Art Appreciation Moment of the Day: Mark Rehkopf

Bit late on this one today, but as always – better late than never (like yesterday).  Today I went a searchin’ for something not in the superhero genre, and came up with Mark Rehkopf rendition of the Beetles (with  Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best, if I’m not mistaken) from the 1960′s.

The early Beatles were my favorite … when they were all pretending to be Elvis.

This image started as a very small pencil sketch which was scanned then finished in Photoshop. I tried to be as accurate as possible with all the crappy old guitars and amps.

via Deviant Art

Review: Irredeemable #2

Oh Lois, what have you done now?

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The Plutonian is on a rampage, and is killing anyone and everyone in his path.  The question that is on every reader’s mind is, “How did he get this way, what caused him to snap?”  Issue two arrived in stores today, and it gives yet another clue to the mystery of the hero that is now irredeemable.

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Boom! Studios, Italian Style

Here’s some good news for our friends in Italy; Boom! Studios is coming your way in a magazine format to boot!  Check out the complete press release below.  (heh, I said boot when talking about Italy.)

Press Release

BOOM! Studios just concluded an agreement with Italycomics (www.italycomics.it), an Italian comic book publisher whose catalog is a virtual “best of the best indy publishers” translated into Italian, to form a new publication called BOOM! MAGAZINE.

This new publication sees Italycomics dedicating a whole anthology magazine to BOOM! Studios series.
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Action Comics #1 at $275,000

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The unrestored copy of Action Comics #1 has reached a bid height of $275,000.  There are still eleven days left in the auction for the comic book that ushered in the superhero genre. While 80% of the 100 Action Comics that still remain have been restored, so it is the CGC 6.0 copy that has some speculating the bid could reach as high as a million dollars before it is all over.

What say you Major Spoilers Legion?  If money were no object, how much would you be willing to pay for an unrestored 6.0 copy of the first appearance of the Man of Steel?  And, if you discovered this rare gem under your grandmother’s unmentionables when you were going through her things for an estate sale, would you keep it, or sell it?

The Boys Spins Off Mini-Series

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Seeing as how I’m just a few days behind on this post, I’m sure most of the blogosphere and the Intar-webs are already lit up talking about the cover to Dynamite Entertainment’s Herogasm mini-series.  The series spins out of Garth Ennis’ The Boys series, that takes a rather in your face approach to the superhero genre.  Fans of The Boys will be happy to note that Garth is writing this mini, with John McCrea providing the art.

“Garth has a few special surprises for The Boys planned for the back-half of his story and this mini is the first,” explained Dynamite Associate Editor Joe Rybandt. “While Darick works on the main series, we’re especially pleased that we were able to reunite Garth and John McCrea for this mini which will shock even the most hardcore Boys fan. Guaranteed.”

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Boom! Studios Sneak Peek: Caped

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Los Angeles – January 26th, 2009 - Think your boss is tough? Try working for a superhero! A story of capes, cowls and Blackberrys, CAPED comes to you from the brains of SOUTH PARK writers Josh Lobis and Darin Moiselle, with art by Yair Herrera.

In CAPED, we meet Jimmy Lohman. Millions would kill to be a superhero’s personal assistant. Unfortunately, Jimmy’s not one of them. Down on his luck, and assisting a has-been hero, will anyone take Jimmy seriously when he uncovers the plot to kill off every superhero in town?

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Major Spoilers Podcast Interviews Dr. Peter Coogan

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The Superheroes Fashion and Fantasy exhibit is currently running at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (until September 1, 2008). Included in the exhibit are costumes created for motion pictures and television as well as famous fashion designers interpretation of the superhero genre.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the Met will have a one day conference about the show on June 22, featuring well known names like Alex Ross, The Dark Knight Executive Producer Michael Uslan, Paul Levitz, scholars and more.

This all-day event of lectures and panel discussions brings together leading international scholars, critics, and designers to discuss the world of costumes and comics. Themes include the appropriation of the uniform, the adaptation of superhero costumes for the screen, the creation of modern mythologies, and the role of the superhero as metaphor in contemporary society.

Coordinating this event is none other than Dr. Peter Coogan, director of the Institute for Comics Studies and co-founder and co-chair of the Comic Arts Conference. Major Spoilers sits down with Peter tonight on the Major Spoilers Podcast for an excellent one on one talking about superhero costumes in general, what works, what doesn’t work, and how difficult it is to make the jump from the comic page to the silver screen.

This is an excellent interview, and I had a great time talking with Peter about all things comics. The Major Spoilers Podcast will be live Wednesday morning.

More information about the Met event can be found here.

Two-for-One Review: Countdown to Final Crisis #3 and #2

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Though this is a week late, and the review for the next episode will soon be following, I decided that I would uphold my end of the bargain and review Countdown to Final Crisis #3. Mainly, because I want to provide ~wyntermute~ with another review that isn’t 5/5, but also because I said I would review the last 5 issues (assuming that there is a 0 issue).

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