-and-white comics, so I don’t always think color is needed, and I sure did have fun doing the earlier stories on duo-shade board to get all those Roy Crane-ish effects, but in my mind Ajax has always been very green, Simone always very colorful, in more ways than one. And I think my colorist has really gotten the look I always pictured, though I can give him pretty detailed notes on what I want.

These days the colors I’m thinking of most for S&A is the work on the more recent Franka graphic novels by Henk Kuijpers. His palette is so bright and lively without being gaudy, and it’s mostly flat with only a little modeling to the color. I’m asking Jason to do a bit more on the modeling, but he’s really keeping the spirit of what I’m looking for, so I’m very happy with it. I really do think the bright color will add a bit more sense of fun to the stories.

(more…)

‘Manga Bible’ Makes Jesus a Superhero

‘Manga Bible’ Makes Jesus a Superhero

Turning water into wine: superpower or blessed miracle?

The recently released Manga Bible presents it as a little bit of both, apparently. Illustrated by British-born Nigerian illustrator Ajibayo Akinsiku (a.k.a. Siku) and written by Akin Akinsiku, the 200-page book claims to be the "first ever Manga adaptation of the world’s bestselling book."

According to a report in The Plain Dealer, the book doesn’t shy away from applying modern-day vernacular to Old and New Testament tales:

In one panel, for example, the prodigal son leaves his father with the words, "See ya! Don’t wait up." In the next panel, he’s surrounded by women and booze.

Much of the book is dedicated to the Old Testament, of course – a discrepancy Siku claimed was as much due to the more colorful storytelling of the Old Testament as it was to the difficulty of navigating the conflicting gospels of the New Testament.

 

Bill Hader Interviews Ed Brubaker on ‘Criminal’

Bill Hader Interviews Ed Brubaker on ‘Criminal’

Over at MySpace TV, comedian Bill Hader interviews Ed Brubaker on his critically praised series Criminal.

The photo-driven interview is funny at first, then slides into nigh-hilarious, then back into pretty darn funny… and it’s chock full of name-dropping fun!

Best line?

Brubaker: "You DO know those are two different series, right?"

Ahh, welcome to the world of celebrity interviews, Bill. I sympathize.

 

The Science of Superheroes

The Science of Superheroes

In what’s become familiar but always interesting subject matter, PopSci.com examines "The Science of Superheroes" by calling in a "Hollywood physicist" to analyze the science behind superhero (and supervillain) antics.

The article takes eight popular characters from the world of comics and evaluates what it would really take for them to do all of the super-powered stuff they do. How could Superman fly? What happens when Bruce Banner’s body suddenly grows and he becomes The Hulk?

And my personal favorite: How does Storm control the weather?

If her stomach has mutated into some type of nuclear-fusion reactor, however—or better yet, a matter/anti-matter reactor—she could do it. Applying relativity (E = mc2), a single gram of mass converted completely into energy would yield 90 trillion joules. That’s 18 million lightning bolts!

Umm… yuck. Note to self: NEVER invite Storm out for Indian food.

 

Flickr Green Lantern Art: ‘Power.Less’

Flickr Green Lantern Art: ‘Power.Less’

A friend directed me to this great piece of Green Lantern art created by Derek Chatwood and located in a public album on Flickr.

It’s titled "power.less" and the story that goes along with the art is price.less (click through to the image homepage  on Flickr for the full text):

Ego. Hal Jordan was walking ego. His excuse was that he had to be. The Green Lantern was powered by will. No will, no power.

For some reason, that day, Batman wasn’t having it. He called Hal out, and told him he shouldn’t underestimate the abilities of his team-mates. Hal laughed. C’mon Bruce, you know how this works. Whatever I can think of, whatever I put my will to, the ring can make happen. I can move a planet if I want to. I can do anything.

Hal, Batman said, as he rose from his chair. In some ways, you’re the weakest member in the League. …

(Artist: Derek Chatwood, All Rights Reserved; Hat-Tip to "Friends of Fipilele" for the link.)

2008 WCCA Nominees Announced

2008 WCCA Nominees Announced

The nominees for the 2008 Web Cartoonists Choice Awards are out, providing a peek at who webcomic creators name as their favorite comics, creators and a variety of other categories.

Among some of the nominees:

OUTSTANDING COMIC FINALISTS:

Achewood by Chris Onstaad

Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell

Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch

The Phoenix Requiem by Sarah Ellerton

OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER FINALISTS:

Bear and Kitten by Andy and Angie

Octopus Pie by Meredith Gran

Pictures for Sad Children by John Campbell

The Dreamer by Lora Innes

The Phoenix Requiem by Sarah Ellerton

The WCCA website has a full list of 2008 WCCA categories and nominees along with links to each of the comics. Winners will be announced during MegaCon in Orlando on March 8, 2008.