We’re still in the middle of a bad economy and not even superheros are safe from the affects. Peter Parker’s latest story line has him getting fired. Starting in Amazing Spider-Man #623, on sale March 3rd, Peter loses his job at the Mayor’s office. Peter tries to protect J. Jonah Jameson and the city and in the meantime loses his career as a photographer. There’s always weddings Petey. I’ve learned people make quite a bit doing that.

This storyline will follow Peter to see if he can handle being a Super Hero when he can’t pay his bills.

“Peter Parker’s been through some rough times lately, with all of his deadliest foes returning, and he couldn’t lose his job at a worse time” said Senior Editor Steve Wacker. “He’s going to struggle with unemployment and trying to save the city while he can barely afford to keep a roof over his head.”

The next issue in this storyline will be available on March 10.

What made you get into drawing and comics?
My interest in comic-style art and storytelling began so long ago I’m not sure I can pinpoint a single event or incident that made me go “Yeah, that’s what I want!”. I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil and I was always known as the girl who likes to draw. I do have some very distant memories of drawing super heroes though, possibly caused by watching a lot of ‘SuperFriends’ at the time.

When I was in 5th grade I remember I made a comic strip about some of the kids I knew in school that started out as sort of a kid’s adventure strip. Then as I started reading actual super hero comics, particularly X-Men, it morphed into a weird space opera with humans and mutants leaving earth to found their own colony. This persisted through most of my teen years but ultimately didn’t go anywhere. But I’ve been drawing my whole life and my style seems tailored for comics at this point.

Who are some of your influences?
I think my biggest influence right out of the gate was Jim Lee, the guy who really set the stylistic tone for the 90s, for better or for worse. I’ve also borrowed shamelessly from Los Bros Hernandez, George Perez, Joe Quesada (back when he was still just a penciler), Barry Windsor-Smith and probably too many to list all at once. Really, I could go on forever because as someone who works visually I pick up something from every artist I observe and try to apply it to what I’m already doing. For instance, a lot of my manga style work is inspired by Naoko Takeuchi, Yuu Watase and Ai Yazawa.

What is your favorite art medium to work with?
Definitely pencil and ink, since it’s the one I use the most. I’ve also done a few acrylic paintings here and there over the years and I’m always looking to get back to it. Prismacolor markers are also amazing fun to work with.

Tell us a bit about your web comics “Wish me Luck” and “Panic Attack”. Where did you get the ideas and are either based on your life or someone else?
“Wish me Luck” can currently be found in ‘Inbound’ #3 from the Boston Comics Roundtable (www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com). When I found out that #3 was going to be the love issue, this story came at right at me. It took some time to chisel it to its current form, but from the get go it was a story about a guy lusting after a girl who he hadn’t really seen in that light before. He sees her dancing and it’s as though he’s seeing her for the first time. I chose belly dancing because I’ve always loved that form of dance and I’d taken a few classes here and there so I had a good handle on what some of the visuals would be. Plus I just plain love drawing beautiful women and I knew I could get away with that in a loved-themed comic.

“Panic Attack” was a one off idea that I needed to get onto paper as a way to deal with actually experiencing an attack. For me personally, I get this sort of lump in my throat. So I thought what if it’s some kind of alien body or foreign object that I could remove somehow and stop the attacks? But rather than put myself in the story, I made up an average guy who himself was inspired by some short stories a friend of mine wrote. It’s pretty a grisly scene which is exactly the way I wanted it. The scripts for both stories were written by my boyfriend Joey Peters, who has a wonderful knack for coming up with just the right words for the scenes I draw.

What is the process you go through to create a web comic?
At this point, the process is I draw the comic and then Joey puts it online J! Usually when I do a story I don’t give too much thought to where it will end up. That is unless I’m doing a story for a specific publication like ‘Inbound’ then I certainly want to make sure the content is on the up and up. With web comics it’s pretty much an “anything goes” format. In fact, the next web comic Joey and I are doing is going to have some adult content in it.

Why web comics?
Because it’s cheaper than publishing! Honestly I think that’s the number one reason why there’s been a flood of web comics within the last several years. Paper publishing takes a lot of time, effort and money. But anyone with a computer and the right software can, for ill or for good, make a comic. Talent and skill aren’t necessarily a requirement either!

Do you think its possible web comics could take over print comics one day?
I not only believe it to be possible, I believe it’s inevitable. We’re already seeing the death of the newspaper because more and more people are going straight to the web for news. And now with things like Kindle and the iPad, it’s really just a matter of time. I should also mention that those devices are still wicked expensive and I think people would still rather pay for stacks of paper than shell out this months rent for a fancy toy!

You mention on your website you’re available for commission. How would one get in touch with you if interested?
My email address is listed on the site and I can also be found on Facebook.

Any upcoming projects?
I am never at a loss for ideas for projects, but I never seem to have the time to execute them! Actually I am going to be making time for a story Joey wrote called ‘American Dream Girls’ and I’m not really sure how to describe it. It’s definitely a pop-culture parody that takes place here in Boston that’s going to have some pretty racy scenes between the titular characters. I’ve just now started to work on the layouts and I’m hoping to have at 3 or four pages up by the beginning of March.

Do you find it harder to get respected or taken seriously has a female comic artist? How do you feel about the lack of female comic book artists and writers in general?
Since I’m not someone who is currently working in mainstream comics I haven’t really encountered any gender based problems. Although there was one well known industry pro who talked down to me because of either my age or gender, but it was a one off thing and he was definitely the exception and not the rule. Right now I’m not really feeling the lack, per se of women working in comics since there are more and more of us on the mainstream scene every day. Alison Bechdel, the writer/artist behind ‘Dykes to Watch Out For’ had her autobio ‘Fun Home’ recognised by Time as the 2007 Book of the Year. Colleen Coover is doing tons of back up stories for Marvel and Amanda Conner is on Wizard’s Top Ten Artists list. This is the best possible time for women to be getting work as artists and writers because there’s more of a push to recognise talent before gender, which is precisely how things should be. Not to mention that the Boston Comics Roundtable has a wonderful mix of diversity that includes many talented ladies from all walks of life. Things aren’t perfect, but they are definitely better than they’ve been in years. It’s a good time to be in comics.

The book Marvels is perfect for people who are sort of interested in super hero comics, but do not know a lot of the history.

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Alex Ross

The story in Marvels follows Phil Sheldon, a news reporter fascinated with the cities superheroes or “Marvels” as he calls them.

Marvels gives the reader the perspective of normal people and what it’s like living in a town full of extraordinary people. The Marvels are misunderstood, feared, but also loved and cherished. As the story moved forward, so does Phil’s views on the marvels. At the beginning he too is skeptical of them, almost afraid. As years past he begins to see that the heroes just want to save human kind, and instead of getting thanks they are met with fear.

One thing I thought was interesting was how the X-men were portrayed. While other marvels were misunderstood they did also sometimes get the gratitude of the public. But, the X-men were hated and feared most of all. People felt unsafe and did not want mutants around their town. I find it interesting that the mutants were hated so much. What makes them so different than say the Human Torch or Sub Mariner? Do they all not have some power that is not human? The answer came to me at one of my graphic novel book club meetings. It’s about the origin story. Heroes like Spider-Man, The Hulk or the Fantastic Four are all some type of science gone wrong. X-men are born with their powers, meaning two normal parents could give birth to a mutant baby and that was seemingly too much to handle.

As the story goes on, Phil becomes detached from his family. This shows how big news reporting was back in that time. However, Phil realizes the importance of his family when his daughters bring home a little mutant girl. At one point Phil tells his fiancé that their wedding will have to have to wait. He feels like he cannot protect his family. I think this was him afraid and running from the future.

The book does a good job of highlighting all the major marvel heroes and events and can be understood even if a person as never picked up a comic book. I myself am not a big cape comic fan, but I found this very enjoyable. Perhaps because I see it as somewhere in-between cape and non-cape.

The thing about this book that caught my eye the most was the art. Alex Ross is one of comic’s best known and highly acclaimed artists. His use of water color and photorealism are one of a kind. Alex Ross uses real people as focal points and creates his art by posing people how the hero or person would look in the comic. He captures emotion and detail very well and puts a lot of heart and soul into his time consuming art.

The only down fall of this story is how it ends; I feel like it ends too abruptly. In the story Phil decides to publish a book of photos of the Marvels. As the story winds down he talks about losing his optical eye, but in some ways I don’t think he ever had it. Phil mentions in the book wanting to write a novel and write about how humankind should see the Marvels. As a reader I was excited about seeing him do this, but it just sort of tapers off and is merely something said in passing.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. Alex Ross is my favorite comic book artist and his work in this is truly breathtaking.

“The addition of Taylor Lautner and the 3D twist to Stretch Armstrong…is sure to pay dividends when the film is released in 2012,” said Brian Goldner, President and CEO of Hasbro, Inc.

After initially being planned for 2011, Stretch Armstrong is moving to 2012 to allot time to shape the project into a 3-D superhero adventure and to accommodate Lautner’s existing commitments.

“In the past two years, Taylor has emerged as a real star at the global box office. He brings the perfect balance of energy and athleticism to the role of an unlikely super hero with a fantastic super power,” said Langley. “We couldn’t be more pleased that he has agreed to be our Stretch.”

Stretch Armstrong is based on the action figure made popular around the world beginning in the 1970s and re-launched in the 1990s. We hope that Stretch doesn’t suddenly turn into a werewolf. Just sayin’.

Title:

Most superheros have a secret origin: a terrible injustice that was done to them by an evil doer; a super power they gain from a mutation, caused by an experiment gone wrong, or a freak accident; or a dire need for helping people. Dave Lizewski didn’t have any special secret origin, he was just bored.

“I always wondered why nobody did it before me…”

Inspired by his love of comic books super heroes, as well as the lack of real-life ones, in the first issue of the comic this self-proclaimed class nobody embarks on a mission to become a super hero. Deciding that you don’t need special powers to be a super hero – just a wetsuit and mask off EBay – the crime fighting begins with our yet to be named hero prowling roof tops and wearing his costume under his school clothes. At first this is enough to satisfy Dave, until he eventually blunders into an encounter with graffiti-ing thugs who stab and beat him, as well as a run in with the front end of a Mercedes, leaving him hospitalised and fighting for life.

Overcoming intensive rehabilitation and multiple surgeries under the guise of mugging related injuries – but unable to go back to a “normal” life – Dave resumes his crime fighting escapades in the second issue. He begins prowling the streets once again, this time becoming involved in an incident that gets recorded via mobile phone and posted to YouTube. Dave, not a popular kid at school and purely a geek at heart, thoroughly enjoys the overnight sensation that his now named alter ego – Kick-Ass – generates. He creates a MySpace account under the name Kick-Ass to talk to the people, and get requests for help. And so the tale of our less than average hero Kick-Ass begins. (There is a MySpace page set up for Kick-Ass, with the “actual” footage of him saving the guys life. www.myspace.com/kickass_comic)

Mark Millar introduces two new super heroes in the third issue, father and daughter duo Big Daddy and Hit Girl – who are the opposite of Kick-Ass. These two characters impart a no holds barred, take no prisoners stance – they are willing to kill for what they believe in. At this point, if not blindingly obvious earlier, it becomes clear that this is not a typical super hero story. The evil doer doesn’t get caught by the hero and left for the cops to deal with. Hit Girl and Big Daddy serve up their own brand of justice, and they serve it up steaming hot. Mark Millar occasionally drops comments into the narration that give reference to his political views, which adds substance to the vigilante feel of the Hit-Girl and Big Daddy characters.

Issue five introduces the fourth and final super hero character – Red Mist. This character presents a rival for Kick-Ass; he sparks intense feelings of outrage and jealousy in Dave. Red Mist is seemly one of many in a copy cat subculture spawned by Kick-Ass’ popularity in the media. It soon becomes apparent that Red Mist is exactly like Kick-Ass – he has no powers or training – so his addition adds a curious interest to the story, leaving the reader wanting to know where the author will go with it.

Kick-Ass is an original, 8 part mini-series that delivers a fresh perspective on the super hero genre, with a modern-day real-world edge. Not only does it deal with a super hero with no powers, it imparts a sense of cynicism about the hero stereotype. There are many cringe-inducing moments in the story, but there are also many moments leaving the reader thirsty for more. The use of profane language in the comic is not for the faint hearted, but it adds a reckless quality to the characters that is almost endearing. Dave is an easily likeable character; even though most of the time he thinks he’s a total bad-ass, at the end of the day he knows he’s just a comic book geek out for cheap thrills.

The movie Kick-Ass, starring Nicolas Cage, and new comers Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse is released in Australia early next year. It looks to be as action packed as the comic, but it is doubtable that it will convey the same amount of blood and guts or profanities as John Romita Jnr and Mark Millar depict on paper. Initial reviews about the movie are that if you like the comic book, then you’ll love the movie. Hopefully it doesn’t turn out be another of those movies where all the good bits are in the trailer.

The Super Hero Squad Show has been doing so well on Cartoon Network that it is now putting the show on during primetime. Starting on November 7th, The Super Hero Squad Show will be at 7:30pm.

“Check out your favorite Marvel Heroes — including Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Thor, Silver Surfer and Falcon — as they fight to save Super Hero City from Dr. Doom’s team of villains… and have a few laughs along the way! Can’t get enough of this action-packed comedy series? Fear not, The Super Hero Squad Show will continue to air weekdays Monday through Friday at 8:30AM.”

This way you can catch it at night or in the morning.

To me there are elements in the book that coincide with the real world. Everyone sees superheroes as good, fighting for what is right and never doing anything unjust and wrong. In book one we see these publicly glorified supes as anything but purely good. In one scene a new recruit, “Starlight”, joins the Big Seven an elite superhero team. She soon finds out she needs to perform sexual acts to join the team. This is just one of the things that takes away from the nice-as-pie image of superheroes. I believe this coincides with the real world because most people would assume a rape/murder was done by some evil homicidal maniac and not your next door neighbor who had a 4.0 and was head of the chess team. We can never judge a book by it’s cover, we can’t assume just because someone has super powers and they aren’t a villain that they are really 100% good, just like in real life.

I really enjoyed the art in this book. The glossiness on the pages was eye pleasing. My favorite characters are “The Frenchman” and “The Female”. Though I may like “The Frenchman” a bit more.  Overall I really enjoyed this book a lot and look forward to reading the other books in the series.

Defendor

Defendor is almost the anti-superhero movie. It’s a superhero film where the superhero has no powers. He’s just a kind and determined guy trying to make things right. Defendor is played by Woody Harrelson. Also in the film are Kat Dennings (as a prostitute) and Sandra Oh (as his therapist).

On IMDB, the film is still listed as in Production, so no release date yet. Here’s a blurb about the trailer:

“When night falls and danger emerges from the shadows of Hammer Town’s alleyways, Defendor is the only man who stands between us and the drug-ravaged streets. He is the last bastion of decency, the last honourable man: he is Defendor! But he is also Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson), a simple man who lives in the workshop of the construction company that employs him to hold traffic signs. Arthur is a self-made superhero who runs afoul of the law when he lays a beating on an undercover cop, Chuck Dooney (Elias Koteas), who was abusing a young prostitute named Kat (Kat Dennings). Always the hero, Arthur takes Kat to his secret hideout hoping she can help him find his arch-nemesis, the diabolical Captain Industry. Mistakenly convinced that Captain Industry killed his mother, Arthur has made it his mission to track down this enemy at all costs. But in order to do so, he must first overcome his most difficult challenge ever: convincing the court-appointed psychiatrist Dr. Park (Sandra Oh) that he’s sane enough to be on the streets.”

Macys Spider-Man Balloon

Marvel’s Spider-Man is back, soaring over the streets of Manhattan in the 83rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Spider-Man was originally in the parade in 1987 which fans loved. But the balloon was retired in 1998. The new Spider-Man balloon his huge but also has a more modern look. Spider-Man will be part of the Macy’s Parade until 2011.

“Spider-Man’s return to the Macy’s Balloon line-up this year is an event of seismic magnitude,” says Robin Hall, executive producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “Marvel’s iconic character, which flew for over a decade in the ‘80s and ‘90s was one of the most memorable balloons in Macy’s long Parade history.” Hall continued, “When is Spider-man coming back? is a question that has been shouted from the sidelines each and every year we inflate our helium giants on Thanksgiving eve. This new, updated balloon, featuring a modern, more defined Spider-Man, will fill a huge void for Parade devotees and will undoubtedly seize the imaginations of a whole new generation of fans.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring Spider-Man back to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a landmark event that millions anticipate each year. The enduring popularity of New York’s own friendly neighborhood Super Hero has only grown since the last time he appeared in the Parade and we are certain the new Spider-Man balloon will delight both long-time fans and new audiences alike,” said Simon Philips President, Worldwide Consumer Products for Marvel Entertainment.

It will be great to see how the new balloon turns that famous corner in the parade. This year’s parade is Thursday, November 26, 2009 from 9am – 12pm.

Megan Fox is definitely one of the most wanted women in Hollywood right now, but does she think she’s better than Wonder Woman? In an interview with the Times Online she was asked about the rumors that she may play Wonder Woman in an upcoming film. Here was her reaction:

“Wonder Woman is a lame superhero. She flies around in her invisible jet and her weaponry is a lasso that makes you tell the truth. I just don’t get it. Somebody has a big challenge on their hands whoever takes that role but I don’t want to do it.”

Fox may be in a summer blockbuster (Transformers) and may be a pretty lady, but she’s not gaining any points by critiquing the world’s most popular superheroine. Wonder Woman is a strong, smart, and beautiful superhero which probably intimidates the actress that prefers roles that involve, running, screaming and looking pretty. Perhaps Fox should just stick to what she’s good at.

[picture from Comics Alliance]