On Thursday, 200 lucky comic enthusiasts were treated to a very special event at Meltdown Comics: an evening with renegade author and culture analyst, Grant Morrison.
Even if you’ve never picked up a comic in your life, it’s likely that you’ve heard of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Most Expensive Broadway Show Ever! All those injuries! And when will it get out of previews and actually open? After much brouhaha, lots of money, and big changes in the creative team (namely, the dismissing of Julie Taymor and the hiring of Marvel writer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, to remedy a flawed book), Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has finally officially opened on Broadway!
And?
If I had enough of a reason to actually dig through my closet and do a serious deep cleaning, I’d definitely find some comic books in there. Those were a staple in my youth, as they were for many. While some people actually purchased them to read, I’d preserve them in little plastic sleeves, occasionally popping them out to stare at the elaborate artwork that graced the covers. This hobby might teeter on the neurotic side of the spectrum, but I associate it with my earliest days of collecting and appreciating art. Those that will admit to sharing in my comic book hoarding adventures should check out Pop-Sequentialism: Comic Art of the Modern Ages at La Luz de Jesus Gallery.
There was a long line outside the door of the Society of Illustrators in the Upper East Side of Manhattan that stretched to the corner subway station.
The attraction was a retrospective for Robert Crumb, the gangly pioneer of the underground comix movement. Crumb produced his first comic book, Zap #1, in 1968, selling them on the streets of San Francisco; later books were sold at head shops.
Crumb drew and wrote about the hippie lifestyle, chasing women and sex, and marketed his comic books for “intellectual adults.” They were an instant hit.
Also known for living on his own terms, Crumb, who once turned down an offer to illustrate an album cover for the Rolling Stones because he hated the band, now lives in the south of France with his second wife, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, with whom he is working on a new book.
Tony Trov and Johnny Zito have been garnering attention for their collaborative efforts in comics since their Harvey Award-nominated webcomic Black Cherry Bombshells, which was first published by DC under their Zuda Comics imprint back in 2008 and won Zuda’s competition that year for Best Comic. Now, with Bombshells, The LaMorte Sisters, D.O.G.S of Mars (which is being developed into a film by High Treason Pictures), and the recently-released Moon Girl (Red 5 Comics) out in the world, their company, South Fellini seems to be setting the stage for global domination.
I had the chance to speak with Philadelphia natives Trov and Zito about their plethora of projects, why they are so drawn to female protagonists, and how sometimes, starting a company is entirely dependent on finding the merchandise first.
Breakfast is fun, especially when it’s served in the form of a cartoon. If you enjoy animated pieces of lightly charred bread put into sticky situations, then make sure to check out the work of Mr. Toast.
Dan Goodsell is the imaginative mind behind Mr. Toast and his cast of mischievous sidekicks: Mr. Glue, Joe The Egg, Shaky Bacon, Clem Lemon, etc. The cartoon guru recently visited Culver City’s Royal/T to host a drawing class. Fans of all ages had the chance to sit down with the comic mastermind and learn the secrets to sketching some of his most popular characters. A variety of Mr. Toast artwork and paraphernalia was also available for purchase in the pop up shop.
A clear sign that the geeks have inherited the Earth, and that mainstream culture is embracing genres like horror, sci-fi, and fantasy is the prevelance of zombies in pop culture. From The Walking Dead to 28 Days Later (I’ll let you all debate whether you think the things in that movie actually qualify as zombies), from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to World War Z, zombies are everywhere, and it isn’t only geeks who are signing up to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. As Adam Miller of Terminal Press points out, “Well, the thing about it is that I don’t think it’s so much a fad anymore. I think it’s really become its own genre. It think it’s like The Western. I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”
Adam Miller and Rich Woodall honor the zombie genre through an anthology series they edit for Terminal Press called ZombieBomb! Currently on its third issue, ZombieBomb! assembles a broad range of talented artists and writers to create new zombie stories for each issue. What makes this zombie anthology special is the diversity of the storytelling brought to the zombie-loving public by artists with diverse backrounds – it boasts comics professionals, children’s book illustrators, photographers, and even a heavy metal musician! – which allows the books to offer stories in a range of styles from different points of view.
I’ve been a creator at New York Comic Con since 2005. From first fateful NYCC, during which I dealt vodka shots and launched my sequential art career, to last week’s Javitz Center insanity, I’ve seen the sweaty highs and lows of The Second Greatest Comic Con. Here are the lessons I’ve learned.
1.) Comic Con happens at Afterparties
Every year I go to the Javitz Center, I marvel at the solid crush of humanity. Cross-dressing Hit Girls, aged Lolitas, the omnipresent storm troopers. The convention floor is a perfect theatre of geek awesome. But, for a creator sans table, its not where the con is at. Comic-Con for us has more to do with the 72 hours of drunkenness that start at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s legendary Thursday night bash, progress through Friday and Saturday’s boozing (often sponsored by DC, MTV, or Darkhorse), and end with us pouring our woes to raconteur and alcohol connoisseur Jimmy d’Aquino of Comic News Insider.
While free top-shelf liquor is a potent lure, afterparties are the best chance to get an honest appraisal of the industry one works in. You find out which imprints are being gutted, which writer got his book optioned. Sometimes parties even give you the only proper food you’ll eat all weekend. Which brings us to point #2
Dark Horse Comics, the publisher that revolutionized creator-owned comics announced a new and ambitious digital publishing plan that’s set to do the same for sequential storytelling in the digital medium! By creating and managing its own digital publishing program—the Dark Horse Bookshelf app—Dark Horse Comics has eliminated third party fees on its digital editions. Not only will readers be able to enjoy Dark Horse comics at lower prices, but comic creators will receive a greater percentage of each digital sale. In short, readers pay less for their comics and creators make more money.
“It’s a strange existence,” actor Jake Lloyd bluntly tells the Chicago Comic Con crowd about working the convention circuit. Lloyd, best known as playing young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), has largely grown out of acting and moved onto other endeavors (film editing) hence why talking about a childhood role can be so awkward. Yet Lloyd remains an avid Star Wars fan and will be forever connected to what comic con fans love: iconic characters.
The tens of thousands of attendees who poured into the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center August 19-22nd in some way were all looking to embrace the heroes and villains they grew up with. And this includes attending panels with actors like Jake Lloyd, buying dirt-cheap vintage comics, picking up a T-shirt, or recreating the characters themselves in costume. Regarding the latter, homemade Iron Man and War Machine costumes were just a sample of the incredible cosplay seen at “The Con.” A female take on a beat-down Kick-Ass also remains ingrained in my mind with her all too real make-up job.