Posted in: Comics, Run Around | Tagged: astonishing x-men, Comics, dc, gay, life in hell, marvel, matt groening, midtown, northstar, wedding

Thursday Runaround – Life In Hell Freezes Over

Published Thu, 21 Jun 2012 05:00:03 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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HellWatch: Matt Groening brings Life In Hell, the strip that inspired The Simpsons to an end after thirty years.

The last "Life in Hell," Groening's 1,669th strip, was released on Friday, June 15. For the next four weeks, editors will have their choice of strips from Groening's extensive archive before they close up shop in July on Friday the 13, which seems oddly appropriate.

"I've had great fun, in a Sisyphean kind of way, but the time has come to let Binky and Sheba and Bongo and Akbar and Jeff take some time off," Groening, 58, said by email.

FingerWatch: Out in advance of the comic shop, Bill The Boy Wonder by Marc Tyler Nobleman and Ty Templeton, telling the story of the other creator of Batman.

BiggestWatch: These are the last two world's biggest comics… will this version of Romeo And Juliet beat them?

WeddingWatch1: Axel Alonso in The Sun.

"They live in New York and San Francisco and regularly deal with the kinds of problems you do.

"Marvel Comics always does best when we are living in the real world and commenting on the real world; readers feel the lives of characters reflect the lives outside their window.

"This is part of what we do best, which is to use superheroes to comment on the real world."

WeddingWatch2: Variety gives the Midtown wedding their best coverage.

Everhart and Welker, who fittingly shared one of their first dates on 2011 Free Comic Book Day, married earlier today at a private ceremony before the store opened. Afterward, comics fans posed with the newlyweds and purchased newly released copies of the Northstar/Kyle-themed Astonishing X-Men No. 51. After cutting a cake emblazoned with images of Northstar and Kyle, the pair reportedly moved to a nearby hotel for a private superhero-themed reception.

OatWatch: The Guardian looks at the wider implications of the Oatmeal/Funny Junk case.

Web comic authors seem to be mostly laid back when it comes to pirated works. Even Inman let FunnyJunk's use of his content lie, until the lawsuit threat arrived. He says he even sometimes ignores people merchandising his ideas. "Every now and then someone will take some of my artwork and sell it on a T-shirt. Most of the time I let it fly," he says.

SanDiegoWatch: The people who originally began San Diego Comic-Con in the seventies are reuniting to put on a fortieth anniversary special event in San Diego in October, in the same hotel it all started.

"The specific occasion is the 40th anniversary of the first San Diego Comic-Con held at the El Cortez Hotel," says Mike Towry, a founder of the San Diego Comic-Con and chair of the convention at the El Cortez in 1972. "That con set the pattern for a string of memorable Comic-Cons throughout the rest of the 1970s. For many long-time attendees, the El Cortez cons are a fondly-remembered golden age of Comic-Con."

About a year ago, Comic-Con founders began talking about the pending anniversary. The San Diego Comic Fest was born out of those discussions.

WeddingWatch3: SoSoGay went to the Orbital celebration in London on Tuesday night.

Regulars at Circa bar in Soho would have noticed something a bit different on Tuesday night: a stand selling comics and a big creamy wedding cake. Which can only mean it was the second of the Orbital comics gay wedding events to hit London, following the Dan Parent exhibit of Archie comics.

On Wednesday 20th June 2012, the big day finally arrives for X-man Northstar and his non-mutant boyfriend Kyle in Marvel's Astonishing X-men issue 51. To celebrate the gay, inter-racial, inter-species marriage, Orbital comics got their hands on the issue a day early (and therefore so did I – you're all jealous). But not content on just selling the thing, we were treated to a wedding reception at Circa, complete with cocktails and a giant wedding cake.

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