Typically, I don't go to comics-related gallery openings, but if I lived on the Left Coast, I probably couldn't resist attending the premiere of Under the Influence: A Tribute to Stan Lee, cosponsored by Golden Apple and Gallery 1988, Tuesday, Jan. 8 from 7-11 p.m. First off, Golden Apple and Gallery 1988 will sponsor a Be a Superhero fund raiser, in which real, live and professional comics ...

I wouldn't be surprised if most of you weren't familiar with the work of painter/colorist/computer graphic artist Jose Villarrubia, with the possible exception of his gorgeous work adapting Alan Moore's Voice of the Fire and The Mirror of Love, both published by Top Shelf Productions. Nevertheless, working along the margins of comicdom is just the way Jose likes it, which is why I'm filling this ...

Once in a while, it's nice and kinda humbling to read/hear catch phrases you thought you came up with all on your own emitting from the oral orifices of others. Case in point is Thursday's piece in the Washington Post about children's author Jon Scieszka, author of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and the Time Warp Trio series, being named the first Ambassador of Reading by the ...

Probably, the worst kept "secret" in the comics world as of late has been the outcome of Amazing Spider-Man #545 in which Peter Parker's pact with Mephisto supposedly erases his love affair/marriage with Mary Jane once and for all to save his beloved Aunt May. We can debate all the reasons why Marvel did it coming and going -- rebooting the character or making the comic better resemble the movie ...

Perfect storm. Organic. Surge. Back in the day. Under the bus. It is what it is. Graphic novel? Couldn't help but think about my friend Eddie Campbell -- seems he's taking a sabbatical from his must-read Fate of the Artist blog -- whilst reviewing Lake Superior State College's 33rd annual list of the List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness, ...

I was very much looking forward to reading my pal Tom Beland's latest one-shot classic for Marvel -- Fantastic Four: Isla de la Muerta -- and getting a first-hand look at the work of his artistic collaborator, Juan Doe. Evidently, so were a lot of other media folks, from the New York Times to Washington Post, only for different reasons than my own. Seems Marvel's simultaneous publication of Isla ...

If you enjoyed his award-winning work on 1000 Steps to World Domination and Sunset City: For Active Senior Living, you'll want to be among the first to read my pal and fellow Austin transplant Rob Osborne's newest project, The Nearly Infamous Zango, shipping next spring. The twisted wit of Osborne has come up with one doozy of a concept this time. Seems the once-feared supervillian, Lord Alfred ...

In conversations with comic geeks lately about the various funnybooks-to-movies adaptations in 2008, to my surprise, it's Iron Man -- not The Dark Knight -- that has many stoked, making that a decision (by Paramount or IM director Jon Favreau) to screen a trailer at Comic-Con a smart one. Add one more fan to the list of "True Believers": The Wall Street Journal. Not only did the film receive ...

Enjoy this sneak peek straight from Neil Gaiman.com of the animated adaptation of the Sandman muse's non-quite-a-children's-book Coraline by Laika Entertainment and director Henry Selick who directed Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Great thanks to Neatorama for the link to this Fast Company story about the Portland, Ore., production company that's making Coraline and its direct ...

No explanation needed for this latest and terrific video from Michael Agrusso, the It'sJustSomeRandomGuy, spoofing Clement Clark Moore's poem, Twas The Night Before Christmas, with a Caped Crusader twist. One of my Christmas wishes for Michael: Will somebody PLEASE HIRE him so he can keep making these terrific videos? ...