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+++++ [ALL THE RAGE and LYING IN THE GUTTERS are originally posted online on Sunday and Monday respectively so the information here is almost a week old. Other items above are more current.- D.L.] From Blair Marnell in his ALL THE RAGE Gossip Column at: http://www.SilverBulletComicBooks.com Write to him at: blairm@silverbulletcomicbooks.com RUMOUR BARRIER "I accept that the following material is rumour and gossip, intended to entertain only. I won't repeat the information inside as fact. I understand if I want the truth, I will go to Silver Bulletins. I enter freely with my mind open and my blinkers off." Now, on to the rumours . . . [NOTE: this column may be slightly edited for language. - D.L.] Circling The Wagons By Blair Marnell Welcome back to another edition of ATR. Got a lot to talk about this week, so let's get to it... Superman Confidential The long rumored Superman special edition DVDs have been confirmed by an unexpected source: Ilya Salkind. Superman Homepage broke the story late this week, with some particularly interesting tidbits: The biggest revelation of the interview concerns plans for Superman II. Scenes shot by fired director Richard Donner (who directed Superman: The Movie), including all of Brando's work for the second film, may finally see the light of day. "There will be a Donner cut [of Superman II] from what I hear," Salkind said. "There will apparently be an original cut with the original music and more stuff." Whether the extra footage will be presented as an alternative version of the film or included as a supplement has not yet been determined. Actor Jack O'Halloran, who played mute super-villain Non in Superman and Superman II confirmed that Time Warner interviewed him about his work on both films. Like Salkind, O'Halloran believes there will be a Donner version of Superman II. "I understand they [Time Warner] are letting Donner do his cut of Superman II, O'Halloran said. "We spoke a lot about Donner, whom I like a lot." The theatrical version of Superman II that Richard Lester directed will also receive special attention on the new DVD. Though Lester - who also directed Superman III - has steadfastly refused to give interviews about his work on the Superman movies over the years, Salkind believes that "Lester might make an interview," he said. "[Apparently] Pierre convinced him to [consider it]," Salkind explained. As you may recall, Richard Donner was originally removed from Superman II after clashing with the Salkinds. For years, fans have gone to great lengths to see some of Donner's footage restored to the film, most recently in last year's unofficial Superman II Restored International Cut which was quickly shut down by Warner Brothers Home Video. But now it appears that fans will finally get the chance to see the film as it was meant to be. Additionally, the Superman films (including Supergirl) will all be revisited, with the possible inclusion of deleted scenes from all five movies. This Has A "Fortress of Solitude" Factor of Ten Out of Ten Fall of The Watchtower Earlier this week on his blog, Paul Dini shed some light on the fate of Justice League Unlimited: I did an on camera interview with Bruce, David (Jimmy Olsen) Kaufman, Glen Murakami and Alan Burnett last night for the next (and last) SUPERMAN DVD set. Afterwards we went to dinner where Glen confirmed the end of TITANS, and Bruce said pretty much the same about JLU. There has been some talk about the JLU episodes airing earlier in the states, but that was still being debated at Cartoon Network. I forgot to ask Bruce how my Supergirl episode came out. Maybe I can get a preview if I'm at WB any time soon. I had heard people were getting more territorial with certain DC characters (no more Joker in JLU, for instance) but I didn't know the details. I knew two years ago when I left, that as heroes (and their villains) got snapped up in live movie options, it tended limited their appearances elsewhere. This pretty much confirms what I've been hearing since last summer. But shortly after I read this, I received information from another source, that contrary to previous rumors, Bruce Timm is still developing programs for Warner Brothers Animation. If this is true, it marks a shocking turnaround. Almost everyone I had previously spoken to was certain that Timm was leaving. As for Timm's latest project, it's not clear if it's DC related or something else entirely, but we may know more soon, when the revamped CW Network (along with Cartoon Network) unveils their latest programs at the network upfronts... And there's more... World's Finest Online has posted the loglines for the final nine episodes of JLU. Spoiler text follows for those who want to be surprised: Episode #31 - Flash and Substance Original Airdate - February 11th, 2006 Batman and Orion see a different side of the Flash when a rogues' gallery of villains attacks the museum that is opening in his honor. Episode #32 - Dead Reckoning Original Airdate - The ghost of a circus performer convinces Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to help him retrieve the stolen souls of a mystic order of Monks. Episode #33 - Patriot Act Original Airdate - When an out of control super soldier threatens Metropolis, Green Arrow leads seven non-powered Justice Leaguers, including Crimson Avenger and Shining Knight, in a battle they can't hope to win. Episode #34 - The Great Brain Robbery Original Airdate - A mystical accident leads to Lex Luthor and the Flash's minds being swapped into each other's bodies. Episode #35 - Grudge Match Original Airdate - Roulette starts Metabrawl ("Cat and Canary") again, this time with an all-female fight card made up of Justice Leaguers. Episode #36 - Far From Home Original Airdate - Supergirl, Green Lantern and Green Arrow travel into the future where they meet the Legion of Super Heroes and their enemies The Fatal Five. Episode #37 - Ancient History Original Airdate - The Shadow Thief returns and so does Hawkman as more mysteries from "Shadow of the Hawk" are explored. Episode #38 - Alive (Part 1) Original Airdate - In a knock-down drag out battle on Earth and in space, the power moving behind the scenes of the villains is revealed leading to the most unexpected team-up in Justice League history. Episode #39 - Destroyer (Part 2) Original Airdate - - Series Finale In a knock-down drag out battle on Earth and in space, the power moving behind the scenes of the villains is revealed leading to the most unexpected team-up in Justice League history Incidentally, I should mention that the final two episodes are rumored to deal with the "Source Wall" from Kirby's Fourth World books. Usually, that entails an appearance by Darkseid... This Has A "Hunger Dogs" Factor of Eight Out of Ten How I Learned To Love The Hulk Over at Toonzone, a couple of clear screenshots from the upcoming Ultimate Avengers direct-to-DVD animated have been released. http://marvel.toonzone.net/avengers/media/gallery/ The film should be out next month, with a preview screening scheduled for Wonder Con. The second Ultimate Avengers movie is said to coming out in August of this year. This Has A "Grand Theft America" Factor of Nine Out of Ten Issues With Authority From the preview art in the latest Wizard, it appears that Grant Morrison and Gene Ha's Authority relaunch will build on the characters introduced in the Ed Brubaker/ Dustin Nguyen run. Additionally, there's a rumor that the first storyline in Morrison's Wildcats relaunch (with Jim Lee) will deal with The Authority and pave the way for the new series. This Has An "Earth Inferno" Factor of Seven Out of Ten Amazon Princess Regarding the pending Wonder Woman relaunch, there's an interesting rumor going around that Gail Simone might be the new writer teaming up with Terry Dodson for the new series. Honestly, I'm not really sure on this one, as I don't have confirmation either way... ***UPDATE*** Just heard from a reliable source that this isn't happening. Simone would have been a good choice though... This Has A "Mission of Peace" Factor of Four Out of Ten Master Skeptic I hear that Phil Hester's The Atheist #3 is at the printer and should be out shortly. Additionally, I'm told that John McCrea will stay on through the fourth issue (and conclusion of the first story), but that a new artist will be handling the second story, Will Volley (Negative Burn). McCrea is still the co- creator/owner of the book, and will return to it when his schedule permits. Also, I'm told that the name of the series will eventually be changed to Antoine Sharpe: The Atheist. The rumored reason behind the switch is that "Hollywood types are interested in the series but afraid to put a TV series called The Atheist on the air." Kind of like the switch between Hellblazer and Constantine. Incidentally, the next story arc is said to be called Antoine Sharpe: Effigy. This Has A "Rising Dead" Factor of Eight Out of Ten The French Connection Word out of Angouleme is that there will be an original Wolverine story by French comic creators Jean-David Morvan and Philippe Buchet called Wolverine: Saudade. Panini Comics will be publishing it in issue 145 of their Wolverine book (currently reprinting the Mark Millar/John Romita JR run). I don't know if this is going to make it stateside... but what really has my attention is the fact that Lee Bermejo did five Marvel covers for Panini, which I would really like to see... So, I'm gonna have to ask our overseas readers to help me out here. Bermejo is one of my favorite artists and I would really appreciate it if someone sent me some high quality scans of those covers. Thanks in advance. This Has A "Best There Is... In Any Language" Factor of Seven Out of Ten The Wedding Is Still On Remember the Uncanny X-Men Annual I mentioned last week? Marvel confirmed it in one of their press conferences this week, though they neglected to mention who the artist was. I hear that it's Clayton Henry (Alpha Flight) who will be teaming with Chris Claremont on the aforementioned Black Panther/Storm story. This Has A "Something Borrowed" Factor of Nine Out of Ten Vengeance Rides Again In an interview posted here on SBC earlier this week, Mark Texeira revealed that he is working on NEW Ghost Rider project. According to the interview, Texeira will provide the covers and "finish inks" over Javier Saltares' breakdowns. From the way he described the book, it sounds like it might be an ongoing series... This Has A "Penance Stare" Factor of Seven Out of Ten And that's a wrap. 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! Write to Rich at: richjohnston@gmail.com Rich heard rumors . . . This week, I've been hearing a lot about the troubles at TokyoPop. Original English Manga, OEL, the name given to new works created by Anglophonic creators, rather than translated works from Japanese and Korean creators, is not selling anything like the East Asian work. The kids want the real stuff, dudes. So there's been a slashing of that line, with repercussions on the TokyoPop shop floor. We know that Theresa Russell has been cast as the wife of Flint Marko, The Sandman. But her character's identity hasn't yet been divulged. It's Felicia Hardy. The Black Cat. Thankfully, the Countdown-similar "DCU: Brave New World" is just a dollar. Should top off the whole "Infinite Crisis" and define the emerging new DC Universe. Newsarama updated their story that Paul Dini would be writing Batman with info from Dini's LiveJournal: "I'll be writing a ton of new Batman comics this year, along with a very special graphic novel starring two DCU darlings near and dear to my heart," Dini posted. It's Black Canary and Zatanna, okay? Okay. "The blade that you see 'Nightwing' with on his OYL first issue cover, is the same blade that Jason Todd was stabbed with in one of the most recent issues of Batman, (only turning out to not be Jason Todd...) It also seems to be Jason's Blade of Choice, considering Dick Grayson has always been more for the batarangs than knives. Talking of which, I've heard that for a while the new series "Flash: The Fastest Man Alive" was called "Jay Garrick: The Fastest Man Alive" internally at DC. Panini Comics Italy are promoting the new French Wolverine book by Jean-David Morvan & Philippe Buchet The full interview is here. http://www.paninicomics.it/News.jsp?Action=Carica&Id=12897 The book is scheduled for next year's Angloueme festival. Amazon USA has handily put up dates for all your Alan Moore needs. The last DC volume of the "League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier." May for the standard hardcover, September for the absolute version. These will come with CDs featuring recordings created by Moore and others. In May, Complete Future Shocks from Rebellion, featuring all of Alan Moore's "Future Shocks" tales for "2000AD." Expect a "Complete Time Twisters" to follow. And Albion from DC/Wildstorm in October. There's also an Absolute Kingdom Come planned for September, All Star Superman trade for September and All Star Batman for October. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- COMICS OBSCURA Mike Curtis shandafa@cyberback.com [COMICS OBSCURA are facts Mike Curtis has dug out during his 30 years of collecting Superman and writing about comics. His website for his comic imprint is www.shandafantasyarts.net ] IT'S NOT UNUSUAL While J'ONN JONZZ, MANHUNTER FROM MARS occupied the second spot in DETECTIVE COMICS, on one occasion he was visited by his younger Martian brother T'OMM JONZZ. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [5] Interviews Richard Vasseur richardv@sympatico.ca Payton Gauldin letterer on "ANT" from Image Comics and various other comics interviewed by Richard Vasseur www.jazmaonline.com Rich: How did you get hired at Image and Blue Water Productions? Payton: For Image, I did a fan piece of Mario Gully's Ant over at his official forum. It was a page from Ant #2 and featured the Savage Dragon and the Arachnid. Mario saw it and really liked it. At the time he couldn't use me but when his letterer left, he gave me a call and the rest is history. It's been a blast to work with him. With Blue Water (published under Alias Comics), I was emailing out my portfolio to any and everyone. Eventually my efforts paid off and my name was passed on to Darren Davis, the creator of Isis and Tenth Muse. I lettered a ton of books for him and designed logos for many of his comics. Rich: Do you need any special training for lettering? Payton: I've studied graphic arts, typography, desktop publishing and traditional art in college and find that I use them every time I letter a comic. Coming from a graphic arts background, I tend to think visually. When I look at a comic page, I see it in terms of negative and positive space. The places that a word balloon or sound effect should go just pop right out for me. If you're going to letter comics using a computer, really get to know the computer and the software you're using. Over the past seven years, I've must have spent anywhere between 15,000 - 20,000 hours sitting in front of my computer. At one point a typical day for me would be to work a full-time job, come home and spend another 8-10 hours on my computer learning. A lot of times I would crawl in bed at 2am and then do it all over again. Also, learn more than just Illustrator. Over the years I've become skilled at many different programs. Programs like Photoshop, CorelDraw, Freehand, Flash, QuarkXpress, Pagemaker and Dreamweaver. Just don't limit yourself to one or two different pieces of software. Round yourself out. Rich: How did you get to have a career as a letterer? Payton: That's sort of a funny story and it all was a result of doing a fan piece for Devil's Due. I was a big G.I.Joe fan growing up and was blown away when I ran across the new G.I.Joe by Devil's Due in 2002. I wanted to do something to show my love for the comic and ran across two Joe wallpapers on their web site. I pieced them together and lettered it. It was a funny little piece about Snake-Eyes waiting for his latest issue of G.I.Joe. Well, Brian Peterson (aka "Sgt Savage") of Devil's Due saw it and said that I might have a future as a comic letterer. I don't know if he was being kind or really serious but I started looking into what a letterer was. After a little searching, I came across Digital Webbing's lettering forum and started learning the trade of the craft. I really owe a lot to those guys (Thanks Kep!). I also bought books on lettering and asked other letterers for advice. Richard Starkings was kind enough to give me a few pointers and I'm really appreciative for that. What's funny to me is that I never started out with the intent of lettering comics. I just sort of fell into it. Before the fan piece, the extent of my involvement in comics was reading them as a kid and young adult. Looking back, I can see where reading comics gave me a good starting point. Speaking of reading comics as a kid. My dad grew up reading comics in the 60's and I really wanted to get into them as a kid also but my mom was against it. She thought comics were a bad influence. Well, one summer I stayed with my dad's parents for a week and my grandmother let me buy a Star Wars comic I wanted badly. I was so excited about it until I realized that I would have to go home with it. She called my mom and changed her mind about comics. My mom is now one of my biggest fans. Rich: What other companies have you worked for? Payton: I've worked for some small indy comic companies and Golden Goat Studios but before that I worked as a freelance graphic artist. Rich: Do you go to many conventions? Payton: Last year was my first year going to a con. I've always wanted to go to one but never really got around to doing so. I almost didn't make it to the 2005 Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC but at the last minute my schedule opened up. It was a blast and I'm looking forward to going again this year. It was fun putting faces to people I've known for years and getting to meet a lot of people whose work I admire. I found that my favorite thing to do at a con is looking through the original comic art. I just love that stuff. Rich: Would you like to try your hand at any other part of the comic business? Payton: Yeah. I'm scripting my first action comic right now and I've also created a daily comic strip that I'd like to get off the ground this summer. I'm still looking for a full-time artist for that. I've got about a half dozen other comic ideas that are waiting in the wings and ready to go. I would like to eventually write a How-To Lettering Guide that explains the art of comic lettering in detail. Rich: About how many comics per month do you have to do to earn a decent wage? Payton: It all depends on how fast you are at lettering. If you treat lettering like a full-time job and are able to punch out a comic in about a day or so, then you're going to do well. But if it takes you a week or more to letter a book, don't quit your day job. Lettering is a competitive business but I've found that we're a close bunch. Rich: Do you use a computer to letter or do you pen letter? Payton: I use a computer to letter my comics. I find that it gives me a lot of freedom to be creative and the turnaround time is amazing. You should see the template I use to letter with. I have all my fonts laid out by category on the left side and I just drag and drop the one I want to use onto the page. My favorite program to letter with is Adobe Illustrator. I've been a big fan of Adobe's software and found the switch from graphic artist to letterer an easy one. I have a ton of Illustrator actions that I use in my lettering too. Stuff like Bring to Front, Select Master Balloon, Make/Release Compound Shape but my favorite is an action that helps me create a word balloon. It takes about a second for it to create one and it saves me a lot of time. I also use the Nostromo Gamepad by Belkin to letter. It's a gaming device that allows me to map keys and commands to its buttons. I have over 40 commands mapped to mine with little stickers all over the keys. It took me some time to get use to but it speeds up my work and saves on my left wrist. A true life saver. Rich: What do editors look for in your work? Payton: A professional style that matches the look of the book or publisher that I'm applying to. My style is a traditional Marvel/DC/Image style. It wouldn't make sense for me to submit my work to a publisher like TokyoPop. Editors are also looking to see how you deal with negative space, over crowding, sound effects and how you lead the reader's eye with your balloon placement. Rich: Do you read any comics now? Payton: I read a few but not as much as I did in the 80's and 90's. I just don't have the time. When I do get to sit down, I read Superman/Batman, Danger Girl, G.I.Joe, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Spider-Man and the Green Lantern Corps. There's a lot more I'd like to get into. When I do read them, I tend to look at the lettering first and then go back and read it like normal. Besides comics, I also read a lot of graphic arts magazines and books. I really can get into them and find them a great resource on tips and tricks. Rich: Who influenced you as a letterer? Payton: Richard Starkings, Chris Eliopoulos, Rob Leigh, John Constanza, John Workman, Jr. and Jim Davis. I'll buy any books by them and will sit down and dissect their work from cover to cover. I learn something new every time I read a book that they worked on. I bought two comics yesterday (Superman/Batman #23 by Richard Starkings and Ultimate Spider-Man #88 by Chris Eliopoulos) and learned some new things about SFX and balloon design. Rich: Do you have your own website? Payton: Yeah. It's www.ninjalettering.com. It has examples of my work, current (or semi current) news, tutorials and downloads. It's a fun little site. Rich: How can someone contact you? Payton: contactpaytontoletteryourcomicbookbecauseyoulikehisstyle@ninjalet tering.com . Seriously, you can email me at contact@ninjalettering.com. Rich: What advice would you give to anyone just starting out as a letterer? Payton: Hang around people who have been lettering awhile and ask them a lot of questions. A great place for this would be Digital Webbing's lettering forum (www.digitalwebbing.com). Buy comics lettered by people whose style you like and start examining the way they do it. Don't get discouraged if your lettering isn't looking professional yet. It took me almost few years before I felt really comfortable with my lettering. Sound effects can be difficult when you first start off. Heck, they're still a pain in the butt for me at times. Start looking through your comics to see how the pros did it. Buy lots of comics as reference material. I have a whole stack beside my computer that I refer to whenever I get stuck and don't limit yourself to one type of genre either. Stay away from football shaped balloons. That screams amateur like nothing else. A good letterer never gets noticed if he does his job right. That's why I named my company Ninja Lettering. I strike without being seen. Never and I mean NEVER use MS Comic Sans to letter a comic. If you do, I'll come to your house and give you a wedgie. Both Blambot (www.blambot.com) and Comicraft (www.comicbookfonts.com) have professional fonts available for free or for sale. Use a lettering template. You can download one at the tutorial section of my web site. Have fun. Lettering is what I do for fun. =) _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- COMICS OBSCURA Mike Curtis shandafa@cyberback.com [COMICS OBSCURA are facts Mike Curtis has dug out during his 30 years of collecting Superman and writing about comics. His website for his comic imprint is www.shandafantasyarts.net ] OKAY, WHO'S HITTING THE SAUCE INSTEAD OF EDITING THE BOOK? No one can deny that one of the greatest events in comics was the CRISIS ON EARTH ONE in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #21 in 1963. But when the roll call is unveiled on page one the heroes are listed thusly: SUPERMAN, AQUAMAN, JONN JONZZ, GREEN LANTERN, GREEN ARROW, THE FLASH, THE ATOM, and WONDER WOMAN. On page two, Chairman BATMAN calls the meeting to order, but somehow he isn't important enough to have his name listed in the roll call. _________________________________________________________________ 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. Send Email comments to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Material for inclusion in the Emag - press releases, solicitations, column submissions, Letters to the Editor, guesses for the trivia contest should be sent to ComicBkNet@aol.com The EDITOR, not the submitter, has final approval and edit rights on ALL material. Printed comic books and advanced copies for review in the Emag should be sent via US Mail or UPS to David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522-1419 TO Subscribe send a message FROM the intended address to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com TO Unsubscribe send a message FROM the address to be dropped to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com You may also unsubscribe from the Egroups Web page at the short cut below. Shortcut URL to the Egroup page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag All contents COPYRIGHT 2006 The Comic Book Network. 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