Saturday, January 9, 2010

Marvel Strikes Back... Jack Kirby's Heirs

Biting the hand that once fed you so well, and actually still is feeding you.

I found this article at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's website.  Apparently Marvel Worldwide, Inc. (their new name?) is suing the Kirby heirs for ownership of the copyrights to characters Jack Kirby created at Marvel Comics.  Those copyrights will apparently revert to the Kirby heirs in 2014.  Marvel is claiming that Kirby's work for Marvel-of-back-then, published from 1958-1963, was work-for-hire, which (I guess) means Kirby relinquished ownership to the company when he created the work.

I Reads You hopes that everyone gets what they deserve.

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Friday, January 8, 2010

The War of Drawz

This Truthout piece is quite interesting, if for no other reason than its title, "Gird Your Loins for the Global War on Underwear."

Where Jaya Went

I read One Piece, Vol. 27

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.



Thursday, January 7, 2010

Radical Comics' "Last Days" a Hit


Press release from Radical Publishing:

THE LAST DAYS OF AMERICAN CRIME #1 SELLS OUT


Radical Publishing is proud to announce that the first printing of fan-favorite writer Rick Remender’s criminal masterpiece The Last Days of American Crime #1 has sold out at the distributor level, with very few copies remaining at a select number of comic and book stores across the country. The Last Days of American Crime is Radical’s newest release featuring Radical’s “Bigger Books! Bigger Value!” initiative of 64-page books at a $4.99 price point. Hurry while you can and join the heist of the century!

Illustrated by the immensely talented Greg Tocchini (Marvel 1602: New World), The Last Days of American Crime takes readers into the world of Graham Bricke, a petty crook never quite able to reach the upper echelon of career criminals. When the American government installs a new currency system using digital charge cards, Graham puts together a grand scheme to steal one of the charging stations to finally hit the big time and live like a king for the rest of his life. As he assembles his team and finalizes his plans, the media leaks news of the government’s intention to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to knowingly commit unlawful acts…in less than two weeks. Now, Graham and his team have a ticking clock to turn the heist of a lifetime into the final crime in the history of America.

“…writers must perform a magic act in order to make the reader believe he is reading something new. Well, someone get Rick Remender a top hat and a wand because he accomplishes it in the down and dirty Last Days of American Crime. By infusing a classic noir heist with the tension of modern American politics, Remender gives us a great opening to a comic series – perhaps even on the level of Criminal or 100 Bullets.” Andy Bentley, IGN Comics

“We’re incredibly proud of the response to Rick’s work, both critically and on the retailer and fan level,” said Radical President and Publisher Barry Levine. “The Last Days of American Crime is exactly the kind of project we strive for at Radical – high-concept, engaging and incredibly well-written. As we move into the New Year, we are always appreciative and thankful for the continued support of our distributors, the retailers and our fans.”

Rick Remender adds, "Everyone involved in the project is extremely excited and it shows in the final product. Greg's work in particular, it's just nearly unparalleled, he's been killing himself to make this series special and it's wonderful to see it paying off."

About Radical Publishing
Radical Publishing is founded by Barry Levine (producer for Hercules, Caliber, Freedom Formula, Shrapnel, Abattoir, Oblivion, The Last Days of American Crime and executive producer for the in-development Rex Mundi movie for Warner Bros., written by Jim Uhls and starring Johnny Depp) and entrepreneur Jesse Berger (executive producer for Hercules, Caliber, Freedom Formula, Shrapnel, Abattoir, Oblivion and The Last Days of American Crime).

For their quality and excellence in 2008, retailers voted Radical Publishing the Gem Award for “Best New Publisher of the Year” from Diamond Comic Distributors. Radical brings the best writing, storytelling and fully painted cover and interior art to the global comic book market, from prominent international talents such as Yoshitaka Amano, John Bolton, Luis Royo, Jim Steranko, Paul Gulacy, Stephan Martinière Steve Pugh, Warren Ellis, Arthur Suydam, Steve Niles, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Arvid Nelson, Flint Dille, Marko Djurdjevic, Alex Maleev, Ian Edginton, David Hine, Rick Remender, Joseph Kosinski, Andree Wallin, Nick Percival, Steve Moore, Sam Sarkar, Stjepan Sejic, Francesco "Matt" Mattina, JP Targete, Greg Tocchini, Dave Wilkins, Tomm Coker, Clayton Crain, Bill Sienkiewicz, Leonardo Manco Nick Sagan, Clint Langley, Nick Simmons, Rainier Beredo, Vincent Proce, Stephen Crowe, Richard Lee, Patrick Reilly, Weta Workshop, Haberlin Studios, Meduzarts Digital Environment Studio, Zombie Studios and many more.

Radical Publishing currently has production deals with Spyglass Entertainment and Peter Berg’s Film 44 for Hercules; Johnny Depp's Infinitum Nihil for Caliber; and New Regency and Bryan Singer’s Bad Hat Harry Productions for Freedom Formula. [END]

Pink Dogs with Unicorn Horns

I finished reading Goats The Corndog Imperative (The Infinite Pendergast Cycle)

I published a review at the Comic Book Bin.



GAHAN WILSON at the STRAND: Tues, Jan. 19


Press release from Fantagraphics Books:


FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS AND THE STRAND PRESENT: An evening with GAHAN WILSON

Signing and discussing his new book: GAHAN WILSON: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons

Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons by Gahan Wilson; Price: $125.00 • ISBN- 978-1606992982; Full Color

Three hard covers in an embossed slipcase with a plexiglass back. A complete collection of Gahan Wilson's comic strips, including pieces from Playboy and National Lampoon. Gahan Wilson is among the most popular, widely-read, and beloved cartoonists in the history of the medium, whose career spans the second half of the 20th century, and all of the 21st. His work has been seen by hundreds of millions in the pages of Playboy, The New Yorker, Punch, The National Lampoon, and many other magazines. It’s about time that a collection of his cartoons was published that did justice to his vast body of work. Gahan Wilson’s illustrations have appeared in every issue of Playboy from the December 1957 issue to today.

Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons features not only every cartoon Wilson drew for Playboy, but all his prose fiction that has appeared in that magazine as well, from his first story in the June 1962 issue, “Horror Trio,” to such classics as “Dracula Country” (September 1978). It also includes the text-and-art features he drew for Playboy, such as his look at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, his take on our country’s “pathology of violence,” and his appreciation of “transplant surgery.”

About The Writer
Wilson's cartoons and illustrations are drawn in a playfully grotesque style, and have a dark humor that is often compared to the work of The New Yorker cartoonist and Addams Family creator Charles Addams.

Wilson received the World Fantasy Convention Award in 1981, and the National Cartoonist Society's Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and is the subject of a feature length documentary film, Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird, directed by Steven-Charles Jaffe.

GAHAN WILSON: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons
Tuesday, January 19, 7PM
THE STRAND BOOKSTORE
12th & Broadway
New York, NY [END]