The Zone

by **TheButcher** on Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:45 pm

Caleb Goellner wrote:Just a few minutes after 4 p.m. a thin man in an orange shirt and baseball cap wandered into a room of roughly 50 fans. Panning from one side of the room to the other on his way to the panel stage, he asked "Are you all here to see me?

The man was James O'Barr, the 49-year-old creator of "The Crow," a black and white comic book series originally published in 1989, followed by a film starring the late Brandon Lee in 1994. Despite numerous sequels and a television series adapted from the film, the franchise has been surrounded by as much tragedy as success, with the comic book originally created by O'Barr to deal with the loss of his fiancé who was killed by a drunk driver, and Brandon Lee dying in a bizarre shooting accident while filming "The Crow."

The panel, moderated by Wizard's Stephen Wettstein, focused on O'Barr's career in comics and the life experiences that shaped his work, which include several years in the military and many decades working on cars.

by **Leckomaniac** on Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:05 pm

Last night I went to CHICAGO COMICS where I stumbled upon a Larry Marder signing. I talked a bit with the man, who was very personable and a gracious fellow.

Check him out here

Anyway, I met a guy there who manages some of Dave Sim's business dealings. Now, I haven't read CEREBUS. But I do know of the controversy surrounding the man. It was interesting having a discussion with someone that knows him personally. I asked him, at one point, if he regretted the stuff he said and his answer was: "Absolutely. But he will never admit that because he is too hard headed. To him, he already went over that cliff so there is no turning back."

He says that man is extremely friendly and generous. I didn't expect him to say anything to the contrary. But it was still a fairly engaging discussion of a complicated man.

by **Pacino86845** on Fri Oct 02, 2009 5:58 pm

I'm a huge Cerebus fan (I haven't started reading Glamourpuss yet, but I've got 'em all so far) and Dave Sim is definitely one dude I'd like to meet... he's probably schizo as he's said before, but he's also very intelligent and is responsible for groundbreaking comics work.

by **Tyrone_Shoelaces** on Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:41 pm

Marvel's Comic Book Creator Is $&@#ing Brilliant

by **DennisMM** on Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:50 pm

Not sure where else to put this, but it's vaguely related. After two and a half years I finally unpacked my comics tchotches and put them in a couple of small display hutches.

Left, top to bottom: 18" talking movie Marv; glow-in-the-dark "floating" Spectre; 12" Flaming Carrot statue; talking/shaking electric chair Marv; Deathlok the Demolisher bust; talking Comic Book Guy and interactive shop; Apollo from The Authority; Midnighter from The Authority; movie Dr. Octopus.

Right, top to bottom: Dark Knight Joker; Dark Knight Batman; rolling movie Professor X; wind-up walking/waving movie Wolverine; wind-up walking/waving/tail-lashing movie Nightcrawler; Kevin Matchstick from Mage; Justice Alex Ross Superman.

Still a lot of stuff in the box. I think I'm going to have to buy some of those lightweight ledges to hold them.

by **Pacino86845** on Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:03 pm

Ut, Flaming Carrot statue!

by **DennisMM** on Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:27 pm

Statue good! Armed and ludicrous!

by **Fried Gold** on Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:50 pm

The recent Strange Adventures mini-series was rather good. I'd recommend giving it a read.

by **TheButcher** on Sat Dec 05, 2009 10:44 pm

From io9:
Psychenaut Rearranges SF Classics Into Art You Can Dance To

by **DennisMM** on Wed Jan 13, 2010 11:02 pm

When did John Romita, Jr., forget how to draw? The new Marvel Previews features two books for which he drew the covers - Doomwar #2 and Incredible Hulk #608 (click to enlarge). Hulk is almost acceptable but for the badly out-of-proportion Wolverine. It's far too sketchy for my liking, but it's competent. Doomwar looks like something he would sketch in ten minutes at a convention as he chatted with a fan. It's downright amateurish. While I've never been a big JRJR fan, I at least found his work professional in the past. This is not professional.

by **Pacino86845** on Thu Jan 14, 2010 10:43 am

Wow those two covers are atrocious.

by **TheGreatMachine** on Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:46 pm

Agreed, Pacino.
He's always been one of my favorite guys in the business, but lately he's just been getting sloppy.
There's barely anything resembling composition or perspective, and the water effects look like they were done by a toddler compared to his previous work.
I really hope he gets out of this slump soon.

by **Pacino86845** on Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:23 am

I have enjoyed what he's been doing with Kick-Ass lately, he's been consistent for the most part... the inking is nothing special, but maybe the nice coloring is making his work pop in that book.

by **Leckomaniac** on Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:07 pm

How we will read comics on the iPad

by **DennisMM** on Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:10 am

Good idea, but Marvel has already expressed dismay with the iPad, as it does not support flash media (apparently, if I read correctly and I may not have).

by **Leckomaniac** on Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:53 am

DennisMM wrote:Good idea, but Marvel has already expressed dismay with the iPad, as it does not support flash media (apparently, if I read correctly and I may not have).

It does not support Flash. Marvel seems to be in a pickle as it's subscription service is based on Flash media. If the iPad takes off, which I am thinking it will, Marvel may be at a disadvantage.

by **Seppuku** on Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:00 pm

Easy fix: just use Comic Book Reader. Looks way more practical to me than the ComiXology thing Lecko linked to.

by **Leckomaniac** on Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:16 pm

Seppuku wrote:Easy fix: just use Comic Book Reader. Looks way more practical to me than the ComiXology thing Lecko linked to.

I like the range of features that comixology offers. If I want to read by PANEL I can. If I just want to have the pages spread out for me, that works too.

It offers tons of ways to maximize your reading experience.

by **Leckomaniac** on Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:49 pm

Hm

Is Mark Millar racist?

I have seen this brought up many times. I am not reading Kick Ass anymore, but i am told that it too is filled with Millar's weird take on writing race.

Personally, I don't think he is racist as much as he is an idiot.

by **DennisMM** on Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:57 pm

As we've both mentioned, Millar thinks everything he says is clever. That allows him to shove (fake or real) racism in his readers' faces and write it all off as a goof when confronted. "I'm not racist; I'm writing racist characters. But they're not really racist, because so much crime is committed by minorities. Besides, it's all for a laugh." I can imagine that coming out of his mouth.

by **Leckomaniac** on Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:06 pm

Ok, so apparently Marvel is ushering in the "Heroic Age" after this latest crossover: Siege. However, in getting there they have crossed a line so graphic I almost couldn't believe it was in a mainstream comic.

Beware, SPOILERS for Siege #2 and also be warned that the image is quite gruesome. Belongs in a Warren Ellis AVATAR offering, not a MARVEL comic.

Click here for the carnage.

by **Peven** on Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:37 pm

that's just bananas

by **DennisMM** on Wed Feb 03, 2010 11:43 pm

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

by **Leckomaniac** on Thu Feb 04, 2010 11:07 am

Seriously.

I have no idea how ANYBODY in Marvel could have approved that.

by **Al Shut** on Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:36 pm

Not that I would mind something like that, or read Marvel comics, but this is aimed at whom?

by **Fried Gold** on Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:41 pm

More comics should have visuals like this - http://goldenagecomicbookstories.blogspot.com/2010/02/wally-wood-1927-1981-galaxy-science.html

by **Seppuku** on Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:55 pm

Bootiful! Reminds me of the covers to all the sci-fi collections I used to read as a kid. Going from those to the explodingwormtestines Lecko linked to definitely isn't an improvement.

by **TheButcher** on Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:58 pm

From IGN:
The Northlanders Retrospective - Brian Wood's walks us through his Vertigo viking series.

by **DennisMM** on Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:44 am

I would have sworn there was an original art thread here somewhere, but a search of the Comic Book pages didn't turn it up. Guess I'll post in random.

Does anyone collect original art or con sketches or commissioned art? I am interested in getting a nice drawing from a once-popular artist who is charging $500 for penciled and inked pages featuring up to three characters. Beyond that, it's negotiable. I've been out of things in this area for a while, but that seems like a pretty high price for someone who doesn't work much in comics these days. Simply put, I don't have $500-$1000 dollars to blow on a piece by this guy, even if it is 11x17". Maybe I should stick to a single-character page for $250. *sigh*

by **TheButcher** on Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:15 pm

From CBR:
Brian Wood's "Northlanders" Method

by **TheButcher** on Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:05 am

Has anybody purchased the Kodansha Edition of Akira Vol. 1? Is it worth tracking down?
http://www.comixology.com/sku/AUG090981 ... -Vol-1-MR-

by **Al Shut** on Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:27 am

Initial answer, yes absolutely.

On second thought, do you already own a different edition?

by **Pacino86845** on Wed Mar 03, 2010 10:45 am

I have nearly the full series of the color edition from the late '80s, the one under Marvel's "Epic" label I believe.

EDIT: Colors are awesome!

by **Al Shut** on Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:13 am

me too (although a fourth belongs to my brother)

but judging from my b/w edition of Domu the original non-color edition should be awesome too

by **TheButcher** on Wed Mar 03, 2010 8:58 pm

Al Shut wrote:Initial answer, yes absolutely.

On second thought, do you already own a different edition?

No, I haven't added Akira to my collection. Yet :wink:

Thanks.

by **Pacino86845** on Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:01 pm

So the @$$fucks have posted their top picks for 2009: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/44215

This would not be remotely interesting if not for the fact that Peter David has apparently thanked them in the TB for honoring him.

by **Fried Gold** on Sat Mar 20, 2010 1:03 pm

More wonderful artwork from Golden Age Comic Book Stories

http://goldenagecomicbookstories.blogspot.com/2010/03/john-berkey-some-of-my-favorites.html

by **DennisMM** on Sat Mar 20, 2010 4:59 pm

Many of those are covers from SF digests and books published in the '60s and '70s. I remember seeing some of them when I was young, or in used book stores later in my life. John Berkey did a great deal of SF work before he died some years back.

by **Dr.RoXo** on Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:07 pm

this is a sweet one-shot comic about good ole' Boba Fett. its rather short but still very good. any fans of Star Wars or Boba should check it out.

by **TheButcher** on Fri Mar 26, 2010 9:19 pm

http://www.nickbertozzi.com/comics/houdini/houdini.htm
THE HANDCUFF KING by Jason Lutes & Nick Bertozzi

http://www.gt-labs.com/fallout.html

So, you've always wanted to learn how to build an atomic bomb? You're in luck: Jim Ottaviani is not only a comics writer...he also has a master's degree in nuclear engineering! But even though it's not a complete do-it-yourself manual (assembly required, and plutonium is definitely NOT included), Fallout will bring you up to speed on the science and politics of the first nuclear gadgets.

On a more serious note, like the other books by G.T. Labs, the focus of Fallout is on the scientists themselves -- in particular J. Robert Oppenheimer and Leo Szilard. Their stories, starting in pre-WWII Europe and continuing through to the height of the Cold War, offer a cautionary tale about the uneasy alliance between the military, the government, and the beginnings of "big science."

by **TheButcher** on Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:57 pm

From MTV:
ADAPT THIS: 'Sugarshock' By Joss Whedon & Fabio Moon
Has anyone read this yet?

by **TheButcher** on Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:01 pm

From West Word:
Denver cartoonists are inking big

by **Fried Gold** on Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:56 pm

Redesigns of comic book covers:

http://thedailywh.at/post/516118896/reimagination-of-the-day-redesigned-comic-book

by **Pacino86845** on Wed Apr 21, 2010 4:09 pm

The main page has an incredible interview with comics master Paul Pope up

by **TonyWilson** on Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:32 pm

I wonder if anyone can help me find a Superman comic, would have been from around the mid 90's. An Elseworld story I think, it's set in the future with Superman heavily weakened and the Sun somehow obscured from earth, Supes is very old with a long flowing white beard and hair. He's in Gotham and eventually has to use a gigantic gun left in the old Batcave. That's all I remember, ring any bells?

by **Fried Gold** on Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:16 pm

TonyWilson wrote:I wonder if anyone can help me find a Superman comic, would have been from around the mid 90's. An Elseworld story I think, it's set in the future with Superman heavily weakened and the Sun somehow obscured from earth, Supes is very old with a long flowing white beard and hair. He's in Gotham and eventually has to use a gigantic gun left in the old Batcave. That's all I remember, ring any bells?

It sounds familiar, but don't know precisely. I remember a story where after a nuclear holocaust the only person left on Earth is a de-powered Superman. Might be the same thing?

by **TonyWilson** on Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:12 pm

I believe it could be that, at the very end he somehow rises above the earth's atmosphere and recharges in the rays of sunlight, there may be a space station or spaceship involved too.

by **Fried Gold** on Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:52 pm

Found these:

by **TonyWilson** on Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:57 pm

That second cover rings a bell. Hmmmm.

by **TonyWilson** on Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:03 pm

Got it. Cheers, FG.