Out of Wack

While I’m a bit perturbed to be mentioning another editor in this column (because editors are sort of a boring subject), this is actually pretty big news. DC Comics is a little less than halfway through its ambitious comic book project 52. While most comics come out monthly, 52 is a weekly comic. As you can imagine, the coordination and work that goes into keeping this book on track and on schedule is insane. It’s all held together by the editor of 52, Stephen Wacker. Or at least, it was held together by Stephen Wacker. In a controversial and as of yet unexplained move, Stephen Wacker has left DC Comics and joined cross town rival Marvel. Details on the situation are brief at best. Joe Quesada, Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics, did confirm that Wacker has joined the company. Many have speculated that Marvel is planning to launch its own weekly comic book. Who better to edit such a title than the man who has been doing it for DC? While there has been no official comment from DC on the matter, sources have said only that Wacker wasn’t fired. While it’s only the latest exchange between the incestuous rival companies, it may just be the biggest exchange yet. We’ll see what happens over the course of the next week and will report on any further developments.

Excelsior Dysfunction Disorder

Of all the new comic books coming out soon, one has me rather baffled. It’s a series of comics called “Stan Lee Meets”. When first announced people scratched their heads and said “I thought Stan Lee was already dead.” After learning that in these comics, Stan Lee actually meets some of the famous characters he created like Spiderman and the Fantastic Four, people scratched their heads and said “Huh? Wha?”. Now, I’m all for giving props to the people who came before and all that jive. I’m glad that Led Zeppelin made modern rock, I’m happy that Gandhi invented the wheel, and I give it up to Al Gore for inventing the internet. Stan Lee, bravo man, you created some lasting and amazing characters. However, I will not, now or ever, read a comic book in which Stan Lee, the closest thing on this earth to zombie (because he’s so old, get it?) actually meets and interacts with Spiderman. What are you going to tell me, that next Marvel comics is going to include a Howard the Duck story in an upcoming Civil War one shot comic book? Huh? Wait… they are, aren’t they?

There for a while I was wondering why I was becoming bitter towards Marvel and monthly comics in general. I guess now we know. I suppose the only thing I can hope for is that in each story, when they see Stan Lee, the heroes will scream out “Oh no, the dead are walking!” and will brutally attack him. Now that, I’d buy.

It Hurts so Good

I realize that somewhere out there, someone thinks this is cool. It’s the preview text for an upcoming issue of The All New Atom.

“The Atom faces the size-changing serial killer Dwarfstar in a battle to the death as he tries to stop his adopted home, Ivy Town, from being destroyed by the ultimate war between magic and science!”

My initial purpose was to make fun of it, but upon reading it a few more times, I’m confused. It’s either the dumbest comic ever or the coolest comic ever. Either way no one will know because it’s The All New Atom and nobody buys that series.

Number one in your heart, Number one on the charts

It’s a bit of old news, but I felt like mentioning the amazing thing that writer Brad Meltzer pulled off recently. His comic book, Justice League of America #1 was the number one selling comic book at the same time as his new novel, The Book of Fate, was the number one selling novel. Congrats Meltzer, that was almost impressive. Now if he had a number one comic, book, movie, album, Broadway play, and television show all at the same time, then I’d be impressed.

The weather outside is frightful

After the awful film Blade Trinity and the equally as bad Spike TV Blade television series, there’s not much love in my heart for the character of Blade. However, this December he’s going to face down the fiercest vampire around, Santa Claus! I’m not making this one up; just take a look at the picture.

Click on image to view full size in a new window

Jackpot

In the past, a lot of people have said that what holds comic books back from being as mainstream as movies and television is the lack of music. As a comic book writer/creator myself, I can see where they’re coming from. Music plays a big part in my comics and often times I have exact songs picked out in my mind to go along with certain scenes. I sometimes toy with the idea of releasing these ideas, like a suggested soundtrack to my written works. Well, new upstart company T5 (which stands for Teddy, Tony, and Trent’s Tricks and Toys) is taking this one step further. They are in the process of putting together musical comic books. Estimated to retail at a whopping twenty dollars each, these books feature an internal speaker that plays different songs depending on what page of the book you are on. One of the main issues T5 has run into is obtaining permission to use copyrighted material. They’re working around this by using a select few Bulgarian rock groups. Due to its total lack of copyright law and thriving undiscovered rock scene, Bulgaria was a perfect fit for them. They are in the process of upgrading servers to handle demand for the product, but if you want to see a sample of these musical comic books head over to the site. If it doesn’t load on the first try hit refresh a few times and see if that works.

www.teddytonyandtrentstricksandtoys.net



If you know of any interesting news, rumors, lies, etc. about comics and think I should know about it too just email me at freejenkins@gmail.com

For links to my other articles and general info about my writing and my life, check me out at http://freejenkins.livejournal.com