LINK: Raising the Bar for Comics Journalism

Heidi MacDonald -- of the recently relocated The Beat, and defender of all that is righteous in the comics world -- proves that, with great power comes great responsibility, using the high-profile visibility of her new Publisher's Weekly platform to...well, to dish dirt. Dept. of Scandal I A while ago we told you about budding filmmaker Matt Busch reporting on his LiveJournal about a nasty breakup with his girlfriend, actress Sarah Wilkinson, with writer Steve Niles as the third party. We're not going to rehash all the story because it's just ugly stuff that should have been kept private, but…

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CBC Quickees: On Pirates and Expatriates

The Left Bank GangBy Jason (Fantagraphics, 2006; $12.95)Why Are You Doing This?, an enthralling Hitchkockian mystery with a big heart, was my first exposure to the Norwegian cartoonist Jason, and it firmly put him on my list of creators from whom I'll check out anything they do. Unfortunately, for me, his English translations are published by Fantagraphics and I rarely find myself in their corner of the comics shop, so I hadn't gotten around to checking out any of his other work before The Left Bank Gang came out a couple of weeks ago. Originally published in France as Hemingway,…

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Superman Returns, Disappoints, May Disappear Again and Take His Friends With Him

Superman Returns as... Brandon Routh?The initial weekend estimates are in and, like Lex Luthor with Kryponite, it’s bad news for the Man of Steel as Superman Returns pulled in a mere $11.6 million in its third week, bringing its total domestic box office to $163,648,000 and pretty much guaranteeing that it will fall short of the $200m mark that’s been rumored as the minimum benchmark to greenlight a sequel. (Or, at least, one with Brian Singer at the helm.) While its 46.7% dropoff wasn’t nearly as bad as last weekend’s 58.5%, its miserable $3,086/theater average when there was no new direct competition would seem to suggest that lukewarm word of mouth countered its mostly positive reviews and strong, if not overwhelming, opening week at the box office.

Domestically, it’s now dead in the water as four major new releases will take over the theaters this coming weekend — Clerks II, Lady in the Water, Monster House and My Super Ex-Girlfriend — and Pirates of the Caribbean could drop 70% next weekend and would still easily land in the Top 5. With Devil Wears Prada having a better per-theather average this weekend, it’s not impossible to think that Superman Returns could actually fall completely out of the Top 10. The foreign box office numbers for this weekend will be of particular importance then, as it finally opened in several European and Latin American markets, delayed thanks to the World Cup. If it underperforms as some have expected it will, the chances of a sequel become that much more unlikely.

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COMMENT: Under the Covers

Pop quiz: What's the difference between these three magazine covers? If you said "everything", you get a no-prize! I purposefully made the images small so the copy would be hard to read and you'd first have to focus on the pictures. On the Teen People cover, Ms. Simpson (good thing she kept her maiden name, yes?) has a big smile on her face, with "Sister Power" clearly visible, suggesting the story inside is a positive one, probably a fluff celebrity piece. The Maxim cover knows its target audience, commanding their attention to Ms. Simpson's two best features and printing her…

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COMMENT: Superman Returns Sequel Hinges on $200m

For those who thought I was off the mark with my speculation over Superman Returns' not broaching $200 million domestically, rumor has it that the suits at Warner Brothers are worried it won't make that much and have made it the line in the sand on whether or not a sequel gets made:After a $225 million "Pirates of the Caribbean" sailed into port, taking the wind out of "Superman Returns'" $205 million Spandex, Warner Bros. executives are said to be circumspect as to whether the Man of Steel will fly again. Talent agency insiders with ties to the film tell…

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Hot Butter on Breakfast Toast

The company softball season is rolling along, and after a tough loss last night we are now 4-2, with three games remaining in the regular season. Last two games I played center field and moved up to the second spot in the batting order and have done quite well. Plan on switching back to SS, though, as the main field we play on is rather small and you don't so much as play center field as you play the fence most hits end up clanging off of.Through five games (I missed our first game of the season), I'm 6-13 (.462)…

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On the Shelves: 7/12/06

Support GOOD Comics! Try something new EVERY month. My weekly look at select comic books being released Wednesday, 7/12/06. The full shipping is list available at ComicList. [NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one; or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com] PICK OF THE WEEK Left Bank GangARCHAIA STUDIOS PRESS Mouse Guard 3rd Prtg #1 (Of 6), $3.50 I love how much attention this comic has received, a genuine sleeper hit that's unfortunately also caught the attention of…

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