Zack Smith: Writer

24 Hour Comic Book Day

Building Bount Street Commons

Carolina Theatre Closes for Summer

Sid Davis’ Horrific Instructional Films

Empty Warehouses, No Trains

Escapism Film Festival with Andre Gower of THE MONSTER SQUAD

John Kessel on MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION with Sam Waterston and Judy Davis

Jonathan Lethem on YOU DON’T LOVE ME YET

Juliette Lewis

KNOCKED UP Review

Monster Creature Feature with Ormon Grimsby

Michael Ryan on RUNAWAYS with Joss Whedon

N*gger Wetb*ck Ch*nk: The Race Show

PAN’S LABYRINTH Review

PERFUME: THE STORY OF A MURDERER Review

Spark Con

SUPERBAD Review

TRANSFORMERS Review

Triple-A Baseball Heroes Giveaway Comic

Understanding Comics in North Carolina with J.P. Trostle

The Untimely Death of Mike Wieringo

VENUS Review

John Waters

by Zack Smith

Ryan Rubio met his collaborator, Thomas Boatwright, the old-fashioned way…at a comic shop. The two put together a print-on-demand comic, the supernatural comedy Cemetery, that’s now coming out as a miniseries through Image this January. Rubio chatted with Newsarama about the new series and the challenges of moving from do-it-yourself to a bigger company.

My friend Craig Lindsey, who’s the film critic for the Raleigh News and Observer, invited me to participate with him in a radio program called “The Movie Show” in Greensboro on Friday. The results were a bit…crazy. 

You can read about our experience here, as well as download the show:

http://themovieshow.blogspot.com/2007/12/listen-to-critical-mass-2007.html

 Or you can listen to the show in streaming Quicktime here: http://web.mac.com/themovieshow/Site/Podcast/Entries/2007/12/22_Critical_Mass_07.html

There’s all sorts of good music and joking and weird stuff. Dig it!

by Zack Smith

When we last spoke to ChrisCross about his issue of Wildstorm’s Midnighter, a lot of our readers were left clamoring for more U.S. comics from the fan-favorite artist. Next year, they’ll get their wish. Cross is returning for a six-part serialized storyline, Tainted, from Big City Comics. In a Newsarama exclusive, he gave us the first look at this crossover, along with some preview pages and an update on his Humanoids project, Neferites L’Embaumeur.

MEETING THE FAMILY – ALAN DAVIS ON CLANDESTINE

The Clan is back.

One of Marvel’s most acclaimed books of the mid-1990s was Alan Davis’ ClanDestine, the action-packed saga of an extraordinary family. Unfortunately, behind-the-scenes turmoil meant that it was also short-lived, with Davis departing after the first eight issues. Though the Clan returned for a two-issue team-up with the X-Men, they appeared gone for good…until now.

This February, Marvel will unleash the Clan upon the world again with a new miniseries written and illustrated by Davis. The legendary creator, whose works include Captain Britain/Excaliber, JLA: The Nail and a run on Avengers, filled us in on the Clan’s history both on and off the page, and gave us a sneak peek at the new series.

Full story here.

NICHOLAS GUREWITCH ON THE PERRY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

by Zack Smith

The Perry Bible Fellowship, named for a random church in Perry, Maine, has very little to do with the Bible. In fact, laughing at the strip’s outrageous dark comedy might make you worry that you’re going to Hell.

The brainchild of 25-year-old Nicholas Gurewitch, the comic has become a runaway hit since he began it in college in 2001. It’s grown to appear in more than 20 newspapers, Maxim magazine and of course on its own web site. Now, it’s poised to conquer the publishing world with The Trial of Colonel Sweeto, a hardcover collection from Dark Horse Comics. Already a bestseller, it’s the perfect introduction to Gurewitch’s world of doughy humans, sarcastic aliens, and really, really horrible things happening. We chatted with Gurewitch about his strip’s success, his inspirations, and just how he creates his horrifying hilarious strip.
Read the full interview here.

The Golden Compass is a safe adaptation

People of the book

BY ZACK SMITH

Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) with Iorek, the armored polar bear, in The Golden Compass Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

The Golden Compass is likely to be controversial, and not just due to the well-publicized boycott by the Catholic League. This adaptation of Philip Pullman’s 1995 novel, the first in his trilogy His Dark Materials, is well-acted and features gorgeous set design yet often holds back on the story’s darker elements, including the heartbreaking cliffhanger. For all its considerable achievements, writer/director Chris Weitz and his collaborators play it safe, not just with the religious aspects but with the story as a whole. The neutering of Pullman’s most pointed atheistic and anticlerical themes raises the possibility that the book’s most fervent fans may be the ones who get angry.

Full review here.

TOM BREVOORT ON FF: THE LOST ADVENTURE

It’s not unusual for the lost work of a great artist to be released years after their passing. Ernest Hemingway and Ralph Ellison are just two legendary authors whose novels hit the shelves in recent years, and the surviving Beatles got back together in 1995 to finish John Lennon’s uncompleted track “Free as a Bird.”

Now, Marvel Comics has reunited a team that’s synonymous with Lennon and McCartney in comics. Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure reunites the original FF team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, along with inker Joe Sinnott. The original Lee/Kirby FF run needs no introduction – historically, it’s responsible for pretty much all of comics as you know it. It’s also one of the longest unbroken runs by a single creative team in history, only recently surpassed by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley on Ultimate Spider-Man.

Full story here.