Pricasso Stages Penile Art

We shit you not. Some artists will do anything for exposure, no pun intended. Read the story here. It's one of the many fun diversions we've found at tits list. Check it out.

Update To Comments on Comics Confusion: A Mister Fanboy Comics Commentary About Younger Readers

Earlier this month Mister Fanboy Comics posted about his inept attempts at getting young girls into comments in his Comments on Comics Confusion: A Mister Fanboy Comics Commentary About Younger Readers post. He sends us this brief update today.

I took everyone's advice and passed along the first three digest-sized trade paperbacks of Runaways and passed them along to the girls. These represent issues 1 - 18. I saw then girls this weekend for the first time since I got them to read the other comics. Anyway, they leave tomorrow for a few weeks for a family trip to Europe so I am sure that the comics will be read on the plane. When they get back, I'll find out if they liked them or not, and report their impressions back to you. To date, this is one of the most linked to posts over here at Mister Fanboy so we know you are interested.

The older one commented to me that the comics I had previously shared with her were confusing and "not very good."

On a separate note, I was stunned to see which character died in Runaways #18 and was pleasantly surprised with Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways #1, both of which i read last night. For those that haven't been keeping up with the series, two of the team have died, two more characters have joined the team, and there have been appearances by Captain America and Cloak and Dagger to name a few. Check it out. Even though it's geared towards folks more than half my age, I still love it. I hope you will too.

Superboy's Nazi Past

REVEALED! From the good folks at Superdickery.

David Mack's Ms. Marvel Covers

Check out these beautiful covers to Ms. Marvel (issues 6-8, in that order) done by David Mack. Independently, they all look very different. But when you have then all lined up in a row like that, we see a continuity of design and composition. We believe, but don't know for sure , that they are each done using watercolors. Anyone out there know? Sometimes it's hard to know for sure when you're looking at a computer screen and not up close and personal, such as in a museum or gallery. All three are Civil War tie-ins and issue 7 shows other heroes, such as Wonder Man, Arana, and Spider Woman (#2?, possibly Julia Carpenter). We got these images from the Brian Reed message board (Ms. Marvel writer) at Jinxworld.

Fan Art Spotlight: Ms. Marvel

This comes to us from Project Rooftop. Here they have a new design of Carol Danvers, A.K.A. Ms. Marvel, by cartoonist Travel Foreman, with colors done by Chris Piers. We just think it's downright beautiful and a great change from the Ms. Marvel/Warbird costume that she is currently wearing. It replaces the stupid ribbon/belt she has with something more akin to a SM chastity belt, but hey, it's an improvement. It sort of harkens back to her old days as Binary in our opinion. Check out the site. There are lots of fan art redesigns that you may be interested in, such as Power Pack, Fire and Ice, Blue Bettle, Wonder Woman, Wolverine, Longshot, Big Barda, rogue, Alpha Flight and more.

Speaking of Ms. Marvel, look for a seperate posting of David Mack's upcoming covers of the Ms. Marvel solo series soon.

Why Collect Comics You No Longer Want/Like/Read?

There's a great discussion about this topic over at the Fortress of Fortitude. Read it here. I agree with the editors over there with much of their reasoning. Here's my 2 cents:

Completeness: I like having complete runs if I can. For example, why buy House of M 1-4 and then skip the final 3 issues. If you are absolutely hating it, that's one thing. But if you're ambivalent and you think having the complete run is important, then why not? I know the answer is money or space, or even time, However, when it comes to books that I come to late, then that's something different altogether. If it wasn't for the intriguing Civil War tie-ins, I would have dropped Thunderbolts about 3 months ago (and I may still). I have been reading it since it's current reboot. I liked where it started, but then it got confusing as hell.

Tradition: Why did I pick up the X-Men through some of its recent disastrous runs? Tradition. I have always picked up the comics and probably always will. I love many of the characters so I want to keep up with what's going on. It's my own version of daily soap operas I guess. At the same time, I can ignore Austen's horrible Husk storylines with the knowledge that eventually a new writer will be on the book. And even when Chris Claremont lost his luster as a writer, I still continued to tune in because I know that giblets of goodness are out there. For example, I am enjoying New Excalibur even though Captain Britain doesn't do it for me and really liked X-Men: The End, though I wished it was 6 issues longer so things weren't rushed.

Art/Writing: I can't tell you how many times I've continued reading a book, even though I was disappointed in it, just because I liked the work of the author in his/her previous books (see above comment about Chris Claremont). The same goes for art, whether interior or cover.

If I think of anything else, I will add it here.

3 Great Marvel Comics We've Read Lately

Every once in a while you read something that is just fun, illuminating or surprising in one way or another. It happened to us recently when we read New X-Men #28, New Avengers #22, and Daredevil #87. Here's why we think they were so great.

New X-Men #28

A character is discovered dead, the name of which we won't tell you here. But the character is related to current X-Men. However, for us, the most intriguing part is the conversation between Ms. Marvel and Emma Frost, with Cyclops interjecting here and there. Ms. Marvel goes to the Xavier Mansion to inform the X-Men of the youngsters death. She chooses to do it herself since she has a past with the X-Men. While she's there, she hopes to convince the X-Men to sign on to the Superhero Registration Act. Emma essentially mauls her with logic, so much so that Ms. Marvel can't argue and hardly has a leg to stand on and can't answer Emma's harangue. All the while Cyclops is trying to get his lover to tone it down. It's an excellent exchange. I've read a lot of criticism of the new direction that this book has taken. If this is any indication, I think it's a good one.

New Avengers 22#

This issue sees Iron Man and Ms. Marvel trying to convince Luke Cage and Jessica Jones to sign on to the Superhero Registration Act.

Spoiler Warning

Luke and Jessica decline, each making a different fateful decision as to their future. The conversation between Ms. Marvel and Jessica is one of two best friends having a major disagreement. The exchanges between Cage and Iron Man are steeped in 1960s-era civil rights-speak. I think we all knew that Luke was going to decline. However, what happens when S.H.I.E.L.D. comes for him is a different story altogether, and even gets the neighborhood involved.

Daredevil #87

This one is so full of spoilers and surprises that we can't talk about it freely without giving you the following:


SPOILER WARNING

Punisher breaks Daredevil out of Rykers.
The man masquerading as Daredevil is NOT Hawkeye. He has been hired by someone who was misleading him and may have been behind Foggy's Death. That man is none other than Danny Rand, Iron Fist, Luke Cage's old partner. This is discovered after a throw-down with the real Daredevil. Daredevil and Iron Fist set out to find out who is behind all of this, most likely with Dakota North in tow.
The FBI get its ass handed to them on a plate.
Foggy is still alive and is supposedly in the witness protection program. Considering the fact that Iron Fist's been mislead, we left the issue with the distinct feeling that Foggy was kidnapped, but didn't really know it.

Official Ninja Webpage

Short and sweet. Click here. Click Yes. Enjoy. Then hit back button. Click No. Funny shit.

Wha? David Hassellhoff Preparing Musical Based On His Own Life

Why? Read the posting from Spin Magazine here. They start off the article with the following:

The former Knight Rider and Baywatch star is preparing a musical based on his life. We wish we were making this up.

Our sentiments exactly.

Original Art Stolen From Comic-Con: Have You Seen Me?

Newsarama has a brief news item about an original piece of George Pratt's art that was stolen at Comic-Con. The art originally appeared in Wolverine: Netsuke #1. Keep your eyes out. It royally pisses the Mister Fanboy staff off when assholes like this abound. It's not like he stole a soda but something that someone poured their heart, soul, and considerable talent into. Becausen we think time is critical with thefts like this, we pasted the news release that Newsarama posted directly here, with our apologies to the good folks at Newsarma.

On the final day of Comic-Con, Wolverine artist George Pratt bumped into a colleague who just happened to make the comment that George's original painting sales "must be going very well." George denied the suggestion, to which his colleague countered, "I saw a guy in the front row of the auction with your Wolverine painting. Wasn't that a $2,500 piece?" George immediately shuffled through his pile of artwork to discover the painting was, indeed, missing in action.

Pratt was proactive, providing a scan of the artwork and filing a police report. His colleague stated that he can readily identify the thief. Comic-Con executives have been most cooperative in providing the police with security tapes to identify the perpetrator.

"To sit in the front row of the auction with my stolen artwork is unbelievably brazen and disgusting," Pratt said. According to Pratt, the artwork is from Wolverine: Netsuke, Issue #1. It is a pen and ink, watercolor, charcoal and Spar varnish piece. For identification purposes, please see the piece (at the top of this post).

Pratt has hired WriteBrain Media publicist Denise Dorman to get the word (and visual of the art) out to relevant online and print publications to prevent the thief from selling the art to an unsuspecting dealer. Dorman requested, "If anyone has information regarding this theft, please contact me directly and I will get the information to George and the proper authorities." Dorman can be reached via email at denise@writebrainmedia.com or via phone at (630) 845-4694.

Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada On The Colbert Report Tonight

This should be interesting. You can watch it on Comedy Central at 11:30 PM. We're guessing it will be a discussion about Civil War. It should be fun.

Stan Lee's Who Wants To Be A Superhero Premiers Tonight

Check it out at 9 PM on the Sci-Fi Channel. The Washington Post has a not-so-positive review that you can read here (if they make you register, it's quick and easy. Trust us. We're doctors. Or at least we play them on TV).

Animated Fantastic Four to Debut in September

The animated Fantastic Four series will debut on Cartoon Network on Saturday, September 2 at 8 PM (except for you folks in the middle of the US, Alaska and Hawaii, or outside of North America -- so most of you then).

More On Animated Judas Contract

Newsarama has a great article with Marv Wolfman, about the upcoming animated Teen Titans: Judas Contract film announced at Comic-Con. Lots of good info. Read it here. We can't wait. We love Terra. She's solid ... As a rock ...

Marvel Team-Up Goes Bye-Bye

We forgot to mention that Joe Q. confirmed at his "Cup O' Joe" panel at Comic-Con that Marvel Team-Up would be ending. According to Newsarama, that will happen with October's issue. We can't say we are surprised. We stuck around for the first long arc and were very disappointed. We wouldn't be surprised if other fans felt the same way. We do like Robert Kirkman's work, but it just didn't click with us in this. Don't worry Kirkman fans, he's got steady work.

Aquaman Pilot Now For Only $1.99 at iTunes

Gotta see it? Go visit iTunes to download it for a fee. We think we'll pass even though we love the character and are pleasantly surprised by Smallville. If you've seen it and want to convince us otherwise, leave a comment.

Crumb Imposter?

The Blog At Newsarama has a very intriguing post about someone purporting to be R. Crumb selling original drawings at MySpace. Read it here. It's almost surreal. I wonder how this turned out ...?

Heath Ledger as the Joker?

Last week the Blog At Newsarama reported that there's a rumor floating around Hollywood that Heath Ledger would be playing the Joker in an upcoming Batman film. For us, it's not a bad idea. Just as long as Jake Gyllenhall isn't going to be playing Harley Quinn. That would be going too far. Read the post here.

Animated Hellboy Site Now On Line

More animated goodness online here, where you can watch the trailer to the new Hellboy Animated series. The trailer looks pretty cool.

Ghost Rider Movie Site Now Online

Fans of Ghost Rider should check this out here. Will Nic Cage crash and burn ... okay, bad pub. We apologize. Well, not really, but you can pretend we are sorry.

News from Comic-Con That We Didn't Tell You But That We Know You Want To Know: Part 5

This is our final report on things that were reported from Comic-Con from other sites. Please check out Newsarama for specifics as they seem to have the smoothest operation out there. Beyond that, check our list of links.

*Frank Miller will direct the Spirit movie, which he will begin once work on Sin City 2 is completed.

*In addition to training new young heroes, Ms. Marvel will begin to question her decision to join the pro-registration group in Civil War (Editor's Note: See the mose recent issues of New X-Men and New Avengers for excellent explorations of this. You will love the exchanges between Carol and Emma Frost and Carol and Jessica Jones in each of these series).

*Wolverine may see Namor doing battle with Wolverine.

* Marvel Editor-In-Cheif Joe Quesada will appear on tomorrow night's Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

*Eisner Award Winners announced in San Diego:

Best Short Story: “Teenage Sidekick,” by Paul Pope, in Solo #3 (DC)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot): Solo #5, by Darwyn Cooke (DC)

Best Serialized Story: Fables #36-38, 40-41: “Return to the Homelands,” by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, and Steve Leialoha (Vertigo/DC)

Best Continuing Series: Astonishing X-Men, by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday (Marvel)

Best Limited Series: Seven Soldiers, by Grant Morrison and various artists (DC)

Best New Series: All Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC)

Best Publication for a Younger Audience: Owly: Flying Lessons, by Andy Runton (Top Shelf)

Best Anthology: Solo, edited by Mark Chiarello (DC)

Best Digital Comic: Nat Turner, by Kyle Baker (Kyle Baker Publishing)

Best Graphic Album (New): Top Ten: The Forty-Niners, by Alan Moore and Gene Ha (ABC)

Best Graphic Album (Reprint): Black Hole, by Charles Burns (Pantheon)

Best Archival Collection/Project (Comic Strips): The Complete Calvin & Hobbes, by Bill Watterson (Andrews McMeel)

Best Archival Collection/Project (Comic Books): Absolute Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (DC)

Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material: The Rabbi’s Cat, by Joann Sfar (Pantheon)

Best Writer: Alan Moore, Promethea, Top Ten: The Forty-Niners (ABC)

Best Writer/Artist: Geof Darrow, Shaolin Cowboy (Burlyman)

Best Writer/Artist (Humor): Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); The Bakers (Kyle Baker Publishing)

Best Penciller/Inker: John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); Planetary (WildStorm/DC)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior Art): Ladronn, Hip Flask: Mystery City (Active Images)

Best Cover Artist: James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); Runaways (Marvel)

Best Coloring: Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #16 (ACME Novelty)

Best Lettering: Todd Klein, Wonder Woman, Justice, Seven Soldiers #0 (DC); Desolation Jones (Wildstorm/DC); Promethea, Top Ten: The Forty-Niners, Tomorrow Stories Special (ABC); Fables (Vertigo); 1602: New World (Marvel)

Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition: Aaron Renier (Spiral-Bound)

Best Comics-Related Periodical: Comic Book Artist, edited by Jon Cooke (Top Shelf)

Best Comics-Related Book: Eisner/Miller, Interviews Conducted by Charles Brownstein (Dark Horse Books)

Best Publication Design: Acme Novelty Library Annual Report to Shareholders, designed by Chris Ware (Pantheon) and Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays, designed by Philippe Ghielmetti (Sunday Press Books)

Hall of Fame Inductees: Vaughn Bodé, Ramona Fradon, Russ Manning & Jim Steranko

*Richard Donner, director of the first Superman film with Christopher Reeve, will join Geoff Jones on Action Comics for a run.

*Bryan Singer is hoping to direct a sequel to his recent Superman Returns film in 2009, though nothing is definite yet.

*A Spider-Man 3 clip was well-received by fans and it was confirmed, that Venom was in the film, although everyone already knew that.

*The villain in the upcoming Iron Man film will be The Mandarin. How culturally sensitive of them.

*Correction: Adam Hughes will be drawing the upcoming All-Star Wonder Woman book instead of writing.

That's all for the Comic-Con news that we thought you'd like to know. Phew.

Big Round Number: Please Send Gifts

We finally hit 1000 visits today. How is a visit different from a page view? Hell if we know. We just like big round numbers. We're registered at Macy's if you want to buy us a gift.

News from Comic-Con That We Didn't Tell You But That We Know You Want To Know: Part 4

Surprise --more info. on things that were reported from Comic-Con from other sites. Please check out Newsarama for specifics as they seem to have the smoothest operation out there.

* Actor Nicholas Cage and his son Wes to write Enigma for new publisher Virgin Comics.

*DC will be spending lots of time and effort on the trinity of Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman in the foreseeable future.

* Wisdom mini from Marvel's MAX line for adults.

*Adam Hughes confirmed as writer of forthcoming All-Star Wonder Woman series.

*Marvel creators hinted that not all of the characters from the upcoming Ultimate Power mini (which sees a meeting of Marvel's Ultimate and Squadron Supreme Universes) will end up in their home universes after the series.

*In the Onslaught Reborn mini, look for young Franklin Richards to be targeted by Onslaught.

*JMS's Bullet Points will take a look at a Marvel Universe (Editor's Note: 616, I believe) where the scientist who first gave Steve Richards the Super-Soldier Serum, turning him into Captain America, is killed one day prior. The future is then impacted.

*Ultimate Vision will take place immediately following Ultimate Extinction.

*Fantastic Four: The End will hit comic shops later in the year giving Alan Davis' version of a possible end to the FF just in time for their 45th anniversary.

*The new Ant-Man will be refreshingly un-hero like and in it for himself.

*Night Nurse will be seen in the upcoming Strange mini.

*Image will publish a Wizard of Oz graphic novel later in the year.

*Lots of great news from the Vertigo line, particularly with Fables, a big reveal in Y, The Last Man #50, and new series. Go directly to read it all at Newsarama here.

*Speaking of Newsarama, check out their index of all Comic-con related stories here. My hats go off to these guys. Seriously. How many are there? There must be an army of them. As much as I love the site, and have checked it out for years, I have never registered on their message board. I'm sold now. I will do it tomorrow. You should too.

*That's it for now. We'll troll for any news we might have missed bit that you MUST know tomorrow. Meanwhile ...

News from Comic-Con That We Didn't Tell You But That We Know You Want To Know: Part 3

Even more info. on things that were reported from Comic-Con from other sites. Please check out Newsarama for specifics as they seem to have the smoothest operation out there.

*A second Avengers book, The Mighty Avengers to debut.

*A "lost" Stan Lee/Jack Kirby issue of Fantastic Four is being worked on by Marvel for publication.

* Fans should keep their eyes out for an Ultimate Black Panther (Editor's Note: No surprise since he's the focus of the Ultimate Avengers 2 DVD).

*Marvel is hoping to do something with Cloak and Dagger in the near future, possibly a mini.

*Marvel is looking to do a Silver Surfer mini around the time that the Fantastic Four 2 film is released.

*Fans should keep their eyes out for Hellcat.

*Batgirl fans should be patient to see what happens to Cassie Cain in Robin.

*Nightwing is such a dick in the Outsiders because he really doesn't like his teammates (Editor's Note: Strange since he worked with so many previously, pretty much without incident).

*Paul Dini is writing a Black Canary/Zatanna GN, with art by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. (Editor's Note: How cool is that!).

*Fans should keep their eyes out for DC animated features for the DVD market. First up to the plate will be The New Frontier, followed by a Superman/Doomsday story, and most awesomely, an animated version of the classic Teen Titans story "The Judas Contract." Expect more after that.

*DC bullshitted their way around the delays on Wonder Woman.

*Adam Hughes on a forthcoming All-Star Wonder Woman?

*Quoting directly from Newsarama now, writer/panelists revealed the following secrets about their books:

Gail Simone: Might see Birds of Prey meet up with Secret Six.
Mark Waid: Might see Supergirl's return to Krypton.
Morrison: The secret origin of Bat-Mite.
Johns: Raven returns to Teen Titans.
Dini: Read Detective closely - may not be as stand-alone as you think.
Busiek: Lana Lang versus the Insect Queen.
Meltzer: In the JLA/JSA crossover, there's a third team (Possibly All-Star Squadron).
Dodson: Neither Donna Troy or Diana Prince is Wonder Woman in issue #3.
Jamal Igle: Mikhail Arkadin is the Firestorm in issue #27
Willingham: Detective Chimp will prove Batman is the best human detective in the DCU, and Blue Devil gets a promotion and starts rhyming.
Bilson: A kid named Inertia is behind a lot of the problems.
Johns: Inertia will be in "Titans East" as well.

*Krypto coming back. Ugh.

*John Stewart in Green Lantern.

*Care for an Ant-Man movie? How about Captain America? Or Nick Fury? How's about Thor? But don't hold your breath for Daredevil 2.

*Nearly surreal discussion between writer Robert Kirkman and writer/artist Todd McFarlane. Read Newsarama's story on it here.

*A My Name Is Earl comic from Oni Press? Why?

*Yipee! A Terra mini! It'll look at her origin. Bring her back. Please. It's a comic. You can do it. I promise not to bitch about it in message boards. Pleeeeeeeze.

More to come.

News From Comic-Con That We Didn't Tell You But That We Know You Want To Know: Part 2

Here's more info. on things that were reported from Comic-Con from other sites. Please check out Newsarama for specifics as they seem to have the smoothest operation out there.

*IDW Comics will release a 4-part comic mini based on Transformers: The Movie from the 1980s.

*Although probably no surprise to fans, in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker will begin to wonder if he joined the wrong side with Civil War (pro-registration).

*Ben Grimm (The Thing) may move to France as he's unhappy with the Registration Act and its consequences.

*Pro-registration Ms. Marvel will end up teaching and training new heroes, like Arana.

*Apparently, Nitro's destruction in Stamford, CT was part of a conspiracy and will be explored -- where else -- in Wolverine.

*"The Sleeper Cell" back-up story in Civil war: Frontline focuses on Atlanetean sleeper agents, something that Namor's not too happy about. Hey -- What's Sue Storm doing in Atlantis?

*Civil War: X-Men will see appearances by Sabra, Micromax and new Sentinels. Bishop will be on one side (pro-registration), with the original X-Men on the other.

Punisher will begin to play a role in Civil War.

*If you've been wondering where all of the major villains have been, read Civil War: Frontline (Editor's Note: Read Thunderbolts too).

*Beginning with issue #50, Wolverine will explore more of the his past with Sabretooth.

*Don't expect to see Civil War touch on Ghost Rider, but do expect it to be dealt with in Moon Knight.

*Plans are in the works for Scarlet Witch, but don't include a "reset" option that would undo the House of M.

*Readers were asked for patience as to a) what's up with Hawkeye and b) why Thor chose the "side" he did in the most recent Civil War (and reappearing from limbo in the process).

*Heroes, produced by comic writer Jeph Loeb (and former Smallville producer) to be seen on NBC in the fall, got great "buzz" from those we spoke to who had seen clips at the con. They gave out fun buttons too.