The Mix : What are people talking about today?

ComicMix linky love

ComicMix linky love

Another week older and deeper in debt — to you, our readers!  Here again is your one-stop shopping post linking to this past week’s regular columns: 

Meanwhile, Mellifluous Mike Raub is making history thrice weekly with his podcasts:

If you’ve only been reading ComicMix and not listening as well, you’ve been missing out on a lot!  And of course, there’s much more to come…

Unscrewed! auctions to benefit exploited creators

Unscrewed! auctions to benefit exploited creators

Unscrewed!, the organization created by comics creators, fans, and retailers to combat illegal and unethical practices by a would-be publisher, today announced a benefit auction to provide relief to the artists and writers exploited by that company. Since its inception in January, Unscrewed! has grown quickly, amassing support from top name talents in the comic book industry, as well as many who are just begining their careers. Full reports of all Unscrewed! activities can be found at the website: www.unscrewedcomic.com

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Comics in mainstream news

Comics in mainstream news

What are journalists for non-comics-centric media writing about our passion?  Let’s take a look:

  • Lots of not-quite-closeted comics geeks inhabit mainstream newsrooms, and the San Francisco Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub is no exception, as he "comes out" during WonderCon weekend with a nice overview of how the comic industry and wider entertainment world have interacted of late.  Inside Bay Area’s Mike Antonucci also takes the opportunity of the con’s opening to cover the current state of the industry, about which he doesn’t seem terribly hopeful as he interviews Joe "Free Comic Book Day" Field, retailer / crusader Brian Hibbs and Brad Meltzer.
  • WonderCon also captured the attention of OregonLive’s Steve Duin, who writes about the Mark Evanier/Gerard Jones panel on how comics history intersects with gangsters.  Seamy, seedy and worth a look!
  • Meanwhile, the Washington Post’s David Segal isn’t yet over the New York Comic Con, as he reviews the deal between Deepak Chopra and Virgin Comics (Chopra was apparently recruited by his son Gotham, an editor at Virgin who has one of the best comic-related names I’ve seen in awhile).
  • On a somewhat related note, Indiantelevision.com previews the Frames convention in Mumbai on March 26-28, featuring a look at "look at the process of moving From Comics to Animation. One of the old means of kid’s entertainment; comics is a powerful tool of story telling. Comics are very effective in imparting cultural and social values to kids besides being highly entertaining. Now animation is the modern way of story telling, which can serve as direct extension of comics."
  • The Kids Love Comics Day reported here earlier is in full swing today in Harrisburg, notes PennLive’s Patriot News.
  • Lastly, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is surveying readers about comic strips, listing 14 of the comics they run that are "on the chopping block" and asking folks to rank them in order of preference.  Your turn to game the system in favor of, say, June Brigman’s work on Brenda Starr, not that I’d ever suggest such a thing.

Inside writers’ minds

For those "process wonks" out there, two good blog posts that shouldn’t be missed:  Steve Gerber writes about his upcoming Dr. Fate series (it’s billed as "Part 1" so keep checking back with Gerber for more), and Marv Wolfman shares his thoughts on Nightwing.

Do you have a favorite "process wonk" post?  Let us know!

Tintin celebrated in London

Tintin celebrated in London

The British Film Institute is celebrating 100th anniversary of the birth of Hergé (Georges Remi) with an evening of English-language versions of the live action 1961 film Tintin and the Golden Treasure. The showing also includes rare footage of Hergé speaking in English about his creation (from the 1975 BBC programme Them and Us: Belgium) and Tintin as a Mastermind subject (BBC 2004). 

Ticket information is available at the BFI website. (Via Forbidden Planet)

Clifford Meth: Fantagraphics’s Legal Defense Fund — Decisive or Deceitful?

Clifford Meth: Fantagraphics’s Legal Defense Fund — Decisive or Deceitful?

Clifford MethBefore you give your hard-earned money to Gary Groth and Kim Thompson for their recently announced Fantagraphics Legal Defense Fund, you should know a few facts about publishing companies and their insurance obligations. Fact #1: It is highly unlikely that a company the size of Fantagraphics isn’t covered by a standard publishers insurance policy for lawsuits precisely like the one they now find themselves entangled in with author Harlan Ellison.

While it is rare when a publisher is found liable for incitement or negligent publication, there have been certain well-publicized instances where publishers have been forced to pay damages resulting from the content contained in their publications. For instance, the publisher of Soldier of Fortune was held liable for the death caused by a "hit man" following the magazine’s publication of an advertisement for a professional mercenary. Speech may be protected by the First Amendment, but that doesn’t give you the right to yell, "Poker game!" in the middle of a crowded firehouse. For instance, speech designed to incite lawlessness isn’t protected by the First Amendment. Neither is slander. When slander is written, that’s called libel.

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Hero Squared coming to a close

Hero Squared coming to a close

Ian Brill, a man who calls himself the Earth-Prime Jimmy Olsen and who clearly hasn’t seen the shirts at the DC booth at WonderCon, reports that Hero Squared is coming to a close, according to BOOM! Studios head Ross Richie, who also says "this will be the last word for J.M. DeMatteis when it comes to the superhero genre."

Marc, Marc, Marc… don’t you know that never is a very long time in the span of the eternal cosmos that is but a metaphor for the mind of the infinite… er, just never is a long time.

#9… #9… #9…

#9… #9… #9…

Mike Raub has a major interview with George Perez who tells us all about the new Brave and Bold and gives us the low-down on the Hero Initiative plus our usual allotment of  comics and media news and Timeline.

All you have to do is… press play:

You’ve been Boing-Boinged!

You’ve been Boing-Boinged!

Keep an eye on your bandwidth, comics folk — if Cory Doctorow or Mark Frauenfelder or any other contributor to the must-read "Directory of Wonderful Things" site Boing-Boing notice you, your traffic may just bounce into the stratosphere.

So far in the past couple days, Cory’s briefly reviewed the new Jack of Fables collection (which should make Andrew Pepoy very happy – remember that name, you’ll be seeing a lot more of Andrew in the near future on ComicMix!) and Mark has recommended three comic art books, including Matt Madden’s 99 Ways to Tell a Story.  So far all the links have gone to the Amazon offerings of the books, but authors should still beware of the Google effect…

Bun… James Bun

"Now, pay attention, 007. This link looks like it takes you to the 30-Second Bunny Theatre website…"

"Yes, I’m well aware of the site, Q."

"This is different, 007. This is actually a 75 second clip, filled with a variety of highlights from your professional career."

"Hmm. And some candid moments as well. Well, at least the bunnies make sense in that context."

"Oh, DO grow up, 007."