Nerdy Nuggets of News: October 2006 Archives

I just finished listening to a delightful podcast over at Indie Spinner Rack, where they interviewed Dave Sim in episode 49. It was a good look back at Sim's 300-issue Cerebus run, plus we got some insight into what he's been up to since the book ended. You might be amazed to find out (like I was) that Sim really wants to unleash his inner "Stan Drake" and do a photo-realistic newspaper style strip. Sim definitely has the chops for this type of work, if you take a look at this newspaper strip sample from the life of his friend, Sue Ta (a Canadian actress). It's a very funny interview, and you must listen to the podcast even after the interview is finished, because there's a great tribute song at the end. For DC fans there's some behind the scenes gossip about the deal Neal Adams got on those Adams hardbound collected editions of his DC work. Nuff said.

Technorati : Dave Sim
Del.icio.us : Dave Sim

Marvel's New Thunderbolts seems destined to be an instant hit. How could any True Believer resist buying a series with an A-list of villains (Green Goblin, Bullseye, Venom, etc) written and drawn by A-list talent (Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato)? Newsarama has covered this thoroughly in the past few days, and today they have an interview with Deodato that features some preliminary drawings. Sounds pretty nifty, although I noticed that Taskmaster and Lady Deathstrike (who were shown on the last page of Civil War #4) are not listed as appearing in the debut issue, Thunderbolts #110. There's a new character called Penance, who you see in black and white in the image above. I immediately thought of Dan Simmons' character The Shrike, who is a major figure in his "Hyperion Quartet" (Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion). The Shrike is an inhuman, almost god-like figure, with metallic spikes covering his entire body. Penance looks eerily similar, although he has only two arms and his helmet doesn't have the jutting spikes.

Somehow the whole "A-list of villains" thing reminds me of Fantastic Four #347-349. When Walt Simonson ran into deadline problems, he called in his buddy Art Adams to draw three fill-in issues. One thing led to another and the FF were temporarily replaced by an all-new FF, featuring the most popular heroes of the day (Spider-Man, Grey Hulk, Ghost Rider, and Wolverine). These issues sold like hotcakes and they were very well done. Lots of fun, but Marvel knew these characters had no business teaming up. On top of the cover it says "The World's Most Commercialest Comic Magazine!" New Thunderbolts will be fun to read, but I can't imagine Bullseye putting up with Norman Osborne for very long. Nuff said.

Technorati : Dan Simmons, Hyperion, Thunderbolts
Del.icio.us : Dan Simmons, Hyperion, Thunderbolts

Robby (the good one) is celebrating the accomplishments of Ira Schnapp over at Dial B for Blog. Robby's ten-part serial covers not only Schnapp's life but the history of DC comics as well, going from the pre-Action Comics #1 days to the Silver Age. Schnapp created the logo for Action Comics, refined the classic Superman logo, and did many classic DC House Ads, which anyone who has read any DC comic from the 1960s will recognize instantly. It's clear that Robby absolutely loves them, as he Photoshops them on a regular basis. Schnapp's birthday is Tuesday, October 10th, the day that Robby will finish this excellent series. What's disturbing is that one of Robby's blurbs mentions this may become "The Last Issue of Dial B for Blog"? Say it ain't so, Robby! Nuff said.