2009 February
Slott talks about the F-word and continuity on MySpace
Continuing with the “show must go on” theme of the last few weeks, The Hero Initiative’s Jim McLauchlin interviews writer Dan Slott over at MySpace, talking to him about Mighty Avengers, Spider-Man, Ren & Stimpy, continuity and taking the “fun” out of comics:
- February 2, 2009 @ 08:34 AM by JK Parkin
Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news
Wowio
• Blogger Sean Kleefeld posts another installment of his periodic “Wowio Deathwatch,” which sparks a discussion with Platinum Studios President Brian Altounian — Platinum purchased the ebook-distribution site in June — about money still owed to publishers, the Wowio business model, and “armchair quarterbacking.”
• Tokyopop Associate Publisher Marco Pavia tells ICv2.com that 16 titles whose solicitations recently were canceled simply have been postponed as part of the company’s restructuring.
• Jeph Jacques, creator of Questionable Content, explains how webcomics make money. (via Johanna Draper Carlson)
• Tom Spurgeon runs an email from an anonymous publishing executive responding to some of the complaints about Diamond Comic Distributors in the wake of the new threshold: “Diamond is a business affected by a down economy just like anyone. Are they obligated to keep laying off employees, so that they can continue to list shitty comics?”
• Despite a recession that’s affecting all aspects of the publishing industry, Amazon.com saw sales rise 18 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007. Net sales were up $6.7 billion.
• Citing rising production costs and declining subscriber and advertising bases, F&W Media has pulled the plug on the gaming magazine Scrye. The April issue will be the last.
- February 2, 2009 @ 08:09 AM by Kevin Melrose
Strangeways: The Thirsty – Page 033
Written by Matt Maxwell. Art by Gervasio and Jok.
I don’t have the energy to snark at my own work at the moment. Maybe you can catch that later.
But you gotta wonder who the blonde guy is, anyways. He seems to know his way around the undead. Maybe a little *too* well, if you ask me.
Hit the Strangeways page here at Robot 6 to catch the story from the beginning.
- February 2, 2009 @ 08:00 AM by Matt Maxwell
Ka-Blam launches print-on-demand distribution service
Over the weekend, Ka-Blam Digital Printing responded to Diamond’s increased order minimums with ComicsMonkey, a print-on-demand distribution service that promises “no benchmarks, no thresholds, no minimums, no fees.”
This service probably would be slightly bigger news if publishers weren’t required to print through Ka-Blam in order to be distributed by ComicsMonkey.
There’s also the issue of terms for retailers: a 35-percent discount, no returns, and the retailer pays for shipping.
Creator Von Allan hones in on those sticking points in the comments section of the ComicsMonkey blog:
While I hope I’m wrong, I find that the retailer terms are pretty untenable. 35% off cover, non-returnable, with shipping charges on top of that? That’s a lot of risk to put on the retailer with not much to help them out.
So, while I understand the pricing realities of POD, this seems like Ka-Blam titles would be special order only in most stores, assuming that those stores even set-up accounts in the first place. That also means sales will most likely be pretty minimal.
Elsewhere on the site, the announcement is met with more excitement from commenters, most of whom appear to be small and self-publishers.
- February 2, 2009 @ 07:32 AM by Kevin Melrose
Kyle Baker’s Hawkman: Have mace, will pummel
Hawkman, by Kyle Baker
I’m not a fan of Hawkman — nothing against the hairy-chested Thanagarian; I just haven’t given him much thought — but glimpses of Kyle Baker’s upcoming DC Comics project have me a little excited.
Announced by Baker in October, the book is being teased as “ultra-realistic and violent.” How violent? Well, there’s a scene in which Aquaman’s giant seahorse is killed by a Tyrannosaurus rex.
On Friday Baker posted a couple of pages from the comic, saying that he should finish the art over the weekend. Maybe we’ll see an official announcement, and release date, during New York Comic Con.
- February 2, 2009 @ 06:44 AM by Kevin Melrose
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Rorschach Tilley, by Marcus Parcus
Legal | The trial of Christopher Handley, originally scheduled to begin today, has been postponed until late March for “convenience of counsel.” No firm date has been given. Handley faces up to 20 years in prison for possessing manga the U.S. government calls obscene. [ICv2.com]
Cartooning | The New Yorker has announced the winners of its second annual contest to re-imagine the magazine’s mascot Eustace Tilley. Among the winners is Marcus Thiele (aka Marcus Parcus), whose Watchmen-inspired “Rorschach Tilley” we spotlighted last month. [The New Yorker]
Legal | Rodney Perkins delves into the $750-million lawsuit filed last week by Stan Lee Media against Stan Lee, Marvel Entertainment and others. [Film Esq.]
Creators | Cartoonist Dean Haspiel discusses his work, the Act-I-Vate comics collective, and New York City. [The New York Times]
Creators | I like this brief profile of Seattle’s Slide Rule Comic Strip Slideshow Players, a small group of cartoonists that turns comics into performance art. [Post-Intelligencer]
- February 2, 2009 @ 05:48 AM by Kevin Melrose
Angoulême International Comics Festival | Prize winners and more reports
Winshluss' Pinocchio
The Angouleme Festival in France wrapped up yesterday. Winshluss’ Pinocchio took the Fauve D’Or, or ‘Best Comic Book Prize.’ Additional prize winners can be found here, and other nominees for best comic book can be found here.
So what about reports from the show? The Forbidden Planet has two of them up, Bart Beaty did six of them for the Comics Reporter and C.B Cebulski had several blogposts throughout the show, sharing pictures of the legendary Moebius and some of the food he ate, like pizza with duck livers. Which looks a lot better than some of the food I’ve had at past conventions.
- February 2, 2009 @ 05:31 AM by JK Parkin
What are you reading?
RASL Vol. 1
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. This week our special guest is none other than Ed Brubaker, acclaimed writer of such exemplary comics as Captain America, Daredevil, the new Incognito and Criminal, the latest trade collection of which, Bad Night, was let loose in stores last week.
To find out what Ed and the rest of us are reading, click on the link below …
- February 1, 2009 @ 08:18 AM by Chris Mautner