This past weekend at Baltimore Comic Con, during the annual presentation of The Harvey Awards, Boom Comics head Mark Waid took the podium for the keynote speech of the evening.

Knowing that he was in a room full of important part’s of comics present, past and future, he decided to take the time to make what I feel is a very important speech, one on the state of comics moving forward, as we embrace the digital future.

I’m not usually one for posting people’s comments wholesale, but as a fan of comics, I feel this is a speech which needs to be read by both fans and creators, and while I have but a limited influence here on my blog, I think this is worth reading for any/all eyes which come across it.

In full, thanks to Comic Book Resources, here is his speech.

I’ve been asked a lot to speak about digital, because it’s such a passion with me and I’m such an advocate. But saying “Let’s cheer for digital comics!” seems kind of mundane. I want to talk tonight instead about how we fret about downloads and “piracy” and their impact. How we’re in danger because people are breaking copyright. But, first, let’s talk a little about copyright and its history.

What most people don’t realize about copyright is that it was originally conceived to protect not artists but the public domain–to ensure that artists and writers and their heirs couldn’t have perpetual ownership of their work until the end of time because, at some point, the sentiment went, you ought to have to give back to culture the same way you, I, and all artists draw from it. Certainly, you should benefit from your work, and you should have legal protection, but I find it interesting that the original intent was to deliver ides back into the public domain.

Then, three hundred years ago exactly this year, publishers co-opted the copyright concept to create what are the foundation of today’s copyright laws–but even then, they existed not to protect creative folks but, rather, publishers and printers. Copyright was about making sure no one could bootleg the printed work and compete with legitimate, licensed printers. It was about protecting distribution. Public domain was still seen as important, however, because no one then or now can argue that Western civilization would be better if Shakespeare’s heirs still controlled his works and they couldn’t be read in schools without payment, or if you had to pay a fee every time you wanted to even look at a Degas. Culture is more important than copyright.

That copyright system, however imperfect, worked for centuries. It was a decent balance of copyright and culture–you were allowed to profit from your work during your lifetime, your heirs even got many years’ grace period afterwards, and then it all went back into the pool of public domain at some point long after you were dead. But for the past several decades, megacorporations have turned copyright into a perpetual revenue machine for them that will never end and never expire. That’s great for individual copyright holders who draft off of that momentum, but it’s lousy for culture. Worse, it’s led to a mindset among creators that the only acceptable reward for creativity is dollars and cents…

…but that leaves culture and public domain out in the cold, and again, culture is more important than copyright. No one’s saying we shouldn’t be compensated for our work, but we are obliged to give back at some point. Moreover–and I know that in hard economic times like these, it’s very hard to remember this–I would also offer that being able to contribute to culture, having the satisfaction of knowing that we’ve done work that is embraced by others, watching our ideas spread and seed new ideas–if you’re calculating overall job compensation, that is not without value.

“Yes, Professor Waid, you hippie freak, sharing is all well and good, but how does that pay my bills?”

I know. I know. We all still should be financially compensated for hard work so we can keep doing this and make a decent living. No argument. And that brings us back around to filesharing. If you’re genuinely morally indignant about this issue, I understand and respect that. But I worry that a lot of the moral indignation I hear over filesharing is just a way of trying to mask our panic over how our ability to make a living with our art is quickly eroding under the current business models. And I understand that fear. I really, truly do.

Look, if you are in comics just to make money, I can respect that. Honestly, no sarcasm. But if you are here to create a sustainable living for yourself while at the same time finding some way to give back to the world, then filesharing is not a problem…it’s an opportunity.

Like it or not, downloading is here. Torrents and filesharing are here. That’s not going away. I’m not here to attack it or defend it–I’m not going to change anyone’s mind either way, and everyone in America at this point has anecdotal evidence “proving” how it hurts or helps the medium–but I am here to say it isn’t going away–and fear of it, fear of filesharing, fear of illegal downloading, fear of how the internet changes publishing in the 21st century, that’s a legitimate fear, because we’re all worried about putting food on the table and leaving a legacy for our children, but we’re using our energy on something we can’t stop, because filesharing is not going away.

And I’ll tell you why. It’s not because people “like stealing.” It’s because the greatest societal change in the last five years is that we are entering an era of sharing. Twitter and YouTube and Facebook–they’re all about sharing. Sharing links, sharing photographs, sending some video of some cat doing something stupid–that’s the era we’re entering. And whether or not you’re sharing things that technically aren’t yours to share, whether or not you’re angry because you see this as a “generation of entitlement,” that’s not the issue–the issue is, it’s happening, and the internet’s ability to reward sharing has reignited this concept that the public domain has cultural value. And I understand if you are morally outraged about it and you believe to your core that an entire generation is criminal and they’re taking food off your table, I respect that.

But moral outrage is often how we deal with fear. It’s a false sense of empowerment in the face of fear. And I’m here to tell you, that if at core you’re reacting not out of moral outrage but out of fear of the internet and the whole way publishing seems to be headed–that’s good news. Because that’s something we can fix.

We are the smartest, most creative medium in America. We put out ideas on a periodical basis bam, bam, bam. We don’t put out a screenplay every three years. We don’t invent a TV show every ten years. There are more ideas in one Wednesday in one comic shop than in three years of Hollywood. We’re notoriously bad businessmen, but we are unmatched for creativity and inventiveness, and there are ways to make filesharing work for us rather than cower in fear that it’s going to destroy us.

I’m going to be rolling out some ideas in the next few weeks on how I personally want to make torrents work for me, not take away from me, and how I plan to shift the paradigm. Lots of you already have similar ideas or will, as well.  I’m not saying that to plug anything I’m doing; I just want to go on record that I’m willing to walk the walk. My ideas may work. They may not work. But I’m going to share them. And if they don’t work, I’m going to keep trying. And I’m going to set up forums by which we can share our ideas on this, and I invite us all to throw them around. I really want us to keep that dialogue open. But we can define the terms of 21st century publishing and not have them defined for us.

I don’t want to be afraid. I don’t want to enter my third decade of my career terrified that publishing’s going down the tubes when we have the power to affect it. In fact, we have the advantage of being able to watch how other media have mismanaged their attempts at digital for ten years and learn from their mistakes. We can–and we will–find ways to make the internet work for us and for the enrichment of culture.

Source: Comic Book Resources.

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At the beginning of this year, amazing 1/6th scale figure creators Hot Toys revealed their first figure from the 2009 flick Inglourious Basterds, Brad Pitt’s Lt. Aldo Raine.

An uncanny re-creation of the actor and character, it’s only appropriate that the second figure in the line is just as great, and of a character just as important to the film – Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa.

Arguably one of the greatest film villains of this century, Landa is re-created with an almost eerie eye to detail, and of course, Hot Toys’ typically well laid out mixture of appropriate accessories (INCLUDING HIS PIPE!) and well-crafted costuming.

Really, the only things that seperate you from action figure perfection are about $200, and the ability to be OK with having a Nazi on your shelf, even one as well-acted as Hans Landa.

This figure should be available late this year.

Source: ToyNewsI.com.

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Earlier this month, one of my favorite musicians, Mr. Ted Leo (he of “and the Pharmacists” fame) added fuel to the fire of his apparent eminent retirement.

Rumors had run fast and furious across the web that he would be leaving the music industry, and according to a very lengthy blog on his website, he would be leaving the world of music…and entering the world of music theater.

It turned out to be a gag (of course), as it was viral promotion for his latest music video.  For the great track “Bottled In Cork” off his new album The Brutalist Bricks, this video includes cameos from a number of great comedians (including Paul F. Tompkins and John Hodgman), and in general, is a hilarious and great video for a downright great song.

Click play and show it some love, won’t you?

Source: Funny Or Die.

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You may be familar with the talented team at 2 Player Productions from their amazing work on the Penny Arcade TV series (seriously, how awesome is the end montage of the season finale?).

But before they were filming the exploits of the world’s largest webcomic, 2 Player Productions were put on the map with their groundbreaking documentary of the NYC Chiptune music scene, Reformat The Planet.

For those unaware, chiptune music is 8-bit style music composed using hacked NESs, GameBoys and other classic gaming systems, and is a world populated by such great artists as Bit Shifter and Anamanaguchi.

Reformat The Planet documents the chiptune scene around the time of the 2006 Blip Festival, and after doing the festival circuit, the DVD has been officially released thanks to the fine folks at Fangamer.

Here’s the trailer:

The DVD is available in a number of awesome packages including prints, posters, pins and t-shirts, but let’s be honest, it just looks like an awesome doc, no matter the package you buy. Personally, I’d like the shirt/DVD combo myself, as it’s a rad shirt, but more than anything, I’d love to see the birth of the growing world of Chiptune music.

Reformat the Planet is currently available via Fangamer.

Source: Joystiq.

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JUST Announced by AMC – their Frank Darabont-helmed adaptation of the super-popular comic series The Walking Dead will be hitting TV screens on Halloween Night, Sunday October 31st at 10pm.

The premiere episode will be an extra long 90 minute episode.

If that wasn’t enough, they finally released a high-quality version of the San Diego Comic Con trailer (embedded above), which can also be viewed in glorious, full-screen HD.

In short – the coolest series of the fall is going to be following up Mad Men in the Sunday, 10pm slot. Sorry HBO, you just lost Sunday nights.

Too excited.

Source: AMC.

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AWESOME WALKING DEAD SDCC Promo Poster

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By far my most anticipated bit of television this fall is AMC’s adaptation of The Walking Dead.

Set to debut in October, fans all around the web (including myself) have been raving about how well the comic seems to have made the transition from the panels to the small screen, and with each piece of new media, I continue to get more and more excited.

The latest release is of a new grouping of stills, featuring looks at more undead and the lead (Rick) having a not-so great encounter with a bunch of walkers.

I’m bummed AMC still haven’t released a high-quality version of the trailer showcased at San Diego Comic Con, but I still think this series will join Mad Men and Breaking Bad as the third jewel in AMC’s original programming crown.

Source:  /Film.

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I’m always a big fan of unique LEGO builds, but this one is just jawdropping.  And it doesn’t help that it’s based on one of my favorite flicks of the summer.

Created by flickr user “Profound Whatever”, aka Alex Eylar, this amazing Inception based hallway is just a beautiful piece of work, and is dead on to the source material.

Seems Mr. Eylar isn’t a newbie when it comes to great pop-culture based LEGO creations, as he’s even made homages to Pushing Daisies, television color bars, Doctor Who and even that infamous Zombie Playground painting.

But seriously, you should check out all of his work, it’s brilliant – and just a click away below!

Thanks to Samtaters for the heads up!

Source: Flickr: Profound Whatever’s Photostream.

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It’s been almost 15 years since Independence Day relaunched the alien invasion genre, and honestly, I think it’s time that the genre needs a shot in the arm.  I mean, what was the last mainstream project based around alien invasions? ABC’s terrible V remake?

I think that’s what they’re aiming for with Skyline.

Skyline was one of the movies that made a quiet impact at San Diego Comic Con last month, and the first teaser trailer hit the web last week.  While it gives you very little of the plot, the final shot of the trailer is one of equal parts majestic beauty and abject horror, a mix I’ve always felt was important for movies of the flying saucer persuasion.

As cool as that looks though, I’m a bit worried about how the full movie will fare. Directed by the Brothers Strause who’s other major credit is Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, I don’t really have too much faith in the project…let alone when your biggest star is Donald Faison of Scrubs and Clueless fame.

Maybe they blew all their creative juices on this major shot in the trailer…but I’d love to be wrong.

I guess we’ll find out when Skyline hits theaters on November 12, 2010.

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I swear, there are just some things that make me think I’m on the wrong coast.  Sure, I love being so close to DC, Philadelphia and New York, and the great opportunities for arts, music, performances and film that my location allows, but some days, I really wish I were in California.

Today, it’s once again due to the amazing art shows showcased at Gallery 1988.  Fresh off of the amazing Crazy 4 Cult 4, they’re teaming up with the Autumn Society for The 3G Show.

What’s the 3G about? Why the three eighties staples – Gremlins, Ghostbusters and Goonies!

There is going to be a ton of great art to be showcased at this event, and there’s really no other way to showcase it than by letting you see it. So I’ve included probably the biggest gallery ever in this post.  Go forth after the break and enjoy!

What’s my personal favorite of the show? That “Mogwai” LP is amazing, hands down. Although, Ghostbusters street sign is super classy. I think I’d want a tin version of that for my wall.

The show opens on September 3rd in LA, and goes through September 22nd.

Source: /Film.

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You’re probably tired of hearing me go at length about how much I love the Alamo Drafthouse, and hope to one day go there.

I think what really draws me to them is they make every movie an experience, and at the same time, have found great ways to celebrate movies – the most successful of which have been their series of custom posters for different films under their “Mondo” merchandising wing.

I’ve featured their work in the past, but they’ve done posters for movies like Iron Man 2 and Inglorious Basterds, cult classics like Zombie, and even have created poster series for Star Wars & Star Trek.  I even own their amazing poster for Blade Runner.

Their latest creation is decidedly in my wheelhouse.  As you can see above, it’s for this Friday’s release of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Designed by Martin Ansin, it’s absolutely awesome.  As with all of the posters, it will be a limited edition run, but you should be able to get it from their site soon enough.   Personally, I’d be getting it, but I just got this awesome SDCC exclusive Sex Bob-omb poster from rock poster designer Kevin Tong, so my wall is taken…but I just had to feature this poster.

Source:  Mondo: The Blog.

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