Highway 62

NEWSARAMA - REX MUNDI MOVES FROM IMAGE TO DARK HORSE

A quick time out from lettering to congratulate the REX MUNDI team on their jump to Dark Horse and the news of a feature film deal through Dark Horse Entertainment. Not that I hold a lot of hope of that happening given the long shadow being cast by THE DA VINCI CODE with regards to the subject matter. But hey, maybe they'll strike it rich and the HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL guys can take a crack at suing 'em...

And JH Williams III on the cover of the first issue? That's a coup.

Posted by Matt M. at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dr. Strange Comics: The Lesser Book of the Vishanti: Contents

Compiled by catherine yronwode.

Yes, that catherine yronwode. From Eclipse Comics. Never knew she was this much of a Dr. Strange fan. But there you have it. I'm sure if you need something to read while wasting time at work and you're a Dr. Strange fan, then this would be the proverbial goldmine. Me? I got pages to letter...

Posted by Matt M. at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

That Paul Pope's BATMAN: YEAR 100 #1 and #2 (out last week) are going back to press. This is certainly welcome news, as it means more folks are demanding one of the year's best comics. I'm figuring that the book was originally ordered as a Paul Pope title and not as a Paul Pope BATMAN title.

Behold! The power of the franchise!

My exasperation that more folks will read this than have even heard of 100% aside, this is a good thing. And it's great to see support for a book instead of just making potential readers wait on a trade that's likely a year in coming.

And what's this? Posted by Matt M. at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With DC's One Year Later event.

It's reliance on cheap mystery to engage the reader. Want to know who the new Catwoman is and how Selina Kyle found herself in a delicate condition? Want to know how Superman lost his powers? Want to know why Green Arrow is in office?

Well then you want to read all of the One Year Later titles, don't you? Instead of simply having the stories progress naturally (or unnaturally, in some cases), we're thrown ahead in time, after a series of major upheavals, staring at a familiar world made unfamiliar. And the readers are desperate to know why. The emotional resonance comes not from the story itself: it comes from the reader who wants to know what has happened to his or her favorite characters. I always thought storytelling like this was a bit of a copout. And it happens a lot in comics, particularly in the "done in one" years. You'd get a great splash page of our hero in peril and the first thought balloon on the page is along the lines of "How the heck did I end up here?"

Of course, that's really the reader's thought, not the character's. That's where the dramatic tension comes from. Not from a story unfolding before you, but from the cheap thrill of instant peril that's never quite paid off.

Why does SEVEN SOLDIERS work and all this stuff is leaving me cold? Because SEVEN SOLDIERS is tight storytelling. Infinite Crisis/OYL is an event. SEVEN SOLDIERS happens before your eyes. The other stuff all takes place off the page, with mere plot pointers to direct you to the MEANINGFUL ACTION. But then I've had this problem with big event comics since...well...forever.

But hey, I'm just bitter because I'm not writing the BLUE DEVIL revival, right?

Right...

Posted by Matt M. at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Secret Headquarters

James Jean will be appearing at the lovely and wonderful Secret Headquarters in Silverlake (that's in Los Angeles, CA y'all) on Friday, April 7th. Why do I exclaim "Bastardo!"? Because I won't be able to go. I'll be in Seattle instead.

Stupid Seattle.

Looks to be a fun little event, though. Including an auction of the FABLES v. 7 trade artwork.

Sigh.

Posted by Matt M. at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Short form:

Lame.

Medium form:

Relocating from Long Beach was a bad idea (nothing to do outside the convention center at all). Guest list didn't hold a lot of interest for me (all of their big names come to every west coast show anyways). Artist's Alley was half-deserted (there were still some standouts, but it seemed underpopulated). Programming was dire (unless you were a hardcore Marvel fan or hadn't been to Wondercon to get the same DCU panel three times). Costumes were largely unimaginative (though points to the Ghost Rider with the fluorescent orange wig). Spike TV's booth was unwelcome (even with all the comely lasses strategically placed inside, it was too big, too loud and too obnoxious. I know, that's their target demographic).

I finished with the place in a little over an hour, but stuck around a bit longer to rifle through the cheap OGN bins (plenty of Howard Chaykin goodness and a couple other oddities--including a copy of VOICE OF THE FIRE by Alan Moore for half off cover price, which I passed on). Said my hellos to people I came to see (that'd be Josh Fialkov -- Mr. Ritchie looked too busy most of the time to get a word in edgewise; Tommy Lee Edwards was a pleasure to chat with and his pages for BULLET POINTS look just great, though I'm not a fan of JMS, so I'm torn on this project.)

Wizard has a lot of work to do if they want to take over the west coast. Wondercon was three or four times the show that this was. Things that'd be nice to see:

More diverse programming (don't just focus on the big guys and their tentpole projects) would be welcome.

More diverse guest list as well.

More interesting events.

Some kind of incentives to get more local artists in on the show to make it feel like an LA show and not a generic and bland comic show (the art jam at the Golden Apple booth was great -- spread that out, make a bigger deal of it.)

Even the big guys didn't have their best foot forward (though the line for getting Geoff Johns to sign anything was a freakin' mile long). DC's booth seemed anemic compared to what they had up at Wondercon. Marvel's booth seemed kinda desultory, not a lot of effort in it. The biggest line there was for portfolio reviews.

On Saturday, the vendors were haggling hard for sales. I can only imagine what it was like Sunday.
Saturday morning, which should have been crazy busy (and was at Long Beach for the years I've gone) was dead. I was registered and in the door in ten minutes. Because the crowds just weren't there (although I was processed efficiently.)

Last year's show in Long Beach was much more impressive than this, and not just because I could go and get a reasonably priced Guiness and a meal afte crossing a street. Maybe it's the big two coasting on their big events, maybe it was Marvel shooting their wad early on Friday, and maybe it was just a not so good show this year. It happens.

Better luck next year, Wizard.

Posted by Matt M. at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Broken Frontier | The Portal for Quality Comics Coverage!

As the Titanic goes down...

Finally, here's part 2 of the interview I did with Broken Frontier, a couple weeks before Speakeasy threw in the towel. Neither "oddly prescient" nor "ironic." Give it a read, won't you?

Posted by Matt M. at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...the BIPLANE?

found_objects: david bowie... COMICS?!

I can't even describe the joyous awfulness that this is. David Bowie comics, substandard to even the ROCK AND ROLL COMICS of the late 80s. I mean, real bad. But joyously bad.

Posted by Matt M. at 11:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEWSARAMA.COM: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI%u2019s WORDS, WORDS, WORDS (One)

I am about to tell you something that may be the most important thing anyone ever tells you about the writing biz. No guff. Ready? Here it is.

There is no competition.

I say this for two reasons.

Yeah, I've been away, and I'll be away for a while still. However, before I disappeared into the aether, I did want to comment on the above link. I have to say, I don't care for JMS' writing. I didn't like BABYLON 5 and I don't like his take on SPIDER-MAN.

However, he has a point in the above. It's worth reading, particularly if you're harboring delusions of going to comic writing. Or writing at all.

The trick is, you have to write. Not talk about it, not blog about it, not network about it. And certainly not anguish about it.

Work on STRANGEWAYS continues apace. Began writing the second long story arc, entitled "Thirsty." A nickel to the reader who can guess the supernatural menace involve.

An imaginary nickel, that is.

Plans still call for a self-published collection of the STRANGEWAYS material created to date (what would have been issues 1-6 of the series as not put out by Speakeasy.) Probably this summer, realistically, maybe a tad later. Five of the six issues of artwork are done now, just need to be laid out and lettered, after I get more script pages to the artists.

Oh yes, there's likely to be a new artist. Luis Guaragna is tied up until July and I can't wait that long to start on things. There's two candidates, both are good.

As for the blog, seems a shame to have it go so quiet since I spent all that time redesigning the style sheet for it, but that's how things work out sometimes. And, sadly, there's not too much that's been going on in comics that's inspired me. Maybe something like WELCOME TO HEAVEN DR. FRANKLIN, or reading the COMICS JOURNAL interviews with writers that just came out and realizing that comics are still struggling with legitimacy issues that they've been having since the sixties or how the latest INFINITE CRISIS and 52 previews don't engender much confidence in me (though that Question page is neat), maybe any of those would be meat for a longish entry, but there's pages to be written and laid out. Blogging gets to take a backseat to that for awhile.

Don't worry. I love the sound of my own voice too much to hang it up for too long. Go read Jog's blog instead. He's a much smarter guy than I am.

Posted by Matt M. at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)