2009 April
Ms. McIntyre tells you how it’s done
Sarah McIntyre's Webcomic
Over on her LiveJournal, Sarah McIntyre walks readers through her comic-making process in a strip originally made for London’s Cartoon Museum.
(via Mike Lynch)
- April 3, 2009 @ 10:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Last one of these for awhile, I swear
From Daniel Spottswood's Watchmen review
No doubt you’re as tired of smartass Watchmen reviews as I am, but I couldn’t let Daniel Spottswood’s very funny comic-strip review of the film sneak by without providing a link.
- April 3, 2009 @ 09:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Tablelands – The Sounds of Strangeways
Music, among other things, is a drug. Just that it happens not to be found on street corners or dispensed by doctors who never met a prescription they didn’t like. The best music is immersive, transporting the listener into an entirely different space. Sure, we usually just throw it on while doing the dishes or hanging out or driving around town. That’s not the kind of thing I’m looking for when I’m writing. Maybe not necessarily inspirational, but something to help my head get in the space of the story.
That’s what this stuff is for. At least when it comes to STRANGEWAYS.
And yes, I’ve got an iTunes playlist called “Strangeways”. That’s so I don’t confuse it with anything else.
A few highlights:
Neko Case – BLACKLISTED
I actually heard this for the first time right about the time I was working on the revised STRANGEWAYS (that is, revised from the original BADLANDS). I’d never heard of Neko Case before, though vaguely of the New Pornographers (for whom she sang). “Things That Scare Me” was absolutely perfect for MURDER MOON, right from the opening guitar to her voice to anxious but not frantic banjo line. It was a perfect blend of roots, rock, folk spun through with a dark shadow of Americana, bound by Case’s strong and haunted vocals. Then you follow that with “Deep Red Bells,” which digs further, evoking a recent past that’s far older and more dangerous than it appears.
- April 3, 2009 @ 08:34 AM by Matt Maxwell
Dark Tower unseats Watchmen on New York Times list
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born
Marvel’s adaptation of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born finally loosens Watchmen’s hold on The New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller List, taking the top hardcover spot.
I’m not sure what triggered the comic-book take on Stephen King’s fantasy epic to spring to the top of the list more than a year after its release. Am I missing something?
Meanwhile, the Watchmen collection slips three places to No. 4 on that chart, but retains the lead position in the paperback category. Writer Alan Moore also claims the seventh hardcover slot with Batman: The Killing Joke, and Nos. 4 and 10 in paperbacks with V for Vendetta and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1.
The 22nd volume of Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket holds the top position on the manga chart for the second week in a row, followed by Naruto, Naruto, Naruto … and more Naruto.
The hardcover and softcover categories hold a few surprises, though: The first volume of DC’s all-ages series Tiny Titans debuts at No. 8 on the paperback list, while IDW Publishing sees strong performances from some of its licensed collections — namely two Angel hardcovers (at Nos. 2 and 3) and a Transformers trade paperback (at No. 3).
And then there’s the hefty third volume of the Ted McKeever Library from Image Comics, which debuts at No. 5 in hardcovers.
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.
- April 3, 2009 @ 08:18 AM by Kevin Melrose
Cebulski’s ‘S.A.S.E.’
'S.A.S.E.'
Oh the horror! Read, if you dare, C.B. Buleski’s terrifying tales of portfolio reviews, abely abetted by artist Rob Guillory
- April 3, 2009 @ 08:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
The Jokers Wild
Publishing | Yen Press Publisher Kurt Hassler talks more about picking up the license for Azumanga Daioh. [Tiamat's Reviews]
Retailers | The direct-market trade organization ComicsPRO has appointed Eric Kirsammer of Chicago Comics to its board of directors. [ComicsPRO]
Creators | Rachelle Goguen interviews Jimmy Palmiotti about DC’s Jonah Hex. [Living Between Wednesdays]
Creators | Nashville’s alternative weekly profiles native son Jim McCann, writer of New Avengers: The Reunion. [Nashville Scene]
Publishing | Eric Rupe ponders the “corporate legacies” of Marvel and DC Comics: “The main reason why Marvel and DC never really try and do anything new is simply because they rarely succeed. Throughout the years, Marvel and DC have constantly pushed the idea that Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the X-Men, among others, are the only “important” comics and anything other than an already entrenched concept tends to fail in the long term. Given the fact that most new concepts tend not last more than a year or two, on average, it’s not shocking that Marvel and DC don’t go for them.” [The Weekly Crisis]
Comics | Bully spotlights the “Next Issue” teasers from Marvel’s late-’60s Avengers comics. [Bully Says]
Comics | “Tim Martin shows that comic books are not just for nerds.” Gee, thanks, Tim! [Telegraph]
Art | Peter Sciretta previews The Jokers Wild: A Visual Exploration of the Clown Prince of Darkness, an exhibit that opens tonight at Brave New Worlds Comics in Philadelphia. [Slashfilm]
Pop culture | I mean, what’s the deal with zombies? [Monsters & Critics]
- April 3, 2009 @ 07:40 AM by Kevin Melrose
Dark Horse announces Green River Killer graphic novel
Green River Killer: A Detective Story
Dark Horse Comics chose a fitting venue to announce its graphic novel about the 20-year search for the Green River killer: Emerald City ComiCon, held this weekend in Seattle.
Gary Ridgway, considered one of the most prolific serial killers in American history, was convicted in 2003 of murdering 48 women in the early 1980s and dumping most of their bodies in or along the Green River in Washington. He is suspected of killing dozens more.
Green River Killer: A Detective Story, planned for release in early 2010, is penned by Jeff Jensen, an Entertainment Weekly writer and son of Green River Task Force Detective Tom Jensen. The 120-page graphic novel is illustrated by Ramon K. Perez.
The seventh annual Emerald City ComiCon kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.
- April 3, 2009 @ 06:19 AM by Kevin Melrose
Revisiting this year’s April Foolishness
Casanova
April 1 can be both a blessing (Ha ha! Very funny!) and a curse (Dammit, what do you mean that’s not true!?!) for those hitting the web looking for news. To follow-up on two items I posted yesterday …
• A few people wondered if word from writer Warren Ellis about the art for Planetary #27 being done was an April Fools joke, even though Ellis said it wasn’t in his post. Ellis sent out a message to his Bad Signal email list today linking to his post, so I think it’s safe to assume it wasn’t some sort of trick. Or, as our friend Rich Johnston might say, this one gets a green light.
• So far today Fabio Moon hasn’t revisited yesterday’s post about Casanova becoming a webcomic on the blog he shares with Gabriel Ba. Considering he said the webcomic would start today and their blog has been silent, I guess we can count this one as an April Fools joke and give it a red light. Which sucks! I fell for this one myself. “The robot is mine” indeed.
In addition, here’s a look back at yesterday’s news, from the stuff that was obviously fake to the stuff that many people probably wished wasn’t true …
- April 2, 2009 @ 04:11 PM by JK Parkin
Annotations for Trinity issue #44
Trinity #44
The two stories in Trinity #44 each ask their characters to face some hard facts. The Troika, the Crime Syndicate, Despero, and Kanjar Ro have no reason to trust each other; and as of last issue, the Trinity hadn’t found any compelling reason to return to their old lives. The result is more foreshadowing, albeit in an entertaining way.
Accordingly, this was another issue where not much happened on a macro level, but which still left me with some thought-provoking questions about the nature of the Trinity and what it could really mean for the world. After all, that’s what Trinity is supposed to do….
SPOILERS FOLLOW
* * *
Continue Reading »
- April 2, 2009 @ 01:45 PM by Tom Bondurant
2009 Joe Shuster Award nominees announced
The nominees for the 2009 Joe Shuster Awards, which honor Canadian comics creators, were announced today. The five-year-old awards program is named after Joe Shuster, co-creator of Superman. The list of nominees this year includes Darwyn Cooke, J. Torres, Karl Kerschl, Dave Sim, Kathryn & Stuart Immonen, Faith Erin Hicks and Seth, among many others.
Check out the full list of nominees in the press release after the jump.
- April 2, 2009 @ 01:10 PM by JK Parkin
‘Truth Serum’ celebrates birthday with guest artists
Truth Serum
The webcomic Truth Serum is celebrating a year on the web by inviting some guest artists to help out this week. Creator Jon Adams says:
In celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Truth Serum webcomic, several artists with nothing better to do have joined together to create guest strips for one week, beginning April 1st. Those contributing their varied and unimitable talents include J. Chris Campbell, Al Columbia, Dave Johnson, Sean Murphy, and Rob Walton. (A new strip will appear each day whether you want it to or not. Sorry, mom.)
- April 2, 2009 @ 11:55 AM by JK Parkin
Who are the Dark X-Men?
The Dark X-Men
Marvel.com has posted a teaser image without really any other details on what exactly they’ve posted. It appears to be a new team of X-Men featuring Namor, Emma Frost, Wolverine, a returning Professor X, Cloak & Dagger, maybe Angel (or his brother?) and another character I’m not real sure about.
- April 2, 2009 @ 10:46 AM by JK Parkin
Robot Reviews: Del Rey sends ‘em and I critique ‘em
Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei: The Power of Negative Thinking Vol. 1
by Koji Kumeta
Del Rey, 192 pages, $10.99
It seems like just about every manga down the pike these days involves some awkward high school (or thereabouts) student who manages to overcome their anxiety and master their talent in what-have-you thanks to help from a caring, knowledgeable teacher.
To be honest, I’m more than a little sick of it, which is probably why I was drawn to Sayonara Zetsuobou-Sensei (“Goodbye, Mr. Despair”) since it snarkily inverts the premise by having a teacher who is a neurotic, suicidal wreck and advice usually consists of “give up and die.”
Unfortunately, Kumeta doesn’t really do enough with the premise to suit my tastes. Sayonara is a curiously calm, staid work, with a overly minimal, precise art style that makes the characters look like they belong on street signs instead of a manga. It doesn’t help much that this is a very Japanese-specific work. There’s a lot of references to Eastern pop culture, TV shows and the like that simply cannot translate well.
I did like the running gag about the girl who keeps flashing her fruit-patterned panties. That was funny.
- April 2, 2009 @ 10:00 AM by Chris Mautner
Print magazine covers Kramers signing
Like the subject line says, Print has a video slideshow of the Dec. 6 book release for Kramers Ergot 7 at Desert Island, Brooklyn, featuring interviews with folks like Kevin Huizenga and Adrian Tomine:
Kramers Ergot in Brooklyn from james gaddy on Vimeo.
(thanks to Bill K. for the link)
- April 2, 2009 @ 09:30 AM by Chris Mautner
Food or Comics | A roundup of money-related news
Fearless Dawn #1
• Small publisher Asylum Press has announced it will try to sell the first issue of its action-comedy title Fearless Dawn directly to retailers after the comic failed to meet Diamond’s new order minimum.
“Although we received 1,200 orders for Fearless Dawn #1, we simply didn’t meet Diamond’s purchase order benchmark,” Asylum CEO Frank Forte said in a press release. “Twelve hundred is a significant order for us especially considering the state of the market place.”
• It looks as if the “temporary” suspension of syndicated comics by alternative-weekly chain Village Voice Media won’t be so temporary.
• The troubled Borders Group announced it lost nearly $185 million in 2008.
• Tom Spurgeon responds to Todd Allen’s “direct-market doomsday” scenario.
• Retailer Lisa Lopacinski comments on the uncertainty surrounding Gemstone Publishing’s licenses for Disney comics and The EC Archives, and the future of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide: “… To be honest people don’t seem remotely interested in buying Overstreet this year. When people call or stop in and want help pricing books and we show them the guide they look at the price and are no longer interested. This could be partly due to the economy, partly due to people thinking Wizard is the ultimate price guide (I’ll argue that not only is it not now, it NEVER was), and partly due to people being able to just use the internet as a resource.”
• Sean Kleefeld and Bobby Bryant look at recent comic-strip storylines reflecting the real-world economic crisis.
• According to the Japan Export Trade Organization, “character goods” made up 89 percent of the $4.8 billion U.S. anime market in 2007. That’s merchandise like keychains, T-shirts and the like. Gia Manry has some commentary.
- April 2, 2009 @ 08:27 AM by Kevin Melrose