A Fist Full Of Comics By Alan Donald In case you don't know, my name is Alan Donald and I am your host for SBC's weekly rumour, news and opinion column that we affectionately call, All The Rage (mainly because that's its title). This came in from Summers:
Secret messages have been slipped into comics for years, and recently have caused all sorts of strife if anyone remembers the infamous Al Milgrom incident that Rich Johnston reported here at All The Rage way back when in Pulping, Paying And Pouncing. I doubt any webzine publishers will get an industry legend sacked this time, though. This Has A "Reserve My Copy Now" Value Of Nine Out Of Ten
Double Chance At 2000AD There are two chances to work for 2000AD (the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic) this week. The first I would urge you to hold off on for a week, the second I want only fools to apply for just in case I decide to go for it too. Tharg the Magnaminous has opened up his desk for new script submissions. Check out the 2000AD website http://www.2000adonline.com for submission guidelines but hold off for a few days, eh? I've got a very generous and very anonymous pro reading through mine first to check it's up to scratch. The second chance is a great opportunity to get behind the scenes in the industry, as they are looking for a new Advertising Sales person. If you really must (and are based in the UK), then drop a line to jobs@2000ADonline.com by 28th February, 2003. So, have you ever wanted a chance to get in on the ground floor in this industry that we all love? This is it. Thanks to Quire for watching the horizon. This Has A "Self Interested " Value Of Ten Out Of Ten
SMASH(ing) Go check out: http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=14285 right NOW! Fantastic film shots of the Hulk from the upcoming movie and links to more info. This is a fanboy must see. This Has A "HULK Cool...." Value Of Ten Out Of Ten
Thunder Agents Update We've had a mail in from McCoy updating us on the THUNDER Agents saga. Apparently the project is back on track. I can't say too much more on it except that the characters have been redesigned and apparently look more Ultimates than Avengers. J.G. Jones is allegedly signed on for the covers and the final script is sat waiting for the green light. This Has A "Keeping You In The Loop" Value Of Eight Out Of Ten
The Supreme Summer Hit Scott reports that JMS Straczynski has been talking a bit more about his upcoming Squadron Supreme series, Supreme Power. The series, which debuts July 16th, is an update of Mark Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme 12-part maxi-series from the mid-80s. Many folks believe that Gruenwald’s book was a forerunner to the Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. Much was made of the fact that Gruenwald’s ashes were mixed in with the printer’s ink when Marvel published a trade paperback of the series. What was edgy and pushed the envelope back then would be considered tame today. Straczynski's series will be from Marvel's MAX line and he has assured fans that this is going to take things to the limit. Following Straczynski's fantastic work on Rising Stars and Midnight Nation this is one series that has really got me revved up. Forget the Authority or Planetary this'll be the one that gets everyone talking. This Has A "Controversy Coming" Value Of Nine Out Of Ten
CBLDF News Check out http://www.cbldf.org for the full story but here's a quick excerpt:
After a year of legal maneuvers, Kraft has settled its trademark dilution suit against CBLDF defendant Stuart Helm. The settlement agreement forms a permanent injunction that prohibits Helm from using the name “King VelVeeda” on any future web, comics, or illustration work. Helm is allowed five years to sell all existing work using the censored name. Kraft is also donating $10,000 to the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Foundation, Kraft’s recognized charity of Helm’s choice. Each side will bear its own legal fees. The CBLDF spent over $14,000 on the case. Those costs were borne with membership and convention contributions. The Freedom to Read Foundation will also contribute a portion of Kraft’s settlement donation to offset the Fund’s legal fees. This Has A "Go Visit The Site Now" Value Of Ten Out Of Ten
More Charity Work The following came in from our generous sponsors. It's another very sad story that you all may be able to help with:
TFM writer Rick Spears said, “The one bright side is that Rob, his roommate JJ and their cat made it out alive.” But now Rob only has the clothes on his back so if anyone would like to help Rob get back on his feet you can send money, clothes or whatever to: Rick Spears 609 President St. #2 Brooklyn, NY 11215 Newsarama has set up a PayPal account for Rob G. You can make donations by clicking on the button below. Note - payments will be recorded as being made to mbrady669@aol.com: http://www.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000218 At Dynamic Forces for every sale this week of the Darkness Prelude, we're going to donate 10% of the sales to Rob, so if you're looking for a way to help, either donate directly or pick up a copy of the prelude (any version): http://www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/p-C96760.html
Todd Time Time to be nice, I suppose. Go read http://www.gamespot.com where you'll find a nice interview with Mr. McFarlane (aka The Canadian Toymaker) about his partnership with the computer games people Namco. Thanks to Johansson for providing the above information. This Has A "Reconcillation Time" Value Of Five Out Of Ten
Shrek Horse April will see a Shrek comic from Dark Horse. There'll be four in all: the first an adaptation of a short Shrek film that's being shown in theme parks, and then the rest are all original stories for your delight by Mark Evanier and Ramon Bachs. The guys say they got tons of notes on what to avoid and what not to contradict, but they're thrilled to be working on the project. Now head along to your comic shop like an eager donkey to order your copy and behave like a grumpy ogre until it arrives. Thanks to Emma for that. This Has A "...And In The Morning We'll Make Waffles" Value Of Ten Out Of Ten
Weapon X - The TV Series Kid alleges that UPN has ordered a Weapon X series (or at least a pilot) based on the Marvel Comics publication. Don't hold your breath for Logan or Sabretooth though; this'll be another tenuously linked concept. Basically the pilot from Viacom will feature a technician becoming a supersolider when he gets injected with nanobots... This Has A "Could Be Fun Or Trash" Value Of Five Out Of Ten
It's Peter David Time...And Here's Your Host, Alan Donald! Heh, heh, heh. Here's some stuff from the PAD site that I think would be criminal to miss:
And on comic sales:
Let's hope the rift heals soon as I'd hate to be deprived of one of my favourite writers working on Marvel projects. On the subject of Supergirl's cancellation, however, my retail spies tell me that pretty much across the board the book was picking up steam after the events of #75, so it was a bit shitty of DC to can the book at #77 without listening to re-order activity - that is, unless they already had plans for a replacement, or a future direction for the character...which did not involve Peter David. Maybe we'll see a quick reprint of #75 through to #77 in one combined edition as a lead-in to a new book in a few months' time...keep your eyes on Previews. PAD on Todd:
This Has A "Have You Heard What's Next? A Limited Edition Miracleman Statue With MM Wiping His Arse With The Legal Papers From The Angela Court Case. There'll Be An Ultra Rare Version That'll Be Using A Sandman Comic" Value Of Eight Out Of Ten
CGE Premier News I have had an interesting mail from Jean. He/she has presented another point of view on the whole CrossGen Premier thing. The information is, quite simply that Steve Geppi (aka Mr. Diamond Comics) promised to do anything to help Mark Alessi attain Premier Status whilst on a visit to the CrossGen compound. The problem, however, was that CGE still needed to get 5% Market Share, something they are yet to do. Jean alleges that someone at CrossGen then leaked that they'd be moving to Premier status. This then left Diamond with, as Jean says, "a little egg on their face". Now apparently there's going to be a bit of fun at Megacon when Jean tells us that there'll be a showdown between the two (or not if the bodyguards Jean says have been hired have anything to do with it). This Has A "Bodyguards In Comics?" Value Of Eight Out Of Ten
Namor To Drown? Henry has sent me in a few comments he/she spotted on the web from John Secreto of Comic Swap. Mr. Secreto was commenting on Bill Jemas' direction to retailers to order Namor based on orders for Marville (Mr. Jemas' other project). The comments make very interesting reading: Mr. Secreto's initial statements bear out what I've said before. Retailers tend to order 25, 13 or 10 cent comics in huge bulk and to give them away rather than sell them. The thing is what to do then:
However, one thing that John Secreto seems to be overlooking in his comments is the demographic that Andi Watson may be able to bring to Marvel – he has a huge following amongst female readers, and amongst people not interested in standard superhero fare…if his presence on this book can encourage some of these readers into the Marvel fold, then Marvel may finally be successful in expanding their readership base, rather than just screwing current readers for more and more each month. To my mind this is all down to how retailers present the book – if they just try and sell it to the typical Marvel reader, then it will fall on its face…they need to actively push it to Watson fans, to Oni Press fans, to female readers… This Has A "C'mon Guys…You Can Make A Difference" Value Of Seven Out Of Ten
Buffy Business Possibly more bad news for those hoping to see a Watcher series from the BBC following the end of the current season of Buffy: Peter David, amongst others, has speculated that Tony Head's character, Giles may actually be a ghost and that Giles may be dead. The following was mailed to me by Jumbo:
Fans have also been speculating over whether Giles is really the First in Buffy. Since the First is non-corporeal and can’t touch anything and imitates only dead people, fans have picked up on the fact that Giles hasn’t touched anything since returning to Sunnydale. There’s been no explanation as to how Giles escaped death at the ax of the Bringers. "Isn't that interesting?,” Noxon says. This Has A "Ghost Of A Chance" Value Of Seven Out Of Ten
Woo-Hoo Star Wars fanboy moment! It looks like it's going to happen! The fight of the century: Obi-Wan Vs Anakin Skywalker with Ani falling into the volcano at the climax (but Obi-Wan possibly knowing it's only a temporary set back for the Dark Lord). Fans have been speculating that we'll finally see this battle (and many fan sites have been running images of the two of them in front of a volcano since Ep 2 came out) in Episode 3. Other rumour running around are that there will be substantial appearances by young Luke and Leia. The main rumour and my reason for cheering accompanies the volcano news. JAMES EARL JONES has confirmed he will have at least 5 minutes playing the voice of Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker after he is forced to wear a walking life support machine at the end of the film (possibly entitled The Circle is Complete). More rumours have emerged on http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=14298 - these are fanboy must reads. This Has A "James Earl Jones...Yeah Baby" Value Of Ten Out Of Ten
Spawn Story Following last weeks story about the Canadian Toymaker shutting down the Spawn line we've received a few interesting mails. Several insiders informed us they had also heard the rumours but weren't sure what to make of them. Some people have let us know that Todd may have several different projects on the boil including, apparently, some work for Marvel. Could be just a load of shit stirring or it could be the end of an era. This Has A "Still Unlikely" Value Of Two Out Of Ten
Mutants Are Not Human, Official Hardly news to fans of the X-Men, mutants have for a long time now been presented within the Marvel Universe as being the next stage in human evolution. They're a different species for crying out loud (though nobody has really taken them to task on this properly, they aren't strictly a different species as they can, on the whole, mate with humans to produce fertile and fecund offspring but for the sake of argument the scientists and activists within the Marvel Universe have classified them as Homo superior a new and unique species). Why then has there been such an uproar over the recent real world court decision that has upheld this point of view? What decision? Ok, here we go... The following is an edited excerpt from that esteemed organ, the Wall Street Journal:
In her chambers at the U.S. Court of International Trade, in New York, the judge examined Prof. X and the rest of his band of X-Men, all of them little plastic figures at the heart of a six-year tariff battle between their owner, Marvel Enterprises Inc., and the U.S. Customs Service. Her ruling thundered through the world of Marvel Comics fans. The famed X-Men, those fighters of prejudice sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are not human, she decreed Jan. 3. Nor are many of the villains who do battle with Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. They're all "nonhuman creatures," concluded Judge Barzilay. Marvel subsidiary Toy Biz Inc. pushed Judge Barzilay to declare its heroes nonhuman so it could win a lower duty rate on action figures imported from China in the mid-1990s. At the time, tariffs put higher duties on dolls than toys. According to the U.S. tariff code, human figures are dolls, while figures representing animals or "creatures," such as monsters and robots, are deemed toys. Chuck Austen, current author of Marvel's Uncanny X-Men comic-book series, is also incredulous. He has worked hard for a year, he says, to emphasize the X-Men's humanity, to show "that they're just another strand in the evolutionary chain." In 1996, Toy Biz sued Customs in the Court of International Trade, which arbitrates foreign-trade disputes between U.S. companies and the government. Toy Biz said its pantheon of action figures should be classified as toys instead of dolls. Customs insisted the figures are dolls, and thus subject to 12% import duties, instead of the 6.8% rate for toys. Duties have since been eliminated from both categories. Toy Biz, in its filings, pulled no punches. The figures "stand as potent witnesses for their status as nonhuman creatures," the company argued. How could they be humans, Toy Biz said, if they possessed "tentacles, claws, wings or robotic limbs?" Toy Biz had good cause to pursue this line. Having its action figures declared toys would mean a hefty reimbursement of past duties, though the company declines to give specifics on how much was at stake. The U.S. government showed more feeling. Each figure had a "distinctive individual personality," the federal legal team argued. Some were Russians, Japanese, black, white, women, even handicapped. Wolverine, the government insisted, was simply "a man with prosthetic hands." Justice Department lawyers who handled the case didn't return calls seeking comment. The X-Men, oddly, gave her the least trouble. They are mutants, she declared, who "use their extraordinary and unnatural . . . powers on the side of good or evil." The judge observed how the character Storm, with her flowing white hair and dark skin, "can summon storms at will," while Pyro has a "mutant ability to control and shape flames." Thus the X-Men are "something other than human." Case closed." Thanks to No-Girl for having a subscription to the (Wall Street) Journal. This Has A "Cheap Toys Coming? Yeah Right" Value Of Seven Out Of Ten
Mill's Moans Pat Mills, a top script droid at 2000AD (the man some people attribute the creation of Judge Dredd to and the creator of such classic works as Slaine, Finn, Nemesis and ABC Warriors) has cause a bit of a stir. 2000AD has its own fanzine, Zarjaz, that features fan fiction comic strips (the quality of which is very surprising). Now Rebellion, 2000AD's owners have given the fanzine permission to parody/use their characters in this way (in fact they are believed to view Zarjaz as a pool of talent to watch for the future). Pat Mills, however, isn't quite so happy about this:
Great cover and I like the whole idea and intention of it. I think it's fine for house characters and, of course, it's terrific for publishers because some of your writers and artists will undoubtedly become a new generation of pros for 2000AD which you state is their intention and I wish them well. But... for those of us who do not regard our characters as house characters and I am not alone in feeling this... it means that - although a remote possibility at the moment - that if, for instance, I fell out with a 2000AD editor or was too busy, or unwell and couldn't write my characters, or I was too expensive, the editor might be in a position to have a new semi-trained writer who had possibly proved himself at writing one of my stories and would presumably be cheaper. Because all rights were sold, 2000AD publishers are able to do this. It very rarely happens, because publishers and editors are thankfully sensitive to our feelings, especially as writers like myself believe in making our feelings known loud and clear. Also, it is a grey area where rights are concerned - because it is expressly against EEC law and morally reprehensible. Hence why you will see sometimes in publications a quote about moral rights having been relinquished. In France it would be impossible - where creativity is more valued than in this country, where the kind of incident I'm concerned about has happened on occasion. And recently. For example, a Flesh series and a Satanus series was recently written expressly against my wishes by other writers on 2000AD. The editor - Andy Diggle - although a life-long and encyclopaedic fan of 2000AD, forgot that I had created Satanus. Frankly, I don't accept that - as I told him at the time. Another editor, McManus, "forgot" to include writer and artist credits on a portfolio of 2000AD characters pitched at the film world. I am extremely militant on this subject because I am aware of "the thin end of the wedge" principle and aggressively protect my rights on Slaine, Nemesis, Finn, ABC Warriors, Ro-Busters, Visible Man etc . Any indication that a possible writer may be groomed for a future take-over will always meet with a strong, and if necessary, legal reaction from me. This may seem a little harsh, but the creative process is a long and painful one and I don't believe in giving anyone a free lunch. Naturally new writers need to learn and, of course, you will not be aware of these concerns because publishers and editors have a different perspective to writers and would have no reason to bring it to your attention. But my own feeling is your stories should be purely on recognised house characters or that your writers should create their own characters. Thus I'm not thrilled by the idea of Slaine appearing in Zarjaz even though it may well be homage etc. which I don't accept as a valid reason. Like many professionals, I also make it a policy not to read things of this nature so that I cannot be influenced by the content - an accusation that is also often levelled at pros by people trying to find their way in. When I started Slaine I had an agreement with the editor that no-one else should ever write this character. This is an agreement I would hold 2000AD to today. Of course Zarjaz falls outside this agreement as a fanzine, but I certainly wouldn't like to see Slaine appearing in it again. In case you think I am over-reacting let me quote you some further examples. Established 2000AD Writer X helped a new Writer Y to get work on 2000AD, encouraging him etc. Writer Y became very successful on 2000AD and elsewhere and promptly kicked Writer X in the teeth in interviews in fanzines. Another young Writer Z's 2000AD career was launched off the back of a project I had created in and later trashed me in print in a similar way. So you can understand why I regard new writers not so much as a threat, but more as potentially parasitical and ungracious like the two examples above. Sorry I can't be more positive.
I'll give the last word on this to the Zarjaz crew as it features a mention of my favourite writer:
This Has A "Good Old Mr. Grant And Good Old Rebellion" Value Of Six Out Of Ten
X-Mania Ernst says it looks like Marvel has learned from the mistakes of the past. At this weeks press conference Mr. Quesada outlined Marvels plans to cash in on the new X-Men film and bring in more readers to our favourite pastime.
Once more we're going to have comic book prequels to the film, the first being Nightcrawler and Wolverine that will have photo covers and the now compulsory comic book adaptation of the film. We'll also have a new X-Men focused encyclopaedia, a sequel to the excellent God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel (thought to be a major influence on the new film), a run on Ultimate X-Men by the phenomenon that is Bendis, two issues a month from the X-Men titles, loads of X-Men trades and a real push to make every 'X' title accessible to new readers. My problem? Same old thing. Marvel will be only printing the comics to order! Meaning that retailers alone will have to take the gamble and risk on this. Very nice, very helpful… what a crock. They will have good stocks on all the trades but hey, trades cost a lot for new readers… time will tell if retailers decide to take a financial gamble on this or decide to be conservative leading to yet another fumble from Marvel. This Has A "Buy A Clue" Value Of Five Out Of Ten
SHAZAM! Dummy spotted some future litigation for people to watch out for: DC vs a UK mobile phone company. SHAZAM is the trademarked exclamation of DC's Captain Marvel (and the title for any titles about him since DC cocked up and let Marvel get the rights to use the name Captain Marvel as a comic book title years ago). It is also a new mobile phone service advertised on the radio in the UK. The system is basically one where you dial a number, point your phone at the radio and you'll be texted back the title and artist… could be a different spelling but what's the betting it'll have a new title soon? This Has A "Legal Watch" Value Of Six Out Of Ten
WAKE UP! A new series is coming out, and it looks like one you shouldn't miss, according to my source Basilisk. Sleeper is written by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Sean Phillips and the poor old writer is a bit sceptical about how successful the project might be. Based on the stuff I've read I think this is one you should not miss. It's from Eye of the Storm (Wildstorm) so remember that when you order it. It's a spy/crime drama about a guy on a deep cover mission who lands in the shit when his only contact goes and falls into a coma (aspects of Face/Off there). He doesn't know what to do nor how to get out of it (if he wants to that is). There are some superpowers here but they're not the be all and end all of the whole thing. It would seem this is far more about the characters and their situations than super heroics. Look, don't take my word for it, search the web, find out a bit more on it. This sounds brilliant and it has a great pedigree with these creators onboard I just didn't want it to fail. Not to mention that it also will include the fantastic Alan Moore character Tao, seemingly killed in Moore’s last issue of W.I.L.D.Cats but resurrected by him in a superb short in issue #50… one of my favourite characters from the last few years. This Has A "Shameless Plug For Something I Want To Read And Want To Ensure The Success Of" Value Of Ten Out Of Ten
More Free Kids Comics Almost as a response to my last few columns (particularly a certain website's owners comments on my message board) Diamond has announced that they'll be taking part in Free Comic Book Day themselves with classic Carl Barks Donald Duck. Of course this will also serve as a taster for their new Disney comics but there's nothing wrong with that, it's the point of FCBD really. Plus they didn't make this one you HAVE to order which was nice of them. Many, many fans of Bark's work will rejoice at this news and will no doubt bug me to encourage retailers to order big on this as the comic to pull kids into the shop. Thanks to Radian for spotting my boss’s eminently sensible comments and a huge mega-corporation’s reaction to them. This Has A "Wait A Second...Was I Just Nice To Diamond Again?" Value Of Nine Out Of Ten
Writers’ Friend Here's an interesting bit for all the established and wannabe comic book writers out there from Andy Diggle's site:
Omega spotted this for us. This Has A "Reserve Your Copy Now" Value Of Ten Out Of Ten Well that's that. A mixed bag really but there's nothing wrong with that. Hope you all had fun and I'll see you again next week. Remember to enter the competition and especially remember to email in any gossip / rumour / news you get. I'm off to brush up on my Burns...Scots wha' hae, My love is like a red, red rose, Tamashanty… TTFN Alan Donald - Signing off from an island that can't make its mind up over the weather. |
