James Kochalka has got to have one of the most interesting resumes in comics: Check out the cover he provided for the magazine Trends in Cell Biology.
Did you know Jim Henson made a Muppet Wizard of Id pilot?: Well, he did, and Alan Gardner has four minutes of it.
My favorite part of comic book conventions I don’t attend?: Seeing Cliff Chiang’s convention sketches. This round from C2E2 includes some characters who look a bit unusual but also pretty awesome in Chiang’s style, like Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Ramona Flowers and Julie Adams…in the clutches of the creature from the Black Lagoon, of course.
The saddest title to a blog post I’ve read in months: “I guess porn is the only way I get to see my favorite DC women on film”
Don’t look at this tumblr thingee: Seriously, don’t. You won’t like what you see! It’s not good for you! It might upset your stomach! (Via Mike “Black Fury” Sterling)
Marvel shipping two issues of their monthlies in a single mont, good or bad?: Bob Bretall discusses, and iFanboy offers further commentary. It’s a tricky one, especially if the plan is to publish more than 12 issues a year, as some folks at Marvel have stated was the plan. I agree that if you love the title, it’s a great thing, but if it’s one you’re on the fence with, the accelerated schedule will only accelerate the time in which you decide to drop a title. One likely side effect is diminishing the role of the artist in a particular title, though, as writing, say, 14 or 18 comic scripts a year (I think Brian Michael Bendis does that eveyr month, actually) instead of 12 is a hell of a lot easeir than drawing 14 or 18 comic books per year instead of 12. Thoughts? (Via Comics Reporter)
Are superheroes still Jewish?: Eli Valley checks in. (By the way, I’d buy a pickle from Superman…and I don’t even like pickles). (Via Comics Reporter again…where would this entry be without Tom Spurgeon’s links to cherrypick from?)
Two thoughts on two great DC artists: Good God Rags Morales sure can draw, can’t he? I hated that comic book, and hate it more each time I reread it, but I’m having a hard time thinking of a better-drawn bad comic from the last 20 years or so. Why isn’t DC (or someone, anyone) publishing a monthly, Morales-drawn comic? That’s something I’d love to spend my comic book money on (Speaking of Morales and how awesome he is, did you guys pick up the recently recleased Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms Vol. 1 from IDW? If not, you totally should; it’s Morales doing non-superhero stuff, and it’s great). Also, DC’s Source blog is kicking off another Flashpoint Friday, with a Jim Lee redesign of Element Girl (Now Element Woman), last seen in Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred’s Wednesday Comics strip. Her costume is…pretty dumb, actually, just patches of clothing here or there, and I have no idea how it stays on (Glue? Elemental powers? An invisible fabric stretching between the visible stuff?). It made me realize that although I love Lee as an artist, I don’t care for his costume design work at all (factoring in his Wonder Woman and Huntress redesigns).
March 25th, 2011 at 9:55 am
Just checked out that DC Source link:
‘And I just want to say a special thanks to every single person who told me that IDENTITY CRISIS was the book that got them back into comics.” – Brad Meltzer
It’s humbling, it really is.
March 25th, 2011 at 10:50 am
As far as Marvel shipping 2 issues of the same title in a month, I generally think it is a bad thing. It might force you to drop a title entirely just so you have the funds to cover some of the “extra” issues. I see it as much more of a negative than a plus.
March 25th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Strange as it sounds, a lot of people who were casual comic book readers really did love Identity Crisis. It was the first DC comic written for the Buffy generation, by a writer who clearly took his cues from Joss Whedon. Maybe those of us didn’t like the direction DC was going in still look at it as the beginning of the end. But for a lot of people, it was the way back.
March 25th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
@Simon, I think it was less the direction DC was going in and more the fact that the story had giant, gaping holes in logic…and problem when you’re writing a mystery.
@Caleb, given that the whole line has been canceled, I was obviously one of the few people reading it, but Rags drew the 6 issue, bi-monthly First Wave title from DC. His art was fantastic, and managed to keep me reading it even though story left a lot to be desired.