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------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/bGIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> CBEM 486 continues with ALL THE RAGE . . . Angel of Doom Two weeks ago, reports in the Hollywood trades stated that Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck) was in negotiations to play Dr. Doom in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. However, the role may not be his just yet. A recent interview with David Boreanaz (Angel) by TV Guide hints that he may also be up for the part: He's also in talks to co-star in a high-profile franchise flick that he insists is not Superman. "It's better," he teases, adding, "'Four' would be the magic number - that's all I'm going to say." If Boreanaz is in fact referring to the FF film, then Dr. Doom is likely the role he's trying to land. After all, who else could he play? Wyatt Wingfoot? This Has A "Negative Zone" Factor of Five Out of Ten Byrned Again A recent discussion on John Byrne's message board regarding Essential Avengers Vol. # 4 spiraled into a "spirited exchange" between Byrne and fellow industry legend, Neal Adams. It started with an otherwise innocuous post by Byrne: As I have noted, many pencils of yore would today be considered breakdowns, and many inkers would be finishers. When I was working on XHY, Tom Palmer told me how loose many of the pages Neal Adams turned in toward the end of their run were, and looking at the issues it is quite clear that there is more Palmer on those pages than there was at the start. Neal was turning in something close to breakdowns, but the term did not really exist yet, so he was paid for penciling, and Tom was paid for inking. To which, Adams replied: Dear John Byrne I think Tom Palmer may 'privately' have said to you that my pencils were closer to breakdowns than my earlier pages, but I don't think Tom intended to imply that I gave him layouts in the sense that you, John, submit breakdowns. Or Kane or Big John did breakdowns. I think Tom may have meant that "compared" to the first pages he'd received, which were extremely tight, "some" of the later pages were 'looser.' As well some loose areas do not make a loose page or series of pages. Tom Palmer has never expressed the sense of inking layouts to me in that time except to describe the X-Men fill in issue by Don Heck as "little more than layouts." Tom never indicated that he was 'finishing' my pages but he and I were collaborating as penciler and inker. I just checked my final Avengers, issue 96, The Andromeda Swarm, and by golly it was one of the tightest pencils I'd done, making your notes all the more contradictory. Just as a suggestion, John. Before you publicly quote a unique and particular person like Tom, give him a call and see if he wishes to depend on your memory of a private conversation with him. I don't believe he intended to be semi-quoted as you did. I think more of him than that and I will continue to do so. However, I think less of you by a notch. -Neal Adams Byrne's response: Neal, I'm delighted to read that your pencils were tight on your AVENGERS work. Since Tom and I were talking about X-MEN, however, I am not sure how that applies to his comments. (My reference to XHY, the acronym we use hereabouts for X- MEN: The Hidden Years is probably unfamiliar to you, so I can easily see why you would have missed the context.) In any case, you seem to have missed my central point -- which is not surprising if, as it would appear, the single post you reference above is the only comment of mine on this topic you have read. However, this is far from the only comment I have made. There have been many posts that have addressed the wide range of detail on pages that were considered "full pencils" in earlier days of this industry. Most often I have pointed to the works of Jack Kirby as a prime example. What he turned in on "Sky Masters", for instance, and what he turned in during the early days of the "Marvel Age" would certainly be considered breakdowns by current standards. They were not at the time, and no pejorative is contained in this comparison. Nor is there a pejorative in my comments about your own work. (I wonder, were you directed to this isolated post by one of the many trolls who delight in the whole "let's you and him fight" nonsense so prevalent on the internet?) You do seem to be using the terms "layouts" and "breakdowns" as if they are interchangeable, however, and perhaps this is a source for your misreading of my words. "Layouts" as I have always been taught to use the term, refers to the most sparse of pencils -- mere indications of placement of objects and characters. (A circle with "spaceship" written on it, for instance.) "Breakdowns", on the other hand, I have always seen and heard used as a reference to much more detailed drawing, lacking line weight and anything but the loosest shading, but indicating gesture, expression, even drapery and background detail. (I have posted a page of my own breakdowns, at the end of this message, to give you a better idea of what we are talking about here.) Now, I must take a moment to express my own confusion, and knowing the risk of fanning any unnecessary flames here, let me emphasize that I am asking this in all sincerity: You begin you post by indicating that some of the later pages were "looser" than the earlier ones, but you then go on to indicate your final AVENGERS issue was "the tightest pencils" you had done. I can't reconcile those comments in my mind, so could you clarify? Again, let me emphasize there was no value judgement nor pejorative intent in my comments or Tom's. He and I were discussing the way various artists have approached various jobs, and I, in my post, was doing the same. In this context, it would seem your own post is actually in agreement with mine and with what Tom reported (tho, as I indicate above, I am not 100% clear on some of your comments). Hope all is well with you, otherwise, and I take this moment to second Rick's comments, above, and suggest you peruse this board more generally, to get a better grasp of the high esteem in which you are held by virtually everyone who posts here, including, obviously, myself. JB After another round of back and forth messages, Adams replied: Yet you continue to offend and I continue to explain the work that needs no defense. I am not missing my point to your quasi-quoting another person from a private conversation. On a given day I may privately criticize another pro, perhaps I had a headache. Perhaps I felt I was speaking to a person who would not repeat or modify my words without consulting me. I have seen breakdowns. I have never done breakdowns. I have inked breakdowns over Gil Kane. I don't believe Tom Palmer ever felt I was handing in breakdowns. That he felt some pages were looser than others must be true because it was true. But I can tell you Tom worked just as hard on my tight pages as my looser ones because I always leave problems to be solved and interpretations to be made. Ask them. As to the posted pages. One of them was indeed from my original run on X-Men. End of the run? Isn't that where you suggested Tom thinks I let down? Missed the point? As you interpret Tom's words, he thinks I shorted the job and did what you allude to, in another day, as breakdowns. I don't think he meant this, and that's my opinion. Why do you continue to interpret Tom's words? I don't get it. My point is interpreting Tom's private words is wrong. Implying that I ever did anything but full pencils is wrong. My style, in fact does not lend itself to breakdowns especially since I work heavily with lighting. John, have I ever criticized you with the words of another...or with the words of my own, in a public forum? Ever? I think not. Nor will I ever! You're a hard working pro and you deserve and get my respect. Tom, well he gets my love. Neal Adams For his part, Byrne had this to say: Well, Neal, I don't know who it was who directed you to my original post, but they are coming dangerously close to succeeding in their obvious goal of getting you and me to "fight". I won't play that game, though. I have far too much respect for your talent and your impact on the industry. If that does not come shining through in every post in which I mention your name, then there must be some intrinsic flaw in the English language. This Has A "Message Boards of Discord" Factor of Seven Out of Ten The Forsaken One The upcoming Image series, Forsaken has been generating a great deal of buzz lately, due largely to extremely positive advance reviews. Series creator/writer, Carmen Treffiletti recently took the time to expand upon the concept behind Forsaken: Forsaken actually began as something different, and it just never sat well with me. I wanted to do something that I really loved...and sci-fi and crime drama are just that. Forsaken revolves around the last city on Earth and its social and economical interdependence with an Alien planet called Krelari. Humanity's follies finally came back to bite him, causing a nearly twenty-year span of cataclysmic events, ranging from nuclear war to the melting of the ice caps. Our resources were vastly depleting and the surviving population of earth that now resided in the massive shielded metropolis called Megalon, was quickly becoming over populated. So, in an attempt to harvest outer worlds to replenish our own, we discovered Krelari. The Krel were technologically advanced light-years beyond us, but they were dying rapidly. They are inherently born with virtually no immune system, so the slightest cold could spread and kill thousands. To make a long story short, we helped them and thus they helped us. But, despite Megalon's capability to protect mankind from the various outside woes, it could not protect them from the ones happening internally. A corrupted Bi-World Security Council and a United Government loosing grip has caused a pending race war, a plague of ambiguous terrorist attacks, and a deranged radical calling himself the Separatist. The worlds are in desperate need of a fresh and honorable faction that can begin to pave the path to peace and civil organization, and this faction will be the driving force of Forsaken. In the end, it's about not taking the world for granted. Our main characters include Special Agent Apollo Delk, a cynical, bordering alcoholic who heads the Megalon Police Department's Special Terrorist Unit, or the STU. His wife and son were killed in a horrific terrorist attack and since then, he's dedicated his life to stopping it. Agent Delk is a master of his craft, he's cunning, insightful, determined, and fearless. He's a sort of take no shit kind of guy with a contemptuous facade, but is self- destructive and very much at war with himself. Then there's Sephtar our Krelari operative who brings a vast intellect and an admirable sense of humanity. He's very much the necessary voice of reason. Agent Zoe Devlin whose role in the story is somewhat of a question mark. She brings a deeply classified background, a cryptic and closed front, but most of all an iron will. She sets the standard for getting the job done tactfully and efficiently. Next, there's Dogstar Barnes, former black-OP marine and military instructor. Barnes brings strength, honor and integrity. He'll never leave a man behind. Last, but not least Winnipeg Pines, just call him Pines. Pines is a seventeen-year old technical prodigy who finds better use for his talents in high-profile hacking and building robots for virtually every need. Forsaken will be an ongoing monthly series, written by Carmen Treffiletti with pencils and colors by Kristian Donaldson and Nick Zagami on inks. The first issue hits this Wednesday. This Has A "World of Tomorrow" Factor of Nine Out of Ten Paradise Bound Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise) is the subject of two-hour documentary that will be released direct-to-DVD this fall. Terry Moore: Paradise Found will reportedly feature "an in depth interview with Terry, a tour of his studio, a narrated peek into Terry's notebook and a look at Terry at work. The video includes several surprises for SiP fans, including an examination of Terry's previous careers as a video editor and a musician. As a special bonus, Terry performs some songs featured in SiP." Terry Moore: Paradise Found is available for pre-order here. Additionally, former ATR columnist Alan Donald will have an interview with Terry Moore debuting on SBC this Monday. Watch out for it. This Has A "Stranger in Your Eyes" Factor of Eight Out of Ten Monolith Reinforcements There's word going around that fans of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray's The Monolith are spearheading a drive to get the series collected as a trade paperback. If someone would kindly forward the link of any related online petitions, I'd like to add my name to the list. This Has A "Hands of Stone" Factor of Nine Out of Ten Fingers On The Pulse Two minor Brian Bendis related rumors were swirling around this week. The first is that Jessica Jones will lose her baby in an upcoming issue of The Pulse, which might be related to the events unfolding in Secret War. The second rumor concerns The New Avengers. With the addition of The Sentry to the team, speculation has centered on The Void as a possible recurring threat in the new series. This Has A "Voices in The Dark" Factor of Five Out of Ten Back To Gotham Ever since Batman: Dead End was released, there seems to be a growing trend among super-hero fan-films to gravitate towards team-ups or throw-downs. Usually, it's the DC characters that are used, though there was a Wolverine Vs The Punisher short film making the rounds at Wizard World last weekend. Unfortunately, the production values usually leave a lot to be desired. Not everyone can be the next Sandy Collera. Though of the current crop, one of the better films is Grayson, by John Fiorella and Gabriel Sabloff from Untamed Cinema. While Grayson seems to be heavily influenced by Batman: DE, it isn't quite as polished as the earlier film. This Has A "Boy Wonder Returns" Factor of Seven Out of Ten Wizard Roundup Two more items of note from this year's Wizard World Chicago. First up, the next city to be added to Wizard's convention tour looks to be Boston, possibly as soon as next year. Second, one of the participants from last weekend's poker tournament wrote in with a few additional details: while a percentage of the money collected is donated to the CBLDF, the fund itself has nothing to do with the game. Additionally, this year's $1,000 donation to the CBLDF was the tournament's largest to date. And there's also a poker tournament run by the same guys down at the San Diego Convention every year. This Has A "Magic Circle" Factor of Seven Out of Ten And that's all for this week. See you in seven. Later, Blair PS If anyone has any rumors, stories or news to share, please email me at blairm@silverbulletcomicbooks.com. Thanks to everyone who has been sending stuff in. It's greatly appreciated. +++++ Items found in Rich Johnston's "Lying in the Gutters" column at http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/ which are all rumors or gossip so take any of it with a BIG bucket of salt! Rich was chosen Best Comics Journalist in the 2003 Usenet Squiddy Awards, his fourth consecutive win. Write to Rich at: richjohnston@gmail.com Rich heard rumors . . . Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, writer/star and writer/director of "Shaun of The Dead" are currently working on the script of "The Filth." They plan to film in March, and "Spaced" co-writer and co-star Jessica Stevenson has already been cast. Zack Snyder has had Scott Frank writing a screenplay draft of Frank Miller's "300" for him. Michael Tolkin was also approached about it. An early rumour suggests James Gunn is involved. Desperado Publishing, Joe Pruett's new company, is starting a new volume of "Negative Burn," the highly influential anthology series from his previous company, Caliber. While rumours are rife that the "Ultimatized" DC line will be published through Wildstorm, I understand that this isn't set in stone. It currently consists of the previously mentioned "Batman And Robin" by Jim Lee & Jeph Loeb (then Art Adams & Jeff Loeb), "Wonder Woman" by Adam Hughes and Jeph Loeb and Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely on "Superman." The project is scheduled for the last quarter of 2005. There are more rumours that DC will be moving lock stock nearer to Warner Brother's Burbank Studios in Los Angeles. Paul Levitz's position isn't in jeopardy, Warner Brothers just want DC in closer proximity to the studios - though it's one Levitz has always resisted. The rest of the year may see some major figures at Marvel let go, at a level above editorial. "Hell House" is a comic book adaptation of the novel by Richard "I Am Legend" Metheson, coming out from IDW. Written by Ian "Sojourn" Edgington and Si "Nikolai Dante" Fraser, their adaptation is planned to be much more faithful than the seventies movie. It's a four part series, each part being 48 pages long and in glorious black and white with colour covers by Si. The first part is due in December. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Interviews Richard Vasseur richardv@sympatico.ca Chris March Publisher and creator/writer on "Trailer Park of Terror" from Imperium Comics interviewed by Richard Vasseur. Richard: Are you kept busy as Publisher of Imperium Comics? What are your duties? Chris: Publishing a comic is a full time job in itself that I am currently trying to squeeze into any spare time I have. One of the hardest things is finding the time to fit everything in. My duties as publisher include the business and financial aspects of the book. I deal with the distributors, printers and vendors. I write the checks, plan the conventions and do the accounting. I also obtain the permits, file the tax returns and make the investment deals. I'm the primary person who ships and receives the books. In conjuncture with the editor, we review possible business expansions, which include expanding our current title line. If I can find any spare time, I try to write for the book. Richard: Can you tell us about "Trailer Park of Terror"? Chris: Trailer Park of Terror is our modern day version of "Tales from the Crypt" with our Hostess, Norma who introduces and ties the stories together. Each issue contains at least 3 stories of horror and Norma's latest misadventure. We employ a wide array of writing and artistic talent that gives the book an eclectic charm with something for every taste. We began the book in black and white, publishing 4 issues (which we call volume one). We then ventured out into color with our first color special. Color Special #1 would have been issue 5 if we had remained in B&W. After seeing the book in color, we decided to stay with it, so all future issues for this title will be in color. So far we have had stories that featured zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, demons, murder, revenge and bisexual co-eds. A plus to doing an Anthology series is that we are not limited to a particular story premise and can explore a wide range of ideas. Richard: Why did you decide on an Anthology series? Chris: The idea for the book came to light by a casual comment on my part. My friend James had written a comic several years prior called "Z". He had been wanting to write another book for quite some time before I had made the comment to him that I had enjoyed the old horror comics as a boy and that there wasn't anything really like it right now. That started the spark and he said, "let's do one". A little prodding later, he had convinced me to try it and we began planning "Trailer Park of Terror". Richard: How did you come up with the character of Norma? Chris: Norma is the Imperium Comic's love child. The initial concept of her sprang from the twisted mind of James Dracoules, Imperium's Editor-in-Chief. In the beginning, we set out the groundwork for which this character was going to be and what she was going to look like. After the "skeleton" for Norma was constructed, artist Simeon Wilkins provided a fantastic character sketch that allowed James to start developing her personality and he ran with it. She almost seemed to start writing herself. One of my favorite parts of putting out this book is getting to read the "Norma" pages that James puts together. Norma has a complete back-story, which will unfold to the readers as the books are published. Richard: Is it harder to do an anthology or a full-length comic? Chris: Anthology books are both a blessing and a curse. They are a blessing because you can have several people working on an issue at the same time. There is also flexibility with the order that the stories are presented. Since each issue is self- contained, we have the luxury of being able to swap segments in and out if the need arises. They're a curse because you end up having several balls in the air at the same time. There is a lot more to keep track of and more people to manage. We are just beginning to try doing a full length comic title and we are going to incorporate some important lessons that we learned from doing the anthology book, such as having some contingency time with the artwork before we go to the printers. We're still learning as we go along. I personally like the fact that doing an anthology gives us the freedom to explore many different ideas. It never gets boring, that's for sure. Richard: Would you consider this comic for a more mature audience? Chris: I guess mature would be a relative term. I wouldn't recommend our book for small children, but I don't think that we have anything within our pages that are too over the top (bearing in mind that I am extremely desensitized due to a lifetime of horror intake). We initially did not want the book to be distributed as a mature read, so we held back on the profanity and violence. But when Diamond first solicited us, they listed us for mature readers, so we relaxed the "PG-13" policy. The Norma character cusses quite a bit, but we still do her dialogue with the expletive connotations like "@!%*" as a carry over from our original concept of the book. Richard: How do you find the various talent that works on the comic book? Chris: Thanks to the Internet and a great publicity director, we have been fortunate to get some of the best up and coming talent from literally all over the world. The talent portion of the book falls under the responsibility of the editor. He's a great editor, I might add, who has a talent for matching the wide range of writing submissions we get to the artistic talent which would best suit the story. Richard: Do you have any other current or future projects planned? Chris: Currently, we have three projects in the works. Our first all color Halloween Special for "Trailer Park of Terror", issue two of our second title "Furious Fist of the Drunken Monkey" and the premiere of our third title, "Pierce" which is about a heroin addicted mob assassin who is trying to solve his own murder. "Pierce" is as close to a super hero book as we would like to get. Richard: Which famous monster is your favorite? Chris: My all time favorite contemporary monster is Michael Myers from the earlier "Halloween" movies. He's not a monster in the strictest sense, but I find him scarier than any monster of fantasy or science fiction. Its more realistic to have a stalker watching you from the shadows in the backyard than it would be to have a werewolf breaking down the door. Human beings can be the scariest monster of all. Richard: Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? Chris: Still working on Imperium, although after 10 years I want it to be full time. That's a goal that we have set for ourselves. We want to build the company up and keep on going with it. I'd also like to expand into other mediums...seeing Norma on the big screen would be really cool, don't you think? Richard: What comic books do you read now? Chris: I'm probably what you would call a relative "newbie" to comics. I read them as a kid and then stopped around the time that I became a teenager. It wasn't until about 4 years ago that I was reintroduced to them and fell in love all over again. My current interest is due to the patience of my friend James, and a question I asked him once: "What do you mean Barry Allen is dead?" Try explaining "Crisis" to a person who has not read any comic books in the past 18 years and you know what I mean about needing to have patience. I'm a child of the 80's, so now that I am reading comics again on a regular basis, a large majority of the books I read are the ones based on stories from that period, such as the "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe". I also read anything I can find that is horror-centric such as the "Hellraiser" books or "Living Dead" stories. The only super hero books that I actively follow are "JLA", "Teen Titans" and the "Outsiders". I'm a big fan of trades, primarily because I lack the patience to wait a whole month for the next issue to come, and partly to get me caught up on what I have missed out on. I have amassed a huge collection of trades in a relatively short period of time which cover a wide range of titles and publishing companies. Richard: Any parting words of wisdom? Chris: If you are insane enough like we are to publish an Indy book: 1. ALWAYS make sure you are proud of what you are putting out. 2. Refer to any mistakes you find in the book as a conscious choice of artistic expression. 3. Network until you drop 4. And if nothing else, don't get too wrapped up in the process so that you stop having fun. If you enjoy what you are doing, it will carry over into the book you are putting out. _________________________________________________________________ Thanks for subscribing to the Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine (CBEM) --------------------------->Disclaimer<--------------------------- This is an ANNOUNCE only mailing list, only the Editor can send messages to the list. No one else has access to the subscriber list. Replies to these messages will be received by the Editor ONLY, so you must CC: individual contributors if you want them to get your E-Mail. The E-mail to the E-mag MAY be used in future issues at the Editor's discretion UNLESS you specifically request that they not be. 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