ComicBitsOnline.com

ALETHEIA #3 (of 3)

story, art & cover BOB LEFEVRE

32 PAGES, FC, $3.50

The mysterious

Ruse reveals his true identity, only to leave Medusa with a stone cold choice that forces her to decide between love or death – with the fate of the Ancient Gods in the balance! Don’t miss the stunning conclusion to this acclaimed miniseries!

 

And one for Mr.Brown!

  

 

AMERICAN FLAGG! VOL. 1 HC

story HOWARD CHAYKIN, art HOWARD CHAYKIN, JAMES SHERMAN, PAT BRODERICK & RICK BURCHETT, cover HOWARD CHAYKIN

440 PAGES, FC, $49.99, LTD SIGNED & NUMBERED HC $69.99

At last: AMERICAN FLAGG! — created, written and illustrated by HOWARD CHAYKIN and winner of numerous awards and honors, including nine Eagle Awards — available for the first time as a deluxe hardcover collecting the series’ first groundbreaking story arc!

Plus! Additional cover paintings, sketches and promotional pieces by CHAYKIN, a MICHAEL CHABON introduction, an afterword by JIM LEE, and as a special bonus – a brand-new AMERICAN FLAGG! story written and illustrated by HOWARD CHAYKIN exclusively for this edition!

Collects AMERICAN FLAGG! #1-14

 

 

COMIC BOOK TATTOO OGN

by PIA GUERRA, JOHN REPPION, LEAH MOORE, DAVID MACK, MIKE DRINGENBERG, COLLEEN DORAN, JONATHAN HICKMAN, JAMES OWEN, ERIC CANETE, TED McKEEVER, JOCK, ANTONY JOHNSTON, and over 70 more!, edited by RANTZ A. HOSELEY, cover JASON “STUNTKID” LEVESQUE

480 PAGES, FC, SC $29.99, HC $49.99

LTD SIGNED & NUMBERED HC $149.99

INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF TORI AMOS!

Over 80 of the best creators from every style and genre, have contributed over 50 stories to this anthology featuring stories inspired by the songs of multi-platinum recording artist, TORI AMOS. Featuring an introduction by NEIL GAIMAN, with stories by creators such as CARLA SPEED McNEIL, MARK BUCKINGHAM, C.B. CEBULSKI, NIKKI COOK, HOPE LARSON, JOHN NEY REIBER, RYAN KELLY and many, many others, COMIC BOOK TATTOO encapsulates the breadth, depth and beauty of modern comics in this coffee table format book.

 

DEAD SPACE #5 (of 6)

story ANTONY JOHNSTON, art & cover BEN TEMPLESMITH

32 PAGES, FC, $2.99

REAL SPACE. REAL TERROR.

The infection has begun! The colonists of Aegis VII begin a desperate fight for survival in the face of the necromorph onslaught, as the true scope of their fate becomes clear. Can anyone escape before the colony is overrun?

 

 

ELEPHANTMEN #13

story RICHARD STARKINGS, art MORITAT, covers KEVIN EASTMAN & BOO COOK

32 PAGES, FC, $2.99

SPORE WARS!

Don’t go down to the beach in

Santa Monica today, people are dying – and it’s not because they didn’t put on their sun block! LAPD’s resident Elephantman, Lieutenant Trench, investigates and what he finds isn’t pretty.

I just about nabbed the last copy off the shelf because standing orders don’t seem to exist in Forbidden Planet [

Bristol] any more!  This next one is a GREAT read!

 

 

 

INVINCIBLE #51

story ROBERT KIRKMAN, art RYAN OTTLEY & BILL CRABTREE, cover JIM LEE & BILL CRABTREE

32 PAGES, FC, $2.99

New costume! New beginning! New home! New Partner! Everything is all-new starting with this issue. Featuring an all-new cover by comic book super-star JIM LEE! If you’ve ever thought about reading INVINCIBLE this is the jumping-on point you’ve been waiting for. The next fifty issues start here!

  

 

LIBERTY COMICS: A CBLDF BENEFIT BOOK (ONE-SHOT)

stories ED BRUBAKER, DARWYN COOKE, GARTH ENNIS, MARK EVANIER & MARK MILLAR, art SERGIO ARAGONES, DARWYN COOKE, JOHN PAUL LEON, SEAN PHILLIPS & DARICK ROBERTSON, covers J. SCOTT CAMPBELL & MIKE MIGNOLA

32 PAGES, FC, $3.99

DEFEND YOUR

LIBERTY!

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Image Comics defend your freedom of speech with LIBERTY COMICS, an all-new 32-page, full color comic book crammed cover-to-cover with work by many of today’s top creative talents. This mature readers anthology is printed in a high quality format and features all-new stories of THE BOYS and CRIMINAL as well as all-new creations from some of your favorite artists. All proceeds benefit the CBLDF and their efforts to protect your creative rights!

RETAILER WARNING: MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES

 

I lost track of Madman due to already standing order problems but…

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS, VOL. 1 TP

story MICHAEL ALLRED, art & cover MICHAEL ALLRED & LAURA ALLRED

“EXISTENTIAL EXITS!”

This if the first collection from MICHAEL ALLRED’s acclaimed and groundbreaking new MADMAN series. Many story elements from the Madman mythos fulfill their promise in this volume collecting the “Madman in Space!” arc and the now legendary “Swiped From Dimension X” issue. Everything you need to know about where Frank “Madman” Einstein came from and where he’s going are contained herein!

Collects MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #1-7

  

 

NOCTURNALS: CARNIVAL OF BEASTS (ONE-SHOT)

story DANIEL BRERETON, art DANIEL BRERETON, VIKTOR KALACHEV & RUBEN

MARTINEZ, cover DANIEL BRERETON

64 PAGES, FC, $6.99

Celebrate the return of Nocturnals with three rings of savagery in NOCTURNALS: CARNIVAL OF BEASTS. In the fully painted “Beasts”, Doc Horror unleashes an inner demon while settling an old score with a viper’s nest of disturbed scientists. “The Scrimshaw Crown” follows amphibian girl, Starfish, tracking a haunted sea monster. In “Candy Butchers,” Halloween Girl, the Gunwitch and Polychrome encounter toothsome carnies.

PROOF #10

story ALEX GRECIAN, art & cover RILEY ROSSMO

32 PAGES, FC, $2.99

“THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO,” Part One

Are there angels in

America’s corn belt? That’s what Proof’s going to find out. Meanwhile, Ginger Brown returns to

New York where she meets a golem. Again.

 

SCUD: THE WHOLE SHEBANG! TPB

story ROB SCHRAB, DAN HARMON, & MONDY CARTER art & cover ROB SCHRAB & JACK GREY

786 PGS, BW, $29.99/$99.99 HC

“BEGINNING, MIDDLE, AND END”

Scud is programmed to destroy a basement monster but he will self destruct if he does, so the robotic assassin puts the wounded creature on life support and becomes a freelance assassin to pay for the hospital bills.

Collects SCUD #1-24, plus the super-sweet one-shot DRYWALL: UNZIPPED.

 

WAR HEROES #1 (OF 6)

story MARK MILLAR, art & cover TONY HARRIS

32 PAGES, FC, $2.99

THE WRITER OF CIVIL WAR, THE ULTIMATES, KICK ASS AND WANTED! THE ARTIST OF STAR MAN, EX MACHINA AND SPIDER-MAN: GREAT POWER! TOGETHER AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME! If you’ve been wondering what MARK MILLAR had planned for ULTIMATES 3, then wonder no more – this is it! The mind that reinvented superheroes for the 21st Century joins forces with one of comicdom’s best artists to chart new courses for superhero action in a series that will definitely be one of the most talked about of the year!

 

YOUNGBLOOD #4

story JOE CASEY, art & cover DEREC DONOVAN, variant cover ROB LIEFELD

32 PAGES, FC, $2.99

The ratings are through the roof and the critics have labeled it a smash hit! And it’s all leading up to the big showdown: Youngblood vs. Mayhem, Inc! Head-to-head combat! Who lives? Who dies? And who’s sponsoring the whole thing? Celebrity superheroes like you’ve never seen them before! Plus, the return of a hero and a messenger from beyond the stars!

Kapteeni Kuolio:Tampereen Sankari

Pekka A. Manninen

Zum Teufel

Graphic novel                                                                                                                                                      

96pp

B5 [slightly smaller than US Comic size]

Black & white +9 colour collectors cards

ISBN: 978-952-5754-00-1

Price: €14.00

 

If you do not know it by now let me make it clear:I am a BIG fan of Finnish creator Pekka A. Manninen. And a big fan of his great creation Kapteeni Kuolio [or,Captain Gangrene if you prefer].

Sadly,little of Manninen’s work has made it into the English language –mainly strips Pekka translated and I’ve published in Zine Zone or Comic Bits.  Waaaaaaay too few to show any appreciation for the talented creator or the creation!

Looking through this collection of Kapteeni Kuolio strips from Pekka’s Sarjari comic,the one thing that shows through is that there is fun here –a tongue planted firmly in the cheek of the creator. I keep trying to see just what it is that I love about Kapteeni Kuolio –or even Igor Motor.  I sat at my desk ready to draw but got distracted by this book and so spent time going through it again. I then realised that it’s pointless trying to dissect and analyse the work. I just like it and that’s what counts.

I do not read Finnish so maybe the odd message in a strip flies past me,but I find a good comic strip can tell its own story.This book also comes with colour Kapteeni Kuolio collectors cards!

This collection,like Pekka’s other KK books –“Tamperkele” and “Pispalan Vampyyrit” and even the Napoleonic war based “Edesta Maan Ja Kuninkaan!” [written by Pekka but drawn by the brilliant Petri Hiltunen]—really ought to be published in English.  I think Dark Horse,or better still Image Comics with its increasing reputation for quality creator owned works,would be a perfect home.

If you do not mind the language [and Finnish is said to be the most difficult language to learn] then you can purchase the books,as well as issues of Sarjari,online via Zumteufel! 

The link is:

http://www.zumteufel.fi/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1446 

Give yourself a treat and get this book because it is a collection of quirky,great work.

If you haven’t been checking out the G4 coverage of San Diego now is the chance to catch up! The Watchmen movie,Hugh Jackman on Wolverine,comics and more -and the cute Blair Butler!

http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/tag/72/Fresh_Ink.html

It seemed to be a very simple and run-of-the-mill request.  A company in India was going to publish three titles -one in colour.  They needed complete stories and asked what I could provide and what my lowest price was.

Okay,the £ is worth a lot of Indian Rupees.   So I suggested a pretty standard deal. THEY make me THEIR best offer and we’ll do the contract thingy.

The company seemed very happy with my response and said “…we will be taking 5000 pages from you to be delivered to us by beginning of 2009″.

er,5,000 pages,some in colour by January,2009.  Complete stories between 90-100 pages in length. I re-checked -that’s what it said.

I pointed out that there is absolutely no way that one artist can write/draw/colour 5000 pages in 5 months. 

At Western page rates the cost of complete comic packages as requested runs into thousands of pounds. But I wasn’t even told what the company would pay.

I pointed out that I could put together a certain number of packages and scan these to send them.  Oh no,they wanted hard copies of the pages. That would cost around £50 in postage alone!

So,I suggested they go over my package proposal,suggest a price and then we could sign a contract.

Another email asking for my address and phone number as they had a “friend” in London who could perhaps work out a deal. Well,no. I asked who this “friend” was and pointed out that I could only deal with the company involved for very obvious legal reasons.  I told them to re-check my proposal and get back to me.

Nothing.

It is sheer insanity as well as a fantasy to think one artist could draw 5000 original pages featuring original characters and send a complete package in five months -without a contract or payment details.  There is a tradion in India of reprinting and reprinting and not necessarily legally [as IPC pointed out to me].

Were it even possible to draw the 5000 pages and copying them [you are talking about a couple thousand for that alone and in excess of £50.00 postage and more for insurance I would be giving it all away with no guarantee of..anything.

Normally,a company would ask for a package and suggest a starter price as well as deadline date. If okay then a contract is signed and work gets under way.

Today,with an ever-growing comic industry in far away lands,the risks increase for writers/artists to be ripped off.  If you get offered a big project as an artist or writer then,after signing of a contract,you should at least expect 50% in advance payment -if you can do the work and keep to a deadline.

Just be aware of the risks.

The Birmingham Mail is the only UK newspaper to offer a regular look into the international comics scene.

• Birmingham Mail journalist Neil Elkes covers breaking stories and current market trends.

• Dr Who & 2000AD scriptwriter Tony Lee tells it like it is working for today¢s comic book markets.

• Gumby Comics & Dead Ahead editor Paul H Birch delves deep to deliver behind-the-scenes exclusives and interviews.

Features are monthly, weekly, and even daily and you can send in your own comments too!

 

Make sure you keep up to date by subscribing free to Speech Balloons¢ online news feed at:

http://blogs.birminghammail.net/speechballoon/

 

Arcana Takes San Diego By Storm The San Diego Comic Con is just around the corner and Arcana Comics will be on hand located at booth 2514, a spectacular 20ft by 20ft booth with duel signing areas for giving fans twice as many chances to catch their favorite Arcana creators.

The San Diego Comic Con runs July 24^th to July 27^th at the San Diego  Convention Center.

Joining us will be special guests Don Bluth and Gary Goldman for a Dragon’s Lair Hardcover signing, as well as Greatest American Hero star William Katt in honor of the new Greatest American Hero comic book series from Arcana Comics and Catastrophic Comics!

In addition, other Arcana creators on hand will be Sean O’Reilly, Mark Poulton, Adam Gallardo, Todd Demong, Camilla d’Errico, and many more. Plus, Saturday July 26^th fans are in for a real treat as model Ruby Rocket will be on hand dressed as Arcana’s own Eve: Vampire Diva! Creator Signing Times and Dates:

Thursday July 24th

noon to 1:30pm - The Gwai’s Pedro Delgado (right side)/Burn’s Camilla d’Errico (left side)

2pm to 3:30pm - 100 Girls’ Adam Gallardo & Todd Demong (left side)

4pm to 5:30pm - Koni Waves’ Mark Poulton (right side)/Rhino & Heaven’s Echo’s Siike Donnelly (left side)

6pm to 7pm - Fafnir the Dragon’s Asta G (right side)

*Sean O’Reilly (Kade/Clockwork Girl) appearing throughout the day

Friday July 25th

10am to 1pm - Dragon’s Lair’s Don Bluth & Gary Goldman (right side)

1:30pm to 2:30pm - The Gwai’s Pedro Delgado (right side)/Marlow’s Aaron Nelson (left side)

3pm to 4pm - Greatest American Hero’s William Katt and Robert Culp (right side)/Helen Killer’s Andrew Kreisberg (left side)

4:30pm to 5:30pm - 100 Girls’ Adam Gallardo & Todd Demong (right side)/Burn’s Camilla d’Errico (left side)

6pm to 7pm - Grunts’ Matt Jacobs (right side)/Rhino & Heaven’s Echo’s Siike Donnelly (left side)

*Mark Poulton (Koni Waves) and Sean O’Reilly (Kade/Clockwork Girl) appearing throughout the day

Saturday July 26th

10am to 11am - Marlow’s Aaron Nelson (right side)/Burn’s Camilla d’Errico (left side)

Noon to 2:30pm - Greatest American Hero’s William Katt and Robert Culp (right side)/Rhino & Heaven’s Echo’s Siike Donnelly (left side)

3pm to 4pm - Koni Waves’ Mark Poulton (right side)/Helen Killer’s Andrew Kreisberg (left side)

4:30pm to 5:30pm - 100 Girls’ Adam Gallardo & Todd Demong (right side)/The Gwai’s Pedro Delgado (left side)

6pm to 7pm - Grunts’ Matt Jacobs (right side)/Gauze’s Gerrin Tramis (left side)

*Sean O’Reilly (Kade/Clockwork Girl) and model Ruby Rocket appearing throughout the day

Sunday July 27th

10am to 11am - The Gwai’s Pedro Delgado (right side)/Gauze’s Gerrin Tramis (left side)

11am to 12:30pm - Greatest American Hero’s William Katt & Robert Culp (right side)/Helen Killer’s Andrew Kreisberg (left side)

1pm to 2pm - Burn’s Camilla d’Errico (right side)/100 Girls’ Adam Gallardo & Todd Demong (left side)

2:30pm to 3:30pm - Rhino & Heaven’s Echo’s Siike Donnelly (right side)/Fafnir the Dragon’s Asta G (left side)

*Sean O’Reilly (Kade/Clockwork Girl) appearing throughout the day

SDCC Exclusives

Arcana will have plenty of exclusives on hand including advance copies of books that will not be on stores shelves for months including Koni Waves: Ghouls Gone Wild! and Marlow. Preview books and a poster of the upcoming Greatest American Hero comic series and the new horror series from Arcana, Gauze, will also be available. In addition, we’ll have limited prints of the popular Avengelyne vs. Koni Waves boxing posters.  

Dragon’s Lair HC

The classic video game comes to the pages of Arcana Comics, as the six issue Dragon’s Lair series is collected in one beautiful hardcover edition. The book includes NEVER before seen drawings, original sketches and behind the scenes look at the Dragon’s Lair video game…this is one graphic novel video game lovers don’t want to miss.

Diamond Order Code: APR083548 $19.95

Penance: Trial of the Century #1

Just in time for SDCC comes this new Arcana series featuring a stunning Greg Horn cover! Lt. LJ McCloud is assigned to a powder keg case when she has to investigate the homicide of a costumed criminal perpetrated by a masked superhero named Penance. As she begins the investigation, the media circus surrounding the case could leave the city of Atlanta and the entire south hanging in the balance, especially when a mob of vigilantes come seeking vengeance at the police station.

Diamond Order Code: MAY083596 $3.95

Interview with Dragon’s Lair’s Don Bluth and Gary Goldman

Arcana’s VP of Operations recently had the chance to interview Don Bluth and Gary Goldman before their upcoming SDCC appearance on their thoughts of Dragon’ Lair and why it has endured all of these years. Don and Gary will be on hand Friday, July 25^th from 10am to 1pm signing at the right side of the Arcana booth.

MP: First off, how did the two of you become involved in the Dragon’s Lair game? Was it an idea developed by you or were you hired to work on the game?

GG: We were approached by Rick Dyer of Advanced Micro Computers who had the original idea to do this linear game. He had been developing the idea and contemplating the use of laser disc as the delivery systerm. He saw our film, “The Secret of NIMH” and decided that we were the ones to partner with on the venture. He and arcade distributor, Jim Pearce of Cinematronics approached us in October of 1982. It was to be a three-way partnership, we just had to raise the money for each of our parts. And, ours was going to be pretty hefty, $1.3 million. So, no. We weren’t hired.  

MP: Early on, did you know you were working on something as special and enduring as the game has become?

DB: We didn’t have a clue. In fact it was confusing and we had to figure out how to cut the scenes for continuity and branching to the death scenes. So, we just tried to have fun with it.

MP: What are some of your fondest memories of your involvement working on Dragon’s Lair?

GG: Probably that it didn’t create the stress that a feature film does. We were flying blind and we had to be extremely creative to help keep the budget down. There was some stress at first, because we didn’t have any funds to even get started, so we borrowed from friends and family. The editor, Dan Molina was the voice of Dirk, with all those grunts and screams and Danny also did the sound design (sound effects). Vera Lanpher Pacheco the head of animation cleanup was the voice of Daphne. Chris Stone the music man was the son of friends of Don’s and he gave us a great price on the music for Dragon’s Lair, Space Ace and Dragon’s Lair II: A Time Warp. The best memory was the call for Rick and Jim in Chicago at the Gaming convention in March of 1983, with just 3 sequences, or rooms, completed with game play programming – Dragon’s Lair was THE hit of the show! I think Jim wrote up over $8M in purchase orders. Whew! What a relief, the rest of the production of the game would be paid for by the sales. Can’t get any better than that.

MP: Dirk the Daring and Princess Daphne are two of the most recognizable characters in gaming and animation. Were these characters inspired or modeled after any one?

DB: Well, I’m guilty party here, because I designed them. Dirk is sort of a take-off on the character Kay in Sword in the Stone. Kind of an athletic build, but clumsy, and very small of brain – oversized hands and feet. We imagined him as a Charlie Chaplin type, silent, except for a few screams, grunts and moans. He is our “everyman”. He wants to be the knight and save the princess, but, as all of us, has to give 150% to be successful.

MP: Dragon’s Lair is just one of many projects (An American Tail, Secret of NIMH, Space Ace, Anastasia, Titan A.E.) the two of you have worked together on. Do you feel you bring out the best in each other’s work?

GG: Sort of. After 36 years of working together, we have learned the dance. It’s knowing where the potholes are, and the emotional buttons to avoid. We try to leave each other space to be creative. We share the front end, but I give him the lead. We share the start of actual animation production but once we agree that it’s working, he gives me the lead. Don usually moves on to the next production, while I oversee the post-production (and squeeze in meetings on the next production), complicated, but it works.

MP: This year sees the release of Arcana Comics Dragon’s Lair trade paperback collection almost 25 years after the Dragon’s Lair arcade game was created. Why do you feel fans have had such an undying love for the game and characters?

DB: I tend to think that it was because it was such a milestone in the graphics in video games and those that played or just watched while others played were entranced by it, maybe even blown away by it. We get fan mail everyday on our ask us page at donbluth.com  and I’m always amazed by the comments and absolutely loyalty to the game and the animation in the game. There are fans who buy every new version of the game and even collect every form of the arcade version (from around the world). Even the cel prices of the animation from these games has doubled and tripled in the past 2 years, according to what we see on the internet. But then, it could be because we donated the rest of our animation archive to the Savannah College of Art and Design in late 2005.

MP: What are your thoughts on the initial comic series? Would you like to see Dirk and Daphne’s further adventures continue in comic books?

GG: The graphics are great and so is the content and the color, Arcana and MV Creations have done a terrific job. The pencils, done by Fabio Luna are right on model and he is so diligent at getting it right. As far as future comic book stories, that’s up to Arcana and MV Creations and whether they will enjoy brisk sales of the books.

MP: Have the two of you had any thoughts of developing new characters for your own comic book series?

DB: Actually, our focus is on animation and characters for animation. We’re not that knowledgeable when it comes to comics and the distribution of them. I actually started storyboarding “Dragon’s Lair: The Movie” in a comic book, panel format, blocking it out on pages and included it in my first attempt at publishing with “Don Bluth’s ToonTalk” magazine. It’s not as complex, nor as expensive as the film business, but without distribution you going to die!

MP: Outside of comics, what does the future hold in store for Dragon’s Lair?

GG: We are determined to get this film made. So, hopefully, it will generate a similar excitement and start the next chapter for these characters.

MP: Honestly, who’s better at the arcade game?

DB: Not me. I’m terrible at all electronic games.

GG: My children, who are all adults now, were pretty good at the games, but then, they read the scripts.

Special thanks to Don and Gary for taking time out of their busy schedules for interview. Be sure to join them this year at the SDCC for a special Dragon’s Lair Hardcover signing (booth 2514)!

 Hmm?  Is the above photo from the new movie?  Nah! Its from the 1987 pilot movie made for TV with Deep Space Nine star Nana Visitor as The Spirit’s side-kick.  Who played the Spirit..you tell me!

However,if you want to see a very slick trailer for The Spirit film -NOT the YouTube tiny image either but full screen!- try the link below.

http://www.mycityscreams.com/#home

The Watchmen movie..The Spirit -anyone got film pocket money?

PRESS RELEASE - ROBERT KIRKMAN BECOMES IMAGE PARTNER!

THE WALKING DEAD and INVINCIBLE’s Robert Kirkman becomes an Image partner!

 

22 July 2008 - As reported by the New York Times  earlier today, THE WALKING DEAD and INVINCIBLE’s Robert Kirkman has become a corporate partner of Image Comics.

 

“Image Comics has been a huge part of my life for as long as it’s been in existence,” said Kirkman. “Being inspired by the creation of Image, I’ve entered into my comics career not wanting to write corporate characters as much as I’ve wanted to create my own.  Being a partner at Image, having the chance to help run the company as well as continue to contribute strong creator-owned series to its publishing line is more than I’ve ever thought possible for myself.  I’m very excited to have the opportunity to sit at the table across from my fellow partners, and steer the direction of comics as a whole.”

 

Robert Kirkman began his Image Comics career in 2002 with the mini-series SUPERPATRIOT and TECHJACKET and in 2003 he debuted what would become his most famous creations, INVINCIBLE & THE WALKING DEAD. Since then he’s seen much success with the Image, including having his creations turned into various forms of media such as television, statues, t-shirts and much more. This new position will have Kirkman working alongside the current Image partners,  Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino, to spearhead a concerted effort to restructure and strengthen Image in the coming years.

 

Image Publisher Eric Stephenson said, “I’ve known Robert since the day he submitted his first books so to see him rise this far in a relatively small amount of time has been amazing. Not only that, you’d be hard pressed to find someone more passionate about creator owned comics — there’s really no better candidate for the position.”

 

Further information on this will be given at The Image Comics Show, Friday July 25th between 4-5 PM at the San Diego Comic Con International in room 7AB.

 

Image Comics is a comics and graphic novels publisher formed in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists.  Since that time, Image has gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. There are currently four partners in Image Comics (Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino), and Image is currently divided into four major houses (Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, and Image Central). Image comics and graphic novels cover nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable, offering science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor, and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. Visit www.imagecomics.com.

KIRBY - KING OF COMICS
by Mark Evanier
Published by Harry n.Abrams inc.

 Let me begin by readily admitting that i’m completely unqualified for the job of reviewing this book. I never grew up  reading Marvel and DC. Oh, the occasional comic on holiday out of boredom, but this usually ended in complete mystification as to what the hell is going on ???,as it seemed i’d need to read 30 different comics going back a coupla years to know exactly why Spiderman was having to take on Daredevil, or the Avengers, or whoever  in that month’s issue. I normally existed on a diet of IPC weeklies, Commando War Picture Libraries, and that wussy Look-In, with Gary Glitter pinups (Arrrgh!). So as to who, or maybe more correctly, what, Jack Kirby was, I wasn’t aware. It was only in the nineteen - eighties, that I really became aware of Kirby, having purchased Destroyer Duck issue one, and upon reading the continual rigmarole surrounding his ongoing struggle with Marvel that seemed to appear in every issue of The Comics Journal at that time. It was then that I became more conscious of his importance to what we generally consider as the modern comic book. I began to look at Kirby’s art here and there, and after an initial sense of snobby dismissiveness, began to see just what was so special about the work of a man who many may have sneeringly dismissed as a mainstream corporate hack.

 Mark Evanier’s eagerly awaited biography arrives as a timely reminder of just why Jack Kirby should be rightly valued as one of the best comic book creators of all time. The front of the book’s dustjacket epitomises everything  that Kirby’s art was, and is, about. The Hulk’s huge fist seemingly smashing itself right into our faces from out of the cover, all brute force and energy and insanity. Everything that Kirby drew was infused with this boundless  force of life, and most importantly, endless imagination ! This is the thing above all else that strikes me about what makes Kirby great! How many ideas can one man have? If comic creators now had even a sliver of Kirbys boundless energy, enthusiasm for his medium and brain-splittingly ludicrous imagination,the comic world would be a far better place.  I always think this energy and imagination is best seen in the copies of his pencilled pages, here for instance in the terrific reproduction of the wonderful 10 page Street Code, in itself almost a distillation of everything Kirby’s art was, as well as being a beautifully poignant autobiographical piece. Simply looking through this book, at the endless examples of Kirby’s work should be able to tell you more than mere words will about what makes Jack Kirby’s work special and groundbreaking. What also becomes apparent in the beautifully reproduced examples herein, is the development of his artwork from the early comics workshop system imitator of popular strips, to one of the ultimate comic art stylists. The illustrations alone are worth the price of admission here. One has to commend the excellent design job on the book by Mark LaRiviere and E.Y.Lee.

As to the writing, well, initially, I had a problem, though in retrospect the problem was mine, and not Mark Evanier’s. My first feeling was of a sense of a lack of depth, a need for a quite hefty amount of biographical information, every single finickety nugget of fact that Mr Evanier may be able to throw light on about the King of Comics. Just what was Jack smoking in those cigars that allowed him to come up with such amazing, at times, almost deranged flights of imagination, for instance ? The ins and outs of Jack’s up and down relationship with Stan (Working For) “The Man” Lee. That kinda stuff. I was looking for a biog that was the Ultimate, Definitive Graphic Novel on Kirby. What I felt  I initially got from Mark Evanier was the Kirby Convention sketch.

But then, after reading the book in it’s entirety, and sitting down to think about reviewing it, I began to think differently. I was missing the point. I realised I knew virtually nothing about Kirby’s comic career, his life in comics. This book actually filled me in on that life, all those decades. And what really made me think differently about it was that by the end of it I had been moved to tears, the big wuss that I am. All the detailed ins and outs, stories, anecdotes and gossip I thought I required from this book, I really didn’t need. You can find all that stuff in a myriad of Kirby related stuff out there. All those old Comic Journal arguments and interviews, all the Jack Kirby Collectors, all that other stuff. The truth of this book was something else. It was this. That sometimes, the sketch will always tell you more about the artist than any finished picture will (especially if the finished picture has been ruined by a bad inking job.And Jack always felt he never wanted to ink his work-it was all there in his pencils.And he was right.). This is the quality inherent in the biography that Mark Evanier has written; it is a beautiful, lovingly rendered portrait of an artist, drawn with respect, love and compassion for his subject, not just as an artist, but as a dignified human being. It is of course, perfectly embellished by the Artist’s own work, and Evanier knows only too well that Kirby’s work spoke volumes about the man himself.

 In all, this is a more than fitting tribute to one of the All -Time Greats of Comics. For anyone who knows nothing about Jack Kirby, it’s the perfect starting point. For anyone who does know, it’s what your collection is missing. As for me, I need to go get that Monster off my window, I don’t think  he’s wearing any pants !!

“Panting” Paul Brown

Really,I just shrug and say “who really cared?”

But we are back and I’ll post as new items come in but if you missed the last week of news hit CBO-The Prof in the bloggroll -it’s all there.