Shameless plug and tooting-of-one's-own-horn warning:
Comics & Classics gets a write-up in Diamond Comic Distributor's retailer's magazine Dialogue this week. In "Retailers: Things Look Great in 2008," Comics & Classics is profiled, along with five other retailers, who reveal their plans for growing the market and pleasing their customers.
In 2008, Comics & Classics will offer free art classes for youth ages 13 - 18 and a summer writing program.
Publishers Weekly Comics Week's critics have voted for top honors in 2007 and Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds and Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together come out on top with five votes each. Followed closely (with four votes) by All-Star Superman Vol 1, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier, I Killed Adolf Hitler, Shooting War, and Tekkon Kinkreet: Black and White. Read more at http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6514737.html
Or, go to Jeff Jensen's article in Entertainment Weekly Online, "The Best Comics of 2007."
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20167020,00.html
Marvel to release The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1
Writers Peter David & Robin Furth and artists Jae Lee & Richard Isanove reunite for the five-issue limited series based on Stephen King's bestselling epic that begins where the The Gunslinger Born left off. The series has been wildly successful and drawn in new readers to the comic medium.
With other writers, such as Jodi Picoult (Wonder Woman: Love and Murder) and Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Guilty Pleasures and the introduction of other cultures and stories, such as the line of comics from Virgin Comics and their Nick Cage Voodoo Child, Ed Burns' Dock Walloper, and now even Jenna Jameson has a comic out, Shadow Hunter, it seems like everyone is wanting to jump into the comic arena. Which, though great in the short terms, hopefully has long-term positive effects on the market. It is questionable whether the comic-inspired movies have had a real effect on sales of actual comic books or trades. It is nice to see more comic lines on the racks.
Post your comments on Jensen's best comics in 2007 and your nominations. What did you enjoy in 2007? Lately, I've heard raves about DC's "Simon Dark" and Vertigo's "Army @ Love."
If you live in Jacksonville, pick up the Jan. 10th issue of E U Newspaper and read the article "Locally Inked" about our friends of AlphaCat Comics. We look forward to the release of their books at the Orlando 2008 MegaCon in March (more at http://www.alphacatcomics.com/).
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Sunday, December 30, 2007
One More Reset
Hello everyone,
This is Percy, the other half of Comics&Classics and I am here to provide some commentary on what was one of the most anticipated comic story arcs in recent memory, Spider-man :One More Day.
First I want to say MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!!! If you haven't read One More Day and plan to or don't want to know anything about the story then stop right here.
Still with me? Good, let's move forward.
For those of you that have not been keeping up on this storyline I will give you a quick synopsis. Aunt may is in the hospital having been shot by a sniper's bullet intended for Peter Parker. The assassin was sent by the imprisoned Kingpin who along with everyone else in the Marvel Universe knows Spider-man's secret identity. This was all due to the events of the Super Hero Registration Act and Civil War where Peter publicly unmasked. If you haven't read Civil War, you have missed a great story and need to get the trade right now.
Aunt May lies dying in a hospital and everything that Peter has done which includes talked to all the greatest minds and greatest sorcerers in the Marvel Universe and the answer is the same : There's nothing that can be done. It's her time.
Well, that's not good enough for our hero who as we know has an overdeveloped sense of responsibility. Enter Mephisto, the version of the Devil in the Marvel Universe. He offers a tantalizing deal. Trade your marriage for Aunt May. So Aunt May lives and all memory of you and Mary Jane's marriage is wiped from reality. They have 24hrs to decide, hence the title "One More Day".
I'm not going to comment on the art work or the coloring or any of the technical aspects of the book. There are other people all over the net who are doing that. I want to talk about the fact that it seems that the writers and editors painted themselves into a corner and needed a deus ex machina to fix their mistake. Peter Parker should not have his identity known by the world. Again, Peter Parker should not have his identity known to the world. There are certain elements that are essential to any Spider-man story: Responsibility, Balance of life as Peter Parker and Spidey, and the secret identity. The secret identity is important because it's like our little in-joke, it connects us to the character. This nerdy, geeky, loser puts on a costume and does incredible things. He's the everyman who seems average but upon closer scrutiny is extraordinary. He hides what makes him special in plain sight and for that we love him. It was a mistake to reveal his identity to the world, everybody knew it. This ending robs of us of a more satisfying conclusion. We knew they were going to hit the reset button, the ending is predictable and frankly a cheap trick. Perhaps Aunt May should have died, maybe it was her time.
So they retoconned him, took the easy way out, pulled Pam Ewing finding Bobby Ewing in the shower alive and finding that the entire season was a dream. Dare I say, they have jumped the shark?
One last thing, how will this play out with the rest of the Marvel Universe, there is still a Super Hero registration Act and other heroes are abiding by it. Norman Osborne is back, is he still the Green Goblin? These and more questions will be answered in "Brand New Day", on sale at our and other fine comic shops next month.
This is Percy, the other half of Comics&Classics and I am here to provide some commentary on what was one of the most anticipated comic story arcs in recent memory, Spider-man :One More Day.
First I want to say MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!!! If you haven't read One More Day and plan to or don't want to know anything about the story then stop right here.
Still with me? Good, let's move forward.
For those of you that have not been keeping up on this storyline I will give you a quick synopsis. Aunt may is in the hospital having been shot by a sniper's bullet intended for Peter Parker. The assassin was sent by the imprisoned Kingpin who along with everyone else in the Marvel Universe knows Spider-man's secret identity. This was all due to the events of the Super Hero Registration Act and Civil War where Peter publicly unmasked. If you haven't read Civil War, you have missed a great story and need to get the trade right now.
Aunt May lies dying in a hospital and everything that Peter has done which includes talked to all the greatest minds and greatest sorcerers in the Marvel Universe and the answer is the same : There's nothing that can be done. It's her time.
Well, that's not good enough for our hero who as we know has an overdeveloped sense of responsibility. Enter Mephisto, the version of the Devil in the Marvel Universe. He offers a tantalizing deal. Trade your marriage for Aunt May. So Aunt May lives and all memory of you and Mary Jane's marriage is wiped from reality. They have 24hrs to decide, hence the title "One More Day".
I'm not going to comment on the art work or the coloring or any of the technical aspects of the book. There are other people all over the net who are doing that. I want to talk about the fact that it seems that the writers and editors painted themselves into a corner and needed a deus ex machina to fix their mistake. Peter Parker should not have his identity known by the world. Again, Peter Parker should not have his identity known to the world. There are certain elements that are essential to any Spider-man story: Responsibility, Balance of life as Peter Parker and Spidey, and the secret identity. The secret identity is important because it's like our little in-joke, it connects us to the character. This nerdy, geeky, loser puts on a costume and does incredible things. He's the everyman who seems average but upon closer scrutiny is extraordinary. He hides what makes him special in plain sight and for that we love him. It was a mistake to reveal his identity to the world, everybody knew it. This ending robs of us of a more satisfying conclusion. We knew they were going to hit the reset button, the ending is predictable and frankly a cheap trick. Perhaps Aunt May should have died, maybe it was her time.
So they retoconned him, took the easy way out, pulled Pam Ewing finding Bobby Ewing in the shower alive and finding that the entire season was a dream. Dare I say, they have jumped the shark?
One last thing, how will this play out with the rest of the Marvel Universe, there is still a Super Hero registration Act and other heroes are abiding by it. Norman Osborne is back, is he still the Green Goblin? These and more questions will be answered in "Brand New Day", on sale at our and other fine comic shops next month.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
The Mice Templar is Fun Fantasy & Fantastic Art!
The Mice Templar issues 1 & 2 have hit the shelves and the series is making quite a name for itself already. I had the feeling when I first saw it advertised in Diamond's Previews that I would be among the few who might become a fan of another series staring mice, after the wildly popular MouseGuard, but it doesn't take one long to find others out there praising the efforts of Bryan Glass and Michael Oeming.
I am a fan of MouseGuard and its cute, English cottage-ish mice, who remind me of Beatrice Potter and warm tea, but these are not Ms. Potter's mice. I wouldn't call them "cute" by any means, and with the level of blood, guts, and gore Oeming provides, especially in the fight scenes with the menacing Rats, you soon forget the comparisons to David Peterson's mouse tale. These are not mice - they are MICE!
Issue 1 begins with a glorious two-page spread of a fierce battle between brothers of The Templar, Guardians of Justice created by the ancient spirit Wotan to fight evil and protect against all enemies. However, The Templar has turned against itself and the fighting brings about the end of The Templar. Or, so it seems, perhaps there is hope in young Karic, who listens to the stories of The Templar told by the town's Blacksmith and plays "Templar Knights" games with his friends and sister. Without giving too much away, chaos invades Karic's world quickly in issue 1. After a mystical underwater encounter with golden fish gods and the bequeathment of a magical leather pouch, young Karic finds he must begin a journey with a mysterious stranger that may make of him a worthy hero who can save his people.
In Issue 2, Karic and the mysterious stranger have begun their journey. Although only half the length of issue 1, #2 advances the plot in a meaningful and satisfying way with the introduction of a rouge mouse who follows behind our protagonist and his teacher and is sure to cause harm in upcoming issues. Also, in issue two we get more of the mythology of the Templar, the great spirit Wotan, and the warrior-priest Kuhl-En.
I look forward to issue #3, which will, hopefully, live up to the great start of the first two issues. Check out more about The Mice Templar at Mike Oeming' site www.mike-oeming.com/templar.html and at www.hiddenrobot.com/MICETEMPLAR/
Post your comments here about The Mice Templar and other cool new series out on the shelves.
I am a fan of MouseGuard and its cute, English cottage-ish mice, who remind me of Beatrice Potter and warm tea, but these are not Ms. Potter's mice. I wouldn't call them "cute" by any means, and with the level of blood, guts, and gore Oeming provides, especially in the fight scenes with the menacing Rats, you soon forget the comparisons to David Peterson's mouse tale. These are not mice - they are MICE!
Issue 1 begins with a glorious two-page spread of a fierce battle between brothers of The Templar, Guardians of Justice created by the ancient spirit Wotan to fight evil and protect against all enemies. However, The Templar has turned against itself and the fighting brings about the end of The Templar. Or, so it seems, perhaps there is hope in young Karic, who listens to the stories of The Templar told by the town's Blacksmith and plays "Templar Knights" games with his friends and sister. Without giving too much away, chaos invades Karic's world quickly in issue 1. After a mystical underwater encounter with golden fish gods and the bequeathment of a magical leather pouch, young Karic finds he must begin a journey with a mysterious stranger that may make of him a worthy hero who can save his people.
In Issue 2, Karic and the mysterious stranger have begun their journey. Although only half the length of issue 1, #2 advances the plot in a meaningful and satisfying way with the introduction of a rouge mouse who follows behind our protagonist and his teacher and is sure to cause harm in upcoming issues. Also, in issue two we get more of the mythology of the Templar, the great spirit Wotan, and the warrior-priest Kuhl-En.
I look forward to issue #3, which will, hopefully, live up to the great start of the first two issues. Check out more about The Mice Templar at Mike Oeming' site www.mike-oeming.com/templar.html and at www.hiddenrobot.com/MICETEMPLAR/
Post your comments here about The Mice Templar and other cool new series out on the shelves.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Hollywood Writers on Strike - Read a Book!
Now that Hollywood screen and TV writers have gone on strike and late night television and daytime soaps will be taking a great hit, it's a good time to do more of what we all say we'll do more of -- read a book!
We at Comics & Classics offer these new gems and timeless standards to replace those hours we find ourselves in front of the boob tube (yes, you could watch reruns - but come on, wouldn't that be like breaking the picket-line - - "Union!"):
Alan Moore's Watchmen - The only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award and graphic novel to be included in Time Magazine's 2005 list of "the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present." A look at superhero status deconstructed.
Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible - Written by freelance game designer and published by Pantheon Books, this entertaining look into the mind of evil genius Dr. Impossible and new superhero female cyborg Fatale offers a fun read that blends the world of comic book heroes and villains with traditional novel writing. Check it out at www.sooniwillbeinvincible.com
Katherine Dunn's Geek Love - A twisted story of family love and sacrifice, Dunn's Geek Love looks at common themes in a intense and uncommon way. The novel is the story of a traveling circus run by husband and wife team Al and Crystal Lil Binewski, who, in order to create their own side shows for the circus, repeatedly inject Crystal with multitudes of drugs and questionable substances during her pregnancies, of which are born their deformed "special" children. Both disturbing and touching, Dunn's work calls all we understand about love and family into question.
Shazam and The Monster Society of Evil - A retelling of Captain Marvel's origin. This trade includes his first encounters with such characters as The Wizard Shazam, Mr. Tawky-Tawny, Dr. Sivana, and Mr. Mind. Also, look out for the introduction of Mary Marvel.
Post us with your comments on good books to read during the strike!
We at Comics & Classics offer these new gems and timeless standards to replace those hours we find ourselves in front of the boob tube (yes, you could watch reruns - but come on, wouldn't that be like breaking the picket-line - - "Union!"):
Alan Moore's Watchmen - The only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award and graphic novel to be included in Time Magazine's 2005 list of "the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present." A look at superhero status deconstructed.
Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible - Written by freelance game designer and published by Pantheon Books, this entertaining look into the mind of evil genius Dr. Impossible and new superhero female cyborg Fatale offers a fun read that blends the world of comic book heroes and villains with traditional novel writing. Check it out at www.sooniwillbeinvincible.com
Katherine Dunn's Geek Love - A twisted story of family love and sacrifice, Dunn's Geek Love looks at common themes in a intense and uncommon way. The novel is the story of a traveling circus run by husband and wife team Al and Crystal Lil Binewski, who, in order to create their own side shows for the circus, repeatedly inject Crystal with multitudes of drugs and questionable substances during her pregnancies, of which are born their deformed "special" children. Both disturbing and touching, Dunn's work calls all we understand about love and family into question.
Shazam and The Monster Society of Evil - A retelling of Captain Marvel's origin. This trade includes his first encounters with such characters as The Wizard Shazam, Mr. Tawky-Tawny, Dr. Sivana, and Mr. Mind. Also, look out for the introduction of Mary Marvel.
Post us with your comments on good books to read during the strike!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Two Differing Opinions on "30 Days of Night"
The following two blogs offer different opinions - my husbands and the right one (mine) on the latest vampire film "30 Days of Night." Let us know what you think by posting a comment.
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