Does Kick-Ass Kick Ass?

November 7, 2009 by Brett Schenker

One movie I’ve been counting down the days until it’s release is the big screen adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass.  The story follows a “real life” kid as he decides to emulate the characters he loves in comic books.  It’s a hero for the internet age as the series asks “what if super heroes really existed?”

IGN.com has recently released the first teaser posters for the movie which sees release April 16, 2010.  Small touches like the comics character’s name instead of the actors is a small hint at the  understanding of the material that makes me giddy and count down the days until it’s release.

The theatrical trailer releases Novermber 14th on Myspace according to the movie website, http://iamkick-ass.com/.  The early buzz is this movie is going to live up to it’s title and rock if websites and reviews like here, here, and here are any indication.

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Comics Just As Good As Books

November 6, 2009 by Brett Schenker

Growing up I hated reading books and even to this day it’s a struggle for me to make it through one.  However, as a kid I’d go through a thick pile of comic books spending entire days reading through my recent purchases.  I consistently scored well above my age when it came to any test in vocabulary, even though I barely touched the classics.  A new study says that in fact comics might have done me good.

Comic books may not be far behind standard reading material in regards to impact of vocabulary and future inclination toward reading books.  University of Illinois researcher Professor Carol Tilley described comics as “just as sophisticated” as other reading materials and indicated that children benefited ”at least as much” from comics as they do from regular books.

A lot of the criticism of comics and comic books come from people who think that kids are just looking at the pictures and not putting them together with the words.

Some kids, yes. But you could easily make some of the same criticisms of picture books – that kids are just looking at pictures, and not at the words.

Tilley also said:

Although they’ve long embraced picture books as appropriate children’s literature, many adults – even teachers and librarians who willingly add comics to their collections – are too quick to dismiss the suitability of comics as texts for young readers.

Any book can be good and any book can be bad, to some extent. It’s up to the reader’s personality and intellect. As a whole, comics are just another medium, another genre.

The research on comics was published in the journal School Library Monthly.

Update: A search for Assistant Professor Tilley came up with this website where her thesis is listed as “Of Nightingales and Supermen: How Youth Services Librarians Responded to Comics Between the Years 1938 and 1955″.

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Toledo Library Celebrates 70 years of Batman

November 6, 2009 by Brett Schenker

The Toledo Free Press is reporting a local library is putting on a special exhibit in honor of the 70th birthday of Batman.  The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library is preparing for the ultimate birthday bash: “Batman at 70,” a program and exhibit to take place Nov. 9 at the McMaster Center in the Main Library, Downtown.

“What they’re going to get is a really good big picture of the character,” said Jim Beard, a local comic book historian, who will host a special Batman retrospective as part of the exhibit.

This isn’t the first time the library has put on a celebration concerning comics.  Last year a 70th anniversary event was held for Superman.  It’s success was the reason for a repeat celebration for Batman.

“We’ve got items from the very beginning until currently. We have vintage comic books that literally run the gamut from the very beginning — we have a ‘Batman No. 1’ that will be on display, all the way up to ‘Batman and Robin No. 1,’ which came out this year,” Beard said. “I really hope people are going to get a good scope of the character and, if they’re not aware that the character has that much history, I hope they’re going to get it.”

The discussion will also include an interactive video chat with current “Batman” writer and best-selling author Greg Rucka. The exhibit will feature an examination of many of the Dark Knight’s gadgets, rare collectibles and a life-size recreation of the Batcave on display.

“Batman at 70” will take place at the Main Library, 325 Michigan St., from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 9. For more information, call (419) 259-5207 or visit toledolibrary.org.

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Tim Sale In -Store Membership Party for Hero Initiative

November 6, 2009 by Brett Schenker

From Facebook:

Acclaimed artist Tim Sale (Superman For all Seasons, Spider-Man: Blue ) will be at partying with comic fans and the Hero Initiative at Hero’s first-ever in-store membership party! The party takes place at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, California, Friday November 6th from 7pm to 10pm.

Partygoers who pay a mere $25 will get:

2010 Hero Initiative bronze membership, a $29 value
A Tim Sale print made especially for the event
50% off EVERYTHING in the store!!
Complimentary food and drink
All monies raised at the evening’s festivities will benefit Hero Initiative, the charity that helps comic book creators in medical or financial need.

Sale’s visit to The Comic Bug will be his first. “I’m really looking forward to finally getting to visit Comic Bug, a comic book store that I have heard such great things about for years now,” he said. “And I am always happy to work for Hero Initiative’s great people and great cause, working hard to take care of comic creators who can’t take care of themselves. Now where are my pencils?!”

Tim Sale will be signing autographs for everyone and doing sketches for the first 10 people only who upgrade to become Hero Initiative Silver members at $99. Tim usually charges $150 for sketches at conventions, so this is a smoking deal!

You can check out the event or RSVP here.

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IDW Announces Ghostbusters Holiday Special

November 5, 2009 by Brett Schenker

Special one-shot pits fan-favorite characters again the ghosts of Christmas

San Diego, CA (November 4, 2009) – Leave it to the Ghostbusters to take a classic holiday story and turn it on its head. In Ghostbusters Holiday Special: Past, Present, and Future, everyone’s favorite spirit hunters are hired by the grumpiest man in New York City to capture three ghosts that haunt him every Christmas Eve. Written by Rob Williams, with art by Diego Jourdan, Ghostbusters Holiday Special: Past, Present, and Future will top every fan’s holiday must-have list.

“Working on this book has been a lot of fun,” said IDW Editor Tom Waltz. “Rob has taken a well-traveled and oft-revamped tale and given it an all-new twist, while maintaining all the classic elements Dickens – and, of course, Ghostbusters – traditionalists would demand and expect from this cast of characters. Only true Scrooges will walk away from this story without smiles on their faces.”

A spoof on Charles Dicken’s well known Christmas tale, Ghostbusters Holiday Special: Past, Present, and Future will hit store shelves in December, featuring covers by Jourdan and Nick Runge, as well as a special Runge retailer incentive cover. Ghostbusters Holiday Special: Past, Present, and Future is the first of a series of Ghostbusters holiday one-shots planned by IDW.

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Hero Initiative – 100 Wolverine Covers for Charity

November 5, 2009 by Brett Schenker

From Marvel.com:

The Hero Initiative is auctioning off unique covers to Wolverine to raise money for it’s charity dubbed “The Hero Initiative’s Wolverine: Weapon X 100 Project”.

Marvel comics printed off Hero-exclusive blank-cover copies of the recent Wolverine: Weapon X #1 and the Hero’s Initiative got 100 artists to do an original Wolverine cover on each!

Comic book legends such as Neal Adams, J. Scott Campbell, Gene ‘The Dean’ Colan and many many more provided beautiful covers for this terrific cause.

You can bid on the originals via Hero’s eBay page starting in late October. Even if you don’t win the auction(s) of your choice all the covers will be collected in a rollickin’ Hero Initiative benefit book in early December!

The Hero Initiative is a wonderful charity benefiting comic book creators and their families that are in need.  You can learn more about the charity at HeroInitiative.org.

Check out the gallery below for a sample of some of the amazing art!

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Sheldon Dorf Founder of San Diego’s Comic-Con International Dead at the Age of 76

November 4, 2009 by Brett Schenker


The San Diego Union-Tribune is reporting that Sheldon Dorf, the founder of the San Diego Comic-Con died today at age 76 of complications from diabetes.

From it’s founding, Dorf spent 15 years as the head of the annual convention helping it grow from a small fan-fest into the powerhouse it is today.

“He was a completely generous person who was wholly devoted to furthering the comic arts, bringing the fans and the professionals together,” said J.M. “Mike” Towry, a computer programmer who was a young comics dealer at that first Con. “He never made a dime off Comic-Con.”

Dorf left running the convention in the mid-1980’s.  The Comic-Con International website was topped by a black-bordered photo of the founder as a memorial:

Shel Dorf’s love of comic books and their creators had no equal.  It was his appreciation of this art form and his keen foresight that helped to create what is Comic-Con.

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Choice Quotes

November 4, 2009 by Brett Schenker



Dark Reign: The List – Wolverine

Marvel Boy – We Kree have a mathematical equation that proves the nonexistence of any deities.  We learn it when we’re children, about the same time we learn not to soil ourselves with excrement.

Fantomex – Cool. I always knew atheists would someday save the world.

Ex Machina #46

Candy – You have any idea how it’s going to look to middle America if you start spending the considerable taxes you’ve raised on free morning-after pills for underage girls?

Mayor Hundred – I told you, I’m not making any decisions for my constituents based on some hypothetical future run for the White House, that’s a pussy move.

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Bat Boy and the Weekly World News come to comics in January

November 3, 2009 by Brett Schenker

First-ever comic series for fan-favorite tabloid characters

[Weekly World News #1 cover]San Diego, CA (November 2, 2009) – For years, Bat Boy and the other bizarre denizens of the Weekly World News universe have delighted millions in the long-running tabloid newspaper. Now, those same colorful characters are headed to full-color comic books for the first time with IDW Publishing’s Weekly World News, a new four-issue miniseries starting in January.

Written by IDW’s Publisher/Editor-in-Chief and WWN fanatic Chris Ryall, with art by Alan Robinson, Weekly World News revives the tabloid’s best and sees them band together to take on, among other things, the world-destroying threat of Chaos Cloud. Each issue will also feature original articles from the original Weekly World News, and a variant cover that pays insane “tribute” to a classic image.

“Some would say my interest in bringing the Weekly World News characters to comics borders on crazed obsession,” said Ryall, “and far be it from me to disagree with them. I’m just happy Bat Boy comic books never happened before, so we could break new ground here. It’s been especially gratifying because Alan is well up to the task of drawing every insane thing asked of him (“Draw an angry storm cloud with the face of a former French leader? No problem!”), and the Weekly World News people have been incredibly enthusiastic about bringing their iconic characters to comics.”

[Weekly World News #1 Corroney cover]

The series kicks off with a cover featuring Joe Corroney’s version of Bat Boy, inspired by Alex Ross’s painted Barack Obama pose, and a special retailer incentive Alan Robinson sketch cover of Bat Boy as Rodin’s “Thinker.” As another added bonus, Issue #1 will feature some of the classic Bat Boy strips by the great Peter Bagge.

“In short, Eisner Award judges, get ready to mark your ballots when you see this series,” added Ryall.

[Weekly World News #1 sample art]This first Weekly World News miniseries gives the world a new vocabulary word in its subtitle, “The Irredemption of Ed Anger.” The series unites the beloved Bat Boy with PhD Ape (simian psychologist to the stars), UFO Alien (presidential-predicting pundit from the stars), Manigator (half-man/half-gator good ol’ boy), Lemmie (the Lake Erie Monster) as they battle Chaos Cloud (unpredictable weather front with the face of François Mitterand). Caught in the middle of all of this is the far-right-wing columnist Ed Anger (“pave the Rain Forest!”), who thinks inhuman freaks have as much place in America as liberals, female voters and foreign beer. Along the way, the series pays tribute to other comics and numerous other pop-culture visuals and references (so many that Ryall will be offering annotations in the back of each issue, too).

“Everyone at Weekly World New is delighted to partner with IDW on this creative extension of some of American’s most loved characters,” said Neil McGinness, Weekly World News CEO.

The Weekly World News, which carried the tagline “The World’s Only Reliable News” and spent years living up to that description, launched in 1979 as a supermarket tabloid focused on sensational stories. The brand’s website www.weeklyworldnews.com is a leading entertainment news website.

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Get Your Yellow Ring Wednesday

November 3, 2009 by Brett Schenker



As previously announced, DC Comics will be releasing the rest of the Lantern rings in addition to the Black Lantern ring that was released as a promo for their major event Blackest Night.

This week sees the release of Doom Patrol #4 with which you’ll receive the ring for the Sinestro Corps. (Yellow).

lanternrings

The Complete Spectrum of Lantern Rings

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