[Image by Gary Miereanu]

Who’s under the Red Hood? Bruce Timm knows, but he’s not telling.However, he answers a bevy of other questions in an interesting Q&A focused on the upcoming release of Batman: Under the Red Hood, and discussing the casting and art direction, revealing his across-the-board love for all versions of Batman, or setting the record straight on quotes attributed to him from a certain widely reported interview-that-never-was. Thanks to Warner Animation that provided Blog@, with this Q&A

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As reported earlier this morning, DC Comics has entered the digital age of comic distribution a little more than a hundred books and some free previews to buy, including the first six issues of Tiny Titans (aw, yeah), the first twelve issues of The Losers, all six issues of Green Lantern: Rebirth, and the first issue of my favorite book right now, The Unwritten. Each title mentioned is $1.99 each (which I find weird since Unwritten debuted as a dollar), but there are a few free titles such as Fringe #0, Mirror’s Edge #0, and Batman: Black and White (five stories!).

The DC Comics app and store for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad is being powered through ComiXology, who is also partnered with Marvel Comics for their app, as well as BOOM! Studios for theirs. So in a span of a few months, ComiXology practically has a huge chunk of the digital comics market…before the Longbox app has even launched. Do they even have a chance now?

Now, I was wondering if there was a Windows Application or something in that ballpark so I wouldn’t have to view my comics on strictly Apple products. Well, there is https://comics.comixology.com/# which allows readers to view virtually all their digital comics from ComiXology on a web based interface, including the new DC Comics, which have their own storefront. Marvel is unfortunately absent from here, as they have their own web-based digital comics solution in place. With that available for Windows, Mac, and Linux users already, the only questions remaining are solutions for Android or other wireless platforms, and for consoles, as planned by the aforementioned Longbox.

I think DC is doing the right thing and tapping into a market that is slowly but surely becoming something that people have been wanting more of. I’m not a naysayer in the situation or anti-tech, but I’m not completely won over…yet. More titles are to be added later, but nothing I absolutely need right now, but I can see later down the line if I miss an issue or can’t go to my LCS where something like this might come in handy.

Newsarama Note: The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, and not necessarily representative of Newsarama or any of its other writers/editors.

So did you guys see a picture of Jason Mamoa as Conan from the next Conan movie yet?: There’s a detail above. You can see the whole thing here. I like how apparently the big and half-naked part of Conan’s look is more important than his black hair.

Peter Bagge created an album cover for Indianapolis band Stand and Deliver: And it looks like this. The way Bagge draws human limbs makes him a pretty ideal artist for drawing folks creating music and/or violence, I think.  (Via Flog)

“Buy. This. Book.”: AdHouse’s Chris Pitzer obviously wants comics readers to buy and read all of AdHouse’s publications, but he’s especially excited about Adam Hines book, Duncan The Wonder Dog. So much so that he decided to break his usual book-announcing formula with an appeal (above). He’d like you to pre-order it ASAP, and he’s got some previews to help explain why.

Ted Dawson’s sad, sad quest: He’s looking for the world’s smallest comic strip. That is, the comic strip that a newspaper is printing at such a small size that it’s actually smaller than all the other comic strips that all the other newspapers are printing at increasingly small sizes. I thought only old people read newspapers? And that old people had trouble seeing small things? What’s the deal, newspaper industry? (Via Comics Reporter)

Internet Darling Kate Beaton in print…in The New Yorker: And her cartoon involves ponies! Fat little ponies!

“Bear couple launching monthly humor magazine”: Don’t get too excited about that headline. Bear is actually the name of a community in Delaware, and the Bear couple is just a couple of people from Bear. Not actual bears.

Even in Riverdale, I’m not sure Team Archie stands a chance: Johanna Draper Carlson notes that Archie Comics is going to riff on Twilight in an upcoming storyline. Say what you will about the current quality of the comics, the company has been doing a pretty good job of getting attention over the past year or so.

Bryan Lee O’Malley-ize yourself: I’m usually loathe to participate in the marketing of a comics-related product, but in the case of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, I kinda can’t help myself, I’m afraid. So here I go again. If you click here, you can build an avatar of yourself that makes it look a little like Bryan Lee O’Malley drew you.  I can’t personally vouch for the accuracy of the results

(I haven’t worn a ringer T in at least ten years!) but it sure was fun making it. Sure is nice to see how much O’Malley and his drawing style are involved in the creation of and marketing of this film. (Tangentally related: On Twitter, comics writer and Comics Alliance writer Chris Sims linked to his Scott Pilgrim-ized avatars of Destro and The Baroness, and noted that it made him realize O’Malley needs to do G.I. Joe immediately. So when is IDW going to get around to a Bizarro Comics/Strange Tales style indie-creators-do-Joe-comics anthology project? )

The John Stanley Library: Melvin Monster v.2
Written & Illustrated by John Stanley
Published by Drawn & Quarterly

John Stanley, regarded as the master of children’s comics for his work in the 50s and 60s, returns to book shelves with another hardcover collection of his Melvin Monster stories.  Melvin, a young monster who lives with his Baddy and Mummy, is the most polite boy in Monsterville, and loves attending school.  In short, Melvin is a terrible monster.

The success of these short stories stems from Stanley’s ability to flip traditional kids’ comics tropes.  Whereas young characters are often mischievous or impish, Melvin is the straight man, surrounded by Ms. Gargoyle, a teacher trying to maintain her perfect record of having no “drop-ins”; Cleopatra, the family’s pet crocodile who continually seeks to devour Melvin; and Little Horror, a young local witch with a taste for fast brooms.

Melvin’s adventures revolve around attending school, returning to Monsterville after a misguided flying broom takes him into “normal” territory, and finding ways to escape his Mummy and Baddy’s efforts to turn him into a proper monster.  Stanley, with a superb sense for natural joke pacing, keeps the stories upbeat and silly throughout, and the flat, solid artwork conveys all the information clearly.

Each of Drawn & Quarterly’s installments in the John Stanley Library have been an excellent way for younger readers to spend an afternoon, and Melvin Monster v.2 is no exception.  Silly and fun, children should delight in Melvin’s misadventures and creepy family.

Kickstarter — the incentive-based, all-or-nothing fundraising site that’s exploded in use this year from folks looking to finance a variety of creative endeavors — has become a popular choice for comic book creators looking to get projects going. Kody Chamberlain (Punks) used the site to raise money for his upcoming Image Comics series Sweets, ending up with $4,633 (exceeding his goal of $3,000). Vaneta Rogers wrote about it on this very site a couple of months ago, and Christian Beranek blogged about his Kickstarter experience.

Yet the more popular this method becomes, the possibility mounts that potential donors could face burnout. Over on Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson posted a thoughtful commentary today titled “Why I Won’t Be Giving to Kickstarter Projects.” In it, Carlson questions both the nature of Kickstarter and its long-term feasibility, saying “people are quickly going to get tired of these pleas for funds.” Naturally, the post wasn’t without controversy, with Hawaiian Dick writer B. Clay Moore, among others, challenging Carlson on her take in the comments.

The post also inspired a debate on the Bendis board, with poster Jef UK — aka Jeffrey C. Burandt, an independent comic creator himself and writer of Oni’s upcoming Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad — describing his “Kickstarter fatigue,” and Moore also joining that conversation. UPDATE, 6/25: Carlson has reconsidered her position, and posted a new column: “More on Kickstarter: I Was Wrong.”

Let us know your thoughts on the site — and whether or not you’re feeling the fatigue.

“I’m delighted to have signed exclusively to DC Comics. The work Pete, Matt, Wil and I are doing as a team on Action Comics has been tremendously satisfying, and I’m enjoying my other creative partnerships here just as much. I feel thoroughly cosseted! And hey, Lex Luthor! Who wouldn’t be psyched to get to play with name recognition like that?”

That’s how Paul Cornell announced his exclusive with DC Comics on DCU Blog The Source today. His exclusive is part of the swath of Superman related news hitting this week, as the Man of Steel’s writers, artists, and more talk about his significance on the DC house blog.

No word on the “other creative partnerships” but it’s safe to say the writer, who previously has written for Marvel Comics for the last 3 years or so, has some other big projects up his sleeve. He did tease that his star of Action Comics, Lex Luthor, will face-off against  Deathstroke, Vandal Savage, the Secret Six, Gorilla Grodd, and of course, Larfleeze the Orange Lantern.

For more on Superman, check the main page later today and all day tomorrow.

If you like what you’ve read so far (c’mon, how can you not?) totally check out more super cute comics at:www.sosuperduper.com!

Oh come on now Kato from Kato Origins: Way of the Ninja, I know there are a lot of Green Hornets and Katos running around Dynamite Entertainments’ new Green Hornet line, but it’s not that confusing! Your Green Hornet is the one from Green Hornet: Year One. See you tomorrow in Kato Origins: Way of the Ninja #2, a $4 comic by Jai Nitz and Colton Worley.

Amazing Spider-Man #635: So what were all those “Gauntlet”-branded story arcs revitalizing various classic Spidey foes building towards? This story arc, “Grim Hunt,” in which kicked off in #634 and continues here. This over-sized, $4 issue features work by Joe Kelly, Michael Lark, J.M. DeMatteis, Stan Lee, Max Fiumara and Marcos Martin. You can check out a preview on the main page by clicking here.

Astro City #1: Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson, Will Blyberg and Alex Ross’s influential celebration of superhero comic book history began with this issue, and if you missed it the first time around (and/or the other times it came around in trade form), you can sample it here for the low, low price of just $1.

Batman: Arkham Asylum—Madness: That’s at least one punctuation mark too many for the title of a book, but it looks like they at least kept the word “batman” off the cover, so the design isn’t too cluttered. This is another new Batman project written and illustrated by Sam Kieth, who just wrapped up a Batman: Confidential story arc. Curiously, while that story was chopped up and parceled out in monthly doeses, Arkham Asylum: Madness is an original graphic novel. Like almost everything Kieth does, it should at the absolute worst be really interesting, and at its best be pretty great. It’s a $20, 110-page hardcover set over the course of 24 hours within the titular institution.

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By George Marston

Film news website Deadline is reporting that Disney has hired writers for the long-languishing live action film starring none other than Marvel’s (former) Sorcerer Supreme, Dr. Strange. The team of Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer has been selected for the script chores. Genre fans will know Donnelly and Oppenheimer for their work on the film adaptations of Cowboys and Aliens, “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune,” and the upcoming Conan reboot. It is likely that this will be Marvel’s first film released under the Disney banner, as it is not planned for release until after their film deal with Paramount expires.

Get to work on that dream cast, kids!

Yesterday DC’s Source blog released Frank Quitely’s new, original cover for the upcoming “Absolute Edition” collection of Quitely and Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman series, perhaps the second-best superhero comic series DC has published in the 21st century (Following All-Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder, of course). That’s the new cover up there.

Even better, today The Source has writer, designer, comics archaeologist and guy-who-came-up-with-those-tilty-All-Star-logos Chip Kidd’s introduction to the upcoming collection. That’s great news for anyone who wanted to see what Kidd had to say but didn’t want to buy the $100 hardcover on account of having already read the series in a previous format—the absolute edition is over 300 pages and 15.6-by-8.7 inches, which would make it awfully hard to hold up in the shop long enough to read the introduction before putting it back on the shelf.

Hey, readers. You ought to check out the ComicTwart blog for some serious art dedicated to Al Williamson, who passed away earlier this month.

Mitch Breitweiser: “His mark was left on all of us, and I’m so proud to be a part of a group of guys that are carrying on the tradition of the 20th century illustration masters.”

Tom Fowler: “NOBODY drew a dude with a gun on a lizard like Al.”

Evan “Doc” Shaner: “My tribute is a little all-over-the-place, but I wanted to fit a little bit of everything I liked about Al Williamson’s work in here.”

There’s plenty more where that came from including work from Steve Bryant, Mike Hawthorne, Mitch Gerads, and Francesco Francavilla.

It’s been a very, very, very (very!) long time in the making, but the first trailer for the feature film adaptation of The Green Hornet is out for public consumption. For years attached to Kevin Smith, whose vision for the property is now being released as a comic book miniseries from Dynamite, the film is directed by visual whiz Michel Gondry, written by Pineapple Express team Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and starring unconventional action hero Rogen as the title character and Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou as Kato.

Psyched? You gotta wait even longer. At one point slated for release this month, the film was bumped to December, and is currently scheduled for January 14, 2011, due in part to 3D conversion. Too far away? Not far enough? Let us know.

By George Marston, with a hat tip to Cully Hamner

Bleeding Cool is reporting that national media chain Hastings is moving into the direct comics market.  According to Rich Johnston’s interview with James Parker, who is identified as a “central person” behind the decision, Hastings made the decision in a bid to expand their profit margin after the decline of in store music sales.  Having tested their business model in two markets before expanding, it seems that the retail chain is aiming to bring an authentic comic shop experience to areas that do not have local stores.  They plan to carry a large selection of titles, both independent and mainstream, along with Manga, RPG books, and a large selection of back issues.

So here’s the rub; comic fans are known the world over as a superstitious and cowardly lot, prone to congregate in dank, cardboard filled basements with the implied edict of “No Girls Allowed.  Ever.”  Ok, so maybe that’s not entirely accurate, but I can’t be the only one who doesn’t work on Wednesdays specifically so I can spend a few hours jawing with the boys (and at least one girl!  Sometimes!) at my local shop, Bizarro Wuxtry, every week.  Can a so-called “big box” store compete with the camaraderie inherent in the comic shop experience?  Does that even matter anymore?  Further, how will this new major player effect the market overall?  If things pan out, it’s likely that they’ll be purchasing thousands of comics per store, per month.  If they can continually move those books, it’ll absolutely boost overall sales for at least Marvel and DC.

At the very least, maybe there’s a whole new job field for slightly less-surly-than-average comic fans at Hastings.

So with her character Mikaela Banes in the Transformers movie franchise at an end, would could be next in Ms. Megan Fox’s career? Well, with Jonah Hex bombing at the box office, a sequel to that is more than likely out of the question. She’s been quoted to be a huge fan of Witchblade and Fathom, and would love to play those roles, but what does she really want?

How about bisexual Native American elemental? (How awesome is that headline.)

“I don’t want people to protest this, but I would like to be (Sarah) Rainmaker in Gen 13 if they ever made that into a movie,”  said Fox, at last week’s premiere of “Hex”.

That’s right. Rainmaker. Fox continues with “she’s a Native American and I have a little bit of that blood in me. It would be a bit of a stretch – but if Jake Gyllenhaal can be the Prince of Persia, I think that I can do that.”

The thing is, she actually looks the part, so on that level I would totally agree with that. Though the real question is there even a Gen 13 movie in the works? Also, does anybody even want to see a Gen 13 movie? Would they keep her gaudy costume?

I don’t understand why anybody would “protest” the notion of her playing Rainmaker. Sure, Sarah’s coming out started a firestorm back then, but times have definitely changed and I don’t think Fox playing somebody like Sarah Rainmaker would be all that radical.

So readers, with this announcement, what do you think?

Find out more about Global Freezing here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or at ComicsByEgg.com.

This is potentially exciting: as first reported on Latino Review, rumor has it that Marvel Studios is considering producing 10-minute short films featuring lesser-known Marvel Comics characters that would play in front of their feature-length productions.

Details are pretty scarce other than that, and blogger George Roush stresses “file this scoop under ‘rumor’ for now until we can try and get more information on it.” The post specifically mentions Black Panther, Luke Cage and Dr. Strange (pictured), but it’s not quite clear if that means Marvel/Disney has plans for them specifically at this point or if they were just listed as examples of “secondary characters.”

The next logical question would be if these shorts were effectively trailers for upcoming films already in development, or a way to test the waters to see if mainstream audiences take to these characters. Either way, it’s an enticing prospect, especially for hardcore Marvelites looking forward to perhaps seeing some cult favorites — who are constantly reportedly having movies in the works anyway — getting the live-action treatment (in projects that would probably have an easier time getting made than a full-length). Blade was a pretty obscure property back in 1998, and that character ended up with a trilogy.

Let us know what you think of the rumor — and what characters you’d like to see on the big screen. (Who hasn’t daydreamed about hearing “When Solo lives, terror dies!” in a movie theater?)

After weeks of rumors, it’s been confirmed that Benjamin Walker will indeed head to Xavier’s Institute as Hank McCoy, the Beast. Now of course he won’t be anything like the Kelsey Grammer version with the blue fur, but more like his original ape-like appearance that gave him his name.

Walker, who is mainly known for his theater work with a few film roles under his belt. I like this guy’s look, and already looks like a young McCoy without any prosthetics. He joins James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbinder as Magneto.

What do you readers think? Can Walker walk the walk?

Check out Jillian Tamaki’s “Domestic Men of Mystery” strip at The New York Times: You’ll be glad you did. (Via Drawn and Quarterly)

You know how everyone was joking about Archie publishing an Archie Marries Jughead comic?: Well, they still haven’t, but if they did chameleonic comics artist R. Sikoryak provides a pretty good idea of what the cover might look like.

“I’m here to criticize lazy damn journalists or editor or every other person involved in the decision to write the phrase ‘based on a graphic novel’ in virtually every article about this movie”: I enjoyed this blog post by Jonah Hex fan Neil Sarver taking umbrage with how liberally folks writing about the film Jonah Hex have claimed that it’s based on a graphic novel. Sarver notes that this month’s No Way Back is actually the very first Jonah Hex graphic novel, and even if one argued that other works like Origins were essentially graphic novels, the movie wasn’t really based on any such works specifically, were they? The argument could certainly be made that there exist Jonah Hex stories that were written as graphic novels, even if they were published serially as comic books (like the Vertigo miniseries by Joe R. Lansdale), but yeah, “based on” implies adaptation, and the film seems based on the character in general, not a specific graphic novel, no matter how widely one wants to define the term.

“Mills’ work does not always get unanimous praise, but here he is a consummate story teller”: That’s from a Den of Geek review of Pat Mills and company’s Slaine: Demon Killer. It’s a review that also functions as something of an introduction to the character.

“‘Jonah Hex’ should be one of those comic-based movies that doesn’t need many changes to work”: Re-read on the Monday morning after release, this Friday CNN  article entitled “Big Screen’s take on ‘Jonah Hex’ looks like a letdown” looks rather prophetic, doesn’t it?

“Jonah Hex is Hollywood ugly but riding tall in his first graphic novel”: Geoff Boucher interviews Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray about Jonah Hex: No Way Back (and all things Hex) for the LA Times.

Sweet Tooth v.1: Out of the Deep Woods
Written & Illustrated by Jeff Lemire
Colored by Jose Villarrubia
Lettered by Pat Brosseau
Published by DC/Vertigo

Wow.  I can’t recall a comic book quite like this.  It’s a post-apocalyptic road movie, about a nine-year-old boy named Gus who has deer antlers.  Apparently, in this new world, hybrids like Gus are big news, important news, as humanity is dying.  After Gus’s father passes on, having warned Gus to always run when he encountered anybody, Gus is saved from poachers by a grizzled, older man named Mr. Jepperd.  Together, Gus and Jepperd set out on a road trip across the tattered heartland of the United States to a mythical safe haven for Gus’s type.

Jeff Lemire, who came to comic readers’ attention a few years ago with his pastoral Essex County books, finds similar themes in Sweet Tooth.  The quietude of small towns and shocking nature of violence when it occurs in these safe havens are captured with a knowing and understanding eye.  Lemire presents Gus as painfully naïve, but in no way unintelligent.  Despite his lack of knowledge of the world outside his father’s cabin, Gus exhibits the ability to make value judgments and questions Jepperd when appropriate.

The final effect is a believable and sympathetic protagonist who is in far over his head, moving through a world of carefully realized, scared (often far more scared than Gus himself) and desperate threats.  Lemire’s strong ear for dialogue and careful, deliberate pacing ensure that each scene is grounded securely in an emotional truth.

Simply put, Lemire’s not the best illustrator you’ll find in the comics industry.  Various pages display awkward dialogue or posture, most often in action sequences, and several pages have an unfinished scratchiness to them. However, he’s adept at capturing emotional turmoil in facial expressions (one needs only see the deer in headlights cover of the trade paperback collection) and body language.  Similarly, his pacing and layouts facilitate a clear transfer of information from author to reader.  In fact, the page layouts in Sweet Tooth are among the strongest and most effective I can recall in any recent comic.  Lemire creates a powerful cinematic effect of solitude throughout the series, and makes strong use of blacks.

Sparkling with humanity and compassion, Jeff Lemire’s Sweet Tooth kicks off with one of Vertigo’s most compelling debuts in v. 1: Out of the Deep Woods.  The story unfolds very slowly, and it remains to be seen if Lemire can plumb more than a sense of isolation and paranoia from the series, but if his handle on Gus’s voice is any clue, readers will be treated to a penetrating look into the heart and soul of a young boy confronted by the overwhelming struggle for survival.  Definitely recommended.

Over Matthew Dow Smith’s(Lobster Johnston: Killer In My Skull, Doctor Who) blog, he just posted up a nice rendition of Hal Jordan. I love Smith’s use of angles and shading and just the overall colors.

I think it’s simply dynamic and not something in the style we usually see Hal drawn in…or any GL for that matter. He’s not one of Smith’s usual characters to work on, so to see him handle the most famous Green Lantern is indeed something rare and awesome to see.

Check out his artblog for some other serious cool stuff along side this particular piece.