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I’m just back from Melbourne for the second time in a month. Despite busy May in the book world, this was my long-awaited chance to attend ‘Reading Matters’ conference, which is organised by the Centre for Youth Literature (CYL) and focuses on YA literature and storytelling. Presenters aimed their content at librarians and teacher librarians; […]

By David Nieves

As humongous and “earth shattering” as event comics can be they usually aren’t the endgame a publisher has in mind. The payoff usually lies in what comes after, whether it’s in the form of another event or a new series. Unfortunately for Marvel the pattern that’s developed is a stale event followed by a great series; one example that comes to mind was Dark Avengers coming after the Secret Invasion event. Marvel’s latest case, AXIS, while convoluted at times, has set the stage for Tom Taylor to play on the other side of the big two field with Superior Iron Man.

Taylor never did get to write a nice Superman for DC, and it appears that he won’t get a chance to pen stand-up Tony Stark either. That’s far from a bad thing. Superior Iron Man is about exploring an ultra narcissistic Tony Stark after his personality turn in the pages of AXIS. Stark’s new found god complex has him release a new version of Extremis on the population of San Francisco. This shell head isn’t out for philanthropy; instead he’s set to capitalize on the public’s newfound seduction with perfection. Once you see who Tony is put on a collision course with at the end of the book you’ll definitely want to keep this on your must read list. New readers worried about having missed Iron Man’s turn in the pages of AXIS have two paths about their dilemma. We’re told at the beginning of the book that Tony Stark’s personality was altered by the battle with Red Onslaught. If you can accept that fact at face value there’s no need to go back and read AXIS because it has very little to do with the progression in these pages. However, it’s easy to see why some will want to go back and see the events that led up to Stark’s turn.

Another face making his Marvel debut is artist Yildiray Cinar. He brings his hardline realism to the pages of the book just as poignantly as he did for DC. It’s minimalistic and guides the story to that strength by using a small number of panels on the pages that don’t feature Stark and then ramping up when Tony hits the scene. You won’t see tons of hyper detail found in Iron Man stories of this modern era, but Cinar manages to illustrate the unique dark tone of Superior Iron Man on a solid level.

Superior Iron Man is a fantastic start. Tom Taylor shows he’s a master at plotting a story and hooking readers from the get go. This series looks to explore a Tony Stark unbound by the chains of ethics. If you were worried this would be some kind of carbon copy of Superior Spider-Man’s narrative, rest assured it isn’t. Instead of a villains journey; we’re on a ride to explore the existential struggle of not Tony’s demons of insecurity but his super ego gone astray, which could prove to be more dangerous for everyone. In a week full of great comics, Superior Iron Man stands out as a must read.

This press release that arrived in the inbox this morning was interesting to me because I wasn’t aware that Technicolor, which has a long and illustrious history as a technology company, is making a push into original content development. In addition to The Deep, they are developing Berkeley Breathed’s Pete & Pickles, and Atomic Puppet, a co-production with Mercury Filmworks. Should these projects move forward, the animation would be produced at Technicolor’s studio in Bangalore, India.

Paris (France) – January 22, 2013 – Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH) has optioned the rights for the international hit graphic novel series, THE DEEP, created by writer Tom Taylor (Star Wars: Blood Ties, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Injustice: Gods Among Us) and illustrator James Brouwer (Justice League Beyond), and published by Gestalt Comics.

The Deep: Here Be Dragons graphic novel won the Aurealis Award (Australia’s annual literary awards for science fiction, fantasy and fiction) for “Best Illustrated Book / Graphic Novel” of 2011 and was also nominated for “Best Children’s Fiction (illustrated).” Technicolor Digital Productions aims to develop and produce 26 half-hour episodes of THE DEEP, which follows the incredible adventures of a family of underwater explorers. The CGI-animated series targets Kids 8 – 12 and their families. Each self-contained episode of THE DEEP will bring the family a step closer to unraveling the mysteries of the deep sea; and every story will be filled with action, adventure, incredible sea monsters, fantastic vehicles, unbelievable bravery, and the odd family squabble, of course!

“THE DEEP is one of those unique properties that truly appeals to all ages and genders by delivering compelling entertainment in the form of enthralling adventure, heart-pounding danger, laugh out loud humor and incredible discoveries all wrapped in unbreakable familial relationships,” said Steven Wendland, Vice President, Technicolor Digital Productions. “It’s the family we all dreamed of being a part of when we were kids and are anxious and excited to share with our own children now.”

“Technicolor is the ideal animation studio to bring THE DEEP to life,” added Robert Chandler, Executive Producer, THE DEEP. “The CG team at Technicolor has the ability not only to visually knock your socks off, but also to deliver moments of tenderness, character and heart. That’s why THE DEEP and Technicolor make a great partnership. It is that special combination which leads to creating great series and stories.”

THE DEEP follows the Nekton family, comprised of the independent and fearless 12 year old Antaeus, Ant to his friends; his analytical 15 year old sister Fontaine, an astute navigator; and their parents Will, an oceanographer and former Olympic swimmer, and Kaiko, a marine biologist who is fiercely protective of all sea life, including Ant’s pet fish, Jeffrey. Continuing a long family legacy, the Nektons live aboard a state of the art submarine, The Aronnax, while exploring unchartered areas of the earth’s oceans. Each member of the family has unique skills and are all equally passionate about sea life conservation. They seek to solve the ultimate mysteries that appear to be connected to a place we know as Atlantis.

THE DEEP was created by multi-award-winning playwright, screenwriter and author Tom Taylor, best known for his many Star Wars graphic novels and comic books for Lucasfilm and Dark Horse Comics; and illustrator James Brouwer who has worked as a pre-production and concept artist on a range of film, television and games projects for major studios. Brouwer moved into comics in 2011 with The Deep: Here Be Dragons and has since illustrated for DC Comics.

Technicolor Digital Productions produces high-quality CG animation for feature films, television, direct-to-video, commercials, video games and location-based entertainment through its industry-leading production facility in Bangalore, India. The group launched its original content development initiative in 2010 and is currently in development on several projects, including Berkeley Breathed’s Pete & Pickles, and Atomic Puppet, a co-production with Mercury Filmworks. Complementing its services business with original content creation, Technical Digital Productions continues to work with major animation clients including Nickelodeon, DreamWorks Animation, Electronic Arts, Mattel, Rockstar Games, Sony Computer Entertainment America and Square Enix.