MetaFilter posts tagged with comics and comicbooks

Journalist and artists labeled as terrorists for creating comic book

dejah420 — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 08:22:46 -0800

In 2010, journalist David Axe spent a month in the Congo reporting on the Lord's Resistance Army. When he returned, he wrote a book titled "Army of God: Joseph Kony's War in Central Africa", illustrated by Tim Hamilton and edited by Matt Bors. The book first appeared online, but the paperback rights were acquired by publisher Public Affairs, with plans to publish an expanded edition in 2013. The deal included an advance, which was wired to Hamilton's account. That's where the U.S. Treasury department comes in. Specifically, The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Founded in 1950, OFAC enforced U.S. economic sanctions against embargoed nations such as Cuba and Iran. And 12 days after the 9/11 terror attacks, then-President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13224, authorizing OFAC to enforce “economic sanctions on persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support certain acts of terrorism.” Prohibited recipients, called “Specially Designated Nationals” or SDNs, number in the thousands. “No U.S. person can engage in business with any individual or entity on the list,” Treasury warns. “If they do, they may face civil monetary or criminal penalties.” In fact, automated software approved by the OFAC, does most of the work for the banks; flagging transactions and routing the funds into a "blocked account" that can only be accessed by the Treasury Department. Once funds have been diverted into this "special account" trying to clear the block becomes a Sisyphean task, with no clear way to contact anyone at OFAC. False positives have been particularly problematic for charities and humanitarian groups. A report issued by the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point says that terror-related counter-finance efforts “face a number of daunting policy trade-offs — personal integrity versus data access, financial integrity versus investor friendliness, due process versus being able to freeze very liquid assets, among others,". For that reason the money-intercept practice “seems unlikely to yield any dramatic achievements in the future,” the CTC concluded. In the meantime, the feds and the bank can, and do, take people’s money on the flimsiest of justifications.

When Wolverine met Freddy Mercury

firstbest — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 13:07:59 -0800

In 2010, Marvel Comics artist Steve Bunch posted an anonymous page to his blog that featured X-Men frontman Wolverine inexplicably encountering Queen frontman Freddy Mercury, an art submission originally sent to Darren Auck, then head of Marvel's art-correction team, in the 1990s. Portland-based comics artist Colleen Coover read Bunch's post, and in 2012 she decided to do something about it: she decided to recreate the page, adding color (both literal and metaphorical) to the meeting of these two (actual and arguable) mutants. Since then, other comic artists have decided to recreate the historic meeting depicted on that original, baffling/brilliant page: Some are magical; some are professional grade (pages one and two); some are prosaic; some are, frankly, adorable. Not all of them are on Coover's page. Do you hold the secret to this story? Coover would like to see your take: "I invite other artists to do the same, by which exercise we may one day come close to the fictional Truth of the matter."

"There’s a lack of pretentiousness to the word ‘comic book’ that I think suits the medium itself very, very nicely."

mediareport — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:35:28 -0800

The NYT Book Review just named it one of the 5 best fiction books of the year. The AV Club helpfully posted a video to show you what happens when you open it. Actually, lots of folks posted videos to show you what happens when you open it. Other folks raved in print about the author and his career. The Comics Journal asked a dozen critics of the author's work to send in reviews; this one focuses on the role of disability in the narrative. This one notes the book "is in a very primary sense a comic about women and the private lives they lead, and it investigates more fully than any other comic I have ever read the way they age, fall in love, explore their sexuality, come to terms with compromises they’ve had to make as they’ve grown, accept their limitations, confront squandered ability, have children (or choose not to have children), marry (or stay single), and make sense of the world around them." You might find Chris Ware's Building Stories worth a look or two. Or fourteen. The New York Review of Books link describes the origin of the project:

In September 1999, as Jimmy Corrigan was nearing completion, Ware visited the preserved apartment of the outsider artist Henry Darger. Darger had lived an isolated existence, working feverishly on thousands upon thousands of pages of eccentric fiction and drawings. "The whole room," Ware wrote in his sketchbook journal, "was set up entirely in the sole service of the maintenance of aching loneliness—it was strangely uplifting, though, and an apt yet strange condensed metaphor for the way we all go through life." Within the year, Ware had begun work on Building Stories, which takes that metaphor, and that mingling of pervasive loneliness and unexpected uplift, as its starting point.

Nice informative 15-minute Chris Ware interview on WNYC Chris Ware discusses his work on MSNBC LA Review of Books interview:

I do think that when it comes to art, books offer a sort of reassuring physical certainty for the ineffable uncertainties of life, but then again I'm 44 and don't tweet or have a Facebook page or participate in most of the things that blunt the textures of experience in favor of delivering them up more quickly to your friends, so maybe that's just me. I find it very telling that the regular selling point of this or that new version of technology is that it's "higher resolution." What does that mean, exactly? It's like admitting the inherent superiority of life while still trying to sell some sort of living death instead. I am absolutely convinced that sitting in front of a screen for long periods of time damages the brain and alters one's brain chemistry. You can feel it happening — you start surrendering more and more of yourself until, eventually, you recoil and think, "Ugh. I feel gross." I think it's colloquially known as "Swearing off Facebook for a While.”

The Fantagraphics essays are from contributors to this 2010 book about Ware. Full NYT review.

The Hawkeye Initiative

drezdn — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 07:42:27 -0800

The Hawkeye Initiative Hawkeye drawn in some "classic" comic poses.

Jack Kirby Double-Page Spreads

marxchivist — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:42:22 -0800

Jack Kirby Double-Page Spreads. A flickr set of double-splash-page spreads by the King of Comics.

A Stroll Down Comic Book Memory Lane

lord_wolf — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:33:46 -0800

Mike's Amazing World of Comics has a section called The Newsstand that lets you select a year/date/publisher and then view a collection of cover images from that time period. It only includes the major American publishers, so you won't find any alternative, underground, or non-American stuff right now. Still, for many of us, this will bring back fond memories of heading down to the convenience store, newsstand, or comic book shop on Saturday mornings with money saved from doing chores. Enjoy! (via Boing Boing)

PALEO: the comic that is harder to kill than the actual dinosaurs themselves

brundlefly — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:34:53 -0800

Paleo by Jim Lawson was a comic book series set during the Late Cretaceous and featuring dinosaurs as protagonists. It was in print between 2001 and 2004, but is now being "reprinted" as a webcomic. So far, the entirety of the first issue and a portion of the second have been posted. Two new pages are posted every week. Read more about dinosaurs in comics in "Paleo-Path" [previously], adapted from the introduction to a print collection of Paleo. Via Dinosaur Tracking.

The Inquisition of Mr. Marvel

Joe in Australia — Sun, 20 May 2012 00:33:14 -0800

On the (surprisingly complicated) legacy of Stan Lee (previously, previously)

Little League

jedicus — Sun, 06 May 2012 11:56:04 -0800

Little League is a Peanuts-esque webcomic about the Justice League (via Comics Worth Reading). The tone is alternately sweet, funny, and poignant. Because it's hosted on Tumblr it's a little awkward to work through the strips in chronological order. Start here.

Free Comics. What's not to love?

BlahLaLa — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:52:25 -0800

Free Comic Book Day is back again! (Previously.) It's the one day a year when comic book stores in North America and around the world will be handing out free books -- mainly as an attempt to lure new readers to the genre. Some shops do signings, too. See you at the comic book shops on May 5th!

Marvel Fashionista

jabberjaw — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:52:58 -0800

Looking MARVELous is a tumblr that provides comic book-inspired fashion based on Marvel comic book characters. You'll find not only popular characters, like Spider-man or Iron Man. Some of the inspired outfits come from lesser-known characters such as Squirrel Girl (who?) and Molly Hayes (umm?). Here is the full page version.

Superman the Asshole

marxchivist — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 05:57:45 -0800

17 Vintage Comic Book Covers Where Superman is a Complete Sociopath.

World of Wood (Wally)

marxchivist — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:46:38 -0800

Wally Wood is most acclaimed for his comical comic books, mainly his acclaimed work for Mad back in its original, pre-magazine, 1950s incarnation. But his personal life was a drama verging on tragedy and culminating with his suicide in 1981. Only now, three decades later, is his story heading toward a happy ending, with a burst of renewed interest in his work.

A graphics heavy interview with J. David Spurlock, newly named director of the Wood estate, on the renewed interest in the artist and his work. [via] Wally Wood Wikipedia page. Previously: 22 Comics Panels That Always Work Bonus: A Complete List of Woody's contributions to Mad.

Supergirl

Trurl — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:36:49 -0800

Who is Supergirl? It's complicated. It's really complicated. Just remember that the Supergirl appearing in comic book shops today is one "you only think you've met before". Therefore, she may or may not like Popeye's Fried Chicken.

Joe Simon R.I.P.

marxchivist — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:18:59 -0800

Joe Simon , who along with Jack Kirby created Captain America, died today at the age of 98. In addition to Captain American, the duo created The Fighting American, Stuntman, and Boy's Ranch. And if that wasn't enough, the first romance comic. Simon also served as the first editor for Timely (later Marvel) Comics. And from a previous post, here's a picture of Captain American punching Hitler.

Something Tells Me To Stop With the Al-Qaeda. I Ignore It

Legomancer — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:51:34 -0800

Frank Miller is a giant among comic book creators. He gave us The Dark Knight Returns, which rewrote the book on Batman and comics in general. He also gave us seminal versions of Daredevil, Batman, and Wolverine. His Sin City and 300 books are a triumph of design, if not subtlety. Lately, though, he's taken a different path. He recently released Holy Terror, which in 2005 was to have featured Batman, but now features a renamed stand-in fighting Al-Qaeda. It has been nearly universally panned as a piece of ugly, anti-Muslim propaganda. Last week, Miller blasted the "Occupy" movement on his blog, describing the participants as, "louts, thieves, and rapists," who, "can do nothing but harm America" and pointing to the looming threat of Al-Qaeda.

Rebooting the Justice League and the Legion of Doom

Irontom — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:31:02 -0800

Arron Diaz of Dresden Codak (previously previously previously) has created new versions of both the Justice League and the Legion of Doom, complete with new origin stories and powers. I especially dig the explanation of kryptonite - scroll down to Metallo for the scoop. :

Some sadistic jerk off session

Potomac Avenue — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:09:01 -0800

Lexi Alexander director of the so-bad-it's-legendary Punisher: War Zone gives an in-depth interview with Paul Scheer (with Patton Oswalt) for his podcast, "How Did This Get Made?" Previously HDTGM PWZ Previously (50 references to how bad it is)

Kanye + Comics

running order squabble fest — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:17:56 -0800

Belushi! No! That Yeezy's for real! Kanye plus Comics combines the lyrics of Kanye West with frames from superhero comic books. Yeezy's collaborators include the Emerald Knight, the Master of Magnetism, the King, the greatest hero you've never heard of, the Man of Tomorrow, the Emerald Archer's plucky sidekick (with friend) and, of course, the Lion of Olympus. (Some lyrics NSFW, as you might expect.)

Hey Mick, who was that duck you were talking to?

JHarris — Fri, 20 May 2011 17:10:01 -0800

An unfinished Donald Duck comic story, designed and roughed out with story complete, by Don Rosa! Written to promote the grand opening of Disney's MGM theme park, for one reason or another they dropped it before it could be completed. It's interesting because, in the comic book universe, Donald Duck isn't a movie star, but Mickey Mouse is -- so the duck seeks out his autograph. It even makes an explicit reference to a certain other duck....

Who On Earth is Rob Granito?

robocop is bleeding — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:16:40 -0800

Meet Rob Granito, Professional ~~Comic Book~~ Con Artist. Sure, his art is perhaps a little similar to other work, and yeah, his claims of industry contacts are pretty much made up, and he's been banned as a fraud from multiple conventions, but hey, a playa's got to get paid, right?

Chris Ware Interview

BitterOldPunk — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:09:38 -0800

An interview with Chris Ware from May 2010 at the international Copenhagen comics festival. Ware is the creator of Acme Novelty Library and Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. (via kottke) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Such a thing... such an octopus of a thing

jaybeans — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 00:26:41 -0800

Neal Adams is one of the greatest comic artists, best known for drawing the most reprinted comic sequence and revitalizing Batman after the campy Adam West show . Now, Neal Adams is returning to Batman with a 12 issue mini-series titled Odyssey and six issues in, some are already calling the story " without hyperbole... the most insane comic book we have ever read ." While some might be shocked that the famous Adams seems to have lost his way and is acting a little crazy, Metafilter readers probably should have seen this coming

ACCEPT ALL CHALLENGES!

Potomac Avenue — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 18:46:45 -0800

The Story So Far: Calamity of Challenge is a comic (plus ads) by Matthew Allison concerning a very different kind of superfigure: CANKOR. (possibly NSFW or at least lunch)

A Short and Somewhat Political History of Comics in Poland

cog_nate — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 08:04:07 -0800

Animal Farm; or, a Short and Somewhat Political History of Comics in Poland by Tomasz Kołodziejczak, translated by Michael Kandel. More Polish comics info here.