TODAYS VIEWS

2009-07-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

HAPPY JULY 4TH.

BE SAFE

GRANDVILLE

2009-07-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

My friend, writer-artist extraordinaire, Bryan Talbot, who by the way has just become an honorary Doctor, has just done a trailer for his latest graphic novel. Take a look.

JUST A REMINDER...

2009-07-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

The Man Called A-X, the comic series I wrote and Shawn McManus drew back in the 90s is now available for the iPhone. Go to the app store under books and you'll find it. Or click on the link to the right of this page. You may have to click more than once since it needs to open up your iTunes folder in order to find it. The first one is FREE. The second issue and those that follow will be only 99-cents. Give it a try, but no matter how much you ask, I won't sign your iPhone at comicon.

BUFFY VS. EDWARD

2009-07-01T11:05:00.001-07:00

This is wonderfully edited and lots of fun.

JUST A HELLO

2009-06-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:

Although it's still early, I did want to let folk know I'll be at Comicon. I'll be on a number of panels and will, as I've done for the past several years, conduct my writing seminar. I'll post my panel schedule sometime next week once it's firmed up. I was going to the Argentina convention but the city of Buenos Aires has just been hit hard with the swine flu and the festival has been sadly cancelled. I have a few other cons lined up as well, and I'll announce them when the time is right. Please, if you live in the area, c'mon by and say you read this blog. I'd be most appreciative.

By the way, with all the celebrity deaths of late - has anyone counted how many cycles of three have there been? - one seems to have slipped through the cracks. Gale Storm died on June 27th. For those who are close in age to me you know who she is and thinking about her TV shows, as silly as they probably were, will still bring a smile to your face anyway. The funnest trivia about Gale Storm is she entered a CBS radio "Gateway To Hollywood" contest whose first prize was a one-year movie contract with a studio. That contract also changed her name from Josephine Owaissa Cottle to Gale Storm. In other words, whoever won the contest would have been named Gale Storm. I like the Gale Storm we got, but I wonder if, say, Jack Lemmon entered and won, would we know him as Gale Storm, too?

Anyway, other than everyone famous in the world dying, there's nothing Marv-centric to report. I've been happily busy, and I hope that continues. I'm working on a number of comics, working on the DCU MMO - for which I was thinking away in Texas for awhile - and working on some other stuff I can't talk about yet. I haven't had anything important to report about here and although it's fine for Tweats (@marvwolfman) and Facebook updates to say what I've had for breakfast, or some such, this sort of demands something more. This is just an explanation why I've not been blogging regularly. But I will. Promise. I'm sure I'll have a lot to report back to you about Comicon and all points east.

GEEKS UNITE

2009-06-21T08:45:00.001-07:00

My friend Marina Stern sent me this. It's well worth watching both parts one and two.

ON SALE WEDNESDAY 17

2009-06-15T08:56:00.000-07:00

Every month I let folk know when my books are on sale, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm doing it again now. Vigilante #7 will be at your local comic shop on Wednesday, June 17th, and whether or not you've bought the the first six issues, I strongly recommend picking up this one. DC was incredible in having Vigilante take part in the Titans' "Deathtrap" story line in order to get eyeballs to check out our new title, but starting with #7 we become the crime-oriented book Vig was intended to be. Number 7 was also written to let new readers check out the book and is the first of a three-part story that moves Vigilante out of New York and begins his travels west.

The three things you need to know about Vigilante to date:

1: Vigilante had been operating unseen in Europe for several years before moving back to the U.S. He'd been going after local mobs and criminals. Nobody knows why.

2: Vigilante assumed the face and identity of (the now dead) small-time thug, Joe Flynn, to work undercover in the NY mobs. Flynn is not Vig's real ID. His real first name is Dorian. We don't know his last name yet, but we will learn it and who he is in #9 just before he leaves the city.

3: Vigilante is after files stolen from Lex Luthor's Lexcorp. The files have moved from mob to mob and are now in the hands of Meta crime boss Tobias Whale. Nobody is certain what is in Luthor's files, and everyone wants the answer.

That's it. All these questions and a lot more will be answered by #9. And, as I said, even if you've never read an issue of Vigilante, you can start with #7. I am very, very pleased with this issue as well as the four issues I've already written that follow it.

Vigilante #7, On sale Wednesday.

YOUTWITFACE (JOKE GOT OLD IN ONE DAY!)*

2009-06-13T15:57:00.001-07:00

You can now Facebook me directly (whatever that means) at: facebook.com/marv.wolfman

Note the first name, period, second name.

You can also Twitter me at: http://twitter.com/marvwolfman

If you have any problems with either of these, you're on your own 'cause I don't know nothin' about birthin' websites.

* I heard this joke about a half-dozen times this past week alone. It got unfunny after the first time, not that it was hilarious then. In case you haven't, what do they call it when Youtube, Facebook and Twitter merge.

AXES AND APPLES

2009-06-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

One of my absolute favorite comic series that I wrote, The Man Called A-X, is back, this time on the iPhone and iPod Touch. A-X is one of the series I totally loved writing, and working with artist Shawn McManus was a complete blast. And now it's back electronically for your phone or music player. Even better, issue #1 is completely free and after that you can get each following issue, one a month, for only 99-cents. If you're interested in checking it out, CLICK HERE and it should take you to the Apple App Store where it's under Books/The man Called A-X 01.

Back in the 1990s, I created along with artist Shawn McManus, a series for Bravura, the creator owned imprint of Malibu Comics, called THE MAN CALLED A-X. The series was about a man who wakes up in the city of Bedlam (actually New Bethlehem) not knowing who he is or why he's there. He is also being chased by both the criminal mobs who run the city and the Cops who work for the mobs. AX says nothing throughout the first issue until the final page when he sees something amazing happen to him and he says, "What am I?"

The book sold very well for Bravura, which is like saying Curly is the smartest Stooge, but it did sell relatively well and actually garnered some very good press. The first series was 6 issues - which is what we had planned. We were doing a series of mini-series rather than a continued book. The idea being we'd actually have time to do our very best, which I think we did.

This was the time when the comics market tanked. We didn't tank. Bravura, and Malibu were bought by Marvel who instead of continuing to publish the books and characters they just spent a fortune on, killed the entire company. None of the characters were seen again.

But since Shawn and I owned The Man Called A-X we brought the series over to DC Comics and did our second mini-series there. Unfortunately, the market really collapsed this time and we went away after completing our second mini series.

I loved the books however, even wrote a two spec TV pilots for it, one turning the "Man" in The Man Called A-X into a woman, and the other leaving him gender unchanged. But now, amazingly, the book, all the issues, are back, this time not in comics form but for the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch. Check it out. The first issue is completely free and after that we'll be releasing them one a month for only 99-cents.

As I say, I loved the series and I hope those of you technologically advanced, will check it out and love it as much. And remember, issue #1 is FREE!

THE BIG CON

2009-06-01T08:37:00.001-07:00

It's only June 1st but I wanted to let everyone know I'll be conducting my annual writing seminar at Comic-Con International, San Diego (San Diego Comic-Con) on Saturday, July 25th from 3PM - 4PM in room 30 CDE. CCI's expanded the room each year and it's usually filled to capacity, so if you are at all interested in writing, either professionally or just for fun, mark the panel down on your calendar. I'm also on a few other panels but I'll talk about them closer to the event. I'll of course remind you as those 55 days dwindle down to a precious few.

TO NOT HAVE AND TO NOT HOLD

2009-05-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the California Courts upheld the ban against gay marriage. People who believe gays should not marry keep saying they are upholding the sanctity of marriage. And I keep asking, from what? I know you can't ignore people's religious beliefs, but beyond the fact that their religion tells them it's wrong, exactly how do gays getting married hurt or invalidate the sanctity of anyone's marriage? How does it alter my marriage in any way? Doesn't it instead prove how important marriage is? Even if you are homophobic (and if you're against gay marriage you are no matter what you believe) how does what happen down the block affect you? Really affect you? And how can you condone civil unions but put down real marriage? If you're against gays you can't say one is okay but the other isn't.

Awhile back I also asked a serious question that I don't think anyone ever answered or explained to me why I'm wrong, so I'll ask it again. As someone who is married and has been for almost 18 years now, I can take advantage of certain tax laws that single people can't. All straight people have the right to take advantage of those tax laws by getting married. They may not choose to take advantage of them for several reasons: they don't want to get married, nobody wants to marry them, or whatever, but the right exists and they can exercise it. In other words, they are not prohibited from taking advantage of the tax laws.

But Gays can't take advantage of those tax laws under any circumstances. Marriage is regulated by the State, not the Federal Government, but can the Federal Government deny one class of people the same tax incentives others can have? Isn't that taxation without representation? One of the main reasons this country came into being? So either all people must be allowed that same access or nobody should be able to. If the Federal Government's tax laws can't discriminate then all people must have the right to take advantage of those laws. In other words, I think it's a federal crime to discriminate against gays by preventing them from taking advantage of the same laws straights can use. If there are any lawyers out there, can you tell me if my thinking is wrong here?

SERIOUSLY...

2009-05-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

A serious note. We all trust Doctors, and I have a great one that I've been going to for 20 plus years, but sometimes you have to trust yourself as well. For two small problems I was given two very common prescription drugs that normally work fine together. Normally being the operative word. In me they didn't. For a month I was always tired. I couldn't concentrate which meant I wasn't doing my work, and was often dizzy. When I felt especially dizzy one morning, I decided to check the drugs on the web, and lo and behold in some very few cases the symptoms I was having were listed as vague possibilities. I called my doctor who told me to stop taking them immediately and said within 72 hours they'd be out of my system and I'd be myself again. He was absolutely on target.

Doctors are great but they don't know how your body is going to react to what 99% of the world takes without problem. As someone who is rarely sick (except for the occasional head cold in mid-winter) I simply wasn't paying attention to what my body was telling me. Both drugs were fine taken separately - I had been taking one for awhile and had no symptoms at all, but in combination, in me at least, they were not. Within a few days of stopping them I was back to work, actually doing more better and faster than I had before, feeling fine and felt... well, I didn't feel anything. Which is the way we're supposed to be. We only feel things when something is wrong. And when we do we need to notice them, pay attention and then solve the problem. A good Doctor, which I have, works with you, but you're the only one who's with you 24/7 and that makes the final responsibility yours.

I CAN'T TAKE THE TOOTH

2009-05-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here after some massive periodontal work and as I'm on pain-killers I can barely think, so it's not surprising to me that this email I just received makes no sense. Here it is:

ATTENTION?

I the undersigned Mr. Simon Ridley Chief Financial Officer(CFO) of Standard Bank South Africa, hereby wish to inform you that Mr. Mohammad Imran passed away on 27^thMay 2008 in car accident. Mr. Imran is currently based in South Africa however his country of birth is Karachi Pakistan, he is a trusted and loyal client in our bank. Mr. Imran did not leave or narrate or dictate a will to anybody within the bank so as to allow us to dispose of his assets. As per the South African Legislature, all assets from a deceased party who does not possess a will will be taken over by government after two years (2yrs) if not claimed by direct blood related relations or next of kin. Investigations were carried out by reliable government officials to ascertain whether or not Mr. Imran had any living relatives in South Africa and abroad. The findings were that you had been in contact with Mr. Imran on several occasions; therefore i have decided to contact you to enable you to become the sole beneficiary. Mr. Imran has a total sum of $6.500, 000, 98 US dollars in cash. Kindly keep this matter confidential as we shall share the money (50/50) and I will assist you to process the relevant documents accordingly. Please contact me at your earliest convenience so that I may provide you with the correct and appropriate steps to take so as to secure the abovementioned sum.

I trust that you will find all the above to be in order and I look forward to your response herein

My Personal Email Simonridley1@webmail.co.za

My Cell phone. +27736353131

Thanks from Simon Ridley

CFO Standard Bank South Africa

So here are my questions. 1: Do they or don't they want my attention? Is their ambiguity the reason why "Attention" is followed by a question mark? 2: I'm not African or Pakistani. 3: Because I met Mr. Imran on several occasions (it must be the drugs cause I don't remember the meeting. But, hey, maybe we met at a con) I get all his money? I guess nobody else ever met him more than, oh, once. And though we're not blood relatives or next of kin just meeting him gets me rich? wooHOO. South Africa. What a country. And finally, 4: I'm to get the "total sum of $6.500, 000, 98 US dollars in cash." That is so cool cause I could use exactly that much money right now, but exactly what are those last two numbers since they follow a comma and not a period? I mean I'll take the money, but just asking.

VIGILANTE #6...AND BEYOND

2009-05-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to remind everyone that Vigilante #6 is on sale next Wednesday. Vig 6 is the final part of the Deathtrap crossover with the Titans, and I can promise you it will have a very controversial ending. When the guys at DC told me what they had planned, even my gasted was flabbered. The ending is shocking, yes, but it's also a logical one and will be built on in the future.

As absolute fun as it was to revisit the Titans, and to working with Sean Mckeever and the Titans editors, Brian Cunningham and Rex Ogle on the crossover, starting with issue #7, you will see the Vigilante crime book that I've been dying to do. Editor Michael Siglain and Associate editor Harvey Richards and I promise it will be surprising as well, but in a very different way. Vig's days in New York are coming to an end but he has a few things to do before he can go. Unfortunately for him, however, both the FBI and the New York mobs have figured out who he is and they are after him. Vigilante will have a brand-new secret identity and an entirely new mission.

I've been wanting to write a crime book since the early 70s when, as editor of the black and white Marvel magazines, I took The Punisher from being a Spider-Man villain and pushed him into his own magazine. I finally get the chance with this new Vigilante book. And as I am knowledgeable about the Punisher, I can 100% promise Vigilante is nothing at all like him. His reasons, background and his approach to solving problems is completely different and you will start to see. Issue #7 gives you a lot of his background. By issue #8 and #9 you will get many of the answers you've been waiting for.

Keep your eyes opened. The best is coming.

KEEP ON TREKKIN'

2009-05-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

CRISIS ON INFINITE CDs

2009-05-07T18:54:00.001-07:00

As some of you know, back in 1985 I wrote a 12-part series called Crisis on Infinite Earths. Worlds lived. Worlds died. And nothing was ever the same, at least until it changed. The series, the first of its kind mega-series, has been successful beyond all belief. Certainly George Perez, whose amazing art made the cosmic battles come alive in ways we've never seen before... or since... and I never believed people would still be talking about it 24+ years later. The comic has been reprinted several times in increasingly more beautiful editions.

A few years ago I was asked to write a novelization of Crisis, but instead of directly adapting it I told the story from the point of view of The Flash, a hero who died in our seventh issue. The story follows Flash's life, and death and beyond death, and tells a very different story from the original comic and yet lives in that exact same universe. Whereas the comic was a sprawling epic, the novel had a very clear spine and is about 70% original. I loved writing the book with a completely different perspective and many folk have since told me they actually prefer it to the comic. I see the projects as existing side-by-side (along with the one-shot Crisis special, a comic book I wrote a few years before tackling the novel). If you read all three you get a much fuller story than even the original 12-part series presented.

But now you can find the Crisis in yet another format. GRAPHIC AUDIO has done a 6 CD full theatrical production of my Crisis novel, and from what I've already heard (I just finished disc one) it's really excellent. It has a full cast of actors, music, sound effects and much, much more. This isn't a reading of the novel, although it is, but a full dramatic presentation. I'm not at all connected with Graphic Audio and except for the fact that my friend, Gerry Conway, alerted me about the G.A. website a month of so back, I knew nothing about this CD before DC sent it to me today. But I think it's really, really good and for those of you who can't find the long out of print novel, or for those who bought the book and would like to hear an audio version, this is a brand-new way of experiencing the Crisis. You get 6 CDs for the low price of $19.99 which makes it only pennies a universal death. Well worth the massive destruction. I joke, but I think you'll like it. Give it a try.

WHERE NO STAR TREK FILM HAS GONE BEFORE

2009-05-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

I've seen the movie and love it, but, apparently, not everyone does.

Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

YIPPEE KAI YAY

2009-05-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT COPS FROM WATCHING TV

2009-05-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years I've learned something about the Police that I never realized before, even though my father was a New York cop for almost 20 years. According to TV, cops are completely ineffective unless they take along with them a civilian "Consultant" who has no experience in Police work at all. In fact, the less the civilian consultant knows about cops the better it is because they can see things TV cops can't. Especially if they're a medically discharged former cop (Monk), a phony psychic (Psych), A con man (The Mentalist) or a novelist (Castle). It is the civilians who spot every clue the cops miss, civilians who ask all the right questions the cops don't think to ask, civilians who put themselves in danger every chance they can (violating every rule in the business), and civilians who, by ignoring police procedure, solve every bizarro crime that a totally insane person comes up with that has no logical precedent. Also, these civilian consultants are not only brilliant, they are naturally witty and are allowed to go everywhere the Police go simply because the cops enjoy their sparkling wit despite showing up the cops every chance they get. So let us thank these civilian consultants for showing trained cops how to do their job. Without them criminals would get away with their crimes... unless they're a movie criminal who is handsome, witty and can plan an overly complicated caper the cops can't decipher. TV cops know to use their civilian consultants. Isn't it time that movie cops learn the same lesson. If they did, there might never be an Oceans 14.

SHOKUS YOUR VOICE

2009-05-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

Mark Evanier and I had a great time doing Stu Shostak's on line radio show. Although it's not a podcast you can still listen to the show for the rest of this week by CLICKING HERE between the hours of 4-6 (Pacific time). We talk comics, animation, and much, much more. Enjoy!

LIVE ON TALK RADIO

2009-05-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

UPDATED. Today, May 6th, I will be a guest, along with Mark Evanier, on the Stu Shostak's radio show on Shokus Internet Radio . According to Stu's calendar, this will be "A look at the world of comic books with writers Mark Evanier and Marv Wolfman. Both will discuss how comic books are created and each will share their working experiences. Plus your phone calls toll-free.How irresistible is that? Not us, mind you. People can easily resist us. I'm talking the free phone call.

As Mark constantly reminds folk on his website,"This not, please note, a podcast. You can't download it and listen to it whenever you want. You have to "tune in" when it's on...which in this case is from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific Time, 7 PM to 9 PM Eastern. The show is done live on Wednesday and that's the best time to listen because, among other reasons, you can call in and ask questions. You can hear the show on your own computer by going to the website of Shokus Internet Radio and clicking where you're told to click. (The show reruns on other days, usually in the same time slot. Check out the site for a full schedule...and while you're there, take note of some of the other fine, free programming.) End of plug.

Stu (and Mark who is a frequent visitor) usually has guests such as cartoon voice actors, celebrities, actors, major league writers, etc. So with me it's obvious he's run out of the A-Team and is now sifting the bottom of the barrel. But I will be there nonetheless. So tune in and call. Here's your chance to ask embarrassing questions with complete anonymity that I will avoid by turning them over to Mark to answer in his typically funny way. And remember, it's free and worth every penny. Seriously, having listened to Stu's show on and off he does a great job and it's well worth your time. Remember, it's this Wednesday at 4-6 PM Pacific time.

Speak to you there.

Ric Estrada RIP

2009-05-01T12:33:00.001-07:00

I tried posting this last week, but for some reason Blogger didn't work. I received word from artist Bill Ennis that a dear man and a wonderful illustrator, Ric Estrada, passed away this morning due to complications with cancer. We tend to use the word Gentleman to describe men, but Ric was truly a gentle man. I've known Ric, off and on, for almost four decades, starting when I was an assistant editor for Joe Kubert and extending right up to the present. When I was editor at Disney Ric was my first and only choice to illustrate a wonderful comic series called Pony Tailers. Although the series never appeared in Disney Adventures for reasons due to advertising, his art was simply astounding. About a year or two ago he contacted me to work on a series of books with him,but alas the project never got off the ground.

Ric was not only a great and versatile artist, but a wonderful person.

You can see some documentary footage on Ric's life HERE just click on video - and you can see more of his wonderful Pony Tailers are HERE. He will be missed.

Ric Estrada was born in Havana, Cuba and moved to New York City in his late teens sponsored by his journalist uncle Sergio Carbo and his uncle's friend novelist Ernest Hemingway, who encouraged him to pursue an art career. He studied drawing, color and design at the New York Art Students League and fiction writing at New York University and the New School for Social Research.

Ric has worked in every facet of cartooning, commercial art, journalism and story writing for Standard Publications, Hillman, St. John, Ted Bates Advertising, Ziff Davis, McGraw Hill, Doubleday, D.C. Comics-Warner Communications, etc. He art directed and illustrated the Famous Artists Course for Talented Young People, contributed to the Famous Writers and Famous Photographers Courses and has done animation storyboarding and directing for Hannah-Barbera, Warner Brothers, Sony/Columbia-Tri Star, Universal and DreamWorks among others. For a brief period of time, he did political cartooning and celebrity interviews for the Spandauer Volksblatt in West Berlin and the Jerusalem Times in Jerusalem. Some of his comic book contributions are romance stories for St. John Publications and D.C. Comics plus two years of Wonder Woman and one year of Amethyst Princess of Gemworld for D.C. Comics.

Ric is a recipient of the coveted Inkpot Award for Lifetime Achievement in comics and the Hall of Fame Award from the Big Five War Comic Book Collectors Association.

Ric and his wife Loretta have been married for thirty-one years and are the parents of eight children. Ric has one daughter from a previous marriage. Ric has lived and worked in London, Copenhagen, Paris, Athens, the Greek Islands, Jerusalem and West Berlin. He's crossed Turkey, the Syrian Desert and Palestine mostly on foot and traveled in North Africa, Spain and the Sahara Desert. Though Ric thinks of New York and the Los Angeles area as home, he and his family currently live in Santa Clara, Utah. He and his wife are active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Saints where Ric holds the office of high priest. In his work, even in war stories, Ric tries to reflect his devotion to his ideals of compassion, justice and ... joy!

FACEBOOK PART DEUX

2009-04-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

So right after I posted my comments on Facebook mail I did some surfing over to Ken Levine's wonderful site. Ken is a TV/movie writer and his daily blog is often as hilarious as it is informative. Anyway, it seems talking facebook is in the air. Give it a look.

Facebook Manners And You from http://movfeshearon.vox.com/

A FACEBOOK REQUEST

2009-04-30T09:29:00.001-07:00

Although I've gotten to like Facebook (despite trying not to) over the past few weeks I've found one major problem; several people who are actually friends as well as people I am working with, have been sending me important mail through Facebook rather than email, which is actually much easier to get to. What's the problem? I use "Rules" to send all Facebook mail, requests, etc. to a special Facebook mailbox on my computer. I do this because I get about 20-40 Facebook mails a day and don't have time to check them out while trying to work. I usually look at my Facebook mail and requests on weekends when I get the chance. Which means when they're work related or personal (lunch meetings, work meetings, etc.) I can easily miss them. So, if you need something to be resolved ASAP, please send emails - which I check regularly - and not Facebook mail which can go a week or so before I have time to look at it. Otherwise, feel free to use Facebook. I do read it all, just not immediately. Thanks. I will also post this (in shorter form) on my Facebook page, which, as I say, I am enjoying.

UNDER THE WEATHER

2009-04-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged much since I returned, other than putting up pictures. I caught a cold/flu while in Greece and still go through days where I'm fine until late afternoon when things go south or I'm just down all day long. Whatever it is I caught is lingering; least it's not contagious.

While being away and then sick I forgot to mention Vigilante #5 came out two weeks ago. It's the first Vig chapter of the Vigilante/Titans crossover. The last part of Deathtrap comes out in Vigilante #6, on sale May 20 and I guarantee the ending is going to be very, very controversial. You could have knocked me over with that proverbial feather when DC told me what they had planned. Be prepared for something surprising, controversial and very powerful.