panel88 artists bring it to C2E2
To those fortune souls out there who’ll make it to the new C2E2 con in Chicago, be sure to drop by artist’s alley and meet the hard-working, ever-loving, multi-talented artists that have lent their skills to some of our projects. L.E.A.S.H. and Dissension artist Jordan Gunderson will be at table G12, showcasing some of his latest work on Cry Wolf, Daughter of Sin and all the goodies he’s been working on with panel88 along with much more. Soulless artist Eric Jimenez can be found at table E5 with his sure-to-please smorgasbord of illustrated goodness.
Be sure to follow us on twitter for regular updates on what’s happening on and off the show floor.
All hail the cameo king. Excelsior!
Striparella aside, you gotta love how Stan Lee keeps giving us the goods. Let’s hear it for the unsung cameo actors of the world.
When digital gods question their own faith
In addition to being a life-long practitioner of the proud traditions of the comic book geek, my skills as a resident geek of all things pop and tech culture have grown quite a bit over the past few years. One place I’ve found these ideologies of geekdom to have come together quite nicely is the Underwire blog on Wired.com. The tasty little slivers of all things comic-bookly techy pop (in varying combination) have aptly filled many a lunch hour. That is until I came across Scott Thill’s recent post on Andi Ewington’s Forty-Five appeared it would provide the same satisfaction.
From the outset the post was a great teaser for a graphic novel I soon hope to own. It touched on the concept of, essentially, a new style for investigative journalism’s use in graphic fiction. I’d honestly love to see the technique used more and hope Ewington brings us something that’ll push the medium further.
Scrolling down past several beautifully executed pieces of finished art, it all gets a bit lost. Instead of exploring the book and its themes, the post breaks down into a recounting of the hard work it takes to pull together resources and meet deadlines in order to get a book out. (Really? It’s hard work?) Everyone now and then should be allowed a few pedestrian bits to help fill space (wouldn’t doubt it if most of you will probably think that’s exactly what I’m doing now). That being forgiven, what really gets me here is Thill’s final statement exploring the horizon for comics, questioning if there’s a digital age ahead.
Just to be clear, here we have a blog on the site for one of the world’s most preeminent technology publications questioning if the comic medium has a future in digital format. I don’t mean to break balls, but I can’t help but be astounded at the lack of credit given to the comics industry by a blog that should damn well know better. Sure, there could have been earlier strides made to move comics away from print, but when I can now turn on an episode of Man Caves (you heard me) and see Marvel’s digital subscription service getting prime product placement as part of a fellow geek’s comic-themed basement renovation, I think it’s safe to say the digital age is here.
As creators, we shouldn’t even question the possibility of digital formats – we should embrace them, champion them. From the very start of a new comics project, we should be thinking of the digital promotion and delivery of the book right behind theme development and talent procurement. But most of all, we shouldn’t have to read pontifications by apparently savvy experts on all things geek as to where the future of our medium lies.
We’ve seen our future. We know it. Now let’s get our there and prove it.
Hello, Monday.
Nothing like some kung fu a la Cowboy Bebop to start the week off right. Enjoy.
Watchmen cartoon
Opening the New Year under the very real threat of ultimate vengeance from Alan Moore and his unmerciful snake god, I give you the Watchmen cartoon.
DH says comics are now mainstream…and now, the sarcasm.
Came across a press release today from Mike Richardson and Dark Horse stating something that the rest of us (mainstream included) have been through the looking glass on for quite a while. Read the full release here:
Comic Books Are the New Mainstream
— Millions of Americans are fans of comic book
creations, and many might not even know it.
Sure. Why not? After all, isn’t it always that case that when something attains mainstream status, it automatically necessitates a PRESS RELEASE? The PR angle here isn’t wasted on me. Certainly a successful company with quality, rev-generating properties like Dark Horse wants to remind us that, while Iron Man and The Dark Knight alone have taken in enough in theater sales to fund an effective coup against Omar Bashir (look it up), they’ve got the goods, too. (And the thing is they do, damn it!)
Thing is, if you’ve got what the mainstream is so obviously aware of, the point of telling us all falls a bit moot. Not to mention the oxymoron this produces, i.e. that Dark Horse “remains the number one independent voice in the industry because of the embrace of the mainstream consumer.” Still trying to get my head around that one.
I write this with the realization that this post may prompt Dark Horse to never publish anything from panel88. Of course, my cockles couldn’t help but be warmed just a bit in knowing what such a blacklisting would say about who actually reads this blog.
This week’s eye candy – Covered Blog
I’ve been flipping through this blog for the past few days and keep coming back for more. I hope everyone takes some time to contribute to the art.
Personal favorite so far:
Warner Bros. Reminds You Who Really Owns DC Comics
Hot on the heels of the Disney/Marvel deal comes this little gem helping to muddy the increasingly blurry lines that exist between comics publishers and their corporate overseers: Warner Bros. Reboots DC Comics in bid to rival Marvel on big screen.
Now, let’s look past the posturing. No doubt this little reorg’s been cooking for a while and the Marvel buy forced WB’s hand. The corporations from which you buy everything from your toothpaste to MP3 player to car insurance do this on a nearly monthly basis. It’s nothing new and don’t fret if you see another flip somewhere down in the line in the next few years.
What we need to take note of as creators and comic lovers is where this battle is taking place. The title of the LA Times post pretty much says it all – it ain’t happening with the Wednesday pull, my friends. It’s happening with what’s on the silver screen and how many butts are being put in the seats.
It’s no mystery that comics and their story lines have become THE birthing grounds for the movies that now represent a substantial if not governing chunk of the box office take. Comics have great, notable, recognizable characters that will draw the most critical of fanboys into the theaters while lining the shelves with licensed goodies for all ages. It’s a formula that works…kind of.
Through years of reading and collecting and negotiating excruciating continuity twists, comic lovers can’t deny their beloved characters and the studios know this. As such, the collective eggs go into the cinematic basket and the comics (yeah, it’s a pun) get shelved. The problem here is that studios don’t care about the stories. It’s all the about the Jacksons we’re plunking down each weekend in July. Characters and titles seem to be thought of more as concepts than fully developed stories (and yes, I will use the X-Men Origins: Wolverine argument here if I have to because you know you can’t deny it is a total reinterpretation of the utmost sucktitude), leaving the door open for more of what we’ve been given so far: a couple pearls drowning in a sea of WTF? So, while a film-driven arms race between the Big Two might bring that Justice League movie to bear a lot sooner than later, what does it look like really? And what, if any, original material – the material that kept us reading these stories to begin with – will be preserved.
I do have to concede to those couple of pearls here, though. DC and Marvel have each brought their A games with Batman and Iron Man respectively. Outside of IM2, I’m not certain if Marvel’s coming ventures will transcend the status of a strictly revenue-generating franchise. I can say that, if Warner Bros. does have any truly noteworthy properties on the horizon, this sure as shit ain’t it:
Disney buys Marvel. The countdown to Spider-Mouse begins.
Seems the interwebs are teeming with this story, so I figured I’d follow suit and throw in my two cents.
There are really two ways this could go: the Pixar way or the Disney way. It’s safe to say Marvel fans at large are hoping for the former but preparing to live with the excruciating reality of the latter.
The Pixar way means allowing Marvel to follow the same independent path that began with a hopping desk lamp and has matured into THE chart-topping summer movie powerhouse it is today. The Pixar method means letting Marvel be Marvel. It means keeping those giant, four-fingered, white-gloved hands to yourself and letting Marvel creators (be they comic, cinematic or otherwise) explore and innovate according to the best stories they know how to tell. It means respecting an existing fan base and putting the faith and backing in new material to expand their audience. It also (hopefully) means getting a taste of the sweet financial muscle the Mouse can bring in amping up a character-driven movie franchise machine that – save for Iron Man – has fallen more than flat lately. (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I’m speaking directly to you here. I want my $9 and the tiny shreds of my cherished childhood mutant fantasies you stole back.)
As for the Disney way…I suppose we can look forward to that magical fortnight when an exclusive, digitally remastered edition of Elektra will be made available for a limited time before it’s thrown back into the Disney vault forever. At $29.99 plus tax, no less.
So you wanna write comic books?
Phenomenal advice for aspiring writers of graphic fictions from personal fave Warren Ellis:
Drug ring used comic books to launder cash
So, apparently one of the largest drug rings in Colorado decided to deal in premium comics to help move their cash. (Save yourself a little time and wait for the video to load and then skip to the end.)
I wouldn’t have thought golden- and silver-age comics would be the most lucrative way to launder money in a down economy. Sure you can get your hands on the books (and probably at a decent price), but who’s going to buy them? Well, besides other meth dealers, that is. Remember kiddies – Selling drugs will never lead to anything…other than one kick-ass comic collection that could put Nic Cage’s once-legendary stash to shame.
(Oh, and be sure to read through this article in order to get more detail than anyone interested in this story could even remotely need to know about how they moved the meth out into the streets.)
It could always be worse…
For anyone currently involved in or about to break into the profession of comics, recognize the battles that have been fought on your behalf to open the doors to expression free of censorship. Comics have not always been the accepted forum for interplay between science fiction and social commentary (and, let’s face it, Hollywood movie fodder) that they are today. Hard to believe that comics preceded Communism as the focus for mid-50′s witch hunts seeking to rid society of its ills. Fredric Wertham alone nearly brought about the end of an industry through a quack’s diagnosis of delinquent youths. “If juvenile offenders read comics, then comics must be the cause of their delinquency.” An argument that holds about as much water as “The sun rose the day after the Manson crew killed Sharon Tate, so we’ll need to keep slaughtering pregnant actresses if we want to live to see another day on earth.”
Comic creators – battles have been fought and generalizations overcome to see us into a world where comics have become a hotbed for new, original storytelling in the modern age. Might all our struggles – political, social, racial or otherwise – see as much success.
panel88 is an emergent creative house bringing together the writing and artistic talent needed to produce fully realized, original comics stories to promote to the creator-owned and top-tier comics publishers. This site is our open call to artists looking to bring their creations to life; and our opening salvo on publishers: We’re gunning for you next.