Pages Tagged “Comics”
Reviews
- Birding Is My Favorite Video Game
★★★★★
Rosemary Mosco
A fun collection of cartoons about nature (not just birds!) collected from Bird and Moon. Mostly funny, a few serious. - Chivalry
Beautifully drawn and illustrated, a charming tale of Arthurian legend brought into modern times. - The Comic Bug ★★★★★ Open, inviting, and kid-friendly, with friendly staff and a wide selection. Frequent artist/writer signings.
- Comics Toons N’ Toys ★★★★★ The best comic store I’ve been to in Orange County. The staff is friendly and helpful, and the selection is incredible.
- Dark Knights: Metal
★★★☆☆
Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, and Jonathan Glapion
The art is great, and the scope is ambitious, but the story follows the same beats as Final Crisis. - Final Crisis (Audio and Graphic Novel)
- Final Crisis: Revisiting the Tie-Ins Superman Beyond is essential. Submit and Reqiuem show the street-level perspective. Rogues Revenge is not a good as I remember.
- Flash: Stop Motion (Audio)
The concepts are intriguing, the characters are handled well, and the full cast and sound effects make up for the lack of visuals in superhero novels. - Good Time Travel Comics ★★★★★ Some DC stories I can recommend include DC One Million, JLA: Rock of Ages, Time Masters, and Chronos.
- iZombie (graphic novels)
A horror/comedy that ranges from Scooby Doo to Lovecraft by way of Moorcock, featuring thinking zombies, vampires who run paintball, ghosts, secret societies, and a were-terrier. Off the wall concepts and a clean, sharp art style that contrasts with the monsters and gore. The TV series was loosely based on these comics. - New Spring (Comic Book) #1
- New Spring (Comics): The Long Publishing Saga It’s taken a long time (and three publishers) to complete this adaptation of the Wheel of Time prequel, even though it only covered eight standard-sized comic books
- Pebble and Wren
★★★★★
Chris Hallbeck
Hilarious and heartwarming tale of a girl and the monster who lives under her bed. - Stan Lee’s Starborn
An unpublished writer discovers that the science fiction saga he’s been building since childhood is actually very, very real. And it wants him dead. - Tales From The Bully Pulpit
A sci-fi comedy graphic novel featuring a time-traveling Teddy Roosevelt and the ghost of Thomas Edison, battling a descendant of Adolf Hitler. On Mars. Wearing mecha armor. - Time Breakers
This comic book from the 1990s flips the familiar time-cop trope on its head: Instead of protecting time from paradoxes, the protagonists are trying to create more paradoxes, convinced that the very existence of life depends on it. - Tinyview Comics ★★★★☆ Good comics formatted for small screens.
- A Wizard of Earthsea (Graphic Novel)
Fordham’s watercolor-style art is absolutely gorgeous. The adaptation plays to the medium’s strengths, allowing the visuals to tell the story when possible, keeping Le Guin’s prose when needed. Wide seascapes, rocky coasts, forested landscapes, people (not whitewashed!) and dragons…
Tech Tips
- Moving With a Comic Collection Standard long or short boxes are fine. Just make sure you load them in a way that they won’t tip over.
Les Misérables
- Wolverine vs. Jor-El Les Misérables takes on an entirely new light when viewed as their epic struggle.
- Classics Illustrated: Les Misérables Comic Book (Review) They manage to fit a lot of the story into a 45-page comic focusing on Jean Valjean, but some of the editorial choices are baffling.
- Les Misérables: Classics Illustrated’s Original Comic Book (Review) Classics Illustrated produced two comic book versions of Les Mis. The 1943 version is harder to find, and treats it as an adventure story.
- Manga Classics: Les Misérables (Review) The Manga Classics adaptation of Les Misérables turns out to be a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the novel. Very little is altered except for streamlining, and a lot more is included than I was expecting.
- The Brick…and the Cinder Block I finally picked up a print copy of Donougher's translation, and it's even bigger than the brick-sized book I first read. Plus, I discovered the Takahiro Arai manga version is being translated into English!
- Comics Lost and Found A number of Classics Illustrated digital comics used to be on ComiXology before it was absorbed into the Kindle store. But that doesn't seem to be why they disappeared.
- Manga, Manga, Duck Omnibus 2 of Takahiro Arai's Les Misérables adaptation is already out, and 3 and 4 have release dates...and then there's the Uncle Scrooge version‽
Blog Posts
- The Omega Block
Went to check the forecast on Weather.com and saw this on the home page: I should’ve realized Darkseid was back. It would explain so much.
- It’s a Dream World
I recently found myself in Culver City and spotted a familiar-looking wall. Not because I’d been there often, but because I remember seeing it from the passenger seat of a co-worker’s car over a decade ago as we drove past on the way to…lunch? A bakery? I can’t quite remember. But I do remember Spider-Man […]
- Saucer Country is finally complete!
I really enjoyed the original run (Saucer Country) at Vertigo and the second run at IDW (Saucer State)…that ended on a cliffhanger, and I’m really looking forward to being able to read the conclusion! Saucer Country is a dark thriller that blends UFO lore and alien abduction with political intrigue, all set in the hauntingly […]
- The Adventures of Bus Ryder and the Busonic Woman!
Apparently this was a 1976 comic book to promote the then-new county bus system with campy knock-off superheroes (and really wonky perspective). I mean, Bus Ryder looks suspiciously like Superman, and there’s no question where the Busonic Woman got her name. Photo courtesy Orange County Archives.
- Eevee for Vendetta
Yeah, I’m sure it’s been done before.
- Catching Up on Two Years of Comics
Last night, I did something I haven’t done in ages: I read a bunch of this week’s new comics. Over the last two years I’ve gotten behind on just about every comic book I read, and the further behind I get, the harder it is for me to catch up. (Making things worse: I stopped […]
- Zooming Through Long Beach Comic Con 2016
One of the weirdest things about this year’s Long Beach Comic Con is how much moving the entrance to the other side of the convention center changed the flavor of the experience. For the last seven years, they’ve used the western entrance off of Pine Ave. with a big, open, glass lobby and an outside […]
- Whitney Frost Cosplay
The “big bad” of Marvel’s Agent Carter Season 2: Whitney Frost, a scientist/actress who becomes imbued with what she calls Zero Matter, a destructive energy force (just visible in the form of the jet-black scar). She’s adapted from the comic book villain Madame Masque. Like the Once Upon a Time Alice, she doesn’t seem to […]
- Allocating Smiles
Dina from this Dumbing of Age comic. Originally posted on Tumblr.
- Long Beach Comic Con Hits its Stride in 2015
Twice the floor space, twice the programming, and they filled it! The show has turned into one for comics and art, plus the usual cosplay, signings etc.
- Limited edition soda cans. OK, fine….HOW?
I guess collecting is sort of the point with a lot of media tie-in packaging (well, that and cross-promotion, of course), but I really have to wonder how people typically collect food packages. I mean, do you keep the can unopened and hope it doesn’t leak? Do you drink it even though the can won’t […]
- Flash and Les Mis in the Golden Age of Radio and Comics
Two of my fan interests sort of intersected with a pair of articles I wrote last night: Flash Comics and Les Misérables in the late 1930s/early 1940s.
- Looking Forward to iZombie
iZombie has a premiere date! The comedy/horror/murder mystery show launches March 17 on the CW. I’ve been describing iZombie as a mash-up of the Robeson/Allred comic’s premise (woman becomes a zombie, but can keep her mental faculties as long as she eats one brain a month…then starts picking up memories and personality quirks from the […]
- Back to the Beach: Long Beach Comic Con (2014)
Photos and writeup: Indie comics, bargains, art, cosplay, Young Justice, and a mobile exhibit for the Flash TV show at this year’s Long Beach Comic Con.
- Not Invited to the Avengers Ball
My 3½ year old son picked up an Avengers ball in the market, turned it around for a bit and asked, “Where’s the Black Widow?” Good question.
- Comic-Con 2014 – Now That’s Better! (Writeup, Photos and Cosplay)
We managed to do a lot more of what we planned at SDCC this year, from signings to swag to media events…and even got in on the cosplay scene.
- It Came from the Long Beach Comic & Horror Con 2013
My lack of a plan for this year’s con made the show floor less satisfying, but the panels were great: Marv Wolfman, Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid, Young Justice.
- I Gave the New 52 a Try
But over the past two years I’ve dropped half the series I was collecting, and the others (the ones I liked) have been canceled. I’m down to one DCU series. (Again) The New 52 DC universe no longer feels like the same DC universe I used to follow. The tone is off (though to be […]
- I Survived Comic-Con 2013!
Intense stress, doing the impossible, meeting artists, keeping a toddler entertained, chaos good and bad, and a genuine medical emergency.
- Safety Record
I want to know who broke that streak.
- Bat-Naan!
Leftover Indian food + a silly mood = Naan x 12.
- Crisis of the New 52
I think my biggest disappointment with the New 52 is that they didn’t go far enough. They had a chance to completely reinvent the DC Universe to an extent that we haven’t seen since the dawn of the Silver Age. Instead, we have the same basic characters: Superman is still Clark Kent, Batman is still […]
- No More Origin Stories
It’s bothered me for a long time that movie studios seem to think the only story worth telling about a superhero is the origin. You get a trilogy if you’re lucky, then back to another origin take. It would be like only ever running the pilot of every TV show even though they’re designed to […]
- Apple: Supported After All
It felt weird to kill time at the Apple store with my Android phone. I thought about reading the new Flash comic, but that seemed off as well…or was it?
- A Weekend at WonderCon 2013 in Anaheim
Comic books, zombies on trial, iconic characters, Disney mash-ups, Game of Thrones toys, cosplay and more descended on Anaheim, CA for WonderCon 2013.
- Recent Links: Geography, Internet and Comics
Live wind patterns, historical travel times, reliability of social networking, the importance of web page weight, emergency gadget power, UNIX Daemons and Seurat’s Justice League.
- Return of Long Beach Comic & Horror Con! (2012)
Lots of comics, lots of Star Wars, Avengers and zombies, a little horror, a little comedy, and a little speed force in this fourth year of Long Beach Comic Con.
- Comic-Con 2012: Back With a Vengeance
Back to San Diego! Comic-Con 2012 was a lot more fun and a lot less overwhelming than usual this year as we took in three days of the four-day convention.
- A matter of perspective
XKCD’s Umwelt art project is the best use of browser-sniffing I’ve ever seen.
- Why the 1990s are Back
Elements of the 1990s are creeping back into comics, music, movies and TV. Pop culture nostalgia runs on a 20-year cycle, and the 80s are on their way out.
- WonderCon 2012 in Anaheim – A Great Weekend Comic-Con
Even more fun than in San Francisco, this year’s con had everything I’ve come to expect at a WonderCon, with more space, so the crowds never got unbearable.
- Comikaze Expo 2011
The first Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles turned out to be a surprsingly big, well-attended and varied convention. But I’m not sure I’d call it a comic con.
- Long Beach Comic and Horror Con 2011: Still Got It
A day at LBCC: costume-watching, cheesy vintage horror comics performed on stage, meeting writers and artists, discovering webcomics, and–hotel rappelling?
- To the New 52
I’m completely uninterested in the mainstream part of the DC Comics relaunch, but then DC’s been slowly killing off my interest, dismantling everything I liked about the DCU for the last several years, so it’s more of a final nail than anything else. I checked out Justice League #1, which basically confirmed my opinion. I’m […]
- Lord of the Rings as an “Event” Comic Book
No doubt it would have tie-ins, side stories, spinoffs, and a bunch of extra tie-ins added to plug the inevitable gaps in the schedule.
- Recent Tech Links: Unmaintainable Code, XKCD on The Cloud and More
How To Write Unmaintainable Code – what not to do when programming. Computer de-evolution: Features that lost the evolutionary war – ITworld ComputerWorld (via Slashdot) Two XKCD comics: First, “The Cloud” explained. Second, anyone who has used command-line utilities on Linux will appreciate Manual Override. International Usability – Big Stuff the Same, Details Differ (Jakob […]
- Links: Ancient World, Eudora, Area 51
Familiar yet alien ancient views of Earth – photorealistic simulations of the world as seen from space, millions of years ago. Back in 2006, Qualcomm effectively discontinued Eudora, though they sponsored a project to extend Mozilla Thunderbird with the look, feel, and some features of Eudora. I lost track of it over the years, but […]
- Recent Links: Moon and More
Linkblogging: SMBC, XKCD, space pics, Flash Forward, mobile web usability and more.
- Marvel or DC? It’s the Universe
I’ve always considered myself a DC fan. I think it’s mainly that it’s where I got started, so I got invested in the DC Universe. That’s what’s familiar, while Marvel always seemed like I’d need to do a ton of research just to get started. (Not necessarily true, of course, that’s just how it seemed.) […]
- (Mad) Scientific Fact: The Girl Genius Novel is Out!
Phil & Kaja Foglio’s Agatha H. and the Airship City adapts the first storyline from their award-winning Girl Genius comic series to prose novel form.
- Long Beach Comic Con 2010 — Saturday Con Report
LBCC is shaping up to be a very artist- and writer-focused convention, definitely worth a visit from Southern California comic book fans.
- Home Libraries
Two comic strips about book collections: Wondermark #442: In Which Beth Keeps Her Books I stumbled on the Wondermark strip at Long Beach Comic-Con and it really hit home, between the fact that I grew up loving books for exactly this reason, and the impending arrival of the next generation. As for Girl Genius, I […]
- Read This Too: The Unwritten
In this Vertigo comic book, the son of a fantasy author finds himself hunted by a cabal that controls the world by controlling the stories people tell.
- Links: Clouds, the Blue ‘e’, and Bobby Tables
Incredible photo from APOD: Clouds, Birds, Moon, Venus. I’ve finally replaced my Woodbridge Snow photo as my desktop wallpaper at home. Microsoft provides an interesting look back at the evolution of the Internet Explorer logo over the past fifteen (yes, fifteen) years. 100-year data preservation. A 350-year-old copy of Shakespeare is still readable. But what […]
- Hey, Look! Comics!
Cool! I’ve been named in The Comics Reporter’s reader poll on Name Five Writers About Comics You Like That Aren’t On CR’s Home Team Of Tom Spurgeon And Bart Beaty. It’s an impressive list, and with some of the big names on it, almost intimidating to be included. If you’re visiting here for the first […]
- Comic-Con 2010: Saturday. Into the Con and Out Again
Saturday was the big day for big presentations: Harry Potter, Green Lantern, Sucker Punch, Leverage, No Ordinary Family. Throngs of people, and islands of stillness.
- Long-Awaited Fantasy Books: Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Wheel of Time, Ice and Fire
Back in 2005, Tokyopop started working on manga-style graphic novels based on Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. They released one volume of three planned for Legends of the Dark Crystal, taking place centuries before the movie, and two volumes of four planned for Return to Labyrinth, focusing on Sarah’s brother Toby as a […]
- Comic-Con 2010: The Main Floor
The exhibit hall is starting to feel like a city, with an illusion of permanence from year to year. You can’t see it all in one visit, but you can try something different each year.
- Comic-Con Tally: Sketches, Signings & Swag (2010)
Stuff we brought home from Comic-Con this year: signed comics and books, sketches, shirts, posters, and even a water bottle.
- Friday at Comic-Con 2010: Art and Downtown San Diego
Comic-Con takes some getting used to, but it does happen. Friday I did a lot of walking at the convention itself and through the spillover into Downtown.
- Links: Identity, Kindle, Language, and the Moon
Linkblogging: Privacy in terms of identity. The new Kindle. The future of old-timey language. Geek Merit Badges. The Moon Hoax debunked as a comic.
- Comic-Con 2010: Thursday – Crowds and Costumes
A busy day of crowds, lines, costumes, DC Comics, Scott Pilgrim, bad science, twisted genres, Naomi Novik, Geoff Johns and more.
- Four Days at Comic-Con 2010 (Index)
Comic-Con International (San Diego) was fun and exhausting as usual. Here’s an index to all of our panel writeups, quotes, stories and photos.
- Hello, New Friend!
Whenever I see spam that starts out with a subject or greeting like “Hey, friend,” I think of Fluffmodeus from the webcomic Something Positive: TV Tropes describes the grotesque cute character as being “like an ’80s cartoon character who Care-Bear-Stared a little too long into the abyss…” Rippy declared him to be “the most annoying […]
- DC Comics Goes Digital
DC Comics has launched a digital comics program, starting with the iPad/iPhone and the Playstation network. And by launched, I mean launched. As in, you can download the app and buy comics right now. I’m really looking forward to the day when they expand this to more platforms (desktop PCs, Android and Windows–based tablets, etc) […]
- Mental Telepathy
It’s just redundant, like “big giant” or “fast speedster.” Is there any such thing as non-mental telepathy? It was nice to see someone taken to task in this panel from a Flash story…back in 1978!
- Zing Zang Zoom
Every time I see this, I’m reminded of the dragon-like Marvel Comics monster (and Iron Man foe) Fin Fang Foom. Of course, the really funny part is that this sign is advertising an event from last July…and it’s still there!
- Anaheim Comic Con 2010 (Saturday Con Report)
Wizard World returns to LA with a show that’s more about celebrities than comics, but has lots of Star Wars and Batman. Plus: Anaheim as a convention town.
- Central City Comic Con
I stopped for coffee on the way to Anaheim Comic Con. Yes, actually, I am wearing a Flash T-shirt. Why do you ask?
- WonderCon 2010 Experience
Photos and write-up of a day at WonderCon in San Francisco. It’s still fun, but it’s beginning to get more crowded – if nowhere near San Diego Comic-Con levels!
- How to Get a Hotel for Comic-Con
Planning to go to San Diego, but couldn’t get a hotel room through the convention? Here are some things you can try to find a place to stay during the con.
- Comic-Con Hotel Experience: 2010
After 8 hours I finally got my hotel confirmation. It wasn’t one of the 12 I’d requested, but it’s downtown. Here’s what happened, from what I could see.
- Fighting Vampires in Office Max
CBR’s coverage of the WildStorm panel at Emerald City Comicon yesterday includes a great bit in which, due to technical difficulties with the slide show, CBR’s reporter was put on the spot to ask the panelists a question: “If you were stuck in an Office Max during a full scale vampire attack, what would you […]
- I’m Batman!
As I left for work this morning, I overheard a small child somewhere gleefully exclaiming, “I’m BATMAN!!” over and over again.
- Myth-Quotations
Myth Adventures, Phil Foglio’s comic-book adaptation of Robert Asprin’s fantasy/comedy novel, Another Fine Myth, is being serialized as a free webcomic [Edit: no longer available.], in the same format as Girl Genius. I remember spending a lot of effort tracking down the mid-1980s books on eBay, before they finally reissued the collection. The title of […]
- Moon Girl Fights Time!
Moon Girl, a golden-age comic known for its rapid title and genre changes, is back after 60 years…on the iPhone.
- Tori Amos vs. the Hulk
I never thought I’d see Tori Amos show up in a Marvel Comics comedy video starring M.O.D.O.K. — or that when someone started singing Christmas songs, it would be the Hulk. From the M.O.D.O.K. Holiday Special.
- SMBC Comics on Science
Links to two SMBC comic strips on science: Teaching the controversy, and the question of “why?”
- Con Report: Long Beach Comic Con 2009
The first-ever LBCC was a fun, comics-focused show where I got to meet artists and writers without standing in crazy long lines, and break some Flash news.
- Wizard World LA & Long Beach: A Tale of Two Convention Centers
Wizard World Los Angeles started in Long Beach, moved to LA, then shut down. Long Beach Comic Con rose to take its place. But what’s going on in LA instead?
- Bringing Back the 80s: Super Powers 25th
In 1984, Kenner launched a line of DC super-hero action figures under the name Super Powers. The toys were tied to the Super Friends cartoon, and each had an action: If you squeezed Superman’s legs, he would throw a punch. If you squeezed the Flash’s arms, he would run. Each figure also came with a […]
- Comic-Con 2009 Complete Index
Here’s a quick index to all of our posts about the July 22-26 Comic-Con International in San Diego: here, at Speed Force, and on Flickr.
- Kindle DX: A Digital Comics Platform?
The Kindle DX screen is comparable in size to a manga page. It’s black and white, but it could easily handle print comics without formatting or zoom.
- Satellite Market, Fast Food Options, Ada and More
Last night I learned that the Satellite Market near Disneyland is still there, but the Sputnik-style sign has been replaced. Old & new photos. Side salad vs. fries study: Adding a healthier option caused people to choose the unhealthy option more often. It’s made me a lot more aware of what I order for lunch. […]
- Wolverine in 6 Words
Heals fast, super-sharp claws, grumpy.
- Ringworld Manhattan
Nice! Here & There: A horizonless projection in Manhattan – BERG (via Warren Ellis)
- Pushing Daisies Resurrected in Comics
DC will publish a 12-issue Pushing Daisies comic book by Bryan Fuller, featuring Chuck, Ned, Emerson and Olive versus 1,000 corpses.
- Next for Geoff and Ethan: Vibe: Rebirth!
Apparently preliminary buzz is so good on Flash: Rebirth that DC has already announced the next character getting the Rebirth treatment: Vibe from the 1980s “Detroit-era” Justice League. After Flash, It’s Vibe: Rebirth Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver talk ‘Vibe: Rebirth’ From the first link, Dan Didio explains: It was really a melding of […]
- Why Las Vegas is a BAD idea for Comic-Con
People keep saying Comic-Con should leave San Diego for Las Vegas to get more space, but would it really be an improvement? Here are six reasons why not.
- Comic-Con Hotel Booked – Sort Of (2009)
It took 1 1/2 hours, but I managed to reserve a hotel for this year’s Comic-Con by phone. I never did get through online.
- WonderCon 2009: Saturday Con Report
Saturday at WonderCon: crowds, BSG, DCU, Star Trek, 9, cosplayers and more in San Francisco.
- WonderCon 2009: Friday Con Report
Friday at WonderCon: Farscape, David Mack, Indiana Jones, DC, BOOM!, crowds, Wonder Woman, cosplayers and more in San Francisco.
- Reading Comics on the Phone: Hexed on the G1
A look at the way iVerse’s comic book reader works on the Android-based market, and how well it translates comics from print.
- Not In New York
We went out to the “Great Park” yesterday to see if we could go up in the balloon. It turned out to be completely booked for the day (there was some big ice skating event going on) but we got in some photos on the ground, including a couple of pics with our copy of […]
- Critical Miss
This convention press release tells you all about who’s going to be there and what’s going to happen, but leaves out a critical piece of information.
- Sex-Linked Brand Names
DC Comics recently canceled its Minx line of graphic novels aimed at teen girls, leading to much discussion amongst comics bloggers. I don’t want to talk about why the line folded, but why the line existed in the first place. Why did DC create an entirely new brand in order to go after this audience? […]
- YouToons
Re-watched some classic cartoons yesterday. It started when we were talking about Duck Dodgers at breakfast, and wondered when it had been made. That led to an IMDB lookup, which mentioned it was #4 on a list of 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time from 1994, and that had me looking up “One Froggy Evening” to verify that […]
- New Browser: Google Chrome
Google Chrome seems to be a multi-threaded open-source browser based on WebKit (with some code from Firefox as well), focusing on making a browser that will work well with web applications. It’s got built-in support for the Gears API (not surprising). And, like Firefox 3, IE8, and Opera 9.5, it’ll do full-history search & auto-suggest […]
- Manhunter: Serenity
Let’s play a game! It’s called: Count the Serenity/Firefly references in this Matthew Clark cover for Manhunter #36! You’ll have to click on it for the larger version to see some of them.
- Comic-Con 2008 Photos are Up!
Here they are: Comic-Con 2008 Photos. I’ve only got the first page or so labeled for now, but the photos should finish uploading by the time I post this. I’ll fill in the captions and titles over the next few days. More SDCC 2008 posts.
- Back from Comic-Con (2008)
Voice acting, sketches, waffles, a historic museum, creepy-edition Gaslamp, the Buffy musical, DC Nation, a security mishap, and more on the last day of Comic-Con.
- Comic-Con 2008 Autograph/Sketch Tally
This year I collected a lot of sketches and autographs at SDCC, from regulars like Sergio Aragonés and the Foglios to rare guests like Tori Amos.
- Friday at Comic-Con
Pancake House, Read or Die cosplay, Sci-fi writers Connie Willis and Robert J Sawyer, Humor in Sci-Fi, the Field, and running into people we know.
- The Paper!
Hall costume for the day: Yomiko Readman, Paper Master — from the anime series Read or Die.
- Thursday Afternoon at Comic-Con
Crowd traffic improvements, Batwoman, Sergio & Mark, Girl Genius, the Flash Companion, and liveblogging DC Nation.
- DC, WB, and Elfquest
Interesting if true: the rumor column Lying in the Gutters reports that one of the bones of contention at the Warner Bros/DC Comics film summit was not just the “I’m a Marvel, and I’m a DC” comparison of movie slates, but Elfquest. Wendy and Richard Pini made their deal with DC not just to hand […]
- Arm Fall-Off Boy
Somehow I’d missed this one, though I’d seen people toss the name around (and assumed they were joking). But it seems that yes, the Legion of Super-Heroes did in fact once reject Arm Fall-Off Boy: Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #16, out next week.
- Tori at Comic-Con!
Tori Amos will be signing copies of Comic Book Tattoo at Comic-Con 2008! Good thing I didn’t pre-order it, because I’ll need to buy it onsite to get in.
- Comic Con = Cheapskates?
Why doesn’t San Diego like all the business that Comic-Con brings them? Apparently we don’t spend as much as other conventioneers.
- Announcing SpeedForce.org!
I’ve just launched SpeedForce.org, a companion blog to the website, Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning. Since I started adding news items to the front page of Ride the Lightning, it’s started to get a bit crowded. I thought about converting it to a Delicious feed, but then I realized it really ought to be […]
- The Flash Companion Arrives in July
The Flash Companion details the publication histories of each version of DC Comics’ Fastest Man Alive: Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen.
- Comic-Con – Get Your Tickets Now!
7 weeks to go, and Comic-Con is out of 4-day memberships. Single-day tickets are still available, but it looks like it might sell out this year.
- The Vastness that is Central City
Central City is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to Central City. (With apologies to Douglas Adams.) It’s an old post, but I just found the Absorbascon’s take on Central […]
- Did the Flash Save Comics?
Yesterday’s article about the Flash (warning: major spoilers for this week’s DC Universe: Zero) in the New York Daily News brings up the hero’s key role in launching the Silver Age of Comics. Superheroes had fallen out of favor in the early 1950s, and comics were exploring genres like westerns, horror, romance, etc. When DC […]
- Flash Sighting? Opera: The Fastest Browser Alive!
Opera Software has just released a new beta version of the desktop web browser, Opera 9.50 beta 2. The splash page makes me think of something a bit different, though: Opera 9.5 beta Speed, security, and performance matter. Now, we’ve made the fastest browser in the world even faster. Opera’s new beta is quicker to […]
- Linkblogging: Perspective
The CBLDF has issued a press released detailing the victory in the Gordon Lee case. This was the case in which a comic book store in Rome, Georgia, as part of a 2004 Halloween promotion, was handing out free comics left over from that year’s Free Comic Book Day. Among over 2,000 comics, they accidentally […]
- Conventions and Distance
You can commute to nearby conventions, drive to others, and fly to even more. Once you have to fly anyway, destination matters more than distance.
- Three Kinds of Time
I was thinking about the timeline of DC Comics’ Earth-51 (home to the Great Disaster in Countdown to Final Crisis) and trying to wrap my head around what the past and present might mean for a world that’s been created and destroyed twice in as many years, and realized that some of the time paradoxes […]
- Tori Comics
So, what comic book event of the summer has me the most excited? Is it Marvel’s Secret Invasion? DC’s Final Crisis? The release of The Flash Companion? Geoff Johns returning to The Flash for Rogues’ Revenge? Well, that last one is close, but it’s actually Comic Book Tattoo, the upcoming ~500-page anthology of comic book […]
- Cataloging Worlds
What’s the best way to catalog a fictional multiverse? Clear definitions, or fluid? Names or numbers? How do you choose the numbers?
- Hazards of Q&A Sessions
Time is precious. Don’t waste it with flattery, self-promotion, or claiming to speak for the rest of us. Just ask your question and move on.
- Wizard World LA 2008 – Con Report
Despite missing signs and a bad schedule, I got some comics bargains and met a bunch of artists, writers and actors including John Wesley Shipp, TV’s Flash.
- Black Flash T-Shirt
One of the cool things I discovered at WonderCon was this T-shirt with the emblem of the Black Flash, the personification of death for speedsters and the only Flash villain that Davan MacIntire likes. Okay, it’s just the regular Flash logo with the colors changed, but it means I’ll actually wear it. I’ve never really […]
- Comic Book Convention Prices Compared
On a per-day basis, Comic-Con isn’t actually that expensive compared to other big conventions like Gen Con and Dragon*Con.
- Con-Fusion
I knew MegaCon wasn’t in Los Angeles, but when I looked it up and saw Orange County, I was momentarily confused.
- Finding Back Issues: Then and Now
I’ve had parts of this in draft form for at least 2 years. Last night, while brushing my teeth, I decided to pick it up with a new approach. This morning, I jotted down a couple of notes. And earlier this evening I saw Comics Should Be Good’s post, Where do you buy your comics?—and […]
- Con Report: WonderCon 2008
My first trip to WonderCon in San Francisco. A lot like SDCC, mostly comics with movies and TV thrown in, but I could walk, and I could get autographs!
- Review of Justice League: The New Frontier
One of the highlights of WonderCon this weekend was the premiere of Justice League: The New Frontier. I really liked Darwyn Cooke’s original mini-series, DC: The New Frontier, and I’d been looking forward to the animated adaptation. Overall, I’d say the film succeeds. The story links the dawn of the Silver Age of comics, and […]
- Those Glowing Red Eyes
So, how appropriate is it that Lee Thompson Young, who played Cyborg on Smallville, would show up in an episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles? (Not, as far as we can tell, as a cyborg this time.)
- Essential Graphic Novels
DC Comics has posted a list of 30 Essential Graphic Novels (that are published by DC or one of their imprints). I’ve read: Watchmen The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol. 1 & 2 V for Vendetta Sandman vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes Sandman: Endless Nights Fables vol.1: Legends in Exile Batman: Arkham Asylum Batman: The […]
- Comics I’m Reading – 2008
6 ongoing monthly series, 3 monthly miniseries, 1 weekly, and 5 that are sporadic.
- Chatspeak IRL
Went to the comic store on a late lunch today. As I got in the car, I saw the clerk locking the door. At 2:00, it seemed a bit early for closing, but then I noticed he had just hung up a sign that said: AFK BRB A bit cryptic to the uninitiated*, but probably […]
- The Flash Companion
I just turned in final drafts for the last of three articles I’m contributing to TwoMorrows’ upcoming book, The Flash Companion by Keith Dallas. The book covers the entire history of the Flash, from Jay Garrick through Barry Allen, Wally West, and Bart Allen. It’s full of articles, artwork, and interviews with writers, artists, with […]
- The Ballad of Barry Allen
I just discovered that They’re Everywhere, the album featuring the Flash-themed song, “The Ballad of Barry Allen,” is now available on Amazon’s MP3 store. The band, Jim’s Big Ego, is headed by the nephew of legendary Flash artist Carmine Infantino, who did the cover artwork on the album. And yes, the song’s actually good! It’s […]
- Tori Amos Comics & Concert
Now this is cool: Image Comics will be releasing a graphic novel anthology with stories based on Tori Amos songs next summer! And Colleen Doran is illustrating one of the stories! (Her blog is where I heard about it.) We went to Tori’s concert on Saturday at the Grove of Anaheim. The standing-room show was […]
- Bart? Keystone? Hmm…
I could not believe I managed to spot these next to each other. I mean, Bart and Keystone? It’s right up there with Flash Transport.
- Not the Flash
Speedster? Check. “World’s fastest man?” Check. Skin-tight costume? Check. Wings on head? Check. Lightning motif? Check. Round insignia on chest? Check. Yellow boots? Check. I first saw this ad for movietickets.com with 3:10 To Yuma a few months ago. He’s trying to impress his date by running and buying the tickets for their movie while […]
- Bully!
At long last, I’ve located a copy of Tales from the Bully Pulpit! It’s a sci-fi comedy graphic novel featuring a time-traveling Teddy Roosevelt and the ghost of Thomas Edison, battling a descendant of Adolf Hitler. On Mars. Wearing mecha armor. (No, really, I am not making this up!) Seriously, how can you co wrong […]
- Flash Movie Runs Through Another Director
Well, MTV is reporting (possible spoilers for JLA movie) that David Dobkin has taken over as director of the still-vaporware Flash feature film. Dobkin replaces Shawn Levy, who himself replaced David Goyer. Keeping up? Goyer has long experience with super-heroes, having written or co-written Batman Begins, two of the Blade films and the TV show, […]
- Flashes in the top 50
Last month, Comics Should Be Good ran a fan poll for the top 50 DC characters and top 50 Marvel characters. They’ve been posting the results over the last few weeks, finishing on Friday. The four main Flashes all made it to the top 50, and one even made it to the top 5. #3. Flash: […]
- Speed Force
I just discovered that the domain name speedforce.org was available. I couldn’t pass it up. Now I have to figure out what to do with it. I’ve toyed with the idea of separating out all the Flash stuff from this blog and creating a dedicated comics blog. I’ve also thought about renaming the site, Flash: […]
- Flash vs. the Pirate Torpedo
Arr! Barry Allen may not know how to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, but he do celebrate Jog Like a Pirate Day! From Showcase #13, it’s “Around the World in 80 Minutes,” a tale of the Flash. (Mostly he runs around the world, helps people out, and gets kissed by women. Aye, it be […]
- Is there demand for more Flash Archives?
Has the Flash exhausted the material for which collectors are willing to pay a premium? Or are there still stories that are worth the effort to reprint?
- Halo and Sprocket to Return
I just discovered that cartoonist Kerry Callen is working on a new volume of Halo and Sprocket to be released next year! The book ran for just 4 issues about 5 years ago, plus a few more short stories that appeared elsewhere. It’s about a trio of unlikely roommates: the human Katie, the angel Halo, […]
- From DM of the Rings to Chainmail Bikini
After a year, DM of the Rings is finished. The comic recast Lord of the Rings as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, using stills (sometimes brilliantly chosen) from the Peter Jackson–directed movie trilogy in a comic-strip format. The series poked fun at RPG tropes and player types, with the players’ dialog given to the LOTR […]
- BEM: Ladies Man
A bizarre PSA I found in a 1967 comic book: Brains, Emotions and Muscles each try to chat up a girl at a party, but only BEM will convince her to dance!
- Webcomics
This weekend I added a couple of webcomics to my daily reads. I’d been pointed to individual strips at Shortpacked! and xkcd, and in the latter case, I kept meaning to add it to my list and forgot. Shortpacked is all about pop culture, action figures and comics. In tone, it reminds me of Sluggy […]
- Flash Greatest Stories Redux
Today DC Comics released The Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, a collection of classic Flash stories ranging from 1947–1994. Back in February, when they announced the contents, I did a point-by-point comparison of the stories to be included and the stories that appeared in the 1991 book, The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told. When […]
- Mike Wieringo (1963-2007)
This weekend I re-read Tellos, a fantasy comic book that ran from 1999-2000. Writer Todd Dezago and artist Mike Wieringo took a 6-month hiatus to prepare the next story arc, but that arc never materialized. Just a few one-shots and an anthology mini that explored backstories and aftermath, with a few hints at the upcoming story. Though […]
- Comic-Con: Filling in the Gaps
Some random thoughts and anecdotes about Comic-Con that didn’t make it into other posts: It’s amazing that out of (reportedly) 140,000 people, you’re virtually guaranteed to run into people you know. For instance, I knew in person 8 people besides the two of us who were definitely going to the convention. Without planning, I ran […]
- Artist Encounters
Wednesday morning before we left for San Diego, I made a last-minute addition to my small stack of stuff to get signed: Sergio Aragonés’ issue of Solo. During my first half-hour at Comic-Con on Thursday, I found myself at the Groo booth, face to face with the artist. When I asked him to sign it, […]
- After Final Crisis
I doubt Final Crisis will be the last big DC Comics event. But if this one’s Final, what are you going to call the next one?
- Comic-Con Photos are up for 2007!
After a post-Comic-Con evening of sorting and labeling, here they are: 293 pictures of costumes, convention sights, San Diego and more!
- Pirates vs. Sylar
I’m still attending Comic-Con in civvies, but Katie wore two costumes this year: another update of her pirate outfit on Friday, and a Sylar victim with a telekinetic slice across her forehead. Saturday, of course, for the big Heroes panel. She did the makeup from scratch, using latex and fake blood, and got a lot […]
- Flash Sightings at Comic-Con
I saw quite a few Flash T-shirts in San Diego this year, but only two people dressed as the Flash. Interestingly, both were women.
- Comic Cons Should Be Good
My daily San Diego Comic-Con 2007 reports are up at Comics Should Be Good, and photos are up here on Hyperborea.
- #100 Covers
While putting together a list of Flash comic books with variant covers, I remembered the #100 covers DC did back in 1995. Several of the series that were relaunched after Crisis on Infinite Earths hit #100 that year. DC made the issue number larger than usual, and put it on a ribbon design. They also […]
- Who Named Impulse?
Superman, Batman, and Max Mercury have all been cited as giving comic-book speedster Bart Allen the name Impulse. Batman most famously in Impulse #50, and Superman just recently in the previews for next month’s All-Flash #1. But who named him originally? The name first appears on the cover of Flash #93 (August 1994), with an […]
- Flash Foreshadowing
The very first issue of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive starring Bart Allen features the Black Flash and a hint that death may already be stalking the hero.
- Dead Flash Covers
The Flash has a long tradition of appearing dead on the covers of his comics, and most of the time he gets back up again.
- Relaunching the Flash—again
Well, now we know why DC has been infuriatingly vague about what happens in Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #14-15. The answer: Nothing. That’s right, nothing happens in issues #14-15 — because they don’t exist! In an interview with Newsarama, Mark Waid revealed that DC is canceling the current series after #13, and relaunching it […]
- Extinguishing a Speedster’s Smokes
Comic Coverage recently posted a humorous look at the role smoking had in the Golden-Age Flash’s origin. Jay Garrick was working late, took a cigarette break, and knocked over a beaker of “hard water.” Interestingly, later retellings of his origin downplayed and finally deleted the cigarette. First, here are the original 1940 panels from Flash […]
- Double helping of Moonshine
A question over at the Comic Bloc Forums reminded me that I hadn’t gotten around to writing a full profile of the Impulse villain, White Lightning. Fortunately I had a full list of appearances already, so I was able to look up the answer to the question, but it felt like being caught totally unprepared. […]
- Teen Titans Body Count
With current and former Teen Titans dying by the handful in DC’s big events, Infinite Crisis, World War III and Countdown, I’ve decided it’s time to take a look at the comics’ body count. Going back to the beginning of the team, which members have died? Which have come back? Here’s a list of all the […]
- Comics and the World War II Home Front
Two months ago I picked up a copy of the comic book All-Flash #15 (Summer 1944), published during the thick of World War II. In the bottom margin of each page is a slogan, in rhymed couplet form, on how children could help with the war effort: Bottom Lines on Following Pages Tell What to […]
- Victimized Hero
I didn’t think I had anything to add to the discussion on the infamous Heroes For Hire #13 cover. (Some of those links possibly NSFW.) Something stuck in my mind, though. Typolad suggested that “you would never, ever see Marvel or DC make a cover like this with a male protagonist. Yes, a male hero […]
- Thoughts on Heroes: “How to Stop an Exploding Man”
The Heroes season finale was excellent. They did a good job of resolving the main story arc established at the beginning of the season (the bomb threatening New York City), balanced action and characterization, answered some questions while still leaving things open—and set up a really interesting situation for season 2. It’s also nice to see […]
- Showcasing the Flash
The first volume of Showcase Presents: The Flash came out today, reprinting ~500 pages of Silver-Age Flash stories in black-and-white for cheap. If you’re familiar with Marvel’s Essential line, it’s the same concept. I took a look at it to see what stories were included. (DC’s solicits didn’t say.) As expected, it features the first […]
- Super-hero Weaknesses
If your hero has to have an off-switch, that’s kind of a sign that they’ve been over-powered, isn’t it?
- Flash Smash Crash!
Hmm, I wonder how many newsstands displayed these books next to each other: An explanation: I recently stumbled across a mention of Smash Comics, a series from Quality Comics that ran more or less concurrently with the more familiar Flash Comics. Just for kicks, I searched the Grand Comics Database (which is where I got […]
- Flash: Greatest Stories and Off on a Tangent
DC Comics released their July solicitations today, along with some of the books due in August. They managed to say absolutely nothing informative (or, to be honest, particularly interesting) about Flash #14—just that it’s going to be big. C’mon, show, don’t tell! On the plus side, we now have a cover and a confirmed date […]
- Pro(to)zac
One of the characters I encountered early in my exploration of Golden Age Flash stories was Ebenezer Jones, the Worry Wart. In fact, All-Flash #24 (1946) was one of those first two GA Flash books I bid on just to see if I could win. The story in that book referred to previous meetings. If it […]
- 300 Thoughts
I haven’t seen 300 yet. But not because I’m not interested in the story. I hadn’t heard of the Battle of Thermopylae until a few years ago, when I picked up a book called Atlantis Gate, by Greg Donegan. It was a sci-fi/fantasy thriller involving a war across time for the fate of the world. […]
- Con Report: Wizard World LA 2007
With most of the panels done, Sunday was a nice, low-key chance to hunt for comics and fill in my collection. Getting to the con was a bit of a challenge.
- Fighting Irish
I caught a story on The World (PRI) today about Los Angeles band Ollin’s song tribute to Saint Patrick’s Battalion (in Spanish, El Batallón de Los San Patricios)—a group of several hundred primarily Irish Americans who, during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), left the US Army to fight alongside the Mexicans. They fought fiercely for a […]
- Who’d’a thunk it? (Uncovering the origin of the Thinker)
After almost 1½ years, my Golden-Age back-issue hunt finally netted a relatively cheap copy of All-Flash #12, the first appearance of the Flash villain, the Thinker. It’s an odd read, because the origin of the Thinker (a mob boss who plans his heists very meticulously) is interwoven with a slapstick story of the Three Dimwits. […]
- The Secret Life of the Invulnerable Cheerleader
I was browsing the DVD releases at Target this weekend, and saw the box for Bring it On: All or Nothing. I did a double-take, because right there on the cover was Claire Bennet from Heroes: Yes, shortly before Hayden Panettiere played a cheerleader with super-powers on Heroes, she played a cheerleader in a direct-to-video […]
- I Wonder where that Woman is?
For all the griping and complaining about the way DC Comics managed the Flash relaunch, I’m beginning to think maybe Wonder Woman fared even worse. At least Flash has stayed monthly, and has never been delayed by more than a week (unless you count the shipping mishap in December that prevented the book from reaching […]
- Comic-Con Hotel Booked! (2007)
Jammed phone lines, a busy fax, and an overloaded website turned a 5-minute booking process into an agonizing hour of waiting, timeouts, errors and restarts
- Flash: The Greatest Stories Ever Told?
In 1991, DC released The Greatest Flash Stories Ever Told, part of a series of hardcovers collecting classic stories about their signature characters. It was reprinted in softcover a few years later, but both editions have been long out of print. When DC started releasing new “Greatest Stories…” books last year, I figured it was […]
- Smallville Traffic Spike 2.0
After last week’s Smallville episode, “Justice,” featured Cyborg, Aquaman, Green Arrow and the Flash Impulse, there was another spike in traffic to my Flash site and the profile of Bart Allen, Smallville Edition. It jumped up to 1½ times the usual number of visits on the day “Justice” aired, then quickly started trailing off to […]
- Smallville Flash
With Bart Allen returning to Smallville tonight—alongside Cyborg, Green Arrow, and Aquaman—I find myself wondering about the best way to hang onto just a few episodes. Last night I went looking for my tape of “Run,” the first episode in which he appeared, and I couldn’t find it. I have no interest in buying full […]
- The Longest-Running Flash
A post on the Comic Bloc Forums the other day made me think about the question: Which Flash had the longest solo career? It depends on how you measure it. The original Flash, Jay Garrick, has of course been around the longest: 1940–today. He’s got more than 65 years on his successors. But a more […]
- Joined ComicSpace
Figured what the heck. I’m now on ComicSpace. Because I need yet another site to suck up all my time. It’s being described as MySpace for comics people—creators, fans, reviewers, etc.—though the feature set is pretty sparse right now. I’ve resisted MySpace itself partly because of a somewhat adversarial relationship with the site*, partly because […]
- Flash Fraud
Got an interesting phish today. Subject: Error in your billing information From: Keystone Savings Bank. Hmm, Keystone, eh? 😉
- DC’s Missed Opportunity
As of two weeks ago, DC was still talking about its upcoming Infinite Christmas special. Yesterday, the book came out, complete with a logo based on the Infinite Crisis logo. Only it had been renamed the Infinite Holiday special, ruining the joke. No word on why they changed it, but someone on the Newsarama forums […]
- Whaam!
I’d known that artist Roy Lichtenstein‘s most famous works were done in the style of gigantic comic book panels. Something I didn’t know was that many of those paintings weren’t just in the style of comic panels, but were blown-up copies of specific panels from actual comic books (done, of course, by other artists). An […]
- Infinity, Inc. and Beyond!
In 52 Week 21, Lex Luthor’s super-heroes were finally given a team name and code names: Infinity, Inc. About half of the individual names are recycled from former members of the real Infinity, Inc.: Fury, Skyman, Nuklon, etc. Interestingly enough, it turns out that a month ago, someone posted a different set of names [update: […]
- Naming Zatara
I flipped through Teen Titans #39, which introduces the new Zatara. He’s apparently Zatanna’s cousin, which makes him the original Zatara’s nephew (appropriate for a cartoon character). OK, that makes sense. He’s got a connection to the original, he’s got a right to the name, he’s got a legacy of magic, DC gets to keep […]
- DC Catches up on Fallen Angel
All right! DC has announced that they will be releasing a second collection of Peter David and David Lopez’ Fallen Angel! The creator-owned series lasted for 20 issues at DC before low sales finally did it in. After the cancellation, IDW approached Peter David and offered the series a new home at their company. With […]
- Comic Thought of the Day
Adam Strange started out as an archaeologist. Which means he probably had a PhD. Which means, on Earth, his proper form of address would be Dr. Strange.
- Terrorism in Comics
I wasn’t going to post anything about the five-year anniversary of 9/11 because I didn’t feel like I could add anything that hasn’t already been said. But a discussion at Comics Should Be Good reminded me of a mailing list post I made five years ago, on September 17, 2001, on the subject of terrorism […]
- Minicon: LA Sci-Fi, Flash and Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo
My second trip to the LA Comic-Con at the Shrine proved far more interesting than my first, with a Teen Titans screening, signings, and some cool discoveries
- Continuity Punches, Earth-Prime, and Plotting Power
While writing an article on Earth-Prime yesterday, I had an interesting thought linking Superboy Prime’s “continuity punches” from Infinite Crisis with the early appearances of Earth Prime. DC Comics established Earth-Prime as the reader’s world. It was basically the same as the real world, with no super-heroes, and allowed DC characters to interact with a […]
- Comic-Con Photos are Up! (2006)
I’ve just posted our photos from Comic-Con. Cosplayers, San Diego sightseeing, comic creators, random convention stuff, etc. Check out all our Comic-Con 2006 posts!
- Only in San Diego? Volume 3, Part 2
Friday afternoon I was walking down Fifth with a couple of Subway sandwiches in my backpack. This section of the Gaslamp Quarter is almost entirely restaurants, and most of them have dining areas out on the street, with the host or hostess’ podium right there on the sidewalk. I had spotted something odd ahead of […]
- Comic-Con Costume Coverage
Have you noticed that media acts like EVERYONE at Comic-Con is in costume? TV shows actually recruit extra cosplayers to stand in the background.
- Con Sundae
Sunday at SDCC was, oddly, more crowded than Saturday. Maybe it was the desperation of the last day combined with the fact that it was still on the weekend. We got in later, closer to 11:30, since we spent the morning packing. I did a final round of back-issue hunting, and ended up not buying […]
- Saturday at Comic Con
Neither of us spent more than an hour or so on the floor on Saturday, in part out of self-defense. Comic-Con is usually the most crowded on Saturdays, though we didn’t see much difference from Friday this year. After the Flash panel, I went back to my back issue hunt. Found quite a few in […]
- 50 Years of the Flash at Comic-Con 2006
Carmine Infantino, Mark Waid, Geoff Johns, Danny Bilson, Paul DeMeo & Brian Bolland talk about their parts in the history of Barry Allen, Fastest Man Alive.
- Fry Day at Comic-Con
I spent more time walking around outside today, so I did get to fry a bit. (Not too much, fortunately.) Oddly enough, one of the first hall costumes I saw on Friday was Thor. Caught the Stardust preview. It looks very promising. Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess were there, of course, plus screenwriter Jane Goldman […]
- A brief conversation with Sergio Aragonés
In which I apologized that I couldn’t make it to the Sergio and Mark panel this year, and the artist made the perfect response.
- Thor’s Day
Not that I saw anyone dressed as Thor, but it seemed an appropriate description for a Thursday at Comic-Con. No earth-shattering news so far, but then it was only a Thursday. Katie went to the voice acting panel and the Animaniacs panel (mostly in connection with next week’s DVD release. I went to the Carmine […]
- Badges? You don’t get no stinking badges!
There was no line by the time we reached Comic Con, but we had to bounce around to multiple tables before we could pick up our badges and get inside.
- Hollywood and Space
Some interesting comments by Warren Ellis in today’s Bad Signal on film budgets, and Superman Returns in particular. $250 million puts you in spacelaunch-budget territory. For $250 million WB could’ve given Bryan Singer his own communications satellite and spent the change on a George Clooney movie. This is the absurdity of modern Hollywood; that taking […]
- Variations on a Theme
I read Shadowpact #2 last night. So far the book does read better than Day of Vengeance, probably in large part because Bill Willingham can set his own schedule instead of the must-be-6-issues policy of the Infinite Crisis lead-ins. One of the villains struck me as familiar, though: an albino swordsman with a magic sword, […]
- When it has to be there in a Flash
A while back I was driving on the freeway and noticed a truck with this logo: OK, so I’m maybe a bit focused on the Flash, but then I started looking at the design. Red as the main color Sans-serif capital italics (just like the longest-running versions of the Flash logo) A lightning bolt that […]
- Double your Angel, double your fun!
It seems that there will be two Fallen Angel collections on the shelves this August. To coincide with IDW’s book collecting the first story arc of their series, DC is reprinting their TPB of the first few issues of the original series. Fallen Angel started as a creator-owned book at DC and ran for 20 […]
- Look, it’s Expo-Lad!
Spam subject: this going to expolad It’s a stock spam, and what they’re trying to say is “This is going to explode.” But doesn’t “Expo-Lad” sound like a character from the Legion of Super-Heroes? Just imagine: “No one wants to come to our convention! What can we do?” “Never fear! Expo-Lad will save us!” Update: […]
- One-Man Team
Something I’ve noticed as I read through various Golden-Age Flash Comics is a repeated subgenre in which the Flash plays an entire team. “Nine Empty Uniforms” (Flash Comics #90, 1947) is the first one I read, since it was reprinted in an 80-page Giant. The bad guys cause problems for a baseball team, so the […]