It’s Getting Hot in Here

There’s a new book starting from Image soon called “Meltdown”. This is a mini-series about a superhero with fire powers who is about to die, so he decides to go out with a bang and try to take out all of his enemies in the process. I’m really looking forward to it. However, could it have a worst named creative team? Wang and Schwartz. Seriously. That’s the guys working on this book. Wang and Schwartz. In a way I’m hoping that they made those names up, but then that would mean they chose those names. However, the comic looks great, so I guess we’ll can the schoolyard jokes and give these guys a pass. I just hope they don’t work on a romance comic next, that might get a bit awkward.

The Emerald Archer Beckons

Despite the fact that it was awful, I’ve still been watching Smallville this season. Even though it’s like watching someone drink themselves into an alcohol poisoning coma, I can’t seem to look away. It’s common knowledge amongst fans that Oliver Queen, better known as Green Arrow, is scheduled to become a semi-recurring character this season. When I saw this picture of him, I thought “Wow, that’s kind of cool.” Then I cried a bit.



Curse of the Daywalker

Surprising absolutely no one, Blade: The Series has been cancelled. Man, I gotta say, when Spike TV decides your show isn’t good enough to stay on the air you’ve hit rock bottom. LL COOL J, who played Blade on the show, was quoted as saying “I’m gonna knock you out, momma said knock you out.”

Now I’m Lost

One of the main writers on Lost, Damon Lindelof decided to try his hand at writing comic books last year with the mini-series Ultimate Hulk versus Ultimate Wolverine. It was a fight fans were waiting to find out who would win. And they are waiting still. Even though it should’ve been completed months and months ago, the mini-series never got past the first few issues. Why? Did Damon Lindelof’s plane crash in the ocean? No, it did not. He apparently got busy with his precious tv show, making it impossible for him to finish his commitment to Marvel comics. However, I’ve been looking into it for a few weeks now and have found that the reason he stopped working on the comic may be a bit more interesting. It turns out that Damon Lindelof is in the process of writing a 200 issue comic book series based on Lost. He wants to have the entire thing finished before it starts coming out. The book would ship twice monthly, making that 8 years worth of Lost comic books. That’s insane in and of itself, but there’s more. Guess who is in talks to put these comics out? DC Comics. Could that be why Lindelof suddenly quit working on his Marvel Comics miniseries? There’s expected to be an official announcement about the Lost comic book as the third season goes on.

Once Upon Your Dead Body

Funny enough, while digging furiously through the bowels of the internet for things to talk about here in this column, my internet decided to start cutting out. So, it looks like we’re stuck together. In the spirit of that “stuck in an elevator” mentality, I figured I’d talk a bit about what I’ve been up to. If that bothers you, too bad, because the elevator apparently isn’t going anywhere for a while.

Here at Stumblebum we’ve all been pushing ourselves to the limit (and then past the limit, developing a new limit that we then push past) wrapping up the Stumblebum Studios Round Two Anthology. Paul Milligan is a man possessed, doing the work of at least five people all on his own. There are times when I envy Paul for all of his talents. He’s a great writer, an amazing artist, a talented designer, and a pro level comic book letterer. That’s pretty cool. Except when your deadline is rushing at you and you have to utilize all of those skills. Makes me glad that the only thing I’m good at is writing. If I thought he’d ever come back, I’d send Paul on a vacation for a month to unwind after this anthology is wrapped up. In addition to Paul Milligan and myself, there are some other amazing folks working on this anthology. Dana Place, Kevin Steele, Dave Sherrill, Neal Langham, Garry Brown, and other people who I’m probably forgetting. It’s a collection of varied, crazy guys who all want to show you what it is they do.

I’ve had the pleasure in recent weeks to get hands on in the Dallas/Fort Worth comic book scene. From attending the live art benefit known as C.A.P.E. 2.5 to the second meeting of the Dallas/Fort Worth Sketch Group, I’ve had plenty of time to be around other writers and artists. One thing that I always wonder about is desire. Motivation. Passion. Things that you can’t really tell from looking at someone or even from having a five minute conversation with them. Compared to a lot of the people I met these past few weekends, I’m definitely on the amateur side of things. However, one thing I always try to gauge is if they really appreciate what they have. If they know what I’d give to have the opportunities they’ve had. If they know what Paul Milligan would give to have those opportunities. I wonder if they ever had this much desire, burning in them like an all consuming white light. It’s a great motivator, it really is. To see some of these people who have things published and have had a decent bit of success at writing and drawing. I heard a quote once. It said, “If you want to be motivated to become a millionaire, spend a day amongst the company of millionaires.” It definitely holds true for me. I know some people who would’ve come away from some of the meetings and conversations I had and felt defeated. Felt like they’d never achieve that level of success. Then there are people like us here at Stumblebum Studios. Paul and I walked out of there more motivated than ever. It was standing in a room looking at exactly who you wanted to be. Who you were staying up all night working on becoming. It was a confirmation that there is a reason you’re trying so hard. It’s not money (definitely not money, as comics and writing barely pay anything) and it’s not fame (how many of you know who James O’Barr is or Kristian Donaldson or Scott Kurtz?). It’s a very specific light at the end of a very specific tunnel. I don’t think there are a lot of guys that pick it up, mostly because it’s not your standard “house, family, car, six figures salary” sort of goal. It may never land me in a BMW or a studio apartment in New York, but what are those anyway? Things. I’m much more interested in the intangible thing that so few people have. The ability to say “I had a dream and I chased it. I chased it hard and I chased it fast and I never stopped chasing it.” Whether I end up the next Stephen King or not, it’s that chase that I’m interested in.

In my head I’m pretending the elevator just unstuck, because I think we’ve gotten as philosophical as anyone really needs for one day. Especially in the confines of a comic book column.




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

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