Iron Maiden One from Top Cow

I'm doing a new book at Top Cow that, as yet, doesn't have a final title, but came to the Cow as Iron Maiden One. Five issue mini-series, with Nelson Blake II on art. There will be a preview issue ready for San Diego:

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/062808wwcbclaymooreironmaidenone.html

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080628-WWCIronMaidenOne.html

Billy Smoke news is out there...

Woke up today (after rolling in from Chicago in the middle of the night) to see that Variety had a piece on Warner Brothers and Matthew Fox being attached to Billy Smoke, an upcoming graphic novel I'm doing with Eric Kim for Oni.

When Hawaiian Dick was first optioned with Johnny Knoxville attached, it led to a ton of cheesy but entertaining headlines. A Google search reveals the same is the case here.

To whit:

Billy Smoke is Lost

Racer X Ponders Becoming Billy Smoke

"Lost' Star Matthew Fox spots "Smoke"

Fox Lights a Smoke

Where There's 'Smoke' There's Matthew Fox

Matthew Fox Inhales "Smoke"

Matthew Fox Smells WB's "Smoke"

Matthew Fox Spots "Smoke"

My favorite headline, though, is:

Lost Star to Play Unwritten Comic Character

Chicago is upon us...I shall be in attendance

Haun and I are heading out for Chicago in the morning, along with Hurley and A. Norton.

We'll be setting up shop in Artist's Alley, at tables 5200-5204, along with Jason Latour and Dennis Hopless and Kevin Mellon.

Sounds like I'll also be signing at the DC booth on Friday, from noon until one, and on Saturday, from 1:30 to 2:30.

And I think I'll be on the Wildstorm panel, which is on Saturday at 4:00.

The iFanboy discussion

Josh Flanagan and I discuss reviewers, the state of the industry, my work, and what have you.

I think it was a pretty good discussion. Josh is a good guy. Here's link to the podcast and the ensuing response from some iFanboy board posters:

http://www.ifanboy.com/podcasts/audio/06_22_2008_-_Special_Edition_Podcast_-_B__Clay_Moore

Mining the old properties, and more critical chatter

I wonder if anyone holds the rights to the Italian wartime hero Ciclone : l’Uomo d’acciaio (Hurricane : the man of steel).

Something vaguely familiar about the character, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

CRITICA!

Timothy Callahan posted a link to the Sequart website's discussion on the role of reviewers, sparked by the earlier post here:

http://www.sequart.org/columns/?column=2180

It's interesting discussion. I would like to point out yet again that I was in no way responding to specific reviews of my own work. Hawaiian Dick is generally reviewed favorably, and very often reviewed quite well (with well written reviews), as a lot of the reviews seem to come from non comic reviewers. I was just using that as an example.

In related news, I had a long conversation with Josh Flanagan from the iFanboy podcast, in which we covered a broad range of subject related to the industry, and, of course, my own books. Should be up Sunday, I think.

Blogcritics.com on Byrd of Paradise

A truly flattering review of HAWAIIAN DICK: BYRD OF PARADISE by author Mel Odom:

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/06/19/0117502.php

Thanks to old friend and voracious reader Chris Miller for passing it along.

Which actually reminds me of something. I've known Chris for about fifteen years, I suppose. We were both members of the Legends APA, which I joined while in college. Not long after finishing the first HAWAIIAN DICK book, I was talking to Chris at a Chicago area cookout during Wizard World, and he gave me his thoughts on the book. He enjoyed it, but noted that Byrd "didn't really do a whole lot." He just sort of fell into things as he went along.

Of course, that's kind of the essence of Byrd.

Father's Day 2008

OH, DADDY

Father's Day was Sunday. First one alone for my father, and I couldn't connect with him, leaving a message on his cellphone. That's not a completely bad thing, though, since it means he's keeping busy, living down at the lake now.



My wife got me my first iPod for my birthday in March, and it's a dandy. For Father's Day, the family gifted me a nifty Logitech speaker system for use with said iPod. Music is essential, you know.

BLUEJACKET

Uploaded the Bluejacket pages for Boom!'s anthology, and we're quite happy with the first foray into that world. Seth, Chris and I are all pretty devoted to the concept. Hopefully we can make it work. Nice little write-up on CBR:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16798

Bluejacket go Boom!

Despite having plenty of paying work to be doing, I've spent a chunk of the last two weeks focusing on a labor of love, in Bluejacket, which is a co-creation with Seth Peck and Chris Samnee.

Here's a very brief summary of the concept, which I did for a CBR piece to run soon. Make sure you do the clicky-clicky on the links, for more info on the characters:


Bluejacket is a guy who used his fists and the help of some specialized experts (his "Men of Adventure") to battle crime back in the thirties. At some point, he ran into something that turned him blue and seemed to have extended his life well beyond normal (a story yet to be told). His longevity led to the establishment of a Bluejacket "brand," and an operation that was once designed simply to support his fight against evil has blossomed over the decades into a huge corporation, which provides support, but also exists to turn a profit on the Bluejacket name. Bluejacket merchandise (toys, cereal, clothes), Bluejacket-related media (books, comics, movies, cartoons), Bluejacket theme parks...all of these are overseen by Bluejacket, Inc., and their current CEO, former Bluejacket kid sidekick Rusty Haynes. (The first Bluejacket series will examine what happens when business intrudes on adventure)

In recent years, Bluejacket has found himself spending more time on the business end than he'd originally intended, and he's working to get back out in the field with his Men of Adventure. Over the course of seven decades, a lot guys have worn the "Men of Adventure" tag, but his current crew is perhaps the sharpest ever, and includes the very first female Man of Adventure, in Dr. Nicole Shaw.

Bluejacket's Men of Adventure include pilot Ray Wilson, weapons expert Carson Hunt, researcher Simon Van de Kamp (grandson of former Bluejacket ally Merlin Van de Kamp), mythology expert Sardur Sandhu, and grifter/con man Jimmy Cotton. Their vehicle of choice is the world famous Aeronautical.


Here's a page from the debut story, which, as I've said, is slated for the Boom! Studios Josh Medors fundraising book, PULP TALES. Again, click for a larger view!

More Critical Chatter....

Chris Neisman passed this along, from the Around Comics forums, where Monster Magnet lead singer Dave Wyndorf is a listener and poster. I highlighted the key line for me:

"On the B.Clay Moore thing, sure he's pissed, can't blame him one bit. In the "no accountability" world of the internet, everybody's a DJ, everybody's a star and everybody's a critic.

As a working creator, it has to be frustrating to see his work "criticised" by amateurs and attention starved, reactionary morons.

Adept criticism is an art in itself. Opinions are just opinions. Sadly,the difference between these two gets fuzzier every day.

I wouldn't mind if he took shots at one idiot a day,every day. Criticise the "critics". See how they like it."

Stingray?

I almost forgot this one existed.

Got the letters on my little Stingray tale today, from Marvel editor Warren Simons. It's a trifle, but the Lee Weeks art is ace.

Here, I cribbed a panel just to prove it to you:

Criticism

If you're a comic book reviewer, ask yourself a question, and answer honestly: What do I hope to achieve with my criticism?

Do you just want your opinion noted? Do you wish to prove people wrong in their assessments of books? Do you hope to point people toward good work they may have missed? Do you hope to steer people away from books you personally don't like?

BJ is coming along

Ten Favorite Covers

Tim Seeley passed along a list he made for the Comic Buyers Guide, so I put together yet another list of covers I dig, and why.

So here it is.

Because I'm an obsessive list maker, here are ten of my favorites (with links). I'll stick to Silver Age and up, so I don't have to try to track down images of Golden Age Mac Raboy or EC covers. I could honestly list dozens of covers that I either love as art, or that hold a special place in my heart, but here are ten:

X-Men #50 (Steranko): This cover grabbed my attention when I was a kid first seeking out X back issues, and I still think it's really effective, especially coming in an era when there wasn't yet a TON of experimentation going on with Marvel cover art (DC was doing lots of cool shit):

Speaking of Mac Raboy, I love this Adam Hughes homage to Raboy's old Captain Marvel, Jr. covers:

Growing up, the Byne/Austin/Claremont X-Men is what gave me the biggest geek woody, so I have to include one cover from that run. Truth is, the best covers from Byrne's run were by Cockrum, but since this (#133) is probably the first "Wolverine unleashed" cover ever, I'm including it. This issue is where Wolverine really became Wolverine:

This is my favorite Kirby Thor cover, and I think he did his best cover work on Thor. Such a shame Vince Colletta inked so much of his run. Thor #142:

I'm a Blackhawk freak (always trying to get DC to let me do *something* with them), and there are a ton of 'Hawk covers I love, but I've always really dug this Pat Boyette cover, From Blackhawk #242. The last two issues of the sixties-era Blackhawk put them back in their black leather (they had been dressed as superheroes for a while before that), and told cool old school Blackhawk stories, with art by Boyette (who did most of his work for Charlton):

Some of my favorite covers of all time are Nick Cardy's Aquaman covers. Kind of ironic that DC had more interesting stuff going on with cover design in the late sixties than they do now.

Jerry Ordway's "painted" covers to the Power of Shazam! were favorites, too, especially in an era where early Image-inspired gritty bullshit was the norm. I love a bunch of 'em, but here's one of the best. Power! #8:

One of my favorite comics of all time is Peter Bagge's HATE! It's the ultimate ode to my generation. The lead character in HATE! was Buddy Bradley, who was introduced in "The Bradleys" stories in NEAT STUFF, and the cover to #15, in which Buddy leaves his family and curls up on a toxic New Jersey beach in his sleeping bag, is one of my favorites:

DC's mystery titles had a pretty great run of covers, including a lot of Neal Adams, Kaluta and Wrightson stuff. I love this Wrightson cover, just because it's the coolest looking zombie head this side of Tony Moore:

Ed Hannigan is one of the more underrated cover artists, doing a lot of really cool work in the late seventies and early eighties. He did some rad Batman covers, but I've always loved his Spec Spidey covers:

Hawaiian Dick Think

I've got a fairly audacious idea in mind for the next chunk of Hawaiian Dick.

Gonna try to map it out and chat with Eric Stephenson about it in San Diego. Over drinks, one would hope.

Also, unrelated...Billy Smoke picked up a potentially interesting project hitchhiker this week.

Pro Fan Art

I love seeing people handle my characters.

Ryan Cody just posted this Mid-Nite Hour sketch on my message board:

One of these days, when I have the time, I'll get a new Mid-Nite Hour book rolling.

Internet comic reviewers...

A note: HAWAIIAN DICK #4 came out last week, and Griffin, operating on the advice of Tony Moore, figured out how to adjust the color levels to a degree that made him happy. I haven't seen the issue yet, but Steven says the color ("colour") looks great. So check it out:







So, Griffin sent me this "Mondo" review, and it made me happy.

Not because the guy liked the book, but because he clearly approached the book with genuine enthusiasm...as if he picked it up hoping to enjoy it, and then just let himself get into it:

http://www.mondomagazine.net/?p=1124

Hawaiian Dick is a book that is beyond negative criticism. Why? Because it accomplishes exactly what we set out to accomplish, and if that's not your cup of tea, it's not because we failed you, it's because...it's not your cup of tea. It's a fun genre comic book, and we don't half-ass the effort, which is all you can ask of us. So if I read a negative review of the book from a guy who praises by the numbers photorealistic cape melodrama, I just get depressed that someone sold him the book in the first place. It's like listening to Poison fans review Barry Manilow albums. Or Teletubbies fanatics reviewing a Maysles documentary.

On reflection, "Beyond criticism" is probably the wrong way to put it.

But making a negative judgment call on something because it's not up your alley is the problem for me. Hawaiian Dick is a good example, because some people may not respond to the art. And if that's the case, fine. What I can't tolerate is someone making a qualitative judgement on the art because they don't personally connect to it.

I think anyone who pisses on creator-owned books in reviews should be smacked in the head with a mallet. Somebody saw something in the book, and someone sacrificed to make it happen. Someone will probably enjoy it, and the book sniping a smidgen of sales from the latest Mark Millar/Popular Artist juggernaut isn't going to kill anyone. To have failed writers with a limited comprehension of the medium trash the work simply to assuage their own superior egos is maddening.

Someone once wrote a bitchy letter to CMJ magazine, asking why they featured so many glowing CD reviews. The response was along the lines of, "A lot of stuff comes out each month, and we only have so much space. Instead of dumping on an artist, we try to guide people to music they might enjoy." As someone who bought the magazine looking for recommendations, I greatly appreciated that. What I didn't need were 200 pages telling me what NOT to buy.

Sure, I'd like intelligent analysis of things, and I don't need to read reviews from a guy who loves everything without applying any filter, but I get so fucking sick of the snarky condescension.

Addendum: I just read a THIRTEEN PARAGRAPH review of IRON FIST, which was, you know...a fun mainstream comic book. (look! I summed it up in four words!)

Addendum to the addendum: Okay, that was a cheap shot. There's nothing wrong with analyzing a book you find interesting, and thirteen paragraphs isn't unduly excessive, but it is very easy to lose sight of what you're reviewing (a mainstream superhero comic) when you take it that far.

Bluejacket debuts in September

On the advice of wise old comic book sage Mark Waid, Seth Peck, Chris Samnee and I will be debuting Bluejacket here:

PULP TALES BENEFIT BOOK FOR JOSH MEDORS

Contributions by Steve Niles, Josh Fialkov, Kody Chamberlain, Tony Fleecs, Dan Taylor and more!

Cover by Ben Templesmith and Josh Medors

24pgs,

FC SRP: $3.99

Help BOOM! Studios support comic book artist Josh Medors, recently diagnosed with cancer, by ordering the benefit comic book PULP TALES. This two-fisted one-shot features all-new, action-packed stories by horror master Steve Niles, P.U.N.K.S' Josh Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain, '76's B. Clay Moore & Seth Peck, Capote in Kansas' Chris Samnee, In My Lifetime's Tony Fleecs, and more! Featuring a cover by Ben Templesmith! ALL PROCEEDS will go to Josh Medors and his family. HELP NOW AND PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK TODAY! PULP TALES WILL SHIP SEPTEMBER!

http://www.boom-studios.com/node/2025

We've cooked up what we think is a great little intro to the world of Bluejacket, so I hope that gives people extra incentive to support a worthy cause.

Humbug!

I was just bitching about the lack of a quality reprint of Harvey Kurtzman's HUMBUG, when Rantz Hoseley directed my attention to this:

From Fantagraphics, this summer.

Fantastic news.

July 1st

New Dick Trade in August

Screaming Black Thunder. Cover by Griffin.