Central City Comics Blog: Comics Talk

Archive for the ‘Comics in General’ Category

Captain America

Wonder Woman

With the new year comes the new season of Comic Book Conventions. If you have never been I ask you one question, Why Not? They are all over the country theses days and there has to be one close to you. I will make a case for you to attend a major or minor convention near you. What is your preference in the entertainment world? Movies, comics, superheroes, collectibles, publishers, artist, writers, graphic novels, movie stars, TV programs, costumes, shows, previews, inside discussions, free stuff, interesting people, panels, and much more. You get inside information on movies, superheroes, comic books, artist, publishers, writers, and more just with the price of the ticket. There is memories that will last a life time and bargains that you won’t get in stores for the wise buyer of collectibles and printed publications and art work.

Comic Con has Star Trek, Star Wars, Superman, Spider-Man, videos, cartoons, animations, stars, and the people that make the visual and literary media work and so much more. I have been to San Diego Comic Con International and met movie stars walking the floor, and I have been to Wonder Con and went to some very interesting open panels and discussions about the entertainment world. Went last year to the Seattle version of Comic Con “Emerald City Comic Con” where I saw some of the most creative self made superhero costumes ever. Make it part of a vacation you will never forget. Plan to visit a convention near you. You will not regret it. Here is a link to some of the conventions for 2012 check it out here. Ask your comic shop what convention to see and when it is coming. Do a little home work and go have some fun.

Comic Con Crowd

We make plans to go to places on vacation we think we will enjoy spend too much money and can’t wait to get home. Try Comic Con this year and tell me of your experience. Share you memories of past conventions we our readers. Check it out and enjoy yourself. We are here for your entertainment information at Comics Talk. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. Walt

Superheroes

Emerald City Comic Con

Batman and Catwoman

X-Men 1 Fold Out Cover

I have been around comics for many years and I know comics as well as the next guy but this question got me thinking for a while. What single issue comic sold the most issues of all times. I thought of the Death of Superman in Superman #75, the Amazing Spider-Man #583 (the Obama issue) went into I think six printings and the Death of Robin in Batman #428 one of the first comic events to make mainstream news. Then I remembered the comic event by Marvel of the 1991 the new release of X-Men #1 in 5 new covers written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Jim Lee. Shipping with four variant covers priced at $1.50, and a special gatefold cover combining all four and printed on higher quality paper selling for $3.95, X-Men #1 sold nearly 8.1 million copies with the combined sales of all five editions. That gave Marvel’s 1991 X-Men #1 The Guinness World Record Best Selling Comic Of All Time.

The comic sales of the 90′s as I remember them was fueled by speculation not necessarily comic fans. When I sold comics back then young people would ask me what comic I thought would go up in value. I would tell the young person there are lots of reasons comics and other collectibles go up in value the most important being popularity and low print runs and how rare an issue is. It is simply supply and demand. Then I would recommend they buy comic books because they liked the story and art work not because it might put them through college some day or make them rich. Some time they would listen and were wiser for it.

Comic books are a form of Entertainment and unless you have some money and want to speculate on old classic comics you should realize they should be enjoyed as such. That is what we are about at Comics Talk to make the most of the entertainment and pleasure of reading this visual media. So to put this in perspective I have a list of the most popular comic book issues of the last 10 years to show what comics have sold in the real world of entertainment below this post. Keep in mind I don’t think the record of X-Men #1 will ever or should ever be broken. If it is ever broken I hope it is from comic readers who want to read not speculate on it’s future value. But such is the world we live in. We are here for you with Comics Talk news and information, stay tuned comic faithful for more. Walt

Justice League #1 2006 Unit sales: 250,847

Action Comic #1 2011 Sales 250,898

Batman 1 2011 Sales 262,379

Secret Invasion 1 2008 Sales 262,975

Infinite Crisis 1 2005 Sales 269,991

All Star Batman and Robin 2005 Sales 276,017

Captain America 25 2007 Sales 317,713

Civil War 2006 Sales 341,856

Justice League 1 2011 Sales 361,138

Amazing Spider-Man #583 2009 Sales 530,500

The top selling comic book Issue of the last 10 years the Obama Inauguration Day Issue: 530,500 Unit Sales

Justice League #1

Marvel Comics was the leading publisher in Retail Dollar and Unit Market Shares based on total sales of comics, graphic novels and magazines to comic book specialty stores in 2011, according to Diamond Comic Distributors. Justice League #1 was the top seller for the year, with more than 230,000 copies sold to North American retailers across several printings. The top winners in sales DC the New 52, Marvels Mega series, and Image Comics “The Walking Dead”. Marvel, DC Comics and Image Comics all shared 81% of the market share according to Diamond Distributors. Below is a table of sales and market share for 2011. You can see how Marvel and DC dominated in comic sales.

Now you see why Comics Talk and other Comic based media discuss Marvel and DC so much just because of the popularity alone. These are bad times financially in history but people are making room for entertainment in comics. In the age of 3, 4, and 5 dollar comic books I am amazed by the sales. People are not bashful about spending money on comic entertainment. We are here to keep you up on the latest so stay tuned comic faithful for more. Walt

PUBLISHER MARKET SHARES

Based on Total Unit Sales of Products Invoiced in Calendar Year 2011

Hellboy: Fury #3

2011 has come and gone but not without some outstanding comic book publications. While DC Comics and Marvel were the top sellers there was some great work done in other publishing comic companies. Dark Horse Comics led with the death of Hellboy in Hellboy the Fury #3 while comic heroes tend not to ever die in the comic book world Mike Mignola really did it he killed his most well known character Hellboy. Very well written I am sure the series may still be available. Also at Dark Horse Jim Shooter revived some of the greatest Gold Key heroes with Doctor Solar – Man of the Atom, Turok – Son of Stone, Magnus – Robot Fighter, and Mighty Samson. Shooter did a good job of re-introducing these Silver Age characters to a new generation.

Star Trek 1 IDW

While at Dynamite Entertainment from the mind of the late Jack Kirby they re-introduced some of his wonderful characters like Captain Victory, Silver Star, and Dragonsbane with more to come from the comics series Kirby: Genesis. With many covers by Alex Ross you know the art looks good. Follow that with the comic book version of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy masterwork “A Game of Thrones”, Dynamite Entertainment left a creative mark on 2011. The up and coming IDW Publishing got the rights to publish the new timeline favorite from the movie 2009 Star Trek the continuing story of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members. Also in a separate story IDW printed a crossover of Star Trek and the Legion of Superheros series still going into 2012, plus comics with Doctor Who, G.I. Joe, Transformers, and True Blood good stuff from IDW comic book publisher for 2011.

Fantastic Four 600

At Marvel we began the year as the tragic saga of “Three” came to an end in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR #587—and The Human Torch fell. Johnny Storm sacrificed himself so that his niece and nephew as well as his best friend, The Thing, could escape the Negative Zone. With this story came a series change that ended in two titles FF (Future Foundation) and again Fantastic Four adding Spider-Man in the absents of the Torch to make it Four again. These comic books ended the year with Johnny Storm coming back from the Negative Zone victorious and alive again. This story written by Jonathan Hickman may well be the best story trek of 2011 it involves Doctor Doom, the Inhumans, and just about everyone in the story line from the past 2 years.

Fear Itself 3

Marvel also began the year with a cross title Mega event call the “Chaos War” which evolved an entity called the Chaos King or  Amatsu-Mikabosh a Japanese God of evil, he is the embodiment of the chaos and nothingness that preceded creation, which wants to wipe out all existence and almost does. Hercules uses his new All Father status to remake the world at the sacrifice of his godhood making him mortal and launching a new series called Herc. Then not to be out done by the Gods of Mount Olympias writer Matt Fraction writes another world threatening event called “Fear Itself” involving Odin’s older brother the Serpent: God of Fear, who claims he is the rightful All Father not Odin. Very interesting story it introduces the Serpent’s the “Worthy” and Odin’s  the “Mighty” lead by Iron Man. It ends with much devastation to the earth and Thor finally killing the Serpent then taking nine steps and falling dead. Odin mourns his son’s death then takes his brothers body and leaves the realm of midgard and asgard to the All Mothers: Freyja, Gaea, and Idune, who rule in his stead.  Two major storylines that change many things in the Marvel universe.

Death of Spider-Man

Spider Island another major event centered around the New York City area. “Spider-Island” the storyline started in The Amazing Spider-Man and crossing over into other comic books published by Marvel Comics. It involve an infection that gave normal humans Spider Powers and eventually turned them into Spider creatures serving the Spider-Queen. It takes Mr Fantastic of the Fantastic Four and others of the Horizon Labs scientists to find a cure then a huge battle and inoculation of the public and the re introduction of Kaine as the clone of Peter Parker as a good guy cured from his previous problems. That is really an over simplification of a very complicated story. Another big story from Marvel.

On the Ultimate side of Marvel you have the Death of Spider-Man, the real death of Peter Parker. His heroic death brings on the introduction of a new Spider-Man, Miles Morales. A teenager of African American and Latino descent, he will have a lot of adjusting to do to fill the shoes of Peter Parker. So far the reviews have been very favorable of the new Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe.

Reign of Doomsday

Well if you are overwhelmed by the events of the comic world I save DC Comics last for a reason. They changed everything with an event called Flashpoint. But before we get to that DC brought back Doomsday to the Superman titles in the “Reign of Doomsday” series. The crossover involves Doomsday hunting down Steel, Superboy, Eradicator and Cyborg Superman, the four main characters introduced in the wake of the controversial The Death of Superman storyline in 1992. The storyline itself draws its title from “Reign of the Supermen”, the immediate follow-up to The Death of Superman. This run of comics will reintroduce Doomsday as you never thought to see him. It results in the introduction of a character called Doomslayer a very interesting story. This leads up to the giant sized Action Comics 900 and the end of the series which was started in 1938.

Meanwhile the events of Brightest Day follow the exploits of these heroes and villains as they attempt to learn the secret behind their salvation. At the end of “Blackest Night”, 12 heroes and villains were resurrected for a later to be reveled  purpose.  Brightest Day #7 revealed that the 12 resurrected must complete an individual assignment given to them by the White Lantern Entity. If they are successful, their life will be fully returned. It ended when Boston Brand found the new champion who will bear the white light of life and take the Entity’s place. (Revealed as Alec Holland, the new Swamp Thing as of Brightest Day #24)

Flashpoint #5

And that led into one of the biggest events in comic book history the series Flashpoint and the creation of the New 52 the remaking of the DC Universe. Flashpoint was a complete redirection in the DC Universe and change in history brought on by the Flash Barry Allen as he changed an event in his past that set every thing in a different direction an alternate universe. Everything changed with the only one who had knowledge in this time period of how things should be was Barry who no longer had the powers of speed. Without telling a synopsis of what happened Barry was the key in changing it back but in the process a mysterious “Lady in Red” helped him to bring a new universe into existence that resulted in DC’s Vertigo and WildStorm superhero groups brought into the main DCU continuity. You can read about that here in my blog. So this New DC 52 as the creators of DC began calling it was created with no connection to the previous history of events in the DCU. The writers and artist and producers at DC could go in any direction they wanted to. And they did with the retelling origins of all the icons of DC history. There was a new fresh look at the heroes that have been around for over 50 years.

Justice League #1

In September of 2011 52 titles started at number one again including Action Comics which had not been interrupted in over 900 issues. Grant Morrison was given the rewrite of Superman origin, Brian Azzarello took on Wonder Woman, Tony Daniel would write Detective Comics, Geoff Johns writer and art Jim Lee for Justice League #1, and there are many more changes which we highlighted in Comics talk during 2011. I think the most dramatic change was the top sales of comic books for the first time in a long time when from Marvel to DC Comics. Mostly because of new readers and old readers that just wanted to check it out. Also DC provided digital copies of comic books the same day of paper publication, this is a first in the industry.

Keep in mind there was a lot of other things that happened in comics but I can only highlight the major ones in this venue. So quite an extraordinary year in comic books, one that will go down in history I am sure. We are here for you to keep you informed on the media known as Comic Book Entertainment and Movie greats with a lot of other fun things mixed in. Stay tuned Comic faithful Fore more. Walt

Comics Talk on Face Book

Central City Comics Blog: Comics Talk now has its own page on Facebook after 5 years on the web and 3 years as a blog we now have our own Comics Talk Blog Facebook Page. If Facebook and Comics and Movies are your bag then visit us there. Every thing we can think of that is important to you will be posted. Just go there and click the like button and comment on comics and movies that you will find.

Enjoy the entertainment and information and be informed. We welcome your comments on both the Media Blog, Face Book and Twitter, we made it to the 21st century in technology Wow. Stay tuned for more great stuff personal interviews and exclusive goodies right here on Comics Talk on the web: Blog, Facebook and Twitter. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. Walt

Jerry Robinson

Jerry Robinson was an American comic book artist known for his work on DC Comics’ Batman line of comics during the 1940s. He is best known as the creator of the Joker, and for his work on behalf of creators’ rights. Born January 1, 1922 he passed away on the afternoon of December 7, 2011 in New York City. He was 89.

For his work in comics, he won several awards, including the National Cartoonists Society award for the Comic Book Division in 1956, their Newspaper Panel Cartoon for 1963 for Still Life, their Special Features Award in 1965 for Flubs and Fluffs, and their Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Robinson was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2004. Robinson received the Sparky Award for lifetime achievement from the Cartoon Art Museum at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International.

Over the course of his early years in comics, Robinson proved a creative and social dynamo, moonlighting as a comics artist on projects such as the infamous “created in one night” issue of “Daredevil” while taking classes in Journalism at Columbia University. As the production of comic books wound down near the end of World War II, Robinson moved primarily to newspaper comic strips where he remained for the late ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, becoming known for Editorial illustration, political satire comic strips such as his long-running “Still Life With Robinson” and lush cover paintings for Broadway’s “Playbill.”

The artist also served as President of both the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) and the National Cartoonists Society (NCS), and remains the only person to receive both honors. Robinson in the  70′s became a comics historian and advocate for the rights of artists. “Starting in 1972, I curated the first comics at a fine art gallery. That was, I think, the year after, or almost simultaneously, with a show at the Louvre on comics, which I went over to see. I think that started it,” this from his interview with CBR this year. “The following year, I was a guest curator at the Kennedy Library in Washington, where we did I think the largest show ever held on the comics. Certainly in the US. It was the size of a couple football fields and had all the genres of the comics. So it’s been a long time, but more and more universities and colleges have taken it on as a course of study, serious scholars and so forth.”

Jerry Robinson Comic Con 2008

Also in the 70′s Robinson created “The Comics” one of the first definitive books on the strip comic artform as a whole, written by Robinson in 1974 and recently published in a new edition by Dark Horse. Robinson became a key figure along with artist Neal Adams in the fight to get Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster proper credit and pay for their hero from DC Comics. Recently he served as a paid creative consultant for DC and Warner Bros on projects including Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” which drew heavily on Robinson’s original stories in its portrayal of the Joker.

DC Comics has released the following statements from its senior staff:

“Jerry Robinson illustrated some of the defining images of pop culture’s greatest icons. As an artist myself, it’s impossible not to feel humbled by his body of work. Everyone who loves comics owes Jerry a debt of gratitude for the rich legacy that he leaves behind.”—Jim Lee, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher and artist of “Batman: Hush”

“Jerry Robinson was one of the greats. He continued to be a vibrant, creative force well into his nineties, with ideas and thoughts that continue to inspire. Jerry was a great advocate for creators. It was my pleasure to meet and work with him. He will be missed.”—Dan DiDio, Co-Publisher, DC Entertainment

“It’s impossible to work at DC Entertainment­ without feeling the impact of Jerry Robinson’s contributions to the industry. His influence continues to resonate today.”—Bob Harras, DC Entertainment Editor-in-Chief

“Jerry Robinson was an innovator, a pioneer in storytelling. His artwork was always astonishing, but his contributions to the Dark Knight mythology go far beyond art. The streets of Gotham City are a little lonelier today…Jerry will truly be missed.”—Mike Marts, “Batman” editor

I agree Robinson was a force in comics for many years his only rival would be Stan Lee on his total influence on the comic world. He helped change the industry to what it is today. He gave great credibility to artist and writers as literary contributors to society itself, and academic credentials to the work of comic entertainment. In America I hope that people appreciate the freedom and rights that everyone has and how it can open the way for a creative person like Jerry Robinson. May that never change and be censored into something less than freedom. We are always on the look for the greatness in the entertainment industry. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. Walt

Game Of Thrones

Media Release: Game of Thrones has caught on like wildfire. These days it’s hard to walk the streets for long before you run across somebody with their face buried in one of the volumes from author George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice series. If you don’t run across somebody reading the books, then there’s still good chance they’re a fan of HBO’s adaptation of the series, which enjoyed a well-received first season, and is currently shooting a highly-anticipated second season.

HBO knows that Game of Thrones fandom is at a rabid high right now, as there was a massive amount of buzz surrounding a season 2 teaser trailer for the show that released a few months back. And all that trailer did was announce when the show would return. Today we have a new Game of Thrones season 2 trailer to share – one that focuses on the production of the show, with a few choice looks at some of the characters and new lands that will be visited in the new season. As one of the producers says in the video below, “the world just expanded enormously.”

Game Of Thrones Comic

A friend of mine said I needed to watch Game of Thrones on HBO before it is no longer available. So I watched the first couple episodes and I was hooked. It is filled with powerful acting and great story content which is very ADULT but very Good. Imagine kingdoms controlled by a King who has lost the control of his kingdom then dies and his wicked son and Queen rule in a bath of blood killing all who oppose them, while in a distant land a woman of royalty marries a barbarian and learns to love him then looses him to the wiles of a witch. Then she find out she is the chosen one to bring back the age of the dragon and be able to control them. While at the northern border wall boundary of the kingdom something evil comes back to threaten the race of man and attack in the new age of winter. And the forces of opposition to the new illegitimate King move on the capitol of the kingdom to find the rightful King.

This summation of the story does no justice to the Novel and outstanding ‘made for HBO’ Movie Series. This medieval fantasy is worth your consideration for entertainment but be aware it is very ADULT in content, it is both sexual and violent. It is a very hard hitting show the author of the Novel (George R. R. Martin) said he enjoyed writing and he was not afraid to shake things up by killing the popular characters off to keep people guessing what direction the story is going. Martin has described his preference for killing off important characters as being necessary for the story’s depth: “…when my characters are in danger, I want you to be afraid to turn the page, (so) you need to show right from the beginning that you’re playing for keeps.” See the series 2012 in April and read the comic now in production by Dynamite Entertainment at your local comic shop. And you can pick the Novels up by George R. R. Martin at the local book store. If you like fantasy and good story check this out. Stay tuned comic and movie faithful for more. Walt

Superman Wedding

Peter and Mary Jane

There are many changes coming to the DC Universe in September. Information on the “New 52″ is being released and some previous suspicions are being confirmed. One in particular involves Superman and Lois Lane. Lois has been the love interest for Superman/Clark Kent since they all first appeared in 1938′s Action Comics #1. Their courtship lasted decades and finally they were married in 1996′s Superman: The Wedding Album. Now after fifteen years, the marriage will be over.

This is something quite popular in the comic world right now with the demise of Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s marriage in One More Day series by J. Michael Straczynski where they made a deal with the devil to dissolve their marriage. They did not even go the conventional way like divorce. At least that would be honest but they wanted to keep the chance they would still love each other so they used an elaborate story involving the Marvel version of the devil and the death of Aunt May to force the issue. Now they are doing the same to Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Clark and Lois have been a love interest for more than 70 years and now their marriage never existed because of the series Flashpoint and the DC re-write. In the new Superman Comic you can see Lois has a new boy friend.

Page 1

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Why are the writers doing this? The interview with  J. Michael Straczynski in the previous blog shares some light on why this is happening. They want to be more responsive to readers today and more accessible as characters. At some point you can not do that by changing circumstances in the existing continuity so you must change the fundamental history and look at it in a new direction to bring a new fresh approach in writing. You may remember Straczynski writing Superman: Earth One which definitely does just that “new approach” to a 70 year old hero.

“We really want to inject new life in our characters and line,” DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio told USA Today. “This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today’s audience.”

I can understand why DC and Marvel think they must change things to get new readers and shake things up to make their characters less predictable. But why attack marriage between comic couples? It would make a reader think there is something wrong with marriage in the eyes of the comic creators. Maybe they are frustrated by sending their child support or alimony payments. Not knowing how many have broken marriages it is probably unfair of me to say that. Maybe they just want to keep the flame of romance alive to sell comics. For what ever the reason it seems like working out the problems of marriage is not what they want to write about.

The institute of marriage is wonderful and a blessing for the wife and husband when done right. Something that should last a life time. The affection between people should grow as they commit to each other and understand each other better. The divorce rate in America for first marriage is between 45% to 50%. That means that better than 50% of couples think it is worth it to stay together and have a family. Wow what a concept. Comics are a medium of youth and young adults. When they see a superhero have many partners it sends the wrong message, after all these people are heroes modeling how a person with great abilities should act. I am I off base here let me know. Let me know if you are happy with the change in marital stasis of so many in the comic world. Am I over reacting. You comment please on the current state of marriage in comics. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. Walt

Star Trek and Legion of SuperHeroes #1

Media Release — The original Starship Enterprise has traveled across time and space on its five-year mission, but it will be entering the DC Universe for the first time this summer. IDW Publishing is proud to announce its first-ever crossover with DC Comics’ Super Heroes in STAR TREK/LEGION OF SUPERHEROES, a six-issue monthly series beginning in October 2011.

STAR TREK/LEGION OF SUPERHEROES tells the tale of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise, who beam down to a planet only to discover that the planet isn’t their intended destination, or even in the right universe. At the same time, a group of “Great Darkness Saga” Legionnaires inside a time sphere find themselves cast into the 23rd century, but it’s not the 23rd century as they know it, either. STAR TREK/LEGION OF SUPERHEROES is a galaxy-spanning adventure that draws both teams together to face a menace that includes Khunds, Klingons, Borg, and other threats that aren’t quite as they should be. The egalitarian United Planets in one universe and a United Federation of Planets in another is now the Imperial Planets of Terra, a dark empire focused on war and conquest, and that’s just the beginning for this special series.

“Nothing like kicking off our first foray into the DC Universe with a story that spans dimensions and centuries,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief and the lead editor on this crossover. “As a huge fan of both of these teams and the eras we’re playing with here, as well as an admirer of the talents involved with this tale, I couldn’t be happier.”

Weaving these disparate universes and characters into a dark, foreboding and mysterious saga is Eisner-nominated writer Chris Roberson (iZombie, Superman), with art by Jeffrey and Philip Moy, both of whom have tackled the Legion and Star Trek in other forms. Phil Jimenez, will provide covers for the entire series, while each issue will also feature variant covers from classic Legion of Superheroes artists such as Keith Giffen, Steve Lightle, and Mike Grell, as well as IDW mainstay and Best Artist Eisner-nominee Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key) and others.

“We’re thrilled to be joining such iconic characters together in an exciting adventure that spans space and time,” said Bob Harras, DC Comics Editor-in-Chief.

The STAR TREK/LEGION OF SUPERHEROES series also offers a note of nostalgia for DC Comics and Star Trek, as that publisher produced the popular sci-fi comics under both the DC Comics banner in the ’80s and the Wildstorm banner in the ’90s. Now, under IDW’s auspices, both the 23rd and the 30th centuries might never be the same after this new series is complete.

“Chris Roberson, who’s incredibly knowledgeable about both series, managed to not only weave both teams together into a clever story, but he also found a way to tie both universes together through a shared villain that fans will never expect to see,” added Ryall. “And the Moys bring a sense of dynamism and energy to not only the characters we know but also in the designs for some special merged-universe characters, too. Add to that the chance to work with guys I greatly admire on the series’ covers and you’ve really got the makings of something special here. I’m really happy that DC has been such a welcoming partner on the crazy things we’re going to do here.”

Star Trek is licensed by CBS Consumer Products.

STAR TREK/LEGION OF SUPERHEROES #1 (of 6, $3.99, 32 pages, full color) will be available in comic stores in October 2011.

Well just when you think you have seen it all there is a surprise I never thought would be Star Trek and the Legion of Superheroes. Printed it as I found it. Hunting the comic news for my readers. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. Walt

J. Michael Straczynski

J. Michael Straczynski has been touted as one of the great writers of this Century.  CBR TV at the San Diego Comic Con this year talks comics with him, what he likes in the industry and how he grades himself as a writer and what the future holds for Straczynski. Below is the lead story from CBR TV and video of the great interview with J. Michael Straczynski. Sorry won’t work on IPhone or IPad. Only on Mac or PC.

J. Michael Straczynski, or JMS to his fans, spoke with CBR TV during Comic-Con International in San Diego where he weighed in with his support of DC Comics’ September relaunch, explaining why he feels the success of his and Shane Davis “Superman: Earth One” graphic novel helped pave the way for the New 52 before delving into what fans can expect for the follow-up to his bestselling interpretation of the Man of Steel. JMS also revisits the reason he left “Superman” and “Wonder Woman,” explaining that DC wanted him to focus entirely on the “Earth One” sequel, tackles the internet’s reaction when the original announcement was made and rates his own work based on a scale where Alan Moore is at 10, from “Midnight Nation” and “Rising Stars” to “Amazing Spider-Man” and “The Twelve.” Continuing on with his talk of “The Twelve,” JMS addresses the delays and the CCI announcement that the series is returning to finish his and Chris Weston’s story.

Finally, JMS talks about working on the Thor movie, from the influence his run on the Asgardian god’s comic had on the film, the trick to both humanizing the character while showcasing his inherent grandeur and his experience while filming his cameo.

Mark Millar

I just read an article about comic creativity from Mark Millar on the current state of comics and why he left the big two Marvel and DC. He was very negative about the Big Event comics and why Marvel and DC do them. The Article is found on Comic Book News if you would like to read it. I must say that I understand why he may criticize the big guys, Millar is currently doing only his creator owned comics, having recently announced he will no longer be doing work for the Big Two. Mark Millar (born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, MarvelKnights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four,Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films. In August 2007, he won the Stan Lee award at Wizardworld in Chicago.

Millar is well known in the business of comics so I was very interested in what he had to say.

Question: With Marvel announcing a plan to kill off a major character every month and DC relaunching their entire line, is there a lack of good creativity and writing in the medium at the moment and is it indicative of increasingly reductive sensationalism and events in comics?

Mark Millar: “Definitely. There’s no doubt about it. The beginning of the end was in 2006-7. When I did Civil War for Marvel, the sales were about 2 and a half times what they expected, and Marvel were like, “oh, let’s go back to the bad old days!” and DC were like “let’s copy them!”…It’s just the cycle of comics. The same thing happened twenty years ago and twenty years before that. That will wear out and then everything will change again. But unfortunately for Marvel and DC, they’re in that kind of boring period just now….And at DC it seems that there’s a massive desperation, they’re relaunching their entire line right now in September, all in one month. And I said, why didn’t you guys just roll it out over a year so that everybody gets a chance to buy, you know, try out the first issues? And they said, we’re actually more accountable to Warner Brothers now than we’ve ever been before – we need to show some serious profit….The culture atrophies if we just keep recycling the same thing, and when I saw the new Justice League that’s coming out in September, all slightly redesigned, it just felt like when you see Sylvester Stallone’s mum with botox?! It just looks weird. How many times can Batman kick the shit out of the Joker? How many times can the Penguin cause grief? If Galactus hasn’t destroyed the Earth the last forty times, chances are things are going to be fine!”

While I agree that Big “Event” comics and restarts are not my favorite way to run a Comic Publishing Company I understand the reason, “show me the money”. But there has been in this decade some very good stories with very good art work. Planetary story by Warren Ellis art by John Cassaday was excellent in story and art. Batman #608 – began the Hush story It was written by Jeph Loeb, and penciled by Jim Lee, inked by Scott Williams was very high quality. The New Avengers written by Brian Michael Bendis started in 2004 and was fresh and new in story and art work for several years. Wonder Woman #219 which was the climax of a great story about the battle between Wonder Woman and Superman who was controlled by Maxwell Lord, the writer Greg Rucka. J. Michael Straczynski’s run on Amazing Spider-man was great. I am sure you can think of some work in the last decade that was very good.

My point is there is no lack of talent in the comic world but marketing plays a larger rule than it should in what comes to us in comic form. Crossovers in major events may have a place in comics but it should be rare. At some point you must settle down and have great stories and art work about the heroes we want to see. Place them in their own environment with relationships and stories we can be compelled to like because of who they are and what they stand for as heroes. And let us see the contrast in villains and what turned them to the Dark Side of comic characters. Just good stories and art is all we ask. Tell us stories that allow the imagination be set free in art and story as no other media can. Win new readers to comics because of the content not because it is a Number 1 or part of a 47 part Mega Comic Story. Get out of the funk that comics find themselves in. If DC is going to restart the stories then make them something to read and tell new fresh stories about the icons of comic history. And at sometime Marvel is going to stop changing the Universe and go back to doing things the Marvel way and from issue to issue tell good stories that bring us back because we want to not because we are forced to in some special event. I know things will change in time but I hope it happens before it drives people away. You can rely on sensationalism to draw people only so long. Stay tuned comic faithful for more. Walt

Star Trek #1

Let me introduce you to IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title “Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share” for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic Distributors.IDW is currently recognized as the fifth largest publisher of American comic books by Diamond Comic Distributors.In addition to their printed comics and graphic novels, IDW has more than 650 books in digital distribution across multiple partners and platforms. I wanted to share a new title that might be of interest to you Star Trek. Information taken from their website.

All-new ongoing series begins in September
Classic Star Trek: The Original Series episodes re imagined in the new universe

The Star Trek universe will never be the same following the events of the game-changing, blockbuster 2009 film. Beginning with STAR TREK #1 in September, IDW Publishing and CBS Consumer Products join forces with Star Trek writer/producer Roberto Orci to explore the vast implications of the alternate timeline created by the film in a new, monthly, ongoing comics series. “Movies cost money. Lots and lots of money,” said Orci. “But comics give us unlimited budgets to take the crew of the Enterprise farther than they’ve ever been. Join us!” The adventures of the Starship Enterprise continue with the new cast from the film as they embark on missions that re-imagine the stories from the original television series, along with new threats and characters never seen before.
Under the creative direction of Orci, fan-favorite STAR TREK writer Mike Johnson and artist Stephen Molnar bring this alternate universe to life and begin the countdown to the highly anticipated Star Trek sequel. The series kicks off with a dramatic new envisioning of The Original Series second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

“Finally, new STAR TREK comics that showcase the new Enterprise crew,” said editor Scott Dunbier. “The only thing more fun than reading them is editing them!”
STAR TREK #1 will feature covers from Tim Bradstreet and David Messina, plus four rare photo covers. Readers are encouraged to talk to their local retailer about the photo covers, and the super rare STAR TREK #1 signed by Orci and Johnson.  The debut issue will also feature a golden ticket promotion, with more details to come shortly from IDW.

STAR TREK #1 ($3.99, 32 pages, full color) will be available in stores in September 2011. Diamond order code JUN11 0308.
(c) 2011 Paramount pictures Corporation.  TM & (c) 2011 CBS Studios Inc.  STAR TREK and related marks and logos are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc.  All Rights Reserved.