Tag Archives: Kurt Busiek

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Tuesday Night Comics Podcast – Episode 24

Billy records alone! It’s just Billy on the week on the Tuesday Night Comics podcast. He gives you his picks for the new comics he’s most excited about for the week of June 18, 2014, talks about Miracle Man: A Dream of Flying and Brian Woods’s Star Wars, and recaps this weekend’s big comic book convention in New York City, Special Edition: NYC.

Speaking of Special Edition: NYC, check out this awesome Spider-Man sketch I bought from Marcio Takara!

spiderman by marcio takara

Don’t worry, Dave fans. Dave will be back next week.

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Busiek and Allred Talk at SE:NYC

Kurt Busiek and Mike Allred are two of my favorite comic book creators. So when it was announced that they would be in conversation at SE:NYC, I knew I would be going to this panel.

busiek allred panel se nyc

Photo by Adrian King

 

The focus of the panel was to compare and contrast working for big comic book companies like Marvel and DC versus going it your own and self-publishing. At first glance, I figured Busiek would talk about Marvel and DC, and Allred would talk about self-publishing.

But early on in the panel, Busiek pointed out something that I never realized. He noted that Mike Allred made a name for himself in the 90s on the indie comic book scene with Madman and now works mainly work for DC and Marvel, while Busiek was the “company man” when he made a name for himself in the 90s, first on Marvels with Alex Ross, and then creating Thunderbolts with Mark Bagley, and his legendary run on Avengers with George Perez (not to mention Avengers Forever with Carlos Pacheco). For a while there, Busiek was Mr. Marvel. But Busiek’s current work is his creator-owned Astro City. It was interesting hearing these two legends in the field talk about the different ways they managed to break in, and how their points of view on working for big companies and self-publishing have changed over the years.

This was easily my favorite panel of SE:NYC. The only downside to the panel was the one guy in the audience who was snoring really loudly. I think the snoring threw Mr. Busiek during one of his answers, but he deftly played it off. Someone was nice enough to elbow the snoring guy in the ribs, and he was very apologetic afterwards.

After the panel, I had the good luck of getting into a conversation with Mike and Laura Allred for their entire walk back to their table in Artist’s Alley. They could not have been nicer and more accommodating. While we were talking comics, I had an almost out of body experience, where in the back of my head, 1997 me was yelling, “YOU’RE TALKING TO MIKE ALLRED! CREATOR OF MADMAN!” Thankfully, I managed to keep my cool….I hope.

Buddy Scalera moderated this panel, and did a great job. If this is any indication of the quality of panels that Buddy moderates, definitely look out for his name in future convention program guides.

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Special Edition: NYC – Sunday Panel Guide

special-edition-nyc-logo-high-res

11:15 – 12:15 – Marvel Unlimited+ Members Only Event – I went to the Marvel Unlimited+ member event at NYCC 2013 and can vouch for the quality of these events. Members received an exclusive variant cover comic, an exclusive print and an acetate production proof cover of Origin II #1. Plus, we saw an extended trailer of the Guardians of the Galaxy  movie months before anyone else.  And Marvel talent will be on hand to answer fans questions (and possibly sign some comics). These events, and the exclusive action figure that Plus members receive when signing up, definitely make the Plus option worth getting when you sign up for Marvel Unlimited, Marvel’s digital comic version of Netflix. If you’re a member, make sure you attend this. I definitely will. (Theater B – 1E21)

 12:15 – 1:15 – Self Publishing – Do you have an idea for a comic that you’d love to make? Yes, you could pitch it to a publisher. Or you could publish it yourself. Hey, it worked for Jeff Smith! He won’t be here, but Greg Pak, Amy Reeder and a few other creators who have had success with self publishing will be getting down to the nuts and bolts of self publishing. Be prepared to take notes. (Theater B – 1E21)

12:15 – 1:15 – DC Comics – Batman 75th Anniversary – Did Bob Wayne already retire? It’s going to be weird going to a DC panel without him moderating. Many Batman current Batman creators, including Gail Simone, James Tynion IV and Francis Manapul will talk about what’s coming  up in the Batman family of books in this special 75th anniversary year. (Theater A – 1E19)

1:45 – 2:45 – Sexy, Strange and Silly – Lost Superheroes of the Golden Age – This has the potential to be the most fun panel at Special Edition: NYC. Ben Saunders, the director of the Comics Studies program at the University of Oregon, will moderate this panel that highlights some of the most unique comic book characters who were spawned in the Golden Age and then faded into obscurity. (Theater B – 1E21)

2:45 – 3:45 – Marvel: 75 Years of Marvel – It’s not just Batman’s 75th birthday. It’s also the 75th anniversary of the publication of Marvel Comics #1, which featured the first appearances of Marvel’s oldest superheroes, Namor the Submariner and the Golden Age Human Torch. Marvel plans to celebrate their 75th anniversary in a big way. Come to this panel to find out the details. Panelists include Chris Claremont, Peter David and Ryan Stegman. (Theater A – 1E19)

3:00 – 4:00 – Creator-Owned Comics (vs. Corporate-Owned Comics) – I bet if this panel was called “Come Listen to Kurt Busiek and Mike Allred Talk About  Astro City and Madman” it would bring in more people. Just sayin’. Seriously though, come to this panel and listen to Kurt Busiek and Mike Allred talk about Astro City and Madman. (Theater B – 1E21)