2009 March
Wildstorm adds creator-driven titles, offers Planetary update
Wildstorm
As the annual meeting of ComicsPRO continues in Memphis, Tenn., DC Comics has announced a new creator-driven lineup from Wildstorm.
Matt Price reports the imprint will add miniseries from Aaron Williams and Fiona Staples, Dave Tischman and Philip Bond, David Lapham, and Jeff Mariotte. Sparse title details can be found at the link.
In addition to the news about Grant Morrison and Jim Lee’s Wildcats, Wildstorm’s Hank Kanalz announced that Morrison’s Authority will be finished by Keith Giffen and “a variety of artists,” and that Warren Ellis and John Cassaday’s Planetary #27 — the series finale — should ship sometime this year.
- March 20, 2009 @ 10:45 AM by Kevin Melrose
Strangeways: The Thirsty – Page 053
Written by Matt Maxwell. Art by Gervasio and Jok
Back Next (and I dare you not to!)
With this, chapter two of STRANGEWAYS: THE THIRSTY comes to a close. There will be a short intermission, giving attendees a chance to stretch their feet, follow the call of nature and sample from the modest, yet open bar. The comics will start up again in two weeks, but the content will keep flowing.
Oh, and for those of you among the Twitterati, you can follow me at: http://www.twitter.com/highway_62. We’ll see how this works out. It’s a strange little conversational medium, it is.
See everyone back here on Monday, where the formalist play will be kept to a bare minimum.
- March 20, 2009 @ 10:45 AM by Matt Maxwell
Bat evolution
Here’s a fun, quick time-waster, courtesy of College Humor. It’s a video that shows how Batman’s logo has changed shape over the years and from comic to comic. (via Drawn)
- March 20, 2009 @ 09:30 AM by Chris Mautner
Watchmen, Naruto again lead Times lists
Wolverine: Origin
Watchmen and Naruto again top The New York Times’ Graphic Books Best Seller lists, but the lower positions this week get a little more interesting.
Apparently riding a wave of movie-fueled interest, Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo’s Joker, and Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s Batman: The Killing Joke grab the second and third spots on the hardcover chart. Likewise, Paul Jenkins and Andy Kubert’s Wolverine: Origin, Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and Alan Moore and David Lloyd’s V for Vendetta seize the second, third and fourth slots in paperbacks.
Two Grant Morrison collections — All-Star Superman, with Frank Quitely, and Batman: R.I.P., with Tony Daniel — come in at numbers four and five in hardcovers.
Other notable entries on the two lists include Humbug, Tarzan: The Jesse Marsh Years, Vol. 1, Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe, and Madman Atomic Comics, Vol. 2.
Naruto loosened its hold, if only slightly, on the manga category, with five volumes (down last week from seven).
The Times lists are compiled using an arcane formula that includes sales data from hundreds of retail outlets, including independent booksellers, book chains, online stores and direct-market shops.
- March 20, 2009 @ 09:28 AM by Kevin Melrose
Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news
Diamond Comic Distributors
• Retailer Brian Hibbs points to distribution problems caused by Diamond moving its Memphis warehouse as the likely culprit behind February’s 9-percent drop in graphic novel sales. However, Michael Churchill of Pop Nouveau Comix says that he, at least, has begun ordering about half of his graphic novels from other sources.
• Alternative Comics Publisher Jeff Mason tells Tom Spurgeon that, despite Diamond’s new minimum-order policy, he thinks the traditional comics format will remain part of alternative publishing. What’s more, some of his company’s cartoonists may return to the “floppy.”
• Barnes & Noble predicts a 6- to 9-percent drop in store sales for the first quarter of 2009.
• IDW Publishing has hired AnnaMaria White as its in-house marketing manager.
• Japan’s Daily Yomiuri reports that while U.S. otaku enjoy the community aspects of fandom — online and at conventions — they don’t appear to be that much manga and anime.
• John Jakala breaks out the charts to do some comparison shopping online for a handful of manga.
• Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder is urging fans to write the editors of Village Voice Media newspapers and other alt-weeklies and ask them to bring back comics like This Modern World. (via The Daily Cartoonist)
• The Business Insider has photos of disused newspaper boxes that provide a grim snapshot of the state of the industry.
- March 20, 2009 @ 08:36 AM by Kevin Melrose
Peter Bagge drops science
Bagge's Discover comic
Peter Bagge is apparently doing monthly strips for Discover Magazine about He’s posted a sample strip over at his MySpace page. (Which also, by the way features a page from his aborted Hulk project. Man, when will Marvel get hip and finally put that thing out?)
Bagge also designed some new T-shirts for Stussy, and in return they put together a great video interview with him. (all found via Flog)
- March 20, 2009 @ 08:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Wednesday Comics may be quaint yet daring
Hawkman, by Kyle Baker
There’s undoubtedly something to be said about DC Comics evoking the withering newspaper and its incredibly shrinking funny pages for the format of its next big weekly series.
But I’ll leave the satire to someone else, because I think I like the idea of Wednesday Comics. I even find the approach somewhat … daring.
What’s not to like about some of the biggest names in mainstream comics — Neil Gaiman, Kyle Baker, Dave Gibbons, Kurt Busiek, Mike Allred, Joe Kubert and Paul Pope, among them — working on a mix of popular and quirky heroes like Batman, Metamorpho, Supergirl and Metal Men?
It’s that Best-Talent-on-the-Best-Characters formula that publishers and editors remember from time to time and then trumpet in interviews as a new discovery.
So, no, that’s not the daring aspect. That comes with the format.
- March 20, 2009 @ 07:19 AM by Kevin Melrose
To floppy or not to floppy
Strange Science Fantasy
Scott Morse is considering a line of self-contained “Kirby/Ditko-esque comics” and has asked for opinions abut them over on his blog:
I’m looking to launch STRANGE SCIENCE FANTASY as a series of 48 page, self-contained, Kirby/Ditko-esque comics. Each “issue” would contain a complete story featuring characters that might or might not appear in the next issue. Very much in the vein of STRANGE TALES, TALES TO ASTONISH!, and TALES OF SUSPENSE, pre-hero. We’re talking about the meat of graphic novel ideas as 48 page old fashioned comics. So you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Interiors would be 2 color, and I’d love to do the books as hardcovers, but I want opinions on what YOU’D rather see: Good old fashioned floppy comics for $3.99, or nice hardcovers for more, maybe around $9.95-$12.95 a pop.
Although I’m a fan of a nicely designed hardcover, something about the subject matter just cries out “comic book.”
- March 20, 2009 @ 07:16 AM by JK Parkin
Who smurfs the Smurfmen?
Democracy in action
If you haven’t read it yet, I urge you to head over to Savage Critics and read Jog’s lengthy essay on Peyo and Delport’s original Smurf comics of the 1960s (and the later inspiration for the Saturday morning cartoon show), focusing on the King Smurf comic in particular. It’s the best thing you’ll read on the Internet this week, cross my smurf and smurf to God. It’s full of fascinating tidbits like this:
- March 20, 2009 @ 07:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Lemire to satisfy Vertigo’s Sweet Tooth
Sweet Tooth
Kevin mentioned yesterday that several new projects were announced at the ComicsPRO annual meeting in Memphis, Tenn. yesterday, including a new ongoing Vertigo series by Jeff Lemire. The creator of the Essex County trilogy talks a little bit about the new series on his blog:
SWEET TOOTH is the story Gus, a young boy born with deer-like antlers. He has lived his entire life in total isolation in the woods with his Father. As our story begins Gus’ is finally forced to leave their forest sanctuary and begins experiencing the outside world for the first time. What he finds out there is beyond his comprehension; an American landscape decimated a decade earlier by a mysterious disease. Even more remarkable is that Gus is part of a rare new breed of human/animal hybrid children who have emerged in its wake, all apparently immune to the infection. The boy is soon taken in by Jepperd, a hulking drifter who promises to lead Gus to “The Preserve” a fabled safe-haven for hybrid children. Along the way a larger mystery surrounding the origins of the hybrids begins to unfold, with Gus and Jepperd at its center.
The first 22-page, full-color issue ships in September and will feature story, art and covers by Lemire, with colors provided by Jose Villarubia (Promethea) and will carry a special cover price of only one-dollar!
Sweet Tooth will hit stands two months after Lemire’s The Nobody arrives in stores.
- March 20, 2009 @ 05:30 AM by JK Parkin
Six comics among 2009 Hugo Award nominees
Girl Genius, Vol. 8
Six comics have been nominated as Best Graphic Story in the 2009 Hugo Awards, which honor work in science fiction and fantasy.
This is the first year the World Science Fiction Society has included a category specifically for comics. In 1988, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen received a Hugo in the Other Forms division.
The nominees for Best Graphic Story are:
• The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle, written by Jim Butcher and illustrated by Ardian Syaf (Del Rey/Dabel Brothers Publishing)
• Girl Genius, Vol. 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, written by Kaja and Phil Foglio, illustrated by Phil Foglio, and colored by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Fables, Vol. 11: War and Pieces, written by Bill Willingham, illustrated by Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy, colored by Lee Loughridge, and lettered by Todd Klein (DC Comics/Vertigo)
• Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic, Written and illustrated by Howard Tayler (The Tayler Corporation)
• Serenity: Better Days, written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, illustrated by Will Conrad, colored by Michelle Madsen, cover by Jo Chen (Dark Horse Comics)
• Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores, written by Brian K. Vaughan, and illustrated by Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr. (DC Comics/Vertigo)
The 2009 Hugo Awards will be presented Aug. 9 in Montreal at Anticipation, the 67th annual World Science Fiction Convention. Neil Gaiman is the convention’s guest of honor.
- March 20, 2009 @ 03:00 AM by Kevin Melrose
DC confirms next weekly series, Wednesday Comics
Hawkman, by Kyle Baker
DC Comics confirmed today that its next weekly series will be Wednesday Comics, a title and format designed to evoke the Sunday comics section.
The 12-part series, which launches this summer, will be presented in a broadsheet format that unfolds from traditional comic-book size. According to blogger Matt Price, each issue will be 16 pages and contain 15 serialized stories.
The details were revealed in Memphis, Tenn., at the annual meeting of the direct-market trade organization ComicsPRO.
Although rumors have circulated for a while online about Wednesday Comics, thanks largely to Kyle Baker’s Hawkman pages, today was the first official word from the publisher.
Other creators linked to specific characters are Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso on a Batman, Neil Gaiman and Michael Allred on Metamorpho, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner on Supergirl, and Joe Kubert on Sgt. Rock. Additional names include John Arcudi, Lee Bermejo, Dave Bullock, Kurt Busiek, Dave Gibbons, Paul Pope, Ryan Sook and Walt Simonson.
Wednesday Comics also will include stories starring Catwoman, Deadman, Demon, The Flash, Kamandi, Metal Man, Supergirl and the Teen Titans, among others.
More DC Comics news from the ComicsPRO meeting:
- March 19, 2009 @ 04:14 PM by Kevin Melrose
Annotations for Trinity issue #42
Trinity #42
If last issue was “transitional,” the one-word description of this issue might well be “housekeeping.” Everything’s being put in order in advance of the big finish, but that finish keeps looking bigger all the time. As of last issue, we’ve got two divine trinities, a would-be god with an unstoppable hunting dog, an alien armada with its own set of supervillains, and a handful of Earthbound villains, all set to fight over ownership of our little planet.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
* * *
LEAD STORY
“An Old Pattern Repeating Itself” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.
Continue Reading »
- March 19, 2009 @ 03:10 PM by Tom Bondurant
Farscape: 10 years and still going strong
Farscape
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the cult hit Farscape, and while the TV show may be over, the comic continues. In fact, BOOM! Studios announced today that the first issue of their first Farscape mini-series has gone into a third printing.
“We were blown away by the reaction to the first printing of FARSCAPE #1,” said Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid in a press release. “So when we went to a second print, we were pretty darn happy. We cannot believe that we have sold completely out of all of that now!”
The third printing is due in stores April 8. In addition, in celebration of the anniversary, the Henson Company is selling a limited edition T-shirt. It’s only available today, so be sure to order it before midnight if you want one.
Update #1: The Henson Company has extended T-shirt sales through Sunday.
Update #2: BOOM! sent out another press release today announcing a third printing of issue #2 of Farscape.
- March 19, 2009 @ 01:56 PM by JK Parkin
‘The best Superman stories have an edge of sadness and loss’
I know I’ve linked to a lot of Grant Morrison interviews lately, but I won’t apologize for it. I could read a Morrison Q&A every day and still never grow tired of the immensely quotable Scotsman.
Take this latest interview, with Wired’s Underwire blog, in which Morrison focuses again on Final Crisis and All-Star Superman:
Final Crisis hardcover
We’ve deconstructed all our icons. We know politicians are lying assholes, we know soap stars are coke freaks, handsome actors are tranny weirdos and gorgeous supermodels are bulimic, neurotic wretches. We know our favorite comedians will turn out to be alcoholic perverts or suicidal depressives. Our reality shows have held up a scalding mirror to our yapping baboon faces and cheesy, obvious obsessions, our trashy, gossipy love of trivia and dirt.
We know we’ve fucked up the atmosphere and doomed the lovely polar bears and we can’t even summon up the energy to feel guilty anymore. Let the pedophiles have the kids. There’s nowhere left to turn and no one left to blame except, paradoxically, those slightly medieval guys without the industrial base. What’s left to believe in? The only truly moral, truly goodhearted man left is a made-up comic book character! The only secular role models for a progressive, responsible, scientific-rational Enlightenment culture are … Kal-El of Krypton, aka Superman and his multicolored descendants!
So we chose not to deconstruct the superhero but to take him at face value, as a fiction that was trying to tell us something wonderful about ourselves. Somewhere, in our darkest night, we made up the story of a man who will never let us down and that seemed worth investigating.
Morrison also reveals that he’s working on projects with artists Sean Murphy, Camilla D’Errico and, possibly, Rian Hughes — all of which makes me deliriously happy.
Related: Artists Benjamin Birdie and Dan McDaid discuss the work of Frank Quitely
- March 19, 2009 @ 10:20 AM by Kevin Melrose