For last month’s interview, which was kind of an unmitigated technological disaster, click here. I never put it on Blog@, that I’m aware of, because it was so incredibly late.

Since the last issue of the series, Young Liars has undergone a real-world change of status in the sense that writer/artist David Lapham announced on the Standard Attrition message boards that the series has been canceled after August’s #18. This will move everything up substantially in terms of resolving the dangling plot threads that make up the rich tapestry of the comic’s story, but it hasn’t jarred the current plot out of gear at all; Danny and Loreli are recruiting some help to their cause, as Loreli’s transformation into Sadie is becoming closer and closer to complete and the questions continue to dog the characters and the readers: Is Loreli actually a brainwashed Sadie? If so, how do they keep her under control? Are the Spiders from Mars a real thing? With the life of the series ticking down like the bomb in Danny’s trunk, it’s time to check in with Lapham and see what’s going on in the Young Liars universe. (more…)

On May 20, actor Ethan Suplee announced on his Twitter page that NBC had canceled My Name is Earl, the karma-obsessed sitcom that starred he and Jason Lee. The pair first met on the set of Kevin Smith’s Mallrats and proceeded to star together in Dogma and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, giving them substantial geek street cred. At one point, Oni Press had announced a My Name is Earl comic book, but it was never released and apparently never even got to the point where a creative team was named. Oni’s FAQ page has it listed, with the answer simply “Sorry, it’s never going to happen.”

Neither, apparently, is the show’s fifth season (at least on NBC). The network axed the show in spite of the fourth season’s “To Be Continued” cliffhanger. Suplee has launched a Twitter campaign to save the show, and star Jason Lee has indicated that he hopes the show will be rescued by another network. If that were to happen, likely candidates may be ABC, which swooped in to take Scrubs from NBC last year (comic book connection: the cast of Scrubs made a brief cameo in Dark Horse Comics’s Perhapanauts: Second Chances by Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau. Now that there’s been a ninth season announced, maybe they’ll appear in the Image Comics version of The Perhapanauts), and the Fox network, whose production partner 20th Century Fox Television produces the show. As of this writing, neither has expressed a desire for the show. CBS did buy NBC’s canceled Medium this week, within a day of NBC’s cancellation announcement.

Maybe the most realistic chance for salvation is coming form Turner Media’s TNT network which, according to the Los Angeles Times, is trying to make itself a frontrunner in any bidding war that might happen. Reruns of My Name is Earl currently run on TNT’s sister network, TBS, where it’s one of their comedy staples, along with Earl‘s fellow NBC rerunner The Office and their original series My Boys.

It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m working and packing, so I thought I’d share with you all the fun things I stumbled across this week in the comics Web.

And since I mentioned webs, you have to check out the winners of Warren Ellis’s Spider Queen Remake/Remodel contest. From Ryan Kelly, Pia Guerra and Paul Sizer, three totally different and totally fabulous visions of a character from a one-paragraph description.

Comics come with teaser trailers now? Apparently so, and this one, for Jeff Lemire’s upcoming Vertigo book, The Nobody, is pretty cool.

Figures the night that I don’t watch Rachel Maddow she talks comics. From Comics Worth Reading, Archie’s Marriage on Maddow.

I’ve always got to have one overly academic link, don’t I? These are notes on a paper titled “Harshin Ur Squeez:Visual Rhetorics of Anti-Racist Work in LiveJournal Fandoms.” It sounds like a mouthful, but if that’s your thing, check it out.

And to wrap things up, a nice little post on “Growing up Vulcan” inspired by the new Star Trek movie (duh).

Tonally, the Brave & the Bold issue this week was actually much more in keeping with what readers have come to expect from Booster Gold than…well, than Booster Gold was this month. With Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund drawing the frst-ever encounter of Booster Gold and Magog, the issue almost would have felt like business as usual…if it weren’t taking place in another title.

After a trip through time, Rip reappears in the lab (where, by the way, there’s a chalkboard covered mostly in Kingdom Come references), enmeshed in a skirmish with an unknown assailant from the future. Though Booster and Skeets manage to repel the intruder’s entry into the time lab, the result is that Booster becomes engaged in trying to prevent the catastrophic future depicted in the DC Elseworlds book Kingdom Come and its sequels, The Kingdom and Thy Kingdom Come.

Why, a lot of readers have asked, is this story taking place in The Brave & the Bold, rather than in Booster Gold? Here’s one possible answer: It’s incredibly good. The Booster Gold monthly has been one of, or the, best book that DC publishes since its launch two years ago, but Jurgens and Rapmund really went above and beyond with this chapter. Hopping from 52 to “52 Pick-Up” (available this week in paperback), to “Blue & Gold,” to the long and winding road that was “Reality Lost,” Booster has been in event mode (or at least mini-event mode) since Ted Kord died. And while we’re about to embark on another major arc, this month’s two standalone stories were a welcome break. Giffen and Olliffe’s one-off in last week’s Booster Gold #20 was good-but-not-great, but frankly the offering in The Brave & the Bold is arguably the best standalone Booster story in years. The notion of putting this story—with what most readers will know to be Booster’s regular monthly creative team—in front of a new audience is virtually guaranteed to draw a few of those eyes to the Booster Gold monthly—something that may be sorely needed if some fans break away as a result of next month’s cover price hike (granted, there’s a Blue Beetle co-feature being added to make it worth our while…but fans can be fickle).

The timing of this issue is interesting—Booster fights the future in this comic, while Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave & the Bold featured Booster’s second-ever TV appearance (and his first in over five years) as he teamed with Batman to combat a menace from the past in the person of Conqueror Caveman. The obvious “Batman & Booster: The Brave and the Gold” reference was made by Booster himself in the episode of the TV show, which really featured an ‘80s-style, smarmy, commercial Booster shilling for a toy licensing deal and having Skeets follow him around, trumpeting his achievements like he did in 52.

So what did Dan Jurgens—creator of the character—have to say about Booster’s brave, bold month? Blog@Newsarama sat down with him to find out. (more…)

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a lengthy feature article on the popularity of Donald Duck in Germany. One indication that the character has become a cultural phenomenon: an 8000 page German collector’s edition, priced at $1900, came close to selling out upon publication.

The article ascribes the character’s popularity to the strip’s longtime translator, Erika Fuchs, an art history Ph.D. who rewrote Carl Barks’ dialogue to include references to German literature, myth and politics. This is no doubt part of the reason why the strip has inspired an eponymous nonprofit organization, D.O.N.A.L.D., to hold annual scholarly gatherings for the past thirty-two years, but as at least one commenter notes, Barks himself seeded his work with historical and literary references. Surely Barks made a difference as well?

He did, of course–the mythic quality of his Duck work is what made it such a suitable foundation for Fuchs’ elaboration. But the difference in tone is worth noting. Post-war Germany was in the process of restoring its identity after Nazi ideology raised serious questions as to the legitimacy of the country’s cultural heritage. A funny book provided a means for Fuchs to highlight the value of German traditions free from worrisome evocations of the Nazi’s use of German culture to establish ethnic supremacy.

Barks wrote in a radically different context. America’s literary heritage was not morally suspect; to have used Donald Duck to legitimize Melville or Dickinson would have seemed pretentious, if not bizarre. Barks’ visual and verbal rhetoric is instead far more pragmatic–Donald and his retinue are on a perpetual quest to succeed in a world full of baffling new tools and old ways.

What both the German and American versions of Barks’ work illustrate is the strategic value of junk media in remaking society. That so many people continue to view comics as little more than trash is not necessarily a bad thing–it frees the medium for creative expression outside the normative constraints of so-called high art, thereby retaining comics’ power as a cultural trojan horse.

“Actress Lucy Gordon, who appeared in Spider-Man 3, was found dead in her Paris apartment after apparently committing suicide“: So say French police in this Associated Press article from Thursday. The 28-year-old British actress played reporter Jennifer Dugan in the third Spider-Man film.

“Simply put, Burma Chronicles is the most enlightening and insightful book on Burma in years”: Rory MacLean has written a book on Burma himself, Burma Under the Dragon, and Guy Delisle’s Burma Chronicles still impressed the hell out of him, judging from his review of it in The Guardian. It also restored his faith in the comics medium, which he had apparently come to doubt since his years reading Classics Illustrated as a kid.

“Superheroes can’t save California”: Comedian Bill Maher weighs in on the sad state of California politics in an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times. He uses superhero metaphors throughout, playing off of the fact that electing a guy who used to play action heroes didn’t save the day. I’m not sure I agree with all of his points though. For example, he writes,

Truth is, even superheroes couldn’t get us out of the mess we’re in now. Superman can stop bullets, move mountains and crush coal into diamonds, but he can’t help us. He works for a newspaper. He needs a job.

Yeah, but if he can crush coal into diamonds, then couldn’t he make enough diamonds to save the economy? He also uses his vision powers to find and dive for sunken treasure chests whenever he needs some scratch. I wouldn’t be so quick to write President Superman off.

“It’s like Star Wars, when you’re trying to shoot to get the Death Star . . . that tiny little room of error”: That’s Comics Riffs blogger Michael Cavna talking about how “brutally hard” it is to break into the print comic strip business today. Things are brutally hard all over for comics strippers actually, which is the focus of this Los Angeles Times article covering the National Cartoonists Society’s annual convention.

Hey, this art director is also an artist…who knew?: When he’s not busy with his duties as art director at DC Comics or editing projects that look like they’ll totally rule, what’s Mark Chiarello up to? Find out here! (Via The Beat)

Now why didn’t young Lex Luthor think of that?: Chris Sims shares Superboy’s hair-loss solution.

Actually, you may want to buy anything from either of those guys: Bully on who not to buy a used car from.

Cap Vs. Bats?: Tucker Stone on two different superhero-dies-and-comes-back-to-life-narratives:

Marvel did the right thing by Captain America. It let a writer and a team of artists work together to create a strong, smart story, and when it came time for the requisite capitalization spin-off—those moronic “Fallen Son” comics—they didn’t force them into the main narrative. DC’s mistakes with Batman were legion, and they went far and beyond the basic “get the comic books out on time” complaints. Whereas Marvel played things tight, DC vomited out comic books with no eye for longevity, with no concern for whether or not the non-Morrison writers had any idea what was going on, and they’re still pumping out new spin-off titles at a rate of 2-3 a week. Whereas the Captain America issues screamed with consistency, the quality barometer for the Batman titles was set at a level where the only thing that mattered was that a salable product was created. There’s really no other way to put it: they screwed this one up.

At the end of the day though? It doesn’t really matter that much to me, and I’ll tell you why.

You’ll have to follow the link and read the whole piece to find out why. Stone’s tough love (or is it gentle hate?) for super-comics is, as always, well worth paying attention to.

“Never in either an ‘Imaginary Story’ or while under the influence of red kryptonite did Superman seek out and enjoy a damn good thrashing at the hands of a perfectly turned out old-school dominatrix”: Another mainstream media peice about Craig Yoe’s Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-Creator Joe Shuster, this one a big, long one by Jonathan Ross for The Times. I’m not so sure I agree with many of Ross’ points, particularly his assessment of the book itself as a missed opportunity, but his article is nevertheless a wide-ranging look at the history of comics, Shuster and the intersections of creators rights and fetish art with comics.

After my comments on the matter a few days ago, it was suggested that I put together a list of Teen Titans-related deaths that have taken place in the last few years, what weight they carried and all that. One thing that’s kind of ironic is that in looking at these stories, I realized there haven’t been quite as many Titans deaths as I had previously suspected! While I’m sure I missed a few (maybe even some really obvious ones, and I’m sure you’ll all tell me), the list I’ve got going on here is fairly exhaustive. (more…)

Yes, my friends, it’s the first official poster for the New Moon movie, the second in the Twilight saga and guaranteed to make teenage girls (and, um, some non-teenage girls) squeal.

Edward is still pale and pretty, Jacob’s gotten a haircut, and Bella looks a bit lost, as usual. After some terrible fan-made posters with poor Taylor Lautner’s face spliced into a wolf’s, at least this doesn’t contain any previews of the CGI wolves to come. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how well-done the werewolves are. In the book, they’re just oversized wolves, not weird man-wolf hybrids like in Underworld, so in theory the only time they need CGI is for the transformations, which were themselves rather cringe-inducing in the books. (“The boy exploded”?)

For all the snark I can easily unload on this series, I ain’t gonna lie, I’m looking forward to it far more than I should be at my age. And even though my moviegoing buddy and I will no doubt giggle and wisecrack our way through the showing, we’ll probably love it.

-Your official Twilight correspondent.

Journalista & The Beat provide an interesting link this morning to a site that includes a detailed critique of the local lawyers, including an allegation that Handley was not informed by his lawyers that he was pleading guilty to a child obscenity count that could lead to prison time. This strikes me as somewhat unlikely, given that Handley is on record as expressly pleading guilty to the child obscenity statute that has long been the central public issue in the case.

Still, there are several lessons here for retailers and readers of sexually explicit comics material.

Know your environment. Whether one likes it or not, the fact is that child obscenity cases are an easy way for prosecutors to get the sort of publicity that can help them advance in their careers. Relying on the popular belief that current law is clearly unconstitutional is a rather risky proposition. That you personally don’t believe minefields should be legal doesn’t make them any less explosive.

Know your material. If there’s a chance someone could perceive your material as containing sexually explicit images of teenagers or below, you’re potentially at risk. This is particularly true with manga, which has a robust tradition of childlike imagery.

However, the realpolitik of local juries makes even literary comics a risky proposition. For example, I could easily see a local prosecutor arguing that Alan Moore’s Lost Girls is merely a prurient perversion of childhood characters with no redeeming value. Yes, a scholar may argue against this, but the audience that counts is the jury, not the academy.

Know your case. Let’s assume for the sake of argument that Handley did indeed not know the charge or the potential sentence when he copped the plea. If you, god forbid, ever find yourself in a similar position, I strongly recommend that you take a few minutes to read the documents you’re signing.

If you’re unfamiliar with a statute, look it up; if you’re not sure of the potential penalty, look that up too. If something’s not clear, ask, and if you might face jail time, consider paying for a second opinion or at least ask trying to ask the judge for clarification. It’s also wise in such situations to hold back from signing an agreement without an understanding–if at all possible, expressly stated in writing–of the sentence that the prosecutor is going to recommend.

On the flip side, it’s also useful to remember that a prosecutorial press release is designed to make the prosecutor’s side look tough on crime. A public reference to the maximum possible penalty does not mean that this is the sentence the prosecutor will request or the defendant will receive.

Again, my aim in all of this is merely to explain the situation, not to endorse it. There’s a significant gap between what many think ought to be the law and what the legal reality actually is. In the United States freedom of the press is not an absolute–if you read, sell or distribute material that could be seen as containing sexually explicit images of minors, you might want to consider how much you’re personally willing to risk.

T-Rex, the green Tyrannosaurus Rex that stars in Ryan North’s Dinosaur Comics (probably my favorite webcomic that isn’t Achewood), sometimes discusses literary techniques.

In the May 13 strip, T-Rex discussed a “narrative hook,” which “is when you introduce a story with something incredible so your audience will keep reading!” he excitedly explained.  “It happens when you’re told that in this comic… SPIDER-MAN! WILL!! DIE!!!”

I’ll wait right here for you while you go read the strip.

Back? Okay, so T-Rex concludes that while there are many different types of narrative hooks, “they’re all pale imitations of Spider-Man’s death being announced on the first friggin’ page,” and that “the first sentence of ANY BOOK is improved by adding Spider-Man.”

Could T-Rex be on to something? My gut says to trust any dinosaur that remains eternally engaging and humorous despite being limited to only five possible poses or expressions, but I figured I should test his hypothesis—using science—to be sure.

So let me just wander over to my book shelf for some classic literature…there’s gotta be something here that isn’t a graphic novel, or a book about comics and graphic novels right? I did major in English in college; I’ve gotta have something…Ah. Okay, so, after the jump, let’s add some Spider-Mans to some books and see if they’re improved or not…

(more…)

While we reported yesterday that Fringe star Kirk Acevedo left a Facebook message decrying his being fired from the show, execs behind the show deny it.

Executive producer Jeff Pinkner told Entertainment Weekly today that not only was Acevedo not fired, but “Like all things on Fringe, there is more to this story than meets the eye… We have already seen two of him on the show…We have already met the second Charlie. He had a scar on his face.”

This is why having a show like this is so maddening — is this true? Is it a weird PR/alternate-reality game stunt? Or is this just a smokescreen for what really happened?

Interested on a light-hearted take on current events? Well, look no further!

Brian Andersen, Best Shots contributor as well as the author behind So Super Duper, has given us a copy of his six-page comic, Saint Carrie (based on Miss California Carrie Prejean), titled “A Tit, a Tat, and an Opposite-Marriage Rat.” Here’s a first image, with more after the cut:

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There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding the upcoming The Last Airbender film…

…and somehow, I don’t think this picture from SlashFilm is going to make it any easier.

While many fans were up in arms about the initial casting of the film before Slumdog Millionaire’s Dev Patel was brought on board — with a predominantly white cast for a franchise steeped in Asian and Inuit mythology — I just feel weirded out by looking at this picture. I can’t stop seeing that Dancing Baby, only as a ninja. What do you think?

The M. Night Shyamalan-directed film is due out July 2nd, 2010.

With this image from JSA #29 (courtesy of the Source), you decide:

Lots of characters, meticulous composition, an enormous level of detail — it almost feels Crisis-esque. I’m certainly of the opinion that Merino should be pleased with himself: but you can see more for yourself by seeing the rest of the images here.

What say you, Rama readers?

The thing about comics-to-film adaptations is that sculpting the story is a balancing act in and of itself.

When you have heavy-hitting franchise characters like Spider-Man or Batman, just to give some examples, the story becomes easier — all you have to do is take some key ingredients (Spider-Man, Doc Ock, some of the supporting characters) and tell the best darn story you can. But what do you do when its a limited series? Many of these adaptations basically become something akin to staged readings, a la Watchmen, with only the most minor of tweaks to make the story fit into two hours.

Well, it’s looking like Scott Pilgrim is getting (hopefully) the best of both worlds, according to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Twitter feed, in which — in addition to noting that Lisa Miller, Knives Chau’s dad, and the fight at Honest Ed’s have been cut due to time constraints — he reports:

None of Vol 6 is in the movie. Note that I haven’t finished writing it yet, but they’re already making a movie. Their ending is their ending

He later goes on to report that he has made his plans known, but either party can zig to the other’s zag. And to be honest, I think that’s a really good choice — I don’t think that a different ending by Edgar Wright would necessarily hurt the indie sensation, and one of the appeals in comic book films (at least to me) is to see these cinematic creators’ looks at my favorite properties. What say you, Rama readers?

Courtesy of The Gold Exchange, I’m giving away FREE copies of this week’s spectacular one-and-done Booster story in The Brave and the Bold #23 to the first 23 people to correctly answer this bit of Booster Gold trivia: What was Michael “Booster” Carter’s football jersey number in the 25th Century?

The idea here is that this week’s issue is so good that if you DON’T read it and want to turn around and start reading the Booster Gold monthly–well, you shouldn’t be reading my column anyway. In fact, you probably shouldn’t be reading superhero comics. And there’s a good chance you have no soul.

…Too harsh?…

…Anyway, if you haven’t picked up this great issue yet, take a shot in the dark at the trivia question. Or even better, do some digging. DC’s Showcase Presents Booster Gold Volume 1, the recently-released in paperback Booster Gold: 52 Pick-Up or even 52 itself should be good starting points for your research! Remember that Wikipedia is not an acceptable source for academic research.

Because I can’t/won’t come back here and check the comments every ten minutes, please e-mail me at russell (at) comicrelated (dot) com and I will take all entries and inquiries on a first-come, first-served basis. Chuck at Comic Related may kick in to pay for a few extra copies if this is a really successful promotion; I ran it by nobody and am only offering 23 because it’s the issue number. None of this was very well-thought-out at all.

Yesterday Newsarama reported the CBLDF’s announcement that “Christopher Handley, the Iowa manga collector, has pleaded guilty ‘to possessing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children and mailing obscene material.’” This development has understandably raised questions as to significance of the Handley case as legal precedent. In addition, it has also given rise to speculation as to whether the anti-censorship cause would have been better served if the CBLDF–as opposed to Handley’s local lawyers–had been in control of the case.

Below the jump: my thoughts.

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OK, it’s only tangentially related to comics, but it’s too good not to write about. Quirk Books (publishers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, among others) has a new book of rock show posters coming out this month. Gig Posters Volume 1 (oh please, let there be more) is a gorgeous pile of musical impressions committed to paper, a walk through the visuals inspired by the best bands of our time.

Put together by Clay Hayes of GigPosters.com, the oversized book contains 101 full 11 x 14 posters by a who’s who of rock poster artists, including Tara McPherson, Casey Burns, Diana Sudyka, Drew Millward, Dirk Fowler, Eleanor Grosch, Jason Goad, and many more. The pages are perforated, so you can pull out your favorites and hang them on the wall, or save the whole book for long nights of rock’n'roll reminiscences.

Some of my favorites are the Jermaine Rogers rendering of Morrissey sharing a cocktail with Oscar Wilde, a stark jailhouse window for Hank Williams III by Little Jacket designs, Methane Studios’ overlaid gun for Pretty Girls Make Graves, and the above lipstick print by the Decoder Ring Design Concern.

Gig posters, like comic books, are shunned by the “highbrow” art scene, but we know what they’re all missing out on. Some of these posters are impressionistic, while others incorporate visions of the musicians. The styles range from photo prints to psychedelic bursts of color to detailed drawings, but they all capture something of the flavor of the band or artist they evoke. I’m tempted to get another copy so I won’t be sad tearing pages out of this delicious book.

That’s right, folks, when the fashion police can’t get the job done, you call in a superhero tailor-made for the occasion — Tim Gunn, Agent of Marvel.

Yeah, Tim,  I wouldn’t try telling Tony Stark that suit makes him look fat. (Or, to give another scenario, I dread to think of how Norman Osborn would react.)

In Marvel’s upcoming book Models, Inc. #1, the face of Project Runway (well, okay, ONE of the faces) will be donning a brand new suit of his own — albeit not his usual Armani, but something a bit more of a “power” look. And by that, I don’t mean a sharp tie,  but a billion-dollar bit of some prime Iron Man technology.

According to the New York Times, the 55-year-old Gunn will don the crimson-and-gold duds to save civilians during a fashion show. But it will be his playful side that will get the judges’ approval, even if they are running for the nearest paramedic. The cover seen above, meanwhile, is drawn by Phil Jimenez, who seems to be comic book artist for the stars after his cover of Barack Obama.

“I’m not certain of the particulars of how I’ll be portrayed, but I’m really excited about it,” Gunn told the Times. “To say I’m a character in a comic book is wild!”

I personally hope to see more of Gunn, maybe in his own series — even if “Tim Gunn, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” makes the ubermasculine name “Nick Fury” seem tame and inconspicuous by comparison.

Raven Gregory, writer of Zenescope Entertainment’s Escape from Wonderland, chatted it up with our very own Lan Pitts over at Shotgun Reviews.

Escape from Wonderland deals with Calie Liddle, the pregnant daughter of the now-insane Alice. Calie has traveled to Wonderland to discover the roots of her mother’s affliction, as she struggles with a decision that could bring madness down upon us all.

Here’s a few highlights from the conversation:

SR: Of all the “fairy tales” out there, what made you think of re-envisioning the Alice in Wonderland stories?

RG: For me, I think a big part of it was the underlining horror of the story. That behind the children’s story there was something incredibly terrifying lying beneath the surface. Reading the book, and watching the films and other adaptations of the novel I always thought how scary this would actually be if it happened to a real person and how that person would react and it all comes across as almost a descent into madness with this disguise on, so that duality really drew me to the story.

SR: Speaking of horror stories, were there any horror movies that influenced the style and look of the book?

RG: A couple big ones that had some influence on the look of the story were “In the Mouth Of Madness”, “Nightmare of Elm Street” (the first one), “Poltergeist”, to name a few.

You can read the entirety of their interview on Shotgun Reviews by clicking here.