July 2010 Archives

I'm going to do a roundup of Comic-Con 2010 items tomorrow. Until then, I figured I'd share a few pics with you.

Enjoy!!

A slick little earpiece given to some Comic-Con goers to help them find their way to a screening of NBC's new TV series "The Event."

My goal was simple: Get to the front door of the San Diego Convention Center and into Comic-Con without taking a single flier, button or carry-all bag.

I was just about to cross the street at the train tracks and just as my hand swung forward, a poster for AMC's "The Walking Dead" was slipped into my grasp.

When I looked up, I nearly walked face first into a couple of actors made up as zombies.

Well, that marketing worked out perfectly. I certainly wasn't going to forget that someone went ninja and got a poster into my hands without my taking it or the peeling skin and dead eyes of the undead cast members ambling along in character.

All around the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego, mega-trucks, giant-sized building advertisements and attractive models jockeyed for the attention of the Comic-Con guests.

And why not? Comic-Con is seen as a genuine buzz-building launching pad for new projects and judging by the number of movie and TV events on the show schedule, studios hope it helps potential viewers discover their older, ongoing projects.

"The Walking Dead," however, wasn't my Marketing Award winner.

For those who think dressing up in costume is the most drastic expression of fan worship, take a look at the gentleman on the left.

 While he is covered with a variety of characters, his back is adorned with a tattoo re-creation of the cover to X-Men #101 -- the "Enter The Phoenix" issue.

I found him while another photographer was following him around the DC Entertainment booth.

A friend of mine pointed him out earlier.  As an X-Men fan, I appreciate the dedication.  But would I ever do it...?

Saturday is considered the most crowded day at the Comic-Con and finding down time while in a wave of people isn't easy.  I wished I could get access to one of the elevated lounge-production spaces that are raised above the masses on the sales floor.

More later... but now I need some caffeine and comfortable chair.

 

"Nappy Hour," formerly an impromptu gathering of black cartoonists, had its first panel at Comic-Con, Friday. 

The meetings -- usually at Tivoli's Bar & Grill -- were the invention of acclaimed cartoonist Keith Knight ("The Knight Life,: "The K Chronicles"), who said he wanted to get to know other creators outside the sales floor of the San Diego Comic-Con.

As an attendee and observer to a couple of past gatherings, it was impressive to see fans of Knight, writer Dwayne Mcduffie and writer-artist Spike Trotman gather and fill up the meeting space.

Ned Cato (GeekRoundTable.com), a Comic-Con official, also joined the group.

"Ned calls himself the Negro whisperer," Knight said, jokingly. "Whenever there's a problem on the sales floor it's usually with me. So they sent him over -- He talked to me in Swahili..."

Yeah, "Nappy Hour's" Still a lot of fun, with plenty of laughs but none of the beer.

Like most Comic-Con gatherings, creators would impart their wisdom on the aspiring Independent artists and writers, but seldom is it in a rapid fire, timed format.

"This is going to be like PTI ("Pardon The Interruption") on ESPN," Knight said to the audience while holding a newly purchased timer. "We need to time this because you know Spike will take all day long."

And Knight had a point.  Charlie "Spike" Trotman, creator and publisher of "Templar, Arizona," unleashed a series of biting, humorous observations, sparing no one, and kept the audience laughing.

SPIKE ON CO-PANELIST AND MAINSTREAM COMIC WRITER DWAYNE MCDUFFIE: "I wish my husband was here because this is the kind of stuff he cares about."

SPIKE ON MAINSTREAM COMICS: "The last comic I read was Excalibur, primarily for Nightcrawler because I'm  a pervert."

SPIKE ON HOW TO BREAK INTO COMICS: "Go home, make a comic. Congratulations, you've broken into comics."

SPIKE ON HER OWN BOOKS: "Please buy these so I don't have to take this (expletive) home."

The time went quickly as the three-minute limit for each of five topics blew by.

At the conclusion of the panel, there was a call to have a "Nappy Hour" gathering next year.  I would welcome it too even though I know it would likely be another morning panel and not a sit-down at the bar.

But, of course, that also means it's open for everyone to enjoy.

Pictured above: Keith Knight and left, artwork from "Templar, Arizona." 





  

The test teaser trailer for Dark Horse artist-writer Eric Powell's "The Goon" was shown to excited Comic-Con audiences who cheered at the sights, sounds and action, Friday.

And for many of us at the Dark Horse Comics: Make Contact in 2010 panel, it was brand new material even though it hit the Web a few days earlier. I hadn't seen a pixel of the project at the time, but I did a post about an animated version of "The Goon" when Modern Mythology first launched.

What I glimpsed on that a dimly lit screen in the meeting room was OK, but the trailer looked outstanding in the YouTube clip above. 

As I mentioned, It had been some years since announcement, but "The Goon" animated concept hasn't lost any of its mojo.  A tightly-packed crowd of Dark Horse fans thrilled to a  quick segment which featured the character Franky letting loose with a Tommy gun and  playing bar games with a few ghoulish pals.  And the Goon himself was as imposing as ever.

The universe of "The Goon" blends mystery, dark humor and  the supernatural with tough-guy, gangster violence.

The project will feature the voice talents of Clancy Brown ("Carnivale" from HBO) as the Goon and Paul Giamatti (you know who he is) as Franky.  Powell hints there may be even more to show fans tonight.

In matters of career and creativity, longtime actor and filmmaker Bill Duke forges his own path.  

And this week, that route will lead him to San Diego Comic-Con, where he will be honored as a pioneer of black actors in science fiction at the annual Black Panel, Saturday.

Duke, who played Sgt. "Mac" Eliot in the 1987 hit film "Predator," will participate in a Q&A with the audience and join a panel of industry creators of color, including writer-director Reginald Hudlin and novelist Nnedi Okorafor.

Earlier this week, the entertainment industry veteran graciously answered some questions about his career, his latest projects and how the ever-evolving digital media are changing the game.

                                            --------------------------------------------------------

MODERN MYTHOLOGY:  Everyone has seen 'Predator" and it's spawned so many sequels. What was the difference in your acting career before you played Mac and then after it became this massive hit?  Was there any difference?

DUKE:  Well, a little bit.  I think that as actors, usually, we are exposed to the general public and the business by the films that we're in.  So being in "Predator" definitely gave me a different credential.  And being in the company of those guys gave me a different credential, but it didn't mean a lot more work for me.  

You know, it's hard, Because I'm a big black guy with a bald head, you know what I'm saying?

MODERN MYTHOLOGY:  So am I!  (Laughs)

DUKE:  Just being honest, you know? Those days there weren't a lot of leading roles for a guy like me, you know what I mean? So no matter what your acting talent was that wasn't the image they were looking for in terms of leading men.

But it did get me work and also helped leverage me into what I wanted to do directing-wise and all the rest of that.  It helped my career in different ways just in terms of relationships.

Leonardo DiCaprio is shown in a scene from "Inception." Leonardo DiCaprio and Christopher Nolan's "Inception" is anything but a sleeper as the thriller opened big with $62.8 million and a No. 1 finish at the weekend box office. (AP Photo/Warner Bros., Melissa Moseley, File)


Christopher Nolan's latest sci-fi thriller "Inception" led the box-office in its weekend debut by a wide margin earning an estimated $62.8 million.

It nearly doubled what runner-up "Despicable Me" did in its second week of release. The successful animated comedy from Universal, featuring the voice talents of Steve Carell, earned $32.8 million followed by Disney's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," which recorded $17.6 million in its opening weekend.  

The result is no surprise to industry watchers. Many guessed that "Inception," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, would ride the buzz surrounding Nolan who also directed "The Dark Knight."

Sure, a take of $60 million may not be enough to nudge studios back to producing more original screenplays that aren't comedies, but I hope it's a start.  I have nothing against every sequel, book adaptation or TV show re-imagining, it's just nice to see an original big-budget action piece written for the screen again.

And "Inception" is worth your time.  Between this movie and "Shutter Island," I have to say DiCaprio has starred in two of my favorite films so far this year.


1. "Inception"                                            
$62,785,337
2. "Despicable Me"                                   
$32,803,660
3. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"                 
$17,619,622
4. "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"                
$13,420,480
5. "Toy Story 3"                                         
$11,998,276
6. "Grown Ups"                                            
$9,911,016
7. The Last Airbender"                                 
$7,755,153
8. "Predators"                                               
$7,016,502
9. "Knight & Day"                                         
$3,608,021
10. "The Karate Kid"                                    
$2,288,707


Weekend estimates courtesy boxofficemojo.com





   

JOANN LOVIGLIO                                                                                             Associated Press Writer

After a long journey to liberate a warehouse-load of comics, Geoffrey's Comics is having a sale Saturday and Sunday to share the goods.  

The Gardena comic store is offering their newly-acquired books in an outdoors sale for a quarter-a-copy if you purchase 100 and 50 cents-per-copy if you buy 20. Otherwise, the comics are 99 cents apiece. And I hear there are hundreds of trade paperbacks available for $3.50.

Everything else in the store is 20 percent off except new books.  The hours of the sale are from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday July 17 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday July 18.

Geoffrey's Comics is located at 15900 Crenshaw Blvd., Gardena, CA. (310) 538-3198.

Store release below:

    

It's a long, long road to creating professional-level sequential comic book art. Many go it alone and attempt to teach themselves with very little formal training (I don't know why I torture myself). 

Well, Pulp Fiction comic store in Long Beach is again offering the opportunity for beginners to learn the basics of anatomy and perspective.  Guests are invited to attend FREE bi-weekly classes at the store starting Saturday July 17 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Beginning and Intermediate courses are scheduled through July.  Official announcement below.

Free Art Classes return to Pulp Fiction this summer

Ever wanted to learn to draw?

Need to sharpen up your artistic skills?

Take a FREE Pulp Fiction art class this summer!

All classes will take place on Saturdays between 10:00am-11:30am.
We will provide any supplies you might need (including a FREE sketchpad).

Saturday, July 17th Beginning I
Basic Figure Drawing and Foreshortening

Saturday, July 31st Beginner II
Perspective and Backgrounds

Saturday, August 7th Intermediate I
Basic Panel/Page Composition

Pulp Fiction is located at 1742 Clark Ave., Long Beach, CA. For more information call (562) 986-4154.  

This is the cover to Entertainment Weekly's Comic-Con issue.

Fans will recognize Ryan Reynolds from his work as Deadpool in the "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" film.  Well, the parts where he appeared with his actual face.

Others may know him as Hannibal King from "Blade 3."

So here is EW's first look at Reynolds as Hal Jordan, DC Comics' primary Green Lantern character.

The actor is poised to corner the market in the superhero film game after reportedly signing on to play Deadpool in a proposed Marvel Studios franchise.  

Anyway, the magazine will be released Friday. 

Also, I've heard that the costume will be CGI.  This is interesting. I just had a conversation with a fellow film fan about good and bad CGI and here we have one of the next major DC Entertainment flicks with a character's costume made mostly from pixels -- THAT'S AWESOME! ... OR A BIG MISTAKE! 

...I guess we'll see.

A penciled panel from an upcoming story by artist-writer David Finch who will do the creative chores on "Batman: The Dark Knight." The first issue is expected to hit the stands in November.


David Finch joins the ranks of creators who both write and draw their comics with the announcement of his new ongoing series "Batman: The Dark Knight."

Finch has been a comics professional for quite a while, but he became a household name a few years ago when he teamed with big-time writer Brian Michael Bendis to make the "New Avengers" a hot series.

His super-detailed artwork and dynamic action sequences marked Finch as one to watch. 

The popular artist has since left his exclusive Marvel Comics deal and signed with DC Comics. Finch has not only been given his dream assignment of illustrating Batman, he has been given the writing duties as well.

I mentioned this in the company of some friends and one of them exclaimed, "Finch writes?"

Author Ray Bradbury told audiences recently that he's waiting to see what actor-director Mel Gibson is going to do with an adaptation of his classic book Fahrenheit 451. 

If you haven't heard at least a snippet of the notorious audio recordings alleged to be Gibson sounding off on ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, then CONGRATULATIONS because there's a link to it everywhere by now (even here).

In this video clip from Vulture, an audience laughs when Bradbury responds via video chat to a question about having the infamous mechanical hound in an updated version of Fahrenheit.

"I hope that Mel Gibson makes his version and puts the mechanical hound in," Bradbury said on the video.

Bradbury has no choice but to be in a holding pattern on whether a film gets made because Gibson owns the film rights to the novel. He's also aware that this project is probably the least of Gibson's worries right now.

"Unfortunately, he's busy with the Russian girl," Bradbury said. "I saw him on TV this morning swearing at her."

Two of these comic book creators are known for illustrating strange, unique fantasy characters and the third is distinguished for making vampires scary again.

Artists Doug TenNapel ("Earthworm Jim," "Creature Tech"), Tommy Kovac ("The Royal Historian of OZ") and writer Steve Niles ("30 Days of Night") will join fans and friends at Metropolis Comics' Pre-San Diego Comic-Con party in Bellflower, Wednesday.

TenNapel, Kovac and Niles will join forces to do sketches and/or sign their latest comics from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. July 14.

There's also a "Summer Sizzler" sale: 25 percent off statues and hardcovers, 30 percent off soft cover graphic novels and 50 percent off variants and vintage books.

Metropolis Comics is located at 16509 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower. CA. 90706. For information call (562) 263-0277

Or why not have store owner Gail Burt tell you all about it in the latest episode of Metropolis Comics: After Hours?



 

JAKE COYLE, THOMAS J. SHEERAN
Associated Press Writers


CLEVELAND (AP) -- Harvey Pekar, whose autobiographical comic book series "American Splendor" portrayed his unglamorous life with bone-dry honesty and wit, was found dead at home early Monday, authorities said. He was 70.

The cause of death was unclear, and an autopsy was planned, officials said. Pekar had prostate cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and depression, said Michael Cannon, a police captain in suburban Cleveland Heights.

Officers were called to Pekar's home by his wife about 1 a.m., Cannon said. His body was found on the floor between a bed and dresser. He had gone to bed around 4:30 p.m. Sunday in good spirits, his wife told police.

Pekar took a radically different track from the superhero-laden comics that had dominated the industry. He instead specialized in the lives of ordinary people, chronicling his life as a file clerk in Cleveland and his relationship with his third wife, Joyce Brabner. His 1994 graphic novel, "Our Cancer Year," detailed his battle with lymphoma.

The dreary cover scene shows him sprawled beside his wife on a snowy curbside with shopping bags on the ground. "Harvey, forget about the groceries, honey. Let's get you inside first," she says.

Pekar never drew himself but depended on collaborations with artists, most notably his friend R. Crumb, who helped illustrate the first issue of the ironically titled "American Splendor," published in 1976. It was made into an acclaimed 2003 film starring Paul Giamatti as Pekar. The most recent "American Splendor" was released in 2008.

"Harvey was one of the most compassionate and empathetic human beings I've ever met," Giamatti said in a statement. "He had a huge brain and an even bigger soul. And he was hilarious. He was a great artist, a true American poet, and there is no one to replace him."

Pekar's quirky commentary developed a following, and his insights and humor were often a bit on the dark side.

Lucy Shelton Caswell, curator of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University, said it was inaccurate to describe Pekar's work as "cult."

"His work was accepted by the mainstream," Caswell said. "It was bought by public libraries and read widely." The cartoon library has all of Pekar's works in its collection, she said.

"He will be remembered as an innovator who wrote stories about ordinary things that were then illustrated by some of the most notable cartoonists of the late 20th century," Caswell said.

"People identified with what he was writing about and the stories that these people were drawing because it was so ordinary."

In 2003, the New York Film Critics Circle honored "American Splendor" as best first film for the directing-writing team of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. Part feature and part documentary, and with occasional animated elements, the film's tearing down of the fourth wall -- with Giamatti, as Pekar, often appearing alongside the real Pekar -- paralleled his comic's realism.

Pekar, himself, introduces the film and the character based on him: "This guy here, he's our man, all grown up and going nowhere. Although he's a pretty scholarly cat, he never got much of a formal education. For the most part, he's lived in ... neighborhoods, held ... jobs and he's now knee-deep into a disastrous second marriage. So if you're the kind of person looking for romance or escapism or some fantasy figure to save the day, guess what? You've got the wrong movie."

Pekar, who was a repeat TV guest of David Letterman, told The Associated Press in a 1997 interview that he was determined to keep writing his "American Splendor" series.

"There's no end in sight for me. I want to continue to do it," Pekar said. "It's a continuing autobiography, a life's work."

Coyle reported from New York. Associated Press writer Doug Whiteman in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.

Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images

This years Anime Expo was full of awesome talent from Japan.  While I didn't make it to every panel or every concert, I did want to acknowledge some highlights from the event.

Who noticed that Marvel released the animated Black Panther TV series to iTunes a couple weeks ago?

I only noticed when I glanced at a press release entry on Comic Book Resources. A week after announcement, I checked the iTunes store. Sure enough, there it was, waiting for me to push the "Buy it" button and let the good times roll.

But wait a minute...

Is this my imagination?  Is this the same project introduced at the San Diego Comic-Con that stoked fan excitement some years ago?

If I used catchphrases like 'highly-anticipated' in this post about Panther, I would be stretching he truth. This series has been a long time coming and, sadly, some the air has gone out of my balloon. 

To be fair, it's not because of the show itself. My ennui is due to all the creative wrestling this project has gone through. Also, the strange scheduling: The ever-shifting date of debut; A partial release on Australian cable television;  And now, Months later, U.S. audiences can get the show... on digital download? 

Yeah, my interest is a little exhausted.