That mysterious project that Bryan Hitch has been counting down to on his Twitter account has now been revealed, with the first teaser originally unveiled over at CBR:

As that image makes pretty clear, he’s teaming with famed UK talk show host Jonathan Ross — the writer of five-issue 2010 series Turf —for America’s Got Powers at Image Comics in April, and here’s how Ross described it on Twitter: “America’s Got Powers Full on superhero angst and action as Americas most gifted superpowered teen wannabes slug it out on tv for a place in the worlds only official super- team.” Keep reading Newsarama for more details as they come.

Talking of Robot 6, the blog also premieres Image Comics’ ad campaign for 2012, emphasizing creativity over intellectual property:

According to Eric Stephenson,

We’re doing one of these a week over the course of the year, each focusing on a different creator, and there will be some video components to the campaign as well.The message is pretty simple: Our business thrives on creativity.

Everyone else throws their weight behind characters, behind IP. We put ours behind the people create those characters and develop that IP. The men and women who write and draw comics are Image’s–and this industry’s–most valuable resource. It takes a certain amount of bravery to create something of your own and share it with the world. We support those people, and we salute them.

Considering some recent commentary by Stephenson, this definitely seems to be the Image branding for the year: Creation versus Maintaining Intellectual Property. It’s a bold, and smart, idea that definitely sets Image apart from Marvel and DC, even if it fudges some truths (Vertigo may not be creator owned, but with the exception of Hellblazer, all the series there are younger and more “newly created” than, say Spawn or Savage Dragon. And isn’t the revival of the Extreme line the kind of intellectual property development/renewal that this campaign is quietly condemning?), and I hope it pays off for them; anything that pushes the importance of new ideas and new stories is always a good thing.

Brigid Alverson has a great interview up with ComiXology’s David Steinberger at Robot 6, talking about the successes in 2011, and what lies ahead for digital comics as a whole and ComiXology in specific:

Who knows what the magic number is, but $1.99 is still an inexpensive purchase. But it says something, the 99 cents vs. 1.99 says OK, this is higher quality. It doesn’t say I’m ripping you off. Some people would argue that the $3.99 books are too expensive [but t]hey are selling quite well… The question is, would you sell more than twice as much if you drop the price in half? That is an experiment that hasn’t happened yet. DC has a public policy of dropping their day and date prices a by dollar a month after the comic comes out.

After 2011 being the year that everyone started taking digital comics seriously, 2012 is the year people will start working out where that magic number actually is, and we’ll see the business change as a result, I suspect…

On Thursday, TV Guide debuted two new photos of Erica Durance — Smallville‘s Lois Lane — dressed in a Wonder Woman costume on the Jan. 11 episode of NBC legal series Harry’s Law.

That alone would be worth at least a modicum of fannish interest, but when you consider the added wrinkle that David E. Kelley — he of the doomed NBC Wonder Woman pilot that became a mild national nightmare in the spring of 2011 — is also behind Harry’s Law, and it becomes a full-on, C&C Music Factory-esque thing that makes you go hmm. And, as you can see from the photo below, it happens to be pretty much the exact same costume as Adrianne Palicki wore in the mostly-never seen pilot:

No matter what you think of these photos, though, they still don’t highlight the main reason to watch Harry’s Law: prolific character actor Christopher McDonald, better known as Happy Gilmore’s Shooter McGavin.

2011 has, as I’ve said before, been a very odd year for comics – One that saw DC Comics change their game up with apparently successful results, the rise of digital comics (with all the nervousness and uncertainty that that entailed) and Marvel go through what feels more and more like a modern-day version of the DC Implosion of yore. But, most importantly, it’s been a year full of really, really good comics, no matter your tastes. I’ve written about some favorites elsewhere, but I’m curious: What comics have been your favorites of the year – and which ones do you think have been unfairly overlooked?

I’ll offer a suggestion for the latter: I’ve been loving IDW’s Dungeons and Dragons all year – I think it’s one of the most-well-written team books available, with John Rogers continually coming up with smart, funny dialogue and well-paced plots. I’m always kind of surprised that more people aren’t talking about it. But what do you think? What 2011 books should’ve been talked about more, and why?

Steve Bissette makes a case against creator-owned comics as he recounts the fate of 1963:

After working hard all through 2010 with former 1963 creative partner(s) to arrive at a planned (with Alan [Moore]’s permission throughout 2010) reprint edition of the original 1963 series (circa 1993) that would adhere absolutely to Alan’s demands—including that of not using or mentioning his name or affiliation with the project (yes, we found a publisher despite that)—it all ended in a heartbeat early in 2011.

Alan simply pulled the plug, and thus it was all over but the tears.

So, an end to it. And, as a result, I no longer care about mentioning or not mentioning his name. That ended with the 1963 project, save for the legal agreements I signed in 1998 concerning my share of the 1963 properties. There’s no appeasing Alan; that dance is over.

For what it’s worth and not worth, 1963 will never be legally reprinted in any language in our lifetimes.

Maybe, after we’re gone, our now-adult kids will be able to sort it all out.

As he puts it elsewhere, “We will never see a dime from any of that work again, while the quarterly royalties from the DC/Vertigo collected Swamp Thing editions (for which I wrote two book introductions in 2011, more on that in a moment) and John Constantine/Hellraiser arrive, for the most part, like clockwork.” It’s a genuinely depressing story, and another sad entry into the “Alan Moore May Be A Great Writer, But His Interpersonal Skills Might Need Work” annals.

Bryan Hitch has been counting down to something on his Twitter account, and though that particular revelation is still five days away, he did disclose a couple of intriguing nuggets of information on Thursday.

First, he stated that “In two days time, an amazing decade at Marvel closes for me.” Now, that’s just chronologically accurate — Ultimates #1 shipped in early 2002 — but coupled with heartfelt thanks to the folks he’s worked with at the publisher and the statement “naturally new horizons beckon” just a few tweets later, it’s easy to conclude, as CBR has, that all means that Hitch — who’s worked on two volumes of Ultimates, Fantastic Four and scads of covers in the past 10 years — is leaving Marvel.

So the natural question becomes — what about “Age of Ultron”/”Ultron War,” the long-brewing Avengers storyline he’s been working on with Brian Michael Bendis, that was previewed in both Avengers #12.1 (which is being reprinted as this year’s Free Comic Book Day offering from Marvel) and November’s Point One one-shot, and is one of Newsarama’s 10 series to watch in 2012? Luckily, Hitch answered that on Twitter as well, saying “my end is done!” when asked by a reader.

Over on his message board, Bendis added some insight and confirmed that Hitch is leaving Marvel: “i have known about bryan’s plans for months and tom and i were prepared. bryan has done AMAZING work on ultron war and is leaving marvel on a very high note. he leaves the book with his part of the story completely complete.”

So, to recap: Soon, we’ll know what Hitch’s announcement is. It probably doesn’t involve Marvel. But Ultron War is still happening, and it looks like it’ll possibly involve at least one other artist. We’ll know more in five days, it looks like.

I have to admit, I’m more than a little surprised at the sudden outpouring of outrage online about Marvel Entertainment’s inclusion in the list of companies and corporations supporting the Stop Online Piracy Act, not least of all because the list has been available for more than a week now (I’m guessing that today’s Bleeding Cool post has something to do with it). But, as I’ve said already on Twitter today, why is this surprising? As the list of companies shows, Marvel is far from the only publisher supporting the bill – Hachette, Harper Collins and Random House are all listed – and, more importantly, Marvel is far from the only Disney subsidiary on the list. In fact, with ABC, ESPN, Disney Publishing and Hyperion all on the list in addition to Marvel, it’s actually more surprising that Pixar, say, isn’t there than the fact that Marvel is.

Compare this to Time Warner’s approach, which is to support SOPA as a mass corporate entity instead of individual subsidiaries; that’s potentially smarter from a PR viewpoint, because it allows for the reading that certain parts of TW – DC Comics, say – does not specifically support the Act, but let’s be honest: It’s much more likely that it actually means that all of TW is toeing the line, as opposed to Disney, which isn’t acting as some massive corporate monolith.

That said, does Marvel’s support of SOPA mean that the company is for the more draconian parts of the bill, cracking down on free expression online? Probably not; as much as it’s easy to complain about Marvel preferring to quash expression when it relates to its own IP (Such as helping close down the Scans Daily community on LiveJournal), Marvel has shown itself to be somewhat forward thinking in terms of embracing the potential of the internet, and it’s a company filled with creative people. I suspect that Marvel’s interest in SOPA is purely related to the protection of its own intellectual property, with little thought given to the (many) downsides of the bill.

It’s funny, thinking about the idea of a petition to stop DC publishing Watchmen 2; I’d much rather see people try and convince Marvel to reverse their stance on this subject, and more openly stand in favor of free speech and a less restrictive internet – but Watchmen 2 may, ultimately, be an easier battle to win.

Tom Brevoort has started a Tumblr filled with all sorts of ephemera and artwork from early Marvel Comics, including these amazing pencils from John Buscema for an Avengers pin-up spread. For those who’ve wanted to see original art, the hidden Spider-Man logo or just lots and lots of great stuff, it’s a must-read and something akin to a public service. Now, who can we get to do a similar one for DC…?

This, from Moritat’s interview at CBR, is just plain great:

The idea of comic books [as a medium], as we know it, is escapism. The stereotype is a child reading it hidden between his or her textbook. All over the world a common sight is a commuter train and an unexpected double take as you notice a nun, or sumo wrestler, reading a comic book.

More common now, is a shell of a human being with a tablet or device playing a video game. If you observe the focus, the concentration, is on the urgency of the laser sight lining up with the zombie’s head or the timer ticking down in the race for collection of gold coins. This is counter to escapism. It is regulating the brain to more calculations. With a comic book your brain is taking time off from left hemisphere of the noggin.

With comics, you are participating with Asterix and Obelix as they set off on a journey through rolling art scape of Uderzo’s countryside. You are breathing the foul vapors of Apokolips as Desaad wanders the halls seeking his master. You are not initiated by digital sounds and perfect visual mimicry of a F1 cockpit when starting a journey with a Tezuka character in a convertible sports car, but rather a sense of a tingle and twinge in the spine of what happens next when you turn the page.

To settle the matter by third party meditation: How many good comic book movies are there and how many good video game movies are there?

Okay, so maybe we shouldn’t consider movie adaptations as a good arbiter of quality, but… Man, you can tell that Moritat believes in comic books, can’t you? I love the passion in the above quote so much.

Anne Hathaway, who, if you don’t know by now is portraying Selina Kyle/Catwoman in next summer’s The Dark Knight Rises, spoke to LA Times Hero Complex with some interesting things to say about how her portrayal will be different from other versions, but still true to the essence of who Catwoman is and how she is influenced by Gotham City.

“What’s come before doesn’t limit or even affect this new version. It doesn’t affect me because each Catwoman – and this is true in the comics as well – she is defined by the context of the Gotham City created around her. Catwoman is so influenced by Gotham and whoever is creating Gotham at the time… You have to live in whatever the reality of the world is and whatever Gotham is.” She continues with how Heath Ledger’s now legendary performance is on par with what she’s aiming for. “Gotham City is full of grace. You look at Heath’s performance as the Joker, there was a lot of madness there but there was also a grace and he had a code there. There’s a lot of belief and codes of behavior in Gotham and my character has one, too. A lot of the way she moves and interacts with people is informed by her worldview. Chris has given us all such complex, defined, sophisticated worldviews that it’s just a matter of doing your homework and getting underneath the character’s skin.”

Interesting way of putting Ledger’s performance. Something I hadn’t ever really thought of since Joker practically got rid of any beliefs about criminals and their methods as he brought a more chaotic feel to the crimeworld. Hathaway also goes into her motivation of the way she’s going about the character as film siren Hedy Lamarr was a key influence on the Catwoman character. “I know this sounds odd, but her breathing is extraordinary,” Hathaway said. “She takes these long, deep, languid breaths and exhales slowly. There’s a shot of her in [the 1933 film] ‘Ecstasy’ exhaling a cigarette and I took probably five breaths during her one exhale. So I started working on my breathing a lot.”

Also over at the interview, there is a scene synopsis that is only hinted in the newest trailer that gives more details about Catwoman and Bane’s rapport and that DKR might draw more influence from the Batman arc “Knightfall” than I had certainly anticipated. Spoiler Alert now has been initiated.
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Over on his Deviant Art blog, Sean Murphy – One of Newsarama’s 10 Creators to Watch for the past two years – considers the five different “levels” of a comic book artist’s career:

LEVEL 2
While not as well paid or popular as Level 1 artists, these artists are consistently fed with work throughout the year (many of them are under contract) and manage to carve out a comfortable salary (assuming they can stay away from drug addiction or bad financial planning).  Most of the books they work on are mainstream Marvel/DC staples that most people are aware of.  But you can also find a few of these guys on large Dark Horse and creator owned Image books.  I think that there are a few “artist’s artists” in this category whose cult following has brought them very high up, but their distinct style of drawing often excludes them from larger “event” books.  Some Level 2 artists are happy to stay at this level because they have no interest in being a marquee player.  Some were marquee players but decided to drop down to Level 2 in exchange for more control over their careers.

I’m not quite convinced by his breakdown of the different levels – I feel as if there’s a missing level between levels 2 and 3 – but it’s a fascinating look at how a professional sees his field, and the different ways he believes an artist can progress.

As recent years have proven, there are many different ways to break into Marvel. You can get discovered doing creator-owned comics, you can write for a TV show, and, if you can swing it, it doesn’t hurt to be the WWE Champion.

CM Punk, the current WWE champ and a proud comic book fan — here he is being interviewed by Marvel.com and comparing himself to Dr. Doom — was pulled into a conversation on Twitter Wednesday that started when Scott Ziloko (whose comics you can check out here) and John M. Coker (art director for Grayhaven Comics, whom we wrote about here) asked noted pro wrestling enthusiast/acclaimed illustrator Jill Thompson (who designed current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan’s ring gear) if she’d be up for collaborating on a story written by Punk. Thompson was indeed up for it, as was Punk, leading Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso to tweet the (possibly) magical words, “let’s make it happen.”

Of course, a few tweets, as positive as they seem, are still a long way from a comic book being in readers’ hands, but a Punk/Thompson/WWE collaboration looks to be definitely possible at this point. Talk gravitated to the story focusing on The Thing, due to Punk exclaiming Ben Grimm’s catchphrase “It’s clobberin’ time” as a constant part of his ring entrance ritual:

As pointed out by Robot 6, Punk wouldn’t be the first pro wrestler involved in comic books — former ECW champ Raven c0-wrote (with Thompson’s husband Brian Azzarello) an issue of Marvel’s Spider-Man anthology Tangled Web in 2002, and Newsarama talked with hardcore legend/Tori Amos fan Mick Foley about his 12 Gauge series, R.P.M., last September. Of course, there have also been multiple comic books about pro wrestling, including Titan’s truly bizarre recent WWE Heroes series, which involved terrorism, reincarnation and the Mayans; y’know, typical pro wrestling stuff.

It’s Stan Lee’s 89th birthday, and the co-creator of such Marvel icons like Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and the Hulk is looking for something very specific this year — donations to the Hero Initiative.

“A gift to Hero is like a thank-you note to every comic book creator who ever brought you countless hours of fun, thrills and unforgettable reading enjoyment,” Lee said in a Hero Initiative press release. “It’s a great way to celebrate any birthday—especially my own!”

Donations can be made via ShiftMyGift.com, a website designed to do pretty much exactly what it looks like — allow users to redirect gifts to charities instead of themselves. The Hero Initiative is dedicated to helping comic book creators in need, specifically older veterans of the industry who need help with medical bills and other costs of living.

Oh, and one more thing: Happy birthday, Stan!

Peter David considers the subtext of the Fantastic Four:

The leader of the Fantastic Four is “Mr. Fantastic.” Why, we wonder, does he hang this fairly immodest name upon himself? Well, when one says that a man is “fantastic,” the nature of what we are referring to is fairly obvious. It’s sexual performance. And just how fantastic is Mr. Fantastic? Again, it’s fairly obvious. He can stretch at will, enlarge bodily portions however he wishes. Truly his is a case where size doesn’t matter, because his size can accommodate whatever lustful tastes women might have.

And who is his best friend?

“The Thing.”

The Thing, as in, “Baby, gimme that thing. Baby, you got the thing I want. Lemme have some of that love thing. What is that thing? You call that a thing? I got your thing right here.” And other lustful, smutty phrases that one would hear coming from the lips of today’s hideous youth.

Yes, it should be no surprise that Mr. Fantastic’s best friend is a big hard Thing. Isn’t that always the case with any man who fancies himself a “Mr. Fantastic.

No, he’s not serious. But now I can’t help but think about this accidental subtext when it comes to these characters (David goes on to point out that, of course, Sue Storm is invisible in this team, and in the comments following the post, someone points out that Johnny Storm’s “flame on” clearly refers to his closeted homosexual side). Oh, Stan and Jack, did you know what you were creating…?!?

Jim Shooter is thinking about sex in comics:

Think about good (or at least well-crafted) movies you’ve seen. Raiders of the Lost Ark, for instance. Every time Spielberg and Lucas show you anything, it is relevant to the story. Think about what they show you. Indy has a fear of snakes, demonstrated in an early scene. Later, trying to retrieve the Ark, he is surrounded by…snakes! Also, think about what they don’t show you. Maybe Indy is an expert ballroom dancer, but it’s irrelevant so they do not establish it. There is not a drop of fat on that film. Everything shown serves a purpose relevant to the story at hand. Same with Rocky. Or The Wizard of Oz.  Or any story written by a skilled professional.

If it’s not necessary, leave it out.

In Body Heat the sex was absolutely germane. So it was there, and done with steamy effectiveness. In Cat People sex is the core of the conceit.

In comics…? I’m trying to think of good examples. Hmm. Jaime Hernandez did some sweet, elegant, usually brief, intrinsic sex scenes in early issues of Love and Rockets. David Lapham did some well-crafted, germane sex scenes in Stray Bullets. I’ve been told that Bill Willingham’s Fables had some good and necessary ones. In Elfquest, Wendy and Richard Pini did some nice scenes. Others? Help me.

He goes on to say that, in comics, “characters are twisted to serve the whims, puerile fantasies and personal proclivities of the creators,” with illustrations of Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne’s sex scene from Geoff Johns’ Avengers run and the infamous Norman Osborn/Gwen Stacy sex scene from “Sins Past” in Amazing Spider-Man, amongst others. Coming from the man who wrote the unsettling Ken/Duck relationship into Star Brand – There was so much wrongness going on there, and yes, I have now referenced something that the majority of you have probably never even heard of, sorry – this rant is either the product of rethinking earlier attitudes or a great lack of self-awareness.

If you’re concerned that DC’s plans for Watchmen 2 sound a little like a bad idea, maybe you want to take a look at this online petition to stop the project:

We, the undersigned recognize the rights of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons as co-creators of Watchmen, and we strongly object to DC’s continued marketing of this property against the intent of the original contract and the wishes of one of its creators. Further, we abhor DC’s frequent attempts to knowingly act in opposition to Moore’s wishes, and their attempts to profit off of Watchmen merchandise without paying royalties to the work’s creators.

Until such a time as DC Comics can make things right with Moore and reach an accord in which he approves of and endorses further Watchmen sequels, we ask DC to act ethically and in the spirit and intent of the original contract and cease any plans to create derivative works without the permission and approval of the creators, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. We further ask that all writers and artists refuse to work on any derivative works related to Watchmen until DC, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons are all in agreement on the creation of new Watchmen properties.

The petition is up at Change.org, a great site that usually uses its powers for important social issues (Forcing Bank of America to drop its proposed debit card fee, asking JC Penney to improve fire safety regulations in foreign locations, preventing corporations from buying state parkland they’ve contaminated, and so on), and was created by noted comics commentator and curmudgeon Alan David Doane, who announced the petition in traditionally subtle manner on his Trouble With Comics blog. To date, 31 people have signed the petition since it was launched yesterday; I look forward to seeing how many more will sign in the next few days, and what effect (if any) they’ll expect it to have on DC. For that matter, I wonder how long it’ll be before we see similar petitions protesting both DC’s use of Superman and Marvel’s use of all of the Jack Kirby creations, considering both estates are claiming at least co-ownership of those characters, something that seems at least as “ethically dubious” as Watchmen 2.

…well, if you can raise $679,000.

The long-running comic book store, located on Melrose and La Brea in Los Angeles, has put itself on sale — on eBay. It’s been a Hollywood fixture since 1979, and now you can select the celebrity-frequented shop with the “Add to cart” option. We live in interesting times.

According to a Bleeding Cool report, the sale isn’t an indication of any negative performance on the store’s part, but rather the inclination for the Liebowitz family to pursue other opportunities. Store founder Bill Liebowitz passed away in 2004 at the age of 63, leaving the business to his surviving family.

Our pick for a potential buyer? Nicolas Cage. A whole store for $679k seems like a bargain compared to $1.55 million for one comic, right?

News that breaks on a Saturday morning already has a tendency to slip through the cracks, but when that Saturday happens to be Christmas Eve, that’s a near-guarantee that a story will be under-reported.

Which is why you may have not heard yet the news that Deadline broke three days ago: Alan Taylor, a veteran of acclaimed TV shows including Mad Men, The Sopranos and Game of Thrones, is now on board to direct 2013′s Thor 2. Taylor is replacing Monster director Patty Jenkins, who left the project earlier this month amid reported “creative differences.” Jenkins herself was to replace Kenneth Branagh, director of the original Thor.

Taylor has prior feature directing experience — 1995′s Palookaville, which had a very limited release but appearances from Frances McDormand, Vincent Gallo and Boardwalk Empire’s William Forsythe. Thor 2, from Marvel Studios and once again starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston, is scheduled for Nov. 15, 2013.

File this under “Yes, please“: Over at the Beat, Torsten Adair asks comic publishers to improve their websites so that people can find information on their books more easily:

I spent the past three months doing something very foolish.  I tried to post Coming Attractions articles by publisher or distributor.  Normally, I would scan titles by month, pull out what was the most interesting, and do a post showing everyone in one list.  Instead, I tried to show titles which might not interest me, but which others might enjoy.

It was a lot of work.  I started with searches from Books In Print (run by Bowker, which manages ISBNs and EANs for the United States market).  Then I supplemented them with info from the Diamond Book Distributors monthly catalogs, as well as from Previews.  And then I had to format the page so it looked nice, and include links so people could click to get more information.

I try to link directly to the publisher’s website.  They deserve as much web traffic as possible, especially if they have a storefront.  As the paradigm shifts like a calving iceberg, they need as much help as possible.

I just wish it was easy to give them that help.

There are some great publisher websites out there that are easy to navigate, with lots of information (and images!) from past, present and future releases, and they’re great. And then there are the others, which are far less user-friendly, and in some cases, comically unfriendly when it comes to actually finding what you’re looking for without what could best be described as “too much trouble for its own good.” I can only wish that people pay attention to what Adair’s saying in his post.