The Bum’s Rush #50

Okay, last week I said I was going to talk about the first month’s worth of
One Year Later titles from DC Comics. I lied. I also said I was going to do something a little special for this, the 50th episode of the most amazing weekly column on the internet. That, my friends, was not a lie… mostly.

As our esteemed editor, Dana Place pointed out to me the other day, the one-year anniversary of Stumblebum Studios (in it’s current weekly entertainment magazine-type format) is just around the corner, hitting the same week as The Bum’s Rush #52! That’s right - 52 weeks, 52 columns about comics and other pointless ramblings. It’s all beginning to make a little too much sense. So I’ve decided to do the really real Bum’s Rush Anniversary Spectacular then instead of now. You may think this is all some clever marketing ploy to get you to keep coming back again and again, but really I have no idea what I’m doing.

Still, I did promise something special for this week’s column and I’d hate to disappoint all my tens of rabid fans out there. So without further ado, I give you…

The Following Preview Has Been Deemed AWESOME For All Audiences

Last year, Stumblebum Studios decided to take part in the worldwide event known as
Free Comic Book Day, a day of... duh... free comic books. Every year dozens of companies take part in this event, creating special free comics that are given out at comic retailers all over the globe in an effort to promote comic book awareness and draw in new readers. To make the event even more special many of these retailers have special guests appear at their stores for signings. For the event, the Stumblebum Crew created the Twilight Tales dime novel and debuted it on Free Comic Book Day at Dallas’ best comic book store, Titan Comics. I actually wrote about that event in one of my earliest columns which you can read right here.

Well, folks, we’re at it again. Only this time we’re not doing a dime novel. We’re putting together an honest to god comic book. And because I absolutely love not sleeping at all I am writing and drawing this 16-page story. It’s been ages since I’ve done any serious drawing (well, there’s Der Wundervolle Bean… but come on) and I’ve never even drawn more than two or three actual comic book pages in my entire life, so it’s an experience to say the least. Lending a hand (lest I go out of my ever-loving mind) is the lovely and talented Dave Sherrill, who will be inking my penciled pages. No doubt he will be able to effortlessly translate all my scribbles and scratches into actual pictures that look like what they’re supposed to, thus salvaging the book and my dignity.

But, you might ask, what is this mysterious and no doubt soon-to-be-optioned-as-a-major-motion-picture comic book all about anyway? I’ll tell you! Nazis, my friend, Nazis. But not just any old Nazis. Space-Nazis! Nazis on Mars! What’s that? You’ll take a hundred copies? I knew you would. The story, titled Mars: 1938, is a pulp adventure tale featuring an Indiana Jones-like adventurer named Guy Van Zandt who must contend with Martians, Nazis and hideous monsters if he wants to make it off the red planet alive!

Here for your enjoyment is a batch of concept drawings I did in preparation for the story. You’ll notice that, about halfway through, there is a pretty abrupt style change. While I was writing the story and doing the concepts I decided to draw the book in much more cartoony style, which I thought looked really neat and would be a little bit easier to draw. Which, given the deadline is now little more than a month away, is a very, very good thing indeed. Plus, I’ve been watching way too much Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, both of which were an obvious influence on the style I’ve adopted, not only for Mars: 1938, but also, to a degree, my Der Wundervolle Bean comic strip.

Click on an image to view full size in a new window

I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peak at Mars: 1938. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the book’s progress over the next few weeks as we draw ever closer to the impending doom… I mean… deadline.

Don’t Forget! Pull Dan Slott’s Thing!

Help Dan Slott save The Thing by adding the comic to your pull list (a list that you can set up with your local comic book store in order to reserve a copy of the books you buy on a regular basis). And of course there’s the “Pull My Thing and Win a Prize!” contest, as described by Slott himself:

“There’s one grand prize, the whole kit-and-kaboodle, and it’s going to the best pitchman on the message boards! We need people pounding the virtual-beat, getting the word out about our pull list campaign, and letting people know what they like about the title. I’ll be scouring all the boards and declaring a winner by the end of June.

What I’m looking for is the person who’s doing the best job promoting “Pull My Thing and Win a Prize” - but without being pushy or derailing any threads. And you gotta bring the love [laughs].”

The grand prize being an original page of Thing art by regular series artist Andrea DiVito, as well as copies of all three She-Hulk trades, the GLA trade, the GLA Christmas Special and the Spiderman/Human Torch: I’m With Stupid digest, all written and signed by Dan Slott himself.

If you need help finding a comic book store near you just use the Comic Shop Locator.


Quick Bits

Warning! Nothing you read here in Quick Bits should be considered FACT until it actually happens. Which it might not. How do you know I’m not just making all this crap up? I could, you know. You’ve been warned!

1. Speaking of Dan Slott’s Thing… hehehe… issue #5 was Andrea DiVito’s final issue of the series as the artist is moving on to illustrate the six-issue Annihilation mini-series. Replacing DiVito on the book is none other than Kieron Dwyer! I’ve loved Kieron since I first saw his work on the Superman books back in the nineties and his more recent work on books like Avengers and
   Last of the Independents was jaw dropping. As if I needed a reason to love this book even more.
2. Yet another new ongoing series spinning out of the upcoming Civil War mini will be Heroes for Hire. Personally I loved the version created by John Ostrander and Pascual Ferry in the late 90’s… but I was probably the only one.
3. DC’s Solo series, featuring a different artist every issue doing 48 pages of whatever they wanted, has been cancelled with issue 12 (which will feature artist Brendan McCarthy). It’s a shame because it was a really cool book showcasing some amazing talent. Unfortunately they promised some pretty big names upfront when the series was first announced, but their issues never materialized. I think if they’d have thrown a HUGE superstar artist in there every few issues the series probably could have survived. Still, how many HUGE superstar artists can even do a regular 24-page comic in a timely fashion these days?
4. Word is that the Wolverine movie will be a prequel to the current X-Men movies. Just as long as there’s some ninjas, man.
5. Oh, God! Onslaught Reborn?! By Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefeld?! Why doesn’t somebody admit this is a damn April Fools joke already? Please! And then they have to go and make me feel bad for being totally and completely opposed to this book by announcing that proceeds will go to The Sam Loeb College Scholarship Fund, named for Jeph Loeb’s son who passed away in 2005. Gah, screw it! There’s no way on earth I would buy that book. I can hardly believe it’s being published. Just go here to read more about this insane project and check out the craptacular art by Liefeld.
6. Seriously though, if you are interested in donating money to The Sam Loeb College Scholarship Fund directly, just write to SAMLOEB4@aol.com.

NEXT WEEK: Maybe next time I really will talk about DC’s first month of One Year Later titles? Ah, who am I kidding, I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna talk about.

Send me hate mail at thesuperleezard@yahoo.com

Read more stupid crap I write at www.livejournal.com/users/superleezard

Check out my (semi) daily comic, Der Wundervolle Bean, at www.livejournal.com/users/der_magic_bean

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