Our friend and fellow blogger Carla Hoffman, along with her husband Lance, remains in critical condition in Irvine, Calif. after being severely injured in the Tea Fire a few weeks back. This story in the OC Register talks about their condition and includes an update from Lance’s mom:

Lance Hoffman suffered second-degree burns on his arms and face and third-degree burns on his hands. Carla Hoffman sustained second-degree burns on her arms and hands and third-degree burns on her thighs.

They are being kept in medically induced comas so doctors can treat their wounds. They’ve both had to undergo surgery to their third-degree burns and will later have multiple skin grafts.

Linda Hoffman said doctors told her it will be months before the couple can go home.

“They’ve had good days and bad days but they are still stable,” she said. “It’s going to be a very long road.”

Also, I’d mentioned a few weeks back that we were getting together some items that we were planning on auctioning off on eBay, and the funds we raised would be donated to Carla and Lance. We plan to start some of those auctions next week. We’ve also set up a blog where we’ll post information on the auctions in the weeks and months ahead.

I want to thank my fellow Blog@ colleagues for their contributions, esp. Stephanie Chan, who is doing the legwork in terms of getting everything listed. I’ve also heard from other bloggers and comic pros who are looking to donate items, and I want to thank them for their generosity as well. IDW’s Scott Dunbier and Bully the blogging bull have donated some really nice items already, and there will be more to come.

If you’re interested in donating something to the auction, drop me a line. And if you’re just interested in making a monetary donation, you can find information on doing that here.

Empire Theatres is holding a special one night only screening of Death Note 2: The Last Name. Why one night? I have no idea, but since it’s the middle of the week, I can’t make it. But if you can, advanced tickets can be purchased online.

Date: Wednesday, December 3
Time: 7pm
Price: $10.00 plus tax
Running Time: 160 minutes (including a 20-min special feature)

Venues:

AB – CALGARY – Empire Studio 16 Country Hills
AB – EDMONTON – Empire City Centre 9 Cinemas
BC – SURREY – Empire Studio 12 Guildford
BC – VANCOUVER – Empire Granville 7 Cinemas
NB – FREDERICTON – Empire Studio 10 Regent Mall
NB – MONCTON – Empire 8 Trinity Drive
NB – SAINT JOHN – Empire Studio 10
NL – ST. JOHN’S – Empire Studio 12
NS – HALIFAX – Empire 18 Cinemas, Bayers Lake
NS – SYDNEY – Empire Studio 10
ON – KITCHENER – Empire Studio 12 Gateway Park
ON – MISSISSAUGA – Empire Studio 10 at Square One
ON – NORTH YORK – Empire Empress Walk 10 Cinemas
ON – OTTAWA – Empire 7 Cinemas
ON – ST. CATHARINES – Empire Studio 8 Pen Centre
PE – CHARLOTTETOWN – Empire Studio 8

Part of me would love to do a collection of the comments made here and at other blogs regarding our departure. But that would be way too self-serving. I have been blown away by the response to the news and it’s definitely a testament to the hard work the rest of the Blog@ gang does. While a part of the original Great Curve gang, my part here at Blog@ has only been this column.  It has been a fun effort for me to compile, given that the comic book industry and fanbase have a wealth of quotable people.  I only hope folks enjoyed reading the quotes as much as I relished finding them.

This week saw the conclusion to Batman R.I.P., and with that an abundance of quotable material. Please don’t read this week’s quotes if you’re trying to avoid spoilers.

“Is this issue a satisfying conclusion to ‘Batman R.I.P.’? Yes, as the events of recent issues are explained and put into context more explicitly. But yet we’re left with plenty of unanswered questions about the larger picture, and the final few sequences seem too abrupt, as if we’re flashing toward too many previews of things to come even as some of the dangling threads have been left unresolved.”
Timothy Callahan

(more…)

Week five of Strangeways: The Thirsty comes to a close.

Yes, still posting here for the present.  I’ll let you all know the final outcome of things when I know myself.

In the meantime, go on out and stimulate that economy!  G’wan, git!

With this issue, we’re halfway through, and there’s a lot to digest. (Please forgive the unintentional Thanksgiving pun….) There’s not so much in the way of trivia this time, but I’m starting to look at this series a little differently now.

SPOILERS FOLLOW

* * *

LEAD STORY

“Worldsoul” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.

(more…)

Now it can be told: this is, in fact, the last “Grumpy Old Fan” column here at Blog@Newsarama.

So … happy Thanksgiving?

Actually, I had been working on a couple of things for this week and the next. One was a “modern superhero canon” piece centered around JLA/Avengers. Another essay postulated that there really is no DC Universe, just a loose confederation of franchises held together by Justice League of America.

However, since this won’t be the last you see of me on the Interwebs, I think we can hold off for a while. Besides, it is Thanksgiving, and I’ve been a little crabby towards DC lately. Time for some happy talk.

(more…)

Your pre-Thanksgiving page of cowboy/vampire goodness.  I’ll be back on Friday, even though all of you are going to be keeping the economy afloat by starting your Christmas shopping and not hanging out on the internet.  

Me?  I wish the pilgrims had celebrated by roasting up some nice rib roasts instead of poultry.

Clearing out my review pile, here’s a look at some relatively (and I do mean relatively) new books for the tween-age set.

Knights of the Lunch Table: The Dodgeball Chronicles
by Frank Cammuso
Scholastic, $9.99.

The idea of grafting the King Arthur mythos onto a modern-day “boy makes good and new school” tale (a la Diary of a Wimpy Kid) seemed a bit forced to me at first, but Cammuso (Otto’s Orange Day, Max Hamm) does a good job creating an engaging, funny story that thankfully doesn’t force its metaphor the way say Tokyopop’s Avalon High series does. (more…)

Over at the Comic Geek Speak forums, retailer James Sime highlights an independent book that he recently took note of, APE’s Super Human Resources, thanks to their marketing efforts:

I got this in the mail today. 7 days before my orders are placed. These guys really nailed the world’s best timing with this one (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten these kind of things too late for initial orders, huge waste of money!). The package was addressed to my shop, with a big fat “ATTN: James Sime” on the front of it. That’s nice, I like to know they give a crap who is going to be spending his hard earned American dollars on their book. And although I won’t use this poster, other retailers probably will, and I definitely appreciate the money and effort that went into the package.

Sime goes over other things they did right at the link above.

Rick over at Cable & Tweed turned me on to the fact that this week’s episode of Heroes featured quite the cornucopia of Jeph Loeb books in a scene that took place in a comic shop where guest star Seth Green worked. Loeb, of course, worked on the show until he was fired a few weeks ago.

You can watch the episode for yourself over on NBC.com, unless of course you don’t live in the United States.

It’s been about two and a half years since Blog@Newsarama was born, when myself, Kevin Melrose, Graeme McMillan, Tom Bondurant, Michael May, Shane Bailey, Chris Hunter and Stephanie Chan joined the Newsarama team “to bring you an engaging, thought-provoking and fun blog that you’ll want to come back to every day.” Since then we’ve added a few names and seen a few people leave, but hopefully in between all the Hollywood rumors, comic industry dust-ups and just general weirdness that made its way into the blog, we gave you guys something worth reading.

It’s kind of bittersweet, then, to announce that those of us who currently write for the blog are leaving Newsarama. It’s no secret that the site has gone through tremendous growing pains over the last few months and has been moving in a new direction since being purchased by Imaginova. Behind the scenes, there’s been a lot of growing pains as well, and we’ve reached the point where we think it’s better for us to move on. Nov. 30 will be our last day, and starting Dec. 1 you’ll be seeing a new crew take over the site.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Matt Brady and Michael Doran for the opportunity they gave us and for all of their support over the last couple of years. We’ve also had a lot of great folks involved with the site over the last couple of years, from everyone I mentioned up top to our current contributors, including Chris Mautner, Lisa Fortuner, Tim O’Shea, Carla Hoffman, Melissa Krause, Jeff Trexler, Matt Maxwell and Jennifer de Guzman. And a lot of other people as well, like Neil Kleid, Wayne Beamer, Aron Head, Paul Levitz, Stacie Ponder, guest bloggers like Brian Wood and Marc Bernardin, among others … I want to thank all of them for their time and talent over the past couple of years.

This isn’t a goodbye. You’ll see many of us again, together, most likely in the new year. And we still have a few days left, but before we departed, I wanted to thank those of you who have read the blog, sent us links, linked to us, commented on what we said and even argued with us on all things comics. It’s been a blast, and wherever we end up, I hope we can continue the conversation.

Like I said, this isn’t a goodbye; it’s more like a “see you later.” Take care until then.

Johanna Draper Carlson passes on this post from artist Rich Faber, whose wife is fighting cancer. They’re facing some hefty medical bills, and Rich is selling some artwork to help raise money:

Here’s what I have in mind: I have a backlog of 15 years worth of comic book art that I’d like to make available to finance some of the expenses. In addition, while I do have work on my desk, I’m looking to take on a little extra commission work (illustration, comics, etc.), and even more ideally, new illustration projects for clients. Ongoing work would be especially cool, but I hear we might have a little problem with our economy right now, so I’ll understand if that’s not feasible at the moment.

I can make it easy for anyone to make payments for either art or work, through my Paypal account. All you need to do is email me at rich(underscore)faber(at)comcast(dot)net (sorry about the format. Just trying to avoid “spambots,” and I know you’re all smart folks who will figure out my email address), and we can get the ball rolling. If you’re interested in buying art, I can give you a general idea of what I have, and we can take it from there.

To get an idea of what his art looks like, you can check out the gallery on his website.

Comics readers will find several things to be thankful for this week, including the debut of the new Umbrella Academy miniseries, the end of the “R.I.P” storyline in Batman, and the long-awaited Body Bags one-shot.

(Yes, I know Thursday is Thanksgiving only in the United States, but you can still be thankful for something — like, say, the arrival of Mesmo Delivery in comics shops.)

If you’re looking for more books to keep you entertained between parade viewings, food courses and football games, Wednesday also sees an American Elf collection, another Captain America Premiere Hardcover, Scott Morse’s Tiger Tiger Tiger, and … Tijuana Bibles.

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.

(more…)

Jon at Metro Entertainment sent over addresses for anyone who wants to send a card or letter to Carla and Lance Hoffman, who are still in the burn unit in Irvine, Calif. after suffering serious burns during the Tea Fire. Jon suggests not sending any items larger than a letter for now, as the staff at the hospital may not have anywhere to store them. He also offered up the address for Metro, saying they would ensure any cards or letters sent there would make it to Carla and Lance as well:

Carla Hoffman
BICU, bed #4
101 The City Drive
Orange, CA 92868

Lance Hoffman
BICU, bed #6
101 The City Drive
Orange, CA 92868

Metro Entertainment
attn: Carla and/or Lance Hoffman
6 West Anapamu
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Editor’s Note: DC Comics President Paul Levitz returns to Blog@Newsarama with a look into the DC Comics Thanksgiving celebration.

by Paul Levitz

We just celebrated one of the highlights of the DC calendar. It began as a pot luck Thanksgiving lunch, gathering the staff in the conference room at 666 Fifth Avenue, over twenty years ago. Everyone brought a dish, and jammed in together. Given the limits on some of our expertise, the buffet was heavy on dessert, and included interesting selections like Pop Tarts (untoasted) and a mountain of White Castle burgers. My contribution used to be a rice medley that I’d been taught by the vegetarian nurse who coaxed us through the first weeks of my daughter Nicole’s life…it’s still about the only food I’m encouraged to prepare in the kitchen.

Anyway, with the passing of time and expansion of the DC staff, in recent years we don’t have a space that can fit us all, so we have to decamp to the Time Life Building a few blocks away, and the hodgepodge of pot luck has been replaced by a more traditional catered turkey buffet, courtesy of DC’s senior staff, to thank the team for their efforts. Our DC morale team (headed by Constance Jackson from my office) organizes entertainment, too. In the past we’ve had a talent show (you haven’t lived ’til you’ve seen Vertigo Group Editor Shelly Bond tap dance), trivia contests and even our version of Family Feud. This year it was “DC Password,” with clues relating to our mythos.

Team licensing (Tori Setian and Aram Issacs) won best dressed with Flash and Batman hoodies, but ultimately got bested by a couple of fanboys-turned-staffers, Zach Milan (from Advertising) and Greg Lockhart (from Editorial Administration). Jesus Reyes (Creative Services) and receptionist/playwright Yasmin Bowles got “most expressive” for their intense reactions to the clues. DC theme loot was had by all, with the grand prize being invites to the NY Comicon freelancer party (explains why editorial didn’t field a team–they’ll be there anyway).

It’s the nature of our work that any member of our staff can make a big difference with a good idea, or by spotting an error early enough to keep it from being published. Because of that, and because of the energy and dedication of our team, it’s easy to remember to be thankful for them…and good to share a meal and tell them so.

And while I’m at it, let me pass along the thanks of the DC staff to the Newsarama readers for your year-long support. The comics you buy (not to mention movies and TV shows you watch and all the collateral goodies) allow us to work with these great characters, and do interesting jobs. Personally, I’ve avoided having a real world job for my entire adult life, and I’m deeply grateful.

From all of us to all of you, have a happy Thanksgiving.

24Seven, Volume 1

Written and/or Illustrated by Jose Luis Ágreda, Jeff Amano, Paul Azaceta, Gabriel Bá, Hilary Barta, Frank Beaton, Nate Bellegarde, Ivan Brandon, Ryan Brown, Chris Brunner, Eric Canete, Benito Cereno, Becky Cloonan, Dave Crosland, Farel Dalrymple, Jonathan L. Davis, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Rami Efal, Matt Fraction, John G, Rob G, Brandon Graham, Miles Gunter, Phil Hester, Mike Huddleston, Adam Hughes, Rian Hughes, Frazer Irving, Paul Lau, Jasen Lex, Sonny Liew, Vasilis Lolos, Andy MacDonald, Jim Mahfood, Alex Maleev, Paul Maybury, Fábio Moon, Tony Moore, Melissa Oeming, Mike Oeming, Dan Panosian, Leland Purvis, Rick Remender, Esad Ribic, John Ney Rieber, Eduardo Risso, Jim Rugg, Neal Shaffer, Lakota Sioux, Mark Andrew Smith, James Stokoe, Rick Spears, Ben Templesmith, Frank Teran, and Danijel Zezelj.

Edited by Ivan Brandon
Image Comics; $24.99

This was a hard review to write. Not because I’m conflicted about the material (though I am), but because I was so completely off in my expectations for the book and it’s taken some work to align myself with what it really is.

(more…)

Posting the page quick-like, then I’ll get back to fixing all the previous page links once the dog settles down.  He must be watched, watched very closely.

Marvel editor Axel Alonso pitch hits for his boss Joe Quesada this week in Quesada’s regular column over at MySpace, and answers questions about “controversial comics” he helped create in his early tenure with the company — stuff like the gay Rawhide Kid comic, the black Captain America and a Comic Code-killing X-Force. He also talks about the possibility of revisiting a couple of them:

JM: It’s been several years. Would you like to revisit a Truth, a Rawhide Kid, or an X-Force? And itch you’d like to scratch for a sequel?

AA: In a heartbeat. [Writer] Peter Milligan, [artist] Mike Allred and I have discussed the idea of revisiting X-Force/X-Statix—who, you’ll recall, were last seen getting blasted to bits by a Blackhawk helicopter. I mean, how could they survive that one? And Ron [Zimmerman]‘s got an idea for a story that would feature Rawhide Kid in an adventure that would include all the Western characters—Kid Colt, Ghost Rider, Two-Gun Kid, and etc. It’s like the “Magnificent Seven” only there’s, like, six of ‘em. Or eight. I forget. Anyway, Kid Colt’s the ringleader, Rawhide plays the Steve McQueen role, and Two-Gun Kid proves to be the Most Overrated Gun in the West. Guy can’t hit the side of a barn, but, man, can he negotiate his way out of any scrape.

More X-Force? Yes, please. And as much as I love a Western, I’ll have to take a pass on any more Ron Zimmerman comics in this lifetime.

– Tom Spurgeon interviews James Kochalka.

– The Chicago Tribune talks to the guy who models as Superman for Alex Ross.

– S. Clay Wilson is now out of the ICU.

– Tintin made Herge “sick” according to recently discovered letters.

– I enjoyed this LA Times piece on the legal battles surrounding the Watchmen film.

– Buy a copy of Stan’s Soapbox and get it signed by John Romita Sr.

– If you can read Polish, here’s an interview with Milo Manara where he talks about his X-Men project he’s working on with Chris Claremont.

– Finally, here’s Watchmen, the Condensed Version.

Over at the blog Comics Should Be Good, Greg Hatcher delves into the murky but warm waters of X-Men continuity by sharing a series of letters between himself and student, Rachel. She recently became a fan of the X-Men comics, and Greg spent the “last week or so” answering her questions about Marvel’s merry mutants. Including the merriest, Wolverine:

…the Wolverine of the comics really was disliked by many people at the beginning. He started out as a Hulk villain.

And later when he was drafted for the new X-Men he was primarily the guy that nobody cared for, the agent of discord on the team. Marvel used to get letters saying “And kill off that obnoxious Wolverine.” The star character in the revival was Nightcrawler because Dave Cockrum really liked drawing him. And in fact there was a point when the Wolverine character was getting so much hate mail that they were thinking of dropping him from the book.

When John Byrne took over the art from Cockrum, one of the things he wanted to do as co-plotter of the book was ‘rehabilitate’ Wolverine… that is, make the fans like him more. Part of it was that Byrne was Canadian himself and didn’t want the only Canadian superhero at Marvel to go away, and part of it was that Byrne thought it would be a fun challenge, taking a hero so despised and seeing if he couldn’t get the fans to come around. So Byrne began, very subtly, to slant stories toward Wolverine. (In those days, Marvel’s artists had a lot more control over a story, because the art was done from a brief outline rather than a script. Then the writer would come in and write captions and dialogue based on the penciled art.)

It’s an interesting read for anyone who wasn’t around when Claremont was tearing it up on the title, or for anyone who fondly remembers spending the car ride between Dallas and Austin explaining to his two best friends what happened between Uncanny X-Men #94 and #275, just so they’d be up to speed. They probably preferred it to me making them listen to Appetite for Destruction over and over again.