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A pull-down menu to help save space on the sidebar
2007-06-05 23:45:00
There, I just succeeded at fitting in a drop-down menu, as it's actually called, on the side for all the sections. That helps to save space and fit all external links into a nice compact space, and will probably also help make it easier to load the pages too. One thing I can't seem to figure out though is how to control the exact length so that it doesn't look like it's going halfway off the screen, even though it does look like I added the correct codings when I preview it. Oh well, what matters for now is that I succeeded in working out something I'd wanted to experiment with for some time now, and to make everything easier to handle and to load onto the screen! Perfect.
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Ink Pen parody of Civil War
2007-06-04 20:16:00
Here's a comic strip of Ink Pen that does a satire of the Civil War mess.Hat tip: Bobb.
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This article's writing level is rank D
2007-06-03 12:46:00
The Cleveland Plain Dealer runs a fluff-coated article about recent Marvel/DC "accomplishments": This year, the comic universes inhabited by Superman, Spider-Man and friends have altered so dramatically that it will take months, perhaps years, to sort things out.Well at least there's one part we can agree on. Marvel Comics underwent not one, but two, such world-changing events in two years. The first occurred when the Scarlet Witch, a character long believed to be a B-level heroine with the unpredictable power to "hex" things, proved to be one of the most powerful people on Earth.Boy, is that really fogging things up more than a bit. Since when was she ever really considered a B-level heroine? Wanda was one of the most popular cast memebers of the Avengers for many years, pleasing everybody except people like Bendis and Quesada, who, rather than prove their strengths in writing her, chose to toss her into limbo, but not before embarassing her. This is pure sensationalism. And I can...
More About: Writing , Rank , Artic

No sooner does Marvel conclude one crossover...
2007-06-03 07:30:00
Then another one takes its place: World War Hulk. I wasn't sure at first, but I discovered that this too is a crossover in one way or another, and this X-Men special is one of them.It's clear that unless Marvel lites are willing to wake up and smell the coffee, this bombardment of crossovers is going to continue, with possibly each year bearing at least one crossover. This is really terrible, that crossovers are taking over and pushing out not just creative freedom for many writers, but also bringing natural story flow to a standstill.
More About: Crossover , Ross

A Teen Titans live action movie being planned
2007-06-03 05:10:00
Following news that there might be a Justice League movie in the works, the AFP says that there's a Teen Titans movie in the works:LOS ANGELES - A live-action, big-screen version of the comic book classic ?Teen Titans? is in the works, the movie industry publication Hollywood Reporter says.The hit comic book series, first published in 1964 by ?DC Comics,? recounts the adventures of teenage super hero Robin ? Batman?s adolescent sidekick ? along with fellow super crime fighters ?Kid Flash,? ?Aqualad,? and ?Wonder Girl".Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures, the movie is the latest in the highly-lucrative live-action adaptations of comic books.So far this month, Sony?s blockbuster film Spider-Man 3 has smashed box office records, earning some 800 million dollars to date in its global release, while the?Superman? and ?Batman? series of movies also have been big money-makers.Well, if they do get off the ground with this, they could think to put in heavy-hitters like Deathstroke, I guess, a...
More About: Movie , Action , Live Action , Live

Samuel Jackson to play "Octopus" in Spirit adaptation
2007-06-01 09:14:00
Ireland's Evening Echo says that Samuel L. Jackson is going to play a villain called the Octopus in Frank Miller's upcoming adaptation of the Spirit , which'll be Miller's first venture as a director.Update: and while we're on the subject, here's a small article from the college paper The Daily Eastern News about Miller's Ronin from 1983-84. I remember reading it over a decade ago at a museum library, and it was pretty good.
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Ninth Comic Book Carnival
2007-05-31 15:33:00
Welcome to the June 1, 2007 edition of the comic book carnival. So, here's our batch for this month and what have we here.Reynald presents The Boondocks: Greatest Cartoon Ever posted at JiveFood, saying, "This is an article about the Boondock Comic Strip and Cartoon"Allahpundit presents Video: Painfully awesome ?Transformers? trailer posted at Hot Air. Well, waddaya know, they're adapting the toys of the 80s I used to have in my childhood to the silver screen now!Kneon presents "Nobel Prize of Manga" announced posted at kneon transitt shouldn't be allowed to blog.Kneon presents Alternators Rodimus confirmed as SDCC exclusive! posted at kneon transitt shouldn't be allowed to blog, saying, "Hasbro is releasing a long awaited Transformers figure at this year's San Diego Comicon"Collector's Quest presents She-Hulk Under Glass posted at Collectors? Quest.Ronin presents Cadillacs and Dinosaurs posted at Ronin's Fortress. This appears to be a game based on Mark Schultz's great book...
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Pulse interviews Tony Bedard
2007-05-30 12:23:00
Comicon's Puls e, which is a lot better than Newsarama, did an interview with Tony Bedard, who's now getting the job of writing Supergirl at DC. He says he enjoys writing books with female leads. That figures, since he first came to prominence writing at least two books for CrossGen that had two lady leads.
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Some history of Spidey's black costume
2007-05-30 05:15:00
The New York Post has an interview with Randy Schueller, a Chicago comics fan who was the author behind the scenes for Spider-Man's black costume 25 years ago:Back in 1982, Schueller was a 22-year-old comic-book fan living in Chicago. Marvel, the publisher of "Spider-Man," asked readers to send in ideas for the hero, and Schueller jumped at the chance. He spent two weeks crafting a story in which Spidey dons a new costume.A black costume. Like in a certain movie currently in theaters."It occurred to me that Spider-Man is this character that creeps around in the shadows looking for bad guys, so why is he wearing this bright red and blue costume?" Schueller says."It seemed like he should have more of a stealth mode."He mailed the pitch to Marvel, and a few months later, he got a letter from then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter telling Schueller he liked his idea and wanted to buy it for $220. Shooter also offered to let the novice write the story.As far as I know, Schueller didn't actua...
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Manga awards
2007-05-30 05:05:00
According to this, Japan is going to come up with its own manga awards. But, there's no monetary prize to accompany it.Aw, come on, surely that would make it more worthwhile, to win some big dough along with the main prize?
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Technology item
2007-05-30 04:58:00
Here's a small article from WLUC6 in Michigan about an artist using computer technology to design his comic book material.Update: here's the same article, in longer format, from the Toronto Globe and Mail, that tells a little more.
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A few links to articles about the "Comic Book Rabbi" Simcha Weinstein
2007-05-29 06:50:00
Here's a few links to articles about the rabbi Simcha Weinstein's take on the Jewish-inspired themes in comic books, which he wrote about in the book ?Up, Up, And Oy Vey! How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero?:ParkSlope CourierIsrael National NewsBroken FrontierI'm sure that Spider-Man, one of the leading characters in discussion here, has more than enough Jewish-inspired details about him, but the sad part is how Marvel's Joe Quesada-led editorial staff has been showing no shame in spoiling not only that, but much more as well. And even if and when Quesada leaves, there's no telling if things'll get any better.(The first article here, by the way, contains an inaccuracy about Peter Parker's Uncle Ben: they say he was gunned down by a mugger, when it was really a burglar who did it.)
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DC wants to draw in girl readers with this?
2007-05-28 19:02:00
I had to pinch myself to see if I was awake. The Times-Picayune of New Orleans ran an article about their new Minx line, which is aimed at girls, and purportedly tells about real girls in the real world. But their first offering on line here has me frowning:The opening salvo in the new publishing imprint is "The Plain Janes," written by Cecil Castellucci, author of such young adult novels as "Boy Proof" and "Beige," and drawn by Jim Rugg of "Street Angel" fame."The Plain Janes" is about a young girl -- named Jane, naturally -- who moves with her family to the suburbs after surviving a terrorist attack in the city. At her new school, she comes across a trio of girls sitting at the reject table, all blessed with the same name as hers.Frustrated by the dull safety of suburbia and still reeling from her traumatic experience, Jane bands the other girls together to form the secret art gang P.L.A.I.N., which stands for People Loving Art In Neighborhoods.While their innocuous acts of art te...
More About: Readers , Girl , Ants , Draw

What doomed the new Batwoman from the start
2007-05-27 09:53:00
A subject that went into obscurity for some time, DC's unremarkable new Batwoman, Kate Kane, returned to memory after I stumbled over this thread on CBR's board. She may have appeared in the first issue or two of 52, but since vanished up until the last few issues.I don't know if it's because DC partially backed away in the face of deserved criticism, but here's my take on why this is a failure:They could've made her an Estonian or an Armenian. Instead, they made her a lesbian.They've could've made her a Coptic Christian. Instead, they made her a lesbian.They could've made her a fugitive from Putin's neo-communist Russia. Instead, THEY MADE HER A LESBIAN.Mind you, nationality alone would not a character make. But it would certainly be more creative than the sleaze they came up with that other year.But, there's another fatal flaw discovered that dooms this new Batwoman too: seems the reason Kate Kane's been out of the picture for a while was because...she'd been seriousl...
More About: Start , Tart , Doom , Doomed , The Star

Collected editions of DC, but not the one I wanted yet
2007-05-25 13:03:00
Comicon's Pulse published a list of upcoming DC Comics TPBs. There are a couple items here that I'm interested in getting, but Sword of the Atom isn't here. And THAT'S what this guy is looking for.I'd better write to DC again.With that having been said, I looked at the price for the collections of the Metal Men and Superman's Silver Age Kandor adventures, and wow! These are only about 17 dollars, much less than what the DC Archives have cost. Maybe they've come to their senses at last!
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Persepolis should win the grand prize at Cannes
2007-05-23 23:05:00
Following their attack on 300, Iran's dictatorship now attacks a new cartoon based on a comic about a woman growing up there in the days of the Ayatollah's regime (via The Beat blog):TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran has protested to France over the screening at the Cannes film festival of an animated film about a woman growing up in revolutionary Iran, slamming the movie as a "political act", local media reported on Monday."Persepolis ", which stems from a best-selling comic book series by Iranian emigre Marjane Satrapi and is competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or, shows its heroine struggling with the authorities in the early days of the Islamic revolution."The Cannes film festival has selected a film about Iran which presents an unreal picture of the outcomes and achievements of the Islamic revolution," said a letter to the French cultural attache in Tehran carried by the press."Could the selection of this film... not be counted as a political or even anti-cultural act on the festival's ...
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You can't try to please everybody if you're to succeed
2007-05-23 15:44:00
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." -- Bill CosbyCos said it right when he made that point years ago, that you cannot try to please everybody if you're to find success. You just have to know what the right crowd is to please.I found a commentor on this topic at The Beat blog who pointed out that, "part of comics? whole problem stems from this desire to force books and characters to appeal to everybody..." And that sums up a point even I once tried to make about how one of the big mistakes DC is making is that it's going out of its way to try and please not just everybody, but anybody, by forcibly adding minority group members at the expense of everycharacters. But even if they didn't do it that way, it doesn't mean that minorities are asking for them to, and I'm certainly not. And even if DC hadn't done it all at the expense of their everypersons, another problem is that they're being very superficial in their POV of what ...
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Marvel Universe changes, and changes, and changes again
2007-05-19 23:03:00
But who's to know if it's ever going to be for the better? According to this small press clip The Beat blog has:Everything has been leading up to one revelation that will rock the Marvel Univ erse at its very core. There are no coincidences. There are no heroes who won?t be affected. There is no escape. When you?ve finished reading New Avengers #31, you?ll realize why this is the one issue you just can?t miss. The superstar creative team of Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu have been thrilling critics and fans alike with their new direction for New Avengers, but you never saw the last page of this issue coming!Actually, isn't that the issue with the shock tactic cover I'd noticed earlier? That's why this is one issue and maybe even more that I can miss!
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Frank Miller is on the adaptation of The Spirit
2007-05-17 20:30:00
It was mentioned some time ago that good ol' Miller would work on this, and now, here's some news in Variety (via Rope of Silicon) that he's going to work on the movie adaptation of Will Eisner's famous adventure comic strip with director Robert Rodriguez. I wish them well with it.
More About: Frank Miller , The Spirit , Spirit , Frank

If this is how Captain America's book will be in the forseeable future, wha
2007-05-16 19:07:00
Ed Brubaker just recently told Newsarama in an interview the following regarding Capt. America:NRAMA: Let's touch upon a prediction or two...first off, there was the feeling that Cap would be back...heck, even with issue #26...from the preview...probably not?EB: Nope. Not in issue #26. There won't be anyone running around in a Cap costume in the book for a long time, honestly. This is the start of an epic, and I'm going to let the story unfold at the proper pace. We've got a lot more eyes on us all of a sudden, so I don't want to mess up any detail. The scope here is grand.I'm not impressed. For some time, they've been making it sound as though they're building up to something, yet are clearly trying to fleece the audience by dragging things on and on with no clear way to tell if this is ever going to have a decent ending to it. That and whole idea of not letting the audience know exactly what's to come are dishonest.I see no reason to read this current series if they're g...
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Brad Meltzer's "Book of Fate": NOT the first book to involve comic material
2007-05-16 11:46:00
Mercury Studio presents a facinating correction to the AP's recent article I took apart earlier in which the reporter credited the pretentious novelist's recent book as being the first to feature comic book pages included (via Newsarama blog):It's horribly, appallingly nerdy of me to pipe up about this, (or even to know it, I guess) but Laura Esquivel and Miguelanxo Prado beat him by over a decade. Esquivel's novel "The Law of Love" came out in 1995 and contained several comic book sections illustrated by Prado that functioned as part of the narrative.I have but one thing to say about this: it just proves how anyone who feels that the mainstream press doesn't do any serious fact-checking isn't too far off!Mercury also says that:It's always a little frustrating seeing these "novelists do comics" articles because they only seem interested in novelists dipping their toes into work-for-hire superhero projects or (in the case of the Stephen King item) allowing others to adapt thei...
More About: Comic , Book , Brad , Fate , First

Why is Mark Waid doing this now?
2007-05-15 23:26:00
Either Waid actually believes what he says in the following interview (via The Roar of Comics), or, he sees the audience as easier to blame than the publishers who may not give his book the same promotion they're giving to World War 3:MW: Oh, I'll say it. I hope that proclamation doesn't doom us, though.The moment all the reviews started coming in they all said, "It's fun." "It's fun." "It's fun." I started to sweat, because "fun" is a death word in comics these days.RT: If you kill off Hawkeye, people are going to hate it, but at least they are going to buy twenty of it.MW: That's just it."Fun, fun, fun" being our rap makes me worried. Sales were strong on the first issue, but the second issue drop-off was a little steeper than we'd predicted. And I honestly think that was because every reviewer said it was "fun.""Fun" automatically kills off a lot of your sales. Don't get me wrong; the book's still a success in the current market, and no one at DC has expressed anything ...
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Comic artistry to relieve stress
2007-05-15 17:29:00
Here's an odd story from the Lancashire Telegraph in Britain about an artists' class being held for the purpose relieving stress:AN international comic book artist is to draw on his experience to offer staff stress-busting sessions.Blackburn-based Tim Perkins is holding the unusual scheme, which will let employees design a comic book or storyboard in a bid to help them relax.I don't know, is such a thing possible, that it can help people to relax?
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More dissections of dishonesty
2007-05-14 18:50:00
A while ago, I took apart one of the latest articles that sugarcoated Brad Meltzer in its report on novelists who turn to comic books. Now it is time to take a look at yet another superficial article about Brad Meltzer that goes the bizarre route, this one from CBR a year ago. Another article that pays lip service unto him and apologizes for his actions. And another article that even confuses all the matters his notorious miniseries has surrounding 9-11:The next big thing for Meltzer and DC would be the wildly successful 'Identity Crisis,' a story that found its origins in the tragedy of 9/11.'When you think of firefighters after 9/11, you look at them differently,' Said Meltzer, recalling what DiDio said to him when they were looking at the story. The event made people realize that firefighters weren't just the guys pulling cats out of trees and marching in parades, they were heroes doing an extremely dangerous job where their lives were on the line every day.This was somethin...
More About: More , Honest , Nest , Honesty , Section

Punisher War Journal #6 is vulgarly written open borders propaganda
2007-05-13 17:44:00
The leftists now dominating Marvel continue to monopolize their comics for more ludicrous leftist propaganda with subtle anti-conservative sentiment. Here, it's in the new series of Punisher War Journal #6:Frank and his new geeky sidekick make a run for it from SHIELD and head south, where the Hate-Monger has been killing illegal immigrants in a not-so-subtle Cap-esque uniform. Frank has a Cap fetish as well, as we get a glimpse of the new Punisher / Captain America hybrid (AMALGAM COMICS IS BACK, BABY!!!).We can all guess who the real hatemongers are here, and it's the writers, editors and publishers of this monstrosity themselves. And if this story is supposed to be funny, it's not a single bit so, it's just sick. It's like killing two birds with one stone (they attack the public stance on illegal immigration through demonization, and even insult Captain America by depicting a recurring villain wearing a costume reminiscient of the Star Spangled Avenger's doing the dirty dee...
More About: Open , Propaganda , Anda , Pagan

Spartanburg newspaper sugarcoats 52
2007-05-12 20:39:00
Or at least talks about it in fluff-coated terms. From the Spartan burg Herald-Journal of South Carolina, here's something that seems to think that turning Booster Gold into a serious character is actually good:DC Comics' popular and exciting "52" series has come to a close, with a one-time joke of a hero saving the entire universe - more than the entire universe, actually - by throwing a football-shaped robot containing a moth-like menace across the lines of space and time to his ancestor, a man born hundreds of years earlier.Would that be Skeets they're talking about? I guess so. But from all I've gathered over the past year, it sounded more like they disdained Skeets. Wow. No affection for a delightfully funny robot.It's been one heck of a ride.I wouldn't bet on it.And it has catapulted Booster Gold, a former Justice League member whose only power seemed to be comic relief, to superstardom, proving that - at least for a little while - he was able to fill in during Superman...
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US students learning how to draw manga style
2007-05-12 20:33:00
Here's an article from the Four Corners Reporter of Florida on how manga style is being taught in the US as well as Japan. Yes, there are those who're learning how to draw in manga style even in other countries besides just Japan.(There's also a link here to the Lake County of Arts Center, where it's being taught.)
More About: Students , Manga , Style , Learning , Learn

Tim Roth may play Emil Blonsky in Hulk movie followup
2007-05-10 19:07:00
The Hollywood Reporter tells who's going to be playing the sinister Abomination, who may be second to the Leader/Sam Sterns as a prominent adversary to the jade giant. They also note a wee bit about Blonsky's background as a character:In comic book annals, the Abomination was a KGB agent who deliberately exposed himself to radiation to gain strength.Of course, what he doubtlessly didn't expect was that he'd be turned into so hideous a being that made the Hulk look like Bogart by comparison.
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Comics for literacy
2007-05-08 13:32:00
The Galveston Daily News talks about comics as a learning tool as part of Free Comic Book Day, which was just a few days ago.
More About: Comics , Literacy , Liter , Tera

Did Chris Claremont chicken out when focusing on a racial issue?
2007-05-07 14:31:00
I once found this panel from Uncanny X-Men #196, August 1985, while looking across the web for various pictures, where Kitty Pryde is shown facing off against an apparent black racist. The issue was written by Chris Claremont and drawn by John Romita Jr. and Dan Green (no relation). Not sure who the other mutant is whom this Phil is referencing, but here's my big, controversial question: did Claremont come up short when he had the man ask Kitty Pryde if she's a "mutie", rather than to ask an even more menacing question by asking if she's Jewish (she is)...by using the K-bomb?Well, if you ask me, I think Claremont was wimping out on a racial issue that could have some serious clout by just making one side an actual background and the other simply an allegory. The same argument could be made if you had Zatanna, who's Italian (see DC's Blue Ribbon Digest #2 from 1980, where Gerry Conway established this), in a similar story where a racist challenges her by asking if she's homo-ma...
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