Jeff Smith posts his cover art — front and back — for Say Anything‘s upcoming album, In Defense of the Genre, which will be released on Oct. 23.

Entertainment reporters from the New York Daily News and The National Ledger are reporting that makers of the Spider-Man musical are looking for a “huge theater” in which to house the production. Reporters talked to Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor of Lion King fame at the premier of her new film Across the Universe. Taymor is making the Spider-Man musical with musicians Bono and The Edge from the rock band U2.

Says Taymor in the National Ledger report:

“I’m very proud of the songs that Bono and Edge wrote. It’s a real rock-and-roll musical, so we’re not worried about that aspect. We just have to find where we’re going to do it– even if we have to do it in a tent, which we’re looking into – and when. It’ll at least be a year away.”

This news comes on top of the story that has been circulating that Marilyn Manson requested a role in the Spider-Man musical because he’s such a fan of the web-slinger. “Marilyn just asked me if he could have a part in Spider-Man. The funny thing is, he really liked the music on my new movie,” Taymor said, according to a report from Bang (via stuff.co.nz).

As Newsarama cited in April from a Playbill report, the musical was scheduled for a reading back in July to determine whether it was worth staging anywhere – particularly if it was worth staging in New York. This latest news about the search for a New York home seems to indicate it’s been deemed worthy of a spot on Broadway. But let’s hope Taymor was just joking about the tent.

I’m not familiar with the Milwaukees, a band that Ryan Penagos chats with over at Marvel.com about their music and comics, but anyone who puts together an iMix dedicated to Captain America is ok by me:

MARVEL.COM: You’ve constructed an American/Captain America-themed playlist on iTunes. What were you thinking when putting these songs together? Break down the songs you guys chose and why.

1. “My Hero” the Foo Fighters – I think this one is pretty obvious.
2. “Fortunate Son” Creedence Clearwater Revival – When we were thinking about it, we decided that Captain America would be a proud American hero without necessarily being a flag-waving, rah-rah, patriot blindly supporting the government. That is a position we sympathize with, and I think that Creedence is the ultimate in proud American bands that aren’t afraid to be critical.
3. “Highway to the Sun” the Milwaukees – This is our take on the great American road song. Its kind of about this very American notion of Manifest Destiny.

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Spider-Man 3 on DVD in October

Marvel.com says that the third Spider-Man film will come out on DVD Oct. 30:

Sony Pictures Entertainment is releasing the film—which already grossed a whopping $888 million worldwide in the box offices—in six different arachtastic ways that are sure to get your Spidey-juices flowing! At the top of the list is the “Spider-Man High Definition Trilogy” pack delivering all three films on Blu-ray disc—imagine all the Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman and Venom-ous glory in HD. Go on. Imagine it. It’s quite nice. The three-pack is the only shot fans will have at owning the first two Spider-Man films in the tasty hi-def Blu-Ray format, so true-believers better pounce! For those who want the trilogy but don’t have the drool-worthy HD capabilities, never fear: the package will also be available on standard DVD.

If you already have the first two films of the saga or only want the tertiary chapter, it will also be released in single- and double-disc editions in both Blu-Ray and standard format DVD.

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Update: This appears to be a hoax, as a Google Image search for “Kaoru and Shinji” — two characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion – turns up this original, unaltered image.

Jake at Ye Olde Comick Booke Blogge has what’s undoubtedly one of the most bizarre licensed comics I’ve ever seen: a yaoi manga called Love Gun, first in a series of planned books from Be Beautiful based on KISS songs.

Yes, KISS yaoi.

Jake quotes the press release, which reads, in part: “Meet Gene the Demon and Paul the Starchild, two very different heirs to two very different families that have been at war as long as anyone can remember. When they meet at boarding school though, neither can deny something is drawing them together. A wild romantic odyssey is about to unfold, but the odds are stacked against this modern day Romeo and Romeo!”

Although Love Gun isn’t listed on the Be Beautiful website, Brigid Alverson points out that the publisher isn’t “always the best at updating.”

(Via Comics Worth Reading)

Months after Kevin did a post on My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way and his comic The Umbrella Academy, we’re still getting comments from his fans. Now that the comic is available on MySpace, I bet they’re really happy.

Way told MTV:

“The biggest idea with the comic for me was, number one, writing a comic,” he explained. “I’ve been wanting to write one. It’s fun. I think I can say something I can’t necessarily say with my music. But also, I wanted to get people into comic shops, people who normally wouldn’t [go], because I love the medium.

“A lot of books had a very big impact on me, and they kind of shaped my lyrics, the band’s aesthetic, everything,” he continued. “There’s a song called ‘The Ghost of You’ on [2004's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge], which is named after a perfume ad in the ‘Watchmen’ [graphic-novel series]. Comics have been such a big part of me and the band for such a long time, and I just want people to check out comics.”

Pictured above: Way promotes Sugarshock, the fun web comic by Whedon and Moon that’s also appearing in Dark Horse Presents, in San Diego … you can read more about The Umbrella Academy and the long time you’ll be waiting for a new My Chemical Romance album over at MTV.com.

When he’s not creating graphic novels like Mother, Come Home and The Three Paradoxes, Paul Hornschemeier is playing guitar and singing lead vocals for the band Arks, Spin’s artist of the day July 20.

On his blog, Stephen DeStefano shares images he did for King Features’ Grunge Popeye licensing idea in 1995. Ugh.

Dick who hates your blog compares super hero comics to metals, both heavy and nu:

-Nu Metal: I think there’s a case to be made that all superheroes as a genre are more like heavy metal than any other musical genre. Both are frankly ridiculous, especially to outsiders. Even mature, not-stupid fans struggle to apologize for some of the dumber tropes in each genre. Ever tried to explain Spider-Man’s origin to a regular person? Ever tried to explain Iron Maiden’s mascot Eddie to a regular person? Both activities will make you feel dumber than you probably are. And yet even non-fans will recognize something primal and compelling in a Black Sabbath riff or a Jack Kirby splash page.

Given this, the Nu Metal comparison is obvious. Nu Metal lyrics definitely tend towards whiny self-focus (what some might call “emo” tendencies). This brings to mind Crying Superman and the pervading sense of gloom which clings to modern superhero comics. (Seriously, is this something that appeals exclusively to whatever weirdos comprise the majority of Marvel/DC fans these days? The general public voiced its opinion on Crying Superman through its apathy towards Superman Returns, so this isn’t a larger cultural phenomenon.) Furthermore, Nu Metal privileges aggression over hooks; similarly, superhero comic writers increasingly rely on shocks and surprises rather than, well, all the things which one associates with writing as a craft. And then there’s the misogyny thing.

This analogy falls apart, however, when we consider the role of influence. For all its faults, Nu Metal bands broadened the appeal of heavy metal by bringing in influences from other, disparate genres. Nu Metal is not wed to the past; it is (was?) an inherently forward-looking sub-genre. Contemporary superhero comics, conversely, are aggressively antiquarian (some asshole might even call them culturally necrophiliac). Fans of Nu Metal rewarded bands which took risks, pushing them further from the traditional definition of “heavy metal.” Marvel/DC fans, obsessed with continuity, consider any break with the past as prima facie evidence of a comic sucking. Clearly, then, these similarities between Nu Metal and contemporary superhero comics are superficial; at their respective cores are contradictory views on the relationship between roots and fruits.

The heavy metal comparison could probably be taken further, but seems pretty spot on. As far as Nu Metal goes, I associate “crying Superman” more with emo … I think he has more in common with Dashboard Confessional than Linkin Park, but I don’t know if that would hold up if you took into account all of the genre.

Dick also goes on to try and make comparisons between comics and Dixeland Jazz … for all of the, um, Dixieland Jazz fans out there. Of course, I didn’t make it that far … I stopped reading after I realized he wasn’t going to make a comparison between Spider-Man and Jon Bon Jovi.

Newsarama’s own Chris Arrant chats with Kieron Gillen about their respective musical comics 1 Way Ticket and Phonogram over at the Chemistry Set, making for some very interesting conversation and lots of great soundbites, like this one from Gillen:

I think that’s an interesting way of looking at music – “the only artform that’s actually universally respected by youth-culture”. Which, of course, shows why it still manages an essential disreputability, which is one of the things that always attracts me to culture (Comics, Videogames, Pop Music – my essential troika). As you say, it’s a shared experience. Of course, one difference between Phonogram and 1 Way Ticket is that I’m concentrating a lot more about the /consumption/ of music. Since I’m taking that literal Music-Is-Magic approach, I knew the most obvious thing to do was basically turn rock musicians into these Godlike creatures, touching their majesty on the earth. Except, for me, that’s clearly bullshit. What’s interesting to me about pop music is an individual’s interaction with a work of art and what happens there – and it’s such an instinctive work of art, it’s questionable whether even a fraction of its creators even vaguely understood what they’ve done. (The one rule of music journalism: It’s a rare artist who’s even slightly as interesting as their work.)

And this one from Arrant:

On a great tangent, one thing I found particularly interesting that happens both in comics and music is how a majority of people’s music and comic tastes in their older years is latched into the music of their teenage years. As with comics where we see a majority of the audience still holding out for the superheroics of the comics of their younger days, in music a large percentage of the average consumer-base continues to follow the musical acts of their teenage years. While people might veer outside their particular genre choices for the biggest hits of the day, they still call the tastes of their teenage years as their evergreen stomping grounds.

It isn’t really so much of an interview as it is a dialogue between two guys passionate about comics & music. Interesting stuff; check it out.

For the past five summers, my friends in the CCM (Chicago Comics Mafia) have compiled playlists of must-have songs that anybody can listen to while reading comics or just about anything else, hence the less-than-creative title, “Tunes For Reading Comics.” Aside from the liberal use of the James Kochalka catalog (Batman and Bud Light is my best selection from James’ 2001 album, Don’t Trust Whitey), I haven’t found much worth suggesting to my former homies. That is, until today.

Lo and behold, in my Google search feeds, I found a tune worth suggesting to my friends based on an interview I read about Albert Hammond, Jr.’s first solo effort apart from The Strokes, the pop-eclectic, Yours to Keep. The pivotal tune that launched Hammond’s solo CD project, Cartoon Music for Superheroes, has a playful, sing-songy lullaby feel to it, that would play well on any sort of superhero compilation CD. Like a Heroes soundtrack, for example…

Sample some of Hammond’s cool tunes — unfortunately NOT Cartoon Music for Superheroes — for free at his MySpace page.

Kenny at the Forbidden Planet International blog confirms something I’d long suspected from the countless “OMG i luv you gerard” comments generated by any Umbrella Academy-related post: Gerard Way may be the answer to how to attract more teen girls to American comics.

I’m only partly joking. Kenny noticed the draw of the My Chemical Romance frontman on Free Comic Book Day, as a large number of girls flocked to the chain’s stores:

So what had the descending hordes wanted? — the latest Spider-Man movie tie-in would have been the one you expected I’d guess — but no it was The Umbrella Academy, the Dark Horse comic written by Gerard Way — the lead singer and frontman in the hugely popular band My Chemical Romance. Now this was crossover in action — OK Stephen King might bring his readers to buy his comic but I personally doubt many of them will be coming back for more comics past the next Stephen King one but the Gerard Way crowd now that’s a different matter. Gerard has stated he loves comics and now he has his own and his fans who are devoted, in a way very few fans are, will no doubt want to buy the comic and WILL try other comics if they like this one. I can imagine these girls buying into the new Minx line from DC and various Manga titles. If Gerard recommends other comics I could see them checking them out.

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, the six-issue miniseries by Way, Gabriel Ba and Dave Stewart, debuts from Dark Horse in September. No word yet on a “Gerard Way Presents” imprint of graphic novels.

I’m not planning on spoiling Spider-Man 3 in my post today, but I will issue a pre-emptive SPOILER’S WARNING to anyone who ventures into the comments section. With the movie being out, people may want to talk about the film, so enter at your own risk.

Our own Chris Mautner has seen it, and he posted his spoiler-free review last night.

Moving on to news coverage, The Springfield News-Sun has a fun “Spider-Man A to Z” article up that covers everything from Amazing Fantasy #15 to Peter Parker being the ultimate zero. Sandman gets the “S” spot:

Sandman: One of Spider-Man’s earliest foes, convict Flint Marko, gets his due in the new movie. In his 1963 comics debut, Marko (an alias for William Baker) escaped the clink and wound up hiding out at an atomic testing site. Dumb move, Flint. But the blast gave him the ability to turn to sand. In 1981, the Sandman briefly became Mud-Thing after, get ready, merging with Hydro-Man. Only in comics.

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BOOM! Studios and Isotope Comics have come together to present a “create your own trailer” contest for the comic Left on Mission, which comes out later this month. Entries will be judged by a panel that includes Keefe Boerner, visual effects producer on Sin City, and Brad Blondheim, producer of the turntablist documentary Scratch.

The winner will receive a limited edition, signed and numbered hardcover copy of Left on Mission #1 along with signed copies of Left on Mission issues 1-5 when they are available. The winning trailer will be showcased on the Isotope and Left on Mission websites and will be used as part of the Left on Mission advertising campaign.

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The Spider-Man 3 soundtrack hits stores today, featuring Snow Patrol, the Killers, the Walkmen, the Flaming Lips and many more. Marvel.com has a feature up on the new CD, including a video that looks at the “making of”:

They’ve also got pictures from the Red Carpet premiere.

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On the Digital Webbing forums, cartoonist and letterer Nate Piekos shows off the “Fantasti-Caster,” his Fender Stratocaster guitar with custom Fantastic Four graphics. “It’s for clobberin’ the blues,” he writes. More photos at the link.

Say what you like, but it’s a pretty crazy week where the news of Spider-Man 3 premiering (admittedly, in Tokyo, but still) is nothing compared with the initial news and then confirmation of Spider-Man: The Musical:

The Spider-Man musical will mark the first time a Marvel character has been the subject of a show on Broadway. In addition to co-producing the show, Hello Entertainment is arranging all financing for the project.

“Marvel continues to look to every entertainment medium to support the enduring popularity of our Super Heroes, and we are thrilled with the talent on board. The all star creative team — led by Julie Taymor, Bono and The Edge — is second to none and we are certain this project will delight fans of Spider-Man and new audiences alike,” said David Maisel, Chairman, Marvel Studios, whose previous Broadway credits include spearheading the 1999 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Fosse.

It may be the first time that a Marvel character has been the subject of a Broadway show, but not the first time a superhero has hit the lights of Broadway…

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Snow Patrol’s video for Signal Fire, from the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack, is quite possibly thr best video ever:

Recalling my Newsarama editor J.K. Parkin wrote about the free Web site listening post for the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack two weeks ago, this weird news item caught my attention about Spidey and Batman kicking the stuffings out of Jack Black in Hollyweird last month, or so says Gary Lightbody, vocalist of Scottish pop band Snow Patrol, on his blog.

Whilst in LA on the U.S. leg of their tour, Lightbody watched as a Jack Black look-alike whacked a faux Batman from behind with a bottle, only to have another faux Spidey jump to the aid of the fake Caped Crusader. All this took place while Lightbody was looking out his hotel window onto Hollywood Boulevard. In all, 10 police cars were called, and all three faux fellows were arrested.

The really weird thing: This fake superhero beatdown took place about the time Snow Patrol was announcing their song Signal Fire would be part of the Spidey 3 soundtrack appearing in trailers and end credits, at the very least. Wish Lightbody had taken an image of this epic Spidey-Bats teamup for posterity…

Reread more about Snow Patrol’s tour and the Spidey 3 deal here.

Inspired by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman, Time.com’s Nerd World blogger Lev Grossman bangs out his list of “Top Five Alternative Supermen.”

The All-Star version is there, of course. So, too, are Mark Millar and Dave Johnson’s Red Son, the dead Superman from Alan Moore, Curt Swan and George Perez’s legendary “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”, and the old Superman from Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen’s Superman: Secret Identity.

But for the fifth and final spot, Grossman throws us a musical curve: “Bitter Superman,” from R.E.M.’s 1986 cover of Superman. Ah, yes, bitter, vengeful, stalking Superman. How can you not love him?