2009 May
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Quebecor World
Industry | Global printing giant R.R. Donnelley has offered to buy the assets of Quebecor World for $1.3 billion in cash and stock. Montreal-based Quebecor, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2008, is the world’s second-largest commercial printing company, and one of the major printers of comic books in North America. Quebecor reportedly reached an agreement with creditors last month that is expected to allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy protection as early as mid-July. [ICv2.com, Folio]
Retailing | Dai Nippon Printing and three of Japan’s largest publishers — Kodansha, Shogakukan and Shueisha — have announced they’re acquiring a 28.9-percent stake in Bookoff Corporation, the nation’s largest used-books retail chain. [Anime News Network]
Kodomo no Jikan
Legal | Lawrence Stanley takes an in-depth look at the “virtual” child-pornography conviction of Dwight Whorley and its relationship to Christopher Handley, an Iowa man who faces serious prison time for possessing manga the U.S. government calls obscene: “How far will the government go? How about the somber work of Hiraku Machida, or Suehiro Maruo’s DDT or Rose Colored Monster, or Liberatore’s Ranxerox? What about the art of Trevor Brown, or any of the publications or websites mentioned by Christopher Handley’s probation officer? What about Kaworu Watashiya’s Kodomo no Jikan? … Once you begin to attack pure fantasy, where do you stop?”
Brigid Alverson offers additional commentary. [ComiPress, MangaBlog]
- May 14, 2009 @ 07:32 AM by Kevin Melrose
Gorillas Riding Dinosaurs: The Sad State of Affairs of Rooster Jack
The Sad State of Affairs of Rooster Jack
The Sad State of Affairs of Rooster Jack
Written by Adam Hansen; Illustrated by Ben Zmith
Space Race; $3.00
So your graphic novel’s not quite complete and convention season is coming up. What’s a creator to do? Maybe make some stickers? Put the completed pages together into a cheap ashcan to give away? I’ve seen those ideas work. But they didn’t work as well as what Adam Hansen and Ben Zmith did.
The mini-comic version of Rooster Jack is a 20-page comic, 11 of which are story pages. The others are activity pages and other special features, a lot of them in 3D. And yes, it comes with a pair of Rooster Jack 3D glasses.
The 3D works surprisingly well for a homemade book and all together it’s a nice package for $3. The real value though is in the humor. I knew I was going to dig it from the opening sentence on the first page: “It’s been a century since the Ever-Turning City stopped rotation.” There’s not nearly enough evidence here to go comparing Hansen to Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett just yet, but it’s obvious that they’ve influenced him. Whether or not he’s a funny as them is a moot point to me anyway. He’s just funny and really that’s all that matters.
- May 13, 2009 @ 06:07 PM by Michael May
Send Us Your Shelf Porn!
Welcome to yet another round of Send Us Your Shelf Porn. Our guest this week is Lee Lemon, who hails from Banbury, near Oxford. “I’m a graphic designer (or person who colours stuff in) and I’m 35!” he writes. “Hope you like my porn (of the shelf variety!)”
There’s not much that I can add to that, so we’ll cut to the chase and let Lee start the tour …
- May 13, 2009 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Strangeways: The Thirsty – page 070
Oh yes, don’t worry, there’s a MURDER MOON contest this week. Just keep reading.
Written by Matt Maxwell. Art by Gervasio and Jok.
Uh oh. Looks like the Sheriff been pushed about as far as he’s gonna go. Gone and done something rash, that boy has.
Okay, the contest this week. Early in the story, a stagecoach took a detour through Drytown. Nobody made it out alive. The driver wanted to get himself a hundred dollar bonus and everyone got turned into vampire chow because of it. What was the driver’s name? Protip: you can find the answer on this page. Send mail to me, that’s strangeways@highway-62.com and put “Murder Moon Contest” in the subjectline (hopefully the link does this for you already). Put the answer in the body of the message. Do this before midnight on Thursday. Then you’ll be entered in this week’s drawing. Winners announced on Friday.
If you want to catch up on the whole story, hit the archive page.
Once again, I’ll be a the San Jose Super-Con all this weekend. Stop by and say hello.
See you on Friday.
- May 13, 2009 @ 01:00 PM by Matt Maxwell
Neil Gaiman: ‘George R.R. Martin is not your bitch.’
A Game of Thrones
Here’s the quote heard ’round the internet today, from comics writer/novelist Neil Gaiman. Specifically, he was responding to a fan of George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, but just substitute Martin’s name with John Cassaday or J.G. Jones and Song of Ice and Fire with Planetary or Final Crisis, and you’ll see where I’m going with this.
The fan wanted to know if it was unrealistic “to think that by not writing the next chapter Martin is letting me down, even though if and when the book gets written is completely up to him?”
Gaiman sums it up pretty succinctly: “George R.R. Martin is not your bitch,” The Sandman creator said. “This is a useful thing to know, perhaps a useful thing to point out when you find yourself thinking that possibly George is, indeed, your bitch, and should be out there typing what you want to read right now.”
This reminded me of a post I did last year — it was a post about an upcoming comics convention, and one of the guests was Final Crisis artist J.G. Jones. One of the fine folks in the comments section pointed out that Final Crisis was late, and they were shocked Jones would take a weekend off to go to a convention instead of staying home to work on the book. Never mind that Jones going to a convention isn’t exactly him blowing off and screwing around; in his case, it’s actually work, and second, it’s the weekend, two days that many, many other people in the country don’t actually work.
Anyway, go check out Gaiman’s full post; sometimes it’s good to be reminded that comics, books and other forms of entertainment we all enjoy aren’t being created by machines.
- May 13, 2009 @ 12:38 PM by JK Parkin
Slash Print | Following the digital evolution
Sword of My Mouth #1
Digital comics | Jim Munroe follows in the footsteps of PictureBox with an interesting sales offer for his post-Rapture comic Sword of My Mouth. He’s published the first issue as a comic, and issues #2-6 will be available online only. Next year it’ll all be collected into a trade paperback.
So for $12 + shipping, you can get the digital versions of each issue, as well as a signed and personalized copy of the printed graphic novel when it’s published in early 2010. The first 40 orders will also receive a screenprint. And for $6 you can get the six digital issues.
“In a time when the economy and other forces are making the print pamphlet model unsustainable for many indies, we’re excited to see how this will work,” he wrote. “The digital format isn’t going to replace the print book, but it’s an interesting format that allows for cheaper prices and more direct interaction between creators and readers — one we hope to foster by adding commentary.”
e-Devices | Here’s an often-linked to post by Scott McCloud about the new version of the Kindle and its size.
- May 13, 2009 @ 11:44 AM by JK Parkin
Straight for the art | Roger Langridge’s Krazy Kat
Roger Langridge does Krazy Kat
The Muppet Show writer/artist Roger Langridge shares a really awesome Krazy Kat commission he did in exchange for some books. He really manages to capture the spirit of George Herriman’s creations, from the mischievousness of Ignatz Mouse to the surrealism of the setting to just the overall playfulness of the layout of the piece.
- May 13, 2009 @ 10:45 AM by JK Parkin
Everyone’s A Critic: A round-up of comic reviews and thinkpieces
Power Girl
* Nina Stone can’t get worked up enough to hate on Power Girl: “I guess I just don’t see what is being oppressed here. Is there some strong feminine story that could be told if this character didn’t have large breasts? What is it I’m missing?”
* Noah Berlatsky, meanwhile, wants to remind you that no one really cares about Power Girl anyway. If you have time, you should also check out Noah’s savaging assessment of Jeffrey Brown’s ouevre.
* Is Storm a racist character? Discuss.
* Writing for Reason magazine, Brian Doherty examines Harold Gray’s classic comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with a particular eye to its political themes:
These first two volumes of the series, both of them pre–New Deal, are individualistic, but the anti-government mood is generally quietly suggestive, not obtrusive. The subtle politics are highly individualistic, promoting the virtues of the hard-working common man. The strip was suffused with Midwestern values (hard work and cheerfulness) and prejudices (pro-fisherman, anti-beard) and a very populist sense that it was who you were inside, not money or station, that mattered, and that “just plain folk—and plenty of ’em” were best.
* Both the Los Angeles Times and David Welsh praise Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s A Drifting Life.
- May 13, 2009 @ 09:45 AM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | Rick Veitch’s Good Friday commission
Jesus + Swamp Thing
Back in March I listed six comics that fell into limbo for various reasons that I’d love to see more of. Earlier this month on his blog, Rick Veitch gave a small taste of what one of those comics would have been like, as he shared the above commissioned sketch of Swamp Thing and Jesus.
- May 13, 2009 @ 08:48 AM by JK Parkin
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Diamond Comic Distributors
Retailing | Sean Kleefeld considers the future of direct-market distribution: “If/when Marvel and DC cut back — and I suspect they’ll do so more-or-less simultaneously, since they’ve historically made significant changes roughly in tandem — that will absolutely kill a good number of retailers. And it will absolutely cause all sorts of headaches and ulcers for all those working in the comic industry. But it won’t kill all the retailers, and there will continue to be SOME market for pamphlet comics. Just like there is, despite the anecdote, a market for buggy whips.” [Kleefeld on Comics]
Publishing | DC Comics is looking for a coordinating editor, the position held until recently by Jann Jones. As we noted earlier this month, Jones reportedly has landed at Viz Media. [Comix 411]
Publishing | San Francisco-based publisher eigoMANGA has struck a deal with EBSCO to make subscriptions to Rumble Pak and Sakura Pakk available worldwide to public schools, universities, hospitals and military bases. [press release]
- May 13, 2009 @ 07:51 AM by Kevin Melrose
Kevin Smith to tackle Batman (again) and Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
After demonstrating that he can meet a publishing deadline, filmmaker Kevin Smith is returning to comic books with a pair of miniseries for DC Comics and Dynamite Entertainment.
Entertainment Weekly‘s PopWatch reports that Smith will follow last fall’s three-issue Batman: Cacophony with the 12-issue The Widening Gyre, and transform his abandoned 2004 Green Hornet screenplay into a miniseries for Dynamite, which announced in March that it has secured the license for the property.
Smith says The Widening Gyre will be split into two volumes, with a six-month break in between, to ensure “we don’t run into my usual problems with lateness.” The miniseries will feature a new hero who will spin off into a bimonthly solo series, written by Smith.
Batman: The Widening Gyre will debut in August, with Green Hornet bowing soon after.
- May 13, 2009 @ 05:36 AM by Kevin Melrose
Flash:Rebirth to run six issues
Flash: Rebirth #3 variant
DC Comics announced yesterday on The Source blog that Flash: Rebirth by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver will run six issues now, versus five. They also shared some info on the fifth issue:
In issue #5, which will be solicited in the June Previews, the greatest threat to face the Flash Family in decades stands revealed. Plus, a new hero will take on an older speedster’s role. And Barry Allen faces having to once again sacrifice his life to save all that he holds dear.
They don’t mention a reason why the mini-series was extended, but maybe someone will ask about it in the next Geoff Johns Prime on CBR …
- May 13, 2009 @ 04:34 AM by JK Parkin
Introducing the all-new ‘Can’t Wait for Wednesday’
The calendar tells me it’s been nearly six months since Chris Mautner and I last waded through the Diamond shipping list at our former blogging home. Six months!
We figured that’s been far too long, so we’re bringing “Can’t Wait for Wednesday” to Robot 6, and adding colleague JK Parkin to the mix.
The feature’s premise is pretty straightforward: Every Tuesday afternoon, we’ll select the titles we think may be worth checking out — or, occasionally, avoiding — when you make the weekly pilgrimage to the local comic store. Then we hope you’ll tell us your picks in the comments section.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get to our selections , which range from some blasts from the far-flung past — okay, the 1980s — to a couple of comic-strip archives to the cutest team of super-powered animals since Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew:
- May 12, 2009 @ 02:01 PM by Kevin Melrose
‘The Cartoonist’ trailer
I had no idea anyone was making a documentary about Jeff Smith and the self-publishing movement, so I’m thankful to Tom Spurgeon for bringing it to my attention.
- May 12, 2009 @ 01:01 PM by Chris Mautner
Straight for the art | Usagi Yojimbo:Yokai preview
Usagi Yojimbo: Yokai
Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai previews the cover and a couple of pages from his upcoming full-color Usagi grapic novel, Yokai. “It will be hardcover, scheduled for a November release, and will retail for $14.95,” he writes. “I’m coloring it in watercolors.”
- May 12, 2009 @ 12:04 PM by JK Parkin