Good Morning Semantinkerers!

Last year around this time I was putting up a lot of Halloween-themed blogs, ranging from comic characters in costume to the best funny book jack-o-lanterns. Sadly, this year my duties to Semantink have limited my blogging frequency, but there are a ton of great holiday inspired posts out there, and I thought I would share a few of them with you today!

DRESSING UP– Comics Alliance has a fun article focusing on when heroes dress up as other heroes. The site also has a great set of pictures on Green Lantern themed Jack-o-lanterns you should check out if you have some free time.

ZOMBIEMAKER– With AMC debuting The Walking Dead on Halloween, it seems like a great time to interview the comic book series co-creator and original artist, Tony Moore. Newsarama has done just that. It’s a very nice interview with Moore talking about projects old and new.

MASH-UPS- For the last few months, Comic Book Resources has been doing a weekly segment entitled “The Line Is Drawn” which takes a different theme every week (like comic book characters mashed up with comic strip characters, or comic book characters mixed with video games), and allows people to tweet in suggestions for what they would like to see, at which point staff artists draw the suggestions. This week’s theme is comic book characters with horror characters. The results are pretty fun.

THAT’S NOT RIGHT- Bam!Kapow has a rather hilarious article titled “Sexy Halloween Costumes That Shouldn’t Be”, and it’s exactly what you think it is.

This is just a small sample of the Halloween fun out there. For all you fine folks who are out and about in Long Beach this weekend, Semantink will be wandering around at the Long Beach Comic Con, so feel free to shoot us a line and chat us up! Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone, and thanks for stopping by.

Good Morning Semantinkerers!

A few weeks ago, we saw the end of an era as DCE finally shut the doors of Wildstorm Studios. About a month ago, I was lamenting what had happened with Wildstorm in the last few years, but I’m still sad to see them go, especially the way in which it happened. For the better part of the last twenty years, Wildstorm has been a wonderful outlet for creators, and seemingly overnight (I’m sure the decision was a long time coming) this wonderful studio is gone. I could rant and rave about the injustice of the move, try to predict what would happen to the talented staff that was employed with the studio, or examine how this is actually pretty standard for DC comics imprints (Milestone, Helix, and Paradox all suffered similar fates), but I prefer to reminisce about all the awesomeness that Wildstorm gave us over the last few decades. Today I want to look back at my top 10 Wildstorm books over the years. Let’s get crackin’!

10)  CRIMSON: Probably the last time that I actually cared about vampires. This book by Brian Augustyn and Humberto Ramos was an enjoyable story with a ton of energy. It lost it’s way a little bit after the initial arc, but it was like Twilight, without the creepy pedophilia vibe. Hot teenage vampires, werewolves, and some dude named Joe the Indian. Like most of the Cliffhanger Imprint, this was just fun.

9) ARROWSMITH: An alternative history story by Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco. Imagine World War I, only with dragons! This was some of Pacheco’s best art, filled with energy, but still very solid on the storytelling. Busiek gave you characters you could relate to  in an interesting setting. It wasn’t anything mind-blowing, but every issue was a joy.

DESOLATION JONES: This series just did not come out often enough. The story of a ex-MI6 agent who is on lock down in LA, making his living doing detective work for other ex-spooks could have turned out cliched, but Warren Ellis and JH Williams III blew this one out of the water.  Sadly this series only made it through it’s initial six issues, with a second mini (art by Danijel Zezilj) only making it through two issues before the series went on “hiatus”, but the little bit of Jones that I saw made me long for more. Where else are you going to see a drug addled ex-spy hunt down Hitler’s lost porn stash? Nowhere.

7) DANGER GIRL: Say what you will, but this book was fantastic. It read like a James Bond Movie with a higher hot woman quotient. Yes, the story wasn’t original, but that wasn’t the point. The point was to show women in skimpy outfits engaging in ridiculously fun stunts to save the world. Since the initial mini-series by J. Scott Campbell and Andy Hartnell, there have been a long series of minis and one-shots, but it was that first six issue story that really blew my mind.

6) MR. MAJESTIC: Over the years there have been a lot of Superman wannabes (The Sentry, Hyperion, Supreme), but none of them hold a candle to Mr. Majestic. Joe Casey, Brian Holguin and Ed McGuiness actually made Mr. Majestic  cooler than Supes, and showed what a book about an alien who looks like a human and is nigh-invulnerable should look like. McGuiness actually was so dynamic in this series, he wound up scoring the art chores on SUPERMAN for a while.

5) WILDC.A.T.S./ WILDCATS: This book would have made this list solely based on the fact that it started the WS universe, but add in the fact that this book was actually really good for quite a while and you have got a must-have on the list. When the C.A.T.S started, it was Jim Lee’s pretty pictures and a very X-men like team that was just kind of boring. Then came James Robinson. Then Alan Moore. Add in art by Travis Charest and Matt Broome, and you have got a winner. When the book relaunched, you got more amazing Charest art, with a very serviceable Scott Lobdell story. When delays hit the book, Joe Casey took over and really kicked the book into over drive with artist Sean Phillips. All of this lead to Wildcats volume 3 with Joe Casey and Dustin Nguyen, which took a superhero book and turned it into a corporate espionage story (that description actually does the story injustice, but I could spend another page on explaining the plot of version3). The fact remains that Wildcats was consistently good for a long, long time.

4) THE AUTHORITY: It’s no secret that this book shaped the look of comics for the last decade. This was the book that made “wide-screen” action in comics popular, and that is due to the amazing work of Artist Bryan Hitch. Writer Warren Ellis pushed the envelope with this book to see how far a super-team could go, and when Mark Millar took over (with mostly Frank Quitely on art), he just burnt the envelope and threw the ashes on people. For a few glorious years, this was the best book in comic-dom.

3) AMERICA’S BEST COMICS: I know that it’s a cop out to lump all of Alan Moore’s WS work together, but that’s what I am doing. It was just too hard to choose one. Moore’s America’s Best Comics line offered me a variety of greratness. If I wanted fun pulpy stories, I had Tom Strong. If I wanted mythology, I had Promethea. I had Top 10 for my drama, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen gave me a brilliant mash-up of Victorian literature. All of Moore’s stories were filled with the usual Moore insanity brilliance, and the art on all the books was consistently amazing.

2)  EX MACHINA: The last great book to be put out by WS. Brian K. Vaughn made politics interesting with only a hint of super-heroics, and Tony Harris’ photo-realistic art made the book a winner.

1) PLANETARY: This should really come as no surprise to anyone. I rave about this book every chance I get. Warren Ellis and John Cassaday (and colorist Laura Martin) spent over a decade spinning one of the finest stories in all of comic-dom. Ellis played with a variety of storytelling formats, and was still able to blend them together seamlessly. Cassaday was able to keep pace, making every issue unique and beautiful. I’m just happy that this book was able to conclude before Wildstorm closed it’s doors.

That’s it for this week, folks. Did I miss any of your favorite Wildstorm books? Let me know. On a separate note, next weekend, Semantink will have it’s first official convention booth at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. If you are in the area, stop by! We will be selling all kinds of goodies, there will be signings and give-aways, it’s a party you won’t want to miss. Hope to see you there!

Good Morning Semantinkists!

Today I want to take a look at a massively under-rated part of the comic book creative process: Coloring. For most of the last century, coloring was a tedious process whereby the colorist would use dyes or inks to color over photocopies of inked pages. These pages would be used as a guide for printers to wonk with as they then printed the books. This old technique got the job done as well as anything available at the time, but the end result was very flat. Take a look at the cover to Marvel Comics SECRET WARS (pencilled by the awesome Mick Zeck):

While the piece above was great for the time, the coloring process was really only that, coloring. All of the texture and mood was left to the pencil and ink team. This began to change in the late 1980s, when computer coloring came into the mix, something that Image comics really helped to push the industry into. Nowadays, the colorist is just as important a part of the storytelling process as the penciller, inker or writer. Here’s an example from DC comic FLASH: REBIRTH (pencils by Ethan Van Scriver):

At first look you might not catch a whole lot of difference between old coloring and new except for a larger color palette, but look a little closer: the subtle glow of the computer monitor on Robin, the gradients on the stone walls, the lighting interacting with Star-Spangled Kid’s hair. The coloring process has become a huge part of comic book creation. With that in mind I would like to share with you all a few of my favorite colorists working in comics today.

Laura Martin

Where have I seen her work? PLANETARY, THE AUTHORITY, ASTONISHING X-MEN, RUSE, THE NEW AVENGERS, THE ROCKETEER

Why is she so awesome? Martin was one of the first colorists that actually got me to stand up and take note of coloring as an art form unto itself. A multiple recipient of the Eisner award for best colorist (2000, 2002), Martin has a versatility that few others possess. While she can have a superbly bombastic palette for superhero-type fare, she can also become far more subtle when it is required. She has an amazing hold on lighting and how it interacts with environments. In short, Martin is the gold standard.

Alex Sinclair

Where have I seen his work? ASTRO CITY, WILDCATS, BLACKEST NIGHT, FLASH:REBIRTH

Why is he so awesome? Sinclair is the creme-de-la-creme of action/adventure coloring. When Sinclair colors a book, you can tell right away, as the colors almost jump off the page at you. Theres a shine and a polish to Sinclair’s work that shows how long he has been doing this.

Dave Stewart

Where have I seen his work? HELLBOY, B.P.R.D., CONAN, TOM STRONG, LUNA PARK

Why is he so awesome? Stewart is a multiple Eisner award winner for coloring, and while Laura Martin has won the award a few times, Stewart has won the thing 6 times. Where Sinclair is bright and brash and shiny, Dave stewart is subtle and complex. He can do the bright and loud coloring when the time calls for it, but his best work is when he is able to bring life to a page with a moody and muted array of colors. HELLBOY has long been praised from an artistic standpoint for being able to have such a beautifully gothic tone, and Dave Stewart is a big reason why.

Morry Hollowell

Where have I seen his work?  CIVIL WAR, SPIDER-MAN, WOLVERINE, THE AVENGERS

Why is he so awesome? Hollowell broke into the industry with Crossgen a few years ago, but his pairings with penciller Steve McNiven have really gotten my attention. Mc Niven (and inker Dexter Vines) fills the page with scads of line work, which another colorist might become overwhelmed by, but not Hollowell. He is definitely a colorist who is entering their prime.

If I didn’t mention your favorite colorist, please let me know. Now, we have some big news coming up next week, so stay tuned, excitement is about for Semantink. Thanks for stopping in folks, have a great Thursday.

Good Morning Semantinkers!

First, I want to say how excited I am about our first trade paperback, MYTHOI Book 1: Birth being released tomorrow! It looks great, and for those who have ordered your copy, you will not be disappointed. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s move on shall we? The other night I was reading through my STARMAN omnibi (I think thats the plural of omnibus) and came across the magnificent HELLBOY/BATMAN/ STARMAN crossover at the end of omnibus #4. I know what you are thinking, “Why were you reading STARMAN again? You read that book too much!” Well let me just say that some books are always going to kick ass, no matter how many times you read them (like, oh, say MYTHOI). However, I digress. Reading the crossover got me to thinking about how much I used to really love the inter-company crossover event, so today I am going to share my favorite crossover books.

Hellboy/Batman/ Starman: This crossover is just straight up fun. James Robinson (writer of STARMAN at the time) wrote this two-parter, with Mike Mignola (HELLBOY creator) providing the art. If you love angry ancient gods, witty dialogue, mystically powered super-Nazis, moody art, towns with large telescopes pointed at them, or random super-teamups, then you should definitely give this book a look.

Spider-man/ Batman: To be fair, I haven’t read this book in a few years, but I have fond memories of it. THere were actually two SPIDERMAN/ BATMAN crossovers that I know of, but the one that I am speaking of here was titled “Disordered Minds” and featured Spidey and Bats taking on The Joker and Carnage. The creative team was J.M. DeMatteis and Mark Bagley (who really should be considered as one of the seminal SPIDER-MAN artists). At the time I thought this one was dark and moody and cool. I’m afraid if I go back and re-read it I will be disappointed.

X-Men/ Teen Titans: This comic actually got me into X-men and the Teen Titans as a kid (well this and the “Pryde of the X-men” cartoon I got from Pizza Hut with Aussie Wolverine). Chris Claremont channeled his inner Marv Wolfman (TEEN TITANS writer at the time) and the always amazing Walt Simonson made both teams look amazing. This was a case of two books in their prime meshing perfectly. Darkside hunting for the phoenix force? Awesome. Wolverine vs. Deathstroke? Whatever is better than awesome, that’s what it was. Today, the book is somewhat dated, but still a fun and nostalgic read.

WildC.A.T.s/ Aliens: This one gets a mention for the sheer fact that I can’t think of another crossover that actually led to proper comic book continuity being effected. In the story (penned by Warren Ellis with art by Chris Sprouse), Aliens wind up on the Stormwatch space station and wreck house, only to be stopped by the WildC.A.T.s . Without this crossover, we never would have gotten THE AUTHORITY. So thank you Aliens, without your acid blood and face-hugging love, we might never have gotten one of the greatest comics of the last 20 years.

Batman/ The Darkness: You might notice that there are a ton of Batman-centric crossovers on this list. Why? Because they just seem to be the best. Deal With it. This one makes the list because David Finch and Marc Silvestri both draw a crazy good Batman AND an even better Darkness. The story is “meh” (Jeph Loeb and Scott Lobdell aren’t Alan Moore) but damn is it pretty.

Batman/ Planetary: Probably the best book on the list. This one shot from the regular PLANETARY team of Warren Ellis and John Cassaday chasing after a guy who can’t control his rather violent ability to change reality around himself. The hunt happens in Gotham City, so when the reality shifting guy starts to freak out and change reality, we get to see the Planetary team square off against several versions of Batman, including “Dark Knight Returns” Bats, “Adam West” Bats, and super-futuristic Batman. This is actually still available in the PLANETARY trade “Crossing Worlds”, so pick this up if you get a chance.

Spawn & Cerebus: Macabre and magnificent all at once, this special early issue of spawn was actually guest written by CEREBUS creator Dave Sim. In the book, Cerebus shows Spawn the “Hell of Comic Book Characters”. It’s basically a poke at Marvel and DC, but how can you go wrong with a Sim/ Todd McFarlane team up?

Superman/ Muhammad Ali: This isn’t really an inter-company crossover so much as an inter-awesome crossover. Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams (heavyweights in their own right) put together this titanic tale of triumph. The art is beautiful, and some of the script must have been written by Ali himself (“It’s the sweet Science, and I’m the professor!” “Im gonna whup him and spank him!”).  If you ever get a chance to check this one out, do yourself a favor and do so.

That’s it for today folks. If I missed your favorite crossover, please share! Did you love Darkseid vs. Galactus? Have a soft spot for Cyberfrog vs. Creed? Still have your signed copy of Warrior Nun Areala/Avengelyne? Let me know. Thanks for stopping in, and if you haven’t reserved your copy of the MYTHOI Book 1: Birth TPB yet, do so now! Oh, and make sure you cruise on over to entertheletters.com to play our MYTHOI BIRTH game. Great prizes await the winner!  Ill see you all next week!

Greetings readers!

When I was coming up with a blog for this week, I got it into my head that I would do a look at comics that had “jumped the shark”. I was pretty excited about the idea, but as I went digging through my longboxes, looking for the exact point when THE AUTHORITY started to suck, I couldn’t help but be struck by an amazing sense of nostalgia. As you might know if you have read my blogs before, my knowledge of comics doesn’t extend much farther back than the 1980s, but looking through the archives of all the serial adventures I read when I was younger, I couldn’t help but sit back and remember the way things used to be (way back at the turn of the century). So, with that in mind, today let’s take a walk down memory lane together, shall we?

Remember when Wildstorm was the place to be? Not so long ago, from about 1995–2005, Wildstorm was the go-to spot for comic book creators big and small to get their rocks off. Just look at a few of the titles the company was putting out over that span: ASTRO CITY, PLANETARY, THE AUTHORITY, DESOLATION JONES, SLEEPER, GLOBAL FREQUENCY,STRANGERS IN PARADISE, RED, and the entire ABC line by Alan Moore (TOP 10, TOM STRONG, PROMETHEA, LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN). Week after week, month after month, If you picked up a Wildstorm book, you would get something different and enjoyable. The company that had started out as Jim Lee’s baby studio saw itself grow into an beautifully diverse creator driven imprint, and the sales reflected it. Sadly, nothing lasts forever. Today, the company has pared down it’s line to properties with established sales records like THE AUTHORITY and WILDCATS, and begun moving towards a line up filled with licensed properties like  WORLD OF WARCRAFT and DANTE’S INFERNO. Creators that used to go to Wildstorm for creative freedom have since moved to smaller studios or publishers (Alan Moore and Warren Ellis for example). The only bright spot in a now severely pared down lineup is Brian K. Vaughn’s EX MACHINA (which will sadly be ending soon). So what happened to the amesomeness that was Wildstorm?  I think the reason the company declined was twofold. First, editorial control increased. Where once, creators could play around in the Wildstorm universe as they saw fit, editors eventually stepped in and tried to bring a level of line-wide quality that was previously unseen. While I appreciate what the company was going for, the big name creators that sought out the WU for freedom, no longer found the imprint quite so appetizing. An example of this would be the Mark Millar/ Editorial fight about content in THE AUTHORITY. The second reason is limiting the company focus to a core set of books. The whole reason books like PLANETARY and EX MACHINA exist is because Wildstorm used to take chances in their publishing schedule, but sadly, those days are gone.

Remember when John Byrne was the baddest motha-f*^%$ on the planet? I touched on this last week, but there was a time when John Byrne was crazy hot. Supernova hot. He was so hot, he could crap in a piece of tinfoil, sell it as earrings, and people would line up to buy it hot. In the early to late-1980s, John Byrne sold books, and with good reason: He made books awesome. Byrne’s pencils helped make X-men into the mega-franchise that it has been for the last 20 years. He gave the Fantastic Four their best run since Stan Lee. His revamp of SUPERMAN took a tired character and made him exciting again. Even Byrne’s smaller work like NEXT MEN was beautifully drawn and written. Heck, he made WEST COAST AVENGERS a must read. So what happened? Well, some would say that Byrne is still awesome sauce, but they would be wrong. Over the last decade, Byrne’s stories have become tame and his artwork has become far too loose. Don’t believe me? Go look at his revamp of SPIDER-MAN. If you can’t find it anywhere, it’s because it blew. Look at Byrnes art on THE ALL NEW ATOM or DOOM PATROL, and you will see line work that is not as crisp as it once was, and storytelling that is bland. I think what happened to Byrne is just a simple matter of age. A great many creators lose their connection to readers over time (Chris Clairmont, Jim Shooter,  Herb Trimpe, Carmine Infantino, and Frank Miller (who doesn’t really count because he just went crazy)), and I think that Byrne might just be reaching the end of a very long and wonderful career.

Remember when X-MEN was the hottest comic in all the land? For a period of almost 20 years, from the early 1980s until almost the end of the millenium, X-men was the comic that all other comics wanted to be. The main title had a spectacular (if not overly verbose) writer in Chris Claremont for over a decade and a host of world-class artists including Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, John Romita Jr., Joe Maduiera, and the Kubert brothers, just to name a few. The book sold in ridiculous amounts every month, and created a new spin-off series seemingly every six months. X-crossover events were not to be missed, even if they were superfluous or just plain silly (yes you, Operation Zero-Tolerance). So what happened? I think the blame here has to go to Chris Claremont leaving the title. With Claremont at the helm, the book had a focus and a unified idea of who each character was and how they fit. While the book continued to have great sales numbers after Claremont left, it clearly lost something without his voice. Even with great writers coming in after Claremont like Scott Lobdell, Joe Kelly, Steven T. Seagle, and Jeph Loeb (greatness currently under review), the book quickly lost it’s narrative thread. By the end of the millennium, the X was not the astounding franchise that it once was. I should note that Grant Morrison did come to the rescue of the X-franchise in 2000 and made X-MEN a must-read again, but his work was quickly undone (dirty, dirty Chuck Austen) and thusly, I can’t include his run as part of the uber-successful X-run of the previous millennium.

Remember when Image comics sucked? These days, Image comics is a great place to find some spectacular indy-style books. WALKING DEAD, CHEW, CASANOVA, THE FRESHMEN, all currently reside at Image. However, not to long ago, Image comics were what you would pick up if you needed to line your bird cage and didn’t want to sully a fine newspaper. From the mid 1990s until the early to mid 2000s, Image was in a bad place. I’m not even talking about the books that Image produced when they started (because I have promised myself a month of not bashing Rob Liefeld), but rather when the company began to deal with the comics bubble bursting. Now, I’m not going to name names, but someone who I promised not to bash this month started the Image downfall by causing their Image co-founders to leave. With Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri gone, the Image output suffered. While SPAWN and SAVAGE DRAGON continued to be big sellers for Image, you couldn’t find a decent Image book past those two. So what happened? Jim Valentino opened up the company to indy creators to publish their work, and while early results where mixed, creators like Robert Kirkman and Brian Michael Bendis were given a place to showcase how great indy work could be.

That’s it for today folks, thanks for stopping by, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, head on over to www.entertheletters.com and play some games. You will like it, I promise. Oh, and if you have any of your own “remember when” moments, please share them in the comments section! Have a great weekend folks!

Greetings Semantinkerers!

While scanning the latest set of solicitations this week, I noticed that Marvel Comics have brought ALPHA FLIGHT back for yet another mini-series. I have no problem with Marvel or ALPHA FLIGHT (I actually have fond memories of the FLIGHT from childhood), but it did get me thinking about those series that just can’t really ever seem to stick. There’s a numb er of reasons that a series can’t go the distance, be it due to the fringe nature of the character (I’m looking at you WARLORD), or a book only being successful with certain creators involved (THE DARKNESS) or even due to mullets (yes, you QUASAR). For whatever reason, there are many books that just can’t maintain prolonged success, but publishers keep trying to give them chances to flourish. Today I am going to look at a few of these books and see if I can find a recipe to keep these books from the pile of eternal re-launch.

ALPHA FLIGHT: In the early 1980s, John Byrne was a comic book super star. Fresh off of a long jaunt on X-MEN, Byrne was Jim Lee level Big. He was so hot he could draw stick figures and it would top charts. He was so hot, he could create a team of Canadian superheroes including a midget, an alien, and twin French-Canadians, and it would sell. So he did, and it sold like gangbusters. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your opinion) the 80s’ couldn’t last forever, and Alpha Flight has been skipping from mini-series to mini-series ever since.

The fix: It will take some work to make ALPHA FLIGHT a sustained success. The most sure-fire way to keep the book’s sales high would be to integrate them more fully into the Marvel Universe, a place where the book has not found itself since Byrne left in the late 80s. By tying the book in with previously established ideas like the Weapon Plus project, you could get crossover with Wolverine (a sure sell). You also need to give the book a solid Soap Opera feel that is so important in fringe-team books. Bring in Joe Casey or Brian K. Vaughn to keep that dialogue snappy and the stories intriguing, and the book could have a chance.

WILDCATS: This spot was originally going to go to another early Image book, YOUNGBLOOD, but someone told me that I pick on Rob Liefeld too much. Instead let us look at WILDCATS. This book was Jim Lee’s initial Image book, and over the years has seen some very talented creators work on the book, including Alan Moore, Travis Charest, and Joe Casey. While the book has gotten great critical feedback in its last few iterations, sales for the title have not held up since Moore left and the book.

The Fix: The biggest problem that the ‘Cats have had in this last decade has been a lack of a drive. When the book started, the team was fighting aliens. No more aliens, no more sales. So, the book needs a new angle to keep readers involved, something that will make early readers feel like they can return to the characters that they enjoyed without feeling like they are reading the same issues again (so no more aliens), and something that can hook new readers. I would take advantage that WILDCATS is part of Wildstorm and thusly DC comics, and have them go on a EXILES-esque jaunt through the multiverse. That way you not only can play with the huge playground DC has, but you can also give readers something new. Eventually the premise would need to change, but that’s at least 100 issues right there. Oh, and Tony Bedard (NEGATION, GLC) would be the perfect writer for this.

AQUAMAN: This book might hold the world record for re-launches. Despite being around for more than 60 years, there just has not been a take on the Atlantean that continues to excite readers, though DC continues to keep trying to give Aquaman a seat at the big boy table.

The fix: This one is tough, as AQUAMAN has tried just about everything. He was a pirate, a time-traveler, a king, an adventurer, and even had a phase looking like a homeless person (that weird bearded, shirtless, hook for a hand phase that we all go through), but nothing has stuck. Creators big and small have all filed to bring any kind of continued success to this title. My answer? Make Jim Lee draw the book forever. It might be the only way to keep the sales on this one up.

That’s it for today folks. Thanks for stopping in, and if you haven’t gone and gotten yourself a copy of MYTHOI #2 yet, do it now! It’s only 99 cents. Anyway, I will see you all next week, have a great weekend!

Good Morning Semantinkers!

As we are now at the halfway point of Comic Con International, I thought I would share some of my thoughts and feelings about the convention with you all. I know that we normally wait until the end of a convention to give you a report, but since CCI is so ridiculously massive, I thought it best to break our report into two chunks. So, let’s get started!

Even these bunnies were amazed at how many people were in attendance at CCI.

MY HOW YOU’VE GROWN: As someone who has been attending CCI since it was uncool, it still boggles my mind to see how packed the convention center now gets. Most of the comic/ pop culture conventions that I have been to run two or three days, but CCI at this point now runs five. Even preview night is packed, and that’s only three hours!

The rather modest line to get into the convention center… three hours before preview night.

Of course there are pros and cons to having the convention be so packed, but the good far outweighs the bad. Sure, you have to wait for hours to get into any panel, but the panels are worth waiting for. Yes, it takes six hours to navigate the crowds and do a full lap on the floor, but there is so so much to see, it’s not actually a bad thing.But I am rambling, the point is, it is awesome to see how huge CCI has become.

WHO’S BATMAN?: As nice as it is to see CCI explode, it does hurt my heart more than a little to see the number of comic book vendors shrink for another year. I don’t know that there are less comic book vendors for sure, but it sure feels that way. Part of the draw for CCI is that you can find comics as well as movies, toys, video games, manga, anything that floats your boat, but at the end of the day CCI still stands for Comic Con(vention) International, and I feel like comics are getting the cold shoulder.I actually heard a little girl dressed up as a god-knows-what ask her friend who batman was. It hurt.

Verily, this family could care less about comics so long as the midieval t-shirt booth is open.

I know that there are some huge booths dedicated to comic book publishers like Marvel, DC, and (shudder) Radical, but even those booths seem to be focusing less on comics and more on movies or toys. As an example, Marvel has pimped their booth out to look like a set piece from the upcoming THOR movie. It is a sad thing to see, but I suppose if you really need to go comic shopping, at this point you go to your LCS.

Behold the glory of… some blurry guy! (sorry, it’s hard to take a good pic on the floor!)

GIVE THEM A RAISE: I have no idea who is in charge of assembling the programming schedule but they deserve more money. The panel schedule this year has thus far been fantastic. There is something for everyone all the time. Like comics? There is a ton of news and creator spotlighting (my co-worker told me that the Grant Morrison spotlight blew her mind no less than four times). Movies and TV your thing? Just about every show and movie in the world have a panel here. AMC’s THE WALKING DEAD looks like it is going to be astounding by the way.Oh and I must say that the Comics Arts Conference community discussion panels are stellar. Kudos to them!

The other thing that programmers should be lauded for is taking into account the crowd size and putting out three to four panels in every time slot. If you miss the panel you wanted you can walk down to the next door and probably catch something grand.

Oh, and the line for Hall H will suck forever.

LIGHTNING ROUND:

The floor can be a scary place. Don’t believe me? Check out Preda-Bear…

The Eisner Awards were great! Kudos to all the winners!

I find it interesting that billboards are now too pedestrian for comic-con. Buildings being pimped out are just kind of off-putting…

There is a huge push behind the video game Red Faction: Armageddon. After watching the trailer for the game, it just kind of looks like Gears of War 2, or at least The Inhumanoids (an obscure 80’s cartoon, that only I seem to remember).

The masquerade is tonight. It will be as awesome as it is terrifying.

The Vampirella costume is a hard one to look good in…

Joss Whedon, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo are all officially on board with the Avengers movie. This is a good thing.

Grant Morrison is writing an indie movie titled Santoro. This movie will almost certainly cause at least one person’s head to explode.

The Artist Alley area is too small. At least they are on the far side, so people will see them if they make a full lap of the floor.

Alright folks, that’s it for today, I will have a full CCI wrap up for you at the end of the weekend. If you are down at the con feel free to shoot me a message, I have shwag to hand out. If you are not at the con, don’t feel bad. 100,000 folks all packed into a small place doesn’t create the most pleasant smell. Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Happy Comic Con everyone!

That’s right, the biggest and baddest convention around has returned to San Diego today. Okay, technically it starts tomorrow, but tonight is the preview night for those able to get in, so I’m saying that Comic Con has officially begun. Last week I shared some of the panels that I was most looking forward to at this year’s CCI. Today I want to give you a few things that you absolutely should make sure to check out if you will be attending the con. Let’s get started!

THE EISNERS: Touted as “The Oscars of the comic book industry”, this is your chance to finally get to attend an award show. The presentation is always great, with a changing theme every year. This year’s theme is “Comics Fiesta“and this year the show will be hosted by Bongo Comics’ Bill Morrison and Maurice LaMarche, the voice of Pinky from Pinky and the Brain. Check it out if you get a chance Friday Night.

THE MASQUERADE: A must for the people-watchers. I know what you are thinking, that you see plenty of people dressed up at any convention, so what makes the masquerade so special? Let me give you an exerpt from the official CCI guide:

“Comic-Con’s Masquerade is staged in the style of a talent competition, with a Master of Ceremonies, a panel of guest judges, impressive trophies and cash awards, a large raised stage with theater-style lighting, and four giant high– definition video screens providing great close-up views. An audience of 4,200 always fills the Convention Center’s Ballroom 20 to capacity, with even more people watching the show on large video screens elsewhere in the building.

Some entries are solo, while others are groups with a shared theme. Many will be re-creations from comics, movies, TV, anime, and games, but some completely original designs will be presented as well. All genres are welcome, but no purchased costumes are allowed, as it is a contest of creativity and craftsmanship, not shopping ability. Our Masters of Ceremonies will once again be the very entertaining award-winning artists and writers Phil and Kaja Foglio of Studio Foglio. Impressive commemorative Comic-Con trophies will be presented in categories of Best in Show, Judges’ Choice, Best Re-Creation, Best Original Design, Best Workmanship, Most Humorous, Best Presentation, Most Beautiful, Best Novice, and Best Young Fan.”

Yeah, that’s a lot of people all dressed up. Go check it out on Saturday!

SMALL PRESS/ ARTIST ALLEY AREAS: With so many big and flashy things to catch at the convention, it’s easy to forget about the little guys, but I promise, you are going to be happy if you can make some time to go check these spots out. San Diego always has top class talent filling the artist alley, meaning you could go and get a piece of art from one of your favorite creators, and get to meet them in the process. You could also discover an artist you’ve never heard of who becomes your new favorite. The small press booths are home to some of the most innovative and interesting stories in the world. Troll the small press aisles to find some amazing books that you have never heard of. The best part about the small press and artist alley areas? they are open all day, every day of the convention!

CCI INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL: What other convention can boast a full four day film festival? The films aren’t just creepy fan-fiction either (though I’m sure there are a few of those hiding in the schedule). If you enjoy the indy movie scene, take some time to head off-site over to the Marriott (it moved this year) and enjoy some innovative film making. Or someone who dresses up like the joker and runs around punches babies. The CCI-IFF will be running programming all four days of the convention.

So there you go folks, a few things to keep an eye out for this year. Of course for every announced program and event at the con there is another secret, or coded, or impromptu event to find so keep your eyes and ears open for these new events. Have a great comic con this year folks, we will be sure to give you updates as often as possible here.

Good Morning Semantinkerers!

One week from today, the fine folks of San Diego will explode in nerdgasms as San Diego Comic Con International 2010 descends upon the down town area. While (almost) every comic convention has a floor filled with comic books, toys and other generally geek-tastic displays, what sets the SDCC apart from it’s competitors is the huge number of panels that they provide, as well as the great quality of the panels. With the programming for Comic-con being announced last week, I thought I would devote this week’s Comicopea to some of the panels that I am most geeked up about. Let’s take a look:

THURSDAY

DC COMICS WRITERS UNITE!: This panel gathers up some of DC’s biggest writers, past and present (some of the writers included are JMS, Denny O’Neil, Paul Levitz, and the always awesome Gail Simone) and has them wax about the craft of comic book writing. Writers always make for a great panel, and this panel has some of the all time greats.

DANNY ELFMAN: While people might complain that SDCC has moved too far away from it’s comic book roots, panels like this make me disagree with that argument. What other convention would feature one of the greatest composers of our generation looking at his career? My guess is none. Plus, Elfman did the score for 1989’s Batman, so he belongs at a comic convention anyway.

DIGITAL COMICS NOW!: This is the kind of panel I seek out as a publisher. Panelists include the CEOs of several digital comics apps discussing the future of comics in the digital market place.

THE EXPENDABLES: A panel devoted to what will surely be one of the bloodiest, most violent movies of the year? Count me in.

FRIDAY

THE WALKING DEAD: A sneak peak at the upcoming AMC show based on the Kirkman comic. All the preview images I have seen for this show have me interested, despite not being a big zombie nerd. I will be there to let Frank Darabont wow me into watching.

DC FOCUS– GRANT MORRISON: Normally I am not into the single person spotlight, but Morrison floats around on a cloud of ideas which I would like to see in person. Also, the panel promises “glimpses of what goes on in the mind of Grant Morrison as he crafts some of the world’s most thought-provoking comics”. If we get to look inside of GM’s head, that might be the most interesting show of the weekend.

THE JOSS WHEDON EXPERIENCE: Whedonites are some of the most rabidly loyal fans out there. The idea of seeing a room full of them with Whedon in the room tickles me. Oh, and Whedon is pretty awesome as well.
SATURDAY

WARNER BROTHERS PANEL: I don’t imagine you will be able to get into this one unless you start waiting the night before. Movies showcased include GREEN LANTERN, HARRY POTTER & THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, and SUCKER PUNCH. If you can get in, it should be a blast!

KICKSTART YOUR COMIC: I am always looking for new ideas, so this panel, focusing on expanding market share should be interesting to me (and probably about 10 other people).
SUNDAY

JACK KIRBY TRIBUTE: Everyone loves the King. Yeah, the guy behind the look of the Fantastic Four, The New Gods, The X-Men, The Eternals, and so much more. The idea of getting to see a bunch of his work while guys like Marv Wolfman and Kurt Busiek talk about his impact sounds like an awesome way to spend Sunday Morning.

CBDLF LIVE ART JAM: Artists on panels don’t usually work. They aren’t the eloquent speakers that writers are, and they tend to get sidetracked. However, in the live art jam you get to watch some pretty awesome artists (Tim Seeley and Ale Garza to name a few)  battle to see who can make the coolest pictures, and it’s for a good cause. Win and Win!

I should also point out that for every panel I mentioned here, there are probably another five that I didn’t mention that sound amazing. There is really something for everyone at SDCC. If you will be down for the con next week, make sure you take some time to head out to a panel or two, just make sure you plan for a line on the bigger panels. Thanks for stopping in folks, I’ll see you next week!

Greetings folks!

This past week, DC announced that Jim Lee has redesigned Wonder Woman, and that J. Michael Straczynski would be taking the character in a new direction. Now, this is nothing new, but seeing Lee’s 90’s-tastic remodel (complete with shoulder pads!) got me thinking about how iconic characters will get these face lifts every few years only to revert back to status quo not long after. Why does the status quo come back? Usually it’s because the new costume and “brand new direction” suck. Hard. If your favorite character has been around for more than 30 years, they have probably had a suck-tacular remodel at some point. Let’s take a look at some of the worst:

Captain America: Just take a moment to soak in the cover above. Try not to throw up while you do it. Cap apparently decided to go all power-ranger in this horrific departure from the norm. He also decided to quadruple his normal amount of intercostal muscles. Luckily for us all, this was a short lived change for the star spangled Avenger.

Superman: I’ve mentioned this before, but electric Superman has to be one of the strangest (and lamest) character shifts in the history of comics. This shift is so odd because it comes out of left field. There is absolutely nothing about Superman (normally) that would lead you to believe he would evolve into a being comprised of energy. On the plus side, this did end the reign of the mullet-ed Superman.

Daredevil: Now, to be fair, the yellow/red suit that Daredevil started off in was about the ugliest superhero outfit ever, but as a blind hero, I can forgive it. What I cannot forgive was the Fall-From-Grace, armored up, amnesiac DD of the the 90’s. “Oh Ben, you always pick on the 1990s” is what you might be thinking.  Daredevil got amnesia, thought he was his father (who has been dead since he was young), still somehow continued on as Daredevil, got his new suit, and then killed a prostitute. And that’s why I pick on the fruits of the 90s’.

Batman: This outfit is cool if you forget that Batman is supposed to be sneaky (and not supposed to be Darth Vader). Batman usually has one of the coolest costumes in comics, why would you turn him into robo-cop? This costume was so bad that it caused Bruce Wayne to learn to walk again, so I guess there’s a silver lining to this monstrosity.

There are plenty of other short-lived character/ costume changes out there, Spider-man (who would have made the list except I couldn’t figure out which of his crappy alternate costumes to use), Hawkeye, Aquaman, Black Canary, The Black Widow, no one is safe. So, the next time you think your favorite character looks tired and needs a make-over, think about cyber-suit Cap. Thanks for stopping in folks, stop by tomorrow for the latest from Dr. Cellus!