Tagged: The Spirit

Comics Legend Jules Feiffer Reunites With Norton Juster

Comics Legend Jules Feiffer Reunites With Norton Juster

Jules Feiffer is known for his work as a graphic novelist, a cartoonist, a screenwriter, a novelist, and a playwright  – although among comics fans he is perhaps best known as Will Eisner’s long-time assistant on, and oft-time writer of, The Spirit. But in the outside world, he might very well be best known as the illustrator of Norton Juster’s children’s classic, The Phantom Tollbooth.

Now that a half century has passed, Feiffer and Juster are finishing up their second project together. Titled The Odious Ogre, it is scheduled to be released by Scholastic Books next year at this time.

Feiffer told Publisher’s Weekly he’s had a blast. “The one thing I will say is that, in relation to the
other characters, he is possibly the biggest ogre in captivity,”
Feiffer said. “He was great fun to draw, though—more fun for me than
for the ogre.” He did the illustrations in pen and ink
brush with colored markers, gouache “and anything else I could think
of. It’s my new way of working, which I love.”

Feiffer and Juster are planning their third collaboration for release in 2060.

I-Con 28: ‘Under the Radar: Comics You’re Missing’

Among the exciting adventures at I-Con was a panel titled "Under the Radar: Comics You’re Missing." The panelists (Carl Fink, Bob Greenberger, Glenn Hauman, Andy Weir, Bernie Hou, and me) and attendees came up with the following list, which we promised we’d post for reference. You should check them out if you aren’t reading them already:

Webcomics:

Print Comics:

Of course, the real takeaway from the panel was that you should be getting your comics news and reviews from ComicMix.com!

ComicMix QuickPicks – January 12, 2009

ComicMix QuickPicks – January 12, 2009

Today’s installment of comic-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest…

* Fantasy author Poppy Z. Brite was arrested last week at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in New Orleans as part of a peaceable demonstration in which churches in the Uptown area of the city were occupied to protest their closings. She’s been writing it up on her LiveJournal.

* Not quite related to the story above, but there’s not going to be a The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthology for 2008, according to editors Gavin J. Grant & Kelly Link. Not that there isn’t material, of course, but the economy’s a bear…

* My boyfriend and I went to see "The Spirit" because we are stupid …

* The Lost Ten Commandments of Comics .

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

ComicMix QuickPicks – January 6, 2009

ComicMix QuickPicks – January 6, 2009

Today’s installment of comic-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest…

* Producers Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Pixar’s John Lasseter are working to guarantee a huge success for this summer’s release of Hayao Miyazaki’s new animated movie, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, according to Variety.  Their aim is to increase the number of movie screens where Ponyo will open here, and thus the box office receipts, from Studio Ghibli’s previous US record for Spirited Away, which earned $10.1 million on 714 screens according to Box Office Mojo.  The English voiceover cast for Ponyo will feature Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Betty White, Lily Tomlin and Cloris Leachman.  Ponyo was Japan’s biggest movie of 2008, grossing $165 million.

* Kyle Baker reviews The Spirit.

* Dan Goldman is telling the story of the 2008 election, and has a twenty page preview available as a PDF. I won’t spoil the ending for you.

* Happy Public Domain Day for the rest of the world. We won’t have any new entries here for a few years.

* I nominate this as the top anime fansub of 2008. Do I have a second to the motion?

Anything else? Consider this an open thread.

New ‘Watchmen’ and ‘Spirit’ Footage

New ‘Watchmen’ and ‘Spirit’ Footage

At the Spike TV 2008 Scream Awards last night, Watchmen director Zack Snyder and actors Malin Akerman, Carla Gugino and Jeffrey Dean Morgan introduced a never before seen extended trailer for the film. Highlights of the trailer include:

– Dr. Manhattan with Silk Spectre on Mars
– Rorschach investigating The Comedian’s apartment after his death
– A glimpse of Adrian Veidt’s arctic lair
– Manhattan blowing up a tank, a Vietnamese soldier, and sticking his hand in the middle of Ozymandias’s base
– The dream sequence where Nite Owl and Silk Spectre kiss against an atomic backdrop
– An extended look at The Comedian’s death, including a good look at the bloodied smiley face button.

To check out the trailer for yourself, as well as a rundown of new scenes featured in the trailer, head over to Watchmen Comic Movie.

Additionally, Yahoo! has premiered a featurette for Frank Miller’s upcoming The Spirit. The video offers a behind-the-scenes look at the history behind the character and the making of the movie. Highlights include:

– Samuel L. Jackson as the Octopus, wearing a never-before-seen samurai garb
– The Octopus beating down on the Spirit while shouting, "There’s nothing I like better than kicking your ass all night long!"
– Frank Miller’s insight into the character: "He can’t fly, he’s not super strong, but he can take an awful lot of punishment."
– Beautiful women, including Scarlett Johansson’s Silken Floss, Eva Mendes’ Sand Saref and Paz Vega’s Plaster of Paris
– Frank Miller’s claim that "this film is not a tribute to Will Eisner, it’s a tribute to The Spirit."

Check out the featurette by clicking here.

Review: ‘The Question: Poisoned Ground’

After 20 years, DC is finally collecting Dennis O’Neil and Denys Cowan’s run on The Question, with the second volume, Poisoned Ground ($19.99) out now.

It’s a collection that’s well worth the wait, and I’m not just saying that because the author is one of ComicMix‘s own. While the first collection (Zen and Violence) was good, [[[Poisoned Ground]]] shows the creative team truly finding their voice — think tough and hardscrabble like The Spirit, but with a philosophic bent.

O’Neil explores not just the mind of his hero (who still has plenty of questions for himself), but those of his villains (who are always far more complex than first impressions indicate). The narrative slips between harsh reality and even harsher dreams, a paean to the ugliness of the world.

The book features three standalone stories and one three-issue story, each in turns bizarre, troubling and inspiring. The art is creative, highly detailed and evocative, and O’Neil’s scripts are every bit as inspired and poetic as those of Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman.

Especially now, with Vic Sage having been killed off in the current DCU, these collections are a must-have for fans of The Question, or anyone who likes their comics with plenty of depth.

Ziggy Speaks To You!!!

Ziggy Speaks To You!!!

For over 30 years he has been on greeting cards, t-shirts, coffee mugs, calendars and in hundreds of daily newspapers – and he wasn‘t created by Stan Lee. Ziggy is arguably one of the most successful comic creations of the late 20th century, and he is also the butt of a zillion jokes. Creator Tom Wilson tells The Big ComicMix Broadcast where Ziggy came from and where he is going.

Plus we’ve got big news of the new on-screen love for The Spirit (thanks to Frank Miller!), Twisted Sister is back in comics and there is hot new anime coming just in time for back to school.

Stop staring at Ziggy  and PRESS THE BUTTON!