§ Heartbreaking news today: There will be no Arseface promos all over phone booths:
HBO has killed the PREACHER TV series. Mark Steven Johnson told Comics Continuum:

“We were budgeting and everything and it was getting really close to going,” Johnson told The Continuum. “But the new head of HBO felt it was just too dark and too violent and too controversial. Which, of course, is kind of the point! “It was a very faithful adaptation of the first few books, nearly word for word. They offered me the chance to redevelop it but I refused. I’ve learned my lesson on that front and I won’t do it again. So I’m afraid it’s dead at HBO. “I’ve heard someone is in the process of getting the rights to turn it into a feature film. I hope that happens. But I hope it happens as a series of movies as one movie couldn’t do it justice. I really love that story and I dedicated a lot of my time to honor Garth’s work. But it wasn’t meant to be.”

§ But buck up, little soldiers! The SCOTT PILGRIM movie is burbling along:

The project has been in development since 2005, but after what seems like an eternity, it looks like the film is actually moving forward. Wright tells Wizard, “We’re hopefully going into production later this year. We’ve been doing a lot of work on it in a conception level and getting into casting and crew and stuff.” Wright and company have been making the rounds in Toronto scouting locations for the flick. But it probably makes Wright’s job a lot easier considering most of the locals in the comic were based on actual locations (not to mention; it will be fun to see my hometown on-screen without The Hulk ruining the view).

§ AND the Tintin movie series is moving forward, although there seems to be some confusion over who is doing what:

Although Brussels’ Herge Studios seems to think otherwise, Steven Spielberg remains committed to directing the first in a planned “Tintin” trilogy for DreamWorks. It will be his next directing effort after this summer’s $780 million-worldwide-grossing “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” Herge Studios, which holds the rights to the iconic comic strip character, said Tuesday via a spokesman that Peter Jackson was moving into the director’s chair for the first film. But both Jackson’s and Spielberg’s camps say that Jackson in fact remains attached to direct the sequel, though he will still be a producer on the first. In the meantime, Jackson will finish postproduction on “The Lovely Bones” for DreamWorks/Paramount before moving on to co-write the two “Hobbit” movies for New Line and MGM. The first “Tintin” feature will be based on two of the books, “The Secret of the Unicorn” and “Red Rackham’s Treasure,” written by Tintin creator Herge between 1942 and 1944.

Is this a trend? Press releases complete with giant photos of Dan Slott holding a copy of SHE-HULK and Mike Siglain standing in front of a boat? It’s all in reference to now-IDW editor Andy Schmidt’s Comics Experience courses.

Comics Experience is pleased to announce that Dan Slott (Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers: The Initiative) will be teaching the Introduction to Comics Writing course and that DC Comics Editor Michael Siglain (52, JSA, Batman family) will be teaching the Introduction to Comic Book Art course. Both courses start this September.

“After teaching the classes for a little over a year, I was looking to bring something new to Comics Experience. Then it occurred to me to ask, whom would I want to take these classes from? So, I didn’t have to look far to find Dan and Michael,” Comics Experience owner Andy Schmidt said. “Dan Slott, much to my surprise, agreed almost right away and Michael Siglain earned my trust over his past guest appearances. He also has an art background that makes him a better choice for the class than I was!”

Both instructors are following the general guidelines that Schmidt set out but they are also bringing new ideas to the classes. The intention is to make these courses different, but more importantly—better.

(more…)

Just to help illustrate, I was on a plane yesterday coming in from the Fan Expo convention in Toronto and sat next to a young woman who, after we’d started talking and I told her I was a comic book artist, asked me if comics weren’t a dying industry.

I don’t think it’s dying, but I do think that what’s keeping it alive is akin to an iron lung or an artificial respirator. Something needs to enable it to breathe on its own.

— Artist Mike Choi

A few weeks into this project, I’m reading absolutely nothing but big fat comics with spines, and my inner Prose Guy is getting cranky. For one thing, they’re too darn short. I love being immersed in a narrative for days at a time, but even the fattest comics don’t take more than a few hours to read.

Please, please, can’t I take a break and dive into the new translation of “War and Peace” or, at the very least, curl up with the latest Venetian mystery by Donna Leon?

Nope. My stack of graphic novels keeps getting higher. And some are good enough to make my prose itch disappear.

By the end of “Blankets,” Craig Thompson’s lovely memoir of childhood and first love, I’ve forgotten its form and simply bought into the characters and the story. Cyril Pedrosa’s “Three Shadows” tugs at my parental heartstrings with every swirling image of a broad-shouldered father fighting to save a small, doomed child.

To my surprise, I find myself wondering if Paul Karasik and David Mazzucchelli’s version of Paul Auster’s “City of Glass” might be better than Auster’s original. To borrow the words of my smart brother-in-law, who lent me the adaptation, its “visual representations of intense states of mind” greatly magnify its emotional force.

And then there’s Gilbert Hernandez’s “Heartbreak Soup,” a collection of everyday stories set in a fictional Central American hamlet called Palomar. Hernandez’s work is part of a long-running Fantagraphics series called “Love and Rockets,” created with his brother Jaime. I like it for the same reason I got hooked on Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” when the San Francisco Chronicle first serialized it: It’s an addictive soap opera, replete with humor and heart.

— WaPo’s Bob Thompson

Somewhere, Nicolas Cage is crying. Calvin Reid at PW gets the tale of the tape:

Although calls to Virgin Comics CEO and cofounder Sharad Devarajan (who is also president of Gotham Entertainment) have not been returned, sources confirm that the venture has been closed and that a statement will likely be issued soon. The closing appears to effect only Virgin Comics’ U.S. publishing operations in New York City and does not effect the operations of Gotham Entertainment, the Bangalore, India-based partner in the venture that produces comics targeted at the South Asian consumer market.

The company produced about 17 different comics series in addition to publishing about 18 trade paperback collections and 3 hardcover titles. It is unclear what will happen to the rights to these properties.

One of the legendary achievements in fantastic illustration, Lynd Ward’s Frankenstein, incredibly, out of print, but archived on the web by Nick Mullins.

§ Revolving door: Rick Marshall has joined MTV’s Splash page blog:

I’ll be joining the current editor, Casey Seijas, in helping to make this new spin-off from their already successful MTV Movies site an even more attractive online destination for comics and movie fans. It’s a lofty goal, though, as Casey and the Splash Page crew have been doing a great job on the site since it launched in late July. If you haven’t done so already, I hope you’ll bookmark Splash Page and subscribe to the Splash Page RSS Feed. As always, I’ll do my best to reward your support with the most interesting content I can provide.

§ Reporter Van Jensen has joined the Top Shelf brotherhood of the traveling pants.

§ Just a nice one: a profile of 88-year-old former Timely artist Marion Sitton:

Marion Sitton sat mum as Stan Lee looked over his artwork. Sitton studied the future Spider-Man creator’s face as he took in the OK Corral scene Sitton had completed the previous week.

Lee praised the authentic-looking boots and other lifelike features of his cowboys.

“You can draw,” he said, “I’ll give you that.”

Those words granted Sitton membership in 1948 into Timely Comics’ artists bullpen. During the next six years, he was one of dozens of artists at Timely, later renamed Marvel, who drew dueling cowboys, fedora-wearing mystery men and embracing lovers. Superheroes were not in his repertoire.

We’re in transit back to civilization today. Full posting resumes tomorrow.

We’ll have more coverage of the Virgin Comics realignment soonish. Three former Virgin freelancers confirmed the company’s publishing shut down in our own comments thread, but elsewhere on the Web, the response seems to be a resounding “So?”…it looks like Virgin never really got a hold of any kind of audience. Another pamphlet publisher down the tubes.

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The LA Times rounds up the epic story of how the original Mickey Mouse may just not be “copyright Disney” anymore:

All signs pointed to a Hollywood ending with Disney and Mickey Mouse living happily ever after — at least until a grumpy former employee looked closely at fine print long forgotten in company archives.

Film credits from the 1920s revealed imprecision in copyright claims that some experts say could invalidate Disney’s long-held copyright, though a Disney lawyer dismissed that idea as “frivolous.”

Although studio executives are not yet hurling themselves from the parapets of Sleeping Beauty’s castle, the unexpected discovery raises an intriguing question: Is it possible that Mickey Mouse now belongs to the world — and that his likeness is usable by anybody for anything?

As the story takes pains to explain, Disney owns the trademark on the more recent evolution of the Mouse, but the earlier versions are in public domain–despite Congress constantly passing copyright extensions for just this very reason — so copyright is a bit hazy. The story also contains a great roundup of Disney’s various copyright battles over the years, and how the teensy-tiny loopholes they have used against others may now be turned against the studio giant.

More from Cartoon Brew.

Technorati Tags: Disney

That is the true next level in comics’ ascendance, as WaPo sends book guy Bob Thompson to see what all the excitement is about:

To a lifelong Prose Guy, whose idea of a good time involves a comfortable couch and a book full of nothing but words, the graphic novel galaxy can still feel far, far away.

Yes, I know comics can be ambitious and aimed at adults. Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” made this indisputable two decades ago, and there has been plenty of impressive work done since. But I can’t help wondering, even as I begin to explore the rise of what’s sometimes called “sequential art,” if I can ever overcome my personal bias toward prose.

The lengthy piece is accompanied by a comic drawn by Jonathan Bennett depicting the history of RAW, etc. in an enchanting clear ligne style.

§ Bob Greenberger is the new News editor at ComicMix:

Almost a year ago to the day, Mike took me to lunch to talk about my life post-Weekly World News and we began discussing a role for me within ComicMix. It led to additional writing and some work on Phase 3, which will be announced finally in the coming weeks. A fulltime post never quite gelled and that seemed fine.

Things are different now. The site is a little more mature and stable. They know what they need and one of those things is to take their news coverage to a new level and felt I could do that. I spat out a variety of thoughts as to what was working and what I saw as things that could be done differently. Mike agreed with most everything I said and threw the offer on the table. The salary and hours provides me with an incredible base to work from which takes a lot of mental pressure away.

§ We know you are sick of San Diego but when noted academic Henry Jenkins — who has made a study of fan group dynamics — posts his thoughts, it’s worth a link:

HJ: Luckily Henry and Cynthia were along, but it was overwhelming a bit, trying to negotiate and keep up with three people in a space that congested. So that was its own kind of challenge. Sometimes I was thinking it would be great just to be a single person navigating through the space and not have to have large-scale logistics! The scale of it just blows you away. I’ve been on the floor at E3, which is supposed to be one of the largest entertainment trade shows. I’ve done South by Southwest. But neither of them are anywhere near the scale of Comic-Con.

§ Indeed, Comic-Con is now so huge that Variety uses it as the baseline to judge the Democratic National Convention, where, you know, the potential future leader of the free world will be chosen:

The easy answer: Causes. In fact, outside the convention hall itself, it will be a veritable ComicCon of causes, as dozens upon dozens of events are slated throughout the week promoting everything from African poverty relief to the plight of war veterans to the world trade imbalance.

(Thanks to Beat Pal RS for many of these links.)

This story in the WSJ reveals that DC Comics’ days as the shy, studious librarian of the Warners empire are doneski, as Warners bets on a new film strategy with DC at the center. The plan involves fewer films but larger tentpole opportunities for each of them. And all eyes are on DC:

“Films with our DC properties have the opportunity to support other divisions in the company in a way that our other movies don’t,” Mr. Robinov says, for example, with products such as a Superman game or toys. By 2011, Mr. Robinov plans for DC Comics to supply the material for up to two of the six to eight tent-pole films he hopes Warner Bros. will have in the pipeline by then.

These will not be chipper films, like the crash-and-burn of SPEED RACER:

Like the recent Batman sequel — which has become the highest-grossing film of the year thus far — Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as “The Dark Knight.” Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.’ DC properties. “We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” he says. That goes for the company’s Superman franchise as well.

News of the film slate is forthcoming:

The studio is set to announce its plans for future DC movies in the next month. For now, though, it is focused on releasing four comic-book films in the next three years, including a third Batman film, a new film reintroducing Superman, and two movies focusing on other DC Comics characters. Movies featuring Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman are all in active development.

MEANWHILE, back at the ranch, Val links to a report from the Toronto DC panel which suggests that the new word at DC itself may be “stable characters you can build a franchise on”, at least per Dan Didio.

“What happens is that if a character doesn’t work, we go, ‘We got a brand new direction to put him in! We’re moving him into something new! We’re going to try something brand new and different! We’re going to throw everything out and start over again!’ We make that mistake, but what that does is, it alienates fans.

“Our biggest mistake is that we don’t continue and build on…what we should be doing is let it sit for a while and then come back with a good strong story with what’s going on. That’s what Geoff [Johns] does. That’s Geoff’s secret weapon. He doesn’t throw it all out and start all over. He builds on what’s existed and makes it better…We get too worried about the minutia…all we should be doing is telling great stories with out characters.

“What we’re doing coming out of ‘Final Crisis’ ” and I’ll say this here, and I’ll say this everywhere ” is that we’re locking our characters down. We’re going with a good interpretation, and we’re staying with it. That’s why you don’t see Aquaman right now, because we want it to be clear what it is, who he is and what he’s all about.”

Rumors about Virgin Comics are flying fast and furious this weekend. Sources are telling me that the comics publishing is getting drastically reduced or eliminated and most of the New York staff has been let go…however, official announcements or confirmation have not yet come.

Virgin Comics launched in 2006, funded by billionaire mogul Richard Branson, with input from author Deepak Chopra and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. However, the principal movers and shakers at the company are comics-loving entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan, Suresh Seetharaman, and Gotham Chopra. From the start, Virgin has produced several lines of comics — the “Shakti” line, based on Hindu mythology and culture, and the “Director’s Cut” line which features concepts by directors such as Kapur, Guy Ritchie, and John Woo. The “Voices” line includes comics based on concepts by a variety of Hollywood/entertainment types, from Nicolas Cage (Nowhere Man) and Dave Stewart to Hugh Jackman and, most notoriously, Jenna Jameson.

Virgin Comics had also recently arranged with the Sci-Fi Channel to both produce comics based on TV shows and develop comics as shows. The first was The Stranded, by Mike Carey, which is being developed as a pilot.

Virgin’s most recent notable announcements are a deal with Stan Lee to create an entire new superhero universe, and The MBX, a series of webisodes based on the Mahabharata, written by Grant Morrison.

Virgin’s print comics line never seemed to catch fire, either in the US or India, so cutbacks would come as no surprise. It would be equally surprising to see a lot of their development deals and web-based material disappear, however.

Developing.

Everyone else has been linking to the 1907 comic strip Madge the Magician’s Daughter by W.O. Wilson — why shouldn’t The Beat?
While enjoying this newspaper strip’s whimsy and imagination, it also gets us pondering. What would W.O. Wilson be doing today? The market for lavishly drawn comic strips has dried up; ditto illustration. Perhaps he would do children’s books. As wild and fun as the strip is, the art is kind of weird and wonky…nowhere near the virtuoso skill of a Feininger or O’Neill. If we plopped Wilson down in today’s comics market, he’d probably be doing weird-ass indie comics for AdHouse or Top Shelf or PictureBox, and he’d be considered an “indie” artist. Whatever that means.

We are, like, totally on vacation.

Check out this gallery of amazing Charles Burns art previewing an upcoming show at the Adam Baumgold Gallery.

A new comic by Larson/O’Malley! Bear Creek Apartments. And there was great rejoicing! And server crashing, apparently.

Cory Doctorow Meets DJ Spooky: A CBLDF Benefit Mashup!

Sadly, we’ll be out of town, or we’d be there in a flash.

Offered without context..James Kochalka’s retelling of FF #9, page 17:

You know, it isn’t just the movie people who are snapping up the comics! Cartoonists are still getting book deals at traditional publishers left and right. This week’s PW Comics Week had a few items of note. Dash Shaw, the new lit comics It Kid, has signed up for his next book at Pantheon, a print version of his online Body World:

The deal was negotiated by agent Bob Mecoy. The book was acquired by Pantheon editorial director Dan Frank along with editor/designer Chip Kidd, who will both edit the book. Mecoy also said there was “unprecedented” interest in both Bottomless Belly Button and Body World from Hollywood film studios, although no deal has been reached.

The same issue also notes that agent Judy Hansen has negotiated a two-book deal at Scholastic for Flight’s Jake Parker for his character Missile Mouse.

Missile Mouse was introduced earlier this year in Flight Explorer, an anthology based on Flight with comics created for young readers, published by Villard. Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher, the first of the two graphic novels, will be published in 2010.

Hansen also writes to us to say that she’s negotiated another two-book deal for Benjamin Hatke, another Flight and Flight Explorer author. Mark Siegel at First Second has acquired two graphic novels starring Zita the Spacegirl (left). The first book is titled Zita the Spacegirl: The Longest Day.

Mucho good reading ahead.

Kreegah!