george perez jla-avengers #3

§ Nice art: 13th Dimension has been running a series of interviews with superstar artist George Perez, who earlier this year announced his retirement from making comics and conventions due to health issues. The interviews are from Perez’s panel at the East Coast Comic-Con. In the final installment George Perez talks about JLA/AVENGERS, the last great comics crossover. And he reveals that one of the best known images from the series was physically grueling:

I had such an incredible time doing that. The only thing that slowed it down… I developed a case of tendonitis from drawing the cover of Issue #3, which had every character that appeared in the book. I had to draw it on a larger sheet of paper which was bigger than my drawing board, so I was drawing it like this (twists his body) and on the floor. It was too big for my drawing board. I pulled something in my hand, so I was in a carpal glove for a while and I was feeling so bad that, “Oh my God, the book’s going to be late,” and Tom Brevoort was the one who said, “I think you’ve got an excuse. Don’t think that the last issue’s gonna be late – think of the fact that you got the first three issues in on time! This is not an easy book!” And that unlike other people, I had a good excuse.

§ Just as a reminder, there will almost certainly never ever be a DC/Marvel crossover again, as much as the world would like to see Deadpool/Harley Quinn.  The various corporate overlords in place now would never allow it.

§ SPX ALERT: The metro will not be running over the weekend, which sucks, but there will be a shuttle bus replacement. I forgot I had to take one of these last year and it wasn’t so bad, but plan accordingly.

§ Something tragic is happening in Funky Winkerbean again.

§ A couple of tasty comics jobs that just came up.  DC’s young reader line is hiring an Assistant Editor:

What part will you play? Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. seeks an Assistant Editor, Young Reader for the Editorial- DC Comics department. Position supports Editor and Associate Editor in producing a line of kids and young adult editorial products within the DC Universe imprint. Assists Sr. Editor and Group Editor in the production of Kids and Young Adult titles. Facilitates communication and scheduling for the editorial process from concept to bound book. Ensures that tipsheets, cover copy, catalog copy and other relevant materials are created and distributed on time. Works with Marketing and PR to obtain blurbs and quotes; sends out review material and maintains database of awards and other related content. Assists in administrative duties: vouchers, trafficking of art, copies, mailing, etc. Performs other related duties as assigned.

And that wacky George Lucas-led pop culture museum is hiring a Curator, Comic Art –  this is a pretty heavy duty job for a comics academic!

The Curatorial team at the Lucas Museum is tasked with overseeing the collection and its strategic growth, development, presentation and interpretation as well as related exhibitions and programs. Curators support and collaborate with the Museum leadership in developing and implementing a cohesive vision and strategy for the collections and exhibitions of the Museum. To achieve a balanced schedule of monographic, thematic, and traveling exhibitions, Curators will work cross-departmentally to propose large and small-scale exhibitions, collaborate with other departments to implement and communicate all aspects relating to these projects. In coordination with museum colleagues, Curators will research and write scholarly publications and texts; assist with the development and growth of the permanent collection, including acquisitions across many media and cultures; consult on related marketing initiatives; and represent the Museum by delivering lectures, participating in symposia, and in other ways that further the Museum’s mission. Curators will be responsible for developing the first draft of texts for publication, didactic and interpretative materials, and public-facing programs – working collaboratively across departments to edit and finalize these materials. Curators with an area of expertise (e.g. Film, Comic Art, Illustration, Children’s Book Illustration) have the added responsibility of formulating strategies and suggesting the incorporation of that subject area into the overall exhibition presentations.

§ Speaking of Star Wars, a weird story from FanX in Salt Lake City, where a panel featuring Ian McDiarmid and Hayden Christensen was cancelled at the last minute. Many conspiracy theories immediately began theorizing that it was Disney that had called a halt to the panel, fearing McDiarmid would blab about his return to the role of Emperor Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker, and Christensen would blab about…just what? What it was like to be married to Rachel Bilson? Or maybe…he’s coming back as a Force Ghost in Episode IX, too! The whole thing seems quite flimsy, but I’m reporting it too, because it’s fun!

§ Jen Bartel and other artists swapped thoughts about Wacom’s Mobile Studio Pro and other digital art tools in this informative thread.

§ It was the first Lightbox ExpoLightbox Expo in Pasadena yesterday and it looks like people had a good time.  Did you go? You know we love con reports.

§ A blast from the past: TCJ reprint Michael Dean’s very very detailed 2005 profile of Platinum Studios, and what a time tunnel it is;

Flush with the proceeds from Nia Vardalos’ colossally popular indy film and eager to follow up on that success, Gold Circle went looking for raw material in the comics industry, a wilderness as fertilely promising to Hollywood as it is bafflingly uncharted. Which comics publisher did Gold Circle tap for this monumental deal? Marvel Comics, home of Spider-Man and Daredevil? DC Comics, home of Batman and Superman? No, the production company turned to Scott Rosenberg’s Platinum Studios, a line of comics so sublimely and pristinely packaged for its Hollywood destiny that it has bypassed the hands of comics readers altogether. It is, in fact, a line of comics that don’t exist. And it is an indication of the genius of Rosenberg that he has somehow sold these invisible and intangible comics to Gold Circle for $200 million.

Read on for dozens of comic book projects which never came to be.

§ It’s NYCC time, and PW’s Rich Shivener has the lowdown on the changes for 2019:

According to ReedPop, which organizes NYCC, this year will be no different. The 2019 show will again make use of a number of surrounding locations, such as Hudson Mercantile, Madison Square Garden, and the New York Public Library’s historic building on Fifth Avenue. ReedPop says it expects to sell about 200,000 NYCC tickets (last year the show sold more than 230,000 tickets), noting that most of that number had already been sold as of late August.

Standout developments include changes to ReedPop’s ticketing for the show, an extension of NYCC hours, and the relocation of Anime Fest @ NYCC, a ReedPop-organized Asian pop culture festival held concurrently with NYCC, from Pier 94 (where its inaugural show was held last year) to Hudson Mercantile, an event space much closer to the Javits Center. Additionally, comics and graphic novel programming and professional development events aimed at librarians will once again be held at New York Public Library.

§ From Russia with Hate! Looks like the Russians are totally set to be the villains in future comic book stories, and their culture minister supplied the last outrageous touch by calling comic book readers “morons”, in translation at least:

“Comics are for those who can read poorly,” Medinsky said at the event (via BBC’s Moscow bureau). “I have a very bad attitude to comics. Comics are like chewing gum, as you say, this is not food. Comics should be for a child who is only learning to read, up to seven or eight years old. But an adult to read comics is to admit that ‘I’m a moron, I read comics.”

Member of the Russian comics publishing community (yes there are Russian comics publishers) fired back!

“It was strange for me to hear this statement when comic centers or some corners of comics are organized in government offices and libraries across the country,” said Dmitry Yakovlev, an organizer of Boomfest, another publishing-related event. “Government money is allocated for this, books are bought. There are people who work in these centers. Probably Medinsky aware of this.”

Giving this a little more (and serious) analysis, comics are not well established in Russia, although there are several comic publishers; this kind of incendiary comment is the kind usually seen in a culture where comics are still “emerging.”

§ Everyone is laughing, about Christian Bale giving future Batman Robert Pattinson the same advice he gave Ben Affleck about donning the bat suit: make sure you can urinate unaided. Apparently Bale’s Batsuit prevented him from doing #1 by himself which is…quite unheroic. But it is a reminder that wearing those suits is quite physically demanding. In a long ago version of the DCEU, Ben Affleck was to have directed a Batman movie he starred in, but he noted that it would have been just too physically demanding. The suit is tough!

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