Whiteout writer Greg Rucka joins Oklahoma native Sterling Gates in Hunt for Reactron
LOS ANGELES — A U.S. Marshal investigating a murder at the bottom of the world is the premise of “Whiteout,” the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber, which was adapted into a motion picture starring Kate Beckinsale.
The comic-book limited series “Whiteout” from Oni Press was a big success in late 1990s. The sequel, “Whiteout: Melt,” nabbed the Eisner Award for best limited series.
At the press conference for the film “Whiteout,” Rucka said it’s an honor to see his creation make the jump to the silver screen, as a lot of comic books and graphic novels never make that jump.
“I’m still in awed shock that it made it this far, honestly,” Rucka said. “Steve Lieber and I created a comic to tell the story we wanted to tell. … All you can really be is incredibly flattered that this idea that you created in one format, because that was the format that you were working in, is something that somebody wants to take the time and the effort to translate.”
This month, Rucka’s moving from the icy wasteland of “Whiteout” to the heated action of “The Hunt for Reactron.”
The four-part crossover between “Action Comics” and “Supergirl” follows the “Codename: Patriot” storyline and features Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird on the hunt for Reactron, the villain who killed Supergirl’s father, Zor-El.
Supergirl and Flamebird, best friends in childhood, have been at odds since Zor-El’s death. But both want 
the man who killed Zor-El brought to justice. This Nightwing isn’t Dick Grayson, but is Chris Kent, Superman’s adopted son.
Rucka is co-writing the crossover with “Supergirl” writer Sterling Gates, a University of Oklahoma graduate.
“Sterling is fantastic, he’s a great collaborator,” Rucka said at the “Whiteout” film junket. “I’m loving writing with Sterling. He and I are doing two issues of ‘Action’ (and) two issues of ‘Supergirl’ together.”
The crossover begins in Wednesday’s “Action Comics” 881 and continues in “Supergirl” 45, on sale Sept. 23. The story concludes in October’s issues of “Action Comics” and “Supergirl.”
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
NewsOK Comics Podcast: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man 2, Supergirl Annual 1, Torch 1
Things light up with Torch #1, and it’s the end of the world as we know it in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2. In Supergirl Annual 1, find out the origin of Superwoman and visit a day in the life of Linda Lang.
- Matt Price
Larry Latham interview on Lovecraft is Missing, cartoon career
Oklahoma native Larry Latham, creator of the Web comic Lovecraft is Missing, talks about his current work, as well as his years working on animated properties from Super Friends to TaleSpin, in this video.
State native Larry Latham moves from cartoons to Web comic Lovecraft is Missing
A page from "Lovecraft is Missing."
If you watched cartoons in the 1980s, odds are you were exposed to the work of Tulsa’s Larry Latham. The 1975 University of Oklahoma graduate is an Emmy nominee, working on shows including “DuckTales,” “Smurfs,” “TaleSpin” and “Super Friends.”
Larry Latham
“I worked on a wide diversity of stuff,” Latham said. “When I started at Hanna Barbera, the first show I worked on was the Godzilla Power Hour, with Doug Wildey, one of the greats of comic books, and Dave Stevens of ‘The Rocketeer.’”
Now returned to Oklahoma from Los Angeles, Latham creates the Web comic “Lovecraft is Missing.”
Latham says he’s always been a fan of author H.P. Lovecraft, and was even part of the group helped raise money to provide a grave marker for the author. He’s turning that love into a mystery comic that takes the premise: What if Lovecraft’s stories were real?
New “Lovecraft is Missing” pages go up every Friday at lovecraftismissing.com.
While Lovecraft’s Chthulu tales are horror classics, Lovecraft has a science fictional basis, Latham said.
“One of his key precepts is that this stuff isn’t supernatural, it’s alien,” Latham said. “It’s so advanced it appears to be magic.”
Latham first developed “Lovecraft is Missing” as a CD-ROM game back in 1994. But after the crash of the CD-ROM market, the concept went back on the shelf. It was under development as an animated series in the late 1990s by Film Roman, but after some creative differences, the rights reverted back to Latham.
After first pitching the project as a graphic novel, Latham in 2008 began working to bring his story to the Internet as a Web comic. Eric Lee, co-creator of the web comic Boodachitaville, helped Latham learn some of the tricks of the Web comic trade.
Latham’s comic fandom goes way back, as he was a founding member of the Oklahoma Alliance of Fans, a pioneering comic fan club that began in the late 1960s.
“We moved a lot when I was a kid. About every 18 months, my dad just had to move. And yet we stayed within Oklahoma City, Tulsa, once we moved down to a little town called Wewoka,” Latham said. “But pretty much every year I was going to a new school. And I got real comfortable, made good friends, but I didn’t keep friends because we didn’t stay around. And comic books were, they were my friends. I read a lot, I loved reading, and wanted to be a comic book artist.”
And now, Latham has achieved that childhood dream.
From Tuesday’s The Oklahoman
By Matthew Price
Oklahoma State student takes on the world at Pokemon video game championships
John Michael Freeman
John Michael Freeman of Stillwater will represent Oklahoma in the World Championships of the Pokemon video game.
“Me and my friends have played the Pokemon games forever,” Freeman, 21, said. “We finally decided we weren’t ever going to get over it, so we decided to try out a competitive tournament.”
The Pokemon national championships in St. Louis
After playing a regional tournament in Dallas and getting “destroyed,” Freeman wasn’t sure if he wanted to play at another tournament. But when the national championships were announced in St. Louis, Freeman decided to try again. But the Lawton Eisenhower graduate would need some luck – he’d have to win a lottery to even enter the tournament. Since his rankings at regionals didn’t immediately qualify him, it came down to the luck of the draw.
“You could walk in and play in Nationals, if you were lucky to get drawn,” Freeman, an Oklahoma State student, said. Freeman went with three friends, two of which, along with Freeman, were drawn into the tournament.
The St. Louis tournament was a Swiss format tournament for the first day, in which Freeman posted a 4-1 record.
His record on the first day of Nationals got him through to the second day, which a single-elimination bracket, with best-of-three determining who would advance. That second day, Freeman won his bracket, which gained him a seat at the world championships in California.
Freeman said unlike “Halo,” the requirements of “Pokemon” are more mental preparation than muscle memory.
“Pokemon is a strategy game, and like any other strategy game, a lot of it’s thought,” Freeman said. “The upfront side of it is all kinds of planning and critical thinking.”
The World Championships begin today at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in San Diego. The winner will receive a trip for four to Tokyo, New York or Oahu, Hawaii. The winner also receives an invitation to defend his or her title at the 2010 World Championships, in addition to other prizes.
- Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Oklahoma Classic Comic Book & Nostalgia show announced
The 2009 Oklahoma Classic Comic Book & Nostalgia Show will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 9 and 10 at the Biltmore Hotel, 401 S Meridian Ave. in Oklahoma City.
Man of Rock, by Bill Schelly
The show will feature comics, pulps, Big Little Books, movie posters, toys, artwork and more.
Dealers from across the USA are attending this show bringing lots of affordable comics and collectibles!
Among the events and guests planned for the show:
* The Big Little Book Collectors Club Meeting
* Art display from fantasy artist Kenneth Smith
* Writer Bill Schelly will have on hand his book on the life of comic-book artist Joe Kubert, “Man of Rock.”
The show is hosted by the Oklahoma Alliance of Fans.
For more info, see http://oafcon2009.blogspot.com/.
Expansive Sterling Gates interview at Newsarama
Oklahoma’s Sterling Gates gives an in-depth interview about his upcoming plans to Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers. Superfans should go check it out, as more hints are revealed about what the Super-team writers are building to in the coming year.
Gates also lets some information slip about the upcoming “Supergirl Annual,” but reminds readers that sometimes it’s best if not everything is spelled out.
“You’ll see a lot of Lucy Lane’s back-story in Supergirl Annual #1, and some — and I said ‘some’ — of the questions about Superwoman’s origin will be answered there,” Gates tells Newsarama. “We won’t answer everything. I think it’s fun not to know everything about a character all at once. I mean, I was obsessed with Wolverine when I was a kid because his back story was this huge mystery, and it was great to just get little bits and pieces as I kept reading.”
- Matt Price
Superman books continue to build
Sterling Gates and Greg Rucka
SAN DIEGO — A group of all-stars held court on Superman at the Superman: Two Worlds panel at Comic-Con International: Geoff Johns, James Robinson, Ian Sattler, Matt Idleson, Francis Manapul, Tulsa-born Sterling Gates, Jamal Igle, James Robinson and Greg Rucka.
The upcoming Codename Patriot arc is part of the overall plan building into a major Superman storyline in 2010, said Robinson, who is writing “Superman,” currently starring Mon-El.
“General Lane has been a factor in these books, obviously, what we want to make him into is the supreme strategist,” Robinson said. “He has literally plans, and layers on top of these plans, which are all leading up to this event in 2010. We’ll see how it grows until eventually all the pieces come together and we’ll have an event that you’ll all love.”
OU graduate Sterling Gates will get his name on perhaps the most successful comic book of all time, Action Comics. He and Greg Rucka will co-write an Action-Supergirl crossover that will feature Kara at odds with her former best friend, Thara, who now wears the Flamebird costume.
Gates also talked about his new miniseries, World’s Finest, which will deal with the issue of Bruce Wayne being missing from Superman’s circle after Batman’s presumed death. Each issue of World’s Finest will pair a member of the Superman cast with a member of the Batman cast.
- Matt Price
Supergirl print available at Comic-Con
SAN DIEGO — Supergirl artist Jamal Igle has made a limited-edition print of Supergirl, available at booth 4301 at Comic-Con. Only 100 of these exist, so they probably won’t last the entire con.
Igle and Supergirl writer Sterling Gates, OU graduate, will talk about future plans for Supergirl at today’s Superman panel, 11:45 in room 6DE.
- Matt Price
Oklahoma’s Brian Winkeler promoting Popgun at Comic-Con
Brian Winkeler at Comic-Con International: San Diego Preview Night 2009
SAN DIEGO — I caught up with the snazzily dressed Brian Winkeler at the Image Comics booth at Comic-Con’s preview night. The Oklahoma native had Con-exclusive bookmarks promoting his comic series Bastard Road, which he creates with former Oklahoman Dave Curd.
Winkeler said two Bastard Road shorts are ready to go in the fourth volume of the “Popgun” anthology, which has housed the first two “Bastard Road” stories. Eric Sanhop draws the second tale, which focuses on Bastard’s sidekick, Farel. Curd returns for the 16-page story focusing on the title character. Winkeler also said that there’s a chance for a “Bastard Road” standalone in the future.
Can’t get enough of Winkeler’s sense of humor? He and artist Robert Wilson are working on an adventure-comedy that could see the light of day as soon as next year.
- Matt Price
