Meet some local comic-book creators and vote on your favorite “death” in a local arts event hosted by Speeding Bullet Comics, 614 N Porter Ave. in Norman.

From the Speeding Bullet newsletter:

We’re issuing the ultimate challenge to Oklahoma comic creators … we’ll give you 20 minutes. Kill off a character right before our very eyes!

I’ll be attending the event as well, so stop by and say hello. (Full disclosure note – I am one of the owners of Speeding Bullet Comics.) I look forward to seeing what kinds of awesome comics are created!

- Matt Price

University of Oklahoma professor Jeremy Short will speak on textbooks he’s created in graphic novel format at Friday’s TEDxOU conference on the University of Oklahoma campus.

Short is the Rath Chair in Strategic Management at OU’s Price College of Business. He also co-authored the first Harvard business case in graphic novel format. He’s written textbooks in graphic novel format including “Managing to Succeed,” the sequel, “Atlas Black: Management Guru,” and co-authored“Tales of Garcon: The Franchise Players” and “University Life: A College Survival Story.”

He talked about the ‘graphic’ approach to education and what he sees in the future of textbook publishing in a Q&A with The Oklahoman.

Matt Price: Tell me about the talk you’re giving at OU.

Jeremy Short:Education is a constantly evolving realm. Educators now have the ability to conduct online delivery of courses, create elaborate PowerPoint slides with interactive video clips to illustrate content, and engage students through service and/or hands-on learning activities that apply their learning to the world beyond classroom walls.

Jeremy Short , University of Oklahoma professor and graphic novelist

But textbooks remain the same dull, expensive tomes they’ve been for decades. Until now.

So, I’m speaking on the ‘graphic’ approach to education that I’ve developed by writing several graphic novels on management, entrepreneurship, and college survival. I also co-authored a number of graphic novel journal articles, as well as the first (and perhaps only) Harvard Business School Case in graphic novel format. Most recently, I co-authored a free online textbook that incorporates a graphic intensive approach to teaching key concepts in my primary area of study – strategic management. What’s new about all of these works is that they are graphically interesting and convey what we’ve known for years – individuals lean better through memorable visual storytelling. What might surprise some is that textbooks don’t have to be boring.

Matt Price: What’s the focus of the conference?

Jeremy Short: TED conferences focus on ‘ideas worth sharing.’ Previous TED events have featured talks by Bono, Bill Clinton, Dave Eggers, Bill Gates, and Malcolm Gladwell. This conference is part of a locally organized TED event featuring ideas worth sharing from creative minds with Oklahoma ties.

Matt Price: Tell me about your plans to launch a free version of your textbook on the iPad.

Jeremy Short: The book is available now, online, for anyone to read as many times as they like. 100% free without ads. The lead author, Dave Ketchen at Auburn worked with me on several of the graphic novels as well as some journal articles in graphic novel format. The book reads great on the iPad, but fortunately it looks great on any computer. Here’s a link to the book:

http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/3085###

Matt Price: How do you see textbook publishing changing in the coming years?

Jeremy Short: I think the market has to change in two key ways.  Fortunately it is already making the metamorphosis.

First, the prices of most textbooks ($100+) are a complete rip-off. I’ve taught my class without a book at times, and now I’ll use our free book. But I think costs must come down and that’s starting to happen. Apple’s big announcement about education last week shows that lots of folks are interested in more affordable options. The good news is that there has already been a lot of movement in this area with companies like my publisher, Flat World Knowledge.

I think the second important change is that textbooks have to become more approachable and engaging. Falling asleep shouldn’t be the default behavior when a student opens a textbook. To say this another way – textbooks in my area of study (strategic management and entrepreneurship) convey valuable knowledge of interest to a wide audience. So, they should be written in a manner where anyone would be interested in buying the books (not just students taking a class)

To make that transition between student only and wide-audience interest one approach I’ve used is the graphic novel text. So, instead of having a book with many unrelated examples, our books apply content using characters and a storyline. And, these books are only around $20 each so they are still much less expensive than traditional textbooks. Used books on Amazon.com are even less expensive. Our first book, “Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed” focused on two college students considering starting their own business. In the sequel, “Atlas Black: Management Guru?” we see the business being opened.

Our most recent book “Tales of Garcón: The Franchise Players” tells the story of a family business that is considering franchising. This book has as much content as any ‘Dummies’ book on franchising or family business, but at a lower price and with more memorable examples. And, given that all the authors I’ve worked with are leading scholars, we include more current and important research findings. So, while you might tend to think of graphic novels as dumbing down content, as in “aren’t comics for kids?”, we actually provide a richer narrative than many books that summarize concepts.

Another approach that illustrates how the textbook industry is transforming itself is found with the new strategic management textbook, “Mastering Strategic Management” that Dave and I wrote. It includes graphic pages that are visually more interesting to summarize key concepts. We also profile a different company in each chapter to help apply material in a more digestible manner that avoids information overload. We also include a ‘strategy at the movies’ segment in each chapter. Most people can recite memorable lines from movies, but very few of us quote textbooks. So we wanted to show how this material is relevant, entertaining, and memorable. The average person thinking about starting their own business can use our book now, for free, to think through important issues. I think this is great because academics like myself often struggle for ways to be relevant to a broader market and this provides a resource to reach out beyond the classroom or the pages of journal articles we publish.

Matt Price: Tell me how this works from a business point of view — how are you and your collaborators making money by putting the book out for free?

 Jeremy Short: We don’t make any money with free viewings, but many folks still prefer the print version (where we receive royalties). There are also options to purchase extras such as flashcards and pdf versions of the book, and we draw royalties on those types of purchases. But, since those options are still around $30-$35 part of the hope is that we will be able to recruit multiple adoptions since we’re making less on each unit. Personally, I’m fine making less money on the books as long as I can get a useful tool into the hands of students and make an impact — something I’m already compensated to do as a professor at OU. I will of course donate all royalties from books sold to OU students back to the university.

 Matt Price: What other graphic novels do you have in the works?

 Jeremy Short: We just finished “Tales of Garcón: The Franchise Players” this summer. We also completed “University Life: A College Survival Story.” Both of these books are fun because they really target a broader market than students or academics. For example, approximately 80% of businesses worldwide are family businesses, but few resources speak to the needs of these kinds of organizations. And, franchising is a form of entrepreneurship considered by a broad range of individuals. Our college success book targets first-year freshman, but it would also provide a lot of insights for high school seniors or graduates who want a glimpse into some of the challenges of college life. Reading Amazon.com reviews on our books has probably been one of the most rewarding results of these efforts.

Right now we’re in the process of pitching two more books. The first focuses on the Garcón character as he helps folks to master challenges of strategic management. We envision something of a hybrid between a young version of our main character in the first book (a charismatic patriarch something like J. Peterman from Seinfeld and the guy from the Dos Equis ads) and the TV show ‘restaurant impossible.”

The other book we’re pitching focuses on a venture capital firm who hosts a competition to find the next great entrepreneurial idea. Think “The Amazing Race” meets “Shark Tank.”

Matt Price: Anything else you’d like to share? 

Jeremy Short: I think the idea of graphic interaction is here to stay. We are becoming hardwired to see an icon of an envelope and think ‘email’ to ourselves, and this movement to incorporate these notions into higher education is exciting. Perhaps next time we talk I’ll have developed a PC or iPad interactive game that uses the characters from the graphic novels.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant celebrates a basket during the opening day NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Orlando Magic at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Christmas Day. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman

The locally filmed movie “Wolf Head” will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday at Harkins Theatres, 150 E Reno Ave. The 90-minute film was produced, cast and shot in the greater Oklahoma City area.

According to a news release, the action-comedy centers on the overly sheltered Flannigan brothers who come home to discover their mother is sick and can no longer provide. So they turn to the only person who can help them make money: their mother’s new boyfriend Leonard. He gets them started on a life of street hustling to make money, but things don’t go as planned.

“Wolf Head” was written, directed and produced by filmmaker Ryan “Staples” Scott, founder of Yukon-based RYIT Creative.

Lucas Ross, Ryan Bellgardt, Jack Elliot and Emoly West appear in the film. Tickets are $7; pre-order tickets are $7.50.

For more information, or to obtain advance tickets, go to www.ryit.tv/wolfhead.html.

- Matt Price

Comedian Kyle Kinane, one of Variety’s “Ten Comics to Watch” in 2010, comes to the City Arts Center, 3000 General Pershing, at 7 p.m. Sunday. Kinane, who has appeared on “Conan” and “Last Call with Carson Daly,” is bringing a world premiere with him.

The show will include the debut of the three-minute cartoon short “Bastard Road,” based on the comic created by writer Brian Winkeler, of Yukon, and artist Dave Curd, formerly of Edmond. Kinane and comedian Brian Posehn provide the voices.

The comic, about the post-apocalyptic wanderings of an amnesiac warrior, has appeared in the award-winning “Popgun” series of graphic novel anthologies from Image Comics. Eric Sandhop, of Oklahoma City, drew the comic in the most recent anthology, “Popgun” Vol. 4.

“It’s an ultraviolent, post-apocalyptic action/comedy: SpongeBob SquarePants meets ‘The Road Warrior,’” Winkeler told The Oklahoman in 2009.

Winkeler said he and Curd are currently pitching “Road” as an animated series and are at work on a 60-page graphic novel featuring the characters aimed at a summer release. Tickets for the Kyle Kinane show are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. Call 951-0000 or go to cityartscenter.org.

- Matt Price

Two Oklahomans are working on a weekly webcomic aimed at bibliophiles with a love for classical history. With a strip that aims to mix high and low culture in humorous ways, “Howling at the Gates” introduces a mad scientist, her boyfriend, and their time machine.

Writer Rob Vollmar, nominated for an Eisner award, the comics’ industry’s highest honor, is taking on a more humorous tone for this new strip. He’s working with artist Shayna Pond, a University of Oklahoma graduate with a degree in visual communications. She and Vollmar work at the University of Science and Arts in Chickasha.

“She was born in Texas but has recovered nicely since,” Vollmar said. “As I collaborated with her on university projects, I was blown away by her skills and design sense. Though ‘Howling’ is her first comics project, she’s absorbed the skills of visual storytelling at an amazing rate.”

Pond also trained for three years as an illustrator at Oklahoma State.

“In the past I’ve mostly done stand-alone illustrations for websites, posters, brochures, T-shirts — and I illustrated a children’s book two years ago,” Pond said. “Working on an ongoing project like this keeps me drawing every day. I can see myself dramatically improving and adapting my skills for the comics medium with every strip.”

Vollmar was motivated in part by the immediate gratification of working on a webcomic.

“After a decade of working on graphic novels that took years to bring to market, I wanted the opportunity to work on something with more immediacy to it,” Vollmar said. He started working on the ideas for “Howling” in August, and web publication began in November. The comic is being posted at the official blog for the strip, howlingatthegates.blogspot.com, as well as on LitStack.com.

“LitStack is a place for bookworms and bibliophiles to discuss classics and recent releases, check out cool stuff for readers and get the inside scoop from popular authors,” Vollmar said. “As they also publish original fiction, I approached them early on to see if they might be interested in running the strip. Their enthusiasm for Howling was one of the early factors in nurturing it into existence.”

Vollmar said it’s been noted to him that all of his graphic novels — including “Castaways,” “Bluesman” and “Inanna’s Tears” can be “a bit on the dour side.”

“I got my feet wet doing lighter material on my stint with ‘Tales from the Crypt,’ and this just felt like a good direction to extend on that,” Vollmar said. “There will be unexpected moments of seriousness in Howling, but the goal is mostly to have a good time.”

The cast will build slowly over time but starts out with Hypatia, the scientist, and her slacker boyfriend Grant.

“Despite the fact that he’s in a relationship with someone a thousand times smarter than he is, he serves as the populist voice in the strip, bringing common sense to bear on uncommon, nonsensical situations,” Vollmar said.

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Tooday is the birthday of perhaps the most accomplished Oklahoma cartoonist of all time, Chester Gould.  The creator of Dick Tracy, Gould was born in Pawnee, Oklahoma on Nov. 20, 1900.  He died on May 11, 1985.

You can see impressive items from Chester Gould’s career at the Oklahoma History Center, where the Uncanny Adventures of Okie Cartoonists exhibit continues for about another month.

- Matt Price

Editorial cartoonist David Simpson has retired from the field after allegations of plagiarism surfaced last month.   The former Tulsa World cartoonist had been cartooning for Urban Tulsa Weekly, who announced his retirement in the Nov. 3-9 issue.

The Oklahoma Cartoonists Hall of Fame, housed at the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, has removed Simpson from the Hall of Fame.

The museum web site states:

Due to the recent revelation of another apparent incidence of plagiarism on the part of David Simpson, who had been inducted into the Oklahoma Cartoonists Hall of Fame in 2005, before he had been terminated by the Tulsa World for plagiarizing another cartoonist’s work, the Oklahoma Cartoonists committee now hereby announces the formal retraction of that honor.

- Matt Price

Pop Gun War, by Farel Dalrymple.

NORMAN — A new art gallery focusing on comic book art will launch an exhibit featuring “Omega the Unknown” artist and former Oklahoman Farel Dalrymple on Friday night.

The gallery, Milk Tree, at 1005 N Flood, Suite 108, is the brainchild of comic book artist Joey Belden.

“It’s more of a salon setting,” Belden said. “You can stand there and stare at a lot of different comic things.”

Belden hopes the gallery can open people’s eyes to what goes on behind the scenes in the creation of a comic book.

“You have a lot of fans of the people who work in the medium,” he said. “But not that many people have ever seen original art and understand the difference between digital inks, pencils, all that kind of stuff.”

Belden said one of the challenges in getting people to fully appreciate comic book art is getting them to understand how each page works as part of a narrative.

“It’s part of a story — and obviously a lot of the stories are not fully represented,” he said. “But you still get to talk about how compositions work, how a certain page flows.”

Belden has pages on display from some of comics’ most-respected artists, including Seth and Jordan Crane.

The gallery opened at the end of October, and the Dalrymple show is the first major showing for Milk Tree. Dalrymple works in both mainstream and alternative comics, and was called “one of the field’s most gifted storytellers” by former “Thor” artist Walt Simonson.

Dalrymple, who grew up in Tulsa, is an illustrator and comic book creator who won a Xeric grant for his comic book “Pop Gun War.” He was the artist on “Omega the Unknown” with writer Jonathan Lethem and “Bizarro World” with writer Dylan Horrocks. Dalrymple lives in Oregon. His art will also be featured in the upcoming “Fantastic Four” No. 600 from Marvel, set for a Nov. 22 release.

Belden will have original pages on hand from the recent DC Comics title “The Unexpected,” as well as pages from “Omega the Unknown” and “The Wrenchies.” He’s hoping getting an up-close view at the behind-the-scenes artwork will enhance people’s passion for the medium.

“I just want people to love comics as much as I do,” Belden said.

Milk Tree is open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays, 1 to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 313-1158.

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Hawk and Dove #3 (DC Comics)

Comics writer and Oklahoma native Sterling Gates returns to Norman on Wednesday to sign at Speeding Bullet Comics, 614 N Porter Ave. in Norman.

Gates will sign his books from 5 pm to 8 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

Gates is writing “Hawk and Dove” as part of DC Comics’ “The New 52” line, which launched in September and set sales records. The New 52 is a company-wide relaunch, offering a new take on DC’s classic characters.  Gates is working with artist Rob Liefeld (“Youngblood”) on “Hawk and Dove.”  A preview of “Hawk and Dove” issue #3 is available at Hero Complex.

Other new Sterling Gates projects:
Captain Victory from Dynamite:  Captain Victory is a space epic based on the works of Jack Kirby.
Unite and Take Over:  Gates provided a story for this anthology based on the songs of the Smiths.
Gathering Vol. 6:  Gates wrote a story for this horror anthology comic.

Gates grew up in Tulsa and graduated from the University of Oklahoma.  He currently lives in Los Angeles.  For more information about the signing, call 405 360-6866 or visit www.speedingbulletcomics.com.

- Matt Price
Matt Price is one of the owners of Speeding Bullet Comics.

Kyle drops in Logan-style, bub, in this year’s Planet 46 Halloween Special. Also on the show: Superman fan Herbert Chavez undergoes 10 years of surgery to become resemble his hero; Bryan Harley makes an awesome Avengers trailer “Sweded” parody; Halloween comics are recommended; and Sterling Gates is making a stop in Oklahoma. Plus Wolverine, Superman and more make an appearance in the review file.

SUPER DOPPLEGANGER
Parade reports on a Filipino man, Herbert Chavez, who has undergone multiple surgeries to more closely resemble the Man of Steel. Chavez, a huge Superman fan, has undergone a nose job, chin implants and more.

AVENGERS SWEDED TRAILER IS JUST TOO SWEET
Bryan Harley and friends have created an awesome “Avengers” trailer in the “Sweded” style popularized by Michel Gondry in the film “Be Kind Rewind.” Find out more about the art of sweding and the Swedefest at www.swedefest.com, and find out more about the trailer at www.dumbdrum.com.

STERLING GATES IN OK
Check out Sterling Gates, “Hawk and Dove” writer, at Matt’s store Speeding Bullet Comics, 614 N Porter Ave in Norman, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

GET YOUR HALLOWEEN READING ON
Matt recommends Batman: The Long Halloween, B.P.R.D., and Vampirella comics by Archie Goodwin and James Robinson for Halloween reading in 2011.

REVIEW FILE: Avengers #18, Incredible Hulk #1, Wolverine and the X-Men #1, Superman #2, Aquaman #2
Comics read in 2011: 1,613. Still to go: 398.

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma professor Jeremy Short wanted to express to his students that management is inherently interesting. But he found many of the textbooks boring.

Students are interested in business decisions, he said, as featured in shows such as “Shark Tank” and “The Office.” He wondered how to capture that interest in a textbook.

His solution was to create graphic novels to explore business concepts. His first graphic novel, “Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed,” followed two guys starting their own business. “Managing to Succeed” was written by Black with co-authors Dave Ketchen and Talya Bauer with illustrator Len Simon.

“Our books cover key research content … but they have the drama and fun of more accessible formats,” he said. “And they cost around $20, so they are priced more like other graphic novels and less like $100-plus textbooks.”

Short is the Rath Chair in Strategic Management at OU’s Price College of Business. He also co-authored the first Harvard business case in graphic novel format. Following “Managing to Succeed,” Short wrote the sequel, “Atlas Black: Management Guru,” with the same team. He also co-authored “Tales of Garcon: The Franchise Players” and “University Life: A College Survival Story.”

“I think the essential process is to select the most important material — what we would really want and expect students to know and remember — and then write a story and plot around this material with memorable characters, drama, humor and all the other things that lead us to be able to memorize hundreds of movie quotes while struggling to remember facts from textbooks,” he said. “Then, find an artist that can meet deadlines and has a style that works with the more grown-up nature of the content.”

Short said there was some resistance inside academia to using graphic novels initially.

“I think the most difficult group to win over is professors that have used this or that text for years,” he said. “Many of these folks don’t realize that Google, ESPN and many other companies are embracing the graphic novel format. For example, one of the books that inspired me was the graphic novel adaptation of the 9/11 commission report. So, educating this group on the educational value of these books is a must. I do think professors are convinced once they read the first chapter. Fortunately, the publisher (Flat World Knowledge) puts the first chapter of each book online for free viewing.”

Short thinks the results are even better than those from a college textbook. Short said several student evaluations have said one of his graphic novels is the best book they’ve had in their college careers. But not only students are interested — general audiences have been picking up the books as well, judging from some of the sales and reviews of the book.

“Providing guidance valued by this general audience is really one of the goals I had in mind when I set out to create this kind of book,” Short said. “For example, Dave Ketchen and I have written over 150 academic pieces collectively, but the graphic novels are the only works we can convince our wives to read — and they can’t put them down.”

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

University of Oklahoma professor Jeremy Short wanted to express the dynamism of business in a more exciting way than a traditional textbook.  His solution was to create graphic novels to explore business concepts. His first graphic novel, “Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed,” followed two guys starting their own business. “Managing to Succeed” was written by Black with co-authors Dave Ketchen and Talya Bauer with illustrator Len Simon.  Friday’s Weekend Look contains an article about Short’s work, but there were some questions we weren’t able to fit into the print article.  Check out Jeremy Short’s answers past the cut, and check out the first chapter of “Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed” online here.

Matt Price: How did this project get started?

Jeremy Short: I think it really began with a life-long feeling that we can do a better job educating students with materials other than traditional textbooks.  My area of expertise is management – it’s a subject that is inherently interesting and shows like The Office, The Apprentice, Shark Tank and movies like Office Space demonstrate the widespread interest in business and business education. And, the material we cover in classes is fascinating too. But most textbooks take this excellent material and make is snooze-inducing while ‘Dummies’ type books lack the rigor and concepts that are often most important.

A few years back I noticed that there started to be this format geared for older students that was essentially a movie or TV show in comic format. So, I thought about creating my own ‘graphic novel’ following two guys starting their own business. Since the first book – Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed – was published, I’ve completed three other graphic novels and I’m working on another now.

So, our books cover key research content culled from that past century of management thought and research, but they have the drama and fun of more accessible formats. And, they cost around $20 so they are priced more like other graphic novels and less like $100+ textbooks.

Matt Price: What’s been the feedback from students?

Jeremy Short:  They love it. I’m presenting a paper at the Southern Management Association meetings in Savannah next month and we surveyed student to get their thought on the book. Here’s a quote from the paper that stood out to me:

“The vast majority of students (86%) either strongly agreed or agreed that Atlas Black compared favorably to other management textbooks they have had.”

I published an academic article in graphic novel format with Dave Ketchen at Auburn that looked at management fads – we surveyed MBA students about this format and found that 85% liked our graphic novel ‘case’ more than traditional cases and more than 90% of the students found the business situations we described to be true to life.

Matt Price: What topics have been covered?

Jeremy Short: The Atlas Black series (Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed and the sequel Atlas Black: Management Guru?) covered basic principles of management and business in general, entrepreneurship, leadership, motivation, hiring, decision biases, management history, and other techniques for analyzing individuals, firms and industries. Our most recent book – Tales of Garcón: The Franchise Players – covers a family business considering franchising. Another book that came out this summer – University Life: A College Survival Story – follows a group of students in their freshman year in a Breakfast Club kind of format.

Tulsa-born comic-book writer Sterling Gates is headed to deep space in his next assignment, a revamp of the Jack Kirby character Captain Victory for Dynamite Entertainment.

Captain Victory, created by Kirby, was one of the first hits in the direct-market comic-shop environment of the early 1980s, and of course Kirby is perhaps comics’ most prolific creator, responsible for creating or co-creating concepts including the Fourth World, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Captain America.

Gates plans to stay true to the core of the original concept while updating it for modern audiences.

“I went back and found Jack Kirby’s original issues and pored over them, taking extensive notes,” Gates said. “Kirby was in the military for a while, but he didn’t follow any traditional structure for the Rangers or their hierarchy. Deciphering who outranked who and how took a little bit of work, but I think I’ve put most of the pieces together.”

Gates says fans can expect “big, space-opera action with well-defined characters leading the charge.”

Gates said he has an overarching plan in mind for Victory and his crew.

“Victory is the grandson of Blackmass, a malevolent force that was banished outside our universe a long time ago,” Gates said. “Victory was being raised to be his successor, but at some point and for some reason, Victory left. He joined the Galactic Rangers when he was a kid and has been quietly training them to fight Blackmass ever since.”

But Victory finds himself questioned.

“Victory’s actions, however, come in direct conflict with his superiors at Galactic Command, so there’s conflict all around him,” Gates said. “Even his own men question what he does from time to time, and we’re going to get into a lot of that kind of thing across the first couple big stories.”

The first issue of “Captain Victory” is set for release at the end of this month.

Gates is also exploring big action as part of DC Comics’ The New 52, as the writer for “Hawk and Dove.” Two issues of the series are out so far, drawn by “Youngblood” and “X-Force” creator Rob Liefeld.

“I’ve been working on ideas for Hawk & Dove for over a year,” Gates said via Twitter. “Which is nothing compared to Rob, who’s wanted to return to these characters since the ’80s.”

Gates, who also is a musician, will indulge his Smiths fandom in a new writing project. He’s the writer of a story in an upcoming Smiths tribute comic-book anthology, “Unite and Take Over.”

“I read about the project and found the editor, Shawn Demumbrum, on Twitter,” Gates said. “I told him I’d love to take a crack at a story, so we started emailing back and forth. By the end of that chat, I’d pitched him a story inspired by the song ‘William, It Was Really Nothing.’ He loved the idea, I wrote it, and it’s being drawn right now.”

“Unite and Take Over,” which is set for a November release, takes lyrics of songs by the Smiths and interprets them in a new way in comic-book story form. Gates’ story imagines the Smiths’ song as an interpretation of a crime noir-type story.

“It’s a noir-ish story about a detective named William Black,” Gates said. “He’s on the hunt for a man who was responsible for a wedding day massacre in New York City, but he can’t find him. William’s been on the hunt for a couple years, and our story happens just as he’s deciding it’s time to stop looking. And that’s about all I can tell you about it without spoiling it entirely!”

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

My Planet 46 Comics Podcast co-host Kyle Roberts has created this awesome music video for Norman-based band the Nghiems. Shot at Oklahoma City’s New World Comics, this mini-movie should appeal to those who love Scott Pilgrim, comics and of course classic Nintendo. Created using stop-motion animation techniques, the video took over 4 months to produce and over 8,000 individual photos. This weekend only, you can get a free download of the song at http://thenghiems.bandcamp.com/track/dum-dum-dah-dah

- Matt Price
Click past the cut for the “Making of” the video.

“Justice League” and “Action Comics” are leading the way as DC Comics introduces its “The New 52” lineup. Stores in the Oklahoma City area are reporting strong sales for all.

“‘Action Comics’ seems to be the biggest,” said Alicia Cox of Second Chance Books & Comics in Warr Acres. “Even people who aren’t big Superman fans want to see where they take his story.”

Set six months before the events of “Justice League” No. 1, “Action Comics” No. 1 finds Superman as a brash young hero in blue jeans and work boots standing up to corporate criminals. “Action Comics” is written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Rags Morales.

“Most people are excited,” said Joey Belden of Oklahoma City’s Atomik Pop. “Quite a few people are picking up all the titles. It’s doing well — I hope it continues.”

Superman has a new costume in other titles, including “Justice League” and “Swamp Thing.”

“Justice League” was the flagship relaunch for DC, drawn by co-publisher Jim Lee and written by chief creative officer Geoff Johns. It’s sold more than 200,000 copies. Brian “Buck” Berlin, of New World Comics in Oklahoma City, said “Justice League” is his store’s best-selling comic in the past few years.

The DC relaunch as a whole has been positive, Cox said. “It gives people who loved comics in their youth a reason to come back.”

Even some lesser-known titles have done well, said Berlin.

“I was really surprised that ‘Animal Man’ and ‘Swamp Thing’ did as well as they did,” Berlin said, referencing two of DC’s other relaunched titles.

Belden agreed.

“Some of the lesser-known titles are getting the best reviews,” he said.

Retailers praised the commercials promoting the new titles.

“They’re doing a really good job promoting it,” Belden said.

“Justice League” No. 1 was released Aug. 31. “Action Comics” and 12 other titles were released Sept. 7. New No. 1 issues will be released each Wednesday of September.

Retailers said the new traffic drawn in by The New 52 was helping sales across the board.

“Hopefully this is the kind of stimulus boost the comic thing needs,” Belden said.

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

This couldn’t be more awesome. Bill Hader (originally from Tulsa) joins Oklahoma City Thunder player Kevin Durant in a promotional video for the auctioning of 1500 pairs of Nike Mag shoes (the shoes in “Back to the Future 2″) to benefit the Michael J. Fox foundation.

In the video, Hader plays a shoe store clerk showing the Nike Mag shoes to Durant, when Christopher Lloyd, as Doc Brown, enters the store looking for the shoes. The classic DeLorean, the “Back in Time” theme song and score all appear. If you have several thousand dollars around, head over to ebay to bid on the shoes, which look extremely cool. To quote another 80s favorite, “If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.” Or in the case of shoes, pick up a pair.

- Matt Price
Click past the cut for Michael J. Fox’s message explaining the promotion.

DC Comics will kick off its linewide relaunch, The New 52, on Wednesday, with the last pre-relaunch issue, “Flashpoint” No. 5, and the first issue of the new line, “Justice League” No. 1.

According to DC, “Justice League” will be set at the dawn of the age of superheroes. The first storyline explores the team’s origins as they ultimately become the world’s greatest superheroes, featuring characters including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. The new Justice League series is written by Geoff Johns (“Blackest Night”) and drawn by Jim Lee (“Batman: Hush”).

“Flashpoint” No. 5 is the final issue in the Geoff Johns-Andy Kubert miniseries. According to DC, the concluding issue will provide a bridge from the events of “Flashpoint” to the events of The New 52.

The New 52 are 52 new or relaunched titles from DC Comics being released through the month of September.

The main changes in the relaunch appear to focus on Superman; DC has said that the Man of Steel will no longer be married to Lois Lane once the relaunch takes place. Grant Morrison will write “Action Comics,” which will focus on Superman’s early days, and may clear up some of the mystery around how Superman’s story has changed. George Perez will write the character in current day in “Superman.”

“One of the things we’re going to do in this book is also to show you how Superman is, who he is, why he ended up wearing the costume that he wears,” Morrison said in a video promoting the project. “And to show kind of a different side to the character than we’ve ever seen before.”

Oklahoma-born writer Sterling Gates is writing one of The New 52. Gates will write “Hawk and Dove,” drawn by Rob Liefeld (“X-Force,” “Youngblood”).

“‘Hawk and Dove’ begins with them arguing over how they should handle the problem in front of them, establishing that Hawk is always comparing Dove to his first partner,” Gates said in a recent interview at DC Comics’ Source blog. “We’re going to delve more into that conflict as time goes on, but I really think it makes sense to get it in front of the reader right away. I like to give superheroes a nice big action beat when they first enter the story so we know they’re the hero and that they’re always going to try and succeed and save the day! Now, whether they succeed or not is a different matter altogether.”

The “Hawk and Dove” characters were created by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates. Brothers Hank and Don Hall first appeared in 1968′s “Showcase” No. 75, each exemplifying the aggressive “Hawk” and passive “Dove” monikers of the time. Don Hall died in 1986′s “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” In 1988, a new Dove, Dawn Granger, was introduced in a “Hawk and Dove” miniseries written by Karl and Barbara Kesel and illustrated by Liefeld. These characters will star in the new series by Gates and Liefeld.

“Action Comics” No. 1 and “Hawk and Dove” No. 1 will go on sale Sept. 7. “Superman” No. 1 will go on sale Sept. 28.

By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Oklahoma-born comics writer Sterling Gates talks to the DC Comics blog the Source about his work on the upcoming “Hawk and Dove” reboot that’s part of the New 52 launching in September.

Gates talks about his childhood in Oklahoma, his favorite comics as a kid and much more in the interview.   He also talks about introducing characters to a new audience, which he’ll be doing for many with “Hawk and Dove.”

“Usually I try to introduce a hero in my stories with a scene that really sets up who they are and their basic problems,” Gates said in the interview. “That way any reader will have the basics they need going forward from that initial scene. For example, Hawk and Dove begins with them arguing over how they should handle the problem in front of them, establishing that Hawk is always comparing Dove to his first partner. We’re going to delve more into that conflict as time goes on, but I really think it makes sense to get it in front of the reader right away. I like to give superheroes a nice big action beat when they first enter the story so we know they’re the hero and that they’re always going to try and succeed and save the day!”

Read the whole interview at the DC Comics Source blog.  And click past the cut for more art from Hawk and Dove, drawn by Rob Liefeld.

- Matt Price

The new Spider-Man will be featured in "Ultimate Comics Spider-Man" No. 1, on sale in September.

Marvel Comics introduced a new Spider-Man in the pages of “Ultimate Fallout” No. 4, which went on sale Wednesday.

Peter Parker died in the pages of “Ultimate Spider-Man” No. 160, in June. His replacement has a new suit and a different background.

Miles Morales is a half-black, half-Hispanic American teenager who was inspired to do good after the death of Parker at the hands of the Green Goblin.

Eric Neal, of Second Chance Books and Comics in Warr Acres, said having a minority character become a well-known superhero could help attract new fans to the imprint.

“I can definitely appreciate the idea that there aren’t enough ethnic superheroes, especially major ones, running around,” he said.

The Ultimates imprint is separate from Marvel’s bigger universe; the original Marvel Universe Peter Parker continues his adventures in “The Amazing Spider- Man,” published twice a month.

“Ultimate Spider-Man” No. 1 debuted in 2000 and “Ultimate Spider-Man” is among Marvel Comics’ best-selling trade paperback collections.

“The idea is to create a small Marvel universe,” writer Brian Michael Bendis said in a 2001 interview with The Oklahoman. “If you present an honest portrayal of teenage characters, (teenagers) will want to read it.”

Bendis has scripted every issue of Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man since its debut.

Morales, Bendis tells The Associated Press, is nothing like his predecessor.

“He’s younger than Peter Parker, he’s coming from a completely different background, a completely different world view,” Bendis said. “It’s Peter Parker’s death that inspires this kid to step up.”

Neal said some longtime readers of “Ultimate Spider-Man” will miss their Peter Parker but thinks the change will attract new readers to the book.

“I think it’s probably a positive thing, all things considered,” he said.

“Morales’ adventures will be fleshed out in the coming months with a new “Ultimate Spider-Man” No. 1 in September. It will be illustrated by Sara Pichelli.

Bendis is excited about the possibilities that Morales brings.

“I’m now sitting with a pile of legitimately new Spider-Man stories to tell, and that is the best news a writer could have,” he said.

Marc DiPaolo, author of the book “War, Politics and Superheroes,” agrees that the new character could bring new fans into the fold.

“If Morales is well-written, believable and has an interesting personality, he could be a wonderful role model and a long-overdue superhero for black and Hispanic comic book readers to relate to,” said DiPaolo, who is an assistant professor of English and film at Oklahoma City University. “He also has the potential to add some much-needed diversity to the comic book world.”

Local comics writer and critic Rob Vollmar said he appreciates the attempt at diversity from Marvel but thinks mainstream comics have further to go.

“While we can appreciate nods at diversity that major companies like Marvel and DC might make toward underrepresented groups, the greater issue is diversity among the creators and, ultimately, the readership of these books. Is creating a non-Anglo Spider-Man an achievement or a gimmick?” the Norman-based Vollmar said.

“The stories that unfold from this creative decision will answer that question. More importantly, when will the day come that a woman or a person of color would be given creative control of a core book like this without needing a news release to crow the achievement? That will be more indicative that the core culture of mainstream comics has changed.”

Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso told The Associated Press that making Spider-Man a black character is not a publicity effort but is reflective of an industry keeping pace with modern society.

“This was a conscious decision. Here at Marvel, we pride ourselves on reflecting the real world in all its diversity,” Alonso said.

Norman’s Atomik Pop, 918 W Main, closes Saturday after 27 years in business.

The store, previously known as Planet Comics and Southside Comics, reached new heights in popularity during the manga boom of the 2000s.   But manager Bart Bush said via facebook that the economy, changes in consumer buying habits and overall rising expenses have led to the need to close the store.   The Atomik Pop in Oklahoma City, 7884 S. Western, will remain open.

Full disclosure note: I am one of the owners of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, and so a lot of people would consider me to be in competition with Atomik Pop.  I’ve never felt that way.  I’ve always felt that Bart and his group were almost like teammates trying to raise the tide of comics in Norman with us.   I’ve been deeply saddened by the store’s impending closure.   There are few people in the state – heck, probably in the world – with the knowledge of Golden Age comics, early comics retail and comic book history like Bart, who opened the first comic shop in the state back in 1974. Atomik Pop owner Steve Richter also deserves credit for his years of making Atomik Pop a go-to destination store.

I told Bart personally, but I’ll also say publicly – the city will be worse off without Atomik Pop, which provided many fans their first comic-book exposure via its high-traffic location across from Norman High School.   I even give Bart credit for my Jim Starlin fandom, as I’m pretty sure it was him who sold me on “Silver Surfer” back in the early 1990s. (I didn’t confirm this with him, so it could be faulty memory talking.)

My best wishes to the employees and customers of Atomik Pop. It’s always sad to see a favorite location close, and I encourage everyone to cherish their memories of it. I know that I will.

- Matt Price

DC Comics has announced the solicitation information for the second issue of “Hawk and Dove,” written by University of Oklahoma graduate Sterling Gates, and drawn by Image Comics founder Rob Liefeld.

DC describes the issue as follows:

Hawk and Dove continue their investigation of the enigmatic Alexander Quirk! Who is he? What does he want? A secret laboratory might hold the answers, but it might also spell the end for Hawk and Dove! To top things off, the monster watching our heroes from the shadows finally makes his move – and he’s got a terrifying new partner!

The $2.99 issue is set for release on Oct. 5.

You can find out more about Gates’ plan for the series in his interview with Newsarama’s excellent reporter Vaneta Rogers.

“I’m no longer doing long arcs anymore, where you pick up a comic and find out it’s the third part of a five-issue story,” Gates said. “I’m trying to take into account new readers and doing semi-standalone stories in each issue, and each issue will be a piece of a larger puzzle I’m crafting.”

Sounds like a way to keep new and old fans satisfied with a comic book series!  The first issue is set to release Sept. 7 as part of the first wave of DC’s “The New 52″ relaunch.

- Matt Price

Oklahoma City artist Eric Sandhop illustrated this page from "Popgun" Vol. 4.

Three comic-book creators with Oklahoma ties are among the nominees for the Harvey Awards, comic-book awards selected exclusively by comic-book creators.

The awards will be presented as part of the 2011 Baltimore Comic-Con on Aug. 20 in Baltimore, Md.

Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, the awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art.

Brian Winkeler, of Yukon; Dave Curd, formerly of Edmond, and Eric Sandhop, of Oklahoma City, are part of the anthology “Popgun” Vol. 4, nominated in the best anthology category. They create the comic “Bastard Road,” about the postapocalyptic wanderings of an amnesiac warrior.

“We’re very excited about Popgun 4′s Harvey nominations, especially since this volume features the most Bastard Road ever: 28 pages of comics by me, co-creator Dave Curd and special guest artist Eric Sandhop,” Winkeler said. “We’ve got big plans in the works for Bastard Road, and these nominations are a great way to gear up for the fun stuff we’ve got coming up!”

“Popgun” Vol. 4, published by Image Comics, also is nominated in the best single issue or story category in the Harvey Awards.

Former Norman resident David Gallaher writes the comic “Box 13,” which received nominations for best inker, for Steve Ellis, and best letterer, for Scott Brown.

The nominees and winners are selected by working professionals in the comics industry. Final ballots are due by Aug. 6.

IDW led all nominees with 16 nominations, including three for “Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer: Artist’s Edition,” a high-end reprinting of the late Stevens’ best-known work. “Parker: The Outfit,” an adaptation of the Richard Stark novel by Darwyn Cooke, received five nominations, also from IDW.

Marvel Comics and Image Comics each had 12 nominations. Five of Image’s nominations were for the Top Cow imprint of Marc Silvestri. DC Comics had 11 nominations, with seven of those coming for its Vertigo imprint. And Dark Horse had seven nominations.

More than 30 publishers were nominated for Harvey Awards.

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Tulsa-born Sterling Gates has his first comic-book release since the end of his acclaimed “Supergirl” run today, with the release of “Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost” No. 1, the first in a three-part limited series.   The series has ties to DC’s “Flashpoint,” the large summer event written by Geoff Johns.

“KID FLASH LOST is a FLASHPOINT mystery, as Bart and the mysterious character known as Hot Pursuit try to unravel what has happened when the world they wake up in is not their own. Bart will deal with many of the character threads set up in Geoff Johns’ “Road to Flashpoint” storyarc even as he confronts the greatest danger the 31st century has ever seen,” Gates said at DC Comics’ Source blog.

“Kid Flash Lost” is one of 16 “Flashpoint” miniseries.  The first issue of each is shipping with a promotional button featuring the series’ logo.

The issue is illustrated by Oliver Nome and Trevor Scott.

Gates, who graduated from the University of Oklahoma, has also written “Green Lantern Corps” for the publisher, and co-wrote the 2010 miniseries “War of the Supermen,” which spun out of DC’s Free Comic Book Day issue.

In September, he’ll write “Hawk and Dove” as part of DC’s relaunch of its line.  That book will be illustrated by Rob Liefeld (“Youngblood”).

- Matt Price

Green Lantern toys are on display at the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley.

Green Lantern, an intergalactic peace officer who stars in comic books from DC Comics, has probably his highest profile ever this month.

Ryan Reynolds will star as Hal Jordan, Earth’s defender in the Green Lantern Corps, in the movie “Green Lantern” opening Friday, June 17.

The Toy & Action Figure Museum, 111 S Chickasaw St. in Pauls Valley, is celebrating the release with a weekend-long event starting Saturday, June 11.

And DC Comics announced a brand-new “Green Lantern” No. 1 comic for September, written by Geoff Johns, the company’s chief creative officer, who has been involved in the film adaptation.

“It’s building off the Green Lantern stories I’ve done since ‘Rebirth,’”Johns told The Associated Press about the series, which features art by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy. “Taking it in a very new direction that we’ve never seen in ‘Green Lantern’ before.”

Green Lantern first appeared in the 1940s as Alan Scott. This first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell. He first appeared in July 1940′s All-American Comics No. 16, and he had a magically powered Green Lantern ring.

“Of all the Green Lanterns, he really stands out,” said Kevin Stark, curator of the Toy & Action Figure Museum. “He’s got the cape, he’s got the red shirt. He’s really totally different from all the Green Lanterns.”

After superheroes fell out of favor in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Green Lantern disappeared from comic book racks.

But the concept would return, this time with a science fiction tinge.

Hal Jordan first appeared in “Showcase” No. 22 in October 1959 as part of the so-called “Silver Age” revamp of the DC Comics characters. Hal Jordan, a test pilot, became Green Lantern when a dying

Green Lantern in "Showcase" No. 22

alien selected Jordan to replace him as a member of the Green Lantern Corps.

“I do like the Hal Jordan Green Lantern a lot also,” Stark said. “I like the whole concept of this space police force. Having a lot of characters … where they carry a theme throughout the costume, the costumes are variations on a theme, I really like that. I think that’s cool.”

There have been other Green Lanterns featured in DC Comics through the years, including Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner and John Stewart, all of whom still appear in the comics and will be involved in new series in September. “Green Lantern Corps,” featuring Guy Gardner and John Stewart will be written by Peter J. Tomasi and illustrated by Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna. “Green Lantern: The New Guardians,” starring Kyle Rayner will be written by Tony Bedard and illustrated by Tyler Kirkham and Batt.

Fans who dress as any Green Lantern will receive free admission to the Toy & Action Figure Museum from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. If you can’t swing an entire costume, wearing green will get you $1 off museum admission.

The museum has a new Green Lantern display and will have giveaways of items related to the upcoming film.

For more information, go to www.actionfiguremuseum.com.

- By Matthew Price
WORD BALLOONS
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

University of Oklahoma graduate and former “Supergirl” writer Sterling Gates is joined by Rob Liefeld, one of the most popular artists of the 1990s, for the “Hawk and Dove” relaunch from DC Comics in September.

The project was announced today on DC Comics’ Source blog.

Here’s how DC Comics describes the project:

It’s up to the living avatars of war and peace to root out the hidden forces who look to plunge the country into a deadly civil war in HAWK AND DOVE #1.

DC Comics publisher Jim Lee talked to io9.com about the book.

“A lot of people still have fond memories of Rob Liefeld’s run on Hawk & Dove, and it felt real fitting to bring him back,” Lee said.  “The guy has a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for what he does, and we really expect Hawk & Dove to benefit from that energy. He and Sterling have really brought the momentum that you need to launch a book.”

Gates was born in Tulsa and attended college in Norman.  For me, it’s an especially exciting day for his next major project announcement, because today is the 13th anniversary of Speeding Bullet Comics, the store that my wife and I own and that Gates worked at in college.

Gates’ run on”Supergirl,” much of it with artist Jamal Igle, was a well-reviewed fan favorite.   In 2010, with co-writer James Robinson, he wrote DC Comics’ Free Comic Book Day title, “War of the Supermen” #0, and the miniseries that followed.

Gates took to twitter to express his excitement over the “Hawk and Dove” announcement.

“Seriously, I’m CRAZY psyched to be working with @Robertliefeld!! His X-Force & New Mutants work shaped much of my comics-reading childhood,” he tweeted.

Liefeld worked on the late 1980s “Hawk and Dove” miniseries written by Barbara and Karl Kesel.

He was a popular Marvel artist on “New Mutants” and “X-Force” before co-founding Image Comics, where he created “Youngblood” and dozens of other characters and titles.

- Matt Price

Valiant Entertainment, publishers of characters including “Archer and Armstrong” and “X-O Manowar,” have announced plans to return with print and digital comics in 2012.  Oklahoma comic-book retailers say it could be a tough road ahead for the publisher, which in its previous incarnation sold millions of comic books.

Former Marvel CEO Peter Cuneo has become chairman of Valiant.

Gavin Cuneo, principal of Cuneo & Co., has been appointed to Valiant’s board of directors.

“I am excited to be partnering with Peter and Gavin,” said CEO Jason Kothari in a news release. “Peter’s decade of leadership at Marvel, Gavin’s decade of experience on Wall Street and their highly active roles with Valiant will be integral to our expansion.”

Valiant Comics were extremely popular in the 1990s, featuring characters including Bloodshot and Shadowman. The “Harbinger” series about superpowered teens became a hot collectible in the early 1990s.

“When they first started, people were gung-ho,” said Bart Bush, manager of Atomik Pop comic book store in Norman. “We were selling amounts that were just unheard of. … At one time, that stuff was very popular.”

What happened

After peaking during the comic book boom of the early 1990s, Valiant was later sold to video game maker Acclaim; the Valiant properties were later auctioned off after that company’s bankruptcy.

Valiant Entertainment has been publishing hardcover collections of the original Valiant properties over the past few years and now is set to return with new comics.

“We have been planning the reintroduction of the Valiant titles for some time, and I’m excited to announce our scheduled launch for 2012,” Director Dinesh Shamdasani said in a news release. “Cutting-edge characters and stories were the core tenants of the original Valiant and are the core tenants of the new Valiant.”

Tough market to crack

Buck Berlin, of New World Comics in Oklahoma City, said the company might have a chance to make an impact again.

“Good for them for trying something that worked out really well way back when,” he said.

Berlin said the comics market is tough to crack but thinks Valiant Comics may be able find a way to stand out — and overcome some fan resistance from the latter days of its previous incarnation.

Bush said it was unfortunate the revamped company wouldn’t retain the rights to some characters it published in the 1990s, including Magnus, Robot Fighter and Turok.

Kothari said in an interview with Comic Book Resources that even without those characters, originally published by Gold Key, Valiant has a wealth of characters available.

“Valiant has a huge library of characters, and we have the Valiant Universe, which is larger than any one character as it plays an invaluable role in supporting and strengthening all the characters within it,” he said. “The Gold Key characters are part of our past, but they are not important to our future. Within the Valiant Universe framework, we are initially focusing on nine or 10 of Valiant’s A-list characters, such as X-O Manowar, Bloodshot and Harbinger, and the interactions between them.”

Peter Cuneo said the Valiant characters still have energized fans despite the characters’ absence from comic shelves for most of the past decade.

“Valiant owns and controls a universe of some of the most recognizable characters in the comic world,” Peter Cuneo said in the release. “To this day, despite interruptions in its history, Valiant has retained an extremely passionate fan base. We are keenly focused on bringing the original Valiant Universe back for these fans as well as introducing these powerful characters and stories to new readers.”

- By Matthew Price
From Monday’s The Oklahoman

“On Stranger Tides” author Tim Powers will visit Oklahoma City this weekend as part of SoonerCon 20 at the Sheraton Hotel, 1 N Broadway Ave., from Friday through Sunday.

With the theme of “Heroes & Villains,” guests include Powers, local horror host John “Count Gregore” Ferguson, native Oklahoman and star of SyFy’s SFX series “Face Off” Tate Steinsiek and award-winning illustrator Darrell K. Sweet.

Powers’ novel “On Stranger Tides,” was optioned for film and became the basis of this summer’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”

“My wife and I went to the premiere at Disneyland,” Powers said. “We got to walk up the ‘black carpet’ … and saw Johnny Depp, and Keith Richards, and Jodie Foster somehow.”

The movie features Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth, which are featured in the “On Stranger Tides” novel, but Powers says much of the rest was changed for the “Pirates” film.

“Given that it was the fourth installment of a fairly complicated series, there was no way it could have a lot to do with my book, so I wasn’t expecting much overlap. But even when people make movies specifically of books, I don’t think they’re under any obligation to follow the book very closely. Whole different form and all.”

Fans of adventure fiction with a supernatural twist will find much to enjoy in Powers’ “On Stranger Tides,” which features a former puppeteer drawn into a world of the supernatural when he’s pressed into service on a pirate ship. Powers said he extensively researches the real world events and settings in his books so that when fantastic elements are introduced, they seem believable.

“I want it to be not too big of a speed bump when the supernatural stuff begins to intrude,” Powers said. “I really am always aware that the supernatural stuff is plain bogus, and we’ve moved from reality into just imaginary. And I don’t want that shift to jolt or jar the reader, I want them to sort of go along.”

He also said that real events often can provide an interesting backdrop for storytelling.

“You do the research not so much to avoid getting letters from experts correcting you, as to get really cool stuff that you never could have made up on your own,” Powers said. “I love working with real places and real history because all I have to do to get neat details is look them up.”

For “On Stranger Tides,” Powers researched the lands, languages and currency of the time, along with a lot about sailing.

“I think for a while I knew more about how to handle a sailboat than any living person who had not actually set foot in a sailboat,” he said.

Though based in California, Powers has positive feelings for Oklahoma, which he’s visited multiple times for conventions over the past 15 years.

“It’s a great state,” Powers said. “There are a whole lot of nice people there.”

Powers’ upcoming work includes a short story collection set for release in September, and a new novel in March.

SoonerCon runs all weekend and will raise money for Infant Crisis Services. Members of the armed services receive free admission Friday.

“SoonerCon is and always has been the result of thousands of volunteer hours throughout the year,” SoonerCon Chairman Jerry Wall said in a news release. “It’s a real labor of love — we all have day jobs, families, hobbies, responsibilities — but it’s an amazing way to enrich the community.”

For more information, visit www.soonercon.com.

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

SoonerCon, Oklahoma’s longest running scifi/fantasy/pop culture event, will be held Friday through Sunday in the downtown Oklahoma City Sheraton, 1 North Broadway Ave.

This year’s convention will include a larger exhibit hall and more than 100 guests and performers. Headliners include Tim Powers, World Fantasy Award winning author of “On Stranger Tides,” which was the basis of the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie; science-fiction/fantasy cover artist for the Wheel of Time series Darrell K. Sweet; and Tate Steinsiek from the Syfy series “Faceoff.”

Other highlights include a zombie walk, costume contest, video game tournaments, the largest science fiction/fantasy themed art show in the region, a writers workshop, and the Saturday night zombie prom.

For more information, visit www.soonercon.com or call 310-9255.

- Matt Price

Director Famke Janssen talks about filmimg the movie "Bringing Up Bobby" during a cast party in Nichols Hills, Okla., Saturday, August 14, 2010. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

“X-Men” star Famke Janssen, who portrayed Jean Grey, put herself behind the camera in 2010, directing “Bringing Up Bobby,” a movie filmed largely in the state of Oklahoma.

Janssen told The Oklahoman’s Gene Triplett that the state fascinated her.

“I was introduced to Oklahoma through my boyfriend Cole Frates and, being a foreigner, even though I’ve lived in the United States for about 20 years in New York, I thought it was a unique and different place, very American in a way that I think New York is sort of its own little country.

“I was fascinated by it, it intrigued me and Cole and I just sort of started developing this idea … which became ‘Bringing Up Bobby.’ And Oklahoma just seemed the right setting.

“I kind of felt like my space ship had landed because it was so different from what I have experienced growing up in Holland and living in New York. It really just inspired me.”

The film was recently shown at the film market in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival.

Janssen plays an FBI agent in “The Chameleon,” set to open in limited release on June 10.   She’ll co-star in “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” with Jeremy Renner in 2012.

- Matt Price