Ghost Rider Contest

We're doing a contest for the new Ghost Rider movie. All you have to do is send us your best drawing of the fiery-headed one and you can win:

• VIP seats for 2 at a special sneak preview screening.
• a hardcover copy of Garth Ennis' Ghost Rider: The Road to Damnation.
• an awesome Ghost Rider shirt.
• an awesome Johnny Blaze hat.
• a wicked bad awesome Ghost Rider wallet.
• and a totally decent Marvel Scene-it DVD game.

The first 20 submissions turned in will automatically get a pass to the sneak peak!

The staff will all have a say in who wins, but the final decision falls on our resident Ghost Rider expert, Jon. So if you don't have any talent, don't worry about it. Jon doesn't know anything about art. But what he does know is the tortured soul of a motorcycle man with a broken heart, so if you can capture that, you'll be sittin pretty (and very importantly) at the movie premiere on the 15th.

The deadline is Feb 10th.
Winner will be announced on the 13th.

You can drop off your drawings at the store or e-mail them to me at Nick@starclipper.com with your name and phone number. But if you e-mail them, you will be required to bring in the original in order to claim your prize.

That's it. good luck.

-nick

War No More

Civil War is almost over and you find yourself asking, what now?

Marvel isn't quite finished with CW just yet. I'm sure you remember that after they finished House Of M they had Decimation. Well after CW comes The Initiative. Marvel is being typically tight lipped about just what this is as its all tied up in the finish to CW. So tight lipped in fact that some of their recent solicitations have not even had any descriptions, just the title. As both a retailer and a customer I kind of like to know what I am ordering before I order it.

Maybe I don't want the new Fantastic Four comic if I don't even know who the FF are even going to be. This goes into the larger problem of the what's CW related and what's not. So to help you guys out, I have created a little list of all the titles Marvel says are effected by CW. If you want to make sure you don't miss out on any of the story just print one of these out, fill it in, and drop it off at the store. Or just drop by the store and fill one out here, which ever is best for you!

-Dan

Premature Death for the Boys

It's been announced that DC is pulling the plug on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's fantastic new series, The Boys. Issue six, which was released at the end of last month, will be the last issue. The trade paperback will not even be released.

This is a huge blow to fans of the series, myself included. The fact that there will be no trade collection adds insult to injury, as not everyone buys monthly comics. Presumably, the series was cancelled because of questionable content, but it was being published under the Wildstorm imprint which along with Vertigo are usually considered strictly for grown-ups.

The Boys #6 was also the third best-selling Wildstorm title in December, according to Newsarama's article on the announcement. There didn't seem to be enough objection to the content to warrant this move, considering the sales.

Hopefully, Ennis and Robertson will be able to find someone else to pick the series up. Otherwise, there are going to be a lot of unhappy fans out there.

-Elizabeth

Death Note Movie

I got a chance to see the movie adaptation of Death Note recently. I watched it reluctantly, because I'm pretty wrapped up in the books and they still have 3 more to go (in america) before the conclusion. Plus, I figured it'd have to be pretty chopped up to fit 12 volumes worth of story into a single movie. But I'm a weak man and couldn't resist the temptation.

As the movie started, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. It was staying pretty faithful to the book, and it seemed to be made on a decent budget. The real test was Ryuk, the "shinigami" death god that looks like the love child of Sid Vicious and a pug. The CG version isn't exactly seamless but pretty awesome, nonetheless. Its just that the animation is a bit clunky and closer to video game quality. I think it could have been helped by a little bit of motion capturing, but the character model is so cool looking that I didn't really care.

About 40 minutes into I started wondering when they were going to pick up the pace. They'd barely started. Where's Misa? or L for that matter? There was no chance that Near and Mello were going to fit in at this point (well...that's okay) When the movie concluded with Light meeting L for the first time, I was totally lost. It felt far more like a TV pilot than a movie. With a little bit of research on this thing I call the internet, I found out that they already put out the sequel in Japan in November. It apparently concludes the story, but I'm a little surprised that they did that at the speed they were going.

I guess I could have put a spoiler warning in here. "**SPOILER** There is a nemesis and he meets the main character! The real spoiler is the movie itself. Just read the comics like we've been telling you damn it.

I give the movie 4 Star Clippies...out of...8.

-Nick

Children of Men - Counterpoint

SPOILER ALERT

I saw the much-buzzed-about Children of Men a few days ago and I gotta say, I don't know what all the fuss is about. To be honest, I downright disliked the film. I thought it was overwrought, melodramatic, and cliched. The dialogue was bad, the cinematography was pretty but unoriginal, and the characters were unimaginative and poorly developed.

Clive Owen broods his way through the story as our hero Theo. Though this character is the protagonist, we're never really given a reason to care about him. I guess he's the "every-man" with his unfufilling job and dreams of unrequited love, but that's not enough. Kee, the only pregnant woman on Earth is never given a chance to be anything more than a tool for the salvation of civilization (oh my gosh-- a KEY! Brilliant and subtle at the same time!). The only interesting character that shows a hint of a third dimension is Michael Caine's Jasper. Unfortunately, he dies halfway through the film.

In fact, most of the characters die. Violently. I had a big problem with the violence in this film, but perhaps I'm overly sensitive. After all, it's not real. But the way in which the violence happens really speaks to things that happen in the world today, and I personally don't find that entertaining. The last half hour or so was so full of explosions and gun shots, I lost track of the plot. If you are at all sensitive to this kind of thing, please skip Children of Men.

The one thing I can really say in defense of the film is this: it's bold. Science fiction stories are not often told so close to the future (in the movie the last baby on earth was born two years from now). It's hard to imagine a film standing the test of time when it portrays a future only a generation away. But at the same time, it's that much more frightening to today's viewers. And we still read Orwell's 1984 in 2007, so who's to say.

I know I'm in the minority, so don't take my word for this, see it if you think you may like it. But be prepared for some melodrama, and a LOT of graphic violence.

-Elizabeth

Go To the Movies!

It's not often that I talk about stuff going on outside of the store, other then Battlestar, but this was the best movie I've seen in a while. Now you all know my love of all things post-apocalypse, but boy do I love myself some dystopian futures as well. Actually, according to my web sources, this would be a anti-utopia, not a dystopia. A dystopia does not pretend to be good, while an anti-utopia has been perverted.

Any-who, if you look at the poster I have so kindly acquired for you, you pretty much get the drift of the story. No kids, anywhere. No possibility for kids. The entire world has gone to war with each other, and many cities, even whole countries, have been wiped off the face of the map. Except for Britain of course. Britain will always march on, didn't you know? After sealing their borders, Britain has become acutely aware of it's resources and their problems. As one of the only countries with a still functioning government, they have become a refuge for people from all over the globe. This in turn spurns a very large, government backed anti-refugee movement. In the opening minutes of the world you see the great juxtaposition of native Britons crying over Diego, the youngest human on the planet being knifed outside of a club half a world away, while walking by cages of illegal immigrants outside of the train stops. Just fantastic writing here!

The camera work is all hand held, which is not usually my kind of thing, but in this movie it really works well. It does give you the feeling of being there much more then in most cases where its used. The acting is also superb, Clive Owen is brilliant, as is Michael Caine(my favorite acting of the whole cast), but its the supporting characters who make this movie. So many that you only see for a couple of minutes, but they just sell their roles so completely. Well, thats about all I have to say, more then I was planning to anyway. But run out and see it as quick as you can!

PS. Don't bother staying, there's nothing at the end of the credits, I checked. How un-British of them.

-Dan

Anime Fans - Get Your Game On!

Lots of big happenings here at Star Clipper this week! After a brief hiatus we are bringing back our anime wallscroll section! Not seen since the Japanese festival, we've got some real treats for you. Death Note, Inu Yasha, Kenshin, Naruto and FLCL are just some of the exciting new room decorations we're carrying.

New Gloomy Bears also popped up this week. New and improved versions of the originals came in, but also some really cool medium sized versions in a stocking cap. Both sizes also got some color, so now in addition to the original pink there's black, grey, and, well I guess its kind of an off-white, maybe a light tan. I'm not really sure. What I am sure of is the material used on them, making them softer then ever!

Last but not least are the playing cards! Not collectible cards, well I guess they could be, but honest to god playing cards with all your favorite anime and manga characters! Now you can play poker with Batou from S.A.C., gin rummy with Inu Yasha and Kagome, or beat Naruto in solitare. These cards are pretty cool, and they're pretty cheap as well at only 5.99 for a set. But if you want the Fullmetal cards you'd better hurry before I can buy them!

-Dan

Stan Krantz RIP

Film Producer Stan Krantz, the man responsible for adapting Robert Crumb's Fritz the Cat into an animated film with director Ralph Bakshi, passed away on January 4 in Los Angeles. He was 83.

Fritz the Cat, made in 1972, was the first feature-length animated film to recieve an X-rating in America. It is also responsible for skyrocketing the underground comic character Fritz the Cat into massive public popularity, much to the dismay of R. Crumb. In Fact, the controversy surrounding the film lead Crumb to kill off the frenzied feline, and the
beloved character has never appeared in his comics again.

Crumb has often criticized Krantz, claiming he never signed a contract to allow his character to be adapted for a film. In the issues leading up to Fritz's death, Crumb even depicts Krantz as a anthropomorphic hog with sunglasses. Just so you know, you can read the whole saga of Fritz's death in The Complete Crumb: Vol 8, which we carry reguarly at Star Clipper.

Regradless of Crumb's disapproval, Krantz was responsible for helping bring attention to American underground comics, and we can all thank him for that!

Krantz will also be remebered for developing many television shows for Columbia pictures, including adapting Hank Ketcham's Dennis the Menace into its own sitcom.

So rest in peace Stan Krantz and good luck to all the blog readers trying to find the Fritz the Cat movie now that you're all curious about it. Its ironically quite impossible to find.

-Jon

The Rhino - An Intimate Self Portrait

While I was in school, I had the pleasure of taking an "Underground Comics" class taught by James Sturm. One day, he brought in some mini-comics he'd put together with some students in another class. I dug it up the other day and thought I'd share.

"The Rhino: An Intimate Self-Portrait". enjoy

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Sturm's books The Golem's Mighty Swing, Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules, and Above and Below are all available at the store and they're all awesome.

-Nick

Death Note Anime from Viz

Viz Media, the publishers of the Death Note manga for North America will soon offer the Death Note anime series available for download to rent or own. The company has made a deal with Nippon Television Network to provide episodes of the anime shortly after they're aired on Japanese tv.

No information has yet been released about the prices of downloads, but the plan will probably be very successful. There has never been a deal like this, where American audiences can legally download episodes so soon after their original airing.

Death Note is one of the best-selling manga in Japan, and is becoming super-hot in America (especially here at Star Clipper). The deal will probably have a wide appeal to fans of the series, many of whom are "tech savvy" as Viz's press release points out.

Depending on the success of this arrangement, audiences can probably expect to see more web-based agreements between American distributors and Japanese companies in the future. Maybe soon it will be standard for popular anime series to be readily available to domestic audiences.

-Elizabeth

I Was So Wrong!

I admit it. I was wrong. Horribly wrong as it turns out. Supernova is not Jack Knight, nor Danny Blaine, he has little to no Starman connection at all apparently. As it turns out, it's Michael Carter, Booster Gold. Not the new guy we saw earlier in 52, the Silver Age one who died even before that in 52. So, yeah, enjoy hearing it while you can because I rarely admit it.

Dan

Dunny Series 3 Azteca - Now Available!

We've finally taken the wraps off the super sweet Dunny Series 3 Aztecas. This 3-inch mini Dunny series was designed by some of Mexico's most talented artists, including Artemio, Beast Brothers, Carlos Dufour, Ed Sison, El Muerto, Jenkah DSR, Kraken, Mocre DSR, N.A.H.U.A.L., Saner DSR, v.m. 06, Quique Rangel and Hula +Hula.

Each toy in the blind-box series will retaile for $5.99. A unique collaboration of this magnitude comes very rarely, so grab 'em while you still can!

Fullmetal: Anime or Manga? BOTH!

As some of you know, I'm not a big manga fan. Sure, there are a couple of series that I really like, Planetes, Akira, Case Closed, among others. And one of these days I know I'll get around to reading Death Note, if for nothing else but to get Ben to stop bugging me about it. Oddly enough there are plenty of anime's that I'm hooked on.

The biggest being Fullmetal Alchemist. While I've seen all the episodes of the show, I just got to watch the movie, Conquer of Shamballa, a week or two ago. It was fantastic, and really made me want to go back and watch the whole series over again. But since I don't have the series(I'm waiting for the box set), I decided I should take a stab at the manga. I read the first volume the other night after work and it seemed to be the same as the show almost scene for scene.

I also grabbed the new volume, 11, that came out this week to see what point they were up to. Now I had heard that the anime only follows the books for the first year, but after that they take really divergent paths. But there were characters in there I had never even heard of, people from the country of Xin, beyond the great desert in the east. Not only that, but it seems some of the core concepts of the book, such as how homuculi are born. Apparently they really haven't gotten into that too much, but it is not the same way they're born in the anime. So its looking like I'll have to start getting this series too, and if you also enjoyed the anime you might want to pick up the manga as well.

Batman Year 100

The 4 issue Batman Year 100 came and went so quickly last year that some people found that it had sold out of the first issue before they'd even heard about it. If you were one of those poor souls, then don't sweat it. The collected trade comes out tomorrow.

As the title suggests, the story takes place a hundred years after Batman first appeared (2039 I believe). After a long period of absence, the new generation questions whether or not he ever existed, and suddenly he's back. Its Paul Pope's "Dark Knight Returns" and its pretty damn good (though not quite DKR good).

Also check out the slick accompanying statue. Pope joins the ranks of Steve Rude, Jim Lee, and Mike Mignola, having Batman statues (or batues as I have never called them) created in their styles. If you decide to pick up the statue, mention the blog, and we'll take 10 percent off (but you have to act by Friday, January 19!).

-Nick

Banksy - Subverted Artwork (Take that Paris Hilton!)

Notoriety is arguably the greatest achievement for a modern artist, and few artist have made such a notorious name for themselves in the past couple of years than England's Banksy. Known for his grafiti that appeared throughout the walls of London while keeping his identity completely anonymous, Banksy has expanded his street artwork to graphic statements on
animals and guerrilla stencils on reproducitions of classical paintings. His innovative methods have lead to many controversial art exhibits, including one in which he painted a live elephant so it would blend in with the show's wallpaper. In celebration of his notorious work, Star Clipper is now carrying the collection "Banksy: Wall and Piece".

"Wall and Piece" compiles Banksy's work from his early days as a grafiti stenciller through his major exhibits up through 2005. Most interesting is his famous subverted artwork, where he would sneak "vadalized" reproductions of classical paintings into a major art museum and hang them as if they were approved to be on display. My personal favorite is "Show
me the Monet", a reproduction of Monet's "Water Lily Pond" in which Banksy reworks the landscape to look more like a junkyard, with old shopping carts and street cones distorting the serenity of the original image.

Unfortunately, becuase the book stops at 2005 it dosen't collect Banksy's 2006 altercation of Paris Hilton's debut album. Reworded with titles such as "Why am I Famous" and reimagened to make Hilton either appear nude or with her dog tinkerbell's head grafted to her body, Banksy distributed the faux disc, with remixed noise by "it" producer Danger Mouse, to over 40 different UK record stores. The CD was quickly discovered and pulled from the selves but not before a few lucky Hilton fans bought the disturbing Banksy copy. Don't worry though, I wouldn't tell you about something without at least giving you a link to check it out for yourself. So click here to see the Paris Hilton vs. Banksy work, and if you want your own copy your going to have to just browse ebay.


While we can all agree that Hilton had it coming, Banksy is more than just a prank artist and his work is deserving of the awesome collection "Wall and Piece". So pick it up and then go make some art yourself, with the Banksy reminder that its always fun to pick on those megalomaniacal celebrities!

-Jon

Tank Girl Back in Action

Ever wonder what Tank Girl would be like in the new millennium? Creator Alan Martin and artist Ashley Wood will soon be answering that question with a new series to be published by IDW. Wood recently announced the deal on his blog, and he says the series will be starting in May.

This is really a brilliant team for the project; the original writer of the Tank Girl comic strip will make sure to keep a handle on the original feel and idea of Tank Girl, while an artist like Wood can really update the image of the comic, and bring a young new readership.

Gone is the multi-colored hair, torn tank top, and pilot goggles we've all come to know and love; as Alan Martin points out, that character has become dated in a world where "punk chic" is normal to the point of being boring. Instead, Tank Girl is decked out in a brown skirt-suit and heels, with a perfectly coifed blonde bob.

Whether or not this June Clever-fied incarnation can capture the anarchic chaos as the original remains to be seen, but somehow looking sharp seems a lot more dangerous these days than ripped jeans and combat boots.

And yes, her boyfriend is still a kangaroo.

-Elizabeth

Simpsonzu

Canadian artist "Space Coyote" has been having fun on deviantart.com doing fan art with mashed up styles and it looks like its paying off. She's got manga versions of the Simpsons and the Futurama casts, which is pretty cool. But you can't beat Groening styled versions of Totoro and Death Note.

These were posted on the 7th of January. Later that day, Drawn.ca blogged it. And then only 3 days later, she announced that Groening's own Bongo Comics was hiring her to do a manga style Simpsons comic and 20th Century Fox contacted her for some work, possibly for the return of Futurama.

That's an impressive turnaround time, which she thanks 'the internet' for. You can find more of her work at her home page.

-Nick

Star Clipper TV

The first and third Friday nights of the month around here at Star Clipper is Anime night. The St. Louis Anime Appreciation Society comes by and watches different anime movies and shows that their members provide.

Well, this Sunday, much in the same vein, we'll be hosting video parties for Torchwood, the new Doctor Who spin-off series. This is a pretty big deal as there is still no word of whether or not Torchwood will even be shown here in the states, let alone when. The showing starts at 1pm and will run till 4pm, and we'll do three episodes every Sunday till we run out of new ones. Who knows, maybe after we finish showing Torchwood we'll start showing other series, like Firefly or Battlestar. Yeah, that could be pretty cool actually. I'll have to think about that and see if anyone else is interested.

Oh, and a huge thanks to Rob Levy, for not only getting the episodes but bringing the idea to us. Thanks Rob!

Bottomfeeder

Phil Merman looks just like a regular guy. After his divorce and his parent's deaths he never kept up with any of his old friends. His dead end night job scanning photos into a computer is filled with grisly death scenes as often as it with phony corporate handshakes. A slightly run down apartment, empty fridge and sun blocking drapes welcome him home. His ensemble of black contrasts with his pale sallow skin. But Phil doe's have a couple of things going for him. At 54, he only looks 27. Which always get him crap from the club bouncers and bartenders. Not that Phil can drink alcohol, no, in fact Phil can't drink anything but water, and food only makes him sick to his stomach. He does have incredible night vision, and highly heightened sense of smell, but how good can that be, living in the bowels of New York City? Seriously, do you really want to be able to smell the subway better?
But seriously, what's the deal with Phil, right? He had the bad luck to be attacked by a Vampire, and not be killed. Well, not for long leastways. Try that for an embarrassing experience. Scared the crap right out of a couple of cops. For the past 27 years he's been by himself, but one night Phil meets another. Another person, ... thing, like him. And then more, more then could have imagined possible. From the mindless to the mundane, he begins to realize that when you're functionally immortal, you tend to start looking at things, and people, in a very different light.

Recommended for fans of Bite Club, Cassidy from Preacher, and oddly enough, Fight Club.

Fun With Graphic Non-Fiction

I'm sure you've all heard of non-fiction graphic books like The 911 Report and The Life of Pope John Paul II In Comics. If not, they are two examples of an interesting trend in comics; instead of a graphic novel, these are accounts of true events. The comic adaptation of The 911 Report made news all over the country because while the majority of people still view comics as "funny books" and something for little kids, the subject matter was obviously very serious and adult.

Not all of these books are strictly for adults; there is a line of Graphic Biographies about famous African-Americas that are aimed at educating school-aged children. Also, the Edu-Manga books on Beethoven (the composer, not the dog), and Anne Frank are great for future history buffs.

Another great series that has actually been around for a while are the Treasury of Victorian Murder books by Rick Geary. These are definitely not for children. The series details infamous murder cases such as Lizzie Borden, Jack The Ripper, and the assassination of President Garfeild. Geary's art and story-telling is distinctive, and the books are very interesting while still informative.

For a slightly more offbeat, yet still true story, Digital Manga Publishing's Project X series chronicles Japanese business innovations, such as the Cup o' Noodle soup and the introduction of the 7-Eleven convenience store. You may think that such stories wouldn't be interesting, but somehow the writers and artists at Digital Manga Publishing put together a solid, intriguing story.

If you know someone who's really doubtful about comics and who's skepticism has kept them away from great graphic novels, graphic non-fiction may be a great way to get them to see that comics can be serious and worthwhile books, just with art that furthers the story. So the next time your mother-in-law makes fun of you for reading Marvel's Civil War, hand her the 911 Report. She can't make fun of history!

-Elizabeth

Coverage

Do you ever buy a comic just for the cover? Not just because Michael Turner drew a cool Wolverine pose and you were probably gonna buy it anyway. But something that you didn't know, that just struck you? A great cover sums up the story without giving it away and stands out on a wall of comics. "The Filth" trade paperback comes to mind. All you have to do is face it forward on the shelf and customers can't help but pick it up for a closer look. The bright graphic nervous system stemming from the title "The Filth" is curiosity-inspiring genius.

"Planetary" is one of the few series that I must have in issues just because of John Cassidy's clever covers with logos uniquely designed for each issue's concept.

Arthur Suydam might have had the coolest job on the planet this past year, redoing famous Marvel covers and replacing the characters with undead versions for Marvel Zombies

But out of every cover artist working today, James Jean stands at the top of my list (and many others). His covers for Fables have contributed as much to the book as the artists inside. Vertigo has always produced some of the best covers around. Glen Fabry's painted Preacher covers captured the gritty disgusting details of the books perfectly and Dave McKean's Sandman covers are practically legendary.

Many artists like Chris Ware and Brian Wood move back and forth from illustration to graphic design (not to mention writing) and it shows with signature looks that really stand out.

For some interesting analysis of covers, check out the Cover Browser Labs and Chris Butcher's blog about the covers on various incarnations of Bone vol 1. It was posted a month ago so you may have to scroll down a bit.

And Newsarama did an article showing Jock's process for the awesome cover of the new Scalped series, out this week.

-Nick

Night of the Inventory...

Last night was the annual year-end inventory for Star Clipper. It's usually quite a circus. In past years we closed up the store early on Sunday and worked until about dawn on Monday. This year we were much more efficient - finishing by one in the morning...crazy, man.

Of course after the first five hours, people start getting a little punch-drunk (or maybe it's just me). Aaaanyway...we managed to find the time to check out our latest Myspace friend requests (yes, if you didn't already know, Star Clipper has a Myspace space: Starclipper Myspace). And one request came from someone with this great graphic on their site. One of our few rejections, I'm afraid. But we thought this animated .gif was so funny it just had to be shared...



Oh yeah - and what did people like to steal in 2006? Manga, manga, manga.

The Best Comics and Graphic Novels of 2006

Boy oh boy, 2006 is already over and its time to recap the year all VH1 style, because we can never get to much nostalgia now can we? So what happened this year in the world of comics?

Well, over at DC they had a huge universe-size crossover with the Infinite Crisis. The Crisis then leads into 52, a series depicting a missing year in the DC universe. The series has been put out once a week for 52 weeks regardless of how it affects the releases of their other main titles. However, I really have to give it up to DC, they have not missed one week of releasing it on time and showed their merit as the leading comic publisher.

Oppositely, Marvel had a bit of a problem in 2006 with delays, especially affecting their critically acclaimed Civil War series. I actually should say it was more of a huge problem, being that their summer/fall series is still finishing up in the winter of 2007. Regardless of the tedious delays, Civil War has been an intriguing and innovative series that is perhaps the best written series that came out in mainstream comics in the ‘06.

Big name writer Alan Moore released his titillating Lost Girls collection for mature audiences only, and renowned artist Jim Lee returned to his own creation with the re-launch of his Wildcats team, released through WildStorm comics.

Within the world of underground comics, St. Louis native Kevin Huizenga made a name for himself with the adventures of Glenn Ganges in the beautiful new graphic novel Curses. Also, writer Sid Jacobson and artist Ernie Colon dared to retell the events of 9/11 with their graphic novel The 9/11 Report, showing how emotionally compelling graphic literature can be.

The manga series Deathnote illustrated that regardless of the uncountable number of menial Mangas that got released from Japan last year, if you search for the right one, you can find a very impressive series.

Finally, let us not forget about all those great reissues, with highlights like the illustrious Absolute Sandman and Dark Knight to all those cool old Marvel Essential collections.

Plus, Star Clipper had some great events in 2006. Two of my personal favorites were the panel signing that included director Terry Zwigoff of Ghost World fame, and, a few weeks later, meeting up-and-comer Chris Grine as he signed copies of his children’s book Chickenhare.

It would be impossible to recap everything that happened with comics in 2006, but why don't you let us know some of your favorite comic series, books, or Star Clipper events of 2006 and what you are looking forward to in 2007.

Here's hoping for another great year of comics!

-Jon

Comics for Girls: Not So New

So everybody's been talking about DC's upcoming Minx imprint (including Nick and Dan on this blog) and that it will be the first line aimed at teen girls. While I'm sure there will be some great titles from Minx, they will not be the first books aimed at teen girls.

Most obviously are the hundreds of manga titles aimed at that demographic. Love Hina, Tokyo Mew Mew, Peach Girl, Fruits Basket, the list goes on and on. Sure, girls looking for gritty realism may not be into these books, but there's no denying their popularity among teens.

Then there are books like Runaways, Emily the Strange, and Bone. These are very mainstream books that feature strong young female characters that teen girls can identify with. Persepolis is also a great read for more serious teens, as is Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

And very recently, Breaking Up: A Fashion High Graphic Novel was released by the Graphix line. This book seems to be everything the Minx line promises, but Scholastic has beaten DC to the punch. In Breaking Up (written by Aimee Friedman and with art by Christine Norrie), we see four friends at a trendy art high school go through some of the hard times of growing up. The best thing about the book is that it doesn't condescend to its demographic the way some young adult reads do. There is partying and mild language and general teen behavior.

In any case, teen girls don't need to wait for the Minx line to start reading comics. The books I've mentioned here are just a small sampling of the many many graphic novels perfect for girls!

-Elizabeth

Who Is Supernova?

Supernova's identity has been one of the biggest mysteries floating around in comics for the past few months. I had thought I had figured it out several months ago when Booster Gold died, but with more recent events, I'm just not sure anymore. Up until issue 31 of 52 I was sure that he was the new Starman we saw at the back of Infinite Crisis and now in JSA. Back in the 90's Starman series, Jack Knight meets several Starmen from different times, including one from both the 31st century and the early 21st. This Starman, Tom "Starboy" Kallor of The Legion of Super-Heroes had grown up following in the footsteps of the Starman lineage and had come back in time at the Shade's urging. When he arrived in this time he took the name Danny Blaine, and adopted the Starman costume we first saw in Kingdom Come. Supernova's costume design, while based off an old Superman costume, see Worlds Finest #178, has a large star on the front, also all of his powers are similar to the powers Starboy had, with maybe a few tweaks since he was older and more experienced. Now we see the Kingdom Come costume being worn by the new Starman in Justice Society of America. But this Starman is crazy, makes no mention of any time in Metropolis, and operates out of an asylum in Opal City. Which is a nice touch, since the original Starman, Ted Knight, suffered several mental breakdowns of his own over the guilt of helping to design America's first atom bomb.

In issue 31 of 52 Ralph Dibney mentions that all of Supernova's powers can be explained by one device. One DEVICE? Tom Kallor's, or Danny Blaine if you will, powers were a natural part of him. Also Ralph is certainly familiar with whoever is under the mask, more then just a passing aquientence too, it would seem. Dibny and his wife, Sue, were also in the 90's Starman series, and had actually settled in Opal City until the events of Identity Crisis. Could it be now that while the Starman connection was accurate, I had the wrong one? It was promised to us long ago that yes, we would see Jack Knight in 52, and he has yet to appear. Jack had also talked about how, save his father, Superman was the one hero who inspired him more then any other. Could it be that Jack, wearing one of his father's cosmic rods, has taken upon himself to protect Metropolis while Superman is gone? I just don't know any more.

More Friggin' Zombies?

Fans of the undead, I have great news. This year, there will be a cross-over the likes of which horror comics has never seen: Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness. The story has already been set up by the 13th and final issue of Dynamite's Army of Darkness comic, and is supposed to start in March. This will be the first inter-company crossover for Marvel since JLA/Avengers and is possibly even more hotly anticipated than that big-ticket series.

MZ vs. AOD will be written by John Layman (whose Wikipedia page seems to have been tampered with... someone should fix that) and will feature the art of Fabiano Neves. Arthur Sudyam will be on covers.

In the story, we will actually get to find out how the zombie plague got around in the Marvel Universe, so it will be a prequel to the original Marvel Zombies series. For more info, check out Comic Book Resources's interview with writer Layman.

-Elizabeth

Rise of the Silver Surfer

For those of you reading the Star Clipper blog on a regular basis I bet there are very few of you who will actually admit that you are looking foward to the Fantastic Four movie sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer. Well, i'll admit it, I am eagerly anticipating this movie, and I think I have a reason to get you onboard as well. Just check out the movie teaser trailer that just got released!

Thats right, Silver Surfer looks totally Boss! And you thought the producers weren't going to be able to get past the Surfer's silvery homo-erotic image. How wrong you were. In fact, he kind of reminds me of the bad-ass T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day, you know the one that gave Governor Schwarzenegger all those problems.

I know there are also a lot of you out there who don't know anything about the Silver Surfer, or think there is no good reason to care about him, and I urge you to reconsider and check him out. He is actually one of Marvel's most misunderstood and somber characters, and in my opinion, one of Stan Lee's personal best.

So I'm going to keep pushing this trailer to those Fantastic Four haters that just can't get over the first movie, which I actually liked, and hopefully more of you will become curious about the Surfer's power cosmic.

And for good measure, here are a few other comic movie trailers that should get your motor runnin, including one for my other favorites:

Ghost Rider
Spider-Man 3
Frank Miller's 300

Happy viewing.

-Jon

A Legend Has Passed

This past November comics legend Dave Cockrum passed away at his Belton S.C. home after a long battle with diabetes and related complications. I'm sorry that I have not had the oppurtunity before now to express my condolences to his wife Patty and their family. Mr. Cockrum's contributions to comics cannot be questioned. With a lengthy run on The Legion of Super-Heroes, he oversaw it's move from a backup strip in Superboy to becoming the main focus of the book. But he is probably better know for his two spectacular runs on X-Men, from Giant Size #1 to #126, and then again from #145 to #164. Cockrum is also the co-creator of such beloved characters as Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus, among others. He will be missed.

On a slightly lighter note, I must say that Dave went out with style. According to several news reports, MSNBC and CNN, he passed early Sunday morning in his favorite chair, wearing his Superman pajamas and Batman blanket. Long time family friend Clifford Meth, who recently helped Cockrum get his dues from Marvel as a creator, said Cockrum was cremated in a Green Lantern shirt, and his ashes spread at his home. A comics man to the last.

-Dan

Nightmare After Christmas

Hey, all you Tim Burton lovers! This week we got in a ton of really cool Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise in, just in time for you to spend all those Star Clipper gift cards your loved ones gave you.

My personal favorite is the Tiffany Lamp, which is a really pretty frosted glass lamp that shows Jack walking through the woods. The way the light comes through the glass really gives an other-worldly feel to the scene. Then there's the pewter goblet with a really beautifully crafted base with Jack and Sally.

There's also a very nice Jack's head paperweight, made completely of clear glass. Great for making your boring cubicle a little more awesome. The Jack Candles are also pretty irresistable-- 12 variations on Jack's head (winking, with santa hat, as the pumpkin king, etc) that double as fun candles.

And for the cutest piece of Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise imaginable, we have an adorable Jack Skellington plush. He's the perfect size for snuggling, and I'm sure any gothy baby would love to drool on him.

Hurry up though, we've been getting a lot of requests for this stuff, so it will no doubt go quickly.

-Elizabeth