AiT/Planet Lar: Making Comics Better

2010-03-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Back from a week-long vacation in Florida, although I did do my new Lost observations.

This is my son's first rainbow; hope you have many more, pal.

2010-03-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

Here it is, out for the world to see: 11:00 pm Tuesday March 02, 2010.

WALT IS THE "WALLACE" MENTIONED AT 108 OF JACOB'S LIGHTHOUSE WHEEL.

Thus endeth the lesson.

2010-02-25T19:22:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some LOST commentary on my separate pop culture blog Spectacularry.com. I've pretty much figured it all out, so you can tell Jeff Jensen to go back to writing graphic novel intros. Nice try, Jeff.

2010-01-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

Mike: Hao! Dai ye! We won again! This is good, but what is best in life?

The rest of YMB: There's no best-in-life! Michael Bay sucks; Brett Ratner sucks. Everyone who's ever directed a movie sucks! I keep going to movies, even though they suck! I keep buying comics, even though they suck! Megan Fox not wanting to play Wonder Woman sucks! That spider motivational poster thing sucks! Everything sucks.

Mike: Wrong! Larry! What is best in life?

Larry: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women... as you buy a ticket to another CONAN MOVIE! YAYYY! FUCK YEAH!

Mike: That is good! That is good.

2010-01-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

2009-12-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

My good pal Stephenny Godfrey has outdone herself, with the production of Panorama, a written-and-illustrated, hand-assembled rumination that is all the things I like about comics in one place. While her true-life tale of a young woman's journey from Perth to Utah has no narrative overlap whatsoever with the last thoughts of a dying spaceman in the first Astronauts in Trouble minicomic, all the love of the form (from words to pictures to printing to trimming to binding) comes through loud and clear.

I particularly liked her listing of materials: "hand-cut two-sided matte photo supreme paper, linen tape, pencil, bristol, ink, computer, scanner and listened to the lady in the water dvd until i could not anymore and had to switch to signs"

Here's a link-to-purchase on etsy...

...and here's a link to the creator's work on her own website.

2009-12-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

Very pleased that Adam Beechen and Manny Bello's Hench made Tony Isabella's 1000 Comic Books You Must Read list, but the icing on the cake is that Harlan Ellison said of Hench: "I have read and slamdunk recommend unequivocally" the book which fills me with a parental pride. The sort of pride a parent might feel when one of his children does good and the grandfather gives his nod. Like that.

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Super comics retailer/editor/journalist Matt Price, upon occasion of Matt Fraction's birthday, weaves a bit of song-and-dance in praise of Last of the Independents: "While Fraction's a big-shot Marvel writer these days, my favorite work of his is the heist drama Last of the Independents from AiT/Planet Lar." Price named LOTI his top graphic novel from 2003, and the scuttlebutt of the time was that it'd have been Eisner-nominated if not for Melony Crawford Chadwick, so turn your brickbats thusly. Click the link to see Price's Top Ten Fraction works, of which LOTI and The Annotated Mantooth are Numbers 1 and 3, respectively.

2009-12-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

The always erudite Greg Burgas continues his unbroken string of good taste by directing your attentions to Necessary Monsters: "...Daniel Merlin Goodbrey's latest graphic novel. I saw a bit of this a few years ago, and it looks really, really cool. It's a horror comic, and Goodbrey has a twisted sensibility that will probably work well in making it something different." Those of you ordering through your local shops may like to know the order code is DEC09 0641.

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Savage Critics' Jog the Blog makes me feels old with this mention in an article about manga: "Here in 2009, in North America, manga functions as a full-blown alternative mainstream of comics; not the 'real mainstream' Oni Press or AiT/Planet Lar pondered earlier this decade -- i.e. something akin to entertainments or artworks popular outside of the comics sphere -- but a 'pure comics' mainstream positioned apart from the English-language way of things, with its own set of values and tropes and genres; a setup where foreignness can be a virtue."

Earlier this decade. Makes a man feel old.

2009-11-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry for missing most of November; have been gearing up for 2010. Got a great email from Art Robinson of the Fourth Wall podcast; he'd read True Facts and Come in Alone and found them "absolutely life changing."

Even allowing for hyperbole, that's an excellent thing to read; and that's not even counting his sign-off that he "loved Black Diamond." Ol' Art sure knows how to turn a girl's head.

2009-10-31T22:55:00.000-07:00

Little Dude wanted to go out and walk around, so he geared up in his pirate/construction worker tools, and Daddy grabbed his South Beach Leather Rocketeer jacket and Master Replicas lid and called it done. Mommy noted that he could have gone out in his SHIELD T-shirt he was already wearing and called it done as well but Daddy wanted to make an effort.

2009-10-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Listen to Dan Shahin and me have some laughs.

2009-10-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

When Mimi and I were off for the anniversary/birthday/Adobe shutdown, Our Man in LA, Adam Beechen did an interview with Matt Adler on Broken Frontier wherein he discussed the Hench sequel. There's some excellent preliminary art of Manny's Quitely-esque style:

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... and I'm going to be on The Dan Shahin Show at 9 pm tonight (KSCU 103.3 FM), talking comics and making with the quips.

2009-10-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen this reported elsewhere, but renowned comic book colorist Steve Oliff was first on the scene at a tragic car accident a few weeks ago in Manchester, a few hours north of San Francisco:

2009-10-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I come across something I actually have forgotten I did. Looks like when The Black Diamond #1 first came out, Chris Beckett asked me a bunch of great questions. Here's his set-up:

In 1999, Larry Young first came to prominence in the comics community with the publication of Astronauts in Trouble: Live from the Moon, which he created with artists Charlie Adlard and Matt Smith. Young initially shopped the idea for AiT, as it has come to be known, to a number of comic publishers but they all passed. So, confident in the strength of the work and wishing to get it out to the masses, Young published it himself. Naming his publishing house AiT/Planet Lar (you can figure that one out), Young eventually published two more chapters in the astronauts' lives: Space 1959 and One Shot, One Beer. With the success of these books, Young decided to start publishing books by other creators like Brian Wood, Matt Fraction, Joe Casey, Becky Cloonan, Warren Ellis, Kieron Dwyer, and Fabio Moon with titles that include The Couriers, Giant Robot Warriors, Badlands, and Come in Alone.

One thing is certain, one can always count on an entertaining and quality read when picking up an AiT book, and this most recent addition... the first color book from the publisher... is no exception.

2009-10-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Comedian Will Sasso tipped me off to Ever Dream This Man? and it is hilarious/creepy.

2009-10-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

??? ?? ???????? ???? ?? ???? ??? ??????????? review ??? ??? ???? ????????? comic, ?? ????? ????????, ?????? ?????, ??? DVD commentary track ??? ?????. ????? ??? ????? ??? ?? e-merl.com ??? ???????? ?? ????? ??? Daniel Merlin Goodbrey, ? ??????, ????? ??? ?????, ????? ???? ????????????? ?????????????? ?? ???? ??? ? ????? ???????? Hypercomics.

2009-10-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

This isn't exactly AiT related, other than the fact that I personally love Mojo Nixon. People who know me know I'm not exactly a musical aficionado and whatnot, but I know good stuff when I hear it. And Moje is good stuff.

So it turns out you can download 147 Mojo Nixon songs offa Amazon fer the ripe ol' price o' free:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QKA298/ref=dm_ty_adp_rd?ie=UTF8&parent=B002QEOA9U

And I suggest you do so. Anything offa "Bo-day-shuss," "Mojo and Skid," or "Frenzy" gets my thumbs-up.

2009-10-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette posted a video interview with Time Tunnel's Pat Donley about the 24 Hour Comic Day event. Make with the clicky.

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One of the artists who participated, an affable and avuncular gent called Scott Hedlund, posted his pages here. It was a pretty good idea to chronicle the happenings as they happened, I have to say. One thing, though, Scott: ya made me look like Tom Beland:

2009-10-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

Just back home from Pittsburgh and Time Tunnel's 24 Hour Comic Day extravaganza:

More tomorrow as I am pretty worn out from being up nearly 36 hours and then travelling home, but I have to say Pat has an awesome shop and an even more awesome bunch of creative bastards putting pencil to paper over there. Thanks for an excellent time, gents.

2009-09-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

The Forbidden Planet blog lets slip an interesting fact: "Or at least things don't go too well for the good guys. For the reader it's bloody brilliant stuff. Just as cliched (in the best context of the word) as the first couple of issues. A cracking spy-horror thriller, full of nastiness, plenty of gore, rapid action and tremendous setpieces. Just like I'd been expecting... The great news is that Necessary Monsters is going to be collected by AiT/Planet Lar once part 5 is done."

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Chad Boudreau thinks Bad Mojo is a new book, but a compliment's a compliment: "Horror comics are making a comeback these days, but as with horror movies, there are more bad than good. Bad Mojo isn't scary, but it is eerie and, at times, unsettling, possessing an underlying dark wit that makes it entertaining throughout. I would, therefore, place Bad Mojo in the category of good horror comics."

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...and where will you be on 24 Hour Comics Day?

2009-09-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

...just found out that LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS was named by Wizard Magazine as one of the Greatest Graphic Novels of Our Lifetime. You know what? That's all right. Nice work, Matt and Kieron, and Ryan:

2009-09-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

I ran into Scurvy Dogs' Ryan Yount yesterday on the way to my story workshop, which was great. Even though we talked for maybe 15 seconds, it made me recall fondly those days of making him sandwiches while he slaved like a dog on SILLY PUTTY BOY and we'd kick off early to drink booze and smash furniture in the privacy of my own home. Ah, youth.

Anyway, seeing Ry reminded me that tomorrow's "Talk Like a Pirate Day," and I think I can speak for both him and co-author Andrew Boyd when I say we would appreciate you buying a copy of the Scurv instead of annoying your family and friends with amateur piratical sayings. Scurvy Dogs has done all the research for you, and is obviously an invaluable tool, tomorrow, and for the rest of the year.

2009-08-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

Pat Donley of Time Tunnel spills the beans: "BIG 24 HOUR COMICS DAY NEWS! We will be joined at this great event on October 3/4 by my pal, AiT/Planet Lar publisher Larry Young! Larry will be hanging out, reviewing portfolios, and, well, if you know Larry, being Larry (excellent!)!"

I'll probably even end up writing something for someone to draw, 'cause I can't stop myself from putting pen to paper.

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Shatter keeps popping up, historic document that it is. I always find it mildly humorous that comics fans often dismiss it as a curiosity and computer folks revere it as the pioneer it was.

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Thick Online reviews Hench: "It is definitely dope that McBride looks just like artist Manny Bello draws Mike Fulton, and I'm hoping we get some similar comedic stars cast for the heroes and villains of this tale. I think Andy Dick would be a good fit for the sadistic villain known as Pencil Neck." and Holmes: "Rumor has it that Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes is loosely based on this graphic novel. If that's even half true, then they made a impeccable choice in casting Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes. I highly suggest reading the graphic novel before the movie drops."

2009-08-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

One of my (non-comics, non-Internet [yes, there are a few]) pals idly wondered why I post links on the website to what she considers self-serving attention and fluff and love directed at my company in general and at me in particular. I responded that sometimes you just like to see this stuff written down for posterity:

"Stopped by the AIT/Planet Lar booth and ended up buying Warren Ellis' Switchblade Honey like I kept meaning to and publisher Larry Young's complete Astronauts in Trouble. I got to talking to Young, who introduced me to Kirsten Baldock, writer of their book Smoke & Guns (drawn by Fabio Moon!). Guess whose book I then bought. Then I was introduced to Steven Grant, writer of Badlands. When I said I actually owned the published, unproduced screenplay but not the actual comic book, I found myself with a free copy of the screenplay (in lieu of the comic, which was sold out) signed by Grant. Let it be known that Larry Young might be the friendliest person in comics."

"Best advice from Mr. Young: 'Don't worry about seeming too schmoozy. That's why everyone's here.'"

I'd like it known that Mr. Djeljosevic had the best business card of the literally thousands that I was presented at the show this year in that his contains a phonetic pronunciation of his last name. That is certainly useful after the Red Bull and Emergen-C wears off, it is. Nice work, Daniel.

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And Shawn McCauley, that lunatic, gives us the good word: "Jason McNamara, Omaha Perez, Larry Young, and all the other guys at AiT/Planet Lar... you guys were a riot to hang out with, and I appreciate all your support!"

Honestly, that's who we are and what we do. It's not like we don't get what it's like to put your stories out into the world and hope for a kind word from those huddled in the dark. Least we can do to give the nod to those doing the job and have us a rollickin' good time while we're doing it. Keep 'em coming, lads.

2009-07-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

Superstar hard SF author David J. Williams: "ComicCon highlights -- meeting comics legend Larry Young, who gave me a copy of the groundbreaking cyberpunk comic SHATTER."