While at the C2E2 retailers summit a few weeks ago, a few details fans might be excited to find out about were accidentally leaked. At a DC Nation panel, the mid-western retailers were shown a few slides of “in-production” artwork, and DC’s Jim Lee and Dan DiDio were teleconferenced in with Marvel’s Axel Alonso to prime the pump for the 2011 summer event. While cameras and laptops were forced off before the event, a few local shop owners emerged from the panel with some juicy tidbits. Here’s the skinny:
• Current Marvel heavyweight Matt Fraction will be penning the five part mini-series with co-plotters J.T. Krul and Tony Bedard from DC. All that was said was “Access (from Marvel Vs. DC 1) returns a far more powerful man than when we left him.” Krul said. “He finds a way to tap into the power cosmic and gets his mitts on the White Lantern… but that’s really only the catalyst to it all.”
Lex Luthor, evil genius and president of the DC Universe, spoke today on his plans for Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, the Justice League, and of course, Superman…
…our mistake. This is actually Jeff Robinov, evil genius and president of the Warner Bros. motion picture group, which owns the DC Universe, who spoke today with the Los Angeles Times on his plans for Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, the Justice League, and of course, Superman…
The first priority for the man with the ultimate say on what films get made at Warner Bros.: Finally getting the Justice League, DC’s team featuring all its top characters, on the big screen in 2013. The picture had been very close to production in late 2007 and early 2008, but was killed by the Writers Guild of America strike, tax credit issues in Australia, and concerns by some at Warner about presenting a competing (and conflicting) version of Batman while director Christopher Nolan’s films were breaking box office records.
But Robinov said a new Justice League script is in the works. Also being written for Warner are scripts featuring the Flash and Wonder Woman, who could be spun off into their own movies after Justice League.
We apologize for the confusion. And we suddenly understand why no one is talking about having Luthor in the next Superman film.
Comic-Con International (Comic-Con), the parent company of WonderCon, has released the much anticipated program schedule for the 25th anniversary event that is to be held Friday through Sunday, April 1-3, at Moscone Center in San Francisco. The well-known convention features every major comic book publisher, as well as major Hollywood movie studios and stars of comics, movies, and television.
“This year’s lineup is pretty spectacular,” commented David Glanzer, WonderCon’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations. “Programming is always at the heart of our shows, and I think this year’s slate will prove to be among the most exciting yet.”
Originally thought to be a regional show for Northern California, recently WonderCon has followed her sister event, the San Diego Comic-Con, in becoming a full-fledged national show attracting attendees and media from all over the country.
WonderCon 2011 features a number of the premier stars of the comics world including Jason Aaron, Sergio Aragones, Berkeley Breathed, Tony Daniel, Mark Evanier, Adam Hughes, Robert Kirkman, Hope Larson, Bob Layton, Paul Levitz, Jeremy Love, Francis Manapul, Carla Speed McNeil, Terry Moore, Ryan Ottley, Joe Quesada, Frank Quitely, Amy Reeder, James Robinson, Seth, Bill Sienkiewicz, Len Wein, F. Paul Wison, Judd Winick, and Marv Wolfman.
Hollywood has a major presence at WonderCon this season as well, joining the action with an exclusive peek at Green Lantern with stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard; a Cowboys And Aliens discussion with director Jon Favreau; a unique presentation on the movie Immortals featuring Henry Cavill (the newest Superman) and Kellan Lutz; and appearances by V‘s Elizabeth Mitchell, Priest‘s Paul Bettany, Super‘s Rainn Wilson, Human Target‘s Mark Valley, and Breaking In‘s Christian Slater.
The complete WonderCon programming schedule is available at http://www.comic-con.org/wc/wc_prog.php. WonderCon ticketing details and further information regarding the Comic-Con family of conventions can be found at www.comic-con.org.
We haven’t done one of these in a while, and things are getting a bit backed up here with March Madness, so if we don’t do it now, we may never get around to it because our computer will collapse under the weight…
BURBANK, CA, March 8, 2011 – Fans attending on Friday, April 1st, the first day of WonderCon, will be treated to a special Green Lantern talent signing and panel featuring the stars of the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures feature film Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard. The signing begins at 4 p.m., followed by the panel discussion at 5.
The highly anticipated Green Lantern movie, in theaters on June 17, 2011, will be the first live-action feature film to star the popular DC Comics character. The film relates the origin story of alter ego Hal Jordan (Reynolds), a test pilot and the first human chosen to wear the ring that provides him his superpowers.
Following the opening day panel, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps will have a deep and diverse presence throughout the weekend due to the combined efforts of DC Entertainment (DCE) and the various divisions of Warner Bros. Entertainment, including Warner Home Video (WHV), Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) and Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP).
WHV will present the World Premiere of the Blu-ray and DVD feature Green Lantern: Emerald Knights on Friday evening in the Esplanade Ballroom, immediately followed by a panel discussion featuring filmmakers and voice cast members. Panelists will also take part in an autograph session on Saturday. The all new DC Universe Animated Original Movie weaves six interlocking stories of the Green Lantern Corps’ rich mythology around preparations for an attack by an ancient enemy.
Also on Friday, DC Comics will host a panel about the Green Lantern comic books and the 2011 War of the Green Lanterns crossover event. The DC booth will host Green Lantern-themed signings and giveaways throughout the weekend.
WBIE and DCE will showcase Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, an action-adventure videogame that will be available in conjunction with the theatrical release of “Green Lantern.” Throughout the Con, visitors to the DC Comics booth will be able to get hands-on time with the game that delivers an immersive experience for Green Lantern fans of all ages.
WBCP’s worldwide licensing program for the highly anticipated Green Lantern film has already taken the industry by storm. Product manufacturers around the world have come together to capture and unleash the power of Green Lantern, who lit the way at this year’s Toy Fair, with master toy licensee Mattel bringing to life a comprehensive toy line inspired by the upcoming film. Visitors at WonderCon will get a sneak peek of the toy line, along with the opportunity to be “chosen” to win some of the popular products, long before they hit retail shelves.
All this and more begins with the Green Lantern signing at 4 p.m. and panel at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 1, 2011. WonderCon opens the doors to the main floor at noon. The event runs all weekend, through Sunday, April 3rd, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Go to http://www.comic-con.org/wc/ for tickets to the “Green Lantern” opening day panel and for information about all of the Warner Bros.- and DC Entertainment-related events.
I wanted to show off some of the other cool Minimates that Diamond Comics Distributors had at their booth, but as is often the case with trade shows, photos were not permitted yet.
Something of note at JAKKS Pacific was a considerable line of goodies from the Dreamworks movie, “Real Steel.”
A 5″ line of figures will have interchangeable limbs and light up heads & bodies for customization. A larger 7.5″ line will have signature moves from the movie, but there’s gonna be something even more dear to the hearts of a lot of geeks – a variation (and a necessary one at that) on the childhood favorite, “Rock’em Sock’em Robots” (note to younger readers: ask your folks about this. It’s really cool. trust me).
DC Direct had some very well made busts & figures from the upcoming “Green Lantern” movie:
But the thing I was most looking forward to was goodies to “Batman: Arkham City,” the video game sequel to the 2009 hit game “Batman: Arkham Asylum.” So far, only one figure had been shown off, and it’s a doozy.
Harley Quinn keeps getting nuttier and nuttier. And that’s a good thing.
Mezco Toyz showed off a 6″ Scott Pilgrim figure from the movie and fan fave graphic novel series. Hopefully more figures will be coming.
I love that “Little Big Planet” brings a lot of user-creativity into video games, and to celebrate that, Mezco showed off their second wave of “Little Big Planet” action figures.
McFarlane Toys never fails to impress, and they had a couple of great highlights including this guy
Now Bungie may have left Microsoft, but that does not mean that “Halo” is dead. Far from it. More video games are being planned, and one can only hope that a movie might actually happen.
McFarlane Toys also had shown off figures from “The Walking Dead.” Take a look at these two guys.
Now note that “Officer Rick Grimes” doesn’t look like Andrew Lincoln, the actor who portrays him in the AMC TV series. There’s a reason for that. McFarlane Toys’ goodies for “The Walking Dead” is both for the Robert Kirkman graphic novel series as well as for the AMC TV series. This can create some issues as one of the figures in the first wave “may” actually appear in the 2nd season of the TV series (“Daryl Dixon,” everybody’s favorite crossbow-wielding hillbilly, will be in the second wave of action figures).
That’s it for now. In the third part, I’ll talk about some of the stuff I was unable to see as well as what I consider to be the coolest toy at Toy Fair 2011.
DC Comics’ All-Star imprint was intended to bring their top talents together with their top characters to produce stories that followed the core concepts of the iconic heroes and villains so the comics would appeal to mainstream audiences. The two titles that made it out, featuring Batman and Superman utterly failed on that account and their irregular publishing schedules meant the audience the books were aimed at couldn’t get into the needed buying rhythm.
[[[All-Star Superman]]] by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely thrilled the core audience with their retro-futuristic take on the characters and settings, winning acclaim and awards. Now, the 12 issue storyline has been neatly compressed into a 76 minute animated feature, out this week from Warner Home Video. Obviously, every bit and piece, every favorite moment, couldn’t possibly be included in Dwayne McDuffie’s script, but he does a fine job boiling the story down to its essence. In short, Lex Luthor has manipulated events from afar, forcing Superman to save a spacecraft that left him over-saturated with solar energy which has increased his amazing array of powers but is also slowly killing him.
From all corners of the comics internet, the only word to describe the reaction to Dwayne McDuffie’s death has been shock… although dammit is running a very close second. His passing has become a trending topic on Twitter, which only partially shows how far his influence really was.
Andrew Pepoy sent the image above, which he inked over Glen Muramaki’s pencils. Dwayne liked it a lot and used it on his blog and Facebook page, it’s nice to see the original at a decent size.
I will never forget sitting in his office as we worked out storylines. There was more than just his physical presence (he was well over six feet tall). He seemed to radiate confidence in his abilities, which was entirely warranted, and he was determined to roll with whatever curves Cartoon Network might throw his way and turn them into the best stories possible. He had boundless enthusiasm not only for his work, but for the sheer creative process. To say he will be missed is to understate it. I offer condolences not only to his family, but to the entirety of fandom for losing one of the great ones.
Geoffrey Thorne:
he was a great man. he was good friend to me. he was the only person in my life i’d refer to as a mentor. i can’t fucking believe it. i really am not a person right now.
BURBANK, CA, (February 8, 2011) – Primetime television stars Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) lead a diverse array of performers as the voices behind Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, the next entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Building up to the release of the highly anticipated live action film, Green Lantern, in theatres June 17, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights arrives on Blu-Ray™, DVD, On Demand and for Download June 7 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation.
Fillion provides the voice of the animated film’s central character Hal Jordan, the human Green Lantern assigned to Sector 2814 (which includes Earth). Fillion has starred in several primetime television series including Desperate Housewives, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He has also developed a popular cult following as a pair of Joss Whedon’s heroic captains: Capt. Mal Reynolds in the space-western series Firefly and follow-up film, Serenity; and Captain Hammer in Whedon’s internet sensation Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Fillion returns to the DC Universe after his successful turn as Steve Trevor in the animated film Wonder Woman, and has performed voice work on Justice League, Robot Chicken, The Venture Bros., and several Halo video games.
Moss gives voice to Arisia, a young recruit forced into her first mission on just her third day as a Green Lantern. Prior to starring as the ever-evolving Peggy Olson in AMC’s ground-breaking series Mad Men, Moss was featured on The West Wing, Invasion and Picket Fences. Moss has been active in voiceovers for animation with previous roles in Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, Freakazoid! and It’s Spring Training, Charlie Brown!.
The voice cast for the animated Green Lantern: Emerald Knights also features actor/spoken word artist Henry Rollins (Sons of Anarchy, The Henry Rollins Show) as Kilowog, Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter films) as Sinestro, legendary professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (They Live) as Bolphunga, Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) as Abin Sur, Kelly Hu (The Vampire Diaries) as Laira and Wade Williams (Prison Break) as Deegan. Radio Hall of Fame commentator/talk show host Michael Jackson voices the esteemed Guardian, Ganthet.
Bruce Timm is executive producer of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Directors are Lauren Montgomery, Jay Oliva and Christopher Berkeley.The full-length animated Green Lantern: Emerald Knights complements the Warner Bros. theatrical release of the highly anticipated live-action major motion picture Green Lantern,Green Lantern: Emerald Knights will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD, as well as single disc DVD. The film will also be available On Demand and for Download.
AP: Tell us a little about yourself and your pulp interests.
KB: All my life I wanted to tell stories, and most of those stories were and are about masked mystery men and super heroes. From an early age I did what I could to make that my career. I began with the plan of being a comic book artist, though as I went through my education I discovered my passion was more about the story than the art.
I’m still an artist. My first professional comic assignment was drawing backgrounds and doing color comps for the early issues of SUPREME for Image Comics. I want to continue to draw more in comics, but I’m really a writer at heart. Maybe not the greatest of scribes, but I write the best stories I enjoy and hope others will too.
As a young kid I had trouble reading, but after starting to read comic books the teachers encouraged me to keep at it. It was helping. Yet it was even before comics that my love for the MASK began. Late at night our local news radio station would play their “old time radio theater” introducing me to the Green Hornet, The Shadow, Lone Ranger, and many others.
In comics I found myself far more interested in the Golden Age heroes that were then appearing in All Star Squadron, instead of their modern day counter parts. There was so much mystery in those heroes that had started it all.
I may not have regularly been reading the pulps, but I was drawn to them and I was drawing them far more than the current models.
Alan Scott is Green Lantern to me, not Hal Jordan.
AP: What does pulp mean to you?
KB: I suppose it was discovering the mysteries of what was in those pulp heroes that excited me, just as much as when I dug through the secrets hidden in my grandparents’ basement. It was the same magic. I remember the first time I bought a Comic Book Price Guide. The cost of the old books was staggering, but what I really got out of it was discovering the names of characters I had never heard of before; who was this Blue Beetle, Black Terror, Spy Smasher, Phantom Lady, Air Boy, and so on. I wanted to know each and every one of them.
On a more scholarly line, which the child in me would never have thought of, the pulp authors continued the thread of the pedestrian ‘dime novel’ going back to Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens with the same magic and mystery for less than a penny a word. Which in my mind makes the pulps and comics very much literature.
I didn’t begin to read the actual pulp novels until much later, but with that same childlike love for them.
Which led to about six months ago and an idea for a pulp style mystery man of my own.
AP: Tell us about your serialized pulp novel, Revenge of the Masked Ghost.Where readers can find it?
KB: My Masked Ghost character came out of a question I asked myself one day. How do the families of our heroes handle them putting on masks and running off into the night and to certain death? Which led to the next question: What happens when the family discovers what he’s been doing only upon his gruesome death?
That was the kernel of an idea that in the next few hours grew into a two-page outline and what I thought would turn into a pretty good story. Working from there I knew it had to take place in the “golden age” of the pulp heroes and not in modern day.
While I have been working on a novel, I didn’t want this new story to take a back seat and wait. So I decided to put it on the web chapter by chapter as I completed each one.
So the REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST began.
Our hero stumbles into the apartment of his sister and brother-in-law and dies in their arms of multiple gunshots. Shocked to discover he had been going about town as this masked vigilante, they must find out why and who killed him. It may require that Masked Ghost come back from the dead to do so. Someone must wear the mask.
I began posting the chapters once a week, but now because of employment I am posting them every other week. I have warned my readers that what they are reading is a first draft, with all the grammatical errors that go with it. I’ll be making corrections on the early chapters over the next few weeks.
You can follow the story at: http://revengeofthemaskedghost.blogspot.com/
This past week I also provided what I hope to be the first of many illustrations to go along with the story. This first image has the feel of an old movie serial.
AP: You’re the co-writer and artist for the webcomic, Flying Glory and the Hounds of Glory, which has been running for nearly ten years. Tell us about it.
KB: As stated earlier I fell in love with masked heroes from childhood and it isn’t surprising I came up with many of my own. As Marvel and DC had their own universes I soon had notebooks and three ring binders full of my own heroes and story ideas, which I labeled “My Universe”.
Later, I joined an online writers group, on the GEnie bulletin boards, that included writer workshops, and one focused on comic book scripts. So I grabbed one of the heroes from of my notebook and turned it into a full script.
This would be the first story about the wartime super heroine known as Flying Glory.
I was surprised by the positive responses I received, some from well-established professional writers. Because of that, a while later I assembled a pitch package and brought it to the San Diego Comic Convention with the hope that someone might be interested in publishing a FLYING GLORY comic. It was a long shot, being really impossible to have meaningful long conversations with anyone in that crowded arena. However, I did get to hand out a few copies of my pitch.
Surprised once again, a few months later I heard back from one of the publishers. We had a few phone conversations about the property and what could be done with it. Unfortunately the publisher eventually passed on it. They closed shop within the year, so maybe it was a good thing nothing came from it.
Yet Flying Glory refused to go back into the folder quietly.
About the same time I had met up with fellow animation writer Shannon Muir through GEnie, and she happened to be moving to the Los Angeles area. Together we began looking for a way to update Flying Glory for a ‘modern audience’ (whatever that really means), including development plans for a movie and animated TV series, as well as a comic.
We soon learned that we needed more exposure on our own first, and decided after exploring several options (including the more traditional ‘ashcan’ sampler format), the best way for us both time and money wise was to tell the story as a webcomic. Our initial release only ran as a full color four-page mini-comic, at that point we didn’t envision posting a page a week coming up on a decade.
With that, the granddaughter of the original heroine put on the mask and FLYNG GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY began their musical entry on to the stage.
Shannon and I co-write every issue; she provides song lyrics included in each tale, and I draw every page of art using my computer, Corel Painter, and a Wacom tablet. I also do fully painted color covers for each issue.
The webcomic is about teenager Debra Clay who already has dreams of becoming a rock star when she discovers she has inherited the super powers of her grandmother the wartime super heroine Flying Glory. Convinced that it will help her celebrity status; Debra puts on the mask and gets her fellow high school band mates to also become super heroes as they perform on the stage. But they soon discover that they must become real heroes in and out of the mask.
AP: What’s the secret to keeping the webcomic going for nearly ten years and keeping it fresh?
KB: After the first story, we soon learned to listen to what our characters wanted to do. There was a plan of course, an outline of where we intended the stories to go, but that wasn’t always where they ended up.
We also decided to shorten the stories so that they could be published in single issues or collected together.
With each issue we tried something new and the characters went where they wanted.
In issue five we had our band of heroes meet a Japanese schoolgirl heroine. I attempted to switch back and forth between my own “western” art style to a manga style. As an artist, I will be the first to admit that it was a failed experiment. However, the story still told us a lot about our characters. Several secondary characters in the story have made their presence known.
As we were working on that Shannon pitched a story for Issue 6. She had recently returned from a convention in Las Vegas. Her experiences there gave her an idea for a far more serious story. I wasn’t too keen on the idea at the start. After bouncing it back and forth we found a story we both liked and could work with. It involved the pull and temptation of the celebrity life, which our heroine was already falling for, and the terrible things that could happen. It involved a potential date rape, which her friends save her from. We discovered that the best way to expand and grow our characters was to force our lead to her lowest point and shake her to the core and then follow her journey as she re-emerges as a stronger woman and hero. We also worked hard to make sure every page was done right carefully in both story and visuals. Even with my earlier reservations, we are both very proud of this story, and the resulting consequences are still affecting our characters now over half a dozen issues later.
We have a lot planned for FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUND OF GLORY, and even TALES OF FLYING GLORY about the original patriotic heroine and other characters around her. These characters have a lot more to tell us, and they could for years to come. Am looking forward to people following along whether it’s on the web or in printed form.
AP: In addition to pulp and comics, you’ve also worked in animation and film. Creatively, how different did you find each medium?
KB: Creatively, they all begin at the same point: with an idea that becomes a story. The medium has its own rules, but if you can’t start off with the story it doesn’t matter if there are pictures, sounds, or cave paintings. There are some animators who believe they can do great cartoons without a writer, but they don’t realize they themselves are writers with their art. We are all storytellers first, no matter the media used.
I certain wouldn’t say that either a prose story or a script is easier to write. With a script you rely on an artist to draw the comic or storyboards and the writer sets the stage on which they work. But they still need to understand the scene and the story they’re drawing. So the writer better have a good idea of what the artist is expected to draw because if they don’t understand you’re either going to get tons of e-mail questions, or the final production is going to be miles off from originally intended.
AP: Where do you (or would you) like to see the publishing industry in the next five years?
KB: Publishing more of my work from the previous five. Is that a good answer?
Truthfully, I don’t know where publishing will be in five years or in one year.
A lot of people are concerned for the future of book publishing, especially when reports are being made that Amazon now sells more e-books than actual hardback or paperbacks. But isn’t that an answer into itself, there are hardback books, paperback books, and e-books, what is important there is that they are all books. Books are being published in one form or another.
In the last two years that I have been on Twitter I found more and more authors online to network with. I’ve followed as many of them have published, some even their first books. Some go the traditional way, others through online companies doing print on demand, and still others go directly to the e-book form. Because of the computer and the Internet we are now in an age that anyone can publish his or her own stories. I know that my webcomic and my serial aren’t making me any money, but I do it out of pure joy knowing that even a few people will see what I have created. I would warn people however of the so-called ‘vanity presses’ out there, which you have to pay to publish, or take more rights from you than they should.
I don’t think the book, or even the comic book, will completely go away, someone will publish them, but now we just have more ways to get our creations out there.
As to digital comics, I have two concerns. The first out of ego: what happens to the collector? Maybe that’s a good thing, and we won’t have a speculator’s market again. What does it do to Comic Conventions? The second concern is; do I really own my copy of the comic when it’s just out there in the ‘cloud’ and I have access to look at it when I want but not really hold?
AP: What, if any, existing pulp, comic book, or other media characters would you like to try your hand at writing?
KB: I’d love to sink my creative teeth in to a whole assortment of characters, but most of all as mentioned earlier; would love to write the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott. The mystical magic lantern holds a close connection to many other pulp fantasies of the time, and I think there is still a lot there to be mined, both in the magic as well the man.
Writing the Shadow would be fun, I think, though in my mind he exists as this voice from the radio than from the pulps. Recently I thought about taking a crack at a Flash Gordon type character. I found it interesting that the ‘present day’ world existed while he fought on Mongo as well. I’d love to do something with that. Do it in the time of the original comic strips and pulps, not like the poor TV series from a few years ago.
AP: Who are some of your creative influences?
KB: My influences began in comics with artists Jerry Ordway and George Perez. Their art was perfect to show the difference between the Golden Age magical based stories on Earth 2 and the modern scientific stories on Earth 1. So they became a perfect pair on CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS when Ordway inked Perez, the combining of the worlds and the art.
In writing it started the same with Roy Thomas on ALL STAR SQAUDRON, and Marv Wolfman on THE NEW TEEN TITANS. Everything else was compared to the measuring stick these men handed me as a child.
In prose writing, my first and major influence comes from Ray Bradbury. For many years I saw myself as him while I read his stories and about how he got started. Mr. Bradbury once wrote me about a story of mine, and took the time to point out what I had done wrong and how to improve it. Harlan Ellison is also a big influence on my work, but more so in my non-fiction, even my blogs.
During college, I was also influenced by Douglas Adams, but I found that my humor was overpowering the story when I attempted to emulate him.
So there’s this melting pot of influences in my mind and what comes out is me. Maybe not the greatest artist or writer, but it’s me and I’m pretty happy with everything I write and draw. Hope people like it too.
AP: What does Kevin Paul Shaw Broden do when he’s not writing?
KB: What do I do when I’m not writing? The answer is I write.
Currently I am working for my local community college writing and designing their alumni newsletter. Starting in the next week or so, I maybe writing and designing two other projects for them. So I’ve been blessed to have a nice “day job” for a few months. Though I continue pursuing an ongoing job in the entertainment industry at one of the animation or television studios. The important thing is that this gives me the opportunity to write. Maybe writing will be my career after all.
AP: Where can readers find and learn more about you and your work?
KB: Much of my work can best be found here on the internet.
FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY:www.flying-glory.com
REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST: http://revengeofthemaskedghost.blogspot.com/
FOUR NAMES OF PROFESSIONAL CREATIVITY is my blog on writing, comics, and employment, can be found: http://kevinpsbroden.blogspot.com/
The online comic news site www.ComicBooked.com did an article on me at the new-year.
Suppose if you’re ever in Japan you might find a DVD of the series MIDNIGHT HORROR SCHOOL, which I co-wrote several episode of. Unfortunately it never aired here in the U.S. I’ve been told it’s shown up in Europe. (http://www.milkycartoon.co.jp/official/mhs/eng/op.html)
Other samples of my writing and art can be found in GARDNER’S GUIDE TO WRITING AND PRODUCING ANIMATION and GARDNER’S GUIDE TO PITCHING AND SELLING ANIMATION both books written by my partner and now fiancée Shannon Muir. You can find information about her books here: http://www.duelingmodems.com/~shan/books.htm
AP: Any upcoming projects you would like to mention?
KB: I wish there was something I could shout out and say to keep an eye on in the future, but right now there isn’t. Am currently finishing up a contemporary fantasy novel, but it doesn’t have a publisher yet, and I don’t have an agent. Soon, I pray, soon.
FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary starting this summer with a special year-long ‘annual’ style story that will let us in on the background of several of our main characters and give hints of our future stories, preceded this Spring by as a mini Issue 0 showing a bit of Debra and her friends before the powers awaken. We are looking at ways of publishing the early issues as a trade.
Am also pitching a new comic about pulp style mystery men existing in the current economic recession.
AP: Are there any convention appearances or signings coming up where fans can meet you?
KB: That would be nice. Years ago I got to participate at the signing booth for Image Comics, back when Image and the ATM were the longest lines at Comic-Con. Seen nothing like it since; maybe soon.
AP: You have served as a writer and an artist. Are there any creative areas you’ve not worked in that you would like to try your hand at doing?
KB: Besides being a writer and artist, not much. Doubt I’d make a very good actor.
I’m a storyteller. I’m looking forward to writing for television someday (would love to write for Castle), but no more so than writing a book, comic, or animation. Just give me the opportunity to write. Paying me would be nice too.
AP: And finally, what advice would you give to anyone wanting to be a writer?
KB: The best advice is also the simplest, but a lot of writers don’t want to hear it. The advice is write and write all the time.
Write about anything, even if you don’t have a story yet.
Several months ago, when I began my blog about writing (http://kevinpsbroden.blogspot.com/), I made the suggestion to look around you and find something, anything, and write about it and discover the story in it. At the time, over ripe fruit was falling from a tree outside my window. So I wrote about the sound it made rolling down off the roof as an example for the blog. The resulting story, which I posted to the blog the next week, was about a woman being stalked by an ex-boyfriend, it doesn’t end well for either of them.
So write, write every day. It doesn’t have to be good. That will come later. Just write.
Now I need to go write about more masked mystery men.
While at the C2E2 retailers summit a few weeks ago, a few details fans might be excited to find out about were accidentally leaked. At a DC Nation panel, the mid-western retailers were shown a few slides of “in-production” artwork, and DC’s Jim Lee and Dan DiDio were teleconferenced in with Marvel’s Axel Alonso to prime the pump for the 2011 summer event. While cameras and laptops were forced off before the event, a few local shop owners emerged from the panel with some juicy tidbits. Here’s the skinny:
by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely thrilled the core audience with their retro-futuristic take on the characters and settings, winning acclaim and awards. Now, the 12 issue storyline has been neatly compressed into a 76 minute animated feature, out this week from Warner Home Video. Obviously, every bit and piece, every favorite moment, couldn’t possibly be included in Dwayne McDuffie’s script, but he does a fine job boiling the story down to its essence. In short, Lex Luthor has manipulated events from afar, forcing Superman to save a spacecraft that left him over-saturated with solar energy which has increased his amazing array of powers but is also slowly killing him.
BURBANK, CA, (February 8, 2011) – Primetime television stars Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) lead a diverse array of performers as the voices behind Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, the
