2009 January
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Michael George
Legal | Attorneys today told a judge in Macomb County, Mich., that they don’t know when the state supreme court will rule on a prosecutor’s appeal for a new trial for retailer Michael George, whose murder conviction was overturned in September.
A jury in March had found George guilty of the 1990 shooting of his first wife Barbara in the back room of the couple’s Clinton Township comic-book store. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Macomb Circuit Judge James Biernat Sr. later overturned the conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct and possible new evidence.
The 48-year-old George, who has remained in jail pending the top court’s ruling, was brought into court this morning in a wheelchair, apparently too weak to walk. He’s reportedly lost 50 pounds since his conviction last March.
Biernat set a status hearing for March 11. [Detroit News, Detroit Free Press]
Publishing | The feud continues between Asterix co-creator Albert Uderzo and daughter Sylvie Uderzo over the future of the popular comic character, with the 81-year-old illustrator calling the accusations “quite undignified.”
Earlier this month Sylvie Uderzo publicly criticized her father for selling his stake in Asterix books’ parent company to Hachette Livre, and authorizing the French publisher to continue the series after his death.
Sylvie Uderzo, who retains 40-percent ownership, characterized her father as being manipulated by his advisers. That doesn’t sit well with the elder Uderzo.
- January 27, 2009 @ 10:32 AM by Kevin Melrose
Tan’s ‘Tales’ previewed
Sample page from Tan's 'Tales'
Vulture, after taking a brief haitus (or what seemed to me like a brief hiatus anyway) is back to posting previews of new and interesting graphic novels up on their Web site again. This time they’re offering a sampling of Shaun Tan’s latest book Tales from Outer Suburbia.
- January 27, 2009 @ 10:20 AM by Chris Mautner
A giant of a man
from Giant Man by Matt Kindt
Super Spy creator Matt Kindt has posted several painted pages from his current project for Dark Horse, Giant Man, over on his blog. The book, which isn’t about Hank Pym, is one of three books Kindt is working on. The other two are Super Natural and Super Spy: The Lost Dossiers for Top Shelf.
- January 27, 2009 @ 09:06 AM by JK Parkin
Wein and cheese
Grumpy Old Fan
Len Wein is becoming something of a go-to writer for DC Comics’ superhero flashbacks. After retelling the origin of Libra (a character he created for May/June 1974’s Justice League of America vol. 1 #111) in the recent Final Crisis Secret Files, last week’s comics featured two similarly-styled issues written by the comics veteran. Justice League of America vol. 2 #29, drawn by ChrisCross, was a condensed version of three 1972 issues which introduced Starbreaker, the cosmic vampire*; and it prefaces next month’s new Starbreaker story. Meanwhile, Superman/Batman Annual #3, penciled by Chris Batista and inked by Mick Gray and Jack Jadson, continued the S/B Annuals’ pattern of backwards-looking tales by revising the origin of the Composite Superman.
- January 27, 2009 @ 09:00 AM by Tom Bondurant
DC, Dark Horse and Marvel comics earn GLAAD nominations
Young Avengers Presents #3
Titles from DC Comics, Dark Horse and Marvel are nominated for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s 20th annual Media Awards.
The awards honor media representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Nominees in the comic-book category are:
• The Alcoholic, by Jonathan Ames (DC Comics/Vertigo)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer, by Drew Goddard, Jeph Loeb and Joss Whedon (Dark Horse)
• Final Crisis: Revelations, by Greg Rucka (DC Comics)
• Secret Six, by Gail Simone (DC Comics)
• Young Avengers Presents, by Ed Brubaker, Brian Reed, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Paul Cornell, Kevin Grevioux and Matt Fraction (Marvel Comics)
The nominations list only the writers, a recurring theme with awards outside of the comics industry.
The awards will be presented in a series of dinners beginning March 28. I can never figure out at which ceremony they’ll stick the comics category.
- January 27, 2009 @ 08:21 AM by Kevin Melrose
Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news
Diamond Comic Distributors
• Rich Johnston talks to Bill Schanes, Diamond’s vice president for purchasing, about a “protected gross profit margin” that will permit publishers to put up $1,000 to guarantee a Previews listing will meet required sales numbers, if the distributor believes otherwise.
• With the new Diamond threshold, some small publishers are pinning their direct-market hopes on Haven Distributors. Rik Offenberger talks to director Lance Stahlberg about the company’s requirements, and its move toward advance solicitations.
“It’s a big shift in the business model and one that I was not expecting to make,” Stahlberg said. “But with Diamond leaving so many marketable titles out in the cold, we’re doing what it takes to keep those books out there.”
• The New York Times takes notice of the Diamond policy change.
• Maryland’s Daily Record reports that Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, founded in 2006 by Diamond CEO Steve Geppi, still owes $365,000 in unpaid rent and utilities to the state — despite an agreement to pay off its $700,000 debt by the end of 2008.
- January 27, 2009 @ 07:51 AM by Kevin Melrose
Thin wallets, fat bookshelves: SLG’s plans for early 2009
Stitch
Continuing our look at what various publishers have planned for 2009, SLG’s Editor-in-Chief Jennifer de Guzman was kind enough to send over some information on what SLG Publishing has planned for the spring.
MARCH
Strongman by Charles Soule and Alan Gladfelter. The strongman in this case is Tigre, a worn-down Lucha Libre wrestler. He was big the 1970s, but life has been tough ever since. A plea from a woman to fight organ traffickers in Spanish Harlem, though, gives him one last shot at redemption. Kind of like The Wrestler, if Mickey Rourke wore a mask and, um, fought organ traffickers in Spanish Harlem. Check out the trailer below:
- January 27, 2009 @ 06:57 AM by JK Parkin
Adams plugs business venture in strip, people get upset
Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams fell into a bit of controversy last week when he decided to promote his latest business venture, DilbertFiles, a file transfer service, three times in his daily comic strip. This didn’t sit well with some folks:
- January 27, 2009 @ 06:27 AM by Chris Mautner
In another twist, Marvel is sued for $750 million in movie profits
Marvel
Shareholders of Stan Lee Media on Monday sued Marvel Entertainment, Stan Lee and others for more than $750 million — about half of the estimated proceeds from Marvel’s movies.
Also named are Marvel Entertainment Chairman Isaac Perlmutter and former Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad.
The suit, filed in federal court in New York City, accuses the defendants of denying shareholders of the failed dot-com their rights to 50-percent ownership of Lee’s co-creations at Marvel.
A Marvel spokesman told The Associated Press that the lawsuit is filled with “ridiculous claims.”
This is only the latest round in a dispute that dates back to 1998, when Perlmutter used bankruptcy procedures to end Marvel’s $1 million-a-year lifetime contract with Lee. That negated Lee’s assignment to the company of his rights to creations such as Spider-Man, The X-Men, Iron Man and The Hulk.
However, it also freed Lee to form Stan Lee Entertainment (which later merged with Stan Lee Media) with now-infamous entrepreneur Peter F. Paul. The company filed for bankruptcy in February 2001, and emerged from protection in November 2006.
The lawsuit — and the $5-billion one that came before it, in March 2007 — hinges on a sequence of events that took place between August 1998, when Marvel terminated Lee’s employment, and November 1998, when Lee entered into a new agreement with the company and signed over his likeness, and any claims to characters.
Representatives of Stan Lee Media previously have claimed that on Oct. 15, 1998, Lee transferred to that company rights to his creations and his likeness.
It also should be noted that in July 2007, Stan Lee Media sued Stan Lee, who returned the favor.
For more, and more colorful, background, Barron’s published a solid article on the dispute back in June.
Update: Tom Spurgeon has commentary as he watches a press conference this morning featuring Martin Garbus, attorney for the plaintiffs.
- January 27, 2009 @ 05:06 AM by Kevin Melrose
Village Voice Media suspends This Modern World, other comics
This Modern World
Village Voice Media, which owns 15 alternative weeklies from New York City to Dallas to Los Angeles, has suspended publication of its syndicated cartoons, including This Modern World.
On his blog, Tom Tomorrow (aka cartoonist Dan Perkins) writes that the belt-tightening move will last at least through the first quarter of the year, “and quite possibly beyond.”
“This still leaves me with eighty-odd papers, as well as Salon and Credo, so it’s not a fatal blow,” he writes. “And believe me, I wasn’t so naive as to imagine I was going to get through this economic mess without taking some hits. Nonetheless it’s a serious chunk of major cities to lose in one fell swoop (don’t get me started on the joys of consolidation this morning).”
It’s been a while since I last saw a VVM-owned paper, so I’m not sure what other comics the chain carries.
The company’s publications include The Village Voice, the three New Times papers, Seattle Weekly, and LA Weekly.
The Minnesota Independent has a little more information, focusing on the Minneapolis City Pages.
(via The Media Is Dying)
- January 26, 2009 @ 01:12 PM by Kevin Melrose
Talking Comics with Tim: Mike Dawson
Mike Dawson‘s Freddie & Me ranked on many Best of 2008 lists. It looks like he’s trying to capitalize on his elevated creative profile–given that the upcoming Previews (out on January 28) will include Dawson’s upcoming work for AdHouse, Ace-Face: The Mod with the Metal Arms (“a collection of stories . . . featuring everybody’s favorite well-dressed crime fighter, doling out super-powered justice with his bionic limbs, and handling crisis’s at home as a husband and father.”)
Ace-Face: The Mod with the Metal Arms
In addition to discussing Ace-Face, we delve into Freddie & Me. But that’s not all, as starting February 17, Dawson is returning to ACT-I-VATE with Jack and Max Escape From the End of Time, a webcomic spinning out of the Ace-Face universe. My thanks to Alex Robinson for facilitating this email interview as well as Dawson for his time and thoughts.
Ace-Face
Tim O’Shea: How much of the Ace-Face book consists of flashbacks to his childhood and how much of is it “present day” adventures?
Mike Dawson: The stories take place in a variety of different times over the course of Ace-Face’s career. A good chunk of the stories happen in close-to present day, but there are a number of flashbacks. We see his origin as a little kid with gigantic metal arms in the 1940’s and 50’s, a little bit of his mod hey-day in the 1960’s, and some of his latter-day adventures as well.
- January 26, 2009 @ 12:45 PM by Tim O'Shea
Strangeways: The Thirsty – Page 030
Hey, look at that front page coverage, willya? Warms the heart it does.
But you’re not here for platitudes, are you? Okay, okay, here’s your dose:
Written by Matt Maxwell. Art by Gervasio and Jok.
Guess a drunk with a barstool doesn’t trump a vampire after all. Who knew?
Be sure to stop by on Wednesday for the next installment, won’t you? Aw, you’re not fooling anyone. All you’d be doing instead is work…
Oh, and if you want to catch up with the story from the beginning? Well, just follow this link.
- January 26, 2009 @ 11:44 AM by Matt Maxwell
Publishers Weekly‘s top editor laid off in restructuring
Publishers Weekly
The New York Times’ Arts Beat blog reports Publishers Weekly Editor-in-Chief Sara Nelson has been laid off as part of a restructuring of parent company Reed Business Information.
The layoffs affect about 7 percent of Reed’s staff.
Publishers Weekly is the primary trade magazine of the publishing industry, and parent to The Beat and PW Comics Week. Reed Business Information, a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier, also owns Reed Exhibitions, organizer of New York Comic Con.
As part of the restructuring, Brian Kenney, editor-in-chief of the Reed-owned School Library Journal, will become editorial director of that magazines plus PW and Library Journal.
Nelson, a veteran book reviewer and editor who worked previously for Glamour, Self, The New York Observer and Book Publishing Report, came to PW in 2005. She’s the author of So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading.
- January 26, 2009 @ 10:53 AM by Kevin Melrose
Process: Cameron Stewart on inking Seaguy 2
Inked Seaguy page by Cameron Stewart
I’m remiss in not mentioning that the latest DC solicitations revealed the fact that Seaguy: The Slaves of Mickey Eye is coming out in April. Which means we can all laugh gleefully like giddy schoolgirls or make Green Lantern reference in regards to the cover of issue #1 — your call.
While we’re all waiting for the long-awaited return of Vertigo’s No. 1 protector of the seven seas, artist Cameron Stewart talks about the pencil-less process he uses to create the book:
I get frequent requests to show the pencils for my artwork and I’m unable to do so for one simple reason – I almost never use pencil. Over time I’ve gradually moved away from doing pencilled artwork, since I always do my own inks and doing tight pencil drawings seems redundant and time-consuming. Drawing in pen or marker is actually now much more comfortable for me than drawing in pencil.
In the past I did small layouts in pen on regular bond paper, two comic pages per sheet. I found that I would waste a lot of paper though and so recently I’ve switched to doing my roughs digitally.
- January 26, 2009 @ 10:46 AM by JK Parkin
Comic Couture | Hurm
Hurm T-shirt
iFanboy.com is selling limited edition shirts with the above famous quote from everyone’s favorite Watchmen anti-hero on them for $15. The shirts went on sale last night, and as of this morning less than 200 of the initial 250 are left. So order one quick if you want one.
- January 26, 2009 @ 09:55 AM by JK Parkin