"Never mind your emo Twilight vampires...Scott Snyder and Stephen King create a whole new "muscular and vicious" breed of toothy undead next year." Great, so our vampires are going from twinks to bears? #americanvampire
@Dr.Quatermass: I think it's still too early to assess the full cultural impact of One-Eyed Monster and Teeth, but maybe something along those lines? #americanvampire
Jeff Lemire's reimagining of HG Wells' classic The Invisible Man goes to show you that YARM is not just about Holywood taking my fave films and doing their krappy remakes and/or reboots as you can see even comic books have been infected with "vscuum brain" a phenonema that artists get when they have no ideas and go out and steal other folks art to make their own.
sorry even though the cover of this looks cool i do in fact despise any remakes/reboots and to me it is even worse when small artists can not come up with original ideas.
For those who enjoyed Harry Potter and would like to graduate to something more adult, I highly recommend Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Yes, it had a single season on the SciFi channel, but the books are so much better than the TV show.
The books are well-written and character driven, most of them in a classic detective style. The magic is almost coincidental to the stories, instead of banging you over the head with it as many fantasy series do. Oh, and made-up names? Almost none.
Still not convinced? How about this: the audiobook versions of the novels are read by James Marsters, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
@ricko: There was no TV show I deny its existence. My only problem with the Dresden Files is that it's much too fast of a read. I burned through three of them over a weekend.
What do you mean, what if Harry Potter were real? Obviously you haven't read the secret 8th book where you learn to use spells and sell your soul to the devil.
I have to say, I always wondered why Neil Gaiman didn't sue J.K. Rowling for likeness rights when she put out the Philosopher's (Sorceror's) Stone after "The Books of Magic". Tim Hunter was definitely the visual prototype for Harry at least.
That said, The Books of Magic and its sequels (the regular series of the same name, The Names of Magic, and Hunter) are all very good books also put out by Vertigo.
@Pneumatic Man: I believe Neil Gaiman's answered this question on his blog... yup:
"Back in November I was tracked down by a Scotsman journalist who had noticed the similarities between my Tim Hunter character and Harry Potter, and wanted a story. And I think I rather disappointed him by explaining that, no, I certainly *didn't* believe that Rowling had ripped off Books of Magic, that I doubted she'd read it and that it wouldn't matter if she had: I wasn't the first writer to create a young magician with potential, nor was Rowling the first to send one to school. It's not the ideas, it's what you do with them that matters.
Genre fiction, as Terry Pratchett has pointed out, is a stew. You take stuff out of the pot, you put stuff back. The stew bubbles on."
@bookling: Great answer. Also, I don't know how British copyright law works, but if its anything like American... ideas are up for grabs, its the expression that's not.
@Smeagol92055: R.O.A.C.H.: No no, the nanobots are in your HAIR, eating you alive. Remember, I'm not really part of ROACH but everyone here assumes I'm an envoy from the Asian division.
@Smeagol92055: R.O.A.C.H.: And we wonder why ROACH is in such disarray on the inside. They fall apart at the mere mention of a dinner party.
Oh btw, some of us are lactose intolerant, and some of us don't eat meat. But some of us need milk, and some of us only eat meat. We'll need to approve the menu prior to our arrival, per Section Guidelines 4a.2.1b.
Sorry to say this, but nothing here interests me. I was a faithful reader of many of Vertigo's titles when the imprint first premiered (hail "Shade the Changing Man"!), but a lot of Vertigo's recent titles start strong and then wear out quickly. And their standalone hardcovers have been junk -- that's a harsh assessment, I know.
DMZ, their best title in recent years, has been treading downward -- it may become an unfortunate casualty of the fact that Obama won the Presidency. Its scenario has lost its sense of urgency because of this recent real-world event.
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/26/09
Only, as he's a vampire, he looks less pale and unhealthy. #americanvampire
10/26/09
I'm saving just a tiny core of Vampire enthusiasm for Daybreakers, but beyond that lockbox I'm spent, all tapped out.
It's time for something else. #americanvampire
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/26/09
10/26/09
06/30/09
sorry even though the cover of this looks cool i do in fact despise any remakes/reboots and to me it is even worse when small artists can not come up with original ideas.
06/30/09
07/01/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
The books are well-written and character driven, most of them in a classic detective style. The magic is almost coincidental to the stories, instead of banging you over the head with it as many fantasy series do. Oh, and made-up names? Almost none.
Still not convinced? How about this: the audiobook versions of the novels are read by James Marsters, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
That said, The Books of Magic and its sequels (the regular series of the same name, The Names of Magic, and Hunter) are all very good books also put out by Vertigo.
05/11/09
Yep.
If anyone has a case against Rowling, it's this series.
05/11/09
"Back in November I was tracked down by a Scotsman journalist who had noticed the similarities between my Tim Hunter character and Harry Potter, and wanted a story. And I think I rather disappointed him by explaining that, no, I certainly *didn't* believe that Rowling had ripped off Books of Magic, that I doubted she'd read it and that it wouldn't matter if she had: I wasn't the first writer to create a young magician with potential, nor was Rowling the first to send one to school. It's not the ideas, it's what you do with them that matters.
Genre fiction, as Terry Pratchett has pointed out, is a stew. You take stuff out of the pot, you put stuff back. The stew bubbles on."
[journal.neilgaiman.com]
05/13/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
BWAAAA HAA HAHAAAAA HAAAA HAAAA HHAAAAHH HAAAA!!!
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
Smeagol called you Jem, are you going to take that?
Oh, you're throwing glitter, never mind.
05/11/09
05/11/09
Sounds good, but is it really painful and does he really use them?
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
I mean, I don't want to serve oriental, because it might seem as if we're pandering, but on the other hand, what if they want oriental food?
THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO HELP ME VACUUM THE FLOORS
05/11/09
Oh btw, some of us are lactose intolerant, and some of us don't eat meat. But some of us need milk, and some of us only eat meat. We'll need to approve the menu prior to our arrival, per Section Guidelines 4a.2.1b.
05/11/09
GARRISON NUKE ASIA WE DON'T NEED THIS SHIT
05/11/09
05/11/09
This is why evil factions fail. It isn't the infighting or the back-stabbing, it is the menu choices available for dinner parties.
I mean, heaven forbid someone suggest pork....
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
Where do the rabbits go?
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
I was trying to make a Batman begins ref about the docks but I failed.
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
05/11/09
02/07/09
DMZ, their best title in recent years, has been treading downward -- it may become an unfortunate casualty of the fact that Obama won the Presidency. Its scenario has lost its sense of urgency because of this recent real-world event.
02/07/09
I'm looking forward to what they come up with.