Archive for the 'Comics' CategoryPage 3 of 11

The Top 9 Reasons Why Comics Don’t Need to Be Saved - Part Two

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nick marino
on October 10, 2008
in Books, Comics, Movies and The Top 9
. 0 Comments

Yeah, so last week I ran The Top 9 Reasons Why Comics Don’t Need to Be Saved - Part One, which consisted solely of reasons nine thru six. Why? Because I’m a dick.

And now, for your consideration, are the decidedly more irreverent Top 9 Reasons Why Comics Don’t Need to Be Saved reasons five thru one:

5. Newspaper comic strips are dying because fewer and fewer people want to read newspapers, not because they don’t want to read comics. Now they go and read this stuff on the Internet. They’re called “webcomics” and those are doing just fine.

4. Seriously, Hollywood wants to give comic books fellatio right now. In fact, they may have already finished the fellatio and moved onto the hardcore doggiestyle section of “Filmstriptease presents Cramming Comics vol 1.” Soon they’re going to be finishing off vol 1 with a spectacular facial (which could be as soon as Watchmen or as far away as the Avengers movie). It all depends on how long Hollywood can keep it up.

3. Single issues are really a niche product at this point and I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to change that. I’m part of that niche audience and I love the singles, but most people want a bigger chunk of story. If that’s the case, let the singles slowly fade away and bring on the graphic novels because…

2. Graphic novel sales continue to look hopeful. Bookstores are carrying graphic novels by the hoard and putting them up in huge floor displays all the time. I don’t think that would happen if there wasn’t some serious coin to be made. Guys whose names have been on the tip of my tongue for the majority of my natural life are slowly becoming adored literary idols for a new generation of readers. Fuck, I just saw Watchmen sitting on a shelf in Borders in their “Bestsellers” section when I went to buy the Iron Man DVD.

1. Comic book storytelling continues to improve. I see it every week when I read my Wednesday haul of new comics. And at the end of the day, it’s all about good content.

Next: The Top 9 Things That May Have Gone Wrong with Last Defenders - Part One

Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.

Sneaking Into Comics 005 - Tom DeFalco + Inappropriate Emails = Cracked.com

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by
nick marino
on October 9, 2008
in Comics and Sneaking Into Comics
. 8 Comments

I was on the phone with the human resources department at DC Comics when I missed a call from Tom DeFalco.

It was early 2005. I had been emailing humormag@yahoo.com for a couple weeks after finding a vague posting on Monster.com calling for humor submissions. I suggest you check out those emails (a.k.a. my wildly inappropriate attempts at employment), and then come back and finish this story.

In some sort of twisted way that I’ll never understand, the emails worked. The voicemail Tom left started something like this: “Nick, this is Tom DeFalco. How the hell am I supposed to hire you if you don’t pick up your phone?”

Incase you don’t know or need a quick refresher, Tom DeFalco is a seasoned comic book creator who served as Marvel Comics’ Editor-in-Chief during the wildly successful years of 1987-1994. Tom currently writes Amazing Spider-Girl and other MC2 comics.

When I started sending my bizarre emails, I had no idea I had no idea that I’d be getting a personal call from a living comics legend. All I had to go on was an incredibly cryptic job posting for a new magazine.

Continue reading ‘Sneaking Into Comics 005 - Tom DeFalco + Inappropriate Emails = Cracked.com’

The Top 9 Reasons Why Comics Don’t Need to Be Saved - Part One

Published
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nick marino
on October 3, 2008
in Comics and The Top 9
. 2 Comments

A bunch of comic book people are like, “OH NO! Comic books are going to die in five years because we’re not kissing the general public in the ass enough! Our business plan is all wrong! Creators are mismanaging their careers! And Superman isn’t accessible to five year olds anymore!!!”

You know what? Shut up. That’s right. I said it. Just shut the fuck up.

Comics aren’t going to “die” and they certainly don’t need to be “saved.” Here are the top 9 reasons why:

9. Comics are a medium of expression rooted in the most basic form of visual storytelling short of acting — a picture and some words. How the hell can you “save” that and how could it ever “die”?

8. If you’re worried about the modern comic book publishing industry dying, well then that’s a whole other thing. But I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon when you have some of the world’s most lucrative licensed characters coming out of a long legacy of comic book publishing.

7. While superheroes are bound to fall out of favor in Hollywood in a couple of years, actual interest in physical comics is going up. Trust me, I know. People used to ask me if the movies were anything like the stories. Now they ask me where they can go to buy the comics. Hell, even MTV and the LA Times now have blogs that address comic book news on a daily basis. That’s only going to boost interest.

6. This shit is cyclical. Sales of comics will dip and they will rise. They will do that, over and over, until the day humans no longer view printed media and digital projection screens connected to their information boxes.

At some point in the recent past this column became a two-parter thing. Totally defeats the purpose of a having top 9, right? Well that’s just the kind of mindfuck arseholeness I’m all about so deal with it!!! The final five reasons why comics don’t need to be saved will be here in only seven short days, and I promise they are way more offensive and interesting these these first four reasons.

Next: The Top 9 Reasons Why Comics Don’t Need to Be Saved - Part Two!

Why the Top 9? Because 10 is too many and 9 is better. 3 X 3 = Awesome. Now that’s what I call math.

Sneaking Into Comics 004 - A String of Inappropriate Emails I Sent to Tom DeFalco in 2005

Published
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nick marino
on October 2, 2008
in Comics and Sneaking Into Comics
. 2 Comments

The real meat of this story — which consists of comic book legend Tom DeFalco, Cracked.com, MAD Magazine, and poor judgment — will be the feature of next week’s Sneaking Into Comics. As a prologue to that highly ironic tale, I would like to provide a set of emails I sent to humormag@yahoo.com (an email address that, unbeknownst to me, was actually being checked by Tom DeFalco) in March of 2005:

from: nickmarino@gmail.com
to: humormag@yahoo.com
date: Thu, Mar 3, 2005 at 10:39 PM
subject: Humor Mag - hire me you bitches

Hey -

I found your info on monster.com. I am all about this Humor Mag thing. I kid you not. This what I do. I’ll send along my resume, but to really get a feel for why I am the new Renaissance man of comedy you need to see my videos, my music, read my articles, and see my cartoons. I could help getting multimedia for the website going, and I do A LOT of comedy music work (and my production skills are mint). I really would like to learn more about this, and I’m positive you would like to learn more about me.

Thanks, Nick

from: nickmarino@gmail.com
to: humormag@yahoo.com
date: Fri, Mar 4, 2005 at 12:30 PM
subject: Humor Mag - you still haven’t hired me

Hey “Humor Mag” -

Listen, I’m emailing because you still haven’t hired me. You should give me a mail address so I can send you some writing, music, video, and cartoon samples. Trust me, you really want all these. Hook me up. Then hire me.

Nick

Continue reading ‘Sneaking Into Comics 004 - A String of Inappropriate Emails I Sent to Tom DeFalco in 2005′

Sneaking Into Comics 003 - My DC Comics Interview for Assistant Editor to Joey Cavalieri and Joan Hilty

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nick marino
on September 25, 2008
in Comics and Sneaking Into Comics
. 2 Comments

It was the summer of 2004. I was a recent college grad constantly searching for work. I found a job listing for “Assistant Editor at DC Comics” on the Warner Bros employment website and I somehow managed to get my resume over to the right human resources people at Time Warner.

I’m not exactly sure who helped push my status along to help me land the interview. It could have been the DC editor that I had been communicating with via email. It could have been my dad’s friend who worked for Time Warner and passed along my resume. It could have even been Neal (of the AudioShocker), who interviewed with Warner Bros around that time and possibly mentioned my name to HR.

I was up for the position of Assistant Editor to Joey Cavalieri and Joan Hilty, both in working in the DCU proper at the time (Joan was also running the Johnny DC imprint). The physical application process with Warner Bros was daunting, akin to taking a standardized test. I had to dig so far back into my own personal history that I actually couldn’t remember some of the addresses, phone numbers, and names that they wanted to see.

Afterwards, Warner Bros HR sent me over to the DC Comics offices, part of a large building nestled into the upper edge of Times Square in New York City. I can’t speak for how they look nowadays, but the interior hallways were covered in giant paintings of DCU heroes with huge smiles on their faces. It was both awesome and unsettling at the same time.

Continue reading ‘Sneaking Into Comics 003 - My DC Comics Interview for Assistant Editor to Joey Cavalieri and Joan Hilty’

Sneaking Into Comics 002 - How I Got Fired from a High Profile NYC Comic Shop

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nick marino
on September 18, 2008
in Comics and Sneaking Into Comics
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It was the end of 2004. While shopping at my New York City comic shop of choice (which shall go nameless), the idea came to me that I should work there and save a few bucks on my weekly haul.

Everything about my interview went smooth like butter until I was asked, “Do you read any online comic book reviews?” Not reviews, I told him, but I read news and interviews on Newsarama. A look of shock washed over my interviewer’s face as he asked, “What?! Why don’t you read Pop Culture Shock?”

I didn’t have a good answer for the guy. Maybe because I barely knew anything about Pop Culture Shock. Maybe because Newsarama was more comics-centric back then. Either way, there was an air of sadness in his voice that made absolutely no sense.

Eventually, I got the job. This was around the time that the Countdown to Infinite Crisis cover image was being teased. Everyone speculated that Batman was holding a dead Nightwing. As I was stuffing poly bags with back issues, I made an offhand comment about the Jim Lee art.

“Psssh, who cares if he dies?” I said jokingly, figuring that my sarcasm was inherent in my tone of voice. “Nightwing sucks anyway.”

“Don’t let Dave hear you say that,” another employee whispered. “Nightwing is his favorite character.”

“What?!” Dave shouted from across the room. “Who said Nightwing sucks? Nick, Why would you say that?!”

Continue reading ‘Sneaking Into Comics 002 - How I Got Fired from a High Profile NYC Comic Shop’

Last Night I Dreamed About Black Panther Action Figures Sold at Blockbuster

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nick marino
on September 17, 2008
in Comics and Misc
. 0 Comments

[Note: This dream was not actually last night. Blog posts have to be planned a few days in advance. I actually had this dream sometime last week. But let's pretend it happened last night, okay? Oh, and check out this other dream I had recently about working for Image and Marvel.]

It all began as I entered Blockbuster to, I assume, rent a movie. I noticed the wall facing the entrance was covered with collectibles and non-movie products. Justique went to find something for us to watch while I went to peruse this interesting wall of items.

Something caught my eye towards the bottom… action figures! I can’t resist new action figures every time I go to Target or Wal-Mart. I never buy them, but I love seeing what’s new.

The first set was He-Man related (probably due to all those damn He-Man toy posts I read on Topless Robot). The second row had a boring X-Men collection. But the last line had something unexpected — Black Panther toys!

At first, I thought I was looking at some sort of DC Universe toyline and I almost walked away. But I did a double take when I saw the Black Panther logo across the top of the packaging. The toys were part of a “Black Panther vs. the DC Universe” line of action figures. Weird!

That’s when the store clerk — none other than P. Diddy himself — came over to tell me that he personally ordered the Black Panther action figures. Apparently P. Diddy is very proud of his efforts in Blockbuster inventory ordering because he wouldn’t shut up about the damn toys.

Finally, the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy shut his damn mouth and I was able to get a look at action figures. Here’s what they had:

Black Panther vs. Superman. Superman was on the left as he leaned into T’Challa with all his might. Meanwhile, Black Panther was decked out in a navy blue and gray Superman-style costume on the right, complete with flowing Superman-style hair. All I could think was: “It’s weird that T’Challa straightened his hair just to fight Superman…”

Black Panther vs. Batman. Batman was in a leaping pose as if he was flying off a rooftop and into battle with T’Challa. The Black Panther was on the right side bracing for impact in a Dark Knight-style crouched position, decked out in red and orange. He even had a Batman-style cape and cowl. Why was T’Challa fighting these heroes in the first place, and why was he wearing poorly-colored replica costumes?

Black Panther vs. ???. Unfortunately, this is where the dream ended. P. Diddy was annoying me while I was trying to show Justique these awesome action figures. As I reached for the third package, my dream went hazy and I woke up. It would have been awesome to see T’Challa fighting Green Lantern or Hawkman. Honestly, this third toy was probably Aquaman (considering how much I love the Orange Shirted Wonder of the Seven Seas).

And that was that. Totally bizarre and totally excellent. I know there’s never going be a Black Panther vs. the DC Universe toyline, but I can always dream, right?

Next Avengers Movie Review

Published
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nick marino
on September 15, 2008
in Comics and Movies
. 1 Comment

Awesome. Totally awesome. Go watch it.

Nuff said for right now. But as I think of anything else worth saying about the movie, I’ll edit my thoughts into this post.

EDIT 1: Next Avengers is my favorite of the Marvel direct-to-DVD animated films so far.

EDIT 2: Okay, after thinking on it a bit, the only flaw that I can find with this film is the character design and animation of the Hulk. The way the character is conceptually roped into the story works very well for me. But when the Green Goliath finally appears, he just doesn’t look right.

Hulk’s movements are too jumpy and not nearly menacing enough. His body language suggests “Tasmanian Devil” more than “strongest one there is.” Still, this is hardly an issue. The story still works great and the character fits in even if he doesn’t visually fullfil his part to the fullest.

EDIT 3: I really enjoyed the character of Azari in Next Avengers. He’s obviously the kid of T’Challa and Storm. For some reason they never say Storm explicitly, which I assume is because Marvel Studios doesn’t currently have the rights to reproduce Storm in an animated release. He’s also a tad bit underdeveloped compared to his Next Avengers teammates. Still, his straight man persona and wonderful design worked.

Speaking of the design, I found it interesting that Azari had some striking visual similarities to Nezhno a.k.a. Gentle from New X-Men. Nezhno’s vibrainum tattoos look very similar to Azari’s markings that light up with electricity. Since Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost both worked on this movie, I’m curious to know how much Azari was influenced by Nezhno. Actually, considering how long animated features are in production, it’s possible that Nezhno was actually influenced by Azari.

EDIT 4: Here’s another favorable review of Next Avengers by Ed Liu over on Toon Zone. It echos some similar sentiments that you see here (no Storm mention = probably a rights issue), but Ed also has some differing opinions as well (especially his take on Pym’s character, which I didn’t have a problem with at all!).

EDIT 5: The only element of the Next Avengers story that’s truly divergent from the Marvel Comics 616 Universe is the creation of Ultron. Yeah, Cap hooking up with Black Widow is a little far fetched, but Ultron being created by Tony Stark instead of Hank Pym is a radical departure.

Seeing as how Tony is the caretaker of the children and a focal figure in the film, having him directly responsible for Ultron makes sense in terms of this story’s emotional development. It also allows for other small flourishes such as the moment when Pym determines that Azari can break into Ultron’s fortress because the locks are the same as the maintenance hatches at their home.

EDIT 6: As I end my broadcast day here at the AudioShocker, I’d like to give a special mention to the spooky scene where the kids end up in Ultron’s “trophy room.” As they enter, we see the tattered costumes of the fallen original Avengers. It’s not long before the lights click on and reveal a seemingly endless vertical corridor of costumes, alluding to a momentous massacre of Earth’s heroes.

The creepy visual was (in my mind, whether conscious by the filmmakers or not) akin to the Return to Oz scene where we catch a glimpse of the towering room full of interchangeable heads worn by Princess Mombi. Damn, I still get chills just thinking about all those eerie heads!

Sneaking Into Comics 001 - Heroes, NYCCBM, Gene Colan, and Bill Jemas

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nick marino
on September 11, 2008
in Comics and Sneaking Into Comics
. 0 Comments

I’ve been doing a shitty job of breaking into the comic book industry for nearly ten years now. I’ve probably botched better career building opportunities in the past decade than some professionals have had in a lifetime. This column is the first installment of a new series wherein I will relate my experiences (no matter how painful) to show you what NOT to do if you want to work in comics.

My first truly formative experience took place (I think) in 2002. I caught wind of a gallery opening in New York City honoring the artists who worked on Heroes (Marvel’s charity book benefitting the September 11th cleanup efforts). Not only was this a great historical moment in comics, but it was a terrific venue to meet professionals outside of the convention circuit.

The event was put on by the New York City Comic Book Museum (NYCCBM), an effort run by David Gabriel (before he was Marvel’s Director of Sales). It was a terrific show, with tons of great original art from the Heroes book and even greater comic book legends in attendance. Early on, I approached a table of distinguished elderly gentlemen (who had to be silver age comic book greats). Ignorantly, I asked them if Jim Steranko was at the show. They shrugged their shoulders and looked at me like I was nuts.

And I was nuts. There’s no better proof than when I ran into Gene Colan later on. In one of my more embarrassing moments, I shoved my Essential Captain America vol. 2 in front of his face and asked him to sign it. Was I out of my freaking mind? Have Gene Colan sign a black and white reprint book made of newsprint?

I was out of my mind and extremely excited to meet the artist who helped create the Falcon. To my surprise, Gene didn’t recall being the first artist to draw the Falcon. In fact, I don’t think he remembered the character at all. I had to kindly explain to him that yes, he was the first artist to ever draw Sam Wilson. And then I had him sign the crappy copy of the cover of the Falcon’s first issue in my newsprint reprint book.

After a couple hours, my sister was sufficiently tipsy from the cash bar and she was determined to help me network. She struck up with Bill Jemas, then President (a.k.a. Publisher) of Marvel Comics. Bill imparted an excellent piece of advice that I now pass along to you: if you want to work in comics, get in on the business end. Even if your end goal is creative, work your way up through comic book sales, production, or admin. Bill used himself as an example, noting how he was an executive with Fleer and worked his way into one of the top spots at Marvel publishing.

I haven’t taken Bill’s advice. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve tried, numerous times. I just never got my foot in the door and kept it there (those are, of course, the subjects of future columns). Point is, I went to one of the world’s greatest comic book networking opportunities and all I left with was a confused signature and advice I didn’t follow.

And that’s just another reason why I’m going to have to sneak into the comic book industry if I ever want to make it in.

A Week in the Life of a Comic Book Junkie

Published
by
nick marino
on September 10, 2008
in Comics, Movies and Music
. 1 Comment

Wednesday, September 3
An IT guy at my day job saw the Fantastic Four posters hanging in my office and that got him to thinking. It turns out that he used to be best buds with comic book writer Fabian Nicieza when they were kids. When they were growing up, everyone thought Fabian was going to become a comic book artist instead. Fabian even drew a huge banner for this guy’s high school rock band. Now that thing would be pure eBay gold.

Thursday, September 4
Comic book day hits late due to a Labor Day shipping bump. In one of my smallest weekly hauls in a long time, I only picked up two books. The first was an Iron Man one-shot with a photo cover — it’s really just another excellent issue of the now-canceled Marvel Adventures Iron Man. The second was Family Dynamic #1, which shipped the previous week but I picked it up off a Comics Should Be Good! recommendation. AWESOME issue! The odd thing is that Family Dynamic is under the Johnny DC imprint, but it feels more like an Image title (akin to Dynamo 5).

Friday, September 5
This day is like a blank spot. I can barely remember anything that I did. I do remember starting work on a new blog / podcast project for the Unlicensed Attorneys at Law. I’m going to release all the UAL songs via podcast, putting up a different song every week. This way the music gets onto iTunes AND it reaches a wider audience. More details soon.

Saturday, September 6
Spent the afternoon at a coffee shop inking the first issue of my new comic book, Time Log. I think this may be the very first time I’ve even mentioned the comic outside of a private conversation with a friend. It’s a project co-written, inked, lettered, and (most likely but hopefully NOT) published by myself. It was scripted along with a former AudioShocker podcast guest, and drawn by an extremely talented artist who will hopefully put some webcomics up on this blog one day. Again, more details soon.

Sunday, September 7
Feeling a bit demoralized after Saturday’s fruitless attempt to rent Next Avengers from Blockbuster, I hoped to sooth my battered ego with Rita’s water ice. Friday was the debut of their new Pumpkin Pie cream ice, and I just couldn’t wait to try it. It ended up being delicious but it punched me in the stomach so hard that I had to lay on the sidewalk for an hour afterward. Then, when I got home a couple hours later, I found that a large chunk of my bathroom ceiling had caved in.

Monday, September 8
Will Smith as Captain America? Awesome but unlikely. Riding high on this news, I went home to watch Weather Report Girl vol 2: Warm Fronts In Collision. This is by far the greatest anime I’ve ever seen. In fact, this may actually be one of the greatest cartoons I’ve ever seen. Still, it’s too soon to officially bestow that title. I need to think about it some more. Meanwhile, my bathroom ceiling is still not fixed.

Tuesday, September 9
According to Justique, our bathroom ceiling has been repaired. Going out to (most likely) see a movie, but it’s unclear what I’m going to watch. Bangkok Dangerous is in the lead with the silliest title, while The House Bunny is unfortunately not playing at my theater of choice. Meanwhile, I’m already dreaming about comic book day (Wednesday!) where I’ll buy Big Hero Six #1, my shop will finally have copies of Amazing Spider-Man #570, and I’ll add Family Dynamic to my pull list.

Wednesday, September 10
News of Marvel’s Monday announcements from Diamond’s retailer summit finally made it my way. Here are some knee-jerk reactions: Hahahahahaha Dark Avengers!!!!! Oh man, I HATE the “dark” movement. That phrase is so overused. Still, I love you Marvel Comics. I’m sure I’ll like the new Deodato book anyway. Meanwhile, Marvel Noir sounds like a very strong mini series based on the interview I read on Tuesday. And Ultimate Avengers? Sounds a bit well-worn, but who can blame Marvel for wanting to revisit this concept? Mark Millar + Ultimate Universe = $$$ in the bank.