Neilalien : A Doctor Strange Fansite : A Comic Book Weblog  

"Ditkomania" original art by Dave Sim recently sold at auction over $1K [Ebay] [thanks Pimp!]

5 Memorable Moments in Comic Book Censorship [Mental Floss]
Includes infamous Ditko story from Strange Tales #83 (April 01961), where the entire point of the story, that it was really the Devil and not just a devil mask at the socialite costume party, is undone by making it just a mask [Ditko Looked Up].

Geek Ink: Comics Fans Show Off Tattoos [Wired]
Wired.com Readers' Best Comic Tattoos [Doctor Strange spotted on an arm o' headshots] [thanks John!]

Forget the x-ray specs: baby squirrel monkey ads in old comic books [Comic Book Resources]

Posted 30 September 02008 - Permalink

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Baltimore Comic-Con update re: Bendis' continuing destruction of Doctor Strange into an incompetent unheroic self-pitier without any hope that there's any heroic payoff at the end of this long dark tunnel that is the Marvel Universe right now [Comic Book Resources] [Newsarama]

A fan asked about the new status quo for Doctor Strange. Bendis answered that in Stephen's mind, he's failed at being Sorcerer Supreme, leading to his surrendering the role. "So the question is - if he's not Sorcerer Supreme, who is?" (from CBR)
That will all be answered in New Avengers post-Secret Invasion. (from Newsarama)

Thanks to all the readers who have sent this to Neilalien- and not one of them is happy with this news, nor should they be.

Update: Funny reader email: "Twenty bucks and a box of doughnuts says the new Sorcerer Supreme will be Baron Mordo, Brother Voodoo, or, somehow, Spider-Woman. Luke Cage is an outside possibility. 'By the Slashing Claws and Steel Cutlasses of Sweet Christmas, let Urthona be struck down!'"

Posted 28 September 02008 - Permalink

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Brian Bendis interview re: Secret Invasion [IGN]

IGN Comics: One of my readers wrote in to me and wanted to know what's going on with Dr. Strange.
Bendis: Well, I'll tell you, and this is a promise and I have locked it in to my outlines for Marvel. There were some plans for Strange. I was setting him up for something. But it didn't come about, so Dr. Strange will be appearing in New Avengers early next year with a big storyline there. It's basically if Dr. Strange is no longer Sorcerer Supreme... then who is?

A lame Harry Potter joke follows. Here we have Why It's Tough Being A Doctor Strange Fan, Exhibit #5,067 (apparently some "plans for Strange" fell through?) and #5,068 (to be replaced by more of Bendis' modus operandi, tear the characters down (not simply giving them challenges, but breaking the characters fundamentally) and without doing anything to build them back up or any kind of heroic payoff (apparently if Bendis' line wasn't merely the setup to a lame joke, then now Doc isn't "Sorcerer Supreme" anymore?)).

[Thanks to reader Mark for the FYI!]

Posted 23 September 02008 - Permalink

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We've heard that Guillermo del Toro had talked with Neil Gaiman about working on a Dr. Strange movie, but this is the first we've heard the response [Gaiman interview at Goodreads]:

GR: Any news on your involvement with a film version of Dr. Strange with director Guillermo del Toro?
NG: Only a rumor, unfortunately. Guillermo would love to do it. The last time we spoke to Marvel, they would love to do it. I would love to do it with them. But Guillermo is in New Zealand working on The Hobbit, which is probably two movies, not one. So, I would not write it off, and I think it is quite possible that in three years time, Guillermo will phone me up [Gaiman does a convincing del Toro impression]: "Neil, are you still interested in doing Dr. Strange with me?" and I will say, "Guillermo, I will do anything with you," and we'll go off and do it together. But it's certainly not happening right now.

What is the sound of two demons projectile vomiting? Dr. Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #8 has the answer [HeroMachine]

Gene Colan praised for his- followable- blastings out of the standard panel grid- especially on Doctor Strange [PanelPicks]

Retailer Brian Hibbs on "street dates" [Comic Book Resources]
Can the comics industry handle it if retailers got their books at least 18 hours before they're expected to sell them? Can retailers handle it without trying to sell the week's comics a day early?

Fun poster of a Borgified Galactus vs. the old-school Enterprise [EBay] [via Progressive Ruin]

Posted 22 September 02008 - Permalink

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Uncle Stan says There's Money In Comics! New Incognito series from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips in December about a bored supervillain; evokes noir Sleeper goodness [Comic Book Resources]

[A link to a small gallery of Doctor Strange original art once lived here; it turns out the images were just jacked without attribution from F.O.N. John Sisson's Doctor Strange art collection]

Dash Shaw art exhibit coming to Duke University [BodyWorld]
Still no word on Marvel putting his indie Doctor Strange story in print.

For the stumped cartoonist: The Sound Effect Generator

Posted 16 September 02008 - Permalink

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Strange and Stranger is probably the best book of its kind that Dave Sim has read [Sim's review from Ditkomania #67, hosted at Four Realities] [how to order Ditkomania]

Long Scott McCloud interview; new Zot! collection [Comics Reporter]

Ninja Cat moves without moving [YouTube]

Posted 15 September 02008 - Permalink

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Blue Hat Man The recently anonymously-donated Amazing Fantasy #15 Spider-Man art spotlights comic book dispute [Times Argus Online]

"I've never, ever had researchers have their picture taken with works of art, until now," said Sara W. Duke, a curator of popular and applied graphic art at the library. "It's almost like a worship of the object that goes on."
Two people with no plans to visit, however, are the webslinger's creative team: writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Ditko.
"I'm just too busy," said Lee, 85, in an interview from his California offices. "Plus, I've already seen them. I'm not someone who lives in the past too much."
Ditko, 80, was more abrupt. When reached at his Manhattan studio, he would only say: "I couldn't care less."

Posted 11 September 02008 - Permalink

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In Excelsis Ditko: Strange and Stranger shines a light on Steve Ditko, the comics world's prickliest genius [SEE Magazine]

Entire print run of All-Star Batman and Robin #10 recalled: Frank Miller wanted all the profanity to actually be lettered in, and then black-boxed out (no *%$#@ for him, no sir!), but a production error rendered black boxes that could be seen through [The Beat]

Posted 10 September 02008 - Permalink

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Stan Lee Hopes To See A Doctor Strange Movie [MTV Splash Page]

Posted 9 September 02008 - Permalink

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Doctor Strange Chris Allen positively reviews Strange and Stranger [via Comic Book Galaxy]

Drawing of Dr. Strange with Illyana Rasputin as Sorcerer's Apprentice [Yirmumah: Will Draw Anything]

The Perception Problem: Anecdotal poll of non-comics folks reveals widespread belief that comic book fans are unattractive, don't get laid [Comics Fairplay]

All-Star Superman in Eleven Panels [I Love Rob Liefeld] [via LinkMachineGo]

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How to read a movie [Roger Ebert]
Some of this gold has got to apply to comics:

In simplistic terms: Right is more positive, left more negative. Movement to the right seems more favorable; to the left, less so. The future seems to live on the right, the past on the left. The top is dominant over the bottom. The foreground is stronger than the background. Symmetrical compositions seem at rest. Diagonals in a composition seem to "move" in the direction of the sharpest angle they form, even though of course they may not move at all. Therefore, a composition could lead us into a background that becomes dominant over a foreground. Tilt shots of course put everything on a diagonal, implying the world is out of balance. I have the impression that more tilts are down to the right than to the left, perhaps suggesting the characters are sliding perilously into their futures. Left tilts to me suggest helplessness, sadness, resignation. Few tilts feel positive. Movement is dominant over things that are still. A POV above a character's eyeline reduces him; below the eyeline, enhances him. Extreme high angle shots make characters into pawns; low angles make them into gods. Brighter areas tend to be dominant over darker areas, but far from always: Within the context, you can seek the "dominant contrast," which is the area we are drawn toward. Sometimes it will be darker, further back, lower, and so on. It can be as effective to go against intrinsic weightings as to follow them.

Posted 8 September 02008 - Permalink

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The Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe is a consistently good seller [Progressive Ruin]

Joe Casey mined the Defenders' meta problems to eventual payoff in Last Defenders [The Hurting]
Text includes this great line: "Nighthawk wants there to be a Defenders for the same reason that David Lovering will never say no to a Pixies reunion."

Posted 5 September 02008 - Permalink

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Kirby Krackle on X-Men #50 cover by Steranko Tracing the advent of Kirby Krackle (or Kirby Dots) [essay by Shane Foley from Jack Kirby Collector #33] [via Progressive Ruin]
The King would have been 91 years old last week.

Wendy and Marvin from the old Superfriends cartoon mauled by Wonderdog in recent Teen Titans comic [Occasional Superheroine] [Wendy and Marvin Wikipedia page]
DC WTF- although, they were pretty annoying. Better blast-from-the-past Superfriends-sidekicks link: The Wonder Twins Zan and Jayna (with Gleek!) by Alex Ross.

That Scott McCloud comic famously introducing the new Google Chrome browser (and maybe comics) to the world last week? Not so great [Stuart Immonen] [The Google Chrome Comic]

Spotted in the shop: Neilalien fave Atomic Robo, #1 of the new Volume 2 series! Check it out!

Posted 4 September 02008 - Permalink

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Doctor Strange by George Tuska

Doctor Strange by the legendary George Tuska! [many thanks to the owner, and Howard!]

Posted 3 September 02008 - Permalink

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The Doctor Strange and Spider-Man Steve Ditko illo from The Comic Reader #42 (01965) went at auction last week for $31,500 [ComicLink]

Posted 2 September 02008 - Permalink

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The Night Gwen Stacy Died: The End of Innocence and the Birth of the Bronze Age [essay by Arnold T. Blumberg]

Posted 1 September 02008 - Permalink

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