Book launch—Julie Morstad, The Wayside at Lucky’s, Nov 3

- by Brendan Fairweather

On Saturday Nov 3, Lucky’s Comics (3972 Main Street) in Vancouver will host an evening release party for Julie Morstad’s most recent book, The Wayside.

The hardcover, published by Drawn + Quarterly, features all new illustrations from the Vancouver-based artist. The launch marks Morstad’s second release with D + Q after 2011’s Milk Teeth. Milk Teeth was the first in the Montreal publisher’s petit-livre series to go back to print after quickly selling out.

The new book is a collection of pen and ink drawings as well as collage-like mixed media pieces. A short write-up on the Drawn + Quarterly website describes the book:

Within these pages, Morstad’s worlds unite, maintaining their ethereal, almost fairy-tale beauty while also achieving a loose overarching synthesis through thematic and visual commonalities. The work found herein combines the delicate line of Edward Gorey with the color palette of Marcel Dzama, and emerges as something utterly unique: a combination of the two with the spirit of Virginia Woolf. Similar to her first D+Q book, Milk Teeth, Morstad’s drawings—dramatic, poetic, and heavy with symbolism—speak for themselves, exploring femininity, identity, and personal mythologies.

Morstad is an artist, illustrator and animator who works mostly on children’s books and drawings. Her work has a playful and childlike tone with a hint of surrealism. The fine-line drawings and mixed-media collages give her work great diversity.

She has also done some animation, including a collaboration with her brother Paul Morstad on the music video for the Neko Case song “People Got a Lotta Nerve”.

Illustration by Julie Morstad from The Wayside.

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Vancouver musician Mark Haney: "Jughead Double Digest... the only reliable source of information."

Musician Mark Haney’s return to Riverdale

After a year-long hiatus, Mark Haney has written a new blog post about Archie comics.

The Vancouver-based double bass player, who is currently working on a project with Canadian cartoonist Seth, says he grew disillusioned with increasingly desperate storylines (he cites the Archie/KISS comic) and took a break from analyzing the Riverdale High crew.

But in a blog post dated June 7, Haney wrote that “there is new hope.” The three daughters of company publisher Richard Goldwater are apparently stepping into the rift created by the current heads of the company. (You can read more at the New York Times, “Two in Dispute Over Control of Archie Comic Company Reach Settlement”).

And you can read more of Haney’s analysis on his Aim for the Roses blog.

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Inside the Roundhouse for the first day of VanCAF. (Photo by Simon Li, courtesy of IRL Events)

Report – Vancouver Comic Arts Festival May 26 – 27 2012

- by Ryan Ingram

That old saying “if you build it, they will come” doesn’t just apply to ghosts that play baseball. It turns out that Vancouver’s indie comics creators and supporters alike abide by the Costner maxim, as proven by last weekend’s very first Vancouver Comic Arts Festival (VanCAF).

The sun was shining and Japadogs were being consumed outside Yaletown’s Roundhouse Community Centre on a glorious Vancouver Saturday afternoon. But the scene indoors was equally beautiful, with a steady buzz of people checking out the over 90 comic artists and exhibitors on tap. The majority were representing Vancouver, but solid Portland contingent came out as well, along with cartoonists who made the trip from across the continent for our city’s first comic arts festival.

The free event continued to bring in people the next day, too, without suffering the noticeable drop-off in first day attendance like Vancouver’s first Fan Expo a few months back.

VanCAF organizer Shannon Campbell told The Snipe that the official attendance for the event was recorded at just over 1,600 unique visitors. That number is over 600 more than Campbell was hoping would show up for the inaugural event.

The biggest surprise of the weekend, though, were the sales.

“I expected Vancouverites to be very warm and receptive to an indie comics show but their unconditional support of the guests and exhibitors was flooring,” Campbell said, noting that at least three exhibitors – including Top Shelf Productions, which brought a diverse crop of books, from Owly to work by cartoonist Jeffrey Brown to the new comic The Pterodactyl Hunters – completely sold out of their stock.

Some of Top Shelf's books, while they lasted. (Photo by Simon Li. Courtesy of IRL Events.)

“I was thrilled to be able to create something the community wanted – and to make sure that the artists received the financial support that they deserve,” said Campbell.

After a little muckraking, all artists contacted by The Snipe agreed that the show was not just a success sales-wise, but that it created a casual atmosphere for interacting with admirers as well as fellow local creators.

“VanCAF was really great for us, in fact it was the best show we’ve ever done,” said Battle Kittens’ creator Rebecca Dart, who shared a table with husband and Cinema Sewer mastermind Robin Bougie. “The crowd was diverse and willing to shell out a few bucks to help support comic artists.

“It was like a farmers market of the mind, where you got to meet the creators of the media you consume.”

Doug Savage of 'Savage Chickens'. (Photo by Simon Li. Courtesy of IRL Events.)

With VanCAF’s first year in the books as a success, Campbell is already planning next year’s.

“Now that we’ve had a successful first show we’re eligible to apply for government grants, which should enable us to really broaden our guest list and bring in some additional talent,” she told us. “After we pay all of our expenses we can take another look at the budget, compare it with the fundraising we managed to do at the festival this year, and try to plan how best to use the additional funding to make 2013 even better.   Hopefully our numbers will be able to entice a sponsor or two, as well.

“Furthermore, we need to open up applications for 2013 as soon as possible, so that’ll be happening in the next couple of weeks. “

More photos at IRL Events’ site.

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Tony Cliff's Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant was nominated in the Webcomic category.

Emily Carroll, Kaare Andrews, Nathan Fairbairn among Vancouver cartoonists up for comics awards

- by Ryan Ingram

Nominees for the  Shuster Awards were announced yesterday, May 9. The awards, named after the (Canadian-born) co-creator of Superman Joe Shuster, celebrate the Canadian comics industry, and it should surprise no one that there’s some talented comics folks in our rainy city.

The Webcomics Creator or Creator Team category looks especially stacked. Vancouver cartoonists are representing the category pretty thoroughly, picking up four of the seven nominations.

Margot's Room by Emily Carroll

Last year’s Shuster Award-winner Emily Carroll is deservedly recognized for her 2011 webcomics, including the haunting “Margot’s Room”. Also nominated are Kate Craig for her chilling short “Heart of Ice”, Jayd Ait-Kaci, for her art on The Fox Sister and Sfeer Theory, and Tony Cliff for Dellilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.

Kaare Andrews is recognized in the Cover Artist category for his work on Marvel’s current Ultimate Comics series. The Cloudscape Comics Collective is nominated for the Gene Day Award for self-publishing, and Golden Age Collectables was the only one of our city’s fine comics establishments to be singled out. Nathan Fairbairn, along with Yanick Paquette, was nominated in the Artist/Art Team category for their work on Batman Incorporated and Swamp-Thing.

21 Journeys by Cloudscape Comics

The full list of nominees can be found here.Winners will be announced Saturday, Sept 15, 2012, at the Montreal Comic Con.

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Brandon Graham art from The Speaker (Dark Horse Presents #7).

Nominees for 2012 Eisner Awards announced

The 2012 Eisner Award nominees were announced today. Among the nominees are Vancouver cartoonist Brandon Graham for Best Short Story for “The Speaker” from the anthology Dark Horse Presents #7. Last year on the Dark Horse website, Graham described the story:

“A man loses his voice – his voice goes off to see the world. Years later the man dies and the voice that walks like a man hears the news and returns home. The Voice has to deal with all the personifications of the man’s doubts, secrets, and ideas that are left behind.

“It’s got doubts using tuning forks like guns and ideas that smash the light bulbs over their heads like they were bottles in a bar fight.”

Graham recently published a 400+ page graphic novel, King City. Read Ryan Ingram‘s interview with Graham here.

Pantheon’s MetaMaus also received a nod for Best Comics-Related Book. Vancouver’s Ryan Nadel, president of 8 Leaf Digital, was instrumental in putting together the digital/DVD portion of the updated reissue of Art Spiegelman‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic.

You can vote for your favourites (or just get some reading ideas) here. The awards will be announced July 13 at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

EISNER AWARD NOMINEES 2012

Best Short Story
“A Brief History of the Art Form Known as Hortisculpture,” by Adrian Tomine, inOptic Nerve #12 (Drawn & Quarterly)
“Harvest of Fear,” by Jim Woodring, in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #17 (Bongo)
“The Phototaker,” by Guy Davis, in Metal Hurlant vol. 2 (Humanoids)
“The Seventh,” by Darwyn Cooke, in Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition(IDW)
“The Speaker,” by Brandon Graham, in Dark Horse Presents #7 (Dark Horse)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Daredevil #7, by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)
Ganges #4, by Kevin Huizenga (Fantagraphics)
Locke & Key: Guide to the Known Keys, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Princeless #3, by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin (Action Lab)
The Unwritten #24: “Stairway to Heaven” by Mike Carey, Peter Gross, and Al Davison (Vertigo/DC)

Best Continuing Series
Daredevil, by Mark Waid, Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)
Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, by Naoki Urasawa (VIZ Media)
Rachel Rising, by Terry Moore (Abstract Studio)
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli (Marvel)
Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)

Best Limited Series
Atomic Robo and the Ghost of Station X, by Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener (Red 5)
Criminal: The Last of the Innocent, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)
Flashpoint: Batman – Knight of Vengeance, by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (Vertigo/DC)
The New York Five, by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly (Vertigo/DC)
Who Is Jake Ellis? by Nathan Edmondson & Tonci Zonjic (Image)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
Beauty and the Squat Bears, by Émile Bravo (Yen Press)
Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking, by Philippe Coudray (Candlewick/Toon Books)
Dragon Puncher Island, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)
Nursery Rhyme Comics, edited by Chris Duffy (First Second)
Patrick in a Teddy Bear’s Picnic, by Geoffrey Hayes (Candlewick/Toon Books)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
The All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold, by Sholly Fisch, Rick Burchett, and Dan Davis (DC)
Amelia Rules: The Meaning of Life … And Other Stuff, by Jimmy Gownley (Atheneum)
The Ferret’s a Foot, by Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue (Graphic Universe/Lerner)
Princeless, by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin (Action Lab)
Snarked, by Roger Langridge (kaboom!)
Zita the Space Girl, by Ben Hatke (First Second)

Best Publication for Young Adults (Ages 12-17)
Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)
Around the World, by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
Level Up, by Gene Yang and Thien Pham (First Second)
Life with Archie, by Paul Kupperberg, Fernando Ruiz, Pat & Tim Kennedy, Norm Breyfogle et al. (Archie)
Mystic, by G. Willow Wilson and David Lopez (Marvel)

Best Anthology
Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)
Nelson, edited by Rob Davis and Woodrow Phoenix (Blank Slate)
Nursery Rhyme Comics, edited by Chris Duffy (First Second)
The Someday Funnies, edited by Michel Choquette (Abrams ComicArts)
Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land, edited by Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle (Abrams ComicArts)

Best Humor Publication
The Art of Doug Sneyd: A Collection of Playboy Cartoons (Dark Horse Books)
Chimichanga, by Eric Powell (Dark Horse)
Coffee: It’s What’s for Dinner, by Dave Kellett (Small Fish)
Kinky & Cosy, by Nix (NBM)
Milk & Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad, by Evan Dorkin (Dark Horse Books)

Best Digital Comic
Bahrain, by Josh Neufeld, www.cartoonmovement.com/comic/24
Battlepug, by Mike Norton, www.battlepug.com
Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, by Tony Cliff, www.delilahdirk.com
Outfoxed, by Dylan Meconis, www.dylanmeconis.com/outfoxed
Sarah and the Seed, by Ryan Andrews, www.ryan-a.com/comics/sarahandtheseed01.htm

Best Reality-Based Work
Around the World, by Matt Phelan (Candlewick)
Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, by Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case (Dark Horse Books)
Marzi: A Memoir, by Marzena Sowa and Sylvain Savoia (Vertigo/DC)
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Vietnamerica, by GB Tran (Villard)

Best Graphic Album – New
Bubbles & Gondola, by Renaud Dillies (NBM)
Freeway, by Mark Kalesniko (Fantagraphics)
Habibi, by Craig Thompson (Pantheon)
Ivy, by Sarah Olekysk (Oni)
Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, adapted by Ramón K. Pérez (Archaia)
One Soul, by Ray Fawkes (Oni)

Best Graphic Album – Reprint
Big Questions, by Anders Nilsen (Drawn & Quarterly)
The Death Ray, by Dan Clowes (Drawn & Quarterly)
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition, by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
WE3: The Deluxe Edition, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (Vertigo/DC)
Zahra’s Paradise, by Amir and Khalil (First Second)

Best Archival Collection/Project – Strips
Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim, by Alex Raymond and Don Moore, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Forgotten Fantasy: Sunday Comics 1900-1915, edited by Peter Maresca (Sunday Press)
Prince Valiant vols. 3-4, by Hal Foster, edited by Kim Thompson (Fantagraphics)
Tarpé Mills’s Miss Fury Sensational Sundays, 1944-1949, edited by Trina Robbins (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse vols. 1-2, by Floyd Gottfredson, edited by David Gerstein and Gary Groth (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Books
Government Issue: Comics for the People: 1940s-2000s, edited by Richard L. Graham (Abrams ComicArts)
The MAD Fold-In Collection, by Al Jaffee (Chronicle)
PS Magazine: The Best of Preventive Maintenance Monthly, by Will Eisner (Abrams ComicArts)
The Sugar and Spike Archives, vol. 1, by Sheldon Mayer (DC)
Walt Simonson’s The Mighty Thor Artist’s Edition (IDW)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
Bubbles & Gondola, by Renaud Dillies (NBM)
Isle of 100,000 Graves, by Fabien Vehlmann and Jason (Fantagraphics)
Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot, by Jacques Tardi and Jean-Patrick Manchette (Fantagraphics)
The Manara Library, vol. 1: Indian Summer and Other Stories, by Milo Manara with Hugo Pratt (Dark Horse Books)
Night Animals: A Diptych About What Rushes Through the Bushes, by Brecht Evens (Top Shelf)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Asia
A Bride’s Story, by Kaoru Mori (Yen Press)
Drops of God, by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto (Vertical)
Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, by Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)
Saturn Apartments, vols. 3-4, by Hisae Iwaoka (VIZ Media)
Stargazing Dog, by Takashi Murakami (NBM)
Wandering Son, vol. 1, by Shimura Takako (Fantagraphics)

Best Writer
Cullen Bunn, The Sixth Gun (Oni)
Mike Carey, The Unwritten (Vertigo/DC)
Jeff Jensen, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story (Dark Horse Books)
Jeff Lemire, Animal Man, Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. (DC); Sweet Tooth (Vertigo/DC)
Mark Waid, Irredeemable, Incorruptible (BOOM!); Daredevil (Marvel)

Best Writer/Artist
Rick Geary, The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti (NBM)
Terry Moore, Rachel Rising (Abstract Studio)
Sarah Oleksyk, Ivy (Oni)
Craig Thompson, Habibi (Pantheon)
Jim Woodring, Congress of the Animals (Fantagraphics), “Harvest of Fear,” in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #17 (Bongo)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
Michael Allred, iZombie (Vertigo/DC); Madman All-New Giant-Size Super-Ginchy Special (Image)
Ramón K. Pérez, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand (Archaia)
Chris Samnee, Captain America and Bucky, Ultimate Spider-Man #155 (Marvel)
Marcos Martin, Daredevil (Marvel)
Paolo Rivera/Joe Rivera, Daredevil (Marvel)

Best Cover Artist
Michael Allred, iZombie (Vertigo/DC)
Francesco Francavilla, Black Panther (Marvel); Lone Ranger, Lone Ranger/Zorro, Dark Shadows, Warlord of Mars (Dynamite); Archie Meets Kiss (Archie)
Victor Kalvachev, Blue Estate (Image)
Marcos Martin, Daredevil, Amazing Spider-Man (Marvel)
Sean Phillips, Criminal: The Last of the Innocent (Marvel Icon)
Yuko Shimizu, The Unwritten (Vertigo/DC)

Best Coloring
Laura Allred, iZombie (Vertigo/DC); Madman All-New Giant-Size Super-Ginchy Special (Image)
Bill Crabtree, The Sixth Gun (Oni)
Ian Herring and Ramón K. Pérez, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand (Archaia)
Victor Kalvachev, Blue Estate (Image)
Cris Peter, Casanova: Avaritia, Casanova: Gula (Marvel Icon)

Best Lettering
Deron Bennett, Billy Fog, Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, Mr. Murder Is Dead (Archaia); Helldorado, Puss N Boots, Richie Rich (APE Entertainment)
Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! The Meaning of Life … And Other Stuff (Atheneum)
Laura Lee Gulledge, Page by Paige (Amulet Books/Abrams)
Tom Orzechowski, Manara Library, with L. Lois Buholis(Dark Horse); Manga Man(Houghton Mifflin); Savage Dragon (Image)
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse)

Best Comics-Related Journalism
The AV Club Comics Panel, by Noel Murray, Oliver Sava et al., www.avclub.com/features/comics-panel/
The Beat, produced by Heidi MacDonald et al., www.comicsbeat.com
The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, and The Comics Journal website, www.tcj.com, edited by Timothy Hodler and Dan Nadel (Fantagraphics)
The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon, www.comicsreporter.com
TwoMorrows Publications: Alter Ego edited by Roy Thomas, Back Issue edited by Michael Eury, Draw edited by Mike Manley, and Jack Kirby Collector edited by John Morrow

Best Educational/Academic Work
Alan Moore: Conversations, ed. by Eric Berlatsky (University Press of Mississippi)
Cartooning: Philosophy & Practice, by Ivan Brunetti (Yale University Press)
Critical Approaches to Comics: Theories and Methods, edited by Matthew J. Smith and Randy Duncan (Routledge)
Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby, by Charles Hatfield (University Press of Mississippi)
Projections: Comics and the History of 21st Century Storytelling, by Jared Gardner (Stanford University Press)

Best Comics-Related Book
Archie: A Celebration of America’s Favorite Teenagers, edited by Craig Yoe (IDW/Yoe Books)
Caniff: A Visual Biography, edited by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising, edited by Rick Marschall and Warren Bernard (Fantagraphics/Marschall Books)
Genius Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
MetaMaus, by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)

Best Publication Design
Genius Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth, designed by Dean Mullaney (IDW/Library of American Comics)
Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, designed by Eric Skillman (Archaia)
Kinky & Cosy, designed by Nix (NBM)
The MAD Fold-In Collection, designed by Michael Morris (Chronicle)
Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition, designed by Darwyn Cooke (IDW)

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Weekly comics news round-up – Henry and Glenn Forever, The Escapologist, more

- by Ryan Ingram, Eric Buckler and Shawn Conner

- Have you ever wondered what your favorite macho male punk icons would look like if they lived together and gave each other back-rubs? Wonder no more: read Henry and Glenn Forever.

Glenn Danzig, aka The Dark Lord or Evil Elvis, has a deep magical voice that navigates each of his punk/metal songs into a creepy swamp of Satan where he keeps a giant store of cat bones and extra freaky black clothing. Danzig is a short, muscle-bound demon, measuring in at 5’6. He was the main force behind Horror Punk with his legendary band The Misfits starting in the late ’70s.

Henry Rollins has a destructive intensity and turns into a hip, anger-filled monster at the slightest provocation.  Rollins made a name for himself in the ’80s hardcore band Black Flag through the wave of emotions and force he let loose while performing. Rollins is outspoken politically and started performing spoken word acts around the end of Black Flag. A muscular body-builder, he has had all forms of macho hair from heavy metal and long to militaristic and buzzed.

Both rockers are overflowing with machismo and testosterone, creating a perfect opportunity to move them in together, show them caring deeply for each other, and have them living next to Hall and Oates. Right?

The two-year-old comic Henry and Glenn Forever is a fictional look at Rollins and Danzig being roommates and domestic partners. They are a couple that live next door to a fictional devil-worshiping Daryl Hall and John Oates. Henry and Glenn are depicted in hilarious moments that range from Danzig asking the docile Henry to judge how his butt looks in tight pants to side-by-side statement-and-agreement motifs where the couple makes oblivious fun of themselves by making lame cultural statements (agreeing that “I hate corporate sponsors” while wearing Nike shirts). The comic seems to be jabbing from every angle at the macho identities that these two made legendary within the punk/metal world.

Henry and Glenn Forever art by Tom Neely.

Tom Neely, Gin Stevens, Levon Jihanian, and Scot Nobles comprise Igloo Tornado, the L.A.-based artist collective responsible for the comic, from Portland’s Microcosm Publishing. Created on a drunken night, the comic has taken off, inspiring a gallery art show in Los Angeles and a small volume of collected strips. The comic has been shown to both Rollins and Danzig, with Rollins responding: “Has Glenn seen this? Trust me, he would not be amused”, and Danzig saying enough so that Neely could make a hilarious page-long comic about it.

This month, the Henry and Glenn Facebook page announced that Ed Luce and Benjamin Marra will contribute stories to a new issue that will come out soon. Check back with us for more. – EB

Watch – Henry and Glenn Forever Anti-Xmas Special (2010; Tom Neely):

- Beer and comics – there’s nothing wrong with that combination. Nor are we talking some pansy Wolverine title and PBR; nope, mighty alt-comics publisher Fantagraphics has teamed up with craft brewers Elysian Brewing Company in a match that could only be made in Seattle (home to both). EBC will release what they’re calling “12 Beers of the Apocalypse”, one on the 21st of each month of next year, and each featuring label art by Charles Burns based on his weird ‘n’ creepy Fantagraphics comic Black Hole. Each beer will be made from specialty recipes – the first, the Nibiru, is a Belgian-style Tripel made with an infusion of yerba maté – never to be brewed again. From the news release: “These limited brews will be available in bottles and draft and at select bars and bottle shops. We will celebrate as they are released – on the 21st of every month in 2012 – with events at one or the other of Elysian’s three Seattle pubs and at Fantagraphics headquarters in the Georgetown neighborhood.” – SC

Charles Burns art for Elysian Brewing Company's Nibiru beer.

- Camilla d’Errico recently showed off a stunning commission featuring three amazon warrior-types with a penchant for tiger claws. According to her Facebook post, it will be used as a cover for a graphic novel written by Vancouver stuntwoman Maja Stace-Smith (Fringe, Smallville). The Snipe hopes to have more details as they surface. – RI

Camilla d’Errico art for a forthcoming graphic novel.

- At Length Magazine asked five cartoonists to give their favorite books the Classics Illustrated treatment. There’s a hilarious take on the subject of adaption by Kevin Cannon, a poignant comic from Melissa Mendes, and the dead-on adaption of Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Noah Van Sciver that we’ve all been waiting for. [At Length Classics Illustrated link] – RI

- If the new Muppets movie left you riding a wave of nostalgia for more Jim Henson-y goodness, you’re in luck: a double-dose of the late puppeteer’s work is hitting comic shops today from Archaia Entertainment.

Jim’s Henson’s Tale of Sand is a graphic novel based on a “lost” screenplay from the ’70s, co-written with Henson’s frequent writing partner Jerry Juhl. The story follows a loner being chased across the desert, featuring a heavy dose of the surreal. Ramon K. Perez’s kinetic, eye-popping art looks amazing in this preview. There’s also Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, that brings back the ’80s live-action/puppet show. The show, which featured an old man retelling myths and stories to his talking dog, will be reincarnated as a hardcover anthology with different writers and artists taking on each short story. The first volume features a story adapted from one of The Storyteller’s original writers (and English Patient director) Anthony Minghella. – RI

A Tale of Sand cover art.

- The Escapologist is a comic by Simon Moreton, whose tumblr claims that he is a “… boy in a man costume…” The Forbidden Planet blog reviews Moreton’s new comic The Escapologist #2, the second in the series of abstract comics that involve random panels depicting buildings, grass, bricks, environments, and sometimes random shapes and action symbols. Rarely, or rather sparely, is the reader given any text to place the drawings in any helpful context, but the reviewer seems to be fully taken by Moreton’s random devices. The drawings themselves are captivating and compelling, and seemingly there to tease the reader into finding the objects and places in the world at large. – EB

The Escapologist art by Simon Moreton.

The post Henry and Glenn Forever – the Rollins/Danzig comic appeared first on The Snipe News.

Dylan Williams, founder of Sparkplug Comic Books.

Indie Comics Digest for Sept 14: Golgo 13 movie plans and a new Spandexless option for comics reviews

-  by Eric Buckler

-  Dylan Williams, the man behind Sparkplug Comicbooks, passed away this past weekend after a long battle with cancer. Williams was a huge force for cartoonists, zines, and small press in Portland Oregon where he lived and worked. He was a beloved character in the comics industry as well as a cartoonist himself. Please go to the Sparkplug website and buy some of the wonderful comics to help his family with anything they might need. Here is a link to a collection of links from The Comics Reporter in memory of Dylan Williams.

-   Beth Scorzato and Alex Jarvis debuted their new review blog www.spandexless.com at SPX over the weekend. Spandexless reviews comics that are outside of the mainstream superhero genre, and they are off to a great start. Their site is elegant and simple in spare black and white, with minimal design. The writing seems thoughtful and constructive with some credentials to back it up: Beth Scarzato is a frequent contributor to Publishers Weekly Comics World and Alex Jarvis has written for Wired‘s Geekdad. Go check them out and commend them on helping shine more light on the diverse world of comics.

-  Also in Bethesda at the Small Press Expo this weekend, the Ignatz Awards were held. There were many cool people and comics honored, including some of my favorites like Kate Beaton (at this year’s Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival) and Jaime Hernandez. The awards are held every year at SPX and celebrate creators and projects from the small press world. The winners were revealed on The Comics Beat here.

Kate Beaton comic strip featuring Edgar Allen Poe

-  In another unfortunate culture downgrade, Criminal Records in Atlanta Georgia, is closing. The uber-cool alt records store will close its doors perhaps sometime in November according to store owner Eric Levin in an article on Atlanta’s 11 Alive news site. Over the years the store sold many things besides records, including alternative comics from publishers like Top Shelf and Fantagraphics. This is just a further reminder to support your local comic/book/record shop because otherwise, the industry of alternative culture will lose the human component that has kept it alive for so long. Here is a link to a collection of reactions among some alt-comics personalities.

-  Golgo 13 might go to the Big Screen! – Golgo 13 film rights have been attained by Davis Films in hopes of making a movie around the popular manga. The beloved series about a hired gun assassin who lives by a strict code is no stranger to the screen, including a television adaptation and two movies (one with Sonny Chiba). Illustrated and written by Takao Saito, the comic is now published by Leed Publishing Co. Ltd and is one of the longest running and most popular titles in Japan. Please check here for more information.

- And just because we love our readers – we have a copy of the new book Alan Moore: Storyteller to give away. This is a big, $50 tome filled with beautiful full-page colour illustrations from Moore’s work (Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, Watchmen, From Hell to name a few highlights) as well as a biography, quotes from the writer and even a CD of his recorded work. Whether you’re a long-time Moore fan or have only a passing knowledge of the man who transformed the comics medium, this is an endlessly fascinating tome you’ll want on your shelf and/or coffee table. All you have to do to enter to win is follow us on Twitter and tweet (one entry): “Win! Alan Moore: Storyteller book courtesy @TheSnipeNews & @ericblucker’s weekly indie comics digest. Details: http://bit.ly/mVt1cK”

And/or leave a comment below about a favourite Moore book/comic (one entry). Contest ends Sept 21 at 12 p.m. PST!

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Renown writer Dany Laferriere is up for the Scotiabank Giller Prize

Picas and Prose: Scotiabank Giller Prize nominees and D&M celebrate 40 years of independent publishing

- by Zoe Grams

Fall is a healthy, hectic time for words in Vancouver. The next few weeks will see some of the biggest literary festivals of the city, including The Word on the Street and Vancouver International Writers Festival, plus a number of fall readings from sterling names in Canadian fiction, from the internationally renowned Michael Ondaatje to one of the coolest new kids on the block of short fiction, Matthew J. Trafford.

Use this week, then, to prepare yourself for the upcoming barrage of talent. Now’s the time to start your intellectual workout. The first weekly installment of Picas and Prose will help you to bulk up on entertaining literary nourishment before the season begins.

- The 17-strong long list of nominations for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and its $50,000 winnings, was announced last week. The shortlist will be announced on Oct 4. Big names such as Dany Laferriere, and David Bezmozgis are recognized beside lesser-known writers including Zsuzsi Gartner. Despite having won awards for her magazine writing throughout the last decade, Gartner has received newfound attention for her literary works, including her second short-story collection, the Giller-nominated Better Living Through Plastic Explosives. Myrna Dey’s Extensions entered the list as the “People’s Choice” nomination – the first vote of its kind in the history of the prize, and a controversial addition.

David Bezmozgis has made it to the Scotiabank Giller Prize 17-strong long list of nominees

- Publishing is no stranger to controversy, especially when the industry now faces more changes than ever. “Are Books Dead?” by Ewan Morrison, a recent article in the Guardian, provided an in-depth, albeit rather morose, overview of the current challenges faced by the publishing industry. It should be compulsory reading for all book lovers. Morrison explains how the profit model has changed to the “long tail”, which is worrying for small fish; compares publishing to other industries transformed by the demand of free online content; and leaves us with a serious challenge: “I ask you to leave this place troubled, and to ask yourself and as many others as you can, what you can do if you truly value the work of the people formerly known as writers.” It’s through awareness of these changes, concern for writers (and their publishers), and corresponding consumer behaviour, that the industry can survive.

- On a cheerier note, the 40th birthday of independent Canadian publisher, D&M Publishers, is a good example of an organization in the literary world keeping on top of change and prospering as a result. Their official birthday party – with cake – kicks off at The Word on the Street (more on that next week), but in the run up to the main event they’re giving away a number of prizes including a chance to win one of two Kobo Touches loaded with 10 D&M Ebooks. You also have the chance to “sample” each of the books they’re giving away with digital copies, available from the site www.fortyyears.ca.

- When Carmen Aguirre was 18, she joined the Chilean resistance against General Pinochet. Now a Vancouver-based writer and theatre artist, she survived through war-ridden Peru, dictatorship-run Bolivia, post-Malvinas Argentina and, of course, Pinochet’s Chile. The Vancouver International Writers Festival presents an on-stage interview with her, to discuss her memoir Something Fierce, alongside Chilean-Canadian activist and Retribution author, Carmen Rodriguez. It’s free, in the Alice MacKay Room of the Vancouver Public Library, Sept 14, at 7.30pm.

- If you’re interested in fighting your own just cause, or writing about your experiences to date, start by attending the upcoming workshop on memoir writing, run by the Canadian Authors Association with freelance writer and editor Sylvia Taylor, on Tuesday, Sept 14 from 7-9pm, at the Alliance for Arts and Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver. Free for CAA members, $10 otherwise ($5 for students with ID).

Next week we’ll bring you news of three readings (and one workshop) you won’t want to miss, plus an inside look at The Word on the Street.

The post Vancouver literary events at a glance appeared first on The Snipe News.

Sherwin Tija's You Are a Cat (Conundrum Press).

Indie Comics Digest for Aug 31: Tom Neely takes The Wolf on tour and SPX becomes part of the US Library of Congress

The Indie Comics Digest is a weekly update of all things related to graphic novels and comics from independent publishers and creators. Disclosure: digest collator Eric Buckler works for Seattle publisher Fantagraphics Books.

- by Eric Buckler

-  Help Dylan Williams, Buy Sparkplug Comics. Dylan Williams has been battling cancer lately and could use the comics community to help him through. Dylan is the owner of Sparkplug Comicbooks, a remarkably prolific imprint in the indie world that has debuted such gems as Asthma by John Hankiewicz and the Victorian comics anthology Orchid. Williams is uninsured, so he needs all the help he can get. Please go to Comics Journal contributor Rob Clough’s blog for some recommendations, or just go straight to SPARKPLUG. Thanks.

Art by Tom Neely.

-      Tom Neely and The Wolf tour the West Coast. From Tom Neely’s blog: “The Wolf is a painted novel by Tom Neely. The book tells a simple love story, but one woven with surrealist horror, werewolf lore and its own brand of nightmare logic…” Neely is an expert artist with lines that could be described as “humming with energy”. The creator of the book The Blot, Neely has worked on Henry & Glenn Forever and the Fantagraphics (where I work, fair warning) Beasts collection. What really makes this a complete package is that Neely publishes The Wolf himself, and receives enormous praise from the comics world for work that literally stands on its own merit. For more information on where he will stop, plus an amazing poster, go to Neely’s blog.

Tom Neely art from his self-published book The Wolf.

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles welcomes back Kevin Eastman! Hitting comic shops this month, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 is a joint effort by publisher IDW and kids TV network Nickelodeon to introduce the ’80s comic book heroes to a new audience. One of the book’s creators, Kevin Eastman, is co-writing the new series that brings it closer to its roots including the original all-red masks. Also on-board are co-writer Tom Waltz and artist Dan Duncan. TMNT represents the most successful indie comic ever produced, spawning TV, movie, and toy mutations. The series will also serve as a starting point for a CGI series by Nickelodeon in 2012. Learn the history of the reptilian ninjas, as if you didn’t already know it all, leading up to this new offering at Comics Alliance.

- You Are A Cat! Have you ever wanted a Choose Your Own Adventure book in which you are a sentient housecat? Of course you have! Want no more. Conundrum, the intriguing Canadian indie press, will release You Are A Cat! by Montreal cartoonist Sully, aka Sherwin Tija, in October. Tjia, the cartoonist of the graphic novel The Hipless Boy, offers a portrait of a dysfunctional family through the eyes of a normal housecat. Presented in the unprecedented Pick-A-Plot format, you play the part of Holden Catfield, a cat who must choose its own path between many interesting options. The juxtaposition between the structure of the book and its subject matter have an oddly promising note, something that is backed up by Conundrum and their growing identity as a cool publisher. 

You Are a Cat! cartoonist/illustrator Sherwin "Sully" Tija.

- In an exciting announcement, Small Press Expo director Warren Bernard announced that The Library Of Congress will formally archive the SPX and many of the comics associated with it. Home of the Ignatz awards, the Bethesda, Maryland expo has been a champion of indie comics and its cartoonists since 1994. This year it takes place Sept 11 – 12 with guests including Chester Brown, Kate Beaton, and Craig Thompson. Dan Nadel interviewed Bernard, co-author of Drawing Power: A Compendium of Cartoon Advertising 1870s to 1940s, about the announcement at the Comics Journal.

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Deepak Chopra and Grant Morrison at SDCC 2011

Video – Grant Morrison and Deepak Chopra panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con

IGN has posted a video of the Grant Morrison/Deepak Chopra panel at this year’s Comic-Con. They talked about the spirituality of superheros; both have books to promote, Supergods and The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes, respectively.

Watch – Grant Morrison and Deepak Chopra: From Buddha to Batman at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con:

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Hellboy 1944-2011

Indie Comics Digest: Shaky Kane’s cult classic to be published in America, Pogo goes to print and Mike Mignola kills Hellboy

-by Eric Buckler

– Shaky Kane’s Monster Truck appears in America! Originally a limited edition 500-book run in the United Kingdom, Shaky Kane’s cult classic collection of psychedelic monsters, toy cars, and dismembered dolls will now be published by Image comics in November. The new edition will be a larger format, rescanned, and re-colored to better represent the high intensity color schemes and giant spreads of the original. There are only a few of the original comics floating around in the U.S, so this should be a welcome edition to fans of Kane through Bulletproof Coffin (with David Kine) and all of his other great work. Here is a link to a write-up in USA Today.

Shaky Kane's Monster Truck

– Finally, Chicago has an offering in the way of alternative comics conventions that looks to be profound enough to stick around. Comics Beat reported that CAKE: The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo will include over 100 exhibitors along with panels, workshops, and lectures. The show will be June 16 and 17, 2012. For more information, head here.

– The long awaited POGO book by Walt Kelly is on its journey to printers. Fantagraphics Books (where I work, fair warning) has been working with Mark Evanier on restoring the strips for years. Evanier made the exciting announcement on his blog post here. POGO, which takes its name from the main character, a possum, is a newspaper comic strip from the late ’40s that ranges from complex wit to slapstick. Combining a whole cast of endearing creatures, POGO is considered to be one of the greatest comic strips ever printed. The first edition will collect the first two years and some bonus early strips, along with essays and text from editors and friends. The book and dust-jacket will be designed by Carolyn Kelly, Walt’s daughter. POGO is tentatively up for release in November. Here is a link to the book at Fantagraphics.

Walt Kelly's Pogo is on its way to print

– Why did Mike Mignola kill Hellboy? Mignola talks to Newsarama rather definitively in a new interview about the character’s death in Hellboy: The Fury #3. The hornless, stone-handed icon will continue his journey dead, eyeless, and in Hell, in Hellboy in Hell, a new series that Mignola will pencil. Hellboy was one of Darkhorse’s flagship titles, spawning many series such as BPRD and Witchfinder. Check out the interview about the end and the subsequent new beginning here.

Hellboy: The Fury cover

– Timothy Callahan, author of many pieces for Comic Book Resources, finished his two-part review on the entire run of Cerebus (1-300). Cerebus is a three foot tall gray Aardvark, created by Dave Sim in 1977. The strip humorously and artfully explores the state of everything from politics to philosophy while following the misanthropic beast. Callahan reads the entire series through the “phone books” or giant graphic novels that author Sim published independently with Aardvark-Vanheim. Each of the 16 volumes is given its own sizable chunk of text including a loose synopsis and review. Something to chew on for fans of the irritable Aardvark. Here is a link to the article on CBR.

David Sims' Cerebus

– Grant Morrison speaks his mind. In a new interview with Rolling Stone entitled “Grant Morrison on the Death Of Comics”, the acclaimed creator shares on a number of topics including his opinion on several key individuals in comics. The man responsible for We3 and The Invisibles offers a stark and unfiltered opinion on Chris Ware, Alan Moore, and his former protege Mark Millar. Morrison also gives his take on the general state of comics and moments in his personal life. The interview, in part, is on Rolling Stone’s website and can be found here.

Grant Morrison talks the death of comics

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Fantastic Four # 9 cover (Dec 1962).

Indie comics digest: Brandon Graham does Jack Kirby, Womanthology debuts ‘Heroic’ woman cartoonists

- by Eric Buckler

– Brum’s Nostalgia & Comics, in Birmingham, was damaged during the UK street riots on Aug 9. The store’s windows were broken during riots, which had spread from the growing trouble in London days before. Brum’s carries a wide collection of indie and major label comics and is one of the many fine Forbidden Planet stores in Britain. Let’s hope they can get back to business as quickly as possible.

– Short story comic sampler Optic Nerve‘s 12th issue is out in September from Drawn & Quarterly. Adrian Tomine, the smooth and realistic illustrator behind the series, began self-publishing the project in ’95 when he was in his late teens/early 20s. Since then his stories have been featured in McSweeneys and Best American Non-Required Reading. Tomine specializes in hip and eccentric stories of love, awkward obsession and emotional pain. Here is the entry from D&Q.

Cover illustration for the 12th issue of Optic Nerve

– Fantastic Four #9, originally published in 1963, is getting an indie all-star make-over facilitated by cartoonist Jason Young. Young has been slowly collecting page re-draws of the issue by some of today’s greatest cartoonists including Chester Brown, Brandon Graham, Anders Nilsen and Jeffrey Brown. Jack Kirby did the original art for the comic and the remakes are all amazing efforts – Brandon Graham’s being particularly great. Here is a link to Jason’s FF#9 remake blog that has the whole collection so far.

Fantastic Four reinterpretation by Brandon Graham

–Tom Spurgeon, the man behind respected comic site The Comics Reporter, posted a great piece about his life in the world of comics. Spurgeon was sorely missed earlier this summer due to an illness that he recounts in a haunting, funny and heartfelt essay. Let’s all wish him good health so he can get through the stacks of comics that need to be read. The essay can be found here.

Portrait of Tom Spurgeon

– Portland’s Guapo Comics Comics and Coffee will sadly close its doors as a comic book store at the end of August. Here is a quote from its staff:

“We have an important and difficult announcement to make. Guapo Comics and Coffee, in its current incarnation, will be closing at the end of August. Our second three-year lease is wrapping up and Allie, Megan, and Jeremy have decided not to renew. It’s been a great six years, but all things must pass in the end. We are so thankful to the many customers and friends who have offered their financial and emotional support over the years. When we opened Guapo in a moment of whimsy, we never imagined we would be so warmly embraced by the neighborhood and Portland comics community. We’ve made so many friends and had so many great memories…”

The full announcement can be found on their blog.

– The Portland Press Herald did a great write-up on Renae De Liz’s Womanthology: Heroic, a Twitter-born project that celebrates women cartoonists. Many women  responded to Liz via email after she tweeted asking if any women were interested in contributing to a charity anthology of comics. IDW picked up the project after an amazing fund-raising campaign on Kickstarter that raised $109,301 by Aug 7.

“Only about 10 per cent of comic book creators are women,” says de Liz. “We’re saying ‘Look at all these amazing women who need a chance!’ Hopefully, publishers will give them that chance.” Here is a link to the Press Herald article; the book will be out in December.

Womanthology: Heroic - A charity anthology of comics

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This month’s New Comics Round-up coincides with the 50^th anniversary of Fantastic Four # 1. Celebrate by doing your best Human Torch impression!

-by Ryan Ingram

- You know who won’t be celebrating the Fantastic Four anniversary? The estate of Jack Kirby, which lost its battle in court trying to gain the rights of many of Kirby’s co-creations – including The Fantastic Four, X-Men, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man. For a recap of the trial, as well as artist Steve Bissette’s call to boycott Marvel, head here.

- Marvel announced that a half-Hispanic, half-black American kid named Miles Morales would be the next Spider-Man in its Ultimate universe. Comic book fans took to message boards everywhere, openly embracing the change (not really), and applauded Marvel for spoiling a plot point in a comic three days before it was released… on a positive note, Glenn Beck took the opportunity to give whiny fanboys everywhere a lesson on how to overreact irrationally:

Watch – Glenn Beck rant (video):

- One of the biggest stories to come out of Comic-Con took place across the street from the actual convention center. Created by Scott Morse and Ted Mathot, TR!CKSTER was the perfect the place to escape the convention crazies. It was a pop-up store with an emphasis on selling creator-owned stuff. They also had a liquor license, which made it an ideal after-hours destination.

During the convention, TR!CKSTER had symposiums led by the likes of Mike Mignola and Jill Thompson, and bands such as Mike Allred’s The Gear rocked the place on a nightly basis. TR!CKSTER will likely become an ongoing event, potentially popping up at SXSW, Sundance, and even traveling abroad.

- Comedian Patton Oswalt posted a few failed pitches he sent to DC Comics, including one for a Dirty Dozen homage starring Batman’s rogues gallery.

- Big news for the Vancouver comics scene broke this week, with the announcement of the inaugural Vancouver Comic Arts Festival. It’ll take place May 26-27, 2012.  Sequential has an interview with event coordinator Shannon Campbell, who says the event will hopefully look like a mix between the indie-centric Toronto Comic Arts Festival and the more traditional Calgary Comic-Con.

- In what sounds like one of the coolest books of an already great year for comics, Warren Ellis described his latest as “Franz Kafka’s Bourne Identity“. SVK is an experimental collaboration between Ellis and Matt “D’Israeli” Brooker with a foreword from William Gibson. SVK uses a third ink, which is invisible and can only be read with a special UV torch. The UV torch unlocks hidden layers woven throughout the comic book.

Unfortunately the first run is already sold out, but if you head here, you can be the first to know about the next print run.

The post Vancouver Comic Arts Festival announced appeared first on The Snipe News.

Adventures in indie comics: Donald Duck travels to the Andes, and Dark Horse ventures into pulp

-by Eric Buckler

- Top Shelf will release Jessica Hayden’s Underwire in October. Initially a web-comic for act-i-vate.com, the debut graphic novel finds Hayden expertly putting tirades, parenting mistakes, emotional upheavals, wonderful moments and ultimately the beauty of her crazy life into panels. Done in a kind of Sunday comic-strip-for-adults style, this comic is filled with unbridled insight and great comedic timing.

- Where to go? Stumptown in Portland and MOCCA in New York City are surprisingly scheduled for the same weekend; April 27 – 29. Initially, the two indie cons were within a week of each other, which was a bother for any exhibitor or creator that wanted to go to both. Now, The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art announced that their convention would be on the same weekend as Stumptown, making it impossible to attend both. Creators and companies will now have to choose between the two conventions, Portland or NYC? More information can be found on Comics Beat.

- Fantagraphics Books (where the author of this column happily works, fair warning) is following up its recent Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: Race To Death Valley book with the beloved sputtering and short tempered Donald Duck in Walt Disney’s Donald Duck: Lost In The Andes. Drawn by Carl Barks, a pioneer in cartooning and inventor of much of Donald’s universe, the stories highlight the duck at his best 1948-1950. Like the Mickey strips, Barks’ Duck introduces us to an edgy and crazed collection of creatures in contrast to the softer Disney we are used to. The first in a series will be out in October.

- Hark! A Vagrant. Kate Beaton’s collection of flamboyant historical satire on Drawn & Quarterly, flew off the shelf at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Beaton boils down historical situations and figures to the basic absurdity everyone suspects it might be made of. Her web-comic is wildly popular and deservedly so; Top Gun characters portrayed as 17^th century fops is something everyone needs to see. The book was available as a pre-sale for SDCC, and will hit shelves for widespread sales in September.

- Last Wednesday, Dark Horse unveiled Sequential Pulp Comics, a new brand of graphic novels that are in classic pulp style. From the announcement on their website, “This new line will bring to life works of classic literature, ’50s paperbacks, and other stories. The series comes out of the gates with Victor Hugo’s classic literary work The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a forty-four-page graphic novella that marks Tim Conrad’s first new work in twenty years!” Michael Hudson of Reel Art studios, a statue and bust figure company that Dark Horse distributes, will be the president of the line. Here is a link to the press release. More details can be found on Comics Career .

- Fight Comics Censorship! The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund will put together the CBLDF Liberty Annual from Image Comics out on October 12th. The Fund is a non-profit organization set up to protect comics professionals’ and readers’ First Amendment rights in America. Bob Schrek, Editor-and-Chief of Legendary Comics and one of the organizers of this comic said, “It’s an honor to be asked to edit Liberty Annual. We wanted to show the human side of what it means to be censored, and we’re elated with how many powerful and heartfelt tales we’ve delivered. With an American facing prosecution in Canada for the comics he reads, the work that CBLDF does is more important now than ever, and the CBLDF Liberty Annual is an essential tool in the fight against censorship.” Here is a link to the comic, an article about the court case involving the American in question can be found here.

The post Barks’ duck is back! appeared first on The Snipe News.

Scene from Locke and Key TV pilot.

Locke and Key at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con

- story and photos by Ryan Ingram

If you’re channel-surfing through a sea of mediocrity this fall, blame Fox for not green-lighting a show that could have easily been your new weekly obsession.

The failed pilot for Locke & Key premiered at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con a few weeks back, and it’s pretty clear why Fox refused to give the show the green light. It’s a beautifully-shot, haunting hour of potential-television. It’s also filled with great performances, and made with equal parts terror, comedy, and tragedy. In other words, the Locke and Key pilot failed by being too damn good – and also a little too dark – for network television.

Based on the comic of the same name (written by Joe Hill, son of Tabitha King and the guy that wrote Tommyknockers), the Locke & Key adaptation is less David E. Kelly’s leather-clad Wonder Woman, and a whole lot more Walking Dead or Game of Thrones.

Joe Hill at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con. Ryan Ingram photo

It’s a haunted house story of sorts, one that follows the grief-stricken Locke family who are trying to rebuild their lives in a mysterious manor. It’s kind of like if Little House on The Prairie started with Michael Landon being shot in the face in the first episode, followed by the family moving into a house designed by H.P. Lovecraft. Or if Our House took place in the House of Leaves.

The “haunted house” in Locke & Key is filled with a dozen supernatural keys that open doors with weird and unexpected results. In the pilot episode, the youngest Locke sibling, Bode, discovers the powers of the Ghost Key.

It’s a game-changer in the comic, when Bode finds the right door to open with key. When he tries to walk through the frame of the Ghost Door, his body drops seemingly dead to the ground, while his ghost-like form rises from his body. In the pilot it’s an equally pivotal scene. It’s  exact the moment where you can tell Locke & Key could have been something special, balancing fantasy elements (and CGI) with pained characters fighting through very real grief.

Mark Romanek, who also directed the criminally underrated 2010 movie Never Let Me Go, fills the frame wonderfully with haunting images from the comic, while still making it feel like its own thing. The pilot strikes the perfect grounded tone for a premise featuring a ton of craziness, including a heartbreaking murder, a mysterious woman trapped in a well, and the aforementioned Ghost Key special effects.

Mark Romanek at the Locke & Key panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con.

While most pilots show glimpses of potential greatness, Locke & Key found its footing early on, as the members of the Locke family gel together more convincingly than my own family reunions. There isn’t a weak link in the cast, but there were two huge casting surprises.

First, they managed to find a child actor (Skylar Gaertner) that would have fit in just fine on the big screen alongside the kid actors from this summer’s Super 8.

And the second surprise was that the comic’s brooding-jock-older-brother was played completely convincingly by ex-pop star Jesse McCartney, who looks nothing like his comic book counterpart – a comment echoed by more than a few people after the screening.

Jesse McCartney and Harrison Thomas, who play Tyler Locke and Sam Lesser in the Locke & Key pilot.

After the screening, executive producer/writer Josh Friedman offered a jokingly humble explanation for why FOX passed on the series.

“We were victims of our own high standards,” said Friedman, who wasn’t that far off.

Although the pilot may have been too dark for the Glee crowd, a legitimate concern from those who read the comics is how true to the series would have stayed to the source material, since the pilot encapsulates almost the first collected story, “Welcome To Lovecraft”. The fourth collected volume of the comic just recently came out, a scarcity of source material which seems problematic if the producers wanted to make it past five episodes, let alone get another season.

But in the panel afterwards, the L&K crew explained the series would have followed “a key-of-the-week” format – similar to the X-Files monster-of-the-week – with the gang discovering a new key each week. Every third or fourth episode would have had more of the core plot and mythology from the comic. The pilot also ends with a Pan’s Labrynth-inspired cliffhanger that’s an intriguing curveball, even to the comic series’ faithful.

While everyone on the panel said the chances of the show being picked up are dead, Joe Hill recently wrote on his blog that “a few doors remain open” and offered this photo clue, which Hill said he knew nothing about.

It’s easy to blame Fox for denying us an ongoing Locke & Key show, but it’s still sort of a weird situation when they’re proud enough to show it off, almost like they’re taunting us with the scalped remains of another show that could have been awesome, or, at least, could have been a huge cult hit.

But even though it’s been killed, the Locke & Key pilot can take a little solace in joining some pretty great company in Rupert Murdoch’s trophy room of murdered television programs, probably hanging up on a wall, somewhere in between the pilot for the infamous Heat Vision and Jack and cancelled series like Dollhouse, Firefly, and Futurama.

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