There’s been a collective pants shitting in the comic book industry this week as DC Comics announced that they would relaunch nearly every series this September as a #1 issue, making the content available for download on the same day as print versions hit stores.
Shop owners are crying the death of the industry, and other publishers are trying to play catch-up. Meanwhile, DC Comics is taking a huge gamble on its latest venture. It’s no secret that the company has been playing second-fiddle to Marvel Comics, now backed by the giant Disney corporation, and cleaned house to make room for new executives from a more traditional background that owners Warner Bros. found necessary.
As harsh as it may sound, DC Comics can’t be supported by serialized issues that are sold to only a few hundred thousand costumers, at best, every month. The real money made by Batman, Superman, and all the other beloved characters, is in stupid shit, like T-shirts, movies, action figures, cartoons, and anything else you can slap a logo on to make it appeal to children and nerds.
“All of us want to offend every single person.”
– Cherry Chevapravatdumrong
You may not recognize or be able to pronounce the name Cherry Chevapravatdumrong but over the next few years she will become one of your favorite writers. Already a valued member of the Family Guy writing staff Chevapravatdumrong has written some of my favorite recent episodes such as “Sibling Rivalry” where Lois decides to gain a lot of weight and “Prick Up Your Ears” which has a Christian group take over sex education class at James Woods High School. Chevapravatdumrong has teamed up with SuicideGirls favorite Alex Borstein to write the new Family Guy book, It takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One, which is the companion book to the upcoming episode where Lois becomes mayor of Quahog.
If you haven’t heard of the comic book series Morning Glories from Image, then you might want to rush to your local comic store and start snatching up issues. A whirlwind success, it’s sold out multiple printings of several issues, and the first trade paperback sold out at comic stores across the country. Moving beyond paper, the series has drawn comparisons to other comic juggernauts like The Walking Dead and Y: The Last Man. Co-creators Nick Spencer (who writes) and Joe Eisma (who draws) only just released Issue 9, but since its release, Morning Glories has been called the next great comic that will make its way to television.
I recently sat down with Joe Eisma to discuss the future of the comic, which is one of the most popular books in recent history.
The release of X-Men: First Class is just days away, marking the second of four major super hero movie releases to come this summer. In a recent YouTube viral video, A Toast To Green Lantern, all the super heroes with their own movies harassed Hawkman as he tries to get his own film. As it turns out, the joke was on the makers of the video as Warner Bros. has a Hawkman movie in the works. The current logline listed on It’sOnTheGrid is:
I’ve had a crush on Sandra Bernhard ever since her spread in Playboy years ago. But even before that I loved her comedy and her work in films like Hudson Hawk (Ball! Ball!) and her great role on Roseanne. But Bernhard is best known for her acerbic comedy showcased in the many CDs she has released. Her latest is Everything Bad and Beautiful, and it’s her best yet.
I didn’t ask to be born. None of us did. But there are still some really good things in life. Think about it! Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . . and boobs. Anyway, it’s my birthday, so I think about these things, and dying. Out of all forms of entertainment, music makes me feel the most of alive. We should all go to a concert soon, together, and make-out. Until then, here are some songs that get the blood pumping.
The weekend came and went with no signs of raptors or the rapture (except this). In fact, no apocalypse of any kind occurred, much to the disappointment of Harold Camping’s followers, and the delight and derision of most of the nerd population. That’s not to say that the CDC didn’t already have it – and you – covered, as they explained with the release of America’s official Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness 101 outline this last week. While there was no immediate need to put it to use, it’s very existence grants a bit of extra hope for the American citizen (except for those of us who can make out that massive gaping holes in the plan).
