While I have no problem writing Best Of and Top Ten lists, this is my first year coming up with a Best Of list for comics, and it has been a real challenge. First there is the whole “thousands of titles out there” deal, then there is the fact that these kinds of lists are a touchy subject to write. What may be on my Best Of list, is on the @$$ List for someone else. Regardless, it’s time to look back over the year and see what was tops when it came to comics.

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If you are up late tonight and need something to do, check out Brian Posehn’s interview on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brian.  Posehn will be on hyping The Last Christmas graphic novel from Image Comics that hits stores today.

Here is how Image Comics describes the graphic novel:

THE LAST CHRISTMAS pits Santa against a world overrun by demons, zombies, and bad, bad men in a comedic romp that fans of over the top, black humor will be clamoring for! Co-written by Brian Posehn (Just Shoot Me, Mr. Show, The Comedians of Comedy) and Gerry Duggan (Icons), THE LAST CHRISTMAS features artwork by Rick Remender and Hilary Barta, and an introduction by Patton Oswalt.

“You can’t get better exposure for a book like this!” enthuses Image Comics Marketing Director Mark Haven Britt. “Posehn is a rapidly rising comedy star, and his wit really shines in this graphic novel.  With this appearance on Conan, and the book’s listing on the Amazon Best of 2006 Graphic Novel list, this title is gaining momentum, so retailers should be sure to have plenty of copies on hand.  And, as always, Image has plenty of books on hand to fill reorders when the readers come bustling through to pick up this instant Christmas classic.”

The Last Christmas retails for $14.99 and is available for reorder through Diamond Comics Distributors and Diamond Book Distributors.  If you can’t wait that long, head over to Amazon, they have plenty in stock.

via Image Comics (link)

I know I ragged pretty hard on NBC over that whole “Heroes as a free download” thing. And as much as I have been wanting to write a decent review over the series, in a well thought out way, I can’t. That’s because this is simply the best show on television - period.

Heroes blows everything else this season out of the water. That’s a pretty big claim considering other shows like My Name is Earl rank on my Must Watch List. Not much else I want to say right now, I’ll try and do something over the show after next week’s mid-season finale.

TV Guide’s Mike Logan is reporting actor George Takei will be playing the part of Hiro’s father in the NBC hit Heroes.

Hiro’s father is this big honcho who shows up in America with his bodyguard. He has this whole elaborate scheme to kidnap his son and take him back to Japan.

Tim Kring, Heroes creator, says the character will debut in a January cliff-hanger.

Hiro has quoted Star Trek several times on the show, so this seems like a slam-dunk, and a great nod to the Star Trek community. Takei has had some very good (albeit small) roles over the years, but I can really see him playing a “heavy” in this series.

As Heroes continues to explode in the ratings, I hope Kring and the rest of the Heroes staff reach logical conclusions to story lines without going the Macguffin route that has caused Lost audiences to drop, and ultimately caused Alias fans to lose interest in the whole Rambaldi plot.

via TV Guide (link)

According to Variety, Heroes continues its successful climb as the hottest show of the season.  Monday night’s “Hiros” episode saw a 10% increase in viewership for adults 18 - 49.  NBC, who is going through some rough times at the moment, finished the evening at a close tie with CBS.

The more I watch this series the more I’m loving how well the story is crafted.  Yes, there is some bad acting, and some obvious plot holes, but overall this is THE series to be watching at the moment.  Unless you are a bittorrent user, here’s hoping you have been saving all of the episodes on your TiVo so you can have a Heroes Marathon at your house during the holiday break.

via Variety (link)

No, I’m not talking about 9th Wonders!, but rather a bonus online graphic novel that delves deeper into the storyline from where the show left off. Similar to the bonus online video episodes found in other shows, hints and a deeper understanding of the story might be found by reading (or printing out) the first issue.

In the debut, artist Tim Sale leads you into a story from Suresh’s childhood that haunts him to this very day.

via NBC Heroes (link)

The Fall television season hasn’t been off to a great start. All of the freshmen series have had less than stellar starts until Monday night’s debut of Heroes. According to Variety, NBC topped its broadcast rivals in a 4.7 share compared to CBS’ 4.4 share.  This is the highest rating for the 18-49 demographic NBC has had for any Fall show in five years.

According to Nielsen nationals, “Heroes” bowed to a 5.9 rating/14 share in adults 18-49 and 14.10 million viewers overall — growing 55% from its “Deal or No Deal” lead-in (3.8/10, 13.00m). In a good sign, the drama also built audience in the second half-hour.

NBC has been hyping the super powered series since the beginning of the summer when it began leaking information across the Interweb and turning a blind eye when it appeared on bit-torrent sites around the world. They even had a large number of people logging on to iTunes to download the series for free (although free was a bit misleading).

I just finished watching the pilot myself, and will have a more comprehensive review tomorrow, but I was really pleased that NBC aired the episode with few commercial interruptions. I would love if they continued this practice throughout the remainder of “Volume One”, but knowing the Peacock Network needs the money, I’m sure we’ll see our fair share of commercial breaks.

I’m still mighty mad at NBC and iTunes for that “free download” scam from a couple of weeks ago, so I haven’t had a chance to watch the kick off episode.  As soon as I get to my TiVo it is first on the list, and I’ll post my views here.

Until then, Scott Johnson at Extra Life has posted his views and comments on the debut:

Why does everyone have to be young a pretty? Why can’t we have an old man or something? I know we get the fat cop next week, and we have the funny Japan guy who can teleport. But I want more ugly people with powers. Everyone is just a little too GQ for my taste, and it distracts from the grit I need to have in my hero lore.

Read the rest of Scott’s thoughts at his website.

via ExtraLife (link)

So NBC made a huge to-do over Heroes being made available on iTunes for free beginning September 1. The day came and went, and still no word on where the free show was.

So here is the low down on this “wonderfully” thought out campaign by NBC to get people to watch their show. In order to see the Heroes pilot, you must first go to Regal Cinemas and obtain a code card. It really isn’t clear if the code card is free, or if you have to purchase a movie ticket to obtain one. Word on some message boards is it is free, while others are somewhat secretive retarded on the matter.

You then take this 12 digit code and enter it in the Redeem section of iTunes, upon which you will be given permission to download the pilot.

Okay…so what if you don’t have a Regal Cinema in your town, next town over, or the next town after that? You are screwed that’s what. In Kansas there isn’t a single Regal Cinema listed until you hit Kansas City, MO. Nebraska, North and South Dakota, you’re screwed as well. If you don’t have Regal, you might try AMC or Cinemark, which are also part of the promotion. And what if you don’t have the urge/need/money/desire to go to the movie theatre to begin with?

Hey NBC, if you really want people to watch your show, and you claim it is going to be a free download, then don’t make your audience jump through hoops to do it!

Morons…F’ing morons all of ‘em…

So what would have been a better solution you ask? Let’s see, comic fans are probably a huge target, why not ship the code in issues of comic books? No, wait… that is too easy. What about running the code in local newspapers? No, that probably is too obvious. Oh wait, how about making the damn show available for free without screwing potential fans?

Forget trying to do something the legal way. If you are still dying to see Heroes you can find the show all over the place via bitTorrent.

Superhero Hype! has a great interview with Jeph Leob about his work on NBC’s Heroes television series. Most of the interview focuses on how Leob became attached to the project. Considering that Leob still writes comics, is a supervising producer for ABC’s hit series Lost, and a writer and supervising producer for the CW’s Smallville, how does he manage his time?

The challenge is time again. I tend to write at night or I get up early, sometimes at 4:00 in the morning, and then write until I have to be on set or at the production. But this isn’t anything really new. Regardless of whether or not I needed to be on set or in the writers’ room, as someone that was working on a television series full-time, I have to be able to balance time between being a comic book writer, working on a television series, a television writer, and also having a life and being a dad.

via Superhero Hype! (link)

As we reported previously, NBC is doing some very different things to promote their new Fall line up. Heroes being somewhat comic related is one such show. Now you can see it for free on iTunes beginning September 1, 2006.

(press release) NBC’s marketing in the digital arena takes a new turn as the network expands its corporate partnerships with National CineMedia, Nissan and Apple’s iTunes to cross-promote its new Fall drama “Heroes” by finding new ways to incorporate the products into scripts organically and offering consumers the chance to be the first to see the series.

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NBC has announced most of their fall line up will stream for free or be available via Netflix before airing on the peacock network. NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly announced Friday that viewers can watch shows like Heroes, Friday Night Lights, and Studio 60 on the net. Even though the shows will contain commercials, NBC is hoping the buzz surrounding the announcement will pull them out of their fourth place standing.

Heroes tells the story of ordinary people who wake up one morning with super powers. Throughout the season the heroes will attempt to connect with one another, but discover some are using their powers for good, while others are using their gifts for evil. There are several venues NBC will be using to stream content; Yahoo! will be streaming Heroes, which will make its network debut on September 25. The streaming video will be made available several days before.

Via Variety (link)