Gary Panter at Marvel

Hate to go into fanboy gushing, but… Holy crap, that is so cool!

When is he taking over Deadpool & Cable?

Is Panter just doing the cover or the interiors, too? If the latter, what’s Farel’s schedule on the rest of the series?

Pretty nifty, all in all. Is he also contributing to that long-awaited Marvel equivalent of Bizarro Comics?

Gary Panter is a national treasure.

Pages from JIMBO’S INFERNO should be in the Smithsonian.

Can we start a petition and make this happen?

Omega is the only Marvel that I purchase right now. I think it’s a lot of fun to read.

“Gary Panter is a national treasure.

Pages from JIMBO’S INFERNO should be in the Smithsonian.

Can we start a petition and make this happen?”

Could not have said it better! Panter is the great! I love that cover, haven’t bought a Marvel comic in over ten years, it’s like Godfather 3 “just when I think I’m out they pull me back in!”

That cover is awesome. I have no idea what the title is about but I’ll buy that issue. :)

yowza!

Is this the real cover or something that’ll appear inside the issue…or just a promo?

He needs to do X-Men with Ellis. That would be perfect.

Something I read somewhere (how’s that for helpful?) indicated that one of the characters creates a comic-in-a-comic. Presumably that’s what Panter draws.

Ah, it was in the solicitation text:

“You know a super hero’s in trouble when he resorts to drawing a comic book to try to solve his problems!”

So it looks like Panter is ghosting for Omega.

From his blog on turning in the assignment…
http://www.garypanter.com/2007_12_02_archive.html#184678280970568666

At Marvel they directed me around the corner to some vaguer hole in the wall they called ‘the mezzanine’. Mezzanine? It was a door through a janitorial area. There was a locked glass door at the end of the corridor with a card entry slot. There on the floor, by the door, was a pile of packages, but also some thrown-out pizza boxes in the same pile. I knocked politely about 3 times then banged the shit out of it until the irate kid who was supposed to be manning that station appeared, yelling at me that I could’ve thrown it on the discarded pizza boxes and I told him no thanks. Is this any way to run a Death star?

Frank Santoro: “Is this the real cover or something that’ll appear inside the issue…or just a promo?”

According to the solicitation text, that’s the cover, though Panter is also credited with doing some interior art as well.

This new Omega the Unknown series is pretty fantastic so far, for anyone who hasn’t been reading it.

Now that’s a headline I never thought I’d see. Ever.

Am I the *only* one who prefers the original Steve Gerber series from the 70’s? For over 30 years I’ve wondered how Gerber would have tied up the story of James-Michael Starling and Omega. I want THAT story.
Marvel should have asked Steve to come back and finish the series as he originally intended. We need the final chapter of that wonderful and quirky series that left its readers hanging when Marvel abruptly cancelled it at #10. Instead we’re left with those 2 awful issues of DEFENDERS that “tied things up” by trashing the series and killing its central character. What a waste.
Maybe with the attention this “alternate take” is getting they’ll get a clue and do just that.

I want THAT story.
Marvel should have asked Steve to come back and finish the series as he originally intended.

I think the legend is that Marvel approached Jonathan Lethem and said “You can write any Marvel character you want,” and he replied “Omega the Unknown” to which the Marvel editor in question said “Uh…who?”

Steve Gerber has a lot to say about the book in this edition of Lying in the Gutters from ’05, including his initial anger at the book being done without him, and then his meeting with Lethem where he admits he “misjudged him.” Interesting stuff!

According to his recent blog entries (http://www.stevegerber.com/sgblog/) Steve Gerber is having some major health issues and awaiting a definitive diagnosis on his condition (i.e. cancer or not).
I suggest we all keep a good thought for the great Steve Gerber.

Amen Marcus.

Awesome.

B’DASS!
man now i can’t wait for the big Panter book that PictureBox is putting out soon…

Well, every time I look at that cover I smile.

It is truly a joyous thing.

“misappropriation of one of his unique creations”

No such thing. Marvel owns Omega, plain and simple. 3 words for you and Steve:
WORK-FOR-HIRE.

Snoid: “No such thing. Marvel owns Omega, plain and simple. 3 words for you and Steve: WORK-FOR-HIRE.”

I never said Steve OWNS Omega. I said Omega was HIS creation.
Of course Marvel owns the intellectual property.

Steve Gerber CREATED Omega.
Just as he created Howard the Duck.
Nothing negates that.

http://www.omegatheunknown.com/

And I never said that Marvel owning Omega, negates the fact that Gerber created it.
You said..“misappropriation of one of his unique creations”, which I took to mean that Marvel was using a property they own in a way you and Gerber don’t approve of.
Point is, it’s meaningless whether you or Gerber approves of how Omega is being used, there is no way Marvel can use something own and it be a
“misappropriation”.
Now if you did a Omega comic that would be a “misappropriation”, because you don’t own it.

Oh. We’re talking about a word.
Maybe I should have said “misuse” instead…?
Gerber himself more or less approves of this version, as I understand it. So either description is only my opinion.
I was responding to a poster who was (in my view) marginalizing the concerns bring expressed here for Mr. Gerber’s LIFE.
Legalities and syntax weren’t exactly the first thing on my mind.

Did anyone *else* think I was accusing Marvel of “stealing” Omega? :)

My mistake, sorry.

I definitely prefer the original Omega. Way ahead of its time. So far, the new comic hasn’t been much more than a 21st Century remix with only a couple of inspired touches (the anacrhronistic subway train graffiti, e.g.).

In my daydream alternate world, Marvel approached Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes (in exchange for having Lethem write a new version of OtU) and asked them to write the “real” finale to the original Omega story, and published that in the “Omega Classic” TPB, instead of Steven Grant’s misbegotten Defenders issues.

The one time I fail to quote the post I’m replying to (Tucker Stone’s) another post pops up inbetween (Scratchie’s). Sorry for the confusion.

Scratchie, that scenario of yours would certainly be a dream come true.
I re-read a few issues of the original OMEGA earlier tonight, and they’re even better than I remembered. The sad, shocking fate of John Nedley stands out in particular.

It was a distinguished piece of work that deserved a proper finale.

I have removed several rude and inappropriate posts here. Let’s be CIVIL everyone.

Omega the Unknown is insane awesomeness. I hope Marvel will approach more indie guys. DC isn’t that bad at doing that. But geez! Panter! I hope I see a Marc Bell pencilled Daredevil soon.

well geez, i hope they paid him well
how much does integrity usually cost?

nah, i’m just joshing

but truth be told, it feels like the most respected names in the high end, alternative, and (most importantly) creator owned comic world doing page and cover rate gigs on older intellectual properties for the corporate comic publishing houses seems to work against what most of these fine cartoonists have spent their lives promoting for the art form.

but in the name of Civility, i hope this might lead some of the typical Marvel readers to his upcoming collection.