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daily journal
The Possibilities If it wasn't for Heather to keep me in check, I imagine there would be a room in our house like this:  Labels: Comics posted by Brendan | 5:53 PM | permanent link
Another Reason to Like Batman More Than Superman Three days after Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman, snatched a $1 million price tag at auction, a issue of Detective Comics #27, the first appearance of Batman, sold for $1,075,500 at auction. The million dollar sale for Action Comics #1 had been the first time a comic book had sold for more than 6 figures and held the record for the highest amount paid for a comic until the sale of Detective Comics #27. posted by Brendan | 7:37 AM | permanent link
Andy Kuhn I can't remember reading any comics draw by Andy Kuhn since I enjoyed The Annotated Mantooth years and years ago. But Kuhn is one of the artists contributing to the Comic Twart blog and he is the artist whose work I am digging the most week in and week out. This week he turns in a great version of the Black Beetle.  posted by Brendan | 1:11 PM | permanent link
Watchmen 2: Electric Boogaloo Today parts of the Intertubes are all aflutter about the rumor that DC is seriously considering publishing some sequel or prequel books based on Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbon's monumental Watchmen novel. Most comic book fans shudder at the thought. It would be like making Citizen Kane 2. It's a sentiment that I share.  My problem with that argument is that with DK2, you had the same creative talent taking on the characters and settings that they crafted the first time around. Miller wrote and drew the first series. He was back to play in the same sandbox in 2001. There is no way in hell Alan Moore would touch a project like this, let alone even acknowledge its existence. His hatred of DC is legendary and well documented. And I would expect Dave Gibbons to fall in line behind Alan Moore � though not for the same reasons. So without Moore and Gibbons DC will have different talent coming in to play with a landmark piece of comic literature. I don�t see that going well. Memories of the dismal Scarlet come to mind. DC would serve themselves best to leave well enough alone. Watchmen has become their biggest selling graphic novel because of Moore�s and Gibbon�s perfect creative synergy in a standalone piece of literature that has not been diluted with spin-offs and sequels. The books remains powerful for its superb storytelling technique, provocative themes, and memorable characters. Hopefully DC will leave it that way. posted by Brendan | 7:29 PM | permanent link
SMILE Trailer Raina Telgemeier is a fantastically talented artist best known for her work on the Baby-sitter Club comic adaptations. Her new book, out now, is called SMILE and is auto-biographical in nature. The book is a memoir of her teen years, which start our badly when she trips and seriously damages her two front teeth. I've been ready nothing but great things about the books leading up to its release, and today I saw this trailer for the book. All said, it looks like a fun and interesting read. I hope to find a copy of it sometime soon. Labels: Comics posted by Brendan | 1:11 PM | permanent link Quest vs Venture The battle we've all been waiting for.  posted by Brendan | 12:58 PM | permanent link
Axe Cop Axe Cop is an online comic by Malachai and Ethan Nicolle. The comic stars Axe Cop, a police officer who vanquishes evil by using a fireman's axe to chop the bad guy's head off, and his partner, a half-man/half-avocado who used to be a half-man/half-dinosaur who used to be a cop who used a flute for a weapon. Yes, it's as crazy-cool as it seems.  Best part. It's written by a 5 year-old boy. Ethan Nicolle is an Eisner Award nominated comic book creator. Malachai is his 5 year-old little brother. Malachai comes up with the beautifully bizarre Axe Cop stories and Ethan brings them to life in pencil and ink. Go read the stories. Labels: Comics posted by Brendan | 1:46 PM | permanent link
Batman by Ted Naifeh I'm totally digging Ted Naifeh's sketches of Batman and related characters. Not sure if he's trying to audition for DC in a plan for them to throw a Batman story his way, but I enjoy the perks of getting to see how he sees the character.  Labels: art, Batman, Comics, DC posted by Brendan | 7:21 PM | permanent link
Zorro by Chris Samnee A group of comic book artists launched a blog, Comic Twart, this week based around this basic premise: one member of the group will suggest a character to draw and then everyone else has to draw and post there artwork. There is a lot of great artistic talent involved and I'm kinda excited to see what sort of work we see over the next few weeks. The inaugural subject is Zorro. I found Chris Samnee's entry to be my favorite.  Just working with blacks and whites, his Zorro artwork has an level of energy that I can't remember since Frank Miller's first Sin City story. I pretty much liked all the Zorro entries, by Samnee's stood out. posted by Brendan | 5:23 PM | permanent link
Happy 75th Birthday, DC Comics 75 years ago today, on January 11, 1935, New Fun #1 went on sale. The comic was published by the company that would come to call themselves DC Comics and provide its readers some memorable characters and stories.  I'm just glad they've hung around this long to publish fun and innovative stories starring some of the most interesting characters in literature. posted by Brendan | 8:04 AM | permanent link
Civil War Adventures Here's something I want to add to my reading list: Civil War Adventures  I'm not familiar with Kwapisz's art, but the samples on the website look good. Chuck Dixon is one of the best comic book writers in the business. I think it is impossible for him to not craft a compelling and entertaining story. With Dixon's writing and the amount of historical research that will be going into these comics, I expect the books from History Graphics Press to be a great read. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on one. Labels: Comics posted by Brendan | 12:42 PM | permanent link
Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty Kevin Huizenga drew these fictional nemeses for the Famous Fictional Villains show in St. Louis.  posted by Brendan | 5:01 PM | permanent link
More Halloween Comics Even though I'm not much of a Halloween fan, I still enjoy the themed artwork/comics the holiday can inspire. Following on yesterday's post on Chris Ware's Halloween cover for The New Yorker, today I've got a splendarific comic from Cul de Sac creator Richard Thompson.  I can so relate to what goes on in this comic. via [The Beat]. posted by Brendan | 4:56 PM | permanent link
Chris Ware Covers Halloween Chris Ware did a wonderful cover for this week's issue of The New Yorker  He also contributed a comic inside that is equally well done. posted by Brendan | 4:49 PM | permanent link
Almost Like Someone Was Planning It I was re-watching the Tim Burton directed Batman Returns last week when a thought occurred to me. If you look at the arch of Batman films that have been released since 1989�s Batman (also directed by Burton) through last year�s Christopher Nolan helmed The Dark Knight, they follow the same evolution in character depiction that the Batman comics have moved through over the years.  When the Batman character debuted in 1939 in Detective Comics #27, he was partially modeled after the pulp heroes and vigilantes that were popular of the day. Bob Kane and Bill Finger drew inspiration from The Shadow and The Spider, characters who hunted criminals as much as they protected the innocent. Like these pulp heroes, Batman was sinister and brooding, and not at all averse to letting the bad guy die. In these early Batman comics, Batman wouldn�t purposely kill the villain outright, but at the same time he wouldn�t try and save the villain. This characterization of Batman is similar to what you see in the Batman films directed by Tim Burton � Batman and Batman Returns. Batman is a defender of good, but he drifts into amoral territory when it comes to handling the villains. This most notably happens in the second film, Batman Returns. In that film, Batman is seen using the jet exhaust from the Batmobile to set a fire-breathing thug aflame, makes no attempt to prevent the Penguin from crashing through a roof window and dropping to his ultimate death, and even attaches a ticking time bomb to a muscle-bound heavy before tossing him into a tunnel just prior to explosion.  Just like the arrival of Dr. Wertham and his cronies dramatically changed the comic book landscape in the 1950s, the arrival of director Joel Schumacher to the Bat-franchise dramatically changed the caped crusader on the silver screen in the middle 1990s. To try and protect itself from the comic book witch hunts of the 1950s, DC comics made Batman friendlier and less threatening. The colors became brighter, the stories became tamer, and there was certainly no killing � by anyone, villain or hero. The new nice-nice version of Batman hit its zenith in the mid 1960�s with the arrival of the uber-campfest of the Batman television show; which the comic books instantly set out to emulate. What started out as a happier, less threatening Batman ended up with day-glow backgrounds and a �chummy� Dynamic Duo that was more slap-stick than sinister.  Batman & Robin, Schumacher�s second Bat-film, is the modern day interpretation of the campy 1960�s Batman television show � but without any of the sense of fun. Over the top sets, ridiculous storylines, and general silliness abound. The only thing missing was the onscreen �Biffs� and �Pows� for when Batman and Robin smacked the bad guys.  This brings us to the third and modern era of Batman. Christopher Nolan comes along to breathe new life into the Batman movie franchise, and calls upon for inspiration from the comics the resurrected Batman from his campy comic book persona. Artist Neal Adams and writer Denny O�Neil reasserted Batman�s grittier, pulp hero roots when they started spinning Batman stories for DC Comics in the mid-1970�s; and Frank Miller further refined the character as a noir, street-level hero with his work on Batman in two works: Batman: Year One and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. These comic creators, along with other working in the 70�s and 80�s, not only redefined Batman, but also introduced the idea that superheroes could be used to tell sophisticated, multi-layered stories.  The Dark Knight came this close to being nominated for an Academy Award for outstanding movie of the year. The amount of critical praise lauded on the film demonstrated that now critics and audiences are ready to accept superheroes as more than just kid stuff, much the same way Frank Miller�s Return of the Dark Knight did in 1986.  I know the popular thought is to have Christopher Nolan back to make a third Batman film. However, I think Warner Brothers should stick with the pattern that they have, for one reason or another, fallen into. Namely, a director gets two shots at the Dark Knight and then moves on. Burton had his two, Schumacher had two, and now Nolan has completed his pair of Batman movies. These three directors have, knowingly or not, traced in broad strokes the development arch of the Batman character over the last 70 years. Time to let a new director put his or her interpretation on film. Either draw inspiration from other in-between periods of Batman�s history or create something new. Labels: Batman, Comics, movies posted by Brendan | 10:19 PM | permanent link
Google Does ComicCon ComicCon, the annual orgy of all things pop culture, started today in San Diego and Google is getting in on the action. This is today�s Google logo, designed by Jim Lee and starring the heroes of DC Comics:  Google also released a bunch of new iGoogle themes drawing inspiration from comics. Everything from Batman to Ziggy, with some alternative comics and manga thrown in for good measure. I tried out the Pearls Before Swine theme for my iGoogle page, but I just can't get into that sort of embellishment on my personalized pages. I already have plenty of content on these pages � news, weather, email, quotes of the day � I don't need a bunch of images crowding things up. It's neat idea. Just not for me. Here's a real close look at the Jim Lee-design logo posted by Brendan | 6:42 PM | permanent link
Gordon Meets the New Batman  Commissioner James Gordon has always been my favorite supporting character in Batman's universe. Tough, principled, and the second smartest lawman in Gotham after Batman.Ever since they shook things up with Batman and put Richard Grayson in the cape and cowl with a new kid as Robin, I have been anxious to see how Commissioner Gordon would react. From the preview art from Batman & Robin #2 over at IGN, Grant Morrison is giving us that first scene and it's obvious Gordon is immediately clued in that things are different - yet the same. I can't wait to see how Morrison handles this relationship between Gordon and the new Batman. posted by Brendan | 9:20 PM | permanent link
Pure Evil It's been a while since we took a swing at the legal profession. Here's a nice one from today's Last Kiss.  posted by Brendan | 9:27 AM | permanent link
Getting Pulled Back In Don�t tell Heather, but I am being strongly tempted to end my moratorium on buying monthly comics. In January 2008 I stopped purchasing comics on a monthly basis cold turkey. The decision was driven almost entirely on concerns over budget. I�ve continued buying graphic novel or trade paperback collections, but mostly I�ve been digging into my collection of old single issues for my comic book reading fix each month. Since the switch in buying habits I haven�t felt like I was missing anything by not stopping in a comic shop each month. Until now.  Three days ago Batman & Robin #1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely hit the stands. Morrison is a comic writing phenom. Quitely is an extraordinary artist. Together they have made some of the best comics of the last ten years.A lot has been going on with Batman over the last year, and although I haven�t been reading the books I have been able to follow along with events more or less thanks to a splattering of blogs. In short: as a result of his actions to save the universe, Bruce Wayne has been thrown back in time � literary � but is believed to be dead by the general public (long story). Dick Grayson (aka Nightwing, aka the first Robin) has taken up the Mantel of the Bat and is now operating as Gotham City�s new nocturnal protector in Bruce�s absence. Joining him as the newest Robin is Damien, Bruce Wayne�s and Talia al Ghul�s love-child (an even longer story). Batman & Robin marks the beginning of this new Dynamic Duo. My anticipation over this new book � the concept, the characters, the creators � was so great I had run out to pick up a copy. The experience of reading it met my every expectation. Batman & Robin #1 is fresh, exciting, big-idea filled, and dynamic � everything that I want from a superhero comic. Best yet, Morrison and Quitely left me pumped up to read the next chapter. They perfectly launched a new series. And if a stellar comic was enough, then they teased me with this:  Sure I could wait for these individual issues to be collected into trade paperbacks, but who wants to wait for DC to collect what looks like will be all sorts of fantastically trippy Batman and Robin stories? Not I. Plus, there are two more books headed to shops this June that have me almost as excited as Batman & Robin.  There is Red Robin, which will feature Tim Drake, the last Robin before Damian, on his quest to try and bring Bruce Wayne back from . . . wherever the hell he is. That book looks great.Plus, Greg Rucka takes over the writing chores for Detective Comics, but now the book will star Batwoman. Rucka is a favorite writer of mine who excels at writing strong, interesting female characters. This new Batwoman is completely his creation, and along with the gorgeous artwork of JH Williams, should make �Tec a fantastic read. Something I definitely wanted to check out. Again, I�m sure I could wait for those two books to be collected and queue them up in my graphic novel budget. But if I�m already making my way to the comic shop to pick up Batman & Robin each month, I could just as easily start picking up Red Robin and �Tec. Hmmm. . . . Labels: Batman, Comics, Review posted by Brendan | 8:51 AM | permanent link
5 Things I Think I'm attending an email conference for the third year in a row, and this time I finally decided to stay at the hotel associated with the conference center. The hotel is a posh-posh resort run by Marriott. They charge $16 for 24 hours of internet access. The hotel I stayed at the last two years � which was five minute drive away � gave me Wi-Fi Internet access for free and was nearly hundred dollars cheaper per night. This is last time I stay at this resort.  [via]  I can't wait for this to open and get Ian, Emma, and Zoe up there. It will be a blast.  Check out his blog. Labels: 5 Things I Think, Chicago, Comics, Rant posted by Brendan | 10:32 PM | permanent link
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is the Man  I know I've mentioned it here a number of different times on this blog - comic artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is one of the all-time greatest comic book artists ever. There is nothing that the man cannot draw, and what he does draw has a classic elegance that few other artists can achieve.While clearing out some bookmarks I rediscovered this page - a smorgasbord of Garcia-Lopez artwork. I could spend all day pouring over the artwork on that page. There is so much to see and enjoy. There can never be too much Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez art. posted by Brendan | 8:32 AM | permanent link
Happy St. Patrick's Day In the past I posted pictures of Guinness or video of Muppets singing Danny Boy. This year I highlight a recently discovered blog for Irish comics artists called "Eclectic Micks". They've hardly been at it a month, so there isn't a whole lot to look at yet. Hopefully they will keep with it. From what little samples I've seen, a few of the artists I really like. One of artists I like in particular is Declan Shalvey, who happens to share the same first name as my nephew. Here's is Declan's rendition of Father Jack from Father Ted, a popular comedy TV series out of Ireland.  Happy St. Patrick's Day. Labels: Comics, Illustration posted by Brendan | 10:43 PM | permanent link
Ladr�nn's Commissoner Jim Gordon Mexican artist Ladr�nn is contributing cover art to some of the one-shots the DC is publishing surrounding the next Batman story event "Battle for the Cowl." I'm a fan of Ladr�nn's work, particularly the work he's done on the Hip Flask series. I think his cover for Batman: Battle for the Cowl - Commissioner Gordon is fantastic. It captures much of what I love about the character of Jim Gordon just in body language - tough, determined, principled, uncompromising.  Labels: art, Batman, Comics, Illustration posted by Brendan | 8:50 AM | permanent link
This Is Fun  It's the Iron Man Armored Popper game. And it's a great way to waste time. Labels: Comics, game, iron man posted by Brendan | 10:55 PM | permanent link
Watchmen Stuff For the most part I have been ignoring all the build up to the Watchmen movie release today. I've been quietly re-reading the book at home and waiting for the reviews to roll in. Don't know if it was done to capitalize on or mock the hype surrounding the opening of the Watchmen movie, but all week PVP has been doing a parody of the Watchmen called Ombudsmen using syndicated newspaper comic strip characters. I thought the concept was clever and well executed; especially how Scott Kurtz adapted the main storyline to fit his parody. His casting was also spot-on. It�s a funny read. Worth your time.  As for the film - the reviews for the film have been mixed. The Chicago Tribune�s Michael Phillips hated it. The Chicago Sun-Times� Roger Ebert loved it. Everyone else seems to falling into one of those two camps. Personally, I am ambivalent to the movie. I love the book immensely. It�s one of my top five favorite comics and I�ve always shared Watchmen writer Alan Moore�s assertion that the book cannot be made into a movie. Plus, I was less than enthralled with Watchmen director Zack Synder�s uninspired film interpretation of Frank Miller�s 300. None the less, it would be interesting to see for myself how things turned out. Labels: comic strips, Comics, DC, movies posted by Brendan | 4:31 PM | permanent link
Comic Book Movie News I�m always a little wary of announcements that comic book properties are being adapted into films � especially when the comics in question are superhero books. It�s not much a stretch to take something like History of Violence or Road to Perdition and translate that compelling story to film that will be accepted and generally appreciated. Make your story about a grown man dressing up like a bat and film makers can start flaying all about. Sometimes the result is an an enjoyable film, other times were left with a train wreck of cinema. Luckily, the quality and sophistication of films based on superhero comics seems to be trending in the right direction. More solid storytelling and less train wreck. Hopefully that will continue. Of all the new projects announced by Warner Brother (DC Comics) and Marvel, these are the ones that I are grabbing my initial interest  GREEN LANTERN (release: December 17, 2010) � Green Lantern has always been one of my favorite DC heroes. There will be a direct to DVD animated film starring GL later this year that I am anxious to see, but a live-action flick could be a lot of fun also. I really believe that depending on how Warner Brothers decides to handle Green Lantern in his feature film debut, GL could be Warner�s Iron Man � a character driven sci-fi adventure with a broad appeal. SUICIDE SQUAD (no release set) � WB announced that they�re developing a script based on this DC Comics series that would bring together villains and fallen-heroes for Government-sanctioned missions so dangerous that it may kill them, but that�s it so far. Why I like the idea of this film being made is that it would probably compel DC Comics to start release collections of John Ostrander�s excellent run of the series. (They haven't done that to date) I really don�t care if the movie is any good if the end result is I can pick up some quality comics.Damn. 9 movies. Again, you have to admire Marvel�s ambitious approach to adapting their stable of characters to the silver screen. They lock up Sam Jackson because they plan on creating all of these movies and wanting to build some continuity of character across properties. I really wish DC Comics/WB could pull together a comprehensive plan like that. Labels: Comics, DC, iron man, movies posted by Brendan | 10:30 PM | permanent link
Blondie and Dagwood: Classic This week a number of comic book blogs I read posted articles listing their favorite (or least favorite) comic book couples to celebrate Valentine's Day. J. Caleeb at Newsarama was the only poster who not only identified one of the truly great comic couples, but provides an excellent rationale for their greatness.
So true. So true. Happy Valentine's Day Labels: Comics posted by Brendan | 9:09 AM | permanent link
What's In Oklahoma? I've never had much of an interest in visiting Oklahoma. Until now.  Nine years ago Kevin Stark convinced the Pauls Valley City Council that not only did the town needed a tourist attraction, but that the perfect attraction would be a toy and action figure museum. Wired has a nice little photo essay about it all. It's really more of a huge, massive collection than a museum. But its cool none the less. I mean, check out the DC heroes display  Maybe I'll have to find my way to Pauls Valley City, OK some time soon. posted by Brendan | 4:54 PM | permanent link
Jim Lee's Dark Knight Alex Sinclair - longtime colorist for most of Jim Lee's comic book work - posted a piece of Jim's art that he had colored over at the gelatometti blog. It's Jim's interpretation of Batman as he appears in last summer's The Dark Knight film.  Jim Lee is one of my favorite comic book artists, and I love the work he does with Batman. It's been a while since I prettied up my blog with some of his artwork, and I thought this was the perfect time to end the drought. Labels: Batman, Comics, Illustration posted by Brendan | 11:03 PM | permanent link
There Can't Be One Batman Ian Freer, writing on the Empire magazine blog, makes the argument that Adam West is a better Batman over Christian Bale.  If I was going to pick the best on-screen version of Batman, I'd go with Michael Keaton. I've always been partial to how Keaton balances the two sides of Bruce Wayne and Batman, while giving each the right mix of the other side. His Bruce has just enough darkness and edginess for us to remind us that Batman lurks nearby, and his Batman flashes a little of the human Bruce side at just the right times. But that isn't my contention with Mr. Freer's post. It's where he asks, ". . . what is the definitive interpretation of Batman?" Freer argues that the concept of Batman, when boiled down to its essence, is a silly concept. A man dressed as bat solving crimes. Therefore only Adam West's campy 1960's Batman can ever really capture the true Cape Crusader. But if the longevity of the character was contingent upon the strength of his essence as defined by Freer, then I can't imagine Batman lasting nearly 70 years. There isn't a whole lot to go on with that sort of character. A go-go dancing, shark-repellent using campy Batman came and went, yet the character continues to be used and enjoyed. Freer went wrong in his distillation. The core of Batman isn't a man dressing up like a bat to solve crimes. The core of Batman is the story of one man standing up to try and make sense and bring order to a world that doesn't always make sense. He just happens to do that by dressing up like a Bat to solve crimes most times (there are alternative Batman stories where Bruce never makes it into a "Batman" suit exactly, but he's still true to his character.)  How the story of Bruce Wayne/Batman is told can take many forms. As crime drama, as in The Dark Knight. As an action story, like in Batman Forever. Or as campy satire of modern culture, which is where the 60's television show decided to use the character.Comics have mined Batman for even more types of stories- horror, sci-fi, mystery, historical drama, the list is extensive. For almost 70 years Batman has been interpreted in countless different ways by countless different people. What's great about all these variations is that through all of them I can see the same theme - one man tying to make sense out of his world. Batman is an attempt to answer order to a world that presents chaos. That's what makes Batman such a wonderful character and such an enduring character in literature, he can be whatever you need him to be. It's also what makes the Joker the perfect foil to the character of Batman. So instead of trying to pick one version over another as the canonical version, I prefer to appreciate all the different flavors and enjoy the bounty of stories that spring forth. Labels: Batman, Comics, movies, TV posted by Brendan | 11:41 AM | permanent link
Painting With a Video Game I think it is wonderful how the Internet has given people greater access to artists around the world - and also provided a way for those artists to share how they create their art. Take for example, Sean Phillips. I have been a fan of his art since seeing his work on Sleeper, and have followed him ever since. On his blog he is always providing peek at works-in-progress or sharing sample artwork, and I love getting that inside view of the artist.  I was catching up with posts on hos blog the other day and found this piece (at right) from the middle of October. It seemed like a rather simple - but good - painting of a nude until I read that he had done the painting on his Nintendo DS.The same little machine that my son Ian plays Pokemon and Indiana Jones on Phillips used to create a piece of art. It blew my mind. What's even more remarkable is the video he posted showing him creating this piece on his DS. The video is time-lapsed, so it plays quickly, but I can't help but marvel at how he is able to pull together little swatches and blobs of color into the final piece of art. Even without knowing that he was painting this on a Nintendo DS, the ability to start with blocks of color and then layer and shade your way to picture of something is a skill I am envious of. I'd post the video of Sean painting on the DS if I could. If you want to see it you'll have to go to his website. Labels: art, Comics, Illustration posted by Brendan | 3:14 PM | permanent link
Happy Halloween Comic book fans will appreciate this Halloween-themed illustration by Adam Koford  I'm off to take the kids trick-or-treating, to be followed up by dad-mooching-candy-from-his-kids.Maybe this holiday isn't so bad after all. Labels: Comics, Halloween, Illustration posted by Brendan | 2:43 PM | permanent link
Why I Like Comics It's not the only reason, but Richard Thompson's Cul De Sac strip makes clear one of the reasons I prefer spending my time and money on comics.  I love The Dark Knight, but I'll always prefer my Batman stories in comic form over film. Like Petey Otterloop says in the strip, movies are passive and comics are active - from an audience involvement point of view. When you watch a movie you are completely at the mercy of the director and editor as far as how quickly or slowly you experience the story. If you want to dwell on a scene longer you don't have the option. The director is going to move things along as he/she sees fit. However in comics you can spend five minutes absorbing the details of one panel - one scene - before moving on to the rest of the story. And you have the option to stop mid-story and go back to earlier scenes if you want to. It's your decision. Comics are a wonderful interactive medium for experiencing a story. I can't imagine ever giving that up. Labels: Comics posted by Brendan | 1:06 PM | permanent link
Somber Thoughts The tanking U.S. stock market has me a little spooked, but not in a panic. I'm young, and as long as I don't lose my job, I figure there is still plenty of time for me to ride things out as far as Heather and my investments are concerned. However, in all the stories and analysis that I've read concerning the market meltdown, one reoccurring point that is made is how devastating this week's crash could be on retirees or soon to be retirees who still had money wrapped up in stocks. Which of course led me to consider my mom's and dad's situation. Both in their early 60's, I wonder how or if this market collapse is going to alter their retirement plans. Then I saw this editorial cartoon as part of a collection by John McCutcheon, the "Dean of American Cartoonist", and it only strengthened that concern.  It is interesting how even with so much attention made to learn from history so that the same "bad" things aren't repeated, we still find a way to muddle into "bad" situations that are eerily like events of the past. While I think we've learned too much to end up in another Depression like America experienced in the 1930's, we do seem headed for some sort of recession/depression unlike anything we had since then. posted by Brendan | 8:50 PM | permanent link
Batman and Iron Man What I found most funny about today's PVP is that I was think this very same thing the just other day.  Tony Stark/Iron Man is Bruce Wayne/Batman but without all the emotional baggage.Still think Batman's cooler though. Labels: Batman, Comics, iron man posted by Brendan | 11:26 PM | permanent link
What's Fun About Comics? Chris Giarrusso. The guy's work is pure, unadulterated fun. You might think, looking at his comics, that his work could become trite and gimmicky; but that isn't the case. Giarrusso keeps his comics fresh and always delivers the funny.  I wish he wasn't so exclusive to Marvel. I'd love to see what he would do with the DC stable of characters. His website is fantastic, too. Even the homepage animation navigation makes me laugh. Labels: Comics posted by Brendan | 10:23 PM | permanent link
Incognito I've been a huge fan of the pairing of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips since I discovered their work on Sleeper. Their collaboration on Criminal has been just as fantastic. Now I read that they will be debuting a new series called Incognito this November.  The preview solicitation: What if you were an ex-super villain hiding out in Witness Protection� but all you could think about were the days when the rules didn�t apply to you? Could you stand the toil of an average life after years of leaving destruction in your wake? And what if you couldn�t stand it? What would you do then?More crime noir written from the bad guy's point of view. I love it. Just like I am doing with Criminal; even though the story will be serialized in a monthly comic book, I'll wait for the collections to be published to pick up and read. Labels: Comics posted by Brendan | 12:19 PM | permanent link
The Greatest American Hero Returns  About a month or so back I read about the plan to produce a comic book based on the 1980�s TV show The Greatest American Hero. I was going to write something about this little news nugget because my dad, brother and I were big fans of the show back when it originally aired. The Greatest American Hero was one of the first TV shows (or any sort of pop media for that matter) that I remember sharing an interest in with my Dad.Even though the comic was being co-written by William Katt (a.k.a. the actor who portrayed the "Greatest American Hero"), I opted not to write about the comic. Ultimately the idea of a comic based on the show generated marginal interest in me. Therefore the news was not worthy of a post. But now I read that Stephen J. Cannell, the creator of The Greatest American Hero (and nearly half of all shows produced from 1975-1990), confirmed that there will be a featured film made based on the property. Apparently the recent boom in superhero movies and Disney�s less than spectacular summer 2008 box office take, has the House of Mouse moving more quickly on this project. That�s something to write about. A movie and a comic. The Greatest American Hero is experiencing a renaissance. According to Cannell, Katt, Connie Sellecca, and Robert Kulp will all be in the movie, but I have to imagine that Katt won�t be suiting up in the red pajamas again. I�m sure the story will have some new schlep taking on the role of the Greatest American Hero. Regardless, I hope they keep the fun tone that the original series had on TV and preserve the premise of the show: regular Joe is given alien-crafted super suit, but loses the instructions and has to figure things out on his own. Hilarity ensues. Labels: 80's, Comics, movies, TV posted by Brendan | 1:56 PM | permanent link
Google Chrome You'd probably think the last thing we need is another web browser, but you might be wrong. Between Microsoft's inferior but popular Internet Explorer, the technically superior Firefox, and the third-party candidate Opera (not to mention all the little custom browsers), everyone should be covered when it comes to their web browsing needs. But that hasn't stopped Internet uber-company Google from developing and launching their own browser: Chrome. It's set to be released sometime today as a Beta for Windows machines, and was built from scratch from the bottom up to make the most of what the Internet has to offer today - not 1998 when the browsers wars started. One of the more interesting points of this browser project is that Google brought in comic creator / theorist Scott McCloud to create a comic explaining / demystifying what it is that the Google engineers did when putting together Chrome.  The browser isn't out yet, but when it does launch I will be installing it. Google has produced some amazing web applications over the last few years, and after reading through this comic I am excited about giving their web browser a try. They might actually win me away from Firefox. posted by Brendan | 1:04 PM | permanent link |
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