Tagged: DC

Michael Davis: Brokeback Marvel

Michael Davis: Brokeback Marvel

  • News
  • March 2, 2007

Over the last 30 or so years some comics have tried to bring the "real world" into the medium. One of the first and best examples was written by my fellow ComicMix columnist Denny O’ Neil. His epic story about Green Arrow’s sidekick Speedy becoming hooked on drugs is a classic. That story was written over 30 years ago and could have been written today. It still holds up.

I will resist the urge to ask Denny why Speedy had to get hooked… hee hee hee.

Denny may not remember, but I often think back in fondness to a day I gave him a ride home from DC Comics. That, for me, was a good day. Denny most likely was thinking "tuck and roll" as he looked for an opportunity to jump out of the car.

That story Denny wrote was on the forefront of comics that tackled the real world. Since that comic there have been many comics that tried the real world approach — some of the finest have been Marvels, Kingdom Come and of course the granddaddy of them all, Watchmen. Now all of those comics and many others have dealt with the question, "What would happen if superheroes really existed?"

Well, none of those comics dealt with what really would happen if those superheroes existed in the real world… and tried to get a date.

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Attack of the chicken head!

Attack of the chicken head!

  • News
  • February 27, 2007

Being married to a freelancer often has its perks, and one of the more delightful ones occurred last Thursday night, as we were invited to DC Comics’ editorial-freelance dinner to kick off the NYCC.  This was a great way to meet folks like Gail Simone who, as it turned out, we never saw for the rest of the weekend. 

Trish Mulvihill has lots of photos at her blog, but we especially wanted to note the appearance of the chicken heads.  Originally part of the platter presentation for the wonderful Asian feast prepared by our host, the chicken heads soon took on a life of their own.  As we (who should have known better) didn’t bring our camera to the event, the photos below are courtesy of Harvey Richards, who shared our table along with Gail and her beau Scott, Rags Morales, and Dan DiDio.

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High-end hardcovers

High-end hardcovers

  • News
  • February 27, 2007

Publishers Weekly’s Calvin Reid reports that Running Press has signed licensing agreements with Marvel, DC and Tokyopop "to publish deluxe hardcover editions of classic cartoonists and other archival material" as well as manga coloring books. 

The first project revealed will be Mad’s Greatest Artists, a series of deluxe, slipcased oversized hardcover collections featuring the great cartoonists who have worked for that magazine; the initial title in that line is The Completely Mad Don Martin, due in October with a price point of $150.  Just in time to start saving up for Christmas!

 

X-Men strand Gen Y

  • News
  • February 25, 2007

Getting a hologram card of Wolverine in a pack of the first series of Marvel Universe Trading Cards is one of my fondest childhood memories. I was five. I showed almost all the guys in my class. Unfortunately, if this kindergartener had been inspired to buy the Wolverine comic around that time it would have been tough sledding: in that story Wolverine learns his memories are a result of brain implants. The next arc ended with Wolverine promising a man that he would return to remove a part of his body every year until nothing remained.

Comics were convincing themselves that they were for adults, and that adults required mature, violent stories. But no one told the licensing people whose job it was to pump children’s playthings into the market. I think this is why there are so few of my contemporaries reading comics. As children, we had to claw our way into the medium despite its best efforts to keep us at arms length, the better to succeed as a medium for teenagers and adults.

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NYCC – Minx for teens

  • News
  • February 25, 2007

At the first-ever panel for DC’s Minx line, editor Shelly Bond (described by Marketing Director Gayley Carillo as "the mastermind" behind the imprint) talked about the inception of her quest to bring interesting modern stories to a whole new demographic.

About 3-4 years ago, Bond was in a bookstore and noticed a number of teenaged girls crowding around the manga section. That’s when she became determined to seek out creators from all different areas to write and draw "edgy, evocative and fearless" stories that would appeal specifically to today’s teen readers.

Part of that appeal, Minx hopes, will be inherent in the surface form of the imprint, like the trade dress and price point.  Each book will be 176 pages, with color covers and interiors done in black and white and greytones.  Each will feature a free preview of another book in the line.  And each will cost under $10.  

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Is Barry Allen back?

Is Barry Allen back?

  • News
  • February 24, 2007

At the NYCC “DCU: A Better Tomorrow – Today” panel, DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio may have let the cat out of the bag.

DiDio was asked if in the Countdown teaser image The Flash was Barry Allen and Red Robin was Jason Todd. DiDio got flustered before answering “yes.”

This drew icy stares from the rest of the panel members and applause from the crowd. DiDio’s mic was taken away for the remainder of the panel. The final question for the panel was “Who would you like to kill during Countdown?” and Greg Rucka closed the panel by looking at DiDio and saying, “I’m looking at him.”

A good time was had by all.

NYCC — The Stan and Jeff shows

  • News
  • February 24, 2007
Stan Lee

Image via Wikipedia

The marquee event on Friday night was “Stan Lee: An American Icon,” an event that did not go off without a couple of hitches.

There was a total lack of security at the event. When Lee arrived he came in through the crowd and took the stage. As anticipated the room exploded in flashbulbs when Lee took the stage. People started working their way to the front to get a clearer shot and soon there was a crowd five or six people deep around the stage. There was no one from the convention security there to disperse this crowd and it took five minutes for volunteers to arrive and disperse the crowd. Lee was totally unprotected.

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NYCC — Half-mile long lines in 20 degree temps

  • News
  • February 24, 2007

If you were planning on coming to New York Comic Con today and you aren’t reading this from the line outside, you might want to consider turning around and going home. The convention staff is not letting anyone without exhibitor passes on the floor without standing in a line outside, in single digit wind temps.

If you got in line right at 10:00 AM, you won’t get in until after noon. That said, being in the line isn’t quite so bad because many high profile artists are stuck in the line as well. A person who identified themselves as a DC artist trying to get to a booth signing was told that his professional badge would not get him on the floor — “your day was yesterday.”

The line started at midnight Saturday morning and is currently half a mile long.  Despite the promoter’s promises of twice as much space it seems that the 2007 con is marred by the same problems of overselling that made the last show a living nightmare. New York State troopers have been called out and are handling crowd control. Fire marshals are threatening show closure.

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New Adams-Miller Batman pages at NYCC

New Adams-Miller Batman pages at NYCC

  • News
  • February 23, 2007

ComicMix caught up with Neal Adams this afternoon to talk Batman, and received a couple nice surprises.

Adams is indeed collaborating with Frank Miller on a long-anticipated Batman miniseries entitled Batman: Odyssey, and originally slated for six issues but he believes the story will warrant enough material for eight.  Adams has created and will be plotting and pencilling the story, with Miller supplying the dialogue.  Adams will also be inking the first two issues — and NYCC attendees can see the entire #1 (beautifully detailed art, all of which you can see as there’s no lettering on the booth copy) — but expressed an interest in having other long-time (and as yet unnamed) inkers work over his pencils for future issues. 

Until the book is finally scheduled by DC, the place to see the preview will be Booth A317 in Artists Alley.

Mike Raub’s interview with Neal Adams will be on our Podcast this Tuesday.

 

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