In his dreams Alan Donald is a multi-award winning
writer of comic books, animation, theme park shows and rides, children’s books,
novels, television, internet animation and more.
In real life Alan writes this column,
which has been described as
more than a lifestyle than a
weekly column. He used to write
SBC's All The Rage.
Hello and welcome to the fourth issue of 'The Final Draft'. If my spelling and grammar are worse than usual this week I apologise (a hangover from 11 pints of Guinness kinda knocks you out of whack).
I won't trouble you with too much of an introduction except to say if you like what you read, tell your friends, and if you're new to the column check out the archive.
This Week
Let's see what's caught my interest in this week's comicbook news.
The headline: Punisher Pic
The history: Dolph Lundgren starred as The Punisher in a critically and box-office panned version of the character during the period where film makers saw no reason to be faithful to the heart of a comic (rather than maybe consider that there might be some pretty damned good stories and story tellers in this industry). Script was shite as was pretty much everything about it, except Lundgren. Dolph was perfect his eyes were the dark hollow pits of a man with his soul burned out. Recently there have been several rumours and 'reports' of a new Punisher film.
Personally: Whoops, I've kinda done this bit in the history section.
The story: Don't believe it until you see it...despite the reports do you ever believe anything you hear about a film until you can actually see something? Something like this?:
Yep it's a promo picture featuring Thomas Jane as Frank Castle.
Opinion: It's a cheesy promo pic that will bear no relation to the final product but much like the promo pic for the first X-Men film (Wolverine's arms from the elbow up, crossed over, gloves on, claws popped and just the word 'soon' from what I remember) this was simply done to tell the fanboys that they plan to do right by the character. The pic looks good, it has its faults (the T-shirt is too new etc) but it has the right look and feel. Thankfully there's not a sign of white boots and gloves! The bloke looks a little weedy in the pic but aside from that my appetite is well and truly whet, just call me a slavering fanboy.
The headline: Marvel Pumps Up FCBD in Big Apple
The history: Free Comic Book Day is back again.
Personally: FCBD was far from a flop last year but it was also far from all it could have been. FCBD is there to help retailers drag in new readers for the industry (see last week's extra bit on the end of the column or the 'Silver Soapbox' column from earlier this week).
The story: Almost as if to make up for such a silly free comic (Ultimate X-Men #1, great comic but why??? New readers will be very hard pushed to get issue #2 or #3 or any of the later ones from their retailers...very, very silly. Why not a few recent comics? Why not a special oversized promo issue with special stories showcasing Marvel's current titles?) Marvel have gone all out to promote FCBD (at least in NY). 500,000 copies of X-Men #2 (that's what the story said, either it's a misprint or Marvel's planning on gradually giving away all the Ultimate X-Men gradually in promotions like this) will be given away in a promotion in the New York Post. There will also be a feature on the TV to back up this promotion.
Opinion: Bad choice of comic and only promoting the FCBD on their doorstep...cynical aren't I. Yes the story will be picked up across America and that will help but it seems a little cheap. The US is huge compared to the UK but all the same when anyone does a promotion like this over here (such as CD-Rom inserts, books etc) they do it over the whole country.
Criticism over.
Marvel is doing this, what are the other companies doing? The idea is to reach out to non comicbook readers and this will certainly do that. Kudos to Marvel for trying and a slap to me for being such a grumpy so and so. Well done and I hope it helps.
I also hope it gets the other companies to wake up and try to out do the big M.
Quick bits of news I'll break the format for:
The new ATR guy reported the following in his last column, I thought I'd run it here as well in case you missed it. Warren Ellis had an issue of Hellblazer censored, wanna read it? Here it is: www.comicfandom.com/hellblazer.htm
The Panel
Seven very different people from different parts of the comicbook industry, with different experiences and ideas on the industry come together to answer your questions. Jock, the New Boy just breaking through internationally; Peter David, the Old Boy, he's been there and done that, a comicbook superstar; Evil Rick Shea, the Retailer, he's on the front line pushing comics, listening to fans; David Johnson, the fan, he supplied this week's question; Joe Quesada, the Publisher, he's the Daddy at Marvel; Craig Lemon, the Hack, SBC's second-in-command, he edits loads of columns and runs one of the most respected review sections in the industry (remember to look out for Craig at the UK comic festival in Bristol); and me, The Columnist, as the boss thinks I've got off too easily on this feature. All panellists answer their questions blind (no I don't stab them in the eye with a pen, I just don't let 'em talk to each other).
This week’s question is:
"Is the current trend of less editorial content ( letter pages, bulletins, historical and other text content ) hurting or helping the books themselves and the companies?"
New Boy: "hmmmm…I'd say hurting... distancing the reader can't be a good thing. Comics are pretty personal, so a lack of personal voice maybe isn't the way to go.”
The Old Boy: "This kind of cut-back in publisher/audience interaction is cyclical. In the past companies have always seen the light and realized that anything which provides a disincentive for readers to "bond" with the company is inherently a Bad Thing. Letters pages have disappeared, but usually returned. I am hoping that will be the case again."
The Publisher: "Well, considering that most fans have better access to creators than ever before, what’s the point really? Back in the day it was a thrill to see your letter appear in the back of a Marvel Comic. However, the chances of that happening were slim at best. These days I answer nearly every e-mail I get and I'm answering questions at joequesada.com (shameless plug) so the fans hear from me in a way that I wish was available to me during Stan Lee's tenure here. I think if you ask most fans, would you prefer the letter's pages return but creators will no longer be available to you by e-mail or their websites, I think we know what that answer will be. I mean if I had a choice of the old nostalgic letters pages or talking to Jack Kirby via the net if it had existed back then, give me an e-mail from Jack Kirby any day!"
The Retailer: "In today's market, where you can find out about upcoming projects and series the minute they're greenlighted via several online sources, I do believe lettercolumns and bulletins are a little outdated. Message boards and forums have replaced letter columns with instant gratification and a quick response. Everyone's a critic and they want the world to know it.
DC in Demand is an improvement over some former content as it spotlights a few projects every month instead of just blindly pimping the whole line. However, there's still very little in the way of actual NEW news in these pages. Then again, I rarely find any new news in Wizard either as I've read 99% of it online weeks or even months earlier in most cases. POWERS has the best (and suddenly only) lettercolumn in comics that's really worth the paper it's printed on. If you can do it right like Bendis, go for it, but if it's just standard bullshit, don't bother. I don't think we're really missing much with the lack of lettercolumns and whatnot."
The Hack: "I think that the vast majority of readers don't give a f**k about the missing letters pages. In fact, the only titles from the big four that would miss them are Powers from Image and the Grendel books from Dark Horse, as they are lengthy, fun, and not just the usual one-page of sycophantic letters. The standard letters pages in Marvel and DC books, were, frankly, boring....and if cutting them keeps the cost of the books down slightly, then I'm all for it. However, as regards Powers and Grendel, the letters pages add to the value of the books considerably, and said books would suffer enormously were they to go."
The Fan: "Personally I think anything that signals less bang for buck is definitely the wrong way to go."
The Columnist: "What?...Bloody hell you want me to do some work? Ok, here we go:
I've heard all the arguments on this before so if I'm repeating what any other panelists have said I'm sorry. There is a school of thought that says that as we have messageboards we no longer need letter columns. I don't buy that philosophy for several reasons:
1) Have you read messageboards? Trolls, flamers and so on. Messageboards were perhaps a good idea in the beginning, they can still work occasionally but from what I've seen this is the exception and not the norm. Messageboards are not nice places to be, people revel in their anonymity to attack and belittle. There's always email, of course, but how many creators actually respond to all their fans emails? Perhaps they do now but I know how bad it is keeping up with my email how much worse must it be as a full time creator with a large fanbase? Business emails, personal emails and then the fan mail...
2) Not everyone has a computer. In fact I'm pretty sure there's quite a large percentage of the comicbook reading public that don't have a PC or (regular, easy) access to the internet.
Some letter columns are a little dull but that is as much the fault of the companies as it is the fans. Wizard, Strangers in Paradise and Powers, for example, have very good letter columns but these came about because of the interesting and compelling responses that the editors/writers gave. The responses lead to more interesting letters being sent. These are letter columns at their best, I always start with Wizard's letters not just because they're at the beginning but because it's a good read. I don't want to collect the Powers trades, why? Because it means I'll have missed out on the letter columns and so on. 2000AD runs their letter column every 2-3 weeks on average (they're a weekly title) and this works well, it is an added bonus for the week's that it runs. Even if letter columns returned irregularly it would be better than the current situation which frankly looks like the companies just don't give a damn about their fans. Message boards are an added bonus, an expected part of modern life not a replacement for letter pages just like email hasn't replaced a real letter or phone call."
Ten (mostly) silly questions
Take a comic pro, lull them into a false sense of security with a few jokey questions then hit 'em with a few serious ones. That's the plan anyway. In the hotset this week is the truly great writer/artist Mike Collins. I managed to catch Mike as he returned from a holiday he described as:
"...drifting in slow motion down the Kennet and Avon canal (a holiday, allegedly: more like a twee English Countryside version of 'Apocalypse Now' but without the Playboy Bunnies or Marlon Brando)."
So here we go:
1) Just how much Guinness can you drink before you stop being the nicest guy on the planet (from what myself and my local comicshop guy have seen it must be a lot)?
"Thanks for the compliment... I'm doing the only job I ever wanted to do as a kid, so I just enjoy myself.... If I can't be happy drawing for a living then there's no hope....
10 Guinness and I don't get exactly violent just pathetic, with my da's Dublin accent surfacing about the same time simple sentences become as unattainable as quadratic equations. Eleven Guinness and Party Mike tucks Sensible Mike in a comfy bed with a hot waterbottle and goes out on the town. I only hear about what he gets up to several days later....and regret it for years after..."
2) Pasta or Rice...and why?
"Indian restaurants have suddenly invented all kinds of funky rices (or I've just been too drunk to notice) ...Mushroom Rice! Keema Rice! Rice AS A MEAL... wonderful!"
3) Who the hell are you?
"Almost 20 years doing this: Starting at Marvel UK writing and drawing Spider-Man, I've worked on most of the major Marvel and DC characters over the years -X-Men, Batman, Superman, Legion, Wonder Woman and Flash key amongst them- off-and-on, though am probably best known for my licenced work on Star Trek, Babylon 5 and Doctor Who.
My website www.freakhousegraphics.co.uk - gradually coming together- has some of my stuff up there.
They made that big movie of my life a few years ago with Liam Neeson, but concentrated on that whole freeing-the-Irish period rather than my time drawing Transformers for Marvel UK... "
4) Who or what do you really hate about the comicbook industry?
"The cost. European albums -large format, full colour, 48-60 pages, hard cover- retail for about $8 to $11... that's the cost of a few monthly comics... I know all about the costs of paper and printing but, really, a US standard comic book shouldn't be more than $1.50 for what you're getting. It doesn't feel like a good deal, and has lost us a big potential audience... Hopefully we can get through this-- the growth of the TPB market shows potential, as does trying different formats beside the standard US size (as CrossGen have been doing-- my hat is off to them for experimenting)"
5) I keep asking people this but you know J-Lo, do you get what all the fuss is about?
"Yes, I know J-Lo. I wasn't supposed to talk about it, according to that judge. Or get within 500 yards...."
6) What are you working on right now and what have you got coming up?
"These days, though most of my stuff is outside of regular comics -doing CD designs, magazine illustrations, book covers and advertising work- I'm about to embark on a seven-album series for Norwegian publishers WestWind featuring a best-selling detective; continue to work for 2000AD here in the UK; and am currently drawing Doctor Who with Freakhouse Studios buddies David Roach and Dylan Teague [who did the inks on the above Judge Dredd art - Alan]."
7) What's your favourite smell?
"KP Salt & Vinegar Crisps. Or a chilled pint of cider on a summer's day, sitting outside a pub..."
8) What are you reading at the moment (and which comics do you collect)?
"I'm a big fan of 100 Bullets, simply the best comics noir for years, and probably the best in US comics ever. Lucifer and Hellblazer.... Mike Carey is really hitting his stride on these two, and I keep nagging to get a chance to work with him.
100% by Paul Pope is amazing. There should be more comics like this but who the hell else could do'em? On the super hero side, I think the Spider-Man books are the best they've been for years-- JMS and JRJR are going to be seen as one of the classic Spidey creative teams. I thought the Paul Jenkins/Bucky run was a loveable tip-of-the-hat to all the best heartfelt Spidey stories of the past. I have to mention Zeb Wells -he's an astonishing find. That Frog Man story with Duncan Fegredo was hilarious.
Old X-Fan that I am, I'm enjoying Xtreme X-Men, the best Chris Claremont has been for ages, and Larocca is hitting his stride....
Batman under Loebs and Lee is just fun... Gotham Central is a book I'd've killed to have been involved with....Catwoman just keeps getting perfect artists to match the scripts. Javier Pulido is great, and Cameron Stewart is my new hero. Lovely stuff.
I'm a big fan of several European strips -Van Hamme and Francq's 'Largo Winch' and Gibrat's French Resistance stories (LeSursis, etc). My French is poor so it takes a LOOOONG time to read'em! Pretty pictures though...
Collecting... Fantastic Four. The best Lee/Kirby book. The only Silver Age I've set about collecting. It's getting a fine run at the moment by Waid and Weiringo and I really liked the Pacheco issues too. "
9) Is that a fish over there?
"Might be. What's it to you?"
10) Who is your favourite character in comics and why?
"Tricky.... I always try to think who I'd most enjoy drawing or writing... Spider-Man at Marvel has always been a fave since I was a kid, Batman at DC, the same. Either I could happily sign up to draw for years. Judge Dredd in 2000AD is a character you can do anything, go anywhere with --whether high drama, black comedy or serious social commentary--
But favourite?... Doctor Strange. Hands down, no contest. Alien dimensions, magic and wonder...the sense of there being something more than the mundane world, and a guy with a big collar and a skirt. How can you go wrong?"
[The guy on the left is the Doctor from Dr Who the guy on the right may not be so familiar to non-UK readers. He is Isambard Kingdom Brunel the father of the 20th Century. Forget Stephenson with his Rocket or any of those other guys I K Brunel built huge bridges, viaducts, railway lines, ships and much, much more - Alan]
Huge thank you to Mike for that. In case you missed it earlier Mr. Collins' homepage is www.freakhousegraphics.co.uk .
Digging Deeper
This is an occasional column where I dig a little deeper into a story from the last month or so.
This week I'm looking at last week's announcement that Luther Arkwright will be made into a feature film. I've been chatting to Bryan Talbot:
1) So...a movie contract, I guess you're pleased?
"Absolutely! Who wouldn't be?"
2) Would it be rude of me to ask if this has made you a rich man? And if not...has this made you a rich man?
"You're joking of course. Unless you're Steven King, no fortunes are paid out for simple movie options, which are only giving the producers the exclusive right to try and raise finance to produce the property as a film. It's only if and when a movie goes ahead and the movie rights are purchased that you're talking real money."
3) Do you know anything about KouKou or anyone else involved in this?
"KouKou are a brand new Australian production company and, if it happens, Arkwright will be their very first feature. They'll have a website soon, so you'll be able to check them out. The company was formed by Sophie Patrick, who said to me:
“I SEE MY ROLE AS THAT OF A CREATIVE PRODUCER, OPTIONING AND DEVELOPING LITERARY WORKS WHICH ARE INTERESTING, CHALLENGING AND EXPRESS A UNIQUE WORLDVIEW. I DEVELOP THESE EITHER BY MYSELF OR AS IN THE CASE OF 'LUTHER', COLLABORATIVELY WITH MY WRITER(S) AND THROUGH FORGING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MORE ESTABLISHED PRODUCERS BASED LOCALLY AND ABROAD.
MY DESIRE TO BECOME A FILM PRODUCER STEMS FROM A VERY SIMPLE WISH: TO HELP CREATE A FILM THAT I AND OTHERS WILL HAPPILY FORK OUT OUR HARD-EARNED DOLLARS TO SEE - A FILM THAT EXCITES INTELLECTUALLY AND VISCERALLY. I THINK 'LUTHER' IS GOING TO BE THAT SORT OF FILM."
4) How involved will you be in the film?
"I'll be available for consultation but won't have any major input apart from the content of the book itself. I'd be happy to be a background extra!"
5) Is this a one film deal or have they the option of sequels?
"They have also taken an option on HEART OF EMPIRE"
6) Have you any more information than is in the mail out about the film for fans of the comic?
"It's early days yet, as the option has only just be taken, so there's nothing to report but KouKou are planning to release regular press announcements to keep people up-to-date."
7) For those who haven't encountered Luther Arkwright before can you give us a brief introduction to the title and a little of the publishing history too?
"It's a parallel-world romp mixing Science Fiction, Historical Adventure, Espionage and Occult genres to make an intriguing and exciting read.
Arkwright is a psychic secret agent - a force for equilibrium in a multiverse threatened by disruption and extinction.
I wanted to produce a 'real" graphic novel, that is, one that was structured as a novel and not limited by episodic monthly comic format, one that was every bit as rich and deep as a text novel and deals with subjects suitable for adults - politics, sex, religion, philosophy etc. This sounds facile now but you have to remember that, at the time, 99% of US and British comics were utter pap dealing with simplistic storylines - bland, unchallenging adventures produced for children, created before the adult underground comics influence had permeated the mainstream.
The story started in the "Alternative" comics of the late 70s/early 80s and the first volume was originally collected and published in 1981. Since then it's appeared as a series of 9 comicbooks in the UK, later reprinted by Dark Horse, as a three volume UK collection and finally as a one-volume collection by Dark Horse, now in its 3rd printing. It's also appeared in several other countries."
8) Why should people read Luther Arkwright?
"Because it's worth any intelligent person's time to read - it's thought-provoking and fun and imaginative and was very experimental in its day, described by people like Rick Veitch as a seminal work that influenced people such as him, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis and Garth Ennis. See Warren Ellis's review at:
which gives the case for reading it far stronger than I could (being so modest)."
[Quote from Warren Ellis' review: "LUTHER ARKWRIGHT is probably the single most influential graphic novel to have come out of Britain to date. Bryan Talbot's later The Tale of One Bad Rat is an absolute symphony of the form, showing how to use all the tools correctly to make a work of stunning clarity and emotional power. LUTHER ARKWRIGHT invented the tools. ARKWRIGHT informs Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis, me, and all the rest of us. It's probably Anglophone comics' single most important experimental work." - Now go read the rest of it - Alan]
9) What's going on with the title at the moment? I believe you've some foreign language editions out soon.
"Yes! Coincidentally the first Spanish edition is out next week. It's a little strange as the sequel, HEART OF EMPIRE, began its 3 volume Spanish edition about a month ago from a different publisher. The Arkwright publisher seems to be playing off the other's publicity by announcing in his ads "If not for THE ADVENTURES OF LUTHER ARKWRIGHT, HEART OF EMPIRE would not exist!" Arkwright is also coming out in one volume in Italy this year, perhaps also in Germany, and HEART OF EMPIRE in Italy and France."
10) What are you reading at the moment?
"Everything I've read for the last 8 months has been research for the graphic novel I'm currently working on - ALICE IN SUNDERLAND. That translates as lots of books on Lewis Carroll and lots of history books. I've a pile of novels, including Iain Bank's DEAD AIR, Steve Gallagher's THE WHITE BIZANGO and Simon Morden's HEART waiting for me when I finish the full script."
That's it this week, no Noticeboard I'm afraid. Many of the things pinned to the Noticeboard in the last few weeks are still current so hit the archives and see what you may have missed.
I'm all done for this week. Next time look out for an announcement with regard to SBC's presence at the UK comicbook festival in Bristol, a guest star presenter on 'Why aren't you reading...?' (he made me an offer I couldn't refuse) and much, much more.
I need to know what comicbooks you think aren't getting the publicity they deserve, what information you may have on previous news stories, your questions for the panel and, of course what events you've got going on (big or small).
Email me on AlanWJDonald@aol.com.
Many thanks for reading and I hope you'll come back with some friends next time.
TTFN
Alan Donald - Signing off, aching, sore and fed up with decorating and gardening. And I'm dehydrated not hung over, ok?
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