2010 June
Slash Print | Following the digital revolution
The Digital Revolution: Dirk Deppey recently pooh-poohed the notion of same-day digital and print releases, but Marvel announced last week that they were going to do just that with the Invincible Iron Man Annual #1. Although lots of observers, myself included, saw this as a move to the iPad, Dirk suspects the true audience is elsewhere:
Question: If Marvel really is betting on the “very zeitgeisty iPad” to “get people who don’t want or can’t go to a comic shop,” why on Earth are they betting on a device that has sold just over two million units, as opposed to the more general cellphone and smartphone markets, where such numbers are considered a drop in the bucket, or their website subscription service, which is available to everyone who owns a computer? Answer: They aren’t, which is why the “very zeitgeisty iPad” is never mentioned in the press release, while the other two avenues are. Oh, the Iron Man Annual in question will doubtlessly be available on the iPad, but that’s not what Marvel is selling here, and if I’m going to be damned in Nerd Court, I’d like the prosecution to at least get its facts straight first.
He also sees this as one step in a very gradual transition to digital, not a giant leap into the future.
- June 7, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
2010 Manning Award nominees announced
Russ Manning by Milton Caniff
Comic-Con International announced via press release today this year’s nominees for the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award. Presented to a comics artist “who, early in his or her career, shows a superior knowledge and ability in the art of creating comics,” the award is named for Russ Manning, the artist known for his work on the Tarzan and Star Wars newspaper strips, and the Magnus, Robot Fighter comic book.
The 2010 nominees are:
- Marc Borstel, artist of The Misadventures of Clark and Jefferson (published by APE Entertainment)
- Marion Churchland, writer/artist of Beast (published by Image)
- Sarah Oleksyk, writer/artist of Ivy (self-published)
- Julian Totino Tedesco, artist of Unthinkable (published by BOOM! Studios)
- Charles Paul Wilson III, artist of Stuff of Legends (published by Th3rd World)
The nominees were selected by a committee consisting of representatives of the West Coast Comics Club and Comic-Con International. The winner will be chosen by past Manning award winners and Russ Manning assistants.
Previous winners of the award include Dave Stevens, Jan Duursema, Steve Rude, Scott McCloud, Art Adams, Eric Shanower, Dan Brereton, Jeff Smith, Gene Ha, Alexander Maleev, Goran Sudzuka, Eric Wight, R. Kikuo Johnson, David Petersen, Cathy Malkasian and Eleanor Davis.
The recipient will be announced during the Eisner Awards ceremony on July 23 at Comic-Con International in San Diego.
- June 7, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
Your other quote of the day | Al Columbia on horror and mental illness
from Pim & Francie by Al Columbia
[Al Columbia:] My dad, for some reason, didn’t have the sense that a child shouldn’t see horror movies. He took me to see a lot of horror movies when I was a kid, or I’d get to see them on TV or HBO. He didn’t seem to have that filter: “Oh yeah, maybe he shouldn’t watch that. It could be disturbing.” So I was exposed to a lot of very disturbing images at a young age, which later in life came back in a strange way to haunt me, which I would never have expected.
[Nicole Rudick:] In what way did they haunt you?
Intrusive thoughts of a violent nature haunted me, made me pretty sick, actually, for a few years. I couldn’t get them out of my head.
Images from those films?
I believe they had to have been, or the movies had to have influenced something. They were unwanted images. They weren’t fantasies but constant terrifyingly violent images or ideas piercing into my everyday life. I’d be watching TV and the next thing you know the newscaster . . . I would imagine, without warning, something bad happening to the people on TV or to somebody I knew. I couldn’t really look at someone without them immediately becoming dismembered or in some way murdered in my head.
Does that still happen?
No, not anymore. But it happened for a good three-year period, about three or four years ago, where I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t work on anything. I almost couldn’t function properly in everyday life. I never knew when it would happen. Not only were they scary images, but there was a spiritual quality to it that made me feel like something was in jeopardy, something wasn’t right with me.
–from Nicole Rudick’s astonishingly candid interview with Pim & Francie author Al Columbia for Comics Comics. Columbia goes on to recount the mental-health treatment he received for these visions, and for out-and-out hallucinations, all of which he says are exacerbated by the solitary act of drawing. This goes a long way toward explaining both Columbia’s maddening-to-his-fans lack of output, and to the chilling power of Pim & Francie — my favorite comic of 2009 — which of all the comics I’ve ever read is the one with “a spiritual quality to it that made me feel like something was in jeopardy, something wasn’t quite right.”
- June 7, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Winners announced for sixth annual Joe Shuster Awards
Ultimate Spider-Man #130
The winners were announced Saturday in Toronto for the sixth annual Joe Shuster Awards, which recognize the achievements of Canadian comics creators. The awards are named in honor of Toronto-born artist Joe Shuster, co-creator Superman.
The winners are:
Artist: Stuart Immonen — Ultimate Spider-Man #130-133, New Avengers #55-60, Fantastic Four #569 (Marvel), The CBLDF Presents Liberty Comics #2 – “Trampoline Hall” (Image Comics)
Cartoonist: Michel Rabagliati – Paul, tome 06: Paul à Québec (La Pastèque)
Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn – Amazing Spider-Man #605, Dark Reign: The List – X-Men #1, Dark X-Men: The Confession #1 (Cover), Guardians of the Galaxy #16, 18-19, House of M: Masters of Evil #1, Marvel Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special #1, Nation X #1, Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #1-2, Timestorm 2009-2099: Spider-Man, War of Kings: Warriors #2, Wolverine #72, Wolverine: Origins #32, Wolverine: Weapon X #6-8, X-Factor #39-50, 200 (Variant) (Cover), X-Factor #45, X-Men: Kingbreaker #2-4, X-Men Origins: Gambit #1 (Marvel Comics), Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen #4-5 (Oni Press)
- June 7, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
Crowdsourcing manga licenses
Saint Young Men: Not coming soon from Vertical
Ed Chavez, the marketing director for manga publisher Vertical, Inc., came into the business from the fan side—he ran one of the first manga podcast blogs, MangaCast, back in the day—and he has shown a knack so far for picking books that get fans excited, like Twin Spica, Peepo Choo, and Chi’s Sweet Home. So when Ed gets on Twitter, he’s not just touting his company’s latest release (“Tell me what you like best about Title X!!”), he is asking people what they want—and sometimes explaining why they can’t have it.
It’s licensing time again, so Ed is accepting suggestions from the public, and his former intern Ko Ransom compiled the Twitter conversation into a single page. It makes fascinating reading for those who are fascinated by the ins and outs of manga licensing. For one thing, many titles are off limits because the Japanese publisher has exclusive deals with American licensors; since Shueisha and Shogakukan own Viz Media, for instance, don’t look for Vertical to be publishing any of their titles.
There are other constraints as well: Ed won’t consider long series, 18+ titles (bookstores won’t carry them) or 4-koma manga. And while he would love to publish Saint Young Men, a comedy manga about Jesus and Buddha living together in a Tokyo apartment, the chances of that look slim for now. “i’ve asked its editor and he has said it will not be published in the US at this time. not until the readership changes here,” Ed says. But if that ever does happen, he added, the editor wants him to be the one. If nothing else, the conversation is a reminder that there are plenty of good manga out there waiting to be brought to English-speaking audiences—if only we can persuade Ed (and his counterparts elsewhere) to license them.
- June 7, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Straight for the art | Brandon Graham’s Seedless pin-up
by Brandon Graham
In one of his awesome mega-posts on his LiveJournal, artist Brandon Graham shared the above pin-up he did for the upcoming Image comic Seedless by Corey Lewis.
Be sure to check out the entire post, which includes Clockwork Girl sketches, a cutaway Goblin knoll by Marian Churchland, covers, video and more.
- June 7, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by JK Parkin
Quote of the day | DC’s Ian Sattler on race in the DC Universe
“It’s so hard for me to be on the other side because it’s not our intention. There is a reason behind it all. We don’t see it that way and strive very hard to have a diverse DCU. I mean, we have green, pink, and blue characters. We have the Great Ten out there and I have counter statistics, but I won’t get into that. It’s not how we perceived it. We get the same thing about how we treat our female characters.”
–DC Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler on the perception that non-white characters (eg. Ryan Choi) are being removed to make way for their Caucasian predecessors, at the DC Nation panel at HeroesCon.
Take it away, Denny O’Neil:
(Via David Uzumeri. I thought of this right away, but David Brothers got there first.)
- June 7, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Ghost Rider #22
Legal | A federal judge has dismissed a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed in April 2007 against Marvel, Sony Pictures and other companies by Ghost Rider co-creator Gary Friedrich, who claimed the film and merchandising rights to the character had reverted to him in 2001. [Comics Commentary, via Bleeding Cool]
Passings | Cartoonist Tony DiPreta, best known for his work on the Joe Palooka and Rex Morgan M.D. comic strips, passed away on June 3 of of respiratory and cardiac arrest. He was 88. [Connecticut Post]
Passings | Francis Metcalfe, the manga blogger who wrote under the name Tiamat’s Disciple, passed away last week after a long fight with cancer. [Tiamat's Manga Reviews]
- June 7, 2010 @ 08:15 AM by Kevin Melrose
What Are You Reading?
Tara Normal
Welcome once again to What Are You Reading? This week our special guest contributor is comics writer Dwight L. MacPherson, who you might know from Sidewise, currently running on Zuda; the pirate story Dead Men Tell No Tales; or Kid Houdini and The Silver-Dollar Misfits, among other works.
To see what Dwight and the rest of the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click on the link …
- June 6, 2010 @ 01:26 PM by JK Parkin
The return of Walt Wallet: An interview with Jeet Heer
Walt & Skeezix Vol. 4
Many cartoonists have benefited from the recent interest in republishing classic comic strips, but arguably none more so than Frank King. While the Gasoline Alley creator had always been an artist of interest to those who caught a glimpse of his work in the Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics or other like-minded coffee-table tome, he remained sadly undervalued until Drawn & Quarterly started collecting the strip in its Walt and Skeezix series of landscape-format books. The series caught on with both critics and more general readers and led to a complete re-evaluation of King and his work, to the point where he has entered many artists’ personal canons.
Now, after an unfortunate hiatus of about three years, the series is back with a fourth volume that collects strips from 1927-28. I talked with the series’ co-editor (along with Chris Ware) and renowned comics scholar Jeet Heer about the new book, and about King’s legacy in general.
- June 4, 2010 @ 02:00 PM by Chris Mautner
Invincible Iron Man: Will paper be cheaper than digital?
The comic in question
With the digital revolution’s glacier period just about played out, I fully expect at least one of the companies (probably Marvel) to adopt a more-aggressive-than-some-hoped-for same-day publishing philosophy when it comes to on-line iterations of their comics, and I expect them to adopt it soon. And then I expect the rest of the companies to do something similar.
Take the million iPads reportedly sold to date, divide it by the number of actual long-term customers Marvel would likely have (as opposed to the curious bystanders who downloaded a few introductory freebies or sampled a 99¢ comic or two out of sheer novelty), and I don’t think the remaining customer base is nearly large enough to justify the sheer rage that such a move would engender among retailers.
Marvel’s announcement today that it will release Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 simultaneously in print and on the iPad provides a glimpse at the possibilities of digital marketing for comics, but the crystal ball remains cloudy.
Marvel chose to leave one key detail out of their press release: The print edition will retail for $4.99 (for 80 pages), while Marvel has not given a price for the digital version. They have said that it will be split into three “issues,” so if they charge the standard $1.99 for each, the iPad version could be more expensive than print, which would certainly turn the standard model upside down.
My question about this to Marvel elicited a friendly but firm “No comment.”
Commenters at The Beat are pushing back heavily on a higher price for the digital book, but that would actually make sense, in a way. No, hear me out!
- June 4, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Quote of the day | Robert Kirkman, on The Walking Dead TV series
Robert Kirkman
“I’ve been out to Hollywood; I’ve been in the writers’ room for a week, working with them on the plots for the first season. I’ve been fairly hands on, but I’m trying to back off as much as I can, because my main focus is the comic-book series. As a comic-book reader, I hate it when a comic gets adapted and the writer just takes a vacation. I don’t want to take a vacation. So I’m trying not to spend too much time working on the show, but I’m fairly hands on. Now having said that, if people end up not liking the show, I had nothing to do with it.”
– writer Robert Kirkman, discussing his involvement in the upcoming Frank Darabont-directed AMC adaptation of The Walking Dead
- June 4, 2010 @ 12:30 PM by Kevin Melrose
Retailer Michael George released on bond as he awaits new trial
Michael George
Michael George, the retailer awaiting a new trial in the 1990 murder of his first wife, was released on Wednesday from the Macomb County, Michigan, jail after posting bond. He had been incarcerated for nearly three years.
Last month Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James M. Biernat reduced George’s bond from $2.5 million to $500,000 following an appeals court ruling that the 49-year-old should get a new trial.
George, who reportedly is wheelchair-bound and unable to walk without assistance, has been fitted with a GPS tether and confined to a home in Shelby Township. He’s only permitted to leave for scheduled doctor visits and meetings with his attorneys.
A jury found George guilty in March 2008 of first-degree murder in the death of Barbara George, who was shot in the head while preparing a surprise birthday party for her husband at their Clinton Township comics store. Although police suspected George had killed his 32-year-old wife, the case went cold until 2007, when a detective reopened it. Prosecutors contend George staged the killing to look like a robbery so he could collect money from an insurance policy and a shared estate, and start over with another woman.
He was sentenced to life in prison in June 2008, but Biernat set aside the conviction less than three months later, citing prosecutorial misconduct — prosecutors had shown George’s mug shot to the jury — and the release of new evidence that could lead the jury to believe another person was responsible for the murder.
The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled last month that Biernat didn’t abuse his discretion when he determined George was entitled to a second trial. Prosecutors plan to challenge the appeals court decision in the state Supreme Court.
- June 4, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by Kevin Melrose
HeroesCon starts today!
The X-Men, as seen by Chris Schweizer
HeroesCon is just getting under way at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC. Here’s a sample of what you have to look forward to if you are going—and what you will miss if you’re not.
Chris Schweizer, creator of Crogan’s Vengeance and Crogan’s March, will be there, and he’ll have some sweet art to sell.
Jeff Parker has created a handy map to make it easier for fans to find him.
Raina Telgemeier will be in Indie Island, and you can also spot her on the panels on Comics as Career and Autobio Comics.
- June 4, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
Straight for the art | Fight!
by Steve Epting
If you’re going to HeroesCon today, look for artist Steve Epting at table AA-301. He’ll be selling the above Captain America WWII-style propaganda poster at the show.
- June 4, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by JK Parkin