Archive Page 2218

January 2025

AI Art Challenge #19 – Mohawk haired superhero

AI Art Challenge Grok vs Chatgpt 19 - yellow cape and pink mohawk - click to enlarge – ChatGPT goes characteristically heroic and pure Peplum in how it renders the hero, but Grok is absolutely strange. The position chosen by each AI is drastically different: ChatGPT has a the traditional heroic "I'm ready to receive my trophy" pose, but Grok goes right for (apparently) sitting on a commode position.

Index of all the AI Challenges on Comic Book Brain

The Marvel release list for April – Bleedingcool

The "disaster looming" for the comics industry from new tariffs on printing – MSN ScreenRant

The "20 best comics ever" list – Screenrant

List is dominated by Marvel and DC, though it does have one-off nods to IDW, Dark Horse and two from Image. The oldest series given inclusion is the "X-Men Dark Phoenix" series, and after that Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns which gets a political asterix attached to it: "While an unquestionable classic to most, some of its themes have been unfortunately misconstrued and subsequently glorified in the modern day..."

Another political moment that doesn't appear on this list but will (presumably) in the future: Neil Gaiman is, to put it lightly, very prominent upon the list. If his current legal and tainted-celebrity status continues to erode, so will his presence on lists like this, I expect.

But all of the tortured American "social realism/formalism" aside, how can any supposed "best of" list only have works from Chris Claremont until now? Where's works by Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Dick Briefer? And that's just a fraction of the American work, where's manga, Tintin, Asterix, works by Moebius, etc?

And to get even more to the point, shouldn't the list really be called (not counting a couple of exceptions to the list contents) "The Best 20 Superhero Comics since the Bronze Age Wound Down"? (The comic book eras explained.)

DC Comics' April 2025 release list – Bleedingcool

Turn Daredevil evil to spite Sony? – Boundingintocomics

In a near-perfect example of just how petty the entertainment industry can be, Marvel Comics Executive Editor Tom Brevoort has revealed that during the brief period of time at the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe when Fox still owned The Man Without Fear’s media rights, a desire to trip-up the competition and support their own ‘home team’ led the publisher to seriously consider the idea of turning Daredevil into a full-blown villain..."

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Massive Publishing/ WhatNot Comics abandon their exclusive distribution deal with Diamond Distributors – Bleedingcool

The article describes that under legal advice, apparently by operating with Chapter 11 protection, Diamond could continue to not pay for new product they receive from publishers but collect the revenue from the shops, obviously an untenable way for comic book publishers to do business.

Marvel bringing Godzilla Vs Hulk – Comicbook

"Rumour" – Marvel would like some more of those high-grossing Ryan Reynolds/Hugh Jackman movies to form a trilogy – Superherohype

Growth of the digital online comic market to hit $5.5 billion by 2034 – Market Scoop

New Captain America Brave New World ticket sales higher than The Marvels, but lower than Ant Man 3 – Comicbookmovie

The Diamond Distributors crisis impacting an already troubled comic book industry – IGN MSN

AI Art Challenge #18: Superhero promoting Free Comic Book Day

Asked Grok and Chat GPT to render a image of a superhero distributing comic books to happy, cheering throngs on Free Comic Book Day – click on image to enlarge

Index of all the AI Challenges on Comic Book Brain

What DC plans for Free Comic Book Day (and Superman) – Gamesradar

How tariffs could impact comics – The Comics Journal

Captain America: Brave New World - Official Trailer (Jan 17)

Vault Comics announces a plan to sell comics directly to retailers without a middleman distributor – Comicsbeat

Companies are scrambling to deal with a testy situation after Diamond Distributors files Chapter Eleven bankruptcy.

... It’s a plan that had been in the works for a while – and Vault is correctly distributed by Lunar and Simon & Schuster – but it will be interesting to see if more small publishers come up with their own plans as where and how stores get their comics begins to fracture even more..."

Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist Darrin Bell arrested on child porn charges – Washington Post

What's going to happen with Diamond? – MSN Screenrant

Diamond has a loan lined up from Chase and a Stalking Horse Bid in place from an affiliate of Universal Distribution for Alliance Game Distributors. A stalking horse bid is an initial bid, made by a potential suitor for a bankrupt company, that serves as the starting bid for any future bankruptcy proceedings. The bid places the starting value of Diamond's assets at $39 million..."

Coming new Swamp Thing movie to be disconnected from the rest of the DCU and to be "Gothic" – Games Radar

The wife of arrested Egyptian cartoonist Ashraf Omar has now also been arrested – Middle East Eye

The coming "summer of Superman" – Superherohype

DC has yet to detail precisely how many new books will be published as part of the event. However, new solo series centered around Superboy, Supergirl, and Krypto have been confirmed. The 2025 Free Comic Book Day edition of DC All-In #1 will also include a ten-page preview of Superman Unlimited...."

AI Art Challenge #17 - Grok vs Chat GPT

"Two superhero women in scuffed and worn black and orange leather suits with combat boots with Marie Antoinette hair carrying complicated weapons with a marble city in flames behind them" – click image to enlarge

Neither AI could quite understand "Marie Antoinette hair" though Grok gave it a go with the final image showing strange spiraled hair in a cartoon like shape.

Index of all the AI Challenges on Comic Book Brain

I'm at a Barnes and Noble and I count the bookcases for traditional Amerian comic book fare: two large bookcases. And for for manga? There are twelve bookcases plus four displays on tables.

New Captain America film coming: will it break the spell of bad superhero box office?

Looks like projections are hoping for at least the same sort of number the 2014 Captain America Winter Soldier got (i.e., $95 million), which, because of inflation from 2014 to 2025 (33.27% says Chat GPT), means current box office with the same numbers in 2014 is considerably lower in actual value.

Is Marvel cautiously optimistic for Captain America: Brave New World box office? – Gamerant

Projecting Captain America: Brave New World to open "north of $100 Million" – Comicbookmovie

‘Captain America: Brave New World’ looking for a $86M-$95M opening weekend – Deadline

Tracking $81M-$107M box office for Captain America: Brave New World opening weekend – Geek Tyrant

Filming starts for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow to be released in 2026 – Superherohype – its being shot in the United Kingdom at the Warner Bros. Studios

Reactions to the news about Diamond's bankruptcy – Bleedingcool

Steve Geppi founded Diamond Comic Distributors in February 1982 with one warehouse, seventeen customers and many competing distributors. Across forty years, it beat all the competition and became the dominant monopoly in the comic book direct market – though not according to the courts. But after it closed down temporarily during the pandemic, publishers were free from their contracts to seek alternative deals, and now Image and DC are with Lunar, Marvel, IDW and Dark Horse are with Penguin Random House, and Boom Studios is joining them..."

More about the Diamond Bankruptcy

Does the Marvel Cinematic Universe actually benefit the comic books industry? – Comicbook

Albert Pyun’s wife Cynthia is trying to get her husband’s original cut of Captain America to be released. Similar to the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever, number of fans have seen it. If this film is trying to get released as a tribute, Joel Schumacher’s cut deserves the same too pic.twitter.com/iWQDZvRjhX

— RTSchumacherCut 💚 (@CutSchumacher) January 14, 2025

The unseen version of the 1990 Captain America and the phenomenon of Director's versions and uncut superhero movies – Boundingintocomics

...There are calls for the completion of the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad and the Schumacher Cut of Batman Forever. There’s also a campaign championing the restoration of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace to its original glory of two hours and 14 minutes.

Director Andy Muschietti of The Flash talks about why the movie failed to bring in profitable box office – MSN Variety

Article about the book "Tell Me A Story Where The Bad Girl Wins: The Life and Art of Barbara Shermund" by Caitlin McGurk – The Comics Journal

Squirrel Girl and Fantastic Four writer Ryan North says "Doctor Doom is the Cadillac of supervillains" – Polygon

How Marvel's MCU could end

Story at Gamerant

Profile of artist Rick Parker and his recent graphic novel-autobiography about the Vietnam War "Drafted" – Press Herald

...Parker has spent a lot of time drawing comic books written by other people, telling their stories with his art. But with the release last fall of his graphic novel memoir "Drafted," he finally got to tell his own.

Parker, 78, began his comics career at Marvel in 1977 and is probably best known for drawing the "Beavis and Butt-Head" comics in the 1990s. In "Drafted," he details his three years in the Army during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s.

...Parker’s 250-page graphic novel has been lauded by critics and landed him on some best books lists for 2024.

Forbes Magazine included Rick Parker's book in their Best of 2024 Graphic Novel list.

The February 9 Puppy Bowl will have a new Superman preview trailer – Superherohype

Absolute Batman #4 at top of week's bestselling comics – Bleedingcool

Over 1.2 million copies sold of Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder – Bleedingcool

AI Challenge #15

AI art challenge #15 - Three hero women with golden swords wearing worn brown leather while overhead are burning zeppelins. Chat GPT decided burning zeppelins wasn't enough and added flames to one of the figure's heads, and "worn looking brown leather" meant something entirely different to Grok. Also Grok set buses on fire and there's no zeppelins. A previous challenge included a burning bus so it must have decided "zeppelins" really meant "buses." Also notice there's the beginning of a motorcycle inside the cape of the figure on the right and who exactly is holding the sword on the right? Chat GPT decided the flaming swords wouldn't last long as "fiery" so the only one that made it into the picture looks like a burnt twig from the flames.

Index of all the AI Challenges on Comic Book Brain

Crunchyroll has a new reading app coming – Gamesradar

"Comics Industry Person of the Year" – Comicsbeat

Get into the Public Domain archives that are online at Graphic Chatter

Original page January 12, 2025