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"What do Tyrese Gibson, Brea Grant, and Rashida Jones all have in common?"
I've never heard of any of them. What are these individuals to be celebrated for? Perhaps it is a function of aging but famous people aren't as famous as they used to be. Mind you, these days you can become famous for pretty much nothing, especially if you accompany your uselessness with a sex tape. I suppose now I'll have to Google these people to find out what bitching rad reality show they were voted off of.Reply
I have to play devil's advocate here. Who among us HASN'T wanted to write or draw a comic? Just because someone is famous, it doesn't mean they should be banned from putting out their own title. I always have a problem with arguments like this. It's like when people say celebrities should not voice their opinions on politics. True, they have money, privilege, etc., and this grants them more access than the average person. But it doesn't invalidate their opinion, and their status shouldn't automatically invalidate their product. Judge it on its merits, not by who produced it.
(On the other side of this, if the celebrities were truly serious about their titles being judged on the strength of the material, they could resort to the tried and true method of using a pseudonym.)
This argument is analogous to the movie industry. Once upon a time, there was no such thing as independent film. At least, not in the way that there is today. Why should it apply to comics? Sure there are the big two, as well as a few growing indie companies out there. But if someone thinks their art and their story measure up, they should get a fair shake, celebrity or not.Reply
Great article. Gibson, to put it lightly is a douchebag. One of my favorite moments of San Diego Comic Con was seeing Gibson standing on a chair with his posse screaming "Y'all wanna read this shit?!?!" and handing out copies. Several people approached him and then quickly walked away when they realized they were not free.
I am mildly interested in the Rashida Jones book though.Reply
Oh Hell Yes, writing comics is the toss-away famewhore moneygrab we imagine it as.
Example. J. Love Hewitt's book is about to drop too, and all she had to do was bat those... eyes... at her comic-guy. The thing gets automatic approval no question.
If you see LA/Hollywood Craigslist Creative postings, you can see that comics are the new script pitch.
Definitely not for the love of the medium. True comic fans like Kevin Grevioux, Nic Cage, and the late David Carradine aside, publishers get stars and dollars in their eyes just as quick as any studio. And anybody, actor or shmoe, would love the words "published author" behind their name... picture-books like comics or children's books provide that easier than 1,000-page novels.Reply
@MrFlake: Wow, that is off freakin' chain. Excellent monsters--this would be a perfect film project for del Toro (as if he doesn't have enough on his plate.) Anyway, thanks.Reply
Well, these are all almost certainly vanity projects (except for Brea Grant's perhaps, as she lacks the fame to pull this off, so it's likely to be more genuine). That being said, if there's a good story to be found in any of them, I won't be averse to checking it out. Sure, most celebrities should stick to their forte in the long run, but not every actor/actress is a one-trick pony.Reply
Just like to point out that Gerard Way went to the School of Visual Arts to study comic books and cartooning before the band thing. SVA has a great program, Harvey Kurtzman, Will Eisner taught there and I believe Art Speigleman and Gary Panter are still do.Reply
I'd much rather see celebrities writing comic books then comic book writers trying to be celebrities (see: Frank Miller, Satn Lee, Mark Millar.)
Umbrella Academy is a brillant book. If you haven't read it pick up either trade. I also liked the only issue of OTC I found at my comic book store.Reply
I find any trend where you use your fame to muscle your way into another field pretty weak and lazy.
If you are famous and you wish to "break into" say, comics, then submit your story under an assumed name. Let that work be judged for it's merit. Not because you starred in a movie or wrote a hit song.
That said, I liked Umbrella Academy - never listened to My Chemical Romance though.Reply
@Dash_Stryker: It's like this: I never heard of Adrian Pasdar before Heroes, but when I go to online forums, people go: "OMG, it's Pasdar from that [dramas I never saw]. Awesome."
I also never knew of John Lithgow before 3rd Rock, and is surprised to learn his forte is playing dangerous mentally-unstable characters.
And Tyrese was in both Transformers movies, so he's already pretty famous.Reply
@Dash_Stryker: Really, my point is, if you go to sites with as many TV, book and movie buffs as io9, you can expect to see people get excited over names you don't recognize.
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