2010 June
Ridonkulous graphic-novel sale at BarnesAndNoble.com now ongoing
Barry Windsor-Smith’s Weapon X for $2.99! Brubaker, Epting and Perkins’s The Death of Captain America for $2.99! Millar & Hitch’s Ultimates Vol. 1 for $1.99! And so much more, from 30 Days of Night to Megatokyo to Bacchus to The Little Man to Speed Racer for less than the cost of a $5 footlong — that’s what you can find listed among Barnes & Noble’s Bargain Graphic Novels right this very moment. Go, shop!
(Via Fred Van Lente)
- June 22, 2010 @ 02:09 PM by Sean T. Collins
Nu-Earth: The 2000AD tribute comic
Will Kirkby's art from Nu-Earth
At the Forbidden Planet blog, Richard Bruton shows off some samples from Nu-Earth, a 2000AD fanzine coordinated by Will Kirkby and featuring work by a number of artists. Several have posted their contributions online; check out Emma Douglas’s Judge Death comic, Kirkby’s pencils, and Warwick Johnson Cadwell’s ABC comic; Cadwell’s post includes links to the other contributors as well.
- June 22, 2010 @ 12:00 PM by Brigid Alverson
Art imitates life: Beetle Bailey and The Legacy
Beetle Bailey like you have never seen him before!
This post has been making the rounds for a few days, but here it is in case you missed it: Shaenon Garrity has unearthed a Finnish (or maybe Swedish—see the comments) collection of Mort Walker’s “adult” Beetle Bailey comics, in which the normally unstated sexual dynamic of, say, General Halftrack and Miss Buxley is suddenly made explicit. (There’s more talk than action in the examples Shaenon displays, but it’s probably not safe for work.) After attending the National Cartoonists Society’s annual meeting and attending a 60th anniversary retrospective of Beetle Bailey at the Cartoon Art Museum, Shaenon comments,
Both these events reminded me of an oft-ignored truth: newspaper cartoonists tell the best and most dirty jokes. It all gets bottled up over the course of a year drawing squeaky-clean family humor and bursts like the Hoover Dam over drinks at the NCS cocktail reception. And of course everybody, at some point, draws R-rated sketches of their characters.
… which brought to mind Andrew McGinn and David Neitzke’s graphic novel The Legacy, in which an aspiring graphic novelist inherits his father’s comic strip and decides to torpedo it by making it more and more salacious—unlike Walker, he sends the strips to the syndicate and the editors send them out for publication. The difference between the two is the difference between a seasoned professional and a new talent; the “outrageous” strips in The Legacy seem to be trying too hard (although the other parodies of newspaper strips are dead-on), while Walker’s characters seem natural and unforced, just saying out loud what you know they have been thinking all these years.
- June 22, 2010 @ 11:00 AM by Brigid Alverson
DC Universe Online subscriptions to cost $14.99 per month
DC Universe Online
We’ve learned a few things about DC Comics and Sony’s long-in-development massive multiplayer online role-playing game over the past few weeks, including the release date (November), whether they’d get Wonder Woman’s costume right (yes) and now the pricing.
DC Universe Online will cost $14.99 per month to play it, in addition to the retail cost ($49.99 for the PC version, $59.99 for the PlayStation 3 version). The MMO blog Massively spoke directly to someone at Sony, who confirmed the price. The spokesperson couldn’t confirm if the game would also have in-game “micro-transactions” built into it that allowed players to purchase in-game items — like costumes, accessories, special weapons, skills or even in-game currency — for real money.
No bundled subscription fees (where you get a discount for buying multiple months at once) were mentioned, but I can’t imagine they wouldn’t offer something like that.
- June 22, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Quote of the day | Mark Waid vs. Superman #700
Superman #701
“Superman #700 out this week. You will believe a man can walk.”
– Long-stymied Superman super-fan Mark Waid, on J. Michael Straczynski’s debut on Superman. JMS’s first full issue, #701, launches a storyline called “Grounded” which is rumored to feature Superman walking across the country sans use of his powers in order to “return to his roots.”
- June 22, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Hastings
Retailing | Responding to a shrinking retail market for music, the Texas-based entertainment-media chain Hastings will begin selling Diamond-distributed comic books in 127 of its 147 stores. Hastings operates stores in medium-sized markets in 20 states, selling new and used books, electronics, DVDs, video games — and, now, monthly comics.
As we noted in March, the company reported “strong results” from a tested comics expansion in two stores in 2009, and planned to expand further into another 20 existing locations by the second quarter of this year. Now, company executive James Parker tells Rich Johnston, the retailer is moving forward with two expansion models, with 27 locations sporting 32 feet of new releases, 32 feet of back issues, and 44 feet of manga and graphic novels. One hundred outlets will feature a small expansion, with 16 linear feet of each. As Johnston points out, it appears that Hastings is “about to become the largest buyer of monthly comics in America.” He has reactions from a handful of direct-market retailers. [Bleeding Cool]
- June 22, 2010 @ 07:22 AM by Kevin Melrose
Frank Quitely covers Absolute All Star Superman: Let there be light
Absolute All Star Superman
Via the Source, here’s Frank Quitely’s cover to the Absolute Edition of All Star Superman, which is due in October.
- June 21, 2010 @ 09:22 PM by JK Parkin
Talking Comics with Tim: Joey Weiser
Cavemen in Space
Joey Weiser is giving readers a variety of choices in order to read his latest work. In catching up on Weiser’s work, you currently have three choices: Cavemen in Space (distributed by AdHouse [PDF preview here]), Mermin (his mini-comic series with two issues released so far about an adorable fish-boy); or Monster Isle (his weekly webcomic, which he told me, was “inspired by Japanese Kaiju monsters, and it’s a lot of fun to make”). The bulk of our interview focuses upon Cavemen in Space (“A caveman named Washington and his prehistoric tribe have been torn from their era and placed aboard ‘The Wheel,’ a futuristic space laboratory…”)–but we also touch briefly upon the initial response to Mermin. My thanks to Weiser for taking the time to discuss his work.
Tim O’Shea: The main appeal to Cavemen in Space (for me) is that many of the Cavemen–transported to a future time, become accustomed to the new world/dynamics to varying degrees. Had you always intended to have that juxtaposition–or was that a nuance to the characters that evolved as the story developed? I was really pleased with the character arcs for Madison and Jefferson.
Joey Weiser: In this case, I came up with the characters first, and the story just formed around them. I wanted to work with a large cast and give them all stories that intertwined. The goofy concept of Cavemen in Space is obviously playing with opposites, so that was a core part of the characters and from that I realized how they would interact with each other and what developments I would want them to have by the end of the book.
- June 21, 2010 @ 03:30 PM by Tim O'Shea
Darick Robertson leaves The Boys with this month’s Issue 43 [UPDATED]
The Boys #43
Artist Darick Robertson has announced that The Boys #43, released last week, is the final issue of the monthly series he’ll draw “for a while.” He will continue to provide covers for the title.
Robertson, who created the title in 2006 with writer Garth Ennis, pointed to Dynamite Entertainment’s shipping schedule as the reason for his somewhat abrupt departure. (He’s listed as the artist in the solicitation for July’s Issue 44.)
“They make the schedule,” he wrote on the Standard Attrition message board. “I made my desires known, and this was what was chosen as best for the title. [...] I did my very best to make the book come out monthly with my art. I never wanted fill-ins. I try to put my all into every issue, and make the series whatever I can make it as good as it could be. However, it takes a certain amount of time to create an issue. Those realities are what they are, and there are different choices with how to make that goal work.”
Russ Braun, whose art Robertson describes as “top notch,” will be replacing him on interior art. Along with providing covers for The Boys, Robertson will work on the Butcher six-issue miniseries, which debuts in July 2011.
Robertson encouraged fans who miss his work on the title to let Dynamite know. “I would liked to have been the sole artist on every issue of The Boys,” he wrote. “That was always my intention.”
Update, June 22: Robertson has posted a clarification on the Standard Attrition message board:
I have screwed up. I made several severely off-handed comments here on the “Standard Attrition” forum regarding my upcoming work on The Boys. These comments were born of my personal frustration with the monthly schedule and the pressure I have been under trying to meet it. I need to make things clear.
To begin, I am NOT leaving the The BOYS and I have not been permanently replaced. Nobody at Dynamite wants this and we are continually reworking the schedule and the artist line-up so that I can draw the best issues I can create. Every decision at Dynamite is made with me included.
- June 21, 2010 @ 02:54 PM by Kevin Melrose
Website documents life with real-life superheroes
No doubt you’ll remember the various news stories that started popping up over the last year or so about “real life superheroes” — nonfictional, Kick-Ass-esque folks donning costumes to help their communities and fight crime.
Photographer Peter Tangen started a site where he’s shining “some light on this new breed of activism and altruism” with a new website called “The Real Life Super Hero Project” that features videos, feature stories and Alex Ross-inspired portraits of the heroes.
“Now, what began as a gallery exhibit, has come to serve as the launching pad of something far greater—a living, breathing community that inspires people to become the positive forces for change we all can be. To become more active, more involved, more committed, and perhaps, a little super in the process,” the site reads. They also have an active Facebook page, and you can check out a trailer for the site after the jump.
- June 21, 2010 @ 01:09 PM by JK Parkin
Kickstart my art | Help start a War of the Independents
from 'War of the Independents'
A few years ago a crossover project called War of the Independents was announced, featuring a wide variety of comic book characters from different publishers, including the Savage Dragon, Madman, Cerebus, ShadowHawk, Shi and many more (you can find a longer list here). Spearheaded by Dave Ryan, the project at one time was originally supposed to come out from Arcana in 2008.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen anything on the ambitious project, but it is still be alive — Ryan has started a Kickstarter page to raise money for it. The page also reveals that the six-issue full-color comic is now being published by Red Anvil Comics and will debut at New York Comic Con in October.
You can check out more art from the series by visiting Ryan’s Facebook page.
- June 21, 2010 @ 11:30 AM by JK Parkin
Scanlation complications
Naruto: Where's my fix?
The French writer Xavier Guilbert has written an interesting editorial on scanlations at the zine du9, in which he questions the now-conventional wisdom that because the rise of scan sites corresponded with the fall of the manga market, the two are interrelated. He makes some good arguments, and I strongly recommend that you go read his piece.
It’s easy to draw a line from bootleggers making a product easily available for free to the sales of that product declining, but that was always an oversimplification. There are plenty of other reasons why manga sales are down, a weak economy being chief among them. It’s also worth noting that a lot of manga publishers were small outfits operating in a new environment, and several have failed despite, not because of, strong consumer demand for their product (ADV, DramaQueen, Go!Comi, I’m looking at you).
So the key question is, will shutting down the scan sites increase the sales of manga? Looking at the content of the scan sites and the comments in their forums, I am seeing four types of readers:
- Readers who live outside the US or far from a shop that sells manga
- Readers of mature manga that is not licensed in English (and not likely to be)
- Fans of Naruto, One Piece, and other very popular licensed manga who are looking for the latest chapter
- Everyone else
- June 21, 2010 @ 10:30 AM by Brigid Alverson
“We can’t respond to rumors”: Dan DiDio and Jim Lee on Vertigo
CBR’s interview with DC Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio is the gift that keeps on giving. And while their tandem answers to questions about the role of the Vertigo imprint will be playing under their reign — specifically, the rumor that Vertigo characters like Swamp Thing are on the verge of reintegration into the main DC Universe — leave lots of room for interpretation, they do paint a picture of the pair’s working relationship with both the line’s creators and its leader, DC Vice President – Executive Editor Karen Berger.
Shifting focus to talk about Vertigo for a minute. Recently, you’ve had two well-received launches with “American Vampire” and with “Greendale,” both of which represent in their own way the two things that Vertigo is most known for: long-running series with a definite shape and scope to them and stand alone volumes build for a general audience to jump right into. Neither of you had worked much with the Vertigo staff or on those kinds of properties before becoming co-publishers. Do you foresee that Vertigo will continue to present projects in those two veins, or do you think that you’ll change things up in terms of the kind of material and formats we see?
Lee: Karen Berger is fairly synonymous with Vertigo, so it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for us to walk in and say, “Hey, by the way…this is how Vertigo should run.” We certainly sat down with her and went over all the titles and how the publishing plan should run. And fortunately, we had a great dialogue, and through that dialogue we’ve really come to lay down some stuff we think will best represent Vertigo as a line and will create more hits like “American Vampire” and “Greendale” that we think will make an impact with the readers. Part of the trick is that they do a lot of one-offs, so you don’t have projects dealing with well-known characters with established histories. It’s not just about finding diverse material. It’s about pushing the marketing to find new audiences for this material. It’s a great challenge, and that’s how Dan and I helped Karen – in pushing Vertigo as a line. And that’s where I think we’ll be more helpful than necessarily deciding “it’ll be this book and these creators,” because that’s what she and her team are so good at.
- June 21, 2010 @ 09:30 AM by Sean T. Collins
“To focus on one thing is inappropriate”: Dan DiDio pushes back against the Ryan Choi outcry
from The All-New Atom
DC Entertainment Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee’s lengthy interview with CBR’s Kiel Phegley tackles many subjects, from the pair’s transition into their new jobs to the future of Vertigo and WildStorm to the company’s 75th anniversary. But I’m guessing DiDio’s exchange with Phegley on the death of Ryan “The Atom” Choi and diversity among DC’s characters is the bit that will provide the most grist for the comment-thread mill, as DiDio says the focus on Choi’s death as opposed to the breadth of DC’s line-up of non-white characters is “inappropriate”:
- June 21, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by Sean T. Collins
Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes
Avengers #1
Publishing | Direct-market comics sales rebounded in May, increasing 15 percent from the same month last year. Sales of graphic novels, however, fell 13 percent. Diamond’s list of Top 300 periodicals was led by Avengers #1 with an estimated 163,867 copies — 50,000 more than second-place Siege #4 (the final issue of the Marvel miniseries). The lackluster graphic-novel chart was topped by the ninth volume of Ex Machina, with fewer than 5,000 copies. Once again The Walking Dead was a standout, with 12 volumes charting — including a reprint of the six-year-old Days Gone Bye collection, which came in at No. 19 with about 2,300 copies. [ICv2.com]
Internet | Kimberly Saunders looks at how scanlation aggregators hide titles on their websites, removing yaoi titles from the prying eyes of Google — Google’s AdSense application doesn’t permit sites with sexually explicit content — and seemingly satisfying take-down notices from publishers: “MangaFox is not alone in trying the shell game, either. AnimeA have game on as well. Visit their site, click on a manga title they have supposedly removed, (all Viz so far, just like MangaFox) and up comes a message that it is licensed and you have to buy it. But if you have a page bookmarked, or come via a search engine, and click on a listed numbered chapter of (name of removed manga), guess what? Yes, it is there, just hidden and inaccessible from the main page in an attempt to appear compliant …” [The Kimi-chan Experience, via Deb Aoki]
- June 21, 2010 @ 08:28 AM by Kevin Melrose