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Comic Rack: DC vs. Shuster, Snyder Leaves ‘Swamp Thing’, & Marvel Outsells DC

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Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…

The Superman/DC/Shuster Legal Battle Continues

For those who don’t know, basically DC has said that Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel gave up their rights to reclaim their half of the rights to Superman, and the Shuster estate has fought against that argument for a long time. As far as I can understand, the Shuster estate is appealing against a recent judgement made by a federal judge, who ruled they officially gave up their rights in an agreement made in 1992. It’s a little bogged down by legalese, and the complicated nature of who deserves what rights is what makes it even harder. I think it’s mostly a case of DC as a publisher trying to split hairs over what is or isn’t owed, and while I don’t know all the details, I’m sure the Shuster estate has a valid argument. All I know is I wish this whole court thing would get settled definitively, once and for all, either way. Then we could look back and judge the facts. I’m sure somebody more knowledgable than I could make a great argument for either side, but for now it’s a little sad to see yet another legal dispute in the comics world be dragged on further than it ever should have.

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Find out more here.

Image Dips Into Time Travel Again with Comeback

I’m a sucker for time travel stories. They’re practically my favorite genre of Sci-Fi stories, if it could even be called a genre. It’s a storytelling trope that’s always captivated me, and hearing about a new miniseries involving time travel certainly captured my interest. In particular this one is by Ed Brisson, who up until now has only been a letterer, but is taking a step into the fray as a writer. His book, called Comeback, is about a time traveling agency called Reconnect, that provides a very special service. For a hefty price, they’ll go back in time and save somebody you loved/cared about/whoever from dying. As with all time travel stories, the price paid for manipulating the space time continuum is more than just monetary, and can result in lots of bad things happening if things should go wrong. Of course the whole thing is very illegal, and there are certain physical repercussions for traveling in time. The book is sold out at the distribution level, so getting a copy of #1, which is currently out, may be hard for the time being, but that’s why digital comics and back issue hunting exist.

 

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A great interview going into more detail with writer Ed Brisson is here.

A Quick Look at BOOM’s Hellraiser: The Road Below

I’ve been a big fan of Hellraiser for a long time, pretty much ever since I saw the first one as a young lad. Since then that franchise has always held a place in my heart near and dear to me, which is why I was taken by such surprise to see that there was still a Hellraiser comic series going on today. Furthermore, that it’s multiple issues in! I guess keeping up with all the hoopla from the big two, you’ll always have certain titles fall by the wayside, even ones that are based on a franchise you’ve long loved. While I haven’t read a Hellraiser book in years, the comic itself looks pretty interesting from the preview shown. It’s not written or drawn by any big names I recognize, but it deals with Kirsty Cotton dealing with a war between evil forces, and there even seems to be some mention of a Cenobite Queen? Whaaaat? Man, if you’re a Hellraiser fan who is intrigued, (like me), this preview may sell you on picking up this book, and finding it’s older issues to catch up.

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Find out more here.

Snyder Wrapping Up His Run On Swamp Thing with #18

If you haven’t been reading Swamp Thing, you owe it to yourself to go and pick up every issue you can find and catch up, along with Animal Man. They’re probably the two best books to come out of the New 52, and Scott Snyder has proven himself to be an incredible writer who can tell amazing stories. Swamp Thing is one of those characters who is criminally underrated, and Snyder has managed to take everything about him and do things with his character that haven’t been done since Alan Moore had his seminal run. Hearing Snyder was leaving the book was certainly saddening, but it’s going to be interesting to see his take on Superman, and for me personally, it’s a trade off I’d make every single time. While we still don’t know who is gonna fill in for Snyder and Swamp Thing artist Yanick Paquette, but whoever they are they’ve got big shoes to fill. I can’t recommend Swamp Thing enough to people, and every time people look at me like I’m crazy, but then come back next week telling me how wrong they were about it, I just tell them don’t thank me; thank Scott Snyder.

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Find out more here.

DC Discusses Marvel’s Direct Market Sales

DC and Marvel. Two companies that pretty much define and are synonymous with comics for the general public, but for most comics fans they couldn’t be more different than peanut butter and toothpaste. One thing the two companies, and endless fanboys keep track of, is sales. Recently with Marvel NOW!, Marvel’s been taking the top spot, but that doesn’t mean that DC is doing too shabby either. DC is staying strong, and their books are selling pretty consistently. While it’s interesting to watch DC talk about their marketing strategies, and to formulate your own opinions about what they could be doing better, or are doing just fine, one can’t help but think if all of the competition is a good thing. It’s brought the best out of both Marvel and DC, and we’ve gotten some great books on both sides. As long as they’re both not in a creative lull, the books are selling well, and comics fans are getting great stories, it’s really a win-win for everyone. Comics are more popular now than they’ve been in a long time, and while DC is currently playing catch up over in Hollywood, I have no doubts they’ll be leading the way when it comes to the printed page.

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Find out more here.

That’s all for this week’s edition! We’ll see you next time at the Comic Rack!

TV

‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ TV Series Is Moving Forward With Casting & Filming Announcements

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We reported on the announcement that nerd king Joss Whedon would be crafting a new Marvel TV series based off of the super spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. which you can check out here. ABC ordered the pilot, and there has been a bit of news dropped since then that it’s time for us to take a look at. Because right now as we wait for Marvel’s Phase 2 to come out I need to fill my head with anything Marvel related that I can. Which means you are coming along for the ride as I wildly speculate on where this show could be going.

Continue reading ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ TV Series Is Moving Forward With Casting & Filming Announcements →

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Comics in the Digital Age

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Congratulations are due for DC Entertainment on account of them fully embracing the future. It was announced a couple of weeks ago that DC is now offering their new releases (and some back library) through Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes and Noble. Not only that, but it was announced recently that starting this week DC is also releasing digital content to these outlets on the same day as print. Amazingly enough, they are the first publisher to do so.

Even though print sales are up 12%, it is obvious that we live in the digital age. Between January and September of 2011, digital sales were up 197%. That is not a typo. Digital sales rose almost TWO HUNDRED percent in nine months. When DC launched the New 52, it was met with resistance, as is to be expected, but combined with their digital outlook, it has been wildly successful. Whether you agree with their move or not, you can’t deny that it has worked.

So why isn’t everyone else jumping on this bandwagon? Mainly, what is Marvel’s deal? They have a subscription service already, Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, that at first blush seems like a great idea. All the comics you can read for $50 a year? Yes please. As the saying goes, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is. That “Unlimited” part of the title? Not so unlimited. In order to read the comics, you have to be on a computer, on the internet. There is no way you can download to your computer to read at a later date, and if you happen to not have internet service? You are screwed. Surely they are watching DC’s numbers surpass their own, for the first time in quite a long time, and have to be asking themselves where they are going wrong.

Perhaps they should take a look at the music industry as a cautionary tale. People don’t buy CD’s any more. It is rare that the average consumer purchases an entire album (I’m an album girl but I realize that I’m in the minority) anymore, choosing instead to pick and choose single tracks to build their music libraries. The music industry refused to recognize this in time and as a result, is hurting. Had they been a little less cocky and had a bit of forward thinking, they could have introduced digital platforms of their own instead letting piracy take over and then having iTunes pick up their fumble and run it in for a touchdown. Unless Marvel realizes the path they have chosen is not the most fitting to the times, they will find themselves in the same situation.

But what about the local comic shop? What about it? Look, I love a print comic just as much as the next girl. There’s something about going in and having that human connection (as awkward as it might be- let’s be honest, we geeks aren’t really the most socially suave people out there) and feeling the actual paper in your hands. Seeing the stack of books to be read on your desk and the collection of carefully preserved editions in boxes lining your dining room walls. I get it. If nothing else, it provides a link to our childhood  and past that we are reluctant to give up. Think about it this way though, I am 34 years old and vividly remember going to a record shop and searching through the stacks of CD’s looking for that one that a friend of mine mentioned was good. I’ve spent countless hours with a pair of headphones worn by countless others before me on my head as I sampled whatever the store had on tap that day. People who are even just a few years younger than I, have absolutely no idea what that experience even looks like. Does that make me sad? Of course it does. Much like I imagine people older than I miss the times where you’d go into a soda shop and sit at the counter and the ordering a malted. Does anyone even know what a malted is anymore? Not I. It is the nature of the beast and there is nothing we can do to stop it.

A practice so old, it’s only available in stock photos.

Nostalgia aside, there simply are not that many comic shops around anymore. I live in south Georgia and there is one shop in town. That’s it and there is never anyone else in there when I go in so sadly, I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be around. There are plenty of people who might read comics but have zero outlet to them. Until now. The digital age has opened up the world of comics to such a wider population and surely that’s a good thing right? I think so. The more the merrier and all that. No, I don’t want anyone to go out of business. I want everyone to be able to man a comic shop if they so desire and do so until their dying day, or until they retire, whichever comes first. Frankly, that isn’t a reality anymore. DC recognizes that the print stores still (for however long) have a place in the world though and they have set up a digital storefront that enables those brick and mortar places to place that on their site and then receive 30% of the sales. Better than a sharp stick in the eye I guess.

Another good thing to the digital revolution in the comics world? It has allowed smaller publishers to find success. Even on Comixology you can find small publishers but it’s the small vendors that are finding a small bit of success as well. Sites likes Dark Horse, an outfit that pulls double duty of publishing and sales, are becoming more popular. Dark Horse has a variety of comics, including a personal favorite of mine- The Guild, and has in the last week announced that they too are going to be offering their graphic novels (Hellboy for example) through Amazon. Not only that, but individual artists have set out their own shingles.

Mark Waid, of The Flash fame (at least that’s where I know him most from), has set up a site of his own called Thrillbent and it is comprised solely of digital content. He even makes a point of saying that it isn’t his intent to bury print media but rather that he believes that print and digital can coexist in peace. If someone of his caliber and experience believes so, then who are we to doubt? Want to hear more of his thoughts on the matter? Head on over to GEEK for an exclusive Q&A where he discusses his new site and his current work on Daredevil.

As with so many things today, we find ourselves in a situation where the “future” has collided with the present time. Now if only those hoverboards were to come to fruition, I’d be a happy woman. For now I’ll just have to settle for reading Batman on my iPad.

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Comic Rack: The Age Of Ultron, ‘Chew’ Is Half Done!, & Dexter Gets His Own Comic!

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Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…

Grace Randolph’s ‘Superbia’ brings capes down to Earth.

Admittedly I’m not very familiar with Grace Randolph’s work. It looks like she’s most notable for her Warcraft and Starcraft comics, and there’s probably a big chance I’m missing some vastly important, seminal work of hers and I’m going to look a fool for not knowing it. As I’ve previously said here before, you should own what you don’t know, and be willing to admit your ignorance, rather than feign knowledge. So why am I bringing up her work here today?

Because the pitch of her new book Superbia sounds pretty interesting, if fairly derivative. On first glance it appears to be a story about superheroes putting down the capes and accepting a normal life in the suburbs, hence the name. While that’s been the focus of countless superhero stories, it’s never really been the focus of an entire book. How would you approach your ordinary, everyday life if you had superpowers? I know I’d mess with people a lot. How much only depends on what power I had. As for the book, it looks interesting, and I’m always supportive of original creator owned indie books any day of the week.

You can find out more here.

The Age Of Ultron Has Arrived!

It appears good ol’ Brian Michael Bendis is at it again, this time he’s writing yet another story that’s gonna be the be-all, end-all story of stories that he’s been alluding to and foreshadowing all this time all along. Ultron, our favorite evil robot that occasionally runs amok, has gained the upper hand over everyone else, and has decimated the Marvel Universe. The cover even implies that he’s killed a bunch of the fan faves in his conquest, leaving everything in his wake destroyed. Will Ultron be killing Iron Man and Captain America? Maybe. Even if he does though, it’s not like they won’t come back.

via [ComicsAlliance]

[quote]Age of Ultron, a 10-issue event series beginning next March. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and drawn by Bryan Hitch, Brandon Peterson and Carlos Pacheco, the book begins with the villainous robot Ultron, a corrupted creation of Avenger Hank Pym aka Ant-Man, having completely taken over and seemingly killed a good deal of the Marvel Universe. Foreshadowed for years throughout numerous Bendis comics including this year’s Age of Ultron 0.1 special, Age of Ultron is said to conclude in a fashion so shocking that only six people actually know what will happen.[/quote]

Six people! They’re locking it down like nuclear launch codes, or the secret 11 herbs and spices for The Colonel’s recipe! Zounds!

America’s Favorite Serial Killer Comes To The Funny Books!

I don’t think they’ve been called “The Funny Books” since 1958, but it doesn’t change the fact that Dexter is making his way to having his own Marvel branded comic miniseries. Fun Fact: I never finished the second season of Dexter, and thusly have never caught up with it. Unfortunately I now know all the spoilers from it and will probably never catch up, but that doesn’t change how much I dug the first season. I wonder how a show with such a time sensitive premise would last beyond a season or two (how has he not been caught yet? Seriously?), but it’s not like I hate the thing.

I am a bit surprised to see it come to be a comic now, but at the same time it makes sense. I would have thought Dynamite would have optioned it first though, if anything, so the fact that Marvel is picking it up is a bit shocking. My main problem is that the guy on the cover looks NOTHING like Michael C. Hall, and I’m guessing he’s either some other character, or they’re trying to adapt what he looks like more directly from the original source material description in the novels. Either way, Dexter fans will probably dig it.

Find out more here.

‘The Unwritten’s Cover Artist Wins The Society Of Illustrators Medals.

Yuko Shimizu has done covers for The Unwritten for 46 issues as of now, and every single one is a damned masterpiece. Her style is evocative of Japanese wood-cut style paintings, but with a flowing, hauntingly beautiful style all her own. It’s enough that The Unwritten is singlehandedly one of the best written, and most innovative comics still being printed today, but that every single cover is a beautiful masterpiece. Her work being recognized not only cements her place in mainstream artistic press, but brings legitimacy to the comics medium as a whole through that recognition. Too often are comics looked down upon as lesser forms of art by other artistic organizations, and seeing this happen is pretty darned awesome.

Pictured: The award winning cover from issue #43

Find out more here.

 ‘Chew’ is gnawing at it’s halfway point! 

In some news that surprised me, apparently Chew was planned to be around 60 issues. Some may call me out on this, but what they don’t know is I’ve actually met John Layman, and asked him how long he planned for it to go. Back when Chew #2 was coming out, and Layman wasn’t the huge name he is today, there was a pretty big buzz around Chew and my LCS managed to get him to show for a signing. I showed up because I was there to game that night anyway, and bought the comic on a whim after hearing its premise. I decided I might as well meet the guy and have him sign my book, figuring it might be worth something later. Little did I know just how big he, or Chew would grow to be, because If I had known, I would have asked him some better questions. I asked him how he got the idea for such a nutty book, how long he expects it to go on for, and then we talked for a bit about The Walking Dead. He seemed like a really nice, down to earth guy, but I distinctly remember him telling me he didn’t have any idea how long Chew would last, other than he wanted it to be a monthly.

Well time has passed, and it certainly seems like we’re bound to see the beginning of the end for the book, as the book is wrapping up story lines to prepare for its second half. Considering the humorous ingenuity of the book, I predict the ending will pleasantly mirror the beginning. A theme of repetition has been pretty prevalent in the book, as well as it’s delightfully non-linear approach to storytelling. Frankly, I look forward to meeting John Layman again some time in the future, and asking him then if he remembers my LCS, and meeting me. Until then, I’ll keep enjoying Chew, and so should you.

Find out more here.

That’s it for this week’s edition of Comic Rack!

Movie Trailers

The First ‘Iron Man 3’ Trailer has Arrived!

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So first we had the teaser for the trailer, and now we have the teaser trailer…

Explosions! Iron Man suit without Tony Stark! The Mandarin played by the perennially sexy Ben Kingsley! Pepper Potts is kidnapped! And then strapped into the Mr. Freeze roller coaster at Six Flags over St. Louis! I don’t know if that’s right but it feels good so I’m going with it!

I’m part of the 1%… of people who actually like Gwyneth Paltrow and I like the movie character of Pepper Potts. So sue me, she’s cute and likable. Even though we did get a glimpse of Don Cheadle as James Rhodes (sidenote: if you aren’t watching House of Lies on Showtime, you are missing out), where was Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan?

Seriously- Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian. Just from what little we can see of the suit and the hair, it looks like he’s moments away from shooting at Crockett and Tubbs of Miami Vice fame.

Overall initial impression- I like it. I’m a big fan of when traditionally “happy” things turn a little dark. Tony Stark has always been the Whopper eating shit grinned billionaire playboy without many cares in the world (I mean there have been obvious cares to tend to but he’s done so usually with a somewhat good attitude) so it’s nice to see him be a little bit more introspective.

This obviously won’t be the only trailer released but even if it was, I’m excited. Marvel seems to have found their groove with this group of movies and for the time being, they aren’t feeling played out. Now ask me again when we reach Iron Man 7, but for now, I’m looking forward to Iron Man 3.

This doesn’t have a lot to do with Iron Man specifically but seeing his mountain side palace be blown to smithereens reminded me of it. I was listening to NPR the other day and a story came on about superheroes and their finances. It was entertaining, if nothing else. You can listen to it here and if you were so inclined you can order the book The Law of Superheroes from Amazon.

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The Griz Bin: Crazy Superhero Origins, Batman & Robin One-Liners & Inappropiate Toys

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Here we are again with another look at the Griz Bin.

New Lego Arkham Asylum Set Announced – If you like Lego and Batman you’ll love this neat looking enormous new 1351 piece set. It also includes 8 minifigs – including Batman, Robin and The Joker. [Comics Alliance]

7 Completely Insane Golden And Silver Age Superhero Origins – Including Mr. Satan and The Zebra. These are definitely bat shit crazy. Perhaps you know of more bonkers ones. [Topless Robot]

Las Vegas Comic Expo 2012 Cosplay Pictures – Ok, so they’re not all comic book related but they do include Batman, Batgirl, Bane, Black Widow and even a great Lady Rocketeer. [Geeks Are Sexy]

Batman Fan Art – A plethora…a gaggle…a flock…a…what is the collective noun for a group of Batmans…Batmen…I give up. [Project: Rooftop]

The Ten Worst One Liners From Batman And Robin – Staying with Batman here is 10 truly terrible one liners from the most terrible Batman film ever. [Comics Should Be Good!]

DC vs Marvel At The Box Office – Sticking with films, here is an infographic looking at the U.S. box office performance of DC and Marvel over the last 50 years. Who will lose? Considering both Batman And Robin and Catwoman are on this list, I think we do. [Fancy Dress Costumes]

Weird And Inappropriate Toys – A look at some of the toys that really should have never have escaped. Including the infamous Wolverine inflatable hammer. [io9]

Probably The Greatest Wonder Woman Panel In Comic History – This is just…fantastic. [io9]

Avengers Pugs – And finally, here are 4 pugs cosplaying as the Avengers. They are so cute it’s unbelievable. [Gamma Squad]