2009 February
Because Wonder Woman without bondage is like peanut butter without jelly
Wonder Woman
TCJ critic Noah Berlatsky is taking an extended look at Wonder Woman over at his blog (part one, part two, part three) and wondering why she’s had such a rough time of it in the popularity department, at least in comparison to the other big two, Batman and Superman. His conclusion?
Wonder Woman is a the result of a particular idiosyncratic, fetishistic vision. Charles Moulton was more like R. Crumb than he was like Jerry Siegel or Lee/Ditko. As a result, Wonder Woman as icon is essentially a decades long disaster; she’s particular, not universal, and every effort to prove otherwise makes both the perpetrator and the character look ridiculous.
Berlatsky then goes on to castigate some of the artists and writers who attempted to follow in Moulton’s footsteps, though he has some kind words for Mike Sekowsky. I’m curious to see what he’ll have to say about George Perez’s run, which I remember as being pretty good.
- February 18, 2009 @ 08:30 AM by Chris Mautner
Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news [Updated]
Amazing Spider-Man #583
• ICv2.com’s reckoning of Diamond’s January figures prove John Jackson Miller correct: Amazing Spider-Man #583, with its multiple printings, sold an estimated 352,953 copies. That makes the issue the “bestselling full-price periodical comic book since ICv2 began tracking sales through Diamond Comic Distributors in 2001.”
The retail-oriented news and analysis site points out that “it appears likely” that the majority of sales came not from the initial printing but from subsequent printings.
Now for the bad news: Despite the performance of ASM, periodical comics still declined 9 percent versus January 2008. Sales of the Top 100 graphic novels were up 4 percent.
Top 300 comics for January 2008
Top 300 graphic novels for January 2008
• Dirk Deppey catches that collection agency Creditors Trade Association filed a $373,000 lawsuit in December against Gemstone Publishing, Diamond Comic Distributors and Steve Geppi. Without access to the courts database, there’s no way to determine the basis for the lawsuit.
UPDATE: Heidi MacDonald unearths the details. According to court documents, Gemstone owes the money to print broker Global Interprint.
• Viz Media spokeswoman speaks briefly to MangaBlog about Diamond’s decision to drop nearly 1,000 of the company’s titles from its backlist. She confirms the series have not been discontinued, and that they are available through several book distributors.
- February 18, 2009 @ 08:09 AM by Kevin Melrose
Fan mourns Batman’s ‘death,’ apparently doesn’t get how comics work
Batman #686
Okay, this one’s a bit sad, and a little funny. Oh, and maybe creepy.
Seventy-two-year-old Frik van Lingen of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, who read Batman comics when he was growing up, took the recent “death” of Bruce Wayne pretty hard.
How hard, you ask? So hard that he placed an advertisement in the local newspaper to inform other Batman fans that the superhero’s alter ego “is no more.”
“Batman was my super-hero,” van Lingen tells The Herald. “I must have been in primary school when I started reading comic books. No one knows who‘s going to fill his big boots. He was too nice a guy. He fought criminals. He just can’t die.”
Well, at least he got that last part right.
- February 18, 2009 @ 07:11 AM by Kevin Melrose
Hawkman + dinosaurs = cool
Kyle Baker's Hawkman
Earlier this month Kevin posted about Kyle Baker’s Hawkman story; over at the Pulse, Jennifer Contino talks to Baker about the book and several other projects. Per the interview, the story will appear in some sort of anthology and will feature an alien invasion and Dinosaur Island:
THE PULSE: When you think Hawkman, what ideas immediately came to your mind about what a story featuring this hero HAD to be about?
BAKER: In most of his adventures, Hawkman usually defends Earth from space alien invasion, so that’s what my story’s about. There’s also action on Dinosaur Island, because dinosaurs are always cool. Hawkman carries a mace, so it’s important for a writer to create dilemmas which can be resolved with a mace. A guy with a mace fighting a T-Rex is a good fight to watch.
An official release date for the book has yet to be announced.
- February 18, 2009 @ 06:53 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Harvey Awards statue
Creators | Cartoonist Karen Ellis, creator of the webcomic Planet Karen, lost nearly everything Sunday in an apartment-building fire that killed her neighbor. Girl-Wonder.org, which hosts Planet Karen, is organizing an auction to benefit Ellis. Donations also can be made to Ellis’ PayPal account. [Fleen]
Awards | Nominations are being accepted for the 2009 Harvey Awards, which will be presented Oct. 10 during a ceremony emceed by cartoonist Scott Kurtz at Baltimore Comic-Con. Ballots can be downloaded here; the deadline for nominations is March 27. [Harvey Awards]
Creators | Devin Faraci talks with cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley about Scott Pilgrim, Internet rumors, and Twitter. [CHUD]
Creators | Kiel Phegley posts the unabridged version of a Q&A with Kramers Ergot 7 editor and cartoonist Sammy Harkham that originally appeared last year in Wizard. [Four Color Forum]
Creators | Writer Michael Alan Nelson relates how not to pitch to a publisher at a convention. [Kung Fu Monkey]
Webcomics | Maryland retailer Cosmic Comix & Toys provides a brief webcomics primer. [Cosmic Comix & Toys]
Weirdness | Marvel published a Billy Ray Cyrus comic? Oh, those crazy, crazy ’90s. [4thletter]
- February 18, 2009 @ 06:37 AM by Kevin Melrose
DC’s ‘After Watchmen, What’s Next?’ promotion
Watchmen
This is timely, as just the other day several folks were discussing this in the comments thread of one of Kevin’s recent posts — what comics do you give to a friend who just read Watchmen and wants to know what else is out there? DC’s offering some suggestions by reprinting and rush soliciting a bunch of $1 comics, including Saga of the Swamp Thing #21, Preacher #1, Identity Crisis #1, Planetary #1 and Transmetropolitan #1.
So what do you think … are these good chasers after a shot of Watchmen?
You can read more information from DC on the promotion after the jump.
- February 17, 2009 @ 03:36 PM by JK Parkin
You, too, can look like Doctor Manhattan … down there
Marketing for Zack Snyder’s $130-million adaptation of Watchmen apparently took a bizarre turn over Valentine’s Day Weekend as Warner Bros. turned to some creative measures.
According to WatchmenComicMovie.com, folks in Columbus, Ohio, were handed a matchbook-style package emblazoned with the familiar bloodstained smiley face. When the cover was opened, they found a neon-blue condom and the slogan, “We’re Society’s Only Protection.”
Soon I’m going to create a “Things That Make Alan Moore Scream” tag for the blog.
Watchmen opens on March 6.
We're Society's Only Protection
(via Topless Robot)
- February 17, 2009 @ 12:34 PM by Kevin Melrose
Towards A Modern Superhero Canon: “Flash Of Two Worlds!”
Grumpy Old Fan
[In case you were wondering, my coverage of the new DC solicits will appear here next week.]
If this superhero-canon stuff focused on influence, and not craft, I imagine there would be little argument that “Flash Of Two Worlds” (from The Flash vol. 1 #123, September 1961) would definitely compete for the top spot. It kicked off the era of the DC Multiverse (1961-1985); and it remained an important milestone in the shared universe which followed. Still, although we’re not talking about influence here, I think “FOTW” has earned a spot among the best superhero stories for its approach to DC’s first “intergenerational” team-up.
* * *
- February 17, 2009 @ 11:21 AM by Tom Bondurant
WonderCon | Wonder Woman’s ‘West Coast big screen premiere’
WonderCon kicks off a week from Friday at the Moscone Center South in San Francisco. The show welcomes special guests Jim Lee, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Brian Azzarello, Jill Thompson, Alex Robinson and many more Feb. 27-March 1.
From now until the show kicks off, I’ll be posting round-ups of what various publishers, creators, retailers, etc. have planned for the show. If you’d like your booth schedule, special event or other information included, drop me an email.
General information: Programming | Registration | Special guests | Autographs
Wonder Woman
• The Wonder Woman animated DVD, which comes out March 3, will receive “a West Coast big screen premiere” at the show, per a press release from Time Warner.
The 6 p.m. screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring filmmakers and voice cast, including Bruce Timm and Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen. Filmmakers will also screen the world premiere of the first footage of Green Lantern: First Flight, the next DC Universe animated DVD.
- February 17, 2009 @ 10:53 AM by JK Parkin
I fly a starship across the Universe divide
The Highwayman
Writer Jason Aaron shows off Tony Moore’s redesigned Highwayman, a villain who’ll be appearing in Ghost Rider #34. The Highwayman originally appeared in Marvel’s notorious U.S. 1 series, proving that any character (even these guys) can make a comeback (and look good while doing it).
- February 17, 2009 @ 10:16 AM by JK Parkin
‘Alan Moore is a hypocrite and a liar,’ LOEG producer claims
Alan Moore
You may recall that interview I linked to last week in which Alan Moore, in fairly typical Alan Moore fashion, railed against Hollywood and the American comics industry.
Well, Hollywood Elsewhere also linked to it, drawing the attention of movie producer Don Murphy. Yes, the Don Murphy who produced The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and From Hell. Needless to say, he doesn’t buy what Moore is selling, so to speak:
Alan Moore is a hypocrite and a liar
– He took a million dollars from Fox for League- he did not HAVE to do so
– He claims that he never saw League so why does he get to comment on the merits of it? YOU can say what you want to- but he never saw it
– He has made over $3 million dollars on the increased sales of the Watchmen hardcover due to the film- he isn’t returning that money
–He sold the rights to Watchment in 1988
– He attacked V for Vendetta back when it came out- after he had sold those rightsHe is an old man who smokes too much hash and prays to a lizard god. Don’t buy his bullshit.
The outspoken Murphy, whom Noel Murray reminds us is famous for being beaten up in 1997 by Quentin Tarantino, stand his ground as the comments section devolves into a colorful, and brutal, minefield of insults — many of which originate with Murphy.
(Via Murray)
- February 17, 2009 @ 09:14 AM by Kevin Melrose
One more Angoulême International Comics Festival link
L'Association offices
Fantagraphics’ Jason Miles has been posting pics of his recent trip to France for the Angoulême Festival over on the Flog blog. That’s not terribly special in and of itself, except that he spent a good bit of time in Paris, checking out the offices of L’Association, above, and one of the finest comic book shops in the world, Un Regard Moderne. I’m not even gonna spoil it by running one of those photos here. Just trust me, you haven’t seen shelf porn till you’ve checked out these pictures.
- February 17, 2009 @ 08:44 AM by Chris Mautner
Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news
Hexed #1
• Retailer Brian Hibbs responds to Christopher Butcher’s post about Diamond Comic Distributors dropping nearly 1,000 Viz Media titles from its backlist: “As near as I can tell, however, he’s concerned about a bunch of material that, well, doesn’t sell. YES, some of the titles on the list are REALLY FUCKING GOOD COMICS, no doubt about it … but do they SELL is the question?”
• Rich Johnston asserts that Diamond’s recent moves are spurred, at least in part, by retailers “faulting on payments like never before, leaving Diamond holding the can on hundreds of thousands of orders.”
• Although he’s still crunching numbers, charts watcher John Jackson Miller says that, sales of Amazing Spider-Man #583 aside, last month appears to have been “a good-old-fashioned Bad January” in the direct market.
• BOOM! Studios and iVerse Media have announced that Hexed #1 was downloaded for free more than 10,000 times within 48 hours of its Feb. 6 premiere via Google’s Android platform.
• David Welsh considers the state of the manga industry in North America: “If you look at BookScan’s top 20 graphic novels of 2008, you can’t help but notice that none of the manga series represented actually debuted in 2008, and only one (the aforementioned Vampire Knight) has launched since 2005. The monthly lists of BookScan bestsellers show a sprinkling of new or new-ish arrivals, but there were no new blockbusters of note. Several debuting series earned respectable sales and critical approbation, but they’ve yet to become name-brand performers. (This isn’t entirely unique to manga, obviously. The best-selling graphic novel of 2008, Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, has been in print for several years.)”
• Katherine Dacey offers some tips for selling your cast-off manga on eBay.
• I’ve seen a couple of message-board posts from publishers saying they’ve received a letter from WOWIO informing them that payments for the fourth quarter of 2008 will begin rolling out soon.
• Retailers in northern Illinois are feeling the pinch from the recession.
- February 17, 2009 @ 08:34 AM by Kevin Melrose
Calling all indie manga experts
Ax Anthology
As you may or may not know, Top Shelf will be publishing a rather large anthology of manga from the critically-acclaimed but very avant-garde Japanese magazine Ax at the end of the year.
In anticipation of that, the folks at the Electric Ant blog have initiated the Ax Research Project, where they are attempting to suss out what, exactly, will be in this hefty book. So far they’ve got a complete list of contributors up, but not much else. So if you know more about some of the works or authors listed, or are just curious about what’s going to be included in the eventual book, be sure to click on that second link. (hat tip: Jog)
- February 17, 2009 @ 08:15 AM by Chris Mautner
Breaking: Watchmen is ‘pretty dark and cynical’
From "Watchmen"
At conservative media-watchdog site Newsbusters, the rapid approach of the Watchmen movie leaves writer Warner Todd Huston gnashing his teeth over the “anti-American nihilism” of the Alan Moore-Dave Gibbons miniseries:
Graphically, it isn’t very well drafted. It does have the benefit of being created in the semi-realist style that began to be popular in the 1980s though. which instantly makes it better than today’s comics drawn in that horrible Japanese Anime/Manga style that has so pervaded the comic book industry of late. Thankfully, Watchmen’s was not yet an era infected by this regrettable, current trend in US comic art.
As to subject matter, it wasn’t “just a comic book.” It hit all the 80′s hot-button issues. Homosexuality, rape, war with Russia and “the bomb,” crooked US politicians, corruption, murder, sexual impotency, welfare mammas, and homicidal maniacs were all aspects of the story line. It even indulges in demonization of Nixon directly, and Ronald Reagan by inference. But it’s philosophy of nihilism and anarchy was its underlying message.
Now I’ve read plenty of criticism of Watchmen, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it described as not “very well drafted.” (I’ll ignore Huston’s broad critique of the art in “today’s comics,” because, well … aside from being ill-informed, the use of words like “pervaded” and “infected” hints at a bit more than a longing for superheroes to be drawn like they were when he was 12.)
“It’s all pretty dark and cynical,” Huston writes, certainly shocking anyone who’s viewed the trailers for the movie, or even read about the landmark comic.
Why, oh why, couldn’t Moore have used his powers for good? Take it away, Mr. Huston:
- February 17, 2009 @ 07:11 AM by Kevin Melrose