Man, did Anna Paquin get the short end of the X3 promotional stick, or what? First the Late Late Show, and now she has to kiss up to Carson freaking Daly. Watch as Daly acts like a complete asshat, making fun of comic book fans while Paquin tries not to be rude and mean to her fans while attempting to play along with Daly. Fun for the whole family!

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In the ever-cluttered indie comics landscape, Sentinels is a breath of fresh air. On the surface, Sentinels recalls the great superhero team stories of yesterday, but actually goes deeper, mixing strange characters with feel-good adventure and some very dark imagery and settings. Sentinels creator Rich Bernatovech recently spoke with Kung Fu Rodeo, via email, about the difficulties of self-publishing, his influences, and what he doesn’t like about mainstream comics today.

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This is apparently a fairly rare interview with Clowes, conducted by the BBC sometime last year.

Anyway, here is an interview with Clowes from the super-excellent-outstanding BBC program from last year called “The Secret of Drawing,” hosted by Andrew Graham-Dixon. I was at the APE expo in San Francisco last month, and my friend went over to talk to Clowes, who was signing autographs. My friend mentioned to him that I had this video, and Clowes was surprised as neither he nor his friends had seen it. Well, friends, now you can.

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I had the good fortune to help CBR’s Jonah Weiland with an interview he conducted recently with Chuck D and Adam Wallenta about their upcoming Public Enemy comic book series. I’ve been a huge PE fan since my friend, Mike, played “Yo, Bum Rush The Show” for me back in my freshman year of college in the late 80s. Since Chuck D is right at the top of the list of people I’d like to meet but would become totally vapor-locked if I actually did, I’m stoked to have had a chance to help out with this piece.

Chuck D explained that the Marvel Comics “Public Enemy” comic never got off the ground due to editorial changes at the company, but ultimately he’s happy how it’s all worked out. “This way with Adam Wallenta, it is a focused ‘labor of love’ 100% dedicated to our direction with little corporate intervention,” explained Chuck.

Wallenta said he’s been captivated by the work of Public Enemy from day one and it was the following rap by Chuck D from Public Enemy’s first album, “Yo, Bum Rush The Show,” that convinced him the band’s image would work well in comic form.

Turn the winter into summer - then from hot to cold
xpand my power on the hour - make you all behold
From the slammer swing a hammer like the Mighty Thor
God of Thunder, you’ll go under - then you’ll all applaud
And fathom that distance, that the mad must reap
Meet Namor sea lord - Prince of the deep
Here for you to fear at any cost
Tellin you to get busy or you better get lost
Livin’ lives civilized from the lessons I taught
Cities buried underground just because I went off
My friends, enemies - better be my friend
Is the question people guessin’ is this the end?
End of the world - are you guessin’ yes?
Just say and don’t delay it - get it off your chest
Houses of crack - I’ve seen too much
I go ready - aim - fire - then I’ll blow ‘em up

“I can remember I was actually reading Thor when I heard that,” said Wallenta. “Their lyrics were raw and powerful and contained action, adventure, political intrigue and a positive message. Much like my favorite comic book characters, the members of Public Enemy were outcasts in society trying to fight the good fight. Their music has a positive message that people from all backgrounds can relate to. They speak out against oppression, poverty, racism and fight corrupt governments, corporations and drug pushers. Even their names, Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and Terminator X sounded like names from a comic book. It just always seemed like a natural fit. When I read that Chuck was a big comic fan, it all made sense to me.

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The Onion’s AV Club posted a really fun, interesting interview with Matt Groening late last month. It’s a good, long one (3 pages) and talks about The Simpson and Futurama as you’d expect, but also delves into Groening’s comic strips and other aspects of his career as well. And for Family Guy fans, they talk about the unofficial rivalry the shows have had going with each other since FG hit the air.

AVC: You’ve said that a major brewery wanted Akbar and Jeff to endorse their product. What did they think having them as spokesmen would accomplish?

MG: They were going to ride the beer-company party train to wherever Spring Break is held in Florida. It used to be Ft. Lauderdale. You ride the beer-company party train and the beer-company yacht, and they were going to have Akbar and Jeff tattoos. [Laughs.] I had a rule years ago that I made for myself: the Life In Hell rabbits wouldn’t endorse anything, but Akbar and Jeff would endorse absolutely anything. We got a little ways into the negotiation, and then an article in Rolling Stone came out and said that Akbar and Jeff were gay midgets. That ended it, even though I tried to point out that all fraternities are gay, that’s why they’re fraternities.

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I know a ton of Don & Mike fans are not in the Washington DC Metro area. So, I thought that I would post a link to the three-part interview that Don Geronimo gave WUSA-TV (DC’s Channel 9). Derrick McGinty does a good job of not only getting Geronimo to reveal his adoration of his deceased wife but also showing how he’s coping day-to-day. And if you’re a long-time fan, you may want to get a hanky ready.

(Ed. Note - Video is especially streamed for Windows Media Player 10.)

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Some interesting tidbits in a new Voice article on Jessica Abel:

Although she’s not interested in doing serious reportage, Abel wouldn’t mind if the fictional La Perdida got roped into the successful subgenre of graphic novels that deal in foreign affairs and war zones. “In mainstream society, sitting around reading [Joe Sacco’s] Safe Area Gorazde, nobody’s going to look at you like a goofball. It’s obviously serious stuff.”

She mentions a recent afternoon on which she settled down for a solo lunch at a chic Manhattan restaurant with a glass of wine and . . . the latest issue of Superman. “People were walking by and just looking at me,” she says with a chuckle, whereas “if you were sitting there reading something like [Marjane Satrapi’s] Persepolis, people would be like, ‘Hmmm, interesting, I read about that in The New York Times.’ “

Be sure to check out Abel’s new graphic novel La Perdida.

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I haven’t had a chance to watch this yet, but I still figured I’d pass it along. Alan Moore was recently interviewed on the BBC, and some intrepid UK citizen saw to it that the video was shared with the rest of the world via YouTube.

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