Weekend Reading: Bill Finger, Pixar, Toth and Calvin & Hobbes
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Reviews, DC Comics, Independent, Marvel Comics
Yeah, yeah, Avengers-mania is dying down and we’re back to counting the days until San Diego, right? Well, I am. In the meantime, let's read:
Want some story-writing advice from the gang at Pixar? Of course you do.
There’s no doubt that without writer Bill Finger, Batman wouldn’t be Batman. Booksteve’s Library has read and enjoyed Bill, The Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman by Marc Tyler Nobleman. “Bob Kane was rather a self-serving individual who rarely did anything himself when he could get someone else to do it for him.” One of those someones was the writer Bill Finger.
Longbox Graveyard blogger Paul O’Connor has a companion gig: a regular column at Stash My Comics called The Dollar Box. Start here.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Bill Finger, Pixar, Toth and Calvin & Hobbes
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Weekend Reading: Avengers, Beau, Gareb And The Ultraverse
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, DC Comics, Marvel Comics
Everyone is still talking about Joss Whedon's The Avengers.
Emmy-winning writer/producer/director Ken Levine got a kick out of The Avengers, but it’s not his favorite comic book movie.
The Avengers is now the third highest-grossing US movie of all time.
And they're even screening it on the International Space Station
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Avengers, Beau, Gareb And The Ultraverse
Weekend Reading: The Avengers, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dave Berg
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Independent, Marvel Comics
Now, how many times have you already seen The Avengers? Doesn't it just kick movie butt? And what movie do you think we'll be talking about all summer? Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises?
Avengers Assemble...in line! Former Malibu Comics publisher and co-founder Dave Olbrich (now a manager at Space Goat Productions) and for Malibu Comics Editor-In-Chief Chris Ulm (now the head guy at Appy Entertainment), show up at the :20 mark in this report from AMC theaters in southern California.
Longbox Graveyard goes Marathoning and Assembling for Avengers and other Marvel-based movies. “Five of my favorite superhero movies, in a day-long sitting, followed by a midnight debut of The Avengers! Seventeen hours in a movie theater, ninety minutes in the car each way getting there, a day off work to do it and another day off to recover. Great for a twelve-year-old, not-so-great if you’re half a century old. So I found a couple twelve-year-olds and went anyway.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: The Avengers, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Dave Berg
Weekend Reading: Avengers, Overload, Don Bluth and John Cleese
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Independent, Marvel Comics
So how many times are we all seeing The Avengers this weekend? And in how many ways is it the movie of the summer?
In honor of the new Avengers movie, Longbox Graveyard looks at the Kree/Skrull War, from Avengers #89-97. “Nearing the end of his iconic six-year stint on Avengers, Roy Thomas — along with artists Neal Adams and Sal & John Buscema — delivered what was up to then arguably the longest and most complex continuing story in superhero comics, as Earth became a battleground between the warring Skrull and Kree star empires.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Avengers, Overload, Don Bluth and John Cleese
Weekend Reading: Avengers, Alan Moore, Before Watchmen, and Don McGregor
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Interviews, Movies, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics
I once met Alan Moore, had dinner with him in fact. A dinner that included Stephen Bissette and John Totleben.
I must stress that they did not have dinner with me at my invitation - I was at the table as a guest of Gary Groth and Kim Thompson from Fantagraphics. Also in attendance was Dave Olbrich. The creative trio - currently on DC’s Swamp Thing - was on their way to NY and had stopped in at the Fantagraphics offices to meet with Gary and Kim and head for Chinese food. And I got to tag along.
I spent a couple of hours listening to Moore and his companions regale the group with story after story. At no point did I ever think of Alan Moore as crazy. In fact, I thought he was one of the smartest guys I’d ever met. He was also not like anyone I’d met either before or since. He was different, alright. But crazy? No. Weird? Hardly.
Which brings me to this:
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Avengers, Alan Moore, Before Watchmen, and Don McGregor
Weekend Reading: Before Watchmen, Mark Waid, Pogo & Ultraverse
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Image Comics, Marvel Comics
Welcome, weekend warriors! The internets have released a bounty of digital delights, so let's check 'em out!
John Rogers (Leverage) talks about his role in Mark Waid’s digital comics venture, and also talks about digital comics in general. John's a very smart guy, so he's well worth listening to.
One of my favorites, SF author Jay Lake (Rocket Science; Mainspring), is profiled in the Sunday Oregonian.
Over at John Scalzi’s Whatever, author Justin Jordan writes about the trade collection of his Image comic, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, inspired by those Charles Atlas ads in old comics. After reading about it, it’s now something I need to get.
Heidi nails what’s going on over at Disney, with link to Nikki Finke.
David Brothers nails Before Watchmen. I love the phrase “ethical rot.”
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Before Watchmen, Mark Waid, Pogo & Ultraverse
Weekend Reading: Spider-Man, Steve Gerber, John Scalzi and Dr. Goyle
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Reviews, Independent, Marvel Comics
If you’re at C2E2 this weekend, I hope you’re having a great time. And if you’re not at C2E2, what’s your problem, buddy?
This is the weekend that I close out a lot of tabs and polish off some links that have been in my inbox for a couple of weeks. But if you haven't caught these stories yet, that makes them new, right?
Daniel Best has been on fire lately with his posts on Gary Friedrich and the Archie Comics lawsuits. He’s got another good one up now - a look at the behind-the-scenes backstabbery and finger-pointing surrounding the Spider-Man musical.
I like this political cartoon by Monte Wolverton.
Creator/writer/artist Howard Tayler (Schlock Mercenary) talks about writing, especially sub-plots, and he illustrates his points with comic strips.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Spider-Man, Steve Gerber, John Scalzi and Dr. Goyle
Weekend Reading: Bill Watterson, Nicolas Cage and Wallace & Gromit
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Movies, Reviews
Greetings, children of the internet. If you're down in Anaheim for the Southern California version of WonderCon, I hope you had a great time! Here's some stuff you might've missed.
Sad news out of England about comics artist Brett Ewins. Fortunately, blogger Daniel Best has posted information about how you can help.
There’s some concern that Wallace (of Wallace and Gromit) is being hurt by comparisons to an English Labour Party leader.
The weirdly funny tale of Nicolas Cage’s stolen copy of Action Comics #1 could become a movie. At least it’s the “possible movie” everyone’s talking about in the current 15 minutes.
Becky Jewell interviews J. Torres about his work on Archie’s reboot of Li’l Jinx.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Bill Watterson, Nicolas Cage and Wallace & Gromit
Weekend Reading: Jack Kirby, Two-Gun Kid, Jack Davis and Monty Python
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Movies, Television, Independent, Marvel Comics
Here are my picks for Oscar night: Nobody named Oscar will actually win anything.
So let’s see what the internets are yapping about:
You can tell that something’s brewing when creators start to go a bit public with payment problems at publishers. Bleeding Cool reported on two this week.
Cartoonist Lew Stringer finds there’s a lot to like about the new one-shot The Clock Strikes, a noirish adventure set in the 1930s that revives an old comic book character.
Longbox Graveyard tackles the news. Sure, it’s news from blogger Paul O’Connor, but it’s all good news.
Novelist and comic book writer Victor Gischler (The Deputy) hopes you’ll pick up his latest: the X-Men: FF hardcover.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Jack Kirby, Two-Gun Kid, Jack Davis and Monty Python
Weekend Reading: Watchmen, Ploog, Gibbons, and Gary Friedrich
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, Reviews, Television, DC Comics, Marvel Comics
It's the weekend time again and since we're between the end of football season and baseball season, at least in the U.S., it must be comic book season. Let's take a look.
Author Joe Konrath is a very smart man on the subjects of book publishing, Amazon, and the future of the written word business. He makes a great case in a post called Amazon Will Destroy You.
Tom McLean at Bags And Boards looks at both sides of the Before Watchmen argument and comes up with some smart thoughts worthy of attention.
J. M. DeMatteis runs a very nice appreciation of his sometime collaborator Mike Ploog.
Cartoonist Lew Stringer uncovers an old Dave Gibbons strip you might not be familiar with.
This is an old link, but it’s a nice profile of gag cartoonist Bob Vojtko.
Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Watchmen, Ploog, Gibbons, and Gary Friedrich
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