In "Arts, Briefly: A Superhero Glitch," By GEORGE GENE GUSTINES, New York Times September 12, 2008, he reports that DC has called for the destruction of shipped issues of All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #10 due to language. Black bars were printed over top of Batgirl's profanity. Gustines says, "Unlike other series that are aimed at an older readership, this Batman title does not have a “Suggested for Mature Readers” label," but given the copy that I saw, DC wouldn't have published some of these words in any of their lines. This also begs the question of 'why letter them in, if you're going to suppress them?' It's not like they appear magically - somebody has to put them there and then sanitize them.
I rail against censorship in the comic strips in this blog, but there's only one word for Miller's writing here. Ridiculous.
Showing posts with label Batman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Batman. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Time-Warner about to get it wrong again?
An extensive article discusses possible plans by Time-Warner, the behemoth that owns DC Comics as well as Batman - according to this article "Holy Cash Cow, Batman! Content Is Back," By TIM ARANGO, New York Times August 10, 2008, they're suddenly convinced that owning content and not distribution systems is the way to make money.
The article, and perhaps the chief executive, seem to miss the point. First we read:
For now, Mr. Bewkes is staking the company’s future on three big content providers: Warner Brothers, Turner Broadcasting (which includes TNT, TBS and CNN) and HBO. To ramp things up on the entertainment front, he’s also been overseeing internal discussions about acquisitions in film and television — including a possible takeover of NBC Universal, should its parent, General Electric, decide to sell, according to executives and bankers who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details of the discussions.
and then this follows:
It is less clear how the Time Inc. unit, which publishes magazines like Time, People, In Style, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, meshes with Mr. Bewkes’s strategy. According to Time Warner insiders, the company is likely to shrink the publishing unit to just a handful of the most profitable titles. Some analysts predict that Time Warner might try to sell the publishing unit en masse, but only if market conditions improve.
I'm not sure what that means for DC Comics, but I think it's worth noting that Warner Bros. wouldn't have had Batman to make a movie about if it wasn't for the comic book company. They've already sold Warner Books, presumably another source of content and one that is doing graphic novels now.
Pay me a few million dollars and I'll come up with some good ideas like making cable companies profitable by providing good service and shows people want to see.
The article, and perhaps the chief executive, seem to miss the point. First we read:
For now, Mr. Bewkes is staking the company’s future on three big content providers: Warner Brothers, Turner Broadcasting (which includes TNT, TBS and CNN) and HBO. To ramp things up on the entertainment front, he’s also been overseeing internal discussions about acquisitions in film and television — including a possible takeover of NBC Universal, should its parent, General Electric, decide to sell, according to executives and bankers who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details of the discussions.
and then this follows:
It is less clear how the Time Inc. unit, which publishes magazines like Time, People, In Style, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, meshes with Mr. Bewkes’s strategy. According to Time Warner insiders, the company is likely to shrink the publishing unit to just a handful of the most profitable titles. Some analysts predict that Time Warner might try to sell the publishing unit en masse, but only if market conditions improve.
I'm not sure what that means for DC Comics, but I think it's worth noting that Warner Bros. wouldn't have had Batman to make a movie about if it wasn't for the comic book company. They've already sold Warner Books, presumably another source of content and one that is doing graphic novels now.
Pay me a few million dollars and I'll come up with some good ideas like making cable companies profitable by providing good service and shows people want to see.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Current Onion is comic book issue
The Onion that appeared on the stands last Thursday is the annual comic book issue.
The cover features "Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet" a story you won't want to miss!
"Drawing-board confessional: 22 unflattering moments from autobiographical comics," by Jason Heller, Noel Murray, Leonard Pierce, Tasha Robinson, Onion July 28th, 2008. This is the extended version - in the July 31 paper it's 6 moments.
"Random Roles: Adam West," By Noel Murray, Onion July 31 (online July 29th,) 2008 reviews his Batman and animation work. This is the longer online version, of course.
"Comics Panel: August 1, 2008," Reviewed by Noel Murray, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robinson, August 1st, 2008, is online only, but reviews one of my favorite comics, Tom Beland's True Story Swear to God.
Also the Mignola and Feiffer articles previously linked to here are published in the physical paper.
The cover features "Al Gore Places Infant Son In Rocket To Escape Dying Planet" a story you won't want to miss!
"Drawing-board confessional: 22 unflattering moments from autobiographical comics," by Jason Heller, Noel Murray, Leonard Pierce, Tasha Robinson, Onion July 28th, 2008. This is the extended version - in the July 31 paper it's 6 moments.
"Random Roles: Adam West," By Noel Murray, Onion July 31 (online July 29th,) 2008 reviews his Batman and animation work. This is the longer online version, of course.
"Comics Panel: August 1, 2008," Reviewed by Noel Murray, Keith Phipps, Tasha Robinson, August 1st, 2008, is online only, but reviews one of my favorite comics, Tom Beland's True Story Swear to God.
Also the Mignola and Feiffer articles previously linked to here are published in the physical paper.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Batman reviews and what-have-youse in the DC papers
Couldn't get into the 8 pm showing, so we went to a bar instead. The NY Times's extremely favorable review is added to the bottom of this post.
Nate Beeler had a funny Batman editorial cartoon in Friday's Examiner.
Now showing: Batmania as 'The Dark Knight' opens
MEGAN K. SCOTT, ASSOCIATED PRESS, July 17, 2008.
"The Dark Knight Owns Midnight,", by JULIE BLOOM, New York Times July 19, 2008.
"Gotham City's war on terror: Christopher Nolan takes Batman in a darker direction," by Sonny Bunch, Washington Times Friday, July 18, 2008
"This Joker Holds All the Cards; Heath Ledger's Clown Gives 'The Dark Knight' Its Power," By Stephen Hunter, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, July 17, 2008; C01.
And, like Space Chimp, "This movie has been designated a Critic's Pick by the film reviewers of The Times." "Showdown in Gotham Town," By MANOHLA DARGIS, New York Times July 18, 2008.
Nate Beeler had a funny Batman editorial cartoon in Friday's Examiner.
Now showing: Batmania as 'The Dark Knight' opens
MEGAN K. SCOTT, ASSOCIATED PRESS, July 17, 2008.
"The Dark Knight Owns Midnight,", by JULIE BLOOM, New York Times July 19, 2008.
"Gotham City's war on terror: Christopher Nolan takes Batman in a darker direction," by Sonny Bunch, Washington Times Friday, July 18, 2008
"This Joker Holds All the Cards; Heath Ledger's Clown Gives 'The Dark Knight' Its Power," By Stephen Hunter, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, July 17, 2008; C01.
And, like Space Chimp, "This movie has been designated a Critic's Pick by the film reviewers of The Times." "Showdown in Gotham Town," By MANOHLA DARGIS, New York Times July 18, 2008.
Zadzooks on Batman movie toys
"ZADZOOKS: Batman goes after the Joker," Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times Thursday, July 17, 2008.
Links to reviews from the DC papers to follow soon.
Links to reviews from the DC papers to follow soon.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Cavna's Wednesday blog, quickly
Celebrates Batman: The Killing Joke, one of my least favorite Alan Moore stories. I left a snarky comment.
Takes a shot at Sally Forth's artwork.
And asks "The E-Mailbag: When to Hold a Feature's Funeral?" Or should a comic strip die with its creator?, which has 43 comments as of this writing.
Takes a shot at Sally Forth's artwork.
And asks "The E-Mailbag: When to Hold a Feature's Funeral?" Or should a comic strip die with its creator?, which has 43 comments as of this writing.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Cavna blogs Trudeau, Joker, rise-and-shine comic strips
That new Comic Riffs blog at the Post is busy, might busy today, July 15 2008.
Today's stories:
Garry Trudeau: The Interview, by Michael Cavna.
The Countdown: The Joker Gets The Last Laugh - about Frank Miller's bringing an aging Joker back and having him kill David Letterman's entire audience. Boy, was that refreshing in its day (1986) and tiresome now.
The Morning Line: The Cat Also Rises compares storylines from Zits to Garfield.
Today's stories:
Garry Trudeau: The Interview, by Michael Cavna.
The Countdown: The Joker Gets The Last Laugh - about Frank Miller's bringing an aging Joker back and having him kill David Letterman's entire audience. Boy, was that refreshing in its day (1986) and tiresome now.
The Morning Line: The Cat Also Rises compares storylines from Zits to Garfield.
Batman on the History Channel this week
Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight
History Channel
Wednesday, July 16 09:00 PM
Thursday, July 17 01:00 AM
Monday, July 21 10:00 PM
Tuesday, July 22 02:00 AM
History Channel
Wednesday, July 16 09:00 PM
Thursday, July 17 01:00 AM
Monday, July 21 10:00 PM
Tuesday, July 22 02:00 AM
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Post runs on about the Joker
"The Joker's Onto Us: What Does It All Mean When Batman's Enemy Is More Interesting Than the Dark Knight Himself?" By Hank Stuever, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, July 13, 2008; M01. I think it means the problems in creating fiction that Milton raised in print haven't been solved in four centuries, but that's just me.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Minor comics articles in the NY Times
For the new Batman movie, "Many Movie Theaters Decide to Leave the Bat Signal on Till Dawn," By MICHAEL CIEPLY, New York Times July 9, 2008.
In Internet avatar animation, "Google Introduces a Cartoonlike Method for Talking in Chat Rooms," By BRAD STONE, New York Times July 9, 2008.
In Internet avatar animation, "Google Introduces a Cartoonlike Method for Talking in Chat Rooms," By BRAD STONE, New York Times July 9, 2008.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
In today's papers
Zadzooks reviews Frank Miller's Batman - "Batman becomes too brutal," by Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times Thursday, July 3, 2008.
Online only, the Express rails against animated bears selling toilet paper - "Tissue Issue: The Charmin Bears Have Got to Go," by Greg Barber, ReadExpress.com July 2, 2008.
Also online only is an interview with Robert Grossman - "Grossman Land," By Steven Heller, New York Times' Campaign Stops blog July 2, 2008.
Online only, the Express rails against animated bears selling toilet paper - "Tissue Issue: The Charmin Bears Have Got to Go," by Greg Barber, ReadExpress.com July 2, 2008.
Also online only is an interview with Robert Grossman - "Grossman Land," By Steven Heller, New York Times' Campaign Stops blog July 2, 2008.
Payne, Bat-Senator and Wall-E complaint today in the Post
Caricaturist CF Payne has a large drawing of Tiger Woods on the front of a special AT&T National Section in today's paper. It's not online.
To read about the Bat-Senator, see "Leahy's Hat Trick as a Batman Cameo," By Mary Ann Akers And Paul Kane, Washington Post Thursday, July 3, 2008; Page A15...
...and a Letter writer to the Editor missed an e-bay opportunity:
Why a Movie Has Disney in the Dumps
Washington Post Thursday, July 3, 2008; Page A16
In his review of Pixar's new movie "Wall-E" ["From Pixar, a Droid Piece of Filmmaking," Style, June 27], John Anderson pointed out that the movie's dark messages are making co-producer and distributor Disney nervous.
Should I therefore assume that it was the Walt Disney Co.'s marketing machine that had the great idea to hand out useless, trashy plastic watches (complete with excessive packaging) to every child attending the movie? This movie is about the impact of trashing our planet -- literally.
My family came home from the movie with four of these watches. They are all in the garbage today, heading out to the dump to meet the tons of other silly, free plastic "toys" generated by Disney and distributed every day through McDonald's and Burger King.
If Disney is nervous about the movie, it is because the movie challenges the core of Disney's moneymaking strategy: insatiable consumerism.
ALLISON SCURIATTI
Washington
To read about the Bat-Senator, see "Leahy's Hat Trick as a Batman Cameo," By Mary Ann Akers And Paul Kane, Washington Post Thursday, July 3, 2008; Page A15...
...and a Letter writer to the Editor missed an e-bay opportunity:
Why a Movie Has Disney in the Dumps
Washington Post Thursday, July 3, 2008; Page A16
In his review of Pixar's new movie "Wall-E" ["From Pixar, a Droid Piece of Filmmaking," Style, June 27], John Anderson pointed out that the movie's dark messages are making co-producer and distributor Disney nervous.
Should I therefore assume that it was the Walt Disney Co.'s marketing machine that had the great idea to hand out useless, trashy plastic watches (complete with excessive packaging) to every child attending the movie? This movie is about the impact of trashing our planet -- literally.
My family came home from the movie with four of these watches. They are all in the garbage today, heading out to the dump to meet the tons of other silly, free plastic "toys" generated by Disney and distributed every day through McDonald's and Burger King.
If Disney is nervous about the movie, it is because the movie challenges the core of Disney's moneymaking strategy: insatiable consumerism.
ALLISON SCURIATTI
Washington
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Quick bits from Express and Examiner
It's probably getting late to track one down, but the Express ran a wire story on the new Batman movie today, and a short excerpt of some of the better questions from the Post.com Quesada chat from yesterday.
Nate Beeler had a nice cartoon in the Examiner - the baby's not keeping him completely away from the drawing board apparently.
Nate Beeler had a nice cartoon in the Examiner - the baby's not keeping him completely away from the drawing board apparently.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Oglethorpe strip? Gibson Girl sketch? Wrightson Batman?
These and other questions were raised by some of my new acquisitions at the flea market. Here's some crummy pictures to illustrate the questions.
This is labelled "Oglethorpe" in pencil at the top of the strip. It's not one I've heard of, nor have I heard of the artist Jorge Mercer. A Google search didn't turn up anything for the strip or the artist, but I haven't checked my reference books yet. The gag is lame, but the art is interesting.
"The Story of His Life" looks like a Gibson Girl. It's signed G.F.T./08. Who? It's definitely a 1908 piece - the artwork is acid-burned by the mat, the cardboard backing is disintegrating...
Obviously a bit newer item than the others, I was ignoring this radio-controlled Batman motorcycle until Claire asked for it (that's my girl!). What's of interest about this is that a better look reveals that the Batman is completely modeled after Berni Wrightson's version as seen in The Cult below(picture from the GCD). That's got to be off the model sheet - why choose this version?
Comments, questions and especially answers are welcome!
This is labelled "Oglethorpe" in pencil at the top of the strip. It's not one I've heard of, nor have I heard of the artist Jorge Mercer. A Google search didn't turn up anything for the strip or the artist, but I haven't checked my reference books yet. The gag is lame, but the art is interesting.
"The Story of His Life" looks like a Gibson Girl. It's signed G.F.T./08. Who? It's definitely a 1908 piece - the artwork is acid-burned by the mat, the cardboard backing is disintegrating...
Obviously a bit newer item than the others, I was ignoring this radio-controlled Batman motorcycle until Claire asked for it (that's my girl!). What's of interest about this is that a better look reveals that the Batman is completely modeled after Berni Wrightson's version as seen in The Cult below(picture from the GCD). That's got to be off the model sheet - why choose this version?
Comments, questions and especially answers are welcome!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Zadzooks on Morrison's Batman
Zadzooks looks at three comic books today - and most interestingly, Grant Morrison's take on Batman. See "Lots of text to distract from 'Batman and Son'" by Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times September 15, 2007. It occurs to me that I haven't been giving Mr. S enough play in this blog. He's been writing on comics in the area for at least a decade, going back to the Times' giveaway experiment Pop Art Times. I'll try to link to his weekly column from now on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)