“The Peanuts Movie”: So, that happened

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A couple of years ago, when BOOM!’s imprint for kids, KaBOOM!, announced they would be publishing a Peanuts comic book of new material, I vowed not to touch it with a fifty-foot kite string. Never mind if it was good or not; that wasn’t the point. I just had no more interest in reading Peanuts-not-by-Schulz than I did in reading Watchmen-not-by-Alan-Moore.

This wasn’t just because I assumed that a great creation carried on by someone other than its original creator was just not going to be the same. I also knew that Schulz did not want any more Peanuts strips created when he was gone. (The family agreed to the creation of the KaBOOM! series by splitting hairs: Sparky wanted no one to make further Peanuts STRIPS, but nobody said anything about Peanuts COMIC BOOKS. Um, OK.)

So when The Peanuts Movie was released last year, my first impulse was to go no where near that, either. At first.

Continue reading “The Peanuts Movie”: So, that happened

#413 Should we stop using film terminology to talk about comics?

Terry and the Pirates on filmIn May, comics creator and educator Ben Towle wrote a post on his blog entitled “Let’s Stop Using Film Terminology to Talk About Comics,” in which he suggested that using terms like “camera angle” and “shot” to describe comics storytelling may prevent creators from innovating new storytelling ideas that couldn’t be done in film. The post generated a fair amount of discussion around the Web (including this take on CBR).

This week, the discussion continues here on the podcast, where Ben joins Tim and Mulele to talk about what inspired the post, possible reasons why we came to use film terminology in comics contexts, whether this really hobbles comics as a medium, and what (if anything) could or should be done to improve things.

#406 Aya Rothwell, Comics Anthropologist

Aya RothwellHaving grown up with feet planted firmly on both sides of the Pacific, Aya Rothwell has always been observant of cultural differences, and this shows up in her comics. Who else would do a comic about a human visitor to an alien world, with the biggest conflict being that the human keeps getting the aliens’ names mixed up?

Aya also fills us in on using watercolors in her comics, her journey to comics via the worlds of biology and film, and more.

#400 SoCal Comics Conversation

Robert RoachTim Across America, part ten! The finish line of Tim’s trip is Los Angeles, home of our friend Dale Wilson, of BuyIndieComics and DWAP Productions. Dale hooks us up with Robert Roach, comics creator and Hollywood storyboarder. He fills us in on ways that storyboarding is much different from comics, and also talks about the importance of getting the details in your story right — regardless of medium.

Legacy Comics and CardsFor the Southern California edition of Ask a Retailer, a talk with Howard Chen at Legacy Comics and Cards in Glendale. Unlike most of the other Tim Across America retailers, Legacy still has plenty of manga on the shelves. But to what extent are those books flying off the shelves?

Richard, Dale, Griffin, and StephFinally, Tim and Dale are joined by Stephenny Godfrey (“Panorama”, “Two Buses”) and Richard Hamilton (“Return of the Super Pimps”, “Miserable Dastards”) to discuss the L.A. comics community and revisit a topic from the Chicago episode: should you make a comic as a step toward getting your story on film?

Also, don’t miss Griffin the Dog in his podcast debut!

Tim appears on camera, for once.
Tim appears on camera, for once.

#397 “Multiplex” puts butts in seats

multiplexTim Across America, part 7! Gordon McAlpin has put in more than a decade on the popular Web comic Multiplex, about kids who work at a movie theater — a concept he had originally thought was stupid! What changed his mind? How has he successfully funded two Kickstarter projects to print books of his comic? He talks with Tim about this in a Minneapolis restaurant, as well as using Patreon for funding, his tools for making the strip, and the good and bad points of letting your characters age.

Plus, a clip from Tim’s appearance on the KFAI Minneapolis radio program True Brit!

DCP In Touch: Read Ian’s full comments about R. Crumb

#396 Dan Jurgens: Superman, Thor, and 30 years of change

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Tim Across America, part six! Having worked in mainstream American comics for three decades now, Dan Jurgens has seen a lot of change. The number of publishers, the type and amount of fan interaction (thanks to the Internet), the method of comics distribution, and the way the Big Two search for new talent have all changed greatly in that time. And, the Big Two now actually discourage the creation of new characters. Why? This week, Jurgens reflects on those changes — some good, some bad — in a talk with Tim.

He also discusses his work on Superman and Thor, how technology has helped film steal some of comics’ storytelling edge, and more.

Also, in the Minneapolis edition of Ask a Retailer, Tim talks to Paul Miller at Comic Book College!

AND, our new feature DCP In Touch, and a talk with Kumar and Mulele about their successful Kickstarter project!

#393 Chicago Drink and Draw

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Brian Crowley, Tim Seeley, and Onrie Kompan

Tim Across America pt 3! Visiting Chicago, Tim links up with some local comics people, including a couple we’ve heard from before, for a wide-ranging discussion. Topics include: Public perception of comics and comics readers in the US; interactions between US comics and manga; reasons not to use comics as a stepping stone to getting your movie made; living with the creative impulse; the relative lack of diverse voices in American comics; and more.

The panel:

Also: Tim talks to Shanna Wallace at the Edgewater location of Chicago’s Graham Crackers Comics!

Photos below the jump…

Continue reading #393 Chicago Drink and Draw

Arkham City: New Takes of the Batman Characters from the Comics and Movies

I recently bought the video game Batman: Arkham City and was amazed by the content. Batman: Arkham City involves Gotham City being taken over by the villains that Batman has sent to Arkham Asylum throughout the years.  The Batman villains have taken some of the residents of Gotham City hostage and some of the Gotham City Police officers hostage.

Batman: Arkham City begins with a segment where Bruce Wayne is making a speech.  While he is speaking, Vikki Vale is shown reporting on the speech.  In the middle of Bruce Wayne’s speech, he is kidnapped by Hugo Strange’s henchmen.  Bruce Wayne is then taken to a room and tied up in a chair.  Then Hugo Strange begins to talk smack to Bruce Wayne.  From there the game starts.  When the game starts, you have to use your XBOX controller to get Bruce Wayne to escape from captivity in the chair.  The screen will give you hints on what buttons to push in order get Bruce to rock back and forth in the chair.  Rocking back and forth will get Bruce to fall and break the chair, thus escaping from captivity.  Once you get him to break out of the chair, Hugo Strange’s henchmen will start running in the room to give Bruce Wayne the beatdown.  It will be your job to fight off the henchmen.  Once you defeat the henchmen, you will have to find the rocket that Alfred will send to Bruce.  This rocket will have the Batman suit in it for Bruce to change into.  From there, you will be able to put Batman into some serious action.

What makes Batman: Arkham City so great is the fact that players of the game can choose to go anywhere they want.  Players can choose the outcome of the game by going anywhere in Arkham City.  Wherever you go in Arkham City will depend on what happens.

Each villain has their own section in Arkham City that that villain owns.  Each villain’s territory is guarded by their henchmen.  When you are far away from a villain, you will encounter thugs that have bats.  The thugs with baseball bats are easier to defeat.  However, if you get close to a villain, you will encounter henchmen with guns.  The thugs with guns are a lot more difficult to defeat.  You will have to use more of a strategy to take down thugs with guns by using smoke pellets.  Once you get Batman to use the smoke pellets, you can get Batman to hide in the smoke and capture the thugs one by one.  Doing this takes a long time to do because Batman will have to use his harpoon to hang from the top of buildings and swoop down on the gun armed thugs.  You have to wait until the right time to get each thug.

The thing that really makes Batman: Arkham City stand out is the fresh new takes on the Batman characters.  Batman: Arkham City does a good job at mixing elements from the Batman comics and all of the Batman movies.

In Batman: Arkham City, The Joker is supposed to be dying from a fatal illness.  As Batman runs through Gotham City, you will overhear people talking about The Joker dying.  There are also parts in the game where you can see the Joker’s sickly looking face.  Just like in the cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, The Joker is voiced by Mark Hamil from Star Wars.  Also, Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman in Batman: The Animated Series, also voices Batman in the Batman: Arkham City video game.

The interesting thing about The Riddler’s voice is that it sounds just like Jim Carrey in the movie Batman Forever.  However, The Riddler is voiced by Wally Wingert, who did work on the cartoons Family Guy and The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The Penguin is a villain that had a very good makeover in this video game.  In this game, the Penguin has an English accent.  This works considering The Penguin’s proper look.  Another makeover for The Penguin a change in his monocle.  Instead of a monocle on The Penguin’s eye, he has a piece of a broken beer bottle lodged in his eye.  Other characters featured in Batman: Arkham City are Barbara Gordon, Harley Quinn, and Bane.

If you lose at a certain level, you will hear some very harsh words from the villain who owns the territory you where in when you lost.  This will definitely motivate you to play the game over again.

All of the different elements taken from everything related to Batman makes Batman: Arkham City a great buy.  The game will have you playing for hours with riddles that you will not want to stop trying to figure out.

#256 Talking about “Star Wars”…again!

FIVE YEARS of “Deconstructing Comics”! We celebrate with a retro lineup (Tim, Mulele, and Brandon, plus Kumar) discussing the topic that we always used to accidentally end up talking about anyway: Star Wars! Specifically, Dark Horse’s Star Wars Tales #20, an issue in which various indie creators took a crack at the Star Wars characters. Especially Jar Jar.

Also, our reactions to the trailer for the Green Lantern movie. Have all these superhero movies run their course?

A fun (if rather ribald and un-p.c.) conversation!

#105 Comics & Movies: What Scott McCloud won’t tell you!

FLASHBACK! While we take a week off, enjoy this vintage episode from December 10, 2007!

How comics & movies have influenced each other: what Scott McCloud won’t tell you! Also, digital inking, The Spirit, and All Star Superman! Mulele, Patrick G., Tim, and Tim’s brother Paul discuss.