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:

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:

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.

Phenomenal advice for aspiring writers of graphic fictions from personal fave Warren Ellis:

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.)

Soulless artist Eric Jimenez let’s us pick his brain a bit about his career, panel88 projects and why comics are where it’s at.

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.

We cornered Dissension and L.E.A.S.H. artist Jordan Gunderson at the Chicago Comic-Con and got inside his head for a few to find out about his work, past and present, and comics are where he wants to be.

Just a couple shots I grabbed between rounds of either sweating my ass off or pitching our latest projects at the Chicago Comic-Con.

The Chicago Comic-Con (or Wizard World Chicago, or whatever the hell they’re callin’ it these days) has come and gone. And, while it might not have had as much glamour or presence from the big guns as it has in the past, it was a great time with great company to be had on the show floor and after hours. Thanks to everyone affiliated with panel88 (and anyone who happened to be even remotely aware of us). We loved seeing you all. If you happened this way after talking with us at the show, give us a shout and let us know what you think of the fine work our creators and artists are churning out these days.

See ya next year.