Periscope: Portland's storyboard and comics studio.

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Labels: whiteout, whiteout movie

Terri Nelson realized that the spammers who hijacked our old blog were still using our old template header which includes an image in our webspace. That made its possible for us to make the spam-blog's header say this:



We can't stop them from saying "periscope" up top, but it's something. Maybe we'll mess with the image some more.

In other news, this one came out of nowhere: Whiteout was name-checked in this web-comic.

And Greg Rucka was on tv the other day where he talked about his new novel Patriot Acts, and of course, about Whiteout.

And here's a longer interview with Greg and Whiteout director Dominic Sena.

Labels: whiteout, whiteout movie

"The mere act of discovering that there was a crime is life threatening. It’s not simply, someone found a dead body and you call 911. It’s somebody says, I think I saw something out in the middle of nowhere and someone else says that’s a five hour flight from here and we don’t know what the weather’s like. You want me to fly out and check? Well, yeah, you’re kinda obligated to. Then you get out there and lo and behold this is now a crime scene. It’s a negative one hundred ten below zero with wind chill crime scene and you’ve got to keep the plane running because if it stops you’re never going to get it started again. And you’ve got only X amount of fuel. And the body’s frozen to the ice. Let’s just say it was an accidental death and call it a day. But look, he has eighty stab wounds. Oh, he accidentally stabbed himself eighty times, let’s go, I’m cold."

Greg Rucka and Dominic Sena talk to Comics2Film.com about WHITEOUT.

Labels: whiteout movie

"'It's possible here because we're in Portland, which is the most cartoonist-rich environment anywhere in the English-speaking world. It's the last affordable city on the West Coast, it's an incredibly literate city, it's got crappy weather that keeps people inside and great coffee to keep them motivated—people come to a place like Portland and they do stuff.' "

Publishers Weekly visits Periscope.

"“I just want to say this is like the smartest audience ever!” enthused novelist Sara Ryan (The Rules for Hearts). Indeed, the “Comics Are Not Literature” panel at San Diego Comic-Con International on Sunday often sounded like an Ivy League debate society."

Newsarama's Zack Smith covers the SDCC Comics Are Not Literature panel

The script doesn’t dumb down for the audience. There is some decent explanation of life in the Antarctic without ever making the audience feel like they are getting a lesson or facing plot details on them. The characters are likable from the start especially Marshall Stetko who you know is rough and tough heroine who is going to get the job done.

How do they get these things? Latino Weeklyreviews a bootleg copy of the Whiteout movie script.

"Put as simply as possible, I absolutely loved this book. Kim never takes the easy way out with Grace's tale: she's neither the perfect girl leading a charmed life nor the nerdy kid picked on by the popular kids, but just a regular, ordinary high school girl dealing with problems both ordinary and extraordinary. The cast of characters is thoroughly likable, and Hamm's art does a stellar job using facial expressions and body language to communicate the subtle personality traits that Kim's script demands."

Playback St. Louis gives a rave review to Jesse Hamm's Good as Lily.

And hey, do you blog about comics? Send me a link to your blog and I'll mail out some of Sara Ryan's new mini comics, illustrated by studio members Ron Chan and Dylan Meconis!

Labels: Jesse Hamm, Sara Ryan, Steve Lieber, whiteout movie

Several friends called and emailed to tell me about this in the New York Times.

"These kinds of intimate, face-to-face, sometimes face-to-Darth Vader-mask moments seem crucial to the Comic-Con experience, part of the close bonds that comic books encourage between creators and readers. In the area called Artists’ Alley fans lined up with sketchbooks in which they collect drawings from favorite artists. Some cartoonists offer free sketches, others ask for a nominal payment ($20 or so), but all seemed happy to chat with every nervous adolescent and pushy adult who dropped by their table. Seated next to his wife and sometimes collaborator, Sara Ryan, Steve Lieber (“Whiteout”) graciously scratched out an image at the bequest of an aggressive fan, never breaking stride or losing his smile."

And then there's this.

Wow. I'd forgotten just how much stammering I do before I actually start saying anything comprehensible in a sentence. It's like watching a Hanna-Barbera character run in place with the bongo sounds going before he actually zips off.

Labels: Steve Lieber, whiteout movie

Extra TV made a visit to the Whiteout set and shot this interview with Kate Beckinsale. Turn down the sound on your computer so you don't have to hear the creepy-ass voice-over guy. This was actually filmed one of the days I was there. And hey, as long as Warner Bros is showing a bit of the look of the film, I guess I might as well put up a few of my sketchbook doodles from the set:


Kate Beckinsale and Gabriel Macht, in character.


Executive Producer Don Carmody


A tech waitiing for instructions.


Director of Photography Chris Soos


Director Dominic Sena. When his focus got intense, he'd sort of "conduct" along with the action, moving his hands like there was an orchestra in front of him.

Our daily list of Jeff Parker raves: Scans Daily | Face rockery | London Loves Comics | Johanna Draper's Comics Worth Reading | Wednesday's Haul | Newsarama

Those Newsarama and Scans Daily links also have comics in them for you to read.

Here's a sharp review of a favorite webcomic of mine- Planet Saturday, by Pittsburgh-based illustrator Monty Kane.

Douglas Wolk writes us:

Hi, my dear Portland friends--

As most of you know, I've got a book that comes out this week:
"Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean." There's
going to be a release party for it, too: a First Thursday event this
Thursday evening, July 5, from 6 to 10 PM. It's at Floating World
Comics, an awesome little comics-and-art-book store at 20 NW Fifth
Ave. #101, between Burnside and Couch; their number is 503.241.0227.
The "Reading Comics" release party doubles as an art opening and book
release party for Jeremy Tinder's book "Black Ghost Apple Factory."
It should be a good time.

Jeremy also made a poster for the party, which you can see here.

Here's a sketch from Jonathan Case of a character from his GN in progress, Sea Freak.


-Steve Lieber, posting for Periscope.

Labels: Douglas Wolk, Jeff Parker, Jonathan Case, Sea Freak, Steve Lieber, whiteout movie

The Portland Tribune picked up on our show at Floating World and has some art. And that show, by the way is at 20 N.W. Fifth Ave. #101, Call 503-241-0227 for more info. (Special thanks to VJ for reminding us that information like the address of an event can come in handy.)

This is the sort of thing that Jesse blogs about better than I do, but I followed a Journalista link to Austin Kleon's post about "one point" perspective and thought it needed some sort of reply. (And I posted one there as well as here.) I won't quote Austin's post because most of it is images, but just to clarify I think the term he meant to use was “linear perspective” not "one-point perspective." One-point perspective is a type of linear perspective. It’s used when there is only one vanishing point needed to construct an object or a space in a picture.

Obviously when says “death to one point perspective” it’s just fun hyperbole, but I think in rejecting linear perspective, he's throwing out the baby with the bathwater. It’s an extremely useful system for describing basic physical facts in a picture, like the distance between objects or their relative size. And offering readers the illusion of varying degrees of depth throughout the pages of a comic does a lot to keep the eye interested.

What else? Jeff Parker's Walk-In is becoming a sleeper favorite with the people who've found it. Here's a review of the first five issues.

Also Parker-centric: this reviewer declares Marvel Adventures:The Avengers #12 "absolute genius."

Comic-Con has announced that they're "currently talking to the major Hollywood studios and the following films are under consideration for presentations at this year's event."

Alien vs. Predator 2: No Peace On Earth, American Gangster, Babylon A.D., Balls of Fury, Beowulf, The Bourne Ultimatum, Coraline, Fred Claus, Get Smart, The Golden Compass, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, I Am Legend, The Incredible Hulk, Indiana Jones 4, The Invasion, Iron Man, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Resident Evil: Extinction, Speed Racer, The Strangers, Stardust, Star Trek, Sunshine, Sweeney Todd, 30 Days of Night, Trick 'r Treat, Wanted, Where the Wild Things Are, White Out

I think that last one is actually this:

This means there might be a big panel promoting the movie at SDCC, which means I'll have to actually stand up, leave my chair in artists alley and cross the floor in the middle of Comicon. I'm... I'm not sure if I'm ready for that.

Labels: gallery, Jeff Parker, nerdism, whiteout movie

"This nonfiction graphic novel retelling psychologist Harry Harlow's famous experiments is as disturbing as it is excellent."

Jim Ottaviani and Dylan Meconis' Wire Mothers: Harry Harlow and the Science of Love has landed another great review. This one's at Publisher's Weekly.

And hey, Comics Worth Reading likes it, too.

Also, re:the Bookslut review linked below, I'm told that Dylan Meconis is a "she," rather than the "he" the review cites. Please alter your expectations accordingly.

In other news, I'm writing this from an airport in Chicago, waiting for a flight to Montreal, where I'm going to be visiting the Whiteout set. To say I'm excited about this is kind of like saying "Orson put on a few pounds." But I'm going to do my damnedest to present myself as a thoughtful and dignified professional, and not let my nerves turn me into some sputtering Jerry Lewis spaz-dork. I'll let you know how it goes.

-posted by Lieber

Labels: Dylan Meconis, nerdism, Steve Lieber, whiteout movie

Scans Daily looks in at the Grendel miniseries I did many years ago. They also had an epic thread appreciating the latest issue of Jeff Parker and Juan Santacruz's Marvel Adventures Avengers #12. (Though they do manage to get through sixty-some posts without ever mentioning Juan or Jeff. Hey Scans people, these stories don't just happen. If you like the stuff enough to scan and upload it, why not take that extra second and mention the names of the people responsible? (My mock-outrage is purely on Jeff and Juan's behalf- the Grendel piece credited both me and the writer Jeff Lang.)

Ahem, sorry. Actually, a lot of people are talking about that particular issue of Marvel Adventures Avengers. It's the "Ego the Loving Planet" story: M C Sheffrey | Progressive Ruin | CBR | Eye on Comics | Warren Peace | Those Wednesdays | Every day is like Wednesday | HC Realms

Sam Hobart's Free Comic Book Day analysis says that getting behind Whiteout is "a no-brainer" and hopes that the movie will continue its development. For more on that, we check in at Greg Rucka's livejournal.

And finally, lets all take a moment and contemplate the existence of a comics-themed bed and breakfast.This place could've been AWESOME, in the mode of the Sylvia Beach Hotel but it looks to me like they didn't push the concept anywhere near as far as they should've.

Labels: Jeff Parker, whiteout movie

Call this a David Hahn kind of day: First, a couple of great reviews of his first issue of Spider-man Loves Mary Jane at Comixtreme and Living Between Wednesdays.

And then, from somewhere in Manitoba, a Whiteout filming update that focuses entirely on airplanes.

Labels: David Hahn, whiteout movie

"Gabriel Macht will star opposite Kate Beckinsale in action-thriller "Whiteout," the first pic from Joel Silver's Warners-based Dark Castle Entertainment banner. Tom Skerritt and Columbus Short also will star."

Read the rest at Variety.

Labels: whiteout movie

The word comes down from Manitoba:

"Everyone in town here is getting flyers in the mail that ask for extras. They're looking for 'people who look like scientists that have been working in harsh, cold weather for a long period of time'. Which means I can't be one, since I stay inside most of the time and don't have the wind burnt face. Plus they ask for flexible hours between March 5th-18th, and I can't take days off of work to go. Oh well. I'll just keep selling them insane amounts of canned soups and orange juice."

Labels: whiteout movie

Doritos and Feet
So, we've had this vexing question that's annoyed and puzzled us for years. Yesterday, we decided to take action and see if there's an answer. We wrote a letter to the customer service manager of Alvin & Company.

Hi. First, I should note that I realize this might sound like a prank question, but honestly, it isn't.

I'm part of a studio of comic book artists and we all use Alvin ellipse templates. We all bought them at different times, from different retailers, but they *all* have the same cheesey mildew smell, even the set that someone just bought this week.

It's finally sunk in that we might be able to do something about this. Before we risk ruining an expensive set of templates by washing them in a bleach solution, we were hoping you'd have a suggestion. Is there a recommended way to clean them (and the clear plastic envelopes they came in) that would get rid of that unpleasant smell?

Steve Lieber
Mercury Studio
http://mercurystudio.blogspot.com

And no, this wasn't a prank. The templates are great. They're lightweight, strong, and well-marked, but they smell like a bowl of doritos and feet. So anyway, the reply came today.

We know this is not a prank question.

See?

Unfortunately this is a line of product that we have this issue with.

We do not recommend a bleach solution. They can be washed with a mild soap to clean them, but that may not do anything for the smell. The only remedy for the smell is time. Eventually the smell should subside.

(name withheld)
Customer Service Manager
Alvin & Co.
www.alvinco.com

So that's that. The only solution is time.

Whiteout Movie
Some nice news in Variety today:

Sena to direct 'Whiteout'
Action-thriller is first Dark Castle film
By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

Dominic Sena will direct Kate Beckinsale in action-thriller "Whiteout," the first movie to go into production under Joel Silver's new Dark Castle Entertainment genre label.

Warner Bros. will distribute the pic, based on Greg Rucka's 1999 comicbook miniseries of the same name. Scribes Jon and Erich Hoeber are adapting for the bigscreen.

Dark Castle Prods., a unit launched last fall within Warners-based Silver Pictures, is backed by more than $240 million from 15 different investment firms. Coin will be used to finance 15 pics over the next six years, with Warners distribbing the entire slate.

Silver has sole greenlight authority under the terms of the deal. He also has full creative control. Film budgets are expected to be in the $15 million-$40 million range.

"Whiteout" is set to begin lensing March 5 in Montreal.

I'd like to say I'm starting to believe this might actually happen, but my brain doesn't work that way. Truth is, I won't fully believe any of this is real until I see the DVDs on the blowout rack at Blockbuster.

Jeff Parker continues to bask in the admiration of people who think the comics medium can delever "entertainment."

Rack Raids | The ISB | Lone Star Comics | Jonny Bacardi | Don MacPeherson's Eye on Comics.

Meeting David Hahn
Just found this. It's a bloggers con storystory of how he met the artist of Bite Club and Private Beach.

Family Man

Dylan Meconis has posted page 49 of her ongoing serial Family Man, which means, she notes, that "the comic has officially covered 24 hours in the life of the unusual and imperfect Levy family. Phew." Go Dylan!

-posted by Steve Lieber

Labels: art supplies, David Hahn, Dylan Meconis, Jeff Parker, Steve Lieber, whiteout movie

Looks like the news about the Whiteout movie has gone public:

In the unsure world of moving comics to the screen, Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber’s Whiteout appears to have taken a large and definitive one, as Production Weekly has confirmed rumors that Kate Beckinsale will play US Marshal Carrie Stetko in the film version of the story, with Dominic (Gone in 60 Seconds) Sena directing.

Filming is slated to begin the first week in March in Montreal (presumably on sets) and Manitoba (presumably exteriors). Erich and Jon Hoeber wrote the screenplay adaptation of the story. For those unfamiliar with it, the comic, Rucka’s first major foray into comics, followed Stetko as she must solve the first murder on the Antarctic ice. Stetko is in a race against time to find and apprehend the killer before he leaves for the winter, or be trapped with him for six months.

More at Newsarama

There are a lot of blogs and message boards talking about it. I think my favorite is this one: "British lass Kate Beckinsale is currently in negotiations to star in the Alaska thriller “Whiteout”, based on a graphic novel (i.e. comic book). Written by Erich and Jon Hoeber and drawn by Gerg Rucka." You go, Gerg!

To answer the question I've received in email a couple dozen times this morning, I'm just plain excited. This is a window on a new world for me, and I really hope that comics retailers and booksellers can use this to build a new audience for the Whiteout books and for Greg's wonderful Queen and Country collections. That said, my #1 goal today is the same as it was yesterday: sit my ass down and get some work done. These things don't draw themselves.

Castle Waiting has its roots in classic fairy tales (Sleeping Beauty shapes the beginning of the story) but the completely original cast of characters drives this book into new and very creative territory. You get bearded nuns, a horse knight, poltersprites, a green baby, an Opinicus, and plenty of other odd and amusing characters, but it’s the depth and complexity of the main characters that is so appealing.

Linda Medley's Castle Waiting reviewed at Newsarama on the heels of being named one of the American Library Association’s 2007 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

"I think the rest of the country really doesn't know where Oregon is, they don't know what Portland is. They've got this vague idea and if you ask them to put it on the map, they don't even know Oregon's at the coast."

Kristian Williams interviews Jeff Parker

"Cartooning isn't about drawing well, it's about telling a story. We all tell stories (such as anecdotes about things that happened to us, or to people we know); this lesson is about learning to do that with pictures, even the simplest pictures. Later we'll learn drawing techniques, which will help our stories look better, but we'll begin with the more important task of learning to tell stories. A well-told story will hold the reader's attention even if the art isn't great. None of the instruction below requires any special drawing skill to implement."

Jesse Hamm teaches the craft at his livejournal.

Labels: Jeff Parker, Jesse Hamm, library, Linda Medley, whiteout movie

Nostalgia for vanished integrity time! Oni's just announced that there'll be a new edition of WHITEOUT. This might be the new cover.



Speaking of vanished, looks like Speedball's gone forever. Paul Jenkins responds to intense fan reaction here.

Equally intense but less beligerent: more response to Parker's all-Modok issue of Marvel Adventures- The Avengers:
Comix Experience | Comic Book Resources

And this just in: big congrats to Colleen Coover and Paul "Root Nibot" Tobin for making the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list at the American Library Association!

Labels: Colleen Coover, Jeff Parker, library, Marvel Adventures, Speedball, Steve Lieber, whiteout movie