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§ And for their next trick: Having proven that a movie starring a white woman could be a box office hit, Marvel decided to up the ante by releasing the Black Panther trailer to show that a movie mostly about dark skinned people and am African superhero could ALSO be a hit! The trailer was definitely a hit on Twitter, where people–especially from the blerd community–engaged in a fierce tournament to see who could love it the most.

And let’s face it, it was an awesome trailer, full of fresh faces and world building. Oh Marvel Studios…we just can’t quit you. One of the things people liked most about the trailer were the striking and imaginative costumes, and Heroic Hollywood digests an interview with costume designer Ruth E. Carter, who also worked on many Spike Lee films and Amistad.

I’m looking at the whole continent and a wide range of people, like the Masai and the Suri. It all becomes a part of the framework of Wakanda. Most people who read the comic books know Wakanda is a mountainous area; it’s a secret place that’s not necessarily trading and interacting with the rest of the world. They’re a little bit more advanced in technology than other civilizations. We are creating that world, and trying to create a culture and pride that feels authentic to the specific location.

§ Speaking of the MCU, there was a big tribute to director Richard Donner the other night and both Geoff John, the co-head of DC Films, and Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, appeared as the are BOTH protege’s of Donner. Small world, eh? Johns tweeted a bit:

And there’s even a video of the two appearing together:

§ Last night, Donner appeared at another event, interviewing Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, and Donner’s wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner (who produced the X-men movies and Legion among other things) tweeted the above.

So yeah, Hollywood, is just a small town.

§ There have been a ton of tributes to Adam West since the icon died over the weekend. Perhaps you will like Glen Weldon’s as much as I do:Adam West Saved Batman. And Me.

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§ A while ago we told you about how CCS graduate Sasha Velour (aka Sasha Steinberg) was a contestant on Season 9 of RuPaul’s drag race. Well, Sasha has made it all the way to the final four and is one of the favorites to win! The finale airs on VH1 on Jun 23rd. You go, girl!

§ Emma Houxbois wrote about the recent Berliac/D&Q controversy with an essay that dealt with many issues of appropriation and identity in a thoughtful way. I was going to do a follow up piece on this with Berliac’s “apology” but really, just read Houxbois’s piece and also this response by Australian cartoonist HTML Flowers

These are all issues we need to think about in order to help give voice to more marginalized people, but if you don’t think you need to think about it…well you may have a ways to go on this.

§ Have they named the new Doctor Who yet? I’ll have my pick below, but I greatly enjoyed A Brief History of Steven Moffat Saying Why He Never Picked a Female Doctor Who because its all balderdash.

§ That said, this is who needs to be Who. Period. There will be no arguments.

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§ I missed that artist Fred Fordham, who recently worked with Philip Pullman on his recent John Blake graphic novel, will be illustrating a graphic novel adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, in conjunction with the Harper Lee estate.

“Adapting a story that means so much to so many – and finding the appropriate art style to give it life in a long-form visual medium – is a great honor and responsibility, and, mercifully, also a great pleasure,” Mr. Fordham told The Guardian.

§ This story about Obama submitting his graphic novel to various publishers is probably the finest Onion comics story yet. OR at least this year.

Saying the finished work would become the “definitive take” on his time in the White House, Barack Obama reportedly submitted a collection of pages from his presidential graphic novel, Barack Obama: Renegade, to publisher Image Comics on Thursday. The 16-page packet of artwork and sample issues, which Obama confirmed he has also mailed to Fantagraphics Books, Dark Horse Comics, and DC’s Vertigo imprint, is said to serve as a proof of concept for what he envisions as a sprawling eight-volume memoir of his presidency. According to Obama, creating an authentic representation of his two terms in office has required him to use every tool of the comics medium, from dramatic splash pages in which he appears silhouetted behind the Resolute desk, to an extended dream sequence set on the eve of his 2012 reelection, which he said takes “definite cues” from the casual surrealism of graphic novelist Chris Ware in order to fully realize the emotional truth of the moment.

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§ Eleanor Davis talks about her new book, You & a Bike & a Road, her recent arrest as an activist and more:

Instead of trying for a Joseph Campbell journey, You & a Bike & a Road focuses on small, specific moments. That’s an important choice, because it turns the reader’s eye to the individual instance rather than to generalities. A bird’s eye view can be useful, but it can also produce foolish stereotypes. When you move in a car, you see a lot of things very quickly, and the images run together. Twenty gas stations witnessed in quick succession become a type, and your mind learns to filter out the differences. When you move under your own physical exertion, however, whether that’s on a bike or on your own two feet, you don’t pass as many things, and your wonderful brain can let your senses encounter the world without processing what’s perceived into a set of rules. That may not be a way to live every day, but it is a valuable exercise and one of the insights of the book.

§ If you saw the headline The Cape Breton cartoonist with a secret life and thought it was a tell all about Kate Beaton, SURPRISE! It’s about 40s cartoonist Josh Silburt, who was secretly…a Communist!

§ I missed this exciting report that the Fantastic Four may be returning from publishing and licensing purgatory. Just in the nick of time.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. “And for their next trick: Having proven that a movie starring a white woman could be a box office hit, Marvel decided to up the ante by releasing the Black Panther trailer to show that a movie mostly about dark skinned people and am African superhero could ALSO be a hit!”

    Marvel did that? I must have missed that flick. What movie already released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe starred a white woman (or any woman) in the lead role?

  3. Um, Ace? Like Andrew says above, in my own terms…WTH? “And for their next trick: Having proven that a movie starring a white woman could be a box office hit, Marvel decided to up the ante by releasing the Black Panther trailer to show that a movie mostly about dark skinned people and am African superhero could ALSO be a hit!”

    I don’t know about you, but to me that reads as if Marvel just had a hit movie starring a white woman. Not that *I* can remember. Can you ‘splain us, and especially me, please?

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