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| << November27, 2004 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 499.05 |
November27, 2004 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 499.09 >> |
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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 --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> +++++ 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 . . . Now it seems only the first version of "The Incredibles" comic book will make it into the UK from Dark Horse. Again, a licensing glitch only brought up after the first issue had been shipped. Scott Lobdell has been talking (albeit in private e-mail) about the cancellation of "Alpha Flight." _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Interviews Paul Dale Roberts Silhouet98@cs.com Interview with: Gavin C. Burrows, Editor of The Plot Thickens! Interviewed by Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher - Jazma Universe Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com/ Sure thing! Just tell me when it's out! Question: Tell us something personal about yourself. Maybe where you were born, something about your family background, schools you attended, etc. Answer: Born and lived all of my life in the United Kingdom, don'tchaknow old boy? As it rains in England all the time there was nothing else to do but stay indoors and read and write comics. (That and eat cucumber sandwiches. Pausing only to salute every time the Queen came on the telly.) For the last twenty-odd years been resident in Brighton on the South Coast. We're often told there's a comics scene here, though it usually comes as news to those of us who live here. Nevertheless, every now and then we do a group anthology comic to play up to this. Expect the new one of these in the Spring. It'll be called Rocket Science. Question: What was the first comic book you ever read? Answer: Probably TV Comic. By the Seventies even British comic producers had cottoned on to the fact that kids just watched TV all the time rather than go out in the rain and all their titles tried to cash in on that. TV Comic was mostly versions of cartoons and younger kids shows. (Sacrilegiously, Road Runner used to talk in them! He also had three nephews like Donald Duck, don't ask me why.) You'd then graduate to TV Action that had older kids' shows in it. Dr. Who etc. Frank Cannon was on the cover for a while. Question: What were your favorite comic books growing up? Answer: After a while they started reprinting the early Marvel strips in the UK, and they quickly eclipsed TV Comic and even TV Action in my mind. Rumour has it some dodgy publisher pirated them thinking Marvel would never notice, the Atlantic being wider in those days. This seems to have worked for a while, but finally notice they did and took him to task. Presumably figuring his actions meant there was a market, Marvel then started repackaging their strips themselves for UK comic format. As the Hulk was their lead character and UK comics were always black and white plus one spot colour, they'd print them with a murky green overprint. Except print quality was so shoddy you'd see the Hulk smashing something or other, then a few inches away from him there'd be this inexplicable green blob. Now I'm firmly in the realm of 'independent comics' I suppose I should fake disdain for early Marvel, but actually I love Kirby and Ditko now as much as ever! Far more imaginative than those whiney Gen-X trustafarian comix every monkey seems to be bringing out. In case you're curious about the state of British comics in the 70s you can read further inane reminiscences from myself on http://bugpowder.com/words/gav_comics1.html Question: For readers unfamiliar with The Plot Thickens, can you brief us about this anthology comic book? Answer: Everything's written by me and each strip is drawn by a different artist. This is all to do with my theory that this gives more visual variety for the reader, and nothing to do with the fact that I can barely draw a stick figure myself. Some people find this odd, which is probably because they think of 'alternative comics' as always being by a writer/artist like Clowes or Ware. The recent review on Poopsheet called me a 'Pekar'! Content-wise... well the by-line is "strip-mining the lowest form of wit". It's pretty much satire and sarcasm all the way. I love the Simpsons, and I suppose it's like a version of that humour filtered through British culture. Only with less yellow people. And less celebrity guest stars. And less jokes. Well, less funny jokes anyway. Question: What else will be coming out of Top Shelf? Answer: Point of clarification here! The good folks at Top Shelf recently produced All Flee!, a comic by myself and artist Simon Gane. (Of Arnie Comics fame, if you know that.) Then the even- more-goodly folks offered to distribute Plot Thickens in the States, and sell it on-line on their site. But it was published by me, under my imprint Armchair Comics. So in brief my answer is "You'd have to ask them!" They're on http://www.topshelfcomix.com/ and just waiting for your call. Question: Do you have a website and if you do, what is the URL address? Answer: Well what sort of artist in the scene would not have his own website nowadays? What sort of stuck-in-the-mud Luddite bugger? This is the new millennium after all! (No, I don't actually. Best place to check for UK news is bugpowder.com.) Question: How can somebody contact you? Answer: Try e-mail first, gavin.c.burrows@aexp.com Failing that, note any carrier pigeons would have to cross the Atlantic to reach me so feed 'em up well before sending them off. Question: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring with you and why? Answer: Britain is a desert island. Haven't you ever been here? (If you do, please don't try to make off with the palm tree.) Question: Your thoughts on the comic industry? Answer: As comics go from being a mass to a niche market the 'alternative' sector becomes a bigger and bigger slice of the pie, but because the pie's becoming smaller rather than the slice is getting bigger! Maybe the UK's ahead of the pack here. There's signs that even the moribund remains of 'mainstream' publishing are going, as sales are dipping beneath the threshold where the main newsagents consider them worth carrying. Which will leave just us crazy guys with a fanatical gleam in our eye and bad posture from hand-collating everything at home. Soon the world will be ours. Nyah-ah-ah-ah-ah... sorry, what were we talking about again? Question: Your 3 favorite fictional heroes and why? Answer:Lisa Simpson (tho' I suspect I'm more a combination of Grandpa and Millhouse) Dennis the Menace (the British not the American. Did you know that, despite being completely different characters, they debuted on the same day? Stick with me, I got a million of 'em!) Hutch Owen by Tom Hart. Cantankerous and misanthropic. My kind of guy. Question: Your 3 real life heroes and why? Answer: Lisa Simpson isn't real? Question: What cons are you going to? Answer: There's three British cons a year. Being sad and obsessive, I go to all three. Best in my humble opinion is Caption in Oxford, because it's put on for people who do their own comics by people who do the same. It's Oxford location makes it look like a filmset of England, which must be confusing to the American attendees. You look out the window to see people punting by on the river with rolling meadows behind them, that sort of thing. I've been to precisely one con in mainland Europe and loved it, the Turnhout convention in Belgium. UK con guests get a bed and breakfast room if they're lucky, for me it's normally been someone's floor. There we got put up in a four star hotel, where we sat waiting for them to realise their mistake and come remove us. But they never did. I've never been to an American con but would love to. Maybe one day. Question: What movies, cartoons and TV shows are your favorites? Answer: Brazil by Terry Gilliam The Simpsons I love lots of the old British sit-coms, Hancock, Steptoe and Son, Porridge, Dad's Army. I'm not sure how many of those you'll have seen. I like to think I've been at least as influenced by them as by the comics I've read. (I like a good comic as much as the next guy but sometimes I feel they all happen inside an enclosed, hermetic world. I find all that stifling!) Question: What books do you read? Answer: Currently it's The Comic Book Makers by Joe Simon. There's a good anecdote where he starts with a new publisher, turns up on his first day to find a gleaming swish reception area. "At last I've arrived!" he thinks. They he gets led to the comic department and it's a converted toilets out the back littered with rubbish. Question: What are your hobbies and recreational activities? Answer: See the above. Only 'What are your bad habits where you unleash your unhealthy obsessions that lead to your state of continual and miserable misanthropy?' might be a more accurate question. Question: What comic books do you read now? Answer: Hutch Owen by Tom Hart. I thought that was a genius piece of work, partly because he made the 'rebel hero' as cranky and unlikeable as his adversaries. I haven't seen the new one yet, but I'm keen to. Rubber Necker by Nic Bertozzi, particularly the main story Drop Ceiling. Formally, the way he's able to convey his story in such teeny-tiny panels without it ever feeling compressed or getting confusing, but it's a cool story about outsider artists too. Blood Orange. I'm not sure I like everything that's in it, but as a cultural artefact... It's like the point where the Fantagraphics school and the Fort Thunder/Highwater boys collided and left a strange new substance that no-one had a name for. I'm really confused as to whether it's a mishmash or the Great Leap Forward. Question: That ends the interview, any last words of wisdom? Answer: Move along folks. Nothing to see here . . . ************** Interview with: Riel Langlois, Writer of Captain Canuck! Interviewed by Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher - Jazma Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com/ Question: Tell us something personal about yourself. Maybe where you were born, something about your family background, schools you attended, etc. ANSWER: I was born in The Pas, Manitoba. I have two younger brothers, Myles and, of course, Drue, who is the artist on Captain Canuck: Unholy War. My parents were extremely supportive growing up, and continue to be that supportive. Question: What was the first comic book you ever read? ANSWER: I think it was Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #7 - the one with Morbius the Living Vampire. That's the first one I remember, anyway. I got Captain Canuck #1 shortly after that. I also remember a Spider-Man comic guest-starring the Black Widow, but I can't remember which one it was. Question: What were your favorite comic books growing up? ANSWER: Definitely Spider-Man and Batman. I was a HUGE fan of Captain Marvel Jr.; I was him for Halloween when I was nine. (I dug up the picture and attached it! Ha, ha. Use it anywhere if you like.) Question: For readers unfamiliar with Captain Canuck, can you brief us about the storyline? ANSWER: The original Captain Canuck comic was published in the 70s. Captain Canuck was a superhero in a future with jetpacks and flying cars - kind of a cross between Batman and Flash Gordon. The new Captain Canuck is a modern-day hero with no powers. The new Captain Canuck became a hero because he read the old Captain Canuck comics! His base of operations is the Vancouver area. Question: How long has Captain Canuck been around? Who originally created Captain Canuck? ANSWER: Captain Canuck has been around since 1975 - 30 years next year. He was created by Ron Leishman and Richard Comely. Richard is the editor of the new series. Question: How did you score the writing chores on Captain Canuck? ANSWER: I got in touch with Richard Comely through his website and pitched him Captain Canuck: Unholy War. I sent him the three scripts and he really liked it - didn't change a thing except for a word here and there. Question: Will there ever be a team-up between Captain Canuck and Captain America? Now that would be the ultimate team-up!! ANSWER: I think Captain America would be my first choice. He was always one of my favorites. Question: Who are some of the main characters in Captain Canuck? ANSWER: The main character in the new Captain Canuck (Unholy War) is David Semple, the RCMP constable who wears the mask of Canuck. Other characters include Bluefox (Canuck's female sidekick), Torchie (a female pyromaniac villain), Nemisar (an assassin from India), and Mr. Gold (the albino leader of the Unholy Avengers gang). Question: Who is your artist on Captain Canuck? ANSWER: The greatest comic artist alive: my brother, Drue Langlois. Question: Do you have a website and if you do, what is the URL address? ANSWER: www.captaincanuck.com is our official website, and it has additional character information that doesn't appear anywhere else. Question: How can somebody contact you? ANSWER: Through the website at comelycomix@westman.wave.ca Question: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring with you and why? ANSWER: 1. As much chocolate as I could carry - it's a standard in a lot of survival kits, it keeps well, and I love it. 2. My fishing rod 3. A bulk pack of Bic lighters. Question: Your thoughts on the comic industry? ANSWER: I'm happy with it, I'd like to see it grow again, and I think it's starting to pick up. I really, really like Diamond Comic Distributors - they get a lot of flak, I think, but they've treated me well. Question: Your 3 favorite fictional heroes and why? ANSWER: Snake Plissken, from Escape From New York/L.A. is by far my favorite because he's a rugged individualist. Then it's a tie between Iron Fist - hey, he's a LIVING WEAPON - and Ash from Evil Dead because he's a regular guy who's a little arrogant who still manages to hold his own against demonic villains single-handedly (get it? single-handedly? Bwahahahaha). That reminds me of a joke. Q: Where did Luke Skywalker go at the end of Empire Strikes Back? A: The second hand store. Question: Your 3 real life heroes and why? ANSWER: John Carpenter, the director, because half of my top ten favorite movies are John Carpenter movies. Dan Aykroyd, because he wrote The Blues Brothers and he probably has an IQ in the genius range. And Ayn Rand because she wrote The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Question: What cons are you going to? ANSWER: I'm planning to attend San Diego and Chicago in 2005. Question: What movies, cartoons and TV shows are your favorites? ANSWER: My ten favorite movies are Blazing Saddles, The Blues Brothers, Miller's Crossing, The Shining, Spider-Man 2, Evil Dead 2, Dark Star, The Thing, They Live, Escape From L.A. (I have an Escape From L.A. poster on my wall in my writing room). My favorite TV shows are Dog the Bounty Hunter, Smallville, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. There isn't really a cartoon I watch regularly. Question: What books do you read? ANSWER: My favorite author is Ayn Rand. I also love, love, love Larry Niven. Larry Niven is the best author alive today. One of my favorite books that I thought didn't get enough attention was The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson - great sci-fi. Question: What are your hobbies and recreational activities? ANSWER: I fish a lot. I try to hunt but I've never got anything so maybe I should quit. Question: What comic books do you read now? ANSWER: Anything by Garth Ennis. I tend to buy for the writer. These days I'm getting Joss Whedon's X-Men and Breakdown by Chuck Dixon. My favorite independent was Table For One by Bosch Fawstin. Question: If Captain Canuck were to become a Hollywood movie, who would play the character parts and why? ANSWER: Hahahaha! I thought about this. I think Ryan Reynolds would be a great Captain Canuck. He's the only one I've "placed." Question: That ends the interview, any last words of wisdom? ANSWER: Don't ever do anything half-assed. Always go full-assed. As silly as it sounds, I actually mean it. Thanks for the questions, they were really fun! Strangely Enough, Riel **************** Interview with Drue Langlois, Artist of Captain Canuck! Interviewed by Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher - Jazma Online! www.jazmaonline.com Question: Tell us something personal about yourself. Your family life. Schools you attended. Heck, maybe something about your first girlfriend! - I attended fine arts and film making courses in Winnipeg, Canada. - This big, tough girl used to push me down and sit on top of me in grade 4 or something and then one day I decided to fight back and she started crying. I still feel guilty about it because now I realize that she was just doing it out of affection. She didn't know I was claustraphobic. Question: You are an excellent artist, how did you get so good? - I've been drawing most of my life. I sold artwork to other students all through school. Also, my brothers and I used to play a lot of role playing games and I honed my abilities while drawing the character sheets and comic books to supplement the game. Question: How did you get selected to draw for Captain Canuck? - I told Riel I wanted to do it when things didn't work out with this other artist. Question: What are your thoughts on Captain Canuck? - I like the David Semple character. I like the way he doesn't stop to take a break. Question: What other comics have you worked on? - I have only really worked on my own independently distributed comic books before (sometimes with Myles Langlois). These are usually printed in very small runs of 100 - 200 copies. I sell them at my art gallery shows or sometimes at 'zine stores. Question: What comics would you like to work on? - I would prefer to work on my own comics mostly... I like it when artists draw their own characters, like Rumiko Takahashi's comics (Lum, Ranma 1/2), or Dame Darcy's (Meatcake). And Jaime Hernandez's. But I also enjoy working with Myles and Riel Langlois so I will continue to do so in the future. Question: Would you like to see Captain Canuck team-up with Captain America? - I think Captain America would get along fne with the original Captain Canuck form the 70's-early 80's. Those big guys like to stick together. He would feel some sort of connection to him and they'd understand the same kinds of jokes. I could see them high fiving each other a lot. So it would be more entertaining to see Captain America with the smaller David Semple Captain Canuck. I think he'd be kind of talking down to him all of the time. Or maybe Semple would be tying up a supervillain or something and then Captain America would come along and stand right behind Semple, making him feel nervous. Then eventually Captain America would get really restless and sort of beefily nudge him out of the way and say,"Here, let me do that, This bowline knot will do a far better job". Question: Are there any crossovers in mind for Captain Canuck? - I don't know what Riel has planned. Question: What cons will you be attending? -There's one called "expozine" on this weekend. It's at "Station C" (1450 Ste Catherine East) in Montreal on Sunday from 11:00 to 6:30. I'll have a table there with my independent comics and the first two issues of Captain Canuck. Question: Your thoughts on the comic industry? - I'm optimistic about it lately. Maybe it's because I'm appreciating Manga a lot more these days. Question: What is your website address? druelanglois.com Question: How can someone contact you? There is contact information on my website but my current Montreal Address until June, 2004 is: # 7 - 5556 Jeanne Mance, MOntreal, QC, H2W 4K6 Question: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring and why? A fishing rod, a saw, a large box of pencils Question: What recreational activities do you enjoy? - I make music when I'm not making artwork. But I enjoy Badminton, too. Question: What books do you read or have read? Right now I'm reading about a painter named Balthus (1908-2001). I read a bad Harlequin Romance novel lately (the strong secretary character lost her personality at the end, as a lot of female characters in fiction unfortunately tend to do).I like Tove Jansson's books. Question: What comic books do you read now? Rumiko Takahashi comics. I bought a "Battle of the Planets" recently. I re-read my Marvel comics from the 1986 era sometimes (mostly spider-man). Question: What movies, cartoons, TV shows do you enjoy? - I saw an episode of "Full Metal Alchemist" that I liked a lot. I watch the "Jem" cartoon television show whenever I can. I liked the newest Harry Potter movie. I still like Clash of the Titans. Question: What kind of hobbies do you have? All I really do is work on paintings, comics or music. I have to force myself to take a break sometimes or my nervous system will pulverize itself and shatter. Question: End of interview, any last words of wisdom? - Don't hide your feelings. Thanks, Drue Langlois _________________________________________________________________ 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. It is our policy to withhold names and/or Addresses, by request only, from letters of comment. All contributors are required to use their real name and have a valid Email address for their columns to be published. 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November27, 2004 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 499.09 >> |
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