AiT/Planet Lar: Making Comics Better

2009-06-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

2009-06-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Adam Beechen is making the scene, doing press for the Danny McBride Hench announcement. This one's from my old CBR stomping grounds.

+++++

...and it was pretty cool to see Danny McBride talking a lot about Hench on the MTV Land of the Lost press junket yesterday.

+++++

Adam's on MTV's Splash Page today, as well.

+++++

Personally, I love that the boys at Superhero Hype are diggin' it, as well as most of the AICN Talkbackers. Now all I want to know is when can I buy a ticket?

2009-05-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Elisabeth Rappe of Cinematical has a great take: "One season of Eastbound and Down and several movies later, McBride is the toast of the town. Look for no further proof than this -- he's getting a comic book movie... This is just the kind of 'real world' comic property I was hoping we'd see more of after Watchmen. You couldn't find a better part for McBride either, as he's got a knack for those thuggish types who you find yourself laughing at and sympathizing with. This will be one to watch out for, especially if they can rack up a good ensemble cast for all the heroes and villains that populate it."

I also love Peter Sciretta of /slashfilm.

2009-05-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

I love you, Danny McBride.

2009-05-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

AiT Featured Evergreen: Hench

You know writer Adam Beechen from his TV work and DC Comics stories, but did you know he also co-hosts the official Phoenix Suns' NBA podcast? And did you know artist Manny Bello teamed up with Adam again on the baseball-prison break-period piece Dugout?

Here's what folks say about Hench:

IGN review: "Together, Beechen and Bello are excellent storytellers, and Hench is one of the better works I have ever read. It is a necessity in any superhero-fan's diet and something that begs to be added to everyone's library."

+++++

Haupt: "And seeing this book is a treat all its own thanks to Manny Bello. Never have characters that normally hover in the background looked so good."

+++++

Variety: "Beneath its clever premise, though, Beechen finds moments of black and comic strangeness and even kindness of the sort that you expect to find in an HBO series. Manny Bello's art varies from excellent to crude, but always carries an appropriate tone for a story whose more ludicrous moments work better with an 'amateur' look."

+++++

Wizard #154: "If you like flicks like Pulp Fiction and Goodfellas that provide an inside look at society's criminal underbelly and the miscreants who make their fortune in sin, then get ready for the supervillain version in Hench."

+++++

Ken Lowery: "Take a closer look: what may at first glance appear to be workmanlike art is in fact technically perfect, unusually expressive, and consistent throughout. Bello's no master artist, not yet, but his storytelling skill is impeccable."

+++++

Kevin Smith's Movie Poop Shoot "Should it Be a Movie?" column: "Yet, some way, somehow, AiT/Planet Lar head honcho Larry Young has turned up a couple of new guys with a fresh take on the genre in Adam Beechen and Manny Bello. What an unexpected, and terrific surprise! ... I could go on and on about the story and the contents, but I'd be doing you all a disservice by spoiling the plot for you. The dialogue is crisp and realistic, the art is sharp and tells the story very effectively. Another fine jewel for Larry Young's little empire. Grade: A"

2009-05-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

2009-05-12T09:20:00.000-07:00

Back in the day, I did a minicomic about a scientist in charge of the Temporal Improbability Management Expeditions, and gave the guy to my pal Pat Donley, who uses him as a mascot for his shop, The Time Tunnel. In true Matt-Wagnerian tradition, Nick of T.I.M.E. ended up more than a little of a self-portrait, which, as I near my dotage, I find more than a little humorous.

So, Pat sent over this bit from one of his talented pals, Dave Hobbs, and I gotta say, this is awesome:

2009-05-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Mimi's personal blog has a new home: Mimzilla.com. Of course you know that's a mash-up of "Mimi" and "Godzilla."

The latest post is her Mother's Day ruminations, wherein she reveals her husband wanted to see the new Star Trek so badly, he made her crash a corporate screening at 10:30 am Friday morning.

2009-05-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

My toggle stats say this is the 1000th post of the daily update since December 29th, 2003. That's, on average, a post every other day for six years.

I hope you got as much infotainment out of it as I have. :)

+++++

Here's one from the Podgecast: "Hench is far from the only piece of super-hero fiction to take a look at the costumed life from the henchman's perspective. But in Mike Fulton it succeeds in creating a relatable everyman. Just another common guy working a job. Beechen and Bello's background heroes and villains are interesting as well. I especially like the drunken Russian called the Cosmonaut and the mystic villain Hellbent."

I especially like the Cosmonaut, too. Manny gave me the art for his appearance, and it's proudly framed in my office, because that's Adam's and Manny's tip-of-the-hat to me. I hope George Clooney plays me in the movie.

+++++

Got a great email from my pal, the world-class Eisner-award-winning retailer Adam Freeman, telling me he's selling a lot of Switchblade Honeys from Graeme's mention on io9.com this week: "Warren Ellis' 2003 graphic novel may have started out as a joke, but it's one that stays funny throughout its short (72 pages) lifespan; essentially, 'what if the Enterprise was crewed by bastards?' Honey apparently got its origins when an episode of Star Trek: Voyager made Ellis imagine a Trek where Ray Winstone was captain. The result? The kind of Star Trek that you'll never see on television, and that's a good thing."

+++++

Graeme also hit the jackpot on calling out the "birth of hope" sequence in Continuity and in the latest Neil Gaiman Batman project.

+++++

Speaking of; it's the year anniversary of my favorite io9 post ever.

2009-04-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

A lot going on during Mimi's sabbatical, so I haven't had much time for updating. I've been using my web time for weeding, grading, blocking, and sanding to prepare for putting down some pavers on the way to the garden:

Here's some cool stuff from the last week or two:

First, Shawn Douglas at Cosmic Comics has some kind and flattering things to say about the company on the occasion of the tenth anniversary: "AiT/Planet Lar gave me Astronauts in Trouble (written by Larry Young, who runs and is largely responsible for the creation of AiT/Planet Lar) which I adored and from there I continued to find new and interesting projects to devour. I found Channel Zero by Brian Wood, which changed the way I thought about comics and who made me wish I was making my own graphic novels, too. It fed the part of me that wanted whole, self-contained stories. That made me want to dig into the meat of a book, have my way with it and let it push me to the next story like a man with a horribly expensive addiction."

+++++

Shaun Manning interviewed me for CBR, which had some cool insights, but I particularly appreciated John Dallaire's comment in the discussion thread for the story: "In my experience there has been nobody more personable, encouraging, enthusiastic, and just plain friendly at any convention or online than Larry. Everyone should buy as many of the books he puts out as possible - there truly is something for everyone in his list."

+++++

...and good ol' Graeme McMillan displays some mind-reading powers by giving a timely shout out to Hench on www.io9.com

2009-04-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ada Price, of Publisher's Weekly, interviews me on the tenth anniversary of the company. I rarely do phone interviews, because my unbridled enthusiasm usually has me sound like a lunatic when transcribed exactly, but I had a blast talking to Ada.

+++++

Vince Gonzales spills the beans about his next graphic novel project for us, at the end of his CBR video interview for his debut project, Super Zombies.

+++++

...and here's a couple of notable podcasts: The Pull List boys do an impressive, comprehensive overview of Rock Bottom, and Tim Young speaks to Brian Hibbs, Gary Groth, Bill Schanes and me about Diamond distribution.

2009-03-29T16:53:00.001-07:00

2009-03-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here comes another one.

Folks who know me well will know I'm excited that the folks behind Doomsday and early Lost are doing this one.

2009-03-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

People often ask me if there's more astronauts ever coming out, and I have to say I often think of getting the band back together. Matt Smith sent this over in honor of the tenth anniversary:

I have to say, it's nice to see Annie again.

2009-03-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm Larry Young, and I love comics.

I love comics so much, I have to make my own.

In the summer of 1973, our family moved from Dallas, Texas to rural Vermont. To say that it was a culture shock would be understating the situation. In public school in Texas, for example, we had etiquette lessons; the correct way to answer the phone, the respectful way to address your elders, that sort of thing.

The first day of school in Vermont, however, both my sister and I ended up at the principal's office for being extremely sarcastic to our teachers. Our crime? In answer to a direct question, I had said, "No, sir" to my teacher, and my sister had said "Yes, ma'am" to hers.

We got in trouble for that.

Anyway.

Before the school year started, though, we stayed in an apartment complex a few towns over from where our house was being built, and from where my sister and I would be going to school. So we didn't have a chance to meet anybody we'd be going to school with, and there weren't really any kids in the apartment complex besides us. My sister and I got along pretty well, but there wasn't a whole lot of things we could do. We got bored pretty quickly.

Down at the end of the street, though, was an old-fashioned general store. A rickety old ramshackle house, with the front part of it expanded to an all-purpose supply store. Quaint and pretty much as bucolic as you're probably imagining. Picture a Saturday Evening Post cover starring Vermont hippies, and you'll be on the right track.

Whenever we got bored with trying to spot minnows swimming by in the small stream or tired of biking around the woods or flying kites or looking for a good place to build a tree house, we would end up down at the general store and buy some maple sugar candy which was nearly the most exotic thing we had ever tasted. We could buy 45s for our turntable... I still have the AM radio versions of "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Uneasy Rider" that I bought there...

...or we'd load up on comic books.

Now, I'd already been a big fan of World's Finest and Adventure Comics and Captain America, but I also liked those Charlton hot-rod comics and Gold Key Westerns. I'd read anything, really. I could take comics or leave 'em. Even as a kid, I knew the difference between real and make-believe, and these four-color adventures were cool, and all, but obviously made-up.

I mean, Spidey swinging through New York City may well have been King Arthur riding to Camelot for as much as it meant to me. They were just stories.

Then, one day, we rolled into the General Store to get some comics, and one had been separated from all the rest at the spinner rack, and had been set up in a pile next to the cash register. A little sign said that the story in that comic took place in Rutland, the town just up the road.

I remember thinking, "Whaaaaat?" There was no way that a made-up story could take place right up the street.

So, I bought the comic. It was Avengers #119, and the Collector had come to Rutland to kidnap the Avengers, who were in town for the Halloween Parade. And there really was a Halloween Parade in Rutland! This story could have actually happened!

It was right then that I realized that wondrous and magical things could happen in comics.

So.

Twenty-eight years later, give or take a month or two, and I found myself out to dinner with my pal Selby and his friend Steve Englehart. We talked about this and that, until Steve asked me where I grew up and I answered, "Mostly in rural Vermont." "Oh? Whereabouts?" says Steve. "Near Rutland," I say. "Ever hear of the Halloween Parade?" says Steve.

Whereupon I launched into a much grander version of the story you've just read, while a slow Yoda-like smile spread over Steve's face as I told it.

"And that's the one comic that really, really got me into the whole art form," I end up. "I doubt I'd be doing what I'm doing today if I hadn't got such a big kick out of that book at just that time."

Steve looked at me and said, "I wrote that."

And that's one of the things I love about comics. Something that Steve worked on for a month or so back when Nixon was still President had a positive and lasting effect on at least one kid, out in the world. And that's a pretty powerful thing, making comics.

And so ten years have passed since you could first walk into a comic shop and buy yourself a copy of Astronauts in Trouble: Live from the Moon #1. Mimi and I would just like to thank all of you in comics for letting us entertain you and for welcoming us into your world. All the readers who savor our stories, all the creators who work hard to bring you their tales, all the retailers who keep the faith by putting good comics into your hands every week, all the printers who make the books, and all the good folks at Diamond Comics who keep everyone connected together: thanks for being a part of us making comics.

Making Comics Better.

2009-03-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

Excellent way to start the week:

Looking to match its "Race to Witch Mountain" director Andy Fickman with another family adventure film, Walt Disney Studios has attached him to helm Monster Attack Network. Scott Elder and Josh Harmon have been hired to adapt the AIT/Planet Lar graphic novel, which the studio bought last summer. The 2007 graphic novel focuses on a team of first-responders who guard the citizens of Lapuatu, a Pacific island that would be a paradise except for frequent attacks by giant monsters that rise from the sea. Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman wrote the graphic novel, illustrated by Nima Sorat.

2009-03-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

The latest of my Lost theories on Rescued By Nerds' column "The Next Day."

2009-03-02T00:17:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like the brass goggles:

2009-02-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

I was reminded late last week about the upcoming tenth anniversary of the company in an oblique way: a got an email from some Anonymous Joe pointing me this review of Black Diamond by Curt Purcell, asking me to go rip him a new one. Well, you know, maybe in the early days I might have written something vituperative back, but, hey! You're on the bus or you're not.

Instead, I thanked Curt for his attentions and offered him another AiT book of his choice to take the bad taste out of his mouth. Curt replied he'd like to have a conversation about the book, instead.

So we spent the weekend sending each other emails, and from stuff like this in Curt's original review: "Jesus Christ, his characters yak and yak and yak about everything and nothing." to a discussion of anime and the American Literary Renaissance.

Click the links, if only to see the difference between my typical responses from ten years ago to the more pleasant interactions of today.

2009-02-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

Dugout superstar Adam Beechen is interviewed at Comics' Waiting Room: "Manny and I have often discussed the sequel to HENCH, in the sense of a book that takes place in the same world but maybe not featuring the same characters..."

2009-02-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

The latest of my Lost theories on Rescued By Nerds' column "The Next Day." Faraday is Charlotte's dad, the scoop on Rousseau's team (all the dead Frenchmen look like Robert, eh? The game can only draw so many avatars), what "Canton-Rainier" stands for, and Ben's freak-out. Man, this show is excellent.

Yes, as close as he can get to an accurate reproduction of the LOST beach camp set, with the tools and supplies he has available to him:

2009-02-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

Richard Bruton of Forbidden Planet blogs about Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Sean Azzopardi's excellent comic Necessary Monsters thusly: "Thomas Harp is one of the monsters and killers who used to work for the chain. He's gone rogue and taken the Conundrunomicon; the most secret and powerful codebook in history. When we first see Thomas he's with his colleague Chicken Neck and violence is about to ensue. Yes; friend has chicken head and chainsaw. Strangely enough that's not even in the top three of bizarre shit in Necessary Monsters."

You're reading, yes? Charlotte Hatred is my current favorite. It starts here. Currently on page 71. It's excellent.

2009-02-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

Writer/Retailer Matthew Price gives Dugout a nod in his Top Ten Graphic Novels in 2008 list: "Writer Adam Beechen and artist Manny Bello are the creative team for this story of a down-on-his-luck baseball manager in 1959 who decides the only way to save his job is to break a hotshot pitcher out of jail. Dugout mixes the sports and caper genres with aplomb."

2009-01-30T11:39:00.000-08:00

More of my wacky Lost theories on Rescued By Nerds' "The Next Day."

2009-01-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

As a guy who crafts stories for your entertainment, believe me when I tell you it sure is gratifying to have thoughtful guys like good ol' Tim O'Neil turning the pages on your stuff. While quickly addressing the vagaries of creator-owned publishing, Tim turns his practiced eye on The Black Diamond and totally gets nearly everything Jon and I were going for with the book.

"But still, does it work? I've given a qualified 'yes', even though I admit I'm still chewing it over. Ask me again in a few years how the book has aged. It took me a while to 'get' Planet of the Capes after my initial read, after all. I 'get' Black Diamond: it's a ballsy piece of storytelling sleight-of-hand that almost careens tragically into the 'too clever by half' column but just manages to stay on the side of the angels, due pretty much single-handedly to Young's sure hand. I will repeat what I said a few hundred words ago: Young is a much better writer than a businessman (and he's no slouch as a businessman), and it's a shame he doesn't write far, far more than he does. For better or for worse, I could do with another dozen or more comics that challenged and stymied me as much as Black Diamond."

And, honestly, there's not an author alive who wouldn't appreciate reading this about his own work: "I don't think I've ever read a Larry Young comic I've disliked. I still recommend Astronauts in Trouble as one of the best hard-sci-fi series of the last decade, and likewise, Planet of the Capes is a criminally underrated bit of deconstructionist superhero narrative." Thanks very much, Tim. You may be heartened to hear I'll have at least two more out this year.

+++++

...and a shout-out for my man Jon Proctor, who's blogging about his post Black Diamond mini Shadrach Stone, written by Giant Robot Warriors ace Stuart Moore.