2009 February
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
It looks as if we’ve hit a pre-New York Comic Con lull.
Star Trek Countdown
Digital comics | An article that begins with a nod to this weekend’s convention transforms into an overview of the rise of webcomics, and moves by mainstream publishers to seize the online market — or to respond to illegal downloading. “More companies will gravitate to providing a legal alternative,” says John Dokes of Marvel Digital. “Primarily, this is an evolution in our product.” [The Independent]
Conventions | Writer Grant Morrison has canceled his planned appearance at New York Comic Con “as a result of family issues.” [press release]
Publishing | USA Today has a pair of articles about Hollywood studios using comic-book prequels to help market movies and television shows. The focus is largely on Wildstorm and IDW Publishing, and such properties as Transformers, Star Trek, Push and G.I. Joe. [USA Today]
Publishing | Cherry Hill, N.J., known primarily for its shopping mall, is excited about Image Comics’ Jersey Gods, which features cosmic deities battling in … the Cherry Hill Mall. “To be chosen out of all the malls in New Jersey is an iconic thing,” said the mall’s marketing director. [The Courier-Post]
Art and design | Letterer Todd Klein examines Dave Gibbons’ logo and cover layout, for Watchmen, which were designed with the direct market in mind. [Todd's Blog]
Creators | Writer Rick Remender talks about his upcoming series for Radical Publishing The Last Days of American Crime. There’s also a nice gallery of concept art by Greg Tocchini. [Splash Page]
Blogosphere | Girl Wonder has launched Sequential Smarts, a resource for anyone who wants to use comics in education. [Sequential Smarts]
- February 4, 2009 @ 05:26 AM by Kevin Melrose
NYCC | Dark Horse’s schedule
Creepy Archive
Dark Horse Comics sent over their signing and panel schedule for the New York Comic Con, which gives some indication of some of the things they’ll likely be talking about at the show:
• Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson will be on hand to talk about Beasts of Burden. If you’ve ever read any of The Dark Horse Book of . . . horror anthologies, then you know the duo has collaborated on a series of stories about talking dogs and cats — the first of which, “Stray,” from The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings, won an Eisner. After years of closing out these anthologies, they’re getting their own four issue mini-series.
• Dark Horse has released collections of old Creepy magazines over the past few months, and an Eerie collection is due in March, I believe. But if I recall correctly, the plan was that they would eventually release new Creepy and Eerie comics. Just guessing here, but maybe that’ll be one of the things they talk about at the panel on Sunday.
Check out the complete schedule after the break …
- February 3, 2009 @ 07:54 PM by JK Parkin
Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now 2.1
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now 2.1
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Welcome to the new “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” re-vamped for Robot 6! After the craziness that was the female superhero discussion last month, I started to think about what shapes our tastes as comics readers. I can’t speak for anyone but myself, so I’m going to use the next few months to explore what the pop culture obsessions I’ve had throughout my life have shaped who I am.
I wrote about my love for Wonder Woman as a little girl in my Publishers Weekly column last month, but and while I addressed what her shortcomings are for me now that I’m an adult, I didn’t write about why I idolized her when I was four.
The reasons are not very complicated and, to be honest, fall pretty squarely in “Things That Make My Husband* Say ‘You’re Such a Girl’”:
1. Wonder Woman has dark hair. (Like me!)
2. Wonder Woman is beautiful and glamorous.
3. Wonder Woman wears a sparkly outfit while she runs around fighting bad guys.
There was one point in the otherwise illogical and ill-argued opinion piece that sparked the discussion that I can agree with: That it is not right to devalue what are generally considered to be feminine traits or tastes. And it seems that I had “typical” little girl tastes for glamor and glitter.
But at the time I was watching Wonder Woman re-runs and re-purposing a jump rope as a golden lasso, there was no shortage of dark-haired, glamorous women in sparkly outfits on television. What made Wonder Woman special is that she was a superheroine. Beauty is fleeting — but a woman who inspires fear and awe in bad guys? She’s something that ignites a little girl’s imagination.
*Brian Belew, also my artist.
- February 3, 2009 @ 01:01 PM by Jennifer de Guzman
An early peek at Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe
From "Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe," by Bryan Lee O'Malley
For those of you who can’t wait until tomorrow to get a peek at the fifth volume of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series — Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe — New York magazine has a six-page preview.
- February 3, 2009 @ 10:41 AM by Kevin Melrose
Strangeways – Week of Jan 26.
Something new here, for those of you who don’t want to come back on quite such a regular basis. I’m going to run a quick recap of the week’s Strangeways pages and collect ‘em all in one place. I’ll give this a shot and see if it makes life a little easier on some of the readers out there.
Come on inside after the jump right here, so I don’t take up too much room on the main page.
- February 3, 2009 @ 10:23 AM by Matt Maxwell
Finally!
Grumpy Old Fan
Whatever your feelings about Final Crisis, I think we can all agree on one thing: it’s over.
By “it,” I mean the overarching crossover culture which DC has nurtured for almost five years. No more Countdowns or Crises. No more Monitors or Forerunners. No more endings teasing the next part. (And yes, that applies to the last page of FC #7. That’s not a tease, it’s a promise.) Sure, there’s Flash: Rebirth, whatever storyline brings you-know-who back, and probably miniseries for the Fifth World and Aquaman waiting in the wings, but for the first time in a while, I have closure.
- February 3, 2009 @ 10:09 AM by Tom Bondurant
NYCC | Comic Book Legal Defense Fund activities
Free Speech by Peter Kuper
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund sent over information on their plans for this weekend’s New York Comic Con. They’re holding a welcome party Thursday night and “Masters Classes” with big-name creators all throughout the weekend. They’re also offering offering exclusive prints from Terry Moore, Dustin Nguyen and Peter Kuper (above):
- February 3, 2009 @ 09:36 AM by JK Parkin
Brian Wood announces ‘Channel Zero,’ ‘Jennie One’ rights reversion
Writer Brian Wood announced today via press release that the rights to a couple of his early works, Channel Zero and Channel Zero: Jennie One, have reverted back to him from AiT/Planet Lar:
Channel Zero
Brian Wood announces the immediate and full reversion of publishing and all other rights for the critically-acclaimed Channel Zero and Channel Zero: Jennie One graphic novels.
First published in 1998 by Image Comics and later in 2000 by AIT/Planet Lar, Channel Zero is writer/artist Brian Wood’s first published comic, born out of a senior thesis project for Parsons School of Design. Critically acclaimed and hugely influential, the book went on to enjoy six editions in its collected form. Wired Magazine called it “surprising and fresh.” Famed comics creator Warren Ellis called it “one of the most uplifting comics of the 1990’s”.
Jennie One, the prequel graphic novel from 2003, was illustrated by Becky Cloonan, and pre-dates Demo as their first collaborative project.
“In so many ways, Channel Zero is my baby, and I’m thrilled to hold the rights again, “Wood said. “It’s the foundation that everything else I’ve written was built on. Look for more announcements soon as the two books get a new life in 2009.”
Brian Wood is currently writing DMZ, Northlanders, and Demo for DC/Vertigo. He can be found at http://www.brianwood.com and http://www.standardattrition.com/
Wood and Cloonan’s rights to Demo reverted back to them in 2007, and the book was re-released by Vertigo last year. A second Demo series is due from Vertigo later this year.
- February 3, 2009 @ 07:25 AM by JK Parkin
Paul Grist’s Big Cosmic Comic on Facebook
Eternal Warrior
No doubt the minute I ask “Is this the first webcomic published on Facebook?” someone will point to one that’s already out there, but I’m pretty sure this is the first webcomic by Paul Grist published on Facebook. (And I do mean published versus promoted).
In a group called “Paul Grist’s Big Cosmic Comic,” the creator of Kane and Jack Staff is sharing the adventures of a character called the Eternal Warrior (not to be confused with the Valiant character of the same name). Two pages are up now, and he says he hopes to add at least one new page every week. Something I noticed about the Facebook photo interface is that when you click on one image, it takes you to the next … which seems like a really easy way to click through pages of a comic. Obviously they didn’t design it with that in mind, but it’s nice that it worked out that way.
- February 3, 2009 @ 07:15 AM by JK Parkin
Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related stories
BookExpo Canada
• The same day that Reed Exhibitions announced its new Chicago Entertainment & Comic Expo, it closed the doors on BookExpo Canada, a major convention and trade show. The 2009 event had been scheduled for June 19-22 in Toronto.
“Over the last 18 months, it has become clear that the dynamics of the publishing industry in Canada is no longer best served by a traditional trade event,” Greg Topalian, Reed’s senior vice president, said in a press release.
• Cartoonist Mike Lynch compiles a list of magazines that recently have stopped buying cartoons. (via The Daily Cartoonist)
• Borders Books has accelerated its store closings, shuttering at least 28 Waldenbooks in January alone. Other casualties were a handful of Borders and Borders Express, and a Brentanos location. (via Andrew Wheeler)
- February 3, 2009 @ 06:45 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Achewood
Webcomics | Chris Onstad’s enormously popular Achewood returned on Monday from its “official strip hiatus.” [The A.V. Club]
Publishing | Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing were named Publishers of the Year in Diamond’s annual Gem Awards, which recognize “outstanding suppliers in the comic book specialty market.” Marvel’s Secret Invasion #1 was dubbed Comic Book of the Year in the over-$3 division; Image’s The Walking Dead #50 for under $3. DC Comics’ Joker was named Original Graphic Novel of the Year. [Diamond Comic Distributors]
Conventions | Blogger Deb Aoki provides a manga-centric guide to this weekend’s New York Comic Con. [About.com]
Creators | Congratulations to Jeff and Leslie-Anne Lemire on the birth of their son Gus Michael Lemire. [Top Shelf Productions]
- February 3, 2009 @ 05:52 AM by Kevin Melrose
NYCC | Mark Waid is perturbed Evil
Mark Waid is Evil
BOOM! Studios just sent out their booth schedule for the New York Comic Con, with the above picture accompanying it. Per the release, BOOM! will announce “what’s next” from Waid at the show … something other than Irredeemable, which we heard about last week. They’ll also have the above T-shirt in limited quantities.
The complete booth schedule is available after the jump.
- February 2, 2009 @ 04:16 PM by JK Parkin
A glimpse at ‘Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?’
From Batman #686
MySpace Comic Books has a four-page preview of Batman #686, the first issue of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert’s two-part “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” The much-anticipated comic hits shelves on Feb. 11.
- February 2, 2009 @ 01:06 PM by Kevin Melrose
Talking Comics with Tim: Lilli Carré
The Lagoon
Lilli Carré‘s The Lagoon made my list for the best books of 2008. I’m a sucker for any book that has a haunting creature nonchalantly taking a drag on a cigarette. Quirky clicks with me, what can I say. So I was pleased when she agreed to a brief email interview. Be sure to visit the Fantagraphics site for a link to a series of Flickr photos and a video showing some of the book’s pages. The opening line to Fantagraphics overview of the book says it all: “A family is seduced by a mysterious creature’s siren song that can be heard emanating from the lagoon after dark in talented young cartoonist Lilli Carré’s first long-form work, and how each member reacts to the song in The Lagoon is the crux of the story.” Thanks to Fantagraphics’ Eric Reynolds for arranging this interview and to Carré for her time.
Tim O’Shea: I’m always curious what goes into a name–a few years back when Chris Arrant interviewed you, the project was called Songs from a Lagoon. But the book was ultimately called The Lagoon. Did the original name hit you as too close to Creature from the Black Lagoon (one of the book’s inspirations) or what caused the name change?
Lilli Carré: Songs From a Lagoon was just sort of a working title, but I liked the simplicity of simply calling it “The Lagoon”, so that’s what I went with– Songs From a Lagoon just seemed like a weird mouthful.
- February 2, 2009 @ 10:31 AM by Tim O'Shea
Jemas working on new translation of Genesis
I’m not even sure what to say about this one, so let’s jump right in. The New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that former Marvel executive Bill Jemas is working on a new translation of The Bible’s Book of Genesis:
His goal is to write an English translation of Genesis that is truer to the Hebrew text than are widely used English translations like the famed King James Version. He already has completed the first chapter, available online and in his book “Genesis Rejuvenated.”
By presenting alternative English definitions for Hebrew words to those chosen by KJV translators in 1611, he hopes that his internet-accessible “Freeware Bible,” as he calls his translation, will show readers that widely accepted Bible translations are inherently imperfect.
- February 2, 2009 @ 09:15 AM by JK Parkin