The Bum’s Rush #52

Older and Wiser

Wow. They said it couldn’t be done but here we are, a year later and a whole lot stronger. To be honest even I wasn’t sure, a year ago, whether or not this thing would last. Forget about the other guys turning in a regular column, I didn’t even think I could do it. Yet here I am, 52 weeks later and I haven’t missed an update yet… technically. And believe me, I plan on being here for even longer. Haha… you can’t get rid of me that easily.

Listen, I won’t drag this out. Some of the other guys on the site have written about the One Year Anniversary and probably done a better job. Heck, I even talked about what the last year has been like in our very own Sucker Punch Spotlight. Let me just say this – working on this site, with this amazingly talented crew, has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Because of Stumblebum Studios I find myself constantly striving to improve, to create, to think and to try harder. And believe me, with some of these guys you better try hard if you want to keep up.

And you. I know you’re there, I know you’re reading this. I’ve got the proof. There are numbers. I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for coming here week in and week out, picking up what Stumblebum is putting down. We wouldn’t even be here if you guys weren’t right here with us. And so I promise you this – we’re gonna get bigger, we’re gonna get better and pretty soon we’re gonna be your favorite website in the history of forever. That is, if we aren’t already.

Talk To The Bum

It’s our birthday, and you know what? I’m going to give you a present. That’s right, you heard me. A present. Just for you, it’s the debut of a brand spanking new feature here in the Bum’s Rush. Once a month in this very column I will pose the following comic related questions to a special guest, whether it’s a comic pro, a good friend or a random fan. But because this is such an important week the debut of Talk To The Bum features not one, not two, but THREE of my favorite comic artists! First things first, let’s meet our guests shall we?

Todd Nauck started out as an artist at Rob Liefeld’s Extreme Studios and did some fill-in work at Marvel and DC before hitting it really big with his epic run on DC Comics Young Justice, drawing 53 issues of its 55 issue run, as well as numerous special issues. After Young Justice wrapped up Todd moved to Image where he debuted his creator-owned series, WildGuard, a superhero series with a reality TV show twist. Recently he revisited some of the characters from his Young Justice days when he drew issues #32 and #33 of Teen Titans. Currently, Todd is hard at work on a new WildGuard series, issues #11 and #13 of the upcoming DC series 52 and is the regular artist on Teen Titans Go (inspired by the animated Titans
show). The man is obviously a robot.

Steve Rolston’s first major work in comics was as the artist on the first four issues of Greg Rucka’s critically acclaimed Queen & Country series, which won the 2002 Eisner Award for Best New Series. Following that, Steve worked on numerous projects with high profile creators such as Pounded with Brian Wood and Mek with Warren Ellis. His first solo book, the original graphic novel One Bad Day, was published in 2003 by Oni Press. Since then he has worked on numerous single issues and short stories as well as storyboards for the Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects video game. Steve is currently working on Dark Horse’s The Escapists with writer Brian K. Vaughn, an issue of Tales of the TMNT from Mirage Comics and teaches a part-time course on comic books at VanArts. Perhaps most importantly, he has a killer goatee.

Dean Trippe is the creator of the popular webcomic, Butterfly, featuring the weekly adventures of a sidekick’s sidekick. Butterfly recently appeared in print for the first time in AdHouse Books Superior Showcase #1. Dean has contributed to a number of other anthologies and is one of the perpetrators, along with Jamie Dee Galey and Andi Watson, behind the infectious Batgirl LiveJournal Meme in which over a thousand artists drew their own versions of Batgirl. Recently Dean was announced as one of the newest members of the online comic collective, ACT-I-VATE, producing a weekly comic called Wake. He is also one of the founders of Project Rooftop, a website where artists can re-conceptualize the costumes of their favorite comic book characters. Dean Trippe was genetically bred to draw the monthly adventures of
Robin. It says so on his birth certificate.

Okay, now on to the questions!

Paul Milligan: What comics are currently at the top of your must read list?

Todd Nauck: Invincible and Noble Causes

Steve Rolston: Runaways, Supermarket, Local, Hellboy, BPRD, Desolation Jones,
Northwest Passage, Scott Pilgrim, DMZ, Ex Machina, etcetera.

Dean Trippe: There have been a lot of creative team shifts lately, but I'm currently enjoying these series: All-Star Superman, Invincible, Nextwave, Young Avengers, the new Blue Beetle series, Daredevil, Astonishing X-Men, Ultimates, and whatever Hellboy/B.P.R.D. stuff comes out.

Paul: Do you read any comics that you think more people should be buying?

Todd: Invincible and Noble Causes

Steve: Banana Sunday was a great all-ages mini-series (and now TPB) from Oni Press.
And last night I read The Abandoned -- Ross Campbell's zombie graphic novel from TokyoPop. Man, that was an awesome comic. Beautiful and brutal.
Oh, and I doubt enough people are reading Paris from Slave Labor.

Dean: Young Avengers is surprisingly enjoyable. It's this weird case of a bad idea ("Let's make a series about a team of Avengers-inspired teen characters!") that's actually pretty good.

Paul: Looking at the current trends in comics, which ones are you excited about and which ones turn your stomach?

Todd: I don't know if I get excited or turned by off by comic trends so much. I get excited about the comics I enjoy and comics in general. It's my favorite storytelling medium.

Steve: I'd say I'm most happy with the general popularity of graphic novels.
I'm also excited about major book publishers getting into the game. I think it'll add some healthy competition and provide the medium with types of exposure that just aren't feasible for existing comic publishers.
Something that turns me off is the return of variant covers. Sure, sometimes we get more cool covers... but I'm wary of anything that pushes comics towards the realm of "collectibles".

Dean: I'm THRILLED about the shift towards a more "let's have fun!" vibe, as seen in All-Star Superman and Nextwave, where you don't have to take everything so seriously. It's a backlash against the deconstruction of the genre that's been going on since the 80's, and started reversing itself with things like Alan Moore's Supreme and Tom Strong runs.
I'm not so crazy about the tendency to make every dang story an EVENT. This has been going on for a long, long time, but it seems like every event folds into the next and there have been a dozen or so in the last year. House of M, Identity Crisis, Civil War, One Year Later, man I just want to read a good Spider-Man story. Where do you go for that? Thank goodness there's All-Star Superman.

Paul: What made you a fan of comics and what keeps you reading them today?

Todd: Superhero stories that take you on a rollercoaster of fun and excitement tapping into moments both humorous and serious. And the more characters the better!

Steve: I've been into drawing my whole life, so I think I was mostly attracted to how comic books use drawings to tell a story. I've stuck around because of the limitless range of storytelling possibilities. I like seeing each creator's unique approach to design, composition, pacing, acting, mood, etcetera.

Dean: I always liked superheroes. I remember winning a green plastic ring at an arcade once and playing Green Lantern out on the playground with my fellow Super Friends. I had (and still have) a metal lunchbox with Captain America, Iron Man, and Spidey on it when I was in preschool. But it was the Tim Burton Batman movie that got be to actually start buying comics. I fell in love with superheroes because they make you believe that being selfless, and doing what's right all the time, no matter what, is the way to live. That keeps me coming back. In a world that tries to beat you down into submitting to the forces of racism, terrorism, corrupt government, and 'looking out for number one,' superheroes are the example to help you hold your ground. Plus they wear capes! Capes are so dang cool.

Paul: You can pick any creative team you want for any book you choose.Who would you pick and what book would you put them on?

Todd: Robert Kirkman (writer) and Olivier Copiel (artist) on an original X-Factor revival.

Steve: Jamie Hewlett drawing a Mignola-written Hellboy story.

Dean: Oof, tough one. I'd put my pals Vito Delsante and Dean Haspiel on a Wildcat series. Or Shazam. There'd need to be two Robin ongoings, one for Jim Rugg to draw and the other for Karl Kerschl. Warren Ellis and Joel Carroll would rock Iron Man.
I'd put me on an Bizarro Comics-type Aquaman series. Haha.

Paul: What is your favorite thing to do outside of comics?

Todd: Play and/or watch poker, specifically Texas Hold 'Em.

Steve: Look at cool artwork and photographs on the internet. And sleep.

Dean: Recently, I've fallen in love with soccer and traveling. Other than that, I just like good food and good friends to ramble on with.

Paul: Guys, I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to answer my questions!

Mars 1938 UPDATE

There are only two pages left to draw for this 16-page comic! Dave has already inked the first nine pages and is working on pages ten through fourteen. I’m telling you right now, this book is going to blow you away!

Here’s the logo for the book, which I’m still tweaking:

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!

• JH Williams III is replacing Rags Morales as the regular artist on Detective Comics, which will still be written by Paul Dini. Williams indicated he will draw a few issues of the series and then DC will be rotating artists on the book.
• As I mentioned here last week, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray will be writing Marvel’s upcoming Heroes for Hire series. Billy Tucci (huh… wha?) of Shi fame will be the artist.
• DC is putting off the announcement of the new writer (or writers) for Action Comics just a little bit longer. Until the regular team, including artist Andy Kubert, debuts Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza and Pete Woods will team-up for a three issue story, “Back In Action”, which picks up after the events of the current “Up, Up and Away” storyline. Man, what the hell DC!? Are you trying to give me a complex! I need to know! Uhm… oh, sorry… Anyway, this delay in announcing the new writer (or writers) could lend credence to the rumor that Richard Donner (that’s right, the director of Superman!) will be writing the book with his former assistant, Geoff Johns.
• DC Solicitations for July 2006 are right here.
• Marvel Solicitations for July 2006 can be found here.
• And Image Solicitations for July 2006 are over here.

NEXT WEEK: It’s been a year, isn’t my contract up yet? Damn. Oh well, I’ll be back next week with a second special edition of Talk To The Bum, with answers to my questions from the Stumblebum Crew!


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