Seattle’s the Stranger website chats with Joe Sacco, creator of But I Like It and Safe Area Gorazde:

Did you really want to be a punk musician and you just got sidetracked into being a journalist?
I think everyone and his brother has gone through a phase of wishing he were rock star but, uh, never seriously. I don’t like being onstage for one thing and I don’t have any musical talent, so at some point I decided to remove myself from the running. After touring with the Miracle Workers, a band from Portland and L.A., I stayed on in Europe and was doing rock posters. And that’s sort of how I got involved, by way of making art in the rock scene, not by way of music.

Sacco will be in Seattle next week.

Sony Pictures Classics has stills from the upcoming film Persepolis, the animated adaptation of the excellent graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. Satrapi wrote and directed the film.

A release date has not been scheduled, but it is expected to come out in 2007. Her latest graphic novel, Chicken with Plums, comes out Oct. 3.

This guy knows his Sandman …

See part 2, where he talks about his love for Sandman and answers generic questions, here.

Another month goes back, another two more months to look forward to of boos, books, books. So, should you be able to tear yourself away from Civil War #4 (hopefully arriving today at comic shops), here’s the month of December, brought to you by the House of Ideas.
So maybe lists of five was a little overzealous, maybe groups of three might format better? Three is a magical number, just ask Grant Morrison.

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Earlier this week Colleen Doran announced she would be posting an A Disant Soil prequel called “Seasons of Spring” to her website:

A Distant Soil:Seasons of Spring has been out of print for some 15 years and I am going to be running the pages right here. I considered going straight to trade with it, but I decided to see how running it here might go over first. I have a year’s worth of one-page-a-week inventory, most of it reprints. However, considering the fact that no one has seen much of it, it will be new to many who come here.

Yesterday she posted additional information on the story. The first page will go up next Wednesday.

John Jakala writes an open letter to Dark Horse:

I’m tired of having to actively follow your release schedule, and I’m guessing that I’m not the only one. As the customer, I shouldn’t have to work this hard to get your product. There are too many other entertainment options — including manga from other publishers — that come out reliably for me to expend this much time and energy keeping up with the constant changes in your publication dates. It’s unfortunate, because Dark Horse holds a special spot in my memories when it comes to manga: Oh My Goddess was the first manga series I ever followed, and Super Manga Blast was a wonderful anthology that expanded my exposure to the growing category of Japanese comics. But nowadays Dark Horse isn’t the only manga publisher on the block, and I’ve seen that other companies can do a better job when it comes to maintaining a schedule.

Much more in the link, including his reasoning for writing an open letter like this in the first place.

I admit it. I first went to Dave Cockrum’s forum to find his wife (and former Marvel staffer), Paty, gossip about John Byrne’s status at DC:

Now, I hear Byrne has been doing very lousy pinup drawings of the X folk and his fans are flooding the net with, saying Wow…aren’t these great? And shouldn’t Byrne be back on the X Men?” Which means that Byrne got tossed by DC… which apparently he just did with the cancellation of the Atom book [Note: It's not cancelled, but Byrne is off the book after issue #3]… probably for badmouthing the [Superman Returns] movie and not shutting up about it when DC told him to cease and desist. Which he didn’t do.

But almost everything else that Paty says is worth quoting. After the jump, your mind will be blown.

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The Chemistry Set has an interview up with Ed Brubaker, where they get the scoop on his first superhero work:

5. How old were you when you started writing? Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?

I was in 2nd or third grade, and I wrote and drew a comic book called The Werewolf, about a guy who’s out hunting, and shoots a werewolf but the bullet goes through the wolf, bounces off a rock, and lodges in the man’s forehead, and after that he can become a werewolf anytime he wants and he fights crime.

How has Marvel not secured the rights to that?

Andy Diggle updates his blog for the first time in awhile with comments on his upcoming Batman Confidential run and hints of new projects now that he’s no longer exclusive with DC:

Believe it or not, I’ve currently got four new projects on the go that I’m waiting to announce. Being a notorious blabbermouth, it almost killed me keeping BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL to myself for almost two years - but finally it’s been solicited for sale on December 13th, with a scorching cover by Whilce Portacio and Richard Friend.

And to those of you who are worried that Whilce won’t be able to draw both this and WETWORKS, fret ye not - Whilce finished pencilling WETWORKS aaaages ago.

All in all it’s been an interesting week. Coming to the end of my exclusive contract with DC Comics, I started putting out feelers to other publishers - and immediately got what can only be described as an Offer I Can’t Refuse, literally doubling what I had been paid at Vertigo under the DC exclusive.

Combine that with a pay rise for my next Vertigo project, and I’m suddenly learning that I have a lot more bargaining power outside of an exclusive contract than in one.

It’s nice to be in demand. Now I just need to figure out how to fit all the work in…

Hmmmm … could Diggle be headed across town? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

…that, as amusing as Harlan Ellison’s lawsuit against Gary Groth, Kim Thompson and Fantagraphics may be, it’s not the only lawsuit that Mr. Ellison is currently engaged in, as Peter David has already pointed out:

Readers of Harlan Ellison’s webpage–and even some non-readers–are aware that Harlan is launching a legal action against Pocket Books over current and upcoming novels about Edith Keeler.

Quite a few folks have been asking me if this will have any impact on “Imzadi” which, as anyone who has read it knows, is basically an inversion of “City” and features the Guardian of Forever. Although I already suspected the answer, I called Harlan and he personally assured me that “Imzadi” will not be a part of the litigation, for two reasons: First, he’d never cause a close friend that kind of grief, and second, way back in the day when I first came up with the plot, I called him and asked permission. He gave me the okay, I wrote the book, and dedicated it to him.

Now, back to internet reaction to the Ellison/Fantagraphics case. The Engine takes it all in its stride, for the most part. Warren Ellis:

A lot of it feels like it was put through Harlan’s typewriter.

Matt Fraction:

I’m more thrown by the revelation that gary and kim run fanta out of the home they both share, and that they once absconded with legal funds to take a secret tropical vacation together.

Jonathan Hickman, of Image’s The Nightly News:

Easily the best thing I’ve read this week. That man certainly knows when he has an audience.

Meanwhile, reaction on The Comics Journal site is one of stunned bemusement:

If Harlan wrote the complaint himself, it’s the best writing out of him I’ve seen for many a Barry Longyear. “…there was no reasoning with or apologizing to the temperamental Fleisher; he was determined to sue and in fact he did.” Elsewhere: “This is a grotesque and ludicrous fabrication, a florid lie.” Wow, that stuff just jumps off the page at you.

Alex Buchet is taking things slightly more seriously, however:

[I]f you are or were an employee of, or contractor to, or vendor to, or supplier of Fantagraphics or the Comics Journal:

Do not post to this thread.

Ellison and his legal mercenaries have reserved the right to amend his complaint to include anyone and his/her brother in his suit. (John Does 1 to 20.)

Take heed, John Linton R. and others, lest you be subpoenaed. Matt Silvie, restrain your tongue of acid silver. Tom Spurgeon, contact your lawyer NOW.

Needless to say, this is developing. Those with an interest in such things, the complaint is well worth a read, and deserving of the comments above.

Former Fourth Railer Don MacPherson has pulled a Paul Simon or Shawn Michaels, depending on what kind of metaphor you prefer, and has gone solo with the launch of his own review site, EyeonComics.com:

EyeonComics.com is MacPherson’s first solo venture in the realm of comics-focused websites. In addition to The Fourth Rail, he has been a major contributor to such past ventures as Psycomic.com in 1999-2000 and Fandom.com’s Comics Newsarama in 2000-2001.

The Fourth Rail ran from 2001 to 2006, until MacPherson and partner Randy Lander closed up shop last month.

“Randy and I were both looking to rejuvenate our online writing with fresh starts,” MacPherson said. “Randy got his with the entertaining ComicPants.com, and Eye on Comics is my new beginning.”

Since concluding his five-year run on The Fourth Rail, MacPherson has had a number of offers from others looking to collaborate in some way. While the partnership offers were flattering, he said, this time around, he wanted to try things on his own.

He plans on maintaining the same reviewing formats he used on The Fourth Rail, he said, but there are changes as well. Comic-distribution release schedules won’t dictate what gets reviewed in a given week, for example, and EyeonComics.com’s blog format allows for direct and immediate reader feedback.

Go check it out.

Even though their American Born Chinese event is tonight, the Isotope’s James Sime can still be distracted by good sewing:

It’s no accident that the Isotope happens to be located in such close proximity to two of San Francisco’s most beloved and sexy crafty shops, the Urban Knitting Studio and Stitch Lounge, because we’ve always been of the opinion that there’s a lot of mutual cross-over between such types of stores that celebrate the creative. And one need only take a look at all the people who come into the store gleefully carrying beautiful balls of yarn or count the number of folks who find a spot on our sofa to do some afternoon knitting to agree.

Click through to see an amazing quilt made of X-Men comics. No, really.

Steve MacIsaac posts to the Engine:

Three comic book faggots are going to hang out, drink wine and sign books this Friday night at A Different Light San Francisco. Andy Hartzell, Justin Hall, and Steve MacIsaac will be on hand to promote Green Candy Press’ brand new BOOK OF BOY TROUBLE, which collects the best stories from Robert Kirby and David Kelly’s influential queer cartoonist zine. Also brand new is the second issue of Justin Hall and Dave Davenport’s outrageous porn comic HARD TO SWALLOW, which combines hard-core sex with off-the-wall subject matter such as randy pirates, gay prostitutes and werewolves. The second issue features a story by Steve MacIsaac, and all three cartoonists are in the BOOK OF BOY TROUBLE. All cartoonists will also have their previous work available for purchase and signing.

The fun starts at 7:00. A Different Light SF is located at 489 Castro Street.

Zeus Comics, Fanboy Radio and a gang of Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex comic artists are getting together to help out a friend in need Sept. 30, as CAPE 2.5 rolls into the Metro Grill in Dallas to benefit Lea Hernandez, who lost her home to a fire. The event includes a live art show and comic art auction:

Some of the comic artists already assembled run the gamut from indie to mainstream from up-and-comers to industry legends. PVP’s Scott Kurtz, the Crow’s James O’Barr, Viper Comics’ Brock Rizy and Benjamin Hall, Brian Denham, Steve Erwin, Sonny Strait, Kit Lively, TJ Colligan, and Ghostwerks Comics are among the few already on the bill.

“Texas comic creators really support each other and having this line-up of talent in Dallas show up and give for a San Antonio friend is very classy. I’m proud to promote these people.” says Scott Hinze of Fanboy Radio, co-host of the evening.

“The biggest surprise of the evening will be Lea Hernandez herself. We’re getting Lea here for a little live art therapy,” said Neal. “I can’t imagine losing my entire career in a fire. It’s important for the artists assembled to bring Lea in to their show support.”

You can also donate to to the Hernandez family from the Zeus Comics website. More details on the event can be found here.

Lea provided an update on her situation at her LiveJournal earlier this week:

We are having still more insurance Superdickery. Now it’s, “Oh, say, since your rebuild runs up close to your insurance limit, we’re not covering you under the program we sold you on the day after the fire. The program that would keep you from getting Superdicked by a contractor and encourage them to finish in a timely manner bwcause they don’t get paid by us until they do…yeah, that one…well, you’re not on it any more.”

It is the suck. We are smelling burning. Girl won’t do her fucking homework. Boy is depressed. The donations everyone has sent help SO MUCH because we don’t have to wait for the State Farm people to do something so we can buy chairs to sit on, or beds to sleep on, or plates to eat from, and that is really nice. We will swat Superdickery with a mallet tomorrow. For now, sleeeeeep.

The Boston Globe has an interview up with comics legend Stan Lee on his “hardcover retrospective” written with Roy Thomas that includes “audio commentary” by Stan himself. The interview covers a wide variety of topics, such as:

Your comic books explored moral complexities to a degree others had not done before. Why?
I tried to make sure nothing in these stories would give young readers the wrong impression, that the admirable characters were the heroes, not the villains. That said, we occasionally dug into subjects that reflected real life. For instance, three (1971) issues of Spider-Man had an antidrug theme. We made it part of the story, though, and not a lecture. Nobody likes being preached to.

If you’ve seen the book in stores, it looks a little like one of those children’s books where kids can touch a picture of a cow at certain places in the story, and the attached speaker spits out a “moo.” The employees at my local comic shop were infatuated with Stan Lee’s voice a couple of weeks ago when I went in, gathering around the shelf where the book was and listening over and over to Lee, which equals about 45 minutes of content. Mesmerizing …

Publishers Weekly is reporting that First Second - the new graphic novel publisher whose impressive first two release lines have included creators like Eddie Campbell, Joann Sfar and Gene Yang - have announced three new books for their Fall 2008 schedule. Yes, Fall 2008. They work in advance and live in the future over there:

Continuing to aggressively add new comics projects to his list, First Second editorial director Mark Siegel announced the acquisition of three projects that will be published in fall 2008.

He’s signed a deal with novelist/playwright Carla Jablonski and artist Leland Purvis to publish Resistance, a series of three graphic novels set during World War II in Nazi-occupied France. The first book is called The Secret War and the series will follow three French kids who join the Resistance when they see the Nazis taking away their friends. The deal was negotiated by agent Bob MeCoy.

Siegel has also signed Gene Yang, whose American Born Chinese has just been released by First Second, to a new deal. Yang will collaborate with another Bay Area cartoonist, Thien Pham, on Three Angels, the story of a videogame addict who is visited by an angel and finds out that his destiny is to become a surgeon. The deal was negotiated by agent Judy Hansen.

Finally, Siegel says he’s also signed legendary children’s author Jane Yolen to create a graphic novel called Foiled, the story of a girl fencer and her first love. Siegel has not yet signed an artist to illustrate the work.

The professionals, it seems, are concerned with new readers. Look at Erik Larsen and the problems he’s having:

You ever tried to get a non-comic book reader to read comic books?

It’s not easy.

There are some that just don’t get it - they don’t grasp which panel comes next or understand which balloon comes next and they don’t like chasing them down all over the page - and then there are those that simply can’t get into them.

I’ve tried.

Tom Brevoort is also thinking about Larsen’s first problem:

Have you ever tried to get an adult friend of yours to read comics for the first time? If so, then chances are, you’ve watched them struggle to make sense of the medium. I don’t mean the content–I mean the medium. Whenever I’ve done this with people, it’s been an eye-opener, as they really have no idea whatsoever how to approach it. So you watch them silently read teh words, then look at the picture, then struggle internally to connect the two. I think this disconnect, as much as anything, is why there aren’t more adult readers of comics material that weren’t readers when they were younger.

As I touched on in an earlier post, reading comics requires a very specific skill set, and provides a very specific pleasurable sensation, causing both hemispheres of the brain to work in tandem to decipher the story. And, from what I’ve encountered, this is a skill set that’s relatively easy for a child to absorb, but can be very difficult for an adult, whose thought-processes have calcified a little bit, to process.

You know what I think is going on? I think Erik and Tom are both trying to teach the same person to read comics. And that person is someone that both have history with… Rob Liefeld.

Okay, maybe not.

My day wouldn’t be complete without a DC-related casting rumor. While American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee says Wonder Woman is a no go, we have another rumor about Christopher Nolan’s next Batman film, which puts his old friend Guy Pearce (Memento) in the role of Two-Face:

From the ever-vigilant folks over at Batman-on-Film comes a new casting rumor for Chris Nolan’s upcoming sequel. BOF of course points out this news is only the “inside scuttlebutt” they’ve been hearing, and is not a verifiable fact in any way, so keep that under consideration as you read. Liev Schreiber has long been the frontrunner for the role of Harvey Dent (the man who would be Two-Face), and although he has been challenged in many rumors, his name continued to stick around while the others faded into the background. The newest rumor regarding the role reports Schreiber is out of the running and Guy Pearce (who worked with Nolan on Memento) is now the new favorite. Pearce has been tossed about before in connection to the role, but his name has apparently reached a new surge in “insider” popularity, bringing him back into the limelight. BOF also notes to expect more “official” casting news sometime in mid-October, during and around the release of Nolan’s current film, The Prestige.

I wonder what Tommy Lee Jones would look like in a tiara …

Courtesy of the Image Comics blog.