Rob Ullman interview from a few months ago

Just ran across this interview with Rob by Paul Lukas from February. Presumably things haven't changed much. Savage Love is still less interesting without the illos.

Quesada appearance on Post chat wildly uninteresting

I guess I should have thought of some question, any question, that didn't have to do with Marvel's forthcoming movie slate. This wasn't Joe Quesada's fault - the participant's questions had nothing to do with running (and perhaps resurrecting - one can argue the point) a comic book company, and everything to do with one new hit movie. Here's the chat so you can judge for yourself:

Talking With Joe Quesada, Editor in Chief, Marvel Comics, Tuesday, May 6, 2008; 12:00 PM

Obituary for Arlington caricaturist

See "Scott A. Fertig, 41; Arlington Artist," By Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb, Washington Post Staff Writer, Tuesday, May 6, 2008; B08.

Marvel e-giveaway based on LoC's Spider-Man gift

This press release came out from Marvel:

Spider-Man's First Appearance Free On Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited

It's the story of a nerdy teenager bitten by a radioactive spider, gaining the proportionate strength and powers of a spider to become...the Amazing Spider-Man! Now, you can read this history-making story as the first appearance and origin of Spider-Man from Amazing Fantasy #15 is available for free for one week over at Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.

It was reported this week that the original artwork by Steve Ditko from Amazing Fantasy #15, the 1962 comic that introduced Spider-Man to the world, was anonymously donated to the Library of Congress. And now everyone can read this historic and heralded story for free for one week at Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.

For those fans who want to own the entire Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Spider-Man run in one gorgeous hardcover, be sure to pick up the Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus, now available at your local comic retailer

Subscribers to Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited can read through the first 100 issues of Amazing Spider-Man as well as other long runs of Marvel's greatest titles including the Uncanny X-Men and Fantastic Four, as well as current favorites including New Avengers and Astonishing X-Men to name just two of the countless titles subscribers can read.

Now offering over 3,500 titles to enjoy, Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited is the greatest collection of Marvel comics ever assembled online and the collection only gets bigger as over 25 new digital comics are added every week from Monday through Friday.

Be sure to head on over to Marvel.com and get into the action at Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.

Matt Wuerker's plane in Crystal City

Matt sent in this photograph last night. Cool!

Washington Times liked Iron Man too

See "Downey shows mettle in 'Man'", By Christian Toto Washington Times May 2, 2008, where they gave it 3 out of 4 stars.

NPG Herblock exhibit website

The extensive site was recommended by the Journalista today. It reproduces the art in the exhibit, but not the content of the computer kiosk. It's a good look at the exhibit for those who can't make it to DC as it's arranged like the exhibit is.

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 05-07-08

QUICK REVIEWS FOR COMICS DUE 05-07-08
By John Judy

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #558 by Bob Gale and Barry Kitson. I really miss J. Michael Straczynski….

AMERICAN SPLENDOR SEASON TWO #2 of 4 by Harvey Pekar and Associates. It’s an all-personal growth issue starring the Elvis of autobiographical comics!

AVENGERS/INVADERS #1 of 12 by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Steve Sadowski. What Roy Thomas did in the seventies in four or five pages The Ross Machine’s going to do in 12 issues. Positive points: 1. The cover ink will not give you a rash. 2. By the time issue 12 comes out we’ll have a new President. 3….. Let me get back to you.

BOYS #18 by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Wee Hughie vs. Blarney Cock, dead or alive! Not for kids. Recommended.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #14 by Drew Goddard and Georges Jeanty. It starts with a dead slayer and ramps up from there. Cool.

HOUSE OF MYSTERY #1 by Matthew Sturges, Bill Willingham, Luca Rossi, and Lotsa Guest Artists. You like stories? We got stories! Recommended!

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca. Just in time for the most awesome movie ever, the Golden Avenger gets a title that’s readable again. Really quite good on its own merits and maybe my favorite work by Matt Fraction yet. And that Larroca fella can scribble! Recommended! PS- Lotsa variant covers and related merchandise this week.

IRON MAN: VIVA LAS VEGAS #1 of 4 by Jon Favreau and Adi Granov. Written by the guy who directed the Greatest Movie of All Time! Hoo-hah!

LOGAN #3 of 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Eduardo Risso. The final issue of this rarity: A Wolverine series that does not suck. Smart script plus beautiful art equals “Recommended.”

MAN WITH NO NAME #1 by Christos Gage and Wellington Dias. The iconic Clint Eastwood spaghetti-western character has his own comic. Hear that whistling…?

MIGHTY AVENGERS #13 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. Watch out Skrulls! Nick Fury’s back and he’s got a new bunch of Howling Commandos! Some Avengers appear also.

QUESTION VOL. 2: POISONED GROUND SC by Dennis O’Neill and Denys Cowan. Collecting issues #7-12 of the adventures of the late Vic Sage. Great 80s comics. Recommended.

SECRET INVASION #2 of 8 by Brian Michael Bendis and Leinil Francis Yu. Not so secret anymore! Big fights! De-Skrullification! Six more to go!

TOR #1 of 6 written and illustrated by Joe Kubert. Comics legend Kubert takes a fresh pass at his Silver-Age creation, a prehistoric man on a quest for answers. Gotta look!

X-FACTOR: QUICK AND THE DEAD #1 by Peter David and Pablo Raimondi. Separate from the main title this one focuses on how Quicksilver went bad/crazy. Or did he?

YOUNG X-MEN #2 by Marc Guggenheim and Yanick Paquette. If half these characters don’t turn out to be Skrulls I’m going to be very disappointed.

www.johnjudy.net

May 6: Marvel EiC Joe Quesada on Post chat

Oddly enough, I really can't think of anything I want to ask him...

Tuesday, May 6 at Noon ET
Talking With Joe Quesada
Editor in Chief, Marvel Comics
Tuesday, May 6, 2008; 12:00 PM

It was a good weekend for Joe Quesada. The editor in chief of Marvel Comics saw the movie "Iron Man," an adaptation of one of his company's comics, soar to the top of the box office. Next month, a new version of "The Incredible Hulk" also arrives in theaters.

Quesada will be online Tuesday, May 6 at noon ET to discuss both of those projects, Marvel's venture into producing its own films and anything else related to the comic book world.

Submit questions before or during the discussion.

Murakami exhibit reviewed in Post

The Murakami exhibit's in NYC, but here's the Post's excellent critic Blake Gopnik on it - "Toying With Catastrophe: Takashi Murakami Coats the Toxic Fruit of Consumer Culture With Bold, Playful Imagery," Washington Post Monday, May 5, 2008; C01.

Post's Style and Arts section goes to the cartoons

Three! articles in one section on comics:

1. Reggie Hudlin and BET with glances at Boondocks and Black Panther - "Channel Changer: Three Years Ago, Reggie Hudlin Came To Save a Troubled BET. But Has He?" By Teresa Wiltz, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, May 4, 2008; M01.

2. A glance at Oliphant's sculpture of Rumsfeld on display in Woodley Park - "Capturing a Hero for Posterity," by John Pancake, Washington Post May 4, 2008

3. Quesada on Marvel - "Now here we are. We're going to be producing our own stuff.": There's Nothing Mild-Mannered About Joe Quesada's Marvel Comics," by David Betancourt, Washington Post Sunday, May 4, 2008; M02.

and not on comics, but on visual art is this fascinating piece on the true colors of ancient statuary - "Correcting a Colorblind View of the Treasures of Antiquity," By Blake Gopnik, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, May 4, 2008; Page M01.

Zadzooks on Iron Man toys

See "Iron Man toys show evolution of his armor," By Joseph Szadkowski, Washington Times May 3, 2008. Also, I believe Burger King is offering toys as well.

Richard's Poor Almanack annual Free Comic Book Day cartoon

See it on his blog.

I was at Hole in the Wall books in Vienna, VA and they had it posted. I mentioned it and they started wondering how he could get the life of a comic book store owner so accurate in the last bit of the cartoon.

TwoMorrows Free Comic Book Day includes free downloads

Not exactly Washington DC-centric, but a fine offer nonetheless...


This weekend, we're celebrating Free Comic Book Day by offering FREE publications, both in comic book stores worldwide, and online at www.twomorrows.com.

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, our new COMICS GO HOLLYWOOD publication will be available free of charge at comic book shops. This 32-page comic-size book was assembled exclusively for Free Comic Book Day by our regular magazine editors, and reveals secrets behind your favorite on-screen heroes, and what's involved in taking a character from the comics page to the big screen. It includes storyboards from DC's animated hit "The New Frontier" (courtesy of DRAW! magazine), JEPH LOEB on writing for both Marvel Comics and the Heroes TV show (courtesy of WRITE NOW! magazine), details of an unseen X-Men movie (courtesy of ALTER EGO magazine), a history of the Joker from his 1940s origins to his upcoming appearance in the Dark Knight film (courtesy of BACK ISSUE magazine), and a look at Marvel Universe co-creator Jack Kirby's Hollywood career, with extensive Kirby art (courtesy of my own JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine).

This one-shot sampler of our magazine line is also available in print form free from our website (a shipping charge applies), or as a free downloadable Digital Edition just by logging in and adding it to your shopping cart, and checking out. Also, last year's FCBD publication, COMICS 101 (featuring how-to and history lessons from top comicsprofessionals) is also available for free in print or digital form at
www.twomorrows.com.

To give readers a chance to sample complete issues of our publications, we're again offering free downloadable Digital Editions of these recent issues of our magazines, only from May 3-4:

Alter Ego #65
Back Issue #21
Jack Kirby Collector #47
Write Now #14
Draw #12
Rough Stuff #3
BrickJournal Vol. 1, #9

We've also added several new Digital Editions of past issues of our magazines (each available for $2.95 per download), just in time for the FCBD event, and the newest episode of the TwoMorrows Tune-In podcast (hosted by Chris Marshall) has just debuted, featuring behind-the-scenes info on our upcoming publications.

So be sure to go to your local comics shop, and stop by our website and load up on free stuff!

Best regards,
John Morrow
TwoMorrows
10407 Bedfordtown Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27614
919-449-0344
fax 919-449-0327

Saw Iron Man tonight...

...and it was good. Fanboy city as I went with friends from work. It's a mish-mash of the Stane takeover of Stark International and Armor Wars and a lot of the Michelenie - Layton years which is when I really liked the comic. Robert Downie Jr. makes the movie though - with a less-talented actor, this would have been a snooze.

For the Post's take, see "'Iron Man' Shows Strength of Character," By Ann Hornaday, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, May 2, 2008; C01.

Legalize Free Comics!

http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=1397009

As much as I suppose I should, as a DC-area resident, be more in tune to what a Congressional Resolution supporting Free Comic Book Day would mean in real life, it's pretty cool to see our pasttime/hobby/obsession getting that level of attention...

Comics Buzz in today's Examiner

The May 1st Virginia edition of The Examiner has a good handful of comics-oriented blurbs.

The top of page 5 has a piece about the the Ditko Spidey pages going to the Library of Congress.

The List: Your Guide to Weekend Arts & Entertainment points out Free Comic Book Day as #4 of the top 5 "Best Family" events for the weekend on page 17, listing the URL (www.freecomicbookday.com).

They also list the Herblock's Presidents exhibit as the Best Gallery exhibit (page 18).

And, of course, Iron Man is listed as Best Movie (p. 18).

Good to have a comics-friendly paper hereabouts!

Herblock exhibit blog article

I still haven't written my review, but another press conference attendee has done his - "Poking Fun at the Presidents," By Kenneth R. Fletcher for the Smithsonian Magazine's Around the Mall blog April 30, 2008.

Library of Congress blogs, Smithsonian blogs... it's a brave new world.

Wash Post on Iron Man movie backstory

See "Nerve Of Steel: To Pull Off the Making of 'Iron Man' Took Some Transformative Powers," by John Anderson, Washington Post Staff Writer, Thursday, May 1, 2008; C01.

Pretty good article - I like Robert Downey Jr. and I've got high enough hopes for this that I'm doing the geek thing and will be at the Uptown on Friday at 7 pm.

Semi-OT: Marc Weidenbaum on DJ Spooky in Nature

This one's stretching a little, but my friend and Viz Editor (and former Tower Records Pulse! comics editor) Marc Wiedenbaum's got a review of a new book by DJ Spooky, who was born in DC and has gone on to being, in Marc's words, "a centre-stage cultural figure — performer, composer, remixer, sound artist and activist." And it's in Nature!

See, if you can, Nature 453, 33-34 (1 May 2008); Published online 30 April 2008
An experimental musician explores how technology has transformed our cut-and-paste culture.
BOOK REVIEWED-Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture
edited by Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid
MIT Press: 2008. 416 pp (plus CD). $29.95, £17.95

Actually it's pretty interesting. I have little to no interest in the music that Spooky would be DJ'ing, but the concepts in the book sound intriguing.