Steve Rude

Had an interesting visit with the great Steve Rude today — his birthday!

This lovely painting of his wife Jaynelle was displayed along with several others in his home.

Steve is a very thoughtful guy. I'll share some of our conversation soon.

King Kurt!

image ganked from http://aqua.gjovaag.com/blog.

I've known Kurt Busiek for a zillion years. We're not in touch regularly but he's one of those friends with whom you can pick up the thread any time you talk.

In addition to being a prolific writer, he's also a great idea man (he came up with the rationale for Jean Gray's rebirth), critic (he was the first person to bust Alan Moore for his "homage" to the novel Super Folks in "Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel") and keen observer of the scene. He's also a fanboy, which is how we met; in a couple of apas together, back in the Jurrasic Era, I think.

I shouldn't have been surprised that Tom Spurgeon chose to interview him (though I was). Check it out!

Batmen

ganked from Newsarama

Here it is in black and white on Tony Daniels' blog.

Reviews and gift guide

In today's Miami Herald.

It's like writing haiku, trying to fit everything into such a tiny space, but I'll have another venue soon.

Neal Adams Superman cover?

What the hell is this?

It's this.

Doctor Who "Children In Need" clip

Preview of the 2008 Doctor Who Christmas Special.

Miami Book Fairing

I'll be at the Fair this weekend, shmoozing and cruising, and introducing three comics-GN panels; Saturday at 2:30, it's David Hajdu and Francoise Mouly; at 4 pm, David Heatley, Ariel Schrag, Jessica Abel and Matt Madden. On Sunday at 2 pm, it's Jim Morin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist of The Miami Herald.

If you're around, stop by and say hey.

Here's a music video David Heatley did to promote his new book.

Another Watchmen trailer

Punked by Neil Gaiman? DC? Or both?

Neil Gaiman says that this Andy Kubert image, shown as the cover of the forthcoming release of the "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" hardcover (due in July 2009), is NOT the real cover image for either volume of his 2-issue mini-series, which follows Grant Morrison's current Batman: R.I.P. storyline.

There was a bit of controversy when it was first posted by colorist Chris Sotomayor, as plot points were allegedly revealed.

So why is it that image used on the cover of the compilation? Is Neil obfuscating? Is DC?

And if you've been reading the series and wondered where Batman got the idea for his funky duds...

Still Watching

Raw Shark

Watchmen? Watch women!

Watchmen Exclusive: Girls Kick Ass

Grant Morrison Flash movie?

The story (which was essentially a non-denial) originally appeared on MTV's "splash page" site then referenced — and linked to — in several other places. Then the item item disappeared.

Hmmmm.....

But here's the Google cache.

Jim Morin!

I'm going to see my buddy, Jim Morin, The Miami Herald's Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist on Saturday at the Coral Springs Museum of Art.

Full report to come!

The Alcoholic and Monsieur Leotard

A couple of capsule reviews from The Miami Herald. It's not easy writing short!



The Alcoholic. Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel. Vertigo. 136 pages.
Jonathan Ames is a successful performer, essayist and novelist of mostly noirish detective fiction. Aided by artist and American Splendor stalwart Dean Haspiel, he recounts his life of sexual ambiguity, substance abuse, and affairs of the heart and other organs. An unrequited boyhood crush and the unconditional love of a favorite aunt provide resonant and visceral emotional counterpoints. Haspiel's images are powerful and complementary. As with the best art, the reader is left wondering what's next.


The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard. Eddie Campbell and Dan Best. First Second. 128 pages.
English expatriate and resident Aussie artist and writer Eddie Campbell's autobiographical Alec stories are finally collected later this year, but From Hell, the revisionist Jack The Ripper series with Alan Moore, is his claim to mainstream fame. This gorgeous new work, an entertaining collaboration with Brisbane attorney and writer Dan Best, is a colorfully frothy fantasy extrapolating a biography for the imaginary nephew of famed acrobat Jules Leotard, the original ''daring young man on the flying trapeze'' for whom leotards are named. His misadventures with an endearing supporting cast form a hilarious and astounding epic that culminates in the creation of (what else?) the first comic book superhero.

Geeekerific

GrantMo On All Star Superman

Superb initial installment of an interview with King Mob himself. Also, a terrific review, some fascinating speculation and further discussion.

(Image referred to in the interview: Grant, Superman, Mark Waid and friends; lifted from Grant's site.)

Supergroup: Mary Fleener and Captain Beefheart

The great San Diego artist Mary Fleener illuminates Don Van Vliet's "Golden Birdies."

VERY scary!

Immortalized by Tom Spurgeon

I think I might've even blushed.

What are your superpowers?

More All Star Superman?

The final issue (of 12) came out this week. Nice ending to a wonderful series.

Will there be more? Grant Morrison, from an interview last April with Comic Book Resources:

“We’re stopping mainly because Frank really doesn’t want to draw Superman for the rest of his life,” Morrison confirmed. “The two of us have some other projects we’d like to do so we had to make it finite. We wanted to say our piece and leave. Personally, I could write that book forever. I just love it. I could write stories about Superman every month but the book was designed from the start to be something complete, and to have a beginning and an end. So that’s the way we are playing it.”

Morrison did add, however, he hopes to write a series of one-shot in All Star Superman specials one day as his schedule permits. “As I was working on the book, a bunch of other ideas came to mind and one was an idea for an All Star Superman/Batman book. So that was one of the stories, a thing called ‘Son of Superman.’ It was a kind of take on the Super Sons idea from the 1970s, which I really liked. So I wanted to do that one. And there is another one set in the far, far future with the Superman Squad. So they were stories that were more tangential to Superman.

“And I wanted to do a story of Superman’s first year in Metropolis when he wasn’t so powerful and he was a bit more of a liberal activist. And to do that kind of Superman, the big heavy guy who can only pick up trucks and be killed by an exploding shell, you can kind of do that as the first year and see the differences between that guy and the incredibly powerful, self-assured man-god in the main All Star Superman book. So those are the three stories I came up with and as I say, they were slightly off the main storyline but related to it so I hope to do those when the current workload eases up because as I say I could just keep doing that Superman stuff forever.”

Read the whole interview.

(Grant counts three and I count four, btw. Must be a PoMo thing.)

This makes too much sense

And it's kind of clear and linear, too.

How can it be about Final Crisis?


Kudos to Alan Kistler, but don't do it again!

(Kidding!!)

Super Beer?

Action Comics 869

Are Jonathan and Clark Kent drinking beer?

Rich Johnston burps, "Yes."

Tom Toles

Back in biblical times, when I loitered around SUNY Buffalo, Tom Toles was the editorial cartoonist at the Spectrum, the university newspaper. (I was music editor of ethos, the school magazine. Among the editors I tortured was Stuart Berger [RIP], who later became a famous diet doctor. He was large AND in charge when I knew him and a real trip. We got along great, since I always seemed to make him laugh.)

But I digress. Toles went on to be the editorial cartoonist at the Buffalo News and is now the guy at the Washington Post.

Here's his latest.

Fr@#k Miller

Drops the F-Bob, but had no idea. Want 3 copies for himself, of course. Bagged and boarded, too?

I'm a fan, but...

...these folks are FANS. (Thanks to the irrepressible, incomparable Kelson the Mighty and his buddy, The Captain!)

All Star Superman #12

art by Vincent Deighan (Frank Quitely) and Jamie Grant

Coming next week!

And Grant Morrison sits for an interview (apparently by e-mail) with Newsarama; though fanboys are still complaining that Final Crisis is too hard! Wahhhhh!!!

Jack Kirby invented the iPhone!

At least according to the pulse-pounding, senses-stunning Fake Stan Lee blog he did.

Excelsior!

Brad Meltzer loves Superman

Yeah, well, my three kids each had birth announcements drawn by the artist who was currently penciling Superman. (And no, I'm not going to post 'em online.) But props to Brad.

In the meantime, I have some thoughts about the notion of a darker reboot of the Superman movies... coming soon.

fake poster by Brad Brevet

Grant Morrison's modest goal

"Why not set time and space right?"

(from a terrific interview by by Dan Phillips.)

My Pal, Jimmy Olsen

This is a fantastic collection of classic comics. I love my public library!

Marketing

More Levitz

Nice interview in the Wall Street Journal with DC's Paul Levitz.

Apparently, he attended Stuyvesant High School (as did I, albeit briefly).

Held Over!! Dr. Horrible!

Secret Identity

This will be interesting. (From Publishers Weekly)Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster, an unusual collection of S&M comics secretly created by Superman’s co-creator Joe Shuster. Thought to have been destroyed, the comics were discovered in a shop in Britain by Yoe, who has verified that Schuster was the creator. Called Nights of Horror, the comics are fetish fantasies with characters that look just like Clark Kent and Lois Lane. “They’re chained and being whipped and there’s women kissing women,” said Charles Kochman. “It’s a great story and no one ever connected them to Schuster.”

Charles Kochman was recently promoted to executive editor at Harry N. Abrams, the venerable New York City art book publishing house, just in time for its 60th anniversary. In spring 2009, Harry N. Abrams will launch Abrams ComicArts, a sub-imprint specializing in comics and comics related book.

I'm not at Comic-Con

But here's a note from Tom Green (not that one) of Titan Books.

Hey Richard. Is there any chance you could mention our new Comic-Con site on your blog? We’re heavily promoting our Watching the Watchmen title there with an interview with Dave Gibbons and a contest to win signed artwork.

http://comiccon.titanbooks.com/

Paul Levitz speaks!

Illustration by Michael Netzer

DC publisher's online chat with The Washington Post, Friday 7/18/08.

Coming in April

Hurm!

Watchmen Trailer

Jack Kirby and Bill Mauldin

Collections reviewed here.

Frankly...

The Spirit trailer (full screen HD).
(Sorry about the tasteless and inappropriate commercial.)

Other versions here.

I Am Curious (Black)

The legendary Lois Lane 106.

Did you know that the Harlem of Metropolis is called "Little Africa?" Me neither!

Diddling DiDio

I'm as guilty as the next fanboy and I should know better.

DC Senior VP-Executive Editor is the subject of rumors regarding an imminent departure from the company for a variety of reasons. I'm not going to detail everything here but you can just do a Google News search for "Dan Didio" and you'll be as plugged in as the next know-nothing.

Now, Hollywood journalist and über-yentah Nikki Finke has picked up the story, though being a normal-ish person, isn't aware of all the intricacies and politics. And DC, if anything, is a political rat's nest — or so I'm told.

Good luck to DiDio. Hope his parachute is golden. And to Jimmy Palmiotti: be careful what you wish for.

NOON UPDATE Palmiotti says that he's not interested in the job, per Newsarama. You can blame the people who originally reported his "no comment" for their failure to convey his sarcastic and humorous intent, assuming they perceived it.

Planetary 27 is coming!

When?

Who knows? Maybe this year or early next, but at least drawing has commenced on the final "epilogue" issue of the series, the script for which was turned in a year ago.

Per writer Warren Ellis's e-mail this morning:

"late last night, Wildstorm informed me that John Cassaday has commenced drawing PLANETARY 27. Please don't respond to this -- I don't need the listserv breaking. Just know and be happy. I have no word on what else is on John's plate right now, so I don't know how long it'll take or when it'll see print. It's not the easiest script in the world to draw, as I recall."
These are notes for issue 7 of the series, by the way; the "Vertigo" story featuring, well, that's subject to interpretation.

Margot & Chris?

Valerie D'Orazio thinks this is good. And I guess it's not the worst thing in the world, but... should Lois Lane and Clark Kent (and Superman) look like Margot Kidder and the late Christopher Reeve? They do in Action Comics right now.

It started, if I recall correctly, when Geoff Johns began writing Action with his former boss, director Richard Donner. Adam Kubert was the artist, and though it was a bit... different... having Supes look like Reeve seemed sort of natural with Donner involved. After Kubert fizzled, Gary Frank took over. And it's Margot and Chris. Isn't that nice?

Uh, no. It's starting to creep me out.

SUPER-HEROES BATTLE SUPER GORILLAS

What could be finer? (Wonder what Mort told his shrink about that particular nightmare?)

Online comics!

This ruggedly lifelike fellow is Warren Ellis, scourge of the Internet, and author of numerous "comics," including the brilliant Planetary.

Mr. Ellis has deigned to share his greatness with the lumpen proletariat by making his latest effort, "FreakAngels" available for viewing through a browser on your very own computer. Or someone else's. You can even subscribe to it as an RSS feed. Will wonders cease?