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ELAYNE RIGGS: Money changes everything

ELAYNE RIGGS: Money changes everything

One of my biggest regrets in my years of involvement in the comics industry is the way I would refer to myself as an "industry professional" during my "early Usenet years," when I’d never been paid a cent for any of my comic book storytelling nor hired by any company. The impetus, though wrongheaded, was easy to understand. It hadn’t been that long since I’d discovered comics and online fandom, and I wanted to be a part of the excitement, but — having developed very definite ideas about fannish behavior from briefly hanging out with science fiction fans in my 20’s — I didn’t want to be "just" a fan. I craved credibility and legitimacy; after all, I wrote about comics and corresponded with lots of people who got paid to create them, so didn’t that sort of make me a pro as well?

Well, no, it didn’t. And by the time I decided to run for a board position in Friends of Lulu, I ‘d decided to stick to both the letter and spirit of the unwritten law. FoL’s charter specified that only a working industry professional could hold certain positions like national president, so I knew that was one I’d never hold. And when I started maintaining the Women Doing Comics list, I made up for past foolishness by leaving my name off of it (even though I’d had work published and my rule for the list was that it should include all current created and published work done by women, not only the work for which the woman got paid). I couldn’t, and still don’t, consider my efforts for charity books to be in the same league as people who did this sort of thing for a living.

We live in a hyper-capitalist society where status and success is measured primarily by one’s ability to make money. This has nothing to do with value or worth — that’s earned by deeds and conferred by friends, and none of us should ever have any doubt as to our individual value or worth no matter what we do to make money (or how much or little take-home pay we see). Professional status is a very serious matter, particularly in the entertainment industry where so many wannabes decide, as I once did, that there’s no difference between "aspiring" and "actual."

But there is. I didn’t realize just how much until I married a freelancer.

(more…)

Pocketful of Kryptonite

Pocketful of Kryptonite

Via Slashdot, "A mineralogist at London’s Natural History Museum was contracted to help identify an unknown mineral found in a Serbian mine. While he initially thought the miners had discovered a unique compound, after its crystal structure was analyzed and identified the researcher was shocked to find the material already referenced in literature.  Fictional literature."

"Towards the end of my research, says Dr. Chris Stanley, "I searched the web using the mineral’s chemical formula — sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide — and was amazed to discover that same scientific name, written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a museum in the film Superman Returns.

"The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which it does in the film) and is white rather than green but, in all other respects, the chemistry matches that for the rock containing kryptonite."

Now we know what museum Superboy is referencing in the panel at right.

Artwork copyright DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Update: No Spider-Man 3 bootlegs in China

Update: No Spider-Man 3 bootlegs in China

Cancel those plane tickets to China. Despite what we just said, Reuters reports that all the Chinese bootlegs of Spider-Man 3 are fakes, they’re all copies of Spider-Man 2.

"Contrary to news reports about stolen copies of ‘Spider-Man 3’ being sold illegally on the streets in China, our investigation in China has revealed no case of the film being pirated to date," Sony Pictures said in a statement.

"After an initial investigation of online sites worldwide, we have so far found no pirated copies of ‘Spider-Man 3’ on the Internet," Sony added.

Just wait…

Spider-Man 3 bootlegs already abound…

Spider-Man 3 bootlegs already abound…

If you want to see Spider-Man 3 and you don’t want to wait until May 4th, the inevitable bootleg DVDs are already out and about – in China. And you can get yours for the low, low cost of $1.00 a piece … plus airfare.

According to Reuters, there is even a warning on the back, printed in Chinese, against pirating the product. But, as always, buyer beware: any specific bootleg DVD might not work on your specific player.

China is almost as well known for its bootlegs as it is for its booming economy, Sadly, these sales will not be incorporated into Spidey‘s box office totals.

Batman burns again!

Batman burns again!

First, it was stately Wayne Manor, as seen in Batman Begins. Now it’s the Gotham National Bank, to be seen in the forthcoming sequel, The Dark Knight.

According to The Chicago Tribune, the city’s former main post office – a 17-story building with an Interstate expressway running right through it – reported a roof fire late this morning. A crew was setting up for the next shoot; the Warner Bros. picture is once again using downtown Chicago locations to provide the look and feel of Gotham City.

The fire appeared to have started in a 16th-story marchine room and was extinguished within a half-hour. It is not clear if the fire was related to the filming, but local officeworkers who saw the smoke initially dismissed it as part of the shoot.

Just last week it was revealed that after filming was completed the building was going to be converted into quality shops, condos and offices. The bit about the expressway cutting through the building goes back 100 years, when architect Daniel Burnham designed the passage for horse-and-buggy transportation. It was finally built in the late 1950s.

I guess they could have had the Batmobile in mind at the time.

Spider-Man 3 $$$?

Spider-Man 3 $$$?

Congratulations may or may not be in order for Spider-Man 3, depending upon how you feel about Hollywood budgets.  According to Radar Online, the upcoming webcrawler sequel is on track to be the most expensive movie of all time. "Industry insiders claim that Sony spent $350 million or more on production alone," writes Radar’s Kim Masters.  "With marketing and promotion factored in, the total price tag will approach a half billion dollars."

That’s at least double what the financial fiasco Cleopatra cost, even adjusted to today’s dollars. Sony is hotly denying the numbers, but producer Laura Ziskin does admit it was pretty dear. "I refuse to say the [real] number because it makes me choke. Spider-Man 3 was a super-expensive movie — the most expensive film we’ve ever made. But there’s no way you can get to $300 million."  Certainly not without choking.

 

Stargate expands, Illuminati escapes, Barbie’s electronic!

Stargate expands, Illuminati escapes, Barbie’s electronic!

A new week and a new ComicMix Broadcast where we lay out miles of four color fun waiting for you at the comic stores this week, plus some DVD treats that range from Blue Beetle to Uncle Scrooge to our pal, Dr. Johnny Fever. From there, it’s a sharp left to Hannibal Lechter’s song debut (you won’t believe it!), plastic Barbie girls get electric, and a lot of truly major Stargate stuff. And now you, too, can sing along to the Marquis de Sade!

Press the button. It’s good for you!

Doctor Who 3 hits Sci-Fi this summer

Doctor Who 3 hits Sci-Fi this summer

The third season of the new Doctor Who series will hit the U.S. cable channels in July, starting with the 2006 Christmas Special, "The Runaway Bride".

The new series will run on the Sci-Fi Channel, home to the previous two seasons of shows. Ultimately, it will be syndicated and appear alongside its "adult" spin-off show Torchwood on BBC America.

The week following "The Runaway Bride" U.S. fans will meet the Doctor’s new companion Martha Jones in the season’s opening episode "Smith and Jones."

 

Babylon 5 novels bite the dust

Babylon 5 novels bite the dust

So much for new Babylon 5 novels and graphic novels. Matthew Sprange of Mongoose Publishing notes on their discussion forums: “ We have agreed to drop the entire novels project – it really wasn’t going to go anywhere. In their place, we have a new B5-related project waiting in the wings. More news on this soon!”

A number of novels were in the works at the time the plug was pulled, including a rumored one by Claudia Christian, who played Commander Susan Ivanova on the show. No reason were given as to why the license for the novels was dropped.

Mongoose will continue to produce Babylon 5 role-playing games.

Cup o’ Joe at Tribeca

Cup o’ Joe at Tribeca

Concurrent with the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival (at which Spider-Man 3 will have its U.S. premiere) will be a series of panels called Tribeca Talks, and right up there with all the other luminaries scheduled to talk is Marvel EIC Joe Quesada, appearing on a panel called "Heroes for Hire."  Presumably the panel will not just be a plug for Marvel’s title of the same name.

According to the program notes, "a genre of entertainment originally devised with children in mind, superhero movies have found real success among bigger babies — adults, to be specific. We unleash the power of some superhero creators to explore why the vulnerable, conflicted, reluctant, and more…well…human superhero is a sure-fire way to a colossal opening weekend. Featuring a sneak peek at original illustrations from the highly anticipated Amazing Spiderman: One More Day comic book storyline!’  That’s the one written by Joe Straczynski with art by Quesada himself.  Only hey, Tribeca folks, isn’t it "Spider-Man" with a hyphen and all…?