– Ronald D. Moore, Executive
Producer of Battlestar Galactica
(2004) and Caprica
Comics are
always filled with over-the-top superpowers, bright spandex costumes, and
universe-spanning storylines. While these flashy props were enough to sustain
the comics industry in its infancy, the modern comic reader expects more. Many
of the biggest, most complex stories are known for their iconic moments with
their characters.
DC’s Final Crisis saw the return of Darkseid
and a time-travelling bullet, but we all remember it for the simple image of
Superman holding the lifeless body of his best friend – Batman – in his arms,
sorrow filling Big Blue’s face. Marvel’s Civil
War brought heroes toe to toe with one another, splitting teams and
friendships alike. What became iconic was the bitter struggle between two men
who used to be best friends: Iron Man and Captain America, then Stark’s grief
over his actions leading inexorably to the death of Steve Rogers.
Imagine a
photo in a frame. A couple is standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, quite
happy. The frame is a fun pewter souvenir from the Tower itself. The focus –
however – is still the couple. Stories are just the same. We may set it in a
creative, dramatic setting. We may dress it up with superpowers, costumes, or
deep philosophic meanings. None of this works, however, without the characters
to drive the story. If the characters don’t ring true, the entire story falls
apart. Characters are how we – the reader – access, understand, and empathize
with a story.
When dissecting your characters, whether protagonist,
antagonist, or a mere cameo appearance; they need to feel real. The
three-dimensionality of a character can make or break your story, no matter how
brilliant of a plot you’ve devised or how epic the setting. Creating a
believable character involves a precarious balance between two not-so-small
aspects: uniqueness and universality.
TOM FLOYD-Artist/Writer/Creator of CAPTAIN SPECTRE
AP: Tom, pull up a chair here at the ALL PULP interview table. It’s a pleasure to have you. Can you give us a bit of background on who Tom Floyd is?
TF: First of all thanks for having me here at All Pulp. I do appreciate it a lot.
Who is Tom Floyd, good question, as I still have trouble with that one. I have been a roustabout in the oil field, a soldier in the U.S. Army, a mechanic, an art teacher in public schools, a black line camera operator, a graphic designer…let’s just say I have worked at a lot of jobs. I am a father and grandfather, kind of a recluse, but always a kid at heart. Also always interested in comics, and storytelling. I grew up fairly isolated, but always had my imagination to rely upon.
AP: Okay, you have your hand in Pulp in a few different ways, but let’s focus first on your art. Can you give us a rundown of what sort of projects you have done as an artist, pulp-wise?
TF: Well first and foremost is the current Captain Spectre comic, which is a cross between my love of pulps and movie serials. I have also illustrated an edition of Tarzan of the Apes for the Burroughs Bibliophiles, and several editions of Edgar Rice Burroughs books for Bison Press. I have worked on the Spider for Moonstone, doing the first Spider Christmas story with my good friend and great writer Martin Powell. I also got to illustrate a collection of Spider stories for Moonstone. I have illustrated some game art for various companies doing pulp style role-playing games. And currently working on the first short feature of KiGor the Jungle Lord for Moonstone. Also some covers for various small publishers that are doing pulp reprints and the so called ‘neo-pulp’ stuff.
AP: What appeals to you as an artist about creating pulp art? What sets pulp art apart from other genres of art?
TF: Everything about pulp art is what draws me to it. I like the time period especially. I am a huge fan of the movies of the 30’s and 40’s and the serials, so all of that carries over into the pulp art. It is a heroic art form. And at the same time sensational and sexy. It was the original archetype for comic art. It’s like the adventure started with the pulps. I like to research the clothing, the cars, and guns, and especially like dreaming up my own science equipment. Nothing like designing your own death-ray.
AP: You’ve done quite a bit of art around the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Are you an ERB Fan? How did you get associated with ERB in terms of doing art for several published items? What appeals about ERB to you as a fan and artist?
TF: Yes, I am a huge fan of ERB. He is one of the authors I read as a kid. I was able to lose myself in Burrough’s Africa especially. The Tarzan books are my favorites, but I enjoyed the Mar’s books, and all the others.
My first job doing some Burroughs art other than for myself was with Bison Books. I did several covers and interiors for them. Everything from Pellucidar, to all the Moon books, then I was contacted by Jerry Schiender from the Burroughs Society to do an edition of Tarzan of the Apes. I did two covers, one for the dust jacket, one for the frontispiece, 8 black and white full page illustrations and 28 chapter headers for the text. It was my finest hour, to actually get to do a published Tarzan. This year I was contacted again by a section of the Burroughs Society to do the cover for a new edition of ‘the Mucker’. Also I was the artist guest of honor at the convention in Chicago and I was awarded the Golden Lion Award. I must say it was unexpected and of one the greatest honors of my life.
I guess what appeals to me the most about the Burroughs works are mostly the visuals. On one hand he gives you enough details to imagine what things look like, but on the other it is like it is shrouded in a fog. So as an artist you can get in there and add or take away things and people still recognize it as a scene from a Burroughs story. You also can’t beat ray-guns and swords for posing people with.
AP: Burroughs is a very visual writer, very descriptive in many ways. What kind of challenge does that present to you as an artist, other than the fact that it is ERB?
TF: Just the fact that it is ERB is a really daunting fact. Just getting over the shock that someone wants me to illustrate any of ERBs works is a hurtle. Then I have to think about making sure what I draw is true to the text and the visual language of the novel. I always read through the book I am working on. When I did the Tarzan of the Apes, it was the pulp text not the printed book, I read through it because honestly I had never read the pulp. Most people don’t realize it is different from the novel. When the book got printed some revisions were made. Most striking to me was the scene where the tiger is attacking the cabin where Jane is hiding. Burroughs went in and changed the tigers to female lions in the book version. So I got to show Tarzan fighting with a tiger. It was great fun.
Also trying to pick a certain look for the characters. With Tarzan there are so many versions, and influences. My first vision of Tarzan was the Johnny Weissmuller movies. He, even though is vastly different than the book Tarzan, will always be my favorite on screen version of Tarzan and visual idea of the character. Again Burroughs descriptions of places and characters give you enough information to make them identifiable to fans, but leaves enough room for an artist to play around with. That way each artist can make his/her own version and fans still recognize the character. Also you have to overcome the fact that artists like Hal Foster, Frank Frazetta, Roy Krenkel, and so many great artists have drawn these characters. So you have to bring your best to the table each time.
AP: TARZAN and other Burroughs creations are not the only established characters you’ve rendered. Can you talk about your work related to KI-GOR and THE SPIDER?
TF: With both the Spider and KiGor, I was already a bit fan of both. I always preferred the Spider’s adventures to the other crime-fighters of the era. I like the craziness of the stories and really wanted to do a Spider comic. I really enjoyed doing the illustrations for the Spider stories first. Then I really pushed for a Spider comic, and got the chance to do a story for the Moonstone Christmas anthology. Again with my favorite writer, Martin Powell. I wish I could have continued with the series as I was just getting comfortable with the character, and his look and feel.
With KiGor again Martin Powell and I approached Joe Gentile at Moonstone for KiGor to be a small try out part of the new Originals series at Moonstone. KiGor is the best clone of Tarzan, and since I will probably never get to do a Tarzan strip, I really wanted to bring back good old jungle adventures. As with each product I produce, I try to do the best I can in the time allowed. I could spend lots more time getting it just right, but again with my day job and all I only really get to work on comics an hour or two a night, and on weekends. So I try to produce the best I can. There was some updating done with KiGor, as per the request of Moonstone. So I came up with several versions of the character. I guess the main thing was they wanted a bit more of a modern take. I came up with the idea of the scarification on his left arm. Since KiGor was taken in by a shaman, which also gives a mystic quality to the character, I thought that maybe one of the only things that Robert, KiGor, had with him was a coat of arms in a bible. His father was a missionary killed by a tribe. So his shaman father sees this coat of arms as a spirit guide, so he does the scarification on young Roberts arm. Hence the dragon, and the crenelated line from the Kilgore family crest. The other thing was KiGor was always shown on the pulp covers and in the books with a leopard skin loincloth. The fans can blame me for taking that away and using the standard doe skin type. I have never liked the look of the leopard skin loincloths. Also we sexed up Helene a bit more as she was always shown with a bathing suit type of leopard skin design. As any good woman will be she will have various outfits. I hope to change them for each story.
So no more Spider stuff for me in the near future, but look for KiGor in a widevision story, and the eleven page back up story from Moonstone in the early part of next year.
AP: When working with someone else’s character, what sort of process do you go through to prepare to work on it? Any techniques you use either in preparation or in production you would like to share?
TF: First off, I want to be faithful to the look and feel of the character. Or else why else do it. I have never understood why people take characters and change them so much that the original fans can’t even recognize them. I see so many modernizations of characters that fail, at least in my eyes. I understand companies do that because of the built in audiences, but I think you lose those readers when you destroy the characters. So I tried to remain faithful first and foremost. Of course you have to deal with people that are wanting things updated.
Then I have to draw the character and get used to drawing him/her. So I start out sketching. I produce tons of drawings, how the character stands, moves, fights, etc. What they look like on bad days, good days, with costume, without costume, in various sets of clothes. Sometimes I even pick an actor or actress from the past I think would be a good fit, visually for the character, and try to cartoon that persons looks into the character.
AP: When you’re working on a character that lived first in prose and now you’re drawing his/her comic adventures, is that different than just creating and drawing your own characters? Is there a certain pressure to meet a standard for fans of the original pulp adventures when you’re bringing their favorite heroes to life in a comic?
TF: Again, I try to remain faithful to the original version of the character whenever possible. The original version should be the template by which you work. Of course other influences come into play. The character has to flow with the artwork. You have to try to capture the better poses and visuals from the prose and translate them into the comic medium. There, again, is pressure from all sides in visualizing characters. From the fans, future fans, and the tradition of all the great illustrators that worked on the character before. I just always hope mine is a little different, and that someone somewhere likes it.
AP: You have your own creation that you not only draw, but also write. Who is Captain Spectre?
TF: Captain Spectre is my ultimate creation. He is everything I like about the kinds of stories I like to read. He is also a pawn of my imagination. I designed the strip and character to be able to plug him into every genre and he fits. Some characters from the moment of creation are a certain type of character. But the good Captain can take on all types of stories and genres. He could fit in a Universal horror movie type of story just as easy as he can fit into a space opera. He is a part of me, a very personal character. He is an outlet for my stories, personal and imaginary.
But technically he is the son of a scientist who turned to evil late in his career. As a boy Chris, Captain Spectre, was left alone to his own devices. When World War 1 broke out he joined up against his father’s wishes, which caused a rift in their relationship. As a soldier Chris earns the nickname Captain Spectre for his behind the lines work he does during the war. When he learns of his fathers death, he takes some of his fathers fantastic inventions to wage a war on evil wherever he finds it.
AP: It’s obvious when one looks at www.captainspectre.com that he was born of several influences. Would you list what some of those were and how they were a part of your development of Spectre?
TF: Well that is kind of a long list. Obviously when most people see it at first they think, depending on the age group, that it is a Rocketeer clone. That is what I usually get at comic conventions. Mostly since they only know that influence, and don’t even realize Rocketeer was a piece of the serial Commando Cody, Rocketman character. Commando Cody is my favorite serial character, so he was a major influence on Captain Spectre. The Captain is also part Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, Captain America, Flash Gordon, TV’s Captain Midnight, a dash of Peter Pan, and a bit of the Spider thrown in. That is if you want separate it all out. Mainly the stalwart heroes influenced the basic character. But also Captain Spectre enjoys his adventures hence the dash of Peter Pan, and some characters like Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood. The Lightning Legion is directly influenced by the Secret Squadron from TV’s Captain Midnight – I still have my decoder badge and patch, and still drink my ovaltine.
There are parts of me, my dad, and personal heroes in there too.
AP: Captain Spectre definitely has a special place in your work, that is evident in the sleek, streamlined way the site is set up and the level of content and items that are available. Is there a market in this modern era for a character steeped in old time radio shows, movie serials, and pulp magazines?
TF: Well again, I think a good story is a good story, so I would think that people don’t get turned off by the fact it takes place in the past, like a period Hollywood piece. Also I feel there is a history in comics that isn’t recognized sometimes. Where we came from, the beginnings of the industry, that should be preserved. About all I purchase anymore are older collections that are being published now. I am really glad those are around because I don’t buy anything new anymore. I have grown tired of the long stories that don’t seem to go anywhere and are totally character driven.
So I do think there is an audience for good stories, if only I could tell a good story. But I do think there have been some successes in the field. The Rocketeer was popular, mainly just for Dave Stevens art. I also feel that the Spider would translate to modern times because his body count was more than the Punisher. I know of revisions of a couple of other characters in the works, but aren’t happy with the treatment. But I am an old school kind of guy. I don’t even like new movies, and I even prefer black and white ones. But there are a few people out there like me, so those are the people who will read things like Captain Spectre.
Also you have to consider the digital comics route. I think this has the potential to reach more people. I have a few fans in other countries that I would have never reached if not for the internet. And I think it is all about the quality of the work. Good story and good art will get a few readers no matter what the genre.
AP: How do you make Spectre relevant to modern readers? Or is that even a concern you have?
Well, I actually didn’t start out thinking about modern readers. I just thought about what I hoped was good stories. The strip actually started as a way for my art to get better. I want to be a better penciller, inker, visual storyteller, and visual designer. I wanted to fill a niche of comics that don’t seem to exist much anymore. Good adventure cliff-hangers. I was really tired of the big event comics from the big two publishers. Plus I don’t even recognize some of the characters I grew up with anymore. So Captain Spectre is a throw back to the old days. I knew going in it was a tough sell, and that modern readers probably won’t like it much. I don’t have page upon page of characters standing around talking, and I don’t center on the personal problems of the characters like most big comics now days. I would like new readers to enjoy it because it a fun adventure strip, but all I can do is pour my heart and soul into it and hope people find something in it they can like. I have such a slow production rate since I have a day job and find it hard to make time to do the fun Captain Spectre stuff. It is hard to produce enough work to get noticed. The planning and process of doing the strip is very time consuming.
I think bottom line I want to tell good, solid, fun, and exciting stories and hope people find it.
Even today a good story is a good story. I hope one of these days I am a good enough storytelling to tell one. I do hesitate to call myself a writer. I try to improve all the time. But, I get bogged down sometimes in all the ideas I have, so more than half of them get thrown out, or set aside to be used later on. So maybe one of these days I will write something that will be good. I find I have lots of ideas for stories, I just hope I can get them on paper some time where they actually read like real stories.
AP: Do you have other original creations? If so, where might we point folks to check those out as well?
TF: I have tons of original characters. Some published, some hidden away for use later on. The Captain Spectre strip is a good clearing house, or place to introduce other characters I have created. Recently I introduced the Sam Justice, the Gun-Hawk, character I created. Sam is like all the B movie cowboys I grew up with, like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Only no singing, I can’t write songs or play a musical instrument.
In the past I ran a comics company during the 80’s. Elite comics was called ‘the best kept secret in comics history’ since it didn’t last too long and was a color comics company during the black and white explosion days. We published several titles. I wrote and provided the art for ‘the Epsilon Wave’ which started a character called ‘nightmare’. I also created other characters in the past such as ‘Mr. Fright – the haunted man’ which was a really demented generational hero in the horror genre. I plan on reviving him in a Captain Spectre chapter someday. The Epsilon Wave also had a character which was all Texas in it. I had big plans for him and still do, so someday you may even see ‘Lone Star’ in a Captain Spectre chapter.
The Elite comics titles are still around in the quarter boxes at cons. Ever now and again someone will find an issue and pass it to me at a convention to sign. It is truly a blast from the past.
I have created characters in every genre since I was a kid. From sci-fi to secret agents they all still live in my mind, and hopefully I can get them all down on paper again someday.
AP: Pulp, both fiction and art, historically has been looked down upon. What would you say to someone who thinks pulp art is lesser than other types of art just because of its subject matter or the fact that it appeared on the cover of a fiction magazine?
TF: As an ex art teacher, I will try to keep this short since I could rant on it all day. First all illustration has been frowned on throughout the generations. There has always been a rift between the so called ‘fine artists’ and the illustrators. I have never understood the two camps, when bottom line it all comes down to one thing – making a living. Fine artists try to get exhibitions to sell their work, so they must get discovered. Illustrators have to get a paying job to sell their work. Just because one is cloaked in cosmic psycho-babble about creating the work and what they are doing, and the other in technical skill and style and publishing — they are both about getting work and getting paid so you can create more work.
I mean honestly have you looked at modern art lately in a gallery, fine artists are doing the same thing that was done in the 40’s by people like Pollock and Stills. The fine artists go for the rich audience who can afford to own one of their paintings or whatever, and the illustrators go for the throat of the common man. The illustrators like telling stories and entertaining people not hiding away their work in rich guys dark hallway where only more rich people see it.
AP: What is in the near future for Tom Floyd? What is coming for Captain Spectre, as well as any other work you are doing?
TF: Well I consider Captain Spectre my future. I hope to retire in a few years from my day job and devote all my time to Captain Spectre and other projects. But in the pipeline right now for the good Captain is his first printed comic adventure. It will be a stand alone issue that is a good old fashioned slobber-knocker. Or in other words an all out action pulp adventure. The second issue will be World War 2 adventure, followed by the third adventure which will be a sword and planet type story.
Also I am about half way through that first KiGor short story, and have finished the KiGor widevision illustrations. I have other odds and ends in the pipeline but those are secret at the moment.
AP: Tom, its been a true honor to visit with you. Thanks for your time.
That’s right, Pulpsters! In a last minute inspired decision ALL PULP is now dedicating weekends (as long as material and artist types last anyway) to that often unsung pulp creator, the ARTIST. Each weekend, ALL PULP will endeavor to post interviews, columns, news, etc. that focuses on the work of artists of all types in bringing pulp to life!
With the short notice of this (sorry, ALL PULP just works that way sometimes), if you have any art you’d like to share, make sure you have permission of the artist and send it on for the first ever ALL PULP P.A.W. Gallery to debut ON SUNDAY. This will occur every weekend and will include art submitted for the Gallery each week!
First up for ALL PULP’s P.A.W., an interview with Tamas Jakab, artist and co-creator on EL GORGO!!!
TAMAS JAKAB, Artist/Letterer/Colorist/Co-Creator on El Gorgo!
AP: Who is Tamas Jakab?
TJ: Tamas Jakab is a person (presumably, though he may actually be a clone or a robot), who lives in Cleveland, Ohio with 2 cats, a dog and a girl. I had a brief career doing cover and design work for the late, great Frontier Publishing, as well as various freelance gigs. I am the co-creator, artist, letterer and colorist on EL GORGO! On the side I work a day job unrelated to comics.
AP: What are your artistic influences and aspirations?
TJ: From comics, Jack Kirby, because all superhero comics are Jack Kirby, whether they realize it or not. Also Grant Morrison, because he goes for the big, crazy ideas, and superhero comics work best when they’re big and crazy. Otherwise, the list could go on and on – Los Bros Hernandez, Darwyn Cooke, Steve Ditko, Mike Allred…
AP: What do your think your strengths as an artist are?
TJ: Certainly not inking. I think I’m barely adequate as an inker, which can be frustrating, because I really love the aesthetics of comic book inking. I do think I have a really good eye for color, design and typography though.
AP: What’s your dream project?
TJ: Currently, EL GORGO! I’m really not the type of person who just wants to draw BATMAN or SPIDER-MAN. I prefer working on original concepts where I’ve got a lot of creative freedom and can play with different styles and genres.
AP: How did you get involved with Mike McGee and end up co-creating EL GORGO! ?
TJ: I’ve known Mike since 1987. We first collaborated on an adaptation of one of his short stories for the FRONTIER PUBLISHING PRESENTS comic back in 2005, and we’d been trying to get a new project going for 2 years with little success. EL GORGO! was a happy accident that came from a proposal to do a throwaway story for a comics anthology. We pretty much had the basic character of El Gorgo worked out in about an hour. We quickly realized we had a really fun, high-concept character and kept at it after the anthology didn’t work out.
AP: Who is EL GORGO! ?
TJ: EL GORGO! is a super-intelligent luchador gorilla scientist who saves the world on several occasions, plays in the world’s greatest surf-rock band, Gorgo-A-Go-Go, and is an historical novelist on the side. He’s pretty much Reed Richards, Captain America, Indiana Jones and Doctor Who rolled into one.
AP: Where do you see EL GORGO! as a character and as a comic book going?
TJ: Optimally, EL GORGO! would be in the mind and heart of every living being on Earth. Right now we’re just getting issues out as we can, which isn’t as frequently as it should be, and I’d like to see us move away from print and entirely into digital publishing.
As a character, we’ve really just gotten started…
AP: What do you and Mike have planned for EL GORGO! ?
TJ: We have way more things planned out than we will probably ever get to. Currently we have the book plotted out to about issue 13 or so, which would run through the Secret Origin of El Gorgo. In between, there are still some major characters to introduce, but I can’t give spoilers. Should we ever get to it, we have a good idea what the last EL GORGO! story would be, and I know exactly what’s on the very last page.
In a perfect world, we’d find the time to go at least 40 issues, which seems to be the sweet spot for good comic runs.
AP: You did the cover for DILLON AND THE LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN BELL. What was the concept for that cover?
It was based on a cover from DOC SAVAGE MAGAZINE in 1933, “The Red Skull” by Walter Baumhofer, which is featured in the great collection PULP ART. Given Dillon’s pulp roots, particularly Doc Savage, I figured I’d go right back to the source for inspiration.
TJ: How did you achieve that aged look that makes the cover look like an old paperback?
Additionally, on the EL GORGO! back covers, I used halftone patterns to simulate old-school color separation by hand. I love the fact that I can use expensive modern technology to simulate cheap printing methods that were replaced by better technology.
AP: What’s your method of working?
TJ: I work 100% digitally these days. I reached a point where it made no difference if I worked on paper or on the computer, except it’s easier to fix mistakes on the computer. I work primarily in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, and I now use Manga Studio to draw and ink EL GORGO! The cover for DILLON AND THE LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN BELL was created in Corel Painter and then finished in Photoshop.
AP:What’s a typical Day In The Life of Tamas Jakab like?
TJ: Very hectic and yet unspectacular.
AP: Where should we go to see other examples of your work?
TJ: The covers for Frontier and some pre-EL GORGO art projects are still hosted on my old website, http://rednever.com. I’m no longer maintaining the site, and eventually the art projects will find a new home.
AP: Anything else we should know about you?
TJ: I haven’t forgotten about EL GORGO! issue #4! I have some other non-art projects I have to work on, but I’ll be back on it as soon as I can!
Pound for pound, you’re unlikely to find a better
superhero collection than Titan Books’ The Simon and Kirby Superheroes . It weighs in at 4.2 pounds and, at
Amazon.com’s $32.97, that means you are paying fifty cents an ounce for the
stuff that made Joe Simon and Jack Kirby legends.
You might not have heard of some of these characters –
Stuntman, Fighting American, Vagabond Prince, Captain 3-D (in 2-D, but now in
color),[[[Private Strong]]] (the Shield #2), and [[[The Fly]]]. Over the decades many have
been reprinted; this book also includes a number of stories that had never been
published. All are gems. Every one of them. All 480 pages of them.
Of course, Simon and Kirby are better known for their
Marvel and DC creations: [[[Boy Commandos]]], [[[The Guardian]]] and [[[the Newsboy Legion]]],and – most prominently – [[[Captain America]]]. All of these stories have been collected in hardcover in recent years, along with their work on DC’s Sandman
series. OK, for the nit-pickers in the audience, the Boy Commandos volume ships from DC at the end of November.
As fond as I am of these creations – and Captain America
is as iconic a costumed hero as they come – I have always been more
enthusiastic about the characters represented in this mammoth tome. The action leaps off the page, the stories
border on the outrageous and the concepts are pure unbridled fun. Their own
company published some, others were published by Archie Comics or Harvey
Comics. I gather their editors simply gave them more latitude; certainly, the
corporate structures were obviously more willing to bend to Simon and Kirby’s
strengths than the uptights at Marvel (Timely) and DC.
In other words, when it comes to Simon and Kirby
superheroes, this is the real stuff.
Kudos to editor Steve Saffel, who has spent at least four
years working on this series of books along with Joe Simon (age 97) and his son
Jim. It’s the second volume of the Simon and Kirby Library, but this book is
wisely unnumbered. It started with The Best of Simon and Kirby , an overview that included reprints of DC and
Marvel stories; it will continue with separate volumes devoted, respectively,
to their crime, horror and romance comics. For the uninformed, Simon and Kirby invented the romance comics genre.
Neil Gaiman contributed the introductory essay, and it
comes off as a labor of love. I can relate to that. Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
gave the American comic book genre its heart and its soul. They brought emotion
and energy to the four-color page, and [[[ The
Simon and Kirby Superheroes]]] is an educational experience illuminating the
power of the comic book story in its most formative days.
If you’re reading this review, you should be reading The Simon
and Kirby Superheroes. You need to.
Photo
IDs: top – Simon, Kirby; bottom – Saffel, Book
At the recent Tokyo Game Show, Capcom revealed two more fighters for their upcoming epic brawler, Marvel Vs Capcom 3, due out next year on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. In addition to the previously revealed Marvel characters of Dr. Doom, Captain America, Hulk, Dormammu and Super Skrull; everyone’s favorite ret-conned web-head is back in the series. No surprises here, actually, as Spidey’s been in every Marvel crossover fighter that Capcom has been involved in, and is arguably Marvel’s flagship hero. Below you’ll find footage of Spidey in action, showing off his moves (which look like prettied up version of his attacks from the previous MvC games) as well as his new Ultra combos. After the jump, you can also check out footage of the other revealed character, Wesker, from the Resident Evil game series.
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!, an all-new animated series featuring the best of the best in the Marvel Universe, premieres Wednesday, October 20 (8:30 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD. Produced by Marvel Animation, the series stars the world’s greatest heroes — Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Ant-Man/Giant Man and Wasp — who form the Avengers, a team assembled when the powers of a single hero are not enough to save the world. Thsi essentially mirrors the line up as seen in the first 15 issues of the comic, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby and Don Heck.
Beginning Wednesday, Disney XD, DisneyXD.com/Avengers, Marvel.com, MarvelKids.com and Disney XD Mobile will roll out 20 micro-episodes introducing the team’s core members. Each five-and-half-minute episode focuses on the back story, allies and nemeses of the heroes before the Avengers were formed.
In the two-part series premiere, “The Breakout,” Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man and Wasp have defeated some of the most dangerous super-villains on the planet. But when the super-villain prison system mysteriously shuts down, chaos is unleashed on the world. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes must now band together as the Avengers to protect the planet from the threats that no single super-hero could face alone. Their first task is to try and stop Graviton, a being whose power dwarfs anything ever seen. He’s after Nick Fury, but will destroy the world to get to him. Individually the heroes have no chance, but together they can make a difference.
The complete multiplatform rollout is:
Wednesday, September 22
Disney XD will air a special sneak peek of the first micro-series episode, “Iron Man is Born!,” at 8:30 p.m., ET/PT directly following premiere of the network’s newest series, “Pair of Kings.”
DisneyXD.com/Avengers, Marvel.com, MarvelKids.com and Disney XD Mobile will unveil a new micro-episode every day, for 20 days, leading up to the micro-episodes’ premiere on Disney XD. DisneyXD.com/Avengers will also feature a gallery of each of the Avengers and offer inside information about Kang, Loki and the rest of the “most wanted” Marvel Super Villains.
Tuesday, October 5
Select micro-episodes will be made available as a free preview on iTunes.
Monday, October 11
Disney XD will roll out all 20 micro-episodes during “Avengers Week” from Monday, October 11 to Friday, October 15, with four micro-episodes stacked each night at 8:30 p.m., ET/PT.
The complete micro-series becomes available on Disney XD on Demand on AT&T, Verizon, Charter and Cox.
Wednesday, October 20
The highly anticipated series premiere of The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! airs with two back-to-back episodes from 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., ET/PT. The series also launches on DisneyXD.com/Avengers, Marvel.com and Marvelkids.com.
Thursday, October 21
Full episodes launch on iTunes, Xbox Live, Sony Playstation and Disney XD Mobile VOD.
Monday, October 25
The series becomes available on Disney XD on Demand on AT&T, Verizon, Charter and Cox.
Ed Catto, Retropeneur, C & A Enterprises, LLC, partnered with Moonstone Books
AP: Ed, welcome to ALL PULP and to Moonstone Monday! Tell us about yourself, some personal as well as professional background?
EC: Sure, thanks for having me!
I’m a marketing professional and have spent my career building brands such as OREO, Snuggle, Chips Ahoy!, Lysol, KIA and Napa.But I’m also a long-time comic fan, and have worked with Marvel, DC, Valiant and Reed Expo’s New York Comic Con developing strategy and marketing initiatives.Developing Captain Action Enterprises, LLC, with my partner Joe Ahearn, seems a natural extension of both my marketing skills and my passion for comics.
AP: What is your involvement with Moonstone Books?
EC: We shopped our first property, Captain Action, around a bit when we were looking to develop the new comic series.Moonstone was really the best place for us to find a solid partner committed to working together to build an engaging series.
We work closely with the whole Moonstone team to develop our series, manage the monthly ebb and flow of producing the comics, and to develop new initiatives. Examples include our digital relationships with ComiXology and Panelfly and our new partnership with Overdrive, the group that manages digital comics and books for libraries worldwide. Some of the other programs have been more straight forward, like the enamel/cloisonné pins we created for The Phantom and for Captain Acton.
We’ve been thrilled with our partnership with Moonstone. It’s been a great place to be creative and work with fantastic talent.And now our titles with Moonstone are growing to include Zeroids, Savage Beauty, Lady Action and Captain Action Classified, the new 60’s series featuring the “original” Captain Action.
AP: Captain Action seems to be your primary property. Can you give us some background on Captain Action as a character?
EC: After the success of G.I. Joe, Stan Weston created the Captain Action toy line for Ideal.Just as G.I. Joe could change into an army soldier or an astronaut, Captain Action could change into superheroes.Originally he could change into a plethora of heroes including Spider-Man, Captain America, Batman, Superman…even The Green Hornet and Buck Rogers.
On the very basic level, Captain Action is all about imagining the possibilities of oneself.The idea is that “you can be anything you want to be” but always tempered with “being yourself is pretty cool too.”We try to bring that into our Moonstone series.
He has a rich cast of characters too, including his arch-enemy, Dr. Eville, his sidekick, Action Boy and his amazing amphibious car, the Silver Streak!
AP: Can you talk about the process of how you came to be involved with Captain Action on a business level? This is also probably a good place to have you explain the term you use on your facebook page to refer to yourself..Just what is a retropreneur?
EC: Our company, CAE, LLC is based on the idea of taking old properties that still have appeal or a nostalgia value, polishing them up and getting them out there once more – both for original fans and a whole new audience too.
So –we’re kind of entrepreneurs with throwback/retro perspective. We get a lot of positive feedback when we offer our business cards to folks and they see Retropreneur. It’s a little whimsical, but it’s memorable!
AP: Why Moonstone for Captain Action? What about Moonstone appeals to you to help get the legend of Captain Action out to the masses.
EC: Moonstone has been a great place to serve as a launch pad for many of our own ideas, but publisher Joe Gentile also provides great guidance and insight.Plus, he’s a tireless worker, so there’s always a sense that he’s working hard for us and our books.The Moonstone extended family, with Dave Ulanski, Lori G and the whole crowd, including solid folks like Marshall Dillon have been a joy to work with.And Mike Bullock, the Phantom/Black Bat/Lions, Tigers and Bears writer, has been a great compadre.We worked with him on our Phantom/Captain Action miniseries and are working even more closely developing our upcoming Savage Beauty Series!
Moonstone’s also a publisher with a big tent. We’re publishing a superhero comic, and robot/Zombie/Sorority Girl comic and a jungle comic..and they all seem to fit perfectly under the Moonstone banner.
In 15 years, Moonstone’s been good and honest with creatives too.So when we call up our favorites to say, “Hey, wanna work with us”, they know that Moonstone is a reliable outfit.
AP: How do you make a concept like Captain Action, one that started as a toy decades ago, relevant to the modern audience?
EC: We ask ourselves that every day. And I’m not sure if there’s an easy answer. But we’ve worked hard to be true to the characters, while finding fresh voices and innovations.We want to keep the core of what made the toy interesting in the first place (otherwise, why bother with it?) and yet spin it out so you’ll be pleasantly surprising the old fans and still providing engaging, welcoming entertainment for new fans.
AP: Do you have any other projects with Moonstone currently?
EC: Zeroids was another Ideal property from the sixties. They were a sort of early Transformers – robots from space.We’ve brought that back with a vengeance. The first issue just met huge critical acclaim and the second issue will be out in about 2 weeks.Then we’ll continue on in 2012 with an ongoing Zeroids monthly comic.For this one, we worked with writer Aaron Schapps to create a SciFi mash up of several concepts, including robots, zombies, aliens and, of course, sorority girls.In fact, the series real protagonist is a college sophomore named Destiny Zero. She has sort of a Dorothy-in-Oz relationshipto the Zeroids!
After that we have a Captain Action Winter Special! And what a special this is! It’ll include:
A classic Captain Action tale of a beautiful French double-agent and a communist Yeti penned by Beau Smith and expertly rendered by the great Eduardo Baretto.
1.Lady Action in “The Spy Who Snowballed Me” by our favorite British madman, Tony Lee with art by Reno Maniquis.
2.For the first time ever, Green Hornet will team up with Captain Action in a prose story by Matthew Baugh.
3.Covers are by Mark Wheately and Ruben Propocio – it’ll be a quite a package.
Then we’ll debut Savage Beauty in February! This is a re-imagining of the old Jungle Girl Comics, but with a modern day twist.
Starting with a generous sneak peek at New York Comic Con, we’ll be inviting readers to take a walk on the wild side withSavage Beauty, our new comic series that tells the stories of sisters Lacy and Livvy Rae. This series focuses on their travels throughout modern-day Africa as they are called upon to help right wrongs, protect the innocent and punish evildoers. As reporters forAfrica Adventures Online, the Rae sisters are guided by the mysterious Mr. Eden to assume the identity of the mythical goddess Ayana. Disguised as this “Savage Beauty”, the two girls fight modern-day pirates, hard corps militias, corrupt politicians and various other real-world adversaries torn from today’s headlines.
Savage Beautywill take you on an exciting journey as the Rae sisters discover their purpose in life, even as they make a real difference in the world.
Plus the comic book series intends to make a difference too – each issue will donate a full page to partner causes such asOxfam, Just A DropandInvisible Children, among others.
And our first issue will be oversized, with a Savage Beauty story, a classic reprint of the first Jungle Girl – Sheena, and special features including lost promotional art to 60’s Raquel Welch Jungle Girl movie pitch…and we’ll be offering it all for just $2.99.
And future covers read like a who’s who of comics – Paul Gulacy, Mark Wheately, Dave Hoover, Chris Short and even a few non-traditional surprises!Series write and co-creator Mike Bullock has a long list of hot stories that we can’t wait to publish.We’re really excited for this project!
So much else going on too: Our Phantom-Captain Action Hardcover is coming out and it looks gorgeous.Wait till you see the wonderful John Byrne cover on issue #1 of Captain Action Classified. Future storylines in that title include a Berlin Wall story with Nazi’s and LSD, and a story that features the Beatles in Paris right before their historic Ed Sullivan appearance.And be on the lookout in November when that British Bombshell, Lady Action appears in the prose collection of short stories in the anthology: Chicks in Capes, edited by Lori G!Look for the lovely Nicola (Wonder Woman/Secret Six) Scott cover!
And convention-wise, we have two more this season. I’ll be a guest of Honor at the 35th Annual Ithacon in Ithaca, NY September 25th, and then we’ll have strong presence again at booth #2380 at New York Comic Con October 8-10th.
AP: What is the appeal of reviving old toy characters/lines and giving them new life in the modern era?
EC: In one sense, it’s a big-boys-big-toys kind of thing.We like to play with entertainment properties and get down to their essence, and then build them back up again in an engaging story.
In another sense, it’s what every kid does with every Imagination-based toy. They make their own story up. We’re doing just that- with a talented group of collaborators- and it’s a great challenge to put it out there and see if anyone likes it!
AP: Any future projects you care to let the ALL PULP pulpsters in on?
EC: Our biggest news isn’t quite ready yet, but it’s so very, very close. We’ll be making a big toy announcement soon – hopefully before New York Comic Con – that both new and old fans will be jump-out-of-their-seats excited about!
It’s a new Age of Heroes in the Marvel Universe but as always, the clarion call for champions is answered by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers. With the hoopla surrounding the Marvel Studios’ announcements regarding the 2012 live-action [[[Avengers]]] movie, the timing is perfect for this book from DK Publishing.
Unfortunately, the book itself is already dated because they made little effort to make certain the status quo matched what was being published in the comic books. This is, of course, an exceedingly tricky proposition but thankfully, both Marvel and DC have recently hit demarcation points where you could say the information contained in these books are concurrent. (I managed to make next month’s [[[The Essential Superman Encyclopedia]]] information reflected the end of the [[[New Krypton]]] story so it can be done.) Reading through Alan Cowsill’s text, it is largely set during he events of Siege although some information is from the subsequent Age of Heroes so its inconsistent and confusing.
A book like this, especially from DK, prides itself on clarity of information and yet organizations and events are referred to and there’s no context or explanation provided, so it’s one thing to tell readers someone belonged to the Initiative, but what was the Initiative? The book also lacks any source material so you don’t have the usual listing of first appearances which is a major factual omission. Even more grievous is that for a book called Avengers, not once is there anything about the team. I was interested to see the line-up by line-up examinations along with explanations for the West Coast and New incarnations of the team.
Instead, this book features just over 200 heores and villains with information blocks, pointless power rankings, and lots of pop-ups with additional details. Visually, the material is mostly showing us the current incarnations of the character with smaller images culled from throughout Marvel history. This, though, may be the first time a book of this nature lacks substantial images culled from the first Marvel Age so Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, and John Romita are severely underrepresented. Heck, titans like John Buscema, John Romita, Jr., John Byrne, and many others are also missing in action.
Over two dozen of the entries are out of date given the end of the Siege storyline. Perhaps the most inaccurate page is the one for Ant Man which gives us the deceased Scott Lang and never mentions the current Eric O’Grady, while the callout image of Hank Pym shows him as Giant Man.
There are some other serious gaffes such as giving us Clint Barton pages, one for Hawkeye and one for Ronin, which was superfluous. Similarly, Hank Pym gets pages as both Wasp II and Giant Man. The [[[Captain America]]] page is Steve Rogers with no page for Bucky as either the Winter Solider or Captain America II. In much the same way, the Black Panther page is all about T’Challa despite his sister being the current Panther (even in comics coming out this fall) but she gets merely a brief mention.
Characters who recently died such as[[[ Hercules]]], [[[Black Bolt]]], and [[[the Sentry]]] are said to be hale and hardy and while Jessica Jones’ page tells us she and Luke Cage had a child, Luke’s page neglects that detail as does the Invisible Woman entry neglect to mention Franklin and Valeria.
Books like these are great to thumb through and make a handy reference work but this one volume is a wee bit too all over the place to be anything more than a pretty picture book.
After a 65 year career in comics, the legendary Gene Colan is retiring. The cover pencils from Gene’s final issue of Captain America #601, which won the Eisner Award this year for best single comic, is now up for auction, to help fund his retirement. The cover depects the classic Cap, Steve Rogers cradling a fallen man whilst war carries on behind his heroic shoulders. And for the lucky winner on ebay, this piece will be quite the collectible.
Gene Colan’s year has been tumultuous at best. We implore you to check out the Gene Colan Benefit Auction blog to learn more about him, and the cause.
Gene is a living legend, and his art is well placed in any collectors’ hands. Head over to the ebay auction now, and bid on a piece of history. The bidding is now just above $500, but it won’t stay there.
While it took a few weeks to cross the pond, we here at ComicMix are proud to announce the wedding of Batman and Wonder Woman, in a small ceremony a few weeks ago in Devon, England. Thanks to the folks at Geek-O-System for snagging some choice details. The guest list was a veritable who’s-who in comicdom. Wedding goers included several Supermen, Superwomen, the Incredibles, Iron Man and his son, Danger Mouse, Kick-Ass, The Pink Ranger, Wolverine, Rorschach, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America. Also in attendance, in a show of solidarity amongst the caped do-gooders were joined by villains like Poison Ivy, and the Master of Ceremonies… Batman’s nemesis The Joker. Geek-O-System also reported that fittingly, Robin was the best man, and the Power Puff Girls served as bridesmaids.
While no there was few reports on the reception, we can safely assume that anything the new power-couple didn’t get on their gift table can be afforded by Batman’s alter-ego, billionaire Bruce Wayne. Sources close to the wedding said the reception was a fairly casual affair, as many in attendance feared riling the Hulk into a fury. While the Joker stayed oddly well behaved throughout, he did try once to serve the wedding party joker-fish in a beurre blanc sauce… knowing full well of Wonder Woman’s lactose intolerance. Luckily, it was caught by her new husband, who quickly traded entrees with her, gladly giving up the peppery-poisoned arugula and radicchio salad prepared by Pamela Isely.
The newlyweds were said to have left on their new invisible Bat-Jet, on their way to the Magic Kingdom for their honeymoon; Where Wonder Woman was quoted as saying “I’m gonna show my husband just how ferocious we greeks are on our wedding night!”. Batman had nothing to say to this, but as the Joker noted… “Ole Bat’s has never smiled so wide in his life, and I’ve joker-gassed him about 20 times!”.
“It’s the
The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!, an all-new animated series featuring the best of the best in the Marvel Universe, premieres Wednesday, October 20 (8:30 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD. Produced by Marvel Animation, the series stars the world’s greatest heroes — Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Ant-Man/Giant Man and Wasp — who form the Avengers, a team assembled when the powers of a single hero are not enough to save the world. Thsi essentially mirrors the line up as seen in the first 15 issues of the comic, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby and Don Heck.
It’s a new Age of Heroes in the Marvel Universe but as always, the clarion call for champions is answered by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers. With the hoopla surrounding the Marvel Studios’ announcements regarding the 2012 live-action [[[Avengers]]] movie, the timing is perfect for this book from DK Publishing.
After a 65 year career in comics, the legendary Gene Colan is retiring. The cover pencils from Gene’s final issue of Captain America #601, which won the Eisner Award this year for best single comic, is now up for auction, to help fund his retirement. The cover depects the classic Cap, Steve Rogers cradling a fallen man whilst war carries on behind his heroic shoulders. And for the lucky winner on ebay, this piece will be quite the collectible. 
