Comicscape - July 20, 2005

By: Kurt Amacker
Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2005

I left my first experience at San Diego Comic Con behind a bit sadly. Aside from a few awkward moments with editors and comics professionals (never underestimate my ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time), I had a great time and will likely return next year. I won't regale you with a play-by-play, because CINESCAPE television editor David Wharton provided regular updates throughout the event. He also saw far more panels than I did, as I busied myself pitching my own project, IMMORTALS, to anyone that would listen. Most editors expressed at least polite interest, though a couple shot me down outright. Though it certainly doesn't feel good, but I expected it and won't lay on a therapist's couch over it.

I attended the Eisner Awards on Friday night and, while I contemplated writing a column solely about that program, I scrapped the idea. The Eisners acknowledge comics both mainstream and extremely obscure, so I find it difficult to comment on books I've never read. A report about an awards show would also be kind of dry, but I mean no disrespect by saying as much. However, the pain of Will Eisner's passing hung over the proceedings, and many of the presenters and winners tearfully recalled experiences with him. One can't understate Eisner's influence, and we can only hope the industry can produce talent half as inspiring. Congratulations to all the winners, especially to Brian K. Vaughan, Eric Powell, Kyle Baker, and the team responsible for THE COMPLETE PEANUTS volumes, all of whom won multiple awards.

Steve Niles and Tom Jane were kind enough to subject themselves to one of my interviews in between signings and appearances. As the three of us gathered at Tim Bradstreet's table, we considered where best to discuss the launch of their production company, Raw Entertainment, and their recent deal with Lion's Gate. The two have a full slate of projects before them both comics and film. Niles and Jane both plan to write, and the latter will star in some of Raw's movies, including the recently announced THE LURKERS.

As we considered where to talk, fans walked around us in droves and offered little privacy or quiet. An interview behind Bradstreet's table would've been akin to battlefield surgery, so we made a quick exit for quieter pastures. We settled on the floor of the sticky concrete alcove where mothers held their impatient children and people lined up for the bathroom. Let no one ever say that Steve and Tom won't suffer for their art.

We sat cross-legged in a circle, and I laid my mini-recorder in the space between us. It felt like a horror fan powwow in the middle of a swarm of costumes. As we talked, I pointed the recorder at whoever spoke, while Tom ate cottage cheese and Steve wondered whether a miniature bottle of Tabasco sauce should be his lunch. I began: "Most people know by now that you two are working together, but how did you first meet?"

Tom said, "I forget. In Long Beach."

Steve said, "We were introduced by a mutual friend"

"In Long Beach," Tom interjected.

"Two years ago? Two years now?" Steve asked.

"Two Long Beaches," Tom replied

Steve continued, "Yeah, and we met and Tom liked some of the stuff I wrote, and after we talked we realized we had more and more in common."

"HAIRBALL it was HAIRBALL, right?" said Tom.

Steve answered, "Yeah, HAIRBALL with Cal McDonald.

"Badass," I replied. [HAIRBALL was Steve's first Cal McDonald comic, in which Cal does drugs and fights werewolves.]

Steve continued, "Then we found out when Tom and I were both in Washington D.C. the first time we had lunch I mentioned that I used to be in a band. Tom asked, 'What band?' It turned out Tom had the record and we found out we had all this stuff in common the same taste in comics, horror, and all that kind of stuff."

"I bought his records and then I bought his books. I didn't know it was the same guy," Tom explained.

"Gray Matter?" I asked. "Your band, I mean."

"Gray Matter, yeah," Steve answered.

"It's gone sour," Tom said.

Steve and I both turned to Tom. "What!?" Steve asked.

Tom held up his cup of cottage cheese: "This has gone a little sour. It's got that tingling when it's on your tongue when the milk's about to curdle."

I continued, "Okay, with Raw Entertainment, what are you going to offer the fans that we haven't seen before?" I gestured toward the teeming mass of costumed fans and convention booths to our right and said, "Looking at all the crap that's out there, what are you going to offer us that we aren't getting right now?"

Steve chimed, "Crap with Tom Jane in it!" We all laughed and he continued, "Lion's Gate is giving us an opportunity to let us do things the way we want to. Initially, when Tom and I started talking, Cal McDonald was the perfect example. I went in and pitched it, we sold it, and it got developed right out of the character. The first thing the studio said was, 'We're going to remove all the drug references.' I'm like, 'You just ripped off his cape. What are you doing?' But, Lion's Gate liked what we do, and in the case of THE LURKERS fans are going to get something really close what they experienced in the comic."

I said, "Okay, then"

"Although 'crap with Tom Jane in it' sounds much better!" Steve said.

"I'm going to put that in, don't worry. Tom, do you want to say something mean about him?"

Before he could answer, Steve said, "That wasn't mean!"

Tom replied: "He's just being honest."

I continued, "Do you see Raw breaking any new ground, or is it going to be more retro stuff? Something like BIGFOOT [Steve's recent miniseries with Richard Corben] is '70s horror in comic form. Is it going to be new stuff, or more traditional?"

Steve replied, "I want to especially with THE LURKERS integrate more of the noir sensibility into horror. That's more stylized. Hopefully, we just want to get really dark and..." He paused, searching for an appropriately macabre descriptor.

"Nasty!" I hissed.

Steve's eyes lit up: "Nasty! We just want to tell some horror stories that aren't always women running from guys with chain saws."

I said, "How about telling some that aren't supposed to be funny as well? That's the one thing I really get sick of."

He answered, "Yeah, none of ours are going to be funny at all virtually humorless."

"No laughing," said Tom.

"No laughing," said Steve.

Tom elaborated: "You know how the old AIP studio used to hire nurses to hang out in front of theatre in case you got so scared you had a heart attack? You know, with ambulances outside? We're going to have Laughing Police guys that are going to walk down the aisle and if they catch anyone laughing, they sew their lips shut."

"Staple them," Steve said. "Sewing takes too long."

"Wait, not if you use one of those Magic Stitch things," I said.

"Oh, yeah!" Steve said, and then imitated a handheld Magic Stitch: "Bruuuuh!"

I continued, "Yeah, I think comic relief has infected and is ruining Hollywood. BATMAN BEGINS was so great, but it was like, 'We gotta stop and be funny for a second!'"

Steve concurred: "When Gordon said, 'I gotta get me one of these,' I was officially checked out. I was like, 'No more one-liners.'

"Oh, come on one-liners are great!" Tom said, sarcastically.

Steve said, "Yeah, that's it Tom's going to stab people against walls and say, 'Stick around'."

We chuckled, and I continued: "As far as noir sensibility goes and BAD PLANET being science fiction are you guys going to breach new territory, or is just going to be retro stuff?"

Steve replied, "Well, for me this is going to be really my first experience getting stuff on the screen. Ask me the same question next year and I might know. But, it all feels new. Even with THE LURKERS it feels more like a classic movie like CURSE OF THE DEMON. It's got more of an involved plot and you care about the characters. It's more of a story than a one-liner, like 'crazy man' or 'crazy man with sack on head killing kids.' But, we'll do that, too."

"This is actually a really good time for the noir thing," I said. "SIN CITY did pretty well, and one thing always leads to another or kills another in Hollywood. VAN HELSING killed vampire movies for a while."

"And evidently, you can rip a man's balls off if it's yellow," Steve said.

"That's awesome," I said, laughing. "Do you guys see this as an opportunity to break through the comics curtain I mean, the geek curtain to a more mainstream audience? I don't mean in terms of content, but maybe in terms of exposure?"

Steve replied, "Well, we always want to reach a wider audience. That's especially true well, movies aren't going to be a problem but, with comics, I think there are so many people that would enjoy comics that think they're all just men in leotards. So, they don't come to conventions and don't pick up books. BAD PLANET is pure science fiction, and I do all the horror stuff. So yeah, I hope we reach new people."

"How did you guys co-write BAD PLANET?" I asked. "How did that work?"

Tom answered, "We took turns writing it. I pitched the idea to Tim Bradstreet at the end of THE PUNISHER tour when I was here in San Diego, and he said, 'You should talk to Steve about it.' So, I took Steve out for lunch and I laid the idea on him and he loved it. We fleshed it out together and Steve just started writing it. Then, Steve passed it to me, and I wrote a bit and passed it back. We just kind of played catch with it until it was done."

"The hot potato method of writing," Steve said. "As soon as you run out of ideas, you throw it to the other guy. It works really well and it's fun."

"It was really fun," said Tom.

"As opposed to yelling at each other over a pad of paper with a bunch of scratched out sentences in front of you?" I asked.

"I don't get guys who write like that," Steve said.

Tom said, "It's great, because characters come back and they do surprising things. It makes you think of new stuff you wouldn't have thought of on your own."

Steve continued, "What's really nice is that all the characters have really unique voices. There's some Tom just writes the dialogue for. It's the same thing with Rob Zombie. You can tell who one guy's doing, and it adds a whole range of stuff that I love."

"In a way, that almost makes it like acting together," I said.

"Yeah, you get a completely different thing. Hopefully, BAD PLANET will be completely different from anything I've ever done, because it's both of our brains," Steve said.

I continued, "Why did you decide to work with Lion's Gate? What do they offer you that you can't get at Miramax or Rogue or anybody else?"

"A deal," Steve said, laughing. "But, look at Lion's Gate," he said, gesturing towards the giant promotional display for THE DEVIL'S REJECTS. "It's the perfect place for us. Tom had a good experience with THE PUNISHER. Look at UNDEAD, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, MAY, SAW."

Tom said, "It's creative freedom they offer us the freedom to make the movies we want and stay true to comics and bring in sick and twisted stuff and not get thrown out of the room. Lion's Gate's the perfect place for us."

Steve continued, "And, it's nice to be working with people that don't wince when you say the word 'monster.' I've had that experience in a lot of places, but they want to do what we want to do. It's great."

I said, "It seems like Lion's Gate is carving itself a niche that makes them I don't want to say the new Miramax but ten years ago, Miramax was controversial putting out a lot of ultra-violent and ultra-edgy movies like THE CROW and FROM DUSK 'TIL DAWN. Lion's Gate seems to be headed in that direction. Nobody else would take HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES but them, and it did really well for its budget."

Steve said, "And now, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS. We're going to see that tonight and, from what I hear, it's going to make us cry. I think the first one was really light compared to what this one's going to be. The first one was really colorful, but you know."

I expounded: "The first one was a lot more restrained than I expected from Rob, but he's also expressed admiration for the way THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE was gory without being gory a dry movie. So, what's next for Raw Entertainment after BAD PLANET? Will it be THE LURKERS movie?"

Steve answered, "We've got a couple of movies on the slate. We've got THE LURKERS, IN THE BLOOD, and DARK COUNTRY. With IN THE BLOOD the werewolf thing we're simultaneously doing the Raw comic through Boom! Studios. We're going to put the Raw label on these various projects and so we'll develop the story in the comic while we're doing the movie."

"So, you're not just doing Raw through Image, but other studios as well?" I asked.

"We're hoping to find a permanent home with one publishing house that we can work through. It's a lot of work dealing with all these different publishers. But, we're no-go yet," Steve answered.

"Do you guys plan to keep co-writing, or are you going to branch out?" I asked. "Like, Tom you do some comics, and Steve does some on his own?"

"We'll see what happens," Steve said. "BAD PLANET's going to keep us busy for..."

"A while," Tom said.

"A while," Steve said.

"Tom, are you still planning to do a stint writing THE PUNISHER comic for Marvel?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," Tom replied. "Steve and I were going to write a PUNISHER arc this year, but we got too busy, so we're going to push it to next year."

Steve said, "We've got three different Punisher stories that we want to do, when time permits."

"I'm really excited about that," I said. "I'd love to see what you guys can do with that character. So, is Rob Zombie going to get involved with Raw?"

"We are hoping to make THE NAIL," Steve replied. "It's the perfect Raw movie. We'll just grab a Winnebago, some motorcycles, and go up in the park. It'll be great."

I continued, "I know both of you guys are going to write comics, and I assume the screenplay for THE LURKERS. Are either of you looking to direct?"

"I think we'll be plenty busy already," Steve said.

"Plenty," Tom said.

"Tom'll be acting, too," Steve said.

I looked at Tom, "How's that going to play out with THE PUNISHER 2?"

Tom didn't hear me and asked me to repeat the question. During the conversation, none of us noticed a young couple watching a few yards away from us. As I opened my mouth, the young man approached. He wore a Punisher shirt sporting the spray-painted skull from the film.

"I'm sorry to bother you guys, but you're not Thomas Jane, are you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Tom answered. "I like your shirt."

"Man, me and my girlfriend were looking at you I don't know if you caught us looking at you but I don't know if you overheard us, but we were like 'Is it him?'. What are you doing? Just hanging out?"

"Just signing some stuff over at Lion's Gate and we were at Image today. It's been a lot of fun," he said.

"This is kind of surreal man I don't know!" he said, laughing. "Well, it was nice seeing you."

"Nice seeing you, too," Tom said.

"Have you been getting that a lot?" I asked.

"It's Comic Con, for God's sake," he said. "Yeah."

I continued, "What's the filming schedule going to be between THE LURKERS and THE PUNISHER 2?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I think THE PUNISHER's going to happen first," he said.

Tom's fan was back: "Can I just get a picture?"

Tom said, "Yeah, sure. Yeah. I just gotta finish up this interview."

The fan replied, "I didn't know you were doing an interview I'm sorry." He stepped about ten paces back.

"No problem, man," Tom said.

I continued, again: "Do you guys have a director for THE LURKERS yet?"

"No," Steve said. "We just announced it, so we're going to start feeling that out."

"I think we're about out of time, so let's wrap," I said. What do you want to tell the COMICSCAPE readers about Raw Entertainment, BAD PLANET, or whatever? Feel free to just go off."

Tom replied, "Sweater kittens. Lots of sweater kittens. There's going to be a lot of breasts in both the comics and the movies. If you're a breast man"

"Then Raw is for you," Steve said.

"you're going to freak out," Tom finished.

"Bringing unnecessary nudity back to horror?" I asked, hopefully.

"Exactly," Steve said. "We're going to have all-nude casts."

"So, after years of PG-13 J-horror remakes, it's time to bring the tits and blood back?" I asked, yet more hopefully.

"And no male parts," Tom said. "It's all women."

"Not like in STANDER, right?" I asked.

"No, we had quite enough of that," Steve said, laughing.

"Thanks, guys. Get out there and kick some ass," I said.

New This Week
By Al Brown and Kurt Amacker

DARK HORSE

BILLY THE KIDS OLD TIME ODDITIES #4 (OF 4) $2.99
I heard that Al's mom is in this issue.

CONAN #18 (MR) $2.99
Bruce Timm! Boobies! My God, what did I do to earn such favor!?

GOON #13 $2.99
Man, this book kicked some ass at the Eisners. Congratulations. I wish I had the time or money to pick it up.

MUSICAL WAR OF THE WORLDS T/S BLACK LG $17.99
Al: Wait, is it a musical shirt? Because a musical shirt would own. I would be the most popular kid on the subway! Or is it a shirt about a musical based on War of the Worlds? Because that sounds lame. If this is not an actual shirt that plays music, then that's my idea so don't rip it off. God, I'm gonna be so rich.
Kurt: You could fold it up and put it right next to your RENT! t-shirt in the same drawer where you keep your rolls of Sheer, Al.

MUSICAL WAR OF THE WORLDS T/S BLACK MED $17.99

MUSICAL WAR OF THE WORLDS T/S BLACK XL $17.99

MUSICAL WAR OF THE WORLDS T/S BLACK XXL $19.99
Al, you do realize that the more non-comic crap you put on this list, the more HTML you have to write, right?

STAR WARS CLONE WARS VOL 6 ON THE FIELDS OF BATTLE TP $17.95

TONY MILLIONAIRE DRINKY CROW PVC (O/A) $19.99
So, Drinky Crow is from a comic strip called Maakies, which features a crow that drinks a lot. Sorta like me, except that it's a crow. If you like humor about Turpentine enemas, this is the book for you.

DC COMICS

100 BULLETS VOL 8 THE HARD WAY TP (MR) $14.99

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #642 $2.50

AUTHORITY REVOLUTION #10 (OF 12) (MR) $2.99

BATGIRL #66 $2.50
An appropriate insult for a few of my ex-girlfriends.

BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #67 $2.50

BATMAN JEKYLL AND HYDE #4 (OF 6) $2.99
Batman can't get any darker than this, short of cutting his wrists and writing horrible Goth poetry.

BIRDS OF PREY #84 $2.50

CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY VOL 1 BRING IT ON TP $6.99
Cartoon Network Block Party is the poo. So take a big whiff.

DAY OF VENGEANCE #4 (OF 6) $2.50
Al: Topic for discussion: Which is the best INFINITE CRISIS miniseries? Most people would say OMAC PROJECT, but I would actually go with this. I mean...Detective Chimp, man.
Kurt: Batman's betrayal versus a talking monkey? Well, my loyalties are certainly divided.

DETECTIVE COMICS #808 $2.99
This arc, finally, FINALLY wraps, which means I can read it in one stretch and tell you if it's any good or not.

EX MACHINA #13 (MR) $2.99
Another Eisner winner, and possibly a movie some time in the God-knows-when.

FLASH THE SECRET OF BARRY ALLEN TP $19.99
Al: He secretly loves watching "Dancin' With The Stars".
Kurt: While Al massages his shoulders.

HUMAN RACE #5 (OF 7) $2.99

JSA CLASSIFIED #1 $2.50
Is this when they, like, sell their stuff to other superheroes? You know, like a classified ad? All right, that was horrible.

LAND OF THE BLINDFOLDED VOL 4 $9.99
Al: Where Kurt goes to get dates.
Kurt: It's better than going to the daycare center or the nursing home, Al.

LUCIFER #64 (MR) $2.75

MAD CLASSICS #1 $4.99
Mad: The magazine you can't help thinking is funny, even though you know it isn't.

MANHUNTER #12 $2.50

PLASTIC MAN #17 $2.99

POWERPUFF GIRLS #64 $2.25
Al always buys two copies, because one is inevitably violated.

ROBIN #140 $2.50

TEEN TITANS #26 $2.50

TEEN TITANS GO VOL 3 BRING IT ON TP $6.99
Al: Wait, there are two trades coming out in one week called "Bring It On"? Come on, guys! The 100 monkeys thing is just a saying! You're not supposed to actually go hire monkeys! Anyway, good thing I've seen BRING IT ON like 8 million times so I'm not in any danger of running out of quotes: TEEN TITANS GO is Teen Titans who have gone retarded.
Kurt: You watched BRING IT ON? You know, they do make movies for men now, right?

IMAGE

ATHEIST #2 $3.50

GIRLS #3 (MR) $2.99
Girls gone creepy!

GIRLS 2ND PRTG #2 (PP #678) $2.95

GIRLS 3RD PRTG #1 (PP #678) $2.95

GROUNDED #1 (OF 6) $2.95

INVINCIBLE VOL 1 ULTIMATE COLL HC $34.95

LULLABY WISDOM SEEKER #4 (OF 4) $2.95

RISING STARS VOICES OF THE DEAD #2 (OF 6) $2.99

SILENCERS VOL 2 #1 $2.99

STRYKEFORCE TP $16.99
Al: It's called spellcheck, you assbadgers.
Kurt: "Assbadgers" isn't a word. It's called spellcheck, buttnugget.

WILDGUARD FOOLS GOLD #2 (OF 2) $3.50

WITCHBLADE #87 $2.99
Al: Guest-drawn, bizarrely, by Chris Bachalo. He doesn't draw cheesecake! What's the deal?
Kurt: He doesn't draw cheesecake, but he whips up a mean flaun! Seriously!

MARVEL

ASTONISHING X-MEN #11 $2.99

CABLE DEADPOOL #17 $2.99

CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL 1 WINTER SOLDIER HC $21.99

DAREDEVIL #75 $3.99
We finally learn about the little devil bastard everyone in the support group keeps talking about...I hope.

DEFENDERS #1 (OF 5) $2.99
I want to point out again that this is a "humorous" take on the Defenders, which totally pisses me off. The Defenders are not a joke! They are the bomb! Gah, you buttbuckets.

DOCTOR SPECTRUM FULL SPECTRUM TP (MR) $16.99
Way better than anyone gave it credit for. Now's your chance.

ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN VOL 2 TP NEW PRINTING $16.99

ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN VOL 3 TP NEW PRINTING $16.99

EXILES #67 $2.99
Oh, sweet: Krakoa! Y'know, the living island that kidnapped the original X-Men, forcing the new X-Men to be formed? Cool.

GLA #4 (OF 4) $2.99

HOUSE OF M #4 (OF 8) $2.99
Al: Okay, I'm gonna avoid spoilers from HOUSE OF M #3, but - those of you who have read it know what I mean - this was the big reveal? This was gonna "split the Internet in half"? Was anyone at all surprised by this? Jesus. Lame.
Kurt: I'm not even a huge Avengers fan, and I thought this was kind of disappointing. "Split" my ass! Oh, wait...

HOUSE OF M DIRECTORS CUT #1 (OF 8) (PP #676) $3.99
Al: I'm sure I've said this before, but: the idea of Directors Cut comic books is incredibly lame.
Kurt: Does this mean we'll get to see all the naked parts cut out of the theatrical release? Or does it really mean we'll get a few pages of sketches and notes that'll amuse us for about five minutes before we go read something we haven't bought already?

HOUSE OF M PETERSON VARIANT COVER #4 (OF 8) $2.99
The idea of variant covers is incredibly lame.

INCREDIBLE HULK #84 $2.99

MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #2 $2.50

MARVEL ADVENTURES FLIP MAGAZINE #2 $3.99

MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #20 $2.99
Wait 4, #20? 420? I can't believe you dropped the ball on this, Al! You're the one with all the drug jokes!

MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN #16 $2.99

MARVEL MASTERWORKS X-MEN VOL 5 HC VARIANT ED $54.99

MARVEL MASTERWORKS X-MEN VOL 5 NEW ED HC $49.99

MARVEL MILESTONES DR STRANGE SILVER SURFER SUB-MARINER HULK $3.99
That's my bloodied, broken hand sticking out of the pile of this week's trades and hardcovers from Marvel.

MARVEL TALES FLIP MAGAZINE #1 $3.99

ORORO BEFORE THE STORM #2 (OF 4) $2.99

SECRETS OF THE HOUSE OF M #1 $3.99
Al: Barry Allen goes over to the House of M to watch "Dancin' With The Stars".
Kurt: With his lovable houseboy, Al Brown!

SPIDER-MAN HOUSE OF M #2 (OF 5) $2.99

THE PULSE VOL 2 SECRET WAR TP $11.99
Al: Hey, are they ever gonna finish the actual SECRET WAR miniseries? I'm kinda irritated about that. Man, the art in that book was breathtaking.
Kurt: And will it cross over with THE HOUSE OF M before branching off to INFINITE CRISIS?

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #80 $2.50
Have I mentioned ULTIMATE MOON KNIGHT yet? Yes? Well, it's worth saying twice.

ULTIMATES 2 #7 $2.99

WOLVERINE #30 $2.50
Like every month, Wolverine kills people and Al finds himself strangely aroused.

X-FORCE SHATTERSTAR TP $16.99
Al: Thank God it's finally all collected in one easy-to-burn volume!
Kurt: I was thinking of getting two copies and making nunchacku out of them.

X-MEN KITTY PRYDE SHADOW & FLAME #2 (OF 5) $2.99
I've heard this isn't as dumb as it looks, but I refuse to believe it.