The news that Hostess is to file for bankruptcy should send nostalgic shivers down the spines of superheroes worldwide, given the multiple crimes the company’s snack foods helped prevent in the 1970s and ’80s; from 1975 through 1982, ads for Hostess Fruit Pies, Twinkies and other products appeared in both Marvel and DC comics, each one an original one-page strip featuring a superhero from that publisher’s stable using the “tasty snack” of choice to distract criminals, monsters and other ne’er-do-wells from destruction, thievery and other unfortunate rampages against society. For those who haven’t seen them, the strips were variations on a theme, all written to the same basic formula but weirdly enjoyable for that very reason, reducing characters to stereotype and snack-obsessed mindsets; there’s a selection available here for you to sample them for yourself. Of course, for those of us who grew up reading these strips, the very name “Hostess” has a very specific nostalgia, not so much for the snacks themselves, but the ads, and the kinds of comics that they appeared in. Remember when comic book ads weren’t just for more comics and the occasional movie or TV show…?

There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel lately thanks to some on-set shots of Superman himself, Henry Cavill, but what of his nemesis General Zod? Well the actor playing him, Michael Shannon, has a few words on what we can expect from one of our favorite villains, including a possible hint at the plot of the film.

Recently, a questionable shot made it’s way around the web showing what looked like Shannon in a motion capture suit on set. He confirmed to MovieFone that that was indeed him in the suit, “It’s one of the most humiliating garments that exists in the known universe, yes.” Shannon also mentioned he felt like a court jester in the getup. “It’s funny because when I met with Zack [Snyder] we were talking about it before it started and he mentioned that there was going to be a lot of CGI, or whatever. I said, ‘Just don’t make me wear one of those silly suits,’ he told the site, “Then I showed up and he’s like, ‘Dude, I swear to God, it’s going to be so bad ass when we’re done. Trust me, it’s going to be wicked.’”

The Boardwalk Empire actor told IndieWire Man of Steel is going to have a different look to it visually than the Richard Donner films and that, in turn, affects his approach to the classic role Terrance Stamp made famous in Superman II. “I found his performance so powerful that I would be overwhelmed by it if I tried to incorporate it into what I’m doing. There’s no reason to try and replicate it cos it’s perfect the way it is. I’m just trying to go down a different road with it, the script’s a little bit different than the original script.”

On a press junket for his latest film, Take Shelter, he also spoke to MTV about the comparisons or lack thereof in the role. ”I’m not going to impersonate Terence Stamp. I’m not going to have a British accent or anything. All I can say is it’s very well written and there’s a lot of great opportunities to reinvent it for myself. The challenge is for me to do that. There’s nothing holding me back. I think they’re counting on me to give my interpretation. I’ll do the best I can.”

Shannon of course couldn’t give any details as to the plot of Man of Steel but did perhaps hint at what we’ll be seeing of the good General. ”Being a general, to me, that’s a fascinating, iconoclastic character. I can’t imagine being a sergeant, let alone a general,” he said, “He’s in charge of the entire military of Krypton. That’s going to take every little shred of imagination that I have. It’s a good challenge because it’s a big distance to have to go.”

A CGI costume, different visually from the past Superman films and a mention of actually leading a Kryptonian army. Hmm, could we be getting a film that takes place partially in space, pre-Krypton demise?

The Avengers, Man of Steel and The Dark Knight Rises are three of the most highly anticipated movies of next year and with the advent of their filming, lots of pictures have surfaced online. Some feature the famous cast members in action, while others show them having fun in their downtime on set. Well, artist Noelle Stevenson has been following the leaks closely, specifically The Avengers, and finally shows us what it’s doing to her.

Stevenson, also known to her fans as Ginger Haze on Tumblr, has a penchant for highlighting the way fans (herself in particular, but I can totally relate) perceive our favorite film or literary characters. Here we have delightfully ridiculous depictions of Loki and Thor, Tony Stark and Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow and of course, the artist herself.

Stevenson also showed us what she saw in her mind after viewing video and shots of Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth filming this scene together recently.

Seriously though, the footage was almost exactly like that.

I love all of Stevenson’s work but I must also direct you to her recent series having fun with X-Men: First Class and, if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan you should also check out her Broship of the Rings. Keep them coming Noelle, you aren’t alone in your superhero world views.

A lot of our favorite DC superheroes got significant makeovers to go with the big relaunch happening in two weeks. Here are a few designs that didn’t make the cut and god help me, I can’t imagine why.

You wanted pants, you got ‘em!

It’s to draw attention away from the underwear on the outside.

Poor Arthur, can’t catch a break. But he can catch fish!

Now this one I can get behind. If nothing else, it evens out the skin quota between the guys and gals of the DCnU.

The designs of course, are not real, but come via Caldwell Tanner of CollegeHumor.com. He’s been churning out some amazing superhero-themed strips lately for the website. Tanner also includes some Marvel characters in his redesign post. My favorite was his X-Men: First Class crack. So true.

New Jersey native Patrick McDonnell’s Mutts comic strip has been picked up by 20th Century Fox to be made into a feature film.

The Hollywood Reporter says McDonnell and his brother Robert will write the script with Patrick also serving as executive producer. If you aren’t familiar, Mutts is a daily syndicated comic strip that began in 1994 and runs in newspapers across the country. It’s about a dog and cat duo, Earl and Mooch, and their daily adventures that occasionally feature their elderly owners or other animals (plus Little Pink Socks!). McDonnell also champions many animal-related welfare causes like adoption and endangered species. There’s even Animal Friendly license plates with the Mutts characters here in NJ.

“Fox has had success in the comics-to-movie genre before,” writes THR, “The studio made two films based on the popular Garfield comic strip that grossed nearly $350 million combined worldwide. The Mutts project was brought in by Fox Animation executive Ralph Millero.”

Here’s  hoping the film is made with classic animation, which would better compliment McDonnell’s style, rather than the Garfield CGI route. Regardless, this is awesome news for me, I love Mutts and it’s nice to see a fellow New Jersyite get the attention he so deserves.

This is just… completely inspirational, in a really weird but genuine way: Darryl Ayo’s “Press A To Talk: Do You Like Comics,” part mash-up-comics-as-installation, part polemic. His postscript message to creators, both professional and wannabe, is equally wonderful:

Dance and don’t be afraid to look silly. Don’t get terrified that your carefully cultivated “adult” facade of “coolness” will be compromised by people seeing you enjoy something from your heart. Because believe you me: we can all see through you and you look a lot more awkward and uncool pretending that you’re above it all.

Yes! More comics that aren’t afraid to be silly would be a wonderful thing. You can’t get OMAC or New Gods without also getting Devil Dinosaur, after all.

You may have already seen the Captain America: The First Avenger food and beverages at Dunkin Donuts across the nation but it turns out the company is going one step farther than the run of the mill movie promotions. Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins are teaming with Marvel and Facebook for a contest celebrating the U.S. military.

With all the wacky promotional tie-ins we see these days, this one seems like a breath of fresh air. It’s called “America’s Super Soldiers.” From the press release:

Beginning today through July 15, 2011, fans can visit Dunkin’ Donuts’ or Baskin-Robbins’ official Facebook pages to nominate a veteran or active serviceperson, answering short questions about why their Super-Soldier is making a difference in their hometown and/or the communities in which they serve. The grand prize winning Super-Soldier, as selected by Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin-Robbins and a representative from the USO, will win a cash prize of $5,000, a new high-definition television, a new Blu-Ray DVD player and a selection of DVD movies in which Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins products are featured.  And as a thank you, the nominator of the grand prize winner will also win a $1,000 cash prize and a $100 Dunkin’ Donuts Card.  Please visit the [Facebook app page] for official rules.

“Dunkin’ Brands is thrilled to partner with Marvel Studios to bring the excitement of Captain America: The First Avenger to our guests, and we are particularly proud that our America’s Super-Soldiers contest provides an opportunity to continue our tradition of recognizing both U.S. veterans and active servicemen and women who give selflessly,” said John Costello, Chief Global Marketing and Innovation Officer at Dunkin’ Brands. “We hope everyone will help us recognize these real-life heroes whose commitment to our local communities makes such a difference to so many people,” he said. The chain is also holding an instant win game and sweepstakes to win a trip to a Marvel film premiere in 2012 on their official website.

Besides putting a charitable spin on what is normally a pure promotional tool, I think it’s fantastic they actually have the USO involved in this too. Of course, if you don’t know of anyone to nominate you can still get a huge sugar rush with a Captain America Coollata in a First Avenger Tri-Cup, a Captain America Donut or a Stars & Stripes donut at participating locations.

Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston talks to Bob Burden, creator of Mysterymen about Marvel Comics’ new series Mystery Men and their trademarking the name – despite his having used the one word version since 1987:

Nothing good will come of it. I don’t think this kind, clipping indie titles for trademarks, will open the world like an oyster for them. There are probably lots of titles and characters out there that have lapsed, and I’m sure there are a lot that were never officially trademarked at all… What Mike [Richardson, president of Dark Horse, Burden's publisher] explained to me – and this is important for everyone – is that while copyrights last many years, Trademarks last only ten. Well, I think Universal [The studio that made the Mystery Men movie adapting Burden's comic back in 1999] filed for the trademark August 5^th 1999, the day before the movie came out. The Marvel trademark was filed August 5^th 2009. That could even mean that someone was sitting there ready to snipe it. So who knows what else they have their eye on, or what they’re going for next.

At the end of the story, Marvel appears to dispute this:

Marvel representatives tell me that there was no intention to “snipe” a trademark and that the timing was purely coincidental. That the writer, David Liss, asked if the name was available, and it was. And that the whole series was completed before the name was publically announced.

Nonetheless, a simple search of the US Patent and Trademark Office’s site shows that, yes, Marvel trademarked “Mystery Men” on August 5th, 2009. So was Liss working on the book two years ago? And did Marvel really manage to check that the title was available legally, approve the title editorially and apply for the trademark on the same day, never mind it being the same day that the trademark actually became available? Because, while that’s not impossible, it’s certainly an astounding coincidence. In a schaudenfreude-filled way, I look forward to the inevitable lawsuit…

Take a look at this beautiful painting:

It’s not just a lovely portrait of Petey Otterloop from Richard Thomspon’s Cul de Sac; it’s also the first publicly-released work from Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson in 16 years. The famously reclusive creator has broken his creative silence to contribute this oil painting to the “Team Cul de Sac” fundraiser to benefit Parkinson’s research (Thompson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2009); it’d be too much to hope that this means more of Watterson’s recent work may be released to the public, but that isn’t stopping me from crossing my fingers…

Rip Kirby v. 3
Written by Alex Raymond, Ward Greene & Fred Dickenson
Illustrated by Raymond
Published by IDW/Library of American Comics

After leaving the Flash Gordon, the sci-fi adventure strip he’d created in 1934, for a stint in U.S. Marines during World War II, Alex Raymond was informed by his editors at King Features that Flash was doing quite well without him, thank you very much, and they would not reinstate him to his creation. Although he was almost certainly very disappointed, Raymond didn’t let it show – he simply created another engaging strip, this one thoroughly different in tone, content and style.

Rip Kirby, which debuted in early 1946, became Raymond’s longest run on a daily strip (Flash was a Sunday strip), the feature which he devoted himself to until he died in a car accident in late 1956. A break from earlier pulp-inspired detective strips, Kirby presaged more recent procedurals, with a debonair private detective who relied on wits and science. Though he could punch a crook out when he had to!

While it’s not the best adventure strip you’ll read – the plots are mostly good, though a few stretch credulity, such as The Mangler’s attempts to ruin Pagan Lee, a storyline predicated on a half-reasoned excuse to bring back a popular female character – Kirby always manages to entertain. Raymond and his co-authors (Greene, who scripted the early stories, leaves during this run, claiming that Raymond received too much credit for the writing – Dickenson replaced him) keep the pace up consistently, pepper the scripts with small bits of humanizing humor, and throw in enough wrinkles to keep readers off-balance if not entirely surprised.

The classic romantic aspect of adventure fiction remains strong here; nearly every case Kirby solves seems to bring together two conflicted lovers. Supporting players are well developed during the strip – onetime bad-girl Pagan Lee and Kirby’s reformed-safecracker-cum-valet Desmond each carry the strip for over a month of strips without any slack in the storylines, and Rip’s main squeeze Honey Dorian nearly matches them in a storyline of her own.

Raymond’s attention to detail – both in panel composition and in the styles of the time – pull readers into each continuity. Raymond was among the first comic artists to speak publicly about the possibilities of the comics medium – he found the glossy illustration work he thought he wanted less fulfilling than telling stories with pictures – and his attention to craft shines through on these pages. The Library of American Comics’ typically high standards of reproduction remain unimpeachable, with pristine linework, proper binding and a handy sewn-in bookmark.

Fast-moving, surprising, and beautifully drawn, Rip Kirby ages very well, and fans of Alex Raymond or comic strip history should love having the Library of American Comics’ superb collections on their bookshelves. These strips are among the most influential artistry in comics history – they deserve preservation and, even more, a passionate audience.

The Complete Calvin & Hobbes
Written & Illustrated by Bill Watterson
Published by Andrews McMeal

Not the timeliest review, I know, right? I’ve had my eye on this half-ton, three-book, slipcased Calvin & Hobbes set ever since it came out, but never quite convinced myself to splurge out the cash for it. My brother thankfully enabled me to sidestep ever paying for it when he gave it to me this past Christmas. And believe me, I had no idea what to think when I found a gaudily wrapped, immovable weight under my Christmas tree.

I probably don’t have to say much about Calvin & Hobbes. Although the last strip appeared nearly fifteen years ago, I’d guess that most of you have read it in some form. My local paper didn’t carry the strip during its entire run, and I was too distracted by being a teenager when it did show up those last four or five years to read it religiously, but even then, I knew Watterson was creating something special.

The years have done nothing to diminish that accomplishment. Calvin & Hobbes continues to stand out as one of the most important, funny and singular comic strips of all time. Celebrating imagination, mischief, ingenuity and basic human decency, Watterson spent twelve years giving voice to perhaps the best newspaper comic strip in American history. Yes, it’s that good.

To have this singular brilliance wrapped up (embalmed and boxed, as Watterson puts it in his introduction) in one package is priceless. The books feature sturdy, proper binding (comic book trade programs, pay attention!), and heavy pages that stand up to repeated turning. The linework is reproduced pristinely, and the colors dazzle. And even the box looks great, with a clean, simple look and good choices for the exterior artwork.

Calvin & Hobbes is, perhaps, the best comic strip ever, and it’s all here, a permanent keepsake, to revisit again and again and again. Everybody simply needs to have the Complete Calvin & Hobbes in their homes (even if, like me, you’re a little late in doing so!).

Prince Valiant v. 3: 1941-1942
Written & Illustrated by Hal Foster
Published by Fantagraphics

Common consensus is that Hal Foster’s famed adventure strip Prince Valiant reaches the early days of its (long) golden era during the years collected in this book. Considering how much I enjoyed the first four years, when Foster was still finding the strip’s voice, I wasn’t sure how much better Valiant could get. Turns out, Prince Valiant achieves sheer radiance.

Now, for my money, Milton Caniff’s Terry and the Pirates remains the class of the newspaper adventure strip – frankly, it remains the class of all adventure comics, strip, book or otherwise. Hal Foster, however, is pushing hard for the second slot on this list.

In 1941 and 1942, Valiant spends over a year voyaging through Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa, seeking the return of his fabled “Singing Sword” and pursuing the visionary beauty of Queen Aleta. Along the way, there are many fights won by Val’s determination, many romances enabled by Val’s kindness, and many tables turned by Val’s cunning. He travels with pirates in search of gold, battles against slave traders, and inevitably enriches the lives of good people everywhere, while demolishing those less worthy.

In short, Prince Valiant is noble romantic adventure fiction at its finest. The plots are classical, yet surprising, with chivalry and fair play constantly at the forefront. Poetic and strikingly descriptive, the narrations could nearly stand alone, but fortunately are accompanied by some of the finest comics’ art ever produced. Foster’s nuanced artwork captures the most subtle intentions of his immense cast, while the details and carefully crafted color work fill out Val’s world with rich textures from clothing to stonework, from animals to forests. Even the climates Val visits, sweltering Africa, frigid Britain – pounding rains and dehydrating days at sea – ground the reader in a palpable world.

Working from full-color syndicate printer’s proofs, Fantagraphics’ current Valiant reprints are the most pristine incarnations of Foster’s strip … well, ever. Surely the original newspaper versions didn’t showcase the full depth of his artwork, and the care put into the binding and the book design displays the publisher’s commitment to presenting Foster’s work in the best light possible. Prince Valiant v. 3: 1941-1942 finds a legendary strip reaching yet greater heights of creative accomplishment, presenting the strips with the full majesty of size, color and detail that its author always hoped for. After Foster, comics were never the same; this series is, simply, a must-have for any serious comics library.

X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan v.1: 1967-1969
Written by Archie Goodwin
Illustrated by Al Williamson
Published by IDW/Library of American Comics

The daily newspaper Secret Agent X-9 debuted in 1934 with an impressive creative pedigree. Dashiell Hammett, following his successes with The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest,  scripted the sleuth’s adventures, and Flash Gordon/Rip Kirby creator (and perhaps the most influential comics illustrator ever) Alex Raymond handled the artwork.

Both men soon abandoned their nameless detective, who travelled with a variety of creators for three decades until 1967 when Al Williamson, a longtime disciple of Raymond’s style, was hired to take over drawing the strip. Williamson recruited colleague and friend Archie Goodwin to write adventures for X-9, which was retitled Secret Agent Corrigan.

This book collects the earliest stories from Goodwin and Williamson’s twelve-year Corrigan run.

(more…)

Popeye v. 5: Wha’s a Jeep?
Written & Illustrated by E.C. Segar
Published by Fantagraphics

We’re closing on the end of Elzie Segar’s monumental comic strip accomplishment with the fifth volume of Fantagraphics’ recent Popeye reprint series. The next book will be the end, as Segar passed away and the strip passed into the hands of other – often still talented, but simply not as original – cartoonists.

This fifth volume introduces Eugene the Jeep, the yellow-furred, future-predicting pet and Popeye’s long-lost father Poopdeck Pappy into the mythology, effectively completing Popeye’s peculiar family unit. Popeye, Olive Oyl and Swea’pea form the semifunctional nuclear unit, with Wimpy, Castor, Eugene and Pappy rounding out the extended family.

While the daily strips focus on extended sequences, including Popeye’s kingdom Spinachovia feuding with Olive’s island nation and then facing invasion from neighboring Brutia. Then Eugene arrives and instigates the search for Pappy; Segar’s Sunday pages are couched in the strip’s unlikely family dynamic.

(more…)

Charlie Sheen is currently imploding at an alarming rate, to the extent that he got his confoundingly popular sitcom, Two and a Half Men, shut down for the remainder of the season. It’s troubling times like these that we look towards voices like Michael Kupperman, cartoonist of the transcendent Tales Designed to Thrizzle, who weighed in on the situation with this comic strip on his Twitter, placing the fire-breathing fists of Sheen in the first-ever Peanuts:

MAD’s Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragonés: Five Decades of His Finest Works
Written by Sergio Aragonés and friends
Illustrated by Sergio Aragonés
Published by Running Press

The World’s Fastest Cartoonist, Sergio Aragonés, went through the impossible-to-count number of pages he’s drawn for MAD Magazine over the past fifty years and chose his best strips to be included in this book, a 270-page hardcover collection perfect for fans of Sergio, MAD or anything remotely funny.

Features including “A MAD Look at …” and “The Shadow Knows” dominate the proceedings, though Sergio provides several other featurettes. Many showcase his classic pantomime gag strips; others are produced in collaboration with script writers. Cover illustrations, eye-bleeding detailed sequences such as MAD’s look at comic book conventions, and early silent stories round out the collection.

Each page is accompanied by the issue number and year of the sequence’s original publication. I’ve seen a few of these strips as a kid in various MAD’s compendiums, but this edition – MAD’s Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragonés: Five Decades of His Finest Works – is definitely the way to own this material. Sergio’s a cartooning master, and to have his best work under one cover is too good to miss out on.

Backing Into Forward
Written by Jules Feiffer
Published by Doubleday

Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer’s memoir is not a cartoon.  There’s not much else wrong with it, however.

Although the narrative focuses primarily on his professional life, Rhoda Feiffer, Jules’ mother, shaped much of his career and personal life – by virtue of her overbearing, uncompromising manner. Most of us have, directly or indirectly, a Rhoda Feiffer, and will relate to the comical pressures on young Jules. Feiffer shares many hilarious anecdotes of writing theatre, fighting for pay at the Village Voice, and learning to cartoon on Uncle Sam’s dime. Although he rambles on in a few places, most of the tales remain to-the-point, keeping the reader focused on the tale at hand.

Feiffer drops many  names, which is the province of a memoir if you have names to drop.  The book’s core centers on his career as a cartoonist and writer, but his creativity is constantly influenced by issues in his personal life, so Feiffer is compelled to share tidbits about his children (particularly when he gets into his work in children’s books – oh, the drama of one child having a book about her and not another!) and marriages from time to time.  All told, it’s an engagingly written, very humorous look at the life of one of our most important cartoonists, a man who seemed to find many opportunities accidentally, yet always possessed the wit and creativity to take advantage of those open doors.

Nipper, 1963-64
Written & Illustrated by Doug Wright
Published by Drawn & Quarterly

Doug Wright’s Nipper acted as the Canadian equivalent to Bil Keane’s The Family Circus.  There are many outward differences – Nipper is multi-paneled and almost entirely silent, whereas Keane’s strip is one image with an accompanying caption, but the overall tone of each strip is remarkably similar.  Those gosh-darn kids and their crazy antics!

Wright’s an excellent draftsman, so Nipper looks great.  If readers take anything away from the book, it will undoubtedly be an appreciation for Wright’s illustrative prowess.  In four to six panels, his elegant line and strong compositions capture the innocent and maddening travails of parenthood.  The slick drawings capture the idyllic dream of 1960s family life, a dream continually undermined by the chaotic endings of each sequence.

Doug Wright was a keen observer of the family dynamic, and a powerful, clean illustrator.  Combining his talents, he created an engaging, fun family comic strip, now collected by Drawn & Quarterly as Nipper, 1963-64. Taken in book form, the strips read incredibly quickly, giving readers not much more than an hour of enjoyment, but readers who appreciate this innocently charming material will certainly find it an hour well spent.

Who Will Comfort Toffle?
Written & Illustrated by Tove Jansson
English script by Sophie Hannah
Published by Drawn & Quarterly

Tove Jansson’s second Moomin picture book gets a new English translation courtesy of Canadian publisher Drawn & Quarterly and English scripter/poet/writer Sophie Hannah.  Like the Moomin comic strips and Jansson’s first children’s book, The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My, Who Will Comfort Toffle? brims with whimsy and wonder.

Lonely Toffle journeys through Moomin Valley, encountering the denizens of Jansson’s imaginative world.  Every person she encounters, in addition to partaking in imaginative flights of fancy, has someone to share the moment with, yet Toffle remains alone, in search of a companion.  It’s a direct and clear message for kids, that we all feel lonely and that we’re the only person without somebody, but of course, it all works out when you meet the right person.  And you may have to persevere to meet that person, but doing so is worth the effort.

(more…)

Ding Dong Daddy From Dingburg
Written & Illustrated by Bill Griffith
Published by Fantagraphics

The latest collection of Bill Griffith’s newspaper strip Zippy the Pinhead, Ding Dong Daddy From Dingburg is also my first exposure to the long-running once-underground icon.  Griffith created Zippy in 1971.  After a long life in independent comics and magazines, Zippy became a newspaper strip, syndicated by King Features, in 1986.  Ding Dong Daddy collects the daily and Sunday strips from September 2008 through June 2010.

(more…)