Hi-Fi’s Kristy Miller joins the discussion to share stories from comic book conventions including a touching story about her introduction to Green Lantern creator Marty Nodell. You’ll also hear how San Diego Comic Con can be a lot of work for a comic professional (or a podcaster) as well as play six degrees of Tyler Mane with Brian and Sheldon. Brian reminds all comic books fans not to miss Phoenix Comicon Memorial day weekend.

Intern Justin makes his Comic Impact debut as Brian, Simon, and Sheldon learn how Justin discovered comics and decided to pursue a career in comic books. Plus learn who some of the creators are who inspire Justin and one creator who gave Intern Justin the ultimate fanboy moment on Free Comic Book Day.

Remember this episode is sponsored by superherostuff.com. Use the promotional code “Impact13″ to get a extra 13% off your next order.

Running Time:01:10:06
Music: The Prodigy - Firestarter

Brian Miller
Brian@ComicImpact.com

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
Obviously, we’d love for you to listen every week, so we made it nice and simple. If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast just here. This link will open up iTunes and take you to the Comic Impact subscribe page on the iTunes music store. A big, bold THANK YOU to everyone to takes the time to listen and promote out show. We appreciate it more than you know.

for the faint of heart. We also talk about Sam Humphries new book from Boom! Higher Earth…which for some reason Sheldon keeps singing to the tune of Steve Winwood’s Higher Love. We also talk about Scarlet

Spider, Batman, Captain America, Green Lantern, The Ultimates AND Grifter! Whew! Now those are some Comics!Who loves ya Comic Impact?! The Answer? We do!! So stick around for this sports talk filled Episode 266 of the Pick Of The Week!

Remember this episode is sponsored by superherostuff.com. Use the promotional code “Impact13″ to get a extra 13% off your next order.

Running Time:00:44:52
Music: Cee Lo Green- Fight to Win

Sheldon Lee

Sheldon@ComicImpact.com

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
Obviously, we’d love for you to listen every week, so we made it nice and simple. If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast just here. This link will open up iTunes and take you to the Comic Impact subscribe page on the iTunes music store. A big, bold THANK YOU to everyone to takes the time to listen and promote out show. We appreciate it more than you know.

]]> http://comicimpact.com/2012/05/batman-and-robin-9/feed/ http://comicimpact.com/2012/05/proscons-may-2012/ http://comicimpact.com/2012/05/proscons-may-2012/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 16:31:09 +0000 Brian Miller http://comicimpact.com/?p=40464 I had been to comic conventions before. Sat at the table of Vision Con and tried to sell every living soul a copy of Captain Crafty, the indy comic I had colored  (Story & Art by Brian Rice, inks by David Bryant) while Klingons taunted cast members ofBattlestar Galactica. I had slept on the floor in Chicago as 10 of us split the cost of a room built for 4 so we could afford a convention table and pursue our dreams as comic creators.  I had smiled patiently as the guy with the Rush Limbaugh comic at the table next to me in Kansas City scared yet another family in my direction.  Yes, I had been to cons before, but this was different, I was to be a guest for the first time.  It was the mid nineties and I had been invited to Mid-Ohio Con. I arrived the in the evening the day before the convention and downtown Columbus had already pulled the sidewalks in for the night.  I wandered into the hotel bar hoping to get a bite to eat and who sits near me at the bar? Adam West.  The Adam West.  Mother%$#@ing BATMAN - Adam West!!!  I did my best to play it cool but I’m afraid my inner fanboy got the best of me. There were other people in the bar but if they recognized Mr. West they were either too shy or too polite to come up to him. I blurted out a few niceties and he was kind and generous with stories as he enjoyed his cocktail.  He seemed calm and relaxed.  He was altogether unexcited about being Adam West (perhaps someone should tell him).  As we sat there he told me other members of the Batman cast would be attendance including Frank Gorshin (The Riddler)  and Yvonne Craig (Batgirl - we later shared an elevator ride), and we discussed the Batmobile at length.  Probably at boring length to Adam West yet I was enthralled as he dished out tales of his life as Batman in the 1960’s.

The next day was the start of the show and honestly I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Right off the bat I ran into Justin Chung from World Famous Comics.  He and I had met at Chicago Comicon the year before.  He was working with the Mid-Ohio Con organizers and had my day all mapped out for me.  He showed me to a table (far away from Adam West and friends I’m afraid) and introduced me to the creator at the adjoining table, a young artist named Joe Corroney.  Joe had all this cool Star Wars artwork on display and he and I geeked out over Star Wars, Star Trek, and Batman.  I believe he was coloring all his work with colored pencils and watercolors back then and I tried to extol the virtues of digital color but he was having none of it. Joe asked me, why I colored comics digitally.  I answered, because no one told me I couldn’t.  I laid out the copies of Captain Crafty comic books I had brought along, as well as some samples of covers I had colored for other small press comics.  Fans were super responsive to the comic books I had brought as well as Joe’s Star Wars artwork and the two of us had a great time being “neighbors” at Mid-Ohio Con.

Hi-Fi’s Brian Miller and illustrator Joe Corroney sign comics at IDW’s booth - Comic-Con International

After a few hours Justin came back and asked if I was ready for my panel.  It would seem the organizers had placed me on the, “How to Break into Comics” panel. Justin shows me to the panel room where I was one of 4 panelist.  Me, two other creators, and a moderator. I honestly don’t remember the other two creators now but they were somebodies and I was definitely a nobody.  Panel moderator was Maggie Thompson, editor of Comics Buyers Guide and presumably one of the most powerful people in comics since a CBG review of a small press comic book could make or break it in the eyes of fans and retailers. Maggie did a fantastic job of leading the panel and when the question came about Captain Crafty being one of the first full color small press comics I spoke about what I knew best, digital coloring.  I may as well said that I held a séance and invited dearly departed spirits to color the comic books with magic.  The truth was coloring Captain Crafty digitally saved thousands in production costs but other than Spawn and a handful of Image titles few comics received this treatment and it was looked upon as a fad, no worse than a fad, as cheating and non-creative.  People thought there was a magic color button you could press and the computer would do the work for you.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  I spoke with passion about digital coloring. Coloring comics using Adobe Photoshop opened a new universe of possibilities for comics and comic creators. To me the writing on the wall was clear.  This technology would not merely impact comics, it would become the basis for all print publications in the future.  The old style mechanical coloring separations were doomed and digital would take over for comics, magazines, everything.  The change was as inevitable as Batman fighting The Joker, only very few people realized it at the time, and most wrote it off out of fear or ignorance.  But there were some who got it.   After the panel a few people who had been in the audience came to me full of questions and excitement.  They wanted to see Captain Crafty and see the quality of the printed colors.  They wanted to talk about the hardware and software I was using as well as my art background and how I was adapting Photoshop to work like a traditional airbrush and frisket. Several creators asked if I would take a shot at coloring their covers and pin-ups hoping to stand out from the crowd of flat color comics that filled spinner racks everywhere.

I met a dozen celebrities that weekend and more up and coming creators than I can count.  Some I have admired from afar and others I’ve had the pleasure to collaborate with on projects.  Joe Corroney and I now work on projects together nearly every month of the year.  His Star Wars art is more amazing than ever and the colors don’t look bad if I do say so myself.  A lot of things have changed since that Mid-Ohio Con of long ago but my spirit of exploration and collaboration remains the same.  My wife Kristy and I have been invited as guest to Phoenix Comicon, May 24-27.  We’ll have new comics and artwork at our table and will be participating in several panels including one on digital coloring.  Joe Corroney couldn’t make it this year but good friends like Ethan Van Sciver, Norm Rapmund, and George Perez will be there along with Justin from World Famous Comics.  The cast of Batman will not be on hand but much of the cast of Star Trek: TNG will be along with the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner.  It should be one amazing convention.  While at Phoenix Comicon I hope to meet some up and coming creators who are making something new, creating the impossible, because no one told them, they couldn’t.

Hi-Fi’s Brian Miller signs comic books for fans during Free Comic Book Day

Thanks for joining me for the first installment of Comic Impact’s Color Commentary blog.  Be sure to listen to the Color Commentary podcast where every episode I’ll take you on a journey Behind the Panels of a recently released comic book and share with you true life stories from the making of that issue. Plus you will meet Intern Justin and follow his progress from struggling art student to aspiring comic book colorist. Here is a glimpse at Intern Justin’s first experience being on the creator side of the table at Free Comic Book Day.

Follow Hi-Fi on Twitter  http://twitter.com/hificolor

Like Hi-Fi on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/HiFiColourDesign

Brian Miller
Brian@ComicImpact.com

Music by Steve Earnhart and the Black Keys, cover illustration by Eric Canete, cover design by Chris Maze.

Eric’s twitter: twitter.com/ericcanete
Eric’s blog: kahnehteh.blogspot.com

Pat Loika
PatLoika@ComicImpact.com

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
Obviously, we’d love for you to listen every week, so we made it nice and simple. If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast just here. This link will open up iTunes and take you to the Comic Impact subscribe page on the iTunes music store. A big, bold THANK YOU to everyone to takes the time to listen and promote out show. We appreciate it more than you know.

Wait, you don’t know what “New this Week” is? Where the hell have you been? Every week we will post a short video about the books that are coming out this week that we are excited for or just curious about. You might end up hearing about them on the POW (Pick of the Week) or read about them in a review on the site

Remember this episode is sponsored by superherostuff.com. Use the promotional code “Impact13″ to get a extra 13% off your next order.

Simon Daoudi
Simon@ComicImpact.com

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero

Simon Daoudi
Simon@ComicImpact.com

A lot of young comic book readers may not know his name but his work has made a huge impact in the world of comics. Did you know that Bernie was one of the co-creators of one of our favorite comics here at ComicImpact? That’s right he, along with writer Len Wein, created the creature Swamp Thing in House of Secrets#92 (July 1971). That’s a good 40 years before Scott Snyder’s run and the start of the New 52. Not only did he co create Swamp Thing but he also drew the first, classic ten issues of the original Swamp Thing series!

How Bernie got into comics is an amazing story alone that all fanboy’s probably wish could happen to them. Wrightson started training by reading some EC comics and then he began working for the The Baltimore Sun. Then one day in 1967 he met one of the greatest artist of all time by the name of Frank Frazetta. A year later Wrightson showed some of his artwork to editor of DC Comics’s, Dick Giordano and was given his first freelance assignment.

His first professional work was “The Man Who Murdered Himself” which appeared in House of Mystery#179 (March-April 1969). Wrightson then had his own horror/science fiction comics anthology called Badtime Stories where he had the chance to work with his own scripts and artwork.

As a young kid I was terrified of most his artwork. There are only a few things I am absolutely sure of in my life and one of them is Wrightson’s vision of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is absolutely greatest version around. For more on that I highly recommend picking up Frankenstein Alive,Alive by IDW with story by Steve Niles and artwork by Wrightson. It just came out this week.

In my personal opinion Wrightson’s artwork loses something when it is in color. Take a look both of this cover from Detective Comics #425 and The Tombe of Dracula #43

I feel like there is something special and very unique about his line work. If you look at all the small details he puts in all his work you really start to appreciate his attention to the tiniest details so then it should come as no surprise that Wrightson won the Shazam Award for Best Penciller in 1972 and 1973 for Swamp Thing. He had a  nomination for best inker in 1973.

In 1974 he, H.P. Lovecraft ,just to name a few and in 1975 he started The Studio with some of his fellow artists such as Jeff Jones, Michael Kaluta, and Barry Windsor-Smith. At this time in his life he focused more on projects out side of the comic book  industry.

Bernie also did one of my all times favorite covers in comics The Incredible Hulk # 197 written by his Swamp Thing collaborator Lein Wein. What I also find kinda funny is when you look at that issue of Hulk he is fighting Man-Thing who is clearly Marvels version of Swamp Thing.

You may have seen the cover of Amazing Spider-Man: Hooky #01 (2012) which is a reprint of Marvel Graphic Novel #22 from 1986.

Bernie Wrightson is a remarkable talent and I am so glad I have had the opportunity to meet him several times in my life.Last time I saw Wrightson was at Wizard World  Anaheim 2010. Where I got my copy of  Swamp Thing #5 signed. It is one of my favorite items in my comic collection as it is also signed by Len Wein. With the new 52 and Scott Snyder’s run on Swamp Thing I hope more people will discover the godfather of horro comics. If you happen to live in Los Angeles area Wrightson does a lot of shows so you had a good chance to meet a living legend in the world of Horror Comics.

Simon Daoudi
Simon@Comicimpact.com

Avengers Dominates the Box Office Biggest Opening Weekend of All Time.

While it was no surprise the The Avengers were number one at the box office I do think people were genuinely surprised to see just how much it made. Earning more than $207.4 million… bringing it’s worldwide box office gross to $654.8 million… HOLY COW!!! It has also has caused an unprecedented uptick in the sale of shawarma. I’ve seen Avengers twice and I loved it, if you want to know more about what I liked CLICK HERE. So how was your Free Comic Book Day/Avengers/Dark Knight Rises trailer/ Amazing Spider-Man trailer weekend?

Marvel Announces Exclusive Distribution Deal with Comixology.

Earlier this week it was announced that Marvel Comics would be partnering with Comixology to exclusively distribute their single issue English-language digital releases worldwide. Marvel follows DC, Archaia, and the newly relaunched Valiant Comics in their partnership. The deal will allow Comixology to carry Marvel titles in digital storefronts for physical retailers and it will not effect Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited Subscription services.

Marvel Teases “No More Avengers.” and The First X-Men.

We are only a quarter of the way through Marvel’s big event of 2012 and Marvel is already hinting at the second act. This week they released this teaser image while details are still sparse  it is a direct call back to when the Scarlet Witch said “No More Mutants.” at the end of House Of M. We will probably have  a better idea what’s going on next week when Avengers Vs. X-Men #4 hits stores.

A second teaser released this week indicate a new X-Book launching in August. Entitled First X-Men Marvel teased that the book will  feature “an industry legend and fan favorite creator” as the creative team. Stay tuned as Marvel promised a phone press conference next week.

Co-creator of Jonah Hex, Tony DeZuniga Passes Away.

Courtesy of Robot 6.This past Wednesday the comic industry was saddened to learn that Tony DeZuniga had passed away. The co-creator of such properties as Jonah Hex and Black Orchid, DeZuniga was admitted to the hospital in mid-April after suffering a stroke. At the time of his passing he was with wife Tina, his daughter Sheryl and his sisters-in-law. Comic Impact sends it’s condolences to his family and friends.

Are the Tumbler and Bat-Pod Making Their Way To Your City?

In an effort to promote The Dark Knight Rises, Legendary Pictures along with Warner Bros. are sending the famed vehicles from Chris Nolan’s Batman Trilogy across the country for fans to check out. Check it out and see where and when you can see them. The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters July 20th.

• Bentonville, Arkansas: May 12
• Tulsa, Oklahoma: May 15
• Overland Park, Kansas: May 19
• Kansas City, Missouri: May 21
• Chicago, Illinois: May 25
• Washington, DC: May 27
• Baltimore, Maryland:  May 28
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: May 30
• Buffalo, New York: June 1
• Toronto, Canada: June 7
• Montreal, Canada: June 10
• Purchase, New York: June 12
• Columbus, Ohio: June 13
• Lansing, Michigan: June 15
• Detroit, Michigan: June 16
• Brooklyn, Michigan:  June 17
• Indianapolis, Indiana: June 19
• Nashville, Tennessee: June 21
• Knoxville, Tennessee: June 22
• Atlanta, Georgia: June 23
• Dallas, Texas: June 25
• San Antonio, Texas:  June 27
• El Paso, Texas: June 29
• Albuquerque, New Mexico: July 1
• Phoenix, Arizona: July 2
• Los Angeles, California: July 7

Batman Arkham City - Harley Quinn’s Revenge Trailer

Check out the teaser for Harley Quinn’s Revenge the new DLC available for Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition. In the game players will play as both Batman and Robin as they have to return the Arkham City to stop Harley’s plan of revenge. I loved Arkham City and I hope the developers will continue to develop more DLC that are actually story based and not just combat challenges. Harley Quinn’s Revenge will be available on May 29th.

Well there you have it folks I hope you all have a great weekend and I will see you all back here next week for an all new installment of The Impact.

Matt Todd

matthew@comicimpact.com

By now, most, if not all of you who are reading this have seen a little movie called Avengers…and out of respect for those who haven’t seen it yet, I’m giving you fair warning, because spoilers are coming.

Yes. Spoilers. The next paragraph is full of them. Leave this page while you still can! See the movie, then come back here.

Okay. So, if you’ve seen Avengers, and stayed through the credits, there’s a hidden scene. The scene features ‘The Other’ and another figure that rises from his throne, turns to the camera and smiles. That was the Marvel movie universe’s introduction to the mad Titan known as Thanos.

Thanos is the lover of Death, more accurately, a suitor of the Marvel Universe’s personification of Death. Created by Jim Starlin, Thanos first appeared in the pages of Iron Man. The character ultimately gained notoriety as a villain to Captain Mar-Vell, Adam Warlock, and the Silver Surfer.

The Mad Titan’s ambitions often took him to quests involving items of great power, like the Cosmic Cube (seen in the Avengers film as the Tesseract) and the Infinity Gems. Thanos was always successful, and when he claimed the Infinity Gems, he murdered half of the galaxy’s population with a snap of his finger. What makes the character really interesting is the reasoning for what he’s done.

He did it for love.

Yes, love. Thanos was born different from the other Eternals on Titan. He looked different, and since he didn’t look like everyone else, he was ostracized and maligned by the others. He grew distant from everyone else, and eventually had an encounter with Mistress Death.

This changed everything. He saw a kinship to her, and now, he sought to please her, and he began by creating the first weapons on Titan. His initial attack had dozens of casualties, including his own mother. This was but one of many attacks that Thanos had mounted against life in the universe.

His most memorable appearance was in the Infinity Gauntlet mini-series, where he uses the Infinity Gauntlet to murder half the universe. This is followed by a brutal battle with the surviving super-heroes of the cosmos, and a host of cosmic beings. All of them fell before his might, and the only reason the universe got to continue on was because of a very human trait that he exhibited.

Even HE thinks himself unworthy of the power he has wielded. His subconscious was filled with self- doubt, making himself his own worst enemy.

In the aftermath of the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos had become somewhat of an anti-hero, occasionally aiding the good guys in stories like Infinity War and Infinity Crusade. His altruism comes more from a place of curiosity than an outright desire to do good, though he has proven on many occasions that he is one to honor his side of the bargain as well.

We tend to like the Marvel characters because of their character flaws that ground them and make them relatable. If you strip down Thanos to his core, he’s basically the man who has everything, plagued by self-doubt and spurned by the object of his affection.

Now, who hasn’t experienced that?

As far as threats go, there’s almost nobody more menacing than Thanos…but if you pay enough attention to him, his characterization, you’ll find that he’s not just some one-note villain who’s obsessed with Death. He’s a lot more complicated than that, and it’s why the Titan has always been one of my favorite characters.

Anyone interested in reading up on this character can look to these books:

• Silver Surfer: Rebirth of Thanos
• The Infinity Gauntlet
• The Infinity War
• The Infinity Crusade
• Infinity Abyss
• Marvel: The End
• Thanos vol. 1: Epiphany
• Thanos vol. 2: Samaritan
• Annihilation vol. 1-3
• The Thanos Imperative

Pat Loika
PatLoika@ComicImpact.com

The guys talk about their reaction on opening day as this film continues to break box office records! Assemble your favorite snacks and find a comfy place to sit and enjoy Earth’s Mightiest Podcast as they review The Avengers!

The Avengers film from Marvel Studios writer/director Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson.

The epic big-screen adventures started in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, the May 4 release is the superhero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Remember this episode is sponsored by superherostuff.com. Use the promotional code “Impact13″ to get a extra 13% off your next order.

Running Time:00:43:53
Music: Soundgarden- Live to Rise

Sheldon Lee
Sheldon@ComicImpact.com

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST
Obviously, we’d love for you to listen every week, so we made it nice and simple. If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast just here. This link will open up iTunes and take you to the Comic Impact subscribe page on the iTunes music store. A big, bold THANK YOU to everyone to takes the time to listen and promote out show. We appreciate it more than you know.

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