New comic book report Feb. 6, 2013

24th Annual Motor City Comic Con welcomes a Great Galaxy of Comic Stars for 2013

Novi, Mi: Now in its 24^th year, Motor City Comic Con is one of the fastest growing Comic Conventions in the United States!  MCCC’s singular mix of stellar Comic world luminaries, as well as a glittering array of iconic TV and film stars and fan favorites from the World of Wrestling, has made it a sprawling celebration of Pop Culture and a destination event for fans from across the region. The dazzling array of Comic talent heading for Motor City Comic Con in May far surpasses any previous Michigan show. In addition to the iconic creator   Stan Lee, Motor City Comic Con 2013 is also very pleased to welcome:

George Pérez: In his more than 38-year career, Mr. Pérez has been involved with many of the industry’s landmark publications. With writer Marv Wolfman, Mr. Pérez created The New Teen Titan, which helped bring DC Comics back into competitive prominence during the 1980’s. The team struck gold again when they redefined the entire DC Universe in the hugely successful Crisis On Infinite Earths and its follow-up History Of The DC Universe. Pérez had two enormously successful runs, almost two decades apart, on The Avengers and attained great personal success as writer and artist for the 1980s re-launch of Wonder Woman.      www.george-perez.com

Don Rosa: Well known in American comics fandom since the 1960’s for his vast comic book collection and fanzine writing & cartooning, Rosa became internationally famous starting in 1987 when he began writing and drawing “Uncle $crooge” and “Donald Duck” comics for various licensed publishers in Europe. Just as they once were in America, Donald Duck comics (based on Carl Barks’ work) continue to be the best selling comic books in Europe and South America where the *weekly* Duck comics have been read by hundreds of millions of fans for over 60 years. This makes Rosa one of the world’s best known and most popular cartoonists, but still very easy to visit with at American shows where he can relax in “relative obscurity”. American comics fans are mostly familiar with his most famous and oft-reprinted work, the Eisner Award winning “Life and Times of $crooge McDuck” series.

Ryan Stegman: Michigan’s own Stegman is best known for his work on Marvel Comics characters including: Fantastic Four, SCARLET SPIDER, Amazing Spider-Man, SHE-HULKS, and X-23.

Katie Cook:  Cook is a comic book artist and writer that has worked on Star Wars, Marvel, Jim Henson projects and more! she also is the creator behind the popular webcomic ‘gronk: a monster's story’ and writer of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book. www.katiecandraw.com.

Rafael Albuquerque: Albuquerque is the critically acclaimed Eisner and Harvey Award winner co-creator of Crimeland (Image Comics, 2007), Mondo Urbano (Oni Press, 2010) and the NY Times Bestseller, American Vampire ( DC Comics/Vertigo, 2010) written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King. Making comics since 2003, Rafael has worked with all major publishers in the business, illustrating popular books such as Blue Beetle, Superman/Batman for DC Comics, and, recently, The Uncanny X-Force for Marvel. http://rafaelalbuquerque.com/

David Lloyd: Lloyd started working in comics in the late 1970s, drawing for Halls of Horror, TV Comic and a number of Marvel UK titles. With writer Steve Parkhouse, he created the pulp adventure character Night Raven. Lloyd has also worked on Espers, with writer James D. Hudnall, for Eclipse Comics; Hellblazer, with writers Grant Morrison and Jamie Delano,and War Story, with Garth Ennis, for DC; and Global Frequency, with Warren Ellis, for Wildstorm. With Delano he also drew The Territory for Dark Horse, where he has also worked on some of their licensed properties like Aliens and James Bond. He has also created a graphic novel, Kickback, for French publisher Editions Carabas. www.lforlloyd.com 

Mark McKenna: Mark McKenna is a long time comic artist and inker, having worked on nearly 500 titles and 8,000 pages of art.  He has worked on major titles for Marvel, DC Comics, Archie and Image Comics, including Batman, Wolverine, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and most recently on Star Wars, counting over 450 comics in all. Mark is currently working for Dark Horse Comics on Star Wars-The Old Republic: The Lost Suns. Recently his work on the online web comic titled "Star Wars: Blood of the Empire" was collected into an 84 page trade paperback. Recently, Mark was honored as a member of the 2012 Inkwell Hall of Fame. www.markmckennaart.com
Mike McKone:   McKone's first published works for the major companies included DC Comics' Justice League of America and Justice League International for DC Comics and The Punisher War Zone for Marvel Comics. However, it was his work on Marvel's Exiles which brought him instant attention, and led him to work on two of DC's Teen Titans and Marvel's Fantastic Four. McKone is currently penciling Avengers Academy for Marvel Comics.
Tom Raney: Raney is best known for his work on such series as Annihilation Conquest, Alpha Flight, Ultimate X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, DV8, Stormwatch, and Outsiders. Recent work includes the limited series Dark Reign: Hawkeye, with writer Andy Diggle. http://tomraney.blogspot.com

Don Rosa: Well known in American comics fandom since the 1960’s for his vast comic book collection and fanzine writing & cartooning, Rosa became internationally famous starting in 1987 when he began writing and drawing “Uncle $crooge” and “Donald Duck” comics for various licensed publishers in Europe. Just as they once were in America, Donald Duck comics (based on Carl Barks’ work) continue to be the best selling comic books in Europe and South America where the *weekly* Duck comics have been read by hundreds of millions of fans for over 60 years. This makes Rosa one of the world’s best known and most popular cartoonists, but still very easy to visit with at American shows where he can relax in “relative obscurity”. American comics fans are mostly familiar with his most famous and oft-reprinted work, the Eisner Award winning “Life and Times of $crooge McDuck” series.

Kalman Andrasofszky:  Andrasofszky got his start creating illustration for roleplaying games. Over the years he's produced a massive amount of art for Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, and Vampire: The Masquerade RPGs, among others. He also contributed significantly to establishing the visual style of D2O Modern.
In 2003 Kalman co-created and illustrated the comic book series iCandy for DC. From there he has gone on to freelance extensively for Marvel, DC, Image Comics, Top Cow and BOOM! Studios. He's produced art and covers for such titles as Spider-man, Action Comics, The Punisher, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Dazzler, NYX, X-23, Tomb of Dracula, Checkmate, and Gi Joe. He's currently the regular cover artist on X-Treme X-Men for Marvel. www.iamkalman.com.

The 24^th annual Motor City Comic Con is May 17-19, 2013 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, MI. A complete list of guests, plus exhibitor, sponsor and ticket information is available at

www.motorcitycomiccon.com

Why I won't eat at Applebee's

   No, I'm not boycotting them because they fired someone, it's the company's right to hire and fire as they see fit. I won't be eating there again because of a poor night out a few weeks ago.

   I took my mother to the local Applebee's in Toledo for her birthday on Jan. 4. Mom had never been to an Applebee's before, and I hadn't been in there in a while myself. The place was relatively busy, but not too overcrowded. We were seated within 5 minutes of getting there.

   They took forever to take our order though, and more than 45 minutes after we ordered to deliver our food. Both of us had ordered a rare steak. I mean come on how long does it take to "not" cook a steak?

   All the while, the waitress didn't come back to our table, neither of us was offered a drink refill. When we finally did get our food, it took another five minutes before we could start eating, as they hadn't given us any silverware. Apparently they were out.

   The steak was ok, but we had both told the waitress that we didn't want the mixed vegetables, yes this is getting a bit nitpicky, but they were provided anyway, complete with the juice that puddled on the plate, and sloshed onto the steak, making a few bites taste like broccoli. Normally not something I'd complain about but with all of the other things, it bears mentioning.

   On the "bright" side they did provide a free milkshake for mom with it being her birthday. The problem with that being that she told them she didn't want it, and is diabetic.

Overall we spent about $40 on a meal that turned out to be average at best, and an experience that was terrible. That's why I'll not return to any Applebee's Restaurant, not because they fired a waitress for violating a company policy, no matter how stupid that policy is.

'Star Trek' director Abrams to helm Star Wars VII

A not so long time ago, in a theater in a nearby city …

It was a period of great joy for fans of “The Force.” Specifically it was the summer of 1997, the 20 year anniversary of the original launch of the “Star Wars” franchise, all three films that had been made to date were getting re-released theatrically, I was in the summer between sixth- and seventh-grade with not a lot going on other than junior high school football practices.

I had yet to be introduced to Star Wars, I wasn't yet the nerd I would become. That summer changed my life.

I got to see each of “A New Hope,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “Return of the Jedi” for the first time, in a movie theater in Toledo.

I went from being a casual fan of cartoons to being a huge science fiction fan, regardless of the format. My love affair with Star Wars, and by proxy George Lucas films was kicked into full force.

Fast forward two years, I'm a freshman in high school, “The Phantom Menace” is released for the first time. At the time I didn't hate it, and I still don't entirely – please don't hate on me my fellow forcelovers. I was young and naïve.

I tell you the back story of my love for that galaxy far, far away so I can talk about recent events in said galaxy. I've seen nearly everything Star Wars related in the more than 15 years since then, from the animated Ewoks and Droids cartoons to the boot-leg copy of the never released holiday special.

A few months ago, George Lucas decided to officially retire and he sold his company, along with the rights to the franchise – to the evil empire known as The Walt Disney Company – I was shocked, it took me days to form an opinion on what it meant.

Finally I decided that if he were truly done, that at least someone would get to continue on with the characters, locations and other iconic imagery from the universe as a whole. Plus since Disney had already bought Marvel Comics and their relate characters, maybe there would be some cool crossover toy lines, video games or other items.

Of course in the days, weeks and now months since the sale, and Disney's near immediate announcement that they were moving forward with a seventh live-action film. That spawned millions of rumors of what the plot would be, who would be in the movie, and more importantly who would be the director.

That question was answered recently when it was announced that JJ Abrams, a self-admitted fan, would helm the picture.

Generally I'd be ecstatic, I've long been a fan of Abrams, and haven't disliked any of his projects that I've seen. However there is one major flaw with this. Abrams wrote and directed the Star Trek reboot in 2009, as well as it's sequel “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” which is out this year.

It's one thing for a bit-part actor to play in both universes, but its blasphemy to have one man direct a movie for both franchises.

I'm at once both outraged, and excited. We as fans (admittedly I'm also a Trekker, but Shh...) can't allow this to happen, yet I wonder what he'll do, and how it'll be done.

So once again I'm in a quandry about what to think about the future of the franchise. More importantly if he's working on the next Star Wars film, he can't be working on the third installment of the Star Trek rebooted series, which is my biggest problem with the whole situation.

Weekly comic book report 1/23/13

Big Ben's Comix Oasis owner John "Ben" Davis and manager
Gary Banac work on sorting another large buy of vintage comics.
Photo: Dave Herndon.

Motorboating, watch where you're going

DC comics inspired Kia’s on display at North American International Auto Show

The Green Lantern inspired Kia Soul is on display
 at the North American International Auto Show. 
The car will eventually be auctioned off for the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign. 
Photos by Dave Chapman

DC Comics and Kia Motors teamed up to help stamp out hunger via the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign, which is working to end hunger in Africa.

The companies paired up to create eight, one-of-a-kind vehicles to help get the charity’s message out. The vehicles, each a different model from Kia, sport characters from “The Justice League” comic books. Two of those cars are on display this week at the North America International Auto Show in Detroit.

The cars will eventually be auctioned off, with the money going to support the charity.

Each vehicle contains the custom artwork of legendary comic artist Jim Lee, who also is the co-publisher of DC Comics.

“It was a thrill to see custom cars based upon my Justice League artwork and sketches,” Lee said in a statement. “I have to tip my hat to the teams at West Coast Customs, ‘Rides’ and ‘Super Street’ on their innovative work creating cars that represent iconic characters like Green Lantern, Cyborg, Aquaman and The Flash — all to benefit a great cause.”

The cars that are on display in Detroit include a Green Lantern inspired Soul and a Batman inspired Optima.

A custom made Batman themed Kia Optima is among the cars
 on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The car, along with seven others will be auctioned off
 for charity before the end of the year. 

The Soul sports a dapper green and black two-tone exterior paint scheme complete with green mirror-chrome tint on the windows. Super Street’s build team lowered the Soul to improve its stance and applied widened wheel wells with one-off 18 x 10.5-inch deep-dish wheels. Traditionally a four-door vehicle, the Soul’s back doors have been welded shut to streamline its appearance. Blacked out headlights feature projector beams that glow green. Customized Green Lantern-logo fog lights in the widened front fascia and green LED lighting further enhance the overall appearance.

A custom rear cargo compartment houses the Green Lantern power battery, with his signature lantern logo etched into a clear panel displaying the superhero’s oath lit by LEDs. The rear deck also holds a video monitor to display the “We Can Be Heroes” promotional video. Up front, the Soul’s steering wheel and front seats were reupholstered with green and black leather and include the Green Lantern logo stitched into the seat backs. Other interior touches include various dash pieces painted in the green and black scheme.

The Optima sports a matte- and piano-black paint scheme, a dramatically lowered coilover suspension and muscular ground effects kit, huge Ksport performance brakes for extreme stopping power, custom-designed 20-inch black wheels with one-of-a-kind Batman-logo center caps and a performance exhaust system. Other exterior modifications include a custom front grille shaped like a batwing that took more than 40 hours to create, yellow LED lighting accents throughout the vehicle and the iconic bat signal etched into the SXL’s HID headlights.
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Moving beneath the cape, the Optima’s seating surfaces are covered in custom black leather and suede with bold yellow accent stitching. Gotham City’s streets — the place that Batman calls home — are full of villains, and this Optima is ready for action at a moment’s notice with crime-fighting elements like utility throwing stars installed in the center console.

The other cars in the fleet include a Cyborg inspired Forte, an Aquaman inspired Rio, and a Flash inspired Forte Coupe.

There are three cars in the fleet yet to be unveiled. They are set to feature Superman, Wonder Woman and a special vehicle with all seven members of the team.

“We are proud to be raising awareness for the ‘We Can Be Heroes’ campaign and look forward to unveiling three more crime-fighting Kias at future auto shows,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president of marketing for Kia.


We Can Be Heroes supports the efforts of three humanitarian aid organizations working in Africa — Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps — as part of the global effort to fight the current hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. The region is suffering its worst drought and famine in more than 60 years, with 13 million in need of critical assistance.

For more information on “We Can Be Heroes,” visit WeCanBeHeroes.org.