In response to…

Of course, the one year I decide not to watch the Emmy Awards is the year that they finally decide not to take themselves seriously. It’s official: Neil Patrick Harris can do no wrong. But still,  that ”Mad Men” foot slicing moment was still the better deal TV-wise, yeah?

Lance here, and I wanted to touch on two subjects recently made through the comment blog; first, “Joe” (hi, Joe) asked if we have considered providing the voice-overs and sound effects for motion comics. Our response: “depends? Who’s hiring?”

Joe’s comment ultimately brings up an aspect in the ongoing debate of printed material vs. digital media: very recently I participated in a discussion on LinkedIn, one of the few times I’ve done so, and the question was what people thought about motion comics (and let’s keep it “motion comic” and not something like “motic;” “motic” sounds like something you take for a sore stomach). In my opinion (and I’m not speaking for Dan or Bill, this is me myself and I), motion comics are interesting but they have a looonnngg way to go. Marvel’s Spider-Woman is actually quite good, but that’s because the artwork for the comic was partially done with the motion comic in mind. But the majority of what I have seen are 21^st century versions of those Marvel Comics television cartoons from the 1960’s which were just the Kirby and Heck panels with moving mouths. Timing, camera work, perhaps creating original pieces linking those moments between panels, and of course superior voice-over talent, and this new medium can improve.   

The internet is changing the face of comics, thereby changing the very definition of the name, and of the art form. In the face of today’s technology its an inevitable evolution which is happening faster than some would like. Actually most would like. But evolving it is, and there’s no stopping it. Meaning that there will be an even greater variety of options available as technology improves.

Now take that reality and apply that to what we do: we received another response from the UK (hey, Dave) re: transmission of our first piece, which as you folks know will be Starstruck: we too are somewhat preferential to digital downloads, yet another example of the digital age affecting an aspect of the entertainment industry. Ultimately we are going to make these pieces available in every form possible, but the writing is already on the wall regarding the compact disc. We’ll make them available in that form knowing full well that CD’s are going the way of the buffalo. iTunes has done more damage to the compact disc than the recession has. I rarely buy CD’s anymore; moreover, I believe it’s only a matter of time before the audio book industry burns and crashes because of the general unwillingness to put more focus on digital downloads and bring in new audiences.

Those audiences live for computer screens and iPhone applications. Downloading songs over buying CD’s. Who needs to go to the comic book store for a Wednesday fix when you can buy your books online? Who needs individual issues when you can get the whole kit and kaboodle in the trade paperbacks? And eventually the question will be who needs the trade paperbacks when you can download the whole kit and kaboodle on iTunes? There are a lot of companies taking advantage of the digital mediums that are available to us now, and AudioComics is part of that wave. A comic generation gap? Hell, yes. When that gap will close? I’m thinking sooner than later…and kind of hoping sooner than later. But that’s just me.

The hills are alive with the sounds of STARSTRUCK!!!

“As you can see, the heading is gone, because on Saturday the 15th the hills of Big Sur were alive with the sounds of Starstruck. And I’m not kidding, we were freaking loud. Good thing there’s nothing around for miles except an equally noisy restaurant.”

While this entry should have been written last week, Lance, AudioComics’ humble blogmeister has been in the throes of wedding week (my brother’s wedding, that is - Lance), so we’re just now playing catch-up. First thing’s first, we’re happy to hear that Gene Colan is doing much better, and was thrilled with the funds that came from the reading. In short, this month and next, he and Adrienne will receive just over $750 to defray the mountain of medical bills.

As for the show itself, Lance wrote in the program that he and the cast traveled a long distance in a short period of time. In the course of the last month-and-a-half a great cast was assembled despite four, count ‘em four, people flaking out on the show (which means in terms of future projects, those four have gone the way of the buffalo), and over 60 pre-recorded SFX were collected and re-worked for the show. The first issue of the new Starstruck comic series from IDW hit the stores that Wednesday. And then came Saturday…

Now normally when Lancey leaves a sentence hanging with “…” that usually means that the following sentences will detail everything that went wrong before, during, and after the performance. But this time it’s different: things actually went well. Really well. 

“I arrived at the Library just before 12noon to drop off mics, stands, and silent auction items. Magnus and his crew were already setting up the mixing board and pulling cables. So most of the set-up was completed when I left at 2pm to check into the River Inn. And then just before 3pm, the occupants of the adjoining room drove up: Elaine Lee and the original Orga, Ruth Henderson Locke. Followed by Starstruck colorist Lee Moyer, down from Portland with his lovely wife Annalise. And after our meet and greet with the obligatory hugs it was back to the Library for final set-up while Elaine and Ruth settled in.

“Slowly the actors arrived, as did my buddy Kevin Donnelly of the NATF, down from San Francisco as keeper of the silent auction table. Back to the Inn where I served as limo driver for Elaine and Ruth, and back to the Library where we ran into another comics luminary, Elaine’s old friend Brent Anderson (artist of Green Lantern and Astro City), and later another stalwart member of the original Starstruck cast, Karen Stilwell (the original Erotica Ann 333), who Elaine hadn’t seen in decades. Lotsa hugs, in case you haven’t guessed.

“I think the only set-back to the festivities was the loss of our box office person, home with the stomach flu. So I wound up back in the old familiar role of ‘jack of all trades’ (although Ami-Sue’s son was a big help). And 50 audience members later, after a 15 minute late start for stragglers, Ami-Sue Lawless spoke the words that I had been waiting for a decade to hear: Galatia’s opening monologue. And despite a couple missed cues and the customary 9pm cold front that set in, I think I can say with some degree of certainty that we rocked the Library. I don’t say that with any sarcasm, it was a great show. Oh yeah, and Lee Moyer won the doorprize: a Tower of Power 40th Ann. concert Fillmore poster.

“The following day, Ami-Sue and her parents opened their gallery space in PG for us for an after-party, which included a visit from our fight choreographer Mark Shuler (yes, a radio drama reading had a fight scene in it), who offered a quickie class in the fine art of bullwhipping. Then it was time to collapse.

“In closing, the show was, if I may quote Brent Anderson, ‘more fun than a Millenium Falcon full of space monkeys!’”

So now we come to the next phase of the journey up the spiral arm, the official AudioComics recording. This week, Lance is sending off his H2Zoom piecemeal recording of the show to his stalwart partners in Maine. Elaine is already looking at the script in terms of re-writes, translating those sections that are intricately visual into aural. Questions?

When are you going to do it?
We are planning on the beginning of next year, January, February at the latest. This gives us plenty of prep time. Not to mention doing something anything during the holiday season…well, you’re just askin’ for trouble.

Will you do this recording at the Henry Miller Library?
No. This will happen in Maine.

Where in Maine?
We’re looking at potential theatres right now. We’re also looking at the possibility of doing this at more than one space. There will in the end be several performances, period, allowing us more takes for the final edits.

Have you thought about bringing some of the original cast members back for the recording?
It has been discussed, actually! But for right now we’re not going to think about casting; the logistics of pulling this sucker off need to take precedence.

How about any of the actors from Big Sur?
Please see above.

What will the three of you be doing?
This much is definite: Bill Dufris will direct the production. Dan Bernard will co-direct and take on one of the male roles. All casting choices will go through them. Lance will portray the voice of NORM, the ship’s computer with the identity crisis. Elaine and Lance will be going through NORM’s lines to decide which impersonations stay and which ones go to be replaced by updated character voices (WALKEN! WALKEN! CHRISTOPHER WALKEN!).

We think Lance wants to do his Chris Walken voice.

Think good thoughts for Gene and Adrienne.

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters! www.henrymiller.org to make reservations.

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Renee Infelise, Ami-Sue Lawless, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, Barbara Smythe, and Jennie Tezak, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Special guests: Elaine Lee (Starstruck’s creator) and painter Lee Moyer (colorist of the new series from IDW Publishing).

Lance here: tonight is the second-to-last rehearsal for the show; artwork has arrived that I will be piecing together for a digital slideshow behind the actors; just received the extra mic stands from Musician’s Friend; Lee Moyer is on his way to Monterey (hey, that rhymes), Elaine leaves tomorrow or early Friday from NY, and we’re expecting a few actors from Starstruck past. Friday is printing-and-folding-programs day, and Saturday at 11am it’s off to Big Sur to meet up with friends old and new. And on the seventh day, I will rest freakin’ collapse.

Unfortunately the good vibes are tinged with the unfortunate news that Gene Colan was hospitalized again early this morning, this time with pneumonia, never a good thing for a man of Gene’s age. According to the most recent blog post from friend/writer Clifford Meth (sent by Gene’s wife Adrienne) he is on antibiotics to fight a nasty blood infection, but is apparently in good spirits. Reports from other sources said that he should be well enough to leave late tonight or early tomorrow, but by all accounts he might be there a little longer. Do me a favor and send some good energy his way. We’d certainly like to see him around a little while longer. Like, another decade.

What do YOU want to hear?

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters! www.henrymiller.org to make reservations.

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Renee Infelise, Ami-Sue Lawless, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, Barbara Smythe, and Jennie Tezak, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Special guests: Elaine Lee (Starstruck’s creator) and painter Lee Moyer (colorist of the new series from IDW Publishing).

So we’re in the home stretch re: the warm-up reading/benefit of Starstruck at The Henry Miller Library. There have been major cast changes in just the last two weeks with actors joining and then quitting and then joining and then quitting…and people say actors are flakey…but as you can see from the above cast list, we have our cast finalized, I’m right now pulling SFX, and we went through Act 2 earlier in the day…so it’s coming together. We also have a few more items for the silent auction!

Okay, here’s a question for you: we have Starstruck lined up for next year. We have quite a few adaptations in the pipeline with the aformentioned publisher in San Diego (secret identity to be revealed soon…), and once again, here is our wish list:

Doc Savage, The Escapist, Arrowsmith, The Dresden Files, The Elementals, A Killing in Comics, Torso, Coyote, American Flagg!, The Looking Glass Wars, The Waiting Place, Watchmensch, Grimjack, Ignition City, Jon Sable: Freelance, The Pilgrim, Hawaiian Dick, Noble Causes, Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Buckaroo Banzai, The Metamorphosis Odyssey/Dreadstar, Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, The Goon, Moonshadow, Spawn, Battle Hymn, Grendel, Ghost, Zenith, Madman, Athena Voltaire, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Black Coat, Crossfire, Leave it to Chance, Miracleman (now Marvelman), the complete Lensman series, Sabre, The Spider, The Yellow Kid, Rip Kirby, The Saint, Terry and the Pirates, Mandrake the Magician, The Green Hornet, Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom, Ghost Zero, True Story Swear to God, Tor, the Defiant Comics line, THUNDER Agents, The Red Circle/MLJ Heroes, Mage, Rising Stars, Mr. Monster, Nexus, The Phantom, and eventually Astro City, Global Frequency, Steampunk, Planetary, The Authority, Hellblazer, Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Shazam!, The New Gods, Batman, The Flash, Blackhawk, JSA, Capt. Britain and MI13, Werewolf by Night, Cloak and Dagger, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Squadron Supreme, The Fantastic Four, and of course New York City’s friendly neighborhood wall-crawler…

Okay, so you know what we’re interested in. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds, nay thousands of other titles out there. So our question of the day:

What comics. comic strips, and graphic novels, would YOU like to hear as full-cast state-of-the-art audio dramas? Let us know by responding below!

Starstruck Update #2

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters! www.henrymiller.org to make reservations.

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Adam “Pablo” Gonzales, Ami-Sue Lawless, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, and Barbara Smythe, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Your host: Steve Kane of the original community-supported KAZU. Special guests: Elaine Lee (Starstruck’s creator) and painter Lee Moyer (colorist of the new series from IDW Publishing).

It’s been a while since a post from the AudioComics team, but while June was a bit of a slow month, things are starting to get cookin’, so let’s have some Starstruck news:

First, we’re happy to announce that both Elaine Lee and painter Lee Moyer (colorist of IDW’s new Starstruck title) will both be in attendance for the August 15 benefit reading/recording prep. Their rooms have been booked (despite the forthcoming shmooze-fest known as the Monterey Concourse) and barring flash floods, stormy weather, or other assorted acts of God, they will be in Big Sir for the rilly big shoe. Rehearsals begin next week in nearby Pacific Grove (Lance’s home); furthermore,  items for the silent auction are flyin’ in fast and furious and include (as of 7/1/2009):

• “Comic Book Dreams” print by Todd Klein and Alex Ross;
• A selection of prints from artist Tom Fleming: “Green Lantern,” “Elektra,” “Superman’s Funeral,” and “Avengers;”
• A limited edition Tori Amos poster courtesy of painter Lee Moyer;
• Jazz concert posters courtesy of artist Dennis Loren and PosterPlanet
• A gift basket of pet toys and treats from Diggidy Dog in Carmel, CA;
• A framed/mounted ”Eric Clapton” Fillmore concert poster (from the personal collection of Lance Roger Axt);
• A framed/mounted “King Crimson” Warfield concert poster (from the personal collection of Lance Roger Axt);
• An audio theatre/audio book basket featuring CD’s from Blackstone Audio and the ZBS Foundation;
• A one-of-a-kind original multi-media art commission created specifically for this event by artist Frankie B. Washington: “They’re Looking at Us…” featuring Gentleman Gene standing side-by-side with Daredevil.

And there’ll be a few other goodies to come. At least 15 items available.

Second, we want to give a big thanks to Elaine, Lee, and Mike Kaluta for their shout-out about the benefit and AudioComics in the recent Newsarama interview! Here’s the link: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/060918-Starstruck2.html.

Third, the “official” recording of the play: when? Where? Who? How? Well, for now we’re keeping that under wraps, but we should have some announcements for you soon. Right now the focus is obviously on the reading, but we are working toward something exciting. And yes, Elaine and Lance have discussed how the new Starstruck stories would happen, and its a damn good idea.

Oh yeah, please send your well wishes to our very own Bill Dufris: to put it bluntly, SHE SAID “YES!”

(Yes to what?
Marriage, ya dope!
Oh, cool…)

Starstruck update! Starstruck update!

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters!

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Adam “Pablo” Gonzales, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, and Barbara Smythe, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Your host: Steve Kane of the original community-supported KAZU.

It’s Lance again, and yes, that’s right, boys and girls, we have a Starstruck update! To quote Monty Burns, “Huzzah!” I’ve begun the process of seeking out donations for the silent auction, and hopefully will have quite a few items available for I leave for New Mexico.(http://playitbyear.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/you-have-five-minutes-2 for more information)

Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Library for the first time in a while. I would like everyone reading this/interested in attending to visualize this: just off of Highway 1, a little ways up from the Big Sur campgrounds, is a little enclave on the left side of the road. Not a lot of room for parking, which is why carpooling is always preferred. You walk up the path and to your right is a huge patch of grass with strings of white Christmas lights above it, and staffs for votive candles. To the side is a small bookstore dedicated to the works of Miller and his contemporaries, and a deck is being built next to that (which will be finished by the time of the show) for pre-show shmoozing and standing room. All surrounded by majestic redwoods with just enough natural lights seeping in through the cracks.

Showtime: round tables on the grass, with rugs in front in case people want to sit, chairs behind the tables. August tends to be hot in that neck of the woods, so by 6:30 it’s warm winds blowing through, followed by a late evening fog. Lights overhead, votives burning, and a few choice images from the Starstruck comic series projected onto a screen behind the actors.

Comic books, libations, comedy, and Colan. All in the great outdoors. Seriously, why wouldn’t you come?

Why audio? Why comics?

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters!

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Adam “Pablo” Gonzales, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, and Barbara Smythe, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Your host: Steve Kane of the original community-supported KAZU.

My initial thoughts and memories are probably similar to many of yours (depending on your age)…immersing oneself in the world of rich and colorful fantasy, action and gaudy illustrations found only in the very private world of comic books. I spent much of my very minimal change (earned and begged) on them, bought at a local variety store in whose cool and dark racks one could find a wide variety of Marvel, DC and other titles.

One big event was buying a subscription to “Batman” one summer, I believe it was. I was appalled, however, to realize that they came in a paper sleeve and often had been bent or rolled in transit. No matter–my personal hero was right there in my own, privately held titles. So, for awhile, the now billion-dollar-bat was someone I really was into.

My point is really that comics fed my mind with rich ideas and characters…while living in a small town in Maine, and dreaming of becoming a great writer or scientist one day. I think comics and works of fantasy probably still fulfill those needs in people who feel lonely or unstimulated in their little burgs. And thus we are all linked by our common private experience with the comics. How many of you were insulted whenever tv or film characters who read comic books were universally portrayed as mentally weak and intellectually lame? Now they are just portrayed as sex-starved, socially clumsy geeks. What a relief.

Highevah–in later years I even got away with writing a college psychology paper on how The Fantastic Four each represented an area of the psyche.

Now, as for the audio–as a child, we had sturdy little record players that had covers that closed like little suitcases. Luckily, my parents had a wide variety of music–from jazz to comedy to musicals–and gave us a supply of “story records” to listen to. While we could tolerate the pompous orchestral “Peter and the Wolf,” what we really loved were outlandish stories of outer space, cowboys, you name it.

My younger brother, who was the one I shared them with mostly, never really recovered. He’s been a professional ventriloquist/juggler/magician/fire-eater etc etc all of his life, and became rather a celebrity in Scandinavia (see www.steveandjack.com ).

As for me, the double impact of comics, audio (and there was that momentous visit as a child to the NBC Radio Studios in NYC, where GROWN MEN made sound effects!!), theater (our parents were involved) and an early addiction to music and recording devices, and some sort of genetic gift for mimicry and expression all brewed some probably pathologic desire to create such things.

So here I am, a middle-aged man, creating “stories” with other middle-aged men and women, and luckily working with a wiiide array of talent–from producers to actors, musicians, engineers and so on. I really do get to write and perform audio as part of my living, and I owe it all to the previously described influences. Sad, but true. James Joyce I’m not…nor am I Stan Lee. But I think we each bring from our childhood influences something that will add to the cultural stew. I’m hoping mine is more than a dumpling.

We’re all a little Starstruck these days…

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters!

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Adam “Pablo” Gonzales, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, and Barbara Smythe, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Your host: Steve Kane of the original community-supported KAZU.

On May 1, IDW Publishing finally announced that they would be reprinting Elaine and Michael’s Starstruck series, beautifully re-colored, complete with the Galactic Girl Guides spin-off as a back-up feature. Bill, Dan, and I were fortunate to see the cover for the first issue before the general public, and of course our response echoed those now found on various message boards: WOW.

We will have lots more Starstruck benefit and audio news as the months progress, but for now we’d like to point you to the gorgeous Kaluta art above. This was the original promotional art for the off-B’way show and playscript. What do you think about it as a, say…compact disc cover? MP3 art, maybe?

Here’s how you can help:

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters!

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Adam “Pablo” Gonzales, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, and Barbara Smythe, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Your host: Steve Kane of the original community-supported KAZU.

Hi all, Lance here; so our first entry was Faulkner-esque in length, yes. But thorough, though! Don’t worry, this one’s a shorter one, I promise:

Last year I created a store on Zazzle. Zazzle, in case you didn’t know, is an online store where you can upload images onto shirts, mugs, mousepads, etc, and set the profit per item. And, “Zazzle is the only on-demand retail platform to offer billions of products that ship in 24 hours.” And they are! All the more reason to work with them.

The store, called “Biff! Bang! Pow!” features T-shirts, magnets, mousepads, cards, tote bags, and even postage featuring classic comic book covers from the 1940’s and 1950’s from publishers whose characters and/or issues fell into the public domain, forgotten parts of the tapestry of comic book history.

You know Batman and Spider-Man, how about The Black Terror or The Green Lama? Ms. Masque? Dynamic Man? There’s a huge golden age revival happening now with the “Next Issue Project” (and the original Daredevil in Savage Dragon) at Image Comics, and Dynamite’s “Superpowers” mini-series arcs. Here’s a chance to get the cool merchandise kids couldn’t get with their cereal box tops way back in the day. http://www.zazzle.com/biffbangpow* is the site. Go ahead, take a look, then come back and see me.

No, it’s okay. I’ll wait.

…

You’re back? Great. There are over 30 images on over 100 different pieces of merchandise. Plus you can customize the images, make them smaller, larger, or add text if its a gift. There will be other images and merchandise added over time.

Here’s the thing: all proceeds raised from the “Biff! Bang! Pow!” store will help fund AudioComics in its early stages. Everything from LLC payments to feeding actors at a recording session. C’mon…you know you want that sheet of Princess Pantha postage…

Okay, one other thing: recently, comics legend Len Wein…you know, Len Wein? Creator of Wolverine, Swamp Thing, The Human Target? Editor of Watchmen? Writer of just about every major character DC and Marvel created? All-around nice guy? Yeah, that Len Wein…lost most of his home in a fire on April 6. He and his son got out in time; his wife was not home when it happened. Tragically, one of their dogs perished from smoke inhalation. He also lost 40 years worth of comics, books, artwork, awards, etc. Yes, the Weins have insurance, but many things won’t be covered, including his comic book collection, specifically the books he wrote. Books you might have in your collection! Another all-around nice guy, writer Mark Evanier, has spearheaded an initiative to replace Len’s lost books. Evanier’s web address is: www.povonline.com. Go check it out, find the entries on Len’s comic book collection, and see from the updated list which books he still needs. Then check your long box!

Seriously, Len Wein has given us a lot of great books over the years, and here’s a chance to give back, thus proving an old addage: sometimes nice guys finish first.

AudioComics: only the beginning

Starstruck: a Benefit for “Gentleman Gene” Colan at The Henry Miller Library, Big Sur. The original off-Broadway sci-fantasy comedy, and basis for the Elaine Lee/Michael Kaluta comic book series, presented for the first time in 25 years!

Saturday, August 15: 6:30pm reception, 7:30pm performance. $12.80 advance admission, $20.00 at the door. Silent auction! Libations! United Federation of Freedom Fighters!

Featuring Lance Roger Axt, Victoria Blaszczak, Arden Eaton, Adam “Pablo” Gonzales, David Manchel, Geoff Mutch, and Barbara Smythe, with Lance Roger Axt, Rob Eaton, and David Manchel on SFX. Your host: Steve Kane of the original community-supported KAZU.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of all ages: at long last, welcome to AudioComics!

As there are audio books, now there is AudioComics, and suffice to say this has been a few years in coming, with false starts and stops over the last few years. But now we’re ready to proceed with our first series of projects. But before we get into any details, you should know a little about us:

“AudioComics provides superior audio entertainment with its professional full-cast audio theatre adaptations of licensed and original properties from the world of comic books, graphic novels, and more. AudioComics’ productions of classic, contemporary and world premiere properties will reach new audiences far beyond readers and comic book fans through the universally popular entertainment medium of multi-track recorded sound and music on CD and in downloadable form, accessible in today’s market with today’s sound.

“Based in Maine (with a California connection), AudioComics productions feature celebrity and professional actors and multi-dimensional sound designs that keep the listeners on the edge of their seats and coming back for more. The AudioComics team is working to establish relationships with top name comic book companies, sci-fi writers, sponsors and the entertainment industry in Hollywood and New York, and to give these audio theatre pieces worldwide exposure.”

Lance Roger Axt is the Producing Director of the not-for-profit audio theatre company Play it by Ear Productions, for which he produced three world-premiere radio one-acts for the award-winning Play it by Ear anthology series We Have Ignition, which have aired on stations across the country, and are available for pay-per-download from the Spoken Network. Lance is a graduate of the first MFA class from the Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, RI; he received his BA from San Francisco State University and studied at the American Conservatory Theatre Summer Training Congress, the British American Drama Academy Midsummer at Oxford Program, the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, and at the National Audio Theatre Festivals, on which he serves as P/R coordinator. He is about to record the newest “We Have Ignition” piece, Turn to Stone, later this summer.

William Dufris is the original voice of BOB (and Farmer Pickles/Mr. Beasley/Mr. Sabatini) in the popular children’s show BOB The Builder for the US and Canada (Series 1-9). William began his audio career in London (radio plays, audiobooks, film/animation dubbing, language tapes, etc), where he resided for thirteen years. While there, he had the privilege of sharing the microphone in a number of BBC Radio plays with Kathleen Turner, Sharon Gless, Stockard Channing and Helena Bonham-Carter. These experiences led him to co-found two audio production companies: The Story Circle, Ltd in the UK, and Mind’s Eye Productions in the US, for which he produces, directs, acts and engineers. He has also acted on stage and television in the US, the UK and Europe. He has been nominated six times as an audiobook finalist for the APA’s prestigious Audie Award, and has garnered 16 Golden Earphones Awards through AudioFile Magazine as well as having been named “One Of The Best Voices At The End Of The Century” (AudioFile Magazine). Bill also has more than a little experience in this area: he has portrayed none other than Peter Parker, a.k.a. the Amazing Spider-Man, in Dirk Maggs’ Spider-Man radio serial, as well as Judge Caligula in his Judge Dredd (pre-Big Finish Audio).

Dan Bernard is a playwright, director, actor and producer who works in various media, including narrator for The New Yorker. While specializing in audio, some of his award-winning audio theatre work has been adapted for stage and video as well. He draws on a stable of collaborators for various projects: actors, musicians, artists, and sound designers, depending on the project. He has worked intensively with Bill Dufris on audio (Just in Time Productions) and animation projects as well. His projects have been seen and heard extensively in the Portland, Maine region where he makes his home, as well as in Boston, and most recently at Deep Wireless Festival in Toronto utilizing multi-track surround-sound music and effects.

How’s that?

So, comic books, comic strips, graphic novels, sci-fi, horror…as audio theatre? You mean like radio drama? Like Burns and Allen, The Shadow? Didn’t that die out in the fifties? Kinda retro, yeah?

Well, first of all, we call like to call it “audio theatre.” Radio drama did die in the fifties. The term “radio drama” means you are hearing a play over the radio. This is a reality that has no place in today’s world, for now we are an on-demand society: “I want it when I want it, and I want it now and not later,” or “I want it later and not now,” or…yeah, you get the idea. How did we get this way? TiVo. Downloads. MP3’s on compact disc. Podcasts. The iPhone. Blackberrys. I seriously believe that compact discs will one say go the way of the buffalo, or worse, the LP, just as today’s technology will be rendered obsolete ten years from now. Any way you look at it, it’s a reality that does not bode well for our music collections.

Radio drama represents a simpler time, a time when technology was limited to Flash Gordon comic strips. Now almost a decade into the new millenium we have the technology to make this crazy, wonderful art form available to the public in ways we couldn’t have dreamt of years ago. And the best part is, you hear it on your time, and not as part of a rigid programming schedule.

With that in mind its audio theatre. You can call it whatever you want. But also know (for the uninitiated), that producers have kept the flame burning for over thirty years in America. Yuri Rasovsky. Tom Lopez with the “Jack Flanders” and “Ruby” series. Charles Potter. SueMedia. The Firesign Theatre. FinalRune. The National Audio Theatre Festivals, Inc., which brings many of these fine people together once a year. Add AudioComics to the mix.

Now to say that there is a market for this type of product would be an understatement.  The great British writer/director/producer Dirk Maggs has produced some amazing comic-related works for the audio medium: his Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man serials were among the most-listened to serials on BBC radio during the 1990’s.  The late, lamented Seeing Ear Theatre had great success with its adaptations of the EC Comics’ series Tales from the Crypt, as has Big Finish Audio with its adaptations of Doctor Who and Judge Dredd.  We think that there is truly unlimited potential for audio adventures of these pop culture mainstays.

One of the unique features of AudioComics is that this journey will begin with creator-owned titles, and not with characters ultimately owned by major media conglomerates. While there are characters and story lines from DC and Marvel that we would love to develop as two-to-three-hour-blow-your-mind audio plays down the road, for now we will be working with titles that are, as it states above, owned by the writers/artists who created them thereby allowing them more “hands on” involvement with these adaptations.

The one thing that we do not want to be considered is a “niche” entertainment. What separates the producers listed above from many other producers of audio theatre today is that these masters of the medium know how to craft a great story, know how to direct their actors in order to get the best performances from them, and know not to overpower the action with layers and layers of sound effects and music. Does this mean we know everything? Of course not; the three of us have been at this for years and we’re always learning something new. But what we do know is how to be critical listeners of our own material and of the material produced by our peers, just as they are critical listeners who time after time use that skill to create great audio. We intend to raise the bar and create full-cast audio theatre that a) we are proud of, and b) you will want to hear over and over again, knowing that you got your money’s worth.

Now many of you are visiting this site because of a press release that’s been unleashed upon the unsuspecting world. Here it is again:

“On August 15, 2009, the off-Broadway science-fiction comedy Starstruck by Elaine Lee, Susan Norfleet Lee, and Dale Place, basis for the 1980’s comic book series by Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta (who provided set and costume designs for the original production), will be presented for the first time in 25 years as an audio theatre-style live reading at the famed Henry Miller Library in Big Sur, CA, with proceeds to benefit comics legend Gene Colan. Colan, best known for his work on Iron Man, Daredevil, Batman, and Tomb of Dracula (from which the character “Blade” was introduced), was diagnosed with liver failure in 2008.

“The reading will employ pre-recorded sound effects and live effects performed by a team of foley artists, coupled with composer Dwight Dixon’s music from the original production.

Play it by Ear Productions, an audio theatre company in Pacific Grove, CA, will produce the event under the direction of Producing Director Lance Roger Axt. ‘I’m absolutely ecstatic that this is finally going to happen; speaking as both a longtime comics fan and a theatre artist, I’ve wanted to do something with this play for over a decade. And helping Gene and Adrienne Colan is an added bonus; I’m more than happy to lend a hand.’”

But here is the best part (What? There’s a best part, like that isn’t good enough? Yes…): this benefit will also serve as a launchpad for one of our first projects, that being a Starstruck AudioComics series!

Now we’ll unveil more info as it becomes available through this blog, but what we can tell you is that we’ll be working with Elaine and the good Mr. Kaluta on several Starstruck projects written specifically for the medium of audio. We are all very excited about where this is going, and we hope you’ll all come with us. Up the Brigades!

In the coming months we will also announce some equally exciting news about our forthcoming collaboration with one of the coolest, most ambitious indie comics publishers we’ve come across in a long time. Seriously, these guys are AWESOME, and we can’t wait to tell you more about what we’ll be doing with them. So what other comics, comic strips, pulp magazines, graphic novels, sci-fi series would we like to turn into full-cast audio? Oh gee, we don’t know, not much, just…

Doc Savage, The Escapist, The Dresden Files, The Elementals, A Killing in Comics, Torso, Coyote, American Flagg!, The Looking Glass Wars, The Waiting Place, Watchmensch, Grimjack, No Hero, Ignition City, Jon Sable: Freelance, The Pilgrim, Hawaiian Dick, Noble Causes, Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Buckaroo Banzai, The Metamorphosis Odyssey/Dreadstar, Dick Tracy, Flash Gordon, The Goon, Moonshadow, Spawn, Battle Hymn, Grendel, Ghost, Zenith, Madman, Athena Voltaire, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Black Coat, Crossfire, Leave it to Chance, Miracleman, the complete Lensman series, Sabre, The Spider, The Yellow Kid, Rip Kirby, The Saint, Terry and the Pirates, Mandrake the Magician, The Green Hornet, Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom, Ghost Zero, True Story Swear to God, Tor, the Defiant Comics line, THUNDER Agents, The Red Circle/MLJ Heroes, Mage, Rising Stars, Mr. Monster, Nexus, The Phantom, and eventually Astro City, Global Frequency, Steampunk, Planetary, The Authority, Hellblazer, Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Shazam!, The New Gods, Batman, The Flash, Blackhawk, JSA, Capt. Britain and MI13, Werewolf by Night, Cloak and Dagger, Moon Knight, Daredevil, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Squadron Supreme, The Fantastic Four, and of course New York City’s friendly neighborhood wall-crawler…not to mention several original concepts created by your humble AudioComics producers, and maybe even a few from established creators/writers, while all the time trying to avoid entering the vortex that is known in Hollywood as “development hell”…but that’s it…y’know…to start with, anyway…

Before we sign off from this veeerrrrrryyyy lonnnnggggg first entry, there are two other points to be made. First and foremost, the comic book industry is changing. The trade paperbacks vs. single issue pamphlets war rages on. You can now read comics for free on MySpace. You can download them from Marvel. You can read them on your iPhone. Film companies are scrambling to get a hold of the next big thing in comics before the other guys down the street do. Not everyone likes the changes that are taking place, while others have embraced them, because they know evolution is inevitable. Our thinking: there is room for everybody on the playground, and that includes AudioComics.

Some of you are thinking, “comics are a visual medium, radio…sorry, audio isn’t.” To that we say the following: WRONG. Wrong wrong WRONG. Audio theatre is the most visual form of entertainment that there is. We just don’t see it that way because it’s aural in origin. But think of it this way: movie producers are constrained by budgets. There’s only so much money available for that movie adaptation you’ve been waiting decades for. Corners get cut. Even moreso with television. There’s only one place where you can see a comics adaptation with a billion dollar budget: in your head. We provide you with simple stimuli: voices, sound effects, music, and silence. You do the rest. The pictures are crystal clear. The colors are amazing. The sound is crisp. The castle is either a castle or a massive military encampment. The starship is a million miles long. The disaster sequence would make Irwin Allen green with envy. You are in control of the visuals, no longer a spectator but an active participant.

Here is the other point: website and blog forums have served to replace that favorite mainstay of comics, the letter column. The forums are great in concept: it’s brought creators/companies and fans closer. However, on many of these forums, those posting sometimes devolve into name-calling, spiteful discourse, and general snarkiness. Let it be known now that we do want to hear from you. What we don’t want is unintelligent conversation. Everybody has the right to his or her opinion. Saying, “gonna suck” and that’s it is an unfounded opinion. Kind of like the 8 year old who sees broccoli on his plate for the first time and says eeeewww until he tries it and realizes it’s not half bad. Folks, this is not Greg Gutfeld and Fox News’ God-awful “Red Eye,” let’s keep the snark in the cage where it belongs.

We will have both individual and collective posts in the months to come re: the StarStruck benefit and more. Eventually there will also be a behind-the-scenes podcast called AudioComics Confidential, which you will be able to access via this blogsite. Alright? Everybody good? Good. Now…discuss!