I was a fan of the now-defunct Gorilla Comics, which published great titles, including Kurt Busiek’s “Shockrockets” and Mark Waid’s “Empire.”   One of the titles from the line, “Section Zero,” by Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett, is being revived online at Karl Kesel’s Mad Genius Comics.

The planned six-issue miniseries saw three issues released in 2000.  Kesel will post the previously released, but tweaked and re-lettered, pages on his site, with new material to follow, Robot 6 reports.

“Tom and I are working on new SECTION ZERO material now, squeezing it in around our day jobs,” Kesel writes at Mad Genius Comics. “At the same time we’ll be posting all the previously published storyline— starting with today’s 5-Page Prologue, followed by 3 pages every Thursday. By the time all that’s posted, we’ll have a ton of new stuff ready. If you haven’t read these comics before, this is your chance.”

- Matt Price

Alaina Huffman, who comes in at No. 18 on Nerdage’s actresses with geek appeal, has a long resume of geek-friendly projects.

She guest starred as Black Canary on the series “Smallville,” and had a regular role as Lt. Tamara Johansen in “Stargate Universe.”

In March at the Planet Comicon, we reported here at Nerdage that there was hope of finishing that series with a movie, but she recently reported on twitter that the sets are struck and “it’s over.”

She’s writing her own comic book, “Agent Mom,” which appears on the MTV Geek web site.

Back in 2007, she appeared in the TV series “Painkiller Jane,” based on the comic book by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti.

- Matt Price

A scene from "High Moon," by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis.

WORD BALLOONS

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 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con on Aug. 28 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, and Dave Curd, formerly of Edmond, are part of the anthology “Popgun” Vol. 3, nominated

"Popgun" Vol. 3

in the best anthology category.

“Popgun” Vol. 3 also is nominated in the best anthology category in the Eisner Awards, given out at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

“Dave and I are honored to be a part of a book that’s up for both the Eisner and Harvey, and I’m especially excited that I’ll be attending both SDCC and Baltimore to celebrate,” Winkeler said about the book’s nomination. “Popgun” is published by Image Comics.

Winkeler and Curd’s “Bastard Road,” featured in “Popgun” Vol. 3, is an action/comedy featuring the postapocalyptic wanderings of an amnesiac warrior.

Former Norman resident David Gallaher’s “High Moon” series is nominated as best online comics work. It’s the defending winner in that category. Steve Ellis, the artist of “High Moon,” also is nominated in the best inker category. “High Moon” is part of DC Comics’ Zuda imprint.

David Gallaher, writer

DC Comics led all nominees with 16 nominations. Abrams ComicArts followed with 13, including five for Brian Fies’ “Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?” In that graphic novel, Fies traces the optimism and nostalgia of the 1939-1975 era of science fiction and space exploration.

Image Comics followed with 11 nominations; IDW had eight, and Amulet Books had seven. More than 25 publishers were nominated for Harvey Awards.

The most-nominated single books were “Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow” and “Asterios Polyp.” David Mazzuchelli’s “Asterios Polyp” is a visually innovative graphic novel about an architect forced to change his worldview.

- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

comiXology has announced it is extending its popular mobile comics-reading application, Comics by comiXology, to the web.   Fans will be able to view comics bought in the original app online. Using existing comiXology credentials, fans can login to the web-based application at Comics.comiXology.com to explore their personal comic collection from anywhere without downloading additional software, according to the comiXology release.

“Building a web reader is a significant step toward making comic books universally available to the global comic market,” said David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology, in the release. “The key to uniting the comic community– retailers, readers, publishers and creators—is making discovery easier for everyone. With Comics by comiXology now on the web, we’re opening up the excitement of comics to an even larger audience”.

The site is launching in beta for current comiXology users, and the company is actively seeking feedback.   The Comics by comiXology web beta is now available to current users of the app on other devices. To access the web reader, users can login at Comics.comiXology.com.   The Comics by comiXology reader will launch publicly this summer.  New users can sign up at www.comiXology.com/signup.

- Matt Price

Congratulations to former Oklahoma resident David Gallaher, whose “High Moon” was named Best Online Comics Work at this weekend’s Harvey Awards in Baltimore.

Check out the comic for yourself at http://www.zudacomics.com/high_moon or in the recent print collection.

The Beat has the full list of winners.

- Matt Price

Related posts:

Oklahoma among inspirations for High Moon series.

High Moon continues on Zuda.

Former Oklahoma resident David Gallaher and collaborator Steve Ellis won the online Zuda Comics competition in 2007. Now, his winning submission comes to print this October. “High Moon” is the horror-Western hybrid that was recently nominated for two Harvey Awards.

“High Moon” takes Western tropes and mixes them with supernatural and science fictional elements, said Gallaher, the writer of the series.

“The original story was going to be a retelling and re-imagining of the American Civil War with vampires and werewolves,” Gallaher said. “As I started to dig deeper and deeper into the research, ‘High Moon’ sort of grew from there – with elements of ‘Gunsmoke,’ Jim Bowie, Tom Waits, and Celtic mythology thrown in for good measure.”

The story begins with Matthew MacGregor investigating unusual happenings the Old West town of Blest, Texas. But the detective MacGregor has his own lycanthropic secret to keep.

“The theme of ‘an unchanging man in a changing time’ sort of stuck with me, and the story came out of that,” Gallaher said. “With few exceptions, I hate Westerns … and with this project I was able to write a Western that I enjoyed creating and enjoyed reading.”

“High Moon” is rich in Oklahoma connections, particularly in the comic’s second “season.” Seasons 1-3 will be collected in the print edition. The second season deals with a series of murders in Ragged Rock, OK.

“I spent my quite some time living in Norman, Oklahoma,” Gallaher said. “I was in this wicked class called ‘Monsters, Aliens, and Cyborgs’ that totally stuck with me. I was also enrolled in a Cherokee language course that really made an impression on me.”

These Oklahoma experiences became part of the genesis of High Moon’s second stanza.

“When it came to developing the second season, I wanted to do something that felt authentic to me,” Gallaher said. “The first thing that came to mind were my experiences in Oklahoma. I thought about the geography, the Arbuckle Mountain Range, all-black towns – like Langston – and everything developed from there.”

Creating for the Web first offers many advantages, Gallaher said.

“From a creative standpoint, it’s pretty similar. We have to keep the story fun, fast, engaging, and compelling,” Gallaher said. “But, in terms of distribution, the web offers an incredible place to bring your ideas to market, without the financial burden and liability that comes with print.”

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

– Matt Price

From Rude Dude:

NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE
5 new free books added at WOWIO

If you want to preview full copies of some of our books or would like to help support us, download our books for FREE on WOWIO.com.  We’re paid for each download, so every book you download directly support the Rude Dude Crew!

Rude Dude has added 5 new books at WOWIO for FREE download.  The new books include Moth 1-4 and Draw Nexus: Tips and Techniques – all 102 pages!

Also available are Nexus: Greatest Hits, Nexus 100, and the sold out Nexus Origin.  Get caught up now!  Use the below link to go to all the books available from Rude Dude, or use the book code to go directly to the book!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL TITLES

Link to a series:   http://www.wowio.com/users/searchresults.asp?nGroupId=[series ID]

Link to a book:   http://www.wowio.com/users/product.asp?BookId=[book ID]

Series and Book IDs

SERIES ID FOR The Moth 412

BOOK IDs
The Moth 01 4453
The Moth 02 4465
The Moth 03 4466
The Moth 04 4467

SERIES ID FOR NEXUS 125

BOOK IDs
NEXUS 99: Space Opera – Act 01 1625
NEXUS’ Greatest Hits 1626
Nexus the Origin 4148

Books not in a seriesbook ID

Draw Nexus: Tips and Techniques 4560

The second of the ‘advervideos’ starring Iron Man and Spider-Man has been posted at http://www.marvelkids.com/videos .

The final installment is set to go online Jan. 17.  Meanwhile, the ”Marvel Adventures Iron Man Special,” a prequel to the animated shorts, is available in digital form at http://www.marvelkids.com/ironman.

1.       Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together by Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni Press)

Scott Pilgrim, the slacker twentysomething musician, must still battle his new girlfriend Ramona’s ex-lovers in this fourth volume of the “Scott Pilgrim” series.  This pioneering “arcade logic” series is the perfect hybrid of action and romance in a post-videogame, post-manga world.

2.       Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan (Drawn and Quarterly)

Israeli cab driver Koby Franco is drawn into a mystery when his father’s ex-girlfriend Nuni contacts him. She wants to search for Koby’s father, who she says may have been killed in a terrorist attack. Koby’s search for his father becomes a search for himself, as Motan examines modern
Israel in this evocative graphic novel. 

3.       First in Space by James Vining (Oni Press)

“First in Space” is based on the true story of Ham, a chimpanzee trained by NASA to make the first sub-orbital space flight.  Well-researched and compelling, “First in Space” is suitable for all ages.

4.       All-Star Superman vol. 1 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC Comics)

Morrison and Quitely capture the charm of comics’ Silver Age with their take on Superman, a Man of Steel who creates Superman robots, and whose best pal Jimmy Olsen finds himself gaining strange powers.  Several story tropes from the 1960s come full circle, as Morrison boils them down to their essence and represents them with modern flair.

5.       The Homeless Channel by Matt Silady (AiT-Planet Lar)

Network exec Darcy Shaw thinks “The Homeless Channel” will both draw attention to the homeless plight, and be a good way to make some money, taking reality television to the next level.

Aaron Sorkin-like dialogue and art reminiscent of an early Brian Michael Bendis make “The Homeless Channel” a noteworthy debut.

6.       Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine (Drawn and Quarterly)
Ben Tanaka is an abrasive
San Francisco theater owner who obsesses over white girls; this doesn’t help his relationship with his Asian-American activist girlfriend Miko.  An interesting look at race and sex through the lens of an intimate graphic novel. 

7.       League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill (DC Comics/WildStorm/ABC)

Something of a sourcebook gone mad,
Moore explores the history of his “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” concept, featuring heroes and villains from throughout literature.

8.       Shazam: Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith (DC Comics)

Jeff Smith captures the charm and wit of the 1940s Captain Marvel stories, recaptured for modern audiences.

9.       Astronaut Dad vol. 1 by David Hopkins and Brent Schoonover (Silent Devil)

David Hopkins looks at the children of astronaut reservists in the 1960s, making the space race more personal. 

10.    Nothing Better: No Place Like Home by Tyler Page (Dementian)Tyler Page (“Stylish Vittles”) takes his Web comic to graphic novel format in “Nothing Better,” which examines two mismatched roommates at a Lutheran college. “Nothing Better” is reminiscent of “Strangers in Paradise” and “Blankets,” with engaging characters and fresh art.

Marvel has put the digital version of the comic book “Stephen King’s Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born” #1 up for free at marvel.com, as part of its digital comics initiative.
Stephen King fans may be aware of the sequel, the cover of which appears atop this post. It’s set for release in March. It’s a five-issue miniseries called “The Long Road Home.” Marvel has released the solicitation for the first issue:
DARK TOWER: THE LONG ROAD HOME # 1 The Story: It’s the return of the best-selling comic book series, inspired by Stephen King’s epic The Dark Tower! Gunslinger Roland Deschain has seen the death of his lover Susan Delgado. And the Big Coffin Hunters who burned her at the stake are now in pursuit of Roland and his ka-tet Cuthbert and Alain. The friends are forced to flee into the desert with the deadly posse in hot pursuit….and Roland is in a coma! Don’t miss this opening chapter starring the Gunslinger whose quest for the Dark Tower will shake the foundation of reality itself! Rated T+.

 – Matt Price

From the press release:

With the cooperation of Bill’s brother Mike Mantlo, co-creator (Jackson) Guice and series artists Geof Isherwood and Colleen Doran, all royalties from Swords of the Swashbucklers will be redirected to Mike, to assist with Bill’s quality of life.

In 1992, Bill Mantlo was struck by a car and suffered extensive brain injuries. Today, he requires 24-hour care and is not expected to fully recover. Though Medicaid covers his basic needs, the project will help with new clothes and other life improvements.

“I have to thank to Roger Stern for the idea,” says Steve Horton, Smashout Comics publisher. “He suggested I contact Bill’s estate about Swords of the Swashbucklers, as I had wanted to see it back in print. And now, here we are! I couldn’t be happier that we’re able to assist Bill and his family this way.”

As a special bonus, with participation of artist Polly Law, the first issue of the regular series includes the hard SF short story Rising of the Moon, originally published in EPIC Illustrated 5.

Also, Guice has provided promotional artwork and original art scans, which appear as back covers of the books.

“In the early 1980s, I had the tremendous blessing of finding myself working with writer Bill Mantlo on my first regular assignment in comics (The Micronauts),” says Guice.

“In addition to taking a nervous young artist under his wing, and helping guide me through some very intimidating first few months of experience in the industry, Bill and I soon discovered a strong collaborative spirit between us — constantly on the phone — bouncing ideas back and forth for potential new characters and projects to come.  It became something of an ongoing joke between us, as we invariably would drift off topic into discussing — yet another — new project idea, whenever we spoke.”

“As our run on Micronauts was coming to a close, Bill and I had several project ideas we felt strongly enough about to consider submitting to EPIC, the then new creator-owned line of books at Marvel. We weren’t entirely sure yet what we wanted to work on next, only that we were determined to continue working together. I had recently acquired studio space for myself in a rented loft and had dubbed the place, Swashbuckler Studio. Bill called shortly after the studio phone was hooked up, and I answered, ‘Swashbuckler Studio — Butch speaking.’”

“Without pause, Bill said in his usual enthusiastic way — “That would make a great name for a comic series someday!” — and we laughed.”

“A day or two later, however, Bill called once more and excitedly began describing his broadstroke initial ideas for a space-faring pirate series he wanted us to pitch to EPIC –SWORDS OF THE SWASHBUCKLERS.”

“And that’s how it all began.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say,” says Doran. “It is some of my early comics work, and definitely not good work from me, but what a privilege to get to have a chance to work with Bill Mantlo! Bill Mantlo was not only a wonderfully prolific and imaginative writer, he was an outstanding human being.”

“I met him while working on Swords of the Swashubucklers, and he was so good and kind to me. I was having a legal problem with a publisher who had claimed all rights to my work, and Bill Mantlo was in his early days as a lawyer. He was able to go over my contract, and was able to tell me that I was not only in the right, but he helped me find the contacts and get the representation I needed to wrest my book away from the publisher who was trying to get my copyrights and trademarks.”

“Bill owed me nothing. I was not a good artist, and was not an important person. I was a beginner working on my first job for Marvel Comics, and all Bill knew about me was that I was in trouble and needed a hand. He was incredibly generous with his time and attention, and I will never ever forget that out of all the hundreds of people in the business, he was one of a small handful that stood by me and helped me when I was a complete nobody. He wasn’t interested in sucking up, he wasn’t interested in making a lot of money, he just wanted to do the right thing.”

“My only regret is that I could not be a better artist for Bill.”

“After all these years, I hope my small contribution to Bill’s work can help him out in some small way to make up for the invaluable kindness he did me.”

“I guess…I knew what to say after all.”

“Thank you, Bill Mantlo. I love you.”