Sam Thielman looks at Fantagraphics and the Hernandez brothers’ (Gilbert, Xamie and Mario) plans to morph Love & Rockets to a trade paperback format:

It’s also a chance to create a new and more reader-friendly book. “I’m going to minimize serialization,” Gilbert vowed. “I’m not saying I’m going to limit my subjects, though. I’m going to be a little more experimental visually, as well.” The brothers will split up the pages 50/50, with a little give-and-take in case one brother has a 75-page brainstorm. And while long-established characters may appear, they won’t hog the spotlight. Gilbert will stay away from his fictional town of Palomar for the time being and Jaime said that while his iconic characters, Maggie and Hopey, will show up, they won’t necessarily be the main focus of the stories.

Kate Culkin has an in-depth article on the newly formed Walt Disney comics imprint spearheaded by Ahmet Zappa and Christian Beranek:

Kingdom Comics plans to release its first book in summer 2009. All publications will be at least 120 pages and consist of a self-contained story, although successful works may spawn sequels. When the graphic novels draw on the Disney vaults, it will be to reimagine less successful live-action features, especially from the 1970s and ’80s, in original ways. “Disney wants to put a lot behind this and there is a good chance these stories will become the next film franchises,” according to Beranek. Zappa and Beranek will coauthor some books, but they are actively seeking other writers as well as artists. At Heroes Con, Beranek and Zappa announced the first creators who will work on the line, writers Scott Lobdell and Steve Niles, with more to be announced soon. “All I can say is, I think the fans will be happy,” Beranek promised.

– Derik Badman looks at the work of woodcut artist Felix Vallotton.

– New York previews Dead in Desemboque.

– Naoki Urasawa sings; Moto Hagio acts; Kazuo Umezu wears funny outfits.

– Brian Hibbs reports on the Rory Root memorial.

– Girls Love Comics talks to Kate Beaton.

– Bookslut chats with Chuck Forsman.

– The Daily Cross Hatch discusses things with Ralph Bakshi.

– Steve Duin attends one of Matt Madden and Jessica Abel’s classes.

– Brigid Alverson talks to Queenie Chan about her recent collaboration with Dean Koontz.

– The Miami Book Fair gets jiggy with the comics.

– ADV is still making manga, never fear.

Gamespot has a Q&A up with Midway’s Ed Boon about the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game … which will feature fatalities and what he’s calling “brutalities”:

GS: Have you made any more headway on the fatality versus finishing moves?

EB: Yes we have. All of the MK characters and all of the DC villains will have fatalities. The DC heroes who don’t kill that often will have brutalities that will function just like fatalities but don’t actually kill the opponent.

He says the big E3 gaming convention will bring a look at four characters and two arenas.

Although Batman: Gotham Knight doesn’t have its premiere until this weekend at Wizard World Chicago, MTV’s Movies Blog has a five-minute sneak peek of the animated anthology.

The direct-to-DVD feature hits stores on July 8.

In a week when Marvel unleashes some 34 titles on comic stores, IDW Publishing provides some unintentional relief by shipping … none (the books are tied up in U.S. Customs, so watch out for next week).

Marvel’s avalanche includes three Secret Invasion tie-ins, Joss Whedon’s final issue of Runaways and Matt Fraction and David Aja’s final issue of The Immortal Iron Fist, and the second installment of Marvel 1985. DC’s output — about half that of its competitor — features the second issue of Final Crisis, the long-awaited All-Star Batman hardcover and the collection of Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan’s critically acclaimed Demo.

Elsewhere, Dark Horse releases the first volumes of Gantz and Indiana Jones Adventures – opposite ends of the spectrum, certainly — Drawn and Quarterly gives us Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s Good-Bye, and NBM Publishing rolls out hardcovers of Bluesman and Ordinary Victories.

To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.

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Wolverine and X-Men cartoon will debut at Comic-Con

Although the new Wolverine and the X-Men animated series won’t air on Nicktoons until early 2009, the three-part pilot will get an early premiere on July 26 at Comic-Con International.

In the cartoon, an attack on the mansion leads to the disappearance of Prof. Xavier and Jean Grey, and the disbanding of the X-Men. But after Emma Frost locates a comatose Xavier in the care of Magneto in Genosha, the professor telepathically orders Wolverine to reassemble the X-Men to save the world from The Sentinels and the Brotherhood of Mutants.

A new trailer is available at Marvel.com.

Does ‘some legal trouble’ endanger future Superman movies?

Get Smart director Peter Segal talks with AMC’s SciFi Scanner a little about Billy Batson and the Legend of Shazam, and may reveal something about the future of the Superman movie franchise. I stress may.

Addressing potential comparisons between Captain Marvel and the Man of Steel, Segal says: “I’ll name two incredibly successful comics right now that are about a millionaire who wants to fight crime and uses technology to build suits and gadgets to help him do so. But quite frankly, I was concerned: Superman literally squashed Captain Marvel in the ’40s. There are a lot of Captain Marvel fans who are saying he got a raw deal. And since there seems to be some legal trouble in ever bringing another Superman to the screen, now feels like the right time.”

That last part, about “some legal trouble,” raises an eyebrow. I presume Segal is referring to the copyright ruling in the Siegels’ lawsuit against Warner Bros., but that would be the first I’ve seen of the decision serving as an obstacle to further Superman movies. If Segal a.) is referring to the ruling and b.) has his facts straight, this is a pretty big deal.

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This Thursday the Hero Initiative will display 100 original Hulk covers by artists like John McCrea (pictured to the right) as part of a fund raiser in conjunction with Wizard World Chicago. Apparently you can’t hide the Hulk for long, though, because some of the covers are already leaking out onto the Internet. I found McCrea’s over on the Hero Initiative blog, and MySpace has three more of them, by John Cassidy, Terry Dodson and Brett Blevins. Some will be auctioned off at Wizard World, while the rest will find their way to eBay.

Moe details on the Thursday night event can be found here.

The Fantagraphics marketing maestro/Mome editor and his wife, Rhea Patton, welcomed their daughter Clementine Bean into the world this past Saturday, a day before Eric’s own birthday no less! Nice timing!

Spanish artist Puño reinterprets Jack Kirby’s classic cover to The Fantastic Four #1, pitting Marvel’s First Family against an enormous cigarette-smoking — and veiny? — Mickey Mouse.

(Via Super Punch)

As a part of Meathaus week, Vulture presents a complete story by the Street Angel team of Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca — “Afrodisiac Meets Dracula.”

Jennifer de Guzman attended this past weekend’s memorial to retailer Rory Root, which was hosted at Comic Relief in Berkeley and attended by other retailers, folks from Image and DC, Charles Brownstein from the CBLDF and author Michael Chabon. This part brings a tear to my eye:

Several people wore fedoras. Rory’s sister was wearing one of his. When I walked in the store, she was partially behind a bookshelf, and I saw just the hat and long, blond hair. It was so startling — I really thought it was Rory for a moment.

Local reporter Randy Myers also remembers Rory, discussing an interview he did with the retailer in 2006:

I remember interviewing Root, who took on the look of Gandalf’s younger brother, for a story about the surging popularity of graphic novels tied to the film release of “V for Vendetta” in 2006. I expected the interview to wrap up in an hour. I left the store nearly three hours later, my brain stuffed with comics history, my arms loaded down with a bag full of comics. Root’s passion for comics was limitless and certainly contagious.

Entertainment Weekly celebrates its 1,000th issue with a rundown of “The New Classics,” “the 1,000 best movies, TV shows, albums, books and more of the last 25 years.”

Among the 100 best reads EW lists Maus (No. 7), Watchmen (No. 13), Persepolis (No. 37), The Sandman (No. 46), Jimmy Corrigan (No. 54) and Fun Home (No. 68).

The movies list includes Crumb (No. 14), Spider-Man 2 (No. 36) and Men in Black (No. 47).

Neil Gaiman also contributes his list of “10 New Classic Monsters,” topped by Swamp Thing from the Moore/Bissette/Totleben ’80s revival.

The Independent looks at how comic books have addressed the war in Iraq, focusing on titles such as DMZ, Shooting War, Pride of Baghdad and War Zone:

“I started to develop DMZ shortly after the Iraq war began in 2003,” [Brian] Wood explains. “I remember thinking ‘I’d better get this book off the ground and running fast, because the war’s gonna end soon.’ My editor was scared that the subject matter would be old news. Of course, we were completely wrong. When the book came out I was worried that I might get hate mail, or people telling me I was un-American. But by the time the book actually hit the stands, most people were on the same page; the public was against the war. Soon, a lot of other graphic novels critiquing the war started to come out; now it’s like we’re preaching to the choir.”

Related: Paul Gravett examines the flipside, of sorts, chronicling the history of comic books as government propaganda.

Atomic Rocket Group 66 #1
Written by Robert Curley; Illustrated by Will Sliney
Atomic Diner; $4.95

I thought I’d become skeptical of self-published comics. I thought I’d become jaded enough that if I didn’t know the publisher or hadn’t read some darn good reviews, I was going to be very careful about my purchases. Guess not.

But c’mon. I see in Previews a comic with a robot, a spaceman, a black-masked pulp adventure hero, and a gal wearing what looks like a ‘60s spy catsuit… I’m gonna be curious. Then I read that it’s set in ’57 and features characters named Space Phantom, Night Ghost, Lunar Girl, and a misogynist who turns into a woman named Minute Maid? You’ve got to work pretty hard to screw up a concept like that.

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Thomas Jane clears up that photo, says he’d love to play Jonah Hex

You may recall the photo that circulated last week of actor Thomas Jane with Jonah Hex makeup and props — and how it was quickly debunked.

But now it turns out the image is real, in that it is Jane dressed as the DC Comics bounty hunter and not a Photoshop hoax. It’s just not a screen test for the planned Warner Bros. movie.

Confused? Let Jane explain:

“Yeah, the pic is real all right -– my pal Akiva Goldsman told me about the project and I fell in love with the idea right away. Being a huge fan of all things Hex -– I just couldn’t help myself. I called up my buddy Chris Nelson and we spent a Saturday afternoon working up some make-up for this impromptu shoot and I fired a few pics off to Warners. How do people get a hold of this shit? It’s a little embarrassing seeing my fanboy enthusiasm spilled all over the web, but great scripts don’t come around too often, especially for characters I love.”

Jonah Hex, announced last summer, is being adapted by the Crank team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor.

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Courtesy of Those Fabulous Fifties.

Larry Gonick is doing a comic strip for the Discovery Channel’s Web site.

A new webcomic by Ken Dahl.