The rise of the fangirls: Love of superheroes, science fiction and comic books isn’t just for guys anymore

Source: pressofatlanticcity.com

Jessica LeBlanc spends her days selling comic books and game supplies at Jester’s Playhouse in Northfield.

So, what does she do for fun?

Earlier this month she headed out to Illinois to attend the Gen Con gaming convention in Indianapolis, spending a couple of days learning about what’s new in gaming.

While she was there, LeBlanc, 21, noticed there were a fair number of women mixed in among the hordes of fanboys flipping through stacks of comics.

“In the last couple of years, I’ve been talking to a lot more women that are into it. There were a lot of women dressed in anime costumes. I think the women are feeling more comfortable,” the Galloway Township woman said.

The cliche of a bunch of dateless geeky boys and men being the only ones to attend comic book conventions or spend their days engaged in role-playing games is out of date.

More and more women are proudly letting their devotion to specific TV shows, movies, comics and games shine. The growing visibility of these fangirls is altering the pop culture landscape.

READ MORE HERE

Today Is ‘Read Comics In Public’ Day

Source: geeksofdoom.com

Avid consumers of graphic fiction, it’s time for you to grab a small stack of comic books or a good graphic novel and head out to a public park, coffee shop or other crowded venue. Today is international “Read Comics In Public” day and coincidentally also the birthday of legendary artist Jack Kirby.

The point of reading comics in public is to help end the feeling of embarrassment associated with reading comic books, explains Editor of The Daily Cross Hatch Brian Heater, who came up with the idea.

READ MORE HERE

Graphic Novel Friday: “The Amazing Screw-On Head”

Source: omnivoracious.com

When I interviewed creator, writer, and artist Mike Mignola at the 2009 Emerald City ComiCon, I had to smile and nod when he mentioned his side project, The Amazing Screw-On Head, because I knew next to nothing about it. Afterward, I decided to do some digging, and while I could not find reasonably priced, available copy, I did uncover a few interesting tidbits. In 2002, Mignola wrote and illustrated The Amazing Screw-On Head as a one-shot comic, and it went on to win the Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication. A few years later, Mignola developed the comic into a pilot for the SciFi (now, cringingly, “SyFy”) Channel. (Unfortunately, it was not picked up for further episodes.) Not too shabby for a comic with a quirky title; if only I could read it.

Cut to this September, when Dark Horse Comics will release a special hardcover edition of The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects, including three never-before-published short stories and “The Magician and the Snake,” another Eisner Award-winning tale, all written and drawn by Mignola.

READ MORE HERE

YAY! The days of me pretending to be embarrassed about being a woman interested in comics may be coming to a close!

What do you think of today’s comic news?

Join us in the forum to discuss!

Source: amc

WALKING DEAD AT COMIC CON

The stars and producers of AMC’s highly-anticipated series The Walking Dead, based on the comic book written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics, will descend on Comic Con 2010 for a panel event and exclusive sneak preview of the original drama.

The Walking Dead panel, scheduled for Friday, July 23 at 11:30AM in room 6BCF, will feature series stars Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually), Jon Bernthal (The Pacific), Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), Laurie Holden (The Mist), and Emma Bell (Law & Order). Joining the cast are writer, director, executive producer and three-time Academy Award nominee Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile); executive producers Kirkman and Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Aliens, Armageddon), make-up artist Greg Nicotero (George Romero’s Land of the Dead, The Mist); and Joel Stillerman, AMC’s SVP of original programming, production and digital content.

Read more here…

Source: hollywoodreporter

TERRA NOVA PANEL AT COMIC CON CANCELED

The biggest sci-fi production airing on TV next season is going to miss out on the biggest fanboy convention.

20th and producers of Fox’s epic prehistoric family action drama “Terra Nova” have scrapped plans for a panel at Comic-Con. Those involved cited some reasons familiar to fans of “Game of Thrones” and “Torchwood,” both of which are also missing the event….

Read more here…

Source: io9

LET ME IN IS GETTING A COMIC BOOK PREQUEL

As part of their Comic-Con roll out, Dark Horse Comics has given us the heads up that they’ll be publishing Let Me In: Crossroads, a four-issue prequel to the upcoming child vampire flick from Cloverfield director Matt Reeves.

Here’s the series’ description from Dark Horse Comics:

Being forced to spend eternity as a vampire-trapped in the mind and body of a child, with slaughter the only recourse for survival-is torture enough. But when Abby finds herself faced with a ruthless real-estate tycoon willing to do anything to get at the property she and her caretaker call home, far more monstrous torments await. In a small community torn apart by vicious men who are consumed by greed, wrath, and envy, she will learn which deadly sin is truly deadliest.

Read more here…

What do you think of today’s Comic News?

GAIMAN, MACFARLANE FIGHT OVER DARK AGES SPAWN

Source: scifiwire.com

Author/comics writer Neil Gaiman and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane took a long-running legal battle into a Madison, Wis., courtroom on Monday, June 14, according to the New York Times. The reason? Gaiman claims that McFarlane owes him money for characters in the Spawn comic-book series that bear what Gaiman says is a suspiciously close resemblance to characters that Gaiman created for the franchise in the 1990s.

Gaiman testified for three hours in federal court, alleging that his character Medieval Spawn formed the basis for Dark Ages Spawn, while his red-haired creation Angela was the template for the avenging angels Tiffany and Domina. McFarlane, a resident of Arizona, also took the stand, saying that while all the Spawn characters share some similarities, he did not direct writer Brian Holguin to copy Gaiman’s character for Dark Ages Spawn.

Holguin, who testified as well, said that he and another writer conceived Dark Ages Spawn in 1998 and that any resemblance to Gaiman’s monster was coincidental.

READ MORE HERE

Mr Neil Gaiman has addressed this briefly in his blog as well – you can read what he has to say here. What do you think of this issue – if anything?

Join us in the forum to discuss!

Last week Caro and I brought you a Iron Man edition of Fan Art Madness. To go along with the release of the new Iron Man movie we have decided to have a feature all about Comics!

batman. by ~fairie

Lol, I always wondered how he could fit all those gadgets into that belt.  I liked the style the artist used to draw this Batman, it has all the things that represent the original one but personalized. Great work! (Caro)

View the rest of todays Fan Art HERE

What did you think of today’s Fan Art Madness?

Which fan art was your favorite?

A Vampire Diaries Reunion, First Look: Elena and Isobel

by M.L. House at TV Fanatic

We’ve got even more exciting news regarding Elena’s family: she’ll soon be reunited with her birth mom, Alaric’s wife Isobel.

While the circumstances surrounding this meeting are unclear for now, the appearance (which takes place on episode 21) of Isobel as a recurring character shouldn’t come as a shock. The show hired Mia Kirshner, a well-known actress, for the role.

Read More here

‘True Blood’ Season Three on HBO Gets A “Sam Merlotte” Promo Poster

via icon vs icon

HBO released yet another new one sheet for the highly anticipated third season of True Blood. This poster focuses in on the many forms of Sam Merlotte (played by Sam Trammell). The new season is set to debut on Sunday, June 13th!

Read More here

TRUE BLOOD Comic Book Series To Be Released In July 2010

via daemonstv

HBO and IDW Publishing have announced that they will produce a multiple, all-new comic book series based HBO’s successful show, TRUE BLOOD.

The comic book will premiere at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2010. It will add new and unique layers of supernatural drama
to the show. The comics will be developed closely with True Blood’s creator, Alan Ball and it will be available in both print and digital formats.

Read More here

Does Willy Wonka hold the key to Lost??

By Kathie Huddleston at Sci Fi Wire

Lost viewers are all a-Twitter after seeing last night’s episode, “Everybody Loves Hugo,” as well as the promo for what’s in store next week. (Spoilers ahead!)

While the episode killed off a major character and answered a question or two (while loading us up with more questions), twitterers were not only tweeting about the episode, they were tweeting about the odd use of a psychedelic bit of audio from the 1971 musical Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that was inserted over the action in the promo for next week’s episode, “The Last Recruit.”

Read More here

What do you think of Elena and Isabel meeting? Will you read the True Blood comic? What are your Lost theories?

iPad Wizardry: Jim Lee Sketches Wonder Woman

io9.com:

The blockbuster DC Comics artist — and copublisher — gives a lesson on color, composition, and awesomeness with this step-by-step tutorial on how to build an Amazon using Apple’s latest toy and your fingers.

If you’re not already following Jim Lee on Twitter, you should correct that oversight immediately, as he does stuff like this all the time. You know, basically rendering the balance of humanity thumbless, talent-free thugs. Anyway…behold.

More here

ComiXology, Marvel & the iPad: Can Comic Shops Co-Exist?

www.newsarama.com: It’s only been five days since Apple’s iPad went on sale Saturday morning, offering consumers the first mass-marketed color tablet, but the device has already made an impact on the world of digital comics.

“It’s been great. The response has been terrific. I think Marvel’s app was as high as No. 14 in all apps. I think they’re No. 18 now. And I don’t mean just book apps – I mean all apps,” said David Steinberger, CEO of ComiXology, which produced both the Marvel and Comics by ComiXology apps for the iPad. “We’ve been one of the best-selling apps on the iTunes store forever. So right now, we’re part of the two best-selling comic apps on the iTunes store. So yeah, it’s pretty exciting.”

While news and book publishers have long been in the throes of a digital revolution, comic books haven’t been as affected because they’re so dependent on color and a full, vertical screen reading experience. But the availability of the Apple iPad has changed all that with its touch screen that offers a viable option for reading digital comics.

Now the industry is braced for how this will affect the current distribution of paper comics and whether the shake-ups seen in other print industries will be experienced by comics. Currently, most print comics are distributed through local comic book stores, and just like CD and DVD stores, there’s a concern in the industry that those specialty stores won’t be able to compete.

More here

Wow, that looks great and you should see his Joker it looks amazing! Another use for the iPad and more for us to learn What do you think of this?

And here’s the bad side of the iPad, (some may think of it like that). I prefer the old comics, I love them and there’s so many things the people who buy them that like about them. Don’t you just like to feel the paper and its texture? See its natural colors? Those are some of the good thins of physical books, magazines and comics. What do you think of this?